BurmaNet News: March 4 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

March 4 2003 Issue #2188

MONEY

Irrawaddy: Finance minister investigated
Inter Press Service: Tobacco giant under pressure for joint venture

INTERNATIONAL

Biotech World: WHO outlines urgent need to end stigma and isolation

REGIONAL

New Light of Myanmar: Japanese guests call on Minister
Irrawaddy: Refugee repatriation in limbo
Narinjara: Contraband goods from Burma seized in Bangladesh
Chinland Guardian: Lending a helping hand
AP: Along the India-Myanmar border, a people celebrate-and worry
about-their culture

STATEMENTS

UNCHR: Report of the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar [excerpt]

MONEY

Irrawaddy March 4 2003

Finance Minister Investigated
By Kyaw Zwa Moe

Burma’s former Minister of Finance and Revenue, Khin Maung Thein, has come
under investigation in Rangoon for his alleged connection to the country’s
ongoing private banking crisis, according to sources in Rangoon.
Khin Maung Thein retired from the post on Feb 1 just days before worried
depositors, fearing the banks were on the verge of collapse, began
withdrawing their funds. In Feb, junta’s officials cited no reason for his
retirement, but people in Rangoon felt he was forced out due to his ties
to the monetary crisis.
Sources in Rangoon could not elaborate on details of the investigation,
which is being carried out by military intelligence officers, but said it
included more than just Khin Maung Thein.
Individuals that had recently taken out significant loans from the banks
are also being investigated, say sources in Rangoon. Bank owners
reportedly lent large sums of money to close friends, including members of
the military, despite their lack of involvement in legitimate business
dealings. Analysts feel this might be one reason for the banks’ lack of
liquidity.
Brig-Gen David Abel, minister for the Office of the State Peace and
Development Council, recently said some private banks had not been
operating in accordance with Burma’s financial laws. The Myanmar Times,
which is part state-owned, reported that David Abel said a few private
banks had lent more money than they were allowed.
Private banks have not totally frozen accounts, but have severely
restricted available funds. Universal Bank, for example, has limited
account holders to only 50,000 kyat (US $50) a week. Other banks are only
servicing 200 customers a day.
The regime has attempted to quell unrest by blaming the crisis on
unsubstantiated rumors. Sec-1 Gen Khin Nyunt said last week there is no
safer place in Burma for cash holdings than banks. There are 20 private
banks in Burma. Asia Wealth Bank is considered the largest.
__________

Inter Press Service March 4 2003

Tobacco Giant under Pressure for Joint Venture
By Bob Burton

Ahead of its mid-April annual general meeting, British American Tobacco
(BAT) is facing increasing pressure from human rights groups in Asia and
elsewhere to withdraw from a joint-venture partnership with the Burmese
(Myanmar) military regime.
The Australian labour movement aid organisation - Union Aid Abroad/Apheda
- is organising protests urging BAT, the world's second biggest tobacco
firm, to withdraw

CANBERRA, Mar 4 (IPS) - Ahead of its mid-April annual general meeting,
British American Tobacco (BAT) is facing increasing pressure from human
rights groups in Asia and elsewhere to withdraw from a joint-venture
partnership with the Burmese military regime.

The Australian labour movement aid organisation - Union Aid Abroad/Apheda
- is organising protests urging BAT, the world's second biggest tobacco
firm, to withdraw from its joint venture.

"We are calling for a withdrawal of trade investment in Burma following on
from International Labour Organisation (ILO) reports and the International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions' (ICFTU) own investigation which found
that forced labour in Burma is actually increasing," said Marj
O'Callaghan, national programme manager with Union Aid Abroad.

In June 2000, the annual ILO Conference backed a resolution urging
governments unions and trade unions "cease any relations that might aid
its military junta to abet forced labour".

In October last year, the ICFTU released a 350-page report that concluded
that "trade union groups are becoming the focus of violent attacks and
foreign multinational investment is helping keep the junta afloat as the
world's governments look on."

While BAT proclaims it plans on staying in its joint venture partnership
with Rangoon, the director of the London-based Burma Campaign UK, John
Jackson, predicts that BAT will buckle under the glare of public
attention.

"We have no doubt that they will eventually withdraw. We will find every
point of pressure that we possibly can, and we will continue to push until
we succeed,'' he said.

BAT openly acknowledges that Rothmans of Pall Mall Myanmar is 40 percent
owned by the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings (UMEH), a government-owned
company.

While the company commenced operations in 1995, it only became part of the
BAT stable of companies when it merged with Rothmans in 1999. Last week,
BAT announced that it made 3.3 billion dollars in profits last year.

Zin Linn, spokesman for the National Coalition Government of the Union of
Burma, the Burmese government-in-exile, says it welcomes the ''pressure on
the tobacco company, or any foreign investments''.

''People know that the income from the tobacco multination helps the
generals. That is always the case,'' he said. ''Many people say even if
they are suffering from sanctions, they welcome the pressure on the
military regime because of the suppression they have to live with.''

Activists hope that by yearend, campaign groups in 20 countries will be
publicising BAT's Burma project.

"They could pull out tomorrow without affecting the company's overall
financial position, and they could do this honourably by providing a
generous redundancy package that would more than meet the needs of their
workers for at least a one-year period,'' Jackson told IPS.

To deflect the controversy over its joint venture project, in early
January BAT contributed some 50,000 U.S. dollars to a four-day human
rights awareness workshop on "capacity building that may help the country
to move closer to international conventions on women's human rights".

But this ''allows the regime to present a facade of concern about these
issues, when they could simply order their commanders to stop (abuses),''
Jackson said.

According to the Burma Campaign UK, BAT's joint venture factory is in the
military-owned Pyinmapin Industrial Zone in the Rangoon division of the
Mingaladon township.

"This industrial zone was upgraded in 1996 by construction crews made up
of child labourers. UMEH contributed the land and the factory building to
the venture", Burma Campaign charged in a November report on BAT's
operations.

BAT does not challenge the accuracy of the allegation. "We are disturbed
to learn of this allegation, of which we have no knowledge,'' BAT wrote in
a background paper on its Burma operations late last year.

Asked if it had subsequently undertaken investigations into the claim, BAT
did not respond.

The company defends its operations in Burma by saying that contributing to
the economy makes improvements in human rights possible. "We believe that
economic prosperity is an important catalyst for other forms of social
advance,'' BAT argues.

But Burmese exiles in Thailand disagree. Soe Aung, external affairs
director of the Network for Development and Democracy, said: ''Any kind of
investment in Burma will in one way or another support the income of the
military regime.''

''The military regime is known to launder money it gets through the drug
trade to keep its foreign reserves from falling,'' he said. ''Investing in
Burma has no guarantees at all.''

Jackson estimates that 16 million dollars in taxes paid by BAT's joint
venture have gone directly into the coffers of the regime.

"BAT are pumping millions of dollars into a regime that is impoverishing
41 million people. A few projects by BAT do not compensate for the damage
done by a regime that BAT is helping to sustain,'' Jackson said.

The campaign has already embarrassed the deputy chairman of BAT, Kenneth
Clarke, who chairs the board's corporate social responsibility committee.

In November 2002, Burma Campaign released a copy of a letter that Clarke -
who is also a Conservative member of Parliament - wrote to a constituent,
"I must admit that I do sometimes feel uncomfortable about investment in
that country.''

"The problem in Burma arises when companies start collaborating with an
extremely unpleasant regime which is totally contrary to our notions of
civil liberties and democracy," he wrote. Clarke later told the British
Broadcasting Corp, ''I don't think companies can have a rule about not
doing business with dictatorships."

BAT's sponsorship of the human rights workshops mimics the funding by
Britain's Premier Oil of similar workshops. In September 2002, Premier Oil
finally from its involvement in the Yetagun gas project after a seven-year
campaign by the Burma Campaign UK and other groups.

BAT points to community projects, from support for health projects, food
support and orphanages as evidence of the benefits that locals would miss
out on if the company withdrew.

But Jackson said: "Fund a brutal military dictatorship, have little regard
to the impact of your investment, and then in order to allay public
criticism, throw a little bit of money to a few villages to illustrate how
positive your presence in the country is. It's a bit like having dinner
with the jailers while throwing crumbs to the prisoners.''

INTERNATIONAL

Biotech Week March 4 2003

WHO outlines urgent need to end stigma and isolation

The world is making great progress toward the goal of eliminating leprosy
as a public health problem. But serious concerns remain in several
countries, including India, Nepal, and Brazil. This was the message
delivered at the opening of the annual gathering in Myanmar of leprosy
endemic countries and partners sponsored by the World Health Organization
(WHO).

