Please visit this page and sign
the petition for Mr. Soe Myint, the Editor (Founder) of Mizzima
News
http://www.petitiononline.com/soe123/petition.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------
BURMA RELATED NEWS - February 18,
2003.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
HEADLINES
--------------------------------------------------------------------
AP -
Myanmar's central bank imposes restrictions on money transfers,
AFP - Asian
countries discuss protection of the Bay of Bengal
AFP - Death
toll in Thai drugs war soars towards 600
Dow Jones -
Thailand Mulls Buying Ag Products From Myanmar Via Trade
Pact
Asian
Tribune - Thailand-Myanmar to expand account
trade
NDTV - Burmese refugees protest aid suspension
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar's
central bank imposes restrictions on money transfers,
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) _ Myanmar's central bank on Monday ordered a
ban on money transfers and limits on withdrawals from the country's 20 private
banks, as concerns rise that several banks could be headed for bankruptcy.
The order, which took effect Monday, limits withdrawals to 500,000
kyats per week, said a bank manager who spoke on condition of anonymity. At the
official exchange rate, 5,000 kyats is worth about US$83,300, or US$455 at the
free market exchange rate.
The bank manager said the order is in
place until further notice. He added that ATM machines had been closed and the
use of bank credit cards stopped.
Myanmar's late former dictator
Ne Win seriously mismanaged the country's economy, and widespread protests in
1988 were ignited by his decision to demonetize the kyat.
Despite
his subsequent ouster, the ruling junta has failed to resuscitate the economy,
and has had difficulty in attracting investment because of its poor human rights
record, analysts say.
Members of the local business community
expressed concern over Monday's move, and worried how they would be able to
trade and pay their workers.
``All medium and large-sized
businesses slowed down as business transactions cannot be done through banks,
and business slumped due to uncertainty of the situation of the private banks,''
said a pharmaceutical importer who asked not to be named.
The
order came just a week after central bank chief Kyaw Kyaw Maung said the
country's registered private banks stood on firm financial ground in a bid to
quash rumors that several banks were headed for bankruptcy.
The
rumors had sparked a spate of withdrawals, and his comments last Monday failed
to stem the withdrawals.
``Banks are a chaotic scene, with traffic
police outside forced to handle extra traffic while disgruntled clients have
heated arguments with the bank staff over the counters,'' said a school teacher
who went to withdraw her savings of 300,000 kyats on Monday.
Official reassurances of financial stability are typically
interpreted to mean the opposite by the Myanmar public, which over the years has
seen the government make sudden and sometimes radical changes to the financial
system.
Gen. Khin Nyunt, the third-ranking leader of the ruling
junta and the country's military intelligence chief, on Saturday blamed
``destructive elements'' for spreading rumors that banks are on the brink of
collapse.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Asian countries discuss protection of the Bay of Bengal
BANGKOK, Feb 18 (AFP) - Eight Asian countries are meeting in
Thailand to discuss the protection of the threatened resources of the Bay of
Bengal which feeds millions of people, the UN's food agency said Tuesday.
The resources of the bay -- bordered by Bangladesh, India,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand -- are under
threat from overexploitation and pollution, the Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) said in a statement.
Fifty officials from the
countries were meeting at Thailand's coastal resort of Pattaya to develop a plan
for the protection and sustainable management of the bay "in order to improve
(the) food and livelihood security of the region's large coastal population."
"Over-exploitation, destructive fishing practices, habitat
destruction, and pollution from land and sea-based sources are serious threats
to the continued survival of the region's marine bounty," the statement said.
"A recent study of trawl fisheries off the southeast coast of
India found a more than 40 percent reduction in the catch and nearly two-thirds
decline in the catch over the past decade.
"The ever-present
threat of oil spills from the heavy tanker traffic through the Bay of Bengal
region and the concentration of shrimp aquaculture farms in certain coastal
areas are among other serious concerns..."
More than two million
people make a living by fishing in the coastal and offshore waters of the bay,
said the FAO, one of the financers of the initiative.
Most of the
400 million people living in the immediate vicinity of the Bay of Bengal are
among the world's poorest, it said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday February 18, 8:11 PM
Death toll in Thai drugs
war soars towards 600
BANGKOK, Feb 18
(AFP) - The death toll in Thailand's
controversial war on drugs has soared to nearly 600 people in the first 15 days
of the campaign, the interior ministry revealed as the country's human rights
commissioner expressed shock over the killings.
The figure -- which
represents nearly 40 deaths per day from February 1 to 15 -- is almost double
the 319 deaths announced by police on Monday.
"Police have killed
eight people in self-defence and another 588 were traffickers killed by other
drug gang members," interior ministry spokesman Somchai Petprasert told
AFP.
Police had earlier stated they were responsible for 15 deaths
in self-defence.
Somchai attributed the difference in tolls to
separate forms of information collection between the police and the interior
ministry.
"We have more people (than police) who can keep eyes on
what is happening and who is involved," he said Tuesday.
"Police
may think some killings do not involve drugs but the interior ministry counts
them," he added.
Officials were due to meet Wednesday to reach a
consensus on the figure.
Thailand's Human Rights Commissioner
Pradit Charoenthaithawee expressed revulsion at the latest
statistics.
"It is unbelievable, and quite a shame," Pradit told
AFP of the killings.
"I think it will be nearly 1,000 by the end of
this program, because so many people are involved (in the
campaign)."
