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South China Morning Post
Thursday, April
6, 2000
BURMA
Doubt over
rights training
WILLIAM BARNES in Bangkok and ROGER MAYNARD in Sydney The Australian Government may be trying to distance itself
from its human rights initiative in Burma by having outside consultants run the
programme.
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed Burmese civil servants would take part in Australian-run courses this year. The consultants would be used to appraise Burmese officials, and perhaps members of the security forces, on international human rights standards, Canberra sources said yesterday. The announcement came at a particularly sensitive time for the Howard Government, coinciding as it did with mounting controversy over mandatory sentencing in the Northern Territory and Western Australia and an acrimonious debate over the so-called stolen generation of Aborigines. Last month, Australia's Human Rights Commissioner, Chris Sidoti, compared Canberra's attempts to water down a scathing United Nations report on mandatory sentencing with the sort of response that could be expected from Burma, China or Malaysia when criticised. The comparison drew a swift response from Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer, who said such a suggestion was ridiculous. He said the aim of the courses was to improve the human rights situation in Burma by making government officials more aware of the issues. Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Laurie Brereton agreed that while there was a wide gulf between Australia and Burma on the way they treated citizens, there was a certain irony in the situation. He accused the Government of joining Rangoon in undermining the UN's authority on human rights. Opposition leader Kim Beazley also condemned Prime Minister John Howard for damaging Australia's international standing with his frequent attacks on the UN. Australia's move on Burma started last year, when the Government decided that the tough sanctions-oriented approach of the United States and Europe was not working. In seeking to engage a notoriously obdurate regime, it sent Mr Sidoti to Rangoon. Many observers were surprised the regime agreed to meet Mr Sidoti since it usually rejected such approaches. But critics of the move said it was merely providing the ruling military with international window dressing while doing little or nothing to tackle what human rights groups regularly described as major and widespread abuses. South China Morning Post Thursday, April 6,
2000
BURMA
Junta
sacrificing youth, says activist
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday accused Burma's junta of
sacrificing the country's youth in a brutal climate of human rights abuses
spawned by its determination to cling to power.
In a message to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the Nobel laureate said the military was guilty of social, economic and educational abuses. "For the military regime, the most important thing is to keep their hold on power," she said in a message smuggled out of Burma and released in Bangkok. "In order to keep their grip on power, they are prepared to sacrifice the future of our young people." Ms Aung San Suu Kyi said the closure of universities by authorities fearing unrest would have serious consequences for Burma's future. The India Times - April 6, 2000. Myanmar refugees in Thailand
still without shelter
BANGKOK: Some 4,000 refugees from Myanmar were without shelter in
temperatures exceeding 40 degrees C (104 degrees F) Wednesday, as prospects for
returning to their homeland from temporary encampments inside Thailand appeared
poor.
The refugees, from Myanmar's ethnic Karen minority, started crossing into
Thailand on Saturday after fighting in their village of Mae La Pohta, opposite
Thailand's Tak province. They camped in Tak's Tha Saung Yang district, about 120
kilometers (75 miles) north of the Thai border town of Mae Sot.
More fled after shelling by Myanmar forces on Sunday, and stragglers have
continued crossing the border. Myanmar is also known as Burma.
The fighting erupted Saturday when government troops and members of the
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, or DKBA, a breakaway Karen faction, attacked a
force belonging to the 7th Brigade of the Karen National Union, the main Karen
rebel group.
The KNU forces withdrew from the village after a half-hour battle, but
according to the KNU, Myanmar troops razed the entire village late Tuesday,
burning down 635 houses, three schools, and a hospital.
A private aid organization, the Karen Refugee Committee, said the refugees
were suffering some medical problems, especially diarrhea, but were in no
immediate danger from fighting because Thai authorities had shown no inclination
to push them back across the border.
A member of the Karen Refugee Committee, speaking on condition of anonymity,
said Karen and Western aid groups were providing medical aid, and that essential
items such as clothing, food and cooking utensils would be delivered Friday.
He said that rice had already been provided by a consortium of aid groups
working on the border. "At present, we dare not go back home because the Burmese
and the DKBA may have planted a lot of land mines in our village," Saw Di Di,
one of the displaced villagers, said Wednesday. "And we do not have anything for
farming and our food supplies were destroyed as well."
The refugees were visited Wednesday by the Thai regional army commander and
the governor of Tak province, who gave instructions for their welfare.
Some 100,000 refugees from Myanmar's internal fighting live in refugee camps
in Thailand strung along the border. Most are ethnic Karens.
The KNU is the last major ethnic rebel group that has not reached a
cease-fire with the military regime that has ruled Myanmar since 1962.(AP)
Thursday, April 6 1:17 AM SGT
By PATRICK MCDOWELL, Associated Press Writer
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi urged the United Nations to keep pressure on Myanmar's military
regime to give her country a chance to prosper under democracy.
In a videotaped message secreted out of Myanmar, also known as Burma, and
bound for the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Suu Kyi said the military
was interested only in keeping the power it seized in 1962.
Suu Kyi said the economy - still in trouble, though socialism was dropped for
market reforms when the current generals came to power in 1988 - would stay
backward ``until there is good government.''
``For the military regime, the most important thing is to keep their hold on
power,'' Suu Kyi said in the videotape, which was released by the Bangkok-based
activist group ALTSEAN. ``In order to keep their grip on power, they are
prepared to sacrifice our young people.''
Suu Kyi denounced the closure of universities around the country since
student unrest in 1996. Though some have reopened, many remain closed, she said.
Engineering and medical schools stayed open for the military.
``This does not augur well for our country,'' Suu Kyi said. ``We will be a
house divided. We will become a country where there are two classes - the
military and everybody else.''
Suu Kyi said economic development would remain a dream as long as the
generals refuse to extend political power, and that development cannot be
separated from human rights.
``In spite of the scrutiny of the international community, violations of
human rights in Burma continue,'' Suu Kyi said. ``It continues at a disgraceful
rate.''
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won elections that the military
allowed in 1990. The generals were surprised the parties they supported lost and
never allowed the parliament to convene.
The country is under various sanctions from Western countries seeking to
bring about democracy, but the government has refused to hold a dialogue with
Suu Kyi, viewing her as a traitor for her calls for economic sanctions.
Amid frustration in some circles that sanctions have proven fruitless, Suu
Kyi said that international involvement would make a difference.
``I hope that the world will be able to take an example of what happened
recently in East Timor and learn to help when help is needed, and not only when
help is too late,'' she said.
In Yangon, a government spokesman said it was ``regretful that Ms. Suu Kyi is
bent on using a method of confrontation'' and urged her party to act ``in a more
responsible and constructive manner.''
``The government of Myanmar has in fact kept and is still keeping the doors
open for those who sincerely desire to cooperate together with the government
and the people of Myanmar to develop the country,'' the spokesman said.
