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BURMA RELATED NEWS
- December 13, 2002.
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HEADLINES
------------------------------------------------------------------------ AP - University of
Georgia student government demands release of alumnus
AFP - Thailand, Myanmar hold joint
anti-narcotics meeting
AFP - Japan to cut more
tariffs on developing nations' farm imports
Bkk Post - Burma revives claims of Thai support for rebels Bkk Post - Rights group says more
proof needed for probe go-ahead
Bkk Post - MDX plans dam on Salween
The Nation - Soldier killed in
shootout with Wa
BBC - Aung San Suu Kyi talks to the
world
BBC - Talking Point: Aung San Suu
Kyi(Transcript:)
Asian Tribune - Situation of
Political Prisoner in Burma
SHAN - Opium tax for army
levied
SHAN - Speed precursors coming
from outside Burma a lame excuse, retorts Shan exile
------------------------------------------------------------------------ University of Georgia student
government demands release of alumnus
ATLANTA (AP) _ University of Georgia students are calling for the release of an alumnus arrested last year in Myanmar for demanding political reform. Students signed a resolution and sent letters to their legislators urging them to work for the release of Salai Tun Than, a 1955 Georgia graduate. Tun Than, a retired professor who earned his master's degree in agronomy from Georgia, was arrested Nov. 29, 2001, for handing out pro-democracy flyers and staging a solo protest in front of the City Hall in the capital city of Yangon. Tun Than also read a speech calling for freedom and an end to 40 years of military rule, according to a release from the Free Burma Coalition. He was arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison. ``His willingness to sacrifice for freedom and democracy, values we share as Americans, makes him a true hero,'' UGA student senator Brendan Murphy said. According to a report made to the United Nations General Assembly in November, there are an estimated 1,500-1,600 political prisoners in Myanmar, also known as Burma. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thailand, Myanmar hold joint
anti-narcotics meeting
CHIANG MAI, Thailand, Dec 13 (AFP) - Senior Thai and Myanmar officials on Friday opened a bilateral anti-narcotics meeting aimed at improving cooperation in the fight against drugs. The two-day meeting in this northern Thai city is chaired by Thailand's Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) secretary general Kitti Limchaikit and attended by some 60 top law enforcement officials. Myanmar's 16-member delegation is led by Police Major General Khin Yi, national police chief and secretary of the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC). "The two-day meeting will centre on matters relating to joint efforts in law enforcement and supression of drug trafficking in the border area," said an ONCB official. "The meeting is to continue discussions held during the previous joint drug law enforcement cooperation seminar in Yangon early this year," he told AFP. In the past the two countries had traded accusations that the other supports ethnic armies accused of involvement in the drugs trafficking business. Thai army officials angered Myanmar recently by predicting that a record one billion "speed" pills would be trafficked into Thailand in 2003 from dozens of Myanmar drug factories along the border. The border drugs trade, which Thai and US authorities say is masterminded by the Yangon-allied United Wa State Army (UWSA), is a perennial irritant to relations between Thailand and Myanmar. The troublesome issue flared again this week with the death of a Thai soldier in a shootout in northern Chiang Mai province with ethnic Wa drug traffickers, Thai army officials said Friday. Three Wa traffickers were killed and one was wounded and captured in the clash, where Thai forces also seized 36,000 amphetamine pills, they said. While the opium crop in Myanmar is decreasing, methamphetamine production is increasing fast and fuelling a massive addiction crisis in Thailand. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Japan to cut more tariffs on
developing nations' farm imports
TOKYO, Dec 13 (AFP) - The Japanese government has decided to expand tariff cuts on agricultural imports from developing nations under a scheme designed to assist their economic growth, a farm ministry official said Friday. Japan, the world's biggest agricultural importer, currently gives preferential lower tariff treatment or imposes no tariffs on 209 agricultural products from 149 developing nations. It plans to add an additional 118 agricultural products to that category, the official said. "We will give preferential tariff treatment to the 118 agricultural products by revising a tariff law in the next fiscal year" starting in April 2003, said Masaki Sakai, director of the ministry's international trade policy. The 118 products include vegetables, canned olives, coconut oil, and animal products such as turkey and duck meat from countries ranging from Mexico to China and Hungary. Japan will also give duty-free access to an additional 198 agricultural and fishery imports from 47 countries designated as least developed countries (LDCs) with gross domestic product (GDP) per capita under 900 dollars. The 198 imports from least developed nations include shrimps and rock lobsters from Bangladesh and Myanmar. Rice is not included among the products set to enjoy tariff cuts. Pressure from old guard politicians representing Japan's inefficient rice farmers ensures they are highly subsidized and protected from cheaper imported varieties by a tariff of 341 yen (2.78 dollars) per kilogramme (1.26 dollars per pound). Japan currently grants tariff-free access to 335 agricultural and fishery products from least developed nations. "These measures underline Japan's commitment to supporting economic growth in developing and least developed nations," Sakai said. "Also these preferential tariff measures show our commitment to the WTO (World Trade Organization)," he said. In the 2001 Doha declaration, trade ministers agreed they were committed to the objective of duty-free, quota-free market access for products originating from least developed countries. In 2001, Japan's agricultural, forestry and fishery imports were worth 7.2 trillion yen (59 billion dollars). Of that, imports from developed nations totalled 4.5 trillion yen, accounting for 62 percent of total agricultural imports. Some 2.7 trillion yen worth of agricultural imports, or 37 percent of the total imports, came from developing nations. Agricultural imports from the least developed countries (LDCs) totalled 51.1 billion yen, or just one percent of the total. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bangkok Post - Friday
13 December 2002
Burma revives claims of Thai support for rebels Subin Khuenkaew Burma's Township Border Committee chairman Lt-Col Aye Saw has accused Thailand of supporting the anti-Rangoon Shan State Army, saying the rebels now have military bases on Thai soil. Lt-Col Aye Saw surprised his Thai counterpart, Col Apichart Meesomonmade, with the allegation during a meeting in Chiang Saen district yesterday. Calling the SSA a group of terrorists, Lt-Col Aye Saw said the Shan rebels had their stronghold at Doi Tai Laeng, opposite Mae Hong Son's Pang Ma Pha district; a base at Muang Na, opposite Chiang Mai's Chiang Dao district, and another base near Koh Wan, opposite Chiang Rai's Mae Fa Luang district. All were located inside Thailand, he said. Col Apichart denied the allegation, saying the military had never given the SSA support. He also denied that Thai soldiers deployed at the disputed Doi Lang area, in Chiang Mai's Mae Ai district, had established outposts on Burmese territory. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bangkok Post - Friday
13 December 2002
Rights group says more proof needed for probe go-ahead Anucha Charoenpo A Bangkok-based regional human rights organisation says it is willing to take up the case of a Burmese rebel leader said to have been executed by the Thai army, but more evidence is needed. Asia Forum coordinator Chalida Phacharoensuk said if the statement of the Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors (VBSW) was true, the army had violated the human rights of Kyaw Ni. Better known as Johnny, Kyaw Ni took part in the October 1999 seizure of the Burmese embassy in Bangkok. A VBSW statement on Wednesday claimed he had been lured to a meeting along the border by the Karen National Union (KNU), captured by Thai soldiers and later executed. The army has denied the allegation. Mrs Chalida said if the rebel group could provide solid evidence Johnny was killed by Thai soldiers, Asia Forum would be willing to take up the case. ``At this stage it is just the rebel group's claim. To make this case clear the group should directly send more reliable information and evidence to my organisation,'' she said. Asia Forum had no authority to ask the army for clarification, but she could ask the National Human Rights Commission to help investigate. Prasert Luengaramvej, a Thai hostage during the embassy siege who acted as a go-between with the authorities, said if the allegation was true he felt sorry for Johnny, who had died for ``his political ideals''. Mr Prasert, 44, said he had not kept track of Johnny or the student group. ``Although Johnny was not friendly to me and the other hostages, he was good enough not to harm or kill all of us,'' he said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bangkok Post - Friday
