[burmanet2-l] Burma Related News - Dec 18, 2002.

["TIN KYI" <tinkyi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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BURMA RELATED NEWS - December  18, 2002.
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HEADLINES
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AFP - US, Myanmar at odds over drugs status
AFP - Myanmar junta raps Suu Kyi over backing of international sanctions
AFP - Bangladesh, Myanmar pledge cooperation in economic challenges
AFP - Myanmar, Bangladesh agree on road, cooperation on Asean
AP - Bangladesh says Myanmar military ruler promises democracy
Reuters - Thai police seize 22 kg heroin near Myanmar border
The Guardian - Rights activists put 70 firms on Burma 'dirty list'
WP - Reward for Burma's Anti-Drug Efforts Unlikely
The Nation - YADANA GAS PIPELINE: Sulak loses round one of legal fight
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Wednesday December 18, 9:54 AM
US, Myanmar at odds over drugs status

WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (AFP) - Myanmar said it had been told by the United
States that it had not done enough to combat drugs production to be
certified as cooperating in the fight against narcotics.

But the State Department immediately denied that it had made a final
recommendation, branding Myanmar's announcement, in a statement issued in
Washington, as "premature at best."

Any decision not to upgrade the US assessment of Myanmar's anti-narcotics
performance would be a bitter blow to the military government's drive to get
recognition for its anti-narcotics efforts.

It would also be a disappointing return for a recent Myanmar charm offensive
aimed at healing poisoned relations with the United States, which included
the hiring of a Washington DC-based congressional lobbying firm.

"The Government of Myanmar has been informed that its attempt to come into
compliance with the US State Department's anti-narcotics program, and thus
be certified by the Bush Administration for meeting certain basic
anti-narcotics achievements, has been denied," the Myanmar statement said
Tuesday.

"The denial comes after a massive effort by Myanmar to achieve a series of
drug-eradication accomplishments including significant decreases in opium
production and cooperation with US law enforcement authorities," it said.

Yangon government spokesman Colonel Hla Min, said "our struggle to become a
drug free society will continue on track, with or without American
recognition for our efforts."

But the State Department said no final determination had been made on
whether Myanmar, in language set down by US legislation, had "failed
demonstrably ...to make substantial efforts" to honor international
anti-drugs agreements and other measures set out under US law.

A certification that Myanmar had cooperated with the United States to reach
minimum anti-narcotics benchmarks would clear the way for US anti-narcotics
funding.

"The announcement, I would say, is premature at best. We're going to be
looking at the decisions involved to make final determinations in the next
several months," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.

Contacts on the issue take habitually take place with affected countries,
and "Myanmar may have formed an impression from some conversations," Boucher
said.
A recommendation is made by the State Department on certification, but has
to be cleared by the White House. No final decision is expected until at
least next month.

Myanmar has been campaigning in recent months to have its name taken off a
US list of "major" producers altogether, and has won qualified American
praise for its efforts to combat illegal narcotics production.

It sent anti-drugs czar Colonel Kyaw Thein to Washington earlier this year,
and has conducted a string of public events in which large quantities of
seized narcotics have been torched.

The Washington Post reported in November that there was debate within the
administration on taking Myanmar off the major producers list.

But Boucher said that such a move was not in the cards.

"The question some have raised of removing Burma from what's called the
Majors List is not under discussion and it's not being recommended or looked
at," he said, using Myanmar's former name.

"Also, we're not considering any bilateral narcotics assistance for Burma."

US officials have nevertheless admitted that some members of the military
regime in Yangon are sincere about the anti-drugs drive, despite their
fierce criticism of the government's record on human rights, economic
management and political repression.

Any change of drugs status for Myanmar has been fiercely resisted by
supporters of the embattled opposition of Aung San Suu Kyi in the US
Congress and the non-governmental organisation community.

Campaigners fear that the junta would showcase its new status and portray it
as international acceptance of its rule.
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Wednesday December 18, 6:29 AM
Myanmar junta raps Suu Kyi over backing of international sanctions

YANGON, Dec 18 (AFP) - Myanmar's ruling junta Wednesday rapped opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi over her continued backing of sanctions against the
regime, saying they only harmed ordinary people in the impoverished country.

In the most hostile comments since the two sides began tentative
reconciliation talks two years ago, the government said it "could not
understand the logic behind some of her ideas" aired in a recent BBC
interview.

