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BURMA RELATED NEWS - October
17, 2001.
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HEADLINES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - UN rights envoy admitted to
hospital before cutting short Myanmar trip
Dow Jones - Daewoo Intl Near Selling
Stakes In Myanmar Gas Block
Reuters - Shipping line to connect
Bangladesh-Myanmar ports
The Star - Policeman injured in camp
riot
NSTP - Myanmar killed in construction
site trench landslide
NSTP - Immigration stepping up security
in illegals' detention camp
Mizzima - Drug cartels look for
alternate outlets
NMG - KNPP welcomes discussion between
Thai and British leaders
NMG - FAQ of
Anthrax
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday October 18, 5:37 PM
UN rights envoy admitted to hospital before cutting short Myanmar trip YANGON, Oct 18 (AFP) - United
Nations human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro was admitted to hospital in the
northern city of Mandalay before cutting short his mission to Myanmar, a
government source said Thursday.
Pinheiro departed Yangon Wednesday after a meeting with democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi and her top lieutenants, which was hastily arranged after he
was taken ill on an upcountry tour and forced to cut three days from his
trip.
UN officials said Pinheiro, who is aged in his late 50s, was suffering from
a pre-existing condition that had flared up during the tour, and that his doctor
had recommended he travel back to Brazil for treatment.
"He was not in pain but it was difficult for him to move on and travel
around," a UN spokeswoman said, while declining to identify his condition.
A government source who helped organise the envoy's second trip to Myanmar
said Pinheiro spent two days in hospital after completing a tour of northern
Shan state Monday. The UN spokeswoman said the stay was shorter.
He was forced to cancel a trip to Kachin state to meet with the Kachin
Independence Organisation, the political wing of the Kachin Independence Army
which is one of the ethnic militias to have signed a ceasefire agreement with
the government. A visit to the ancient city of Bagan was also canned.
The UN spokeswoman said that before he flew out of Yangon, Pinheiro managed
to attend the crucial meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi and top members of her
National League for Democracy (NLD) which lasted for nearly two hours.
She said she hoped that would go some way to defusing complaints from NLD
secretary U Lwin that the envoy had spent too much time with junta leaders and
had neglected the pro-democracy groups.
"This was a very important meeting so that was one effort he was really
concerned to make... From what I understand it went well."
"I hope that all the misunderstandings were clarified," she said, adding
that scheduling problems had prevented Pinheiro from seeing the NLD leadership
until Wednesday just hours before his departure.
U Lwin told BBC's Burmese-language service earlier this week that he was
"displeased" with the trip. "I heard he has no plan to visit local prisons and
to call on political prisoners, which is very strange," he said.
"Especially on this trip Pinheiro has spent a lot of time with senior
military officials... and on his previous visit he called on NLD officials for
only 30 minutes," he added. "I do not expect too much from his this
visit."
However, Shan NLD spokesman Khun Tun Oo said his meeting with Pinheiro
Friday, along with other ethnic pro-democracy groups, had helped ease concerns
that the envoy was not addressing their problems.
His first report released after an inaugural five-day trip to Myanmar in
April "did not represent the true situation of ethnic minority political
parties," he said. "It was based on what the ceasefire groups had told
him."
But he said Pinheiro had promised to incorporate their views into his next
report.
"We were all very satisfied that we could meet with this man, spend over
one and a half hours with him, and explain our feelings," he told AFP.
Pinheiro, the first UN human rights envoy to travel here in five years, has
established a good working relationship with the junta, which released five top
political prisoners to mark his arrival on October 9.
In the second release to coincide with the visit, on Saturday it also freed
a young dissident named Chan Myay Win, who had been sentenced to 21 years in
jail, an official source said.
Thursday October 18, 5:24 PM
Daewoo Intl Near Selling Stakes In Myanmar Gas Block SEOUL (Dow Jones)--South
Korea's Daewoo International Corp. (Q.DWT) is in talks with India's ONGC Videsh
Ltd., Gas Authority of India Ltd. (P.GAI) and Korea Gas Corp. (Q.KGS) to sell
stakes in the natural gas exploration block A-1 in Myanmar.
Daewoo International is planning to sell a 20% stake in the block to ONGC,
a 10% stake to GAIL and another 10% stake to Kogas, a Daewoo official told Dow
Jones Newswires.
The talks are expected to conclude this week with deals signed in November,
company officials said.
Daewoo International is seeking partners in order to develop the block, the
spokesman said.
In August 2000, the Myanmar government granted Daewoo International rights
to develop the block offshore northwestern Myanmar, a company spokesman said.
The company finished a preliminary feasibility study of the block earlier
this year, estimating natural gas reserves of a maximum 10 trillion to 39
trillion cubic feet and minimum of 3 trillion to 9 trillion cubic feet, the
official said.
A more detailed feasibility study is underway and of exploration drilling
will be decided in 2003, the official said.
If the block is found to be economical, commercial production will begin in
2008, the spokesman said.
ONGC Videsh is the international arm of India's state-owned Oil and Natural
Gas Corp. (P.ONG).
Daewoo International was spun off from Daewoo Corp. in December last
year.
Thursday October 18, 7:22 PM
Shipping line to connect Bangladesh-Myanmar ports CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, Oct 18 (Reuters) - A private Singapore-based shipping
company will introduce a freighter service between Bangladesh's main Chittagong
port and Yangon of Myanmar, company agents said on Thursday.
Singapore-based Sea Consortium Private Limited (SCPL) will connect
Chittagong with Yangon as part of a planned expansion of its shipping network in
the region.
"The freighter service between Chittagong-Yangon will commence in January
next year," Captain S.A. Chowdhury, general manager of Regency Shipping Lines
(RSL), told Reuters.
RSL is the Bangladesh agent of SCPL which operates eight ships on
Chittagong-Port Kelang-Singapore route.
Presently consignments are shipped between the two neighbouring ports via
Kelang of Malaysia.
The annual official trade between Bangladesh and Myanmar totals around $20
million, officials said.
They said Bangladesh imports logs, agro-based products and spices from
Myanmar and export mainly garments, jute and medicine.
The Star - October 18,
2001.
Policeman injured in camp riot MALACCA: Twelve inmates and a policeman were injured and a detention camp
block razed after riots broke out between two groups at the Machap Umboo illegal
immigrant detention camp in Alor Gajah, early yesterday morning.
The policeman from the General Operations Force suffered a cut below his
left eye after one of the inmates threw a broken piece of asbestos at him during
the 4.30am incident. The cut required eight stitches.
Six of the injured inmates, comprising Indonesians, Bangladeshis and
Myanmars, were warded at the Malacca Hospital with multiple injuries.
Forty-eight other inmates – also from Myanmar, Indonesia and Bangladesh –
were detained for causing the riot, which is said to have started at about 9pm
on Tuesday after a fight erupted between two groups over the arrival of new
inmates into the crowded camp.
During the commotion, 11 detainees escaped but three were later recaptured.
Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Jamil Johari, who made a special
visit to the camp yesterday morning, said the fight broke out because the
inmates were not too happy with the arrival of 85 new inmates on Tuesday night.
“Police are investigating how the inmates were able to get hold of matches
to start the fire at the block,” he said, adding that only one of the five
blocks in the camp was destroyed by the fire.
He said trouble had started brewing on Tuesday night, when the inmates
began fighting and damaging their living quarters.
It is learnt a small fire was spotted at 9pm on Tuesday at another block.
Jamil said a total of 150 police personnel, including Federal Reserve Unit
and General Operations Force personnel, were rushed to the camp and the
situation was brought under control at 7.30am yesterday.
Jamil dismissed a reporter’s claim that the riot was caused by inmates, who
did not receive food.
“They have enough food ... we are treating them as humanely as possible ...
no one likes to stay in detention camps but we have no choice because the
repatriation process takes time and police operations against illegal immigrants
must also go on,” he said.
He added the camp housed a total of 2,134 inmates.
“Because of the fire we have to transfer 677 inmates to other camps in the
country. They will be sent to detention camps in Kemayan and Pekan Nenas by
today,” he said, after visiting the Alor Gajah’s new district police
headquarters and police quarters.
Jamil arrived at the camp at about 10.30am yesterday and later visited the
RM21mil police district headquarters at about 3pm together with state police
chief SAC I Datuk Abdul Malek Abdul Hamid.
On another issue, Jamil said the investigation into the four policemen said
to be responsible for the escape of Mamak Gang leader Mohd Yusof Abu Bakar was
almost completed.
He said police had already suspended the four policemen, who were involved
in escorting the four Mamak Gang members, including Mohd Yusof, from Malacca
during the escape on Sept 29.
“We are looking into various possibilities, including wrongdoing and
negligence, in the probe,” he said.
Jamil, however, declined to comment on rumours that the suspended
policemen, who included a sergeant-major and three detectives, had allegedly
taken the Mamak Gang members to a shopping complex food outlet prior to Mohd
Yusof’s escape.
