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BURMA RELATED NEWS
- November 29, 2002.
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HEADLINES
------------------------------------------------------------------------ One World - Rights Group Hails
Boycott of Burmese Goods by U.S. Firm
AP - Opposition party calls for
substantive dialogue and better education
AFP - NLD celebrates national day,
calls for speedy dialogue with junta
AFP - NLD complains of
surveillance during Suu Kyi trip to Shan state
Reuters - UN sees synthetic pills as next big drugs
problem
The Nation - Of dreams and realities in modern
Burma
Asian Tribune - Burmese Government in
exile renews pledge on the National Day, to work for Burmese
Freedom.
Asian Tribune - Burma Military Junta
released only 60 Prisoners and not 115 as claimed - NLD
Mizzima - Indian foreign secretary
returned from Myanmar
NYT - After Freeing Dissident,
Burmese Rulers Move Slowly on Reform
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Rights Group Hails Boycott of Burmese Goods by U.S. Firm 29 minutes ago Kalyani,OneWorld South Asia Pro-democracy campaigners in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, have hailed a ban on Burmese clothing by one of the United States largest coat factories. Free Burma Coalition, a non-profit organization based in the United States, said that the Burlington coat factory's decision indicated that more and more U.S. companies were refusing to prop up the military regime in the southeast Asian nation, due to its abysmal human rights record. "By selling products from Burma, companies help prop up Burma's military dictatorship," said Ko Ko Lay of the San Francisco Burma Roundtable, a member of the Coalition, in a press statement Tuesday. "Businesses like Burlington have come to realize this, and they don't want any part of it. We commend them for their principle." The Burlington decision was taken after an intense campaign by the Coalition, an umbrella group of organizations fighting the military rulers of Myanmar, pressuring companies to boycott goods made there. Burlington, the Coalition said, had been stocking "a significant quantity" of products from Myanmar. The Free Burma Coalition wrote to Burlington in March this year, pointing out that it stocked products bearing the "Made in Burma " tag. Responding to the campaign, Burlington wrote a letter to the Coalition last week saying that it would not purchase clothes made in that country. The group said that Burlington was the 34th company to ban products from Myanmar, joining companies such as top garment retailers, The Children's Place and Federated Department Stores, who have since June 2000 banned products from Myanmar. Pro-democracy outfits such as the Coalition and the London-based Burma Campaign UK (BCUK) have been working for a boycott of goods from Myanmar in their campaign against the military rulers who seized power in 1990 after Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), swept the elections. Since then, the pro-democracy campaigners have upped their campaign against the junta by highlighting gross human rights abuse in the country. The abuses have been documented by most global human rights bodies, including the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW). Among the crimes leveled against the junta were the rape of Shan ethnic minority women by military officers on the Burmese-Thailand border and the forcible recruitment of children into the army. HRW said that 70,000 soldiers in the Burmese army were between the ages of 11 and 17. "Burma has a poor human rights record, but its record on child soldiers is the worst in the world," said Jo Becker, advocacy director of HRW's children's rights division, in a report released last month. According to a June report by the Thailand based Shan Human Rights Foundation, 625 women were raped, mostly by members of the military, between 1996 and 2001. Some of the victims were allegedly as young as five years old. The military regime has denied the allegations of abuse. It has also eased political restrictions in recent months. The release in May of Suu Kyi, under house arrest for 19 months and in some form of detention for the last 12 years, was followed by that of 300 jailed opposition leaders. The pro-democracy campaigners, however, have not abandoned their demand for an economic boycott of Myanmar, arguing that conducting business in that country was tantamount to supporting its military dictatorship. Their focus is on the U.S. garment industry which heavily relies on clothes from Myanmar, thanks to cheap labor costs in the Asian nation. Wages for laborers there can be as low as 85 cents a day. The Coalition said that since 1995, apparel imports to the United States from Myanmar grew by 800 percent. The imports from Myanmar were worth about U.S. $ 500 million a year. BCUK has also launched a campaign against garment retailers in Britain who buy their clothes from Myanmar. In September, the group said that it had written to 100 top clothing retailers, asking them to stop purchasing from Myanmar. In May this year, Triumph - an international lingerie maker -- closed its factory in Myanmar in response to the campaign. BCUK has set a target of December 2003 for "cleaning" the United Kingdom of clothing purchased from Myanmar. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Opposition party calls for
substantive dialogue and better education
