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BURMA RELATED NEWS - July 29,
2001.
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HEADLINES
---------------------------------------------------------------- AP - Southeast Asia sweats over Sino-US
rivalry
The Star - Police
round up 123 illegals, 22 Africans
IHT - Rocking Burma: A Gadfly With or Without
Hair
ABC online - Bosses of
illegal trading companies to be charged in Thailand
The Nation - Easy Listening
Bernama - Asean Voyage Of Friendship Reaches
Brunei
---------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday July 29, 9:05 AM
Southeast Asia sweats over Sino-US rivalry HANOI, July 29 (AFP) -
Southeast Asia is feeling the heat from the strategic rivalry between the United
States and China with governments anxious for the two powers to iron out their
differences in the vital interests of regional stability and economic
growth.
The testy relationship shadowed a regional security forum here last week
attended by US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Chinese Foreign Minister Tang
Jiaxuan along with other foreign ministers from Asia and Europe.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which has spearheaded
the Asia-Pacific's only security dialogue under the ASEAN Regional Forum, fears
being forced to take sides if ever the rivalry between the world's only
superpower and its most populous nation comes to a head.
"I hope it will not come to that point," a top Southeast Asian foreign
ministry official told AFP. "If ever it does, it will cause political fissures
in ASEAN."
The crucial importance of stable China-US ties was not lost on ASEAN
foreign ministers, who met among themselves for two days before huddling with
their counterparts from North America and Europe in the Vietnamese
capital.
In a joint communique issued at the end of their annual meeting, the
ministers of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam "agreed that the stability of
relationship among the major powers, particularly the US and China, is important
to the region".
"It is very important. In fact, it is the single most important major power
relationship that ASEAN would like to see remain stable," said M.C. Abad,
spokesman for the Jakarta-based ASEAN secretariat.
ASEAN hopes that the meetings between Powell and Tang in Hanoi, as well as
the US secretary of state's ensuing visit to Beijing, will have helped clear air
turned thick by recrimination since President George W. Bush took office.
With the Cold War over, Japan mired in economic crisis and the Bush
administration still formulating its policy on Asia, China has taken on a higher
strategic profile as a regional power.
"US policy on Asia, and in particular China, appears to be still evolving,
and the relationship is yet to be fully defined," said Singaporean Foreign
Minister S. Jayakumar.
"Whatever the policy, the state of those relations will impact on the
triangular relationship between the US, China and Japan which has to date
provided balance in the strategic landscape in the Asia-Pacific," he said.
China's economic weight is also beginning to tell as the Asian giant
prepares to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO), posing a formidable
competitor to ASEAN countries for foreign direct investment and exports.
ASEAN Secretary General Rodolfo Severino said at the Hanoi meetings,
however, that China's entry to the WTO would pose not just a competitive
challenge but also a huge trading opportunity for Southeast Asia.
Trade between the ASEAN bloc and China has doubled from 1996, when Beijing
became a full dialogue partner of the regional bloc, to be worth 39.52 billion
dollars last year, Foreign Minister Tang said in a speech.
He also welcomed progress in a code of conduct being drafted to help ease
tensions in the South China Sea, where China is embroiled in a territorial row
with four ASEAN members over ownership of the Spratly islands.
Faced with the rising Chinese influence, analysts say there is a need for
continued US engagement in Southeast Asia as a counterbalance.
The region "holds the potential to trigger major crises without sustained
attention and cogent policies," warned a recent report by an independent task
force sponsored by the US Council on Foreign Relations.
"Southeast Asia remains important to American economic, strategic,
political and humanitarian interests."
Southeast Asia, a bloc of more than 500 million people, is the United
States' fifth largest trading partner, lies astride vital sea lanes and is home
to a number of emerging democracies, it added.
---------------------------------------------------------------- The Star- July 29, 2001.
Police round up 123 illegals, 22
Africans
By Simon Khoo
KUALA LUMPUR: Police in separate operations dubbed Ops Nyah and Ops Black
rounded up 123 illegal immigrants and 22 Africans over the weekend.
The illegal immigrants were detained at a construction site near Dengkil
and Cyberjaya while the Africans were picked up in Jalan Kuching and Jalan Raja
Laut.
The majority of the illegals were Indonesians including nine women. The
others were Bangladeshis and Myanmar nationals.
All were found without proper travel documents or working permits while the
Africans had overstayed.
During the raid at the construction site the immigrants were caught
off-guard and ran helter-skelter in a desperate attempt to escape.
The raid teams led by Deputy Supt Razali Mustapa and Chief Insp Lim Bak
Phoi with 40 personnel took about two hours to round up the suspects, aged
between 25 and 40.
General Operations Force central brigade commander Senior Asst Comm II
Sudin Ali said the illegal immigrants were brought back to the battalion
headquarters in Cheras for documentation.
"The illegals and the Africans will be sent to the Semenyih and Lenggeng
detention camp respectively before being deported to their countries of origin.
"Despite numerous raids, some developers are still employing illegals," he
said.
SAC Sudin said they also started a crackdown on Africans who were believed
to be linked to several illegal syndicates, one of which is the "black money"
scam.
SAC Sudin said police would step up efforts to rid the country of illegal
immigrants.
"We will like to remind those found employing or harbouring illegals that
they will be prosecuted," he said.
---------------------------------------------------------------- International Herald Tribune - Saturday, July 28, 2001
Rocking Burma: A Gadfly With or Without Hair Thomas Crampton RANGOON His appetite for sex, drugs and revolution may pale in comparison
with rockers elsewhere, but in Burma, Zaw Win Htut stands out as a rebel who
must fight to keep the government out of his hair.
. Literally. . A harsh military dictatorship once nearly toppled by a mass student movement, this government has a fear of spontaneous youth culture that runs so deep that comedians have been jailed for cracking jokes about national leaders. . As one of Burma's biggest rock stars, Zaw Win Htut faces constant government scrutiny of his lyrics, album covers and music videos, but some of his biggest clashes concerned the length of his hair. . While insisting that he has no agenda beyond pleasing fans, Zaw Win Htut's career has drawn criticism from all sides. . "Politics is a dirty word," Zaw Win Htut said in an interview at one of Rangoon's recently opened Starbucks-style coffee shops. "We just want the government to let us play our music." . The government first stopped his music in 1990, when it prohibited longhaired performers - of which Zaw Win Htut was among the most famous - from appearing on a public stage. . "Long hair means free spirit, so I refused to cut it," he said. . Tolerance had already increased from the 1970s, when wandering patrols of scissors-wielding police ambushed and forcibly trimmed longhaired youths. . Several years with long hair and no public performances convinced Zaw Win Htut to trim his flowing black locks, but it was not long before the government again took issue with his hairstyle. . Like many young Burmese men, Zaw Win Htut briefly became an apprentice monk, shaving his head. . Stepping back into the Rangoon rock scene, he kept his head clean-shaven, following a new fashion trend. The inevitable crackdown soon came with a ban on bald people from public performance. . During the decades of Burma's self-imposed isolation, rock music has only seeped into the country through those few who traveled overseas. Zaw Win Htut remembers small gatherings in Mandalay where seamen on home leave played smuggled tapes of Rod Stewart, Deep Purple and John Cougar Mellencamp. . Fascinated by these unfamiliar sounds, Zaw Win Htut carried his family's considerable fame - his grandfather and his mother were both celebrated musicians - into the next generation by forming a band in 1983. . Translating popular foreign hits into Burmese, the band saw its popularity grow as it recorded a dozen albums of cover songs in less than a decade. . Burma's rock and roll renaissance came with the heady atmosphere of change brought by the mass student movement of 1988. . Popular pressure pushed the government to ease restrictions on the playing of rock and even allowed the first-ever outdoor concert, an event attended by thousands. . Strutting up on stage to perform their rendition of Rod Stewart's "Sailing," Zaw Win Htut and his group walked off as one of Burma's first bona fide rock stars. . Calling themselves Emperor ("We want to be the emperors of rock"), the group also composed original lyrics that irked the government. . In "I Am the Conqueror," a song released shortly after the military crushed the student movement in late 1988, a son assures his mother he will win many battles in life. . "I did not write this as a political song," Zaw Win Htut said. "But the BBC played the song so many times that some people thought it took on a different meaning." . Another popular band, Iron Cross, led a more blatant rock rebellion several years later in issuing an album with the title "Power 54." The implied reference to 54 University Avenue, home address of the opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, prompted the government to destroy all copies of the album and intensify scrutiny by the department that musicians sarcastically call the Ministry of Rock 'n' Roll. . Lyrics, submitted in writing to the Press Scrutiny Department, must be approved and exactly match words sung on demo tapes. . "They hate screaming and they don't like us to shout exclamations," Zaw Win Htut said. "They like words, so most songs are about love." The album title, cover art and photographs each require explicit approval and may be subject to the whim of censors. . "They rejected one album cover because I wore blue jeans instead of a longyi," Zaw Win Htut said, referring to the Burmese sarong. "We had to reshoot the photograph in traditional dress." . Despite his clashes with the government, Zaw Win Htut has also been criticized for keeping close relations with Burma's despised military. . Fellow musicians and fans accuse him of selling out with an album released shortly after he chopped off his hair in order to resume public performances. The album, a series of songs praising Burma's pagan-era kings that was co-written with an army major, was considered by many to be blatant pro-regime propaganda. Burma's leaders often assert their legitimacy by drawing links to the all-conquering 11th-century kings. . "My fans didn't like the album, because they thought it supported the government," Zaw Win Htut said. "Truth is, I had long wanted to write about this theme, and my good friend who wrote the lyrics just happened to be in the army." . The suspicions against him were not without basis. Burma's military has, with limited success, often employed popular singers to support its cause. . Zaw Win Htut's grandfather, Shwe Taine Nyunt, composed songs denouncing Britain's colonial rule and a famous marching song of tribute to the dying independence hero and father to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, General Aung San. . Still a well-known tune, "Only the Army Can Save the Country" is frequently played by the government radio station on national holidays. . This penchant for patriotic tunes has banished rock music from the airwaves and eliminated any chance of a reliable top-40 list. Burma's only domestic broadcaster, Radio Myanmar, serves a steady stream of old-style music and propaganda broken by just 30 minutes of popular music each week. . The music shops crowded along Barr Street informally compile their own top-10 lists, but a more neutral measure of popularity is those songs most frequently played by cover bands at popular hangouts like Hurricane or Playboy. . Even celebrity flamed by controversy does not guarantee a rock star wealth in Burma. . Cassette tapes, of which popular musicians aspire to sell 50,000, sell for 400 kyats each, a bit more than 60 cents. Compact disks, still a relatively new technology, retail for about 1,300 kyats, but sales are often lost to pirate copies that sell for 700 kyats each. . To earn extra cash, Zaw Win Htut rents out his recording studio and created his own Emperor Music Group recording label. He has acted in television commercials and is now featured on billboards promoting Max Cola. . He and his wife live in a modest suburban Rangoon home where their bedroom doubles up as a sound booth for recording vocals. . His main rock star indulgences are snakeskin boots and a red 1963 Chevrolet Impala. . The establishment air about Zaw Win Htut's lifestyle fits with his current drift away from the cutting edge of youth culture. . While techno and rap took Rangoon by storm last year, Zaw Win Htut released an album combining rock rhythms with traditional melodies played by instruments like gongs used by the Shan ethnic minority. In June he released what may be Burma's first original blues album. . Despite this new creative direction, Zaw Win Htut still considers himself a liberated rebel rocker. . "By now I do not notice the censorship," Zaw Win Htut said. "For me, it is all about the music and not the lyrics. Listening to the music I forget everything." ---------------------------------------------------------------- ABC online - July 29,
2001.
Bosses of illegal trading companies to
be charged in Thailand
The Australian and Irish bosses of two "boiler room" stock trading
companies uncovered by police in Thailand, will be charged with violating the
country's securities regulations and could face up to five years in jail.
But 78 other foreigners arrested in raids on the two firms - accused of
defrauding Australian and other investors of millions of dollars - were given
small fines for immigration offences and working in Thailand without a permit.
They were mostly low-level employees accused of making high-pressure sales
pitches over the phone to convince would-be investors to purchase shares in
shaky or non-existent companies.
In all, the salespeople included 33 Britons, 10 Americans, nine
Australians, eight Irish, seven Filipinos and nationals of India, New Zealand,
Burma, Malaysia, Spain and Singapore.
Police say the two managing directors of the raided companies, Brinton
Group and Benson Dupont Capital Management, would be charged later.
---------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation – July 28,
2001.
Easy Listening Burma’s military government plans to liven up Rangoon’s airwaves with
‘light and entertaining broadcasts from a new FM radio station to be launched by
the end of the year, a report said yesterday.
The City Development Committee will run the station from city hall,
treating listeners to a potpourri of daily traffic reports, city news and
entertainment, The Burmese Language Myanmar Times reported.
The committee expects to deploy a team of reporters across the city who
will file dispatches via walkie – talkie to the station while providing ‘early
warning’ traffic reports for motorists who tune in.
Programmes airing on the station will be ‘light and entertaining’ and
unlike the decidedly more stern broadcasts heard on Burma’s state radio. Western
and Burmese music will also be featured.
More than US$ 100,000 (Bt 4.6 million) worth of broadcast gear has
reportedly been ordered from Singapore to equip the station.
According to the report, the radio station will be broadcast on the 99Mhz
frequency.
The radio station would be the latest modern amenity in Rangoon, a city of
5.5 million inhabitants where posh residential houses, shopping malls and
high-rise office buildings have become increasingly common.
The FM station is slated to begin broadcasting by November.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Malaysian National News Agency
July 28 , 2001 20:49PM
Asean Voyage Of Friendship Reaches
Brunei
KOTA KINABALU, July 28 (Bernama) -- A three-member crew of the Asean
Voyage of Friendship 2001, on a mission to Asean-member countries to present the
SEA Games invitation scroll, Saturday reached Brunei Darussalam after completing
their trip to Jakarta and Manila last week.
Today's mission was headed by Abdul Latif Endot, the Senior Private
Secretary to Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Hishammuddin Tun Hussein and two
Rakan Muda junior pilots Mansor Sarip and Suhaila Mohd Zaini.
"We landed safely at Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Airport in Bandar Seri Begawan
at 3.15pm today after departing Kota Kinabalu at about 1.30pm. We made a brief
stopover along the way at Labuan Airport," he told BERNAMA when contacted in
Brunei.
They flew in to the oil-rich Sultanate on a four-seater Cessna 172P of the
Sabah Flying Club piloted by Capt Richard Ong, the club's resident flying
instructor.
Latif said the voyage to Brunei was smooth except for some heavy clouds
along the way.
He is scheduled to present the invitation scroll to Brunei's Youth and
Sports Minister Dr Awang Hussein Awang Mohd Yusof at 7.30pm tonight.
The scroll is to invite the leaders and the people in Asean to come to
Kuala Lumpur for the 21st SEA Games hosted by Malaysia from Sept 8 to 17.
The crew will return to Sabah enroute to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow. They are
expected to make a similar voyage to Singapore on Monday.
Prior to Brunei, the crew had covered 1,538 nautical miles of flight.
After Singapore, they will cover the northern route to fly to Yangon,
Vientiane, Hanoi, Phnom Penh and Bangkok before returning to Malaysia in time
for the National Day parade in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 31.
The whole journey will cover more than 8,000 nautical miles.
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