BurmaNet News: January 18-21 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

January 18-21 2003 Issue #2160

INSIDE BURMA

SHAN: Former woman leader of Shans joins late husband
DVB: Burma’s first President’s wife passed away
Zenit: Burma not treating the Church fairly, says missionary

ON THE BORDER

Le Nouvel Observateur: Burma forced labourers fro the pipeline (translated
from French)
Irrawaddy: Investigative group arrives in Mae Sot
Irrawaddy: Fresh raid in Sangklaburi
DVB: The rebels are to resist the SPDC assaults

GUNS

World Markets Analysis: Key rebel army offers its conditional surrender to
Myanmar’s military

DRUGS

Kangla: Smuggling of tablets from China through Burma seized at Moreh

MONEY

Lloyd’s List: Thai oil budget
Channel News Asia: Myanmar wants to attract trade and investment: FM
Xinhua: Myanmar strivest to narrow digital divide with ASEAN members
Myanmar Times: Production jump puts more fuel on market

REGIONAL

AP: India official: Myanmar says it won’t support anti-India insurgent group
Narinjara: Road to Bangladesh from Burma
Hindu: India’s road to diplomacy in Myanmar and Iran
Express India: Manipuri youths threaten self-immolation if boundary disturbed


INSIDE BURMA

Shan Herald Agency for News January 18 2003

18 January 2003
Former woman leader of Shans joins late husband
Sao Hearn Kham, Burma's First Lady (1948 - 51), passed away in exile at
her home in Canada last evening (17 January) at 18:30 (09:00 Rangoon time
today). She was 86.

Sao Hearn Kham, known as "Sao Mae" (Royal Mother) or Mahadevi, was the 
daughter of one of the famous Shan prince warriors, Khun Sang Tonhoong.
She was married to Sao Shwe Thaike, Prince of Yawnghwe, who became the
first president of Burma and died under what was described as mysterious
circumstances during detention following Gen Ne Win's coup in 1962.

She also served as a member of Parliament from 1956 - 1960. After Sao Shwe
Thaike's death, she joined the resistance and was elected as president of
the Shan State War Council, the office she held until 1969 when she went
into exile in Canada.

She is survived by her sons Tiger, Chao Tzang and Harn, and her daughters
Sao Ying Sita and Sao Ying Hseng Leun.

The Mahadevi is immortalized in The White Umbrella, "the story of Burma as
she lived it," according to author Patricia Elliot.
_________

Democratic Voice of Burma January 21 2003

Burma’s first President’s wife passed away

The first president of Burma, Yawnghwe Sawbwa [Chief], Sao Shwe Thaik’s
wife, Maha Devi Sao Nang Hearn Kham passed away peacefully in her house in
Canada at the age of 87. She is the daughter of Hsenwi [Theinni] Sawbwa
and she was a woman MP during the U Nu’s government's period. In the 1962
coup, her husband Sao Shwe Thaik was arrested and their Yawnghwe Haw
[Palace] near Lake Inle in southern Shan State was raided by the soldiers
of U Ne Win’s junta. She then fled to Thailand with her five children
where she fought for the liberation of the Shan State. A spokesman for the
Shan Herald News explained to the DVB about the Sao Nang Hearn Kham as
follows:

A: The name of Yawnghwe Maha Devi is Daw Hearn Kham. She was born in
Hsenwi Haw, [northern Shan State] in 1916. Her father is the famous
man in Burmese history, the Sawbwa of Khun Sam Tun Oo. She was married to
Yawnghwe Sawbwa, Sao Shwe Thaik during her brother Sao Hom Hpa’s reign and
became a Maha Devi. She also participated in the Pang Long Treaty of
1946-47. From 1956 to 1960, she was the MP for the constituency of Hsenwi.
She was known for her active roles in the parliament. After the 1962
military coup, the whole family fled to Thailand. In 1964, under her
leadership, the Shan State War Council [SSWC] and the Shan State Army
[SSA] were formed by combining all the Shan dissidents. She was the
Chairwoman of the SSWC.
________

Zenit.org January 19 2003

Burma Not Treating the Church Fairly, Says Missionary
The Catholic Church in Burma is persevering despite persecution by the
government, says a missionary.

