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BURMA RELATED NEWS
- November 08, 2002.
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HEADLINES
------------------------------------------------------------------------ AFP - Myanmar backs away
from report of Red Cross probe of Shan rape claims
AFP - Myanmar, Colombia,
Palestinian workers on agenda at ILO talks
AFP - Thai heroin, speed haul
discovered in spare tires
AFP - Thailand, India agree to
increase air links
Bkk Post - Don't mess with the
mighty Mekong
Irrawaddy Online - No Fanfare
Preceding Razali Visit
Asia Tribune - Asian
Political Parties would establish people to people link in the
future
CNN - U.N. passes
Iraq resolution on weapons inspections
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Myanmar backs away from report
of Red Cross probe of Shan rape claims
YANGON, Nov 8 (AFP) - Myanmar has stepped back from an earlier announcement the Red Cross has begun investigating allegations that the military junta used rape as a weapon of war against ethnic Shan women. In a statement seen Friday, the junta said there was "a slight misinterpretation" of the activities of a team from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). ICRC working procedure does not allow for teams to go into controversial areas to investigate claims, spokesman Colonel Hla Min said in a statement. Instead, the team "will carry out a systematic program to establish contact with local authorities and the civilian population to further develop ICRC's permanent presence and assistance in those areas." Earlier this week, in a new bid to clear itself of the allegations, the junta announced the ICRC left the capital to probe claims detailed in a report by two Thailand-based Shan women's groups. The Red Cross quickly denied their team had begun investigations. "We are not carrying out an inquiry," Red Cross spokeswoman Kim Gordon-Bates said in Geneva. "Under the traditional ICRC mandate, we have an ongoing aid and protection program for people in the region." Gordon-Bates noted that investigating claims of human rights violations would not fall under the Red Cross's mandate. The Thai study, released in May, documented 625 sex attacks on Shan women and girls by Myanmar soldiers. It drew international outrage and has been repeatedly rejected by the Yangon junta. The regime last month asked visiting UN human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro to go to Shan state to investigate the charges but he declined, citing time constraints. He travelled instead to northern Thailand in late October
after completing his two-week trip to Myanmar to speak to the report's authors,
and left members of his team there to continue studying the issue.
Hla Min said Pinheiro had recommended during his visit, where he met with top junta leaders as well as democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi, that the ICRC investigate the rape allegations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Myanmar, Colombia, Palestinian
workers on agenda at ILO talks
GENEVA, Nov 7 (AFP) - Myanmar, trade unions in Colombia and a fund for workers in the Palestinian territories are among the main topics to be addressed by the ILO's executive body that opened a two-week meeting Thursday. The governing body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) will examine reports on developments in Myanmar to eradicate forced labour after measures announced by the ruling junta in recent years. Delegates are due to be presented reports by the ILO's liaison officer in Myanmar, Hong-Trang Perret-Nguyen, who took up her post on October 7, and by the interim liaison officer Leon de Riedmatten. The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) said in a report last month that forced labour in the country continues and is increasing. The governing body, made up of representatives from 28 governments, 14 employers and 14 workers, meets three times a year. This meeting will last until November 22. It will also look at developments in Colombia where, an ILO statement said, reports indicated that about 100 trade unionists had been killed this year. Turning to Palestinian workers, the governing body will discuss progress on plans to set up a Palestinian Fund for Employment and Social Protection. A donors' meeting is to be held in December. ILO Director-General Juan Somavia has submitted the idea of the fund to the UN, the European Union, Russia and the US, the "quartet" involved in the Middle East peace process. According to the ILO statement, "a number of donors have expressed interest in principle". ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thai heroin, speed haul
discovered in spare tires
BANGKOK, Nov 8 (AFP) - Thai agents arrested six suspected drug traffickers after they found 8.4 kilograms (18.5 pounds) of heroin and 480,000 methamphetamine pills hidden in spare tires, police said Friday. They face the death penalty if convicted under the kingdom's strict anti-narcotics measures. The suspects were stopped in northern Thailand as they attempted to drive the illicit haul into the provincial capital from an area along the Myanmar border. "They travelled in three separate cars and were equipped with the latest satellite telephones to keep them connected," Major General Thanakorn Siri-at, commander of Chiang Mai's border patrol police, told AFP. Northern Thailand and its renowned Golden Triangle border area with Laos and Myanmar is a well-worn trafficking route for heroin and methamphetamines, which emerge predominantly from Myanmar, according to narcotics experts. Thanakorn said the suspects all had Thai identification cards but further investigation was being conducted to confirm their nationality. Earlier this month Thai police made two major drug busts in three days, seizing a combined total of 31 kilograms (68.2 pounds) of heroin, 1.8 million amphetamine pills, and 62,363 tablets of the party drug ecstasy. In September Thai police announced their biggest heroin seizure on record, a haul of nearly 140 kilograms (309 pounds), and the arrests of a Singaporean, an Indonesian and a Thai man linked to the drugs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thailand, India agree to
