|
Please visit this page and sign the petition for
Mr. Soe Myint, the Editor (Founder) of Mizzima News
http://www.petitiononline.com/soe123/petition.html -------------------------------------------------------------------- BURMA RELATED NEWS - February 03, 2003. -------------------------------------------------------------------- HEADLINES -------------------------------------------------------------------- AP - Myanmar appoints judge to Supreme Court, two new attorneys general Asian Tribune - Address the Burmese
issue jointly and collectively for a speedy resolution
Asian Tribune - Thai PM to visit
Myanmar
Xinhuanet - Thai carrier to fly
between Myanmar and Cambodian cities
Mizzima - US Report: Burma
Still Methamphetamine Trafficking World Champion
SHAN - Locals deny border
drug-free
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar appoints judge to Supreme Court, two new attorneys general YANGON, Myanmar (AP) _ Myanmar's military government has appointed another judge to the nation's Supreme Court and two deputy attorneys general, said an official announcement in the state-run press Monday. The ruling junta has appointed a fourth judge to the top court ``for smooth and speedy administration of justice in the interest of the people with effect from Feb. 2,'' said the announcement in the English-language New Light of Myanmar newspaper. The announcement also said two more deputy attorneys general were appointed to join the existing one under the attorney general ``to be able to carry out the duties more effectively.'' The appointments were signed by General Khin Nyunt, the junta's third-ranking member. Myanmar's judiciary operates with a lack of transparency, particularly in cases of political opponents of the military regime who are often tried under draconian emergency laws. More than 1,000 political prisoners are held in Myanmar jails, many under long sentences. The changes in the judiciary system come shortly after an announcement Sunday that the junta has filled the fourth most powerful position in its ruling council and ``permitted to retire'' two of its ministers. Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been under military rule since 1962. The current junta came to power following the brutal suppression of a pro-democracy uprising in 1988. --------------------------------------------------------------------
Asian Tribune
Date : 2003-02-03 Address the Burmese issue jointly and collectively for a speedy resolution ? Yongyos Adireksarn. By - K.T.Rajasingham Bangkok, Feb. 03: Thousands of Burmese remaining as refugees in Thailand causes pain of mind and grief and this tragic situation continues in Thailand for the last so many years without any perceivable solution, to bring an end to this human tragedy. Human beings when they flee their country to safeguard their ?right to life,? unfortunately it has turned into a distress call, which has to be addressed collectively by the international community urgently for a remedy, said Yongyos Adireksarn. In an exclusive interview with Asian Tribune, Yongyos Adireksarn, Member of Parliament representing the ruling Thai Rak Thai Party from the Saraburi province, said that it is a curse that a human being has to seek refugee status in a country, which amounts to a form of declaration of a sort of isolation from their own people. Yongyos Adireksarn who is also the Advisor to his elder brother Pongpol Adireksarn, the Minister of Education, further said: ?My personal opinion is that people who are born and living in this world and has to belong to one or the other the existing nationalities.? He continued ? We have the right to live as a citizen of a country. Citizenship of a country could be acquired either by birth or by the process of naturalization in a country. Therefore, we as human being believe that everyone should have the right to become a citizen of a country. Nationality of a person is his human identity in this world. Everyone should recognize human being despite from: - Where a person come from ? - where their parents are from ? - and despite of their nationality and the language they speak. Yongyos Adireksarn is an Engineer by profession and earlier was the election-agent of his father Paraman Adireksarn, as well as later to his brother Pongpol Adireksarn at the Saraburi province. When the new Thai Constitution came into effect in 1998, Yongos contested from the Saraburi province once his brother was put up in the Thai Rak Thai Party list, for membership in the Parliament in the last Parliamentary general elections, held in the latter part of December 2002. His father Praman Adireksarn was one of the founder members of Chat Thai Party, which is one of the oldest political party in Thailand, along with his brother-in-law and former Prime Minister General Chatchai Choonhavan. Police General Praman hailing from the famous Raja guru clan held several important portfolios, including Interior and Finance Ministry, before handing over the baton to Pongpol and later to Yongyos. Yongyos Adireksarn who is also a Commissioner of Consumer Protection, in his interview with this writer continued as follows: ?Everyone has to be recognized as belonging to one nationality or other. Other day, when I went to the Bangladesh?s ?Victory day Celebration,? that was held in Bangkok, I was very proud of those Bangladesh people. Though they are a very small community here in Thailand, and they still have the heart for patriotism and to remain as a proud nation, even they are remaining out of their own country.? ?But unfortunately, I cannot say like this about the Burmese in Thailand. It should be stated very clearly that, I have the greatest respect for the Burmese people. They are our neighbors and Thailand is linked with Burma historically as well as religious wise too. I have been to Burma a couple of times and saw the great country and the people with long standing, tradition, culture and civilization. ?But I feel very sorry for those Burmese and Burmese ethnic refugees languishing in the refugee camps in Thailand. ?When one becomes a refugee, that person?s nationality is at stake. He is temporarily a stateless person. Refugee status and consequent to that, the statelessness is the most appalling thing that can ever happen to a human. ?I feel that these refugee people should be recognized as human being and they should be honorably accommodated back in their homes. The returnees should be treated with honor and dignity. ? If you call a country a free land; if you call it a free nation; if you call the country located in a free Asian continent; and if you call that we live in a free world; then sooner or later the boundaries and borders should cease to exit and the world should be a global village, where a man can travel freely without restrictions, and stay wherever he chooses to reside and live happily in well-knit family unit. ?We know well that as and when the political situation in Burma is perceived as something that is not in the liking of the populace of that country, then in Thailand, we begin to receive initially in trickles and subsequently in thousands of fleeing Burmese. ?How long can they remain in Thailand? We should draw a line somewhere and bring an end to this tragic refugee problem. This should end. ?O.K. it might be some sort of a Burma?s interior problem that we should not interfere, but the issue would remain an interior problem only when the Burmese are not fleeing their country. Now we have thousands and thousands of Burmese in our soil. The protection of these people has become the grave concern of Thailand. As a Thai, I have right to express my concern and seek redress for this human catastrophe taking place in our soil. "Therefore we all should address this Burmese issue jointly and collectively to make Burma a conducive place for these refugees in Thailand to return and live happily forever." --------------------------------------------------------------------
Asian Tribune
Date : 2003-02-03 Thai PM to visit Myanmar Bangkok, Feb. 03, (TNA): In a move that is likely to anger campaigners for human rights in Myanmar, the prime minister today announced that he would pay an official visit to Rangoon on February 9 to discuss drugs, immigrant labour and tourism. Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said that the visit, which has long been anticipated, would last for two days. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be accompanied by the secretary-general of the National Security Council and representatives from the armed forces to engage in in-depth discussions with senior members of the Rangoon regime, including Gen Khin Nyunt, whose cordial relationship with Mr Thaksin has been criticised by campaigners for human rights in Myanmar. The foreign minister said that the leaders of the two countries would discuss further cooperation in suppressing the narcotics trade, following on from the signing of an MOU on such cooperation. The leaders will also talk of tourism promotion, as suggested by Mr Thaksin during a recent meeting of leaders of Mekhong region nations, with the prime minister likely to raise the idea of turning Chiang Mai into a regional tourism hub. Thailand hopes to create aviation links between Chiang Mai and Pagan, Mandalay and Putao in Myanmar. Mr Surakiart said that the leaders would also discuss the problem of immigrant labour. Thailand has often come under fire for its forced repatriation of Myanmar nations, many of whom claim they will face human rights abuses if sent back home. However, the Thai government has pledged to help find employment and income for returning Myanmar nationals. --------------------------------------------------------------------
Thai carrier to fly between
Myanmar and Cambodian cities
Xinhuanet 2003-02-03 15:45:46 YANGON, Feb. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- The Myanmar authorities are negotiating with the Bangkok Airways of Thailand for the carrier to launch a direct flight between Bagan of Myanmar and Angkor Wat of Cambodia as part of its regional tourism program, the local weekly Myanmar Times reported Monday. Quoting an official of the Directorate of Hotels and Tourism ofMyanmar, the report said negotiation for the launching of the service has been underway in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh after the 6th Tourism Ministers' Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) late last month. The Thai airline will fly to Bagan from either Siem Reap airport of Angkor Wat or from China, the official said. The report also quoted Myanmar Minister of Hotels and Tourism Brigadier-General Thein Zaw as saying that recent regional tourismmeeting also covered discussions on an introduction of visa exemptions for visitors to ASEAN countries by 2005 and more stringent security measures in the wake of increased concerns about terrorism arising from the Bali bombing last October. Meanwhile, as part of its tourism promotion program, Myanmar isreported to soon grant visas-on-arrival for individual travelers on some other designated foreign carriers. According to the latest official statistics, Myanmar received nearly 500,000 foreign tourists in 2002 with an income of 100 million US dollars and it plans to absorb up to one million tourists this year. --------------------------------------------------------------------
US Report: Burma Still
Methamphetamine Trafficking World Champion
Sein Win(Mizzima News) February 3, 2003 Burma remains the world?s number one country for producing and trafficking methamphetamine and the world?s second largest producer and trafficker of heroin according to the ?Annual Narcotics Certification Report? produced by the US White House on January 31, 2003. The United State issues a narcotic certification report each year that identifies all major illicit drug production and drug transit countries. Despite the Burmese government having banned the sale, import and use of 25 precursors chemicals and related substances in 2002, Burma has yet to take effective measures against methamphetamine production and trafficking or the importation of precursor chemicals from neighbouring countries used in the production of methamphetamine tablets, said the report. The major heroin and methamphetamine producers in military ruled Burma are armed ethnic groups such as the United Wa State Army (UWSA), the Kokang Chinese, and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). The largest, most powerful and most important trafficking organization within its border is the United Wa State Army (UWSA). The Wa, the primary fighting force of the Burmese Communist Party (BCP) until the BCP?s disintegration in 1988, took over the BCP?s drug operations and expanded them further. The Wa became the UWSA, a well-equipped military force of approximately 20,000. Opium poppy cultivation and heroin refining in Burma takes place in remote, mountainous border regions. The report said that drug gangs in Burma operated freely along the Burmese border with China and Thailand. The Burma-Thailand border was once the primary road for Burmese drug traffickers destined for international markets. China?s Yunnan Province has become the primary transit point for Burmese heroin. It is estimated that over 50 percent of Burma?s opiate production enters China. Burmese heroin also transits Rangoon westward through India and Bangladesh. Heroin produced in Burma also enters Thailand for personal consumption and for onward shipment to drug markets throughout the world. Burma, Laos, and Thailand constitute the Southeast Asian opium and heroin-producing region, known as the Golden Triangle. --------------------------------------------------------------------
Shan Herald Agency for
News
No: 02 - 02/2003 3 February 2003 Drugs - Locals deny border drug-free In response to the New Light of Myanmar, 30 January, reporting the three townships across the Thai border was rid of the poppy cultivation in the 2002-2003 season, both Lahu and Shan sources maintained the reality was entirely the other way round. "All the 8 tracts of Mongton township (opposite Chiangmai's Wianghaeng and Chiangdao Disrticts) still grow opium," said a Shan source in reply to S.H.A.N. inquiry. "The number of poppy farmers have also increased due to arrivals from both across the Salween and Thailand." This situation is the same in Mongpiang a township north of Mongton, where a meeting was called on "the 8th Waning Moon of the 10th Lunar Month" (29 September) by Company 4, Infantry Battalion 43 at the village of Mongpu Long. The villagers were informed that they were required to grow poppies 'for the sake of their own survival' and those who failed to comply would be fined 5,000 kyat each, according to the sources. "It is in Monghsat Township, opposite Chiangmai's Fang and Mae Ai districts and Chiangrai's Mae Fa Luang District, where areas adjoining the border have mostly been free of poppy fields for the first time in years," said a Lahu source. "It is because the Wa had given instructions since last year against poppy cultivation. We heard Mongyawn (just across Mae Ai) was to become a tourist attraction and Yawngkha (opposite Mae Fa Luang) a crop replacement center." The poppy fields, as a result, have moved to north of the Monghsat-Tachilek road, but still well inside Monghsat Township. All sources agreed that signs of decrease in the production were non-existent in Monghsat, Mongton and Mongpiang. "Only the number of refineries has dropped," said one, "due to the fact that small ones are no longer encouraged to run. Only big ones remain." According to the New Light of Myanmar, it was only in Mongton Township that "66.30 acres of poppy were grown, but all the poppy plantations were destroyed" by December last year. "The region cannot be considered as drug-free simply because there is no cultivation of poppy and no production of heroin in that area", said Labor Minister U Tin Winn, who is also chairman of Shan State (East) Work Committee for Drug Elimination on 29 January during his tour of the area. --------------------------------------------------------------------
|