BurmaNet News: February 7 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

February 7 2003 Issue # 2172

INSIDE BURMA

USA Today: Burma ‘first lady’ defies military thugs
Irrawaddy: Confiscation spurs social unrest
Myanmar Times: Luxury condos cater for [sic] new wealthy class
AFP: Aung San Suu Kyi wins million dollar award
Chin Human Rights Organization: 5 Chin Christian children escaped from
Buddhist monastery
DVB: New Mon State Party News
Xinhua: Myanmar’s leprosy prevalence rate to further decline in 2003

REGIONAL

Nation: A crowded agenda for Thaksin’s Burma trip

OPINION

DPNS: Burmese generals attempt to win over Amnesty International

INSIDE BURMA

USA Today February 7 2003

Burma 'first lady' defies military thugs
By Al Neuharth

She's 5-foot-3-inches small and weighs less than 100 pounds. But every
ounce of freedom advocate Aung San Suu Kyi radiates respect for human
rights and dignity. We visited with this Nobel Peace Prize winner in the
modest family home in which she was held under house arrest for more than
six years by Burma's military dictatorship. She was released last May,
after intense international pressure.

Her "crime": She and her National League for Democracy party won an
overwhelming election victory. The military thugs who run this country of
48 million people refused to recognize the election results.

Since last year's lifting of her confinement, the "first lady" of Burma
fearlessly has resumed rallying her people peacefully on behalf of freedom
and democracy. Young people predominate as crowds of tens of thousands
cheer the 57-year-old.

Foreign journalists are banned in Burma, so we came clandestinely to
present Ms. Suu Kyi a $ 1 million "Free Spirit" award from our
international Freedom Forum foundation.

The only wall decoration in her sparsely furnished living room is a huge
8-foot-by-12-foot painting of her father, the late Gen. Aung San. He was
assassinated in 1947, two months before he was to become the first prime
minister of then-independent Burma.

In her own words, headlines of what keeps this delicate-looking,
dignified, soft-spoken but steely spined woman going:

"I want the people of Burma to be able to hold their heads high as free
human beings."

"I would especially like the richness of spirit of our young people to
soar to meet all challenges."

If Ms. Suu Kyi could achieve those goals in her lifetime, she would
transform an enslaved Burma, which the military now calls Myanmar, into a
beacon for the world.
__________

Irrawaddy February 7 2003

Confiscation Spurs Social Unrest
By Naw Seng

The New Mon State Party (NMSP) has vowed to defend Mon farmers against
increased land confiscation in Burma's southern Mon State. They say
seizures have triggered massive unemployment and social unrest as farmers
and villagers scramble to find alternative sources of income amidst an
increasingly militarized state.
The NMSP estimates that over 2,500 acres of rubber and betel plantations
belonging to local farmers have been seized by Burmese troops since 1999.
Fifteen new Burmese army battalions now stake claim to the land, without
ever compensating the farmers.
"We think the land confiscation has led the community into a stage of
crime and unrest," a NMSP officer said yesterday.
In a statement issued last Sunday, the NMSP said they must defend the
rights of Mon farmers. The statement marked the end of a two-week NMSP
conference where they were rumored to be discussing their withdrawal from
a ceasefire agreement. The NMSP agreed to a ceasefire with Burma’s
military government in June 1995.
NMSP officials had previously demanded that the Burmese regime compensate
the farmers, but the government never responded.
Since the land seizures began, villagers have fled to Thailand to avoid
arrest and to search for both work and food. Without land to farm the
villagers have had a difficult time putting food on the table. Last
September local authorities arrested dozens of villagers in Mudone
Township after they looted a rice warehouse.
"Farmers and land owners have no choice but to give up their land," said a
Mon Human Rights worker. "The authorities give no announcement to
villagers before confiscation."
NMSP officials say that the military confiscated the land because it
serves a dual purpose. They can build military bases next to pre-existing
crops, which can provide food for troops and extra income for the
battalion commander.
"I think [the land confiscation] is the policy of the authority," said the
Mon Human Rights activist. "They won't change that policy."
According to The Mon Forum, areas that have seen large tracts of land
seized include Ye Township, where an estimated 2,000 acres have been
confiscated. And in 2001, 300 acres belonging to Mon villagers on
Kalar-gote Island, just west of Ye Township, were confiscated by the
military’s Southern Command in order to construct the Mawrawaddy naval
base.
___________

