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BurmaNet News July 31, 1997
------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
----------------------------------------------------------
The BurmaNet News: July 31, 1997
Issue #786
Noted in Passing:
[I will] call the United States ``Old Mexico'' if [Madeleine Albright]
insists on using the name ``Burma'' instead of Myanmar.
- SLORC FM Ohn Gyaw
(see UPI: MYANMAR MIFFED)
HEADLINES:
==========
AP: CANADA TO IMPOSE SANCTIONS ON BURMA
CFOB: AXWORTHY URGED TO IMPOSE FULL ECONOMIC SANCTIONS
UPI: MYANMAR MIFFED U.S. CALLS IT BURMA
REUTERS: CURRENCY, RIGHTS KEEPS ASEAN SPOTLIGHT OFF BURMA
THE KATHMANDU POST: "BURMA DEFENDS RIGHTS RECORD
BKK POST: MADDIE ROCKS ASEAN
KATHMANDU POST: "BANGLADESH TO REPATRIATE ALL
TIMES OF INDIA: MYANMAR DISSIDENT DENIES CHARGE OF TERRORISM
THAILAND TIMES: THE PLOT THICKENS
INDEPENDENT REPORT: ETYMOLOGY OF ARAKAN
WWW: BURMA FAXTOON HOMEPAGE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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AP: CANADA TO IMPOSE SANCTIONS ON BURMA
July 29, 1997
By Hari S Maniam of the Associated Press
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, July 29 AP - Canada plans to impose
sanctions on Burma's government after being turned down in attempts
to encourage that country to make democratic reforms, Canadian
officials said today.
The officials said they are considering a halt to investment and
limits to trade, perhaps through higher tariffs.
Canadian officials said they had sought progress in a variety of
ways in a meeting today with Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw, but
the Burmese was "unambiguously unresponsive."
"We didn't see any willingness to engage," the Foreign Minister
Lloyd Axworthy said in an interview with Voice of America radio.
"Therefore, in this case ... a broader level of international
censure, I think, is necessary."
Another Canadian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
termed the Canadian decision to impose sanctions "political censure
rather than economic censure because our trade relations are not so big."
The foreign ministers met during talks in Kuala Lumpur between
developed nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on
security issues.
At a closing news conference, Ohn Gyaw was asked to respond to
criticism from other foreign ministers that his presentations had
been neither credible, nor adequate.
"What I'm providing is what is actually going on in the
country," he said. "What I'm presenting is true facts, real facts."
He said wrong impressions about the situation are gathered from
talking to "people who are against the government."
"We are proceeding toward democracy," he said, adding that there
were differences of opinion on "whether that democracy accords with
the outside world's perception or our in accordance with our own
values."
Responding to Ohn Gyaw, US undersecretary of state Stuart
Eisenstat said, "Our view is that Burma's top drug traffickers have
become leading investors in the economy and leading lights in the
new political order." He said that situation poisoned the
atmosphere of any investment in the country, and was a basis for
the US ban on all new investment there.
The United States is seeking international cooperation to
isolate Burma economically and politically to pressure its military
government into making democratic reforms.
The Philippines' foreign minister, meanwhile, criticised the US
sanctions, saying they would have no more effect than the American
attempt to isolate Cuba.
In unusually pointed comments, Foreign Minister Domingo Siazon
also criticised the way in which US Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright advocated progress toward democracy and human rights in
Burma, which has been called Myanmar by the military government
which took power there nearly 10 years ago.
"We feel that the dialogue with Myanmar in the last few days has
been quite fruitful, despite the rather high-level decibels in
which some of the statements have been made," said Siazon, who will
become ASEAN's new chairman.
The regional group admitted Burma to its ranks last Wednesday,
ignoring the disapproval of the United States and Europe, which
said reforms in Burma should have been a prerequisite for
membership.
"Economic sanctions on a country that has very little external
trade and that has been closed from the outside market will not
really work," Siazon said.
