|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
BURMA RELATED NEWS - December 20,
2001.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
HEADLINES
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Kyodo News - Myanmar junta
releases 4 more NLD members from prison
AFP - Thailand pushes back EU
request to grant asylum to ethnic Karen
Asia Pulse - Indonesia Must Not
Delay Afta Implementation: Official
The Daily Star - BIMSTEC
meeting in Yangon today
Bkk Post - PM willing to
arrange talks for Burmese
Bkk Post - Government resists
call to aid refugees
Bkk Post - Burma executes 3
soldiers
Bkk Post - Border
boost
The Nation - 'UN wants Thai
help on Burma'
The Nation - EDITORIAL: Keep Thailand's refugee policy
Xinhuanet - BIMST-EC
Ministerial Meeting Ends in Myanmar
Xinhuanet - Thailand to Help
Push for Dialogue Between Myanmar Government, Opposition
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Holds
Workshop on Combating Desertification
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Hosts
BIMST-EC Ministerial Meeting
The Irrawaddy - Kachin Manau Festival to Get
Underway
The Irrawaddy - Pro-democracy Activist Flees
Burma
The Irrawaddy - Dissidents Relase Statement on Maneeloy
Closure
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar junta
releases 4 more NLD members from prison
YANGON, Dec. 20, Kyodo - Myanmar's junta released four more members
of the pro-democracy National League for Democracy (NLD) from correctional
facilities Thursday, an official press release said.
The four men -- Thaung Aye, Soe Myint, Kyaw Hlaing and Tin
Win -- are all in good health, it said.
The releases bring to 198 the number of NLD-affiliated
political prisoners freed since January, including 54 elected to parliament as
NLD members in the 1990 general election.
Based on NLD figures, 818 members remain in various jails
in the country.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday December 21, 7:21 PM
Thailand pushes back EU request to grant asylum to ethnic Karen BANGKOK, Dec 21 (AFP) -
Thailand will stand by its decision to refuse asylum for 796 ethnic Karen
fleeing fighting in Myanmar despite a plea from the European Union (EU) to give
them refuge, officials said Friday.
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Rattakit Manathat told reporters that
Thailand stood firm on the issue and would reconsider the decision only if
violence against the group worsened.
Thailand has assisted displaced villagers escaping clashes between
Myanmar's ruling junta and ethnic militias along the border for years, leaving
some 108,000 people currently seeking asylum in Thailand, he added.
Rattakit said the EU should instead grant asylum to the Karen villagers
whose cause they have taken up.
"The EU should grant them asylum if they are concerned about these people,"
he said. "In the past, only 10 percent of Myanmar student dissidents have been
granted asylum in EU countries."
Member states of the EU and the United States, Canada, Norway and
Switzerland sent a joint letter to Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai
last month expressing concern over the forced repartiation to Myanmar of 63
ethnic Karen.
The villagers were among a group of 796 Karen living in Thailand's rugged
border region.
Thailand is home to more than 120,000 refugees who fled fighting between
Myanmar troops and ethnic independence armies. Many of them are from the Karen
minority and live in camps on the Thai side of the border.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday December 21, 12:00 PM
Indonesia Must Not Delay Afta Implementation: Official JAKARTA, Dec 21 Asia Pulse -
Indonesia could no longer delay the full implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade
Area [AFTA] as most of its tariffs had been reduced to comply with the regional
free trade arrangement,the government said on Thursday.
Director general for international cooperation at the Ministry of Industry
and Trade Hatanto Reksodiputro said that 95 per cent of the country's tariffs in
the "Inclusion List" had been lowered to between 0 per cent and 5 per
cent.
Under the AFTA scheme, which would start early next year, the six founding
members of ASEAN Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam and
the Philippines had to cut at least 90 per cent of their tariffs to 0 per cent
to 5 per cent in 2001.
By the year 2002, 100 per cent of items on the inclusion list would have
import tariffs of 0 per cent to five per cent, but with some flexibility.
"We can't back down, it will be useless ... We also have many strong
products (to compete with foreign products)," Hatanto said.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) earlier demanded the
government delay the adoption of the AFTA scheme, as some "27 per cent" of the
local products were not yet ready to compete under the free trade
regulations.
