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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BURMA RELATED NEWS - February 24, 2001. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEADLINE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SMH - Border war lends drug barons a tilt at
traffic control
AP - Malaysia To Allow
Employers Recruit From Cambodia,Myanmar
The Australian - Generals forced to open a
new front
Asia Times - Border clashes with Myanmar reveal Thai divisions
The Independent - Strategy to keep China at bay India woos
Myanmar
The Age - Fears of
growing drug flow through Thailand
Kyodo - Japan makes grant to Myanmar to
improve health care
The Nation - Burmese troops set up camp in
Palang Luang
Bkk Post - Army says junta must initiate
talks
Bkk Post - Foreign minister sees need for
'forward engagement'
Bkk Post - BURMESE
BORDER Closure pushes prices up
Sydney Morning Herald (Feb 23,
2001)
Border war lends drug barons a
tilt at traffic control
Fears grow that the Golden Triangle conflict may open a synthetic drug highway to Australia, Herald Correspondent Craig Skehan writes from Mae Sai.
Australian drug enforcement agencies are closely monitoring the escalating
conflict in the Golden Triangle, amid fears drug barons will emerge with
expanded power and territory.
Recent fighting in the region along the Thai-Burmese border in the Golden
Triangle region has embroiled two warring ethnic insurgencies as well as regular
Thai and Burmese troops.
But while the violence is likely to restrict supplies of chemicals used to
produce heroin and methamphetamines and limit drug trafficking in the short
term, Western intelligence agencies fear the outcome will result in a victory
for the forces most closely linked to drug production.
A senior Western intelligence official in Bangkok said the flow of drugs
through Thailand would increase if the forces of the ethnic Wa, who have strong
links to Chinese drug lords, strengthened their control of the region.
Australian authorities fear that as well being able to protect their heroin
business, the ethnic Wa will target Australia for the sale of new-generation
synthetic drugs.
More than 90 per cent of the heroin sold in Australia comes from Burma's
sprawling Shan State, which borders Thailand, Laos and China.
The secessionist Shan State Army is engaged in bloody battles with both
Burmese troops and the allied ethnic Wa drug trafficking militias. The battles
follow increasing ethnic Wa infiltration of the region.
Recent United States spy satellite photographs of the region indicate the
Wa have planted big new areas of opium poppies. Western officials in Bangkok
monitoring drug production in the Golden Triangle region also believe the drug
lords are improving their ability to produce synthetic drugs.
The border conflict flared earlier this month when Burmese soldiers
fighting the Shan forcibly took control of a strategic hill in disputed
territory claimed by Thailand. When the Thais shelled the position, Burmese
forces retaliated with an artillery barrage of the northernmost town in
Thailand, Mae Sai, killing three civilians.
Up to 800million methamphetamine tablets are expected to be smuggled this
year into Thailand, which has also continued to be a conduit for the movement of
heroin to Australia and other foreign markets.
"Considering how easy it has been to bribe people in Thailand and how good
the transport system is, that is hardly surprising," said Bangkok-based Burma
analyst Bruce Hawke. Corruption among Thai border police was a big factor
helping cross-border smuggling, he said.
For the past couple of years Thailand has been stationing soldiers in
border areas to interdict drugs and block movement of so-called pre-cursor, or
base, chemicals into Shan State.
"It is very likely that there is now going to be tighter enforcement along
the border which is going to squeeze the flow of heroin," Mr Hawke said.
The biggest heroin refining centre was in the Ho Tao area of the Wa Hills,
near China, he said.
Sources in the Thai military privately concede that in an effort to counter
methamphetamine and heroin smuggling from Burma, covert help has been given to
the Shan State Army since late last year.
At first there was financial help and medicine, then a more tolerant
attitude to use of Thai soil by Shan militiamen and providing ammunition. The
Shan State Army in turn announced it was attacking heroin and methamphetamine
laboratories.
In some cases seized contraband has been handed over to Thai police, but
there are suspicions that elements of the Shan State Army are still directly or
indirectly engaged in the drug trade.
The new Thai Government of Prime Minister Taksin Shinawatra is trying to
avoid unbridled cross-border hostilities and is seeking high-level political
talks. But the Defence Minister, Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, has a reputation for
cozy business and personal links with Burma's military rulers.
Thailand's The Nation newspaper on Thursday quoted sources as saying 35
Thai senior officials, including a Cabinet minister, were on a police blacklist
of suspected drug traders.
