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BURMA RELATED NEWS
- October 30, 2002.
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HEADLINES
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Reuters - U.N. envoy urges more aid
for Myanmar
Reuters - UN urges 70,000 Asian child
soldiers demobilised
Reuters - Southeast Asian bloc faces
crunch time on security
Dow Jones - INTERVIEW: Thai Energy
Min Aims To Cut Petroleum Imports
Reuters - U.N. says 70,000 child
soldiers fighting in E.Asia
Reuters - ASEAN-China free trade area
talks to start in 2003
Reuters - U.N. envoy urges more aid
for military-run Myanmar
AFP - Talks on ASEAN-China free trade
area to start next year
AFP - UN rights envoy urges
engagement with Myanmar before reforms
AP - U.N. envoy: Myanmar junta's
efforts to probe rape allegations insufficient
ABC online - UN envoy applauds
Australia's human rights program in Burma
Asia Tribune - Allow the presence of
the International Committee of the Red Cross in conflict areas in
Myanmar
UN Wire - MYANMAR: U.N. Envoy Visit
Set For Next Month
TI - Buddha still smiles in S
Asia
SHAN - Tripartite talks
remain unlikely, says UN expert
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday October 30, 5:00 PM
UPDATE 2-INTERVIEW-U.N. envoy urges more aid for Myanmar By Dominic Whiting BANGKOK, Oct 30 (Reuters) - A U.N. envoy to Myanmar urged the international community on Wednesday to put money into the military-ruled country despite allegations of rights abuses, including the forced conscription of child soldiers and rape by troops. United Nations human rights rapporteur Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said the international community should encourage political change in Myanmar by giving humanitarian aid and engaging the ruling junta more. But in return, Myanmar must allow an investigation into allegations of human rights violations and be prepared to work with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on humanitarian issues, he said. "For this cooperation...the (government) needs to have a professional, independent and credible investigation of human rights violations in border areas where you have conflict," Pinheiro told Reuters in an interview after an 11-day mission to Myanmar. "An important thing I did was to encourage the government to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to be present in the hot areas where you have armed conflict." But Pinheiro said he turned down a government invitation to visit Shan state in eastern Myanmar, citing a lack of time for a proper investigation into allegations by human rights groups that the army is using systematic rape and child soldiers in a war against ethnic minority separatist groups. Pinheiro said he planned to go to Shan State during future visits to Myanmar, the next being in February. Many Western countries, including the United States and the European Union, impose political and economic sanctions on Myanmar, a country diplomats say has been impoverished by decades of economic mismanagement. JUNTA NOT READY FOR TALKS But Pinheiro suggested isolating Myanmar was wrong. "It's important that the international community does not wait for the end of political transition before engaging," Pinheiro told a news conference. "Every political transition in the world is a process. Don't expect instant regime change in Myanmar." The military has raised hopes for political change in the last two years by releasing around 400 political prisoners and freeing Suu Kyi from 19 months of house arrest in May. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won national elections in 1990, but has never been allowed to rule by the military, which has held power for the last four decades. Pinheiro, who met Suu Kyi and powerful military intelligence chief Khin Nyunt during his visit, said the junta and the NLD were in regular contact but substantive talks on political change had not begun. He said the military appeared reluctant to work with Suu Kyi, even on humanitarian aid. Diplomats say NLD cooperation with the junta could persuade donors to open their wallets. "The NLD is ready to participate in monitoring and assessment of humanitarian aid," Pinheiro said. "But it seems to me the government is not yet prepared to have this engagement." Pinheiro called for the immediate, unconditional release of all political prisoners, who he thought numbered between 1,200 and 1,300, as the next step towards political change. He said treatment of the prisoners had improved since the Red Cross began prison visits nearly three years ago. But political repression, including sporadic arrests of pro-democracy activists, continued, he said. "There is no torture, no misconduct by agents in prison facilities," Pinheiro told Reuters. "But the basic political freedoms for political parties are limited. They don't have the right for instance to print materials, which will be very necessary in political dialogue." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday October 30, 1:00 PM
