[burmanet2-l] Burma Related News - Dec 20, 2002.

["TIN KYI" <tinkyi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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BURMA RELATED NEWS - December  20, 2002.
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HEADLINES
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AFP - Myanmar delays verdict on Ne Win's relatives' death sentences
AFP - Thai police seize 22 kilos of heroin on Myanmar border
AFP - Sri Lanka seeks free trade within BIMST-EC regional grouping
Bkk Post - Workers sent back to Burma as pact comes into effect
Asian Tribune - Long dreamed of highway from India through Myanmar gets go
ahead for survey
Asian Tribune - Mismanagement and Misadministration in Burma is flayed
The Daily Star - Editorial - Fillip to Dhaka-Yangon relations
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Myanmar delays verdict on Ne Win's relatives' death sentences

YANGON, Dec 20 (AFP) - The fate of four relatives of Myanmar strongman Ne
Win, who were sentenced to death for plotting a coup, continues to hang in
the balance with their appeal delayed since the death of their patriarch.

The son-in-law and three grandsons of the former dictator were sentenced to
death by hanging in September, after being arrested in March on charges of
attempting to involve sections of the army in their plan to seize power.

On November 12 Myanmar's Supreme Court heard their appeal, and said it would
hand down a verdict within three weeks.

But on December 5 Ne Win died at his Yangon home where he had been held
under house arrest since March along with his favoured daughter, Sandar Win.

Since then diplomats and the media have been scouring the court's daily
lists for an indication that the appeal verdict is to be released.

"This is not an ordinary case so they will want to take more time over it,"
a court official admitted to AFP.

Although some analysts believed Ne Win's death would give the government a
free hand to take action against the four, other said they would want to
tread more carefully to prevent antagonising sections of the army loyal to
him.

Family sources say the four relatives languishing in separate cells in
Yangon's infamous Insein jail have not been informed of the death of the
"Old Man", who ruled Myanmar with an iron fist for 26 years until 1988.

Sandar Win remains under house arrest at the family compound and has not
been allowed to receive visitors, but it is unclear whether the ruling junta
will take legal action against her, as it has hinted it could do.

However, she was allowed to attend her father's cremation and funeral rites,
held within hours of his death, and later to offer alms to Buddhist monks at
her residence in accordance with Buddhist tradition.

She was also permitted to personally scatter Ne Win's ashes into the Yangon
river a day after the cremation.

Diplomats and analysts believe the ruling State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC) is unlikely to hang the four as it has never carried out the
death penalty since coming to power 14 years ago.

"I think the Supreme Court will decide to scrap the death penalty in favour
of a life sentence as a gesture of respect for the Old Man," said one legal
expert with close ties to the Ne Win family.

He also said he expected Sandar Win to be confined to the house, possibly
for years, but that no charges would be levelled at her.

"Sandar is likely to be kept under restriction for some time to come... They
won't be trying her for conspiracy since no charge has as yet been legally
made and its somewhat too late to do so," he said.
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Thai police seize 22 kilos of heroin on Myanmar border

BANGKOK, Dec 20 (AFP) - Thai anti-narcotics police said Friday they had
seized 22 kilos (48 pounds) of heroin smuggled from Myanmar and arrested
five suspects, including two from an ethnic militia allied to the Yangon
junta.

Police intercepted the drugs haul in an operation staged in Mae Ramat
district in the northwestern province of Tak on Tuesday.

Apart from the heroin, they also confiscated a semi-automatic pistol and
ammunition, three mobile phones and a pickup truck.

Three Thais from Tak province were arrested, along with two members of the
Democratic Buddhist Karen Army (DKBA), and all were charged with
trafficking.

The two Karen fighters also faced charges of illegal entry and illegal
possession of firearms and ammunition, police said.

Although methamphetamines have taken over in Thailand as the drug of choice,
trafficking of heroin into the country remains a major problem.

In September authorities announced their biggest heroin seizure on record, a
haul of nearly 140 kilograms (308 pounds).

Drug trafficking is a perennial irritant to relations between Thailand and
Myanmar, with both sides accusing the other of supporting ethnic armies
involved in the narcotics trade.
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Sri Lanka seeks free trade within BIMST-EC regional grouping

COLOMBO, Dec 20 (AFP) - Sri Lanka on Friday called for a free trade pact
between Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand as the five
nations opened an economic cooperation meeting here.

Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe launched the
ministerial-level meeting of the grouping with a plea that they move towards
a free trade area that "actually" delivers free trade.

"We can be flexible in how each country moves towards the goal of free trade
among the members, but all must reach the finishing line in reasonable
time," Wickremesinghe said.

