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

BurmaNet News: April 25, 2001



______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
        An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
         April 25, 2001   Issue # 1789
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________

NOTED IN PASSING: ?We are certain that we're not going to put US troops 
in areas that will be provocative....We could inadvertently worsen the 
security situation by pissing a lot of people off."

A US military officer on why US troops won?t go out on patrols with the 
Thai troops they train.  See The Nation: US troops to avoid joint 
operations with task force 

INSIDE BURMA _______
*AFP: Chinese Army Chief in Yangon for Goodwill Visit
*The Nation: Drug rebels can expect free rein
*Bangkok Post: Rangoon steps up protest over warehouse
*IFEX: San San Nweh allowed to visit with family
*Shan Herald Agency for News: Junta thrust driven back, says Shan source

REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*International Herald Tribune: Japanese Grant Rewards Burmese Talks
*The Nation: US troops to avoid joint operations with task force 
*Xinhua: Pakistani Leader to Visit Myanmar
*AFP: Thai army seizes second huge drugs haul on Myanmar border

ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
*Gemstone Forecaster: Burma
*Shan Herald Agency for News: Kyat falling against Baht
*Far Eastern Economic Review: Students Protest at Burma Investment

OPINION/EDITORIALS_______
*Asia Times: US bull in the Myanmar China shop

OTHER______
*Burma Peace Foundation: Assessment of 2001 CHR Resolution on Burma


					
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________



AFP: Chinese Army Chief in Yangon for Goodwill Visit

BANGKOK, Apr 25, 2001 -- (Agence France Presse) Chinese army commander 
General Fu Quanyou arrived in Yangon late Wednesday for an official 
goodwill visit, state-run radio reported.

Fu, who is chief of staff of the People's Liberation Army, was welcomed 
at the airport by his Myanmar counterpart, General Maung Aye, Radio 
Yangon said in a dispatch monitored here.

Maung Aye is also the deputy commander in chief of Myanmar armed forces 
and vice-chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the 
official name of the ruling military regime.

Fu and his high-ranking military delegation are expected to call on 
Myanmar's supreme leader Senior General Than Shwe Thursday and hold 
meetings with other senior Myanmar figures.

China, the first country to recognize Myanmar's military regime after it 
seized power in a bloody coup in September 1988, is the junta's main 
arms supplier.

Since then, senior Myanmar and Chinese officials have kept up frequent 
visits. ((c) 2001 Agence France Press


___________________________________________________




___________________________________________________




Bangkok Post: Rangoon steps up protest over warehouse

April 25, 2001.

Supamart Kasem 

Burma has accused Thailand of helping the anti-Rangoon Karen National 
Union attack a warehouse in Myawaddy on Sunday. 
A Thai border official said Burmese officials in Myawaddy sent an 
aid-memoire to Mae Sot officials accusing Thailand of allowing the 
rebels to launch their attack from Thai soil. 
Lt-Col Soe Win, the Thai-Burmese township border committee chairman, 
signed the letter and sent it to his Thai counterpart, Col Chainarong 
Thanaroon, on Monday. 
He said the Karen guerrillas crossed the Moei river from Ban Huay Muang 
in Tak, and opened fire on houses and a warehouse south of Myawaddy. 

Four Burmese villagers were killed during the attack and five others 
injured. The warehouse was destroyed. 

Burma demanded an explanation and urged Thailand to take responsibility 
for the damage and prevent future attacks. 

The source said it was not government policy to allow rebel groups to 
use Thai territory as a base to launch attacks against their opponents 
in Burma. 

The warehouse was under the protection of the pro-Rangoon Democratic 
Buddhist Army. It was attacked by the KNU 6th division because it was 
used to store speed pills produced by the Wa.



___________________________________________________



IFEX: San San Nweh allowed to visit with family


IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community



25 April 2001

San San Nweh allowed to visit her family for three hours in Rangoon 
SOURCE: Reporters sans frontiΦres (RSF), Paris



San San Nweh allowed to visit her family for three hours in Rangoon 
Amnesty International French Section and RSF demonstrate on 25 April, at 
3 p.m., in front of Burmese embassy to demand her release

Jailed since August 1994, San San Nweh, journalist, writer and Burmese 
political militant, has been allowed for the first time to go to her 
home in Yankin, a suburb of Rangoon. According to information collected 
by RSF, the winner of the 1999 Reporters sans frontiΦres - 
Fondation de France prize left the women's wing of Insein prison 
(Rangoon) on the morning of 8 April, escorted by ten members of the 
military intelligence service (MIS). She was able to converse with her 
family, notably her six children, for more than three hours under 
control of MIS agents. Members of her family were able to note that her 
health had improved slightly.

San San Nweh was arrested on 5 August 1994 and sentenced in October of 
the same year to ten years in jail for "producing and sending 
anti-government reports" notably to foreign journalists, and trying "to 
foment trouble". During her seven years of detention, the journalist has 
suffered from several diseases: high blood pressure, kidney infection 
and thrombocytopenia (an abnormal number of platelets in the blood). She 
shares her cell with three others personalities of the National League 
for Democracy (LND). Prisoners sleep on bamboo mats on the ground. The 
toilet ¡ a mud bowl in the corner of the room ¡ is cleared once a day 
only. From 6 a.m., the women are forced to sit cross-legged on the 
ground with their heads bowed. Speaking is forbidden and disobedience is 
punished.


___________________________________________________



Shan Herald Agency for News: Junta thrust driven back, says Shan source

24 April 2001



Wave after wave of assault by Burma Army units backed by heavy weapons 
were  repelled by the Shan force at a strategic mountain opposite 
Chiangmai  today, said a Shan resistance source.

Pakhee, the Burma Army's base until Sunday when the Shan State Army 
under  Yawdserk's command occupied it, was attacked at 09:00 at a 
location called  Honok, 3 km north of the Shan command post. According 
to the source, the  access to Pakhee is Honok, so named because of its 
likeness to a bird's head. 

The combined attacking force was made up of 5 battalions: IB 225 
(Mongton),  IB 227 (Mongkhark), IB 43 (Mongpiang), IB 49 (Monghsat) and 
LIB 519  (Mongton). Another source, however, said it was not IB 227 but 
IB 277  stationed in Mongton. They were joined by IB 65 later in the 
evening. 

"More than a hundred 81-mm mortar shells hit the mountain," said the 
Shan  source, "but our fighters have so far managed to push the 
attackers back." 

He said Brigade 727, commanded by Maj Ternkhurh, whose operational area 
is  Mongtom Township, also set up ambushes along the Mongton-BP1 
motorway. "We  killed 3, wounded 7 and destroyed one army truck between 
Maeken (50 miles  from the border) and Monghang (40 miles from the 
border) in one such attack." 

Sources from the Thai army said it would be difficult, if not 
impossible,  for the junta army to reoccupy Pakhee since it could be 
approached only  through Honok. " Of course, the alternative is to 
attack it from the Thai  side like they did at Pangnoon (Mae Fa Luang 
District, Chiangrai, on 9  February)," said a border watcher. "But the 
Thai Army is unlikely to allow  such border intrusions to happen again."

Results of today's clashes on both sides are still not available, though 
 the casualty figure of last night's minefield encounter was given as 3 
killed. 




