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Friday April 18, 11:49 AM
ASEAN asks China to postpone
meeting over SARS
BEIJING, April 18 (Reuters) - The 10-member Association of South East
Asian Nations has asked China to postpone an annual meeting of senior officials
because of the spread of the deadly flu-like SARS virus, ASEAN diplomats said on
Friday.
The meeting had been scheduled to be held in southern
China, where Severe Acurate Respiratory Syndrome surfaced in November.
There was no immediate comment from China, which one diplomat said
had suggested the venue of the April 23-24 meeting be moved to the northeastern
port city of Dalian which has not reported any cases of SARS.
"ASEAN had a consensus requesting China to postpone. It was
conveyed to the Chinese side. There has been no response," one diplomat told
Reuters.
A second diplomat said: "One country proposed to postpone
the meeting. This is now the position of ASEAN as a whole."
Many
regional meetings and business conferences have been cancelled because of SARS,
which has killed 67 people and infected 1,460 in China -- about half of the
global toll.
The disease has spread to about 25 countries, killing
164 people and infecting more than 3,500.
ASEAN comprises Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam.
The group has also postponed a meeting of
its finance ministers in Manila initially scheduled for April 25-26. But ASEAN
leaders are to hold a one-day meeting in Bangkok on April 29 to hammer out ways
to tackle the virus that has struck a blow to their economies, Thailand's public
health minister said on Thursday.
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Myanmar government says ethnic Karen rebels damaged gas
pipeline
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) _ Myanmar's military government on Friday
accused ethnic Karen rebels of sabotaging a natural gas pipeline, claiming it
was the second such incident in about two weeks.
The rebels
planted explosives that damaged a section of the pipeline near Hnitkayin
village, about 105 kilometers (65 miles) south of the Mon State capital of
Mawlamyine, said a government news release.
The pipeline carries
natural gas from offshore fields for use in Myanmar, and is considered much less
important than another line going to Thailand, Myanmar's main gas buyer.
The pipeline to Thailand, partly owned by Western and Thai oil
companies, has long been controversial. Human rights activists say it was built
by forced labor, with workers drafted by the government.
``Investigations revealed that the sabotage operation was being
carried out by the KNU (Karen National Union) 6th Brigade,'' said the government
statement. The KNU has been fighting for autonomy for more than 50 years.
The KNU, based on the Myanmar-Thai border, could not be reached
for comment. Independent confirmation of any such claims is virtually impossible
because the government restricts journalists' travel into and around the
country.
The government has long attributed sabotage incidents to
Karen groups. The Karen usually deny the claims.
The statement
also said the KNU's No. 1 brigade on March 29 used explosives to damage a
section of the pipeline near Warbotaw village, 21 kilometers (13 miles)
northwest of Karen state capital, Pa-an.
The government said
authorities arrested a KNU rebel allegedly involved in the destruction of the
pipeline, but gave no further details.
There are several ethnic
rebel groups in Myanmar. The KNU is one of the few which did not sign a
cease-fire with the junta that took power in 1988.
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Two ASEAN leaders delegate SARS summit to deputies, China
invited
BANGKOK, April 18 (AFP) - Two ASEAN leaders said they will send their
deputies to attend a one-day summit on SARS in Thailand this month to which
China has also been invited, the government said here Friday.
The
rare emergency meeting of leaders from the 10-member Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN), to discuss the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
crisis, was announced Thursday by Thailand and scheduled for April 29.
"As of now Myanmar's leader (Senior General Than Shwe), who is
busy with another engagement, and Malaysia's leader (Mahathir Mohamad) are
unable to attend the summit, but they will assign their deputies to attend,"
government spokesman Sita Divari told reporters.
Sita said
Thailand had invited China, where SARS is believed to have originated in
southern Guangdong province in November, and expressed optimism it would respond
positively.
"We do expect the summit to be ASEAN plus China. We
are waiting for an answer," he said.
Health Minister Sudarat
Keyuraphan said Thursday all ASEAN leaders planned to participate in the summit.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said the summit would
determine an ASEAN position on SARS.
"The meeting will lead to the
creation of confidence for regional outsiders and show that ASEAN is aware and
will cooperate to tackle SARS in order to contain the problem," he told
reporters.
"It will make ASEAN more credible in terms of tourism,
investment and trade."
Cambodia's Foreign Minister Hor Namhong
meanwhile confirmed Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who chairs the ASEAN
standing committee, would attend the summit.
"The summit will be
very important because SARS has created a lot of negative impact on Asia's
economies and tourism," he said, adding it was a problem requiring
regional-level solutions.
Asian economies -- in particular tourism
-- are being hammered by the virus, with a series of downgrades to economic
growth forecasts in the past week.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam.
The atypical pneumonia has killed more than 166 around
the world and sickened more than 3,600, mostly in Asia. Four ASEAN countries
have recorded SARS deaths: Singapore (13), Vietnam (5), Thailand (2) and
Malaysia (1).
China has officially reported at least 65 deaths
from SARS, with 70 in Hong Kong, including an American national who was
pronounced dead on arrival in the territory last week after being transferred
from mainland China.
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ASEAN to dicuss ways to curb SARS spread: Singapore PM
SINGAPORE, April 19 (AFP) - Southeast Asian leaders will hold talks on
ways to contain the spread of SARS within the region at a specially convened
summit in Bangkok this month, Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said
Saturday.
"We are going to approach this on a regional basis and
work out certain rules when people cross borders," Goh said at at news briefing.
The rare emergency meeting on April 29 of leaders from the
10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to discuss the Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) crisis was announced last week by Thailand.
The World Health Organisation will also attend the meeting, the
Thai government said.
Goh, who will also be present, said he would
like to share Singapore's experience in fighting the outbreak with neighbouring
countries and alert them to the danger of the respiratory virus.
"There are many things we can do," Goh said.
"First
we would like to tell the other countries that are not affected that there is a
potential danger there," he said.
Last week, Singapore held talks
with Malaysia on ways in which the two neighbours can work together to contain
the SARS outbreak.
The two countries also agreed to set up a joint
border health committee to tighten control at entry points to try to curb SARS.
Apart from Singapore, three other ASEAN countries have recorded
SARS deaths -- Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia.
ASEAN groups
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
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Bangkok Post - Saturday 19 April
2003
Four joint border units to be merged
Army, navy to
run new control centre
Wassana Nanuam
A plan to merge four joint military units overseeing the borders
with Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia was endorsed during a meeting of the
armed forces chiefs yesterday at Supreme Command
headquarters.
Lt-Gen Pisanu Urailert, of the Supreme Command's
joint civil affairs department, said the units would be replaced by a control
centre from which the army and navy would coordinate border affairs with
neighbouring countries.
A director for the facility would be
appointed during a military reshuffle in September, he
said.
Meanwhile, joint commands responsible for security at border
villages, anti-terrorism measures, mine sweeping and suppressing activities
related to the drugs trade would be upgraded to permanent organisations, Lt-Gen
Pisanu said. The mine-sweeping unit would eventually be
privatised.
A Thai-Lao border sub-committee would launch joint
patrols between Ubon Ratchathani and the Lao province of Champasak, as well as
between Chiang Rai and Chaiyaburi provinces. The panel was scheduled to meet in
Vientiane in June to discuss drug suppression measures as traffickers were
becoming more active through the Lao border.
The armed forces
chiefs agreed border security was generally stable, except for recurring
problems along the frontier with Burma. Earlier this month, a clash between
Burmese soldiers and ethnic militia opposite Mae Hong Son province forced 224
Karen and 450 Burmese to seek refuge on Thai soil.
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The Nation
Survival Dance Of The
Karen
Piyaporn Wongruang
Published on
Apr 19, 2003
Two years ago, while researching the religion
and ethnic identity of the Karen in Thailand and Burma, Dr Kwanchewan Buadaeng
stumbled upon a musical performance in Tha Song Yang District of Tak Province,
near the Thai-Burmese border, that she had never seen in any other Karen
communities in Thailand.
This musical performance, known as ja, is
not just entertainment for Karen in the area, but also reflects the identity of
this group who have spent most of their lives in the middle of a
conflict.
Ja is believed to be influenced by a performance in Burma
known as zat, which refers to the Lord Buddha?s tales of his reincarnations, and
was originally used as a way of disseminating those tales. Later, zat was
perceived as a common play and other stories were included.
Zat
usually comprises singing, dances and short dramas, all separate entities that
are addressed throughout the performance. Before the play starts, actors and
actresses perform a dance of worship to 37 nats or Burmese gods. The movements
are tightly controlled as a single mistake is believed to be a slight to the
gods.
In the past, zat was performed separately for members of
royalty and for ordinary people. The existence of travelling troupes that
performed in rural areas can be traced back to the second half of the 19th
century.
The main feature of the Karen ja is similar to that of
zat. The actors and actresses sing, dance, and play out dramas. Although the
Burmese dialogue is now in Karen, the singing and dancing is still in Burmese
style.
Large ja troupes perform in Pha-an, a central city in Kayin
(Karen) State in Burma, while smaller troupes travel to perform in remote areas.
Because ja involves songs and dances to worship the nats, people
believe that it brings luck to their villages and welcome travelling
troupes.
Before the fighting erupted in the area near Tha Song Yang
District, almost directly opposite Pha-an City, these troupes often travelled
far afield. Sometimes they crossed the Moei River that separates Thailand and
Burma and entered Thailand to put on a ja performance for the Karen in the area.
This has now virtually stopped since the troupes no longer dare cross the river
because the paths leading to its banks are often heavily
mined.
Kayin State used to be under the control of the Karen
National Union (KNU). That changed some eight years ago with the emergence of a
splinter group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), which aligned with
the ruling State Development and Peace Council (SPDC). Since then, fighting has
intensified and many landmines have been laid, making it almost impossible for
the ja troupes to cross the border.
So the Thai-Karen took matters
into their own hands and developed their own ja troupes, in many cases with
monks taking on the role of the main characters.
While the troupes
in Thailand maintain the main features of the ja performed in Burma, such as the
dance of worship to the nats, their dramas reflect the contemporary life of
Karen in Thailand. In one, a young man is warned that if he leaves to work in
the city, he will be cheated.
Kwanchewan describes ja as an attempt
by the Karen people in Burma and Thailand to create and present their identity,
which is not the same as that of Karen who live in other areas along the western
border, such as in the mountainous region in the north.
With more
people migrating to urban areas in search of of work, Kwanchewan says the
Karens? culture is not static as many believe. Here, near the border, the Karen
have adapted culture from other places and absorbed it as part of their
identity.
Kwanchewan says the ja worship dance is a significant
performance because it reflects the application of the sacred power that goes
far beyond ethnicity to support prosperity and peace of the
Karen.
In addition, ja is a crucial tool to create and expand the
cultural space of the Karen. As ja troupes travel from one village to another,
they act as a link between the people and open new opportunities for this rite
to be performed.
While ja is sometimes forbidden in some districts
for cultural reasons, its traditional elements are ignored by young people.
Today, there is only one troupe performing in the area.
?Rituals
and performances are not static both in the context of content and style,? says
Kwanchewan. ?Ja is also struggling to survive. The question is whether it will
continue as a communicative tool of culture and also whether its traditional
elements will be accepted by youngsters.
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The Straits Times - APRIL 19, 2003
SAT
Migrant workers' kids 'a security threat'
BANGKOK - Thailand's fast growing population of
children born to migrant workers from neighbouring countries pose a security
threat, the National Security Council (NSC) has warned.
The Bangkok
Post yesterday quoted the council as saying that an estimated 120,000 lived in
Thailand.
Since these children have no documentary proof of
nationality or domicile, they would be very hard to trace, said a senior member
of a committee for suppressing employment of migrant labour.
Mr
Chaipak Siriwat said the NSC feared that these children would grow into a new
generation of ethnic minorities whose interests could pose a serious threat to
national security.
These children faced a bleak future, he added.
Many of them had been abandoned by their parents, with some placed under the
care of social welfare officials and others in the care of non-governmental
organisations.
Mr Chaipak said steps were being taken to deport
illegal immigrants as soon as they were caught.
He also said that
the government was planning to allow in foreign workers for those sectors whose
requirements could not be met by Thais.
Importing foreign labour
could help contain the population of illegal immigrants, he was quoted as
saying.
A memorandum of understanding on labour import has already
been signed with Laos. A similar MoU is to be pursued with Myanmar and Cambodia.
As a long-term solution, it has also been proposed that the
private sector should be encouraged to set up businesses in border areas to
create jobs for labourers from neighbouring countries.
At a meeting
on Friday, relevant state agencies and industry representatives agreed that
investing in farm and livestock businesses in the border area of Tak would help
migrant workers from Myanmar find jobs.
Farmers' groups
representative Korkiat Sapsarn said Myanmar was likely to endorse the initiative
as it had already set aside 4,040 ha of land near the Asian highway in Myawaddy
for farms and industrial estates.
However, Tak's industrial council
chairman Suchart Visuwan said that despite the availability of labour, Myanmar's
industrial development could be hampered by poor infrastructure, red tape, and
rebel infighting.
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