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BURMA RELATED NEWS - August 03,
2001.
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HEADLINES
---------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - Thailand's billionaire PM rides wave of
popularity despite charges
ABC 0nline - ASEAN
members promise to protect the rights of children
Bkk Post - Secret seven safely back
home
The Nation - Seven
kidnapped narcotics officers return
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Official on
Seven-Thai-Official Incident
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Builds 10 Traditional
Medicine Hospitals
The Times Of India - US officials meet
Burma junta leaders
---------------------------------------------------------------- Friday August 3, 7:10 PM
Thailand's billionaire PM rides wave of popularity despite charges BANGKOK, Aug 3 (AFP) - The
telecommunications empire that Thaksin Shinawatra founded made him Thailand's
richest man, but his assets nearly turned into liabilities in an historic trial
that concluded Friday.
In a surprise decision, the Constitutional Court cleared Thaksin of charges
that he deliberately concealed part of his massive personal fortune, despite
widespread expectations for a conviction.
Ignoring the looming verdict, Thaksin has pushed ahead with his
government's policy agenda over the seven months since he came to power at the
helm of a multi-party coalition.
His public appeal remains undimmed by the trial, and his enormous
grassroots support is credited by some with helping save him from a conviction
that would have forced him out of office.
The legal nightmare is not the first serious problem that the billionaire
businessman, who began his professional life in the police force, has had to
negotiate since entering public life six years ago.
Running for parliament as part of the Palang Dharma Party in 1995, he
promised to solve Bangkok's notorious traffic problem within six months or
resign.
Thaksin famously failed to fix the gridlock and in the next general
election his party lost all but one of its Bangkok seats. Humiliated, he
resigned as leader.
In 1997, then-prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh asked Thaksin to draft
policies to salvage Thailand's crisis-hit economy, but the emergency measures
had little effect and the government eventually fell.
During its current tenure, Thaksin and his three year-old Thai Rak Thai
party held firm control of the 500-seat House of Representatives and briskly
pushed through costly but popular policies including a debt suspension plan for
farmers.
Under Thaksin, the government recently handed out the first payments in a
scheme to give a one million baht (22,000 dollars) investment fund to each of
Thailand's 70,000 villages to promote grassroots development.
He also eliminated opponents to his economic agenda, sacking the outspoken
Bank of Thailand governor Chatumongkol Sonakul after a spat over interest rates,
which the central bank chief fought to keep low.
Thaksin declared a war against drugs with promises to fast-track the
execution of drug convicts, with a record 19 traffickers sentenced to death in a
single day in July.
Relations with Myanmar deteriorated alarmingly during the first months of
Thaksin's premiership as fighting among ethnic militias along their border
touched off a brief clash between the national armies.
But despite recriminations over rampant drug trafficking along the
Thai-Myanmar border, Thaksin made his first official visit to Yangon in June,
and claimed the visit as a success that helped normalise ties.
A former police officer from the northern city of Chiang Mai, Thaksin
parlayed connections in government, law enforcement and the banking sector into
a string of low-interest loans and profitable contracts in the mid-1980s.
He and his family used these to build a conglomerate called Shin
Corporation which grew to include subsidiaries selling computers, mobile phones
and cable television.
Shin Corporation eventually launched Thailand's first satellite and made
Thaksin a dollar billionaire many times over. But that did not deter him from
going on to pursue his political ambitions.
After a brief stint as foreign minister in late 1994, Thaksin entered
politics in earnest in 1995, joining Palang Dharma before resigning and
assisting Chavalit with crisis management.
In the wake of Chavalit's resignation in late 1997, Thaksin formed the Thai
Rak Thai party from scratch in July 1998.
The new party, he said, would be "the strongest advocate of political
reform" and a powerful force for change in the notoriously clubby and
factionalized Thai political scene.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Australian Broadcasting Corporation
August 03, 2001.
ASEAN members promise to protect the rights of
children
Southeast Asian government officials have promised to protect children from
drugs, AIDS, child trafficking and other forms of exploitation still plaguing
the region.