1 hour, 3 minutes ago YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy marked a key holiday Friday by renewing its call for meaningful political dialogue with the country's military rulers. The party's statement celebrating National Day ? the anniversary of a student strike against British colonial rule in 1920 ? also called for the unconditional release of political prisoners and reforms to improve the education system. The themes are familiar ones for the opposition and underlined how little progress has been made since party leader Aung San Suu Kyi began closed-door talks with the ruling junta in late 2000. Hopes for a breakthrough in resolving the country's political deadlock were heightened in May this year when Suu Kyi was freed from 19 months of house arrest, but since then there have been no substantive talks between the government and opposition. Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. The military staged a general election in 1990, but refused to honor the results when Suu Kyi's NLD party won a landslide victory. Instead, it harassed and detained party members and other pro-democracy activists. "Only through a meaningful political dialogue could a peaceful change be guaranteed and the country's prevailing general difficulties be solved," said a five-page statement read out at a ceremony at the NLD's party headquarters. "As we have passed the confidence-building phase, it is time to start the process of a meaningful political dialogue," it said. The government's confidence-building steps have included allowing Suu Kyi freedom of movement and freeing hundreds of political prisoners. But about 1,000 more prisoners remain in detention. In a brief speech, Suu Kyi stressed the importance of better education standards. "A good education system is necessary for the long-term development of a country and we all are responsible to work for the improvement of education system," she said. National Day marks the anniversary of a student boycott of a British-imposed law that was seen as a deliberate move to limit higher education to a privileged few. The 1920 boycott rekindled the nationalist spirit of Myanmar ? then called Burma ? and helped propel the struggle that led to independence in 1948. To this day students are a potent symbol of resistance, and the military has sometimes shut down universities for extended periods to keep students from organizing. In his official National Day message, published in the state press, junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe said the government "has implemented education promotion programs designed to contribute to the prevalence of peace and tranquility and development of the nation." ------------------------------------------------------------------------
NLD celebrates national day,
calls for speedy dialogue with junta
YANGON, Nov 29 (AFP) - The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) commemorated Myanmar's 82nd National Day Friday by calling for a speedy beginning to a "meaningful political dialogue" with the ruling military junta. Some 400 NLD members and guests, including party leader Aung San Suu Kyi, congregated at party headquarters in Yangon to commemorate the anniversary of a 1920 student strike that sparked the country's push for independence from Britain. "One of the steps to achieve national unity and national reconciliation is for the NLD and the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to start a meaningful political dialogue as soon as possible," the party said in a statement read by NLD central executive committee member U Than Tun. The party also called for "the unconditional release of all political prisoners," U Than Tun said. Thousands of NLD members and others have been locked up in the country, and an estimated 1,300 political prisoners remain behind bars, according to diplomats. Yangon announced last week it had begun freeing a group of 115 political prisoners, the biggest single release since United Nations-brokered reconciliation talks began two years ago. The talks led to Aung San Suu Kyi's release from house arrest in May but since then they are widely believed to have stalled. Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed the prisoner releases in a short speech. "This particular occasion is also to honour and to welcome them," the Nobel peace laureate said of some of the newly freed prisoners. Suu Kyi focused the rest of her remarks on education. "We need to change the future of the nation, and for this, education is of paramount importance," she said. "We need education for sustained development and to stand proud and diginified among the nations of the world. Only a democratic system can bring about such quality education." Meanwhile, state newspapers carried statements from the junta's Senior General Than Shwe, also promoting the cause of education. He said the number of universities had grown from just 32 in 1988 -- when the junta carried out a bloody crackdown against student protestors and closed down campuses -- to today's total of 151. In his national day message, Than Shwe called for "perpetuating the independence and sovereignty of the nation not only by improving (children's) education standards but also by inculcating them with the quality of stalwart sons and daughters." National Day marks when university students in the former Burma boycotted an educational system introduced under British colonial rule. The strike touched off anti-colonial uprisings across the country, which eventually leading to independence from Britain in 1948. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
NLD complains of surveillance
during Suu Kyi trip to Shan state