UN urges 70,000 Asian child soldiers demobilised BANGKOK, Oct 30 (Reuters) - The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) called on Wednesday for the demobilisation of 70,000 child soldiers, some as young as seven, fighting in armies across East Asia. UNICEF executive director Carol Bellamy said thousands of children were being recruited, many at gunpoint, into state and rebel armies in the region. Some were forced to witness or commit atrocities, including rape and murder, while others saw friends and family killed. "It is time for all parties to acknowledge this and work together with UNICEF and other organisations to bring an end to this profound abuse of children's rights," Bellamy said in a statement. She said a recent UNICEF study in Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines entitled "Adult Wars, Child Soldiers" suggested a quarter of the world's 300,000 under-age combatants were in armies in East Asia. The average age of recruitment of child soldiers was 13 years. The youngest child interviewed for the study was forcibly recruited at the age of seven. UNICEF wants global observance of a 1990 Convention on the Rights of the Child that set the legal minimum age for recruitment at 15. It also calls for the ratification of an optional protocol to the convention that outlaws the involvement of children under age 18 in hostilities. "UNICEF appeals to every country in this region and in the world to make ratification and implementation of this protocol a priority," Bellamy said. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday October 30, 12:38 PM
Southeast Asian bloc faces crunch time on security By Dan Eaton BANGKOK (Reuters) - "How many senior officials does it take to change a light bulb? Ten -- to reach a consensus that the room is dark." The quip sounds appropriate for a stand-up comedian, but it comes from a top Thai diplomat turned member of parliament taking jabs at Southeast Asia's only regional mechanism for tackling security and economic challenges. Following the blasts on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is facing one of its biggest security crises yet, as it wakes up to the threat of Muslim militancy and its economic impact. Southeast Asian leaders meet in Cambodia next week under mounting pressure to take action as country after country issues security warnings to its nationals in the region. Having failed to heed repeated warnings militants were moving into the region as they fled Afghanistan before the steamroller of U.S.-led forces, the regional grouping founded in 1967 must take action or become irrelevant, analysts say. Kobsak Chutikul, an outspoken former director of the Thai foreign ministry's economic affairs department and now a member of parliament, twists the knife. GROWING MILITANCY "How many ministers does it take to change a light bulb? None -- they just redefined darkness as an ASEAN principle," he says, recalling comments he made to reporters after a meeting of the regional grouping in Bangkok in 2000. "Since then nothing has changed, except maybe for the worse," he says. Growing militancy is the main threat to the regional grouping that incorporates Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. But it may also be its salvation, say analysts. "This really is a crunch time, but the question is: Do the leaderships understand that, and are they able to galvanise their systems to make things happen?" says Ross Babbage of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre in Canberra. "An enormous amount of credibility could be won this time round if they get ahead of the pack on security." The risk, if they fumble, is unthinkable. "Foreign investment has already slowed dramatically, but now the chance of attracting more is slim, to put it politely," says Babbage. The subregion's share of total foreign direct investment (FDI) in developing Asia shrank from over 30 percent in the mid-1990s to 10 percent in 2000 as a result of the Asian economic crisis and rising competition from China. The threat of militant violence could hit FDI even harder. LEADERSHIP VACUUM "Unless ASEAN can convince people they are serious, the perception will be Southeast Asia is not safe. Whatever the reality, investors and tourists will vote with their feet," says David Capie at the University of British Columbia in Canada. ASEAN must shake off its image as a talking-shop, gained through decades of decision-making by consensus, made more difficult by expansion to include communist Vietnam and Laos, authoritarian Cambodia and military-run Myanmar in the 1990s. Analysts say there is a leadership vacuum in the region which, since Bali, is being eyed by U.S. ally Australia. Canberra took the lead on anti-terror issues in Mexico at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit last week. Southeast Asia can regain relevance only by taking firm action against militancy, not by issuing its usual bland statements, analysts say. That means improving intelligence sharing, tightening border controls, and making firm commitments to clamp down on local and foreign militants. The positive thing is that the pressure is mounting, says Panitan Wattanyagorn, a former adviser on security to Thailand's former prime minister. "For ASEAN it is too late to diffuse the bomb. It's already gone off, not in the back yard but inside the house," he says. "Now the world won't sit down with them and discuss other economic issues until the security issue is taken care of." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday October 30, 3:16 PM
