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BURMA RELATED NEWS - January
11, 2002.
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HEADLINES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - Japan's Koizumi, Mahathir pledge to boost
bilateral ties
AFP - Japanese PM Koizumi arrives in
Thailand
AFP - Japanese PM urges ASEAN to expand ties
from China to Australia
AFP - Japan's trade minister calls for Pacific
economic bloc in 10 years
AP - 17 Vietnamese Convicted for
Drugs
Asahi Shinbun - Advancing regional economic
integration is key
Hoovers - Propaganda habit hard to quit as drug
effort showcased
VOA - Asia Pacific UN Reports Significant
Progress at Burma Talks
Bkk Post - Rangoon
lifts fishing ban
Xinhuanet - Chinese World Heritage Sites Photo
Exhibition, Film Show Open in Myanmar
Xinhuanet - Golden Triangle Emerges New Drug
Tide
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Projects Rise in Edible Oil
Production in 2001-02
Mizzima - India’s border states in high
alert
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday January 10, 6:18 PM
Japan's Koizumi, Mahathir pledge
to boost bilateral ties
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 (AFP) - Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad pledged Thursday to boost bilateral ties to stay competitive following September 11 attacks in the US, officials said. The two premiers held "very productive discussions" on issues ranging from
globalisation, terrorism and the situation in Afghanistan and Myanmar, said
Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar.
"Both leaders agree that the world has changed after September 11 and there
is a need to adopt new approaches to be competitive," he told reporters after
talks between the two premiers.
"Both leaders agree that in order to have effective relationship and play
an effective role in the WTO (World Trade Organisation), they need to be
cohesive and unified in their approaches."
While combating terrorism was important, both Mahathir and Koizumi agreed
that the root causes of terrorism must be addressed to find a long-term
solution, Syed Hamid said.
"Japan believes the question of Palestine needs to be resolved in order to
bring peace and minimise injustices," he added.
Koizumi arrived here Thursday on the second leg of his week-long Southeast
Asian tour.
This was his first official visit to Malaysia, which came after the
60-year-old popular Japanese leader ended an overnight visit to the Philippines
early Thursday.
Koizumi was accorded an official welcoming ceremony at the new
administrative capital of Putrajaya before talks with Mahathir.
The leaders have met three times previously. They last met in Brunei when
leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their Asian
partners -- Japan, China and South Korea -- gathered for an annual summit.
Syed Hamid said Mahathir had proposed that Japan, with its skilled
workforce, helped ASEAN develop its human resources and Koizumi agreed to look
into it.
Mahathir also offered Malaysia as a venue to house an ASEAN-Japan
university, he said. There are now 1,000 Malaysian students in Japan and having
a university locally would help trim costs, he added.
Koizumi was expected to use talks with the 76-year-old Malaysian leader to
propose forming a comprehensive economic alliance between Japan and ASEAN.
He first unveiled the initiative, which may include free trade accords
between Japan and ASEAN, when he met Philippine President Gloria Arroyo on
Wednesday.
Koizumi said he would seek ASEAN's "agreement on the plan when Japan and
ASEAN hold their leaders' meeting" in the future.
Analysts said Koizumi planned to use this trip to boost Japan's profile in
the region in a bid to counter China's intensified dialogue with ASEAN
members.
Japan was left out in the cold in November when China and ASEAN agreed to
create the world's most populous free trade bloc within 10 years, covering two
billion consumers.
Koizumi is to hold an audience with Malaysia's new king Tuanku Syed
Sirajuddin and be briefed by UN envoy Razali Ismail on Myanmar's national
reconciliation process, before attending a dinner hosted by Mahathir.
A Malaysian official told AFP that Razali would seek Japan's assistance to
help fund critical areas such as health, education and energy in Myanmar as it
heads towards democracy.
Koizumi is to fly to Bangkok on Friday to meet Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra.
He will then move on to Jakarta for talks with Indonesian President
Megawati Sukarnoputri on Saturday and meet Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok
Tong on Sunday before returning to Tokyo on January 15.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday January 11, 12:26 PM
Japanese PM Koizumi arrives in Thailand BANGKOK, Jan 11 (AFP) -
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi arrived in Thailand on Friday for a
whistlestop 24-hour visit on the third leg of a five nation Southeast Asian
tour.
Koizumi was welcomed by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh at Air Force Airport in Bangkok.
