--------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday May 21, 11:04 AM
UN envoy to Myanmar
confident of national reconciliation
KUALA LUMPUR
(AFP) - United Nations' special
envoy to Myanmar Razali Ismail is confident of bringing about national
reconciliation between the government, the opposition and ethnic minorities in
the military-ruled state.
"I think the job can still be done and it is
possible to bring about national reconciliation in Myanmar as soon as possible,"
Razali was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.
Razali
will visit Yangon from June 6-10 in an attempt to start substantive political
dialogue between the country's generals and the opposition National League for
Democracy (NLD).
Razali, whose latest trip to Yangon was in November last
year, is credited with brokering landmark secret talks between the military and
NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, which began in October 2000 and were aimed at
promoting national reconciliation and political reforms.
The talks have
led to the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and some
political prisoners, but otherwise have ground to a halt.
Razali himself
had expressed frustration with the pace of change in Myanmar, admitting after
his ninth mission to the country last November, that he was disappointed at the
lack of progress in reviving the dialogue.
Razali said the UN and he had
been discussing ways to deal with the deadlock.
"We've come up with
something by formulating new ideas and new approaches," he said.
Razali
said he would meet government officials as well as Aung San Suu Kyi, during his
tenth mission to the country.
He said the people of Myanmar "are really
looking forward to a change" to make the transition to a civil and democratic
constitutional government.
Razali said he would also seek help from
regional players, especially the original Asean member countries, and Myanmar's
allies like China, India and Japan in his reconciliation efforts.
"In the
context of Asean, we must begin to impose the norms and principles that govern
Asean countries. Otherwise, we will not be reflecting regionally what are the
principles that govern us as a region," he said.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday May 21, 12:32 PM
Four killed as blasts rock
Myanmar border town
BANGKOK (AFP) - Four Myanmar nationals were killed in four
separate blasts which rocked Myanmar's border town of Tachilek opposite
Thailand's Mae Sai district, Thai officials said.
"The four separate
blasts happened from 3:00 am (2000 GMT Tuesday) this morning. I have been told
by Myanmar officials that four people were killed but no injuries reported," Mae
Sai district chief Decha Satthaphol told AFP by telephone.
The blasts
occurred six to 20 kilometres inside Myanmar territory, he said.
Decha
said the blasts caused a brief suspension of crossings at the Mae Sai-Tachilek
checkpoint but operations had resumed normally.
"I believe that Myanmar
officials are investigating the cause of the blast," he added.
Secretary
One of Myanmar's ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) General Khin
Nyunt along with Myanmar's foreign minister Win Aung and his Thai counterpart
Surakiart Sathirathai were in Tachilek Monday to sign an agreement to build a
second bridge across their border.
In May last year a blast in a Tachilek
hotel killed at least one and seriously injured three. No motive or cause for
that blast was established.
A month earlier, seven people were killed in
a bomb blast at the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge that crosses into Thailand's
Mae Sot in Tak province.
The Thai military said at the time the blast may
have been linked to ethnic militias fighting against Yangon rule in the
area.
Thailand's Mae Sai is located 835 kilometres (519 miles) north of
Bangkok in northernmost Chiang Rai province.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday May 21, 4:23 PM
Blasts In Myanmar Town Near
Thai Border Leave 4 Dead
YANGON, Myanmar (AP)--Four bombs exploded Wednesday morning in a
Myanmar town on the border with Thailand, killing four people, a Myanmar
government spokesman said.
The blasts, in four different places in
Tachilek, 550 kilometers northeast of Yangon, killed two policemen and two
civilians, said a statement from the spokesman's office.
The bombings
came two days after Myanmar's No. 3 leader, Gen. Khin Nyunt, met with Thai
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai in Tachilek to discuss anti-drug efforts
and agree on the construction of a new bridge at the border.
No one
claimed responsibility for the blasts. But the Myanmar government statement said
that "according to information coming from Mae Sai" - the Thai town opposite
Tachilek - rebels of the Shan State Army were suspected.
A spokesman for
the Shan rebels quoted the group's leader Yawd Serk as denying responsibility
for the bombings, which took place on the 45th anniversary of the group's
establishment.
"Today is a day for the Shan people to make merit for the
45th anniversary of its resistance force. We do not do sins like planting
bombs," Yawd Serk said. He said Myanmar's military junta had many enemies but
liked to blame the Shan when bombs exploded.
