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BurmaNet News: August 28, 2001
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
August 28, 2001 Issue # 1874
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
INSIDE BURMA _______
*DVB :NLD issues statement, supports Suu Kyi Burma frees two opposition
leaders; party statement supports Suu Kyi
*AFP: United Nations envoy meets with Aung San Suu Kyi
*AP: Official: ILO ready to work for end to forced labor in Myanmar
*Federation of Trade Unions Burma: Forced Labor for Baluchaung dam
MONEY _______
*The Nation: Brighter future for Burma's workforce
GUNS______
*TV Myanmar: Burma: Malaysian defence minister and delegation arrives in
Rangoon
DRUGS______
*Bangkok Post: China slams Burma over drug trade
*Bangkok Post: Two arrested with van full of speed
*Bangkok Post: Govt believes Rangoon will convince Wa to co-operate -
Some have already turned to cash crops
*The Nation: Drug army may be included in talks
*Burma Courier: Aussie Drug Cop Gives 'Advanced' Lessons on Detection
REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*AFP: Thailand warns Myanmar dissidents ahead of junta number-three's
visit
*The Irrawaddy: Mediator Role Urged for Razali
*Bangkok Post: Junta leader granted audience with King
EDITORIALS/OPINION/PROPAGANDA________
*AsiaWeek: Webfiles: Remember Where You Read It First--Yes, there is
going to be a settlement in Myanmar
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
DVB :NLD issues statement, supports Suu Kyi Burma frees two opposition
leaders; party statement supports Suu Kyi
Text of report by DVB on 27 August
The NLD [National League for Democracy] Central Executive Committee
[CEC] has released a statement today noting that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
would continue to strive for the success of the talks and the
realization of democracy.
Within a few hours after the restrictions on U Aung Shwe and U Tin Oo
were lifted yesterday, they together with U Lwin went to Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi and held talks for over an hour. After that the NLD leaders
held a meeting today at NLD Central Headquarters on Shwegondaing Road
for over four hours and released the statement. The SPDC [State Peace
and Development Council] and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi have been holding
talks for almost a year and this is the first time that Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi's remarks were publicly announced. An NLD women's group member
read the full text of the statement to DVB over the phone.
[Unnamed NLD member] The restrictions on NLD Chairman U Aung Shwe and
NLD Vice Chairman U Tin Oo were lifted in the afternoon of 26 August
2001 and at 1600 that evening [local time] the chairman and
vice-chairman together with Secretary U Lwin met with General Secretary
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Chairman U Aung Shwe and Vice-Chairman U Tin Oo
expressed their complete trust in Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. They also
totally agree with and support Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's efforts.
In accordance with the authority vested by the NLD elected
representatives, the state and division party organizations, and
township party organizations, NLD Chairman U Aung Shwe and General
Secretary Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will continue to strive with strong
unity for the establishment and development of a democratic system.
NLD General Secretary Daw Aung San Suu Kyi expressed great satisfaction
in seeing Chairman U Aung Shwe, Vice-Chairman U Tin Oo, Secretary U
Lwin, and other CEC members to be able to become active again in party
affairs.
It is believed that all NLD members together with Chairman U Aung Shwe
and CEC members will strive with unity and carry out their duties with
the view of benefiting the entire populace.
The Central Executive Committee. National League for Democracy. [End of
recording]
That was the full text of the NLD Statement. In an AP news report from
Rangoon, U Tin Oo said today's meeting was unable to reveal anything in
relation to the present talks in order not to jeopardize the situation
and added he was happy because the SPDC is trying to solve a political
problem by using the dialogue approach. Regarding the release of
political prisoners, the NLD statement urged to release women and
national races political prisoners first and then the aged and those
suffering from ill health.
Source: Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese 1430 gmt 27 Aug 01
___________________________________________________
AFP: United Nations envoy meets with Aung San Suu Kyi
YANGON, Aug 28 (AFP) - UN envoy to Myanmar Razali Ismail met with
democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi at her residence Tuesday as part of a
mission to promote her historic dialogue with the junta, sources said.
The Malaysian diplomat arrived at the lakeside villa about 5:15 pm
(1045 GMT) after hour-long talks with the military regime's powerful
intelligence chief, Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt.
It was not known how long the meeting would last, but on each of
Razali's four previous visits to Yangon he has spent several hours with
the Nobel peace laureate.
Razali arrived in Myanmar on Monday, a day after the military regime
released two senior members of the opposition National League for
Democracy (NLD) who had been under virtual house arrest since September.
The release of Tin Oo and Aung Shwe, which was hailed as a significant
goodwill gesture by observers in Yangon, left Aung San Suu Kyi the sole
NLD leader confined to her house by the military regime.
Before the release of her two top lieutenants, the democracy leader was
said to be frustrated at the slow pace of the releases, with some 170
freed in small groups since the secret talks began.
But the NLD said Monday that she "expressed great satisfaction" at the
decision to allow the pair to go free, a move that could help revive the
party's activities.
Observers hope that Razali's visit will accelerate the pace of the
dialogue, which he helped initiate last October.
The contacts, the first since 1994, are aimed at initiating an official
national reconciliation dialogue that could lead to democratic reforms
after four decades of absolute military rule.
Earlier Tuesday the UN envoy held talks with high-ranking officials,
including Foreign Minister Win Aung, and attended a luncheon for
diplomats and business leaders.
On Wednesday he is to meet with representatives of six pro-democracy
ethnic political parties who are anxious to be invited to join the
10-month-old talks between the opposition and the junta.
Sources told AFP that Razali appeared to be in good spirits at the
luncheon and hopeful his trip would be productive after months where the
process appeared to have slowed down.
"Razali had not yet met any of the main players so he was not able to
say anything other than he is very hopeful that things will work out,"
said one of the guests.
"But he seems to be in a happier frame of mind and I suppose we will
know more in the next few days."
Observers of the political process believe that at some stage, when
there have been enough prisoner releases, Aung San Suu Kyi will make a
long-awaited statement on the talks," he said.
"In the meantime we will just have to keep our fingers crossed. All of
us can only hope and encourage from the sidelines," he said.
Diplomats say Razali plays a vital role in bridging the gap between the
generals and the democratic opposition, which has never been allowed to
take power despite winning a landslide election victory in 1990.
"As long as Razali is engaged, his visits have always had an impact,
she (Aung San Suu Kyi) will continue to put her trust in him," said one
Western ambassador.
___________________________________________________
AP: Official: ILO ready to work for end to forced labor in Myanmar
August 28, 2001
BANGKOK, Myanmar (AP) _ The ILO has sought assurances from Myanmar's
military government about the safety of the people it may consult to
assess the country's progress in ending forced labor, the ILO chief said
Monday.
A high-level four-member team from the International Labor Organization
will visit Myanmar for three weeks in mid-September to look at the
practical implementation of measures announced by the junta, which last
year faced unprecedented censure from the U.N. body.
Speaking on the sidelines of the ILO's Asian regional conference in
Bangkok, ILO director general Juan Somavia said the safety of
organizations and individuals who might consult with the ILO team was a
``central and key'' issue.
``The security of the people with whom we might meet has already been
raised before authorities there,'' Somavia told a news conference. ``It
will be upmost in our minds ... to ensure there are no consequences
afterwards.''
The comments were apparently in response to fears that those who speak
openly about forced labor in Myanmar may later face government
retribution.
Somavia added that as a Chilean national who had fought for 17 years
against dictatorship in his homeland, he had some ``relevant
experience'' in this regard.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, is ruled by a military junta with a
pervasive military intelligence apparatus. According to human rights
groups, it has more than 1,800 political prisoners. Its rights record
has earned the country pariah status in the eyes of the West.
In an unprecedented move last November, the ILO urged its 175 member
governments to impose sanctions and review their dealings with Myanmar
to ensure they are not abetting forced labor.
The ILO recommended individual governments, organizations and labor
unions should decide for themselves what to do.
Myanmar's military has been accused of forcibly recruiting civilians to
build road and railways and to act as military porters for the army on
campaigns in border regions against antigovernment insurgents.
The ILO reached agreement in June with the Myanmar government on a
visit by an assessment team in September. The team is expected to report
back to the ILO governing body in November.
An ILO statement issued last week said its team would have ``full
discretion to establish a program of such contacts and visits as it
considers appropriate across the country.''
Myanmar was not represented at the ILO conference, held once every four
years. It is prohibited from doing so because of the allegations of
forced labor against the military regime.
__________________________________________________
Federation of Trade Unions Burma: Forced Labor for Baluchaung dam
Documented by - Evergreen Environmental Group, Karenni.
Reported by - FTUB
Date fo happening 1st and 2nd weeks of August 2001.
Perpatrators LIB 72 and LB 426.
The officers from the LIB 72 and LB 426 forced villagers from Mahtaw
Khu, Lawdalay, Lay Einsu, Sorikyai and Kanni villages to clear the land
along the 3 miles long water intake pipe of the Baluchaung dam. The land
had to be cleared to a furlong on each side.
