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BURMA RELATED NEWS - May 12, 2003.
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HEADLINES
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AFP - Tourist tower
at historic Myanmar site throws preservation into question
AP - Heat, SARS
fears to delay Myanmar school reopening
Reuters - Workplace
discrimination still rampant, ILO says
DowJones - China To
End Preferential Tax Policy For 20 Commodities
NYT - Burmese Women
Are Reporting Systematic Rapes by Military
ST - Thailand keen
on economic hub with neighbours
Asian Tribune -
India - Myanmar - Thailand Highway to take "at least two
years"
DVB News - Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi welcomed by the USDA?
DVB News -
Reactions on ICG's report: 'Myanmar backgrounder: Ethnic Minority
Politics'
Mizzima News -
India actively exporting arms to Burma
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Monday May 12, 9:58
AM
Tourist tower at historic Myanmar site throws preservation into
question
YANGON (AFP) - The awe-inspiring temples and
stupas of Myanmar's ancient city Pagan are to be joined by a 60-meter high
viewing tower that could help boost tourism revenue, but the plans are
rekindling concern over commitment to cultural heritage preservation.
The
spectacular collection of thousands of 11th and 12th century Buddhist monuments,
covering some 40 square kilometers in remote central Myanmar, is rivaled only by
Cambodia's Angkor Wat complex as mainland Southeast Asia's finest example of
ancient archaeology and cultural heritage.
But the military government's
plans to erect the tower, from where paying tourists will be granted a bird's
eye view, have alarmed preservationists at UNESCO, the United Nations cultural
body, an outraged other critics.
"We are definitely concerned about any
plans to develop any kinds of new infrastructure within a protected area, or
impacting on the protected area's buffer zone," Richard Engelhardt, UNESCO's
Bangkok-based advisor for culture in Asia and the Pacific, told AFP
recently.
A report in the state-run New Light of Myanmar last month said
the Nanmyint Tower would be built near a golf course "in Bagan ancient cultural
region".
The report carried mock-up photos of a 20-story cylindrical metallic
tower. It would take a year to erect, it said.
Myanmar's leader, Senior
General Than Shwe, made a visit to the site and inspected the plans, virtually
assuring the project has the firm support of the military junta.
UNESCO's
backing would be more complex. For decades the UN body has assisted in
restoration work in Pagan, and for the past few years it has quietly liaised
with Myanmar over eventual listing of Pagan as the country's first World
Heritage site.
But key steps must be taken by the government first,
including Yangon's provision of copies of national heritage
legislation.
"What we're awaiting is not particularly controversial but
we are waiting to receive these from the Myanmar government and when they are
received, the nomination process will be picked up again," Engelhardt
said.
The tower would not just be a representation of the growing tourist
designs which the government has on Pagan; it throws into question the very
nature of how the ancient city should be preserved.
"We are concerned
that there becomes a confusion between heritage conservation of an ancient site
... and recreational tourism," he said.
Though built by a succession of
Burmese kings, there are few if any trappings of royalty in Pagan. But critics
say the name of the proposed tower (Nanmyint means "high palace") hints at a
shift from reverence to pretension.
"Pagan is an _expression_ of humility
by former kings and not a symbol of power," one Myanmar historian said, asking
not to be named.
"The conceived royal tower would therefore be quite
incongruous in that setting and stick out like a sore thumb," he added. "We want
very much for Pagan to be preserved in its pristine form."
One diplomat
described the plans to erect the tourist tower as "crazy."
"The beauty of
Pagan will be disfigured," said the diplomat. "It is a crime. It is reminiscent
of what happened to the Buddhas in Bamiyan and the looting in the Baghdad
museum," he said, referring to giant statues destroyed by the Afghan former
Taliban regime.
Whether the viewing tower would have to be scrapped for
the site to earn a UNESCO listing is unclear, but Engelhardt, who is familiar
with the tower's proposed location, is not happy.
"Normally the
construction of a large new structure inside an archaeological site is something
that we would not endorse."
UNESCO's blessing could be key for Pagan, as
tourism revenues at World Heritage sites are often heavily boosted by such
international recognition.
One source close to the process says Yangon is
holding back on Pagan's World Heritage process.
