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BURMA RELATED NEWS
- January 27, 2003.
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HEADLINES
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AFP - EU, ASEAN look to turn page on
Myanmar-poisoned links
AP - EU, Southeast Asia review troubled
relationship; sign anti-terrorism deal
AP - Cambodian officials say regional conference
spruced up tourism image
AP - Thai villagers protest relocation of Hmong
from temple
AP - Thaksin will push Yangon to make national
reconciliation with
AFP - Thailand to push for negotiations between
Myanmar and ethnic groups
Bkk Post - PTT still paying for gas it does not
take
BBC - Burma attends EU meeting
Asian Tribune - Spiraling Inflation Continues to
Dog Burma
Asian Tribune - Burmese border remains closed
asTasang dam project gets underway
Asian Tribune - Burma Army uses civilians as
enslaved porters
Independent - Thailand's schoolchildren
fall prey to chocolate-coated drug pastilles
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday January 27, 2:54 PM
EU, ASEAN look to turn page on Myanmar-poisoned links BRUSSELS, Jan 27 (AFP) - The European Union and Southeast Asia were set to try to put years of acrimony over Myanmar behind them in foreign ministers' talks focused on trade and terrorism. The two-yearly meeting between two of the world's biggest trading blocs was to take place on EU territory for the first time with an official from military-run Myanmar in attendance. The EU has temporarily lifted a visa ban against junta leaders to allow Myanmar's deputy foreign minister, Khin Maung Win, to attend the Brussels gathering with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). His presence is allowed under an exception to the visa ban that permits Myanmar junta leaders to attend meetings in the European Union that discuss human rights and democracy, EU officials said. But the last time the 15-nation EU was due to welcome ASEAN foreign ministers, in 1998 a year after Myanmar joined the 10-member Southeast Asian club, Europe refused to invite anyone from the military regime and the meeting was eventually switched to Laos. Hailing Khin's attendance as a "big breakthrough", ASEAN is hoping that the two-day Brussels meeting will help it switch the focus in its EU relationship back to commerce. The region has in recent years lost its allure in the eyes of European investors to China. "For years Myanmar has been a thorn in the side of a dialogue, but it's really just one country out of 25," a senior ASEAN diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity. "Why let one country dominate the entire dialogue? There are other areas we should be focussing on -- transnational crime, terrorism, trade." The EU, while unhappy about the military's refusal to relinquish power in the former British colony, shares the desire to look ahead and reinforce trade relations as well as a joint battle against terrorism. "We remain as concerned as ever about the situation in Burma. There is no improvement," said an EU official, with the foreign ministers set to call for greater freedom of movement for Myanmar opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi. But the EU does not want Myanmar to distract from more pressing concerns, the official added, "because we are keen to reinvigorate that relationship". The European Commission -- the EU's executive arm -- is formulating a new strategy towards Southeast Asia due for release in the spring, to update a relationship that is based on a bilateral accord signed in 1980. Since then, both the EU and ASEAN have been transformed through the addition of new members and the development of a broader remit beyond their traditional economic concerns. But Southeast Asia was keen to focus on trade in its talks with the EU, which were due to start at 1500 GMT Monday. In 2001, the EU was ASEAN's second-largest export market and third-largest trading partner after the United States and Japan. ASEAN exports to the EU were estimated at 65.7 billion euros (70 billion dollars), while the region's imports from the EU were valued at 42.2 billion euros, according to European Commission figures. Those figures would have been higher but for a shift in European companies' interest to other parts of Asia, principally to China, according to ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong. "I think a dialogue between the ministers of the EU and ASEAN will foster a more positive climate to encourage more people to look at ASEAN," he said. The "more positive climate" should extend to Myanmar, Ong said, calling for "an adult exchange of views". Both sides will find themselves on safer ground in pledging anew to combat terrorism in the wake of the devastating bombing of a nightclub on the Indonesian island of Bali and a spate of attacks in the Philippines. -------------------------------------------------------------------- EU, Southeast Asia review troubled
relationship; sign anti-terrorism deal
