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BURMA RELATED NEWS - August 02,
2001.
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HEADLINES
---------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - ASEAN welfare ministers pledge to champion
children's rights
AFP - Return of Thai anti-drug officials
imminent: army
Dow Jones - Malaysia Min:Asean Won't Lose Out
>From Car Mkt Open Delay
Reuters - Grads from Mine-Sniffing School
Drool in Triumph
Bernama - Myanmar's Domestic Tax Revenue Up In
First Quarter
Bernama - Myanmar Cooperates With Japan In
Hepatitis Prevention
The Nation - THAI DETAINEES: Burma delays
release
Bkk Post - Fate of
missing seven unclear
Bkk Post - Just generals having a
jaw
Xinhuanet - Myanmar-ASEAN Members Trade Down
Slightly in First Quarter
Free Forum - Burma
called 'largest prison for journalists in Asia'
---------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday August 2, 6:53 PMASEAN welfare ministers pledge to champion children's rights SINGAPORE, Aug 2 (AFP) - Southeast Asian social welfare ministers ended a two-day conference Thursday, pledging cooperation to better manage the impact of globalisation and to protect children from violence, abuse and the effects of armed conflict. In a joint communique, the Association of Southeast Asian Nationsministers
said they discussed regional cooperation "so as to more effectively anticipate
and manage the social impact of globalisation."
Institutions for social development within the 10-member regional bloc
"would need to become more flexible" in dealing with opportunities and
challenges resulting from increasing globalisation, the statement said.
In his opening speech to the gathering Wednesday, Singapore President S.R.
Nathan pressed ASEAN to overcome fears about globalisation, saying it was the
"ultimate driver" to easing poverty.
He said social improvement would come from economic development "although
that inevitably brings with it some degree of social change and sometimes chaos
and pain."
ASEAN membership ranges from affluent Singapore to struggling nations such
as Cambodia and Laos. Critics within the grouping argue that globalisation will
make the poor nations poorer.
The ministers said their commitment to the protection of children's rights
within ASEAN was an "integral part" of efforts to reduce poverty among the
region's 500 million people.
In the declaration, the ministers commited to "ensure the protection of
children from HIV/AIDS and drug abuse" by instituting programmes and strategies
to halt the spread of the fatal Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and care for
its victims.
They also vowed to protect children from "armed conflict, victimisation or
deprivation of a childhood rooted in peace and joy."
Some Southeast Asian countries are faced with separatist and communist
rebellions, as well as other armed threats, with children often bearing the
brunt of dislocation.
In many cases, children are recruited as combatants by these armed groups,
some of them carrying assault rifles taller than themselves.
The ASEAN ministers also pledged protection of children from "all forms of
violence, abuse, neglect, trafficking and exploitation".
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Thursday August 2, 8:18 PM
Return of Thai anti-drug officials
imminent: army
BANGKOK, Aug 2 (AFP) - Seven
Thai anti-drug officials arrested by ethnic Wa fighters on the Myanmar border
are due to be released and flown back to Thailand late Thursday, an army
official said.
"They are now in Yangon and will leave later in the day," Colonel Nantadej
Makeswat told AFP. "They are expected to arrive Bangkok tonight by 9 pm" local
time (1400 GMT).
Thai Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh said earlier that the group
taken captive in Myanmar was safe and would be ushered back to the kingdom by a
Thai delegation.
"Last night I was informed that they have been found safe and sound in Mong
Hsat, and I hope that they would be flown to Yangon later today for questioning
before they are released," General Chavalit said.
He said Yangon officials had travelled to the Wa-controlled area to secure
the Thai group's release.
Chavalit said he had ordered an airforce plane to stand by for a flight to
Yangon to return the group, adding that a high ranking Thai delegation was on
hand to receive them in the Myanmar capital.
The Thai delegation that arrived late Tuesday comprises Office of Narcotics
Control Board deputy secretary general Chatchai Suthiklom, the Defence
Ministry's General Vichit Yathip and Thailand's ambassador to Myanmar, Oum
Maolanon.
On their return to Thailand, the Thai officials taken captive by the Wa
troops would be investigated by a special committee, Chavalit said.
He repeated earlier assertions that the arrest of the seven was not linked
to drugs or espionage, but they had merely gone too far across the border with
Myanmar.