He said neighbouring countries would continue to trade with
Burma, dulling the impact of economic sanctions imposed by other
nations.
"You have the case of Cuba, which has been under economic
sanctions forever," he said. "And the natural resources available
in Myanmar are very much more than the natural resources available
in Cuba." He also referred to "hundreds of years of colonialism
during which there no democracy had been given."
Siazon also expressed dissatisfaction with the US practice of
calling Burma by its historic name. The United States and other
countries do not recognise the name change that the military regime
imposed when it took power. Albright referred to the country as
Burma throughout the talks in the presence of Ohn Gyaw.
"I don't know why people keep calling that country by a name
it's not supposed to be called," Siazon said.
Eisenstat, who continued to use the name "Burma" in the closing
news conference that included Siazon and Ohn Gyaw, told reporters
afterward, "It's important to back up our words with actions."
Eisenstat was speaking for Albright, who left the meeting before
the final news conference and lunch, to fly to Singapore for
bilateral meetings.
It's no longer appropriate to blame things on colonialism,
Eisenstat said. "We're living on the cusp of the 21st century.
Democracy and human rights are now established principles.
"When people ask for cooperation with a country and call that
country by some other name ... you're talking to the wall," he
said. "I think it's just appropriate that we call a country by its
proper name, whether you like it or not."
Siazon spoke at a joint news conference with Australian Foreign
Minister Alexander Downer, who has made strong statements about the
lack of progress in Burma. At the news conference Downer referred
to the country as "Burma-Myanmar," and agreed with Siazon that
sanctions are not the best way to improve human rights conditions
in Burma.
"The Australian government has argued for quite some time that
we didn't regard sanctions as being likely to be very effective,"
Downer said.
But he added that, "We've gone for 12 months now since the last
ASEAN Regional Forum and the lack of progress in Burma-Myanmar
since then is, I must say, very, very disappointing."
ASEAN consists of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the
Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Laos, and Burma.
The Southeast Asian nations meet annually in a Regional Forum
and a Post-Ministerial Conference with 10 Dialogue Partners: The
United States, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Canada, India,
the European Union, New Zealand and Australia.
***********************************************************
CFOB: AXWORTHY URGED TO IMPOSE FULL ECONOMIC SANCTIONS
AGAINST BURMA
July 29, 1997
Canadian Friends of Burma; 145 Spruce St, suite 206, Ottawa, ON K1R 6P1
Tel: 613 237 8056; Fax 613 563 0017; Email cfob@xxxxxxx
For Immediate Release
July 29, 1997
Ottawa - Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy has stated that he will
recommend to cabinet that economic sanctions be imposed on Burma due to the
illegal military regime's refusal to change the political and human rights
situation in its own country.
After meeting with Burmese Foreign Minister, U Ohn Gyaw, Minister Axworthy
reported that he was clearly convinced the State Law and Order Restoration
Council (SLORC) has no interest to enter into dialogue with democratic
leader Aung San Suu Kyi or cooperate with the international community by
receiving any independent human rights monitoring envoys.
Canadian Friends of Burma applauds Minister Axworthy's initiative, welcomes
his statement to impose sanctions and urges him to recommend that the
sanctions be imposed immediately. Further, that they include a complete
withdrawal of Canadian investment presently in Burma, a complete ban on any
new Canadian investment in that country, the revocation of the General
Preferential Treatment and the halt of all exports to Burma.
CFOB also strongly recommends that the Minister 1) allocate logistical
support to the prodemocracy forces on Burma's borders and 2) provide funds
for medical and food relief for the 120,000 refugees on the Thai-Burma
border and the 60,000 refugees in India and Bangladesh.
