Burma News International

Weekly News Package: August 30, 2004
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Madame Khin Nyunt cashes in on Thai demand for young women

23 August 2004, SHAN: The women’s federation headed by General Khin Nyunt's wife in Burma and young migrant women in Thailand have formed a natural alliance against Bangkok's anti-human trafficking campaign, reports Pegasus from Maesai.

In eastern Shan State, where women under 25 have been prohibited from coming to the border without good reason since 2000, the Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation has made an "allowance" for those who can pay 150,000 kyat (about $150) for transit from Kengtung to Tachilek, a distance of 160 km (100 miles) according to sources.

"The directive was said to have been issued by the Rangoon head office on 1 June 2004," said a 24-year old girl from Kengtung. "Buses and trucks carrying young women bear MWAF stickers as a signal to authorities along the road not to make searches."

Out of the 150,000 kyat, bus drivers are paid 20,000 kyat (about $20). The normal fare is 6,000 kyat ($ 6).

Traffickers are liable to a 3-year imprisonment plus 50,000 kyat fine, said sources.

The cost for passage from the border to Bangkok has also rocketed. "Two years ago, it was 5,000 baht ($125) each. Last year, it became 7,000 ($175). At the start of this year, it went up to 10,000 ($250). Now, it's 15,000 ($ 375)," said a businessman.

Thailand declared war on human trafficking on 6 August, two months after the United States put the kingdom on a human trafficking watch list.

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Military authorities ease off rigorous checking

Aizawl   August 22, 2004, Khonumthung News Group: No more rigorous inspections of local people and businessmen will be conducted by the official Township level immigration office and Police at the checkpoint crossing in Haka Township which is the capital city of Chin State, or at the Thang Tlang Township checkpoint, said a businessman from Thang Tlang who had been in Mizoram on business.

The conflict between Thang Tlang police and university students from Thang Tlang Township who attend various Universities of Myanmar, was sparked on April 11, 2004, when a university student from Thang Tlang visited Haka town by motorcycle to see his friends. He was stopped by the police and his motorcycle was confiscated. After that, university students made demands for Major General Tin Hla, Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council of Chin State to close down all of the check points.
Major General Tin Hla himself apologized to the students for the police transgression, and issued a degree to decrease the strict inspections at the checkpoints in July 2004.

“Recently, there has been no more checking at the checkpoints. Major General Tin Hla has promised the local people that they would arrange a program to make national identity cards free of charge for those who do not have one. The only cost would be for passport photos. Beforehand, officers from the Immigration office in Thang Tlang Township charged 5,000 Kyat per person for registration," explained a local from the town. Previously, those who did not have a national identity card could not pass easily through the checkpoints while going from one village to another in that region.
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Students distressed by educational officials in Chin state.

Aizawl   August 21, 2004, Khonumthung News Group: Officials of the education department from Thang Tlang Town in Chin State, Myanmar have allegedly asked Thang Tlang Township students from Grade-X to nursery school, to buy fixed price stationery goods at school, and forced them to join tuition classes.

Subsequently, the students with financial problems are in a difficult situation, said a local from Thang Tlang town who was recently in the Indo-Burma border area. He added that the students who are studying in government schools ranging from High school to Primary school were asked to buy 3 pencils at the cost of Kyat 30 a pencil and a dozen notebooks at Kyat 1300 a dozen. In fact, the price of pencils is Kyat 25 for one, not 30, and a dozen notebooks costs Kyat 800 in stationery shops in Thang Tlang Town.

Instead of buying school supplies at school at a price fixed by the education department, most students want to buy their supplies at the stationery shop where prices are cheaper. However, officials warned the students that they would not be accepted if they did not buy the stationery goods at school. If students cannot afford to buy their supplies in school, they have to borrow money from others to buy supplies. In addition, nursery school students were also made to buy pencils and notebooks unnecessarily.

Students from Thang Tlang, Falam and Haka Townships were said to be forced to attend the tuition class by the teachers of the schools. The tuition fee in Falam is Kyat 300 per month and Kyat 500 in Thang Tlang and Haka townships. These rocketing fees for tuition are discouraging students who cannot afford them.
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Burma border cannot be sealed

August 23, 2004, Mizzima News: Though several northeast Indian states have been demanding that the Indo-Burma border be sealed to contain the growing insurgency perpetuated allegedly from Burma, a complete sealing of the border is not possible.