The Thai officials, made up of four Office of Narcotics Control Board
(ONCB) staff and three army personnel, have been out of contact since Friday
when they crossed into the drug-infested border area controlled by the Wa.
The Wa, who have signed a ceasefire agreement with Myanmar's military
regime, are reputed to control much of the heroin and amphetamines trade in the
rugged border region abutting Thailand.
Thursday August 2, 4:36 PM
Malaysia Min:Asean Won't Lose Out From Car Mkt Open Delay KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--Asean
countries that think Malaysia's two-year delay in opening up its protected car
market would cause them to lose out on car sales are being overly optimistic, a
Malaysian minister suggested Thursday.
Rafidah Aziz, the Minister of International Trade and Industry, said
members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, that wanted to be
compensated for the delay don't have a case.
"Some countries feel if we open, they can sell lots of cars. They don't
have a ground to stand on. They are not selling many cars to us," Rafidah told a
seminar on the Asean Free Trade Area, or AFTA. She didn't specify which country.
Thailand has asked Malaysia for compensation after Malaysia won itself a
two-year reprieve from opening up its car market under a regional trade pact.
Asean groups together Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Under AFTA rules, auto tariffs will be slashed to 0%-5% by 2003. But last
year, Malaysia won itself an extension until 2005 to protect the local car
industry, which is dominated by national car maker Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional
Bhd. (P.PON)
Last month, Thailand gave Malaysia until Aug. 10 to agree on a proposed
compensation.
But earlier this week, the local Business Times newspaper quoted Rafidah as
saying the two countries have agreed to settle the dispute amicably and without
deadlines.
On Thursday, Rafidah said the countries will "keep talking in the spirit of
Asean."
She added that most of the auto sector trade with Asean countries was in
parts and components.
"So really, they shouldn't be aggrieved if we delay by two years. Our
deferment doesn't impact their supplying (parts and components) to Malaysia,"
she said.
Rafidah said Malaysia wanted its car industry to recover from the 1998
recession before opening it up to competition.
"We want to make sure the auto industry goes back to its feet strongly
before opening the market," she said.
Thursday August 2 10:47 AM ET
Grads from Mine-Sniffing School Drool in Triumph AK CHONG, Thailand (Reuters) -
The eight graduates finished their grueling preparation for the front line in
Thailand's battle to rid itself of land-mines, then panted and drooled in
triumph.
The eight dogs -- purpose-bred Alsatians, Dutch Shepherds and Belgian
Malinois -- were trained to recognize the smells of the most common explosives
and taught to comb small plots of land to find mines.
They are taught to sit beside a mine when they find one, reducing danger to
themselves and their handlers.
``A dog is one of many tools in demining...but they make it safer for
everybody else,'' said instructor Jerry Alonzo, who has trained dogs to demine
in the Balkans, Mozambique and Nicaragua.
He said a keen sense of smell, good temperament and healthy love for balls
are essential for a good demining dog.
The dogs are given a chewy rubber ball every time they find a mine, which
trainers said was the best way to motivate them.
Wars and unrest in neighboring Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar have left an
estimated 1,000 sites in Thailand contaminated with anti-personnel and anti-tank
mines, according to a 2001 survey.
Malaysian
National News Agency
Myanmar's Domestic Tax Revenue Up In
First Quarter
YANGON, Aug 2 (Oana-Xinhua) -- Myanmar's State Internal Revenue Department
(SIRD) received a total of 30.744 billion Kyats (US$76.86 million) in domestic
revenue in the first quarter of this year, up 31 percent from the same period of
2000, according to the latest official Economic Indicators.
Of the revenue obtained during the three-month period, 50.8 percent were
from commodities and services taxes and commercial tax, 31.7 percent from income
tax, 10.5 percent from profit tax, 5. 62 percent from state lottery, and 1.38
percent from stamp duties.
In Myanmar, individual citizen having an income amounting to 10, 001 Kyats
(about US$22.2) and above are assessed to tax under the Income Tax Law which
also covers cooperatives, companies and joint venture
enterprises.--Oana-Xinhua
Malaysian National News Agency
Myanmar Cooperates With Japan In
Hepatitis Prevention
YANGON, Aug 2 (Oana-Xinhua) -- Myanmar is cooperating with Japan in
prevention of the transmission of Hepatitis-C -- an emerging communicable
disease causing serious health problem to the country.