Saturday February 24, 7:25 PM
Malaysia To Allow Employers
Recruit From Cambodia,Myanmar
KUALA LUMPUR (AP)--Employers
have been told that they can recruit workers from Myanmar and Cambodia since the
government has moved to stop Bangladeshis from finding jobs in Malaysia.
Home Ministry Secretary-General Aseh Che Mat told employers Feb. 17that
they weren't allowed to recruit Bangladeshi workers because of problems
involving many of them marrying locals and abandoning them when their work
permits expired.
Others were accused of forging documents and marrying local Malay Muslim
women to remain in the country illegally, according to domestic media reports
Human Resources Minister Fong Chan Onn told the national news agency
Bernama Saturday that employers need not worry about the shortage of labor as
they could recruit workers from Myanmar and Cambodia.
He said workers from those two countries can speak English and have other
skills needed by certain employers.
The move to stop the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers wasn't to burden
employers but because of the problems caused by these workers, he said.
About 100,000 mainly Muslim Bangladeshis work in Malaysia's construction,
plantation and services sectors.
More than one million foreigners, many of them without valid documents,
work in Malaysia, which is one of Southeast Asia's wealthiest countries and has
recovered well from the 1997-98 Asian economic crisis.
More than 60,000 illegal workers were deported in 1999 and another 97,251
were sent back last year. The Immigration Department expects deportation figures
to surpass 100,000 this year.
Myanmar Nurses Urged to Strive to
Become Qualified
2001.02.24 13:42:01 YANGON, February 24 (Xinhuanet)
-- Myanmar leader Lieutenant- General Khin Nyunt has urged the nurses in the
country to strive to become qualified and patriotic nurses serving as the
main pillar in uplifting health and fitness of the entire national
people under the leadership of the Myanmar Nurses Association (MNA) .
Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the Myanmar State Peace and
Development Council, made the call here Friday at the opening ceremony of
the 46th Nurses Conference of the MNA, official newspaper The New Light of
Myanmar reported Saturday.
Khin Nyunt, who is also chairman of the National Health Committee,
said that the national health plans are designed to pay more attention to
preliminary health care for the people and to provide health care not only
in rural areas but also in border areas, disclosing that strategies have
been laid down to enable the people to enjoy the best health
care.
He stressed that nurses should not only take part with might and main
in giving health and hygienic education to the public but also strive to always
win the public trust and reliance.
He also urged the nurses to collectively strive to maintain the virtues and
qualities such as high qualifications, potency, obedience, amicability,
duty consciousness, kindness and goodwill which have been acknowledged
internationally.
Arrangements are being made to open more nursing training schools to
produce 1,000 nurses every year instead of 500 to ensure that the ratio of
doctors to nurses is one to three, he cited.
The M.N.Sc (Master of Nursing) course will be opened in 2001- 2002 academic
year, he said.
To train enough qualified nurses, midwives and woman health employees
in the country, the government has opened one institute of nursing each in
Yangon and Mandalay, 18 three-year nursing diploma training schools, one
advanced nursing training school, one nursing field-training school, one
dental health nursing training school, 16 midwifery training schools, one
house-to-house midwifery training school and one woman health employee
training school in the whole country.
Before 1988, there was no institute of nursing but 6 nurses training
schools, 16 midwifery training schools and four nursing- related training
schools in the country.
The MNA, in cooperation with the World Health Organization, is
implementing the Patient Centered Nursing Care Project at North Okkalapa
Hospital in Yangon, Hpa-an People's Hospital in Kayin State and Central
Women's Hospital in Mandalay Division for emergence of the Patient
Centered Nursing Care Model in Myanmar.
The MNA, with 16,000 members and 168 branches, was formed in
1948.
The Australian
Generals forced to open a new
front
By Peter Alford, The Australian's South-East Asia correspondent 24feb01 AFTER a decade of grinding consolidation, Burma's military regime suddenly
seems to be moving at an almost frenzied pace – but towards what?
First, the No 3 in the ruling State Peace and Development Council, Khin
Nyunt, initiated dialogue with Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi,
presumably with some political accommodation with her National League for
Democracy in mind. But the move is potentially divisive for the SPDC.
Then the wily Khin Nyunt, chief of the Military Intelligence Service,
denied being at odds with council vice-chairman Maung Aye, giving a rare
interview to a Rangoon newspaper that was more significant than the denial
itself.
The news that Khin Nyunt had secretly initiated talks with Ms Aung San Suu
Kyi in October, after freezing her out for six years and during a sharp
crackdown on the NLD, stunned Burma-watchers.