Myanmar Times February 7 2003

Luxury condos cater for new wealthy class
By Aung Kyaw Tha

BUILDING work for Yangon’s tallest residential condominium is due to begin
next month at  a site overlooking the Hantharwaddy roundabout on Pyay
Road, the developer Zaykabar Company announced last week. The 25-storey
triple-tower building, which will contain 528 residential units, will cost
about K27 billion, Zaykabar’s chairman, Dr Khin Shwe, told Myanmar Times.
The company had originally planned to build two 23-storey towers
containing apartments, offices and shops at the site, but decided to add
another two stories at the suggestion of its architects, Singapore company
ADDP. "As well as providing more residential apartments, a higher building
will be more elegant," Dr Khin Shwe said, adding that apartments higher
than 10 storeys would have a view of the Shwedagon Pagoda.
Singapore companies would be contracted for construction, electrical,
interior decoration and landscaping work at the site, he said. He said
"off the plan" sales would begin in March of units in the development,
which had been named Pyay Gardens. The units will range in area from 1300
square feet to 1500 square feet and include between three to five
bedrooms. There will be special security arrangements, with each resident
being issued with identity cards. Dr Khin Shwe said the decision to make
the development residential-only was in the interests of the privacy and
security of tenants. Each of the three towers will have three lifts and
the development will include parking for more than 500 vehicles.
Facilities at the site will include coffee shops, swimming pools, and a
spa.
__________________
Agence France-Presse February 7 2003

Aung San Suu Kyi wins million dollar award

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has scooped a one million
dollar prize offered by a US group in recognition of her democracy battle.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate won the Freedom Forum's Spirit of the Year
Award. "Aung San Suu Kyi was selected to receive the award for her
free-spirited, non-violent struggle for human rights and democracy," the
group said.

This is the first time that the full one million dollar prize has been
handed to one person.

Freedom Forum chief executive Charles Overby and Al Neuharth, founder of
USA Today newspaper, travelled recently to Myanmar, the former Burma, to
inform Aung San Suu Kyi she had won the prize.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who has endured frequent periods of house arrest said in
remarks taped by the two that she would be unable to attend a ceremony to
honor her in March as she feared the country's military rulers would not
allow her to return.

"I will never leave Burma until I can return to this country freely," she
said.

Her award will be accepted on her behalf by her son Alexander Aris.

Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy, which won
general elections in 1990 which have never been recognised by the
military.

The Arlington, Virginia-based Freedom Forum is a non-partisan foundation
which promotes free speech, and a free press.
___________

Chin Human Rights Organization February 5 2003

5 Chin Christian children escaped from Buddhist monastery

Five of several Christian children who had been placed in various Buddhist
monasteries after they were recruited by Buddhist monks from Matupi
Township in Chin State during the last two years, ran away from the
monastery in the last week of January 2003, a local man who just arrived
to Mizoram said. He added that two children still are still remaining in
the monastery.

Salai Val Thang was placed at Rangoon Hill Buddhist Mission Center,
located at Thit Seih Kan ward, Theinkan village of Mingladon township in
Rangoon, while Salai San De Thang, Salai Se Ki and Salai Aung Naing Myo
were placed at Yuamah Pari Gati Buddhist school.  Salai Lai Thang still
remains at Rangoon Hill Buddhist Mission Center and Salai Kam Lian Thawng,
son of Pu Ri Sang in Matupi, is still being placed at Sule Thein Daw Kyi
school in Rangoon. They are all between the ages of 8 and 17.

Most of the children are from poor family backgrounds, and they were lured
away from their parents with the pretext of giving them education in
bigger cities. However, the children were instead placed in Buddhist
monasteries where they were made to put on robes.  The children have since
attempted to run away.

All Children were placed in different monasteries, making it difficult for
their parents to make contact with them. The parents are now very worried
because neither can they afford to travel down to the monasteries nor can
they ascertain the location of their children. Even conditions about the
two children who are known to be remaining at a monastery in Rangoon are
difficult to be followed up on.

The five children, now back to Matupi, say they refused to learn lessons
taught in the monasteries not only because all the lessons were about
Buddhist percepts and principles but they were made to put on robes and
follow strict monastic disciplines.

The children were recruited at various times in Matupi area since 1998 by
Budhist monk Sayadaw U Sein Da who is in charge of a Buddhist temple in
Matupi. Placements of the children were arranged by another monk who is
second in charge of the temple, and U Za-Wanna from Rangoon Hill Buddhist
Mission Center. Moreover, a Burmese school teacher working in Matupi
Township by the name of U Htun Pe had played an instrumental role in
enticing most of the children.

Since 1997, Burma’s ruling military junta, State Peace and Development
Council had imposed various restrictions on the activities of Christians
in Chin State who constitute more than 90 percent of the population of the
State. Buddhist monks in Matupi Township started recruiting children in
1998.
_________

Democratic Voice of Burma February 5 2003

New Mon State Party [NMSP] News

The 5th Conference of the NMSP which started on the 15th of January has
come to an end on the 2nd of this month. It had issued a statement with
five points from its HQs based at Ye Chaungpya. They
are: To strengthen the unity of Mon nationals, to rebuild the love between
the nationals, for a nationwide ceasefire agreement and to find the
solution with tripartite dialogue and to set up multi-party democratic
system and to build a true federal union. From the conference the
delegates elected 27 CEC members and Naing Shwe Kyin was re-elected as the
chairman and there was no change there, said the observers. But one of the
CEC members, Naing Shwe Thein said that even if there is no change of
members, there will more changes in policies and members will not be quiet
anymore. He continued as
follows:

A: We will push and urge as much as we could from our corner. Our
ceasefire agreement is in its seventh year. We still could not step
forward. We are still stalling and we need to restart our working towards
our aim. Starting with the ceasefire agreement, we are trying to work
towards true peace. We reassess the fact that if there is no nationwide
ceasefire agreement, the dialogue would be useless. The tripartite talk
will be the ideal way for dialogue.

Q: The NMSP’s ceasefire agreement is seven years old now. How did you
review it? Are you satisfied with it?

A: The reason we met is because we are not satisfied with it. We are
urging the government from the possible position.

Q: Do you mean the dialogue in Rangoon that you are not satisfied with?

A: No. I mean all. We assessed all, not only in Rangoon. We are not
satisfied with UN’s delegates who came here. We mean all.

Q: You mean including the groups who signed the ceasefire agreements with
the SPDC?

A: Yes.

Q: You will try to stand for the people on the question of land
confiscations by the SPDC troops to build army bases. Could you explain
that?

A: We are doing our best on the basis of ceasefire agreement. We are
asking the government to give the people compensations to the people who
lands were confiscated as they have been working on the land since time
their ancestors time. Whether they oblige or not depends on the
government. We have the duty to do so.

Q: What is your attitude on Naing Pann Nyunt who split from you?

A: We have issued some statements about Naing Pann Nyunt. Quite a lot of
them have now returned. We accept them in the form of amnesty.

Q: To sum up, compared to previous occasions, the NMSP is becoming more open?

A: yes. We will do what we have to do but there is also the ceasefire
situation and we will try to do our best on that basis. It is clear if you
read our statement.
_____________

Xinhua News Agency February 7 2003

Myanmar's leprosy prevalence rate to further decline in 2003

Myanmar's leprosy prevalence rate will further decline to less than one
per 10,000 population in 2003, a target set domestically, according to the
Ministry of Health Friday.

The country's leprosy prevalence rate dropped from 39.9 per 10, 000 people
in 1988 to 1.04 in 2002. Myanmar was regarded as one of the countries
where leprosy prevalence was very high.

According to the ministry, the total number of leprosy cases was estimated
in 1954 at about 200,000 in the country and it was increased to 700,000 in
1973.

Since the introduction of Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT) by the World Health
Organization (WHO) in 1986, it has paved the way for elimination of
leprosy with integrated MDT service expanding to more areas in the country
and achieving 100 percent coverage in 1995 with the support of WHO.

As a result of these efforts, Myanmar's leprosy prevalence rate has
dropped so.

Meanwhile, Myanmar is hosting for the first time a three-day meeting of
Global Alliance for Elimination of Leprosy beginning Thursday. The third
meeting of its kind is aimed at seeking ways to overcome the challenges
faced in striving towards the target set for leprosy elimination in the
world by 2005 by WHO, which, along with its partners, launched the global
alliance for elimination of leprosy in 1999.



REGIONAL

Nation February 7 2003

A crowded agenda for Thaksin's Burma trip
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee

Hard pressed by an influx of narcotics from Burma and running out of
patience, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is visiting Rangoon on Sunday.
It will be a litmus test of his soft approach - a make-or-break trip.

Beside putting his "good neighbour" policy on line, Thaksin's February
9-10 visit to Burma will determine the future of Thai-Burmese cooperation
in such areas as narcotics, migrant workers and economic relations.

At the start of his administration, the premier had come out forcefully.
Overlooking the possibility that his country may be losing its moral
authority, Thaksin was convinced that his brand of diplomacy would force
the Burmese to do things his way. Today, Thaksin finds himself in a
corner. The premier is left with a constant reminder that after two years
of fence-mending trips by himself and his lieutenants, coupled with olive
branches extended to the junta, his Burma policy has not produce the
desired outcome.

To come out and change tack now would amount to admitting defeat, which
critics said is not in his nature.

Indeed, the mood today is a far cry from the show of force that the
premier put on when he assumed the premiership two years ago. Officials
still talk about how the Chiang Rai drug seminar two years ago raised
their eyebrows when slides of Burma's security chief General Khin Nyunt,
along with large hauls of drugs confiscated from Burmese drug lords, were
shown to the packed house of officials.

But today it's business as usual. Drugs, insurgencies, overlapping claims,
refugees and illegal migrants remain the fundamental problems that
continue to define, and plague, Thai-Burmese relations.

The United Wa State Army (UWSA), a pro-Rangoon group which Thailand has
declared public enemy number one, is crowding the Thai border with more
then ten thousand troops. The 20,000-strong army is looking to further
expand its stronghold bordering Thailand by forcibly relocating more
peasants from areas along the Chinese border and resettling them in
newly-built towns bordering Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.

The total number of villagers being relocated from the Wa-controlled area
to areas along the Thai border should reach 100,000 by this year, said Bao
Yu-xiang, chairman of the UWSA in a recent interview with The Nation.

The Thai Army and drug agencies say millions of methamphetamines cheaply
produced in UWSA's clandestine labs continue to flood Thailand on a weekly
basis, while academics say the Burmese generals must be held accountable
for the illicit drug-production of the cease-fire groups.

Analysts say Burma's problems are internal and linked to its political
structure. And unless a political solution between the junta and the
minority groups can be reached, Thailand will continue to bear the burden
as these problems spill over the border.

Analysts point out that although only a handful of armed rebel groups
still exist in Burma, those that came under Burma's so-called "legal fold"
have still not established a permanent peace with the generals. They are
still armed and, in many respects, remain a security threat to the
military regime.

In his upcoming visit, Thaksin will be pushing the Burmese generals to
designate border areas from Mae Hong Son to Chiang Rai as "drug free"
zones.

"The idea is to seal your own border in the same manner that was used to
starve out Khun Sa and his Mong Tai Army," said a senior military officer
who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Thai government is banking on the notion that Rangoon will have little
choice but to cooperate because of enormous domestic and foreign pressure.
Whether this will translate into Burma taking military action against the
well-armed UWSA remains to be seen.

There have been suggestions that Thaksin will have to bring up Burma's
internal problems on the grounds that these problems directly affect
Thailand.

The previous Thai administration had also employed this tactic, known at
the time as "constructive intervention", but it rubbed not only Burma but
fellow Asean members the wrong way. The regional grouping has a tradition
of not washing its dirty linen in public.

