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BURMA RELATED NEWS - January
08, 2002.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
HEADLINES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - Thailand seeks Japanese help to create
drug-free villages
AFP - Thai-Mynamar ministers to hammer out fate
of army of illegal workers
AFP - Philippine Army chief meets Singapore
defence minister
Asia Pulse - Indonesia Cautious About Non-Asean
Free-Trade Proposals:FM
Asia Pulse - Philippines to Send Delegation to
Asean Tourism Forum
BBC - 'Railway of
death' remembered
VOA News - Burma's Cabinet Minister Warns
Filmmakers
Burmese Repression
Bkk Post - Govt's
claim challenged
Bkk Post - Koizumi due
here Friday for trade talks
Bkk Post - Junta
agrees to take back illegal workers
The Nation - Drug lord's safes yield gold
The Nation - Drug help to be sought
The Nation - Headway on several issues
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Makes Progress in Border
Area Development
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Catches Over 1 Mln Tons of
Fish, Prawn Annually
Kyodo News - Koizumi to
leave Wed. for tour of 5 Southeast Asian nations
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday January 7, 6:41 PM
Thailand seeks Japanese help to create drug-free villages BANGKOK, Jan 7 (AFP) - Thailand
will ask Japan to help finance drug-free villages in neighbouring Myanmar when
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visits this week, Foreign Minister
Surakiart Sathirathai said Monday.
Thailand, which has been flooded with amphetamines and other narcotics
which it says have come across the border from Myanmar, wants to set up a
project under which villages are paid to grow alternative crops and destroy drug
making facilities.
Surakiart said that during the visit by Koizumi on Friday and Saturday,
Thailand will asked Japan to play a role in its drug-free campaign.
The initial cost of setting it up will be around 500,000 dollars. "It is
not much," said the foreign minister, "we want to know how Japan will play a
role in the project."
Thailand will also seek to raise Japan's offer to help repatriate more than
100,000 Myanmar refugees and cooperation on a Japan-Southeast Asia free trade
zone.
Koizumi is visiting at the invitation of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra. Koizumi will also call on King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
He will also visit Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore on
the Southeast Asia tour from January 9-15.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday January 7, 4:01 PM
Thai-Mynamar ministers to hammer out fate of army of illegal workers BANGKOK, Jan 7 (AFP) - The Thai
and Myanmar foreign ministers will meet from Tuesday in a new attempt to hammer
out the fate of hundreds of thousands of illegal workers in Thailand, officials
said.
Senior officials from the two countries started talks Monday at the
southern Thailand resort of Phuket ahead of the arrival of Myanmar Foreign
Minister Win Aung late Tuesday.
Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and Win Aung will discuss
illegal immigration, joint efforts against drugs, trade, fishing,
telecommunications, energy, the environment and tourism, Thai officials
said.
Much attention in Thailand is being focused on more than 600,000 Mynamar
exiles and illegal workers in the country.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has sought to improve ties with
Thailand's neighbour after a series of disputes last year.
But the Thai government has also said it wants to put the priority on
repatriating illegal workers, 568,000 of whom have registered with the
authorities since last September.
And sources quoted by the Bangkok Post predicted there would be problems at
the ministerial meeting agreeing the fate of more than 100,000 ethnic Karen and
Karenni people in camps along the Thai-Myanmar border.
Thai authorities forcibly closed a major camp for Myanmar dissidents in
late December, the biggest step yet in its campaign to shut shelters for people
who have fled Myanmar's military government.
But Myanmar, which is still fighting a rebellion by Karen guerrillas, has
said it will only take back those with a genuine interest in leading a peaceful
life in the country.
The Phuket meeting of the joint cooperation commission will be the latest
in a series of top level exchanges since tensions flared in March 2001.
The two national armies clashed after becoming embroiled in fighting
between rival ethnic militias accused of involvement in drug trafficking.
The Thai prime minister travelled to Myanmar last June while the Myanmar
junta's head of military intelligence, Khin Nyunt, came to Thailand in
September.
Myanmar's military regime said in December that relations with Thailand had
strengthened through the "rapport between the leaders of the two nations".