"I think they are really
in a fierce debate over what to do with Pagan, whether it's exploitation or
educational conservation, and they think they'd better do that internally rather
than open it up to public scrutiny," said the source.
Pagan is one of
Myanmar's biggest money-spinners. Officials say over 70,000 foreign tourists
visited Pagan last fiscal year, spending 750,000 dollars in entrance fees, an
increase of some 40 percent over the previous year.
Total tourist
revenues for Pagan have not been released.
The area some 400 kilometres
(248 miles) north of Yangon is a must stop on many visitors' itineraries, but
travel agents in the capital expressed frustration with the latest
plans.
"Everybody seems to feel that it was not a very good idea," said
one tour guide, adding that there is disappointment that authorities have not
cooperated with UNESCO.
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Heat, SARS fears to delay Myanmar school
reopening
Mon May 12, 6:27 PM ET
YANGON, Myanmar
(AP) _ SARS fears and fierce heat
have delayed the start of the new school year in Myanmar by two weeks, officials
said Monday.
Myanmar has not confirmed any cases of severe acute
respiratory syndrome, though 46 people showing SARS-like symptoms have been
admitted to the Contagious Diseases Hospital in Yangon since April 8, a doctor
said on condition of anonymity.
He said 29 of the patients, including an
unidentified high-ranking military officer, have been discharged. The status of
the others was not immediately known. Information is tightly controlled in this
military-ruled country.
The government has delayed the school season due
to ``intense summer heat this year,'' and to ease parents' concerns about SARS,
an Education Ministry official said .
The decision was made in late
April, when temperatures hit record highs of up to 45 degrees Celsius (113
degrees Fahrenheit), he said.
Schools were due to reopen June 2 after a
2 1/2 month break, but will wait until June 16, said the education official, who
declined to give his name.
Myanmar Deputy Health Minister Dr. Mya Oo
said last month that the government, working with the World Health Organization,
has taken stringent measures to prevent a SARS outbreak.
These included
forming medical surveillance teams, checking for possible symptoms at entry
points, preparing hospital isolation wards and starting public education
campaigns.
SARS has killed more than 550 people and infected 7,400
infected worldwide, with most of the deaths in China and Hong Kong.
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Workplace discrimination still rampant, ILO
says
Sun May 11, 8:52 PM ET
GENEVA (Reuters) - Discrimination remains rampant in the
workplace worldwide, depriving women, ethnic and religious minorities and
migrants of equal jobs or pay, a report from the International Labour
Organisation (ILO) said on Monday.
"There is not one country in the
world that can say it is free of this problem," Manuela Tomei, ILO specialist
and an author of the report, told a pre-launch news conference.
While
the most blatant types of discrimination were fading, "subtle, less visible and
more insidious forms" had emerged, including pre-employment testing for
HIV/AIDS, the report said.
"Every day, around the world, discrimination
at work is an unfortunate reality for hundreds of millions of people," said the
United Nations agency's Director-General Juan Somavia in an introduction to the
report, titled "Time for Equality at Work".
Women are the most common
target of discrimination, suffering from both the "glass ceiling" preventing
their advance and significant "pay gaps" even where their educational level was
equal to that of men, the ILO said.
Some 158 of the agency's 175 member
states have ratified its 1958 convention protecting workers from exclusion or
preference on grounds of race, colour, religion and political opinion.
But the United States, China, and Japan, as well as Singapore and
Thailand are among states yet to sign up.
The ILO's convention of 1951
on equal pay for equal work for men and women has been ratified by 160 states,
again excluding the United States as well as Bahrain, Myanmar and Qatar.
Discrimination against workers with known or suspected HIV/AIDS --
affecting an estimated 42 million people around the globe -- can take many
forms, according to the report.
"Pre-employment testing, which results
in a refusal to hire, is widespread, even where national and workplace policies
against discrimination based on HIV/AIDS are in place, including in southern
Africa," it said.
People with disabilities, who account for some seven
to 10 per cent of the world's population, are often denied jobs, education and
training, the ILO said. Unemployment rates for disabled could reach 80 percent
in many developing countries.
In countries with one dominant religion
there was widespread discrimination against believers of minority faiths, it
said.
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China To End Preferential Tax Policy For 20
Commodities
Mon May 12, 3:10 AM ET
Shanghai, May 12
(Dow Jones) - China plans to abolish
a preferential import tax policy applied to 20 commodities imported from
neighboring countries via boarder trade, according to notices from Chinese
customs and the Ministry of Finance Monday.
