BurmaNet News: March 19 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

March 19 2003 Issue #2198

INSIDE BURMA

Irrawaddy: Human rights envoy under fire
DVB: Burmese child soldier’s interview

GUNS

DVB: Clash between SPDC troops and SSA rebels

MONEY

Asia Pulse: Vietnam’s trade with Myanmar on the rise
DVB: Farmers in trouble

REGIONAL

Myanmar Information Committee: Let us avoid making irresponsible remarks
and demonizing others
DPA: Bangladeshi premier flies to Myanmar to complete road link deal
DPA: Southeast Asian countries divided over Iraq, focus on war aftermath

OPINIONS

Seattle Times: Myanmar’s campaign against women and children

INSIDE BURMA

Irrawaddy March 19 2003

Human Rights Envoy Under Fire
By Kyaw Zwa Moe

Opposition members in Rangoon levied harsh criticisms at the efforts of
the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, and say they expect
nothing from him when he arrives in Rangoon today for a week-long visit,
his fifth mission since being appointed to the post in 2000.
Critics of Paolo Sergio Pinheiro say that he has produced no improvements
in the human rights situation in Burma, and that he is working outside of
his jurisdiction by lobbying for greater engagement by the international
community with Burma’s military government. Pro-democracy forces both
inside and outside the country have long pushed for isolation as opposed
to engagement, so long as the generals in Rangoon fail to implement
democratic reforms.
National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesperson U Lwin says he "is not
impressed with [Pinheiro] even a little bit", and cites Pinheiro’s
inconsistencies when commenting on the situation inside Burma. He says
that this detracts from his overall reputation, while contributing to his
lack of success in brokering greater freedoms for the Burmese people.
"We don’t see any improvement in the human rights conditions since he took
the position," U Lwin recently said from Rangoon. "What he says varies
from one place to another. He says one thing before he comes to Burma, but
he changes it when he arrives in Rangoon. And when he leaves Rangoon and
holds a press conference in Bangkok, his statement is different again."
U Lwin added that the NLD "does not expect anything" from Pinheiro during
his visit.
Prominent ethnic politicians in Rangoon also said today that they would
advise Pinheiro to stick to human rights issues and not the country’s
stalled reconciliation process when they meet with him this week. "What he
has to do is just about human rights," Khun Tun Oo, chairman of the Shan
Nationalities League for Democracy, said today from Rangoon. "We will tell
him to do his own task. The issue of engagement doesn’t concern him at
all."
The special rapporteur has urged the world to engage the military regime
and begin providing much needed humanitarian assistance. He has said the
sooner the international community was ready to assist, the faster change
would come to Burma.
Exiled dissidents, however, also agree that Pinheiro should stick to his
mandate and that he does not need to say things that are seen as favorable
by the regime simply to ensure he is able to return.
"His main task is to improve human rights conditions and investigate
violations in Burma," Bo Kyi, secretary of the Thai-based Assistance
Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), says. "But it’s not an
important factor for him to get permission from the junta to enter Burma.
Therefore, he doesn’t need to say things the generals will like."
Some outside analysts, however, point out that resolving Burma’s problems
requires a commitment by the military regime, something that is beyond
Pinheiro’s control.
"I don’t want to only blame Pinheiro," says Aung Naing Oo, an exiled
political analyst. "It also depends on the junta’s collaboration [with the
UN]."
But Aung Naing Oo warns that Pinheiro may fall victim to Burma’s heavily
polarized political landscape. "Politics in Burma are black and white. If
you aren’t a friend [of the opposition], you’ll be the enemy. So if he
says something positive for the junta, he will be in trouble and lose his
credibility [with the opposition]."
Pinheiro will reportedly be examining the lack of political prisoner
releases as well as the continued suppression of basic political freedoms
in Burma. Sources also say that he will be pushing for an independent
assessment of allegations concerning systematic sexual abuse of women in
Shan State by the Burmese army.
During his last trip to Rangoon, Pinheiro declined an offer by the Burmese
regime to personally travel to Shan State to investigate the claims, which
were featured in a June 2002 report titled "License to Rape" that was
written by two Shan human rights groups. The report cites over 600 cases
of sexual abuse.
Burmese dissidents hailed the decision, saying they doubted the regime’s
sincerity and that the trip would have been used as a public relations
stunt, as villagers would have been too intimated to honestly speak with
Pinheiro for fear of retribution from Burmese soldiers. Dissidents instead
asked Pinheiro to interview Shan refugees along the Thai-Burma border,
which he eventually did.
Both government authorities and opposition members, including
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, would be meeting with Pinheiro this
week. The Burmese junta never allowed his predecessor, Rajsoomer Lallah,
to enter the country.
____________