In 2000, Thailand's exports to Myanmar totalled 20.24 billion bahtmillion
dollars) while imports were worth 10.46 billion baht (238 million dollars).
Thailand's top exports to Myanmar were plastic, steel, chemicals, cement
and rubber while the kingdom imported timber, ore, coal, crude oil and frozen
shrimps from Myanmar.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday January 8, 11:46 AM
Philippine Army chief meets Singapore defence minister SINGAPORE, Jan 8 (AFP) -
Philippine Army chief Lieutenant General Jaime de los Santos on Tuesday visited
Singapore Defence Minister Tony Tan at the end of a three-day visit here, the
defence ministry said.
The visit "underscores the good defence relations between Singapore and the
Philippines," the ministry said in a statement. "Defence ties are an important
part of the broad-based relationship between the two countries."
De los Santos had earlier visited Singapore's basic military training
centre and the training and doctrine command.
Both Singapore and the Philippines are members of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) along with Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
Cooperation within ASEAN among defence and police authorities has been
expanding after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States believed
to have been masterminded by Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network.
Al-Qaeda is believed to have members operating in some ASEAN
countries.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday January 8, 9:03 AM
Indonesia Cautious About Non-Asean Free-Trade Proposals:FM JAKARTA, Jan 8 Asia Pulse -
Indonesia Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said the government would respond
cautiously to proposals for free-trade system proposals from non-ASEAN
countries.
Hassan was referring to proposals from China and South Korea that ASEAN
form additional free trade areas with them.
China mooted the idea of forming an ASEAN-China Free Trade Area toward the
ultimate establishment of an East Asia Community during an ASEAN summit in
Brunei Darussalam last November 2001.
Hassan said with China recording an economic growth rate of 7.5 per cent in
2001, it would actually be an advantage for ASEAN to expand its trade ties with
China.
However, Indonesia and other ASEAN countries would further evaluate China's
initiative to see whether it would really benefit the region.
"ASEAN has to calculate the opportunities and its collective
competitiveness carefully," the minister said.
Similarly, an initiative from South Korea to form an East Asian Free Trade
Area would also be assessed more closely, he said.
"The problem ASEAN is facing now is how to reduce the gap between six of
its older and four of its new member countries. We should respond to the
overtures from other parties (oustide ASEAN) cautiously," Hassan said.
ASEAN groups Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand,
Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar.
As of last January 1, ASEAN member countries have become inter-linked in an
ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) where the tariffs on most of the goods they export
to each other have been reduced to 0-5 per cent.
Hassan said the signing of a Bilateral Free Trade Agreement between
Singapore and Japan and the US would not affect the implementation of AFTA.
"There is no reason to be worried that US products will penetrate the ASEAN
market through Singapore using the low tariffs among ASEAN countries. We have a
set of 'rules of origin' under which only Singapore originated products can
enjoy the AFTA facility," Hassan said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday January 7, 5:34 PM
Philippines to Send Delegation to Asean Tourism Forum MANILA, Jan 7 Asia Pulse -
Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon will lead the Philippine delegation composed of
the DOT, the Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation (PCVC), the
Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) together with the private sector in the Asean
Tourism Forum (ATF) to be held at the Yogyakarta Exhibition and Convention
Center in Yogyakarta,Indonesia on January 21-28,2002.
During the ATF, the DOT will launch its program Visit Philippines Year
(VPY) 2003 together with other Asean countries to project ASEAN major tourist
generating markets as a safe,wholesome and attractive multi-faced single
destination and encourage intra-regional travel
The VPY 2003 Campaign aims to achieve the three million tourist arrivals
target.
The ASEAN market was still the country's biggest tourist contributor for
the year 2001.Tourism officials say that the strong influx of tourists coming
from the region was due to the aggressive marketing effort by the government and
the private sector.
This year's theme for the ATF Yogyakarta is Nature Links and Cultural
Corridors which underlines the close environmental and cultural ties that bind
together with 10 countries that comprise the ASEAN family.
The annual gathering of the Asean Travel Industry will involve all the
tourism industry of the 10 member nations of ASEAN,among which are Brunei
Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines,
Singapore,Thailand and Vietnam.
