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BURMA RELATED NEWS
- October 25, 2002.
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HEADLINES
-------------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - UN rights envoy to Myanmar meets with
military, opposition members
AFP - China, ASEAN to begin trade pact
framework talks in Cambodia
AFP - Cambodian opposition to hold a hunger
strike at ASEAN summit
AP - Suspected drug trafficker killed in
shootout with Thai forces
Asia Tribune - New ICFTU evidence of
increasing forced labour in Burma and multinational enterprise
involvement
Asia Tribune - Myanmar oppositions
parliament expands with new members represent Mon, Shan and Zomi
ethnicities
Bkk Post - Reporting for work has its
dangers
The Nation - Security tops Asean agenda
NSTP - Three complete memorial
walk
Xinhuanet - Myanmar to put 25.41 mln
dollars' gems on sale
-------------------------------------------------------------------- UN rights envoy to Myanmar
meets with military, opposition members
YANGON, Oct 25 (AFP) - UN human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro met with a regional military commander and opposition party members in southern Mon state Friday as his fact-finding mission here continued. The envoy spent Friday in the Mon state capital Mawlamyine, 280 miles (450 kilometres) south of Yangon, where according to local officials he held talks with the commander of the southeast military division, Brigadier-General Thura Myint Aung. He also visited the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) headquarters where he met with with party members, the officials said. Pinheiro is on an 11-day visit here assessing the human rights situation. He has held talks with top guns in the ruling junta including military intelligence chief General Khin Nyunt and Foreign Minister Win Aung, and has also met with NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi. After their Tuesday meeting Pinheiro said prospects for the dialogue between the Nobel peace laureate and the junta on national reconciliation were good. The talks have been running since October 2000, but are widely believed to have stalled. While in Karen state, Pineheiro met with Christian and Buddhist leaders in Kyar-inn-seikkyi and travelled to Tha-ma-nya-sayadaw, where he called on a highly-revered Buddhist monk of the same name. During his remaining time in Myanmar, the Brazilian academic is expected to visit at least one other jail. He has already visited Yangon's notorious Insein prison and met with several prisoners, whom he said complained about their treatment. International concern has been raised over elderly and sick prisoners failing to receive appropriate medical treatment while in the impoverished country's jails. The junta originally invited Pinheiro to travel to northeastern Shan state during his visit here to investigate a report by two Shan women's groups based in Thailand who alleged that the military used rape as a weapon of war. But Pinheiro cancelled the planned three-day trip, saying it was not possible to do enough fact-finding within the short period. Pinheiro is due to leave Myanmar on October 28. --------------------------------------------------------------------
China, ASEAN to begin trade
pact framework talks in Cambodia
LOS CABOS, Mexico, Oct 24 (AFP) - China's trade minister said Thursday Beijing would officially launch negotiations on a free trade accord framework with Southeast Asia when Asian leaders gather in Cambodia next month. Shi Guangsheng, Chinese Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, unveiled the plan at a ministerial meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum here. "We will officially launch negotiations in Cambodia in November," Shi told his APEC partners, according to a Japanese delegation official. Cambodia is to host a four-day summit on November 1 which will draw leaders from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam as well as China, Japan and South Korea. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China are now drafting a framework for comprehensive economic relations including a free trade pact. The two sides 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------
Cambodian opposition to hold a
hunger strike at ASEAN summit
PHNOM PENH, Oct 25 (AFP) - Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy on Friday announced he would lead a hunger strike during this year's ASEAN summit to be held in Phnom Penh early next month. "We want to show that when they come and spend the Cambodian people's money, largely, they take the rice from our mouths," he said. Prime Minister Hun Sen has rejected a call by the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) to postpone the summit which will include heads of state or high ranking dignatories from 15 countries. The call comes amid the worst drought in two decades which is expected to create food shortages for up to one million Cambodians and Sam Rainsy argues the money spent hosting ASEAN should be spent on rice. "Millions of farmers are hungry, and we will condemn this (summit) with a hunger strike," he said, adding that 15 SRP members of parliament would take part in the strike. The Association of South East Asian nations (ASEAN) will bring together leaders from Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, plus their Cambodian counterparts. Heads of state or high-ranking officials are also expected from China, Japan, South Korea, India and South Africa will also fly in for the November 4 and 5 forum. "We will also show our opposition to the ASEAN summit in other forms. There is a plan but we will not let the authorities know in advance," Sam Rainsy said. --------------------------------------------------------------------