The Church has not given up its "evangelizing mission," which is stronger
in that Southeast Asia nation because it is "close to the poor, those who
suffer, and the oppressed," says Father Vito del Prete, secretary of the
Pontifical Missionary Union.

Father del Prete made his comments last week when inaugurating the meeting
"Freedom of Religion: Human Right Denied in Burma."

In Burma, which in 1988 officially took the name Union of Myanmar, "the
military junta that has governed for over 40 years perseveres in a
constant persecution against the Catholic Church and human rights," Father
del Prete said.

"Missions cannot have schools, Christians are prohibited any external
manifestation, [and] any kind of apostolate or meeting, and communities
are regarded as accomplices of the northern guerrillas," he added.

According to Father del Prete, "the situation is different toward 'state'
Buddhism -- not authentic but imposed on the population as an attempt to
control the social fabric -- and Islam, with its 400,000 faithful, which
is tolerated."

U.S. government data say 89% of Burma's 42 million people are Buddhists;
4% are Muslims.


ON THE BORDER

Le Nouvel Observateur January 16 2003

BURMA, FORCED LABOURERS FOR THE PIPELINE
By Cyril Payen (Translated from French)

On the Thai-Burma border, Thai soldiers hunt down Burmese illegal immigrants.
Their main victims: farmers who fled from forced labour on the site of the
pipeline built by TotalFinaElf and who had decided to testify to the human
rights violations they suffered.

Let’s call them K. and T. They are Burmese, farmers from the Tavoy region.
K. and T. were working in Thailand on the site of a well-known buddhist
monastery when intelligence and police services raided the site and caught
them. They were chained and taken to a jail of the immigration department
where, at the occupation rate of 50 per cell, they take turns to sleep due
to the lack of space. Towards the end of December, when the number of
illegal migrant workers detained had exceeded 200, they were driven west
to the Burmese border in police trucks, according to the usual process of 
forced “repatriation” of illegal migrants.
In spite of his high fever - which had not been treated during his
detention -, K. was taken with the whole group to the border line,  to a
zone under Burmese army control, where those exiles forced to return
become prey to the army’s arbitrary will and savage violence. They are
brow-beaten, interrogated about their reasons for fleeing their country,
and, most of the time, suspected of being political dissidents. They are
commonly subjected to entire days of torture, detention, sometimes
executed with a bullet to the head.
The TotalFinaElf pipeline area is a “black zone” – in other words, the
army can shoot on sight. In this “security corridor” created by the
Burmese junta’s army, about 10 000 soldiers have been posted - a hundred
times more than before Total’s arrival- who provision themselves with the
methods of an occupation army. A message from the military regional
command, intercepted a few weeks ago by an opposition group, carried the
order to “dispose of the body if a civilian is killed”. This is why K. and
T. now hide in the jungle somewhere near the Three Pagoda Pass.
Worse: these two men are no ordinary illegal migrants. They dared reveal
what they had experienced and seen in the pipeline area; they even dared
sign at the foot of a handwritten declaration for a French court. K. is a
plaintiff and T. a witness in the court-case against the French company
TotalFinaElf opened last August by two Paris lawyers, Bernard Dartevelle
and William Bourdon.
K., a forced-labour victim, has also witnessed a rape allegedly committed
by a Total employee. T., it seems, knows a lot about the close
relationship between the army and the petroleum company during the
construction of the pipeline which crosses their native region in the
South of Burma. They had to flee.
The last time they were seen free was a few weeks ago, in a remote border
village, during a secret meeting with their French lawyers. Then, at the
end of a long talk, after a warm embrace, they had carefully put the
lawyers’ name-cards in their back-pockets before disappearing in the
night.
Less than 5 months since the court-case opened these two men are now
hunted, along with ten other Burmese witnesses and plaintiffs who had
wished to “testify to the brutality and destruction which had surrounded
Total’s presence in their region”. Thus the case seems to have come to a
standstill. “If the French judge were to travel there today  he would not
be able to meet anyone,” adds a person familiar with the case.
In the judicial process against the French oil company Htoo Chit is one of
the lead witnesses. He has documented the scandal. Since 1996, he has been
gathering dozens of tales of human right violations inflicted on the local
people in Total’s pipeline area. Requisitions, executions, deportations,
taking of forced labourers among men, women, children

