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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEADLINE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Times of India - Jailed oppn member refused
defence lawyer: Myanmar
Business Recorder - Myanmar interested in joint
ventures
Xinhua - Myanmar's Cotton Yarn Production Up in
1999-2000
AP - Asian politicians hold pro-democracy forum
in Singapore
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BURMA RELATED NEWS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Times of India - Aug 12,
2000.
Asia-Pacific Jailed oppn member refused defence lawyer: Myanmar BANGKOK: Myanmar's military government on Friday denied that an opposition
member jailed for 21 years was not allowed a defence in court, saying he himself
refused to be represented by a lawyer.
A government statement faxed to The Associated Press in Bangkok said Aye
Tha Aung was convicted of violating a publication law and an emergency law and
received three seven-year terms, which will be served consecutively. It did not
elaborate.
Aye Tha Aung is the secretary of a ten-member proxy parliament set up by
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League for
Democracy. The party had won a landslide election victory in 1990 but was barred
by the ruling military from taking power.
On Thursday, a statement by the proxy parliament said Aye Tha Aung was
arrested April 24 and sentenced on June 21. He was denied the right to a defence
lawyer during the trial, and his family had only been allowed to see him once,
the statement said.
In response, the Myanmar government statement said: "It is not true that he
was not allowed to have a defence. He himself refused to have a defence lawyer
and even turned down the offer by the State to provide him with one."
Aye Tha Aung is the latest among the hundreds of NLD members to have been
detained and jailed by the military government, usually after summary trials and
sentencing. Many have resigned from the party to escape harassment by the
regime.
The military government stepped up pressure on the National League for
Democracy since it set up the proxy parliament, the Committee Representing the
People's Parliament, in September 1998 when the government ignored its demands
to convene a parliament.
The Myanmar regime has faced international censure and sanctions for its
poor human rights record. (AP)
Myanmar interested in joint
ventures
BUSINESS RECORDER REPORT KARACHI (August 12) : The Board of Investment (BoI) has requested the
Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) to identify
Pakistani companies interested in joining hands with Myanmar enterprises.
A high-powered Myanmar delegation led by Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt,
Secretary (I), State Peace and Development Council of Myanmar, had held a
meeting with the federal minister for commerce, industries and production on
July 6.
The delegation had identified following areas for Pakistan's investment in
Myanmar:
New textile mills, pulp and paper mills, diesel engines (1000 HP and
above), tractors and combined harvesters, chemical industry, multipurpose
engines, machine tools, and BMR in consumer goods industries.
Myanmar's Cotton Yarn Production Up in
1999-2000
YANGON (Aug. 12) XINHUA - Myanmar produced 4,838.7 tons of cotton yarn in fiscal year 1999-2000 which ended in March, 18.5 percent more than the 4,080.5 tons in 1998-99. According to the latest data released by the country's Central Statistical
Organization, Myanmar also produced 19,255,260 meters of cotton fabrics in the
fiscal year, up 61.8 percent over the previous fiscal year which saw a
production of 11,895,000 meters.
In the 1999-2000, Myanmar produced a total of 177,375 tons of cotton out of
341,820 hectares cultivated. During the year, the government purchased 24,750
tons of cotton.
Myanmar places emphasis on cultivation of cotton in Mandalay, Sagaing and
Magway divisions, the three central arid zones in the country.
Meanwhile, to maintain the enthusiasm of cotton growers and relieve a
shortage in investment capital, the government not only provides more than 1
billion kyats (3 million U.S. dollars) of loans to the cotton growers in the
country annually, but also grants advance payment for the purchase of
cotton.
Myanmar's locally-produced cotton fabrics are reportedly not enough to meet
demand. The country has to import them from China, India,Thailand and South
Korea.
Asian politicians hold
pro-democracy forum in Singapore
August 6, 2000 SINGAPORE (AP) -- Democracy
advocates from Asian countries meeting in Singapore on Saturday scoffed at the
claims of some regional leaders that political freedoms were culturally unsuited
for Asian peoples.
The politicians -- many from opposition parties -- who gathered for a forum
on political openness in Asia rejected the so-called "Asian values" argument,
which says Asians favor social stability and order over individual rights like
freedom of speech.
"What's this nonsense about different Asian values when it comes to basic
human rights? It is but the convenient excuse of some Asian leaders to deny very
basic human rights," said Martin Lee, a member of Hong Kong's Legislative
Council and chairman of the Democratic Party.
The politicians also criticized the argument by some Asian leaders that
political openness is a luxury, which can only be granted after countries gain
economic wealth.
"Openness creates wealth and prosperity," said Lim Guan Eng, vice chairman
of Malaysia's opposition Democratic Action Party.
Politicians from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan gathered for the
forum, which was organized by the Open Singapore Center, a private group that
promotes political openness in this tightly controlled city-state. About 50
spectators turned up. |