[burmanet2-l] Burma Related News - Nov 10, 2002.

["TIN KYI" <tinkyi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

------------------------------------------------------------------------
BURMA RELATED NEWS - November  10, 2002.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HEADLINES
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reuters - E.Timor foreign minister to visit army-run Myanmar
AFP - UN envoy Razali to make new bid to reignite Myanmar reform process
AFP - Myanmar court to hear Ne Win family's death sentence appeal this week
ICRC News - Myanmar : Expansion of ICRC activities
ABC online - Burmese court to hear Ne Win family's appeal this week
BBC - Democracy conference opens in Seoul
Asian Tribune - Appeal againsts Court Sentence, by Ne Win family members.
Asian Tribune - Reactions on Pinheiro report
Asian Tribune - Misrule of Law Burma Government Leaps Over Legal Process
The Nation - E Timor set on joining Asean: Horta
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday November 10, 12:09 PM
E.Timor foreign minister to visit army-run Myanmar
By Dominic Whiting

BANGKOK, Nov 10 (Reuters) - East Timor foreign minister Jose Ramos Horta, a
vocal supporter of Myanmar's pro-democracy movement, has accepted an
invitation from Yangon's military regime to visit in early February.

Ramos Horta said late on Saturday he hoped to meet pro-democracy leader and
Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi as well as the country 's top generals.

"I will talk with the government and I hope I will have a chance to see the
other political forces including Aung San Suu Kyi," Ramos Horta told a news
conference during a visit to Thailand.

"Our view is we have to work discreetly, constructively and respectfully
with everybody, without lecturing to others. There are some positive signs
taking place in Myanmar and that is what we have to encourage."

Myanmar's ruling generals have been seen as a possible barrier to newly
independent East Timor's entry into the Association of South East Asian
Nations (ASEAN) regional grouping, because of the public backing East
Timorese leaders have given Suu Kyi.

ASEAN maintains a strict rule of non-interference in other members' internal
affairs. Member countries, including Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar,
the Philippines and Malaysia, rarely speak out publicly against their
regional neighbours.

This rule has led to criticism that the regional grouping has failed to talk
properly about issues such as the Asian economic crisis, the growing
economic might of China to the north and how to deal with Islamic militancy.

Ramos Horta said he expected East Timor to become ASEAN's eleventh member in
five years time, but to be an official observer to the
regional grouping and take part in regional security talks, the ASEAN
Regional Forum (ARF), next year.

He said all ASEAN countries, including Myanmar, had assured him of support
for East Timor's participation in the ARF.

East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao, who was imprisoned by Indonesia for
leading an independence movement after Indonesian troops took the island in
1975, has often publicly criticised Myanmar's generals for their treatment
of Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won 1990 elections but was
never allowed to govern.

The Myanmar government kept Suu Kyi under house arrest for much of the last
decade, but released her in May, following diplomatic efforts by a United
Nations envoy, Razali Ismail.

Razali is due to visit Myanmar again on Tuesday in a bid to encourage the
government to start talking with Suu Kyi about political change.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
UN envoy Razali to make new bid to reignite Myanmar reform process

YANGON, Nov 10 (AFP) - United Nations envoy Razali Ismail arrives here this
week on a mission to revive a critical dialogue between the junta and
democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi which is believed to have ground to a
total standstill.

In October 2000 Razali brokered landmark contacts between the two sides
which were aimed at paving the way for democratic reforms to end four
decades of military rule in Myanmar.

But after a surge of optimism prompted by Aung San Suu Kyi's release from
house arrest in May, the regime's promises to begin a political dialogue and
release hundreds of jailed dissidents have come to nothing.

Despite the distractions of a looming US-Iraq war and the bombing in Bali
which highlighted the risk of terrorism in Southeast Asia, the international
community is becoming increasingly impatient with the junta.

In a statement timed to coincide with Razali's upcoming ninth visit to
Yangon, the United States hit out at the ruling generals, accusing them of
making no progress towards reform since Aung San Suu Kyi's release.

"Given such a positive step earlier this year, we expected that dialogue
between the regime in Burma and Aung San Suu Kyi would be well under way by
now," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.

"We have seen no signs of the discussions critical to the future of Burma,"
he said, using the country's former name which was dumped by the junta.

However, Boucher reiterated strong US support for Razali's role as a
catalyst for change, saying it was "key to a better future for the Burmese
people."

