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BURMA RELATED NEWS - JULY 22-25,
2002.
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HEADLINES
------------------------------------------------------------------- WP - The Rape of Burma
NYT - Burmese Jew Shoulders Burden of His
Heritage
Reuters - ASEAN to Back U.S. War on Terror with New
Pact
AP - Media group says
jailed Myanmar reporter in poor health
AP - Myanmar's Suu Kyi returns from four-day trip
AP - Myanmar
opposition leader visits government dam project
AP - Seeking better
life in Thailand, Myanmar migrants find hardships, sometimes death
AP - U.N. Says Democracy Losing
Ground
Xinhuanet - Thai-Myanmar relations improving:
Thai officer
IHT - Don't reward
Burma's junta
Bkk Post - No bid to ban Ad Carabao's latest
album
Bkk Post - Reporting casualty?
Kyodo News - Kawaguchi likely to meet Aung San
Suu Kyi in Myanmar
------------------------------------------------------------------- The Washington Post The Rape of Burma
Tuesday, July 23, 2002; Page A16
RECENT EVENTS have led some people to predict that one of the world's most repressive regimes may be growing a bit less so. The generals who rule, or misrule, the Southeast Asian nation of Burma, which they call Myanmar, released from house arrest the woman who should in fact be the nation's prime minister, Aung San Suu Kyi. They have allowed her to travel a bit, and they have released from unspeakable prisons a few of her supporters. Grounds for hope, you might think. Then came release of a report, documented in horrifying detail, of how Burma's army uses rape as a weapon of war. The rapes take place as part of the junta's perpetual -- and, outside Burma, little-noticed -- war against ethnic nationalities, in this case in Shan state. The Shan Human Rights Foundation and Shan Women's Action Network documented 173 incidents involving 625 girls and women, some as young as five years old, taking place mostly between 1996 and 2001. Most of the rapes were perpetrated by officers, in front of their men, and with utmost brutality; one-quarter of the victims died. What is telling is the response of the regime to the report. Rather than seeking to bring the criminals to justice, it has unleashed vitriol against the human rights organizations, accusing them of drug-running and the like. This is the junta's usual pattern, whenever it is found to be scraping the bottom of the morality barrel: child labor, forced labor, torture. It denies all and attacks the truth-tellers. Yet, over the years the evidence of barbarity has been so inescapable that even the junta's would-be friends have found it impossible to overlook it. Burma's leaders cannot bring the criminals to justice because they are the criminals. Later this month Secretary of State Colin Powell will travel to the region for meetings with senior officials. Earlier this month he instructed his diplomats to express outrage over the reported use of rape as a tactic of war; he should personally express the same outrage. He also should make clear that Aung San Suu Kyi -- whose democratic party won an overwhelming victory in 1990 elections that the junta nullified -- should be permitted more room to maneuver: permission to publish a newspaper, for starters. The Burmese regime should not receive rewards for cosmetic liberalization. ------------------------------------------------------------------- The New York Times - July
23, 2002
Burmese Jew Shoulders Burden
of His Heritage
By SETH MYDANS YANGON, Myanmar ? The moss-covered tombstones in the Jewish cemetery here present a collective epitaph for a once-thriving population that has shrunk to just eight families and is now on the edge of extinction. The oldest tomb is dated 1876, a time when Jewish
merchants and traders in teak, cotton and rice were pouring into what was then
Burma from Iraq, Iran, Europe and India.
The last is dated 1985, when most of a population that
once numbered more than 2,500 had already departed, many fleeing the Japanese
during World War II and others leaving when their businesses were nationalized
in the 1960's.
Of the remaining 20 Jews who live scattered around Myanmar
today, only one young man is likely to marry here, but he will have to travel
abroad to find a Jewish wife to carry on his family line.
This last hope for the Jews of Myanmar is Sammy Samuels,
22, a bright and talkative student who already carries on his shoulders the
burden of his heritage.
He is the son of Moses Samuels, 52, the caretaker of the
country's only synagogue, a well-kept, high-domed building whose brightly
lighted chamber seems poised to welcome hundreds of worshipers but is now filled
mostly by their ghosts.
It is rare that the synagogue gathers a minyan, the
minimum of 10 male worshipers required for a service. On many Friday evenings,
only two people come to observe the Sabbath ? Moses and Sammy
Samuels.
Because the father, whose family is from Iraq, cannot read
Hebrew, it is the son ? who studied for a year in Israel ? who reads the
prayers, his young voice speaking for all the generations of Jews who have lived
and died here.
