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BURMA RELATED NEWS - May 04,
2001.
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HEADLINES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- AP - Blast In Myanmar Mandalay Market Hurts
Several -Residents
AP - Thai PM Hopes To Visit Myanmar By June To
Mend Relations
AP - Australia Police Break Up Protest Outside
Myanmar Embassy
Ap - Journalists Gather for Press
Freedom
AFP - ASEAN ministers consult with China, Japan,
South Korea on trade links
AFP - Ministers see huge potential in expanding
ASEAN, Northeast Asian trade
AFP - ASEAN, Northeast Asia endorse areas of
cooperation aside from trade
Reuters - ASEAN ministers end trade meeting with
few results
Reuters - ASEAN grants tax breaks to four newest
members
BBC - Analysis: Burmese economy under
siege
BBC - Burmese recapture camp from Shan
rebels
FT - Pessimism over Burma talks
The Dawn - Myanmar
visit to cement ties: Musharraf
The Nation - Government seeks ways to tone down antidrugs
strategy
Bkk Post - Strive for balance, says PM, as
Chavalit reins in Third Army
Bkk Post - Shan driven out of Takhi as junta
troops retake outpost
Bkk Post - Rangoon
approval for road construction
The People's Daily - Thai Defence Minister
Sees Need to Step up Bid to Mend Ties with Myanmar
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday May 4, 8:20 PM Blast In Myanmar Mandalay Market Hurts
Several -Residents
YANGON, Myanmar (AP)--An
explosion Friday shook the main market in Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest
city, injuring several people, residents said.
The explosion occurred on the ground floor of the four-story Zay Cho
market, and several people were seen being taken to hospital, residents said,
contacted by telephone. All spoke on condition of anonymity.
The cause of the explosion wasn't known immediately, and it wasn't
immediately clear if it were a bomb.
One resident said a suspicious-looking packet was found by shoppers in the
west wing of the market. It exploded while several onlookers were standing
nearby. The market then was sealed off immediately by security forces, the
resident said.
Zay Cho is Mandalay's biggest market, selling various commodities ranging
from meat to textile and electronic goods.
Mandalay, Myanmar's cultural and trading center, is 560 kilometers north of
Yangon.
A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the
explosion but refused to give details.
Bombing are rare in Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military since
1962. Occasional bombings have been blamed on ethnic rebels or communist
insurgents. The rebels, however, typically accuse the government of staging the
attacks to justify subsequent crackdowns.
An explosion at a movie theater in Mandalay in May 1998 killed one woman
and injured 11 others. In December 1996, a bomb exploded at a pagoda in Yangon,
killing four people and wounding 18.
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Friday May 4, 1:58 PM
Thai PM Hopes To Visit Myanmar By June
To Mend Relations
BANKGOK (AP)--Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra said Friday he plans to make a fence-mending visit to
neighboring Myanmar by early June.
Bilateral relations are at the lowest point in years, following a rare
armed confrontation at the border between the two countries in February and
continuing military tension.
"I plan to visit Myanmar either in late May or early June and hope that the
problems will be resolved when high level (officials) of both sides hold talks,"
Thaksin told reporters.
There was no immediate comment from the Myanmar government about any
prospective visit.
Thaksin made the remarks after meeting Friday with Foreign Minister
Surakiart Sathirathai, who visited Yangon this week for talks with the Myanmar
military regime.
During his visit, Myanmar publicly accused Thailand of giving military
support to anti-Yangon rebels at the border and planting illegal drugs at
Myanmar military outposts to discredit the government.
The main source of the bilateral discord is the trafficking of
methamphetamines from Myanmar, which Thailand says the government is doing
little to stop. The illegal stimulant is the main cause of crime in Thailand.
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Friday May 4, 1:43 PM
Australia Police Break Up Protest
Outside Myanmar Embassy
CANBERRA (AP)--Riot police
broke up a demonstration in Canberra on Friday as protesters torched a Myanmar
flag outside the country's embassy.
Dozens of people gathered outside the embassy to protest the use of child
slave labor in Myanmar, formally known as Burma.
About 10 police in full riot gear broke up the protest before another 40
police - including dog handlers - blocked roads surrounding the embassy.
Local trade union leader Jeremy Pyner accused the police of overreacting
when they barged through protesters to put out the burning flag.
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Friday May 4, 2:49 AM
Journalists Gather for Press
Freedom
By RAVI NESSMAN, Associated Press Writer WINDHOEK, Namibia (AP) - Since
1989, 71-year-old journalist U Win Tin has been imprisoned in Myanmar, subjected
to beatings and forced for a time to live in a former kennel for prison guard
dogs.
On Thursday, he was awarded an international press freedom prize by the
United Nations, part of an event in Windhoek, Namibia held to commemorate World
Press Freedom Day.
Myanmar's military regime has offered to free U Win Tin, editor of the
independent Hanthawati daily newspaper and a pro-democracy activist, if he
renounces all political activities.
``Even crippled with pain, with no prospects of ever leaving the cell where
he is kept, U Win Tin has regularly refused these offers,'' said Prescott Low,
former president of the World Association of Newspapers, who accepted the award
on U Win Tin's behalf.
