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BurmaNet News: February 23, 2001
- Subject: BurmaNet News: February 23, 2001
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 10:57:00
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
February 23, 2001 Issue # 1742
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
INSIDE BURMA _______
*Bangkok Post: Junta readies air and tank assaults: Successful guerrilla
raid triggers reply
*Asiaweek: Holiday in Hell
*Lonely Planet: Notes on a Recent Visit to Myanmar
REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*AFP: Rebel leader vows to fight Myanmar troops
*The Independent (Bangladesh): Strategy to keep China at bay India woos
Myanmar
*The Nation (Thailand): Chavalit blasts press coverage of Shan attack
*The Nation: Army warns Burma drug lords over smuggling
*Kyodo: Japan makes grant to Myanmar to improve health care
ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
*AP: Thailand Bans Shipment Of 'Strategic' Goods To Myanmar
*Than Setthakit [Thailand]: Trade, tourism sectors said hurt by
situation on Burma border
*Asiaweek: A Boom Town Beckons
OPINION/EDITORIALS_______
*Business Day (Thailand): Myanmar border conflict must be swiftly
quelled
*The Nation: Thailand and Burma Need To Mend Fences
OTHER______
*KHRG: Karen Human Rights Group Book Released
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
AFP: Rebel leader vows to fight Myanmar troops
DOI KO WON, Myanmar, Feb 23 (AFP) - A Shan State Army (SSA) leader vowed
to fight advancing Myanmar soldiers Friday and said his troops were
preparing to mount their own offensives.
"From now on we will not just wait for Myanmar troops to fire on us. We
will move to fight them, too," SSA leader Yawd Serk told reporters at a
jungle encampment about one kilometer (under a mile) from the Thai
border in Shan State.
"I believe we can fight against Myanmar troops because we want our
country back," he said.
Yawd Serk said SSA troops had been attacked because they were positioned
along a border route used by Myanmar to transport drugs, and that the
SSA was simply following its policy to suppress the drugs trade.
He said the SSA had its own legal means of supporting its military
operations, which cost the ethnic rebel group approximately 100 million
kyats (198,800 dollars) per year.
"We have our own legal businesses. We are not involved in drugs," he
said, declining to reveal the nature of the group's businesses for fear
Myanmar authorities might intervene.
Ethnic Shan rebels were not the only target of Myanmar troops, Yawd Serk
said.
"I believe they don't want to attack only the Shan, they want to attack
Thailand also," he said.
Yawd Serk said SSA troops had abandoned a Myanmar military base they had
taken earlier this week, and that Myanmar troops had returned to it.
During a half-hour skirmish late Wednesday, Shan State Army rebels
stormed the base located some 300 meters (990 feet) from the Thai
border, Thai sources said.
Some 20 Myanmar troops had been stationed at the base inside Myanmar,
opposite the Mae Fah Luang district in the northern Thai province of
Chiang Rai.
The attacking SSA troops, who numbered about 50, torched the base. One
Myanmar soldier was killed and a second was taken prisoner during the
fighting, according to a Thai border source.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra confirmed Wednesday that the
fighting took place on Myanmar soil, and said Thailand would ensure the
security of its people along the border.
Thaksin said he considered the fighting a domestic issue for Myanmar and
that he thought it would end soon.
Scores of Thai troops have been sent to the border region in recent
weeks to guard against incursions by Myanmar troops, whose battle with
ethnic rebels strayed into Thailand earlier this month.
The SSA is one of the only major armed factions left in Myanmar yet to
agree to a ceasefire with the Yangon government.
Yawd Serk has pledged to cooperate with international efforts to
suppress drug trafficking.
___________________________________________________
Bangkok Post: Junta readies air and tank assaults: Successful guerrilla
raid triggers reply
Feb. 23, 2001
Rangoon is preparing to send jet fighters and tanks against Shan State
Army forces who overran a Burmese army border post, killing one soldier,
yesterday.
Intelligence sources said Rangoon had deployed six Chengdu F-7 light
fighter interceptors to Kengtung, 150km north of Tachilek, opposite Mae
Sai district, Chiang Rai.
The Chengdu F-7 is a Chinese copy of Russia's multi-role MiG-21 and
equivalent to the F-5 operated by the air force.
Rangoon had also sent 50 Chinese-made light tanks to the Tachilek area,
the sources said.
Air force pilots at Wing 41 in Chiang Mai, Wing 1 in Nakhon Ratchasima
and Wing 4 in Nakhon Sawan, were placed on full alert as the build-up in
the conflict zone increased.
The Burmese soldier was killed and five wounded yesterday morning when
the Shan took the outpost opposite Ban Pha-hi, 5km southwest of Mae Sai.
The scene of the fighting is 500m from a Thai position and close to the
area where Thai and Burmese troops exchanged gunfire on Feb 11.
After 30 minutes of fighting, the outpost fell to the Shan, who set it
on fire and took one Burmese soldier prisoner.
Col Yawd Serk, chairman of the Shan State Restoration Council, said the
action was aimed at disrupting Burmese military movements.
The Shan had been aware of an imminent assault on their border bases and
had to take the initiative, he said.
Third Army commander Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong said he was not
optimistic about the chances of a new round of border talks. It was up
to Burma to call a meeting.
Thailand would not push for talks since the latest round of clashes had
not stemmed from the Thai side, he said.
An estimated 200 Burmese troops had entered Ban Pang Noon, Mae Fah Luang
district, on Feb 9, to assault a Shan base along the border area.
"This is an issue of national integrity," he said. "Since we did not
start the conflict and have not done anything wrong, we will not
initiate such a move." Lt-Gen Wattanachai jointly chairs the Thai-Burma
regional border committee, which has not met to discuss the border for
two years.
A first round of talks on the conflict was held last week in Tachilek
and Mae Sai, but ended in deadlock.
The Foreign Ministry said Burma should formally propose a meeting to
settle the dispute rather than talk about its wishes for a peaceful
solution, he said.
Pradap Pibulsonggram, the ministry spokesman, urged Burmese authorities
to submit in writing a proposal for talks. Thailand was concerned that
it would again be affected by renewed tension on the Burmese side of the
border, he said.
Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, secretary one of the ruling State Peace and
Development Council, on Monday said Burma was not aggressive in its
foreign relations and wanted to resolve its border dispute peacefully.
___________________________________________________
Asiaweek: Holiday in Hell
By Ron Gluckman
A well-intentioned travel boycott of Myanmar hurts ordinary people
We're bumping along rutted roads in a dusty rented car, Tony and the
driver up front, Maureen and me in back, when Tony, face pressed in his
Lonely Planet guidebook, suggests another stop. Up ahead is
Thayekhittaya, ruins dating back 2,500 years. The description is
enticing, but we can't help but groan. We've been lurching for eight,
long hours on the road from Myanmar's capital, Yangon. We ache, it's
nearly dark, and tomorrow morning promises another long ride to Bagan,
the ancient city that is our quest.
Besides, we bowed to Tony last time, at Shwemyetman Paya (Temple of the
Golden Spectacles). The appeal -- you guessed it -- a Buddha with big
glasses. "It takes nine monks to lift the glasses every fortnight to
clean them," Tony gleefully recites from the guide he keeps close at
hand. To be honest, we are a bit Buddha-ed out, a common condition among
tourists in this pagoda-packed land. Still, it's a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity, exhorts Tony. So, as the sun sets, we're tramping through
muddy fields -- only the temples are so far away, we never reach one.
"Gee, this book should better explain the distance," says Tony,
unabashed. "You really need more time here."
You'd think he'd be at least a little bit contrite. After all, it's his
guide book. Literally. Tony and Maureen Wheeler practically invented
budget travel. Their hand-stapled reports back in 1973 from a honeymoon
trek across Asia spawned Lonely Planet and its legendary backpacker
guides. With their down-to-earth, first-person reports of how to get
there, what to see and where to stay, plus their in-depth sections on
history, culture and the environment, all delivered with a 1960s-style
counterculture slant, the Wheelers' guides have long been the bible for
independent travelers. But Tony and Maureen were not trudging through
Myanmar to check on the accuracy of travel times in their book on the
country. They came to this tragic but beautiful land because human
rights activists have organized a boycott aimed at forcing them to cease
publication of their Myanmar guide.