INTERVIEW: Thai Energy Min Aims To Cut Petroleum Imports By Supunnabul Suwannakij - Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES BANGKOK (Dow Jones)--Thailand's new Energy Minister, Phongthep Thepkanjana, says his main policy aim is to reduce the country's dependence on imported petroleum products. "The ministry's main policies are to boost the supply of energy from domestic sources and promote efficient use of energy. This will help reduce heavy expenditures on imported petroleum products," Phongthep told Dow Jones Newswires in a recent interview. Thailand's annual imports of petroleum products are worth around 300 billion baht ($1=THB43.501), or about 38% of the country's total energy costs at THB800 billion a year, he said. Phongthep was named head of the new ministry in early October, when it was spun off from the old industry ministry under bureaucratic reform legislation. "We need to be self reliant, using our own resources as much as we can in a bid to bring down imports," he said. Estimates of possible reductions in import value are being reviewed by the agencies involved. With abundant natural gas from domestic sources, the ministry plans to promote the use of clean-burning natural gas in the transportation sector, helping to reduce air pollution in addition to slashing oil imports, Phongthep said. Thai natural gas consumption this year is expected to average about 2.6 billion cubic feet per day, of which 900 million cubic feet comes from Myanmar, and the remainder from the Gulf of Thailand. Thailand's natural gas resources are estimated to be around 55 trillion cubic feet. The new minister is also encouraging usage of renewable energy such as biomass, solar energy and hydro energy. Measures to conserve energy are planned for the manufacturing, transportation and service sectors as well as in residential use. To safeguard secure energy supplies in the long run, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plans to build a trans-Asean gas pipeline and power grid projects. The 10 members of Asean plan to complete both the regional gas pipeline and power grids by 2020. Among existing cross-border connections are a gas pipeline between Thailand and Myanmar and electricity connections between Thailand and Laos. All 10 countries have national electricity grids, but some haven't yet developed gas infrastructure. Asean comprises Cambodia, Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. "We have to ensure that energy supply is adequate for emergency needs in the event of external factors in the near term, and to ensure sufficient energy procurement to meet increasing energy demand in the future," Phongthep said. Under the latest projections, Thailand's electricity consumption will rise 6.3% a year over the next 10 years. Average electricity demand is currently around 16,600 megawatts annually Power Sector Reform Plans To Be Concluded In Nov Another key task facing the ministry is development of plans to reform the domestic electricity supply industry, liberalizing the sector to increase private sector participation. A new structure of power generation, transmission and distribution is under review, and should be finalized in November, Phongthep said. "The reform is to enhance the security of the power system, to ensure the adequacy of power supply, and to create fair prices for consumers," Phongthep said. The design of the new system needs to be finalized so that a draft Energy Industry Act can be proposed to Parliament early next year. The establishment of the new ministry has streamlined planning, development and management processes, and should help to accelerate implementation of policies, Phongthep said. One possible form of liberalization would be to adopt a third-party grid access system, under which independent power producers can sell electricity directly to consumers using the national grid, he said. Currently, producers are obliged to sell electricity to the state Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, which controls the national grid. The future roles of EGAT, the Provincial Electricity Authority and Metropolitan Electricity Authority under the planned liberalization of the power industry must also be concluded soon. The three agencies are scheduled for partial privatization and listings on the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 2004. "So far, the privatization of three power agencies is on schedule for 2004. However, we will need to review the timeframe and market conditions again when the time for privatization nears," Phongthep said. The new energy ministry is responsible for all state-run agencies related to energy including the three electricity agencies and oil and gas conglomerate PTT PCL (H.PTX). PTT is the former Petroleum Authority of Thailand, which
was partially privatized in late 2001.