Myanmar itself, despite many obstacles in terms of resources, security
problems, and geography, is close to meeting the target of leprosy
elimination. The country has managed to bring down the number of cases
from more than 53 per 10,000 population in 1987 to very slightly over 1
per 10,000 at the end of 2002.

Elsewhere, however, a combination of lack of political commitment and
social and organizational problems remain, holding back progress.

The global health community agreed in 1999 to create the Global Alliance
to Eliminate Leprosy (GAEL) with a target of eliminating leprosy as a
public health problem by the year 2005. Elimination has been defined as
less than 1 case per 10,000 people. Much progress has already been made
toward this goal, and almost all of the countries where leprosy was a
major public health problem at the end of the 20th century are now on
track to hit the elimination goal.

Among the 122 countries where the disease was considered endemic in 1985,
108 have now reached the goal of elimination at the country level. Today,
90% of cases are found in India, Brazil, Nepal, Madagascar, Mozambique and
Myanmar (in order of importance).

GAEL brings together key partners working to detect and treat all people
affected by leprosy and thereby eliminate the disease from all countries
by 2005. Key to reaching this goal is to diagnose and treat leprosy just
like any other disease, without stigma or isolation.

"Diagnosing and treating leprosy through the public health system is vital
if we are to avoid continuing stigma and prejudice against leprosy
patients," said Dr. David Heymann, executive director in charge of
communicable disease programs at the World Health Organization.
"Continuing to treat leprosy patients through expensive and separate
programs has been shown to be the wrong approach - for health systems and
for the patients they look after."

In recent years access to leprosy diagnosis and treatment within general
health services has been greatly improved. Mass media campaigns have also
helped create awareness of the availability of free and effective
treatment as well as to dispel fear about the disease.

The reasons why India and one or more other countries may miss the 2005
deadline are complex and include the delay in improving access to - and
coverage of - leprosy treatment particularly in highly endemic areas. The
continued existence of specialized leprosy services also tends to hinder
the full integration of leprosy services into the primary health care
system.

This conflict of interest has been encountered in many countries but is
gradually being brought under control as more and more countries
appreciate that the only effective and sustainable way to diagnose and
treat leprosy is within the communities where it is found, using the staff
and resources of the local primary health centers.

This is also a point of contention between several international
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and GAEL. Some of the NGOs do not
believe that leprosy can be treated through the public health system, just
like any other disease. GAEL says, however, that this approach does work
and will continue to work.

Since 1995, leprosy patients in all countries have had access to free drug
treatments, first through a donation by the Nippon Foundation and now
through the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development. This highly
effective multidrug treatment has contributed greatly to the success of
bringing down the rates of leprosy infection around the world.

"Novartis is fully committed to ensuring that every leprosy patient in the
world receives high quality drugs free of cost. We will continue our
support to the programme as long as it is required," said Dr Daniel
Vasella, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Novartis.

The Nippon Foundation, which has been supporting the programme for the
last 28 years, reaffirmed its commitment to support this global effort to
eliminate leprosy at the meeting.

"The elimination of leprosy as a public health problem is only the first
stage of humanity's fight against this age-old disease," said Mr. Yohei
Sasakawa, President of The Nippon Foundation and Special Ambassador for
the Global Alliance. "This is an honourable mission that calls for a
united effort by all the stake-holders. We have reached the last mile of
our 100-mile journey. But this last mile will be the most difficult to
travel. We must keep moving and not falter."

REGIONAL

New Light of Myanmar March 4 2003

Japanese guests call on Minister

Minister for Industry-1 U Aung Thaung received General Manager of
Mitsubishi Corporation, Japan, Mr Kiyoyoshi Katagiri and party at his
office this morning.
Director-General of the Directorate of Industries U Tin Hlaing, Managing
Director of the Myanma Ceramics Industries Col Soe Yi and General Manager
U Aye Mauk and responsible officials were also present  on the occasion.
___________