13 December 2002
MDX plans dam on Salween Yuthana Praiwan MDX Plc, a local major construction group, is set to sign a memorandum of understanding with Rangoon for the construction of a 3,600-megawatt hydro-power dam on the Salween River. Sitthiporn Ratanopas, governor of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, said the signing would take place on Dec 20. The firm would develop the project in the upper part of the Salween River. The project is being developed separately from those of Egat. GMS Power, a subsidiary of MDX, has been conducting studies on the project since 1997. MDX has also won deals with Rangoon to build a coal mine in a Burmese town opposite Prachuap Khiri Khan, a port project in Tavoy and a Mae Sot-Rangoon road project. The company also has construction projects for dams in China and Laos. MDX's shares have been suspended and are in the rehabilitation sector of the Stock Exchange of Thailand. A 1991 survey by Energy and Power Development Corporation, a Japanese government-owned generating firm, identified six potential sites along the Salween River in 1991 for hydro-power projects. MDX has expressed interest in developing one site and has signed an initial agreement with Rangoon while Egat has focused attention on another two sites for possible dam construction. The other three sites had attracted little attention from developers. The project to be developed by MDX is located at Tasang, in Shan state, Burma. Although the site is not in Thai territory, electricity transmission cables could be linked. MDX executives declined to give details of the project. However, it is expected the dam construction would require a total investment of at least US$3.6 billion. A source at Egat said the two dams the authority was interested in constructing would have power generation capacity of 4,540 and 792 megawatts, respectively. The project site is opposite Mae Sariang district in Mae Hong Son province. Egat has already submitted the project for the two dams to the cabinet for consideration. The government was considering whether the project should be implemented by Egat or private companies. The project also depended on negotiations with the governments of the two neighbouring countries. The study by the Japanese firm showed the 4,540-megawatt dam is expected to be around 570 metres long and 168 metres high. The dam, if completely built, could result in a flooded area of 21,400 rai, compared with 150,000 rai flooded by the Sirikit and Bhumibol dams in Thailand. The project to be developed by Egat is expected to require total investment of between $5 billion and 5.6 billion. Mr Sitthiporn said the plant on the Salween River could begin supplying power to Thailand in 2009. Its generation cost would be the lowest in Asia at 90 satang per unit compared with 1.80 to two baht per unit for petroleum and coal-fired power plants. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Nation
Soldier killed in shootout with Wa Wiwatchai Somkam Published on Dec 13, 2002 Military intelligence officers predicted there would be more clashes between drug traffickers and Thai soldiers following a fierce gunfight between a Thai patrol and a Wa drug caravan on the northern border that left one Thai trooper and three infiltrators dead. Wa-affiliated operatives have stationed themselves in Thai border villages to facilitate more shipments, the sources said. Army private Kamla Kotarak was blown up and three soldiers from the Chiang Mai-based Pha Muang Task Force were seriously wounded when a trafficker tossed two hand grenades at the unit during last night's shootout. Thai soldiers shot dead three of the four men smuggling 36,6000 methamphetamine pills from a nearby lab on the Burmese side. The 30-minute exchange took place near Ban Pong Hai village in Chiang Rai's Mae Fa Luang sub-district. Military officers said the traffickers were linked to the 171st brigade of the pro-Rangoon United Wa State Army. The brigade is under the command of Wei Hsue-kang, a convicted heroin trafficker wanted by the United States with a US$2 million (Bt86 million) bounty on his head. UWSA chairman Bao Yu-xiang told The Nation in an interview at his Panghsang headquarters that his troops are not involv-ed in methamphetamine production and that Wa-controlled areas will be opium-free by 2005. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BBC - Thursday, 12
December, 2002, 21:31 GMT
Aung San Suu Kyi talks to the world By Lyse Doucet BBC News She is a Nobel Peace Prize winner, a symbol of her nation's hopes, a woman who has spent most of the past 15 years under arrest in her house. But for a little more than a hour this week, Aung San Suu Kyi was a voice at the end of our telephone line to Rangoon - a voice so powerful, yet so calm. This was Talking Point with a difference: Aung San Suu Kyi seemed to be dispensing advice to the world. There was no mistaking her precise diction, that soft distinctive lilt. "I can only give you 20 to 30 minutes," she cautioned in a most gracious way. That would leave us with half a programme. We all worried whether the telephone line would also fail. Either the connection to Burma would go down or the military authorities would make sure it did. Advice But, somehow, I believed that once Aung San Suu Kyi began to hear from people around the world, she would not leave us. And she did not. Maybe it was because many did not just call or e-mail, as they do for our guests every week, to seek her opinion or to challenge her. They wanted her to tell them what to do. Jeremy in London asked whether he should travel to Burma - Myanmar as it is known - over the holiday period. Neil Roberts e-mailed from Hanoi to ask if it was OK to apply for a teaching job in Rangoon. Almost everyone who called began by expressing admiration for her and her long struggle for democracy in Burma. Frustration In our post-11 September world, when so much of our political coverage uses words like militancy, violence and protest, Aung San Suu Kyi's language was noticeably different. She told Barbara, who e-mailed from Sri Lanka, that violence sometimes seemed to win in the short run but in the long run it would only destroy more than it created. Political dialogue with the military government was the priority - everything else had to wait including tourism and investment. Even crackling telephone lines could not hide the sadness and frustration from exiles far away. "We hoped good news would be on the way," said Tin Htun a Burmese national living in the United States. "But there is nothing, only hope." Aung San Suu Kyi offered nothing specific except glimpses of her commitment and her calm certitude that change would come - in its own time. Thanks For many callers, there was clearly magic in just speaking to her. Ahmad Nasir barely managed to express his excitement that he in the Maldives could speak to Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon. In the end, I realised this was Aung San Suu Kyi's present to us for the 70th birthday of the BBC World Service. She reminded us of what we have long tried to do - give people a chance to speak and to speak to each other. That day, all of us at talking point felt touched by the power of that thought and that voice down our telephone line. Before we said goodbye, I also thanked the Burmese generals who may have been listening in. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BBC - Talking Point: Aung San
Suu Kyi
Burma's pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi took part in a special edition of Talking Point as part of the BBC World Service 70th anniversary celebrations. Transcript:
Lyse Doucet:
Welcome to Talking Point with me Lyse Doucet. This week as
part of our special series of programmes marking the 70th birthday of the BBC
World Service, we're speaking with Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's pro-democracy
leader, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.
