|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BURMA RELATED NEWS - June 01, 2001. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEADLINE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AP - Myanmar Govt Accuses Rebel Group Of Killing
Traveler
AP - UN Envoy In Myanmar To Help Push Suu
Kyi-Govt Talks
AFP - Tiananmen papers editor claims China is
out to get him : report
AFP - UN envoy Razali heads to Yangon to revive
political dialogue
AFP - UN envoy Razali begins mission to revive
political dialogue
Reuters - U.N. special envoy begins crucial
visit to Myanmar
Reuters - Asia central banks review ties and
currency volatility
Bernama - Myanmar's Rice Export Sharply Up In
1st Two Months
BBC - UN envoy revisiting Burma
Bkk Post - Friendly signs from
Rangoon
Bkk Post - Illegal labour needs solution, says
PM
Bkk Post - Editorial -
Put on hold plans to rush to Rangoon
The Nation - Some
foreign maids a threat to security: PM
The Nation - Burma
should join Cobra Gold: Chavalit
The Nation - UNCHR
withdrawal rumour untrue: Surakiart
SCMP - UN envoy to help push Suu Kyi-junta
dialogue
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday June 1, 12:56 PM Myanmar Govt Accuses Rebel Group Of
Killing Traveler
YANGON, Myanmar (AP)--A
government newspaper on Friday accused an ethnic rebel group of waylaying a car
in eastern Myanmar and killing a 50-year-old woman passenger.
The Myanma Ahlin newspaper said Karen National Union rebels armed with
grenade launchers and small arms attacked the car on Wednesday near the eastern
town of Myawaddy, killing the woman and injuring four others.
The rebel group, which is fighting a guerrilla war for autonomy for the ethnic Karen minority, denied the charges. "KNU fighters were not involved in the attack. The KNU never attacks
civilian and reports in Myanmar newspapers always make the international
community misunderstand the KNU," Manh Sha, a leader of the group, told The
Associated Press in neighboring Thailand, where he is based.
The Myanma Ahlin newspaper said "the KNU rebels who are trying to disrupt
peace and stability in the country are committing terrorist activities by
killing and robbing innocent citizens."
It said the car was traveling from the border town of Myawaddy to the
nearby Kawkareik town. The army is in pursuit of the "terrorists" who fled after
the attack, the newspaper said.
Myawaddy is about 250 kilometers east of Yangon.
The Karen National Union is the only major ethnic rebel group that has not
yet reached peace agreement with the ruling military government.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday June 1, 3:03 PM
UN Envoy In Myanmar To Help Push Suu
Kyi-Govt Talks
YANGON, Myanmar (AP)--A U.N.
envoy who helped start reconciliation talks between pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi and the ruling junta returned to Myanmar Friday amid reports that
the talks were faltering.
Razali Ismail, who will be in the country until Monday, is scheduled to
meet with Foreign Minister Win Aung and other officials later Friday, diplomats
said. Razali did not speak with reporters and the government did not issue any
statement on his visit.
It is not clear when Razali will meet with Suu Kyi, who has been holding
closed-door negotiations with junta leaders while being kept under virtual house
arrest.
The junta has come under widespread criticism, mainly by the West, for
refusing to hand over power to Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party,
which won the 1990 general elections.
Instead, NLD members have been subjected to harassment and arrests. Suu Kyi
has lived under virtual house arrest since Sept. 22, when she tried to defy a
long-standing travel ban.
This is Razali's fourth visit since his appointment as the United Nations'
special envoy to Myanmar last April to mediate between the junta and Suu Kyi.
Razali visited Myanmar in July and October last year and in January this year.
After his January visit, he broke the news that the junta and the
opposition have been holding secret talks since last October.
Both parties have agreed to keep the content of the dialogue confidential.
There has been no news about the developments after nearly eight months.
Razali's visit assumes greater significance in the light of reports by
diplomats that the talks are not showing any progress.
Last month the government denied that the talks were stalled and Win Aung,
the foreign minister, said the negotiations were not merely a "publicity stunt"
to appease the West.
