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BURMA RELATED NEWS
- November 03, 2002.
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HEADLINES
------------------------------------------------------------------------ AFP - Historic ASEAN-India summit to
usher in new security, trade ties
AFP - ASEAN leaders to call for UN
resolution to US-Iraq crisis
AFP - Hostage drama distracts
Cambodia ahead of ASEAN summit
AP - Activists tell ASEAN to wakeup
to China's plans
AP - China, Southeast Asian nations
seen moving ahead on free trade
AP - Myanmar gems fair attains record
sales
Reuters - Asian leaders to sign
anti-terror pact at summit
Reuters - Shadow of Bali attack hangs
over Southeast Asia summit
Kyodo News - Myanmar delegation
leaves for ASEAN summit
FCO(UK) - MIKE O'BRIEN'S TALKS WITH
LEADER OF BURMESE DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT
Bkk Post - Probe into letter bombs at
Burma missions
Xinhuanet - Myanmar-ASEAN members
trade down in first half of 2002
Asia Tribune - The
National Council for Burma denies of any involvement in the recent Letter Bomb
threats.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sunday November 3, 2:38 PM
Historic ASEAN-India summit to ushr in new security, trade ties PHNOM PENH, Nov 3 (AFP) - Southeast Asian leaders will hold a
ground-breaking summit with India after 10 years of dialogue, in a move
officials say will usher in a new era of security and trade
relations. Leaders will Tuesday forge new commitments to battle terrorism and adopt plans to create a Regional Trade and Investment Area (RTIA) with 1.5 billion consumers and a combined gross national product of 1.7 trillion dollars, officials said. India's Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will stress the need to cooperate in the fight against terrorism, Indian foreign ministry secretary Rajendra Abhyankar told AFP. "Terrorism is something that does not respect national boundaries. We look forward to close cooperation and maybe even a joint declaration at some stage on combating terrorism," he said. "But the basic theme of the summit is on how to strengthen economic cooperation, to develop new ways of doing business and help in the integration of the four newer ASEAN members -- Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam." India became an ASEAN sectoral dialogue partner in 1992 and was elevated to a full dialogue partner three years later, meaning the nations could hold talks at ministerial level. This week's summit is the first between ASEAN and Indian leaders. India is also a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), Asia's top body on security issues. ASEAN already holds annual summits with China, Japan and South Korea. Officials say there are untapped trade and investment opportunities between ASEAN and India, which is keen to woo Southeast Asian capital for its infrastructure projects as it competes with emerging giant China. Total ASEAN-India trade rose 30 percent year-on-year to 9.88 billion dollars in 2001, but ASEAN accounts for only eight percent of India's total trade while India's share in ASEAN's total trade is less than two percent. ASEAN's investment in India is also low at about two billion dollars. Abhyankar said Vajpayee and ASEAN leaders were expected to endorse plans set by their economic ministers last month to create the ASEAN-India RTIA. "I think it will be endorsed at this summit," he said. "There is great potential. We are talking about an Indian market of 300 million middle-class Indians, which is the size of the European Union, and ASEAN's half-a-billion citizens." A taskforce has been set up to draw up a draft framework and to study if it would be in the form of a preferential or free-trade pact, he said. They will present a report to the next ASEAN-India economic ministers meeting in Phnom Penh in October 2003. India is separately negotiating a free-trade pact with Singapore and Thailand, he added. According to a draft of an ASEAN-India joint statement obtained by AFP, the two parties will agree to develop concrete programs to jointly fight terrorism, piracy, drug- and people-trafficking, arms-smuggling, money-laundering, economic crime and cybercrime. They also pledged to intensify cooperation in the ARF "including combating terrorism comprehensively to make the region a safer place for all". India "expressed its readiness to consider early granting of preferential tariff treatment" to the four poorer ASEAN members, the draft said. Vajpayee arrives Monday for the summit and leaves Wednesday for a three-day visit to Laos where he is expected to offer soft loans for infrastructure development, Indian officials said. India provided a similar credit line to Cambodia during his visit here in April. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sunday November 3, 5:00 PM
ASEAN leaders to call for UN
resolution to US-Iraq crisis
