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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BURMA RELATED NEWS - June 02, 2001. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEADLINE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - UN envoy Razali meets with Aung San Suu
Kyi, junta leaders
Reuters - U.N. special envoy meets Suu Kyi in
Myanmar
AP - UN Special Envoy/Myanmar: Mtg Held With Suu
Kyi
AP - Teen Leaders Of Myanmar Rebel Group May
Head To US
AP - Asia May Not Be Reader For New Basel Pact -
Ctrl Bankers
AFP - China cracks largest drug racket in 50
years, arrests heroin tycoon
Reuters - At least 12 killed in Myanmar train
crash
Reuters - Asian central banks seek sustainable
exchange rates
AP - God's Army Twins May Start New
Life
BBC - UN envoy seeks Burma
breakthrough
Bkk Post - PM to visit Burma early this
month
The Nation - 'Not quite' an apology
The Nation - EDITORIAL: The Three-ring Circus on
Burma
LA Times - U.S. Adds
12 to World Drug Kingpin Suspect List
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday June 2, 6:19 PM UN envoy Razali meets with Aung San Suu Kyi,
junta leaders
YANGON, June 2 (AFP) - UN envoy to Myanmar Razali Ismail met with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and top members of the ruling junta Saturday during his mission to promote the dialogue they embarked on last year, sources said. Razali and his entourage arrived in a fleet of three limousines at Aung San
Suu Kyi's lakeside residence for the late afternoon meeting.
Earlier, the Malaysian diplomat talked with the junta's influential
number-three Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt and its minister in charge of
economic development Brigadier-General David Abel.
The official press maintained a black-out on Razali's visit and no details
on the discussions were immediately available. However, sources in Yangon said
the envoy may see both Aung San Suu Kyi and Khin Nyunt again before he leaves on
Monday.
Razali's four-day visit comes as the historic dialogue between the two
sides on Myanmar's political divide, which he helped initiate last October,
appear to have hit a road bump.
Diplomatic sources in Yangon have said that splits appeared within the
regime when the talks reached a critical decision-making phase, and that some
elements have baulked at the prospect of introducing democratic reforms.
The junta's decision to allow Razali into the country after a break of five
months has raised hopes that he will be able to breathe new life into the
national reconciliaton process which could end four decades of military
rule.
There are also hopes that 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.
In another sign that the talks may have got back on track, Aung San Suu Kyi
met with senior officials in the ruling State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC) twice last month, on May 13 and 17, according to official sources.
The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) is optimistic that even
if Razali fails to nudge along the process this week, his visit may be marked by
the release of more of its jailed members.
"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."
Amnesty International last month rapped Myanmar over its record on
political detention, saying hundreds more prisoners were taken into custody last
year even as the regime embarked on the talks with Aung San Suu Kyi.
"At least 1,500 political prisoners were arrested in previous years,
including more than 100 prisoners of conscience and hundreds of possible
prisoners of conscience remained in prison," it said in an annual report.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday June 2, 5:00 PM
U.N. special envoy meets Suu Kyi in
Myanmar
By Aung Hla Tun YANGON (Reuters) - The U.N.
special envoy to Myanmar met opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Saturday
during a visit to Yangon which the international community hopes can revive
stalled talks between Suu Kyi and the military government.
Veteran Malaysian diplomat Razali Ismail held talks with Suu Kyi in her
lakeside Yangon residence, where she has been held in de facto house arrest
since September.
He also met the powerful Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, Secretary One of
the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), as well as
representatives of some of the country's many ethnic groups.
Razali helped broker the start of dialogue between the government and Suu
Kyi on previous visits.
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 have 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 ethnic groups have been getting
increasingly frustrated about the lack of news on the talks. Diplomats hope
Razali's visit, which ends on Monday, can reassure them and prevent the talks
unravelling.
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday June 2, 5:57 PM
UN Special Envoy/Myanmar: Mtg Held With Suu
Kyi
YANGON, Myanmar (AP)--Attempting to reconcile Myanmar's military
rulers and democracy advocates, a special U.N. envoy met Saturday with a
powerful figure in the junta.
