BNI Weekly News – October 6, 2003
· Bangladesh Police arrest seven Burmese Businessmen on charges of
involvement in terrorism
· Indian bank to open branch in Burma
· Rice Purchase Teams formed despite hunger in western Burma
· Dialogue Process Adrift after Failed Visit by U.N. Envoy
· Burmese Foreign Minister meets his counterpart from Bangladesh
· Sanctions hit hard shrimp export in western Burma
· Annan: Burma democracy talks have halted
· 2003 Gandhi Prize for former Czech President
· Seven Bangladeshis nabbed in Burma while trying to cross into Thailand
· World Food Programme rice in Western Burma
· Burma MPs testify before IPU
· Burmese Find No Reprieve from Low Pay, Harsh Work
· Thai Government target Refugee Clinic at Burma Border
· SPDC Soldiers surrender to KNU
· Burmese Gemstones seized at Moreh
· Burmese army man abducts and marries a schoolgirl
______________________________________________
Bangladesh Police arrest seven Burmese Businessmen on charges of involvement
in terrorism
5th October 2003:
Many traders in Bangladesh expressed their concern that the arrest of seven
businessmen by Bangladesh police on charges of ‘suspicious involvement in
terrorism’ on Friday may bring negative impact on the Burma – Bangladesh
border trade.
A spokesperson from the Border Traders’ Association (Bangladesh) said to
Narinjara yesterday that though the police at Ukhia, under Cox’s Bazaar
District in the southeast corner of Bangladesh, close to the Burmese border,
demand that the seven persons have illegally entered Bangladesh and are
suspected to be ‘terrorists’, the Bangladeshi traders demanded them to be
legal traders who came with legal visa and other official documents.
The seven Burmese traders entered Bangladesh through Teknaf on the Naaf
River, opposite the western Burmese town of Maungdaw and went to Chittagong
to make a feasibility study of investment in fisheries sector. But they
were arrested on the second day of the expiration of their visa, on their
way back. Now the traders expressed their fear that Bangladeshi traders
would also face the same rough treatment from the law enforcement agencies
in Burma as retaliation.
Meanwhile they expressed high concern about the diminishing legal trade with
Burma. The revenue in August was recorded at Taka 60 million (1 million US
$) while last month it came down to one-third of that amount, they said.
The spokesperson also alleged that while the government of Bangladesh is
trying to attract foreign investment, the action of the police in arresting
legal foreign traders on charges of illegal entry and on suspicion of being
terrorists would bring disaster to the entire border trade between the two
friendly neighbours.
Three of the arrested have been identified as engineers and they went to
Patiya, near Chittagong, from where they boarded a rented microbus on the
day of the incidence. At Patiya they conducted feasibility study to set up
a large cold storage complex, the traders said. On Friday the police
arrested them while they were on way to Teknaf.
After their arrest the chairman of the Teknaf Trade Association and leader
of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party – the ruling political party – submitted
the passports and visa of all the seven businessmen to the police. When
police found that their stay permits expired two days earlier on 1st October
they lodged a case in the Ukhia police station.
On Saturday the court sent them to prison. The lawyer for them, Advocate
Shahjalal Chowdhury said that the arrested Burmese nationals have exported
fish worth taka 50 million in the last few months and he already submitted
the relevant papers to the police to this effect. He was surprised that the
police alleged them to be terrorists, on which ground, he did not know. The
officer-in-charge of the police station declined to make any comments on the
matter.
The arrested seven hail from Rangoon, the capital of Burma. Aged between 22
and 33 their names are: E Lu Thein, Than Lwin, Myint Lwin, Aung Kyaw Thein,
Thein Aung Than, Htin Lin and Than Ne Win. #
_________________________________
Indian bank to open branch in Burma
5th October 2003
The United Bank of India (UBI) has decided to open a branch in Burma in
order to support bilateral trade between traders in India and Burma.
According to information obtained by Mizzima from bank officials in
Guwahati, the bank has already got the necessary permission from the
authorities concerned.
The United Bank of India and the Myanmar Economic Bank agreed to introduce
the Letter of Credit (LoC) system into Indo-Burma bilateral trade during a
meeting held in the border town Moreh on 20 and 21 September. The UBI has
organized training on the LoC system to the staff of the Myanmar Economic
Bank.
The two-day trade meeting was attended by Indian Joint Director of Foreign
Trade MK Mero from India and Burmese Chairman of the Tamu Peace and
Development Council Major Maung Maung. Officials of the United Bank of
India, the Reserve Bank of India and the Myanmar Economic Bank also
participated.
