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[theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: Ap
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Subject: [theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: April 18, 2000
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
April 18, 2000
Issue # 1511
This edition of The BurmaNet News is viewable online at:
http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com/stories/storyReader$328
NOTED IN PASSING:
The UNHCR is "entrapped in an insane policy, in complete
contradiction to its
mandate."
The International Federation of Leagues of Human Rights on the
UNHCR? '²s collaboration with Burma in the forced repatriation of
Rohingyas. See AFP: HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP ACCUSES UN AGENCY OF
COOPERATING IN MYANMAR ETHNIC CLEANSING
*Inside Burma
AFP: HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP ACCUSES UN AGENCY OF COOPERATING IN MYANMAR
ETHNIC CLEANSING
OUTLOOK (India): ON THE CARRION ROUTE
DPA: 36 SUU KYI SUPPORTERS HELD IN MYANMAR
NCUB/PP21: JUNTA? '²S ACCUSATION OF VIOLENCE UNFOUNDED
ASIAN AGE (India): NSCN(K) TALKS OFFER PUTS ULFA UNDER PRESSURE
AP: SEVEN KILLED IN MYANMAR TRAIN WRECK
AP: MYANMAR ACCUSES DISSIDENT GROUP OF PLANNING TO SET OFF BOMBS
XINHUA: MYANMAR'S TIMBER EXPORT UP IN 1999
*International
REUTERS: KNU CHIEF SEEKS BRITISH PRESSURE FOR TALKS WITH MYANMAR
AFP: BRITISH FM TO TACKLE MYANMAR ISSUES IN THAI VISIT
*Opinion/Editorials
WASHINGTON POST: BURMA, OIL TANKERS AND STATES
ASIAWEEK: ? '±SPEED? '² IN THAILAND
NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR: DESTRUCTIONISTS OUT FOR DEMOLITION TO PANIC
PUBLIC DURING MAHA THINGYAN WATER FESTIVAL EXPOSED RUNAWAY GROUP
CALLED PP-21 SENT DEMOLITIONISTS TO DISTURB MAHA THAINGYAN WATER
FESTIVAL SO CALLED NLD YOUTH MEMBERS OUTSIDE, RUNAWAYS AND SO-CALLED
NLD YOUTH MEMBERS INSIDE COUNTRY COLLUDE TO COMMIT SUBVERSIVE ACTS
___________________ INSIDE BURMA ______________________
AFP: HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP ACCUSES UN AGENCY OF COOPERATING IN MYANMAR
ETHNIC CLEANSING
2000-04-17
PARIS, April 17 (AFP) - A leading international human rights group
Monday accused the UN refugee agency of co-operating with Myanmar in
the expulsion of its Muslim minority.
In a report on the flight of 100,000 of the Rohingya people to
Bangladesh since 1996, the International Federation of Human Rights
Leagues (FIDH) said the UNHCR is "entrapped in an insane policy, in
complete contradiction to its mandate."
The UNHCR was called on in 1991 to organise the repatraition to
Myanmar's Arakan province of a quarter of a million Rohingyas who
fled to Bangladesh to escape a campaign of terror by the state
authorities.
Most of those refugees have now returned, the FIDH said, but now a
new and more subtle form of "ethnic cleansing" is in process, and
thousands of Rohingyas are once again moving across the border.
"Every piece of information the FIDH has collected tends to show that
the Burmese (Myanmar) government aims at emptying Arakan of its
population, though in an insidious and incremental way so as not to
attract the attention of the international community," the report
said.
By refusing to acknowledge this and by continuing to work with the
Myanmar authorities, "the UNHCR now bears a heavy part of the
responsibility in the current exodus of the Rohingyas," the report
said.
"Collaboration with the Burmese government seriously compromises the
image of the UNHCR. The Rohingyas do not really consider the agency
as an independent organisation ... but rather as a partner of the
government," the report said. According to FIDH, the Myanmar
authorities have long harboured the aim of emptying Arakan of its
Muslim Rohingya population, and are pursuing policies of
discrimination and under-development to force them out.
"The Burmese authorities, with the collaboration of the UNHCR, have
prevented massive departures," the report said.
"The UNHCR still refuses to acknowledge the scope of the movement ...
and claims the Rohingyas are 'economic migrants.' The FIDH believes
on the contrary that there is a deliberate policy of discrimination
and repression against the Rohingya population," it said.