YANGON, Nov 28 (AFP) - The National League for Democracy (NLD) complained Thursday about excessive surveillance of leader Aung San Suu Kyi during the two-week political trip she just concluded in Shan state in northeast Myanmar. "A group of people has been following her all the way and taking photos, even when she was resting at the guest house," NLD spokesman U Lwin told AFP. "This is the first time" Aung San Suu Kyi's party was moved to complain about the excess surveillance, he said. "It was not harassment, but it was a nuisance," he added. "We presume they were security people, but not military intelligence." Suu Kyi, released last May from 19 months of house arrest, had demanded total freedom of movement from the ruling junta, and had been enjoying as much during several up-country trips in recent months. The Nobel peace laureate drew huge crowds along her route in northern and southern Shan state -- sensitive regions for Yangon due to simmering ethnic rebellions -- including a gathering of 30,000 people in the northern Shan city of Lashio. "In some townships in northern Shan state, the authorities warned people not to go and see her. There was pressure from authorities," U Lwin said. "But people didn't care about the warnings." The spokesman added "the NLD had reported (this problem) to military intelligence and they said they would enquire." Suu Kyi has returned to Yangon "very tired," after her longest political excursion out of the capital. U Lwin Wednesday hailed the trip as a success as Suu Kyi had been able to meet representatives of ethnic minorities and revitalize the NLD by reopening four branches closed in the wake of the repression of the 1990s. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERVIEW-UN sees synthetic pills as
next big drugs problem
By Chris Johnson CHIANG SAEN, Thailand, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Use of designer drugs such as methamphetamine pills is spreading so fast it could soon dwarf the problem of traditional narcotics such as heroin and cocaine, the head of the U.N. drugs agency believes. Antonio Maria Costa, global executive director of the Vienna-based United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, told Reuters these newer drugs could be made cheaply and easily almost anywhere in the world, making them very difficult to control. Small, attractive pills, they are easily trafficked by well-organised crime syndicates from production centres mostly in Southeast Asia to consumers in cities in the region and the West. ``I want to stress the significant danger of the spread of both the production and consumption of amphetamines around the world,'' Costa said in an interview in the heart of the notorious drugs-producing region of the Golden Triangle, where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet. ``In the period ahead, the use of synthetic drugs may become the most serious problem ever faced,'' he said. Data on narcotics production and consumption are notoriously unreliable, but the United Nations keeps records of seizures across the world and these suggest an alarming increase in the use and abuse of synthetic drugs. U.N. data show seizures of synthetic drugs, known by drugs agencies as ``amphetamine-type stimulants'' or ATS and made in secret laboratories from chemicals such as ephedrine, reached almost 40 tonnes in 2000 from just five tonnes in 1991. ``POLY-CONSUMPTION'' New figures are not available but anecdotal evidence suggests output has risen many times over the last two years, especially in Myanmar, Thailand and China, which accounted for more than four-fifths of ATS production in 2000, according to the U.N. Many of the laboratories producing methamphetamines are in well-hidden factories just across the border from Thailand in military-run Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, drug agencies say. Costa, in the Thai region of the Golden Triangle to visit an anti-drugs crop-substitution project, said there was evidence many countries were involved in production of synthetic drugs. ``The process is increasing everywhere in the world, because demand is increasing everywhere in the world. Everywhere in the world poly-consumption is emerging as a dangerous phenomenon with abusers using one narcotic in combination with another.'' Usually the first of these drugs would be a traditional narcotic such as heroin or cocaine, and often the second would be a synthetic stimulant, he said. Consumption of synthetic stimulants is rising rapidly in the United States, Europe and Japan, as well as in Southeast Asian markets such as the Philippines and Thailand where they are popular because they can cost less than $2 a pill. Asked if he accepted Thai estimates that as many as one billion methamphetamine pills could come across the border into Thailand next year from Myanmar after an influx of as many as 700 million this year, he replied: ``It is a plausible number, although it is very difficult to estimate the exact figures.'' Despite the growing abuse of synthetics, governments could cope with the problem if they addressed it on several levels, discouraging consumption, clamping down on distribution and offering alternative sources of income for producers, he said. ``We are progressing in our war. The war is getting more serious. The stakes are getting bigger and we believe that the governments will eventually prevail. ``But we need inspiration, commitment and determination.'' ------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Nation