Around the world, Aung San Suu Kyi is recognised, not just as a symbol of Burma or Myanmar as her country is known, but as a symbol of the struggle for democracy itself. Since she returned home to Burma, fifteen years ago, Aung San Suu Kyi has spent much of her time under house arrest although she was released, unconditionally it seems, by the military government in May of this year. But political change in Burma has come slowly, if at all. Fighting for it requires patience and indeed sacrifice. Aung San Suu Kyi has made big personal sacrifices, separated for years from her two children and her late husband. Aung San Suu Kyi welcome to Talking Point. There was much talk when you were released that there had been secret talks with the military government. Do you feel that you and your National League for Democracy are now making some progress? Aung San Suu Kyi: First of all I would not like to think of them as secret talks. We started to talking to each other - let's put it that way. We think that we have made some progress but there's still a very, very long way to go. Lyse Doucet: Can you give us an indication of what kind of progress since you've been released from house arrest? Aung San Suu Kyi: I suppose one of the most important things that has been achieved is that a number of political prisoners have been released. But there are hundreds still imprisoned for their beliefs - prisoners of conscience. Until all of them of released, I don't think we can say that we have made sufficient progress. The other direction in which we have progressed is with the reopening of our party offices across the country. Lyse Doucet: We've received many, many callers and many e-mailers - people who want to ask you questions from around the world. We're going to take our first caller now - Tin Htun, is on the line from California, USA. Tin Htun: My question first of all on behalf of the Burmese community and myself, we pray for long life for Aung Sang Suu Kyi and we pray for your continued struggle and your sacrifice for the Burmese people. My question is how long will we have to continue as exiles abroad? Aung San Suu Kyi: First of all thank you very much for your support. We do not want you to live as exiles abroad for one day more than necessary. But I think you have to understand that in politics, we can't say exactly when we will achieve our goal. The important thing is that we should be unwavering in our efforts, however long it takes us and however hard the road, we must be prepared to go all the way because what we are doing is not just for ourselves but for the future generations of Burma. Tin Htun: We celebrate our independence day, our national day, our new year's day and all our festival days together in our country with family members, friends and elderly members too. Aung San Suu Kyi: Well please go on gathering together and please be united in your efforts. Please don't bicker among each other - that's very important. Tin Htun: In the past two years, when the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan's special envoy for Burma, Mr Razali, visited to Burma, we always hoped something will change and good news will be on the way. But nothing - just hope - why? Aung San Suu Kyi: I don't think one should always talk about hope, one should talk about work. I don't believe that one should talk about hope unless one is working towards something. We only have the right to hope if we are struggling. The important thing is to concentrate on what we can do, not to concentrate on the hopes. If we do everything that we ought we ought to do, everything that we can do - we will realise our hopes in time. Lyse Doucet: We'll take a caller now from Singapore, Si Thu is on the line. Si Thu: In your opinion, how have the sanctions affected the people and consequently the nation? Do you think that the plight of the original people has been forgotten in the struggle for democracy? Aung San Suu Kyi: When you talk about sanctions, you have to be aware of the fact that the sanctions are very limited. They were imposed by the United States Government and only on future investments. American businesses which had been in Burma before the imposition of the sanctions continued to operate. So the sanctions are very limited in scope and the people in Burma who are affected by it are therefore consequently very few. The reason why there is not as much investment in Burma as there might have been is because the political climate is not healthy. Lyse Doucet: Si Thu, anything else you would like to add to that? Si Thu: Now the military government has conceded, do you think it's time to lift the sanctions? Aung San Suu Kyi: I think it is for the people of the United States to decide when they will lift the sanctions. Don't forget that it wasn't the NLD which imposed sanction on Burma, it was the United States Government. Lyse Doucet: But Aung San Suu Kyi, do you believe there should be stronger sanctions? A number of e-mails have asked about this. We heard from Steed in Taiwan he says: Do you believe western countries must put stronger economic sanctions on Myanmar to help the people to improve their life? You mentioned they were very limited. Should they be wider? Aung San Suu Kyi: We have said officially that our policies with regard to sanctions will not change until such time as political dialogue is in place. So our policy remains the same. At the time when the sanctions were imposed, we supported the sanctions. We have not asked for further sanctions but neither have we withdrawn our support for sanctions because there is not yet political dialogue in place. Lyse Doucet: But do you think those sanctions should be tougher and they should make a bigger difference? Aung San Suu Kyi: I don't think it is sanctions alone which will make the difference, it is many things that will make a difference, including the efforts of the people of Burma themselves. Lyse Doucet:
We're going to take a call from Chris Henny, Belgium:
Chris Henny: Thank you very much for doing me the honour of taking my question. I have great admiration for your peaceful political stance and fortitude. My question is this: How long do you think it will be before the military government puts themselves firmly under civilian rule without stacking the deck in a general assembly or something like that, with reserved seats? Secondly, as a business person, I have enormous respect for your position and have neither visited nor intend to invest in Burma until dialogue is re-established. At what point do you think I will be able to make a trip to Burma - which I would dearly love to do - and consider investment in your beautiful country? Aung San Suu Kyi: I'm afraid we can't indulge in speculation as to how long the whole process will take. I hope very much that as soon as possible we will be moving towards positive change and that we will reach a point when people like you, with goodwill towards Burma, will be able to come to help our people to realise their potential. Because there is enormous potential in Burma - economic, social - in many, many directions we can progress if only the situation were right. When the situation is going to be right is not a question that I can answer now. I don't think it will take too long, for the simple reason, that the people of Burma long for change. They want change and we are working as hard as possible for the kind of change that will benefit our country. So I hope it will not be too long before you can come to Burma and before we can all have the benefit of your goodwill. Lyse Doucet: Chris Henny, do you think it's taking impossibly long? Chris Henny: I think it's a shame that it has taken so long for the people who are currently governing the country to realise that there is a lot of goodwill out there and that we would dearly love to do so. But only under conditions where investment is possible and where a government is considered stable and reliable and one can't easily take that position today. Aung San Suu Kyi: We agree with you that it is important for the political and economic climate - for both to be right and we are trying to move towards that point as soon as possible. I hope you will not be discouraged. Chris Henny: I certainly won't and I will certainly be watching everything that is done there and what you are asking. Aung San Suu Kyi: We'll try our best to make things go as quickly as possible. Lyse Doucet: I have to say, Aung San Suu Kyi, a number of our e-mails raise this issue about how long it will take. But it must seem very long for you indeed. Chaw Su lwinn, Singapore asks: What are the chances for progress in politics and economy for the people of Burma? Burma is now two or three decades behind its neighbours like Malaysia and Singapore? Gaytri, Northridge, California, USA asks: Do you believe that what you thought would be the solution for your country and the reality since you've come home are different? Do you ever stop and think that perhaps the slowness of the change is because the tactics are wrong? Have you ever thought you need to change your strategy? Aung San Suu Kyi: We have changed our tactics from time to time. We have always said that if one road is closed to us then we'll take another. The progress is slow for all of us who want progress to come quickly. But on the other hand, if you consider the fact that we have been struggling for 