He was scheduled to meet later with his Thai counterpart Thaksin
Shinawatra.
Analysts said Koizumi planned to use this trip to boost Japan's profile in
the region in a bid to counter China's intensified dialogue with members of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Japanese leader first unveiled his Japan-ASEAN economic initiative,
which may include free trade accords between Japan and the bloc, when he met
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo on Wednesday.
In October, Japan and Singapore completed negotiations to launch a
bilateral free trade accord, the first ever for the world's second-biggest
economy.
Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said earlier this week that
Thailand would ask Japan to play a role in its anti-drug campaign and for
cooperation in the repatriation of Myanmar refugees.
Koizumi will call on King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the resort town of Hun Hin,
300 kilometers south of Bangkok.
He departs Thailand for Indonesia on Saturday and will finish his trip in
Singapore.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday January 11, 4:51 PM
Japanese PM urges ASEAN to expand ties from China to Australia BANGKOK, Jan 11 (AFP) -
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi arrived in Thailand Friday urging
ASEAN members to expand relations with China, South Korea, Australia and New
Zealand.
He also pledged that Japan would play a strong role in the development of
countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
"Political stability is inevitable for economic stability. From that point
of view we would like to contribute to the stability in the entire region," he
told reporters after arriving here from Malaysia.
"With that idea, we would like to make an effort to develop each country in
the region."
He said Japan and countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) needed to "expand cooperation to China, South Korea, as well as
Australia and New Zealand".
"Relations between Japan and ASEAN are not supposed to be closed," he
said.
Koizumi is on whistlestop 24 hour visit to Thailand, the third leg of a
five nation Southeast Asian tour that has also taken in Kuala Lumpur and Manila.
He was scheduled to meet later with his Thai counterpart Thaksin
Shinawatra.
Analysts said Koizumi planned to use this trip to boost Japan's profile in
the region in a bid to counter China's intensified dialogue with members of
The Japanese leader first unveiled his Japan-ASEAN economic initiative,
which may include free trade accords between Tokyo and the bloc, when he met
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo on Wednesday.
In October, Japan and Singapore completed negotiations to launch a
bilateral free trade accord, the first ever for the world's second-biggest
economy.
However, Japan was left out in the cold in November when China and ASEAN
agreed to create the world's most populous free trade bloc within 10 years,
covering two billion consumers.
"I have felt strong expectations from ASEAN countries towards Japan. I
reconfirm the importance of our overseas development assistance for the
development of countries in the region," he said.
ASEAN comprises the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Cambodia,
Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
"Each country needs to carry out its own reform which is important not only
for one country but also the entire region."
He said instability in one country could spread elsewhere and this required
a joint effort to create the right investment environment.
Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said earlier this week that
Thailand would ask Japan to play a role in its anti-drug campaign and for
cooperation in the repatriation of Myanmar refugees.
Koizumi will call on King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the resort town of Hua Hin,
300 kilometers south of Bangkok.
He departs Thailand for Indonesia on Saturday and will finish his trip in
Singapore where he will meet Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong on Sunday.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday January 11, 1:17 PM
Japan's trade minister calls for Pacific economic bloc in 10 years (AFP) - Japan's Economy, Trade
and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma said Asian and Pacific nations should
consider creating a Pacific economic bloc to strengthen economic ties.
"Establishing a broad economic partnership in a Pacific economic bloc would
not be bad for Southeast Asia, East Asia as well as Oceania," Hiranuma said in a
press conference.
"I think it's good to consider it broadly and with plenty of time -- about,
say, a 10-year span," he said.
Hiranuma made the comment as Japan and Singapore are set to sign Japan's
first bi-lateral Free Trade Agreement on Sunday.
Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his Singaporean counterpart
Goh Chok Tong are scheduled to sign the agreement.
Koizumi is on a week-long trip to five Southeast Asian nations in a bid to
boost economic ties between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN).
Analysts have said Koizumi planned to use this trip to boost Japan's
profile in the region in a bid to counter China's intensified dialogue with
members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
ASEAN and China agreed in November to set up a free-trade zone in 10
years.
Hiranuma said it is important for Japan to follow China's move.
"We, too, should promote economic ties (with ASEAN nations) to promote
comprehensive trade relations under the WTO framework," Hiranuma said.
ASEAN comprises the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Cambodia,
Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday January 10 1:37 PM ET
17 Vietnamese Convicted for Drugs HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Four
Vietnamese were sentenced to death by firing squad Thursday for smuggling and
selling heroin from neighboring Laos, a court official said. Thirteen others
were given prison sentences.
The 17 suspects admitted to smuggling a total of 15.4 pounds of heroin on
11 occasions from March 1998 until their arrests in February, the court official
in the central province of Ha Tinh said.
Four were sentenced to death, five were given life sentences and eight
others received prison terms ranging from 13 to 20 years, he said.
Also Thursday, a court in neighboring Nghe An province began trying 23
others also accused of trafficking heroin and opium from Laos, a court official
said.
The group is accused of smuggling 88 pounds of heroin and 544 pounds of
opium from Laos between 1995 and September 1999, the official said. Police
seized $140,000 and 244 ounces of gold from suspected drug traffickers.
The accused ringleader, 41-year-old Nguyen Duc Luong, also is suspected of
growing opium at his farm, the official said on condition of anonymity.
The Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces have become notorious for drug smuggling
since a massive government crackdown in the northern province of Lai Chau in
1995.
Most of the heroin smuggled into Vietnam comes from China and the Golden
Triangle, the spot where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar converge.
Vietnam has some of the world's toughest penalties for drug-related crimes.
Trading, possessing or trafficking more than 31/2 ounces of heroin or 11 ounces
of opium are punishable by death.
Courts sentenced 55 people to death last year on drug-related charges,
according to government figures.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Asahi Shimbun
POINT OF VIEW:Advancing regional
economic integration is key
By Lim Hua Sing, Special to The Asahi Shimbun Asia Network
January 11, 2002.
The world has plunged into a simultaneous recession. Japan and the United
States are suffering from economic contractions. As of December 2001, Britain
and France were about the only countries within the European Union whose gross
domestic product had achieved a growth rate of around 2 percent. Most other EU
countries recorded lower growth or zero growth.
Of the Asian newly industrializing economies (NIEs), the Republic of Korea
(South Korea) had a growth rate of 2 percent or less, Hong Kong zero, while the
economies of Taiwan and Singapore contracted 4.2 percent and 5.6 percent,
respectively.
Myanmar (Burma) and the three countries of Indochina that recently joined
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) showed temporary growth as
their economies got off the ground in the initial phase of development. But
Thailand, which continued remarkable growth, had a growth rate of 2 percent or
less, and Malaysia's economy showed a contraction of 1.3 percent.
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States slowed down the already
sluggish U.S. economy and caused Asian exports to the United States to drop
sharply. In 2000, Asian countries that suffered serious damage in the 1997
financial crisis were beginning to show slow signs of recovery, but they have
fallen into a recession again.
The economies of Europe and North America are bound by the EU and the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), respectively. As such, they are making
efforts to get through the recession with regional economic integration and
cooperation. As of 1996, 62 percent of EU exports and imports were conducted
within the region. In 1997, 49 percent of NAFTA's exports and 39.9 percent of
imports stayed within it. By comparison, ASEAN economic integration and
cooperation are not as advanced.
In 1991, the establishment of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) was proposed
to make the region a free trade area in the next 15 years. However, the plan has
made little progress. Since ASEAN countries have lured capital from Japan,
Europe and the United States to advance electronic industries and machinery and
equipment production, their products are alike. That is why regional trade has
remained inactive. The ratio of ASEAN regional exports, which stood at 19.8
percent in 1991, for example, only increased to 20.6 percent in 1998. At the
same time, imports showed a slight increase from 17.5 percent to 21.4 percent.
Export partners of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand in
1996 were concentrated on NIEs (32.7 percent), the United States (23.1 percent)
and Japan (12.6 percent). They also depended heavily on Japan (31 percent), NIEs
(22.3 percent) and the United States (16 percent) for imports. In the same year,
however, exports and imports to and from China remained at 1.5 percent and 1.9
percent, respectively.
The Asian financial crisis, the collapse of Japan's asset-inflated economy
and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks all aggravated the already ailing economies
of Asia-Pacific nations. In fact, expanding trade with Japan, the United States
and NIEs is extremely difficult for ASEAN, which has no choice but to explore
new frontiers for economic cooperation. In that respect, cooperation with China
becomes particularly important.