_______________________________________________________
OUTLOOK (India): ON THE CARRION ROUTE
Misery chases refugee Rohingiya and Bangladeshi women ? '¶ from home
to
Karachi's brothels
By ASHIS K. BISWAS in Calcutta
>From OUTLOOK magazine
April 24, 2000
FOR large numbers of Bangladeshi and Rohingiya women, it's a journey
to hell. A journey that begins from 'home' ? '¶ the borders of lower
Myanmar and Bangladesh ? '¶ and culminates in the festering ghettos
of
Karachi and other Pakistani cities. In officialese this is
subcontinental illegal human trafficking, although calling it plain
slave trade would be a better description. Once in Pakistan, the
price of a female illegal migrant ranges from $1,285 to $2,428,
depending on her 'physical attributes and conditioning'. Harassed,
tortured, exploited and abused every step of the longest refugee
trail in Asia, only the lucky ones die young.
At least the women from Bangladesh enjoy a slight 'advantage' in that
they possess a national identity. It is the Rohingiya women who are
truly rootless ? '¶ rejected by their native Myanmar, illegal
migrants in
Bangladesh, India or Pakistan, their stateless status renders them
fair game for every pimp, tout, police informer and border guard
across the subcontinent, not to mention the agents who run this flesh
trade.
The Rohingiyas of the Arakan province of Myanmar are conservative
Muslims in religion whose customs and rituals resemble those of
Bangladeshis settled in the areas bordering Myanmar. Their first
recorded settlements in Burma go back several centuries. When the
British took over Burma in 1784, there was no ethnic tension. But
relations between the primarily Buddhist ruling Burmese elite and the
Rohingiyas were always strained. The change of guard in Burma in 1962,
when the army took over, rendered these people more vulnerable, in
that not even the figleaf of a democratic safeguard or human rights
considerations now remained.
Ironically, in Arakan, both the ruling SLORC military junta and their
opponents, protagonists of greater Arakanese autonomy, are hostile
towards the Rohingiyas. It is alleged that Islamic fundamentalists,
aided by the Saudi Arabian NGO-cum-religious organisation Rabita, use
them for local conversions. In 1962 and 1978, after they were attacked
by the Burmese troops and frequently by the Rakhines (Buddhist
Arakanese) as well, there were mass Rohingiya migrations to
Bangladesh.
In 1982, an amendment in citizenship laws robbed them of even minimum
rights and by 1992, ethnic cleansing operations had forced around
250,000 Rohingiyas to escape to Bangladesh ? '¶ where they mostly
settled
in shantytowns in Cox's Bazaar, Chittagong.
Sajda, a 19-year-old Rohingiya girl, in an interview to the social
welfare-oriented Image Asia group last March, related her experience
of life in Myanmar: "Rape is very common. Women are too scared to
leave their homes. The military kidnapped girls and took them to
their camps.
They were released only after being gangraped. Women aren't safe even
in their houses." Says Rahima, a widow with two sons in
Pakistan, "The army took my husband as a porter and gave him no food
for two weeks.
Starvation and the beatings he was subjected to killed him. Other
porters brought his body. I cleaned houses for a living. The
government took away everything, our land, house, to give to the
Rakhines, saying, 'you are not our people, go away'."
Estimates about the size of Rohingiya influx into the neighbouring
countries vary, but agencies like UBINIG (a Bangladesh NGO) and the
UNHCR agree that out of nearly 200,000 illegal 'Bangladeshi' women
believed to be now living in Karachi alone, at least 20,000 are
Rohingiyas. Most deny their origin, perhaps to escape the stigma of
being homeless, and claim to be Bangladeshis. But that doesn't alter
their living conditions and most are forced to work as rag-pickers,
casual labourers and sex workers.
OFFICIAL indifference to such illegal human trafficking, from Myanmar
to Pakistan, hasn't just sealed the fate of these unfortunate women
but has directly helped those who benefit from it ? '¶ supplying
agents
and touts, border guards, policemen and greasy-fingered officials.
Myanmar authorities refuse to accept Rohingiyas as bona fide
citizens. In general, the behaviour of Bangladeshi authorities is
marginally better.
"They allow us to pass through their area, provided we do not stay
on," says one woman. However, others complained of pressure from
Bangladeshi authorities who apparently stopped food supplies and also
adopted other means to make sure they returned to Myanmar. On return
they were promptly evicted again.
The fact of the Rohingiyas being denied their land and their cycle of
enforced migration isn't something that leaves India unaffected. The
Rohingiyas are forced to enter India through the porous borders of
West Bengal, where the political leadership and the administration is
only too happy to admit refugee minorities from Bangladesh or Myanmar
after making sure that the right persons are bribed and that the
newcomers pledge their support to the right political party. The
passage through India to Pakistan may take anything from a week to a
month, depending on the luck of the migrants and the strength of
their agents' political connections. Mostly, Rohingiya and
Bangladeshi women enter through Bongaon and other checkpoints on the
Indo-Bangla border, reaching Calcutta, which is a major transit
point, en route to Pakistan.
Many, however, have settled in West Bengal itself, working as
domestic helps and living in shanties near railway stations.
The women have found some backing from the Left parties although such
support comes with strings attached. "At every step the women are
vulnerable to the local area bosses, panchayat leaders and the police,
who have to be bribed regularly and who think nothing of extracting
other favours from these women who cannot approach officials for fear
of detection and deportation," explains an NGO spokesman.
For the Bangladeshis, it is always possible to make periodic trips
back home to meet relatives or to send money. But the
Rohingiyas "cannot dream of such luxuries," says a UBINIG
spokesman. "Even when pushed back from Bangladesh, they cannot
return home simply because Myanmar doesn't accept them as citizens.
Either they are again pushed out or simply worked to death in labour
camps where they don't exist even as statistical details." The agony
does not end after migrating out and there have been instances of
Rohingiyas also being jailed both in India and Bangladesh.
For these women there's absolutely no deliverance at hand. Consigned
to a rootless fate, with barely any connections in the alien
societies they are forced to live in, their agents and touts wield
the power of life and death over them. Being violently erased from
their land isn't all, these people also face a destruction of their
basic cultural identity.
There're many instances of Rohingiya women forgetting their mother
tongue after years of stay in Pakistan. Young Bangladeshi girls may
dimly remember their parents, perhaps even vaguely recognise them, but
can't speak to them. They earn only a pittance and have to
unquestioningly shell out bribes for the sake of living a miserable
life in the filthiest surroundings, doing the most demeaning of jobs
without any medical help or education.
Ironically, for most of them, even hell is better than suffering in
their own country. It appears that in Pakistan or India, even in
conditions of utter degradation, one can still earn enough to keep
body and soul together. "Back home, there is no source of income, no
money and frequent starvation is a way of life. In Myanmar, living
standards in the border areas are worse than conditions even in
Bangladesh," says Hanifa, a Rohingiya woman from Myanmar, echoing
the sentiments Bangladeshis advance as an explanation for their
illegal migration to India or Pakistan. And for the 'host' contries,
these people are an unending source of cheap labour. They would never
dare challenge their exploitation. It's a brutal, vicious cycle of
dehumanisation. And there's no end in sight.
_______________________________________________________
DPA: 36 SUU KYI SUPPORTERS HELD IN MYANMAR
Deutsche Presse Agentur
YANGON. (dpa - 17. April 2000) Myanmar's military junta arrested 36
members of the country's main opposition party on the eve of the
country's traditional New Year festival, National League for Democracy
(NLD) leaders said Sunday.
The NLD, which is led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi,
issued a statement Sunday night denouncing the roundup of its members
on unknown charges on the night of April 12 as a violation of United
Nations International Human Rights Declaration.
Myanmar and other Buddhist nations such as Cambodia, Laos, Nepal and
Thailand began celebrations of their traditional New Year on April 13.
NLD executives said nine party members from Dagon, 12 from Kyimyindine
and 14 from Mingdalon townships and the party's township chairman from
South Okkalapa had been arrested by security personnel and dragged
from their houses in handcuffs at midnight on New Year's eve.
In the same statement the NLD welcomed the recent appointment of
Malaysian national Razali Ismail as the new UN special envoy on
Myanmar affairs, and expressed their hopes that the recent arrests
would become known to him.
_______________________________________________________
NATION: CHETHA VOWS TO MAKE BORDER NARCOTICS FREE
April 18, 2000
FORMER Army Chief Gen Chetha Thanajaro will team up with Burmese
authorities in a bid to make the kingdom's border "narcotics free" by
2005, he said.
Gen Chetha, who stopped advising the Interior Ministry after Maj Gen
Sanan Kachornprasat's resignation last month, acknowledge that he
still had some unfinished business to complete.
One mission he wanted to pursue was to combat narcotics production
along the border in cooperation with Burmese authorities.
Thai and Burmese senior officials had already initiated a border
project to eliminate amphetamine production, he said.
The aim was to convert land used for narcotics production into legal
agricultural plantations, according to the initiative of His Majesty
the King, Gen Chetha added.
"We should not blame anybody for widespread narcotics production
along the border. It does not matter what others are doing; we have
to eliminate these things (narcotics) in our country," he said.
"If dealers were unable to get drugs into the country, they would not
be able to survive. But we have not stopped them," he said, adding
that he was therefore determined to work with Burma to solve the
problem.
"We failed because we did not cooperate. The public did not join this
effort and officials were lax. Sometimes, they even committed
wrongdoing themselves," Gen Chetha said.
Although negotiations were under the auspices of the foreign
ministry, the military's effort should help, he added.
"Personal connections work in Asian society," he said.
The Nation (April 18, 2000)
_______________________________________________________
NCUB/PP21: JUNTA? '²S ACCUSATION OF VIOLENCE UNFOUNDED
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE UNION OF BURMA (NCUB)
PEOPLE POWER 21 (PP21)
Junta's accusation of violence unfounded
April 18, 2000
People Power 21 (PP-21) unequivocally denies that it sent explosives
into Burma, as alleged by the Burmese military junta. PP-21 is a non-
violent organisation committed to the restoration of democracy in
Burma. PP-21 is a committee of the National Council of the Union of
Burma (NCUB), an umbrella group working for human rights and civil
government.
PP-21 was set up in 1998 to support Daw Aung San Suu Kyi? '²'²s call
for
the convening of Burma? '²'²s democratically elected parliament. The
group has since worked to empower the people of Burma using the
principles of non-violence. PP-21 supports the leadership of Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi and the objectives of her party, the National League for
Democracy.
At no time did PP-21 send people inside Burma with explosives. This
is not the first time the Burmese junta has made unfounded
accusations concerning pro-democracy groups and the use of violence.
Similar groundless allegations were made in 1998.
PP-21 believes that the recent allegations were made to damage the
organisation? '²'²s reputation in the international community, and
to
divert attention from soaring prices inside Burma. Since civil
servants? '²'² salaries were increased by up to 6 times, prices on
basic
commodities have sky-rocketed.
For more information, please contact:
PP-21 Working Committee
National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB)
_______________________________________________________
ASIAN AGE (India) NSCN(K) TALKS OFFER PUTS ULFA UNDER PRESSURE
By Manoj Anand
>From the Asian Age (New Delhi)
April 18, 2000
Guwahati, April 17: The unilateral ceasefire declared by the National
Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang faction) may change the
militancy scenario in the Northeast.
The NSCN(K) ceasefire has upset coordination among the militant
outfits in the region that had resolved to fight under a joint
banner, the Indo-Burma Revolutionary Front. The front had also passed
a resolution recently that any decision on peace talks will be taken
jointly by the six members of the organisations.
Disclosing this here on Monday, highly-placed police sources told The
Asian Age that a top political leader from Assam played a crucial
role in persuading Naga leaders for the ceasefire.
Sources indicated that the NSCN(K) initiative has sent an indication
to the banned United Liberation Front of Asom and the National
Democratic Front of Bodoland in Assam that they may have to do some
rethinking on their stand.
With another underground outfit showing its readiness to talk, the
Centre is watching its implications on the ongoing peace process in
Nagaland as the Issac-Muivah faction has expressed its reservations
on joining the peace process, sources said, adding that an exercise
to find out some way out of this embarrassing situation has already
started.
The NSCN(K) has a strong base in neighboring Burma where it runs
training camps for different Northeast militant outfits. The move to
join peace talks may also be a setback for the militant outfits in
Assam as most of them rely on the Khaplang faction for arms,
ammunition and
training.
The change in attitude of militant outfits in the region is being
attributed to the mounting pressure of the masses that in general are
fed up with the violence. This has not only affected development but
has also spoiled the future of a generation of youth in the Northeast.
Recently, the Bodo Liberation Tiger entered into dialogue with the
Centre for finding a peaceful solution to the Bodo problem.
AP: SEVEN KILLED IN MYANMAR TRAIN WRECK
2000-04-18
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) Seven people were killed and at least 24
injured when four coaches of a passenger train derailed near Thaton
in Mon State, 130 kilometers (81 miles) southeast of Yangon, state-
run newspapers reported Tuesday.
Two children and three women were among the dead in the Sunday
afternoon accident, reported the Burmese-language daily The Mirror.
The train was en route to Yangon from Mottama, opposite the Mon
State capital Mawlamyine. Mottama and Mawlamyine are sometimes known
by their old names, Martaban and Moulmein.
Railways Minister Pan Aung and regional authorities went to the site
and provided necessary assistance to the injured, the report added.
The brief report did not give the cause of the accident or other
details.
Myanmar is also known as Burma.
