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Subject: [theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: Weekend of April 1-2, 2000
________________ THE BURMANET NEWS _________________
/ An on-line newspaper covering Burma \
\_________________ www.burmanet.org ___________________/
April 1-2, 2000
Issue # 1499
This issue can be read online at:
http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com/stories/storyReader$272
*Inside Burma
MIC: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR'S REPORT HIGHLY BIASED AGAINST MYANMAR
AND AS DEROGATORY AS PREVIOUS REPORTS
BURMA COURIER: ASIA'S LATEST 'KILLING FIELDS' IN KUNHING TOWNSHIP
BURMA COURIER: JUNTA WEBSITE MAKES ROOM FOR FREE PRESS WEEKLY
MTBR: INTENSE FOCUS ON DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE PRIMARY INDUSTRY
MTBR: PROBLEM SOLVING, DISCUSSION BREEDS A NEW MBA GRADUATE
MTBR: INSURANCE LAW MAKING ITS MARK
MTBR: BRISK CAR SALES FOR SUZUKI
*International
BANGKOK POST: JUNTA'S ASSISTANCE ESSENTIAL
AP: UN LABOR AGENCY SENDS BURMA INTO DEEPER ISOLATION BURMA UN
THE NATION: ASEAN, EU AGREE TO COMPROMISE OVER BURMA OFFICIALS TO
MEET IN LISBON
*Opinion/Editorial
BANGKOK POST: LETTER--THE ARMY FOLLOWS GOVERNMENT POLICY
BANGKOK POST: ANGLING FOR A VIABLE SOLUTION TO FISHING
___________________ INSIDE BURMA ______________________
MIC: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR'S REPORT HIGHLY BIASED AGAINST MYANMAR
AND AS DEROGATORY AS PREVIOUS REPORTS
MYANMAR INFORMATION COMMITTEE
YANGON
Information Sheet
No.B-1316 ( I ) 2nd April 2000
The following is the Press Release issued on 1 April
by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the situation of
human rights in Myanmar submitted to 56th Session of
the Commission on Human Rights on 30 March.
The Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human
Rights submitted his report on the situation of human
rights in Myanmar to the current 56th Session of the
Commission on Human Rights on 30 March 2000.
The report of the Special Rapporteur is highly biased
against Myanmar and as derogatory as its previous
reports. It is also conspicuous in that it did not
mention any positive developments which have taken
place in the country in the intervening period since
the latest report of the Rapporteur. It also ignored
the most important fact that the entire population of
nearly 50 million Myanmar people are enjoying peace,
stability and a better living condition for the first
time in their life. Any objective observer can testify
to this.
As clearly acknowledged in the report the contents of
the Report are entirely based on the information
received by the Special Rapporteur from the elements
outside of the country including armed insurgent
groups who are fighting against the Union. These are
also the elements, whose objective is to tarnish the
image of Myanmar and bring dishonour to the government
and the people.
In view of the dubious character of the sources of
information and, without the benefit of verifying
those sources, it is obvious that the report is not
founded in fact.
Myanmar totally rejects the unfounded allegations
contained in the report as well as the conclusions and
recommendations of the Special Rapporteur since they
are biased, partial and politically motivated. They
reflect the attempts to trivialize the positive,
accentuate the negative and portray the image of
Myanmar in an entirely negative light.
There is hardly and doubt that the report has been
prepared with the sole intent to maliciously slander a
member state to satisfy the demands of those who wish
to exert undue pressure on the Union of Myanmar.
Myanmar will be steadfast in following its chosen
path and will continue to promote and protect human
rights in its endeavours to build a society where all
the people of Myanmar can enjoy the fruits of economic
development and social progress in an environment of
peace and stability.
_______________________________________________
BURMA COURIER: ASIA'S LATEST 'KILLING FIELDS' IN KUNHING TOWNSHIP
No. 225 Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2000
Based on February and March human right reports from SHRF and Shan
State Army:
CHIANG MAI -- During January and February Kunhing Township in central
Shan state
was among the most violence plagued areas in all of Asia, reports
issued by grass roots
human rights groups reveal. Over fifty persons, all civilians, were
killed during the two
months in separate incidents in the
township.
