BurmaNet News: October 28 2002

[editor at burmanet.org]

October 28 2002 Issue #2111

INSIDE BURMA

Reuters: UN envoy urges Myanmar to free all political prisoners
DVB: Magazines banned
Irrawaddy: New Kachin committee formed, autonomy questioned
Zoland Online: Aung San Suu Kyi to visit Chin Hills
AFP: UN rights calls for Red Cross presence in Myanmar troublespots
AFP:  UN rights envoy meets Myanmar’s Suu Kyi again to conclude mission

HEALTH

Newsweek: The blood ties that bind

GUNS

SHAN: 70 merit-makesr blown to death in southern Shan State
Kao Wao: Mon leader shot dead by splinter group
DVB: Rape in the festival

DRUGS

DPA: US pledges to help Thailand block flow of Myanmar heroin
New Light of Myanmar: Seized narcotic drugs, precursor chemicals and poppy
seeds destroyed in Lashio
Xinhua: Myanmar destroys 18 tons of poppy seeds

MONEY

AFP: ICFTU issues blacklist of foreign firms backing Myanmar regime

INTERNATIONAL

AP: Police investigating mail bomb sent to Myanmar Embassy Tokyo

__INSIDE BURMA__

Reuters
October 29 2002

U.N. envoy urges Myanmar to free all political prisoners
By Aung Hla Tun

A U.N. human rights envoy ended a 11-day visit to Myanmar on Monday
calling for the unconditional release of all political prisoners to spur
progress towards dialogue in a country ruled by the military.
Brazilian academic Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said around 400 political
prisoners had been freed by the ruling generals over the last two years
but another 800 still languished in jail.
"The unconditional release of all political prisoners is essential for any
substantive political dialogue," Pinheiro told a news conference before
leaving the country for Thailand.
Myanmar is keen to improve its image and attract foreign investment to
shore up its moribund economy but faces sanctions by the United States and
European countries for its human rights record and its treatment of the
pro-democracy opposition.
Diplomats say any easing of sanctions will depend on progress towards
democracy and reconciliation between the junta and Aung San Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
The NLD won the country's last elections in 1990 by a landslide but has
never been allowed to govern by the military which has been in power for
four decades.
The military has repeatedly said it is moving towards democracy, but to
prevent unrest the process cannot be rushed.
Suu Kyi was released from 19 months of house arrest in May, raising hopes
of political reform. But despite heavy pressure from several neighbouring
countries, there have so far been no signs of real change.
NO ROAD-MAP YET
Pinheiro met both sides during his 10-day visit and was asked by reporters
to assess of the chances of political reform.
"I don't have my crystal ball," he replied, but added:
"From all sides we see some moves in terms of contacts and in terms of
exchange of information between the government and the NLD. I think this
is something I have to take note of."
He said Myanmar needed "a road-map" for substantive dialogue, setting out
the objectives of both sides: "My perception is that we are not yet at
that moment."
But he said moves to democracy always took time. In his own country,
Brazil, the transition to democracy was "a very long process". The process
should go step by step, he said.
The junta invited Pinheiro to visit to dispel allegations of human rights
abuses, including systematic rape by the army of women and girls from
ethnic minority groups.
Washington criticised the junta this month after a report from two
minority rights groups said Myanmar troops had raped at least 625 girls
and women between 1996 and 2001 in Shan state in the east of the country.
Pinheiro made no direct comment on the allegations but said the military
should allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) into "all
conflict areas".
"The ICRC could then assess the humanitarian situation on an on-going
basis, report confidentially to the authorities and work out with them
appropriate measures to ensure the security and protection of the civilian
population," he said.
Pinheiro plans to visit Myanmar again in February
_______

Democratic Voice of Burma
October 25 2002

Magazines banned

The publication permits for two popular magazines were withdrawn and they
were each ordered to stop publishing for a month by the SPDC censorship
board. The reason is - Han Thit (New Style) published the poem of a dead
poet, Maung Chaw Nwe which refers to another poet, Ko Lay (Inn-wa Gonye).
Literary works of Ko Lay and Kyi Aung are prohibited by the board from
being published the reason being, attending and participating in a
literary meeting organised by the NLD, and magazines are forbidden to
mention their names. Similarly, Beauty Magazine was punished for featuring
an advertisement of a Thai company.
_____

