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# Please sign on to the Burma Freedom Petition to be
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President, All Representatives in United States and World Leaders. http://www.burmafreedomcampaign.org/burma-freedom-campaign-petition.htm --------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------- HEADLINES -------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - Myanmar media campaign points to threatened ban
on opposition
AFP - Myanmar might have to be expelled from ASEAN:
Mahathir
AFP - Myanmar martyrs' ceremony goes ahead without Aung
San Suu Kyi
AFP - European ministers stay away from SE Asia
partnership meet
AFP - Thailand to host five-nation drugs meeting
focused on precursor chemicals
AFP - Myanmar, India agree to streamline trade and
investment: report
AFP - Bush slams Myanmar, Iran, Cuba, North Korea,
Belarus, Zimbabwe
ST - No reprieve for Suu Kyi on dad's anniversary
Bkk Post - PM predicts an influx of aliens, drugs
The Nation - EU jibs at Burma
The Edge Daily - Scomi gets drilling fluids job in
Myanmar
BBC News - Burmese migrants' life and death
struggle
BBC News - Burma could face Asean
expulsion
Hindustan Times - Vice President to Visit Myanmar in
Nov
Asian Tribune - Burmese Border Security Force (NASAKA)
Committed Series of Robberies.
-------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday July 20, 10:37 AM
Myanmar media campaign points to threatened ban on opposition BANGKOK, July 20 (AFP) -A series of vicious commentaries in Myanmar's state media targetting democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has raised fears the junta could be planning to ban her party and detain her indefinitely, observers say. Purportedly written by a disenchanted member of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), the articles attempt to portray her as vain and arrogant and her followers as hooligans bent on stirring up unrest. The commentaries which began appearing in official newspapers two weeks ago are clearly aimed at blaming the NLD for violent clashes that erupted on May 30 when Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters were ambushed by a pro-junta gang during a political tour of northern Myanmar. "The finger is being well and truly pointed at the NLD and by extension Aung San Suu Kyi that they were provoking problems throughout this journey," said one Yangon diplomat. "It could be all part of their plan to perhaps declare the NLD an illegal organisation," he said, adding that the hostile tone suggested the ruling generals had no plans to release her. "Their actions to date would indicate that they're not looking to let her go any time soon." Apart from detailing the events leading up to the clashes which triggered Aung San Suu Kyi's detention, the commentaries are also a clumsy attempt to poison readers against the immensely popular opposition leader. "Auntie Suu is a willful and hard-headed person liable to rash judgments followed by blind action, in her relations with the present government," said one, referring to her as an "ordinary housewife." "Nevertheless, whatever the provocation, responsible leaders of the present government, preferring to act with forbearance, and on the basis of give and take, have always chosen to take action in moderation." One edition ran a photograph of Aung San Suu Kyi sitting at a table with the nation's top brass and captioned it as a "family dinner." "If it wasn't so serious it's hilarious in many ways. It's a great piece of fiction," said the diplomat. The lavishly illustrated articles, which have recently delved into the realm of romance with details of a purported affair between Aung San Suu Kyi's housemaid and a party cadre, have attracted a huge following. "It is obviously slanted and aimed at discrediting the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi but it makes interesting reading," one city dweller who has not missed one of the nine installments told AFP in Yangon. "It is so outlandish and spiteful, very few people take it at face value," a local observer said. "It is a clear indication that the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi are in for more troubled times." The opposition leader's continued detention has unleashed a furious response from the international community, led by the United States and the European Union which have tightened sanctions and the country's major donor Japan which has suspended all new financial assistance. But the junta has remained unmoved, insisting that Aung San Suu Kyi is in "protective custody" for her own safety and giving no indication of when she will be released. Debbie Stothard from the regional pressure group Altsean-Burma said the stony response and the vitriol unleashed in the official press make it "very likely" that Myanmar's leader Senior General Than Shwe is planning to ban the NLD. "It looks like he's decided that he wants to break not just the NLD but Aung San Suu Kyi too, and get rid of the pro-democracy movement once and for all," she said. "The legality of the NLD has always been a thorn in the junta's side," she said, adding that although the idea of banning it had been floated many times since its creation in 1988 the current situation was far more serious. Stothard said that although the NLD was now in a dire situation, virtually shut down with all its branches closed and its entire leadership in jail or under house arrest, the situation would be even worse under a ban. "In terms of morale, people in Burma and exiles as well have always drawn comfort from the fact that the NLD continues to be a legal political party," she said. -------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday July 20, 9:36 AM