He criticised trade barriers and bureaucratic hurdles that impede the free
flow of goods and services within the region and called for simple rules and
minimum paper work to ensure small and medium sized enterprises could
benefit.

The Sri Lankan premier also urged the BIMST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar,
Sri Lanka and Thailand -- Economic Cooperation) to meet at heads of
government level.

BIMST-EC was initiated five years ago by Thailand as part of its "look West"
policy to have closer economic cooperation with South Asian nations.

Wickremesinghe said the five member grouping should include all goods and
services for a possible free trade area deal.

"We have to include virtually all goods and services, even those that are
sensitive where there will be political pressure to maintain protection. We
cannot be competitive without increased competition," he said.
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Bangkok Post - Friday 20 December 2002
Workers sent back to Burma as pact comes into effect
Supamart Kasem

Thirty-nine Burmese nationals were sent back to their country yesterday
under a Thai-Burmese agreement to deport people who enter illegally.

The 39 people were handed over to Burmese authorities in Myawaddy, opposite
Rim Moei village in Mae Sot district.

It was the first time that alien workers were officially deported under the
agreement.

They were among 60 Burmese nationals caught in a crackdown between Feb and
May on alien workers entering the country illegally and working without
permits, said Pol Col Sanit Komolwanit, Mae Sot immigration chief.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry gave its Burmese counterpart lists and photos
of the illegal workers. Rangoon notified Thailand on Dec 17 that they would
accept 39 of the 60 workers after checks revealed they had permanent
addresses in Burma. Most of the 39 Burmese said they would return to
Thailand to seek jobs after serving jail terms.

Myo Win, 26, said he was arrested for working without a permit. He was
arrested in February at a Samut Prakan factory. He vowed to return to
Thailand after serving his jail term because there were no jobs in Burma.

Meanwhile, three Thais were arrested in Mae Sot district yesterday for
allegedly smuggling about 60 illegal Burmese workers into the country.

Chalerm Kraithong, 47, Bancha Kraithong, 26, and Tha Chaichana, 61, were
caught on the Mae Sot-Umphang highway with the workers hidden in their
truck.
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Asian Tribune
Date : 2002-12-20
Long dreamed of highway from India through Myanmar gets go ahead for survey
By Thet Khaing and Win Kyaw Oo

Myanmar:Thailand and India have agreed to begin survey work early next year
for a highway linking the three countries, a senior official at the Foreign
Affairs Ministry said last week.

The decision was made at a meeting of officials from the three countries in
Yangon on December 3 and 4, said the director general of the ministry's
political department, U Thaung Tun. The meeting also agreed to go ahead with
plans to establish another transport link, involving a shipping route from
southern India to Myanmar's deep sea port at Dawei and a highway from the
Tanintharyi Division town to Kanchanaburi in Thailand.

U Thaung Tun said the field survey for building the three-nation highway
would take place in February and assist preparations for a meeting the next
month to discuss funding for the project. Funding would be provided by the
Indian and Thai governments, as well as the Asian Development Bank, World
Bank and Japan Bank for International Cooperation, he said. The highway will
link Moreh in India and Mae Sot in Thailand and cross central and southern
Myanmar, using mainly existing roads, which will be widened where necessary.

Last week's meeting agreed that the international highway will have
two-lanes and be seven metres wide. The three countries reached agreement on
the highway last April in a deal which called for the project to be
completed in two years.

U Thaung Tun said work on the sea-road link could begin when funds were
available. The three sides agreed in principle to build the deep sea port
and the highway at last April's meeting. The proposed link would be faster
than shipping goods between India and Thailand via the Strait of Malacca, U
Thaung Tun said.

- The Myanmar Times -
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Asian Tribune
Date : 2002-12-20
Mismanagement and Misadministration in Burma is flayed

The National Coalition Government's flak was directed against the
administration of the army generals in Burma in the statement issued on the
12th anniversary of the establishment of the National Coalition Government.

In its statement, the National Coalition Government stated that they firmly
believe that the economic, social and political problems that have gripped
all races and national groups dwelling in Burma today are the result of
economic mismanagement and misadministration. It added: "This has led to
disunity and diminishing democratic processes. These problems will never by
solved by force or the use of weapons. No matter how ardent the SPDC is,
absence of cooperation and wholehearted support by the people is evident and
they can never succeed. We are convinced that all the people must be
represented in face-to-face political discussions, where there is mutual
respect, mutual understanding, and mutual trust with a full appreciation of
each other's position. Then only solutions will be found

The full text of the press release issued by the National Coalition
Government is given below:

2. SLORC promulgated the election law and held multiparty general elections
in 1990. It is a fundamental democratic process, which allows the people to
express their will. It was recognized by all to be free and fair. The
results of the elections and the elected representatives was gazetted and
officially accepted.

