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BurmaNet News: March 6, 2001
- Subject: BurmaNet News: March 6, 2001
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2001 09:32:00
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
March 6, 2001 Issue # 1750
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
INSIDE BURMA _______
*People Daily (China): Myanmar Govt on Border Incidents with Thailand
*Bangkok Post: Junta Behind Traffickers, Says Gen Harn
*Shan - EU News: the Thai-burma Border Conflict & the Shan Resistance
*Mizzima: Being an elected MP in Burma
REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*Reuters: Thai military hits back at Burma in war of words
*Mizzima: Manipur CM warns of Chinese control over Burma
*The Nation: Plan to Formalise the Hire of Burmese Labour
*Bangkok Post: Border Killing Probes Mired in Doubts
ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
*Earthrights International/International Labor Rights Fund: Plaintiffs
win round in Yadana lawsuit
*Nation: Mass fast at US, UK colleges over Burma
OPINION/EDITORIALS_______
*The New Light of Myanmar: Backfiring
OTHER______
*Radio Free Asia: Help Wanted?Journalist
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
People Daily (China): Myanmar Govt on Border Incidents with Thailand
Tuesday, March 06, 2001, updated at 09:44(GMT+8)
A Myanmar government information sheet said on Monday evening that in
its recent campaign against the Shan United Revolutionary Army (SURA),
an anti-government Shan ethnic armed group led by Lieutenant-Colonel
Ywet Sit, great care was exercised by the Myanmar side to ensure that
their shells and bullets did not stray into Thailand. target Thailand.
The statement said such assurance was made more difficult as the SURA
camps were located right on the Myanmar-Thai border line which stretches
for over 2,080 kilometers.
It maintained that the campaign launched against SURA was purely for
eradicating the scourge of narcotic drugs.
It stressed that Myanmar has never allowed anti-government organizations
from neighboring countries to operate from its territory.
It complained that this "good-neighborly" policy was not reciprocated by
Thailand as these organizations continue to enjoy refuge and sanctuary
in that country.
It disclosed that the situation in the border region has not returned to
normal with the border still closed due to existence of some tension
which it said arose out of the organizations being allowed to operate
along the border and even within Thai territory.
It said Myanmar would like to see the return of peace and tranquillity
to the two countries' border without further deterioration in the
relations between the two sides, emphasizing that it has always been
Myanmar's policy to make big issues become smaller and for smaller ones
to be resolved completely.
It warned that it is time for Thai officials, including military
officers, to stop providing support and assistance to " insurgent
groups", which it said the main reason for the present unhappy
situation.
Meanwhile, Thailand charged Myanmar troops with intrusion of Thai
territory, saying that Myanmar soldiers seized one of its border
outposts on February 10 and hit Mae Sai with stray shells during a
battle against the SURA.
The tension between the two countries has prompted Thailand to shut down
the Mae Sai border check point.
Thailand has urged Myanmar to show goodwill by not deploying excessive
troops near the Thai border, warning Yangon not to divert attention from
the real cause of the problem that Myanmar troops had encroached on the
Thai soil, while Thailand has taken the leading role in drug
suppression.
___________________________________________________
Bangkok Post: Junta Behind Traffickers, Says Gen Harn
Sunday, March 4, 2001
Independent agency would soon prove it
Sermsuk Kasitirpadit
Allowing the northern border to be monitored by an independent agency
would quickly disprove the Rangoon junta's allegation that Thailand, not
Burma, was assisting drug traffickers, the senate military committee
chairman said yesterday.
Gen Harn Leenanond, a former Fourth Army chief, said he was stunned by
the recent Burmese claim.
An independent agency, or the United Nations, should be allowed to
freely monitor activities along the Thai-Burmese border, he said.
Then, "the whole world will know who the real drug traffickers are along
the northern border area".
"We are all aware now that the United Wa State Army is the largest drug
trafficker in the Golden Triangle region," Gen Harn said. "Half of the
drug trade money goes directly to support the Burmese military
junta."The junta's allegation was printed in the official New Light of
Myanmar It said the Shan State Army was the major drug trafficker along
the border and was protected by Thailand.
SSA commander Jao Yawd Serk denied the claim and insisted the Shan were
committed to the fight against drugs.
"No one will ever know what is really happening in the UWSA-controlled
area unless the Burmese allow outside scrutiny," said Gen Harn. The Thai
people had suffered greatly from the flood of methamphetamines from
Burma.
"Drug money from the UWSA has not only helped build up the Burmese armed
forces, it has helped finance construction of roads and towns in the
border area," said Gen Harn.
He praised Third Army commander Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong for his
decisive response against Burmese intruders who seized a paramilitary
forward outpost early last month.
"There should be no doubt the incursion was intentional. The outpost was
clearly marked and nearly a kilometre inside our country," said Gen
Harn.
He was very suspicious of Burma's claim to sincerity in tackling the
drug problem along the border. Drug money was the only income the junta
could get easily from its close ally, the UWSA.
He was optimistic a cap could be kept on the border situation, but
warned that further encroachment by Burmese troops would not be
tolerated.
An aide to Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh said yesterday he
expected the bilateral Regional Border Committee would meet soon,
following talks between Gen Chavalit and a leading member of the junta.
"Gen Chavalit will travel to Burma soon after the RBC meeting," he said.
Lt-Gen Wattanachai, who jointly heads the RBC, has said repeatedly that
Thailand should not initiate the meeting, since it was Burma's turn to
be host.
___________________________________________________
Shan - EU News: the Thai-burma Border Conflict & the Shan Resistance
4 March 2001
PERSPECTIVE
By: Sai Wansai
In connection with the Thai-Burmese armed conflict along the
Thai-Shan(Burma) border, the Shan resistance movement has been making
headlines, specifically within the Asia-Pacific region, starting from
the month of February this year.
