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Myanmar general condemns new US sanctions as "human rights
abuse"
YANGON, July 31 (AFP) - One of Myanmar's top generals on Thursday
lashed out at the United States for introducing tough new sanctions, saying it
was an "abuse of human rights" which would result in social and moral decay.
"Trying to push the people of a nation into deep poverty like this is
abuse of human rights," military intelligence chief General Khin Nyunt was
quoted as saying in the state-owned New Light of Myanmar.
Khin Nyunt,
one of the three senior generals who control the country, said the ban on all
imports from Myanmar would bring about "unemployment and recession" and put
women at risk of sexual exploitation.
"It is more likely that
unscrupulous persons capitalising on the situation will try to breed social and
moral decay into young women," he said.
"Mostly, these people persuade
young women into thinking highly of foreign countries and smuggle them abroad."
Trafficking in humans, particularly young women destined for the sex
trade, is a serious problem in impoverished Myanmar and many other regional
nations.
Myanmar's military government Wednesday described the sanctions
imposed by US President George W. Bush this week in protest at opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi's continuing detention as "most regrettable"
The
sanctions, effective from next month, include a ban on all imports from the
Southeast Asian nation worth about 356 million dollars annually and are
particularly aimed at the crucial textile trade in an economy near-collapse.
The legislation also authorises the US president to aid Myanmar
democracy activists, freezes the regime's financial assets in US banks and
property in the United States, and widens a visa ban on Myanmar officials.
"This action will in no way be helpful to the relations between the two
nations," the junta said.
Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested after a
junta-backed mob brutally attacked a convoy she was travelling in on May 30. The
ruling generals put the death toll at four, but eyewitnesses say dozens were
killed.
A crackdown on democracy activists countrywide since then has
led to an unknown number of arrests, while the party offices of Aung San Suu
Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party have been shuttered.
Canada and the European Union have also imposed tougher sanctions on
Myanmar since Suu Kyi was taken into detention, while the impoverished country's
largest donor Japan has suspended new economic aid.
Before the latest
row, Myanmar was already subject to sanctions because of its poor human rights
record and refusal to acknowledge 1990 elections won in a landslide by the
NLD.
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Philippines wants Aung San Suu Kyi freed before ASEAN Bali
summit
MANILA, July 31 (AFP) - Philippines Foreign Secretary Blas Ople on
Thursday urged Myanmar to release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi before the
Yangon leader flies to the Indonesian resort of Bali for the next ASEAN summit
in October.
The pro-democracy leader, a Nobel laureate, was placed under
"protective custody" after a junta-backed mob brutally attacked a convoy she was
travelling in on May 30. The ruling generals put the death toll at four, but
eyewitnesses say dozens were killed.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan
Wirayuda said Wednesday that Myanmar has told Indonesia "that they hope that
before the ASEAN summit (Aung San Suu Kyi's case) will be resolved."
Heads of government of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) are to meet in Bali in October.
"It is my hope that Myanmar's
decision to resolve the issue includes a decision to release Daw Suu Kyi and the
members of the National League for Democracy," Ople said in a statement.
Myanmar's deputy foreign minister U Khin Maung Wing visited Manila this
week for meetings with President Gloria Arroyo and Foreign Secretary Ople.
The official, a special envoy of Senior General Than Shwe, the leader of
Myanmar, wask asked to free Aung San Suu Kyi and "to institute genuine political
and democratic reforms," Ople said Thursday.
Ople said Yangon has
recently allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit Aung San
Suu Kyi.
"This is a small step in the right direction and we hope this
will soon be followed by her release," he added.
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Thai businesses shut down in Myanmar to flee US
sanction
Xinhuanet 2003-07-31 12:10
BANGKOK, July 30
(Xinhuanet) -- Thai enterprises are
closing down their businesses based in Myanmar for fear of the fallout of the US
sanction, the state-run Thai News Agency (TNA) reported.
Around 20
factories in Myanmar belonging to Thais and other nationals began to shut down
some two months ago in anticipation of sanctions, the Federation of Thai
Industries' (FTI) Deputy President Kiertiphong Noijaiboon was quoted by TNA as
saying.
Kiertiphong denied there might be severe impact on the Thai
businesses in Myanmar, noting that most of the Thai enterprises relied on low
labor cost and export quotas to the United States to make profits.
Among
the 100-odd foreign-owned enterprises in Myanmar, only 10 belonged to Thais, he
said, and most of them focused on fabric and electronic components
production.
