BurmaNet News: December 20-22, 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

December 20-22, 2003, Issue #2392

INSIDE BURMA
AP: Myanmar leader says religion used as tool to break up country
Scotsman: Burma Hails UK Rights Group's 'Constructive' Visit
AFP: Democracy hopes alive for Myanmar
Irrawaddy: A History of Capital Punishment in Burma
Kaladan News: Rohingyas' Freedom of Movements further restricted

ON THE BORDER
UNB: Dhaka-Yangoon border chiefs’ meeting today

REGIONAL
AFP: Indian rebels eye Myanmar, Bangladesh amid Bhutan crackdown: army
official
Thai Press Reports: THAILAND TO DEPART SACKED-UP MYANMAR MIGRANTS
Bangkok Post: Chaisit will quit if boss unhappy
Hindustan Times: ULFA shifts three camps to Myanmar

INTERNATIONAL
VOA: Human Rights Abuses on Increase Burma, says Amnesty Int'l
The Nation: UK offers guarded support for Burma push
WHO: Worldwide, 150,000 die due to global warming: WHO study

OPINION/OTHER
DVB: Burma: Democracy party more concerned about Suu Kyi than National
Convention


INSIDE BURMA
___________________________________

Associated Press, December 20, 2003
Myanmar leader says religion used as tool to break up country

In a pre-Christmas speech, Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyunt has blamed
"destructive elements" for using religion to sow religious and racial
differences in Myanmar, official newspapers said Saturday.

Although he did not identify these elements, Myanmar's military regime
normally uses the term to refer to the country's pro-democracy advocates,
ethnic minority rebels and Western nations who have criticized the country
for gross human rights violations.

"Destructive elements from inside and outside the nation ...are applying
various means to break up the Union. They are using religion as their tool
to hurl slanders against Myanmar and to cause religious and racial
differences in the country," Khin Nyunt said at the pre-Christmas Service
and Fellowship Dinner in Yangon Friday.

The dinner was organized by the Myanmar Christian Council of Churches and
Yangon's Roman Catholic archbishop, the Myanma Ahlin daily said.

Khin Nyunt said the government will continue its policy of supporting
religious freedom in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

The predominantly Buddhist nation, ruled by the military since 1962, also
includes followers of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and animism.

Human rights groups have documented widespread imprisonment, torture and
extra-judicial killing by authorities in recent decades. Most victims have
been both Buddhist and non-Buddhist political opponents of the regime.

___________________________________

Scotsman, December 20,2003
Burma Hails UK Rights Group's 'Constructive' Visit

Burma’s military government welcomed a visit by London-based Amnesty
International, one of the strongest critics of its human rights record, as
“constructive involvement of the international community” today.
Amnesty wrapped up a 17-day fact-finding tour yesterday, but failed to
meet detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Catherine Baber, Amnesty’s deputy programme director for Asia, and
researcher Donna Guest would not comment on their trip before departing
for Bangkok, Thailand, where they were due to hold a press conference on
Monday.

The team from the human rights group visited several prisons and met
government officials and leaders of Suu Kyi’s National League for
Democracy, who were recently released from detention.

“The visit reflects the spirit of openness and international co-operation
which are helping to make Burma’s transition to democracy a success,” said
a statement from the government spokesman’s office. Describing the visit
as constructive, the statement said Burma welcomed groups such as Amnesty
to conduct ”honest, unbiased reporting on the situation in the country”.

“Much of what has been written about Burma has been based on rumour,
ideology and conjecture, rather than fact,” the statement said.

It was unclear why the team could not meet Suu Kyi, who was detained at
the end of May after a clash in northern Burma between her followers and a
pro-government mob. The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner is now under house
arrest in the capital Rangoon.

Amnesty made its first official visit to Burma, also known as Myanmar,
early this year. It later said human rights conditions were improving, but
still fell short of international law.
___________________________________

Agence France Presse, December 22, 2003
Democracy hopes alive for Myanmar
By Sarah Stewart

BANGKOK: Hopes for democratic reform in Myanmar appeared to have
evaporated in May when the ruling junta arrested opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi and crushed her party. Yet the end of the year has again
brought possibilities of change.

