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BURMA RELATED NEWS
- December 08, 2002.
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HEADLINES
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AFP - Thai general accuses Myanmar
soldiers of trafficking speed pills
AFP - Myanmar rebel alliance plans
expansion to improve military capability
AFP - Henry Dunant Centre -- the
discreet peace mediator
AP - Myanmar denies that
stimulant drugs are manufactured in its army
Bkk Post - Burma `makes drugs in own camps' Bkk Post - Doctor honoured for vital
clinic on border
WT - Good riddance
Xinhuanet - Myanmar urges
Thailand to fight against drugs
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thai general accuses Myanmar
soldiers of trafficking speed pills
BANGKOK, Dec 8 (AFP) - Thailand's outspoken deputy army commander General Wattanachai Chaimuenwong has accused Myanmar troops of smuggling "speed" from military camps along the border, a report said Sunday. Wattanachai also backed army estimates that one billion pills of methamphetamine, known as "ya ba" or "crazy medicine" in Thailand, would be trafficked across the frontier next year. "I want the foreign ministry to negotiate with the Burmese military government about what to do becuse the ya ba factories are in Burmese military camps along the border," he told the Bangkok Post. "Burmese soldiers are selling ya ba. They are back to their old activity. There are 30-50 drug factories along the border," he told a seminar at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University. The military government Sunday rejected Wattanachai's allegations as "perplexing and regretful". In an official statement it urged the Thai army "to contribute in a more constructive and meaningful way in the regional and international war against narcotic drugs". Defence Ministry spokesman Major General Bhalanguru Klaharn said Wattanachai could have been misquoted and that the comments did not reflect the view of the ministry. "In fact, we and the Burmese government and other neighbouring governments have cooperated to combat the drug program and we have worked together quite well," he told AFP. Bhalanguru also downplayed the "billion pills" prediction issued recently by senior army officials, saying it was only an unofficial estimate and that the amount of drugs trafficked next year could be less than that. Myanmar's junta has repeatedly and angrily denied allegations that it is engaged in the drugs trade, which United States and Thai anti-narcotics authorities believe is controlled by ethnic armies allied to Yangon. James Kelly, the US State Department's top policymaker for East Asia and the Pacific, acknowledged last month that the junta had cooperated with the international community on drugs suppression. "Over the past year, the area under poppy cultivation has declined by 26 per cent and opium production in the country as a whole is now less than one-quarter its level in 1996," he said. But he warned that "unfortunately, methamphetamine production, which strikes worst at Burma's Southeast Asian neighbors, has likely increased." Washington is on the verge of deciding on whether to remove Yangon from a list of major narcotics producers. The Washington Post reported in November that State Department officials were close to recommending Myanmar's removal from the list, a move that would have to be reviewed by the White House. The timing of Wattanachai's comments is likely to rile the Myanmar regime, particularly as it has a history of clashing with the general during his time as chief of the Third Army which patrols the border region. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar rebel alliance plans
expansion to improve military capability
CHIANG MAI, Thailand, Dec 8 (AFP) - An alliance of the five major rebel ethnic armies fighting Myanmar's ruling junta has invited other groups to join them to bolster future military operations, a spokesman said Sunday. The Military Alliance Group was set up in May 1999 by the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), the Karen National Union (KNU), Karenni Peoples Progressive Party, Chin National Front and Arakan Liberation Party. The decision to expand the grouping was made at an annual meeting of senior leaders held at a secret location inside Myanmar's eastern Shan state, said Nam Khur Hsen of the Shan State Army which is represented by the RCSS. "The alliance has opened the door and will welcome any minority groups if they wish to join," she told AFP. "We are working together closely... and drawing up the alliance's military strategy". Nam Khur Hsen, whose SSA is one of the strongest ethnic armies along with the KNU, said it was vital that the rebel groups presented a united front against the junta which they have battled for decades. "Myanmar's military regime has used a 'divide-and-rule' policy on minorities. They want to see that we are fighting each other," she said. KNU joint secretary Mahn Nyein Maung, who also attended the meeting, said that by expanding the alliance the rebel groups could mount coordinated strikes against the regime. "We would be able to organise major military operations from several battle fronts," he said. "We are fighting a strong enemy, so it is better to face the enemy as a group than alone." Mahn Nyein Maung said that although some major ethnic armies had signed ceasefire pacts with Yangon, there were more than 10 groups outside the alliance who were still fighting the government. During the alliance meeting, rebel leaders reviewed recent developments and military activity in their regions and drew up future plans, Nam Khur Hsen said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Henry Dunant Centre -- the
discreet peace mediator
