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BURMA RELATED NEWS - August 21,
2001.
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HEADLINES
------------------------------------------------------------------ BBC - Megawati sets off on Asean
tour
AP - Megawati Arrives in
Philippines
The Nation - Policy to
allow aliens more jobs
AFP - Thai Prime Minister Thaksin leads ASEAN
pilgrimage to Singapore
AFP - Thai, Philippine, Indonesian leaders to
visit Singapore
AFP - Indonesia's Megawati starts regional tour
in Philippines
Reuters - Malaysia considering cane for
illegal immigrants
------------------------------------------------------------------ BBC - Tuesday, 21 August, 2001, 12:52
GMT 13:52 UK
Megawati sets off on Asean tour The Indonesian President, Megawati Sukarnoputri, has begun her first
foreign trip since she assumed office last month.
She arrived in the Philippines at the start of a brief visit to all the countries of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean). On what will be a whirlwind tour, President Megawati will travel to all
nine other member countries of the Asean grouping in just a week.
An Indonesian foreign office official told the BBC it was a tradition for
newly installed leaders of Asean member states to visit their counterparts.
Economic and other ties
Megawati met Philippine President Gloria Arroyo.
The two discussed numerous issues, including efforts to deal with Muslim
separatist rebels in the southern Philippines and ways of improving trade ties
between the two nations.
Megawati will depart for Vietnam on Wednesday and then visit Laos,
Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia before returning to
Jakarta on 28 August.
Mrs Arroyo's father, Diosdado Macapagal, was a former president of the
Philippines, and Megawati is the daughter of Indonesia's founding president
Sukarno.
"Since our fathers were like brothers, we should be like sisters," Mrs
Arroyo has said.
Stability
The trip is also an indication Megawati intends to make Asean a priority of
her foreign policy, the BBC correspondent in Jakarta says.
Indonesia is a founding member of the organisation and is regarded as one
of its most important member states.
But the political and economic crises of the past four years have
undermined Jakarta's leading role within the regional grouping.
This became even more pronounced under former President Wahid, our
correspondent says.
His erratic approach to statesmanship ruffled many feathers in the region,
in particular in Singapore after he made a particularly undiplomatic outburst
during a visit there.
The former president also proposed the establishment of a separate regional
organisation: the West Pacific Forum.
It seems Megawati, on the other hand, will focus on restoring a more stable
relationship with Asean.
Soon after returning from this first foreign tour, she will be travelling
abroad to Bosnia and the United States, where she will meet President Bush and
address the United Nations General Assembly. She will then visit Japan.
------------------------------------------------------------------ Megawati Arrives in
Philippines
The Associated Press, Tue 21 Aug 2001 MANILA, Philippines (AP) —
Struck by their similar upbringings, problems and challenges, Indonesian leader
Megawati Sukarnoputri and the Philippines' Gloria Macapagal Arroyo met Tuesday
to reminisce and talk about troubles of the present.
Both are daughters of ex-presidents, both rule troubled Southeast Asian
nations and both recently swept to power under similar circumstances.
Megawati met Arroyo for the first time as president in Manila on her first
stop in an eight-day, whirlwind tour of nine other members of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations.
The two leaders were to discuss ways to further link their agriculture,
fisheries and trade. They will also compare anti-poverty programs, the
centerpiece platforms of their governments, said Arroyo spokesman Rigoberto
Tiglao.
Arroyo will also thank Megawati for Indonesia's role in solving the
decades-old Muslim separatist insurrection in the southern Philippines, he said.
Indonesia has offered to host ongoing talks between the Philippine government
and a large Muslim separatist rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Arroyo has looked forward to meeting Megawati, saying her links with her
Indonesian counterpart go way back.
``Since our fathers were like brothers, we should be like sisters,'' Tiglao
quoted her as saying.
Many have been amused by the striking similarities in the life and rise to
power of Arroyo and Megawati, both 54.
Arroyo is the daughter of late Philippine president Diosdado Macapagal, who
ruled for four years to 1965, a year before the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos
began his 20-year reign.
Megawati's father is the late Indonesian founding president, Sukarno, who
was deposed in 1966 by one of his generals, Suharto.
Both women were swept to power this year with the backing of their
respective militaries to replace predecessors — Joseph Estrada of the
Philippines and Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia — accused of incompetence and
misrule.
Both women now preside over populous nations besieged by economic and
political crises and burdened by separatist rebellions.
Despite their past links and common woes, some doubt these similarities can
help them deal with burgeoning problems at home.
``It's just a photo-op,'' said political analyst Nelson Navarro. ``It's
good to look at these two women leaders as symbols but we should not overdraw or
expect too much from this.
``In the end, both ... face very serious problems at home separately,'' he
said.
Megawati is scheduled to travel to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar,
Thailand, Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia before returning to Jakarta on Aug. 28.
Her cabinet ministers said the trip marked the importance of relations with
the countries that are grouped with Indonesia in the Association of South East
Asian Nations.
Indonesia is the largest member of 10-member ASEAN that it helped found in
1967 to foster closer economic and political ties.
------------------------------------------------------------------ The Nation - August 21,
2001.
Policy to allow aliens more jobs
Published on Aug 21, 2001
Thailand will by the end of next month launch a new labour policy to allow
illegal workers to register and work on Thai soil, Labour and Social Welfare
Minister Dej Bunlong said yesterday.
The policy cannot be started earlier as the ministry needs time to prepare
documents and personnel, Dej said.
"Registration under the new labour policy is expected to start on September
29," Dej said.
The current labour policy, initiated under the Chuan government, allows
aliens illegally working in Thailand to register and work in a limited field of
jobs. It was initiated to cope with the presence of millions of alien workers.
However, the policy is not working as only a small number have shown up to
register.
This new programme, initiated by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's
government, will broaden the number of careers the workers can legally be
employed in.
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said that his ministry would be
responsible for explaining the new policy to foreign countries.
He said Thailand would ask for cooperation from its neighbours Burma, Laos
and Cambodia.
Most of the alien workers in Thailand come from those three countries, and
the largest number from Burma.
------------------------------------------------------------------ Tuesday August 21, 2:28 PM
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin leads ASEAN pilgrimage to Singapore SINGAPORE, Aug 21 (AFP) - Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will arrive here Wednesday for an official visit at the head of a procession of three newly installed Southeast Asian leaders. Thaksin, who narrowly escaped a guilty verdict in a graft trial earlier
this month, will hold talks with Singapore President S.R. Nathan, Prime Minister
Goh Chok Tong and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew during his two-day visit, the
Singapore foreign ministry said.
The Thai leader will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Surakiart
Sathirathai, Finance Minister Somkid Jatusripitak and other senior aides.
Coming on the heels of Thaksin's visit will be President Gloria Arroyo of
the Philippines who will arrive on Friday.
Newly installed Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri will follow on
Sunday as part of a swing to fellow members of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN).
All three visiting leaders will also give public lectures.
In an interview in Manila with a group of Southeast Asian journalists,
Arroyo said ASEAN must look at its own strengths to help the 10-member regional
bloc weather the current economic downturn.
"Even as we look for new products and new markets for diversification, it
is important that we look within ourselves," she said in the interview
Monday.
"For ASEAN as a whole, I wish that we could work more closely," said
Arroyo, the former vice president who was swept to power in January after a
popular uprising ousted the graft-tainted president Joseph Estrada.
Megawati, who also rose dramatically to the presidency after parliament
sacked Abdurrahman Wahid as president in July, is already in Manila on the first
leg of her ASEAN tour.
Both the fathers of Arroyo and Megawati -- former Philippine president
Diosdado Macapagal and former Indonesian president Sukarno -- were stalwarts of
ASEAN, which was originally founded in 1967 as a bastion against the rising
communist influence in the region.
As ASEAN's biggest member, the political instability that dogged Indonesia
following the fall of dictator Suharto in 1998 had also cast a shadow on the
grouping, which is struggling to refurbish its image before foreign
investors.
The other ASEAN members are Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Singapore and Vietnam.
------------------------------------------------------------------ Tuesday August 21, 4:37 PM
Thai, Philippine, Indonesian leaders to visit Singapore SINGAPORE, Aug 21 (AFP) - Three
Southeast Asian leaders will visit Singapore this week in a flurry of diplomacy
aimed at cementing ties and shoring up investor confidence in the region amid a
global downturn.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will arrive Wednesday at the head of
the procession that also includes Philippine President Gloria Arroyo and
Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri.
Analysts said the visits would strengthen ties within the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and improve investor perception of the 10-member
regional block, which has been dogged by the political troubles of key
members.
Thaksin, who narrowly escaped a guilty verdict in a graft trial earlier
this month, will hold talks with Singapore President S.R. Nathan, Prime Minister
Goh Chok Tong and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew during his two-day visit, the
Singapore foreign ministry said.
Coming on the heels of Thaksin's visit will be Arroyo of the Philippines
who will arrive on Friday.
Megawati will follow on Sunday as part of a swing to fellow members of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
"The visits of the leaders of Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand to
Singapore represent those countries' commitment to ASEAN. They are a recognition
of the region's economic interdependence where Singapore plays an important
part," said M.C. Abad, spokesman of the ASEAN secretariat.
"The return of political stability in Southeast Asia removes a major source
of negative perception of the region's economic outlook," he told AFP by
telephone from the secretariat's office in Jakarta.
"We expect to see the resumption of investors' confidence in ASEAN's
ability to regain its competitive advantages," Abad said.
A leadership crisis that gripped the Philippines under Joseph Estrada and
Indonesia under Abdurrahman Wahid, as well as political uncertainty following
Thaksin's trial on graft, have been cited by analysts as investment
dampeners.
Estrada was toppled by a military-backed popular uprising in January,
clearing the way for then vice president Arroyo to assume power. Wahid was
sacked by parliament in July, sweeping Megawati to power. Thaksin was cleared of
the graft charges early this month.
Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore are key members of ASEAN
which also includes Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Economists said that while the visits will help improve ASEAN's image as a
stable region, the key to luring investors lies in the implementation of
structural reforms which have been sidetracked due to Southeast Asia's
quicker-than-expected recovery from the 1997-1998 financial crisis.
"Over the longer term, I guess Arroyo in the Philippines, Megawati and
Thaksin will have to prove themselves in trying to restructure and reform their
economies," said Eddie Lee, an economist with Vickers Ballas research house in
Singapore.
"If they are able to carry out what they have said they would like to do,
then in the longer term that should put their economies on a better footing with
regards to investor perception," he said.
Jose Tongzon, an economist at the National University of Singapore, said
one effect of the visits will be "to show prospective investors that ASEAN is
still united."
But he said the leaders should go beyond renewing acquaintances and
cementing political ties to discuss hastening the implementation of an ASEAN
Free Trade Area (AFTA) and carrying out economic reforms.
"The bottomline is that the member countries must really get their houses
in order," Tongzon said.
In an interview in Manila with a group of Southeast Asian journalists
before her visit, Arroyo said ASEAN must look at its own strengths to weather
the current economic downturn.
"Even as we look for new products and new markets for diversification, it
is important that we look within ourselves," she said, adding that "for ASEAN as
a whole, I wish that we could work more closely."