Effective June 1, 20
commodities - ranging from copper concentrate, wrought copper, lead and zinc to
newsprint, pulp and some chemical materials - imported from neighboring
countries will no longer enjoy a 50% rebate of the 17% value- added tax and
import tariff.
"These commodities will be levied the full value-added
tax and import tariff from that time," said an official at the Ministry of
Finance in Beijing.
"We abolished the preferential tax policy because
it's unfair to other countries which are not adjacent to us...To provide a fair
competition environment is one of our commitments to the World Trade
Organization," he said.
The policy caught industry analysts' attention
after they noticed copper concentrate imports were involved, as China relies
heavily on imported concentrates due to the poor quality of domestically
produced ores.
The country imported a total of 2.1 million metric tons
of copper concentrate in 2002, 506,598 tons of which were from the neighboring
Mongolia, Kazakhstan, North Korea, India, Vietnam and Myanmar, according to
statistics from customs.
Mongolia is China's largest copper concentrate
supplier, with sales to China totaling 471,543 tons last year.
Base
metals analysts said the move wouldn't have much impact on the copper producing
industry, as major Chinese copper producers already enjoy a preferential tax
policy involving 800,000 tons of copper concentrates a year, which is in effect
from 2003 to 2005.
According to the policy, issued in April, 30% of the
value-added tax for the 800,000 tons of imported concentrates will be refunded
to importers, while the remaining 70% will be invested in a Beijing-based copper
company that will develop overseas deposits.
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The New York Times
Burmese Women Are
Reporting Systematic Rapes by Military
By SETH
MYDANS
BANGKOK, May 11 ? Women from the Shan minority and other
ethnic minority groups in northeastern Myanmar are telling stories of rapes by
the military that are sometimes characterized by sadism and that human rights
groups say appear to be authorized and systematic.
The State Department
investigated the reports, which it called "appalling," and said it found them
credible.
The military government of the former Burma has denied that
rape is tolerated, asserting that any perpetrators are harshly punished, and
calling the reports fabrications by domestic and foreign enemies of their
government.
"Isolated rape cases may have happened in certain areas, as
is happening in many other countries around the world," the Myanmar government
said in a statement last month. "But `systematically using rape as a weapon of
war' is just too ridiculous."
The minister for labor, U Tin Win, said,
"Severe punishment is always handed down to any member of the armed forces who
rape women, be they officers or other ranks or privates.
"The Myanmar
society upholds very high standards of decency and culture under the
all-encompassing fold of Buddhist teachings," he said.
However, the
reports have been supported by widespread and consistent descriptions given by
victims and witnesses, including members of separate ethnic groups.
The
government must contend with three separate and mutually corroborating reports ?
the initial collection of accounts by a Shan human rights group a year ago, an
unusual follow-up investigation by the State Department and most recently a
report by an independent human rights group.
"Women are raped during
forced labor assignments, they are raped while farming, they are raped in their
own homes and raped also when they are trying to flee to Thailand," said
Veronika Martin, an author of the most recent study, by the human rights group
Refugees International, based in Washington.
That report, released last
month, made the point that the allegations came from a range of ethnic groups
and that the rapes ? sometimes conducted on military property by high-ranking
officers ? appeared to be officially sanctioned.
It documented accounts
of 43 rapes among women from the Karen, Karenni, Mon, and Tavoyan groups as well
as the Shans. It said 75 percent of the women interviewed reported knowing
someone who had been raped.
"Aside from the fact that rapes are happening
across ethnic boundaries, our report also showed that rape is happening on a
widespread basis and is not the result of rogue groups or occasional unruly
soldiers," Ms. Martin said.
Because military units are often stationed
near villages for long periods and use local people as forced laborers, the
report said, three-fourths of the women interviewed were able to identify their
attackers by their battalion number.
The initial allegations were made
last year by the Shan Women's Action Network, a private human rights group based
on the Thai-Myanmar border, which described rape as a systematic weapon of
war.
Its report said it had documented 173 incidents of rape or sexual
violence against 625 women and girls committed by soldiers from 52 military
battalions between 1992 and 2001.
