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Subject: [theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: May 15, 2000
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
May 15, 2000
Issue # 1530
This edition of The BurmaNet News is viewable online at:
http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com/stories/storyReader$394
NOTED IN PASSING:
"It is no secret to anyone, let alone the police chiefs in Rangoon
last week, that Burma shelters drug dealers."
The Bangkok Post, (See BANGKOK POST: POLICE AND THE CHIEFS' PROBLEMS)
*Inside Burma
FEER: BURMESE TROOPS "LIVE OFF THE LAND"
FEER: JAPAN INC. BEARISH ON BURMA
NLM: MINISTER MEETS COMMUNICATION OFFICIALS
AP: BURMA ORDERS HALT TO UNAUTHORISED E-MAIL SERVICE
THE JAPAN TIMES: MYANMAR'S KARENS FIGHT FOR FREEDOM
*International
BANGKOK POST: BURMA SLAMS THAIS OVER ROCKET ATTACK
NATION: TOP JUNTA OFFICIAL TO BE INVITED FOR SEMINAR
BANGKOK POST: ARMY GIVES VILLAGERS IN REMOTE VOLATILE AREAS MILITARY
TRAINING LACK OF CITIZENSHIP CAUSE FOR CONCERN
MALAYSIAKINI (MALAYASIA): WAN AZIZAH MEETS GUS DUR
AAP: ACTU CONDEMNS BUDGET FUNDING FOR BURMA
BURMA COURIER: BURMA DRUG TRADE ATTRACTS EXPERTS TO CANADA
*Opinion/Editorials
NCUB: FIRST PUBLIC DEBATE BETWEEN TOTAL AND A REPRESENTATIVE OF
BURMESE DEMOCRATS
FTUB: ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE ILO MISSION OVER FORCED LABOUR BY THE
JUNTA
BURMA COURIER: WHEN UP IS DOWN AND DOWN IS UP
*Other
BERG: "CONFLICT AND DISPLACEMENT IN KARENNI: THE NEED FOR CONSIDERED
RESPONSES" AVAILABLE ON THE WEB
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
FEER: BURMESE TROOPS "LIVE OFF THE LAND"
Far Eastern Economic Review, May 18, 2000
Burmese troops across the border from northern Thailand have
been ordered by Rangoon to "live off the land," a command implying
permission to become involved in the drugs trade, according to a
senior Thai army source. Burmese soldiers are posted along the border
ostensibly to handle rebellion by ethnic minorities and crack down on
smuggling with Thailand. The Thai military source says the troops'
sole source of income is facilitating the flow of methamphetamines
and heroin across the border. Thai anti-narcotics officials estimate
that a total of 600 million methamphetamines will be channelled from
factories in Burma across the border this year. Police intercepted 45
million tablets in 1999. Burmese authorities have told their Thai
counterparts they cannot control minority communities such as the
Wa, who are known to be deeply involved in the drugs
trade.
____________________________________________________
FEER: JAPAN INC. BEARISH ON BURMA
Far Eastern Economic Review, May 18, 2000
In a bid to strengthen Japan's economic ties with Burma, Trade
Minister Takashi Fukuya unveiled a package of aid measures during an
early-May visit, the first trip to Burma by a sitting cabinet
minister in 17 years. The initiatives include economic assistance to
support the development of small and medium-sized businesses, promote
greater access to electricity in rural areas and set up information-
technology training programmes. Japanese officials also say Fukuya
prodded Lt.-Gen. Khin Nyunt, first secretary of Burma's State Peace
and Development Council, to improve the investment environment for
foreign firms. But it may be too late for many Japanese companies.
Ajinomoto and Toyota Motor, for example, appear to be losing patience
with the Burmese government. Food-products maker Ajinomoto has halted
production at a local factory after it was denied permission to
import a key ingredient. Toyota Motor has "temporarily" withdrawn its
Japanese representative while it awaits approval to ship cars to
Burma. Meanwhile, All Nippon Airways cancelled its direct flight
service to Rangoon in March, citing low demand.
NLM: MINISTER MEETS COMMUNICATION OFFICIALS
YANGON, 12 May-Minister for Communications, Posts and Telegraphs
BrigGen Win Tin this morning met with officials who will attend the
ministry s work coordination meeting at Mayangon Extemal
Communication Centre.
The minister urged them to prevent illegal engagement of outsiders in
communication services. The chief engineer of Overseas Communication
Division explained international satellite communication system of
Myanmar, illegal engagement of outsiders in international telephone
and E-mail communication systems and equipment and means used by them
and arrangements being made to fulfil internal commu nication
requirements of banks and oil and mineral exploration companies. The
chief engineer of Yangon Auto-Exchange explained installation of S-12
digital auto-phone system in Insein and its capacity. The minister
and party then inspected laying of foundation to build a tower for
GSM cellular telephone system.
____________________________________________________
AP: BURMA ORDERS HALT TO UNAUTHORISED E-MAIL SERVICE
May 14, 2000
Associated Press
RANGOON - The telecommunications minister of Burma, where the
government bars public access to the Internet, has ordered a halt
to unauthorised e-mail and telephone services, state-run newspapers
reported yesterday.
Brigfadier-General Win Tin, minister of communication, post and
telegraphs, told a coordinatiojn meeting of telecom officials in
Rangoon on Friday that outsiders using sophisticated equipment were
illegally engaged in international telephone and e-mail services.
He told officials to prevent such services, warning they could
reduce the revenues of the ministry, the New Light of Myanmar
newspaper reported.
The government keeps a tight grip on all communications and media.
Under existing regulations, only Myanmar Post and
Telecommunications, a state agency, is allowed to provide post,
telecommunications and e-mail services.
The MPT has an Internet server, but the government still does not
allow public access to the Internet. It provides e-mail to a
limited number of subscribers.
Last year five firms running e-mail services, including two managed
by foreigners, were ordered to stop operations. Executives and
technicians were questioned and equipment confiscated.
According to the 1996 Computer Science Development Law,
unauthorised ownership of a fax modem or setting up a computer
network without the telecom ministry's prior approval incurs seven
to 15 years' imprisonment and a fine.
____________________________________________________
THE JAPAN TIMES: MYANMAR'S KARENS FIGHT FOR FREEDOM
May 14, 2000
By RICK MERCIER
Special to The Japan Times
MAE SOT, Thailand -- Theirs is the longest-running insurgency in
Asia, against a regime widely recognized as one of the world's most
repressive. And yet the Karen National Union, which launched a
guerrilla war in 1949 to secure a homeland for the Karen ethnic
minority in eastern Myanmar, is anything but a household name.
The KNU, which seeks an autonomous Karen state within a new
Myanmarese federation, needs the world's help to resolve its conflict
with the military junta in Yangon, said Mahn Sha Lah Phan, general
secretary of the KNU, in an interview in the Thai border town of Mae
Sot.
Mahn Sha said intense international pressure could force Myanmar's
ruling military junta to enter into meaningful dialogue with the
KNU. "If there is concerted pressure from the international community
as well as domestic pressure, there is the probability that they [the
junta] would accept dialogue," he said.
The KNU general secretary emphasized the need for tough trade
sanctions against Myanmar, as well as a strict arms embargo.
Mahn Sha called on international nongovernmental organizations to
denounce countries such as Japan that provide economic assistance to
Yangon, and said that Western oil companies that have invested in a
natural-gas pipeline running through eastern Myanmar "have been
hurting the Karen population to a very serious extent."
NGOs should "single out countries like Japan and denounce them," Mahn
Sha said.
Japan has broken ranks with Western nations and formulated a policy
of "constructive engagement" with Yangon. Tay Tay, secretary of the
Karen Refugee Committee, said "constructive engagement will mean
giving money, and that money will go to the military."
Mahn Sha said oil firms that have invested in a $200 million natural-
gas pipeline were partly responsible for human-rights abuses against
Karens. The pipeline to supply natural gas to Thailand runs through
Karen homelands.
During the construction of the pipeline in the early 1990s, Mahn Sha
said, numerous Karen villages were forcibly relocated, and Karen
villagers were conscripted as construction workers for the project.
He said the three major foreign investors in the pipeline -- the
United States' Unocal, France's TotalFinaElf and Britain's Premier --
were complicit in human-rights violations that included forced labor,
executions, rape and arbitrary arrests.
The British government last month urged Premier to withdraw from
Myanmar because of the military junta's human-rights record. Premier
has said that it has no intentions of pulling out of the $200 million
gas project.
In the U.S., 15 plaintiffs representing thousands of Karen refugees
have filed lawsuits against Unocal, charging that the California-
based oil firm was complicit in human-rights abuses by the Myanmarese
military. Unocal denies the plaintiffs' allegations.
A U.S. federal judge in Los Angeles will hear arguments on May 22 to
decide whether the suits -- which are the first to ever name a U.S.
corporation as a human rights violator -- can go to trial.
By some estimates, more than 30,000 Karen civilians have died as a
result of Myanmarese military actions in the past decade. Meanwhile,
hundreds of thousands of Myanmar's Karens -- who number about 7
million -- remain displaced by fighting. According to the KRC, more
than 90,000 Karens have taken refuge in Thailand. It is believed that
another 300,000 Karens are internally displaced.
Mahn Sha said the Myanmarese were practicing "ethnic cleansing"
against the Karens, and compared the situation in Myanmar to Bosnia.
The KRC's Tay Tay drew similar analogies, saying: "When we told our
people about Bosnia and Kosovo, they said, 'Oh, we have gone through
that.' "
British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook condemned Yangon's treatment of
Karens last month during a visit to a refugee camp in Thailand. "I
have heard enough and I have seen enough to know that the people that
are here only came here because they were fleeing from brutality,
from military action," he said.
The Myanmarese government has reached ceasefire agreements with all
of the country's other ethnic insurgencies in recent years, but the
KNU finds fault with the deals Yangon has made with the rebel groups.
"The Shan, the Mon, the Karenni -- a number have reached ceasefire
agreements, but they are still no nearer to any negotiated settlement
of problems" facing Myanmar's ethnic groups, Mahn Sha said.
The KNU started dialogue with the ruling State Peace and Development
Council earlier this year, but fresh fighting between the insurgents
and government troops last month sent thousands of Karen civilians
fleeing into Thailand and led the KNU to break off talks.
The Karen insurgents envisage establishing a Karen state with its own
legislature and governor, along with its own system of taxation. The
rebels also demand control over natural resources in Karen territory.
The KNU's forces have decreased markedly since 1995, when its
headquarters in Manerplaw was overrun by Myanmarese forces. Mahn Sha
said that rebel troops now number about 10,000 and that they still
control key stretches of Myanmar along the Thai-Myanmarese border.
A small splinter Karen rebel group calling itself God's Army gained
notoriety in January for its alleged involvement in the takeover of a
hospital in the Thai town of Ratchaburi. The group is led by twin
boys whom the fighters believe possess supernatural powers.
Although the Karens have suffered greatly during the war, "resistance
is better than submission to total domination by the Myanmar
chauvinists, because they have a policy to destroy the Karen as a
people," Mahn Sha said.
The rebels' general secretary said the KNU would not accept Yangon's
demand that the insurgents renounce armed resistance as a
precondition for any peace agreement.
Mahn Sha said the junta leaders "are the ones who have to renounce
armed force. They have seized power relying on armed force and they
have ruled the country with arms."
Harshly repressive military governments dominated by members of the
majority Myanmarese ethnic group have held power in Myanmar since
1962, when a coup led by Gen. Ne Win ousted an elected civilian
government.
Since 1988, when the military brutally crushed huge prodemocracy
demonstrations, a military junta has ruled by decree. More than 1,300
political prisoners languish in Myanmarese jails, according to the
U.S. State Department.
(Rick Mercier is a freelance journalist who frequently writes on
human-rights issues.)
__________________ INTERNATIONAL ___________________
BANGKOK POST: BURMA SLAMS THAIS OVER ROCKET ATTACK
May 15, 2000
Supamart Kasem
Mae Sot, Tak
Burma has accused Thailand of allowing Karen rebels to launch a
rocket attack on a border village in Myawaddy which killed one
Burmese civilian and seriously injured another.
Lt-Col Tin Ngwe, chairman of Burma's local Thai-Burmese Border
Committee, yesterday demanded that Thailand explain why they
allowed Karen National Union fighters to launch the four RPG
rockets.
One Wa villager was killed and another injured in the attack which
took place at about 8.30pm on Saturday. Two agricultural warehouses
and workers' living quarters were destroyed during the 20-minute
attack.
Burma also demanded that Thai authorities take responsibility for
the damage caused. A source said two pick-up trucks carrying 20
heavily-armed Karen rebels drove near the border on Saturday night.
The rebels later divided into two groups with the first group
firing four RPG rockets at the two warehouses.
The other group crossed the border and fired rockets at the living
quarters. Firearms belonging to pro-Rangoon forces were thought to
have been stored at the warehouses.
____________________________________________________
NATION: TOP JUNTA OFFICIAL TO BE INVITED FOR SEMINAR
THE chairman of Mae Hong Son's Chamber of Commerce is to ask high-
level Burmese officials to attend a seminar on border trade to
strengthen trade ties between the countries.
The chamber will invite Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, the first secretary-
general of Burma's State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), to
attend the May 31 to June 4 seminar inaugurating the Mobile Border
Trade Clinic, as well as the governor of Burma's Tong Kee province,
Phoonsak Sunthornpanitchak said. Phoonsak said his chamber had
contacted Khin Nyunt's aides and was awaiting a response.
Meanwhile the SPDC is upset that Thailand detained six Burmese
soldiers on February 3 and has not yet released them as it
demanded, an intelligence source said.
The SPDC has criticised the Thai government's reluctance to end the
border dispute between the two countries. Broadcasts on SPDC short-
wave radio say the Burmese junta is ready to take action against
Thai authorities, the source said.
The junta has moved its 428th Battalion to the Huai Pong Lao base
of operations, just over the border from Mae Hong Son's Baan Nam
Phiang Din border checkpoint, the source said.
The battalion last year attacked Baan Nam Phiang Din Police Station
in the Muang district, he said, adding that if the six Burmese
soldiers were not released neither Khin Nyunt nor the Tong Kee
governor would accept Phoonsak's invitation.
May 15, 2000
____________________________________________________
BANGKOK POST: ARMY GIVES VILLAGERS IN REMOTE VOLATILE AREAS MILITARY
TRAINING LACK OF CITIZENSHIP CAUSE FOR CONCERN
May 14, 2000
Subin Khuenkaew and Khattirat Cherdsathirakul
A civilian army has begun to take shape along the Thai-Burmese
border, with more than 5,000 members trained to protect themselves
and act as the eyes and ears of the authorities. The so-called
territorial defence training scheme, supervised by the Third Army,
has so far been implemented in 120 border villages in Chiang Mai,
Chiang Rai, Tak, Mae Hong Son, Phayao, Nan, Uttaradit and Phitsanulok
provinces.
It is part of the government's policy to stabilise the area along the
Thai-Burmese border.
Lt-Gen Chamlong Phothong, the Third Army's deputy commander in charge
of the project, said the target was 592 villages in 35 districts in
the eight provinces by the year 2001.
These border villages are prone to attacks by foreign troops and
exploitation by drug traffickers, putting national security at stake.
Lt-Gen Chamlong said the Third Army is speeding up implementation of
the scheme and this year's training will focus on about 200 villages
in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Tak and Mae Hong Son.
The massacre of nine villagers in Ban Mae Soon Noi of Chiang Mai last
year and the spread of narcotics and other illegal activities have
exposed the neglect of concerned authorities.
The deputy commander conceded that because of such neglect certain
villages had become involved in illegal activities such as drug
smuggling and illegal logging.
"All this affects national security," he said.
Col Banyong Sirisunthorn, the project's deputy chief, said military
training has been provided to villagers in high-risk areas which
authorities and troops have difficulty reaching.
The villages are located near areas where there are movements of
foreign troops or drug traffickers.
Military training takes one full week in a classroom and in the field
where participants are educated about anti-drug laws and trained to
use various kinds of weapons and communications equipment.
While the participants learn about different types of firearms and
explosives, they are not trained to fight a war.
The main aim of the military training is to help them keep village
folk under control when an attack or intrusion takes place to
facilitate evacuation to safer areas.
While some of the trained villagers prepare for protection, the
others will notify the authorities for back-up.
A-yae Chaewaku, 30, assistant chief of Phaya Phrai village, leads a
group of 270 men aged 16-40 from three smaller villages in tambon
Therd Thai to receive training.
Phaya Phrai village, located about 2km from the border, comprises
mainly hilltribe people who migrated from Burma 30 years ago.
It used to be controlled by former drug warlord Khun Sa of the Mong
Tai army before the narcotics crackdown launched by the Prem
administration.
Without Khun Sa, the village is considered a high-risk area because
it is located close to 614th battalion under supervision of Wei Hsueh-
kang, a new drug baron.
Even though the village has been registered and recognised by the
local administration authority, 99% of the villagers are not Thai and
do not have identification cards.
A training soldier has voiced concern as to how the scheme can be
successfully implemented when these villagers have not yet been
granted Thai citizenship.
"It is hard for us to tell them to love the country under such
circumstances.
"They feel they are Thai and they should be legally recognised," he
said, adding that it is the army's duty to bring the matter before
the government.
His comments were echoed by one of the participants who said the
villagers wanted Thai citizenship.
"None of the people in my village have been granted Thai citizenship
although we were born here. Authorities keep telling us we are Thai
and we think we are Thai. But without an ID card life is difficult,"
he said.
Col Banyong voiced support that these villagers should be granted
Thai citizenship, and the process is under way.
"If any of them is hurt because of their involvement in the
territorial defence acts they should get the privilege," he said.
Col Banyong said the training scheme has so far faced no hurdles
except for some communications problems because the participants come
from different ethnic groups.
"But there is no serious problem because some villagers can speak
good Thai," he said.
Mr A-yae and other participants all welcome the military training
scheme, saying their villages were quite vulnerable and members
needed to be prepared.
Unknown foreign troops entered the village several times, said Mr A-
yae, who also admitted there was a small problem of drugs in the
village.
"The village has a policy against drugs and the drug addicts will be
banished or sent to authorities," he said.
Other participants said they have learned a lot from the training
scheme and many voiced confidence that the training would pay off.
____________________________________________________
MALAYSIAKINI (MALAYASIA): WAN AZIZAH MEETS GUS DUR
Weekend edition, may 13-14
4pm, SAT: KeADILan leader Wan Azizah Wan Ismail had a breakfast
meeting with with Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, popularly
known as Gus Dur, this morning in Jakarta.
"It was a personal visit," Wan Azizah told malaysiakini. She said
it was the first time that she had met with Gus Dur and they had a
frank exchange on a number issues including the conditions of former
deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.
"He asked about Anwar's solitary confinement," said Wan Azizah. She
added that Gus Dur has written to Anwar previously "to express his
sympathy".
At the meeting, Gus Dur advised Wan Azizah to "be strong" knowing
well that she was
catapulted into the political arena after her husband, Anwar, was
sacked and jailed two
years ago.
Also present at the one-hour breakfast meeting was Gus Dur's wife,
Sinta Nuriyah.
It is learnt that the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta had expressed its
displeasure to Gus Dur for meeting with Wan Azizah. A source told
malaysiakini that Gus Dur had pointedly ignored the objections.
"While I respect the fact that I can't visit Wan Azizah when I visit
Malaysia and Aung San Suu Kyi when I visit Burma, but I can meet
anyone I please in Indonesia," he was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, a dozen of Indonesian journalists and two TV stations
interviewed Wan
Azizah at a press conference this afternoon. Wan Azizah, who is
accompanied by KeADILan Wanita chief Fauziah Salleh, will also be
meeting with other Indonesian leaders, including Vice President
Megawati Sukarnoputri, during their four-day visit to Jakarta.
***
Editor's note--Malaysiakini is an independent Malaysian newspaper
published on the Internet.
See www.malaysiakini.com
____________________________________________________
AAP: ACTU CONDEMNS BUDGET FUNDING FOR BURMA
10:39 11-May-00
Australian Associated Press
MELBOURNE, May 11 AAP - The ACTU today condemned the federal
government for allocating budget funds to the Burmese military
government. "The regime has an appalling human rights record," ACTU
president Sharan (Sharan) Burrow said in a statement.
"The international community should be sending a strong message
about the need for change.
"So far the Burmese government has shown total disregard for the
human dignity, safety, health and basic needs of their people."
Treasurer Peter Costello allocated funds for training Burmese civil
servants in international human rights law and practices in his
Tuesday budget.
Ms Burrow said the Burmese regime had ignored the results of the
1990 national elections, was promoting forced labour, and continued
to defy any reasonable interpretation of the rule of law.
The ACTU's overseas aid agency, Union Aid Abroad, said Australian
funding for training and assistance in setting up a human rights
commission would only be appropriate when there were genuine moves
towards democracy in Burma.
____________________________________________________
BURMA COURIER: BURMA DRUG TRADE ATTRACTS EXPERTS TO CANADA
VANCOUVER, May 13, (BN -BC) -- A major consultation on the impact of
the Burmese drug trade in Canada, to be held at Simon Fraser
University on Monday, will attract a wide variety of experts from
across the country and around the world. The roundtable has been
summoned by the Centre for Foreign Policy Development, a think tank
of the Foreign Affairs Department of the Canadian government.
Among those expected to be in attendance are narcotics experts from
several North American and Asian cities, as well as Asian based
journalists Patrick Brown of the CBC and Bertil Lintner of the Far
East Economic Review. Friends of Burma from across the country will
also participate, as well as staff from Foreign Affairs in Ottawa and
the Canadian embassy in Bangkok.
The conference is an outcome of an initiative on drugs in the
southeast Asia region announced by Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy
when he was in Bangkok last July. At the time Axworthy was widely
quoted as saying that Canada was looking for ways to "engage with
Burma on the drug issue".
Besides addressing the drug situation in Canada, the participants are
slated to look at the impact of heroin production on the political
and economic situation in Burma, as well as its impact on regional
stability and security throughout southeast Asia. More next week.
____________________________________________________
CHANNEL NEWSASIA: ASEAN URGES LABOUR ORGANISATION TO RESOLVE ISSUES
WITH MYANMAR QUICKLY
Saturday, May 13 10:00 PM SGT
ASEAN Labour Ministers have urged the International Labour
Organisation to send a technical cooperation mission to Myanmar as
soon as possible.
They hope that will help resolve outstanding issues on forced labour
between Yangon and the ILO, before the organisation's annual Congress
in Geneva next month.
The Ministers made the call at the end of a two-day meeting in
Manila.
Myanmar has often been accused of using forced labour.
And since Myanmar is an ASEAN member, that controversy has held up
the implementation of two major ASEAN labour projects that were to
have been supported by the ILO.
These are the Human Resources Development Plannning and the Programme
on Industrial Relations.
ASEAN Ministers said the projects are important to help countries in
the region promote employment following the regional financial
crisis.
At their Manila meeting, the Ministers also discussed the issue of
child labour.
They agreed on the need to eliminate the problem through education
and technical assistance.
They reiterated their commitment to ensure socio-economic development
and stability to help promote sustainable growth in the region.
_________________OPINION/EDITORIALS_________________
BANGKOK POST: POLICE AND THE CHIEFS' PROBLEMS
May 15, 2000
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations seems bent on setting new
records for irony. At least, two recent meetings in Burma made it
appear that way. First came the meeting of Asean ministers to discuss
free trade. Burma was a curious choice of venues, considering the
country's arbitrary trade rules, lack of legal infrastructure and
poverty. Then, last week, the 10 Asean chiefs of police held an anti-
crime conference in Rangoon.
They convened near the homes of some of the world's major criminals.
If that was not enough, their meetings were held in the Traders
Hotel. This hotel is known in Rangoon street slang as the "opium
traders hotel." Most people in the Burmese capital believe it was
financed in part by the proceeds of Golden Triangle drug profits. The
truth is known by members of the Burmese junta. The question is
whether Asean should be associated.
To be charitable, the police chiefs were not responsible for
organising the meeting. Their political masters handled that job.
Rangoon got the honour on the simple basis of rotation-last year's
conference was in Hanoi. Still, it is difficult for many to reconcile
holding a conference on international law enforcement in one of the
most infamous centres of international crime.
It was the 20th time that Asean police chiefs had got together. The
actual worth of such meetings is difficult to judge. The chiefs,
commissioners, generals and their aides make valuable personal
contact. In theory, and sometimes in practice, personal relations can
speed or resolve tricky cross-border problems. Whether the police
officers actually learn anything new in the working sessions is a
matter they must decide themselves.
For the public, however, the only true value of such meetings must be
the results they achieve in combatting crime. It is difficult to see
where the Rangoon conference made any progress. Indeed, the sarcasm
and scepticism thrown on the meeting from some quarters could mark a
setback. If the public has no respect for such an anti-crime
endeavour, they will be slower to help authorities in their difficult
crackdowns on international criminals.
Col Tin Hlaing was the chief Burmese spokesman at the conference. He
said major international police problems included drug trafficking,
arms and human smuggling, computer crime, money laundering and
corruption. While all nations in the region are aware of these
problems, few are as intimately involved as Burma. Rangoon openly
backs drug traffickers and has encouraged money laundering. Its
solution to computer crime has been to imprison anyone with an
unlicensed computer.
The Burmese minister promised full cooperation against trans-national
crime, but called for patience. One can hope that the other police
chiefs in the audience grimaced at this. Thailand and neighbours have
shown the patience over the unacceptable behaviour of Burma. In fact,
Rangoon's time is running out. It is past time for Burma to take
action to back up the pretty words of Col Tin Hlaing and others.
It is no secret to anyone, let alone the police chiefs in Rangoon
last week, that Burma shelters drug dealers. The regime has gladly
accepted laundered money in the form of "foreign investment." It has
failed its own people in cracking down on human trafficking. Patience
is a virtue in shorter supply in Asean crime-fighting circles. What
Asean needs is some results from Burma.
The Asean police chiefs are back in their countries. Police
commissioner Pol Gen Pracha Promnok is contemplating once again how
to advance the fight against international crime. He must wonder if
he can depend on his Burmese counterpart-the head of all Asean police
chiefs for the next year-for any help. It is within Burma's power to
help Thailand combat drug smugglers from Burma, the worst threat to
our national security. Pol Gen Pracha and all of Thailand will be
waiting for the answer.
____________________________________________________
NCUB: FIRST PUBLIC DEBATE BETWEEN TOTAL AND A REPRESENTATIVE OF
BURMESE DEMOCRATS
Report of a meeting between U Aung Ko (representing NCUB in France)
and M Delaborde, of TotalFinaElf, held in Paris on May 10: First
public debate between Total and a Representative of Burmese democrats:
U Aung Ko, official representative of the NCUB in Paris, participated
on May
10 to a debate with M. Michel Delaborde, PR director of TotalFinaElf,
on the effects of the Yadana pipeline in Burma
The debate was organized by "ethique et investissement", a grouping
of shareholders concerned by the ethics of the firms they support by
their investment . Led by sister Nicole Reille, who initiated in
France the "ethics funds", the debate opened with a talk by Marie-
Helene Aubert, mp, who led the recent French parliamentary mission
investigating the role of French petroleum companies and whose
findings had been reported in "Oil and Ethics, a possible
conciliation?", published last autumn by the French National
Assembly.
Then a 30 minutes film by the French television channel "Canal+"
titled: "Total in Burma, the other scandal" was shown.
The Total representative maintained the usual stand of his company
against all evidences: "There has been no forced labour, no
population eviction, no ethnic cleansing, and no collaboration with
the Burmese army" in the pipe-line area from the beginning of Total
works in Tenasserim in 1994. U Aung Ko and journalists presented the
facts, the various lies propagated by Total, and quoted Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi :"they are many more victims from the Yadana pipe-line than
people who benefit from it".
____________________________________________________
FTUB: ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE ILO MISSION OVER FORCED LABOUR BY THE
JUNTA.
[Abridged]
Federation of Trade Unions - Burma
13 May 2000
Burma is a country that has ratified the ILO Convention (29): on
Forced Labour and yet the regime has violated the Convention. Despite
the year-by-year consistent resolutions on Burma at the ILC to
respect the workers' rights and the Convention on Forced Labor, the
successive regimes have disrespected and ignored them for nearly 40
years.
We have to clarify that Burma as a country and the people have no
outstanding issues with the ILO. It is the continued forced labor,
violations of trade union rights and basic human rights by the junta
that are being addressed by the ILO, a forum where the workers have
an equal chance with the governments and the employers. And, the
problem is the junta itself, which has refused to address it's
workers rights violations and denied to comply with the ILO
Convention (29) that is the problem.
The Commission of Inquiry on Forced Labor in Burma had asked for a
trip to Burma since 1988 and was denied permission. The junta also
refused to come to the hearings in Geneva. After denying the
Commission of Enquiry on Forced Labor to visit Burma for two years,
now that the country is on the brink of having a major action taken
against them at the ILC, the junta has made a step to evade the
possible actions and called out that the Commission of Inquiry can
come into Burma.
As mentioned above, the issue of workers rights violations and forced
labor are something that has occurred over the years in the remote
areas through the successive regimes. The Commission of Inquiry must
have the ability and the time to travel to those places and build up
moniter units in those areas to see whether the forced labor is used
or not.
If the records of the ILO are looked into, it can be seen that over
the years, the junta has always replied to the ILO on the very last
dates prior to the ILC.
It is very unwise for the Asean Labor Ministers to have allowed
themselves to be pulled into the deception of the Burma junta by
asking the ILO Commission of Inquiry on Forced Labor in Burma to have
a trip between now [the 12th of May] and before the ILC starts [the
28th of May] a period of 10 working days and expect the " issue
between ILO and Myanmar" to be solved.
The ASEAN labour ministers also must insist to the junta that
acceptance of the ILO mission is not the end to the solution but that
the junta needs to comply with the ILO convention on forced labour.
____________________________________________________
BURMA COURIER: WHEN UP IS DOWN AND DOWN IS UP
[Edited]
Wonderful world of fact and figures!
>From The Bangkok Post April 24, 1998:
"Burma claims that 9,630.9 hectares is under poppies,
yielding 106 tonnes of opium" [in 1997]
>From Reuters News report from Yangon, Mar 1, 1999:
"Myanmar predicts this year's opium crop will fall by
half from an estimated 680 tonnes produced in 1998
because of crop eradications and bad weather."
Excerpt from an address by Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt to the Central Committee
for Drug Abuse Control on May 4, 2000:
"Opium production in that year [1999] was only
1,090 metric tons which is 38 per cent less than
in the previous year. It is the lowest output
within a ten year period since 1988."
_____________________ OTHER ______________________
BERG: "CONFLICT AND DISPLACEMENT IN KARENNI: THE NEED FOR CONSIDERED
RESPONSES" AVAILABLE ON THE WEB
A new report by the Burma Ethnic Research Group, "Conflict and
Displacement in Karenni: The Need for Considered Responses" is
available on the Internet at http://www.burmaresearch.org
This report was written to follow the earlier report of the Burma
Ethnic Research
Group, Forgotten Victims of a Hidden War: Internally Displaced
Karen in Burma, BERG/ Friedrich Naumann Foundation, April 1998.
It seeks to raise the level of awareness in the international
community
concerning the context of internal displacement of populations in
Burma
focussing in this instance on Karenni. Acknowledging the
difficulties
of accessing much of the area, the report highlights the complexity
and humanitarian concerns as well as the need for further systematic
data
collection and broader perspectives. Such information would
stimulate
analysis of the causes of the massive socio-economic problems
apparent
in the area, and stimulate debate and dialogue that may lead to a
more
well founded response to the needs of internally displaced people
_______________
Acronyms and abbreviations regularly used by BurmaNet.
AVA: Ava Newsgroup. A small, independent newsgroup covering Kachin
State and northern Burma.
KHRG: Karen Human Rights Group. A non-governmental organization
that conducts interviews and collects information primarily in
Burma's Karen State but also covering other border areas.
KNU: Karen National Union. Ethnic Karen organization that has been
fighting Burma's central government since 1948.
NLM: New Light of Myanmar, Burma's state newspaper. The New Light of
Myanmar is also published in Burmese as Myanmar Alin.
SCMP: South China Morning Post. A Hong Kong newspaper.
SHAN: Shan Herald Agency for News. An independent news service
covering Burma's Shan State.
SHRF: Shan Human Rights Foundation
SPDC: State Peace and Development Council. The current name the
military junta has given itself. Previously, it called itself the
State Law and Order Restoration Council.
________________
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For a subscription to Burma's only free daily newspaper,
write to: strider@xxxxxxx
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