[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

BurmaNet News: December 1, 2000



______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
        An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
________December 1, 2000   Issue # 1673_________

NOTED IN PASSING: ?It wasn't quite another day at the office, but no one 
really expected to find a nice Burmese officer hanging about the village 
looking over the speed stash.?  

The Bangkok Post.  See Bangkok Post: Inside Politics--What do we have 
here? 


INSIDE BURMA _______
*Shan Herald Agency for News: Junta soldiers: some construction have 
begun at the Salween dam site 
*Times of India: Myanmar Army launches offensive against Naga rebels
*Daily Star (Bangladesh): Myanmar to remove mines planted on border
*The Hindu Newspaper (New Delhi): IGNOU-Myanmar tie-up
*Shan Herald Agency for News: Army Occupies Mongkoe--Ceasefire pact 
terminated

REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*Bangkok Post: Inside Politics--What do we have here? 
*UPI: India's regional diplomacy surprises the West
*AP: Thai army tightens border security against dry season Myanmar
*Xinhua: Myanmar Leader Maung Aye to Visit Laos

ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
*Le Monde Diplomatique (France): Business, oil and human rights
*Xinhua: Major Chinese Company to Help Myanmar Expand Telecom Network 


The BurmaNet News is viewable online at:
http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com


__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
Shan Herald Agency for News: Junta soldiers: some construction have 
begun at the Salween dam site 

30 November 2000

Reporter: Saeng Khao Haeng

Some soldiers recently told S.H.A.N.'s source construction of a sort had 
 started since the end of the monsoons near the projected dam site of 
the  Salween.

Soldiers who were hitching a ride from the Tasang bridge, between Shan  
State's Mongpan and Mongton townships, to Monton said concrete posts 
were  being erected at Tangseng, between Palao (the dam site) and the 
Tasang  Bridge. According to the soldiers, the structure, after 
completion, would  be able to sustain 5,000 tons of water.

The laborers were villagers from the surrounding area, they said, 
receiving  K. 500 each per day from the Burmese engineering unit.

"Actually, we were willing to work for wage, but our superiors said 'No, 
 it's too dangerous.'"

Unconfirmed reports said one of the holes dug along the western bank  
collapsed some time in October killing several workers. The soldiers,  
however, neither rejected nor admitted it.

The platoons from the 4 battalions in Mongton, namely : IB 65, IB 225, 
IB  227 and LIB 519, are on rotation for security against possible 
attacks from  the Shan State Army, whose 727th Brigade is active around 
here, one of the  soldiers said.

According to the GMS Power from Bangkok, the purpose of the present  
undertaking is to work out a conceptual design for the dam. 



____________________________________________________


Times of India: Myanmar Army launches offensive against Naga rebels 

Dec. 1, 2000

NEW DELHI: A rebel newsletter has confirmed government claims that the 
Myanmar Army has launched a major offensive against anti-India Naga 
insurgents in northwest Myanmar, as part of growing cooperation between 
the two countries in tackling cross-border terrorism.

According to 'Freedom,' a newsletter circulated by the outlawed United 
Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) on the Internet, the Myanmar Army is 
preparing for an offensive against the headquarters of the Khaplang 
faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K), located 
in a "remote zone of northwest Myanmar."

The newsletter, dated November 15 and issued by the ULFA's "publicity 
department," claimed the Myanmar Army had attacked two NSCN-K 
strongholds since late October. Cadres of the ULFA and United National 
Liberation Front, a rebel group from the northeastern state of Manipur, 
were also injured in these attacks, the newsletter claimed.


The ULFA's claim confirms statements by Union Home Minister Lal Krishna 
Advani on November 17 that the Myanmar Army destroyed five NSCN-K camps 
this year and even suffered casualties in these operations.

Advani, who was defending the government's decision to upgrade ties with 
Yangon's military junta, had said that cooperation between the armies of 
the two countries to curb the activities of insurgent groups along the 
1,643-km India-Myanmar border had increased in recent years.