14 years and you think of countries like South Africa where the struggle went on for decades. We can't say that it is taking too long. After all what we've trying to do is to change the whole course of the future of our country and obviously that is a very difficult task and the more difficult the task the longer it tends to take. We are not at all discouraged. We would like change to come as quickly as possible but we are determined to go on struggling until change comes and we are confident that change will come - not as quickly as most of us would wish it to come - but it will come. And I think the more we all try to make change come instead of wondering when change will come, the quicker it will come. Lyse Doucet: Many of callers and e-mails have asked you very specific questions about what they can do. Let's take another call, Barrie Boulton is on the line from The Netherlands. Barrie Boulton: It's my very great pleasure to have this opportunity to talk with you Aung San. My question is this - it relates very much to what other people have been asking about the many thousands of people out there who want to know whether the time is right to visit Burma. Do you recognise the role foreign travellers to your country can play by providing your people with an invaluable source of information that they would otherwise be denied? Or do you continue to maintain your view that foreign visitors to your country will be supporting, directly or indirectly, the military regime and therefore should be discouraged from coming at this time? Aung San Suu Kyi: Well let me separate your question into two parts. With regard to the NLD stand on tourism - we have not changed. As I said earlier, we are not going to change on matters on policy until such a time as political dialogue is in place. But the other part of the question, as to whether foreign travellers bring valuable information to the people of Burma. I have to say quite frankly that the people of Burma, in general, do not depend on tourists and foreign visitors to bring them information. If they are really intent on getting information about what is going on in the world and what is going on with regard to Burma, then they listen to foreign radio programmes such as the BBC and the DVB, the Democratic Voice of Burma, Radio Free Asia and so on. So those who really want information, do you have access - limited as it is - to information. Lyse Doucet: Let me just come in here to give you some of the other messages we've received from people making points very similar to Barrie Boulton. Jeremy Green, London, England: I plan to visit Burma over the Christmas and New Year holidays. I have wanted to visit for many years but have held off because of the record of the military regime. Some people tell me that I'm being morally irresponsible for visiting Burma now as your release has not stopped the abuses of the regime. Is it, therefore, too early for a tourist with a moral conscience to visit your country? A similar question comes from Malcolm Higgins, Taipei, Taiwan he asks: When can I start planning my trip to Burma? Aung San Suu Kyi: As I said, our policy with regard to tourism has not changed which is say that we have not yet come to the point where we encourage people to come to Burma as tourists. But let me say this: Burma is not going to disappear, it's going to stay here. We hope that as things change, Burma will become the kind of country that will be even more of a pleasure to visit than it is now. Lyse Doucet: You don't believe that by people visiting - taking home their reflections, talking about Burma when they come home can little by little have an impact? Aung San Suu Kyi: I think it depends on how aware the visitors are. I think many visitors come here but are not aware of the political situation. They come here for a good holiday, they have a good time, they're interested in the unusual aspects of the country and then they go back. But I don't think they carry any very, very deep impressions of the political and social situation. So I don't think one can say that tourists come here and spread the word that change is necessary in Burma. I think it's those who are already interested in Burma who learn more about it. And for people like that, even without coming to Burma, they manage to learn about what is going on here. Lyse Doucet: An e-mail now from Neil Roberts, Hanoi: I was thinking of applying for a teaching job in Rangoon. What thoughts do you have on this? Djon Bridge, Barcelona, Spain: The New York Metropolitan Museum is sponsoring a trip to Burma next year, and we wonder whether we should participate? Aung San Suu Kyi: With regard to the teaching job - I wonder where? I suppose in one of the private schools. I have to say that the Burmese education system is not all that could be desired. It is one of things that worry me most that the young people of Burma are not getting a good education. Consequently a number of private schools are springing up. But this is only for the privileged. For the great majority of Burmese children, they have to make do with the system as it is. Large numbers of our young people are extremely frustrated because they realise that they're not getting a good education. If he is coming here to take up a teaching job, I suppose he is going to be teaching in one of the private schools which cater to the privileged. Lyse Doucet: Now you yourself have been travelling recently, Aung San Suu Kyi, through the Shan states and so many people can't see for themselves. What were your reflections on visiting these areas? Aung San Suu Kyi: One of the happiest experiences of my visit to the Shan states was the realisation that there is tremendous solidarity there. That although there's many, many different ethnic groups in Burma, we are all united in the desire for change. We are all united in the desire to make Burma a truly democratic union which is fit for all our peoples to live in. Lyse Doucet: Let's take another caller now, David Phillip Kramer is on the line from South Africa. David Kramer, your question please: David Kramer: I would like to ask Aung San Suu Kyi, what would she want in particular from the people of South Africa - the activists and the government? Aung San Suu Kyi: I am very wary of giving people advice. But I would like to remind the people of South Africa that they have been through very, very difficult times themselves and we would appreciate it very much if they could view our situation with sympathy and do whatever they can to help us. I sometimes think that when change comes to a country like South Africa, people in authority forget that once upon a time they too were struggling. I have to be quite frank and say that I have often wondered whether the present government of South Africa does everything it can to support our cause or whether it is even interested in doing everything that it can to support our cause. Lyse Doucet: David Kramer, what's your feeling in South Africa? Do you feel they do give Burma the attention that it needs? David Kramer: I would agree with her. I think the government have largely ignored its moral position and I echo her sentiments. Lyse Doucet: We're going to take a call now from Thailand. Liz Mulqueen is calling from Bangkok: Liz Mulqueen: Aung San Suu Kyi, it's an honour and a privilege to talk with you today and before asking my question, I would like to wish you all the very best in your continued struggle to restore democracy in Burma. My question to you: Mr Razali has visited Burma many times as a UN envoy but no changes have occurred as result of his visits despite widespread optimism. More recently there was a visit to Burma by Dr Mahathir Mohammed, prior to which it was reported that he too would seek a meeting with yourself. This never occurred and the only result of Dr Mahathir's visit was the takeover of Premier Oil's interests in Burma by Petronas, the Malaysian State oil company. Do you feel that Mr Razalie's alleged diplomatic visits were in good faith or that he simply acted as Mahathir's puppet by paving the way for Malaysia's economic support of the SPDC? There are after all no further visits to Burma planned by Mr Razali. Aung San Suu Kyi: I have full confidence in Mr Razali's integrity. I do not think he is a puppet of Dr Mahathir. I think he has acted in good faith and I think he himself has been disappointed in the slowness of the rate of change in Burma. I do not think it that it is fair on Mr Razali to make it appear as though he has achieved nothing. He has contributed towards better understanding between the SPDC and ourselves. But of course in the end it's is for us - we the people of Burma - to sort out our own problems and somebody like Mr Razali, with all the goodwill in the world can only help us so far as we are prepared to accept his help. Liz Mulqueen: I posed the question really because I do not know very much about Mr Razali although having lived in Malaysia for few years, I do know more about Dr Mahathir, so I'm very pleased that Aung San Suu Kyi has clarified that. Aung San Suu Kyi: I have to say that I look upon Mr Razali as a good friend of Burma. Lyse Doucet: But as a good friend of Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi, do you believe he can do more? We hear very little about any concrete steps. Is that in the nature of the process now? Aung San Suu Kyi: It's in the nature of the process. I believe that he is doing his best and that he would like to do as much as possible for us, if only he knew how. I think we're all trying to find out how we can speed up the process of change. Lyse Doucet: Many have asked what is actually happening beneath the surface. We've had an e-mail from Aditya Sharma, Newark, USA: One possible problem with non-violent protest is that the results of such actions are not always immediate. In the amount of time needed for change, the oppressing party can inflict serious suffering on a country's population. Is it ever acceptable to use violence in order to bring about the end of long-term political suffering? Aung San Suu Kyi: This is to do with ways and means - do the means justify the ends or do the ends justify the means. I do not think that the end justifies the means. I think the means have to be right as well. Because if you choose the kind of methods that will eventually distort your goal, then you will have wasted all your efforts. I think it is better to take a little bit more time to make a little bit more effort - perhaps sometimes more than just a little bit - in order to achieve your goal in the way in which it should be achieved, that the benefits you reap might be long-term in nature. It is possible for you to achieve your goal fast by using all kinds of ways that might be open to you. But then this could mean that in the end you distort the goals themselves and when you have reached where you think you wanted to get to, you find that it's a completely different scenario from what you had imagined because along the way you have created the kind of process that is bound to corrupt the ends themselves. Lyse Doucet: We'll take another caller now. On the line from Singapore is Tu Yain in Singapore. Tu Yain: If you become the leader of Burma, how are you going to reform the ineffective education system? In my opinion, I find that most of the Burmese children are not receiving proper education. I feel that education is really important for a nation's economy and I want every child in Burma to receive a proper education. So how are you going to achieve this? Aung San Suu Kyi: I agree with you about the importance of education and I don't think we should wait for the time when I become leader of Burma to do something about the situation. I'm very concerned that something should be done for the young people of Burma, especially those who are in high school and university, as soon as possible. Otherwise we will be losing several generations of very capable young people simply because they have not been allowed to achieve their potential. Under a democratic government, of course, one the first priorities would be to rehabilitate and reorganise the whole education system. Lyse Doucet: We've received a number of very specific e-mails talking about the political process. David, Doha, Qatar asks: What sort of roadmap do you see for a transition of power from the current military government to an elected one? What sort of time frame do you think this should take? Aung San Suu Kyi: Well if you ask me what sort of time frame do I think it should take then it should be as quickly as possible. But we have to be realistic - certainly change is not going come within days and I don't think it's going to come within weeks either. But I think we could always work hard to try to make the change come within months. I don't think that is an impossibility. As for a roadmap, this is something on which the SPDC and the democratic forces must agree. This is why I don't want to discuss it as this time. This is the kind of issue which should be discussed at the negotiation table. Lyse Doucet: A number of our e-mails have asked questions about what kind of model do you operate under. For example an e- mail from Kirsty Mckay, Sagamihara, Japan asks: How do the majority of people within Burma understand "democracy", given the widespread misinformation of the military government? Another e-mail from John Saunders, Plymouth, UK: Does you believe that western-style liberal democracy can work successfully in an Asian context? Aung San Suu Kyi: I think many so-called western-style liberal democracies are working in Asian countries. But I think it's very difficult to talk about a model as such. There have to be basic democratic institutions. For example, there must be an independent judiciary, there must be freedom of the press, there must be regular free and fair elections, there must be elected representatives of the people. But having said that, I think in the end we'll develop our own model of democracy as we go along. But this is not to say that because it is our own model of democracy, it is any less democratic or any less liberal than, say, the United States model or the UK model. The important thing is that the people of Burma should understand that under a democracy they have responsibilities as well as rights and this is something I have been trying to convey to them whenever I go around the country. I am very encouraged by the reaction of our people by the responses of our people. I think they do understand that it's not just rights, it means responsibilities as well. And what do they understand by democracy - I've often asked them - and in the end it boils down to this. They want to be free to live their lives in their own way without harming others. They do understand that a democracy means you have to respect other people's rights as well as defending your own. I have learnt to respect my people greatly. I have found that very, very ordinary people in Burma - people in villages, people who have not had a very good education - they understand the need for freedom, the need for discipline, the need for security and the need to accept that we all have responsibilities. Lyse Doucet: But do they ever say to you Aung San Suu Kyi, that they should take action? It seems to be a lesson of protest movements worldwide that no one gives you democracy and freedom - you have to fight for it. The people you meet in Burma, do they never say, shouldn't we take to streets, shouldn't we do something, shouldn't we provoke something to move the situation on? Aung San Suu Kyi: There are some who see it that way. There are a lot of people who seem to leave it to my party and me to do whatever is necessary and I often have to remind them that neither one party nor one person can do everything that is necessary. A lot of people ask me what they can do and I've thought about it quite a lot when I was travelling around the Shan states. And at one point, I decided that one thing that I could ask all the people of Burma to do - one very simple thing that everybody should dare to do - was simply not to support injustice. I've asked them to begin just with that. Lyse Doucet: Give us a specific example you would give to them, how not to, as you put it, support injustice? Aung San Suu Kyi: For example, if they know that something is wrong, if they know that something is unjust - not to go along with it simply because they're afraid or simply because they think that it is what those in authority would wish them do. Just not to say something is good if it's not good. Not to say that something is just if it is not just. Only that - that's a small thing to start with. But I think it could achieve a lot. If everybody in Burma would stop themselves from saying something is good, if it is not good, and from saying that something is just, if it is not just, I think we will be making a great move forward. Lyse Doucet: We have a caller on the line from Israel. Kyaw Min Soe from Israel who is Burmese. Kyaw Min Soe: Do you want to see the military regime form their own party and take part in Burmese politics? Aung San Suu Kyi: This is possible but if they will do it under a democratic rules, as it were, I don't see why they should not be allowed to do that. Kyaw Min Soe: My other question is if there is going to be a dialogue between the NLD and the military regime? So that if the military regime wants to make dialogue do you want the NLD to go it alone or including CRPP which was formed from the beginning after the election? Aung San Suu Kyi: We agree with the United Nations that real negations - genuine political negotiations - must include the ethnic nationalities. The great majority of the ethnic nationality parties have come to the conclusion that they would be quite happy for negotiations to start just between the SPDC and the NLD. But there must come a point when everybody else is included. When I say everybody else, I don't mean the 50 million people in Burma, but different political forces and certainly the ethnic nationalities. Lyse Doucet: We have another Burmese national on the line calling us from Singapore. Naing Moe Aung. What's your question for Aung San Suu Kyi? Naing Moe Aung: In my view for Burma to become a very strong and democratic country, I think it's very important that we formulate some more interests among different ethnic groups to create a common vision. I think diversity is one of the greatest trends of our country and if we capitalise on that in a correct way, I think we can face all the challenges ahead of use. So the challenge for us is how to create strength through diversity and create unity out of it. How can we create an atmosphere where all our ethnic groups say that this is where we want to go and we go