According to KADIN's survey, these products included coffee, steel, pipes,
sugar, rice, machinery, electrical appliances, aluminum foil, cables, oil and
gas products, paint and varnish products.
But Hatanto played down the concern, saying that many local businesses were
ready to compete with their regional peers, and he also doubted the validity of
KADIN's findings.
"For next year, there will be only 66 products that are still subject to an
import tariff of more than 5 per cent, mostly chemical products," Hatanto
said.
Data from the ASEAN secretariat showed that Indonesia's total tariffs under
the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) agreement covered 7,286
items.
It consisted of some 7,192 items on the Inclusion List (IL), 21 on the
Temporary Exclusion List (TEL), 4 on the Sensitive List (SL) and 68 on the
General Exception List (GEL).
AFTA was agreed upon in 1993, with the implementation of the free trade
scheme initially scheduled for 2008. The implementation date was later brought
forward to 2003.
At a meeting in December 1998 in Hanoi, Vietnam, the ASEAN economic
ministers later sped up the deadline to 2002, with some flexibility.
The four new ASEAN members of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar are
allowed to delay the opening up of their markets to 2006 to 2010.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Daily Star - Fri. December 21,
2001
BIMSTEC meeting in Yangon today Multi-modal transportation links to dominate issues M Anwarul Haq A day-long ministerial level meeting of BIMSTEC countries in Yangon today
will focus on setting up air, surface and sea communication links among the five
members to bolster economic cooperation.
It follows a two-day meeting of senior officials in the Myanmar capital. The meeting which concluded yesterday fixed the agenda for today's meeting. Observers see the ministerial meeting as crucial for further economic
co-operation among the five littoral neighbours -- Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri
Lanka, India and Thailand.
The meeting is expected to discuss removing impediments to developing
multi-modal transportation links and formulating a standard customs procedure
for the member countries, sources said.
Scope for establishing shipping links are excellent since all the member
countries are linked to the Bay of Bengal, they said.
The fourth policy level meeting since launching of the BIMSTEC in 1997 is
expected to deliberate on removing impediments related to operational aspects of
the Trans Asian Highway which provides scope for setting up arterial road links
among four of the five member countries, the sources said.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Reaz Rahman, now in Yangon, will
represent Bangladesh at the meeting.
The grouping is considered a potential economic platform for promotion of
regional trade, investment, tourism and aviation among the member states.
The meeting is also expected to discuss tapping potential in the energy
sector, including joint collaboration and pipeline supply of gas among
neighbours.
The ministerial meet will review six thrust sectors for which committees
were set up earlier. These are: Trade and Investment (headed by Bangladesh),
Technology (India), Transport and Communication (Thailand), Energy (Myanmar) and
Tourism and Fisheries(Sri Lanka).
BIMSTEC is also working on forging stronger ties with development partners
and international financial organisations. It is learnt to be seeking support
from ESCAP for technical cooperation, particularly in the communication
sector.
The first ministerial level meting of BIMSTEC was held in Bangkok, the
second in Dhaka, and the third took place in Delhi in July last year.
Commerce and Trade Ministers also met in Yangon in February this year and
discussed possibility of creating a preferential trading arrangement among the
five members.
BIMSTEC is being considered as a bridge between the SAARC and the
ASEAN.
To give it an institutional shape, ambassadors of BIMSTEC countries in
Bangkok have started holding weekly informal consultations.
The Delhi meet launched the BIMSTEC Economic Forum to promote private
sector trade, investment and tourism among the member nations.
BIMSTEC has also plans to encourage growth of private sector airlines in
the region. The members are learnt to be willing to provide concessional air
fare and other facilities by reducing "basic operational costs" of private
airlines linking the member countries.
More regional travel at economic rates are seen by BIMSTEC members as a way
of increasing people-to-people contact, growth of tourism industry with
consequent increase in intra-country trade, the sources said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Dec 21,
2001.
PM willing to arrange talks for Burmese Meeting proposed for junta, ethnic groups Saritdet Marukatat Thailand was willing to organise talks between the ruling junta in Rangoon
and ethnic minority groups in order to end conflicts in Burma, Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra said.
``Thailand can do that because of our close relationship with Burma at
present,'' the premier told reporters on his flight back from his visit to the
United States.
In talks with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in New York, Mr
Thaksin commended a UN attempt to end the political deadlock and build national
reconciliation in Burma by encouraging dialogue between the Rangoon regime,
known as the State Peace and Development Council, and opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi of the National League for Democracy.
He also conveyed to the UN chief his impression of Razali Ismail, the UN
special envoy on Burma, and expressed a wish to discuss the situation in Burma
with him in Bangkok.
But Mr Thaksin stressed to Mr Annan that more had to be done to bring about
permanent peace in Burma which would not come until all ethnic groups join the
peace process.
Mr Thaksin told reporters that the government would be ready to organise a
meeting between the Burmese rulers and minority groups, if asked.
Also, Mr Thaksin said he would delegate government agencies and private
sector representatives to quickly map out plans for the realisation of free
trade agreements Thailand had proposed with other countries.
They would also be asked to prepare assistance for producers likely to be
hit by his government's policy to open up trade and investment without
tariffs.
Leading representatives from the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Federation
of Thai Industries, and the Thai Bankers Association joined the prime minister
on his working visit to the US.
Thailand proposed a study into the feasibility of a free-trade agreement
with the US during the trip to Washington. The country has either proposed or is
preparing to propose free-trade arrangements with Japan, India, Australia and
Chile.
The prime minister admitted that some sectors could face stiff outside
competition from the government's push for bilateral free-trade schemes and they
needed to adjust for their survival.
But he believed the strategy would benefit Thailand in the long run as the
free flow of trade through free-trade regimes would make the country more
attractive to foreign investors.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Dec 21,
2001.
Government resists call to aid refugees EU concern at stance on asylum seekers Bhanravee Tansubhapol and AP Thailand is resisting a European Union call that it give refuge to 796
mainly Karen people displaced by fighting on the Thai-Burmese border, a source
said.
Ambassadors from Belgium, Spain and the European Commission made the call
in an aide-memoire to the Foreign Ministry.
The envoys cited a Burmese army attack on a group of civilians on Nov 21 in
which one man was injured. They said the situation posed a serious threat to the
safety of the asylum seekers.
But the ministry said Thai military reports suggested the situation was not
so serious as to warrant their being brought into the country.
The aide memoire also mentioned the repatriation of 63 Karens on Nov 6 but
no further detail was given.
The ministry has not responded to a letter sent to Foreign Minister
Surakiart Sathirathai on Nov 16, on behalf of the EU, United States, Canada,
Norway and Switzerland, protesting against the forced repatriation.
The Karens were pushed back into southern Burma from Kanchanaburi.
AP said the diplomatic step was approved by foreign ministries of all 15 EU
member states and appeared to reflect growing concern at a perceived hardening
in Thai attitudes to Burmese refugees.
The source, however, said the envoys were expressing concern rather than
lodging a protest.
According to a recent Amnesty International statement quoted by AP, the
asylum seekers were uprooted from the village of Htee Wah Doh, which was
attacked by the Burmese military.
Houses and a hospital were burned and looted, and 15 Karen villagers
arrested. Some were forced to act as porters for Burma's army. One villager was
shot in the leg, which was later amputated, and several other villagers were
still missing.
The Karens are sheltering at nearby Halockanee, a camp just inside the
border controlled by the New Mon State Party, an ethnic army which agreed to a
ceasefire with Burma in 1995.
The Burmese army attack on Htee Wah Doh was reportedly provoked by the
presence of a splinter Mon armed group which started fighting government
forces.
Thailand shelters more than 100,000 refugees who have fled forced
relocation and fighting between ethnic insurgents and the Burmese
military.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Dec 21,
2001.
Burma executes 3 soldiers After fighting with Thai troops in Sept Cheewin Sattha Burma has executed three of its soldiers involved in a clash with Thai
troops in September in which a Thai villager was killed.
The revelation came as Burma officially apologised for the Sept 19 clash
near the Ban Huay Phung border crossing.
The apology was made during a Thai-Burmese township border commitee meeting
at Mae Sariang district office on Wednesday. The meeting resulted in agreement
on a number of issues aimed at improving relations between the countries.
At the meeting were the Thai committee's chairman Col Chainarong Tanarun
and his Burmese counterpart Maj Kyaw U.
The Thai delegation put forward proposals covering water transport,
security, cross-border trade, drug suppression and future committee meetings.
