EBO Burma News, 14 May 2003

News Summary:

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1. Annan urges both sides in Myanmar to revive stalled reconciliation talks

2. Myanmar agrees to ILO mediator for forced labour compensation

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Annan urges both sides in Myanmar to revive stalled reconciliation talks

UNITED NATIONS, May 14 (AFP) - UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Wednesday

urged the ruling junta and the opposition in Myanmar to take advantage of a

visit by his special envoy next month to revive stalled reconciliation talks.

Malaysian diplomat Razali Ismail is due in Yangon on June 6 for a four-day

visit and is expected to meet both government officials and Aung San Suu Kyi,

General Secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD).

Razali has visited Myanmar nine times since he was appointed as Annan's

envoy in April 2000 but his most recent trip was six months ago.

"The secretary general hopes that the special envoy's visit will

reinvigorate the process of national reconciliation in Myanmar, which appears

to have stalled over the past several months," Annan's spokesman said.

Annan called on both the government and Aung San Suu Kyi "to redouble their

efforts to start substantive political dialogue by taking advantage of Mr.

Razali's forthcoming visit," spokesman Fred Eckhard said.

Razali is credited with brokering landmark secret talks between the

military and the NLD leader which began in October 2000 and were aimed at

promoting national reconciliation and political reform.

The talks led to the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize

laureate, and some political prisoners, but otherwise have ground to a halt.

The democracy campaigner complained publicly last month of the junta's lack

of sincerity in committing to a dialogue to map out a political transition.

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Myanmar agrees to ILO mediator for forced labour compensation

GENEVA, May 14 (AFP) - Myanmar has agreed to a request from the UN's

International Labour Organisation's and is to appoint a mediator to help

victims of forced labour demand financial compensation, the Geneva-based ILO

said Wednesday.

"I welcome... the reaffirmation of your government's commitment to

eradicating forced labor," ILO Director General Juan Somavia said in a letter

to Myanmar's Labour minister U Tin Winn.

"It is now of upmost importance that the plan of action, including the

selection of the site for the pilot project, is finalised promptly," he added.

In March, the ILO's liaison officer in Yangon said that Myanmar was the

only country in the world where forced labour was imposed by authorities and

that the military government's plan to end the practice were neither adequate

nor credible.

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