BurmaNet News: February 23 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

February 23 2003 Issue #2181

INSIDE BURMA

Myanmar Times: Burmese AIDS project to target bus, truck drivers

MONEY

Singapore Business Times: S’pore firms in Myanmar mount a crisis watch
TV Myanmar: Top official Khin Nyunt tells people banks are safe

INTERNATIONAL

Boston Globe: Suu Kyi wins a round but her cause is faltering

REGIONAL

DVB: Bangladesh prime minister to visit Burma in March

INSIDE BURMA

Myanmar Times February 22, 2003

Burmese AIDS project to target bus, truck drivers

The Myanmar Burma Red Cross Society and a Swiss non-government
organization, the Association Francois-Xavier Bagnoud, have unveiled plans
for a joint project to create greater awareness about HIV-AIDS among long
distance truck and bus drivers and their assistants. The three-year
project, due to be launched in mid-2003, will involve educational
programmes at major road junctions throughout the country.

The decision to launch the project follows a pilot programme at three
long-distance bus terminals in Yangon which began last June and ended on
February 15. The programme at the Sawbwagyi Gone, Bayintnaung and Kamaryut
terminals had resulted in a greater awareness of HIV-AIDS among 75 per
cent of more than 3000 drivers and their assistants, said the project
officer, Dr Tun Aung Shwe. The programme had shown that there was
widespread ignorance about how HIV-AIDS was transmitted, said Dr Tun Aung
Shwe. "Many of those who participated in the programme believed that there
was a cure for the disease," he said. Dr Tun Aung Shwe said one of the
objectives of the project was to train volunteers to create awareness of
HIV-AIDS. This was because of the proven effectiveness of peer group
education programmes.

The proprietor of the Myay Latt Thar bus line at Sawbwagyi Gone, U Maung
Maung Aye, welcomed the project, saying there was a clear need to convince
drivers of the dangers posed by behaviour which put them at risk of
contracting the disease. U Maung Maung Aye said there should be a
permanent education programme and added that remote towns should also be
the focus of campaigns to promote the use of condoms. "Although
Yangon-based drivers have more access to condoms, there are some
constraints for those who work in remote towns," he said. "Many people are
still embarrassed to use condoms because of cultural barriers against
premarital and extra-marital sex." The forthcoming project will target bus
terminals at Bayintnaung and Aung Mingalar in Yangon and highway junctions
at Magwe, Pyay Prome , Taunggyi and Mawla-myine Moulmein , said Dr Tun
Aung Shwe.

MONEY

Singapore Business Times February 22 2003

S'pore firms in Myanmar mount a crisis watch
By HARISH MEHTA

SINGAPORE companies, the largest investors in Myanmar, are gravely
concerned about the banking crisis there, and at least one major Singapore
trading firm is shutting its operations in Yangon.
Speaking to BT on condition of anonymity, the trader said yesterday that
his firm would soon shut its sales outlet in Yangon, joining the exodus of
major US and British companies, a development which threatens to pull the
foreign investment rug from under the feet of the Myanmar government.
BT spoke to several Singapore companies such as Keppel Land,
Jurong Engineering, construction firm Woh Hup, and Sigma
Cable, all of whom said they were monitoring the crisis.
Besides them, a few other companies spoke off the record.

One of the biggest Singapore investors in Myanmar, Keppel
Land, owns two hotels - the Sedona Yangon and the Sedona
Mandalay. A Keppel Land spokesperson said: 'While the events are not
affecting our operations, we will continue to monitor the current
situation closely.'

Woh Hup built the Traders Hotel in Yangon, the Sedona Hotel in  Mandalay
(owned by Keppel), and the Equatorial Hotel in  Yangon. A Woh Hup official
said: 'We have downsized the operation there, and as we have skeletal
staff, it won't impact us much.'

Likewise, Jurong Engineering, which repairs power generation equipment
owned by the Myanmar government, is concerned about the curbs on banking
transactions following a run on banks.
'There's not going to be much direct impact. But there may be some
outstanding payments from the Myanmar government,' a

Jurong Engineering official said. A Sigma Cable official said that their
business was very small and would not be affected. Other major Singapore
investors are Fraser & Neave (production of beer) and British American
Tobacco (cigarettes).

Yesterday, businessmen and residents in Yangon and other cities remained
in a state of panic about the crisis in the banking system that began
early this month.