The Burmese representatives urged for measures dealing with Burmese minorities
and refugees.
The meeting agreed to allow emergency boat travel on the Salween river
between 6pm until 6am on condition that there was enough lighting.
Burma promised to stop its troops encroaching on Thai soil, lift an import
ban on some Thai goods, take serious action on the drug trade, and hold border
committee meetings more often.
Huay Ton Noon border crossing in Khun Yuam district and Huay Pong La pass
in Burma will be used as official contact points between the two
countries.
The Burmese delegation asked the Thai military to find out whether any
rebels were among the 40,000 Karen refugees in Mae Hong Son. An official request
from Rangoon is expected soon.
Meanwhile, a provincial source said Deputy Agriculture Minister Praphat
Panyachartrak wanted more than 20,000 Burmese and Karen refugees relocated from
Salween forest.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Dec 21,
2001.
Border boost Chiang Rai _ New services at Mae Sai-Tachilek immigration and customs
checkpoint and a second friendship bridge could open by mid-next year.
Mae Sai checkpoint chief Ronnarong Sukthavorn said office buildings worth
46 million baht would be finished in June as well a 10m-high building at
Tachilek checkpoint. New equipment would be put in at the same time.
Troops sent in
Chiang Mai _ Third Army reinforcements have been sent to protect troops
destroying an opium field after an ambush by armed men believed to be members of
a foreign militia.
The troops were clearing the plantation at Doi Jingjong, in a rugged area
on the Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son border, when they were attacked.
One of the attackers, a hilltribesman, was killed in the 20-minute
gunfight.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
'UN wants Thai help on Burma' Published on Dec 21, 2001 Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday said that Thailand would play a
more active role in both the economic and political affairs of the region and
suggested the possibility of getting involved in the political stand-off between
Burma's ruling junta and the opposition.
Speaking to reporters for the first time since returning from his week-long
working visit to the United States on Thursday, Thaksin said the international
community saw Thailand as the region's economic powerhouse and added that
Americans would like to team up with the country in the air-transport
industry.
Thaksin said a new dimension had emerged in the international arena and it
was important that Thailand combined politics with international trade in
dealing with global affairs.
The premier said that during |his visit to New York, the United Nations'
Secretary-General Kofi Annan had asked Thailand to play a more active role in
regional affairs, pointing to the political deadlock between Burma's opposition
National League for Democracy (NLD) and the ruling junta, one |of the world's
most condemned regimes. Thaksin said the UN special representative to Burma,
whose job is to help push for dialogue between the opposition and the junta,
would be consulting with the Thai government to get better idea about how to
deal with Rangoon.
He did not elaborate whether Thailand's involvement would go beyond
consultation and involve the country acting as a mediator between the junta and
the NLD.
During the UN General Assembly last year, Annan had asked Asean to urge
some of its members to help resolve the political stalemate in Burma but the
idea was immediately shot down by Rangoon.
The premier said he told the UN secretary-general that the country stood
ready to assist the UN in various activities, including peacekeeping operations
and well as crop-substitution projects for opium growers in Afghanistan.
Annan, who is currently serving his second consecutive term as the UN
secretary-general, is expected to be replaced by an Asian in line with the
organisation's rotation system.
Thaksin added that Thailand needed to start to look for a qualified person
to compete for the post. He said that the candidate must be a respected person
with a great understanding of international relations.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
EDITORIAL: Keep Thailand's refugee
policy
Published on Dec 21, 2001
The Kingdom's reputation for humane treatment of refugees is threatened by
the closure of Maneeloy holding centre
Once again we hear protesting voices from the western border. This time
from some 500 Burmese dissidents and their families who were disturbed by the
Thai government's plan to close down their residence at the Maneeloy Special
Holding Centre in Ratchaburi province. Some have been on a hunger strike for
more than a week. They fear the closure, which will lead to their resettlement
to another refugee camp nearer to the border, will put their lives at
risk.
We find their concerns make sense. Unlike the other 150,000 refugees -
ordinary villagers fleeing fighting inside Burma - these dissidents are former
student activists who fought against the military rulers over a decade ago. Most
of them are still wanted, dead or alive, by the ruling government. To transfer
them to the new camp, which is located only 3 kilometres from the Thai-Burmese
border, simply means putting them closer to the clutches of the Burmese
army.
When these dissidents started making noisy protests against the relocation
plan, the Thai government readily jumped on them, calling them "foreigners" and
"trouble makers". The governor of Ratchaburi province implied in an interview
that they have already received more than they deserve on Thai soil. He said
Thai villagers living near the Maneeloy centre wanted them out of their
neighbourhood because they feel unsafe having these "foreign trouble makers"
around. Such a negative attitude can be explained. These Burmese dissidents are
political activists. They still pursue their fight for democracy in Burma even
on soil far away from home. This makes the Thai government uneasy because it
might strain relations with a state which is rich in natural resources.
Thai communities around the Maneeloy centre also have their reasons for not
welcoming the dissidents. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees
(UNHCR) is partly to blame. The agency seldom communicates with local Thais who
find it hard to understand why these foreigners need to stay on the Thai soil
and receive "better" treatment. Many Thais still believe these dissidents rely
on financial support from the Thai government. But UNHCR pays all their bills.
Moreover, the dissidents do not receive as many privileges as people may
believe. All they are entitled to is their basic needs including three meals a
day and a monthly stipend of Bt800 from UNHCR.
The Thai government has unnecessarily made the UNHCR waste a couple of
million baht in building new facilities at the border. The new facilities are
not needed given the fact that the Maneeloy centre will soon be closed anyway
when most of the dissidents go off to third countries. At Maneeloy, 189
dissidents have been accepted by third countries but are hesitant to leave as
their wives and children are not included.
Another 191 have been identified as "persons of concern" (POC) by the UNHCR
and therefore eligible for asylum in third countries. Only 82 have an unclear
future as the UNHCR rejected their POC status. This puts them in the category of
illegal immigrants under Thai law. They could face repatriation if nothing is
done for them.
There is a more humane way to solve the problem than closing Maneeloy. The
government's good record in providing humanitarian aid to more than 150,000
refugees fleeing fighting in Burma gives it enough legitimacy to urge third
countries, most of them developed nations, to share the burden by accelerating
acceptance.
The government can also criticise the UNHCR for not granting POC status to
wives and children. Last but not least, it should tell the Burmese government to
end the chaos which has led to the refugee crisis.
By delaying the closure of Maneeloy, the government can gain credibility
and help UNHCR save a hefty sum from building new facilities at the border. The
money could well be spent on improving the standards of another 11 Burmese
refugee camps.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- BIMST-EC Ministerial Meeting Ends
in Myanmar
Xinhuanet 2001-12-21 20:53:04 YANGON, December 21 (Xinhuanet)
-- The Fourth Meeting of Ministers of the BIMST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar,
Sri Lanka and Thailand-Economic Cooperation) ended here Friday afternoon after
issuing a joint statement.
The statement said it is now an opportune time for BIMST-EC member
countries to strengthen their cooperation and inject greater dynamism into the
BIMST-EC process, calling for the convening of the ministerial meetings at full
level starting from the next meeting to reflect the grouping's strong commitment
to the process and to give BIMST-EC cooperation further momentum.
The ministers expressed their concern that the global economic slowdown has
reached every corner of the world including the BIMST-EC member countries,
stressing the need for the organization to redouble their efforts to further
enhance economic, commercial andtechnical cooperation among them both at
government and private sector levels.
The ministers expressed welcome of Nepal's participation in themeeting as
an observer and its bid for BIMST-EC membership.
The ministers are encouraged at the progress made in the six sectors of
trade and investment, technology, transportation and communication, energy,
tourism and fisheries, the statement said.
Recognizing that globalization presents both opportunities and challenges,
the ministers said many developing countries, particularly the least developed
among them, are being threatened with the danger of further marginalization.
The ministers affirmed that to take optimum advantage, at the sub-regional
level, of globalization, cooperation among BIMST-EC member countries should be
enhanced, especially in capacity building.
The ministers also recognized the threat posed by terrorism to the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries, their economic growth
and development, and international peace and security.
The ministers called on the international community to further intensify
its efforts to comprehensively combat terrorism in all its dimensions and forms.
The fifth BIMST-EC ministerial meeting will be held in Colombo,Sri Lanka in
December 2002.