Suspected drug trafficker
killed in shootout with Thai forces
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ Security forces ambushed a group of suspected drug traffickers in the jungles of northwestern Thailand, killing one man and confiscating cash and an automatic rifle, police said Friday. Acting on a tip-off, 20 border patrol police and army soldiers intercepted about 12 people walking through a jungle path near Baan Jarong village in Mae Hong Son province on Thursday night, said Police Capt. Nopakao Kokiwatin. The suspects opened fire after being challenged, triggering a brief exchange of gunfire with the security forces, Nopakao said, adding that the gunmen eluded capture in the darkness but a bullet-riddled body was discovered by the police on Friday. About 1 million baht (US$2,325) in cash was found in his backpack and an AK-47 rifle was lying next to him, Nopakao said. Some methamphetamine tablets were scattered in the area, leading police to believe that bags containing the drugs were split open by bullets during the gunfight, Nopakao said. Mae Hong Son province, about 650 kilometers (400 miles) north of Bangkok, borders Myanmar and is part of the infamous Golden Triangle region, one of the world's biggest drug producing areas where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet. Thai officials have long complained that drug lords in Myanmar, enjoying virtual autonomy from the central military government in Yangon, operate with impunity along the border areas and smuggle their consignments into Thailand. The Thai government has declared drugs public enemy No. 1 and suspected traffickers are routinely shot and killed by security forces in border areas. --------------------------------------------------------------------
Asia Tribune
Date : 2002-10-25 New ICFTU evidence of increasing forced labour in Burma and multinational enterprise involvement Brussels (ICFTU News): The release of political dissidents including the NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi combined with a purported opening of dialogue between the Burmese regime and opposition forces may seem to signify a softening stance from the notoriously brutal 15-year military dictatorship in Burma. Yet, in the run-up to the 21-22 October EU General Affairs Council?s 6-monthly Burma review, the ICFTU has released stark new evidence which contradicts this impression. The ICFTU represents 157 million workers in 225 affiliated organisations in 148 countries and territories. Massive forced labour is actually on the increase. Its uses include opium production and forced conscription into the army. Trade union groups are becoming the focus of violent attacks and foreign multinational investment is helping keep the junta afloat as the world?s governments look on. In evidence submitted to the United Nations? ILO, the ICFTU has transmitted allegations of connections between oil giant, TOTALFINA-ELF, the Burmese military and the use of forced labour. Trade Unionists Increasingly Targeted As Forced Labour Increases In Burma On 4 August 2002, a Burmese union official, U Saw Mya Than, was slain in cold blood by soldiers, having been forced to work as a porter for the army?s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) n° 588, led by one Major Myo Hlaing. This is just one incident revealed in 350 pages of condemnatory evidence sent this week to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). The evidence - covering October 2001 to September 2002 - reveals that, far from keeping its promise to eradicate the practice of forced labour, the military junta continues to use it on a massive scale, and is actually stepping up brutal operations against underground trade union structures. This is the first time the ICFTU has released details of underground trade union activities in Burma since it started investigating forced labour in the country over a decade ago. In its submission, the ICFTU denounces the military junta for attacking Federation of Trade Unions ? Burma (FTUB) facilities, as well as looting food stocks of internally displaced persons (IDPs), and burning down elementary schools, a hospital, and a workshop for disabled workers. The information reveals that in retribution for trade union activities, on 3 May, the military torched the Kawthoolei Education Workers? Union (KEWU) office in Kho-Kay, North Pa-, as well as a local school, attended by 300 students. On 6th August, army troops burnt down a 20-bed hospital, a disabled persons? workshop, another school and several houses. Over 500 IDPs who had taken shelter in the village were forced to escape across the border into Thailand. On 7 and 8 May, another 169 IDPs lost their homes when an army column attacked their village in Kho-Kay and looted 30 paddy barns. Among the victims whose houses had been destroyed were several KEWU members, including its President, M. Saw Lah Say. The story concerning the murder of U Saw Mya Than is particularly damning. Having been elected as ?headman? of his village, Kaleiktoat, in Ye Township (Mon State) he was forced to work as a porter for the army. When the army column came under attack from elements of the ethnic independence