Reuters - Red Cross hopeful Myanmar will let it see Suu
Kyi
Reuters - UK tobacco giant BAT reviewing presence in
Myanmar
Reuters - No need yet for ASEAN oil stockpile -
Petronas
AFP
- Britain urges BAT to withdraw from troubled Myanmar
AFP
- ASEAN to work with China, Japan, South Korea for energy security
AFP
- Indonesia to decide if ASEAN will send mission to Myanmar: Ong
AP
- ASEAN mulling sending a delegation to Myanmar to press for Suu
AP
- Myanmar to send special envoy to Bangladesh
Kyodo News - Myanmar envoy to deliver letter to Japan premier
Koizumi
KH
- Lawmakers urge Myanmar to set free dissident leader
BBC
- Burmese acquitted over hijack charge
Neftegaz.RU - Premier To Sell Myanmar Oil Assets
The
Nation - Burma needs a 'road map'
The
Nation - PM shown photos of 'healthy' Suu Kyi
Bkk
Post - COMMENTARY - Why this abject toadying to Burma?
--------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday July 3, 2:46 PM
Red Cross hopeful Myanmar
will let it see Suu Kyi
YANGON, July 3 (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red
Cross said on Thursday it was optimistic Myanmar's military rulers would allow
it to meet detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Michel
Ducreaux, the ICRC's representative in Myanmar, told Reuters he had heard a
rumour Suu Kyi had been moved from the colonial era Insein prison on Yangon's
northern outskirts to a "more appropriate" location but could not confirm it.
"We are still trying to get access and I think we have good prospects
and I hope it will happen," Ducreaux said.
Asked whether Suu Kyi had
been moved, he said: "I've heard that rumour".
Ducreaux said an ICRC
team had returned to Yangon on Wednesday after going to central Myanmar to visit
30 opposition leaders detained along with Suu Kyi on May 30 following a clash
between her supporters and members of a pro-junta group.
He declined to
comment on the condition of the detainees.
"We have confidential
recommendations to hand to the government. We talked to the detainees and saw
the prison conditions there." Ducreaux said the ICRC was proposing to pay for
families to travel to central Myanmar to see the detainees.
International anger with the junta and concerns about Suu Kyi's welfare
have intensified since her detention, with the United States and the European
Union threatening harsher sanctions and key donor Japan suspending new aid.
Even Myanmar's fellow states in the Association of South East Asian
Nations (ASEAN) made rare official mention of another member's problems at a
foreign ministerial meeting in Cambodia.
The junta has responded by
sending its foreign minister and deputy foreign minister on a charm offensive to
Asian capitals, showing leaders photographs of Suu Kyi in detention in a bid to
allay their concerns.
Myanmar exiles and some Yangon-based diplomats say
the May 30 clash occurred when hundreds of pro-junta youths wielding bamboo and
iron rods set upon Suu Kyi's convoy and local villagers, killing at least 70.
Myanmar's ruling generals say four people were killed in the clash.
In
Malaysia, ASEAN Secretary General Ong Keng Yong said the bloc's next step lay
with Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, whose country is set to chair
the bloc.
"Some people in Indonesia have suggested Minister Hassan
should lead an ASEAN delegation. We'll have to wait for Hassan's next move," he
told reporters on the sidelines of an energy ministers' conference on the island
of Langkawi.
"What Minister Hassan is looking for is that there is
something concrete," he said, referring to a possible visit to Yangon.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday July 3, 4:40 PM
UK tobacco giant BAT
reviewing presence in Myanmar
LONDON, July 3
(Reuters) - British American Tobacco
said on Thursday it was reviewing its presence in Myanmar after the UK
government asked it to withdraw from the country where pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi is being held.
Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien met
chairman Martin Broughton on Wednesday and asked BAT to "consider its
investment" in Myanmar, said a spokeswoman for the world's second largest
tobacco company.
"We will be doing this over the next few weeks and
responding to the government in due course," she said.
"We have always
said that our operations in Burma were open to review and obviously that's just
what we'll be doing in the next few weeks."
The spokeswoman said BAT had
requested the meeting to clarify issues surrounding Myanmar, where it employs
about 500 people in a factory in the capital Yangon.
No one from
Britain's foreign office was immediately available to comment on Thursday.
Prime Minister Tony Blair said last week Britain was urging UK companies
to halt trade with Myanmar and may tighten sanctions unless the military
government releases Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained on May 30.
British oil firm Premier Oil unravelled its involvement in a Myanmar gas
project on Wednesday, transferring its stake to U.S. company Amerada Hess and
Malaysia's Petronas .
Myanmar's military, which has ruled since a 1962
coup, has held Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi virtually incomunicado since a May
30 clash between her supporters and a pro-junta group.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday July 3, 6:06 PM
No need yet for ASEAN oil
stockpile - Petronas
LANGKAWI, Malaysia, July 3
(Reuters) - Southeast Asia does not
need to build costly oil stockpiles for now and will rely on its own energy
support system in a crisis, Malaysian state oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd
(Petronas) said on Thursday.
Japan has urged its oil-deficient
neighbours to invest in emergency reserves, saying on Wednesday that the
10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) should use Europe as
model for cooperation to build vital reserves.
Petronas [PETRL.UL] Chief
Executive Officer Hassan Marican said building reserves might prove too costly.
"It's an idea being raised but for now there is no need for stockpiling
in ASEAN," he told a news conference on the sidelines of an energy ministers'
meeting on the island of Langkawi, off Malaysia's west coast.
"We
already have a mechanism to support each other in times of need. Stockpiling is
very costly and this needs to be addressed. We are not saying that it is not
necessary but it is not necessary at this point in time."
ASEAN groups
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Asia relies on imported oil for more than
two-thirds its daily needs of more than 21 million barrels. Up to 80 percent of
the imported oil comes from the volatile Middle East.
Only Japan and
South Korea, both heavily reliant on imported oil and gas, have built huge oil
reserves way above the 90 days of consumption advised by the International
Energy Agency.
A Malaysian minister told reporters ASEAN countries
planned to review their Petroleum Security Agreement signed in 1986 and ratified
in 1988.
"The ASEAN countries now feel there is a need to review and
update the agreement in order to ensure security of oil supply in the region,"
said Energy, Communications and Multimedia Minister Leo Moggie.
"The
drafting and review of the new agreement needs to be speeded up and this should
be presented for consideration at the next meeting in the Philippines next
year."
ASEAN states, keen to lessen their reliance on imported crude and
to find alternatives in case of supply threats, signed a memorandum of
understanding last year for a 4,500-km (2,800-mile) pipeline linking the
region's gas resources to demand centres.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Britain urges BAT to withdraw from troubled
Myanmar
Thu Jul 3, 4:41 AM ET
LONDON (AFP) - The government has asked tobacco giant BAT
to pull out of strife-torn Myanmar, the Foreign Office said.
It said
that junior foreign minister Mike O'Brien had made the request at a meeting with
BAT (British American Tobacco) chairman Martin Broughton.
"Mr Broughton
agreed to consider the request and to give a formal reply soon," the Foreign
Office said in a written statement following the meeting.
BAT has a 10
million-pound (16.5 million-dollar, 14.5 million-euro) cigarette factory in
Myanmar employing some 500 people.
Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair
earlier told parliament that trade between British companies and the military
regime was not appropriate.
"We are making it clear to British companies
that we do not believe this is appropriate in circumstances where this regime
continues to suppress the basic human rights of its people."
Myanmar's
appalling human rights record was placed under the spotlight on May 30 when the
country's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was put in what its government
called "protective custody" following vicious clashes between her followers and
pro-regime elements.
The regime's government says four people were
killed in the clashes but dissident groups say dozens died.
The
government has not revealed where she is being held but Britain last month said
that the National League for Democracy (NLD) leader was being held in a two-room
hut at Insein prison without even a change of clothes.
An informed
source said Wednesday that 58-year-old Nobel Peace Laureate had been transferred
from the notorious prison following UN criticism that she was being held under
"absolutely deplorable" conditions.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday July 3, 4:09 PM
ASEAN to work with China,
Japan, South Korea for energy security
LANGKAWI,
Malaysia, July 3 (AFP) -ASEAN energy
ministers have pledged to intensify efforts to diversify energy sources and
cooperate with China, Japan and South Korea to boost energy security in the
region.
Due to East Asia's growing demand and depletion of fossil fuels,
ASEAN will forge a partnership with the three countries to address concerns in
energy security, natural gas development, oil stockpiling and renewable energy,
the ministers said in a joint statement.
An energy policy governing group
has been established to provide direction for the cooperation, according to the
statement issued after a one-day meeting here to bolster regional energy
collaboration.
Malaysia's Energy Minister Leo Moggie said ASEAN ministers
agreed that their counterparts in China, Japan and South Korea would join them
formally for the first time at their next meeting in the Philippines in May next
year.
Moggie, who chaired the talks, said the global energy environment
is becoming much more challenging and less predictable.
The region needs
to cooperate with the three countries to attract investment, funding and
expertise to exploit untapped energy resources including oil, gas and
hydro-power, he said.
"It is a milestone achievement towards energy
cooperation," he told reporters after wrapping up the meeting.
"We need
investment from outside to assist in the exploration of our resources. Our three
partners have the expertise and financial strength."
Asked to comment on
Japan's push for ASEAN to build oil stockpiles, Moggie said the newly formed
energy policy group would study the issue and provide
recommendations.
Japan floated the stockpile proposal as an emergency
response mechanism during a high-level official meeting in the Malaysian capital
last month.
Japan has a 170-day stockpile and South Korea 100 days, while
officials estimate most ASEAN countries have stockpiles of 35 to 40 days
only.
During the talks here, Japan offered to provide soft loans and
technical know-how for the construction of stockpile infrastructure in the
region but not for the purchase of the oil itself.
Oil from the Middle
East accounts for some 90 percent of imports for Japan, while Asia relies on
imported oil for more than two-thirds of its daily needs of more than 21 million
barrels.
Most ASEAN members, however, oppose large stockpiles as they are
expensive to maintain and could be potential targets for terrorist
attacks.
Hassan Merican, president of Malaysia's national oil company
Petronas told reporters that the time was not right for ASEAN to stockpile
oil.
"Stockpiles are costly to hold. Within ASEAN, there is a petroleum
security arrangement. ASEAN has a mechanism to support one another in time of
supply shortages," he said.
Hassan said Petronas would explore ways to
cooperate with China, Japan and South Korea in both downstream and upstream
activities to enhance energy security.
"There are already joint-ventures,
not only in ASEAN but outside the region," he added.
Guillermo R. Balce,
executive director of the Jakarta-based ASEAN Centre for Energy, warned Tuesday
that ASEAN must intensify efforts to cut its reliance on oil since the 10 member
grouping would collectively be a net energy importer by 2020.
ASEAN must
build greater dependence on renewable energy resources such as hydro, wind,
solar and bio-mass to ensure energy security, he said.
ASEAN groups
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday July 3, 5:22 PM
Indonesia to decide if ASEAN will send mission to Myanmar:
Ong
LANGKAWI, Malaysia, July 3 (AFP) - A decision whether to send an ASEAN
delegation to Myanmar to seek the release of Nobel Peace laureat Aung San Suu
Kyi will come from current chair Indonesia, the regional grouping's secretary
general said Thursday.
Ong Keng Yong said that Indonesian Foreign
Minister Hassan Wirajuda was to decide if he would lead an ASEAN mission or
establish a direct line of communication with authorities in Myanmar.
"I
personally have not heard anything but I trust he is keen to follow up with what
was decided in Phnom Penh," he said.
ASEAN members demanded the Nobel
laureate's release during its annual ministerial meeting in Cambodia last month.
The group also announced plans to send a delegation to Yangon.
Ong said
UN special envoy Razali Ismail met Hassan in Jakarta recently to review the
situation in Myanmar and to consider the need for follow-up action to the
Cambodian meeting.
"We are looking forward to the lifting of the
restriction on Aung San Suu Kyi. Minister Hassan would have to follow-up on
this," he said on the sidelines of the ASEAN energy ministers meeting. "We are
waiting Hassan's next move."
Asked if there was a time-frame when a
decison would be made, Ong said: "There is no time-frame. We have to just wait
and see."
"We feel that as a member of ASEAN, Myanmar has to look at the
impact of its action on ASEAN," he added.
Ong said he was going to
Yangon next week for an economic meeting.
ASEAN, which groups Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam, has been criticized in the past for its policy of not
interfering with each member state's internal problems.
Aung San Suu
Kyi's National League for Democracy won 1990 elections by a landslide, but has
been denied the ability to rule by the junta.
She was detained after
riots broke out on May 30 when her convoy and supporters were attacked by a
junta-backed mob while she was on a political tour of northern Myanmar.
--------------------------------------------------------------
ASEAN mulling sending a delegation to Myanmar to press for
Suu
LANGKAWI, Malaysia (AP) - The Association of Southeast Asian
Nations is considering sending a delegation to Myanmar to press the country's
military rulers to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the
organization's secretary-general said Thursday.
But such a trip was
likely only if ASEAN was confident it could achieve ``concrete'' results, said
Ong Keng Yong.
A mission to Myanmar to lobby for the release of Suu Kyi
would be another departure from ASEAN's core policy of not interfering in the
domestic issues of its 10 member countries. The grouping took the unprecedented
step last month of issuing a public statement urging Myanmar's ruling generals
to free Suu Kyi.
``What ASEAN wants is a concrete development on the
issue of easing or lifting the restrictions on'' Suu Kyi, Ong told reporters on
the sidelines of a meeting of ASEAN energy ministers in Malaysia.
On
sending an ASEAN delegation, Ong said: ``Going to Myanmar is not a problem, but
seeking a concrete development is the question.''
Suu Kyi was detained
May 30 after clashes between her supporters and pro-government demonstrators in
northern Myanmar. The junta says she is being held for her own protection, but
critics claim her detention is part of a crackdown on the opposition and a
retreat from the generals' promise to pursue democratic reforms.
ASEAN's
statement last month came amid rising international condemnation of Suu Kyi's
detention, which has escalated further with moves by the United States, the
European Union and Britain to impose sanctions, and Japan's decision to suspend
aid.
Ong said ASEAN was waiting for Indonesia, which recently took over
the revolving chairmanship of the grouping, to propose further steps to pressure
Myanmar, including the lobbying trip.
``Indonesia is chairing the ASEAN
committee this year,'' Ong said. ``We'll have to wait for Indonesia to take the
lead.''
But Indonesia said it would not rush into making new suggestions
on the issue and would not act without ASEAN's backing.
Foreign Ministry
spokesman Marty Natalegawa said Indonesia accepted the responsibility of leading
ASEAN's stand on the issue, but stressed the country needed the organization's
support.
``The chair can not act on its own,'' Natalegawa said.
``We don't want to rush for the sake of being seen of doing things that
we know will not be effective,'' he said.
He said sanctions are not an
option being considered.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar to send special envoy to Bangladesh
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) _ Myanmar's foreign minister will travel to
Bangladesh to hand a letter from the country's military ruler to Prime Minister
Khaleda Zia, a Bangladesh official said Thursday.
Foreign Minister Win
Aung will arrive in Dhaka on Saturday on a two-day visit as a special envoy of
Myanmar's military government, said Bangladesh's top foreign ministry official
Shamser Mobin Chowdhury.
Chowdhury said Win Aung will carry a letter for
the Bangladesh leader, but he did not provide details about the contents of the
letter.
Win Aung will also explain to Bangladeshi leaders the detention
of Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Dhaka's New Age daily
newspaper reported on Thursday.
Suu Kyi and members of her National
League for Democracy party were taken into ``protective custody'' after a bloody
clash between her supporters and government backers during a political tour in
northern Myanmar on May 30.
The junta has said four people died in the
clash, while unconfirmed reports from dissident groups say the toll may have
been as high as 70.
Zia's government has called Suu Kyi's detention ``an
internal matter'' of Myanmar.
Myanmar's relations with Bangladesh have
improved in recent months after their leaders exchanged visits.
Myanmar's junta leader Gen. Than Shwe came to Dhaka in 2002 in the first
visit to Bangladesh by a Myanmar government leader since 1986. Zia went to
Myanmar in March this year.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar envoy to deliver letter to Japan premier
Koizumi
YANGON, July 3, Kyodo - A top Myanmar official due to visit Japan
from Friday will deliver a personal letter from junta leader Sr. Gen. Than Shwe
to Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, diplomatic sources said Thursday.
The content of the letter carried by Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung
Win, a special envoy of Than Shwe, is not known. However, it is believed to be a
reply to a letter from Koizumi addressed to the junta leader calling for the
early release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from detention.
The letter may also call on the Japanese government to continue its
official development assistance to Myanmar.
Japan provided to Myanmar
about 2 billion yen in grants in fiscal 2002, which ended March 31, but has not
provided any assistance so far this fiscal year.
Khin Maung Win will
meet Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi on Friday and discuss
pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi's detention, according to government sources.
Suu Kyi and some members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) have
been detained since what the junta says were violent clashes between NLD
supporters and pro-junta demonstrators May 30 in northern Myanmar.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Korea Herald
Lawmakers urge Myanmar to set free
dissident leader
Thursday, July 3, 2003
A group of
30 lawmakers submitted a resolution to the National Assembly yesterday urging
the Myanmar junta to release its opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and
guarantee her political freedom, officials said.
"The Myanmar government
should immediately release Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been admired as a
democratic leader, and should completely certify her political activities and
freedom of movement," the resolution said.
The international furor has
escalated as Myanmar's military government has shown no signs of freeing Aung
San Suu Kyi after it detained the 1991 Novel Peace prize laureate one month ago.
Kim Sung-ho, a lawmaker with the Millennium Democratic Party, initiated
the latest resolution by successfully seeking the approval of 30 other
Assemblymen in the South.
"The resolution will be conveyed to Myanmar if
it is passed during the extra session of the National Assembly in July," Kim
said.
--------------------------------------------------------------
BBC News - Thursday, 3 July,
2003
Burmese acquitted over hijack charge
A
court in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal has acquitted two Burmese
activists who were charged with hijacking a Thai airliner more than 12 years
ago.
The judge, in a court at Barasat, ruled that there was not enough
evidence against them to establish the charges of hijacking and intimidation.
The two Burmese students diverted a Rangoon-bound aircraft to Calcutta
in November, 1990.
One of them, Soe Myint, who was arrested but let out
on bail, has since settled in Calcutta with his wife.
He maintains that
he diverted the plane to Calcutta to be able to highlight the brutal repression
of pro-democracy agitation in Burma.
He says he had no intention of
harming the passengers, nor did he have any specific demands.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
--------------------------------------------------------------
Neftegaz.RU
Premier To Sell Myanmar Oil
Assets
03.07.2003 07:30
Premier Oil and Gas from the
UK has finally received approval from the government in Myanmar to sell a 27
percent stake of the Yetagun gas field.
10 months after having signed
the deal, the company is to sell the stake to Petronas from
Malaysia.
Premier?s involvement in Myanmar has brought a lot of criticism
from human rights and environmental groups and depressed the company?s share
price.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Nation
Burma needs a 'road map'
Aung Naing Oo
Published on Jul 3, 2003
The Burmese junta's May 30 ambush of opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi and the motorcade carrying her supporters was a major political setback.
The way forward for Burma requires a transitional roadmap for dialogue.
Following the attack, the ruling State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC) detained Suu Kyi. Under house arrest for most of the last 14 years, this
is her third detention by the military government. The junta also incarcerated
scores from her National League for Democracy (NLD).
In response, Japan,
Burma's biggest donor, has threatened to cut assistance unless Suu Kyi is freed
soon. The US and the EU have introduced stronger measures, including crucial US
bans on imports from Burma. Even the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
broke its long-held taboo of "non-interference" and called for her release.
The ambush has effectively widened the political divide in a society
already deeply polarised. Until the attack, opposition activists and politicians
supported negotiations with the junta. Now talk is dominated by "regime change".
For their part, the generals in Rangoon have become even more recalcitrant and
entrenched. And the crackdown on the NLD members has continued.
This
situation does not augur well for reconciliation. Recently there had existed a
remote possibility of a peaceful transition to democracy in Burma. The May
ambush has apparently dashed these hopes. The SPDC is largely responsible for
the regression, which is intrinsically rooted in the Burmese generals' lack of
political will to engage the opposition in dialogue.
"The SPDC considers
dialogue a place where they will lose out," said a Burmese academic close to
military circles. The Rangoon junta therefore has avoided all NLD overtures. In
December, SPDC Secretary Number 2 Lt-General Soe Win told a rally of the Union
Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) that the "SPDC will never talk to
Daw Suu Kyi let alone transfer power to the NLD".
The SPDC has
persistently worked to undermine the NLD and Suu Kyi, and the ambush in May is
not the only violent incident. In November 1996, U Win Sein, former minister for
railways and a senior leader of the USDA, called for the death of Suu Kyi. At a
USDA rally in Katha Township, Sagaing Division, U Win Sein said: "We must kill
her." That same year a group of approximately 200 hired thugs attacked Suu Kyi's
motorcade in Rangoon under the very eyes of police and military officers.
The NLD has a different mindset, realising the need for an agreement
with the generals. Suu Kyi has exercised utmost restraint in dealing with the
Burmese regime. Even during the ambush on May 30, according to an eyewitness
account, Suu Kyi told her supporters not to resort to violence. The intention
from the beginning has been clear: persuade the regime to enter into political
dialogue.
More importantly, the NLD has made numerous gestures of
reconciliation, amounting to genuine concessions. It has lowered its bargaining
position from demands for "face-to-face dialogue" to important conciliatory
phrases such as "power-sharing and cooperation". The party even declared in its
Independence Day Statement earlier this year that it would be "accommodating and
flexible in its talks with the SPDC". As recently as February, the NLD asked the
regime to forgo politics and enter negotiations because social conditions had
further deteriorated. As before, the call fell on deaf ears.
Sceptics
may claim key issues stand in the way, like the minority problem and the results
of the 1990 elections. This may seem so on the surface, but deep down no leaders
of the opposition or ethnic groups want to prolong the conflict. On the other
hand, Burma must not carry on with a legacy of ignoring the popular will. There
should be an official recognition of the election results - even if the
parliament sits for just one token day. Without such a symbolic compromise, the
reconciliation process is unlikely to proceed.
More critically still, no
serious person can consider excluding the military from the transition process.
Political reality demands the military's cooperation in a democratic transition.
Understanding this well, the NLD therefore asked for cooperation from the
Burmese regime.
Recent political regression could perhaps be explained
by the absence of a comprehensive transitional road map. The regime's refusal to
negotiate over the past 33 months - even without preconditions - meant there was
nothing on the table to negotiate. Neither side knew what the other was offering
or what they had to gain from negotiations. The only alternative to the
stalemate was to increase the tempo, and the formula was apparently to escalate
the conflict. A road map can reverse this trend.
Road map principles
include political dialogue, nation building, reconciliation and democratic
consolidation. These principles will allow all protagonists to understand the
process and each other. They will help build trust, which is virtually
non-existent in Burmese politics. Essentially, a road map implies a win-win
solution, and could provide a timely and perhaps face-saving exit for some
parties.
The generals and the opposition will both gain immensely from a
road map. This way, the generals will not only retain considerable power, but
will also play a significant role during the transition and its aftermath. For
its part, the opposition will have a say in Burma's future. Most important of
all, Burma and her people will benefit enormously from such an enterprise.
Aung Naing Oo is a research associate with Washington-based The
Burma Fund.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Nation
PM shown photos of
'healthy' Suu Kyi
Published on Jul 3, 2003
Burmese
special envoy Khin Maung Win told Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Tuesday
that Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was not confined in "deplorable
conditions" at the notorious Insein Prison as reported - and brought photos to
prove it.
"From the photos, Aung San Suu Kyi is in a safe house, and
Khin Maung Win reiterated that she is not in Insein Prison," Thaksin said
yesterday.
"The house is in good condition, and the photos showed she
was talking to some officials. She looked healthy and had no signs of illness."
Khin Maung Win paid a one-day visit to Bangkok as the special
representative of Burma's military junta leader, General Than Shwe.
"The
Burmese government sent the special envoy to explain to me what's been going on
in Burma. I cannot reveal more of the discussion," Thaksin said, but added that
Khin Maung Win told him "he will do his best as fast as possible" about seeking
Suu Kyi's release.
Thaksin did not say if Thailand had been asked to
inform other countries about Suu Kyi's situation, but said he conveyed to the
envoy the concerns of other countries.
"I told him that Thailand, Asean
and the world are all quite worried."
Khin Maung Win would reportedly
travel to Japan tomorrow to hold discussions with Foreign Minister Yoriko
Kawaguchi.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Post - Thursday 03 July 2003
COMMENTARY - Why this abject toadying to Burma?
Sanitsuda Ekachai
Whilst military
dictators in Burma hold democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi in detention, the
Thaksin administration is cracking down on pro-democracy Burmese students living
in exile in Thailand.
Can we see the common thread?
Our prime
minister has also harshly attacked the UNHCR, and his government is turning a
blind eye to the plight of refugees who flee poverty, political oppression and
war atrocities in Burma.
Thaksin Shinawatra said Thailand was not a
lackey of the UN body. Despite the lip-service he has given to peace and
democracy in Burma, his actions show whose lackey he wants our country to
become.
What a choice. The Burmese generals must be grinning from ear to
ear to know they are not alone in their heartless world of despots.
As
well as taking to task the Burmese pro-democracy activists and the UNHCR, Mr
Thaksin has a plan up his sleeve to punish poor Burmese who risk their lives to
cross our border in order to escape his junta friends' atrocities and find work
here _ and some peace.
His idea is to abolish the system of registering
migrant workers. In its place he wants to set up a formal,
government-to-government, labour import system whereby migrant workers must
possess passports, visas, official contracts and a definite term of
stay.
That means some two million Burmese workers in Thailand will face
expulsion once their registrations expire next year. It also means they will be
forced to live a more tenuous existence and thus be more vulnerable to
exploitation.
Labour expert Bundit Thanachaisethawut, among many, doubts
what Mr Thaksin has in mind is feasible.
Describing it as wishful
thinking at best and inhumane at worst, he said the plan did not take into
account the simple reality that the Burmese junta does not want to take the
migrant workers back. That is because not only do most of the migrants not have
legal documents to prove they are Burmese citizens but a large number belong to
ethnic minorities that the junta wishes to obliterate.
Thai immigration
offices have tried before to formalise the system, and they failed miserably.
They had to wait more than six months for Burma to verify the citizenship of
just 60 workers before they could be sent home. Two died in Thai detention
centres while they were waiting. And the Burmese authorities agreed to accept
only 20 for return.
The system broke down with just 60 people. Mr Thaksin
seems to think it can handle two million. The mess to come is quite
obvious.
The linkages between political oppression in Burma and the
influx of Burmese people into Thailand are clear. So clear, in fact, that we
must ask ourselves what it is that convinces Mr Thaksin to kowtow to the
aggressor generals.
The military junta is widely suspected of supporting
the Wa drug kingpins who bombard our country with methamphetamine pills. Its
wars of ethnic cleansing have pushed the weak and the poor across the border
into our country, burdening us with an endless stream of refugees, displaced
persons and migrant workers.
If Mr Thaksin wants to end the influx of war
victims, he should not use the UNHCR and the pro-democracy activists as
scapegoats, nor should he portray the migrants as a national security threat by
painting them as job stealers, drug traffickers and disease
carriers.
Instead, he should talk candidly to the junta about stopping
their mischief and help to foster peace and mutual respect in Burma so its
people can live without fear or in danger in their homeland.
If there is
anyone in Burma who is a national security threat to Thailand, it is not the
Burmese who want democracy for their country or the exploited Burmese migrants
who ask for help; it is the junta's generals, Mr Thaksin's good
friends.
- Sanitsuda Ekachai is Assistant Editor, Bangkok Post.
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