The military regime announced at an international forum in Bangkok earlier
this month that in the new year it would embark on its so-called "roadmap
to democracy" by holding a national convention to draft a new
constitution.

Myanmar's Foreign Minister Win Aung said Aung San Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy (NLD) would take part in the convention, a crucial
move as the last convention collapsed in 1995 when the opposition
withdrew.

The promise was greeted with cautious approval from the international
community which had greeted the "roadmap" unveiled in August by newly
appointed Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt with deep scepticism.

"We are encouraged by the commitment to want to take the necessary steps,"
said United Nations special envoy to Myanmar Razali Ismail who brokered an
ill-fated dialogue between Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta in 2000.

Razali said he had been extremely frustrated at the slow pace of change in
Myanmar but that now "things are moving, perhaps creepingly, but they are
moving".

The roadmap was announced by Khin Nyunt, the junta's influential number
three, as part of damage-control measures after the disastrous May
crackdown on the opposition.

The year had begun fairly quietly in Myanmar, with Aung San Suu Kyi seven
months out of an earlier period of house arrest, but relations with the
regime cooled as her trips around country became increasingly
confrontational.

Rising tensions then exploded with an attack on the Nobel peace laureate
and her entourage in northern Myanmar by a thousands-strong band of
pro-junta thugs, which unconfirmed eyewitness reports said left dozens
dead.

What had apparently started as an attempt to frighten the increasingly
confident and effective NLD after Aung San Suu Kyi's release, had turned
into a massive public relations blunder.

The United Nations and the European Union tightened sanctions against the
impoverished state, sending the creaking economy into chaos, and its major
donor Japan turned off the aid tap.

Most worryingly for the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC),
neighbouring nations which usually refrained from criticizing the junta
began complaining that its behaviour was bringing the entire region into
disrepute.

In response, it presented Khin Nyunt as the new prime minister, went on an
international charm offensive and came up with the seven-point roadmap
which included "free and fair" elections held under the new constitution.

There are grave doubts that the junta is serious about making any real
democratic reforms, and most observers believe any changes would be
largely cosmetic and leave the military still in ultimate control.