Jan 27 4:53 AM ET By ROBERT WIELAARD, Associated Press Writer BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - European Union foreign ministers open talks Monday with their counterparts from 10 southeast Asian nations to try and improve an economic relationship which the Europeans say no longer works well. The two sides also plan to sign an accord to step up cooperation in the fight against international terrorism. Similar to a deal the Association of Southeast Asian Nations signed last August with the United States, the agreement will let the two sides boost law enforcement cooperation to counter terrorist activities. The two sides are also expected to issue a statement reiterating their determination to combat terrorism. In preparing for the meeting, EU officials made it clear they want the relationship with ASEAN to take new directions. The Europeans are concerned ASEAN does too little to spread economic wealth among its members, thereby maintaining a yawning rich-poor gap in its ranks. The EU will unveil this year a new policy for southeast Asia that may focus more on individual nations that persistently lag behind economically. Also, the EU wants to step up cooperation to counter illegal immigration and drugs trafficking. "We need a more results-oriented approach," EU External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten said. "If that is not at once possible with ASEAN as a grouping, we should look at what might be done on a bilateral basis through new co-operation agreements with ASEAN's members," he said. The EU-ASEAN relationship is on the ropes for other reasons, too. The West Europeans are centering efforts on bringing east European countries into the EU. Also, the 1997 financial crisis has eroded the reputation of Asia's "Tiger" economies in Western Europe and the EU has been trying in vain to give human rights a primary place in trade relations. ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar ? the former Burma which is subject to EU sanctions for human rights violations. The EU granted an exemption to its visa ban to enable Khin Maung Win, Myanmar's deputy foreign minister, to come to Brussels for the first time. The EU banned trade with Myanmar after its military leaders refused to recognize the 1990 general election win of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's political party. Ahead of the meeting, ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong said his group wanted to discuss trade and investments. ASEAN worries European investors are increasingly going to China. The EU is resisting ASEAN's pressure for a free trade deal, arguing the group must increase trade among its members more. In 2001, the EU was ASEAN's second largest export market and third largest trade partner after the United States and Japan. EU exports to ASEAN totaled 42.2 billion euros (US$ 45.8 billion) and its imports 65.7 billion euros (US$ 71.3 billion), making for a two-way trade total of 107.9 billion euros (US$ 117.1 billion). -------------------------------------------------------------------- Cambodian officials say regional conference
spruced up tourism image
Jan 27 6:48 AM ET PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - Cambodian officials and tour operators said Monday that the country's successful hosting of a regional tourism conference should increase its popularity as a destination for travelers. Tourism ministers of ASEAN, the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, punctuated their working sessions with lavish social events during the four-day conference which ended Monday. More than 1,500 foreign guests discussed how to lure more international travelers to Southeast Asia. For many tour operators and travel agents, some based in North America and Europe, it was their first visit to Cambodia, which boasts one of the region's most spectacular attractions ? the centuries-old Angkor Wat temple complex. Until recently, however, decades of war and unrest made visits a dicey prospect. "These were some of the key tourism promoters in the world and now they have seen Cambodia, experienced the friendly people and they are in a position to tell the world this is a brilliant country," said Meng Hieng, the president of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents and operator of Exotissimo Travel in Phnom Penh. "I think through this event we placed Cambodia firmly in the international tourism market," Cambodia's Tourism Minister Veng Sereyvuth said. ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Thai villagers protest relocation of Hmong from
temple
Jan 27 7:18 AM ET MAE SOT, Thailand (AP) - Holding banners and delivering speeches, about 4,000 villagers and local officials in northern Thailand protested Monday against plans to move Hmong refugees from Laos to the area. Protesters from five districts near the Myanmar border gathered at a checkpoint in Mae Sot, 370 kilometers (230 miles) northwest of the capital, saying the influx of 1,441 Hmong hill tribe people would worsen social problems in the area. "There are thousands of Burmese (Myanmar) refugees in our region," said the leader of a Thai-Myanmar border organization, Paniti Tanpharti. "If the Hmong of Tham Krabok are moved here, it will double the problems." The Thai government has announced it will start relocating the Hmong refugees beginning in March. The refugees settled at the Tham Krabok temple in Saraburi, 90 kilometers (56 miles) north of Bangkok, in the 1970s and 1980s after a communist regime took power in their homeland at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. The Laotian government claims the temple is a sanctuary for Hmong anticommunist insurgents. Tham Krabok is also known for a drug treatment program in which herbal remedies are used, though some Hmong residents have allegedly become involved in amphetamine trafficking. Boonthum Kitsantia, a local administrator in Tak province's Phopphra district, said: "We are afraid of drugs. We are concerned about our young generation." He said Phopphra was already home to about 20,000 Hmong ? half the population ? and that the new arrivals would strain local food supplies, forcing them to turn to the drug trade or illegal logging to support themselves. The protesters submitted a petition to Tak provincial authorities with more than 12,000 signatures calling on the government to halt the planned transfer. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Thaksin will push Yangon to make national
reconciliation with
Jan 27 01:57 AM ET
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Monday said he will urge Myanmar's military junta during talks next month to speed up reconciliation with ethnic rebel groups, some of whom are blamed for running drug operations in border areas. Thaksin, who is scheduled to visit Yangon Feb. 9-10, said the political conflict in Myanmar, ethnic rebellions and poverty were the root causes of drug production. ``I will hold talks with Myanmar leaders on how ... they can have a reconciliation, because this is a crucial point for drugs eradication,'' Thaksin told a group of youth. ``The influx of drugs from Laos and Cambodia is little, but it is rampant from the Myanmar side of the border.'' Most drugs produced in Myanmar, mainly heroin and methamphetamines, find their way into Thailand before being smuggled to other countries. The Thai government has announced a major campaign beginning Feb. 1 to eradicate the growing drugs problem. Thai officials privately accuse Myanmar's military rulers of turning a blind eye to the drug lords, who operate in virtually autonomous regions. Myanmar's junta came to power after crushing a pro-democracy movement in 1988. It called elections two years later but refused to honor the results that gave opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi a landslide victory. The two sides have been holding reconciliation talks since late 2000, but no real progress has been made. The outcome of the talks is expected to affect the fate of various minority ethnic groups demanding autonomy or more power. Thaksin said he will tell the Myanmar junta leaders that ``this is the time for reconciliation, because wherever there is war, the parties in conflict earn their income from narcotics to buy weapons.'' The United States and Thai officials say most of the drugs in Myanmar are produced by the United Wa State Army, an ethnic Wa group that has signed a cease-fire agreement with the central government. Myanmar is believed to be the second biggest producer of opium after Afghanistan. The United Nations estimated Myanmar's opium production in 2002 at 912 US tons. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Thailand to push for negotiations between
Myanmar and ethnic groups
BANGKOK, Jan 27 (AFP) - Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Monday that he would work to persuade Yangon's government to negotiate with rebel ethnic minority groups during his forthcoming visit to the capital. "I will persuade the government to talk with minority groups so that the two sides will stop killing each other," he told reporters ahead of his February 9 to 10 visit. "We will propose a resolution, and when the fighting is over, all other problems will decline. Everything will get better," the premier added. Clashes along the Thai-Myanmar border between armed ethnic minority groups, and Myanmar's ruling military forces and allied ethnic groups -- who are routinely accused of involvement in drug-trafficking -- frequently spill over into Thai territory. The disputes have dogged relations between the neighbouring countries, which sunk to a new low in May last year when a Myanmar offensive against the rebel Shan State Army resulted in stray shells landing in Thailand. Thaksin has already said that the problem of flourishing drugs factories on the Myanmar side of the common border would be on his agenda during his visit, the second as prime minister, as well as border problems and tourism issues. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Monday 27 January 2003
