The BurmaNet News: February 25, 199

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Subject: The BurmaNet News: February 25, 1999

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 "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: February 25, 1999
Issue #1215

Noted in Passing: "Saying no to politicians who'll say anything is a
start."  -
Wall Street Journal (see "TOO MUCH") 

HEADLINES:
==========
REUTERS: MYANMAR FACES INVESTMENT DROUGHT 
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: BAN ON MEDIA LIAISON 
BKK POST: DRUG CONFERENCE HITS OUT AT US AND EUROPE 
WALL STREET JOURNAL: TOO MUCH 
THE NATION (LETTER): MISSING POINT OF JUSTICE 
THE STRAITS TIMES: YANGON URGED TO OPEN UP ECONOMY 
REUTERS: THAILAND TO HOST ECONOMIC MINISTERS MEETING 
ANNOUNCEMENT: INTERPOL WEB CONFERENCE 
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REUTERS: MYANMAR FACES FOREIGN INVESTMENT DROUGHT 
23 February, 1999 by Rajan Moses 

YANGON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Myanmar said on Tuesday it had suffered a sharp
drop
in foreign direct investment (FDI) due to the Asian financial crisis, but was
taking rearguard measures to keep its sluggish economy ticking over.

``The regional economic turmoil has affected FDI inflow. For 1998/99
(April/March) financial year, investment is stagnant and there is very little
inflow so far,'' said Thinn Maung, director of the Directorate of Investment
and Company Administration.

Most painful is the trickle in FDI from Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) countries that account for 52.3 percent of total FDI entering Myanmar,
he told Reuters.

``Countries affected by the crisis have set very tight financial and banking
policies in loans and capital outflow. So the investors from especially ASEAN
countries have difficulty to bring in FDI into Myanmar,'' he said.

In the 1996/97 business year, military-ruled Myanmar received $2.8 billion in
FDI, but that dropped to about $1 billion in 1997/98, he said.

``In 1998/99, FDI has been stagnant. We have had very little inflow so far,''
Thinn Maung said but gave no figures.

Most FDI in Myanmar is concentrated in the oil and gas sector, followed by
manufacturing and then hotels and tourism.

To sustain foreign investment, the cabinet had approved relief steps to allow
those already running business operations to reduce tax and other payments to
the government.

For investors who had either not completed projects due to problems stemming
from the crisis or had not yet started them, the government had agreed to
allow
delays of up to a year. Further yearly delays could also be considered, he
said.

To alleviate investment problems, the government was promoting investment by
its own citizens, offering them the same tax breaks as foreign investors as
well as duty-free machinery and raw materials, Thinn Maung said.

In fiscal 1997/98, Myanmar approved 13.8 billion kyats ($2.3 billion) in local
investment. In the first 10 months of fiscal 1998/99, Myanmar approved 22.6
billion kyats in citizens' investments, he said.

``The crisis has had its effects on tourism and led to unemployment and
retrenchments,'' he said, adding that citizens' investments had created some
employment opportunities.

However, most of these investments were in resource-based and
labour-intensive,
export-orientated industries such as garments and other cottage industries, he
said.

Thinn Maung said it was hard to say how long FDI would take to recover as the
situation in various ASEAN countries differed.

``Generally it may take about two to three years for any recovery in the
region.''

The government was now turning to boosting production and exports from the
agriculture sector, dominated by rice and pulses, to earn foreign exchange.
The
farm sector accounts for more than 40 percent of gross domestic product.

Gold, silver, lead and copper exploration projects were under way, but the
government had become cautious about logging and was focusing instead on
value-added wood-based industries such as furniture making.

``Needless to say, we have a lot of gas and we are ready now to sell to
Thailand from the first (offshore Yadana) gas field,'' he said. ``By the turn
of the century, we will have a lot of income from the sale of gas and will
generate more power projects to beat current shortages.'' 

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SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: BAN ON MEDIA LIAISON AS HEROIN TALKS BEGIN
24 February, 1999 by Craig Skehan 

Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers attending a diplomatically sensitive
conference in Burma on heroin trafficking have been barred by their superiors
from talking to the media.

"We have been told not to talk to the press in regard to the conference and
that any comment will come from AFP headquarters in Canberra," said police
liaison officer Kevin McTavish.

The crackdown on the Australian officers discussing details of the gathering
follows claims that the agenda downplays key issues such as money laundering
and official corruption in Burma.

Attendance at yesterday's opening of the conference by the Australian
Ambassador in Rangoon, Ms Lyndell McLean, was criticised by one of Burma's
main
pro-democracy groups.

Mr Soe Aung, head of the foreign policy division of the All Burma Students'
Democratic Front, said the high-level diplomatic representation afforded
legitimacy to the country's repressive military regime.

He said Ms McLean's attendance could also lend credibility to a deeply flawed
conference which the military was attempting to use as a propaganda tool. Mr
Soe Aung praised the United States and a number of European countries,
including Britain, for boycotting the conference on the grounds that elements
of the military elite had links with major heroin traffickers.

"We are very disappointed that Australia is attending the conference," Mr Soe
Aung said. "I don't think there will be anything gained in terms of the
reduction of heroin trafficking.

"If the military was genuine, they would let United Nations officials
travel to
any part of the country where opium crops are being grown."

He said the regime deliberately made it difficult for such officials to visit
areas where pro-Government militias were involved in heroin.

Democracy leaders earlier this month wrote to the Australian Minister for
Foreign Affairs, Mr Downer, urging him to boycott the conference.

However, Mr Downer defended Australia's stance on the grounds that the
interchange of information in Rangoon could assist efforts to stem large flows
of Burmese heroin to Australia.

Ms McLean said it was "quite appropriate" for Australia to attend. "No
individual country can deal with the problem - there has to be co-operation
between law enforcement agencies," she said. 

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THE BANGKOK POST: INTERPOL'S DRUG CONFERENCE HITS OUT AT US AND EUROPE 
24 February, 1999 

'RANGOON SHOWS IT'S READY FOR CHALLENGES'

The United States and most European nations came in for heavy criticism at a
controversial Interpol conference on heroin in Rangoon yesterday for refusing
to attend because of the venue.

The director of Interpol's Criminal Intelligence Directorate, Paul Higdon, and
Burmese Home Affairs Minister Colonel Tin Hlaing laid on the criticism at the
opening of the four-day meeting.

Washington and the Europeans had declined to attend the meeting in Rangoon,
capital of a country that is one of the world's leading producers of heroin,
saying they feared Burma would use the event to give a false impression of its
drug suppression efforts.

Some of the absentees had also linked their refusal to attend to Burma's poor
human rights and political record.

Burma's military rulers curb the activities of a vibrant opposition, led by
Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, and hold many political prisoners.

"I for one ... regret that a political situation which is viewed by many as a
serious problem has held hostage the universally recognised problem of drug
abuse," said Mr Higdon.

"I also regret their [US and most European] non-participation... because I
feel
there is more to gain through dialogue than through boycott," he added.

By hosting the four-day conference to some 65 delegates from 28 countries,
Burma was showing that it was ready to be challenged, he said.

"I might add that as one of the major heroin producing countries in the world
 ...They should be challenged," Mr Higdon said.

Among countries attending the conference are Australia, Austria, China, Japan,
Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand and agencies such as the United
Nations International Drug Control Programme.

The closed-door meeting on narcotics will among other things examine heroin
production and trafficking routes in Asia and elsewhere, as well as the heroin
markets in the United States and Europe.

Burma's opponents have accused it of links to the drug trade and pointed to
its
protection of well-known heroin traffickers.

Burma's northeastern Shan State forms part of the infamous Golden Triangle
poppy growing area where the borders of Burma, Laos and Thailand meet. The
state is one of the world's main sources of heroin.

Home Minister Colonel Tin Hlaing told the conference it was unfortunate the
United States, Britain and many other European nations had chosen to boycott
the conference. 

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WALL STREET JOURNAL: TOO MUCH 
24 February, 1999 

It's almost seemed lately as if politicians can get away with any outrage. So
it comes as good news that the U.S., Britain, France and others are
snubbing an
anti-heroin conference in Myanmar, a world leader in the heroin trade. Myanmar
Home Affairs Minister Colonel Tin Hlaing, adopting the tone of the day, urged
them "to put politics aside, for the sake of the millions of people around the
world whose lives are threatened by the drug trade." Saying no to politicians
who'll say anything is a start.

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THE NATION: MISSING POINT OF JUSTICE 
24 February, 1999 from J Bishop in Washington, DC 

I appreciated Rita Patiyasevi's Feb 19 article in The Nation on the current
EU-Asean rift over Burma and hope that the Europeans stick to their
position of
minimising Burma's participation in gatherings between the two blocs of
nations. That said, I would like to point out that Burma's atrocious human
rights record and the underlying problems in that country boil down to far
more
than Ms Patiyasevi's few paragraphs on the Burmese military regime's attempts
to crush the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

To do the human rights issue more justice and avoid the over simplistic
analysis that plagues most media sound bites on the Burma situation, she
should
have mentioned the over-110,000 ethnic minority peoples living in refugee
camps
along the Thai-Burmese border.

Also, it would have been appropriate to make some reference to the tens of
thousands of people who have fled from Burma's Shan State to uncertain and
often exploitative conditions in Thailand rather than face on-going Burma Army
abuses in their towns and villages.

The list of human rights violations against Burma's ethnic minorities is
endless and very well documented elsewhere. My point is that as a matter of
course, people who analyse the Burma situation should give full due to the
problems so that there is a greater understanding of the vast amount of work
needed to right the country.

The day that the NLD takes power in Rangoon is the day that Burma's central
government will have to start addressing seriously the country's ethnic
minority issues.

At every opportunity let's put the cards on the table so that no one has any
illusions about the long road ahead.

****************************************************************

THE STRAITS TIMES: YANGON URGED TO OPEN UP ECONOMY 
24 February, 1999 by Walter Fernandez in Rangoon 

MYANMAR must gradually open up its economy, if the government wants to
convince
potential investors that it is committed to creating a conducive,
pro-business,
investment-friendly environment, urged Trade and Industry Minister Lee Yock
Suan yesterday.

He was speaking in Yangon at the start of the third joint ministerial meeting
on bilateral economic relations between the two Asean member countries.

He said that since the onset of the economic crisis, foreign investors had
become far more cautious. Yet to restart their growth engines, regional
economies needed an injection of fresh capital. So the competition for foreign
direct investment (FDI) was bound to intensify, he warned. South-east Asian
economies would have to compete not only with each other and China, but also
with emerging markets such as Latin America and Eastern Europe.

"FDI inflows and transfer of technology are important to ensure Myanmar's
sustained future economic growth. So it is in Myanmar's interest to build
investor confidence by providing a business environment which is open, stable
and as conducive as possible.

"This would be critical to attract foreign funds and technology into Myanmar,
to help Myanmar seize new economic opportunities and to sustain future
economic
development," said Mr Lee, who co-chaired the bilateral meeting with Lt-Gen
Khin Nyunt, the First Secretary of Myanmar's State Peace and Development
Council.

Singapore is Myanmar's largest foreign investor with US$1.5 billion (S$2.5
billion) pumped into the country. Investment peaked in 1996, when Singapore
firms pumped in some US$612 million. It dwindled to US$98 million in 1997,
before recovering slightly to US$188 million last year.

However, the increase in the 1998 figure was not the result of an influx of
more investments but rather due mainly to one new Singapore investment of
US$40
million in a hotel/entertainment facility in South Myanmar. Almost half of
Singapore's investments in Myanmar are in real estate and hotels.

Yesterday's half-day meeting was also attended by Communications Minister Mah
Bow Tan and National Development Minister Lim Hng Kiang, emphasising
Singapore's desire to play a constructive role in Myanmar's economic
development. The Singapore ministers reviewed the progress of bilateral
projects, covered by the U$3-million Myanmar Technical Assistance Fund set up
by the Singapore Government in 1995, said they were satisfied, and endorsed
new
initiatives.

The projects cover a wide range of manpower training programmes. Mr Lee, in
his
closing remarks, said that he hoped the sharing of such knowledge and
experience would make a positive contribution to Myanmar's growth and
development.

After the meeting, Mr Lim Hng Kiang, who is also Second Finance Minister,
signed an Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement with Myanmar's Finance and
Revenue Minister U Khin Maung Thein. The agreement, when ratified, will
benefit
Singapore businessmen in Myanmar and ease the flow of investment, expertise
and
technical know-how from Singapore.

Expressing his deep appreciation and gratitude for Singapore's efforts to help
Myanmar develop economically, Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt noted that Singapore had a
wealth of capital, technology and management, whereas Myanmar only had a
"partially exploited and literate labour force". So combining these strengths
would benefit both countries.

****************************************************************

REUTERS: THAILAND TO HOST ASEAN ECONOMIC MINISTERS MEETING 
23 February, 1999 

BANGKOK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Thailand said on Tuesday it would host a
meeting of
economic ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on
the southern island of Phuket on March 5.

The state Board of Investment said the ministers would gather for the first
formal council meeting of the ASEAN Investment Area (AIA) since the AIA was
formed in Manila last October.

"Besides stimulating investment in the ASEAN region, this meeting will also
encourage the role of the private sectors to become more involved in
investment
activities," the board said in a statement.

"In addition, the meeting will strengthen the ties between ASEAN investment
agencies, both at the ministerial level and among heads of investment
agencies."

It said the council would discuss the establishment of a database to enhance
the flow of ASEAN investment information and a liberalisation programme, which
would entail unilaterally reducing or eliminating restrictive measures.

Heads of investment agencies from ASEAN would also attend the meeting, it
said.

The main function of the AIA council is to supervise implementation of the AIA
Framework Agreement for ASEAN investors by 2003 and by 2020 for all other
investors.

According to the agreement, each ASEAN member must submit its action plan to
the AIA council for consideration within six months of the signing of the
agreement, the statement said.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam.

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ANNOUNCEMENT: ONLINE CONFERENCE ON BURMA AND HEROIN TRAFFICKING 
23 February, 1999 from info-birmanie@xxxxxxxxxxxx

Online debate/conference on Burma and heroin trafficking

Web debate to feel the gap of the world heroin conference organized in Rangoon
by Interpol Feb 23-26

Paris, Bangkok, Amsterdam, Seattle etc, Feb 23 - An international coordination
of citizen's initiatives got in one month from EU states, USA, Canada the
boycott of the world heroin conference coorganized in Rangoon, Feb 23 - 26 by
INTERPOL and the Burmese junta (first world producer/exporter of heroin)

To better inform the international public and to illustrate the deception
materialized in the Rangoon Interpol conference, an online debate will take
place from Feb 23 on the web:

<http://www.ifrance.com/_forum/?ForumName=mhaubert>http://www.ifrance.com/_
forum/?ForumName=mhaubert 

to expose the Burmese heroin problematic, implications of junta, international
channels of Burmese drugmoney-laundering, with exclusive news releases.

Participants include academics, researchers, journalists specialized in
Burmese
affairs, politicians from Asia, Europe and America.

At the opening : presentation of a letter of M. Raymond Kendall, Interpol
secgen and a commentary of Dr Alain Labrousse, Geopolitical Drugwatch (OGD)
director. 2 Cases of Burmese drugmoneylaundering will be exposed and updated:
the Singapore Sling and the Moge (Myanmar Oil & Gas enterprise) mysteries.

Press members and concerned websurfers are welcomed to make this operation a
success.

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