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More News Related to Burma
(Hong Kong Standard)
Asean expansion `good for family'
MANILA: Singapore and the Philippines have defended a decision by the
Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) to admit international
pariah Burma into their club, saying it would make the group stronger.
``There would be a lot of common interest . . . to make Asean an
important economic bloc and also one with political influence,''
visiting Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said, dismissing
objections by western governments because of human rights abuses in
Burma.
The group decided 10 days ago to admit Burma, Laos and Cambodia into
Asean.
``We know that the US and Europe are unhappy with Myanmar's (Burma's)
admission, but we have always taken a position that the internal
situation of a country is that country's concern,'' Mr Goh said.
He said Asean believed it was better to engage Burma in constructive
dialogue so it could reform by looking at its neighbours.
``We don't believe that sanctions will work. We haven't heard anybody
come out with a better alternative than constructive engagement,'' he
said.
Mr Goh said Asean members believed a country's internal affairs were its
own concerns.
``We know that many people are unhappy with human rights or so-called
human right abuses in countries within Asean. But we want to work
together and we do things our way,'' he said.
Western countries led by the United States had put pressure on the group
to deny membership to Burma because of its human rights record.
The new members are expected to be formally admitted next month.
Philippine President Fidel Ramos also defended the group's decision to
admit Burma as a member.
``We look at Asean as a family where you have strong, capable,
economically affluent and at the same time some poor and weak members
who must be kept together within the family,'' he said. - Reuter
Orphanage babies `turned into medical guinea pigs'
MELBOURNE: Children in orphanages were used as guinea pigs in medical
experiments for 25 years, The Age newspaper claimed on Tuesday.
The experiments, some conducted on babies less than a year old, included
trials of new vaccines for herpes, whooping cough and influenza, and
some that did not work or failed to pass safety tests in animals, the
newspaper said.
In several cases, children developed adverse reactions, including
vomiting and abscesses.
The newspaper cited medical journals from the 1940s and 1950s in
describing experiments on children in homes by the federal-government
owned Commonwealth Serum Laboratories to test vaccines for diphtheria
and whooping cough. Tests were allegedly carried out up until 1970.
Among other institutions involved were the Walter and Eliza Hall
Institute of Medical Research, which confirmed it had done tests for a
herpes vaccine on 16 children in a Melbourne babies' home.
But an institute spokesman said the tests were carried out with the
``ready co-operation of the sisters in charge of the institutions'' and
done to protect the children in overcrowded homes from epidemics.
``I think the sisters in charge were desperate to prevent their children
dying from these diseases,'' he said. - AFP
Chavalit Calls Special Meeting To Resolve All Pipeline Issues
PRIME Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh has called a meeting of key
individuals and groups concerned with the construction of the Yadana gas
pipeline project in an effort to move the project forward to completion
by the deadline and to resolve all outstanding issues, a well informed
source told Business Day.
The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday and will be chaired by the prime
minister.
Much is at stake in completing the project on time. Thailand has agreed
to receive 525 million cubic feet of gas per day from the Yadana field
and an additional 200 million cubic feet from the Yetagun field
beginning on 1 July 1998.
Meanwhile, Myanmar has already completed about 90 percent of the
pipeline project on its side. The 63 km pipeline on the Myanmar side has
already reached the Thai border at Etong village.
Under the agreement between the two countries, Myanmar will receive
about 43.5 million baht per day or about 15.9 billion baht per year, an
amount which would contribute substantially to its foreign exchange
earnings.
The benefits to Thailand are derived from having access to a relatively
low-cost fuel for generating electrical power.
The 725 million cubic feet per day supply from the Yadana field and the
Yetagun field will be used to fuel 3,000 MW out of the 4600 MW capacity
of the power plant currently under construction in Rachaburi.
Using other sources of fuel entails substantially higher financial and
environmental costs. For example, the hydroelectric power stations
currently operating in the country required the construction of 16 dams
and have a combined capacity of about 2,700 MW, 300 MW less than the
3000MW output to be fueled by gas from Myanmar.
Coal could be used, but it would require a costly desulphurization
process. Similar costs and environmental problems are associated with
using bunker oil and diesel oil to generate electricity.
The main issue in the construction of the pipeline project involves a
50-km section which passes through a reserve forest.
The Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) has taken a firm stand in
favor of completing the project as planned, while the contractor TASCO
Mannesmann and certain environmental groups want the 50 km section
rerouted.
PTT Governor Pala Sookawesh said the existing planned route minimizes
environmental impacts, adding that pipeline construction would involve a
20-meter wide path through the 50-km stretch of the forest.
He said about 625 rai in reserve forest land area would be affected, and
PTT will undertake reforestation and other restoration efforts covering
30,000-40,000 rai.
The PTT Governor also said an alternate route proposed by the contractor
would result in much higher construction costs and far greater damage to
the environment.
Prasit Sapsakorn, Chairman of Tipco Asphalt (TASCO) and a major partner
in TASCO Mannesmann, a joint venture which won the contract to build the
pipeline, stated in a petition intended for Her Majesty the Queen that
he wanted the project rerouted for environmental reasons.
A senior PTT official said that the proposal to reroute the project was
related to a possible delay in the pipeline construction work and much
higher installation cost.
"THERE WILL BE NO REAL DEMOCRACY IF WE CAN'T GURANTEE THE RIGHTS OF THE
MINORITY ETHNIC PEOPLE. ONLY UNDERSTANDING THEIR SUFFERING AND HELPING
THEM TO EXERCISE THEIR RIGHTS WILL ASSIST PREVENTING FROM THE
DISINTEGRATION AND THE SESESSION." "WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THEIR
STRENGTH, WE CAN'T TOPPLE THE SLORC AND BURMA WILL NEVER BE IN PEACE."
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