The Shan spokesman said the
group's information on casualties was the same as the government's, but that
there had been five bombs.
The Shan State Army is one of more than a
dozen ethnic rebel groups that have been seeking autonomy from Myanmar's central
government for decades. Most have reached cease-fire agreements with the junta
that took power after violently quashing pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988.
Residents of Tachilek said at least one explosion damaged the legs and a
hand of a statue of Myanmar's King Bayinnaung, which was built in recent years
as a symbol of national pride.
The Thai foreign minister Wednesday
blamed an unnamed third party for trying to create misunderstanding between
Thailand and Myanmar.
"I was informed that one explosion took place on
the site where we laid the foundation stone for the bridge. I think it was the
work of a third party, people who have bad intentions, to create trouble, to
make Myanmar misunderstand, and undermine the relation between our two
countries," Surakiart said.
Myanmar's military government claims that
the Shan and other ethnic rebel groups operate from Thai soil with Thai support.
The insurgencies have often frayed relations between Thailand and Myanmar.
--------------------------------------------------------------
At Least 4 Dead in Blasts at Myanmar Border
Town
Wed May 21, 6:11 AM ET
YANGON (Reuters) - A series of explosions rocked a Myanmar
town close to the Thai border on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, killing at
least four people, officials said.
Thai officials told Reuters there had
been six explosions in the trading town of Tachilek, 313 miles east of Myanmar's
capital Yangon. They said five people were killed.
Colonel Hla Min,
spokesman for Myanmar's military junta, said in a statement faxed to Reuters
that two civilians and two policemen died in explosions at four different sites
in the town.
He blamed the blasts on the Shan State Army, ethnic
minority insurgents who on Wednesday celebrated the 54th anniversary of the
start of their independence struggle.
The Shan State Army denied
involvement.
"Today is the day to make merit, not to make sin," said a
Shan State Army spokesman, who declined to be identified.
"The Myanmar
government has built up many enemies who are taking revenge," the spokesman
said.
Thai military intelligence said one of the blasts damaged a
Thai-owned gasoline station at dawn on Wednesday. Another two bombs exploded at
a monument to a Myanmar national hero, killing at least three people and
injuring 14 others, they said.
The blasts came less than two days after
a visit to Tachilek by Myanmar's military intelligence chief and number three in
the junta, Khin Nyunt, and Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai to lay a
foundation stone for a new bridge.
Several ethnic minority separatist
armies have waged war with the Myanmar government in the north and east of the
country, but most signed cease-fire agreements with Yangon in the late 1990s.
The Shan State Army is one of the two most active insurgent groups still
operating along the border.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday May 21, 3:55 PM
Vast Natural Gas Reserves
Mapped Around Andaman Islands
NEW DELHI, May 21
Asia Pulse - The Andaman and Nicobar
Islands in the Bay of Bengal are sitting of a vast unexplored natural gas
reserves, estimated at around 610 million tonnes, Indian government's upstream
nodal agency the Directorate General of Hydrocarbon said.
"We have
mapped vast natural gas reserves around the Andaman Islands. 18 leads
(hydrocarbon indicators) have been identified," Avinash Chandra, Director
General, DGH, said.
Two blocks in the Andaman region - AA-DWN-2002/1 and
AA-DWN-2002-2 - are among the 24 oil and gas blocks on offer in the fourth round
of New Exploration Licensing Policy.
Besides natural gas reserves, 7 gas
hydrates have also been mapped. "We anticipate that free gas reserves in the
region is of the order of 23 billion cubic metres," he said.
India's
domestic gas production at present is around 29 billion cubic metres.
"Andaman Nicobar Basin is located between two proven petroliferous
basins - Myanmar in north and Sumatra in south," he said while stating that
fresh seismic surveys have upwardly revised the estimated reserves from 180
million tonnes of oil and oil equivalent gas to 610 million tonnes of oil and
oil equivalent gas.
Gas hydrate and free gas reserves are besides these
reserves.
Chandra said Krishna Godavari Basin, Mahanadi Basin and Mumbai
offshore deepwaters hold promise for big hydrocarbon finds.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The International Herald Tribune
Burma sanctions could
backfire
John Brandon IHT
Wednesday,
May 21, 2003
Under the WTO
WASHINGTON For 15 years the
leaders of Burma's military government have denied their citizens basic human
rights. The International Labor Organization has expelled Burma from its
188-member grouping because of its flagrant use of forced labor, the only nation
ever to experience such censure.