The ATF is seen as a good opportunity to maintain the visibility of the
Philippines as a tourist destination in major internationally known travel
fairs.
Highlights of the ATF includes the National Tourism Organizations (NTOs)
meeting, the Travel Exchange (TRAVEX), ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA)
Awards, the ASEAN Tourism Conference and the ASEAN Tourism Ministers meeting.
Among the Philippine participants to the ATF includes:Cebu Plaza Hotel,
Marsman Tourism & Travel Corp., Blue Horizons,Annset Holidays, Philippine
Airlines, Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort, Rajah Tours Philippines, El Nido
Resorts, Club Panoly Resort and Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - Tuesday, 8 January, 2002, 04:15
GMT
'Railway of death'
remembered
Former prisoners of war who helped build the notorious Thai-Burma railway
will gather on Tuesday to watch a section of the track being laid at a memorial
site in Staffordshire.
About 80,000 people, including almost 22,000 Allied PoWs, died during the
construction of what became known as the Railway of Death during World War II.
The 100ft (30m) section of track from the 260 mile (415km) railway was
collected by a Royal Navy frigate in Thailand in November, and unloaded at
Plymouth on Monday.
It will go on display alongside other monuments to the conflicts of the
20th century, at the National Memorial Arboretum near Lichfield, a
lottery-funded project.
A plaque at the site will record the sacrifice of Allied servicemen and
Asian civilians who were forced by the Japanese to construct the railway between
1942 and 1945.
David Childs, director of the National Memorial Arboretum, said: "It is the
first time that a section of the track will be on display to the general public.
"It will remind people of the horrors of that time and the definite need to
get ourselves in a position where they are not repeated in the 21st century."
Memories rekindled
Roy Blackler, 83, from Plympton, who spent 14 months working on the
railway, watched the track being unloaded at Plymouth.
He said: "Looking at it now, I don't see rails or sleepers. I think of all
my mates that were left behind.
"They were young lads - 23 or 24 years of age - young happy lads. You have
never seen a finer set of men.
"We worked together and suffered together.
"No one can understand and that is why we need this memorial, so it never
happens again," he said.
Steve Cairns OBE, 83, of the National Federation of Far East Prisoners of
War, said: "I sincerely hope that generations to come will go to the arboretum,
see this stretch of the railway line and realise the futility of war."
A further ceremony commemorating those who died constructing the railway is
planned for 15 August this year, when it is hoped more former PoWs will attend.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Burma's Cabinet Minister Warns
Filmmakers
VOA News 7 Jan 2002 15:33 UTC A cabinet minister has warned film makers at Burma's annual Motion Picture
Awards to preserve national culture and avoid foreign influence.
Information Minister Major General Kyi Aung told the awards ceremony in
Rangoon Saturday to abide by two fundamental elements in Burmese culture, which
he said were a "sense of shame" and fear of sinning or indulging in uninhibited
desire.
The New Light of Myanmar newspaper quoted the general as saying that
adopting, what he described as "alien styles" amounts to neglecting the national
culture.
The film - "Nga-ye-tha," or "Denizen of Hell" - swept the awards for best
film, director, actor and supporting actor. It tells the story of a bully,
robber and murderer who realizes his wrongdoing only on his deathbed.
Burma's military govoernment strictly censors all media, including the
country's small motion picture industry.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- January 8, 2002
Burmese Repression Bagan Journal: On the Road to Mandalay, an Ethical Predicament (January 1, 2002) To the Editor:
"On the Road to Mandalay, an Ethical Predicament" (Bagan Journal, Jan. 1)
noted an important reason that tourism to Myanmar can be irresponsible and
unethical. Myanmar's tourist infrastructure has been built with forced labor. If
tourists flocked to Myanmar, the junta would build more hotels, roads and
tourist attractions by forcing people to work on them.
You quote Ma Thanegi, a journalist, who suggested that every visitor brings
a fresh perspective to the Burmese people. But the vast majority of the Burmese
people have already made clear that they want democracy, first in mass uprisings
in 1988 and again with elections in 1990. It is the government that needs the
fresh perspective of democracy, not the Burmese people.
