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BURMA RELATED NEWS - April 08,
2003.
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HEADLINES
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AFP - Aung San Suu
Kyi and Myanmar junta just aren't talking, say analysts
AFP - British
embassy in Myanmar mum over protestor
ABC online - Red
Cross wants more access to eastern Burma
Bkk Post - Suu Kyi
and democracy divide junta's generals
Bkk Post -
Editorial - Rangoon refuses to keep its word
StockHouse -
Myanmar Gold Property to be Negotiated
Xinhuanet - SARS
panic to affect Thai tourism only in short term: official
Xinhuanet - Japan
extends more aid for Myanmar's drug control project
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Tuesday April 8,
1:38 PM
Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar junta just aren't talking, say
analysts
YANGON, April 8 (AFP) - Nearly a year after the release of Aung San
Suu Kyi, the hopes of seeing the opposition leader begin a political dialogue
with Myanmar's military junta appear dashed.
The pro-democracy
campaigner and the generals are just not talking to each other, analysts and
diplomats say.
Last May 6, the slight yet charismatic 56-year-old
was released from 19 months of house arrest. The jubilant scenes were recorded
by the world's media.
But since the symbolic release, praised in
major capitals, the Nobel peace laureate has been unable to start the
much-heralded reconciliation talks she had wished to launch "within a few weeks"
of her freedom.
The dialogue was to have come on the heels of talks
opened secretly between the junta and its former arch-enemy in late 2000, with
help from Razali Ismail, the UN secretary general's special envoy to
Myanmar.
"There has been no substantive contact since she has been
released," said one Western diplomat in Yangon. "The process has stalled, they
(the generals) are very entrenched."
"It is possible that nothing
takes place for months, years even."
An Asian diplomat concurred:
"There is a kind of emptiness in their relations, clearly an
impasse".
For Yangon-based observers, the explanation for the
stagnation lies with Senior General Than Shwe, the regime's number one, who is
seen to loathe easing his absolute grip on power.
"The reason is
Than Shwe. Than Shwe is the big obstacle," said the Western diplomat. "He is not
prepared to go ahead with it, this is increasingly clear."
A marked
change in attitude among the generals appeared to follow the visit to Myanmar
last year by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
"Things
turned around when Mahathir came last August," the diplomat added. "Since his
visit it seems to have dried up."
A Yangon-based expert said that
while Mahathir is deemed one of the junta's few allies, he was refused a chance
to meet Aung San Suu Kyi.
"Than Shwe understood that if they could
do this to Mahathir, then..," said the expert, adding that after his last visit
Mahathir told Razali he "had doubts about the junta's
sincerity."
The indefatigable Razali, who has already completed
nine missions to Myanmar and is himself a close advisor to the Malaysian leader,
has failed to visit Yangon on four attempts since the beginning of the year,
having been told his hosts "were busy," the expert said.
He
"doesn't come here because they have nothing to offer him," he added. "There is
no element that could make us feel a will that they want to move towards a
democratic state."
Since May 2002, the generals have been content
to let Aung San Suu Kyi move about the country to meet her party's supporters,
although of late they have been hassling her and her
followers.
They have released a trickle of political prisoners
while making new arrests.
Events around the globe are serving
Myanmar's leaders well.
The junta has always "played for time,"
experts say, and is probably not unhappy to see world attention focusing on
Iraq.
Yangon, in the meantime, is leading a diplomatic charm
offensive in its neighbourhood, exchanging high-level visits in recent months
with China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Thailand.
For the experts, it
was a way of Yangon saying: "We don't have the plague."
Aung San
Suu Kyi, for her part, has softened on several issues, including foreign aid,
after witnessing the misery in rural areas during her upcountry
trips.
Recently she extended a hand to the military by making it
clear they could retain a role in a democratic Myanmar.
"She has
made overtures... the NLD (her National League for Democracy party) has gone
more than halfway," one Western diplomat said.
Yet ultimately it
appears the lady "has little room for maneuvre," the expert
said.
"She has exceptional patience, but because of her non-violent
stance she cannot call on her people to rise up," he added.
"She is
adored by the people, she is considered as the only hope. She has the
legitimacy, both because of the 1990 elections and her lineage," he said,
referring to elections in which the NLD earned a massive victory and her status
as the daughter of independence hero Aung San, who was assassinated in
1947.
"The situation is totally blocked," another diplomat said.
"Everything which has been done for the last 10 or 15 years -- sanctions,
pressures -- has brought nothing, or hardly anything."
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Tuesday April 8, 6:43 PM
British embassy in Myanmar mum over protestor
YANGON, April 8 (AFP) - The British embassy in military-ruled
Myanmar remained silent Tuesday over a protestor who fled there last week to
avoid arrest, in order to protect those involved, a source close to the embassy
said.
The protestor sought refuge in the embassy Friday when
authorities arrested another man he was demonstrating with, according to the
country's junta.
"The embassy at the moment is not making any
official statement regarding the incident to protect the safety of the people
involved," said a source linked to the embassy.
British diplomats
have declined to confirm the protestor was inside the mission, but one told AFP
that a "very brief pro-democracy protest" had occurred outside the embassy
Friday.
A junta statement released soon after the incident said
authorities suspected the two men of being linked to a March 27 bomb blast in
downtown Yangon which killed two government workers.
During the
protest, the pair allegedly waved flags emblazoned with fighting peacocks, a
traditional symbol of resistance to military rule in Myanmar, and disturbed the
peace by shouting.
Demonstrations are strictly banned in Myanmar,
but individuals occasionally flout the law, usually by protesting against the
ongoing rule of the regime.
In January two Buddhist nuns were
arrested in Yangon after they protested the rising cost of living.
The junta maintains an iron-tight grip on Myanmar, despite Aung
San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) winning a landslide election
victory in 1990.
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Red Cross wants more access to eastern Burma
08/04/2003 12:14:15 | ABC Radio Australia
News
The International Committee of the Red Cross
says it's trying to convince Burma's military government to extend the areas of
the country the relief agency is able to visit near the Thai border.
Last November, the ICRC was allowed into the eastern areas for the
first time to provide protection for people in villages and check on conditions
in prisons or labour camps there.
The areas in Shan and Kayin
states are riven by conflict between the military and rebel or ethnic
groups.
An ICRC official says they wanted to move deeper into the
areas as well as into the north of Karen state.
It says visits to
about 80 prisons, labour camps, agricultural camps and road building sites in
Burma since May 1999 were having a positive impact on conditions
there.
Burma's junta has long been criticised for its poor human
rights record, which rights groups and western governments have said includes
forced labour, censorship and violations of religious freedom.
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Bangkok Post - Tuesday 08 April
2003
Suu Kyi and democracy divide junta's generals
Burma's senior general can't even bear to hear the name of the
opposition leader, but some of those around him now accept they may have to
accommodate some sort of democratic shift.
LARRY
JAGAN
Burma's political future is at a crucial
crossroads. The dialogue between the generals and opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi has stalled.
The substantive political talks so badly needed if
the country's political deadlock is to be broken seem further away than ever,
and Burma's fragile reconciliation is now in danger of complete
collapse.
``The secret talks between the NLD [National League for
Democracy] and the military regime are on the verge of disintegrating, and the
country's political deadlock that existed prior to Aung San Suu Kyi's detention
two years ago is returning,'' a Western diplomat based in Rangoon said last
week.
Burma's top leader, Senior General Than Shwe, is convinced
that the military government did more than it needed to to accommodate the
pro-democracy opposition when it released the NLD leader from house arrest last
May.
He also believes Burma has slipped from international
attention because of the Iraq conflict, and the United States in particular will
have its hands full for some time and so is unlikely to be too concerned about
the lack of progress towards political reform in Burma. He told a cabinet
meeting in February that Burma was only fifth on the US hate list and so had
little to worry about.
``It appears the generals are going to
ignore international pressure for political change and stick it out in the hope
that international attention is so preoccupied with the Iraq war that the world
will have little appetite to pay Burma much attention in the coming months,'' a
senior Asian diplomat said.
But there are signs that some of
Burma's military leaders may be beginning to realise that their time is running
out.
``Many key generals _ like the military intelligence chief
General Khin Nyunt _ know the current political deadlock cannot continue much
longer without dire consequences for themselves,'' a Western diplomat in Rangoon
said.
Many of these military leaders saw the start of the dialogue
process as a possible guarantee the army would have a long-term role in the
country's political future. Now they realise the talks are falling apart, and
with them their continued grasp on power.
Whereas Gen Than Shwe has
no intention of starting concrete political talks with the opposition leader,
many others are desperate for cooperation and dialogue. This rift between
Burma's top general and other key members of the military government is likely
to worsen in the coming months.
For Gen Than Shwe, the release of
Ms Suu Kyi nearly a year ago was an end in itself, not a step towards direct
negotiations with the opposition leader.
Military sources close to
the general say he loathes the NLD leader, and refuses to even have her name
mentioned in his presence.
``The very mention of her name throws
the senior general into a fit,'' one senior Asian diplomat said. ``During the
Asean [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] summit in Phnom Penh last month,
Asian leaders like Japanese Prime Minister [Junichiro] Koizumi were advised not
to mention her name during their bilateral meetings.'' Even the UN envoy Razali
Ismail was reportedly asked to minimise the number of times he used her name
during his meeting with the senior general on his last visit to
Rangoon.
Since Ms Suu Kyi's release, Gen Than Shwe has exercised
total power over all matters related to the dialogue and refuses to budge.
``It's quite clear now that the dialogue process is in crisis and
only Than Shwe can save it,'' a senior United Nations official in New York said
recently. Even the intelligence chief has no authority to act. He told the UN's
Mr Ismail when he last visited Burma that he no longer had a
mandate.
But it is also becoming clear that Gen Than Shwe's
assumption of total political and military power, and the corresponding
political stalemate, has created substantial unease amongst the country's other
top generals. They have begun to recognise that the lack of political progress
may endanger their long-term survival.
Gen Khin Nyunt has told
international visitors to Rangoon, like the United Nations envoys Mr Razali and
special rapporteur on human rights in Burma Paulo Pinheiro, repeatedly that he
is powerless to influence the country's political future.
Gen Than
Shwe has maintained his grasp on power by playing his subordinates off against
each other. He is adept at using the personal animosity between General Maung
Aye and Gen Khin Nyunt to his advantage.
``But in the last few
months the two have begun to find a common cause _ to ease Than Shwe out of
power,'' a Rangoon-based diplomat said. While a coup within the army is highly
unlikely, the growing divisions between the country's top leaders over talks
with the opposition leader may lead to changes of policy.
In the
meantime, the ``reformers'' in the military grouped around Gen Khin Nyunt and
the Foreign Ministry _ those who accept that the situation in Burma cannot
continue and change is essential _ are telling their Asian counterparts and
diplomats in Rangoon that Burma is facing a major crisis in coming months if
there is no political progress in the dialogue process soon.
``Time
is running out for us,'' one minister told diplomats in Rangoon recently. ``Our
only chance of preventing the country collapsing into an economic and
humanitarian crisis is progress in the dialogue process.'' That doesn't look
likely as long as the senior general is calling all the shots.
The
rift between the army and military intelligence is still under control for the
time being. But that may not last much longer.
A recent sign of the
friction clearly emerged during the abortive mission to Rangoon last month by
the UN's Mr Pinheiro. He left the country after finding a listening device in
the room at Insein jail in which he was interviewing political prisoners.
``It was so inept that it was obviously meant to be discovered,''
he told the Bangkok Post after he'd flown out of Rangoon.
Some
members of the cabinet and of military intelligence were shocked when the envoy
informed them. ``They were clearly aghast that this incident had taken place,
and certainly didn't know about it beforehand,'' a senior UN official said.
What makes this incident even more intriguing is the fact that the
intelligence chief, Gen Khin Nyunt, had agreed in principle to Mr Pinheiro's
proposals to conduct his own comprehensive assessment of alleged human rights
violations in Shan state, where the army stands accused of systematically raping
ethnic women.
The army would certainly not fare well from any
investigation of alleged atrocities in the ethnic border areas. Its top leaders
would surely oppose any independent investigation, let alone what could well be
the most comprehensive human rights investigation into the army's human rights
conduct since an International Labour Organisation report two years
ago.
Diplomats in Rangoon believe the army was behind the
amateurish bugging attempt, which may have been intended to put an end to the
planned investigation. At the very least it reveals the deep-rooted divisions
within the military over the need for political reform.
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Bangkok Post - Tuesday 08 April
2003
Editorial - Rangoon refuses to keep its word
The dictators who reign supreme over Burma
continue to work against their own country, and there seems no way to make them
realise how ruinous their actions have become. Their latest action showed the
apparently limitless contempt they have even for honest friends dedicated to
bringing Burma to a rational and peaceful road.
The generals
welcomed Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, United Nations special human rights rapporteur,
to Rangoon. They told him he could speak in confidence with political prisoners
and opposition leaders. Then they bugged his conversations with secret
microphones. This is the way they treat international diplomats who seek to help
them.
It is well known how Burmese leaders treat those who
disagree. Yet another international organisation concluded last week that the
Burmese army has systematically raped women from minority groups in the north of
the country. The United Nations has called on Burma to release entirely peaceful
prisoners, who have been arrested and detained without legal charges and often
tortured.
The true offence by the military leaders in Rangoon is
their refusal to look ahead. One looks in vain for the slightest hint that these
privileged generals are committed to making Burma free, democratic and a
civilised member of the world community.
The regime has held an
election and refused to honour the results, convened a constitutional convention
to study a half-finished document that now is more than 10 years old. The regime
has promised to engage the Burmese people, including the peaceful opposition, in
negotiations on a free, democratic future. The generals promised that in 1988,
and they promised it again last year. That was when they released democratic
leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest once again. Ms Suu Kyi is a legitimate
political figure, and leader of the party which won the elections. She and the
United Nations agree the junta has never been interested in discussions on the
future of the country.
Meanwhile, Burma exists as a threat to its
own people, an embarrassment to fellow Asean members and a danger to its
neighbours. The deeply embedded, extensive drug dealing by friends of the regime
and protected, influential national figures have caused some to charge the
generals of heading a drugs-addicted regime, or worse. Old and new drug
traffickers are honoured citizens under the generals. They have enriched
themselves, laundered their drug money with impunity in Rangoon, and caused
untold misery and security threats in India, China, Bangladesh and, most of all,
Thailand.
Mr Pinheiro said last month after the generals humiliated
him by bugging his privileged conversations that reconciliation talks in Burma
are going nowhere. The well-meaning but helpless Malaysian Ismail Razali has
finally stopped apologising for the regime. His assignment from UN headquarters
is to ease the generals out of office and help to switch the country to a
decent, accountable system. The regime has kept Mr Razali out of Burma recently.
He has recently begun to take his assignment more seriously, and has allowed a
touch of displeasure to tinge his comments on the dictatorship. Having slapped
Mr Pinheiro, Rangoon must decide whether to accept Mr Razali in a false show of
cooperation with the UN, or slap the world body as a
whole.
Thailand needs to have civilised diplomatic relations with
Burma because of the common border. Beyond that, the government should do
nothing to facilitate the cruelty of Rangoon to its people, or to make the junta
appear acceptable. If the Burmese rulers show their contempt of the UN, of
Thailand and of other neighbours, those countries should make it clear that help
and respect for Burma is hardly possible.
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StockHouse.com
Myanmar Gold Property
to be Negotiated
4/7/03
Harvey D. Dick,
President of In-Sync Industries Inc., is pleased to report that the Company has
signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Leeward Capital Corp., ('Leeward') to
participate in the acquisition, exploration and development of the Set Ga Done
gold prospect located in Shan State, Union of Myanmar.
The
proposed acquisition covers 700 sq. km. and is located in NE Shan State across
the Myanmar border from Yunnan Province in China.
Under the MOU,
the Company will advance US$50,000 as a refundable performance bank guarantee to
the government and expend the first US$200,000 in acquisition and exploration
costs to earn a 50% interest in the property with Leeward after which all costs
will be shared equally.
The Government of the Union of Myanmar
will hold 20% net carried working interest. The Company and Leeward will each
hold a 40% working interest. The Company expects it will take up to two months
for the granting of the concession and therefore work cannot start until later
this year.
The Company expects to have geological and engineering
data available from previous work done on the property which indicated a
potential resource of gold mineralization.
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SARS panic to affect Thai tourism only in short term:
official
Xinhuanet 2003-04-08 16:13:59
BANGKOK, April 8 (Xinhuanet) -- The severe acute respiratory
syndrome (SARS), will affect the Thai tourism industry only in the short run, as
the government is working out measures to address the problem, Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra said here Tuesday.
Before attending the weekly
cabinet meeting, Thaksin said that measures to ease tourists' panic and build up
their confidence that Thailand is a SARS-free destination would be discussed at
the cabinet meeting, according to a local televion report.
He
conceded that the SARS panic had affected Thailand's tourism industry, but said
that the adverse effect of the killing flu on Thailand was believed to be
short-life.
Thaksin said he believes the situation will not last
long, as the government is working out measures to ensure international tourists
and visitors that Thailand is a safe SARS-free haven.
Meanwhile,
stricter inspections have been imposed at border checkpoints in the country's
northern and northeastern regions to bar foreign tourists and traders suspected
of being infected by the killing flu to enter the kingdom.
The
move followed news reports that a SARS victim recently died in
Ta-Chi-lek of Myanmar, just opposite the Mae Sai checkpoint.
The stricter measures were also aimed to prevent visitors from
Vietnam, one of five countries where SARS is spreading, from entering the
kingdom through the northern and northeastern checkpoints.
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Japan extends more aid for Myanmar's drug control
project
Xinhuanet 2003-04-08 14:10:00
YANGON,
April 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Japan has
extended 1.2 million US dollars more of aid for Myanmar's opium substitution
project in Shan state's Wa region, implemented by the UN Office of Drugs and
Crime (UNODC), the local Myanmar Times reported in its latest issue.
Quoting a recent announcement of the UNODC and the Japanese
government, the report said the contribution has brought the total amount
extended by Japan for the Wa alternative development project to over 1.9 million
dollars.
The UNODC started launching the 11.6-million-dollar
five-year project in 1998, the largest of its kind so far implemented in Myanmar
by the UN organization.
With additional funds of one million
dollars and 100,000 dollars respectively contributed by Germany and Italy, the
project is to be prolonged for two more years up to 2005, the statement said.
The UNODC's projects in Myanmar has helped bring about substantial
reduction of poppy cultivated area and experiences have shown that alternative
development along with law enforcement endeavors constitutes a vital part of the
effective drug supply reduction strategy, the statement added.
According to the figures of the US Counter Narcotic Center,
Myanmar's opium production dropped from about 2,365 tons in 1997 to 630 tons in
2002, while the country's opium poppy cultivated area reduced from 155,150
hectares to 77,700 hectares.
A UN report estimated that in 2002,
Myanmar's opium poppy cultivated area was 81,400 hectares and the production was
828 tons. Myanmar started implementing a 15-year drug elimination plan in 1999,
covering 54 drug cultivating and producing townships.
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