"Whether her views reflect reality is up to the listeners or viewers to make
their own judgement," it said, abandoning an agreement to cease criticism of
each other in a bid to support the UN-sponsored talks.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been a staunch supporter of sanctions introduced
following the brutal repression of 1988 pro-democracy protests and 1990
disallowed elections won by her National League for Democracy.

Under the measures led by the United States and the European Union, all but
a small amount of humanitarian aid is banned.

In August Aung San Suu Kyi appeared to soften her stance on the issue,
saying development aid might be acceptable if it fell within strict
guidelines.

But as the reconciliation process sagged, with the government reneging on
promises to begin a fully fledged political dialogue with the opposition,
her stance appears to have hardened.

In the BBC interview last week she indicated it was not yet time to ease the
sanctions, which have helped cripple the Myanmar economy.

"Our policies with regard to sanctions will not change until such time as
political dialogue is in place. So our policy remains the same," she said.

"The sanctions are very limited in scope and the people in Burma who are
affected by it are therefore consequently very few," she said, referring to
the country by its former name.

"The reason why there is not as much investment in Burma as there might have
been is because the political climate is not healthy."

She also backed a vigorous campaign mounted by pro-democracy groups in the
West to deter tourists from visiting Myanmar -- another bugbear to the junta
which has battled to capture the tourist dollar.

"Our policy with regard to tourism has not changed which is to say that we
have not yet come to the point where we encourage people to come to Burma as
tourists," she told the BBC question-and-answer program.

The government said there was "no doubt that any form of economic sanction
and tourism embargo negatively affects the lives of the mass population of a
country."

"It is definitely difficult to understand when a political party supports or
even stays neutral by allowing the rich and powerful nations to impose
hardship on the same people it vows to serve," it said.

However, Aung San Suu Kyi was upbeat about the prospects for political
reconciliation, telling the BBC she was confident political change would
come to the military-ruled country.

"We are confident change will come -- not as quickly as most of us would
wish, but it will come," she said.

The Nobel peace laureate's remarks boosted confidence in the slow-moving
national reconciliation process, which observers in the Myanmar capital
Yangon had feared was on the verge of complete breakdown.
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Bangladesh, Myanmar pledge cooperation in economic challenges

DHAKA, Dec 18 (AFP) - Bangladesh and Myanmar pledged to boost bilateral ties
to overcome economic challenges faced by both countries as Myanmar Senior
General Than Shwe ended a landmark visit Wednesday.

"The rapid pace of globalisation as well as a complex international
situation and global economic uncertainties are posing daunting challenges
to developing nations like Myanmar and Bangladesh," Than Shwe said late
Tuesday at a banquet hosted by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.

"Relying mostly on our resources and adopting policies and measures best
suited to the country's own conditions, we have been able to bring about
significant advances in the lives of our people," he added.

Than Shwe said trade and commerce between the two countries had expanded,
but there was still the potential for much more growth.

"We look forward to working closely with Bangladesh in the bilateral context
as well as in the framework of BIMSTEC in the years ahead."

BIMSTEC is an economic forum grouping Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka
and Thailand.

Zia said the neighbours had excellent potential to expand cooperation and
interaction in trade and economic fields and called the visit a "beginning
of a new era of close friendship."

She said Bangladesh valued its membership of Asian Cooperation and Dialogue
(ACD) and would like to make BIMSTEC and ACD effective mechanisms to promote
harmony, peace and development in the region.

Than Shwe, who is the military commander-in-chief, prime minister and
defence minister, left Wednesday to end his two-day maiden visit to
Bangladesh.

He is the first leader of Myanmar's junta to visit Bangladesh. The last
leader to come was the then Burmese president Yu San Wu in 1986.

"The Myanmar and Bangladesh border will be turned into one of peace,
stability and prosperity," Than Shwe said at a lunch with President Iajuddin
Ahmed before he left.

"We recognise the urgent need for a direct road link and coastal shipping
links between the two countries," Ahmed said.

On Tuesday Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed to link their two capitals by road
"at the earliest" and set up two task forces to expedite the process.
Officials said that three agreements on coastal shipping, trade and current
accounts would be signed by the two countries next year.

Foreign affairs analysts here said a road link between the two capitals
would open wider links to Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)
member countries.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

A Bangladeshi foreign ministry spokesman said Myanmar had also responded
positively to Dhaka's eagerness to join the Asian Regional Forum (ARF).

Joining ARF is the first step in becoming a dialogue partner of ASEAN, which
Dhaka is seeking as part of efforts to develop ties with its eastern
neighbours.

Myanmar, formerly Burma, was among the first countries to recognise
Bangladesh after it won independence from Pakistan in 1971.

But relations were strained in the early 1990s when around 250,000 Rohingya
Muslims flooded into Bangladesh from Myanmar, claiming atrocities by the
junta.

Ties have improved since then, with the repatriation of most of the refugees
under a United Nations agreement, but more than 20,000 still live in camps
in Bangladesh.
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Myanmar, Bangladesh agree on road, cooperation on Asean

DHAKA, Dec 17 (AFP) - Myanmar and Bangladesh on Tuesday agreed to boost
bilateral ties with linking their two capitals by road "at the earliest," a
foreign ministry spokesman said.

"Myanmar Senior General Than Shwe responded positively to (Bangladesh) Prime
Minister Khaleda Zia's proposal for linking Dhaka and Yangon by road at the
earliest," Foreign Secretary Shamser Mobin Chowdhury told reporters.

He added:"Task forces on studying technical and economic feasibility study
on the road link will be set up at the earliest."

Chowdhury said Than Shwe, in reply to Zia's request on backing Bangladesh's
eagerness to join the Asian Regional Forum (ARF), responded by saying "we
will not only help Bangladesh, but will also talk with other ASEAN members
to support Bangladesh."

Joining ARF is the first step in becoming a dialogue partner of the
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Dhaka is seeking it as
part of its efforts to develop ties with its eastern neighbours who have
made great economic strides.

Zia termed the visit as a "historical one" and hoped it has opened "a new
era of bilateral ties."

Zia told reporters "the talks have been very fruitful."

Foreign affairs analysts here said a road link between the two capitals
would open wider links to ASEAN member countries.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Earlier on the day, Than Shwe arrived on his maiden visit to neighbouring
Bangladesh and held official talks with Zia.

Than Shwe, Myanmar's military commander-in-chief, prime minister and defence
minister, was greeted by Zia and cabinet members as he arrived at the
colourfully decorated Zia International Airport in Dhaka.

Four Bangladesh Air Force fighter aircraft had escorted his plane as it
landed and a 21 gun-salute heralded his arrival.

The leader reviewed an armed forces honour guard before driving to the
nearby National Martyrs' Memorial, dedicated to those who died in
Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence.

Myanmar, formerly Burma, was among the first countries to recognise
Bangladesh after it won independence from Pakistan in 1971.

Than Shwe, whose planned trip last year was cancelled due to illness, is the
first leader of Myanmar's junta to visit Bangladesh. In 1986 the then
president Yu San Wu came to Dhaka.

He is accompanied on his two-day visit by a 38-member delegation, including
his wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing and two daughters.

The two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding and agreement.

Among the delegation are Foreign Minister Win Aung, Commerce Minister
Brigadier General Pyi Sone and Industry Minister Aung Thaung.

He will also meet President Iajuddin Ahmed on Wednesday.

Current trade between Bangladesh and Mynamar is very small.

Relations between the neighbours were strained in the early 1990s when
around 250,000 Rohingya Muslims flooded into Bangladesh from Myanmar,
claiming atrocities by the junta.

Ties have improved since then, with the repatriation of most of the refugees
under a United Nations agreement, but more than 20,000 still live in camps
in Bangladesh.

The spokesman said Than Shwe also assured of repatriating the remaining
Rohingyas through proper process.
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Bangladesh says Myanmar military ruler promises democracy
Tue Dec 17,11:46 AM ET
By PARVEEN AHMED, Associated Press Writer

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) - Myanmar's military ruler has promised a return to
democracy, the country's leader was quoted as saying by the Bangladeshi
government Tuesday. But there was no indication of when the ruling junta
might allow elections or a new constitution.

"The military establishment has no intention to deny democracy to the
Myanmar people and state power ultimately belongs to the people. The present
set up is a transitional arrangement," Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shamser
Mobin Chowdhury quoted Myanmar's Senior Gen. Than Shwe as telling the
Bangladeshi prime minister Tuesday.

Apart from the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other
political detainees, Myanmar's junta has made no other concessions or given
any indication that it is ready to give up its grip on power. Suu Kyi's
party won general elections in 1990, but was not allowed to take power.

The Myanmar side did not hold a news briefing after meetings with
Bangladeshi officials in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital.