Since the 1990 national elections in which the SLORC ignored the landslide
victory by the National League for Democracy(NLD), the Burmese peoples have
experienced a dramatic increase in oppression and brutal human rights
violations by the hands of the SLORC. The most recent military offensives
against the ethnic minorities, the on-going imprisonment of NLD members and
the return of a virtual house arrest for Aung San Suu Kyi prove beyond a
shadow of a doubt that the SLORC is only getting more repressive. Dramatic
measures by the international community are needed to assist the internal
pro-democracy struggle. The Canadian government will show that human rights
are indeed a central part of its foreign policy by immediately introducing
full economic sanctions on Burma.
For more information: contact Christine Harmston,
Coordinator, Canadian Friends of Burma.
*****************************************************
UPI: MYANMAR MIFFED U.S. CALLS IT BURMA
July 29, 1997
TOKYO, July 29 (UPI) _ Myanmar's foreign minister has criticized U.S.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright for continuing to use the name of
Burma and not Myanmar when referring to his country.
Quoting an Asean official today, Japan's Kyodo News reports Ohn Gyaw told
Albright in Kuala Lumpur that he would call the United States ``Old
Mexico'' if she insisted using the name ``Burma'' instead of Myanmar.
The agency says Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon confirmed
that Ohn Gyaw expressed irritation at those who continued to call the
country by its old name. The country's official name at the United Nations
is the Union of Myanmar.
The Burmese minister made the protest Sunday at multilateral security
talks between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its dialogue
partners.
At that meeting Albright and others strongly criticized Burma's ruling
junta for alleged human rights violations, drug production and
suppression of the democratically elected National League for Democracy.
The military rulers, who took power in a coup in September 1988,
subsequently changed the name of the country to Myanmar from Burma.
The United States and some Western countries do not use the name Myanmar,
since NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of murdered independence
hero Gen. Aung San, won the election, but was ousted in the coup.
***********************************************************
REUTERS: CURRENCY, RIGHTS KEEPS ASEAN SPOTLIGHT OFF BURMA
July 29, 1997 (abridged)
By Bill Tarrant of Reuters
KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 Reuter - Two issues not in the script --
"rogue" money speculators and the UN human rights declaration --
stole the limelight at annual meetings between the Association of
South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Asian and Western powers,
which ended today.
The two topics took some of the heat off Burma, which joined
ASEAN along with Laos last week, much to the dismay of Western
nations led by the United States and the European Union, who wanted
to put Rangoon's military rulers beyond the pale over their record
on human rights and democracy.
Malaysia's outspoken Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, fresh
from a two-month trip abroad, touched off the biggest fireworks at the
meetings when he said in an address to ASEAN last week that "rogue
speculators" bent on ruining ASEAN's fast-track economies were
driving down regional currencies. He later named American fund manager
George Soros as the chief culprit.
Then at a meeting yesterday with US Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright, Mahathir called for a review of the 1948 Human Rights
Declaration, saying it needed to be updated with the times.
Clashing views over whether the declaration should be reviewed
dominated a news conference attended by 19 foreign ministers or
their deputies, who had come to the Malaysian capital for the
annual ASEAN meetings.
US officials with Albright said it was highly unusual for the
host of a multilateral conference -- in this case Malaysia -- to
criticise one of the participants.
Some diplomats and analysts at the meeting said Mahathir, a
master of the diversionary technique, may have deliberately sparked
the debate on currency speculators and the UN human rights
declaration to deflect attention away from Burma.
ASEAN insists that its policy of "constructive engagement" is
the best way to reform Burma from within the family fold.
ASEAN officials privately say it is important to have Burma --
which shares borders with China, India and Thailand -- to keep it
out of Beijing's sphere of influence.
*********************************************************
THE KATHMANDU POST: "BURMA DEFENDS RIGHTS RECORD
FROM US ATTACK" (AFP)
July 30, 1997
Kuala Lumpur, July 29(AFP)- Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw defends his
country's human rights record Tuesday after it was raked over the coal by
US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright at ASEAN meeting here.
He blamed "wrong report" in the press for misconceptions about the human
rights situation in Burma which, he said, was "going to the direction of
democracy."
