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BurmaNet News: February 15, 2001
- Subject: BurmaNet News: February 15, 2001
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 19:01:00
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
February 15, 2001 Issue # 1737
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
NOTED IN PASSING:
"We cannot be certain of anything about Burma. My opinion is that all
Burmese unit commanders who caused the conflict should brought before a
firing squad."
Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuanwong, Commander of Thailand?s Third Army See
Bangkok Post: Army Alert for Wa Infiltrators
INSIDE BURMA _______
*Bangkok Post: Rangoon Inadvertently Admits Guilt in Plea for
Compensation
*The Nation: Shan Army Denies Starting Border Clash
*Unity: Monthly Human Rights Situation Report?Mergui Tavoy
REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*The Nation: We'll Get Tough, Thaksin Warns
*Bangkok Post: Army Alert for Wa Infiltrators
*Bangkok Post: Guns Fired to Repel Raiding Junta Troops
*AIDSonline: Manipur and AIDS
ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
*Burma Courier: for Sale-- 52 Slightly Used State Enterprises
OPINION/EDITORIALS_______
*Bangkok Post: Time to move forward
*Restoration Council of the Shan State: On the fighting at the Kaeng
Tung front
*Myanmar Information Committee (SPDC): Time to Substitute Buffers
between Nations With Friendship, Trade and Mutual Cooperation
OTHER______
*PD Burma: Calendar of events
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
Bangkok Post: Rangoon Inadvertently Admits Guilt in Plea for
Compensation
Thursday, February 15 2001
Burma told to show proof of damage
Post Reporters And Reuters
Burma has effectively admitted its troops trespassed into Thai territory
and will have to show proof of damage if it wants compensation from
Thailand, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
Pradap Pibulsonggram, the ministry spokesman, cited part of the Burmese
aide memoire: "Myanmar
[Burma] forces had not intentionally crossed over into Thai territory or
attacked Thai targets."For Mr Pradap, the allusion to absence of
intention was "tantamount" to admitting that Burmese troops trespassed
into Thai territory.
The Burmese protest note demanded compensation for damage, and urged the
Thai military to refrain from returning fire.
To secure compensation, Burma would have to produce proof of damage, Mr
Pradap said. There was solid evidence of damage on the Thai side.
Both sides have demanded compensation for loss of lives and property in
their respective border towns, Mae Sai and Tachilek, on Sunday.
Burma said it suffered three dead, against Thailand's three.
Burma yesterday denied its troops had fired shells at Mae Sai on Sunday.
It claimed ethnic Shan guerrillas had carried out the attack to damage
relations between the two countries, in a government statement Reuters
received in Bangkok.
Burma accused Thai troops of giving morale and military support to the
Shan guerrillas, who Rangoon says are the major drug producers and
smugglers in the region.
"It is...sad to learn that there were civilian casualties on the Thai
side and that the Thai army leaders were coming up with strong
statements against Myanmar because two civilians were killed and eight
wounded," the statement said.
"It is very clear that the direction of the shells that fell into Mae
Sai was not in the direction of where the actual fighting was taking
place on the Myanmar side. It is a totally different direction and only
someone with vested interests can deliberately do it."Senior Thai
soldiers say the Burmese military is heavily involved in the drugs trade
and accuse the United Wa State Army of being behind most of the
methamphetamines flooding Thailand.
Burma insists it is trying to stamp out the drugs trade, and blames the
Shan for drug production in the area.
"To effectively stop the drug menace threatening both Myanmar and
Thailand, it is of utmost importance for both countries to join forces
and seriously co-operate with each other," the Rangoon government said
in the official statement.
"Without co-operation from Thailand, especially in the field of
preventing essential chemicals from falling into the hands of organised
crime syndicates and refraining from giving sanctuary and support to
armed criminal organisations...any endeavour would be in vain."
___________________________________________________
The Nation: Shan Army Denies Starting Border Clash
Thursday, February 15, 2001
JEERAPORN CHAISRI
DON PATHAN
MAE SAI - The Shan State Army (SSA) yesterday denied accusations by
Burma's military government that it had instigated the recent clashes
between Thai and Burmese troops, saying Rangoon was looking for a
scapegoat.
"This is not true. We did not shell the town of Mae Sai or other Thai
positions. [The Burmese] did it and are trying to blame us for it," said
Sao Aung Mart, vice chairman of the Restoration Council of Shan State,
the SSA's political wing.
Aung Mart also told The Nation that the junta's claim that the Thai Army
and the SSA have joined hands to attack Burmese positions is groundless.
"They want to divide the moral support that the ethnic Thais have for
the [Shan]," he said.
SSA leader Colonel Yawd Serk was expected to make a public statement on
the allegation today, he said.
Thai and Burmese troops engaged in heavy fighting on Sunday following
the latter's refusal to depart from a Thai Ranger base camp at Doi Pang
Noon, which the Thai Army said Burmese troops had overtaken by force.
The fighting spread to other areas, including Mae Sai district and town,
where two people were killed and scores of area residents and soldiers
were injured. Local residents soon deserted the area, turning the
normally vibrant border outpost into a ghost town.