there together? So how do we create that? Aung San Suu Kyi: I think that after my visit to the Shan state, I've come to the conclusion that we're all well on the way to creating unity out of diversity. I think a great many of our ethnic nationalities have come to the conclusion that we need to be united - that united we stand and I think we share very many common goals. This is why it has been such a great happiness for me to have visited the Shan states. The situation is so much better, so much more encouraging than I had imagined. The sense of solidarity, the unity within the different ethnic nationalities is very, very great. We do share common goals and they are aware of that. So we have to go on trying. The Burmese are the majority race in Burma and it is very important that we are prepared to shoulder our responsibilities as a majority race and we have to be very sensitive to the hopes and fears and aspirations of the other ethnic nationalities. I am not sure which ethnic nationality you belong to, but if you are Burmese then I think you have to be aware of the fact that you have very many responsibilities and you must be sensitive to the feelings of other ethnic nationalities. Lyse Doucet: This question of the persecution of minorities has been raised in many e-mails we've received from around the world. We heard from Aye Aye Maw in Washington who asked: Do you really think that all the minorities who wanted to break away from Myanmar right after the independence from British now going to stay quiet if the government in Myanmar changes? Another e-mail from Shaik Ubaid, New York, USA: I am a physician and a human rights activist. I am greatly concerned about the persecution and ethnic cleansing of Rohingiya Muslims of Arakan. Does your vision include a pluralistic Burma with equal rights for all, including religious minorities? Aung San Suu Kyi: Democracy does mean pluralism and democracy means equal basic human rights for everybody. I am confident that we can build up a really strong and united Burma. The signs are all here. In some ways, the sufferings we have undergone together have built up a tremendous feeling of trust among each other. Our sufferings have united us. I think the world has opened up in such a way that different cultures are able to reach across to each other. We all live in the same country - we have lived in the same country for centuries and because we have lived together so closely, we have had our problems. You have more problems with your neighbours than with people who live very far away from you - that's only natural. But I think we can also learn to be very, very good neighbours in the same way because we all live in this country we can learn to be very good and loving towards each other. We can learn to trust each other, we can learn to work together, we can learn to live together and I think that learning process has already begun. Lyse Doucet: We'll take another call now. On the line from New Jersey in the United States, Timothy Lewers. Timothy what would you like to ask Aung San Suu Kyi? Timothy Lewers: Even if your presence has moderated the evil in your country, has it been worse in reality because you prolonged it? You have a personal life to live. I know that you sacrificed quite a bit as far as your family is concerned. I imagine that it might have been better if you had deserted the country and let the government collapse on its basis because of their incompetence. They sort of held you up as a light - I just wondered if what's really happened has been worth it for you and for the country? Aung San Suu Kyi: I'm not the only one who is working for democracy in Burma and I have been protected by the fact that I'm well known. Many of my colleagues are not protected by this and they have made many more sacrifices than I have. In fact, I don't look upon what I have done as making a sacrifice. I've always said that I made a choice, I didn't make any sacrifices, I simply made choices and I think a lot of my colleagues feel the same way. They have made the choices, they do not think that they are making any sacrifices. But they are very brave and they are very good people and I would never, never dream of deserting them. Lyse Doucet: What about the second part of his question, that simply by your being in Burma, in effect you've helped to prop up the military government? Aung San Suu Kyi: Well, I do not think so and I do not think the SPDC think that either. It's a very novel way of looking at the situation. Lyse Doucet: Thank you Timothy Lewers but I have to say Aung San Suu Kyi, I know you don't like to talk about your personal sacrifices but Stephanie in London asked the very same question. Neil is on the line from Sweden, go ahead Neil. Neil: I wanted to ask you when will you be collecting your Nobel Peace Prize? Aung San Suu Kyi: I hope as soon as possible because I would like to go to Norway to thank the people of Norway for everything that they have done for us. Norway is very far away from Burma and they have nothing to gain from whatever we achieve here. So it is simply because they believe in human rights and justice that they have supported us over all these years and I really appreciate their warmth and their solid support for us. Neil: Because you've got a lot of supporters there as well - there are a lot of exiles living there. The question is, would they be going back? Aung San Suu Kyi: I hope so. I'm confident that they will come back one day. But what we don't know is when that day will come but we would like that day to come as soon as possible. I want Burma to be a country that is a sanctuary for all its citizens. Neil: Could you shed a bit more light on the generals? We hear a lot about you but who are these generals and what are they like? When you talk to them how do they respond to you? Aung San Suu Kyi: I think the generals are human beings like all of us. They are Burmese and I hope because they are Burmese, they will eventually do whatever is best for Burma. I have no personal animosity against any of them and I have to say that when I do meet them, I get on with them well enough. After all it is my father who founded the Burmese Army and I do have a sense of warmth towards the Burmese Army. I was brought up to view soldiers as my father's sons, if you like. So I've always had a family feeling towards the armed forces of Burma and it is a great pity that things have come to this point when we should be divided because of our different beliefs. I do believe that these problems can be overcome. I would like these generals to understand that we all have to work together for the sake of the country. Not for them, not for us but for the country and our people. Neil: In other words, you'd be able to forgive them? Aung San Suu Kyi: I don't think it's a question of forgiveness. I saw in some Japanese soap opera which was on Burmese television some time ago, some character said - who am I to forgive or not forgive. I thought that was rather a nice comment - who am I, what am I that I should decide whether I forgive people or I do not forgive people. Lyse Doucet: But on that point that Neil made about the military generals, Robert Moore asked: Are you really free now or are there still limits on your movement? Do the generals treat you differently? The first time you were released from house arrest, there were restrictions, are there any now? Aung San Suu Kyi: There are no restrictions that I am aware of, I think people do follow me around to find out what I am doing or perhaps it's simply for my security. I'm prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt. Lyse Doucet: Neil Ritchie, Aberdeen, UK Has there been any time in your long struggle where you have even for a moment lost hope? Aung San Suu Kyi: No, I've never lost hope. I've lost my temper from time to time though. Lyse Doucet: We've heard information over the years of how you spend your time. You are said to be very disciplined, you follow a strict routine. We understand that that routine includes listening to the BBC World Service which is celebrating its 70th birthday this year. The military government in Burma responded to our birthday by describing us as a "sky full of lies". How would you describe the importance of the World Service and its role in your life? Aung San Suu Kyi: It played a very central role in my life during my years of house arrest. I think I must have listened to the BBC something five to six hours every day at least. That is how I kept up with what was going on in the world. It gave me many, many hours of pleasure - it was not just information. It was - what do you call it - news, views, information and entertainment - I'm not quite sure what the slogan is. But anyway I got all of that from the BBC and I'm very, very grateful. I shall always think of the BBC as a lifeline. Lyse Doucet: Do you believe that international media, like the BBC, have a role to play in the struggle for democracy for political change? Aung San Suu Kyi: Very much so, this is why I think it is important for the BBC and other news media to act with a sense of responsibility because their influence can be very widespread. Lyse Doucet: Now throughout this programme you've talked about your methods of resistance. It's clear you believe in patience. But Barbara Nicholls, Colombo, Sri Lanka says: Do you believe your methods of resistance