The New Straits Times Press
PENANG - Myanmar killed in construction site trench landslide by Audrey Dermawan A 31-year-old Myanmar national died shortly after he was pulled out of a
trench following a landslide at a construction site at Jalan Pokok Cherri in Air
Itam here this morning.
Nor Ahmad Mohd Sofi, whose left hand was almost severed while being pulled
out from the two-metre deep trench with the help of an excavator, died while on
the way to the Penang Hospital.
A police spokesman said the victim was laying some pipes inside the trench
when the loose earth gave way at 10.30am.
One of Nor Ahmad's friends who witnessed the incident, then alerted the
others and used an excavator to "haul" him out from the earth-laden
trench.
Nor Ahmad's cousin, Mohd Yaakob Mohd Ayob said the victim started work at
the construction site about three months ago.
Mohd Yaakob said the incident took place just shortly after resumed work
after having his breakfast.
The victim leaves behind a widow and two children in Myanmar.
The New Straits Times Press
KOTA BARU - Immigration stepping up
security in illegals' detention camp
by Sharifah Mahsinah Syed Abdullah The Kelantan Immigration Department will increase security at the Tanah Merah detention camp to ensure no untoward incident. Its enforcement division director Malik Zaliman Deraman said the
precautionary measure is necessary following the fight at the Machap Umboo
detention camp in Malacca two days ago.
He said since the camp was set up in Tanah Merah in 1994, there have been
no report of any rampage and burning of building involving immigrants
there.
Kelantan only has one detention camp for illegal immigrants - in Tanah
Merah.
"There are about 443 immigrants in the camp - majority of them are from
Thailand, Indonesia and Myanmar.
"Though the place is considered crowded, so far everything is fine," said
Malik Zaliman.
He added the immigrants were given counselling by the authority to ensure
they were well-behaved when they return to their countries.
Malik Zaliman said this when asked on the action taken by the department to
prevent incident like that at Machap Umboo detention camp.
It was reported today that a building within the detention camp was razed
and another badly damaged when a group of illegal immigrants fought among
themselves.
Thirteen inmates, comprising Indonesian, Bangladesh and Myanmar nationals,
were injured in the riot, with six warded at the Malacca Hospital.
Mizzima
Drug cartels look for alternate
outlets
Sanjay Pinto Thursday, October 18, 2001, NDTV With American bombings in full swing in Afghanistan, the drug lords who
used to look upon Afghanistan as a big supplier are now in a dilemma. The drug
cartels need to find another supplier to replace Afghanistan, which until the
war began supplied 70 per cent of the world heroin supply.
These drug cartels could turn to India which last year produced 26,000
kilograms of heroin. "Outsourcing from India is a lucrative idea for the
producers here and for the people who want the drug to be in their country due
to a paucity of the Afghani origin drug. Definitely the scenario is going to be
a bit serious," said Shankar Jiwal, Director, Narcotics Control Bureau.
Although Burma is the next largest producer of heroin it's difficult to
smuggle the drug to Western countries because the heroin has to cross a arduous
land route via India or through China.
But heroin produced in India can travel through an easier land route from
Pakistan to Russia, Turkey and Europe and increase menace for India's narcotics
control agencies already battling a jump in drug smuggling.
Network Media Group
Karenni urges to include all the ethnic and opposition forces for National Reconciliation KNPP welcomes discussion between Thai and British leaders Mae Hong Son, October 18, 2001 Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) welcome the discussion between
Thai Defense Minister and British Ambassador to Bangkok on the national
reconciliation process in Burma and urged to include all the ethnic
nationalities and democratic forces in the process, mentioned in the statement
issued on October 17.
Thai Defense Minister General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and British Ambassador
to Bangkok Lloyd Smith met on October 15 and discussed on the national
reconciliation process in Burma, the Bangkok Post newspaper reported. "Thai
minister would begin with the Kayah (Karenni) rebels and Karen National Union
(KNU)," reported the Bangkok Post.
In the statement issued by KNPP stated that KNPP believes that a final
agreement on national reconciliation cannot be reached if the discussion is only
between the SPDC and three ethnic Nationalities armed opposition groups- namely
the KNPP, the KNU and Shan State Army (SSA).
"National reconciliation process should go with the tripartite political
dialogue including all the forces as UN resolution adopted for several years,"
said Rimond Htoo, Secretary of the KNPP. "Without the participation of any group
will not bring the real peace and national reconciliation," he continued.
KNPP signed cease-fire agreement with Burmese regime on March 21, 1995. The
cease-fire only lasted for few months and broke on June 28 in the same year.
KNPP is one of the major ethnic armed groups continuing fighting against Burmese
regime.
Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt has asked Chavalit Yongchaiyudh to get the rebel groups
talking, reported Bangkok Post in October 16 issue.
Network Media Group
October 18, 2001.
Questions and Answers
Q: How do people get anthrax?
A: People can catch anthrax from infected animals or contaminated animal
products. Most natural infection comes from skin contact. In the past,
industrial wool sorters were at high risk of infection. You can also get anthrax
infection from eating raw or too-rare meat - but this is uncommon. Even more
uncommon - but by far most deadly - is anthrax caught by inhaling spores. This
is because a person has to inhale several thousand spores before infection can
take hold. Until the recent case in Florida, there hadn't been a case of
inhalation anthrax in the U.S. since 1978.
Q: What is anthrax? A: Anthrax is an animal disease that has been around for tens of thousands
of years. Rarely, anthrax causes serious disease in humans. The germ is a
bacterium called Bacillus anthracis that "seeds" itself by forming long-lasting
spores. These spores can survive in the environment for a long time.
Grass-eating animals, such as cattle, are most often infected because they can
eat spores living in the soil. Animal vaccination - and destruction of infected
herds - has drastically reduced the number of infected animals. Even so, anthrax
spores continue to be found in soil samples from all over the world.
When anthrax spores get inside the body, they grow rapidly. The germs themselves can cause dangerous infections. Far more dangerous is a substance they produce in the body - anthrax toxin - which helps the bug survive by killing off cells of the immune system. This toxin is so deadly that it can kill even after infection is brought under control. Q: What symptoms should I watch for?
A: The symptoms of anthrax infection depend on how a person catches the
disease. All forms of anthrax if caught early enough can be cured by prompt
antibiotic treatment. However, some anthrax strains developed as biological
weapons are resistant to many drugs.
Skin infection starts with an itchy bump like a mosquito bite. After a day or two, it forms a small liquid-filled sac. This sac then becomes a painless ulcer with an area of black, dead tissue in the middle. Antibiotic treatment cures this infection. Untreated, it kills about one in five people. The signs of intestinal infection are nausea, loss of appetite, and vomiting. This is followed by severe abdominal pain, vomiting of blood, and severe diarrhea. Untreated intestinal anthrax is deadly 25% to 60% of the time. Inhalation anthrax, the most deadly form of the disease, begins with the same symptoms as a common cold. As early as one day after these symptoms appear - but up to weeks later - the symptoms suddenly become much more severe, usually with breathing problems and shock. This form of the disease is often fatal. Q: How is anthrax treated?
A: First, anthrax infection has to be identified. This is now much more
likely since the CDC began a program to help public-health laboratories rapidly
identify germs that might be used in biological warfare or terrorism.
Early treatment is essential. Natural strains of anthrax may be resistant to many antibiotics, but most are sensitive to penicillin. Either of two antibiotics is recommended: doxycycline and Cipro (ciprofloxacin). Because anthrax spores can stay hidden in the lungs for a long time, antibiotic treatment should continue for 60 days. There are reports that some forms of anthrax created as biological weapons are resistant to these drugs, but there is no hard evidence that this is true. People should NOT stockpile antibiotics. Antibiotic treatment should not be started unless public health authorities have warned of an anthrax outbreak, and even then these drugs can have serious side effects for some people. More help is on the way. Researchers at Harvard University have invented molecules that work as an antidote for anthrax toxin. One of these molecules also vaccinates against future infection at the same time. Q: Should I stock up on antibiotics to protect my family and me? A: Definitely not. Why? Unless you've been exposed to anthrax, there's no
reason to suspect that those cold symptoms you are having are anything but that
-- a common cold. Antibiotics won't help if you have a cold or the flu. So if
you start taking antibiotics -- and then stop when the threat has passed -- you
are letting other germs in your body develop resistance to these important
drugs. Then the medicine might not work when you really need it. And here's
another reason: antibiotics can be dangerous to some people, and must be used as
directed. These important medicines should only be used with medical
supervision. The odds of a bad reaction are small -- but they are much greater
than the odds of an anthrax attack.
Q: What can I do?
A: Most people in the U.S. will never be exposed to anthrax. Recent
exposures to anthrax appear to have come from letters containing powdered
anthrax spores, but there's no cause for panic. Here's what to do if you receive
a letter or package that you suspect of containing anthrax or any other
dangerous germs:
· Do not shake or empty the envelope or
package. Do not try to clean up any spilled powder or fluid.