He also pointed out that the US sanction on Myanmar would
deteriorate poverty and drive more Myanmar people to Thailand.
The FTI
had warned border-based production plants of the situation, according to
Kiertiphong.
The US congress on July 16 voted in favor of diplomatic and
economic sanctions against Myanmar, including the freezing of assets and a trade
ban, to bring pressure to bear on the Myanmar government to release opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi who has been detained since late May.
Following
the US action, the Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra expressed his concern
over the likely increased influx of illegal Myanmar workers to
Thailand.
At present, there are nine camps on the Thai-Myanmar border
accommodating some 125,000 refugees from Myanmar.
Meanwhile, about 1,500
Myanmar refugees have received United Nations High Commission for Refugees'
(UNHCR's) political refugee cards which entitle them to move only in their
designated camps, according to Thai Foreign Minister Surakiat Sathirathai.
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The Taipei Times
Myanmar factories
close over sanctions
DPA - Thursday, Jul 31, 2003,Page 10
Thai and Taiwanese factories in Myanmar have begun shutting down
in anticipation of the impact of sanctions imposed by the US, the Thai News
Agency reported yesterday.
In a move expected to have widespread
economic consequences, US President George W. Bush signed a bill in Washington
on Tuesday closing the US market to imports from Myanmar.
The Thai News
Agency quoted Kiertiphong Noijaiboon, deputy president of the Federation of Thai
Industries, as saying about 20 production plants in Myanmar, belonging to
investors from Thailand, Taiwan and other countries, had shut down in the past
two months in anticipation of the US sanctions.
The US had been a major
export market for Myanmar products, particularly garments.
Of the nearly
100 foreign-owned production plants in Myanmar, 10 belong to Thai investors and
most were concerned with the fabric and electronic components industries,
Kiertiphong said.
He warned the sanctions could lead to a reduction in
the quantity of foreign currency in Myanmar, which in turn would destabilize the
country's currency, the kyat.
This could cause poverty and an influx of
Myanmar nationals into Thailand, he added.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra has spoken out against imposing sanctions on Myanmar.
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The People's Daily
Last updated at: (Beijing
Time) Thursday, July 31, 2003
Myanmar Says Never Yields to Pressure,
Intimidation
The Myanmar government made its first
official response Wednesday to the new sanctions imposed on the country by the
United States, saying its people have never yielded to pressure and intimidation
and will never do so.
The Myanmar government made its first official
response Wednesday to the new sanctions imposed on the country by the United
States, saying its people have never yielded to pressure and intimidation and
will never do so.
US President George W. Bush signed on Tuesday a bill
imposing sanctions on Myanmar to punish its government for the continued
detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi (ASSK). The legislation of the
sanctions, which include banning imports from Myanmar and freezing the military
government's assets in the United States, was overwhelmingly approved earlier by
the US Congress.
The sanctions also expand the current ban on granting
US visas to Myanmar leaders and codify existing policy that opposes new
international loans or technical aid to the nation.
A statement of the
Myanmar Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said the country regrets over the decision
of the US government to approve the new sanctions which it said will in no way
be helpful to the relations between the two countries nor will it contribute to
Myanmar's efforts for consolidating national reconciliation andbuilding a
democratic society.
Commenting that sanctions and embargoes do not work,
the statement warned that they only hurt the ordinary people and are deemed as
being counter-productive.
Myanmar is committed to the path of national
reconciliation and democracy and is determined to build a peaceful, modern and
developed nation, the statement said.
The tightening of sanctions
against Myanmar by the US government came after Yangon arrested ASSK, general
secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD), and put her in a secret
location on account of the May 30 incident, in which ASSK's convoywas reportedly
ambushed by government supporters when she was making a political trip in the
north of the country. The government claimed that four people were killed and 48
others injured in the bloody clashes between NLD supporters and pro-government
protesters.
Since then, the international community, including the
United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the United
States, the European Union (EU), Canada and Japan, has beenurging the Myanmar
military regime to immediately release ASSK. Ofthem, the EU, along with the
United States, has also stepped up sanctions against Myanmar, while Japan
suspended its economic aid to the country to press for ASSK's release.
In the latest development, the recent Fifth Asia-Europe Meetingin Bali
has also called on the Myanmar government to release ASSK and ensure freedom of
political activities in the country.
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Business Respect
British
American Tobacco 'frustration' at Burma calls
A News item from the
Business Respect newsletter No. 61, dated 30 Jul 2003
British
American Tobacco has launched its second corporate social responsibility report
and its chairman Martin Broughton took the opportunity to express 'frustration'
with the UK government's urging of the company to withdraw from
Burma.
The company, which pulled off a significant coup with its first
CSR report in being awarded ACCA's 'Best First Time Reporter' award, has been
under considerable pressure as the last UK company to retain a presence in Burma
since the arrest and detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Martin Broughton said that the company was still considering a formal
request by the government for the company to withdraw, but believed that this
was a matter for the government to decide. It was not, he suggested, for the
government to refrain from putting in place sanctions against Burma but to then
call for companies to take action instead.
Companies were responsible
for human rights in the workplace and within their field of operations - matters
of 'wider human rights' were a matter for governments.
The company's
report, 156 pages long, covers all aspects of the company's approach to product
responsibility, supply chain management, environment and workplace. It uncovers
the company's broad framework for corporate social responsibility, which was
produced in collaboration with the Institute for Business Ethics.
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Bangkok Post - Thursday 31 July 2003
UNHCR names pair `persons of concern'
The
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has granted
person-of-concern status to two Burmese citizens who fled to Thailand after
witnessing the violence during which democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was
arrested on May 30.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Sihasak Phuangketkeow said
yesterday the UNHCR had forwarded a list of 1,600 immigrants who had been
granted POC status to the Foreign and Interior ministries. A special task force
headed by the Interior Ministry would coordinate with the UNHCR.
Mr
Sihasak said the government was considering the legal and budget requirements
for relocating and sheltering POC immigrants at a holding centre near the
Burmese border until it was considered safe for them to return home.
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The Nation
PM to push Burma on peace
road map idea
Published on Jul 31, 2003
Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday expressed hope that visiting Burmese
Foreign Minister Win Aung would understand his determination to come up with a
peace road map despite the plan's cold reception from Rangoon.
Win Aung
is scheduled to arrive here today for a two-day meeting with his counterparts
from Laos, Cambodia and Thailand to discuss economic cooperation to reduce the
influx of foreign illegal workers into Thailand.
Thaksin said the
government would explain Thailand's position on the road map to Win Aung during
the meeting.
Thailand has proposed that Burma draw up its own version of
the road map towards national reconciliation to show it is serious about
improving relations with its neighbour.
Foreign Minister Surakiart
Sathirathai yesterday said that Thailand considered the matter an internal
affair of Burma.
"At the end of the day, it must be the people of Burma
who decide which way they want to take and what process they want to follow," he
said.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sihasak Phuangketkeow said Thailand
had offered a proposal, but the road map itself must come from.
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The Nation
Regional development talks
begin here today
Supalak
Ganjanakhundee
Published on Jul 31, 2003
Foreign Ministers from Laos, Cambodia, Burma and Thailand are
meeting today in Bangkok to map out a strategy for integrated development.
Over two days, discussions |will be held on cooperation in
transportation, tourism and human development, Foreign Affairs Ministry
spokesman Sihasak Phuangketkeow said yesterday.
Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra's idea of fostering |relations by twinning border |cities would also
be tabled, Sihasak said.
The meeting is being held to lay the groundwork
for the scheme, which will be discussed in depth during the four-nation summit
scheduled to take place in Pagan, Burma, in October, Sihasak added.
Thaksin had proposed the quadrilateral economic scheme during April's
Asean meeting on Sars.
The focus would be on developing border areas to
provide jobs so illegal migrants would not have to search for work all over
Thailand.
Although 409,339 migrant workers from mainly Burma, Cambodia
and Laos have registered this year, the country has no effective way of handling
the influx of more than a million undocumented economic refugees the economy has
to absorb each year, Sihasak said.
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The Jakarta Post - July 31,
2003
Opinion - Megawati's diplomatic 'coup' in freeing Suu Kyi
Kornelius Purba, Staff Writer, The
Jakarta Post, Jakarta korpur@xxxxxxxxx
A euphoric tide of
democratization has swept through some members of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) in recent years, especially founding members Indonesia,
the Philippines and Thailand.
ASEAN has also experienced a steady
recovery in its once lowly international stature. But, just when things seemed
to be improving, enter the brutality of Myanmar's military junta against world
democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, something that has proved to be a major thorn
in the side of the regional grouping.
In a surprise move in June, ASEAN
abandoned its much criticized non-interference credo when its foreign ministers
during their annual meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, harshly rebuked the Myanmar
military regime and demanded the quick release of Suu Kyi.
The spirit of
concern for Suu Kyi has even infected Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad,
who was once angered by then Indonesian President B.J. Habibie when the later
expressed sympathy for jailed former Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar
Ibrahim, his long-time friend.
Even Singapore, famous for its
sophisticated legal moves to impoverish antigovernment leaders like Joshua J.B.
Jeyaratnam and Singapore's Democratic Party (SDP) leader Chee Soon Juan, also
strongly urged Yangoon to free Suu Kyi.
After four years in limbo since
the economic crisis hit Asia in 1997, ASEAN has been able to regain some of its
international prowess, ironically thanks to the Sept. 11 tragedy and the Bali
bombings in October last year. The impacts of the two tragedies have translated
into the impetus for stronger unity in the regional grouping. Western countries
have once again come to realize the strategic value of the region in terms of
economics and global security.
ASEAN's partners in the ASEAN Regional
Forum (ARF), the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum (APEC), and Asia-Europe Meeting
(ASEM), and Asian economic giants China, Japan and South Korea, are being lured
back to seek out lucrative business opportunities in the region.
When
industrialized countries and wealthy investors meet with ASEAN, of course both
parties want to concentrate on business interests, and they want to get rid of
all possible stumbling blocks to negotiations. So, when Myanmar remains under
the iron fist of a military junta and continues to mistreat the 1990 Nobel Prize
laureate, Myanmar's presence at the negotiating table becomes a serious
liability to ASEAN.
People in the region are now more conscious of
democratic values, including the significance of having elected leaders.
Indonesians, Thais and Filipinos show more concern now over a repressive regime
in their midst. To a certain extent, they might also be ready to demand that
their governments stop pretending not to know that Suu Kyi's party, the National
League for Democracy (NLD), overwhelmingly won the military-controlled general
elections in 1989.
Myanmar's neighbors can no longer accept the
non-interference argument, because the military abuses against Suu Kyi have
directly affected their own well-being. Like in any neighborhood, neighbors will
have to take action if they continue to witness domestic violence in a
neighboring home. They have to act to stop such domestic cruelty.
Indonesia, as the current ASEAN chairman, is supposed to lead the group
in its mission to address the source of diplomatic disruptions: The political
chaos in Myanmar.
In February 1997, it was Soeharto who directed ASEAN's
final judgment on the bids of Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia to join the group. At
that time Indonesia strongly believed that the incorporation of Myanmar into
ASEAN would be productive for the region.
This was the time when
Soeharto was at the peak of his power, after cracking down hard on Megawati
Soekarnoputri in 1996. Clearly he had no interest in defending Suu Kyi.
Myanmar's generals were proud to learn from him on how to rule their country
with an iron fist.
It is only natural that Suu Kyi should have more hope
now that Megawati is at the helm, especially because they have similar family
backgrounds. Megawati's father, Sukarno, and Su Kyi's father, Aung San, were the
founding fathers of Indonesia and Myanmar respectively.
But what has
happened? The current government's attitude to the issue is a virtual carbon
copy of Soeharto's attitude to Myanmar. That is the reason why visiting Myanmar
foreign minister Win Aung presented a small but seemingly pleasant gift to his
host Indonesia, which is hungry for international recognition in the diplomatic
arena.
Indonesia can now only nostalgically look back on its diplomatic
triumphs of the past, when it helped settle the conflicts in Cambodia, and in
the Southern Philippines, at least for a while. Today, the optimum result of
what it could accomplish is reflected in the statement of foreign minister
Hassan Wirayuda yesterday: "We have received a guarantee that the Aung San Suu
Kyi case will be over before the ASEAN summit (in October in Bali)."
Myanmar's military regime was clearly delighted with President
Megawati's lenient, if not permissive, approach to the brutality of Myanmar's
military junta against Myanmar's democratically elected leader.
After
being harshly warned by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad that Myanmar
could be ousted from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for Suu
Kyi's detention, the ruling Myanmar generals can now smile broadly as they have
been able to appease Indonesia with only a small concession.
It will be
very embarrassing for Megawati if the 58-year-old Suu Kyi is still detained
during the October summit when the 10 ASEAN leaders will also receive the
leaders of China, Japan and South Korea.
But is her release enough? She
can easily be arrested again after the summit. It is essential for ASEAN to
convince the generals in Myanmar that it is firstly in their own interests to
give Suu Kyi the opportunity to lead the country as the winner of the 1989
elections.
It would then be no less pressing for ASEAN to convince Suu
Kyi that it would be in the interests of her country, and the stability of her
government, to give concessions to the generals. Can Megawati do it? Can
Minister Hassan convince his own boss that it is now the time to act?
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