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BURMA RELATED NEWS - August 03,
2003.
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HEADLINES
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AFP
- Ministers to lay groundwork for ASEAN single market's financial system
Manila Times - Where Thailand?s ?road map? to Burma leads is
unclear
ST
- Yangon wants time to study Thai plan
The
Observer - Pressure on Burma tours
Bkk
Post - UN sanctions against Burma `could put Thailand in a fix'
Bkk
Post - Burmese to be shifted from camp
The
Nation - SIDELINES: Meandering all over Burma?s ?road map?
USPN - McConnell Urges Singapore To Freeze Burmese Junta's
Assets
Mizzima - Treason Charge Against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Flouted
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Ministers to lay groundwork for ASEAN single market's
financial system
MANILA, Aug 3 (AFP) - Southeast Asian finance ministers are to
meet this week to lay the groundwork for a financial system that will fuel a
single ASEAN market, similar to the European Community, by 2020, officials said.
The ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) will map out strategies to develop, liberalise and integrate the
region's capital market and financial services during their annual talks in the
Philippine capital Wednesday .
"The ASEAN ministers will try to finalise
three roadmaps that will set the stage for a free flow of financial services,
capital account liberalisation and capital market development," an official told
AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
They include a stage-by-stage
approach towards a free flow of capital in the region by 2020, including an
individual country liberalisation programme, and strategy to develop a regional
bond market.
"The financial system is a key and complex component of
AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area) and we need to have roadmaps to achieve the various
components of this system," the official said.
Southeast Asian nations
are already implementing a tariff reduction scheme for largely manufactured
products under AFTA.
Ninety-nine percent of tariffs for manufactured
products traded among senior ASEAN members Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore and Thailand have been knocked down to between zero and
five percent since AFTA was launched in 1992.
Ultimately, tariffs will
be completely abolished by 2010 for the six members, and by 2015 for the newer
members Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, with flexibility on some sensitive
products until 2018.
ASEAN aims to achieve a single market -- dubbed the
"ASEAN economic community" -- of 530 million people in 17 years.
The
ASEAN finance ministers will also sign in Manila a pact for the 10 member
nations to adopt a uniform set of tariff codes for more efficient implementation
of AFTA, officials.
The ASEAN Harmonised Tariff Nomenclature Agreement
will help simplify and harmonise customs procedures with classification code
systems for export products.
Tariff and customs officials of ASEAN
member states had settled "technical differences" in arriving at a common set of
tariff codes, paving the way for the agreement, Philippine Finance
Undersecretary Juanita Amatong said recently.
After their meeting, the
ASEAN ministers will hold talks with their counterparts from China, Japan and
South Korea on Thursday as part of the "ASEAN plus three" annual forum.
They are expected to discuss the deepening of local bond markets in
their countries as well as promoting cross-border issuance of bonds and
investment as part of an "Asian Bond Market Initiative."
Six working
groups had met under the initiative to, among other things, set up new
securitised debt instruments and credit guarantee mechanisms, as well as look
into the structures of local and regional rating agencies.
"The
ministers will be briefed on the progress of these study groups," according to
an ASEAN official.
Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra announced last month
the launch of the Asian Bond Fund, to be backed by 11 countries in the Asia
Pacific.
The bond is the brainchild of Shinawatra.
Central banks
in Japan, the Philippines and Singapore have announced separately that they will
each provide 100 million dollars to the fund, while Australia's reserve bank
will contribute 50 million dollars.
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The Manila Times
Sunday, August 03, 2003
Where Thailand?s ?road map? to Burma leads is unclear
By Larry Jagan
THAILAND is
pushing ahead with its initiative to bring democratic change to Burma by
pursuing discussions on a road map to national reconciliation and democracy, but
where this political journey leads to remains unclear.
Last week, Thai
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai discussed his ideas for this road map
with his Burmese counterpart Win Aung in Bangkok. Win Aung said he would take
the Thai ideas back to Rangoon for further discussion.
Since Thai
officials met with Burma?s Deputy Prime Minister Khin Maung Win, who visited
Bangkok as a special envoy for Gen. Than Shwe recently, Surakiart has been
canvassing vigorously for support from countries in Asia and Europe that have
expressed interest in helping Burma implement democratic reform.
Thai
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has said that Thailand was taking the
initiative because the crisis in Burma was more than Rangoon could handle, and
that it would be easier for it to deal with friendly neighbors than for the
matter to be brought before the UN Security Council.
?We are doing what
we are doing now because we are concerned about Burma. We are not pressuring
Burma or interfering with its internal affairs,? he said. ?Since we are Burma?s
close neighbor, we should initiate something that leads to the international
community?s acceptance of developments in Burma.?