It was the third visit to Myanmar by Razali Ismael since his appointment as
envoy in April last year. During his last trip, in January, Razali announced
that the opposing sides had been holding secret talks.
Official sources said Razali met with Secretary One Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt of
the country's ruling body, the State Peace and Development Council.
Details of the meeting were not immediately known and it was also unclear
if Razali would meet with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is being
held under virtual house arrest.
Razali, who will be in the country until Monday, met with Foreign Minister
Win Aung on arrival Friday and was scheduled to talk with representatives of the
country's ethnic minorities.
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.
After his January visit, Razali revealed 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 aren't 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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday June 2, 3:50 PM
Teen Leaders Of Myanmar Rebel Group May Head To
US
BANGKOK (AP)--Johnny and
Luther, twins who fought Myanmar troops as boys in the jungle, may be headed for
a new life in the U.S., a senior provincial official said Saturday.
The twins, now 15, their parents and followers of a rebel group known as
God's Army have reportedly begun procedures for resettlement in the U.S.
Phayakkaphan Phokaew, a district chief in Ratchaburi Province, 95
kilometers west of Bangkok, said U.S. oficials showed interest in accepting the
refugees.
He said Thailand's interior ministry had asked the U.S. to take in the
group.
"A representative of the U.S. Embassy came to interview 24 people: the
boys, their parents and other followers on May 11 and they will be interviewed a
second time by U.S. immigration officials before a decision is made," said
Phayakkaphan in a telephone interview.
The twins gained international attention in late 1999 when the Associated
Press and AP Television News met with them in the jungles of Myanmar, also known
as Burma. Gun-wielding Johnny and Luther exhibited traits of both hardened
soldiers and playful boys.
They had acquired near-legendary status as leaders of an offshoot of the
Karen National Union, a ethnic minority insurgent group which has been battling
the central Myanmar government for decades.
When Myanmar troops entered their village during a sweep of Karen areas
about four years ago, Karen National Union soldiers reportedly fled while the
twins rallied some locals and directed a successful counterattack.
After that, the twins' followers said the boys - who are Christians - had
powers from God. Their followers believed bullets couldn't hit them and mines
wouldn't explode under their feet.
Currently, the twins are living in a border patrol police base in
Ratchaburi. They surrendered to Thai authorities in January after fleeing
attacks by the Myanmar military.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday June 2, 5:13 PM
Asia May Not Be Reader For New Basel Pact -
Ctrl Bankers
SINGAPORE (AP)--Asian central
bankers Saturday said their countries may not be ready for the Bank of
International Settlements' new Capital Accord planned for 2004.
"In particular, infrastructure and internal capacities in some member
countries could limit their ability to fully implement the accord by then
(2004)," the Governors of the Southeast Asian Central Banks said in a communique
after a two-day meeting in Singapore.
Asia's 1997-98 financial meltdown rocked banks and economies worldwide,
drawing intense international pressure for reform among Asian financial
institutions.
The Basel-based Bank for International Settlements, or BIS, hopes to
implement by 2004 its new Capital Accord, which would give banking regulators
more power to assess whether banks have the capital to weather bad loans.
The BIS acts as the banker for central banks, providing financial services
for managing their external reserves.
The new Basel accord poses challenges to Asian banks and regulators,
Singapore's second minister for finance Lim Hng Kiang said earlier in opening
remarks at the Singapore conference.
Asian banks "would have to develop more sophisticated risk management
capability" under the new accord, and regulators would "need to build up
technical knowledge" to handle the accord, Lim said in the opening speech.
The Asian central bankers also said in their communique that there is a
need to use policies that prevent "excessive exchange rate volatility," which
can "have severe consequences for small, open economies."
Central bank representatives at the Singapore meeting came from Indonesia,
South Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri
Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand.
The meeting also included observers from Cambodia, Fiji, Laos, Papua New
Guinea, Tonga and Brunei's Ministry of Finance.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday June 2, 10:12 AM
China cracks largest drug racket in 50 years,
arrests heroin tycoon
BEIJING, June 2 (AFP) - China has cracked its largest drug smuggling racket in half a century and arrested a heroin tycoon considered a key figure in the Golden Triangle drug-producing area, state media reported Saturday. Police in southwestern Yunnan province caught up with Tan Xiaolin after a
year-long manhunt that involved intensive cooperation with police in Myanmar,
where Tan had sought refuge, Xinhua news agency said.