The government views Suu Kyi's tactics as ``whimsical and symbolic gestures
merely designed to create attention and add hardship for the country and the
people,'' the spokesman said. Wednesday, April 5 11:15 AM SGT BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, April 5 (AFP) - Southeast Asian environment ministers have vowed to intensify cooperation to
avert the problem of smoky haze from regional forest fires, amid signs of a
looming drier than normal season from the El Nino phenomenon. At a one-day meeting in Brunei they agreed to take every measure possible to
enforce a "zero burning" policy. The Brunei meeting Tuesday was the latest in a series of informal talks among
the ministers which began in 1998, when the Association for Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) launched a comprehensive action plan to tackle the haze
problem. "The ministers noted the potential frequency and intensity of the forest
fires and haze in the coming dry season starting in May and the predicted El
Nino, which is expected to create drier climatic conditions toward the end of
this year or early next year," they said in a joint statement issued late
Tuesday. "The Ministers reiterated the importance of remaining vigilant and continued
commitment to enforcing national policies and ASEAN collaborative efforts to
address transboundary haze pollution problems," they said. Smoke from forest and ground fires in the nearby Indonesian island of Sumatra
in early March carried over to Singapore and parts of Malaysia, prompting the
two governments to express their alarm to Jakarta. The March haze was caused by large plantation companies clearing land for
planing in Riau province, Sumatra. Jakarta issued an assurance that enough
evidence had been collected to prosecute the companies for flouting the law and
continuing to burn land. The environment ministers "expressed strong objection to such irresponsible
behaviour. They agreed to take all possible measures to deal with the culprits
and enforce the zero-burning policy," the joint statement said. They commended the efforts of a regional task force monitoring the haze, as
its information helped identify the location of fires and supported the
prosecution of those responsible. The ministers "agreed to intensify the collaboration to ensure a haze free
condition for the APEC 2000 meetings in Brunei." Leaders of the 21 member economies of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
forum are to meet in November in Brunei. The ASEAN environment ministers said they would meet again in Malaysia from
August 24 to 26. The ministers thanked international donors for their help in supporting the
regional haze action plan and in forging a possible so-called ASEAN Agreement on
Transboundary Haze Pollution. A legal and technical group will meet next month to assess the need to
negotiate such an agreement. There are fears the fires may bring high pollution levels to the region
similar to 1997 and early 1998, particularly with the expected drier than normal
season this year which will incrase the potential for more fires. The task force expressed concern over the lack of fire-fighting capability in
the rural areas of Indonesia. "A new forest fighting agency has been created but the challenge remains as
the infrastructure and equipment for fire fighting is located in the urban
areas, while the problem is in the rural areas," said Indonesia's Aca Sugandhi,
chairman of the Haze Technical Task Force. Fires in Sumatra and Borneo island covered much of Southeast Asia with a
choking haze for months in 1997, causing extensive health, transport, tourism
and other problems and billions of dollars in lost revenue. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Teerawat Khamtita Imports and exports
through eight border checkpoints in four northern provinces will be closely
monitored to prevent the smuggling of illegal drugs and stolen vehicles. Representatives from anti-narcotics agencies yesterday met to discuss ways to
stop the flood of drugs and smuggled goods along the border, a source said. The meeting, chaired by Third Army commander Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong,
was attended by some 60 senior officials, including Pol Lt-Gen Khomkrit
Pattanawongpanit, deputy commissioner of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau,
Lt-Gen Udomchai Ongkhasing, Third Army Corps commander, Theeraphat
Santimataneedol, deputy secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control
Board and Samroeng Bunyopakorn, the governor of Chiang Rai. It was resolved that eight border checkpoints in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Mae
Hong Son and Tak be placed under close watch as these areas were used as transit
routes for drugs and stolen cars. Lt-Gen Udomchai said authorities may consider closing some checkpoints if
efforts to prevent the smuggling of illicit drugs fail. The eight checkpoints are Ban Muang Daeng and Ban Pang Ha in Chiang Rai's Mae
Sai district, one in Chiang Mai, three in Mae Hong Son and two in Tak. Sources said the checkpoint at Ban Pang Ha was under the control of
Saengsanit Chaisri, or kamnan Daeng, the influential local leader of tambon Koh
Chang. To prevent the illegal entry of Burmese, Mr Saengsanit had built a gate at
the checkpoint. The Chiang Rai governor said he would strictly check and regulate the
transport of goods at Ban Pang Ha and Ban Muang Daeng. At Ban Pang Ha, Mr Samroeng said he had asked Mr Saengsanit to remove the
gate, adding officials would be sent to man the area after its removal. PM's Office Minister Jurin Laksanavisit said about 80 million baht would be
sought from the government to suppress illicit drugs and provide treatment for
drug addicts. Thailand would seek co-operation from Burma to suppress drug trafficking
along the border, particularly in Wa-controlled areas, said the minister, who
oversees the Office of the Narcotics Control Board. |