.
Last month, the American Apparel and
Footwear Association announced its support for an "immediate and total ban on
U.S. textile, apparel and footwear imports from Burma." There are good reasons
why U.S. businesses should not want to invest in Burma. But it would be another
thing for the government of the United States to impose additional sanctions and
prohibit imports from Burma, a clamp some officials in Washington are said to
favor.
.
If the United States bans Burmese imports, it would violate
commitments made by Washington when it joined the World Trade Organization. As a
WTO member, the United States is required to extend "most favored nation"
treatment to products of all WTO members, including Burma. If official sanctions
against Burma were imposed, Rangoon could file a complaint with the WTO, and the
United States could be found in violation by a dispute settlement panel and
ordered to overturn its ban. Certainly the last thing that American Apparel and
Footwear Association members and human rights organizations would want to see is
the United States lose a WTO case to the Burmese regime.
.
Moreover,
textile quotas are to end in late 2004 in line with an international agreement.
So in just over a year, Burma will lose a great deal of business because
companies will move their operations to China and other countries where textiles
are better made and cheaper. They will feel freer to do so because they will no
longer need to worry about quota restrictions currently imposed by the United
States and other Western countries. As a result, it is projected that 350,000
people in Burma will lose their jobs.
.
Given such a prospect, what
impact would increased U.S. economic sanctions have on the ruling Burmese
generals, apart from speeding up the process by a year? Since a ban on new
American investment and other measures against Burma were approved by the United
States in 1997, foreign investment in Burma has plummeted by 95 percent. The
country's currency, the kyat, has depreciated from 182 to the dollar to about
1,000 to the dollar. Inflation is high and the banking system is in crisis.
.
Yet Burma's economic difficulties are due mainly not to sanctions, but
to political uncertainty, poor economic policies, weak legal infrastructure and
corruption. Despite such problems, Burma's generals remain as firmly in power as
they were before U.S. economic sanctions were imposed.
.
For two years,
the Burmese regime has stalled on starting talks with Aung San Suu Kyi, leader
of the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy. The party won
an overwhelming majority in a general election in Burma in 1990 but the regime
refused to accept the outcome.
.
Aung San Suu Kyi is no longer under
house arrest. She is relatively free to travel in Burma and has done her utmost
to engage the generals in political reconciliation talks. But they have failed
to honor their end of the bargain.
.
Well-intentioned groups in the
United States and elsewhere may believe increased economic U.S. sanctions will
strengthen Aung San Suu Kyi's hand. But if the U.S. import ban is passed, the
Burmese regime will blame her and the democracy movement may be further
weakened.
.
Boycotts of Burmese products because of the country's poor
human rights record are legal and can be effective. Evidence of this is the 36
percent decline in Burmese exports to the United States in the past year.
.
But if increased economic sanctions are passed by the United States
contrary to its international trade obligations, the WTO would probably rule in
favor of Burma. Such a result would empower the Burmese generals rather than
weaken them.
.
The writer directs international relations programs for
the Asia Foundation in Washington. This is a personal comment.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Asian Tribune
Date :
2003-05-21
Myanmar Rohingya refugee repatriation starts again: 123
depart for home; 150 more will go today
Repatriation of
Rohingya refugees resumed Monday after over a couple of years with the return of
123 refugees from 20 families to their homeland Myanmar.
Another 150
refugees are expected to return today.
The repatriation process began
following an agreement between Bangladesh and Myanmar under the mediation of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The Rohingya refugees have
been in Bangladesh for the last 12 years.
They will be repatriated twice
a week -- on Mondays and Wednesdays. Officials said 21,658 refugees are still
waiting for repatriation.
According to official estimates, 250,877
Rohingyas crossed border and took refuge in Bangladesh between October 1991 and
June 1992 to escape persecution by Myanmar's military regime. Since then,
2,33,727 have returned home.
After 1992, many more entered Bangladesh,
but the government did not recognise them as refugees. These people are now
scattered over Cox's Bazar, Bandarban and Chittagong.
The birth rate in
the refugee camps surpassed the repatriation rate, which increased the number of
Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh.
- The Daily Star -
--------------------------------------------------------------
Hindustan Times
Navy concerned about
Chinese interaction in Indian ocean
HS Rao (PTI)
London, May
21
Describing Pakistan as the "obvious threat", India has
expressed "concern" about Chinese Navy's "close interaction" with a few Indian
ocean states and is "closely monitoring" Chinese activity in developing Gwadar
port on Pakistan's western Makran coast, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral
Madhavendra Singh has said.