It alleged that 25 percent of the rapes
resulted in death and that 83 percent were committed by officers.
In
December, the State Department issued a statement saying that it was "appalled
by the reports" and that its own interviews in three separate locations appeared
to confirm them.
It said its investigators had talked to 12 women who
said they had been gang raped by Burmese soldiers during the past five
years.
"All of the victims under 15 appeared severely traumatized by
their experiences, were disturbed mentally and spoke in whispers, if at all,"
the State Department said. "The older women sobbed violently as they recalled
horrific incidents of their own rapes, as well as brutal rapes, torture and
execution of family members."
The Refugees International report included
graphic accounts by a number of women.
One, named Thay Yu, said she had
witnessed the rape of a woman who was heading for the Thai border with her
family, like tens of thousands of other refugees who have fled war, forced
relocations and military abuses over the years.
The woman's husband was
forced to watch as she was raped, sexually mutilated and killed, according to
this account. The soldiers then killed him as well.
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The Straits Times - MAY 12, 2003
MON
CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION
Thailand keen on economic hub with
neighbours
Summit soon with Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia
By Nirmal Ghosh
BANGKOK - Thailand hopes to
use a summit with Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos to steam ahead with plans to
develop the border area into an economic catalyst and hub for the
region.
Officials are working on the agenda for the summit - which was
mooted at a meeting between Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his Cambodian
counterpart Hun Sen during the Asean Sars summit in Bangkok on April 29 this
year.
The summit is expected to take place within three
months.
Thai officials are likely to use the opportunity to secure
commitments from neighbouring countries to a slew of plans that will require
cross-border cooperation.
Issues that may be on the agenda are border
trade, the formation of special economic zones and the development of a tourism
network.
Thailand is ready to extend technical aid and develop basic
infrastructure to spur investment and trade, according to reports quoting
National Economic and Social Development Board deputy secretary-general Pornchai
Rujiprapa.
He said the country would need to invest about 6.7 billion
baht (S$274 million) in the next five years to develop the necessary
infrastructure.
Thai officials are looking at ways to exploit potential
synergy in border areas.
Economic zones near the border at Mae Sot, Mae
Sai and Chiang Rai in Thailand, for instance, will be able to absorb workers
from Myanmar and benefit from being close to natural resources used in
industries such as value-added agricultural products.
Thailand can help
Myanmar grow cash crops in border areas in order to feed units in the economic
zones.
Koh Kong and Poipet in Cambodia can have similar economic zones
too, officials say.
Developing closer economic ties with these three
neighbours dovetails with Bangkok's plans to turn the northern city of Chiang
Mai into an international aviation hub.
Meanwhile, Thai officials say
plans to establish a highway link from Kanchanburi through Myanmar to India's
north-east are on track.
This road will release trading potential for
north-eastern India, northern Thailand and the hinterlands of countries such as
Laos and Cambodia.
These efforts mirror the administration's foreign
policy.
Under Mr Thaksin, Thai foreign policy has been undergoing a
change to 'forward engagement', characterised by a hard-nosed style driven by
economic imperatives.
Thailand is seen as a potential leader in the
immediate region and perhaps even in Asean because after Malaysian Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, Mr Thaksin
is the most senior incumbent Asean leader.
Speaking on foreign policy
last March, Mr Thaksin said: 'The East-West Economic Corridor, stretching
through India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, will help integrate the
Mekong sub-region with the Indian sub-continent.
'These 'roads of
opportunities' will be the basis in opening up trade...and stimulating tourism
across the region.
'Sub-regional linkages will contribute to the
narrowing of the development gap between the old and new members of Asean, the
latter being Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
'Thailand is conscious
of bridging the development gap within Asean.'
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Asian Tribune
Date :
2003-05-12
India - Myanmar - Thailand Highway to take "at least two
years"
By Thet Khaing
It would take
at least two years to build the Myanmar section of a proposed highway linking
Thailand and India, the Indian head of a technical task force set up for the
project said last week.
Mr Subir Basu was speaking in Yangon last week
after an eight-day survey by 14 officials from the three countries of the
transnational highway?s planned route across Myanmar.
The
1400-kilometre-long highway would link the Kayin State town of Myawaddy, on the
border with Thailand, with Tamu in Sagaing Division, bordering India.