· Put the envelope or package into a plastic bag or other container to prevent the contents from leaking out. If you can't find a container, cover the envelope or package with clothing, paper, or a trash can -- and DON'T remove this cover. · Leave the room and close the door. Keep other people from entering the room. · Wash your hands with soap and water. · Call the local police and report the incident. If you are at work, call your building security officer and/or your supervisor. · Make a list of all the people who were in the room when you opened the letter or package. Give this list to the police -- and to local public-health authorities. · Remove contaminated clothing and put it into a plastic bag that can be sealed. Give the bag of contaminated clothing to the police. · Shower with soap and water as soon as you can. Do not use bleach or disinfectant on your skin. · Do not start taking antibiotics until told to do so by your doctor or by health authorities. Gas masks or respirators won't do much good once an exposure has taken place -- and it's much more likely that you or your children would be injured by improper use of gas masks than by a terrorist attack. Only preventive treatment with antibiotics can keep an exposed person from
developing anthrax. Anthrax vaccine -- a series of six shots over the course of
a year with yearly booster shots -- is not recommended for or available to the
public. New treatments and vaccines are under development.
Q: Are the recent cases different from the anthrax found in the
environment?
A: Final tests aren't in. Because inhalation anthrax is very, very rare -
the last U.S. case was in 1978 - officials believe it highly unlikely that the
Florida cases came from a natural source like the environment. State and federal
investigators are conducting a criminal investigation. However, the strain of
anthrax in this outbreak remains highly susceptible to antibiotics, suggesting
that it was not created in a sophisticated bioweapons
laboratory.
Q: Have Americans been infected with anthrax before? A: Human anthrax is a rare disease. There were only 18 cases of inhalation
anthrax in the U.S. from 1900 through 1978. There were 224 U.S. cases of skin
infection between 1944 and 1994. However, the African nation of Zimbabwe
experienced a terrible epidemic of skin anthrax with more than 10,000 cases
between 1979 and 1985. Gastrointestinal anthrax is very rarely reported.
Q: How is anthrax turned into a weapon for
bioterrorism?
A: Anthrax has been called the perfect germ for bioterrorism. This is
because it isn't contagious - only those exposed to a release of spores get sick
- so there's no chance that a release of the germs will boomerang and kill
unintended victims. The spores last for a long time. During World War II, the
British army experimented with an explosive shell filled with anthrax spores.
These experiments took place on an island off the coast of Scotland. Spores
persisted in the environment for 36 years. A massive decontamination effort
finally cleared the region in 1987.
Even so, it's not easy to grow deadly anthrax and it's even harder to make it into a weapon. The spores have to be turned into a microscopically fine powder - no simple trick. Then the powder must be sprayed over a large area with a specially adapted device. Even then, the temperature and the wind must be exactly right to contaminate populated areas. One expert told WebMD that a terrorist would have to be very lucky to successfully deploy anthrax as a weapon of mass destruction. Q: Where is this anthrax coming from?
A: A massive federal investigation is trying to find out. All strains
isolated in Florida, New York, and Washington, D.C., appear to be fully
sensitive to all of the antibiotics used to treat anthrax.
Researchers are looking at the problem in two ways. First, they will grow
the anthrax to see how it behaves. Next, they will examine its DNA for unique
patterns. Using this data, the various anthrax strains will be compared to
similar information from anthrax strains studied in laboratories around the
world. Of course, there's no guarantee that this will lead investigators to the
bugs' ultimate source.
Because inhalation anthrax is very, very rare -- the last U.S. case was in
1978 -- officials believe it's highly unlikely that these cases came from a
natural source like the environment. Criminal investigations are underway, led
by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Q: How can I tell the difference between an anthrax infection and
the flu?
A: The early symptoms of inhalation anthrax are the same as those of a mild
case of flu. Treatment to prevent anthrax begins only after a person has had a
suspected exposure. There is no quick test that can show whether a person has
been exposed to anthrax. If a cold or flu suddenly gets much worse -- especially
with a severe headache -- seek immediate medical attention.
Q: Can I catch anthrax from someone else? A: No. Anthrax can't be spread from person to person.
Q: Who should I contact in my local area if I'm worried?
A: Contact your local and state health departments, or your doctor, for
more information if you think you may have been exposed to anthrax. Don't start
taking antibiotics unless advised to do so by your doctor or by health
authorities.
Excerpts from WebMD
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