--------------------------------------------------------------
Friday May 23, 12:17 AM
India sees important energy
cooperation with China
NEW DELHI May 22 (Reuters) - India and China, both trying to secure
and diversify oil and gas supplies, should use their fast growing energy needs
to win cheaper prices from producers and gain the rights to overseas assets,
officials said on Thursday.
Indian Oil Minister Ram Naik said that
Beijing had already shown a degree of cooperation with New Delhi when it,
together with Malaysia allowed India's state-owned ONGC Videsh Ltd to take a 25
percent stake in Sudan's Greater Nile development.
ONGC Videsh in March
sealed a deal for the share in the 250,000 barrel per day Greater Nile project
from Canada's Talisman for $771 million.
"China and Malaysia had the
right of pre-emption, which they wanted to exercise, but we persuaded them not
to. This was the first cooperation between India and China," Naik told Reuters
in an interview.
He said that energy may be high on the agenda when
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee visits China in June.
Under
pressure from their governments, Indian and Chinese oil companies have been
actively seeking oil and gas resources beyond their borders for the last two
years to counter dwindling production at home and feed fast-pace economic
growth.
India imports 70 percent of its crude requirements, with 65
percent coming from the volatile Middle East. China imports nearly one-third of
its crude requirements, with roughly half coming from Middle East producers.
Subir Raha, chairman of ONGC Videsh, said competition among Asian firms
from India, China and Malaysia for foreign assets had been aggressive.
"In some cases when looking at competing bids, the company looked to be
making a decision in the context of national strategy. Purely on commercial
considerations, the bids were not sustainable," Raha told Reuters.
As
well as Sudan, ONGC holds exploration and production rights in Vietnam, Myanmar,
Russia, Iraq, Libya and the United States.
China's oil firms have
scooped up assets in Myanmar, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Venezuela, Sudan.
Indonesia and Australia.
Raha said China and India should coordinate to
persuade major Middle East suppliers to form closer alliances with the
countries, which are expected to notch up some of the highest growth rates in
oil demand in the future.
He said the combined buying power of India and
China should help reverse some of the so-called Asian premium, which Raha pegged
at about $2 a barrel for current prices.
Asian buyers have long
complained that they pay higher prices to Middle East term suppliers for crude
than their European and North American counterparts, largely due to their
dependency on Gulf supplies.
"I think cooperation is going to happen as
there's a distinct trend of political settlement (between India and China) that
should set the context for economic cooperation on a much larger level," Raha
said.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Friday May 23, 6:25 PM
Malaysia: Asean Should
Encourage Inter-Regional Tourism
KUALA LUMPUR
(AP)--Southeast Asian countries
should look to each other to save the regional tourism industry, which is
struggling due to SARS, the Iraq war and terrorism fears, a regional forum was
told Friday.
"All of us are reeling from the SARS heat," Malaysian
Tourism Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir said at an Association of Southeast
Asian Nations conference of travel organizations.
He said Asean
governments should encourage their people to travel within the region. Indonesia
and the Philippines should scrap exit taxes for residents intending to travel to
Asean countries and Myanmar should loosen passport restrictions for its
citizens, he said.
"We are 500 million strong, if we treat Asean travel
as domestic travel we will be able to sustain ourselves," he said.
Fears
about catching severe acute respiratory syndrome and travel restrictions imposed
by countries where the disease has broken out have sent airline and hotel
bookings plummeting in Southeast Asia, where tourism is one of the biggest
foreign income earners.
Reinforcing the slump, Malaysia released figures
Friday showing that tourist arrivals had plunged 36% in March compared to a year
earlier.
Visitor numbers dwindled most from SARS-hit countries. In
March, the number of tourists from China fell 2.6% on year, and from neighboring
Singapore by 49%, the tourism ministry said.
Since it was discovered
late last year, SARS has killed more than 680 people worldwide and sickened more
than 8,000, mostly in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Singapore, with 31
deaths, is the worst hit of Asean countries, though Malaysia, Vietnam, the
Philippines and Thailand have all reported fatalities.
The pace of the
spread of the virus in Southeast Asia has slowed since countries imposed tough
screening and quarantine measures.