“At present all those connected in any way to the court case have had to
flee and hide in the jungle”, he confirms from his hiding place. “Out of
the dozen plaintiffs and witnesses, one has disappeared two months ago and
another is too scared to talk further.”
He, himself, was able to flee across the border towards the end of
December, just a few minutes before two army trucks arrived at his door,
and this time his contacts in Thai intelligence are no longer able to
help.
As a disturbing coincidence we can now observe a unique phenomenon in
Western Thailand, a traditional sanctuary for the Burmese opposition : a
large scale military operation by the Thai army is taking place in areas
next to Total’s plants. “This is an operation aiming at securing the
French pipeline”, confirms a Thai officer posted in this region. This
unprecedented, and finely targeted, operation has been launched by the
strong 9th Division of the Thai Army. It began just a few days after the
meeting in Bangkok between the French lawyers and the Burmese involved in
the court case. “It’s as if someone had pulled the alarm signal, says Htoo
Chit, and now we are all fugitives”.
Ba Kyaw, a young deserter from the 402nd Battalion  of the Burmese Army
(brought in to secure Total at the beginning of the project), was 14 years
old when he enrolled in the army, and also knows a lot. It took many links
through underground networks to be able to meet him in a jungle of
southern Burma. “Five of the six helipads in this area were built by
forced labourers recruited by us”, he said. “The pilots, the French
engineers, were also there. We imposed quotas of workers per village. If
there were not enough men available, we had orders to send women and
children instead. Apart from building helipads and clearing the
vegetation, another task for them was also to place the pipe at the bottom
of the trench
Total’s employees sometimes took photographs
”
As a damning revelation he tells of this odd ceremony which he remembers 
taking place one day, after they had returned to the barracks. “Our
commander had organised a large party. There was whisky, videos, and
music. With  a public address system he explained that Total had paid them
money, dollars, as they thought we would be exhausted after working on the
plant’s security for six months. And he said it was time for us to have
our share: 500 kyats (just over one month salary) for each of the 100
soldiers, 5000 kyats for NCOs, and larger sums for officers. I don’t know
how much the commander received, but he bought with it a new Japanese car,
just like the commander of battalion 401. His bodyguard and his translator
attended the discussions on payment with the “Pynthe” (the French).
At present, eight years after Total arrived there, there is a serious
threat on this pipeline, apart from the court case by the two French
lawyers. Its track through the Burmese jungle seems to have  been sown
with bombs. This is what people say in some villages where dozens of
people have fled to escape the pipeline. “There are suspicious movements
in the night”, they say. “We fear an explosion.”
They are not wrong. “The operation has started. We use Charlie, C-4,
explains a well-informed and discreet man somewhere in the region. “Ten
sites have been selected. There are cans containing 4 kilos of Charlie and
metal grape-shot,with a long cout-down and linked with a very
sophisticated and secure radio control
which is already
activated.”According to him several perfectly trained commando units have
set up a vast sabotage operation. “We move on the site with night-vision
glasses, GPS and metal detectors as used in airports, to avoid  the
MM1Chinese mines and the tiny copies of M14 American mines , placed by the
“tatmadaw”[Burmese army] in the vicinity of the pipeline”, he adds. He
also says that their operational budget exceeds one million baht (over 22
000 euros), a huge sum whose origin he does not know. According to this
well informed individual, those who organised the sabotage have already
left Thailand. “There is no ultimatum, it’ s too late, he says. This way
maybe the manager of Total will perhaps realize what sorrow he has brought
on us.”
_______