"We have information that there are some more camps (operated by 
anti-India rebels in Myanmar) and we will be pursuing this matter," 
Advani had said shortly after a ceremonial welcome was accorded to 
General Maung Aye, the second highest leader of Myanmar's military 
junta, when he visited here earlier this month. Aye, who is also chief 
of the Myanmar Army, was the highest leader of the military junta to 
visit India.

The ULFA newsletter said the Myanmar Army offensive against the NSCN-K 
was launched following "ministerial-level discussions" between New Delhi 
and Yangon. "Earlier the Myanmar Army attacked the 2nd battalion of 
NSCN-K on October 23 injuring six guerillas belonging to ULFA and UNLF," 
the newsletter said.

"Later, on November 5 the Myanmar Army again tried to attack the Kannyak 
region headquarter but this time the guerillas gave a befitting reply to 
their enemy, killing three and wounding 5l (Myanmarese soldiers)," the 
newsletter said. The NSCN-K, which is one of two powerful rebel groups 
that have been waging a violent bush war for two decades to create an 
independent homeland for Naga tribals in India's northeastern region, 
recently suspended hostilities against the security forces and began 
talks with the government on reaching a formal cease-fire agreement. The 
other Naga rebel group, the Isak-Muivah faction of the National 
Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM), had entered a cease-fire 
agreement with the government in August 1997.

It is believed the operations mounted by the Myanmar Army against the 
NSCN-K, which is headed by S.S. Khaplang, a Hemi Naga from Myanmar, was 
one of the key factors that forced the rebel group to begin peace talks 
with the Indian government. The NSCN-K has several camps in 
Naga-inhabited areas of Myanmar's Sagaing division bordering Nagaland.

The Indian armed forces, on their part, have stepped up operations 
against Kachin and Karen rebel groups from Myanmar that have links with 
guerrilla groups in India's northeastern states. (IANS)


____________________________________________________


Daily Star (Bangladesh): Myanmar to remove mines planted on border


COX'S BAZAR, Nov 29: Myanmar agreed in principle to remove landmines 
planted on the 'no man's land' along the border that killed a number of 
people, reports UNB.

The assurance came from the Myanmar border security force NASAKA at a 
meeting with Bangladesh Rifles at Ghumdhum BDR Outpost near 
Naikhangchhari border on Tuesday.


Officials here said the delegation of NASAKA said they would apprise 
their higher authorities of the matter. They, however, accused the 
Arakanese rebels of planting mines on 'no man's land.'

"The flag meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere aiming to defuse 
tensions heightening in the border areas," said an official.


In the meeting, both sides admitted that at least seven people of the 
two countries were killed in last two weeks in landmine explosions.



____________________________________________________



AP: Thai army tightens border security against dry season Myanmar 


BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ Thailand has ordered its soldiers on the border 
with Myanmar to be especially alert as seasonal combat flares anew 
between Myanmar government forces and ethnic rebels, a Thai army said 
spokesman Thursday. 
 ``The dry season is here and fighting inside Myanmar has already taken 
place. The fighting seems fiercer this year and it has started earlier 
than usual,'' said Col. Somkuan Saengpatranetr. 
 He said no Thai reinforcements have been sent to the border. 

 The dry season usually starts around the beginning of November, and 
traditionally the less mobile conventional forces of the government take 
advantage of the improved weather conditions to launch offensives. 

 The spokesman said the Thai army has instructed its personnel to 
prevent the fighting from spilling onto Thai soil and keep any foreign 
forces out. 

 At the beginning of November, Myanmar government troops launched 
attacks on two strongholds of the Karen National Union, resulting in 
heavy fighting during which at least two artillery shells landed on Thai 
soil. Thai villagers in the immediate area in Tak province, 370 
kilometers (230 miles) northwest of Bangkok, were temporarily evacuated. 