___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
				



International Herald Tribune: Japanese Grant Rewards Burmese Talks  


Thomas Crampton  Wednesday, April 25, 2001 

To support secret talks between opposition leaders and Rangoon?s 
military government, Japan has quietly approved the largest grant aid 
package since Burma?s ruling generals cracked down on pro-democracy 
demonstrations in 1988.
 .
The move, which breaks a long-standing de facto ban on bilateral 
international assistance to Burma, took place in consultation with the 
United Nations and the United States. 
 .
Sources familiar with the progress of the United Nations-brokered talks 
in Rangoon said the grant, which sets aside 3.5 billion yen ($28.6 
million) for reconstruction of turbines in a hydropower dam, is intended 
to serve as a tangible reward to the military government for having kept 
open a dialogue with the opposition leader and Nobel laureate Daw Aung 
San Suu Kyi. 
 .
"You can do positive re-enforcement for the discussions with a pat on 
the back, kind words or a dam," said one person familiar with the deal. 
"The Japanese decided to do it with this dam." Rehabilitation of the 
Baluchaung dam was agreed to earlier this month and quietly announced 
during a little-publicized visit to Tokyo by Burma's deputy foreign 
minister, Khin Maung Win.
 .
Located in Burma's eastern province of Kayah, the dam was originally 
built by Japan in the 1960s as part of war reparations. Japanese 
consultants will leave for Burma in the next few weeks to draw up a 
feasibility study, after which the Japanese cabinet will formalize funds 
that have already been earmarked by the Foreign Ministry. 
 .
The agreement was not announced in Burma's official press and went 
unnoticed by many Burma observers, including senior Rangoon-based 
diplomats. 
 .
The reconciliation talks started last October at the prompting of a 
newly appointed UN special envoy, Razali Ismail. "This is a very 
significant move by Japan," a Rangoon-based source said. "Japan has been 
trying to keep it quiet yet cooperate with Razali to reward progress for 
the talks." 
 .
Mr. Razali, a Malaysian, quickly overcame years of stalemate to start 
talks between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who heads the National League for 
Democracy, and leaders of the military junta, who now call themselves 
the State Peace and Development Council. The contents of the talks 
remain secret, but some of the government's more virulent propaganda 
against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party has eased. 
 .
In another hint of reconciliation, the Burmese government allowed entry 
earlier this month of an envoy from the UN human rights office for the 
first time in five years. 
 .
Nonetheless, many diplomats and observers fear that Japan's grant has 
come too soon in a still nascent process. "This is a risky step for 
Japan: If the dialogue falters, Japan could be criticized for acting 
prematurely," said Mike Jendrzejczyk, Washington director of Human 
Rights Watch/Asia. "Clearly no further grants should be given without 
fundamental human rights progress in Burma."
 .
Japanese officials refused to say whether Daw Aung San Suu Kyi approved 
extending the grant, but did confirm that consultations took place on 
all sides. "We are not going here alone," a Japanese official said. "All 
involved parties have been contacted."
 .
The Japanese grant is just one of many measures Mr. Razali has tried to 
coordinate in support of the reconciliation talks. For Japan to 
undertake the dam project with minimum interference, for example, Mr. 
Razali needed the United States to muffle its formerly strong opposition 
to the plan. 
 .
Last year the United States raised objections against such bilateral aid 
and specifically criticized an early version of the dam project, warning 
that its approval amounted to a reward without progress on human rights. 
The United States now takes a more moderate stance on the issue thanks 
to optimism over the progress of talks and a new Washington 
administration that is hostile toward sanctions-based foreign policy, 
sources said. 
 .
Mr. Razali failed in another attempt to rally support when he visited 
the World Bank earlier this year to request an opening of low-level 
engagement with Burma. The World Bank rejected the request since the 
Burmese government had shown so little response to previous attempts at 
cooperation with the bank, sources said. 
 .
In 1998 the Burmese government rejected a billion-dollar offer of aid 
from the World Bank and United Nations in exchange for political 
reforms. At the time, government leaders expressed outrage at foreign 
criticism of its domestic affairs, insisting that Burma could ignore 
outside pressures and survive in total isolation if necessary. That 
plan, described as a "carrot and stick diplomacy," stands in stark 
contrast to Mr. Razali's approach, according to Rangoon-based observers. 

 .
"Razali doesn't impose conditions, but acts more like an orchestra 
conductor," one source said. "Each government and institution is like an 
instrument that he tries to put in harmony with the others." 
 .
Public disclosure of the grant, however, may raise criticism of Japan by 
Burma's vociferous exile activist community. Another point of contention 
may be Tokyo's assertion that the project amounts to simple humanitarian 
aid. "This hydropower plant provides electricity to 20 percent of the 
nation, including many hospitals," a Japanese official said. "In that 
way we may classify this as a humanitarian project."
 .
According to some estimates, however, up to one-third of the electricity 
generated by the dam is used by the country's military. 






___________________________________________________



Xinhua: Pakistani Leader to Visit Myanmar

2001.04.25 21:02:48  

YANGON, April 25 -- Pakistani leader General Pervez  Musharraf will pay 
a three-day official visit to Myanmar beginning May 1, a diplomat of the 
Pakistani Embassy in Yangon told Xinhua  Wednesday. 

Musharraf is Chief Executive of Pakistan and Chairman of the  Joint 
Chiefs of Staff Committee and Army Chief. 

This will be the first visit to Myanmar by a Pakistani senior  leader in 
16 years. 
Meanwhile, a fleet of Pakistani naval vessels, including a  submarine, a 
tanker and a destroyer, will also call at Yangon Port on Friday for a 
three-day visit ahead of Musharraf's arrival. 

It will not only be the first time for Pakistani naval vessels  to 
arrive in Yangon but also the first occasion for foreign  warships to 
enter Myanmar territorial waters for such official  visit since the 
present Myanmar military government took power in  1988. 
In July last year, First Secretary of the ruling Myanmar State  Peace 
and Development Council Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt  visited Pakistan 
at the invitation of Musharraf.





___________________________________________________




The Nation: US troops to avoid joint operations with task force 

April 25, 2001.

DON PATHAN 

US troops will help train Thailand's newly created Task Force 399, 
created to strengthen security along the northern border, but US forces 
will not be involved in any joint operations, a US military officer said 
yesterday.  

It is against US government policy for US troops to take part in any 
such joint operation that could put their lives in jeopardy, said the 
officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.  

The US also wants to make sure that it will not disturb the delicate 
political relationship between Thailand and Burma, which hit a low point 
after troops from both countries were involved in cross-border shelling 
more than two months ago.  

"We are certain that we're not going to put US troops in areas that will 
be provocative," the officer said. "We could inadvertently worsen the 
security situation by pissing a lot of people off."  

The Americans' role in training the task force is part of an effort to 
help modernise the Thai military, as well as to help integrate the 
country's law enforcement agencies in strengthening border security, he 
said. The Thai unit will be trained to operate in remote areas, at 
night, and under extreme conditions, he said.  

The US instructors could total as many as 100 at any given time, he 
said.  
According to a senior Third Army officer, the task force will be made up 
of troops from Thailand's Special Forces, infantry units and border 
police.  

Besides preventing hostile forces from entering Thailand, the task force 
will be looking to curb the flow of drugs from clandestine labs along 
the Thai-Burmese border. The 400-strong unit will be based in Chiang 
Mai. It will be under the command of the Third Army, the Thai officer 
said.  

Most of the American instructors will be from the First Special Forces 
Group and each will have "functional expertise" in areas that will help 
Thai troops respond quickly to any border intrusion, the officer said.  

The Third Army relies on the Naresuan and the Pha Muang task forces for 
security along the northern border. Task Force 399 will help unite the 
two forces, as well as the border police, in their efforts to secure the 
border.  

Technology will play a part in the effort but it should not be 
considered a solution, the officer said. The idea is to help the troops 
make the right decisions, taking into consideration their military 
capabilities, the officer said. He added that the financial crisis that 
struck the country four years ago has taken its toll on the defence 
budget.  
The task force will be based far enough from the border so that no one 
will mistake training for actual operations, he said.



___________________________________________________




Bangkok Post: Cargo halted 'out of pollution concerns'

April 25, 2001.

Surakiart to raise issue with Rangoon

Post Reporters 

The army stopped a shipment of Chinese power generators crossing the 
border out of environmental concerns, said Foreign Minister Surakiart 
Sathirathai. 
Speaking before his departure for Malaysia, Mr Surakiart said he 
believed the Third Army's move last Friday would not escalate into a 
serious matter. 
Some worried about environmental impacts of the coal-fired power plant 
planned for Tachilek in Burma. The matter would be raised on his visit 
to Burma next month, Mr Surakiart said. 

At this stage he had asked the Thai ambassador to Rangoon to explain the 
matter to the Burmese government. 

Mr Surakiart declined to comment on suggestions the power plant may have 
something to do with the drug-producing Red Wa. Problems concerning 
ethnic minorities would be dealt with by Thailand, Burma and China 
together. 

Kraisak Choonhavan, chairman of the Senate panel on foreign affairs, 
said the shipment had to be stopped. The government should find out 
whether the project belonged to the Burmese government or a private 
firm, whether it was legal, and details of the plant's engineering 
system. 

Chinese equipment might not be good enough to control air pollution, the 
senator said. "I am afraid it would affect Thai people and the 
environment, especially air quality. Is it possible to raise the matter 
for discussion among Asean members?" he said. 
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes Burma, had 
set up a working group on trans-boundary pollutants. 

Burmese lignite, which is of poor quality, would emit twice as much 
sulphur dioxide as that from plants at Lampang's Mae Moh district, he 
said. 

He also suspected the plant might help the Red Wa meet its target of 
churning out 700 million speed pills. 

In Chiang Mai, Third Army commander Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong 
yesterday met officials from four border provinces-Chiang Mai, Chiang 
Rai, Mae Hong Son and Tak-to discuss co-operation. 

Lt-Gen Wattanachai said he did not allow the trucks carrying power 
generator parts to cross simply because the Mae Sai checkpoint had not 
yet been fully opened. 
"Although we opened the checkpoint on March 12, the opening is only for 
people to travel; vehicles are not allowed. So we could not let the 
trucks across," he said. 
Meanwhile, Mae Sai and Mae Chan residents are debating effects on the 
environment and tourism. 

Pang Polajai, a villager leader from Mae Sai, said locals could ask the 
government to negotiate with Rangoon to have the site moved at least 
80km from the border.



___________________________________________________





AFP: Thai army seizes second huge drugs haul on Myanmar border

BANGKOK, April 25 (AFP) - Thai troops have seized 6.1 million 
amphetamine tablets and 4.5 kilogrammes of heroin from traffickers on 
the Myanmar border, their second massive drugs haul within a week, 
officials said Wednesday. Thai soliders patrolling the western border 
province of Tak clashed briefly with up to 35 unidentified ethnic 
minority traffickers just inside Thai territory early Tuesday, army 
officials said.

