BurmaNet News: September 18, 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

September 18, 2003 Issue #2329

INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi undergoes minor surgery
NMG: SPDC honors Depeyin village head

REGIONAL
VOA: Indonesian Envoy Alatas to Visit Burma
AP: Philippines warns Myanmar against refusing envoy for talks on
democracy leader's release
AFP: Bangladesh forcing out Myanmar refugees: MSF
AFP: Bangladesh denies forcing out Myanmar refugees
Irrawaddy: Activists Arrested on Coup Anniversary

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: US concerned for Aung San Suu Kyi after operation
Irish Times: Exiled PM urges EU sanctions against Burma

EDITORIALS
Irrawaddy: Burma’s National Convention: New Resolve, Same Hurdles
Irrawaddy: Fifteen Years and Counting


----INSIDE BURMA----

Agence France Presse   September 18, 2003
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi undergoes minor surgery

The United States on Thursday repeated calls for Myanmar's military rulers
to release Aung San Suu Kyi as the detained pro-democracy leader underwent
surgery at a private hospital here.

An Asian diplomat and hospital sources confirmed Aung San Suu Kyi, who has
been held at a secret location since May 30, had undergone a minor
operation.

"It is confirmed. She had an operation and she is still in the hospital to
take a rest," the diplomat said.

He said the National League for Democracy (NLD) leader was hospitalized at
the privately-run Asia Royal Hospital in Yangon, while Kyodo News agency
reported the 58-year-old Nobel peace laureate had undergone a uterus
operation.

A staff member at the hospital would not provide details of the surgery
but confirmed Aung San Suu Kyi had checked in to the hospital's top floor
Wednesday night.

"She is an in-patient now," the hospital source said.

Details of the operation and Aung San Suu Kyi's condition were not
immediately available, but the diplomat said she was likely out of danger.

"It was not so serious," he said.

In Washington, a State Department spokeswoman said the United States
remained "very concerned" about the pro-democracy leader's situation.

She repeated calls for Aung San Suu Kyi's immediate release.

"The United States remains very concerned about Aung San Suu Kyi's
situation. The Burmese junta should immediately release Aung San Suu Kyi
and all other political prisoners from its custody," said spokeswoman
Nancy Beck.

A doctor at the hospital would not comment on the leader's health, but
said she had been hospitalized with a uterus condition.

The doctor also said the operating theatre had been reserved for Aung San
Suu Kyi Friday afternoon, and that her personal physician Tin Myo Win
would be present as well as an unnamed gynaecologist, possibly for
follow-up procedures.

A medical source who knew in advance Aung San Suu Kyi would be operated on
said such surgery was "normal" for a woman in her fifties.

"She would need a few days of rest and she will be fine. Apparently there
is no reason for alarm," the medical source said.

Plainclothes military intelligence officials were seen around the outside
of the upscale hospital, one of Yangon's newest medical facilities and
popular with Myanmar's wealthy elite.

The hospital source said Aung San Suu Kyi had been to the facility for
health check-ups prior to her arrest nearly four months ago.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been held incommunicado at an undisclosed location
since she was detained after a pro-junta mob violently attacked her
supporters in the north of the country on May 30.

The arrest of the charismatic figure and top NLD leaders caused
international outrage, particularly in the United States and Europe.

Washington announced earlier this month that Aung San Suu Kyi had launched
a hunger strike, but the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
visited her and said she was not refusing food.

In its previous visit to the detained Aung San Suu Kyi on July 28, the
ICRC affirmed she was "in good health and good detention conditions,"
spokesman Eros Bosisio said at the time.

Her hospitalization, however, is sure to revive global concern about the
democracy icon's health, which had been in the spotlight immediately after
her May 30 arrest.

Human rights watchdog Amnesty International said recently it was "deeply
concerned" about Aung San Suu Kyi's health and safety and called on the
ruling junta to release her immediately and unconditionally.


Network Media Group   September 9, 2003
SPDC honors Depeyin village head

September 9 (NMG)  The village head (officially called Village Peace and
Development Council) of Kyi-Ywar near Depeyin, was honored with a
motor-cycle and a cellular phone for his effective implementation of his
duties at Depeyin incident, said one local businesswomen who recently
arrived Indo-Burma border.

The village head, U Thein Aung, after getting motorbike and cell phone,
warned the villagers not to listen to the foreign radios programs and they
would be punished by imprisonment.

Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters were brutally ambushed by
government-sponsored thugs near Kyi-Ywar in northern Burma on 30 May this
year.

Although the village-head was honored by the regime, Rev. U Wimala who
resided in village monastery was sentenced for 9 years and 3 months
imprisonment on 14 August of helping opposition during the Aung San Suu
Kyi's trip. Other residents of Kyi-Ywa, U Kyee Nyo and other two were also
sentenced for 3 years and 3 months imprisonment for burning down a car
owned by Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA).


----REGIONAL----

VOA News   September 17, 2003
Indonesian Envoy Alatas to Visit Burma

Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri has appointed a world-renown
veteran diplomat as special envoy to Burma, to negotiate the release of
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Former Foreign Minister Ali Alatas is the president's choice. He says he
has asked Burma for permission to travel there. Indonesia is the current
chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It has urged Burma's
ruling military government to free her before the annual ASEAN summit,
which begins on the resort island of Bali October 7.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained since May 30, following a violent clash
between government supporters and opposition activists. The military has
so far ignored international appeals for her release.

One of those appeals came Wednesday from Nobel Peace Prize winner Jody
Williams, who said in Bangkok that the European Union should put more
economic pressure on Burma. She said that on behalf of several Nobel
laureates, she has sent letters to
European commissioners as well as to Germany's foreign minister.

Ms. Williams also called on ASEAN countries to do more to encourage Aung
San Suu Kyi's release.

The European Union has stopped issuing visas to Burmese officials and has
frozen the assets of military leaders. Japan and the United States also
have imposed harsh sanctions on the leaders in Rangoon.


Associated Press Worldstream   September 18, 2003
Philippines warns Myanmar against refusing envoy for talks on democracy
leader's release

MANILA: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations may censure Myanmar if
it rejects an envoy's visit to negotiate the release of democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, the Philippines warned Thursday.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Blas Ople urged Myanmar to accept the visit
by former Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas, calling it an
opportunity to resolve the issue in a manner acceptable to all.

Suu Kyi was arrested after a bloody confrontation between her supporters
and a government-backed mob on May 30 while she was touring Myanmar, an
ASEAN member.

ASEAN - which has a core principle of non-interference in members'
domestic matters - has been loathe to impose any sanctions on Myanmar.

But the behavior of Myanmar's military government has become increasingly
embarrassing for the regional grouping, with rising international outcries
against Suu Kyi's detention and calls for democratic reforms in the
tightly controlled country.

"If Alatas is denied entry to Myanmar, that would signal this ASEAN summit
to take a harsher view of the political situation in Myanmar," Ople told
reporters, referring to the 10-country group's summit in Indonesia next
month.

"The possibility of a censure will not be foreclosed," he said. "Any act
to bar Ali Alatas as special envoy from Yangon (Myanmar's capital) will be
taken as a provocation."

Alatas was appointed as special representative to Myanmar amid ASEAN's
calls for Suu Kyi's release.

The United States and the European Union have placed restrictions on trade
and diplomatic ties with the country, which joined ASEAN in 1998.

Myanmar's military seized power in 1988 after crushing a pro-democracy
uprising. It held elections in 1990, but refused to recognize the results
after Suu Kyi's party won.


Agence France Presse   September 18, 2003
Bangladesh forcing out Myanmar refugees: MSF

GENEVA: The aid group Doctors without Borders (MSF) has accused
Bangladesh's government of harrassing thousands of Muslim refugees from
Myanmar in an attempt to force them to return home.

"In recent months, staff from MSF received over 550 complaints of coercion
from the refugees," MSF said in a statement, adding that complaints ranged
from "incidents of intimidation to outright threats of physical abuse to
push people to repatriate".

The aid agency also called into question the voluntary nature of the
repatriation of the remaining 19,000 refugees from Myanmar's Rohingya
minority, which is being supervised by the UN refugee agency.

"The Bangladesh government is subjecting thousands of Rohingya refugees to
intimidation and harassment as part of a campaign to pressure them to
return to Myanmar," MSF said.

It called on the Bangladeshi government and the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) to respect the rights of the Rohingya.

UNHCR acknowledged that it had found evidence of some coercion after
investigating the complaints and a surge in the number of refugees leaving
the camps.

The agency said it had boosted its presence in the two camps in southern
Bangladesh to stop the practice.

"There was indeed a certain level of pressure exercised at local level,"
Jean Marie Fakhouri, head of Asia-Pacific section at UNHCR told AFP.

He said it was "not to the level of what has been reported by MSF".

"If we have any hint of continued coercion we would no hesitate to pull
the plug on the whole thing," Fakhouri added.

In Dhaka a Bangladeshi foreign ministry spokesman denied that Rohingya
refugees were harassed into returning home.

The UNHCR has been trying to encourage returns, saying conditions would be
better for the group back in their native region in Myanmar, where the
agency has had a permanent presence monitoring conditions for nine years.

"The return has to be voluntary," Fakhouri said, adding that about 7,000
of the refugees in southern Bangladesh had stated they wanted to go home.

More than 250,000 Rohingya Muslims fled forced labour and violence by
Myanmar's military government during 1991 and 1992, but later went home,
Fakhouri said.

MSF said it was asked to end medical assistance it provided in the camps,
where 58 percent of children last year suffered from chronic malnutrition,
and water and food is regarded as insufficient.

"Despite atrocious living conditions in the camps many of the refugees are
not willing to return," MSF said.


Agence France Presse   September 18, 2003
Bangladesh denies forcing out Myanmar refugees

DHAKA: Bangladesh Thursday denied accusations from aid group Doctors
without Borders (MSF) that it was harassing thousands of Muslim refugees
from Myanmar in an attempt to force them to return home.

MSF said in a statement Thursday that its staff had received more than 550
complaints of coercion from the refugees in recent months.

It said the complaints ranged from "incidents of intimidation to outright
threats of physical abuse to push people to repatriate."

The aid agency also called into question the voluntary nature of the
repatriation of the remaining 19,000 refugees from Myanmar's Rohingya
minority, which is being supervised by the UN refugee agency.

"The Bangladesh government is subjecting thousands of Rohingya refugees to
intimidation and harassment as part of a campaign to pressure them to
return to Myanmar," MSF said.

"Despite atrocious living conditions in the camps, many of the refugees
are not willing to return," MSF said.

MSF said many were still going back to the camps near Cox's Bazar even
though they were forced out of southern Bangladesh earlier.

In Dhaka, a foreign ministry ministry spokesman dismissed the accusation.

"We reject this allegation... as Bangladesh has not forced (out) any of
the refugees," spokesman Zahirul Haque told AFP, adding "the UNHCR has
been supervising phase by phase the Rohingya refugee repatriation."

He said recently about 2,000 of the refugees had gone back voluntarily to
their homes in Myanmar under the UNHCR.

More than 250,000 Rohingya Muslims fled forced labour and violence by
Myanmar's military government during 1991 and 1992.


The Irrawaddy   September 18, 2003
Activists Arrested on Coup Anniversary
By Naw Seng

Thai police arrested fifteen Burmese activists staging a demonstration in
front of the Burmese embassy in Bangkok today, the 15th anniversary of the
coup which installed the current junta.

Police broke up the demonstration early this morning and rounded up the
participants, who represented several different Burmese opposition
organizations. Those arrested were immediately sent to the capital’s
Immigration Detention Center, said Aung Nai Htwe, spokesperson of the
Joint Action Committee for Democracy, who was detained and reached at the
center by telephone.

Aung Nai Htwe said the demonstrators intended to speak out on the need to
topple Burma’s military regime and call for the release of opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. However, Thai
authorities arrested the participants minutes after they arrived at the
Embassy.

Demonstrators informed Thailand’s Ministry of Interior and the National
Security Council yesterday that the action would take place and would not
be a threat to Thai security, said Aung Nai Htwe. Bangkok is under
heightened security as the city prepares to host the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation meeting next month.

After their arrival at the Immigration Detention Center, Thai authorities
informed those arrested that they would be transferred to the Special
Detention Center at the Bang Khen Police Academy in Bangkok's north. Human
rights groups allege that in past instances, Burmese dissidents have been
held at the center after completing the term of detention required by the
laws under which they faced charges.

All those arrested are recognized as Persons of Concern by the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees. A UN official told the detainees that the
organization has no authority to win their release.

Meanwhile, about 60 Burmese dissidents held a ceremony marking the coup’s
anniversary at a Buddhist temple in the Thai capital.

Last June, 11 Burmese pro-democracy activists in Thailand were detained by
Thai authorities, who alleged the group was planning protest in front of
the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok for June 30, the day which marked
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s first month of detention.


----INTERNATIONAL----

Agence France Presse   September 18, 2003
US concerned for Aung San Suu Kyi after operation

The United States said on Thursday it was concerned for Myanmar's detained
democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi after reports she underwent an
operation.

The Nobel laureate, who has been detained for nearly four months, was
taken to a private hospital in Yangon for surgery, an Asian diplomat and
hospital sources said.

Nancy Beck, a State Department spokeswoman said Washington was aware of
the reports, but had no independent confirmation.

"The United States remains very concerned about Aung San Suu Kyi's
situation. The Burmese junta should immediately release Aung San Suu Kyi
and all other political prisoners from its custody."

The Asian diplomat said Aung San Suu Kyi was being treated at the Asia
Royal Hospital, where a doctor said she had been admitted with a uterus
condition.

A staff member at the hospital would not provide details of the surgery
but confirmed Aung San Suu Kyi had checked in to the hospital's top floor
Wednesday night.

Her condition was not said to be dangerous and a medical source said the
surgery was routine for a woman in her 50s.

Plainclothes military intelligence officials were seen around the outside
of the upscale hospital, one of Yangon's newest medical facilities and
popular with Myanmar's wealthy elite.

The United States earlier this month infuriated the Myanmar junta by
annoucing that Aung San Suu Kyi had launched a hunger strike.

A delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) later
visited the democracy leader and said she was not refusing food at the
time of their meeting.

But Washington stands by the accuracy of the information it used when it
made its announcement, a week before the ICRC visited Aung San Suu Kyi.

In the US capitol on Thursday, dissidents and a leading member of Congress
urged the United Nations to do more to help the up to two million
displaced people in Myanmar.

Activists say that the United Nations is unable to provide aid or relief
to people within the country without the permission of the Yangon junta.

There have also been some reports that Thai troops have turned back
refugees who reach the Thai-Myanmar border, or refuse to allow aid to be
passed across the frontier.

Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Pitts said that he would press President
George W. Bush to raise the issue when he travels to Thailand next month
for the Asia-Pacific Cooperation forum summit.

He also called on the "UN and the international community, to intervene to
stop the humanitarian crisis and the ethnic cleansing."

Myanmar's armed forces have for years been accused of repressing ethnic
minorities throughout the country, the former Burma.

Pitts was joined at a roundtable on human rights in Myanmar by two ethnic
Karen refugees, who braved the approaching Hurricane Isabel to hold one of
the few events on a deserted Capitol Hill.


The Irish Times   September 18, 2003
Exiled PM urges EU sanctions against Burma
By Joe Humphreys

The European Union is being urged to impose economic sanctions against
Burma's military government with the aim of securing the release of
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and starting a "roadmap" to democracy.

The call came from Burma's prime minister in exile, Dr Sein Win, who was
on a visit yesterday to Dublin, where he met officials from the Department
of Foreign Affairs.

Dr Win, who addresses the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs
today, said the human rights situation in Burma - also known as Myanmar -
has been worsening since Suu Kyi's arrest last May. "Intervention from the
international community is urgently needed to help Burma avert the
impending confrontation and bloodshed," Dr Win warned.

He said that with the Burmese government, the State Peace and Development
Council, refusing to allow Suu Kyi even be visited by UN representatives,
the time was right for the EU to apply "targeted" sanctions against
industries controlled by the military.
Emphasising that "there are no moderates among the top generals," Dr Win
said the only way to persuade the government of the need for democracy was
concerted international pressure. A stronger UN mandate was needed, which
turned the international body into a "mediator" and not just facilitator
in talks. This should be backed up by the threat of sanctions, Dr Win
said. He noted the EU's influence as major importer of textiles from
Burma.

"Ireland is going into the presidency of the EU and it is very important
for us that Ireland initiates something at this time. The UN process
(aimed at starting dialogue) began three years ago, and nothing has
happened. We need some push, some concrete action."

Dr Win, who was elected prime minister of the 1990 coalition government,
the NCGUB, which was overthrown by the military, said he was "very
concerned" about the welfare of Suu Kyi (58). The Nobel peace laureate,
who was made a Freewoman of Dublin three years ago, is being detained -
"for her own protection" in the military's words - at an unknown location.

Dr Thaung Htun, a NCGUB representative who travelled to Dublin with Dr
Win, said the government's concern for international opinion could be seen
in its foreign minister's recent visit to New York, armed with photographs
of an apparently healthy Suu Kyi under house arrest.

Of concern, he said, was the fact that the photographs showed the
pro-democracy leader to be "very thin". Dr Htun said: "The situation in
Burma is now as bad as any time in the last 14 years. After May 30th (when
Suu Kyi was arrested) the military put the entire democracy leadership
under house arrest, or detention. About 100 people were killed. Some
escaped to the border and some are still hiding." Dr Win added: "We are
now back to square one, perhaps one step back in Burma. We are now talking
again about freedom from arrest, rather than dialogue and national
reconciliation . . . The idea of a political dialogue taking place through
a home-grown process is no longer valid."


----EDITORIALS----

The Irrawaddy   September 18, 2003
Burma’s National Convention: New Resolve, Same Hurdles
By Aung Naing Oo

On August 30, Burmese Prime Minister Gen Khin Nyunt announced that Burma
would reconvene the long-suspended National Convention, the first step in
the "road map of Myanmar" he laid out in his inaugural address. A week
later, a panel of high-ranking army officers was appointed to the National
Convention Convening Committee.

Rangoon has tried for the past eight years to produce a junta-friendly
constitution through the National Convention. Clearly, it has failed. But
the new moves—the decision to resume the convention and the reorganization
of the Convention Committee—may signal that the junta is more resolute
about achieving the goals of the convention. Nevertheless, the Burmese
generals will face the same hurdles experienced in the previous efforts to
draft a constitution.

Constitutional experts and various Burmese opposition groups have long
attacked the legitimacy of an illegal government leading a convention to
produce a constitution. A 1999 booklet by the exiled Burma Lawyers’
Council called the National Convention "highly controversial and arguably
illegal." The National League for Democracy (NLD) abandoned the process in
November 1995 because the military sought too large a role in governance.

The National Convention was completely suspended in March 1996, because
its objectives were highly untenable. Given the nature of the 104
principles and 6 guidelines, which would have essentially ensured a
commanding role for the Burmese armed forces in the future affairs of the
state, the proposed constitution lacked any substantial democratic
reforms.

Then as now, the idea was to bring about a "disciplined democracy," as
Khin Nyunt stated in his August speech. It was not to address the
country’s protracted conflict.

Now the National Convention has made a comeback. And nothing has
changed—not the contents, the objectives, the political climate, not even
the organizer. Furthermore, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is again
under detention, as she was during the last convention. Other NLD leaders
are also in detention, and the party has been all but dismantled. Will the
junta release them and invite the NLD to join the process?

Certainly not. The SPDC will not accomplish their goals if Suu Kyi and her
party’s leadership are free. Since the generals are not prepared to
negotiate with them, their best option is to keep them locked up. It’s a
costly move, but the regime appears determined to pay the price. They also
appear to be hoping for a hefty payoff once the charter is written: legal
control of the country and freedom from the threat of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Undoubtedly, the SPDC will face the same obstacles as they did in 1993.
There has already been widespread opposition to the new National
Convention. There is also support. But the endorsements have come with
conditions.

The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), a major ceasefire group,
welcomed the National Convention. But according to The Kachin Post, The
KIO will join the process only if all ethnic groups and political parties
can participate and if the process differs from previous efforts. The KIO
was made an observer after its truce with Rangoon in 1994.

Nai Banya Mon, spokesperson of Foreign Affairs Committee of the New Mon
State Party, another key ceasefire partner, supports the idea of the
convention. But he emphasized the fact that it would only be the answer to
the country’s calamities if genuine representatives of the people were to
attend. "If the SPDC goes back to the National Convention of 1993, it will
be fundamentally opposed to our aspirations," he said.

These sentiments are shared by many stakeholders, but it is too early to
say where the process is headed. No details have been disclosed by the
SPDC. However, if the junta fails to incorporate the concerns expressed by
various parties involved, accomplishing the convention’s goals will be a
daunting task.

Without doubt, the SPDC will attempt to make the new process as legitimate
as possible, in its own narrow "legal" way. The Burmese junta is the law
unto itself. It hardly needs anyone’s support for the convention. But the
SPDC does need legitimacy. The whole idea of a junta-led constitution is
to legally enshrine their illegitimate governance in a legitimate form. It
would therefore not be a surprise if the SPDC quietly persuaded critics
and deserters within the NLD to help them gain such legitimacy.

As a matter of fact, the SPDC has already tried that. A number of NLD
Members of Parliament have been asked if they support the roadmap spelt
out by Khin Nyunt. Whether the overtures have been accepted is not yet
known but similar approaches are expected with ethnic groups and various
political entities. Whether they will cow to the demands of the regime
remains to be seen.

No matter who becomes involved, it is evident that the junta’s only choice
is to finish the work of the National Convention and embark upon the bumpy
road to constitutional governance. The SPDC may not succeed but its
tenacity is apparent. The generals know a constitution can protect them
and help them retain power. And power is what they’ve always sought.

Aung Naing Oo is a research associate with the Washington-based Burma Fund.


The Irrawaddy   September 18, 2003
Fifteen Years and Counting

Fifteen years is a considerable amount of time in human terms. The
identity of a generation could be formed in a decade and a half. Sadly,
the memories of a generation of Burmese are crowded with the misdeeds of
the country’s tyrannical rulers, who took power 15 years ago today.

The coup of Sept 18, 1988, was a direct reaction to the mass uprising that
August, which called for the restoration of democracy and prosperity in
Burma. The plotters aimed to rescue the virtually collapsed military-led
socialist government from the outrage of the people and continue military
rule. It is believed that the late Ne Win instructed military chief Gen
Saw Maung, to flex the military’s might and oust the socialist regime from
power.

As a result, thousands of peaceful demonstrators were killed in a
nationwide bloodbath. Violent crackdowns and broken promises have
continued to this day, ultimately serving to prolong military rule.

The whole of Burmese society has been militarized since 1988. The
government’s use of forced labor and relocation has become
institutionalized. The plight of refugees and stories of systematic rape
have shocked the conscience of the world. Ethnic nationalities have been
the victims of revenge attacks by military forces. And Burma has earned
the dubious distinction of being one of the largest drug producers and
exporters in the world. Such realities mark Burma as a failed state which
poses a threat to regional stability.

The international community has to formulate a workable, multilateral
approach to reversing the decline of Burma’s economy and society.
Southeast Asian nations, particularly Thailand, should be held accountable
for their complicity in prolonging Burma’s downward spiral by failing to
pressure the ruling junta to be a good neighbor. Though thanks can be
extended to the US for its support of the pro-democracy cause, we believe
that US should spend some of its political capital to persuade China to
take a leading role in Burma’s transition to multiparty democracy.

Enduring the last 15 years of repression has been painful for the Burmese.
They long for a government they can be proud of, not fear. Future
generations should not be made to wait for that day as long as their
ancestors.