"The development of tourism in Burma is directly linked to mass human
rights abuses including rape, torture and murder," declares Tourism
Concern and Burma Campaign, two London-based activist groups. "Lonely
Planet's promotion of tourism to Burma . . . have left pro-democracy
activists with no choice but to call for a boycott." The campaigners
last year asked concerned travellers to stop buying any Lonely Planet
books as long as the company publishes a Myanmar guide. The Wheelers
were stunned. After all, their guides provide blunt expositions of human
rights violations in addition to explaining how to get to obscure
pagodas and where to find the best cheap meals. The company donates part
of its profits to causes like women's rights and the environment (and
including, for many years, Tourism Concern and Burma Campaign). Only
repressive governments ban Lonely Planet guides for being too honest
about the problems in countries they cover. Or so the Wheelers thought.
The boycott is one of the latest acts in the long running tragedy that
is Burma -- or Myanmar, as it was named by the generals who seized power
in 1988 over the bodies of thousands of student protesters. They later
refused to relinquish control following elections in 1990 won by the
opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Her courage in the years of
resistance and house arrest since has earned her a Nobel Peace Prize.
Tourism might seem a strange target in the battle against the junta, but
the long stalemate has forced drastic tactics. The regime's plan to
boost visitor numbers in the 1990s presented an obvious Achilles' Heel.
Aung San Suu Kyi called on would-be tourists to shun her country,
arguing that their money only helped the military, not the ordinary
people. From there, the boycott has grown from telling foreigners not to
go to Myanmar, to insisting that they not even buy books about going to
Myanmar.
Should you stay or should you go? "The message from Aung San Suu Kyi and
the NLD [her National League for Democracy party] has been unequivocal,"
says Patricia Barnett, director of Tourism Concern. "They say don't go,
and they are the legitimate government. We have to respect their
wishes." The Wheelers were not sure. A two-page section in the Lonely
Planet Myanmar guide outlines the pros and cons, but concludes: "Tourism
remains one of the only industries to which ordinary people have access.
Any reduction in tourism automatically means a reduction in local income
earning opportunities. For this reason alone, we continue to believe
that the positives of travel to Myanmar outweigh the negatives." Still,
logic dictates that the debate be decided in the country in question,
not at the home office. Hence, Tony and Maureen have come to Myanmar to
see things for themselves. Asiaweek tagged along for our own look.
Tourism is bad, say boycott groups, since it props up the military
regime and helps no one in Myanmar. That argument puzzles Soe Tint, a
taxi driver in Yangon. Glancing in the mirror, he ponders this for
perhaps a nano-second before replying, "How can anyone think that?" If
no tourists come, the 49-year-old grandfather would need a new job. Tint
worked as a government civil engineer for 20 years. He saved up his
money, and in 1995 bought a second-hand car and went into the taxi
business. Now he can make $ 10 a day, six times his old salary. "What is
bad," he says, "is this boycott. We need more tourists, not less."
Investors in the travel sector feel particularly disenfranchised. "Most
of us came in the early 1990s, when there was great promise," says
Arbind Shrestha, general manager of Trader's, Yangon's largest luxury
hotel. "The government made a commitment to open the market." His
company, Shangri-la Hotels and Resorts, put $ 85 million into Myanmar,
where it planned two hotels. Only the 392-room Trader's was completed.
The shells and abandoned construction sites of stalled projects litter
the capital, reminders of a tourist boom that never happened. Occupancy
around Yangon runs 25%-30%, against normal industry targets of 70%-80%.
Says Shrestha: "We all feel cheated."
Of course, one might dismiss five-star hoteliers as a pack of greed
heads and sneer at their losses. But it's not just the big-time
investors losing out. Duncan MacLean, manager of the swank Equatorial,
says entry-level positions in his hotel pay $ 100 per month. That's a
fivefold increase over the mid-1990s, when hotel clerks earned four
times as much as nurses. The spread has only widened, he guesses. "I'd
estimate that tourism brings Myanmar at least 100,000 jobs, and a
million or more indirectly."
Among those small timers benefiting are locals like Hillary Newton (who
despite his Anglo-sounding name is Burmese) whom I met on my first visit
in the early 1990s. Newton used to sit at Sule Pagoda in Yangon,
approaching tourists with the smattering of English learned as a seaman,
offering a range of services guide, translator, fixer -- anything to
earn cash. Much has changed in Myanmar, but there was Newton outside the
stupa, still chasing a fast buck. Now, he boasts business cards and
works for a local travel agency. And he's not afraid to speak his mind.
"We want change," Newton says over a curry in a shop not far from Sule.
"But this movement really needs the help of our friends," he adds. "We
need tourists and we need business. Reform will come later."
I hear that sentiment expressed everywhere I go. It's repeated so often
by tour operators, hoteliers, taxi drivers, students, waiters, old
friends that I fret about balance. Surely, somewhere there is someone
who supports the boycott. Finally, I meet Herve and Thuzar. Herve's a
Frenchman who quit selling stocks in Paris to roam around the world. In
Burma, he fell in love with a land, a people, and Thuzar. They run a
boutique travel agency taking small groups to amazing parts of the
country. "Perhaps with a boycott, it will give Burma a chance to go
slowly and avoid all the mistakes of places like Thailand," he muses one
magical night at a rooftop restaurant with moonlit views of the golden
domes of Sule and Shwedagon. The latter inspired Rudyard Kipling to
write: "This is Burma and it will be quite unlike any land you know."
Herve knows the feeling. "Of course, anyone who really wants to come
will. They would be fools not to." Not quite the kind of support the
boycotters are looking for.
Still, British tourism has skidded to a halt as agencies dropped
Myanmar. Australian outfits like Intrepid Travel, which specializes in
small-group adventure tours, also abandoned the market. "We agonized
over the decision to start trips to Burma," says Intrepid's responsible
travel coordinator Jane Crouch. Trips started in 1995 and were among the
company's most popular offerings, she says. But the last tours finished
a year ago. Melbourne staff felt the trips implied support of the junta.
(Some say the firm bowed to pressure.) Tour leaders in Myanmar stayed
on. "I couldn't just leave all these people we had trained. They trusted
us," says Ian Marsh, a former Intrepid guide who now runs a firm called
Global Drift and sells trips to essentially the same clientele, but
quietly. "Nobody here wants the boycott," he says. "They want us here,
and I believe we should be here, too."
Boycott groups have a long list of gripes, most legitimate. Myanmar's
record on human rights is abysmal. The junta's suppression of dissent,
oppression of minorities, and links with drug traffickers is notorious.
Keeping the focus on the tourist trade, the International Labor
Organization said in 1998 that the government uses forced labor widely,
including in tourism projects. Residents have been evicted from some
tourism sites, such as the ancient city of Bagan (also known as Pagan)
in 1990. Authorities claimed it was to protect the archeological zone,
then cluttered with guesthouses and tourist stalls. Critics countered
that poor folk were swept aside for military-linked hotels. A decade
later, Old Bagan's only new development is a big museum.
Aung Nyet was evicted from Old Bagan. And New Bagan? "It was hard at
first," Nyet says of the move. Only two weeks notice was given. "But
things are better in New Bagan, We have better lights, more water." Nyet
has bulging muscles from building his riverside restaurant, where he
serves Burmese favorites. Crafts from nearby villages are displayed for
sale. Recent visitors included a group of German doctors, in country to
perform free operations to repair cleft palates. "Tell people this
boycott is completely wrong," he says. "The government and the people
are different. Boycotts hit the people. When tourists don't come,
everybody suffers."
Bagan makes an interesting study. Easily Myanmar's most impressive site,
this deserted city of 5,000 temples that flourished from the 11th to the
13th century ranks with Angkor Wat and the Pyramids of Egypt as a true
world wonder. At sunset, tourists flock to Bupaya, a cylindrical stupa
with stunning views over the Irrawaddy River. Long before the crimson
glow fades from the plain, most of them rush down to buses, then roar
off to dinner shows at huge riverside restaurants. Left behind are a few
awe-struck young travellers who came by bike.
This is the ironic unintended consequence of the boycott. Sensitive
travelers, the kind who patronize privately-owned guesthouses and small
businesses, stay away. Group tours, from France, Italy and Japan
especially, are pouring into state-run hotels. ("Business was better
before 1996, but then it stopped," Hillary said back in Yangon. "For
group tours, Burma is still popular, but individual travellers are much
less than in the old days.") And why have few independent travellers
come? "It's a beautiful country and everyone is happy to see us," one
replies. "Nobody says, 'Why did you come?'" Peter, from Germany, sits in
a tourist-oriented eatery, munching pizza. "I wanted to see for myself.
Who's to say if tourists don't come the government will change?"
That's the big question. Do boycotts work? Is the one against Myanmar
having a positive impact? "Most likely it will turn the clock back, not
forward," says Joe Cummings, who wrote the Lonely Planet guide. "Believe
me, I want to see [the junta] toppled as much as anyone," he adds, "but
there isn't a single indication that isolation will work. I remain
convinced at least for the time being that it can only bring negative
results."
People who profit from tourism -- from guide-book writers to taxi
drivers -- would be expected to oppose the boycott. But it does have
strong support among Burmese, outside the country at least. "We advocate
a total tourism boycott," says Soe Aung, the Thailand-based director of
foreign affairs for the All Burmese Students Democratic Front. "Lonely
Planet is a business that acts in its own interest. They don't care
about the Burmese. They only want to sell books." Maung Maung, general
secretary of the Federation of Trade Unions of Burma, says the world
should ratchet up the pressure. "Engagement doesn't help," he says over
coffee at Starbuck's in Bangkok. And the suffering inside Myanmar? "This
is a crisis situation. People just have to tighten their belts."
Inside Myanmar, however, many feel they have suffered enough. Like a
friend I will call Kyaw. He was jailed for six years following his
election as an NLD parliamentarian. The junta couldn't break his spirit,
but he was booted out of the NLD for daring to question its policies.
"They insisted that we agree to follow their stand without consultation.
I couldn't. I was an elected official. That's not democracy." He adds:
"This boycott is bad for the country. The generals just get richer and
the poor get poorer. We need contact [with the outside world],
investment and industry. Foreigners bring ideas, skills. That's what we
need. That's the only way forward."
Ma Thanegi, jailed for three years after serving as an assistant to Aung
San Suu Kyi, feels much the same. "Why should the people suffer? All
these advocates on our behalf say that will help inspire people to take
to the streets. But we already had a revolution in 1988. Burmese don't
want to go through that again." When we discuss Burmese activists
working outside their country, her eyes burn. "Tell them, come back
here. Bring your children and march in the streets, then I'll march with
you." Ma Thanegi is a painter and writer well known to the Burmese
lobby. One piece penned for an Asian magazine was reprinted by Lonely
Planet as "The Burmese Fairytale." It concludes: "Myanmar has many
problems, largely the result of 30 years of isolation. More isolation
won't fix the problems. Don't close the door on us in the name of
democracy."
Yet activists don't talk to Ma Thanegi. Nor Kyaw. They're out of the
loop. On the plane out of Yangon, I meet Ivan, a Danish activist who has
worked years for the cause. This was his first visit. He spent five days
in the capital, time enough to visit aid groups and others in his
network before returning to Thailand for four weeks of consultation with
refugee workers. "I didn't want to stay longer in Burma because tourism
is so bad," he says. "Besides, that was enough to get a feel of the
situation." Ivan is wearing a anti-child labor T-shirt. "It's another of
our causes," he notes. As we leave the plane, he slips on an Aung San
Suu Kyi pin. "I want to see the reaction of the stewardesses," he
confides conspiratorially.
But Myanmar needs more than gestures from well-wishers. The message in
the country is clear: people want better government, but also investment
and contact with the outside world. Not later, now. At the end of their
trip, the Wheelers are exhausted but clear. "We wrestled with the idea
of putting out the book even before we heard from the boycott people,"
says Maureen. "We believe tourism can be a good thing, but we wanted to
see for ourselves. Everywhere we went, people were positive about
tourism." Pulling the book would actually be the easy way out. It sells
less than 5,000 copies per year; the Thailand guide sells 50,000
annually. But taking it off the shelves? "No way," says Tony. Myanmar,
he reckons, isn't helped by censorship or isolation. That's not how
democratic debate works.
___________________________________________________
Lonely Planet: Notes on a Recent Visit to Myanmar
[Abridged]
[Circulated by email to a number of Burma observers]
Tony Wheeler - Lonely Planet Publications
1 February 2001
Maureen and I visited Myanmar/Burma for the first time in 1974. We
returned again in 1978 and I made several more trips in the late '70s
and early '80s. The first edition of our guide to Burma appeared in 1979
after those first visits.
Recently I made trips in 1997 and 1999. In 1997 I was working on a
'coffee table book' about the rickshaws of Asia, an interesting but
disappearing form of transport, and in 1999 I was working on another
similar photographic book about rice and its importance in Asia. The
1997 trip led photographer Richard I'Anson and me to Myanmar because it
has a unique form of rickshaw and the 1999 trip because prior to WWII
Burma was the world's largest rice exporter and today the Burmese still
consume more rice per capita than any other country on earth. On both
those trips we spoke to a large number of 'ordinary' people about their
work and their lives.
In early 2000 Tourism Concern launched a 'boycott Lonely Planet'
movement on the basis that our guidebook to Myanmar/Burma encouraged
tourism to that country and financed the country's terrible government.
I won't deny that campaign has hurt. Not in a financial sense, there's
no detectable impact on our sales and sales of the Myanmar/Burma book in
particular have noticeably increased, but personally because it's a
country we have loved for many years, a country we have taken a personal
interest in and a country where we thought we were doing the right
thing. Over the last year replying to people who have written (not just
sent a 'click this button' email message or card) has consumed a huge
amount of time - I have tried to reply to every single person
personally. Some of the letters I've replied to have been ill informed
and even downright abusive although many others have been measured,
thoughtful and well considered.
So in January 2001 Maureen and I returned to Myanmar/Burma purely and
simply to find out what people in the country actually thought. We were
beginning to think that the view of the country we got from Britain (and
the vast majority of the correspondence we have had was from the UK) was
not unlike the view of Cuba you get from Miami, impassioned but not
necessarily 100% correct.
We spent 12 days in Myanmar/Burma from 12 to 24 January and we spent
almost all that time talking to people. We talked to diplomats, we
talked to businesspeople both Burmese (and Shan and Karen for that
matter) and expats, we talked to journalists (from outside as well as
inside the country), we talked to ex-political prisoners, we talked to
the families of current political prisoners, we talked to NLD (National
League of Democracy) members, we talked to aid workers, we talked to
people in the street, we talked to people who are dirt poor and people
who are clearly comfortably well off. Here are some of the thing we
found:
BURMA OR MYANMAR?
I found a Burmese website discussion on the name which concluded:
Some people still argue the usage of whether 'Myanmar' or 'Burma'. But
what difference does it make? It's all the same. (Just like Japan is
called by outsiders as 'Japan', while the Japanese do called themselves
as 'Nipon'.) We don't do any politics here. This is just a cultural
page! So don't bulk me with flame emails, arguing Myanmar or Burma.
That seemed to be the feeling in the country. People called it Myanmar.
I must admit I like the sound of Burma better than Myanmar (and Rangoon
better than Yangon, Prome better than Pyay) but if that's what people in
the country are going with I'll live with it. Plus it makes it easier to
use the term 'Burmese' to refer to the people within Myanmar who
particularly are Burmese, not Shan, Karen, Wa or whatever. Not everybody
in Myanmar/Burma is Burmese, just as not everybody in Britain is
English. So from here on I'm going to refer to Myanmar.
MONEY TO THE GOVERNMENT
Yes visiting Myanmar does put some money in the government's pocket, but
not a lot. Virtually everybody flying from Europe to Bangkok or on to
Australia puts some money in the government of Myanmar's pocket in the
form of airline overflight fees for example.
One piece of disinformation spread by some of the boycott movement is
that there is an 'entry charge' on arrival. Yes, there is a compulsory
exchange, but in no way is that an 'entry charge.' The compulsory
exchange has recently been cut from US$300 to US$200 and very few
visitors would not spend that amount of money in the country anyway.