On February 12, twenty men from Kun Pu village trace were massacred
by a patrol from
Infantry Battalion 246 under the command of Capt Hla Khin at Loi-maak-
hin-taang.
The villagers were among those who had been forcibly displaced a few
years ago by
SLORC/SPDC troops and had been in hiding since then, trying to
survive by secretly
growing small plots of rice and foraging for wild vegetables, games
and fish. As it had
been a long established practice for the villagers in the area to pay
respect once a year
to the guardian spirit of the land where they lived, the villagers
had prepared some
traditional offerings and the men had gone to Loi-maak-hin-taang
where there was an
altar, set up long ago by their ancestors.
It was while they were conducting their ritual there that they were
spotted by the patrol
and shot in cold blood. According to a witness, the troops then ate
all the food they
found among the offerings and continued to patrol the area, where
they discovered and
killed a group of five women and children who were hiding in a
makeshift hut in a forest
in the area. They, also, were slaughtered by the soldiers on patrol.
Among the men killed were Zaai Yunt, 21, Zaai Awng, 30, Zaai Mu, 41,
Zaai Kaw, 36,
Zaai Maw-Nae-Ya, 25, Zaai Thun Nae, 22, and Zaai Lon, 34, all of Kun
Pu village, Lung
Saw, 47, Zaai Khur Seng, 43, Zaai Mu-Ling, 34, all of Paang Khaa
village, Zaai Pan-Ti,
33, Zaai Ka-Ling, 24, Zaai Taan, 26, Zaai
Wi, 37, Zaai Maad, 40, Zaai Taw-Ya, 23, all of Loi Yaang village and
Lung Lam, 51,
Lung Paan La, 53, Lung Laan, 44, and Zaai Zi-Na, 31, all of Naa Ke
village. The women
and children who were massacred by the troops under the command of
Capt Hal Khin
include: Mae Thao Mya, 65, Naang Kya Yong, aged 37, a girl, Naang
Awng, aged 18,
and two boys Zaai La Khin, aged 15, and Zaai Thun, aged 11 years.
The mass slaying at Loi-maak-hin-taang followed by only two weeks the
horrific
slaughter of twenty villagers in the hamlet of Kengkham by a Myanmar
army column
from IB 66 based in Namzarng township. The villagers from various
farming families
had been given permission by the Kunhing-based IB 246 to re-establish
themselves in a
depopulated area of the township and were clearing brush when they
were attacked by
the soldiers of IB 66 (See Courier No. 219: Feb 19).
It is also reported that on January 22 a patrol of 50-60 soldiers
from IB 246 led by Capt
Aung Moe came to a farm where Lung Ti, 40, his daughter, Naang Ser,
18 and his son,
Zaai Lu, 11, were threshing rice. After tying the three up in
different places they were
tortured and interrogated. Eventually all three were beaten to death,
but Naang Ser was
first raped.
According to witnesses, Zaai Wi-La-Sa, a civilian porter who was with
the patrol, tried to
intervene, begging the captain not to kill the three, stating that
Lung Ti was his uncle
and that he could testify to their innocence. Instead the officer hit
the porter so hard on
the head with his pistol that he fell unconscious for about 30
minutes. When Zaai Wi-La-
Sa was released from his duties as a porter and returned home, he was
so shocked and
mentally disturbed he could not talk sensibly with other villagers
and died 20 days later.
It is also reported that on the January 7, troops from 246th IB shot
villagers Loong Nya
Mi, 60 and Nai Mai, aged 35, from Wan Sa Harng in Wan Tong tract of
Kunhing
township. Other reports state that on January 14 troops from IB 246
IB shot and killed
the village headman of Nampa Marn, Wan Phwee village tract in Kunhing
township. The
deceased was identified as a Loong Nya Ning, age 35, son of Loong Moo
and Nai Pom.
In an incident on February 6, a patrol from the 246th shot and killed
Loong Phaw Ka,
aged 40, a villager of Wan Pang Inn also in Weing Phwee tract. Loong
Phaw Ka is
survived by his wife, Nang Khong.
