--------------------------------------------------------------
Monday June 9, 2:05 PM
UN envoy presses top Myanmar
generals for meeting with Suu Kyi
UN envoy Razali Ismail
met with two of Myanmar's most powerful generals in a last-ditch effort to
secure a meeting with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, sources
said.
Razali held separate talks with army chief Maung Aye and military
intelligence boss Khin Nyunt at the heavily guarded Zeyar Thiri Beik Man
military headquarters in Yangon, said a source close to the regime.
"The
meeting with Deputy Senior General Maung Aye lasted for only 10 minutes," the
source told AFP. The junta's leader Senior General Than Shwe is on a trip
outside the capital and is not expected to see Razali.
Sources close to
the envoy said over the weekend that Razali has only a slim chance of seeing
Aung San Suu Kyi, who was taken into custody over a week ago in the wake of
clashes between her supporters and a pro-junta mob.
If he is refused
permission to see her, he is expected to cut short his tenth mission to the
military-ruled country, which began on Friday and was scheduled to run until
Tuesday.
Razali, who brokered landmark contacts between the junta and the
opposition leader in October 2000, was scheduled to meet with other cabinet
ministers later Monday.
The International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) said it had also had no response to its request to the military
government to be given access to Aung San Suu Kyi, who is being held at a
military camp outside the capital.
"We're still in the same phase. We
have made the request and we are still waiting to get the answer," said the
ICRC's deputy head of regional delegation in Bangkok, Magne Barth.
The
junta's reluctance to allow Razali to see Aung San Suu Kyi is lending weight to
eyewitness reports that she was injured in the head and shoulder in the May 30
violence.
Up to 100 people are feared to have been killed in the brutal
confrontation in northern Myanmar, where Aung San Suu Kyi had been making a
political tour to promote her National League for Democracy
(NLD).
Myanmar authorities for the first time Sunday denied rumours that
76-year-old NLD vice-chairman Tin Oo was killed in the melee, saying that he was
being held in jail in Sagaing division near the India border.
The United
States has led global outrage over the detentions and a wider crackdown on the
NLD that has seen its offices closed down nationwide and its leadership put
under house arrest.
After claiming that Aung San Suu Kyi was the victim
of a "premeditated ambush" carried out by "government-affiliated thugs", it
expanded its visa blacklist and threatened further sanctions against the Yangon
regime, which has never recognised the results of 1990 elections won easily by
the NLD.
In a sign that the junta will not back down in its latest
confrontation with the pro-democracy opposition, it has blamed Aung San Suu Kyi
for the violence and accused her of smearing the country's
reputation.
"With the assistance of foreign nations, they are committing
sabotage acts ... and manufacturing accusations to tarnish the image of the
state," Khin Nyunt said in a weekend speech reported by the state media.
--------------------------------------------------------------
UN envoy on mission to see Suu Kyi encouraged by talks
with Myanmar junta
YANGON, June 9 (AFP) - UN envoy Razali Ismail, who is pushing for
a meeting with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, said Monday he was
"encouraged" after talks with two of Myanmar's most powerful generals.
Razali had been poised to cut short his mission to Myanmar if he was
refused permission to see the Nobel peace laureate who was taken into custody
more than a week ago after violent clashes between her supporters and a
pro-junta mob.
But he said after talks with army chief Deputy Senior
General Maung Aye and military intelligence boss General Khin Nyunt that he was
making progress in his twin goals of securing a meeting and pushing for her
release.
"I am encouraged by my meeting today," he told reporters. "I am
hoping I'll be able to fulfil one or two of the objectives of my visit.
"I'm not leaving today," he added, settling speculation that the visit,
which began Friday and was due to end around noon Tuesday, may be terminated.
Razali refused to comment further, but diplomats said he had cleared his
schedule Monday afternoon, leading to intense speculation that a meeting with
Aung San Suu Kyi had been arranged.
The meeting with the two generals,
which took place at the heavily guarded Zeyar Thiri Beik Man military
headquarters in Yangon, lasted only 10 minutes, a source close to the regime
told AFP.
The government's reluctance to allow Razali to meet Aung San
Suu Kyi is viewed with grave concern, in light of eyewitness reports denied by
the junta that she was injured in the head and shoulder in the May 30 violence.
"Her health is beginning to be a serious concern to us. A real focus at
this point is determining her well-being," said a western diplomat in Yangon.
Other observers raised fears that the junta could refuse Razali a
meeting at the last moment Tuesday, depriving him of the opportunity to depart
early in protest.
"There is a possibility that he is being spun along a
bit because from the regime's point of view they would not want him to be able
to leave early, which would reflect on an unsatisfactory visit," said another
diplomat.
Up to 100 people are feared to have been killed in the brutal
confrontation in northern Myanmar, where Aung San Suu Kyi had been making a
political tour to promote her National League for Democracy (NLD).
Myanmar authorities for the first time Sunday denied rumours that
76-year-old NLD vice-chairman Tin Oo was killed in the melee, saying that he was
being held in jail in Sagaing division near the India border.
The
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Monday it had had no
response to its request for access to Aung San Suu Kyi, who is being held at a
military camp outside the capital.
"We have made the request and we are
still waiting to get the answer," said the ICRC's deputy regional head, Magne
Barth.
The United States has led global outrage over the detentions and
a wider crackdown on the NLD that has seen its offices closed down nationwide
and its leadership put under house arrest.
After claiming that Aung San
Suu Kyi was the victim of a "premeditated ambush" carried out by
"government-affiliated thugs," it expanded its visa blacklist and threatened
further sanctions against the Yangon regime, which has never recognised the
results of 1990 elections won easily by the NLD.
In a sign that the
junta will not back down in its latest confrontation with the pro-democracy
opposition, it has blamed Aung San Suu Kyi for the violence and accused her of
smearing the country's reputation.
"With the assistance of foreign
nations, they are committing sabotage acts ... and manufacturing accusations to
tarnish the image of the state," Khin Nyunt said in a weekend speech reported by
the state media.
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Crunch time for respected UN envoy to Myanmar Razali
Ismail
BANGKOK, June 9 (AFP) - UN envoy Razali Ismail is under intense
pressure to prevail in a stand-off with the Myanmar junta over access to Aung
San Suu Kyi, but win or lose he will continue to be seen as a tireless force for
change in one of the world's most hardline regimes, analysts said Monday.
Razali won plaudits for brokering landmark contacts between the military
government and the opposition leader that began in October 2000, but his victory
turned sour last year with news the contacts had faltered.
In what may
now be the death knell for the reconciliation process, Aung San Suu Kyi was
taken into "protective custody" after a May 30 clash between her supporters and
hundreds of pro-junta thugs that left up to 100 people dead.
Razali's
tenth mission to Myanmar, which was originally meant to revive the peace
process, has instead become a desperate bid to see the Nobel peace laureate,
verify reports she was hurt in the melee, and push for her release.
"Certainly it would be a huge setback for his mission here and for the
reconciliation process" if he was refused permission to see her, a Western
diplomat in Yangon told AFP.
But other experts downplayed suggestions
Razali would be forced to resign or have his office discredited if he continued
with his role despite failing to secure a meeting before he departs Yangon
Tuesday.
"I don't think he will be discredited," said another Western
diplomat. "This is a remarkably difficult job under very difficult circumstances
and he has pursued it in a very determined way."
The events of the past
week have led analysts to believe that the ruling State Peace and Development
Council may be turning its back on any thoughts of democratic reform.
"It's not Razali's failure, but the SPDC who changed their minds and
abandoned the national reconciliation process," said Sunai Phasuk, a political
analyst for regional rights monitor Forum Asia.
"The timing of the
attack, one week before Razali's visit, showed openly that the SPDC doesn't care
anymore about the dialogue," he said.
Razali, a 64-year-old career
diplomat, served as Malaysia's permanent representative to the United Nations
from 1988 to 1998 after postings which included Britain, France and India.
By all accounts, he has won the respect of both sides on Myanmar's
political divide with his policy of using quiet persuasion in an attempt to lay
a path to democracy in a country where the military wields absolute power.
His supporters point out that he is dealing with a hardline regime which
has defied world opinion for more than a decade since refusing to accept the
victory of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy in 1990 elections.
An Asian diplomat close to the talks told AFP that Razali -- who is
close to one of the junta's few friends, Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad --
was still the best man for the job.
"If anybody has the best chance to
see Suu Kyi, it will be Razali," he said.
"In the past, his approach has
been effective with the military. He is a quiet diplomat and probably this is
the best approach to get Suu Kyi freed."
Razali himself said before
arriving in Yangon Friday that he would talk to the generals "in a reasonable
fashion".
"I don't think it's a question of going and banging on the
door and making demands," he said.
Last year Razali publicly expressed
frustration with the stalemate in Yangon and threatened to leave his post, only
to decide later that he would stay on.
Sunai described the crisis as a
"critical moment" in Razali's career.
"It may lead to his resignation,"
Sunai said. "That would be a serious blow to the international community's
efforts, and it would be hard to find anyone else at his level."
--------------------------------------------------------------
Monday June 9, 4:44 AM
UN Suu Kyi trip hanging in
balance
By Aung Hla Tun
YANGON
(Reuters) - A U.N. envoy seeking the
release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose renewed detention has
alarmed world leaders, could leave Myanmar without seeing her, a source close to
the envoy says.
Envoy Razali Ismail's orders from U.N. Secretary-General
Kofi Annan were to persuade the ruling junta to free Suu Kyi, who has not been
seen since a clash on May 30 between her supporters and those of the junta, or
at the very least see her.
The envoy had been due to meet junta chief
Senior General Than Shwe on Monday, but official media, which normally announces
his return to Yangon, had not done so by Sunday night.
It was at that
meeting Razali was to have found out whether he would be allowed to see Suu Kyi,
who has been kept at undisclosed locations since the May 30 clash, sparking
international concern over whether she was injured.
"The situation is
still very fluid," said a source close to Razali, who had earlier said the envoy
would return to Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
Razali, who met ethnic minority
leaders on Sunday, was expected to leave Myanmar at around noon (7:00 a.m), he
said.
SUU KYI BLAMED
The military has ruled the
country, also known as Burma, since a 1962 coup. Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy (NLD) easily won Myanmar's last free elections in 1990 but was never
allowed to rule. She has spent much of the past 14 years under house arrest and
was last released in May 2002.
Military intelligence chief Khin Nyunt,
the third-ranked general in Myanmar's leadership, was quoted by state media on
Sunday blaming the NLD for the May 30 violence, which erupted as Suu Kyi toured
a provincial town in the north.
"The untoward events occurred because
some people were misled into following a misinterpretation of democracy," Khin
Nyunt was quoted as telling trainee teachers in a speech on Saturday. "These
events will serve as lessons."
The junta has confined NLD leaders to
their homes, shut NLD offices and closed universities, which are seen as hotbeds
of support for Suu Kyi.
Dissidents in exile say members of a
pro-government group, which had followed Suu Kyi's convoy in four trucks, beat
to death as many as 75 members of Suu Kyi's entourage and local villagers with
bamboo and iron bars.
They say Suu Kyi received head and shoulder
injuries although her car sped off soon after the violence erupted. The
government has said four people died and 50 were injured.
INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE
International pressure
has mounted on the Myanmar government in recent days, with the United Sates,
Britain and the European Union saying they are considering more trade and
investment sanctions because of Suu Kyi's treatment.
The Association of
South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), which usually avoids commenting on the
internal politics of members, such as Myanmar, expressed concern on Saturday
about developments in Yangon, saying they were harming the group's image.
But Khin Nyunt suggested in his speech that Myanmar was unworried by
external pressure.
"The Union of Myanmar, with or without foreign
assistance, will continue to strive for the emergence of a peaceful, modern,
developed and democratic nation," he was quoted as saying.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar refugees demand refugee status from UNHCR in India
NEW DELHI, India (AP) _ Nearly 150 Myanmar protesters marched to the
office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees on Monday, demanding refugee
status and financial help.
The demonstrators briefly clashed with police
when they were prevented from entering the UNHCR office in New Delhi. They
chanted slogans, calling the UNHCR a ``silent killer.''
Three Myanmar
refugees later met UNHCR officials and presented a letter.
``Faced with
constant fear of torture, repression, imprisonment, rape and even death,
thousands of men, women and children have been compelled to flee from Myanmar to
seek refuge and safety in neighboring countries,'' the letter said.
Kharrsiamngng, a spokesman for the Myanmar group, said the UNHCR no
longer recognized them as refugees and have decided to phase out subsidies given
to the asylum seekers.
Naina Bose, a UNHCR spokeswoman, denied the
charges and said there has been no blanket ban on granting refugees status to
asylum seekers from Myanmar.
She said the agency has recognized nearly
1,000 Myanmar refugees in India and 100 appeals were pending from those whose
cases were rejected. Many of them fled to India after Myanmar's ruling junta
cracked down on pro-democracy protests in 1988.
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Report: South Korean firm to build US$22 million cruise
ship
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) _ A South Korean firm has agreed to build a
US$22 million cruise ship terminal and hotel complex in the Myanmar capital of
Yangon, a report said Monday.
S and S Myanmar Investment Development
signed a memorandum of understanding with Myanmar authorities Thursday to build
a berth, a terminal lobby, a hotel and a parking area on a 1.6-hectare
(four-acre) site, The Myanmar Times newspaper reported.
A final contract
was expected to be signed in six months, and construction was due to begin early
next year, the report said. The facility was to be completed by early 2006.
It was not immediately known which local entities have a stake in the
project. Myanmar's military government often takes partnership in foreign
investment projects.
The ship berth is designed to accommodate cruise
ships up to 300 meters (yards) long while the hotel would offer 80 suites and a
nearby parking lot would have space for 250 vehicles, the report said.
The planned site is near the Nanthida river port in downtown Yangon.
The Myanmar Times quoted the company's executive officer, Lee Jong Man,
as saying that depending on the success of the project, S and S Myanmar
Investment Development would also consider building a tourist resort near
Thilawa port at the mouth of Yangon river, 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of the
capital.
Deputy Transportation Minister Pe Than said the new terminal
would boost Yangon's capacity to handle visits by cruise liners. More than
12,000 tourists have arrived in Myanmar on cruise ships since 1997.
Generally, Myanmar's tourism industry is weak because of the political
situation in the country. Most Western governments and human rights groups
discourage travel to Myanmar to protest against its military junta's refusal to
allow democracy.
Since May 30, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has
been placed in custody in a ``preventive detention,'' and the junta refuses to
disclose her whereabouts despite demands for her release by the international
community and the United Nations.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Burma democracy leader still missing
No sign
of activist Aung San Suu Kyi since attack on May 30
By Alan Sipress and Ellen Nakashima
THE
WASHINGTON POST
BANGKOK, Thailand, June 8 ? Burmese
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi?s motorcade was rattling along a pocked
one-lane road near Mandalay in northern Burma after sunset when a pair of men,
disguised in the burnt orange robes of Buddhist monks, motioned for it to stop.
They asked her to alight and make an impromptu speech to at least 100 people
gathered at a narrow bridge over a creek and blocking her way, according to
Burmese exiles who spoke with witnesses. But she was running late. It was
already pitch dark amid the rice paddies.
WHEN ONE of her
bodyguards, a young unarmed man, got out of the four-wheel-drive vehicle to
convey Suu Kyi?s regrets, the crowd set upon her convoy, attacking the entourage
with wooden clubs and bamboo spikes, according to the exiles and diplomats who
also have spoken to witnesses. Several hundred more assailants ambushed the
motorcade from the rear.
By the time the battle was over late in the
evening of May 30, at least four of Suu Kyi?s bodyguards were dead. Burmese
exiles and diplomats said scores of her supporters were also probably killed.
And Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, suffered head and shoulder
injuries, they said, when her car windows were shattered and she was detained by
Burmese soldiers along with at least 17 supporters.
U.S. and other
diplomats have concluded that the attack was an ambush orchestrated by Burma?s
military rulers and carried out by a pro-government militia reinforced by
specially trained prison inmates.
Suu Kyi, 57, has remained in custody,
incommunicado and out of public sight ever since, prompting protests from the
United Nations, the United States and other governments.
The attack was
not only a stunning bid to intimidate Suu Kyi and deflate a pro-democracy
movement that over recent months had been attracting larger and larger crowds
despite mounting government harassment, according to exiles and diplomats in
Rangoon and Bangkok. It was also an effort by Burma?s top leader, Gen. Than
Shwe, who had been consolidating control in recent months, to make clear he had
lost patience with those in the military advocating dialogue with Suu
Kyi.
?This was a brutal power play to show them who is in charge here,? a
European diplomat said. ?This was a message from Than Shwe to the softies in the
military that you [had] better watch out. You are not to tolerate Aung San Suu
Kyi.?
END TO
OPTIMISM?
Although supporters of political reform have despaired
of progress for months, the attack outside Mandalay ? the bloodiest
confrontation since Burma crushed a pro-democracy uprising in 1988 ? could mark
the end to the spring of hope that began almost exactly one year
ago.
Under intense international pressure, the Burmese government had
released Suu Kyi from house arrest in May 2002. Some high-ranking military
officers had calculated that Suu Kyi?s popularity had faded during her detention
and that she no longer posed the same threat as she had in 1990 when her party,
the National League for Democracy, won a landslide election victory, Burmese and
other analysts said. Those results were voided by the military, plunging Burma
into its current political crisis and a decade of international isolation.
The Burmese government, however, discovered that Suu Kyi still attracted
jubilant crowds when she traveled the country reopening nearly 200 local offices
for her party. Tens of thousands turned out to chant her name. Many supporters
walked miles to see her. Increasingly, her rallies drew Buddhist monks, who
command great respect in Burmese society, further alarming the
military.
?They are worried that despite all the threats they can employ
against the pro-democracy movement, people are continuing to go out and see Aung
San Suu Kyi,? said Win Min, a Burmese researcher who studies civilian-military
relations.
GROWING
TENSIONS
Suu Kyi, who has always preached reconciliation, was
also becoming openly critical of the government?s unwillingness to engage in
meaningful dialogue for a political settlement. The optimism that accompanied
her release from house arrest had long dissipated.
These developments
were an affront to Than Shwe, the junta?s leader, who so loathes Suu Kyi that,
as one European diplomat said, he ?hates even to hear her name
mentioned.?
Than Shwe, 70, chairman of the ruling State Peace and
Development Council and armed forces commander, has moved since last year to
strengthen his grip on power. He has beefed up the United Solidarity and
Development Association, the pro-government militia that witnesses said attacked
Suu Kyi?s motorcade. He has manipulated the military, government and courts to
weaken his leading rivals while placing his loyalists in influential posts, said
diplomats and Burmese exiles.
?Than Shwe has been taking his time,?
said Zin Linn of the opposition National Coalition Government of the Union of
Burma. ?He has purged many of the senior military men who are soft-liners and
are in some way impressed with Aung San Suu Kyi? and Tin Oo, the vice chairman
of her party.
Most notably, Than Shwe?s ascent has come at the expense of
Gen. Khin Nyunt, 64, the head of military intelligence and a leading advocate of
dialogue with Suu Kyi. His patron, former dictator Gen. Ne Win, died in
December. While Khin Nyunt remains the third-highest-ranking official in the
junta, his authority in running military intelligence has been limited and he
has told diplomats that he no longer has a mandate to pursue the reconciliation
talks, which had been mediated by U.N. special envoy Razali
Ismail.
PRAGMATISTS VS.
OFFICERS
The dispute pits so-called pragmatists, such as Khin
Nyunt, who believe Burma can string out the talks with Suu Kyi while placating
foreign governments, against officers urging that the pro-democracy movement be
crushed. But diplomats and analysts stress that the military is united in its
determination to retain power.
Suu Kyi?s recent month-long swing through
northern Burma offered an opportunity for Than Shwe to deliver a resounding
message to the pragmatists that their moment had passed, diplomats and exiles
said.
An expedition to the northernmost state of Kachin, which began May
6, was her seventh road trip since her release. It was meant in part to bolster
the morale of loyalists in her party, who were disappointed that the
reconciliation talks had ground to a halt, said Debbie Stothard, coordinator of
ALTSEAN-Burma, a human rights group in Southeast Asia.
The trips,
especially this last, had provoked growing harassment by the government, which
has staged protests by machete-wielding activists, blasted music to drown out
Suu Kyi?s speeches and blocked her way with logs and barbed wire. At least once,
a firetruck turned its hoses on her supporters.
If the military wanted to
escalate the confrontation, Sagaing Division northwest of Mandalay was a good
place, Burmese exiles and diplomats said. This impoverished region is the
stronghold of Lt. Gen. Soe Win, a Sagaing native and former military commander
in the area. He was promoted by Than Shwe in February to the junta?s
fourth-highest position. Soe Win is also a leading activist in the militia and
had toured several towns earlier this year demanding that dialogue with Suu Kyi
be halted.
Diplomats and exiles said they have received reports that Soe
Win was at a military headquarters in nearby Monywa either during or shortly
before the ambush against Suu Kyi?s motorcade. Exiles said they believe he ran
the operation.
Military officials knew Suu Kyi was coming. She had been
required to give them her itinerary.
?Clearly, orders were given for a
violent attack,? a U.S. Embassy official in Rangoon said.
The following
account of the May 30 attack was provided by that official based on the findings
of a two-person U.S. Embassy team dispatched to Sagaing Division late last week
to investigate the incident. Much of the story has been corroborated by
information from witnesses provided to other diplomats and exiles.
As Suu
Kyi?s motorcade traveled north toward the town of Dipeyin about two miles from
Monywa, it was met by 100 to 200 people at the bridge. Most of them were
disguised as monks but shed the costumes when the fighting erupted. About 400
other convicts and militia recruits disguised as monks with shaved heads, and
wearing white armbands, blocked the motorcade from behind.
Though Suu
Kyi?s supporters tried to assuage the mob, the assailants began beating them and
smashing the vehicles? windows. Trying to stave off the attack and shelter Suu
Kyi, members of her party stood on the road and locked arms.
At the
site, the investigating team found bloodied clothes, clubs and spears, broken
glass and debris from damaged vehicles.
?It was pretty clear that a big
fight had taken place,? the embassy official said.
The team?s
findings contradict the brief version provided by the government ? that the
confrontation lasted two hours and was provoked by Suu Kyi?s party. The
government said four people were killed and 50 others injured.
The U.S.
team reported that gunfire was heard in the middle of the night when the army
arrived to clean up the site. According to other accounts, gunshots rang out
during or shortly after the clash.
Reports reaching other diplomats and
exile groups said Suu Kyi?s driver, trying to remove the democracy activist from
the melee, gunned the engine as the crowd pounded the car with rocks and other
objects. She was detained by security forces farther down the road in
Dipeyin.
Tin Oo, 75, the vice chairman of Suu Kyi?s party, was assaulted
when he left his car, according to Burmese exiles, who have expressed concern
about his condition and whereabouts.
CRACKDOWN GATHERS PACE
Following the attack, the
military closed most of the party?s offices across Burma, arrested other
democracy activists and criticized Suu Kyi?s movement in the press. Some suggest
that these steps were part of a planned, concerted crackdown, not just a hurried
attempt to prevent Suu Kyi?s supporters from protesting the attack and arrests.
They noted that in the weeks before the incident, 10 activists from the
opposition party were arrested and sentenced to prison terms of two to 28
years.
Since the attack, more than 100 party activists have been arrested
and at least a dozen imprisoned, said Stothard, coordinator of the human rights
group.
Those killed trying to protect Suu Kyi, or ?The Lady,? as she is
popularly known, reportedly included Toe Lwin, 32, a rising star in the party?s
youth division who held a philosophy degree and was studying English in Rangoon,
a Western diplomat said. He was in Suu Kyi?s vehicle, wearing his orange
opposition party jacket with its red badge emblazoned with a gold fighting
peacock. Suu Kyi treated these supporters as ?surrogate sons,? and saw in them a
future generation of political leaders, Stothard said.
Suu Kyi is being
held at Yemon military camp, about 25 miles outside Rangoon, without access to
her doctor, party members or Western envoys, concerned diplomats
said.
?If they lift her incommunicado status, she will speak,? a
European diplomat said. ?She will speak the truth and this will be damaging for
them.?
--------------------------------------------------------------
Unocal fights Myanmar charges
A News item
from the Business Respect newsletter No. 58, dated 7 Jun
2003
The US Appeal Court is to rehear arguments on the Unocal
Myanmar case, which alleges that the company aided and abetted the military to
undertake acts of brutality against villagers.
Acts included murder, rape
and forced labour - allegedly meted out to villagers working on sites protected
by the military. However, the case will focus on definitions of 'aiding and
abetting' as different definitions apply within international law to that of US
common law.
Unocal has said that neither definition applies, since it has
no control over the actions of the Myanmar military. Its position has also
received a boost from the Bush administration, which has filed a brief in the
case suggesting that national interests in the war against terrorism are
impacted if the case should go ahead.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Rangoon unfazed by threat of sanctions
By Richard S. Ehrlich
THE WASHINGTON
TIMES
BANGKOK ? Burma is counting on its neighbors China
and India to blunt any new sanctions amid attempts in the United States and
Europe to punish the nation for its detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi.
Burma's leader, Gen. Than Shwe, and its foreign minister, Win Aung,
personally laid the groundwork for cooperation with the governments and 2
billion people in China and India.
Burma is wedged between the two
giants and has a coveted, ship-friendly coast along the Bay of Bengal ?
stretching from Bangladesh to Thailand.
"There is no evidence we are
worried about sanctions. Not that we want them, but we are not afraid of them,
either because we have lived for 26 years on our own before, and we have very
good neighbors around us and we can simply trade and exchange relations with our
close, good neighbors," said Kyaw Win, Burma's ambassador to Britain.
"We have the two largest countries of the world on either side, who are
happily trading and exchanging all kinds of technical, transportation, security
measures [with Burma], and we are living in harmony with all of them," the envoy
told the British Broadcasting Corp. in an interview.
A special U.N.
envoy failed yesterday to meet Mrs. Suu Kyi or secure her release, despite
international criticism and the threat of sanctions.
Envoy Razali
Ismail, on the third day of his five-day mission, said he was still pressing the
generals who moved Mrs. Suu Kyi to an unknown location after a bloody clash in
northern Burma nine days ago.
"I am still in the process of making my
case," Mr. Razali said.
China is Burma's closest ally.
Much of
northern Burma, in and around Mandalay, allows Chinese migrants to live and
invest there while using China's yuan currency instead of Burma's much weaker
kyat.
Gen. Shwe, in a rare trip abroad, spent six days in China in
January discussing Chinese financial and military aid.
China arms and
trains much of Burma's military. Burma depended on China for more than 40
Chengdu F-7M and Nanchang A-5C warplanes before Russia sold MiG-29 fighters to
Burma in 2001.
Burma and China also share a similar strategy in dealing
with dissent. Both hung tough after unleashing bloody military crackdowns that
mirrored each other almost one year apart: Beijing's infamous June 4, 1989,
Tiananmen Square massacre was preceded by Rangoon's Aug. 8, 1988, pro-Suu Kyi
demonstrations.
Exploiting New Delhi's rivalry with China, Burma spent
the past few years cozying up to India.
India had been eyeing
construction of a modern highway linking mountainous Nagaland to Burma's
Mandalay and Rangoon and on to Thailand's prosperous capital, Bangkok.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Post - Monday 09 June 2003
US
demands Bangkok put pressure on Burma
The policy of constructive
engagement has not been constructive at all, and the US and Europe would like to
see a shift in emphasis.
LARRY
JAGAN - Bangkok Post
Thaksin Shinawatra is
sure to get an earful from George W. Bush when the prime minister meets the US
president in Washington this week. The United States has gone on the offensive
over Burma
Aung San Suu Kyi's renewed detention has brought Burma back
into the international limelight.
``No longer can countries which have
been soft on Rangoon stand idle and allow the military junta to continue to
suppress and kill its citizens with impunity,'' said a European diplomat who
follows Burma from Bangkok. ``It is time for the world to convey their outrage
to the Burmese regime, and it's time for the nations of Asia to decide where
their real interests lie.''
The United States is leading a new
international campaign to lobby Rangoon's neighbours to put pressure on Burma to
immediately release Suu Kyi and start substantive political talks with the
pro-democratic opposition leader. The US government has contacted many of the
capitals in the Asia region to urge them to do more to convince the Burmese
generals to introduce political change.
Washington has already protested
strongly to both Beijing and Bangkok over their support for the Burmese military
regime. The demarche handed to the Thai government was very tough, according to
diplomatic sources, and demanded that Thailand take a much tougher stand towards
its neighbour or face increased pressure from Washington.
Stung by the US
criticism, Surakiart Sathirathai, the foreign minister, released a statement
outlining the government's position. Thailand, it said, viewed developments in
Burma with concern, including Suu Kyi's ``protective custody'' _ the term used
by the military regime _ and hoped that the situation would return to normal as
soon as possible.
The statement also included a reference to Rangoon's
assurances to the Thai government that Suu Kyi's detention was temporary.
The US demarche was faxed to the Foreign Ministry last week. It was sent
to all Asean governments and the United Nations secretary-general.
Mr
Thaksin has also since referred to Burma's assurances, adding that Thailand
believed Rangoon should release Suu Kyi as quickly as possible for the sake of
the national reconciliation process.
The assurances Win Aung, Burma's
foreign minister, has sent his Asean counterparts are simply a summary of the
briefing that diplomats were given in Rangoon earlier last week, according to
diplomats who have seen it.
``The original briefing was inadequate and
lacked real credibility,'' a senior European diplomat who was present at the
meeting. ``And no matter how often it is repeated, it won't make it any more
believable.''
The Burmese regime continues to insist that the violent
incident in the north of the country involving Suu Kyi's motorcade and
pro-government groups was instigated by the opposition. This runs completely in
the face of eyewitness accounts.
Now the United States has its own
first-hand account of the events of May 30. Two embassy officials have been to
the site of the violence and concluded that pro-government thugs launched a
premeditated attack on the opposition leader's car and
supporters.
``There is no doubt that Aung San Suu Kyi was ambushed,'' one
senior US official said. ``It was a well-planned and coordinated attack on
unarmed opposition supporters by some 600 thugs wielding clubs and sharpened
bamboo stakes _ usually used to kill pigs _ intended to cause real harm.''.
Suu Kyi's supporters were pounded mercilessly for nearly two hours,
according to eyewitnesses who spoke to the US official.
The US
investigation has uncovered evidence that the attackers were trained in the
nearby high school for a week before the incident. The army had also been on
alert for nearly a week, from May 24, according to Burmese military sources.
A week after the incident, there were still blood-stained clothes and
weapons strewn about the ground. ``The evidence from the site investigation is
extremely disturbing,'' a senior US diplomat said.
The situation in Burma
has deteriorated so much now that demanding the release of Suu Kyi is no longer
sufficient. Nothing short of real political change will now suffice. There's no
doubt that the United States and Europe will now be more rigorous in their
efforts to get Asian government's to press Rangoon to introduce economic and
political reform.
There also is no doubt that Burma is now going to be at
the top of the agenda at next week's Association of Southeast Asian Nations
foreign ministers summit and the Asean Regional Forum in Phnom
Penh.
``Asean is obliged to discuss Burma at these meetings, as we
welcomed Aung San Suu Kyi's release last time,'' said Hor Nam Hong, Cambodia's
foreign minister, who is coordinating the agenda for both the summit and ARF.
Most Asean countries now accept that they cannot avoid talking about the
problems of Burma collectively despite the Asean principle of non-intervention.
``The events in Burma are now an international matter,'' Mr Surakiart told his
Japanese counterpart, Yoriko Kawaguchi, during a visit to Tokyo last week in the
company of the prime minister. The policy of non-intervention is evolving and
changing, he is reported to have told her.
But the international
community is going to expect Asean to do more than just discuss Burma. The
United States and Europe want tougher talking and action, according to several
senior US and European government officials.
They will certainly have
been heartened by Phnom Penh's stance. ``We regard the events in Burma as
unacceptable and hope Aung San Suu Kyi's freedom is guaranteed,'' Hor Nam Hong
told Japanese television last week.
Several European diplomatic missions
have or are in the process of conveying their governments' concern about
Thailand's weak response to the current events in Burma. ``Diplomatic action is
being taken in both the capitals of Asia and Europe,'' said senior European
officials in Brussels. The Norwegian government is so concerned about
developments in Rangoon that the deputy foreign minister has arrived in Bangkok
to discuss the issue with Mr Surakiart.
The United States has already
begun to introduce tougher sanctions against Rangoon and is considering renewing
trade sanctions. US senator Mitch McConnell has tabled a trade bill which would
ban all imports of Burmese textiles.
Burma's leaders have long told
Western diplomats that they did not fear a Western-led embargo as they could
rely on their neighbours for all the trade, investment and assistance they
needed.
On the eve of his current mission to Rangoon, the UN envoy to
Burma, Razali Ismail, appealed to Southeast Asian nations to help make Burma
come into line with the spirit of Asean in regards to political freedom and
economic liberalism. ``The Burmese people are demanding change,'' he said, ``and
Asean should help the aspirations of the average Burmese to be
realised.''
Mr Razali also called on other regional nations, including
China, India and Japan, to put more pressure on Rangoon. ``What's clear is that
the regional actors must begin to play a role or they are not going to get the
job done,'' he said. And more crucially, he added: ``I think the Americans have
a big role to play.''
The United States plans to be more pro-active on
Burma and wants Asia to join in putting pressure on Rangoon to change. It is a
policy that comes from President Bush himself.
``The very fact that
President Bush issued a personal statement _ a rarity _ reflects the
administration's commitment,'' said a senior US diplomat who declined to be
identified.
``The US is contemplating taking the issue of Burma to the
UN Security Council,'' said a UN official on condition of anonymity. ``That's
why Washington has already protested to Beijing.''
While the Burma issue
is unlikely to go that far, it is now certain to be at the centre of all future
regional summits _ particularly those of Asean and the Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (Apec) forum _ and bilateral meetings involving Asian nations and
the US and Europe.
``Bangkok is really going to feel the heat in the
coming months if it does not steel itself soon and take a much tougher stand
towards Rangoon,'' said a senior US diplomat in Asia.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Discussions pegged to junta military and situation in the
armed forces
DVB News (8 June 2003)
This week feature
presents roundtable discussions on latest situation in Burma. Discussions pegged
to junta military and situation in the armed forces. Participants included
-U Aye Myint, retired Burmese army Lt Col Aye Myint
-U Htay Aung,
Burmese military expert
-Dr. Thaung Tun, UN representative of the NGCUB
We have talked about the current situation quite a lot now. Today, we
are mainly going to talk about the internal situation of the Burmese army. The
SPDC has done this (violence assaults on the NLD in upper Burma) after they have
announced officially that they are going to have the dialogue with the NLD.
DVB : First, Uncle U Aye Myint, could you tell us about the army; why
has it done so?
U Aye Myint : Yes. When I talk about the army, I don't
want to say that the whole Tamadaw (Army) is responsible for this. I want to aim
my blames at a small bunch of generals who are unjustly hijacking and abusing
the army. In fact, I know that many patriotic soldiers in the army are not very
pleased with and horrified by recent actions. You could get the assumption from
the result of the 1990 elections. Within the army, there are people who do not
like the actions of the generals. But I believe that they are restricted by
order, discipline and tiers of control and the majority of the soldiers have to
serve their generals without loving them and kiss without the desire to do so.
DVB : Dr. Thaung Tun and U Htay Aung, what do you have to say?
DR. Thaung Tun : Some of the reports suggest that the uncivilised and
brutal incidents were perpetrated by General Soe Win with the help of the
Northwest Military Command under the order of the Chairman of the SPDC, General
Than Shwe. It is clear that the top leaders of the SPDC have chosen the route of
confrontation and violence. What we have to ask now is how are the rank and file
in the army going to act on the present situation?
DVB : U Htay Aung,
what do you have to say?
U Htay Aung : My views are thus. The main
people who are responsible for the murderous ambushes and brutal assaults on Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD on the 30th and 31st of May at Sagaing Division in
Upper Burma are the SPDC. When I talk about the SPDC, by looking at what had
happened, the assaults and the mass killings were done systematically and these
killings could only be done by the orders from the top leaders of the SPDC.
Apart from the top leaders of the SPDC, General Soe Naing, the commander of the
Northwest Military Command, General Tin Hlaing, the Interior Minister who
commands the prisons and the police, the chief of police, General Khin Yi and
the like must be involved in the plotting of the assaults. But I agree with
Uncle U Aye Myint on the fact that the whole army or the whole SPDC is not
responsible for this. Another matter is by looking at the deserters from the
Burmese army: although the Burmese army seems to be united on the surface, they
might have differing views and methods despite their similar interests. If we
examine all these circumstances, there must be a situation in which the top
leaders of the SPDC had to make a decision. They come to a situation where they
need to do the killing hang on to power. Therefore, I assume that they committed
murders in an uncivilised way despite the attentions of people inside and
outside Burma.
DVB : I want to ask U Htay Aung again. General Khin Nyunt
himself said that the dialogue would start soon and they have done this on the
other hand. Some people are saying that General Khin Nyunt is not a member of
the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) aka Kyant Phut and
General Than Shwe is its the patron. Can you regard this as the result of the
power struggles within the SPDC?
U Htay Aung : My view is - in terms of
interests, they are the same among the generals. They don't want to hand over
power in anyway. firmly believe that there are some differences among the
SPDC generals on how to handle the situation in connection with what are
happening inside and outside Burma and within the army. Leave aside whether they
are members of the USDA or not, the military intelligence [MI] by its nature
knows what is happening in details. Only the MI knows what is really happening
and how things are changing. Therefore, the generals who are in charge of the MI
will be taking the responsible for the changes. I do believe that there are some
differences and power struggles among the generals in terms of the choice of
methods.
DVB : Uncle U Aye Myint and Dr. Thaung Tun what do you have to
say? You can interrupt while someone is talking.
U Aye Myint : My view
is simple. The generals simply don't want to hand over power. They are working
towards not handing over power. Meanwhile, democracy leaders and the people of
Burma are having close contacts with each other and the generals are very afraid
that people might rise up. Therefore, I believe that they have deliberately done
this to severe the links between the democracy leaders and the people. Here, we
will have to re-examine the roles of patriotic soldiers. While patriotic
soldiers have to serve their generals out of necessity, they will be abhorred by
the disgusting deeds of their generals. If the people are to rise up out of
grievances, the spirits of patriotic soldiers who are being smothered will also
explode and the situation could become like the one in Rumania in which the
Ceausescu regime was brought down. I personally want to urge the patriotic
soldiers to make the situation become like that. It has been too long. You have
been watching the situation long enough. It is sure that your leaders are not
the generals. Therefore, are you just going to watch the situation with your
folded hands? You have to do something. It is time to do it now. History is
demanding you. The people need you. I believe that if you keep all those facts
in mind, all the generals will go the way the Ceausescu regime did. I urge all
the patriotic soldiers of Burma, the embers under the ashes to rise up. That's
it.
DR. Thaung Tun : There could be differences among the top generals
in their approaches or methods for keeping power and oppressing the NLD. But
when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was released, they were hoping to drag their feet for
the goodwill of the international community for the dialogue and on the other
hand, they wanted to restrict the activities of the NLD. They wanted to sever
the links between the NLD leaders with their grass-root supports. They are
intimidating and restricting the people of Burma so that they don't join the
NLD. That is how they put forward their policies thus. When they intimidated
people thus, they used the UDSA as their weapons. But things didn't turn out as
they expected. The more they used the USDA for their brutal and violent
activities, the more people are coming forward instead of going backward. When
the monks came forward to give her security during her Mandalay-Monywa trip,
more people had
the courage to come out into the streets to welcome her.
DVB : I want to conclude the debate now. At the moment, the
international pressures are mounting to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the
people are very much feeling aggrieved by the assaults. But the situation could
not become like that of 8.8.88 again? Could U Htay Aung tell us how the SPDC are
likely to solve the problems to bring out a solution?
U Htay Aung : My
view is the SPDC is using the killing method when it is inevitable for them. I
believe that they chose the way of the like thug-like soldiers by killing and
fighting to the end. As for the future, they will keep on doing this for their
survival. But there is one thing. They tend to be 'brave' when they are in the
upper hand of the situation. When they are facing defeats, these kinds of people
tend to act the opposite way from what I have seen in my past experiences. Not
everyone was involved in the killings. Although there are 19 million 'members'
in the USDA, not all were involved. In this situation, the top SPDC leaders
including General Than Shwe misused the Army, the USDA and other organisations
like thieves do. That is the method used by General Ne Win (late ex-dictator of
Burma. He forced everyone to follow him by hook or by crook). General Khin Nyunt
is the same. He forces people to say this and that and not to say this and that
and make other people to be his abetters (partners in crime).
DVB :
Uncle U Aye Myint?
U Aye Myint : My view is clear. All the generals are
same to the details. Their aim is not to give up power. Therefore, they will do
anything, however disgusting, inhumane and brutal in order to hold on to power.
Someone say this and another say that. I don't see that way. The 'soft' generals
want to hold on to power. The 'hard' generals don't want to hand over power. I
want to say only one thing: 'As the Tamadaw (the Burmese Army) is being misused
by a small group of generals, it has been stained by many shameful spots. It is
in the position of betraying the national cause. It is time for patriotic
soldiers in the army to examine the situation and see the reality. If you keep
on going like this the army will suffer more. Therefore, all the patriotic
soldiers have the duty to wash away the stains of the army with the blood of a
small group of general as soon as possible. I beg and urge you to do it as soon
as possible. That's it.
DVB : Dr. Thaung Tun?
DR. Thaung Tun :
In the present situation, I see it as a big challenge of the SPDC on the people
of Burma as a whole. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD leaders and their friends
who were in the trip to Monywa did their duties very bravely. The NLD youth
defended Daw Aung San Suu Kyi till their blood fell on the ground [died]. Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi is the real treasure of our country. It is very difficult to
get a national heroine like her in history. We have to rebuild our country and
national unity with a leader like her who is accepted by the people of Burma, by
the ethnic nationals and the international community. We have to revitalise our
country from the dire poverty. We need to get the attention of the international
community at its highest on Burma. We, the Burmese people in exile are working
hard at the UN to get the Burmese matters through the Security Council. We are
doing our utmost to create more pressures and tighter economic sanctions on the
regime from the USA and to make the Burma issue as one of the top agendas in the
coming ASEAN meeting. We believe that if the people in Burma including the
monks, the experts respected by the whole country, youth, workers and the
patriotic leaders mentioned earlier by Uncle U Aye Myint work
together in
unity, there will surely be a change and new ways for Burma.
U Htay Aung
: Whatever happens, my view is - Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the whole of Burma and
the world have been inviting the regime by opening the wide path for peace,
solution and dialogue. But the military regime has been dragging its feet. The
SPDC deliberately blocked all the paths to dialogue and the national
reconciliation with the latest assaults. It also clearly shows its intentions to
the soldiers inside the army, the people of the SPDC and the whole world. You
can't have the dialogue with only one side and the prospect for it now is far
away now. We can't dream of it anymore.
DVB : What does Uncle U Aye
Myint have to say in conclusion?
U Aye Myint : I will say it clearly. As
I am not a politician, I can't elaborate things. I want to say it like a
soldier. In fact, the generals are like wolves. They are plotting to eat the
lambs. People should now know their plot. You need to clear [get rid of] them so
that they can't carry out their plan. You, patriotic soldiers, the matters would
not end if you keep on serving the generals with pretence. Stop kissing them
with pretence. Stop sighing. Turn your guns which are pointing at the people to
your nearest enemies, the generals and pull the
triggers.