China, which allocates around 33 per cent of
its defence outlay to navy, is reportedly helping Myanmar modernise naval bases
that could support Chinese submarine operations while the development of Gwadar
port could seriously endanger vital Indian shipping routes in the Persian Gulf,
said Admiral Singh in an interview to the Janes Defence weekly.
According
to the weekly, the Admiral neither confirmed nor denied the navy's plans to
develop the sea leg of India's nuclear triad.
He however said, "it makes
a lot of sense to keep nuclear assets at sea and the government has said it will
do so." Nuclear weapon states - France, Russia, UK and US - are increasingly
placing their deterrence at sea, he added.
"It makes sense for India,
that has a no-first-use policy of employing nuclear weapons, to have a deterrent
that is absolutely survivable. Nuclear assets underwater are difficult to
target," Admiral Singh said asserting that it aims to make the navy as the
"best, largest and operationally most efficient force in Indian Ocean region by
2015.
"By bolstering force levels and revising its doctrine the Indian
navy hopes to emerge by 2015 the "best, largest and most efficient force in the
Indian ocean region capable of countering distant, developing threats," the
Admiral said.
"India is the largest state and the biggest economy in the
Indian Ocean Region with vast maritime interests and therefore the Indian Navy
must complement that status," he observed.
Consequently, the Indian Navy
was well on its way to develop "longer sea legs" and "is now in the middle of
changing its operational philosophy based around three aircraft carrier battle
groups."
"We have informed the government that we need three aircraft
carriers, so that at least two are operational at any given time," he
said.
To achieve this, it is important for India to acquire Admiral
Gorshkov, the 44,500 ton Kiev-class aircraft carrier on offer from Russia for
the price of its refit, as the navy's sole carrier, INS Viraat, is to retire
around 2008-10, he said.
By then, the indigenously designed 37,5000-ton
air- defence ship is scheduled to be built to significantly enhance the Navy's
reach. "We hope to cut steel for the ADS this year and it should be ready by
2010," the navy chief said.
Admiral Singh also confirmed that the Indian
Navy is "talking" to the US government about acquiring P-3C Orions.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Hindustan Times
Chinese activity in
Indian Ocean concerns Navy
Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi, May
21
India's navy chief has expressed concern at the Chinese navy's
"close interaction" with countries in the region, particularly Pakistan and
Myanmar.
Of particular concern to India were Chinese assistance in
developing Pakistan's Gwadar port and its aid in modernising Myanmar's naval
bases that could support Chinese submarine operations.
The Indian Navy
chief, Admiral Madhavendra Singh, said in an interview with Jane's Defence
Weekly that the Chinese Navy's activities in the Indian Ocean were being closely
monitored.
The development of the Pakistani port, Singh noted, could
threaten important Indian shipping routes in the Persian Gulf.
To counter
"distant, developing threats", the Indian Navy planned to strengthen its force
levels and revise its operational doctrine to become the "best, largest and most
efficient force in the Indian Ocean region" by 2015, Singh said.
"India
is the largest state and the biggest economy in the Indian Ocean region with
vast maritime interests and, therefore, the Indian Navy must complement that
status," he said.
Singh, however, shied away from talking about India's
plans to develop sea-based platforms like nuclear-powered submarines capable of
delivering nuclear weapons.
He merely noted that "it makes a lot of sense
to keep nuclear assets at sea and the government has said it will do
so".
"It makes sense for India, which has a no-first-use policy of
employing nuclear weapons, to have a deterrent that is absolutely survivable.
Nuclear assets underwater are difficult to target," he said.
Other
nuclear weapon states, including Russia and the U.S., too had placed their
nuclear deterrence at sea.
As part of its efforts to develop "longer sea
legs", the Indian Navy had sought the government's clearance for creating a
doctrine "based around three aircraft carrier battle groups".
"We have
informed the government that we need three aircraft carriers, so that at least
two are operational at any given time," Singh said.
In keeping with these
plans, India planned to acquire Admiral Gorshkov, the 44,500 tonne Russian
aircraft carrier for the price of its refit. The navy's only aircraft carrier,
INS Viraat, would be retired by 2008-10.