JEREMY WOODRUM
Washington Director Free Burma Coalition Washington, Jan. 3, 2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - January 08,
2002.
Govt's claim challenged
Former deputy foreign minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra yesterday challenged
the government's claim of success in building warm ties with Burma.
MR Sukhumbhand demanded more proof and urged the government to develop more
``constructive relations'' in its engagement with the Rangoon regime. Personal
interests should not be allowed to play a part in the policy.
Despite the government's claim that the two countries had become good
neighbours, methamphetamine pills were still flowing into Thailand across the
border from Burma, he told a seminar on global situations and their impacts on
Thailand.
MR Sukhumbhand, a Democrat MP, was also concerned about possible political
transitions in Burma due to constant outside pressure on the military regime for
political changes, and the deteriorating health of Gen Ne Win, who is believed
to have influence on the ruling junta.
The Thaksin government's policy on Burma, which put aside human rights and
democratic elements, differed sharply from that of the previous Democrat-led
administration.
Prapat Thepchatree, head of Thammasat University's Centre for International
Policy Studies, which organised the seminar, believed that was a mistake. The
current government had abandoned Thailand's strongest point which distinguished
it from other Southeast Asian countries, he said.
MR Sukhumbhand also called for more clarity, saying the government had sent
confusing signals to other countries last year on its anti-terrorism stance and
Thailand's economic policy.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - January 08,
2002.
Koizumi due here Friday for trade talks
Thaksin keen to set up automobile hub
Free trade and solutions to Burmese problems will highlight a discussion
between Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his Japanese counterpart Junichiro
Koizumi, who visits Bangkok on Friday and Saturday.
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said the discussion would be a
follow-up to talks held during Mr Thaksin's visit to Japan last month.
Regarding the free trade idea, the minister said he would like to call it a
``close economic partnership'' which would facilitate bilateral trade as Japan
was a major market for Thailand.
Foreign and commerce ministries were studying a list of goods that should
be included in a free trade pact.
Also under the business partnership concept, Thailand would propose the
country be a regional hub for automobile companies to distribute Japanese
vehicles and parts to Southeast Asia as well as India.
``We are targeting not only neighbouring countries but also India, where
there are hundreds of millions of people with purchasing power. This will give
more weight to our request for support for Thailand to become a hub. We will
discuss this with Japan as economic partners,'' Mr Surakiart said.
On Burmese issues, Thailand would ask Japan to sponsor a drug-free village
project in Burma. Thailand was starting the scheme with 20 million baht.
Thailand and Burma will hold a meeting on drug suppression today.
Thailand would also ask for Japanese help in repatriating about 100,000
Burmese refugees.
Japan had previously expressed its interest in participating, Mr Surakiart
said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - January 08,
2002.
Junta agrees to take back illegal
workers
Holding centre to be set up opposite Tak
Achara Ashayagachat
Rangoon has agreed in principle to set up a holding centre in Myawaddy for
illegal workers repatriated from Thailand, the permanent secretary for foreign
affairs said yesterday.
Details and procedures would be discussed in a month or two so the centre
could be set up in the Burmese border town opposite Mae Sot in Tak, Tej Bunnag
said.
Mr Tej led an inter-agency delegation to talk with Burmese officials headed
by Thaung Tun, director-general of the Political Affairs Department, at the
sixth joint co-operation commission meeting.
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai will co-chair a ministerial meeting
with his counterpart Win Aung tomorrow.
The repatriation of more than half a million illegal Burmese workers seemed
to be the only issue making progress, with little advance in talks on the return
to Burma of an estimated 108,000 displaced people.
Mr Tej said it was not easy to conclude arrangements for the repatriation
of displaced people. But he noted that increasingly positive attitudes on both
sides were building up mutual understanding, with Thailand expecting an eventual
solution to the issue as had been the case with the problem of illegal
migrants.
