|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
BURMA RELATED NEWS - January
16, 2002.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
HEADLINES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - Myanmar junta stages mass rallies as
democracy talks falter
Asia Pulse - Indonesia's Pertamina Considers Se
Asia, Middle East Expansion
Boston Herald - Burma is back
Bloomberg - Myanmar's Military Holds Rallies as
Democracy Discussions Slow
Bernama - Myanmar's Coffee Export To Rise In
2002
Bernama - Myanmar To Hold First Fisheries,
Livestock Fair
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday January 16, 3:24 PM
Myanmar junta stages mass rallies as democracy talks falter (AFP ) - Myanmar's military junta is staging mass rallies in major cities around the country in an attempt to prop up support for the regime as historic talks with the democratic opposition falter. The events have been organised by the Union Solidarity and Development
Association (USDA), the military's de facto political party which is expected to
be its future power base in any power-sharing scenario.
Beginning in the capital Yangon from January 8, soon after the important
January 4 Independence Day celebrations, the rallies have been held in various
cities and divisions including the northern city of Mandalay and southern Kayin
state bordering Thailand, and attracted crowds of up to 44,000.
Observers say they are designed to send a message to the population that
the military is the only institution capable of running the country, and to
defuse resentment over the lack of progress made in talks between the junta and
the democracy opposition led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Since the unprecedented contacts began in October 2000, the regime has
freed some 198 NLD members and allowed some of its branches to reopen.
But despite hopes the dialogue was paving the way for a fully fledged
reconciliation process and democratic reforms, they are now believed to have
reached a near standstill.
At the rallies, USDA spokesmen made speeches promoting the junta's
achievements over the last dozen years since a bloody 1988 pro-democracy
crackdown and disallowed 1990 elections.
"All of us understand that the government has been carrying out tasks to
maintain national consolidation, peace and stability, to develop infrastructure,
strengthen the economy, develop human resources, promote social skills and to
forge international cooperation," one said.
"It is imperative that the USDA and the rest of us do our best to see to
the materialisation of these objectives and tasks, for the sooner that can be
done, the better off we will be," said an editorial in the state press.
Myanmar citizens from all walks of life attend the rallies freely as
members of the USDA, a status which gives them special privileges and protection
within the feared military regime.
Analysts said the timing of the rallies after Independence Day, which
commemorates the end of the colonial era 54 years ago, was significant.
Hopes had been raised that more political prisoners could be released on
the day, and the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) took the
opportunity to press for more progress in the reconciliation talks.
"In line with its fine traditions to safeguard the interests of the people
it behoves on the Tatmadaw (military) to speed up the dialogue process leading
to politically meaningful negotiations so that democracy, much longed-for and
desired by the people, can be realised," the NLD said in a statement.
Debbie Stothard from the Bangkok-based pro-democracy group ALTSEAN-Burma
said the USDA rallies were a sign of the junta's insecurity and an attempt to
quell impatience over the lack of tangible results from the talks.
"Obviously when there were several large batches of releases last year and
when some of the NLD offices were allowed to reopen it built up a public
expectation that political reforms were on the way," she said.
"The USDA rallies are an attempt to reassert to the population that the
military is still in power."
Stothard said that during the coming year the international community would
have to take a stand on the slow progress of the talks.
The modest concessions made so far have succeeded in softening the stance
of several countries, including top donor Japan, while others have said they
will wait for more progress before handing out rewards.
"It's hard to say whether this has been a plan the SPDC has orchestrated
from day one, or whether it's in response to internal conflict and fears
surrounding where the talks could lead to," Stothard said.
"But clearly the military regime needs to be told they can't fool about
like this any more.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday January 16, 10:31 AM
Indonesia's Pertamina Considers Se Asia, Middle East Expansion JAKARTA, Jan 16 Asia Pulse -
Indonesian state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina is considering expanding
its business in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
"Beginning in 2002, we will explore the possibility of expanding our
business in a number of countries as part of a 'go international' operation,"
the company's upstream director Iin Arifin Tachyan said here Tuesday.
To that end, the company had prepared a number of strategies, including
funds which would originate from external financing, he said.
But he did not specify the amount of funds allocated to the business
expansion plan.
"Surely, the new law on oil and gas enables Pertamina to seek external
financing if its own funds are not adequate," he said.
Pertamina was negotiating with Myanmar, Libya, Malaysia, Brunei, Oman,
Sudan, Iraq and Algeria on the possibility of expanding its business in those
countries, he said.
For its part, Pertamina had made use of diplomatic relations between
Indonesia and those countries, he said.
But in later development Pertamina would conducts business with its
counterparts in those countries based on business-to-business principles, he
said.
Earlier, last Friday, Pertamina signed a contract with Petronas Carigali of
Malaysia and PetroVietnam Investment and Development Company (VIDC) of Vietnman
for oil and gas exploration in Block 10 and Block 11.1 off southern
Vietnam.
Pertamina director Baihaki Hakim saw the contract as a "milestone" for the
company to carry out hydrocarbon exploration abroad.
To realize the contract, Pertamina will provide US$5.4 million in
funds.
Hopefully, the project would start production in 2004. In Block 10 and 11
the company found an oil deposit of 33 million barrels.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boston Herald
Burma is back (for a moment, anyway) by Brett Milano Wednesday, January 16, 2002 Anyone who follows the Boston music scene probably gave up hope for a
Mission of Burma reunion years ago. The legendary alternative band called it
quits 19 years ago, at the height of their popularity. Since then they've turned
down more gigs than most bands ever play.
``The joke between us was that we'd all get onstage and play cards for an
hour, and call that a reunion,'' singer/guitarist Roger Miller said recently.
Reasons for the hold-off ranged from Miller's hearing problems, which initially
grounded the band in 1983, to a generally anti-nostalgic feeling.
``The fact is that we just didn't feel like it,'' said bassist/singer Clint
Conley. ``But we were more than willing to take any points of honor that came
our way.''
Concluded drummer Peter Prescott, ``There was really nowhere to go - unless
we wanted to become like (oldies band) Jay & the Americans and do Mafia
weddings.''
So it took Boston by surprise when the band agreed to play a string of
shows here and in New York this month, beginning with a packed ``secret'' gig at
608 last Thursday. In New York last weekend, they jammed with admirers Thurston
Moore (of Sonic Youth), Ira Kaplan (of Yo La Tengo) and Moby, who covered
Burma's ``That's When I Reach for My Revolver'' a few years ago.
This weekend they play Avalon on Friday, and two shows at the Paradise
Saturday (including an afternoon all-ages show). The shows are being recorded by
original Burma producer Rick Harte for a live album, and even being covered for
a documentary film. So far there are no plans to keep the band going after a
U.K. appearance in April, but they haven't necessarily sworn it off,
either.
``You can point to any number of reasons why we might be getting back
together, but none of those reasons is really it,'' says Miller. ``So what it
comes down to, is that there is no reason. It's the inexplicable
reunion.''
In fact, the three Burma members already appeared together at the Roxy in
mid-2000, at a show by Prescott's band the Peer Group. Headlining that night was
the U.K. band Wire, another legendary punk-influenced band on a comeback tour.
``Wire were magnificent that night, and that challenged the way I felt about
reunions,'' Conley says.
Another factor was the recent Michael Azzerad book ``Our Band Could Be Your
Life,'' in which Burma was profiled alongside alt-rock legends Sonic Youth,
Black Flag and Husker Du.
``You have to remember that everybody hated all those bands at first,''
Miller says. ``We were always on the periphery, and I feel that we still are. We
were constantly humbled by small, indifferent audiences.''
Adds Conley, ``I have no idea who's coming to see us now. It can't be the
people who used to see us, because there weren't that many in the first
place.''
In fact, Burma were more appreciated than they're letting on. They could be
loud and brutal enough to scare timid listeners away, but fans loved them for
it. They packed the Roxy (then the Bradford Ballroom) for their last official
show in early 1983, and anyone who lived here at the time will remember the
Burma graffiti that covered much of the city. In the days of looser radio
formats, ``That's When I Reach for My Revolver'' became a substantial local
hit.
If the mainstream didn't take notice, many developing bands did - among
them R.E.M., which covered Burma's ``Academy Fight Song'' in 1987 (it almost
made their ``Document'' album, but went on a fan-club single instead). And the
phrase ``Burma-influenced'' became part of the local vernacular - usually
applied to bands that weren't afraid of volume and dissonance.
If you walked into Mission of Burma's rehearsal space earlier this month,
you'd get a definite sense of deja vu. The space is just a few doors away from
the Underground, the Allston club that Burma frequented before it closed in
1981. When they launch into a number, the sound is just as beautifully jarring
as it was two decades ago.
``It's not nostalgia, because I don't give a damn about that,'' Miller
says. ``But the other day I brought a song into rehearsal, and Peter immediately
put one of those Peter Prescott drum parts into it. Then I said, `Clint, can you
do one of your melodic things on bass?' and one of those parts appeared. So I
couldn't care less about what we did in 1979 - The point is that whatever
happened back then is happening again now.''
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01/16 00:18
Myanmar's Military Holds Rallies as Democracy Discussions Slow By Paul Tighe Yangon, Myanmar, Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Myanmar's military government held
rallies in major cities to win support as talks slow with opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi on a return to democracy, Agence France-Presse said.
The Union Solidarity and Development Association, the de facto political
party of the military and its supporters, began the rallies in the capital,
Yangon, eight days ago, AFP said without citing sources. Other rallies were held
in the city of Mandalay and Kayin state on the border with Thailand.
The military, which has ruled the country formerly known as Burma since
1962, began talks with Suu Kyi in October 2000, though the discussions are said
to have come to a standstill in recent months. The military leaders released
more than 190 members of the opposition National League for Democracy while
meetings continued last year.
``The USDA rallies are an attempt to reassert to the population that the
military is still in power,'' AFP cited Debbie Stothard, a Thailand-based
pro-democracy campaigner, as saying.
Suu Kyi's NLD won general elections in Myanmar in 1990, though the military
refused to recognize the result. The opposition leader, who has been held under
house arrest for most of the past decade, said last month a full dialogue with
the military leadership hasn't yet begun, AFP reported.
The military said last month it is working with Suu Kyi to create ``a
functioning democracy,'' the British Broadcasting Corp. reported.
``We all have the common objective of creating Myanmar to become a
functioning democracy,'' the BBC cited the government as saying.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Malaysian National News Agency
January 16 , 2002 13:32PM
Myanmar's Coffee Export To Rise In
2002
YANGON, Jan 16 (Oana-Xinhua) -- Myanmar's coffee export is expected to rise
in this year due to rising demand in international markets in Europe and other
overseas markets, according to the state-run Myanma Farms Enterprise (MFE).
Citing the interest in buying Myanmar coffee by traders, it predicts huge
potential for further growth in the industry.
Coffee is mainly grown in Pyin Oo Lwin in the northern Mandalay division
with good climatic and physical conditions. In addition, the MFE is also
planning to extend the cultivation of coffee plantations to other states such as
Shan, Kachin and Chin which possess similar conditions to Pyin Oo Lwin.
According to the MFE, the cultivated area of coffee in Myanmar is now about
10,530 hectares, which the enterprise plans to expand to 40,500 hectares in the
next five years.
Other official statistics show that Myanmar produces nearly 2, 000 tons of
coffee beans annually.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Malaysian National News Agency January 16 , 2002 11:22AM
Myanmar To Hold First Fisheries, Livestock
Fair
YANGON, Jan 16 (Oana-Xinhua) -- Myanmar will
hold a fisheries and livestock fair here from February 16 to 22, aimed at
raising international awareness of the country's fisheries and livestock
products, finding more markets, attracting foreign investment and getting
technical expertise, according to the Myanmar Ministry of Livestock and
Fisheries.
The week-long fair, the first of its kind,
is jointly sponsored by the ministry and the Ministry of Commerce and is also
aimed at promoting intra-regional trade in the sector as the fair.
It will be also participated by nine other
member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as
Bangladesh, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea and Sri Lanka.
Held under the theme "Myanmar's Fish and
Meat for All," the event, with 400 expected exhibitors, will feature fisheries,
marine and livestock products, animal feed, chemicals and pharmaceuticals,
packing materials and fishery-related machinery and equipment.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- |