Hepatitis-C is a major cause of acute hepatitis and chronic liver disease,
including cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Myanmar is setting up blood donor screening for the hepatitis-C and
developing test kits, provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency
(JICA), Official newspaper The New Light of Myanmar today quoted Myanmar Deputy
Minister of Health Mya Oo as disclosing.--Oana-Xinhua
The Nation - August 02,
2001.
THAI DETAINEES: Burma delays release
The expected release of seven Thai anti-narcotics officials was delayed
yesterday because Burmese authorities wanted to question the seven about their
intention for entering Burma, General Pat Akkanibutr, an adviser to the defence
minister, said yesterday.
Pat said Burma wanted to know why the group travelled into what it called a
"prohibited zone" with a vehicle equipped with sophisticated communications
equipment. He said Lt Gen Khin Nyunt, Burma's intelligence chief, had given
permission for the release of the seven, pending further questioning.
"The vehicle they took across the border was equipped with sophisticated
communications equipment, such as a telephone and radio. This made the Burmese
authorities suspicious that their intention was to spy on its territory," said
Pat, quoting General Wichit Yathip, who was in a team sent to Rangoon to
negotiate the group's release. Wichit is the defence minister's chief of
staff.
The seven were abducted last Friday by the United Wa State Army, a
20,000-strong militia allied to Rangoon, after they crossed the border from
Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district to Burma's Tachilek township. They reportedly
wanted to pay respect to a revered monk at a temple about 30 kilometres outside
of Tachilek.
Four of the team were officials from the Narcotics Control Board, while
three were from the army.
Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, said the group's release could be
delayed until today.
"I was informed that the seven officials are now in the hands of the
Burmese authorities and would be handed over to the Thai side today," said
Chavalit in parliament.
"The Burmese side questioned why the Thai officials used an official
vehicle for a personal trip."
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said: "Even though are they
being interrogated by Burma, I don't foresee any problems as bilateral relations
have never been better."
Thaksin said he did not know when they would be released.
Bangkok Post - August 02,
2001.
Fate of missing seven unclear
Chavalit says they will be freed
today
Post Reporters The fate of seven Thai drug suppression officials believed abducted by Red
Wa guerrillas in Burma remains unclear.
Although the defence minister said he was assured by the Burmese prime
minister they would be freed today, Burmese border officials said they had no
idea where they were.
The seven Thais disappeared after they entered Tachilek town from Chiang
Rai's Mae Sai district on July 27.
There have been confusing reports as to their whereabouts. It was reported
on Tuesday night they had been placed safely in the hands of Tachilek
authorities and were to be released soon. But Thai authorities appeared in the
dark about their fate yesterday.
In Mae Sai, O Proon, a Burmese co-ordinator of the Triangle Region, met
Thai officials on the Township Border Committee and strongly criticised Thai
authorities for having said the seven were in the hands of Burmese soldiers in
Tachilek.
"That is not true. The fact is soldiers, police and officials in Tachilek
have not a clue as to their whereabouts.
"We were stunned by the report that they were in Burmese custody," O Proon
said.
"There are three military camps in Tachilek-Camps 331, 359 and 526. I can
assure you that the Thais have never been at these camps. What I can say is that
we don't know where they are and we are looking for them."He said Tachilek
authorities had a sleepless night scouring the town, but Thai authorities were
irresponsible to have said the missing Thais were safe in the hands of Burmese
soldiers.
Pornthep Iamprapai, deputy director of the Northern Drugs Suppression
Centre, said he was informed that a military officer was coming from Rangoon to
Tachilek to look into the problem.
The officer was reportedly sent to the area by Khin Nyunt, first secretary
of the State Peace and Development Council, in the belief he could order the
abductors to release the Thais.
A senior army intelligence source in Bangkok, who had been in touch with
Rangoon since Tuesday afternoon, said: "There has been no confirmation from
Rangoon until now where the missing seven are. We were told only that they
(Burmese officials) were still looking for the group."A large number of people
flocked to the Mae Sai-Tachilek checkpoint yesterday, expecting to witness the
release of the seven Thais. Among them were relatives of Capt Sanit Banthao, one
of the missing.
In Bangkok, Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh said he was assured by
Burmese Prime Minister Than Shwe at 5pm that the seven would be released today
at Tachilek.