There is no unanimity about the precise combination of factors at work in
Rangoon, but the experts all point to dreadful economic and public health
conditions and a looming International Labour Organisation sanctions campaign
against Burma's brutal system of forced civilian labour.
The 19-member council – confronted with the choice of Maung Aye or Khin
Nyunt to succeed its ill and exhausted chairman Than Shwe, 67 – embarked on
fresh campaigns against the main ethnic forces still resisting ceasefires, the
Shan State Army and the Karen National Liberation Front. Hundreds of thousands
of refugees have again been pouring into Thailand.
The Shan conflict, hard against Thailand's northern border, provoked
violent clashes between Thai and Burmese troops, and tensions remain dangerously
high.
Some Thai generals think the Burmese are testing Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra's new Government, which has as Defence Minister their compliant old
pal Chavalit Yongchaiyudh. Some commentators agree.
"The SPDC generals are not very subtle," says Francis Christophe, a French
analyst.
"I think they are testing Thaksin . . . he seemed much softer towards them
than the last government."
On Monday, amid these complex and volatile developments, came disaster. A
helicopter carrying three SPDC leaders and 26 others crashed into a river in
Shan state.
Fourth-ranked Tin Oo, Maung Aye's right-hand man, died in the crash. No 5
Win Myint, a Khin Nyunt protege, reportedly survived. Missing, believed dead, is
Sit Maung, relatively junior on the council but the new South-Eastern Division
commander ordered by army commander Maung Aye to crush the Shans and
Karens.
Previous dry season campaigns have often proved bloody for Burma's Tatmadaw
(armed forces) soldiers. Although their battalions in southern Shan state have
yet to launch a big offensive, they are reported to have suffered several SSA
ambushes.
Already there are indications army morale is poor and worsening.
Three months ago, the International Crisis Group published a study that
concluded the Rangoon regime was "presently very strong and comfortable in its
resistance to internal and external pressures for change, but . . . not totally
invulnerable, particularly in terms of its capacity to maintain tight military
control of the entire country". The Crisis Group's Asia director Greg Austin
says: "Our report looked at the SPDC in terms of the strength of its coercive
mechanisms. What we mightn't have fully taken into account was the vulnerability
of armed forces morale.
"Some reports we have seen since suggest the rate of desertions is such
that the army's strength might be down to 200,000 (from a claimed
450,000)."
James Mawdsley, the British activist who spent 14 months in a Burmese jail
for opposing the regime, told a European Parliament committee 80 per cent of his
fellow prisoners were deserters.
Loss of military manpower introduces a further serious complication in the
current environment.
Because Rangoon cannot sustain its massive field commitments in a normal
manner, regional units must support themselves – either by growing crops or by
extorting local labour and engaging in the narcotics trade.
The combination of deser tions and two major campaigns in the east makes
the military's need for forced labour greater than ever – not non-existent, as
the generals are trying to persuade the ILO.
Next week's meeting of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
will call the SPDC's bluff – and that of reluctant ILO members such as Australia
and Japan – by initiating an international embargo on trade and investment with
Burma.
Asia Times - February 24,
2001.
Border clashes with Myanmar reveal
Thai divisions
By Teena Amrit Gill CHIANG MAI, Thailand - Tensions remain high along Thailand's northern
border with Myanmar following recent clashes between Myanmese and Thai troops,
highlighting not just the volatility of the area but the lack of a unified
policy in the country toward Yangon.
The clashes, the fiercest in recent years, left six civilians and dozens of
Myanmese soldiers dead, official figures said. While they were caused by a
tactical error on the part of Myanmar's army, which in hot pursuit of Shan
ethnic rebels intruded into Thai territory, they once again reminded the Thai
and international community of the highly volatile and precarious situation
along the border.
"We all know that there are regular clashes with the Myanmar army along the
border, but while this continues to be dealt with as a specific border problem
rather than fundamentally addressing the power relations within Myanmar, nothing
is going to change," said a Thai journalist working along the border. "It's a
hopeless situation," he added.
The recent conflict began on February 8 when Myanmar's forces crossed the
Thai border in the northern province of Chiang Rai, occupied Ban Pang Noon camp
in Mae Fah Luang district and captured 19 Thai army personnel. The Thai
officials managed to escape and the Thai army, which has taken a very strong
position on such incursions, retaliated in full force in order to repossess the
territory.
Heavy artillery fire and shelling also took place in the large and
prosperous border towns of Mae Sai on the Thai side, and Tachilek on the
Myanmese side of the border. Mae Sai serves as one of the main trading routes
into Myanmar from the north of Thailand.
Because Thailand has no single consolidated policy position on Myanmar, the
situation was one that could easily get out of hand and help the Myanmar regime
in its long-term plans along the border: to destroy or bring all ethnic groups
into its fold, in the process creating a strong buffer against Thailand.
While this plan has largely succeeded along the Thai border with other
ethnic groups such as the Mon and different Karenni factions, the Shan ethnic
army, the Shan State Army (SSA), has continued its long-standing war for
autonomy. Regular incursions by Myanmar's army into Thailand in order to wipe
out the Shan State Army, undertaken together with Yangon's 20,000-member strong
ally, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), has rattled the Thai forces. Thailand
sees the UWSA as a major threat along the border.
The Thais are concerned not only because the UWSA is allied to the Myanmese
regime, but because it is responsible for the production and sale of large
quantities of metamphetamines which have flooded the Thai market. It is
estimated that some 1 million Thais are already addicted to metamphetamines or
ya baa (mad drug) as it is more popularly known in the country.
The Thais are also known to be covertly arming and supporting the Shan
State Army, which also claims to be opposed to the drug trade along the border.
However, the lack of a coherent policy by the Thai government was reflected in
officials' response to the tense situation along the border. While the newly
elected Thai government's Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai spoke in favor
of Myanmar and of the need for mutual respect, trust and non-interference in its
domestic affairs, senior army commanders had a different point of view. Thai
army chief General Surayud Chulanont together with Third Army commander
Lieutenant-General Wattanachai Chaimuenwong condemned the incursion and said it
was in fact intentional.
"We cannot be certain of anything about Myanmar. My opinion is that all
Myanmar's unit commanders who caused the conflict should brought before a firing
squad," Wattanachai said. At the same time, newly sworn-in Defense Minister
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh contradicted the senior army general, stating that the
intrusion by Burma was not in fact "intentional" because the border was not
clearly demarcated.
"The problem in Thailand is that there is no united policy on Burma. Every
ministry, every department has a different policy depending on their economic
and political interests," said a Myanmar journalist based in Thailand.
While internal differences in Thai policy clearly help the Yangon regime in
playing one force against the other, thus strengthening its own position,
growing rifts within the ruling Myanmar junta has made for further uncertainty
and volatility not just along the border but internally too.
"The Shan State Army is not so important to the Myanmese regime," said a
member of the Shan Democratic Union in the northern city of Chiang Mai. "Their
numbers are small and this is after all a very old war. It is internal
differences and power struggles within the ruling regime that is behind the
recent clashes," he added.
It is well known that there are serious differences of opinion within the
ruling junta. Myanmar's intelligence chief Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt and
General Maung Aye, vice chairman of the ruling State Peace and Development
Council and army commander-in-chief, do not see eye-to-eye, observers say. While
Khin Nyunt is seen to be more liberal and in favour of dialogue with the ethnic
armies and the main opposition party Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy, Maung Aye is considered a hardliner not keen on negotiation but on
wiping out all dissent.
The recent clashes, according to some students and activists working on
Myanmar-related issues, is a result of this power struggle, instigated by Maung
Aye in order to remind the more liberal leaders of his power and the need for a
strong dedicated army.
Most tellingly, the timing of this month's cross-border intrusion coincided
with the swearing in of the new Thai government of Thaksin Shinawatra and forced
it to take a clear position on this event. This has also helped Myanmar's junta
remind the Thai army and the international community that it has new friends in
power.
The Independent -
Bangladesh
February 24, 2001.
Strategy to keep China at bay India woos
Myanmar
by Prakash Nanda from New Delhi
If anything, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh’s just concluded three
day-visit (February 13-15) to Myanmar, erstwhile Burma, has proved that in
international relations, national interests eventually prevail over a country’s
ideological orientations. Though the cultural and spiritual ties between the two
countries date back to BC 267 circa when Buddhism took strong roots in Burma and
Pali was adopted as its official script and though both India and Myanmar were
administered as one unit by the British from 1886 to 1934, and attained
independence around the same time i.e. August 1947 and January 1948
respectively, the relations between the two countries, until recently, were far
from encouraging. The initial post-independence years were cordial, with both
countries signing a treaty of friendship in 1951. However, when military-backed
leaders occupied the centers of power in Yangon (better known as Rangoon) in the
early sixties - this began with General Ne Win - relations stared to drift. It
was not that ties were cut off; they simply lacked any substance. The nadir in
the ties reached in 1988 following the bloody suppression of a pro-democracy
uprising by Myanmar’s military. Two years later, when elections were held in
that country, the ruling military junta refused to give up power to the victor,
Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy. India, a
vibrant democracy, found it difficult to deal with Myanmar, a military
dictatorship. However, over the last two years or so, the situation seems to
have changed. Although, the nature of the political regime at Yangon remains the
same, New Delhi has deemed it fit to enhance the level of bilateral interactions
so that the ties become multifaceted and substantial. Last November, General
Maung Aye, the Deputy Chief of the military government of Myanmar, visited India
and revived the debate about the advisability of India nurturing and expanding
relations with Myanmar. This paved the way for Jaswant Singh’s visit to Myanmar.
More important, both President K.R. Narayanan and Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee will also be visiting Yangoon in near future. How does one explain
India’s keen interests in Myanmar? The explanation lies in the fact that Myanmar
is one of India’s most important neighbours in terms of geo-strategic location,
security considerations, availability of markets and complementarity of mutual
economic needs. Krishna Menon, whose views on foreign and defense policies were
greatly valued by India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, had once said,
" What hurts Burma (old name of Myanmar) hurts us equally. We have no military
alliance but Burma is closely linked to us and naturally a great concern to us
that she should suffer". All told, in the eventuality of Myanmar coming under
the control of forces hostile to India, there will be grave implications for
India’s security. First, there is the possibility of direct intervention in
India through land by these hostile forces. India and Myanmar share a long and
porous border of 1643 Km; the length of the international boundary is shared by
four of the seven northeastern states of India, namely, Arunachal Pradesh,
Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. It is in this context that the control of
cross-border insurgency and trans-border drug trafficking constitutes an
important dimension in the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Myanmar’s importance to India’s security also lies in the control on the Bay of
Bengal. In the circumstances of modern air and naval warfare, hostile forces in
Yangon could paralyse India’s coastal communications without even a major air
attack. Moreover, Calcutta and the entire seaboard of India are within bombing
range of Myanmar. So are the Jhavia coalfields and the Tata iron industry. The
point is that it does not serve India’s interests if Myanmar turns out to be a
part of an exclusive area of influence of other powers in the region with which
India has uneasy relations. The reference here is to China, which has been
increasing strategic links with Myanmar. Apart from providing military
equipments to the Myanmar’s ruling junta, the Chinese have already built an
all-weather road from Kunmin in China to Mandalay in Myanmar, which they are
planning to extend to Yangon. There are also reports of the Myanmar government
providing some visiting and berthing facilities to the Chinese navy in Coco
islands; this will provide the Chinese entry-point into the Bay of Bengal.
Therefore, India’s national interests dictate that the rulers at Yangon maintain
their independence and freedom of options in dealing with their foreign policy
and security concerns. And that, in turn, is possible, when India provides
Yangon the alternative to the advantages it gets from China. This is now being
done with India assisting in building up the transportation network in Myanmar
and developing other infrastructures there. Yangon has also indicated its
willingness to providing general facilities to the Indian Navy in Myanmar’s
ports and coasts. Secondly, sound Indo-Myanmar relations mean good economics.
Myanmar’s entry in July 1997 into Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN), of which India is a dialogue partner, and the sub-regional grouping
BIMSTEC (Bangladesh-India -Myanmar- Sri Lanka - Thailand Economic Cooperation
Group) in December 1997 is bound to open up avenues for further cooperation in
areas of trade and economy on bilateral and multilateral basis. At a time when
Myanmar economy is in doldrums, thanks to the continuance of the US-led
sanctions for Yangon’s anti-democracy policies, the military junta needs
investments. India can well invest in the exploitation of that country’s rich
natural gas and other mineral resources. The basic idea here seems to be the
revival of the pre-independence economic links in the sub-continent when
undivided India was a "common market". In the present context, many common
projects involving Myanmar, India’s Northeast and Bangladesh can be undertaken,
whose economic benefits well may reach Thailand, Sri Lanka and Nepal. It is
against this background that some of the important features of Jaswant Singh’s
trip to Myanmar may now be highlighted. Singh became the first leader of an
official delegation from India to cross the land border into Myanmar since
independence. The 165 kilometer-long Tamu-Kalemyo-Kalewa (TKK) road that Singh
jointly inaugurated with Myanmar’s Minister of Construction Maj. General Saw Tun
was also the first completed major project in the field of infrastructural
cooperation between India and Myanmar. The road, built by the Border Roads
Organisation of India at a cost of approximately Rs. 100 crore as part of
India’s assistance to Myanmar, connects Moreh in Manipur to central Myanmar and
hold enormous significance as a vital section of the designated Asian Highway
running from Singapore to Istanbul passing through Myanmar and India. In this
way, the road forms a gateway to South-East Asia and holds tremendous values for
the success of India’s "Look-East" policy. Besides the Moreh-Tamu linkage,
Singh, through his talks with Myanmar leaders, including Foreign Minister U win
Aung and the chief of the ruling military junta General Than Shwe, facilitated
the opening up of three new trade points at Champai-Rih, Pangsau Pass and
Paletwa on the Kaladan River to enhance economic cooperation between the two
countries. While Champai-Rih and Paletwa crossings are in the Mizoram -Nagaland
sector, Pangsau pass links Arunachal Pradesh with Myanmar. The strengthening of
border roads can now have spin-off benefits on the security front, too. Both the
countries can send troops to smash cross-border insurgents who have acquired
sanctuaries in Myanmar. In this sense it was reassuring that during the Foreign
Minister’s visit, the two sides underscored their common approach towards
terrorism and insurgency and trans-border drug trafficking through a
twin-pronged strategy of tackling insurgents on the shared border and working
towards the overall economic development. Myanmar rulers assured Singh that they
would not allow their territory to be used for activities directed against
India. It may be noted in this context that last year, the Myanmar Army
destroyed five camps of the Khaplang faction of the National Socialist Council
of Nagaland (NSCN-K) and suffered casualties in these operations. Another
notable aspect of Singh’s visit was that it provided a big impetus to the
multi-faceted economic cooperation and exchanges in the fields of science and
technology between India and Myanmar. India is now prepared to help Myanmar
develop its infrastructures such as roads, hydroelectric projects. Myanmar also
wants India to develop its railways, ports, navigation projects and gas-line
ventures. It is noteworthy that southern Myanmar (in the Arakan region) has
abundant gas reserves that can be piped to either India or South East Asia.
Singh’s inauguration during his visit of Myanmar’s first Centre of Remote
Sensing and Data Processing at Yangon built with Indian aid should be seen in
this light. In the final analysis, can we now say in the light of the above that
"democracy" has no meaning in India’s relations with Myanmar? When asked this
question, a Foreign Office spokesman said, "While we follow the ideals of
democracy, we do not interfere with the internal affairs of other countries". In
other words, while India remains committed to democracy and related values,
India will not unilaterally assume responsibility of creating democracies in
other countries. This has to be the choice and responsibility of the people of
the country concerned.
The Age
Fears of growing drug flow through
Thailand
By CRAIG SKEHAN
SOUTH-EAST ASIA CORRESPONDENT MAE SAI Saturday 24 February 2001 Australian drug enforcement agencies are closely monitoring the growing
conflict in the Golden Triangle, amid fears drug barons will emerge with
expanded power and territory.
The recent fighting in the remote region along the Thai-Burmese border has
embroiled two warring ethnic insurgencies as well as regular Thai and Burmese
troops.
While the violence is likely to restrict supplies of chemicals used to
produce heroin and methamphetamines and limit drug trafficking in the short
term, Western intelligence agencies fear the outcome will result in a victory
for the forces most closely linked to drug production.
A senior Western intelligence official in Bangkok said the flow of drugs
through Thailand will increase if the forces of the ethnic Wa, who have strong
links to Chinese drug lords, strengthen their control of the region.
Australian authorities fear that, as well as being able to protect their
heroin business, the ethnic Wa will target Australia for the sale of
new-generation synthetic drugs. More than 90 per cent of the heroin sold in
Australia comes from Burma's sprawling Shan State, which borders Thailand, Laos
and China.
The secessionist Shan State Army (SSA) is now engaged in battles with both
Burmese troops and the allied ethnic Wa drug trafficking militias.
The battles follow increasing ethnic Wa infiltration of the region. Recent
US spy satellite photographs of the region indicate the Wa have planted
substantial new areas of opium poppies. Western officials in Bangkok monitoring
drug production in the Golden Triangle also believe the drug lords are improving
their ability to produce synthetic drugs.
The border conflict flared earlier this month when Burmese soldiers
fighting the Shan took control of a strategic hill in territory in disputed
territory claimed by Thailand.
When the Thais shelled the position, Burmese forces retaliated with an
artillery barrage of the northern-most town in Thailand, Mae Sai, killing three
civilians.
Thailand is a major market for amphetamines, with up to 800 million
methamphetamine tablets expected to be smuggled into Thailand this year.
It has also continued to be a conduit for the movement of heroin to
Australia and other foreign markets.
"Considering how easy it has been to bribe people in Thailand and how good
the transport system is, that is hardly surprising," said Bangkok-based Burma
analyst Bruce Hawke.
Corruption among Thai border police was a major factor facilitating
cross-border smuggling, he said.
For the past couple of years, Thailand has been stationing soldiers in
border areas to interdict drugs and block the movement of so-called precursor,
or base chemicals, into Shan State.
"It is very likely that there is now going to be tighter enforcement along
the border which is going to squeeze the flow of heroin," Mr Hawke said.
He said the biggest heroin refining centre was in the Ho Tao area of the Wa
Hills, near China, under the control of a Wa drug baron who uses several names,
including Ta Tang.
Sources within the Thai military privately concede that in a bid to counter
methamphetamine and heroin smuggling from Burma, covert assistance has been
given to the Shan State Army since the latter part of last year.
At first there was financial help and medicine, then a more tolerant
attitude to the use of Thai soil by Shan militiamen and the provision of sorely
needed ammunition. The Shan State Army in turn announced publicly that it was
attacking heroin and methamphetamine laboratories.
In some cases seized contraband has been handed over to Thai police, but
there are suspicions that elements of the Shan State Army are still directly or
indirectly engaged in the drug trade.
It was reported yesterday that 12 battalions of Burmese and United Wa State
Army troops had laid siege to Shan forces and launched artillery barrages.
The new Thai Government of Prime Minister Taksin Shinawatra is trying to
avoid unbridled cross-border hostilities and is seeking political talks.
Thai Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, though, has a reputation for
cosy business and personal links with Burma's military rulers.
Japan makes grant to Myanmar to improve health care
YANGON Feb. 23 Kyodo - Officials signed Friday an agreement on a Japanese
grant of $5.8 million to improve health services for women and children in
Myanmar.
The grant covers the third phase of a project called ''Improvement of
Maternal and Child Health Care Services'' coordinated between Japan and the U.N.
Children's Fund (UNICEF) since 1999.
The agreement was signed by Japanese Ambassador Shigeru Tsumori and UNICEF
representative John Bertrand Mendis.
The project was funded with $2.7 million in 1999 and $5.5 million
2000.
The Nation - February 24,
2001
Burmese troops set up camp in Palang Luang BY CHAIWAT PUMPUANG
BAN PHA HEE, Chiang Rai - About 50 Burmese soldiers, hauling small arms,
mortars and boxes of ammunition, yesterday made their way back to Palang Luang,
which was overrun last week by rebel troops from the Shan State Army (SSA).
Just a stone's throw from a Thai Border Police base camp and only three
kilometres from popular tourist destination Doi Tung, Palang Luang was the scene
of a brief but violent clash on Wednesday morning when about 15 SSA soldiers
launched a pre-dawn attack against 11 Burmese soldiers there.
But yesterday Burmese troops were steadily making their way back, carrying
military supplies and digging trenches at the outpost, apparently determined to
fend off future attacks.
But with the new unit set to resume military operations at the post, which
sits beside a paved road linking Mae Sai and Doi Tung, tensions between the
Burmese troops and the Thai unit there are likely to remain high. Rangoon
accused the Thai Army of assisting the Shan rebels in their operation on
Wednesday.
According to a Border Police officer here, a cavalry unit from the Third
Army is preparing to move in and take back the outpost. The idea is to match the
Burmese with equal strength, the officer said.
Maj-General Somboonkiet Sittideja, commander of the Khun Pha Muang Task
Force, presided over a fund-raising event for residents of Mae Sai yesterday. He
said Burmese troops were well positioned along the border and added there was no
indication they would retreat any time soon. He also expressed concern over the
living conditions of the 10,000 local residents in Mae Sai district. The
residents, who received Bt200,000 in cash and five truckloads of household goods
from the charity concert yesterday, will have to be evacuated if fighting breaks
out again, he said.
Meanwhile the leaders of three armed ethnic rebel groups fighting the
military government of Burma for independence reaffirmed their commitment to
their military campaigns against the junta but said they were open to
negotiation.
"The junta's troops are increasing their military efforts to cleanse the
Shans, Karennis and Karens from their homelands. Solving the problems by
military means can only create new conflicts and problems," the leaders of the
Shan State Army, Karenni National Progressive Party and Karen National Union
said in a joint statement.
"If the junta refuses to abandon its violent methods of solving problems,
we have no choice but to use violence against violence," the group said.
They also accused Rangoon of stepping up its "ethnic-cleansing campaign"
this year and accused the Burmese generals of being directly involved in drug
trafficking.
Burma has for decades been the source of most of the world's heroin. Thai
narcotics officials say the pro-Rangoon United Wa State Army is responsible for
the millions of methamphetamine tablets that have flooded into Thailand.
Bangkok Post - February 24,
2001.
Army says junta must initiate
talks
Rangoon should get serious, says chief Wassana Nanuam
The army has accused Burma of lacking sincerity in solving border disputes
and ruled out the possibility of initiating talks to clear the air.
Quoting the army chief, army spokesman Col Somkuan Saengpattaranet said Rangoon must initiate the move and whether or not the conflict can be resolved depends on Burma's sincerity. "Gen Surayud Chulanont stresses that the disputes should be resoved through
talks, but we are not going to start the process. "This round of talks must be
hosted by Burma which has kept postponing the border talks for two years.
Burma's sincerity is being fully tested this time," he said.
Col Somkuan was speaking after a meeting between the army chief and unit
commanders.
The spokesman said the Thai-Burmese border situation remained critical and
warned journalists not to venture too close to the border after some
photographers were reportedly intimidated by Burmese troops.
Col Somkuan condemned the mistreatment of Thai photographers who ran into
armed Burmese troops on the Mai Sai-Doi Tung road in Ban Pha Mee and tried to
take pictures.
The area is believed to be in Thai territory.
Jetjaras na Ranong, of the Bangkok Post, said he and other photographers
were forced to flee after being intimidated by Burmese troops.
Chaiwat Pumpuang, of the Nation, said he was positive that he and his group
were on Thai soil.
"They were pissed off and told us not to take pictures. We rushed to our
car and left," he said.
He said no-one was detained by the Burmese as earlier reported.
Col Somkuan said checks were under way to verify whether the area is in
Thai or Burmese territory.
"Although there is no proper border demarcation there, the road is ours and
it is a temporary border line. It is not difficult to see who is wrong here," he
said.
According to the spokesman, Gen Surayud also ordered border units to stay
alert and praised them for their swift action in dislodging the intruders
following the Burmese incursion on Feb 9.
"We will do what we are allowed to, and that is to protect national
sovereignty. Beyond this, it is the government's concern," he said.
He said the public and the media fully support army operations.
He also rejected Burmese media reports that Thailand had been backing the
rebel Shan State Army.
"Accusing us of supporting the SSA is like accusing us of being drug
manufacturers. We have never supported any rebel groups or drug producers. The
army has been trying very hard to suppress and prevent narcotics trafficking.
There would not have been a confrontation had the Burmese troops not encroached
on our territory," he said.
Bangkok Post - February 24,
2001.
Foreign minister sees need for 'forward
engagement'
Kosol Satithamajit Foreign policy under a Thai Rak Thai-led government must change to "forward
engagement"-where Thailand would not stand still but move forward to interact at
international levels, the foreign minister said yesterday.
Surakiart Sathirathai said foreign policy would not only focus on creating
good relationships with other countries but also be a tool in solving the
country's economic problems.
"Our foreign policy does not aim at tackling only general problems but at
helping solve the economic crisis, for example, by creating foreign confidence
in the economy and by seeking more markets for exporters," he said.
The main focus, he said, was to create more economic interaction within the
Asean framework. "In the past few years, connections with neighbours,
particularly those with which we share borders, have worsened.
"Our policies aim to rehabilitate and normalise relations with these
countries so that we can trust one another, paving the way for creation of more
economic transactions," he said.
He said he would try to enlist the help of the US and the EU in pulling
Thailand out of recession.
Bangkok Post - February 24,
2001
BURMESE BORDER Closure pushes prices
up
Thailand's closure of the border with Burma has pushed prices in Rangoon up
by 20% and weakened the kyat, the Thai ambassador to Burma said yesterday.
However, the Burmese leadership had still not responded to Thai protests
over the shelling of Mae Sai district on Feb 11, Oum Maolanond said.
The protest note the envoy delivered to Rangoon on Feb 12 asked for
compensation for the death of two Thai citizens, damage to property, and a
meeting of the Regional Border Committee as soon as possible.
The envoy also said Asean ambassadors in Rangoon expressed their
governments' regrets over the death of Lt-Gen Tin Oo, secretary two of the
ruling military junta, around the same time in order to show group
solidarity.
Mr Oum was speaking before reporting to Foreign Minister Surakiart
Sathirathai yesterday.
The ambassador is due to return to Rangoon today.
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