Abdul Kadir said international
terrorism, the war in Iraq and SARS had all contributed to a public perception
that Southeast Asia was not a safe tourist destination.
He urged Asian
governments, including representatives at the conference from Japan, China and
South Korea, no to believe media reports that generalized the threat of SARS and
tarnished Southeast Asia.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Russia, India naval exercise to boost regional military
presence
Fri May 23, 4:51 AM ET
BOMBAY (AFP) - Exercises being conducted this week between
the Indian and Russian navies in the Indian Ocean are designed to send a signal
to China in the face of its rising influence in the region, a senior naval
officer said.
Warships from the two countries have been engaged since
Thursday in exercises such as gunnery, air defence, anti-submarine and
communication and seamanship evolution off India's west coast near Bombay, the
country's financial hub.
The four Russian warships taking part in the
three-day drill are to head to the southern port of Visakhapatnam for further
exercises with India's eastern naval fleet in June.
"The Russians are
here after 10 years. They are looking for strategic futures and would like to
boost their military presence in the Indian Ocean as the break-up of the Soviet
Union is now behind them," Rear Admiral Vijay Shankar said Thursday aboard the
Indian warship INS Mysore, one of those taking part in the exercise.
The
last major exercise between the two navies was conducted in 1993.
"The
joint exercise is also a way to explore new ways to rebuild trade between the
two friendly countries. For any successful trade the waterways have to be
protected and we have to make our presence felt in the sea," Shankar said.
During a visit to Moscow earlier this month, Indian Foreign Minister
Yashwant Sinha raised key areas of concern between the two countries such as
weak physical and financial infrastructure which, he said, could be addressed
only through better transport links and faster clearance of goods.
Last
December, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Russian President
Vladimir Putin signed a joint declaration to strengthen economic, scientific and
technological cooperation.
Bilateral trade between the two countries has
fallen drastically to around 1.4 billion dollars at present, from more than four
billion dollars before the break-up of the Soviet Union.
"Trade is the
lifeblood of an economy. It is now an important mission of the navy to defend
trade," Shankar said.
"Oil is the key to energy security, especially for
a country like India. Nearly 55 percent of oil and petroleum products is
transported through the Persian Gulf to India. We need a strong navy to police
these waterways."
"We have to take care of ourselves and our one billion
people. For this, military presence in the Indian Ocean has to be boosted also
looking at the rising influence of China."
He said the rising military
presence of China in and around India was emerging as a cause of worry.
"China is building a port in Baluchistan in Pakistan and chances are
they would keep full military presence there," Shankar told AFP.
"China
also has military facilities at Myanmar's Coco Islands. These are indications of
a growing Chinese influence in the region." The Coco Islands are just 30
kilometers (18 miles) from India's Andaman island chain.
The ongoing
exercise with the Russian navy is an attempt to enhance the Indian navy's
operational capabilities given its changing role.
"At the operational
level, the idea is to understand the inter-operational abilities of the two
navies," said Arvind Raj Vardhan, captain of the INS Mysore.
"We
have many benefits as we get an insight as to how they man their ships,
understand their new technology and communication equipment and see how our
interests are protected."
The two countries are also discussing the sale
of the 44,500-tonne Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov to the Indian navy
as part of a package under which Moscow would also lease Turpov-22M3 long-range
strategic bombers and Akula class nuclear-powered submarines to New Delhi.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Police in Thailand find six bodies, while six Myanmar men
missing
BANGKOK, May 23 (AFP) - Police in Thailand said Friday they had
found six unidentified dead bodies, as relatives of six Myanmar migrant workers
missing for more than a week said the men had last been seen in the custody of
police, who had beaten them.
However police could not confirm if the
bodies were of the men who have been missing since Wednesday last week in
northwestern Tak province, Tak police commander Major General Sawek Pinsinchai
told AFP.
Relatives of the men said in a letter to Thailand's National
Human Rights Commission this week the six were last seen in the custody of
police, who had beaten them.
"The missing persons were last seen in the
custody of uniformed Thai police. These same police had administered beatings on
the six men after other Thai nationals had beaten the men earlier," they said.