___________________________________

Irrawaddy, December 22, 2003
A History of Capital Punishment in Burma
By Wai Moe

On Nov 28, a special court inside Rangoon’s Insein prison sentenced nine
people, including the editor of a weekly sport journal, to death for high
treason. Close colleagues of Zaw Thet Htwe maintain that the editor did
not attempt to assassinate military leaders and provoke an uprising, as
the junta charged.
If true, Zaw Thet Htwe’s sentence would not be the first time the death
penalty was handed to an innocent person in Burma. Nor would it be the
first time the application of capital punishment appeared to have
political motivations. The Burmese regime has used the death penalty as a
tool to enforce their unjust power throughout their rule. After the 1962
military coup, a lot of opposition members were sentenced to death and
hanged, including members of ethnic insurgent groups.
Burma has a long history of capital punishment, tracing its roots back to
the monarchy period. It was also used throughout the colonial era. Even
during the democracy period, the elected government sentenced criminals
and political prisoners to death.
One of the famous heroes of the Burmese independent movement, Maj Chin
Kaung, was charged with treason and sentenced to death because he was a
member of the Communist Party, which had been fighting the Burmese
government since 1948. Fortunately, he was pardoned by the second Burmese
president, Mann Win Maung, one of his colleagues during the independence
struggle. Other political prisoners were not so lucky. Their death
sentences were carried out.
The present military government has continued to use capital punishment to
oppress political activists. Following the December 1974 Burmese students’
uprising prominent student leader Tin Maung Oo was sentenced to death. He
was executed a few months later. In 1976, an Army captain, Ohn Kyaw
Myaint, was sentenced to death for attempting to assassinate the Burmese
dictator, Ne Win. In the 1980’s, dozens of members of the Karen National
Union (KNU) were arrested in the Pegu Mountains region and sentenced to
death.
Since the military coup of 1988, the junta has been using the death
penalty for all crimes, but primarily to threaten the Burmese democracy
groups. Today, however, death sentences do not carry the weight they once
did. Despite the numerous sentences that have been handed out, nobody has
been hanged since 1988. The junta explains that a statement issued during
the coup referred to them as a temporary government, so it is not their
responsibility to carry out hangings, only to issue sentences.
This does not mean, however, that the military government harbors any
goodwill toward the prisoners. It is quick to issue death sentences to
pro-democracy activists. What’s more, the junta makes critical
distinctions between the criminal and political cases.
In the past 15 years, the government has publicly announced three
amnesties: one in 1989, a second in 1993, and the most recent in 1997.
Unconditional amnesty was granted to criminal prisoners. Political
prisoners on death row do not qualify for such pardons.
The 1997 amnesty specified that all death sentences would be commuted to
life imprisonment and all life sentences reduced to ten years. But there
was one major exception to this rule: the junta carefully noted that the
amnesty did not apply to "state security" prisoners, the junta’s euphemism
for political prisoners.
The double standard for granting amnesties causes political prisoners—many
of whom are facing long-term imprisonment—considerable distress. They have
been exempted from the seemingly "unconditional" amnesties, while their
fellow cellmates, imprisoned for criminal behavior, have been released
from their deserved penalties.
A prime example of this is former death row inmate Maung Maung. In 1992,
he was sentenced to death by a Myaingun Township court for the rape and
murder of a young girl. But his death sentence was commuted to 20 years
under the conditions of the 1993 amnesty. In 1997, he accepted the amnesty
again, and his imprisonment was changed from 20 years to ten years. He
walked out of Myaingun prison only ten years after committing his crime.
In contrast to this story is the story of U Kawiya, a Buddhist monk who
led a group of young monks in the 1988 uprising. In 1989, he was arrested
for treason, and a year later was sentenced to death by a Mandalay court
under section No 3 of the State Emergency Act. When the junta declared
another amnesty for long-term prisoners, U Kawila’s sentence was changed
to life in prison.
But in 1997, when the junta underwent a name change and some senior
members were removed, political prisoners were exempted from the amnesty.
U Kawiya was one of those who suffered on account of this discrimination.
Had he been a criminal prisoner instead of a political prisoner, he would
have been released. All penalties of over ten years’ imprisonment were
changed to ten years, and he had already spent over ten years in prison.
He remained in jail, watching, as his criminal cellblock mates were set
free.
Another similar case shows the discrimination within the justice system.
In 1989, a bomb exploded in a Thanlyin fuel factory. Military intelligence
arrested several local student activists, including some senior members of
the National League for Democracy (NLD). All those arrested denied
involvement in the factory explosion.
Later, military intelligence officers arrested a bomb expert from the KNU
named Ko Ko Naing, and he confessed to the Thanlyin explosion. Under
interrogation, he took full responsibility for the factory explosion and
explicitly stated that the NLD members and student activists did not take
part in the incident.
But the courts never withdrew the case. Four others received the death
penalty, while the rest were sentenced to life imprisonment.
After being subjected to Burmese prisons’ unhealthy treatments, some of
the victims of the explosion case developed mental illnesses that led to
their death. Two of the long-term prisoners died only a few months after
their release.
Than Zaw was one of the University of Rangoon students who was sentenced
to death for the Thanlyin fuel factory explosion. His mother said, "When I
heard about the 1997 amnesty, I hoped he would be released but this hope
was destroyed by the regime’s exception for the political prisoners." She
added, "Maybe I won’t see him ever again if he is not released in the next
few years."
___________________________________

Kaladan News,December 22, 2003
Rohingyas' Freedom of Movements further restricted

For traveling from Buthidaung to Maungdaw, a distance of 16 miles within
the same locality, a Rohingya has to obtain recommendation first from
Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC) paying Kyat 200, then Form 4,
(which is normally used for foreigners) with recommendation from Township
Immigration Office paying Kyat 500.

After that he has to approach with all these papers and recommendations,
to the Nasaka transit camp at the gate of Buthidaung town for its
permission paying Kyat 200. Finally, he has to appear before the offices
of TPDC and DPDC submitting all the relevant papers and recommendations
for approval by paying bribes of Kyat 500 and Kyat 200 respectively.

While returning back from the journey, he has to pay Kyat 200 at the
District Immigration office of Maungdaw. For staying one night at Maungdaw
he has to pay Kyat 500 to the Maungdaw Nasaka check post, 3 miles off the
Maungdaw town, and another Kyat 500 to the Buthidaung Nasaka transit camp.

Thus, a person has to pay a total of Kyat 2,800 to get permission for a
round-trip from Buthidaung to Maungdaw and, vice versa, without any other
expenses, a businessman said to our correspondent.

For a one-month resident permit, one has to pay Kyat 15,000 to the Nasaka
check post of Maungdaw. If any traveler is found to have not complied with
the order he is imprisoned for six months with hard labor.

Muslim Rohingyas are not allowed to go to other towns of Arakan including
Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, following the communal riots that
broke out between the two major ethnic peoples of Rohingya and Rakhiang.
These riots were incited and used as a weapon by SPDC to odd the ethnic
unity.

ON THE BORDER
___________________________________

UNB, December 21, 2003
Dhaka-Yangoon border chiefs’ meeting today

The chiefs of border forces of Bangladesh and Myanmar meet today in
Yangoon to thrash out problems of arms and drug smuggling and the
uncertainty faced by Bangladeshi fishermen.
Director General of BDR Major General Jahangir Alam Chowdhury will lead
the 8-member Bangladesh team while Director General of Immigration
Headquarters of Mayanmar U Maung Htay will head the 11-member home side in
the six-day parley.
The meeting is expected to discuss about holding of flag meetings on the
border for amicable settlement of any dispute arises towards further
improving the relations between the two countries, said a press release.
Border conference between the two neighbouring countries held first in
1993 in Dhaka had decided to hold such meetings in every six months.

REGIONAL
___________________________________

Agence France Presse, December 22, 2003
Indian rebels eye Myanmar, Bangladesh amid Bhutan crackdown: army official

Indian rebel groups may be looking at neighbouring Myanmar and Bangladesh
to set up new bases amid a drive by Bhutan to expel them from the kingdom,
a senior Indian army official said Monday.

"Myanmar could be one of the possible (new) operational bases for the
Indian militants who are on the run from Bhutan. The other possibility is
Bangladesh," said the army official, who asked not to be identified.

For the past week the Bhutanese army has been seeking to flush out
anti-Indian militants in a major offensive, attacking a slew of rebel
camps in jungles in the Himalayan kingdom's southern region.

The Indian army, which supports the operation, has reported the deaths of
136 rebels and eight Bhutanese since the offensive began on December 15.

The rebels have been staging hit-and-runs strikes for years from Bhutan
against government targets in India's revolt-racked northeast where more
than 10,000 people have died in insurgency-related violence since the
1980s.

No comment was immediately available from rebel officials.

Another Indian army official said the United Liberation Front of Asom
(ULFA), which is fighting for a separate homeland and is the largest
Indian rebel outfit in Bhutan, had already established bases in the
northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh bordering Myanmar and
Tibet.

"It appears the ULFA has set up bases inside Arunachal Pradesh and some of
the rebels had already fled Bhutan prior to the military crackdown in the
Himalayan kingdom," a military commander said.

He said two ULFA militants were killed over the weekend in a gunbattle
with troops in Arunachal Pradesh.

But army officials said the rebels would prefer to keep Bhutan, locked
between India and China, as their main base as it was easier to carry out
strikes from there against India.

Bangladesh on Monday rejected Indian calls for it to launch its own
operation against anti-Indian militants, saying there were no rebels on
its soil.

"There is no room for any kind of terrorist or insurgent in our soil and
we have never allowed any terrorist as we can ill-afford this," Foreign
Minister Morshed Khan told a government meeting, as quoted by a ministry
official.

"The case of Bangladesh is completely different from Bhutan," Khan said.

___________________________________

Thai Press Reports, December 22, 2003
THAILAND TO DEPART SACKED-UP MYANMAR MIGRANTS

Section: General News - More than 200 striking migrant workers from
Myanmar have been deported from western Thailand after police and labour
authorities stormed a temple where they had sought refuge.

The migrants were sacked from an apparel company in Mae Sot, along the
hilly western border, after confronting their employer for breaking a
contract, refusing to pay the minimum wage and withholding two years of
backpay.

An aid worker says dozens of police, border patrol and labour officials
reportedly swarmed into Wat Chumpolkhiri , where the workers had taken
shelter, and rounded them up before they could file letters of complaint.

He says about 200 legally registered workers were deported on Wednesday,
and 60 others with no work permit were taken to Mae Sot police station.

The NGO Action Network for Migrants says the case highlights worsening
conditions for the mainly female migrants, who often work and live in
squalor in factories along the border.

___________________________________

Bangkok Post, December 21, 2003
Chaisit will quit if boss unhappy
By Wassana Nanuam

Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Chaisit Shinawatra, upset with media
criticism, has pledged to resign if his overall three-month performance is
judged unsatisfactory by the government.

He claims to have achieved a big success in lobbying the anti-Rangoon
Karen National Union to hold peace talks with the Burmese government.

His threat to step down followed criticism in a recent Matichon weekly
magazine article headlined ``Where is the Army Chief?''.

It accused him of paying little or no attention to problems between
Thailand and Burma.

Gen Chaisit said he was unhappy with the allegations because improved
relations could not be achieved overnight. ``It will take time to settle
the problems,'' he said. The army had been working hard to find solutions
acceptable to both sides and some assignments had to be kept secret for
security reasons, he said.

``About my performance, I have no right to evaluate myself and all will
depend on my superiors.

``If my performance is considered unsatisfactory, I will resign.

``But they should know I work all the time. I am not afraid,'' said Gen
Chaisit, who took up his post in October.

He challenged critics to check whether he had tried to modernise the army
since he became commander.

Improving the Thai-Burmese border situation and encouraging Rangoon's
peace talks with Burmese minority groups, especially the KNU, were his
main achievements.

No clashes on the border or misunderstandings had erupted recently,
because the military was working hard to prevent outsiders from using Thai
territory to launch attacks on Burma.

The army's role in mediating peace talks between Rangoon and Burmese
minority groups was one of its most important tasks at hand, and was
ongoing.

He had asked army representatives to talk to anti-Rangoon Shan State Army
leader Col Yod Suek to hold peace talks with Rangoon after the army's
success in the KNU case.

Gen Chaisit had used personal diplomacy to persuade KNU military leader
Gen Bo Mya to push for peace talks with Burma.

An army source said army advisory chairman Gen Vichit Yathip, who had
close ties with several KNU executives, was the key to the army's
diplomatic efforts.

The first round of talks was held in Bangkok this month and further talks
are planned until an agreement is reached.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra last month told the army to follow its
current policies, said the source.

___________________________________

Hindustan Times, December 21, 2003
ULFA shifts three camps to Myanmar
By Anirban Roy

The outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), which suffered major
losses in the Royal Bhutan Army's flush-out operations, has shifted three
of its camps to Myanmar's Kachin province.
High-level sources told the Hindustan Times in Shillong that ULFA
publicity secretary Mithinga Daimary, who was arrested by the RBA, has
told his interrogators that the outfit shifted the camps following
sustained pressure from the Bhutan government.
The ULFA was assisted by leaders of the NSCN (Khaplang) in the shifting
operations, Daimary revealed. The sources said the outfit has also shifted
a large amount of its arms and ammunition to the new camps in Myanmar.
The NSCN (Khaplang) runs more than half-a-dozen training camps in Myanmar.
Daimary was handed over to Assam Police on Saturday evening at Tamulpur,
30 km south of Bhutan border in Nalbari district of Lower Assam. The ULFA
leader was in custody of the Royal Bhutan Army and Indian Army for more
than 96 hours. But observers said that even Kachin province would be a
difficult place for the ULFA cadres to operate from. The ruling Burmese
junta, they said, has been regularly raiding the NSCN camps during the
last one year.
Moreover, the Naga Nationalities League for Democracy has also got into a
direct confrontation with the State Peace and Development Council over the
recent decision over the formation of the National Convention.
The ULFA had been camping in Bhutan since 1991 and had as many as 13
camps, including the central headquarters and the general headquarters in
the south-eastern district of Samdrup Jongkhar.
The Bhutan government, during the last six years, had been requesting the
ULFA, NDFB and Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) to vacate the
Himalayan kingdom as they were a threat to the territorial integrity and
sovereignty of that country.
The Bhutan government when failed to bring the Indian insurgents on the
negotiating table launched the offensive on last Monday.
Earlier, troops of the 2 Mountain Division had smashed a joint camp of the
ULFA and the Arunachal Dragon Force in Namsai in Lohit district and shot
dead three militants, two of whom were from the ULFA.
In an interesting development, the NSCN (I-M), which is all set to strike
a peace agreement with New Delhi, has also called for a 24-hour bandh in
all the Naga-inhabited areas to extend solidarity to the ULFA.

