--------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday July 17, 10:49 AM
UN chief calls for release
of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi
UNITED NATIONS, July 16
(AFP) - UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan called on Myanmar's military rulers to release pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi.
The UN chief said he sent the message to General Than Shwe
through the deputy foreign minister U Khin Maung Win, whom he met on
Wednesday.
"I have given him a message for General Than Shwe, basically
telling him I would expect them to release Aung San Suu Kyi as soon as possible
and that they are responsible for the protection and safety of Aung San Suu Kyi
and members of her party," Annan told reporters.
Speaking after a
Security Council meeting, Annan said that Aung San Suu Kyi has indicated that
she is prepared to hold talks with the ruling junta.
"She has indicated
she is prepared to resume dialogue and, she said this to my envoy, so I hope the
government would accept the challenge and proceed with dialogue," he
said.
Myanmar was not on the agenda for the council meeting, but US
ambassador to the United Nations John Negroponte said that this issue was
discussed.
"We expressed our concern on the situation in Burma," he
said.
Aung San Suu Kyi won 1990 elections in a landslide but has never
been allowed to take power.
Myanmar has come under mounting pressure to
release Suu Kyi, who has been honored with a Nobel Peace Prize for her
pro-democracy activism.
Annan spoke shortly after the US Senate approved
a measure that would impose sanctions on the country's military rulers
US
President George W. Bush has indicated that he will sign the bill into law, thus
imposing trade restrictions, freezing the regime's financial assets in US banks,
and installing a visa ban on regime members seeking to enter the United
States.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday July 17, 7:10 AM
Bush eager to sign Myanmar
sanctions bill
WASHINGTON, July 16 (AFP) -US President George W. Bush looks forward to
signing newly passed legislation imposing sanctions on Myanmar's ruling military
junta, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
"This legislation
sends a clear message to the Burmese regime that their continued detention of
Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and their assaults on freedom cannot
stand," he said in a statement.
The Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of
2003 authorizes Bush to provide aid to Myanmar's democracy activists, impose
trade restrictions, freeze the regime's financial assets in US banks, and
install a visa ban on regime members seeking to enter the United
States.
The legislation, which the US president has said he would sign,
was introduced to punish the junta for its recent crackdown on pro-democracy
groups and its detention on May 30 of opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi.
"The president applauds today's passage of the Burmese Freedom and
Democracy Act by the Congress, and he looks forward to signing it into law,"
said McClellan.
The measure "is intended to focus the world's attention
on the Burmese regime's continuing oppression of its people. The United States
fully supports the Burmese people in their struggle for democracy," the
spokesman said.
Aung San Suu Kyi won 1990 elections in a landslide but
has never been allowed to take power.
Myanmar has come under mounting
pressure to release Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been honored with a Nobel Peace
Prize for her pro-democracy activism.
She was taken into "protective
custody" after clashes broke out during a political tour of northern Myanmar
last May, when her supporters were attacked by hundreds of members of a
pro-junta organization. Dissidents say dozens were killed in the
violence.
Myanmar's ruling generals also have cracked down on her
National League for Democracy (NLD), arresting an unknown number of its
members.
Myanmar's junta has said the democracy activists were
responsible for inciting the clashes and that Aung San Suu Kyi had been
temporarily detained for her own safety.
After being held for a while at
Yangon's notoriously tough Insein prison, she is now being held at an
undisclosed location.
The Senate approved the legislation in a 94-1 vote
just a day after the US House of Representatives passed it by a 418 to 2
margin.
The regime in Yangon on Wednesday condemned that vote, calling
the move to tighten economic sanctions "weapons of mass destruction" that would
create havoc.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Annan Tells Myanmar Envoy: Release Suu Kyi
Wed
Jul 16, 8:12 PM ET
By Irwin Arieff
UNITED
NATIONS (Reuters) - Myanmar's
military rulers must quickly free pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan told an envoy from the reclusive Southeast Asian
nation on Wednesday.
The envoy, Myanmar Deputy Foreign Minister Khin
Maung Win, met with Annan at U.N. headquarters as part of a drive by the Yangon
government to counter global criticism of its detention of Suu Kyi, 58, who was
arrested on May 30 and has since been held in an undisclosed location.
Annan said he gave the envoy a message for junta leader Than Shwe,
"telling him that I would expect them to release Aung San Suu Kyi as soon as
possible, and that they are responsible for (her) protection and safety."
"I also indicated that really the best way to move forward is to resume
dialogue," Annan told reporters, adding that Suu Kyi had already indicated she
was prepared to resume negotiations with the government.
The envoy, in
turn, delivered a message from his government seeking to explain its detention
of Suu Kyi, Annan said.
The United Nations has pushed hard for national
reconciliation and a shift to democracy in Myanmar.