GENEVA, Dec 8 (AFP) - In helping end nearly three decades of bloody conflict between the Indonesian government and separatist Aceh rebels, the Henry Dunant Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue has temporarily shrugged off the anonymity it usually favours in pursuing its work. The scheduled signing on Monday at the centre's Geneva headquarters of a peace deal on the oil- and gas-rich province will place the independent and impartial organisation, established in 1998, into the limelight. The centre is dedicated to the "alleviation of human suffering in armed conflict through dialogue", it says in an information brochure. "By helping the parties to a conflict to speak to each other, the Centre works to reconcile their differences." Following in the example of the Rome community of Sant'Egidio which in 1992 helped forged a peace deal in Mozambique between the Mozambique Liberation Front and the armed opposition, RENAMO, the Henry Dunant Centre has been working since January 2000 to halt the 26 years of fighting in Aceh province. It is financed by the Red Cross Movement, governments, private philanthropists and charitable foundations. Few acts by the centre are publicised, as discretion and low-key dialogue are part of the centre's approach to humanitarian action. Since August 2000, the centre has been active in Yangon, Myanmar, facilitating dialogue between the military junta and opposition groups. It is the only independent organisation in Myanmar that regularly meets the SPDC and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The centre also has helped foster talks between the International Labour Organisation and the Myanmar junta. In April 2001, the centre set up a programme to help counter the human costs of the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, which it says are estimated to kill about 500,000 people a year. It has also established a network of humanitarian negotiators to support humanitarian organisations working in dangerous environments, and has carried out a study on the problems posed to humanitarian workers when engaging with armed groups. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar denies that stimulant
drugs are manufactured in its army
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ Myanmar denied on Sunday that drug factories inside its army camps were responsible for a massive tide of an illegal stimulant drug sweeping through Thai society. The government said its narcotics officials were stunned by comments by a senior Thai military official that 1 billion methamphetamine pills, called ``ya ba'' in Thai, will be smuggled into Thailand from Myanmar next year. The Bangkok Post quoted Thai Deputy Army Commander Gen. Wattanachai Chaimuenwong as saying Saturday that factories manufacturing the drug were located in Burmese military camps along the border. ``Burmese soldiers are selling ya ba,'' it quoted him as saying. ``They are back to their old activity. There are 30-50 drug factories along the border.'' In a statement, the Myanmar government said that despite ``all these groundless allegations thrown at Myanmar,'' its officials hope to ``work together with all the countries that have been affected by this scourge.'' It said the drug problem ``needs to be addressed in a spirit of sincere and mutual cooperation by the entire world community.'' Thai and international drug experts generally agree that the vast majority of methamphetamine pills are smuggled from Myanmar, where they are made in border areas under the control of ethnic minority groups. Few believe that Myanmar's central government directly abets the trade in methamphetamine, although regional and local military units may be involved. But some accuse the government of allowing too much autonomy to ethnic minorities in border areas in exchange for ending long-standing rebellions. Myanmar is also the world's biggest producer of opium and its derivative, heroin. It is one of three countries that the U.S. State Department says have ``failed demonstrably'' to cooperate in fighting drugs. The designation makes it ineligible for most types of U.S. assistance. The government disputes the claim, saying it is doing its best with limited resources. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Post
- Sunday 08 December 2002
Burma `makes drugs in own camps' Wattanachai revives billion-pill claim Wassana Nanuam and Achara Ashayagachat Burmese military camps along the border are making drugs and earlier estimates of a billion speed pills flooding into Thailand next year are correct, deputy army commander Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong said yesterday. ``I want the foreign ministry to negotiate with the Burmese military government about what to do because the ya ba factories are in Burmese military camps along the border. ``Burmese soldiers are selling ya ba. They are back to their old activity. There are 30-50 drug factories along the border,'' he told a seminar at Chulalongkorn University. Burma has always denied having anything to do with illicit drugs production. The outspoken deputy army chief said Burmese junta leaders became less cooperative when it came to drug suppression. ``The drug problem in Burma is the Thai military's primary security concern. Although Burmese leaders say they will cooperate, drug production in fact is increasing,'' Gen Wattanachai said. An earlier report that one billion methamphetamine pills would be smuggled into Thailand from Burma next year was correct. Burma disputed the estimate, first made by Maj-Gen Naris Srinet, the third army region commander. This prompted the army spokesman to come out and say that the figure was a personal estimate and not that of the army or the defence ministry. Gen Wattanachai admitted that Thai dealers accounted for half the drug trafficking rings but said that the main producer was still the United Wa State Army which runs the trade from the Burmese side of the border. Gen Wattanachai denied Burma's allegations that Thailand provided support to anti-Rangoon ethnic groups. Relations between Thailand and Burma had been bad since ancient times. ``There is always mistrust between us. We can't communicate well even these days.'' Unless Rangoon was prepared to work with Thailand in destroying drug plants along the border, the problem would not get any better. ``At a policy level, both sides certainly agreed to do so, but at the local level, a joint operation to dismantle labs along the border is still needed,'' he said. Only nine million tablets of ya ba had been seized in the year to September, and another 300 kilogrammes of heroin, marijuana, and opium, which was far from the real volume entering the country. Pornpimol Trichote, a researcher with the Institute of Asian Studies, said Burma had no control over those production areas, so any response would take some time. ``Even in Thailand, it took more than three decades before we were able to cut opium plantations,'' Ms Pornpimol said. Chalida Tajaroensuk of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development said countries dealing with Burma should review their trade and investment policies to make sure the benefits were not seized by the ruling junta. ``They have to make sure that the benefits of economic development reach the people and do not empower the military junta, which internationally is regarded as a despicable regime thanks to its high abuse of human rights,'' she said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Post - Sunday