Myanmar might have to be expelled from ASEAN:
Mahathir
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, July 20 (AFP) - Myanmar might have to be expelled from the ASEAN grouping if its military rulers continue defying world pressure to release democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad warned in an interview. Mahathir, who played a major role in bringing Myanmar into the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 1997, made it clear, however, that this would only be considered as a last resort. "We will have to examine every avenue before we can take such drastic actions," he told AFP in an exclusive interview ahead of a visit Tuesday by French President Jacques Chirac. "In the end, it may have to be that way. I don't say that it cannot be but certainly not at this moment." Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party won 1990 elections by a landslide but has been denied power by the military, was detained on May 30 when her convoy was attacked by a junta-backed mob while she was on a political tour of northern Myanmar. The incident triggered a wider crackdown on her National League for Democracy which has left its entire leadership in jail or under house arrest. Although the junta has insisted that Suu Kyi is being detained on a temporary basis for her own safety, it has not indicated when she could be released, despite pressure from the United Nations and countries around the world. "We have already informed them that we are very disappointed with the turn of events and we hope that Aung San Suu Kyi will be released as soon as possible," Mahathir said. "They sent an envoy to see me and I told them that is our view. We are very disappointed over these things and of course, we have done our very best to try and get them to change their minds but if they are willing to defy the world, then what can Malaysia do?" The Myanmar issue has already shaken up the Southeast Asian grouping, which has been criticized in the past for its policy of not interfering in the internal affairs of member states. ASEAN appeared to break with this tradition during its annual ministerial meeting in Cambodia last month, demanding the Nobel peace laureate's release. Mahathir said, however: "We don't criticise member states unless what one state does embarasses us, causes a problem for us. "We are thinking about ourselves as ASEAN, we are not criticising Myanmar for doing what is not related to us, but what they have done has affected us, our credibility. Because of that, we have voiced our views." ASEAN, groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. -------------------------------------------------------------- Sat Jul 19, 2:52 AM ET Myanmar martyrs' ceremony goes ahead without
Aung San Suu Kyi
YANGON, July 19 (AFP) - Ceremonies to mark the assassination of Myanmar's independence hero General Aung San were held Saturday in the absence of his daughter Aung San Suu Kyi who has been under detention since May 30. With the democracy leader held at an unknown location, the family was instead represented by her estranged elder brother Aung San Oo, a US citizen who attended Martyrs' Day event at the invitation of the military regime. Aung San Suu Kyi was present at last year's ceremony which was held soon after she was released from house arrest, but stayed away the previous year in a gesture of protest against the restrictions imposed on her. This year, she is again being held by the regime, after being taken into "protective custody" in the wake of violent clashes between her supporters and a pro-junta gang during a political tour of northern Myanmar. "The Aung San family will this time be represented by big brother Aung San Oo who is presently here with his wife as a special guest of the military government," a close friend of Aung San Oo told AFP Friday. "He has not asked to see his sister," he added. For many years the siblings have not been on good terms, but the relationship soured further amid a feud over the family home in Yangon where the Nobel peace laureate has lived since returning to Myanmar in 1988. Aung San, who was assassinated in 1947, is highly respected both by the ruling junta and the pro-democracy movement, and the annual Martyrs' Day celebrations are a major event on Myanmar's political calendar. The ceremony was held amid tight security at the Martyrs' Mausoleum which lies in the shadow of Yangon's golden Shwedagon Pagoda, presided over by Culture Minister Major-General Kyi Aung. Yangon's diplomatic community was there in force, and representatives of international agencies including the United Nations and the International Committee for the Red Cross also attended. The dignitaries and families of the eight comrades assassinated along with Aung San laid wreaths at the mausoleum in a simple but very solemn ceremony. The national flag was brought to half-mast and buglers from the three military wings sounded the Last Post. Those assembled in the bright sunshine then held a two-minute silence in honour of the nine men killed just before Myanmar achieved independence from British rule. Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party, the National League for Democracy, usually holds its own Martyrs' Day ceremony at its headquarters in downtown Yangon. But after a crackdown on the opposition which was rolled out in the wake of the May 30 incident, the ramshackle building has been shuttered and its entire leadership is in jail or under house arrest. -------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday July 20, 9:48 AM