The commissioner expressed concern that "quite a high
percentage" of the killings may have been extra-judicial murders performed by or
involving police or government officials.
Other rights groups have
also warned that innocent people may be swept up in the crackdown, particularly
if their names appear on a police "blacklist" of about 1,800 suspected
traffickers.
Attorney General Vichian Viriyaprasit has also spoken
out, saying in media reports Monday that police were "taking justice into their
own hands."
Police have said an additional 15,616 people had been
arrested on drugs-related charges since the start of the
crackdown.
On Tuesday Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who
launched the war on drugs in his bid to rid the kingdom of the scourge within
three months, sounded a warning to his administration by announcing that
hundreds of government staff were involved directly or indirectly in drugs
trafficking in Thailand.
"I have received a preliminary report from
the interior ministry that more than 700 government officials from various
ministries are involved in drugs trafficking," Thaksin told
reporters.
Among them are two senior police officers whose transfer
he had approved, Thaksin said. He did not say what action would be taken against
the others.
Thaksin said provincial governors deemed not to have
met requirements in the drugs purge had until the end of the month to prove
themselves or face "decisive action".
More than 182 million baht
(4.23 million dollars) worth of property and cash have been confiscated from
alleged drugs traffickers and some 6.02 million amphetamine tablets seized,
although the amount is a pittance compared to the one billion pills Thai
officials estimate will be trafficked into Thailand this year.
The
majority of the amphetamine-type stimulants found in Thailand are believed to be
produced in clandestine factories in Myanmar, where earlier this month Thaksin
visited and sought anti-drugs cooperation from the military government.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Thailand Mulls Buying Ag Products From Myanmar Via Trade
Pact
Feb 18 7:04 AM ET
Bangkok, Feb. 18
(Dow Jones) - The Thai government
wants to buy from Myanmar 2,000 metric tons of soybeans and 2,000 tons of
animal-feed corn, along with other agricultural commodities, under a bilateral
trade agreement, according to Rachane Potjanasuntorn, director-general of
Thailand's Department of Foreign Trade at the Commerce Ministry.
Thailand's decision follows a trade committee meeting among
government officials from both countries, said Rachane, who led the Thai
delegation at the meeting. Myanmar's director-general of trade directorate at
the Ministry of Commerce led Myanmar's delegates, Rachane said.
Rachane didn't reveal the value of the commodities Thailand is
seeking.
At the meeting, Myanmar also expressed interest in buying
from Thailand construction materials such as roof tiles, floor tiles and
machinery used in construction and agricultural activities, Rachane said.
The purchases will be made under an "account trade" system that
Thailand and Myanmar agreed to create in March last year to facilitate bilateral
trade, Rachane said.
Under this account trade system, cash is used
only to cover the difference in the value of products bartered between the
countries. The two countries won't have to exchange goods at the same time, they
only need to settle their accounts at agreed times, within three months for this
purchase, Rachane said.
"The deal will hopefully be concluded next
month," Rachane said.
The state-owned Public Warehouse
Organization will make purchases on behalf of the Thai government, Rachane said.
Thailand also expects to trade goods with Laos in a similar
manner, Rachane said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Asian Tribune
Date :
2003-02-18
Thailand-Myanmar to expand account
trade
Bangkok,
Feb 18 (TNA):
Myanmar and
Thailand have
agreed to expand account trade, which is expected to help boost overall two-way
trade between the two neighbouring countries, according to radio and T.V. news
reports.
Rachen Pachanasunthorn,
Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade, told reporters that the
agreement made by the Myanmar and Thai governments was further discussed with
more concrete results at a meeting here today between a visiting Myanmar trade
delegation and its Thai counterpart, said the news reports of GG-News Radio and
T.V. Channel 3.
The Thai delegation consisted
of government officials and representatives from the private sector, stated the
news reports.
Import-Export Bank of
Thailand and the
Ministry of Commerce will cooperate in handling the account trade on behalf of
the Thai government.
Under the account trade, which
is expected to help boost overall bilateral trade, Thailand will mostly purchase
farm and fishery products from Myanmar, which will, in turn, mostly purchase
construction materials from Thailand, according to the news reports.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
NDTV
Burmese refugees protest aid
suspension
Shruti Verma
Singh
Tuesday, February 18, 2003 (New
Delhi):
Burmese refugees who have sought asylum in India are
protesting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) decision
to stop their subsistence allowance of Rs 1400.
The refugees say
that their food, clothes and rent all depend on this allowance, but UNHCR
officials say they are stopping the allowance to help the refugees help
themselves.
"One should not look at it as stopping the subsistence
allowance. I think we are talking about empowering refugees to stand on their
own feet and to be self-sufficient. I don't think it is dignified for people to
live on handouts for the rest of their lives," said Wei Meng Lim Kabaa, Deputy
Chief of Mission, UNHCR.
The UN says it's prepared to teach them
skills such as welding, tailoring and using computers with which they can get
jobs. But without a work permit, these skills would be of little or no
use.
"How do they expect these people to work in India when they
don't have work permits because you know India is not signatory to the 1952
convention. So these people are undesirable aliens," said E Deenadayalan,
General Secretary, The Other Media.
In fact, unlike their Tibetan
or Sri Lankan counterparts, these refugees are not recognised by the Indian
government - something the Burmese say, makes them even more vulnerable without
the UN's support.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|