It is more than 30 years since the synagogue called
Musmeah Yeshua ? built in wood in 1854 and rebuilt in stone in 1896 ? has had a
rabbi.
"Sometimes you feel very lonely, you feel very sad," Sammy Samuels said. "Sometimes it's only me, only me in this big synagogue." Indeed, much of the companionship the synagogue enjoys
comes from its close relations with other religious groups that surround it in
this largely Buddhist nation.
The synagogue, with a blue Star of David over its gate, is
in the heart of the Muslim district of this capital ? once called Rangoon ? on a
bustling one-way lane jammed with open-fronted shops selling paint, fishing
nets, textiles and household goods. Like his neighbors, Mr. Samuels is a
retailer, juggling businesses that include furniture and
glassware.
"There is no problem with religion here," Moses Samuels
said, speaking in English, as many people of his generation
can.
On Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, his Muslim, Hindu,
Christian, Buddhist and Bahai friends join the feast at the synagogue, bringing
their own special treats to share.
"Whatever happens in Israel and America doesn't affect you
here," Sammy Samuels said. "Since Sept. 11, people are agitated against America
but not really against the Jews."
It is not the government but the Jewish population itself
that has brought about its decline. Emigration to Israel has continued, and some
of the last families here may follow. Moses Samuels said his own two daughters,
who are in their 20's, are also likely to leave for Israel soon. In addition to
his three children, there are only two other unmarried Jews in Myanmar, both of
them older and neither one likely to marry, he said.
"I could emigrate to Israel really easily," his son said.
"But if I do that, who is going to take care of the synagogue after my father,
and the cemetery and the Jewish community here? It is a great responsibility for
me."
Sammy Samuels is planning to go to New York in August to
study for the next few years at Yeshiva University and to look for a Jewish wife
who is willing to return with him to Myanmar, he said.
While he is gone, his father might sometimes be alone at
Friday prayers. "Maybe he'll read in English," the son said.
The cemetery is just a few minutes' drive away, in the
heart of the city, but it seems to be lost in a jungle. It is monsoon season now
and the tropical vines and vegetation grow thicker every
day, burying the 600 moss-covered tombstones deeper beneath
them.
When the rains stop this fall, Moses Samuels will hire
workers, as he does every year, to slash away the overgrowth and help him
whitewash the tombstones.
The stone dated 1985 is the last that will ever be placed
here. In 1997, the government ordered a stop to most burials within the city
limits and said all the graves in religious cemeteries would have to be moved to
new plots a two-hour drive away.
So far, the Jewish cemetery has not been touched, and Mr.
Samuels has no idea when the order to move might come. But he is already
preparing the 10,000-square-foot plot that has been marked off for Jewish
burials outside the city.
There seems to be a lonely optimism in those preparations.
Once the 600 old graves are moved, there will still be room for more
burials.
Mr. Samuels's hope is that a new, more liberal Myanmar
will emerge some day soon and that it will be an inviting magnet once again for
Jewish merchants and traders. The synagogue would once again have its minyan,
and the cemetery would begin to fill again with Jews who have settled
here.
But here in the former Burma, history takes its time to
unfold. Until that thriving new community emerges, it will be up to Sammy
Samuels and his future wife and their many sons and daughters to keep his
heritage alive.
------------------------------------------------------------------- ASEAN to Back
U.S. War on Terror with New Pact
Wed Jul 24, 4:54 AM
ET
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Southeast Asian nations will sign a declaration next week to share financial and immigration intelligence with the United States in support of the U.S.-led war on terror, a Malaysian official said on Wednesday. The 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will adopt the proposed anti-terror declaration during a regional security forum to be attended by Secretary of State Colin Powell, the official said. ASEAN foreign ministers are due to meet in Brunei between July 26 and August 2. "We are expecting unanimous support for the declaration," an official at the Malaysian foreign ministry told Reuters. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said on Tuesday the content of the ASEAN declaration would be similar to one signed by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad during a visit to Washington in May. In that pact, Kuala Lumpur agreed to cooperate with Washington on sharing financial information and immigration control. "We feel that it is better if ASEAN countries sign it as a joint declaration to exchange information and combat international terrorism," Syed Hamid was quoted as saying by Malaysia's official Bernama news agency. The U.S. praised Malaysia's efforts to support the U.S.-led war on terror after it locked up dozens of suspected Islamic militants and busted what it says were cells with links to the al Qaeda network, blamed for the September 11 attacks. -------------------------------------------------------------------
Media group says jailed
Myanmar reporter in poor health
Wed Jul 24, 7:12 AM ET
BANGKOK, Thailand - (AP) Win Tin, a prominent Myanmar journalist and democracy advocate who has been in prison for nearly 13 years, is in poor health and needs medical treatment, a media advocacy group said Wednesday. The Burma Media Association, an organization of expatriate Myanmar journalists, said in a statement Wednesday that Win Tin needs "serious and effective medical treatment immediately." Win Tin, a recipient of the World Association of Newspapers' 2001 Golden Pen of Freedom Award, is one of the founders of National League for Democracy party of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The 73-year-old journalist is suffering from various digestive and urinary tract infections and cannot afford to pay for medicine, the statement said, citing unnamed sources in Myanmar, also known as Burma. "People from literary and political circles were worried about his health that deteriorated rapidly in July," it added. Win Tin was arrested on July 4, 1989, tried in a closed military court and sentenced to 14 years in prison for allegedly being a member of the banned Communist Party of Myanmar. International media organizations have said he was sentenced to an additional five years in jail for illegally possessing writing materials in prison. He has been held at Yangon's Insein Prison, but spent several months earlier this year at a nearby hospital, according to the organization. Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said in May that at least 12 journalists are still in jail in Myanmar. The military, which has ruled since 1962, keeps tight control on the media. Myanmar's military government has refused to hand over power to the National League for Democracy, which won general elections in 1990. Suu Kyi was kept under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 and for another 19 months from September 2000. Her release in May initially raised hopes that the junta may be willing to restore democracy. But diplomats and observers say substantive talks on a political transition have not taken place. -------------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar's Suu
Kyi returns from four-day trip
Tue Jul 23,11:31 AM
ET
YANGON, Myanmar - (AP) - Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi returned Tuesday night from a trip to eastern Myanmar to rebuild her party, which also featured a gesture of compromise toward her nemesis, the country's military government. Suu Kyi has been seeking to strengthen her National League for Democracy party, which won a 1990 general election but was barred from taking power by the military. Her journey to Moulmein, 290 kilometers (180 miles) east of Yangon, was her second trip outside the capital since her May release from 19 months of house arrest. She had been detained in September 2000 for trying to leave Yangon on a political trip. Suu Kyi was greeted by enthusiastic crowds of supporters during her four-day trip, which was mainly focused on visiting party supporters. To mark the revival of her party ? which has suffered intense harassment from the military junta since its founding in 1988 ? she oversaw the raising of new signboards at four township offices and one provincial office at its Mon State headquarters in Moulmein. She also inspected at least two government infrastructure projects, a dam and a bridge, where she was hosted by officials. Those visits could be construed as conciliatory gestures by Suu Kyi, who normally tries to have as little as possible to do with the junta that also kept her under arrest from 1989-1995. Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi and the military have been holding closed-door talks since late 2000 in an effort to reach political reconciliation. There is little to show for them so far, other than her own release and that of about 200 political prisoners. -------------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar opposition leader
visits government dam project
Mon Jul 22, 7:13 AM ET
YANGON, Myanmar - (AP)- Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi took a break from political organizing Monday to visit a government dam project in eastern Myanmar, as she continued on a trip outside the capital ? just her second since her release from house arrest in May. Suu Kyi normally tries to have as little as possible to do with the military government, so the dam visit can be construed as a conciliatory gesture. Under a heavy monsoon downpour, government officials took Suu Kyi in a four-wheel drive car to the Win Phanone dam construction project near Mudon in Mon State, where she viewed the dam through binoculars and was briefed. Afterward, Suu Kyi returned to Moulmein, the capital of Mon State, 290 kilometers (180 miles) east of Yangon, to continue her political work. Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel peace laureate, was released on May 6 after 19 months of house arrest by the military government, which forbade her from traveling outside Yangon. Suu Kyi and the military have been holding closed-door talks since late 2000 to try to reconcile, but there has been little sign of a breakthrough. Saturday, the 57-year-old Suu Kyi traveled to Moulmein from Yangon for a planned four-day trip to rally support. She was greeted by 3,000 enthusiastic supporters in a rare mass public gathering by the opposition. In a series of speeches, Suu Kyi has stressed the need for political awareness and called for support in her party's efforts to achieve democracy in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma. The military government refused to hand over power to her National League for Democracy party after it won a 1990 general election. -------------------------------------------------------------------
Seeking better life in
Thailand, Myanmar migrants find hardships, sometimes death
Tue Jul 23, 8:31 PM ET
By DENIS D. GRAY, Associated Press Writer
BANGKOK, Thailand -(AP) - A teenager dies after being doused with gasoline and set afire. The throats of 20 blindfolded people are slit. Thirteen others, including three children, are discovered in a waste dump after suffocating under a load of vegetables. The victims are among hundreds of thousands who have fled dire poverty or persecution in Myanmar, in hopes of better, safer lives in neighboring Thailand. Myanmar's economy is shattered ? and while many migrants improve their status, others face dismal working conditions, risk of deportation and violence at the hands of smugglers and employers. Relative to its neighbors in Southeast Asia ? Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, also known as Burma ? the Thai economy is a labor-seeking powerhouse and a magnet for foreign workers. Widespread human rights abuses in military-ruled Myanmar add another incentive to head for Thailand. Trying to cope with the flood of Myanmar migrants, the Thai government has registered more than 400,000, allowing them to work while banning newcomers and warning that non-registered "illegals" could be arrested and deported. Recent tensions between the two countries have officially closed the frontier, but it is 2,090-kilometers (1,300 miles) long and extremely porous. Human Rights lawyer Somchai Homlaor, who estimates there are more than 250,000 illegal Myanmar workers in Thailand, said authorities on both sides of the border make money off the people trafficking, allowing it to continue despite the border closure. Sunai Phasuk, an expert in Thai-Myanmar relations, said many employers also do not register migrant workers because they want to save on the fees that must be paid to the government. Most of the migrants are employed in factories, farms, the fishing and construction industries or as domestic helpers. Some are lured or forced into the sex industry, vulnerable to the deadly HIV virus that causes AIDS. A recent Amnesty International report said the vast majority of the migrants it interviewed were paid less than Thailand's minimum legal daily wage, which ranges from 133 to 168 baht (dlrs 3.30 to 4.20), depending on the region. Despite working extremely long hours, farm workers made as little as 50 baht (dlrs 1.25) a day. Their illegal status can also leave them at the mercy of abusive employers. "The Burmese do all the three Ds ? dirty, dangerous and difficult," the London-based human rights group quoted one Myanmar worker, who hauled rice in a mill, as saying. There are no figures on the number of migrants who die or are subjected to gross abuses. Rights workers suspect only a fraction of such cases are reported by officials or the media, and those reports are not seriously investigated by authorities. "There is no systematic protection for migrant workers and there is the issue of bias and prejudice by the Thai public in general and Thai officials in particular," Sunai said. One case did come to light in March after the bodies of 13 migrants were discovered in a waste dump. A smuggling gang admitted dumping the corpses after the migrants suffocated when packed under vegetables inside a truck. A month earlier, the bodies of 20 ethnic minority Karen from Myanmar were found along a human trafficking trail near the border, their throats slit. No arrests have been made, but there is speculation they were killed because they did not pay the smugglers. Migrants told Amnesty they paid agents between 4,500 and 10,000 baht (dlrs 112 and 250) to be transported from Myanmar to Thailand, with the smugglers clearing them through Myanmar and Thai checkpoints along the way. This month, 18-year-old Ba Suu died nine days after she was found on a roadside 190 kilometers (120 miles) north of Bangkok. Ba Suu had told police that she worked as a maid at the house of a factory owner, who kept her a virtual prisoner and accused her of stealing a gold necklace. When she denied the accusation, she said she was beaten up and taken away by two men who doused her with gasoline and set her on fire. "The case is just the tip of the iceberg. Human rights abuses of these underprivileged laborers are rampant," says Chalida Tajaroensuk of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development. But Thai government spokesman Yongyuth Thiyapairat said human rights groups are taking isolated cases and blowing them up into big issues. "The government doesn't ignore the plight of even illegal workers who are abused and will take legal action against the culprits," he said. -------------------------------------------------------------------
U.N. Says Democracy Losing
Ground MANILA, Philippines (AP) ? The wave of democracy-building that swept
the world in the previous two decades has stalled, with some countries slipping
into authoritarian rule and political conflict, according to a U.N. report
released Wednesday. -------------------------------------------------------------------
Thai-Myanmar relations improving: Thai officer
Xinhuanet 2002-07-24 13:39:13 BANGKOK, July 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Relations between Thailand and Myanmar, soured mainly by border problems over the past two months,are improving, the Thai News Agency reported Wednesday. Udomchai Ongkasing, commanding general of the Third Army Area Command, was
quoted as saying that a positive change had been seenlately over situation along
the Thai-Myanmar border.
With the positive trend, he expected relations between the two neighboring
countries would improve though it would take some times to restore the sound
bilateral relationship.
Udomchai conceded that a planned military exercise along the border
announced by Rangoon could be accompanied by a renewed crackdown on its armed
ethnic groups.
Meanwhile, the House Committee on Commerce reported that Rangoon's closure
of its border checkpoints with Thailand over thepast two months had caused
business losses to both sides up to five billion baht (125 million US dollars),
as trade and tourism had come to a standstill.
Trade and tourism at three permanent checkpoints, including theMae
Sai-Tachilek Checkpoint in the North, the Mae Sot-Myawaddy Checkpoint in the
West, and the Ranong-Victoria Point Checkpoint in the South, had been mostly hit
by the closure, said the committee.
Border trade through the Mae Sai-Tachilek Checkpoint normally accounted for
20-30 million baht (500,000-750,000 US dollars) daily before the closure; while
border trade at the Mae Sot-Myawaddy Checkpoint was normally up to 20 million
baht (500,000 USdollars) daily.
Heavy revenue losses were also found, as Myanmar authorities had banned
shuttle boat services between Ranong and the Victoria Points, the House
Committee disclosed.
------------------------------------------------------------------- The International Herald Tribune Don't reward Burma's
junta
The Washington Post Wednesday, July 24,
2002
Recent events have led some people to predict that one of the world's most
repressive regimes may be growing a bit less so. The generals who misrule Burma
released from house arrest the woman who should in fact be prime minister, Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi. They have allowed her to travel a bit, and they have released
from unspeakable prisons a few of her supporters. Grounds for hope, you might
think. Then came release of a report, documented in horrifying detail, of how
the army uses rape as a weapon of war. The rapes take place as part of the
junta's perpetual war against ethnic nationalities. The Shan Human Rights
Foundation and Shan Women's Action Network documented 173 incidents involving
625 girls and women, some as young as five years old, taking place mostly from
1996 to 2001. Most of the rapes were perpetrated by officers, in front of their
men, and with utmost brutality; one-quarter of the victims died.
. What is telling is the response of the regime to the report. Rather than seeking to bring the criminals to justice, it has unleashed vitriol against the human rights organizations, accusing them of drug-running and the like. This is the junta's usual pattern, whenever it is found to be scraping the bottom of the morality barrel: child labor, forced labor, torture. It denies all and attacks the truth-tellers. Yet over the years the evidence of barbarity has been so inescapable that even the junta's would-be friends have found it impossible to overlook. Burma's leaders cannot bring the criminals to justice because they are the criminals. This month Secretary of State Colin Powell will travel to the region for meetings with senior officials. He has instructed his diplomats to express outrage over the reported use of rape as a tactic of war; he should personally express the same outrage. He also should make clear that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, whose democratic party won an overwhelming victory in 1990 elections that the junta nullified, should be permitted more room to maneuver - permission to publish a newspaper, for starters. The Burmese regime should not receive rewards for cosmetic liberalization. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Thursday 25 July 2002
No bid to ban Ad Carabao's latest album Sales go ahead despite lyrics criticising junta Wassana Nanuam The latest album by popular country singer Ad Carabao, which contains
lyrics criticising Rangoon and supporting the Shan struggle against Burmese
troops, will not be withdrawn from circulation, Defence Minister Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh said yesterday.
Mai Tong Rong Hai (``Don't Cry''), was selling briskly in the northern border provinces of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son, which were home to a large number of Shan villagers. The album is based heavily on anti-Burmese sentiment, with tracks inciting the Shan State Army (SSA) to continue its bloody conflict, branding the Burmese junta as dictators, and praising the country's democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. The video features a Shan rebel stamping on the picture of Burmese Prime Minister Than Shwe, and another kicking a sign emblazoned with the word ``Myanmar.'' It also includes clips of the SSA firing on Burmese troops, as well as bodies of Burmese soldiers. Gen Chavalit said Ad, or Yuenyong Opakul, had the right to compose and perform songs on whatever subject he chose to cover. ``He is not an official,'' he said. ``We cannot control private media.'' The government would continue to ensure state employees did not draw the country further into conflict with Rangoon, he said. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Thursday 25 July 2002
Reporting casualty? If three American servicemen were wounded near the Burmese border during a military clash, as reported by a regional magazine, no one in that part of the world is willing to admit knowing anything. --- The day Prem came to the ministry was a day of note for some people, but the special guest himself is said to have looked a tad uncomfortable. --- Thaksin has scored himself one especially enthusiastic gofer. The "Intelligence" column report from the Far Eastern Economic Review of
July 11 that claims three US soldiers were wounded during a clash along the
Thai-Burmese border has caused much bewilderment among Thai forces and members
of the Shan State Army.
No details were given by the weekly magazine other than to say the incident took place just inside Burma opposite Mae Fa Luang in Chiang Rai, where the SSA has several military outposts and a major command at Koh Hom. The magazine quoted an unidentified diplomat as saying: "US servicemen were so close to the action during recent border clashes that three of them were wounded at Mae Fa Luang in northern Thailand." Thai troops posted to the border district were amazed when they were asked to clarify the FEER story. "That report might stem from the magazine's own illusion," said one mid-level officer with the northern 3rd Army. "How could they write such an unfounded story that could cause wide confusion?" The officer said US forces were not involved in the Surasi 143 military exercise held near the border in May. Jao Gorn Juen, commander of the SSA's Chiang Toong unit, also said he was surprised by the report and did not think it could possibly be true. Jao Gorn Juen's troops have been fighting a combined Burmese-Wa force since last month which has been trying to dislodge the SSA from its bases at Koh Muang, Koh Wan, Koh Fah and Koh Hom. "It would be good if they [the US troops] helped us fight the junta," said Jao Gorn Juen jokingly at the weekend from his stronghold at Koh Hom. Another Thai army officer said the linking of US servicemen to the Surasi 143 military exercise was not completely out of the blue as there had been reports in the local press tying the US to the recent border tensions. He claimed there were calculated moves among some sectors to blame the US for the present strained relations between Thailand and Burma. Maj-Gen Trairong Intaratat, an adviser to the prime minister on special affairs, warned recently in an article in a Thai weekly that there were attempts by "a third party" to undermine ties between Thailand and Burma. The former classmate of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra wrote that "the third party was behind moves to incite a confrontation and tensions along the Thai-Burma border and didn't want to see improved ties between our two countries". Burma's military junta, nor surprisingly given its penchant for the melodramatic, made much of the FEER report at a press conference in Rangoon, claiming the three US servicemen were wounded while accompanying Thai troops helping the SSA against Burmese forces. The junta mouthpiece the New Light of Myanmar, meanwhile, is continuing its press attacks on the Thai army which began after a fierce clash along the border beside Chiang Mai's Wiang Haeng on May 20. Rangoon suffered heavy losses during the clash and has since accused the Thai army of giving military support to the SSA. The Thai army denies this, but Rangoon responded by closing all border checkpoints on May 22. Prem put on a spot The visit last week by privy councillors to the Foreign Affairs Ministry was unprecedented and has left many people wondering who invited these distinguished gentlemen, and for what reason. There have been reports that Gen Prem Tinsulanonda, the Privy Council chairman, has been unhappy of late with the government's, and in particular the Foreign Ministry's, handling of continuing problems along the border with Burma. But one chap we know who mixes in councillor circles said the visit was not at Gen Prem's initiative. Gen Prem had been asked to join the group by ML Thaweesant Ladawal, a fellow councillor and father-in-law of Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai. Gen Prem was understandably a little circumspect given the tradition of privy councillors keeping their distance from state offices. But since the invitation came from one of his people, the former prime minister and army chief was said to have felt obliged to join the group. Our man said Mr Surakiat appeared keen to make it look like Gen Prem supported the government and his ministry. The foreign minister wanted to suggest that Gen Prem was backing his stewardship of the ministry, while the Old Man himself knew that someone was trying to capitalise on his image and stature. "Everyone was keen to know why Gen Prem had decided to pay the ministry a visit," our fellow said. "Some questioned the motive of his presence but, in fact, he went along because he could not decline the invitation." It was reported that Gen Prem was very reserved in his comments on the ministry's affairs during the visit. He was said to have taken every precaution to ensure he did not interfere in the operations of the ministry in any way, our chappie said. Had he wanted to pay a visit of his own accord, he would have shown greater interest, said our man. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Kawaguchi likely to meet Aung San
Suu Kyi in Myanmar
Tuesday, July 23, 2002 at 09:30 JST TOKYO(Kyodo News) ? Japanese
Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi will make a three-day visit to Myanmar from
Aug. 3 and is likely to meet Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
there, diplomatic sources said Monday.
Kawaguchi would become the first minister-level official from a major industrialized country to meet the leader of the opposition National League for Democracy after she was released in early May after nearly 20 months of house arrest. ------------------------------------------------------------------- |