In statements Sunday and Monday at meetings between ASEAN and its main
Western and regional trade partners, Albright hammered away at Burma,
linking the ruling junta to drug trafficking and money laundering.
Asked to respond to the charges, Ohn Gyaw told a news conference concluding
the ASEAN meeting:" We do have law. We do have the process how to eliminate
the suspicion of money-laundering."
Speaking for the EU, Derek Fatchet, British Minister of state for foreign
and commonwealth affairs, told the news conference that EU would not budge
in its opposition to Burmese junta until it made "fundamental movement"
toward democracy and human rights.
Ohn Gyaw had remained impassive through the sessions, but scowled when
pressed at the news conference to respond to Albright's latest criticism.
"As far as the question of human rights in concerned, I have to say that
the press have been making wrong reports," Ohn Gyaw told reporters.
"But when the press is picking up certain information from a source which
is against the government, then of course there are some misunderstanding
and misconceptions," he said.
He said Burma had been cooperating with the United Nations and with the
Human Rights Commission in Geneva "in a manner that is responsible."
Earlier, in an interview with CNN, Ohn Gyaw dismissed allegations of human
rights abuses in Burma, saying the charges came from insurgents and the
dissidents.
"When actually you come to visit our country, you will see that we treat
our people much more fairly than they treat them in the West," he said.
He contended that Burma's military rulers did not need opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi or others to push for democracy as it was already
"committed" to achieving a democratic system.
"Whether she is there or she's not there, the system will be there," the
Burmese minister said. "With or without her, there will be democracy."
"With or without dialogue, there will be democracy. We are trying to
build a system, not with a person but with the people of a country, he said.
ASEAN officials, who privately acknowledge the problems in Burma,
generally kept quiet during the meetings, neither adding to the criticism
nor springing to their new member's defense.
Philippines Foreign Minister Domingo Siazon, the first ASEAN minister to
speak up publicly, remarked Tuesday that Burma's membership would
provide "the appropriate forum" for ASEAN's partners to convey their
opinions.
*********************************************************
BKK POST: MADDIE ROCKS ASEAN
July 30, 1997 (abridged, and full text of song inserted)
Eileen Ng, Kuala Lumpur, AFP
Madeleine Albright dispensed, with the tough guy image and stole the show at
a songfest with a Madonna skit.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright did a Madonna, Burmese Foreign
Minister Ohn Gyaw took to the dance floor and other delegates put on
memorable shows at Asean's farewell dinner, guests said yesterday.
To the tune of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" and backed by a State
Department chorus, Ms Albright sang "Don't cry for me, Aseanies" - a play on
the acronym of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
In accordance with a hallowed Asean tradition, the final dinner on Monday
night for the foreign ministers and top aides of the nine-member group and
its 10 "dialogue partners" was an occasion for letting the collective hair down.
Ms Albright's melodic references to controversial financier George Soros and
his alleged speculation against Asian currencies, and to Russia's reaction
to Nato enlargement, drew laughter at the dinner held in a Disneyland-style
resort hotel in suburban Kuala Lumpur.
Ms Albright, who normally cultivates a no-nonsense image, revealed a
feminine side that would much rather "shop, flirt and curtsy" than "wake the
bad men from their sleep".
Wearing a long black dress and blood-red lipstick, she put her heart into
the performance and brought the house down when she sang:
TEXT OF THE SONG
Don't cry for me ASEANies
The truth is I always love you
All through the SLORC days
And the Hun Sen days.