They urged the commission to investigate the case.
"Official
complicity in this case, combined with the knowledge that local authorities in
Mae Sot rarely, if ever, protect Burmese (Myanmar) migrant workers, mean that
the only possibility for recourse on our behalf is through national
organisations such as the National Human Rights Commission," they said.
They said they were staying in a safe-house because they feared for
their own safety.
Sawek said the bodies were discovered in Mae Sot,
where the men had been working on a construction project.
"At the moment
police are investigating the case by gathering evidence and witnesses, but
police have not yet been able to identify who the dead were," he said.
The missing men were identified as Min Hein, 28, Thein Naing 33, Aye
Min, 22, Ah Nge Lay, 19, Maung Maung, 24, and Ah Nyar Thar, 22.
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OneWorld.net
New Asian Body to Ensure Right to Food and
Justice
Kalyani,OneWorld South Asia
NEW DELHI, May 23 (OneWorld) - A unique Permanent People's Tribunal
launched last week to strengthen the rights of Asians to food and justice, will
investigate abuses and suggest appropriate remedies, say its organizers.
"There is a direct link between ensuring the right to food and ensuring
the rule of law," says Basil Fernando, Executive Director of the Asian Legal
Resource Centre, affiliated to the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission
(AHRC), which set up the tribunal. "Both are struggles to guarantee equality on
basic physical and legal terms, and the two are interdependent."
The
Permanent People's Tribunal, to be based in Hong Kong, will meet in different
parts of Asia in the coming months. It will investigate issues based on
complaints on human rights violation or food and water scarcity.
"Individual complaints will give rise to investigations," explains
Fernando. "...The tribunal will listen to other people who share the problem, as
well as those who will deny it," he says.
AHRC believes a movement for
human rights often creates the space necessary for a struggle for food and
water.
"In every part of Asia access to food and clean water relates in
some way to the rule of law," it says. "The Permanent People's Tribunal is
committed to investigating and understanding this relationship, with a view to
proposing effective remedies where violations are uncovered," it states.
Explaining the link between hunger and justice, Fernando cites the
example of Sri Lanka, where new economic policies initiated by the government
led to a situation where, measures that protected the poor were lifted to please
the market. Within a short time, he recounts, malnutrition became a problem in a
country where hunger was never an issue.
Fernando feels there is a
similar link between the abuse of power and hunger in countries such as Myanmar,
earlier known as Burma. "The military steal the rice produced by the peasants
(in Burma)," says Fernando. "And the producers of the rice starve," he adds.
AHRC says the secretariat of the new Permanent People's Tribunal has
begun its work by reviewing the situation in Myanmar. "In Burma, food is still
denied through state-managed violence," states Elizabeth Lee, a researcher with
the secretariat. "Denial of the right to food is the corollary of the non-rule
of law," she adds.
In Cambobia, AHRC relates, the poor people's right to
food is being threatened by landlords who have illegally seized land. "Big land
owners have ... not bought land but taken it by force," says Fernando. "Where
are the people who lost the land to cultivate? If they cannot cultivate, how
will they get work?"
Issues such as these will be probed by the
tribunal, which will comprise eminent academics and jurists from Asian nations
specializing in human rights. The forum, an offshoot of a tribunal that was
started in 1997 to examine the problems of food in Myanmar, will seek solutions
to the issues it probes.
"The tribunal comes at a time when many
governments still assert that economic and social rights can be addressed
separately from civil and political rights," says AHRC. "In fact, no rights are
guaranteed without effective laws to secure them and ensure redress for victims.
Without equitable and enforceable laws, the product of a farmer's plough is no
more secure than the product of a journalist's pen."
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Hindu
Bangladesh, Myanmar conclude border talks
By Haroon Habib
DHAKA May 22. A high-level three-day
conference on border issues by Bangladesh and Myanmar concluded here today with
the signing of Joint Record of Discussions (JRD).
Officials of
Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) discussed various important issues relating to border
with a delegation of the Immigration Headquarters of Myanmar. The BDR Director
General, Major General M Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, led the Bangladesh side while
the Myanmar delegation was headed by the Director General, Immigration
Headquarters, U. Maung Htay.
The two countries signed the JRD at the end
of the conference paving the way to hold meetings between the two countries
every six months to resolve border related problems. They discussed cross border
smuggling, Bangladeshi fishermen's problems in fishing in the Bay, and holding
of commander-level flag meetings and DG-level conference in every six months.
Repatriation of innocent trespassers of both the countries, exchanging
lists of detained citizens of respective countries and other bilateral issues
also came up for discussion.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Foreign
Secretary, Shamser Mobin Chowdhury, said at a press briefing today that the
Government is keen to expeditiously complete the repatriation process of the
Rohingya refuges of Myanmar.
The long-pending issue was not discussed in
the just-concluded border conference between the two neighbours.
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THE NATION
Down on the cold turkey
farm
Anan Paengnoy
Published on May 23, 2003
A drug lord's
former fortress in Chiang Rai is now a rehabilitation centre helping thousands
of young Thais to kick the habit
With considerable fanfare, the Thaksin
administration has described its war on drugs, particularly during the past
three months, as successful. It claims that assets worth billions of baht have
been seized from alleged drug traffickers.
More importantly, the
confiscated money and property, obtained through the illegal drug trade, will in
turn be used to fund the government's continuing drug war. Other aspects of the
fight against drugs such as programmes designed to reduce demand and
rehabilitation also require a lot of money if they're to be carried out
successfully.
In Chiang Rai's Muang district, a 400-rai compound
previously owned by Sampao Daenchutimapanit - a close aide to drugs kingpin Wei
Hsuehkang - has been transformed into be a rehabilitation centre for drug users.
Sampao's property is located in San Ma Fan Village of Tambon Mae
Khaotom.
Buildings in the compound include a large storage facility, two
houses and a small shed. The residential area, surrounded by 12,000 orange and
3,000 longan trees, offers a calm rural retreat.
For the time being, the
storage building has been converted into a dormitory with the capacity to
accommodate 500 people at a time.
The centre is an initiative of
Maj-General Wut Withitanon, the commander of Chiang Rai police.
"It's
time to retaliate against drug traders by using things they built with drug
money to ease drug problems. If we don't make an effort to reform drug users, we
won't be able to solve the country's drug problems," Wut says.
Since
late October 2001, the Chiang Rai rehabilitation centre for drug users has seen
more than 10,000 people pass through its gate.
According to Wut, the
centre is one of the government's largest pilot drug rehabilitation facilities.
The services it offers are intended to be as comprehensive as possible because
of the complexities of the problems drug users suffer.
The centre's
supervisor, Police Lt-Colonel Kan Thurawan, says more than 60 per cent of drug
addicts who have undergone treatment at the centre have successfully kicked
their habit. The remainder return to their old habits not long after they leave
the rehabilitation centre.
"When they get back to their communities they
find that the people in their old circles are continuing to use drugs. Under
such circumstances they are simply unable to remain 'clean'," Kan explains.
Siriporn Saadngoen, 36, was a methamphetamine addict. Her decision to
undergo drug rehabilitation at the centre was motivated by fright. She says she
feared being "silenced" by drug agents during the Thaksin government's
three-month intensive war on drugs.
Prior to going into rehabilitation,
Siriporn had used meth pills for about a year. She says she became a drug addict
after friends persuaded her to try methamphetamine. At that time a meth pill
cost Bt50 and were available just about anywhere. She ended up taking two pills
a day.
Siriporn says at the rehab centre, the activities she liked the
most were physical exercise and agricultural training. When her rehab programme
is over, she will try growing lettuce and tomatoes for a living.
Another
patient at the centre, Bunchoo Jantharaphool, 24, says he had used drugs
continuously since he was 15. He and about 20 friends in his neighbourhood
became involved in drugs when they began to split methamphetamine pills and
dissolve them in an energy drink. Later they switched to smoking the drug.
"By smoking, you get a better taste and smell of the drug," he explains.
Bunchoo says his parents and neighbours were all aware that he was a
drug addict, but they could not do anything. His mother had even asked police to
arrest him on drug charges once. Bunchoo has been arrested three times, but was
unable to quit the habit. But recently he became determined to give up as he is
about to get married.
"My girlfriend said she would ask her father to
accept me as an in-law if I quit. If not, she would leave me," Bunchoo said.
Boy, 19, is a local participant from Chiang Rai. He began taking drugs
when he was 12. He has now been able to stay away from drugs since February.
Boy says he used to take between four and five methamphetamine tablets a
day. He paid only Bt35 per tablet as he bought them from a community by the Mae
Sai River in Burma. He applied to participate in the centre's rehabilitation
programme after a friend was arrested. Fearing that he could be nabbed as well,
Boy decided to surrender.
"Actually, I wanted to quit a long time ago,
but couldn't do it because all my other friends couldn't quit either," Boy says.
He is determined not to relapse. When he leaves the rehab centre, he
says he will get a job and try his best to stay away from addictive drugs.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Asian Tribune
Date :
2003-05-23
Myanmar understands us, says
PM
Bangkok, May 23, (TNA): Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra and Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh today came out to
reiterate assurances that the relationship between Thailand and Myanmar remained
strong despite the recent explosions in the border town of Tachilek, saying that
Myanmar understood that Thailand had played no part in the
bombings.
Insisting that Myanmar was able to look after its own internal
affairs, Mr Thaksin said that Myanmar had made no demands on Thailand, and that
Rangoon understood Thailand?s position. He reiterated assurances that Thailand
would not allow anyone to use the Kingdom as a launch pad for causing problems
in Myanmar, and denied that the explosions had been the result of Thai
negligence.
Asked who had been behind the explosions, which rocked the
border town of Tachilek on Wednesday, the prime minister said that even if he
knew, he would not be at liberty to disclose the information. ?But we won?t be
scared. That will only boost their morale. People die when they?re ready?, he
said.
Gen Chavalit meanwhile said discussions with the Myanmar
authorities indicated that the Rangoon regime did not yet know which group had
orchestrated the bombings, only that the group was believed to be a local one.
However, he ruled out Shan involvement, saying that Shan forces were not able to
enter the area in which the incidents occurred. He speculated that the
explosions might have been caused by Wa Daeng forces, unhappy at the forced
migration imposed upon them by Rangoon.
?We can see that Myanmar does not
think this was the work of Thailand. We have been in constant contact. The prime
minister will most certainly not allow minority groups to use Thai soil. Get rid
of any thoughts that Thailand supports those people. We most definitely do not.
We do not interfere?, he said.
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Refugees International
Burmese Rohingya in Bangladesh Face an
Uncertain Future
Veronika Martin and Kavita Shukla are in Asia for
an assessment mission on Burmese refugees.
05/22/2003
By June 30, 2003 the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
is planning a dramatic change in its responsibilities towards the remaining
21,000 Rohingya refugees from Burma residing in two camps in Cox?s Bazaar
district of Bangladesh. The proposed plan outlines an 18-month assistance
program. The guiding principle of the program is self-sufficiency within
local communities for refugees who do not opt for repatriation by the proposed
July 1 deadline, when UNHCR plans to ?disengage? from its role in normal care
for refugees, as well as from repatriations. The plan for this ?residual case
load,? left over from the influx of 250,000 Rohingya in the early 90s, proposes
providing skills training with the intention of enabling refugees to become
economically and socially independent by the end of 2004.
The proposed
plan raises numerous questions and concerns regarding its feasibility and its
impact on the future welfare of the refugees from both a humanitarian and
protection standpoint. How well can humanitarian assistance or protection be
delivered if the main organization mandated to assist and protect this group
distances itself from them?
Despite the lack of a formal response by the
Government of Bangladesh to UNHCR?s initial concept paper and the lack of
involvement of NGOs in developing it, UNHCR is moving forward. As its first step
towards implementing the self-sufficiency program, UNHCR has informed its
partner NGOs that they need to end their health and nutrition programs, which
are focused on children under ten and pregnant and nursing women. The deadline
for pulling out is July 1, giving the two agencies that have been working with
Rohingya for more than ten years less than three months to disassemble their
programs. The purpose of this request is purportedly to streamline health and
nutrition programs under the Civil Surgeon?s Office of the Bangladeshi Ministry
of Health (MoH).
Although UNHCR has proposed assistance to upgrade the
Civil Surgeon?s facilities and capacity, it has not allotted enough time for
adequate preparation. Furthermore, the Civil Surgeon?s Office has no
previous experience conducting a therapeutic feeding program. Hundreds of
malnourished women and children may lose access to any type of supplementary
feeding. Government authorities have themselves expressed concern over their
ability to take on this caseload independent of NGO funding or expertise.
One Government health worker admitted, ?The refugees will suffer when the NGOs
leave.? This view has been confirmed by NGO health workers who explained that
MoH services are poor and that the Ministry is understaffed. Even with NGO
support, MoH workers display a negative attitude towards the Rohingya, which
does not bode well for their ability to provide effective care independently. As
one NGO staff member remarked, ?At this stage a phase out is totally
inappropriate.?
Nutritional initiatives and water and sanitation programs
currently overseen by UNHCR and NGOs will also be drastically reduced. Rates of
chronic malnutrition are already at unacceptably high levels --- 53% for adults
and 58% for children --- and the planned reduction in services will only make
the situation worse. There is an inherent contradiction in UNHCR?s attempts to
reduce assistance and NGO presence by ?streamlining? while simultaneously
expecting NGOs to increase their self-sufficiency programs. No NGO or UN partner
has volunteered to fill the gap to initiate self-sufficiency programs or take
responsibility for this ?temporary integration? in the immediate future.
With UNHCR withdrawing from the provision of direct assistance, the
Government of Bangladesh has the opening it needs to discontinue all social
service programs in the camps as part of a strategy to give the Rohingya no
choice but to return to Burma. One camp official told RI that without UNHCR it
is highly unlikely that NGOs will be allowed to continue their work. One concern
is that the World Food Program (WFP) might also be unable to continue
distribution of basic food rations. While the proposed UNHCR plan calls for an
increase in social services such as vocational training and income generation,
the Government has not permitted such initiatives for fear of creating a ?pull
factor? for other Rohingya in Burma. The Government is unlikely to do so now,
especially with UNHCR setting an example by withdrawing their assistance
programs.
The UNHCR plan includes assistance to surrounding communities
and it may have been hoping that this would serve as an enticement to the
Government to allow programs to continue. But given the unpopularity of the
Rohingya in Cox?s Bazaar district and elsewhere, the Government will not want to
be seen as endorsing a plan that allows these refugees to receive greater
benefits or permission to stay. RI believes that the solution the Government
envisions is one of ending the assistance program altogether once the UNHCR and
its traditional partners are removed from camp-based assistance.
UNHCR
moving ahead with its self-sufficiency plan absent an agreement with the
Government of Bangladesh runs the risk of abandoning the refugees to a situation
where they end up with minimal or no assistance. The reality of the proposed
plan may be that the Rohingya will be forced to go back home to a country with a
well-documented record of human rights abuses and persecution of its Muslim
minority, or face living illegally in Bangladesh. As illegal immigrants they are
not allowed to own land, have access to education and public health care, or
enjoy the basic rights granted to citizens of Bangladesh. As one local authority
stated, ?Refugees cannot integrate with the local people. They will have
to take care of everything for themselves. This is difficult in this
region when you don?t own property.? Cox?s Bazaar is one of Bangladesh?s poorest
and most depressed areas.
By UNHCR?s own criterion of fleeing a
well-founded fear of persecution, the Rohingya require assistance and
protection. Furthermore, their ability to survive in humane conditions in
the host country is questionable. UNHCR is facing financial difficulties, but RI
questions whether this justifies the removal of their responsibilities to the
Rohingya. The Rohingya face a dramatic deterioration in their situation if
the UNHCR phase out strategy does not uphold its official mandate and obligation
to provide assistance and protection.
Refugees International,
therefore, recommends that:
UNHCR continue its assistance role, allowing
NGOs to continue working until a cooperative strategy and action plan have been
developed that realistically puts the refugees? humanitarian and human rights
concerns at the forefront.
UNHCR ensure, should it cease its assistance role, that a follow up program
has been approved by the Government of Bangladesh (GoB), has secured funding,
and provides for a monitoring role for UNHCR.
UNHCR strengthen its role in monitoring and implementing refugee
protection.
Should the UNHCR cease its assistance role, the GoB allow a strengthened
NGO presence and independent monitoring.
Food and health support be allowed to continue through qualified NGO
partners during the proposed self-sufficiency and integration program.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Burmese and Chinese drug traffickers arrested
in India
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
Guwahati, May 23, 2003:
With the arrest of three Burmese and two Chinese nationals,
India's Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has stepped up operations in several
Indian states.
The five who are suspected to have been running drug
trafficking operations between the East and North East of India and Burma were
arrested in a rented house in Kolkata last week.
Baiktha Kima (42), Lal
Thanputa (30), and Lal Sanga (42) from Burma and Chen Fulun and Wen Delong from
China had been supplying narcotics to various states of India. 24 Kg of
Ephedrine Hydrochloride, sophisticated laboratory equipment and false passports
were seized from them at arrest.
NCB sources reveal that, acting on a
tip-off from US Drug Enforcement Agency, they had carried out an operation in
the Salt Lake City area of Kolkata and arrested the five.
Reportedly,
the alleged traffickers had converted the Ephedrine they procured into
Amphetamine and BTS. NCB sources also hinted that the NCB is set to carry out
similar operations in various states in order to combat the prevalence of
Ephedrine smuggling, which is on the increase despite official attention to the
problem.
The Burmese Junta recently claimed that drug trafficking had been
strongly reduced in the wake of stepped-up operations by the government. The
arrest of the Burmese nationals indicates, however, that drug traffickers
continue to operate in India. In view of the increase in drug trafficking in the
northeastern states, which border on Burma, the U.S. and the NCB decided to
carry out joint operations to contain the menace. The U.S. recently provided
vehicles and sophisticated equipment for the fight against narco-terrorism.
According to the NCB sources, Ephedrine is also smuggled from India to
Burma where it is converted into Amphetamine and BTS, which subsequently return
to India via the porous Indo-Burma border.
"Amphetamine is in strong
demand on the market, as a result of which trafficking occurs. During the last
several years, Indian enforcement agencies made several seizures along the
Indo-Burma border".
Kolkata is reportedly fast emerging as a new center
for this drug peddling.
--------------------------------------------------------------
DVB News (21 May 2003)
Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi at Mabein
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and team
have left Shwegu and continued to Mabein, in Northern Shan State. They will be
resting in Mabein tonight. They are expected to have discussions with NLD
organising committee members, said the spokesman, U Lwin.
According to a
local resident of Bhamaw, it has been raining heavily in Kachin State during
these days and the conditions of the roads are said to be very bad. Because of
these reasons, the progress of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and team is said to be slow.
Moreover, two of the cars which escorted the team from Myikyina had to
be abandoned on the way near Bamaw due to engine troubles. U Lwin told the DVB
about the signboard raising ceremony at Shwegu yesterday as follows:
U
Lwin : The managed to open the office at 5.30pm yesterday. The team was welcomed
by about 10,000 people at the entrance of the town. Only about 3000-4000 people
were able to attend the signboar raising ceremony as they had to do that at the
NLD office.
Although there was no harassment at the signboard raising
ceremony in Shwegu, at the entrance of the town about 300 members of the USDA
(Kyant Phut) staged a protest against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and team by holding
posters and shouting slogans, said U Lwin as follows:
U Lwin : There is
a big village between Bhamaw and Shwegu. People from Shwegu waited there to
welcome the team. Then, they entered the town from there. At the entrance of
Shwegu, about 300 members of the USDA staged a protest. They were holding
posters and shouting slogans. They didn't harass the team like they did in
Bhamaw. They only protested for awhile and stopped and talked to the people who
welcomed our team and rested before the township office signboard was raised.
The team overheard from them that the protesters are just poor people from the
town and villages, and many of them joined the protesters for a meal or 400-500
kyats. They didn't stay long. They went home after they did their bits.
The protesters who have been harassing the team throughout the Kachin
State could be from the same team, U Lwin also added:
U Lwin : At
Myikyina, they could be seen clearly. It was bright. They recognise them. The
team members didn't know them but the local people who escorted the team
recognise them from the beginning of the trip at Monyin, Mokaung. People who
took part in the protests at Myonyin and Mokaung were with the protesters at the
entrance of Myikyina. They entered Bhamaw at about 4.30pm and it was quite dark
and they couldn't not see the protesters properly.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
and team will rest at Mabein tonight and they will continue to Mogok through
Momeik (Mong Mit).
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DVB News (21 May 2003)
Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi and the generals to talk?
It is reported that Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi and top SPDC leaders are to meet for talk soon. The news came
out while many are criticising that talks between the two sides are stalled and
many were taken by surprise the news. The person who leaked the news was the
Thai Foreign Minister, Surakiart Sathirathai and he said that he was told by the
SPDC's Sec-1, General Khin Nyunt when he met him at Tachileik.
The Thai
FM, Surakiart Sathirathai said during a news conference yesterday that during
his recent discussion with Sec-1 of the SPDC, he was informed of piece of good
news that there will be another political dialogue between the top military
leaders and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi during the coming weeks. He said that he is
very glad to hear the news. The statement of the Thai government is a piece of
good news and what is more interesting that the comment also coincides with the
impending trip of the UN Special Envoy Mr. Razali to Rangoon during the
anniversary of the election winning period.
But, there are very few
people who believe the comment.
The NLD's spokesman U Lwin said that it
is too early to confirm the news:
U Lwin : My reaction is, I have
nothing new to say because 1, I am unable to confirm the news. Other ministers
of Thailand said the same thing before what the Thai FM had just said. It didn't
happen as they said. It became a tradition. Another thing, it is what the
leaders of the two countries said to each other. Leaders from this side told the
other said what they were going to do. The leaders here didn't say anything to
their country. Therefore, it is more difficult to confirm the news. What I mean
is - what you have to understand is - I don't know what to say what is happening
in this country. It is not like what is happening in the other country. If you
ask me the way other people ask us, I am not in a position to be able to answer.
DVB : They are saying what they have been saying all along. You have
nothing more to say?
U Lwin : You can't say that either. This problem is
very difficult. Things that should be done in the 'global village' are not
happening. That is true. The most important thing is - when the other country
saying that things should be done this and that way for the people of the
country, the leaders here should be telling
the people here. If they don't,
what can we say? It is not that we don't want to talk, just that we don't know
what it is. And you can't say all what you know. On the other side, they have
accountability, transparency and the like, but we have to keep our mouths shut
for different reasons. But if we say very pragmatically,
the matters don't
stop there. But there are no improvements either.
For example, dialogue
for reconciliation. As far as we understand, there is nothing like this
happening here. Even if we had the contact with them the contact was cut off
since the beginning of October 2002. But the contact is not completely cut off
either. If you talk about it, the communication mechanism and the like
are
still here.
U Aung Moe Zaw, the Secretary of the exiled NCUB
based in Thailand points out that the comment is to alleviate the pressures on
the SPDC inside and outside Burma:
U Aung Moe Zaw : The first thing I
want to say is the SPDC tends to do that kind of thing quite often. In reality,
many matters never substantiate. The Thai leaders and ministers were outwitted
two or three times by the SPDC. Only the other day, sanctions on Burma was
increased to another year by USA. Before that, there have been criticisms and
pressures from the international community for the lack of efforts by the SPDC.
Many people including Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi expressed the lack of efforts from
the SPDC to work for the continuation of political dialogue. That was why they
allowed Mr. Razali to come to Burma.
Mr. Razali, the UN's special envy
is expected to come to Burma soon amid the news. When asked what kind of hope he
keeps in Razali's trip, U Lwin answered as follows:
U Lwin : I can only
say that only when I meet Mr. Razali. Mr. Razali said that what he had said
before are out of date. It has been more than six months since we have seen and
talked to him. Forget what he had said before. It's out of date as nothing had
happened.
As for Mr. Razali, he said that when he comes to Burma, he
will accelerate the process on dialogues with new proposals and methods.
Moreover, he confirmed that the UN will contrive until there is a civilian
government in Burma based on the constitution from the military
government.
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