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday October 30, 3:52 PM
U.N. says 70,000 child soldiers fighting in E.Asia By Dan Eaton BANGKOK (Reuters) - The United Nations called on Wednesday for the demobilisation of some 70,000 child soldiers, some as young as seven, fighting in armies and militant groups across East Asia. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) executive director Carol Bellamy said thousands of children were being recruited in the region, many at gunpoint, and enduring horrific physical and psychological abuse. "They are trained to commit violence. They become violators themselves and violent violators," Bellamy told reporters after releasing a UNICEF report titled "Adult Wars, Child Soldiers". "If they are girls...they usually are taken to provide sex at very young ages," she said. Some were forced to witness or commit atrocities, including rape and murder, while others saw friends and family killed. Bellamy said that while most people thought of Africa when considering the issue, about a quarter of the world's estimated 300,000 child soldiers were fighting in East Asia. "What is important to realise is how much Asia is conflict-ridden. It isn't just the peaceful environment people might think of," she said. "It is time for all parties to acknowledge this and work together with UNICEF and other organisations to bring an end to this profound abuse of children's rights." The UNICEF study in Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines said the average age of recruitment of child soldiers was 13 years. The youngest child of the 69 interviewed for the study was forcibly recruited at the age of seven. MYANMAR IN SPOTLIGHT UNICEF wants global observance of a 1990 Convention on the Rights of the Child that set the legal minimum age for recruitment at 15. It also calls for the ratification of an optional protocol to the convention that outlaws the involvement of children under age 18 in hostilities. Bellamy said that many of the groups recruiting children in East Asia were not government armies but separatist and militant groups. "I think the term 'terrorism' is being used over and over again. We don't have a definition for that. What we know is that there are groups fighting other groups," she said. Myanmar has recently come under the spotlight due to a Human Rights Watch report saying as many as 70,000 child soldiers served there alone. "We have been a bit conservative on our side," said Bellamy. "Whatever the overall number, it's large." Many Western countries have imposed sanctions on Myanmar's military government, alleging widespread human rights abuses, including forced labour and the recruitment of child soldiers. Bellamy said Myanmar refused to allow investigators into the country for the UNICEF report, and interviews with children from its armed forces and those of ethnic rebels fighting the junta were conducted on the Thai border. Myanmar issued a statement on Wednesday denying the presence of any child soldiers in its armed forces. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday October 30, 7:30 PM
ASEAN-China free trade area talks to start in 2003 JAKARTA (Reuters) - Negotiations for a Southeast Asia-China free trade area with a potential combined market of 1.7 billion people will start next year, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said on Wednesday. ASEAN Secretary General Rodolfo Severino said the leaders of the 10-member ASEAN and China will sign a framework agreement on comprehensive economic cooperation between ASEAN and China during the group's summit in Cambodia on November 4. The agreement would commit the parties to negotiate the creation of an ASEAN-China Free Trade Area within 10 years and pave the way for the elimination of tariffs and non-tariffs barriers on trade in goods, and create an open and competitive investment regime, an ASEAN statement said. "With a deepened AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area) and the creation of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area, companies operating in ASEAN would have 1.7 billion consumers, with a combined gross domestic product of $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion as their potential market," the statement quoted Severino as saying. The agreement will also call for a provision that involves the quick reduction of tariffs on a number of goods to take effect within a targeted date of three years from July 1, 2003 when the pact comes into force. Under AFTA, six of ASEAN's more established members have pledged to cut tariffs on most goods traded within the region to between zero and five percent. Most of the planned reductions are already in place. "The ASEAN market has to approach the level of integration of China's market if the ASEAN economy is to have a chance of competing for investments and for markets in terms of efficiency, productivity and costs," Severino said. China has been getting the lion's share of foreign direct investments into Asia at the expense of Southeast Asia as investors take advantage of its huge potential market of one billion people, experts say. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday October 30, 12:05 PM
U.N. envoy urges more aid for military-run Myanmar By Dominic Whiting BANGKOK, Oct 30 (Reuters) - A U.N. envoy to Myanmar urged the international community to put money into the military-ruled country despite allegations of rights abuses, including forced conscription of child soldiers and use of rape by the army. United Nations human rights rapporteur Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said the international community should encourage political change in Myanmar by giving humanitarian aid and engaging more with the ruling generals. Many Western countries, including the United States and the European Union, maintain political and economic sanctions on Myanmar, a country diplomats say has been impoverished by decades of economic mismanagement. "It's important that the international community does not wait for the end of political transition before engaging," Pinheiro told a news conference in Bangkok on Wednesday after ending an 11-day visit to Myanmar. He praised an Australian-funded programme to train Myanmar officials on human rights. "I don't know any country where the state apparatus completely transformed after political transition. You have the same officials, the same judges," he said. "Every political transition in the world is a process. Don't expect instant regime change in Myanmar." JUNTA NOT READY FOR TALKS The military has raised hopes for political change in the last two years by freeing about 400 political prisoners, most notably releasing pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from 19 months of house arrest in May. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won national elections in 1990, but has never been allowed to rule by the military, which has held on to power for the last four decades. Pinheiro, who met Suu Kyi and powerful military intelligence chief Khin Nyunt during his visit, said the junta and the NLD were in regular contact but substantive talks on political change had not begun. He said the military appeared reluctant to work with Suu Kyi, even on humanitarian aid issues. Diplomats say NLD cooperation with the junta could persuade donors to open their wallets. "The NLD is ready to participate in monitoring and assessment of humanitarian aid," Pinheiro said. "But it seems to me the government is not yet prepared to have this engagement." Pinheiro said he called for the immediate, unconditional release of all political prisoners, who he thought numbered between 1,200 and 1,300. "It's a mantra. I've repeated it since my first visit -- the unconditional release of prisoners." Pinheiro said he turned down a government invitation to visit Shan state in eastern Myanmar, citing a lack of time for a proper investigation into allegations by human rights groups that the army is using systematic rape and child soldiers in a war against ethnic minority separatist groups. Pinheiro plans to return to Myanmar in February. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday October 30, 3:25 PM
Talks on ASEAN-China free trade area to start next year (AFP) - Negotiations for a Southeast Asia-China free trade area with a potential combined market of 1.7 billion people will start next year, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said. ASEAN secretary general Rodolfo Severino said Wednesday that Southeast Asian leaders will sign an agreement on comprehensive economic cooperation between ASEAN and China during the grouping's summit in Cambodia on November 4. The agreement would lead to the creation of an ASEAN-China free trade area within 10 years and pave the way for the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers on trade in goods, ASEAN said in a statement. "With a deepened AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area) and the creation of the ASEAN-China free trade area, companies operating in ASEAN would have 1.7 billion consumers, with a combined gross domestic product of 1.5 trillion dollars to two trillion dollars as their potential market," Severino said in the statement. Under the AFTA, which came into force this year, six of ASEAN's more established members have cut tariffs on most goods traded within the region to between zero and five percent. Newer members Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam have until 2005 to follow suit. Severino said Southeast Asian economic integration was vital if the region was to compete globally. "The ASEAN market has to approach the level of integration of China's market if the ASEAN economy is to have a chance of competing for investments and for markets in terms of efficiency, productivity and cost," he said. China has been getting the lion's share of foreign direct investments into Asia at the expense of Southeast Asia as investors take advantage of the regional giant's potential market of more than one billion people. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. -------------------------------------------------------------------- UN rights envoy urges
engagement with Myanmar before reforms
BANGKOK, Oct 30 (AFP) - UN human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro Wednesday urged the international community to engage with Myanmar before the junta introduces democratic reforms, saying it was "absurd" to wait. "I think it is very important that the international community and international bodies or member states do not wait until the end of the political transition to become engaged. This is absurd," he told reporters. Pinheiro, a Brazilian academic who has just completed his fourth visit to Myanmar, said he knew of no transition in history where foreign governments waited for reforms before engaging with the country's people. "The population cannot be punished because of problems in terms of, for instance, social policy," he said. Western governments have led the push for Myanmar to be completely isolated until its military government makes concessions to the democratic opposition led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. But other nations like Japan and Australia have forged what they see as a compromise position, involving limited engagement with the reclusive junta which they say has a better chance of achieving change in the country. Pinheiro backed a controversial Australian initiative to conduct human rights training courses for civil servants in Myanmar which Aung San Suu Kyi and other Western diplomats in Yangon have derided as a waste of time. "I know that in the international community many are not enthusiastic about that," he said. "My assessment is that if Australia is ready to continue these exercises I think that's useful." The envoy said that even when democracy was introduced, many of the bureaucrats currently running the country as well as judges, prosecutors and army officials, would stay in place. "I don't understand the expectation that Myanmar would be different, that you would have a brand new state apparatus, brand new people, brand new minds that will be able to deal with human rights issues," he said. "(The courses) are useful and it doesn't harm at all the concerns, the preoccupations, the commitment of the UN and the member states' thoughts on democratic transition and the protection of human rights in Myanmar." -------------------------------------------------------------------- U.N. envoy: Myanmar junta's
efforts to probe rape allegations insufficient
Wed Oct 30,12:50 AM ET By DANIEL LOVERING, Associated Press Writer BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - A United Nations human rights envoy on Wednesday criticized Myanmar's junta for not making sufficient efforts to verify allegations that its soldiers used rape as a weapon of war against ethnic Shan women. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, who ended a 12-day mission to Myanmar on Oct. 28, told reporters in Bangkok that he has urged the country's military government to allow independent investigations into the alleged abuses. He said he told authorities that their efforts so far are "not sufficient, that allegations are not to be denied, allegations are to be investigated and prosecuted." "I expressed to the government that an assessment of these violations or any other kind of violation in the areas of military conflict needs to have independent evidence," he said. The Shan are an ethnic minority living in Myanmar's northeast, and are fighting for autonomy. Earlier this year, two Shan human rights groups accused Myanmar soldiers of raping its women. The government denied the allegations and invited Pinheiro to investigate independently. However, Pinheiro refused to travel to Shan State, saying the little time he had would not allow a thorough investigation. But he held other intensive meetings with judicial and security officials and political prisoners among others. Pinheiro said his team was unable "to perform a credible assessment" of the alleged sexual abuses of the Shan. He repeated earlier calls for the Red Cross to be allowed to have a permanent role in Myanmar's conflict zones, where the military is battling ethnic insurgents and reports of alleged abuses have repeatedly surfaced. He said he was pleased that pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been allowed to travel freely around the country since her release in May after 19 months under house arrest. Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel peace laureate, has held reconciliation talks with the junta since October, 2000 but little progress has been reported. The government refuses to hand over power to Suu Kyi's party, although it won the 1990 general elections. Since the start of the reconciliation process, a few hundred dissidents have been released. The number of political prisoners is now believed to be "between 1,200 and 1,300," Pinheiro said, noting that he had requested official figures and would elaborate further during his address to the U.N. General Assembly on Nov. 6. "Let's be objective about the numbers. There are many other countries that have hundreds of thousands of prisoners," Pinheiro said. Still, he said he called for the unconditional release of political prisoners as a prelude to political transition, adding that the regime acknowledged "without denial" that scores of dissidents languished in its prisons. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 30/10/2002 22:47:51 |
ABC Radio Australia News
UN envoy applauds Australia's human rights program in Burma Australia's policy of engagement with the military regime in Burma has won the strong backing of the United Nations Human Rights envoy to the country. Our South-East Asia correspondent Peter Lloyd says Australia has been running human rights training workshops for Burmese governments officials for the past 18 months. The program has been dismissed by democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi as a waste of time, but the UN's Burma human rights envoy Paolo Sergio Pinherio says the workshops are a positive step. The Brazilian diplomat has urged the rest of the international community to follow Australia's lead in engagement with Burma, saying it is absurd to wait until after transition to democracy. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Asia Tribune