You thought I'd stay home
But now I've showed up
Sat through the ARF ARF
Bought a batik scarf
I was told I could not interfere
In your internal affairs
But then somebody
Said that you tried to
Buy our election
They think you got me
My own selection
As Secretary
Don't cry for me ASEANies
Jesse Helms, he also loves you
He has a special bill
It's called Helms-Burton
And if you are very good
He'll make one for you
I came here to talk to your leaders
But they were all on the golf course
So I went back to Sunway Laguna
And called George Soros
Talked market forces
Hatched a conspiracy
The rest is history
Now that we've all started expanding
Consider my friend Fidel Castro
And while we're at it
Saddam is waiting
They're not such bad guys
Why not engage them
Economic boycotts
Have not amazed them
They are going to turn all this into a movie
Starring Madonna
As Madeleine Albright
And Jackie Chan
As Dr. Mahathir
Some countries might sue me for libel
In others I'd risk house arrest
But I confess to
Having said that
ASEAN men
Are Asia's sexiest
Thank you Abdullah Badawi
For showing us the ASEAN way
We love Malaysia
It's like Fantasia
We won't forget you
Or the other tigers
See you in Manila
for the next thrilla'
America's top diplomat, who apparently wrote the lyrics herself, ended her
song to a standing ovation from the audience, which was clearly surprised
and fascinated by her performance, said officials.
For his part, Burmese minister Ohn Gyaw, who had been raked over the coals
by Ms Albright and the European Union over his country's human rights
records, showed he was a sport when he went on stage to dance.
Ohn Gyaw joined his daughter for a traditional Burmese dance, and drew more
applause when he asked his wife to join them. He then joined the other eight
Asean ministers in singing "We are Asean" to the tune of a Malaysian folk song.
The Australians sang "Down Under" - popularised by the rock band "Men At
Work" - while Japanese Foreign Minister Yukihito Ikeda sounded like a rapper
when he sang, said Philippine Under-secretary of Foreign Affairs Rodolfo
Severino. The South Koreans did a slick modern dance number.
Asked to rate the performances of the various delegations, Mr Severino, who
will take over as Asean secretary-general in January, said:
"For laughter the Americans, for quality Myanmar (Burma) and for thorough
preparations the Koreans."
As for Ms Albright's singing prowess, Mr Severino, ever the Asean diplomat,
hailed it as a "commendable effort".
*******************************************************
KATHMANDU POST: "BANGLADESH TO REPATRIATE ALL
BURMESE MUSLIM REFUGEES"
July 29, 1997
Dhaka, July 28(AFP)- The Bangladesh government was standing firm on its
policy of repatriating 20,000 Burmese Muslim refugees and will refuse
permanent resettlement in this impoverished country, officials said
Monday.
"Not a single Rohingya refugee will allowed to stay in Bangladesh
permanently and they will be sent back home with the cooperation of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR)," said state Minister
for Foreign Affairs Abul Hasan Chowdhury.
He said Dhaka had asked the UNHCR and would also urge Rangoon through
diplomatic channels to extend the August 15 deadline for repatriating the
Burmese refugees, called Rohingya, cleared by the Burmese authorities.
Burma have agreed to take back 7,000 of the state-estimated 20,000 Burmese
refugees in two camps leaving behind 13,000 who Rangoon says are not
citizens. The UNHCR says the figure at 21,000 following a number of births
in the past years.
More than 250,000 Muslims from Burma's Arakan state fled to Bangladesh in
1991 to escape repression and human rights violation, a charge denied by
the military junta in Rangoon.
Most were repatriated following a 1993 accord between the UNHCR and
Burmese authorities.
Chowdhury defended the government's repatriation policy, saying" if more
than 250,000 have returned home voluntarily, I don't think we need to
coerce the remaining to go back."
The minister, who held talks with UNHCR officials Sunday, explained that
permanent resettlement of the refugees was "impossible" considering
Bangladesh's economic condition.
He also rejected the UN organization's charge that the Dhaka government
was not cooperating with it.
The UNHCR had demanded that the remaining Rohingya be resettled in
Bangladesh amid new influx of the Muslim minority from Burma's Arakan
state, bordering Bangladesh's Teknaf fishing town.
Arun Sanglaram, the head of UNHCR in Bangladesh, said Monday in a
telephone interview that there was still tensions in the camps, but after
talks with the government he was confident the situation would improve.
" Repatriation can resume immediately if the situation calm down and we
will be giving pre-departure counselling to the refugees, keep family unity
in repatriation and will also carry out medical checks," he said.
He refused to comment "at this stage" on UNHCR's resettlement proposal of
some refugees.
Dhaka maintains the new entrants are economic migrants who are not
eligible for UNHCR assistance, but the aid agency says they were both
"economic and political refugees."
Local Bangladeshis also want the refugees out blaming them for increasing
crime and taking up theirs jobs.
The UNHCR said some 7,000 Burmese refugees have fled again into Bangladesh
in recent weeks.
Security officials said some of the refugees were pushed back or
detained, while others were hiding with theirs relatives or jungles.
Canh Nguyen-Tang, Coordinator for the Bangladesh-Burma Refugee
Repatriation based in Rangoon, also joined the talks with Chodhury.
He told the Independent newspaper the situation in the camps was still
"tense," but he would try to convince the refugees that there would be no
forced repatriation.
Bangladesh's acting foreign secretary Aminul Islam told the Independent:
"There has been no coercive repatriation and Bangladesh is fully
committed to follow the memorandum of the understanding singed with the
UNHCR".
Meanwhile, the Daily Star newspaper reported senior officials from the
foreign, home and relief minister were scheduled to visit the Kutupaling
and Noapara camps Monday.
Repatriation was put off last week after noisy demonstrations and
violence at Kutupalong camp.
**********************************************************
TIMES OF INDIA: MYANMAR DISSIDENT DENIES CHARGE OF TERRORISM
July 30, 1997 (by Robert Horn, AP)
Bangkok: The leader of an underground Myanmar movement surfaced in
Bangkok on Tuesday to deny charges he plotted bomb attacks against
diplomats and leaders of the military government in Rangoon.
In news conference on June 27 , Myanmar's intelligence chief, Gen. Khin
Nyunt, accused labour leader Maung Maung and other dissidents of
planning to bomb the Chinese and Indonesian embassies.
Khin Nyunt used the occasion to accuse the US government of funding
terrorist groups in Myanmar. The United States has rejected the
allegations.
Khin Nyunt said Maung Maung also helped smuggle explosives into Myanmar
in a rice cooker and was behind the parcel bomb that killed the daughter
of one of the military government's top generals.
"That is pure fabrication," Maung Maung said in an interview in
Bangkok, his first public statements regarding the accusations.
"Khin Nyunt is trying to cover himself. He is the one behind the
bombings," the 46-year-old labour leader said. (AP)
*****************************************************
THAILAND TIMES: THE PLOT THICKENS
July 27, 1997
Burma's infamous censors may soon have a brand new job-choosing
winners in Southeast Asia's biggest writing competition.
Sandy Barron reports
Thank to this week s expansion Asean! the story of Southeast
Asia's biggest literary award looks set for a, major plot twist.
The SeaWrite Award organisers - a Bangkok-based committee from
the Thai literary and business worlds as well as The Oriental
hotel and representatives from Asean embassies - have been
looking forward to a peaceful 19th birthday in September ahead of
gala 20th-anniversary celebrations next year.
SeaWrite has plenty to celebrate - over almost two decades, it
has grown to become the focal point of the Thai literary year. It
has promoted fine new writers, stimulated interest and debate
over books and ideas, survived controversies and generally made
itself into a hot fixture on the local cultural scene.
But this week's addition of two new members to Asean means fresh
issues for the SeaWrite organisers, who will almost certainly
invite the newcomers into the club and who can then expect to
come in for a share of some of the international media and
human-rights spotlight that's permanently fixed on Burma.
While literature in Laos languishes in quiet, state-controlled
obscurity, the grim position of writers in Burma has received
wide international attention.
PEN International, the writers organisation, has described Burma
as "one of the most heavily censored countries in the world". The
extraordinary censorship system has been documented in a variety
of reports by human-rights groups and others, most extensively in
PEN's Inked Over, Ripped Out: Burmese Storytellers and the
Censors, by Anna Allott. The list of banned topics includes
democracy, human rights, the events of 1988, the Nobel Peace
Prize, prostitution, criticism of Slorc and the army.
Between 1988 and 1993, in the wake of bloody pro-democracy
demonstrations, dozens of Burmese writers and artists were
detained and sentenced to between three and 20 years in jail.
Most have since been released but remain blacklisted today and
their works banned.
A favourite occupation for Burmese exiles is to scour the short
stories and poetry in magazines for subtle undertones missed by
the Press Scrutiny Board.
WHO DECIDES WHAT'S 'GOOD'?
It's unlikely that any such undertones will appear in Burmese
fiction that makes its way into the SeaWrite competition.
That's because SeaWrite is structured so that the Bangkok
embassies of the various participating countries are given the
job of finding winning writers from their own countries. Thus,
ironically, it is likely to be Burma's State Law and Order
Council, the people operating the country's draconian censorship
laws, who will choose what SeaWrite hopes will be the finest
Burmese writers.
Burma's likely entry into Seawrite next year (it is too late now
to join the 1997 award in September) puts the spotlight on how
very differently the award operates in Thailand compared to other
Asean countries.
In Thailand, winners are chosen in an open competition which has
become a lively and hotly contested event.
In other countries, there is no competition - winners are chosen
quietly by small committees or writers associations, far from the
media spotlight. With the exception of the Philippines, the
committees tend to have close links with governments who are not
slow to censor.
Such is the case in Brunei, Indonesia and Vietnam. Malaysian
winners are chosen by members of the Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka, a
government- sponsored think-tank. Over the years, Singapore's
committees have often been dominated by members of government
organisations.
While that doesn't mean that the chosen writers aren't good, or
don't have plenty to say on love, war, post-colonialism, race,
identity and so on, they have not been known for outspokenness on
tricky domestic political topics.
Writers who are known for such outspokenness, like the
internationally acclaimed Indonesian Promoedya Ananda Toer,
Vietnam's Bao Ninh and Duong Thu Truong, and Burma's Wendy Law
Yone, are unlikely to join the ranks of SeaWrite winners, as are
many others less well known but banned in their own countries.
In Asia, the international writers' group PEN campaigns on behalf
of such writers, and St is currently raising attention for banned
or jailed Burmese, Indonesian and Vietnamese writers.
Burmese writer and pro-democracy activist Ma Thida, who received
a 20-year jail sentence in 1993, won a PEN Freedom to Write award
last year. Another inmate of Rangoon's Insein jail, San San Nweh,
has been made an honorary PEN member and is the subject of action
alerts and letter writing campaigns by members around the world.
Strict censorship laws don't mean Burma and other countries
aren't keen to be seen to support writers - on the contrary. Take
an editorial in the official New Light of Myanmar paper: "Writers
and publishers must bring out literature of value in the interest
of the reading public and for all the national races of the Union
as urged by the Minister for Information ... at the Sarsodaw Nay
ceremony for giving of prizes to winners of the National Literary
awards ... As the state has enhanced cash awards to the deserving
in order to create favourable conditions for literary workers to
produce quality works, writers should attract the readers'
attention by describing cultural traditions and national pride of
the people. Then only will Myanmar literature be enriched and flourish."
How that sort of rhetoric will go down with SeaWrite remains to
be seen. Although the SeaWrite organising committee hasn't met
recently and can't confirm officially what its approach will be
to the prospective new members, invitations to the new member
countries are practically automatic, sources said.
A SURE THING?
Speaking only her own behalf, SeaWrite committee member and
president of PEN International's Thailand chapter Dr Suwan na
Kriangkraiphet believes that It's almost certain that Burma and
Laos will be invited, and that the committee will would
be hoping for a "real connection" with Burmese writers. I here s
always a possibility that the committee might take a fresh look
at the judging criteria. she said.
It's no secret that although the Bangkok organising committee has
a policy of noninterference with the selection process in other
countries, some members are not convinced that the neighbours
necessarily always choose their most interesting writers.
One original SeaWrite goal - the promotion of fresh writing by
new talent - really only applies now in Thailand and sometimes in
the Philippines. Most other countries prefer to pick older,
established writers on the basis of a long career's work.
As well as the credibility problem raised by the censorship
factor, SeaWrite organisers face other, older, challenges in the
run up to next year's 20th anniversary. Principal among them -
the huge difficulty of establishing good communication links in
an event which in any one year has to encompass many languages.
This year, a range of work by Thai SeaWrite winners was
translated into English in a book edited by committee member
Nitaya Masavusit. There are hopes to broaden the range of
translations in future to include more work from other countries.
Just don't expect to see Burma's Ma Thida among the list of credits.
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INDEPENDENT REPORT: ETYMOLOGY OF ARAKAN
July 30, 1997
The term Arakan is definitely of Arabic or Persian origin having
the same meaning in both these languages. It is the corruption of the
word Arkan, plural of word "Rukn", meaning a pillar. The fundamental
tenets of Islam are called "Five pillars of Islam". Thus the word Arakan
signifies the land of Islam or peace. It is difficult to ascertain since
when the application of this term to the origin now known as Arakan
began. But almost certain is the fact that the name Arakan became
popular after the Muslim conquest of the country in 1430 C.E. Since
Persian was the court language of the then independent Bengal Sultans
who conquered Arakan and which continued to be the official language of
Arakan up to 1845, the Arakan kings who maintained excellent relation
with the Bengal Sultans might have given it its name of Arakan. The
Arakan kings were well versed in Persian. It took a hundred years for
the Kings to learn the doctrine of Islam. When it was well understood
they founded what was known as the Arakanese Empire.
The authors of the "Ain-i-Akbar, Baharistan-i-Ghaibi and
Siyar-ul-Mutakherin write it as Arkhanq, which appears also with a
slight change in Alamgirnama and Fathya-i-ibria is close to the name
Arakan. Medieval Portuguese and other European travellers mentioned it
Arracan, Arraco, Orrakan, Arrakan and Van Linscoten writes it Arakan
which is nearest to the modern name.
One of the coins found in Arakan and preserved in the Indian
Museum, Calcutta, minted by Sultan Bahadur Shah dated 965 A.H.(1557-58
C.E.) is inscribed in Persian with Kalimah on the observe side and mint
name Arakan on the reverse side. Similar coins minted by his predecessor
Sultan muhammad Shah 962 A.H.(1554-55 C.E.) with inscription of mint
name Arakan was preserved in Indian Museum, Calcutta. Mohammad Shah's
coins with the same reading are also found to be preserved in the
British Museum. From the inscriptions of the coins it can be concluded
that the name Arakan was used since mid 16th century.
The name Arakan did not appear as a solitary instance in the above
languages. Different important places, rivers and mountains in Arakan
also bear names of Persian or Arabic origin. For example, the name of the
capital city of Arakan is Akyab (ek-ab)meaning that land of one water in
Persian like Punjab ( panj-ab)meaning land of five waters. The name of
rivers:Kaladan (intellectual), naf(nerve), Kulapunj( fifty learned
men)are also either Persian or Arabic origin. Thus the terms Arakan and
Arakanese are attributed to Muslims. Unfortunately, some historian,
quite misleadingly, use the term Arakanese synonymous with Rakhin alone
although in general sense all the people of Arakan, Muslims (Rohingyas) as
well as Buddhists (Rakhines), should be called Arakanese.
Ref:Arakan's place in the civilisation of the bay in Journal of the
Burma Research Society (JBRS),fiftieth Anniversary Publications No.2.
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WWW: BURMA FAXTOON HOMEPAGE
July 29, 1997
We inform all of you to see our weekly faxtoon homepage and we extend some
more sections mostly in Burmese.
http://www.faxtoon.com
Radio Burma Group
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