He said Burmese soldiers could not reach where the seven were being
detained yesterday due to heavy rain
"Than Shwe told me no matter how heavy the rain Burmese soldiers would try
to get to the place where the Thais are being detained tonight (last night) and
negotiate with the captors for their release," Gen Chavalit said.
Gen Chavalit did not say where the seven were being detained nor did he
identify the captors or the group they belonged to.
He said only that the place where the seven were being held was 3-4 hours'
drive from Tachilek.
Their release would be unconditional, Gen Chavalit said.
Gen Chavalit confirmed that the four military officers and three civilians
went to Tachilek on a personal trip, not on an intelligence-gathering
mission.
The four officers are Col Duangkamol Sukhonthasap, director of Division 12
of the Supreme Command's Armed Forces Security Centre; Lt-Col Domsak
Khampirasaeng, chief of the Mae Sai-based Thai-Burmese border co-ordinating
centre; and Capt Sanit Banthao and Chief Warrant Officer Sathit Sithiprasert of
the Third Cavalry Regiment Task Force.
The civilians are Seni Waiwattana, Surasak Chanthawong and Thanu Rangsee,
all of them officials of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board.
Soldiers on a secret mission would not travel with their identities fully
exposed like this group of seven, the defence minister said.
He admitted an investigation was under way into reports that two kamnan in
Mae Sai district had sent a false signal to their contacts in Tachilek that the
seven were on an intelligence-gathering mission, leading to their
abduction.
However, Prasong Sikhiew, the kamnan of tambon Wiang Phang, one of the two
accused, strongly denied any involvement when questioned by Mae Sai district
chief Decha Satthaphon.
Bangkok Post - August - 02,
2001.
Just generals having a
jaw
We can all sleep comfortably tonight safe in the knowledge that all our
worst fears have been laid to rest. The man who would be foreign minister has
had a heart to heart with a brother in arms. u At home, it appears the annual
amusement of military musical chairs is almost a done thing, or so some would
have us believe. u Don't be fooled by the titles-something about a hollow drum
makes the most noise.
Candid talks in Rangoon last month between our defence minister cum deputy
prime minister and the Burmese prime minister are being heralded by the former's
unofficial public relations team as restoring mutual trust and confidence
between our two countries and opening a new chapter in our relations.
"Open discussions between Gen Chavalit [Yongchaiyudh] and Gen Than Shwe on
drugs and other border issues undoubtedly have dispelled any lingering
mistrust," said one wide-eyed member of the Defence Ministry staff.
Gen Than Shwe is said to have asked his fellow general for understanding of
Burma's position on the drug issue. He said the problem had been around for more
than a decade and had begun with some former ethnic rebels who had used the
money earned from drug trafficking to fight for independence from Rangoon.
The prime minister is said to have said the problem could be dealt with
effectively through regional co-operation and he was confident his country would
be drug free by 2014.
The Defence man said the two generals both were worried that lingering
suspicions over the possible involvement of Rangoon in the drug trade needed to
be addressed as this only added to misunderstandings between our two countries
and was hurting any co-operation efforts along the border.
Gen Than Shwe is said to have told Gen Chavalit it was vital that our two
countries trusted each other and were confident that each was working for the
sake of regional prosperity, otherwise there would be clouds over any future
collaboration.
"We have to build mutual understanding among our people and the military,"
Gen Than Shwe, chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, was quoted
by the Defence man as saying.
The prime minister is said to have said Thailand should not suspect Burma
of doing anything that might damage its neighbour and he was hopeful that
Thailand, in return, would not do anything that might hurt Burma.
Gen Than Shwe is said to have encouraged Gen Chavalit to raise any
suspicions that Thailand might have of Burma direct with Rangoon as this would
minimise the danger of misunderstandings.
He also is said to have said that "suspicion and mistrust will not lead to
a better relationship between our two countries".
Gen Chavalit is said to have said that members of the two countries' army
engineering corps and medical units should join together to strengthen ties and
understanding among people along the border.
Another Defence man said Gen Chavalit was surprised that Gen Than Shwe had
proposed that Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, the State Peace and Development Council's first
secretary, should head a delegation to Thailand soon to discuss co-operation on
fishing concessions and the drawn-out question of border demarcation.
"He [Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt] rarely travels abroad," said one of Gen Chavalit's
trusty lieutenants. "This clearly shows Burma has the strong determination to
strengthen ties and understanding with our country."
