11 November 2004
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* Wa prepare for the
worst
* Indian PM will flag
off international rally run through
* Burmese Junta Relaxes
Border Entry Restrictions to
* Confusing news
regarding army operations against Northeast militants
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Wa prepare for the worst
===================
Shan Herald Agency for News
Despite a conciliatory statement expressed by their
Burmese-speaking
spokesman last week, the Wa have
also adopted a backup policy in
anticipation of extreme situations,
reports King Cobra from the
Chiangmai border:
During the Oct. 27-29 emergency meeting in Panghsang, the Wa
headquarters on the Sino-Burma
border, Wa leaders had reached a
resolution endorsing a dual
position in response to the leadership
change that took place in
who had recently talked to Wa
commanders returning to the Thai-Burma
border.
"What U Aung Myint had told
the DVB (Norway-based Democratic Voice of
will behave just as long as the
Burma Army does the same," said the
source from Monghsat.
"But they are suspicious about the Burmese
military build-up around their
territory, and have accordingly adopted
extreme measures to be used if
worst comes to worst."
The measures include:
in drugs, to counter them with
revelations of the Burma Army's own
connections to the drug trade.
who choose to surrender will be put
to death.
According to DVB, the Wa had
endorsed three resolutions during their
3-day meeting:
- To preserve the ceasefire
status.
The Bangkok Post also reported on Nov. 3 that the Wa disarmed 50
Army troops, reportedly from Light Infantry Division 99, who
intruded
into the United Wa State Army
region on Sept. 22.
They were released three days later after a meeting of the Wa deputy
commander Bo La Kham
with the Burma Army' Northeastern Region
Commander Maj-Gen
Myint Hlaing, who denied
knowledge of the event.
Gen, Khin Nyunt was said to have been "really
surprised" upon
receiving the news, the report
said.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Indian PM will flag
off international rally run through
============================================
Nava Thakuria
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
Guwahati: Indian Prime Minister Dr
Man Mohan Singh will 'flag-off' the
first India-Asean
car rally that will pass through 10 countries,
including
On Nov. 22, Guwahati, capital of
the northeastern state of
host the program.
participation of Dr Singh in
the event, which is aimed at creating an
economic boom in
Organized by the External Affairs Ministry of India, in
association
with the Confederation of Indian
Industry, the rally will cross
Southeast Asian countries including
The 8,000 km rally route will conclude in
The 'flag-off' ceremony in Guwahati
will also be attended by some of
Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) countries. "The
Bollywood stars, like Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta, have confirmed
their participation in the
inauguration ceremony, which will also be
attended by many Asean foreign ministers, diplomats and corporate
personalities," an
The government of
in Guwahati
for the rallys starting ceremony. It is also planning
a
cultural program to be held during
the rally. The rally, first of its
kind in this region, is expected to
boost Guwahati as an important
commercial center for
However, a local student organization in
disrupt the program to protest
against some recently adopted policies
by the central government in
leaders decided to protest against
the visit of Dr. Singh and against
harmful policies implemented in the
Northeast by the Indian Government
over time.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Burmese Junta Relaxes
Border Entry Restrictions to
=====================================================
Surajit Khaund
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
In a bid to boost border trade, the Burmese junta has
relaxed
restrictions on the entry of
Burmese people into
into
People as far from the border areas as
bordering towns such as Tamu can now enter
problem. The relaxation of border
crossing restrictions came into
effect during last month before the
visit of Burmese military leader
Gen. Than Shwe to Arial,
With the relaxation of restrictions, two Indian cultural
groups have
visited
Burmese.
"We are happy that now the Burmese people can easily
visit our states
without any problem," L.
Singh, a leader of the cultural team, told
this correspondent.
He further said that Burmese people would soon visit
Manipur, an
Indian state bordering
The relaxation of cross-border movement into
junta was intended as a gesture to
encourage future assistance from
the Indian Government. Earlier, the
Burmese authorities restricted
visits to
but the pro-junta stand of the
present Indian Government has bolstered
the Burmese regime to relax
border-crossing restrictions to a large
extent.
Singh said that Burmese people are now willing to visit Northeast
of the region. "The Burmese
people want to strengthen cultural as well
as trade relations with the Indian
people, so the decision may bring
the people of
Immediately after taking power,
government drew up a series of
plans to boost trade with
government also asked the country's
leading banks to open offices in
Tourism organizations in
relaxation of restrictions on the
cross-border movement of people so
as to boost tourism in the region.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Confusing news
regarding army operations against Northeast militants
=====================================================
Navathakuria
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
Guwahati: Confusion prevails
regarding an Indian Army operation
against Manipuri militants who are
using Burmese soil for shelter and
a base from which to launch
hit-and-run attacks.
Newspapers in Guwahati reported on
Nov. 6 that the Indian Army had
launched a massive operation in
Manipur where the Burmese military had
sealed the border to prevent
insurgents from entering Burmese
territory. The newpapers reported that "at least 13 rebels were
killed and 34 captured by Indian
soldiers" in Friday's massive
military crackdown.
Quoting an army spokesman, the reports revealed that around
“7,500
Army personnel had surrounded the bases of militants"
in Bishenpur and
Churachandpur districts of
Manipur.
Major S.D. Goswami, an Indian Army
spokesman, was reported as
saying, "We have nabbed 34
militants and seized 20 sophisticated
weapons so far during the
operation." Goswami was also reported as
saying that the offensive was
carried out "entirely by the Indian
Army, with Myanmarese soldiers
simply guarding their own frontiers on
the other side."
In his recent visit, the Burmese military leader Senior
General Than
Shwe assured the Indian Government that the Burmese regime
would not
allow their soil to be used by
anti-India insurgent groups. Indian
intelligence reports confirm that
over 30 insurgent groups in
Low intensity army operations against anti-government
insurgents have
been on-going over the last few
decades in
region. Local daily newspapers
usually carry news items relating to
counter-insurgency operations
despite sometimes reporting different
statistics. The news coverage of
the operation in these newspapers on
Saturday Nov. 6 was impressive. Naturally people were
waiting for
follow up stories the next day.
However, suddenly the army operation
lost space in the Northeast dailys. Except for reports by two Guwahati-
based reporters representing
Reuters, IANS and AFP, no daily
newspapers carried further news
reported by their own correspondents.
Imphal, capital of Manipur, hosts
news correspondents representing
various Indian regional and
national newspapers. It is very surprising
therefore, that no local correspondents
reported on the unfolding
events. This begs the question; How could the Imphal-based
reporters
afford to miss important news of
army operations against insurgents in
various national dailies based in Guwahati also avoided reporting on
the army operation and its
consequences. This has created confusion
about the operation and its outcome
for newspaper readers in the
region.
.......................................................................
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