Than Shwe arrived in Dhaka on Tuesday for a two-day visit aimed at promoting
trade, communication links and cultural exchanges. This is the first visit
of its kind in more than two decades.

In separate pacts, the foreign ministers of the two countries agreed to send
senior officials to discuss bilateral issues annually, and to promote
cultural exchanges.
Bangladesh has common historical and cultural links with its southeastern
neighbor, with which it shares a 256-kilometer (159-mile) border.

Myanmar said it would extend border trade, study the possibility of opening
direct road links between the two neighbors, and consider Dhaka's proposal
to establish shipping ties.

Meetings will continue Wednesday.

Than Shwe also expressed his commitment in solving the issue of repatriating
refugees from Myanmar's Muslim minority. "Myanmar is as committed as
Bangladesh to bring the refugee issue to an end," Chowdhury said.

In 1991, more than 2.5 million Muslims fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar's
northwestern Rakhine state to escape alleged persecution by the junta.
Western governments and human rights groups have accused the junta of
widespread rights abuses.

More than 230,000 Muslims have returned to Myanmar since 1993, when the U.N.
High Commissioner for Refugees began a repatriation program. About 22,000
Muslim refugees are still waiting to go back, according to the agency.
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Thai police seize 22 kg heroin near Myanmar border

MAE SOT, Thailand, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Police on Wednesday arrested five
people close to the Thai-Myanmar border in possession of 22 kg, or 48
pounds, of heroin in one of Thailand's biggest drugs busts of the year,
officials said.

An official in Mae Sot, 500 km, or 313 miles, north of Bangkok, told Reuters
the group was arrested while trying to sell 58 bars of heroin with an
estimated street value in the Thai capital of $2.3 million.

The group comprised two Thai men, a Thai woman and two men who were members
of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA).

The DKBA is an ethnic minority guerrilla army allied to the Myanmar
government, which operates along the border in the notorious Golden Triangle
region.

The maximum penalty for possession of such a large amount of heroin in
Thailand is death by firing squad.

Thailand is a major conduit for heroin produced from opium poppies grown
mostly in neighbouring Myanmar and Laos.

U.S. drugs officials say much of the opium refined into heroin for
trafficking to Western countries is produced by ethnic minority militia
groups inside Myanmar.

Myanmar says it is cracking down on drugs but the United Nations has said
that while opium poppy cultivation is declining, opium production in the
country remains significant.
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Rights activists put 70 firms on Burma 'dirty list'
Terry Macalister
Wednesday December 18, 2002
The Guardian

Nearly 70 companies including the Cordiant advertising agency, City law firm
Norton Rose and Sea Containers, rail and holiday company, have been targeted
by human rights activists for their activities in Burma.

A "dirty list" of businesses whose operations are said to be helping to
finance the military dictatorship in south east Asia is published today by
the Burma Campaign.

Activists are hoping that members of the public and investors will steer
clear of these companies, putting pressure on them to break links with
Burma.

"Foreign investment helps finance a regime that uses rape, torture and
murder to suppress its own people," Yvette Mahon, director of Burma Campaign
UK, said.

Cordiant is listed because it owns the global advertising company Bates
which handles contracts for foreign investors in Burma. Similarly Norton
Rose is targeted for providing legal help to investors in Burma.

The bulk of the firms listed by the campaign are involved in the tourist
trade where forced labour is said to have been used to build holiday
infrastructure.

This month Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the democratic opposition in Burma
who was released from house arrest in May, repeated her call for foreign
visitors to stay away. "We have not yet come to the point where we encourage
people to come to Burma as tourists," she said.

This has not stopped companies such as Abercrombie & Kent or Sea Containers'
subsidiary Orient Express offering holidays to the area and not mentioning
the repressive regime operating in Burma in their promotional literature.
The Lonely Planet company which produces a travel guide is already facing
boycott action for encouraging tourists.

Sea Containers confirmed that its subsidiary offered river boat tours. "We
leave it to the informed traveller to decide for themselves whether they
want to visit Burma," said a spokesman.

British American Tobacco, Pricewaterhouse Coopers and ABN Amro are also
among the companies that appear on the "dirty list" along with Carnival
Cruises. A "clean list" of companies including household names such as Bhs,
Adidas and Carlsberg is also published today. The Burma Campaign is keen to
publicise those firms which have taken a deliberate decision not to work in
the area.
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The Washington Post
Reward for Burma's Anti-Drug Efforts Unlikely
By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 18, 2002; Page A29

The State Department has decided not to recommend that Burma be "certified"
for its anti-narcotics programs, dealing a heavy blow to the repressive
regime's efforts to improve ties with the United States, according to the
Burmese government and congressional sources.