Until October, the junta had consistently refused to negotiate with the
opposition if Suu Kyi took part. The change of heart is believed to have been
brought about by Razali, a Malaysian, as well as Malaysian Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohammad.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been ruled by the military continuously
since 1962. The current group of generals took power in 1988, gunning down
thousands of pro-democracy protesters nationwide. The National League for
Democracy was formed two weeks later.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday June 1, 6:00 AM
Tiananmen papers editor claims
China is out to get him : report
WASHINGTON, May 31 (AFP) - The Chinese editor of secret documents which purportedly detail deliberations of top communist leaders during 1989 democracy protests, claims in a new interview that Beijing has set a dragnet to find and arrest him. The man, who operates under the pseudonym Zhang Liang, told Radio Free Asia
in the interview to be broadcast Friday and Saturday that Chinese security
forces are on his trail.
"China's security apparatus has dispatched a large number of people to
collect any and all information related to 'Zhang Liang' domestically in the
United States, in Hong Kong, and in other places," he said.
"Those suspected of being 'Zhang Liang' have been threatened, followed,
'politely' questioned; their homes and work phones have been bugged, their homes
and offices have been searched and items have been confiscated," he told the
station.
Zhang Liang has refused to further identify himself or his position in
China or how he came by the documents, which he handed to two western editors
and which were published in the United States last year under the title
"Tiananmen Papers."
A companion volume which is more comprehensive has since been smuggled into
China.
Some analysts believe the mysterious donor of the documents is an agent for
reformist elements in the Chinese leadership keen for a reassesment of the
Tiananmen Square massacre in which the democracy protests were crushed.
Hundreds, or even thousands, of unarmed protesters died as Chinese soldiers
shot their way into the city center and surrounded the square on June 4, 1989,
ending six weeks of protests.
Zhang told the station's Mandarin service, in written answers to questions,
that he had taken great pains not to contact US government agencies, and had
chosen respected China scholars from the West to sift through the archive.
The Chinese government has called the papers "sheer fabrication," but
imposed draconian regulations on the leaking of "state secrets."
Some analysts have seen the arrest of a string of US-based scholars as a
reprisal for the publication of the documents, which detail the deliberations of
late Chinese patriarch Deng Xiaoping and other leaders as the protests reached a
climax.
Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation created by the US
Congress in 1996 to broadcast news reports to states like China, Myanmar and
Vietnam where independent news is rarely available.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday June 1, 11:44 AM
UN envoy Razali heads to Yangon to
revive political dialogue
YANGON, June 1 (AFP) - After a five-month absence, the UN envoy to Myanmar Razali Ismail will arrive here Friday and attempt to breathe new life into talks between the junta and Aung San Suu Kyi, which he helped initiate. The Malaysian diplomat's four-day visit comes at a crucial stage in the
dialogue, which is believed to have ground to a halt after factions within the
ruling junta balked at the prospect of introducing democratic reforms.
Razali, who acted as a catalyst for the secret talks which began last
October, is almost certain to be given permission to see democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi who has been confined to her home since September.
Observers in Yangon hope that the UN special envoy's visit will bring fresh
impetus to the national reconciliation process which could end four decades of
military rule in Myanmar.
There are also hopes that the generals in Yangon will use the opportunity
to shed some light on the direction and intent of the talks which have so far
been held under conditions of strict secrecy.
"I do hope that his present visit will signal the start of a full-fledged
dialogue or come out with something really positive at the very least," said one
analyst in Yangon.
The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) hopes that even if
Razali fails to nudge along the talks, his visit will at least be marked by the
release of more of its jailed members, especially the sick and elderly.
"I'm sure he'll make such a request," one NLD member told AFP. "There are
quite a number of very sick and old persons who have yet to complete their
sentences but may not make it through ... we are very concerned about
them."
The green light for the Malaysian diplomat's fourth trip to Myanmar came
after months of delays which had raised concerns about the future of political
reforms in the military-run country.
But diplomats in Yangon said it was too soon to know whether the junta's
decision to allow Razali into the country was an indication that the national
reconciliation process was back on track.
"This is a good sign but we will have to see what kind of feedback he gets
when he gets here," one said.
"Certainly, coming after the indications that his next visit would not be
on the cards for several more months ... there must now be a little bit more
flexibility."
Razali's visit ends just a day before the International Labor Organisation
(ILO) convenes its annual meeting where it is expected to roundly condemn the
Yangon junta's record on forced labour.
The ILO's governing body last November issued an unprecedented call for its
members to review their ties with Myanmar -- a move aimed at tightening the
sanctions load that has already helped cripple the economy.
Bitterly disappointed, the junta shot back by declaring it would "cease to
cooperate" with the ILO, in an apparent declaration that a technical mission
which had visited in October would not be allowed to return.
