BurmaNet News: March 28 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

March 28 2003 Issue #2204

INSIDE BURMA

AFP: Myanmar blast was a bomb, says Yangon
Narinjara: Burmese Army ransack Nasaka security and toll gate
DVB: Farmer tortured in Mon State

MONEY

VOA: US Department store joins boycott of Burma made products
Het Financieele Dagblad: IHC Caland under fire, again

DRUGS

SCMP: A million addicts on mainland: drug chief
Bangkok Post: Police holding 14,445 dealers; 467 killed
Straits Times: Thai army will ask Myanmar rebels to withdraw from border

INTERNATIONAL

Asia Times: After Baghdad, Yangon

STATEMENTS

FBC: May dept. stores "make the right choice," joins Burma boycott
State Dept: To the House International Relations Committee [Excerpt:
Introduction and Full Text on Burma;Thailand]
USAID: To the House International Relations Committee [Excerpt:
Introduction and Text on Burma; Regional HIV/AIDS]

INSIDE BURMA

Agence France Presse March 28 2003

Myanmar blast was a bomb, says Yangon

An explosion said to have killed two people in Myanmar's capital on Armed
Forces Day was a bomb, the military junta said Friday.

The blast went off on a downtown street Thursday outside a telephone
switching station, killing two government workers and injuring a third,
municipal and security officials said.

"It was a time bomb planted in a trash bin," the junta told AFP in a
statement, though it presented a different casualty toll.

"The bomb blast in downtown killed one and injured three," the statement
said.

An investigation has been launched.

A ceremony Thursday led by the military ruler Senior General Than Shwe
marking Armed Forces Day took place at Yangon Resistance Park and passed
without incident.

Authorities told AFP a second explosive device was found in a park
opposite the US Embassy and was defused by security personnel.

It is not unusual for ethnic minority rebels fighting Yangon's rule to
attempt minor actions against the junta during the anniversary, though
security is generally boosted.

No one has claimed responsibility for the explosion. Two insurgency groups
-- the Karen National Union and the All Burmese Student Student Democratic
Front -- have denied any hand in it.
__________

Narinjara News March 28 2003

Burmese Army ransack Nasaka Security and Toll Gate

 On March 19th about thirty members of the Burmese Army ransacked the
security and toll gate of the Nasaka Security forces at Ann Town, our
correspondent reported quoting an eyewitness.

The tollgate, No. 25, is situated on the Sittwe Rangoon Highway, near Ann
Township.  The members of the Burmese Army came from Sa-Ah-Ya Battalion
919 (Militatry Police?) stationed close to the Nasaka security station. 
At 7-45 in the evening the troops came and ransacked the tollgate and
broke all the windows of the Nasaka office and other living quarters.

The hostile act was prompted by an altercation between a Sergeant Major
Win Hlaing of Sa-Ah-Ya Battalion 919 and security guards from the Nasaka
at the tollgate No.25.  According to the report, Win Hlaing was riding a
motorcycle and was about to cross the tollgate when the guards at the gate
challenged him.  The Sa-Ah-Yah sergeant got enraged at the challenge and
returned to his quarters where he appealed to the members of his
battalion.  Immediately about thirty members of Sa-Ah-Ya returned with
bricks and stones, wielding sticks. For about half an hour they attacked
with whatever missiles and sticks they could lay hands on and wounded some
family members of the Nasaka troops.

The Sa-Ah-Ya troops had been dissatisfied for long for all the harassments
they had to face from the Nasaka guards all the time they crossed the
tollgate.  Besides the discrepancy in earning ‘black money’ resulting from
checks in the tollgate that has made the Nasaka personnel very rich while
the Sa-Ah-Ya personnel have been forced to live on the meagre salary the
military regime gave them  a simmering dissatisfaction have been running
deeply between the two battalions, commented the source.  This coupled
with the harassment must have  instigated such action.