But its military
rulers have accused international governments of meddling in its internal
affairs and have warned of instability if Western-style democracy was imposed.
Speaking ahead of his meeting with the envoy, Annan said some
governments were "becoming quite exercised" by the continued detention of Suu
Kyi, a Nobel laureate who was once again taken into custody following a clash
between supporters and pro-government groups during a tour outside the capital.
Her party, the National League for Democracy, won 1990 elections in
Myanmar but has never been allowed to take power.
The U.S. Congress on
Wednesday cleared legislation closing the U.S. market to imports from Myanmar,
sending the measure to the desk of President Bush for his signature.
But
Annan said it was premature to talk about Security Council sanctions on Myanmar,
formerly known as Burma. "This is not an item on the council's agenda," he said.
Diplomats said the United States would like Security Council action but
China and Mexico, among others, are wary.
Washington raised the issue in
the council for the first time on Wednesday, during a closed-door meeting but
did not push for council intervention.
U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte
said afterward he expressed concern over Suu Kyi's detention, the shuttering of
her party's offices and the circumstances of her arrest.
French
Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere and British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock,
however, set the stage for the issue to come up again in the council, asking
that Annan's special envoy for Myanmar brief them the next time he was in New
York, diplomats said.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Thais propose ''road map'' for democracy in
Myanmar
By Dan Eaton
BANGKOK, July
17 (Reuters) - Thailand
has proposed a ''road map'' for democratic change in military-run Myanmar and
spoke out on Thursday against U.S. plans to impose stiffer sanctions on its
impoverished Southeast Asian neighbour.
Myanmar detained opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi in late May, marking the start of a fresh crackdown on
dissent, and has shrugged off mounting pressure to release her.
Thai
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said plans by the Bush administration to
ban imports from Myanmar -- ruled by the military for the past four decades --
would not hurt the junta. ''Thailand disagrees with the U.S. sanctions on
Myanmar because it will not hurt the government but the poor,'' Surakiart told
reporters. ''There will also be more illegal labour flooding to Thailand.''
The U.S. Congress on Wednesday cleared legislation closing the U.S.
market to imports from Myanmar, sending the bill to the desk of President George
W. Bush for his signature.
Surakiart said Bangkok had proposed a plan
for a transition to democracy in Myanmar in a series of recent meetings with the
junta.
''Thailand has already proposed a road map for Myanmar and its
direction towards democracy and we have discussed it with them,'' Surakiart
said, but declined to give details.
''Its up to Myanmar to decide how
they want to do it, but Thailand's road map is very practical. This road map is
based on a common basis for national reconciliation in Myanmar.''
Surakiart said Bangkok would ''like to see a clear cut plan that Myanmar
announces to the the world on its process to democracy, when it will release Suu
Kyi and when it will have a constitution.''
ANNAN
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan told an envoy from the
reclusive nation on Wednesday that it must quickly free Suu Kyi and said he held
the junta responsible for her wellbeing.
Suu Kyi's party, the National
League for Democracy, won 1990 elections by a landslide but has never been
allowed to take power. She has spent much of the past 14 years in detention.
Suu Kyi and two dozen top party officials were detained on May 30 after
a bloody clash between pro-junta groups and her supporters while she was
visiting the north of the country.
Witnesses to the clash who have since
fled to Thailand say Suu Kyi's convoy was attacked by club-wielding thugs,
resulting in dozens of deaths.
The junta denies orchestrating the
violence and says four people were killed.
--------------------------------------------------------------
U.N.: Release Myanmar Opposition Head
Wed Jul
16,11:35 PM ET
By JESSICA
VASCELLARO, Associated Press Writer
UNITED
NATIONS - U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan called on Myanmar's leaders to
immediately release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
He did not rule
out the possibility of U.N. sanctions to pressure the country's military
government for her release. Any U.N. sanctions on Myanmar, however, would have
to be approved by the Security Council, and Annan said Wednesday the issue is
not on its agenda yet.
The secretary-general issued a strong statement
and spoke to reporters after meeting Myanmar's Deputy Foreign Minister Khin
Maung Win and his special envoy, Razali Ismail, the only foreigner to have met
with Suu Kyi since her May 30 arrest.
"I remain convinced that the only
way to build durable peace in Myanmar is to release the detainees, ensure their
political freedoms, and begin substantive dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
immediately," Annan said in the statement. "To that end, I requested that the
government take the initiative and meet with her."
Annan said he had no
immediate plans to take the Myanmar issue to the Security Council, but "I'm not
saying it's excluded."
"I think all things are going to be on the table
very soon, but I have sent a message to Gen. Than Shwe," he said.
Earlier, when asked about sanctions, Annan said, "It is a bit premature
for me to say that it is a possibility. But I know that some governments are
becoming quite exercised by developments in Myanmar."
U.S. Ambassador
John Negroponte told reporters he raised concerns in the council Wednesday about
Suu Kyi's detention.
