Burma Related News- March 10, 2001.

[Tin Kyi <tinkyi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

------------------------------------------------------------------
BURMA RELATED NEWS - March 10,2001
------------------------------------------------------------------
Head Line
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AP - Myanmar Rejects Forced Labor Claims
Reuters - "Golden Triangle" states to combat drugs trade
AP - Ethnic Rebel Group Claims Attack Deep Inside Myanmar
AP - Thai Premier Calls On Agencies To Coordinate War On Drugs
AP - Thailand ready to talk with Myanmar on drug issue
Kyodo - Thailand ready to talk with Myanmar on drug issue
Kyodo - Myanmar to sell nearly $30 mil. worth of jade, gems
The Times of India - Myanmar dismisses coup rumours
Sydney Morning Herald - Burma inches towards democracy as Suu Kyi and military haggle

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday March 9 12:56 AM ET
Myanmar Rejects Forced Labor Claims

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Myanmar on Friday dismissed allegations by a U.S. human rights group that the country's ruling military was still using civilians for forced labor, saying the group is being manipulated.

In a statement faxed to The Associated Press in Bangkok, the Myanmar government said Human Rights Watch was being intentionally misinformed by rebels and other anti-government groups operating inside Thailand.

``The misinformation (is) tailored to coincide'' with an International Labor Organization meeting next week where the ILO will review the progress made by Myanmar toward eradicating forced labor, the statement said. The meeting will be in Geneva.

In November, the labor group's governing body took the unprecedented action of recommending that its 175 member states, employers, workers and international organizations review their dealings with Myanmar to make sure they are not abetting forced labor. Myanmar is also known as Burma.

Myanmar's military junta issued a decree last year making forced labor illegal. In a statement Wednesday, the New York-based Human Rights Watch alleged that the decree was issued only to avoid international criticism, and cited refugees who said the practice still persisted.

For example, the government said it doubted a story cited by Human Rights Watch in which a farmer said he had been forced by the army to dig trenches. If the allegation was true, the government statement said, the farmer could have easily reported his case to local authorities in Myanmar.

``Appropriate legal action would have been taken against those who breached the existing rules,'' the statement said.

Myanmar has long been assailed by the United Nations and Western countries for suppression of democracy and its human rights record - including use of unpaid civilian labor on infrastructure projects.

Myanmar has said civilians contribute their labor voluntarily to promote development of the nation.

Human Rights Watch said it conducted interviews in Thailand's northern Chiang Mai province in late February with many Myanmar people ``who had been recently subjected to forced labor.''

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday March 10, 6:55 PM
"Golden Triangle" states to combat drugs trade
By Trirath Puttachanyawong

CHIANG RAI, Thailand (Reuters) - Thailand said on Saturday it would work with other countries in the infamous "Golden Triangle", as well as China, to try to stem the flow of drugs into the country.

"We are seeking to boost bilateral and multilateral co-operation with...Myanmar, China and Laos to solve the drugs problem," Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai told reporters on the sidelines of a closed-door meeting on fighting Thailand's drug problem.

Surakiart gave no time-frame for the proposed discussions with neighbouring countries, but said he wanted to involve the United Nations.

"We will also ask for United Nations assistance in solving the problem," he said.

The meeting, attended by Thai government, police and army officials, focused on the flood of metamphetamines -- stimulants affecting the central nervous system -- pouring through Thailand's northern borders.

International drugs agencies say the "Golden Triangle" -- the region where the borders of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet -- is a one of the world's biggest producers of narcotics.

Observers say the decision to hold the meeting in the northern Thai town of Chiang Rai is significant because of its proximity to the Golden Triangle.

In recent weeks fighting between the Myanmar army and ethnic Shan rebels has simmered along the Thai-Myanmar border, with skirmishes occasionally spilling over onto Thai territory.

Thai army sources have said the fighting is linked to control of the lucrative drugs trade.

Thailand's newly-elected prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, told reporters after taking part in the meeting that the government would spend billions of baht fighting drug production and trafficking.

"I have asked the budget bureau director to prepare billions of baht in extra budget for the drugs problem, and especially to treat drug addicts," Thaksin said.

He added that state infrastructure projects could be scrapped to find the extra money.

He gave no details.

Thaksin has said that a blaze that destroyed a plane he was to have boarded this month was deliberately started. His defence minister said "international terrorists" may have been involved.

The Thai army says up to 1 billion metamphetamine pills entered Thailand through its northern border last year. The use of metamphetamines is widespread throughout Thailand, with the Bangkok street value of a pill put at around 50 baht ($1.14). ($1 = 43.5 baht)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday March 10, 7:54 PM
Ethnic Rebel Group Claims Attack Deep Inside Myanmar

MAE SOT, Thailand (AP)--A Myanmar ethnic rebel group claimed Saturday to have launched a rare attack on a government military post far from its guerrilla strongholds near the border with Thailand.

Guerrillas of the Karen National Union Monday attacked the Wegali military training school security unit at the Win Phanon dam, 50 kilometers south of the Mon State capital of Mawlamyine, said Pado Mahn Sharlaphan, the group's general secretary.

Mawlamyine, also known as Moulmein, is 160 kilometers east of the Myanmar capital Yangon. Independent confirmation of the claimed attack is impossible and Myanmar government officials weren't immediately available for comment.

Unlike most ethnic armies in Myanmar, the Karen National Union, or KNU, has refused a cease-fire with the government, demanding a political settlement first. The KNU has been fighting for Karen autonomy since 1949, but its fortunes have declined sharply in recent years under government military pressure.

Although the government and the KNU often battle for control of the rebel group's enclaves along the border with Thailand, offensive action by the Karen is rare.

Pado Mahn Sharlaphan said 60 KNU guerrillas attacked at midnight Monday, engaging in fierce fighting for half an hour before the government troops withdrew, leaving behind a captain and two soldiers killed in battle.

The director of the dam construction project, Tint Lwin, an engineer, was captured but would be freed sometime soon, said Pado Mahn Sharlaphan. The Karen guerrillas claimed to have suffered no casualties and to have withdrawn after setting fire to buildings and 120 barrels of diesel fuel that were stored at the site.

The attack was said to be the first in several decades by the KNU on a target near Mawlamyine.

The KNU claims to have 15,000 guerrillas in seven divisions along the Thai border. But independent observers believe the group, which once controlled a huge swathe of Myanmar's eastern border but now has no fixed territory, has only about 2,000-3,000 troops.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday March 10, 4:13 PM
Thai Premier Calls On Agencies To Coordinate War On Drugs

CHIANG RAI, Thailand (AP)--Declaring that a plague of illegal drugs threatens Thailand's future, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra Saturday declared war on drug traffickers as he convened a planning meeting of senior government officials.

Thaksin, in his speech opening the 1-1/2 day meeting to come up with new anti-drug strategies, said that 6% to 7% of Thailand's 61 million people are addicted to drugs. Many if not most are users of the illegal stimulant methamphetamine.

"This is like a cancer that will further spread and destroy the whole body," he told his audience of more than 100 police, military and civilian officials.

Thaksin, who took office last month, said the problem was too serious to deal with strictly on a day-to-day basis.

"We have to have a special strategy to tackle the problem. We have to think that this is the vital mission of the country and it is a war," he said.

Talking to reporters earlier, Thaksin said he wanted to integrate the efforts of all concerned agencies, public and private.

"This is a meeting for mapping out the right strategy in a holistic approach," he said. "We have to tackle the problem in a very balanced way, like playing in an orchestra."

The meeting is being held under tight security in Chiang Rai, 680 kilometers north of Bangkok, in the Golden Triangle region where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet.

The Golden Triangle is historically a center for production and trafficking of opium and its derivative heroin, but in recent years has become a major source of methamphetamine, which now is Thailand's biggest drug problem.

Thailand Says Myanmar Turns Blind Eye To Drug Groups

Thai and other drug experts says the illegal stimulant is smuggled from neighboring Myanmar, where it's produced in massive quantities by minority ethnic groups while the military government turns a blind eye.

The cross-border drug traffic has caused anger in Thailand, especially among Thai military commanders who feel the Myanmar army is providing safe haven for the drug traffickers.

The seriousness of the issue was underlined recently when drug traffickers were named amng the possible suspects in the bombing of a Thai Airways jet on which Thaksin was due to travel.

The Thai Airways (H.TAI) Boeing 737-400 was gutted by fire after the explosion on the tarmac at Bangkok airport, minutes before Thaksin and 148 other passengers were to board a flight for the northern city of Chiang Mai. One crew member was killed and seven other airline staff were injured.

Police have still not made any arrests or named suspects in the case, although officials have suggested a business conflict unrelated to the prime minister or his policies might be involved.

Thaksin, who has expressed unease at the lack of progress of the investigation into the plane bombing, joked in his speech that he was grateful to all attending the meeting, especially those who had the "courage" to travel to Chiang Rai on the same flight as him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thailand ready to talk with Myanmar on drug issue

CHIANG RAI, Thailand March 10 Kyodo - Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Saturday that Thailand is ready to talk with Myanmar about cooperation in tackling drug trafficking.

''It is necessary to discuss this issue with Myanmar. It is unavoidable...But how to do so is something we will have to further discuss with the security agency and Foreign Ministry as it is a very sensitive issue,'' he told reporters.

''We will have to balance between drug problems and bilateral relations,'' he said.

Thailand has accused the Yangon junta of supporting drug production and trafficking into Thailand. The charges have soured bilateral relations, preventing the two countries from teaming up on the issue despite the fact they have signed several antidrug pacts.

Thaksin, given tight security after a Thai Airways jet he was about to board was bombed last week, opened a meeting on drug trafficking Saturday in the border province of Chiang Rai.

''The narcotics problem in Thailand is very serious,'' Thaksin told the meeting, a two-day event that brings together about 180 top government officials, including ministers and representatives of the Narcotics Control Board (NCB).

''We have to declare war on drugs...routine work is not enough to solve the problem. The country needs a new strategy,'' Thaksin said.

''The world is moving toward a knowledge-based economy, but our children's brains are being destroyed by drugs. It's like a cancer...It is a national threat,'' he said.

The meeting includes a brainstorming session aimed at crafting measures to stem the inflow of illegal drugs.

Delegates will focus on rehabilitation, suppression and containment of drugs from neighboring states and reorganization of related authorities.

Thaksin ordered Thai drug agencies, which have no common strategy, to improve coordination.

Chaired by the prime minister, the NCB does not command other organizations in the drug fight, Thaksin noted. Past governments have ordered the police and military to tackle the problem, but the agencies have not been serious in cooperating, he said.

Thailand faces a serious increase in illegal drug production, sales and consumption. Some 77.4 million methamphetamine tablets were seized last year, accounting for just 10% of the estimated 800 million sold on the domestic market, according to the NCB.

The inflow of illicit drugs, notably methamphetamines, has even reached primary schools, where teachers and pupils are agents and buyers. The narcotics trade is conducted through efficient direct-sale networks, Thaksin said.

Thaksin also called for effective judicial measures, saying offenders must be certain of punishment.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh earlier suggested Thai authorities seal at least six Thai-Myanmar border checkpoints to prevent drug smuggling from Myanmar.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Myanmar to sell nearly $30 mil. worth of jade, gems

YANGON March 10 Kyodo - Myanmar's state-owned Gems Enterprise will sell $29.13 million worth of jade, gems, jewelry and pearls by auction at the eight-day 38th Jade and Gems Emporium opening Sunday, Gems Enterprise's director general Khin Ohn told reporters in Yangon on Saturday.

Of the total, gems, mostly rubies and sapphires, will account for $14.45 million, jade for $13.21 million.

''More lots and better quality jade and gems will be put on sale at the emporium,'' Khin Ohn said.

Nearly 300 gem traders from Japan, Germany, Hong Kong, China, India, South Korea, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Britain, the United States and Vietnam will take part in the bidding, he added.

More than 190 merchants are to come from Hong Kong, but only 10 Japanese gem traders are registered, according to Gems Enterprise.

Chinese gem merchants are considered the experts in jade trade and jade has greatest demand among Chinese buyers.

The biggest item last year, a 10-ton jade boulder with a price tag of $9.8 million, went unsold and will be offered in smaller pieces at this year's sale.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Times of India - March 10, 2001.
Myanmar dismisses coup rumours


YANGON: Myanmar on Friday dismissed persistent rumours that the core of its ruling junta is mired in a power struggle between two leadership rivals jockeying to succeed regime leader Senior General Than Shwe.

Thailand's Third Army commander Lieutenant-General Wattanachai Chaimeunwong, whose forces patrol the Myanmar border, said on Thursday that a "quiet coup" may have already taken place.

He said intelligence chief Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt had succeeded in toppling military strongman General Maung Aye and put his rival under house arrest. A senior spokesman for the Myanmar junta lashed out at the comments, deriding them as "irresponsible speculation and fabrication created by the Thai officials and its media."

"The rumours are created just to mislead the Thai people into believing that the political situation in Myanmar is volatile and is about to blow up. This is part of the scheme to portray Myanmar in a negative light," he said.

The spokesman said the speculation was designed to encourage dissident groups in their campaign to bring down the military regime. Rumours of a coup in Myanmar first began circulating in Thailand in early February, and have re-emerged periodically since.

They were given fresh impetus after junta number-four Lieutenant-General Tin Oo died in a helicopter crash on February 19 in what the authorities said was an accident caused by bad weather and mechanical failure. Dissident groups have claimed that Tin Oo, a trusted aide and likely successor to Maung Aye, was deliberately killed, and claimed that the families of those aboard the helicopter have called for an inquiry into the crash.

But the accounts of the "coup" have varied wildly, with some saying that Maung Aye has emerged victorious while others claim Khin Nyunt is the new heir apparent to Than Shwe.

Both men however have been seen publicly in recent days going about their usual business in Yangon, and reliable observers say there are absolutely no signs of turmoil in the military-run country. Thai-Myanmar relations have come under increasing strain in recent months, despite the recent election of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra whose administration is seen as being on relatively friendly terms with the junta.

The two nations' armies clashed last month at the important Mae Sai-Tachilek border crossing, prompting heavy troop build-ups and a tense stand-off between the neighbours. Wattanachai said Thursday that the situation on the border was now "back to normal" after successful negotiations between the two sides and that there was no chance of further bloodshed. (AFP)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sydney Morning Herald
Burma inches towards democracy as Suu Kyi and military haggle
By Mark Baker, Herald Correspondent in Rangoon

Burma's military regime is holding intensive secret talks with the democracy leader Ms Aung San Suu Kyi about the framework for a transitional administration to return the country to civilian rule and begin dismantling almost 40 years of military dictatorship.

In an extraordinary political shift, the regime has signalled it is ready to consider a deal on power-sharing with Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy to end crippling international sanctions and rescue Burma's collapsing economy.

Sources close to both sides of the talks told the Herald that key members of the ruling State Peace and Development Council had indicated a willingness to establish an interim government with NLD participation, and prepare for a return to democratic rule, provided the military was guaranteed immunity from prosecution for past abuses.

A senior European diplomat said it was believed Ms Suu Kyi had indicated she was prepared to accept a condition that she "give up any personal ambition" and not take a direct role in any future civilian government.


The talks were initiated last October by the first secretary of the SPDC, Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt - effectively Burma's prime minister - amid deep international scepticism that the regime was serious about moving towards democracy.

But the Herald has learnt that the discussions have developed into a serious and intense dialogue which the United States and the European Union believe could result in an agreed process for a democratic transition.

It is believed the European Union and the United States, which have imposed substantial trade and political sanctions on Burma, have indicated they are prepared to wait until July for a preliminary agreement before taking any further steps.

Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt is understood to have been involved in the negotiations, meeting at least twice with Ms Suu Kyi.

But the key discussions have been conducted by his deputy chief in the powerful Department of Defence Security and Intelligence, Major-General Kyaw Win. He has visited the Nobel laureate at least 12 times in her residential compound in Rangoon.

General Kyaw Win has confirmed to associates that the talks, while still in their early stages, are exploring the basis for forming a transitional administration.

"He said the discussions on transition - that was the word he used - were going very well," one associate told the Herald. "He also said he found her a very genial, a very nice person to deal with. And this is from the man whose very department has spent years vilifying her."

Ms Suu Kyi has also met regularly with Colonel Than Tun, another powerful figure in military intelligence regarded as a protege of the Burmese head of state, Senior General Than Shwe.

General Than Shwe is believed to have endorsed the dialogue with Ms Suu Kyi in December, partly in response to growing alarm within the regime about Burma's worsening economy, gripped by spiralling inflation and declining foreign investment.

A source close to Ms Suu Kyi and General Khin Nyunt said that while the talks had concentrated on "building confidence and mutual respect" between the two sides, issues of substance were also being discussed.

"They are beginning to build the framework and the mechanisms for a new administration," he said.

He said Ms Suu Kyi had indicated she was prepared to make substantial compromises in return for genuine concessions from the military - including dropping her insistence that the NLD's landslide 1990 election victory be honoured. The regime refused to accept the result and later placed her under house arrest for five years.

"She is ready to compromise, but she is also waiting to see real signs that they are sincere and ready to give ground," he said. "The process remains fragile. It needs concessions on both sides and it will take time. You can't reverse overnight after so many years of mistrust, disrespect and accusation."

In a further sign of progress, the United Nations special envoy to Burma, Malaysian diplomat Mr Razali Ismail - who has played a significant role in promoting the dialogue - has agreed to postpone a visit to Rangoon this month at the request of both sides.

Diplomats and Burma analysts believe the talks hold the best hope in years of ending Burma's political stalemate, but there is widespread concern about opposition to any compromise from hardliners in the military who have built fortunes from business concessions and the drug trade.

Ms Suu Kyi, while signalling her optimism about the process, has remained tight-lipped on the substance of the talks in recent meetings with visiting foreign envoys.

The official Burmese media has abandoned its decade-long campaign of abuse against Ms Suu Kyi. The regime has also released almost 100 officials and party members jailed last September after her attempt to travel from Rangoon to visit NLD supporters in the provinces.

AUNG SAN SUU KYI'S LONELY STRUGGLE

April 1988: Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of assassinated independence hero General Aung San, returns to Rangoon to nurse her dying mother.

August 1988: Pro-democracy demonstrations erupt, sparking a military crackdown that leaves thousands dead.

September 1988: National League for Democracy (NLD) formed with Suu Kyi as general secretary.

May 1990: NLD wins Burma's first multi-party elections since 1960, but the military refuses to relinquish power.

July 1995: Suu Kyi released after spending five years under house arrest but her movements and political activity remain tightly controlled.

October 2000: Military begins dialogue with Suu Kyi on forming a transitional power-sharing administration.

February 2001: Negotiations move to talk of power-sharing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------