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BurmaNet News: February 27, 2001



______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
        An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
         February 27, 2001   Issue # 1745
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________

INSIDE BURMA _______
*AP: Leadership changed in Kachin ethnic army amid rumors of coup
*The Nation: KIO denies leadership change result of coup
*AFP: Myanmar shrugs off US rights report
*The Asian Age (New Delhi): Bahadur Shah Zafar a saint in Burma

REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*Bangkok Post: Talks Fail to Settle Dispute at Frontier; Hopes Now Rest 
with High-level Discussion 
*The Nation: Burma Asks for 40' Spies' to Be Released 
*The Nation: M'sia Urges Asean Not to Isolate Burma
*Bangkok Post: Sniper Kills Influential Kamnan in Mae Sai

ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
*Xinhua: Japan-Invested Instrument Factory Goes into Production in 
Myanmar

OPINION/EDITORIALS_______
*Boston Globe: Hope for Burma 
*Bangkok Post:  Helping Burma is a thankless task
*Bangkok Post: Opposing Positions over Burma Conflict
*Japan Times: Guest Forum-myanmar's Best Hope Lies in Reconciliation
*India Today magazine (New Delhi): Stillness of Change 
		


__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________



AP: Leadership changed in Kachin ethnic army amid rumors of coup 

Feb. 27, 2001

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ The leader of a prominent ethnic army in 
Myanmar has stepped down because of poor health, a senior group member 
said Tuesday, denying reports that he had been ousted by fellow 
officers. 

 Gen. Zau Mai was replaced by Maj. Gen. Tu Jai as president of the 
Kachin Independence Organization and chief of staff of the group's armed 
wing, the Kachin Independence Army, the official said. 

 Zau Mai, who is in his late 60s, suffered a stroke four years ago, said 
James Lumdau, who sits on the 16-member central committee of the 
organization. He said Zau Mai stepped down last week at the group's 
headquarters at Pajau, in Myanmar's northernmost Kachin State near the 
Myanmar-China border. 

 The group's 6,000 troops ended a three decade rebellion when Zau Mai 
signed a cease-fire with Myanmar's military government in 1994. But some 
elements of the group, one of Myanmar's biggest ethnic armies, are 
believed to be dissatisfied with the pace of development and 
democratization. 

 The Shan Herald Agency for News, a Thailand-based news agency 
sympathetic to anti-government rebels in eastern Myanmar, claimed Zau 
Mai was ousted in a mutiny and that he and other leaders supporting him 
were under detention in Pajau. 
 Lumdau, who is based in Bangkok, said Zau Mai is staying at home in 
Pajau with his family. 

 The Irrawaddy, a Thailand-based website and magazine on Myanmar issues, 
reported that many ordinary Kachins and Kachin Independence Organization 
officials had been upset by Zau Mai's business dealings with Myanmar 
generals and businessmen in the southern Chinese province of Yunnan, 
involving gold and jade mining and logging concessions in Kachin State. 

 It reported that since the cease-fire deal, the Kachin, who are 
predominantly Christian, had been allowed to practice their religion 
freely and human rights abuses had reduced, but Myanmar had increased 
its military presence in the region. 

 The Myanmar regime has reached cease-fire agreements with 17 ethnic 
armed groups in border regions since 1989 through a combination of 
military pressure and promises of development assistance. 

 Curbing decades of civil war is viewed by the military as one of its 
greatest achievements. But it has yet to reach a political settlement 
with any of the groups. The regime has also ignored the results of 
national general elections in 1990 won by democracy leader Aung San Suu 
Kyi. 

 A spokesman for Myanmar's military regime contacted in Yangon confirmed 
there had been a ``peaceful and systematic'' change of leadership in the 
Kachin group, but gave no details. 

 He denied reports that three battalions of Myanmar troops had sealed 
off the Kachin group's headquarters amid fears that the leadership 
change might affect the cease-fire agreement. 



___________________________________________________




The Nation: KIO denies leadership change result of coup

 February 27 , 2001  

[Abridged]


A KEY Burmese ethnic group, the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), 
yesterday acknowledged a significant change to its leadership but denied 
that the move was the result of an internal coup.  
Rumours have been rife since the weekend of an internal KIO conflict 
that saw a group of discontented young officers pushing for the removal 
of their chairman Lt-General Zau Mai to be replaced by his deputy 
Maj-General Tu Jai.  
There are also rumours that some top Kachin leaders are being held by 
the coup plotters.  

In an interview yesterday with The Nation, KIO spokesman Jen Lomethong 
confirmed that Tu Jai had "officially" become chairman on Saturday.  
But the change was the result of a "collective decision" within the 
organisation and not the result of a coup, he said.  

Tu Jai also replaced Zau Mai in two other top positions, as president of 
the Independence Council and chief of staff of the Kachin Independence 
Army.  

Jen rejected rumours that Zau Mai, KIO vice president Zawng Hra and a 
few other top leaders, had been detained by the coup plotters, saying 
all the top Kachin leaders had been carrying out their usual daily 
schedules.  

The KIO is one of Burma's strongest armed ethnic groups and known for 
its tough resistance to the Burmese Army. The group, which has control 
over the resource-rich northern Kachin State, struck a cease-fire 
agreement with the Burmese junta in February 1994 after three years of 
negotiations.  