It all started out on February 8 when Burmese troops crossed the Thai
border in the northern province of Chiangrai, occupied Ban Pang Noon
camp in Mae Fah Luang district and captured 19 Thai army personnel. Once
the Thai officials managed to escape, the Thai army which has taken a
very strong position on such incursions, retaliated in full force in
order to repossess the territory.
These clashes, the fiercest in recent years, left six civilians and
dozens of Burmese soldiers dead, according to the official figures.
While they might have been caused by a tactical error or with sheer
intention on the part of Burmese army, which in hot pursuit of Shan
resistance troops intruded into Thai territory, they once again reminded
the Thai and international community of the highly volatile and
precarious situation along the border.
THE RELUCTANT PROXIES: UNITED WA STATE ARMY & SHAN STATE ARMY
While the spill-over effect of the ethnic conflicts raging in Burma into
Thailand is nothing new to the Thais, the recent territorial intrusion
of the Burmese, coupled with the flooding of Thailand with all sorts of
drugs, noteably amphetamine or known as Ya Ba in Thai, by United Wa
State Army (UWSA) are seen as highly intolerable by the Thai army. In
addition, UWSA is considered a proxy of the Burmese army and is closely
allied to it.
>From the Wa point of view, the Burmese offer to settle in the Shan
region with its population and territorial gains are too attractive to
resist. It serves the purpose of the Burmese to push out the Shan and
thereby undermine the support base of the Shan Army, and as a bonus the
Wa are also rewarded with territorial gain. The only problem is that it
all occurs at the expense of the Shan population, who has to flee and
become refugees in Thailand. This latest drive alone was said to number
more then 100,000 displaced people, according to reliable Shan and Thai
sources.
The Burmese military regime has been using the tactics of "divide and
rule" by pitching the non-Burman ethnic groups against each other quite
successfully all these years. The recent forced relocation of the Shan
mainly carried out by the UWSA with the blessing and collaboration of
the Burmese military within the Shan State Army's (SSA) areas of
influence and the settlement of the Wa from the northern part of Shan
State is the Burmese strategy meant to deprived the Shan resistance with
recruitment, food supplies and logistic support. The Thai, in turn, sees
this as a security threath and as well the scheme to destroy and disrupt
Thai social fabric by flooding the Thai market with heroin and synthetic
drugs.
Sources within the Thai military privately concede that in a bid to
counter methamphetamine and heroin smuggling from Burma, covert
assistance has been given to the Shan State Army since the latter part
of last year.
At first there was financial help and medicine, then a more tolerant
attitude to the use of Thai soil by Shan militiamen and the provision of
solely needed ammunition. The Shan State Army in turn announced publicly
that it was attacking heroin and methamphetamine laboratories.
FORCED RELOCATION & POPULATION TRANSFER
Population displacement and forced relocation in Shan State are not new.
They have been common occurrences since the Burmese Army first came to
Shan State in 1950 on the pretext of driving away the Chinese
Nationalist KMT, who were pushed into Shan State from Yunnan Province of
China by Mao Tse Tung's troops. All kinds of human rights violations
were committed by both the Burmese Army and KMT alike.
The situation became worse after the military seized power in 1962 and
resistance forces sprang
up all over Shan State. In their attempts to crush the forces of the
opposition, one of the strategies of the Burmese Army has been the "Four
Cuts" operation, aimed at cutting the food, funds, intelligence and
recruits provided by local villagers to the resistance armies. This
often involved forcing whole village tracts to move to strategic sites
which could be closely guarded. Throughout the past thirty years, large
areas of Shan State have been repeatedly disrupted in this way. However,
the massive forced relocation begun by the Burmese military regime in
Central Shan State in 1996 and continuing up to this day is totally
unprecedented in scale.
Since March 1996, the Burmese military regime has forcibly relocated
over 1,400 villages throughout 7,000 square miles in Central Shan State.
Over 300,000 people have been ordered to move at gunpoint into strategic
relocation sites. No assistance has been provided to them.
The relocation program has intensified during 1997 and 1998, with new
areas being forced to relocate, and existing relocation sites being
forced to move again. Vast rural areas of 11 townships have been turned
into depopulated "free-fire" zones.
During 1997 there was a sharp increase in the number of extrajudicial
killings by the regime's troops, with repeated massacres of villagers
caught outside the relocation sites. In one township alone, Shan Human
Rights foundation (SHRF) has documented the killings of over 300
relocated villagers.
The villagers in the relocation sites are used for forced labour by the
junta's troops. They must work as porters, build roads, and perform
tasks such as digging ditches or building fences at the nearby military
camps without food or pay.
There are three main patterns of displacement for the relocated
villagers. Most move to the relocation sites, and try to survive by
selling off possessions, working as wage labourers, or even begging.
Others remain hiding in the jungle near their villages, dodging army
patrols to try and cultivate their old farms. Finally, there are those
driven to desperation by the lack of food and security who flee to other
parts of Shan State or to Thailand.
It is estimated that over a half million Shans have fled into Thailand
during the last few years. Current Thai policy has denied these Shan
safe refuge and the right to receive humanitarian assistance. Shan
refugees have therefore been forced to survive as illegal migrants,
seeking shelter and food at construction sites or on farms. Their
already precarious situation has been worsened by the Thai economic
crisis, which has led to a lack of work and increased arrests and
repatriations by the Thai authorities.
Commenting on the recent population transfer, now going on for over a
year, of the Was to Shan region with the approval of the Burmese
military regime at the expense of the Shan, a Thai academic warned
recently that Burma's move to mobilise troops close to the Thai border
is designed to give it the upper hand in demarcation talks.
Relocation of 200,000-300,000 Wa close to the border would cause
demarcation problems, said Pornpimol Trichote, of Chulalongkorn
University's Institute for Asian Studies. "Burma's aim is not to crack
down on ethnic minorities but to triumph in border demarcation," said Ms
Pornpimol.
"Hence the mobilisation of Burmese government troops and its ethnic
minority allies close to the Thai border along wide stretches of
territory," she told a seminar on Burmese ethnic minorities and border
problems.
"We must understand that Burma is a very dynamic military state, that it
takes after China in very long-term planning," she said.
Settlement of so many Wa people, complete with their plantations, close
to the border could pose an obstacle to border markers, she said.
Thailand shares a 2,400km border with Burma, of which only about 59km
are demarcated.
THE BURMESE MILITARY'S ULTIMATE AIM
With such a backdrop, the tension along the Thai- Shan border is bound
to escalate and the reluctant proxies of Thai and Burmese, the Wa and
Shan, will be forced by the situation, and is programmed ahead, to fight
each other, even though it is not in the interest of both parties. Only
the Thai or Burmese will benefit from such an open conflict between the
Wa and the Shan armies, both indigenous of the Shan State.
So far, Sao Yawd Serk, leader of the SSA has refused to condemn the Wa
intrusion into its areas of operation, stating that the Wa are also sons
of the Shan State. In the same vein, a Wa leader in Pang Sang
headquarters was said to have bluntly questioned Khin Nyunt, the first
Secretary of the Burmese military junta, if it was their plan to let the
Shan and Wa killed each other only to be crushed and dominated by the
Burmese once both are exhausted.
But if the conflict along the Thai-Shan border could not be contained,
due to the fall-out on Thailand in terms of drugs, refugees and illegal
labour, there is a possibility that the conflict could become regional,
which might even escalate into international one, drawing in regional
powers as well as super powers into the conflict. Considering the fact
that narcotics problem respects no borders, the first to be drawn into
the conflict are members of the ASEAN themselves and Burma's immediate
neighbours, China, India and Bangladesh, most of whom have already
officially complained about drug trafficking originated in Burma.
Burma's escalating drug empire may have overreached itself by bringing
recent protests from India and China. Involvement of these large
countries in the border conflict may help to bring a quick resolution to
the problem and might even initiate other changes in Burma.
Thailand has been advocating to form an alliance with Burma's neighbours
China, Bangladesh, India and Laos to push the junta to solve the
problems of drugs and ethnic conflicts occuring between the Burmese
military junta and most non-Burman ethnic nationalities. But the Burmese
military junta seems determined to crush all armed oppositions
militarily, rather than working out a give-and-take political
settlement.
Speculation aside, the ramification of the Thai-Burmese conflict, due to
the spill-over effect of the Shan-Burmese ethnic conflict, could be
numerous and many. But for the Shans, it is only part and parcel of the
Burmese military's grand strategy to subdue the Shan's ambition of
regaining its birthright sovereignty and the rights of
self-determination, in the name of so-called "national unity".
THE ABOLITION OF UNION CONSTITUTION
It should be clear that the country we all know as Burma or Myanmar, as
termed by the Burmese military regime, is a country made up of at least
three countries, namely: Burma Proper, Karenni State and Shan States.
The Shan and the Karenni joined Burma in their struggle for
self-determination from the British and jointly attained independence on
January 4, 1948.
However, in 1962 the Burmese military sized state power in a coup and
declared the Union Constitution abolished. In so doing, the Burmese
terminated the only existing legal bond between them and the other
ethnic nationalities. The declaration of the suspension of the
Constitution was in effect a self denunciation that Burma had overnight
become an aggressor-nation instead of partner. Thus, in a
legal-constitutional sense, the Union of Burma ceased to exist.
The Burmese military regime has been attempting to hold the defunct
union together by sheer military force, whilst the real and only
solution is political. The Shan and the Karenni on their part have been
waging a war of resistance to free themselves from the yoke of Burmese
domination. This is also true for all the other non-Burman ethnic
groups, who are being subjected to the Burmese militaryÆs Burmanization
and forced assimilation. The significant difference is that the Shan and
Karenni conflict with the Burmese military could be argued as
"international", due to the fact that the Shan and Karenni joined the
Union of Burma on an equal political footing, whereby both nations were
constitutionally granted or enjoyed the right to secede after a trial
period of ten years following the attainment of joint-independence from
the British.
The Burmese military has been trying to achieve its policies of
"Burmanization", coupled with "ethnic cleansing" and "forced
assimilation" by making life unbearable for the Shan people. This
involves all kinds of harassment: violation of all their rights
(including livelihood and means of sustenance), the systematic
employment of terror, the encouragement of lawless behaviour of the
Burmese armed forces and the killing of individuals and most commonly
the mistreatment of women (rape) so as to humiliate the men and
psychologically scar the children. Shan language is not recognised as an
official language despite the Shan efforts since 1948, nor it is allowed
to be used as a medium in schools and universities throughout Shan
State. For over half a century, the Shan literature and culture have
been systematically suppressed to erase the sense of Shan ethnic
identity. Publication of literature and culture are discouraged and
through bureaucratic procedures systematically delayed and hampered. The
Shans have to translate any draft of their work from Shan into Burmese
and submit it for permission to be able to publish from the Burmese
officials. On top of all these, every aspects of political and daily
lives are exclusively dominated and monopolized by the Burmese military
regime, at the expense of all non-Burmans and democratic oppositions.
CONCLUSION
Given such circumstances, the struggle for realization of the rights to
self-determination and restoration of the birthright sovereignty of the
Shan people on one side, and the denial of the rights to
self-determination and implementation of the repressive and racial
supremacy policies of the Burmese military regime on the other, will
continue to go on unabated. The only hope for possible political
settlement and reconciliation will only come about if and when a
democratically elected parties are given a chance to govern and
eventually work out a remedy to benefit this deeply divided society.
___________________________________________________
Mizzima: Being an elected MP in Burma
March 4, 2001; Mizzima News Group (www.mizzima.com)
He was one of the rich persons in the town a decade ago. But things
have changed dramatically since the multi-party elections were allowed
to be held by the ruling military junta in 1990. Now, he is struggling
hard to survive with his tiny teashop, facing daily harassment of the
military authorities. The guilt is nothing but being an elected Member
of Parliament from the National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
The NLD party led by the Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi won in a
landslide victory, securing more than 80% of the parliamentary seats in
the May 1990 election. He was one of the winning MPs, elected with
overwhelming votes against the military-backed National Unity Party
(NUP).
His name is U Maung Kyun Aung, above 60, an NLD MP from the Rathae Taung
Township Constituency No. 1 in Rakhaing State.
There were two members of parliament in the township, one U Thar Noe was
elected from Rathae Taung (2) from the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD)
and the other was U Maung Kyun Aung from Rathae Taung (1) from the
National League for Democracy (NLD). U Thar Noe fled the country in 1995
and now takes shelter in India as an exiled MP.
The ruling junta, known as State Peace and Development Council (SPDC),
refuses to honour the verdict of the people and never allows to convene
the peopleÆs parliament even though it is already more than ten years
after the elections were held.
U Maung Kyun Aung has faced and continues to face the regular
harassment, intimidation and threat by the military intelligence (MI)
personnel in the town. He was initially offered bribe by the juntaÆs
agents but later detained when he turned down their offer.
After the release, since 1998, the MI Unit 18 has been forcing him with
various methods to resign both from the MPship and from the NLD party.
But, he consistently refuses to bow to these pressure. The consequences
are that the military intelligence personnel have been disturbing
whatever business he does, the government-sponsored Union Solidarity and
Development Association (USDA) members threatening the local people not
to do any business with U Maung Kyun Aung. They had, indeed, troubled
the local people who did business with the NLD-MP.
As a result, once-a-rich U Maung Kyun Aung lost his wealth and has
reached to a point where he has to open a small teashop in his hometown
for survival. But, that still doesnÆt make him free from the troubles.
Recently, his son was sentenced to six-month prison for ôdestabilizing
the security of township.ö One or two members of the local intelligence
unit and the USDA everyday come and sit at his teashop not because they
like his tea very much but to put the words around that the customers
would be troubled if they continue to come to the teashop. The customers
are threatened they would be even charged. And now, many dare not to
come. But, U Maung Kyun Aung continues to stand on as a NLD-MP in this
town of Southwestern Burma.
___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
Reuters: Thai military hits back at Burma in war of words
BANGKOK,(Reuters) March 6 Thailand's military used its nationwide radio
network on Tuesday to hit back at Burma in a war of words over bloody
border clashes last month. Army spokesman Somkuan
Saengpattaranetr rejected Burma's claims that the Thai military was
involved in drugs trafficking.
''They want the world to think that Thailand supports the drug
trafficking of some ethnic groups,'' Somkuan said on a midday radio
programme. ''In fact, they invaded us.''
Relations between Thailand and Burma plummeted last month after a series
of clashes along the border. The usually busy border crossing between
the northern Thai town of Mae Sai and Burma's Tachilek remains closed
because of the tension.
Bangkok says Burmese troops crossed into Thai territory on February 10,
seizing an outpost which was later recaptured. A day later, shells hit
Mae Sai as Burmese soldiers and their allies in the United Wa State Army
(UWSA) clashed with ethnic Shan rebels across the border. Thai
soldiers retaliated by firing at Burmese military positions.
Burma denies firing any shells into Mae Sai and says they were fired by
the Shan rebels. It also says the border outpost taken over by its
troops was not in Thai territory. The two sides have been firing
verbal salvos at each other ever since. Rangoon on Monday accused
members of the Thai military of aiding ethnic Shan rebels battling the
Burmese military and urged Thailand to cooperate in ''quiet diplomacy''
to restore frayed relations. General Sampao Chusri, supreme
commander of Thailand's armed forces, said Rangoon had broken an
agreement that non-demarcated border areas should be regarded as ''no
man's land.''
''When both sided claim rights over the land, we should let the area be
no-man's land. But Burma just took control over the area,'' Sampao said.
Bangkok says the UWSA is the major player in the drugs trade in the
region and is the source of most of the heroin and amphetamines flooding
Thailand. Thai officials have accused the Burmese junta of allowing the
drugs trade to flourish.
But Burma says the rebel Shan State Army is to blame for most drugs
trafficking in the area. The dispute with Burma has been an
early headache for the new government of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra. The government had been widely expected to be less
confrontational with Burma than the previous administration.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh
says he can boost ties through his good relationships with some of
Rangoon's ruling generals. But many senior Thai military
officers remain deeply suspicious of Burma.
''They (the Burmese junta) say their problem is ethnic groups and we say
ours is drugs, but they never want to patrol along the Thai-Burma border
with us to check drug production bases,'' Somkuan told Reuters
___________________________________________________
Mizzima: Manipur CM warns of Chinese control over Burma
New Delhi, March 6, 2001
Mizzima News Group (www.mizzima.com)
The new Chief Minister of Manipur State Mr. Radhabinod Koijam has
requested the central Government in Delhi to timely check the growing
Chinese economic influence in Burma and warned that India may suffer
economically in long term if failed to check.
ôDuring the Chief MinistersÆ meeting in New Delhi on 3rd March, I said
that China is overrunning the economy of Myanmar (Burma) with its goods
flooding the Myanmar market. The central government should try to get
Indian market to Myanmar. If we neglect this, we may suffer economically
in long termö, said Mr. Koijam who ended his visit to Delhi this
morning.
Speaking on telephone from Imphal, capital of Manipur State, he said,
ôTamu (border town of Burma) is flourishing with trade activities
whereas our border town Moreh (in Manipur) is dying downö, adding that
ôa large number of illegal firearms and narcotics are coming across the
border from Myanmar and our boys are effected by these.
He also met the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in New Delhi last
Friday.
Mr. Koijam heads the newly formed Samata Party-led coalition government
in Manipur State, which is bordering with Burma. The present Indian
defence minister Mr. George Fernandes, known for his sympathy for
Burmese pro-democracy activists in India, is the founder chief of the
Samata Party.
___________________________________________________
The Nation: Plan to Formalise the Hire of Burmese Labour
March 6, 2001
PLANS for a foreign-worker programme in Thailand similar to ones
overseas were still at a fact-finding stage, the Labour and Social
Welfare Ministry said yesterday.
The scheme to import workers mainly from Burma would relieve labour
shortages and reduce the smuggling of illegal workers and attendant
problems, a senior official said.
The programme would follow procedures that Thai workers undergo when
heading to countries such as Taiwan, Phusak Thammsal, deputy
director-general of the Employment Department, said.
Setting up a formal programme to legally bring in foreign workers would
help resolve problems involving illegal immigrants, Phusak said. For
instance, when the government uncovers illegal workers, it has
difficulty sending them back to Burma because the government there
refuses to let its citizens in when they are deported from Thailand.
If Cabinet gives the proposal the go ahead, the government would have to
seek the cooperation of the Burmese government, he said.
"The Labour Ministry is compiling information on illegal immigrants for
negotiations if the government agrees with the proposal," Phusak said.
He said the department's employment offices in northern provinces would
collect information on the current status of illegal immigrants and the
use of foreign workers in the region.
A system similar to Thai workers going overseas would be implemented
here, he said.
"For instance, there will be brokers and quotas. Legal workers will come
under labour protection laws and will be guaranteed minimum wages,"
Phusak said.
The two governments would have to discuss the qualifications needed for
job applicants in order to avoid security problems. But government
agencies had not given any input yet on the criteria for job applicants,
he said.
___________________________________________________
Bangkok Post: Border Killing Probes Mired in Doubts
Sunday, March 4, 2001
SCAPEGOATS?: Did God's Army junior guerrillas really kill six Thais in
Ban Huay Sud in December last year? Or are the children the police have
detained in connection with the case merely being used as defenceless
scapegoats?
Perspective Reporters
Along the mountainous terrain of Ratchaburi where the Thai-Burmese
border lies, only the Tenasserim (or Tanaosri) range marks the
demarcation between Thailand and Burma.
But nothing marks the differences between the Thais and the Karens who
live in villages scattered along the border in Suan Phung district. They
breathe the same air, their children play the same games, and they share
nature's bounty. They have lived in relative peace for a long time, and
it seems as if nothing could disturb the serenity.
But along the border opposite Suan Phung are the remnants of God's Army.
Villagers of Baan Huay Sud and Baan Ta Go Lang, a Karen immigrant
village about 400 metres from Huay Sud, say that God's Army guerrillas
often cross the mountain to buy food and necessities from their
villages.
However, they do not believe that the God's Army members who surrendered
to Thai authorities in January were the killers of six Thais in December
last year.
BEYOND BELIEF
A Karen resident in Ta Go Lang could not believe press reports that the
six Thais were killed by a God's Army leader named Rambo. He cannot
believe that the God's Army was even involved in the matter.
"Many of us doubt if those who surrendered are the killers," he said.
"We know they are not.""They cross the mountain often to buy food and
necessities from Thais, there's no reason for them to kill Thais," he
added. "Had we known they would kill Thais, we would not have given them
food and water."The Karen residents in the village deplored the
killings, saying it will attract more violence and fighting. "There's
peace now, but how long will it last?"Press reports that God's Army
members killed the six Thais elicited hundreds of demands for the
relocation of Thamhin Refugee Camp, about 15 kilometres from Baan Huay
Sud, which houses thousands of Karens.
After the killing, more Thai soldiers were sent to the area. The
soldiers moved over 80 Karens from Pha Pok, Ta Go Lang and Tanaosri
villages to refugee camps in Kanchanaburi. The soldiers demolished at
least 20 of the Karen's bamboo cottages.
At the same time, the military ordered the Thai villagers of Baan Huay
Sud to keep their lips sealed about the incident.
CHILD'S PLAY?
What really happened that night? What did the villagers see? Why the
disbelief about the involvement of God's Army members?A villager in Huay
Sud said she saw three Karen men, aged between 20 and 30, at about 8
p.m. on the night of the shooting. There were no children with the men.
The men had been there before, usually to buy food at a shop located off
the Phapok-Suan Phung-Ratchaburi road. This time, they went to the shop,
but it was closed and all food sold out. They then went to another shop
which was located in the inner mountainous area, where the killing took
place.
The second food shop stands alone in a mountainous area, about 400
metres from the first shop. It is a new bamboo cottage, villagers say,
as the owner moved in only two months ago.
"I don't believe the children killed them," said the villager. "How can
children do that? There were no children with them that night."
"Actually," she said, "the two shops share customers who are mostly
Karen.
"Because of its location, the inner shop usually sells food to Karens
from across the mountain.
"They might have had some conflicts, but if so, I am confident that it
was not the children who killed them," a village housewife insisted.
PIECING THE EVENTS TOGETHER
Meanwhile, many details in press reports remain unclear. Police have yet
to prove a) the motive for the killing, b) Rambo's involvement in the
killing, and c) that Rambo's death was due to a grenade that allegedly
exploded in his hand.
There are many versions of the incident.
According to reports from state officials connected with the
investigations, Rambo traded wild products with the shopowner, but after
being unable to collect payment twice, he shot at some Thais sitting
around a table in front of the shop. The shop owner reportedly saw four
God's Army members standing in front of her shop with guns. They did not
behave like buyers and they spoke English, which she could not
understand. Feeling the situation was unusual, she left through the back
door with her child and hid in a brook behind the shop. Le Bi, one of
the four accused of the killing, testified that he and his fellows had
500 baht to buy rice. At first, they bypassed the shop where the killing
occurred because there were too many people. They went to the outer shop
but there was no rice there, so they returned to the first shop where
villagers were drinking whisky.
Rambo stayed outside while the rest bought food. "A drunken man then
asked where we got the guns from, so Rambo shot at them. We ran and hid
in a thick clump of grass. Then we heard a grenade explode. We thought
it was the Thai police but it was Rambo," Le Bi was quoted as saying.
DIFFERENT VERSIONS
Interviewed by Perspective, Mr Sophee Sopha who survived the shooting
and Mrs Watchareewan Yaphuang, the owner of the shop, gave different
versions of the story. But they both said there were two survivors that
night-Mr Sophee and Mr Somnuek (last name unknown).
Mrs Watchareewan denied that her shop sold rice and bought wild products
from God's Army.
"I've never sold rice or bought wild food from them. My usual customers
live nearby," she said.
On the night of the shooting, Watchareewan was in the hut. A group of
men appeared and pointed their guns at Sophee and others celebrating New
Year in front of the hut.
Sensing something amiss, Watchareewan held her daughter and called to
her mother who was in the toilet to leave the hut immediately. "I took
my mom's hand and we ran out through the back door to a hut where my
husband was playing cards with other villagers," she said.
Two God's Army members allegedly involved in the shooting were later
taken to re-enact the crime. Watchareewan said she recognised only one
of them.
Sophee, whose younger sisters were killed in the shooting, told a
different story. He said five strangers aged between 15-16 years showed
up that night while he and his friends were celebrating New Year. "I
think the God's Army members who surrendered were in the same group as
those who appeared that night," he said.
"Two of the men pointed their guns at us, while the other three rushed
into the shop to pack food into their bags. They said nothing. As they
were leaving, they turned back and fired at us," said Sophee, who said
he pretended to be dead.
Sophee said the biggest man, believed to be Rambo, pulled out the pin of
a grenade and walked away. An explosion was heard moments later.
Perspective visited the spot where the grenade allegedly exploded. It is
about 30 metres from the hut where the six were shot. A couple living
near the spot said the attack was carried out by adults, not children.
Somnuek, the other survivor, also told them that the killers were adult
not children.
Sophee's mother told Perspective that she saw at least ten men in
military uniform emerge from a small track as she was walking from her
house to the shop to take care of her nephew, who was injured in the
attack, that night.
YOUNGSTERS IN DETENTION
Suan Phung police have yet to identify the "three boys" who allegedly
accompanied Rambo.
However, three boys are being detained at Suan Phung Police Station
without access to lawyers or the press.
They are charged with murder, illegal possession of war weapons and
illegal entry.
Chalida Tajaroensuk, programme coordinator for the Asian Forum for Human
Rights and Development, said attempts by the organisation to provide a
lawyer for the three boys were turned down by police and officials.
Thai Criminal Law says that youths under 18 years of age must have a
lawyer with them when they testify to police.
"We wonder why the officials did not allow us or the press to meet
them," she said. "Everything is done in a clandestine manner."
SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES
About two weeks after the incident, human rights activists and Forum
Asia took a fact-finding trip to the site of the killings. Most do not
believe that Rambo shot villagers and died from a grenade exploding in
his hand.
Pensak Chagsuchinda, vice chairwoman on the Senate's Foreign Affairs
Committee, said what she found did not fit with the press reports. She
did not see anything to support the official reports either.
"From what I saw, the killing was well planned. I do not believe that
Rambo shot the villagers or died because a grenade exploded in his
hand," she said.
The senator said the killing seemed premeditated. "The bamboo shop had
only been open for two months. Its location was questionable. It stands
alone in an elevated area, where there is a track leading into the
forest.
"I wonder why the shop was located in such a desolate spot. Who are its
regular customers?" she asked. "Moreover," she added, "it is surprising
that the shopowner has another shop in town but keeps another shop open
in that remote area."The fact-finding team was also surprised that
villagers confirmed they saw Rambo and could remember him, when the
house closest to the shop is some 30 metres away.
"The shooting happened at night," said Wasant Panich, a human rights
activist. "How could the villagers see Rambo's face? The store is quite
far off and only has a small battery operated neon light."The
fact-finding team raised several questions.
- Did Rambo kill the six Thais?- Did he die because of the grenade
explosion or did someone try to make it look like he died of the grenade
explosion?- Was he dead before the grenade went off?Photos of the
incident show a cadaver, claimed to be Rambo's, with the right arm
severed and a fist-sized cavity in the chest.
"If he really died when the grenade fell and exploded, his leg should
have been severed, not his arm," commented a fact-finding member.
Could he have fallen while the grenade was in his hand? If so, how could
the combat-hardened Rambo allow a grenade to explode near him?" he
asked.
"Actually, a grenade will not explode even if its safety pin is pulled
out as long as the safety lever is not pulled out," explained Mr Wasant.
"Is it possible that he was dead before the explosion?" he asked.
Amporn Wongsaeng, another fact-finding member, said she did not think
Rambo was killed by a grenade explosion or was involved in the shooting.
"If they just wanted to loot the shop, they need not have shot at the
children and women," she said.
Mr Wasant added that the members of God's Army are not cruel or
inhumane, as shown from past incidents, including the siege of
Ratchaburi Hospital last year.
_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
Earthrights International/International Labor Rights Fund: Plaintiffs
win round in Yadana lawsuit
March 6, 2001
Yesterday, plaintiffs in two cases charging Unocal with slavery, unfair
business practices and other violation of other California Law defeated
Unocal's attempt to remove their cases from California State Court.
In September 2000, the State Claims were filed by 15 Burmese citizens
whose rights were violated by the Construction of Unocal's Natural Gas
Pipeline Project through the Tenasserim region, and California resident
Louisa Benson.
Unocal then attempted to have the case removed from the State Court.
They argued that State standards, including violations of the California
Constitution such as slavery and involuntary servitude, and California's
law on unfair business practices, were not applicable in the two cases,
Doe v. Unocal and Roe v. Unocal.
Dan Stormer of the Pasadena Law Firm Hadsell & Stormer, who appeared for
the Doe plaintiffs, stated after the ruling, "Unocal's last ditch effort
to prevent this case from going forward has failed. We will take this
case to trial and we will win." Natacha Thys of the International Labor
Rights Fund, who argued for the Roe Plaintiffs, added, "In allowing
these claims of slavery and unfair business practices to go forward,
the judge allowed Unocal's practices to be put on trial to the full
extent of the law.
Plaintiffs are also represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights,
Earthrights International, and a coalition of other civil and human
rights lawyers throughout the U.S.
For more information contact
ccr@xxxxxxx, or www.earthrights.org or www.ilrf.org.
___________________________________________________
Nation: Mass fast at US, UK colleges over Burma
March 6, 2001
STUDENTS at 53 universities across the United States and the United
Kingdom fasted for 24 hours yesterday to protest against US corporate
and university support for Burma's military regime.
"We demand that our universities stop doing business with companies
operating in Burma," said Katie Ryan, leader of the Free Burma Coalition
chapter at North Carolina State University.
"Desmond Tutu called Burma the 'next South Africa', and it is time for
our universities to divest and refuse to purchase from US companies
operating in Burma."
The fast comes in the aftermath of a New York Times article on March 1
exposing the links between clothing exports to the United States and
Burma's ruling military regime.
The newspaper had received an unclassified State Department cable from
Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, which said: "We understand that the GOB
[military regime] controls distribution of the current [garment-export]
quota and reserves a large portion of it in government-related
factories."
Harkin, a Democrat, has promised, along with Republican Senators Jesse
Helms and Mitch McConnell to introduce legislation calling for a ban on
imports from Burma.
Students, however, are not waiting for legislation.
"Slavery ended over 100 years ago in the United States. We shouldn't be
supporting a modern form of slavery in Burma through this university's
57,000 shares in Unocal oil company," said Andrew Price, leader of the
Free Burma Coalition at the University of Virginia.
"We have enough problems in our own backyard, and US corporations
shouldn't create more for us in Burma."
Students at American and Bucknell universities and Trinity College have
already successfully pressured their universities to divest shares in
and refuse to purchase from companies operating in Burma.
Clothing companies JanSport, Kenneth Cole and the Dress Barn all
promised to cease sourcing from Burma late last year after protests.
JanSport said after its withdrawal in October: "Recently some
collegiate-licensed apparel was found to have been manufactured in
[Burma] without JanSport's or the university's knowledge. This was
expressly against JanSport's manufacturing policy. I assure you,
JanSport . . . immediately took steps to transfer the production to an
alternative facility."
On Thursday, Burma, which along with Afghanistan accounts for 90 per
cent of world heroin production, was again decertified by the US
government for non-compliance with its anti-narcotic efforts.
Randy Beers, assistant secretary for Narcotics and Law Enforcement,
said: "The government of Burma has also been unwilling or unable to take
on the most powerful trafficking groups directly and continues to refuse
to surrender major drug traffickers under indictment in the United
States."
_______________OPINION/EDITORIALS_________________
The New Light of Myanmar: Backfiring
Monday, 5 March, 2001
Sarram was his name for those close to him.
He was a counter-intelligence officer of the Thai special intelligence
unit with the rank of major. But I do not know whether he is still alive
or not, or still in his job or not, or still in the same post, or better
or worse. I lost contact with him for more than ten years.
With fair complexion he was handsome. Maybe that was the reason why he
attracted women. He took three wives. In the Thai military one can take
wives more than three; there is no problem; if one can take the number
of wives who can be formed a section if one can afford. Recently, I have
read a news report about how Thai men took more than one wife.
Patriotism of the Thai men is like that.
The first wife of Sarram was a very rich widow with two children. She
loved Sarram very much. She bought him a posh car. That first wife had a
business of her own in Bangkok. The second wife was a Laotian. She was a
big boss at the night club of Wantao Hotel in Maesai opposite Tachilek
on the next bank. The third wife with whom he lived was a Myanmar (Shan)
national named Nan Kya Nyo. There is much difference between his age and
hers. He fondly called her "Nok" in Thai language.
As I know about him to that extent it is needless to say how I had been
intimate with him.
Still, I will have to say. We frequented his house to enjoy ourselves.
One thing I noticed was that in one album I saw him as a monk. When I
studied the date of his monkhood I learned that he was ordained after
joining the military service. It was unlikely that he was ordained as a
temporary monk during his leave. Because according to the dates
mentioned he had been a monk for a long period.
Then I asked him why he entered monkhood. I learned that he did so under
an assignment. He said he had been a monk for one year and nine months.
The photographs were taken in Tachilek, Kengtung, Taunggyi, Inlay,
Pindaya and Sagaing in the background. There were also background scenes
in Laos. Then I realized the motive. He disguised himself as a monk and
visited our country at the time when we were following the close-door
policy, and Laos. In fact, in spy work such disguises were not unusual.
Out of the three strategies of the old imperialism, taking the cover of
missionary work is one and it continues to be practised in the periods
that follow. For, there have been some advantages for it compared with
other strategies. So, there have been many instances in which spies have
taken the cover and protection of missionary work.
Especially, taking the protection of missionary work is better than
other covers in carrying out intelligence work involving infiltration
and penetration for political or military purposes. It is easier to
overcome the checks and obstructions placed for security reasons. It
will be even better if one disguises oneself as a Buddhist monk. With
their respectful tradition to the monks, the security bodies in our
country are inclined to relax their procedures in checking the monks.
For these reasons, once the communist insurgents underground (White and
Red communists) branded by the people as impediments endangering the
teachings of Buddha, their subversives, bombers and spies disguised
themselves as monks to approach and pass through the towns, villages and
military camps. Then I found out that the personnel of the Thai special
intelligence also aped the evil practices of the communists known as
impediments endangering the teachings of Buddhism.
A news report telecast by the Thai TV at 7 pm on 22 February 2001 said
that security units comprising the Thai intelligence were combing the
monasteries in northern Thailand and Chiangmai. It added that it was
done so for fear that spies from Myanmar disguising themselves as monks
might be active there. It is natural for a thief not to trust anyone.
The Thai military intelligence and police who have colluded with the
expatriates, fugitives, thieves and robbers from Myanmar are ready to
carry out intelligence work by disguising themselves as monks; they have
no respect for the religion or the monks.
Our security personnel have respectfully followed the procedures and
requested monks, who illegally entered the country in questionable
situations after passing through the insurgent areas, to enter the
country with the use of official passport.
I would like to cite an incident. We have reasons to suspect a Thai monk
found in Pyinmana on 3 October 2000. His layman's name was Alonkun
Kalankato. He was 43 years old, a law graduate and ex-army personnel. He
used the Pompakyin-Mongton-Monghsat route to enter the country.
He took up residence at a village in Namgsam Township for nearly three
years and befriended the local people. Once he was well-known in the
area he secured a identity card with the name U Obhasa from the Laikha
Township Immigration and Manpower Department with the help of the
townselders. On security grounds this is most questionable.
I am thinking why he did not use the official passport and for what
reasons he had deceitfully secured the identity card issued to monks;
this card is equivalent to the national citizenship scrutiny card issued
to Myanmar citizens. In submitting the application to the authorities to
obtain the identity card, bogus names were stated when he referred to
the name of the Myanmar presiding monk at the ordination ceremony, the
order of the Sangha and its address. His address was also a fake one.
All had been premeditated. His actual address was No 43/79, 5th Lane,
Sanompennom Street, Sunniwei No 2 block, Bangkatsao in Angphe District,
Thailand.
Myanmar authorities entertained no suspicions but recognized him as a
monk. But they supplicated to him that he himself was a law graduate and
he knew that it was illegal. They requested him to return to his country
and come back with an official passport if he truly wanted to discharge
missionary duties in the country. Proper arrangements were made for the
monk to return to Thailand.
At present, a large number of Thai monks, sojourning the length and
breadth of Myanmar, are studying Pariyatti and practising Patipatti.
Because of the tense atmosphere at Myanmar-Thai border, any security
organizations have not questioned or disturbed Thai monks. Four
prerequisites are still being donated to them.
The security organizations of Thailand are taking desperate measures in
their country. Come to think of it, I will tell a despicable act of Thai
police. It happened on 28 March 1998. As those from Maesai who wished to
offer soon invited Sayadaw Bhaddanta Dhamma Nanda of Myitta Dekkhina
Aungdawmu Monastery in Tachilek, the Sayadaw went to Maesai. Thai police
from Maesai Police Outpost arrested, interrogated and beat the Sayadaw.
They behaved despicably to that extent. Seething at the unjust and
barbaric act of Thai police, the people of Tachilek planned to retaliate
against Thai police with the help of local people of Maesai. However,
authorities took tactful measures, and anything important did not occur.
If they had been allowed to do what they liked, the police from Maesai
would have felt as if suffering alive in hell.
The authorities, on their part, did not make public the barbaric and
insulting act of Thai police, and took measures through the Regional
Border Committee meeting of the two nations by informing Thai
authorities of the incident and asking them to inquire into the matter.
It is an instance which shows that Myanmar people do not easily fly into
a rage or harbour any grudge or do anything in the spirit of revenge,
and that they exercise forbearance and usually act with discipline and
dignity.
With regard to the fact that Thai people wearing robes entered Myanmar
through illegal routes, it is not that there has been just an
above-mentioned incident. There have been many similar occasions.
However, Myanmar authorities have never insulted any monks, but paid
respects to them and acted in accord with rules and regulations.
A state of emergency has not yet been declared officially at the border
cities and towns of Thailand on the ground of the tense atmosphere at
Myanmar-Thai border. However, in the real situation, it looks as if an
ogre was going on the rampage in Wesali. Due to personnel of Thai
security organizations who are getting agitated and panic-stricken and
behaving like a monkey whose tail is catching fire, the situation is in
a state of confusion to such an extent that, let alone the common
people, even monasteries cannot be in a peaceful and quiet atmosphere. I
have got from my Thai friends some news that Thai soldiers have forcibly
entered the monasteries in northern Thailand and in the surrounding
areas of Chiangmai and have searched for Myanmar monks. I don't know
whether the security measures taken by Thai security units are effective
or not. On the morning of 27 February 2001, in the centre of Maesai
patrolled by vast multitudes of motorcycles, cars, tanks and armoured
vehicles ! somewhat like a well-attended Chinese funeral procession
making its way in the town, three gunmen in Thai army uniform shot to
death a Thai entrepreneur (who has contracts to undertake road
construction projects in Myanmar). I wonder whether it is backfiring.
Author: Nga Khin Nyo
______________________OTHER______________________
Radio Free Asia: Help Wanted?Journalist
(International Broadcaster)
International radio service seeks journalist(s) with background and
experience in East Asia. Candidates must fluently speak and write one
of the following: Burmese, Cantonese Khmer, Korean, Lao, Mandarin,
Tibetan, Uyghur and Vietnamese.
Working knowledge of English required. SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON BURMESE
CANDIDATES.
Positions available at RFA HQ in Washington, DC. All qualified
applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to
race, creed, color, sex or national origin.
Candidates must respond by COB March 12, 2001 for consideration.
Send cover letter and resume to: P. O. Box 57023, Washington, DC 20036
or fax to 202-530-7797.
RFA is an equal opportunity employer committed to workforce diversity.
________________
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