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BURMA RELATED NEWS - March 20,
2001.
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Headlines
-------------------------------------------------------------- AP - Karenni People Escape Fighting, Take Refuge In
Thailand
AFP - Myanmar ethnic groups bid for inclusion in
opposition-junta talks
Reuters - EU targets China on rights at U.N.
forum
AFP - Chinese village dying of AIDS neglected and left
to rot
Radio Nederland - Broadway in Burma
The Times of India - Thailand, Myanmar officials to
meet over border conflict
Bkk Post - Asean police chiefs to meet on transnational
crime
Bkk Post - Issuance of ID cards under
investigation
Bkk Post - Surakiart won't react to
criticisms
Bkk Post - Bilateral withdrawal from disputed areas
proposed
Bkk Post - Rival troops killed in
clash near border
Xinhuanet - ASEAN Passports, Visas to Be Replaced by
"Smart Cards" in Future: Report
Tuesday March 20, 7:55 PM Karenni People Escape Fighting, Take
Refuge In Thailand
MAE SOT, Thailand (AP)--More than 100 members of Myanmar's Karenni
ethnic minority fled into Thailand Tuesday after Myanmar army troops attacked a
stronghold of the Karenni National Progressive Party, Thai provincial officials
said.
Myanmar government troops attacked the KNPP rebel camp at Doi
Ta Khe, opposite Thailand's Mae Hong Son province, at about 8 a.m. local time,
said Thai district chief Kasem Chemchoi. He said both sides were using small and
heavy arms. Mae Hong Son is 650 kilometers northwest of the Thai capital
Bangkok.
"We can hear the noise of heavy guns but it is about 3-5
kilometers from the border. Now the concerned authorities are on duty to protect
residents of Thailand," he said.
Kasem said that more than 100 villagers had fled the fighting
to Thailand's border area.
The military government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, in
the past decade reached cease-fires with most of the ethnic minority groups
which have long been seeking autonomy from the central government
The KNPP reached a cease-fire with the government in 1995 but
took up arms again a few months later in a dispute over the army's occupation of
rebel areas rich in teak and key for smuggling.
An official of the KNPP, speaking on condition of anonymity,
said 500 Myanmar government troops were involved in Tuesday's assault. He said
one Karenni guerrilla had died while four were wounded, and the government side
suffered six wounded.
Tuesday March 20, 1:39 PM
Myanmar ethnic groups bid for inclusion
in opposition-junta talks
BANGKOK, March 20 (AFP) - A Myanmar dissident alliance called Tuesday
for the nation's ethnic minority leaders to be included in landmark talks
between the junta and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Pro-democracy activists and ethnic leaders from 53
organizations and 28 countries met in Thailand for three days ending Monday to
evaluate the talks and demand firmer action by the regime as a show of good
faith.
"They are happy with the talks, but concerned that problems
are still ongoing (and that) there is not a genuine tripartite dialogue," said a
spokeswoman for the Alternative Asean Network on Burma (ALTSEAN).
The ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has won
a reprieve from economic and diplomatic pressure by the international community
as a reward for the talks, but little progress has been made, she said, speaking
on behalf of the "International Strategy Meeting" delegates.
"All the participants were concerned that the SPDC was granted
a honeymoon. The talks were overdue, they welcomed the talks, but want them
transformed into a genuine dialogue, with the SPDC, the NLD and ethnic
nationalities."
A statement released after the meeting demanded the junta show
its sincerity by releasing political prisoners, allowing political parties to
function freely, and ceasing all military hostilities and forced
labor.
The group also asked the international community to stand firm
against the military regime until the talks yield change for the people of
Myanmar.
"There's been a lot of hype over the talks but they haven't
really produced much. But they've given the SPDC a six-month holiday. They
should deliver results," the spokeswoman said.
The calls follow a statement released earlier this month in
which seven armed ethnic minority groups which have signed ceasefire agreements
with the junta asked to participate in the talks.
"The talks are not productive unless there are positive
results, and at the moment we don't see positive results for the people of
Burma," ALTSEAN said.
In October last year, National League for Democracy (NLD)
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and military intelligence chief Lieutenant-General Khin
Nyunt began historic talks aimed at setting up the first official dialogue since
1994.
The substance of their discussions has been kept tightly under
wraps by both sides, irritating the exiled dissident community and minority
leaders who have called on the junta to reveal what progress has been
made.
Tuesday March 20, 9:58 AM
EU targets China on rights at U.N.
forum
BRUSSELS (Reuters)
- The European Union said it would criticise China during the U.N.'s annual
human rights forum in Geneva which began on Monday, but would stop short of
co-sponsoring a U.S. resolution censuring Beijing's record.
EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels said in a statement
their 15-nation bloc would "express its concern at the serious violations of
human rights in China and urge China to take further steps to improve the
situation on the ground".
Among steps it would urge were curbs on use of the death
penalty "with a view to its abolition", reform of the detention system,
abolition of torture and respect for religious freedom in China, including for
Tibetan Buddhists and Moslems in Xinjiang.
The EU said it would not co-sponsor a resolution on China's
human rights record that the United States will table at the forum, the six-week
U.N. Commission on Human Rights.
But the statement said the EU would back the resolution if it
were put to a vote and would encourage other countries to do so.
Asked about the EU position, European Commissioner for
External Affairs Chris Patten told Reuters it was a reasonable compromise among
the 15 member states. Some states favour a more conciliatory approach towards
China, a major trade partner.
"Everybody was very keen to find a position where all could be
on the same side," said Patten, who as the British colonial governor of Hong
Kong once regularly traded blows with Beijing.
China, which has wide support among developing countries at
the forum, has used procedural manoeuvres to avoid any examination of its record
every year since the June 1989 killing of student protesters in and around
Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
But the Bush administration has signalled it will put forward
a new resolution criticising China over its alleged repression of freedom of
religion and _expression_.
The EU foreign ministers also confirmed the bloc's plans to
raise a series of other human rights concerns in Geneva, including Russia's
actions in Chechnya, Israel's settlement policy on the West Bank and abuses in
Iran, Iraq and Myanmar.
Tuesday March 20, 9:56 PM
Chinese village dying of AIDS neglected
and left to rot
BEIJING, March 20 (AFP) - Farmers at a village in central China
riddled by AIDS say the local authorities are deliberately leaving them to die
and have made a heart-rending plea to the government for help.
Five months after the terrible plight of the village of Wenlou
became public, both Chinese and international non-government groups have been
prevented from visiting, NGO sources told AFP.
Research by a local doctor has estimated that at least 65
percent of the 800-strong village in Henan province are HIV positive or have
contracted AIDS, yet locals complain they are being denied even basic health
care.
Up to 60 people in the village have died from AIDS since 1997
and at least 300 have tested positive for HIV.
And sources have also told AFP that doctors at a top military
hospital in Beijing where many senior leaders are treated knew three years ago
about the crisis in Wenlou, linked to filthy blood banks in the early
1990s.
Villagers this month sent three pleas for help to China's
ministry of health, cabinet and parliament.
"We are also human, also a part of society. Please put out a
little bit of love and give us some sunshine," said one of the letters, signed
by an AIDS sufferer near death.
The villagers contracted the disease after selling blood to
blood stations that re-used needles and pooled blood in huge tubs. The plasma
was then taken out and the contaminated blood was pumped back into the
donors.
The cash at first brought prosperity -- mud-brick homes,
school fees and taxes revenue -- but later a more deadly harvest.
Since an AFP reporter visited the village in mid-November, 10
more people have died from AIDS, according to residents.
"There are several families where both parents have died and
the children are left to fend for themselves," said a village woman who brought
the letters to Beijing.
"In some families, both father and son have died. In others,
both brothers died or kids were found to have AIDS after the mom died," one of
the letters said. "People are very scared and nervous."
The letters, written by the village chief and two AIDS
patients, were sent after three village leaders were detained for trying to meet
with county government officials.
Rather than facing up to the problem, local authorities are
trying to keep a lid on the issue because they fear they will be held
responsible, say Wenlou residents.
The central government also has been slow to act, NGO sources
said, asking to remain anonymous to protect their work in the country. The
sources said China is worried that allowing volunteers into the village will
damage the country's image abroad.
Months after the story became public, nobody has been sent by
the government to test people to gauge the magnitude of the problem in Wenlou or
neighboring villages in Henan where residents also sold blood.
Families are struggling to pay for medicine, pay off debts on
the medicine and buy basic supplies such as baby powder for a three-year-old boy
suffering from AIDS, the letters say.
The county set up a clinic in the village after the story hit
major Chinese papers and provided free medicine for a handful of patients near
death, but since then the clinic has rarely been open and villagers are charged
for medical care.
The village chief was stonewalled each time he went to the
county office to ask for help. Not only do they refuse to see him, they once
threw him out for fear they would get the disease, the letters say.
Local officials refused to comment. Beijing's health ministry
acknowledged receiving questions from AFP but did not respond.
In one of the letters to the government, village chief Kong
Wenxuan said villagers were encouraged to sell blood because of a shortage of
donations nationwide.
"Our county's health department and People's Hospital each set
up a blood station. On the walls were written, 'Donating blood is glorious.'
Propaganda material was filled with information on how donating blood would not
harm the body," the letter said.
Many families sold blood because they were poor and it was the
only way to supplement their meager income from farming.
In a short time, nearly 10,000 people in the county sold
blood, Kong wrote. The central government has also yet to do a study on how many
people were paid for blood before the practice was banned in 1998, but estimates
run into tens of millions.
There are some indications the government is starting to
address the situation.
Vice Premier Li Lanqing, who was contacted by volunteer doctor
Gui Xien, called a meeting of AIDS experts.
The government has also decided to increase the budget for
AIDS prevention and treatment -- from the current 15 million yuan (1.8 million
dollars) per year to 500 million yuan -- a source at a Chinese NGO
said.
"They'll definitely increase the budget, but they haven't
decided how to spend the money," said Zeng Yi, head of one of the two biggest
Chinese non-governmental organisations devoted to AIDS prevention.
An additional one-time allotment of 700 million yuan will be
used to build proper blood donation stations throughout the country, the source
said.
China conservatively estimates it has around 500,000 HIV
carriers but UN experts have warned of more than 10 million cases by 2010 if the
disease remains unchecked.
Many of the villagers, resigned to death, are baffled as to
why they have been denied basic help from the government.
Reflecting the frustration of other villagers, the woman who
came up to Beijing said with tears in her eyes: "If they still don't do
anything, I'm going to take some medicine and kill myself in front of their
government office."
Radio Nederland
Broadway in Burma
by Walter van Opzeeland, 19 March 2001 You can hardly miss them when you walk down the street:
enormous colourful sheets of paper. Posters are used as advertisements, for film
and theatre and as a means of protest. But behind many of these seemingly
harmless pictures there is an untold story. Walter van Opzeeland tells the story
behind one of the many posters that he has collected over the years. This week:
Burma.
The chaos in the aftermath of the American presidential elections was a godsend for stand-up comedians. Everything and everybody was made fun of. But in Burma it doesn't quite work that way. For the past few decades Myanmar, as the country is now officially called, has been ruled by a military junta that is reminiscent of George Orwell's 1984. Politicians never need to explain themselves, but comedians certainly do, especially when their jokes go too far. The Moustache Brothers perform their show every evening on the
Broadway of Mandalay, Burma's second largest city. ‘ Political satire' the
leaflet says. A-Nyeint, as stand-up comedy is called in Burma, is a mix of
traditional dance, music, opera and comedy sketches.
Polite
Bicycle-rickshaws shuttle spectators along a bumpy track to the small theatre on 39th Street. Lu Maw, one of the Moustache Brothers, personally greets his audience with tea and a green Burmese cigar. It's characteristic of the country's hospitality. After the tea the audience watches a typical Burmese show. Lu Maw's wife performs her traditional dances, for which she has to twist her body into a series of seemingly impossible knots. These dances are hard to understand for a foreign audience. The _expression_ on their faces is a strange mix of bewilderment and pleasure. After all, they are here to see other cultures, the more exotic the better. The dance-show is the warm-up for the real thing: comedy. Risk
Artists put themselves at risk by doing stand-up comedy. Lu's brother, the other half of the Moustache Brothers, has been sentenced to seven years hard labour after speaking at a meeting of Aung San Suu Kyi's democratic movement. "In the old days we called thieves thieves, now we call them party members", he jokingly told the meeting. The junta didn't see the joke. The prison is several days away to the north of Mandalay. The brother is not allowed any visits there but he does receive the occasional food parcel from his wife. But even she is not allowed to go beyond the prison entrance, where she has to leave the parcel. Painful
Lu now performs on his own, wearing the traditional Burmese comedian's headscarf tied with a knot on the side of his head. He tells jokes that would make even the unfunniest American stand-up comedian cringe. At the same time he also plays the role of his partner. The absence of his brother is painfully obvious: the show lacks edge. Lu Maw does his very best to make his audience laugh. But it's no good. His western audience is used to comedians who are free to say virtually anything. It makes me feel uneasy. Censorship undermines all forms of entertainment. It is no
different in the rest of Burma. Cinemas show harmless, Bollywood-type
films.
Courage
Only after much insistence on my part does Lu give me an old poster picturing both brothers. I am taken up to the bedroom on the first floor. After locking the door Lu carefully folds the poster until it fits in an airmail envelope. " If they find this poster, please tell them you got it in Thailand" he says his voice full of fear. "Otherwise this could have very unpleasant consequences for my brother. But do show it to as many people as possible outside of Burma, so they know what is going on here." I was suddenly struck by how difficult the circumstances are
in which these artists have to work. Burmese comedy may not compare favourably
to its American and European counterparts, but it does take a lot more courage
in Burma for comedians ‘to stand up'.
The Times of India - March 20,
2001
Thailand, Myanmar officials to meet over
border conflict
BANGKOK: Thailand and Myanmar have agreed to convene a
top-level border committee for the first time in two years to try to resolve a
brewing row over conflicts along their shared border, officials said on
Monday.
"Myanmar has agreed to the regional border meeting, which is a
good sign because we can clear up all the misunderstandings and thus our
relations will be cordial," said Defence Minister Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh.
The Regional Border Committee will gather from April 2-4 in
the Myanmar town of Kengtung, about 60 kilometres (37 miles) from the Thai
border.
Two sessions of the lower-level Township Border Commission
have failed to ease strains sparked by clashes between the two neighbours'
armies at the important Mae Sai-Tachilek crossing.
The checkpoint has been closed since Myanmar troops pursuing
ethnic rebels strayed into Thailand on February 11, prompting retaliation by the
Thai army and a tense month-long standoff between the two sides.
Thailand tried to re-open its side of the Mae Sai-Tachilek
crossing earlier this month but Myanmar officials said they had had not been
consulted over the move and refused to follow suit.
The clashes also set off a war of wards between the two
countries over the production of methamphetamines on Myanmar soil by
Yangon-allied ethnic armies responsible for sparking off the
skirmish.
Myanmar Sunday condemned Thailand as a bad neighbour and
accused it of covering up its failure to address its own drugs crisis by
shifting the blame onto Myanmar.
Thai army commander Lieutenant General Wattanachai
Chaimeunwong will head Bangkok's delegation in the April talks.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra Monday rejected press
speculation that Wattanachai, head of the Third Army which patrols the region,
was to be transferred as punishment for his tough stance after the
clashes.
"No foreign country can tell us what to do. It's our internal
affairs to transfer or not transfer any positions," he said. (AFP)
Bangkok Post - March 20,
2001
Asean police chiefs to meet on
transnational crime
Achara Ashayagachat Southeast Asian police chiefs will meet here next week to
discuss ways to fight transnational crime and seek collaboration with the
European Union, sources in the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
The meeting, from March 28 to 30, would be joined by police
chiefs from all Asean countries, the sources said.
Representatives of agencies concerned including the National
Intelligence Agency, the National Security Council, and the Attorney-General's
Office would also attend.
Thailand would push for collaboration among Asean members in
such areas as measures to counter pirate threats in Southeast Asian waters
through co-operation with the Federation of Asean Shipowners Association, the
sources said.
Other issues would include the Philippines' proposal to set up
an Asean centre to combat transnational crime. However, Thailand, Vietnam and
Malaysia remained reluctant to back the idea, the sources said
The EU would also hold its first dialogue on the matter with
senior Asean officials with emphasis on human and drugs trafficking, as well as
money laundering.
The EU would have another separate session with its Asean
counterparts on narcotics when drugs suppression authorities meet in Vientiane
early next month, the sources said.
Bangkok Post - March 20,
2001.
Issuance of ID cards under
investigation
Supamart Kasem Tak The governor has ordered a probe into the alleged issuance of
ID cards to illegal Burmese nationals, deputy governor Weeradej Surasit said
yesterday.
To be investigated are officials in Phop Phra district,
including assistant district chief Charaspong Traiphopphum.
Phop Phra district chief Sattawat Saenmuk is heading the
investigation.
The probe was launched when Mae Sot police found that one of
three drug suspects, Soe Kaing, carried an ID card substitute issued by Phop
Phra district on Feb 27 and signed by the assistant district chief.
The suspect claimed he paid 3,000 baht for the
card.
The provincial court found Soe Kaing guilty of illegal entry
and ordered his repatriation. However, Phop Phra police want to detain him for
further questioning about the ID card.
Mr Sattawat said Soe Kaing was a hilltribe resident of Phop
Phra district who carried a special blue identification card.
The Third Army Region later sought Thai citizenship for
members in a land reform programme in 1985 and Soe Kaing was granted
citizenship. However, a police statement showed the suspect admitted being a
Burmese national and running a transport business in Myawaddy. Pol Capt Piriya
Muenjit of Phop Phra police station said the house registration number on the ID
card was that of Somchai Pithaktrakulthong, and none of the neighbours knew or
had heard of Soe Kaing.
Meanwhile immigration officers yesterday said foreign
nationals were using false documents to apply for ID cards in border
districts.
Bangkok Post - March 20,
2001
Surakiart won't react to
criticisms
Bilateral relations may be affected Bhanravee Tansubhapol
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai will not react to the
latest verbal attacks from Burma to avoid damaging already fragile
ties.
Mr Surakiart insisted reports of Rangoon's criticisms could
not be verified and said the two neighbours could only improve relations through
co-operation, not finger pointing.
After a two-hour meeting with Defence Minister Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh, Mr Surakiart said it was agreed to hold talks every month for
better co-ordination.
The minister said bilateral relations might be affected if an
official statement was issued before the news report was verified.
In an official information sheet, the Burmese junta apparently
condemned Thailand as a bad neighbour for shifting the blame onto Burma to hide
its failure to solve the drug crisis. The government would try find ways to
reach agreements with Burma on drug suppression, fisheries, trade and tourism,
the foreign minister said.
With a 2,400km common border, the two nations were bound to
run into problems, Mr Surakiart said.
They must tackle those disputes through the Township Border
Committee and Regional Border Committee.
Gen Chavalit was confident the Regional Border Committee
meeting on April 2-4 in Keng Tung would resolve fundamental
problems.
Mr Surakiart said there were good opportunities for himself
and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to meet Burmese leaders and bring
relations back to normal.
Mr Surakiart also said Thailand's position on international
issues was weakening due to a lack of co-ordination among government
agencies.
Gen Chavalit and Mr Surakiart promised to send officials to
meetings with foreign ambassadors and guests, especially on security
issues.
Bangkok Post - March -
20, 2001.
Bilateral withdrawal from disputed
areas proposed
Wassana Nanuam and Theerawat Khamthita Thai and Burmese military will hold their Regional Border
Committee (RBC) meeting in Burma's Keng Tung during April 2-4, with a planned
proposal from the Thai side to designate as no-man's-land disputed areas in the
North.
Lt-Gen Watanachai Chaimuenwong, the Third Army commander who
will head a 30-man delegation to the meeting, yesterday said he would propose a
bilateral military withdrawal from Phuteng Nayong area in Mae Sai district of
Chiang Rai and Doi Lang mountain in Mae Ai district of Chiang Mai, pending
negotiations on demarcation.
He will not discuss the withdrawal of troops from Tachilek-Mae
Sai border.
Lt-Gen Watanachai's counterpart at the meeting will be Maj-Gen
Than Sein, commander of the Burmese regional force adjacent to Thailand's
North.
Lt-Gen Watanachai is expected to retain his post at the Third
Army Region in an upcoming reshuffle, commander-in-chief Surayud Chulanont
confirmed yesterday.
Gen Surayud said the RBC meeting would focus on disputed areas
claimed by both sides, though he was not sure whether the matter could be
settled at these talks, as part of the issue would need to be discussed at a
higher level.
Asked to comment on Rangoon's remark that Thailand was "a bad
neighbour" for shifting the narcotics blame onto Rangoon to cover up its own
failure in fighting drugs, Gen Surayud said Thai authorities should heed the
remark to improve certain weaknesses which would prove beneficial.
However, army spokesman Col Somkuan Saengpataranet gave a
different reaction in an army radio programme yesterday. He said Thailand was a
good neighbour to all nations and it was Burma that had failed to co-operate
with Thailand in drug suppression.
Burma also closed its border passes at will without consulting
Thailand, he said.
Bangkok Post - March 20,
2001.
Rival troops killed in clash near
border
Chiang Mai-Two Shan rebels and one pro-Rangoon guerrilla were
killed in a clash close to Doi Kor Wan opposite Chiang Rai's Mae Fah Luang
district, a Shan State Army officer said yesterday.
Lt-Col Korn Zuan of the SSA said the United Wa State Army
fired hundreds of anti-aircraft rounds at the SSA stronghold, killing two Shan
fighters.
The fighting between the pro-Rangoon Wa troops and Shan rebels
resumed on Sunday afternoon, he said.
Some 1,500 Burmese soldiers were deployed at Doi Kor Wan and
some 300 Wa troops at Tachilek-Mong Yawn road.
A source said the SSA has cancelled its planned Army Day
celebrations on March 25.
ASEAN Passports, Visas to Be
Replaced by "Smart Cards" in Future: Report
2001.03.20 12:45:51 BANGKOK, March 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Passports and visas will be
replaced by "smart cards" for nationals of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries travelling to other member states in the
future under a scheme to be discussed here this week, the Nation reported
Tuesday.
Immigration department representatives and consuls from all
ten ASEAN members will attend a regional meeting here between Tuesday and
Wednesday on this issue, the local newspaper quoted Thai immigration
authority source as saying.
The "smart-card" scheme, aimed to use a regional
electronic system to identify a traveler instead of utilizing
traditional documents such as passports and visas, is part of ASEAN's
efforts to link the region electronically under the ambitious
"E-ASEAN" project.
Some member countries, like Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia
have already applied for implementing the system, declaring that they are
ready to get rid of traditional travel documents.
However, it will take many years for all members to be
ready for the scheme due to the huge gap in economic and technology
development among ASEAN countries, analysts said.
The next round of the discussion on the issue will be held
in Singapore later this year.
ASEAN now groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam.
ASEAN Passports, Visas to Be
Replaced by "Smart Cards" in Future: Report
2001.03.20 12:45:51 BANGKOK, March 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Passports and visas will be
replaced by "smart cards" for nationals of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries travelling to other member states in the
future under a scheme to be discussed here this week, the Nation reported
Tuesday.
Immigration department representatives and consuls from all
ten ASEAN members will attend a regional meeting here between Tuesday and
Wednesday on this issue, the local newspaper quoted Thai immigration
authority source as saying.
The "smart-card" scheme, aimed to use a regional
electronic system to identify a traveler instead of utilizing
traditional documents such as passports and visas, is part of ASEAN's
efforts to link the region electronically under the ambitious
"E-ASEAN" project.
Some member countries, like Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia
have already applied for implementing the system, declaring that they are
ready to get rid of traditional travel documents.
However, it will take many years for all members to be
ready for the scheme due to the huge gap in economic and technology
development among ASEAN countries, analysts said.
The next round of the discussion on the issue will be held
in Singapore later this year.
ASEAN now groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam.
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