Irrawaddy
October 28 2002

New Kachin Committee Formed, Autonomy Questioned
By Naw Seng

October 28, 2002—A five-day conference held in Burma’s Kachin State last
week has yielded a new committee, which has ostensibly been created to
improve life there, say conference delegates. However, sources inside and
outside Burma say the new Kachin Consultative Committee is actually being
steered by the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).
The conference, while being hailed as an historic event by some, is seen
by others as a mere manipulation of the Kachin people by the SPDC.
Delegates released a statement after the completion of the conference in
Laiza, Kachin State that outlined the committee’s objectives, while
demanding that the SPDC convene a second National Convention. Analysts,
however, say this should be the job of the opposition National League for
Democracy (NLD) and not the country’s military government.
"We oppose the committee's objectives because they show no sign of
accepting the 1990 election results," said Awng Wa, chairperson of the
Kachin People's Party. "Rejuvenating the National Convention is out of the
question."
The All Kachin Student and Youth Union (AKSYU) also voiced its skepticism
over the decision to ask the regime to oversee a new National Convention.
"The National Convention couldn't be held without the NLD. We think this
event was a trick of the junta and two Kachin cease-fire groups," said an
AKSYU executive committee member.
One conference delegate told The Irrawaddy that there is a real
possibility the committee will come directly under the regime’s control.
"The committee could become a tool of the junta," said one Kachin leader
from the conference. "Because most of the key posts are held by people
with close ties to the junta."
One KIO officer when asked about the committee’s objectives was quite
vague, saying only the committee’s role was "to do good things". He added
that it remained unclear how this would be implemented.
Sources from Laiza also said that most delegates were too scared to
propose any ideas after Sahkong Ting Ying, leader of the New Democratic
Army-Kachin (NDA-K), said the group must continue to collaborate with the
SPDC. Many conference delegates are members of Kachin ceasefire groups,
who now maintain friendly relations with the regime.
Sumlut Naw, a former dean at Myitkyina Degree College, is the committee’s
chairperson. The gen-sec is Dr Tu Ja, who is also the gen-sec of the
Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). Other KIO leaders and members of
the NDA-K are on the committee’s advisory board alongside Rev Saboi Jum.
Saboi Jum is the leader of the Kachin Baptist Church (KBC), and is known
to have close ties with the regime.
The committee is comprised of more than 20 members, and other sub
committees were also formed during the convention—including a media
committee. Rev Saboi Jum’s younger brother Khun Myat, who also acts as a
cease-fire broker for the SPDC, is chairing this committee.
_______

Zoland Online
October 26 2002

Aung San Suu Kyi to visit Chin Hills

Reliable source from Rangoon confirmed that Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's
democratic leader, will visit Chin Hills, the western frontier state of
Union of Burma within the next few months. It will be the first visit of a
Burmese leader to the Chin State. Gen.Aung San, the father of Suu Kyi was
arrested by the Brithisth colonials in 1941 when he talked about the
future of Chin Hills in his speach. "My father had wanted to visit the
Chin Hills but the coudn't make due to his untimely death" said Aung San
Suu Kyi.

Although the date for the visit is not decided, sources from the Chin
Hills speculated that, Suu Kyi will visit the state before the end of
2002 or early in 2003.During the visit, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will re-open
NLD offices in the Chin State which were closed by the military
government.  NLD party which won the 1990 General Election by 80% vote
across the country won 5 Parliamentary seats out of 13 seats in the Chin
State; 3 to the Chin National League for Democracy(CNLD) , 2 to the Zomi
National Congress(ZNC) and others as independant and the Newin's NUP
party.

Chin Hills became part ot the Union of Burma in the 1947 under the Panlong
Agreeement signed by the Chiefs of Chin Hills and Gen. Aung San, the
father of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi .
_______

Agence France-Presse
October 28 2002

UN rights envoy calls for Red Cross presence in Myanmar troublespots

UN human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro on Monday urged the Myanmar
junta to allow the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) to
monitor troublespots where it is accused of rights abuses.

During his 11-day mission to Myanmar which concludes Monday, Pinheiro
declined an invitation to visit Shan state where activists groups have
claimed rape is being used as a weapon of war against ethnic minority
women.

"A short visit would be inappropriate to conduct a comprehensive
assessment," he told reporters. "(Instead) I urged the authorities to
consider allowing an adequate presence of the International Committee of
the Red Cross in all conflict areas of the country."

Pinheiro said the ICRC could assess the humanitarian situation on an
ongoing basis, report to the government and devise ways to ensure the
security and protection of the civilian population.

The envoy, who is visiting Myanmar for the fourth time, said the ICRC was
already working closely with the junta and had made 200 visits to 80
prisons since being allowed to operate in the country two years ago.

Pinheiro said that during his mission he had looked into a range of rights
abuse allegations including charges that the military was forcibly
recruiting child soldiers.

US-based watchdog Human Rights Watch said earlier this month that it
believed more than a fifth of the soldiers serving in Myanmar's army could
be under the age of 18 and that some were forced to participate in
atrocities.

The envoy also said that during visits to some of Myanmar's toughest jails
he met with a range of prisoners to check on the treatment they were
receiving.

"The conditions in the prisons were very harsh but the prisoners I spoke
to, both political prisoners as well as students, told me they had not
been subjected to any kind of cruelty," he said.

Myanmar's junta had been hoping that Pinheiro's visit could help clear the
air after a series of damning reports, including the rape allegations,
which portrayed the regime as a gross human rights abuser.