movement shortly before nightfall on 4th August 2002, Saw Mya Than was killed in cold blood as an act of retaliation by the very soldiers he was forced to work for. It is common practice in the Burmese military to recruit forced labourers as porters and ?human shields? who are often made to march at the front of battalions to ?protect? soldiers against ambushes- the role U Saw Mya Than was playing immediately before he was murdered. It is also clear that there is a direct link between Than?s trade union role and his murder. After having been trained as a human and trade union rights? specialist by the FTUB and FTUK in 2001, Than became well known in his area for his involvement with human rights and was thus elected as a headman. He was also widely known to be an official of the Kawthoolei Education Workers Union (KEWU). The ICFTU charges that this was why he was forcibly recruited as porter for LIB 588, since headmen, whose responsibility it is to satisfy the army?s endless demands for porters and other forced labourers, are normally not forcibly recruited themselves. The report also contains details of the training activities carried out deep inside Burmese territory by the FTUB and the Federation of Trade Unions Kawthoolei (FTUK) prior to the punitive attacks carried out by the military. The two organisations, which co-operate closely inside Burma, also maintain structures in neighbouring countries. Multinationals Profiting From Forced Labour: EU Members Must Ban Investment In Burma. Culpability for forced labour is not simply limited to the regime itself. Despite a high-profile international campaign led by the ICFTU, foreign multinationals continue to financially support the junta. The role of the French oil giant TOTALFINA-ELF, long involved in Burma, comes particularly under the spotlight in the new evidence. The information supplied to the ICFTU alleges that forced labour is being used for road building and other infrastructure work connected to TOTALFINA-ELF?s Yadana pipeline operation. According to the latest FTUB report on the subject, civilians in at least 16 villages in Burma?s Southern Tenasserim Division were forced to construct a highway between Kanbauk and Maung Ma Gan. Families were often forced to work for 20 days or more per month, each having to build a 20-meter long, 4-meter wide stretch of road in April 2002. They were told that this was not forced labour and that they would be duly paid. In May, villagers heard that TOTALFINA-ELF had paid the authorities for the road building and inquired with their village elders about the money. They were told that their complaint would be referred to ?higher authorities?, but are still waiting for the money months later. This issue is raised directly in the ICFTU report to the ILO. In the light of this evidence, the ICFTU is calling on the EU Council of Ministers to strengthen its Common Position on Burma at their 21-22 October Luxembourg meeting to include a ban on all European investment in the country. The ICFTU will shortly release new evidence of multinational investment in Burma, as union researchers uncover new examples of corporations profiting from one of the world?s most oppressive regimes. Multinationals such as TOTALFINA-ELF have long maintained that there is no link between their investments in Burma and the growing use of forced labour. This new evidence poses real questions about the connections between multinational enterprises, the Burmese military and the use of forced labour. The EU must act now,? said ICFTU Burma expert Janek Kuczkiewicz. Note to editors: Trade unions, in co-operation with the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD, have also been raising questions about the support provided for the junta from investment by multinational enterprises, including TOTALFINA-ELF, under the procedures of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. --------------------------------------------------------------------
Asia Tribune
Date : 2002-10-25 Myanmar oppositions parliament expands with new members represent Mon, Shan and Zomi ethnicities Yangon, Myanmar, October 25 - According to Agency reports - In a move that may test the tolerance of Myanmar's military regime, the country's pro-democracy movement said Thursday it is enlarging its self-proclaimed surrogate parliament ? an assembly the government considers illegal. The parliament to be expanded, the Committee Representing People's Parliament, or CRPP decided last Wednesday with new members represent the Mon, Shan and Zomi ethnicities. Wednesday. The Committee Representing People's Parliament, or CRPP, was established Sept. 16, 1998, by the opposition National League for Democracy party and other activists. The military reacted harshly, detaining dozens of would-be members of the proxy legislature. The National League for Democracy, headed by Aung San Suu Kyi, swept a 1990 general election but was not allowed to take power. The opposition party said in 1998 that the CRPP would perform the functions of a legislature until a formal parliament is convened, but its activities have been limited to low-profile meetings. The military has not set a date for opening a parliament. The CRPP said its members met Wednesday and decided to expand the group's membership from 10 to 13, giving more representation to ethnic minorities. Aye Tha Aung, who formerly represented four ethnic political parties, would now represent just his own, the Arakan League for Democracy, the CCRP said in a statement. The new members represent the Mon, Shan and Zomi ethnic groups, the statement said. Aye Tha Aung was detained in April 2000 and given a 21-year prison sentence, but he suffers from liver cancer and was released from prison in August on humanitarian grounds. Suu Kyi and the ruling junta have been holding closed-door political reconciliation talks since late 2000, but with little apparent progress aside from the release of several hundred political prisoners. More than 1,000 more are believed to remain in detention. Suu Kyi was released from 19 months of house arrest in May. --------------------------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Post - Friday