By then, the indigenously
designed air defence ship, a smaller aircraft carrier, is likely to be ready,
Singh said. This warship is to be built at the state-owned shipyard at
Kochi.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Forced porter services in Thaninthary
Zaw
Lwin Oo
Mizzima News
21 May 2003
Military strategy department No. 3 of the Costline Military Head
Quarters, based in the Thaninthary township of Thaninthary State, reportedly
frequently makes use of forced porter services by locals in order to transport
military provisions.
The villagers of Thaninthary township are forced to
carry provisions to military camps in Moetaung, Moe Ka Phaw, and Let ke, all
based on the Thai-Burma border. According to a Thabawhleik villager, all
villagers of the Thaninthary township including the Kabawhleik village have been
forcibly recruited at times.
In addition to not paying the villagers for
the services extracted from them, the military also makes the villagers carry
their rations while transporting the provisions. Some villagers have reportedly
been killed by land mines and lack of medication.
The Burmese military
regime claims that forced labour and forced porter services no longer occur in
the country while these practices in fact show no sign of abating.
--------------------------------------------------------------
DVB News (20 May 2003)
Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi and team left Bhamaw for Shwegu
Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi and team who went to Kachin State to rally the people have today managed to
raise the signboard of Bhamaw Township NLD office on the 15th day of their trip.
They were expected to be at Bhamaw at 5pm yesterday but they only arrived at 5am
this morning.
The reasons for the delay are due to frequent car
breakdowns and the poor road condition, said the NLD's spokesman, U Lwin.
On her way to Bhamaw, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was offered extraordinary
security arrangements at some areas by the Kachin Independent Organisation
(KIO), said U Lwin as follows:
U Lwin : During the journey, what was
extraordinary was - when the team nearly reached their destination, the security
staff of the KIO, the KIA with the instruction from their leaders offered to
take the responsibility of the safety of the convoy. They treated her with
civility and friendliness. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi thanked them for discussing to
arrange security measures for the team and they took the responsibility for the
team's security within the areas under their control from the beginning to the
end.
About 20,000 people attended the signboard raising ceremony for
Bhamaw Township NLD office at noon today, said U Lwin as follows:
U Lwin
: They rested as soon as they reached Bhamaw. They were very tired from the
journey. They managed to raise the signboard for the township NLD office at
noon. There were about 20,000 people who attended the event. After giving them a
speech, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi greeted the people and continued to Shwegu. They
are likely to sleep in Shwegu tonight. They might be able to raise the signboard
at Shwegu tonight. But, they will go on to Mabein tomorrow morning and they will
continue to Mogok and Momeik (Mong Mit).
The team encountered
harassments from about 300 members of the USDA (Kyant Phut) at the entrance of
Bhamaw. A group of people armed with sticks and machetes watched from not so far
a distance. Members of the USDA blocked the convoy of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and
tried to snatch video and photo cameras from the team, said U Lwin as follows:
U Lwin : At about 3 miles from the entrance of Bhamaw, which is called
3-mile Village, about 300 members of the USDA blocked and hindered the convoy.
The harassments which occurred there were like the ones that happened at the
entrance of Myikyina. They switched on the headlights of their cars and
motorcycles and welcomed the team at the crack of dawn. There were about 300
members in Myikyina but here at Bhamaw there were more than 300 members, some
armed with
sticks and machetes. They shouted slogans and protested. They also
videotaped and photographed the team. As the situation was thus, our people
videotaped and photographed them back. They tried to snatch the cameras from us.
The team had to do a bit of self-defending and they were unable to take anything
from our people. As I said earlier on, they encountered people armed with sticks
and machetes. They themselves didn't stop the convoy but the people without
weapons did that. They raised their fists and tried to snatch the cameras. There
were some elements of security for our people, but some team members had to
avoid the flying fists as they were riding on the open body of Hilux pick-up
truck.
Members of the USDA banged the car ridden by U Tin Oo with their
fists and no responsible authorities came to stop them, added U Lwin:
U
Lwin : The car ridden by U Tin Oo was quite safe and secure. They were not able
to attack him through the car window. So, they banged the car with their fists
and the like. Then, they would shout the slogans and disperse on their own.
Members of the USDA were not only harassing the team, they were armed with
sticks and machetes. I don't know whether there were people who should be taking
the responsibility for security. No one came to stop the rowdy and threatening
rabbles from behaving badly.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and team left Bhamaw
today and continued to Shwegu and they are expected to open an NLD office there.
At Shwegu, the authorities are already preparing to restrict and stop the
activities of the NLD members.