A breakthrough came yesterday, said Maj General Chamlong Phothong,
deputy commander of the 3rd Army Region, who said The Township Border
Committee will reconvene today in Tachilek to discuss the clashes. The
committee agreed to meet in the afternoon.
Details for the discussions were not disclosed but Chamlong said, "we
will listen to what they have to say."
"We're not the guilty party here. [The Burmese troops] were the ones who
started the whole incident," he said.
The Township Border Committee is a joint body of civilians and military
from both countries that is designed to resolve border disputes at the
local level. The mayor of Mae Sai town will be the co-chairman of the
meeting, Chamlong said.
The entire Mae Sai district was tense again yesterday, with Thai
military troops and tanks an ominous presence. Only a few tourists
ventured to the border market, while a few girls were brave enough to
give roses to the soldiers guarding the border.
Meanwhile, more troops from both sides moved into the area. Six more
heavy artillery guns were headed towards Mae Sai town and later
dispersed to various locations along the border.
The nearby Mekong River Operation Unit, a naval unit in Chiang Rai, also
beefed up its patrol in the Golden Triangle area for fear that fighting
could spread, an official said.
Officers in a border police unit at Doi Chang Moob, just outside the
Royal Project at Doi Tung, were seen digging into their positions along
an unmarked border area to prevent nearby Burmese troops from
positioning their men there. Just a stone's throw away, across a paved
road that links Doi Tung to Mae Sai, was an outpost manned by nine
Burmese soldiers, who, when visited by The Nation, declined to answer
questions or comment on the conflict.
"The Thai villagers, who use to sell [the Burmese troops] food and other
goods have stopped doing it ever since the clashes," said a Thai border
patrol police officer manning an M-60 machine gun and keeping a close
eye on the nearby Burmese unit. "It's a little tense right now but
hopefully the situation will improve soon."
Meanwhile, General Bo Mya, leader of the Karen National Union, a rebel
group fighting for autonomy, said the Burmese government is seeking to
control the border because it wants the area reserved for the United Wa
State Army's narcotics activities. The general said the Burmese attacks
on his stronghold caused injuries and damages to his forces and
properties.
"However, in the fighting with my forces, the Burmese troops were also
injured and killed. In many hospitals, they are packed with wounded
Burmese soldiers," Bo Mya said.
Bo Mya's stronghold is opposite Tak province's Mae Sot district.
___________________________________________________
Unity: Monthly Human Rights Situation Report?Mergui Tavoy
[Covering January 2001. Abridged]
Karen National Union
EXTRA JUDICIAL KILLING
On January 11, 2001 a column from Burma Army's Light Infantry Battalion
101, led by Major Aung Myint Oo arrived to Taket Lor village in
Tenasserim township, Mergui District, Tenasserim Division, Southern
Burma, and opened fire on the villagers. Four were wounded.
After opening fire on the villagers the troop had captured a villager
Naw Theh Satin, 20 yr., daughter of Saw Pe Lo and Naw Pi. They took her
to a house and raped her severely and stabbed her to death afterward.
The next day, that troop cleared the area and took away the properties,
which the villagers have abandoned.
On January 22, 2001 a troop from Burma Army's Light Infantry Battalion
402 led by Kyaw Kyaw entered to Wah Shu Ko (Seikphyone) village, in
Tavoy Township, Tavoy District and shot dead a villager.
RAPE
Lieutenant Thein Myint Zaw form Burma Army's Infantry Battalion 104
raped a traveling villager and took away all her money on January 28,
2001 night. According to villagers from Tavoy Township who arrived to
the border, Ma Aye Aye Khaing (daughter of U Chit Tin) who worked in a
Thai border town Htong Hpa Hpon was traveled back to her home village in
Kyet San Pyin, in Tavoy Township. On January 28 evening she arrived to a
Burma Army camp at Thuka border check point, opposite to Thailand's
Kanchanaburi province. Lt. Thein Mhint Zaw a company commander in that
camp summoned her to his hut and said that he need to check her.
Afterward Lt. Thein Myint Zaw forcibly raped her in his hut and let her
go the next morning.
After raping her, Lt. Thein Myint Zaw took away 10,000 Thai Baht form
her. The next day (29.1.2001) Thein Myint Zaw gave her 1,000 Baht for
her traveling expenditure and set her free.
LOOTING
On January 5, 2001 a group of Pye Thu Sit (People Militia, back up by
Burma Army) led by Ye Win entered to Taket village, in Tenasserim
township, Mergui District and confiscated some cattle from Saw Hto Gay.
After confiscating the cattle the militia leader demanded 30,000 kyat as
compensation from the Saw Hto Gay.
On January 8, 2001 a group of soldiers led by 2nd Lieutenant Nyi Nyi Soe
from Burma Army's Light Infantry Battalion 402 who operated in Ka Mo
Thwey area, in the east of Tavoy Town have stolen some properties of
local villagers in Kler Pu (Nyaungdon).
On January 4.1.2001 a troop from Burma Army's Infantry Battalion 101,
Column No.2 led by Column Commander Kyaw Thet Naing entered to Taket
village, in Tenasserim Township, Mergui District and shot dead a buffalo
of Saw Htun Pe for their meal. On January 10, 2001 an unidentified
troop of Burma Army entered to Panamee (Duyinbinshaun), in Palaw
township, Mergui district and slaughter 5 buffaloes belong to Saw Aung
Kyi.
BURNING and DESTRUCTION
On January 8, 2001 a combined column of IB 101 led by Aung Myint Oo and
Kyaw Thet Naing burnt down 7 houses in Wah Thu Hta village, Taket
village tract. The troop burnt down:
On January 18, 2001 a troop of 12 men from Burma Army's Light Infantry
Battalion 402, led by Company Commander Kyaw Sein Oo has destroyed a
villager's house in Sa Ta Lone village, Tavoy township, Tavoy District.
TORTURE
On January 11, 2001 a troop of 30 men from Burma Army's Light Infantry
Battalion 544 led by Major Aung Aung arrived to Myo Haung village and
captured four villagers. They accused the villagers of sending food for
Karen resistance group and beaten them seriously. After beaten them, the
troop demanded 4,000 Kyat from them.
FORCED LABOR
On January 18, 2001 Battalion Commander Than Sein from Burma Army' Light
Infantry Battalion 401 which based in Htu ler (Kyauk Htu) village (in
the east of Theyetchaung township, Tavoy District) ordered 15 villagers
from Kaw Htee (Thabyuchaung) to served as porter to Maw Taw Hta. It was
three days walk journey on foot from Htu Ler to Maw Taw Hta. If the
demanded porters do not want to go by foot, they have to transport the
military supply by boat, and the villagers themselves have to pay the
expense of the transportation.
>From January 20 to 30, 2001 Burma army forced the villagers in Htu Ler,
Kaw Htee, Hta Me Hta, Kanekaw (Pyathachaung), Katawnni and Pawtaw, (in
the east of Theyetchaung, Tavoy township, Tavoy district) to transport
the military food supplies from Pawtaw to Htu Ler. Htoo Ler and Kaw Htee
villages were forced to transport 102 sack of rice, Ta Me Hta 36 sack of
rice, Ka Htaw Ni, Kanekaw and Pawtaw 102 sack of rice etc.. The
villagers have to pay the cost of boat transportation by themselves.
On January 28, 2001 Column Commander Nanda Aung from Burma Army's Light
Infantry Battalion 401, which based in Htu Ler village (in the east of
Theyetchaung township, Tavoy district) ordered Ta Me Hta and Kanekaw
villagers to construct a road between their villages and have to finish
it within 5 days. The road should be available for the bullock carts.
___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
The Nation: We'll Get Tough, Thaksin Warns
Thursday, February 15, 2001
THAILAND would be forced to take unilateral action to stem the flow of
illegal drugs from Burma if Rangoon failed to resolve the problem
amicably, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra warned yesterday.
"We must discuss the issue as neighbours, but if the talks do not settle
the problem, we will have to deal with it in our own way, and this is an
assertive policy," Thaksin said.
Thaksin, who had been expected to take a softer line on Burma than the
previous administration, bluntly criticised Rangoon's failure to stamp
out massive drugs production within its borders.
"We are not pleased at the way Burma has allowed ethnic minorities to
produce drugs along the border area and we have to be decisive on this
issue," the new PM told reporters.
Thaksin's statement followed hot on the heels of the latest tirade
between the government and Rangoon over border clashes at the weekend
and accusations of support for drug traffickers.
In a statement received in Bangkok, the Burmese government accused Thai
soldiers of giving moral and military support to Shan guerrillas, who
Rangoon claims are the region's major drug producers.
Rangoon insisted it was trying to stamp out the drugs trade and said
that serious cooperation from Thailand would be an effective approach to
ending the problem.
"Without cooperation from Thailand, especially in the field of
preventing essential chemicals from falling into the hands of organised
crime syndicates and refraining from giving sanctuaries and support to
armed criminal organisations ... any endeavour would be in vain," the
statement said.
It also repeated a denial by the Burmese Army on Tuesday saying its
troops had not fired shells at the border town of Mae Sai on Sunday. It
blamed the attack on ethnic Shan rebels looking to damage relations
between the two countries.
The Burmese Foreign Ministry, in an aide-memoire handed to Thai
Ambassador Oum Maolanon on Monday, demanded that Thailand cease support
for armed insurgents and not harm the "existing friendship" between the
two countries.
Details of the memoire were published in the state-run New Light of
Myanmar yesterday.
Thaksin had planned to visit the border town yesterday, but his trip was
postponed. He said later he planned to visit Burma as soon as possible
to iron out all related problems amid strong opposition from several
quarters, including the outgoing administration and the House foreign
relations committee.
Relations with Burma were more problematic than with any other neighbour
and required urgent attention, Thaksin said.
"I don't see going there as kowtowing to Rangoon. We have serious
problems, so we need to talk things out," he said.
Meanwhile, chairman of the Senate Military Committee Gen Harn Leelanon
yesterday suggested the moribund Internal Security Command should assume
control of the country's efforts to eradicate problems related to
narcotics.
The former Fourth Region Commander said the Internal Security Command
should be directed solely by the prime minister to ensure a higher level
of efficiency. And military officers should be used in dealing with the
Burmese junta.
"They don't like to talk to politicians because they believe the words
of military officers to be more credible," he said.
___________________________________________________
Bangkok Post: Army Alert for Wa Infiltrators
Thursday, February 15 2001
Military says junta wants strike excuse
Subin Khuenkaew, Wassana Nanuam and Cheewin Sattha
The Burmese plan to send United Wa State Army strike teams into Chiang
Rai to stir up trouble and justify further cross-border military action,
Thai intelligence sources said.
The continuing build-up of junta forces opposite Chiang Rai indicated
Rangoon was determined to crush the Shan State Army and needed a
pretext.
The army yesterday reinforced its troops in Mai Sai, opposite Tachilek
in Burma, with 20 Scorpion and Stingray light tanks sent from cavalry
bases in Chiang Mai and Petchabun.
"The situation at the border town could turn militarily explosive any
moment," said an army intelligence officer.
Pha Muang Force commander Maj Gen Somboonkiat Sithidecha and 3rd Cavalry
Regiment commander Col Akaradet Songworawit, who is in charge of
security at Mae Sai district, were briefed by military intelligence in
Bangkok yesterday.
Hundreds of Wa troops were reported poised for an assault on the Shan
State Army's military base, commanded by Jao Gong Juen, opposite Ban
Pang Noon, Mae Fah Luang district, Chiang Rai.
"There will certainly be fierce fighting in that area in the next few
days," said an officer from Pha Muang Task Force.
In Chiang Rai, Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuanwong, the Third Army
commander, said the closure of border checkpoints in Chiang Mai and
Chiang Rai was to prevent logistic supplies and war materials from
reaching Burmese troops.
"Burmese troops are gearing up for assaults. They are hoarding rice and
banning the sale of fuel to the people. While it is still uncertain
whether there will be combat, it is necessary to take this step-to block
logistical supplies from reaching the Burmese troops," he said.
The Third Army chief dismissed an accusation by army retirees that he
was thirsty for war, saying he had a duty to protect the country's
interests.
"There is no fighting yet between the two countries. The presence of
forces on both sides of the border will continue until the conflict is
settled. Fighting will not occur until someone violates the ceasefire,"
said Lt-Gen Wattanachai.
"We cannot be certain of anything about Burma. My opinion is that all
Burmese unit commanders who caused the conflict should brought before a
firing squad," Lt-Gen Wattanachai said.
Talks began on Monday and Tuesday to start talks to end the conflict,
but the two sides could not reach an agreement over the venue. They were
to meet again yesterday.
The military yesterday warned motorists to avoid highways Nos 1, 1089,
1130, 1234 and 1149 as military movements in the area could cause
inconvenience.
Residents in Mae Sai have been advised to stay in their homes at night.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he wanted to go to Burma for
talks on the drug and border problems, but warned that if they did not
yield results Thailand would take unilateral "decisive action".
"We must discuss the issue as neighbours, but if the talks do not settle
the problem we will have to deal with it in our own way," Mr Thaksin
said.
Mr Thaksin said Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, the probable defence
minister, planned to use his personal contacts with Burmese officers to
settle the problem.
"His main duties will be to help me on the issues of security, the
border, and the military," Mr Thaksin said.
___________________________________________________
Bangkok Post: Guns Fired to Repel Raiding Junta Troops
Thursday, February 15 2001
Not cover fire for Shan, says army
Sermsuk Kasitipradit
Thai artillery fired across the border to repel intruding Burmese
forces, and not to provide cover for Shan rebels, the army spokesman
said yesterday.
Col Somkhuan Pattaranetr was countering charges made by Col Kyaw Thein,
of Burma's Office of Strategic Studies, who accused the Thai army of
helping the Shan State Army rebels.
Col Kyaw, quoted by the state-run New Light of Myanmar, also said a Thai
military camp had provided the SSA with heavy weapons.
"We fired artillery shells after Burmese troops had encroached on our
sovereignty by seizing our forward outpost," said Col Somkhuan.
Col Kyaw's comment was misleading and aimed at causing public confusion.
The outpost, heavily shelled and recaptured by Thai troops on Saturday,
was located about 1km inside Chiang Rai's Mae Fah Luang district.
Col Somkhuan said if the Burmese government wanted to attack the SSA it
was their own affair, as long as the operation did not encroach on Thai
sovereignty.
At least 200 Burmese soldiers had seized Ban Pang Noon outpost on the
night of Feb 8, after Thai troops based there had rejected their request
to use the camp as a springboard to attack SSA forces.
"It was quite unlikely they could root out SSA rebels in that border
area, since the Shan base was in rough terrain. That was the reason why
they eventually decide to seize the outpost, which at the time was
manned by only 19 paramilitary troops," said Col Somkhuan.
The colonel said Burmese army commander Gen Mong Aye had been in contact
with army chief Gen Surayud Chulanont and had pledged to swiftly
withdraw all Burmese forces from Thai territory.
"We do not know what was really happening inside the Burmese army, but
the intruding forces were still on Thai soil on Feb 9. They had also
detained our troops as hostages for fear that we would fire at the
outpost," said Col Somkhuan.
After the 19 Thai soldiers escaped unharmed, the army had no choice but
to use decisive force to repel the intruders on Saturday morning, Feb
10, between 1am and 4am.
Col Somkhuan said the shelling of Mae Sai town was closely linked to the
fighting at Ban Pang Noon, where a number of Burmese soldiers were
killed.
"They suffered a lot there, so they took revenge by firing at our border
town," he said.
According to New Light of Myanmar, Col Kyaw said: "We intended to
dislodge the SSA rebel camps and had no intention to encroach upon Thai
territory."Col Somkhuan said the incident at Ban Pang Noon clearly
showed "Burmese forces intentionally encroached upon our sovereignty".
"Evidence left at the outpost clearly shows whether it was intentional
or not," said the army spokesman. The bodies of seven Burmese soldiers
were found at the camp.
He said Col Kyaw's allegation that Thai forces helped to defend the SSA
by firing heavy weapons into Tachilek was incorrect.
The army had decided to fire back only after Burmese forces fired shells
into Mae Sai, killing three Thai villagers and injuring seven Thai
soldiers.
Col Kyaw's claim the SSA was responsible for the attack on Mae Sai was
also wrong. "There was no SSA movement around the border town," Col
Somkhuan said.
Burmese forces posted at Tachilek were directly responsible for last
Saturday's shelling of Mae Sai, he said.
___________________________________________________
AIDSonline: Manipur and AIDS
[February 9, 2001]
Manipur is a small land-locked State in the north-east of India. Its
borders include the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Assam to the
west, Mizoram to the south, and a 358 km border with Burma to the east.
The Burmese border includes the large Sagaing Division and a section of
the northern Chin Hills. Manipur is one of the poorest and least
developed regions in India, with a 1996 per capita income estimated at
3500 rupees/year, about one-third of the Indian national average.
Manipur has been governed under Indian security laws since the 1950s,
and is currently patrolled by five Indian military services, in addition
to two Manipuri security agencies. The political situation is complex,
with a large and long-standing insurgency seeking autonomy, many smaller
ethnic insurgencies, numerous armed groups, and several thousand
political and economic migrants and refugees from Burma. A state of
low-intensity chronic civil war pervades, and armed clashes, human
rights abuses, and violence are endemic.
Manipur appears to have no significant indigenous tradition of opium
poppy cultivation. Local officials and drug users are consistent in
reporting that heroin form Burma, called locally æNumber 4Æ, began to
appear in Manipur in 1982-84. After 1984 the availability and use of
heroin increased steadily, reaching epidemic proportions after 1990.
Although precise numbers of addicts are difficult to assess, a 1991
estimate was 15000 IDU (Injecting Drug Users), it is clear that heroin
use is common and has been attributed to widespread availability of
Burmese exports (Note: Burma produces approximately 60% of the worldÆs
heroin.)
Nearly all heroin users studied were injectors. Needle sharing appears
to have been common until quite recently; this has begun to change in
the last 2-3 years among addicts seeking care and those involved with
local information networks.
Local heroin use, however devastating for local people, is only a small
fraction of the heroin trade in the state. Since the early 1990s,
Manipur has increasingly become a major trade route for Burmese heroin,
particularly across the border zone of Moreh (Indian side)-Tamu (Burma
side). According to local traders and official, the bulk of heroin
moving across the Moreh border is from north-east Burma, from the Shan,
Wa, and Kokang growing and manufacturing areas to Mandalay, then across
the Sagaing Division to Tamu and inland to Mandalay to purchase heroin.
They also report æself-testingÆ heroin, and consequent needle sharing
with traders in Mandalay as part of their drug purchasing behaviors.
æSelf-testingÆ is the injection use of heroin by the prospective
purchaser to assess the potency and quality of the drug through its use.
Key informants in Manipur reported that sharing of both drugs and
injection equipment among buyers and sellers was a common feature at
these exchanges.
The first HIV infection in the state was detected in an IDU in 1989, the
same year that HIV became an epidemic among injectors in Burma and
Thailand. Between 1990 and 1991, the HIV prevalence rose form under 1%
among addicts to over 50%, and reached 80.1% by 1997. HIV spread to
other risk groups has since been remarkable rapid; after the epidemic
among injectors, there has been subsequent spread to their sex partners,
wives and children. Although the data are far form complete, a
comparison of Manipur with the rest of India is illustrative: Manipur
has about six times the HIV prevalence of the next most affected state,
Maharashtra, and 20 times the HIV rate of the IndiaÆs third most
affected region, Tamil Nadu. An estimated 2% of pregnant women were HIV
infected in 1997, and 14.4% of tuberculosis patients in 1996, a figure
which had risen form 3.3% only 2 years earlier. Using cumulative data
form 1990, however, 73.9% of known HIV infections have occurred among
injecting drug users. Surveillance data suggests that the bulk of cases
are in the capital, Imphal (69%). However, this is likely to be an
artifact of increased screening and testing facilities.
(From AIDS û http://www.AIDSonline.com -, Vol. 14, No. 1, January 7,
2000)
______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
Burma Courier: for Sale-- 52 Slightly Used State Enterprises
February 2001
Based on an article in the Myanmar Time and Business Review: January 5,
2001
RANGOON - The privatization of state-owned assets is set to accelerate
with increasing numbers of enterprises planned for sale by the military
government.
According to Minister David Abel of the junta's investment commission,
current plans call for the sale of 52 state-owned companies or business
operations from 18 ministries. The money generated from the sale was
not as important to the government as the chance to promote investor
confidence, Abel told the Myanmar Times last week. "Without having a
business environment in Myanmar conducive to greater profitability,
investors will not want to buy these enterprises at high prices," he
said."
Profitability has certainly not been the hallmark of Burma's unwieldy
mishmash of state-owned companies. A World Bank study in 1999 found
that the approximately 1,600 state owned businesses were responsible for
85 percent of the total government budget deficit. And it estimated
that this would increase to over 95 per cent of the deficit in the
1999-2000 fiscal year. Even at that, losses were understated since
state enterprises carry no debt and pay no interest, the WB reported.
They also enjoy many import advantages and access to fuel, electricity
and other services at highly subsidized rates.
Abel didn't spell out the specificd of the enterprises to be sold off,
but all signs are that they are along the lines of the older, well-worn,
small businesses such as cinemas, provincial hotels, ice factories and
saw mills that have been sold off up to now.
"In the future we will also sell newly-built factories, such as sugar
mills, either by means of privatization or corporatization," Abel said.
"Hopefully, in the long run, local entrepreneurs will have the ability
to buy and run larger state-owned schemes such as sugar mills and
textile factories."
The government's economic guru didn't hazard a guess as to when the
"business environment" would be sufficiently improved to warrant putting
the juiciest plums from the state corporations' bundle of losing
propositions on the market.
______________OPINION/EDITORIALS_________________
Bangkok Post: Time to move forward
Sat, 10 February 2001
Stagnating in a stalemate has not taken, and will not take, Burma
anywhere-politically or internationally.
Tin-Maung Than
The European Union delegation rightly pointed out last week that trust
building is a keyword in the Burmese dialogue between Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi, the Nobel Peace laureate and leader of the majority of the people's
representatives; and Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, Secretary (1) of the military
government and chief of military intelligence.
Since it has been agreed the meeting will be strictly confidential, we
do not have any hint how the dialogue is going on.
In the media, the EU troika did not suggest any idea how international
community could help the trust building process. At the moment, it seems
there is nothing the EU, United States, Japan or Asean can do but simply
wait and watch.
After an exhausting and vain conflict for more than a decade, building
trust is a tough job. Yet, both parties can enrich their political life
in the process. I think three elements are essential in the current
pre-negotiation stage: to close the communication gap; to adopt a
systematic approach; and to see politics in a future perspective.
The communication gap: When one does not receive the other's intended
message, there is a gap in communication between two persons. The gap is
usually immense in politics. In a conflict, the gap is too enormous to
reflect each other rightly in one's imagination. So, both sides are
working on their own interpretations and assumptions without realising
their visual defects, which are perpetually aggravated by their
political prejudices along with the punches and pain in the ring.
That was what happened between the opposition and the military. One of
the political events that widened this gap between them was the
opposition's demand for an interim government in 1988.
The ruling socialist group at that time went along with the opposition
to hold multi-party elections, but refused to form an interim
government. The opposition's concern was fairness in elections.
As for the ruling group, it did not see any point in accepting the
demand since it had already given its word that the members of Central
Executive Committee and the government would not compete in the
elections.
Each group did not get the other's intended message and saw the demand
or rejection as a deceit. Thus each framed the other in moral context,
honesty and integrity-and both were trapped in distrust.
Identifying and explaining such events are necessary in building trust.
Without closing the gap in communication, both sides may find it hard to
hammer out real political differences.
A systematic approach: Politics tends to give us a complete run-down on
the good-guy/bad-guy scenario. In the international media, the generals
were monsters, while Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and democrats were villains in
the state-controlled press.
Lack of a mechanism to express discontent and dissenting opinions made
people think in black and white. An authoritarian system never allows
its people to view various perspectives.
The systematic approach focuses on the system only in the context of the
underlying system. Moreover, the approach sees events as an interaction
of forces rather than a singular event as a cause. In other words, it is
the explanation of the circular cause and effect. The systematic
approach says that it is we all, not you or I, who are responsible for
any good or bad results. In the Burmese context, the military, the
opposition and the people were responsible for what happened in the
country.
Future perspective: We need to save our future because we would have
already lost it if we remain in the current state of affairs.
The paradigm of past reactive policies on both sides centred on each
other.
Paradoxically, they were not free at all because they were bound to each
other, so that when one caught the other in a corner, the hunter found
himself in the same corner too.
At the dialogue, talking about controversial Burmese past and present
scenarios without a systematic approach, may result in a vicious circle
of blaming each other.
Now it is time for the leaders to project themselves into the future in
both the regional and international perspective.
Comparative regional projection may further reveal the backwardness of
Burma relative to its Asian neighbours. The idea is to turn the
negative, that is, poverty and backwardness, into a political asset.
Separation of the future from the past and present may need intellectual
and imaginative efforts.
When the political focus is shifted to the future and other countries,
the space for policy becomes larger for both parties. The thinking
becomes global; the outlook becomes outward.
The politics of manipulating each other is compressed. The objective
becomes competition with foreign countries and this would be nationalism
in a globalised technological age, which will hopefully release the
military from its defensive, preventive and isolated nationalism.
Furthermore, the future perspective will also bring a sense of
competency into the Burmese political forces, which is, traditionally,
highly personal.
International academic support: The international community can enhance
the process of trust building by sponsorship of research and seminars. I
think they can go parallel with the dialogue. It might be an academic
interest to do research in the systematic approach to see how
misunderstanding is generated between both sides. The academic community
may also hold a seminar on "The Future of Burma". It may be best if it
is held in Rangoon, with the participation of leaders from various
political interest groups in the country.
The seminar should offer as much information in detail as possible so
that participants are really able to live in the future.
The objective is to stimulate their nationalism and give them sense of
urgency in the future perspective and thus release them from their
professional bias.
I am hopeful that the image of both parties in the public's eyes becomes
neutral and positive after the dialogue and seminar because the frame of
reference is not each other.
The vital strategy at the moment is to release both sides from the past
and to look for "an area of least resistance and common interest".
The writer is a former editor of the recently banned Thintbawa (Your
Life) magazine.
___________________________________________________
Restoration Council of the Shan State: On the fighting at the Kaeng Tung
front
Statement No. 2/2001
Date: 14th February 2001
1. On the 5th February, SPDC troops staged an offensive against SSA
troops of the Kaeng Tung Front at Loi Kaw Wan, Murng Karn tract,
Tachilek township. The battle has been continuing until 13th February
2001, with no sign that it will end. In this battle at least 35 SPDC
troops have been killed and more than 60 of them have been wounded. SSA
troops have captured a large number of arms and ammunition. And now SPDC
troops have received and order to station 10 battalions (including UWSA
troops) along the Thai border.
2. SSA troops did not take part and were not present during the border
conflict at Mae Sai, on 11th February 2001. SPDC broke international
rules and crossed the border into Thai territory. The Thai anti-narcotic
drugs policy had hurt their drug trade so much that the SPDC troops were
looking for revenge. That is why they forced 19 Thai rangers to
surrender at Loi Pang Noon, which caused the border conflict between
Thai and SPDC troops.
3. In the meantime SPDC are using UWSA against SSA troops with an
intention to create an ethnic war between the Shan and Wa. It is part of
their ethnic cleansing process. RCSS, the council leading SSA troops,
has no policy to fight against our own indigenous people. SSA is
fighting to free our people and will never become an instrument of any
another group or country.
4. With regard to narcotic drugs, it is not only the Wa who are trading
in drugs. In every nation there are those who are good and those who are
evil, so there are drug runners in every ethnic group. SSA has been
carrying out our policy to eradicate narcotic drugs in our land and will
fight against whoever trades in and is involved in drugs. Our targets
are drug dealers not particular ethnic groups.
Yawd Serk
Chairman
Restoration Council of the Shan State.
___________________________________________________
Myanmar Information Committee (SPDC): Time to Substitute Buffers between
Nations With Friendship, Trade and Mutual Cooperation
Information Sheet No. B-1711(I/L) 14th February, 2001
[Abridged. BurmaNet adds?The regime appears to refer to the Shan State
Army (SSA) as the Shan United Revolutionary Army. SSA is the
abbreviation commonly used in the English language press and the SSA
refers to itself as the Shan State Army in its own English language
publications.]
On the 12th of February a press conference was held in Yangon to clarify
some points on the military operation that had taken place on the
Myanmar side of the Myanmar-Thai border in the Triangle Region Command.
It was an operation carried out to protect the local population from
the threat and harm of various armed terrorist groups as well as to
stop the illegal drug trafficking along that border.
Since the operation was carried out along and on the borders of both
Myanmar and Thailand the appropriate and responsible Thai military
officials were timely informed and measures were underestandingly
coordinated so that unnecessary complications and misunderstandings
might not arise later.
...In this regard, the Myanmar anti-narcotic officials have been
monitoring the activities of Ywet Sit and his armed drug trafficking
group called SURA (Shan United Revolutionary Army).
It is quite interesting to learn that the way Ywet Sit is implementing
today is a carbon copy of the tactics Khun Sa used before his surrender
to the Myanmar Government. It is also regrettable to learn that certain
Thai media have portrayed Ywet Sit as a Shan leader fighting for
freedom and helping the Thai army to interdict drugs coming out of
Myanmar to Thailand. In fact, news mentioning how SURA supposedly
ambushed a drug convoy coming from Myanmar side and fought against all
the evil-armies trafficking drugs, were constantly highlighted while
some even committed to the extent of reporting that the SURA destroyed
or even handed-over the captured drugs to the Thai officials.
Logically, if this story is to be taken as truth, then we all shall
have to come to accept that the originator of this pretext, Khun Sa,
was also sincere when he portrayed himself as a selfless freedom fighter
trying to liberate the Shan people from the clutches of the evil Bamar
race.
Yet, it is more regrettable that the Thai Army is treating Ywet Sit like
a partner and giving the SURA not only morale support but physical
assistance as well. The SURA has been given not only bases and
sanctuaries inside Thailand but also the artillery support against the
Myanmar troop positions. This scenario is also a repetition of what had
been occurred during March of 1995 when Khun Sa attacked a border town
on Myanmar side called Tachileik. In both cases, the leader of MTA in
1995 and the leader of SURA in 2001 were both allowed to use their
territory in the mobilization of their troops and their wounded were
given medical treatment there as well. Both incidents were quite
obviously orchestrated. During the first incident, even some of the
Bangkok-based foreign media have already taken position on a nearby hill
and recorded the fighting as it took place. They managed to record the
MTA attacking and destroying the houses of innocent civilians while a
handful of local police and soldiers fought back to protect the
civilian population there. Even in the midst of the shootings it was
recorded on one of the foreign T.V. news showing the Myanmar security
officials taking great care and making sure their bullet might not go
astray into the Thai territory. They even went to the extent of
avoiding to shoot back at the MTA troops positioned on the Thai side of
the territory. According to the informed sources and the MTA officials
who are now under the custody of the Myanmar Government, it is
regretfully learnt that the attack was being coordinated by MTA and
assisted by the Thai army. Similarly, in this week incident Tachileik
has been attacked by the armed narco-terrorists from the same
organization but now using a different name SURA. Due to the artillery
fire from the Thai territory, 3 townspeople were killed while 15
wounded and 7 houses, 1 Buddhist monastery, 1 church, 3 motor-vehicles
damaged. Coincidentally, the shots that were fired from the Thai
territory were from the same place and position as similar as that of
the 1995 incident.
It is also sad to learn that there were civilian casualties on Thai side
and that the Thai Army leaders were coming up with strong statements
against Myanmar side because 2 civilians were killed and 8 wounded.
Past experience and recent fighting tactics employed by such armed
terrorist groups indicated the fact that those shells that exploded in
Maisai on the Thai side of the border could be SURA?s deliberate
attempt to create misunderstanding between the two neighbouring
countries. It is very clear that the direction of the shells that fell
into Maisai is not in the direction of where the actually fighting was
taking place on the Myanmar side. It is a totally different direction
and only some one with vested interests can deliberately do it.
However, to effectively stop the drug menace threatening both Myanmar
and Thailand, it is of utmost importance for both countries to join
forces and seriously cooperate with each other. Myanmar is in the
process of eradicating opium-based drugs inside the country and also
having to face another kind of threat which is the synthetic stimulant
drugs. Without the cooperation from Thailand, especially in the field
of preventing essential chemicals from falling into the hands of the
organized criminal syndicates and refraining from giving sanctuaries
and support to armed criminal organizations of various neighbouring
countries, otherwise our fight against the narcotic drugs and also
nurturing the borders between the nations peaceful and stable would not
be effective and any endeavour would be in vain. It is time that we
sincerely work together to reach our common objective of having our
borders free from drugs and from any kind of armed anti-government
organizations from neighbouring countries. Our trade flourishes and
friendship thrives then and there.
______________________OTHER______________________
PD Burma: Calendar of events
February 15, 2001
╖ February 12th-15th : Mr. Jaswant Singh, Indias Foreign Minister,
will visit Burma.
╖ February 15th : Conference on Burma, Stockholm. Oluf Palme
International Center and Swedish NGO. Foundation for Human Rights
╖ February 15-16th : Burma Donor Meeting, Sweden
╖ February 20-22nd : Dr Sein Win, Prime Minister in exile to
address the Italian Senate's Foreign Commission, Rome More info.,
contact r.brusadin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
╖ February (end) : International Trade Union conference on
ôSolidarity with Burmaö, Tokyo
╖ March 8th : Award ceremony for the Internatinal Student Peace
Prize to Min Koo Naing and the ABDFU, Norway. Organised by ISFIT.
More info. www.isfit.org
╖ March 8th : Next session of the Governing Body of the ILO.
Forced labour in Burma to be discussed
╖ March 17-19th : International Strategy Meeting on Burma,
Bangkok. Organised by Altsean-Burma. More info, contact:
teaparties@xxxxxxxxxx
╖ April : Events organised by Association Suisse-Birmanie:
Petition to abolish forced
labour.More info, contact info@xxxxxxxxxx
╖ April : EU Common Position Review
╖ April 1-7th : Inter-Parliamentary Conference, Cuba
╖ March 19th/April 27th : UN Commission on Human Rights, Geneva
╖ May 13-20th : UN LDC III, UN conference on the LDC-countries,
Brussels
╖ May 22nd : Shareholder meeting for Total, Paris
╖ May 27th : 11th Anniversary of the 1990 elected
╖ May : ARF Senior Official Meeting, Hanoi
╖ June : Meeting in the Governing Body of the ILO
╖ June : Meeting of the Socialist International Council, Lisbon
╖ June 8-10th : Burma Desk during the Italian Forum for
Responsible Tourism, Venice û Italy
More info., contact r.brusadin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
╖ June 19th : Aung San Suu Kyi birthday party and Burmese Women's
Day
╖ July : Belgium takes over EU Presidency
╖ July : 8th RFA Ministerial Meeting, Hanoi
╖ July : 34th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting and Post-Ministerial
Conference
╖ July : ASEAN Summit
╖ Aug. 31st- Sep.7th : World Conference against Racism and Racial
Discrimination, Xenophobia and related
intolerance, South Africa
╖ December 1st : Worlds Aids Day
╖ December 10th : 10th Year Anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize
for Aung San Suu Kyi,
________________
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