Participants at the meeting called the plight of U Win Tin and other
journalists evidence that a decade after the international movement for press
freedom began in earnest, journalists across the world continue to be beaten,
jailed, harassed and executed. They called press freedom an antidote to
oppression.
``Freedom of the press ensures that the abuse of every other freedom can be
known, can be challenged and even defeated,'' U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan
said in a statement read to the conference.
``Where a free press is imperiled, muzzled or banned altogether, every
other freedom is limited too, and democracy itself threatened,'' he said.
The gathering in Namibia marks the 10th anniversary of the Declaration of
Windhoek, a document written under the auspices of the United Nations that
promised to promote free, independent media throughout Africa. That gathering
was followed by similar meetings in Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and
Europe.
``Freedom of _expression_ has become so much a way of life in many democratic
societies that, in some places, World Press Freedom Day goes largely
unnoticed,'' said Koichiro Master, director-general of UNESCO. ``However, in
many other countries, freedom of the press is far from a reality.''
More than 80 journalists remain in jail across the world, activists said.
In Colombia, two journalists were killed since April 27. Other countries harass
journalists and ban newspapers with impunity
U Win Tin has been imprisoned by the government of Myanmar, also known as
Burma, on accusations he was a member of the Communist Party. His sentence is
expected to keep him in jail until 2008. Human Rights Watch said he was kept in
a cell in Myanmar's notorious Insein prison that once housed prison dogs.
After he was found smuggling letters to the United Nations, he was
sentenced to five more years in prison for possessing writing materials, Human
Rights Watch said.
On Thursday he was awarded the $25,000 Guillermo Cano World Freedom Prize,
named after a Colombian journalist assassinated in 1986 by the drug cartels in
that country.
In a brief statement smuggled out of Myanmar and read to the conference, U
Win Tin said he accepted the award on behalf of all people fighting for
democracy in his country. He said, he hoped to use the money one day to support
a foundation for writers fighting for democracy.
Also Thursday, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists released
its annual report of the top 10 enemies of the press. Russian President Vladimir
Putin was added to the list because of accusations of harassing the independent
media, failing to stop attacks on journalists and using a government-controlled
company to take over a private television station, newspaper and newsweekly.
The list also included Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Chinese President
Jiang Zemin and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
The Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists said Wednesday
that more than 1,000 journalists and media staff have lost their lives over the
past decade.
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Friday May 4, 1:02 PM
ASEAN ministers consult with China,
Japan, South Korea on trade links
SIEM REAP, Cambodia, May 4 (AFP) - Southeast Asian economic ministers were in
talks Friday with counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea to strengthen
trade ties in the region.
The consultations followed a retreat by ministers from the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Thursday during which they agreed to step up
efforts to expand free trade links with the three countries as well as with
Australia and New Zealand.
ASEAN ministers said boosting trade ties with other economies outside
Southeast Asia, as well as forging greater economic integration within ASEAN
itself, were crucial to reducing risks from global developments such as the
US-led economic slowdown.
"We realise that growth of economic links with our neighbours --
particularly in Northeast Asia -- is vital to our long-term growth and
development," said Thai Commerce Minister Adisai Bodharamik at a news briefing
late Thursday.
Aside from enhancing trade links, projects that would further boost
cooperation are expected to be discussed, Adisai said.
Friday's meeting with the Chinese, Japanese and South Koreans comes under
the ASEAN plus three dialogue process, which provides for regular talks between
the countries' leaders as well as foreign, finance and trade ministers.
Chinese Minister for Trade and Economic Cooperation Shi Guangsheng and
South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Hwang Doo-yun flew in
Thursday for the meeting at a luxury hotel near the world-famous Angkor Wat
temples.
Japan, where a new prime minister and cabinet have just been appointed,
sent vice minister for international affairs at the finance ministry, Hidehiro
Konno.
ASEAN groups economic backwaters Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam with
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Domestic matters kept the ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines
and Vietnam busy at home, leaving only six ministers of the 10-member ASEAN to
attend Cambodia's first hosting of a ministerial meeting since admission to
ASEAN two years ago.
ASEAN said it has formed a working group to focus on how to expand trade
links with its three Northeast Asian neighbours as well as with Australia and
New Zealand.
The working group has already met with officials from China to study the
implications of Beijing's entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and
explore the possibility of an ASEAN-China Free Trade Area -- a potential market
of 1.7 billion people.
Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji proposed the establishment of an
ASEAN-China free trade area during a summit of East Asian leaders in Singapore
last November.
ASEAN is also discussing with Japan about the formation of a group of
experts to study the setting up of a similar free trade arrangement with Tokyo,
which is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with Singapore.
The working group is scheduled to meet with senior officials from Australia
and New Zealand to finalise plans for more open trade.
ASEAN will cut tariffs on most goods traded within the group to between
zero and five percent by 2003 under the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), a market
of 500 million people.
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Friday May 4, 6:07 PM
Ministers see huge potential in
expanding ASEAN, Northeast Asian trade
SIEM REAP, Cambodia, May 4 (AFP) - Economic ministers from southeast Asia,
China, Japan and South Korea agreed Friday to continue to push economic
cooperation, citing a "huge potential" for expanding investment flows.
Ending a retreat in this northern Cambodian city, the ministers agreed to
enhance efforts to help less technology savvy countries get wired into the
Internet and endorsed six priority areas of cooperation.
These covered small businesses, environment protection and a common skills
standards.
Trade volume between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and
Northeast Asia expanded 38.2 percent to 91.9 billion dollars between the first
half of 1999 and a similar period in 2000, said Thai Commerce Secretary Adisai
Bodharamik, who chaired the meeting.
ASEAN groups economic backwaters Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam with
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
"The ministers agreed that, with the increased level of cooperation among
countries in the region, there was a huge potential for further expanding trade
and investment flows among countries of East Asia," Adisai said at a news
briefing.
Japanese vice minister for international affairs Hidehiro Konno said Tokyo
looked forward to deepening economic ties with ASEAN.
"Japan also welcomes the growing momentum for economic cooperation within
the region," Konno said.
Chinese Minister for Trade and Economic Cooperation Shi Guangsheng noted
that the leaders of ASEAN, China, Japan and South Korea last year decided to set
up an East Asia group which would study cooperation within the context of the
ASEAN plus three umbrella.
"Currently, this group is looking into this issue and making relevant
studies correspondingly," he said.
South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Hwang Doo-yun said: "We
are going to study the possible integration of these economies in this
region."
Setting up the study group suggests that there is a "future vision for this
free economic trade area" in East Asia, he said.
The ministers also touched on issues relating to the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) forum and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the
rules based multilateral trading system and its primacy over bilateral free
trade arrangements.
There have been concerns that a series of bilateral free trade pacts --
which have mushroomed because of the failure to launch a new round of global
trade talks -- would undermine the multilateral trading process.
In a joint statement, the ministers noted the need "to reduce the risks to
economic growth in the region as a result of the slowdown in global economic
activity."
The ministers endorsed a six-point programme where cooperation should be
focused, among them strengthening the competitiveness of small and medium
enterprises and adopting a common skills standard for information technology
(IT) engineers.
By adopting a common standard, "countries would be in a better position to
address the shortage of IT personnel," the statement said.
On Thursday, the ASEAN ministers held their own retreat during which they
agreed to step up efforts to expand free trade links with the three Northeast
Asian countries as well as with Australia and New Zealand.
ASEAN ministers said boosting trade ties with other economies outside
Southeast Asia, as well as forging greater economic integration within ASEAN
itself, were crucial to reducing risks from global developments such as the
US-led economic slowdown.
"We realise that growth of economic links with our neighbours --
particularly in Northeast Asia -- is vital to our long-term growth and
development," Thai Commerce Minister Adisai said Thursday.
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Friday May 4, 8:15 PM
ASEAN, Northeast Asia endorse areas of
cooperation aside from trade
SIEM REAP, Cambodia, May 4 (AFP) - East Asian economic ministers on Friday
endorsed six areas of future cooperation focusing on developing technology
skills, small and medium enterprises, environmental protection and raising
quality standards for products and services.
The ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and
their counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea agreed to strengthen the
competitiveness of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
"To address the challenges and opportunities of globalisation, the project
would allow SMEs to establish SME networks and gain experience in technical and
managerial skills to further enhance their productivity," a joint press
statement said.
The ministers also endorsed the adoption of a common standard for
information technology (IT) engineers, with the aim of coming up with an IT
engineers' examinations programme.
"By adopting a common skill standard for IT engineers, countries would be
in a better position to address the shortage of IT personnel," said the
statement issued at the close of a retreat in this northern Cambodian
city.
This will "allow countries to share information in setting standards," the
statement said.
Another programme was aimed at enhancing industrial standards in testing,
inspection and quality management so that products and services will meet
international benchmarks.
"Such competency would also promote greater participation on the part of
ASEAN and Northeast Asian countries in international mutual recognition
arrangements," the press statement said.
The ministers agreed to cooperate on a project that will offer courses on
laws and practices pertaining to international trade and investment as well as
the English language in countries bordering the Mekong River basin as part of a
programme to enhance human resources development.
The area covers ASEAN's poorest members Cambodia, Myanmar Laos and Vietnam,
which have been struggling to catch up economically with the original ASEAN
countries Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and
Thailand.
"Human resource development is crucial for countries in the Mekong Basin to
continue to attract foreign direct investment and trade to help in their
development," the statement said.
On the environment, the ministers endorsed a project offering practical
training on the treatment of water pollution.
They also supported a project that will allow countries to share resources
in remote sensing and satellite imaging to study, manage and resolve problems
relating to deforestation, water quality, floods, drought and health.
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Friday May 4, 7:07 PM
ASEAN ministers end trade meeting with
few results
By Hillary Jackson SIEM REAP, Cambodia (Reuters) -
Southeast Asian economics ministers wrapped up a two-day informal meeting on
Friday after exchanging views on weathering the chillier global economic climate
and offering tax concessions to poorer members.
