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BURMA RELATED NEWS
- October 23, 2002.
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HEADLINES
-------------------------------------------------------------------- ABC News - Access to
Evil?
OneWorld Net - Oil Giant Refutes
Workers' Claim of Forced Labor in Myanmar
AP - U.N. rights envoy to visit
children's project in Myanmar
AP - Myanmar gets one foreign
investment in first half of 2002
AFP - UN rights envoy to meet
prisoners on visit to Myanmar's Mon state
The Nation - 'Asean is safe and
stable' - Mahathir
Asian Tribune - U.S Senator
Rips Rangoon For "Inhumane Treatment" of Burmese People
Xinhuanet - Myanmar blames big
nations for interfering in internal affairs
-------------------------------------------------------------------- ABC News -
Access to Evil?
Burma: A Potential, But Unlikely, Partner for Iran, Iraq and North Korea By Andrew Chang Oct. 22 - It's an impoverished nation dominated by an authoritarian government whose militarism, black-market machinations and persecution of its own people presents a threat to its immediate neighbors, if not the world. But this isn't Iraq, where such conditions are being presented by the Bush administration as reasons for "regime change." Nor is it Afghanistan, where the United States and the world community a year ago ousted the fundamentalist Taliban. It's Burma, also known as Myanmar, which meets - and in some cases, exceeds - the criteria set by the White House for pre-emptive action. And yet, when President Bush singled out three countries last year in his "'axis of evil" speech, Burma was not one of them. The omission hasn't been lost on some people. In April, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the ranking member of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee, remarked to Secretary of State Colin Powell: "This is a regime that should be on the 'axis of evil' list alongside Iraq, Iran and North Korea." That same month, a Washington Monthly article asked, "Why isn't Burma on Bush's Axis of Evil list?" The answer is much more complicated than the question, experts say. They point out that the United States is actually one of the world's harshest critics of Burma. And yet, they also acknowledge that Washington is unlikely to help in ousting Burma's rulers any time soon. Hallmarks of a Rogue State While the White House sounds the alarm over Iraq's potential development of weapons of mass destruction, Burma earlier this year announced its own nuclear ambitions. The junta in Rangoon said it planned to develop a reactor with Russian assistance in order to produce isotopes for the medical industry. Washington reacted cautiously, saying in a statement: "Burma is of course entitled to share in the benefits of peaceful nuclear cooperation. But, we would like to know more about the nature of the reactor." Critics of the country's government say that trepidation was warranted. For while a nuclear reactor is quite different from nuclear weapons, one development can lead to another. "It's a prerequisite. They do intend to have nuclear weapons," said Soe Pyne of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, a Burmese opposition group. "It's still a little early for the U.S. to put them as a rogue regime, but down the line it can happen," he said. A report in the Far Eastern Economic Review is adding reasons for worry. Quoting Asian and European intelligence sources, FEER said in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America, two Pakistani nuclear scientists left for Burma when it became clear the CIA wanted to question them about potential ties to al Qaeda. They are reportedly working on an undisclosed project and have not returned. Meanwhile, Rangoon has purchased 10 secondhand MiG-29 jet fighters from the Russian air force for $150 million - despite its devastated economy. Observers say Rangoon's militarism is a threat to already volatile Southeast Asia. Calls to the Embassy of Myanmar in Washington were not returned. In 1989, Burma's rulers changed the country's name to Myanmar, the country's name in its native tongue. However, most of the international community still refers to it as Burma. Some experts said Burma's militarism is driven by a long-standing feeling of competition with neighboring Thailand. But Joseph Silverstein, professor emeritus at Rutgers University in New Jersey, said of the potential new weapons: "Who are they aimed at? They have no international enemies." Jeremy Woodrum, Washington director of the Free Burma Coalition, says it's clear that the Burmese government is up to no good. "It's a military regime that believes in ruling through the end of a gun barrel," he said. "Why would people ever doubt that it is interested in developing nukes?" Roguer Than Thou Burma's people have been in thrall to an oppressive military regime for more than 40 years - longer than any other country on the "axis of evil." The once prosperous nation has suffered decades of decline - thereby threatening to further destabilize the area. According to the World