"There has been no coup, and nobody has been arrested," said Jen, who 
refused to speculate on the origin of the take-over rumour.  

He added that the change in the KIO leadership would not affect the 
group's truce with Rangoon and that both sides remained committed to the 
agreement. The KIO spokesman said Zau Mai had stepped down because of 
"poor health". The 65-year-old general has suffered "two minor strokes" 
in the past two years and had repeatedly expressed his desire to retire. 
 

"The general is now resting at his home near Pajau", which is the KIO 
headquarters on the Sino-Burmese border, Jen said.  

The Kachin spokesman also denied that several battalions of Burmese 
troops had been deployed to take advantage of the KIO leadership change. 
 

Informed sources in northern Thailand said there had been discontent 
among a number of KIO members over Zau Mai's refusal to stand up to the 
junta's increasing political and military pressure on the armed group 
and the civilian population.  

Since the cease-fire, the Burmese army has increased its military 
deployment in Kachin State and taken over some territory formerly 
controlled by the KIO.  

Rangoon has also granted a lot of mining concessions and other contracts 
to foreign businesses, particularly from China.  

Zau Mai took over KIO chairmanship after the untimely death of the 
charismatic and diplomatic Brang Seng after a second stroke in August 
1994. Zau Mai was seen as a tough soldier who had risen steadily through 
the ranks. Tu Jai has been part of the KIO since its formation in 1961.  


He was a sergeant in the Burmese Army before joining the guerrilla 
movement. Tu Jai was actively involved in the KIO cease-fire 
negotiations with the Burmese junta.  

BY YING NAMKHAM 

___________________________________________________



AFP: Myanmar shrugs off US rights report 


YANGON, Feb 27 (AFP) - Myanmar's ruling military on Tuesday shrugged off 
a damning report from Washington accusing it of brutal and severe 
repression, saying it was a litany of "made-up stories and fabricated 
reports." 

 "It is regretful that the US annual report on Myanmar's human rights 
situation is the same tune, as usual totally based on made-up stories 
and fabricated reports coming from anti-government quarters," a 
statement from the office of the junta spokesman said. 

 "Today the words 'human rights' seem to be the most misused and 
abused." 

 In its annual report on global human rights issued Monday, the State 
Department reserved a hefty 20,000 words to detail allegations of 
political repression, torture, forced labour, rape and other human 
rights abuses in Myanmar. 

 Reports of a tentative dialogue between democracy leader and Nobel 
Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta amounted to "hopeful signs," 
said the acting Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights 
and Labor, Michael Parmly. 

 But as he unveiled the report, he said the National League for 
Democracy (NLD) leader was held incommunicado last year and an official 
campaign of intimidation against the party had gone on unchecked. 

 "The Government's extremely poor human rights record and longstanding 
severe repression of its citizens continued during the year," said the 
report, which refers to Burma, Myanmar's former name. 

 "Citizens continued to live subject at any time and without appeal to 
the arbitrary and sometimes brutal dictates of the military regime." 

 The United States, which leads an informal international coalition 
which has imposed sanctions and investment restrictions on Myanmar, is a 
frequent critic of the generals. 

 According to the State Department, basing its conclusions on 
information culled from its embassies in Southeast Asia, the government 
still holds 48 members of parliament elect and 1,000 NLD supporters in 
detention. 

 The NLD won a landslide election victory in 1990, but the result was 
never recognised by the military. 

 In addition to their alleged repression of basic political rights, the 
government was also accused of violating international humanitarian law 
in internal conflicts against ethnic insurgencies. 


___________________________________________________




The Asian Age (New Delhi): Bahadur Shah Zafar a saint in Burma

February 26, 2001 

By Ramesh Bhan 

Rangoon, Feb. 25: Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor whose tomb 
in Rangoon is a mute testimony to the torture that Indian freedom 
fighters had to face at the hands of the British, is worshipped by the 
people here as saint-emperor who can fulfil their wishes.  

Faithfuls visit his mausoleum every day and prayers are held on Fridays 
as in a mosque.  
A visit to the mausoleum that houses the graves of Zafar, his wife 
Zeenat Mahal and granddaughter Raunaq Zamani Begum lying side-by-side, 
is ôlike a pilgrimageö, particularly for an Indian for whom, a visit to 
Rangoon is incomplete without a visit to ZafarÆs tomb.  
India has urged the Burmese government for maintenance of the tomb. The 
issue was raised by home minister L.K. Advani with his Burmese 
counterpart Tin Hla when he visited India last year.  

Even Pakistan has laid claim to the maintenance of the tomb on the 
ground that Zafar was a Muslim and the king of the undivided 
sub-continent that included Pakistan.  
ôthe basic thing is that Pakistan has to come in where India stakes its 
claim,ö said a member of the trust that presently looks after the tomb. 
Before the military takeover, it was maintained by another trust set up 
by the descendants of Zafar. The trust was then headed by Ismail Baggia, 
originally from Surat in Gujarat. A prayer hall was constructed with 
Indian assistance in 1991 which was inaugurated on December 15, 1994.  

One can enter the room where the three graves of Zafar, Zeenat and his 
granddaughter lay after passing through the prayer hall.  