Pinheiro said the government had given him its full cooperation and that
no one he had spoken with had suffered any retaliation.

"This was a condition I set and if the conditions had not been met I would
have gone straight to the airport," he said.

But the Brazilian academic gave few other details on his findings, saying
he would give a full briefing to the United Nations on November 6.

After two meetings with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, including one
on Monday, the envoy said that efforts to introduce political reform in
Myanmar were not proceeding "as fast as either you or I wish it to go".

"I see some movement in terms of contacts and exchange of information"
between the government and Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy, he said.

"But for political transition to occur, you need political negotiations."

Pinheiro is due to travel to Thailand late Monday where he will
investigate the Shan rape allegations and also meet with UN special envoy
Razali Ismail who brokered landmark talks between Aung San Suu Kyi and the
junta in October 2000.
 _____________

Agence France Presse
October 28 2002

UN rights envoy meets Myanmar's Suu Kyi again to conclude mission

UN human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro met Myanmar's democracy
campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday as one of his last tasks before
ending an 11-day mission to the military-ruled country.

Pinheiro spent over an hour with the Nobel peace laureate and other
leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) at the party's Yangon
headquarters, witnesses said. As he left the building, the UN envoy
declined to comment on the talks ahead of a press briefing scheduled here
at 4:00 pm (0930 GMT) Monday.

It was Pinheiro's second meeting with the opposition leader during his
fourth trip to Myanmar, which was aimed at assessing the human rights
situation in the country.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released in May from 19 months of house arrest,
has since October 2000 been engaged in a UN-brokered dialogue with the
ruling junta which is aimed at shifting the country towards democracy.

Since his arrival here on October 17, the Brazilian academic has also held
talks with top members of the junta, opposition, religious and ethnic
minority parties, as well as UN personnel and diplomats.

He also interviewed inmates at a number of Myanmar's prisons, including
Yangon's notorious Insein jail, and told reporters they had some
complaints about their treatment.

Pinheiro is to leave for Bangkok late Monday. In Thailand, he will travel
to the northern city of Chiang Mai to investigate allegations that ethnic
Shan women inside Myanmar have been subjected to systematic rape by the
military.
___HEALTH_____

Newsweek
October 28 2002

The Blood Ties That Bind

By Melinda Liu; With Stephanie Ollivier

Minorities with AIDS carry a double stigma. When will Beijing see that the
virus doesn't discriminate?

At first, Ruili seems a lot like any other provincial Chinese town. You
might not even guess you were teetering on the very edge of the Chinese
Empire. Members of China's ethnic majority, the Han, are a minority in
this little city on Yunnan's Burmese border. Still, that fact isn't
particularly noticeable. Almost everyone on the street is wearing
Western-style clothes, except for a few men in traditional Burmese
sarongs. But something is not right, and eventually it sinks in. "The
place is filled with junkies," says a woman who has lived here for 12
years. "It's easy to recognize them. They're incredibly thin, and they
look like all the blood has disappeared from their faces."

It's worse in Jiegao, a few minutes outside town and right on the Burma
border. Heroin use appears completely out of control there. Users sprawl
in lanes just off the main drag, injecting themselves. Local police seem
to have given up trying to stop them. According to one denizen of Jiegao's
alleys, as many as 10 addicts will share a needle before tossing it into
the weeds--sometimes to be retrieved and used yet again by a desperate
junkie. Aren't they afraid of AIDS? "There is no AIDS problem in China,"
insists the 38-year-old manager of a local massage parlor. "Or at least
very few people with AIDS." He could hardly be more wrong. There's no
monument to commemorate the event--unless you count gravestones--but Ruili
has earned a place in Chinese history. This is where the country's first
major HIV outbreak was discovered in 1989. Back then, public-health
officials were horrified when blood tests revealed that nearly 150 local
heroin users, most of them members of the Dai minority, were infected with
the virus. U.N. epidemiologists now estimate that up to 80 percent of the
city's intravenous drug users are HIV-positive, along with many of the
prostitutes working at karaoke and massage parlors. Meanwhile, the disease
has been spread across China by dirty needles, tainted blood and unsafe
sex to untold numbers of people.

The actual count is anybody's guess. At a September 2002 press conference,
the Beijing government upwardly revised the total from 850,000 to 1
million, but no one believes that figure. Publicly, the United Nations
Theme Group on HIV/AIDS in China says that unless the government takes
drastic steps to control the disease, it could infect as many as 10
million by 2010. But privately, some U.N. health officials concede that
the country may have 6 million cases today, and that number could balloon
to 20 million by 2010. The September press conference was perhaps the
central government's strongest admission to date that China faces a
crisis. While calling on international organizations to provide needed
assistance, a Chinese Health Ministry official also indicated the
government would start manufacturing generic AIDS drugs if Western
patentholders did not lower their prices by the end of the year. But
Beijing's attention still seems trained on the cities and hinterland, not
on China's far-flung regions that its minorities call home.

From the start, the border regions--and the ethnic minorities that are
most numerous there--have been on the front lines. As of 2000, the most
recent year for which figures are available, 51 percent of all known HIV
cases in China were in Yunnan, where the epidemic first appeared-and where
52 of China's 55 minority groups are represented. An additional 37 percent
of the cases were on the Central Asian frontier in the Xinjiang Uighur
autonomous region, where 62 percent of the population is non-Han. Some of
Xinjiang's heroin comes from Afghanistan instead of Burma, but a shared
needle doesn't care where the poppies grow. In both provinces, the
epidemic has found perfect breeding conditions: an abundance of poverty,
illiteracy, intravenous drugs and prostitution. China's population is 91
percent Han, but according to UNAIDS, most HIV cases have been among the
non-Han minorities, including the Uighurs of Xinjiang and the hill tribes
of Yunnan.

It's a topic that scares Chinese officials speechless. They're unwilling
to talk publicly about any connection between ethnic minorities and AIDS.
More than 70,000 Chinese are currently in detention as drug suspects.
Asked what percentage of them are non-Han, a Public Security Ministry
spokesman says only, "Those statistics aren't supposed to be public."
Since September 2001, NEWSWEEK has been seeking government permission to
conduct interviews on the epidemic in Xinjiang; as this issue went to
press, every request had been denied. The reticence is not surprising. The
last thing China's leaders want is to stir up more resentment among
restive ethnic groups. "[There could be] race riots if people thought the
virus was spreading through minority communities and the government wasn't
doing enough about it," says one international NGO worker.

So far, many authorities clearly have not done enough. Some remote local
governments have only begun to allow proper testing and publication of
statistics on the disease. And Beijing has been painfully slow in applying
its massive propaganda apparatus to the lifesaving job of AIDS education.
"Millions of Chinese have never heard the word AIDS," says the U.N.
report. Even when materials on HIV/AIDS prevention are available, they are
often written in Chinese, not in the minority languages that most people
speak in the hardest-hit areas.

Still, human nature runs deeper than any public-service campaign. The
highways and commercial centers of Xinjiang are crowded with Pakistani
truckers, Russian toy buyers and Azerbaijani textile traders, most of them
male, lonely and a long way from home. "In remote areas a truck stop is
basically a gas station, a restaurant and a whorehouse," says Dru Gladney
of the University of Hawaii, author of "Muslim Chinese." That's
practically the basis of some counties' economies. At a nightspot in
Urumqi, an attractive young Uighur talks about life there. She left her
northern Xinjiang home a year ago. "If my parents knew what I was doing,
they'd beat me," she says. "They think I work in a clothing shop." She and
the other women at the club, most of them Han Chinese, earn at least $12 a
night for a few hours of singing and coaxing patrons to buy drinks. For
$45 and up, a hostess will chu tai, or "leave the perch"-go out of the
club and have sex. The young woman says she knows about AIDS and always
uses condoms. So is she carrying one this evening? She shrugs, smiling
sheepishly. No.

Now the virus is breaking through to the Han majority. Fortunately, its
emergence is bringing a new sense of compassion. Just outside Kunming in
Yunnan province, sculptor Wei Kunhua, 54, has been working with county
officials to set up a residence for HIV patients on the grounds of an old
factory. He calls it the Sunflower Community. His daughter, Ping, and his
son, Xiang, both got hooked on heroin in the mid-'90s. Both contracted the
virus. Ping, 32, kicked the habit six years ago, and neither her husband
nor their young son is infected. "Drugs are worse than HIV," she says.
"With HIV you can live a normal life. You can't do that on drugs." Xiang,
29, went missing in April 2002 after an argument with his father. Wei
wonders if his son is still alive. Ping says her brother had begun to show
symptoms of full-blown AIDS before he disappeared.

Even now, few non-Han HIV patients are willing to speak out. They bear a
double burden of prejudice, attached to their ethnic identity and the
virus. An AIDS activist and former addict in Urumqi, who is Han, says he
endured years of discrimination after he learned he was HIV-positive in
1996. His family was so ostracized that he had to leave home. For their
sake he doesn't want to be quoted by name. Nevertheless, he says the
public is starting to show more tolerance. He openly wears the red ribbon
of the worldwide fight against AIDS, and he spent the summer of 2002
setting up an Urumqi office for Mangrove, a Beijing-based HIV support
group. "Now officials will at least meet me and even shake my hand," he
says. "Considering what I've experienced, this is progress."

Attitudes are evolving. Television stations in Urumqi recently aired an
HIV/AIDS awareness program in both Chinese and Uighur. "Students learned a
lot from the program," says Zuo Shulan of Xinjiang's Children's
Development Center, which wrote the script. Part of the hourlong broadcast
was framed as a game show. ("Right! You can't become infected from
mosquito bites!") Another segment featured two HIV patients calmly
discussing the infection-and quietly driving home the lesson that people
with HIV/AIDS are still people.

Beijing may finally be confronting the crisis in its minority communities.
The central government ordered a crackdown on illicit blood vendors, is
beginning needle-exchange programs and has authorized a Western-style
drug-rehab center. The Futures Group, a British-based consultancy,
predicts that as many as 12 million Chinese could die of AIDS by 2010--or
as few as 2 million. The outcome depends entirely on whether the
government acts quickly and firmly or whether the infection is allowed to
go unchallenged. For now, everyone lives in Ruili.
___GUNS_____

Shan Herald Agency for News
October 27 2002

70 merit-makers blown to death in southern Shan State

Sources coming from across Chiangmai said two Burmese shells killed 70
people observing Buddhist Lent in the southern town of Mongnai, 92 miles
southeast of Taunggyi.

The shells, believed by the sources to be fired from the Light Infantry
Battalion #518 command post, at 23:00, on the night of 14 October,
coinciding with the 8th Waxing Moon of the 11th Lunar Month, a traditional
day of religious observance, also destroyed part of the Sala Kao-hawng (9
room-pavilion) at Pawmong Quarter, Mongnai's northernmost suburb and
wounded 21 others.

The dead included 6 men and 64 women in addition to 2 men and 19 women who
were injured. So far, S.H.A.N. could only obtain three names: Zarng Mawng,
62, headman; Heng Yong, 56 and Awng Pay, 36.

Sources who were in Thailand to inform their relatives working there said
they had no idea why the killings occurred. "Our elders have already
notified the local authorities but no one has come out to explain or take
any action yet," complained a woman.

There are two Burmese battalions in Mongnai: IB 248, located north of the
town and LIB 518 down south.

Regardless of the proximity to IB 248, the townspeople confirmed that the
shells came from the direction of LIB 518. "They left a hole 2 cubits (1
meter) deep and 3 cubits (1 1/2 meters) wide," said one.

Mongnai is a historic town, founded according to palace records in BC. 519
and the former seat of one of the biggest princely states of Federal Shan
States, the former name of Shan State.
_______

Kao Wao
October 28 2002

MON LEADER SHOT DEAD BY SPLINTER GROUP
By Kun Yekha

A senior leader of the New Mon State Party and five Mons were shot dead by
the splinter group while sleeping near the headquarters.

Last night at about 12:00, the New Mon State Party leader Nai Min Htut was
ambushed by the Hongsarwatoi Restoration Party (HRP) and died at spot with
other three members and two civilian near the Headquarters.  The three
NMSP members were Nai Tun Tun, 70, Nai Myan Aung, 42, and Nai Yuan Aung,
21. The group had just returned from a conference held in Tavoy District
in preparation for the party's conference.

Nai Min Htut was ambushed by the HRP armed group led by Nai Khin Maung at
Pnang Bane village check-point near Nyisar refugee camp in the NMSP
control area. A person in charge of the checkpoint, two NMSP soldiers and
two civilians were killed while sleeping for a night rest.

The Honsawatoi Restoration Party (HRP) is led by Col Pan Nyunt, a former
member of the NMSP who formed the group last year after accusing the NMSP
leadership of colluding with the regime after signing a cease-fire
agreement in June 1995. On June 24, 2002, HRP group lead by Nai Khin Maung
kidnapped the General Secretary of the NMSP Nai Rot Sa.
Nai Min Htut, 61 years old, is a Central Executive Committee member and
Head of the Administration Department.  The well respected intellectual
Mon leader joined the armed movement from Mudone Village, Chaung Zone
Island of Mon State in early 1970's and holds several positions including
the Battalion Commander and Head of District.
_______

Democratic Voice of Burma
October 25 2002

Rape in the festival

It is reported that a ten year old girl was raped by a SDPC soldier at
Magwe's Myatthalun Pagoda Festival yesterday evening. The soldier is from
LIB 317 based at Magwe.
The police caught him red-handed near the pagoda and handed him over to
the military authority. The local people are reported to be infuriated by
the incident.
The victim is being examined and treated in Magwe Hospital.

_____DRUGS_______

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
October 28 2002

U.S. pledges to help Thailand block flow of Myanmar heroin

A White House drug control officer has reaffirmed Washington's support for
Thailand's efforts to block the flow of an estimated 80 tons of heroin
expected to enter the kingdom this year, mainly from Myanmar (Burma), a
report said Monday.

The bulk of the heroin, refined from opium grown by hilltribe farmers in
eastern Myanmar, is destined for users in North America and Europe,
according to narcotics control officials. Barry Crane, deputy director of
the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, inspected
anti-drug operations in the border districts of Mae Ai and Mae Rim in
Chiang Mai province, 500 kilometres north of Bangkok, over the weekend and
was briefed by Thai army and police officials involved in the war on
drugs.

"I always feel like Asia is my home," Crane was quoted by the Bangkok Post
as saying during his inspection tour. "And I worry about the spread of
narcotics in this region, especially in Thailand where teenagers have drug
addiction problems."

He was told that the United Wa State Army (UWSA), which is believed to
control much of the opium poppy production and smuggling inside Myanmar,
was very active along Thailand's northern border.

Crane reportedly expressed doubt about the Myanmar government's claims to
be fighting against the booming narcotics trade along the border. Yangon's
(Rangoon's) ruling junta is officially allied to the UWSA.

Pitthaya Jinawat, director of Thailand's Northern Narcotics Control
centre, said he expected the U.S. government to increase its support for
Thailand's campaign to block more than 80 tons of heroin from entering
Thailand this year.

The Thai Narcotics Control Board has forecast that about 72 tons of the
heroin would be smuggled from Myanmar, with the remaining eight tons
coming from Laos.
_______

New Light of Myanmar
October 28 2002

Seized narcotic drugs, precursor chemicals and poppy seeds destroyed in
Lashio, Shan State (Norrth)
Poppy seeds destroyed could have grown on about 100,000 acres with
expected yield of 43 tons of opium
Yangon,, 27 Oct - The second ceremony to destroy narcotic drugs, precursor
chemicals and poppy seeds seized in Shan State (North), organized by the
Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control, was held at the sports ground in
Lashio, Shan State (North), at 4 pm on 25 October, attended by Chairman of
the Work Committee for Development of Border Areas and National Races
Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council General Khin Nyunt.
Members of Lashio Township USDA Daw Than Than Htay and Daw Shwe Aye acted
as masters of ceremonies. First, Commander Brig-Gen Myint Hlaing made a
speech. In his speech, he said the first ceremony to destroy seized
narcotic drugs and poppy seeds was held at the Lashio Sports Ground on 7
June 2002 and the present was the second time. It is known to all that
Myannar had been under the colonial rule and due to divide-and-rule
policy, the internal insurgency occurred after regaining the independence
and due to the evil legacy of the colonialists, cultivation of poppy has
existed.
The Government in cooperation with the entire national people has been
making relentless and sustained efforts in preventing the scourge of
narcotic drugs, the evil legacy but some countries which could not bear to
see the national development and peace and tranquility are turning a blind
eye to the authentic facts and have been manufacturing fabrications
concerning narcotic drugs with the use of media to tarnish the image of
Tatmadaw and the people in the eyes of international community. The entire
national people, hand in hand with the Government, have been making
resolute efforts in narcotic drug eradication. Due to relentless efforts
of the national races and measures taken by the national race leaders out
of goodwill for prevention of narcotic drug and reducing of poppy
production, the farmers have handed over their poppy seeds and poppy
bulbs, thus contributing to destruction of poppy seeds.
The Government is making efforts with added momentum for eradication of
narcotic drug as well as cultivation of poppy-substitute crops, and
considerable assistance was provided to the farmers who earned their
living by growing poppy in the past. As a result, K 42.5 million has been
spent on cultivation of poppy-substitute crops.
In accord with the guidance of the Head of State and under the supervision
of the command and Shan State Peace and Development Council, efforts are
being made with the help of the ministry concerned for distributing
poppy-substitute crops to farmers and land reclamation has been carried
out for cultivation of pigeon peas, tea, coffee, thus further contributing
to boosting their income and enhancing their living standard. Similarly,
in livestock breeding sector, efforts are being made for breeding of pigs,
poultry and keeping bees up to commercial scale after setting up large
farms and technology has been disseminated and quality strains distributed
to national organizations and local farmers.
The narcotic drugs, poppy seeds, precursor chemicals and paraphernalia to
be destroyed today are 2712.5 Pyi of poppy seeds, 35256 Pyi of dry opium
bulbs, 4487 kilos of heroin, 383.18 kilos of raw opium, 3 kilos of
morphine powder. 16.33 kilos of opium residue, two kilos of stimulant
tablets, 8.7 kilos of stimulant tablet powder, 115 kilos of ephedrine, 3,
530.76 litres of chemical liquid, 7,089 items used in shredding poppy, 65
items used in consuming opium and other paraphernalia. The commander
expressed his firm belief that measures could have to be taken in turing
the Shan State (North) into the drug free region based on combined efforts
of the State, the entire national people and the national race leaders
enlisting the strength of the Tatmadaw in response to the goodwill of the
Head of State.
Minister Col Thein Nyunt delivered an address. He said I believe that the
occasion today is significant and will remain as a milestone in the
history of Myanmar's efforts to combat narcotic drugs. The unscrupulous
elements have made attempts to have a long existence of the internal
insurgency and poppy cultivation, the two evil legacies of the
colonialists. In addition, they have been encouraging external
encroachments, that contributed to production of narcotic drugs. After the
Tatmadaw Government took over the State power in 1988, the policy of
national unity was laid down stressing priority in national solidarity,
development of the border areas and the national races.
As a result of realizing the Government's objectives with sincere
intentions, 17 armed groups have returned to the legal fold. This
unprecedented success laid open for the first time in the
post-independence period, opportunities and success to all round
development programmes in the entire country and fulfillment of the basic
needs of the inhabitants of the border regions. Since peace and stability
was established, access to far-flung and remote places made possible to
carry out prevention and suppression of opium production. As a result of
the changing situation, it can be said that narcotic drugs will be
eliminated gradually, if the regions will develop.
In accordance with the changing situation, the Head of State laid down the
two strategies for narcotic drugs elimination in Myanmar, - to designate
narcotic drug eradication and prevention as a national responsibility and
to carry out this responsibility with added momentum; and - to gradually
eliminate poppy cultivation by raising the standard of living of the
national races in the border areas. The drug problems of Myanmar are not
only dependent on and inter-related with stability, peace, development and
solidarity among the national races but also combined with the regional
development, education, health and social development, and development of
the life of the inhabitants of the regions.
As the eradication of drugs has been carried out focusing on the
development of fundamental needs and infrastructure development, the local
inhabitants and ethnic groups realizing the sincere intentions of the
Government have fully cooperated with the programmes. Mongla Special
Region-4 in the Eastern Shan State, emerged as an opium free zone in
April, 1997 and this stands testimony to this successful cooperation.
Acknowledging the Government's sincere efforts, the leaders of the
national race groups have joined hands with the government in constructing
roads, bridges, canals, dams, hydro-power stations and communications
stations as the fundamental items to develop the border region and the
national races as well as development of opium-substitute crops
cultivation, livestock breeding, education, health sectors and educative
courses with a view to strengthening solidarity and unity among the ethnic
brethren.
While educating the farmers to grow opium- substitute crops instead of
poppy, substitute crops seeds that are appropriate to the areas and
climate are distributed for cultivation on the other hand. On realizing
the sincere intention of the Government, the opium farmers, on their own
accord, have come up voluntarily to hand over poppy seeds and bulbs that
have kept for the next season. To date, 61,323 pyis of poppy seeds and
dried 78,505 pyis of poppy bulbs in Shan State (North), 8,908 pyis of
poppy seeds in Shan State (South), 864.699 pyis of poppy seeds and nine
pyis of dried poppy bulbs in Shan State (East), 23.44 pyis of poppy seeds
in Kayah State, 2,013 pyis of poppy seeds in Mandalay Division, 53.875
pyis of poppy seeds in Kachin State, totalling 78,736.764 pyis of poppy
seeds and 19,749.75 pyis of dried poppy bulbs have been voluntarily
presented to the authorities. A total of 98,486.514 pyis of poppy seeds
that would be changed from dried poppy bulbs were surrendered. In this
way, such quantity of seeds that would be grown in over 98,486.514 acres
of land and production of opium 43.34 tons have been prevented.
The local populace has been active not only in crop substitution and
alternative development activities but also in law enforcement activities
like collecting information, investigation and destruction. In Laukkai
region, they have formed drug suppression teams on their own and from 1st
to 15th of April 2002, a total of 52 paraphernalia was discovered and
seized from the valleys and mountains. In addition, 41 kilos of heroin was
seized in Wa region during the period between July and September 2002. It
is the indication that the local residents had been fully cooperating with
the Government. With regard to drugs control, Myanmar has been cooperating
very closely with neighbouring countries as well as countries in the
sub-regions and region.
As per bilateral cooperation, Myanmar and China under the cross-border
cooperation project, liaison offices have been opened Lweje on the 31st
October 2000 and in Chin Shwe Haw on the 11th March 2001 respectively. For
improvement of Myanmar-China Narcotic Drugs Elimination Cooperation, NNCC
of the People's Republic of China donated 11 tons of potato seeds, 600
kilos of Chinese-pea and 400 kilos of green pea for opium-substitute
cultivation programme in Shan State Special Region-1, Kokang Region in
Laukkai, on 15 October 2002 under the arrangements of Public Security
Minister Jia Chunwang of the People's Republic of China and Chairman of
CCDAC Minister for Home Affairs Col Tin Hlaing.
In addition, within 2001-2002, Myanmar handed over drug traffickers wanted
in China for nine times. Documents were handed over once. In this regard,
13 drug culprits and two drug traffickers seized were handed over to China
by Wa on their own arrangements. Such events have clearly proved that
Myanmar is very serious and deeply taking part in combating drugs.
International media has picked up such incidents. The above presentation
in the efforts and success of drug control covers only some of the
activities on drugs elimination and the standing of our country.
In conclusion, I would like to express here that this second Destruction
Ceremony to destroy the poppy seeds, seized drugs, chemicals and
paraphernalia seized in Lashio and Laukkai regions, Shan State (North),
clearly indicates the result of the commitment and full cooperation of the
local inhabitants. If the local inhabitants take part in and show
enthusiasm in this sort of cooperation, I am fully confident the drug
scourge threatening the whole mankind will not find a place on the soil of
Myanmar.
Then, the Secretary-1 and party, guests and national race leaders viewed
the drugs, poppy seeds and precursor chemicals to be destroyed in the
sports ground.
Afterwards, the Secretary-1, Lt-Gen Aung Htwe, the commander, the
minister, national race leaders, who returned to the legal fold, Mr
Tomomitsu Iwakura and Professor Akio Ujihara took positions at the
designated places and pressed the buttons to set fire to the drugs.
Those present also took part in destruction drugs. Then, the Secretary-1
and party and guests viewed the drugs being ablaze. The Secretary-1 and
party and guests observed the documentary photos on activities of narcotic
drug elimination in Shan State (North) and the ceremony came to an end.
The drugs destroyed at the ceremony were 2,712.5 pyis of poppy seeds,
35,256 pyis of dried poppy bulbs (18,822.77 kilos), 44.87 kilos of heroin,
383.18 kilos of raw opium, three kilos of morphine, two kilos of stimulant
tablets, 8.70 kilos of stimulant power, 115 kilos of Ephedrine, 16.33
kilos of opium residue, 120 kilos of acetic anhydride, 883.85 litres of
ethyl ether, 727.36 litres of ethyl, four litres of hydrochloric acid,
90.80 litres of phenyl, 1,704 litres of sulphuric acid, 60 kilos of sodium
carbonate and 13 kinds of related materials. Altogether 18,823 kilos of
poppy seeds destroyed today can be put 11,526 acres of land under poppy
cultivation and if refined, five tons of heroin with the face value of US$
1,070 million can be obtained.
________
Xinhua News Agency
October 28 2002

Myanmar destroys 18 tons of poppy seeds

YANGON, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) --The Myanmar authorities destroyed a total of
18.82 tons of poppy seeds, turned in by growers, in Lashio, northern Shan
state of the country, last Friday, The New Light of Myanmar reported
Monday.

It was the second time the destruction had been carried out in Lashio by
the country's Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control under its new poppy
seed exchange project which began last May. The official newspaper said
the destruction has prevented cultivation of 11,526 acres (4,668 hectares)
of poppy field and the opium output which can be refined into five tons of
heroin with the face value of 1.07 billion US dollars.

The authorities burned up a total of 114.71 tons of poppy seeds, turned in
by growers, in Lashio and Laukkai for the first time in June.

The poppy seed exchange project is reported to have been designed to
encourage such exchange by growers for seven kinds of alternative
agricultural seeds including rice, wheat, maize and corn.

Myanmar started implementing a 15-year drug elimination plan in 1999,
covering 54 drug cultivating and producing townships.

___MONEY___

Agence France-Presse
October 28 2002

ICFTU issues blacklist of foreign firms backing Myanmar regime

The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) on Sunday
published a blacklist of 325 multinationals who it said were "contributing
and supporting the brutal and repressive dictatorship" in Myanmar.

Some 92 new companies were added to the ICFTU's list, which detailed
companies' "principal investments and others forms of economic relations"
in Myanmar, the former Burma. New entrants included French company
Pinault-Printemps-Redoute, conglomerate British American Tobacco, South
Korean carmaker Hyundai and Austrian Airlines.

"There is proof of links between foreign companies and the military junta
.... and the use of forced labour," the ICFTU said.

The ICFTU published a 350-paged report last Monday which said forced
labour was increasing under Myanmar's military junta, encouraged by
investments from multinational corporations.

The report cited new testimony on the use of forced labour, continuing
into this year, to build roads and other infrastructure projects linked
with the Yadana gas pipeline project.

French oil giant TotalFinaElf and US oil group Unocal were major partners
in a consortium that constructed the gas pipeline between 1994 and 1998.

Earlier this month, a French state prosecutor launched an investigation
into allegations by two Myanmar citizens that TotalFinaElf used forced
labour on the project.

But TotalFinaElf has rejected "all accusations concerning forced labour in
Myanmar" and dismissed the ICFTU report as "wild speculation or even pure
lies".

____INTERNATIONAL_______

Associated Press Worldstream
October 28 2002

Police investigating mail bomb sent to Myanmar Embassy in Tokyo

An envelope containing explosives was delivered Monday to the Myanmar
Embassy in Tokyo, police said. No injuries were reported.

A bomb squad found a detonator, wires and a battery - parts often used to
ignite explosives - inside a greeting card-sized envelope sent anonymously
from Thailand, a spokesman for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police said.

Japanese police have launched a criminal investigation into the case, he
said on condition of anonymity.

Japanese public television broadcaster NHK said the small bomb was
designed to explode when the card was opened and that police were
investigating it as a possible terror attempt. Police did not comment on
the report.