_______________________________________________________
XINHUA: MYANMAR'S TIMBER EXPORT UP IN 1999
Sunday, April 16, 2000 9:50 PM EST
YANGON (April 17) XINHUA - Myanmar exported almost 350,000 cubic
meters of teak in 1999, earning 182 million U.S. dollars of foreign
exchange, according to the latest figures published by the country's
Central Statistical Organization.
The export volume and earnings respectively increased by 161 percent
and 92.38 percent compared with 1998.
Meanwhile, Myanmar also exported some 473,000 cubic meters of hardwood
in 1999, earning 34 million dollars, which represents an increase of
100.6 percent for volume and 17.24 percent for earnings compared with
1998.
Timber has become Myanmar's second largest export goods after
agricultural products. Foreign exchange gained through export of
timber accounts for about 20 percent of Myanmar's total export
earning.
Myanmar's forest covers 50 percent of the country's total area, a
7-percent reduction compared with 1962. The decline of forest coverage
was attributed mainly to the indiscriminate felling of trees.
___________________ INTERNATIONAL _____________________
REUTERS: KNU CHIEF SEEKS BRITISH PRESSURE FOR TALKS WITH MYANMAR
2000-04-18 Tue 06:02
By Sutin Wannabovorn
BANGKOK, April 18 (Reuters) - The head of a Myanmar ethnic
guerrilla group on Tuesday urged British Foreign Secretary Robin
Cook to pressure the Myanmar military government to open talks with
the country's opposition and rebel minorities.
The president of the Karen National Union (KNU), Ba Thin
Sein, welcomed Cook's planned visit to a refugee camp at Tham Hin in
western Thailand on Thursday, saying it showed the British minister
understood the plight of Myanmar refugees. Cook, due to arrive in
Thailand later on Tuesday, is scheduled to discuss bilateral issues
and the political
situation in Myanmar with Thai leaders during his three-day
visit.
Thousands of ethnic Karen refugees have taken shelter at the border
camp at Tham Hin after fleeing Myanmar in recent years.
``I welcome his visit to the refugee camp as he can see the
situation and decide what to do instead of receiving just
second-hand information,'' Ba Thin told Reuters in a telephone
interview from his jungle base on the Thai-Myanmar border.
GESTURES IGNORED
The KNU leader has on several occasions offered to hold
peace talks with the Myanmar military government, the State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC), but Yangon has ignored his
gestures.
``So I would like to request him (Cook) to urge the military
government to handle this political problem by political means in
accordance with U.N. resolutions. If possible, we would like to hold
a dialogue between the SPDC, pro-democracy groups and ethnic
minorities,'' Ba Thin said.
``I want him to put more pressure on the Myanmar military
government because the problem in Myanmar is a political one,'' he
said.
``Since he (Cook) is the most senior official from EU to
visit a Karen camp in recent years, I think he understands the
situation very well,'' he said. ``He might understand why we took up
arms to defend ourselves and why we seek a peaceful dialogue.''
The KNU, fighting for an autonomous Karen state since 1949,
has repeatedly proposed three-way talks between SPDC, and
Myanmar's main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party,
led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, and ethnic rebels.
The NLD won a landslide election victory in 1990 at the
country's last democratic polls but the military ignored the
result and has never allowed the party to govern.
More than 100,000 Myanmar nationals, mostly Karens, have
fled their homeland and sought refuge in Thailand since 1984. About
5,000 of the displaced people are living at the Tham Hin camp Cook
will visit.
_______________________________________________________
AP: MYANMAR ACCUSES DISSIDENT GROUP OF PLANNING TO SET OFF BOMBS
2000-04-18
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) A Myanmar exile dissident group accused by
the country's military government of sending terrorists to set off
bombs in Yangon denied the allegations on Tuesday, insisting it was a
nonviolent organization.
Myanmar's state-run press reported Monday the arrests this month of
three people allegedly sent by the Thailand-based group People Power-
21 -PP-21 -to incite unrest with bombings and other activities.
The accounts said the men confessed to being sent to undermine public
confidence in the government and to conduct terrorist acts during the
traditional water festival holiday, which ended Sunday. No violent
incidents are known to have occurred.
Two of the men had explosives in their possession when they were
arrested on April 11 not far from the border with Thailand, the
reports said.
One of those arrested allegedly confessed to planting a bomb
earlier this year in the capital, which was reportedly discovered by
security forces before it could explode. Such an incident had not
been previously reported.
A statement received Tuesday from People Power 21 said it is ``a
nonviolent organization committed to the restoration of democracy in
Burma.''
Myanmar is also known as Burma, the country's name before it was
changed by the military government.
