BurmaNet News: August 23-25 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

August 23-25 2003 Issue #2312

INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar's ruler ousts influential number-three general Khin Nyunt
DVB: Marketplace bomb blast, no known casualties
Irrawaddy: MP Blinded by Torture
DVB: Authorities Staging Campaign to Denounce US Sanctions
Radio Myanmar: Burmese Information Minister Inspects Media Security Measures
DVB: Burmese Youths Arrested for Distributing Leaflets on May Clashes

DRUGS
Irrawaddy: Getting Tough on Drugs; 3 Drug Runners from Burma Shot Dead
AFP: Myanmar vows anti-drug cooperation with Thailand but doubts reports
SHAN: Corn making way for pop
NDTV (India): Mizos blame Chin Burmese for drug problem

MONEY
Swiss Info: Myanmar products: Migros stops imports due to working conditions
MIC: Burmese Government Criticizes “Dirty List”

GUNS
Irrawaddy: Military Warship Fired Upon
AFP: Thailand, Myanmar to trade war ship visits: report

REGIONAL
Nation: Thaksin Slams Burma: 'Not a good neighbour'

INTERNATIONAL
NMG: ICFTU denounces China on Burma
Xinhua: Israel trains out large number of Myanmar experts

EDITORIALS
Nation: Rangoon has only itself to blame


----INSIDE BURMA----

Agence France Presse   August 25, 2003
Myanmar's ruler ousts influential number-three general Khin Nyunt

YANGON: Myanmar's leader Senior General Than Shwe has ousted influential
intelligence chief General Khin Nyunt from the military-run nation's third
most powerful post, state radio said Monday.

"Secretary One's post has now been assigned to Lieutenant-General Soe Win,
Secretary Two," Myanmar Radio said, adding that Than Shwe signed the
appointment himself.

In the hierarchy of the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC),
which includes only about a dozen generals, military intelligence chief
Khin Nyunt had ranked third after Than Shwe and army chief General Maung
Aye.

Observers said his shock demotion to the largely ceremonial role of prime
minister, one of the titles held by Than Shwe who is also commander in
chief of the armed forces and defence minister, is a shift towards the
hardliners.

"This is Than Shwe's way of sidelining Khin Nyunt and at the same time
placating him with this post of prime minister," said one Yangon analyst.

"In military-ruled Myanmar the persons who control the army call the
shots, and they are the commander in chief and the deputy commander in
chief (Maung Aye)."

State radio did not mention Maung Aye, seen by analysts as a hawk within
the regime, and it is believed he is not affected by the reshuffle which
also saw five cabinet ministers replaced.

The bulletin did not give any reason for Khin Nyunt's demotion, but it is
likely to be linked to his reputation as a more moderate figure who was in
favour of accommodating opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

He was responsible for handling a UN-sponsored national reconciliation
process with the Nobel peace laureate which began in October 2000 with
tentative talks between the two sides.

The process which began in October 2000 now lies in tatters after the
junta's detention of Aung San Suu Kyi on May 30 which has led to a
tightening of sanctions and intense criticism from the world community.

The May 30 affair, when Suu Kyi was arrested after a pro-junta mob
attacked her convoy during a political tour of northern Myanmar, is
believed to have been orchestrated by Than Shwe and carried out by his
loyal new deputy Soe Win.

It remains unclear what effect Khin Nyunt's demotion will have on Aung San
Suu Kyi, who is being held at a secret location in her third period of
detention since 1988, but it is unlikely to be a positive development.

Khin Nyunt is seen as relatively urbane and outward-looking in a junta
staffed by notoriously secretive, paranoid and uneducated leaders who have
run this country's economy into the ground and rendered it a pariah
regime.

Stories of a bitter rift between Khin Nyunt and Maung Aye, who reputedly
jostled for influence underneath Than Shwe who is the undisputed strongman
of Myanmar politics, have long been rumoured but until now never proven.

The position of Secretary Two which was vacated by Soe Win has now been
filled by Lieutenant-General Thien Sein, who had the senior army role of
adjutant-general.

The five cabinet ministers who were retired are Brigadier-General David
Able and Lieutenant-General Min Thein from the chairman's office, Than
Aung from the prime minister's office, cooperatives minister
Lieutenant-General Tin Ngwe and religious affairs minister Aung Khin.

While changes within the SPDC are rare, cabinet reshuffles are relatively
common in Myanmar where the leadership likes to shift around even its most
trusted cadres every few years.


Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese   August 24, 2003
(translated by BBC World Monitoring Service)
Marketplace bomb blast, no known casualties

It has been learned that a bomb exploded at Bayintnaung Market in Myawadi,
Karen State, this morning but no casualties were reported. Local residents
are sceptical about the bomb blast that occurred amidst tight security
measures imposed by the authorities. DVB Democratic Voice of Burma
correspondent Khaing Thazin filed this report.

Khaing Thazin The explosion occurred at Bayintnaung Market in Myawadi,
opposite Mae Sot in Thailand and there were no report of casualties.
Myawadi residents were terrified by the loud blast but a local resident
said they were sceptical of the authorities.

Myawadi resident Well, the people were terrified by the loud blast but
there were no casualties. Some almost fainted by the impact of the
loudness. I do not know what bomb exploded but who could be the culprit.
They are the ones that are imposing strict security measures and screening
everyone coming in and going out of Myawadi . Think about it, who could
possibly do it.

Khaing Thazin That was a Myawadi resident. During last month, a similar
bomb exploded in the field in front of the SPDC State Peace and
Development Council Brigade Headquarters in Myawadi.


The Irrawaddy   August 25, 2003
MP Blinded by Torture
By Kyaw Zwa Moe

A Burmese elected Member of Parliament has gone nearly blind, two months
after being released from the junta’s military intelligence (MI)
interrogation center, say sources in Rangoon.

Soe Win, an MP from the banned National Party for Democracy, has lost most
of his eyesight after suffering severe pain in his right eye since
Saturday, a source close to his family told The Irrawaddy. The source
added that an eye specialist who saw Soe Win said no treatment could
restore his vision. A senior member from the opposition party the National
League for Democracy (NLD) also quoted the physician as saying the disease
was spreading to Soe Win’s left eye as well.

The sources said his deteriorating vision is a result of torture by MI
officials while in detention. He sustained serious injuries to his right
eye and head in custody, and shortly after his release on June 29, he
suffered a stroke. Military officials denied Soe Win had been beaten,
saying he injured himself in a fall while in jail. To avoid interrogation
in custody he attempted suicide by taking an overdose of diuretics.
Sources say that after being freed from detention, Soe Win was unable to
walk or speak for weeks.

Soe Win was arrested in June this year when the military regime launched a
crackdown on members of the NLD after the May 30 incident that left an
estimated 70 dead and led to the arrests of senior leaders, including Aung
San Suu Kyi.

Since his National Party for Democracy was banned in 1990, Soe Win joined
the NLD and has served as a senior member of the party’s information
department. He is also a member of the Committee Representing the People’s
Parliament (CRPP), an umbrella organization for opposition groups inside
Burma.


Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese   August 24, 2003
(translated by BBC Monitoring Service)
Authorities Staging Campaign to Denounce US Sanctions

The SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) has been finding new ways
to show deceivingly that the Burmese people do not accept the economic
sanctions imposed by the US government. A directive, dated 23 August,
issued by the Police Director-General's Office said the new method would
be implemented nationwide beginning early September under the guidance of
the township Peace and Development Councils.

The directive proposed two ways to oppose the sanctions. The first is to
stage public rallies systematically in every township and denounce the
sanctions with the slogans - "down with the sanctions"; "non-acceptance of
interference in internal affairs"; "traitorous axe-handles relying on
external elements". Another method is to organize the workers made
redundant by the US sanctions within the township, together with the
strength of the other employees and write a petition to the US president.
The directive said these letters, which the workers and employees would be
forced to sign, would be sent through the US embassy.

At the same time, it has been learned that the military government-owned
Myanmar Alin newspaper has been carrying an article series by writer Aung
Moe San entitled: "What will be the outcome of the lopsided US sanctions
on Myanmar (Burma)". The article seems to present only a one-sided
criticism about the US sanctions and the writer failed to point out ways
to prevent the action or means to lessen the effects.

Furthermore, the author failed to explain the very basic factor that
caused the US sanctions in the first place, the 30 May Tabayin incident
and the illegal arrest of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for
Democracy leaders.


Radio Myanmar, Rangoon, in Burmese   August 24, 2003
(translated by BBC World Monitoring Service)
Burmese Information Minister Inspects Media Security Measures

Information Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw San accompanied by Deputy Information
Minister Brig-Gen Aung Thein, together with responsible officials from the
Information Ministry, yesterday inspected the Central Press of Printing
and Publishing Enterprise, newspaper offices of the News and Periodicals
Enterprise, Myanmar Radio and Television Department and Yegu Transmission
Station. The minister and party met with responsible officials and gave
necessary instructions on security measures.

The minister and party first arrived at the Central Press of the Printing
and Publishing Enterprise on Theinbyu Road in Rangoon. They inspected the
condition of the buildings and security of the surroundings and instructed
responsible officials to be more vigilant on security affairs. Next, they
inspected the distribution centre of newspapers of the News and
Periodicals Enterprise on 45th Street. Afterwards, the minister and party
inspected the security measures of The Kyemon daily on 52nd Street and The
New Light of Myanmar daily on Strand Road and gave necessary instructions.
The minister and party then checked the warehouses of the Ministry of
Information and condition of the staff living quarters in Bahan Township
and gave instructions to responsible officials on security matters.

Next, the minister and party arrived at Myanmar Alin daily on Natmauk Lane
No 1. The minister inspected distribution of newspapers, handling of
advertisements, condition of the printing press and storage facilities,
security of the building, and gave necessary instructions.

The minister and the deputy minister later arrived at Myanmar Radio and
Television (MRTV) on Prome Road. At the Meeting Hall, Director General U
Khin Maung Htay reported on security measures of the MRTV with the aid of
slides. The minister then gave supplementary instructions.

Later, Information Minister Brig Gen Kyaw San and Deputy Information
Minister Brig Gen Aung Thein inspected the security situation of Yegu
Transmission Station at Kaba Aye and gave necessary instructions to
officials on security arrangements.


Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese   August 23, 2003
(translated by BBC World Monitoring Service)
Burmese Youths Arrested for Distributing Leaflets on May Clashes

Military intelligence (MI) officials have arrested some NLD (National
League for Democracy) youths from Kemmendine Township for allegedly
distributing leaflets relating to the Tabayin incident (clashes at end May
resulting in to arrest of NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi). NLD sources told
DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) they were arrested recently and no details
of their detention have been released.

The leaflets distributed by the youths included a call by the oppressed
national political forces urging the CRPP (Committee Representing People's
Parliament) to convene parliament as soon as possible. The following is a
summary of the letter which was received by DVB. The letter, dated 8
August, was addressed to the CRPP and copies were sent to Parliament
Chairman U Saw Mra Aung, the NLD, all the national race political parties,
all elected representatives, and the veteran politicians group.

The main points of the letter include the following: It is evident that
the military government has not recognized the results of the 1990 general
elections; though they promised to hold reconciliatory talks, in reality
they created the 30 May Tabayin incident and tried to assassinate Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi and all the democracy activists; since there is no hope for
future talks, the letter urged the CRPP to convene the parliament
according to the wishes of the people and to carry out with courage what
needs to be done as soon as possible.

The letter has been widely disseminated since it was distributed to all
the elected people's representatives.

Similarly, it has been learned that the ex-NLD elected representatives'
letter to the SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) Chairman, the
open letter of more than 70 NLD elected representatives, the NLD youths'
letter, and many other papers and documents relating to the Tabayin
incident have been widely distributed in Rangoon.


----DRUGS----

The Irrawaddy   August 25, 2003
Getting Tough on Drugs
By Aung Su Shin

Local Thai security officials in Mae Sot arrested a Karen man from Burma
yesterday for allegedly carrying 10,000 methamphetamine pills inside his
bag.

Mae Konkin village headman Narong Hwephat said that a local security team
stopped two individuals from Burma who arrived in Thailand by long-tailed
boat early yesterday from Minn Let Pan village in Myawaddy, Burma.