increase air links
BANGKOK, Nov 8 (AFP) - The leaders of Thailand and India agreed in principle Friday to expand air routes between the two countries and broaden economic ties to eventually include a bilateral free trade area (FTA), a Thai official said. "Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the Indian Prime Minister (Atal Bihari Vajpayee) agreed to increase air links between Thailand and India, with Thaksin proposing the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai to be a hub for the greater Mekong sub-region," Sita Divari said after the leaders held talks. Vajpayee made a brief stopover in Bangkok on the way home from his first Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit of regional leaders, held this week in Phnom Penh. Vajpayee also said he was eager to consider an FTA between India and Thailand, according to Sita. This would act as a precursor to a broader agreement he announced in Phnom Penh which he aims to forge with the 10-member ASEAN within the next decade. The expansion of air routes "aims to increase trade and tourism between the two countries," Sita said. Thai Airways already operates 13 flights weekly from Bangkok to Indian cities Calcutta, Delhi and Mumbai, while Air India operates 10 flights per week to Bangkok. Sita did not say how many flights could be added but that Thaksin proposed the new route between Chiang Mai and Calcutta. A new route between Chiang Mai and Chittigong in Bangladesh was also being considered by Thaksin, he said. The two leaders also confirmed cooperation on the tri-nation highway that is due to link India, Myanmar and Thailand over the next two years as agreed last April in Yangon. The 1,400 kilometer (870-mile) road would run from Moreh in Manipur, India and stretch to Myanmar's ancient city of Bagan before reaching Thailand at Mae Sot. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bangkok Post - Friday
08 November 2002
Don't mess with the mighty Mekong Wasant Techawongtham The Mekong, one of the world's least exploited rivers, is now in the full line of sight. The agreement reached between China and five Asean members at the weekend will bring drastic changes that could spell doom for this mighty river. The five riparian Asean countries _ Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand _ agreed to join China in bringing a network of power grids, highways and telecommunications to the region. As the world economy continues its downward spiral, countries have felt the need to form alliances to ensure economic survival. This latest agreement is part of that effort to seek common ground to bring prosperity to the region. That is well and good. The problem, however, is that in a world where environmental degradation has become increasingly a menace to us all, the pact will almost certainly worsen the already bad situation in the region. The agreement focuses on the development of hydropower and navigation. China itself has planned a chain of at least eight dams on the stretch of the Mekong that it calls Lancang Jiang in Yunnan province. Two reportedly have been built already. Last year, the Asian giant talked Burma, Laos and Thailand into signing an agreement to improve navigation along the river for large cargo boats from Yunnan to Chiang Rai. This necessitates the destruction of reefs, sandbars and islands, and extensive modification of the river bed and stream banks. Severe ecological damage is inevitable. China's scheme for the Mekong has raised serious concerns. Environmentalists and natural resources experts fear the devastation of the riverine ecology on which the local people's way of life depends. Writing for the Siam Society last year, Tyson R Roberts, research associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, warned that the Chinese plan poses unprecedented environmental and social problems for the downstream countries. The development plan will lead to deforestation, downstream erosion, massive loss of biodiversity including the extinction of some endemic fish species, and a serious impact on agriculture and thus the local way of life. It could also aggravate floods in the region. Because the main purpose of the Chinese dams is electricity generation, they have to be kept fairly full of water, he says. If a big flood suddenly and unexpectedly arrives, the reservoirs will have to release water, thus contributing to the severity of flooding downstream. This threat is particularly relevant in light of what appears to be the increasing frequency of severe flooding which has swept over the region in 1996, 2000 and again this year. China lured the five countries to join its scheme by dangling the promise of regional prosperity, and the countries just jumped up and took it without considering what actually was in store for them. Mr Roberts has warned that these countries will be forced to undertake exhausting and largely futile efforts to protect themselves and make up for the damage to their agriculture, fisheries, forests and way of life. Cambodia and Vietnam will be hardest hit, while China will benefit the most. But even China will not escape the eventual consequences of ecological calamity. But then, China has never allowed consideration for the environment, or its neighbours for that matter, to get in the way of its development. It felt no qualms when it decided to build the Three Gorges dam that kills the great Yangtze river and dislocated more than a million people. When it builds dams on the Mekong, it does not care to consult its downstream neighbours who also have a stake in the river and are directly affected. Are we then prepared to follow its lead and throw away our ecological fortune on which our economic security is based? - Wasant Techawongtham is Deputy News Editor for Environment and Urban Affairs, Bangkok Post. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Irrawaddy