Only when Lieutenant Colonel Htay Lwin from the Sa-Ah-Ya battalion rushed
to the spot the situation was brought under control.  No arrests or
departmental action because of the incident has yet been reported.
_________

Democratic Voice of Burma March 28 2003

Farmer tortured in Mon State

It is reported that a 78-year-old farmer of Kawtha Village, Kyaikmayaw
Township in Mon State was arrested and tortured on the 11th of March for
not able to sell rice quota to the government. He had to be hospitalised
for a week at Moulmein Hospital. DVB’s Maung Too reports:

Maung Too : The farmer, Naing War possesses 14 acres of wetland paddy
fields and he was accused of failing to sell the allotted 168 tins [bags]
of rice to the government. He was taken to Nyaungpin Seik Police Station
and beaten up by station administrator, Maung Soe. Other three farmers
were also arrested with him and they were released after they promised to
sell the full quota to the government. Another police administrator from
the nearby police station and local authorities were said to be involved
in the arrests. The chairman of the local authority told Naing War that if
the farmer gives them 550,000 kyats, he would be released but he was
arrested because he gave them 250,000 kyats and 100 tins of rice. The
farmer was beaten and kicked the whole night by the police and he had to
be treated in Moulmein Hospital the next day and after a week he was
discharged from the hospital on the 18th of March. The wounds and pains
from beatings and kicking are so severe that he is said to be still
suffering.

MONEY

Voice of America March 28 2003

US Department Store Joins Boycott of Burma Made Products

U.S.-based May Department Stores has announced that it will no longer sell
products made in Burma, where the garment industry is tied to a system of
modern-day slavery.

The Free Burma Coalition released a statement Friday, saying the company
is the 40th American business to join the boycott in three years,
resulting in a 27-percent drop in U.S. imports from Burma in the past
year.

Burma's democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has called for foreign
businesses to avoid Burma, saying that sanctions send a strong political
and economic message to its military dictatorship.

_________

Het Financieele Dagblad  March 28 2003

IHC Caland under fire, again

Oil production platforms maker IHC Caland came under fire again yesterday
due to its continued activities in Burma. Lobby group Burma Centrum
Nederland wrote to Dutch banks ABN Amro, Fortis, Rabobank, ING and NIB
Capital asking them to increase pressure on IHC Caland to sever its
contacts with Burma.

DRUGS

South China Morning Post March 28 2003

A million addicts on mainland: drug chief
By Ray Cheung

The number of mainland drug addicts surged by 10 per cent last year to one
million, state media reports.

Bai Jingfu, State Drug Control Commission director and Vice-Minister of
Public Security, said the nation's law enforcement agencies faced greater
challenges as the smuggling, selling and production of illegal drugs had
intensified, the China News Service quoted him as saying.

According to Mr Bai, drug traffickers are increasing their operations in
the Golden Triangle, the notorious drug-producing region below Yunnan
province.

Traffickers were using new routes from northern Myanmar into Yunnan, he
said. Once in Yunnan, the drugs were shipped across the country.

Mr Bai also said there was a sharp rise in the trafficking of Ice and
Ecstasy pills. This demand has in turn led to a rise in the smuggling of
chemical ingredients for drug production. Last year, officials prosecuted
about 110,000 drug-related criminal cases and arrested almost 90,000
suspects. Police seized more than 9.2 tonnes of heroin, 1.2 tonnes of
opium, 3.1 tonnes of Ice, 1.3 tonnes of marijuana, three million Ecstasy
pills and 300 tonnes of other illicit drugs.

The report said 74 per cent of drug addicts were youths, without providing
a breakdown of figures for offenders.

Officials pledged to implement more prevention and law enforcement
measures to keep ahead of the traffickers.

Minister of Public Security Zhou Yongkang said the government would
intensify its efforts against drug use and trafficking, according to
another China News Service report. Mr Zhou said the government would
launch an anti-drug campaign aimed at children in middle and elementary
schools, and migrants and the unemployed.

The government will also establish more drug rehabilitation centres.

In an effort to reduce supply, Mr Zhou said the government would increase
anti -drug training for law enforcement officials and intensify crackdown
efforts in Yunnan.

___________

Bangkok Post March 28 2003

POLICE HOLDING 14,445 DEALERS; 467 KILLED

By Wassana Nanuam

More than 400 drug dealers in the North have been killed since the war on
drugs began on Feb 1, while 14,445 others have surrendered, authorities
said.

Also, about 50 blacklisted major dealers in the North have escaped to
Burma, said Pithaya Jinawat, head of the Northern Narcotics Control
Office.