Mr
Basu said large sections of road would need to be built or upgraded in Kayin
State and Sagaing Division.
A bridge more than 2000 feet long would also
need to be built across the Ayeyarwaddy River linking Bagan and Pakokku, he
said.
Mr Basu said work on the two-lane, 10-metre-wide highway would
begin after the foreign ministers of the three countries agreed on its route and
the funding for the project, he said.
The foreign ministers are due to
discuss the project this year but the date and venue are yet to be
decided.
The three countries agreed in April last year to build the
highway.
- The Myanmar Times -
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Democratic Voice of Burma
DVB News (10 May
2003)
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed by the
USDA?
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and team stopped at Kawlin
(northern Burma) for the night yesterday and they are heading to Indaw today.
When asked about the situation in Kawlin before the team's arrival in Indaw, the
NLD spokesman, U Lwin told the DVB that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was welcomed by
local (government-sponsored) USDA members with signboards and placards which say
'oppose those pessimists and stooges who depend on foreign devils' in the middle
of the road.
U Lwin : Harassment has become their traditions. 'When they
entered Kawlin, they were welcomed by members of the USDA with signboards which
say 'oppose those pessimists and stooges who depend on foreign devils. They
staged with welcome right in the middle of the town near the high school.
When asked if Daw Aung San Suu Kyi delivered a speech to the local
people, U Lwin said:
U Lwin : There must be one but I can't give you the
details. The reporter was not allowed to talk to us, that's what I meant
communication difficulties. The people from the telephone exchange told him that
he was only allowed to talk about personal subjects. I only managed to talk to
him at eight o'clock. We could not communicate with him for the whole day. The
problems started from the time when she was at Zeegon, Kantbalu and the like.
But the details of the speech by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi are still not known.
When asked if there is a NLD signboard (the NLD office is officially
opened) in Kawlin, U Lwin said:
U Lwin : No. The signboard was forced to
be taken down. It was not taken down in Indaw. The ones in Indaw, katha, Ayadaw
and Sagaing were not taken down. The divisional office was not forced to close
down either.
Moreover, as the authorities are banning them from
communicating with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, it is not known whether Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi and team are heading to Indaw. But, when the DVB contacted with Kawlin
NLD office by phone via the township's, a spokesman said that they are expecting
the team to be with them at 5pm: Kawlin NLD office : We are estimating that they
are somewhere near Nat Twin between Indaw and Kawlin. I can't hear you properly.
We are preparing to welcome them. There are people who are coming to welcome
them. There must be about 1000 people now.
As Indaw's NLD office was not
forced to be taken down, she will be forming the local youth organising
committees and talking to the people. During this trip, they were given
permission to open township offices at Shwebo and Monywa but because of the
objections from local authorities, they were not allowed to open the offices at
Shwebo and Kawlin, said U Lwin. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and team will be resting at
Katha tonight and they are expected to continue to Monyin and Myitkyina
tomorrow.
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Reactions on ICG's report: 'Myanmar backgrounder: Ethnic
Minority Politics'
DVB News (2003 May 8)
In a
statement: 'Myanmar backgrounder: Ethnic Minority Politics' issued yesterday by
the International Crisis Group [ICG] says that 'while the world's attention for
the past decade has focused on the struggle between the military government and
the political opposition over national power, these underlying conflicts perhaps
represent a more fundamental and intractable obstacle to peace, development and
democracy.'
'The most fundamental grievance of ethnic minorities in
Myanmar today is their lack of influence on the political process and thus on
decisions that affect their lives. Like society at large, they have been
disenfranchised by a strongly centralised military state that regards them with
intense suspicion. They have felt the loss of political and economic power even
more acutely than the majority population as both the government and the officer
corps are overwhelmingly Burman in make-up and widely perceived as a foreign
force,' added the statement.
U Aye Tha Aung, the Chairman of Ethnic
National Committee of the CRPP gave his reactions on the statement in
conjunction with current situation as follows:
U Aye Tha Aung : The main
grievance of ethnic nationals is to do with politics. Currently, as for the
politics inside Burma, many ethnic national parties won the elections. But, the
current SPDC authorities abolished the parties who won the election. Because of
that they are unable to participate in politics freely. They have no rights to
rally. This is a kind of political loss. We, the ethnic nationals feel aggrieved
about the loss.
