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BURMA RELATED NEWS - March 19,
2001.
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Headlines
-------------------------------------------------------------- AP - US Seeks To Condemn China on
Rights
AP - Cambodian Government Defends Record
On Media Freedom
AFP - Human Rights Commission set for
stormy session
Reuters - Thailand to ask China for help
in fighting drugs
Asia Pulse - Daewoo Motor Plans to Cut
6,500 Jobs in Overseas Units
The Straits Times - Thais shifting
drug blame: Yangon
TNA - Myanmar agrees to host RBC
meeting, says Chaovalit
AP - Thailand Calls A Cease-Fire In
Verbal War With Myanmar
AFP - Myanmar
castigates Thailand on drugs
The Nation - Burma to host
high-level border talks
Xinhua - Myanmar Earns Less From
Annual Gems Emporium
Monday March 19, 2:54 AM
US Seeks To Condemn China on
Rights
By NAOMI KOPPEL, Associated Press Writer GENEVA (AP) - China's
suppression of the Falun Gong spiritual movement and continued crackdowns on
Tibet make it a top target for U.S. officials when the United Nations Human
Rights Commission opens Monday.
Washington plans to take the lead on China by sponsoring a resolution
condemning the world's most populous country for what it says is a deteriorating
rights situation.
However, the resolution faces a formidable obstacle: a counter-resolution
by China. On nine other occasions, China has succeeded in blocking full debate
on its human rights record.
Rights groups said they suspect Washington hasn't got the stomach for the
slow process of bringing other members of the 53-nation commission on board.
Success, they said, hinges on how avidly U.S. leaders lobby foreign governments
for support.
``We fear that this announcement was made for domestic consumption in the
United States, to calm U.S. public opinion,'' said Reed Brody, advocacy director
of Washington-based Human Rights Watch. ``Up to now, no great efforts have been
made to have this resolution adopted.''
The six-week commission meeting opens in Geneva with a statement from U.N.
High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson.
Member nations are expected to spend up to a week discussing the situation
in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Last fall, an extraordinary meeting
of the commission mandated Robinson's office to appoint a commission of inquiry
to examine allegations of Israeli human rights abuses. That report is expected
to be made public March 26 or 27.
Another crisis to be taken up at the meeting is Chechnya.
Last year, Russia became the first permanent member of the U.N. Security
Council formally rebuked by the commission. Moscow was criticized for
``disproportionate and indiscriminate use of Russian military force, including
attacks against civilians'' in the breakaway region.
Robinson, in a report prepared for this year's meeting, said Russia failed
to heed international calls to allow an independent inquiry into human rights
violations. Meanwhile, ``disappearances and killings, corruption, abuses and
harassment at checkpoints'' continue, she said.
The new president of Congo, Joseph Kabila, also is expected to address the
commission.
For the United States, China remains a top human rights priority. The State
Department's annual report said thousands of religious institutions had either
been closed or destroyed and hundreds of Falun Gong members imprisoned in the
past year.
Second on the Americans' priority list is Cuba. Last year's censure
resolution criticizing ``continued repression of members of the political
opposition and the detention of dissidents'' passed - but this time Washington
must first resolve disagreements with its allies.
The Czech Republic again is planning to take the lead against Cuba by
proposing the resolution. But U.S. officials are furious that the proposed text
also attacks the U.S. embargo of Cuba.
Last weekend, Secretary of State Colin Powell urged Czech President Vaclav
Havel to delete the embargo reference, saying it was a mistake to mix economic
and human rights issues.
Other countries on the commission's agenda have been the subject of censure
resolutions year after year, including Iraq, Iran, Rwanda, Congo and Myanmar,
also known as Burma.
Human Rights Watch said it feared the commission was becoming less
effective because the countries criticized for rights violations increasingly
are also members of the commission.
Among this year's new members: Algeria, Congo, Kenya, Libya, Saudi Arabia,
Syria and Vietnam - nations that themselves have been accused of serious human
rights violations. Three countries - Cuba, Libya and Syria - are on the U.S.
terrorism list. One-party states include China, Cuba and Vietnam.
``Having governments like this is like having foxes guarding the chicken
coop,'' said Brody. His group believes countries join the commission in order to
avoid criticism of their own records.
``It is hard to believe that Libya and Syria and Vietnam are actively going
to take part in finding solutions for another country's human rights problems,''
he said.
Many of those countries have regularly refused U.N. human rights' experts
requests to visit the country. A standing invitation for such visits should be a
minimum standard for commission membership, Brody said.
Monday March 19, 1:33 PM
Cambodian Government Defends Record On
Media Freedom
PHNOM PENH (AP)--The Cambodian
government defended itself Monday against allegations by an international
journalists' rights group that its television and radio are restricted by the
state.
Khieu Kanharith, a government spokesman, admitted that Cambodia's airwaves
did not carry many "critical news stories" but he maintained journalists were
allowed to criticize the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday in an
annual global report that journalists in Cambodia often face the wrath of
officials in a government that has "authoritarian tendencies."
The Cambodian government refuses to grant broadcast licenses to opposition
figures and maintains tight control over most broadcast news. But the committee
concluded print media is relatively free and that the government is growing more
tolerant.
Khieu Kanharith, who is also Information Ministry secretary of state, said
criticism of government policy is broadcast on Cambodian airwaves more than in
neighboring countries such as Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos - all of which are
effectively one-party states.
"We have many political debates on the radio and television, some organized
by non-governmental organizations," he told The Associated Press. "Compared to
the region, you can say Cambodia has among the freest media."
More than 60% of adult Cambodians are illiterate, so most people get their
news from television and radio, if at all.
Lao Mong Hay of the Khmer Institute for Democracy said that a lack of media
freedom was hindering the development of the poverty-stricken nation and
preventing genuine democracy from taking root.
Democracy remains fragile in Cambodia, which has emerged only recently from
more than two decades of civil war. During the past eight years it has had
elected governments, but has also suffered political turmoil and violence.
Sunday March 18, 12:09 PM
Human Rights Commission set for
stormy session
GENEVA, March 18 (AFP) - The
annual session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, which opens
Monday, looks to be particularly controversial this year due to the worsening
situation in the Palestinian territories and ongoing human rights abuses in
China and Chechnya.
The Palestinian issue looks to be particularly thorny for the Commission,
which will meet in Geneva until April 27.
Since its creation in 1946, the Commission has accumulated many resolutions
asking Israel to respect the rights of Palestinians and this year should be no
different.
The return to power of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, whose September visit
to a disputed Jerusalem holy spot has sparked months of Palestinian-Israeli
fighting, and a controversial report by a special commission have created
tension surrounding the issue.
A special session of the Commission met last October and decided to send an
international inquiry team into Israeli-occupied territories. Israel boycotted
the decision.
Several diplomats also said the stubbornness of some representatives, such
as Palestinian Nabil Ramlawi, could make compromise difficult.
"Everything is in place for a particularly agitated session," said one
diplomat, who requested anonymity.
The Commission will hear a report by Mary Robinson, the UN human rights
commissioner, about interviews she held with members of the Israeli government.
It will also endorse a report by the UN special rapporteur Giorgio
Giacometti of Italy on human rights violations in the occupied
territories.
Another challenge will be integrating the new members into the 53-country
Commission. This year, new members include Saudi Arabia, Libya, Syria and
Algeria. Countries are elected to the Commission for three-year terms.
The Commission will again examine human rights violations in China, where
authorities have typically managed to avoid condemnation by the Commission
through clever manipulation.
Although the United States has said that it will continue to pursue a
condemnation of China's policies, several diplomats noted that Washington has
not seriously lobbied the Commission this year.
No high-ranking Washington officials have been sent to Geneva, in contrast
to last year when then secretary of state Madeleine Albright strongly criticized
China's policies.
The situation in Chechnya will also be discussed due to the absence of any
improvement in the area and Russia's refusal to set up an international
investigation commission.
Some 20 other countries will also be examined, including Afghanistan, Iran,
Iraq, Myanmar, Colombia, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi,
Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Serbia and Cyprus.
The Czech Republic is expected to present a resolution condemning both
violations of human rights in Cuba and the continued US embargo against the
island.
The Commission will also look at a series of thematic resolutions dealing
with issues such as torture, racial discrimination, women's rights, children's
rights, food, education and the death penalty.
Some 200 non-governmental organizations will also testify before the
Commission, including Amnesty International, which will focus its efforts this
year on Sierra Leone, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Chechnya.
Monday March 19, 2:42 PM
Thailand to ask China for help in
fighting drugs
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand,
struggling to contain the flow of illegal drugs into the country, said on Monday
it would ask China for help in fighting the problem.
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said that during an official visit
to China this week he would ask Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan to help
Bangkok fight the spread of methamphetamines. "We have signed a cooperation
treaty with China on this issue and we should make it a reality," Surakiart told
reporters.
Surakiart is due to pay a four-day courtesy visit to Chinese leaders
starting Wednesday.
Thailand, where the street value of a tablet of "speed" is around 50 baht
($1.14), estimates that around 700 million pills will flood in from Myanmar this
year.
But Myanmar has repeatedly denied the allegations and has asked for support
from its neighbours to fight drugs.
Thailand and China signed a treaty last July when Chinese Vice President Hu
Jintao was visiting Bangkok.
Hu said China had encouraged Myanmar's ethnic groups to grow sugarcane
instead of narcotics.
Drug experts say Myanmar is the world's second largest producer of opium
and its derivative heroin, as well as a major source of methamphetamines.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has vowed to spend billions of baht
fighting drug production and trafficking.
Surakiart said Monday he would also hold talks with Myanmar Foreign
Minister Win Aung on the sidelines of a meeting of East Asian and Latin American
ministers in Chile at the end of this month to help restore soured
relations.
Monday March 19, 3:10 PM
Daewoo Motor Plans to Cut 6,500 Jobs in
Overseas Units
SEOUL, March 19 Asia Pulse -
Daewoo Motor Co. plans to reduce 6,500 of the 46,000 jobs at its overseas
subsidiaries as part of restructuring, the company said Monday.
The reduction follows the troubled car maker's recent measure to sell off
or liquidate units in Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Myanmar from its 12
production units and 31 sales units, an official at the company said.
He also said three overseas units, including its Polish passenger car unit,
FSO and its Indian unit, DMIL, are successfully implementing restructuring and
pushing ahead with a plan to conduct a debt-to-equity swap if their creditors
and unions agree on the method.
The FSO has agreed with the Polish government and its union on a plan to
slash 1,294 employees, or 26.2 percent of its entire 4,943-person workforce,
while the Indian units has cut 865 out of its 2,880 positions.
The Straits Times - March 19,
2001
Thais shifting drug blame: Yangon
YANGON - Myanmar yesterday condemned Thailand as a bad neighbour for
covering up its failure to address the nation's drugs crisis by shifting the
blame onto Myanmar.
'The Thai government officials have never made efforts to effectively
control the problem,' the military regime said in an official information
sheet.
'It is comprehensible to all that Thai government officials, instead of
finding ways and means to solve their own problem by themselves, issued news
reports deliberately putting the blame on Myanmar.'
The official statement ticked off Thailand for discussing the drugs issue
via the media rather than through proper channels set up to solve bilateral
problems.
'Thus their act should be regarded as an act which is violating the
principles of good neighbourliness.'
The comments were the latest salvo in a brewing row between the two
countries over the production of methamphetamines on Myanmar soil by
Yangon-allied ethnic armies.
In what the Thai military has described as the nation's top security
threat, some 700 million methamphetamines pills are estimated to make their way
into Thailand each year.
Thailand's new Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra fired the opening shot in
the war of words earlier this month by declaring a 'war on drugs' and ordering
officials to find ways to close down the trade.
The Premier said he would demand explanations from Myanmar's generals over
the deadly flow of methamphetamines from jungle refineries.
Myanmar lashed out at the tough new approach, saying Thailand should put
its own house in order before trying to use its neighbour as a 'scapegoat' for
its drugs problems. --AFP
Thai News Agency
Myanmar agrees to host RBC
meeting, says Chaovalit
BANGKOK, Mar 19 (TNA) – Myanmar
has already agreed to host the regional border committee (RBC)-level meeting to
discuss the border problem with Thailand, according to Defense Minister Gen
Chaovalit Yongchaiyudh.
The meeting, to be held on April 1-3, would be a venue where officials of
the two neighboring countries could settle the border conflict and seek ways to
improve bilateral relations.
Gen Chaovalit, who is also deputy prime minister, refused to comment on
Rangoon’s recent statement that Thailand had blamed others for causing the
narcotics problem when it failed to tackle it.
He said it was the Foreign Ministry’s duty to clarify the country’s stance
on the matter.
Any action should be taken with extreme caution because Thailand has a
policy to maintain good relations with neighboring countries all along, he
added.
The former premier denied rumors he planned to transfer the third region
army chief into an inactive post, saying the news had spread before he assumed
the defense portfolio.
The power to propose and approve the transfer is in the army
commander-in-chief and the supreme commander’s hands, said Gen Chaovalit.
(TNA)
Monday, March 19 3:04 PM SGT
Thailand Calls A Cease-Fire In Verbal
War With Myanmar
BANKGOK (AP)--Thailand Monday
called a cease-fire with Myanmar in their war of words over drugs trafficking,
and said the two governments would hold talks to resolve their differences.
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said he would meet with his Myanmar
counterpart, Win Aung, on the sidelines of an East Asia-Latin America forum in
Chile March 29 and discuss the issue.
"Thailand will seek to explain to the public and international community
rather than retaliate," Surakiart told reporters, "Trading accusations with each
other will not resolve the problem."
Myanmar's military regime has responded angrily to accusations from
Thailand that it is turning a blind eye to production of methamphetamines by
ethnic armies inside Myanmar who smuggle their wares to Thailand.
At the weekend, Myanmar state media reported Col. Tin Hlaing, the interior
minister, as saying that Thailand had failed to deal with its drug problem that
had run out of control, and was blaming Myanmar instead.
Surakiart said the Thai Foreign Ministry would check the details of
Myanmar's latest remarks but wouldn't step up the verbal war.
He made the comments after a meeting Monday with Defense Minister Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh on security and relations with neighboring countries.
Chavalit, who is also deputy prime minister, said an upcoming meeting of a
Thai-Myanmar regional border committee would help ease tensions and foster
understanding.
Myanmar had confirmed it would host the meeting in Keng Tung in
northeastern Myanmar between April 1-3, he said.
Thailand and Myanmar have been exchanging hot words during the last month
after their troops clashed at the border when fighting between Shan rebels and
Myanmar forces spilled into Thailand. Border checkpoints in that part of the
frontier have been closed.
Earlier this month, new Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra held a high
profile meeting on combatting drugs, where officials displayed pictures of what
they said was proof of drug production activity in Myanmar.
Myanmar castigates Thailand on
drugs
2001/3/19
YANGON, AFP - Myanmar Sunday
condemned Thailand as a bad neighbor for covering up its failure to address the
nation's drugs crisis by shifting the blame onto Myanmar.
"The Thai government officials have never made efforts to effectively
control the problem," the military regime said in an official information sheet.
"It is comprehensible to all that Thai government officials, instead of
finding ways and means to solve their own problem by themselves, issued news
reports deliberately putting the blame on Myanmar."
The official statement ticked off Thailand for discussing the drugs issue
via the media rather than through proper channels set up to solve bilateral
problems.
"Thus their act should be regarded as an act which is violating the
principles of good neighborliness".
The comments were the latest salvo in a brewing row between the two
countries over the production of methamphetamines on Myanmar soil by
Yangon-allied ethnic armies.
In what the Thai military has described as the nation's top security
threat, some 700 million methamphetamines pills are estimated to make their way
into Thailand each year, feeding a massive addiction problem.
Thailand's new Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra fired the opening shot in
the war of words earlier this month by declaring a "war on drugs" and ordering
officials to find ways to close down the narcotics trade.
The premier said he would demand explanations from Myanmar's generals over
the deadly flow of methamphetamines from jungle refineries which also churn out
vast quantities of heroin.
Myanmar lashed out at the tough new approach, saying Thailand should put
its own house in order before trying to use its neighbor as a "scapegoat" for
its drugs problems.
As the sparring continued, the Thai foreign ministry issued a strongly
worded statement that criticized the junta for its tetchy response to the Thai
initiative and invited Myanmar to show the international community it was
serious about fighting drugs.
The Nation
Burma to host high-level border talks Filed at 01 : 28 pm (THLD time) BANGKOK, March 19 (The Nation)
-- Burma has agreed to host the joint Regional Border Committee, chaired by
regional army commanders from both countries, on April 1-3 in Burma's Keng Tung
province, according to Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh.
Chavalit said he believed the long-delayed meeting would contribute to
better relations between Thailand and Burma.
"Thailand has always attached great importance to maintain good relations
with its neighbours," said Chavalit, also deputy prime minister.
The relations between Thailand and Burma have soured in recent months
following a border clashes between Thai troops and Burmese intruders in
February, which led to month-long closure of border at Mae Sai-Thachilek.
Both countries have also engaged in war of words, accusing each other of
lack of political will in the fight against drugs.
Myanmar Earns Less From Annual
Gems Emporium
2001.03.19 10:26:41 YANGON, March 19 (Xinhuanet) --
Myanmar fetched a total of 10.12 million U.S. dollars through sale of
locally-produced gems, jade, pearl and jewelry at the country's 38th
annual gems emporium which ended here Sunday evening, 58.1 percent less than
that earned from the year-ago annual event.
The eight-day state-sponsored gems emporium, which began on March 11,
attracted a total of 674 merchants from 15 countries and regions, and local
companies.
The foreign gems traders were mostly from China's Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region, Thailand and China's mainland.
At the 37th annual Myanma gems emporium, a total of 24.17 million
dollars were earned, breaking the highest record of 1990's 27th emporium which
fetched 14.839 million.
Myanmar, a well-known producer of jade, ruby and sapphire in the
world, has been holding gems emporiums annually since 1964 with additional
mid-year ones being introduced in 1992.
The country has earned over 330 million dollars from its 38 annual
and nine mid-year gems emporiums, according to official statistics.
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