``At no time did PP-21 send people inside Burma with
explosives,'' said the statement. ``This is not the first time the
Burmese junta has made unfounded accusations concerning pro-democracy
groups and the use of violence.''
The PP-21 statement accused the government of publicizing its
allegations to damage its reputation and to distract attention from
the rising cost of living in Myanmar.
The Myanmar newspaper accounts said the arrested men confessed to
being trained by PP-21 to set off explosions, infiltrate social and
religious associations to incite unrest, establish contacts with
youth members of the National League for Democracy, gather
information and incite riots.
The league is the country's main legal opposition party, and
suffers heavy repression. It won a landslide majority in a 1990
general election but the military never allowed parliament to
convene.
The statement from PP-21 said the group was established in 1998 to
support the call of the league's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, for the
convening of parliament.
``The group has since worked to empower the people of Burma
using the principles of nonviolence,'' it said, adding that it
supports the objectives of her National League for Democracy and the
leadership of Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her
nonviolent promotion of democracy.
_______________________________________________________
AFP: BRITISH FM TO TACKLE MYANMAR ISSUES IN THAI VISIT
2000-04-18
BANGKOK, April 18 (AFP) - British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook
arrives in Thailand Tuesday on a visit sure to highlight London's
hawkish attitude towards the military government in neighbouring
Myanmar.
Cook, who is expected to land in Bangkok late Tuesday evening after
visiting India, will meet Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai and
Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan on Wednesday.
British officials here said a vigorous discussion is likely on
Myanmar, which Britain ruled as colonial Burma until 1948.
"We can expect a good exchange of views on Burma, a comparison of
interests (highlighting) the fact that Burma is a phenomenal burden
on Thailand," said a British embassy spokesman.
Myanmar's status as one of the world's top producers of illegal drugs
is a constant irritant to Thailand, and one of many problems best
tackled by a transition to democracy in Yangon, the spokesman said.
Cook will refer to both Thailand's "burden" and the plight of pro-
democracy activists and refugees when he visits a transit camp in
western Thailand on Thursday.
Thailand is home to more than 100,000 refugees from Myanmar wo have
fled either persecution by the military government or fighting
between junta troops and insurgent groups.
Britain is one of the military regime's strongest critics and has
been a staunch supporter of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi ,whose
British husband died last year.
Britain and -- to Yangon's fury -- Thailand, a fellow member of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, sent representatives to an
international conference on promoting political reform in Myanmar
held in Shout Korea last month.
Sources and reports have indicated the talks in a Seoul hotel were
aimed at kickstarting a long-frozen dialogue between Yangon's
military rulers and the democratic opposition of Nobel peace laureate
Aung San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar frequently accuses the London government of interfering in
its affairs and brands accusations that it is guilty of gross human
rights abuses as post-colonial meddling.
Myanmar's poisoned political climate is a constant headache for the
government of democratic Thailand and conflict often spills over its
borders. In January, 10 ethnic Karen rebels were shot dead after
seizing a hospital and hundreds of hostages in western Ratchaburi
province.
The incident followed an earlier siege last year by rebels at the
Myanmar embassy in Bangkok which ended peacefully.
Cook is also expected to praise Thailand's efforts to overhaul its
economy following the financial crisis which erupted in 1997.
And pushing the role of British companies in the recovery, he will
tour a new branch of the British supermarket chain Tesco's.
Cook is due to leave Thailand for Nepal on the last leg of his Asian
tour on Thursday.
____________OPINION/EDITORIALS_____________
WASHINGTON POST: BURMA, OIL TANKERS AND STATES
Monday, April 17, 2000; Page A20
THE TYPICAL balance-of-federal-power question in the Supreme Court is
whether a federal law encroaches on state prerogatives. This term,
however, the court has heard two cases involving the opposite
question.
The state of Washington sought to impose stringent regulation on oil
tankers, while Massachusetts moved to deny state contracts to
companies doing business in Burma. The issue is whether the laws
invade what the Constitution says should be federal responsibilities.
Our sense is that they fall on different sides of a very difficult
line.
In the oil tanker case, the court ruled unanimously last month that
Washington state had gone too far. Congress had adopted a
comprehensive national approach to the regulation of oil tankers.
Washington's attempt to set its own rules after the Exxon Valdez oil
spill was preempted by the clear statement of federal policy, the
justices held. That seems right to us.
The Burma law, whose constitutionality was argued last month, is a
secondary boycott that could turn out to violate U.S. international
trade commitments. But it's not clearly in conflict with any federal
policy. Congress has not clearly preempted the subject matter. It had
the chance when it passed a sanctions law against Burma after the
Massachusetts law was already in effect, but did not clearly supersede
the state law. The Massachusetts law is a statement about human rights
that neither usurps any specific federal foreign policy responsibility
nor directly regulates foreign commerce--either of which would be
unconstitutional. It is, rather, a set of rules governing the state's
own procurement policies, a sovereign function that should be left
alone except when federal law is quite clear.
Congress has the authority to preempt the Massachusetts law, but the
mere existence of such authority doesn't invalidate the statute. The
political branches should have to assert their power. For the courts
to say otherwise would be to take on for themselves a foreign policy
role that the Constitution doesn't contemplate.
_______________________________________________________
ASIAWEEK: ? '±SPEED? '² IN THAILAND
APRIL 21, 2000 VOL. 26 NO. 15
Editorial: 'Speed' In Thailand
Yangon must get serious about stopping the flow of amphetamines
Waging war against drugs is like squeezing a balloon. Just as one
lump disappears, another bulges up. Just when Thailand was ready to
declare victory against heroin, another scourge arose. In the past
three years millions of amphetamines -- yaba or "crazy drug" to
Thais -- have flooded into the country from factories just across the
border in Myanmar. "Speed" is rapidly wreaking havoc among the
country's youth. By some accounts, as many as 1 million Thais use the
drug.
Most of this new-old narcotic -- Germany first synthesized it in
World War II -- is produced in Myanmar's section of the infamous
Golden Triangle, then smuggled through the long, forested border. The
principal producer is believed to be the United Wa State Army, which
made peace with Yangon to cement control of most of this corner of
Myanmar. Whole towns have sprung up along the border within sight of
Thailand's army and authorities. They say that these are the towns
that yaba built.
The flood of speed has the Thais upset, for good reason. For decades,
the country was mostly a transshipment zone for heroin to Europe and
America. But the amphetamine traffic stays in Thailand, hooking low-
and middle-income youth. The problem is becoming acute in Bangkok,
where youngsters and other customers are openly offered tablets even
on the city's spanking new mass-transit Skytrain. Prime Minister
Chuan Leekpai recently ordered the army to help contain the drug
flow, which is now its main official mission, rather than fighting
communists.
The Thais are also fuming at Myanmar. Over the years, Bangkok has
been in the forefront of international efforts to engage what most of
the rest of the world considers a pariah state. It ended its support
of rebel ethnic groups across the border, and it supported Myanmar's
membership in ASEAN in 1997. But Thailand's patience is wearing thin.
A recent meeting of its top generals and the National Security
Council was full of criticism about what they called Yangon's lack of
sincerity and uncooperative attitude towards drug interdiction and
other border issues, such as repatriating refugees.
While lauded for mounting anti-drug efforts with little foreign aid,
Myanmar needs to do more. Despite big public displays showing the
burning of poppy crops, the junta isn't likely to get good press
without equally resolute efforts on other narcotics. That means
putting pressure on the Wa. When Lt.-Gen. Khin Nyunt, Secretary-1 of
the ruling State Peace and Development Council, visited the main Wa
base at Mong Yawn, he should have done more than skirting the issue.
Instead of demanding an end to the drug trade, the general said
nothing and just smiled at his hosts. That was a slap in the Thais'
face.
Myanmar is on bad enough terms with most of the world -- even the
Chinese are getting irritated about speed and opium -- without
alienating its closest neighbor needlessly. Its leaders must send a
message to the Wa that they should find other ways of making money
than ruining lives with drugs. On the other hand, the outside world
might also wonder whether Yangon has any incentive to do much about
drugs when it will continue to be isolated anddeprived of needed
funds and business despite taking action. It's a tough, complex
issue. Clearly the problem of narcotics is just one aspect of the
world's strained relationship with the junta.
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_______________________________________________________
NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR: DESTRUCTIONISTS OUT FOR DEMOLITION TO PANIC
PUBLIC DURING MAHA THINGYAN WATER FESTIVAL EXPOSED RUNAWAY GROUP
CALLED PP-21 SENT DEMOLITIONISTS TO DISTURB MAHA THAINGYAN WATER
FESTIVAL SO CALLED NLD YOUTH MEMBERS OUTSIDE, RUNAWAYS AND SO-CALLED
NLD YOUTH MEMBERS INSIDE COUNTRY COLLUDE TO COMMIT SUBVERSIVE ACTS
YANGON, 16 April - Members of Defence Services Intelligence Unit
exposed and arrested demolitionists and terrorists in the border
areas of Thailand and Myanmar during the period from 1 to 11 April,
who were sent by a group called People? '²s Power 21st Century
(PP-21)
from Thailand formed with various terrorist gangs including a group
of NLD runaway youths to panic the public during Maha Thingyan
Water Festival and to perpetrate subversive activities
at busy places in Yangon.
People? '²s Power 21st Century was formed with NLD runaways led by
runaway Sein Win, insurgents of ABSDF led by Moe Thee Zun and
terrorists led by member of KNU Centra1 Committee KNU insurgent Mahn
Nyein Maung in Chiangmai in 1998. The main aim of that group is to
instigate riots in Myanmar in 1999 and to perpetrate destructive
activities which may lead to civil unrest. An NGO from Norway named
Political Defiance Burma (PD Burma) provides financial
assistance for PP-21. It is reported that though activities done in
1999 in accord with the aim of that group became abortive, the PP-21
office has continued to be opened in Chiangmai and Mae Sot in
Thailand and to commit sabotage.
At the PP-21 office opened in a compound near Asia Highway to the
north of Mae Sot in Thailand, runaway NLD youths, insurgents of ABSDF
and KNU insurgents headed by Moe Thee Zun and Mahn Nyein Maung the
staying together in hiding, communicating with NLD and planning to
perpetrate destructive activities. Moe Thee Zun arranged to go to the
United States of America to seek foreign assistance with the aim of
intensifying the activities of that group. As he held a fake
passport, Thai immigration arrested him at Don Muang
Airport. However, PP-2I continued to carry out the scheme of
committing depredation by explosives in Myanmar with every intention
of making the plan of Moe Thee Zun go smooth, panicking the public
during Maha Thingyan Water Festival and besmirching the image of the
Government. The demolitionists to be sent to Myanmar were given
thorough training and meticulous instructions at an
apartment near a football ground in Mae Sot rented by PP-21.
Defence Services Intelligence Unit, getting wind of the scheme of
committing depredation by explosives in Yangon during Maha Thingyan
Water Festival, managed to expose that scheme in cooperation with
regional security organizations and arrest Soe Thi Ha (a) Thura Kyaw
Zin near Myawady, who would take charge of committing destructive
acts in Yangon. Soe Thi Ha once lived at No 494, Yadanabon Street,
Dagon Myothit (South), and worked as a tuition teacher under the name
of Tin Tun Naung. He left for Thailand in December 1998 to work
there, got contact with the group of runaways and
became a member of PP-21. He attended a political defiance course and
a demolition course conducted by PP-21, and came back to Yangon.
Then, he established contact with groups of NLD youths and gathered
information. In December 1999, Ye Kyaw Swa, Naing Naing and Min Min
(a) Kyaw Kyaw led by Soe Thi Ha entered Yangon in the beginning of
Year 2000 according to the duty assigned by PP-2 I to commit
depredation by explosives. They planted
a time bomb near Maha Bandoola Park in front of the City Hall where
festivities were bustling with people on Independence Day, 4 January.
But, the security members found the time bomb and defused it. Soe Thi
Ha and his group ran away to Mae Sot. While entering Myawady through
Mae Sot to commit depredation by explosives in Yangon for the second
time, he was arrested on I April.
According to Soe Thi Ha, it was known that demolitionists, together
with explosives, would come into Myanmar. As investigations continued
to be conducted, Aung Hlaing Win (a) Aung Thi Ha (a) Tar Tee was
arrested in Myawady, Naing Lin Aung (a) Tun Tun (a) Saw Tun Oo,
together with about two pounds of explosive powder and two electric
detonators, in Kyondoe on 11 April. It is reported that they were
sent by PP-21 to Yangon to perpetrate destructive activities -during
Thingyan Water Festival, and that if circumstances did not permit,
they had to explode a mine at a busy place in Yangon in
synchronization with the anniversary of NLD to be held in
May. As altogether three persons entered here individually, one Kyaw
Thein (a) Maung Kyaw escaped. It is reported that previously they
entered Mandalay and Mawlamyine, established contact with NLD youths
and gathered information.
According to the demolitionists who have been arrested, it is known
that PP-21 has not only masterminded destructive activities but also
made arrangements to instigate riots at various regions at the same
time by sending its members to join social and religious associations
under cover, to distribute leaflets, to conduct instigative
activities, to establish contact with groups of NLD youths, to gather
information, to enter the circles of university and college students
and to incite them to riots. For the sake of public security and
stability and peace and tranquillity of the State,
authorities concerned have continued to expose those suspected of
committing sabotage as well as so called NLD youths communicating
with and providing assistance for terrorists and demolitionists, and
severe action will be taken against the demolitionists who have been
arrested.
________________
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