 Somkuan said a Thai soldier was killed in a clash with intruding 
Myanmar forces in a northern Thai province in late October.
 
 The Karen National Union forces are believed to number 2,000-3,000, a 
fraction of their armed strength in their heyday more than one decade 
ago, when they controlled huge tracts along the Thai-Myanmar frontier. 

 The KNU has been fighting for regional autonomy since the independence 
of Myanmar _ also known as Burma _ in 1947. 



____________________________________________________


The Hindu Newspaper (New Delhi): IGNOU-Myanmar tie-up

New Delhi, Nov.26. The Indira Gandhi National Open
University and the University of Distance Education,
Myanmar, have signed an agreement for offering 10 of
IGNOU's academic programmes in that country by
distance mode.

    The signing of the MoU followed a week-long visit
by a two-member delegation headed by Prof. Mya Oo,
University of Distance Education, Yangon. The visitors
had a series of discussions with Prof. V.S. Prrasad,
acting vice-chancellor IGNOU, and Mr. K.J.S. Prasad
Rao, Registrar, and visited various divisions and
schools of IGNOU.

  IGNOU intends to offer Myanmar computer and
information technology programmes as well as
programmes in library and information services,
tourism studies, management and education. It will
also assist the University of Distance Education in
developing use of information and communication
technologies for distance and open learning through a
staff development and research assistance programme.


____________________________________________________


Shan Herald Agency for News: Army Occupies Mongkoe--Ceasefire pact 
terminated

30 November 2000

Reporter: Saeng Khao Haeng

Ceasefire agreement with the Mongkoe Defense Army came to a bloody end 
when  Rangoon forces unleashed a campaign last Thursday that destroyed 
both its  warring factions, reported S.H.A.N. source from the north. 

Troops from the Northeastern Command i.e. IB 45 (Kutkhai), IB 242  
(Kutkhai), IB 290, LIB 312 (Kunlong) according to Dr. Naing Aung, member 
of  National Council of the Union of Burma, together with 2 artillery 
batteries  (believed to be Battery 076 from Kutkhai and Battery 083 from 
Kunlong)  entered Mongkoe, Muse District near the Chinese border on 23 
November. 
The following day, the invading troops opened fire on both factions of 
the  MDA who were fighting. The same day (another source said on 25 
November)  the Army attacked Huey Monglong near Mongkoe with heavy guns, 
killing 89  (Dr. Naing Aung says 97), among who was Li Niming, one of 
the two leaders  of the mutiny. By the end of 25 November, the Army was 
in control. 

Col. Tin Hlaing, Minister of Interior, visited the area the next day and 
at  the time of this reporting (29 November) he is still in Muse, the 
district  seat.

Mong Sala's fate is not known, though believed to be still alive. As for 
 the other mutiny leader, Khong Lao Su or Hong Lao Su, he is believed to 
 have escaped across the border.

The mutiny was reported to be supported by one of the Kokang factions 
and  the United Wa State Army.

The United Wa State Army, in the meanwhile, is cooperating with Rangoon 
to  launch an operation against Yawdserk's Shan State Army further south 
near  the Thai border.

___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
				

Bangkok Post: Inside Politics--What do we have here? 


November 30, 2000 



It wasn't quite another day at the office, but no one really expected to 
find a nice Burmese officer hanging about the village looking over the 
speed stash....


The seizure last week of 100,000 methamphetamine pills from a Muser 
village just inside Burma across from Chiang Rai wasn't really that 
newsworthy in itself. But the capture of a Burmese army officer who had 
been assigned to the village to protect the stash _ now that was worth a 
headline. It confirmed the general impression that those in uniform 
across our western border are cashing in on the drug trade. 

That raid was followed by a fierce exchange of mortar fire last 
Wednesday between the forces of Thailand and Burma near the village of 
Ban Pasang Na Ngern in Chiang Rai's Mae Fa Luang district. A Burmese 
soldier was killed and two Thai rangers were wounded in the clash. 