As security forces interrogated Aye Oo, 35, the other suspect jumped into
the Moei River and swam away. Aye Oo confessed that he was hired for
60,000 baht to send the ya baa pills from the Karen State capital Pa-an to
a bus terminal in Bangkok.

He added that he planned to take a route through the jungle to Tak where
he would catch the bus to the Thai capital. He said it was his first drug
delivery but that he had walked the jungle route many times previously.
The route is frequently used by migrant workers who sneak into Thailand’s
inner provinces to find work.

Minn Let Pan village in Myawaddy is controlled by the Democratic Karen
Buddhist Army and is suspected by Thai authorities of producing ya baa
destined for Thailand.

Meanwhile, Thai police in the northern province of Chiang Mai yesterday
shot dead three men suspected of being members of Burma’s United Wa State
Army (UWSA). Police said they recovered 500,000 methamphetamine pills,
weapons and army uniforms from the men who refused to stop for a police
check at Mae Sa waterfall in Mae Rim district. In the ensuing chase,
police gunned down the three suspected UWSA agents. The UWSA is widely
believed to be the world’s largest drug-producing army.

Last week, Thai troops killed nine Wa soldiers and injured 11 others in a
clash near the border in Chiang Mai’s Mae Ai district.


Agence France Presse   August 25, 2003
Myanmar vows anti-drug cooperation with Thailand but doubts reports

YANGON: Myanmar's military government Monday said it is cooperating with
Thailand in the wake of a bloody week of narcotics suppression which left
at least a dozen drug traffickers dead.

But it questioned Thai assertions and news reports that the United Wa
State Army (UWSA), a pro-Yangon outfit Washington calls the world's
largest drug militia, was responsible for recent drug incursions into
Thailand which have heightened tensions between the neighbour states.

Yangon said it sought assistance from ethnic leaders to confirm reports
that nine drug smugglers from "some Wa militias" were killed in a
firefight with Thai troops in northern Thailand Wednesday, and that a
Chinese man from Yunan province was behind the smuggling caravan.

"The Wa leadership arrested the remaining militiamen who were involved in
the shoot-out and turned over the Chinese businessman to the Myanmar
authorities concerned," the junta said in a statement faxed to AFP.

It did not link the UWSA to that clash, as Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra reportedly did in what was seen as a blistering critique of
Yangon's failure to cut down on the drug trade.

The junta said its Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) was
working with Thai authorities to crack down on "underworld" activity, but
notably on the Thai side of the border.

"The (CCDAC) is in cooperation with the Thai Office of Narcotic Control
Bureau in exchanging information to enable the Thai authorities to track
down and take necessary legal action against those underworld bosses on
the Thai side who are responsible for various criminal activities in
Thailand."

The statement also cast doubt on reports that three more suspected drug
traffickers shot dead by Thai police Sunday in northern Chiang Mai
province were UWSA members, and hinted at Thailand's inability to stem the
incursions.

"CCDAD is curious to find out how these three individuals who are supposed
to be fully armed and wearing military uniforms (and) carrying 500,000
methamphetamine pills can sneak very far into Thailand even in a motor
vehicle.

"Also, CCDAC would like to know why these three individuals wished to
carry their uniforms if they are in disguise," the statement said.

It added that Myanmar's anti-narcotics officials were confident that
enhanced cooperation with Thailand "in the fight against underworld
elements will also eliminate the threat of narcotic drugs."

Despite recording declining output for six straight years, Myanmar remains
the world's second biggest producer of opium, the source of heroin, and is
a massive producer of methamphetamine pills which flood into Thailand, the
world's largest per-capita consumer of the pills.


Shan Herald Agency for News   August 25, 2003
Corn making way for pop

As Thailand desperately tries to salvage normal relations with Rangoon,
following the capture of half a million speed pills together with 9 dead
Wa fighters on 20 August, drug bosses at the newly established southern Wa
capital of Mongjawd are preparing to exert control on the coming season's
opium output between Mongton and the Karenni State, roughly opposite
Maehongson and Chiangmai provinces, according to both civilian and Thai
official sources.