However, a four-man team again led by Francis Maupain of France was allowed
to travel to Yangon last month to negotiate an accord on the eradication of
forced labour with the junta, the ILO confirmed Wednesday.
The renewed contact with the ILO is another sign that a political shift is
under way in Myanmar, and that the junta is willing to take some modest steps
towards improving its relationship with the international community.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday June 1, 4:46 PM
UN envoy Razali begins mission to revive
political dialogue
AFP - UN envoy to Myanmar
Razali Ismail arrived here on a mission to breathe new life into talks between
the junta and Aung San Suu Kyi, which have faltered in recent months.
The Malaysian diplomat's four-day visit, his first since January, comes
after elements in the ruling junta baulked at the prospect of introducing
democratic reforms during a critical decision-making stage in the talks.
Observers in Yangon hope that the UN special envoy's visit will bring fresh
impetus to the national reconciliation process, which could end four decades of
military rule in Myanmar.
There are also hopes the generals in Yangon will take the opportunity to
shed some light on the direction and intent of the talks, which have so far been
held under conditions of strict secrecy.
"I do hope that his present visit will signal the start of a full-fledged
dialogue or come out with something really positive at the very least," said one
analyst in Yangon.
The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) is optimistic that even
if Razali fails to nudge along the talks, his visit will be marked by the
release of more of its jailed members, especially the sick and elderly.
"I'm sure he'll make such a request," one NLD member told AFP. "There are
quite a number of very sick and old persons who have yet to complete their
sentences but may not make it through ... we are very concerned about
them."
As well as meetings with senior members of the regime, Razali is almost
certain to be given permission to see democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has
been confined to her lakeside home since September.
But apart from a dinner Friday to be hosted by Deputy Foreign Minister Khin
Maung Win, who greeted the envoy at the airport on his arrival, the rest of his
schedule has been kept under wraps.
The green light for Razali's fourth trip to Myanmar came after months of
delays that raised concerns about the future of political reforms in the
military-run country.
But diplomats in Yangon said it was too soon to know whether the junta's
decision to allow Razali into the country was an indication the national
reconciliation process was back on track.
Razali's visit ends just a day before the International Labor Organisation
(ILO) convenes its annual meeting where it is expected to roundly condemn the
Yangon junta's record on forced labour.
The ILO's governing body last November issued an unprecedented call for its
members to review their ties with Myanmar -- a move aimed at tightening the
sanctions load that has already helped cripple the economy.
Bitterly disappointed, the junta shot back by declaring it would "cease to
cooperate" with the ILO, in an apparent declaration that a technical mission
which had visited in October would not be allowed to return.
However, in a significant breakthrough, a team was allowed to travel to
Yangon last month to negotiate an accord on the eradication of forced
labour.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday June 1, 3:41 PM
U.N. special envoy begins crucial visit
to Myanmar
By Aung Hla Tun YANGON, June 1 (Reuters) - The
U.N. special envoy to Myanmar arrived in the country on Friday on a four-day
visit which the international community hopes can kick-start stalled talks
between the military government and pro-democracy opposition.
Veteran Malaysian diplomat Razali Ismail helped broker the start of
dialogue between the government and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on
previous visits and is well regarded by all sides in Myanmar.
Diplomats say his visit comes at a crucial time.
Leading members of the ruling junta have been holding regular meetings with
Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi since October, raising hopes that the political
stalemate that has gripped Myanmar for more than a decade could finally be
broken.
Both sides agreed to keep the content of the talks confidential and even
senior members of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) -- which won
elections by a landslide in 1990 but has never been allowed to govern -- say
they have no information on what progress has been made.
But concern is growing that the talks are deadlocked. Foreign diplomats in
Yangon say they believe the dialogue has been stalled in recent months, amid
talk of a heightened power struggle between senior members of the government.
Some NLD members and representatives of Myanmar's many ethnic groups have
been getting increasingly frustrated about the lack of news on the talks.
Diplomats hope Razali's visit can reassure them and prevent the talks
unravelling.
Razali was met at Yangon's airport by Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung
Win. He was due to meet Foreign Minister Win Aung on Friday and the powerful
Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, Secretary One of the ruling State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), on Saturday.
A U.N. statement said he would also meet Suu Kyi.
Razali last visited Myanmar in January, and said then his next visit was
planned for March. The delay in his visit fuelled concerns the talks were
deadlocked.
Diplomats say that while the government faces no serious internal political
threat, the country's precarious economic situation is the main factor pushing
the military towards dialogue with the opposition.
The military says it is committed to building a democracy in Myanmar, but
it says the country could disintegrate if the process moves too quickly.
Su Kyi has been kept confined to her Yangon residence since September, with
access to her strictly controlled.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday June 1, 8:26 PM
Asia central banks review ties and
currency volatility
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Eleven
Asian central banks looked at ways to boost financial supervision and strengthen
cooperation despite different approaches to monetary policy, delegates at an
annual conference said on Friday.
The closed-door meeting of governors of the South-East Asian Central Banks
(SEACEN) grouping in Singapore focused on how to enhance the exchange of
information and expertise among themselves and other groups.
"We looked at how banking supervision in the region should be organised,
whether by the central banks or by independent institutions," said K. Amir
Sjarifuddin, Singapore-based chief representative of Bank Indonesia.
Asian countries could look at the experience of supervisory authorities in
countries such as Britain, South Korea and Japan and consider whether these
could be applied, he said.
Foreign exchange instability which had dominated the region recently due to
slowing economies and domestic political and social unrest also took its place
in the talks.
"It didn't figure as the major topic but in their presentations, of course,
some made mention of it," Tilak Rawal, governor of Nepal's central bank, told
reporters on the sidelines of the conference.
But he said monetary policy and currency swap arrangements were not
discussed.
SEACEN officials have said the group needs to focus on ways to maintain its
relevance amid a proliferation of regional and international forums.
The strategic review of the SEACEN Centre, which coordinates the exchange
of information and expertise on financial supervision and the conduct of
monetary policy among staff of the central banks, continues for another half day
on Saturday.
A communique will be issued by the governors when the three-day session of
dinners and meetings wraps up.
SEACEN groups central banks and monetary authorities from Indonesia, South
Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri
Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Malaysian National News Agency
Myanmar's Rice Export Sharply Up In 1st
Two Months
YANGON, June 1 (Oana-Xinhua) -- Myanmar exported a total of 71,400 tons of
rice in the first two months of this year, earning foreign exchange of US$8.75
million, the country's Central Statistical Organisation said in its latest data.
The export volume and foreign exchange earning during the two- month period
were respectively up 549 percent and 548 percent compared with the same period
of 2000.
Although Myanmar's rice export dropped from 111,700 tons in 1998 to 63,700
tons in 1999, it rose to 141,600 tons in 2000. To meet its food demand and to
export more rice, Myanmar has since 1999 reclaimed 467,370 hectares of vacant,
virgin, fallow and wetlands in the country for cultivation by private
entrepreneurs. -- BERNAMA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BBC - Friday, 1 June, 2001, 09:35 GMT
10:35 UK
UN envoy revisiting Burma The United Nation envoy to Burma, Razali Ismail, is due to visit Burma on
Friday for talks with the country's military leaders.
Mr Ismail is also scheduled to meet the opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since last September. The Malaysian diplomat helped broker talks between the opposition and the
military government last year but recently those talks have stalled.
However, a BBC correspondent says the fact that Mr Ismail is visiting
Rangoon is being seen as a clear sign that Burma's military rulers are prepared
to resume talks with Aung San Suu Kyi.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Post - June 01,
2001.
Friendly signs from
Rangoon
Newspaper article could hasten visit Post Reporters
Burma's New Light of Myanmar changed its tune yesterday, praising Their
Majesties the King and Queen, whose historical trip to Burma in 1960 helped
strengthen bilateral ties.
The move is seen as a positive gesture for Bangkok and is expected to help
bring about an early visit to Rangoon by Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra.
He wants to salvage the diplomatic ties threatened by a recent spate of
border conflicts in the North.
The state-run daily, which criticised two late Thai monarchs for their
handling of Western colonisation in the mid-1800s, and angered the Foreign
Ministry, was full of praise for Their Majesties in its edition yesterday.
"This is the first positive sign from Burma that could help speed up Mr
Thaksin's trip.
"The visit is likely to be made in early June if arrangements can be
settled by the government's advance team," said a political source.
Gen Vichit Yathip, chief of the defence minister's staff officers, told
Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh of the development and a copy of the
article was faxed to the prime minister.
Some advisers had opposed plans, mooted this week, to speed up Mr Thaksin's
trip, unless there were positive signs from Rangoon.