The graves were considered ?real? until the original grave of Zafar was 
discovered in 1991. Zafar was imprisoned by the British and taken to 
Rangoon in 1858 along with his wife, granddaughter and grandson Sikandar 
Bux, two daughters and one literature teacher.  

The whole family was lodged in a garage attached to the bungalow of a 
junior British officer till Zafar?s death on November 7, 1862. Nobody 
had been allowed to meet the family. Zafar died on November 7, a Friday, 
and was buried secretly under a tree later on the same day. (UNI)    



___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
				


Bangkok Post: Talks Fail to Settle Dispute at Frontier; Hopes Now Rest 
with High-level Discussion 


February 27, 2001 


Local-level talks yesterday between Thailand and Burma on border 
disputes in Chiang Rai ended in failure with no agreement reached and 
border crossings still closed. 

The meeting was regarded by Third Army commander Lt-Gen Watthanachai 
Chaimuenwong as only an effort to paint the picture of a better border 
situation. 

Four-hour talks between members of the Thai-Burmese Township Border 
Committees (TBC) began yesterday morning after Thai border officials 
entered Burma's Tachilek province to attend the first half of the 
negotiations. 

Later, participants from both sides crossed the border into Mae Sai 
district for the second half of the talks where a news conference on the 
results of talks showed a lack of progress. 

The Thai representatives were led by Chiang Rai army district chief 
Maj-Gen Tawat Jaruklat while the Burmese team was led by Lt-Col Myo 
Chit, commander of the 359th battalion in Tachilek. 

Maj-Gen Tawat said the main reason why no deals could be struck was 
because proposals tabled from both sides were the same old issues which 
could only be dealt with by higher officials. Neither the withdrawal of 
soldiers from troubled areas nor the reopening of border crossings were 
discussed at yesterday's meeting, he said. 

"The proposals will be re-submitted to higher level officials for 
consideration. Anyway, I believe this meeting will certainly lead to 
talks between senior officials," the Chiang Rai army district chief 
said. 

At the meeting, Burma accused Thailand of supporting the Shan State Army 
in attacking a Burmese military base in Palang Luang on Feb 21 and also 
demanded the release of 42 Burmese villagers who were recently arrested 
by Mae Sai police on illegal entry charges The Thai side urged Burma to 
negotiate a settlement over the Phuteng Na Yong border area and to have 
the English- and Burmese-language statements on the Feb 12 ceasefire 
agreement corrected. 

According to Maj-Gen Tawat, the Thai-language statements said it was 
Burma to blame for this month's border skirmishes in Mae Sai but the 
ones in English- and Burmese languages said it was Thailand's fault. 

The Third Army chief said he believed yesterday's TBC-level meeting was 
nothing but an attempt to present a good image and would not bear any 
fruit, saying only high-level talks now hold a chance of a breakthrough. 


Lt-Gen Wattanachai said Burma's accusation that Thailand supported the 
SSA was unacceptable. 

Subin Khuenkaew Chiang Rai 



___________________________________________________





The Nation: Burma Asks for 40' Spies' to Be Released 

Tuesday, February 27, 2001



BURMA called on Thailand yesterday to free 40 of its nationals who have 
been detained over the past three weeks on suspicion of spying on Thai 
troops following border clashes between the two sides, officials said 
yesterday. 

The request was made at a meeting of the Township Border Committee 
(TBC), a mechanism jointly created by both governments to tackle border 
problems at local levels, which met for the second time in the past 
three weeks.  

Chiang Rai provincial commander Maj General Thawat Charakalasa told 
reporters after the meeting that he does not have the authority to 
release the 40 suspects but would forward the request to higher civilian 
and military officials. 

Thawat said the two sides have made "some progress" in this second round 
of meetings, saying Thai and Burmese delegates understood the situation 
although neither has the authority to act on any requests.  

The meeting also agreed to hold the border committee meetings elsewhere 
and not just in Mae Sai-Tachilek. 

Thailand has also asked that the Burmese army pull their troops out of 
Koo Teng Nai Yong, a strategic hill just two kilometres south of Mae Sai 
that overlooks Tachilek and Mae Sai. The hill was the scene of heavy 
fighting between Thai and Burmese troops two weeks ago. 

Thawat quoted the Burmese delegation as saying that the request would be 
forwarded to Maj General Thein Sein, commander of the Triangle Region. 
Any decision to pull back the troops and open the border would be made 
by higher authorities, he said. 

Allegations that Thai troops were supporting rebel Shan State Army (SSA) 
were also brought up at the meeting yesterday. Thawat dismissed the 
accusations, saying the Thai Army had no policy to support any armed 
group fighting in Burma. 

Thai and Burmese troops began exchanging gunfire and shells about three 
weeks ago after the Burmese refused to retreat from Koo Teng Na Yong 
Hill and Ban Pang Noon in nearby Mae Fah Luang district, which they had 
taken from a platoon of 19 Thai Rangers the day before. The Burmese 
wanted the hill so they could position their artillery to shell the SSA. 
Thailand accused Burma of using the United Wa State Army, the largest 
drug producer in this region, to wage a proxy war with Thailand. 



___________________________________________________




The Nation: M'sia Urges Asean Not to Isolate Burma

Tuesday, February 27, 2001



Associated Press

KUALA LUMPUR- Malaysia is developing into a broker in talks between 
Burma's military government and the opposition and is urging other 
Southeast Asian nations to step up economic aid to encourage the 
generals to embrace democracy.

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said that Malaysia would try to build 
on progress made during a recent visit by Prime Minister Mahathir 
Mohamad to end decades of isolation for Burma by encouraging political 
reform through economic development.

"We believe that Myanmar [Burma] would change but this change would only 
be brought about through economic development," Syed Hamid said. "When 
people are more conscious, more aware, more affluent, then they will 
demand more freedom, more democracy."

Mahathir made an unofficial visit to Burma in January and met with 
Senior General Than Shwe, chairman of the ruling State Peace and 
Development Council. The trip coincided with a UN mission to Burma, led 
by special envoy Razali Ismail, a Malaysian diplomat.

After his visit, Razali revealed that junta leaders had been holding 
reconciliation talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a 
potential breakthrough in a decade-old impasse.

Mahathir had developed a special relationship with members of Burma's 
ruling council by encouraging democracy without criticising the regime, 
Syed Hamid said.

"The prime minister is not seen as dictative," Syed Hamid said. "He 
consults and discusses and they feel he is discussingwith them. That 
enables the prime minister to make his views and recommendations on 
things to do, but at the end of day the choice is with Myanmar." Syed 
Hamid said the Burmese generals had shown their willingness to accept 
democracy, but that they must be allowed to make changes at their own 
pace. 

He added that countries within the Association of Southeast Asian 
Nations should help Burma build its fragile economy.



___________________________________________________




Bangkok Post: Sniper Kills Influential Kamnan in Mae Sai

Tuesday, February 27, 2001



Bodyguards flee scene of shooting
Subin Khuenkaew
Chiang Rai

An influential kamnan with close links to the United Wa State Army was 
shot dead on the Mae Sai river yesterday.

Saengsanit Chaisri, better known as Kamnan Daeng, was shot in the head 
by a sniper with a high-powered gun at about 10am.

"With such a precise shot from a long distance, this could be carried 
out only by someone who has been specially trained in sharpshooting," a 
local observer said.

He said the influential kamnan was usually surrounded by bodyguards, 
making it impossible for would-be assailants to approach. His two 
bodyguards disappeared after the shooting.

Kamnan Daeng was known to have close ties with several local politicians 
including former deputy commerce minister Samphan Lertnuwat and former 
assistant police chief Pol Gen Prasarn Wongyai.

A provincial Thai Rak Thai MP, who asked not to be identified, said he 
was not surprised at the assassination since Kamnan Daeng was "bound to 
be murdered sooner or later".

One of the employees at Kamnan Daeng's sand-dredging site said he did 
not hear any gunshot. The influential kamnan had just returned from 
Burma, where he had been in hiding following a death threat.

"A sharpshooter could have hidden in a nearby bush about 40m away from 
where Kamnan Daeng was standing when he was shot," a villager said. 
Kamnan Daeng's residence in Ban Pang Haa was searched several times over 
the past three months by local security and drug suppression officials 
who suspected him of drug trafficking.
He was also known to have had close ties with several senior Burmese 
military officials, who awarded him several construction contracts along 
the border.

A road linking Burma's Tachilek border town to the UWSA's Mong Yawn was 
built by a construction company with Kamnan Daeng's blessing. "His 
investments in Burma may have reached 100 million baht," a local 
businessman said.



_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
 


Xinhua: Japan-Invested Instrument Factory Goes into Production in 
Myanmar


YANGON, February 27 (Xinhua) -- A Japanese-invested factory, which 
produces instruments for operating theaters and for dental and eye 
operations, has opened at Hmawby, the outskirts of Yangon, official 
newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported Tuesday. Monday's inaugural 
ceremony of the factory of the MANI Yangon Ltd of Japan was attended by 
two Myanmar Ministers at the Office of the Chairman of the State Peace 
and Development Council Brigadier-General Abel and Lieutenant-General 
Min Thein, and other ministers as well as Japanese ambassador to Myanmar 
Shigeru Tsumori. 

The Japanese factory was set up with full foreign investment and the 
products will be exported to Japan, South America and European 
countries. According to official statistics, Japan so far invested a 
total of 232.88 million U.S. dollars into Myanmar since late 1988 when 
the country opened to foreign investment, ranking the 9th in Myanmar's 
foreign investment line-up. Meanwhile, Japan also stands as Myanmar's 
fourth largest trading partner after Singapore, China and Thailand with 
their bilateral trade amounting to 227.55 million dollars or 6.94 
percent of Myanmar's total foreign trade in the first ten months of 
2000. 






_______________OPINION/EDITORIALS_________________



Boston Globe: Hope for Burma 

HANKS IN LARGE PART to the effect of sanctions imposed by the United 
States, the European Union, and the International Labor Organization, 
the military junta ruling Burma has finally opened talks with Nobel 
Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi. She is leader of National League 
for Democracy, the party that won 80 percent of the seats in Parliament 
in a 1990 election which the junta has disregarded.


It is crucial that President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin 
Powell do not feel impelled, because of a general distaste for economic 
sanctions, to alter a policy that is just beginning to show desired 
results.


The sanctions on the Burmese military rulers are multilateral, although 
not universal. China, which has a strategic interest in neighboring 
Burma, continues to trade with the junta, overlooking not only that 
regime's horrific human rights abuses but also the diffusion of drug 
addiction into China from a country that has become, in tandem with 
Afghanistan, a source for more than 90 percent of the world's heroin. 


Nevertheless, the willingness of China and other Asian states to trade 
with Burma has not been sufficient to save the junta from severe 
economic decline. Mismanagement, corruption, and the effects of the 
multilateral economic sanctions have left in distress a country that was 
once regarded as one of Asia's most blessed in natural resources. 


This month, the Far Eastern Economic Review reported that ''inflation 
remains high, fuel prices are rising, and the value of the currency has 
fallen sharply.'' Also, ''the price of rice is falling'' and ''there 
also isn't enough rice for domestic consumption.'' Burma's military 
bosses have become so desperate for development aid and foreign 
investment that they may have decided any price is worth paying to end 
their pariah status - even dialogue with Suu Kyi and a democratic 
opening. 


If the Bush administration were to relax sanctions on the junta at this 
juncture, it would be acting at cross purposes even with Burma's 
neighbors. Recently, because of cross-border raids by Burmese troops 
pursuing ethnic Shan rebels, there have been armed clashes between 
Thailand's army and Burma's. The Thais are also angry at the junta 
because they blame it for allowing Burma's drug lords to hook Thai youth 
on heroin, as well as methamphetamine and the drug ecstasy. 


Moreover, the primary defender of authoritarianism as an Asian value, 
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, counseled junta members 
during a January visit that they could best resolve their problems at 
home and within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations by relaxing 
their iron grip on their people and talking to Suu Kyi.


Bush and Powell could not undo US sanctions on the junta without 
discrediting America as a champion of democracy and human rights.



___________________________________________________




Bangkok Post:  Helping Burma is a thankless task

By Thongbai Thongpao


February 25, 2001 

The situation along the Thai-Burmese border has been tense for decades. 
But the latest clashes in Mae Sai have changed the attitude Thais have 
towards their neighbour. We call Burma our neighbour because our 
countries are adjacent but we don't want them firing at us over the 
fence. 

Sporadic conflicts are nothing new with all our neighbours. But peace is 
usually restored without difficulty. The only exception is Burma. 
Looking back, it seems the relationship between Thailand and Burma has 
been a marathon war. Hundreds of years ago, Burma invaded Thailand 
several times, twice seizing Ayudhaya, the old capital of Siam. On the 
first occasion, Siam remained under Burmese control for 15 years before 
King Naresuan restored independence. On the second occasion, the Burmese 
attacked and burned down the entire capital. Even revered Buddha images 
were plundered for their gold coatings. Eventually King Taksin the Great 
again restored independence. 

There are many legends from these times. One involves a man called Nai 
Khanom Tom who beat nine Burmese in a boxing match, thereby surprising 
the Burmese who thought the Thais to be cowards. "If all Thais had such 
courage, they would not have lost the city to us," the Burmese said. 

Another legend concerns Bangrachan Thai villagers who saved their 
village from invasion by the Burmese. The story has been made into many 
movies with last year's version grossing over 100 million baht and 
finding its way into school curricula. 

The disputes ended temporarily when Burma was colonised by Britain. Siam 
managed to maintain its independence and when Burma was eventually freed 
we rejoiced with them. We forgot what the Burmese had done to us and 
hoped our neighbour would grow with us. The relationship proceeded 
normally until the military junta seized power. Although we regard the 
dictatorial rule as Burma's internal affair, its policies have 
reverberated on Thais. The suppression of minorities has resulted in 
refugees flooding into Thailand from Ranong in the south to Chiang Rai 
in the north. Hundreds of thousands of minorities migrated to Thailand. 
Some remain in refugee camps supervised by the United Nations. Thailand 
did its best to be a kind host but was many times criticised by the 
world community for violating the refugees' human rights. Some became 
illegal labourers in fisheries, rice mills and factories, causing 
problems for Thai workers by accepting lower wages. What's more, we pay 
for their medical care and suffer their crimes. Even when Burmese 
children cross the border to join Thai schools, we gladly embrace them. 

The crisis intensified when groups of refugees seized Ratchaburi 
hospital and Samut Sakhon jail, causing the deaths of two Thai 
officials. 

Worst of all is the drug trafficking from production bases on the 
Burmese side of the border. This threatens a worse war than between our 
armies. 

Thailand has always had patience with the Burmese, hoping that they will 
one day return to peace and democracy. We have never interfered in 
Burma's internal affairs. Some western countries have put pressure on 
the junta to stop their human rights-violations. Nonetheless, Thailand 
still abides by the constructive engagement policy. But all we get in 
return is bullets.
 
Some ministers in the new cabinet may claim to have good relations with 
the junta but one still wonders what they can do with a 'friend' who has 
always acted like an enemy. 

Will the new government take a conciliatory stance as in the past or 
will it be more assertive? Especially important is the policy regarding 
human rights which has pushed Burmese minorities into Thailand. 

Drugs is another issue. So far we have always tackled the problem 
downstream among traders rather than upstream at the production bases 
inside Burmese territory. Perhaps it is finally time to get tough. 



___________________________________________________




Bangkok Post: Opposing Positions over Burma Conflict

 Tuesday, February 27, 2001



It has become clear in recent days that the aim of Burma in the 
northeast of its country is to increase the territory and power of the 
regime's ethnic Wa allies. This creates a deeply disturbing rift with 
Thailand, which has already suffered innocent casualties and damage from 
the border combat. As serious as the conflict spillover has been to 
Thailand, it will be nothing compared to the huge risk that outright 
Burmese victory will produce. If Rangoon succeeds, Thailand and China 
will be border-to-border with an unfettered, unchallenged drug cartel.


Rangoon's army and the private United Wa State Army are fighting as a 
unit opposite our northern provinces. Their aim is to destroy the Shan 
State Army, and to push its remnants and Shan people south into central 
Burma. This will leave northeastern Burma in the hands of the UWSA. This 
will free the Wa to expand their massive drug cartel, which already 
controls all methamphetamines and most heroin.

Such a large, forced migration would always concern Thailand, for 
reasons both of human rights and future security. Ethnic clashes have 
been a constant, destabilising feature of Burma since its independence 
from Britain. But the added threat of expanded drug operations is deeply 
disturbing.

In some cases, Burmese attempts to shift blame for the border fighting 
to Thailand could be mildly, if maddeningly, amusing. In the situation 
at present, they are dangerous. Burma is well aware of Thai concern over 
the border insecurity. Rangoon also knows well that Thais consider drug 
trafficking the nation's greatest security threat. Burma's refusal to 
consult Thailand must trouble every Thai. Rangoon's decision to 
encourage the Wa drug trafficking by helping to establish even better 
access and security is deeply disturbing.

Academics have warned the government that Burma seeks territorial 
advantage through its alleged civil war. Several of our senior military 
officers have strong feelings about the situation. Army commander Gen 
Surayud Chulanont has been outspoken that Thai lives in the region, and 
Thai security in general, are at great risk. Lt-Gen Wattanachai 
Chaimuenwong, the Third Army commander on the front line, has become 
blunt in his frustration. "All Burmese unit commanders who caused the 
conflict should brought before a firing squad," he told our reporters 
recently.

No one hopes for a conflict with Burma. In fact, there is only one 
permanent solution to the problem, and that is a political conclusion. 
Such a solution requires two partners, and Burma has refused to join 
talks. Indeed, under the outdated and faulty claim that no one can 
interfere with its internal affairs, the Rangoon dictatorship has 
effectively blocked all bilateral or multilateral discussions or 
negotiations.

As a story in this newspaper pointed out, this creates a division which 
cannot, at least for now, be bridged. Burma wants to create a secure 
area for the Wa, where they will be free to grow, manufacture and 
traffic in drugs. Thailand must oppose the results of such a plan.

If there is room for negotiation-and there is-it is on the points on 
which Thailand does not have a vital stake. Burma's problems with ethnic 
groups are long and lingering. They are, however, uniquely Rangoon's 
problems. The central government and the minority groups must settle 
their divisions in a way that is best for them. Where the Wa and Shan 
settle is of no strategic interest to Thailand.

Thailand's interest is not to be threatened, intimidated, exploited or 
victimised. Thais have learnt many lessons while trying to fight drug 
makers and traffickers-some of them the hard way. 

Negotiations with Burma are entirely possible if they centre on how to 
make a peaceful border free of drugs. This would require Burma to commit 
itself to weaning both Rangoon and the Wa off the drug trade. It would 
be encouraging if Burma were to start this immediately


___________________________________________________



Japan Times: Guest Forum-myanmar's Best Hope Lies in Reconciliation 

By Nyunt Shwe 

"To those who have visited even briefly, Myanmar is one of the most 
attractive and intriguing places in Asia. It has vast potential for 
economic growth thanks to its natural resources. And its human resources 
are equally promising. Indeed, it was expected that after independence 
the country would do as well as most countries and better than those 
less endowed."

This kind of statement was frequently made by academics during the 
period immediately before and after Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, 
gained its independence in January 1948. 

But military dictatorships have held power for nearly four of the five 
decades that have since passed. The essential conditions for economic 
and social progress, political stability and the rule of law, have been 
absent. The military government uses corruption both as a political 
tactic to control people and out of sheer greed. Worst of all, people 
have to live under constant fear for their safety and economic well 
being.

Although conditions have slightly improved recently, it is too early to 
feel hope for the nation. While dissident U Tin Oo and more than 80 
recently detained youths have been suddenly and unexpectedly released, 
National League for Democracy Party leader Aung San Suu Kyi is still 
under house arrest and her colleagues remain in prison. Suu Kyi's 
colleagues are in their 70s, and should be freed on humanitarian grounds 
alone. By doing so, the military regime would raise its credibility and 
give fresh hope to all Myanmarese. 

If Myanmarese do not commit themselves to prepare for total 
reconciliation, the journey to democracy could be long and 
unpredictable. Therefore it is very important for all citizens to be 
ready to forgive the military regime and forget what has happened in the 
past. 

We should not press the generals to accept the establishment of a body 
based on South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Council. If we so 
insist, the road to reconciliation will be become impassible. 

Myanmar's military government put three tasks -- political, economic and 
social -- ahead of everything. While this was appropriate, it should 
have been done in deeds as well as in words.

Politics is too heavy a burden to be shouldered only by soldiers, who by 
the nature of their profession have limitations. 

It would be very good timing if the present government decided to hand 
over power to a popularly elected body. If this is not agreeable, Suu 
Kyi and other politicians have left open the possibility of sharing 
power, something the generals should start to seriously discuss.

The third secretary general of the United Nations, the late U Thant of 
Myanmar, once said:

"We live in an imperfect world and have to learn to accept imperfect 
solutions, which become more acceptable as we learn to live with them 
and as time passes. . ." 

If such a coalition government is successfully established, great 
progress can be made in rebuilding the country's economy and educational 
system.


Nyunt Shwe, a former township leader for the National League for 
Democracy Party, is a freelance journalist and translator who resides in 
Japan.




___________________________________________________



India Today magazine (New Delhi): Stillness of Change 

[BurmaNet adds: Among the more egregious inaccuracies in this article, 
Swapan Dasgupta identifies Aung San Suu Kyi as a Christian.  She is a 
Buddhist.]

After prolonged isolation. Yangaon wants to face the world on its own 
terms. Will it be allowed to? 

>From March 5, 2001 

By Swapan DASGUPTA in Yangon 

Adjoining The main entrance to the Mandalay Fort, Ding Mindon?s stunning 
Golden City that was the seat of royal power from 1861 to 1885, is a 
large hoarding that is striking in its incongruity. ?The Tatmadaw shall 
never betray the national cause?, it proclaims. The Tatmadaw, for the 
uninitiated, is the armed forces, the guiding light of Myanmar since 
General Ne Win seized power in 1962.  

On the face of it, the Tatmadaw is an invisible force, more prominent in 
western media reports than on the streets of Mandalay and capital city 
Yangon. There are no uniformed intruders to either distract the awfully 
courteous shopkeepers selling rubies, jade and handicrafts for dollars 
in YangonÆs Bogyoke Market (formerly the Scott Market) or intimidate the 
rows of second-hand booksellers on 37th Street. A teeming metropolis 
that is part Mumbai, part Kolkata and part Colombo, Yangon blends the 
glitzy market economy with the oriental bazaar. The roadside food stalls 
are enveloped in a familiar smell of pickled fish but the five-star 
hotels are a picture of sanitized orderliness. There is no fixed price 
for goods and hard bargaining is part of a time-honoured ritual, 
particularly for tourists who can breeze through the country without 
negotiation the uncertainties of wildly negotiable multiple exchange 
rates.  

The legendary bamboo curtain and a prolonged spell of isolation 
notwith-standing, Myanmar just isnÆt another North Korea. There is 
laughter in the streets, pesky child monks needling tourists for alms 
and a very un-sub-continental orderliness of traffic. There are no 
portraits of Senior-General Than Shwe watching over people and there is 
no ban on cable television. English is back as a language of 
instruction, cricket is making a cautious comeback among the Indians 
and, for the enterprising, there are megabucks to be made.  

ôBusiness is good,ö gloats U Maung Shwe, a Yangon businessman who works 
closely with the Ministry of Commerce. His real name is B.L. Goenka, a 
third generation Marwari settled in Myanmar. He is reported to be close 
to Lt-General Tin Oo, the Secretary-2 of the ruling State Peace and 
Development Council (SPDC) who was reportedly killed in a helicopter 
crash last week. Goenka may be the archetypal man for all occasions but 
even those who lack his formidable connections arenÆt exactly unhappy. 
YangonÆs Indian community no longer makes up 58 per cent of the 
population it did in 1948 but 25 Durga pujas are still held each year in 
the city. The anti-Indian feeling that formed a subtext of early Burmese 
nationalism has virtually evaporated.  

Myanmar isn?t perfect but it isn?t quite the ?fascist Disneyland? that 
concerned human-rights bodies have made it out to be. There is an 
overdose of olive green military uniforms in the SPDC hierarchy, the 
non-official media wage a guerrilla war with the censors, people are 
wary of speaking out and the generals have decreed the country isnÆt 
ready to face the subversion of the Internet. However, compared to the 
socialist disaster zone Ne Win bequeathed to his successors in 1988, 
Myanmar has come a very long way.  

That is not good enough for the US and the EU which have imposed 
economic sanctions against Myanmar, accusing it of heinous crimes 
ranging from the suppression of democracy to drug peddling and slave 
labour. Last year, US human-rights campaigners successfully pressured 
oil-services provider Baker Hughes to sell out its stake in the Mann oil 
fields project in northern Myanmar. Last April, the oil company Premier 
was advised by the British Foreign Office to end all commercial ties 
with the ôdisgraceful regimeö in Myanmar. Spurring the activist groups 
is the open encouragement to international sanctions by the opposition 
leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, now under house 
arrest in Yangon.  

In public discourse, Suu Kyi is a non-person in Myanmar. At best, she is 
referred to tangentially as ?the lady? and her National League for 
Democracy is nowhere in sight. Despite her credentials as the daughter 
of Aung San, the father of Burmese nationalism, Suu Kyi?s claim to lead 
Myanmar to a democratic paradise on the strength of the 1990 elections, 
is fiercely resisted by the present ruling establishment.  

As a Christian who was married to a Briton, the 55-year-old Suu Kyi is 
not above the majority Burman community?s traditional fear of the 
foreign hand. This fear is partly grounded in Myanmar?s humiliating 
experience of colonialism British soldiers repeatedly entered the 
Shwedagon pagoda with their boots on and transformed the Mandalay Palace 
into an officers? club. But equally, it is centred on the Buddhist fear 
of a Christian-led cultural transformation of the country. Myanmar 
nationalism sees the hand of missionaries behind the alienation and 
separatism of minority ethnic groups like the Karens, Kachins and Shans. 
Suu  Kyi has tried to allay misgivings by also speaking of a traditional 
Burmese nationalism arising from Burma?s cultural homogeneity but the 
fear of democratization being followed by an assault on Buddhism and the 
country?s territorial integrity persists. Her faith in international 
pressure on the military regime merely reinforce existing prejudices.  

Along with this heightened cultural wariness, there is the fear of the 
marginalistion of the military. Unlike India, Myanmar didn?t have a mass 
nationalist movement. Aung San and his 30 Comrades effected the 
liberation of the country in 1942 by riding piggyback on the invading 
Japanese. Thereafter, it was a hastily cobbled army that functioned as 
both a political party and militia. The opposition too developed in the 
guise of armed, ethnic separatists. A democratic culture never struck 
roots.  

After a long spell in isolation, Suu Kyi apperars to have recognized 
this. For the first time since 1996, she has begun talking with 
Lt-General Khin Nyunt, Secretary-1 of the SPDC, through the good offices 
of UN Special Envoy Razali Ismail. Both sides have maintained a media 
silence but as a gesture of goodwill the Government has dropped its 
public denunciation of Suu Kyi. The idea is to lessen the animosity. 
With ASEAN pressing for a solution, there are whispers of a rift within 
the military over the future course (see box). According to senior 
officials in Yangon, there is a blueprint of a quasi-federal 
constitution that confers autonomy to the non-Burman states but 
institutionalizes the role of the Tatmadaw. The ball, they say, is in 
Suu Kyi?s court.  
There is a deceptive calm in Myanmar today that could well vindicate 
Paul Theroux naughty aside that ôNothing happens in Burma but then 
nothing is expected to happen. Underneath the surface, however, the 
winds of change are unmistakable. Pro-government notables, with strong 
links to the Buddhist clergy, talk of consolidation, the oppositionists 
speak of reconciliation. The difference isn?t purely semantic but the 
gap is no longer unbridgeable. Exiled Thintbawa editor Tin Maung Than?s 
observation in the Bangkok-based Irrawaddy reflects the new mood: The 
military is part of our body, whether it is good or bad. The opposition 
is also part of our body, whether good or bad. We should be kind to 
ourselves as a country.

That?s a sentiment the conflict-weary Myanmarese would readily endorse. 
If only they are allowed to, without becoming a part of a new great game 
involving the US and China.    




Military Balance 

Though it is sending peace feelers, there is a tussle in the armed 
forces on the future course 

IN THE ABSENCE OF OPENNESS. Yangon-watching has been elevated into an 
art form, in much the same way Kremlin-watching was 30 years ago. 
Inevitably, much of the recent speculation centers on a power struggle 
in the military over the succession to Than Shwe.  

Curiously, Than Shwe is not the focus. Despite rumours of ill health, 
the 68-years-old senior general is alert and in total command. He 
actively participated in the talks with India?s External Affairs 
Minister Jaswant Singh on February 15 and spoke on a range of subjects 
without notes. The suggestion that he will abruptly relinquish power on 
health grounds seems somewhat far-fetched.  

At the root of the speculation is a bid by Aung San Suu Kyi to exploit 
contradictions in the army. In particular, a wellpublicised rivalry 
between SPDC Vice-Chairman General Maung Aye and Secretary-1 Lt-general 
Khin Nyunt. In the assessment of Analytica Birmanie, a Burma-watch 
newsletter, it is a war between those with brawn and elements that 
possess a lot of brain and craftiness.  

The contrast is striking. As head of military intelligence and the 
architect of the cease-fire with ethnic insurgent groups, Khin Nyunt has 
held confidence-building negotiations with Suu Kyi. The talks have made 
progress and Suu Kyi reportedly told an EU delegation of her 
satisfaction with Khin Nyunt. Pro-opposition publications in Thailand 
have painted Khin Nyunt as a reformer who enjoys the confidence of 
westernized army officers, intellectuals, businessman and, most 
important, China. In short, someone who could be a bridge between the 
military and the opposition.  

In the other corner is Maung Aye, a Buddhist traditionalist enjoying the 
full backing of the army. Maung Aye is said to have consolidated his 
position last year following trips to India, China and Laos. Wary of 
appeasing ethnic insurgents he has been very supportive of India?s 
cross-border problems. Once the clear favourite to succeed Than Shwe, 
Maung Aye?s ascendancy has raised the hackles of both China and the 
West, a reason why Suu Kyi is being encouraged to dabble in 
intra-military intrigues.    


________________


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