The UBI and the Myanmar Economic Bank have agreed to hold a meeting in the
border town of Tamu in November to work out some remaining details regarding
the use of the LoC system.
Meanwhile, the IBP Company Limited, a subsidiary of the Indian Oil
Corporation (IOC), is planning to export its lubricants to Burma. The
General Manager of the company, B Datta, disclosed this information in a
recent press conference in Kolkata, India. #
_________________________
Rice Purchase Teams formed despite hunger in western Burma
By Tun Naing
3rd October 2003:
Despite the Burmese junta’s declaration of a new rice purchase policy last
April for liberalisation of rice trade, steps have been taken across Rakhine
State (Arakan State) in western Burma to form fresh rice purchase teams,
said an agricultural department official.
Local township and village level junta officials across the state have been
forming a five-member rice purchase committee in each of the village tracts
of the provincial state. The rice growers have been directed to sell rice
only to the five-member rice purchase committees. The ruling SPDC junta has
also issued a decree prohibiting the transportation of rice from one village
to another in Rakhine State.
A rice farmer at Ponnagyun Township said, “If the junta wants to privatise
the sale of rice, why have its officials been directed to form these rice
purchase teams? And why, after all, the junta have barred us from selling
rice in the open market?”
Widespread hunger has forced the ruling Burmese junta to allow
transportation of thousands of tonnes of rice daily into the townships in
Rakhine State.
The junta also plans to buy rice beginning this November for the consumption
of civil servants and state employees, U Sein Win Hlaing, the general
secretary of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and
Industry recently said to the press in Rangoon.
The decision to liberalise rice sales prompted the formation of a Rice
Procurement Supervisory Central Committee. The committee was formed
comprising representatives of the federation, the Myanmar Rice Merchants’
Association, and the Myanmar Rice Millers’ Association. U Sein Win Hlaing
also said, “We are organising the traders in rice-growing areas and
establishing rice procurement supervisory committees at township, district,
and divisional or state level.” He also added, “The committee’s role is to
bring together the government and paddy traders to arrange the purchases.”
The rice procurement supervisory committee will be responsible for all steps
necessary till transporting rice to the state warehouses. The traders will
then be paid by bank cheques. The traders, he said, will also export rice
under the guidance of the committee besides selling rice to the state.
Burma exported about one million tonnes of rice during the last fiscal year
till March. Hlaing said the federation expected to export at least half a
million tonne of rice this year.
Meanwhile a number of academics in Sittwe expressed their view that the
junta’s export of rice disregarding the local demand is to blame for the
present rice crisis.
A rice trader said, “The import of large quantities of rice to meet the
demand at Rakhine State may also backfire. It can be a trick to
deliberately bring down the price of rice during the present harvest season.
Buy rice from Rakhine State at low price during harvest to profiteer when
the commodity is scarce in the off-season. Take the case of onions. It is
banned from transportation to Rakhine now when the price is up, while it
will be bought at just a fraction of the present price and shipped to
Rangoon during the harvest.” #
______________________________________
Dialogue Process Adrift after Failed Visit by U.N. Envoy
Larry Jagan (IPS)
3rd October 2003:
U.N. envoy Razali Ismail's latest mission to Burma has ended in apparent
failure, leaving him empty-handed in efforts to revive the dialogue between
Burma's military rulers and the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi - not
to mention secure her release from house arrest.
Throughout his two-day visit to Burma, Razali was tight-lipped. "I met all
the key people I came to see and as the U.N. representative had useful
discussions with them," was all he would say as he left the country
Thursday.
The lack of apparent progress means that Burma is likely to take centre
stage at the South-east Asian leaders' summit in Bali next week. The member
countries of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) were hoping
to see some kind of sign that Rangoon is planning to introduce significant
political and economic change.
Without any concessions from Burma's military rulers from Razali's visit,
there will be even greater pressure on Prime Minister Khin Nyunt to give his
South-east Asian counterparts’ concrete details and a timeframe for the
changes he has in mind as part of a road map to democracy for Burma.
Khin Nyunt is reported to have appealed to Razali to give him more time to
be able to prepare for political change. "We need some time," said Burma's
Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win. "The government has announced its
seven-stage road map and is working on already -- it is the blueprint for
the country."
''Our position has always been that the process (of democratization) must be
homegrown,'' he said, adding that Rangoon had all intentions with
cooperating with the United Nations.