are working and can Buddhism inspire a politics capable of dealing effectively with the Bin Ladens of this world? Clearly your sense of political tactics are very different from Bin Laden but is this inspired in part by your religious beliefs? Aung San Suu Kyi: First of all I don't think I'm particularly patient. I've never liked this idea of being on a monument smiling at grief - I think it's quite ridiculous. But I think one has to develop a sense of endurance. One has to be able to endure whatever one comes across if you are engaged in a struggle like ours. Has Buddhism played an important part? Yes, Buddhism plays an important part in my life because it has strengthened me spiritually. It has given me the strength to continue to work under very, very difficult circumstances. With regard to the Bin Ladens of the world, if you are talking about terrorists and of those who believe in violence. I think that in some cases, violence seems to get the upper hand from time to time but I think in the long run, violence destroys more than it creates. So in the long run I think the real winner is non-violence. I don't think violence is the real winner. But in the short run it may seem as though violence gets its own way. Lyse Doucet: Sharleen Leahey, New Jersey, USA asks: Can you name someone whose life and work has inspired you? Aung San Suu Kyi: There are many of course who's life and work have inspired me but I have always been very open about the fact that it is my father who has been my greatest inspiration. Not just as a leader but as somebody who was very young at the time he died and who died without completing his work. And because of that he has inspired me to try to help our people to complete the process of building up the kind of country that he would like to have seen. Lyse Doucet: There are people around the world who've looked to you for inspiration. You may know that the Irish rock group, U2, dedicated the music and lyrics of their song, "Walk On", to you. Steve Elliott in California wanted to know whether you knew about that and whether they played any role in your release? Aung San Suu Kyi: I did know about the song. I don't know that they played a particular role in my release. But I think everybody who supported us has played some role in not just my release but the release of other political prisoners and I'm very, very grateful to them. And of course it's a great honour to have a group like U2 dedicate a song to me. Lyse Doucet: In all these many years of struggle, you've been continuing, Aung San Suu Kyi, some people asked about these reports that after you were released in May that perhaps you were ready now to make concessions. Was there any truth in those reports? Aung San Suu Kyi: I've always said that we are ready to engage in give and take. But give and take has to mean that both sides give as well as take. It doesn't mean that one side gives everything and the other side takes everything. So give and take is very important. And we have always believed in flexibility and compromise. Compromise on issues that would affect the whole nation, not compromise on principles. Lyse Doucet: Let's take another call from Mali in the Maldives. Ahmed Nassir is on the line. Ahmed Nassir, what would you like to ask? Ahmed Nassir: I'm pleased to at least hear your voice because I have been reading up to this time about various news items of you being arrested and later released. For a person like me, coming from a remote region, this is quite exciting. I am also excited because in spite of the hardships that you faced this moment probably would be the best time for you to go ahead. I would like to say a lot of things but let me just say, that it has been great that you have maintained your spirit and given hope to a lot of people including people like us and I wish you all the luck. Best wishes to you. Aung San Suu Kyi: Thank you very much and I would like you to know that people like you help me a great deal. There are so many people I don't know who have wished me well and although I do not know them, each time I hear one person wishing us well, it has helped me, it has encouraged me. So I would like you to know that every little bit helps and that nobody is unimportant. Every single well wisher has done something for us. Lyse Doucet: Ahmed Nassir, thank you very much for calling us with your comments. Thomas in Toronto, Canada asks you: Do you feel there are elements of the struggle in Burma that might be relevant to nation-building around the world? Are there any lessons from Myanmar? Aung San Suu Kyi: I hope there will be. I think it's a little bit too early to say but I very much look forward to the time when people all over the world can take lessons from Burma in the matter of nation building - how we have managed to get over our differences, how we have managed to work together in trust and confidence and how we have managed to make our country once again one of the best and happiest countries in our region. Lyse Doucet: It's a mark of your stature, Aung San Suu Kyi that so many of the callers and so many of the e-mails we've received have asked you for very specific advice - what countries should do, what they should do as persons, as tourists, as teachers. But throughout our conversation with you, you've almost made it seem as though you want Burma sealed off from the world. Is there nothing that the outside world can do? Because of course if people visit Burma, they bring not just there interest in Burma but they also can bring economic growth, money, investment to your country - none of these things would make a difference? Aung San Suu Kyi: Of course they would make a difference. At the right time they would make a tremendous difference. I think if I have given the impression that I want Burma sealed off from the world, then I've not been expressing myself well. I certainly do not want Burma sealed off from world. I want Burma to be an open country - open to different experiences, open to different people. I want our people to learn from the world and I want the world to be able to learn from us. I want it to be a process of mutual exchange and I very much look forward to the day when this will be possible without exacerbating already existing problems. Lyse Doucet: Aung San Suu Kyi, we're very grateful for all the time that you've given us for today. I know you don't like predictions but for all that you know of what's going on in Burma - your talks with the generals - this time next year do you think anything in Burma will have changed? Aung San Suu Kyi: I think it will have changed. I don't things will remain unchanged for another year. Lyse Doucet: But specifically? Something you're hoping might work out, some specific changes? Aung San Suu Kyi: I can't say specifically what. But whatever change it is, I very much think that it will be for the better. Lyse Doucet: Let's hope it is better for the people, for the country of Burma - of Myanmar. Thank you very, very much for joining us Aung San Suu Kyi. Thank you for being with us and we want to thank everyone who has taken part in the programme. I'll be here again next week but for now from me Lyse Doucet, goodbye. Goodbye Aung San Suu Kyi. Aung San Suu Kyi: Thank you and you've somehow or other managed to charm me into staying for the whole 55 minutes. Thank you very much. [Vicky] Do you want me to leave this last piece out? Lyse Doucet: Aung San Suu Kyi, we thank you very, very much. But I have to say it was quite extraordinary - the e-mails we received for you were very different from others in Talking Point. They do look to you for wisdom and it's extraordinary how much your word goes down. People were writing to us about their holidays and what they planned to do - their lives almost dependent on what you tell them to do or not to do. Now I'll stop being a journalist and say as a person that it's been pleasure for all of here. I have to say that our producers are walking on air for having had the chance to speak with you and we wish you well and we do wish you well in Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi: Thank you very much and I have to say you're irresistible. I meant to get back to my work here but everybody kept making faces to indicate that I should stay with you because this is so important. I'm very grateful to you for everything that you have been to me during those six years and everything that you are to my people now. Lyse Doucet: We thank you and we thank you too all the Burmese - some of whom got up at 4 o'clock in the morning in the United States just for the pleasure to speak with you and if any of the generals are listening in, we hope for everything to go well in Burma. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Asian Tribune