Myanmar-ASEAN Members Trade Down
Slightly in First Quarter
Xinhuanet 2001.08.02 13:26:14 YANGON, August 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Myanmar's bilateral trade with five member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines -- totaled 445.83 million U.S. dollars in the first quarter of this year, down 1.87 percent from the same period of 2000. According to the latest figures published by Central Statistical
Organization, the trade accounted for 39.8 percent of Myanmar's total
foreign trade during the three-month period with its import from these
ASEAN members amounting to 292.14 million dollars, its export, 153.69
million dollars. The trade deficit stood at 138.45 million dollars.
Of Myanmar's bilateral trade with these ASEAN member states during
the period, that with Singapore accounted for the highest volume with
203.98 million dollars or 18.2 percent of the country' s 1,117.79 million
dollars' total foreign trade.
It was followed by that with Thailand which took up 147.82 million
dollars or 13.2 percent. That with Malaysia represented 56. 85 million dollars
and that with Indonesia 34.28 million dollars.
However, Myanmar imported nil from the Philippines during the period,
but exported to that country with goods worth of only 2.9 million
dollars.
According to official statistics, in 2000, Myanmar's total foreign
trade, including the border trade, totaled 4.086 billion dollars, of which
its bilateral trade with the five other ASEAN members amounted to 1.651
billion dollars, accounting for 40.4 percent of the total.
Freedom Forum
Burma called 'largest prison for
journalists in Asia'
By freedomforum.org staff
08.01.01
Burma is "the largest prison for journalists in Asia," a fact-finding
mission by the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontières has concluded.
In a 20-page report issued yesterday, RSF recommended that the United
States and the European Union not lift sanctions against the Burmese regime
until 18 journalists "currently imprisoned for press crimes are freed and until
censorship is eliminated."
Noting that it was not possible to send a delegation into the country,
officially known as Myanmar, "to carry out an unfettered investigation," RSF
conducted its fact-finding mission, including interviews, with Burmese exiles in
northern Thailand. That gave the press freedom group an opportunity to update
the information it already had and "to record new cases of journalists" who are
imprisoned.
The RSF report comes two weeks after the regime released well-known
journalist San San Nweh, who had served seven years in prison for
anti-government reporting, along with 10 others.
RSF contends that "the situation concerning freedom of the press has not
improved one iota," and that "torture is still commonplace in prisons and
detention centers, and some journalists suffer from serious mental disorders
resulting from long periods of isolation."
RSF says that at least three journalists have died in prison, two because
of the general conditions, the third after being severely beaten.
The 18 journalists, the report said, "are detained in serious,
life-threatening conditions" and were sentenced to "stiff terms …. for having
'distributed news against the State,' for owning [a] video camera or for talking
with foreign journalists."
Another well-known journalist, Myo Myint Nyein, who has been jailed since
September 1990, "is very weak and suffers from mental illness. He was held for
more than eight months in a kennel in Insein prison," RSF said.
During their first months of imprisonment, political prisoners, including
journalists, "are repeatedly interrogated and humiliated to weaken them
physically and psychologically," and there is systematic torture, according to
the report.
As for those still working as journalists, RSF said that "censorship,
threats and arrests are still routine for journalists working for the few
private media in the country."
However, the report also contended, Burmese censorship is complete and
extends to the Internet. RSF reports that "military officials and their families
have taken over the press sector."
The only uncensored news available "is that broadcast by international
radio stations," and the report cited the U.S.-funded Voice of America and Radio
Free Asia, the BBC and the Democratic Voice of Burma.
"In many families, people listen religiously to news from the RFA or to VOA
press reviews," the report notes, citing the comments of a journalist living
near the border, who added that "the Burmese remain in contact with the outside
world through these radios."
The EU is to consider the sanctions against Burma on Oct. 28.
And The Sydney Morning Herald reported yesterday that the military regime
is under "renewed pressure to return Burma to democracy or face fresh
international sanctions."
Western governments and Japan are signaling impatience with the pace of
secret talks between the opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and senior
military officials that have been under way since late last year, the newspaper
reported from Singapore.
Senior Western diplomats at the annual meeting of the Association of
South-East Asian Nations in Hanoi last week said the United States and the
European Union were preparing to increase pressure on the junta if there was no
clear evidence in the next two to three months that it was ready to compromise
with the National League for Democracy, according to the Herald
story. |