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BURMA RELATED NEWS - October
23, 2001.
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HEADLINES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - Singapore urges tighter airport security
in ASEAN
Reuters - Malaysian patrol sea chase ends in
shootout
The Guardian - How we
help in Burma
VOA news - Burmese Court Rules in Favor of
Opposition Leader's Brother
Bkk Post - Aliens
flustered as employers refuse to pay for registration
Kyodo News - U.S.
officials confirm 2 postal workers died of anthrax
SHAN - Chance clash misses drug haul
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday October 23, 7:47 PM
Singapore urges tighter airport security in ASEAN SINGAPORE, Oct 23 (AFP) -
Singapore called on fellow Southeast Asian countries Tuesday to tighten security
at regional airports and seek new revenue sources amid declining passenger and
cargo traffic.
John Chen, minister of state for communications and information technology,
told the ASEAN International Airports Association that operations must be
reviewed after the September 11 attacks by hijackers in the United States.
ASEAN, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, groups Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam.
Chen said Singapore's Changi airport suffered a 4.9-percent fall in
passenger and cargo traffic on September 11-30 compared to the same period last
year, while airports worldwide were estimated to have experienced falls of 20-25
percent.
"In the short-term, airports and airlines will have to work closely to
tighten security measures to restore the confidence of air travellers," Chen
said. "In the longer term, airports would have to review their facilities and
the way they process passengers in light of the increased emphasis on
security."
He said security and insurance costs for airports will escalate while
revenues are expected to decline as airlines cut back services and fewer
passengers shop at airport retail outlets.
"Airlines would also put pressure on airports to reduce fees and charges.
Unlike airlines, airports cannot shed excessive capacity easily to reduce
operating costs," he said.
"Hence, a squeeze at both ends on cost and revenue is a major challenge for
airports to come out with innovative ways to recover the additional costs of
security and to find new sources of revenue," he added.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday October 23, 7:29 PM
Malaysian patrol sea chase ends in
shootout
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Twelve
people, believed to be illegal immigrants, were detained by the Malaysian army
after a shootout at sea, off the coast of the east Malaysian state of Sabah,
Bernama news agency reported on Tuesday.
Brigadier General Muhammad Yassin Yahya said a boat ferrying a dozen people
had opened fire on a six-man military vessel patrolling the area on the
northwest coast of Borneo island on Monday.
"The patrol was suddenly fired upon and the patrol leader responded with
five warning shots into the air only to be ignored by the boat which tried to
flee," Muhammad Yassin said.
After a brief chase, the patrol shot and damaged the boat's outboard
engine, forcing the vessel to stop.
No casualties were reported.
None of the detainees, aged between four and 40 years old, carried
identification papers, and all have been turned over to the Semporna town police
early Tuesday morning.
Muhammad Yassin said this was the first time a military patrol was fired on
during routine surveillance.
Malaysia estimates it is home to some 600,000 illegal immigrants, mostly
from Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and the Philippines, but unofficial
estimates are far higher. Most of the immigrants in Sabah come either from
Indonesia or from the nearby southern islands of the Philippines.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- How we help in Burma
Monday October 22, 2001
The Guardian Charles Jamieson
Chief executive, Premier Oil Premier Oil has never retained Myanmar government soldiers (British oil
firms accused of Burma abuses, October 12). We work in an area of conflict and
there are approximately 200 soldiers, paid by the government, in our pipeline
area ensuring that our employees are not harmed by insurgents. We have never
used forced labour or any of the soldiers in the construction of our pipeline.
Premier has clearly stated that we accept the upholding of human rights as part of our business. We have therefore started a programme to train these soldiers in our area of operation in humanitarian law and human rights. Together with TotalFinaElf we are also implementing a comprehensive human rights monitoring programme in the area to ensure compliance. Richard Howitt MEP states that we make "moral judgements" about "helping
the situation in Burma when the whole international community disagrees".