Health Organization, Burma now has the second-worst health system in the world. According to health experts, it faces an AIDS pandemic that could eclipse anything in Africa. Human Rights Watch says Burma has the largest number of child soldiers in the world, and the number is growing. Drug prevention agencies say the country is a leading producer of heroin and methamphetamine. Adding to the misery, the nation is riddled with ethnic conflict between the Shan, Kachin, Karen, Wa and dozens of other minorities, and the Burman, who dominate the army and government. In total, experts say the woes are prompting a humanitarian crisis, as millions illegally immigrate to neighboring Thailand, or set up refugees camps at the border. But unlike any member of the "axis of evil," Burma also has an active and unique opposition. "Many Burmese people feel like they did in the Czech Republic, in Poland, that the U.S. supports their freedom struggle," Woodrum said. Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has achieved the highest levels of recognition: In 1991, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. And more than a decade later, that opposition is still active. "There is an opposition that has been fighting with bare hands and using their voices to keep alive in the face of a powerful military," said Silverstein. "There is a structure there prepared to take over, unlike Iraq," he said, noting that the Suu Kyi and her opposition movement, the National League for Democracy, has the support of the country's many minorities. In 1990, the country's military rulers, confident on their grip on power, allowed a free election. The NLD won more than 80 percent of the seats in Parliament, and the army-supported party won about 2 percent. But the junta reacted by ignoring the results and clamping down on the opposition. Washington's efforts to topple Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq have been hobbled by the country's many opposition groups, some of which are at odds with each other, and others that have poor relations with the United States. Nothing to Do Burma is definitely "a threat to America's national interest," said Peter Yeo, deputy director of the minority staff of the House International Relations Committee. But he and other experts acknowledged that of all the countries in the world, the United States probably has the hardest line on Burma. Among the many punitive actions Washington has taken: a ban on all new investment in the country, suspending all economic aid, reducing its diplomatic presence from an ambassador to a chargé d'affaires and refusing travel visas to all top military officials and their family. Silverstein, a strong critic of the military regime, had few suggestions of additional measures to take, other than to suspend investment altogether. Burma might attract some attention from the war on terror for small numbers of rebels associated with the Middle East operating on its border with Bangladesh, a primarily Muslim country, Pyne said. But Burma's socialist leaders and primarily Buddhist population have little interest in supporting Islamic fundamentalism, and have expressed cooperation with Washington. "Politically, the U.S. doesn't have a lot of interest in Burma," Pyne said. Most importantly: the opposition is very unlikely to support military action, experts said - because true to their democratic principles, they oppose taking power by force. Still, many Burma-watchers were surprised the country was not on Bush's axis of evil. Suggesting that it posed less of an immediate threat to U.S. interests, Woodrum said: "Maybe it should be the stop sign of evil." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Oil Giant Refutes Workers'
Claim of Forced Labor in Myanmar
Tue Oct 22, 1:26 PM ET Kalyani,OneWorld South Asia French oil giant TotalFina-Elf flatly rejected accusations by a global trade union body Monday that its investments in Myanmar (formerly Burma) were directly linked to forced labor used for road-building and other heavy work around the Yadana oil pipeline off the country's southwest coast. Reacting to allegations by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) that the multinational company "directly and knowingly profits from forced labor imposed by the Burmese army on civilians," TotalFina insisted that its work in Myanmar did not involve labor forcibly employed by the military. "TotalFina-Elf reaffirms that it has total control, from start to finish, of its operations [in Myanmar] and has respected the demands of the people employed on these projects," it said in a statement issued from its Paris headquarters. "The group has also ensured that its suppliers did the same," it said. Brussels-based ICFTU, which represents over 150 million workers in 148 countries, released "stark new evidence" Monday, gathered over the 12 months to September, 2002, that raised questions about TotalFina's record on the use of forced labor in the military-ruled Southeast Asian country. The evidence, which shines a spotlight on TotalFina's construction activities for the Yadana pipeline, has been used as a means for lobbying at a European Union (EU) half-yearly Burma review which ended in Luxembourg Tuesday. It was also submitted to the International Labour Organization last week. It is based on testimony provided by the local Federation of Trade Unions - Burma from civilians in at least 16 southern Myanmar villages who were apparently forced to work on a highway by the national army and told they would receive wages for their labor. "In May (2002), villagers heard that TotalFina-Elf had paid the authorities for the road building and inquired with their village elders about the money," according to the 350-page report containing the evidence. "They were told that their complaint would be referred to 'higher authorities,' but are still waiting for the money months later," it said. Arguing that the company was effectively subcontracting a division of the Myanmar army, ICFTU urged members of the EU Council of Ministers to "strengthen their Common Position on Burma...to include a ban on all European investment in the country." TotalFina, however, denied allegations of links with the country's army, which has been accused by leading human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International of ruthlessly suppressing civilians and the political opposition after generals of the military regime seized power in 1988. "TotalFina-Elf has never had a 'contract with the Burmese army.' It is, in effect, the responsibility of the host country government, in Burma as elsewhere, to assure the protection of people," it said. -------------------------------------------------------------------- U.N. rights envoy to visit
children's project in Myanmar
Wed Oct 23,12:20 AM ET YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - A day after meeting with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, United Nations human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro traveled Wednesday to Myanmar's southeastern Karen State to visit a relief project for children. Pinheiro, on his fourth visit to assess human rights conditions in the military-ruled country, is expected to present his report to the U.N. General Assembly in November. The Brazilian politics professor said he would visit a UNICEF project and local judicial and government officials before returning to the capital Friday. On his return, Pinheiro is due to visit the notorious Tharawaddy Prison, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Yangon, before leaving Myanmar next Monday. Pinheiro was invited by the government to travel to northeastern Shan State to investigate allegations that the military uses rape as a weapon of terror against women of the Shan ethnic minority. But Pinheiro said he would not go because he would not have time during his short stay to fully evaluate the situation. On Tuesday, Pinheiro met with Suu Kyi and senior members of her National League for Democracy party for talks he described as "very fruitful." When he arrived for his 12-day visit on Oct. 17, Pinheiro said he was especially interested in finding out what had changed after Suu Kyi's release from 19 months of house arrest in May. Pinheiro has also met with government officials, ethnic minority representatives, diplomats and workers from international aid agencies. He met with political prisoners at Yangon's notorious Insein prison. Myanmar's military regime has been criticized by the West and U.N. agencies for its poor human rights record. The junta refused to recognize the results of a 1990 election, in which Suu Kyi's party won a landslide victory. The junta has been holding closed-door reconciliation talks with Suu Kyi, a 1991 Nobel Peace laureate, since late 2000, but with few apparent results. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar gets one foreign
investment in first half of 2002
2 hours, 57 minutes ago YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Only one foreign company invested in military-ruled Myanmar in the first half of this year, an amount of only US$ 1.5 million, according to an official report. The investment was a drastic fall compared to US$ 44.49 million invested during the same period last year. Official statistics published by the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development said the single investment this year was in the manufacturing sector by an investor from Hong Kong. It did not give details. According to businesspeople, the plunge in foreign investment was partly due to the government's unpredictable trade policies and an unrealistic foreign exchange rate where the free-market rate hovers around 1,100 kyats per dollar while the official rate remains at about 6 kyats to the dollar. In 2001, Myanmar's foreign investment came from 10 countries, amounting to US$ 58.97 million. The five sectors that attracted investments were manufacturing, construction, hotels and tourism, oil and gas, and mining. While no country has imposed a trade embargo on Myanmar, the United States banned all new investment in 1997 and the European Union (news - web sites) has had an arms embargo and a suspension of bilateral aid in place for 11 years. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday October 23, 4:01 PM
UN rights envoy to meet
prisoners on visit to Myanmar's Mon state
YANGON, Oct 23 (AFP) - UN human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro arrived Wednesday in southern Myanmar's Mon state for a regional tour which is scheduled to include meetings with political prisoners. Sources familiar with the envoy's trip said Pinheiro reached the state capital Mawlamyine, 280 miles (450 kilometres) south of Yangon, on a late morning commercial flight. He is scheduled to spend three days there visiting several prisons in an effort to assess the overall human rights situation in Myanmar, said the sources, who asked not to be identified. The envoy, who arrived in Yangon last Thursday and will spend 11 days here, has held talks with leading members of the ruling junta including military intelligence chief General Khin Nyunt and Foreign Minister Win Aung. On Tuesday he also met with the country's pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The United Nations has been instrumental in brokering a landmark dialogue between the military junta and Aung San Suu Kyi, but the talks are now widely believed to have stalled and have not progressed beyond the confidence-building stage. Pinheiro on Tuesday qualified his mission here as "successful in terms of full cooperation from the authorities." But the Brazilian academic cancelled a three-day trip to Myanmar's Shan state which was due to begin on Tuesday, citing the "impossibility of doing fact-finding within a few days." He said he would return to Myanmar next February, but did not specify if the visit would include a trip to Shan state. The junta had invited him to go there to investigate a report by two Shan women's groups based in Thailand who had alleged that the military used rape as a weapon of war. Pinheiro has already met several prisoners during his visit and told reporters that some had complained about their treatment. International concern has been raised over elderly and sick prisoners failing to receive appropriate medical treatment while in Myanmar's jails. Pinheiro's visit also comes as Yangon fends off mounting criticisms of its human rights record. In addition to the rape allegations, US-based watchdog Human Rights Watch said last week it believed more than a fifth of the soldiers serving in Myanmar's army could be under the age of 18 and that some of them were forced to participate in atrocities. Myanmar's government has repeatedly denied all the allegations. Pinheiro is due to leave Myanmar on October 28. -------------------------------------------------------------------- The
Nation
'Asean is safe and stable' - Mahathir Thepchai Yong Published on Oct 23, 2002 Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad yesterday called on countries across the |region to make a collective effort |to assure the international com-munity that despite the recent |spate of terrorist incidents here |the region was still safe and |stable. The Malaysian leader also urged countries in the region to improve inter-regional cooperation, especially in areas like intelligence-sharing, to combat terrorism, which he said threatened tourism and investment here. Mahathir indicated that he would highlight this message at next month's summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) leaders in Phnom Penh. "We have to get together and explain to the world that we do |not tolerate terrorism and that |we will take action against any |acts of terror," he said, adding that |the recent spate of terrorist incidents had given the false impression that the countries of Asean were unstable. Mahathir was speaking before a group of Asean and European newspaper editors who were visiting Kuala Lumpur under the International Visitors Programme organised by the Institute of Strategic and International Studies of Malaysia. Reaffirming his government's tough stance against terrorism, Mahathir said that Malaysian authorities had rounded up 68 suspected members of KMM, a group alleged to have links to the al-Qaeda terrorist network, before they were able to commit any terrorist acts. He also pointed out that Malaysian authorities had shared information on terrorist activities with other countries in the region and with the US. Mahathir expressed confidence that a terrorist attack similar to the one that killed more than 180 people in Bali recently could occur in Malaysia, saying Malaysian authorities had put in place serious preventive security measures and were tracking all the suspected terrorist groups in the country. "We know how many of them there are. We know who they are. Some of them have been arrested, and we are watching the others," he said. With Malaysia taking over the chairmanship of the Organisation of Islamic Countries next year, Mahathir said there was a need for Muslim countries to counter the image that all Muslims were terrorists. The Malaysian leader recently returned from a visit to Saudi Arabia. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Asian Tribune
Date : 2002-10-23 U.S Senator Rips Rangoon For "Inhumane Treatment" of Burmese People The Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee castigated Burma's military rulers for their "inhumane treatment" of the Burmese people in his speech to the Senate. "It is past time for the -Rangoon junta- and its armed forces to respect the human rights and dignity of the people of Burma and to punish those in the military who are responsible for killing and injuring innocent men, women and children," Senator Patrick Leahy (Democrat of Vermont) said. He added that claims by Burma's military rulers that they are seeking reconciliation with that country's democratic opposition "ring hollow." The text of Senator Patrick Leahy speech is as follows: Senator Leahy: Mr. President, I want to add my voice to the growing chorus in Washington condemning the State Peace and Development Council's brutal and inhumane treatment of the people of Burma -- including refugees and internally displaced persons. We recently heard from the senior Senator from Kentucky, Senator Mcconnell, who has been a consistent, strong voice for human rights and democracy in Burma. He spoke of the many abuses committed by the SPDC and his concerns that the SPDC's proclaimed interest for reconciliation with the legitimate leaders of Burma --led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy -- ring hollow. I am in complete agreement with his assessment. It is past time for the SPDC and its armed forces to respect the human rights and dignity of the people of Burma and to punish those in the military who are responsible for killing and injuring innocent men, women and children. I was appalled to learn this week that Burma Army Column Commander Khin Mau Kyi, who is reportedly responsible for burning churches and villages and torturing pastors and Buddhist monks, said: "I don't respect any religion, my religion is the trigger of my gun." Mr. President, Khin Mau Kyi's so-called "religion" is, according to information I have received, responsible for the murder of the following people at Htee Law Belh on April 28, 2002: Saw Hto Paw, Naw Hsar Kay, Naw Kri Htoo, Naw Ble Po, 5 years old, Daw Htwe Ye, Naw Mu Tha, Mu Pwat Pwat, 7 year old, Saw Ka Pru Moo, Naw Plah, 5 years old, Naw Dah Baw 2 years old, and Naw Pi Lay and her infant. The State Department should publicly condemn the SPDC for these atrocities, and call on the SPDC to investigate these crimes and bring those responsible to justice. Unfortunately, there is no reason to believe the SPDC will act against its own officers. We and the international community should do our utmost to provide assistance to the SPDC's victims. In the days to come, I will confer with my friend from Kentucky on appropriate actions we can take to help refugees and internally displaced persons in Burma, including engagement with Thailand to ensure that Burmese fleeing SPDC abuses can enter into Thailand, that international journalists are given free and unfettered access to refugee camps and ethnic minorities, and the UN High Commissioner For Refugees is allowed to provide a safe haven for those fleeing SPDC oppression. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar blames big nations for
interfering in internal affairs
Xinhuanet 2002-10-23
23:42:06
YANGON, Oct. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Myanmar leader General Khin Nyunt has blamed some big nations for interfering in the country's internal affairs through the mass media, which have the capacity to cover the entire world, and the multi-media or e (electronic)- information system to spread their ideologies and social and cultural systems over developing countries. Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the State Peace and Development Council, made the remarks at a coordination meeting here on Tuesday of the Ministry of Information, official newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported Wednesday. He charged the unidentified big nations with doing so with the intention of dominating and shaping the minds of the people through such media. He called on his people to strengthen patriotism and union spirit to guard against the domination and penetration of the mass media run by the big nations enjoying superior technology. He accused the "destructive elements" of attempting to interfere in Myanmar's affairs in cooperation with the radio stations of the big nations. He also charged the big nations with misusing the international media in launching slanders against Myanmar stage by stage under the scheme to tarnish the country's image in the eyes of the international community. He stressed that the mass media are the only means to counter the alien media penetration and manipulation against the people in this media age in which the ones, having superior media weapon, are trying to change and dominate the outlook of the world's people in accordance with their wishes. -------------------------------------------------------------------- |