Online
No Fanfare Preceding Razali Visit By Aung Zaw November 08, 2002?As UN special envoy to Burma Razali Ismail prepares for his record ninth trip to Rangoon next week, the celebratory zeal and enthusiasm that preceded prior visits has all but evaporated as Rangoon?s recalcitrant generals appear unwilling to take the most basic steps needed to get Burma?s reconciliation process back on track. "Very few people are interested in his visit," said a senior journalist in Rangoon. Unconfirmed reports have been surfacing inside and outside Burma that this may in fact be Razali?s last mission to Burma, since taking the post over two years ago, if the regime cannot show any desire to change. Razali?s agenda consists of the usual suspects including?diplomats, UN officials, top ranking military officers as well as opposition party members. However, opposition leaders say they have yet to be officially informed of the upcoming visit. National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesperson U Lwin continues to retain hope for an eventual dialogue with the military regime, while trying to remain optimistic that Razali has what it takes to influence the junta to change. But the veteran opposition leader is less sanguine this time around than he has been in the past. "We are always hopeful," said U Lwin to The Irrawaddy yesterday. However, even over the phone he was unable to hide his feelings of disappointment in the country?s stalled reconciliation process. U Lwin said that everyone has witnessed the past visits and the lack of developments that have followed. Indeed, signs of frustration are obvious. Ethnic leaders, who say Razali has never done his homework concerning ethnic issues, continue to remain unimpressed with the former Malaysian diplomat?s successes in Burma. Even sources close to Razali, who is known for his optimism, say he has expressed frustration over the continuing political impasse in Burma. Previously, military leaders, the opposition and the international community praised Razali?s efforts in bringing the two sides to the negotiating table. But lately, sources say the generals are keeping their distance from Razali. While observers fear that this may be a sign that Rangoon is losing interest in maintaining a dialogue of any sort with the NLD. However, according to NLD sources, Razali was able to establish warm relations with NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was reportedly quite cold with the Razali at the on set of the "secret talks" that began in Rangoon two years ago. Although these friendly relations may be a point of contention with the generals, say Burmese analysts. Aung Naing Oo, an exiled political analyst, says that before Razali?s appointment, many influential political figures, including monks, had asked the regime to seek a political dialogue with the opposition. "But they never listened," says Aung Naing Oo. He also says that with no tangible results having occurred after two years of continual attempts, Razali may be looking for a way out. Chao Tzang Yawnghwe, a veteran Shan scholar and political observer based in Canada, says the international community can now see that the junta was never serious about any type of reform. "We now can see their true color," Chao Tzang Yawnghwe told The Irrawaddy. "It?s up to the international community what to do next," adds Chao Tzang, who also feels Razali should not quit, but instead continue pressing the regime. Razali, chairman of Iris Technologies, continues to come under fire for business deals that Iris entered into with the regime during his tenure as special envoy. And as a result, he appeared eager to show that he was able to bring the two sides together after completing his last visit in August. During his August visit, junta leaders, Sr-Gen Than Shwe and Gen Khin Nyunt, promised him they would resume political dialogue in the near-term, however, it is becoming increasingly clear that they had no intentions of keeping those promises. Observers now say that Sr-Gen Than Shwe is calling all the shots, while seeming reluctant to move forward. "If he moves, the rest will follow him," says a well-informed Rangoon journalist. "He is in the driver?s seat, but the car is in auto pilot," joked a Burmese scholar in exile, in regards to the country?s continuing economic and social ills. In preparation for the visit, veteran analysts say, aside from the regime?s releasing of political prisoners to coincide with Razali?s arrival, that they may indeed have a surprise or two in order to keep the envoy from jumping ship and to ease international criticism. But without an international support base that can aid Razali in pressuring the regime into change or a strong UN mechanism allowing for effective checks and balances over the government, it is unlikely that the generals will muster the energy to come to the table. "This deadlock cannot go on forever," says one journalist. Nor can Razali be UN special envoy forever. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Asian Tribune