--------------------------------------------------------------
DVB News (20 May 2003)
UNOCAL and
Burma
Burmese pro-democracy activists in the USA staged a
protest against UNOCAL which is investing in the Yadana Natural Gas Pipeline
Project based near Kanbauk region, southern Burma. The protest was staged in
front of the HQs of UNOCAL in San Francisco to highlight human rights abuses in
Burma.
It was staged during the shareholders meeting and the activists
will keep on protesting until UNOCAL withdraws from Burma, said one of the
leaders of the protesters, U Aung Saw Oo as follows:
U Aung Saw Oo :
Pro-democracy activists from San Francisco areas, members of NLD (Liberated
Area) and activists from Washington area joined us and staged a protest in front
of the UNOCAL office to highlight the company's co-operation with the SPDC. The
protest is staged during the shareholders meeting in front of the building.
There are about 70 protesters. We are highlighting the fact to the attendants of
the meeting that their investment with the military junta is like watering a
poison plant and it has no benefit for the people of Burma and they are just
filling the profits into the pockets of the SPDC generals.
UNOCAL came
to Burma in 1996 and took part in Yadana Gas Pipeline Project at Kanbauk region,
Tavoy; southern Burma. The French oil company, TOTAL and the Thai government
owned energy company, PTT are its business partners. The subterranean pipeline
is about 700 kilometres in length and six feet wide connecting Mataban Gulf from
the west of Palaw region of Burma with Ratchaburi, Thailand. During the
five-year project, the numbers of SPDC troops have increased ten folds and local
villagers were subjected to forced labour practices and Karen villagers were
forced to relocate their villages.
According to the list compiled human
rights organisations, 12 Karen villages were relocated and other 1000 Karen
villagers fled into Thailand as refugees. The refugees are still living in
Pandaya Camp, on the border of Songklaburi Province and there are about 1000
villagers who do not want to be living as refugees and staying
in
Htoungbabone, near Nataindaung, Thailand as illegal immigrants, said a
native of Kabauk as follows:
A native of Kabauk : After the completion
of UNOCAL's Yadana project in 1998-99, none of the local resident of Kanbauk
area got a job.
Except the staff of Yadana, the local people are not
given jobs. Unemployment increased. The only way to escape is to find job in the
neighbouring country. People have been leaving their homes from Kanbauk almost
every day since 1999.
DVB : Are the people still heading for
Htoungbabone camp? What is the living condition there like?
A native of
Kabauk : At Htoungbabone area, 70% of the people are from Kanbauk area. They
tend to flee at night without sleeping and escape the arrests of the
authorities.
Because of the human rights abuses, UNOCAL is being sued at
Los Angeles. The trial will start soon and it is expected that UNOCAL will be
withdrawing from Burma. Moreover, the economic sanctions on Burma by the US
government are expected become more intense in the coming months.
--------------------------------------------------------------
DVB News (20 May 2003)
Clash between
KNU and SPDC troops in Kya-Inn-Seikyi
It is reported that
there was a clash between the troops of the SPDC and KNU fighters on the 16th of
May in the Kya-Inn-Seikyi Township, Karen State and one commander and four
sergeants were said to be killed. The SPDC troops led by the commander of
Kha-Ma-Ya [Light Infantry Battalion] -583, Lieutenant Colonel Nyo Hmaing were
ambushed by the fighters, under the command of Brigade 6 of the KNLA, the armed
wing of the KNU. DVB's Khine Thazin reports:
Khine Thazin : The clash
lasted 7 minutes and five officials including the commander, Lieutenant Colonel
Nyo Hmaing and four sergeants were killed. Moreover, the second-in-command,
Colonel Myat Win and four soldiers were seriously wounded. The SPDC's troops
were unable to retrieve the corpse of the commander and it was seized by the KNU
fighters.
The spokeswoman, Naw Phaw Ri of the KNU's Information
Department told the DVB about the incident as follows:
Naw Phaw Ri : 'It
occurred on the 16th of May. The KNLA fighters ambushed them. The clash lasted 7
minutes. The commander, Lieutenant Colonel Nyo Hmaing and four sergeants, five
in all were killed. The commander's corpse was abandoned. The second-in-command,
Colonel Myat Win and four soldiers were wounded. The KNLA seized 2 G3 assault
rifles and 1 RPG launcher from the SPDC's troops.'
--------------------------------------------------------------