The joint commission meeting, he said, took place because of improvements
in bilateral ties following Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's visit to Burma
in June, and the September visit to Thailand by Khin Nyunt, secretary one of the
ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Yesterday's meeting also
discussed preparations for HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn's visit to Burma,
on behalf of His Majesty the King, later this year, and the upcoming visit of
SPDC vice-chairman Maung Aye, Mr Tej said.
Other issues raised at the meeting included co-operation in drug control,
account trade, Thailand's import of Burma's farm produce, joint fishery
ventures, road networks, tourism, environment and energy.
The two countries tried their best to move forward co-operation in drug
control, Mr Tej said.
``After the signing of the memorandum of understanding on co-operation in
narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursor chemicals control during
the premier's visit to Burma, both sides have stepped up exchanges of
information and intelligence. Therefore there has been more news on sweeps
against these drugs,'' he said.
Thailand soon would send a technical-level delegation to survey Burma's
opium-riddled region opposite Chiang Rai for possible crop substitution
programmes or other infrastructure projects. This would be financed by a
20-million-baht budget from the Thai government, he said.
``We have a limited budget, so we will see what kind of activities we can
conduct with Burma. But the methamphetamine problem is a matter of demand and
supply, so we have to work on other fronts as well,'' he said.
On the fishery issue, concerned agencies had to further discuss terms and
conditions, he said.
Songsang Patavanich, president of the Thai Overseas Fisheries Association,
said that most sticking points of the joint-venture deal had been resolved, with
the issue of where to unload the catch being the main remaining snag.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
Drug lord's safes yield gold Published on Jan 8, 2002 Authorities yesterday found 1.5 kilograms of gold, jewellery and other
valuables believed to be the ill-gotten gains of fugitive convicted drug warlord
Wei Xieu-kang in eight safes at his mistress' house.
Pirapan Premputi, secretary-general of the Anti-Money Laundering Commission
(AMLC), said three independent appraisers were in the process of valuing all
assets seized from|Wei and his suspected accomplices.
The gold alone has a market value of more than Bt2 million, Pirapan said,
adding that the AMLC had earlier frozen about Bt100 million of Wei's assets
pending legal proceedings to confiscate them.
The valuables found yesterday, along with other assets seized in earlier
raids on various homes and businesses, belonged to Wei's mistress, his son and
other suspected accomplices in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.
Pirapan set Februay 2 as the deadline for owners of the seized assets to
submit proof of acquisition and ownership of the items.
Wei, a drug warlord of the pro-Rangoon United Wa State Army, jumped bail
while appealing a drug conviction in 1987. He is believed to be taking refuge at
a jungle base near the Burmese border.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
Drug help to be sought Published on Jan 8, 2002 Japanese premier Junichiro Koizumi is to be lobbied to assist with the
drug- suppression programme in Burma when he makes an official visit to Thailand
on Friday, Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said yesterday.
"Thailand needs Japan to a play crucial role in helping establish drug-free
village projects in Burma," Surakiart said.
Thailand, which has previously blamed Burma for producing drugs such as
methamphetamines for the Thai market, has provided funding of Bt 20 million for
drug-eradication programmes there.
Surakiart has floated the idea of Japanese involvement several times but
there has been no response from Tokyo.
Koizumi will leave Tokyo tomorrow for a regional tour, which also takes him
to the Philippines, Malaysia Indonesia and Singapore, in a bid to reinforce
Japan's status in Southeast Asia. He will be in Thailand for 24 hours over
Friday and Saturday.
He is expected to brief his counterparts on Japanese plans for economic
cooperation - including free-trade agreements - with Asean.
Thailand, a key member of Asean, proposes becoming a closer economic
partner of Japan, according to Surakiart, who clarified that they would be just
be "partners" rather than it leading to a free-trade pact.
Strategically, the Kingdom could be a production hub for Japan's automobile
industry as Bangkok had now engaged with South Asia, proposing a free-trade
agreement with India, he added.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will also raise the issue of
anti-terrorism campaigns in his talks with Koizumi, the minister said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
Headway on several issues Don Pathan Published on Jan 8, 2002 The sixth meeting of the Thai-Burma Joint Commission kicked off yesterday,
with both sides making progress towards finding middle ground on issues ranging
from the deportation of illegal foreign workers to joint investment in
fisheries, said senior officials.
Speaking to The Nation after the meeting yesterday, Thaung Tun -
director-general of the Burmese Foreign Ministry's Political Affairs Department
- said the meeting had taken place in a "friendly and relaxed atmosphere".
Relations had been improving, he said, since Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's
visit to Rangoon and a return visit by Lt-General Khin Nyunt, the ruling Burmese
junta's security chief.
The visits were deemed as fence-mending trips following last year's
cross-border shelling between the countries' armies. The conflict took bilateral
ties to one of their lowest-ever points.
HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will visit Burma by the end of this
year, and Burmese army chief Maung Aye is expected to visit Thailand soon.
Officials from both sides insisted that the hard feelings of the past had
subsided and that the two countries were making progress on a number of
issues.
"The Burmese are good at putting the past behind, letting bygones be
bygones. The feeling between the two sides is much better now,'' said Krit
Kanchana-Goonchorn, deputy permanent secretary at the Thai Foreign
Ministry.
Speaking to the press after the first day of the three-day meeting, Foreign
Ministry permanent secretary Tej Bunnag announced that the Burmese government
had designated the border town of Myawaddy as a "holding centre" for illegal
Burmese workers deported by Thai authorities.
More than 400,000 Burmese have registered to work legally in the Kingdom,
but there are many more still here illegally, Tej said. He did not say if or
when the Thai government would launch another crackdown on Burmese and other
illegal foreign workers.
The repatriation of some 100,000 Burmese refugees along the border was also
brought up yesterday, but officials said the two sides are still a long way from
finding any middle ground.
Thailand has proposed that a third party monitor the repatriation to ensure
that it is transparent and that the returnees will not be going back to
dangerous areas. Burma, on the other hand, maintains that this is a bilateral
matter, said an official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Thai officials at yesterday's meeting also discussed supplying Bt20
million-worth of technical assistance to the Burmese government for a
crop-substitution project, but the specific area to be targeted has not yet
identified, said Thaung Tun.
Tej said it would be somewhere to the north of Chiang Rai province, an area
in which the United Wa State Army has a strong presence. A team of experts would
visit the area in coming weeks to assess the situation and determine how the
project should be carried out, he said. "We should do whatever we can to reduce
the amount of methamphetamine and opium entering the country,'' Tej said.
On the issue of joint fisheries, the two countries have already agreed on
an 85:15 profit-sharing deal in favour of the Thai side, but have yet to
finalise details relating to inspection procedures.
The sixth joint commission will be officially opened today by Foreign
Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and his Burmese counterpart, Win Aung. The
meeting concludes tomorrow.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar Makes Progress in Border
Area Development
Xinhuanet 2002-01-08 12:11:56 YANGON, January 8 (Xinhuanet)
-- Myanmar is making progress in border areas development under the care of the
government, scoring certain achievements in some sectors in the areas.
According to the latest figures issued by the Myanmar Ministry of Progress
of Border Areas and National Races and Development Affairs, in the construction
sector, the government has, since1988, built 452 kilometers (km) of asphalt
road, 2,246 km of gravel road and 4,252.5 km of earthen road as well as 679
small and large bridges in the areas.
In the health sector, the government has built 64 hospitals and opened 123
rural health care centers, while in the education sector, it has built 678
schools during the period.
Moreover, altogether 61 dams for water supply and 85 television
retransmission stations have been built, enabling the ethnic people in the areas
to enjoy equal opportunities like urban dwellers.
According to the figures, the government has spent 22,172 million Kyats
(about 63.34 million U.S. dollars) for the country's border areas development
since then.
There are 18 regions with 67 townships in Myanmar prescribed as border
areas covering 215,961 square-kilometers.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar Catches Over 1 Mln Tons of
Fish, Prawn Annually
Xinhuanet 2002-01-07 12:32:06 YANGON, January 7 (Xinhuanet)
-- Myanmar catches over 1 million tons of fish and prawn annually without
causing extinction of them, said sources at the country's Ministry of Livestock
and Fisheries Monday.