The U.S. Congress on Wednesday sent to President
Bush legislation to impose economic sanctions against Myanmar, also known
as Burma, to protest the detention.
--------------------------------------------------------------
U.N. chief expresses concern at imprisonment of Myanmar
opposition
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on
Myanmar's leaders to immediately release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
He did not rule out the possibility of U.N. sanctions to pressure the
country's military government for her release. Any U.N. sanctions on Myanmar,
however, would have to be approved by the Security Council, and Annan said
Wednesday the issue is not on its agenda yet.
Annan issued a strong
statement and spoke to reporters after meeting Myanmar's Deputy Foreign Minister
Khin Maung Win and his special envoy, Razali Ismail, the only foreigner to have
met with Suu Kyi since her May 30 arrest.
``I remain convinced that the
only way to build durable peace in Myanmar is to release the detainees, ensure
their political freedoms, and begin substantive dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi immediately,'' Annan said in the statement. ``To that end, I requested that
the government take the initiative and meet with her.''
Annan said he
had no immediate plans to take the issue regarding Myanmar, also known as Burma,
to the Security Council, but ``I'm not saying it's excluded.''
``I think
all things are going to be on the table very soon, but I have sent a message to
Gen. Than Shwe,'' Myanmar's junta leader, Annan said.
Earlier, when
asked about sanctions, Annan said, ``It is a bit premature for me to say that it
is a possibility. But I know that some governments are becoming quite exercised
by developments in Myanmar.''
U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte told
reporters he raised concerns in the Security Council Wednesday about Suu Kyi's
detention.
Annan also expressed ``grave concern about the safety and
well-being'' of Suu Kyi and other leaders of her National League for Democracy
who have been held incommunicado since May 30.
Annan said Khin, who was
sent as a special envoy, delivered ``a very long explanation,'' including
photographs, of what happened when Suu Kyi was arrested. He dismissed the idea
that the photographs could be ``documentary evidence,'' but gave no other
details.
The U.S. Congress on Wednesday sent to President George W. Bush
legislation to impose economic sanctions against Myanmar, also known as Burma,
to protest the detention.
``The message from the U.S. Congress to the
world could not be more clear,'' said Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell before the
94-1 Senate vote in favor of the bill, which the House of Representatives had
approved a day ago. ``The assault on freedom in Burma will not stand.''
European nations have taken economic actions against Myanmar, and Japan
has announced that it will curtail new aid to the country. But several of
Myanmar's neighbors, including China and Thailand, have been criticized for
continuing relations with the Yangon government.
Military officials in
Myanmar lashed out Wednesday against the United States for moving toward
sanctions, calling the measures ``weapons of mass destruction'' imposed by
``rich and powerful nations ... to create havoc and bring hardship on the mass
population of the people who need to work to live.''
The country's junta
came to power in 1988 after crushing a pro-democracy movement; two years later
it annulled the results of a general election that Suu Kyi's party won. She was
put under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 and again from September 2000 until May
2002, when Razali's mediation helped secure her release.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday July 17, 6:37 PM
Asean Economic Ministers
Agree to Form Sectoral Task Forces
MANILA, July 17
Asia Pulse - Returning from a
Special Informal ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) meeting in Jakarta over the
weekend, Trade and Industry Secretary Mar Roxas reported that the economic
ministers agreed to form sectoral task forces to increase intra-Asean trade.
"Our DTI Brand Managers (BM) structure is particularly suited to power
this drive, and I have instructed our BMs to participate vigorously in this
initiative, the Asean Priority Integration Program," said Roxas.
"In
particular, the Philippines has been tapped to champion the Asean task force on
electronics and semiconductors sector, which is our leading export."
Malaysia has been assigned to champion the textiles and garments and
rubber-based products sector.
Indonesia will cover the automotive and
wood-based products industries.
Thailand will take care of air
travel/tourism and personal care.
Singapore volunteered to champion
e-commerce and the healthcare industry.
Myanmar will champion
agricultural and marine products.
Roxas explained that the Special
Informal AEM meeting had been convened in Jakarta on July 12 and 13 to prepare
the deliverables for the AEM meeting in Phnom Penh this coming September and for
the Asean Summit scheduled for October in Bali.
One of the initiatives
considered as a deliverable was the sectoral development approach that had been
recommended to the AEM by international consulting firm McKinsey. The AEM
acknowledged the general soundness of the recommendation.
However, the
ministers elected to skirt the sometimes politically-sensitive European Union
features of the McKinsey plan and to simply adapt the major strategies into
practical, workable Asean sectoral projects.
The basic premise at the
Special Informal AEM meeting was that the global economy may be recovering but
could remain soft for a while.
And so the AEM consensus was strongly in
favor of generating more business from within Asean, rather than excessively
concentrating efforts on markets outside the region.
And so the
ministers agreed that these sectors, which have already generally been
liberalized (i.e. tariffs already lowered significantly), should now be
supported with strong doses of facilitation measures.
And these
facilitation measures should be coordinated and harmonized across the entire
region.
The facilitation measures will touch on an Asean Harmonized
Tariff Nomenclature, improvements in customs procedures and uniform product
standards and common, simplified administrative procedures, among others.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Chandigarh
Myanmar to Mohali, ?missing? officer is
home
Jyoti Kamal
Thursday, July 17,
2003
S.a.s. Nagar, July 16: IT is a story of gunrunners,
insurgents, military intelligence agents, Myanmar, India and Mohali.
In
February 1998, Indian defence forces conducted the controversial ?Operation
Leech? in the Andaman and Nicobar islands. During the operation, allegedly a
major gang of international gunrunners supplying weapons to insurgents in
Myanmar, through whom they were finding their way into India?s Northeast, was
intercepted and six top leaders were apprehended. These six were not seen again.
There have been allegations that they were killed ??treacherously?? due to
betrayal by Indian Army Lieutenant Colonel V J S Grewal.
Grewal, who
took premature retirement from the Army in July 1999, is untraceable, report
sections of the media. However, investigations by Newsline reveal that Grewal is
in Mohali. Allegations levelled against him that he is untraceable, that his
latest whereabouts are uncertain and that he is believed to be living in
Rangoon, have been found to be false.
Investigations reveal that Grewal
is living with his family in Mohali. He gets regular pension credited to his
accounts here by the Controller of Defence Accounts, CDA(O) Pune, and he is also
paid ?award money? for the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) that he earned in January
1998. Moreover, he has recently been allotted a house by the Army Welfare
Housing Organisation in Sector 68, Mohali.
?Operation Leech? was a sting
operation in which Grewal is alleged to have penetrated the Arakan Army and the
National United Party of Arakan in Myanmar.
The Arakanese are an ethnic
group who inhabit the area between the Arakan Roma hills in Myanmar, Mizoram in
India and Bangladesh. The Arakanese have been fighting for independence from the
present military junta in Myanmar. However, Military Intelligence, along with
other intelligence gathering agencies, is reported to have established in 1998
that the Arakanese were working in close collaboration with Indian insurgents
and were running guns and other weapons from Thai ports to Bangladeshi and
Myanmar ports.
Newsline investigations reveal that Grewal, commissioned
into the Army in 1971 and eventually deputed to the Military Intelligence, was
officially on posting with an Army Counter Intelligence Unit (CIU) in Srinagar
at the time of the operation. He was drafted in as he?d had experience dealing
with the Myanmarese during the course of his work with the Border Roads
Organisations (BRO) from 1993-1997.
Presently, Grewal runs his business
dealing in products like jade and fine Burmese teak. The trade often takes him
to Southeast Asia and back to Myanmar.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Washington File - 17 Jul 2003
Bush Applauds Congress for Passing Burmese Freedom and Democracy
Act
Says legislation sends "clear message" to Burmese
regime
President Bush in a statement July 16 praised the passage by the
U.S. Congress of legislation that would tighten sanctions on the military
government in Burma.
The Senate approved the measure July 16 by a 94-1
vote; the House of Representatives approved it July 15. The measure now goes to
the President for his signature.
The legislation would require the
president to ban imports from Burma 30 days after the enactment of the Burma
Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003.
That ban would continue until the
president determines and certifies to Congress that Burma's ruling military
junta has made "substantial and measurable progress to end violations of
internationally recognized human rights including rape."
To have the ban
lifted, the bill requires that the secretary of state consult with the
International Labor Organization's secretary general and relevant
nongovernmental organizations and report to the appropriate congressional
committees that the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) "no longer
systematically violates workers rights, including the use of forced and child
labor, and conscription of child-soldiers."
HR 2330 also requires the
president to declare that the SPDC has made "measurable and substantial progress
toward implementing a democratic government."
Benchmarks for lifting the ban
on Burmese products would include: "releasing all political prisoners; allowing
freedom of speech and the press; allowing freedom of association; and permitting
the peaceful exercise of religion."
Finally the SPDC would have to reach
an agreement with the National League of Democracy and other democratic forces
in that country, including Burma's ethnic nationalities, "on the transfer of
power to a civilian government accountable to the Burmese people through
democratic elections under the rule of law."
The president is also given
the power to freeze assets in the United States of the junta and its
supporters.
Following is the text of the White House
statement:
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
July 16,
2003
STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY
Passage of the Burmese Freedom and
Democracy Act
The President applauds today's passage of the Burmese
Freedom and Democracy Act by the Congress, and he looks forward to signing it
into law. This legislation sends a clear message to the Burmese regime that
their continued detention of Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and their
assaults on freedom cannot stand. The Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act is the
result of close cooperation between the Congress and the Administration and is
intended to focus the world's attention on the Burmese regime's continuing
oppression of its people. The United States fully supports the Burmese people in
their struggle for democracy.
Created:16 Jul 2003 Updated: 16 Jul
2003
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Daily Times - Thursday, July 17, 2003
Myanmar opposition paralysed after arrest of Aung San Suu
Kyi
BANGKOK: The axe has fallen on Myanmar?s opposition
party since the arrest of its charismatic leader Aung San Suu Kyi six weeks ago,
leaving it virtually shut down and its entire leadership in
detention.
The crackdown comes as a dramatic reversal of fortune for the
long-suffering National League for Democracy (NLD) that had enjoyed a rare
flowering in the past year after Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house
arrest.
After the junta promised she would be free to carry out political
activities, the Nobel peace laureate and enthusiastic rank-and-file members
seized the opportunity to rebuild the party by reopening hundreds of branch
offices around the country.
Although a political reconciliation process
begun in October 2000 at the bidding of the United Nations made little progress
towards achieving democratic reforms, the brief period of openness revived the
opposition?s spirits.
That ended on May 30, when Aung San Suu Kyi?s
supporters were ambushed by a pro-junta mob during a political tour of Myanmar?s
north, triggering her detention at an undisclosed location.
NLD
vice-chairman Tin Oo who had been accompanying her was thrown into jail and the
rest of the party?s leadership was put under house arrest in Yangon with armed
guards in front of their homes and their telephone lines cut.
An unknown
number of opposition supporters were also taken into detention, and the party?s
head office in Yangon and all its branch offices were closed down.
?The
opposition simply does not exist any more,? said one diplomat in Yangon. ?The
party?s headquarters is closed, the activists are in prison or on the run ? in
effect there is nothing left.?
A senior member of the NLD said the
crackdown, which has drawn intense criticism abroad, had left the party
completely paralysed.
?With our leadership effectively under wraps and
our offices sealed, there is very little we can do, including damage
assessment,? he told AFP.
?The NLD is undergoing another period of
intimidation and harassment as the military continues with its mopping-up
operation.?
The ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), whose
past campaigns of repression had left the party on the verge of collapse before
the UN-sponsored talks began, has it under intense scrutiny once
again.
?All I can say is that the crackdown continues and any sign of
dissent is quickly nipped in the bud,? one member said. ?Anyone foolish enough
to demonstrate as has been done outside of the country would have been
immediately pounced on.?
Analysts in Yangon and exiled dissidents believe
the campaign of repression and arrests of opposition activists will continue
until the ruling generals consider the situation is ?normalised?. The
International Committee of the Red Cross, which has been touring prisons in
recent weeks to visit those rounded up in the wake of the clashes, says 30 have
been registered so far but dissident sources put the figure above
100.
The National Council of the Union of Burma, one of the exiled
groups, has said that an NLD MP, Soe Win, was tortured for 24 days after his
arrest. Its claims cannot be independently verified.
Myanmar?s junta has
ignored the mounting calls for the opposition members to be released, and in a
tight-lipped response said only that it had chosen ?the most suitable way? to
maintain law and order.
Given the junta?s aggressive stance, no one rules
out the possibility that the NLD could simply be banned.
?Anything can
happen,? said the diplomat. ?There were already rumours of this in 2000 when (a
junta-sponsored society) called for the NLD to be banned at meetings
orchestrated by the government.?
The party ? one of the few in the world
not to have any idea of how many members it has but which undoubtedly enjoys
immense popular support ? only last November launched a renewed membership
campaign.
?We are back on our feet,? NLD spokesman U Lwin told AFP at the
time. ?We know that they are many more who want to join us.?
Over the
past year, the party elder became a favourite with journalists who could call
him up at any time of the day in Yangon. Now, his telephone line is dead.
?AFP
--------------------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Post - Thursday 17 July 2003
Thaksin fears fallout from US sanctions
Poverty squeeze
could boost migrant flow
Yuwadee Tunyasiri
Thailand would brace for repercussions from the United States' decision
to impose sanctions against Burma for detaining Burmese opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said.
The US congress
yesterday voted in favour of diplomatic and economic sanctions against Burma,
including freezing of assets and a trade ban.
Mr Thaksin said Thailand,
as an immediate neighbour, would feel the effects of the aggravated poverty and
other problems that would result in Burma.
Bangkok had warned Rangoon
that US sanctions were likely unless Mrs Suu Kyi was released, but the
government there had decided not to heed the warning, citing national
security.
Security agencies and the Labour Ministry had been instructed
to look at measures like tightening rules for alien workers.
``To help
bring about reconciliation in Burma, all we can do is give advice as a
neighbouring country. But we cannot say we will cut our ties [with Burma] if
they do not follow our suggestions,'' the prime minister said.
Kraisak
Choonhavan, chairman of the senate panel on foreign affairs, said the government
should revise its Burma policy.
The US congress had strong international
support for its sanctions against Burma. Thailand's image could suffer if it was
seen to continue a close relationship with the junta in Rangoon, he
said.
The Thaksin government had tried to paint Thailand as the leader of
Asean, but this would be to no avail if it held to a policy which defined Burma
as a close neighbour.
``It's time for the government to seriously
consider this issue,'' Mr Kraisak said.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Post - Thursday 17 July 2003
Troops tell Red Wa to leave
Set up posts on Thai soil,
demand cash
Subin Khuenkaew - Chiang Mai
Thai
forces have been told to drive back Red Wa troops encroaching on Thai soil near
the border with Burma.
Maj-Gen Manas Paolik, commander of Pha Muang task
force, said task force patrols found United Wa State Army soldiers had set up
several strongholds in Thai territory over the past 2-3 months.
Soldiers
had been sent to the area to push the Wa troops back to Burma and block drug
smuggling.
Wa soldiers were thought to be demanding money from villagers
and drug traffickers.
The Wei Heush-kang special warfare regiment 171 had
agreed to withdraw from its base at Ban Nong Khiew near Kiew Pha Wok
checkpoint.
``We have told units in the areas to patrol the border and
push back Wa soldiers whose bases encroach on Thai soil, west of Ban San Ton Du
pass in Mae Ai district,'' Maj-Gen Manas said.
Burmese authorities would
be told during the next township border meeting.
Drug warlord Wei
Heush-kang was still with the UWSA and was recently promoted to UWSA first
vice-president.
Contrary to media reports, the man was not a relative of
Wei Sai-tang, a former senior UWSA officer imprisoned in Burma on treason and
banknote-forgery charges.
A source said the UWSA had decided to delay by
two years attempts to make Shan State free of drugs in retaliation against a US
decision to stop funding the group's anti-drug programmes.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Post - Thursday 17 July 2003
Agreement to increase cooperation
Ties have improved,
says TBC chairman
Chiang Rai
Local Thai and Burmese
authorities have agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation and jointly settle
border problems.
Col Apichart Meesommon, chairman of Thai Township Border
Committee (TBC), yesterday led a delegation to Burma's Tachilek town to discuss
a border demarcation dispute and other border cooperation with Lt-Col Kad Tun,
chairman of Burmese TBC.
Burma had accused Thailand of encroaching on its
land. That, and the arrest of a Thai soldier by Burmese soldiers two years ago
were raised.
Col Apichart said relations between Thailand and Burma had
improved. His panel and the Burmese TBC have agreed to tackle border problems
jointly.
--------------------------------------------------------------
BBC News - Thursday, 17 July,
2003
Burma under further pressure
United
Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has sent a message to Burma's military
leader calling for the immediate release of the pro-democracy leader, Aung San
Suu Kyi.
Mr Annan said he had expressed his grave concern about her
safety and well-being during a meeting with Burma's Deputy Foreign Minister, U
Khin Maung Win, in New York on Wednesday.
The BBC's Greg Barrow at the
UN in New York says Mr Annan's statement is another sign of the increasing
international pressure on the Burmese authorities to free Aung San Suu Kyi and
resume a peaceful dialogue with pro-democracy activists.
It came less
than 24 hours after the US Congress voted to impose new economic sanctions
against Burma in protest at the continued detention of the woman who symbolises
the long struggle to end one-party military rule.
The Burmese
authorities have criticised the US move on sanctions, describing them as
"weapons of mass destruction".
Officials in Rangoon said sanctions shut
down interaction, stopped the flow of ideas and deprived people of job
opportunities.
Up for discussion?
The bill -
approved almost unanimously in the lower house of the US congress amid
increasing anger at the opposition leader's detention at the end of May -
mirrored similar measures approved by the Senate a month ago.
Once
President George W Bush signs it into law, specified Burmese imports will be
banned and the country's assets in the US frozen.
Burma's textile and
clothing industry is likely to be hardest hit by the measures, which were
welcomed by some opposition groups in exile.
The US, like many of
Burma's Asian neighbours, rejects the military government's assertion that it
was forced to act because Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy was
plotting an armed uprising.
The UN Security Council has not yet
discussed Aung San Suu Kyi's detention, but Mr Annan declined to exclude the
possibility this might happen.
"I don't have immediate plans on doing
that. I will see what happens ... I'm not saying it's excluded. I think all
things are going to be on the table very soon. "
Our correspondent says
that if the Burmese military leader, General Than Shwe, chooses to ignore that
message, he may find sooner rather than later, the UN Security Council is ready
to add its own punitive sanctions to those already imposed by other nations.
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Asia Times - Jul 18, 2003
A WTO trick
up Yangon's sleeve
By Alan Boyd
SYDNEY - The United States could face legal sanctions of its own
after endorsing an economic embargo against Myanmar's hardline military regime
that technically violates global free-trade commitments.
Yangon has
already hinted in diplomatic circles that it may lodge a complaint with the
World Trade Organization (WTO) over an imports ban that would remove more than
30 percent of the impoverished nation's export revenues.
Legislators in
the US House of Representatives approved the imports ban on Tuesday as part of a
package of retaliatory measures for the imprisonment of opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi in late May and the junta's failure to resume a political-reforms
dialogue. Senators passed similar measures last month, and a consensus bill is
now expected to be ratified by President George W Bush, who has clearly lost
patience with 15 years of stalling by the ruling generals.
Assets held
in the United States by the Myanmar government and its leaders will be frozen,
an existing prohibition on the granting of visas to the top leadership extended
and a policy of opposing new international loans or technical assistance to
Myanmar codified. The loans ban has been enforced for several years.
Goods worth about US$400 million, mostly finished garments and textiles,
will be affected by the imports ban, which duplicates a unilateral blockade
imposed by the American Apparel and Footwear Association.
Textile quotas
allowing preferential access for goods from Myanmar under the WTO's Most Favored
Nation arrangement were already due to end next year, along with other export
subsidies.
Washington evidently is gambling that the weight of
international opinion, bolstered by parallel sanctions imposed in Western
Europe, Japan and Canada, will dissuade Yangon from pursuing the issue through
the WTO's disputes panel.
Secretary of State Colin Powell said
Washington's objective was to send a clear message that "the thugs who now rule
Burma are to understand that their failure to restore democracy will only bring
more and more pressure against them and their supporters".
But just how
effective this pressure can be, given the limitations of US economic leverage in
Myanmar and the junta's renowned siege mentality after half a century of
diplomatic isolation, is debatable.
While Suu Kyi has long advocated
sanctions on the grounds that the leadership has a pervasive influence over
every facet of business and investment, it is clear that the economy is not the
real target.
"The goal of these sanctions is not severe economic
destabilization aimed at toppling the government. They serve as a pressure
mechanism to persuade the regime to recognize the crisis in the country and the
need for a peaceful resolution of the crisis," opposition policy advisor Zaw Oo
stated last year, as the US Congress was preparing to draft the sanction bills.
Tellingly, the Lower House bill recognizes that the sanctions will not
work unless Washington can persuade Myanmar's neighbors, especially China and
Thailand, to "stop their economic and political patronage of the Burmese
dictatorship". These countries, together with India, provide the bulk of the
foreign-exchange and trade infrastructure that keeps the Myanmar economy afloat.
They also collectively have $1.5 billion invested in Myanmar, behind only the
United Kingdom and Singapore.
China, which is a significant security
partner of Myanmar, provides the diplomatic muscle in the international arena,
routinely vetoing European motions censoring the regime's appalling human-rights
record.
Thailand is leading an initiative in the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to use peer pressure to encourage a dialogue
between the junta and Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), but is not
ready to jeopardize its economic interests. Within hours of the House vote,
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was asserting that Bangkok would "give advice
as a neighboring country", but was not prepared to "cut our ties [with Myanmar]
if they do not follow our suggestions".
Beijing and Delhi have been
vying for influence in Myanmar's rugged and highly strategic northern provinces
since they fought a brief border conflict in 1962, and are unlikely to heed the
US pleas. Nor are Yangon's fellow ASEAN states, which have at least $4.2 billion
invested in manufacturing joint ventures and view Myanmar as the last big Asian
frontier for consumer exports.
"If you can show me any evidence that
depriving the people of Myanmar of processed foods, clothing and housing is
going to bring about favorable political change, I will happily support the US
measures," said an Asian diplomat. "[Sanctions] will not work because they will
not hit the right target, which is the people who are actually in a position to
influence decision-making."
The regime has traditionally shown a strong
resilience to outside pressures, even closing the country's borders for 26 years
until 1988 as part of a disastrous social experiment by former leader General Ne
Win that left the economy in ruins.
Existing sanctions, including
1997-98 bans on direct foreign investment by the European Union and the United
States, have left Myanmar physically isolated but do not appear to have altered
the mindset of the junta. On the contrary, hardliners have gradually gained the
ascendancy over moderates who advocate negotiations with the NLD, culminating in
the jailing of Suu Kyi and many of her closest associates.
Paramount
leader General Than Shwe, who is increasingly being compared to Ne Win, has also
moved against his own critics, signaling that internal security will remain the
chief priority even at the risk of economic destabilization and potential social
discord.
Foreign companies are pulling out of Myanmar in response to the
growing unrest, but the pressure is coming from consumer boycotts in Western
Europe and North America, and not politicians. Since 1997 a total of 56
multinational companies have left Myanmar; yet the US remains Myanmar's
fifth-biggest investor, with assets of almost $600 million. Britain has $1.4
billion invested, France $500 million and the Netherlands $250 million.
A tourism boycott launched in Europe in 1996 has undermined a $100
million service industry that employs hundreds of thousands, but has failed to
deter foreign investors. There are still 30 tour agencies and several airlines
in Myanmar, while one firm that left has actually decided to go back. Yangon is
experiencing a hotel-building boom ahead of a pending ASEAN summit that will
bring enormous publicity for tourism sites in Asia.
One reason the
boycotts have not had a substantial economic impact is that most investment is
tied up in resource industries such as oil exploration and mining that are not
easily influenced by consumer actions. This could change: after fending off
protest actions for a decade, US gas-exploration group Unocal is currently
battling a shareholder revolt, instigated by a pension fund, that has dragged
down its market price.
However, most observers believe that reform in
Myanmar will come from within, probably as a result of widening social unrest as
the foreign sanctions cause a gradual deterioration of economic conditions.
"The leadership is evidently aware of the social risks that could ensue
from a loss of living standards. But it seems to have taken the view that there
is far more at stake from a devolution of political power," said a European
diplomat.
"Seen from this perspective, the issue of economic sanctions
is of critical importance to Burma's political stability, as it could be the
harbinger of far deeper structural reforms, even though the short-term benefits
may not be obvious."
--------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar official may attend informal dinner of ASEM
confab
By Christine T.
Tjandraningsih
JAKARTA, July 17, Kyodo - A Myanmar government official may attend
an informal dinner of an Asia-Europe foreign ministerial meeting in Indonesia
next week amid growing international concern over detained pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, a diplomatic source said Thursday.
''Myanmar may be
represented by an official at the level of director general at the informal
dinner,'' an Indonesian diplomat dealing with Western European affairs told
Kyodo News on condition of anonymity.
However, an official of the
Myanmar Embassy in Jakarta said they have not received an invitation for the
dinner, adding that even if invited, ''our foreign minister has no
availability'' to attend the dinner on July 23 because of a domestic engagement.
''As far as we know, nobody from Myanmar has been confirmed to attend
the dinner, neither a director general nor somebody else,'' U Cho Tin, chief of
the mission of the embassy, told Kyodo News.
In a recent interview with
Kyodo News, Arizal Effendi, director general for American and European affairs
at the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, said an invitation had been sent to Myanmar
Foreign Minister U Win Aung to attend the informal dinner of the fifth
Asia-Europe Foreign Ministerial Meeting (ASEM) during which the issue of Suu Kyi
may be raised.
The Myanmar military government has been detaining the
Nobel Peace Prize laureate and some members of her National League for Democracy
(NLD) since May 30 following what the junta said were violent clashes between
NLD supporters and pro-junta demonstrators in northern Myanmar.
According to a provisional agenda obtained by Kyodo News, issues
including post-war Iraq, the situation on the Korean Peninsula, terrorism and
nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction will be discussed at the July
23-24 ASEM meeting in the resort island of Bali. The issue of Suu Kyi will also
be taken up, Effendi said.
ASEM consists of 10 Asian countries --
Brunei, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South
Korea, Thailand and Vietnam -- and 15 European Union (EU) member countries and
the European Commission, the executive branch of the EU.
The EU members
are Austria, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. At
least seven ministers from Europe have confirmed their attendance.
Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, which belong to the 10-member Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), will only be invited for the informal dinner as
they are not ASEM members. The remaining seven ASEAN countries are all ASEM
members.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Kawaguchi calls for dispatch of ASEAN mission on Suu
Kyi
TOKYO, July 17, Kyodo - Japan hopes the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) will send a mission to Myanmar to help achieve the release
of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Foreign Minister Yoriko
Kawaguchi told her Indonesian counterpart on Thursday.
''It is quite
important that ASEAN work toward resolving the issue, and I hope ASEAN will send
a mission to Myanmar under the leadership of Indonesia which chairs the
grouping,'' Kawaguchi was quoted by Japanese officials as telling Indonesian
Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda in a telephone conversation.
The
10-member ASEAN is exploring the possibility of a high-level mission to Myanmar
to urge the junta to release Suu Kyi as early as possible.
Hassan
responded that ASEAN will make efforts to achieve her release, the officials
said.
The junta detained Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, and other
leaders of the National League for Democracy on May 30 in northern Myanmar
following what the junta claims was a clash between Suu Kyi's supporters and
backers of the government.
Suu Kyi's detention, as well as the North
Korean nuclear issue, is high on the agenda at an Asia-Europe Foreign
Ministerial Meeting to be held in Indonesia July 23-24. Hassan will chair the
meeting.
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