Irrawaddy January 20 2003

Investigative Group Arrives in Mae Sot
By Aung Su Shin/Mae Sot
January 20, 2003—An eight-member group, including a US Congressman and a
member of the UK House of Lords, arrived in Mae Sot, Thailand yesterday
evening to investigate the ongoing suffering inside Burma and also to
raise international awareness concerning the plight of Burmese refugees,
according to group members.
House of Lords member and Jubilee Campaign founder Lord David Alton along
with US Congressman Joseph R Pitts are heading the group, which is
scheduled to visit two refugee camps today. Lord David Alton told The
Irrawaddy last night that one goal of the trip is to ensure that Burmese
refugees are not forgotten by the world.
"We [The Jubilee Campaign] have already issued the report about the plight
of Karen and also the general political situation inside Burma," said Lord
David Alton. He added that the British owed a debt of honor to the Karen
after they served alongside the British during World War II.
The Jubilee Campaign describes in their mission statement the need to
provide "aid for children and families at risk as well as for the
Persecuted Church." The group also "effectively lobbies authorities which
allow human rights abuses to flourish", according to its web site. US
Congressman Pitts is reportedly representing different US human rights
groups during the trip.
Lord David Alton said that Burma has been turned into one large
concentration camp, and that once the rest of the world recognized both
the plight of the minority and democratic forces in Burma, the movement
would have enormous support. He said he would take any evidence regarding
human rights abuses in Burma back to British parliament in order to raise
awareness of the ongoing struggle.
Concerning the repatriation of Burmese refugees, the group will meet with
high- ranking Thai officials in Bangkok after they return from the border.
He said he feels the Thai government has shown a "deep humanitarian
instinct to refugees" but that forcibly repatriating Burmese refugees "is
like sentencing them to death". He cited the systematic rape of women, the
burning of villages, forced labor and the systematic violation of human
rights as reasons for not returning refugees.
____________

Irrawaddy January 20 2003

Fresh Raid in Sangklaburi
By Naw Seng

At least nine Burmese activists, and one four-year old child, were
arrested today in Sangklaburi, Thailand by the Thai 9th army after they
were found hiding in two different locations, according to sources located
there. Police said democracy activists were apprehended for security
concerns not immigration violations.
Sources say today’s arrests mark the latest event in a series of perceived
attempts by the Thai government to put the squeeze on Thailand’s Burmese
democracy movement.
The raid was reportedly carried out around 2:00 PM today at two different
hideouts where the activists had been staying since Thai military
officials forced them out of their homes in late December. Sources said
the activists would likely be deported to the Burmese border. It is
unclear, however, where they are currently being held.
Those captured today belong to five different Burmese opposition groups
based in Sangklaburi: Democratic Party for a New Society, National League
for Democracy-Liberated Area, All Burma Students’ Democratic Front, Dawei
Women's Union and the Myeik-Dawei United Front.
Sources in Sangklaburi say that today’s clampdown is the result of a
directive issued last week by the town’s governor, which was reportedly
aimed at arresting Burmese dissidents in the area.
Observers say the Burmese democracy activists are being arrested in an
attempt to appease the Burmese regime in hopes of shoring up new business
contracts. Others say Thailand and Burma are looking to develop tourism in
the area.
On Saturday, Thailand’s Industry Minister, Somsak Thepsuthin, said he is
prepared to negotiate with the Burmese government to established textile
industrial estates along the border near Kanchanaburi, just east of
Sangklaburi.
Those arrested today are Aung Kyaw Soe, Min Kyi, Mi Htay Mon and his
daughter, Aung San Nyunt, Thein Lwin, Tin Tin Hkaing, Daw Yin Kyi, Tun
Shein and Kyaw Kyaw.
In late December, Burmese dissidents living in Sangklaburi, across from
Burma’s Mon State, were given two days to evacuate from their homes by
Thai authorities and some had been in hiding since then.
Thailand’s Surasi Task Force, which oversees security along the Thai-Burma
border in Kanchanaburi Province, also rounded up 65 Karen from Wia Ka Di
Village in late December. The Karen were instructed to leave their homes
within three days.
Last August, 31 members from several Burmese organizations were arrested
and deported to the Burmese border from Sangklaburi, but were then able to
slip back into Thailand safely.
________

Democratic Voice of Burma January 18 2003

The Rebels are to resist the SPDC assaults
The planned end of the monsoon military assaults on the rebels by the SPDC
troops are to be jointly resisted by five ethnic armed fighters including
the Shan State Army [SSA] and the KNU fighters. The fighters of the SSA,
the KNU, the KNPP, the ALP and the CNF agreed to join forces and fight the
SPDC in last month’s meeting at the SSA’s HQs Doi Tai Lang, according to
the commander of the 3rd Army of Thailand. The SPDC forces are expected to
fight with their ally the Wa drug warlords’ forces and open wide ranging
fronts against the rebels. The Thai troops are ordered to be on alert.

GUNS

World Markets Analysis January 21 2003

Key Rebel Army Offers its Conditional Surrender to Myanmar's Military
By Dr Tobias Nischalke

The Shan State Army (SSA), one of two large ethnic rebel groups still at
war with Myanmar's military regime, has offered to surrender provided that
the military allows the UN to provide protection for the group. The SSA
and the military fight regular battles in the inaccessible areas near the
border of northern Thailand. Significantly, the area is most notorious for
its drugs trade, which many believe to be a valuable source of income for
the military junta. SSA leader Yord Serk has offered to assist
international efforts to fight drug production and trade in the border
region. Any such move would be particularly encouraged by Thailand, which
has blamed the flow of drugs from Myanmar for social destabilisation.
However, there are strong doubts as to whether the military will agree to
a surrender under the terms offered. The military would have no interest
in closer international monitoring of its activities. Armed struggles by
marginalised ethnic groups have been a key security problem in Myanmar for
years - no quick end to these struggles should be expected. The border
area with Thailand remains a no-go zone, not least because of the presence
of drug lords.

DRUGS

Kangla Online January 21 2003

Smuggling of tablets from China through Burma seized at Moreh
By Bit Irom

IMPHAL, Jan 20: Illegal tablets worth over Rs 1.5 crore in the
international market, smuggled from China through India via Burma were
seized from a Burmese national at Moreh, India’s gateway to the south east
Asian countries, according to the Custom official sources. The accused was
booked under the NDPS Act., 1985 and has been remanded into judicial
custody for further interrogation.

A team of Custom officials led by its Superintendent of Police arrested
the Burmese national from New Lodge at Moreh Bazaar on Jan 16. The law
enforcing agency personnel recovered 15,296 number of Methamphetamine, an
energetic tablet which is illegal in the state. The illegal goods were
smuggled into Moreh from China via Burma, the sources said.

The Burmese national has been identified as one Khumo (35) son of (L)
Uchin from Tamu Township ward no 12 (Sova). The total amount of the
tablets recovered from the Burmese national is expected to run be worth
about Rs 1,52,96,000 in the international market with each tablet costing
around Rs 1000.

Besides registering a case against the accused Khumo under the NDPS Act.,
1985 the Customs Department has also remanded him in judicial custody for
further interrogation, the sources said.
This is the first time that such illegal tablets were seized from the
Burmese national since the Indo-Myanmar bilateral trade opened at Moreh in
1995 April 12. India’s law protectors have taken ups various measures
against the smugglers along the porous Indo-Burma border.

On January nine, Assam Rifles personnel in its counter insurgency
operations apprehended four Burmese nationals including two women and a
children along with gun, ammunition and heroin at Moreh.

The 33 Assam rifles have conducted cordon and search operation at Moreh
Ward No 8 and took into custody four Burmese nationals, including two
women and an infant from a rented quarter.

The search yielded a 27 year old youth identified as one Kamlianthang of
Khampat, Burma who bore bullet wounds on the left arm. Others arrested are
Demnu (39) of Kalimyo, Burma and her three month old daughter, and Nuboi
(36) of Lepachoung, Kalimyo (Burma). One 9mm pistol was recovered from
Kamliangthang while six and seven grams of heroin powder was seized from
Demnu and Nuboi respectively. Kamliangthang is kept under the AR custody,
the sources said but the two women and the infant have been handed over to
Moreh police station.

Meanwhile, members of the All Community Welfare Forum, Moreh (ACWFM)
allegedly entered the campus of the SIB Moreh and converted half of the
office's plot into a market. A strong crowd of about 500 to 600 led by
members of ACWFM entered the SBI campus on Saturday morning after breaking
down the main gate and fencing of the campus.

After bifurcating the SBI's plot, the crowd immediately erected a new
fencing and a new market was opened where Burmese nationals were also seen
selling their goods at the new market.

Electric fittings at the new market place was reported to be going on till
late in the evening. A sign board bearing All Communities Varieties Market
has come up at the new site, sources said.

Interestingly, not a single policeman turned up during the incident. The
source also added that ADC/ SDC and SDPO of Moreh are presently out of
Station.

However, the All Community Welfare Forum, Moreh has clarified that the
step was taken in the interest of the general public because of the need
of space available for a proper market site and to avoid undesirable
mishaps or accidents due to occupation of a considerable portions on both
sides of the NH-39.

The Forum, further said that there is no question of invading the SIB
office campus and asserted that it was done according to the request from
the petty vendors sitting on either side of the road at Moreh bazar.

All the vendors are accommodated on the khasland located between SIB
campus and NH-39, the Forum further clarified.

MONEY

Lloyd’s List January 21 2003

Thai oil budget

THAILAND'S state oil firm PTT Exploration and Production is to invest
Baht92.19bn (Dollars 2.15bn) over the next five years on its oil and gas
fields in the Gulf of Thailand and Myanmar. The company, which is 60%
owned by gas firm PTT, plans to invest Baht59.8bn on capital projects from
2003 to 2007.
______

Channel News Asia January 20 2003

Myanmar wants to attract trade and investment:FM

Myanmar is opening its doors to the world and wants to attract trade and
investment, Foreign Minister Win Aung said.

Mr Win Aung made the remarks during a visit to India on Monday -- the
first by Yangon's foreign minister since 1988.

He also invited India to invest in IT, agriculture and energy.

Mr Win Aung, who has already met top Indian leaders, will hold talks with
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to boost bilateral cooperation.

Both countries are building a gas pipeline, and have inked a deal
involving hydro-electric projects and transport infrastructure.

Myanmar is strategically located, sharing a border with India and China.

Its relations with New Delhi improved after it helped its neighbour fight
insurgents along the border.
_______

Xinhua News Agency January 21 2003

Myanmar strives to narrow digital divide with ASEAN members

Myanmar has been striving to narrow its digital divide with developed
members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since it
became a signatory to the e-ASEAN Framework Agreement in November 2000.

The gap in existence is attributed to the facts about telecommunication
infrastructure, limitation of the access, low tele-density and inadequate
volume of internet usage.

As its measures for the development of the information and communication
technology (ICT), Myanmar first promulgated its Computer Science
Development Act in September 1996 and formed the Computer Development
Council then. As a follow-up, the country established the Computer
Scientists Association, Computer Industry Association and Computer
Enthusiasts Association. On the basis of the three organizations, Myanmar
formed the Computer Federation in October 1998.

In January 2002, Myanmar ICT Park was set up by the Myanmar ICT
Development Corporation, a consortium of 50 private companies, aimed at
boosting the software industry.

Meanwhile, a company called the Bagan Cybertech was established near the
park, constituting another service provider for data communication next to
the state-run Myanmar Post and Telecommunication, which had been the sole
telecom authority providing such service in the past.

Other measures include personal computer penetration to the society by
establishing multi-media classrooms, introduction of ICT education and
e-education program by e-data broadcasting system.

Besides, the country has also established fiber optic networks, microwave
radio routes and domestic satellite communication, and connected with the
Southeast Asia-Middle East-West Europe submarine cable system and fiber
cable links with member countries of the Great Mekong Sub-Region under the
sub-regional telecommunications network projects.

Apart from these, e-ASEAN initiation has also contributed to the narrowing
of the digital divide by focusing on the areas such as implementation of
e-ASEAN information infrastructure, facilitation of e-commerce growth,
liberalization for ICT goods and services, capacity building for ICT
literacy and creation of e-society and development of e-government.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has also signed bilateral agreements with China and
India respectively on ICT development cooperation.
______

Myanmar Times January 13-19 2003

Production jump puts more fuel on market
By Win Kyaw Oo

A 42 per cent increase in domestic petrol production since early December
has enabled more fuel to be made available for private and commercial
vehicles, a senior government official said last week. Production at the
state-owned Thanlyin refinery, on Yangon’s southeastern outskirts, had
been increased by 70,000 gallons a day, to 240,000 gallons, said U Soe
Myint, the director general of the Energy Planning Department, under the
Ministry of Energy. "The petrol is refined from gas condensate extracted
from the Yedagon offshore oil and gas field," U Soe Myint told Myanmar
Times. The refinery produces 73 gallons of petrol from every 100 gallons
of gas condensate, he said. An increased demand for petrol and a shortage
of storage facilities had resulted in the decision to make more fuel
available to the public, U Soe Myint said. Transport sector sources said
the move would help to maintain or lower the prices of consumer goods. The
refinery is operated by the Ministry of Energy’s Myanma Petroleum Products
Enterprise, which last month introduced a scheme to make more petrol
available to long-distance trucks and buses and inland waterways boats.
The increased fuel production had enabled the scheme, under which petrol
is sold at MPPE outlets at K700 a gallon, to be extended to private
vehicles and taxis from January 6. MPPE sources said the scheme is in
addition to the quota system under which private vehicles and taxis can
buy two gallons of petrol or diesel a day for K180 and K160 a gallon
respectively. The changes mean that the fuel quota for taxis in Yangon
Division has doubled to 120 gallons a month and that for private vehicles
has increased by 10 gallons, to 70 gallons. In Mandalay Division, the
quota for taxis has doubled, to 60 gallons a month, while private vehicles
are entitled to 40 gallons a month, also a 10 gallon increase. On a
related issue, U Soe Myint said a failure of state-owned Myanma Economic
Holdings to distribute diesel to consumers had resulted in responsibility
for distributing the fuel being transferred to the MPPE last September.
MEH had been distributing diesel for about a year after taking over the
responsibility for distribution from the MPPE. Myanmar imports about US$7
million worth of diesel a month.

REGIONAL

Associated Press January 21 2003

India official: Myanmar says it won't support anti-India insurgent groups
By ASHOK SHARMA


Myanmar has assured New Delhi that it won't allow anti-India insurgent
groups to operate from its territory, an Indian spokesman said Tuesday.

The assurance was given by visiting Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung to
his Indian counterpart, Yashwant Sinha, during talks Monday night, Foreign
Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters. Myanmar borders India's
northeastern region where several insurgent groups have been fighting for
separate homelands for decades.

India says the rebels belonging to the Nationalist Socialist Council of
Nagaland, led by S.S. Khaplang, and the Manipur People's Liberation Front
often slip into Myanmar territory through dense jungle on the border.

India and Myanmar agreed on Monday to hold regular consultations and to
cooperate on counterterrorism efforts, Sarna said.

The two sides also discussed cooperation in various sectors, including
energy, power generation - especially hydroelectric projects - and road
construction.

Indian experts will visit Myanmar to study the prospects of exploring
onshore oil and gas there, the spokesman said. A date will be fixed soon.

"We already have cooperation in the offshore sector," Sarna said.

India is one of Myanmar's main trading partners. Bilateral trade between
them stood at US$435 million last year, although most of it was routed
through Singapore.

On Monday, Win Aung said his long-isolated country was opening its doors
to the world to attract trade and investment.

He is the first Myanmar foreign minister to visit India since the current
military junta came to power in Yangon in 1988, after a bloody crackdown
on pro-democracy protests, which upset Myanmar's relations with many
countries, including India.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, still struggles to attract foreign
investment because of its poor human rights record and economic
mismanagement.
________

Narinjara News January 18 2003


Road to Bangladesh from Burma
The road from Rangoon to Dhaka seems to be under active consideration of
the Burmese ruling junta, reports our correspondent.
The Rakhine State construction engineer, U Thein Gyaw and his team visited
the road from Taungbro, a border village on the sources of the Naaf River
that separates the two countries of Burma and Bangladesh, to Kring-chhaung
under the Nasaka security forces area #4 at Maungdaw Township on 29 and 30
December last.
A total of 131 big and small bridges will be constructed in this section
of the proposed Bangladesh to Rangoon road, which is nearly 29 km long. 
When completed the road will by pass Maungdaw town to link Buthidaung on
the Mayu River that hugs the western shore of Sittwe, the capital of
Rakhine State. From Buthidaung the road will lead to Kyauktaw Township
upstream the river Kaladan.
Further the road will go through the townships of Mrauk-u, Manbra
(Minbya), Mrebon and Ann, from where the road will cross the Rakhine
(Arakan) Romas to Burma proper.
The road link with Bangladesh has been dubbed as 'alternative Asian
Highway' since this road will bring Dhaka - Rangoon - Bangkok and farther
reaches of South East Asia closer, while China will also reap the benefit
of a road link with the South and South East Asia through Burma's northern
frontier.
The Burmese junta leaders' visit to Bangladesh in December last has
created high hopes among the business communities in the two countries for
increased growth of trade and bilateral relations.  At present there is a
huge illegal trade in goods smuggling between the two countries that
deprive the coffers of the two countries of legal duty.
________

The Hindu January 21 2003

INDIA'S ROAD DIPLOMACY IN MYANMAR AND IRAN
By C. Raja Mohan

In his new year musings, the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee,has come
up with the buzzword "connectivity'' that highlights the Government's
efforts to develop the communication infrastructure. Connectivity has also
become an important element in India's regional diplomacy. Organising
transportation and other links to neighbouring countries has emerged as a
top priority for India's foreign policy. This week India is hosting two
leaders from the region. The Foreign Minister of Myanmar, U Win Aung, is
already in town and is meeting the Indian leadership. The President of
Iran, Syed Mohammad Khatami, arrives later this week to join the Republic
Day celebrations.

In India's engagement with Myanmar and Iran, connectivity is at the top of
the economic and political agenda. In both countries, India is supporting
infrastructure projects that will provide mutual strategic benefit.

In Myanmar, India has already built a 160 km. road from Moreh on the
Manipur border to Kalewa. India has also joined Thailand and Myanmar in a
trilateral project that will connect India's North- East to South-East
Asia.

Myanmar is not only a bridge between India and South-East Asia, but also a
potential route to India's own remote North-East. New Delhi and Yangon are
getting ready to implement the Kaladan project that will revive an old
historic port at Sittwe on the northern coast of Myanmar and link it by
road and river to southern Mizoram.

Indian goods now travel all around Bangladesh through the narrow Siliguri
Corridor to reach the North-East. Once the Kaladan project is implemented,
they can be shipped to Sittwe and then on to Mizoram. The reluctance of
Bangladesh to offer transit facilities to India has made the Kaladan
project a strategic one for New Delhi.

Addressing businessmen at the Confederation of Indian Industry here, the
Myanmar Foreign Minister, Win Aung, said "Myanmar is ready to share its
border with India for the prosperity of the entire region''. In that
process, Myanmar hopes to develop its own internal connectivity.

Accelerating the infrastructure development in Myanmar figured prominently
in the talks today between Mr. Win Aung and the Finance Minister, Jaswant
Singh, and the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha.

On the western side New Delhi and Teheran are cooperating in the
development of a transport corridor from India to Afghanistan and Central
Asia through Iranian territory. With Pakistan denying facilities for
overland trade between India and Afghanistan, this corridor has become the
key to rapid expansion of economic cooperation between New Delhi and
Kabul.

Iran is developing a new port at Chahbahar from where a road will travel
along the Pakistan border into Afghanistan where it will link up with the
garland road system that connects all the major cities in that nation.
India will help Afghanistan build the road link from the border with Iran
to its internal road system.

If the Kaladan project allows India to skirt Bangladesh territory to reach
its North-East, the Chahbahar corridor gives India the much needed access
to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Both the projects are symbolic of New Delhi's determination to overcome
the physical and political barriers that Bangladesh and Pakistan have
become to India's aspirations to benefit from regional economic
integration.

Ideally a more positive attitude from Bangladesh and Pakistan would have
opened the doors for a wider framework of economic cooperation that
involves all of India's neighbours to the east and the west.

A rapid development of the transport corridors in Myanmar and Iran should
eventually get Bangladesh and Pakistan to act in consonance with their own
long-term economic interests.
___________


Express India January 18 2003

Manipuri youths threathen self-immolation if boundary disturbed


Imphal, January 18: A newly-formed youth organisation of Manipur said on
Saturday that its over 10,000 members would immolate themselves if the
territorial integrity of the state was disturbed during the peace talks
between the Centre and Naga insurgent group NSCN(I-M).
If the Central government disturbed the Manipur boundary during talks with
the NSCN(I-M), more than 10,000 youths would self-immolate at historic
Kangla, the place of ancient Manipuri rulers, here, Manipur Forward Youth
Front (MFYF) said in a statement. The statement signed by MFYF secretary
general Sapamcha Kangleipal said about 100 centres would be opened soon to
enrol volunteers from different parts of the state.
Kangleipal said the moment territorial integrity was disturbed, there
would be 'an unending war'. Manipuris would not remain silent when their
state is broken, he added.
The MYFY secretary general recalled how the British had gifted Kabow
valley, which was a part of Manipur, to Myanmar, the then Burma.