"The premier was urged to be cautious in moving up his visit to Rangoon,"
the source said.
Speaking before he was told of the newspaper article yesterday, Mr Thaksin
was non-committal on whether he would speed up his visit.
"I don't want to discuss it in detail, especially when it deals with
national security," Mr Thaksin said. The government wanted good border
co-operation and believed tensions would soon ease.
The prime minister said he would visit Rangoon after arrangements were
worked out.
However, sources say the omens are good.
"Once a positive sign is transmitted directly from Burma, the premier will
decide when he will make his move. Now we have this sign," a source said.
In an article called "Placing loving kindness", Ma Tin Win said she wrote
the two previous offending articles because she wanted to rebut "slanderous"
accusations against the Burmese.
She recalled fond memories of a visit by Their Majesties to Burma in
1960.
She wrote: "The news photo of the King and Queen offering meals to the
eminent monks of Myanmar enhanced the view that we were of the same Buddhist
faith and aroused our loving kindness towards the country."Ma Tin Win said her
admired book collection included Maha Janaka , a book written by the King to
cherish perseverance.
She said she read the book with much devotion.
"It is obvious in the concluding parts of the book that the King has wished
to clean all the filth in the social, education and cultural spheres of Siam
with the teachings of Buddha.
"After reading the book, my respect for the King has been further
enhanced."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Post - June 01,
2001.
Illegal labour needs solution,
says PM
Gives his officials one month to deliver Yuwadee Tunyasiri
The prime minister has given the Labour Ministry one month to come up with
measures to solve the illegal migrant labour problem. Thaksin Shinawatra said
after a National Security Council meeting yesterday he wanted to see what could
be done to stop undocumented aliens becoming a danger to the country before the
next gathering of security agencies at the end of June.
Unofficial estimates put the number of illegal workers, mostly from Burma,
Laos and Cambodia, at more than one million.
Only certain businesses in provinces suffering from severe labour shortages
are allowed to hire workers who illegally enter Thailand. The law asks them to
register alien employees and pay the minimum wage plus other welfare
benefits.
In practice, however, employers shun registration to cut costs.
Registration fees come to 3,000 baht a head while aliens can earn as little as
half the legal daily wage.
Many aliens had moved to Bangkok and other big cities and joined organised
crime networks.
Many carried communicable diseases. Apart from health concerns, there were
growing worries that alien children born in Thailand would become a social
burden, because they had no right to education.
After August, authorities would start cracking down on unregistered alien
workers and sending them home.
Mr Thaksin said he wanted to know how many illegal immigrants were here,
and how many businesses needed.
He also wanted to know whether a new agency should be set up to deal
specifically with alien workers.
Mr Thaksin said he did not want the problem to drag on. He felt little had
been done since he left office as foreign minister in the first Chuan Leekpai
government almost a decade ago.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Post- June 01,
2001.
Editorial - Put on hold plans to rush to
Rangoon
The Burmese must be laughing their heads off. Those Thais, they are so easy
to manipulate. The trick is to play their leaders off against each other. Then
you never have to be nice to any of them. Treat them shabbily. Stand them up and
don't turn up for scheduled talks. Insult their kings. And still their prime
minister will come running.
Why is Thaksin Shinawatra going to Burma? The Burmese leaders have made no
concessions at all on any of the conflicts that have soured relations between
our two countries. They have made no gestures, showed no interest, in wanting to
pursue talks to resolve problems.
Burmese negotiators simply did not turn up last Monday at the long-awaited
township border committee meeting arranged by Lt-Gen Watanachai Chaimuanwong,
the third army commander, when he went to Burma in April. The Burmese members of
the committee left their Thai counterparts sitting at the Mai Sae district
office to twiddle their thumbs. They reportedly were acting at the order of the
military junta in Rangoon. They later said they were afraid for the safety of
their officers because of the hostility of Thai villagers. That is as lame an
excuse as they come.
The Burmese have been particularly provocative of late. Last week, they
shelled a royal project at Doi Angkhang in Chiang Mai, and last week and this
they published articles in the New Light of Myanmar-a mouthpiece for the
military regime-criticising past Thai kings for their handling of the colonial
powers towards the end of the 19th century. The two kings had saved Thailand
from being colonised and Rangoon knew it risked causing outrage in Thailand by
attacking them.
But it knew what it was doing. Out of the blue, Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh,
the deputy prime minister and defence minister, announced that Mr Thaksin and he
would be going to Burma as soon as they could cool tempers inflamed by the two
newspaper articles. Gen Chavalit, who prefers to use his chummy relationships
with the Burmese generals to solve problems, has no clear agenda for the trip,
but still he has apparently convinced Mr Thaksin to turn his back on protocol
and go along with him.
This is dangerous. It will be disastrous for both Mr Thaksin and Thailand
if he goes under these circumstances. It sends Burma the wrong message. Rangoon
will see him as a political novice and play him for the fool. It is under no
pressure to offer concessions and the prime minister should not think of leaving
home without any.
The prime minister should wait until Win Aung, the Burmese foreign
minister, pays Surakiart Sathirathai, our foreign minister, a return visit. One
is scheduled for later this month. The Foreign Ministry insists that this
protocol be observed before Mr Thaksin even thinks about going to Burma-and it
is right.
The government is trying to get U Win Aung to visit Thailand this weekend
to justify Mr Thaksin's trip. But the prime minister should first wait to see
what the Burmese have to offer. And then Thailand should speak with one voice.
Thai foreign policy under the Thaksin administration has been highly
confusing.
The military has taken a hard-line stand against Burma on drug trafficking
and territorial violations, but the defence minister prefers a softer approach
and has even suggested the loss of some territory is inconsequential and not
worth fighting over. The Foreign Ministry insists on proper protocol but is
being sidelined by the defence minister. Gen Chavalit should stop behaving as if
he is the foreign minister, and Mr Surakiat should assert his authority so that
all matters of foreign policy pass through his ministry. Then, perhaps, the
Burmese leaders will stop laughing and take us more seriously.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Nation - June 01,
2001.
Some foreign maids a threat to security:
PM
Citing the proliferation of illegal foreign workers as a threat to national
security, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday charged Labour Minister
Dej Boonlong with the task of finding a solution to the problem.
Thaksin stressed Dej’s research would include domestic maids from
neighbouring countries, adding that some were working illegally in the homes of
senior government officials and therefore posed a risk of intelligence
leaks.
After chairing a fourhour National Security Council (NSC) board meeting,
Thaksin told reporters that Dej had been instructed to present his findings at a
gathering of the NSC board scheduled for late this month.
He said that he hoped a clearcut and definite plan could be found to
resolve the issue.
Dej, who is also a deputy prime minister, said he would not extend the
current amnesty period for illegal foreign workers, which expires on August
31.
All foreign nationals found working illegally after that date would be
expelled from the country, he added.
Yesterday’s NSC meeting was also attended by Defence Minister Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh, Interior Minister Purachai Piumsombun, Armed Forces Supreme
Commander Gen Sampao Chusri, national police chief Pornsak Durongkaviboon, NSC
secretarygeneral Khachadpai Burusapatana and National Intelligence Agency
director Pummarat Thaksatipong.
Purachai said the government would seek to remove the problem of illegal
foreign workers, adding that they were responsible for many of the country’s
social problems.
The previous government issued measures in an attempt to get tough with
illegal foreign labour.
Authorities also cracked down on foreign illegals, particularly Burmese
working in factories.
However, the administration toned down its stance following pressure from
business operators who said they wanted foreign labourers for manual jobs that
were generally ignored by Thais.
Some 1 million foreign labourers are estimated to work illegally in
industrial factories, on fishing boats, and at construction sites.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Nation - June 01,
2001.
Burma should join Cobra Gold: Chavalit
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh said
yesterday that Burma should be invited to join Cobra Gold, the annual ThaiUS
military exercise, to strengthen regional peace and security.
He said such cooperation could serve as a form of deterrent to prevent
violence from occurring.
Thailand and the United States recently completed this year’s Cobra Gold
event, in which Singaporean troops also took part.
Chavalit also commented on Task Force 399, which was set up to deal with
the drug problem.
He said the Burmese junta was not happy with the task force, which has
caused tension between the two countries. “The Burmese misunderstood us and we
also misunderstood them,” he said.
Chavalit also contradicted an earlier statement about Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra’s planned visit to Burma, saying no date has been set.
“The purpose of the visit is to demonstrate Thailand’s sincerely in
promoting friendship and better understanding,” he stated.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Nation - June 01,
2001.
UNCHR withdrawal rumour untrue:
Surakiart
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai yesterday rejected reports that
Thailand was considering withdrawing from the United Nations Commission on Human
Rights.
“It is groundless and I don’t know where they [the reports] all came from,”
he said, after concluding a meeting with ambassadors and consulgenerals.
Thailand last year became a member of the UNCHR. There are 53
membercountries.
The body is regarded as a prime protector and promoter of human rights
around the world. Thailand’s term with the body expires in 2003 and as yet there
has been no debate about whether it will seek to renew its term.
However, the Thai Ambassador to the UN mission in Geneva, Veerasak
Footrakul, said there was a lot of politicking in the commission, as with the
UN’s General Assembly, where human rights had become nothing more than a pretext
to pursue other agendas. “There is immense pressure and the degree of emotional
intensity is very high,” said Veerasuk.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s position regarding Burma at the International Labour
Conference next month would depend on the ILO’s report in the wake of its recent
visit, he said. The mission’s aim was to conduct an objective assessment of
Rangoon’s compliance to ILO demands on forced labour. The mission’s entry
followed a pledge by Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Muang Win to the ILO
director general Juan Somavia to cooperate with the international community.The
issue will be discussed at a special sitting, said Veerasak, adding that he
expected the current pressure heaped on Burma would be reduced.
He said if the mission was not satisfied with the situation, there could be
another special resolution on Burma.
It will also determine whether there would be a commonAsean position in
defense of Rangoon or not.Prapan Hutasingh of Forum Asia, a regional human
rights NGOs, lamented alack of progress in the establishment of an Asean
regional human rightscommission.
He urged Thailand which has enjoyed the fruit of human rightsto take a
leading role in promoting other people in the region to taste adecent degree of
freedoms. He said it would be a mutual benefit that Thailand helped its friends
finda way to "step down from the tiger's back without being eaten by the
tiger".Surakiart sai the fourday meeting with ambassadors had enabled them
toclearly understand the thrust of the government policy and explain to
theforeigners.
“It is a kind of road show," he said.The meeting also meant to bring the
envoys to meet and exchange ideas withcivil society and businessmen.
"It showed the importance(thegovernment)attached to participatory
democracy".Among the new initiatives proposed are the linking of information
betweenprivate sectors with the foreign missions overseas, and urging the
envoysto promote the country's capital market based on cooperation with
theSecurities Exchange Commission.Surakiart also reassured that foreign policy
should nonpartisan for thebenefit of the country.
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South China Morning Post
Friday, June 1, 2001 BURMA - UN envoy to help push Suu Kyi-junta dialogue ASSOCIATED PRESS in Rangoon A UN envoy who helped start reconciliation talks between pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the ruling junta returned to Burma on Friday amid
reports that the talks were faltering.
Razali Ismail, who will be in the country until Monday, met with Foreign
Minister Win Aung on arrival, officials said. Mr Razali did not speak with
reporters and the government did not issue any statement on his visit.
It is not clear when Mr Razali will meet with Ms Suu Kyi, who has been
holding closed-door negotiations with junta leaders while being kept under
virtual house arrest.
Mr Razali is scheduled to meet the number three leader in the regime,
Secretary One Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, on Saturday. He will also meet with
representatives of ethnic minorities, according to his official programme.
The junta has come under widespread criticism, mainly by the West, for
refusing to hand over power to Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party,
which won the 1990 general elections.
Instead, NLD members have been subjected to harassment and arrests. Ms Suu
Kyi has lived under virtual house arrest since September 22, when she tried to
defy a long-standing travel ban.
This is Mr Razali's fourth visit since his appointment as the United
Nations' special envoy to Burma last April to mediate between the junta and Suu
Kyi. Mr Razali visited Burma in July and October last year and in January this
year.
After his January visit, he broke the news that the junta and the
opposition have been holding secret talks since last October.
Both parties have agreed to keep the content of the dialogue confidential.
There has been no news about the developments after nearly eight months.
Mr Razali's visit assumes greater significance in the light of reports by
diplomats that the talks are not showing any progress.
Last month the government denied that the talks were stalled and Win Aung,
the foreign minister, said the negotiations were not merely a "publicity stunt"
to appease the West.
Until October, the junta had consistently refused to negotiate with the
opposition if Ms Suu Kyi took part. The change of heart is believed to have been
brought about by Mr Razali, a Malaysian, as well as Malaysian Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohammad.
Burma has been ruled by the military continuously since 1962. The current
group of generals took power in 1988, gunning down thousands of pro-democracy
protesters nationwide. The National League for Democracy was formed two weeks
later. |