The chief ministers of several northeastern states have already submitted a memorandum to the Indian Home Ministry requesting the complete sealing of the Indo-Burma border in the wake of growing cross-border terrorism. But in practice the Home Ministry has not been able to comply with the demand. The Indo-Burma border cuts across a vast area, including undulating hills and high-speed rivers. Moreover, the people living on both sides of the border are so closely attached that they would not allow their governments to seal the border.

The four Indian states of the region, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, share a 600 km border with Burma. Manipur shares the longest stretch of border extending for 332 km, Mizoram shares over 200 km of border while Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh share a small border area with Burma. The northeast Indian states, apart from Mizoram, have been badly hit by militancy since 1990 and the problem has aggravated other states of northeast India. Assam the worst affected. Since 1990, 1200 people have lost their lives in militancy-related violence, according to reports from the Home Ministry.

Worried over the increase in militancy and narco- terrorism, the Manipur government demanded the erection of fencing along the international border last year. Manipur Industry Minister, T. Devendra, told a Mizzima correspondent that the Manipur government had already demanded that the home ministry seal the border in the wake of drug trafficking and other activities. "The sealing of border would put an end to the long border dispute among the people living on both sides of the border", he said.

The previous NDA government had conducted a survey in some border areas of Manipur State, but due to hilly terrain the complete survey could not be carried out. Security forces guarding the international border have also favoured the erection of fencing in a bid to contain the militant activities. But after the recent killing of 14 school children in Dhemaji of Upper Assam, several intelligence agencies in northeast India held a meeting in Guwahati yesterday to review the law and order situation. Highly-placed sources in Guwahati have told our correspondent that all intelligence agencies have decided to be more vigilant along the Burma and Bangladesh borders to scale down the activities of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA).
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Two Rohingya Youths Sentenced to 7 years Imprisonment in Western Burma

Maungdaw, August 23 Kaladan News: A Court in Maungdaw Town in Arakan State of western Burma on August 13, 2004 sentenced two Rohingya youths to 7 years imprisonment for alleged anti-government activities, according to our correspondent in Maungdaw Town.
Number one Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court of Maungdaw Town gave the verdict without proper inquiry into the cases.

The convicts are Rashid Ahmed, 21, and Nurul Alam, 22, of Shikdar Para of Maungdaw Town. They both were present in the court during the delivery of the judgment, said a relative of the victims.

The two were arrested by Border Security Forces (Nasaka) on December 27, 2003, when State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) authorities accompanied by police and Nasaka destroyed 26 houses of Myo Ma Kayan Dan (Shikdar Para) village of Maungdaw town in Arakan State.

At the time, some village youths resisted when the Nasaka and police attacked and destroyed their houses. After a moment, the youths ceased their resistance, but the two youths were arrested by Nasaka forces and carried away to their camp, accusing them of anti-government activities.

After15 days, they were taken to Maungdaw jail where they faced an interrogation. But the investigators from different agencies, including Military Intelligence (MI), failed to get any clue about their activities against the government except their resistance to Nasaka forces while Nasaka were destroying their houses.

Convicts with 7-year jail terms have no rights to appeal to the High Court against the judgment and the punishment of the fugitives will be effective from the date of their arrest, the judge said.

The victims’ parents were present in the court and they broke down in tears on hearing the verdict. They also expressed their dissatisfaction over the judgment. After the verdict was given, the arrestees were sent to jail.

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Flag Meeting Held at Teknaf, Border Town of Bangladesh:

133 Burmese Nationals Handed over to Burmese Immigration:

Cox’s Bazar, August 23 Kaladan News: A flag meeting at regional commander level between Burma and Bangladesh was held at the Bangladeshi Rifles (BDR) guesthouse at Teknaf, the southeast border town of Bangladesh near to the Burmese border on August 18, 2004, according to our correspondent.

The commander of BDR Battalion No.23 of Teknaf, Major ABM Khaled Hyder, led a six-member delegation from the Bangladeshi side, while Border Immigration Sector Commander Tu Tu Maung led 10 members from Burma.

In the meeting, they discussed border trade, smuggling across the border, infiltration from both sides, other border related issues and the settlement of disputes between the two countries with the hope of improving relations.

The meeting started at 10am and ended at 4 pm. After the meeting, the BDR Commander Major ABM Khaled Hyder handed over 133 Burmese nationals to the Burmese Border Immigration Sector Commander Tu Tu Maung. The released prisoners had infiltrated illegally into Bangladesh on various occasions, and were then arrested by Bangladeshi police and put in Bangladeshi jails. They had already finished their terms in Bangladeshi jails.

The first meeting between the two countries was held in 1993 in Dhaka and they decided to hold such meetings every six months or as necessity demands.
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Law and Order Situation Hits Border Trade

August 23, 2004, Mizzima News: The deteriorating law and order situation in Manipur has affected border trade between India and Burma. Moreh, which is said to be one of the major trading points between northeast India and Burma, has no trade nowadays as a result of the ongoing uncertainty. In this fiscal year the volume of trade between the countries is likely to drop dramatically.

Since the signing of the Border Trade Agreement back in 1994, Moreh has experienced critical situations due to militancy problems and political unrest in Manipur. Last month, the trading point was closed for a period of 15 days due to tax fees allegedly demanded by the underground groups operating along the border. However, after constant persuasion by Manipur’s Chief Minister, the trading point was reopened. According to information available in Manipur’s industry department, this year India will be the main loser. Export growth at Moreh is 7% compared to 32% for imports. Imports are always high compared to exports.

The Indo-Myanmar Traders Union president, WN Singh, stated that Burmese traders are not willing to carry on business. "Many traders are scared of coming to the trading point immediately after an incident", Singh said. According to him, north east India is likely to lose a huge chunk of revenue in the wake of uncertainty prevailing in the state. The Manipur Government said that Moreh has remained closed for trading for the last six days.The Federation of Industries & Commerce of the north eastern Region (FINER) has also expressed fear about poor trade during the current financial year. FINER president Subhash Agarwal pointed out that Moreh is the main trading point of northeast India, but considering the situation no one is willing to go to the area.
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Confusion about crackdown on northeastern militants

23 August, 2004 Mizzima News: Confusion still prevails as to whether the Indian Army will crack down on the northeastern militants based in Indo-Burma border areas in the next few days. The preliminary report from New Delhi disclosed that the Indian Army was ready to launch a massive operation against the insurgents who had based their camps inside Burma.

But according to defense sources in Manipur, the capital of Imphal, the required response from Burmese forces for the kind of operation was not visible on the ground. "For a successful anti-insurgency operation, we must have better coordination between the two countries' forces, as was extended by the Royal Bhutan Army during a flushing-out operation last December. But Myanmar forces still have not responded positively", said the defense source.

Northeastern armed outfits like the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the United National Liberation Front of Manipur (UNLF), the People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) and the National Socialist Council of Nagalanda (NSCN) all have their training camps in the border areas. The United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) are reportedly being given shelter inside Burma with the help of the NSCN.

During the first week of August, the Indian army decided to launch an operation against the insurgents during which the border was to be sealed. Even Burma’s Foreign Minister U Win Aung, visiting New Delhi during the period, assured India’s Foreign Minister K Natwar Singh that they would not allow NE Indian insurgents to operate from their soil.

But starting an operation against the militants' camps on the Indo-Burma border has become even more complicated. The Indo-Burma border areas are not used by the PLA, UNLF or PREPAK alone, but are also utilized by the NSCN groups. As both factions of the NSCN, who are presently at the negotiation table with the government, have their camps and cadres in the border areas, such an operation is unlikely as it would disturb the NSCN.

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Heroin Seized on India-Burma Border

August 24, 2004 Mizzima News: Despite a tight vigil by various security agencies, heroin trafficking in India’s northeast is on the rise. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in association with the Assam police seized 945 gms of heroin in Guwahati, the capital of Assam in northeast India. The seizure has created a sensation here.

CID sources in Guwahati said that the consignment of heroin was brought from Thailand through Burma across the Moreh border. “We have arrested David Th, a Manipuri youth, in connection with this,” the source said, adding that more people will be arrested soon.

CID sources explained how David and his three associates had brought the consignment from Moreh with the help of Burmese people from Tamu. On receiving a tip-off, CID personnel waited in Guwahati to arrest him. The heroin, valued at Rs 1 crore on the international market, was produced in Thailand. This was the third seizure of heroin within just one month in northeast India. Recently, Indian enforcement agencies seized heroin in Dimapur and Jorhat in northeast India.

Considering the frequent seizure of heroin in the region, it appears that Moreh-Imphal-Dimapur and Guwahati have become major transit points for heroin smuggling in the northeast.

"According to our intelligence feedback, the traffickers are taking advantage of hilly terrain and lack of security forces," the source added, further statingt that a huge quantity of heroin is smuggled from Burma through Moreh trading point.

In a recent report, the Indian Government said that drug trafficking in northeast India has been dwindling due to the constant vigilance of the enforcement agencies. But frequent seizures of heroin in the region worry the departments who are fighting hard to scale down the drug trafficking problem in the region.
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Fear of Bird Flu Causes Ban on Pigs from China

August 25, 2004, Mizzima News: Fear that pigs might carry the deadly disease called Bird Flu, the Ministry of Health of Burma has ordered a ban on pigs and all related commodities imported from China as from 23 August, said an anonymous border security official.

According to the official, the Ministry of Health ordered the ban due to reports of an influenza breakout in some of China's pig farms a week ago,. The virus was also reported to be transmittable to human beings.

The official said that strange diseases that have similar symptoms to that of Avian Flu have been reported in a village located in "Chin Shwe Ho" Township in China bordering
Burma.

Due to infections from the unknown disease, five children have died in the village. Both Chinese and Burmese health teams had been deployed to find out what the strange virus is; so far the disease remains unidentified.

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Nagas Claim Burma’s Land for Reunion

August 25, 2004, Mizzima News: Guwahati-based Naga Human Rights Organization, and the Naga International Support Center (NISC) have reiterated that the Naga-inhabited hills of Manipur, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Burma must be reunited to form a Naga Homeland.

In an e-mail press release, the NISC argued that the Nagas do not want to take land from anyone. They want their own land, under their own jurisdiction. “We want our homeland back so that we can govern ourselves”, said the release posted on August 23rd.

They want the Nagaland Homeland to be as it was before British colonization; not just Nagaland State, but also the hills of Manipur, Assam, relatively small parts of Arunachal Pradesh and of course Burma to be reunited.

Recollecting the history of the Nagas, the NISC asserts that Nagas yearn to be free of domination from everyone. They successfully resisted the British, who couldn’t colonize the Nagas. Together with the British in the battle for Kohima, the Nagas defeated the Japanese, preventing those occupying forces from sweeping through Assam to take India. Despite such valiant efforts on the part of the Nagas, after India became independent, their lands were split up.

In 1953 in Kohima, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Burmese leader U Nu agreed on a border between India and Burma that separated the Naga people. That border runs through villages and even through houses, argued the Naga human rights body.

Mentioning the continuous illegal migration to Nagaland, the NISC has claimed the Nagas want to stop the influx of other people to their lands, as they have seen what India did to the people of Tripura, who today are outnumbered in their own land.

The possible fear of ethnic cleansing only fuels a fire that has been lit by the Government of India, whose purpose appears to be to divide and rule. Arguing that the Nagas do not want to hurt people who have been encouraged to live in Nagalim, they simply want to shape their future based on their own culture and the realities of today.

The NISC claims that the Government of India is trying to hide the reality that the Nagas have every right to self-determination and reunification. Nagas only want what has been taken from them: jurisdiction over their lands and the right to govern themselves, not to be governed by an alien power under a constitution they believe does not give them the right of self determination that is theirs.

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Forced Labor for Model Village

Maungdaw, August 26 Kaladan News : Nasaka forces are taking forced labor for construction of model villages from Rohingya villagers of Maungdaw Township in Arakan State, western Burma, according to our correspondent inside Arakan.

Since June 10, 2004, the Nasaka (Burmese Border Security Force) has been taking forced labor from the Rohingya villagers of Maungdaw Township to construct 120 houses at Wabag village near Nasaka Headquarters of Maungdaw Township.

The villagers of Wabag (Myaw Taung), Maung Hna Ma, Thet Kai Pyin (Nanda Khali), Zambonnya (Zinbaingya) of Maungdaw north have to provide forced labor daily for the construction of houses for newcomers, said a villager who went to Bangladesh for medical treatment.

All the houses are to be built with measurements of 18 feet by 15 feet, roofed with tin-sheets, and work is scheduled to finish by the end of August 2004. The Nasaka authority is only providing tin-sheets for roofing and the villagers have to provide all other house building materials.

New settlers will come from Burma proper and they are mostly ex-prisoners and drug addicts. They have no experience of cultivating the land or growing paddy and other seasonal vegetables. Therefore, the Rohingya villagers have to grow crops for them by  order of Nasaka. Nasaka have confiscated arable land from Rohingya villages to provide the new settlers. In brief, Rohingya villagers have to provide forced labor, farmland and house building materials to the newcomers.

The Nasaka authorities have already confiscated 100 acres of farmland from nearby Rohingya villages to distribute to the new settlers, said a farmer whose lands were confiscated.

Similarly, Nasaka authorities have taken measurements of some farmland of Rohingya villagers from Ba Gone Nah village tract of Maungdaw south for Nasaka families or newcomers, though this is still unknown to villagers, he added.

Since 1988, The SPDC authorities have been very busy constructing model villages for new Buddhist settlers. This is nothing but an attempt to destroy the economic base and to uproot age-old customs of the Rohingya people. The so-called Natala villages (model villages) are dotted everywhere, with ongoing erection of pagodas, monasteries and community centers built with forced labor, said a schoolteacher.

As a result, more and more Rohingyas are becoming landless, internal refugees or internally displaced persons after their land and property is confiscated and their homes uprooted.

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SEX IN THE BORDER TOWN

August 21, 04, Kao Wao News: A brothel at Three Pagodas Pass border town was closed this week because clients did not pay the sex workers.

Most customers at the brothel are SPDC officials and cease-fire groups, who have not paid for the service several times, a Mon trader said.

“About nineteen sex workers of Shwe Tagar (Golden Door) brothel in the Three Pagodas Pass town went to Mon state two days ago after it was closed down,” said a trader, Nai Ong. Most clients are those who have guns and power such as MI (Military Intelligence Service), policemen, Burma Army soldiers and cease-fire groups from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, the Karen Peace Force and the New Mon State Party. They visit the house and also take the girls outside without paying money.

The local source reported that the SPDC officials and cease-fire groups sometimes quarrel with each other over girls, looking for beauty and fun. The owner doesn’t dare argue with anyone who is armed in the brothel. Some local residents say they are familiar with a new slang word ‘sex hijack’ because the sex workers are forced to drive around with the clients without being paid.

Last month, according to a local medic from the Thai-Burma border town, four patients from the NMSP clinic have been diagnosed with HIV. The Mon medics in the area are concerned about the sex trade and lack of prevention due to the increase of HIV cases in the area.

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MON CANADIAN REMEMBERS LATE LEADER NAI NON LAR

Kao Wao: August 16, 2004: The Mon community in Calgary gathered at a Buddhist temple to pay tribute to Nai Non Lar who passed away 15 years ago on the first anniversary of 8888 at the Thai-Burma border.

Members of the Mon Canadian Society and Mon Women’s Organization gathered at the Khmer Canadian Buddhist Temple on Sunday August 15 to donate food to monks and share merit with the late leader. The MCS read out a memorial describing the history of Nai Non Lar. Nai Khaing Waeng and Nai Cham Toik also shared their memories and experiences with the late President during the revolutionary period.

Back home in Monland, the New Mon State Party held a commemoration ceremony and a statue of the late President was built this year at Hnee Padaw near Thanbyu Zayat town (his native village).

While serving as a village headman, Nai Non Lar, aka Nai Seik Noh, joined the Mon Peoples Front and was deeply involved in the Mon national movement from its foundation. He was arrested along with other senior leaders after the military coup; he then joined the NMSP after his release.

Nai Non Lar, aged 72, passed away from heart failure on August 8, 1989 while making a speech to students and monks on the first anniversary of 8888 at Three Pagodas Pass border town. He served as Secretary General, President and Vice President of the NMSP.


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Burma News International is a network of nine exiled media groups such as Mizzima News, Khonumthung News Group, Narinjara News, Kaladan Press Network, Independent Mon News Agency, Karenni Information Network Group, Network Media Group, Shan Herald Agency for News and Kao Wao News.

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