Mr Pithaya said only 15 of the 467 suspected dealers killed since Feb
1were gunned down by police in self-defence. The rest were believed to
have been murdered by drug gangs trying to cover their trails. There were
487 government officials among the blacklisted suspects. So far, 77 of
them _ mostly based in Mae Hong Son _ had been arrested, he said.

Mr Pithaya added that a total of 77,385 drug users in the North had
already reported to authorities.

Quoting reports of the Narcotics Control Board (NCB), he said there were
330 drug networks in the North and 280 smuggling routes in 10 northern
provinces.

About 50 methamphetamine factories along the northern border belonged to
drug kingpin Wei Hseuh-kang and the ethnic Red Wa in Burma.

Officials of the NCB and the United Nations Drug Control Programme
recently visited the Red Wa's La and Pok towns, located opposite Chiang
Rai. They found the majority of Wa townspeople were wealthy. Most of them
owned four-wheel-drive vehicles and satellite phones, the officials
reported.

U Sa Koo, a Wa military leader, admitted the Red Wa were still producing
opium and speed pills. However, they had made a promise to Rangoon to help
wipe out illicit drugs by 2005.

The NCB and UN officials also found Thailand's war on drugs had led to a
decrease in the circulation of drug money.

Smugglers were also forced to reduce the size of their shipments and to
figure out new ways to conceal their illegal goods, such as hiding pills
in powder milk packets.

Also, there was a sharp rise in both wholesale and retail prices of speed
pills. The wholesale price now stood between 30-50 baht per tablet, while
the retail price had rocketed from 80-100 baht to 300-400 baht apiece.

REGIONAL

Deutsche Presse-Agentur March 28 2003

Indonesian foreign minister to visit Myanmar and Thailand

Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda will visit Myanmar (Burma) and
Thailand next week to discuss bilateral issues, news reports said on
Friday.

The ministry's East Asia director Primo Alui Joelanto said Wirajuda would
visit Myanmar on April 1-2 and Thailand on April 3-5, said the state-run
Antara news agency.

In Thailand, talks will focus on an "exclusive economic zone" between the
two Southeast Asian countries, Joelianto said.

Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand are all members of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which also includes Brunei, Cambodia,
Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.
____________

Straits Times March 28 2003

Thai army will ask Myanmar rebels to withdraw from border
By NIRMAL GHOSH

BANGKOK - The Thai army is set to persuade ethnic Shan and Wa forces to
withdraw from their bases on the Myanmar border as a first step towards
stamping out the cross-border drug trade.

Clearing the border of the two ethnic groups will allow the Thais to work
with Yangon's armed forces to work out a more efficient anti-drug
smuggling machinery.

Until now, Myanmar's armed forces have only nominal control in the areas
dominated by the Shan and Wa, both of whom maintain armed forces of their
own.

Thailand also hopes to demarcate the border clearly soon and start joint
border patrols.

The newly appointed commander of Thailand's Third army, Major-General
Picharnmet Muangmanee, told journalists over the weekend that with these
measures, the Thais hope to reduce the cross-border drug trade which has
flooded Thailand with amphetamines.

Thailand will try and persuade the Shan State Army. 'Thai soldiers will
absolutely not use force in dealing with the Shan,' he said.

Myanmar will talk to the United Wa State Army.

The two ethnic groups have been fighting Myanmar's authority for years and
often cross the Thai border to seek refuge.

The Thai army has maintained an uneasy, arm's length relationship with
them for years.

The Wa have some 20,000 well-armed fighters and the ruling regime in
Myanmar is not keen to challenge them. The Shan also remain influential in
many pockets.

The Wa helped the Yangon regime fight the Shan in the 1990s in return for
a measure of autonomy.

Both the Wa and the Shan have been having running battles for years with
Yangon, which they oppose because of ethnic issues.

The Thai authorities believe mediating between Yangon and these two groups
is in Bangkok's interests because it would enhance Yangon's control over
the border areas.

Only with these in place would Thailand make headway in its battle against
drugs.

Drug-trade analysts agree that wiping out street peddlers will have
limited effect if the flow of amphetamines from across the Myanmar border
remains unchecked.

Millions of yaba pills are smuggled across the border regularly. With an
estimated one million addicts, Thailand has one of the world's worst
methamphetamine problems.

INTERNATIONAL

Asia Times Online March 28 2003

'After Baghdad, Yangon'
By Nelson Rand

MAE SOT, Thailand - If George W Bush is wondering where next to take his
"regime change" crusade after he's polished off Saddam Hussein, Saw Bawah
has a suggestion: Myanmar.

Saw Bawah is a medic with the Karen National Liberation Army. Recently he
came across the border from his jungle base camp in Myanmar to this small
Thai town to watch the US-led "shock and awe" campaign against Iraq on a
television in the office of the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), an armed
ethnic group opposed to the ruling junta in Yangon.

Saw Bawah's Karen group has been fighting for an independent homeland in
eastern Myanmar since 1949. On this day he sat with his face right up to
the TV screen, watching in awe as coalition planes dropped bombs on
Baghdad and firefights erupted in Umm Qasr. It was an information overload
for this man who rarely receives any news from the outside world - let
alone live TV coverage of a war. He couldn't tell the difference between
Saddam Hussein, Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf and
Americans on the television set, but he knew what was going on: Britain
and the US were taking action against a brutal dictator and his regime.

Said Saw Bawah: "I hope that when the US is finished with Iraq, it'll do
the same in Burma."

He was not alone in his sentiments. It is here in Mae Sot where political
dissidents, exiles, and ethnic leaders and guerrillas from neighboring
Myanmar congregate to battle their own repressive government - politically
and militarily - that has been ruling their country with an iron fist
since 1962.

Like Saddam Hussein's Iraq, Myanmar is ruled by a repressive government
that has been blasted repeatedly by the international community for
human-rights abuses including rape, torture, the imprisonment of political
prisoners, and the killings of ethnic minorities. The International Labor
Organization has slammed the country for its use of forced labor,
Reporters Sans Frontieres calls it the "world's largest prison for
journalists", and a report last May by the Shan Human Rights Foundation
documenting the systematic use of rape by the Myanmese army on ethnic-Shan
civilians received widespread publicity and condemnation of the Yangon
government by the international community.

Myanmese dissidents and ethnic insurgents based in and around Mae Sot know
what life is like living under such a regime, and so they watch with envy
as US and British troops invade Iraq to destroy Saddam's government.

"We would have liked the Americans to do what they are doing now in Iraq
to have done in Burma 50 years ago," said Aung Naing Soe of the ALP. He
was among 15 Myanmese from his and Saw Bawah's ethnic factions who sat
glued to the television set, flipping the channels between CNN and the
British Broadcasting Corp.

There were no debates or arguments in the ALP office about the war. Nobody
criticized the US and Britain for their actions, disputed the morality of
the invasion, or condemned military action for causing the loss of
innocent lives. Everyone agreed: war was the right course of action.
Everyone there wanted the US to do the same to Myanmar, and they all were
willing to lose an innocent family member in a military strike if it meant
freedom for Myanmar. "We are not fighting for our individual families,"
said Naing Soe, "we are fighting for the freedom of our country." (The
ruling junta officially changed the name of the country from Burma to
Myanmar in 1989.)

"The people of Burma know only too well about Iraqi suffering, as they
have suffered themselves under the hands of a brutal military regime
possibly worse than that of Iraq," said a Myanmar activist in the ALP
office who spoke on condition of anonymity. "But for Burma there is no end
in sight as they don't have the natural resources that interest other
countries like oil. Where does this lead them in their struggle for
democracy? ... Another 50 years of murder, rape, torture, summary
executions and genocide - unthinkable."

Ethnic groups in Myanmar such as the Karen, Shan, and Arakanese accuse the
Myanmese government of genocide in their ethnic areas. In the words of one
senior KNLA commander, Saw Ner Dah Mya, "The Burmese government wants the
Karen to survive only in museums."

The country is besieged with international sanctions for its poor
human-rights record and is widely condemned for not honoring the results
of 1990 national elections in which opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
won a landslide victory. The country is also the world's second-largest
producer of opium.

Saw Thashee, an aide to senior KNLA leaders, said the KNLA would be
willing to give 10,000 Karen troops to help the US in Iraq if they would
help them afterward to free Myanmar - a very generous if not impossible
offer considering the KNLA only has about 5,000 soldiers.

There was only one person in the ALP office who took a different stance on
the war with Iraq. "I'm against it," said Ran Naing of the ALP. "Because
the US didn't ask me to come and help them."

STATEMENTS

Free Burma Coalition March 28 2003

May Dept. Stores "Makes the Right Choice," Joins Burma Boycott
Owner of 14 Mega-Chains is 40th Company to Ban Burma Goods in 3 Years


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 28, 2003
Contact: Jeremy Woodrum, 202-547-5985
Attention: Business, foreign editors and journalists

WASHINGTON and ST. LOUIS - May Dept. Stores, the St. Louis-based retail
giant and owner of 14 chains including Foley's, Lord & Taylor, Hechts,
Strawbridges, Robinsons-May, and David's Bridal, informed the Free Burma
Coalition that it will no longer sell products made in the Southeast Asian
country of Burma, where the garment industry is tied to a system of
modern-day slavery. The company, which had $13.5 billion in sales last
year, posted the change in policy on its website yesterday,
http://www2.mayco.com/common/investorSOR.jsp, making it the 40th U.S.
company in 3 years to boycott Burma products. So many companies have
banned "Made in Burma" clothing that U.S. imports from Burma have dropped
27% in the past year - a sharp reversal compared to a previous surge in
imports.

"May has 'made the right choice'," says Aung Din, Director of Policy for
the Free Burma Coalition, referring to the company's slogan. "There are
almost no major retailers that want to be associated with Burma's brutal
dictatorship and its vicious use of forced and slave labor."

A number of groups, including the American Anti-Slavery Group and the
Campaign for Labor Rights as well as the Free Burma Coalition launched a
boycott of May Stores after the company refused to respond to complaints
over "Made in Burma" products on store shelves. May had been retailing
clothing made in Burma by several companies including Rafaella and One
Step Up.

May joins dozens of major retailers in its decision, such as top
competitors Federated Department Stores and Saks, as well as Wal-Mart,
Costco, Gart Sports, Tommy Hilfiger, Fila, Hanes, The Spiegel Group, and
Jones Apparel. Companies are boycotting Burmese products due to the links
between the country's garment industry and forced labor, which were
described by the U.S. State Department in its most recent human rights
report on Burma: "Forced labor, including forced child labor, has
contributed materially to the construction of industrial parks
subsequently used largely to produce manufactured exports including
garments." Burma's regime has also been condemned for using rape as a
weapon of war and for having the world's largest number of child soldiers,
most of whom Burma's military forcibly conscripts.

Burma's democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Aung San Suu
Kyi, has called for foreign businesses to avoid Burma, saying that
sanctions "send a strong political and economic message" to its
dictatorship. South African Bishop Desmond Tutu has noted the parallels
between the "Free Burma" movement and the anti-apartheid struggle, calling
Burma the "new South Africa."
______________

Department of State March 26 2003 (EXCERPT)

[Ed. Note: FOR COMPLETE VERSIONS OF BOTH STATEMENTS, PLEASE VISIT THIS
WEBSITE: http://wwwa.house.gov/international_relations/aphear108.htm]

Introduction and Full Text on Burma and Thailand

Statement of Matthew P. Daley
Deputy Assistant Secretary
Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs
To the House International Relations Committee
March 26, 2003

"U.S. Interests and Policy Priorities in Southeast Asia"
Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and the
members of the Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, for inviting me
to discuss our interests and policy priorities in Southeast Asia.
Chairman Hyde's invitation requested our assessment of U.S.-Indonesian
relations, regional counterterrorism efforts, the situation in Burma,
possible troop deployments in the Philippines, the political climate and
election preparation in Cambodia, and human rights conditions in Vietnam.
I will cover all these topics in the course of my presentation as well as
other Southeast Asian issues of special concern.
Southeast Asia is a region in which democratization has proceeded at a
mixed pace. In the past decade, the Philippines and Thailand have
consolidated relatively young democracies. Indonesia, under authoritarian
rule for thirty years, continues to make strides in its democratic
transformation. In Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, we are promoting more open
societies and democratic government. In Burma, although we were heartened
by the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi last May, we have subsequently been
disappointed by a lack of progress toward democratic change.
At the same time, Southeast Asia is a region that is largely coming to
grips with terrorism, again with some countries moving to take effective
action more rapidly than others. The common threat of terrorism has
actually strengthened cooperation and our ties with key Southeast Asian
countries. One need think only of October 12 in Bali. That attack shows
that terrorism threatens us all and it can happen anywhere.

BURMA

With respect to Burma, unfortunately I must report that efforts to foster
peaceful democratic change have come to a halt. The regime has released
only a few political prisoners since late November (and those in advance
of a visit by the UN Special Rapporteur), and has made new arrests of
political activists in that same timeframe. Most seriously, the junta has
not demonstrated a willingness to begin a real dialogue with the National
League for Democracy on substantive political issues. Although Aung San
Suu Kyi has been able to travel in Burma, her most recent trips were
marred by incidents instigated by government-affiliated organizations and
believed to be based on orders from Rangoon. An already poor economic
situation has been further unsettled in recent weeks, with a banking
crisis causing financial uncertainty in the country. This crisis serves as
an indisputable illustration of the mismanagement of the economy by the
regime.

We continue to support the efforts of UN Special Envoy Razali Ismail to
broker a solution. Absent progress, we will be forced to consider, in
conjunction with the international community, additional sanctions and/or
other measures. However, we cannot expect universal support in these
measures, and the evident lack of agreement within the international
community on the appropriate approach has hampered efforts to isolate and
target the regime effectively.

I also must point out that international sanctions on arms transfers to
Burma have encouraged the regime to turn to China, North Korea, and
Russia, as suppliers, each of which seems prepared to supply both basic
and advanced weapons to Burma.
The military dictatorship in Burma severely abuses the human rights of its
citizens. There is no real freedom of speech, press, assembly,
association, or travel. Patterns of abuse are even worse in ethnic
minority areas. These abuses include extrajudicial execution, rape,
disappearance, beating, persecution, and forced labor, including
conscription of child soldiers censorship, forced relocation, and the
curtailing of religious freedom,

The United States has consistently co-sponsored Burma resolutions at the
United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Commission on Human
Rights containing strong language condemning the ongoing systematic abuse
of human rights. We have also supported and continue to support United
Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights Pinheiro's efforts to initiate
an independent, credible investigation of allegations of widespread rapes
by the Burmese military. For his part, Pinheiro has proposed several
options to the regime for establishing a credible mechanism for
investigating allegations of human rights violations in ethnic minority
areas. The regime has yet to agree to a specific mechanism.

It is ironic that after calling for more international engagement with
Burma, Pinheiro cut short his visit to Burma this week after finding a
hidden microphone in a room he was using to interview political prisoners.
We regret that the Burmese government has chosen to treat a representative
of the United Nations with such disrespect.

We hope that the individuals responsible for the bugging will be punished
and that Pinheiro will be able to resume his important mission.

The U.S. Government is supportive of efforts by the International Labor
Organization to engage the regime in discussions to develop a viable plan
of action to eliminate forced labor.

I would also like to point out our concern about the growing humanitarian
crisis of HIV/AIDS in Burma. In 2002, USAID initiated a $1 million program
to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic by funding international non-governmental
organizations (INGOs) to undertake prevention activities. In FY 03, we
hope to increase funding to INGOs; but, no assistance is given to the
regime. Discussions with the government continue on allowing INGOs to
conduct voluntary HIV testing and counseling, as well as on the regime's
commitment to more effective prevention, treatment, and care programs,
including for pregnant mothers and high risk groups
.

THAILAND

Relations between the U.S. and Thailand are strong and multi-faceted.
Thailand is one of five U.S. Treaty Allies in Asia, and we have a close
and active security relationship with the Thai. Thai troops fought
alongside Americans in Korea and Vietnam. More recently, Thailand has
provided critical support, including a military engineering unit currently
at work in Afghanistan, for Operation Enduring Freedom. Thailand has
actively cooperated with us on all aspects of the war on terror.

We recognize Thailand as a fully functioning democracy in Asia. Over the
last decade, the military's role in Thai politics has been greatly
reduced, due to strong public opinion, through Constitutional reform and
Thailand's overall political maturation. This evolution has had the
support of the Thai military.
Thailand enjoys a generally free and open press.

Thailand is our seventeenth largest trading partner with two-way trade of
about $20 billion. The U.S. is the second largest foreign investor in
Thailand. Last year, the U.S. and Thailand marked another milestone in the
commercial relationship with the signing of a Trade and Investment
Framework Agreement.

Thailand and the U.S. have been fighting drugs together for several
decades, and joint U.S.-Thai efforts have led to the elimination of
thousands of acres of opium previously grown in Thailand. Thailand is now
no longer a significant producer of opium or heroin, though it remains a
major transit point. Thailand faces a serious domestic methamphetamine
problem.

In response to this situation, the Thai Prime Minister declared a
ninety-day war on drugs beginning on February 1, 2003. According to media
reports, the war on drugs had led to over 1,500 extra-judicial killings,
of which only a handful of the alleged extra-judicial killings are under
investigation. We have discussed this matter with the Thai and expressed
our concerns.

We continue to work closely with Thailand to address the challenge of
trafficking in persons. Thailand has made great strides and has
demonstrated regional leadership in the areas of protection and
prevention. We have strongly encouraged Thailand to emphasize prosecution
measures as a national priority, most importantly to increase law
enforcement efforts in going after traffickers and reduce incidents of
officials' corruption and complicity. The U.S. government has provided
funds to assist Thailand in its efforts.

Thailand is making an effort to improve relations with Burma, in part to
achieve cooperation on counternarcotics. Embassy Bangkok maintains contact
with Burmese refugees and displaced persons in Thailand, including
political activists working outside refugee camps. We also provide
financial support to NGOs active in the Burmese democracy movement.
Thailand's policy towards Burmese refugees and dissidents outside refugee
camps is in flux. Thailand continues to accept those fleeing fighting and
political persecution, but may become less tolerant of activities that
complicate its effort to resolve tensions with Burma.
Thailand's relations with Cambodia were downgraded in the aftermath of
January 29 anti-Thai riots in Phnom Penh. The RTG froze all aid and
economic cooperation with Cambodia, and suspended diplomatic relations.
The RTG has demanded an apology, compensation for losses, and thorough
investigation leading to justice for the perpetrators. The two countries
now seem to be repairing the rift
.
_____________

U.S. Agency for International Development March 26 2003 (EXCERPT)

[Introduction and Excerpted Text on Burma and on Regional HIV/AIDS]

Gordon West
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Asia and the Near East
U.S. Agency for International Development

Before the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
Committee on International Relations
U.S. House of Representatives
March 26, 2003

 Introduction

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee. I appreciate this
the opportunity to speak with members of the Subcommittee. Our fight
againstAs our nation is fighting terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan
underscores the need to promote , we must continue to pay attention to
terrorism and other threats to stability around in East Asia and the
world, especiallyespeciallyespeciallybut particularly in Southeast Asia,
wherefact that countries like Indonesia and the Philippines are on thealso
front lines line states in the war on terror. However, our work there is
not limited to combating terrorism, nor has it ever been. We have a long
history ism. Assistant Secretary of promoting democracy, economic growth,
health and natural resource management in the region. Deputy Assistant
Secretary Matt DaleyState Jim Kelly will address the key political factors
and related budget priorities for SoutheastEast Asia and the Pacific which
we will support with our USAID programs continue to support.
The U.S. National Security Strategy identifies development assistance as
one of the three pillars necessary to assure our national security. The
U.S. Agency for International Development plays a major role in minimizing
assuring the conditions that foster terrorism, and instability and other
global threats. are minimized.

The U.S. National Security Strategy identifies development assistance as
one of the three pillars necessary to assure our national security. Under
the leadership of Administrator Andrew Natsios, USAID is committed to
ensuring that development assistance firmly supports U.S. national
interests. We will take advantage of this historic opportunity presented
by the President’s new vision for development by closely examining what we
do it does best , what we it should be doing more, – and less, – of , and
how to best to move forward. Deputy Assistant Secretary Matt Daley will
address the key political factors and related budget priorities for
Southeast Asia which our USAID programs continue to support.do those
things. USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios is committed to ensuring that
development assistance firmly supports U.S. national interests. The
variety of conditions across East Asia means that we must tailor our
response in each country
countries as varied as Indonesia, Burma, Vietnam
and Mongolia. East Asia is home to a number of countries of serious
concern, where we will apply our assistance to ensure these fragile
situations do not turn into failed states, but rather move assertively
towards mature democracy and economic prosperity. Our goal is to work with
governments and the people to create conditions in which all East Asian
countries could aspire to meet the standards envisioned in the Millenium
Challenge.

The Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) articulates a fresh and practical
framework for development.  The MCA is built on the fact that our aid is
most effective in situations where governments are democratic and
accountable to their citizens.  We will achieve more effective results in
economies that are open and corruption-free, where governments invest in
their people.  By making explicit the causal relationship between good
governance and economic growth, the President has provided an innovative
formula for more effective assistance. Conditions across Southeast Asia
vary greatly, and we tailor our responses accordingly. It is a region
where many fragile states threaten to become ‘failed’ ones, but it is also
a region of democratic promise. Our AID programs support those countries
that are either struggling or moving steadily down the road to democracy,
economic prosperity and human dignity. Our goal is to work with
governments and their people to create conditions in which all Southeast
Asian countries could aspire to meet the high standards for governance
envisioned in the Millennium Challenge.
We will continue the initiative we started last year to work in
public-private alliances, establishing new partnerships with the private
sector to leverage large amounts of additional resources towards
development objectives.
Conditions across Southeast Asia vary greatly, and we tailor our responses
accordingly. It is a region where many fragile states threaten to become
‘failed’ ones, but it is also a region of democratic promise. Our USAID
programs support those countries that are either struggling or moving
steadily down the road to democracy, economic prosperity and human
dignity
.

Burma

Burma is an authoritarian state, with serious health and, economic growth
issuesindicators, a drug trade, and rampant human rights abuses.
USAID’sU.S. interests lie in promoting democratic practices and universal
human rights. Our work in Burma is focused on promoting democracy and
human rights.. We also work closely with the State Department to
administer the earmark. We provide significant humanitarian assistance to
displaced Burmese on the Thai-Burmese border, throughand help groups to
promote democracy inside and outside Burma. Our implementing partners have
established successful education and health programs. on the border;
refugees are receiving good health care and children are getting an
education. Our assistance supports scholarships to provide higher
education to young Burmese who will help develop a future democratic
Burma. Internews has helped opposition groups get out their democratic
messages with better media products. Last year we began to address the
serious HIV/AIDS situation in Burma, where the infection rates, estimated
as high as four percent, may be the highest in all are at critical levels.
We hope to expand this program and request additional funding for FY 04in
the future. 


Regional HIV/AIDS

The [Something compelling about the situation in the Greater Mekong
region, which]
 Region includes Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Laos, Vietnam
and two southern provinces in China, stands on the edge of an HIV/AIDS
epidemic. This region,. New program implementation is now underway in Laos
and Cambodia, are designated as high priority HIV/AIDS locations. To
prevent the destabilizing effects of a major epidemic, USAID is promoting
theBurma: social marketing of condoms, an assessment of the needs of
injecting drug users and their families, expanded for improved drug
treatment and HIV prevention, clinical services expanded, and a study of
HIV needs in migrants to Thailand. To prevent the destabilizing effects of
a major epidemic, USAID is strengthening policy, advocacy and surveillance
systems, while developing and applying new efforts to address the most
at-risk people for HIV/AIDS and other key infectious diseases. Overall,
our support has enabled national and regional partners to: better
understand the extent of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria;
strengthen monitoring capabilities; and expand prevention and treatment
services to reach more people at risk. As a result, more people in the
region can protect themselves against the debilitating effects of the
diseases and participate in the development of their countries.In China
negotiations have been completed with the Government for a prevention
program in Yunnan province in collaboration with DFID and AusAid. The
Guangxi province component of the China program will be developed soon.
USAID has joined forces with UNAIDS, AusAid and other donors to advocate
for HIV/AIDS at high political levels.