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Subject: [theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: March 2, 2000
=========== THE BURMANET NEWS ===========
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=========== www.burmanet.org ============
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NOTED IN PASSING:
"In Burma, the smaller opium yield owed less to good intentions than
to bad weather. And ordinary citizens enjoy less freedom than drug
lords..."
US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on why Burma was one of only
two countries cited by US as not cooperating on anti-drug efforts.
(See FNS: THE PRESIDENT'S 1999 NARCOTICS CERTIFICATION DETERMINATIONS)
Thursday, March 2, 2000
Issue # 1476
Inside Burma--
REUTERS: MILITARY THREATENS OPPOSITION WITH BAN OVER LAWSUITS
NLD: [REGIME IMPRISONS 70-YEAR OLD FOR LISTENING TO VOA]
International--
AP: THAI SAYS MISSING KARENS WERE REBELS
MIZZIMA: RELIEF COMMITTEE APPEALS FOR ASSISTANCE
FINANCIAL TIMES (London): US KEEPS STANCE AGAINST BURMA AND
AFGHANISTAN
FNS: THE PRESIDENT'S 1999 NARCOTICS CERTIFICATION DETERMINATIONS
NATION: NINETEEN SUBSTANCES USED TO MAKE DRUGS FACE 'CONTROLS'
Opinion/Editorial--
IFEX: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
Other--
BRITISH LIBRARY: CURATOR OF BURMESE COLLECTIONS VACANCY
=========================================
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INSIDE BURMA
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REUTERS: MILITARY THREATENS OPPOSITION WITH BAN OVER LAWSUITS
YANGON,March 2 (Reuters) - Myanmar's state-controlled
newspapers on Thursday threatened the opposition
National League for Democracy (NLD) with a ban and its
members with jail for bringing law suits against
the country's military rulers. A commentary in all
official Myanmar newspapers strongly criticised the
NLD, which is led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu
Kyi, for taking the generals to court last year in
lawsuits accusing them of abuse of power.
Noting that Myanmar's Supreme Court had dismissed the
actions by the NLD, it said the cases had been
submitted ``shamelessly.''
``It was an act of taking every opportunity to discredit
the Tatmadaw (military) government, the dignitaries, the
ministers and those in responsible positions,''
it said.
``If the ... government lacks magnanimity and attachment
and takes action against the NLD and remnants of party
leaders according to arrangements made by security
organisations concerned, (the) NLD will be declared
an unlawful association, and the remnants of party
leaders jailed with various prison terms,'' it said.
It said the fact that the government had not taken such
action against the NLD showed Yangon's rulers were
``free from hostility and grudge.''
The commentary said its warning was ``not an act of
intimidation.''
``It is meant to acquaint the remnants of NLD leaders in
time with (the) national political view of the Tatmadaw
government and its polite and subtle national
characteristics,'' it added.
Last October, Myanmar's Supreme Court dismissed
complaints of abuse of power levelled by the
NLD's leaders against senior officials of the
military government.
The judge ruled the complaints, related to the arrest and
harassment of opposition members, were not valid.
The government said at the time the opposition complaints
had been investigated but no evidence had been
found to support them.
The NLD filed the complaints in September 1999 against the
director-general of the National Intelligence Bureau, Home
Minister Colonel Tin Hlaing, Information Minister
Major-General Kyi Aung and Ba Htay, the election
commission chairman.
Listing its complaints in a statement, the NLD said its
activities had been ``continuously disrupted, prevented, and
destroyed by the authorities concerned.''
It accused the authorities of illegally detaining its
members and organising mass rallies to denounce elected
representatives.
The NLD won Myanmar's last election in 1990 by a landslide
but the military ignored the result and has since tried to
silence dissent through arrests and intimidation.
In 1988, hundreds of NLD members were detained and large
numbers have since been forced to resign from the
party after it pushed for the convening of parliament.
The newspaper commentary said members of the NLD had
committed ``riotous acts'' in order to
disrupt the rule of law and harm the peace
and tranquility of the country.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
NLD: [REGIME IMPRISONS 70-YEAR OLD FOR LISTENING TO VOA]
Subject: NLD Statement 21 (translation)
National League for Democracy
No: (97/B), West Shwegonedine Road
Bahan Township, Rangoon
Statement 21 (2/00) (translation)
1. Our information is that U Than Chaun of No 3 Saing-kone
quarters, Shwe-goo township, Kachin State is the proprietor
of a coffee shop.
2. On the morning of the 18 December 1999, the Shwe-goo
Police arrested him and seized the radio in the coffee shop
which was then tuned in to Voice of America (VOA) (Burmese
Section).
3. On 19 January 2000, he was charged and sentenced to
suffer two years rigorous imprisonment under Section 505
(b) of the Penal Code. The sentence is considerably harsh
for the offence and is an indication of abuse of authority.
4. While in prison, his distraught wife who suffered from
heart ailment and high blood pressure passed away. U Than
Chaun who is 70 years old suffers from medical problems
and we have been informed that his life is in danger.
5. No other country in the world metes out such a harsh
penalty for listening to news broadcast by VOA as has
happened to U Than Chaun. Only in Burma, citizen's
basic human rights such as the right to listen to any
kind of news is totally denied.
6. In this day and age (The Information Age), the fact
that rulers of Burma can so arbitrarily and harshly
punish their citizens for listening to news broadcasts
exposes the backwardness, the immaturity and mindset of
the rulers in their one driving force which is to
subjugate the people.
7. It should be remembered that "Freedom of Information"
is a landmark of civilized countries today.
Central Executive Committee
National League for Democracy
Rangoon
21 February 2000
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INTERNATIONAL
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AP: THAI SAYS MISSING KARENS WERE REBELS
March 2, 2000
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ The Thai army said Thursday that
48 missing ethnic Karen men whose fate has prompted
concern from the U.N. refugee agency were turned back
two weeks ago at the Thai border with Myanmar because
they refused to lay down weapons.
Col. Somkuan Sangpattaranetr, the Thai army spokesman, said the
Karen men were rebel fighters who voluntarily walked back into
Myanmar. He did not clarify what guerrilla group they belonged to.
The men were first reported missing by some of the 1,400
refugees who have escaped recent fighting on the Myanmar side of
the border between government forces and Karen rebels.
Guerrillas involved in the clashes include fighters from God's
Army, a fringe group led by two 12-year old twin boys said by
followers to have mystical powers, and the Karen National Union,
the longest-running anti-Yangon insurgency.
Refugees told human rights workers that the 48 men had been
rounded up and marched toward the forest by soldiers of Thailand's
military Task Force 29 two weeks ago and had not been heard from
since. Doubts remain about whether they were civilians or
combatants.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Bangkok has
expressed concern about the group and said it was waiting to hear
from Thai authorities about what happened to them.
Somkuan said the Karens, who were turned back Feb. 15 at a
border village in western Ratchaburi province, were escorting 20 to
30 family members _ mostly children, women and elderly people _ to
Thailand for safety.
``We cannot let any foreign armed men into Thai soil. They are
welcome to come to Thailand as displaced persons if they possess no
weapons,'' said Somkuan.
Lt. Gen. Sanan Kajornklam, the defense ministry spokesman, said
it was unnecessary to report the incident to UNHCR because the 48
men were combatants and not displaced people.
``There was neither an arrest nor a forced retreat. They were
told about our policy and failed to comply with it,'' he said.
Sanan said it was not Thailand's business to find out where the
men had gone inside Myanmar.
Thailand, host to over 100,000 Myanmar refugees, has stepped up
security at the border after guerrillas from God's Army and the
allied Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors raided Ratchaburi
provincial hospital in January. Thai commandos shot dead all 10
rebels involved in the raid and released hostages trapped inside.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
MIZZIMA: RELIEF COMMITTEE APPEALS FOR ASSISTANCE
Relief Committee appeals for assistance
March 2, 2000
Mizzima News Group
The Emergency Relief Committee (Kamapalaw Region) made a
fresh appeal yesterday to the international community
and Burmese exiles to provide humanitarian assistance
for the Karen refugees who are taking shelter in
Burmese side bordering with Ratchaburi district of
Thailand. The nearly 1,000 Karen refugees were
displaced from the Mae Pya area in
January this year due to Burmese military offensives
against the Karen rebels in the area.
The faxed appeal letter signed by the relief committee
said that three Burmese military columns attacked the
Kamapalaw area last month, where KNU's 4th Brigade
and God's Army were based. On 13 January, the junta
troops intensified their offensives and entered into
the Mae Pya area and as a result more than 1,000
Karens crossed to Thai border at Suan
Phung district in Ratchaburi province, 150 kilometers
west of Bangkok.
However, as the Thai authorities sent back the
refugees to Burma side and most of the refugees
had to stay in the jungle in Burma side of the
border. And Thai government later beefed up
its security forces along this sensitive
area of Thai-Burma border. Therefore,
1,000 Karen refugees including 200 children
and 60 elderly persons had to stay in the
jungle inside Burmese territory and faced
with acute shortage of food and medicine.
The relief committee was formed on 22nd January
to help to solve the problems of the refugees
and to seek assistance and help from the
international community. It is learnt that the
committee made a similar appeal on 23rd January
to exiled Burmese community and sought for food,
medicine and monetary assistance for the refugees.
The committee is consisted of nine members: Saw
Htee Waa, U Myo Aung, Daw Myint Myint San (all
three members hold Finance), and U Kyaw Maung,
Saw Shee Do, Naw Lu Waa, U Paw Aung, U Moe Oo
Lwin and U Kyaw Kyaw Soe (all six members hold
Communication).
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
FINANCIAL TIMES (London): US KEEPS STANCE AGAINST BURMA
AND AFGHANISTAN
March 2, 2000, Thursday London Edition 1
By STEPHEN FIDLER
WASHINGTON
The US yesterday said it would continue to impose
sanctions against Afghanistan and Burma because of a
lack of co-operation in the battle against illicit
drugs. It also said four other countries - Cambodia,
Haiti, Nigeria and Paraguay - were not co-operating
fully in anti-drugs efforts with the US either, but
that sanctions would be waived on national interest
grounds.
The annual "certification" list was essentially the
same as last year, although the US also reduced to 26
the countries deemed to be key illicit drug producing
and transit centres, taking Aruba and Belize off its
list. The main drug producing and transit countries in
Latin America - including Mexico and Colombia - were
designated as co-operating fully in the fight against
drugs.
According to figures in the State Department's annual
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, also
released yesterday, Afghanistan overtook Burma as the
largest producer of opium in the world last year.
Afghan output rose to 1,670 tonnes from 1,350 tonnes,
while Burma's fell to 1,090 tonnes from 1,750 tonnes.
Stephen Fidler, Washington
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
FNS: THE PRESIDENT'S 1999 NARCOTICS CERTIFICATION
DETERMINATIONS
Federal News Service
BRIEFERS:
SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE ALBRIGHT
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER
GENERAL BARRY MCCAFFREY, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF NATIONAL
DRUG CONTROL POLICY
RANDY BEERS, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR
INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
ROBERT BROWN, ACTING DEPUTY DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF SUPPLY
REDUCTION, ONDCP
LOCATION: THE STATE DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D.C.
TIME: 3:05 P.M. EST
JAMES RUBIN (State Department spokesman): Welcome to
today's briefing here at the department. We have some
old timers that have re-arrived here.
Let me tell you how we're going to proceed. Secretary
Albright is going to deliver the opening statement on
this. She'll then be joined by General McCaffrey and
Eric Holder, the deputy attorney general. As a result
of some scheduling difficulties, Secretary Albright is
not going to be able to stay, but Randy Beers from the
State Department and Bob Brown from General McCaffrey's
office will also be available to take your questions.
With that, Madame Secretary.
SEC. ALBRIGHT: Good afternoon.
President Clinton today sends to Congress his annual
decisions on narcotics certification, and the State
Department sends also to Capitol Hill its report on
international narcotics control strategy...
This year the president granted full certification to
20 of the 26 major drug-producing and transit countries
on our list. Four nations -- Cambodia, Haiti, Nigeria
and Paraguay -- were not certified for cooperating but
were granted a national interest waiver. Two others,
Afghanistan and Burma, were denied certification
outright.
Assistant Secretary Rand Beers and Acting Deputy
Director Robert Brown of the ONDCP Office of Supply
Reduction can and will provide you with more detail in
response to your questions, but I want to say a few
words about the countries denied full certification and
about our anti-drug partnership in the Western
Hemisphere.
For several years now, Afghanistan and Burma have
been world headquarters for the heroin business. This
past year, they retained that deadly dishonor. In
Afghanistan, the opium harvest grew substantially, and
the Taliban's full complicity in the drug trade has
extended to the point where both the harvesting and
trafficking of opium is taxed. In Burma, the smaller
opium yield owed less to good intentions than to bad
weather. And ordinary citizens enjoy less freedom than
drug lords, with the military junta still refusing to
surrender notorious traffickers under indictment in the
United States...
****
[Follow up questions]
[Question from a journalist to Randy Beers] Yes. I
read in detail the report on Burma. I noticed that it
has many positive elements in it. You say that there's
been significant improvements in various areas. And I
wonder whether you could say anything to persuade, to
convince me that the decertification of Burma was not
based solely on political considerations and that if it
was in Latin America it would have been certified.
MR. BEERS: I think that the level of production in
Burma, the level of cultivation married with the level
of effort on the part of the government to do something
serious about that activity is the first indication.
The second is despite some seizures, the degree to
which the traffickers are able to control territory and
operate well beyond the reach of the law, the degree to
which these criminal enterprises are states in and unto
themselves is probably the clearest indication of why
this government in any hemisphere would have been
decertified.
Q Yes. General McCaffrey mentioned the U.S. and the
production of -- what is it? -- methamphetamines. Could
you tell us where the U.S. stands, and is this the most
productive country in terms of -- do we produce the
most methamphetamines here, or what? Because I don't --
he didn't mention a ranking or anything.
MR. BROWN: It's a good question. Let me rank-order
our drug threats as we, in cooperation with State and
the rest of the U.S. government, would assess them to
be.
Our principal drug threat remains cocaine. We have
three-plus million chronic cocaine addicts and other
casual users.
The second drug threat is heroin. Heroin is about a
million addicts.
Our third drug threat is that of synthetic drugs like
methamphetamines. There are others.
And lastly, and by far and away the most widely
abused drug, is cannabis, or marijuana.
Methamphetamines are produced both in Mexico and the
United States, and for some number of years, generally
originating in our Southwest, has become a significant
drug of abuse of concern. However, it is a global
concern. We've mentioned Burma here a minute ago.
Burma's production -- from our concern, Burma's
production of heroin is a big issue. But in the
Southeast Asia neighboring countries are concerned with
amphetamine or methamphetamine production emanating
from Burma as well.
So I apologize for not being able to give you
specific numbers or percentage of U.S.-produced or
Mexican-produced methamphetamine as a portion of the
total of the world, simply to say that methamphetamine,
synthetic drug abuse, is a worldwide concern.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
NATION: NINETEEN SUBSTANCES USED TO MAKE DRUGS FACE
'CONTROLS'
March 2, 2000, Thursday
PIYANART SRIVALO / The Nation
THE Prime Minister's Office will issue a new
ministerial regulation for controlling the possession,
transportation and distribution of 19 chemical
substances that can be used as ingredients for
amphetamine or methamphetamine, in an attempt to curb
the rampant use of the two drugs.
Jurin Laksanavisit, the PM's Office minister who
supervises the Office of Narcotics Control Board
(ONCB), said that in a bid to prevent amphetamine and
methamphetamine production ONCB is to designate the 19
substances as controlled substances.
This means that anybody who possesses, transports, or
distributes any of these substances must record and
report their actions to local provincial governors.
Sorasit Saengprasert, ONCB secretary-general, said he
expects the ministerial regulation to this effect to be
announced in the Royal Gazette next month.
The ONCB is also establishing a sub-committee on
chemical substance control in the northern region. It
would be chaired by a deputy secretary-general and
function under the auspices of the ONBC's national
Committee on Chemical Substance Control.
Members of the sub-committee would be representatives
from different local government agencies concerned,
provincial chambers of commerce, chemical substance
traders, and so on, Sorasit said.
The 19 substances are 1-phenyl-2 propanone, acetic
anhydride, phenylacetic acid, acetyl chloride,
ethylidine diacetate, ephedrine, pseudosphedrine, ethyl
ether, chloroform, glacial acetic acid, caffeine,
acetone, hydrochloric acid, methyl ethyl ketone,
sulphuric acid, toluene, phosphorus trichloride,
phosphorus pentachloride, and thionyl chloride.
Jurin said another ministerial regulation would be
announced this month in the six northernmost provinces
restricting the possession, transportation and
transformation of caffeine.
Anybody seeking to possess caffeine, to transport or
transform it, has to inform the governor of the six
provinces - Tak, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai,
Nan and Phayao.
Jurin said the control of the other 18 substances
would not be as strict as caffeine control, because
these substances are also commonly used in farming and
cooking.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai yesterday
invited Hla Maung, the Burmese ambassador to Thailand,
to an official bilateral consultation on cross-country
drug suppression.
Jurin, who participated in the consultation, said the
government had sought co-operation from Burma in
dealing with international drug trafficking by taking
three major actions:
lThe Burmese government launch a crackdown on drug
producers, especially the Wa Daeng ethnic group;
lThe Burmese government in cooperation with the Thai
government suppress drug trafficking through three
Thai-Burmese border check-points: Mae Sai-Tachilek, Mae
Sot-Myawaddy, and Koh Song-Ranong; and
lThe Burmese government help prevent Burmese people
who are migrating from its northernmost areas, under
the Burmese government's resettlement scheme, to areas
opposite Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai from getting
involved in drug trafficking activities on Thai soil.
Jurin said that on the third request, Hla Muang said
the Burmese government has been promoting a number of
job creation activities among the migrants, convincing
them to give up opium farming and switch to other
lawful means of living.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
OPINION/EDITORIALS
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
IFEX: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
International Freedom of Expression Exchange
- News from the international
freedom of expression community
REPORT/ACTION ALERT - INTERNATIONAL
1 March 2000
WiPC Special Action for International Women's
Day honours three women
SOURCE: Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC),
International PEN, London
8 MARCH 2000
International Women's Day is a time when the Writers
in Prison of Committee highlights the cases of women
writers and journalists who have faced persecution
and who would benefit from publicity on their cases.
Women Writers in the Year 2000: increasingly under attack
In the last two decades of the Twentieth Century, women
around the world increasingly demanded their rights. In all
continents, but perhaps most remarkably in the
developing world, they formed associations and
coalitions aimed at bringing to an end the
many practices which have historically led
to women being treated as second-class citizens
(and sometimes not even that) in most cultures.
Women called for proper health care, equal
access to education, equal pay for their work.
They successfully campaigned for rape
in times of conflict by soldiers to be
regarded by the United Nations as a war
crime; many campaigned for an end to genital
mutilation, sexual exploitation of girls,
enforced dress codes. One result of all this
activity was the agreement made by Nation-States
meeting in Beijing to scrutinize their
own laws with the aim of eliminating discrimination
against women. Another was the appointment of a
Special Rapporteur for Women's Rights. In general
there is greater acknowledgment than ever before
among international bodies that women's rights,
in the context of today's
world, need special protection...
Some Examples of Women Under Threat
Arguably the most famous case of a woman under threat
is Burma's opposition leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,
whose every movement is watched and who is not
free to move about freely in her own country.
The military government there has consistently ignored
the results of her landslide victory in a past
election. However, lesser known is the case of
Aung San Suu Kyi's colleague, the woman writer
Daw San San Nweh. One of Burma's most prominent
journalists, short story writers, and novelists,
Daw San San Nweh is serving ten years' imprisonment
for her staunch criticism of the military government.
Her daughter, Mo Mo Tun is in jail with her on similar charges.
For further information, contact the WiPC, International PEN, 9/10
Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London EC1M 7AT, U.K.,
tel: +44 171
253 3226, fax: +44 171 253 5711,
e-mail: intpen@xxxxxxxxxx
The information contained in this report/action alert is the sole
responsibility of WiPC. In citing this material for broadcast or
publication, please credit WiPC.
_________________________________________________________________
DISTRIBUTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
EXCHANGE (IFEX) CLEARING HOUSE
489 College Street, Suite 403, Toronto (ON) M6G 1A5 CANADA
tel: +1 416 515 9622 fax: +1 416 515 7879
alerts e-mail: alerts@xxxxxxxx general e-mail ifex@xxxxxxxx
Internet site: http://www.ifex.org/
__________________________________________________________________
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
OTHER
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
BRITISH LIBRARY: CURATOR OF BURMESE COLLECTIONS VACANCY
March 2000
Burmese Curator, Oriental and India Office Collections,
The British Library. Salary range £15,548 - £19,435
A vacancy exists for a Burmese Curator in the South-East
Asia Section of the British Library's Oriental and India
Office Collections. The Library's collection of Burmese
manuscripts and printed books is one of the largest
and most important outside Burma itself. The 600 Burmese
manuscripts include the Mandalay Collection, and the
10,000 printed books collection is especially strong
in 19th-century material due to the operation of colonial
legal deposit legislation.
You will be part of the Library's close-knit team of
South-East Asian language specialists. The aim of the
South-East Asia Section is to develop, document and
make available the national collection of works in South-East
Asian languages. Your principal duties will therefore
include: selecting current research-level publications;
MARC-cataloguing of new acquisitions; identifying and
consigning material for conservation and reprography; and
providing information to users, both on-site and remote,
about the collections. You will be expected to undertake
occasional enquiry desk duties in the Oriental and India
Office Collections Reading Room. You will also be expected
to represent the Library at external conferences and
library groups.
You must have a degree or equivalent qualification/
experience in Burmese and knowledge of Burmese literature,
history, religion and culture to degree level. In addition,
a knowledge of Pali, familiarity with MARC-cataloguing, a
qualification in librarianship, and/or experience of
working in a research library, will all be advantages.
For further details and an application form please
telephone 00-44-20 7412 7331 (between 9 a.m.and 5 p.m.),
or send an e-mail to clarence.nicol@xxxxx
The closing date for the receipt of applications is 13 March 2000.
The British Library is an equal opportunity employer
John Okell
Mail: 48 King Edward Road, Barnet, Herts EN5 5AS, England
Phone: 020 8440 6096
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The BurmaNet News is an Internet newspaper providing
comprehensive coverage of news and opinion on Burma
(Myanmar). For a subscription to Burma's only free
daily newspaper, write to: strider@xxxxxxx
Voice mail +1 (435) 304-9274
Fax +1 (810)454-4740
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
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