25 October 2002
Reporting for work has its dangers Press freedom is under threat everywhere around the world, with several countries of Asia going well beyond threats to actively repress this important, basic right. Reporters Without Borders has just published its first worldwide press freedom index, with Thailand ranking 65 of 139 countries based on their respect for press freedom, below Hong Kong, Taiwan and several African countries. Surprising among the Western democracies, the United States was placed below Costa Rica, and Italy was below Benin. The index also shows that such freedom is under threat everywhere, with the 20 bottom-ranked countries drawn from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. The situation is especially bad in Asia, which contains the five worst offenders: North Korea, China, Burma, Turkmenistan and Bhutan. The top end of the list shows that rich countries have no monopoly over press freedom. Costa Rica and Benin are examples of how the growth of a free press does not just depend on a country's material prosperity. The index was drawn up by asking journalists, researchers and legal experts to answer 50 questions about the whole range of press freedom violations (such as the murder or arrest of journalists, censorship, pressure, state monopolies in various fields, punishment of press law offences and regulation of the media). The final list includes 139 countries. The others were not included in the absence of reliable information. Among the worst-ranked countries, press freedom is a dead letter and independent newspapers do not exist. The only voice heard is of a media tightly controlled or monitored by the government. The very few independent journalists are constantly harassed, imprisoned or forced into exile by the authorities. The foreign media is banned or allowed in very small doses, always closely monitored. Right at the top of the list four countries share first place: Finland, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands. These European states scrupulously respect press freedom in their own countries and also speak up for it elsewhere _ for example, recently in Eritrea and Zimbabwe. The highest-scoring country outside Europe is Canada, at fifth. Some countries with democratically-elected governments are way down in the index; such as Colombia (114) and Bangladesh (118). In these countries, armed rebel movements, militias or political parties constantly endanger the lives of journalists. The state fails to do all it could to protect them and fight the immunity very often enjoyed by those responsible for such violence. The poor ranking of the United States (17) is mainly because of the number of journalists arrested or imprisoned there. Arrests are often because they refuse to reveal their sources in court. Also, since the Sept 11, 2001 attacks, several journalists have been arrested for crossing security lines at some official buildings. The highest-ranked country of the South is Costa Rica, in 15th position. This Central American nation is traditionally the continent's best performer. In February 2002, it ceased to be one of the 17 Latin American states that still give prison sentences to those found guilty of insulting public officials. The murder in July 2001 of journalist Parmenio Medina was an exception in the history of the Costa Rican media. Cuba, the last dictatorship in Latin America, came 134th and is the only country in the region where there is no diversity of news and journalists are routinely imprisoned. In Haiti (106), journalists are targeted by informal militias which have the backing of government. The 15 member countries of the European Union all score well except for Italy (40), where news diversity is under serious threat. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is turning up the pressure on the state-owned television stations, has named his henchmen to help to run them, and continues to combine his job as head of government with being boss of a privately-owned media group. France, in 11th place overall, comes only eighth among EU countries because of several disturbing measures endangering the protection of journalists' sources and because of police interrogation of a number of journalists in recent months. Among those states hoping to join the EU, Turkey (99) is very poorly placed. Despite the reform efforts of its government, aimed at easing entry into the EU, many journalists are still being given prison sentences and the media is regularly censored. Press freedom is especially under siege in the southeast. No Arab country is among the top 50. Lebanon only makes 56th place and the press freedom situation in the region is not encouraging. In Iraq (130) and Syria (126), the state uses every means to control the media and stifle any dissenting voice. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein especially has set his country's media the sole task of relaying his regime's propaganda. In Libya (129) and Tunisia (128), no criticism of Colonel Moammar Gadhafi or President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali is tolerated. The political weakening of the Palestinian Authority (82) means it has made few assaults on press freedom. However, Islamic fundamentalist opposition media have been closed, several attempts made to intimidate and attack local and foreign journalists and many subjects remain taboo. The aim is to convey a united image of the Palestinian people and to conceal aspects such a demonstrations of support for attacks on Israel. The attitude of Israel (92) towards press freedom is ambivalent. Despite strong pressure on state-owned TV and radio, the government respects the local media's freedom of _expression_. However, in the West Bank and Gaza, Reporters Without Borders has recorded a large number of violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which guarantees press freedom and which Israel has signed. Since the start of the Israeli army's incursions into Palestinian towns and cities in March 2002, many journalists have been roughed up, threatened, arrested, banned from moving around, targeted by gunfire, wounded or injured, had their press cards withdrawn or been deported. Eritrea (132) and Zimbabwe (122) are the most repressive countries of sub-Saharan Africa. The entire privately-owned press in Eritrea was banned in September 2001 and 18 journalists are currently imprisoned there. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is notable for his especially harsh attitude to the foreign and opposition media. At the other end of the spectrum, Benin is in 21st place despite being classified by the UN Development Programme as one of the world 15 poorest countries. This index measures the amount of freedom journalists and the media have in each country and the efforts made by governments to see that press freedom is respected. Reporters Without Borders sent out a questionnaire based on the main criteria for such freedom and asking for details of direct attacks on journalists (such as murders, imprisonment, physical assaults and threats) and on the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and pressure). It also asked about the degree of impunity enjoyed by those responsible for such violations. The questionnaire recorded the legal environment for the media (such as punishment for press offences, a state monopoly in some areas and the existence of a regulatory body) and the behaviour of the state towards the public media and the foreign press. It also noted the main threats to the free flow of information on the Internet. Reporters Without Borders has not just taken into account the excesses of the state but also those of armed militias, underground organisations and pressure groups that can be serious threats to press freedom. In addition, the state does not always use all its resources to fight the impunity the perpetrators of such violence very often have. The questionnaire was sent to people with a real knowledge of the press freedom situation in one or more countries, such as local journalists or foreign correspondents living in the country, researchers, legal experts, specialists on a region and the researchers of the Reporters Without Borders International Secretariat. This index of press freedom is a portrait of the situation based on events between September 2001 and October 2002. It does not take account of all human rights violations, only those that affect press freedom. --------------------------------------------------------------------
The Nation
Security tops Asean agenda Marisa Chimprabha Published on Oct 25, 2002 The meeting of Asean leaders in Cambodia next month will focus on international security concerns, particularly the threat of a US-Iraq war, North Korea's nuclear plants, and the Bali bomb attacks, an informed source said yesterday. Asean leaders need to discuss their positions on these issues and present them to the world community, the source said. Leaders from the 10 Asean countries will hold their annual meeting from November 3-5. The leaders of China, India, Japan and South Korea will also attend. The source said that North Korea's revelation of its nuclear capabilities had shocked the world community and Asean leaders would seek a joint position on the issue. The source added that the meeting would be a good opportunity for Asean to formulate a joint position on the US-Iraq crisis. The leaders will also discuss terrorism in the wake of the Bali attack that had struck at the heart of the region and drawn world attention to Southeast Asia. In an attempt to strengthen security cooperation, Asean and China will adopt a joint declaration on non-traditional security issues, including anti-terrorism. The declaration follows the joint Asean-US declaration on terrorism initiated after the September 11 attacks in the US last year. The joint declaration with China is more expansive than that with the US, the source said. "The declaration with the US focused on a single issue - terrorism - while the agreement with China has identified many security areas for cooperation, including human trafficking, economic and computer crimes, and drug trafficking." Apart from security issues, Asean and China will sign a memorandum of understanding on agricultural cooperation as well as the "Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation". The framework agreement will support the Asean-China Free Trade Area, to be established in 10 years, as well as other areas of economic cooperation. The summit will also be the first Asean meeting with the Indian leader, and will strengthen cooperation on economic and transportation issues with India. Asean members will also sign a tourism agreement to facilitate intra-Asean communication, transportation, human-resource development, marketing and the promotion of product quality. The source said the theme of the Phnom Penh summit was "Toward a Community of Southeast Asian Nations". Under the theme, Asean countries will help one another by bridging the development gap so that every Asean country can progress towards the same goal at equal speed. --------------------------------------------------------------------
New Straits Times
Three complete memorial walk M. Hamzah Jamaludin in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand THAILAND, Oct 24: THE expedition to retrace the infamous Death Railway was completed yesterday when the three walkers reached the Thai-Myanmar border near the Three Pagoda Pass about 11.30am. Ex-commandos Abu Bakar Hussain, 52, and Mansor Amir, 65, and 53-year-old Vietnam war veteran Laurie Sams, 53, from Australia began the last 15km of their walk about 7.30am. They were joined in the last kilometre by expedition co-ordinator Datuk Abdul Rahim Dahalan and head of secretariat, Datin Nordziah Mohamad Noor. The 20 people involved in the expedition later gathered at the Thai Customs checkpoint between Chedi Sam Ong (Three Pagoda Pass) and Pahayathonzu of Myanmar for a closing ceremony. They sang the Negaraku and recited a prayer at the brief ceremony. Abdul Rahim also recited the Ode to the Fallen in remembrance of those who had died in the construction of the railway. Sams then sang the Australian national anthem. Altogether, the three had walked 240km. The expedition took them to the rail line, which is still in use, between Nong Pladuk and Kanchanaburi, the Death March path between Kanchanaburi and Konyu, the abandoned original track between Konyu (Nam Tok station) and Thong Pha Toom, Sangkhlaburi and the Three Pagoda Pass. The team had used a boat to cross the Khao Laem dam. Abdul Rahim said the secretariat's next move was to set up a foundation for the labourers and their immediate family members. "We also plan to build a memorial for the victims ? both in Thailand and Malaysia," he said. Abdul Rahim also urged the Museums and Antiquity Department and local institutions of higher learning to conduct studies on the involvement of Malaysians in the construction of the Death Railway. "We have taken the first step and it is now their turn to take over." Abdul Rahim said the team planned to retrace the Death Railway route in Myanmar next year, which will start from the Three Pagoda Pass to Thanbyuzayat in Myanmar. It is estimated that around 16,000 prisoners of war died while working along the 415km line between Nong Pladuk and Thanbyuzayat and more than 80,000 labourers, including about 40,000 Malaysians, perished in the 12-month construction period. --------------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar to put 25.41 mln
dollars' gems on sale
YANGON, Oct. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- The 11th Mid-Year Myanmar Gems Emporium is due to start here on Oct. 26 with a total of 25.41 million US dollars' worth of locally-produced quality gems, jade, pearl and jewelry to be put on sale through competitive bidding, tender and at fixed prices. About 190 merchants of 80 companies from 12 countries and regions, mostly from China, China's Hong Kong and Thailand, are expected to attend the eight-day state-sponsored emporium, said Myanmar Deputy Minister of Mines U Myint Thein at a press briefing here Friday afternoon. Meanwhile, local gem traders are also invited for the bidding. Mid-year gems emporiums were introduced in October in addition to the annual ones since 1992 to boost the country's foreign exchange earning, while the annual events, usually in March, have been held for 39 times since 1964. At the last March annual event, over 20 million US dollars were fetched, 98.5 percent more than the previous year's annual emporium. The March emporium attracted a total of 485 merchants of 212 foreign companies from 11 countries and regions. Myanmar, a well-known producer of jade, ruby and sapphire in the world, has earned nearly 360 million US dollars from those gems emporiums of two kinds, according to official statistics. To develop the gems mining industry, Myanmar began enacting the new gemstone law in September 1995, allowing national entrepreneurs to mine, produce, transport and sell finished gemstone and manufactured jewelry at home and abroad. Since April 2000, the government has started mining of gems and jade in joint venture with 10 private companies under profit sharing basis. Official statistics show that the Myanmar government sector produced 31.464 tons of jade, 2.313 million carats of sapphire, 2. 008 million carats of ruby and 5.741 kilograms of pearl in the fiscal year 2001-02 which ended in March. There are three famous gem lands in Myanmar -- Mogok in Mandalay division, Mongshu in Shan state and Phakant in Kachin state. --------------------------------------------------------------------
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