Social welfare ministers from the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian
Nations adopted a Declaration on Commitments to Children in ASEAN after a
two-day meeting in Singapore.
In the declaration, the ministers agreed to protect, respect and recognize
the rights of all children ... consistent with the customs and traditions of
their respective communities.
They also pledged to protect children from all forms of abuse, neglect,
trafficking and exploitation.
Social workers say children from ASEAN countries Cambodia and Laos have
been trafficked into Thailand, another ASEAN member, to work in begging gangs or
to become prostitutes.
The meeting is the first for ASEAN's social welfare ministers since Burma,
Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam joined the regional grouping.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - August 03,
2001.,
BURMESE BORDER
Secret seven safely back home
Wa captors thought group on spy mission Seven Thai security and drug officials abducted inside Burma were
eventually flown home last night after being held for seven days by the
pro-Rangoon United Wa State Army.
No details of their captivity, or the reason for their trip, were
released.
Officials said only that there had been a "misunderstanding" that they were
on a spy mission.
A Burmese plane was sent yesterday to Mong Hsat, west of Tachilek, where
the seven Thais had been detained since they went missing last Friday. Poor
weather delayed the aircraft's departure from Mong Hsat, but they were
eventually taken to Rangoon, where Thai officials awaited them. All seven were
finally flown home in a Thai air force C-130 transport aircraft.
Arriving at Don Muang military airport shortly after 10pm, they were
welcomed by PM's Office Minister Thammarak Issarangkura na Ayutthaya, drug
suppression officials, relatives and a throng of reporters.
Gen Wichit Yathip, chief of staff officers attached to Defence Minister
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, as head of the Thai mission to Rangoon, praised the
Burmese leaders for their co-operation.
At a press conference, with the seven released captives lined up behind
him, Gen Wichit said he, accompanied by drug suppression and Foreign Ministry
officials, flew to Rangoon on July 31 on the instructions of Gen Chavalit.
He met Burmese officials on Wednesday. They said they learned of the
capture of the Thais only a day earlier.
On that day, Col Tam Kuay, a military commander in Tachilek, flew to Ban
Hong, a small village near Mong Hsat, where Wa soldiers have a camp. The seven
Thais were detained there.
Col Tam Kuay negotiated with the Wa soldiers who agreed late on the night
of Aug 1 to release them.
Gen Wichit said only that the Wa had acted on the misunderstanding the
Thais were on a spy mission because they were spotted taking pictures of places
in Tachilek. Their 4x4 Toyota Cruiser vehicle was well-equipped with
communications gear and this had further convinced the Wa soldiers they were on
a secret mission.
Gen Chavalit would give further details today, he said.
The Wa leaders agreed to release the Thais unconditionally, he said.
On their arrival in Rangoon yesterday they were questioned for less than an
hour before flying home.
Gen Wichit said the seven had not been tortured or hurt while in
captivity.
Chartchai Suthikrom, deputy secretary-general of the Office of the
Narcotics Control Board, also said the release of the seven was unconditional
and not in exchange for certain conditions as reported in some newspapers. He
denied the abduction was in retaliation for the heavy crackdown on Wa-produced
methamphetamines.
The seven were then whisked away in a van.
Yesterday morning, Gen Chavalit, also deputy prime minister, said the seven
Thais were abducted by Red Wa (UWSA) rebels and would be questioned on their
return to Thailand.
Although it was initially believed they went across the border from Mae Sai
in Chiang Rai province to Tachilek on July 27 on a personal sightseeing trip and
not on a spy mission, they would still have to give a full account, he
said.
An army source said Mong Hsat is a town in an area under the influence of
the UWSA. About 10km from Mong Hsat there is a village called Ban Hong, which is
a new site where Red Wa soldiers are producing methamphetamines. Drug production
was being moved away from Mong Yawn, the source said.
---------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation - August 03,
2001.
Seven kidnapped narcotics officers return
Seven counternarcotics officers kidnapped by ethnic Wa militia forces a
week ago arrived in Bangkok last night under heavy security following lengthy
negotiations that involved the country’s top officials, Burmese military brass
and members of the United Wa State Army (UWSA).
But they were not allowed to say a word to the scores of reporters who were
waiting at the Air Force side of Don Muang airport.
The seven stood in the background as General Wichit Yathip – the lead
negotiator on the Thai side – briefed reporters about the process leading to
their release.
Wichit said Burma’s role in obtaining the officials’ release contributed to
the betterment of Thai-Burmese bilateral ties.
Meetings with Burmese authorities started on Wednesday, Wichit said. Up
until that day, he said, Burmese officials did not know where the Thais were
being held.
The Burmese say they were informed about the kidnapping incident on Monday,
one day before the arrival of the Thai negotiating team.
Rangoon was informed about the whereabouts of the Thai officials just
before midnight on Wednesday, Wichit said.
Yesterday morning, the Burmese dispatched a military aircraft to a
Wacontrolled area in Mong Hsat district to pick up the seven officers.
The seven arrived in Rangoon late yesterday afternoon. They were debriefed,
refreshed themselves and left Rangoon about two hours later. They arrived in
Bangkok at about 10pm last night.
Immediately after the press briefing by Wichit, the seven were whisked away
in a government vehicle. They did not make any statements.
Wichit said Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh would make a statement
to the press today about the incident.
Earlier, Thailand’s drug czar General Thammarak Issarangura said the seven
would be instructed not to speak to the press about the incident, saying any
statement could offend Burma and spoil relations between the two countries.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Defense Minister Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh insisted that the incident would not strain improving ThaiBurmese
relations.
But officials at the local level said working relations with their Burmese
counterparts were likely to be strained. Some suggested that Burmese border
officials were indif¬ferent to the incident, allowing their Wa allies to abduct
the Thai officials, who were in Burma’s Tachilek township with the knowledge of
the Burmese authorities.
“If they were so helpful,” said one army officer about the Burmese, “the
seven officers would have been released four days ago.”
The Defense Ministry sent a C130 cargo plane to pick up the officers in
Rangoon following their hand over from the Wa army to the Burmese
authorities.
The group left a Wacontrolled area, Mong Hsat, about 60 kilometres from the
Thai northern border in Chiang Rai province.
It was not clear why they had to be flown out of Rangoon instead of
allowing them to cross back to Thailand through the Mae SaiTachilek border
pass.
The Thai officials four Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) staff and
three army personnel had been out of contact since last Friday, when they
crossed into the druginfested border area controlled by the Wa.
The 20,000 strong UWSA control an autonomous zone in Burma’s Shan State.
The group signed a ceasefire agreement with Rangoon in 1989. The group has been
dubbed the world’s largest armed narcotic trafficking group by the
interna¬tional community and a number of its leaders have been indicted in a US
federal court on charges of drug trafficking.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar Official on Seven-Thai-Official
Incident
Xinhuanet 2001.08.03 13:10:49 YANGON, August 3 (Xinhuanet) --
A high-ranking Myanmar intelligence official said Friday that the recent
detention of seven Thai drug control officials in Myanmar's eastern border
town of Tachilek by the United Wa State Army (UWSA), a Myanmar ethnic
minority army allied to the military government, would not affect the
relations between Myanmar and Thailand.
Major General Kyaw Win, Deputy Chief of Office of Strategic Studies
of the Defence Ministry and Deputy Director of Defence Services
Intelligence, made the remarks at a press briefing here after the seven
Thai officials, who are from the Office of the Narcotics Control Board of
the Thai Defence Ministry, were released by the Myanmar authorities and
handed over to the Thai side Thursday night.
Kyaw Win said the incident has come to a total settlement, describing
the UWSA's detention of the Thai officials as an inappropriate act and
warning them that such incident be not recurred.
The seven Thai officials' entry into Tachilek was purely a
cross-border visit to the area officially permitted by the Myanmar authorities
with no other purposes, he explained, adding that the prompt settlement of
the incident has signified the good relations between Myanmar and
Thailand.