------------------------------------------------------------------ Tuesday August 21, 7:07 PM
Indonesia's Megawati starts regional tour in Philippines MANILA, Aug 21 (AFP) - Indonesian leader Megawati Sukarnoputri met her Philippines counterpart Gloria Arroyo here Tuesday for wide-ranging talks on common problems that run from poverty to Muslim separatist rebellions. Megawati, on her first trip abroad since becoming president last month,
said she briefed Arroyo on the "recent situation in Indonesia, including my
programs in dealing with various problems we confront."
The two leaders discussed "mutual concerns" and pledged to "find new
opportunities to enhance our bilateral ties and multilateral cooperation,"
Megawati said in a statement she read to reporters after the private meeting at
Malacanang palace.
Megawati, her husband Taufiq Kemas, and her official party arrived in
Manila in early afternoon to start a nine-nation tour of Southeast Asian
neighbors. She flies to Vietnam early Wednesday.
Arroyo said the two leaders sat down to "reminisce the common struggles
that we share against poverty, oppression and injustice".
She thanked Jakarta for helping her government "redeem the peace in
Mindanao", the southern region wracked by three decades of Muslim separatist
rebellion.
Indonesia helped broker talks that led to Manila signing a peace treaty
with one Muslim rebel faction in 1996. It has offered to host ongoing talks
between the Philippines and a second rebel group.
"Indonesia will continue to work closely with the Philippines to further
strengthen our relations and work toward our common interest of ensuring
continued regional peace, stability and prosperity," Megawati said.
The Indonesian leader, who has maintained a hardline on similar separatist
movements in her country, told Arroyo that "they have their own special
concerns" in that area, the Filipino leader's National Security Adviser Roilo
Golez said.
Philippines Vice President Teofisto Guingona said that during bilateral
talks between the two governments, the Indonesian side raised hope that the two
countries could cooperate in helping stem the illegal trafficking of firearms
and small weapons.
Jakarta was looking for a "concrete form of cooperation in this," he said
without elaborating.
Arroyo recalled how her father, former Philippines president Diosdado
Macapagal and Megawati's father and founding Indonesian president Sukarno "were
like brothers."
"We should also be like sisters supporting each other as we seek solutions
to the problems that we inherited in our respective nations," she added.
Both Arroyo and Megawati have three children, are 54 years old and have
prominent moles on their faces.
Guingona said the two sides discussed ways of expanding trade ties, valued
at 825 million dollars annually with Manila in chronic deficit.
He said Megawati at one point suggested that Manila export more
Philippine-made films to Jakarta, reportedly quipping: "We are missing the
Filipino movies."
Both sides agreed to "expand and support private-led and -oriented
initiatives" to increase ties between the Mindanao region and nearby islands of
Indonesia, as well as to address the issue of disputed fishing grounds, Guingona
added.
The Philippines and Indonesia are members of ASEAN along with Brunei,
Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
------------------------------------------------------------------ Tuesday August 21, 9:19 PM
Malaysia considering cane for illegal immigrants KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -
Malaysia may cane illegal immigrants as part of tougher measures being
considered to deter growing numbers of migrants, the Bernama news agency said on
Tuesday.
"The Immigration Act will be fine-tuned so that those involved will not be
spared stiffer penalties," the state-run news agency quoted Deputy Prime
Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as saying.
Neighbouring Singapore has long caned illegal immigrants.
Abdullah said there were an estimated 600,000 illegal immigrants in
Malaysia, including 150,000 in Sabah state on Borneo Island.
Authorities arrested some 50,000 foreigners for various immigration
offences during the first six months of the year, he said.
Abdullah said illegal immigrants "not only contributed to the country's
growing social problems and criminal activities but also to the spread of
diseases and squatter colonies".
Abdullah, who is also Home (Interior) Minister, said employers found
harbouring illegal workers and foreigners who overstayed visas could also face
tougher penalties.
Malaysia, with 23 million people, is home to more than one million foreign
workers, mostly from Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Myanmar and the
Philippines.
But a weaker economy has forced many companies to cut jobs, prompting calls
for the government to curb the flow of foreign workers and give more
opportunities to Malaysians.
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