There have been suggestions that a "carrot and stick" approach be employed
but few are convinced that the Burmese generals will fall for such a
scheme.

Like any other authoritarian leadership, the Burmese, say analysts, are
very solid and united when it comes to any negotiations.

Although the nature of Thai-Burmese relations has changed little over the
past two years, Thaksin will not find the same old Burma that he visited
the last time around.

Over the past two years, Rangoon has worked hard to improve its bilateral
ties with Beijing, while at the same time reaching out to India, Pakistan
and Bangladesh to diversify their relations.

And in spite of the enormous pressure from the West, Burma's regional
standing is much more secure then what it was two years ago - with or
without Thailand's help.

OPINION

Research and Studies Centre/Democratic Party for a New Society February 7
2003


Burmese generals attempt to win over Amnesty International

Since releasing Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese military regime has tried to
reduce international pressure while stalling on the dialogue. In the
second half of 2002, the regime attempted to persuade the U.S. to take it
off its list of major narcotics-producing countries. However, this was not
successful, because of the inconsistency between the SPDC’s words and its
actions. Undeterred, the regime is now trying to tone down international
criticism of its human rights practices by welcoming Amnesty International
representatives into the country.

The invitation to Amnesty International follows the international outcry
over the Shan License to Rape report documenting Burma Army rapes of 625
girls and women. In December, a U.S. State Department investigation
confirmed the occurrence of mass rapes in Shan State. Two months earlier,
UNICEF rated the SPDC’s usage of child soldiers as the worst in the world,
estimating 20% or more child soldiers. These abuses occurred despite the
fact that Burma became a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the
Child in 1991. It seems that the regime’s worries about harsh condemnation
at the upcoming 59th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights in
Geneva led it to grant visas to Amnesty International representatives for
a 10 day visit.

Burma’s appalling human rights record has strained EU-ASEAN relations for
the last five years. But this year, for the first time, the EU did not put
any conditions on Burma’s attendance at the joint meeting, because
terrorism was the key issue on the table. The EU did bring up Burma’s
human rights situation during the meeting, but Burmese Deputy Foreign
Minister Khin Maung Win later told the Myanmar Times that "the Myanmar
question is no longer a dominating issue in Asean EU relations." He also
added that Burma now has stronger ties with the EU.

This is the first time that Amnesty International has been granted
permission to enter Burma. It seems positive that the Burmese military has
started responding to international criticism by engaging with
international human rights organizations, instead of ignoring them like
before. In the last few years, the regime has allowed the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to conduct prison visits throughout the
country and the Australian human rights commission to initiate a human
rights education program for selected civil servants. The International
Labour Organisation (ILO) was permitted to set up an office in Rangoon in
early 2002 to monitor forced labor practices. Nevertheless, human rights
abuses, including forced labor practices, have continued. Just last week,
the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners reported that 15
political prisoners disappeared during prison transfers over the past nine
months.

Because most of the NGOs that have entered Burma so far have relied more
on quiet persuasion than public pressure, the regime may have felt
confident enough to invite Amnesty International. They may feel that they
can buy some time while Amnesty International is familiarizing itself with
conditions inside the country and so escape harsher criticism in the next
few months.

Amnesty International’s primary means for seeking to improve the human
rights situation in Burma so far have been pressuring the regime through
publishing human rights reports, letter campaigns on behalf of political
prisoners, and other awareness raising activities. Having followed human
rights abuses in Burma for years, Amnesty International will certainly be
aware that it is dealing with generals who are good at hiding abuses and
making empty promises.

Before his last visit to Burma in November, U.N. special envoy Razali
Ismail admitted his disappointment with the generals’ failure to release
more political prisoners and continue the talks with Aung San Suu Kyi.
Likewise, Thai officials have waited for years for the generals to make
good on their promises to stop illicit drug production near Thailand’s
borders. Unfortunately the flow of methamphetamines has only increased.

It will be a challenge for Amnesty International to see if it can do more,
assuming it is granted regular access to the country in the future. The
regime will likely try to rely on words rather than actions and delaying
tactics rather than real changes to divert attention from its continued
abuses. However, let’s hope the results will be different this time.