08 December 2002
Doctor honoured for vital clinic on border Treats more than 30,000 people a year Supamart Kasem Hundreds of people turned out yesterday as a Burmese doctor who set up a clinic in harsh conditions on the Thai-Burmese border became the latest Magsaysay award winner. About 400 people from more than 10 state agencies, private firms and local groups took part in the ceremony where Cynthia Maung, who runs Mae Tao Clinic, picked up the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership. The clinic has overcome many obstacles in a difficult working environment to treat more than 30,000 people a year. The ceremony was presided over by Mae Sot district chief Samart Loyfa. The audience included Magsaysay Award foundation representative Jerry Ramos. Dr Cynthia thanked Thai people and the government for allowing her team to help needy people on Thai soil for more than 10 years, saying the reward belonged to all. Mae Tao Clinic has grown over the years and now has five volunteer doctors and many staff and trainees. Most patients are displaced Burmese people, Burmese workers and low-income Thais. With support from international organisations, the clinic set up a lab making artificial legs for the disabled, two small clinics in war zones and 60 mobile medical teams to treat ill people in border villages. The clinic also supports education for children of displaced Burmese people and workers in three border districts of Tak. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Washington
Times
EDITORIAL ? December 7, 2002 Good riddance The Gloomy Gus who regularly moans that the world is becoming a worse place was proved wrong on Thursday, when U Ne Win, 91 and the former military dictator of Burma, quietly passed away at his lakeside villa near Rangoon. Ne Win rose to power in the late 1930s as a leader in Burma's efforts to establish autonomous rule. He first trained and fought with the Japanese against British forces in World War II, and then turned his guns on the Japanese upon learning of their own colonial designs. After a period of relative growth and stability, Ne Win seized power in a 1962 military coup and instituted his particular brand of xenophobic socialism. Over the course of the next three decades, Burma, once a crown jewel of the British empire, was reduced to unspeakable poverty and oppression. Ne Win wasn't just a political thug. He allegedly bathed in dolphin blood to regain his youth, and styled himself as a descendant of Burma's ancient kings. He held an especial interest in numerology, and often staged major events ? brutal offensives, mostly ? on dates associated with the number nine. In 1987, upon the advice of his occult adviser, Ne Win attempted to correct the country's economic woes by suddenly abolishing the currency and re-issuing 45- and 90-kyat notes. The demonitization had catastrophic effects, rendering anyone holding paper money suddenly more destitute than they already were. In July 1988, Ne Win "resigned" as chairman of the state's military council, and permitted ? even encouraged ? democratic activists to rally in the streets. Reminscent of Mao Zedong's "Hundred Flowers" campaign in China, two months later his government troops opened fire on these civilians. Thousands were slaughtered, and the darkest chapter of Burma's history began. Sadly, it is still being written. Ultimately, Ne Win was brought down by those whom he built up. Though he continued to exert strong influence behind the scenes throughout the last decade, his proteges inherited not only his economic stupidity and ruthlessness, but his lust for power as well. Ne Win and several members of his immediate family were arrested in March for allegedly plotting a coup with the help of voodoo dolls and sorcery. He was confined under house arrest until his death last week. Ne Win was quickly and quietly cremated yesterday, his ashes scattered in the Yangon river. If only the Burmese people could wash away just as easily the wreck and ruin he visited upon them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar urges Thailand to
fight against drugs
Xinhuanet 2002-12-08 20:13:00 YANGON, Dec. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Myanmar called on Thailand once again on Sunday to contribute in a more constructive and meaningful way to the regional and international war against narcotic drugs. The call was made by Myanmar anti-narcotics authorities in response to a charge made by Thai Deputy Army Commander Wattanachai Chaimuenwong at Saturday's seminar in Bangkok, which said Myanmar soldiers made drugs in military camps along the Thai-Myanmar border and earlier estimates of a billion speed bills flooding into Thailand next year were correct. In an official statement here Sunday, the Myanmar government said it will continue to actively shoulder its responsibility and fight against this scourge of narcotic drugs with equally committed nations and institutions. The statement maintained that the Thai accusation was groundless, saying that Myanmar does not wish to involve in any other exercise but it would rather work together with all the countries that have been affected by this scourge and treat the narcotic drugs as an urgent problem. The statement stressed the need to address the problem in a spirit of sincere and mutual cooperation by the entire world community, urging those with vested interest to put aside politicsand personal agendas for the sake of the millions of people aroundthe world whose lives are threatened by the drug trade. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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