Confessions
ULFA Publicity Secretary Mithinga Daimary told interrogators:
* ACTION: ULFA has shifted three of its camps to the Kachin province in
Myanmar. The outfit has also shifted a large number of arms and ammunition
to that country
* AIDED BY: ULFA shifting was assisted by NSCN-K leaders. The Naga outfit
runs more than half-a-dozen training camps in Myanmar
* END RESULT: Myanmar, too, may not be a safe haven as the ruling Burmese
junta has been raiding the NSCN camps, during the last one year

INTERNATIONAL
___________________________________

Voice of America, December 22, 2003
Human Rights Abuses on Increase Burma, says Amnesty Int'l
By Scott Bobb

The human rights group Amnesty International says there has been an
upsurge in rights abuses in Burma in the last six months and is renewing
calls for the military government to free more than 1,300 political
prisoners. Amnesty International investigator Donna Guest said on Monday
that human rights violations have increased in Burma since a May clash
between pro-government supporters and members of Aung San Suu Kyi's
opposition National League for Democracy, or NLD.
"There has been a serious deterioration [of human rights] since the 30th
of May, not only the events of the 30th of May, but the fact that so many
people have been arrested after the 30th of May," she said.
Ms. Guest says 24 people, including Aung San Suu Kyi, were arrested on
that day and 52 people have been detained since then. She says some of
those detained have already been sentenced to seven years in prison under
an emergency law, with little or no access to a lawyer.
Amnesty International's Deputy Director for Asia-Pacific, Catherine Baber,
says during the 17-day visit, her team visited three prisons and met with
35 political prisoners, including politicians, students, journalists and
members of armed opposition groups.
She says the team was not allowed to visit Aung San Suu Kyi, but did meet
with three members of the NLD's senior executive committee who had been
released from detention and other political leaders. She says all reported
that they were not allowed to engage in political activities.
Burma's military government has pledged to hold a national convention next
year to draft a new constitution and prepare for elections.
But Ms. Baber says Amnesty International is skeptical of such promises.
"We have been told to be patient and that change may come soon," she said.
"But these assurances ring hollow in the face of continued repression.
Ultimately, there comes a time for action and that time is now."
She repeated Amnesty International's call for the Burmese government to
release all political prisoners and to refrain from using the legal system
to criminalize freedom of expression and peaceful association.
The Burmese government has issued a statement expressing appreciation for
the visit of the human rights group - its second this year - and looks
forward to future visits. The statement did not address Amnesty's
allegations, but said the visit reflects the spirit of openness and
cooperation in Burma as it makes a transition to democracy.

___________________________________

The Nation, December 21, 2003
UK offers guarded support for Burma push

Britain yesterday expressed support for a Thai initiative to nudge Burma
towards dialogue with the world community but said it would engage itself
only in a process that advanced sincere rapprochement among all sides in
the military-ruled country.

'The international community would look forward to seeing reform in Burma,
and we would be ready to respond to a process which leads to genuine
national reconciliation,' Mike O'Brien, Britain's Foreign Office Minister,
told Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai. Surakiart was on an official
visit to the United Kingdom and met British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw
and O'Brien on Thursday.

O'Brien said he hoped Burma's National Convention would be a fully
participatory and transparent process, including representatives from the
democratic opposition and ethnic minorities.

'To enable the National League for Democracy (NLD) to prepare properly for
the Convention, their leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her detained colleagues
should all be fully released and the NLD's offices allowed to reopen,' he
said.

Bangkok hosted last Monday's international forum to discuss national
reconciliation in Burma.

'The British Foreign Secretary expressed his support for the launching of
the 'Bangkok Process' and hoped that further progress would be achieved as
the process advances,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Sihasak Phuangketkeow
said.

The UK is the EU's largest donor to Burma, with humanitarian assistance
programmes totalling 7.1 million (Bt500 million) over the last two years.
A senior Foreign Ministry official said Burma was expected to call the
national convention in two or three months to draft a new constitution.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was encouraged by
Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung's pledge to reconvene the
constitution-drafting assembly, which has been suspended since 1996.

Win Aung said all ethnic and political parties would be able to
participate in the national convention, including opposition leader Suu
Kyi, who is still under house arrest. In Burma, Amnesty International
ended its 17-day second mission aimed at investigating human-rights
issues. Its representatives are scheduled to hold a press conference in
Bangkok tomorrow.

'The visit reflects the spirit of openness and international cooperation
which are helping to make [Burma's] transition to democracy a success,'
the Rangoon government said in a statement.

___________________________________

World Health Organization, December 11, 2003
Worldwide, 150,000 die due to global warming: WHO study

India, Bangladesh and Burma are more likely to suffer increases in
malnutrition as environmental changes affect the reliability of the
monsoons.

’Climate Change and Human Health -- Risks and Responses’, a report
released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and partners, reveals
that, worldwide, 150,000 deaths and 5.5 million ‘disability-adjusted life
years’ occurred in 2000 due to climate change. The report, released on
December 11, coincided with the UN conference on climate change in Milan.

The consequences of rising temperatures and uncertain weather patterns
will be huge, says the United Nations agency, bringing about a rise in
malaria and other insect-born diseases, malnutrition and pollution-related
illnesses. Climate change is responsible for 2.4% of all cases of
diarrhoea worldwide, and 2% of malaria cases, the report says.
According to many scientists, rising global temperatures are a result of
greenhouse gas emissions.
The WHO report estimates that by 2030 climate change will cause 300,000
deaths annually. A further 5.5 million years of healthy living will be
lost worldwide due to debilitating diseases brought on by rising
temperatures.
Dr Kerstin Leitner, the WHO’s assistant director-general for sustainable
development and healthy environments, warns the world community about the
impact of climate change on the health and well-being of citizens. He
says: “Until now, most of the work being done on climate change was
intended to bring results in 10, 20 or 50 years’ time. But we need to
institute actions which will protect people’s lives now.”
According to the report, even a slightest increase in average annual
temperatures could expose millions more people to the threat of malaria in
countries where it is already endemic. It will also allow the malaria
mosquito to live in countries such as Europe where, at present, it cannot
survive. Other diseases spread by mosquitoes, such as dengue fever, could
also increase.
Countries such as India, Bangladesh and Burma, which are heavily dependent
on a predictable monsoon season for the cultivation of rice, are more
likely to suffer increases in malnutrition if climate change affects the
reliability of the rainy season.
Hotter and wetter conditions are likely to increase the spread of
diarrhoeal disease, which is particularly dangerous to children. People
who cannot afford proper refrigeration are more likely to eat food tainted
with increased bacterial contamination, caused by higher temperatures, the
report says.
“The 1990s were the hottest decade on record and the upward trend in the
world’s temperature does not look like it is abating. In Europe this past
summer, for example, an estimated 20,000 people died due to extremely hot
temperatures,” the report notes.
Much of Europe suffered a heat wave because air-conditioning is not common
in most homes, in part because of high energy costs. According to the WHO,
installing air-conditioning in homes, workplaces, hospitals and residences
for the elderly would risk increasing gas emissions from burning fossil
fuels such as oil, gas and coal.
Increasing air pollution could also lead to increases in allergic
conditions such as asthma and lung and respiratory complaints.

OPINION/OTHER
___________________________________

Democratic Voice of Burma, December 21, 2003
Burma: Democracy party more concerned about Suu Kyi than National Convention

It has been learned that Mr Razali Ismail, the UN Secretary-General's
special envoy to Burma, is planning to visit Rangoon early next month. He
told reporters that he would not be able to get to Rangoon before the year
end but he hoped to get there by early January.

Many have shown keen interest in Burma's affairs as Razali's remarks came
a few days after the 12-nation meeting in Bangkok on Monday 15 December .
When asked about the Bangkok Meeting Razali said that he was not in a
position to talk about the specifics of the road map but said he was
encouraged by the commitment to want to take the necessary steps towards
democratic change. Furthermore, Razali noted that Burma is slowly changing
and that the UN is encouraged in working with the new prime minister Gen
Khin Nyunt .

Mr Razali last visited Rangoon in October and if he is able to visit
Rangoon again it will become his 12th trip. Many have become discontented
with Razali's trips because although the number of visits has increased
quantitatively, no significant improvements were achieved.

Dear listeners. DVB Democratic Voice of Burma contacted U Khun Tun Oo,
spokesperson of the UNA, United Nationalities Alliance, to obtain his
views in regard to Mr Razali's trip. When DVB correspondent Htet Aung Kyaw
asked him whether Mr Razali's forthcoming 12th trip will produce any
significant change U Khun Tun Oo replied the following:

U Khun Tun Oo - recording It depends on his actions. In comparing Mr
Razali and Mr Pinheiro UN special rapporteur on human rights in Burma ,
most people prefer Mr Pinheiro because they believe his actions are more
clear cut and recognized. But, Mr Pinheiro is concerned only with human
rights. As for Mr Razali, his priorities are to urge all parties to hold a
tripartite dialogue and to solve the political impasse. He needs to try
very hard. Everything will depend on his efforts. He also has the UN
Mandate preceding two words rendered in English so if he wanted to do he
can. Mr Razali already has the mandate from Mr Kofi Annan to try to bring
about reconciliation talks and to solve Burma's political problems by
political means. When Mr Razali visits Rangoon again, I think we will see
changes and developments in the country depending on his capability.

Htet Aung Kyaw Yes. As you mentioned earlier, most are aware that Mr
Razali has the UN mandate. What I could not understand clearly is Mr
Razali attended the Bangkok Meeting recently and as Burmese Foreign
Minister U Win Aung kept repeating about the road map issue over and over
again, it seems Mr Razali has supported the road map. The UN mandate was
given to urge the junta to hold tripartite talks but now Mr Razali is
supporting the road map which is to reconvene the National Convention.
Don't you think the UN mandate does not coincide with what the SPDC State
Peace and Development Council is doing?

U KhunTun Oo I think they will have some kind of a /hidden agenda/ because
I do not know whether the success of the road map will eventually lead to
tripartite dialogue. On the other hand, I think they might have an
/alternate plan/ because they might want to hold talks to let the national
races and the NLD National League for Democracy participate in the
process. End of recording

That was U Khun Tun Oo's views regarding Mr Razali's trip. DVB would now
like to present the NLD's views on the SPDC-sponsored National Convention.
DVB contacted NLD Central Executive Committee Member U Than Tun to obtain
his views.

DVB correspondent - recording Regarding the National Convention, it has
been known that the NLD withdrew from the National Convention so it is
NLD's responsibility to rejoin if it wants to attend. What is the NLD's
stance?

U Than Tun The NLD withdrew from the National Convention with a condition
preceding word rendered in English . We did not boycott the National
Convention. We did not agree with some procedures so we wanted to discuss
about them and said we would wait until such a time the procedures have
been amended. We left the National Convention with a condition. We did not
boycott it. That is a fact. A few days later they removed the NLD from the
National Convention citing that the NLD violated certain rules and
procedures by being absent at the National Convention. They are the ones
that need to respond not us.

DVB correspondent Yes. So far there is no indication that they will amend
the six fundamental objectives and the 104 basic principles in the
forthcoming National Convention. What do you want to say about the
objectives and the principles?

U Than Tun Well, we do need to say anything special about that since we
were the ones that wrote to them to hold discussions and amend the
procedures and resolutions of the National Convention which were biased
and unfair. It is evident what they did were unfair.

DVB correspondent Meanwhile, if they invite the NLD to attend the National
Convention, how will you decide?

U Than Tun We cannot give our opinion if we do not have the full Executive
Committee. We have already made clear about that.

DVB correspondent Do you mean to say, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi must be
released first if they want to invite the NLD to the National Convention.

U Than Tun Yes, that is correct. For us, the main concern is the release
of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi rather than the National Convention. Then only we
will be able to fully cooperate to bring about a genuine democratic
country. End of recording

That was U Than Tun's response to the SPDC's National Convention.