Meanwhile, the Chinese economy has been showing rapid growth. However, its
exports to the United States have slowed. Trade friction with Japan is also a
problem and it is not necessarily to China's advantage to rely solely on Japan
and the United States as trade partners. That is why strengthening ties with
countries in the Asia-Pacific region, in particular ASEAN, is a pressing issue
for China.
A free trade area comprising China and ASEAN would form a market of 1.7
billion people-larger than the EU or NAFTA. It would have a gross domestic
product of $2 trillion (260 trillion yen) with trade worth $1.23 trillion.
On Nov. 5 last year, leaders of ASEAN, Japan, China and South Korea met in
Brunei. At the meeting, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji officially proposed the
formation of a China-and-ASEAN free trade area (CAFTA) within the next 10 years.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he did not want Malaysia to
turn into nothing more than an export market for China. A number of other ASEAN
leaders also expressed apprehensions that China could overwhelm ASEAN as a
trading partner because of its competitiveness.
ASEAN countries are increasingly nervous because Chinese products such as
motorcycles, air conditioners, digital video disc players and color televisions
are inundating the global market. In 2000, China made $45 billion-accounting for
70 percent of direct foreign investment in East Asia.
However, Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong welcomed the proposal,
calling CAFTA an ideal opportunity that ASEAN must not miss. As a whole, no
strong objections were raised. It appears ASEAN has recognized the importance of
establishing a mutually complementary economic relationship with China.
ASEAN also appears set to promote political and regional security
cooperation with China. When the foreign ministers of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar
met, Thai Foreign Minister Surakiat Sathirathai referred to China's CAFTA
proposal and expressed hope that stronger cooperation with China would prevent
drugs produced in the golden triangle from spreading throughout the world by way
of China.
At the same summit meeting in Brunei, Japan called on others to join the
international fight against terrorism, but reaction was cool. The lack of
cooperation must have been a shock to Japan, but it shows how Japan needs to
better understand ASEAN.
``The internal affairs'' of Islamic states such as Indonesia-which has the
largest Muslim population in the world-Malaysia and Brunei are not as simple as
they appear to outsiders. Leaders at the Brunei summit harshly criticized the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. However, they turned down the resolution proposed by
Malaysia and Indonesia to demand the United States immediately stop attacking
Afghanistan. Thus, ASEAN's position concerning international anti-terrorism
measures is by no means monolithic.
The gap in understanding between Japan and ASEAN is wide. ASEAN's plan to
link Singapore with Kunming, China, by rail is another example. Japan thinks it
is better to build a road.
Japan has close ties with ASEAN in terms of trade, direct foreign
investment and official development assistance. But China-ASEAN relations are
advancing at a faster pace than Japan-ASEAN relations. While Japan stands by
free trade, it has opposed the conclusion of bilateral trade agreements.
However, American and European economies are moving toward bloc economies and
regional integration. To keep up with the trend, the Asia-Pacific region should
also promote the conclusion of multilateral and bilateral free trade agreements
and economic regional integration.
Japan will sign a free trade agreement with Singapore on Sunday. It went
relatively smoothly because Singapore has no farming sector. Since Japan is bent
on protecting domestic farmers, I doubt it can sign free trade agreements with
Thailand and South Korea as just easily. The same goes for other ASEAN nations.
In this regard, CAFTA is easier than a free trade agreement between Japan and
ASEAN. Unless Japan seriously considers solving the problems related to the
protection of domestic agriculture, it would be difficult to conclude free trade
agreements with ASEAN countries.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Japan has yet to present concrete plans for the
establishment of a forum of ASEAN plus Japan, China and South Korea, an ASEAN
currency swap agreement and an Asian monetary fund.
Unless Japan squarely tackles such important issues to further strengthen
economic cooperation with ASEAN, it will be left in the dark in the move to
advance regional economic integration.
Born in Malaysia, the author is professor and deputy director of the
Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at Waseda University.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hoovers
Propaganda habit hard to quit as drug effort showcased January 10, 2002 10:57pm Matthew Pennington in Yangon 01/11/2002 IN A MOMENT frozen for posterity, a life-size dummy of Myanmar's military
intelligence chief, wielding a metal stick, chops down plastic opium poppies
against a painted backdrop of mist-shrouded mountains.
On another floor, syringes, confiscated amphetamine pills and antique opium
pipes are displayed in glass cases. Grisly photos of dying junkies adorn the
walls to warn visitors of the dangers of drugs.
Not shy about claiming its place in history, Myanmar's military Government
has opened a grandiose Drug Elimination Museum to advertise - in the hyperbole
typical of authoritarian regimes - that its counter-narcotics efforts are making
great progress in curbing the trade.
The result is that the sprawling three-storey museum, built on the site of
a former cemetery in central Yangon, is short on education and high on
propaganda - it even fails to note that the impoverished country is the world's
No 1 heroin producer.
The museum cost 1.05 billion kyat (HK$10.9 million) to build, including
funds from private donors - one of whom is leading Myanmar businessman Lo
Hsing-han, widely known as a former drugs kingpin.
It opened in June and has drawn about 2,500 visitors every month, most of
them from schools, said police major Myo Thu Soe, a curator.
At the palatial entrance, a brass plaque quotes junta leader General Than
Shwe vowing to fight the drugs menace "threatening all the people of the world",
even if the regime receives no foreign help.
Little aid has been forthcoming, largely because of the regime's human
rights record.
The Government's performance fighting drugs has yielded mixed results.
Production of opium doubled after the regime took power in 1988, as it reached
ceasefires with a number of ethnic insurgents involved in drug trafficking.
Opium harvests declined in the past five years to below their pre-1988
level, due to poor weather and the Government's eradication efforts. Still,
Myanmar was estimated to grow enough opium last year to make more than 80 tonnes
of heroin.
After the Taleban banned opium-growing last year, Myanmar overtook
Afghanistan to become the top producer. This week the Thai military said
satellite photographs showed a recent increase in opium production in the Golden
Triangle region of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. Also, Myanmar is increasingly a
source of methamphetamines.
In the museum display, foreign traders are blamed for introducing opium in
the 16th century, and Britain is accused of using it to destroy Myanmar's social
fabric during colonial rule. One display shows 18th-century Myanmar king Bodaw
reading an edict against sales of opium and other intoxicants while top-hatted
white men in the background strike drug deals.
Military campaigns against ethnic drug armies are documented, with detailed
inventories of narcotics confiscated and government soldiers "who have
sacrificed their lives and limbs for mankind".
Oil paintings depict generals making peace deals with ethnic insurgents and
promoting development to end the dependence of hill tribes on opium as a crop.
One gruesome photo shows surgeons extracting bags of heroin from the
stomach of a human drug "mule", and another presents a wasted addict described
as on his death bed.
At the centre of the museum is a life-size representation of a hillside the
size of two tennis courts. A mannequin of a farmer guides a plough pulled by a
stuffed buffalo. The farmer cultivates tea and buckwheat instead of the opium
poppy.
Min Kyaw Thya, 11, among a couple of dozen scurrying students who were the
only visitors one recent morning, was more interested in the displays of
stimulant pills.
"I haven't seen the tablets before," the schoolboy said as he bounced a
tennis ball. "Now I'll know what they look like so I won't eat them."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Asia Pacific UN Reports
Significant Progress at Burma Talks
VOA News 10 Jan 2002 16:44 UTC The United Nations special envoy to Burma says talks between the military government and the pro-democratic opposition have made significant progress. Malaysian diplomat Razali Ismail made the statement to reporters in Kuala
Lumpur Thursday. The Associated Press quotes him as saying the talks, which
began in October of 2000, are moving along quite satisfactorily. Mr. Razali met
with reporters after meeting with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi, who is on a tour of southeast Asia. The Malaysian is quoted as saying
he spoke to Mr. Koizumi about the prospects for democratic government in Burma,
but he declined to reveal details.
Neither side in the Burma talks has divulged what is being discussed, but
the opposition National League for Democracy recently urged the military to
start what it called a meaningful political dialogue. Since the talks began, the
military has been freeing opposition political prisoners as a gesture of
goodwill.
The National League for Democracy won general elections in 1990, but the
military has never allowed it to take power. Opposition leader and Nobel
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been under virtual house arrest since September of
2000.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - January 11,
2002.
Rangoon lifts fishing ban
Rangoon has lifted its ban on fishery concessions but says only
Thai-Burmese joint venture investments will be allowed.
Fisheries Department deputy head Maitri Duangsawat yesterday called a
meeting of 100 Ranong fishermen at a local hotel to explain the joint-venture
rules.
He said Burma had agreed to grant concessions to Thais after suspending
them for seven months.
However, only joint-venture investments would be allowed, and these would
have to be screened.
Mr Maitri said three Thai companies were interested.
Lt-Gen Khemmachart Nitisiri, president of K Marine Corporation, said a
joint venture between the firm and Myanmar KTTA had been approved.
Investors would have to pay 500,000 baht a trawler every month to fish in
Arakan, Irrawaddy or Mergui, he said.
Buang Kaewkanokvijit, a fishing boat owner, said the demands were
unacceptable. The cost could reach 600,000 baht for one trawler in a deep-sea
fishery. The risk of losses was high.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chinese World Heritage Sites Photo
Exhibition, Film Show Open in Myanmar
Xinhuanet 2002-01-11 12:02:13 YANGON, January 11 (Xinhuanet)
-- A photo exhibition on world heritage sites in China and a film show opened
here Friday.
Attending the inaugural ceremony were Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Li
Jinjun, Myanmar Minister of Culture U Tin Winn, Minister of Foreign Affairs U
Win Aung and Minister of Information Major-General Kyi Aung as well as foreign
diplomats in the country and friendly guests from different walks of life
totaling more than 200.
Speaking at the ceremony, U Tin Winn said China and Myanmar are friendly
neighbors linked by a common boundary of over 2,000 kilometers. Since the
establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries have made progress in
cooperation in the sectors of politics, economy, social affairs, culture and
education, based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, he noted.
The event will enhance the understanding of the Myanmar people towards
China and Myanmar-China friendship, he added.
The seven-day photo exhibition will display 58 sheets of photos on the
world heritage sites in China and 50 others on Beijing Opera. At the film show,
14 Chinese documentary and feature films will be screened.
In 1985, China acceded to the Convention Concerning the Protection of the
World Cultural and Natural Heritages, also know as the World Heritage
Convention, and from 1987 to the end of 2001, 28 sites in China entered the
World Heritage List.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Golden Triangle Emerges New Drug
Tide
Xinhuanet 2002-01-11 12:24:08 CHIANG RAI, THAILAND, January 10 (Xinhuanet) -- "Golden Triangle" where the
borders of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos converge, would emerge a new drug tide
because ethnic groups would increase production of methamphetamine as well as
outdated opium due to a drastic decline in opium supply from Afghanistan.
Standing in the military camp of Thai Third Army, Chiang Rai, 900
kilometers north of Bangkok, Gen Pallop Pinmanee, deputy director of the
Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) told Xinhua and other reporters who
were led by ISOC to see front line of anti-drug campaign that the country would
face a severe test this year.
As a famous place for producing and trafficking drugs in last two decades,
the "Golden Triangle" had been replaced by Afghanistan, which became the world's
largest opium-producing country in 1998 and was responsible for 72 percent of
the global supply of drugs in 2000.
But it did not mean that the "Golden Triangle" had reduce the production of
drugs, Lt-Gen Udomchai Ongakasing, commander of the Third Army said, explaining
that the drug dealers in the region had changed to produce narcotics in recent
years, especially methamphetamine, which accounted for more than 90 percent of
drugs produced in the region.
The authorities announced 700 million pills are expected to hit the Thai
market this year, while a source from the army estimated the number would not be
less than one billion pills and a powdered form of methamphetamine would also be
available to buyers who pressed it into tablets themselves.
Gen Pallop said it was believed a total of 61 methamphetamine pill
factories had been set up across the border with 39 in Burma,19 in Laos and
three in Cambodia.
But to destroy the factory had been proved as an impossible mission for the
Thai government, because the factories were all hidden in the jungles on the
other side of border and they were all protected by armed ethnic guerrilla
forces.
United Wa State Army (UWSA), which signed a peace agreement with the
Myanmar government in 1989, is the strongest ethic force along Thai-Myanmar
border as well as the biggest narcotic producer and dealer in the "Golden
Triangle."
A report issued by Thai Army indicated that the 20,000-strong UWSA, which
was formed by two brigades and a special regiment, over years had expanded its
autonomous territory from along the Chinese border to opposite Thailand's
northern provinces, including Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Maehongson and Tak.
Not only UWSA, the Karen National Union (KNU), the Karenni National
Progressive Party (NKPP) and the Shan State Army (SSA) were also involved in
drug trafficking.
An officer told Xinhua that fighting against the ethnic forces was
difficult because they can move back to the border area when Thai soldier tried
to circle them.
The military operation can only crack down the traffickers, but can not
destroy the production of drugs root and branch, he said, adding that the
campaign against illegal drugs would be futile unless the government managed to
win the support of people living along the border.
Just for this reason, the Thai government had to change its anti-drug
policy.
Last year, 65 anti-drug teams which would not only conduct psychological
operations in methamhetamine-infested villages but also open 240 camps to train
community leaders, had been sent by ISOC to fight the spread of drugs in about
400 villages along the Thai-Myanmar border.
Moreover, the Thai government also proposed a drug substitution project to
UWSA, under which Thailand had given initial funding of 20 million baht (about
450,000 U.S. dollars) last year to train villages in the UWSA-controlled area to
grow fruits and vegetables for the Thai market as a means of pressuring others
still involved in the narcotics trade.
The army is on the offensive to wipe out cultivation of opium poppies, he
said, adding that satellites found around 2,800 acres of poppy fields in
Thailand last year and his troops destroyed around 75 percent of them.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar Projects Rise in Edible
Oil Production in 2001-02
Xinhuanet 2002-01-11 09:34:53 Yangon, January 11 (Xinhuanet)
-- Myanmar projects to yield 413,000 tons of edible oil during the present
fiscal year of 2001-02 ending March, an increase of 32,000 tons over the
previous fiscal year, according to a forecast of the state-run Myanma
Agricultural Service (MAS).
The MAS under the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation expects that the
increased production would be brought about through growing of three main oil
crops of groundnut, sesame and sunflower in three arid divisions of Mandalay,
Sagaing and Magway in central Myanmar.
It is forecast that groundnut oil production would go up by 5,000 tons,
sesame by 10,000 tons and sunflower by 17,000 tons.
Meanwhile, total cultivated area of the crops would expand to 2.55 million
hectares with sesame taking up 1.4 million hectares, more than double the area
of the other two crops.
According to official statistics, annual edible oil consumption of Myanmar
is about 500,000 tons. As domestic production is still falling short of demand,
the country has to import at least 100,000 tons of palm oil annually from
Malaysia.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- India’s border states in high
alert
Mizzima News By Our Correspondent Guwahati: As the Indian army is preparing for the eventuality of a
full-scale war against Pakistan, the Inter Service Intelligence of Pakistan
(ISI) is monitoring strategic positions occupied by the Indian army. This
fact was proved forcefully when twelve ISI agents were arrested close to the
Assam – West Bengal border on Wednesday. The agents had been
collecting crucial information about Indian army troop movements over several
months.
The arrested 12 ISI agents had been working under the leadership of
Dishawad Mansuri alias Raju alias Dilla, collecting information about troop
deployments and vital installations across the country. Dilla is reported
to have been trained by the 555 Unit of the Pakistan army under command of
Colonel Kahtak and Major Ahmed and then sent to India via the Punjab.
Dilla recounts that he came to India with a valid Pakistani passport in
September 2001 and visited Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. He
was assigned the task of gathering information about the movement of army
officials and about strategic points in the North East of India. For other
members of his group, the task was keeping good relations with the local people.
During the first week of the new year, Dilla infiltrated the Indian army
with help of two Muslim jawans and was thus able to collect revealing army maps
and documents of the Indian Army set-ups. He also managed to collect phone
numbers of the Indian army personnel, particularly in Rangyia, a major strategic
point of the North Eastern region. Sources in the security force claim
that 32 fake passport were seized from the infiltrators’
possession. The passports had been procured from different agencies. In the wake of the ISI agents’ arrest, the security forces have stepped up
vigilance along the international border. DIG of the Border Security Force
(BSF) SC Srivastav said that night patrolling along the international border had
been intensified. Furthermore, it came to light that ISI members expanded
their North East Indian network with the help of militant outfits in the region.
Army sources, who did not wish to be named told this correspondent that the
two international borders -Indo-Burma and the Indo-Bangla border remain porous
and taking advantage of it the ISI agents are sneaking into the North Eastern
region and expanding their network. They further said that last year two ISI
agents were arrested in the Burma border and they revealed during questioning
that they had come to the region to help the militant outfits. Moreover, the ISI
has a close nexus with a top militant group of Manipur through which it has been
operating in the North Eastern region.
The entire Burma border is porous and as a result of which the ISI is
actively working. According to reports, the ISI has a cordial relation with the
militant groups of Burma and they are getting arms and ammunitions.
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