European ministers stay away from SE Asia
partnership meet
JAKARTA, July 20 (AFP) - Only four of 15 European Union states will send full ministers to a two-day meeting this week with their Asian counterparts despite EU calls this month for "a new partnership" with Southeast Asia. An EU diplomat acknowledged that Europe is preoccupied right now with domestic problems and the Middle East but insisted that its commitment to forging closer ties with Asia is not in question. Foreign ministers, deputy ministers and officials from 10 Asian states and from the 15 EU members, who form a group called the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM), will hold two days of talks starting Wednesday on the Indonesian resort island of Bali. Only four European countries will send full ministers while the rest will be represented by deputy foreign ministers, said the EU diplomat. Most of the 10 Asian member states will send full ministers and they have in the past complained of the low level of European representation. Earlier this month in Bali, just three European states sent their finance ministers to an ASEM meeting while nine of the 10 Asian states sent full ministers. "I think this is an understandable issue of concern. We can say that Europe suffers a little bit at the moment. There's a lot of inward looking," the diplomat told AFP. "Everybody is concerned with domestic politics and now we have the economic situation (which is) not too good. We have a major reform of the setup of the Union, we're talking about a new constitution and ... there's a new set of demands that the population make about what the EU should be about," he said. Europe is also preoccupied with the Middle East conflict and "the interface" with the United States, he said. "We're very close to the Middle East and it's a big issue for Europe." Despite this, the diplomat said Europe's commitment to forging closer ties with Asia is not in question. "Asia is the continent of the future ... for us it's a huge region to interact with emotionally, culturally, there's a lot to do." The ASEM foreign ministers' meeting will discuss post-war Iraq, the situation in the Korean peninsula, the Middle East peace process, international terrorism and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction among other issues. Irfan Buchori, an Indonesian foreign ministry official, said the meeting would end with a political declaration. "It will be an informal meeting, a medium to exchange views on issues of common concern as well as international developments," he said. Myanmar could be one bone of contention. ASEM's Asian membership is currently made up of China, Japan and South Korea plus seven of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. While the EU hopes to enlarge ASEM in future to include the 10 prospective new EU members, ASEAN wants to add its other three members -- Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos --- to the forum. The EU diplomat said there are objections to Myanmar joining ASEM considering its dismal human rights record. "Myanmar has been a concern for a long time and it's not becoming better. You want to see a process of some kind of improvement but it's making a step back," he said. "What are you discussing with them? What can you discuss in good confidence?" The EU raised its concerns over Myanmar in a document released this month that called for "a new partnership with Southeast Asia". This urges stronger economic ties including a possible free trade deal but expresses deep concern about the situation in Myanmar and the continued detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The ASEM process began in 1996. It aims, according to the organisation's website, "to move away from an 'aid and trade' relationship towards a more balanced relationship based on equal partnership". -------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday July 20, 3:39 PM
Thailand to host five-nation drugs meeting
focused on precursor chemicals
BANGKOK, July 20 (AFP) - Ministers from China, Laos, India, Myanmar and Thailand will hold talks this week in the northern town of Chiang Rai aimed at eliminating precursor chemicals used in drug production, officials said. The July 22-25 meeting in Thailand's north, one of the corners of the notorious "Golden Triangle," is the first of its kind and will be attended by the ministers responsible for drug suppression in their countries. "The ministers are expected to adopt the Chiang Rai declaration which will touch on their strong commitment to solving the problem of drugs, particularly with regard to precursors and chemical trafficking," said Rasanee Vistaveth, deputy chief of Thailand's Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB). Ephedrine and pseudoephredine, which are contained in legal medicines, are used to produce illegal stimulants like "speed" or "ice," which are made in vast quantities in Myanmar and then trafficked to Thailand and China and beyond. Chemical precursors are also used to turn raw opium into heroin. "We expect to openly discuss our weak points, and the measures each country is taking to control these substance and prevent them from reaching the Golden Triangle area," Rasanee told AFP. The official said the five countries will explore ways to cooperate to intercept the illegal substances which are also used in legitimate industries. "Every country has it own way of controlling these precursors but as matter of fact lots of them still flood the Golden Triangle area," she said. The ministers will also address crop subtitution initiatives for impoverished ethnic minorities who still rely on opium cultivation. "On this topic Thailand is willing to help and share its own expertise by training officials," Rasanee said, referring to Thailand's successful decades-long campaign to eliminate poppy growing from its territory. The five countries will discuss how to find markets for goods produced under crop substitution and other related programs such as eco-tourism and handicraft manufacturing. The meeting will be hosted by Thai Justice Minister Pongthep Thepkanjana. -------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday July 20, 1:55 PM