The seven Thai drug control officials entered Tachilek on July 27
from Maesai of the Thai side and were detained and brought to the Wan Hong
area, 80 kilometers from Tachilek, by the UWSA who have been repeatedly
charged by the Thai side with being a major producer and supplier of
methampetamine stimulant tablets to Thailand.
A negotiation between the Myanmar authorities and a Thai delegation,
who arrived here late Tuesday, brought about the release of the
seven Thai officials.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar Builds 10 Traditional Medicine
Hospitals
Xinhuanet 2001.08.03 10:59:13 YANGON, August 3 (Xinhuanet) --
Myanmar has built a total of 10 traditional medicine hospitals in the
countries' 10 respective major cities including Yangon and Mandalay,
according to sources at the Myanmar Ministry of Health Friday.
The total number of beds of such hospitals in the country has reached
208, the sources said, adding that two more hospitals with 32 beds will be
respectively built in two other cities.
Meanwhile, over 214 township and district dispensaries have also been
opened, it said.
Myanmar traditional medicines, composed of such ingredients as roots,
tubers, bulbs, natural items and animal products, has in a historical
perspective represented the typical Myanmar culture and traditional values and
norms.
Due to the historical reason, the western medicines has flourished in
Myanmar over the years while the role of the country 's traditional medicine
gradually diminished.
In its measures to develop its traditional medicines, Myanmar
established the Traditional Medicine Department under the ministry in 1997 and
later enacted the Traditional Medicine Council Law and formed the Traditional
Medicine Council in 2000.
The country sponsored a Myanmar Traditional Medical Practitioners'
Conference in December 2000, attached with a traditional medicine and
medical equipment exhibition.
Meanwhile, Myanmar is planning to organize a Myanmar Traditional
Medical Practitioners' Association to strive for further strengthening and
maintaining the existing methods of traditional medicines, developing and
standardizing them.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar Exports More Fish, Prawn in First Quarter
Xinhuanet 2001.08.03 10:08:56 YANGON, August 3 (Xinhuanet) --
Myanmar exported 18,600 tons of fish and prawn in the first quarter of
this year, 41.98 percent more than the year-ago period, according to the
latest figures released by the country's Central Statistical
Organization.
Of the exports, fish accounted for 15,200 tons, while prawn 3, 400
tons.
During the three-month period, export earnings from fish and prawn
reached 30.65 million U.S. dollars.
There is a total of about 40,536 hectares of fish and prawn breeding
ponds in Myanmar at present and more such ponds, especially the prawn
breeding ones, are being extended in the country's seven states and
divisions along its long stretch of coastline of 2,276 kilometers
under a three-year plan, which began from June 2000. It targets to extend
such area to 48,600 hectares.
According to sources with Myanmar's Fishery Department, from June
2000 up to May this year, a total of 318,096 tons of prawn had been
produced from 55.48 hectares of prawn breeding ponds.
Myanmar is rich in fishery resources and the fishery sector is the
third productive mainstay of Myanmar's economy after agriculture and
forestry, contributing 7.3 percent to the country' s gross domestic product and
standing as the third largest foreign exchange earner.
Official statistics show that the country produces over 910,000 tons of
fish and prawn annually, the export of which covers 49 countries and
regions with nearly 60,000 tons, earning about 150 million dollars.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Times Of India
AUGUST 03, 2001
US officials meet Burma junta leaders BANGKOK: Senior US officials held talks in Rangoon on Thursday with Burma's
military junta leaders, state-run media reported.
A delegation led by US deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian
and Pacific Affairs, Ralph L Boyce called on the junta's number-three
Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, TV Burma said in a report monitored here.
Foreign Minister Win Aung and US charge d'affaires to Rangoon Patricia
Clapp attended the meeting, the report said without giving details of the
discussion.
It was Boyce's second trip to Burma this year. His first took place in
February, a month after President George W. Bush took office.
During that visit, Burma military authorities allowed him to meet
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi at her compound, where she has been held
under de facto house arrest since September last year.
The United States, which leads an informal international coalition which
has imposed sanctions and investment restrictions on Burma, is a frequent critic
of the generals, who respond by accusing Washington of interfering in its
internal affairs.( AFP )
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