The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in the northern
Cambodian town of Siem Reap came up with few concrete agreements, however, and
was mainly a chance for member countries to discuss strategy.
"There was coordination and an exchange of views on the recent economic
developments in the world, like the slowdown of the U.S. economy and so on, and
how they impact direct investment in the areas of ASEAN," Cambodian Commerce
Minister Cham Prasidh told reporters on Friday.
"We tried to define our common strategy to help attract foreign investment
into ASEAN as a whole, as a grouping, not just as separate countries."
He said ministers had also discussed at length the implementation of the
e-ASEAN Framework Agreement signed last year in Singapore.
The agreement aims to develop information technology skills in the region
and help the newer, less developed countries of ASEAN -- Cambodia, Vietnam,
Myanmar and Laos -- catch up with the original six member countries
technologically.
ASEAN's six original members are Brunei, Thailand, Singapore, the
Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.
On Thursday, the ministers announced tax concessions on goods exported from
the four newest and poorest members to the six original member countries.
SIX PROJECTS
Thai Commerce Minister Adisai Bodharamik told a news conference on Friday
that the ministers had endorsed six projects, mostly pertaining to information
technology, proposed at their last meeting in October 2000.
The projects included environmental protection training,
information-sharing among engineers in ASEAN member countries, developing
industrial standards, creating software for use in the Greater Mekong subregion
and sharing resources to create a satellite image archive and environmental
study.
"The ministers urged the early implementation of the six projects, which
should be shepherded and coordinated by the proposing countries," Adisai said.
Progress on the projects will be measured at a meeting in Brunei in
November, he added.
Adisai also said the group supported China's bid to join the World Trade
Organisation (WTO), as well the efforts of three ASEAN member countries to join.
"The ministers welcomed the impending accession of the People's Republic of
China and supported the acceleration of the accession process for Cambodia, Laos
and Vietnam," he said. "We hope China is in the WTO as soon as possible."
Chinese Trade Minister Shi Guangsheng said negotiations were in the final
stages and he did not expect the United States to attempt to delay or halt
China's bid following the spy plane standoff last month.
"It will not depend on the attitude of individual countries. Rather, it
should be subject to the multilateral trade negotiations and only by the
multilateral negotiations can we achieve the final result," he said.
Economic ministers from six ASEAN nations were joined by their counterparts
from China and South Korea in Siem Reap, home of the fabled Angkor temples, for
the informal retreat.
Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia sent deputy officials, as
did Japan.
China, South Korea and Japan are part of the so-called "ASEAN plus three"
umbrella, which has been discussing the creation of an East Asian economic
community that could eventually lead to a formal regional grouping along the
lines of the European Union.
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Friday May 4, 12:24 AM
ASEAN grants tax breaks to four newest
members
By Hillary Jackson SIEM REAP, Cambodia (Reuters) -
Southeast Asian economic ministers agreed on Thursday to grant tax concessions
to exports from the four newest and poorest member countries of the Association
of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Thai Commerce Minister Adisai Bodharamik said the concessions would allow
goods made in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar to be exported to ASEAN's
other six members more cheaply.
The two-day meeting by ASEAN ministers, which began on Thursday in this
Cambodian town, is aimed at finding ways to boost investment in the face of a
global economic slowdown and to tackle the challenge of China's entry into the
World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Adisai told a news conference that increased trade would narrow the gap
between the original members -- Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines and Brunei -- and the newer members of the regional bloc.
"At this retreat we agreed to implement an ASEAN GSP (generalised system of
preferences) scheme to provide trade preferences to the new members of ASEAN,"
he said.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who officially opened the informal
meeting of economics ministers, urged ASEAN to work towards reducing the gap
between original and new members and said he would support a GSP scheme.
"I believe that this initiative would become a stimulating factor for trade
expansion in our region and to third countries, and this would also promote an
increased inflow of investment to new members with low levels of development and
weak production bases," he said.
Adisai, who is chairing the meeting, did not say when the scheme would be
implemented but said ministers hoped to finalise plans before their next meeting
in Hanoi in September.
He also said the ministers had also agreed to accelerate the e-ASEAN
Framework Agreement, which would establish an information infrastructure, boost
electronic commerce and facilitate trade of technology products and services
among member countries.
BOOST INVESTMENT
ASEAN members are worried the entry of China into the WTO may divert trade
away from their economies, still suffering from the Asian crisis of the late
1990s.
They hope closer links with China, Japan and Korea, and the development of
a regional free-trade area, will help them weather economic turbulence.
"With the current economic slowdown of the U.S. ...we are trying to find
ways and means to be more attractive to foreign direct investment to ASEAN,"
Cambodian Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh told Reuters.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said in his opening address that global
economic problems would compound difficulties already faced by ASEAN countries.
"The global outlook for 2001 is becoming significantly more adverse, with
the unexpected economic slowdown in the United States, lower growth in Europe
and problems in the Japanese economy," he said.
"The task before us is sustaining momentum of growth in our individual
countries and the region, thereby securing greater economic stability and
resilience, which is crucial for long-term sustainable development."
Economic ministers from six ASEAN nations have been joined by their
counterparts from China and South Korea in Siem Reap, home of the fabled Angkor
temples, for the informal retreat.
Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia have sent deputy
officials, as has Japan.
China, South Korea and Japan are part of the so-called "ASEAN+3" umbrella,
which has been discussing the creation of an east Asian economic community that
could eventually lead to a formal regional grouping along the lines of the
European Union.
Cham Prasidh said a key hurdle for ASEAN countries was the impending entry
of China into the WTO.
"The prospect of China joining the World Trade Organisation is a big
challenge," he said.
"How we have to be competitive is very important. Every ASEAN country now
is trying to strengthen their productive capacity to ensure that the goods are
cheap and good quality to compete with the Chinese goods."
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Friday, 4 May, 2001, 12:15 GMT 13:15 UK
Analysis: Burmese economy under siege By regional analyst Larry Jagan
Burma's economy is currently facing enormous problems.
The value of the kyat has been nearly halved in the last month, and prices
of many consumer goods are spiralling out of control.
Analysts believe the Burmese Government is trying to get itself out of
trouble by printing more money which they say will only aggravate the country's
economic problems.
Earlier this week the government reduced petrol rations from three gallons
a week to two, forcing motorists and transport companies to seek more of their
petrol needs from the black market.
Bus and taxi fares have already risen. Diplomats believe there will also be
a major rise in the official petrol price soon.
Prices of many consumer goods have also sky-rocketed within the last few
weeks as the value of the kyat has plummeted on the unofficial markets.
Shoppers stunned
The kyat has fallen by nearly 100% to more than 750 kyat to the US dollar
in the last six weeks.
The value of the FEC (foreign exchange certificates) has also fallen.
This has caused the price of imported goods like condensed milk, monosodium
glutamate, medicines and toiletries to rise significantly.
Customers at many of Rangoon's small shops and supermarkets have been
stunned by the doubling of prices of many of their regular purchases within the
last week.
One money dealer said the drastic fall in the value of the kyat was caused
by the military authorities desperately buying up dollars.
Diplomats in Rangoon believe the Burmese Government has less than two
months of foreign reserves and the recent fighting along the Thai-Burma border
has increased their need for more foreign exchange.
Inflation fuelled
Regional economic analysts in Singapore believe that the government has
also been recently printing substantially more money, in excess of what would be
economically prudent, which in turn is fuelling inflation.
The Burmese Government increased the salaries of civil servants by more
than 500% a little over a year ago so that they could cope with spirally prices,
but this has only served to further fuel the country's inflation.
Economists estimate that this is currently around 20% and likely to rise
significantly now.
Observers point out that the Burmese authorities have always taken an
idiosyncratic approach to the economy.
However whether this will continue to work in the long term is
questionable.
At present they are managing by relying on massive logging operations and
plundering the country's natural reserves.
But with increasing interruptions to the country's domestic and industrial
power supplies, the economy is increasingly a problem the government does not
seem able to cope with.
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BBC - Friday, 4 May, 2001, 08:46 GMT
09:46 UK
Burmese recapture camp from Shan rebels The Burmese government says its forces have recaptured a border camp from
separatist rebels.
A spokesman for the Shan State Army confirmed that its troops had withdrawn
from the camp at Pachee on the Thai-Burmese border after coming under heavy
mortar attack for two days.
Burma has accused Thai forces of fighting with the Shan separatists, an
accusation strongly denied by the authorities in Bangkok.
Thai and Burmese forces were involved in sporadic fighting on the border in
February and relations between the two countries are strained, with each
accusing the other of supporting militia groups fighting on the border.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
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The Financial Times
Pessimism over Burma talks
By William Barnes in Bangkok Published: May 3 2001 16:16GMT | Last Updated: May 3 2001 16:18GMT A "deafening silence" surrounding the talks between Burma's military regime
and Aung San Suu Kyi, opposition leader, has convinced many observers that their
primary purpose was to fend off unprecedented international attacks on an
already feeble economy.
Critics of military rule are particularly concerned that Razali Ismail, the
United Nations' special envoy to Burma and Malaysian diplomat, has not been back
to Rangoon since January. "We've very strong feelings of disquiet," said one
diplomat in the capital.
The "businesslike" Mr Razali is widely seen as a key broker in the talks,
which started last October, partly because he is close to Mahathir Mohamad,
Malaysian prime minister, who is sympathetic to the regime.
Win Aung, the Burmese foreign minister, denied this week that the "complex
and delicate" dialogue had stalled. But many suspect that it was the
International Labour Organisation's call for sanctions against Burma last
November, combined with fears of a US ban on Burmese garment imports, that
persuaded the regime to talk to a woman they previously castigated in the state
media as a dangerous and malevolent force.
A Burmese foreign ministry document published in December outlined plans to
ship exports of pulses and beans through Singapore and Malaysia to avoid any
boycott by unfriendly port unions, showing how seriously it took this threat.
The document also notes that garment exports, worth $400m to the US alone, were
also vulnerable.
Meanwhile, Japan has attracted US criticism after it said last week it
would provide $28m to rebuild the dilapidated Baluchuang hydro-power dam in
Kayah province that supplies Burma with a third of its electricity.
A State Department official said Japan had sent the wrong signal. The
dialogue appeared "fragile and is at a sensitive stage" and such aid was
"unwarranted" in the absence of substantial and concrete progress towards
democracy and human rights.
Asian neighbours are increasingly reluctance to toe a strict western line
on Burma. In Rangoon yesterday, General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's military
ruler, described his visit - the first to Burma by a national leader outside the
Asean block or China for a dozen years - as "most fruitful, profitable and
mutually beneficial".
Ms Suu Kyi, who has been under virtual house arrest for nearly eight
months, has told visitors the talks are confidential although the NLD broke its
own silence this week in urging the military to work for a "new democratic
state" as quickly as possible so that the country's problems could be solved.
The military, which ignored a massive NLD election victory in 1990, has
released some political prisoners and toned down its normally vituperative
reporting on the opposition but it has yet to make any more significant
gestures, such as allowing the legal opposition to operate freely or to cease
hostilities against ethnic minorities, said Debbie Stothard, the co-ordinator of
the Alternative Asean Network on Burma.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Dawn
Myanmar visit to cement ties: Musharraf
YANGON, May 3: The chief executive, Gen Pervez Musharraf, ended a three-day
official visit to Myanmar on Thursday, saying it had brought both sides closer
and would lead to improve co-operation.
Gen Musharraf told a news conference before leaving for Vietnam that the
fact that both Myanmar and Pakistan were ruled by the military helped the two
countries understand each other better. "It was a most fruitful, profitable and
mutually beneficial visit," Gen Musharraf said at Yangon's international
airport.
"It's our desire to get closer to Myanmar and I'm sure a similar desire was
demonstrated by the (Myanmar) government." Gen Musharraf expressed the
confidence that both Pakistan and Myanmar had great potential for strengthening
economic and trade relations, which would attain a boost in the near future.
He said Pakistan and Myanmar already shared a common historical perspective
and had common colonial experience of the past. "Both the countries got
independence during almost the same period." He assured that these ties would
strengthen with passage of time. "The future of both the countries looks very
bright," he maintained, adding, "we certainly are desirous of proceeding on the
fastest track."
In reply to a question about the Supreme Court verdict, Gen Musharraf said
that the SC had considered the time period required by the government for
restoring "genuine" democracy in the country, "and, we are trying to bring true
democracy to Pakistan that never existed before."
He told a newsman that the army was compelled to intervene in Pakistan
because of political crisis and mis-doings. In reply to a question, the CE said
that the destruction of statues in Afghanistan was an unfortunate incident which
was a misrepresentation of Islam. "It was an extreme view of our religion."
He said: "Islam is a religion of tolerance that advocates accommodation of
others' views and beliefs." In reply to a question about sanctions against
Myanmar, the CE said: "I certainly do not support sanctions being imposed on a
country because of what is happening in a particular country. I would say that
Pakistan and Myanmar, in fact, share commonality in this respect. Whatever
happened in 1988 in Myanmar and in 1999 in Pakistan were the result of the
problems that these countries were facing at the hands of political forces. The
Western countries should look at the environment that compels the armed forces
to take action."
"The West should look at the situation from the point of view of the
country concerned," he maintained. He said: "The sanctions against Myanmar were
not at all well founded." General Pervez Musharraf was seen off at the Yangon
airport by the Senior General Than Shwe and his cabinet ministers.
JOINT COMMUNIQUE: Pakistan and Myanmar called for narrowing down of the
wide disparity between the developed and developing countries. This was stated
in a four-page Joint Communique issued at the end of Gen Musharraf's visit to
Myanmar. It said: "The two leaders reviewed the international economic situation
and expressed their hope that the wide disparity between the developed and
developing countries will be narrowed and that justice and equality will be
established in order to bring economic prosperity to the developing countries of
the world."
"In their review of the world situation, the two leaders expressed concern
over the continuing tensions and instability in certain parts of the world. The
situation reflected the increasing tendency on the part of some states to resort
to the policy of intervention, hegemony and use of force in the conduct of
international relations," the communique said.
It said: "The two leaders reiterated their firm support for the United
Nations Charter and underscored the need to strictly observe the five principles
of peaceful coexistence - sovereign, equality, nor-aggression, non-use of force,
non-intervention and non-interference in the internal affairs."
The CE expressed gratitude to the chairman of the SPDC and Senior General
Than Shwe for the cordial reception and warm hospitality extended to him, Begum
Pervez Musharraf and other members of his delegation during their stay in
Myanmar.-Agencies.
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The Nation - May 04,
2001.
Government seeks ways to tone down
antidrugs strategy
Concerned that renewed tensions with Burma could escalate further, Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday sought to review his antidrugs strategy to
minimise its effects on the border disputes.
Thaksin’s latest bid to amend the strategy comes after a bloody raid on
Tuesday on a border village in Tak by the proRangoon Democratic Karen Buddhist
Army (DKBA). Three Thai civilians were killed.
The Thai army believed the attack was in retribution for its recent
seizures of more than 13 million methamphetamine tablets, which were said to
have come from areas controlled by the DKBA.
Thaksin said he would continue to pursue an aggressive campaign to stop the
flow of illegal narcotics from Burma. But he stressed that such efforts should
be carried out more in tandem with diplomatic efforts to resolve the tensions.
“The government is trying to get the military and the Foreign Ministry to
work toward the same direction,” he said.
His comments shed light on the conflict over the implementation of the
antidrugs campaign between Defence Minister Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and Third
Army Commander Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong.
On one hand, Chavalit convinced Thaksin that the aggressive tactics
employed by Wattanachai would disrupt border security. On the other, Thaksin
believed the measures were somewhat necessary until Rangoon clearly signalled
that it would cooperate on drug sup¬pression.
The signal from Burma so far has been far from clear. The DKBA raid on
Tuesday came as Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai was on an official visit
to Rangoon to resolve the bitter border disputes.
On the following day, the Burmese junta accused the Thai Army of trying to
defame it by planting the stimulant pills in raids on Burmese posts along the
border.
It was clear that Surakiart’s visit had failed to even reduce tensions,
even though Burma’s mili¬tary government agreed in principle to sign a
memorandum of understanding to jointly suppress drugs along the border.
Surakiart said his talks with Burmese leaders provided a strong foundation
for resolving future border flareups and that the two sides agreed that the
conflicts should not escalate into a governmentlevel dispute.
Thailand lodged a protest over the DKBA raid with the Burmese side of the
Township Border Committee – the lowestlevel mechanism to solve border conflicts.
But the situation remained tense yesterday as the DKBA bolstered its forces
in the areas opposite Phop Phra district in an apparent move to make another
strike on the Thai border.
Burmese government troops also recaptured their outpost at Pachee, opposite
Chiang Mai’s Fang district, which fell to the Shan State Army last week. The
move completes the Burmese army’s dryseason offensive against the rebels.
The junta has accused the Thai military of supporting the Shan rebels.
PM’s Office Minister Thamarak Isarangura, who is to leave for Burma next
week to discuss antidrugs cooperation, said it is crucial to distinguish between
drug problems and ethnic insurgencies.
“The tension along the ThaiBurmese border could be cate¬gorised into two
sets of problems: ethnic minorities fighting against Burmese government and
narcotics,” he said.
The attack by the DKBA is an example of the issues being unnecessarily
intertwined, he said.
“It is proof that millions of tablets of drugs confiscated by the Thai army
belonged to this group, thus infuriating them,” Thamarak said.
China, whose border is adjacent to Burmese territory controlled by
drugproducing ethnic Wa armies, must be brought into the talks to resolve the
conflict and the drug problems, he said.
Thamarak defended the hardhitting Wattanachai, saying the general would be
right to retaliate should an external force encroach upon Thai territory.
Wattanachai’s vow to track down the perpetrators that caused the deaths of Thai
nationals is not prohibited. But the action should not complicate talks at the
government level.
“We have been suspecting for some time that the Burmese are secretly
supporting [the DKBA] in the same way as Burma is suspicious of us,” he said.
“When a problem arises, we need to talk tough but in times of negotiation, both
sides need to set out their own problems and if there is a genuine cooperation,
problems will gradually dissipate.”
“Force must be met with force when dealing with narcotics suppression,”
Thamarak said.
The recent decision by Chavalit to rein in Wattanachai was out of concern
that the situation would escalate into a war, Thamarak said.
But it is good for each govern¬ment to keep a check on the other and the
ongoing verbal clashes in the field are “normal”, he said.
Chavalit yesterday again urged restraint, saying “resorting to force is an
easy way out”.
“However, it does not mean we should be restrained to the point of
dereliction of duty. The Third Army commander is a good person – a real soldier.
We need to understand him.”
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Bangkok Post - May 04,
2001.
Strive for balance, says PM, as
Chavalit reins in Third Army
An eye-for-an-eye no go, says minister Wassana Nanuam
Balance is needed in military and diplomatic responses to Burma and the
cross-border drugs conflict, says Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Drug trafficking had created a security problem for Thailand but talks with
Burma could still help.
"I will try to strike a balance between attempts to stem the security
threat and the need to maintain good relations," he said yesterday.
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said Burma had agreed to a
memorandum of understanding to co-operate in the fight against drugs.
The agreement would be signed when Mr Thaksin paid a visit_ although no
date has been set.
Mr Thaksin must know that Burma is sending mixed signals about its
willingness to co-operate.
Even as Mr Surakiart was meeting Burmese ministers in Rangoon on Wednesday,
Burmese security officials were accusing Thailand of backing rebel attacks after
receiving pledges of US military support.
Mr Thaksin said the drugs fight would come first over friendship.
The exchange comes amid intensifying conflict between Thai and Burmese
forces along the northern border.
The government seems divided on how toughly to respond, but continuing
massive drugs seizures by the Thai army are keeping Rangoon on the offensive.
Rangoon has accused Thai troops of deliberately shelling Burmese military
positions to protect minority Shan guerrillas which had taken over a Burmese
border outpost opposite Chiang Mai's Fang district.
The Thai army says the shelling was in retaliation for Burmese cross-border
attacks.
While the army says Burmese forces are backing the drug-producing Wa
minority, Rangoon says Thai soldiers are protecting Shan guerrillas who also
deal in drugs.
The Third Army says an incident on Tuesday in which the pro-Rangoon
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army fired across the border at a Thai military
outpost in Tak's Phob Phra district was a deliberate plan to divert attention
from a methamphetamine shipment.
Three Thai civilians were killed in the assault believed to have been
triggered by last week's seizure of millions of methamphetamines by the Third
Army.
The exchange of gunfire and accusations upset Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh,
who was concerned the problem would jeopardise Thai-Burmese relations.
The defence minister yesterday warned the Third Army not to adopt an
eye-for-an-eye stance.
"We have to be patient here. It's very easy to use violence. But, it
doesn't mean we wouldn't do what we should do," said Gen Chavalit.
He was criticising Third Army commander Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong,
who called for a tough response. Gen Chavalit said any use of violence would
backfire.
Lt-Gen Wattanachai insisted yesterday his force was merely responding to
Burmese aggression when it fired into Burma.
"How should we respond when we are fired at?"We are not going to sit like
lame ducks if we are fired at," Lt-Gen Wattanachai said.
Meanwhile, Lt-Gen Wattanachai is seeking approval to build a
morale-boosting monument to King Naresuan and a pagoda near Wat Doi Wow in
Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district.
A construction plan had gone to the army chief for approval, a source
said.
The monument would boost the morale of Thai troops and mark the
territory.
The King Naresuan monument would face Burma's Tachilek, where the
Bayinnaung monument sits.
"This is about belief," the source said.
"Burma has used the Bayinnaung monument to boost its troops' morale. King
Naresuan is a great warrior and his monument will give our Thai troops a big
boost." Locals were willing to donate money or help raise funds. The monument
would cost about 40 million baht.
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Bangkok Post - May 04,
2001.
Shan driven out of Takhi as junta troops
retake outpost
Subin Khuenkaew Burmese government troops recaptured Takhi base, opposite Fang district,
from Shan rebels yesterday after more than a week of fighting.
The base was overrun by the Shan State Army on April 22.
A Pha Muang task force source said more than 200 Burmese soldiers stormed
the base at dawn after bombarding it with mortar rounds and automatic
gunfire.
The Burmese flag was seen flying at the base again yesterday, the source
said.
An SSA source said more than 70 Burmese soldiers were killed in clashes
with Shan guerrillas at Doi Huanok before the fall of Takhi.
A statement from the Shan army said its attack on Takhi was aimed at
showing the world that Burmese soldiers were involved in drug production and
trade. The Shan army claims to have found 17,000 speed pills at the base when
they overran it.
"This was also revenge for the Feb 2 killing of 14 Shan people by Burmese
soldiers from the 255th battalion posted at Takhi base. "The villagers, who were
on their way to find jobs in Fang district, were killed while walking past the
base and coming across a methamphetamine factory," the statement said.
- A Shan army spokesman said the SSA, the Karenni National Progressive
Party and the Karen National Union were opposed to Japan's decision to give
Burma US$28.6 million in aid to fund the repair of a power plant in Kayah
state.
The three groups would move against the repair work because it could lead
to pollution and the use of forced labour, the spokesman said.
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Bangkok Post - May 04,
2001.
Rangoon approval for road
construction
Kanchanaburi-Burma has approved construction of a 130km road linking
Kanchanaburi and Tavoy, according to the deputy chairman of the Kanchanaburi
industrial council.
Pattana Sinkanchanamalai said the council had first proposed the road in
1994. Burma had finally approved it in March.
Representatives of the council will travel to Burma when Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra visits the country to sign the construction contract.
Construction, to be completed in four years, is expected to begin in
October, he said.
Mr Pattana said the road would cost about US$28.2 million.
This would be raised from the business sector in the province and from bank
loans.
"We want to open the door of Kanchanaburi to the world. With the road, we
will be able to connect with India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and boost trade,"
he said.
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The People's Daily - May 03,
2001,
Thai Defence Minister Sees Need to Step
up Bid to Mend Ties with Myanmar
Defense Minister Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyuth has reiterated that the
government would step up efforts to mend divisions with the Myanmar counterpart
so that the border disputes could be settled as soon as possible, the Thai News
Agency (TNA) reported Thursday.
His statement came after a Buddhist Karen troop stormed a Thai village in
the northern province of Tak early this week, killing three people.
Chavalit, who is also deputy premier, said on Wednesday that the border
conflicts with Myanmar are among the urgent problems the government had tried
utmost to address since it took office around two months ago.
"We tried to seek ways to ease tension along the border of the two
countries. But since the disputes are rather complicated, it might need time and
patience before they are settled," he stated.
The former prime minister said the military had made an all-out effort to
contain the worsening of the border conflicts and that the tension would ease if
governments of the two neighboring countries stepped up building mutual
understanding.
He conceded the attack on the Thai village would more or less affect
efforts being made by Thai Foreign Minister Surakiat Sathienthai to settle the
border disputes on the table.
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