Cornfields are being harvested by both the local and imported farmers, and
the soil, having been enriched by the maize corn, is being prepared for
the sowing of poppy seeds, they said. Planting is expected to begin by the
end of this month. "Some have already sowed," said a Lahu trader, "but the
sudden downpour ruined their fields."

Last year's output in the area of some 30 villages was estimated as 9-18
tons. The upcoming season's yield is expected to exceed last year's. Ten
new Kokang bosses have arrived in Nakawngmu and have teamed up with Wei
Hsuehkang, who has transferred his 171st Military Region headquarters from
Hwe Aw to Mongjawd, according to the Border Patrol Police. "With them came
hundreds of hired farm laborers," added a local Shan.

Prices have also climbed up. Opium, 6,000 - 8,000 per viss (1 viss = 1.6
kg) during the New Year, is 11,000 baht last week, while heroin has risen
to more than 200,000 baht per kilogram.

Rangoon has promised to make Burma drug-free by 2014. But critics have
accused its anti-drug activities in northern Shan State as "cosmetics"that
do little or nothing about drug production elsewhere in the country.


NDTV, India   August 24, 2003
Mizos blame Chin Burmese for drug problem
By Bano Haralu

Aizawl: The call for Chin Burmese to leave Mizoram is not just over the
rape of a minor by a man allegedly of Myanmarese origin – the outcry is
linked to the feeling that foreign nationals are responsible for the
state's drug addiction problem.

With several thousand Chin Burmese having left the state, not just has the
supply of drugs such as heroin become scarce, but prices of once freely
available psychotropic substances have escalated.

Easy availability

Mizoram's proximity to Myanmar, now the world's largest producer of heroin
coupled with the easy influx of Myanmar nationals into the state, makes
the place an ideal ground for both drug use and trafficking.

Most of these activities are concentrated in the state capital Aizawl.

Excise officials say more than 40 per cent of drug traffickers arrested
last year were of Chin Burmese origin.

Direct link?

Not surprisingly, the corresponding rise in the price of drugs and its
overnight scarcity is being linked to the departure of Myanmar nationals.
An estimated 4,000 are believed to have left Aizawl.

"The seizure of drugs like Spasmoproxyvon and heroin and also the seizure
fell drastically since the ousting of Myanmar nationals from Mizoram since
the late part of July. At the same time the rate of the said drugs has
increased - in some cases it is double and others nearly triple," informed
the State Excise Commissioner.

While arguments that the prohibition law against sale of Indian Made
Foreign Liquor (IMFL) increasing drug abuse is debatable, the incidence of
drug abuse amongst the youth by any accounts is a high number.

But even the youth now say there's a visible change in their localities
since the departure of several of the Chin Burmese.

"We don't see them anymore, those who used to sell the drugs. It has
become scarce. And the price has gone high," said a local teenager.

Trade affected

The quit call for Myanmar nationals has also adversely affected not just
the weaving sector - employing over 3,000 weavers - but even the informal
trade in the border.

Goods from across the border are widely available in Aizawl. And this is
what makes it the most exciting place specially for shopping buffs.
There's a wide range of goods from car batteries to ironing boards,
artificial flowers and a range of crockery.

But the present sentiments against Myanmar nationals has affected those
dealing in foreign goods.

"Till now we have not received any goods. If we don't get the goods our
business will be affected and we will start selling Indian goods," said a
local shopkeeper.

Follow the rules

Meanwhile, the Young Mizo Association (YMA), who are leading this campaign
have called for regulation of border trade and labour laws as steps
towards ending the present situation.

"Since some foreigners have left, border trade should be practised as per
the rule. They will bring the goods to the boundary and Mizo people will
purchase it at the boundary and sell it to the local people. If this is in
practice there will be no problem anymore," said Lianzuala, President,
YMA.

With the call for foreigners to leave continuing across the state, there
is a fear that this so far peaceful upsurge may take a turn for the worse
if not addressed soon.


----MONEY----

Swiss Info   August 25, 2003
Myanmar products: Migros stops imports due to working conditions

The leading Swiss retailer, Migros, has stopped imports from Myanmar
because of a dispute over working conditions.

The company said its producer of tracksuits in Myanmar was in breach of an
agreement on hygiene, safety and health conditions for its workers.

Migros said it was committed to international standards approved by the
International Labour Organization.
Last year the Swiss underwear company, Triumph, ceased cooperation with
producers in Myanmar following allegations of slave labour.


Myanmar Information Committee   August 25, 2003
Burmese Government Criticizes “Dirty List” Produced by Burma Campaign UK

Text of "press release" from Information Sheet No C-2734(1) issued by the
Myanmar Information Committee in Rangoon on 21 August, carried in English
by the Myanmar Information Committee web site on 25 August

The "dirty list" compiled by the activists of Burma Campaign UK is
politically motivated and without foundation or proof. The government of
the Union of Myanmar (Burma) strongly denounces atrocious acts of rape,
torture and murder and has strictly punished according to its laws any
perpetrator of such crime regardless of whoever he or she may be.

The documents or dossiers on which such allegations are based have been
compiled, at great expense, by extracting false testimony in seeming
realistic details from armed insurgent supporters residing in foreign
countries. The 50 million people of Myanmar, comprising all nationalities,
are appalled at such pieces of news, which they have not seen or heard of
within their nation since the armed terrorist insurgents were driven out
of the national borders and peace being restored to 95 per cent of the
land in the last decade.

The multicoloured armed insurgents, that once terrorized the countryside
since 1949 now hold no significant district or township within the states
and regions of the Union of Myanmar and in recent years began to conduct a
negative propaganda campaign as a last resort utilizing vast sums of money
available to them.


----GUNS----

The Irrawaddy   August 23, 2003
Military Warship Fired Upon

A Burmese military warship harboring at a jetty on the Rangoon River was
hit by a rocket launcher attack last Thursday, according to sources in
capital.

A source in Rangoon said a group of warships from the Burma Navy was fired
on by rocket propelled grenade launchers in the early morning. One ship
was ablaze while floating between the Kyeemyindine and Bagaya docks in
west Rangoon.

Many local residents were awoken by the blast, but a restaurant owner from
Kyeemyindine Township told The Irrawaddy that he learned of the incident
only after township authorities tightened security in the area. Officials
asked residents in the immediate area to register all their houseguests.

A Rangoon resident told Radio Free Asia’s Burmese Service that an unknown
assailant fired upon the military warships. The state-run media has not
yet covered the event. No group or individual has claimed responsibility
for the attack.

The attack is the first on a military warship in Rangoon. In July,
authorities arrested 12 people in Rangoon who were allegedly plotting
assassination attempts on government officials and bombings in different
cities including Rangoon. The junta has accused the perpetrators of being
dispatched by opposition groups based in neighboring Thailand.


Agence France Presse   August 25,
Thailand, Myanmar to trade war ship visits: report

Thailand and Myanmar have agreed to their first-ever exchange of naval
ship visits, but Yangon stopped short of agreeing to joint sea patrols to
stem drug trafficking, a report here said Monday.

A joint regional border committee meeting held on the Thai coast Sunday
decided that two ships from Thailand's Third Fleet would make the first
visit to Yangon in December, the Bangkok Post cited Third Army commander
Lieutenant General Picharnmeth Muangmanee as saying.

Two Myanmar naval ships would make a return visit early next year,
according to the English-language daily.

The two sides also reportedly agreed on a common international code of
conduct for sea patrols aimed at preventing misunderstandings or
incursions into territorial waters.

But Picharnmeth said Yangon declined Thailand's proposal for joint sea
patrols intended to combat rampant illicit drug trafficking as well as
terrorism and transnational crime, the newspaper said.

No reason was given, and Thai military authorities were not available to
comment on the meeting.

The neighbour states did agree to set up a joint communications system for
Thai and Myanmar military units along the land border, seen as a measure
that could ultimately reduce deadly clashes.

Thailand and Myanmar have an historically troubled relationship, with
clashes flaring in the past few years as Thailand accuses Yangon of
failing to suppress the drug trade and Myanmar blasts Bangkok for
supporting anti-Yangon rebels.


----REGIONAL----

The Nation (Thailand)   August 23, 2003
Thaksin Slams Burma: 'Not a good neighbour'

Rangoon summons Thai envoy over threat of cross-border raids; general says
millions of pills ready for shipment

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday added fuel to the fire in the
dispute with Burma, accusing the Rangoon junta of not being a good
neighbour and not doing enough to curb the flow of drugs coming from its
key ally, the United Wa State Army (UWSA).

"A neighbour which lets its domestic drugs production ruin the future of
its neighbour is not a good friendly country," Thaksin told reporters
yesterday.

He said Thai security forces along the border had been ordered to shoot to
kill if they encountered drug runners crossing from Burma.

"From now on if their trafficking caravans enter our soil, we won't waste
our time arresting them, but we will simply kill them," he told reporters
on Wednesday.

Thaksin said he would choose military action to take out UWSA drug
factories on the Burmese side of the border if the Rangoon government was
unable to curb the group's illicit activities.

The prime minister was reacting to Wednesday morning's gun battle between
Thai border security forces and a caravan of Wa militia transporting drugs
into Thailand. The incident ended in the death of nine traffickers and the
confiscation of half-a-million methamphetamine tablets.

Rangoon responded to Thaksin's statement by summoning Thai charge
d'affaires in Rangoon Opas Chantarasap, who was asked by Burma's Deputy
Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win to seek clarification of the prime
minister's statement.

The state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper quoted Khin Maung Win as
telling Opas that, "The news reports were discordant and detrimental to
the existing friendship between the two neighbouring countries."

Thaksin said the Wednesday morning gun battle was evidence that Rangoon
was not acting against the Wa forces.

A senior Thai army officer on the northern border said many Burmese drug
lords were holding millions of methamphetamine pills, anxious to move them
across the border before their expiry.

Trafficking across the northern border has taken a nosedive following the
government's controversial war on drugs, which has thus far claimed more
then 2,500 lives.

Human rights organisations accuse the government of carrying out
extra-judicial killings. But Thaksin has dismissed the allegations, saying
no more then 40 cases were questionable and that the rest of the killings
had resulted from "bad guys killing bad guys".


----INTERNATIONAL----

Network Media Group   August 22, 2003
ICFTU denounces China on Burma

ICFTU on August 21 issued a statement from Brussels denouncing China’s
stance on Burma of preventing foreign interference, and urged
international communities, governments and business companies to step up
pressure on military government in order to restore democracy and human
rights in Burma.

The secretary of ICFTU, Guy Ryder alleged China that “China stance on
Burma is immoral and reflects its regional power game. It is just denying
universal norms of human rights with repeated words of “do not interfere
internal matters.”

In the meantime Deputy Senior General Maung Aye, the junta's number-two
leader, was currently in China for a visit. "The current domestic
situation in Myanmar is the country's internal affairs, and China will not
agree to foreign interference or to sanctions and isolation, and Myanmar
will remain stable, its ethnic groups will live in harmony," State owned
Xinhua news agency quoted saying of State Councilor Tang Jaixuan on August
20

In the statement, the ICFTU also urged international communities,
governments and business companies to take concrete actions and
responsibilities and suggested to stay away from Burma till human rights
and democracy restored.

The international communities had beef up pressures on Burma after
military government attacked brutally on opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi and her supporters on May 30. There were series of arrests and
crackdown on opposition members around the country. Notably, US government
had approved “Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act” signed by the President
in early August.

U Aung Moe Zaw, the general secretary of umbrella anti-government
organization, the National Council of Union of Burma (NCUB) said “Chinese
Foreign Minister already told in ASEM meeting that China will support the
constructive approaches in order to get national reconciliation in Burma.
If the United Nations and the Security Council consider the Burma’s case
seriously, then I think China will not object the UN initiatives.”


Xinhua General News Service   August 25, 2003
Israel trains out large number of Myanmar experts

YANGON: Israel has trained out 537 Myanmar agricultural experts in an
eight-year period since 1994 as of 2002 under a bilateral cooperation
program in the sector of agriculture, local newspaper Myanmar Times
reported Monday.

As a follow-up, Israel will extend such training to 150 more Myanmar
personnel starting September this year, the largest number it has ever
taken on a yearly basis, the Israeli Embassy here was quoted as saying.

The trainees, who are to receive on-job training at the Arava
International Center for Agriculture Training in southern Israel, will be
introduced to modern methods of growing vegetable, fruits and flower in
cooperation with Israeli farmers in the Arava region, the report said.

Special diploma programs on agriculture, covering modern agriculture,
irrigation, pest control, economics, marketing, post harvesting and animal
husbandry, will also be provided by the concerned Israeli institutions for
the first time, the report added.

Meanwhile, Myanmar and Israel have been also seeking economic and
industrial cooperation and some Israeli industrial enterprises have signed
memorandums of understanding with Myanmar on economic cooperation since
1996.

Israel, with an investment of only 2 million US dollars in a single
project in Myanmar so far, is one of the 26 countries and regions
investing in the nation, according to official statistics.


----EDITORIALS----

The Nation (Thailand)   August 23, 2003
EDITORIAL: Rangoon has only itself to blame

Sending troops into Burma is not an option just yet, but how long can
Thailand tolerate the juntas intransigence?

After months of relative quiet, the northern border once again has erupted
into gun battles between Thai security forces and Wa militias who were
hauling about one million methamphetamine pills over the border.
Wednesday's incident ended in the death of nine alleged traffickers and
the confiscation of about half of the drugs under a sting operation
carried out by Thailand's anti-narcotic officers. Just hours after the
clash, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra went on air to lash out at the
Burmese government for not doing enough to put a lid on the illicit
activities of their Wa allies.

The visibly angry prime minister even threatened to send troops into
Burmese territory if Rangoon continues to turn a blind eye to the illicit
trade of the 20,000-strong Wa, which the US State Department has labelled
the "world's largest armed drug trafficking group". But this really should
not be an option.

Despite border crossings in the past, there can be no justification for
invading another country's territory, not the least because it will
immediately close any other avenue that might offer the slightest chance
of a resolution to the problem.

Ultimately, military action cannot be ruled out, but have we really
reached the desperation point yet?

The clash took place shortly before dawn in Chiang Mai's Mae Ai district,
an area where opium and heroin - and over the recent years,
methamphetamines - have for decades crossed into Thailand for distribution
around the world.

The area is no stranger to violent clashes between Burmese armed groups
and Thai forces. Consequently the Wa have become Thailand's public enemy
number one, and more clashes are certain to follow.

Thaksin's reaction reflects his frustration over the continuing drug
problem, despite the proclaimed success of his three-month war against
drug traffickers - a controversial one because of allegations of
extra-judicial killings among the more than 2,000 people killed.

The premier has tried everything. He has offered Rangoon an olive branch
hoping that improved relations would somehow put the squeeze on the
illicit activities of the Wa; he has put Bt25 million into a crop
substitution project in a Wa-controlled area near the border, hoping that
this seed money would make the Wa leaders see the light; he removed former
Army chief General Surayudh Chulanont after major cross-border clashes in
May last year in an attempt to appease the junta. On top of that, he even
accused his own soldiers guarding the border of "overreacting".

Yet, nothing seems to work.

Perhaps it's time Thaksin re-assessed his drug policy. First of all, the
amount of methamphetamine tablets confiscated and number of people killed
should not be the benchmark for success. There are virtually limitless
supplies of "legal" precursor chemicals feeding into drug labs producing
methamphetamines tablets.

Second, if he and his advisers study the recent history of post-colonial
Burma he will see that drugs and insurgencies have always been two sides
of the same coin. It is no secret that many of these ethnic nationalities
- regardless of whether they have entered a cease-fire agreement with
Rangoon - have turned to opium and other illicit drugs to finance their
armies.

No anti-drug policy can have any chance of success if Burma refuses to
commit itself to a fair and lasting political settlement that is
acceptable to all sides, be it the Wa, Shan, Karen, Mon, Chin, Kachin and
so on.

Until there is an acceptable peace and political settlement - not just
another of the ceasefire agreements that Rangoon likes to boast about -
illicit drugs will continue, as it has always been, to be the source of
income for many of these ethnic groups.