BurmaNet News: November 7, 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

Novemeber 7, 2003 Issue #2364

INSIDE BURMA
AFP: UN rights envoy meets ethnic groups in Myanmar following US endorsement
AP: Myanmar government says British allegations of religious riot
manipulation are baseless
DVB: Burma: Mob Destroys Meiktila Guest House Said Harbouring Muslim Suspect
Mizzima: Repatriated Burmese workers forced to pay 1000 baht each for entry

MONEY
World Markets Analysis: Human Rights Pressure Prompts Major Tobacco Firm's
Withdrawal from Myanmar

GUNS
Xinhua: Thailand, Myanmar military leaders to hold talks

REGIONAL
IPS: Myanmar's impending judgment day

INTERNATIONAL
Calgary Herald: Task force sought to halt sex slavery: Group urges
co-operation to fight scourge
Irrawaddy: US Findings on Burma, an Overview

OPINION / OTHER
China Daily: Take environment into account
UK-FCO: BAT Withdraws from Burma: FCO Minister ‘Delighted’


----INSIDE BURMA----

Agence France Presse   November 7, 2003
UN rights envoy meets ethnic groups in Myanmar following US endorsement

UN rights envoy to Myanmar Paulo Sergio Pinheiro met here with ethnic
political parties Friday, a day after the US endorsed his strategy despite
claims that the world body's bid to ease political deadlock in the country
has failed.

Pinheiro met at the UN Development Program office in Yangon with members
of the United Nationalities Alliance, a group of nine ethnic-based
political parties, many of which oppose the junta's rule.

"We met with Pinheiro for over an hour, during which he was sounding us
out on the roadmap laid out by Prime Minister Khin Nyunt," Khun Htun Oo,
head of the Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD), told AFP, referring
to Yangon's democracy roadmap it announced in August.

The SNLD garnered the second largest number of seats in the 1990
elections, won in a landslide by the National League for Democracy (NLD)
but never recognized by the military leadership.

It and other groups, including the NLD, have consistently stated it is
vital that ethnic groups be included in any key negotiations with the
junta and opposition parties over Myanmar's national reconciliation.

Pinheiro, on a six-day mission to investigate alleged human rights abuses
in Myanmar, including deadly May 30 clashes that triggered NLD leader Aung
San Suu Kyi's arrest in May, met Thursday with the democracy icon at her
lakeside villa where she has been held under house arrest since September.

"I also sounded out Aung San Suu Kyi about the roadmap," Pinheiro told
Khun Htun Oo.

Pinheiro also asked the Nobel peace laureate about her personal experience
during the May attack, Khun Htun Oo said, but declined to provide further
details.

Pinheiro, who was only the second outsider to meet with the 58-year-old
opposition leader since her arrest amid a crackdown following the violent
unrest in the country's north, told reporters Friday he had "no comments
about my meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi".

Details of the May 30 incident remain murky, but some witnesses have said
that dozens are feared to have died when thousands of thugs ambushed Aung
San Suu Kyi's convoy during a political tour.

Pinheiro also met Friday with Lieutenant General Thein Sein, the newly
appointed chairman of the election commission which Khin Nyunt
reconstituted in September to oversee the roadmap's first step of
reconvening the national convention, which was adjourned in 1996 after an
NLD walkout.

During his mission Pinheiro, a Brazilian academic, was also to press the
ruling generals for answers on allegations that the country's armed forces
raped women in Shan state where a separatist rebellion is being waged.

The allegations, in a report by two Thai-based Shan rights groups which
drew international outrage, documented 625 sex attacks on Shan women and
girls by Myanmar soldiers, mostly between 1996 and 2001.

Pinheiro's trip has been under close international scrutiny, particularly
in the United States whose government Thursday endorsed his mission after
members of Congress called for his removal.

"We remain supportive of his efforts and continue to call for the
immediate and unconditional release of all those held for freely
expressing their political beliefs," said Adam Ereli, the US State
Department's deputy spokesman.

Pinheiro and UN special Myanmar envoy Razali Ismail, who visited Suu Kyi
in September, came under attack in the US Congress on Wednesday, as
frustration at Myanmar's political plight boiled over.

Congressman Joseph Crowley of New York recalled how for the past three
years the United States had supported the UN bid to spur talks between the
NLD and the junta.

"Let me be blunt -- that effort and the effort of UN envoy Paulo Sergio
Pinheiro has failed," he said.

Pinheiro was due to wrap up his visit Saturday, when he holds a press
conference in Yangon, and is due to brief the UN General Assembly on his
trip on November 12.


Associated Press Worldstream   November 7, 2003
Myanmar government says British allegations of religious riot manipulation
are baseless

Myanmar's foreign ministry on Friday dismissed as baseless a British
government accusation that the military government was stirring up unrest
between the country's Buddhist and Muslim communities.

The ministry described the allegations as "totally baseless" and "utterly
malicious."

"The statement clearly represents an attempt to sow seeds of discord in
the country and discredit Myanmar in the international community," it said
in a statement. "As such the Myanmar government categorically rejects the
allegations as false and politically motivated."

On Tuesday, the British Foreign Office cited an incident in Kyaukse, 530
kilometers (330 miles) north of Yangon, in which two mosques were
reportedly destroyed and the homes of several prominent Muslims burned
down, allegedly resulting in the deaths of as many as 11 people.

"There is a widespread belief amongst the Burmese people, whether Muslim
or Buddhist, that these incidents have been contrived by the government to
distract attention from the stalled political process, and to justify a
continued military clampdown," the British Foreign Office said.

Many reports have circulated in the past month of communal violence,
mostly in central Myanmar, involving rioting and arson.

Residents of the areas involved, speaking privately, have confirmed that
violence took place, but reliable information about details is not
available. Some incidents reportedly involved Buddhist monks.

On Oct. 28, in a rare admission of trouble, the government issued a
statement to foreign media confirming there had been "disturbances between
people of different faiths" and acknowledging casualties and property
damage. It said details could not be made public because the incidents
were still under investigation.

Almost 90 percent of the 43 million people of Myanmar - also known as
Burma - are Buddhists, and about 4 percent are Muslims.

Myanmar's ruling junta has long been criticized for its poor human right
record and failure to hand over power to a the party of pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi despite its victory in general elections.
Criticism mounted when Suu Kyi was detained at the end of May after a
violent confrontation between her followers and government supporters.


Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese November 5, 2003
[translated by BBC Monitoring International Reports]
Burma: Mob Destroys Meiktila Guest House Said Harbouring Muslim Suspect

Dear listeners. DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) has already reported that
the religious turmoil, which originated in central Burma, has spread to
the capital, Rangoon. Furthermore, the SPDC (State Peace and Development
Council) authorities have alleged the National League for Democracy (NLD)
instigated the current spate of religious unrest. The local authorities
made the allegation during their visit to the monasteries and meeting with
the abbots regarding last Sunday (2 November)'s religious disturbance in
Meiktila. In addition, an NLD party leader from Meiktila told DVB that the
following night after the incident Military Intelligence personnel
searched the residence of an NLD member. Regarding the matter, Dr Thein
Lwin, chairman of Meiktila Township NLD and an elected representative from
Meiktila Township Constituency-2, told DVB that the NLD is not involved in
any way in this religious mayhem.

(Dr Thein Lwin - recording) Local authorities came to the monasteries and
held discussions with the abbots supplicating them to control the monks
and novices. They made allegations that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the
NLD, was instigating the religious unrest. Well, the NLD is a political
party and not a religious organization. We not only have Buddhists but
also Muslims and Christians as NLD members and this conflict does not
concern NLD at all. The religious unrest happened on 2 November, but about
midnight on 3 November Military Intelligence personnel, police, and local
authorities from the ward peace and development council came to the house
of Ko Win Zaw, an NLD member and a former NLD Central Youth Organizing
Committee member, from Thirimingalar Ward. Under the pretext of inspecting
overnight guest registration, they searched his house without any
inspection form or warrant. Anyway, Ko Win Zaw allowed the search but they
failed to find anything substantial. How could they find anything when we
are not involved in anyway. We think it is inappropriate to put the blame
on the NLD whenever a problem occurs. (End of recording)

That was Meiktila Township NLD Chairman Dr Thein Lwin. An eyewitness told
DVB that she saw some Buddhist monks, who participated in the religious
unrest in Meiktila on 2 November, wore trousers underneath their saffron
robes.

(Eyewitness - recording) The mob that destroyed (?Ma Khin Win's lottery)
shop and another mob that destroyed (?Maung Mya's) shop converged and
proceeded to Zeenat Guest House where the mob grew to over 200 people
including monks and laypeople. I saw some Buddhist monks wearing trousers
underneath their saffron robes. Well, there were many people and some of
the so-called monks, wearing long pants underneath the robes, were
covering their bald heads with the robes. I heard later that they
destroyed Zeenat Guest House because they had information that the Muslim
suspect, who killed the monks at Kyaukse, had been staying there. (End of
recording)


Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)   November 7, 2003
Repatriated Burmese workers forced to pay a 1000 baht each for entry

After being repatriated by Thai authorities, Burmese migrant workers were
forced by the Burmese border authorities to pay 1000 baht each at Myawady
border gate.

 "Over one hundred of us were arrested by the Thai authorities in Bangkok
on 4 November and sent to Mae Sot and on to Myawady where Military
Intelligence, DKBA and Mon ceasefire group demanded 1000 baht from each
person. Those who were unable to pay were harassed and detained by them",
said Ko Tun Tun Oo who was himself arrested for not being able to pay.
The relatives of those detained for inability to pay were forced to pay
the required amount as a ransom for retrieving the detainees, he
added.Burmese workers on their way to Thailand are subjected to a similar
procedure and asked to pay Kyats at the check points between Mae Sot and
Myawady.

Reportedly, a border security group named Na Sa Ka was involved in
extorting money from migrant workers. This group was formed by Burma’s
Military Intelligence Chief General Khin Nyunt in 2001, while he was still
the Secretary (1) of SPDC. It comprises the police, military,
intelligence, immigration, forest and revenue officials as well as members
of ceasefire groups like the DKBA (Democratic Karen Buddhist Association).

According to estimates, out of two million Burmese migrant workers in
Thailand only about 200,000 hold legal work permits.


----MONEY----

World Markets Analysis   November 7, 2003
Human Rights Pressure Prompts Major Tobacco Firm's Withdrawal from Myanmar
By Elizabeth Mills

UK-based multinational British American Tobacco (BAT) has announced its
decision to withdraw from Myanmar over human rights concerns, finally
succumbing to widespread pressure.
WMRC Perspective

Significance
 BAT has faced mounting criticism for working closely with the State Peace
and Development Council (SPDC), the ruling military junta, since
beginning operations in Myanmar in 1999.

Implications
 Human rights campaigners have hailed BAT's decision as a major victory,
highlighting that it marks the departure of the last major UK company
from the country.

Outlook
 BAT's move is likely to increase pressure on remaining Western companies
to leave Myanmar, in protest at the junta's human rights record and the
lack of progress towards democracy.

Towing the Government's Line
Multinationals in Myanmar

A combination of ongoing human rights campaigning, reputational risk,
consumer pressure and tighter domestic policy have prompted the withdrawal
of a number of big names, including:
Texaco; Levi Strauss; Motorola; Ericsson; Pepsico; Heineken; Carlsberg;
Amoco; Liz Claiborne; C&A
Triumph International
BAT's withdrawal may have ended involvement in the country by major
British-based multinationals, but other high-profile companies remain,
including:
TotalFinaElf; Suzuki; Ernst & Young; Deutsche Post; Gary Player Design
 Source: The Burma Campaign UK

BAT has admitted that its decision follows an unprecedented government
request in July, when British Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien called
on BAT to end its involvement in Myanmar. A company statement released
following yesterday's announcement highlighted this plainly; 'The
overriding factor is that if you are a UK multinational then it is hard to
ignore the political will of your government'. O'Brien was reported to be
'delighted' with BAT's decision, and noted the Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) ramifications that the company would have faced had
it continued to operate in Myanmar. However, the company is not ending its
associations with the country entirely. It is selling its 60% claim to a
Singaporean-based investment company, Distinction Investment Holdings
(DIH), which will manufacture two BAT brands under licence.

Premier Among Equals

BAT's move follows a similar withdrawal in September 2002 by British
company Premier Oil, which announced its decision to hand over its stake
in a gas project to its largest shareholders, the Malaysian national oil
company Petronas and US company Amerada Hess (see Myanmar: 17 September
2002: UK Oil Company Cites Commercial Reasons for Withdrawal). The company
maintained that it had taken the decision for purely commercial reasons,
but its move ended a decade-long human rights campaign against the
company, which had also attracted the concern of the British government.
In 1990, Premier signed an exploration agreement with the SPDC, the first
oil company to do so. It weathered criticism for more than 10 years; the
company itself was accused of helping to finance and provide legitimacy to
the SPDC, and its pipeline security staff were accused of committing human
rights abuses.

Outlook and Implications

BAT's concerns in Myanmar are relatively small. It employs approximately
500 local workers, and has stated that its operations in the country do
not represent a significant part of its annual revenue. Furthermore, the
continuing licensing agreement with DIH will offset some of its losses. In
some respects, this prompts the largely unanswerable question of why it
has defied ongoing human rights pressures to remain in the country for so
long. Foreign investment in Myanmar remains relatively limited, deterred
by a poor operating environment, economic uncertainty and the possible
risk to company reputation. The foreign direct investment (FDI) situation
has deteriorated this year, with a tightening of Western sanctions in July
2003 undermining prospects further. Until significant political reform is
enacted, the situation is unlikely to change. The SPDC has proved itself
to be largely impervious to calls for change, and is unlikely to pursue
anything but incremental moves towards democracy in the face of continued
international pressure.


----GUNS----

Xinhua General News Service   November 7, 2003
Thailand, Myanmar military leaders to hold talks

BANGKOK, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) --The commander of Thailand's 3rd Army Area
Command, which is in charge of security along the Thai-Myanmar border,
said he would travel to Myanmar next week to discuss issues including
security and rebels in Myanmar.

Phichanmet Muangmane was quoted by the Thai News Agency on Friday as
saying that he would travel to Myanmar next Monday along with Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's delegation for four-nation talks, to be
attended by the leaders from Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.

Atop Phichanmet's agenda would be issues concerning safeguarding the
Thai-Myanmar border, combating drugs smuggling and cracking down on
minority ethnic rebel groups, said the report.

In addition, the military chiefs of the two countries would discuss the
development of the border region to ensure order and peace in a volatile
area, the report said.

Phichanmet expressed hope that the talks would lead to joint operations to
improve the situation of the border region, enabling people living there
to make cross-border visits.


----REGIONAL----

Inter Press Service   November 6, 2003
Southeast Asia: Myanmar's impending judgment day
By Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK - By returning to Myanmar this week, a United Nations human-rights
envoy has set the stage for a political drama that could end up putting
the strongest external pressure so far on Yangon's military government.

This prospect has animated both Myanmar political activists living in
exile in neighboring Thailand and regional human-rights monitors.

Judgment day will be November 12, when envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro is due
to brief the UN General Assembly about the political climate in Myanmar.
He is now in that Southeast Asian country and has met with Prime Minister
Khin Nyunt.

"The report he will deliver to the UN General Assembly will be important,
because if very critical, it will put the military government under
tremendous pressure," said Bo Kyi of the Assistance Association for
Political Prisoners, a group of activists who served time in Myanmar
prisons based on their political views.

"Pinheiro's report and the response it receives at UN sessions will help
clarify world opinion," added Sunai Phasuk, an analyst at Forum-Asia, a
regional human-rights lobby based in Bangkok. "If the Burmese government
is denounced, it will hamper its efforts to be given a second chance to
reform."

The visit will make it difficult for the Myanmar government to deflect
charges against its human-rights abuses, Soe Aung of the Network for
Democracy and Development, a group of exiles from Myanmar based in
Thailand, said in an interview. "Pinheiro is in a position this time to
force [Yangon] to be held accountable."

There are ample hints to suggest that Pinheiro, a Brazilian academic, will
be far from charitable toward the State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC), as Myanmar's junta calls itself.

When he last visited Myanmar in March, Pinheiro ended his trip in anger
after he discovered that a room deemed safe for his interviews with
political prisoners had actually been bugged.

On May 30, thugs linked to the SPDC mounted an attack on opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi and leaders of her party, the National League for
Democracy (NLD), in a town north of Yangon.

This attack, which triggered global outrage, further eroded the SPDC's
credibility, as did its move to place Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi and NLD
leaders in military custody for, what they deemed, their "protection".

Pinheiro's week-long visit, his sixth trip to Myanmar, will be the first
since these three incidents occurred.

There are hints that he will test the SPDC's commitments to political
reform and human rights based on where they stand on the freedom allowed
Suu Kyi, who has since been moved to house arrest, and the NLD members
still in prison.

Human-rights activists are also confident that Pinheiro will again turn
the heat on Yangon to release the estimated 1,300 political prisoners,
including close to 100 women, being held in the 39 prisons across Myanmar.

A year ago, Pinheiro used some of the strongest language to date to
criticize Myanmar during his report to the UN General Assembly. The
political crimes Yangon had committed up to that point included the rape
by soldiers of some 625 women and girls in the country's eastern Shan
state.

The human-rights violations in this Southeast Asian nation include the
forced conscription of child soldiers, the sending of members of ethnic
communities into forced labor camps, the crushing of political opponents
and the holding of political prisoners.

Myanmar watchers consider the criticism put forth in 2002 - which was
denounced by the SPDC - a significant shift when compared with the
language used to discuss Myanmar at the UN General Assembly over the past
10 years.

Some feel that a more severe critique by Pinheiro at the UN sessions this
month may pave the way for a situation the junta has been trying to avoid
- Myanmar's case being brought before the Security Council.

"From what we understand, Pinheiro is ready to place the Burma issue with
the Security Council," Bo Kyi said. "That will force the international
community to take serious note of Burma. It will not look good for the
SPDC." (The junta officially renamed the country Myanmar in 1989, but many
opponents of the regime prefer the old name, Burma.)

Currently, Myanmar is taking a beating on the international stage due to
harsh economic sanctions imposed since August by the US government. In
October, during a review of the political climate in Myanmar, Washington
threatened Yangon with more sanctions.

The European Union has imposed sanctions on Myanmar since 1996. But these
measures - ranging from an arms embargo and visa bans on SPDC officials to
the freezing of assets - are to be reviewed next May.

Human-rights activists believe that a Pinheiro report more damning of
Myanmar would strengthen Washington's and the EU's positions toward
Yangon.

But that would not be the case for a group of Asian nations, who critics
say are marching to the rescue of one of Southeast Asia's most brutal
regimes. "A critical report at the UN this month will be deeply
embarrassing for these Asian nations, since it will come before the Burma
Forum for like-minded countries," said Sunai, the human-rights analyst
with Forum-Asia.

Bangkok plans to host a meeting of this forum in late November. The
countries in the group are Myanmar, Thailand, the other eight members of
the Association of Southeast Asian nations, China and India.

"These Asian countries, led by Thailand, are trying to rehabilitate the
SPDC," said Sunai. "The Thai government, in fact, is trying to get the EU
to lift its sanctions on Burma despite the SPDC's record of abuses. That
is how sympathetic they are."


----INTERNATIONAL----

Calgary Herald (Alberta, Canada)   November 7, 2003
Task force sought to halt sex slavery: Group urges co-operation to fight
scourge
By Sherri Zickefoose and Jason van Rassel

Massage parlour busts should be the catalyst for forming a national or
international group to halt the sex trafficking trade, says an expert in
the field.

"There needs to be higher level national and international co-operation
between law enforcement to truly unroot the trafficking crisis that really
is threatening to become one of the greatest modern tragedies of our
time," said Ben Perrin, the executive director of Calgary-based The Future
Group, an organization that works to help victims of international human
trafficking and examines the sex slave trade problem in southeast Asia.

"This is a real wake-up call and should be a call to action."

The Calgary group, which visited Burma last summer, wants to see a
national level counter-trafficking task force set up to stop the problem.

"We've identified Burma as a country that's ripe for the human sex trade
-- it's still very new to Burma. This has absolutely confirmed to us the
situation there is far worse than anyone would have thought."

While Calgary police are still trying to determine the backgrounds of the
women arrested in Operation Relaxation, an investigator said many women
brought here as prostitutes worked in the trade legally in Asia before
deciding to come to this country.

"They are in the sex trade already and they are willing participants,"
said Staff Sgt. Joe Houben of the Calgary police vice unit.

Nevertheless, the women are forced to sell their bodies to pay off a debt
that far exceeds the cost of bringing them to Canada, and their illegal
status in a strange country leaves them with few options to seek help,
Houben added.

"We consider anybody in the sex trade to be victimized," he said.

"It's all about exploitation."

Indentured servitude is inescapable for the women, said Perrin.

"These girls are treated as property and depreciable assets to organized
criminal networks that succeed in making a lot of money off their backs."

In the past four years, volunteer teams have been working with young
prostitutes and families in Cambodia, warning all of the dangers that lurk
in the sex trade, Perrin said.

They are lied to, he said, and offered jobs as cleaners or in offices in
return for getting on an airplane bound for North America.

"It creates a massive debt, and they're told they have to pay it off
before they'll have any sort of freedom," he said.

"And as you can imagine, the debt never gets repaid. That's how slavery
works."

Poverty is a main motivation that sees southeast Asians turn to
prostitution, he said.

"There's a bit of a myth out there that this is accepted in southeast
Asia. That's simply not true," he said.

The Calgary busts have just scratched the surface of the sex slave trade,
Perrin said.

"It's certainly put traffickers on notice, rightly so, that their conduct
and their business is not acceptable in our city. I hope this is a
declaration of war by the Calgary Police Service on trafficking, and they
have our full support."

Perrin estimates between two million and four million women are trafficked
abroad globally.

"For Canadians, this really brings home the fact that the sex trade is not
something going on in someone else's backyard," he said. "It involves
ordinary Canadians, and it's very much a global problem."


The Irrawaddy   November 07, 2003
US Findings on Burma, an Overview
By Julien Moe

The US government evaluates Burma on national security, trade, human
rights and narcotics issues each year. An overview of their findings sheds
light on the information driving American policy towards the military
rulers in Rangoon.

Burma is on the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) "C" list, meaning it
is a country of minor importance to the national interest of the United
States. China and North Korea, for example, are on the "A" list. This does
not necessarily imply that the US has not been watching Burma recently.

Despite its focus on the war in Iraq and the possibility of a second round
of six-nation meetings on North Korea’s nuclear program, the US has
recently warned the Burmese regime about its dealings with North Korea
regarding weapons of mass destruction. North Korea has been exporting
weapons to Burma since 1998, according to Jane’s Defense Weekly.
Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is a major national security
issue for the US.

In 1983, a three-man team from North Korea’s intelligence service
attempted to assassinate South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan while he was
on a state visit to Rangoon, Burma. The remote controlled bomb exploded
prematurely. Chun was unharmed, but eighteen South Korean officials,
including four cabinet ministers, were killed and fourteen others were
injured. One of the North Korean agents was killed, two were captured, and
one confessed to the incident. The events led to a suspension of ties
between Burma and North Korea.

Today, both Burma and North Korea are considered rogue states by the US,
which heightens US concern about their weapons deals. China recently
brokered a deal between Burma and North Korea for the purchase of
missiles, since the two nations have not yet reestablished diplomatic
relations.

The US is also concerned about a nuclear reactor being built in Magwe
Division in central Burma, with the help of Russia. Despite assurances by
the Burmese regime and the Russians that the reactor only serves medical
research purposes, the US $5 million project has attracted US attention
since the terror attacks of Sept 11, 2001.

A report in the Far Eastern Economic Review reported that days after the
terror attacks, two Pakistani nuclear scientists fled to Burma to avoid
questioning by the CIA about their possible links to al-Qaeda. The report
said they were working on an undisclosed project and have not returned.
Despite no evidence of the pair’s involvement in the Russo-Burmese nuclear
project, Burmese officials have denied they are in the country.

Russia is currently supplying equipment for the nuclear reactor and some
300 Burmese are getting trained to operate the facility, said US Senator
Richard Lugar in Washington Post editorial in late Sept. A Burmese
intelligence source says that 1000 Burmese, including army officers and
civil engineers, are receiving nuclear training in Russia.

Russia also sold the junta ten secondhand MIG-29 fighter jets for US $150
million in 2001. The jets have the same capacity as the F-16 fighters
manufactured by the Americans, raising US concerns the jets could deliver
a dirty bomb, if the Burmese chose to build one.

Trade between the US and Burma ceased after the most recent US sanctions
banned imports from Burma and new US investment. Unocal, the
California-based oil giant, still participates in a joint venture with the
Burmese junta. In 1995, Unocal signed a contract with the Burmese
government to explore, extract and export natural gas. The Free Burma
Coalition, which has campaigned against Unocal’s presence in Burma, calls
the venture a deadly deal, saying the resulting natural gas pipeline
resulted in forced labor and forced relocation and even death.

A case against Unocal filed on behalf of fifteen workers who suffered
human rights abuses at the hands of the Burmese military during the
pipeline’s construction is currently before the California state court.
Although the US Department of Justice filed a friend of the court brief in
Unocal’s defense, similar abuses throughout Burma are routinely condemned
by the US.

The US also feels that the junta is not doing enough to deter the drug
trade. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the CIA believe that some
Burmese army officers are involved in drug dealing and is levying taxes on
drug traffickers. Drugs from Burma arrive in the US via China, according
to CIA reports.

For all the reasons outline here, the US would like to see a peaceful
transition to democracy in Burma. The US supports reconciliation efforts
between opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the military regime. The
roadmap proposed by Prime Minister Gen Khin Nyunt, despite Association of
Southeast Asian Nations’ approval, is not supported by the US.

Julien Moe is a Burmese freelance journalist living in New York City. He
contributed this article for the Irrawaddy.


----OPINION / OTHER----

China Daily.  November 6, 2003.
Take environment into account
By Chen Hong

A petition against a hydropower project on the Nujiang River had been
signed by 62 environmental protection campaigners, including scientists,
writers, journalists, singers and movie stars at the end of October.

This is the latest move in the series of activities against the project.

Rising in the Tanggula Mountains, the Nujiang River passes through China's
Tibet and Yunnan, then Myanmar (where the river is known as Thanlwin) and
eventually flows into the Indian Ocean.

In its mid and lower reaches, the natural drop comes to 1,578 metres in a
742-kilometre-long section of the river, which makes it an ideal location
for hydroelectric plants.

According to the proposed project, 13 dams will be built on the Nujiang
River, the total installed capacity is 21 million kilowatts. And the
project is hoped to be a key one supplying electricity for western Yunnan
Province.

Supporters claimed that it would not only help satisfy the country's
hunger for more power, but also improve the economy and infrastructure of
the region, one of the most undeveloped areas in Yunnan Province.

The project arouses remarkable environmental concern.

It is in the Three Parallel Rivers area (including the Jinsha, Nujiang and
Lancang rivers), which was added to the World Heritage List as a natural
property at the 27th session of the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee in
July this year.

More importantly, areas around the Nujiang River boast the richest
bio-diversity in the world. It is host to more than 20 per cent of the
country's high-altitude plants and over 25 per cent of wild vertebrates.

The project's defendants believe it is not going to threaten the natural
heritage because it is largely located in the mountains at an elevation of
over 2,500 metres, even the buffer area is 2,000 metres above sea level,
but the water level in the highest reservoir is only 1,570 metres above
sea level.

They also think that the hydropower plant, as a source of clean energy,
will help local residents use more electricity.

But this hardly persuades the objectors, who maintain that the project
will inevitably spoil the ecological integrity of the area, causing
disastrous results to species unique to the region.

The river basin, which will be underwater after the dams are built, is the
main passageway and refuge for migrating species in Eurasia.

Of 48 known fish types living in the river, more than 30 are peculiar to
the region, and four have been listed in the international red paper on
wildlife protection. Their life will by threatened most directly. Some of
them may disappear forever.

Moreover, the integrity of local ecological system will be destroyed even
if only part of the area is put underwater.

The debate attracts extra attention because the Nujiang River is one of
the two rivers in China which do not have any artificial conservation, the
other one being Yarlung Zangbo River.

This makes the Nujiang River a precious specimen of an ecological system
which is free from hydropower exploitation.

In essence, this is a typical incident embodying the conflict between
development and environment in the country's economic growth.

Given China's real situation, it is neither possible nor reasonable to put
environmental issues before the need for development. But there is also no
reason to make the environment a victim of it.

So when the two confront each other in specific cases, the final target
should be a win-win solution.

The environmental cost must be calculated as well in assessing any project.

In the Nujiang River's case, the area is far from being thoroughly studied
in the geological and ecological terms because of the tough natural
conditions there.

And with our current methods, it is hard to estimate the loss in
environmental terms as many negative results may take decades to emerge.

According to experts, the Nujiang River is in an area where geological
changes occur frequently on a dramatic scale.

Given this, the reservoirs will probably be filled with sediments over
scores of years, thus the project might be a total waste.

Before we are able to decide whether the project's revenue is positive or
negative when the ecological loss is included, the safe way out of this
problem is to delay the project for a while.

And the hydropower plant is far from the only solution to achieve the
target for development.

Experts suggested that hydropower plants could be built on rivers where
there are already dams, so that the Nujiang River will be spared
ecological destruction.

As to poverty-alleviation in this area, ecological tourism could also
produce higher incomes, which is more environmentally friendly.

They also suggest the establishment of a State park there to help local
residents.

The central authorities have not made any formal decision upon the project
though it has been included into the plan to tap hydropower drafted by the
provincial government.

Approved or not, the project and the discussion on it is certainly a
reminder of two facts:

One, the World Bank statistics said China's GDP will be cut down by 7 to 8
per cent if the loss from environment deterioration is calculated.

Two, countries around the world are pulling down dams on their rivers. The
United States, whose Hoover Dam on the Colorado River is one of the
world's largest dams, has pulled down more than 500 since 1994.


UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office – Press Release November 6, 2003
BAT WITHDRAWS FROM BURMA: FCO MINISTER ‘DELIGHTED’

British American Tobacco’s announcement that it is withdrawing from Burma
was today warmly welcomed by Foreign Office Minister Mike O’Brien.

Mike O’Brien said:

“I am delighted that BAT, the largest remaining UK investment in Burma,
has responded to the British Government’s request that they leave the
country.  I appreciate that this was a difficult process, but I am in no
doubt that the decision was the right one.

“It was inappropriate for a British company which cares about its
reputation for corporate social responsibility to be participating in a
joint venture with the business arm of Burma's military dictatorship.

“BAT’s decision today reinforces the Prime Minister’s message in June that
trade and investment with Burma is not appropriate ‘so long as the regime
continues to suppress the basic rights of its people’.”

Note for Editors:

On 2 July, Mike O’Brien asked Martin Broughton, Chairman of BAT, to
withdraw the company’s investment from Burma.  Following the recent
completion of Premier Oil’s withdrawal from Burma, BAT’s was the largest
remaining UK investment in the country.

BAT’s operations in Burma were a joint venture with the Union of Myanmar
Economic Holdings, the business arm of the military regime.  The main
beneficiaries of Rothmans Myanmar were the generals who run UMEHL, and the
military families who are shareholders in Myawadi Trading Company - the
military's trading arm - which distributes the cigarettes and reaps the
profits.

HMG’s long standing policy has been not to encourage British trade,
investment or tourism in Burma.  Any companies which do enquire about
trade with Burma are told that no official support is available and
informed about the desperate political situation in the country, the
regime’s atrocious human rights record and the dire economic prospects. 
As the Prime Minister said in the House of Commons on 25 June “we are
making it clear to British companies that we do not believe that trade is
appropriate when the regime continues to suppress the basic rights of its
people.”

On 14 July, Mike O’Brien wrote to the Association of British Travel Agents
(ABTA), urging British travel agents who arrange holidays in Burma to
reconsider their operations in that country.