UN chief Kofi Annan also conveyed his impatience with the glacial progress
of Myanmar's reform process when he announced Razali's visit, which will run
from November 12 to 16 and include a meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi.

Annan was "concerned that the positive momentum generated for the ongoing
national reconciliation process in Myanmar... could dissipate unless some
tangible progress is made in the near future," said his spokesman Fred
Eckhard.

He said Annan attached particular importance to discussions Razali hopes to
have with Senior General Than Shwe, leader of the junta which is known as
the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), remains
sceptical that Razali's visit will produce any dramatic results but
acknowledges his intervention remains crucial.

"It depends on his facilitation. Everybody is hoping for the best, but I
cannot say. It really depends on both sides," said NLD spokesman U Lwin

"For our part we've already extended our hand and are ready to sit down at
the table to discuss any topic at any time. We are waiting patiently. But
there has been no response," he told AFP.

U Lwin said there were sporadic communications between the two sides, but
"it doesn't mean the starting of a real meaningful dialogue".

Political observers in Yangon said Razali faced an extremely difficult task
in attempting to spur action from the junta which has for many years ignored
both threats and promises designed to hasten political reform.

"He happens to be in an unenviable position of being stuck between the devil
and the deep blue sea... with an impatient international community demanding
quick results on the one hand and a batch of generals who do not feel
compelled to change things in a hurry on the other," said one Yangon
analyst.

The junta, which disallowed 1990 elections won by the NLD in a landslide,
has repeatedly promised that it is committed to democracy but that the
process must be worked out carefully to avoid internal conflict.

"We will not be swayed by sweet words or bowed by threats in the pursuit of
our national goal of a peaceful, modern and prosperous state," the SPDC's
powerful First Secretary, General Khin Nyunt, has said.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar court to hear Ne Win family's death sentence appeal this week

YANGON, Nov 10 (AFP) - Myanmar's Supreme Court will Tuesday hear an appeal
against death sentences handed to the son-in-law and three grandsons of
former dictator Ne Win for plotting to overthrow the junta, legal sources
said.

Military intelligence spokesman Brigadier General Than Tun said last week
that the Supreme Court had accepted the submissions lodged by defence
lawyers and that the hearing would be held in the second week of November.

"The appeals submitted within the specified period were duly accepted and
hearings are to begin soon," he told AFP. Legal sources said Sunday that the
Supreme Court would hear the case on Tuesday.

Than Tun said Ne Win, who is aged in his 90s, was in reasonably good health.

"He's OK. After all, he's being personally looked after by his own daughter
who is a qualified doctor," he said.

Since the arrests of the four men in March, Ne Win and his daughter Sandar
Win -- reputedly the brains behind the prominent family -- have been held
under virtual house arrest at their Yangon home.

On September 26 a special tribunal set up in the notorious Insein jail
complex on the outskirts of the capital convicted Sandar Win's husband Aye
Zaw Win and their three sons for "conspiring against the state".

A separate tribunal on the same day found 23-year-old grandson Kyaw Ne
Win -- the head of the family's extensive business empire -- guilty of a
string of economic offences and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment on
each.

The case remodelled Myanmar's political landscape and exploded the
widespread belief that the "Old Man" remained extremely influential despite
standing down in 1988 after a quarter-century in power.

The junta said the family had grown disgruntled at losing their economic and
political privileges as their patriarch's power waned, and had used black
magic and voodoo dolls as part of their plot to seize power.

Most observers doubt they were seriously attempting to mount a takeover, but
believe the current regime installed 14 years ago, now known as the State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC), wanted to demonstrate it is firmly in
charge.

Analysts also say they expect that the death sentences will not be carried
out as the current regime has not presided over any executions. The last
person accused of treason was hung in the 1970s, under Ne Win's regime
------------------------------------------------------------------------
8-Nov-2002  ICRC News 02/45
Myanmar : Expansion of ICRC activities

With the government's consent, the head of the ICRC delegation in Myanmar is
currently touring the border areas of Shan state in order to meet with the
local authorities and the civilian population and to discuss with them the
possibility of expanding ICRC protection and assistance activities in those
areas.

The ICRC delegation in Myanmar has been carrying out regular visits to
detainees since 1999. Over the years, it has engaged in constructive
dialogue designed to build up a relationship of trust with the authorities,
and it is now seeking to expand its activities to include other target
groups. With this in mind, it has asked for permission to increase its
presence in the country so that it can assess the overall humanitarian
situation. If its request is granted, it will regularly report its findings
to the authorities on a confidential basis with a view to working out
appropriate measures to ensure the protection and security of the civilian
population.

It should be noted that, by virtue of its mandate, the ICRC cannot
investigate the allegations recently made in the report License to Rape.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Burmese court to hear Ne Win family's appeal this week
10/11/2002 20:31:50 | ABC Radio Australia News

Burma's Supreme Court will hear an appeal against death sentences handed to
the son-in-law and three grandsons of former dictator Ne Win for plotting to
overthrow the junta.

A Military intelligence spokesman says the Supreme Court has accepted the
submissions lodged by defence lawyers and the hearing will be held this
week.

Since the arrests of the four men in March, Ne Win and his daughter Sandar
Win have been held under virtual house arrest at their Rangoon home.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BBC - Sunday, 10 November, 2002, 00:50 GMT
Democracy conference opens in Seoul
By Caroline Gluck
BBC correspondent in Seoul

Foreign ministers and other senior government officials from more than 100
democratic nations around the world are meeting in the South Korean capital,
Seoul, for a conference which will look at practical ways of strengthening
democracy and warding off emerging threats to it.

The second ministerial conference of the Community of Democracies will
discuss how to promote democracy at regional and global levels.

Non-governmental groups, including human rights activists, are holding
parallel meetings and will present their conclusions to the main conference.

Two years ago the Community of Democracies was launched in Poland and
foreign ministers and delegates from more than 100 democratic nations around
the world pledged to support democracy.

Bolstering institutions

This second conference will be looking at concrete measures to strengthen
democracy, including assistance for newly emerging democratic nations.

There will also be discussions on the role of the media and how to bolster
democratic institutions.

A parallel non-governmental forum, made up of around 300 democracy advocates
and activists will present its conclusions to the main conference.

Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, one of the key players in
establishing the first Community of Democracies conference, is this time
taking part in the NGO forum as co-chairman of the independent think tank,
the council on foreign relations.

"No matter how advanced the country in democracy, there are times that it
has to be worked on and preserved and cherished," she said.

"And that it is very important to see that democratic values persevere and
are pursued no matter what the situation."

The ministerial conference will issue a statement on terrorism, a growing
threat to democracies around the world.

A final plan of action to expand and strengthen democracy will also be
announced with participants determined to prove that this conference is not
just another talking shop.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asian Tribune
Date : 2002-11-10
Appeal againsts Court Sentence, by Ne Win family members.

Rangoon, Nov.10:According to sources in Burma, Rangoon Supreme Court will
hear an appeal on Tuesday November 12, relating to the death sentences given
to former military dictator Ne Win's relatives, U Aye Zaw Win and his three
sons for the coup attempt.

The special court in Insein Prison condemned them to death by hanging on the
26th of September. Their lawyer, U Tun Shein had applied for an appeal
against the sentences in early October. The appeal will be heard this coming
Tuesday according to legal circles in Rangoon.

It is not yet known exactly when the decision on the appeal will be
announced. According to some observers on legal matters, it is expected that
the decision will be delayed. But some observers say that even if the appeal
court continued to uphold the death sentences, the defendants are not likely
to be executed.

There hasn't been a hanging of people who had been sentenced to death for
more than twenty years in Burma. The former dictator Ne Win and his daughter
Sandar Win are still under house arrest.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asian Tribune
Date : 2002-11-10
Reactions on Pinheiro report

Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights
in Burma express his concerns about slow release of political prisoners, the
condition of Burma's prisons and the humanitarian conditions and security
situation of civilians and refugees living in border areas, particularly in
the Shan state at the UN general assembly in New York, on Nov 6, 2002.

Democratic Voice of Burma, asked the views of political activists inside and
outside Burma on the report of Pinheiro at the UN General Assembly.

Here is the views of NCGUB's UN representative, Dr. Thaung Tun:

Dr Thaung Tun : Concerning some subjects; the terms used by Pinheiro, his
approaches there is a little concern of being dubious. Especially, regarding
the current situation of Burma we are going through a very delicately period
and it should be handled very carefully and the like. When it comes to this,
there are some elements that suggest that the SPDC are exploiting this kind
of scenario using only what they want. The SPDC can't progress with the way
they want, the speed they want, they way they want. During the transition
period to democracy, we need to consult and discuss with each other, on when
and which level we should progress. Another thing is he used the terms such
as 'not to isolate SPDC but to engage with them more', but he is not saying
that the SPDC should be helped economically, monetarily and the like. He
means that people from international communities should visit Burma and meet
Burmese people to push for talks. But, when it comes to taking action, we
need to pressurise the SPDC to create a circumstance so that people can act.

Rrom Burma U Cin Shin Htang, Chairman of Zomi National Congress gave his
reaction as followed:

U Cin Shin Htang : Our view is - he didn't do [prepare] things accurately
for the report. We feel that he just bungled the whole thing and we are not
very satisfied with it.

Htet Aung Kyaw :Yes. He did include some details, didn't he? What we mean is
can't you say that compared to previous reports, there are some progress?

U Cin Shin Htang : If you compare it to previous occasions, there are a few
improvements. We told them many things when they came to meet us, but he
omitted many things and we are all silenced. Compared to previous occasions
things are much better now, of course.

Htet Aung Kyaw : Yes. Another thing is you must have heard it too. The ASEAN
is holding meetings at the moment. All members are saying that talks should
be resumed as quickly. But what SPDC foreign minister U Win Aung is saying
is that if you are doing it quickly, we will all be in trouble. We must do
it slowly and the like. What do you have to say on this matter?

U Cin Shin Htang : What I have to say is even now, being fast means being so
long. You can't say it that it's fast. It's so slow. Act quite quickly.
There is no danger. If you solve all the current problems of Burma quite
quickly talks and democratic transitions and the like if you take action on
these matters quickly, you will solve them quickly. Things are becoming more
complicated and worryingly dangerous because things are not done quickly.

We also asked him about up coming visit of US special envoy Razali to Burma.

Htet Aung Kyaw :Yes. Razali is coming to Burma on the 12th of November this
coming Tuesday. We heard that he is meeting ethnic leaders. If you meet him,
what do you plan to tell him?

U Cin Shin Htang : Giggle. If we are meeting him again, the numbers of time
we have met him will not be very few it must be about nine times. After
meeting many times, things are still the same. What is happening? Are we
going to go on like this? We have nothing much to say to him except to say
to tell him that situations are not particularly better.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asian Tribune
Date : 2002-11-10
Misrule of Law Burma Government Leaps Over Legal Process
By Aung San Suu Kyi

As I understand it, a kangaroo court is so called because it is a burlesque
performance where the process of the law takes heart-stopping leaps and
bounds.Out of curiosity, I looked up the entry on kangaroos in the
Encyclopedia Britannica to see how far these marsupial mammals can clear in
a leap. Apparently the record is 13.5 meters.This is far superior to the
Olympics long- jump record. It is no surprise then that the erratic course
of justice in a kangaroo court is outside the bounds of normal human
conduct.

I have written about the challenges that political dissidents in Burma have
to face. Everybody committed to taking an active part in the endeavor to
return the country to democracy has to be prepared to go to prison at any
time. It usually happens in the middle of the night, appropriately, as there
can be fewer deeds more akin to darkness than that of depriving innocent
people of a normal, healthy life. The ones most vulnerable to arrest are
members of the NLD.

Many of them are already seasoned jail veterans who, at casual moments,
exchange prison yarns and instruct the as yet uninitiated on such matters as
the kind of treatment they can expect at the interrogation sessions and what
they should take with them when the banging on the door comes: change of
clothing, soap, toothpaste and toothbrush, medicines, a blanket or two,
etcetera, all in a plastic bag. Nothing so respectable as a knapsack or
suitcase is per mitted. And do not be fooled if the people who turn up at
the door, usually without a warrant, say that they will only be keeping you
for a few days. That could well translate into a 20-year sentence.

When U Win Htein, a key member of my office staff, was arrested one night
last May, he had a bag already packed. He had previously spent six years in
Insein Jail: He was one of the people taken away from my house in 1989 on
the day I was detained and he was released only in February 1995. When U Win
Htein asked those who had come to take him away whether they had an arrest
warrant, they replied that it was not necessary as charges had already been
moved against him and his sentence had been decided. So much for the concept
of the law that deems a person innocent until proven guilty. Section 340 (1)
of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides that " any person accused of an
offense before a criminal court, or against who proceedings are instituted
under this code, in any such court, may of right be defended by a pleader."
This basic right to counsel is systematically denied to political prisoners
in Burma. They are not even allowed to make contact with their families.

The authorities generally refuse to give any information on detainees who
have not yet been tried. The NLD and the families of political prisoners
have to make strenuous inquiries to find out where they are, with what
"crime"they would be charged and when and where the trials would take place.
Usually the trials of poli- tical prisoners are conducted in a special
courthouse within the jail precincts.

Last month, a number of political prisoners were tried in Insein Jail. When
the NLD heard that U Win Htein and some others were going to be produced at
court on a certain day, a lawyer was sent to defend them. The Special Branch
officer at the jail questioned by the lawyer said he did not know anything
about a trial. But the trial took place while the lawyer was waiting at the
gate and continued after he left in the afternoon. The next week, a number
of lawyers again went to Insein Jail, accompanied by the families of the
prisoners, on the day they had heard the trial was to continue. This time
they managed to get into the prison courthouse. However, they were only
allowed to cross-examine four of the 24 witnesses for the prosecution.

The next morning, the lawyers and the families of the prisoners arrived in
Insein Jail at 9 o'clock, as they had heard sentence would be passed that
day. The area around the jail entrance was full of security personnel and
all the shops along the road were shut. The lawyers were refused entry. They
were told the sentence would only be passed at the end of the month and were
asked to leave. However, as the magistrate concerned with the case had been
seen at the Insein Township Magistrate's Court the lawyers were convinced
the trial was scheduled to proceed within a matter of hours and continued to
wait outside the jail.

The magistrate eventually arrived and entered the prison precincts at around
2 o'clock and came out again after about 40 minutes. The lawyers followed
him to the Insein Township Court to ask what kind of sentence had been
passed. The magistrate, very nervous and surrounded by security personnel,
would only say that an application should be made to copy the records of the
court proceedings. Some days later the government media announced that U Win
Htein and others had been given seven-year prison sentences each. The sight
of kangaroos bounding away across an open prairie can sometimes be rather
beautiful. The spectacle of the process of law bounding away from accepted
norms of justice is very ugly at all times.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Nation
E Timor set on joining Asean: Horta
Kavi Chongkittavorn
Published on Nov 10, 2002

East Timor's Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta says his country is a
Southeast Asian nation that hopes to become an Asean observer next year and
a member of the regional grouping in 2007.

Horta said the world's newest nation's future would be tied to the region
because of its geographical location, even though its ethnic majority is
Micronesian. "We have made this strategic-conscience decision," he said.

In an exclusive interview with The Nation over the weekend, Horta said the
Asean Secretariat had notified him that it was not possible to have dual
membership of both Asean and the South Pacific Forum. East Timor has already
been admitted as a special observer of the latter, which is based in the
Fijian capital Suva.

As part of the preparations for joining Asean, he said, East Timor has
already applied for a seat in the regionwide security group, the Asean
Regional Forum (ARF), and is ready to accede to the Treaty of Amity and
Cooperation.

Asean placed a moratorium on ARF membership in 2000 when North Korea was
admitted at the forum's meeting in Bangkok. East Timor and Pakistan are the
top candidates if Asean agrees to take in new ARF members.

East Timor attended the Asean annual meeting in Brunei in July as a guest of
the Asean Standing Committee and will be present at the next meeting in
Cambodia in June 2003.

But Asean still does not have a consensus for admitting East Timor, with
Singapore and Burma opposed to its membership for different reasons.
Singapore would like to see the new members Laos, Cambodia and Burma further
integrated into the grouping first. Burma meanwhile is unhappy with the
strong support East Timorese leaders have given to Aung San Suu Kyi, the
leader of the National League of Democracy.

Horta - who is accompanying President Xanana Gusmao on a five-day official
visit to Thailand - said he was scheduled to visit Rangoon early next year
as part of a familiarisation tour. "We are becoming an Asean member. We have
to play by the rules of Asean as well as [maintaining] our commitment to
support for the democratic movement in Burma," he said.

Both Gusmao and Horta are friends of Suu Kyi.

Horta added that East Timor would not lecture neighbouring countries on
democracy because it realised that the democratisation process was a slow
one.

As an Asean observer, he said, East Timor would have time to prepare itself
to join the grouping because the country needed to build its economic,
political and social infrastructure. "We don't want to be a burden on Asean,
and we will proceed gradually to become an Asean member," he said, adding
that East Timor would in the meantime strengthen its bilateral ties with
Asean countries.

East Timor became an independent nation in May, following two years of a
transitional United Nations administration.
------------------------------------------------------------------------