PTT still paying for gas it does not take Malaysian pipeline warning sounded Kanchanaburi A group of conservationists has put up a huge billboard in Tha Muang district to show how the Petroleum Authority of Thailand ``foolishly'' paid Burma under the Thai-Burmese gas pipeline agreement. The billboard, put up by the Anurak Kan Group, is on Saengchuto road, about 6km from the district town. It says that on Dec 31, 2000, PTT paid 29.5 billion baht to Burma, but 0.3354 trillion cubic feet of gas was never delivered because PTT could not take it. The same happened on May 31 last year when PTT paid 39 billion baht, and 0.4456 trillion cubic feet of gas was not delivered for the same reason. Pinan Chotirosserani, chairwoman of the group, said the billboard was intended to warn the government not to make a similar mistake with the Thai-Malaysian gas pipeline project in the South. Suwanan Chart-udomphan, an assistant to the PTT deputy managing director for natural gas, said PTT was obliged to pay for a daily supply of 1,100 million cubic feet of gas. It could take only 900 million cubic feet a day at present because the Ratchaburi power plant was not running at full capacity. The undelivered gas, however, could be taken later when the plant was able to use it. -------------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - Monday, 27 January, 2003, 13:15
GMT
Burma attends EU meeting By Larry Jagan BBC Burma analyst Burma is participating in its first ever European Union-Asean foreign ministers' summit in Europe, which opened in Brussels on Monday. The Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister, Khin Maung Win, is being allowed to attend the two-day meeting despite European sanctions imposed on the country's military rulers. The summits were suspended after Burma joined Asean (Association for South East Asian Nations) in 1997 because of the European travel ban on members of the military junta, and Europe's refusal to accept Burma at their round-table. Asean officials have hailed the exemption for the deputy foreign minister as a big breakthrough for diplomatic relations. Burma is looking forward to a fruitful meeting in Brussels, the government spokesman told the BBC. Burma may want to see its attendance at its first EU-Asean summit in Europe as a significant concession by the EU. But officials are going to be told in no uncertain terms that if Burma wants to be accepted by Europe as a fully-fledged member of Asean, then they will have to ensure that there is significant progress soon in the dialogue process with the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Hot topic Each representative around the table will be allowed to make some opening remarks, according to EU officials. While there are many issues likely to be raised by the European side, especially those related to fighting terrorism and the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in South Eeast Asia, Burma is still likely to feature prominently. The United Kingdom has already unilaterally voiced its concerns about the renewed harassment that the opposition leader is experiencing at the hands of the military authorities. Government officials say the British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw will certainly raise the issue at the meeting in Brussels. International concerns Mr Straw is expected to draw attention to the extensive progress that has been made in the peace process under way in the Indonesian province of Aceh, and compare that to the lack of progress in Burma's dialogue process, which has stalled and is in danger of collapsing altogether. The British Government, and Europe as a whole, are expected to warn Rangoon that if the military continues to hamper political progress in the country then Europe will have no alternative but to consider stronger sanctions against the military government when the EU reviews its policy towards Burma in a few months time. In reply, Khin Maung Win is expected to tell the Europeans that Burma is going through a critical stage and the EU and the international community should not over-react. The Europeans, though, want to convince their Asean counterparts that political and economic change in Burma is essential, and that they should be actively supporting the process of change. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Asian Tribune
Date : 2003-01-27 Spiraling Inflation Continues to Dog Burma Rangoon, jan. 27: Condemned by Western governments for its poor human-rights record, shunned by foreign investors and international financial institutions, military-ruled Burma and its improvised people are now suffering from spiraling inflation. The price of rice has nearly doubled over the past year, palm oil has risen 25 per cent since late 2002, the price of public bus tickets has doubled, all while the devastated currency, the kyat, has plummeted to new lows and civil-servants salaries have remained stagnant. Determined to go it alone, the junta known as the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC) has concocted various schemes, including crackdown on
?greedy? traders, aimed at solving the volatile economic crisis.
But analysts, experts and the public in the bustling but ramshackle capital say the official action, highlighted by the government?s doubling of the vehicle-fuel quota earlier this month, will do little to ease the situation. ?Many factors besides international censure have contributed to the poor economic showing of the past 15 years under military rule,? one local expert said. ?Mismanagement in general? is the key factor, he said. ?Hastily thought-out ad-hoc measures which usually come up short of expectations are a prime example of this mismanagement.? Burma has suffered under decades of failed socialist policies and the government control of the economy, but international sanctions also struck the nation hard following the bloody repression of 1988 pro-democracy protests and 1990 elections the junta refused to recognize. ?It is very difficult to make ends meet, especially if you have a family,? said Daw Ma Ma, a primary school teacher in Rangoon who survives by discreetly offering private tutoring lessons. Her state monthly wage is pegged at around 5,000 kyat, about US$4.5/= at the prevailing open-market rate. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Asian Tribune
Date : 2003-01-27 Burmese border remains closed asTasang dam project gets underway The border connecting Burma's Shan State with Chiangmai's Chiangdao Dditrict remained sealed on the day road-building materials were be transported to the Tasang dam project site, 160 km away further interior, reported Hawkeye, Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN) reporter from Ban Arunothai, opposite Shan State's Mongton township. According to a news release by SHAN: "Military sources here are saying that they were informed by the Burmese that the preparations were not in place yet," Hawkeye said over the telephone from the border. "Even Wa gates nearby are closed since yesterday. Trucks coming to Arunothai to pick up their relatives turned back empty." The source from Thai Sawad, that had been contracted to build a road to the dam site by the MDX, a Bangkok-based real estate and infrastructure development company that had concluded an agreement with Rangoon on 20 December on the construction of Tasang dam, confirmed the fact. "We were asked to make the entry at Tachilek (opposite Chiangrai) instead," said the source who requested anonymity. "As it would entail double the expenses our boss has decided just to and wait-see." Meanwhile, a 22-men team of Thai experts: 3 from MDX and 19 from Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, who were in the Tasang area since 21 January, have been busy erecting wooden stakes (each 3 spans in circumference and 3 cubits in length, painted white at the bottom and red at the tip) on both sides of the river, stretching 2-3 km upstream from the dam site at Tang Hseng, according to locals. "They were also measuring the depth of the river, morning and evening, twice a day," said one local resident. An executive member of Thai-based Southeast Asia Rivers Network (SEARIN) commented that it was a sign that EGAT was yet to decide whether to "go the whole hog" on Tasarng or choose another site downstream at Weigyi, where the Salween flows between the two countries. "Rangoon would prefer a further downstream site, Hutgyi, that is well inside Burmese territory, according to our information," he said. The financially hard hit MDX Group would need a formal Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) from EGAT in order to be eligible for loans from international finance institutions, said another Thai-based environmental group. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Asian Tribune
Date : 2003-01-27 Burma Army uses civilians as enslaved porters A shocking revelation of the conscription of the civilians to carry supplies as porters is hereby revealed. Burma Army conscript civilians as porters for its dry-season offensive against ethnic insurgent groups. On 14th of this month, Infantry Battalion, 60 column led by Commander Myo Thein forcibly summoned 30 villagers, 10 each from Khawlakhar, Laekeekho and Than Taunggyi villages in Than Taung Township, Taungoo district. Those villagers were conscripted to serve as porters for carrying supplies to Naung Soe Thet military base. Commander Myo Thein led column has earlier also forced 2 villagers from Thae Taw village and one from Nat village for carrying supplies in the last month. In last November, Commander Myint Wai led column of Light Infantry Battalion 415 under the command of Division 88, forced 4 women from Sawnae Moo village, Kyarinn Seikkyi Township, Karen State to work for carrying supplies. Number of cases of conscription of civilians as Porters are reported from several places in the Kaukareik Township. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Independent (UK)
Thailand's schoolchildren fall prey to chocolate-coated drug pastilles By Jan McGirk in Bangkok 25 January 2003 Little pastel pastilles of "ya ba" don't look particularly dangerous. But the pink "speed" pills resembling tiny aspirin tablets now come flavoured with vanilla or chocolate, and Thai school children are finding them hard to resist. In the past six years, almost a million underage methamphetamine addicts have succumbed to a pernicious new drug trade inside Thailand. Four per cent of children aged five to nine have experimented with or sold speed, a recent report said. Youngsters swallow ya ba tablets ? a phrase meaning "mad medicine" ? after school and clamour for more. For a quicker rush, they crush them and smoke lines off foil. Hard-core users dissolve the tablets and inject the solution. Jittery young addicts suffering from psychosis, heart damage, memory loss or severe depression fill Bangkok's hospitals and rehabilitation units. In some urban clinics, 40 per cent of the beds are occupied by patients suffering the mental and physical side-effects of methamphetamine abuse. Politicians have suggested that the government sponsor methamphetamine shops to distribute cut-price ya ba and undermine the illicit trade, but this horrifies conservatives who prefer to execute dealers or jail users in army-run treatment camps. Thai authorities seized 10 times as many ya ba pills last year as in 1996, 83 million of them, but clandestine factories keep cranking them out in the lawless Golden Triangle region where Burma, Thailand and Laos converge. There is also a big demand in China, across the border. Thai military intelligence estimates that a billion pills will be smuggled across the Burmese frontier this year. General Watanachai Chaim-uanwong, the deputy army chief, blames the influx
on narco-guerrillas of the Wa ethnic army, former headhunters who are likely to
make $550m (£338m) by drug trafficking this year and use the money to arm 10,000
insurgents in the north-eastern hills. "These drugs are made in Burmese military
camps," General Watanachai said. "The Burmese government gives the Wa self-rule
and uses the Wa as soldiers."
Analysts say the Burmese government condones the lucrative ya ba traffic because the junta gets a cut of the profits. It costs less than five cents to produce a pill that sells for more than a dollar. Yangon officials vehemently deny drug profiteering, but they admit ya ba production is booming in border zones after a regional crackdown on poppy production, which reduced heroin trade by 20 per cent this year. Drug traffickers of the Wa hill tribe subsidise the United Wa State Army. The Burmese belatedly launched an anti-speed campaign last month. Despite stiff penalties against narcotics, including capital punishment for heroin smugglers, methamphetamine is widely available in Thailand. For years, the odourless powder was the preferred stimulant for long-haul lorry drivers and factory drudges, who relied on the drug to keep alert. You could buy it at most petrol stations. But now this cheap and convenient form of speed is replacing heroin as the mainstay of South-east Asia's illicit drug industry. The arrest of 7,000 Thai ya ba dealers has not stopped the flow. All the ingredients for ya ba are easily obtainable. Thai teenagers view the drug as a cheap local form of ecstasy that lets them dance the night away. "It costs less than a bottle of beer and the effect lasts from one to 10 hours," said Yngve Danling, an adviser for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Bangkok. "Adolescents see it as a harmless party drug. It's not." Priced at under a pound a hit, ya ba far outsells the ecstasy tablets imported from Europe for full-moon raves at the resort beaches. South-east Asian gangs introduced the tablets to California clubs this summer and Europe's rave scene is next in line. The old heroin-smuggling networks are well-established and the price is right. An agent for the US Drug Enforcement Administration, who has operated in Asia for a decade, warned: "The opium war may be nothing compared to the Asian meth war." -------------------------------------------------------------------- |