Date : 2002-12-13 Situation of Political Prisoner in Burma Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) On November 21, 2002 even though the Burmese military junta declared that they would release 116 political prisoners, they released only 60. Anyway, this marks the largest mass release of political prisoners in 14 years, and the junta has publicly announced that the release is proof of their genuine efforts towards pursuing national reconciliation. Nevertheless, to most Burmese, it is patently obvious that releasing these prisoners is merely a calculated move on the part of the junta to divert international pressure, while continuing to maintain an iron grip on the country. There is little evidence that the regime seriously intends to commit to reform, and even a casual evaluation of the current situation for political prisoners proves that very little has changed. In October 2000 the SPDC began talks with Daw Aung Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prizewinner and the leader of the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD). Since the time, the SPDC has released a total of 550 political prisoners. Of these however, only 130 to 150 actually obtained early releases. The overwhelming majority of the political prisoners released to date have either been individuals detained without formal charge, or else prisoners who had already finished or almost completed their sentences. While the international community applauds this recent large-scale release, an estimated 1,400 political prisoners continue to face daily physical and psychological torture, malnutrition, lack of health care, and the denial of UN mandated basic prisoners rights. While the world? attention is diverted, the death toll of those imprisoned for their nonviolent political activities and beliefs quietly continues to mount. In the past 4 months, 4 political prisoners have died. This brings the known number of political prisoners who suffer from serious illnesses including cancer, heart disease, kidney problems, and mental disorders, among others. Without urgently needed medical attention they have little hope for recovery. The SPDC?s lack of true commitment for change is further evident in the fact that most of the political prisoners who have been released, including those released last week, have been forced to sing statements pledging to abstain from any future political activities. Those who continue their struggle regardless can expect harsh penalties. According to the existing legal code, any former political prisoner suspected of resuming political activities can be rearrested and forced to serve a new sentence, which will be added to any time remaining from their previous unfinished sentences. This law is frequently enforced as the junta attempts to break the spirit of political activists. In 1990, months after being elected as Members of Parliament, NLD members U Khin Maung Swe and U Sein Hla Oo were arrested and each sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. In 1992 they were released under conditional amnesty. Then in 1994 there were rearrested as a result of their continuing political involvement, and were each given a seven-year sentence. While this sentence ended in 2001, U Khin Maung Swe and U Sing Hla Oo remain behind bars, forced to serve out of the time remaining from their previous ten-year sentence. In addition, 26 other political prisoners who the regime has classified as ?subversives,? remain imprisoned indefinitely, despite the fact that their sentences were completed years ago. The most famous of these is student leader Min Ko Naing, whose ten-year sentence was completed in 1999. Another tactic employed by the junta to divert attention from political prisoners is to keep them in remote prisons where the international community has little access to them. The situation is especially bad in southern Burma, where in 2002, 15 political detainees from Megue, Tavoy and Kawathaung prisons ?disappeared? after being taken from the prison by military officials and are feared to have been killed. Ultimately nothing is more revealing as to the true intentions of the regime that the fact that while the regime was engineering these well publicized releases of political prisoners, they were also continuing to arrest other political activists and sentence them to long prison terms. In November 2002, the Naung Soe, a law student received a 14 year-prison sentence for demanding the unconditional release of all political prisoners and the initiation of a meaningful dialog between SPDC and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Days later, another law student, Khin Maung Soe was given 7 years sentence for distributing political literature. The SPDC has long realized the value of political prisoners as pawns in their attempt to maintain power domestically and to gain international legitimacy. At times when their position is secure they conduct mass arrests. This conventionally provided them with political prisoners to release later as concessions to international pressure or during periods of internal and international pressure, they have always allowed some limited conditional release of political prisoners. This recent release therefore come as a little surprise. If the SPDC is truly committed to initiating a genuine political process, they must immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners including members of parliament, and the leaders of all political and ethnic nationality organizations. Only then will it be possible for a true dialog to occur. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shan Herald Agency for
News
No: 12 - 04: 13 December 2002 Drugs - Opium tax for army levied Local militia units have been collecting tax on the newly harvested opium in an eastern Shan State township opposite Chiangmai since late last month, according to reliable sources. The three Lahu militia leaders in Mongton Township: Tin Win of Pangsak; Pikoy, his deputy and Jalaw of Mongkarng were met by Captain Han Sein, Commander, Company 1, Infantry Battalion 65, on 23 November at Hwe Nawngsak, about 40 miles from the border, to receive the assignment, they said. The three were ordered to collect a minimum of 65 joy (1 joy = 1.6 kg) of opium between them: Tin Win, 24 joy (west of the Mongton-Thai border road); Pikoy, 16 joy (east of the road) and Jalaw, 25 joy (north of the Tasarng-Mongton-Monghsat road). In addition, they were appointed as official buying agents for the army, purchasing as many joy as possible at the rate of 6,000-8,000 baht per joy. "You can draw as much cash as you need from Chao Ching (a.k.a. Chaw Ching)," he was quoted to have said. According to all the sources, IB 65, among the 4 permanent battalions in Mongton, handles all drug business in the township, in cooperation with the United Wa State Army's 171st Brigade commanded by Wai Hsuehying, younger brother of Wei Hsuehkang: Li Hsien, 56, heads the production division and Chao Ching, 50, acts as sales manager while Captain Han Sein, 49, is responsible for security. Han Sein arrived in Mongton in 1981 as a lance-corporal. Distinguishing himself in the campaigns against the Lahu resistance, he rose steadily until 1996, when he was promoted to the present rank. He is married to a local Shan woman, Nang Mon of Hpakhae Village near Mongton, and has two children, 1 boy and 1 girl. (Some reports say the two were from Nang Mon's previous marriage with an ethnic Chinese trader, Lao Yang.) "He enjoys excellent relationship with both the local populace and the business sector," said a source. "Many villagers who were arrested on minor, or sometimes even major, charges were often released through his intercessions." According to sources close to Han Sein, it is difficult for Burmese units to be free from "unsavory practices" to maintain themselves, when Rangoon authorities is expecting them to survive on their own. "So, in the end, they have only two choices: to live by their wits or to live off the land," said one. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shan Herald Agency for
News
No: 12 - 05: 13 December 2002 Drugs: Speed precursors coming from outside Burma a lame excuse, retorts Shan exile In response to Foreign Minister Win Aung's claim that although amphetamines were produced in Burma, the precursor chemicals were made in India, Thailand and China, a prominent Shan expatriate in Chiangmai said it was a much worn-out justification for Rangoon's involvement in drugs. "While no one argues that precursors are coming from outside Burma, we should also stop a while to figure out why there are so many drug refineries in Burma but very few in its neighboring countries," responded Liang Parng, a social worker for Shan refugees in Chiangmai. "My bet is that we will eventually come to the conclusion that it is an economic necessity there." Liang Parng had also spoken in the same vein at the seminar on Wa, held in Chiangmai on 30 November. A participant, who requested anonymity, from Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University told S.H.A.N. and a few selected NGO workers later that he saw no way out for Bangkok and Rangoon in the event that they chose to go tough on each other. "While the Thais know who, among the Burmese and Wa top officials, are involved, the latter is also aware who among the Thais are involved," he said. "It would certainly end up as a disaster for both sides if they decide to expose one another." "That explains why (Prime Minister) Thaksin is suddenly walking soft-footed on drugs, after a year of talking tough," quipped an NGO worker. A two-day meeting on drugs is being held today at Chiangmai's Mae Ping Hotel. Burma's new police chief, Brig Gen Khin Yi, was reported to be among the participants. His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, while delivering his annual birthday eve address on 4 December, had called for a nationwide war on drugs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |