BurmaNet News, December 15, 2004

[Editor]

December 15, 2004, Issue # 2620


INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Tourists flock to military-ruled Myanmar
AP: IMF mission calls on Myanmar PM
New Light of Myanmar: Prime Minister receives officials of IMF, WB and ADB
New Era Journal: Burma’s communists plan uprising

ON THE BORDER
Narinjara: 36 Burmese insurgents detained at Port Blair face the danger of
being deported to Burma

BUSINESS
Xinhua: Thai trade exhibition opens in Myanmar

REGIONAL
Xinhua: Thai gov't to deport pregnant alien workers

INTERNATIONAL
Guardian: Energy giant agrees settlement with Burmese villagers

OPINION / OTHER
Straits Times: Crunch time for Asean over Yangon

PRESS RELEASE
USCB denounces Thailand's Prime Minister for accepting imprisonment of
Nobel Peace prize recipient

______________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

December 15, Agence France Presse
Tourists flock to military-ruled Myanmar

Yangon: Pausing to photograph Buddhist monks at Yangon's glittering
Shwedagon pagoda, Spaniard Carlos Iribas explains why he was drawn to
military-ruled Myanmar, which has emerged as one of Asia's fastest growing
tourist destinations.

"It's a controversial decision with the political situation, I know," the
29-year-old conceded to AFP.

"But here you can find an Asia that is fast disappearing," he said, adding
that he and other tourists did all they could to avoid directly benefiting
the junta which runs the country with an iron fist.

It is a common refrain among tourists who fuel one of the only growth
areas in an economy decimated by years of neglect, mismanagement and
international sanctions.

Tourists mulling a visit to this beautiful but repressed country find
themselves in a quandary; torn between a plea by the opposition not to
visit until reforms are introduced, and a craving for the old Asia that
has all but vanished in tourist centres like Thailand, Singapore and Hong
Kong.

That desire to discover appears to be winning out. Nearly 600,000 foreign
visitors arrived last year, an increase of more than 20 percent over 2002,
generating 116 million dollars, up from 99 million, according to the
junta.

Border tourism skyrocketed 44 percent over the same period, accounting for
more than half of all visitors in 2003.

A junta survey at Yangon airport revealed visitors from Thailand topped
the list of Asian tourists, accounting for 10.8 percent, followed in order
by Taiwan, Japan and China.

Germany provided the highest number of Western tourists, trailed by the
United States, France, Britain and Italy.

"Asian economies are doing very well, so more Asians are traveling and
this is coupled with the fact that for everyone, the country offers
discovery and a refreshing window into the past," Ken Scott of the Pacific
Asia Travel Association told AFP.

Myanmar's tourist spurt flies in the face of an international outcry over
the ongoing detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose
National League for Democracy (NLD) party supports a tourism ban, as
advocated by some human rights groups, until the junta introduces
democratic reforms.

The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962 -- ignoring a landslide election
victory by the NLD in 1990 -- and stands accused of widespread human
rights abuses.

Scott said most travelers who visit the country are aware of the situation.

"They think that whether they go or not isn't going to resolve the impasse
which has to be solved at the top," he said.

"They also know that while some money inevitably goes into the hands of
the generals it also goes to many hard-working local people."

Buoyed by the figures, the junta has launched tourism initiatives that
have drawn a mixed reaction abroad.

The most controversial is a plan to build a 60-metre-high observation
tower at the ancient city of Bagan, a historic collection of thousands of
11th and 12th century Buddhist monuments which is the nation's second most
visited site after Shwedagon pagoda.

The plans alarmed preservationists at UNESCO, the United Nations cultural
body, which is in protracted negotiations with Yangon to list Bagan as
Myanmar's first World Heritage site.

Local hoteliers in October launched a drive to develop resorts along
Myanmar's undiscovered beaches, starting with a five-star resort on
undeveloped Maungmagan beach southeast of Yangon.

The beaches along Myanmar's 2,830 kilometres (1,758 miles) of coastline
are acknowledged as ripe for resort development, although the coast is
battered by monsoons from May to October and includes large swathes of
mangroves.

Myanmar's best-known beach destination, Ngapali northwest of Yangon, has
just seven hotels, but another 10 are due to open there by next April,
with approval given for 20 new resorts south of Ngapali.

The tourism promotion board has also added seaside destinations to its
familiarisation tours for travel agents.

But experts say Myanmar's true delights lay far from the coasts and warn
the regime needs to wake up to its strengths and weaknesses if it wants
the fledgling tourism boom to continue.

"Burma (the country's former name) is never going to compete with
neighbouring Thailand for beaches," Steven Martin, co-author of the
current Lonely Planet guide for Myanmar, told AFP.

"It needs to realize its strengths are historic architecture, old-world
charm and an amazingly warm and open people as-yet unjaded by hordes of
tourists."

Not everyone is pleased with the tourism upturn, with Debbie Stothard of
pressure group Altsean-Burma urging people to skip Myanmar and engage in
more "ethical" tourism.

"What people have to remember is the money they spend doesn't go on things
like education but on weapons so the junta can terrorise their own
people," she said.

For many, Myanmar's tourism route -- often taking in Yangon, the historic
city of Mandalay, Bagan and Inle Lake -- pulls back the curtain on Asia's
past.

"People looking for final frontiers can ride on old trains while seeing
sights they won't easily find in parts of Southeast Asia, such as water
buffalo still plowing fields and people riding ox-drawn carts," Martin
said.
______________________________________

December 15, Associated Press
IMF mission calls on Myanmar PM

International Monetary Fund officials met with Myanmar's prime minister as
part of an annual visit to assess the country's economic situation, a
diplomat and a state-controlled newspaper said Wednesday.

The IMF team, led by Shang-Jin Wei, head of the fund's trade unit, met
Tuesday with Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Soe Win, the Myanma Ahlin daily said.

The report gave no other details but said representatives of the World
Bank and the Asian Development Bank accompanied Wei at the meeting, which
also included Myanmar's finance minister and central bank governor.

A diplomat in the Myanmar capital, Yangon, said the officials are on an
annual visit to study the country's economic situation. The mission also
met representatives of the United Nations and several embassies, he said
on condition of anonymity.

Wei was scheduled to depart Wednesday evening.

Myanmar - among the world's poorest nations - has received virtually no
assistance from international financial institutions since the current
regime took power in September 1988 after crushing a nationwide
pro-democracy movement.

The United States, which plays a major role in international lenders, is
widely believed to be behind the decision to withhold aid from Myanmar due
to its poor human rights record and failure to hand over power to a
democratically elected government.

At the joint annual meeting of the IMF and the World Bank in October,
Myanmar's representative, Hla Tun, complained that his country has been
"unfairly deprived of international assistance for more than 15 years."

He claimed that both institutions "suspended their assistance to Myanmar
based mainly on political considerations."

_____________________________________

December 15, New Light of Myanmar
Prime Minister receives officials of IMF, WB and ADB

Yangon: Prime Minister Lt-Gen Soe Win received members of International
Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB) and Asia Development Bank (ADB) led
by Mr Shang Jin Wei of Research Department of IMF at Zeyathiri Beikman
Hall on Konemyinttha at 3 pm today.

Also present at the call were Minister for Finance and Revenue Maj-Gen Hla
Tun, Minister for Foreign Affairs U Nyan Win, Deputy Minister U Kyaw Thu,
Governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar U Kyaw Kyaw Maung,
Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office U Soe Tint and
Director-General Thura U Aung Htet of Protocol Department of Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.

_____________________________________

December 15, The New Era Journal
Burma’s communists plan uprising - Maxmilian Wechsler

The Communist Party of Burma (CPB), disintegrated in 1998 by the mutiny of
its ethnic group members, has been rebounding and currently organizing a
country-wide uprising plan called Demo-2006 against the State governing
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

The party spokesman, Po Than Joung, said this week that Demo-2006 would be
carried out strictly as an underground movement with grass level cells to
be formed in factories, schools, universities, towns, etc. He stresses
that no foreign movement is involve nor any financial support received
from outside organizations.

In its earlier statement, the CPB explained a reason for the action: “The
junta is determinedly carrying out its so-called National Convention so as
to establish a constitution that would legalize the rule of the military
for an unlimited period. In order to stop this process we shall have to
wield the weapon of which the military leaders are most afraid – People’s
Uprising!”

The statement also disclosed a formation of “The Working Group” that will
make preparations to achieve the goals of Demo-2006 – an abbreviation for
“democracy” and the year that is “not target date either.”

Another principal reason, according to a CPB source, is to prevent Burma
from becoming the ASEAN chairperson in that year. “The uprising should be
carried out at anytime, in fact, as soon as possible,” he said.

 “The Demo-2006 doesn’t appear merely as a propaganda movement but an
action to be taken seriously in the context of present political and
economic conditions in Burma,” commented a Burmese analyst.

Most of the leading CPB cadres have been living quietly for years on the
Chinese or Thai borders with Burma. But they have become increasingly
active lately, launching a “propaganda blitz,” such as a website and a
re-introduction of People’s Power journal.

At least two other opposition organizations, the Democratic Party for New
Society and the All Burma Student’s Democratic Front, joined Demo-2006.

The CPB’s plan coincides with a similar one having made by pro-western
exile organizations. A Burma watcher commented: “Maybe we are witnessing a
proxy wars.”

According to an “inside” source, neither the National League for Democracy
nor its leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, isn’t involved in the two planned
uprisings. And this was confirmed by Po  Than Joung: “I am not sure if
they know about it or not. We don’t intend to have them involved in this
movement. Legal parties shouldn’t join the underground activities;
otherwise, the junta will get an excuse to smash them,” he said.

_____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

December 15, Narinjara News
36 Burmese insurgents detained at Port Blair face the danger of being
deported to Burma

Dhaka: 36 Burmese nationals who have been under detention for more than
six years without any sentences face the grim danger of being deported to
Burma.

A detainee says, “The police has taken our names and address in Burma. We
had given these details before, and it is a bit strange collecting such
information again. Usually, such information is collected before
deportation to Burma, we are very concerned about this.”

The details of the detainees are collected on 8th December upon the return
from the court appointment.

During the court hearing of the day, the Judge commented that the
detainees should be released.

After the release from the detention, the Indian central authority can
transfer the Burmese nationals can be transferred to local authority of
Port Blair, the juge said.

Normally, when India releases detainees from other nationals, they are
transferred to the hands of the local authority who in turn sends them to
their countries of citizenship.

Human Rights organisations were concerned that these 36 Burmese nationals
are members of Arakanese and Karen insurgent groups, and the military
junta would definitely jail most members and execute leaders.

The lawyer of the detainees says that the United Nation High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) India Office was willing to help these nationals but
due to the pressure from the Indian government, its help is short in
coming.

The next court hearing is on January 28, 2005, and the Supreme Court
orders the authority of Andaman and Nicober and the Central Bureau of
Intelligence (CBI) to file their case within four weeks.

The court hearing will be 15 days after that date.

These 36 insurgents and other six leaders came to Land Fall Island to
build a navy base under the agreement from the Indian Navy, but the six
leaders were assassinated by the Indian Army and the 36 persons were
detained without any sentences.

____________________________________
BUSINESS

December 15, Xinhua General News Service
Thai trade exhibition opens in Myanmar

Yangon: A Thai trade exhibition opened at the Yangon Trade Center here
Wednesday with the aim of further strengthening the trade and cooperative
ties between Thailand and Myanmar.

The four-day 10th Thailand Exhibition, which is also the second of its
kind this year, is sponsored by the Department of Export Promotion of the
Thai Commerce Ministry in cooperation with the Thai embassy.

On display by over 150 companies is a wide array of products and services,
namely auto-parts and accessories, chemical products, construction
materials and hardware, cosmetics and fashion accessories, electronic
products, food products, furniture, garments and textile, machinery tools
and parts, pharmaceutical and stationery products.

Thailand held its first trade exhibition in Myanmar in December 1998 and
the event became a biannual one since 2002 as the economic and trade
cooperation between the two countries grew. The last event took place in
May this year.

According to Thai official statistics, in the first three quarters of this
year (January-September), Myanmar-Thailand bilateral trade amounted to
1.36 billion US dollars, of which Thailand's import from Myanmar accounted
for 902.9 million dollars, up 59.79 percent from the same period of last
year, while its export to Myanmar represented 458.6 million dollars, also
up 44.89 percent.

Of the total bilateral trade, the border trade took up 70 percent.

The figures also show that Thailand's investment in Myanmar amounted to
1.34 billion dollars in 55 projects as of November this year since 1988,
accounting for 17.05 percent of Myanmar's total foreign investment.

Thailand exports to Myanmar consumer products, construction materials,
machinery and chemicals, while it imports from Myanmar natural gas,
agricultural products, wood and gem stones.

_____________________________________
REGIONAL

December 15, Xinhua General News Service
Thai gov't to deport pregnant alien workers

Bangkok: The Thai labor ministry has decided to deport more than 9,300
pregnant alien workers and illegal immigrants, saying it would prevent the
problem of stateless children from worsening.

The ministry was planning to send pregnant women back to their native
countries so that their babies did not end up stateless, Vice-Minister
Pira Manathas was quoted Wednesday by the newspaper Nation as saying.

He said despite objections from labor advocates and experts, a majority of
the alien labor management committee members had agreed to prohibit
pregnant foreigners from working in Thailand.

The ministry would consider allowing those who were registered to work
back into the country after giving birth.

The pregnant alien women were among 70,000 Cambodians, Laotians and
Myanmar workers who reported to the authorities for medical check-ups.

However, opponents to the government's decision argued that at least three
international laws contained articles forbidding the deportation of
pregnant immigrants.

They said the government should ask the workers to report to authorities
and decide by themselves whether they wanted to return home.

"It will be a step backward if the government goes ahead with its plan,"
said Kritaya Archavanitkul, deputy director at Mahidol University's
Institute for Population and Social Research.

Pira said a meeting of officials from Labor Ministry, the Interior
Ministry, National Security Council and Public Health Ministry would be
called before the actual implementation of the plan.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

December 15, The Guardian (London)
Energy giant agrees settlement with Burmese villagers - Duncan Campbell

A ground-breaking settlement thought to be worth millions of dollars has
been reached in the long-running human rights case brought by Burmese
villagers against the energy giant Unocal, it emerged yesterday.

A dozen villagers sued the company in the California courts, claiming that
the building of Unocal's pipeline in the country had led to deaths, rape
and the disruption of their way of life. The settlement may have major
ramifications for other multinationals.

In a joint announcement yesterday, Unocal and the human rights group
EarthRights International announced they had reached a settlement in
principle in connection with the Yadana gas pipeline project.

No mention was made of the sums of money involved but it is certain to run
to millions of dollars. Unocal's legal costs alone are estimated to be at
least $ 25m (£13m).

"Although the terms are confidential, the settlement in principle will
compensate plaintiffs and provide funds enabling plaintiffs and their
representatives to develop programmes to improve living conditions, health
care and education and protect the rights of people from the pipeline
region," the statement said.

"These initiatives will provide substantial assistance to people who may
have suffered hardships in the region.

"Unocal reaffirms its principle that the company respects human rights in
all of its activities and commits to enhance its educational programmes to
further this principle. Plaintiffs and their representatives reaffirm
their commitment to protecting human rights."

EarthRights International declared it was "thrilled" and "ecstatic" at the
settlement.

The action arose after 12 Burmese brought the suit in California claiming
that their country's military government had used forced labour and its
soldiers had employed murder and rape to clear the way for Unocal's
pipeline.

The action was brought against Unocal, which is based at El Segundo in
California, on the grounds that it benefited from the Burmese government's
activity even if it did not endorse it.

The story began in the 90s when the Burmese regime used indentured labour
to clear a path for the Yadana project - a pipeline for Unocal and Total -
which was the biggest foreign operation under way in Burma. According to
the lawsuit, which was launched in 1996, the army used brutal tactics to
coerce the villagers into working on the project.

The plaintiffs, who were known only as John or Jane Doe or Roe to keep
their identity from the Burmese authorities, claimed that the army
"engaged in a pattern of systematic human rights abuses and environmental
degradation . . . to fulfil its contractual responsibilities to Unocal and
Total".

The suit claimed that "abuses such as extrajudicial killings, torture,
rape and extortion by pipeline security forces have dramatically increased
since the Yadana project was initiated".

The allegations were taken up by human rights organisations in the US,
including EarthRights International - which was co-founded by the Burmese
activist Ka Hsaw Wa - the Centre for Constitutional Rights and the
International Labour Rights Fund, which brought the case on the villagers'
behalf, using the alien tort claims act of 1789.

Unocal has always denied any wrongdoing or being aware of any atrocities.
It sought at various stages to have the case thrown out, but the suit was
finally due to come before the courts next year.

Unocal claimed that the Yadana project has given nearly 50,000 people in
the area better health and education and improved the local economy. It
was backed by the US justice department.

There were US governmental fears that, if the action succeeded, it could
lead to a flood of similar claims by indigenous peoples whose lands had
been used for pipelines or oil drilling carried out by multinationals.

Andrew Huxley of the School of Oriental and African Studies law
department, who gave expert evidence in the case, said yesterday: "Unocal
have probably calculated that the bad publicity they would face in a trial
is worse than the high cost of settling the claim.

"I'd like to believe that Unocal have finally understood that they are not
above the law. Other multinational companies facing similar claims are
going to have a worrying Christmas."

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

December 14, Straits Times
Crunch time for Asean over Yangon - Michael Richardson

Crunch time over Myanmar is coming ever closer for Asean, despite the
reluctance of member states to bring the issue to a head at their recent
summit.South-east Asian countries shy away from putting collective
pressure on the military rulers of Myanmar to honour their promises of
political reform because membership of the Asean club is premised on a
common commitment not to intervene in one another's internal affairs.

In keeping with this tradition, the joint statement issued by Asean
leaders after their annual meeting in Vientiane, Laos, at the end of last
month made no mention of Myanmar - despite apparently well-founded reports
that the junta had reversed a promise to release opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi and instead extended her house arrest, at least until next
September.

But some Asean members are worried about the evident retrogression in
Myanmar since the arrest of former prime minister Khin Nyunt in October
and his replacement by General Soe Win, a hardliner held responsible for
last year's May crackdown on Ms Suu Kyi and members of her National League
for Democracy. At the summit, the leaders of Singapore, the Philippines
and Thailand made pointed bilateral comments of concern. Malaysia made its
concern plain beforehand. On Dec 3, a few days after the summit had ended,
Indonesia accused the military regime in Myanmar of backtracking on
pledges to introduce political reforms and release Ms Suu Kyi, a Nobel
peace laureate. Indonesia and the others are worried that Myanmar's bad
reputation is tarnishing Asean and undermining ties with the West.

The group's calendar is set to make this worse. Myanmar takes over the
rotating chairmanship of Asean in mid-2006 for 12 months. In this
capacity, it will host the annual ministerial and leaders' meetings of the
group.

The contention between the European Union and Asean over Myanmar has
already raised a major obstacle to closer relations between Europe and
South-east Asia. As a result, the biennial Asia-Europe Meeting, Asem,
bringing together heads of state and government from Europe and East Asia,
came close to being cancelled this year. It was finally held in Hanoi in
the second week of October, under a compromise formula that permitted
Myanmar to take part only at a lower level of representation.

Unlike the EU, the US does not have a summit-level connection with Asean.
But both the US and Europe have imposed economic and other sanctions on
Myanmar in protest against its repressive rule. In contrast, Asean seeks
change by engaging, not isolating Myanmar. Neither approach, applied
partially, will work.

One country that has influence in Myanmar and could help nudge the regime
onto a more flexible path is China. The first evidence of Chinese activism
emerged last July, after China's Premier Wen Jiabao met his visiting
Myanmar counterpart Khin Nyunt in Beijing. Mr Wen was quoted in the
official media as stressing that what occurs in Myanmar is its internal
affair. But he reportedly added that China hoped Myanmar could make
efforts in speeding up political settlements of existing disputes and move
towards democratic progress.

If there is no genuine constitutional and democratic reform in Myanmar,
before it assumes the chair of Asean in 2006, the organisation will face a
crisis in its relations with the West.Of course, China - which has close
military and economic ties with the regime in Myanmar - may benefit from
this development.EU policy will harden further, while America has
reportedly warned that unless Myanmar is well on the road to democracy by
then, the US secretary of state will not attend the annual meeting of
Asean foreign ministers and the Asean Regional Forum on security.
United States President George W. Bush recently issued a sharp reminder
that time is running out for Asean to engineer change in Myanmar. The
White House put out a statement on Dec 2, calling on the military regime
to release Ms Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners immediately and
unconditionally, and to start taking meaningful steps towards national
reconciliation, democracy and improved human rights.

There is a further potential complication for Asean. The annual meetings
of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund will be in Singapore in
September 2006. The focus of the studies due to be launched then and the
seminars to be held around that period will obviously have a heavy Asean
flavour.An unreconstructed Myanmar as chair of Asean would change that
focus considerably, distracting attention from progress and opportunities
in the region to the retrograde record of the junta.

The writer is a visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of
South-east Asian Studies in Singapore. This is a personal comment.

_____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

December 14, US Campaign for Burma
US Campaign for Burma denounces Thailand's Prime Minister for accepting
imprisonment of Nobel Peace prize recipient

Contact: Jeremy Woodrum at (202) 223 0300

Washington, DC: The United States Campaign for Burma today condemned
Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for labeling the
incarceration of 1991 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi
"reasonable" and claiming her release could lead to the disintegration of
Burma.

After returning from a half day trip to Burma, during which he met with
the Burmese military regime's top leader Than Shwe, Prime Minister Thaksin
stated: "These are the reasons they gave (for holding Suu Kyi), which are
reasonable enough and convincing, because I have witnessed many things in
their process."

The comments make Thaksin the only leader in the world to be convinced of
the need for the incarceration of Suu Kyi, the world's only imprisoned
Nobel laureate.

Thaksin's opinion stands in stark contrast to recent demands by other
world leaders.  His comments, given on his weekly radio broadcast on Dec
11, came one day after the European Union issued a declaration condemning
the Burmese regime's detention of Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.

The EU demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Suu Kyi.  A few
days earlier, US President George W. Bush condemned the detention of Suu
Kyi. Regional leaders Indonesia and Malaysia also called for the immediate
release of Suu Kyi.  Indonesia suggested that Burma may not be allowed to
host an important regional summit in 2006 unless Burma makes serious
progress toward democracy.

Aung Din, a former political prisoner in Burma and policy director of US
Campaign for Burma, said "Prime Minister Thaksin is steadily isolating
himself from international opinion toward Burma.  His comments show that
he is only interested in expanding his personal wealth".

Thaksin, through his immediate family, maintains holdings in major
corporations doing business with Burma.  Earlier this year the Burmese
regime commenced a contract through one of Thaksin's family firms, which
was funded through a grant paid for by Thai taxpayers.  The deal has come
under sharp criticism in the Thai parliament and press.

Suu Kyi has spent the majority of the past 15 years under house arrest.

Her first house arrest lasted almost six years from July 1989 to June
1995. Her second house arrest lasted 19 months between October 2000 and
May 2002. She was arrested again on May 30, 2003 after the Burmese regime
botched an attempt to assassinate her during her organizing trip in
central Burma. Even though Suu Kyi survived the attack, scores of her
political supporters were beaten to death with clubs, spears, and iron
rods.

The regime subsequently arrested her, claiming it was for her own
protection.  However, the regime recently changed its explanation and
extended the incarceration, claiming she is a threat to state security.

The extension earned condemnation from the EU, US, Italy, Germany,
Norwary, Ireland, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, New Zealand, and
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.  The US State Department has suggested
the United States may boycott a major 2006 summit of the Association of
South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), scheduled to be held in Burma in 2006,
unless the regime initiates a transition to democracy.

Under the Thaksin administration, Thailand has become the leading defender
of the Burmese military regime, heading off international criticism at
regional meetings and attempting to sideline Suu Kyi from Burma's
political future.