Shoestring travellers could, on the other hand, have chicken briyani for
lunch at the Nilarwin restaurant in Yangon every day for the next year
with their 'entry fee'!
The current problem is the exchange is not direct from dollars to kyat,
it's via FEC - foreign exchange certificates, a silly Chinese idea which
the Chinese eventually dropped and the government of Myanmar also seems
to be backing out of. After years of being worth almost exactly the same
as the US dollar (occasionally even more) the FEC has recently dropped
to about 75% of the value of the US dollar. So yes, you would be putting
25% of the compulsory exchange into the government's pocket, if you did
not first spend that money on expenditure which is denominated in
FECs/US$ like your departure tax, certain site entries, certain hotel
charges etc. Anyway it appears FECs may soon disappear.
Otherwise your money will go to the government if you stay in a
government-owned hotel - of which there are eight out of approximately
400 open to foreigners in the country. They're easy to avoid and in fact
only one of the eight (the Inwa Hotel in Mandalay) is on the standard
Yangon-Bagan-Mandalay-Inle tourist circuit.
Money also goes to the government if you fly by the government-owned
airline internationally, but why bother, you can fly with Thai, Silk
Air, etc. And domestically you'd be crazy to use the government-owned
airline since it is unreliable and lethally dangerous while there are
two much better privately owned rivals. Most bus services are privately
owned and many visitors use cars and drivers which are privately owned.
Apart from in that handful of government-owned hotels all restaurants
are privately owned. In total very little of the tourist infrastructure
is government owned.
OPEN REGIONS
Far more of the country is open to visitors than in the past although
there are still many border regions that are either unsafe and/or are
not open to visitors. There is certainly not an 'itinerary' which
visitors are forced to follow, as some boycotters insist. We even saw
cyclists travelling around the country and particularly in the Shan
region trekking is becoming increasingly popular.
In 1983 I travelled around Myanmar in a rented pickup truck, an activity
which at the time was still illegal. Even in large towns like Pyay/Prome
I had to go through checkpoints hidden under a tarpaulin in the back of
the truck. That certainly does not apply today in a much larger area of
the country.
Even when people are followed the abilities of the government's feared
'military intelligence' seem to confirm that old line that 'military
intelligence' is an oxymoron. An aid worker spoke of visiting a border
region where he spoke to people in English and in their local language
(which he spoke) while his military intelligence guard spoke only
Burmese and had no idea what was being discussed.
TALKING TO PEOPLE
Some people involved in the boycott movement insist that people are
unwilling to talk to you because of the risks involved. One
pro-boycotter wrote that my visit would be useless as nobody would dare
talk to me because 'military intelligence (the military government spy
network) is everywhere.' The fact is everybody will talk to you and some
of them seem almost recklessly outspoken in what they will talk about.
In our very first Burma book published in 1979 I wrote about how people
were very keen to talk to foreigners because they were regarded as a
safe contact. That situation absolutely prevails today although the
relative safety of speaking out has certainly varied over the years. In
fact today I have never been to a country where people are so ready to
talk - no not to talk, to speculate. Nobody knows what the hell is
happening and everybody wants to speculate about it.
Ross Dunkley, the Australian publisher of the recently launched
newspaper Myanmar Times said that, 'this is the world's greatest gossip
town, the military, business, people in the streets, everybody has heard
a rumour and it is always from a "reliable source".' John Jenkins, the
British Ambassador, commented that, 'I've never been in a place with
such an effective bush telegraph.'
There was a feeling, however, that the freedom to talk more freely had
changed considerably in the last few years. Several people felt that it
was only in the last three years (1998 was a date we were given on a
number of occasions) that people felt the situation had changed
noticeably. One Burmese even quoted jokes which were 'no longer
dangerous,' which is of little help to the Moustache Brothers who remain
behind bars for telling jokes. And there were certainly some
conversations we had in Myanmar where the people involved felt it was
wise to ensure they had real privacy before opening up.
INFORMATION
The increased number of tourists has led to the availability of much
more information both directly from tourists to locals and also from
overseas media. I'm sure the government would censor overseas
publications if there was something particularly critical of their
activities but during our period in Myanmar the ongoing meetings between
Aung San Suu Kyi and the military government and the progression of the
claim on her house by her brother in the USA could be read about in
Time, Newsweek, the Singapore Straits Times, the Bangkok Post, etc even
though they were not reported in the local press. CNN and to a lesser
extent BBC World are widely available not only in tourist hotels but
even in small hotels in 'up country' towns as well as in restaurants,
bars, etc.
Furthermore the BBC radio broadcasts in Burmese are listened to with
avid interest. 'They listen to the radio,' reported John Jenkins the
British Ambassador. 'Everybody listens to the BBC's Burmese language
reports,' said a Burmese. Amusingly U Lu Maw, the one Moustache Brother
at liberty, told me he heard of the Burma boycott protest outside our
office in London in a Burmese language broadcast and assumed it had been
organised by one of our competitors!
Ross Dunkley, publisher of the Myanmar Times, a recently launched
weekly, English language paper, had earlier run a paper in Hanoi and
said that censorship was, 'five times worse there, the old
Communist-style central control. Our ability to cover stories improves
all the time,' he continued. A person from the British embassy later
said, 'the Myanmar Times is owned by military intelligence,' but Ross
had already said that people would say, 'we're the sophisticated
propaganda vehicle for the military.'
EMAIL & INTERNET
All email goes via the government but it seems to pass through their
hands with such speed I wonder how well they can read it! An expat
resident who came to Myanmar after a long spell in Vietnam predicted it
would soon 'reach a critical mass, like in Vietnam, where they are
simply overwhelmed with the volume and only bother to look at certain
sensitive addresses.' Of course there's nothing to stop anybody dialling
up a server overseas, Bangkok would be the nearest and cheapest
location. One local commented that faxes are more secure than email.
Internet is also severely restricted at present although again there's
nothing to stop you (apart from the cost) accessing the internet via
Bangkok. One local resident said local internet access would be
available by the end of the year although bandwidth restrictions are
likely to be an even bigger stumbling block than the government's urge
to control things. A surprising number of local operators have websites
hosted outside of Myanmar.
...Before I went to Myanmar an expert on the region briefed me on which
diplomats were best informed. Amongst the Western nations, he reported,
the Australian embassy staff were 'the best on the ground.' He went on
to say I should: 'Avoid the Americans who are not so much biased (which
they are), but just have very poor intelligence and networks. The Brits
are better but still hopelessly partial. The French are the best of the
Europeans.'
This outside advice was precisely mirrored by Burmese I spoke to in
Yangon. One of them said, 'nobody likes the British, they're terrible
snobs and don't mix with local people at all and the Americans have
created their own little village which they never need to go outside.
There are seven Australians at their embassy and five British at theirs
but the Americans have 50 people! Why do they need so many for a place
like Myanmar? There are so many of them they've created their own little
world, they never need to talk to anybody else outside the embassy, they
don't even appear at expat functions.'
In fact I did meet an American diplomat at an Australian diplomatic
function but the most I can say about her was she was remarkably
diplomatically evasive about any questions I asked. The British
diplomats I met were not at all snobby but I think the British
government policy does distinctly colour (if not bias) their views and
the same policies probably exclude them from local contact to a much
greater extent than other embassy staff in Yangon. Several Burmese
commented that while the British push for isolation and boycotts the
British Council gets income by putting on courses for which many of the
participants are military kids.
...Although it's hard to find anything nice to say about the military
government there's no denying that their attempts at public relations
are almost comical. You would swear they had a reincarnation of George
Orwell doing their PR work, how else would they have come up with SLORC
as an acronym for their party name? Major General Hla Myint Swe,
Minister of Transport, presents a message to passengers in each issue of
the Myanmar Airways International inflight magazine. A pageful of pure
airline schmaltz (happy smiling flight attendants, striving to improve
our passenger service, blah, blah, blah) is accompanied by a picture of
the general, draped in medals and ribbons, looking like a cross between
Jabba the Hutt and Manuel Noriega and with a scowling expression clearly
indicating he'd much prefer to be hurling passengers out the emergency
exit without first opening the door.
WHAT DOES AUNG SAN SUU KYI SAY?
Unfortunately it was not possible to meet Aung San Suu Kyi but nobody,
not one single person we met in Myanmar, supported a tourism boycott.
She does indeed say, 'don't come to Myanmar,' although interestingly the
only person who came right out and said she said that was the Italian
Ambassador who was probably the most pro-tourism diplomat I met in
Myanmar. Everybody else I met had some sort of interpretation of what
she said:
* What she says has to be interpreted
* There are nuances to what she says
* That wasn't one of her policies when we voted for her, it's a
unilateral decision she made later on
* She doesn't necessarily mean what she says about tourism * She
said it at one time and she can't say something differently now *
She's the opposition, she has to say the opposite to the government
There is still overwhelming support for Aung San Suu Kyi but from many
quarters there is definitely resentment about this particular policy or
a feeling that supporting Aung San Suu Kyi does not entail supporting
this policy. Even the very strongest supporters of 'the lady,' people
who had gone to jail for her and still worked actively, even if
clandestinely, for her programs still believed tourism was a good thing
and encouraged visitors to come to Myanmar. Surprisingly some people had
no idea that she had suggested tourists should not visit Myanmar.
And according to some local people we spoke with a lot of ordinary
people would agree with Aung San Suu Kyi, 'because they have no idea
what her policies are but if you told them, "Aung San Suu Kyi says
this," they would reply, "then it must be right".'
One indication that the 'no tourist' policy doesn't necessarily extend
very far from Aung San Suu Kyi is that Kim Aris, her younger son, and
his partner Rachel Jefferies, recently toured around the country. Two of
the hotels we stayed in reported that they had been recent guests.
During his travels, which were facilitated by the military government,
he wore T-shirts either with a portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi or with
anti-SLORC/SPDC slogans and we were told, gleefully, that these caused
their military shadows great discomfort as they were very concerned that
somebody would photograph Aris and his provocative T-shirts and they
might appear in the background.
Tony Wheeler
___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
The Independent (Bangladesh): Strategy to keep China at bay India woos
Myanmar
Feb. 23, 2001
by Prakash Nanda from New Delhi
If anything, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh?s just concluded
three day-visit (February 13-15) to Myanmar, erstwhile Burma, has proved
that in international relations, national interests eventually prevail
over a country?s ideological orientations. Though the cultural and
spiritual ties between the two countries date back to BC 267 circa when
Buddhism took strong roots in Burma and Pali was adopted as its official
script and though both India and Myanmar were administered as one unit
by the British from 1886 to 1934, and attained independence around the
same time i.e. August 1947 and January 1948 respectively, the relations
between the two countries, until recently, were far from encouraging.
The initial post-independence years were cordial, with both countries
signing a treaty of friendship in 1951.
However, when military-backed leaders occupied the centers of power in
Yangon (better known as Rangoon) in the early sixties - this began with
General Ne Win - relations stared to drift. It was not that ties were
cut off; they simply lacked any substance. The nadir in the ties reached
in 1988 following the bloody suppression of a pro-democracy uprising by
Myanmar?s military. Two years later, when elections were held in that
country, the ruling military junta refused to give up power to the
victor, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for
Democracy. India, a vibrant democracy, found it difficult to deal with
Myanmar, a military dictatorship. However, over the last two years or
so, the situation seems to have changed. Although, the nature of the
political regime at Yangon remains the same, New Delhi has deemed it fit
to enhance the level of bilateral interactions so that the ties become
multifaceted and substantial. Last November, General Maung Aye, the
Deputy Chief of the military government of Myanmar, visited India and
revived the debate about the advisability of India nurturing and
expanding relations with Myanmar. This paved the way for Jaswant Singh?s
visit to Myanmar. More important, both President K.R. Narayanan and
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will also be visiting Yangoon in
near future.
How does one explain India?s keen interests in Myanmar? The explanation
lies in the fact that Myanmar is one of India?s most important
neighbours in terms of geo-strategic location, security considerations,
availability of markets and complementarity of mutual economic needs.
Krishna Menon, whose views on foreign and defense policies were greatly
valued by India?s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, had once said,
" What hurts Burma (old name of Myanmar) hurts us equally. We have no
military alliance but Burma is closely linked to us and naturally a
great concern to us that she should suffer". All told, in the
eventuality of Myanmar coming under the control of forces hostile to
India, there will be grave implications for India?s security. First,
there is the possibility of direct intervention in India through land by
these hostile forces. India and Myanmar share a long and porous border
of 1643 Km; the length of the international boundary is shared by four
of the seven northeastern states of India, namely, Arunachal Pradesh,
Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.
It is in this context that the control of cross-border insurgency and
trans-border drug trafficking constitutes an important dimension in the
bilateral relations between the two countries. Myanmar?s importance to
India?s security also lies in the control on the Bay of Bengal. In the
circumstances of modern air and naval warfare, hostile forces in Yangon
could paralyse India?s coastal communications without even a major air
attack. Moreover, Calcutta and the entire seaboard of India are within
bombing range of Myanmar. So are the Jhavia coalfields and the Tata iron
industry. The point is that it does not serve India?s interests if
Myanmar turns out to be a part of an exclusive area of influence of
other powers in the region with which India has uneasy relations. The
reference here is to China, which has been increasing strategic links
with Myanmar.
Apart from providing military equipments to the Myanmar?s ruling junta,
the Chinese have already built an all-weather road from Kunmin in China
to Mandalay in Myanmar, which they are planning to extend to Yangon.
There are also reports of the Myanmar government providing some visiting
and berthing facilities to the Chinese navy in Coco islands; this will
provide the Chinese entry-point into the Bay of Bengal. Therefore,
India?s national interests dictate that the rulers at Yangon maintain
their independence and freedom of options in dealing with their foreign
policy and security concerns. And that, in turn, is possible, when India
provides Yangon the alternative to the advantages it gets from China.
This is now being done with India assisting in building up the
transportation network in Myanmar and developing other infrastructures
there. Yangon has also indicated its willingness to providing general
facilities to the Indian Navy in Myanmar?s ports and coasts. Secondly,
sound Indo-Myanmar relations mean good economics.
Myanmar?s entry in July 1997 into Association of South East Asian
Nations (ASEAN), of which India is a dialogue partner, and the
sub-regional grouping BIMSTEC (Bangladesh-India -Myanmar- Sri Lanka -
Thailand Economic Cooperation Group) in December 1997 is bound to open
up avenues for further cooperation in areas of trade and economy on
bilateral and multilateral basis. At a time when Myanmar economy is in
doldrums, thanks to the continuance of the US-led sanctions for Yangon?s
anti-democracy policies, the military junta needs investments. India can
well invest in the exploitation of that country?s rich natural gas and
other mineral resources. The basic idea here seems to be the revival of
the pre-independence economic links in the sub-continent when undivided
India was a "common market". In the present context, many common
projects involving Myanmar, India?s Northeast and Bangladesh can be
undertaken, whose economic benefits well may reach Thailand, Sri Lanka
and Nepal. It is against this background that some of the important
features of Jaswant Singh?s trip to Myanmar may now be highlighted.
Singh became the first leader of an official delegation from India to
cross the land border into Myanmar since independence.
The 165 kilometer-long Tamu-Kalemyo-Kalewa (TKK) road that Singh jointly
inaugurated with Myanmar?s Minister of Construction Maj. General Saw Tun
was also the first completed major project in the field of
infrastructural cooperation between India and Myanmar. The road, built
by the Border Roads Organisation of India at a cost of approximately Rs.
100 crore as part of India?s assistance to Myanmar, connects Moreh in
Manipur to central Myanmar and hold enormous significance as a vital
section of the designated Asian Highway running from Singapore to
Istanbul passing through Myanmar and India. In this way, the road forms
a gateway to South-East Asia and holds tremendous values for the success
of India?s "Look-East" policy. Besides the Moreh-Tamu linkage, Singh,
through his talks with Myanmar leaders, including Foreign Minister U win
Aung and the chief of the ruling military junta General Than Shwe,
facilitated the opening up of three new trade points at Champai-Rih,
Pangsau Pass and Paletwa on the Kaladan River to enhance economic
cooperation between the two countries.
While Champai-Rih and Paletwa crossings are in the Mizoram -Nagaland
sector, Pangsau pass links Arunachal Pradesh with Myanmar. The
strengthening of border roads can now have spin-off benefits on the
security front, too. Both the countries can send troops to smash
cross-border insurgents who have acquired sanctuaries in Myanmar. In
this sense it was reassuring that during the Foreign Minister?s visit,
the two sides underscored their common approach towards terrorism and
insurgency and trans-border drug trafficking through a twin-pronged
strategy of tackling insurgents on the shared border and working towards
the overall economic development. Myanmar rulers assured Singh that they
would not allow their territory to be used for activities directed
against India.
It may be noted in this context that last year, the Myanmar Army
destroyed five camps of the Khaplang faction of the National Socialist
Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K) and suffered casualties in these
operations. Another notable aspect of Singh?s visit was that it provided
a big impetus to the multi-faceted economic cooperation and exchanges in
the fields of science and technology between India and Myanmar. India is
now prepared to help Myanmar develop its infrastructures such as roads,
hydroelectric projects. Myanmar also wants India to develop its
railways, ports, navigation projects and gas-line ventures.
It is noteworthy that southern Myanmar (in the Arakan region) has
abundant gas reserves that can be piped to either India or South East
Asia. Singh?s inauguration during his visit of Myanmar?s first Centre of
Remote Sensing and Data Processing at Yangon built with Indian aid
should be seen in this light. In the final analysis, can we now say in
the light of the above that "democracy" has no meaning in India?s
relations with Myanmar? When asked this question, a Foreign Office
spokesman said, "While we follow the ideals of democracy, we do not
interfere with the internal affairs of other countries". In other words,
while India remains committed to democracy and related values, India
will not unilaterally assume responsibility of creating democracies in
other countries. This has to be the choice and responsibility of the
people of the country concerned.
___________________________________________________
The Nation (Thailand): Chavalit blasts press coverage of Shan attack
Feb. 23, 2001
Chavalit blasts press coverage of Shan attack
DEFENCE Minister General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh yesterday criticised the
press for coverage of the clashes between the Shan State Army (SSA) and
Burmese government troops, claiming the publicity has jeopardised
negotiations between Bangkok and Rangoon.
"The reality is that we were having a dialogue. But you guys [media]
went and photographed the SSA attacking the Burmese camp. This is very
ugly," said the defence minister, who has often claimed that his close
ties with Burmese generals could help solve bilateral problems.
Chavalit was the first top foreign official to visit Burma after the
military took power in the crushing of a popular uprising for democracy
in 1988. He has been instrumental in the regime's participation in the
international community.
"We have to be careful," Chavalit said yesterday. "We have to help each
other, one hand, two hands, for the sake of the nation. Because,
essentially, it's good to have friends."
In an effort to patch ties with the Burmese army, Chavalit has sent his
personal aides, General Pat Akkhanibut and General Sanan Kajornglam, to
attend funeral ceremonies for Burma's General Tin Oo and other senior
army and cabinet offices, who died in a helicopter crash on Monday.
Both Pat and Sanan, retired officers, were Chavalit's close aides
overseeing Burma policy when Chavalit was army chief and supreme
commander. The Thai government welcomed statements on Wednesday by
Burma's Lt Gen Khin Nyunt that Burma wanted to peacefully resolve the
border conflict.
"I believe the problem can be settled with negotiations," Foreign
Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said.
He said Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has no immediate plans to
visit Burma and will wait before making a final decision on when to go.
Thai and Burmese troops two weeks ago engaged in cross-border shelling
after fighting between Rangoon's troops and SSA rebels spilled over into
Thailand. Border checkpoints have been closed, while more troops from
both sides have been mobilised to the area.
Burma's state-run press has accused the Thai military of aiding the Shan
rebels, while Thai officers said Rangoon has mobilised of soldiers from
the United Wa State Army to the areas opposite Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai
provinces.
Yesterday, the New Light of Myanmar said Thailand had not been a "good
neighbour" in helping Burma fight rebels and that Thailand was aiding
drug traffickers.
"Instead of lending us a helping hand in this task [of defeating the
rebels], they are assisting the drug traffickers . . . which threaten
the human race," the newspaper said.
The border situation remained tense yesterday as armed rebels of the
Karen National Union and Burmese troops clashed inside Burma opposite
Tak province's Mae Sot district and Tha Song Yang district.
Burmese troops positioned opposite Chiang Rai's Doi Tung district
returned to their Balang Luang camp, which was overrun and later
abandoned by Shan soldiers on Wednesday.
General Tein Sein, the Burmese commander for the region, reportedly
directed about 200 troops from Tachilek into position 1 kilometre from
Palang Luang camp in preparation for a possible offensive by Shan
soldiers.
Agencies, The Nation
___________________________________________________
The Nation: Army warns Burma drug lords over smuggling
English 22 Feb 01
by Chaiwat Pumpuang,
Ban Pha Hee, Chiang Rai: The Third Army commander yesterday warned drug
warlords operating along the border in the north, saying the build-up of
Thai troops in the area is partly designed to put the squeeze on
drug-trafficking armies.
"We will shut the door and beat the bad cats," Lt-Gen Wattanachai
Chaimuenwong said.
In addition to securing the border against Burmese intrusion, the
build-up is an opportunity to zero in on the armies of drug traffickers
and the opium warlords, he said.
Third Army Deputy Commander Maj-Gen Chamlong Phothong said the ban
against cross-border trade, especially to areas where drug armies are
positioned, will be strictly enforced.
Any type of precursor chemicals used for making methamphetamines, or yaa
baa, or other illegal drugs would be strictly prohibited from entering
the area.
However, Chamlong said, Thai troops will not cross the border to pursue
drug armies such as the 20,000-member United Wa State Army (UWSA).
The UWSA is a pro-Rangoon group that over the years has expanded its
drug operations from its stronghold along the Chinese border to areas
adjacent to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces.
If the UWSA or any other drug trafficking group is seen approaching the
Thai border, Chamlong said, Thai soldiers won't hesitate to use force.
In a separate development yesterday, a platoon of soldiers from the Shan
State Army (SSA) overran a Burmese military base near Chiang Rai's Ban
Pha Hee at dawn, bringing the fight between the rebels and Rangoon to
the doorstep of Doi Tung, a popular tourist destination.
One Burmese soldier was killed and another was taken hostage, an SSA
official said. The rest abandoned the camp and fled to a nearby Burmese
Akha village.
The camp, situated on the curb of a paved road on Doi Chang Moob that
links Doi Tung to Mae Sai, was occupied by 11 Burmese troops at the
time.
Empty casings of rocket propeller guns fired by the SSA were scattered
near the camp.
Wattanachai insisted the army was not involved in the operation, saying
the incident was an internal Burmese matter.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry yesterday welcomed a remark by Burmese
intelligence chief Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt that suggested the junta is serious
about resolving problems with Thailand through peaceful means.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Pradap Pibulsonggram said Rangoon should
match words with deeds, adding that a convening of the Regional Border
Committee would be welcome.
"If they are as serious as they said, they should answer (invitations)
officially and not just through newspapers reports," Pradap said.
Defence Minister Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh yesterday suggested that
border problems with Burma could be dealt with more effectively if the
local and regional border committees would agree to meet regularly.
There should be at least one meeting a year at the government level, he
said.
In any case, the border dispute should be solved soon after the new Thai
government formulates its policy on the situation, he said.
Chavalit said he would send a "personal representative" to attend a
funeral of Lt-Gen Tin Oo, the fourth-ranking member of Burma's ruling
State Peace and Development Council, who died in a helicopter crash on
Monday [19 February].
___________________________________________________
Kyodo: Japan makes grant to Myanmar to improve health care
YANGON, Feb. 23 Kyodo
Officials signed Friday an agreement on a Japanese grant of $5.8 million
to improve health services for women and children in Myanmar.
The grant covers the third phase of a project called 'Improvement of
Maternal and Child Health Care Services' coordinated between Japan and
the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) since 1999.
The agreement was signed by Japanese Ambassador Shigeru Tsumori and
UNICEF representative John Bertrand Mendis.
The project was funded with $2.7 million in 1999 and $5.5 million 2000.
_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
AP: Thailand Bans Shipment Of 'Strategic' Goods To Myanmar
Friday, February 23 10:32 PM SGT
MAE SOT, Thailand (AP)--Thailand barred the shipment of so-called
strategic commodities to Myanmar from four northern provinces, Thai
officials said Friday.
The ban, which Thai army spokesman Col. Somkuan Saengpataranetr said is
a joint operation of the army and the interior ministry, comes at a time
of military tension with Myanmar, also known as Burma.
The ban covers such materials as fuel, medicine, vehicle spare parts and
rice, and applies to the provinces of Tak, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai and
Chiang Rai.
Many consumer goods in Myanmar are imported overland from Thailand. Last
year, Thailand exported more than 36 billion baht ($1=THB43.075) worth
of commodities though six official border checkpoints, and probably at
least as much was smuggled across the border.
Thousands of Thai and Myanmar troops have been facing off along the
160-kilometer stretch of border at the northernmost part of Thailand
since clashes about two weeks ago.
The fighting was a spillover of fighting between Myanmar troops and Shan
ethnic rebels. Thailand said the Myanmar troops intruded onto the Thai
soil to take a hill overlooking the rebel bases. They were driven out
after heavy fighting, the Thai army said.
___________________________________________________
Than Setthakit [Thailand]: Trade, tourism sectors said hurt by situation
on Burma border
Bangkok
[Translated from Thai]
Excerpt from report by Thai newspaper Than Setthakit on 15 February
There has been considerable impact on trade, investment, and tourism
from the conflict between Thailand and Burma after the 5 February
Burmese suppression drive against the Shan State Army and its ethnic
population. The mortar rounds fired by Burmese soldiers during the drive
caused the death of two Thais in Mae Sai District, Chiang Rai Province.
Thai and Burmese soldiers now confront each other along the border.
Anan Laothammathat, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Chiang Rai,
informed Than Setthakit that the repercussions from the incident have
been very acute, particularly because shots were fired into the market
which is the biggest trade location on the Thai-Burmese border, causing
considerable panic among and forcing evacuation of the local people.
Trade, investment, and tourism activities have halted, and the resulting
damage could not be estimated at this time.
Trade has stalled since January 2001 when the Burmese changed the staff
manning the border checkpoint to strictly inspect goods for tax
collection. The move caused Thai exports to slow down. In addition to
the tax collection purpose, the Burmese want to support their domestic
industries, as several Thai export products can now be produced
domestically. The products banned by the Burmese are Thai products which
previously sold very well, such as instant noodles, seasoning powder,
and beverages...
According to the Foreign Trade Department, the volume of trade between
Thailand and Burma in 2000 totalled 30,711.2m baht, a 60 per cent
increase from 1999. The Thai exports accounted for 20,244.5m baht, a
35.6 per cent increase, and 11,137.7m baht were contributed by border
trade or 55 per cent. The border trade during January and February
usually totalled about 1-1.2bn baht...
According to the northern region office of the Tourism Authority of
Thailand, hotels near the Thachilek border crossing point and in Mae Sai
have been badly affected by the clash between Thai and Burmese soldiers.
Room reservations in Wang Thong and Yunan hotels were cancelled. But
reservations in hotels in Chiang Saen district and downtown Chiang Rai
have not been affected.
Flights to Chiang Rai continue to be full. Tours to Mae Sai have been
cancelled and replaced by other destinations such as downtown, Doi Tung,
and Phu Chifa. Most of the people taking these tours are Thais, only a
few are foreigners.
According to a source in the Dusit Island Chiang Rai Hotel, there have
been no cancellations, although inquiries were made by tour groups from
Japan and Taiwan. Charoen Wang-ananon, president of an association of
domestic tour operators, said tours to Mae Sai have been cancelled and
replaced by other destinations. Tour promotions to Chiang Rai have
continued, only the Mae Sai destination was cancelled.
___________________________________________________
Asiaweek: A Boom Town Beckons
February 23, 2001
by Roger Mitton
Business radars are on alert in the wake of political talks. But is
investment wise?
The meeting was unusual enough, but the outcome even more so. On one
side were two generals from Myanmar's military junta, and on the other
were members of Yangon's leading chambers of commerce. The businessmen
-- local and foreign -- had a common gripe: too much bureaucratic red
tape getting in their way. Could the generals help them cut through it?
Yes, came the answer. The next day, a trader in the fisheries industry
received a call from his bank. He had complained to the generals about
currency exchange problems that dogged his export business. The bankers
asked him to drop by so they could devise a solution. An efficient
response, in anyone's commercial language.
Myanmar is back in business. With a moribund economy and biting
sanctions, the generals are bending over backwards to keep the vital
signs ticking over. Indeed, business interests may have helped spur the
recent talks between the junta and its determined nemesis, National
League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The dialogue may lead to
nothing, but the fact that it is even taking place has already warmed
the international climate toward pariah state Myanmar. The new U.S.
administration has hinted that economic sanctions imposed in 1997 due to
political repression may be lifted. The European Union is scrambling to
establish meaningful ties after years of avoiding eye contact. Is it the
beginning of real change for Myanmar, or just a cynical gambit by the
military dictators?
Whatever the case, developments have foreign investors rubbing their
hands -- and the generals licking their lips. "Economic stability is the
key to political stability," says respected Myanmar analyst-in-exile
Aung Naing Oo. "The junta sees sanctions as obstacles to economic
development and thus a threat to their future hold on power." Despite a
shambolic economy born of decades of mismanagement, Myanmar is often
rated Southeast Asia's richest nation in terms of natural resources. And
now the time seems ripe for a sustainable boom. "When foreign investors
hear the talks [with Aung San Suu Kyi] are going on, they feel a glimmer
of hope," says Moe Kyaw, who heads a market research company in Yangon.
"They feel Myanmar may no longer be ostracized."
If only it were that simple. Yes, out of self-interest, the junta has
sent unmistakable signals that it is preparing to come in from the cold.
And yes, the generals are increasingly eager to make life easy for
investors. But ethical dilemmas remain. Will increased engagement result
in a rapprochement between Suu Kyi and the generals, ending the 13-year
military dictatorship? Or will it serve to prop up the regime? Will
investment make a difference to the lives of ordinary Burmese, or will
the junta cream the benefits? Not least, will forced labor be used to
build this new Myanmar? ASEAN countries, plus China, India, South Korea
and Japan, have already made up their minds: business opportunities are
too hot to ignore. For the rest of the world, the writing on the balance
sheet isn't hard to read. Says Bo Olson of the nongovernment
Sweden-Democratic Burma Friendship Association: "The West is just dying
to get in there."
But should it? That depends on whom you ask. Broadly speaking, three
schools of thought have emerged. One says that whatever political game
the junta is now playing, more business activity will inevitably enrich
the population. Even if the generals and their cronies rake off most of
the profits, the man in the street will still benefit. Big business is a
leading proponent of this line. U.S. oil company Unocal arrived in
Myanmar in 1993 to help build the Yadana offshore gas pipeline to
Thailand, now among Myanmar's most profitable legitimate operations. The
Washington sanctions barred U.S. companies from setting up new business
deals, but Unocal, as an established outfit, was allowed to remain. It
retains a small foreign workforce of managers and technicians on the
pipeline with its French partner Total -- and points to the jobs and
community facilities it provides for local maintenance workers. "Real
change and improvement will come when there are dozens of Yadana-size
projects," says Unocal spokesman Barry Lane. Critics say forced labor
was used to build Yadana. The companies deny this.
A second school of thought is more cautious. It has few problems with
investment, but does want to see evidence of political progress. Olson
believes that foreign investment on the whole is a positive thing:
"Naturally the generals get most out of it, but ordinary people can get
jobs and can sell their produce if the economy is rolling." Yangon-based
lawyer and foreign business consultant Alec Christie thinks investment
can only improve standards of living for all. "If you ask me what are
the areas where there are problems, it would be infrastructure,"
Christie says. More money would improve telecommunications, electricity
supply and roads -- especially outside the capital. "If there is
investment and international aid, things would be better," he says.
Compromise, however, remains a dirty word for many Burmese. Kanbawza
Win, a dissident and visiting professor at the University of Winnipeg,
Canada, believes that investment merely strengthens the dictatorship.
"The system put in place by the junta aims to prevent the growth of the
middle class -- which has the potential to lead the country to
democracy," he says. "Only the top brass and the cronies get richer
while the mass of the people remain poor." The rallying cry of Western
labor groups, too, remains "sanctions on, business off." Says Phillip
Fishman, the assistant Asia director for the American Federation of
Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations: "What would most help the
citizens of Burma would be the restoration of civilian, democratic
governance and the rule of law, and an end to widespread corruption."
That's a big wish list, but one that helped convince mostly U.S.
companies to abandon Myanmar in 1997. Pepsico Inc., for instance, which
had an estimated 80% share of the soft-drink market, sold its
joint-venture stake with a local company in 1996. The next year it
closed shop completely by canceling supplies of Pepsi syrup. The company
said its decision was "based on our assessment of the spirit of current
U.S. government policy." In fact, its involvement in Myanmar had
resulted in boycotts by U.S. students -- the company's main domestic
market -- which soon translated into shareholder concern. Other U.S.
firms quick to toe the domestic-opinion line included Levi Strauss,
Amoco, Apple and Eastman Kodak.
Did their withdrawal make a difference? Possibly. But for almost every
outfit that left, one arrived. Tiger Beer (Singapore), Rothmans (U.K.,
tobacco), Japanese conglomerates Sumitomo and Mitsui, Clough Engineering
(Australia) and Ivanhoe Mines (Canada) are well established. Oil and gas
players Premier (U.K.), Petronas (Malaysia) and Nippon (Japan) jostle
with Unocal and Total. Singapore companies, the biggest investors, have
hotels, garments, defense supplies, banking and travel services. A
French-Myanmar fisheries joint venture began operations in November. The
bottom line, says market researcher Moe Kyaw, is that if you know how to
do business, you can do it in Myanmar. So long as you are not too fussy
about the company you keep.
_______________OPINION/EDITORIALS_________________
Business Day (Thailand): Myanmar border conflict must be swiftly quelled
Feb. 23, 2001
The current border conflict between Thailand and Myanmar calls to mind
the traditional folk tale A Drop of Honey. The tale illustrates how even
a small incident can stir up bloodshed.
Once upon a time, according to the story, there was a man who was
carrying a jar of honey from his house to sell in the village market.
The jar's lid accidentally became loose and the honey fell to the
ground.
Flies swarmed to feed on the honey, followed by several house lizards
which came to eat the flies. Then came a cat to eat the house lizards,
and a dog which chased after the cat.
The cat's owner became angry and took a piece of wood to beat the dog.
The owner of the dog took offence at the cat's owner, and the two were
soon engaged in a heated scuffle. Their relatives who saw the fight
rushed to help, and the melee was further enlarged by the participation
of friends and supporters. Each side suffered heavy casualties and
wounds before the situation was brought under control.
The above fable should serve as a warning to both Thailand and Myanmar -
close neighbors with a traditional rivalry - in the light of the latest
tense border situation, resulting from Yangon's military drive against
its own minority rebel group, the Shan State Army (SSA), which was
carried out in an area close to Myanmar's border with Thailand.
The subsequent conflict with Thai troops occurred when 500 Myanmar
soldiers allegedly outran a platoon of Thai rangers after encroaching
into the province of Chiang Rai. This was followed by an artillery
attack on Thai territory in which three Thai civilians were killed.
Troops were mobilized by both countries following the incident,
punctuated with a war of words.
The role of the media is of vital importance in such situations.
While Thai media enjoy full freedom to report on the situation, the
state-run media in Myanmar do not have much say on the conflict, except
what the ruling junta would like said.
Aside from reporting on the movements of Thai and Myanmar troops and
those of the Wa Army and the SSA, the Thai press and media should try to
calm the situation to help reduce confrontations between Thailand and
Myanmar. Such a positive step would help pave the way for the Thai and
Myanmar governments to negotiate a settlement of the conflict and other
unsolved problems.
Thai and Myanmar leaders, as well as informed citizens, know very well
that there are still conflicts between our two countries in a number of
areas, including the unsettled demarcation line along the 1,400km
border, narcotics production and trafficking activities in the common
border areas, the impact of the Myanmar's military operations against
minority rebels, and the influx of Myanmar refugees as a result of
internal politics in that country.
Despite the current contrast between Thailand and Myanmar with regards
to democratic development and the freedom of their citizens, the leaders
of the two nations have tried to keep conflicts on a manageable scale.
They have tried not to allow small incidents to flare up as in our folk
tale.
Military engagement is not a wise course for either Myanmar or Thailand,
especially when both countries take into consideration the economic cost
of the war, and the now well-established ASEAN spirit.
___________________________________________________
The Nation: Thailand and Burma Need To Mend Fences
23 Feb 01
Diplomats from Thailand and Burma are working quietly to ensure that the
tense border situation will ease soon. Defence Minister Gen Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh has already dispatched a close aide to Rangoon to attend
the funeral of Lt-Gen Tin Oo, secretary number two of the ruling State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and chief of staff of the army, who
was killed in a helicopter accident several days ago. The funeral will
also provide a fresh opportunity for the two sides to discuss their
problems.
If the situation along the Thai-Burma border at Chiang Rai's Ban Pha Hee
remains calm following the overrun of a Burmese military base by the
Shan State Army on Wednesday, there is a good chance that both sides
will make further progress over the tension. If the Burmese troops
decide to retake the base from the SSA, it will need extra troops and
artillery shells. With such forces, the conflict can certainly spill
over to Thai territory again. The Third Army Region already has troops
in position and is ready for any renewed attack by the Burmese troops.
So far, the situation has been calm.
The Thai Foreign Ministry and security officials and leaders are closely
monitoring the change of attitude by the leaders of the SPDC. They are
certainly taking seriously comments by Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt. The Burmese
military intelligence chief said that the current Thai-Burmese border
issue should be resolved with an optimistic approach based on mutual
understanding, respect and magnanimity as true good neighbours.
At this juncture, Thailand wants to make sure that there are no longer
any more violations of its territory. If the violations stop,
Thai-Burmese relations are bound to improve. Then, bilateral issues will
need to be addressed according to the four existing frameworks.
Burma's softer approach comes amid worsening economic difficulties. The
closure of the Thai border has forced the price of necessary commodities
up several fold. The kyat's value has also plummeted from 430 to the US
dollar two months ago to 545 as of yesterday.
The swirling inflation has already caused panic among ordinary people,
including government officials. The junta leaders have promised to
increase the officials' salaries fourfold, following another recent
increase. That promise has also driven up consumer prices across the
board.
The resumption of Thai-Burmese border trade should go some way to easing
market conditions inside Burma. But trade between the two countries has
already decreased because the purchasing power of the Burmese people is
getting smaller by the day.
Thai-Burmese relations need to improve before the ASEAN foreign
ministers arrive in Rangoon for a retreat in April. Burma intends to use
this retreat as a showcase that it is part of the ASEAN community.
Otherwise the border issue could spill over again and damage the
planning meeting. This is the first gathering of ASEAN foreign ministers
in Burma, so it is imperative that the retreat starts and ends on a
friendly note.
______________________OTHER______________________
KHRG: Karen Human Rights Group Book Released
Feb. 2001
"Suffering in Silence: The Human Rights Nightmare of the Karen People of
Burma", a new book by the Karen Human Rights Group and edited by Claudio
O. Delang, is now available at several online booksellers. The book
reproduces 3 of KHRG's 1999 reports to show the human rights situation
in 3 Karen regions, each of them under a different degree of SPDC
control. Together, they show that while tactics vary in nature and
brutality between different regions, the end result in all three areas
is the disintegration of village life. The reports are tied together by
an introduction, summary background of Burma, and many photos from
KHRG's archive. Published in paperback, 310 pages, and only available
online at several online booksellers including www.amazon.com,
www.barnesandnoble.com, and www.borders.com . Amazon.com and
borders.com sell it for the cover price of US$25.95, but
barnesandnoble.com is selling it for US$20.97. Any sales royalties
received from the publisher over and above the amount of the initial
publishing charges will be used to continue KHRG's ongoing work.
________________
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