Date : 2002-11-08 Asian Political Parties would establish people to people link in the future by K.T.Rajasingham Bangkok, Nov. 08:The 2nd. International Conference of Asian Political Parties, scheduled to be held in Bangkok, on 22-24 November, is expected to be the forerunner to a future Asian Solidarity Organization. The novel idea to hold an institutionalized forum for the Political Parties in Asia was commended yesterday, by no less a person other than Suranand Vejjajiva, Secretary General of the Conference, who is considered the "Human Dynamo,? working tirelessly behind the scene to make the conference a grand success. Thailand?s ruling Thai Rak Thai Party (Thais Love Thai Party) spokesman and the Secretary General of the forth-coming international Conference, Suranand Vejjajiva spoke his mind to this writer yesterday, at his party office. He said: ?Holding a conference of all the political parties in Asia is a novel idea. Jose de Venecia, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Philippines, initially mooted this idea two years ago and he organized and held the First International Conference of Asian Political Parties, on September 17 to 20, 2000, in Manila. The Thai Rak Thai Party spokesman said, ?Until such time there was no organization or forum for the Asian Political parties was in place either to express their views on an international scale or to work together as an Asian institution.? He added,? people of a country formulate policies and believe how a country should be ruled, normally organize themselves into political parties. All these years? political parties in Asia were confined within the national borders of a country. But, it was only after year 2000, the political parties which were confined have begun to think in terms of Asia as a whole.? Suranand explained,? Beyond national borders it was Government of a country that establish relationship and links with another country through that country?s Government. Now through the Asian Political Parties, it is going to be a people to people relationship in future in Asia, for the benefit, betterment and best relationship of the people in the continent.? The new organization, the International Conference of Asian Political parties has opened up a new vista, by which the political parties in Asia can work together for a borderless, barrierless Asia,? he added. He further continued, ?When Asian continent as whole can be viewed as one unit, in the other words, a complete homogenous region, then leaders and members of the political parties in Asia could come forward to work together for the economic development, not only of the said particular country, but for the benefit of whole Asia. Also, these parties can create a political networks in the region, to exchange views, ideas, and exchange economic intelligence on surveillance, to overcome any form of terrorist sabotage in their countries as well as in Asia.? Suranand Vejjajiva told that he has visited almost all the countries in Asia, also met the leaders and members of the political parties, as well as government leaders and invited them to participate in the conference, He added that the momentum for such a conference was optimistic in the midst of the leaders, as they showed lot of interest for the conference in those countries and expressed that he hope that, the conference would be a great success. He said that he did not have the time to visit Sri Lanka, though he loved it very much. He recalled his days in Sri Lanka when he was just an 8 years old kid. Suranand Vejjajiva said that in 1968, his father was the top diplomat of the Royal Thai Embassy in Colombo, and his family was staying in Colombo, in the posh residential area of Cinnamon Gardens. He recalled his student days at the international school and how happily the family spend their two years of stay in Colombo. He said that his father used to drive them to the length and breadth of Sri Lanka - it was Ceylon those days, and he had traveled to Jaffna in the North, as well as to Batticaloa in the East and also to all the sacred Buddhist temples in the Island Paradise. When coming back to the subject of the Conference, the Secretary General said that after the First Conference, a Standing Committee was formed with Jose de Venecia, as Chairman and Dr. Surakiart Sathirathai, Thai Foreign Minister as the General Secretary, for any follow up actions in the future. Subsequently, when the Thai political partiers decided to host the Second International Conference of the Asian Political Parties, in Thailand, Dr. Surakiart Sathirathai became the Preident and Suranand Vejjajiva, the Member of Parliament, as the Secretary General in charge of organizing the conference. Suranand said that, they have to begin working from the scratch, when they began the organization work. Now he said that, they have managed to come through almost all the barriers they faced initially and it is now the question of the last minute logistical arrangements. The Secretary General said that, the Conference is expected to resolve a Bangkok Declaration. When explaining about this, Suranand Vejjajiva said, it will be in the form of a Bangkok Action Plan. He also said that the conference is expected resolve for a Coordinating Committee Office, instead of a Standing Committee, to make the Asian Political parties institution a sustainable one in the future, to work for the Asian solidarity as a whole. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ U.N. passes Iraq resolution on
weapons inspections