The one-day BIMST-EC ministerial meeting, which began on Fridaymorning, was
a follow-up of a two-day senior officials' meeting.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Thailand to Help Push for Dialogue
Between Myanmar Government, Opposition
Xinhuanet 2001-12-21 11:19:32 BANGKOK, December 21 (Xinhuanet) -- Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra, who just returned from his week long working visit to the United
States Thursday, said that Thailand was willing to organize talks between the
Myanmar government and ethic minority groups to end conflicts in the country,
the Nation newspaper reported Friday.
The premier said that during his visit to New York, the United Nation's
Secretary-General Kofi Annan had asked Thailand to play a more active role in
regional affairs, pointing to the political deadlock between the Myanmar
government and its opposition.
Razali Ismail, U.N. special envoy on Myanmar also expressed a wish to
discuss the situation in Myanmar with the Thai government in Bangkok, he
said.
Meanwhile, Thaksin told reporters that he had stressed to Annan that more
had to be done to bring about permanent peace in Myanmar which could not come
until all ethic groups join the peace process.
Thailand thus would be ready to organize a meeting between the Myanmar
government and minority group, if asked, he said, adding that Thailand can do
that because of its relationship with Myanmar at present.
During the U.N. General Assembly last year, Annan had asked ASEAN to urge
some of its member to help resolve the political stalemate in Myanmar, but the
idea was refused by the Myanmar government, the Nation said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar Holds Workshop on
Combating Desertification
Xinhuanet 2001-12-21 10:30:55 YANGON, December 21 (Xinhuanet)
-- A national workshop is underway here to discuss preparation for the United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) National Action
Program.
Jointly sponsored by the UNCCD and the Myanmar Ministry of Forestry, the
two-day workshop, which began on Thursday, covers discussions on conservation of
the natural environment, protection and preservation of land, water, climate and
forests, socio-economic progress of the local people and prevention of soil
degradation in Myanmar.
The workshop was attended by international experts of related bodies in
Myanmar and government officials including those of the departments of forestry,
agriculture and irrigation, fisheries, and science and technology as well as
Myanmar's National Commission for Environmental Affairs.
The UNCCD was adopted in June 1994 in Paris, France, and Myanmar acceded to
the convention in January 1997.
To combat desertification, Myanmar has launched a national project of
greening nine critical districts of the arid zone in central part of the country
since 1994, which was later extended to13 districts in 1997.
Myanmar has rich resources in forestry and although there is no area in the
country that can be strictly called a sandy desert, the central part of the
nation is hot and dry and referred to as the dry zone.
Of Myanmar's total land area, 50 percent are covered with forest, of which
18.6 percent are reserved and protected public forests, and the country is
planning to increase the area to 30 percent.
Meanwhile, a total of 30,375 hectares of forest plantations are established
annually.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar Hosts BIMST-EC Ministerial
Meeting
Xinhuanet 2001-12-21 12:08:55 YANGON, December 21 (Xinhuanet)
-- The fourth Meeting of Ministers of the BIMST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar,
Sri Lanka and Thailand- Economic Cooperation) opened here Friday following a
two-day discussions of senior officials of the subregional grouping.
Speaking at the opening session of the ministerial meeting, Myanmar Foreign
Minister U Win Aung said Myanmar constantly seeks to establish closer
association with other regions through friendly relations and mutually
beneficial cooperation, while striving to maintain cordial relation with all
countries in the world.
"We strongly share the view that in this increasingly interdependent world,
our shared ideals for peace, freedom and economic well being can be best
attained by fostering greater understanding, good neighborliness and meaningful
cooperation among the countries of the subregion," he said.
He expressed Myanmar's full endorsement of the core principles of respect
for sovereign equality, territorial integrity, political independence,
non-interference in internal affairs, peaceful coexistence and mutual benefits,
stressing that they should serve as the basic guidelines for cooperation within
the BIMST-EC member countries as enshrined in the 1997 Bangkok
Declaration.
In the wake of increasing interdependence and economic cooperation among
nations of the world today, he warned that the globalization of the world
economy has given rise to the emergence of new forms of cooperation such as
economic groupings and regional cooperation arrangements.
He expressed Myanmar's hope that regional cooperation will help its
participants to take part in global economic integration more effectively as a
group of regional economies.
He pledged Myanmar's full commitment to the realization of the objectives
of the BIMST-EC which aim to bring progress and prosperity, noting that
Myanmar's trade with other member countries is on rise.
The one-day meeting aims at seeking further economic cooperation among the
member countries for the prosperity of the subregion.
The BIMST-EC, a crucial link between the nations of South Asia and
Southeast Asia, was originally formed in Thailand in June 1997 by Bangladesh,
India, Sri Lanka and Thailand bordering the Bay of Bengal. Its membership was
extended to Myanmar in August that year.
The five countries have also agreed to work towards establishing a free
trade area.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Irrawaddy
Kachin Manau Festival to Get Underway
By Shawn L. Nance
December 21, 2001? The Kachin Manau festival will begin on Wednesday, 26
December and finish on 2 January, 2002. Government officials expect over 300,000
visitors from around the country, as well as from India and China, where
sizeable Kachin populations also live. The festivities will be held in the
Kachin state capital of Myitkyina in northeastern Burma.
Although over 80% of Kachin are now Baptist or Roman Catholic, the Manau
festival is a celebration of the Kachin?s ancient ritual and animist,
pre-Christian, traditions.
One highlight of the festival will be performances of a traditional
open-air dance involving some 1,200 people. The festival will also include
games, sporting events and a trade fair with products from Kachin State and
elsewhere in Burma.
There are several types of Manau, and the five most important occasions
used to be 1) to celebrate victory in war; 2) to gather the clans in order to
meet and settle accounts or make plans for the future; 3) to commemorate a death
of an elder; 4) for a housewarming; 5) to bring good fortune to new
farmlands.
This year?s "Grand Reunion" Manau will celebrate the solidarity of the six
sub-groups that make up the Kachin in Burma, India and China. Each sub-group
speaks a separate dialect but they are all united through the common Jingpaw
language.
Generally, Manau can only be hosted by high chiefs or rich men who have
special authority to make sacrifices to the nat (spirit) of prosperity. The
festival begins with the sacrifice of a buffalo. Meat is then distributed to the
host?s neighbours and relatives. Guests come from all over dressed in their best
outfits. The host erects wooden Manau posts painted in red, black and white, on
the shortest of which is suspended a large Kachin drum and brass gong. A pig or
a chicken may be sacrificed during these preparations and another buffalo is
slaughtered the following day to honor the host?s ancestors.
The dance must be repeated every day for four days, but never more. During
the festival, animist priests, or jaiwas, tell stories and call down blessings
on the host.
Manau feasts require months of preparation. Dishes usually include buffalo
meat, pork or wild boar, beef, chicken, rice and pots of rice wine (tsa-pi)
drank from a large ceremonial cask. The festival also allows Kachin youth the
opportunity to engage in courtship activities.
The Kachin form one of the largest ethnic races living within Burma?s
borders. The Kachin signed a cease-fire with the junta in1994.
In 1996 the junta ordered the immediate dismantling of some ceremonial
Manau posts, which were erected on private land in Mandalay during the
centennial celebration of the creation of the Kachin written language. Gen Maung
Aye, army chief and SLORC (now SPDC) vice-chairman, and his aides ordered the
removal of the posts before he was to pass though the area on his way to Maymyo,
further straining relations between Kachins and the junta. Reportedly,
Secretary-One Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt granted permission to construct the Manau posts
in Mandalay.
Myanmar Airways will reportedly increase the frequency of its flights to
Myitkyina from four times a week to daily for a week before the festival.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Irrawaddy
Pro-democracy Activist Flees
Burma
By Ko Thet
December 21, 2001?Two years after completing a ten-year jail sentence,
Burmese activist Win Myint Naing has fled to Thailand. In 1990, he became a
Central Exclusive Committee member with the Democratic Party for a New Society
(DPNS) and was imprisoned the following year. Since his release, Win Myint has
faced harassment and has been under regular military surveillance.
Win Myint explained to the Irrawaddy why he left Burma: "One problem is
security, and the other is politics. Inside, the political situation is so
tense, that I could no longer be involved in the movement because of the high
security risks. Many other activists also face the same problem."
"For student activists and politicians from Burma, there are no guarantees
for their security," Win Myint added. "Military Intelligence Service (MIS) used
to watch over me all the time, and the Special Branch intelligence group
questioned me on several occasions. Each time, Special Branch authorities made
me write down my personal biography."
