|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BURMA RELATED NEWS - NOV - 18, 2000. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEADLINE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - Myanmar shrugs off economic
effects of ILO-led sanctions
The Times of India - Good ties with Myanmar spell better security
The Times of India - Myanmar assures steps against insurgents
The Times of India - Myanmar disappointed over ILO vote
Bkk Post - Editorial - Burma
must no longer be coddled
UN Newservice - ILO to take
unprecedented steps against Myanmar for using forced labour
FT - Sanctions urged over
Burma
The Nation - Junta hits
out at ILO sanctions
BBC - India hosts top
Burmese general
Saturday, November 18 6:36 PM SGT
Myanmar shrugs off economic
effects of ILO-led sanctions
YANGON, Nov 18 (AFP) - Myanmar Saturday downplayed the economic
effects of an International Labour Organisation (ILO) decision to recommend its
members impose sanctions over the issue of forced labour.
"The resolution cannot hurt us too much as it does not
carry much weight and individual countries are not obliged to comply with ILO's
urgings," Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win told a press
conference.
"Trade patterns are mostly with neighbouring countries who
are not obliged to follow the resolution," he said.
In an unprecedented move, the ILO Thursday urged its
member states and organisations to reconsider their relations with Myanmar
because of its "widespread" use of forced labour.
A majority of the 56 members of the ILO's governing body
voted in favour of imposing sanctions, despite the opposition of several Asian
countries including China, India, Japan, Malaysia and Pakistan.
Thailand refused to join in a united Association of
Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) defence of Myanmar, which joined the bloc in
1997.
Myanmar's foreign affairs ministry Friday said the
decision was "most unfair" and ignored Yangon's efforts to cooperate with the
ILO in stamping out forced labour.
"The effects of this decision would have the negative
impact on the very people it purports to protect and serve," it said in a
statement.
Khin Maung Win said the ILO decision was a political move
by a small group of hostile Western countries intent on decrying its efforts to
deal with the issue of forced labour.
Myanmar's home ministry announced a new law banning forced
labour in October after an ILO mission visited the country. The decree was
reinforced on November 1 by a military directive.
But the ILO judged the measures were "too little too
late".
Myanmar has been in the organisation's sights since 1998,
when a commission of inquiry found the use of forced labour to be "widespread
and systematic."
According to the International Confederation of Free Trade
Unions (ICFTU) nearly one million people are currently subjected to forced
labour in Myanmar, particularly in building roads, railways and military
installations.
The army has been singled out as a main offender, due to
its practice of using villagers as "porters".
The ICFTU on Friday urged tour operators and
multinationals working in Myanmar to apply the recommendations of the ILO.
Any new sanctions, on top of those already imposed by the
United States and the European Union, may seal the fate of the tottering Myanmar
economy.
Analysts believe that of all the sanctions imposed on
Myanmar so far, the ILO's punitive action is the most humiliating and has the
potential to cause the regime real damage.
Trade union bans could see Myanmar's valuable agricultural
exports turned away from ports around the world, particularly on the eastern
seaboard of India.
Behind the speeches and ultra-nationalist posturing, the
generals in Yangon have made it clear they are loathe to see the ILO's door
close completely on a regime that is already isolated and
marginalised.
The Times of India -
Nov 18, 2000.
Good ties with Myanmar spell better security By Manoj Joshi NEW DELHI: Think of the country's neighbours, and the last
name that comes to mind is Myanmar. A country, with whom India shares a highly
active 1,600-km border. For most part, it's an unpoliced border, through which
insurgents, arms, drugs and fake currency pour into India and disrupt the
security and tenor of life in the entire North-East.
In giving a red carpet reception to General Maung Aye, the
No. 2 man in Myanmar junta, the government hopes to change the balance with some
assistance from authorities there. New Delhi hopes the visit will help mitigate
the bad vibes between it and Yangon that arose from the crackdown on
pro-democracy forces by Myanmar's armed forces in 1988, and set the two
countries' relations on a new track.
Official optimism is based on the fact that ever since
1999, when India stepped up its `constructive engagement' with Myanmar, there
has been a visible payoff in terms of the pressure put by the Myanmar Army on
the Indian insurgent groups operating from there. Visits to Myanmar by then Army
chief Gen V P Malik and home secretary Kamal Pande this year, as well as import
of 50,000 tonnes of rice from Myanmar have set the stage for Gen Maung's visit.
New Delhi's policy towards Myanmar has drawn predictable
criticism from activists who support Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained
pro-democracy leader. However, beyond a limit India cannot allow its state
interests to subserve its commitment to democracy, especially in a situation
where its own security is affected.
To convince the Myanmerese of India's serious intent,
there is some house-cleaning to be done.
First, New Delhi must convey to the Generals in Yangon
that while New Delhi values democracy, it unambiguously recognises the State
Peace and Development Council as the government of Myanmar.
Second, it must assure them that India will not allow any
insurgent movement to base itself in India. India's support for some dubious
groups in this area has brought little by way of returns and has instead clouded
its relations with Myanmar.
Third, that while Myanmar pro-democracy refugees are given
asylum in India, they will not be permitted to conduct any political activity
that will prejudice Myanmar's security in any way.
According to Swaraj Kaushal, former governor of Mizoram
and an expert on the region, if India and Myanmar were to agree to joint
patrolling and joint manning of their border posts, ``forty per cent of the
insurgency will be checked''. One reason for this, he says, is that ``probably
more Nagas and Mizos live in Myanmar than they do in India''. According to him,
only a holistic approach towards rooting out insurgency, which includes
cooperation with Myanmar and Bangladesh, can bring permanent peace to the
region.
Nov 18, 2000.
Myanmar assures steps against insurgents The Times of India News Service NEW DELHI: Myanmarese leader General Maung Aye has assured
India that his country will ensure that its territory is `not used for the
purpose of cross-border terrorism'.
At least five Naga insurgent camps operating from Myanmar
have reportedly been eliminated this year. The five camps belonged to the
Khaplang faction of the Naga insurgent groups. The State Peace and Development
Council's (SPDC) No. 2 leader, Gen Maung Aye, is now on a state visit here at
home minister Advani's invitation.
Advani suggested some sort of bilateral agreement to give
a boost to tourism and other cultural exchanges. To a question on India
favouring democracy in Myanmar while trying to deal with the junta in Yangon,
Advani said, ``We weighed all the pros and cons but in international relations,
we have to take into account our national interests.''
Talking to newspersons later, Gen Maung noted that
India-Myanmar relations go back to several years and were very close especially
during the freedom movement. He recalled that the last Myanmar emperor, Thibaw
Rahnagum, died at Ratnagiri in Konkan, and the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah
Zafar's last resting place was in Yangon.
Gen Maung was given a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati
Bhavan on Friday morning. Gen Maung is the second Myanmar leader to visit India
this year. Forging closer ties with Myanmar is part of a broader strategy to
counter insurgency in the North-East as the ultras have been using Myanmar as
their base for launching anti-India operations. The authorities here have also
taken note of China's increased efforts at developing close ties with Myanmar in
recent months.
The Times of India -
Nov 18, 2000.
Myanmar disappointed over ILO
vote
YANGON: Myanmar expressed bitter disappointment on Friday
over the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) decision to invite its
members to bring sanctions against the military regime, over the issue of forced
labour.
A senior spokesman for the junta said that efforts to
stamp out the practice, and its willingness to cooperate with the ILO monitoring
team which visited Yangon twice this year, had been ignored.
"The ILO decision to activate measures against Myanmar
proves that the ILO and, the governing body in particular, have already made up
their minds and don't want to be confused with any facts," he said.
"They have turned a blind eye on the efforts, positive
developments, sincere cooperation and the political will the Myanmar government
has taken, to be in accordance with the ILO convention (on) forced
labour."
The spokesman said "big and powerful nations" were using
labour rights as "a pretext to coerce, pressurise and interfere in the domestic
affairs" of poorer countries.
The ILO had ordered Myanmar to comply with recommendations
made by a 1998 committee of inquiry, which found forced labour to be "widespread
and systematic."
Sanctions were recommended by the International Labour
Conferencee in June but put on hold until the end of this month to give the
junta time to take concrete action.
The ILO team, which made a six-day mission to the country
last month, found the government had made progress in changing its laws to end
the use of forced labour, but far less in putting legislative changes into
practice.
In the months preceding the ILO's decision, Myanmar's
generals had indicated they were extremely concerned about the action, which
could lead to further sanctions from its member states and
organisations.
It now remains to be seen what action will be taken
against the regime, which is already labouring under wide-ranging international
sanctions that have helped cripple the economy.
Sources in Yangon said the junta was anxious to avoid
trade union bans that would see its agricultural exports turned away from ports
around the world, particularly on the eastern seaboard of India.
It is feared that any new trade bans would deal a mortal
blow to the economy, which critics say is saved from complete collapse only by
the thriving black market and profits from the drugs trade.
Sources close to the negotiations between ILO team leader
Francis Maupain and the government said the two sides developed a good working
relationship during the mission's visits.
Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win told AFP last week
that Myanmar was "hoping for the best but prepared for the worst" ahead of the
ILO's vote, but nevertheless the decision has come as a great
disappointment.
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
(ICFTU) says nearly one million people are currently subjected to forced labour
in Myanmar.
The Brussels-based organisation said this week it had also
examined more than 400 labour requisition orders issued by members of the army
and several dozen witness statements since June.
ICFTU's general secretary Bill Jordan has welcomed the
ILO's "firm position" and said it "not only sends a strong signal to the
generals in Rangoon but is also a message of hope for Burmese democrats and for
the hundreds of thousands of victims of inhuman exploitation." (AFP)
Bangkok Post - Nov
18, 2000.
Editorial - Burma must no longer be coddled In keeping with its decision to abstain from voting on
sanctions against Burma at an International Labour Organisation conference in
June, Thailand on Thursday resisted a Malaysia-led bid to protect the
country.
Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam joined
Malaysia in arguing that Burma had "made progress"towards conforming with
Convention 29 on forced labour in the area of legislation as well as the
establishment of an "institutional mechanism" to carry out administrative
follow-up.
But the vast majority of the International Labour
Organisation's governing body were not satisfied, seeing little or no evidence
that Burma had translated intentions expressed by its labour minister in May
into a framework of legislative, executive and administrative
measures.
In a letter to the ILO director-general on May 27, Maj-Gen
Tin Ngwe had said: "We have taken and are taking the necessary measures to
ensure that there are no instances of forced labour in Myanmar."He added that
the authorities would "take into consideration appropriate measures, including
administrative, executive and legislative measures to ensure the prevention of
such occurrences in the future."Though there was no formal vote on Thursday,
Malaysia, China, India and Russia were reported to have raised their hands
against sanctions.
Thailand is not in the 56-strong ILO governing body joined
by only 28 governments, the remainder being employer and worker
groups.
Under an article in the ILO constitution that has never
been invoked in the organisation's 81-year history, the governing body called on
the 174 member states to "review" their relations with Burma and take
"appropriate measures" to ensure that these relations do not "perpetuate or
extend the system of forced or compulsory labour."The decision is to become
effective on November 30 and follows a mission to Burma in October by five
experts, including an official from the International Labour Organisation's
office in Bangkok.
The experts found that Burma had made some progress in
amending laws to end forced labour but not enough towards putting these changes
into practice.
The ILO wants Burma to comply with recommendations made by
a 1998 Committee of Inquiry which found use of forced labour to be "widespread
and systematic" in that country.
The committee called on Burma to bring its laws into line
with the 1930 Convention on Forced Labour which it has ratified, to end forced
labour, and punish perpetrators after due investigation and
prosecution.
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
estimates that almost one million people are currently subjected to forced
labour.
As an immediate neighbour faced with a million illegal
Burmese workers and 100,000 refugees, Thailand is right to take a hard line
against such abuse.
Unless Burmese authorities, especially the military, stop
subjecting their people, often women, children and the elderly, to inhumane
treatment, Thailand will continue to be at the receiving end of influxes of
distressed people.
The hard line is a risk because of the
2,400-kilometre-long border Thailand shares with Burma, but one that has to be
taken.
Rather than hold a grudge against Thailand, Burma should
put its house in order, if for nothing else than to hasten the removal of the
sanctions.
The international community, while keeping up pressure
against Burma, should appreciate Thailand's dilemma, and avoid action that would
complicate it.
UN Newservice - Nov
17, 2000.
ILO to take unprecedented steps against Myanmar for using forced labour 17 November -- The Governing Body of the International
Labour Organization (ILO) today decided to institute a series of measures
against the Government of Myanmar for its failure to comply with an ILO treaty
banning forced labour.
Today's decision, which marked the first time that the ILO
has imposed measures against a State, followed a chain of events aimed at
uncovering Myanmar's forced labour practices and compelling the Yangon
Government to halt them.
The decision stems from charges contained in a 1998 report
by an international commission of inquiry. That report found that "the impunity
with which government officials, in particular the military, treat the civilian
population as an unlimited pool of unpaid forced labourers and servants at their
disposal is part of a political system built on the use of force and
intimidation to deny the people of Myanmar democracy and the rule of law."
Following up on these charges, the International Labour
Conference in June adopted a resolution compelling the Yangon Government to
comply with the ILO treaty on forced labour, which was ratified by Myanmar --
then called Burma -- in 1955. Under the terms of the resolution, a series of
measures will take effect at the end of November unless, before that date, the
ILO's governing body is satisfied that Myanmar has responded to the
recommendations contained in the Commission's report.
Last month, an ILO team travelled to Myanmar to determine
what the Government had done in response to the report's charges. Acting on the
basis of the team's report, the Governing Body considered that it was not
satisfied with Myanmar's response. In particular, the Governing Body found that
Myanmar's authorities, including the military, had not stopped imposing forced
labour on the country's population.
As a result, the Governing Body decided to recommend that
governments, employers and workers ensure that their relations with Myanmar do
not perpetuate or extend the system of forced labour in the country. In
addition, the ILO Director-General will ask international organizations to cease
any activity they are engaged in with Myanmar that could have the effect of
directly or indirectly abetting the practice of forced or compulsory labour
there.
In a separate development, the ILO announced today that
its treaty banning the worst forms of child labour will enter into force on
Sunday. The entry-into-force is automatic under the Worst Forms of Child Labour
Convention, which stipulates that it will become law 12 months after the date of
the second ratification, which was received on 19 November 1999.
"This is a clear demonstration of the rapidly growing
movement to eradicate as quickly as possible the most abusive exploitation of
children," said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. With the new treaty, he
added, "the world is declaring that all these forms of child labour are morally
abhorrent in any society, whatever its developmental stage or cultural
traditions."
Financial Times - Nov
17, 2000.
Sanctions urged over Burma By William Barnes in Bangkok and Frances Williams in Geneva Published: November 17 2000 17:30GMT | Last Updated: November 17 2000 21:51GMT Burma's military regime on Friday responded furiously to the International Labour Organisation's overwhelming vote to call for sanctions by governments, companies and international agencies against the regime's use of forced labour. The ILO will urge its 174 members, including trade union and employer representatives, and other international bodies to "review their relations" with Burma and "take appropriate measures" to ensure they are not abetting forced labour. Lt-Col Hla Min, a government spokesman, said Burma was
threatened by big and powerful nations misusing labour rights as a pretext to
coerce, pressure and interfere in domestic affairs.
While important symbolically, the ILO's move may have
little economic effect, as many countries outside the region have already
withdrawn from doing business with Burma.
Nevertheless, the unprecedented decision - the strongest
action open to the ILO, which has no sanction powers of its own - is an
embarrassing public condemnation of Burma's human rights record that the
military junta has tried desperately to avoid.
Just days before the ILO meeting, the military regime
announced it was banning forced labour, though it provided no evidence that the
practice was being ended. Its manoeuvre "was simply too little, too late", a
Rangoon-based diplomat said.
The ILO annual conference in June agreed that the measures
would come into effect at the end of this month unless Burma took serious steps
to outlaw forced labour.
According to the Brussels-based International Federation
of Free Trade Unions, more than a million Burmese are forced to work as army
porters or on construction sites for roads, railways, military installations and
tourist infrastructure.
Russia, China, Malaysia and India voted against the ILO
decision on a show of hands, but their votes were easily outweighed by other
governments, trade union and employer delegates on the 56-member governing body.
Activists working against the Burmese regime believe they
will now have greater leverage to press for consumer boycotts, an end to foreign
tourism and a withdrawal of foreign investment from the country.
Several western oil companies, including the UK's Premier
Oil, France's TotalFinaElf and Unocal of the US, have commercial interests in
Burma.
The Nation - Nov 18,
2000.
Junta hits out at ILO sanctions BY VORAPUN SRIVORANART A NEW chapter on Burma began on Thursday after the
International Labour Organisation's governing body voted overwhelmingly to slap
sanctions on the country for its persistent use of forced labour.
The punitive action, due to take effect on November 30, in
a sense banishes the Rangoon junta from the international community. It also
enforces a complicating ramification for many countries and United Nations
agencies with a stake in the country.
The governing body's resolution, in which 52 out of 56
members voted in support of the sanctions, put a cap on months of intense
lobbying, including last-minute efforts by Rangoon to give a pretence of
"complying".
For opposition forces and trade unionists, it was billed
as a victory for democracy and human rights and hopes are high that fresh
sanctions would deal a serious blow to the economic base of the military
government and hence precipitate its downfall. "This broadens the effort to get
the government of Burma to meet its obligations under the ILO Convention against
Forced Labour, which it has ratified," ILO spokesman John Doohan said.
As anticipated, Rangoon reacted furiously, accusing the
international community of turning "a blind eye" to positive developments and
sincere cooperation undertaken by the regime after the June resolution of the
International Labour Conference. It said such a measure would be
counterproductive.
Like many important punitive actions before, the devil is
in the implementation. The ILO's decision per se is non-binding and subject to
the judgement of individual UN bodies, states and companies as to what action
they deem appropriate to prevent them from abetting compulsory labour in Burma.
As a result, there is much doubt over how far countries
with major commercial interests and an inclination to sympathise with the
regime, such as China, India, Japan and Asean states - with the exception of
Thailand, are willing to go.
The activities of various UN agencies with projects inside
Burma are now also subject to worldwide scrutiny. According to one Burma
watcher, who requested anonymity, these bodies must now seriously review whether
cooperation with Rangoon contributes to the use of forced labour.
But multinational energy companies operating in Burma,
such as Total-Fina and Unocal, are the ones most likely to be hit by the
resolution.
In the past their activities have drawn bitter protests
and lawsuits from human rights activists. Now, the ILO vote means they are
likely to face even more pressure to abandon business in Burma.
All in all, the rules of the game have been amended and it
will be interesting to see how these players react to avoid international
criticism that they are abetting human rights violations. For Burma, shutting
its door in retaliation, would do more harm than good since it would reinforce
its pariah status.
BBC - Saturday, 18
November, 2000, 00:12 GMT
India hosts top Burmese general By Vir Singh in Delhi India has rolled out the red carpet for a delegation from
the military junta in Burma led by General Maung Aye, the country's second most
powerful official.
His week-long visit, at the invitation of India's
Vice-President Krishan Kant, is the latest in a series of high-level exchanges
between the two countries and marks a turnaround by India which has long
castigated Burma's military junta for suppressing the country's pro-democracy
movement led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
The change has been spurred by concerns about Burma's
growing links with China and Pakistan and by a firm offer to help police border
areas and boost trade.
Just how far India is prepared to go to woo its eastern
neighbour was clear on Friday as General Maung Aye, who is deputy head of
Burma's State Peace and Development Council and commander-in-chief of the army,
met politicians and business leaders in the Indian capital, Delhi.
Drug trafficking
General Aye held talks with Home Minister L K Advani about
how both countries could jointly crack down on various insurgent movements and
drug trafficking and promote economic co-operation along their 1,600 km border.
Later, he spoke of investment opportunities in an address
at the Confederation of Indian Industry.
"We have changed our economic system to make it
market-oriented and have allowed privatisation of the state sector," the general
said.
Most newspapers here have expressed satisfaction at the
new line being taken by Delhi.
"India's Myanmar [Burma] policy took a leisurely dozen
years to evolve from moralising to engagement," noted the Hindustan Times.
"This is only partly because of sympathy for Ms Suu Kyi.
The snail's pace of India's engagement is more about failing to prioritise
interests regarding Myanmar and being overly influenced by the West."
Closer ties with Burma are viewed as a part of India's
refurbished "Look East" policy focusing on south-east Asian nations.
Earlier this month, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and
External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh visited Laos and Vietnam to strengthen
bilateral ties.
General Maung Aye is scheduled to hold talks with Mr
Advani and to call on President K R Narayanan and Vice-President Kant.
He is to meet Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee as well
as External Affairs Minister Singh on Monday.
Dissidents
One glaring omission from this list is Indian Defence
Minister George Fernandes.
Indian media reports have focused on his support for
Burmese dissidents living here.
The socialist minister has been one of the loudest critics
of Burma and China for their suppression of democracy movements.
On Thursday, police in the Indian capital stopped a
protest by about 100 Burmese opposed to the military regime and briefly detained
some of them. |