Myanmar, India agree to streamline trade and
investment: report
YANGON, July 20 (AFP) - Myanmar and India have signed an agreement to streamline trade and investment, taking a new step to strengthen their increasingly significant economic ties, the Myanmar Times said. The agreement was signed by Indian Minister for Commerce and Industry Arun Jaitley and his Myanmar counterpart Brigadier-General Pyi Sone in Yangon on July 15, the semi-official weekly said in its edition to be published Monday. Under the deal, India will give technical and financial assistance to Myanmar to make value-added products for the Indian market, commerce ministry official Tint Thwin said. "Both sides need to eliminate or relax non-tariff barriers such as quotas," he said, adding the two sides were planning to establish a banking system to provide for easier transactions. They would also address trade-related issues, such as the need to improve transport links, he told the newspaper. Jaitley, who led a seven-member delegation attending the first meeting of the India-Myanmar Joint Trade Committee, reportedly said his country placed a high priority on expanding economic ties with Myanmar. India was hoping to double bilateral trade to 1.0 billion dollars by 2006, he said. In the decade to 2001-2002, the value of total direct trade between the two countries increased by 500 percent, to 428 million dollars. Jaitley said Myanmar's natural resources and India's globally-competitive technology were valuable assets that could contribute to the prosperity of both countries. He described his visit as "a catalyst to strengthening ties between high-level government authorities as well as the business communities," the Myanmar Times said During the visit, the Myanmar-India Business Club asked the minister to consider easing duties on some imports from Myanmar which the organisation said sends nearly a quarter of all its exports to India. Myanmar exports mainly beans and pulses, timber, and gems to India, from which it buys pharmaceuticals, building materials, steel, and wheat. Foreign Minister Win Aung visited New Delhi earlier this month as part of an Asian tour partly aimed at defusing anger over the junta's decision to take opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi into detention on May 30. India has expressed concern over the detention, which has provoked an angry response from the international community and increased sanctions from the United States and the European Union. However, analysts say that while Myanmar maintains strong trading links with China and India, the tighter sanctions will have little effect on the regime. -------------------------------------------------------------- Bush slams Myanmar, Iran, Cuba, North Korea,
Belarus, Zimbabwe
Fri Jul 18, 7:24 PM ET DALLAS, Texas (AFP) - President George W. Bush hit out six regimes on a US blacklist he said were guilty of oppression and human rights abuses in Myanmar and Iran, Cuba, North Korea, Zimbabwe and Belarus. In a proclamation issued to mark "captive nations week" first observed in 1959 as a statement against communism, Bush hit out at a familiar gallery of US foes. "Millions of people still live under regimes that violate their citizens' rights daily," Bush said in a statement issued as he made a day-trip to Dallas from his Texas ranch. "In countries such as Burma and Iran, citizens lack the right to choose their government, speak out against oppression, and practice their religion freely," Bush said. "The despot who rules Cuba imprisons political opponents and crushes peaceful opposition," he said, in barbed remarks aimed at Fidel Castro. There were also harsh words for North Korea, with which Washington has been locked in a nuclear showdown since October. "Hundreds of thousands languish in prison camps and citizens suffer from malnutrition as the regime pursues weapons of mass destruction," Bush said. "Violence, corruption, and mismanagement reign in Zimbabwe and an authoritarian government in Belarus smothers political dissent." But Bush lauded his ouster of the "brutal regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq," during a US-led war earlier this year. "The Iraqi people are no longer captives in their own country," Bush said. "Their freedom is evidence of the fall of one of the most oppressive dictators in history," he said, claiming that Iraqis were now meeting "openly and freely" to discuss the future of their country. -------------------------------------------------------------- The Straits Times - JULY 20, 2003
SUN
No reprieve for Suu Kyi on dad's anniversary YANGON - Myanmar's ruling generals laid wreaths in honour of martyred independence hero General Aung San on Saturday as they faced mounting pressure to release his detained daughter and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. In a fresh crackdown on dissent, the military government took the Nobel peace laureate into 'protective custody' in late May after a clash between her supporters and a pro-government group. Since then, Myanmar has shrugged off international outrage over her detention, including threats of more Western sanctions. There had been speculation that Ms Suu Kyi would be allowed to attend the Martyrs' Day ceremony, which marks the 1947 assassination of her father and eight others in the run-up to the country's independence from Britain. Ms Suu Kyi was two years old when her father died. 'We don't know whether or not the government made that offer to her this year. We know for sure she would not do it while under detention,' a senior member of Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) told Reuters. Ms Suu Kyi attended last year's ceremony soon after her second release from house arrest. The junta has not said where she is now being held. Culture Minister Major-General Kyi Aung, the most senior official at this year's event, laid a wreath at the Martyrs' Mausoleum but made no public comment. The Aung San family was represented by Ms Suu Kyi's estranged elder brother, Mr U Aung San Oo, who lives in the United States. The two siblings have been locked in a dispute over the family home in Yangon. The NLD, which swept to victory in 1990 elections but has never been allowed to take power, has traditionally held its own event on Martyrs' Day. But party offices have been sealed since the May 30 clash which led to Ms Suu Kyi's detention. Witnesses who have since fled to Thailand say her convoy was attacked by club-wielding, pro-junta youths, resulting in dozens of deaths. The junta denies orchestrating the violence and says four people were killed. Last week, the US Senate passed a Bill banning imports, mostly textiles, from Myanmar and sent it to US President George W. Bush for his signature. Key donor Japan has suspended all new aid and the European Union has threatened stricter sanctions. -- Reuters -------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Sunday 20 July 2003
PM predicts an influx of aliens, drugs Authorities brace for US sanctions fallout Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has warned authorities to brace themselves for an influx of Burmese refugees and a surge in drug trafficking. His concerns come after the US House of Representatives decided to impose sanctions and ban imports from Burma, where opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been held in custody by the government since May 30. Mr Thaksin said he would soon summon agencies to a meeting to discuss ways of dealing with the anticipated problems. He was concerned about drug production along the border area, even though the Burmese government had been fully cooperative. ``A meeting will be called soon to discuss how to maintain order in the border areas as well as among the refugee population, many of whom are also involved with drugs,'' he said. The prime minister praised city police for its recent seizure of 598,000 methamphetamine pills. Mr Thaksin urged police and local administration authorities to not only concentrate on ``dark influences'', but also focus on drugs. The wars on drugs and dark influences should proceed simultaneously to ensure the best results, he said. Once drugs and mafia-type influential figures were stamped out, a campaign against poverty would follow soon, he said. ``These problems are all linked. ``The influential figures create `social costs' and strip others of their opportunities.'' Quoting the Interior Ministry, Mr Thaksin said there were 700 major influential figures _ some of whom appeared to have ceased their illegal activities while letting their subordinates do the dirty work. Mr Thaksin said an all-out war would follow if all illegal activities did not cease by August. -------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
EU jibs at Burma Published on Jul 19, 2003 Burma, Laos and Cambodia are to be proposed as new members of the Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem), but Burma's entry faces resistance with European countries concerned over the detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said many European nations had voiced concern during his visit to Europe last week over the human-rights and political situation in Burma. "I have told them that if they want to see Asia-Europe cooperation yield concrete results on such issues as transnational crime, drug trafficking and human rights, it is certainly imperative to permit Burma into the grouping," Surakiart said. Surakiart added that Burma was a member of Asean and as such should be included in Asem. "The most important thing is to honour Burma by inviting them," he said. -------------------------------------------------------------- The Edge Daily
17-07-2003: Scomi gets drilling fluids job in Myanmar By Michelle Kuan, 7.42pm Scomi Group Bhd has secured a two-year contract with Premier Petroleum Myanmar Ltd (Premier Oil) for the provision of drilling fluids materials, low toxicity mineral oil and engineering services. The contract is for Myanmar's offshore Yetagun Field Development in the Andaman Sea, for which Premier Oil is the production-sharing contractor. This is Scomi's second overseas oil and gas contract this year, after Sudan. In a press release on July 17, Scomi said it had received a letter of intent from Premier Oil following a competitive international bid with several top international players. It said the official contract between its unit Kota Minerals & Chemicals Sdn Bhd and Premier Oil was expected to be concluded by the end of this month. It includes work on