In December 1990, DPNS refused to sign government statement 1/90, which
urged political organizations to declare that they would not form an interim
government and recognize SLORC's National Convention. For that reason,
high-ranking DPNS members from its headquarters in Rangoon, including Win Myint,
were arrested by MIS and detained in Insein prison for two months.
When DPNS was abolished in December 1991, Win Myint was arrested again by
MIS and sentenced to ten years in prison under Article 5(j) of the 1950
Emergency Provision Act. He served his prison term in Taungoo prison and was
released in late 1999.
Win Myint has now resumed working along the Thai-Burma border with his
mother party, DPNS. The party has given him his old position as a Central
Exclusive Committee member.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Irrawaddy
Dissidents Relase Statement on Maneeloy
Closure
By Maung Maung Oo
December 20, 2001? Four Burmese dissident groups have asked the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Thai authorities to reconsider a plan to
repatriate Burmese refugees living in the Maneeloy holding center who have not
been given refugee status by the UNHCR.
The All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF), Democratic Party for a
New Society (DPNS), National League for Democracy-Liberated Area (NLD-LA) and
Network for Democracy and Development (NDD) released a joint statement last
Friday regarding the growing tensions in Maneeloy, located 150 km west of
Bangkok in Ratchaburi province.
The Maneeloy camp was opened in 1992 and became the main camp for dissident
Burmese students living in Thailand. Currently, about 500 Burmese live in
Maneeloy, including 197 former Burmese students. Of the total, 170 have been
granted "persons of concern" status by the UNHCR, while the rest have been
classified as illegal immigrants by Thai authorities.
Recently, the Thai government decided to shut down the camp and drew up a
plan to move the residents into a new camp in Suan Phung district, just 10 km
from the Burmese border. Those who have been denied refugee status will be
repatriated, according to Thai officials.
Maneeloy residents fear that if they are forcibly repatriated to Burma,
they could face lengthy prison sentences and other human rights abuses. Another
fear is that the security at the new camp could easily be compromised due to its
proximity to the border. Rangoon-backed militias frequently enter Thai territory
and burn down refugee camps near the border.
Last week, around fifty students staged a hunger strike to draw attention
to their safety concerns and to demand that Thai authorities abandon their plans
to close the Maneeloy camp. About five students are still on strike, while
several other hunger strikers have been admitted to the camp's clinic.
Thai authorities have already postponed an earlier plan to close Maneeloy
on Dec 15 and will instead wait until end of this month due to delays in the
construction of the border camps.
Pairote Promsan, the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of
Interior, said that the illegal immigrants would have to return to Burma after
serving jail sentences for illegally entering the kingdom. The remaining
students will be transferred to camps along the border.
The Burmese Students Association (BSA) sent an open letter from the camp to
the UNHCR on 13 December saying that the BSA will be forced to take action if
the UNHCR ignores taking a peaceful approach to solving the problem. BSA said it
would hold the UNHCR responsible for any negative consequences.
Yesterday, the UNHCR, Thai authorities and Maneeloy representatives held a
tripartite meeting without releasing the details.
Thailand based human rights groups call on the Thai government to halt the
repatriation of Burmese refugees until justice and political freedoms are
restored in Burma. Also, it was reported that the European Union is to lodge a
formal protest to the Thai government about the treatment of Burmese
refugees.
Since the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok capture in October 1999, and the
Ratchaburi Hospital siege in January 2000, Thai policy towards Burmese refugees
has been less forgiving.
Some analysts suggest that the Thai government is pressuring the UNHCR to
resolve the issue as quickly as possible but without upsetting the Burmese
junta. Bilateral relations have warmed recently and the junta has been critical
of the refugee camps that they believe house anti-Rangoon forces. Over 100,000
Burmese refugees live in 11 refugee camps along the border.
Meanwhile, Gen Sanan Kajornklum, an adviser to the defense ministry and key
broker in the repatriation of Cambodian refugees in the early 1990s, suggested
that Thailand should set up a three-year timeframe for the repatriation of
Burmese refugees and begin preparing for that goal.
The situation along the border is still dangerous for ethnic people.
Burmese military troops have started their dry season offensives on ethnic
groups that have not yet signed cease-fire agreements. Thousands more are
expected to flee the fighting and enter into Thailand.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- |