3. Though the National League for Democracy (NLD) won over 80 percent of the
seats, SLORC not only refused to allow the formation of parliament, it
abused power and resorted to all forms of persecution and subjugation of the
elected representatives of the people by imprisonment and other means. As
our objective was to implement the results of the elections the formation of
the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma had to be
established.

4. We firmly believe that the economic, social and political problems that
have gripped all races and national groups dwelling in Burma today are the
result of economic mismanagement and misadministration. This has led to
disunity and diminishing democratic processes. These problems will never by
solved by force or the use of weapons. No matter how ardent the SPDC is,
absence of cooperation and wholehearted support by the people is evident and
they can never succeed. We are convinced that all the people must be
represented in face-to-face political discussions, where there is mutual
respect, mutual understanding, and mutual trust with a full appreciation of
each other's position. Then only solutions will be found.

5. We have been working diligently with all expatriates to foster national
reconciliation to facilitate dialogue and to help in the drafting of a
future constitution in which, all nationalities can effectively participate.
We have been systematically organizing national academics living abroad to
make plans not only for the transition period but also for the future when
democracy is established.

6. Though the SPDC has proclaimed to the world that it is permitting Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi and the rest of the people to enthusiastically work towards
democracy, the facts disprove their words. There are still over one thousand
political prisoners including elected representatives of the people being
held incarcerated for their political convictions. Individuals who have
expressed their personal beliefs are slammed with long years in jail.
Meaningful political dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is not on their
agenda even though international bodies and organizations have repeatedly
urged them to do so.

7. The military dictators should now recognize their past mistakes and
should release unconditionally all political prisoners including the
people's representatives. They should engage in genuine political dialogue
with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi immediately and then proceed with tripartite
dialogue with members of all the nationalities. We remind them that if this
does not happen, the world will react by pressure and appropriate action
against them.

8. The National Government of the Union of Burma takes this opportunity to
express our gratitude to the United Nations, governments of the world,
organizations (governmental and nongovernmental), and individuals who have
shown and given support to us and our cause politically, diplomatically,
financially and psychologically throughout these 12 years of our existence.

9. On this 12th anniversary we remember our first duty to do our utmost for
the good of all the people living in our motherland and we repeat our pledge
to not retreat, but to press on with the National League for Democracy and
the Committee Representing the People's Parliament for the establishment of
a genuine democratic system, the formation of a Federated Union and the
cessation of the military dictatorship system.
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The Daily Star
Editorial - Fillip to Dhaka-Yangon relations
Let's follow up on this

IT augurs well that Bangladesh and Myanmar have inked an accord to establish
a joint trade commission. The move together with the decision to introduce
accounts trade and coastal shipping link is sure to bolster the bilateral
trade significantly. We welcome the latest developments in the bilateral
relations between Bangladesh and Myanmar during the short but effective
visit to Dhaka by the latter's Prime Minister General Than Shwe.

Significantly also 'total understanding has been reached on construction of
Bangladesh-Myanmar road network.' No doubt it would play an immensely
positive role in building up a more co-operative trade environment in both
Dhaka and Yangon. The possibility of linking the proposed road network with
the planned Asian Highway grows even further, so do the long cherished hopes
of the business communities in the region to cooperate better with each
other. The road link could help in putting a stop to smuggling and
businesses could be done in a legal way.

We hope that the two task forces formed to examine the technical as well as
the financial aspects of the proposed road highway, would be able to submit
their report sooner than later, so that the construction work can get
underway. Besides, other agreements like on avoidance of double taxation and
extension of visa tenure for Bangladeshi businessmen have been steps in the
right direction. Importantly, both countries managed to establish a more
solid base regarding bilateral relations by agreeing to hold meeting between
the foreign ministers 'at least once a year'. This would not only enhance
the friendly diplomatic relations between the two countries, but would also
help to resolve any misconceptions that may arise on either side.

But it was disappointing to learn that the high level meet failed to make
any progress in resolving the long pending repatriation of Rohingya refugees
from the refugee camps in Cox's Bazar. More than twenty thousand refugees
have been waiting for years with the hope that their government would agree
to take them back, but all attempts in the past failed to achieve any
success. Their hopes must have been dashed somewhat since this was the first
topmost level visit to Bangladesh by any Yangon dignitary in more than ten
years. We earnestly wish the repatriation process would be expedited so that
the thousands of Rohingyas could be relieved from their years of miseries in
the camps.
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