PHNOM PENH, Nov 3 (AFP) - Southeast Asian leaders will call at their annual summit this week for a United Nations resolution based on diplomacy and dialogue to avert a US-led war against Iraq, a Malaysian minister said Sunday. Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the final statement on Iraq was still being discussed but was likely to be incorporated in a statement at the end of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) two-day summit on Tuesday. "We would like to avoid a war from happening. The dialogue and diplomacy approach must be used to find a solution to Iraq's problem and the multilateral process must be followed," he told reporters. "We want the United Nations Security Council to be given the primary role to determine the inspection as well as the consequences, and for the inspection to be reported back to the UN Security Council." International business, shipping and insurance costs have risen due to fears of war and Syed Hamid warned that the world economy would be sent into a tailspin if war broke out. US President George W. Bush has stepped up pressure for a new British-backed UN resolution to disarm Iraq, but is facing opposition from fellow UN Security Council permanent members China, France and Russia. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said Sunday his nation was ready to face up to any US military campaign, warning American and British soldiers that it would not be a cakewalk. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hostage drama distracts
Cambodia ahead of ASEAN summit PHNOM PENH, Nov 3 (AFP) - A hostage crisis in a remote former Khmer Rouge stronghold in Cambodia drew vital police resources away from a massive security blitz in the capital Sunday on the eve of an international summit. As leaders from 15 nations began gathering in Phnom Penh for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, the nation's top policeman was forced to leave the city and fly more than 400 kilometres (240 miles) to the hostage scene. One man was killed and at least six others were taken hostage when four gunmen raided a hospital clinic in northwest Banteay Meanchey province near dusk Saturday, witnesses said. News of the drama did not break for almost 24 hours, shortly after which 100 elite police and the kidnappers, armed with assault rifles, exchanged gunfire. Cambodian authorities confirmed Sunday the hostage drama was ongoing and vowed to end it quickly, with many regional leaders already in Phnom Penh for the two-day summit that was to begin Monday. "We will try and solve the problem today," a senior police official from Cambodia's Interior Ministry told AFP. A local politician later said one of the hostage takers, whose identities were not known, was arrested Sunday night. Sources told AFP the nation's top policeman, General Sao Sokha, was dispatched to Russea Kroak, a village in an area that was a former Khmer Rouge stronghold. More than 1.7 million people died during the Khmer Rouge's brutal four-year reign that ended in 1979 and their resistance movement once out of power dragged on into the 1990s. Witnesses and police said the siege began when two gunmen entered the clinic and demanded cash. A maid then snuck out and alerted police, who rushed to the scene. The hostage drama embarrassed the government just when their security operations were reaching a peak for the ASEAN summit. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was one of the international leaders due to fly into Cambodia on Sunday as the drama was unfolding, with his Chinese and Malaysian counterparts, Zhu Rongji and Mahathir Mohamad, already here. Terrorism and regional security are due to figure prominently atop the agenda at the summit, following a recent spate of terrorist attacks in Indonesia and the Philippines that have left more than 200 people dead. Thailand announced here Sunday it would join a regional anti-terrorism pact that already encompasses Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Cambodia. Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said the grouping would focus on sharing intelligence, resources and personnel to fight terrorism. The announcement came as officials prepared a draft document on terrorism. The draft, a copy of which was given to AFP, condemns the terrorist attacks on Indonesia's Bali island, which killed more than 190 people, and the southern Philippines island of Zamboanga as "heinous crimes." The gathering of the 10 ASEAN nations, as well as China, South Korea, Japan and India for concurrent meetings, is the first chance for regional leaders to talk face-to-face since the October 12 Bali blast. The bomb attack has been blamed on Islamic militants and made Southeast Asia a prime focus of the international fight on terrorism. North Korea's nuclear weapons program was also to be high on the agenda here, especially among China, South Korea and Japan, whose leaders were to meet Monday before talks with their ASEAN counterparts. Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Southeast Asian leaders would call for peace on the Korean peninsula and take a stand on North Korea's nuclear weapons, without elaborating. Terrorism and North Korea have overshadowed other issues in the lead-up to the summit and officials sought Sunday to shift some of the focus back to economics and trade matters. In one such announcement, China said it would grant preferential trade treatment to Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar at the summit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Activists tell ASEAN to wakeup
to China's plans
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) _ As leaders from six Asian nations endorsed major development plans along the Mekong River, environmental and human rights activists on Sunday accused Southeast Asian leaders of bowing to Chinese interests. The activists said leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations should more vigorously protect their citizens and economic and environmental interests. ``Everyone is afraid to stand up to China in this region,'' said Aviva Imhof, an activist for the U.S.-based International Rivers Network. She said Beijing's plans to build a series of dams along one of the world's last great untamed rivers could bring dire consequences to scores of communities downstream. Chinese authorities argue the impact will be minimal and even beneficial. Dams, they say, will ease the annual cycles of flooding and water shortages in the Mekong Basin while deeper navigation channels are sure to foster regional trade and help alleviate poverty. Chainarong Srettachau, director of the Thai chapter of the Southeast Asia Rivers Network, said ASEAN should speak out against Beijing's plans. Vietnam is the nation most outspoken in demanding that China take into account its neighbors when altering the Mekong, said Kelly Brooks of the Oxfam Mekong Initiative. Cambodia, she says, has expressed reservations. ``China is very influential and really wants the projects to happen,'' Brooks said. ``There are political and economic influences at work. They don't want countries to make a fuss.'' Brooks said China will gain tremendous economic advantages over its neighbors if the plans are completed. ``What's not being heard is how these plans will promote Chinese economic dominance over the lower Mekong countries,'' Brooks said. ASEAN is comprised of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ China, Southeast Asian nations
seen moving ahead on free trade
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) _ Southeast Asian nations may be wary of China's emergence as an economic power, but they hope to make the best of a potentially ominous threat by liberalizing trade. Leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations are expected to agree on a timetable for negotiating a deal with China this week during their two-day summit in Cambodia. Business executives and government officials in places like Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines figure that whatever they make to sell to the global market, giant China _ with its massive supply of low-cost labor and natural resources _ can probably make it cheaper. But realizing there's little they can do as investors shift money into China and away from other Asian economies, many are hoping to find ways to tag along behind China's anticipated growth, and Beijing surprised many in the region about a year ago with an offer of a free trade deal. Chinese Premier Zhu Rongzhi is meeting with ASEAN members at a summit that wraps up Tuesday. Officials have said Zhu is expected to announce a draft framework agreement that envisions a free trade zone being established within a decade, bringing down tariffs and clearing the way for more investment. ``Most of the contents are agreed on and if they can complete the final draft, it will be signed by the leaders,'' said Fu Ying, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian affairs department, last week in Beijing. Asian nations have long discussed closer economic ties but the region is full of longstanding rivalries and disagreements, such as a simmering territorial dispute in the South China Sea over some tiny islands, the Spratlys, which are claimed in whole or in part by China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan _ which is itself claimed by China. The Asians lag far behind the European Union nations, who established free trade years ago and have a single currency, the euro, used by most members. Once an actual free trade pact is signed, China would give most-favored nation trading status, similar to that enjoyed among members of the World Trade Organization, to the ASEAN members that are not part of the WTO, the Geneva-based body that sets global trade rules. The smaller Asian nations hope to benefit by selling more of their goods into the growing Chinese consumer market. China and the ASEAN nations want to open the way for freer trade of live animals, meat, fish, dairy products, trees, vegetables, fruits and nuts _ and a copy of the draft framework agreement says they intend to start negotiating tariff reductions by early next year and sign a deal for an ASEAN-China free trade area by June 2004. But ASEAN's four newest members _ the developing nations Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam _ will be allowed to move somewhat more slowly than the others, and a number of difficult issues still must be resolved. China and the ASEAN traders want to decide by December 2003, for example, how to define what trade negotiators call the ``rules of origin,'' meaning which nation a product is said to be from if it is made in one country out of materials from another. The nations also must agree on how to treat barriers to trade other than tariffs, such as import restrictions and ``scientifically unjustifiable sanitary'' measures _ a tactic employed by some nations to effectively bar imports of certain products like food and thus shield their domestic producers from competition. They also must develop an acceptable way to resolve any disputes that might emerge if one nation accuses another of violating the trade pact. In the face of China's growing influence over the region, Japan has been pushing to strengthen its own economic ties with ASEAN. A special panel recently submitted a report to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet proposing a bilateral free trade pact between Japan and ASEAN, or if that is not immediately possible, with only the more developed members of ASEAN. ``We are hoping to issue a declaration along these lines during the summit,'' said Misako Kaji, a spokeswoman for Koizumi. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Myanmar gems fair attains
record sales
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) _ Myanmar's semiannual government-backed gem sale, held last week, achieved record sales of more than US$30 million, state-run newspapers reported Sunday. Last week's midyear emporium was the first in which sales proceeds from gems and jade exceeded the floor price, which was set at a total US$25.41 million, said the New Light of Myanmar daily. Actual sales surpassed that by almost 21 percent to total US$30.71 million. The previous record was more than US$20 million set in March 2002. Nearly 600 gem buyers from 10 countries and 370 local gem merchants took part in the eight-day sale and exhibition. Myanmar, also known as Burma, produces some of the finest quality jade, rubies, sapphires and pearls in the world. The government has held gems emporiums annually since 1964, usually in February, but supplemented them with ``midyear'' sales in 1992 when the economy was liberalized and private dealers were allowed to participate. Private dealers now dominate the proceedings. The stones are certified by the government, which gets a 10 percent commission on sales. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sunday November 3, 8:57 PM
Asian leaders to sign anti-terror pact at summit By Ek Madra PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Asian leaders are to sign a declaration vowing to crack down on militants who have wreaked a deadly toll on the region in recent weeks, agreeing the step is essential for security and to lift their people out of poverty. Sunday's initial session, at which the six countries bordering the Mekong river focused on development and trade flows, will be followed on Monday and Tuesday by a summit of leaders of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus China, Japan and South Korea. The summit in Cambodia aims to promote economic integration, discuss terror and paper over cracks that perennially open up among member states that range from impoverished Laos to oil-rich Brunei and regional giant Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation. Security, including the threat from North Korea's nuclear ambitions, will take centre stage this year in the wake of the Bali bomb blasts. "Security is very important, otherwise this won't mean much," said ASEAN Secretary-General Rodolfo Severino. Most nations are likely to agree that without the ability to ensure the safety of their two billion people, they can make little headway on promoting tourism and foreign investment or signing a planned deal with China to create the world's largest free trade zone. An agreement among ASEAN, which also groups Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, on anti-terror measures would also bring China on board and would be signed on Tuesday. "The ASEAN leaders will talk about improving security and a crackdown on acts of terrorism in the region because this is a joint concern for ASEAN...and there will be a joint declaration," Sok An, Cambodia's most senior minister, told Reuters. SHARING INTELLIGENCE Thailand for one was ready to cooperate on exchange of intelligence, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said. "We agree to...exchange intelligence and cooperate on suppression of those terrorists travelling in our countries or use our countries for anything related to terrorist activity," Shinawatra told reporters, adding that he was confident Thailand's palm-fringed beaches were safe for tourists. The dangers were underscored when four men armed with AK-47 assault rifles took 20 people hostage, including children, in a remote hospital in northwestern Cambodia. A gunbattle erupted after military police were flown in from the capital. Indonesia's Megawati Sukarnoputri was set to hold the spotlight after last month's deadly bombings on the paradise island of Bali that killed more than 180 people and devastated the country's high-earning tourism industry. Concerns have been mounting that her country can do more to clamp down on militants and change its image as the region's weakest link in the war on terror. Officials in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh were taking no chances. Thousands of police and military were patrolling dusty streets as motorcades swept by along freshly swept roads where three decades ago Khmer Rouge guerrillas launched their "Killing Fields" genocide. The first day of talks attended by the heads of government of China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar focused on developing the impoverished Mekong river region. The summit to mark the first 10 years of the programme, which involved projects worth about $10 billion, has the potential to improve transport and trade between the dynamic economy of China and the increasingly toothless tigers of Southeast Asia. TOURISM AGREEMENT The issue of border formalities is likely to be a hot topic just weeks after bombers suspected to have easily circumvented frontier checks carried out the Bali attack. A tourism agreement on Monday will provide another chance to review security just days after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Mexico signed up to a breakthrough package of security measures that included checks on cargo containers and clamping down on furtive flows of funds to extremist groups. This year's session has attracted unusual interest, with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to attend for the first time, raising the potential for an east-west corridor that could carry trading ambitions from India, through Burma and into Thailand and beyond. Also due in Phnom Penh is a rare out-of-region guest -- South Africa's Thabo Mbeki. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sunday November 3, 1:03 PM
Shadow of Bali attack hangs over Southeast Asia summit By Dan Eaton PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - The threat of terror in a region racked in recent weeks by the deadliest bombings since the September 11 strikes will overshadow a summit of Southeast Asian leaders gathered to boost trade and develop one of the mightiest but most remote rivers on earth. The session on Sunday will comprise the six countries that border the Mekong river. That will be followed on Monday and Tuesday by a summit of leaders of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus China, Japan and South Korea to promote economic integration, hammer out common policies and paper over the cracks that perennially open up among states divided by differing interests and wealth levels. However, security will take centre stage with most nations likely to agree that without the ability to ensure the safety of their nearly 2.0 billion people, leaders can make little headway on promoting tourism, nurturing economic growth or signing up to a planned free trade agreement with China that would create the largest such zone in the world. "Security has always been on the agenda, but terrorism...is higher on the agenda than it used to be," Rodolfo Severino, secretary general of ASEAN, said on Saturday. The first day of talks on Sunday will be attended by the heads of government of China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar to reaffirm a development initiative for the Mekong river region -- a remote, jungle-blanketed stretch of mountains and plains about the size of western Europe and home to 250 million people. The summit to mark the first 10 years of a development programme involving projects worth about $10 billion, has the potential to link north and south by improving transport and trade between the dynamic economy of behemoth China and the now nearly toothless tigers of southeast Asia. OVERWHELMED BY CHINA? Some analysts have voiced fears that some of the region's poorer economies risk being overwhelmed by competition from a rapidly expanding China with its currently unbeatable ability to attract foreign direct investment. Over the next 10 years, the Asian Development Bank and the countries concerned are looking at 11 flagship projects worth between $10 billion and $11 billion to put infrastructure into place in a region still recovering from the ravages of such conflicts as the Vietnam War and the genocide of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Plans include road projects criss-crossing the region and improving railways and ports; developing telecommunications; easing border formalities; sharing power generation as well as flood control and developing tourism. The issue of border formalities is likely to be a hot topic as members arrive in a capital heavy with security patrols after years of instability to tackle the threat of extremist attacks just weeks after bombers, suspected to have easily circumvented frontier checks, set off bombs that killed more than 180 people on Indonesia's Bali island. The signing of a tourism agreement during the ASEAN summit on Monday will provide another chance for leaders to review security just days after the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Mexico signed up to a breakthrough package of measures that included checks on cargo containers and clamping down on furtive flows of funds to extremist groups. PARADISE SAFE? Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri may come in for particular attention with her drive to win back visitors to the lost paradise of Bali amid concerns her country can do more to clamp down on militants and overturn its image as the weakest link against extremism in the region. The aim of the meeting is not only to show that ASEAN is not just a talking shop at which the need for consensus has dulled the ability to make decisions. It must also ensure that lands known for their pristine beaches, year-round sunshine, exotic food and ancient monuments are safe for tourists. "Security is very important, otherwise this won't mean much," said Severino. "Terrorism certainly...is of great concern especially because some of these terrorist acts take place in Southeast Asia," he said. "Because of the impact on human life, human security and the economic wellbeing of the region, it's the last thing we need." Severino cited Bali and the September 11 attacks but declined to say if the meeting would adopt any specific measures. "Certainly, there is an effort to raise the success rate," he told reporters. "There have been some successes (in Southeast Asia), I would say more successes than failures but we cannot avoid failures altogether -- not in this kind of game." This year's session has attracted unusual interest, with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee set to attend for the first time, raising the prospect of an east-west corridor that could carry trading ambitions from India, through Myanmar and into Thailand and beyond. Also due in Phnom Penh, a dusty capital where the air is thick with the smell of sewage, rotting fruit and motorcycle fumes, is a rare out-of-region guest -- South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki. He is unlikely to avoid mention of the threat of AIDS in Cambodia, which boasts the dubious record of the highest rate of new AIDS cases in the region. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Myanmar delegation leaves for
ASEAN summit
Sunday, November 3, 2002 at 18:00 JST YANGON (Kyodo News) - Myanmar junta leader Gen Than Shwe left for Cambodia on Sunday to attend a series of high-level meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that opens later in the day in Phnom Penh. Than Shwe, chairman of the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), leads the 35-member delegation. SPDC secretary Gen. Khin Nyunt, Foreign Minister Win Aung, and Brig Gen David Abel, the SPDC chairman's office minister, are among the delegation members. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Foreign & Commonwealth MIKE O'BRIEN'S TALKS WITH
LEADER OF BURMESE DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT (01/11/02)
Foreign Office Minister Mike O?Brien telephoned Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma on 1 November. Following the call Mike O'Brien said: 'I spoke today with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the Burmese democracy movement and Nobel Prize winner. I told her of the UK's admiration of her brave contribution to the cause of democracy in Burma. I emphasised the UK's continuing concern about the situation in Burma, with more political arrests, ongoing human rights violations and continued violence in Burma's ethnic minority areas. This concern is demonstrated in the renewal on 21 October of the EU's Common Position on Burma and reflects the lack of substantive political progress there. 'I explained that the UK and our EU partners are united in the view that the Burmese military authorities need to take urgent and concrete steps, in particular the opening of substantive dialogue with her, if credibility in the political process is to be maintained. 'Later this month the United Nations Secretary General?s Special Envoy to Burma, Tan Sri Razali Ismail intends to visit Burma. I believe that it is important that he is once again able to meet with Senior General Than Shwe. It is important that the military authorities use the opportunity of Tan Sri Razali?s visit to take clear and substantive steps towards the return of civilian rule. 'Daw Aung San Suu Kyi told me of her concerns about the continued decline in the economy and the problems this was causing for the Burmese people. She believed the only way forward was to move towards a democratic and accountable government as quickly as possible. There was a need for urgent progress. She said that politics couldn't be divorced from economics. It was not possible to simply concentrate on the economy without making the necessary political changes. She also stressed the importance of education for young people in Burma to allow them to obtain employment. 'At the end of the call, I told Daw Aung San Suu Kyi of the strong support of the British people for the cause of Burmese democracy and for her personally. She acknowledged this saying that the Burmese people were grateful for the support of the UK, the European Union and the wider international community.' Notes for Editors 1. The Europeans Union Common Position on Burma contains: an arms embargo; bans on the supply of equipment which could be used for internal repression or terrorism; defence links; non-humanitarian aid; high-level visit; and a visa ban and asset freeze on members of the regime. 2. The European Commission suspended Burma?s trading privileges in 1997 due to concern about forced labour in Burma and the UK does not encourage trade, investment and tourism in Burma. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bangkok Post - Sunday
03 November 2002
Probe into letter bombs at Burma missions Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has told diplomats to investigate the source of letter bombs posted from Thailand that were received at Burmese embassies in Japan, Malaysia and Singapore over the past week. The Burmese embassy in Singapore recently called in the bomb squad to destroy a letter with a Thai postmark that contained a small detonator. Burma has blamed dissidents living in exile after similar letters turned up at its missions in Japan and Malaysia. Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said he would cooperate with Rangoon in investigating the incidents. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Myanmar-ASEAN members trade
down in first half of 2002
Xinhuanet 2002-11-03 10:37:02 YANGON, Nov. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Myanmar's bilateral trade with five ASEAN states totaled 1,118.12 million US dollars in the first half of 2002, down 14.29 percent from the same period last year, said the latest data published by the Ministry of Commerce. The bilateral trade with the five states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines -- accounted for 45.23 percent of Myanmar's total foreign trade during the period, with its imports from these members amounting to 510.19 million dollars, down 31.63percent, while its exports to them reaching 607.93 million dollars,up 8.87 percent. Myanmar enjoyed a favorable balance of 97.74 million dollars inits bilateral trade with ASEAN members during the six-month period,striking such a balance of the regional trade for the first time since the present government took office in late 1988. Of Myanmar's bilateral trade with the five ASEAN member nationsduring the period, that with Thailand accounted for the highest volume with 579.66 million dollars or 23.45 percent of the country's total foreign trade of 2,471.87 million dolars, followed by that with Singapore (338.26 million or 13.68 percent), Malaysia (118.59 million or 4.79 percent), Indonesia (78.89 million or 3.19 percent) and the Philippines (2.72 million or 0.11 percent). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Asia Tribune
Date : 2002-11-03
The National Council for Burma denies of any involvement in the recent Letter Bomb threats. The National Council for Burma (NCGUB) in a statement categorically denied of any involvement in the alleged recent letter bombs. The statement put to an end of any lingering suspicions of any pro-democracy movements involvement in such letter bombs. NCGUB said, - firmly opposes terrorist and violent acts.? The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) recently announced that its embassies in Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore have become targets of letter bombs and blamed a "dissident terrorist group in Thailand" of masterminding the plot. The mailed device, said to be a "low-grade detonator" but no explosives, was "defused without causing any casualties". The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) firmly opposes terrorist and violent acts. However, before accepting the SPDC's allegation, it would be appropriate to recall the so-called "bomb plot" alleged by the Burmese embassy in Tokyo in 1989. Counselor U Tun Ngwe claimed that he found a parcel of explosives that had been thrown into the embassy compound. Upon investigation by the authorities, it turned out that not even the strongest of Japanese policemen could toss a similarly weighted parcel over the embassy wall. When the Japanese police summoned U Tun Ngwe for questioning, the counselor was hastily recalled back to Burma. Instead of being disciplined in any way, U Tun Ngwe later became the Ambassador to Germany. There have also been many other occasions where SPDC has blamed members of the democracy movement for terrorist acts, which eventually turned out to be false. With a track record like that and the SPDC's recent attempts to get on board the international anti-terrorist bandwagon, the NCGUB would like to urge the international community to be wary of the SPDC claims until proven otherwise. It is interesting to note that Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai on 1 November cast doubts over the origin of letter bombs which the SPDC said were sent from Thailand to three of its embassies this week. According to press reports, Surakiart said that Thai military, diplomats and embassy officials in Japan, Malaysia and Singapore would seek permission to inspect the packages. "We have questioned whether the letters were sent from Thailand. If necessary, experts from the Communications Authority of Thailand will be dispatched to verify the postmarks on the letters, we are not sure whether the postmarks are authentic or fake. But for the time being we cannot jump to the conclusion that the action was taken in Thailand," he said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |