Burma Related News, 21 March 2000

[TIN KYI <tinkyi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

ABC News, 20 March 2000

Myanmar may restore Thai fishing licences-minister

YANGON, March 20 (Reuters) - Thai Agriculture Minister  Pongpol Adireksan said on Monday Myanmar was considering  restoring fishing rights for Thai trawlers suspended since a  siege at Yangon's Bangkok embassy last year.  
Pongpol, heading a 20-member Thai delegation to neighbouring  Myanmar, said he had held talks on fishing and forestry with  counterparts in Yangon.  
"The Myanmar side has agreed in principle to restore the  rights of Thai trawlers," he said. "They are considering  restoring the licences after sorting out some technical  matters."  
The technical matters he referred to were apparently  complaints from the Myanmar side about abuses of fishing  licences and overfishing by Thai trawlers.  
"They not only use very effective modern fishing gear, but  also cheat us by using one licence for more than a trawler,"  one Myanmar trawler owner told Reuters.  
Asked about the concerns, Pongpol said Thailand and Myanmar  had agreed to set up a monitoring system to check trawlers.  
He also said the two sides agreed to continue trade in logs  and sawn timber, which has drawn criticism from environmental  activists.  
Myanmar authorities cancelled fishing licences for Thai  trawlers in October 1999 after the Thai government allowed five  anti-Yangon activists who seized the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok  for 24 hours free passage to a border sanctuary.  
The ban has cost the Thai fishing fleet tens of millions of  dollars.  
Pongpol said he was satisfied with his visit.  
"I always see things from the bright side and I believe our  visit will pave the way for further cooperation. Myanmar is an  important neighbour for Thailand."

 

AP, 20 March 2000

Supreme Court To Hear Burma Case

By JEAN McMILLAN, Associated Press Writer

BOSTON (AP) - A Massachusetts law against doing business with Myanmar because of its poor human rights record has confronted the U.S. Supreme Court with a fundamental constitutional question: Can state and local governments make their own foreign policy?

A federal judge and an appeals court have said no, and Massachusetts has appealed to the nation's highest court. As the justices hear the case Wednesday, cities and states with similar laws and activist groups will be watching closely.

``More and more people who are becoming interested in grassroots influence on international affairs and human rights issues see this may be a turning point in the techniques they will be able to use,'' said state Rep. Byron Rushing, who sponsored Massachusetts' law.

Myanmar, the Southeast Asian nation formerly known as Burma, is one of the world's poorest countries and is controlled by its military. The United States and other countries have restricted aid since thousands of protesters were gunned down in a 1988 pro-democracy uprising.

Four years ago - while U.S. policy still allowed trade with Burma - Massachusetts lawmakers barred the state from buying goods and services from companies that do business with Myanmar - unless there is no other comparable bid. Exceptions were made for purchases of some medical devices, for news-gathering companies and for telecommunications companies.

Supporters of the so-called Burma Law said they had a right to influence foreign policy and decide how to spend taxpayers' money, calling it a matter of free speech and states' rights.

Several months after the law was approved, the federal government imposed similar but less restrictive trade sanctions on Myanmar. So the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule by late June, could decide that the Massachusetts law is essentially moot because of the federal action.

But the state's opponents, including the National Foreign Trade Council, which represents 580 major U.S. corporations and sued Massachusetts over the law, hope the court goes much further - and restricts state and local governments' rights to enact such laws.

The trade group and the U.S. government say foreign policy matters ought to be left to Washington, so as not to weaken the United States' position as a business partner. They cite the constitutional provision granting foreign policy powers to the federal government.

``The country has to be able to speak with one voice,'' said Frank Kittredge, president of the trade council.

Although the Massachusetts law was struck down by a federal judge in 1998 and the decision was later upheld by an appeals court, there are about 20 similar laws elsewhere in the country, including in New York City, Ann Arbor, Mich., and Chapel Hill, N.C. Other cities are considering such restrictions.

Rushing pointed out that if local governments cannot set such purchasing rules, activists might turn to such tactics as consumer boycotts, which he said are potentially more detrimental in the long-term to U.S. companies.

But Kittredge said competitors in other countries see differing state and local policies in the United States and use that as a sales tactic, telling potential customers that an American company may not be a reliable supplier.

``For a business perspective, it's a terrible thing,'' said Robin Conrad, a lawyer for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which also opposes the Burma Law. ``You've got 50 states plus the District of Columbia, 309,000 sub-federal jurisdictions, able to enact their policies. It makes an overall mess of things.'' 

Bangkok Post, 21 March 2000

Repatriation will be voluntary, PM says

UNHCR officials in Rangoon for talks

The planned repatriation of Burmese refugees will be carried out on a voluntary basis, Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai said over the weekend here.

Political conditions in Burma would be considered carefully before repatriation would begin, said Mr Chuan, who was touring border areas.

"It is our policy to send refugees back to their homes when the situation in their country returns to normal," he said. "But the repatriation will be made on a voluntary basis."

The government recently held talks with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees about the resettlement plan.

Mr Chuan said UNHCR representatives had arrived in Burma to discuss the safe repatriation of the refugees.

The National Security Council has proposed that 100,000 taking shelter in holding centres across the country be repatriated within three years.

Regarding the resettlement of exiled Burmese students at Maneeloy holding centre in Ratchaburi, Mr Chuan said the resettlement programme was proceeding well with some students being sent to third countries.

He warned employers to strictly abide by regulations regarding the employment of alien workers.

Jeerawat Sattabutra, deputy director-general of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, said the repatriation of 100,000 Karen refugees to Burma had to be delayed because of political and economic instability there.

Refugees who voluntarily return home would be allowed to come back if they faced economic hardship or felt insecure there, he said. Mr Jeerawat suggested the UNHCR, responsible for the repatriation of refugees, promote democracy in Burma.

He believed a change in the ruling system would enhance unity and bring about economic stability.

Meanwhile, a Fourth Infantry Regiment task force has sent troops to a border village in Tha Song Yang district following the influx of more than 1,000 Burmese civilians.

The Irish Times, 21 March 2000

Burma activist is freewoman of Dublin

By Joe Humphreys

Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said she hoped her freedom of Dublin award would lead to closer links between Ireland and her country as it struggles to free itself from military rule.

In a video message recorded in Burma, where her movements are strictly controlled by the military, Ms Suu Kyi (54) said she wished to thank the people of Dublin for conferring on her the honour of freewoman of the city. She added: "I hope it will be an augury of greater ties between our countries, greater friendship, greater understanding, greater compassion."

Collecting the award on her behalf, her son, Mr Kim Aris (23) said he hoped "some day circumstances in Burma will allow my mother to come to Ireland to accept this honour herself". A blank space was left on the roll of honour for Ms Suu Kyi to sign if and when that day comes.

U2's Bono said he was "really proud" to be linked in this way to the Burmese human rights activist. "I think it's a mark of the city that while celebrating U2's freedom they bring the spotlight on Aung San Suu Kyi's incarceration. "You can't ever forget . . . what we have been through as a people, and the way we don't forget that is by putting our arms around people who are currently in a situation that we might have been in." The chairman of Burma Action Ireland, Father Pat Raleigh, praised Bono for his work against global debt and urged him to use his influence to "draw attention to the awful plight of the situation" in Burma.

Father Raleigh also called on the Government to appeal to the UN Security Council for trade sanctions against the military regime.

The Lord Mayor, Ms Mary Freehill, noted a recent report from Burma had found refugees were being subjected to forced labour, "being used as human shields or used to clear landmines. The report finds no signs of any improvements in the human rights conditions over the last couple of years."

Paying tribute to Ms Suu Kyi, the Lord Mayor said: "We can only marvel at the sacrifices this brave woman and her family have made for the people of Burma. She left a comfortable life in England, her young son not yet grown and her husband Michael, who sadly died last year.

"She said once, 'I hope the world will not forget us'. I'd like to send the message to Aung San and the people of Burma that Dublin has not forgotten."