Of dreams and realities in modern Burma MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra Published on Nov 30, 2002 The following is former deputy foreign minister MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra's presentation to the conference on "Burma: Reconciliation in Myanmar and the Crisis of Change", organised by the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, the Johns Hopkins University's Southeast Asia Studies Programme, in Washington DC on November 22-23. Nowadays, when I am participating in a gathering such as this, I feel rather awkward. I am neither fish nor fowl, neither fauna nor flora, neither a part of government nor completely divorced from it. Therefore, I am not sure how best to conduct myself. Given this "identity crisis", perhaps it might be better for me, instead of providing a deep and learned analysis of what is happening in Burma (that is, assuming I am capable of doing so), to relate my personal experiences to this distinguished audience. I have been dreaming a lot recently; in fact, I have been dreaming on nine successive nights, a number which happens to be astrologically auspicious for Asians. On the first night, I dreamed that Burma is at peace with herself. I dreamed that a successful process of national reconciliation has taken place, not only between the SPDC and the NLD, but also between the present government and all the minorities, and that this process has brought about a much more open and representative system of politics and governance, characterised by respect of human rights, the rule of law, accountability, freedom and participation. And I woke up a happy man. For such national reconciliation would mean that the people of Burma are no longer fighting and killing one another, that now they all have a chance to work together to develop their society and economy, and that they can end their country's isolation and begin to make use of the international community's resources in their pursuit of a better life. On the second night, I dreamed that Burma was at peace with the world. I dreamed that national reconciliation has brought about conditions conducive to greater cooperation, both between Burma and the international community and between her and her neighbours, particularly her historic adversary, Thailand. And I woke up a happy man. I was happy because for so long I have wanted the ordinary people of Burma to enjoy the fruits of mankind's economic, scientific and technological development. For long I have wanted the ordinary people of Burma to have opportunities to interact with their peers in neighbouring lands, so that they can all learn from, as well as learn to cooperate with, one another. And for long I have wanted Burma and Thailand to turn their backs to the past and their faces to a common future. Like 60 million other Thais, I was not born when the mighty Burmese army burnt Ayuddhya to ashes 240 years ago. On the third night, I dreamed that Burma is turning swords into ploughshares. I dreamed that her leaders at long last recognised the anomaly whereby one of the world's poorest countries had one of the largest standing armies and some of the most advanced weaponry in Pacific Asia, and began to reduce both the defence budget and the number of men at arms. I dreamed that Burma is about to sell their MIG-29s back to Russia and that Russia is willing to buy them back. And I woke up a happy man. I felt happy for the ordinary people of Burma who will have more money spent on directly improving their extraordinarily difficult lives. And I felt happy for the ordinary people of Thailand, for our leaders will no longer have any clear and pressing rationale to buy more F-15s or revive their interest in purchasing F-18s, which would simply add a considerably greater burden to the rapidly escalating public debt. On the fourth night, I dreamed that Burma has become a good regional partner, with a good sense of regional responsibility. I dreamed that Burma is working very closely with her Asean partners to realise Asean's "Vision 2020", especially where the dream of having "caring societies" is concerned. I also dreamed that she is cooperating with her neighbours in resolving specific problems, which may have roots in one country's domestic conditions but have transnational, regional or international consequences, such as drugs, HIV/Aids, migration, and trade in women and children. And I woke up a happy man. I felt happy for Asean because Burma is an important country and her commitment to the cause of regionalism can only make Asean stronger. I felt happy for all the ordinary peoples living on both sides of the Burmese-Thai border, whose livelihoods are no longer interrupted by abrupt border closures. I felt happy for the women and children, whose lives have become more secure. And I felt happy for the ordinary people of Thailand, whose government can now concentrate its efforts on addressing the demand side of the drug equation and no longer has an excuse not to achieve greater success in its war against this evil threat to humanity. On the fifth night, I dreamed that Burma, while maintaining close ties with China, has good relations with all the major powers. And I woke up a happy man. For, while cooperation with China is a must and will be increasingly important in the years ahead, I have always considered a balanced foreign policy essential for the Asean countries, both individually and collectively: essential for maximising benefits and minimising costs in participating in global affairs; essential for restoring the bargaining power of Asean as a diplomatic community; and essential for building up the role of Asean as a force of reason and moderation in the international community, which may become more and more polarised by international terrorism and the West's responses to the threat thereof. On the sixth night, I dreamed that Burma plays a proactive and constructive role in the international arena, both on her own and in collaboration with her Asean partners. And I woke up a happy man. For it means that Burma, the quality of whose foreign service is second to none in the region, is beginning to fulfil her diplomatic potential, which must be good news for both Asean and the international community. On the seventh night, I dreamed that Burma is the next "Tiger" of Pacific Asia. I dreamed that progress made in the development of Burma's tremendous human and natural resources, together with those of the three Indochinese countries, is helpful to push Southeast Asia once more to the forefront of the world's economic success stories. I dreamed that an economically strong Burma can both act as a bridge between Asean and South Asia and help transform Southeast Asia into a bridge between China and India. And I woke up a happy man. On the eighth night, I dreamed that an economically strong Burma and an economically strong Thailand are becoming increasingly integrated through expanding ties of trade, investment and financial transactions, through the construction of a multiplicity of communication, telecommunication and transportation linkages, through the sharing of power grids, water resources and information technologies, and through the free movement of and exchanges among the peoples of the two countries. And I woke up a happy man. No more burning of Ayudhya. On the last night, I dreamed that all these dreams are true. Then I woke up very unhappy indeed, when I realised that these dreams were just that . . . . dreams, not realities. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asian Tribune
Date : 2002-11-29 Burmese Government in exile renews pledge on the National Day, to work for Burmese Freedom. Today is the 82nd anniversary of National Day of Burma. On this day, entire international community and the Burmese organizations for democracy inside and outside Burma urge for a genuine political talks to be held between the SPDC and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the peoples? leader. According to the political statement issued by the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB): ?An objective scrutiny of the 40 long years of mismanaged military rule shows deterioration and dilapidation in all the spheres of politics, economy, education, health and society. This is the consequence of the absence of a democratic system of government, which can guarantee security to the people and govern according to the wishes of the people.? The Nation day celebrations are held all over Burma. According to the spokesman for NCGUB, those those who took part in student boycotts during colonial periods, veteran politicians and representatives from ethnic nationalities are being invited to attend the ceremony. Two famous national poets Ko Lay Inwa Gonyi and Saya Kyi Aung are also invited. Last year, the celebration was successfully held and it also demanded the SPDC to immediately start a political dialogue. But this year, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is attending the celebration and there are likely to be some new developments say some political analysts. The Full text of the political statement issued by the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma is given below: 1. The 10th waning moon day of the month of Tazaungmon BE 1364, the 82nd anniversary of national day, is historically important and significant. On 5th December 1920 a large body of students from Rangoon College and Judson College led the strike to protest the 1920 Rangoon University Act and thus effectively demonstrated political resistance against the imperialist British government. That was the beginning and awakening of a national movement for complete freedom from the yoke of imperialism. Therefore, the General Council of Burmese Associations (GCBA), which was a nation wide political party, decided to mark this day as Burma?s National Day. However, to make it typically Burmese instead of declaring the 5th December, the 10th waning moon day of the month of Tazaungmon was declared as National Day. 2. The reason for the protest against the expansionist government?s Rangoon University Act was because it provided only for children of wealthy parents and officials. Though the people welcomed the creation of a university, there were provisions, which excluded opportunities for university education of the ordinary person. This was a cause, which had the support and approval of a large majority and was successfully launched. 3. An analysis of the existing SPDC?s education system will reveal that it is manifold times worse than the colonialist?s system. SPDC?s education expenditure is 2% of the nation?s GDP, while military expenditure is over 50%. Forty percent of school age children have been denied permission to attend school. Why? Catastrophic poverty, forced labor, forced relocation, continual military operations, declining moral standards of teachers and members in the education industry are some of the causes. The standard of education bears no comparison to international standards. It does not even reach the standard of our neighbors. The military group sends their children to foreign countries to get their education. It is a very bleak future for the country when ordinary people?s children are given below standard education. 