?Working idea?
Under its vision for this road map, Thailand wants the Burmese
regime to propose a series of concrete and practical steps toward
democratization. As part of this process, the Thai government would then host a
meeting of interested parties that would be tasked with fleshing out the Burmese
road map.
But where this will lead?if it leads anywhere?remains unclear.
To date, the Thai idea of this road map, floated in the wake of the
detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, seems rather vague. ?It?s
really only a concept that still needs to be fleshed out,? said a senior Thai
foreign ministry source.
?It?s a working idea that has to be refined
before it gets seriously unveiled,? added a senior Thai diplomat.
European leaders who discussed with Surakiart at various bilateral
meetings during the Asia-Europe Meeting in Bali last month all seemed to have
been given varying versions of it.
?It?s not really a road map as such,?
a senior European official at the Bali meeting said in an interview, ?but 10 or
12 proposed steps which would help the Burmese military government to move
toward full democracy within the next few years.?
Release Suu
Kyi first
For all of the talk about the Thai road map, however,
many foreign governments and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of
which Burma is a member, believe that the first step on any road map must be the
release of Suu Kyi.
For more than two months now, she has been held
under what the government calls protective custody after a violent attack on her
and her supporters in northern Burma. That attack has been blamed on pro-Rangoon
elements.
?Asean and the Thai government have called for Aung San Suu
Kyi?s immediate release and we would like to see steps taken that would move
toward her release,? said Surakiart in Bali last month. ?The recent release of
more than 91 political prisoners is a good signal and if these steps can be
spelt out as part of the road map as to how and when she would be released that
would be very helpful.?
But UN special envoy Razali Ismail?who helped
broker the original talks between Suu Kyi and the generals?has also been very
clear: there can be no dialogue process when one of the key partners is under
detention.
Privately, Asean leaders have made it clear to Rangoon that
they expected Suu Kyi to have already been released by now.
Malaysian
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has warned the generals that if nothing happens
soon, the Asean will have to consider expelling Burma?although this would only
be done as a last resort.
At the Asean meeting of foreign ministers in
Phnom Penh in mid-June, Burma was asked to give them a firm date for Suu Kyi?s
release. This was reiterated by Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda last
week during Win Aung?s visit to Jakarta.
Patience
Burma continues to ask its Asian allies to be patient. ?We need
some breathing space,? Win Aung told his Indonesian hosts.
But
international pressure may be having an impact on Burma?s generals. Last week,
the military authorities allowed the International Red Cross in Rangoon to visit
Suu Kyi in the guesthouse in which she is being detained.
Thai officials
say they see the road map as having a course of steps?after the release of Aung
San Suu Kyi?which would lead to Burma becoming a fully-fledged democracy before
2006 when Rangoon takes over the chairmanship of the Asean.
The other
steps would include Thailand hosting an international forum, which, in the words
of the Thai foreign minister, would ?brainstorm? with representatives of the
Burmese military government on economic liberalization, increasing political
freedom, drawing up a constitution and then holding elections within the next
two years or so.
In truth, there is very little new in this framework
that Razali has not already been discussing in detail with the three main
players in Burma?the military, the democratic opposition and the ethnic
minorities. But what is new is the Thai proposal to host an international forum
on Burma. ?This would be a senior officials meeting rather than a ministerial
one,? said the Thai foreign ministry spokesman, Sihasak Phuangketkeow.
Originally, it was to be to include representatives of the Asean, China,
Japan and Europe. The United States did not seem to be on the original
invitation list.
But in the course of the last week or so, ministry
officials have realized that the guest list has become too long and the thinking
now appears to be an initial meeting which would include Thailand, China and
India with representatives of the Burmese military junta.
Thaksin has
said that neighboring countries need to agree first on political change in
Burma. ?As Burma?s neighbors have the greatest interest in seeing the country
become democratic and thereby ensure regional stability and security,? added a
senior Thai diplomat, ?it would make sense for them to be the main participants
in the road map forum.?
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The Straits
Times
Yangon wants time to study Thai plan
AUG
3, 2003 SUN
BANGKOK - Myanmar expressed broad support for
Thailand's proposed roadmap for democracy, which includes the release of
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, but said it needed more time to discuss the
proposal.
After talks here on Friday, Myanmar's Foreign Minister Win Aung
pledged to deliver the proposal to Yangon's ruling generals.
'We
discussed our situation and all the things which we needed to discuss and we had
a friendly exchange of views, and I'm now taking these suggestions and
discussions with me back home,' he said.
When asked whether the roadmap
would make any difference to Myanmar's actions, Mr Win Aung said: 'Yes, I hope
everything will be okay, that I can say.'
Thailand has proposed the
roadmap to ease mounting pressure on its military-ruled neighbour to free Ms Suu
Kyi, detained after a junta-backed mob attacked a convoy she was travelling in
on May 30.
Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said the roadmap
included steps such as how to release Ms Suu Kyi, how to bring Myanmar's
political groups into a dialogue, drafting of a Constitution and eventually
having a democracy. -- AFP, Xinhua
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The Observer
Pressure on Burma tours
Tom Templeton
Sunday August 3,
2003
The Foreign Office says it will continue to increase the
pressure on tour firms operating to Burma until the military regime releases
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and allows her National League for Democracy
party (NLD) to operate freely.
British officials are due to meet the 18
UK travel companies still operating tours to explain how their operations are
supporting the military regime.
Foreign Minister Mike O'Brien launched a
high-profile campaign two weeks ago in direct response to the 30 May attacks by
government-sponsored militia forces which killed up to 70 NLD members and
resulted in Suu Kyi's imprisonment.
It is estimated that Burma receives
half a million visitors a year of whom just 6,000-8,000 are British. These
visitors annually raise around £25 million in foreign currency for the regime
from entry certificates alone.
Many of Burma's tourism developments were
built using forced labour, and have caused forced relocation of the local
people. The democratically elected NLD has always argued that the benefit of the
little tourism money that filters through to the locals is outweighed by the
cost to Burma's 42 million inhabitants of propping up the current regime.
Western diplomats in the capital Rangoon report that the military junta
and their cronies are benefiting directly from recent tourism developments. A
list of owners of the hotel plots at the newest beach resort in the country,
Ngwesaung, reads like 'a Who's Who of generals and their cronies', one said.
These include the Htoo construction group, owned by U Teza who is barred from
visiting European Union countries as part of EU sanctions against the regime.
Htoo is also apparentyl building a new $3m complex - comprising a
viewing tower, souvenir shops, meeting rooms and a hotel - at the Bagan heritage
site. The tower, which is said to have appeared to Than Shwe, leader of the
junta, in a dream, will overshadow the tallest of the ancient pagodas there. The
residents of Bagan were not consulted about the complex.
Tour operator
Abercrombie & Kent announced last week that it would drop Burma from its
2004 brochure due to lack of demand. However, if a client insists on visiting
Burma after being advised of the political situation A&K will organise their
travel arrangements.
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Bangkok Post - Sunday 03 August 2003
UN sanctions against Burma `could put Thailand in a fix'
Supamart Kasem
Thai-Burmese ties will suffer if the United Nations Security
Council imposes sanctions on Burma, as proposed by Western countries, says House
foreign affairs committee deputy chairman Kobsak Chutikul.
The former
diplomat said Thailand would not suffer much if the United States or other
countries imposed sanctions, but would run into trouble if the UN did
so.
Thailand would have to think carefully about its stance towards Burma
in that case, as it would risk flouting the UN resolution if it pursued
interests with Burma at the same time as the sanctions were in
effect.
The situation involving Burma had nearly reached a deadlock. If
the UN Security Council sanctioned Burma, an international crisis in the region
would result, he said.
Security Council sanctions against South Africa
had caused problems for countries in Africa, he said. Thailand should show the
UN that the Foreign Ministry's ``road map'' could pose a viable alternative for
solving problems in Burma. However, the road map was just a draft and still
lacked clear objectives.
Mr Kobsak said Thailand wanted to see the
release of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the reconciliation
process in Burma proceed quickly, though it was not as active as Malaysia, which
warned of Burma's ouster from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations unless
Mrs Suu Kyi was freed.
Assada Chaiyanam, a former Thai ambassador to the
UN, said he did not believe the UN would impose sanctions on Burma because China
and Russia, the two permanent members of the UN Security Council, might wield
their veto.
The US might use World Trade Organisation rules to force
China to endorse the sanctions, but it was hard for western countries to
pressure Russia, he said.
Problems in Burma would remain unsolved if the
military junta refused to share power with other groups.
He said the road
map was just an idea and contained no guidelines, objectives or
detail.
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Bangkok Post - Sunday 03 August 2003
Burmese to be shifted from camp
Bid to save Salween
from deforestation
Authorities concerned are gearing up to
relocate 16,000 Burmese refugees from a camp close to Salween forest in Mae
Sariang district in attempts to end deforestation.