Still, "there is no doubt that Mr Razali has gone away empty-handed," said a
diplomat in Rangoon. "His reticence to comment on the outcome of his mission
clearly reflects that."
During his trip Razali did see the country's top three generals - Senior Gen
Than Shwe, Prime Minister Gen Khin Nyunt and the army chief, Gen Maung Aye.
He had intended to see Aung San Suu Kyi a second time before leaving, but
decided against it because there appeared to be no message from the generals
to convey to her.
But according to Razali, the opposition leader said she was prepared to work
with the new prime minister and his road map to democracy – though there
would be conditions to that participation.
Among these conditions is that all the other leaders of her party, the
National League for Democracy (NLD), would have to be freed.
They have been under house arrest for more than four months now ever since
the violent attack on Suu Kyi's car and supporters by armed pro-government
protestors in the north of the country on May 30, which left several people
dead.
Other conditions include the reopening of the NLD's office and party workers
being allowed to resume their normal political activities without being
harassed or arrested by the authorities.
Suu Kyi has also demanded the release of all political prisoners, with the
30-odd activists detained in the wake of the Depayin incident in May freed
immediately.
She is also demanding justice for the victims of the attack and a thorough
investigation into what happened, and who was involved.
But diplomats believe that while the opposition leader is adamant that the
incident cannot be brushed aside or forgotten, she is prepared not to allow
it to stand in the way of serious political talks -- if they are in fact in
the offing.
Diplomats interviewed here said that the lack of movement on the dialogue
with Suu Kyi seems to indicate that Rangoon's military leaders have not
quite agreed on how to handle the issue.
However, Khin Nyunt has indicated that he intends to reconvene the National
Convention, which was established more than 10 years ago to draw up a new
constitution.
But it has not met since 1996 after the NLD walked out, accusing the
military authorities of not allowing a free debate or discussion and simply
using it to rubberstamp decisions already made by the generals.
Still, the convening committee has been reformed and new members appointed,
largely because several older members have retired or passed away. Apart
from those who are there because of their legal training or position, many
of the new members are from military intelligence and believed to share Khin
Nyunt's vision of change.
"The ethnic minorities have been contacted and told to prepare for the
convention's opening," said an ethnic leader in Rangoon who declined to be
identified. "Some of them have even been told to have new suits made," he
said.
Razali discussed the issue of the structure and composition of the National
Convention with Khin Nyunt during his visit. "I made some suggestions and
observations," he said after his meeting with Khin Nyunt, but declined to
elaborate.
"The U.N. envoy suggested that the prime minister consider reforming the
Convention on the basis of forty percent being for the political parties on
the basis of the 1990 election results, thirty percent the ethnic minorities
-- split equally between those who have signed ceasefire agreements and the
others, with the remaining thirty percent being military or government
representatives," said a senior diplomat in Rangoon.
But neither Khin Nyunt nor his boss Gen Than Shwe seems to have reacted to
Razali's suggestions.
"The government still needs to decide who will be attending the National
Convention," said the Deputy Foreign Minister Maung Win. "But we are
preparing for its opening -- the technical and logistics considerations are
being dealt with," he said. "Accommodation has been booked and the transport
arrangements -- trains and buses have been booked.''
The crucial issue for the region and the international community is whether
Burma's generals -- especially Khin Nyunt and Than Shwe -- are prepared to
give Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD a central role in the reconvened National
Convention and the national reconciliation process.
The NLD has consistently said it would not return to the Convention unless
it is radically reformed and restructured.
"It was the NLD who walked out of the National Convention, so it is up to
them to return," said Maung Win.#
(Inter Press Service)
__________________________________
Burmese Foreign Minister meets his counterpart from Bangladesh
3rd October 2003:
The Burmese foreign minister met his counterpart from Bangladesh Tuesday at
the United Nations.
The UNB reported that the two discussed matters of bilateral relations
including cooperation in the communications infrastructure.
The two countries are developing infrastructure to link each other with a
direct road link that can connect the South Asian country with the ASEAN via
Burma.
On 29 September the minister delivered a statement at the 58th session of
the UN General Assembly in Geneva.
He said that Burma has laid “firm foundations” and has now moved to “draft a
new constitution and build a modern democratic nation.” He also stated the
seven-point roadmap of the Burmese junta’s new prime minister.
Bangladesh has not commented on the Burmese junta chief’s roadmap till now.
#
___________________________________
SANCTIONS HIT HARD SHRIMP EXPORT IN WESTERN BURMA
3rd October 2003:
The markets of western Burma have for some time been flooded with shrimps
and lobsters as foreign buyers avoid buying them after the US imposed
sanctions on Burma.
In Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State in Burma, while the price of rice –
the staple food of the people – has doubled in last month alone, the price
of a kilo of shrimp has gone down to a record low to one-fifth of the
regular price, selling at about two thousand kyats, according to an official
in the fisheries department.
“The prices of shrimp and other seafood items are nose-diving due to the
declining orders from Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and other Fareast
countries since the US imposed sanctions a couple of months ago,” he told
our correspondent recently, “If the trend continues, those people engaged in
exporting fish, including shrimps, will be seriously affected besides the
big losses in revenue earnings.”
This year the catch of jellyfish, another prized item, has been very bad,
too. A jelly fish trader who earned handsome profits last year said, “The
jelly fish has dodged the nets of fishermen this year. All the preparation
we took to do business by bribing the concerned officials have gone in vain.
Now we have no other way than suffer the losses.”
Meanwhile the smuggling in of headless shrimps from Rakhine State has caused
wide concern among the shrimp traders in the southeastern districts of
Bangladesh. The legal shrimp traders and growers have raised questions
about the quality of the headless shrimps smuggled in from Burma in large
quantities. “Everyday hundreds and thousands of tonnes of shrimp are being
smuggled into Bangladesh through Teknaf, opposite the western Burmese town
of Maungdaw, though there is a clear ban on the import of headless shrimps,
since they are difficult to check for quality,” reported the Dainik Cox’s
Bazaar daily published in Bangladesh last week. “The growers and the shrimp
buying houses are deeply concerned about the quality of the headless shrimps
from Burma that never have quality approval certification. Besides a glut
in the shrimp export in the neighbouring Burma may indirectly affect the
shrimp exporters here. We are also concerned about the outbreak of any
contagious disease contacted from any of the diseased shrimps smuggled in
that way”, the paper added.
Not all people of Burma are unhappy after all. A lady schoolteacher who was
shopping in the Sittwe municipal market said to our correspondent, “We
haven’t seen shrimps and lobsters for a long time, let alone buy for their
prohibitive costs. But now, well, the good old days are back again! We can
afford to add shrimps and other seafood items we relish to our daily meals.
My kids are happy, too.”
Worse, there is a big environmental change, taking place along the seacoast
of western Burma. The salinity of the coastal water has come down
alarmingly in the last few weeks for no apparent reason. The official from
the Fisheries Department said, “The drop in salinity of the seacoast will
cause havoc. The deep-sea fish that swim to the mouths of the rivers for
spawning will now avoid their regular trip during the monsoons and do the
same in the deep seas. There was less rain this year.”
“In fact less rain means more salinity. Yet salinity drop may have been
caused by some other natural or artificial forces yet to be identified.
Over fishing, climatic changes and pollution in the Bay of Bengal have
reached to almost a disaster point,” he added.
Another professor of biology said, “Dwindling jellyfish harvest is just one
warning of the imminent danger. Sea fauna of the Rakhine coastline,
including marine molluscs, seashells and turtles are vanishing at an
accelerated rate. If nothing is done to check the disaster right now, it is
not very long before we lose all our natural sea resources, including the
sea flora, too.” #
_______________________
Annan: Burma democracy talks have halted
2nd October 2003:
On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged Burma's military rulers
once more to immediately release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and
revive the national reconciliation program.
Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest,
her third, since 26 September after having undergone gynaecological surgery
at a private hospital in Rangoon. The national reconciliation process has
stalled for many months.
Mr. Annan said that due to the continued arrest of Daw Aung SanSuu Kyi
"the-three-year-old home-grown process of national reconciliation, as
understood by the United Nations, has come to a complete halt".
"The people of (Burma) had waited too long for change and for the benefits
that changes will bring", he said in a written report. He also added,
"Unless the parties concerned are able to engage in a substantive dialogue,
the international community will have to conclude that the home-grown
national process no longer exists".
Mr Annan's remarks come amid signs of mounting regional tensions over Burma
ahead of next week's summit of ASEAN leaders in Bali
A special envoy of United Nation Secretary-General, Mr. Razali Ismail, made
his eleventh visit to Burma and urged the military to free Aung San Suu Kyi
from house arrest.
Mr. Ismail’s visit followed failed attempts by former Indonesian Foreign
Minister Ali Alatas and Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai to
secure a date for Suu Kyi's release.
Witnesses in Rangoon reported that Mr. Razali's convoy gained entry into
Noble Laureate House located on University Avenue Road, which is usually
off-limits except for officials and neighbours.
The chairman of the ethnic Shan Nationalities League of Democracy, Khun Tun
Oo, told AP that the UN envoy will discuss the “road map” proposed by Prime
Minister General Khin Nyunt with Mrs. Suu Kyi.
Detained at a closed location, Aung San Suu Kyi has been held incommunicado
from her supporters and friends for more than three months, following a
violent attack on her and her party by the government backed mob at Depayin
in Upper Burma on 30 May.
Meanwhile, at the UN General Assembly on Monday, Burma's Foreign Minister U
Win Aung complained that other countries had failed to recognize the
regime’s moves towards democracy.
"It is only through an all-inclusive dialogue that the Government of (Burma)
will be able to ensure that national reconciliation is durable, the
transition to democracy smooth and Burma's future as a stable, prosperous
and multi-ethnic nation is secure", countered Mr. Annan.#
____________________
2003 Gandhi Prize for former Czech President
3rd October 2003:
The former president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel, will be awarded
this year's Gandhi Peace Prize by the Government of India for his
contribution to world peace and upholding human rights through Gandhian
means in the most difficult situations.
The winner of award, which carries an amount of Rs.10 million (convertible
in foreign currency), a Citation and a Plaque, was selected by the
five-member jury chaired by the Indian Prime Minister Mr. Atal Bihari
Vajpayee.
Other members of the jury are Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, the Leader of the
Opposition, V.N. Khare, the Chief Justice of India, Mr. R. Venkataraman,
former President of India and Mr. I.K. Gujral, former Prime Minister of
India.
Burma's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was also one of the nominees for
this year’s Gandhi Peace Prize. She was nominated by Servants of the
People's Society, a national social organization in India.
The prestigious Gandhi Peace Prize was instituted by the Government of India
for contributions made by a person or an institution who worked selflessly
towards social, economic and political transformation through non-violence
and other Gandhian means, for the amelioration of human suffering
particularly of the less privileged sections of the society contributing
towards social justice and harmony, irrespective of whether he holds a high
public office or not.
The previous awardees include South Africa's Nelson Mandela, former
President of Tanzania, Dr. Julius K. Nyerere and Sri Lanka's social
scientist Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne.
This year's Prize Winner Vaclav Havel had nominated the Burmese democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, saying that he
holds "her, and her nonviolent struggle for democracy, in high regard.”
India conferred its highest civilian honour – Jawaharlal Nehru Award for
International Understanding – for 1993 to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on 14
November 1995 in New Delhi.#
Seven Bangladeshis nabbed in Burma while trying to cross into Thailand
2nd October 2003:
Seven Bangladeshis were arrested at Myawaddy, Burma, on the Thai – Burma
border while they were trying to cross the border illegally to Mae Sot on
Thailand side last week, according to sources in the police.
It is alleged that the seven Bangladeshi nationals put up at the Western
Guesthouse in Rangoon for a couple of days before their trip to the border.
There the manager of the guesthouse arranged for their illegal trip.
The manager arranged a woman, named Mon May, who by taking US dollar 200
from each of the Bangladeshi while they were still in Rangoon took them
there.
The Burmese police and immigration forces on Thursday last arrested the
seven Bangladeshi nationals while they were trying to cross the border at
Myawaddy point, while the woman was able to make the escape.
Sources said that the seven persons have confessed that they were encouraged
to go to Southeast Asian countries via Burma by a group of friends in Dhaka,
Bangladesh, who have in previous occasions sent a number of Bangladeshi
citizens to Malaysia and Thailand through the route. #
______________________
World Food Programme rice in Western Burma
2nd October 2003:
The World Food Programme has begun distributing rice among the widows and
schoolgirls of Maungdaw Township beginning the second week of September.
At Bandoola village tract in the locality, each of the widows and
schoolgirls of the village primary school is given 35 to 45 kilos of rice.
Likewise the rice is being distributed in some other villages including Aung
Chantha, Tamantha, and Kaladipat.
A delegation of the World Food Programme on 25th September visited the
western Burmese town of Maungdaw, close to the border of Bangladesh.
Another team, led by Mike Fletcher, visited the area between 23rd and 30th
September.
The recent sharp hike of rice price in the locality has caused alarm and
reacting to the informal reports of a famine-like situation in the area the
UNHCR and other related organizations that have been engaged in repatriation
of Burmese refugees in the camps in Bangladesh have stepped up their visits
in the western border of Burma. The WFP team on 25 September visited a
number of shops at Kringchaung Village under Maungdaw Township of Rakhine
State and inquired about the price of rice, according to our correspondent.
They also took photographs of a state-owned rice mill in the area.
Recently at least two WFP delegations from Rangoon came visiting the border
areas as the entire area is in a silent famine-like situation resulting from
scarcity of rice. A town elder at Maungdaw said, “Previously we saw rice
illegally being smuggled to Bangladesh. Now it is the smuggled Bangladeshi
rice that we have to buy at a high price. “
A fifty-kilo bag of rice is now selling at kyat 15,000 in Sittwe, the
western Rakhine State capital, while the same costs at kyat 18,000 in the
western border. One month ago it cost only kyat 8,000. The ruling State
Peace and Development Council junta recently withdraw its ban on transport
of rice from Burma proper to Rakhine State on the face of scarcity of rice.
A businessman in Sittwe said that the scarcity of rice resulted from a
number of factors including rampant transportation of rice to Burma proper
by the State Agriculture Transportation Department and smuggling out of rice
in conjunction with the top junta officials stationed in Rakhine State. #
_________________________________
Burma MPs testify before IPU
2nd October 2003:
Representatives of exiled Members of Parliament from Burma today testified
on the human rights violations of the Burmese military junta before the
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)'s Assembly being held in Geneva,
Switzerland.
The two representatives of Members of Parliament Union (MPU) from Burma– U
Daniel Aung and Dr. Myint Cho – are attending the 109th Assembly of the
Inter-Parliamentary Union from 1 to 3 October.
The MPU representatives have testified particularly about the situation of
Burma's elected Parliamentarians inside and outside the country before the
Committee of the Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the IPU.
The IPU, which brings together 144 national parliaments around the world,
had passed resolutions in the past calling for the transfer of power to the
elected members of parliament in Burma. #
_________________________________
Burmese Find No Reprieve from Low Pay, Harsh Work
Marwaan Macan-Markar (IPS)
1st October 2003:
After two years of passively accepting her employer's orders, Khin Wa
finally found the courage to be defiant. She refused to give into his latest
demand - work a 14-hour shift after completing a grueling 28-hour one that
she had just completed a while ago.
But she was not alone. There were others who were moved likewise, over 70 of
her colleagues, all Burmese migrants, employed at a garment factory in this
town in Tak province, close to the Thai-Burma border.
The 23-year-old Wa knew the risk she was taking for this display of
solidarity on a recent Monday in September. "We can be fired any day for
doing this," said the thin, mild-mannered Burmese at the entrance to the
factory, Siriwat Garments.
Her worry is not misplaced in this factory – which produces clothes bearing
internationally known names such as Dockers, a brand that belongs to the
U.S.-based clothing giant Levi Strauss & Co.
A room adjacent to the factory floor has on display dressing gowns in shades
of dark blue and black with labels on the collar that read, 'Dockers
Sleepwear Collection, 100 percent cotton, Made in Thailand'. But the
hostility that Wa and her colleagues had to endure – including threats of
deportation by the factory owner – is only the latest in a growing list of
labour rights violations prevalent in Mae Sot.
The past 12 months have seen incidents ranging from a knitting factory owner
refusing to pay 131 Burmese migrants two months wages, owners getting the
police to raid factories to arrest undocumented migrant workers in order to
evade having to pay them, and workers being dismissed from their factory and
subsequently beaten for protesting this.
On top of that, those crusading for the rights of migrant workers like Moe
Swe have catalogued other abuses commonly found in most of the 210 factories
– often set behind high walls and steel gates and with at times one or two
buildings shaped like warehouses – located in this town.
Workers are not given adequate equipment like masks for protection, some
work in crowded environments and some factories have bad ventilation, says
Swe of Yaung Chi Oo Workers Association, a Mae Sot-based group of Burmese
migrants.
The workers have very little time even to go to the toilet. Most are
expected to sit at wooden benches and work for stretches that often last 14
hours daily from Monday through Saturday and nine hours on Sundays, adds
Swe.
"The workers only get a day off once a month after they get paid," he
reveals. "And it is very difficult to get sick leave."
But for Swe, whose crusade on behalf of the Burmese workers has angered
local authorities and led to intelligence officials monitoring his office,
the violation that troubles the workers most is that of being underpaid.
"Under Thai labour law the workers should get the minimum wage, 133 baht
(3.25 U.S. dollars) a day, but that is not happening," says Pranom Somwong
of the Migrant Action Programme (MAP), a group lobbying for migrants'
rights. "The factories are only paying them 50 baht (1.25 dollars) to 80
baht (two dollars) a day."
Consequently, the factories in Mae Sot have gained notoriety as sweatshops
or, even worse, as places forcing the Burmese migrants into what critics
call "slave-labour like conditions".
"Mae Sot is the cesspool of labour rights of Thailand. All labour laws are
violated," says Phil Robertson, head of the Thai office of the American
Centre for International Labour Solidarity, a Washington D.C.-based
international non-governmental organisation. "You find the most systemic
oppression of workers in Thailand."
For the likes of Robertson, this vicious combination of low pay and rampant
abuse is the outgrowth of factory owners' exploitation of migrant workers,
who, be they legal or undocumented, are in a vulnerable position in
Thailand.
The migrants' predicament is reflected also in the reports of hundreds of
Burmese workers who are deported daily by Thai authorities.
Currently, there are over an estimated one million migrant workers from
Burma, majority of whom have no documents granting them permission to work.
Of that number, close to 80,000 live and work in Mae Sot, of which only
about 30,000 have work permits.
The flow of migrant workers to Mae Sot gained pace in the mid-1990s, when
this town known for being a trading outpost between Thailand and Burma was
converted into a production centre for garment factories.
All those who come are Burmese fleeing the deteriorating political and
economic conditions in their country.
Most of the jobs they are driven to are shunned by Thai workers and are
described as "dangerous and dirty" by labour rights activists - ranging from
work on farms, on construction sites, fishing and in garment factories.
Yet there is little dispute that they have been a major boost to Mae Sot's
factories and to this country's economy.
In April, the Federation of the Tak Industrialists Chapter, a body that
includes the factory owners in Mae Sot, declared in a report that the region
had earned nearly five billion baht (125 million dollars) during the
preceding 12 months.
Besides the Dockers label, other labels on clothes produced here that have
helped rake in such income are those that often fill the shops in glamorous
boutiques or fancy shopping malls in cities across Asia, Europe and the
United States.
They include the rugged outdoor garments bearing the Camel adventure wear
label, one for 'The Blue Revolution since 1960, Jack and Jean's Macanna,
U.S.A,' and Abercombie and Fitch.
For its part, however, Levis Strauss & Co., which sells the Dockers line of
clothing, declares on its website that it does not support the abuse or
exploitation of labour in the production of its clothes.
"In 1991, we became the first worldwide company to establish a comprehensive
ethical code of conduct for manufacturing and finishing contractors working
with the company," it said.
But that appears to be of little consolation to migrant workers like Wa,
who, together with her colleagues, lodged a complaint with labour protection
officials following the long hours they were forced to work to meet the
factory's new production orders.
"There is little else they can do," says migrant labour rights activist Swe.
"That is why they always feel like victims." #
(Inter Press Service)
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Thai Government target Refugee Clinic at Burma Border
1st October 2003:
The authorities in Thailand are reportedly planning to crack down on a
medical clinic run by Magsaysay Award Winner Dr. Cyntia Maung for Burmese
migrants and asylum seekers on the Thai-Burma border.
According to a release from Bangkok-based Asian Forum for Human Rights and
Development (FORUM-ASIA) today, the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot may have to
close down as a result of Thai Government's crackdown on Burmese migrant
workers.
The release said that Thai authorities inspected the Mae Tao Clinic on
Monday and warned Dr. Cynthia Maung that she should be prepared for the
arrest and deportation of medics and schoolteachers who have previously been
registered as migrant workers with the Thai government.
As a result, more than 100 medics and schoolteachers at Mae Tao Clinic
including Dr. Cynthia Maung herself face the threat of arrest and
deportation to Burma.
According to the memorandum of understanding between the Thai Government and
its Burmese counterpart signed in June this year, the deportation of migrant
workers from Thailand will now mean that they are to be handed over to
Burmese authorities.
Mae Tao Clinic, also known as Dr. Cynthia's Clinic, is the main provider of
healthcare service to asylum seekers and migrants on the Thai-Burmese
border.
Its five doctors and 123 other medical staffs treat about 150 patients a day
for almost free of charge.
The clinic also trains volunteer medics every year and provides prenatal
checkups, childhood immunizations and education about nutrition, sanitation
and family planning for the Burmese on Thai-Burma border.
With the decision of Thai government in August this year, more than twelve
thousands migrant workers from Burma can no longer renew their work permits
in Thailand. #
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SPDC Soldiers surrender to KNU
1st Oct 2003 –
Three soldiers from Burmese military government, due to various discontents,
ran away and took refuge at Brigade No. 7 of KNU along with their weapons in
September, the chairman of Pha-Ann district, Phado Ah Toe said.
Signal Corp. Second Sergeant Ye Aung Htet, Private Thein Kyaw and Medic Saw
Min Naing of LIB No. 338 fled from Kha-Laet-Day frontline area near
Hlaing-Bwe township and arrived Brigade No 7 of KNU in late September. All
three soldiers are around 22 years of age, said Ah Toe.
“These soldiers told me about the rising discontent among the SPDC Army.
They had to flee because of meager food and rationing and harassment by the
higher ranks,” Ah Toe explained.
All three defectors brought their arms with them. “They bring arms and
ammunitions with them. We seized MA 11, 3 magazines, 120 bullets, 2 high
explosives and 3 primers each from them. Because Sec. Sergreant Ye Aung Htet
is communication operator, he brought a walkie-talkie with him but it was
lost on the way,” Phado Ah Toe added.
“Although there are a lot of dissatisfactions among SPDC soldiers and many
of them want to run away, they did not disclose the details,” he said.
Currently the three SPDC soldiers are at the KNU reception camp. #
__________________________________________
Burmese Gemstones seized at Moreh
1st October 2003:
According to Indian security agencies deployed along the Indo-Burma border,
the smuggling of gemstones from Burma into India has increased in recent
months and the law enforcing forces have geared up operations along the
border to crack down on the smuggling.
The Indian security forces have frequently seized the smuggled precious
stones at Moreh and other points which border with Burma.
The Assam Rifles had seized 428 kg of gemstones near Moreh last month from
two Manipuri youths who carried the precious stones in four plastic bags
covered with rice inside a Tata Sumo vehicle.
The Assam Rifle officer who does not want his name to be disclosed told
Mizzima correspondent in Guwahati that the stones – 268 kg of ruby and 160
kg of sapphire – were smuggled from Burma to be sent to Rajasthan State, in
northern India.
"It was a major haul in Moreh, which has become a major smuggling point of
precious stones in the region", the officer added.
The market value of the seized gemstones is not immediately available.
Burmese gemstones, which are generally cheaper than the Indian stones, have
a good demand in the Indian markets for their good quality.
There are two types of stones available in the markets - "cut and uncut".
The "cut stones" are smuggled into the North East India from Burma through
Moreh, which is a legal border trade point between Burma and India.#
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Burmese army man abducts and marries a school girl
30th September 2003:
On September 19, 2003, a schoolgirl was abducted and forcibly married to a
member of the Burmese Army at Kyaukpru Township in Arakan State, according
to a relative of the victim.
The victim, named Ma Saw Myint, 16, daughter of U Maung Maung, hails from
Mazichaung Village of Kyaukpru Township in Arakan State. She is a student of
standard ten in the Myo Ma State High School of the said village, source
further added.
On the day of the incident, at around 4:30 pm, while the victim Ma Saw Myint
was on her way back to her home with her companions, a group of soldiers
from Battalion No.542 was chasing her. In one stage, they suddenly picked
her up into a microbus and drove away. She and her friends cried for help
but none dared to come at her rescue, said an eyewitness to our source.
The classmates of the victim quickly informed the incident to her parents,
who immediately went to the Battalion headquarters for query about their
daughter. But, the Battalion Commander didn’t give any response to them. So,
they hurried to the Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) Chairman
and Police hoping for help. But, officials of both the departments denied
providing any help since the matter was concerned with the army! They also
said that the matter was only related to the Commander of the Battalion
headquarters, said one of the maternal relatives of the victim to our
source.
After hearing that, the parents of the victim returned home with great
disappointment, said a woman to our source.
“But, six-days later, on 25th September 2003, Captain Khin Aung of Battalion
No.542 accompanied by bride Ma Saw Myint including three other soldiers came
to our house with lots of presents. We had no other choice except
recognizing the new couple,” said the victim’s mother to our source. #
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Burma News International (BNI) is a network of six Independent Burma Media
organizations: The Mizzima News, The Narinjara News, the Kaladan Press
Network, the Khonumthung News Group, the Network Media Group and the
Independent Mon News Agency. #