Consensus, and this includes the latest EU Common Position, suggests that the
situation in Myanmar is changing for the better and informed commentators will
agree that Premier's policy of constructive engagement at various levels,
together with our sustained investment, has played a role in this.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Asia Pacific - Burmese Court Rules
in Favor of Opposition Leader's Brother
VOA News 23 Oct 2001 02:55 UTC A Burmese court has ruled that the brother of opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi has the right to file a lawsuit for a share of her Rangoon property.
Judge Soe Thein threw out an application by Aung San Suu Kyi to dismiss a
claim by her estranged brother Aung San Oo, who is an American citizen and lives
in the United States.
The judge ruled that under Buddhist Inheritance law, the brother, as well
as the sister, has a right to claim a share of the property left by their
parents. A court hearing has been scheduled for November second.
The property under dispute is a plot of land with a lakeside villa that has
been Aung San Suu Kyi's home since she returned from Britain in the late 1980s.
Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won Burma's last
democratic election in 1990 by a landslide but has never been allowed to govern.
Aung San Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her democracy
struggle in Burma. She has been under virtual house arrest by the ruling
military junta since September last year.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - October 23,
2001.
Aliens flustered as employers
refuse to pay for registration
Penchan Charoensutthipan
Alien workers in Samut Sakhon are complaining that their employers have
refused to register them with labour authorities.
Some workers have resorted to paying anyone who will pretend to be their
employer so as to get themselves registered.
Pinyo Veerasuksawat, of Rak Thai Foundation, said his organisation had
received many phone calls from alien workers seeking help in getting
registered.
Employers were reluctant to register all their immigrant workers because
they had to pay a registration fee of 4,450 baht per head.
The illegal workers want to be registered in order to get renewable
six-month work permits. Those not registered face deportation.
``We are worried about fake employment. Measures to control alien workers
will fail if authorities turn a blind eye to this problem. Hired employers will
not take any responsibility if alien workers create problems,'' Mr Pinyo
said.
The labour activist called on the government to come up with clear and
precise guidelines to cope with the practice and get tough with illegal alien
workers after the registration period expires.
A total of 523,618 alien workers have been registered with labour
authorities as of Oct 21, according to the Labour and Social Welfare
Ministry.
Of this number, 417,447 were Burmese, 56,384 Lao and 49,787
Cambodians.
Samut Sakhon province has the highest number of alien workers at 48,324
people; followed by Tak 35,147 workers, Ranong 24,566, Chon Buri 17,247,
Ratchaburi, 11,647, and Nong Khai 1,986.
The registration period, which began on Sept 24, would expire on Thursday,
the activist said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. officials confirm 2 postal workers
died of anthrax
WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 Kyodo -
U.S. health officials said Tuesday that the death of the two postal workers in
Washington was caused by inhalation anthrax.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shan Herald Agency for News
23 October 2001- No: 10 - 10: Chance clash misses drug
haul
An improvised ambush staged by Shans on Sunday (21 October) fell short of
capturing the drugs heading for Thailand, said a source from the border this
morning.
The attack by Sergeant Kham and 7 fighters from the Shan State Army's 727th
Brigade at 0830-0845 was launched between Mongharng and Maeken, about 40 miles
from the Thai border. According to the source, 3 trucks were destroyed, 12
Burmese troops killed and another 5 wounded. The attackers retired after another
15 truckloads of Burmese soldiers arrived on the scene.
"One of the vehicles were two ethnic Chinese from Sinjai village,
Chaiprakarn District, 120 km north of Chiangmai," said the source. "One was
identified as Lao Wu. They had just purchased 150,000 yaba pills at the price of
B.11 per pill and were traveling with LIB 328 (Mongkhark) to the border."
They had bought the said drugs from Captain Han Sein, Commander, Company 2,
IB 65 (Mongton). Han Sein is known as the main salesperson in the area.
The Shan State Army's Information Department, however, said only 2 "enemy
soldiers" were killed and 1 wounded.
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