Department officials, the leading advocates within the U.S. government for
taking small steps to improve relations with Burma, had been close to
recommending that the nation be rewarded for meeting anti-drug goals that
the United States had set earlier in the year and made eligible for some
drug eradication aid. But when news of the pending decision leaked last
month, a series of negative editorials in newspapers in the United States
and Asia, along with congressional protests, persuaded officials to reverse
course, the sources said.

The final determination is still up to the White House, but few expect
President Bush to overturn the recommendation and risk congressional anger
for a regime with few friends in the world. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the
incoming Senate majority whip, sent national security adviser Condoleezza
Rice a note last month that stressed the need to maintain a tough policy on
Burma.

In an unusual move, the Burmese government announced that it had been
informed that its effort to win U.S. approval for its anti-drug efforts had
been denied. In a statement issued by its Washington lobbyist, the country,
also known as Myanmar, denounced the decision.

"The denial comes after a massive effort by Myanmar to achieve a series of
drug-eradication accomplishments, including significant decreases in opium
production and cooperation with U.S. law enforcement authorities," said the
statement, which added that "denial of U.S. certification followed an
intense media and lobbying campaign in Washington by those who favored
linking drug certification with political issues."

"Drug traffickers and their associates will be pleased with the U.S.
government's decision to remain on the sidelines in one of the world's
largest narcotics control challenges," said Hla Min, a government spokesman.
"Our regret is, without U.S. cooperation the time frame to totally eradicate
drugs in Myanmar is significantly longer."

In its statement, Burma suggested that a more rapid decrease in cutting
opium poppy production would lead to a humanitarian crisis. But Burma is
also the primary source of amphetamine-type stimulants in Asia, producing an
estimated 800 million tablets per year. There is substantial evidence --
recently detailed in the Asian edition of Time magazine -- that the
government is linked to major drug traffickers, including joint ventures
with the military and frequent meetings between traffickers and junta
leaders.

"Given Burma's horrendous record on the drug front, it would have been an
unmitigated disaster to take Burma off the list of the world's worst
offenders on drugs," said Rep. Tom Lantos (Calif.), the senior Democrat on
the House International Relations Committee.

Officially, the State Department said no decision had been made. "The
announcement, I would say, is premature at best," State Department spokesman
Richard Boucher said. The Burmese government "may have formed an impression
from some conversations," he added, "but we have a final determination to
make over the next several months about whether or not they failed
demonstrably to cooperate."
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The Nation
YADANA GAS PIPELINE: Sulak loses round one of legal fight
Published on Dec 18, 2002

In a setback to opponents of the Yadana gas pipeline, the Constitution Court
ruled yesterday that PTT Plc's legal action against social critic Sulak
Sivaraksa and other protesters at a construction site was not in violation
of the Constitution.

Constitution Court judges voted 12 to 1 that PTT could cite the Petroleum
Act of BE 2521 in suing Sulak and others for obstructing construction of the
pipeline, court chairman Jul Atirek said. Sulak and other activists formed a
human chain and staged a sit-in protest in Kanchanaburi's Thong Pha Phum
district against the project, which links Thailand and Burma.

After PTT sued him and others, Sulak petitioned the Constitution Court
through a criminal court, saying that the firm's action violated the
Constitution's articles 35, 44 and 46, which allow members of the public to
stage peaceful protests and take action to preserve natural resources.

Jul said that although the PTT had become a public company, it still enjoyed
the same rights as when it was a state enterprise. PTT was previously a
state enterprise known as the Petroleum Authority of Thailand. With
yesterday's ruling, it now depends on the criminal court to rule on the PTT
case against Sulak and his group, Jul told a press conference yesterday.
When asked whether the judgement would be a setback to the conservation
movement, Jul said the court had merely referred to the Constitution without
taking other factors into consideration.

According to the Petroleum Act, anyone found to have obstructed the
operation of one of its projects could face imprisonment of up to six months
or a fine of no more than Bt1,000, or both.

The 238-kilometre Yadana pipeline was built between 1996 and 1998. It
carries natural gas from Burma across the border to an electrical power
plant in Ratchaburi province which has been operating since October 2000.