Tan was tracked down by Myanmar authorities on April 20 on the basis of
intelligence provided by Chinese police, and was handed over to Chinese
authorities three days later, the agency said.
Tan, born in 1962 in China's southwestern Sichuan province, went to Myanmar
in 1993 and eventually took control of the largest armed drug smuggling groups
in the Golden Triangle, it said.
Chinese police had followed Tan's operations, which focused on drug
trafficking and money laundering, for several years and gathered a massive
amount of evidence against him, Xinhua said.
Prior to Tan's arrest in Myanmar, Chinese police rounded up 18 members of
his gang operating inside China, bringing to 39 the total number of his
collaborators arrested since last year.
Along with the arrest of the gang members, Chinese police also confiscated
three tons of heroin, 28 motor vehicles, advanced telecommunications equipment
and a large amount of drug money.
Heroin trafficking has been on the rise in recent years in China. The drug
is often smuggled into China via border regions near Myanmar and Laos and then
re-exported through Hong Kong, Xinjiang or even Beijing or Shanghai by
air.
Chinese police have stepped up their efforts to combat the trafficking,
arresting more than 4,900 alleged drug smugglers and seized five tonnes of drugs
in the first five months of the year, the China Daily also said on
Saturday.
China is also seeking to stamp out cross-border trade in drugs by
increasing cooperation with neighboring countries.
China and Myanmar, along with Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, signed
an agreement in 1995 to work together to fight narcotics trafficking by reducing
demand, boosting law enforcement and encouraging crop substitution.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday June 2, 12:23 PM
At least 12 killed in Myanmar train
crash
YANGON (Reuters) - At least a dozen people were killed and several injured when a train came off the rails in Myanmar in heavy rain, sources at Myanmar Railways said. The official Myanmar-language Kyemon newspaper said the engine and four
carriages of the Mandalay-Myitkyina train were derailed near the town of
Kantbalu, 550 miles (885 kms) north of the capital Yangon.
The paper said the train was swept off the rails by "heavy rains and raging
mountain torrents". Sources said rescue efforts were still going on.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday June 2, 3:23 PM
Asian central banks seek sustainable exchange
rates
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Officials
from 11 Asian central banks called on Saturday for implementation of policies to
ensure the sustainability of exchange rate regimes.
A joint communique issued at the end of a two-day meeting of governors of
the South-East Asian Central Banks (SEACEN) grouping said such policies were
important as excessive exchange rate volatility could have severe consequences
for small open economies.
"It is therefore important to implement policies to ensure sustainability
of any exchange rate regime that members may choose to adopt," the communique
said.
"In this context, Governors noted that macroeconomic fundamentals of member
countries remained sound," the statement said.
According to the communique, the governors also considered the issue of how
supervision should be organised, including the effectiveness of having a
separate supervisor independent from the central bank.
"It was observed that no one model would fit all countries," the communique
said.
Lack of infrastructure and internal capacities in some member countries
could also limit their ability to fully implement the New Basel Capital Accord
by 2004, the central bankers said.
But they stressed on the need to work with international agencies such as
the Financial Stability Institute to enhance the implementation capacity of some
members.
Bank and corporate restructuring, regional policy mechanisms aimed at
stabilising exchange rates, and rapid developments in the new economy were the
main issues faced by a region already adversely affected by declining exports
and lack of new capital, Subarjo Joyosumarto, executive director of SEACEN
Centre, said in the communique.
SEACEN countries would have to continue with prudent financial policies and
structural reforms to sustain growth and recovery, Dono Iskandar Djojosubroto,
executive director for the South East Asia Voting Group of the International
Monetary Fund, said.
For future cooperation, the governors approved the setting up of an
electronic data exchange facility at the SEACEN centre to share data and
information among member banks.