4. An objective scrutiny of the 40 long years of mismanaged military rule shows deterioration and dilapidation in all the spheres of politics, economy, education, health and society. This is the consequence of the absence of a democratic system of government, which can guarantee security to the people and govern according to the wishes of the people. That is why the United Nations, the International Labor Organization, the European Union, the International Parliamentary Union (IPU), other international organizations, governments of other countries, government organizations, non government organizations, Burmese national organizations within and outside the country and all activists for democracy are all solidly urging that genuine political talks be held between the SPDC and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the peoples? leader. 5. The time has come for all citizens of the Union of Burma to recall and be inspired by the momentous awakening of political consciousness led by the GCBA and be politically alert and support the political activities of the National League for Democracy. We urge you to focus on matters which will lead to the cessation of military rule, internal peace, resplendent democratic growth, establishment of a genuine federal union, establishment of a Parliament composed of people?s representatives, and all other national concerns. 6. On this prestigious 82nd anniversary of our National Day the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma renews its pledge to work to its utmost ability to fulfill the wishes of the people as evidenced by the 1990 multiparty democratic general elections and declare our full support for the political policies and activities of the Committee Representing the Peoples Parliament (CRPP). ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asian Tribune
Date : 2002-11-29 Burma Military Junta released only 60 Prisoners and not 115 as claimed - NLD Bangkok, Nov. 29: According to National League for Democracy, (NLD) Burmese Junta had released only 60 political prisoners were released on 21 November and not 115, as declared by the Burma?s Military regime. According to NLD media spokesman Zin Lin, earlier Col.Hla Min, spokesperson of Burma's military regime, said 115 political prisoners would be freed on 21 November 2002. The news also said that it will be the largest ever release of opposition detainees, as a gesture of reconciliation to the pro-democracy movement. Subsequently, Zin Lin said, there was a statement of the junta to Reuter?s news agency sating, it will release 115 prisoners on Thursday (21 November). The statement, dated November 20, said it was the largest ever release of political prisoners, and that many of them were from the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD). "Because of steady progress in national reconciliation, we continue to release more individuals who will cause no harm to the community nor threaten the existing peace, stability and unity of the nation," it said. The release followed a mission to the impoverished military reigned country by a United Nations special envoy Razali Ismail, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Myanmar, who visited Rangoon from 12 to 16 November for his ninth mission to facilitate the national reconciliation process in Burma. U.N. special envoy to Myanmar Razali Ismail, who has voiced frustration at the junta's lack of movement towards political reform, said on November 16, he had asked the generals to release a large number of prisoners of conscience as a sign of its commitment to reconciliation Zin Lin, media Spokesman of the NLD informs to Asian Tribune, ?the true situation was learnt that on 26 November, when the NLD spokesman U Lwin made a call to Col. Hla Min, military intelligent officer, asking about the the number of released individuals. According to U Lwin's confirmation, there were only 60 individuals, 51 NLDs plus 9 from other organizations, actually released. It's not 115 prisoners at all as the regime's statement says. So U Lwin made an enquiry of whether he could get the names of the rest prisoners.? ?Then,? Zin Lin told Asian Tribune, ?Col.Hla Min confessed that they released only 60 people and 55 were on the waiting list and not released as yet. He made no explanation on the difference of the statement and the real numbers.? According to NLD?s investigation, prison sources in Rangoon, who wish to remain anonymous, told that prisoners of conscience on the waiting list were refusing to accept and sign the text of penal code 401(1) which is used for releasing political prisoners with pre-condition that they would be re-imprisoned if found of their continued involvements in the political activities although the authorities were suggesting them to agree with the law. The military regime is still playing the game and trying to exploit the situation as well as the Media. Earlier, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan welcomed Burma?s release of political prisoners while Rangoon said a total of 115 would be freed. He expressed the hope that this first large-scale release will provide fresh momentum for the National Reconciliation process in Burma. Now Zin Lin said,. Kofi Annan probably has to think about his welcoming remarks upon the Burmese military junta. Zin Lin added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan also issued a statement by Yoriko Kawaguchi, Minister for Foreign Affairs, on the release of the political detainees in Burma. Many diplomats and analysts criticized that the International Community should carefully think the matter over whether the regime was deserving of honor for its insincerity. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indian foreign secretary
returned from Myanmar
Mizzima News New Delhi, November 29, 2002: India?s Foreign Secretary Mr Kanwal Sibal returned to New Delhi yesterday after a five-day visit to Myanmar (Burma). Mr Sibal was in Myanmar for a regular Foreign Office Consultative Meeting with his Burmese counterparts. During his stay in the impoverished military reigned country, the Indian Foreign Secretary met senior officials of the Burmese military government including Deputy Foreign Minister U Khin Maung Win and Secretary (1) of the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) General Khin Nyunt. Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi said a number of issues including the construction of Tri National Highway (passing through Thailand, India and Myanmar) and cooperation to fight international terrorism were discussed in the five-day meeting held in Yangon. The two sides also reviewed the bilateral relations in depth. India and Burma have held regular foreign office consultancy meetings to regularize the bilateral relationship and promote cooperation in common interests. The last meeting was held in New Delhi in October 2000. While he was in Burma, Mr. Sibal opened India?s consulate in Mandalay, second largest city of Burma. Burmese consulate in Kolkata was reopened in September this year. India and Burma share about 1,643 kilometer (1,018 mile)-long land border. In 1994, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to regularize trade across the border. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
The New York Times
After Freeing Dissident, Burmese Rulers Move Slowly on Reform By SETH MYDANS BANGKOK, Thailand, Nov. 28 ? Six months after releasing the pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest amid a fanfare of promises, Myanmar's military rulers seem to have lost interest in political compromise. They have released only a trickle of political prisoners from among more than 1,000 who are behind bars. And they have dragged their feet on a pledge to open substantive talks with Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi and her political party, the National League for Democracy. In place of the upbeat words that accompanied the announcement of her release on May 5, government officials have settled back into a familiar refrain: give us time. "The process is moving forward," said Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, one of the country's top generals. "But such movement can only occur at a pace with which we are comfortable." He added, "Much has been achieved already this year, and people have to understand the process may be slow because it is complicated." There is no question about that achievement. After 19 months under house arrest, Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi was granted the most freedom of movement and political activity she has had in more than a decade. She has made four trips outside the capital, Yangon, to rally supporters and has reopened more than 65 party offices, reviving a network that had almost been eliminated by the government. But this has not been accompanied by the sort of cooperation and political accommodation she said the government promised her. "We are prepared for dialogue with the government, and we have not set any preconditions," a spokesman for the party, U Lwin, said this month. But he has begun to sound a bit less upbeat than he did immediately after the release of Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi. "Since the beginning, we have been reading too much into her release," said Aung Zaw, the editor of Irrawaddy magazine and a leading figure among Burmese exiles. "I think it was just part of their regular routine practices, to release her into a larger cage," he said. "But I think it was very premature to call it a political milestone." In a sign that foreign nations are losing patience, the American deputy secretary of state for Asia and the Pacific, James A. Kelly, this week offered the strongest warning yet by the Bush administration. "We are at the point where, absent further progress, the process that has begun may well falter," he said on Sunday. "If progress remains elusive, Burma must consider the possibility that other countries may join in measures with us, such as a ban on new investment." The United States has led international economic and political sanctions against the military junta, which took power in 1988 and then nullified the results of a parliamentary election in 1990 that was won overwhelmingly by the National League for Democracy. Although it may resist cooperating with the opposition, Myanmar's military government badly needs international aid to revive its mismanaged economy and to address severe public health problems, including the rapid spread of AIDS. "It is by no means certain that attempts to work with the government to avoid a health disaster will succeed," wrote Robert Templer in a recent report for the International Crisis group, a policy institute. "What is certain is that the country cannot stem the tide without immediate, substantial and sustained financial and technical support." ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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