There are also many, many reports of looting and the destruction of
property in Kunhing
township during the month of January.
__
__________________________________________________
BURMA COURIER: JUNTA WEBSITE MAKES ROOM FOR FREE PRESS WEEKLY
Media scrum
RANGOON, Mar 26 (MBRT) -- Rangoon's only weekly English language
journal has
taken to the cyber waves. The Myanmar Times and Business Review
(MTBR), "the first
truly free press" in Burma for more than three decades, got top
billing on the military
government's website www.myanmar.com where its fourth edition was
posted this
week.
A lead article on the state of the Myanmar economy has fulsome praise
for "astute
senior leaders like Sen-Gen Than Shwe and the Secretary 1," who, it
seems "have
spent enormous amounts of time visiting rural and regional areas,
driving home ? '¥'¥ a
message of self reliance, of building industry and promoting free
enterprise in order to
lift output". These two, the new journal says, "are pushing forward
with a desire to build
capital inside the public sector, so that it may better understand
its role in a market
economy."
MTBR does admit that that "there are serious issues and overwhelming
it seems" with
the reform of the economy undertaken by the military leaders. "Many
capital intensive
industries remain state-owned, partially accounting for the
relatively low share of fixed
investment attributed to the private sector." And, as the Rangoon
weekly points out, the
private sector faces "challenges" in expanding, "including a lack of
access to credit and
foreign exchange, administrative burdens and numerous restrictions
affecting business
in specific sectors".
Part of the blame for the sluggish state of the economy, the journal
says, lies with the
World Bank and outside donors "which are few and limited in Myanmar",
thus
"hampering a quickening of economic pace". Moreover, there is "great
difficulty in
getting access to export-import bank credits and guarantees". At the
moment, MTBR
opines, "Myanmar's foreign investment record reflects the relatively
low capacity of the
nation's economy to absorb large capital in-flows."
Many in both private and official circles consulted by MTBR "remain
optimistic of
breakthrough in 2000", but the journal itself considers that "without
foreign aid,
investment flows will remain weak, and growth will remain modest in
2000-1. Inflation
will ease, but slowly, and the free-market exchange rate will face
challenges."
The Times must have employed all of its reportorial staff on its
economic survey,
because the other articles in the first 'cyber' edition seem to be
cribbed directly from the
English language edition of its stately rival, the stodgy, old New
Light of Myanmar. But
NLM has moved to second spot in the postings list on www.myanmar.com.
A sign of Col
Thein Swe's preferences??? Time will tell.
_______________________________________________________
MTBR: INTENSE FOCUS ON DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE PRIMARY INDUSTRY
www.myanmar.com/Myanmartimes/
THE MYANMAR TIMES & BUSINESS REVIEW
Myanmar's first international weekly Journal
March 13-19,2000 , Volume 1, No.2
Economy
MTBR: INTENSE FOCUS ON DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE PRIMARY INDUSTRY
FOOD sufficiency for the people equals national economic progress." So
said Myanmar? '¡fs Prime Minister Than Shwe, speaking on Peasants
Day in
1998.
Indeed agriculture is the foundation of Myanmar? '¡fs economy ?
accounting for some 35 per cent of total export earnings. Only when
agricultural-based industry is improved and built up, can the country
hope to progress itself into the vision it has set. The task, although
awesome, is being attacked in a logical and forthright manner.
With 38pc of its GDP coming from primary industry then it is not
surprising that the Government has focused much of its attention on
achieving the goal of self sufficiency and creating products suitable
for export and the earning of hard currency.
More importantly some 64pc of the work-force is directly employed in
farming.
With a growth rate of 1.87pc annually, it means that by the year 2010
there will be a population of 60 million people.
The Prime Minister and Senior General, Than Shwe, has warned of
impending catastrophe if timely measures are not undertaken to grow
enough food to feed the people. Importation of food-grains is not the
answer, as it will squander precious foreign exchange and pre-empt
funds earmarked for economic and social development.
The government has a comprehensive plan in place to implement
development so that the population will be self-sustained and that
crops will be sufficient to increase export earnings.
This plan involves the application of five parallel and interlocking
strategies.
IRRIGATION
There are 18 million hectares of arable land in Myanmar, of which only
9m hectares are being cultivated. A sizeable proportion of the
remaining 9 million hectares is located in areas with insufficient
rainfall to make cultivation feasible. On the other hand, the volume
of water-resources in the country totals some 870 million acre feet,
of which only 6pc is being utilised at present.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation is resorting to five
methods to promote the exploitation of water sources. These are: the
construction of new dams and reservoirs, the storage of water flowing
from watershed areas, renovation of existing dams and reservoirs,
damming of creeks and rivers when they are in spate, pumping of water
from rivers and creeks, and recovery of underground water.
Impressive results have already been attained through the use of these
strategies. Since 1988, a total of 97 dams and reservoirs have been
built at a cost of 1.4 billion kyats (US$4.3m) and commissioned into
service.
The projects that have been completed are already providing irrigation
water to over 1.3 million acres of farmland.
RECLAMATION
The Government has initiated a nation-wide campaign to reclaim 9m
hectares of wetlands and virgin, vacant and fallow lands. Already the
project has achieved some success. In l996-97 more than 150,000 acres
of additional land were brought under cultivation.
Myanmar has adopted a free market economic system, and in keeping with
this
the financial resources of the private sector are being used in to
reclaim wetlands and waste land in rural areas. 36,000 acres have been
reclaimed this year by private operators and put under cultivation. In
Tanintharyi Division alone contractors have placed 500,000 acres under
oil palm, 50,000 acres under rubber and 5000 acres under rice paddy.
The Prime Minister assured local farmers that their interests would
not be jeopardised by the introduction of large-scale farming by
entrepreneurs and pointed out that they would in fact profit from
exposure to modern scientific methods of cultivation and would benefit
from increased employment opportunities with the establishment of
large scale farms in their regions.
One of the approaches being adopted by the Government is the
introduction of mechanised agriculture. This was first tried some
years ago but received a set-back when heavy ploughing machines bogged
down in the muddy paddy fields and had to be hauled out by teams of
oxen.
Not to be deterred light and versatile machines were tried and found
to perform satisfactorily.
Nationally produced machines for ploughing, harrowing, planting,
reaping and threshing are now available.
The use of machinery in agriculture of course should raise
productivity, cut processing time and bring about economies of scale
so that efficiency becomes a key philosophy in order to compete
globally.
In 1998, 4m acres were put under summer paddy as well as during the
rainy season. This helped to increase paddy production to 100 million
baskets yearly.
DIVERSIFICATION
The government has been attempting to promote the growing of
alternative crops. Together with paddy it has designated sugarcane,
cotton, pulses and beans as the Four Pillars of Agriculture in its
Four Pillars/Four Crops strategy.
Agro-related ventures are being accorded high priority. These include
horticulture, sericulture, acquaculture , bee-keeping, livestock
breeding and fresh-water and offshore fishing and prawn-breeding, all
of which are being promoted in tandem with development of the
agriculture sector and are helping to expand the export market.
Already the fish and prawn sector is the third largest foreign
exchange earner in the economy.
In 1998-99, 3254 Myanmar fisheries produced 37.5 million viss of fish
from 25,000 acres of fishponds.
INFRASTRUCTURE
It is not sufficient to merely boost agricultural production. Farmers
need ways of sending their produce to markets in the rest of the
country and abroad.
To solve this challenge the government has embarked on a crash program
to extend and upgrade existing transport infrastructure. Considerable
success has already been achieved in this regard.
The SPDC, during its 12 years of stewardship, has already laid close
to a 1000 miles of new railway line as part of its strategy for
infrastructure development.
The building of roads and highways is also proceeding at pace. Despite
extraordinary difficulties 2057 miles of new roads have been
completed, while another 4098 miles are under construction.
As a practical proposition, it is impossible to dissociate the
construction of railroads and highways from the building of bridges,
and the government has consequently launched an extensive program of
bridge construction projects.
These extensive bridge building projects are being implemented in all
States and Divisions of the Union.
(Professor U Sein Tu has a Master in Arts from Columbia University and
Ph.D from Harvard University.)
_______________________________________________________
MTBR: PROBLEM SOLVING, DISCUSSION BREEDS A NEW MBA GRADUATE
THE MYANMAR TIMES & BUSINESS REVIEW
March 13-19,2000
THE expression ''beauty and brain do not go together" is certainly not
true at the Myanmar MBA program where you can find people who are not
only beautiful but also highly intelligent in this extremely demanding
area of study. In fact a great majority of students taking the course
are female professionals whose ages range between 25 and 45
_______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
MTBR: INSURANCE LAW MAKING ITS MARK
March 13-19,2000
The proposal to comprehensively deregulate the insurance industry
should be treated with some skepticism, says U Mg Maung Thein, In
a really open competitive market there is no such thing as consumer
protection.
_____________________________________________________
MTBR: BRISK CAR SALES FOR SUZUKI
SUZUKI vehicles assembled in Myanmar are now in high demand following
restrictions on the imports of vehicles from foreign countries, said
the March issue of ? '¡gKyaw-nyar hnit Zewe-lan-nyun,? '¡h a local
advertising and retail vernacular monthly magazine.
The manufacturer, Myanmar Suzuki Automobile Company, is a
joint-venture of the Isuzu company together with the Ministry of
Industry-2.
The Suzuki vehicles assembled locally have rolled onto the Myanmar
market since 1999 and have made an instant impact.
Those who resold the vehicles are believed to have made large profits.
___________________ INTERNATIONAL _____________________
BANGKOK POST: JUNTA'S ASSISTANCE ESSENTIAL
1 April, 2000.
NARCOTICS
Kachadpai:We can't fight drugs unaided
Subin Khuenkaew
Burmese participation is essential in any moves to solve the problems
of drug trafficking
and refugees, the National Security Council secretary-general said
yesterday.
Kachadpai Burusphat said for drug suppression to be effective it is
necessary to
urgently declare Tak, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai
provinces, which
border Burma, a special area under a special administrative centre.
The centre should operate under the restructured Internal Security
Operations
Command, which begins its new drug suppression role today.
"Despite the best efforts of authorities, the drug problem has been
only partly solved.
We need to strengthen the villages along the border," Mr Kachadpai
told a seminar of
northern government officials on the promotion of relations between
Thailand and
Burma.
There were 11 camps in Thailand holding more than 100,00 Burmese
refugees, Mr
Kadchadpai said.
Their presence affected national security and caused Burma to look on
Thailand with
suspicion.
"We need Burma's serious participation if we are to solve this
problem. "We hope the
refugees will all be repatriated to their homeland within three
years," he said. Lt-Gen
Wattanachai Chaimuanwong, the Third Army commander, said the Isoc
board will meet
on April 5 for the first time since it was restructured to
concentrate on suppression of
narcotics instead of communism.
_______________________________________________________
AP: UN LABOR AGENCY SENDS BURMA INTO DEEPER ISOLATION BURMA UN
29 March 2000
GENEVA, March 28 AP - The United Nations labor agency today opened
unprecedented proceedings to bring Myanmar to book for its failure to
address repeated criticism of its use of forced labor.
Invoking an option that has never been used before, the 174-nation
International Labor Organisation's governing body called on its
annual
conference to take "any such action as it may deem wise and expedient
to secure compliance" with its rules.
"It really represents a deepening of Myanmar's isolation within this
organisation," ILO spokesman John Doohan said. Last year, the ILO
barred the government from receiving assistance from it.
In August 1998, a commission appointed by the ILO roundly condemned
Myanmar, also known as Burma, for widespread and systematic use of
forced labor.
"There has been no significant progress in eliminating forced labor
and
there has been no significant progress in complying with the special
commission of inquiry," Doohan said.
He noted that "there are no provisions in the ILO for expelling a
member state."
It was unclear what consequences today's decision would have.
Possible
options include recommendations to member countries, unions and
organisations that they review relations with Myanmar to ensure they
are not abetting forced labor, Doohan said.
Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes
Myanmar, were reluctant to call for the unprecedented action against
Myanmar but did not oppose the decision.
Myanmar "rejected totally and categorically" the decision, Doohan
said.
"They repeated the accusations are unfounded."
The government has said it is a responsible member of the ILO and
accused western governments of making politically motivated
allegations.
Myanmar officials in Geneva were unavailable for comment, but earlier
this month, Myanmar rejected a US government report on labor
practices
in the military-ruled Southeast Asian country, describing its charges
of widespread use of forced labor as "false and malicious
allegations."
_______________________________________________________
THE NATION: ASEAN, EU AGREE TO COMPROMISE OVER BURMA OFFICIALS TO
MEET IN LISBON
March 31, 2000
ASEANEU bickering over Burma has died down as the European Union
agreed to have
a proposed senior official meeting in Lisbon that includes Burmese
participation.
The EU nevertheless preferred a stepbystep approach before agreeing
to resume the
ministerial meeting, longstalled due to the EU's reservations over
Burma's participation.
Portugal, which currently holds the EU presidency, has offered to
host the meeting but
cannot promise that it would be followed by the foreign ministers
gathering.
Portuguese Ambassador to Thailand Jose Tadeu da Costa Soares said
while the
European side did not oppose the resumption of the AseanEU
ministerial meeting,
which has been postponed since March last year, his country cannot
guarantee that all
14 other EU members would agree to having the meetings immediately
following each
other.
"What the European Union does not want to say at this stage is that
one meeting will
automatically be followed by the other," he said.
Speaking in an interview, Soares said all doors were open and the EU
was waiting for
Asean's response to Lisbon's proposal sent in February to Thailand,
which acts as the
coordinator of the grouping.
"Portugal thinks that we [EU] should have dialogue with Burma first,
even if it is critical
dialogue, Asean should not allow the difficulties that we (EU) still
have with Burma stop
the two groups from meeting," he said.
A Thai official said Asean was in consultation over the proposal sent
by Portugal.
A foreign ministers meeting of the EU and Asean scheduled for March
30 last year in
Berlin was cancelled because the two groups refused to budge over
their conflicting
positions on Burma's participation.
The EU bars high level contacts with Burma, which joined Asean in
July 1997, because
of its human rights record. Asean refused to attend the meeting
unless Burma was
allowed to participate at an equal level.
The EU wanted relative improvements in human rights before it would
allow Burma to
attend the AseanEU meeting. Germany, which held the EU presidency at
the time, also
has pushed for a compromise. But despite all efforts, including
Burmese Foreign
Minister Win Aung signalling that he was ready to discuss any issue
that Europe may
want to raise about developments in Burma, the meeting was cancelled.
Soares said that some European members have reservations over Burma
attending the
meeting at the ministerial level, but Lisbon was able to get them all
to agree that
dialogue between the two groups should continue.
"Now we leave it [the topic] open, I think this is a substantial
thing. If you want to be
constructive, you look at the positive side," he said.
Stressing that what was required was a stepbystep approach, Soares
said the two
groups can first meet at the senior officials level and then decide
about a higher level
meeting. "We will judge what results come out of the first meeting,
and if we agree that it
was a positive exercise we will move on to the next step," he said.
Soares praised Thailand for its attempt to overcome the visas
problem, by offering to
have the ministerial meeting in Bangkok. The EU imposed a sixmonth
delay on the
issuing visas for members of Burma's military dictatorship, which has
since been
extended.
Soares said he hoped both meetings can take place during the
Portuguese presidency,
as one of its tasks was to strengthen EUAsean dialogue.
BY RITA PATIYASEVI
________________ OPINION/EDITORIALS __________________
BANGKOK POST: LETTER--THE ARMY FOLLOWS GOVERNMENT POLICY
Letters to the Editor
The article "NSC soft-pedals on junta" by Yuwadee Tanyasiri (Bangkok
Post, March 25)
says the army top brass accused the junta of being unco-operative on
the repatriation of
Burmese refugees and urged a review of the policy of constructive
engagement which
delivered Burma membership of Asean.
May I take this opportunity to inform you that the army top brass
didn't accuse the
Burmese government of being unco-operative on the repatriation of
Burmese
refugees?Furthermore, the Royal Thai Army doesn't urge a review of
the policy on
constructive engagement which delivered Burma membership of Asean. It
depends on
the Thai government's policy through the Foreign Ministry.
Lastly, if you have any question, you can ask the office of the army
secretary direct;
we're willing to answer your questions.
Maj-Gen Siripong Bonpat Army Secretary
Bangkok Post (March 31, 2000)
_______________________________________________________
BANGKOK POST: ANGLING FOR A VIABLE SOLUTION TO FISHING
- 1 April, 2000.
Editorial
Agriculture and Co-operatives Minister Pongpol Adireksarn returned
empty-handed from
a recent visit to Burma, where he held talks with his Burmese
counterpart to convince
Rangoon to reopen its waters to Thai fishing. Instead of giving him
an outright "no" to
the plea for resumption of fishing rights, Rangoon simply said it had
yet to settle internal
problems with its local authorities.
Whether or not the reason cited by Rangoon was the actual and only
cause of the
objection to the reopening of Burmese waters to Thai fishermen,
problems do exist
between the central government and local authorities. Thai fishing
operators who had
won concessions to fish in Burma used to complain that they were made
to pay under
the table to local Burmese authorities as well. Illegal taxes were
also charged by some
rebel groups operating in the sea.
On the other hand, however, Burmese authorities have viewed Thai
fishermen with
mistrust for being tricky and dishonest. And they are not far off the
mark for their
negative assessment of the Thai fishermen, given the fact many have
been caught
fishing illegally. One widely-used trick is to duplicate the fishing
licences granted by
Rangoon or to send in more fishing vessels than the number permitted.
It was reported that Rangoon perhaps wants to develop its own fishing
fleet and thus
has refused to reopen its waters to the well-equipped and more
experienced Thai
fishermen.
The report further said that both Singapore and China had expressed
interest in buying
the catches directly from Burma.
Frankly speaking, it sounds economically and environmentally sound
for Burma to
preserve its resource-rich waters for its own fishing fleet instead
of letting in foreign
fishermen to wipe out its fish stocks in return for dismal royalties.
Although its existing
fleet is small and obsolete, Burma, over the years, will be able to
modernise and expand
its fishing fleet.
Despite the failure of the Burma visit, the agriculture minister is
not discouraged. He is
planning visits in the near future to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and
Maldives to explore the
possibility of Thai fishing joint ventures with these countries.
Whether his efforts will
bear fruit remains to be seen.
But under the prevailing uncertainty about the prospect of Thai
fishing boats ever being
allowed back into Burmese waters or into other countries, it is
imperative that the
Agriculture and Co-operatives Ministry gets down to serious
discussions with the Thai
Fisheries Association to substantially reduce the oversized Thai
fishing fleet.
To begin, the ministry must know how many fishing boats there are in
this country. The
building of new fishing vessels, even for deep-sea fishing, should be
discouraged.
Incentives or government subsidies should be provided to encourage
fishing operators
to switch to other trades and occupations. A vessel buy-back scheme
should be
considered.
More importantly, they must be told that it is becoming more and more
difficult for
coastal countries to open up their waters to fishing by foreign
vessels. After all, fishing is
a sunset industry which does not have a long-term future. The reality
is that there are
simply too many vessels chasing after shrinking fish stocks.
Lately, there has been an increase in the incidence of territorial
clashes between
traditional or small fishermen who make a living from fishing near
the coastline, and
operators of big fishing vessels desperate to recoup their
investments after having being
turned away from neighbouring countries. Unless fishing overcapacity
is trimmed to
manageable levels, fishing conflicts are likely to turn more ugly as
fishermen struggle to
chase after the little marine resources still remaining in our
coastal waters.
________________
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