Date : 2002-10-30 Allow the presence of the International Committee of the Red Cross in conflict areas in Myanmar Geneva October 30: Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation in Myanmar, completed his third fact-finding mission to that country. During the visit, which started on 17 October, the Special Rapporteur met in Yangon with the Secretary of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC); the Foreign Minister and his Deputy; the Home Minister; the head of Department of the Office of the Military Intelligence; the Chief of the Bureau of Special Investigation; the Directors-General of the Prisons and the Police Departments; the Chiefs of the Special Branch and the Criminal Investigation Departments; and members of the governmental Human Rights Committee. Pinheiro visited the Insein Central Prison, where he interviewed confidentially 17 prisoners, among them recent political prisoners and those whom he had met during his previous visit in February 2002. He also had meetings with the General Secretary and members of the Central Executive Committee of the National League for Democracy (NLD), representatives of ethnic and other political parties, the United Nations country team, the diplomatic community, international civil society organizations, international and local business community, as well as religious leaders and recently released political prisoners. The Special Rapporteur traveled to Hpa-an (capital) and Kya-in-seikkyi township in Kayin (Karen) State from 23 to 25 October, where he met with local civilian and military authorities and visited the State court and district and township level police offices, including lock-ups. He also met with representatives of two ceasefire groups and with Buddhist and Christian religious leaders. On his way to Yangon, the Special Rapporteur stopped in Mawlawmyane, capital of Mon State, where he met with the Commander of the South-Eastern Command responsible for Mon and Kayin States and visited the local NLD office. Finally, on 27 October, the Special Rapporteur traveled to Bagodivision to visit Thayarwaddy prison, where he interviewed a dozen prisoners. During this mission, the Special Rapporteur looked at, among other issues, the possibility of investigating allegations of widespread human rights violations attributed to the military and armed groups operating in ethnic minority areas, including those relating to sexual violence in Shan State. In this context, he also began to look into the allegations of forced conscription of child soldiers. The Special Rapporteur declined an invitation to travel to Shan State as a short visit would have been inappropriate to conduct a comprehensive assessment. Rather, he proposed to the SPDC to explore several options for credible investigation of these allegations. As an immediate step, the Special Rapporteur has urged the SPDC to consider allowing an adequate presence of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in all conflict areas of the country. The ICRC could then assess the humanitarian situation on an ongoing basis, report confidentially to the authorities and work out with them appropriate measures to ensure the security and protection of the civilian population wherever needed. On his way to Myanmar, Pinheiro stopped in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to have consultations with the Special Envoy of the Secretary General to Myanmar, Razali Ismail. The Special Rapporteur said before leaving Yangon on 28 October that, as in the past, he had received full cooperation from the Myanmar Government. He will introduce an interim report and present his observations from this mission to the United Nations General Assembly on 6 November 2002. -------------------------------------------------------------------- UN Wire - Oct. 29,
2002
MYANMAR: U.N. Envoy Visit Set For Next Month By Steve Hirsch, UN Wire WASHINGTON -- U.N. special envoy to Myanmar Razali Ismail will visit the country beginning Nov. 12, sources confirmed today. The visit was first reported this morning by the BBC. Razali's planned trip closely follows a visit just completed by Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the U.N. special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar. Razali was last in Myanmar in August. According to sources contacted by UN Wire, it is not clear how long Razali's visit will last. He is expected to meet with Myanmar officials as well as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. -------------------------------------------------------------------- The Times of India -
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2002
Buddha still smiles in S Asia SHYAM PAREKH AHMEDABAD: A Confucian by birth, Jn Hanglien of Vietnam gave up her faith for Buddhism, at the tender age of 14 years. Since the past eight years, India is her home, where she studies, travels and seeks spiritual solace. Reversing the historic trend of Indian Buddhist monks going to South Asia via the Silk Route and spreading Buddhism, is the new generation of South Asian monks. That smile of Buddha which once enticed the entire South Asia, still continues to fascinate the generation Y from Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. However, in the 21st century they are coming to India not just to study like their ancestors did, but also to ?give back to India what India gave them ? Buddhism.? A delegation of monks from several countries was in the city last week to administer ?Dhamma Diksha? and initiate nearly a thousand persons into Buddhism. What attracts the globe-trotting, nirvana and spiritual seekers to Buddhism? Bhikhuni Jn Hanglien, a 22-year-old nun from the capital of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh city, embraced Buddhism eight years ago. ?In my country, over 85 per cent of the population is Buddhist. But I belonged to a Confucian family and never had an occasion to know Buddhism. It was my brother who was interested in Buddhism who gave me some books which attracted me to this religion,? she says her story. ?Buddha helped poor and sick people. I stayed with my rich grandparents for years but was never happy. After becoming a Buddhist nun, I did not like the stay in the nunnery so I decided to study and came to India,? she recollects. Staying in India ever since, she has completed a doctorate in Buddhist studies and is pursuing yet another doctorate in Buddhist philosophy at Delhi University. She is quite contended with a US dollar 75 per month scholarship that helps her lead a simple life. Similar is the story of Bhikhu Silakkhandha, a Myanmarese monk who is also in early 20s. A monk since eight years, pursuit of Buddhism brought him to Bodh Gaya some two years ago. ?I studied till Inter-mediate and accepted Buddhism because I liked its philosophy,? says the monk from Yangon, the Myanmar capital. Highly impressed with the Indian society, the monk has decided to pursue Buddhist studies further, before going back home. However, the story of the spiritual seeker Ven Ouk Sophearin from Cambodian capital Phnom Penh is different. ?It was real freedom that attracted me to Buddhism. The ultimate reality is what I want to know and am sure that Buddhism will show that,? he said. He has been a monk since last 12 years and reached the level of being a Thera, a teacher of Budhdist philosophy. However, he is still pursuing Buddhist studies at Nalanda University and keeps visitng Buddhist pilgrimages and Vipassana centres. Talking about the philosophy of Buddhism he says, ?In fact, it is same as that of other Indian religions like Hinduism and Jainism. We all share the concept of Arihant, the enlightenment. However, the forms are different.? History surely seems to have come a full circle. TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2002 12:49:06 AM ] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Shan Herald Agency for
News
No: 10 - 12 30 September 2002 National Reconciliation Tripartite talks remain unlikely, says UN expert Burma is still far away from the long-awaited Tripartite Dialogue, according to Sergio Paulo Pinheiro, who just completed his 12-day fact finding trip to Burma on Monday, 28 October. "I don't mean to discourage (the people of Burma)", said the grizzled Brazilian yesterday after his arrival in Thailand. "But that's the way it is" He added that Razali Ismail, UN-Special envoy, whom he had met in Malaysia on his way to Rangoon, "has tried much to put the ethnic parties on board, but has been unsuccessful so far. It is not easy to convince the generals that it is in their interests to do so." But the first thing, he maintained, was "to break the deadlock." Nearly 6 months after the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from custody, an event hailed by the military rulers as "a new page", substantive talks has yet to kick off, prompting Alternative Asean, a Bangkok-based NGO, to dub it as "New page, Old story." On License to Rape, a report published by Shan women-in-exile that charges Rangoon of using sexual violation as a tool of war against non-Burman states, his press-communique states the reason for his refusal to visit the Shan State: a short visit would be in appropriate to conduct a comprehensive assessment. Rather he proposed to the SPDC to explore several options for credible investigation of these allegations." The statement also says he had urged Rangoon to allow "an adequate presence" of the Red Cross in all conflict areas of the country. Pinheiro will be submitting his interim report and present his observations from this mission to the UN General Assembly on 6 November. Update No: 10 - 11 27 October 2002 70 merit-makers blown to death in southern Shan State, We have been trying to find more about the news for sometime since we first heard it soon after it happened. The first source was too much in a hurry to fetch his relations along the border and go back. What our stringer, who was still learning the ropes, got from him was too sketchy to write a report. Later, we met two women, from the same town, separately. One knew about it but her relatives were not involved. The other lost her uncle, Heng Yong and cousin, Awng Pay and was in tears when she related the event to our stringer, this time the experienced one. Unfortunately, she had been living in Fang for sometime and learned about it from another cousin, who came to pick her up and other relatives for the religious services. Since then, we have been trying to contact people inside, especially Taunggyi, since there is no direct phone access to Mongnai. Our contact whose wife is a Mongnai native said they had not heard about it "but the Burmese are killing our people everywhere." -------------------------------------------------------------------- |