Democratic Voice of Burma March 19 2003

Burmese child soldier’s interview

While the SPDC is denying that it is no longer using child soldiers for
its army, two Burmese boy soldiers have recently fled into the KNU
controlled areas. They fled from their posts while their regiment LIB-343
was sitting on Bayintnaung Hill, Walakhee District of Karen State. DVB’s
Khine Thazin reports from the Thai-Burma border.

KTZ: One of the child soldiers is a 14 year old boy, Yan Naing and
ex- pupil of No.3, State High School, Hlaingthaya Township of Rangoon. He
was kidnapped last August on his way home from the tuition classes. He
told me how he was arrested and recruited into the Burmese army and his
experiences as follows:

A: I was on my way home from my tuition classes. It was getting dark. So,
I  hitchhiked any car I could. It was a patrol car. I didn’t have my
student card with me. I was unable to do anything to prove my identity.
They gave me two options: to join the army or to go to jail. I said that I
didn’t want to go to jail as it is not good for my reputation and I had to
join the army. I was sent to Mingaladon Recruiting Camp and I was then
sent to a training camp, No.9, Basic Military Training Corp. They gave us
four and a half months training.

I am from LIB 343 which is based at Ye [Tenesserim Division, southern
Burma]. I was there for a week and included in this military operation. I
was put in the security forces for the operations or kept at the front to
fight.

The child soldiers make up one third of my present regiment. There are
many like me at the training school. Some of them fled from their homes
and ended up in the army. Some people were kidnapped while they were
running their parents’ errands or on their way home from tuition classes
and the like.

I have not only seen how they brutalised child soldiers who tried to run
away, I myself took part in it. The reason is – when someone was caught
trying to flee from the training school, all the trainees have to punch
the ‘culprit’ once. There were 250 trainees. It was impossible for the
victim to bear. I saw with my own eyes at the training school. His
eyebrows were broken, teeth broken, cheeks broken. They asked me to punch
him and when I refused I was brutalised myself. If someone punched the
victim very softly, they told the person, ‘not like this, punch him like
this’ and punched the person.

GUNS

Democratic Voice of Burma March 19 2003

Clash between SPDC troops and SSA rebels

It is reported that the fighters of the Shan State Army [SSA] ambushed the
soldiers of the SPDC at Homong, in eastern Shan State and two soldiers
including a commander were killed and two were seriously wounded. The 903
Frontline Engineering Regiment which is in charge of the building of
military roads at Homong led by commander Colonel Kyaw Nyunt was ambushed
by the SSA fighters on the eve of 15th of March. The commander of Eastern
Command ordered the military road which was started at the beginning of
last year to be finished for assaults on the rebels during the coming dry
season. The SPDC is said to be very aggrieved by the attack and the death
of the commander, according to news from the Thai-Burma border.

MONEY

Asia Pulse March 19 2003

VIETNAM'S TRADE WITH MYANMAR ON THE RISE

Viet Nam exports instant noodles, consumer goods, fine art products and
construction materials to Myanmar, while importing from it precious stones
and timber.

Last October, Viet Nam organised for the first time a trade fair in
Myanmar's capital, Yangon, which drew the participation of 32 businesses
displaying rubber-based products, home appliances, pharmaceuticals and
cosmetics.

Also last year, a number of Vietnamese entrepreneurs visited Myanmar to
explore the prospects of investment in areas like construction, transport,
oil and gas exploration and development.

