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The BurmaNet News: October 22, 1999



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The BurmaNet News: October 22, 1999
Issue #1385

HEADLINES:
==========
AP: MYANMAR FOOD SHORTAGE
REUTERS: THAILAND SETS DEADLINE FOR DISSIDENTS
BKK POST: CLOSING OF MANEELOY RULED OUT
NATION: THAI FISHERMEN PUT BOUNTY ON HOSTAGE-TAKERS
NATION: KORN WARNS FOREIGN LABOURERS
THE TIMES: "LONG-NECKED" TRIBE TRICKED INTO HUMAN ZOO
BKK POST: LET VOICES BE HEARD AT WTO MEETING
AP: BURMA LAW SUPPORTERS STRETCH FROM COAST TO COAST
*****************************************************

ASSOCIATED PRESS: MYANMAR FOOD SHORTAGE
20 October, 1999 by Marcos Calo Medina

[BurmaNet Editor's Note: In yesterday's issue of The BurmaNet News, the
article from Kyodo news service on this topic titled "Hunger Spreading in
Myanmar Due to Junta" was mistakenly attributed in the headlines to the
Associated Press.  Our apologies for any confusion this caused.  The
Tribunal's report, Voice of the Hungry Nation, can be viewed on-line at
www.hrschool.org/tribunal.  In addition, a list server has been established
for those interested in the Tribunal.  Please contact ahrchk@xxxxxxxxxx for
more information.]

AP Hong Kong, 20 October 1999. Myanmar's government has caused food
shortages in the country through misguided economic policies that placed
military strength before the proper allocation of resources, a human rights
group said Wednesday.

Farmers have been systematically pushed out of their farmlands, arbitrarily
taxed for their crops or coerced into selling rice to Myanmar's military at
less than half the market price, the Asian Human Rights Commission said in a
report.

''This is one of those reports where those who put it together wish they
could be proven wrong,'' Mark Tamthai, professor of philosophy at Thailand's
Chulalongkorn University, told a press conference.

The 145-page report was culled from interviews with 26 witnesses who
traveled across Myanmar for three years, gathering data, photographs, and
video clips of the areas under military control, said Tamthai.

Tamthai was part of a tribunal convened by the independent human rights
group that interviewed the witnesses and published the report. The Asian
Human Rights Commission released the report in Hong Kong, where it is based.

Late Wednesday, the Myanmar government said in a fax that the report
accusing the army of reselling food stolen from villagers, and confiscating
rice and livestock was made up of ''groundless accusations'' and
''regretful.''

But the human rights group, citing information given by refugees who have
crossed into Thailand, said the army was arbitrarily expropriating cash and
construction material or imposing heavy fines in areas of suspected rebel
activity.

Soldiers were burning houses or forcing farmers to work in government
infrastructure projects such as building roads and dams, said H. Suresh, a
retired High Court judge from Bombay, India, who interviewed some witnesses.

Suresh would not say how many people have been affected or how much damage
the military has caused but said ''a large number of farmers have fled their
homes because they can't grow rice in a traditionally rice-producing
country.''

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

REUTERS: THAILAND SETS DEADLINE FOR MYANMAR DISSIDENTS
21 October, 1999

BANGKOK, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Thailand on Thursday started work on a plan to
herd exiled Myanmar dissidents into a holding centre under a crackdown
following this month's Myanmar embassy siege.

The Thai National Security Council said Myanmar dissidents in Thailand must
register for movement to the centre west of Bangkok within a month or be
regarded as illegal immigrants.

``The government has to take stricter measures to control Myanmar students
because some have recently caused difficulties and did not respect Thai law
and national security,'' council secretary-general Kachadpai Burasapatana
told reporters.

Thailand's ties with neighbouring Myanmar have been badly strained since a
group of five dissidents took over the Myanmar embassy early this month and
held 89 people hostage for 25 hours.

Myanmar was angered by Thailand's decision to allow the attackers free
passage to a safe border area. It closed the frontier and said it would not
reopen until they were arrested.

Bangkok has since been trying to patch up its relations with its neighbour,
which has long been unhappy about the presence in Thailand of vocal
dissident groups.

Kachadpai said the registration with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) and movement to the holding centre was a necessary prelude to
third-country resettlement.

He said 900 to 1,000 dissidents had not been in contact with the UNHCR for
more than a year and the government had set a November 21 deadline for them
to report to the organisation.

``If they don't, the Thai immigration department will regard them as illegal
immigrants,'' he said.

Kachadpai said dissidents who registered with UNHCR would be moved to the
Maneeloy holding centre, which is currently home to 1,000 and have the
opportunity for third-country resettlement.

UNHCR has been discussing the resettlement of Myanmar refugees in Thailand
with countries including the United States, Australia, Canada and Western
European states.

``I expect 3,000 Myanmar students to be moved to third countries if all
these countries cooperate,'' Kachadpai said.

Thousands of Myanmar dissidents fled to Thailand in 1988 after Myanmar's
military killed thousands to crush a student-led pro-democracy uprising. The
UNHCR in Thailand lists about 2,700 as having well-founded fears of
persecution.

UNHCR officials say about 2,000 have been resettled in third countries in
the past 11 years and many living in Thailand have said they would welcome
the opportunity to follow suit.

Myanmar dissidents caused further problems for Thailand on Monday when they
locked up five UNHCR staff at the holding centre to protest against
withholding of allowances.

This prompted Premier Chuan Leekpai to warn exiles their sanctuary could be
in doubt if such incidents were repeated.

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

THE BANGKOK POST: CLOSING OF MANEELOY RULED OUT
21 October, 1999 by Temsak Traisophon and Yuwadee Tunyasiri

The government has refuted claims it will close the Maneeloy centre and hand
student exiles living outside the camp an ultimatum to move in by Nov 3 or
face charges of illegal entry.

Interior Minister Sanan Kachor Prasart said the centre could only be shut
down after the departure of all of its residents.

Rumours started about the site's closure after reports Ratchaburi people
could no longer tolerate the unacceptable behaviour of the Burmese students.
Students' drunken brawls and thefts of fruit from residents' Orchards had
prompted some locals to demand the centre be closed and the students sent
back to Burma.

Maj-Gen Sanan said barbed wire had been erected and security measures
stepped up following an incident in which a group of exiled students locked
up five UNHCR officials for several hours on Monday for denying them their
800-baht monthly allowance.

Maj-Gen Sanan said the students will face legal action if they cause trouble
again.

Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai said the Burmese students have been in Thailand
for so long they had become a "chronic" problem but he pledged that the
Interior Ministry will tighten controls over them.

Mr Chuan said UNHCR will decide itself if it will continue paying the
Burmese students, but made it clear the students' demand for money was
unacceptable

"On our Thai soil, the Burmese students cannot make threats against anyone,
or force anyone to give them money," he said.

The prime minister said the United States, Canada and Australia, which used
to accept Burmese students for resettlement, were willing to take more.

However, he said there are still likely to be some left here, as only
students with good qualifications and conduct will be selected.

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

THE NATION: THAI FISHERMEN PUT BOUNTY ON HOSTAGE-TAKERS
21 October, 1999

DESPERATE BID TO WOO JUNTA

A group of Thai fishermen are offering a reward of Bt5 million for the
capture of the five students who stormed the Burmese embassy in Bangkok, in
the hope of regaining their fishing rights in Burmese waters.

"We decided to put up the reward because we believe that it is the only way
our fishermen can resume their activities," said Somkiet Sathajit who
represents Thai fishermen based on the west coast.

Rangoon closed its waters to Thai fishing boats after the embassy incident.
Border crossings have also been closed.

The Burmese ambassador to Thailand, Hla Muang, recently suggested that the
arrest of the five Burmese students, who were given safe passage after the
embassy incident, could help improve the situation.

"Thai fishermen have no other alternative," Somkiet said. "The closure is
causing great damage to the economy. Earning from fishing activities total
billions of baht a year and these have been disrupted".

Meanwhile, Komet Daengthongdee, governor of Ratehaburi province, said he
would ask officials with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) who were held captive by Burmese exiles at the Maneeloy Holding
Centre on Monday to take legal action against their captors. He said this
would serve as a warning to exiled students not to engage in violent acts.

Komet said he would ask the officials to file charges with the police
accusing the Burmese exiles of violating their rights by holding them
captive.

The officials were locked up inside the Maneeloy Holding centre in
Ratchaburi for almost six hours after the Burmese had complained about the
payments they receive from the UNHCR.

Komet said he had also received complaints from people living near the
centre, but added that it was a sensitive issue and Thailand must not be
seen to be violating anyone's human rights.

Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai said it was not necessary to close the centre,
but he added that the agencies involved must reconsider how to keep order
among people seeking political asylum in Thailand.

"We have let these Burmese exiles stay on Thai soil for so long that the
problem has become exacerbated," Chuan said.

"If they are seeking shelter in Thailand but still causing us trouble, then
we cannot take responsibility for them any further," added Interior Minister
Sanan Kachornprasart.

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

THE NATION: KORN WARNS FOREIGN LABOURERS
22 October, 1999 by Piyanart Srivalo

FOREIGN labourers will be forced to leave the country if they fail to
register with the Interior Ministry by the end of this month, Deputy Prime
Minister Korn Dabaransi said yesterday.

Korn was speaking after chairing a sub-committee meeting to solve the labour
problem.

Since the Cabinet resolved on Aug 3 to allow a total of 162,000 foreigners
to work in 18 businesses in 37 provinces across the country, only 86,895 had
registered.

He said foreign labourers who fail to register within the deadline would be
forced to leave the country by Nov 3.

''We will strictly enforce the repatriation policy and expect that foreign
workers conform to the regulation,'' Korn added.

Police Deputy Commissioner-General San Sutanon expressed full readiness to
take action against illegal foreign workers.

''We have given foreign labourers relaxation over the past four years and we
will no longer allow them to work without a license in the country. We have
too many of them on the streets and they cause growing social problems in
our country,'' he stated.

He said only 400 unemployed Thais have accepted jobs in18 businesses,
although 8,000 have registered as unemployed with the sub-committee.

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

THE TIMES (LONDON): "LONG-NECKED" TRIBE TRICKED INTO LIVING IN HUMAN ZOO
21 October, 1999 by Andrew Chant

MORE than 30 long-necked tribespeople were lured from their settlement in
the hills of Kayah State in Burma by Thai businessmen who took them to a
remote spot in northern Thailand and made them build a "human zoo", a Thai
court was told yesterday.

"They were promised that they were being taken to see their relatives at a
refuge in Mae Hong Son," said Andrew Drummond, correspondent for The Times
in Bangkok. "But instead they were put in trucks by a man named Eddie and
taken to the village of Baan San Ton Du, where they were told to build
authentic bamboo huts and live in them for the benefit of tourists."

Mr Drummond identified Eddie as Rakkiat Sri Siriwilai, an employee of Thana
Nakluang, a newspaper publisher and proprietor of a hostess karaoke bar. He
said he investigated the human zoo after reports of a business dispute
involving the long-necked Padaung people appeared in the Thai press.

"The local press did not report fully on what had happened," he said. "They
did not mention that of the Padaung more than 20 were children or that they
had been lured from deep within Burma.

"I went to visit Mae Hong Son to investigate because the long-necked
families had been tricked into believing they were being taken to their
relatives in refugee camps there.  I was played two cassette audio tapes -
the tapes consisting of singing laments and pleas for help to be rescued
made by the captives ...

"They said they were being held against their will, could not go anywhere,
there were no schools or doctors and that one woman had already died."

Thana Nakluang and Rakkiat Sri Siriwilai are charged with illegally
detaining the Burmese nationals for their tourism show.

The human zoo was closed by the Thai Government in March last year after
reports in The Times.

The owner of the camp, Thana Nakluang, denied detaining the tribespeople.

The case continues.

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

THE BANGKOK POST: LET VOICES BE HEARD AT WTO MEETING
21 October, 1999 by Kanbawza Win

OPINION AND ANALYSIS

Even as the 45 million people of Burma struggle for emancipation from the
clutches of the their long military dictatorship, the multilateral
corporations with their respective governments and billionaires are meeting
in Seattle on Nov 30 under the umbrella of the World Trade organisation.

The WTO member nations use their "free trade" agreements to collectively
withhold their resources to force their will on the entire people of the
world. Perhaps corporate takeovers are not a conspiracy themselves, but just
the way they work-in other words, run-away capitalism. They work for the
rich, but for the poor, especially from Third World countries, they force
them to work.

Since the WTO was created in 1995, it has made over l00 judgments, all of
which have been anti-worker, anti-environment and maximise profits. The
classic examples for Burma are the US oil company Unocal and the French oil
company Total, not to mention smaller companies from Asean countries. The
effect can be seen in the demolition of the Massachusetts law barring trade
with human rights abusers in Burma.

The working people's efforts against the globalisation of capitalism which
encourages the exploitation of the people by the rich have become
increasingly popular and more determined, and the people of the Third World
should realise this.

There will be many more uprisings like that of the Chiapas in Mexico who
rose en masse against the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) in
1994.

Corporations breaking down national borders to exploit the people at will is
no longer acceptable.

Everyone knows why the WTO is separate from the UN. The combination of the
World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other corporate run, free
trade organisations, the heartless goons of global exploitation, have rocked
the entire earth.

The people of Asia, Africa and Latin America should unite with the toiling
masses of the northern countries and show our conviction that such a system
is not welcome, and Nov 30 has been chosen as the day to show our solidarity
with all people of the world. Every Burmese should participate in his own
way and unite with the people of the world.

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS: BURMA LAW SUPPORTERS STRETCH FROM COAST TO COAST
20 October, 1999 by Leslie Miller

BOSTON (AP) Fourteen states, including New Hampshire, planned to file a
brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to restore a Massachusetts law
preventing the state from doing business with companies that deal with
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

The states fear they'll be forced to trade with countries run by brutal
regimes if the high court upholds a lower court decision striking down the
Massachusetts law. The brief was to be filed today.

Burma's military dictatorship has been accused of drug trafficking, torture
and using slave labor.

Dozens of states, counties and municipalities have imposed sanctions on
companies that deal with repressive governments in Nigeria, China, Cuba or
Myanmar. Others forbid pension funds from investing in companies in Northern
Ireland that discriminate on the basis of religion.

Critics say such ''freelance foreign policy'' infringes on the federal
government's ability to deal with its allies and enemies.

In November, U.S District Court Judge Joseph Tauro struck down the
Massachusetts law because, he wrote, it ''impermissibly infringes on the
federal government's power to regulate foreign affairs.'' The Circuit Court
of Appeals agreed.

Now, Massachusetts is asking the Supreme Court to hear a case involving
local sanction laws for the first time ever.

''If they take the case it would have a significant effect on procurement
laws, whichever way they come out,'' said Assistant Attorney General Thomas
Barnico.

The case pitted the state's 1996 Burma law against business groups seeking
to strike down local sanction laws.

The initial lawsuit was brought in U.S. District Court in 1998 by the
National Foreign Trade Council, which represents nearly 600 major U.S.
corporations.

The trade group has until Oct. 27 to file a brief that argues for or against
the high court hearing the case.

The number of groups signing on to briefs supporting Massachusetts including
the 14 states, 11 cities and counties, 44 nonprofits and 54 members of
Congress from both sides of the aisle indicates the widespread interest in
resolving the question, Barnico said.

''We've shown a great deal of national interest in the question and the
businesses might agree,'' Barnico said. ''Then it's up to the court to
decide whether it ought to hear the issue now or wait for it to develop
further in other courts in other parts of the country.''

Opposition to Massachusetts' Burma law has spread beyond the United States.
The World Trade Organization has opposed the law, and a group of activists
plan to protest that stance at the so-called ''Protest of the Century'' in
Seattle during the WTO Ministerial Conference Nov. 30-Dec. 3.

The 14 states filing on behalf of Massachusetts are: Arkansas, California,
Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North
Dakota, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

Also filing are 11 local governments, including New York City; Alameda
County, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco and Santa Cruz,
Calif.; Boulder, Colo.; Carboro, N.C.; Newton; and Philadelphia.

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