Friday, November 8, 2002 Posted: 10:40 AM EST (1540 GMT) UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- The United Nations Security Council on Friday approved a resolution that demands that Baghdad allow U.N. inspectors to enter Iraq to search for weapons of mass destruction, in line with the U.S. effort to win international backing for disarming Saddam Hussein. The resolution passed unanimously, after Secretary-General Kofi Annan joined the assembled delegates in the Security Council chamber. "How this crisis is resolved will affect greatly the course of peace and security in the region and the world," Annan said after the vote. "I commend the council for acting today with purpose and resolve." U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Negroponte said Iraq will be disarmed "one way or another." "If the Security Council fails to act decisively in the event of further Iraqi violations this resolution does not constrain any member state from acting to defend itself against the threat posed by Iraq or to enforce relevant United Nations resolutions and protect world peace and security," Negroponte said. Iraq is accused of possessing weapons of mass destruction -- nuclear, biological, chemical -- in violation of the ceasefire treaty it signed when Baghdad lost the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz has repeatedly denied possessing such weapons. Meanwhile in Baghdad, there are indications that Iraq might accept the resolution, finalized on Thursday. The final text was approved with two modifications. It now includes one section in which the word "or" is replaced with "and." Also, the phrase "restore international peace and security" is changed to "secure international peace and security." (Text of resolution) The original language concerned France, Russia and China, whose representatives said such wording might be used by the U.S. as a "hidden trigger" for an attack against Iraq. Syria had wanted to have language included in the resolution indicating that if Baghdad complied with the terms of the resolution, sanctions against Iraq would be lifted. Syria also had wanted language included that would declare the entire Middle East a "nuclear-free and weapons of mass destruction-free zone." 'Important week' "This is an important week for our country and for the world," President Bush told a news conference on Thursday. "The United Nations will vote tomorrow on a resolution bringing the civilized world together to disarm Saddam Hussein." "This time would be the 17th time that we expect Saddam Hussein to disarm; this time we mean it," Bush said. "This time, it's for real." Also on Thursday, he spoke by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the White House said "both agreed on the need to reach a strong resolution" dealing with Iraq. But the White House did not say whether Putin agreed to support the new U.S.-British proposal. A Russian official said Moscow still had "some concerns" about resolution but he believed it had changed for the better compared to its original format. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov, quoted by the Interfax news agency, said "the draft has undergone significant changes, the main one is that the 'automaticity' of the use of force against Iraq has disappeared." "Automaticity" is a word coined by Russia and France to describe the original position espoused by the U.S., reserving the right to use force if inspectors were thwarted without asking the U.N. Security Council for approval. Bush also called French President Jacques Chirac. Although Bush would not characterize the nature of the talks, he said, "I'm optimistic we'll get the resolution vote tomorrow, I'll put it to you that way." Chirac, in Rome, echoed Bush. "We are today, I hope, close to the goal," he said. He called the use of military force "the last resort." View from Iraq In Iraq, an article Thursday in al-Thawra ("Revolution"), the newspaper of the ruling Baath party, said: "It is not in Iraq's interest to ignore or contravene Security Council resolutions, as others do." In exchange, it said, the Security Council should recognize Iraq's rights. Observers say the comments in al-Thawra indicate that despite its objections, the Iraqi government recognizes the resolution as its last opportunity to avert war and will likely accept it. In the past, Iraq has said no new Security Council resolution was needed. Nevertheless, there was widespread belief among Iraqi leaders and people on the street that war is inevitable -- that the U.S. goal is not to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, but to topple its leader and seize its oil. The draft resolution reinforces the idea that the United States would return to the Security Council before taking any military action. Although it does not call for a second resolution, it said any failure by Iraq to cooperate "will be reported to the council [by weapons inspectors] for assessment." The Bush administration continues to say, however, that although it would consult with the Security Council, it is not required to get U.N. approval for military action. The draft resolution "does not handcuff the president" in
any way, said a senior administration official, who did not want to be
identified.
According to the draft resolution, if Iraq were to make
false statements to weapons inspectors or interfere with their work, the
Security Council would convene immediately "to consider the situation and the
need for full compliance with all the relevant council resolutions in order to
restore international peace and security."
The draft calls on Baghdad to produce records dealing with
its weapons programs since inspectors were last there, in 1998, and to allow
free and unrestricted movement of new inspectors.
The inspectors would also have the right to "immediate,
unimpeded, unconditional and unrestricted access" to Iraq's so-called
presidential sites, compounds that cover several square miles.
A previous agreement between Iraq and the United Nations
required inspectors to provide notice before inspections and to work under
diplomatic escort.
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