BurmaNet News: October 29 2002

[editor at burmanet.org]

October 29 2002 Issue #2112

INSIDE BURMA

UN Wire: E.N. envoy visit set for next month
AFP: Shan groups say Myanmar junta concedes rape claims in talks with UN
envoy

MONEY

Energy Europe: CFDT wants ethical agreement with Total/Elf/Fina

INTERNATIONAL

Irrawaddy: UN envoy in Chiang Mai

STATEMENTS & JOB ANNOUNCEMENTS

NCGUB: NCGUB hails political initiatives by CRPP
Internews Thai: Job openings

______INSIDE BURMA________

UN Wire
October 29 2002

U.N. Envoy Visit Set For Next Month
By Steve Hirsch

WASHINGTON -- U.N. special envoy to Myanmar Razali Ismail will visit the
country beginning Nov. 12, sources confirmed today.  The visit was first
reported this morning by the BBC.

Razali's planned trip closely follows a visit just completed by Paulo
Sergio Pinheiro, the U.N. special rapporteur on the human rights situation
in Myanmar.  Razali was last in Myanmar in August.

According to sources contacted by UN Wire, it is not clear how long
Razali's visit will last.  He is expected to meet with Myanmar officials
as well as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
_______

Agence France-Presse
October 29 2002

Shan groups say Myanmar junta concedes rape claims in talks with UN envoy

The authors of a report which claimed the Myanmar junta used rape as a
weapon of war against ethnic Shan women said Tuesday that visiting UN
envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro told them the regime admitted the attacks may
have occurred.

Pinheiro, fresh from an 11-day visit to Myanmar where he met with top
members of the regime, travelled to this northern Thai city to investigate
allegations of the systematic rape of hundreds of Shan women and girls by
Myanmar soldiers.

"Pinheiro told us that during talks with the Myanmar authorities, they
replied that it may have occured, but they rejected that the rapes had
been systematic," Hseng Naung, spokeswoman for the Shan Women's Action
Network (SWAN), told AFP. The report released in May by Thailand-based
SWAN and the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF), which documented 625 sex
attacks, drew international outrage and has been repeatedly rejected by
the military government in Yangon.

The junta invited Pinheiro to travel to Shan state to investigate the
claims but the envoy turned down the offer, saying he would not have had
sufficient time to carry out a comprehensive inquiry.

Pinheiro, who is due to hold a press conference in Bangkok Wednesday, also
met Tuesday with other ethnic minority groups in order to assess their
human rights situation, Hseng Naung said.

"We had a chance to tell him what he wanted to know. It was a positive
meeting," she said.

Hseng Naung added that members of Pinheiro's UN team were scheduled to go
to the Thai provinces of Tak and Kanchanaburi which border Myanamr on
Wednesday to investigate human rights issues there.

It was not clear if they would attempt to interview any rape victims, many
of whom have slipped across the Myanmar border into Thailand.

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.

____MONEY______

Europe Energy
October 29 2002

CFDT WANTS ETHICAL AGREEMENT WITH TOTALFINAELF

The chemicals and energy union CFDT (FCE-CFDT) demanded "the conclusion of
an ethical agreement" on working conditions in Burma from TotalFinaElf
management, according to a press release. The French oil group is
currently dealing with judicial proceedings launched in France following a
complaint made at the end of August by two Burmese nationals who claimed
to have been forced to work on one of its sites. TotalFinaElf also figures
large in a report produced by the CISL (the Confederation Internationale
des Syndicats Libres) published recently in Geneva, which accused the
company of having contributed to perpetuating forced labour in Burma. "The
FCE-CFDT wanted to conclude an ethical agreement to demonstrate the
willingness of the group to stand by the values it says it supports",
noted the union, adding that nothing had been undertaken by the oil giant,
in spite of various communications and soothing noises from the company
about on sustainable development. TotalFinaElf, whilst totally denying the
accusations of forced labour in Burma, confirmed that it wanted to
maintain its presence in the country, which is governed by a military
junta.

_____INTERNATIONAL_______

Irrawaddy
October 29 2002

UN envoy in Chiang Mai

October 29, 2002—After concluding a 12-day trip to Burma, UN human rights
rapporteur Paulo Sergio Pinheiro met with representatives from three Shan
groups in separate meetings this afternoon, a Shan source said.
The three Shan groups--the Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN), the Shan
Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) and the Shan Herald Agency for News
(SHAN)--met with Pinheiro to discus human rights violations, in Chiang
Mai, Thailand.
In particular, the groups spoke about allegations raised in "License to
Rape", a report which details the sexual abuse of 625 women by military
personnel.
In Bangkok earlier today, Pinheiro was reported to have met with Razali
Ismail, UN special envoy to Burma.
On Pinheiro's schedule tomorrow is several meetings with Thai-based
opposition groups and NGOs, including the Assistance Association for
Political Prisoners (Burma).

____STATEMENTS & JOB ANNOUNCEMENTS____

National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma
October 25 2002

NCGUB HAILS POLITICAL INITIATIVES BY CRPP

The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) is
heartened by the recent decisions taken by the Committee Representing the
People's Parliament (CRPP) at a regular meeting in Rangoon on 23 October
2002. The legitimate body representing the whole people decided, among
others, to bring in leaders of major ethnic political parties as members
and expand the CRPP to accept new members.

The NCGUB also lauds the Chairmen of the Mon National Democracy Front, the
Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, and the Zomi National Congress
for deciding to represent their own parties and dedicate their full time
to the important work of the CRPP to restore democracy and re-build
hand-in-hand the multi-ethnic nation of Burma.

Today, members of the CRPP--Arakan League for Democracy, Mon National
Democracy Front, National League for Democracy, Shan Nationalities League
for Democracy, and Zomi National Congress--have shown that they are strong
in their unity and are of one mind in their pursuit of democracy and to
re-building the Union of Burma.  Their display of unity and courage bodes
well for the political future of the country because the NCGUB firmly
believes that unity among political forces is the most important requisite
for the future of the democratic Union of Burma.

We, elected representatives in exile and the NCGUB reaffirm our unwavering
support for these political parties and the CRPP as a whole. We wish the
CRPP success in its endeavors and stand firmly behind it and its
determined and unswerving endeavor to fulfill the wish of the people as
expressed through the 1990 elections.

We, the NCGUB, appeal to all Governments, Parliaments, the United Nations,
and international organizations and institutions to strongly back the
peaceful efforts by the CRPP and to encourage the generals to enter into a
cooperative relationship with it for the benefit of the country and the
people.

We also wish to remind the SPDC that the military alone can never resolve
the current socioeconomic and political problems and that it is vitally
important to immediately begin working with the CRPP and elected political
parties in order to resolve all national problems, restore democracy, and
re-build the nation.

The CRPP representing the aspirations of all the multi-ethnic peoples of
Burma, supported firmly by all forces in the world-wide democracy
movement, stands ready to move forward and rebuild the Union of Burma in
the mold and direction inspired to by the people of Burma.
________
INTERNEWS THAI
BOOKKEEPER TRAINEE
JOB OPENING

Start date: End January 2003
Salary: Competitive local salary offered, according to qualifications and
experience.

This is an excellent opportunity to train in basic accounting skills and
be involved in NGO work. The position will potentially lead to work as the
Internews bookkeeper.

Requirements:


- Good spoken and written English
- Ability to work accurately with a good eye for detail-
- Familiar with maths and money management
- Keen and eager to learn
- Organised and methodical-
- Some computer experience will be useful

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

- Full-time on-the-job training in bookkeeping skills and accounting software
- Assist bookkeeper in financial accounting

Details

- Local scale salary
- Health benefits
- Based in Chiang Mai office
- Opportunity to improve your English language
- Women and all members of all the ethnic nationalities of Burma are
encouraged to apply.

Interested applicants please contact: linda at internewsth.com
Closing date for applications is:  30 November, 2002

INTERNEWS THAI - JOURNALISM SCHOOL
WORLD AFFAIRS/LEARNING SKILLS TEACHER
JOB OPENING

Contract: 4 months
Start date: April 1st 2003
Salary: Competitive local salary offered, according to qualifications and
experience.

The World Affairs/Learning Skills Teacher will be responsible for creating
and teaching a world affairs curriculum to sixteen young people from
Burma. As students will be from disadvantaged educational backgrounds,
this module should be taught with particular emphasis on imparting
learning skills.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

- Create a "World Affairs" curriculum comprising an overview of key 20th
century economic and political developments, tracing their relevance to
current affairs. The course should be designed with an orientation toward
SE Asia and should pay specific attention to ethnic conflicts and
liberation struggles that have relevance to Burma.
- Design or adopt a mode of teaching that will equip students with key
learning skills (eg. note taking, organizing information, using classroom
equipment) and will give them the opportunity to practice those skills in
a structured and consistent way.
- Conduct daily classes for a period of three months (approximately 4
hours per day).
- Create appropriate teaching aids, resources and materials that can be
kept and used in future courses.
- Work with students outside of class time on homework, class visits,
projects, research, reports, presentations or other assignments.
- Oversee homework period two evenings a week.
- Monitor and evaluate individual student progress, keep written records
of that progress and write a final report on each student.
- Evaluate progress, content and impact of overall "World Affairs" module
and write final report including recommendations for change and adaption
in future modules.

 Requirements

- Demonstrable knowledge of world affairs.
- Training/teaching experience, with priority given to those who have
taught young non-professionals and/or non-native English speakers.
- Experience in curriculum development.
- Background in SE Asia, preferably Burma.
- Self-starter - willing to take initiative, think on their feet and adapt
content and teaching methods as the course evolves.
- Knowledge of conflict and refugee issues is a plus.
- Team worker - able to pull together with colleagues in an unpredictable
program environment.
- Flexibility, sense of humor, patience and dedication.
- Peparedness to handle volatile student group dynamics arising as a
result of ethnic/gender mix, life trauma or other sensitive issues.
- Burmese, Thai and Asian nationals are encouraged to apply.

Please send resume and cover letter to: alison at internews.org




INTERNEWS THAI - JOURNALISM SCHOOL
TEACHING ASSISTANT
JOB OPENING

Start Date: May 1, 2003
Salary: Local salary according to skills and experience

Internews in Chiang Mai is setting up a new in-residence journalism
program for young people from ethnic communities on the Thai/Burma border.
Over a ten-month period, we aim to equip 16 young people journalism and
news production skills, English language skills, learning skills, basic
computer skills. We require the services of a Teachers Assistant to help
trainers and students with all aspects of the teaching and learning
process.
 Essential Duties and Responsibilities
- Assist teachers in-class for 4 to 6 hours per day (between 0830 and 1630)
- Give students periodic summaries and translations in Burmese
- Clarify, explain and discuss lesson content both during and after
sessions in order to enhance students' understanding
- Help teachers with preparation of lesson materials and management of the
program
- Some written translation work
- Help students with homework
- Live on the school premises up to 5 days per week and act as a liaison
person between students and staff.
 Requirements
- Good fluency in English and Burmese
- Experience in spoken translation from English to Burmese
- Commitment to the education of young people
- Familiarity with media issues would be an advantage
- Knowledge of world affairs would be an advantage
- Patience, flexibility, energy and a sense of humour
 Details
- April 2002 - Feb. 3003 with possibility of extension
- Based in Chiang Mai
- On-site living arrangements are available if wanted
- Competitive local salary with health insurance
- Women and members of all the ethnic nationalities of Burma are
encouraged to apply
 Interested applicants please contact: alison at internews.org