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Dear Burma Related News readers
I would like to apologize my mistake that I print the wrong date as May 27
on yesterday. The date must be May 28. Sorry for inconvenience.
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BURMA RELATED NEWS - MAY 29,
2002.
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HEADLINES
----------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - Aung San Suu Kyi plans to publish
newspaper
AP - Myanmar Won't Issue Visas For Official Thai
Visits
Reuters - ASEAN police chiefs face cross-border
crime battle
Reuters - Future brightens for Southeast Asian
arms makers
Reuters - Myanmar's Suu Kyi plans opposition
newspaper
ABC online - Burma accuses Thailand of
harbouring terrorist groups
ABC online - Thai
defence minister to meet Burma junta over border row
Bkk Post - Burma slams
door on official visits
Bkk Post - Suu Kyi's freedom for how
long?
The Nation - Chavalit appeals for
meeting
Mizzima - India
emphasizes on cross border trade not terrorism
ST - Yangon puts visa squeeze on Thais
----------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday May 29, 3:16 PM
Aung San Suu Kyi plans to publish newspaper (AFP) - Myanmar opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi has unveiled plans by her National League for Democracy
(NLD) to launch a newspaper in the military-ruled state.
"Regarding the dissemination of information, we will apply for the right
(to publish a party newspaper)," the Nobel peace laureate said Wednesday in an
interview published in the Nation daily.
"We have a plan (to do so). We'll see whether this will be allowed," she
said in the interview which originally ran in Irrawaddy Magazine.
All media in the military-run state is tightly controlled by the
junta.
"We have already accepted that there must be freedom of _expression_ and
(dissemination of information through media) to bring about a democracy," Aung
San Suu Kyi was quoted as saying on Irrawaddy's website.
Since October 2000 Aung San Suu Kyi and the military junta have been
engaged in a secret dialogue on national reconciliation brokered by Razali
Ismail, the United Nations special envoy to Yangon.
Aung San Suu Kyi was freed from 19 months house arrest on May 6, and has
said her release is unconditional.
She warned in the interview that restrictions on her NLD party were still
in place, however.
"I have not heard the regime mention anything about lifting restrictions on
the NLD," she said.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday May 28, 7:13 PM
Myanmar Won't Issue Visas For Official Thai Visits YANGON, Myanmar (AP)--Myanmar
won't issue visas for any official delegations from Thailand until its
government agrees to hold a "serious discussion" on issues causing tension along
their border, a military intelligence official said Tuesday.
The surprise move flies in the face of assurances from Thai officials, including Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, that bilateral relations were on the mend. Friction between the two countries flared up on May 20, when Myanmar
accused the Thai military of firing artillery into its territory in support of
attacks by antigovernment Shan ethnic rebels on Myanmar army outposts.
Last week, Myanmar closed its four main border checkpoints with Thailand
through which much traffic takes place. The announcement came the same day that
Thaksin said he was ordering Thai military forces to withdraw from border areas
to ease tension.
"We have tolerated the un-neighborliness of Thailand for a long time but
our period of tolerance is over," deputy military intelligence chief Maj. Gen.
Kyaw Win told reporters Tuesday at a press briefing in the capital, Yangon. "We
have to have serious discussion to prevent recurrence of border problems."
"Until we can resolve the border problems, we will not issue visas to any
official delegation from Thailand or send any Myanmar delegation to Thailand,"
he said.
He added that individuals such as tourists and businessman would still be
issued visas.
Asked what other actions might be taken against Thailand, Kyaw Win said,
"Our military is always alert but military means will be the last resort."
In Bangkok, Thai government spokesman Yongyuth Tiyapairath told The
Associated Press that Myanmar's move was the result of a "misunderstanding."
He said the Thai Foreign Ministry had been ordered to give an official
explanation of the events on May 20 to Myanmar's government, and that
communication between the two countries would soon put an end to their dispute.
Thai army spokesmen have said the Thai army fired "warning shots" into
Myanmar after stray shells from fighting there landed in Thai territory, but
denied supporting the rebels.
Thailand's tolerance of Myanmar ethnic rebels is a long-standing issue of
contention between the two countries. Myanmar frequently alleges that the Thai
military actively aids the rebels in their activities, a charge denied by
Bangkok.
Thailand, in turn, often complains that Myanmar's military government turns
a blind eye to the production and trafficking of illegal drugs by some ethnic
minorities, especially the well-armed United Wa State Army.
Bangkok blames the Wa for the massive influx of methamphetamine into
Thailand, causing serious social problems. One account of the May 20 fighting
said it involved Thai attacks on bases controlled by Wa
guerrillas.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday May 28, 8:18 PM
ASEAN police chiefs face cross-border crime battle PHNOM PENH, May 28 (Reuters) -
Southeast Asian police chiefs must step up cooperation if they are to stem a
tide of drugs, money laundering, arms dealing, human trafficking and terrorism,
a Cambodian minister said on Tuesday.
Police chiefs from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) on
Tuesday began a two-day conference to come up with ways to combat organised
crime and terror networks.
"We must encourage international action to strengthen cooperation within
all ASEAN members," Sar Kheng, co-Interior Minister for Cambodia, which is
hosting the meeting, told the conference.
Police chiefs needed to overcome differences in the political,
administrative and legal systems of member states. He called for renewed efforts
to make ASEAN drugs-free by 2015.
At a summit in Brunei last November, ASEAN leaders pledged closer
cooperation in the fight against global terror networks.
Following the September 11 attacks on the United States, cross-border cells
of suspected militants have been discovered throughout Southeast Asia,
underlining calls for a regional approach to crime-fighting.
In April, Singapore said a member of a radical Islamic group planned to
hijack a plane and crash it into Singapore's Changi Airport. The government said
it had evidence the group was part of a network spanning Malaysia, Indonesia and
the Philippines.
Sar Kheng told Reuters at the end of the conference's first day that police
chiefs should agree to swap intelligence as a matter of routine.
"If the Thais have intelligence they must exchange it with us. When we
receive information we must pass it to Thailand and Singapore and other
countries," he said.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The three ASEAN nations with the largest Muslim populations
-- Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines -- signed a pact earlier this
month to counter terrorism and crush a network they say is bent on creating a
single Islamic state in the region.
On Thursday the police chiefs will wrap up their meeting with a round of
golf.
"We will play golf to show our close cooperation," Sar Kheng said.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday May 29, 11:31 AM
Future brightens for Southeast Asian arms makers By Dan Eaton BANGKOK, May 29 (Reuters) -
Economic recovery and a reluctance to rely on traditional suppliers is breathing
new life into Southeast Asia's flagging small arms industry, according to a new
report.
Malaysia's decision last month to reopen the arms production operation of
state-run Syarikat Malaysian Explosive (SME) marked the start of a trend toward
boosting defence capabilities and autonomy in determining national security
affairs.
The future of Southeast Asia's mainly loss-making state arms makers hung
under a dark cloud as economically struggling countries sought to rationalise
spending, according to "Small Arms Production and Transfers in Southeast Asia",
published by the Australian National University this week.
But analysts say the September 11 attacks and the subsequent U.S.-led "war
on terror" are boosting regional defence budgets and rekindling stalled military
spending programmes.
"There are not many economically rational reasons for production of weapons
by Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN) members, but there are other reasons why people would produce
them," David Capie, the study's author, told Reuters in an interview in Bangkok.
"There is a tension between economic rationality and other motivations,
like maintaining national autonomy or pork-barrel politics," said Capie, an
expert on the small arms trade at the University of British Columbia in Canada.
"The thing since September 11 is that those other motivations are now
trumping economic rationality and breathing new life into what was really an
industry in decline."
CLOSELY GUARDED SECRETS
While details of the economics of small arms production are closely guarded
secrets in most states in the region, the report says production is costly and
not usually economically viable.
"The flood of former-Soviet and eastern bloc small arms into the market and
the need to import raw materials for ammunition production makes it extremely
difficult for Southeast Asian products to compete internationally on price," the
report says.
SME ammunition costs between five and 20 percent more per unit than similar
products on the market, the report says.
"But regional governments are going to spend money on maintaining their
production lines, even if they have to pay more than they would on the open
market," said Capie.
"It shows that they want to maintain a production capability and reduce
dependence on outside suppliers."
The study tracks the production of weapons in Southeast Asia over the past
three decades. Previously, the region was dependent on guns and ammunition from
Europe, China and the United States.
Today at least six ASEAN members -- Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand -- make small arms and are self-sufficient in
small-calibre ammunition and ordnance.
LUCRATIVE EXPORTS
But only Singapore Technologies, another government-owned company, has been
able to tap into lucrative export markets in any significant way and join the
ranks of internationally competitive defence industries.
Singapore has exported ordnance, machine guns and assault rifles to a host
of global troublespots including Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands,
Myanmar, Zimbabwe and Croatia.
Other manufacturers have struggled. Indonesia's Pindad PT, suffered the
indignity of seeing the Indonesian army go to China to buy mortar ordnance
recently, and Malaysia's SME closed its arms production operation in February
2001.
But in April, Malaysia announced a defence shopping spree, including a
reported 84.5 million ringgit ($22.2 million) of Steyr assault rifles from SME.
"Malaysia was very unsuccessful with its export programmes and now they are
basically reopening this industry for domestic consumption," said Capie.
"Pindad is also pushing the Indonesian government to buy a new infantry
weapon. Jakarta, with the current military embargo by the U.S., has had plenty
of experience in the need for a degree of self-sufficiency."
----------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday May 29, 11:36 AM
Myanmar's Suu Kyi plans opposition newspaper BANGKOK (Reuters) - Myanmar
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi plans to start an opposition newspaper in
the military-run country, according to an interview published on Wednesday.
The 56-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, recently released from 19 months
house arrest, said in an interview in The Nation daily she would apply for
permission to publish a newspaper.
"We will apply for the right. We have a plan. We'll see whether this will
be allowed," said the charismatic daughter of Burmese independence hero General
Aung San who has spent much of the last 14 years under house arrest.
The government keeps strict controls on the country's newspapers, radio and
television, which are viewed as mouthpieces of the ruling junta. Foreign media
are not available, except to foreigners in five-star hotels and the main source
of independent news is BBC radio Myanmar-language service.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party won 1990 elections but
was barred from taking power by the military, which has ruled Myanmar for four
decades.
Suu Kyi said her release from house arrest had been unconditional, but that
restrictions still remained on the NLD.
"My release has been unconditional... The regime has not said that all
restrictions on the rights of the NLD have been taken away," she said.
Suu Kyi has said she was free to travel wherever she wanted and there were
no curbs on her political activities. But there are still restrictions on public
displays of opposition to the military government.
----------------------------------------------------------------- ABC Radio Australia News
Burma accuses Thailand of harbouring terrorist groups 28/05/2002 23:41:45 Burma's military leaders have accused Thailand of harbouring "terrorist
groups" which were deliberately prompting border clashes which left up to 20
Burmese fighters dead in the past week.
Officials of the ruling junta said border tensions were being exacerbated
by anti-Yangon insurgent groups including the Karen National Union and the Shan
State Army.
Burma says shooting and mortar incidents along the border with Thailand's
Chiang Mai province in the past week has left "both sides with sustained
casualties estimated at 20 on the Burmese side and 50 on the Thai side.
. A Thai army spokesman said that no deaths from the border incidents had been reported in Thailand. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ABC Radio Australia News
Thai defence minister to meet Burma
junta over border row
28/05/2002 21:53:24
Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh, says he will soon meet top Burmese officials in efforts to defuse
escalating border tensions.
The minister did not reveal who he would meet or where, but he indicated
that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had already tried to speak with Burma's
army chief and the country's number two leader.
Mr Chavalit says Burma is considering opening up some vital border
checkpoints which were sealed by the junta last week following an exchange of
mortar fire across the border.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Wednesday 29 May 2002
Burma slams door on official visits
No entry visas until Bangkok gets serious
AP/Bangkok Post
Burma will not grant entry visas to any official delegations from Thailand
until Bangkok agrees to hold a ``serious discussion'' on issues causing tension
along their common border, a Burmese intelligence official said yesterday.
The Burmese move flies in the face of assurances from top Thai officials,
including Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, that bilateral relations were on
the mend.
Friction between the two neighbours flared up on May 20, when Burma accused
the Thai military of firing artillery rounds into its territory in support of
attacks on Burmese army outposts by anti-Rangoon Shan ethnic rebels.
Thailand has denied the accusations saying only warning shots were fired
across the border after shells fired from inside Burma landed on Thai
soil.
Last week, Burma closed its four main border checkpoints with Thailand. The
closure came on the same day Prime Minister Thaksin said he was ordering Thai
military forces on exercise to pull back from border areas in order to ease the
tension.
``We have tolerated the un-neighbourliness of Thailand for a long time but
our period of tolerance is over,'' deputy military intelligence chief Maj-Gen
Kyaw Win said at a press briefing in Rangoon yesterday. ``We have to have
serious discussions to prevent recurrence of border problems.
``Until we can resolve the border problems, we will not issue visas to any
official delegation from Thailand or send any Burmese delegation to Thailand,''
he said.
But Maj-Gen Kyaw Win added that individuals such as tourists and
businessmen would still be granted visas.
Asked what other actions might be taken against Thailand, he said, ``Our
military is always alert but military means will be the last resort.''
Thailand's tolerance of Burma's ethnic rebels is a long-standing issue of
contention between the two countries. Burma frequently alleges that the Thai
military actively aids the rebels in their activities, a charge denied by
Bangkok.
Thailand, in turn, often complains that Burma's military government turns a
blind eye to the production and trafficking of illegal drugs by some ethnic
minorities, especially the well-armed United Wa State Army.
Bangkok blames the Wa for the massive influx of methamphetamine pills into
Thailand.
Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh said he would hold talks with
Burmese military leaders to settle the border disputes.
He said he was waiting for the Burmese military leaders to reply to his
request for negotiations to clear any misunderstanding.
Bangkok had clearly made its stance known to Rangoon it would not interfere
with Burma's internal affairs in previous talks with Burmese leaders Gen Maung
Aye and Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt.
Gen Chavalit also said the Thai military would be patient. It would avoid
trading accusations and refrain from using military means unless fightings
between Burmese minoritie pose a threat to the Thai sovereignty.
The defence minister said he believed in the use of diplomatic means to
create peace but it was still necessary for the Thai military to be ready for
border situations.
Gen Chavalit plans to inspect the border in the North this week but the
exact date has yet to be fixed.
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said relevant agencies were trying
to clear Burma's misunderstanding that Thailand was supporting minority rebel
groups along the border.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Wednesday 29 May 2002
Suu Kyi's freedom for how
long?
Junta buying time to to go after Ne Win
Ralph
Bachoe
Aung San Suu Kyi's recent release from house arrest gives her no guarantee
that she would be allowed to move about freely. Instead it serves as a breather
for the the military junta to concentrate on its attempt to crush Gen Ne Win and
the National Unity Party (NUP).
According to analysts, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has
given Mrs Suu Kyi a ``temporary reprieve'' to give it more time to crush Ne
Win's hold on the military and the NUP. Once this is achieved Mrs Suu Kyi would
be again placed under house arrest.
The military has two fronts open, one against the National League for
Democracy, which does not really exist today, and the once military-backed NUP.
But they are temporarily placed on the back-burner and is concentrating on Ne
Win's institution which is the military. The SPDC has a lot of explaining to do
in the military where there seems to be an implosion.
Sources in Rangoon say Mrs Suu Kyi was denied her demands that she be
allowed to move about freely, reorganise her party, and that all political
prisoners be released.
Shortly after United Nations negotiator Razali Ismail had announced that
there would be an important announcement in regards to talks between Mrs Suu Kyi
and the Rangoon government, the international media was invited to Rangoon by
the junta to witness a major event.
By April 30 the international media had gathered in front of Mrs Suu Kyi's
residence with the assumption that the major event promised by the government
had to be the release of Mrs Suu Kyi. They were disappointed.
Mrs Suu Kyi did not show up until five days later after dozens of trips by
senior military officers to see her. She finally relented under pressure from
the international community and the media to walk out a free woman.
During his last visit to Rangoon Mr Razali was alleged to have told Mrs Suu
Kyi that if nothing came of his negotiations, he would withdraw from the talks
process. Mrs Suu Kyi was supposed to have talked him into continuing with the
negotiations and that she would co-operate. Officials of major embassies were
also said to have been involved in persuading Mrs Suu Kyi into relenting to the
military's wishes.
----------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
BORDER TENSIONS: Chavalit appeals
for meeting
Published on May 29, 2002
Hopes to mend fences as Rangoon steps up rhetoric
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh said
yesterday that he wanted a border meeting with Burmese junta leaders Maung Aye
and Khin Nyunt in order to improve recently soured relations.
"We will meet each other halfway at the border," he said, adding that the
date and exact venue would be set later.
There was no official response from the Burmese side.
Relations with Burma soured last week during border skirmishes in which
Rangoon accused the Thai military of firing artillery into its territory and
sealed all border checkpoints in retaliation.
Thai military stationed at the border area in Chiang Mai reportedly
exchanged artillery fire on May 20 with the Rangoon backed United Wa State Army
(UWSA), which officials believe to be a major illicit-drug producer.
Military leaders said the artillery fire was in retaliation against mortar
fire from a UWSA strong hold into Thai territory, but the Burmese military
claimed the Thai shelling was in support of Shan State Army (SSA) rebels.
"We have sent a very clear signal to Burma that the shelling into Burma was
launched without the acknowledgement of leaders in Bangkok," Chavalit
said.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had also tried to contact Maung Aye, vice
chairman of the junta State Peace and Development Council, to explain the Thai
version of events, he said.
In a bid to improve relations and reopen border crossings, Thailand has
withdrawn troops from the area and sent copies of two soap operas thought to be
popular with senior junta officials to Rangoon.
Meanwhile, Chavalit said that increased Burmese troop numbers in border
areas were not considered a threat to security, as they were part of a Burmese
anti-guerrilla offensive.
He added that Thailand needed to understand its neighbour's need to deal
with unrest on its own territory.
But according to an Agence France-Presse report, generals in Rangoon
maintain that Thailand is harbouring "terrorist groups".
Junta officials said border tensions were being exacerbated by anti-Rangoon
insurgent groups including the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Shan United
Revolutionary Army (SURA), Burma's name for the Shan State Army.
"These shooting incidents were found to have been deliberately caused by
the SURA drug terrorists as well as KNU terrorists based inside Thailand,"
Lt-Colonel Myint Lwin of defence intelligence said.
----------------------------------------------------------------- India emphasizes on cross border trade
not terrorism
Mizzima News
Imphal, May 29: The sharing of development between the neighboring
countries is more welcome than cross-border exchange of terrorism and militancy.
Hence, in a gesture to enhance border trade with our neighboring countries
including Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand, a border road would be built soon for
economic development of the North-Eastern region, said Prime Minister of India,
Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Speaking to the scribes, the Indian Prime Minister also announced that an
agreement would be soon signed between Myanmar and the Indian Government for the
construction of the road. The Prime Minister hopes that the proposed road would
help in border trade and open the North-East to the East, reports North East
Enquirer, a fortnightly magazine from New Delhi.
"I firmly believe that if we all work together to achieve our goals, there
will be no reason why the country or the North-East should lag behind," Prime
Minister told. He had also added that the political parties should cooperate on
matters of security and development and there should be no compromise on or
opposition to these issues with all working in the national interest.
Mr. Vajpayee had also appealed to the militants of the North-East to give
up violence and help the country move ahead. "Terrorism is an international
challenge and what is happening here is also terrorism which has no place in a
civilized society," he said. "There is no place for militancy and we will not
surrender to militancy. When our soldiers are fighting in northern front for the
security of the nation, killing, extortion and violence will not be tolerated,"
Vajpayee cautioned.
----------------------------------------------------------------- The Straits Times - MAY 29, 2002
WED
Yangon puts visa squeeze on
Thais
YANGON - Myanmar will not issue visas for official delegations from
Thailand until Bangkok agrees to hold 'a serious discussion' on issues causing
tension along their border, a military intelligence official said yesterday.
The surprise move flies in the face of assurances from Thai officials,
including Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, that bilateral relations were on
the mend.
Friction between the two countries flared up on May 20 when Myanmar accused
the Thai military of firing artillery rounds onto its territory in support of
attacks on Myanmar army outposts by anti-government Shan ethnic rebels.
Last week, Myanmar closed its four main border checkpoints with Thailand.
The closure came the same day that Mr Thaksin said he was ordering Thai military
forces to withdraw from border areas to ease tension.
'We have tolerated the unneighbourliness of Thailand for a long time but
our period of tolerance is over,' said Major-General Kyaw Win.
Tourists and business people would still be issued visas. --AP
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