SEACEN groups central banks and monetary authorities from Indonesia, South
Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri
Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday June 2 5:30 AM ET
God's Army Twins May Start New Life BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Johnny
and Luther, twins who fought Myanmar troops as boys in the jungle, may be headed
for a new life in the United States, a senior provincial official said
Saturday.
The twins, now 15, their parents and followers of a rebel group known as
God's Army have reportedly begun procedures for resettlement in the United
States.
Phayakkaphan Phokaew, a district chief in Ratchaburi Province, about 60
miles west of Bangkok, said U.S. officials showed interest in accepting the
refugees.
He said Thailand's interior ministry had asked the United States to accept
the group.
``A representative of the U.S. Embassy came to interview 24 people - the
boys, their parents and other followers on May 11, and they will be interviewed
a second time by U.S. immigration officials before a decision is made,'' said
Phayakkaphan in a telephone interview.
The twins gained international attention in late 1999 when the Associated
Press and AP Television News met with them in the jungles of Myanmar, also known
as Burma. Gun-wielding Johnny and Luther exhibited traits of hardened soldiers
and playful boys.
They had acquired near-legendary status as leaders of an offshoot of the
Karen National Union, an ethnic minority insurgent group which has been battling
the central Myanmar government for decades.
When Myanmar troops entered their village during a sweep of Karen areas
about four years ago, Karen National Union soldiers reportedly fled while the
twins rallied some locals and directed a successful counterattack.
After that, the twins' followers said the boys - who are Christians - had
powers from God. Their followers believed bullets couldn't hit them and mines
wouldn't explode under their feet.
Currently, the twins are living in a border patrol police base in
Ratchaburi. They surrendered to Thai authorities in January after fleeing
attacks by the Myanmar military.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BBC - Friday, 1 June, 2001, 16:17 GMT
17:17 UK
UN envoy seeks Burma breakthrough A United Nations special envoy has begun a fresh attempt to inject impetus
into talks between Burma's military rulers and the opposition.
The envoy, Razali Ismail, was met on arrival in the capital Rangoon by Foreign Minister Win Aung at the start of a visit which will end on Monday. During the visit he will hold talks with other members of the military
government and the opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
Mr Razali is scheduled to meet one of the three main leaders in the regime,
Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, on Saturday.
He will also meet with representatives of ethnic minorities, according to
his official programme.
It is not yet clear when he will meet with Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been
holding closed-door negotiations with junta leaders while being kept under
virtual house arrest.
Secret talks
This is Mr Razali's fourth visit since his appointment as the UN special
envoy to Burma last April, to mediate between the junta and Aung San Suu Kyi.
After a visit in January, he broke the news that the junta and the
opposition had been holding secret talks since last October.
is latest visit has assumed greater significance in the light of reports by
diplomats that the talks were not showing any progress.
A BBC correspondent in the region says that because nothing concrete
appears to have emerged after seven months, there is growing international
concern that the military leadership is using the talks to deflect criticism of
their rule.
Both parties have agreed to keep the content of the dialogue confidential.
Last month the government denied that the talks were stalled and Foreign
Minister Win Aung said the negotiations were not merely a "publicity stunt" to
appease the West.
House arrest
Until October, the junta had consistently refused to negotiate with the
opposition if Aung San 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.
The junta has come under widespread criticism, mainly by the West, for
refusing to hand over power to Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy
party, which won the 1990 general elections.
Instead, NLD members have been subjected to harassment and arrests.
Its leader has lived under virtual house arrest since 22 September, when
she tried to defy a long-standing travel ban.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Post - June 02,
2001.
PM to visit Burma early this
month
Sermsuk Kasitipradit Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has decided to pay Burma an official visit early this month and will also include Laos in his itinerary, a source said last night. "The prime minister has already decided to make a trip to Burma, and the
Foreign Ministry is looking for a suitable date for the visit that will include
Laos in his itinerary," said the source who is a cabinet minister.
The minister said Mr Thaksin and Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh
were very pleased to see a positive gesture from Burma through its state-run New
Light of Myanmar newspaper.
The paper on Thursday ran an article praising Their Majesties the King and
Queen whose visit to Burma in 1960 helped strengthen bilateral ties.
The article marked a change of tune as the paper had earlier published
articles strongly critical of Thailand and two late Thai monarchs.
Ma Tin Win, who penned the articles, yesterday sent more positive signals
in a new piece entitled "Siam in the midst of colonialists", expressing sympathy
for Thailand for having been unfairly treated by two colonial powers-France and
Britain-in the mid-1800s.
"The atmosphere has much improved in the past week, especially after the
New Light of Myanmar changed its tune. This positive sign will certainly help
hasten the trip," the source said.
A security source close to the defence minister said Gen Chavalit was very
hopeful that the impending visit would open a new chapter on Thai-Burmese
co-operation.
The Foreign Ministry yesterday said the Burmese media's show of respect for
Their Majesties was a "signal" that could lead to normalisation of ties between
the two countries.
However, ministry spokesman Norachit Sinhaseni said he did not want to
interpret the article praising Their Majesties as a full-scale apology.
Normal relations could not be attained until there was a complete end to
media attacks on Thailand, and relaxation of Thai-Burmese border tensions, he
said.
He confirmed that Win Aung, the Burmese foreign minister, would visit
Bangkok in the third week of this month.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Nation - June 02,
2001.
THAI-BURMESE FLAP: 'Not quite' an
apology
But story praising Thai Royals seen as good first
step
The Foreign Ministry yesterday said the Thursday article in Burma's
official mouthpiece expressing admiration for the Royal Family was a signal for
quick restoration of ties but stopped short of interpreting it as an
apology.
"If there are no media attacks against one another and no attacks along the
border, the tension between the two countries will ease," said Ministry
spokesman Norachit Sinhaseni.
Norachit was commenting on a May 31 article in The New Light of Myanmar
entitled "Placing Loving Kindness in the Fore", written by Ma Tin Win, the
writer of two earlier controversial articles Thailand deemed an affront to the
Thai monarchy.
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai has urged Rangoon to seek an
appropriate remedy to the damage caused by the articles dated May 21 and May 24
which described Siam under King Rama IV and Rama V as being enslaved to the West
despite maintaining its independence.
In her latest article, Ma Tin Win defended her previous articles and said
she had no intention of damaging the reputation of the historical Thai
monarchy.
"After writing articles, there appeared responses. Experience has made me
accept the response as it is natural and no one is to blame," she wrote.
Although she said she thought Thai politics dirty and had a bad memory of
Thailand for supporting the anti-Communist Nationalist Chinese invasion of Burma
after World War II, she said her respect for the King and Queen was an exception
to this.
Referring to her fond memories of their Majesties' 1960 visit to Rangoon to
strengthen friendship with Burma, Ma Tin Win recalled the news photo of the King
and the Queen offering food alms to the eminent monks of Burma.
She said those pictures reinforced the fact that Thais and Burmese were of
the same Buddhist faith and had aroused the Burmese people's "loving kindness"
towards Thailand.
Norachit said the article reflected the reverence that the writer and the
Burmese people felt for to the Thai monarch.
Emphasising that the Thai government had not sought an apology from Rangoon
for the previous articles, he said he would hesitate to interpret the latest
article as an apology.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Nation - June 02,
2001.
EDITORIAL: The Three-ring Circus on
Burma
The Rangoon junta continues to manipulate a divided Thai leadership, in
contrast to the firm policy of the past
True to the Burmese instinct, the junta leaders have gone to great lengths
to lure the Thai leaders and entrap them. The latest overture, through its
mouthpiece The New Light of Myanmar, is a classic example. By praising the
current Royal Family from the same poison pen, the Burmese leaders hope that the
Thai leaders will pick up and run. In their minds, the Thai leaders are nothing
but a bunch of clowns. As such, let them come and entice them and return
personal favours to them, then go in for the kill.
During the past 100 days, the Thai government has weakened its leverage and
submitted to the Burmese whip. In the process, the solid support of regional and
international communities has also gradually evaporated. For the past three
years, Thailand has maintained a firm policy towards Burma on bilateral issues
and aspects of political development inside Burma. While there was not any
progress, the tense relationship was at least manageable. Burma knew full well
that Thailand was backed by unified Thai policy-makers and strong endorsement
from the international community. The international coalition rallied behind
Thailand's approach to Burma.
For instance, at the International Labour Organisation's meeting last year,
Thailand's abstention from a crucial vote contributed to the further
galvanisation of growing pressure on Burma to deal seriously with its practice
of forced labour. Now Burma is complying with ILO requests and trying its best
to avoid further sanctions.
Looking at current relations with Burma, one sees a mess as Thailand takes
a marshmallow approach. Strange as it may seem, it has never occurred to the
Thai leaders that the Rangoon junta is manipulating them. If praise of the Thai
monarch, after unscrupulously attacking a past Thai king, can win back
admiration so swiftly, then there is a big problem in the Thai government.
For the past weeks, hardly a day has gone by without Deputy Prime Minister
and Defence Minister General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh uttering remarks that either
are incoherent or go against his two colleagues, Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra and Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai. It has become a
three-ring circus, with each one trying to win the Rangoon regime over.
Whichever way it goes, it will certainly lead to a disastrous end.
What is sad is that Thailand no longer has the kind of backing that it used
to receive, because the government has effectively changed |the nature of
dialogue on Burma. For one thing, Burma has succeeded in disseminating the
international impression that the current problems are of a bilateral nature and
that the Thai leaders are inconsistent. The international aspect of drug
trafficking and Burma's political suppression and forced labour practices are
being pushed into the background by the Thais.
From now on, Thailand, with its fragmented leaders and views, will be
subjected to divide-and-rule tactics by the Burmese junta. The eagerness to
score a diplomatic coup on the part of Chavalit, Thaksin and Surakiart will
bring them into collision one way or another in the near future. What on earth
do they want to do? One thing that we know: from now on, we are and always will
be the Yodaya losers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Los Angeles Times - June 02,
2001.
U.S. Adds 12 to World Drug Kingpin Suspect List
Reuters
WASHINGTON--The United States added 12 suspected international drug
kingpins, including seven from Mexico, to a blacklist aimed at blocking them
from laundering profits.
The names were added to 12 posted last year by the U.S. government under a
law that punishes individuals and enterprises that do business with the alleged
traffickers.
The Mexicans added to the list included Joaquin Guzman, alias "El Chapo,"
the alleged head of the Sinaloa cartel who escaped from a maximum security jail
this year, and Miguel Caro Quintero of the Colima cartel whose jailed brother
Rafael was already listed.
Also named were Oscar Malherbe de Leon and Alcides Ramon Magana, reputed
lords of the Gulf cartel; Jose Alvarez Tostado; Ismael Higuera Guerrero, and
Osiel Cardenas Guilln, an associate of Tijuana cartel bosses Benjamin and Ramon
Arellano Felix.
The jailed brothers Jose de Jesus and Luis Ignacio Amezcua, the former
"kings of methamphetamines" and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, brother of Amado, the
late "Lord of the Skies" and most powerful head of the Juarez cartel, were
blacklisted last year.
The new set of suspected kingpins includes Sher Afghan, Nasir Ali Khan,
Chang Ping Yun, Jamil Hamieh and Joseph Gilboa.
Burmese warlord Chang Chi-fu, also known as Khun Sa, who surrendered to
Myanmar's military government in 1996 and has since lived free in the capital
Yangon, was already listed. He was accused of being the main narcotics producer
in the Golden Triangle, where Myanmar (formerly Burma), Laos and Thailand meet.
Also named was warlord Wei Hsueh Kang, a leader of the United Wa State
Army, a rebel Myanmar group believed by narcotics experts to have stepped into
Khun Sa's shoes in the Golden Triangle.
The other people on the list issued a year ago were Noel Timothy Keith and
Glenroy Vincent Matthews, both of St. Kitts-Nevis, and a Nigerian
husband-and-wife team, Oluwole A. and Abeni O. Ogungbuyi.
The 1999 Kingpin Act, enforced by the U.S. Treasury Department, targets
foreign narcotics traffickers and their organizations in an effort to deny them
access to the U.S. financial system and all trade and transactions with American
companies.
Those breaking the law can face jail sentences of up to 30 years and fines
of up to $10 million.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |