Reuters -
ASEAN and ADB postpone meetings as flu, war rage
AFP - Cambodia going the way
of "narco-state" Myanmar: opposition leader
AFP - Senior General Than
Shwe, sole helmsman of Myanmar
AP - N.Y. Family Watched As
Marine Hung Flag
Xinhua via Comtex - Foreign
investment in Myanmar declines in 2002
Asian Tribune - European Burma
network impels Thailand to officially invite SPDC and Burmese ethnic groups for
talks
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Thursday
April 10, 5:55 PM
ASEAN and ADB postpone meetings as flu, war
rage
MANILA, April 10
(Reuters) - Southeast Asian nations
took heed of the deadly SARS virus by putting off a meeting of finance ministers
in Manila this month and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) postponed its annual
meeting set for Turkey in May.
Many regional meetings and
business conferences have been cancelled due to Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS), which has killed more than 100 people worldwide.
The ADB gave no reason on
Thursday for postponing the May 21-23 meeting in
Istanbul but
Turkey's
neighbour, Iraq,
has been under attack by U.S.-led forces since late March.
The Manila-based bank
cancelled a Southeast Asian forum on greenhouse gas trading on Tuesday, as many
delegates decided not to come due to concerns over the deadly flu-like virus.
The virus was behind the
"collective decision" by the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN) to postpone its April 25-26 meeting in
Manila, the Philippine finance
department said in a statement.
ASEAN finance ministers and
deputy central bankers -- to have been joined by deputy finance ministers from
Japan,
China and
South Korea --
were due to discuss economic integration and the creation of an Asian bond
market.
A Filipino maid died in
Hong Kong of the disease but there have been no confirmed
cases in the
Philippines.
Local media reports said
Thailand,
Singapore,
Indonesia and
Malaysia had
floated the idea of postponing the meeting.
ASEAN comprises
Brunei,
Cambodia,
Indonesia,
Laos,
Malaysia,
Myanmar, the
Philippines,
Singapore,
Thailand and
Vietnam.
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Wednesday
April 9, 18:00 PM
Cambodia going the way of "narco-state" Myanmar:
opposition leader
WASHINGTON, April 9
(AFP) - Cambodia is consumed by
corruption and plagued by lawlessness and could soon duplicate Myanmar's role as
a "recalcitrant narco-state," Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy warned
Wednesday.
Rainsy also told an audience at a Washington think-tank
that Hun Sen's government was guilty of serious intimidation of voters and
electoral fraud, ahead of general elections in July.
"Five more
years of lawlessness under Hun Sen will make Cambodia into a prime staging
ground for the terrorists of the age," Rainsy said at the American Enterprise
Institute.
"Burma also provides a preview of the direction that
Cambodia is headed," he said, referring to Myanmar's former name which is
preferred by opposition politicians there.
"Lacking a mechanism
for political change, Burma remains under the thumb of a corrupt military junta
and poses a constant threat to its own people and to the larger world through
its opium trade.
"Without change, Cambodia is not far off from
ressembling this recalcitrant narco-state."
Rainsy warned that the
chances of opposition candidates in Cambodian elections due in July were already
doomed.
"By controlling the political and electoral playing field,
using state power and resources, Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party wins
elections before the final vote is cast," Rainsy said.
"A free and
fair election in 2003 is not attainable at this moment in time."
The United States has raised repeated concerns about what it says
is politically motivated violence in Cambodia, and harrassment of candidates
from the Sam Rainsy Party and other groups.
Rainsy met several
senior State Department policymakers during his trip to Washington, including
informal encouters with Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific
Affairs James Kelly and his counterpart in the department's bureau of human
rights, democracy and labor, Lorne Craner.
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Thursday
April 10, 22:51 PM
Senior General Than Shwe, sole helmsman of Myanmar
YANGON, April 10 (AFP) - Behind the glacial politics and economic
shambles of Myanmar is just one man, Yangon-based diplomats and experts believe:
Senior General Than Shwe, the junta's number one.
The country is
officially ruled by a triumvirate, with Than Shwe, as chairman of the State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC), at the peak.
Deputy Senior
General Maung Aye, vice chairman of the SPDC and vice commander of the armed
forces is number two, and General Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the SPDC and
chief of military intelligence, takes third place.
But in the
opaque world of Myanmar politics, analysts detect evidence that Than Shwe is the
man who makes the ultimate decisions.
Recent reports suggested
that Than Shwe was poised to retire because of his age -- he turns 70 this year
-- and his health problems.
"Than Shwe has everything in hand,"
according to one analyst, who said the junta's unwillingness to open a dialogue
with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi unquestionably bore his mark.
Other experts blame him for Myanmar's disastrous policy of
economic self-sufficiency, its restricted diplomatic efforts -- which only cover
its Asian neighbours, especially China -- and even the amazing whitewash of the
heritage of Ne Win, who died in December.
The dictator, to whom
Than Shwe owes his rise, had been humiliated by being kept under virtual house
arrest while his son-in-law and three grandsons stagnated in prison after being
condemned for attempting a coup against the regime.
While Khin
Nyunt interacts with foreign visitors and his activities are covered constantly
by Myanmar's tightly-controlled media, the uncharismatic Than Shwe tends to stay
out of the spotlight.
Such has been his practice in his 11 years
as boss. He emerges only for official occasions such as Armed Forces Day in
March, during which he makes short, dull speeches warning of the risks of "chaos
and instability" and "interior and external enemies", reflecting his obsession
with security.
"When (US President) George Bush choked on a
pretzel, the whole world knew. With Than Shwe, people do not even know how many
children he has," one businessman said but added that his reclusiveness should
not be misinterpreted.
"We know that Than Shwe is the only one
that counts," the businessman said.
A Western diplomat said Than
Shwe was "a one-man show" and "the chief of the nation".
"He is
image-moulding with his visits abroad, really consolidating his image as supreme
leader... He keeps himself inaccessible in a royal way," the diplomat said.
Ambassadors rarely meet Than Shwe, except to present their
credentials.
Irrawaddy, a magazine of exiled Myanmar dissidents,
had on the cover of its last issue a drawing of the general installed on a
throne, entitled: "The Reign of Than Shwe".
"Over the last three
years, Than Shwe has been gradually and quietly consolidating his power, despite
reports that he was ill and would soon retire," said Irrawaddy, published from
the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai.
The general is the head of
state and holds the two highest posts: prime minister in his capacity as
chairman of the SPDC and commander-in-chief of the Tatmadaw, or military, one of
the largest forces in Asia. He is also the minister of defence.
Experts say Than Shwe is "the big obstacle" to any opening of a
dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi, although he did release the Nobel peace laureate
from house arrest in May last year.
"Than Shwe might have
understood she is more popular than him after her release," said one
high-ranking diplomat, pointing to the thousands of people who have flocked to
see the leader on her seven trips outside the capital.
Than Shwe,
people say, hates Aung San Suu Kyi.
"She is the only person who
could steal power away from him," the western diplomat said.
In
economics too the general pursues unenlightened policies, exiles say.
Irrawaddy reported that he has sidelined advisors advocating the
opening of the country's economy.
"Than Shwe likes what he hears:
namely false statistics and inflated, unrealistic growth projections," the
magazine wrote.
Many believe that the general dislikes hearing bad
news and cannot grasp the gravity of the current banking crisis, which has
dangerously squeezed Myanmar's money supply.
"The suspicion is
that the top military leaders know very well about the issue," says a western
businessman. "But they are reluctant to pass (the information) on to the senior
general because he doesn't like to receive bad news."
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N.Y. Family Watched As Marine Hung Flag
Wed
Apr 9,11:12 PM ET
NEW YORK (AP)- The world watched Wednesday as a Marine
corporal clambered up a statue of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) in Baghdad
and covered its face with an American flag just before the monument was pulled
down and torn to pieces by cheering Iraqis.
Also looking on raptly
was Cpl. Edward Chin's family in New York.
"I thought, 'Oh, my son,
you are making history, you are part of the Iraqis' liberation," his father,
Stanley Chin, said after watching the image of his son broadcast on television
all over the world.
Shortly after wrapping the flag around the
towering Saddam's face, military officials ? highly conscious of anything that
could be interpreted as a sign of American occupation ? ordered Chin, 23, to
take it down. He then replaced it with an Iraqi flag.
His fiancee,
Anne Fu, said she knew Chin meant no disrespect.
"He wanted to
show the Iraqi people that they were free, that they were liberated, that the
U.S. was there to help them and that Saddam is over," she said outside the
family's home.
Chin and his family are ethnic Chinese from Myanmar,
formerly Burma. They moved to the United States when Chin was 1 week old and
live in Brooklyn. He joined the Marines in 1999 and is stationed at the Marine
Corps Air/Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif.
His
family said they had not seen him since before Christmas before they glimpsed
him on television.
"I'm very proud of him," his sister Connie Chin
told WWOR-TV. "Here's a 23-year-old doing all these amazing things and
representing America and representing it well, I think."
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Foreign investment in Myanmar declines in 2002
YANGON, Apr 10, 2003 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Foreign investment in
Myanmar declined by 16.5 percent in 2002, recording 49.2 million US dollars
compared with 2001, said the latest data of the Central Statistical
Organization.
These contracted investments were absorbed in the
sectors of oil and gas (44 million), mining (3.38 million) and manufacturing
(1.82 million), of which the 44 million was injected by investors from Malaysia,
while the 3.38 million by that from Switzerland and the 1.82 million by those
from China's Hong Kong and the Republic of Korea.
The Malaysian
investment constituted the year's single investment coming from countries of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which used to be Myanmar's
largest foreign investors.
Over 2001, there were 10 countries and
regions investing in the country including four ASEAN members -- Thailand,
Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia -- and the investment sectors cover
manufacturing, construction, hotels and
tourism, and
mining.
According to official statistics, since opening up to the
outside world in late 1988, Myanmar had drawn 7,447.38 million dollars of
contracted foreign investment as of the end of 2002, of which ASEAN took up
3,844 million or 51.6 percent.
Out of 26 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, Myanmar government has
introduced a new measure which restricted foreign investment by stopping issue
of import and export permits to Myanmar-based wholly-owned foreign trading
companies.
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Asian Tribune
Date : 2003-04-09
European Burma network impels Thailand to officially invite SPDC and
Burmese ethnic groups for talks
Oslo, April 09: The
European Burma network , which met recently in Brussels, resolved to commend
Thaksin Shinawatra, for offering to mediate between the Government of Myanmar
and the ethnic nationality armies on the Thai ? Burma border, with the view to
bring peace to the people who have suffered so much for so long.
Harald Bøckman, Chairman, The Norwegian Burma Committee, wrote the
letter on behalf of the European Burma network, to the Thai Prime Minister. The
letter was an _expression_ of their appreciation of Thakshin Shinawatara?s bold
initiative to mediate between the Burma?s State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC) controlled by the military junta and Karen and other ethnic
nationalities.
The Chairman of the The Norwegian Burma Committee in
his letter has cautioned the Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, ?Given the
decades of distrust, broken promises and the Myanmar military's tendency to
favor military solutions instead of political ones, your task will be very
difficult. The Myanmar military may also at a later stage accuse Thailand of
interfering in Myanmar's internal affairs.?
The letter to the Thai
Prime Minister was addressed through the Ambassador of the Royal Thai Embassy in
Oslo, Noerway, with a copy to Jan Petersen, Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Norway.
The letter announced that the European Burma network
encourages the initiative undertaken by the Thai Prime Minister, but also
suggested Thailand openly and officially invite SPDC as well as Karen and other
ethnic nationalities to Thailand for political negotiations. They also suggested
to Thailand to invite foreign observers including the UN, to counter any future
allegations from the SPDC from alleging that Thailand of secretly supporting the
ethnic nationalities.
Full text of the letter sent by the European
Burmese network is given below:
HE Thaksin Shinawatra
Prime
Minster of Thailand
c/o HE Ambassador
Royal Thai Embassy
Oslo,
Norway
April 8, 2003
Dear Prime Minister,
We
understand that you have offered to mediate between the Government of Myanmar
and the ethnic nationality armies on your border. We wish to commend you for
your initiative to bring peace to the people who have suffered so much for so
long.
Given the decades of distrust, broken promises and the
Myanmar military's tendency to favor military solutions instead of political
ones, your task will be very difficult. The Myanmar military may also at a later
stage accuse Thailand of interfering in Myanmar's internal affairs.
However, we believe you are doing the right thing. We want to
encourage you by making some suggestions:
1. Thailand openly and
officially invite the Karen and other ethnic nationalities to Thailand for
political negotiations.
2. Thailand invite foreign observers
including the UN to ensure that the SPDC cannot later accuse Thailand of
secretly supporting the ethnic nationalities.
3. Thailand
officially invite the SPDC to come to Thailand to negotiate with the Karens and
others.
We wish you every success in your mediation efforts and
will continue to follow your actions with great interest.
For your
information, we are attaching the resolution adopted by the European Parliament
on 15 March 2003 regarding your initiative.
Respectfully,
Harald Bøckman
Chairman
The Norwegian Burma
Committee
CC: Hon. Jan Petersen, Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Norway
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