The villagers had to bring their own food and utensils to be used in the
clearing.
The clearing was done in the areas where land mines had been laid in
1990 for security. The places where the mines were shown with poles with
flags.
The people who had to do the actual work or their interview recordings
are available should verification be needed.
______________________MONEY________________________
The Nation: Brighter future for Burma's workforce
Aug 28, 2001
Burma's per-capita income should more than double to about US$2,000 (Bt
90,000) by the end of the next decade, according to Phisit Pakkasem, a
member of the East Asia Vision Group.
Phisit, who is also former chief of the National Economic and Social
Development Board says the Burmese economy is now poised for more stable
growth under a more diversified agricultural sector, and greater
integration with the regional economies.
But he does not rule out the Burmese economy growing at a rate of around
6 per cent annually in the next decade. Burma now has a per-capita
income of $765 compared to Thailand's $1,949.
He recently visited Burma at the invitation of Brig-General D O Abel,
minister at the State Peace and Development Council. The Burmese
government has given its support for greater regional cooperation.
The East Asia Vision Group recently submitted a recommendation to
regional leaders that the East Asia Free Trade Area be formed so that
the region did not fall behind the expanding European Union and the
Americas' new free-trade pact.
Phisit said Burma was making steady progress in diversifying its
agro-industry. It has moved into the plantation business through joint
ventures with foreign investors in rubber, palm oil, bananas,
pineapples, cotton and jute. It is now exporting 1.2 million tonnes of
rice.
Joint ventures are also promoted in gem-mining and -cutting with annual
exports of $50 million. In fisheries, Burma exported $300 million to
$400 million worth of marine products last year.
"It has so much that Abel once said without more fishing 'all our fish
will die of old age'," Phisit said.
Burma now has more than 150 textile factories producing $500 million
worth of exports, most of which goes to the US.
The government has also been careful not to encourage monopolies in any
of the business sectors, Phisit noted.
The state is enjoying income flows from the two gas fields, Yanada and
Yetagun. Thailand last year imported 555 million cubic feet of gas per
day worth $260 million.
It attracted up to 300,000 foreign tourists annually, although the
number has fallen somewhat, according to Phisit.
He played down the impact of international economic sanctions on Burma,
saying that they only served to push the country further towards close
economic ties with China.
Burma, he said, now has the highest per-capita income of the four new
members of Asean, itself, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.
________________________GUNS_______________________
TV Myanmar: Burma: Malaysian defence minister and delegation arrives in
Rangoon
TV Myanmar, Rangoon, in Burmese 1330 gmt 27 Aug 01
Malaysian Defence Minister Datuk Sri Mohamed Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul
Razak, his wife and delegation arrived in Yangon Rangoon at 1530 local
time today to pay a goodwill visit to the Union of Myanmar Burma at the
invitation of Lt-Gen Tin Hla, deputy prime minister, minister for
military affairs, and quartermaster general of the Union of Myanmar.
The Malaysian defence minister and his wife and delegation were welcomed
at Yangon International Airport by Lt-Gen Tin Hla, deputy prime
minister, minister for military affairs, and quartermaster general, and
wife; Yangon Commander Ma-Gen Khin Maung Than and wife, Foreign Minister
U Win Aung and wife, Joint Adjutant- General Brig-Gen Maung Nyo and
wife, Joint Quartermaster-General Brig-Gen Kyaw Win and wife, Malaysian
Ambassador to Myanmar Dato Mohamed bin Noh and wife, Military Attache
Lt-Col Haji Harun bin Hitam and wife.
Malaysian Defence Minister Datuk Sri Mohamed Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul
Razak and his delegation called on Lt-Gen Tin Hla, deputy prime
minister, minister for military affairs, and quartermaster at 1700 local
time today in the reception hall of the Ministry of Defence. Present at
the meeting with Lt-Gen Tin Hla, deputy prime minister, minister for
military affairs, and quartermaster were: Maj-Gen Khin Maung Than,
chairman of Yangon Division Peace and Development Council and commander
of Yangon Command, and senior officials from the Ministry of Defence.
Present at the meeting with the visiting delegation were Malaysian
Ambassador to Myanmar Dato Mohamed bin Noh and Military Attache Lt-Col
Haji Harun bin Hitam.
Lt-Gen Tin Hla, deputy prime minister, minister for military affairs,
and quartermaster-general of the Union of Myanmar, and wife Daw Win Kyi
hosted a banquet in honour of Malaysian Defence Minister Datuk Sri
Mohamed Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak, his wife, and delegation at 1900
this evening at Karaweik Palace.
The banquet was attended by Maj-Gen Khin Maung Than, chairman of Yangon
Division Peace and Development Council and commander of Yangon Command,
and his wife, Foreign Minister U Win Aung and his wife, senior officials
from the Ministry of Defence, Malaysian Ambassador to Myanmar Dato
Mohamed bin Noh and wife, Military Attache Lt-Col Haji Harun bin Hitam,
and invited guests.
________________________DRUGS______________________
Bangkok Post: China slams Burma over drug trade
August 28, 2001
Rangoon's failure to stop armed minority groups from smuggling opium and
heroin into South China is threatening social security in the region,
Chinese drug fighters said.
Officials of China's Narcotics Control Committee told a visiting
delegation of UN Drug Control Programme officers and journalists that
the drug situation could not improve because Rangoon was "too
compromising" towards the Wa and Shan minority groups.
"The Burmese government can control only 200 kilometres of the common
border with Yunnan province, while the rest of the 1,997km-long frontier
consists of sensitive and untouchable areas," said Lei Jianbo, deputy
head of the Yunnan branch of the NCC. "Though the central Burmese
government has prohibited the narcotics trade publicly, some local
governments still connive with drug traffickers. This is a fact as
everyone knows," he said.
Wang Guang, an officer based in Dehong autonomous region, named Mongku,
in the so-called "northern Golden Triangle" in the Shan state, as
Burma's major production and trading centre for opium and heroin.
Chinese officials said although UNDCP and Yunnan provincial authorities
had tried to persuade the Burmese minorities to substitute opium
cultivation with sugar cane, buck wheat and other economic crops, drug
trafficking into Yunnan had increased rapidly over the past 10 years.
During the period, authorities had busted more than 63,000 drug
trafficking cases resulting in the seizure of 34 tonnes of heroin, 12
tonnes of opium and the arrest of more than 86,000 offenders.
"The reason was Rangoon's lack of ability to control drug production in
the Golden Triangle. Some government officials are even encouraging
villagers to sell drugs. We were very disappointed with this," said a
senior Chinese official who asked for anonymity.
An article recently published in the Yunnan Ribao denounced an unnamed
neighbour as a "devil" in the drug racket. The official provincial daily
said traffickers had opened a so-called "China route" after Thai
authorities blocked a south-bound route following the crushing of Khun
Sa's drug syndicate five years ago.
Officials said the Yunnan-Burma highway, from Mu Se in Burma to Rui Li
in China, served as a transit point for goods destined for provinces
like Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Xinjiang, Guangdong, Fujian. From there,
the drugs were shipped to international markets in Hong Kong, Taiwan and
Europe.
Bangkok Post: Two arrested with van full of speed
Monday 27 August 2001
City police yesterday stopped a van in Klong Sam Wa district and found
1.3 million methamphetamine pills.
Two suspects, Sarawut Raros, 26, and Uthairat Donthienchai, 40, were
arrested on the spot.
Police said a search of their van uncovered the pills hidden in many
small cardboard boxes.
Police said the two confessed they had been paid 50,000 baht to deliver
the drugs to an agent in Chon Buri.
The two claimed the consignment belonged to an influential trafficker in
the North and it was the second shipment they had delivered.
The two men have been charged with drug trafficking.
Meanwhile on Friday, police arrested two other men and seized 330,000
speed pills in Lamphun.
Wasant Boonma, 24, and Wichai Saengkaew, 33, denied the charge of drug
trafficking and refused to answer any questions.
Bangkok Post: Govt believes Rangoon will convince Wa to co-operate -
Some have already turned to cash crops
Monday 27 August 2001
Yuwadee Tunyasiri
The government is confident Burma can convince the Wa minority group to
co-operate in its efforts to halt drug production in the Golden
Triangle.
At a recent meeting in Phuket, Thai officials urged their Burmese
counterparts to help negotiate the co-operation of the Wa.
The government hopes to see some progress early next month before the
visit to Thailand of Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, the secretary-general of the
State Peace and Development Council.
A cabinet source said some members of the Wa had already began producing
alternative cash crops like longan and wine-making grapes. They also
wanted to open avenues of trade with Thailand and were keen to learn
Thai to improve trade opportunities.
Joint efforts between the two countries to help this group would also
encourage other Wa groups to halt their drug production activities and
turn to other cash crops, the source said.
Gen Thammarak Issrangkul na Ayutthaya, PM's Office minister, hailed the
success of the Phuket meeting and said much ground was covered in the
war against drugs.
The minister, who will accompany Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra today
on his three-day trip to China, said he would discuss the matter with
Chinese officials and exchange information on the production of
drug-producing chemicals in China.
The prime minister would seek Beijing's co-operation, he said.
The Nation: Drug army may be included in talks
Published on Aug 27, 2001
Thailand has proposed an unusual tripartite meeting with the Burmese
government and a major drug-producer, the Uni-ted Wa State Army (UWSA),
to curb the rise in drug trafficking in the Golden Triangle, a senior
government official said yesterday.
The source said he expected Burma's powerful Lt-General Khin Nyunt to
convey his government's response to the proposal when he visited Bangkok
next month.
The proposal was floated when Thai and Burmese anti-narcotics officials
met in Phuket earlier this month. According to the source, Burma's
police director-general Soe Win agreed to the meeting in principle and
said he would forward the proposal to his government for
consideration."Both countries agreed that it was time for all concerned
in this issue to sit down and talk about the effective suppression of
the trafficking of narcotics in the region," the source said.The Golden
Triangle area - where the borders of Thailand, Burma and Laos converge -
is one of the world's major production sites of opium and heroin.
Thailand and the international community have accused the UWSA of
producing large quantities of narcotics, including heroin and - more
recently - amphetamines in the region.
The UWSA controls a "special zone" in Burmese territory covering a large
area over the border from the Thai provinces of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai
and Mae Hong Son.
Thailand is a transit route for all types of illegal drugs, especially
amphetamines, from the Wa-controlled zone.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has called on Burma to suppress the
UWSA's activities but has been told the area is beyond Rangoon's
control.
The source said a representative from the UN's Drug Control Programme
was at the Phuket meeting and aware of the proposed tripartite meeting.
Chatchai Suthiklom, deputy secretary general of the Office of Narcotic
Control Board (ONCB), said the meeting could greatly enhance attempts by
Thailand and Burma to eliminate drug trafficking in the region.
"We need co-operation from all sides to effectively suppress drug
trafficking," Chatchai said. "This meeting, if it takes place, would be
a good starting point for all sides in their fight against narcotics."In
a related development, PM's Office Minister Thamarak Isarangura said
yesterday joint border patrols, crop-substitution programmes and the
exchange of intelligence would be the key points Thailand would put on
the table when top anti-narcotics officials from four countries meet in
Beijing today and tomorrow.Thamarak will lead the Thai delegation in
meetings with its counterparts from Burma, Laos and host China. The
gathering is the latest effort by the four countries to cooperate in the
war against drug trafficking in the Golden Triangle and southern China.
Thamarak said he would propose that security regulations along the
border be revised to allow troops from different countries to jointly
investigate suspected drug labs and trafficking routes.
Piyanart Srivalo, Marisa Chimprabha
__________________________________________________
Burma Courier: Aussie Drug Cop Gives 'Advanced' Lessons on Detection
Based on news from NLM and DVB: Updated to August 22, 2001
RANGOON - The opening ceremony of a five-day 'advanced course' on
detection of narcotic drugs was held at the Sofitel Hotel last Sunday
morning, the New Light of Myanmar reports.
The course, under the sponsorship of Burmese junta's drug control bureau
and the Rangoon office of the UN Drug Control Program for 25 trainees of
the military junts's Directorate of Defence Services Intelligence, the
government's Customs Department and the Myanmar Police Force, was under
the instructorship of Mark Dennison of the Australian Federal Police.
Among the notables in attendance at the opening ceremony was John Whalen
of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
A internal report of Burma's Northeast military command in Lashio,
brought to light this week by DVB radio in Oslo, suggests that Burma's
counter-narcotics squads may be in need of something more than training
in detection.
The report noted that there are thousands of acres of poppy plantations
in northern Shan State alone. Neatly traced out charts and tables
showed that less than a third of the vast acreage of poppy plantations
'detected' in the Shan state highlands, had been destroyed.
One table showed areas where poppy fields had not been destroyed. They
included over 50,000 acres in the special region under the control of
the Wa "peace group" of Pauk Yu Chan, about 15,000 acres in an area
under the Kachin Defence Army of Ma Htu Naw, about 7,000 acres in the
Laukkai region of the Kokang "peace group' of Phon Kya Shin, and nearly
2,000 acres in the area controled by the Mong Ko Defence Army. All of
the groups enjoy cease-fire deals with the generals in Rangoon. The
report indicated that thousands of acres of poppy fields were located in
areas directly controlled by the Burma army such as Hsenwi, Tangyan,
Kutkai, Namhkam, Mu-seh, Kunlong, and Ho-pang townships.
Australia's Federal Police may not have the same expertise in the area
of crop 'destruction' as it does in narcotic 'detection'. Perhaps, the
Taliban could be called in for the next course. Burma's Northeast
Military Command could even be invited to send a few observers.
___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
AFP: Thailand warns Myanmar dissidents ahead of junta number-three's
visit
BANGKOK, Aug 28 (AFP) - Thailand Tuesday warned Myanmar dissidents
against staging protests or disturbances during next week's visit by the
military-run nation's intelligence chief Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt.
"It would not be right for them to do that. These people are sheltering
in Thailand which has given them a warm welcome," Defence Minister
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh told reporters.
Khin Nyunt is scheduled to meet with Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra
during his September 3-5 visit which cements a return to cordial
relations after a bitter six-month-long row between the two neighbours.
The historically tense relationship with Myanmar erupted into open
hostility in February when the two national armies staged a half-day
clash sparked by skirmishes between rival ethnic militias on the border.
But even before that ties were strained by a series of incidents
involving exiles, including a siege on Myanmar's embassy in the Thai
capital.
Chavalit reiterated Thailand's policy of non-interference in Myanmar's
affairs but said the government wished for peace and prosperity for its
neighbour.
"We are not interfering, but we want to see peace in Myanmar, not only
with (democracy leader) Aung San Suu Kyi case but also with the minority
groups."
Chavalit said the contentious issues of trade, fishery, illegal labour
and the refugee problem would be tabled during the three-day visit.
On September 4 Khin Nyunt will be granted an audience with Thailand's
King Bhumibol Adulyadej at his seaside palace in Hua Hin, south of
Bangkok.
___________________________________________________
Bangkok Post: Junta leader granted audience with King
August 28, 2001
Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, secretary-one of Burma's State Peace and Development
Council, will be granted an audience with His Majesty the King in Hua
Hin during his Sept 3-5 visit.
A Defence Ministry source said the meeting was scheduled for next
Tuesday at Klaikangwon Palace. The Burmese army strongman will also meet
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Defence Minister Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh and top Thai military leaders for talks on illicit drugs,
fishing problems, minority groups and border demarcation.
The source said Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt would also visit Shin Corp's telecom
firms to gather information that would help Burma develop its
telecommunications sector.
For security reasons, Lt-Gen Khin would not decide which city hotel he
would stay in until just before his visit.
He would spend one night in Hua Hin as a guest of the Third Army Corps
commander Lt-Gen Udomchai Ongkhasingh.
The 19th Regional Border Committee Meeting will take place in Pattaya on
Sept 5-7. It will be chaired by Lt-Gen Watanachai Chaimuanwong, the
Third Army chief, and his counterpart, Maj-Gen Thein Sein, Burma's
Triangle Regional commander.
___________________________________________________
The Irrawaddy: Mediator Role Urged for Razali
By Maung Maung Oo
August 25, 2001 Burmese dissident groups based in Thailand have called
on the United Nations special envoy to Burma to step up his role in the
country?s ongoing political dialogue during a planned visit to Rangoon
early next week.
In an open letter dated August 24, three exiled opposition groups urged
Razali Ismail, the UNs special envoy to Burma, to act as "a mediator
rather than a facilitator" in the current talks between the countrys
ruling junta and National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu
Kyi.
The letter was jointly signed by the All Burma Students Democratic Front
(ABSDF), the Democratic Party for a New Society (DPNS), and the Network
for Democracy and Development (NDD).
Razali, who has visited Rangoon several times since he broke the news of
the dialogue in January, is due to return to the Burmese capital on
August 27.
Following his last trip in June, Razali offered reassurances that the
dialogue appears to be on track. He said he predicted that Burma would
have a civilian government within four years.
But after nearly a year without any visible evidence of progress, apart
from the release of some 160 political prisoners, many of whom had
actually completed their sentences, there are growing concerns that
Razalis prognosis may be overly optimistic.
Razali, a Malaysian diplomat who assumed his current position late last
year, has taken a less critical stance towards the Burmese regime than
his predecessor, Alvaro de Soto. It is now in doubt, however, whether
his approach will be any more effective in ending Burmas political
deadlock.
Fearing that the current round of talks may turn out to be mere
window-dressing for the international community, dissidents say they
hope Razali will take a more hands-on role during his upcoming visit.
"We want the UN to take more involvement in the talks," said ABSDF
spokesperson Win Naing Oo.
___________EDITORIALS/OPINION/PROPAGANDA__________
AsiaWeek: Webfiles: Remember Where You Read It First--Yes, there is
going to be a settlement in Myanmar
By ROGER MITTON
Monday, August 27, 2001
Web posted at 06:35 p.m. Hong Kong time, 06:35 a.m. GMT
Over the weekend I interviewed Chanin Vongkusolkit, the CEO of Banpu, a
leading Thai company in the power production and mining sector. As well
as operating in Thailand, Banpu has plants in Indonesia and Vietnam. "We
are also looking at Myanmar," said Chanin. "There is talk that Suu Kyi
may be brought into the government, so things can change." His comment
-- which echoes that made recently by Thailand's defense minister, Gen.
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who has close ties with his Myanmar counterparts
-- indicates how business perceptions are changing for the good as a
result of the current dialogue between pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi and the military rulers in Yangon.
After speaking to Chanin, I grabbed a taxi for a lunch appointment with
an ASEAN diplomat who tracks Myanmar affairs and whose country has a
strong intelligence network there. The diplomat told me that their
reports indicate the talks are proceeding on track and he cautioned me
not to pay any attention to the negative statements being written in the
Bangkok
press and most of the Western media. He asked me if I had heard that
Myanmar's paramount leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, had recently visited
Suu Kyi. I told him I had not. He said that his country believes the
ageing Than Shwe wants a settlement before he leaves office. I said I
agreed with that reading and I asked him if he'd heard about
speculation that Than Shwe may visit New York to address the United
Nations General Assembly after he visits the Malaysian prime minister
Mahathir Mohamad in October. He said he had not.
We both agreed that it is doubtful Than Shwe will go to New York --
unless some provisional agreement has been reached with Suu Kyi by that
date. Is it possible? The answer is: Yes, but it seems too soon. At
best, it would probably be an announcement of confidence-building steps
rather than the formation of a transitional government. Either way, the
timing would be apposite, since it would come almost exactly one year
since the dialogue began. Let us look back briefly and review the
progress coldly and dispassionately. We know the meetings began at Than
Shwe's instigation soon after Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest for
trying to take the train out of Yangon. We know that Razali Ismail, the
pointman for both Mahathir and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, helped
facilitate the
talks. And we know that Maj.-Gen. Kyaw Win (aka Ko Kyaw Win), a
sophisticated acolyte of Than Shwe, is conducting the talks for the
regime at Suu Kyi's residence. Kyaw Win and Suu Kyi are the same age and
have long known and respected each other.
We also know that since the talks began, almost 200 political prisoners
have been released, including the Aug. 26 freeing from house arrest of
top party leaders Tin Oo and Aung Shwe. We know, too, that the NLD's
headquarters and 18 other branch offices in the Yangon area have been
allowed to reopen and operate as normal. I know this personally since
I've been to the NLD office half a dozen times this year and I've spoken
to central committee members, including the go-between U Lwin, who sees
Suu Kyi every week and reports back to the party hierarchy. The regime's
scathing attacks on Suu Kyi and her party in the controlled domestic
press have ceased. For its part, the NLD has stopped holding regular
meetings at the party offices that were essentially denunciations of the
regime. So both sides are being nice to each other.
We also know that the United States and Britain, previously two of the
most vituperative critics of the regime, have not merely ceased their
own denunciations but have begun to put out conciliatory statements
about how they expect progress from the talks and how, perhaps, after
all, engagement is the way to go. The changing U.S. position is
particularly intriguing. On February 1, a brain-storming session was
held at Washington's Georgetown University -- which, for the first time
at an
American function of this sort, openly used the name Myanmar in its
subject title. Along with academics and diplomats, including the Myanmar
ambassador in Washington and the former Chinese ambassador in Yangon,
top officials from the U.S. State Department, the Pentagon and the
military services attended. Ralph "Skip" Boyce, the deputy assistant
secretary of state, was among those who spoke. Boyce is the State
Department's top man on Myanmar and previously attended both the
Chilston Park and Walker Hill meetings that attempted to thrash out a
political solution.
Soon after the Georgetown University conclave, on Feb. 26, Boyce took
off for Yangon to see Khin Nyunt and Suu Kyi. He visited both parties in
the company of the U.S. head of mission in Yangon, Priscilla Clapp, a
noted hardliner in her dealings with the regime. Yet, a little over a
month later, on April 18, Clapp gave a remarkably conciliatory speech
to the Asia Society in Washington and spoke of "rays of hope" in Myanmar
as a result of the talks between Suu Kyi and the regime. Skip Boyce
visited for a second time on Aug. 2 and again, with Clapp, spoke to both
sides engaged in the talks. There is now speculation that Secretary of
State Colin Powell may visit Yangon soon -- perhaps as a side trip from
the Shanghai APEC Summit in November (Powell spoke with top regime
officials when he attended the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Hanoi
in late July).
The British, for their part, have moved as much as the Americans. Aside
from dumping the former foreign secretary Robin Cook and his
much-maligned "ethical foreign policy," Prime Minister Tony Blair's
government has quietly begun to propound a pro-engagement line and has
now publicly stated that a carrot is being offered in the form of
substantive and specifically defined aid, social assistance, language
training and other measures if there is progress in the talks. On July
25, Blair's top foreign policy adviser in the cabinet office, Robert
Cooper, head of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office's East Asia Command,
flew to Yangon for
talks with Kyaw Win and Suu Kyi.
As one observer in Yangon said: "A man of Cooper's stature does not fly
all the way out here to check on the weather. The British know there is
movement in the talks and they don't want to be caught off guard when a
settlement is announced." Cooper was gratified at the ready access he
was granted to Suu Kyi, whom he has known since the late 1960s when he
was a junior diplomat at the British mission in New York and she worked
at the U.N. headquarters, living with a longtime friend of her father's
family, the former singer Dora Than-E.
Aside from the U.K. and U.S., other Western governments and
organizations have begun to discreetly change their stance on Myanmar.
The Brussels-based International Crisis Group, headed by the former
Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans (who was so instrumental in
bringing a political settlement to Cambodia), is now taking a strong
pro-engagement line and is critical of the sanctions policies of the
West. As well, in an astonishing unilateral act that flew in the face of
many Western governments (and of Suu Kyi, to a certain extent), the
heads of nine United Nations organizations based in Yangon signed a June
30 appeal for increased humanitarian aid to Myanmar. The U.N. reps
pointed out the grotesque inequity of the situation whereby Myanmar
receives only $1 per capita annually compared to $68 for Laos, which has
an even more despotic regime.
Clearly this situation is going to change in tandem with the progress
made in the talks. Already some aid bodies are taking the lead - the
International Organization for Migration said in July that it will set
up a field presence in Myanmar. It will be needed -- particularly in
light of changing Thai policies. The new Thaksin Shinawatra government
in Bangkok, which is adopting a robust, commerce-driven engagement
initiative with Yangon, has made it clear that refugees on its side of
the border will have to return to Myanmar. They can go voluntarily or
they will be moved back. This month, Thailand's National Security
Council secretary-general Khajadpai Buruspatana said bluntly : "Our
policy is to close the camps and send the refugees back home."
We must also factor in visits to Yangon by senior East Asian officials
to update themselves on the talks. Recently, top Japanese foreign
ministry officials, including Kunihiko Makita, the director-general of
the ministry's Bureau of Asia & Oceania, and Taeko Takahashi, head of
the
Southeast Asia desk, met both sides in the dialogue. Others nipping in
to check on what's happening have included Hisashi Owada of Japan's
Institute of International Affairs, and Tomomitsu Iwakura, senior
adviser of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Right now, is there on
his fifth trip, this one a 4-day visit to ginger the talks along. Soon
after, the International Labor Organization will send in a team which
will have unprecedented permission to travel the country and assess
whether forced labor has really been eradicated as the regime contends.
As well, a European Union delegation will revisit, as will the U.N.
Human Rights Rapporteur, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro. After his first visit in
April, Pinheiro said: "There are several signs that indicated evolution
leading to an eventual political opening." Those signs are even more
manifest today - and, as the flurry of visits indicates, they are
growing stronger by the day. That is why Banpu's Chanin and other
business leaders in the region are already starting to look at Myanmar
for possible investment.
Well, that'll do for now. In the second part to follow soon, I'll let
you know exactly why all these people are changing their tack and flying
into Yangon to find out what's happening. In other words, I'll tell you
what the talks are all about and when we can expect an accord to be
signed. And remember, when it is announced, when the rest of the world's
press report that it is a surprise -- you will be able to say, Hey, no,
it's not a surprise at all. I read about it in detail in Asiaweek long
ago. When I wrote on May 31 that by the end of this year "a settlement
will have been reached between the government and Aung San Suu Kyi," the
cynical response from the former British ambassador to Thailand, Derek
Tonkin, was: "Oh, yeah?" I have one word for Mr. Tonkin: "Yeah."
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