Irrawaddy March 4 2003

Refugee Repatriation in Limbo
By Naw Seng

Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung’s visit to Bangladesh has been dominated
by increased business dealings between Dhaka and Rangoon, over shadowing
the issue of repatriation for Burmese refugees left living along the
Bangladesh-Burma border, said a Rangoon-based UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) officer today.
The officer said the refugee situation remains in limbo despite claims by
Win Aung that Rangoon is ready to facilitate their safe return. "The
repatriation process is at a very slow speed, because of problems with the
Myanmar style," the UNHCR officer said today from Rangoon. He added that
most refugees do not want to come back, as they are now involved in
businesses in Bangladesh and their children are also enrolled in school.
An estimated 22,000 Muslim Rohingya refugees remain in Bangladesh, while
some 233,000 have already returned. The majority of the Rohingya refugees
fled Burma in 1991, after the regime began a campaign of religious
persecution in Burma’s western Arakan State, which borders Bangladesh.
Some vocational training is offered in the camps, but it has been limited
by Bangladeshi authorities, who want to see them repatriated as soon as
possible. The UNHCR officer said 25 to 35 refugees are being repatriated
to Burma each week.
Win Aung, who arrived Sunday, and his Bangladeshi counterpart agreed to
set up a task force to work out a road link between the two countries, as
well as increased economic cooperation. The Burmese Foreign Minister also
reportedly assured Dhaka that all refugees would be taken back.
Exiled Muslims, however, doubt the regime’s sincerity. "The refugee
problem will terminate when Burma becomes a democratic nation," says U
Kyaw Hla, chairman of the Muslim Liberation Organization of Burma.
The UNHCR officer said he was unaware of Win Aung’s assurance. "I don’t
know what the [junta’s] promise is because we are not party to the
bilateral talks. I’m sure that it must have been discussed with Senior Gen
Than Shwe, as well as with [Bangladeshi] Prime Minister Begum Khaleda
Zia."
Visits to the camps are highly restricted, as are the movement of
refugees. Recently, however, the Swedish and Belgium Ambassadors to
Thailand toured the camps and met with refugees and villagers. But
analysts note that some refugees are able to sneak out of the camps for
work.
Since the Sept 11 attack in New York, the Burmese regime tightened
security in Arakan State, which is home to the majority of Burma’s Muslim
population. "The security in Arakan is much more tight [since September
11]," the UNHCR officer said.
Analysts say that Bangladesh is hoping to increase exports to Asean
countries. Burma’s Sr-Gen Than Shwe visited Dhaka in December, and upon
his return the two countries began a bilateral shipping operation, marking
the first ship to travel between Burma and Bangladesh since 1998. Burma
was the first country that recognized Bangladesh’s independence from
Pakistan in 1971.
_________________

Narinjara News March 4 2003


Contraband goods from Burma seized in Bangladesh

During the last fifteen days the Bangladesh Coast Guard seized contraband
goods from the coastal areas, according to UNB, a news agency.

The seized items included timber, nylon hosepipes, ropes and various
brands of alcoholic drinks from Burma.  The estimated worth of the seized
items is about US dollar 14,000.

In an official handout it was said that, a sea pirate was arrested during
the drive and the seized goods deposited to lawful authority.

It may be mentioned here that, nylon ropes and hosepipes that get smuggled
into Bangladesh mainly come from Thailand, and many of the consumer
electrical and electronics products are from China, while large amount of
teak come from Burma.  The Burmese whisky, beer and other alcoholic
beverages are very cheap so that increasingly they are being smuggled into
Bangladesh, besides the agricultural produce including rice, onion, salt,
and cattle.

The two neighbouring countries are now trying to stop the illegal traffic
and open up more for legal export and import where third country goods
will not be allowed to be traded, the two countries agreed when the
Burmese junta chief general Than Shwe visited Bangladesh last December.

The large number of Chinese and Thai goods is smuggled into Burma so that
the inclusion of those products will be avoided in future trade, it was
learnt.
_______________

Chinland Guardian March 4 2003

Lending a Helping Hand
By Salai Za Uk Ling

At least for a moment, hundreds of Chin refugees who are struggling with a
humanitarian crisis while seeking political asylum at United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees Office in New Delhi would find themselves at
ease knowing that they are not completely forgotten. Though their plights
ignored and their needs neglected by the agency they had hoped would give
them assistance, Chin refugees might now find it comforting to know that
at least their fellow expatriates in other countries are hearing their
suffering.

Through the initiative of Chin Human Rights Organization, which late last
year conducted field assessment among Chin refugee populations and had
subsequently made widespread solicitations for help, Chin communities and
churches in various continents have donated funds towards assisting those
in dire need of humanitarian assistance in New Delhi.

The amount donated by Chin churches totaled over one hundred thousands in
Indian currency, which was used to buy rice to be distributed to more than
450 individuals who are in desperate need of assistance. Among the
communities and churches that contributed the funds were Chin Baptist
Mission Church, Washington DC, Chin Community Church, and Chin Evangelical
Baptist Church in Indianapolis. Also, Dallas Chin Baptist Church (Youth
Group), Ottawa Chin Christian Fellowship, Lai Christian Fellowship in
Singapore, and Melbourne Chin Christian Fellowship in Australia also
donated the funds. Additionally, more donations are expected to arrive
from Chin Christian Fellowship in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

In a report which detailed how the assistances were managed, Mr. Run Bik
thanked on the refugees’ behalf Chin Human Rights Organization and all
Chin communities and churches for lending a helping hand to their fellow
people saying that they had contributed to a great cause.

According to the report, each individual refugee received 8 Kgs of rice, a
quantity that could only survive a person for less than a week.

“The relief assistance might be able to solve the short-term problems, but
it is by far extremely inadequate,” said Victor Biak Lian who is Refugee
Coordinator for Chin Human Rights Organization. “There is an urgent need
for UNHCR to take immediate step to intervene in their situations before
we have a humanitarian disaster,” he added.

However, UNHCR seems unmoved by the conditions of Chin refugees. Citing a
cutback on its budget, UNHCR has issued a notice to 30 Burmese refugees
that their Subsistence Allowance would be terminated in two months. As a
result UNHCR is under increasing attack from Indian and other
international rights groups. Just this past week, four Scandinavian
Burmese Committees alleged that UNHCR has failed to respond to the needs
of refugees, saying that the officials manning UNHCR has considered
themselves as ordinary UN Civil Servants and not as officers with a
mission to safeguard the refugees affected with a life threatening
situation.

Nearly five hundred Chin refugees have flooded into New Delhi in recent
months seeking protection from UNHCR. Fresh human rights abuses
perpetrated by Burmese military regime in Chin State and ongoing eviction
of refugees in northeast India have driven them to come to the Indian
capital in search of protection.
_____________

Associated Press March 4 2003

Along the India-Myanmar border, a people celebrate - and worry about -
their culture
By WASBIR HUSSAIN

For two weeks, Khaong Imphum hiked and hitched rides through the mountains
of Myanmar and into India to reach this small town.

"I'm very excited," Khaong, a petite 20-year-old woman wearing a red
hand-woven dress, said while taking a break from the dancing and drumming
of the festival that brought her. "It feels really nice to be with my own
people in a different country."

Every year, in the mountains of eastern India, members of the ethnic group
known as the Singpho in India, and the Kachin in neighboring Myanmar,
gather to celebrate the Shapawng Yawng Manau Poi - a festival that honors
their ancestors, but also is increasingly a rallying point for their
cultural identity.

The Singpho in India, who number about 15,000 and are concentrated here in
the northeastern state of Assam and neighboring Arunachal Pradesh, are
just one small outpost of far larger Kachin communities in Myanmar and
China.

They are afraid for their future in India, worried they will be swallowed
by the larger ethnic groups, particularly the Assamese, that dominate the
area.

They speak the Kachin language in a region where Assamese is commonly
used. They are Buddhists among larger populations of Hindus, Muslims and
Christians. Their clothing - men and women often wear pants formed by
cloth they wrap around themselves - differs from the Western garb
typically seen.

"Our identity is at stake," said Gauri Gam Singen, a teacher from Ouguri,
one of the 27 Singpho villages in Assam. "We fear we could get lost due to
assimilation with the rest of the communities in the area."

While India's northeast is riven by often-violent ethnic separatism, the
Singphos, who sometimes refer to themselves as Kachin, are proud of their
citizenship.

"We are Indians first, then Kachins. We want to live in India, but with
our culture and identity intact," said Rajesh Singpho, a young community
leader.

The issue of cultural protection is largely focused now on language and
marriage. Community leaders are urging the state government to switch to
the Kachin language at primary schools with Singpho children and are
encouraging Singphos to marry within the tribe.

While the task is daunting, they have not lost hope.

Innaw Ladgam, a college student from Arunachal Pradesh, said the festival
was one way to keep the culture alive. "We get to meet our kinfolk from
far and near that help us stay united," he said.

About 2,000 Kachins - most of them Singphos from India - came to the
two-day gathering to celebrate their heritage under a huge covering of
bamboo poles and palm leaves.

The festival was held along the Stilwell Road that crosses the
India-Myanmar border to the Kachin heartland in Myanmar. The road, built
by U.S. forces in World War II and named for the American Gen. Joseph W.
Stilwell, stretches on to the Chinese city of Kunming, another Kachin
stronghold some 1,020 miles from here.

The road's border crossing was closed after India's independence from
British rule in 1947, but community leaders and state officials want it
reopened. The nearest border post between India and Myanmar is hundreds of
miles away, making legal travel nearly impossible between the Kachin and
Singpho areas. The national governments have discussed the idea, but no
decision has been reached.

"We can no longer afford to have walls around us," said Pradyut Bordoloi,
who is Assam's forest minister and a member of the State Assembly.

The Singphos, who are believed to have crossed into Assam in the 18th
century, think of themselves as an international community. "Our people
are spread over India, Myanmar and China. Our land was ... divided by
manmade boundaries," said Pabitra Ningda, a tea planter.

Even today, borders barely exist for many of them. Soldiers may guard
passes in the cloud-capped Patkai mountains that separate India and
Myanmar, but villagers can easily cross the frontier on innumerable foot
paths.

At the festival, turbaned boys and girls performed the Thongka Manou, the
main folk dance of the Singphos, while organizers were busy arranging a
meal of buffalo meat and steamed rice wrapped in banana leaves.

Then, the meal over, the Singphos danced into the night.

STATEMENTS

Commission on Human Rights

CHR 2003: Report of the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar
Date of publication: 27 December 2002

V.  CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS

[from the Special Rapporteur's report to the 59th session of the
Commission on Human Rights]
51.       The Special Rapporteur is convinced that to help enhance the
dialogue between all political actors in Myanmar with a view to speeding
up progress towards peace, it is necessary more than ever to build a
rational discourse on policy and strategy alternatives that are
effectively possible.  It is perhaps necessary to bear in mind that to
create international policies conducive to change in a world where human
rights after 11 September 2001 tend to be given a back seat, it must be
recognized that the willingness and the capacity of the international
community are very limited indeed.

52.       It is high time to replace the high expectations of the ideal
game scenario and the writing of constitutional models with a
down-to-earth discussion of less prescriptive requirements which will be
able to stimulate a real process of change.  It is crucial to follow,
understand and strengthen the internal forces within Myanmar, as in the
end only they will be able to bring about possibilities for change.  To
this end, instead of continuing to complain that little has changed in the
past 14 years in terms of power and influence inside the SPDC, the army
and society, it is time to take stock of, acknowledge and evaluate the
ongoing effects of incremental change which have taken place.  On all
sides it is possible to see movement in terms of contacts and exchange of
information between the SPDC and the NLD during the last two years.  But
it should still be insisted that a road map for substantive dialogue and
setting out objectives for both sides is essential for progress towards
democratic transition

53.       The international community must have its eyes wide open to see
the nuclei of change.  It should continue its dialogue with all sides -
the SPDC, the NLD, other parties and ceasefire groups.  Its influence will
be greatly determined by domestic factors and it must make every effort to
establish an "enabling environment".  Member States and international
organizations must follow the lead of domestic actors concerning the
political transition.  At the time that the NLD General Secretary and her
colleagues are beginning to operate, it is of fundamental importance to be
pragmatic and to work within the compromises and negotiations defined by
the NLD with other political parties, ethnic groups and civil groups. 
Even if at first sight these arrangements will not yet be able to fulfil
the basic requirements of consolidated democracies, this has also happened
in the democratization process of many new democracies in the world.  Let
us not refuse to acknowledge progress because the changes do not fulfil a
maximalist scenario.

54.       On the other hand, it is time to leave behind the illusion that
after the political transition the apparatus and agents of the State will
magically disappear.  As in any democratic transition in the twentieth
century, even after authoritarian regimes, many of the bureaucrats running
the country such as judges, public prosecutors and army officials will
stay in place.  There were many political dialogues in other South-East
Asian countries that were completed before they faced the demands for
participatory democracy, namely elections, labour standards and human
rights.  Accordingly, the Special Rapporteur is of the view that the
sooner the international community is ready to assist, the better and
smoother the change will be in Myanmar.  He therefore continues to urge
the international community to engage with Myanmar even before the SPDC
introduces democratic reforms.  He believes that the peoples of the
country should not be held hostage to political transition.  Every
political transition in the world is a process, sometimes a tortuous and
slow one, and it would be unrealistic and naive to expect an instant
regime change in Myanmar.

55.       The policy option now should be engagement, not isolation.  By
principled engagement - as he has indicated many times before - the
Special Rapporteur understands, among other elements, a dialogue, support
for change, empowerment of community, strengthening of autonomous civil
society elements, and the enlargement of the presence and the capacity of
United Nations agencies.  By insisting on the need for greater engagement
of the international community, he is not urging it to step up financial
support to the SPDC or to consider the suspension of economic or political
sanctions; it is not part of his mandate to advise Member States on this
matter.

56.       With regard to allegations of the rape of women in Shan State
and of other human rights violations against civilians living in ethnic
minority areas affected by armed conflict, if the SPDC sincerely wants to
promote the cause of peace, development and justice there, it must look
seriously into these allegations.  The Special Rapporteur believes it is
urgent that the SPDC establish efficient mechanisms for holding army
personnel accountable for the alleged human rights violations with a view
to ensuring the protection of the civilian population in ethnic areas.  It
is time to finish the war of words.  Denial is the worst path for national
reconciliation:  allegations must be investigated, prosecuted and judged
and those responsible for the violations convicted and sentenced.  The
Special Rapporteur believes that the SPDC could turn this opportunity into
momentum for a peaceful solution and dialogue with ethnic minorities and
bring them into the national reconciliation dialogue, thus ensuring
national ownership of the process and demonstrating that Myanmar is
serious about finding out the truth, protecting its people against abuse
of power, and bringing the perpetrators to justice.  To support this
initiative, it is important  that the United Nations and the international
community be consistent in dealing with human rights violations:  there
cannot be one set of standards or requirements for the SPDC and another
for armed groups.

57.       The Special Rapporteur acknowledges as an important development
the opening of an ILO Office in Yangon and the appointment in October 2002
of the ILO Liaison Officer to cover all activities relevant to ensuring
the prompt and effective elimination of forced labour in the country.  It
would now be a very positive move for the SPDC to confirm its commitment
to end forced labour by strengthening its cooperation with the ILO and
allowing it free access throughout the country.

58.       It is past time for the apparent stalemate that has so far
characterized the contacts between the SPDC and the NLD to end.  The
Special Rapporteur is convinced that greater progress in the promotion and
protection of human rights will be conducive to the creation of an
atmosphere that will break the impasse.  As he has said in his previous
reports, there can be no credible political transition in Myanmar without
starting to implement concrete measures.  Some are connected to the
exercise of civil and political rights such as the immediate and
unconditional release of all political prisoners, including through a
general amnesty.  This also includes the lifting of restrictions on the
ability of political parties and groups having concluded ceasefires with
the Government to conduct peaceful political activities openly without any
risk of retaliation or punishment.  The Special Rapporteur thinks that
this measure is of significant importance because, in the absence of
substantive political settlements and economic growth, the ceasefires have
not in themselves been able to change the situation on the ground for most
of the victims of previous conflicts.  There is a pressing need to embark
on a process of structured dialogue on substantive policy issues with the
involvement of other actors (representatives of ethnic nationalities and
other political parties) in the national reconciliation dialogue.  This
process must be accompanied by the launching of reform of the State
apparatus, which could contribute progressively towards making the rule of
law prevail in the "un-rule of law" which presently affects most of the
population in Myanmar.  With the cooperation of the international
community and multilateral organizations, it is necessary to continue to
take bolder steps to reform the system of administration of justice and to
build mechanisms of public accountability for abuses committed by State
officials.  Of course, the transition process will not be complete without
free elections.  With respect to economic and social rights, it is
imperative to establish some form of "humanitarian aid" vehicle involving
the United Nations and national actors, the SPDC and the NLD, as well as
other relevant actors as appropriate.

[Ed. Note: to read the report in its entirety please visit: Online Burma
Library -- http://www.burmalibrary.org]