Soe Aung, a Myanmar director of external affairs at the
Network for Democracy and Development, based along the
Thai-Myanmar border, told BT: 'Companies in construction and garments are
in big trouble as ATM transactions are suspended and they don't have
access to their bank accounts to pay salaries to staff. People are still
queuing up at the banks.'
The crisis began with a massive run on local banks on Feb 6 that was
sparked by the collapse of several non-banking financial companies (that
accepted deposits to finance their businesses in real estate,
construction, trading and manufacturing), and the sacking of the finance
minister, diplomats and analysts said.

In order to stop the panic withdrawals, the central bank imposed a ceiling
on withdrawals, suspended cheque transactions and fund transfers, and
starved companies of funds as working capital.
It then tightened withdrawals to 100,000 kyats, which is less than US$100,
a week.

One US dollar is equivalent to 6.5 kyats at the official exchange rate,
while it is one to over 1,500 in the black market.
'We don't know if the whole financial system will collapse,'
Mr Soe Aung said.
Singapore was the largest foreign investor in Myanmar with cumulative
investment of US$1.57 billion as of December 2002. The hotel sector
accounted for one-third of Singapore's total investment.
According to Myanmar's Ministry of Information, major Singapore
investments include the 450-room Sedona Hotel with an investment of
US$103.2 million injected by Straits Steamship Land (now known as the
Keppel Land group), the 496-room Traders Hotel with an investment of US$84
million by the Kuok Group and Shangri-La, and the 250-room Summit
Parkview Hotel (US$29 million). Foreign investment in Myanmar fell almost
15 per cent in the first 10 months of 2002, registering US$45.52 million,
according to Myanmar's Central Statistical Organisation.
Since Myanmar parted its bamboo curtain in late 1988, and began welcoming
foreign capital, it has drawn US$7.4 billion in approved foreign
investment in 374 projects as at October 2002, of which Asean's share was
more than 50 per cent.

Singapore companies have been quick to pull out of Myanmar whenever the
operating conditions turned unpredictable and sometimes controversial.
Asia Pacific Breweries divested its stake in its Myanmar brewery to
co-parent Fraser & Neave before 1998, following adverse reaction from
human rights groups.
__________

TV Myanmar February 21 2003

Top official Khin Nyunt tells people banks are safe

Gen Khin Nyunt, secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council
SPDC , addressed the Commerce Ministry's Third Four-Monthly and Annual
General Meeting 2002 at the Commerce Ministry's Meeting Hall at 1230 0600
gmt today. First, Commerce Minister Brig-Gen Pyi Sone presented a
report...

Next, SPDC Secretary-1 Gen Khin Nyunt said: In striving to develop the
national economy, the government has laid down the economic policies that
are in conformity with the political, economic, and social foundations and
international economic changes...

The world at present is facing the attempts of some big nations, which are
superior in economy and technology, to control the economies of the
developing countries, dominate and manipulate the international financial
institutions, and apply economic pressure on the developing countries,
with political motives.

In this situation, the developing countries have been setting up regional
economic bodies based on mutually beneficial cooperation, extending trade
and economic cooperation, and foreign trade among themselves. These
endeavours of the developing countries are not only for economic progress,
but also for facing and overcoming the domination and manipulations of the
big nations. Thus, the task of developing the foreign trade and
international economic cooperation to strengthen the national economy, to
safeguard and promote the national interest, and to free the country from
the domination of some big nations is full of national essence... The
Commerce Ministry is urged to develop the national economy, promote trade
with regional and neighbouring countries, increase foreign exchange
earnings, and further stabilize the domestic currency - kyat, and increase
its value, with the outlook to promote and protect national interests.

I would like to say a few things about the present situation of the
private banks. At present, the people are perplexed due to the rumours and
have caused a bank run. Some are withdrawing their savings for proper use
while some are doing so out of fear of losing their savings. In reality,
the banks have guarantees. Therefore, for those that withdrew their
deposits for no apparent reason, nothing is safer than a bank. Presently,
the government is rendering assistance for the convenience of the people.
Thus, the people should not worry about the banks and continue their
businesses as usual...

INTERNATIONAL

Boston Globe February 23 2003

Suu Kyi wins a round, but her cause is faltering
By Rafael Frankel

Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the Burmese National League for Democracy
and a Nobel Peace laureate, called their bluff.
On Friday, a Burmese township court found her guilty of wrongful restraint
in a civil suit and gave her the choice of paying a 50-cent fine or
spending a week in jail. She chose the latter.
After word spread on the street that ''The Lady,'' as she is
affectionately and surreptitiously called in Burma, might be headed to
jail, 2,000 supporters gathered outside the courthouse. The military
government relented and ordered the sentence suspended.
Despite the minor victory, the democracy movement here is struggling,
eight months after hopes for a breakthrough were raised when Suu Kyi was
freed from her second house arrest. Instead, relations between the
National League for Democracy and the military junta that has ruled Burma
since 1988 have hardened, bringing despair and frustration within the
party and among its millions of supporters.
''It's obvious the process has stalled,'' one Western ambassador, who like
other envoys, aid workers, and most Burmese spoke on condition of
anonymity.
The case against Suu Kyi reflected the tall order democracy supporters face.
According to local and foreign specialists in Burmese law, the trial and
eventual finding against Suu Kyi appeared to fraught with legal
irregularities. An official spokesman for the National League for
Democracy, U Luwin, said: ''It definitely was politically motivated.''
Suu Kyi ''said it was not a fair trial and not a fair judgment and would
not accept the fine,'' U Luwin told a crowd gathered at the group's
headquarters here on Friday.
Among the gathering were diplomats from the United States, Britain, Italy,
and Germany, among others.
The suit stemmed from an altercation on May 8, two days after Suu Kyi was
released from house arrest. Her cousin, described as a black sheep by a
source close to the family, punched her after she refused to let him
inside her compound.
Suu Kyi filed a suit against her cousin for assault, and he filed a
countersuit. The cousin, Soe Aung, was also found guilty and was ordered
to pay a $1 fine or spend a month in jail. The outcome of his case was
unclear.
On Friday, U Luwin said in an interview that the military regime, which
refers to itself as the State Peace and Development Council, was running a
smear campaign against the National League for Democracy and Suu Kyi in
particular. A cartoon published recently in a Burmese-language newspaper
depicted Suu Kyi and the senior members of the party as tarnishing the
image of the Burmese people.
''NLD officials believe there is an orchestrated political campaign to
embarrass her, to diminish her, and make her look ordinary,'' a Western
diplomat said. ''The irregularities with the way this case was handled
support that.''
To say that a dialogue between the military and the National League for
Democracy is at a standstill would imply that one had begun. It hasn't,
and there are no signs of one starting in the foreseeable future.
Suu Kyi's conviction on Friday followed the arrest two weeks ago of seven
National League for Democracy members and five other activists. The
military has refused to negotiate.
''The general sense'' is that the democracy process ''is going nowhere,
and we're extraordinarily disappointed with that,'' a Western diplomat
said.
Interviews with taxi drivers, hotel clerks, professors, and health care
workers all point to high discontent in Burma, or Myanmar, long one of the
wealthiest countries in Asia. A taxi driver, his voice trembling and
rising as he spoke, said there ''will soon be an explosion.''
Because of the ubiquitous presence of military intelligence personnel,
such ''interviews'' are conducted in hushed tones in the corners of bars,
or in private vehicles -- when they are conducted at all. When asked about
anything remotely concerning the military regime, most Burmese shake their
heads and walk away.
Those who do talk paint a picture of a society deeply frustrated with a
crumbling economy and an inept military government that has failed to
improve most sectors of society, from health care to education, and most
of all, in sustaining an adequate standard of living.
''In a communist way of speaking, you could say that everything is `ripe
for a revolution,' '' said a politician who has been jailed repeatedly for
20 years.
Adding to the unease here, the United Nations warned its employees Friday
to exercise caution. A liquidity crisis in the banking system, coupled
with rampant inflation of staple goods such as rice, cooking oil, and
gasoline, is threatening to bring the economy to a halt.
But a revolution is not on everyone's mind. Though she described a
''smoldering discontent in Burma right now,'' a local health care worker
said that conditions are not the same as in 1988, when an uprising against
the socialist government led to the military takeover.
''There now exists a small segment of society which has done very well for
themselves over the last few years, and has a stake in seeing that things
do not change too much,'' she said.
For her part, Suu Kyi has said that even if it meant the overthrow of the
military regime, she was not in favor of a violent uprising because of the
suffering it would bring to the Burmese people, U Lwin said.

REGIONAL

Democratic Voice of Burma February 23 2003

Bangladesh prime minister to visit Burma in March

It has been learned that Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia planned to
visit Rangoon about the middle of next month March . A Dhaka newspaper
reported yesterday that she is expected to inaugurate a four-day
Bangladesh Trade Fair in Rangoon during her visit. The Bangladeshi
government has opened a trade showroom in Rangoon last year and claimed
that the products sales have increased in the Burmese market. It has been
learned that the Bangladesh Trade Fair will be held from 20-24 March.
Furthermore, according to Narinjara news, Bangladeshi Prime Minister
Khaleda Zia will meet with top SPDC State Peace and Development Council
leaders and plans to hold talks on matters of bilateral interest.