The security forces seized the drugs cache after it was abandoned by the 
retreating traffickers. No casualties or injuries were reported in the 
incident.

Last week Thai soldiers seized a record haul of 7.6 million 
methamphetamine tablets in the same area from traffickers suspected to 
belong to the rebel Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA).

Television reports said the commander of the Third Army which patrols 
the northern border region, Lieutenant-General Wattanachai 
Chaimeaunwong, said the DKBA were also believed to be responsible for 
the latest find. 
Thailand's new Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra last month declared a 
"war on drugs" and vowed to work with Myanmar authorities to stamp out 
trafficking. An estimated 700 million methamphetamines tablets will flow 
into Thailand this year, feeding an addiction crisis that has ensnared 
some six percent of the population of 62 million.

The cheap pills are churned out in refineries in the jungle along the 
northern border with Myanmar, mostly run by ethnic armies who have 
signed peace treaties with Yangon.






_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
 


Gemstone Forecaster: Burma

Gemstone Forecaster Vol. 18, No. 4, Winter 2000

There was a recent rumor that a French or Swiss gem dealer with $100 
million to buy gems was sitting in Yangoon as a special guest of the 
Burmese government. (The entire Mogok production for sale at any one 
time is about $10 million, top gems about $1-$2 million.) Further, rumor 
had it this dealer was fronting for Middle Eastern money. Needless to 
say, this drove the Mogok market into a frenzy. Our Burmese contacts 
soon discovered the rumors to be mostly false. However, the European did 
make an offer for over $1 million of goods. But when the Burmese dealers 
countered, the dealer left the country. The bottom line remains, many 
prices in Mogok are often higher than the US prices and many owners are 
not budging. Recently, a four carat, rough, gem ruby could not be 
purchased for $75,000.



_________________________________________________



Shan Herald Agency for News: Kyat falling against Baht

25 April 2001

No: 04-24



The Burmese currency has dropped significantly yesterday in 
Tachilek-Maesai  due to rumors of imminent demonitization by Rangoon, 
said sources in  Chiangrai.

Before yesterday a hundred kyat could buy 8.40 baht, they said, but now 
it  could buy only 8. "The grapevine is that another round of 
demonitization is  in the offing," one said.

The last demonitization 14 years ago sparked demonstrations that finally 
 blew into the 1988 uprising.

At the beginning of the year, it was a hundred kyat to ten baht. 
"There are so many people trying to withdraw their money that the local  
banks like Mayflower are running out of hard cash," said another. 



___________________________________________________



Far Eastern Economic Review: Students Protest at Burma Investment

April 26
University students in the U.S. have mounted a campaign to protest over 
human rights violations in Burma by targeting companies investing in 
that country. Sodexo Marriott Dining Services lost a multi-million 
dollar contract with American University
in Washington in early April, at least in part because the school's 
senate had passed a resolution condemning Marriott's licensing of the 
Renaissance Inya Lake Hotel in Rangoon, Burma. In recent weeks, the 
student governments at the University of Virginia and Peace College in 
North Carolina have passed resolutions calling for their universities to 
divest from companies operating in Burma. 

On April 16, the University of Michigan student government also passed
a resolution for the school to divest its $20 million invested in 
companies operating in Burma. And on April 17, students from 91 
universities in the U.S. and 10
other countries mounted a 24-hour fast to call for the release of Min Ko 
Naing, who was arrested following the 1988 uprising against the military 
junta in Rangoon.


_______________OPINION/EDITORIALS_________________



Asia Times: US bull in the Myanmar China shop

April 25, 2001.

By Boonthan Sakanond 

CHIANG MAI, Thailand - As countries around the globe ponder the fallout 
from the US-China spat over the collision of a US spy plane and a 
Chinese fighter jet, none are more apprehensive than Southeast Asian 
nations close to the Chinese mainland.  

For many of them - such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam 
- the reason to worry is obvious. They have territorial disputes with 
China over islands in the South China Sea and are afraid that a 
militarily assertive Beijing may leave no room for negotiations. For 
others, the anxiety lies in the fact that a deterioration in relations 
between the United States and China is bound to negatively affect their 
economies already battered by the 1997 Asian economic crisis.  
But while the world's attention is focused on tensions to the north and 
east of China, some analysts in Thailand believe the real theater of any 
military action in the near future could be to the southwest, on China's 
weakest flank - Myanmar.  

"Myanmar is the only true ally that China has in this entire region, 
apart from North Korea, and any US move against the military 
dictatorship in Yangon will be an easy way of telling Beijing off at its 
own doorstep," says an Asian diplomat in Bangkok.  

While over the past decade the United States has expended much public 
rhetoric against the military dictatorship in Myanmar, it has never 
considered any serious action. But this may be changing in the wake of 
China's new identity as the biggest challenge to the United States' 
status as the world's sole superpower.  

The context for a US role already exists with both Thailand and Myanmar, 
which in recent weeks have amassed troops along their borders and placed 
their armies at the highest state of alert in many decades. In February, 
shelling blamed on Myanmese troops in the northern Thai border town of 
Mae Sai killed several civilians and prompted the closure of the 
once-busy border checkpoint between the two countries.  

While the Thais have accused the Myanmese government of actively 
supporting the production of methamphetamines across the border and 
flooding their country with drugs, the Myanmese allege that the Thai 
military has been actively helping ethnic Shan rebels in their battle 
for independence from Yangon. Despite some attempts at resolving their 
conflicts through negotiations, both countries have currently moved 
large numbers of troops and armaments to their common border areas in a 
tense standoff ready to flare up at any time.  

Adding fuel to speculation about a dramatic escalation of this otherwise 
routine border war are a number of events that analysts claim show an 
increased US presence on the Thai side of the border. Since March, the 
northern Thai province of Chiang Rai, bordering Myanmar, has been host 
to more than 40 American military trainers ostensibly there to acquaint 
Thai infantry battalions with "anti-drug" warfare. While the US Drug 
Enforcement Agency has always been quite active along the Thai-Myanmar 
border that forms part of the notorious Golden Triangle - a traditional 
area of production of much of the world's heroin - this is the time 
first US aid to Thailand for combatting drugs has taken a purely 
military turn.  

Next month, the number of US troops in the area is expected to rise 
drastically when, from May 15-29, 5,000 US troops will join nearly 6,000 
Thai and other regional troops for a simulated drug interdiction action. 
The event is part of the annual joint Thai-US military exercise 
code-named "Cobra Gold". But because it comes at a time of heightened 
tensions on the Thai-Myanmar border, the location of the exercise is 
clearly meant to send a message to the generals in Yangon.  
Apart from the worsening of US-China relations, the possibility of the 
US playing a more aggressive role in relation to Myanmar has increased 
considerably because of a confluence of several other factors.  

The George W Bush administration in Washington, for example, is seen 
worldwide as being far more hawkish than its predecessor and willing to 
push the envelope beyond the norms of usual diplomacy. If it can pull 
off a major overturn in Myanmar's political establishment, the United 
States would re-establish its diminishing military role in Asia and 
occupy a strategic position in Myanmar as part of its long-term policy 
of "encircling" China.  

"Upsetting the reigning order in Myanmar - even if it takes some muscle 
- would be an easy way of threatening China at its doorstep without 
risking a major confrontation," says a Thai defense analyst based in 
Thailand.  

Since the crushing of the Myanmese pro-democracy movement in the late 
1980s, the military regime in Yangon has moved closer to China. Beijing 
has supplied it with military and material help, but it is doubtful if 
it would risk much more to defend Myanmar against a concerted US effort 
to topple the regime.  

Within Thailand itself, there is a strange nexus developing between the 
Thai military - deprived of any political role because of changed 
political realities for nearly a decade - and clueless 
businessmen-turned-politicians trying to steer an economy now in a deep 
mess. With the flaring up of tensions along the Thai-Myanmar border, the 
Thai military senses a way of getting back onto the center stage of 
national attention. For the politicians, an anti-Myanmar campaign is an 
easy way of diverting attention from their own domestic failures on the 
economic front.  
Furthermore, within Myanmar itself there is an internecine struggle 
under way between "hardliners" led by General Maung Aye and the 
"moderates" under Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, who is also the 
Secretary Number One of the ruling State Peace and Democracy Council 
(SPDC). Any strong external pressure on the regime, which is possible 
only militarily, could even lead to a split in its top rungs and bring 
down the dictatorship more easily.  

While a section of Myanmese pro-democracy groups are strongly averse to 
any foreign intervention in Myanmar to "restore democracy", they admit 
that if the ball is set rolling by Thailand and the United States, there 
will be many in their own ranks who will join in happily. "Though our 
own movement is non-violent, there will be few voices opposing any 
attempts to overthrow the Myanmese dictatorship by force," admits a 
senior member of the Myanmese opposition in exile.  

The justification for international military intervention, he says, has 
existed for over a decade, as has the case against the Myanmese 
military, responsible for the deaths and displacement of thousands of 
Myanmese and other ethnic minority dissidents. In many ways, he points 
out, there is a much stronger case against the Myanmese regime than the 
one the North Atlantic Treaty Organization had for military action 
against the former Yugoslav regime of Slobodan Milosevic over its 
alleged atrocities in Kosovo.  

Myanmar has a history of using outside help to overthrow domestic 
dictatorships. Leaders of the Myanmese independence movement, led by 
General Aung San in the 1930s, used Japanese help to drive out the 
British colonialists. When the tide turned in favor of the Allies in 
World War II, they invited the British back to oust the Japanese army.  

However, any outside intervention in Myanmar will not be easy due to the 
complicated web of relations the military junta has woven with the 
country's ethnic minority groups, many of whom have signed ceasefire 
agreements with the government despite fighting for independence for 
years. Any international effort to "liberate" Myanmar from dictatorship 
would become bogged down in problems related to renewed demands that 
might come from minority groups for independence. This is an issue still 
controversial within Myanmese pro-democracy groups, many of whom support 
autonomy but not outright secession.  

A lot, of course, depends finally on how US-China relations pan out in 
the coming months. If they kiss and patch things up, the United States 
is likely to back off from any confrontation on the Myanmar front, but 
if tensions escalate the chances of a US-led intervention could be very 
much in the cards. 





______________________OTHER______________________





Burma Peace Foundation: Assessment of 2001 CHR Resolution on Burma


David Arnott

April 25, 2001

Commission on Human Rights: Resolution on Burma 2001
Compared with Earlier Resolutions

There seems to be a view in some of the news reports that this year's  
resolution on Burma at the Commission on Human Rights is somehow more  
accommodating and friendly to the regime than in previous years. This  
interpretation can only be the result of a superficial reading of the 
text,  which is in fact stronger than in previous years. It is true that 
the list  of  "welcoming" paragraphs is longer, but these relate to 
specific actions  like facilitating the exploratory visit of the Special 
Rapporteur, the  initiation of the talks between the Generals and the 
Lady, the release of  some political activists, the opening of some 
university courses and  continued cooperation with the ICRC.

When it comes to criticising the human rights situation --  for instance 
in  the paragraphs expressing "grave concern" and those which "deplore", 
the  text goes further than in previous years. For instance, (in 
operative para  4(a)) this year the Commission deplores:

"The deterioration of the human rights situation and the continuing 
pattern  of gross and systematic violations of human rights in Myanmar, 
including  extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, enforced 
disappearances,  rape, torture, inhuman treatment, mass arrests, forced 
labour, forced  relocation and denial of freedom of assembly, 
association, expression and  movement;"

while the corresponding para in last year's text did not contain the 
first  phrase:

"Deplores the continuing violations of human rights in Myanmar, 
including  extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, enforced 
disappearances,  rape, torture, inhuman treatment, mass arrests, forced 
labour, including  the use of children, forced relocation, and denial of 
freedom of assembly,  association, expression and movement, as reported 
by the Special Rapporteur;" 
Similar strengthening of the text may be seen throughout (see below). 
The resolution also contains new language on the involvement of the 
ethnic  nationalities in the political process - e.g. in para 1(e) which 
 specifically refers to its hopes that they will be involved in the 
talks. 
****************

BELOW ARE THE TEXTS OF THIS YEAR'S RESOLUTION AND THOSE OF LAST YEAR'S  
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS (CHR) AND GENERAL ASSEMBLY (GA), WITH 
REFERENCES  IN SQUARE BRACKETS TO THE EARLIER RESOLUTIONS TO FACILITATE 
COMPARISON 

Economic and Social Council
Distr.
GENERAL

E/CN.4//2001/L.20
12 April 2001
Original: ENGLISH


COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Fifty-seventh session
Agenda item 9
Situation of human rights in Myanmar

QUESTION OF THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS IN 
ANY  PART OF THE WORLD

Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cuyprus, Czech  
Republice, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary,  
Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New 
 Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovak 
Republic,  Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom of Great 
Britain and  Northern Ireland, United States of America: draft 
resolution 
2001/àSituation of human rights in Myanmar

The Commission on Human Rights,

Reaffirming that all Member States have an obligation to promote and  
protect human rights and fundamental freedoms as stated in the Charter 
of  the United Nations and as elaborated in the Universal Declaration of 
Human  Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights and other 
applicable  human rights instruments,  [CHR 2000]

Recognizing that the systematic violations of civil, political, 
economic,  social and cultural rights by the Government of Myanmar have 
had a  significant adverse effect on the health and welfare of the 
people of  Myanmar, (GA 2000)

Welcoming the co-operation extended to the Special Envoy of the  
Secretary-General as well as to the newly-appointed Special Rapporteur  
during their respective recent visits to Myanmar, while regretting the  
failure of the Government of Myanmar to cooperate fully with some of the 
 relevant United nations mechanisms, in particular the former Special  
Rapporteur, [NEW]

Aware that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that the 
will  of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government 
and  therefore gravely concerned that the Government of Myanmar still 
has not  implemented its commitment to take all necessary steps towards 
democracy in  the light of the results of the elections held in 1990, 
[CHR 2000] 
Recalling the observation made by the former Special Rapporteur that the 
 absence of respect for the rights pertaining to democratic governance 
is at  the root of all the major violations of human rights in Myanmar, 
[MODIFIED  CHR 2000. WITH INSERTION OF "FORMER")

Mindful that Myanmar is a party to the Convention on the Rights of the  
Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination  
against Women, the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 on the 
protection  of war victims and the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 
29) and the  Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to 
Organize Convention,  1948 (No. 87) of the International Labour 
Organization, [CHR 2000] 
Noting the resolution adopted by the International Labour Conference at 
its  87th Session on the widespread use of forced labour in Myanmar, and 
also  the resolution adopted by the International Labour conference at 
its 88th  Session forseeing a broad range of measures aimed at ensuring 
the  observance by Myanmar of the recommendations of the Commission of 
Inquiry  established to examine the application of the forced Labour 
Convention,  which came into effect of 30 November 2000, [UPDATE AND 
EXTENSION OF CHR 2000] 
Recalling previous resolutions of the General Assembly and the 
Commission  on Human Rights on the subject, most recently Assembly 
resolution 55/112 of  4 December 2000 and Commission resolution 2000/23 
of 18 April  2000,  [UPDATE OF CHR 2000]

1. Welcomes

(a) The interim report of the former Special Rapporteur on the situation 
of human rights in Myanmar (A/55/359), the observations on the  
situation and the recommendations contained therein; (NEW) 
(b) The initial observations presented to the Commission by the newly 
appointed Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in 
Myanmar; (NEW) 
(c) The assistance of the Government of Myanmar in facilitating the 
recent exploratory visit by the newly appointed Special Rapporteur to  
Myanmar, and hopes that the Special Rapporteur will soon be able to 
return  to Myanmar in order to discharge his mandate fully; (NEW)

(d) The report of the Secretary-General on the visit of his Special 
Envoy to Myanmar(A/55/509), and endorses the appeal of the Special Envoy 
 for the initiation of a process of dialogue that would lead to national 
 reconciliation and supports his efforts to achieve such a dialogue  
[SLIGHTLY MODIFIED GA 2000]

(e) The initiation of contacts between the Government and Aung San Suu 
Kyi,  Secretary-General of the National League for Democracy, and hopes 
that such  talks will be extended at an appropriate time to include, 
among others,  representatives of ethnic minorities and thereby will 
facilitate  broad-based and inclusive national reconciliation and the 
restoration of  democracy [NEW]

(f) The release from detention of a number of democratic political  
activists; [NEW]

(g) The continued cooperation with the International Committee of the 
Red  Cross, allowing the Committee to communicate with and visit 
detainees in  accordance with its modalities of work, and hopes that the 
program will be  pursued further; [SLIGHTLY MODIFGIED GA 2000]

(h) The reopening of some university courses, but remains concerned that 
 the right to education continues to be a right that is only exercised 
by  those willing to refrain from exercising their civil and political 
rights  and concerned at the reduction in the length of the academic 
year, the  division and separation of the student population to distant 
campuses, and  inadequate allocation of resources; [MODIFIED AND MORE 
CRITICAL GA 2000  --"SOME" SUBSTITUTED FOR "MOST" --]

2. Notes the establishment by the Government of Myanmar of a preparatory 
 process for a human rights committee and encourages it to continue this 
 process in conformity with the principles relating to the status of  
national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights  
annexed to General Assembly resolution 48/134 of 28 December 1993; [NEW] 


3. Expresses its grave concern:

(a) At the systematic policy of the Government of Myanmar of persecuting 
the democratic opposition, National League for Democracy  members and 
their families, as well as ethnic opposition parties, and at  the use by 
the Government of intimidatory methods such as arbitrary arrest  and 
detention, abuse of the legal system, including harsh long-term prison  
sentences, which has forced many to refrain from exercising their  
legitimate political rights; [MODIFID GA 2000 - REMOVAL OF REFERENCE TO  
MASS RALLIES AND MEDIA CAMPAIGNS]

(b) That the composition and working procedures of the National 
Convention do not permit either members of Parliament-elect or  
representatives of the ethnic minorities to express their views freely, 
and  urges the Government of Myanmar to seek constructive means to 
promote  national reconciliation and to restore democracy, including 
through the  establishment of a time frame for action; [MODIFIED GA 2000 
REMOVAL OF "NEW  AND" BEFORE "CONSTRUCTIVE"]

(c) That the Government of Myanmar has failed to cease its widespread 
and  systematic use of forced labour of its own people, and to meet all 
the  three recommendations of the International Labour Organization on 
that  issue; this failure has compelled the International Labour 
Organization  strictly to limit further cooperation with the Government, 
and has prompted  the International Labour Conference to reconsider any 
cooperation with  Myanmar and that governments, employers and workers 
take appropriate  measures to ensure that the Government of Myanmar 
cannot take advantage of  such relations to perpetuate of extend the 
system of forced or compulsory  labour referred to by the Commission of 
Inquiry established to examine the  observance of the Forced Labour 
Convention, 1930 (No.29); [MODIFIED AND  SUBSTANTIALLY DEVELOPED GA 
2000]


4. Deplores:

(a) The deterioration of the human rights situation and the continuing  
pattern of gross and systematic violations of human rights in Myanmar,  
including extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, enforced  
disappearances, rape, torture, inhuman treatment, mass arrests, forced  
labour, forced relocation and denial of freedom of assembly, 
association,  expression and movement; [STRENGTHENED GA 2000]

(b) The lack of independence of the judiciary from the executive and the 
 wide disrespect of the rule of law, including of the basic guarantees 
of  due process, especially in cases involving exercise of political and 
civil  rights and freedoms, resulting in arbitrary arrests and 
detentions,  non-existence of judicial control over detentions, 
sentences passed without  trial, keeping the accused in ignorance of the 
legal basis of the charge  brought against them, trials held in secrecy 
and without proper legal  representation, want of knowledge by the 
family and counsel of the accused  about the sentence and detentions 
beyond the end of prison sentences; [CHR  2000]

(c) The continued violations of human rights of and widespread  
discriminatory practices against, persons belonging to minorities,  
including extrajudicial executions, rape, torture, ill-treatment and the 
 systematic programmes of forced relocation directed against ethnic  
minorities, notably in Karen, Karenni, Rakhine Chin and Shan States and 
in  Tennasserim division, use of anti-personnel land mines, destruction 
of  crops and fields, and dispossession of land and property, which 
deprives  these persons of all means of subsistence and result in 
large-scale  displacement of persons and flows of refugees to 
neighbouring countries,  thus causing negative effects for these 
countries, and an increasing number  of internally displaced persons;  
[STRENGTHENED AND UPDATED GA 2000] 
(d) The continuing violations of the human rights of women, in 
particular forced labour, trafficking, sexual violence and exploitation, 
 often committed by military personnel, and especially directed towards  
women who are returning refugees, internally displaced or belong to 
ethnic  minorities or the political opposition; [CHR 2000]

(e) The continuing violations of the rights of children, in particular  
through the lack of conformity of the existing legal framework with the  
Convention on the Rights of the Child, through conscription of children  
into forced labour programmes, through their sexual exploitation and  
through recruitment and other exploitation by the military, through  
discrimination against children belonging to ethnic and religious 
minority  groups and elevated rates of infant and maternal mortality and 
 malnutrition; [SLIGHTLY MODIFIED CHR 2000]

(f) The severe restrictions on the freedoms of opinion, expression,  
assembly and association, the restrictions on citizens' access to  
information, including censorship controls on all forms of domestic 
media  and many international publications, and the restrictions imposed 
on  citizens wishing to travel within the country and abroad, including 
the  denial of passports on political grounds, and gross interference in 
private  life, family, home or correspondence; [CHR 2000]

5.  Calls upon the Government of Myanmar

(a) To develop further a constructive dialogue with the United Nations  
system, including the human rights mechanisms, for the effective 
promotion  and protection of human rights in the country; [UPDATED CHR 
2000) 
b) To continue to cooperate with the Secretary-General or his  
representative and to implement their recommendations;  [MODIFIED CHR 
2000] 
(c) To cooperate fully with all United Nations representatives, in  
particular to develop further the contacts established with the  
newly-appointed Special Rapporteur, to allow him, without preconditions, 
to  return to Myanmar in the near future and to conduct a field mission  
furthering his contacts with the government and all other relevant 
sectors  of society, and thus enable him fully to discharge his mandate; 
 [SUBSTANTIALLY UPDATED CHR 2000]

(d) To consider becoming a party to the International Covenant on Civil 
and  Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social 
and  Cultural Rights, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, 
Inhuman or  Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International 
Convention on the  Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and 
the Convention  relating to the Status of Refugees and its Protocol; 
[CHR 2000] 

6. Strongly urges the Government of Myanmar:

(a) To implement fully the recommendations made by the Special 
Rapporteur; 
(b) To ensure full respect for all human rights and fundamental 
freedoms, including economic, social and cultural rights;

(c) In particular to ensure full respect for the freedoms of expression, 
 association, movement and assembly, the right to a fair trial by an  
independent and impartial judiciary and the protection of the rights of  
persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, and to put an end 
to  violations of the right to life and integrity of the human being and 
to the  practices of torture, abuse of women, forced labour and forced 
relocations  and to enforced disappearances and summary executions; 
[SLIGHTLY MODIFIED  CHR 2000]

(d) To take urgent and concrete measures to ensure the establishment of 
democracy in accordance with the will of the people as expressed in the  
democratic elections held in 1990 and, to this end, to extend the 
initiated  talks with Aung San Suu Kyi, Secretary-General of the 
National League for  Democracy, to a genuine and substantive dialogue 
with all the leaders of  political parties and of ethnic minorities, 
with the aim of achieving  national reconciliation and the restoration 
of democracy, and to ensure  that political parties and non-governmental 
organizations can function  freely [SUBSTANTIALLY MODIFED AND UPDATED 
CHR 2000]

(e) To take all appropriate measures to allow all citizens to 
participate freely in the political process, in accordance with the  
principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to 
accelerate  the process of transition to democracy, in particular 
through the transfer  of power to democratically elected 
representatives, the prevention of  intimidation and repression of 
political opponents and enabling the  building up of a pluralistic civil 
society with the active participation of  its members; [CHR 2000]

(f) To release immediately and unconditionally those detained or 
imprisoned  for political reasons, including those in "government guest 
houses", as  well as journalists, and to ensure their physical integrity 
and to permit  them to participate in a meaningful process of national 
reconciliation;  [MODIDIED GA 2000]

(g) To improve conditions of detention, in particular in the field of  
health protection, and to illimminate unnessesary restrictions imposed 
on  the detainees; [CHR 2000]

(h) To ensure the safety and well-being and freedom of movement of all  
political leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and to permit 
unrestricted  communication with and physical access to Aung San Suu Kyi 
and other  political leaders; [CHR 2000]

(i) To fulfil its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the  
Child and under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of  
Discrimination against Women by bringing national legislation and 
practice  into conformity with these conventions, and to consider 
signing and  ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the 
Elimination of All  Forms of Discrimination against Women as well as the 
Optional Protocol on  the convention on the Rights of the Child on the 
involvement of children in  armed conflicts; [EXPANDED CHR 2000 - ADDS 
OPT. PROTOCOL TO CRC] 
(j) To implement fully the recommendations made by the Committee on the  
Elimination of Discrimination against Women, in particular the request 
to  prosecute and punish those who violate the human rights of women and 
to  carry out human rights education and gender-sensitization training, 
in  particular for military personnel; [CHR 2000]

(k) And all other parties to the hostilities in Myanmar to respect fully 
 their obligations under international humanitarian law, including 
article 3  common to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, to halt 
the use of  weapons against the civilian population, to protect all 
civilians,  including children, women and persons belonging to ethnic or 
religious  minorities, from violations of humanitarian law, to end the 
use of children  as soldiers and to avail themselves of services offered 
by impartial  humanitarian bodies; [CHR 2000]

(l) To fully implement concrete legislative, executive and 
administrative  measures to eradicate the practice of forced labour, in 
conformity with the  relevant recommendations of the Commission of 
Inquiry and to re-enter into  a dialogue with the International Labour 
Organization and invite the  organization to establish a presence in 
Myanmar in order to enable it to  verify that such measures are taken; 
[EXPANDED GA 2000 - ADDS LAST 3 LINES] 
(m) To cease the laying of landmines, in particular as a means of 
ensuring  forced relocation, and to desist from the forced conscription 
of civilians  to serve as human minesweepers, as indicated in the report 
of the  Commission of Inquiry; [CHR 2000]

(n) To end the enforced displacement of persons and other causes of  
internal displacement and refugee flows to neighbouring countries and to 
 create conditions conducive to their voluntary return and full  
reintegration in safety and dignity, including returnees who have not 
been  granted rights of full citizenship, in close cooperation with the  
international community, through the United Nations system and its  
specialized agencies, governmental and  intergovernmental organizations, 
as  well as non-governmental organizations; [SLIGHTLY MODIFIED CHR 2000] 

(o) To fulfil its obligations to restore the independence of the 
judiciary  and due process and to end impunity of and bring to justice 
any  perpetrators of human rights violations, including members of the 
military,  and to investigate and prosecute alleged violations of 
international  humanitarian and human rights law committed by government 
 agents in all circumstances; [SUBSTANTIALLY MODIFIED CHR 2000] 
7. Decides

(a) To extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, as contained in  
Commission resolution 1992/58 of 3 March 1992, for a further year, and  
requests the Special Rapporteur to submit an interim report to the 
General  Assembly at its fifty-sixth session and to report to the 
Commission at its  fifty-eighth session, and to keep a gender 
perspective in mind when seeking  and analysing information; [CHR 2000]

(b) To request the Secretary-General to continue to give all necessary 
assistance to the Special Rapporteur to enable him to discharge his 
mandate  fully; [UPDATED CHR 2000]

(c) To request the Secretary-General to continue his discussions with 
the  Government on the situation of human rights and the restoration of  
democracy and with anyone he may consider appropriate in order to assist 
in  the implementation of General Assembly resolution 55/112 and of the 
present  resolution; [UPDATED CHR 2000]

(d) To request the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to  
cooperate with the Director-General of the International Labour Office 
with  a view to identifying ways in which their offices might usefully  
collaborate for the improvement of the human rights situation in 
Myanmar;  [CHR 2000]

(e) To request the Secretary-General to bring the present resolution to 
the  attention of all relevant parts of the United Nations system; [CHR 
2000]

(c) To continue its consideration of this question at its fifty-eighth 
session. 

[ADOPTED BY CONSENSUS, 18 APRIL 2001]


***************

GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2000


1 November							
Main sponsor: Sweden

Situation of human rights in Myanmar
General Assembly resolution 55/112 of 4 November  2000


The General Assembly,

Reaffirming that all Member States have an obligation to promote and  
protect human rights and fundamental freedoms as stated in the Charter 
of  the United Nations and elaborated in the Universal Declaration of 
Human  Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights and other 
applicable  human rights instruments,

Aware that, in accordance with the Charter, the United Nations promotes 
and  encourages respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for 
all and  that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that the 
will of the  people shall be the basis of the authority of government, 
and therefore  expressing its grave concern that the Government of 
Myanmar has still not  implemented its commitment to take all necessary 
steps towards democracy in  light of the results of the elections held 
in 1990,

Recalling its resolution 54/186 of 17 December 1999, and Commission on  
Human Rights resolution 1992/58 of 3 March 1992 in which the Commission, 
 inter alia, decided to nominate a special rapporteur with a given 
mandate,  and resolution 2000/23 of 18 April 2000 in which the 
Commission decided to  extend for one year the mandate of its Special 
Rapporteur on the situation  of human rights in Myanmar,

Recalling the observation made by the Special Rapporteur that the 
absence  of respect for the rights pertaining to democratic governance 
is at the  root of all the major violations of human rights in Myanmar, 
Still gravely concerned at the deterioration of the human rights 
situation  in Myanmar, especially at the unabated suppression of the 
exercise of  political right and the freedom of thought, expression, 
association and  movement in Myanmar, as reported by the Special 
Rapporteur, and deeply  concerned that new obstacles have been placed on 
Aung San Suu Kyi and other  National League for Democracy members

Also gravely concerned that the legal system is effectively used as an  
instrument of oppression, and at the increasing intimidation and 
detention  of lawyers ,

Recognizing that the systematic violations of civil, political, 
economic,  social and cultural rights by the Government of Myanmar have 
had a  significant adverse effect on the health and welfare of the 
people of Myanmar, 
Noting with interest the two recent visits to Myanmar by the Special 
Envoy  of the Secretary General, and the co-operation extended by the 
Government  of Myanmar in this regard,

Deeply regretting the failure of the Government of Myanmar to cooperate  
fully with the relevant United Nations mechanisms, in particular the  
Special Rapporteur, who still has has not been invited to Myanmar 
despite  assurances by the Government of Myanmar last year that they 
would seriously  consider a visit

1. Expresses its appreciation to the Special Rapporteur of the 
Commission  on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Myanmar 
for his interim  report, and calls upon the Government of Myanmar to 
implement fully the  recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur;

2. Urges the Government of Myanmar to cooperate fully and without 
further  delay with the Special Rapporteur, and to allow him urgently, 
without  preconditions, to conduct a field mission and to establish 
direct contacts  with the Government and all other relevant sectors of 
society,  thus  enabling him fully to discharge his mandate;

3. Notes with satisfaction the continued cooperation with the 
International  Committee of the Red Cross, allowing the International 
Committee to  communicate with and visit detainees in accordance with 
its modalities of  work, and hopes that the program will be pursued 
further;

4. Deplores the continuing violations of human rights in Myanmar, 
including  extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, enforced 
disappearances,  rape, torture, inhuman treatment, mass arrests, forced 
labour, including  the use of children, forced relocation, and denial of 
freedom of assembly,  association, expression and movement, as reported 
by the Special Rapporteur; 
5. Expresses its grave concern at the increasingly systematic policy of 
the  Government of Myanmar to persecute the democratic opposition, 
National  League for Democracy members and sympathisers and their 
families, as well  as ethnic opposition parties, and at the use by the 
Government of  intimidatory methods such as arbitrary arrest and 
detention, abuse of the  legal system including harsh long-term prison 
sentences, mass rallies and  media campaigns, which has forced many to 
refrain from exercising their  legitimate political rights;

6. Urges the Government of Myanmar to, without delay, cease all 
activities  aimed at preventing the free exercise of internationally 
recognised human  rights including freedom of association, assembly, 
movement and speech, and  in particular to remove all restrictions on Ms 
Aung San Suu Kyi's and other  National League for Democracy members' 
freedom of movement, and their  freedom to communicate with the outside 
world;

7. Strongly urges the Government of Myanmar to release immediately and 
unconditionally detained political leaders, and all political  
prisoners,  including journalists, to ensure their physical integrity 
and  to permit them to participate in the process of national 
reconciliation; 
8. Expresses its concern that the composition and working procedures of 
the  National Convention do not permit either members of 
Parliament-elect or  representatives of the ethnic minorities to express 
their views freely, and  urges the Government of Myanmar to seek new and 
constructive means to  promote national reconciliation, and to restore 
democracy, including  through the establishment of a time frame for 
action;

9. Strongly urges the Government of Myanmar, taking into account the  
assurances it has given on various occasions, to take all necessary 
steps  towards the restoration of democracy in accordance with the will 
of the  people as expressed in the democratic elections held in 1990 
and, to this  end without delay, to engage in a substantive political 
dialogue with  political leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and 
representatives of  ethnic groups and, in this context, notes the 
existence of the Committee  representing the People's Parliament ;

10. Notes with grave concern that the Government of Myanmar has failed 
to  cease its widespread and systematic use of forced labour of its own 
people,  and to meet all the three ILO recommendations on this issue; 
this failure  has compelled the International Labour Organization to 
strictly limit  further cooperation with the Government, and has 
prompted the International  Labour Conference to, subject to certain 
conditions, adopt a number of  measures to secure compliance by the 
Government of Myanmar with the  recommendations of the Commission of 
Inquiry established to examine the  observance of the Forced Labour 
Convention, 1930 (No.29);

11. Takes note of the recent visit by the ILO technical cooperation 
mission  to Myanmar, and the cooperation extended to the mission, while 
awaiting the  result of the mission;

12. Strongly urges the Government of Myanmar to fully implement concrete 
 legislative, executive and administrative measures to eradicate the  
practice of forced labour, in conformity with the relevant 
recommendations  of the Commission of Inquiry;

13. Welcomes the reopening of most university courses, but remains  
concerned that the right to education continues to be a right that is 
only  exercised by those willing to refrain from exercising their civil 
and  political rights and at the reduction in the length of the academic 
year,  the division and separation of the student population to distant 
campuses,  and the lack of adequate resources;

14. Deplores the continued violations of human rights, in particular 
those  directed against persons belonging to ethnic and religious 
minorities,  including summary executions, rape, torture, forced labour, 
forced  portering, forced relocations, use of anti-personnel land mines, 
 destruction of crops and fields, and dispossession of land and 
property,  which deprives these persons of all means of subsistence and 
results in  large-scale displacement of persons and flows of refugees to 
neighbouring  countries, thus causing negative effects for these 
countries, and an  increasing number of internally displaced persons;

15. Urges the Government of Myanmar to end the systematic enforced  
displacement of persons and other causes of refugee flows to 
neighbouring  countries and to create conditions conducive to their 
voluntary return and  their full reintegration in conditions of safety 
and dignity, and to allow  the safe and unhindered access of 
humanitarian personnel to assist in the  return and reintegration 
process;

16. Also deplores the continuing violations of the human rights of 
women,  especially women who are refugees, are internally displaced or 
belong to  ethnic minorities or the political opposition, in particular 
forced labour,  trafficking, sexual violence and exploitation, including 
rape, as reported  by the Special Rapporteur;

17. Strongly urges the Government of Myanmar to implement fully the  
recommendations made by the Committee on the Elimination of 
Discrimination  against Women, in particular the request to prosecute 
and punish those who  violate the human rights of women and to carry out 
human rights education  and gender-sensitization training, in particular 
for military personnel; 
18. Deplores the recruitment of children as soldiers, in particular  
children belonging to ethnic minorities, and strongly urges the 
Government  of Myanmar and all other parties to the hostilities in 
Myanmar to end the  use of children as soldiers;

18. Expresses its concern at the growing incidence of HIV/AIDS infection 
 and urges the Government of Myanmar urgently to address this issue 
which  will have serious long term impact on the development of the 
Union of  Myanmar, and to ensure that the health system receives 
sufficient funding  to enable health workers to meet the rights of all 
people to the highest  possible standard of health care;

19. Expresses its grave concern at the high rates of malnutrition among  
pre-school aged children, which constitute serious violations of their  
rights to adequate food and the highest attainable standard of health, 
and  may have serious repercussions for the health and development of 
the  affected children;

20. Strongly urges the Government of Myanmar to ensure full respect for 
all  human rights and fundamental freedoms, including economic and 
social  rights, and to fulfil its obligation to restore the independence 
of the  judiciary and due process and to end the impunity and bring to 
justice any  perpetrators of human rights violations, including members 
of the military,  and to investigate and prosecute alleged violations 
committed by government  agents in all circumstances;

21. Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General on the visit of his  
Special Envoy to Myanmar, endorses the appeal of the Special Envoy for 
the  initiation of a process of dialogue that would lead to national  
reconciliation, and supports his efforts to achieve this;

22. Requests the Secretary-General to continue his discussions on the  
situation of human rights and the restoration of democracy with the  
Government of Myanmar, to submit additional reports to the General 
Assembly  during its fifty-fifth session on the progress of these 
discussions, and to  report to the Assembly at its fifty-sixth session 
and to the Commission on  Human Rights at its fifty-seventh session on 
the progress made in the  implementation of the present resolution;

23. Decides to continue its consideration of this question at its  
fifty-sixth session

Adopted by consensus, 8 November 2000


*******************************

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS 2000


Distr.
GENERAL

E/CN.4/RES/2000/23
18 April 2000
Original: ENGLISH


Situation of human rights in Myanmar

Commission on Human Rights resolution 2000/23


The Commission on Human Rights,

Reaffirming that all Member States have an obligation to promote and  
protect human rights and fundamental freedoms as stated in the Charter 
of  the United Nations and as elaborated in the Universal Declaration of 
Human  Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights and other 
applicable  human rights instruments,

Gravely concerned at the systematic and increasingly severe violations 
of  civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights in Myanmar, 
Recognizing that these severe violations of human rights by the 
Government  of Myanmar have had a significant adverse effect on the 
health and welfare  of the people of Myanmar,

Deeply regretting the failure of the Government of Myanmar to cooperate  
fully with the relevant United Nations mechanisms, in particular the  
Special Rapporteur, while noting the recent increased contacts between 
the  Government of Myanmar and the international community,

Aware that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that the 
will  of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government 
and  therefore gravely concerned that the Government of Myanmar still 
has not  implemented its commitment to take all necessary steps towards 
democracy in  the light of the results of the elections held in 1990,

Recalling the observation made by the Special Rapporteur that the 
absence  of respect for the rights pertaining to democratic governance 
is at the  root of all the major violations of human rights in Myanmar, 
Mindful that Myanmar is a party to the Convention on the Rights of the  
Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination  
against Women, the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 on the 
protection  of victims of war and the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 
(No. 29) and the  Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to 
Organize Convention,  1948 (No. 87) of the International Labour 
Organization,

Recalling the concluding observations of the Committee on the 
Elimination  of Discrimination against Women 
(CEDAW/C/2000/I/CRP.3/Add.2/Rev.1) on the  initial report submitted by 
Myanmar to that treaty monitoring body in  which, inter alia, it 
expresses its concern at violations of the human  rights of women, in 
particular by military personnel,

Noting the resolution adopted by the International Labour Conference at 
its  87th Session on the widespread use of forced labour in Myanmar, and 
also of  the recommendation of the Governing Body of the International 
Labour  Organization of 27 March 2000,

Recalling previous resolutions of the General Assembly and the 
Commission  on Human Rights on the subject, most recently Assembly 
resolution 54/186 of  17 December 1999 and Commission resolution 1999/17 
of 23 April 1999, 

1. Welcomes:

(a) The report of the Special Rapporteur (E/CN.4/2000/38) on the 
situation  of human rights in Myanmar and the report of the 
Secretary-General  (E/CN.4/2000/29), and expresses its appreciation and 
support for the work  of the Special Rapporteur;

(b) The resumption of cooperation with the International Committee of 
the  Red Cross, allowing the Committee to communicate with and visit 
prisoners  in accordance with its standard working rules, and encourages 
continued  cooperation in that regard;

2. Notes the constructive dialogue between the Committee on the 
Elimination  of Discrimination against Women and the Government of 
Myanmar at the recent  session of that Committee;

3. Notes the visit to Myanmar by the Special Envoy of the 
Secretary-General  in October 1999 for the purpose of holding 
discussions with the Government  and with political leaders, including 
Aung San Suu Kyi and representatives  of some ethnic minority groups, 
while regretting that two senior members of  the latter were arrested 
shortly after having met with the Special Envoy,  and calls upon the 
Government of Myanmar to enter into a constructive  dialogue with the 
Secretary-General in order to make better use of his good  offices;

4. Reaffirms the need to provide adequate protection and assistance for  
persons fleeing from Myanmar and, in this context, takes note with  
appreciation of the efforts of the Government of Thailand in providing  
assistance and the expanded role played by the Office of the United 
Nations  High Commissioner for Refugees;

5. Expresses its grave concern:

(a) At the increased repression of any form of public political 
activity,  the arbitrary detention the imprisonment and the systematic 
surveillance of  those exercising their rights to freedom of thought, 
expression, assembly  and association, as well as
the harassment of their families;

(b) That, despite the partial reopening of some courses, most 
institutions  of higher education have remained closed for political 
reasons for over  three years;

(c) That the composition and working procedures of the National 
Convention  do not permit either members of Parliament-elect or 
representatives of the  ethnic minorities to express their views freely, 
and is concerned that the  National Convention has not been convened 
since 1996 and thus is not in a  position to further the restoration of 
democracy and national reconciliation; 
(d) That the Government of Myanmar has failed to review its legislation, 
to  cease its widespread use of forced labour of its own people and to 
punish  those exacting forced labour, which has forced the International 
Labour  Organization to exclude further cooperation with the Government 
until such  time as it has implemented the recommendations of the 
Commission of  Inquiry, except for the purpose of implementing those 
recommendations; 

6. Deplores:

(a) The continuing pattern of gross and systematic violations of human  
rights in Myanmar, including extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary  
executions, particularly in areas of ethnic tension, and enforced  
disappearances, torture, harsh prison conditions,
abuse of women and children by government agents, arbitrary seizures of  
land and property, and the imposition of oppressive measures directed in 
 particular at ethnic and religious minorities, including systematic  
programmes of forced relocation, destruction of crops and fields, the  
continued widespread use of forced labour, including for work on  
infrastructure projects, production of food for the military and as 
porters  for the army;

(b) The lack of independence of the judiciary from the executive and the 
 wide disrespect of the rule of law, including of the basic guarantees 
of  due process, especially in cases involving exercise of political and 
civil  rights and freedoms, resulting in arbitrary arrests and 
detentions,  non-existence of judicial control over detentions, 
sentences passed without  trial, keeping the accused in ignorance of the 
legal basis of the charge  brought against them, trials held in secrecy 
and without proper legal  representation, want of knowledge by the 
family and counsel of the accused  about the sentence and detentions 
beyond the end of prison sentences; 
(c) The continued violations of the human rights of, and widespread  
discriminatory practices against, persons belonging to minorities,  
including extrajudicial executions, rape, torture, ill-treatment and the 
 systematic programmes of forced relocation directed against ethnic  
minorities, notably in Karen, Karenni, Rakhine and Shan States and in  
Tennasserim Division, resulting in the large-scale displacement of 
persons  and flows of refugees to neighbouring countries, thus creating 
problems for  the countries concerned, and particularly the condition of 
statelessness,  the confiscation of land and the restrictions on 
movement faced by  returning Rohingya refugees, which have prevented the 
establishment of  stable conditions for their voluntary return in safety 
and dignity and for  their reintegration and have contributed to 
movements out of the country; 
(d) The continuing violations of the human rights of women, in 
particular  forced labour, trafficking, sexual violence and 
exploitation, often  committed by military personnel, and especially 
directed towards women who  are returning refugees, internally displaced 
or belong to ethnic minorities  or the political opposition;

(e) The continuing violations of the rights of children, in particular  
through the lack of conformity of the existing legal framework with the  
Convention on the Rights of the Child, through conscription of children  
into forced labour programmes, through their sexual exploitation and  
exploitation by the military, through discrimination against children  
belonging to ethnic and religious minority groups and elevated rates of  
infant and maternal mortality and malnutrition;

(f) The escalation in the persecution of democratic group activists,  
including elected representatives to the Parliament, students, trade  
unionists and members of religious orders, for peacefully exercising 
their  rights to freedom of movement, expression, assembly and 
association, and  the Government's use of intimidatory measures to force 
elected  representatives and National League for Democracy members to 
resign from  their positions and to close their party offices;

(g) The severe restrictions on the freedoms of opinion, expression,  
assembly and association, the restrictions on citizens' access to  
information, including censorship controls on all forms of domestic 
media  and many international publications, and the restrictions imposed 
on  citizens wishing to travel within the country and abroad, including 
the  denial of passports on political grounds, and gross interference in 
private  life, family, home or correspondence;


7. Calls upon the Government of Myanmar:

(a) To establish a constructive dialogue with the United Nations system, 
 including the human rights mechanisms, for the effective promotion and  
protection of human rights in the country;

(b) To continue to cooperate with the Secretary-General or his  
representative and to broaden this dialogue, including through providing 
 access to any person deemed appropriate by them, and to implement their 
 recommendations;

(c) To consider becoming a party to the International Covenant on Civil 
and  Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social 
and  Cultural Rights, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, 
Inhuman or  Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International 
Convention on the  Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and 
the Convention  relating to the Status of Refugees and its Protocol;

8. Urges the Government of Myanmar to cooperate fully, and without 
further  delay, with all United Nations representatives, in particular 
the Special  Rapporteur, to allow him urgently, without preconditions, 
to conduct a  field mission and to establish direct contacts with the 
Government and all  other relevant sectors of society, and thus to 
enable him fully to  discharge his mandate, and, in this context, 
regrets that, notwithstanding  the recent indications that serious 
consideration would be given to a visit  by the Special Rapporteur, he 
has not so far been given permission to visit  the country;


9. Strongly urges the Government of Myanmar:

(a) To implement fully the recommendations made by the Special 
Rapporteur; 
(b) To ensure full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms,  
including the freedoms of expression, association, movement and 
assembly,  the right to a fair trial by an independent and impartial 
judiciary and the  protection of the rights of persons belonging to 
ethnic and religious  minorities, and to put an end to violations of the 
right to life and  integrity of the human being, to the practices of 
torture, abuse of women,  forced labour and forced relocations and to 
enforced disappearances and  summary executions;

(c) To take urgent and meaningful measures to ensure the establishment 
of  democracy in accordance with the will of the people as expressed in 
the  democratic elections held in 1990 and, to this end, to engage 
immediately  and unconditionally in a genuine and substantive dialogue 
with the leaders  of political parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and 
of ethnic minorities  with the aim of achieving national reconciliation 
and the restoration of  democracy, and to ensure that political parties 
and non-governmental  organizations can function freely, and in this 
context notes that the  National League for Democracy has established a 
committee to represent  temporarily members of Parliament elected in 
1990 who are prevented by the  authorities from exercising their 
democratic mandate conferred on them by  the people of Myanmar;

(d) To take all appropriate measures to allow all citizens to 
participate  freely in the political process, in accordance with the 
principles of the  Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to 
accelerate the process of  transition to democracy, in particular 
through the transfer of power to  democratically elected 
representatives, the prevention of intimidation and  repression of 
political opponents and enabling the building up of a  pluralistic civil 
society with the active participation of its members; 
(e) To release immediately and unconditionally those detained or 
imprisoned  for political reasons, including those in "government guest 
houses", and to  ensure their physical integrity and to permit them to 
participate in a  meaningful process of national reconciliation;

(f) To improve conditions of detention, in particular in the field of  
health protection, and to eliminate unnecessary restrictions imposed on 
the  detainees;

(g) To ensure the safety and well-being and freedom of movement of all  
political leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and to permit 
unrestricted  communication with and physical access to Aung San Suu Kyi 
and other  political leaders;

(h) To fulfil its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the  
Child and under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of  
Discrimination against Women by bringing national legislation and 
practice  into conformity with these conventions, and to consider 
signing and  ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the 
Elimination of All  Forms of Discrimination against Women;

(i) To implement fully the recommendations made by the Committee on the  
Elimination of Discrimination against Women, in particular the request 
to  prosecute and punish those who violate the human rights of women and 
to  carry out human rights education and gender-sensitization training, 
in  particular for military personnel;

(j) And all other parties to the hostilities in Myanmar to respect fully 
 their obligations under international humanitarian law, including 
article 3  common to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, to halt 
the use of  weapons against the civilian population, to protect all 
civilians,  including children, women and persons belonging to ethnic or 
religious  minorities, from violations of humanitarian law, to end the 
use of children  as soldiers and to avail themselves of services offered 
by impartial  humanitarian bodies;

(k) To cease the widespread and systematic use of forced labour and use 
of  exploitative child labour, and to implement the recommendations of 
the  Commission of Inquiry of the International Labour Organization 
regarding  the implementation of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 
29) of the  International Labour Organization, while noting the order by 
the Government  of Myanmar issued in May 1999 directing that the power 
to requisition  forced labour under the Towns Act and the Village Act 
not be exercised, as  well as the invitation to visit, addressed to the 
International Labour  Organization in
October 1999;

(l) To adopt, as a matter of urgency, appropriate measures to fulfil its 
 obligations as a State party to the Freedom of Association and 
Protection  of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87) of the 
International  Labour Organization and to implement the conclusions of 
the Commission of  Inquiry of the International Labour Organization;

(m) To cease the laying of landmines, in particular as a means of 
ensuring  forced relocation, and to desist from the forced conscription 
of civilians  to serve as human minesweepers, as indicated in the report 
of the  Commission of Inquiry;

(n) To end the enforced displacement of persons and other causes of 
refugee  flows to neighbouring countries and to create conditions 
conducive to their  voluntary return and full reintegration in safety 
and dignity, including  returnees who have not been granted rights of 
full citizenship, in close  cooperation with the international 
community, through the United Nations  system and its specialized 
agencies, governmental and  intergovernmental  organizations, as well as 
non-governmental organizations;

(o) To fulfil its obligations to end impunity of perpetrators of human  
rights violations, including members of the military, and to investigate 
 and prosecute alleged violations committed by government agents in all  
circumstances;


10. Decides:

(a) To extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, as contained in  
Commission resolution 1992/58 of 3 March 1992, for a further year, and  
requests the Special Rapporteur to submit an interim report to the 
General  Assembly at its fifty-fifth session
and to report to the Commission at its fifty-seventh session, and to 
keep a  gender perspective in mind when seeking and analysing 
information; 
(b) To request the Secretary-General to continue to give all necessary  
assistance to the Special Rapporteur to enable him to discharge his 
mandate  fully, and to pursue all efforts to ensure that the Special 
Rapporteur is  authorized to visit Myanmar;

(c) To request the Secretary-General to continue his discussions with 
the  Government on the situation of human rights and the restoration of  
democracy and with anyone he may consider appropriate in order to assist 
in  the implementation of General Assembly resolution 54/186 and of the 
present  resolution;

(d) To request the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to  
cooperate with the Director-General of the International Labour Office 
with  a view to identifying ways in which their offices might usefully  
collaborate for the improvement of the human rights situation in 
Myanmar; 
(e) To request the Secretary-General to bring the present resolution to 
the  attention of all relevant parts of the United Nations system; 
(f) To continue its consideration of this question at its fifty-seventh  
session.


56th 
meeting 
18 April 2000

[Adopted without a vote. ]






________________


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

To automatically subscribe to Burma's only free daily newspaper in 
English, send an email to:
burmanet-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

To subscribe to The BurmaNet News in Burmese, send an email to:

burmanetburmese-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx


You can also contact BurmaNet by fax:

(US) +1(413)604-9008

(Japan) +81 (3) 4512-8143


________________


Burma News Summaries available by email or the web

There are three Burma news digest services available via either email or 
the web.

Burma News Update
Frequency: Biweekly
Availability: By fax or the web.
Viewable online at http://www.soros.org/burma/burmanewsupdate/index.html
Cost: Free
Published by: Open Society Institute, Burma Project

The Burma Courier 
Frequency: Weekly 
Availability: E-mail, fax or post.  To subscribe or unsubscribe by email 
celsus@xxxxxxxxxxx
Viewable on line at: http://www.egroups.com/group/BurmaCourier
Cost: Free
Note: News sources are cited at the beginning of an article. 
Interpretive comments and background
details are often added.

Burma Today
Frequency: Weekly
Availability: E-mail
Viewable online at http://www.worldviewrights.org/pdburma/today.html
To subscribe, write to pdburma@xxxxxxxxx
Cost: Free
Published by: PD Burma (The International Network of Political Leaders 
Promoting Democracy in Burma)




________________

==^================================================================
EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://igc.topica.com/u/?b1dbSX.b1CGhI
Or send an email To: burmanet-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
This email was sent to: reg.burma@xxxxxxxxxx

T O P I C A  -- Learn More. Surf Less.
Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose.
http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01
==^================================================================