Myanmar business people also came to Viet Nam to seek opportunities in
areas such as pharmaceuticals raw materials, wet rice cultivation and
shrimp rearing.
___________

Democratic Voice of Burma March 19 2003

Farmers in trouble

Farmers in Pwintphyu Township, Magwe Division, Upper Burma are facing many
difficulties due to the corruptions perpetrated by local authorities. Now
is the season for the farmers to reclaim silted lands on the banks of
local rivers, Irrawaddy, Mone and Mann. Traditionally, the villagers
divide the lands with allotment system and grow vegetables. But the
chairmen of local authorities U Khin Maung Toe and U Myint Swe have bought
16 acres of silted land near Madare village and the farmers are facing
losses, according to local villagers. Similarly, some silted lands near
Zeegone were sold by the local authority chairman, U Win Myint with the
excuse of repairing local primary school. The villagers have reported the
matters to higher authorities, but there have been no actions from them.
And farmers who are unable to sell rice quotas [at the lowest rate] to the
government buying centres are forced to pay 3,000 kyats to the local
authorities as bribes. The chairman of the local authority, U Kyaw Tint
also seized some acres of land on the 25th of last month from a farmer, U
Than Tun who was unable to fulfil the demand. Moreover, they have been
forcing local rice mills to be closed since February because the farmers
are still unable to fulfil the sales of rice quotas and the people are
facing rice shortage, according to the local people.

REGIONAL

Myanmar Information Committee March 17 2003

"Let us avoid making irresponsible remarks and demonizing others"

Bao Yu-Xiang Pau Yu Chan , Chairman of the United Wa State Army (UWSA), an
ethnic Wa faction which broke up from the Burmese Communist Party in 1989,
dismissed the charges made by certain Thai officials as "groundless
rumours".

Recently in Thailand an anti-drug operation has been carried out since a
few weeks ago with a death toll of over 1,500 drug suspects killed by Thai
police. According to the revelation of a senior Thai official, over (700)
Thai politicians, government officials, members of the army and police
forces were suspected of involvement in the drug trade. To make things
more complicated a few days ago the Thai government intelligence reports
suggested that drug cartels outside the country had offered a reward for
anyone to take PM Mr Thaksin's life. Thai police chief was quick to point
a finger at the UWSA. Foreign and local journalists in Thailand had their
own speculation about the one to kill the prime minister. According to the
Thai media, the Thai deputy prime minister in charge of security affairs
admitted on 14th March that the police intelligence report was the least
credible. The Defence Ministry also stated that the military intelligence
sources were sceptical of the threat and dismissed as "nonsensical" while
one senior army officer in Chiang Rai monitoring the Wa's activities along
the Myanmar-Thai border was quoted saying, "It doesn't make sense". It is
unfortunate that everytime something goes wrong in Thailand the UWSA will
be the top candidate to become a scapegoat. This recalls an incident, the
3 March 2001 bombing of Thai Airways Jet Boeing 737-400 at Bangkok
International Airport. It was also the UWSA which was immediately staged
as the culprit until the Thai office of the Narcotics Control Board
dismissed the suggestion. It is very disappointing and regretful that
certain quarters in Thailand are still continuing to make irresponsible
speculations and allegations against certain ethnic groups in Myanmar
living peacefully with the determination to develop their regions while in
the process of getting themselves away from dependency on poppy
cultivation and narcotics trade. These groups have been steadfastly
cooperating with the UN, US and other countries near and far as well and
fulfilling their committment to have their respective areas drug free.
Their endeavours and achievements have been given recognition by the UN as
well as various countr ies and NGOs.

The UWSA has consistently denied any involvement with illicit drugs but
has admitted that farmers in their areas grow opium. The group pledged to
eliminate all opium cultivation by 2005 in order to become a drug free
area. They have been closely cooperating with the UN and US opium yield
survey teams in their areas. Recently a team from the United States
together with their Myanmar counterparts did a 9th joint survey in the
Shan State. The survey provides vital, timely information on poppy
production, and allows observers to evaluate ongoing crop substitution
programmes. In addition to the undergoing crop substitution programmes the
team also visited areas where programmes being designed to provide
alternative sources of income to poppy farmers such as a wolfram tungsten
factory, animal breeding farms, marble factory, tea, cigarette and gems
polishing industries among others.

Due to these factors and the sincere efforts of the ethnic groups living
in the poppy producing areas there has been a significant drop in opium
production inside Myanmar according to the UN and US figures. The figures
are expected to decline even further in the coming year.

Reflecting the positive achievements and giving due recognition to the
efforts the Wa people are steadfastly putting in they should be dubbed the
world's largest armed narcotic eradication group instead of unfairly
labelling them world's largest armed drug-trafficking group.
____________

Deutsche Presse Agentur March 19 2003

Bangladeshi premier flies to Myanmar to complete road link deal

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia flew to Yangon Wednesday to begin a
three-day official visit to Myanmar during which the two neighbouring
countries are expected to sign a deal on a road link between them,
officials said.

The construction of the Dhaka-Yangon highway, which will ultimately
provide Bangladesh with a direct road link with Thailand via Myanmar, will
dominate talks between Zia and her Myanmar counterpart Senior General Than
Shwe.

Bangladesh, which shares a slice of its eastern frontier with Myanmar,
formerly Burma, opened border trade under a 1994 accord but the volume of
bilateral exports and imports did not pick up due to the lack of a road
link.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said a series of Memoranda of Understanding
would be signed during the "high profile" visit including initial
documents on setting up a ministerial-level joint trade commission and
coastal shipping services between the two countries.

Zia's visit is taking place within three months of an official tour of
Dhaka by Shwe, who as Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council,
is Myanmar's de facto prime minister.

Zia is also expected to ask Myanmar's military leaders to quicken the pace
of repatriation of over 20,000 Myanmar Moslems who had taken refuge in
Bangladesh alleging atrocities on minorities by the military government.

On Thursday Zia will formally open a Bangladeshi trade fair in Yangon and
address Myanmar businessmen.

Zia is accompanied by cabinet ministers, a business delegation and a
cultural troupe from Bangladesh.
_________

Deutsche Presse Agentur March 19 2003

Southeast Asian countries divided over Iraq, focus on war aftermath

Southeast Asian nations on Wednesday voiced opposing stands on the war in
Iraq, however, leaders from the region pledged to focus on overcoming
economic consequences and a possible terrorist backlash following military
action.

Foreign Ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),
which groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam gathered Wednesday in
Malaysia to hold informal talks on issues affecting the region, with the
impending war in Iraq high on the agenda.

Philippines Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, Lauro Baja, said the talks
would focus on increasing regional cooperation in the aftermath of war,
adding that it would be a futile effort to try and reach a common stand
from ASEAN over the issue of Iraq.

"It's difficult to get an ASEAN consensus or common position over state
conflict," said Baja.

"ASEAN countries should exchange views on how we can help each other in
the aftermath of the conflict, in matters of economic consequences, oil
supply and to counter expected increase of terrorist attacks.

"This will make our meeting more meaningful and more substantive," he said
ahead of talks.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar slammed the move by U.S .
President George W. Bush in giving Iraqi President Saddam Hussein 48 hours
to step down or face a military assault, saying that the international
community should oppose the "unlawful act" of waging war without the
consensus of the U.N.

"This will be a very sad day and a big mistake that has got serious
repercussions the world over," said Syed Hamid.

"To declare war would mean a catastrophe."

Syed Hamid said that ASEAN member countries, however, remained divided as
there were those that "support the U.S., there are ASEAN countries that
deplore the war".

Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, with mainly Moslem communities, are
strongly opposed to the war, while two ASEAN countries, namely the
Philippines and Singapore, were in support of U.S.-led attacks on Baghdad,
Baja had earlier told reporters.

He said that although the Philippines was fully supportive of the United
Nations multilateral process, Manila supported the attacks on Iraq as "we
perceive there is a failure of the U.N. to act".

"By treaty and tradition, we are an ally of the U.S. and our national
interest also dictates that we support a method that will really disarm
Iraq and perhaps promote a safer region."

However, Singapore's Foreign Minister S. Jayakumar downplayed the
differences among ASEAN member countries by saying that the meeting in
Sabah "never was the intention to take a common stand on Iraq ...
different ASEAN countries have different national position on this
question".

"Even organisations like the European Union do not have a unified
position, so it is not surprising that ASEAN do not have a unified
position," he said, adding that member countries would discuss ways to
cushion the impacts of war in the region.

The ministers arrived on Tuesday for the informal gathering at Karambunai,
a luxurious beach and golf resort in Malaysia's eastern Sabah state.

However, they cut short their retreat, which was scheduled to end
Thursday, in order to attend meetings back home ahead of the looming war,
said Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, chairperson of the informal
meeting.

Speaking to reporters at the end of the meeting, Hor said that the
ministers had shared the view that the war would bring about serious
implications to the region and the world, and pledged to heighten
cooperation in the areas of economy and security.

On Tuesday, ASEAN secretary general Ong Keng Yong urged the countries to
take extra security measures against a fallout of Moslem extremism,
warning attacks on Western targets as a form of retaliation against the
United States, Britain, Spain and Australia was a "vulnerability" in the
region.

ASEAN governments also had to work together to ensure the economic and
political stability of the region following the impending war, he said.

OPINIONS

Seattle Times March 19 2003

Myanmar's campaign against women and children
By Lynne K. Varner

As we head into war with one member of the Axis of Evil, allow me to
divert attention briefly to another country that could comfortably reside
on that list: Myanmar — formerly Burma.

Myanmar is ruled by a junta of thugs and cowards who have used rape for at
least the past six years to bring its ethnic areas under control.

In a well-documented report, "License to Rape," co-authored by two
Thailand-based human-rights groups (and corroborated by a State Department
investigation), at least 625 girls and women have been the victims of
systematic rape, torture and public execution. The victims included girls
as young as 5. Many of the women and children were held and raped
continually over a four-month period. One-fourth of the rapes ended in
murder.

Men cannot protect their wives, mothers and daughters because they often
flee as the army approaches or risk charges of collaboration with rebels
or risk being forced into the army.

Many of the women have joined an estimated 1 million who've been pushed
out of Myanmar. The women end up in the refugee camps that dot the Thai
border, afraid, depressed and having left behind their possessions and any
hope for a future.

The government of Myanmar calls the women's accounts of rape fabrications.
The military has gone into villages and forced people to sign petitions
stating that the rapes did not occur.

Indeed, few of us would know that living in Myanmar can be hell on Earth
if it were not for the two indigenous women who recently told the stories
in the halls of Congress, the United Nations and here in Seattle.

Few people in Myanmar are allowed to use the Internet. The country's most
well-known citizen, Aung San Suu Kyi — opposition leader and Nobel Peace
Prize recipient — is free after years of house arrest but barred from
using the Internet or publishing a newsletter. Her telephone service is
frequently cut off in mid-conversation.

If a pattern of evil is needed to justify intervention from the U.S. and
other nations, here's a country that can provide it. The Myanmar junta has
pressed millions into forced labor. Women and girls are forced into
Bangladesh, where they are openly sold as concubines in public markets.
The ruling military junta murdered thousands of peaceful protesters who
took part in pro-democracy demonstrations 14 years ago.

Despite elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party
winning 82 percent of the parliamentary seats, the junta refuses to hand
over power.

Iraq needs democracy. So does Myanmar. A country the size of Texas, it is
rich in petroleum, timber and precious stones. But the lunatics at its
helm have turned the country into a major exporter of methamphetamine and
heroin. The Asian Development Bank's 2002 report estimates that Myanmar's
drug trade constitutes 20 percent of all business in the country.

Myanmar has gone from being a country with a high standard of living in
the 1930s and 1940s to one that the U.N. a decade or so ago called the
least-developed country on the face of the Earth.

Want an argument about regional stability? Myanmar is a nest of
instability snuggled between two superpowers, India and China.

It deserves our attention as much as Iraq, but thankfully this attention
can come in the form of international pressure rather than military
intervention. The U.S. has banned new investment in Myanmar. Congress
should now bar imports. Legislation circulating through Congress should
find plenty of supporters.

Sanctions work. Check out South Africa.

The Bush administration, and the rest of the international community,
should increase pressure. This can come in the form of releasing all
political prisoners, recognizing that more than 80 percent of the citizens
voted for Suu Kyi and restoring democracy.

Neighboring Thailand should continue to offer shelter to those fleeing
Myanmar. It is a financial burden, yes, especially for a country that has
hosted refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. But it is a burden that
could be eased if Thailand were more welcoming of help from refugee
agencies and nongovernmental organizations.

Tourism is another weapon to use. Tourists should consider how their money
keeps a repressive regime in business. If you're looking to walk along
beautiful beaches and sample chicken curry, stay home. But if you're
prepared to open your eyes to the real Myanmar, the people in chains, the
children working on roads and the fear that is palpable most everywhere,
go. When you return home, tell everyone what you saw.

The disgust of the entire international community is the only way to stop
Myanmar from continuing its war on women and children.