The ministry is setting free fingerlings into rivers, streams, lakes and
dams, and to prevent extinction of fish and prawn, no fishing zones like nursery
ground have been designated with rules and regulations issued with respect to
fishing, it said.
In addition, the government is giving all kinds of encouragement to the
fishery sector, aimed at promoting the development of the sector, extending fish
and prawn breeding using modern techniques in catching, breeding, packaging,
distribution and production without causing extinction of them, the sources
added.
Myanmar people mainly live on fish and prawn, getting 60-70 percent of
protein from them and the annual per capita consumption of fish of the Myanmar
people increased from 18 kilograms (kg) in1998 to 21.4 kg in 2001, signifying
the country's high consumption of fish by international standard.
In the fiscal year 2000-01, Myanmar's fish and meat sector contributed 7.5
percent to gross domestic product and its marine products fetch about 200
million U.S. dollars of foreign exchange annually, it disclosed.
Myanmar, with half of its boundary as coastline extending as long as 2,276
kilometers and abundant rivers, creeks and lakes, is rich in inexhaustible
marine resources. The fishery sector is the third productive mainstay of the
country's economy after agriculture and forestry.
According to official statistics, Myanmar exported 39,600 tons of fish and
prawn in the first eight months of 2001, a 7.9-percent increase compared with
the same period of 2000.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Koizumi to leave Wed. for
tour of 5 Southeast Asian nations
By Naoko Aoki
TOKYO, Jan. 8, Kyodo
- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will leave Wednesday for a weeklong tour of
five Southeast Asian countries, with economic cooperation between Japan and the
region high on the agenda.
The premier will visit the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore for talks with the countries' leaders and will deliver a speech on Japan's Southeast Asia policy in Singapore, his last stop. The focus of the trip is on a plan, expected to be proposed by Koizumi, to build a new comprehensive economic partnership between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which may pave the way for a free trade agreement in the future. The plan will call for closer links between Japan and ASEAN, not only in the traditional areas of trade and investment, but also in new sectors such as information technology and science, according to government sources. The move is believed to reflect what observers say are concerns about the challenges Japan is facing from China in terms of influence on the region. China and ASEAN agreed in November to pursue a plan to create a free trade area within 10 years. During the trip, Koizumi is also expected to seek backing from the region's leaders for his plan to push ahead with structural reform programs in order to achieve a genuine recovery in Japan's long-ailing economy, even if it brings short-term pain. The move comes at a time when the Southeast Asian countries are struggling with economic troubles themselves, and hopes are high that Japan's economy will recover soon to help them alleviate their problems. The premier's messages are expected to be conveyed in a series of summit meetings and also in the policy speech to be delivered in Singapore on Monday. Dubbed the ''Koizumi doctrine'' by his aides, it will be based on a speech given by Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda in Manila in 1977, with changes befitting the times, Japanese government officials said. In the speech, Fukuda made three major points -- that Japan will not become a military power, that Japan and the region should boost wide-ranging exchanges, and that Japan and ASEAN should cooperate as equal partners -- which Japanese officials say still apply 25 years after it was delivered. A cut in Japan's official development assistance (ODA) in the fiscal 2002 budget is also expected to be a topic in his talks in countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia, which rely heavily on Japanese aid. Koizumi's message is expected to be that although the ODA budget will be cut, Japan will continue to place importance on its assistance to Southeast Asia and maintain funding in areas that are necessary. Security issues are not expected to take center stage, although Koizumi is expected to call for international cooperation in fighting terrorism in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. The premier is also expected to underscore the importance of education and training, promising Japan's cooperation in the area and meeting former exchange students to Japan in all five countries, according to the officials. The premier is also expected to discuss the democratization and stabilization of Myanmar when he meets with U.N. special envoy for Myanmar, Razali Ismail, in Malaysia on Thursday, the officials said. Koizumi, who has come under fire for what critics see as the slighting of Asia in diplomacy, had initially planned to visit Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore in September, but the trip was postponed because of the Sept. 11 attacks. The Philippines was added to the premier's itinerary after the trip was rescheduled. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |