December 15, 2004
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(1) Indian company likely to export diesel to
(2) Army Authorities Reselling Seized Vehicles
(3) Border landmines have far-reaching effects
(4) Exhortation for money by authorities in
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News In Burmese Language
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(1) Awarded labor organization office raided
(2) ALD statement on Arakan
state day
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Article
__________________________________________________________________________
ASEAN's Softened Stance Toward
__________________________________________________________________________
Indian company likely
to export diesel to Burma
====================================
By Surajit Khaund,
Mizzima
GUWAHATI, Dec 15: To carry forward the ‘Look East
Policy’ and explore
the oil market, Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) is likely to export
diesel to
Product Enterprise (MPPE) to finalize the deal. “We have
given an
attractive package to buy our
product and we are now waiting for their
reply,” BK Das,
managing director of NRL, said in an exclusive interview
with this correspondent. Das said ‘
NRL to reduce transportation cost.
An NRL delegation led by Das met
recently wirh MPPE, a leading
oil
company in
to push forward the deal.
Explaining the outcome of the meeting, Das
said that because NRL is located
very near the
keen to buy products from
them that the entire demand of ‘
transporting products by road via
the Moreh Tamu border. The
MPPE also
sought help from NRL to build a
depot at Tamu, the
he said.
The total demand for petroleum products in
metric tons per annum (MMTA) of
which 2.5 MMTA is met by local
production from three refineries
and the rest by import from
refinery produces 25,000 barrels
(bbl) per day while Mann and Chauk
produce 27,000 and 5,000 bbl per
day respectively. On the other hand,
the demand for petroleum products
in
while the demand in the
respectively.
“Since our refinery is very near the border point we can
meet their
requirements and I am optimistic
that we will be able to seal the deal,”
he added.
With the improvement of relations between
companies are now making efforts to
explore markets in
Indian oil companies in particular have already signed
agreements with
the junta government. Moreover a
huge reservoir of oil and gas in
invited Indian companies to start
operations.
Regarding prospects for the Burmese market, Das observed that it has
emerged as a potential market,
hence NRL is keen to strengthen its
toe-hold in
+++++++++++++++
Army Authorities
Reselling Seized Vehicles
=================================
Independent Mon News Agency
Vehicles without licenses imported from
seized by the Burmese military
government army in the November
crackdown, are being resold again
by the army, according to a monk.
“The middle level army authorities in the Military Southeast
Command
(MSC) changed the color of some seized vehicles and resold
these
vehicles only to a monk for a low
price,” said a monk who tried to buy a
car.
According to a Nai Jorn report, the monk was allowed to own cars without
licenses although ordinary people
and cease-fire group members were
banned from buying them and all
their cars were seized by the army after
the Burmese Military Intelligence
was demolished. But the monk could not
lend his car to other people, but
had to drive or sit inside the car
while the car was on the road,
according to the army order.
“The army authorities tried to sell a vehicle without a
license for
between 700,000 and 1 million kyat
to the monk. But the car had price of
more than 20 million kyat before
the crackdown,” the monk added.
“We knew that the car was a seized car. They changed many
colors. Some
they changed to an army color. We
asked them where they got the car?
They said do not ask where they get the car, they just want
us to talk
about buying their car,” the monk
said.
According to Nair Jorn, some parts
of the seized car, such as the
tape-player, VCD player, some
lights, had already been sold by the
soldiers before they took the car
to the MSC..
Because of the low price, some abbot monks bought two or
three cars for
their temples while people who were
trying to sell their cars without
licenses hid them.
“Some abbots are very happy and asking for funds from their
donors to
buy a car for their temple while
people are hiding their cars in the
jungle…to be free from seizure and
arrest,” Nai Jorn said.
The Burmese army authorities have been seizing cars without
licenses.
Some owners of hidden cars said
that if they see authorities entering
to seize a car they will burn the
car.
“Now a lot of soldiers are car running but we have
difficulty getting a
car routing on the road,” Ma Htay Kyu said.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Border landmines have
far-reaching effects
====================================
Narinjara News
forces of
presence of landmines in those areas.The absence of joint-border forces
of both countries has increased the
occurrence of cross-border arms
smuggling, drug and human
trafficking, and cross border robberies, said
a report in a weekend journal in
The demarcation of border area under the joint forces of the
two
countries began in 1984, but ended
after only 14 years. Between 1995 and
2000, the Burmese army planted a number of landmines
throughout the
border areas to prevent Arakanese insurgent groups from entering
Since then,
part in the work to demarcate the
border.
Previously, the joint border forces had been able to
accomplish some
important work in the border area,
rebuilding pillars, demarcation of
the border line and
facilitating exchange of information between the
two forces, another report said.
The joint border force is unlikely to
resume due to the number of
landmines still present in the area.
According to border sources, the Burmese Army is currently
having
difficulty locating their own
landmines, because army personnel have no
maps of previously planted
landmines. Over two dozen innocent people
have died in the last few years
from landmines planted by the
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Exhortation for money
by authorities in
================================================
Narinjara News
Akyab, Dec 13: After the purge of
General Khin Nyunt, SPDC Prime
Minister Soe Win, First Secretary Thein Sein and Lieutenant General
Shwe
Mann promised that the junta's first priority was to get rid
of
corruption and abusive use of power
by military personnel.
Contrary to the promise, incidents of exhortation of the
public for
money by local authorities and
military personnel has increased
throughout
Checkpoints formerly controlled by MI are now guarded by
military
Personnel and police, and they are not just asking for money
from the
smugglers, but also from ordinary
people.
"We were told that the soldiers are not to be bribed.
However, if we are
to bribe them, we have to pay no
less than what we used to pay the MI.
So we have to pay 50,000 kyat for our boat," said an Arakanese trader
who used the sea smuggling route.
The local authority, made upof
Army, Navy, and Police, demand 30,000 or
100,000 kyat for a smuggling boat.
In the southern Townships of Arakan,
namely Kyauk Phyu, Rambree and
Taung Goat, Township Peace and
Development Council (TPDC) officials were
making people give money for TPDC
office furniture.
The Democratic Voice of Burma, based in
Myo Tint, president of Rambree
TPDC, exhorted 5,000 kyat from each rice
mill as a "donation" to
the TPDC fund.
The DVB reports that local people complain that this
exhortation was for
U Myo Tint's personal use.
Similar cases were reported from Ranmyo,
Meegaunghtoo and Moung
villages
and Taung
Goat township. In Taung Goat township,
TPDC president U Saw
Aung collected 300 to 500 kyat per household for furniture
to be used in
the Township office.
If villagers fail to pay the first time, they will have to
pay double
for a second demand from officials.
Under
the pretence of asking donations
for many official projects funding
schools, roads and clinics.
Billions of kyat were confiscated
from MI stationed in Arakan state
During the purge of the MI: two billion kyat from the head
of the Min
Bya MI division; 50 million kyat
and 100 kyat of gold from Maung Phone,
head of Paut
Taw; 30 million kyat and 47 kyat of gold from Aung Zaeya,
head of Maung Daw MI division; and
75 acres of ricefield, 50 million
kyat and a Ricemill
from Sergeant Soe Won, head of Pone Nar Kyan township.
"We can estimate the magnitude of the authoritarianism
of the Burmese
junta over the Arakanese
by looking at the amount of money confiscated
from the MI," says a citizen
of Akyab.
After the purge, instead of a reduction in exhortation, the
people of
Arakan face more hardship with the
local authorities demanding money
with no legitimate reason
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Article
=====
ASEAN's Softened
Stance Toward
========================================================
By Zin Linn, Mizzima
While the United Nations Secretary-General and Western
democracy leaders
call for the release of democracy icon
Aung San Suu Kyi and the
introduction of democracy in
the issue. The Military Junta,
unauthorized rulers of the country,
unmoved by internal protests and
external pressures, continues to push
its seven-step roadmap through
arbitrary National Convention to write a
new constitution for the country.
On Oct. 29, Southeast Asian Human Rights Organizations from
10 countries
met in
asked ASEAN parliamentarians to
take up the cause of their colleagues in
of their constituents. They also
urged the governments to recognize the
elected members as legitimate
representatives of
The Meeting also urged ASEAN to disqualify the SPDC from
chairing the
regional bloc meeting to be held in
2006, unless the ruling junta takes
effective steps to achieve National
Reconciliation, and introduce
political and economic reforms.
Also on Aug. 8, ASEAN's 37th anniversary, human rights
activist groups
including Forum Asia, Altsean
in
recruitment of child soldiers,
mismanagement of the economy, and
extensive drug production
sanctioned by the junta. The organizations
called
to block the military-run state
from chairing the regional grouping in
2006.
Long-standing concern over human rights, the lack of
political reforms
and continued detention of
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi have
caused activists to exert pressure
on ASEAN leaders to disqualify
State Peace and Development Council, which rules
broken the promises it made to
ASEAN about economic and political
reforms," the activist groups
stated in a joint letter to regional heads
of government.
Within the country the Burmese people are voicing their
concerns and
asking questions concerning the
current political impasse. A majority
within the country are convinced
that the active participation of Aung
San Suu Kyi in
process is essential to create a
peaceful
growing feeling that only by
releasing all political prisoners it would
be possible to create an
appropriate political environment for such a
constitution-drafting convention.
The people are demanding a nationwide cease-fire, to ensure
the
convention functions as a
full-fledged national forum. Pro-democracy
citizens and parties point out that
without the right to freedom of
opinion, _expression and press the
National Convention cannot be a
genuine forum. But the military
regime continues to ignore these demands
and claims
nation. However, the junta is going
to build a military-controlled
country through its
seven-stage road map.
The people, by and large, are convinced that the convention
sponsored by
the junta does not represent the
entire nation but a handful of
pro-military supporters. The
so-called national convention, which fails
to represent elected
representatives, is nothing more than a puppet show
to hoodwink the international
community into believing the junta's
illusory democratization progress.
The Junta had earlier promised the ASEAN that Aung San Suu
Kyi would be
released before resuming the
National Convention. But it has failed to
keep its word as always. During the
10th Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN)
Minister Gen. Soe Win and Foreign
Minister Nyan Win brushed aside
questions on the release of
detained democracy icon and opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi. In
response to a question from media, Nyan Win
said the culprit of the Dapeyin incident was no other than Aung San Suu
Kyi for neglecting authorities' warnings.
seven-point road map to democracy
under its new leadership with the
second session of the National
Convention, excluding the opposition
National League for Democracy, reconvening next February,
said Foreign
Minister Nyan Win.
The road map announced by ousted prime minister Gen Khin
Nyunt was still
in place, as it was a collective
decision of the State Peace and
Development Council, the junta's new foreign minister Nyan Win said in a
briefing ahead of the 10th Asean summit which opened Nov. 29 in the
capital of
Ever since Aung San Suu Kyi was ambushed and detained on May
30, 2003,
the Burmese Junta has faced
criticism from the international community
for its refusal to release the
Nobel Laureate and its reluctance to
restart reconciliation efforts.
The junta has stubbornly refused to negotiate participation
of the NLD
ignoring the international
community's concerns. Consequently,
second-largest pro-democracy party,
the Shan National League for
Democracy (SNLD), did not appear at the meeting because it
was an
undemocratic convention.
The other eight ethnic political parties in the United
Nationalities
Alliance (UNA), which represents the Shan, Karen, Kachin, Chin, Arakan,
Mon and Karenni ethnic parties, have also declared ahead of
the resuming
convention that they will not
attend the forum without the NLD.
Without the participation of the NLD, the junta's national
convention
will lack genuine democratic
principles and goal. Pro-democracy Burmese
claim the National Convention has
three major targets. The first is to
whitewash the premeditated massacre
at Depayin. Second is to do away
with the result of the 1990 General
Elections. Third is to persuade
regional governments to support a
sugar-coated military cabinet as a
legitimate government of
A majority of people in the country strongly feel the
junta's sponsored
national convention, encouraged by
ASEAN, is not a solution for
but a continued political and
economic nightmare.Burmese people are
puzzled with ASEAN's political
pretence of supporting fake democratic
reforms in
urge the Burmese generals to walk
along the democratic path. But, in
their inner mind, they do encourage
the junta to grab power as much as
it can. The reason seems to be
reluctance to honor a Democratic Burma.
Public opinion in
encouraging the Burmese military
regime to violate human rights as well
as the laws of the civilized world.
If ASEAN does not support democratic
reforms in
regional threat involving, drugs,
human trafficking, prostitution,
HIV/AIDS, refugee and mass migration etc.
Before the junta embarrasses
the region, ASEAN should review its
policy on
junta from chairing the regional
bloc in 2006, as it fails to implement
National Reconciliation and political
reforms. Promising political
reforms,
embarrassment and still a shame for
ASEAN. It is amazing that a
democratic organization willingly
received a rogue military junta as a
member. Activists however, slammed
ASEAN for being soft on the issue.
They warned that raising
organization meant an endorsement
of military rule and could undermine
ASEAN's credibility.
A group of regional lawmakers, over the weekend Nov. 29-30,
issued a
statement in
ASEAN unless the military-run nation makes progress toward
democratic
reforms. They also acknowledge a
political and humanitarian crisis in
effect on regional neighbors,
seriously affecting regional security
through refugee and drug flows that
require urgent action by all parties
involved.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Zin Lin - The author is an exile
writer and ex-political prisoner and
now serves as media and information
director of the National Coalition
Government of the
**End**
=========================================================================
Burma News International is a network of nine exiled media
groups
such as Mizzima
News, Shan Herald Agency for News, Kao Wao News Group,
Khonumthung News Group, Narinjara News, Kaladan Press
Network,
Independent Mon News Agency, Karenni Information
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