Phado Mahn Sha, the General Secretary of the Karen
National Union [KNU] agreed that ethnic nationalities are unable to form a
nation-wide organisation that could take part in widespread talk for the
nation's future:
Phado Mahn Sha : What the ICG said is true. The reason
for that is not that the ethnic nationals do not want to do it or they are
unable to do it or they don't have the abilities to do it. The SPDC itself tries
to destroy and disrupt our efforts whenever we are trying to do it. The ethnic
national organisations which are under
the SPDC's control are unable to
organise and discuss freely among themselves. Or it would be very good for the
international community to help to organise an ethnical conference or
consultation which could be participated by either legal parties, or ceasefire
groups inside the country or ethnic organisations abroad or all the
groups.
Both Phado Mahn Sha and U Aye Tha Aung fully agree with the ICG
that the ethnic nationals are essential in building peace in Burma:
U
Aye Tha Aung : When you try to solve the future of Burma, without solving the
desires of ethnic nationals, their political aims and their participations, the
efforts for peace and democracy of Burma would not be perfect.
Phado
Mahn Sha : In my view, the future nation we are trying to build will be based on
democracy and federalism. Democratic system means that the nation's central
power has to come from people.
Similarly, in the federal or union system,
the desires of ethnic nationals are the main things. The role of the
participations of ethnic nationals is high. Without the participations of ethnic
nationals or without giving them full participation, we won't be able to build a
true federal system. You won't be able to achieve the unity of ethnic nationals
and national reconciliation. Therefore, we believe that we need to have the full
participating role.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Mizzima News Group
India actively
exporting arms to Burma
Vishnu
Som
NDTV Sunday, May 11, 2003 (New Delhi):
In a
clear sign of a growing strategic interest in southeast Asia, India is now
actively exporting arms to Burma. According to sources, this includes the
transfer of 80 Indian made mountain guns to the Burmese military junta earlier
this year.
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed to NDTV that exporting
weaponry to Burma is part of a strategy to establish closer links with Burma's
military regime in order to counter the growing Chinese influence in the
region.
In February 2001, India's former foreign minister Jaswant Singh
kick-started what was seen as a new friendship with the Burmese
government.
On that visit to Rangoon, India invested heavily -
inaugurating a Rs 121 crore highway between the two countries besides looking
into hydro-electricity and other infrastructure projects.
Two years
later, the government has confirmed that the sale of weaponry is an essential
element of the evolving relationship. In a statement to NDTV, ! the Ministry of
Defence said, "As part of the government policy of export promotion and
development, India is inclined to export arms to countries, including
Burma."
Sources tell NDTV that this has included the sale of up to eighty
75 mm mountain guns that were transferred from Binaguri in West Bengal earlier
this year, in addition to small arms and ammunition.
After years of
shunning Burma on the grounds of human rights and the lack of democracy, the
government is now actively trying to woo the top Burmese leadership. Top junta
leaders and their families often come to India for medical treatment, their
children are educated in Indian schools and colleges and high ranking Indian
intelligence officials actively liaise with their Burmese
counterparts.
As far as India's intelligence authorities are concerned,
the reasons for this are clear:
Chinese warships and submarines dock
regularly in Burmese ports.
China has an electronic listening post on
the Burmese Cocos islands, which can monitor Indian missile tests off the coast
of Orissa.
Pakistan has joined China in signing an intelligence
agreement with Myanmar to monitor India's force deployments in the Northeast and
the Bay of Bengal.
Two top Pakistani nuclear scientists - Dr. Suleiman
Asad and Dr. Mohammed Ali Mokhtar - were given shelter in Myanmar in November
2001 once the US began probing Pakistan's links with the Al Qaida
network.
"In our security concerns, there's this fixation with Pakistan
and the West. Nobody talks about the East. It's an old invasion route. All our
insurgencies at some stage had a basis in Burma," says Maj Gen (retd) Ashok
Mehta, a defence analyst.
The full extent of India's military links with
Burma remain a closely guarded secret but government sources tell us that the
evolving relationship is working. The junta has been instrumental in destroying
NSCN and ULFA camps in its territory though the long-term goal remains to
prevent Beijing's long-term plan of developing Burma into a strategic gateway
into south Asia.
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