an offshore rig comprising four wells for an initial period of six months. Scomi said the contract value for the initial stage was estimated at RM5.50 million, but might increase in the event of an increase in drilling activities at Yetagun Field by Premier Oil. It said Kota Mineral's engineering services were expected to commerce next month, but delivery of drilling fluids and low toxicity mineral oil to the rig had started. Scomi said the bulk of the drilling fluid chemicals were supplied out of Kota Minerals' warehouse in Kemaman Supply Base in Terengganu, through Loyang Supply Base in Singapore, which is Premier Oil's regional hub. It said the new contract was in line with the group's strategy to increase its revenue base from overseas' contracts particularly in the Asean, Middle Eastern and North African markets. -------------------------------------------------------------- BBC News - Friday, 18 July,
2003
Burmese migrants' life and death struggle By Christopher Gunness BBC's East Asia Today, northern Thailand "We can take you to where their ashes are", said my Burmese guides, and that is exactly what they did, even though the area is restricted by Thai police. Just outside the Thai town of Mae Sot, the road becomes a mud track, snaking into the sodden rice fields. In a small bamboo grove, my guides became more agitated as they led me into a clearing. And there was the evidence they had promised - a small area, carpeted with ash, and what appeared to be a charred human bone and pieces of burnt tyre. On the night of 24 May, this had been the scene of a vicious murder. Six Burmese workers, between the ages of 19 and 33, were beaten, shot dead and their bodies covered with tyres and set on fire. The six men had been attempting to free friends and relatives kidnapped by a local politician. They had no money and so incurred the wrath of the militiamen loyal to this politician and paid with their lives. The incident has sent a wave of fear through the 100,000-strong Burmese community in Mae Sot. Like many of the one million Burmese migrant workers in Thailand, they have fled political persecution and grinding economic hardship back home. But once they arrive, their hopes of a better life usually come to nothing. Most do not have papers and are living illegally, open to exploitation by Thai businessmen and worse. Moe Swe, Secretary of the Yang Chi Oo Burmese workers Association, said that about one migrant worker in the area is murdered every week. "Their bodies are usually burnt, which makes it impossible for the police to investigate properly." In the case of the six murdered in May, that certainly appears to be the case. The local politician allegedly responsible for ordering the attack has been released on police bail while the investigation continues. But few in the Burmese community believe that prosecution will result. "They almost never do", said Moe Swe. At Mae Sot's main police station, Lieutenant Colonel Samloerng Nam rak said the police were doing what they could, but that genuine problems were hampering the investigations. "Few of the Burmese speak good Thai, which makes it hard for us to do our work", he said. But many believe the root of the problem lies in Bangkok. The Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, is accused of appeasing the military government in Rangoon because of his business interests in Burma. Last year, registration was introduced for migrant workers. But far from offering protection as had been promised, critics say it has been used to clamp down, not just on workers, but on human rights and democracy campaigners who Rangoon see as an irritant. One Burmese exile, who was too frightened to give his name, said Thaksin was sucking up to the generals in Burma, and the migrant workers were being squeezed in the middle, without legal protection. "So for the foreseeable future, we will live in fear of being killed. Our woman will live in fear of being raped," he said. -------------------------------------------------------------- BBC News - Sunday, 20 July,
2003
Burma could face Asean expulsion By Jonathan Kent BBC correspondent, Kuala Lumpur The Malaysian prime minister says Burma could face expulsion from the Asean group of nations if its government continues to ignore calls to free the jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Dr Mahathir Mohammad said that Asean nations had been forced to criticise Burma because its leadership had caused problems and embarrassed its neighbours. It was Dr Mahathir who spearheaded moves to bring Burma into the Association of South East Asian Nations in 1997 - his hope was that trade and political engagement would bring change there. But now he says that Burma's arrest of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has damaged the credibility of the 10-member group - leaving it no alternative but to speak out. Dr Mahathir said Malaysia had made its disappointment known to the Burmese authorities and had asked that Aung San Suu Kyi be released as soon as possible. He said that ultimately Burma could be expelled from Asean though he stressed this would be done as a last resort - only if all other avenues had been explored. 'Warlike Europeans' In a wide ranging interview with the French news agency AFP, Dr Mahathir also repeated his recent assertion that people of European descent are by nature greedy and warlike. However, he described French President Jacques Chirac who visits Malaysia on Tuesday as "sane and normal" and said he was the exception that proved the rule. To support his case, he cited Western wars and the behaviour of white colonists in North America and Australia who he said had committed acts of genocide against the indigenous people of those continents. -------------------------------------------------------------- Hindustan Times
Vice President to Visit Myanmar in
Nov
Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, July 20 Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat will pay an official visit to Myanmar in November, despite international criticism of Yangon for the arrest of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. "We have finalised the visit with Myanmar and the dates will be announced in due course," a senior official told IANS. This will be the first visit abroad by Shekhawat since he assumed office last year. It will also be highest-level visit from India to Myanmar since then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi paid an official visit in 1987. Maung Aye, vice senior general and the second most powerful leader of the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), had visited India in 2000. Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung was here last week to brief Indian leaders about the developments in his country that led to the arrest of Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD). Aung, who came as a special emissary of SPDC Chairman and Senior General Than Shwe, held talks with External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha. He also called on Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a rare honour for a visiting foreign minister, reflecting the importance New Delhi attached to relations with Yangon. India had refrained from joining the chorus of international criticism of the Myanmar government over the arrest of Suu Kyi in May, saying it was that country's internal affair. "India recognises her contributions to democracy. India believes that solutions to internal problems must come from within and external pressure can be counterproductive," the external affairs ministry had said days after the arrest. India, which had been highly critical of the Myanmarese junta in the past for crushing the pro-democracy movement led by Suu Kyi, has refrained from criticising Yangon following a marked improvement in bilateral ties in the last two or three years. Bilateral cooperation between the two countries in various fields has been growing and India considers Myanmar as key to its "Look East" policy and the land bridge to the larger Southeast Asian region. -------------------------------------------------------------- Asian Tribune
Date : 2003-07-20 Burmese Border Security Force (NASAKA) Committed Series of Robberies. Maungdaw, July 19:According to news emerging from Arakan State, the Nasaka ( Burmese Border Security Force) troops were engaged in a habitual night time robberies, especially in the a shrimp culture projects located in the area.Though details are sketchy, unfortunately the Burmese authorities have so failed to stem the robberies. According to a news item dateline 1st July 2003, Nasaka (Border Security Force) troops had looted a shrimp culture project in Loun Don village of Maungdaw township, Arakan State, Burma, said a schoolteacher to our correspondent. It was at 12 midnight that a section of twelve Nasaka personnel, belonging to Attay Pruma Nasaka camp in Nasaka Area No. (5) went to the said project in the guise of dacoit and looted cash, shrimps, fishing nets and other materials worth about Kyat 125,000/-, he further said. Although the project workers had resisted, they could not stop the armed looters. The next morning, the case was reported to the concerned Nasaka authority, but no action yet taken against the offenders, said a relative to the owner of the project to our source. Earlier, in the dead of the night on 13th May 2003, seven Nasaka men from Area No. (4) of Maungdaw Township, looted another shrimp farm of U Maung Than of Ye Twin Pyin ( Kowarbil) village, in Maungdaw north, said a Rakhine villager to our source. While protesting, the armed robbers in uniforms shot at three of the watchmen at the project site and they received bullet injuries. They were two Rakhines and one Rohingya. But the Nasaka did not allow all the three wounded to go for medical treatment, because it might expose their involvement in the crime, he further added. However, the looters could not take away anything from the shrimp project. The following morning the owner U Maung Than, accompanied by village chairman and VPDC members, reported the matter to the concerned Nasaka camp authority, but no action was taken against the culprits, said an ex-schoolteacher. In another development, on 24th April 2003, Nasaka troops had committed a robbery at a shrimp farm of Auk Pruma (Kasarbil) village in Maungdaw Township, said a villager to our correspondent preferring not to mention his name. On that day, at about 10:00 pm, ten Nasaka personnel belonging to Nasaka Area No. (5) went to the shrimp farm owned by one Mohamed Zakaria, 57, pretending themselves as dacoits and looted cash, fishing nets, shrimps, pots and other fishing materials worth about Kyat 200,000/, the source further added. During the robbery, the Nasaka forces severely beat all those who were there in the project site, including the watchmen, said another village old man. The next morning, although the owner of the shrimp culture project had reported to the concerned Nasaka camp officer of the theft, threat and intimidation, no action was taken against the culprits, the source further added. - Kaladan Press - -------------------------------------------------------------- |