Governor Supoj
Laowansiri said 16,857 refugees at Ban Kongkha-Sala camp would be moved to Ban
Mae La Un village in Sop Moei district in October-December.
The
relocation plan was raised at a recent meeting between provincial authorities,
NGOs on refugees and representatives from the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees.
A new venue covering 800 rai of land in Ban Mae La Un is
about four kilometres away from the Thai-Burmese border.
The governor
said relocation costs of 22 million baht would be met by international
NGOs.
The aim was to stop deforestation and illegal logging in Salween
forest and keep the refugees safe from flooding.
Burmese refugees were
killed during the 2001 floods.
A representative from UNHCR, however,
urged authorities to consider other venues, saying Ban Mae La Un might not be
suitable because it used to be a bastion of the Karen National Union and was too
close to the border.
Maj Rudej Kasemrat, chief of civilian affairs from
the 36th rangers regiment, gave assurances that Ban Mae La Un, under the
regiment's supervision, was safe.
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The Nation
SIDELINES: Meandering all over Burma?s ?road
map?
Sopon Onkgara
Published on Aug
3, 2003
Where do we stand on the ?road map? we have drawn for
Burma? Ah! This is quite interesting. Foreign Minister Dr Surakiart Sathirathai
has said that the road map cannot be made public yet, pending a complete and
thorough study by the leaders of the Burmese military junta in Rangoon.
So far the road map for peace and national reconciliation in Burma has
been seen by only a few. Obviously the Burmese leaders don?t like it, because
its terms and conditions are not pleasant. They are asked to do what they don?t
want to do. And they don?t like anybody to force their hand or tell them what
they should do. The fact is that if they were compassionate and benevolent to
their own people, the whole problem would not have occurred in the first place.
It is not hard to guess as well that the Burmese junta leaders are not
willing to walk the route of the road map because it has been drawn by somebody
else. They have been accustomed to charting the course of their own destiny and
the Burmese people?s too, whether those miserable souls like it or not.
The country?s ?clock? was stopped for decades right after World War II.
It was allowed to tick ahead only recently and has yet to catch up with the rest
of the developed world.
What is known is that the immediate requirement
in the road map is for the junta to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi from detention, or ?protective custody? if one feels sensitive enough to
call it that for fear of offending the junta. The road map seems like a map for
a car rally where all drivers have to abide by the rules, such as where to stop
and fulfil the requirements.
Since the US administration imposed
sanctions on Burma, many nations have shown concern, if not outright alarm.
Investors from many countries have put up a lot of capital to enrich themselves
in Burma. Unocal and Total, the American and French energy firms, are rooted
there. Major Thai firms, including PTT and Shin, have got a big stake and stand
to be affected by the sanctions if they remain in force for a long period.
If business transactions with Burma have to be suspended because
companies do not want to displease the US administration, it means that billions
of US dollars worth of business could be lost.
So far the sanctions have
been imposed only by the US. Is it possible for Washington to urge the European
Union to do likewise? After all, the late husband of Suu Kyi was British. Would
Prime Minister Tony Blair be pleased to comply, together with the nations on the
continent?
In that case, the Yadana project which supplies natural gas
to the Ratchaburi power plant could be affected, if the concessionaires find
themselves abiding by the sanctions. Let?s hope not. PTT, which buys natural gas
from the pipeline built by Unocal, will find it difficult to fulfil its
commitments. Unocal is also fighting litigation in a California court brought by
a Burmese human-rights group.
If the Burmese don?t sell natural gas
because they can?t get payment, the power plant will not have energy. The
payments are in US dollars, with settlement through US-based banks, and if those
transactions become impossible because all Burmese assets have to be frozen
under the sanctions, things will surely be more complicated.
No
payments, no gas. That?s simple. Possible settlement through other financial
centres like Singapore? Highly unlikely, judging from the fact that the US and
Singapore have just signed a free-trade agreement. Settlement in yen in Japan
would be equally impossible, because Tokyo would not want to offend Washington.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra would have to exercise his charm and
flair for diplomacy as well as his personal friendship with the Rangoon junta
leaders to explore a solution acceptable to all parties concerned.
This
would entail not just the release of Suu Kyi: the junta would have to allow
democracy to get off the ground, and no cheating during the election either.
This is awkward. The prime minister has to walk with care on this diplomatic
tightrope. His family has a sizeable venture in communication services with the
junta.
He has to protect the interests of many other Thai firms as well.
Ah! More risks and stakes in the whole delicate dance of diplomatic manoeuvring.
National interest aside, this is not the kind of win-win situation
Thaksin likes to get involved in. Many have a lot to lose, while more than a few
are watching for failure.
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U.S. Policy & News
Southeast
Asia
McConnell Urges Singapore To Freeze Burmese Junta's
Assets
Freeze should last until Aung San Suu Kyi is released
On the day when the United States put a freeze on the Burmese
junta's assets in the United States, Senator Mitch McConnell (Republican of
Kentucky) called on the government of Singapore to follow suit with the junta's
assets in their country.
In remarks to the Senate July 29, McConnell, the
deputy majority leader, said such actions would place "much needed" pressure on
the Rangoon regime.
Following is the text of McConnell's remarks from the
Congressional Record
SINGAPORE SHOULD INCREASE PRESSURE ON BURMA
July 29,
2003
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I do not intend to delay consideration
of the U.S.-Singapore free-trade agreement, but I do want to take a moment to
highlight a significant step that Singapore can take today to further the cause
of freedom in Burma.
It has been reported, by U.N. Special Envoy Razali
Ismail and others, that the repressive and illegitimate State Peace and
Development Council, SPDC, has assets tucked away in Singapore financial
institutions. Given the many illicit activities of the SPDC, one can rightfully
question the source of these funds.
Like the United States, Singapore
should immediately freeze the SPDC's assets until such time that democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other all democrats are freed from detention and a
process of national reconciliation is agreed to and implemented by all
parties--the National League for Democracy, ethnic nationalities, and the
SPDC.
Such action not only underscores Singapore's commitment to the rule
of law throughout the region, but places much needed pressure on the junta in
Rangoon to change their oppressive ways.
Southeast Asian countries can no
longer ignore the many threats to regional stability posed by the generals in
Burma. The situation in Burma should be a matter of concern to all of Burma's
neighbors--and the U.N. Security Council.
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Treason Charge Against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Flouted
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
August 2, 2003:
Janelle Saffin Convenor of the Burma/Myanmar Sub Committee of the
Australian Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ASICJ) challenged
military strong man Gen Than Shwe to deny the allegation that he is planning to
charge Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi with 'treason'.
The streets
of Rangoon are alive with this coming from trusted sources close to the military
junta's State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), and the usual tactic of
trying to force people to sign declarations that Aung San Suu Kyi and others
were involved in "acts" that are offences against the state, and General Than
Shwe's mission to convince neighbours that the events of the 30th May were
caused by her," said Ms Saffin in a statement. "The idea is preposterous, there
is no evidence, and no one believes him."
"The problem is that in
military ruled Burma, the state is the Tatmadaw cum SPDC, which is General Than
Shwe; there is no separation in practice or thinking, so any perceived threat to
General Than Shwe is taken to be an "act" against the state."
"To charge
Aung San Suu Kyi with treason or a similar charge is so unthinkable that it
can't be true; surely even General Than Shwe could not do this to the daughter
of Burma's hero Bogyoke Aung San. He, Aung San, would turn in his grave to
think that his beloved Tatmadaw (Army) could do this to his only daughter."
Ms Saffin stated that, "If General Than Shwe does this he alone will be
responsible for leading his country to destruction. Those who serve him
loyally as good military men and civil servants do will be led down this path
with him. What is needed now is for those with cooler heads to use all
persuasion to ensure that this does not happen."
"Aung San Suu Kyi is
mentally prepared for any action no matter how draconian, but is the country
prepared for draconian action against them if she and other leaders are charged
with treason or similar."
The offence of treason is found in Burma's
Penal Code, Sections 121-124, and the penalty is death or transportation.
State sanctioned death has not been carried out for some time in Burma, and
where it has been imposed as a sentence it has been commuted to lengthy prison
terms. Transportation is a hangover from the colonial days which the Acts
in Burma's thirteen volume codes are based on, but the fact is it is still on
the books.
"It is clear that General Than Shwe would love to see the
last of Aung San Suu Kyi but to forcibly remove her from the people by
incarcerating her for a long time or even thinking of removing her from her
country would bring internal outcry and international condemnation and the
intervention he so fears."
Ms Saffin continued, "That in informing a key
regional and international political actor of this 'allegation' he responded
with incredulity and the assurance that if this course of action was pursued by
General Than Shwe that is charging Aung San Suu Kyi, U Tin U and others that the
only option left was to unseat General Than Shwe's State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC) at the United Nations General Assembly.
"No body wants
this and it is up to General Than Shwe to ensure that this does not
happen. He can exercise good sense and become part of the solution as have
others before him notably leaders from South Africa, Indonesia, Thailand and
others, by releasing Aung San Suu Kyi, U Tin U and others and committing to
dialogue and a peaceful transition," concluded Ms Saffin.
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