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BURMA RELATED NEWS - February 11,
2003.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
HEADLINES
--------------------------------------------------------------------
AFP - Sacked
Phnom Penh governor to Myanmar ambassador
AFP -
Myanmar looks forward to more "free dialogue" with Amnesty
AP - Myanmar
denies rumours that private banks are bankrupt
AP - Thai
prime minister claims new understanding with Myanmar over suppression of the
drug trade
Reuters -
Thailand and Myanmar may revive "death railway"
FT -
Burma comes under attack from rights
group
Xinhua - Single
ASEAN member invests in Myanmar in first three quarters of 2002
Bkk Post - PM to
play mediator
Bkk Post - Cash
incentives for Burmese drug busts
Bkk Post -
Three-fold eradication deal
Asian Tribune -
Burmese Military gang-rape continues unabatedly, as International Red Cross
visits Shan State.
Asian Tribune -
Tokyo to host international conference on Myanmar
Asian Tribune -
Myanmar-Thailand agree to cooperate closely in key areas
IHT - The trouble
with a harder U.S. line on Burma
Asia Times -
Amnesty's Myanmar visit: A Yangon PR move?
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday February
11, 3:04 PM
Sacked Phnom Penh governor to Myanmar
ambassador
PHNOM PENH, Feb 11 (AFP) - The Cambodian government dismissed the
popular governor of Phnom Penh, saying Thai intelligence had accused
high-ranking officials of being behind anti-Thai riots in the city two weeks
ago.
The decision to dismiss Chea Sophara and make him ambassador
to Myanmar was taken late Monday at a meeting of the ruling Cambodian People's
Party (CPP), government spokesman Khieu Kanharith told AFP
Tuesday.
He gave no direct reason for the dismissal but said: "The
government changed the position of a few officials after Thai intelligence
accused some high-ranking Cambodian government officials of being behind the
riots against the Thai embassy and Thai businesses."
One Cambodian
was killed and eight people injured in the riots, which forced the evacuation of
Thailand's diplomats and 700 other Thai nationals. The violence was sparked by
unsubstantiated reports that a Thai actress had claimed the Angkor Wat temple
complex belonged to Thailand.
"There will be more officials who
will be disciplined in order to allow the government to investigate the
incidents that happened on the 29th of January," Khieu Kanharith
said.
He did not identify the officials, but said they had been put
on leave. "The government will keep the accused in one place so that the
government can investigate," Khieu Kanharith said.
A royal
statement read out on state radio said: "We, King Sihanouk of Cambodia, order
the appointment of Chea Sophara to position of ambassador extraordinary and
plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Cambodia to the Union of
Myanmar."
An emotional Chea Sophara told AFP: "You have already
heard what the radio said. I have no other comment beyond that." He was
appointed in November 1999 for a five-year term.
Chea Sophara, 51,
won praise during his term for transforming the capital of 1.2 million
inhabitants into a safer, cleaner, greener city.
He was considered
a rising star in Prime Minister Hun Sen's CPP.
The royal statement
said Keb Chutema, currently the governor of the southern Takeo province, would
be the new governor of Phnom Penh.
Opposition FUNCINPEC MP Princess
Norodom Vicheara said: "I believe this action may be involved with the event of
January 29. It is clearly 90 percent related to this event."
"This
act seems (intended) to satisfy Thailand and to make them see that we have
dismissed the people who are also responsible for that
event."
Thailand downgraded diplomatic relations with Phnom Penh
and recalled its ambassador to Bangkok following the riots, in which the Thai
embassy was sacked and other Thai interests damaged.
The damage
bill for Thai businesses alone was reportedly two billion baht (46.7 million
dollars).
Thai envoys arrived in Cambodia Monday to re-establish
their diplomatic mission, now at the level of charge d'affaires.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday February
11, 3:04 PM
Myanmar looks forward to more "free dialogue" with
Amnesty
YANGON, Feb 11 (AFP) - Myanmar said Tuesday it looked forward to
continuing "free and open dialogue" with Amnesty International after the rights
group made its first visit to the military-ruled country.
"The
trip was a positive step in developing constructive dialogue on human rights
issues, and we look forward to studying Amnesty International's recommendations
and observations," a government statement said.
"Amnesty
International's independence, honesty and integrity are well known throughout
the world, and their visit to Myanmar will, we hope, result in deeper
understanding of the issues facing our country.
"Myanmar welcomes
constructive commentary from the international community, and we look forward to
continuing the free and open dialogue with Amnesty International that began with
their visit."
Amnesty said after its 10-day trip which ended on
February 8 that it had been unhindered by authorities in Myanmar, with its
two-person delegation able to meet a wide range of officials and prisoners, as
well as pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
It said it had
several concerns about Myanmar's rights situation, with the visit focused on the
plight of 1,200-1,300 political prisoners, whom it said should be released, and
the administration of justice and policing.
The group also
expressed its aim to return to Myanmar, saying it viewed the visit as the start
of a process.
However hours after Amnesty's report back to
journalists in Bangkok Monday, Myanmar announced it had arrested 12 people,
mostly pro-democracy activists, for "anti-government activities", including the
alleged possession of anti-government literature.
Myanmar's
government has long been criticised for its poor human rights record, which
rights groups have said includes the detention of political prisoners, forced
labour, censorship and violations of religious freedom.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, February 11, 2003
Myanmar denies rumours that
private banks are bankrupt
YANGON, Myanmar
(AP) - In an apparent attempt to
quash rumors that several of Myanmar's private banks are heading into
bankruptcy, the central bank chairman said Monday that the country's properly
registered private banks are on firm financial ground.
"All 20
private banks established according to the Financial Institution laws have firm
financial standing and have the backing of the Central Bank of Myanmar,''
Central Bank Chairman Kyaw Kyaw Maung said at the government's regularly
scheduled press briefing.
His announcement followed rumors in
Myanmar that some local private banks are on the brink of bankruptcy. Many
customers have withdrawn their savings in the past few days.
"Banks are crowded and busy these days,'' said a teller at a
private bank who asked not to be named. "Many customers have withdrawn their
money in big amounts.''
Kyaw Kyaw Maung suggested that public
confidence might have been shaken by the collapse of about a dozen companies
that had illegally sold shares to the public, offering greater returns than the
interest given by banks.
Although such share sales are illegal,
the government has generally turned a blind eye to them, as it does with many
black and gray market activities that help spur economic activity.
Official reassurances of financial stability are typically
interpreted to mean the opposite by a cynical Myanmar public, which over the
years has seen the government make sudden and sometimes radical changes to the
financial system.
A 1987 demonetization led to anti-government
demonstrations that deposed the long-running rule of Gen. Ne Win, who had
imposed an idiosyncratic socialism on the country.
The military
rulers who eventually succeeded him liberalized the economy somewhat but have
failed to restore it to a healthy state.
In the mirror world of
many Myanmar citizens, rumors of problems were strengthened Sunday when
state-run newspapers reported a meeting of central bank officials with private
bank operators where it was explained that they had the firm backing of the
central bank in carrying out their business.
Analysts here have
suggested the root cause of any rush of withdrawals is a general lack of
confidence in private banks and minimal interest rates in relation to inflation.
Myanmar's economy is in a precarious state, and few outside
economists believe it has strong foreign reserves.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Thai prime minister claims new understanding with Myanmar
over suppression of the drug trade
BANGKOK,
Thailand (AP) _ Thai Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra returned Tuesday from a two-day trip to neighboring Myanmar,
saying he reached a new understanding with its military government on
suppression of the drug trade.
``I have talked in detail with my
Myanmar counterpart but cannot elaborate, but I can say that from now on
cooperation on drug suppression will be better,'' Thaksin told reporters on his
return.
Millions of methamphetamine pills and large quantities of
heroin are smuggled each year from Myanmar into Thailand, where health officials
estimate that more than 3 million of the country's 64 million people are
consuming methamphetamine. Thaksin's government has launched a nationwide
crackdown on drug traffickers.
Myanmar's rulers deny involvement
in the drug trade but often seem to turn a blind eye to drug production and
trafficking by minority groups along the Thai border. Critics say the military
has adopted a hands-off attitude to ensure peace with the groups, which used to
field guerrilla armies against the central government.
In apparent
reference to Yangon's relations to the minorities, Thaksin said he had also
discussed the issue of national reconciliation in talks with Senior Gen. Than
Shwe, head of the country's junta, but he gave no details.
Thaksin, accompanied by a 22-member entourage, was making his
second trip to Myanmar since becoming prime minister two years ago. Relations
between the two nations have been rocky, because of the drug trafficking issue
and because Myanmar accuses Thailand of helping to support ethnic minority
rebels.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday February 10, 9:28 PM
Thailand and Myanmar may
revive "death railway"
BANGKOK, Feb 10
(Reuters) - Thailand and
military-ruled Myanmar are considering rebuilding the infamous "death railway",
basis for the 1957 film, "Bridge on the River Kwai", to boost tourism, officials
said on Monday.
The
railway, still in operation over a short distance near the Thai town of
Kanchanaburi, 125 km (78 miles) west of Bangkok, cost the lives of tens of
thousands of allied prisoners of war and Asian slave labourers during World War
Two.
The Japanese imperial army had intended the railway to
connect the Malayan peninsula with Myanmar, then known as Burma, to supply its
troops in the region.
But construction took much longer than
anticipated as the forced labourers battled their way through dense jungle and
mountain passes in western Thailand and the line eventually stopped close to the
Myanmar border.
Speaking on Monday after a two-day trip to
Myanmar, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters the idea of the
railway could be revived to bring thousands of overseas visitors to both
countries.
"Myanmar has asked us to build a railway from
Kanchanaburi into Myanmar to promote trade and tourism," he told reporters.
Myanmar's pro-democracy National League for Democracy, led by
Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has said tourists should not go to the
country while it is military-ruled.
Several Western countries,
including the United States, have imposed economic sanctions on Myanmar, citing
human rights abuses including torture, forced labour and reports of the use of
rape by the army against ethnic minority women and girls.
Thaksin
did not say when the railway would be built or who would pay for its
construction.
Thaksin flew to Myanmar on Sunday to give his
backing to the battle against drug trafficking and smuggling and promote
cooperation along the border between the two countries.
He said
suppressing crime would support tourism and Thailand was prepared to help
mediate between Myanmar and some of the ethnic minority armies based along
drug-infested border.
Last year, simmering border tension resulted
in Thai and Myanmar troops exchanging fire, while the two neighbours accused
each other of backing rival drug-running ethnic groups.
Human
rights groups have criticised a Thai government anti-drugs crusade, which they
say has claimed around 100 lives since the beginning of this month.
On Monday, rights advocates Amnesty International said it was
worried Thaksin may try to persuade neighbouring countries, such as Myanmar, to
adopt Thailand's hardline approach to drugs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial
Times
Burma
comes under attack from rights group
By
Amy Kazmin in
Bangkok
Published: February 10
2003 21:46 | Last Updated:
February 10 2003 21:46
The human
rights group Amnesty International on Monday criticised Burma's military rulers
for operating a Dickensian judicial system in which suspects are held
incommunicado for weeks before trials and political prisoners are kept
incarcerated even after completing long prison sentences.
The
indictment came as the junta announced it had arrested 12 political activists
suspected of planning anti-government activities, such as the distribution of
critical fliers, protests and sabotage.
Those
arrested include seven low-level activists from Aung San Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy - which was barred from taking power after a 1990 election
victory - and Sai Nyunt Lwin, secretary-general of the Shan National League for
Democracy (SNLD), which also won seats in the 1990 poll.
In Bangkok on
Monday, Demelza Stubbings, Amnesty's Asia programme director, said the Burmese
junta still used laws dating back to Britain's colonial rule to arrest and
charge political activists. These include a 1908 law on unlawful associations
and the colonial era Official Secrets Act.
Burmese
police and prison officials are still using procedural manuals that date back to
the 19th century, and refuse to let detainees see a lawyer or their family
members until they are formally charged with a crime, a process that can take
weeks. "The standard operating procedure is in fact that anybody who is detained
would not have the right to access a lawyer unless and until charges have
actually been decided upon," Ms Stubbings said.
By the time
detainees are allowed to see a lawyer - which may be a little as five minutes
before their trial, one researcher said, they may have already made
incriminating statements. Amnesty has long accused the government of routinely
beating and otherwise torturing political prisoners before and after
trials.
"People are
extremely vulnerable," Ms Stubbings said on Monday. "They can be held
incommunicado - with no one knowing where they are - under severe duress and be
forced to say any kind of statement, which would then be used against them in a
court of law."
Political
prisoners are also frequently held in isolation, and denied reading and writing
materials.
Amnesty's
identification of "fundamental problems" of
Burma's justice
system came after a 10-day fact-finding mission to
Rangoon, the first time Amnesty
researchers have officially visited
Burma, after
more than a decade of requests.
The team met
ministers, the attorney-general, and mid-level police and prison officers. They
also had private interviews with current and former political prisoners, and a
"cordial" two-hour meeting with Ms Suu Kyi.
Ms Suu Kyi's
own release from house arrest last May had raised hopes that the generals were
planning to loosen their control over the country, but since then, the junta has
lost interest in any substantive dialogue with her on a political
transition.
While the
decision to allow the Amnesty visit surprised some, a Rangoon-based diplomat
said the government may be trying to improve its image by appearing more open to
public scrutiny.
The diplomat
said: "They thought this would be a public relations positive for them with very
little downside."
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Single ASEAN member invests in Myanmar in first three
quarters of 2002
YANGON, Feb 11, 2003
(Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Myanmar
received contracted foreign investment from only a single member country of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)--Malaysia in the first three
quarters of 2002, the latest data of the official Economic Indicators
show.
Malaysia's 44 million US dollars of investment were put into
the country's oil and gas project.
During the same period of 2001,
there were four ASEAN members investing in the country -- Thailand, Singapore,
Malaysia and Indonesia.
ASEAN members used to be Myanmar's largest
foreign investors.
Besides the sharp drop of the regional
investment during the first three quarters of 2002, the same happened with that
from other countries and regions with 1.52 million coming from China's Hong Kong
only, making up a total of only 45.52 million of foreign investment brought
about during the period, a drop of 10.7 percent from the corresponding period of
the previous year.
According to official statistics, since opening
up to the outside world in late 1988, Myanmar had drawn 7,443.7 million dollars
of contracted foreign investment in 374 projects as of September 2002, of which
ASEAN took up 3,844 million or 51.64 percent.
Out of 25 countries
and regions investing in Myanmar, major investors were lined up as Singapore
(1,507 million), the United Kingdom (1,401 million), Thailand (1,289 million)
and Malaysia ( 639.5 million), taking up 20.24 percent, 18.82 percent, 17.31
percent and 8.59 percent of the total foreign investment
respectively.
Meanwhile, since March 2002, the Myanmar government
introduced a new measure which restricted foreign investment by stopping issue
of import and export permits to Myanmar-based wholly-owned foreign trading
companies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Post - Tuesday 11 February
2003
PM to play mediator
Offers to bring rebels to talks
with junta
Post reporters
Rangoon has agreed to let
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra help persuade its ethnic rebels to come to the
negotiating table, defence sources said yesterday.
A source close
to Defence Minister Thammarak Isarangkura na Ayudhya said it was the prime
minister's own initiative to help bring about national reconciliation in Burma,
hoping it would help solve problems along Thailand's common border with
Burma.
Mr Thaksin was convinced that if Burmese ethnic rebels
agreed to end their armed struggle as part of a national reconciliation process,
law and order and prosperity would eventually come to Thai-Burmerse border
areas, a security officer said.
``In the long run, that would help
solve the problems of drug trafficking and illegal workers,'' he added. The
officer said a panel woud be formed to work out details and help coordinate
talks with leading ethnic rebels in Burma.
On his return from Burma
yesterday, Mr Thaksin said, ``Burma is pleased to let us play a supportive role
(in bringing about national reconciliation)''.
The premier said he
raised the issue of ethnic rebels operating along the Thai-Burmese border for
discussion with his Burmese counterpart, Senior General Than Shwe, during his
two-day official visit to Burma.
There are now five minority groups
still fighting against Rangoon. Among them the Shan State Army, under Col Yawd
Serk, and the Karen National Union, led by Gen Byo Mya, are regarded as the
strongest.
The three other groups are the Karenni National
Progressive Party, the Arakan Liberation Party and the Kachin National
Front.
Col Yawd Serk once said truce talks with Rangoon were
unlikely if Rangoon did not drop its demand that the SSA lay down its arms
first.
Mr Thaksin said Gen Thammarak would soon go to Burma to
discuss ways to implement his proposal.
During his visit, Mr
Thaksin spent nearly 30 minutes talking in private with Gen Than Shwe and Lt-Gen
Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the ruling State Peace and Development
Council.
Gen Than Shwe reportedly told Mr Thaksin of Rangoon's wish
to help Thailand fight drugs along their common border.
``The trip
has helped strengthen confidence between our two countries,'' said a leading
army officer in Mr Thaksin's delegation to Burma.
Sunai Pasuk, a
political analyst with the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, said Mr
Thaksin's idea of playing a mediator had yet to be made
concrete.
Trust was required from both Rangoon and the ethnic
groups. However, the Thaksin government's tough stance towards those ethnic
groups made it doubtful they would be willing to deal with Thai mediators, Mr
Sunai said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Post - Tuesday 11 February
2003
Cash incentives for Burmese drug busts
Rewards
could be paid across border
Temsak Traisophon
Thailand is considering paying cash rewards to Burmese troops who
help seize drugs from smugglers.
Interior Minister Wan Muhamad Nor
Matha said the idea was floated by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who
returned yesterday from a visit to Burma.
Police and informers in
Thailand are already being offered three baht for each methamphetamine pill
seized, up to one million baht. This could be extended to troops of neighbouring
countries for suppression efforts which lead to the seizure of illicit
drugs.
In addition, a 30% share of the value of subsequently seized
assets could also be offered, Mr Wan Nor said. He believed doing this would help
in the war against drug trafficking.
He said he would leave it to
Mr Thaksin to explain the proposal.
Mr Thaksin is expected to brief
cabinet today on his weekend trip to Burma and talks with junta
leaders.
Senior interior officials and representatives from the
Narcotics Control Board met yesterday to discuss anti-drug measures, Mr Wan Nor
said.
He expected the interior permanent secretary to provide a
list tomorrow of the 10 provinces with the biggest number of drug traffickers,
and the 10 provinces with the least.
All provincial governors had
also been instructed to report on the progress of the drug suppression campaign.
Inspectors-general would be sent to check on progress.
Prasart
Pongsiwapai, deputy chief of the Local Administration Department, said 55
provinces had already filed reports. He was concerned over the lack of
experience by some provinces in dealing with dealers and addicts who surrendered
to authorities.
It was also proposed that governors who performed
well in drug suppression be paid a 150,000-baht reward, and outstanding district
chiefs 100,000 baht each.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Post - Tuesday 11 February
2003
Three-fold eradication deal
Burmese premier to help
monitor progress
Yuwadee Tunyasiri Wassana Nanuam
Thailand and Burma have agreed on ``interrelated''
frameworks of cooperation to stamp out drug production and trafficking once and
for all, said Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
After returning
from his weekend official visit to Burma yesterday Mr Thaksin explained the drug
eradication frameworks were three-fold.
First, the bilateral
cooperation would be aimed at forging peace on the common border. Relentless
fighting waged by Burmese ethnic minorities spurred drug trade as the rebels
produced and trafficked drugs to finance the war.
The quest for a
peaceful border would also need the leaders of the minority rebels at the
negotiating table.
Mr Thaksin said the commercial development of
border areas would also be emphasised. Job creation would also lessen the number
of alien workers slipping into Thailand, and once the border population was
legally employed, few would then turn to the drugs trade.
Their
cooperation would also expand into a crop substitution programme whereby locals
would be motivated to grow flowers and vegetables in place of drug-producing
plants.
The second framework would involve a macro-economic
collaboration to improve Burma's infrastructures.
For example, a
road would be built to link Burma with India and Bangladesh.
The
State Railway of Thailand had yet to study the feasibility of rail connection
with Burma through the Three Pagoda Pass in Kanchanaburi. Tourism cooperation
was also to be enhanced.
On the third framework, the prime minister
said a collective effort would be made to correct Burma's negative image
perpetuated by drugs dealing and ethnic hostility.
A clean image in
the eye of the international community would attract investment and alleviate
poverty.
Once people were less poor, they would not be compelled to
escape hardship by working as illegal migrant workers in
Thailand.
Mr Thaksin said the three frameworks would complement one
another and would present as a long-term solution to the bilateral problems that
marred both countries' stability.
The premier said Rangoon was
thankful that the government had provided satellite photos of drug production
areas. The two governments had discussed the process and means of weeding out
drugs in depth but details were kept secret.
Mr Thaksin said the
dialogues had been successful and policies would be passed in close coordination
down the echelons of power for implementation.
Prime Minister Gen
Than Shwe would himself monitor the progress of the policy implementation, Mr
Thaksin said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Asian Tribune
Date : 2003-02-11
Burmese Military gang-rape continues unabatedly, as International
Red Cross visits Shan State.
Chinag Mai, Feb 11 :
The Shan Women's Action Network in its latest press release has alleged that the
Military gang-rape occurs as International Red Cross visits Shan State.
According to the press release issued by SWAN, On January 30,
2003, the same day a team of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
was visiting Central Shan State, a woman was gang-raped only a few miles away by
troops of the Burmese military regime, local villagers have
reported.
The incident occurred in a village near the town of
Laikha, when a patrol of troops from a military base at Kho Lam detained the
35-year-old Shan woman in her house. She was gang-raped by eight soldiers in the
presence of her four children.
The ICRC, which spent several days
in the Laikha area, was conducting its second visit in two months to Central
Shan State to assess the conditions of the local population. Their policy is not
to publicly expose human rights violations, but to raise issues confidentially
with relevant authorities.
"We are very disturbed that such abuses
are continuing under the very noses of international monitors," said Nang Mo Lao
of the ShanWomen's Action Network. "It throws into serious doubt the regime's
sincerity about reform."
On January 30, representatives of Amnesty
International were also allowed into Burma for the first time by the regime, but
did not travel to Shan State.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Asian Tribune
Date : 2003-02-11
Tokyo to host international conference on
Myanmar
yangon, Feb. 11: An international
conference aimed at facilitating restoration of democratic rule in Myanmar will
be held Saturday in Tokyo under the auspices of the United Nations, diplomatic
sources said Monday.
The sources said participants in the
closed-door conference to be held at the U.N. University in central Tokyo will
include government representatives of Japan, members of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and Western countries such as the United
States, Australia and Britain. (Kyodo News)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Asian Tribune
Date : 2003-02-11
Myanmar-Thailand agree to cooperate closely in key
areas
Bangkok, Feb. 10 (TNA): Myanmar and Thailand
have agreed to cooperate closely in three key areas, according to Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra.
Thaksin told TNA reporter on Monday here after
returning from his official visit to Myanmar that the Myanmar and Thai
governments had agreed on a cooperative framework under which the two
neighbouring countries would work closely in three key areas, including border,
economic, and international affairs.
The agreement was reached
during bilateral talks between the Thai leader and Gen. Than Shwe, Chairman of
Myanmar's ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) in Rangoon, where
the former paid his two-day official visit, scheduled between February 9 and
10.
"The three areas will support one another. Gen. Than Shwe and I
agreed to jointly monitor and evaluate the agreed cooperation closely", said the
Premier.
"From now on, there will be more exchange visits between
Myanmar and Thai cabinet ministers to follow up projects under the cooperative
framework, which will then be closely monitored and evaluated by Gen. Than Shwe
and me", added the Thai leader.
Thaksin said that bilateral
cooperation in border issues would cover those concerning security, drugs
problems, and illegal immigrants, aimed to promote peace and
order.
"To achieve the goal of lasting peace and order along the
border, fighting among ethnic groups in Myanmar border towns must stop. I've
authorized Defence Minister Gen. Thammarak Isarangura na Ayudhya to take the
mediation role in bringing reconciliation to Myanmar. Rangoon has accepted the
key role of our defence minister", he said.
Rangoon had pledged to
fully cooperate with Thailand in drugs crackdown, as Thailand would assist
Myanmar farmers in the plantation of economic crops to substitute drugs crops,
he noted.
The Myanmar military junta also expressed its willingness
to accept illegal Myanmar workers who would be repatriated from Thailand, as the
Thai government would implement measures to support more job creation along the
border, and would import more products from Myanmar, said the Thai
leader.
In the economic area, bilateral cooperation would be
focused on the development of infrastructure in Myanmar and communication links,
namely a highway linking Thailand with India through Myanmar and another one
linking Chiang Mai with Malamang in Myanmar, and a railroad running from
Thailand through Kanchanaburi province to border towns in Myanmar, Thaksin told
the reporter.
The two neighbours would also cooperate in tourism,
with agencies concerned of both countries would jointly work out on cooperative
projects, he said.
"The two countries will also cooperate in trade,
particularly account trade, and energy projects, as Myanmar has planned to open
a water-based power plant near the border and has welcomed a joint venture with
Thai investors", he noted.
In the international area, Thailand
would help improve Myanmar's image in the international community so that more
foreign investment projects would pour in the country, leading to better
economic conditions and improved standard of living of Myanmar people, Thaksin
said. adding that better economic conditions would eventually help address the
problem of illegal immigrants from Myanmar.
"To achieve the goal,
Myanmar and Thailand have agreed to jointly crack down drugs problems. Thailand
will also assist Myanmar in addressing conflicts with its armed ethnic groups to
stop fighting along the border", the Thai leade stressed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The International Herald Tribune
The trouble with a
harder U.S. line on Burma
David
I. Steinberg IHT
Tuesday, February 11, 2003
RANGOON American policy toward Burma, relaxed a year ago in
an effort to encourage progress toward reform, has been hardened again. But the
tough new U.S. stance is undercutting moderates in the Burmese regime who were
trying to soften military rule and improve relations with Washington. The Bush
administration should reconsider.
.
Before American policy eased, the U.S.
position was to insist that Burma's military rulers respect the outcome of the
general elections in 1990, which were convincingly won by the opposition
National League for Democracy.
.
The softening of America's position was
followed by the release from house arrest of the Nobel Peace Prize winner Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi, who heads the league.
.
The United States also sought to
work with Burma to suppress narcotics trafficking. The Bush administration
allowed a senior Burmese military officer to visit Washington to discuss
conditions under which Burma could be certified for showing significant progress
in cutting narcotics production, thus complying with the U.S. anti-narcotics
law.
.
The Burmese military, according to United Nations sources, has
reduced the growing of opium which was being smuggled in refined form as heroin
to the United States and other foreign markets. There clearly was a concerted
effort by Burma to accommodate American concerns and satisfy the Bush
administration. The Burmese military also supported the U.S. campaign in the
region to fight terrorism.
.
The release of Aung San Suu Kyi in May 2002
raised expectations that reconciliation talks between the military and the
opposition would begin. But there is no evidence the talks have been held - and
if they were, they have certainly produced no results. This has caused
widespread frustration in the international community.
.
The Bush
administration has responded by refusing to certify that Burma made progress in
suppressing the narcotics trade. The United States has also threatened to
increase sanctions, especially on Burma's textile and garment exports to
America, which amounted to some $420 million in 2001. The U.S. hardening has
reinforced the trench mentality among senior Burmese military leaders who want
to end accommodation with the West. The most senior Burmese general traveled to
China a few weeks ago to sign a $200 million soft loan package and get a grant
of $5 million. Chinese penetration of Burma, already extensive and of concern to
nearby Asian nations and Japan, will grow.
.
But Burma is also cultivating
improved diplomatic and economic ties with its neighbors India, Bangladesh and
Thailand. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand will visit Rangoon
soon.
.
The aim of Burma's military is to reduce reliance on the West. But
this will likely damage the economy and increase poverty.
.
The Bush
administration now agrees that it must talk, even negotiate, with North Korea.
It already does this with China and Vietnam, governments that, like Burma, are
repressive. To have influence in Burma and promote political reform, the United
States must engage with Rangoon as well as Pyongyang.
.
The
writer directs Asian Studies in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown
University in Washington.
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Asia Times - Feb 12, 2003
Amnesty's
Myanmar visit: A Yangon PR move?
By Marwaan
Macan-Markar
BANGKOK - Amnesty International, which on
the weekend concluded its first-ever visit to Myanmar, called on the military
government on Monday to release all political prisoners as proof that it is
serious about improving the country's human-rights climate.
In
addition, Yangon's ruling junta should press ahead with changing the harsh laws
- some dating back to the late 19th century - that have contributed to the easy
incarceration of political activists, the global rights lobby added.
Amnesty's appeal came after a 10-day trip to Myanmar, which began
on January 30 and ended on Saturday, that the London-based body sees as the
initial effort to draft a roadmap for future human-rights investigations in that
Southeast Asian country.
"We see our visit as the start of a
process. We are not miracle workers," Demelza Stubbings, Amnesty's Asia-Pacific
program director, told the media at a news conference here. "We felt on the
basis of our initial visit that there is merit in our return."
This visit also enabled Stubbings and a colleague, Donna Guest,
the rights lobby's researcher on Myanmar, to affirm that Yangon's rulers have
shown some heart toward improving prison conditions in recent years.
"Since 1999, the authorities in Myanmar have made significant
improvements in conditions of detention in many facilities throughout the
country," said Stubbings.
That, she confirmed, was based on the
interviews the Amnesty team conducted with select political prisoners from the
nearly 1,300 people incarcerated in Myanmar jails and detention centers for
their political beliefs.
But a former Myanmese political prisoner
disagrees with Amnesty's reading. "I have a problem with Amnesty's assessment
that prison conditions have improved since 1999," said Zin Linn, who spent eight
years in solitary confinement in Yangon's notorious Insein prison from 1991-97.
"Last year, four political prisoners died in jail because they did
not get medical treatment in time," added Linn, who escaped to Thailand in 2001
to avoid being arrested for political activities by the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), as Myanmar's military government is officially
known.
"But I cannot blame Amnesty for going. They have a mandate
and I understand their position," he said. "If they can get beyond the upper
level of the SPDC system, penetrate deeper, they will understand the atrocities
being committed."
By focusing on the plight of the political
prisoners during this ground-breaking visit, Amnesty underscored a key concern:
the judicial system and political culture that prevails in Myanmar.
The visit confirmed that "policing, trial procedures and
conditions of detention fall short of international law and standards", said
Stubbings, adding that "many of the laws and directives - which have the status
of law - criminalize the exercise of certain fundamental human rights, including
freedom of _expression_, association and assembly".
Typical of such
laws is a section in Myanmar's 1975 State Protection Law that grants those
holding executive authority to detain persons and also denies the detained
person legal aid to challenge the detention.
The political
environment that surrounds Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's opposition leader, also
offers a pointer about rights violations. The Amnesty team expressed concern
about the Nobel Peace Prize winner's "inability to move around" and the
intimidating environment that visitors to Suu Kyi - they are photographed by the
authorities - find themselves in when they go to see her.
For
Amnesty, the laws that have contributed to such an environment - those
criminalizing freedom of assembly - are out of step with international
human-rights standards, as are some other laws, such as the Emergency Provision
Act and the Official Secrets Act.
Of late, the Myanmese junta has
been under pressure after reports last year that the armed forces had raped
close to 625 women and girls in the country's eastern Shan state, where
government troops are fighting a Shan rebel group. In addition, Yangon has also
been accused of child conscription, with one study alleging that Myanmar had
70,000 child soldiers, the highest number in the world.
On top of
that is the SPDC's notorious record on freedom of _expression_, its harsh
treatment of human-rights defenders - including imprisoning lawyers for taking
human-rights cases - and forced labor.
According to Guest, the
Myanmar researcher, Amnesty will use the current opening it has in Myanmar to
influence change in a range of human-rights violations. "We would expect to be
making regular visits over a longer period of time. We are doing this because we
hope that we can make a difference."
It is a process that will be
carefully scrutinized by Myanmese in exile, including Linn, since they are
deeply suspicious of the SPDC's motives to open its doors to a group that it has
regularly "attacked in the government newspapers".
"We were amazed
when the SPDC approved the Amnesty visit," he confessed. "We still think this
invitation was to use Amnesty for the sake of mending the SPDC's bad reputation
internationally."
Myanmese exiles maintained a similar view after
a visit to their country in October by Paulo Pinheiro, the United Nations
human-rights envoy to Myanmar. On that occasion, Pinheiro pressed the junta to
enable independent investigations into a host of rights violations.
To date, Myanmar has still to see the signs of an independent,
impartial and effective investigation along the lines Pinheiro envisaged.
(Inter Press Service)
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