"Around 20-30 mortars were fired by our side to counter the Burmese 
fire," said one among the local security force. "The situation on that 
day was quite serious." The earlier raid was the work of the Shan State 
Army, which attacked the Muser Abi village inside Burma, opposite Ban 
Pasang Na Ngern. As well as the stash and the Burmese officer, a number 
of other armed men were captured by the SSA led by Chao Yod Suek. 

"Muser Abi is a border village where the United Wa State Army keeps its 
pills before moving them across the border," said a local drug-buster. 

He also said it was very possible that the raid would have come up with 
as many as two million to three million pills if only it had been staged 
a few days later. He didn't say how he came by this information. 

Thirteen people were captured in the SSA raid, including two Thai drug 
traffickers, the Burmese officer and four members of the UWSA. 

An officer with the 3rd army's Pha Muang Task Force, which supervises 
the war on drugs along that part of the border, said he was not 
surprised by the presence of the Burmese officer. 

"We are all aware that Burmese military elements are directly involved 
in drug trafficking along the border area by providing protection to 
illicit drug transportation," he said. 

Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong, commander of the 3rd army, said this 
latest development just confirmed the belief that the drug trade along 
the Burmese border had the direct blessing of security forces on the 
other side. 

Members of the ruling junta in Rangoon have repeatedly denied that they 
have anything to do with the drug trade along the border. They say 
methamphetamine production is located mainly in areas controlled by the 
UWSA, areas off-limit to government forces. 

 

____________________________________________________


Xinhua: Myanmar Leader Maung Aye to Visit Laos

December 1, 2000, Friday 1:47 AM Eastern Time 

YANGON, December 1 

Vice-Chairman of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) 
General Maung Aye will soon pay an official visit to Laos, a neighbor in 
the east, according to a government statement here Friday. 

Maung Aye is to make the trip at the invitation of President of the 
National Assembly of Laos Samane Vignaket. 

There have been frequent exchanges of visits at high level between 
Myanmar and Laos in recent years. 

In November 1998, Lao Prime Minister Sisawat Keobounphan visited 
Myanmar, during which two agreements were signed on mutual visa 
exemption for holders of diplomatic and official passports and on 
cooperation between the state-run Myanma News Agency and its Lao 
counterpart, the Khaosan Pathet Lao. 

Last year alone, First Secretary and Second Secretary of the Myanmar 
SPDC Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt and Lieutenant-General Tin Oo 
respectively toured Laos in March and December. 

During Khin Nyunt's trip, the two countries held the Fourth Meeting of 
the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) and signed an 
agreement on preventing trafficking of drugs and psychotropic substances 
and on controlling banned chemical substances. 

During a visit to Myanmar by Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign 
Minister Somsavat Lengsavad in August this year, the two countries held 
the Fifth Meeting of the JCBC, which discussed promotion of the existing 
traditional friendship and cooperation between the two countries and 
regional and international issues. 

Myanmar and Laos both became members of the Association of Southeast 
Asian Nations in July 1997.



____________________________________________________

	

UPI: India's regional diplomacy surprises the West

UPI, Thu 30 Nov 2000 

It was the last thing expected by Karl Inderfurth, the U.S. assistant 
secretary of state for South Asia, when he arrived in Delhi for a 
farewell visit to find himself sharing the spotlight with Iraq's 
vice-president Taha Yassim Ramadhan. Iraq's success at breaking out of 
the isolation into which the U.S. had locked it since the Gulf War came 
as a sharp jolt to the U.S. diplomat. After an exchange of visits by 
President Bill Clinton and Indian premier Atal Behari Vajpayee, 
Inderfurth had been proud that Indian-U.S. relations were the best they 
had been in years. But as well as the presence of the Iraqi, who claimed 
that Iraq and India had reached a "strategic understanding" and that 
India now backed a lifting of the remaining sanctions on Iraq, 
Inderfurth was in for another surprise. 

After years of turning a cold shoulder to the Myanmar military junta, 
and giving strong and vocal support to the Nobel peace prize winner Aung 
San Suu Kyi and the democracy movement, India has suddenly begun to woo 
the Mynamar military. (Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters still use the 
former name of Burma for their country.) The latest issue of India's 
'Outlook' magazine claims that India has agreed to lease helicopters to 
the Myanmar military, while Indian mechanics refurbish Myanmar's elderly 
fleet of Bell helicopters. India is also to upgrade Myanmar's radar 
systems, supply military uniforms and train some military personnel. 

And Indian foreign minister Jaswant Singh is to open a new road link 
from India to Burma. Earlier this year, India was taking a strong stand 
on behalf of Burmese democracy at the summit of the Non-Aligned 
Movement, which could have led to Myanmar's expulsion. Aung San Suu Kyi, 
awarded the Nehru Peace Prize, had become a heroine to Indian 
politicians. Jaswant Singh even allowed her supporters in the democracy 
movement to use rooms in his official residence. But last month, the 
shift in Indian policy became clear when the red carpet was laid out for 
Gen. Maung Aye, commander-in-chief of the Myanmar army. Former Indian 
Army chief Gen. V P Malik has returned the compliment. The explanation 
for India's about-face is simple enough. National security interests 
appear to have taken precedence over principle. In its years of 
isolation, Myanmar had become far too close to China for India's 
comfort. 

Above all, Myanmar had given China's military a foothold in the Indian 
Ocean, making available basing facilities and at least four electronic 
listening posts in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The most 
dangerous, from India's view point, was a listening post with a network 
of 150-ft masts, on Great Coco Island, perfectly placed to monitor the 
telemetry of India's missile tests. The base also kept watch on Indian 
air and naval movement throughout the Bay of Bengal, and signaled 
China's strategic goal of establishing a permanent presence in the 
Indian Ocean. Indian defense planners have long been nervous of China's 
fast-improving military capabilities, and of the close alliance between 
Beijing and Pakistan. With the cream of India's armed forces tied down 
around Kashmir and along the Pakistan border in the west, a Chinese 
presence in Myanmar raised the grim prospect of another threat on 
India's eastern flank. China has provided the bulk of the modern 
military equipment of the Myanmar forces. 

In a series of arms deals in the 1990s, China provided two squadrons of 
J-6 and J-7 aircraft, and another two squadrons of A-5 ground attack 
warplanes. Chinese-made and obsolescent by world standards, they 
represented a technological lap forward for Myanmar. China also supplied 
armored personnel carriers, anti-aircraft guns and mobile rocket 
launchers to the army, and 10 Hainan-class fast attack boats, along with 
two Jianghu frigates. Along with the warships came teams of Chinese 
naval personnel to train Myanmar in their use, and also to man the Great 
Coco listening post. In return, China helped extend and modernize 
Myanmar's naval base at Hainggyi Island, which U.S. intelligence sources 
claim is now far larger than Myanmar's own modest needs would require. 

Even though initial fears that China was installing submarine servicing 
facilities have yet to be confirmed, the prospect of Hainggyi becoming a 
routine Chinese facility in the Indian Ocean has caught the attention of 
Pentagon as well as Indian observers. India has not yet begun to try to 
match China's largesse in military equipment, seeing a cooler and less 
inflammatory path in helping bring Myanmar out of its isolation, and 
giving Myanmar's ruling junta options beyond dependence on Beijing. -- 



_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
 

Le Monde Diplomatique (France): Business, oil and human rights

December 2000 

Written by Roland Pierre Paringaux. 

[Abridged]

[Translation from French by Info Birmanie]

 ...In Burma, it is the French company Total and its American partner 
Unocal which are at the center of an international campaign of critics. 
These two companies, associated with the Burmese company Myanmar Oil and 
Gas Enterprise for the exploitation of the Yadana gas field and for the 
building of the pipeline, are accused to have benefited from human 
rights violations committed, during the build up, by the Burmese 
military in dozen of villages. The International Federation of Human 
Rights and other NGOs have mentioned the occurrence of forced 
relocation, forced labour and even summary executions. Total and Unocal 
have denied being directly concerned by these accusations. 

The French company has settle a rehabilitation program for the concerned 
villages and its American partner keeps on saying that their 
implantation is, in the long run, beneficial for the population. But 
this defense strategy is weakened by the caricatural behaviour of the 
Junta who holds power since 1988. To such an extend that, the United 
States, the European Union and the UN have adopted critical resolutions 
against it and that several transnational companies : Heineken, Pepsi 
Cola, Motorola, Eastman Kodak but also the American oil companies Texaco 
and Atlantic Richfield, has withdrew, putting forward "the lack of 
democracy". After these departures, Miss Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the 
opposition and Nobel Peace price, has declared that Total had became 
"the best support" of the military regime...

[Info Birmanie adds: References are given to support this article, 
especially ½ Birmanie TOTALitaire ╗ from Alan Clements  Esprit 
Frappeur edition. This book analyses the relationship between the oil 
industry and the Burmese dictatorship, of which it the oil industry is 
one of the main supports. It also looks at the role of the trasnational 
company Total.  Available at Info Birmanie 22, rue de Milan 75009 
PARIS.]


____________________________________________________


Xinhua: Major Chinese Company to Help Myanmar Expand Telecom Network 

YANGON, December 1 


A leading Chinese modernized telecommunication and information 
enterprise, the Shanghai Bell Co. Ltd., reached the largest whole-set 
high-technology export contract with the Myanmar Posts and 
Telecommunications authorities here Friday for improving and expanding 
the telecommunication network in four major cities in Myanmar. 

On behalf of respective parties, President of the Shanghai Bell Co. Ltd. 
Gunther Strobel and Director-General of the Myanma Posts and 
Telecommunications U Maung Maung Tin signed the contract. 

Attending the contract signing ceremony were Chinese Ambassador to 
Myanmar Liang Dong and Myanmar Minister of Communications, Posts and 
Telegraphs Brigadier-General Win Tin. 

The contracted project, worth nearly 20 million U.S. dollars, will cover 
expansion of the telecommunication network in Yangon, Mandalay, Pyay and 
Toungoo. 

Under the contract, the products supplied by the Chinese company cover a 
55,000-line digital switching system, transmission equipment, outside 
plant cable and integrated services digital network. 

The project is scheduled to complete in two years and the 
telecommunication infrastructure of Myanmar is expected to take on a new 
look after implementation. 

Shanghai Bell, a Sino-Belgian joint venture established in 1984, has 
acquired the largest market-share in the Chinese domestic market and 
over the past decade, it has developed its international business in 
more than 20 countries and regions including the United States, Germany, 
Belgium, France, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Norway, Australia, Bangladesh, 
the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Russia, Iran, Jordan, Iraq, the 
Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Japan and China's Hong Kong 
Special Administrative Region. 


________________


The BurmaNet News is an Internet newspaper providing comprehensive 
coverage of news and opinion on Burma  (Myanmar) from around the world.  
If you see something on Burma, you can bring it to our attention by 
emailing it to strider@xxxxxxx

For a subscription to Burma's only free daily newspaper, write to: 
strider@xxxxxxx

You can also contact BurmaNet by phone or fax:

Voice mail or fax (US) +1(202) 318-1261
You will be prompted to press 1 for a voice message or 2 to send a fax.  
If you do neither, a fax tone will begin automatically.

Fax (Japan) +81 (3) 4512-8143



________________

___________________________________________________________
T O P I C A  http://www.topica.com/t/17
Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics