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BURMA RELATED NEWS - MAY 02,
2002.
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HEADLINES
----------------------------------------------------------------- Reuters - Meeting boosts hopes for release of
Myanmar's Suu Kyi
Reuters - Myanmar's Suu Kyi taken for secret
meeting - military source
AFP - Aung San Suu Kyi 'to be released very
soon'
AFP - Aung San Suu Kyi to be released very soon:
Myanmar opposition
AP - Opposition says it is close to deal that
could free pro-democracy leader in Myanmar
BBC - Aung San Suu Kyi 'optimistic'
VOA News - Aung Sang Suu Kyi Meets with
Government Leaders
Business Wire - Marriott International
Shareholders Force Company to Divest from Burma
The Nation - Third
Army wants Sgt Sawang back
Bkk Post - Wa blamed
for latest rise in tension
----------------------------------------------------------------- Meeting boosts hopes for release
of Myanmar's Suu Kyi
Wed May 1, 8:23 PM ET By Aung Hla Tun YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was taken for a secret meeting with
government leaders on Wednesday, a military official said, raising hopes she
would soon be released from 18 months of house arrest.
Suu Kyi's lakeside compound in the capital Yangon has become the focus of a
flurry of official and media activity in recent days, amid signs the junta is
preparing to set her free.
The United States and human rights groups have said the 56-year-old Nobel
peace laureate's freedom should be unconditional.
Suu Kyi was accompanied by a top leader from her National League for
Democracy (NLD) party for the secret meeting outside the compound where she
lives, a military official said.
"Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD Secretary U Lwin were taken from the compound
escorted by a senior military intelligence official for several hours today,"
the official, who asked not to be identified, said.
He speculated that Suu Kyi and U Lwin had met with powerful military junta
intelligence chief and Secretary One, Khin Nyunt, or his deputy Kyaw Win.
Suu Kyi's release is among the top demands of the international community,
which is seeking progress in the long-running reconciliation talks between the
military rulers and the opposition in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation.
She has been confined to her residence with her telephone line cut since
September 2000. She had also been held in a period of confinement between 1989
and 1995.
Foreign diplomats staking out her home said a top military officer liaising
between her and the junta, Brigadier-General Than Tun, visited Suu Kyi three
times on Tuesday.
Suu Kyi's three top lieutenants -- NLD Chairman Aung Shwe, Vice-Chairman
Tin Oo and Secretary U Lwin -- were seen entering her compound late on Wednesday
afternoon.
"Anything could happen any time," an official from the government
spokesman's office told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "There is some
speculation about her (Suu Kyi's) release, but we have no comment at the
moment."
State media were silent on her fate on Wednesday.
A "No Entry" sign and barrier remained at the entrance to the popular
opposition leader's home on University Avenue, guarded by plainclothes police.
Witnesses said municipal workers were cleaning the street and filling
potholes outside her home, the first such work since the busy street was closed
in 2000 and barricaded with barbed wire.
The government has also uncharacteristically granted entry visas to a slew
of foreign media organisations this week, a sign it may be seeking publicity for
a major gesture.
WARNING FROM WASHINGTON
The NLD won a landslide election victory in 1990 but has been blocked from
taking power by the military.
Suu Kyi, the charismatic daughter of assassinated independence hero Aung
San, was placed under her latest period of house arrest about 18 months ago
after defying orders not to travel outside the capital.
The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday it would welcome the release of
Suu Kyi, but warned the junta the release must be unconditional, adding it would
not automatically result in a lifting of sanctions.
Human rights activists responded similarly.
"The international community shouldn't rush to declare victory simply
because she's released," said Tom Malinowski, Washington advocacy director for
Human Rights Watch.
A source close to the ruling junta told Reuters on Tuesday the government
was set to announce the release of Suu Kyi and a deal under which she would work
with the junta in administering humanitarian work in fields such as health and
education.
Such a deal would be a major policy change for Suu Kyi, who so far has
refused to work with the junta.
"It will be more than the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and some other
political prisoners. It will be a breakthrough in Myanmar politics," the source
said.
"SOMETHING BIG"
Razali Ismail, the U.N. special envoy to Myanmar, ended a four-day visit to
the country last week saying he expected a breakthrough soon.
"The one (gesture) that everyone expects is the release of Aung San Suu
Kyi," the Malaysian diplomat said. "Be patient. I think something big will
happen," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
The government began secret talks with Suu Kyi in October 2000, a move
hailed as a breakthrough. But since then no concrete progress has been
announced.
The release of Suu Kyi is widely regarded as the single most important step
the junta could take to begin to show an impatient world it is serious about
political change.
The military has ruled Myanmar, also known as Burma, since 1962.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar's Suu Kyi taken for secret
meeting - military source
Wed May 1,10:09 AM ET YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was taken from her compound in the capital
Yangon for a secret meeting with government leaders, a military official told
Reuters on Wednesday.
She was accompanied by U Lwin, the secretary of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party. "Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD Secretary U Lwin were taken from the compound
escorted by a senior military intelligence official for several hours today,"
the official, who asked not to be identified, said.
The military official speculated that Suu Kyi and U Lwin had met with
powerful junta intelligence chief and Secretary One, Khin Nyunt, or his deputy
Kyaw Win.
Suu Kyi's lakeside compound, where she has been confined for more than 18
months, has become the focus of a flurry of official and media activity in
recent days, amid signs the junta is preparing to set her free.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday May 2, 3:45 PM
Aung San Suu Kyi 'to be released very soon' (AFP) - Myanmar's democratic
opposition said it expects its leader, Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, to
be released from 19 months under house arrest "very soon" but not before
Friday.
"I met her yesterday, she asked to pass the message to the media, and
explained that developments will be seen within days," said National League for
Democracy (NLD) vice-chairman Tin Oo on Thursday.
"She will be released very soon, we are still optimistic," he told
reporters, relaying the first public message from Aung San Suu Kyi since she was
confined to her home in September 2000.
But asked whether the NLD leader would be liberated on Thursday, he replied
"I don't think so".
A highly placed official in the military government concurred with the
NLD's statement, saying the day of her release "is getting near".
"The release will come surely in a few days' time. This shows that we have
no intention to control her further," he told AFP.
Tin Oo said there were concerns that Aung San Suu Kyi's release might
return her to conditions she endured after 1995 when she was freed from six
years under house arrest but forbidden to leave the capital Yangon.
"We don't want to make a repeat of '95," he said outside the party's
ramshackle headquarters in Yangon, but added that reaching a satisfactory
agreement was "feasible".
Western diplomats said the two sides were probably still hammering out the
terms of an agreement, which would likely cover her freedom of movement, the
release of political prisoners, and the future operations of the NLD.
The United States said Tuesday it would welcome the release of Myanmar's
democracy figurehead, but that her freedom must be "unconditional".
After holding four-hour talks Wednesday with three members of the NLD's
Central Executive Committee, Tin Oo said the leader had no meetings scheduled
for Thursday and would remain quietly at home.
Anticipation that the restrictions against Aung San Suu Kyi would be lifted
shortly were sparked on Tuesday when UN envoy to Myanmar Razali Ismail, who
visited here last week, hinted the release could be imminent.
The street that runs past the democracy leader's lakeside residence, closed
off to traffic with barbed-wire barricades, has been a hive of activity in
recent days as workers patch up potholes and sweep away rubbish and
leaves.
And plainclothes security officials outside the house said they had been
told to be ready to lay on a motorcade should Aung San Suu Kyi call for
transport.
Pro-democracy political leader Khun Tun Oo, from the ethnic-based Shan NLD,
said that with the world's media now pouring into Yangon, there was overwhelming
pressure for her to be freed.
"With so much international pressure and publicity given to this matter,
they will have to consider her release very seriously," he said.
"But if it is a conditional release, knowing Aung San Suu Kyi she will not
accept it. But on the other hand if it is unconditional, then the military
authorities will have a headache if she decides to take advantage of
that."
Khun Tun Oo stressed the release was only part of a much broader picture of
national reconciliation, and that it could herald a highly anticipated statement
on the progress of secret talks she began with the junta in October 2000.
The unprecedented contacts, brokered by Razali as the personal
representative of UN chief Kofi Annan, could pave the way for democratic reforms
in Myanmar after four decades of military rule.
"This bigger issue seems to be overshadowed by the clamour for Aung San Suu
Kyi's release," the Shan NLD leader said.
"They have to come up with a common ground to take the dialogue a step
further and this is what they may be planning to tell the world."
----------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday May 2, 8:07 PM
Aung San Suu Kyi to be released very soon: Myanmar opposition (AFP) - Myanmar's democratic
opposition said it expects its leader, Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, to
be released from 19 months under house arrest "very soon" but not before
Friday.
"I met her yesterday, she asked to pass the message to the media, and
explained that developments will be seen within days," said National League for
Democracy (NLD) vice-chairman Tin Oo.
"She will be released very soon, we are still optimistic," he told
reporters Thursday, relaying the first public message from Aung San Suu Kyi
since she was confined to her home in September 2000.
But asked whether the NLD leader would be liberated on Thursday, he replied
"I don't think so".
A highly placed official in the military government concurred with the
NLD's statement, saying the day of her release "is getting near".
"The release will come surely in a few days' time. This shows that we have
no intention to control her further," he told AFP.
Tin Oo said there were concerns that Aung San Suu Kyi's release might
return her to conditions she endured after 1995 when she was freed from six
years under house arrest but forbidden to leave the capital Yangon.
"We don't want to make a repeat of '95," he said outside the party's
ramshackle headquarters in Yangon, but added that reaching a satisfactory
agreement was "feasible".
Western diplomats said the two sides were probably still hammering out the
terms of an agreement, which would likely cover her freedom of movement, the
release of political prisoners, and the future operations of the NLD.
The United States said Tuesday it would welcome the release of Myanmar's
democracy figurehead, but that her freedom must be "unconditional".
After holding four-hour talks Wednesday with three members of the NLD's
Central Executive Committee, Tin Oo said the leader had no meetings scheduled
for Thursday and would remain quietly at home.
Anticipation that the restrictions against Aung San Suu Kyi would be lifted
shortly were sparked on Tuesday when UN envoy to Myanmar Razali Ismail, who
visited here last week, hinted the release could be imminent.
The street that runs past the democracy leader's lakeside residence, closed
off to traffic with barbed-wire barricades, has been a hive of activity in
recent days as workers patch up potholes and sweep away rubbish and
leaves.
And plainclothes security officials outside the house said they had been
told to be ready to lay on a motorcade should Aung San Suu Kyi call for
transport.
Pro-democracy political leader Khun Tun Oo, from the ethnic-based Shan NLD,
said that with the world's media now pouring into Yangon, there was overwhelming
pressure for her to be freed.
"With so much international pressure and publicity given to this matter,
they will have to consider her release very seriously," he said.
Khun Tun Oo stressed the release was only part of a much broader picture of
national reconciliation, and that it could herald a highly anticipated statement
on the progress of secret talks she began with the junta in October 2000.
The unprecedented contacts, brokered by Razali as the personal
representative of UN chief Kofi Annan, could pave the way for democratic reforms
in Myanmar after four decades of military rule.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Opposition says it is close to
deal that could free pro-democracy leader in Myanmar
Thu May 2, 8:09 AM ET By AYE AYE WIN, Associated Press Writer YANGON, Myanmar - Opposition and government negotiators are close to a deal
that could release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, an
opposition leader said Thursday.
Tin Oo, the vice chairman of Suu Kyi's party, told reporters that he met
her on Wednesday at her lakeside residence where she has been held for the last
19 months.
Tin Oo said Suu Kyi told him to inform the media that "the developments
will be seen within days."
Asked if the opposition and Myanmar's military junta are close to an
agreement, he said: "It is most feasible. It will come out with an improvement
within days." He did not elaborate.
The international community says Suu Kyi's release is crucial if the junta
wants to show its seriousness about political change ahead of restoring
democracy in Myanmar, also known as Burma. The country has been under military
dictatorships for the last 40 years.
The current junta, which took power in 1988, called general elections in
1990 but refused to hand over power when Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy
party won convincingly.
It put Suu Kyi, 56, under house arrest in 1989 until 1995. In 1991, she won
the Nobel Peace Prize. After her release she was prohibited from leaving Yangon,
the capital. When she defied the order, she was put under house arrest again in
September 2000.
Suu Kyi's release had been rumored since the visit last month of Razali
Ismail, a special United Nations (news - web sites) envoy who has been brokering
reconciliation talks with the opposition and the junta for the last two
years.
After his visit, which ended Friday, Razali had said major developments
were expected soon and hinted that they would begin with the release of Suu
Kyi.
An official at the government spokesman's office said he had no information
about Suu Kyi.
"Up to now there is nothing that has happened and everything is normal,"
said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
However, in a rare move, the secretive government allowed dozens of foreign
journalists into the country Thursday, strengthening speculation about her
release.
Also Thursday, the government restored the telephone connection to the
ramshackle National League for Democracy headquarters in Yangon where about 50
party members gathered to obtain information about Suu Kyi.
Party officials wrote out the restored telephone number on a white board at
the entrance, urging people who want to see Suu Kyi to call the headquarters
first. Inside, party workers prepared arm bands with strips of red fabric and
affixed NLD logos ? a running peacock ? on straw hats.
But even if Suu Kyi is formally released, democracy is unlikely to return
to Myanmar overnight. It is also not clear how much political freedom she would
be allowed and whether the junta would free all remaining political prisoners,
said to number more than 1,000.
The United States has demanded that Suu Kyi's release be unconditional and
that she be "afforded full freedom of movement and association."
"We hope ... the Burmese regime is serious about political reform and
national reconciliation," a State Department statement said Tuesday.
----------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - Thursday, 2 May, 2002, 06:32 GMT
07:32 UK
Aung San Suu Kyi 'optimistic' Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will be free in the next few
days, says a senior leader of her National League for Democracy.
NLD Vice-President Tin Oo told the BBC that final arrangements were being
made for her release from 20 months under house arrest.
He did not elaborate, but senior NLD sources said Aung San Suu Kyi was
still negotiating the conditions for her release and the possible mass release
of other political prisoners.
The international community has been urging the generals to free the
opposition leader unconditionally.
Tin Oo said there was concern not to repeat what happened in 1995, when
Aung San Suu Kyi was released after six years of house arrest but was forbidden
to leave Rangoon.
"She will be released very soon, we are still optimistic," he told
reporters on Thursday.
"I met her yesterday. She asked me to pass the message to the media and
explained that developments will be seen within days."
Road repairs
Aung San Suu Kyi was put under house arrest in September 2000 after she
defied the travel ban by trying to visit the city of Mandalay.
During her house arrest she has been in secretive talks with the military, brokered by the United Nations envoy, Razali Ismail. On Wednesday, the pro-democracy leader met one of the country's top
generals, military intelligence chief Lieutenant Khin Nyunt. The BBC's Larry
Jagan says it is the latest signal that the two sides are close to an agreement.
But he says if the generals are still unable to agree to unconditionally
release the opposition leader then there is little prospect of substantial
political reform any time in the near future.
There has been a flurry of activity at the Nobel laureate's lakeside home
in recent days, and after years of neglect the road outside has been repaired.
But opposition sources on Wednesday said the military government was still
attaching conditions - and unless it made significant concessions, Aung San Suu
Kyi would not accept the government's offer.
'Something big'
There have been strong hints by Mr Razali, who last week visited Rangoon
for talks with both sides, that the Nobel Peace Prize winner could be released
shortly.
"Be patient. I think something big will happen," he told reporters in Kuala
Lumpur on Tuesday.
Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD won 1990 elections by a landslide but the military
refused to hand over power.
Burma has faced international isolation and economic sanctions over the
issue and over its human rights record.
Europe, the United States and Japan have all warned that unless there is
significant progress soon, they will be forced to consider isolating the country
further and even introducing trade sanctions.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Aung Sang Suu Kyi Meets with
Government Leaders
VOA News 1 May 2002 22:36 UTC Officials in Burma say opposition leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi has held a
private meeting with government leaders, a day after Rangoon-based diplomats
said she may soon be freed from house arrest.
The officials Wednesday said that top leaders of Aung Sang Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy party accompanied her to the meeting. No details
of the meeting have been given.
On Tuesday, Rangoon-based diplomats said they expected an announcement on
Aung Sang Suu Kyi's possible release within a day or two.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Marriott International
Shareholders Force Company to Divest from Burma; ISS to Support
Hotel Employees Restaurant Employees International Union's Push for Global Labor
Standards
Business Editors
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS
WIRE)--May 1, 2002--Today, the Hotel Employees and Restaurant
Employees International Union (HERE) and the AFL-CIO called on Marriott
International (NYSE:MAR) to expand on its recent claim to stop supporting the
military dictatorship in Burma by adopting a workplace code of conduct.
The code would be based on the International Labor Organization's (ILO's)
conventions on workplace human rights.
HERE filed a shareholder proposal for consideration at Marriott's May 3,
2002 annual meeting requesting that the company adopt a global workplace code of
conduct, and the AFL-CIO submitted a proposal requesting that Marriott review
its operations in Burma, a military dictatorship widely condemned for human
rights abuses.
Marriott sought to exclude the proposals from the company's proxy
statement, but was overruled by the Securities & Exchange Commission.
"Marriott has now informed us that the company will end all business ties
with Burma, but working people investing in the hotel company want to be assured
that their investment does not prop up a military regime, which disregards basic
human rights. We urge the company to adopt a global labor standard that respects
basic human rights in all countries," said Bill Patterson, Director of the
AFL-CIO Office of Investment.
In a letter to the AFL-CIO, Marriott disclosed that the company will "end
business ties with the Republic of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). We
persuaded the [hotel] owner's representative to allow us to terminate the
management agreement. We removed the Renaissance brand flags so that neither
hotel is operated under one of Marriott's brand names," the Marriott letter
said.
"Our members are gratified that Marriott has committed to stop supporting
the military dictatorship in Burma by doing business in the country," said Chris
Bohner, Senior Research Analyst at HERE. HERE, a shareholder of Marriott,
represents thousands of workers at the company's U.S. hotels. "But Marriott
still has a long way to go towards improving its corporate responsibility
guidelines," added Bohner.
In 2000, Human Rights Watch cited Marriott's labor dispute at the San
Francisco Marriott Hotel as a case study of violations of workers' freedom of
association in the United States. In addition, Marriott operates in many
countries where basic labor rights are not adequately protected.
HERE is seeking shareholder support for a proposal requesting that Marriott
adopt a workplace code of conduct based on the ILO's conventions on workplace
human rights.
In a major boost for the initiative, Institutional Shareholder Services
(ISS) -- the leading provider of proxy voting and corporate governance services
- has recommended that shareholders vote for the proposal, citing "recent
concerns regarding the company's labor practices." ISS noted that Marriott
"could benefit from the adoption of a formal policy that seeks to create and
maintain safe and quality working conditions for its employees by outlining
clear protections of rights for members of its workforce."
CalPERS, the largest pension fund in the world with more than $150 billion
in total assets, has also disclosed that it will support HERE's proposal.
The AFL-CIO represents 13 million working men and women who participate in
the capital markets as investors through defined benefit and defined
contribution plans, as well as through mutual funds and individual accounts.
The Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union (HERE)
represents approximately 300,000 members across the United States and Canada in
the hospitality industry.
----------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
Third Army wants Sgt Sawang back
Published on May 2, 2002
The current border tension over the detention of two alleged Burmese spies
last month could be resolved if Burma agreed to hand over in exchange a Thai
sergeant arrested two years ago, the Third Army Region Commander said
yesterday.
"If Rangoon rejects the deal the two Burmese - believed to be Wa militia
spying for Burma and now in the custody of the Thai army - will not be
returned," Lt Gen Udomchai Ongkasingh said.
The pair could be traded for a sergeant identified as Sawang Nokklai of a
Calvary division in Uttaradit province, the general said.
Sawang was detained by the United Wa State Army (UWSA) in Santondu pass
border territory near Chiang Rai's Mai Ai district two years ago, he said.
"What we have learned is that Sgt Sawang has been in the custody of UWSA,
but we are not sure whether he is still alive or not. The army and his family
have been trying throughout this time to secure his release, but to no avail,"
he said.
Sawang was on a mission when was taken from a pickup truck in the border
area, Udomchai said.
A possible exchange of the detainees will be discussed when the Thai-Burma
Township Border Committee meets next Wednesday.
Thailand's northern border has been on alert following a cross-border
skirmish after the Thai army detained two Wa militia in Chiang Rai province last
month, accusing them of being spies for the Burma military.
Rangoon has denied it has any control over the UWSA, and said the two
ethnic Wa were looking for food when they were detained by Thai troops.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Thursday 02 May 2002
Wa blamed for latest rise in tension
3rd Army chief says UWSA sparked clash
Wassana Nanuam
The Third Army commander has blamed the latest tension in relations with
Burma on armed provocation by the United Wa State Army.
``We did not want to stir up any tension with Burma since I'm fully aware
of the government's policy to foster neighbourly ties and strengthen bilateral
understanding with them,'' Lt-Gen Udomchai Ongkhasingh said yesterday.
He had no wish to sour Thai-Burma relations which had greatly improved
following the visit of Burmese army chief Gen Maung Aye, deputy chairman of
Burma's State Peace and Development Council.
However, last week's border clash with UWSA fighters near Ban Pong Hai in
Chiang Rai's Mae Fah Luang District was unavoidable because Thai border troops
were assaulted first.
``We only responded to the situation as it developed at the time,'' Lt-Gen
Udomchai said.
``As Burma's close neighbour, we want to live in harmony with them but what
was happening [at Pong Hai] became untolerable.''
A Thai ranger was wounded last Friday during a minor scuffle with UWSA
fighters who crossed the border to demand the immediate release of two UWSA
members who were captured that morning near Ban Pong Hai, some 2km from the
border, by Thai border troops.
The UWSA launched a cross-border mortar attack on Friday evening when their
demand was turned down by the Pha Muang Task Force, in charge of border security
in the upper North.
The Burmese military later protested over the incident by claiming that
Thai border troops had distorted the facts and that the two UWSA members were
captured while fetching water from a creek regarded by both sides as the natural
border line. It also dismissed Thai military allegations of UWSA's involvement
in cross-border shelling.
Lt-Col Apisith Nutbusba, 241st Cavalry Battalion commander in charge of
security at Mae Fah Luang, has insisted that the UWSA, regarded as the biggest
drug traffickers in the Golden Triangle, left his troops no choice but to
retaliate against the unprovoked shelling.
Earlier, the UWSA had claimed that it was possible that Shan fighters in
the nearby area, and not UWSA troops, were behind the shelling.
``There are no Shan rebels in the nearby area,'' said the battalion
commander.
He could show material evidence to prove that the shells belonged to the
UWSA.
``The 82mm mortar shells that fell on our side were of the same type being
used by the UWSA troops,'' he said.
He was convinced that the two captured Musers were inside Thailand to scout
the border area for the trafficking of drugs.
The UWSA may have wanted to cause a misunderstanding between Thailand and
Burma for its own benefit, he said.
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