BurmaNet News May 14-16, 2005

[Editor]

May 14-16, 2005 Issue # 2719


INSIDE BURMA
AP: Myanmar junta blames bomb attacks on foreign-trained terrorists AFP:
Military explosives used in Yangon blasts: junta
Vancouver Province: Myanmar: Gov't won't tolerate fake officers

DRUGS
Iran News Agency via UPI: Custom officials seize marijuana worth 16.5
million rupees

BUSINESS / MONEY
Xinhua: Myanmar urges deposit of foreign exchange earning gained through
tourism
Xinhua: People in Myanmar urged to abide by foreign exchange control rule

ASEAN
AP: Southeast Asian lawmakers call for regional parliament

REGIONAL
AFP: Thailand surprised at Myanmar fingerpointing over bomb blasts Nation:
UN post depends on ‘coming clean’ on rights

INTERNATIONAL
Saint Paul Pioneer Press (Minnesota): Refugees renew church

______________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

May 15, Associated Press
Myanmar junta blames bomb attacks on foreign-trained terrorists

Yangon: Myanmar's ruling military junta on Sunday blamed recent deadly
bomb attacks in the capital on terrorists trained in neighboring Thailand
by an organization from a "superpower country."

Information Minister Brig. Gen. Kyaw Hsan declined to identify the
organization, but was apparently referring to the U.S. Central
Intelligence Agency.

He said 19 people were killed on May 7 when bombs exploded at two upscale
supermarkets and at a convention center in Yangon. More than 160 others
were injured.

The junta blamed the attacks on three major ethnic rebel groups and on
exiled pro-democracy politicians who have formed a government-in-exile.

Kyaw San told a news conference that investigators had found that the
bombs used in the attacks were not available in Myanmar, but were used by
terrorists who had been trained in a "neighboring country by an
internationally known organization of a superpower country."

Some analysts and residents of Yangon say they doubt that ethnic minority
rebels could carry out such attacks in a tightly policed nation like
Myanmar, and speculate that the military is the only group capable of
doing so.

The United States staunchly opposes Myanmar's military government,
accusing it of suppressing human rights and the country's pro-democracy
movement, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. But there
have been no reports of American military aid or training for rebel groups
which operate along the Thai-Myanmar border.

Kyaw San said a group of saboteurs led by a Thai-based student group
called the All Burma Students Democratic Front was behind the May 7
attacks and had planned to stage more on May 9 and 10.

He said the government had received information that the ABSDF and other
Thai-based anti-government groups had been receiving training since last
December. He also accused the Karen National Union, an ethnic insurgent
group, of involvement.

The KNU and several other ethnic rebel groups have denied responsibility
for the attacks.

Kyaw San said the "foreign organization" had provided US$100,000
([euro]79,300) to a Washington-based dissident group led by a cousin of
Suu Kyi. He accused the group, the National Coalition Government of the
Union of Burma, of sending 10 saboteurs into Myanmar to set the bombs in
collaboration with supporters within the country.

The junta frequently blames ethnic minority and pro-democracy groups for
problems in Myanmar.

______________________________________

May 15, Agence France Presse
Military explosives used in Yangon blasts: junta

Yangon: Military-grade explosives were used in last week's triple bombing
in Yangon that left at least 19 dead, Myanmar's junta said Sunday, blaming
foreign-trained "terrorists" for the attacks.

Traces of the explosives, known as RDX, were found at the blast sites in
two upscale shopping centers and a convention hall, the information
minister, Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan, told a press conference.

"The RDX cannot be produced in Myanmar, and it is not available in the
country. It can only be produced by superpower nations for use by their
militaries," he said.

"RDX is found in a neighboring country," he said, apparently referring to
Thailand.

Kyaw Hsan said timers on the bombs used advanced technology and that a
"world-famous organization" -- the junta's usual way of referring to the
US Central Intelligence Agency -- gave 100,000 dollars to the bombing
operation.

The bombers were among a group of 20 people trained by three foreigners,
including a journalist, near the Thai border at an ethnic Karen rebel camp
called Zala, the minister said.

He did not identify the foreigners.

"The terrorists were well-trained saboteurs," Kyaw Hsan said.

He also added three political and student groups to the list of ethnic
rebel and pro-democracy organizations the military blames for the attacks:
the National League for Democracy-Liberated Areas, the Democratic Party
for a New Society, and the All Burma Students' Democratic Front.

The groups have no history of collaboration in their activities.

Four other organizations already blamed by the junta have denied involvement.

Myanmar's police chief, Brigadier General Khin Yee, said the government
has offered a five million kyat (about 5,250 dollar) reward for
information about the blasts.

"We have put a reward of five million kyats to whoever can give
information leading to the arrests of these saboteurs," he told the press
conference.

Police have printed 10,000 pamphlets announcing the reward and were
distributing them on street corners, he said.

The May 7 bombing left 19 dead, according to the military, but neighboring
Thailand put the number at 21. Witness accounts said dozens may have died.

Kyaw Hsan said 59 people remained in hospital.

Among the targets of the May 7 attack was a convention hall where a Thai
trade fair was underway.

The bombings were the worst to hit the capital since the military took
power about 40 years ago.

Myanmar watchers could provide no consensus on who was behind the blasts,
but agreed that the military's claims were not credible.

Among the possible explanations proposed by analysts were that the blasts
were set by radical ethnic fighters from the border areas, or by the
military itself, or that the bombs were some sort of internal
score-settling, or even a flare-up of Islamic extremism.

______________________________________

May 16, Associated Press
Sons of former Burmese Prime Minister put on trial

Rangoon: Two sons of former prime minister Gen Khin Nyunt, who was ousted
late last year, have gone on trial at special tribunals inside Burma's
notorious Insein prison, legal sources said.

The sons, Lt-Col Zaw Naing Oo and Dr Ye Naing Win, were being charged with
economic crimes, including illegal possession of foreign exchange and
violation of import-export laws, the sources said late Saturday, speaking
on condition of anonymity. The trial began Thursday.

Khin Nyunt, who also headed the country's powerful military intelligence
apparatus, was removed from power by the ruling military junta last
October, accused of insubordination and responsibility for a major
corruption scandal involving his subordinates. Thirty-eight military
intelligence officers close to Khin Nyunt were given long prison terms in
April.

Khin Nyunt's two sons and his son-in-law were arrested soon after his
ouster. His son-in-law was among those who received prison terms last
month.

Ye Naing Win, married to a Singaporean, is a successful businessman who
runs a semi-government Internet service provider and other businesses. It
was not clear if he and his brother were provided with legal counsel.

No charges are known to have been filed against Khin Nyunt who is being
held under house arrest.

Insein prison, where the trials were held, is notorious for housing
opponents of military rule. It is also where trials of a sensitive nature,
usually concerning political matters, often take place.

______________________________________

May 15, Vancouver Province
Myanmar: Gov't won't tolerate fake officers

Yangon: Authorities in military-ruled Myanmar plan to crack down on
civilians who place army officer's caps on their car dashboards to
intimidate traffic police and avoid tickets.

"Some motorists try to pass themselves off as military officers by placing
army caps on their dashboards and have been violating traffic
regulations," the Myanmar-language journal Kumudra said.

______________________________________
DRUGS

May 16, Iran News Agency via UPI.
Custom officials seize marijuana worth 16.5 million rupees

Imphal: Indian paramilitary troopers and customs officials seized
marijuana worth 16.5 million rupees in the northeastern state of Manipur,
indicating a possible link between separatists and drug syndicates,
officials said.

A defense statement said the seizures were made Saturday by a joint team
of Assam Rifles and customs officials from village Sanakeithel, about 30
kilometers north of Manipur's capital Imphal.

The raid led to the recovery of 6575 kilograms of marijuana.

"This is the biggest ever haul of drugs in Manipur in recent times," the
statement said.

No one was arrested so far with the owner of the house absconding.

Police and customs officials believe the marijuana consignment originated
in Myanmar and was smuggled into Manipur for onward transportation to
others parts of India and abroad.

"There is an organized racket involved in smuggling various forms of drugs
from Myanmar," a senior police official said.

"There are reports of drugs from this region finding its way to the Middle
East and even to European countries with a big ring involved in the
trade."

Intelligence officials often accuse militant groups operating in the
region of being involved in a flourishing narcotics trade along India's
border with Myanmar as that helps the rebel armies get finances for
running their violent military campaigns.

"In India's northeast, narcotics trade and insurgency are close allies
with militants trading in heroin and other forms of drugs to procure arms
to continue with their secessionist campaigns," an Indian intelligence
official told IRNA.

India's northeast has earned the notoriety of being the launching pad for
drug trafficking into the rest of the country with the region sharing
borders with the heroin-producing "Golden Triangle" of Thailand, Laos and
Myanmar.

India and Myanmar shares a 1,643 kilometer (1,018 mile) unfenced border.

"Poppy grown on the Indian side of the border is transported into Myanmar
for refining and the refined heroin either finds its way to Thailand or is
routed back into the northeastern Indian states of Manipur, Nagaland,
Mizoram, and Meghalaya," the official said.

"The lucrative drugs trade is the primary source of finances for many
rebel groups in the northeast."

There are at least 30 outlawed separatist groups active in seven
northeastern states with demands ranging from secession to greater
autonomy and the right to self-determination.

"The porous border with Myanmar is helping the trade in narcotics drugs,"
a senior official of the Narcotics and Border Affairs of Manipur said
requesting anonymity.

"Despite strict vigil and regular checks it is physically impossible to
stop everything due to the porous terrain."

A number of frontline Indian militant groups have bases inside Myanmar and
operates in tandem with some ethnic rebel groups in the Kachin region.

Experts say Myanmar's military junta turns a blind eye to drug production
and trafficking as a way of ensuring peace among ethnic minority groups,
who have been restive for decades.

"The flourishing drug-manufacturing business in Myanmar was directly
linked to the continuing conflict between the military government and the
armed ethnic groups fighting for autonomy," the intelligence official
said.

"The drug lords, who are rebel leaders, have turned to drug trafficking to
finance their military campaigns."

_____________________________________
BUSINESS / MONEY

May 16, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar urges deposit of foreign exchange earning gained through tourism

Yangon: The Myanmar authorities have urged hoteliers and tour operators in
the country to open accounts at banks of their foreign exchange earning
gained through tourism instead of keeping at hands, a local press reported
Monday.

The notification was issued recently by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism
in the wake of finding huge difference between the foreign exchange income
obtained through the sector and the number of tourist arrivals
proportionately, the Flower News quoted the ministry as saying.

Although there were a total of 900,000 foreign tourists, including
cross-border ones, arriving in Myanmar in the fiscal year 2004-05 which
ended in March, the state got merely over 50 million US dollars, producing
a big proportionate gap between the two factors, it blamed.

The country's foreign exchange income is partly obtained through charges
for visa, entry, museum visit and other revenues, which is a much lower
figure compared with that received through tourism, it said.

Myanmar so far has 570 hotels with more than 17,200 rooms involving an
investment of about 583 million US dollars plus 33 billion kyats (about
41.2 million dollars), according to official statistics.

There are also 540 travel agencies with a total work force of over 8,700
running tourism business in the country.

Contracted foreign investment in the sector of hotels and tourism has so
far amounted to 1.06 billion dollars since Myanmar started to open to such
investment in late 1988. Of the investment, that in hotel projects
amounted to over 580 million dollars, figures indicate.

_____________________________________

May 15, Xinhua General News Service
People in Myanmar urged to abide by foreign exchange control rule

Yangon: A Myanmar high-ranking finance official on Sunday urged the
country's people to abide by foreign exchange control rule in handling
foreign currencies, warning to crack down on illegal acts in the sector.

Colonel Hla Thein Swe, deputy minister of finance and revenue, told a
press briefing that local people are not allowed to handle foreign
currencies at home except local Kyats.

However, hotels, travel agencies and airlines are allowed to do so without
restriction.

He pointed out that some local exporters failed to bring back from abroad
their foreign currencies gained through export, breaking the foreign
exchange control rule.

The amount of foreign currencies in cash, permitted to be carried by local
people leaving Myanmar, is so restricted that for ordinary people is 100
US dollars, he said.

According to Minister of Finance and Revenue Brigadier-General Hla Tun,
the authorities nabbed a local passenger attempting to smuggle 90,000 US
dollars to Bangkok on May 7 at the Yangon International Airport.

The tightening of control of foreign exchange aims to stabilize the market
prices and bring down the inflation rate.

However, there exists a foreign exchange trading market which the
government deems such transaction is illegal.

According to the market exchange rate, one US dollar is equivalent to over
900 Kyats now, while the official rate is over six.

_____________________________________
ASEAN

May 14, Associated Press
Southeast Asian lawmakers call for regional parliament

Bangkok: Southeast Asian lawmakers on Saturday began outlining a regional
parliament that would mirror the European Union body, state media and
officials said.

Although an ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization - or AIPO - already
exists, some lawmakers have called for a stronger institution that would
be able to tackle transnational problems.

"It is time for the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization to move forward
to play the role of a real parliament, which is the role of lawmaking and
keeping the governments in check," Bhokin Balakula, Thailand's
representative, was quoted by the Thai News Agency.

He spoke at the opening session on an AIPO study group in the northern
city of Chiang Mai.

The meeting on the new parliament was being attended by eight of the 10
members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with Brunei and
Myanmar as observers.

The lawmakers discussed how a regional parliament could work to harmonize
legislation among ASEAN countries and tackle threats to the region's
stability, said Bhokin.

A senior Thai foreign ministry source, speaking on condition of anonymity,
said the parliament should be in line with the European Parliament with
its members being either elected or appointed to work full-time in
creating regional legislation. It would need to have a permanent base, he
said.

The working group's recommendations are to be put forward at the 26th AIPO
General Assembly to be held in September in Vientiane, the capital of
Laos.

AIPO was established in 1977 by the parliaments of Indonesia, Malaysia,
Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, ASEAN's founding members.

Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam joined AIPO after they became ASEAN members.
Brunei and Myanmar are accredited as AIPO special observers because they
do not have legislatures.

_____________________________________
REGIONAL

May 16, Agence France Presse
Thailand surprised at Myanmar fingerpointing over bomb blasts

Bangkok: Thailand expressed surprise Monday over military-ruled Myanmar's
accusation that the kingdom may have supplied explosives used in Yangon
bomb blasts that left at least 19 people dead.

The reclusive state's junta said military-grade explosives unavailable in
Myanmar were used in the May 7 triple bombing, and blamed foreign-trained
"terrorists", including a group near the Thai border at an ethnic Karen
rebel camp, for the attacks.

Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan, Myanmar's information minister, told a press
conference Sunday the explosive, RDX, "is found in a neighboring country,"
apparently referring to Thailand.

"We are surprised by the statement," Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra told reporters in Bangkok.

"Thailand has no policy to interfere in neighbouring countries' domestic
affairs," he added. "We do not allow anyone to use Thai soil to attack
neighbouring countries."

He also said Yangon was perfectly capable of using diplomatic channels to
express their positions, or to seek assistance from Thailand in
investigating the worst bomb blasts in the Myanmar capital in decades, but
had failed to do so.

"Myanmar has not asked anything of the Thai government," he said. "If
there is suspicion, then tell us. We are ready to cooperate."

Traces of RDX were found at the blast sites in two upscale shopping
centers and a convention hall, said Kyaw Hsan, noting the explosive "can
only be produced by superpower nations for use by their militaries."

He said timers on the bombs used advanced technology and that a
"world-famous organization" -- the junta's usual way of referring to the
US Central Intelligence Agency -- gave 100,000 dollars to the bombing
operation.

The bombers were among a group of 20 people trained by three foreigners,
including a journalist, near the Thai border at the rebel camp called
Zala, the minister said.

He did not identify the foreigners.

At least 19 died in three bombs and another 59 were remained in hospitals.

_____________________________________

May 16, Nation
UN post depends on ‘coming clean’ on rights

If the government wants the world on its side in its bid to get Deputy
Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai the post of United Nations
secretary-general, then it must come clean on its human-rights record, a
senator said yesterday.

Senator Kraisak Chonhavan, a noted human-rights campaigner, said the
government should be frank about the 26 issues raised by the Human Rights
Committee of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights.

“The government always steers clear of the UN on questions about human
rights and never has frank answers on the issue,” he said.

But the campaign to nominate Surakiart for the post of UN
secretary-general was a good opportunity for the government to show it has
faith in the UN system.

“But I am worried about the prime minister’s moody reaction. If we cannot
give clear answers, it could hurt the country’s reputation and affect the
chance of our candidate to get the UN’s top job,” Kraisak said.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had never shown respect for the UN,
especially in regards to human-rights matters. His notorious statement:
“The UN is not my father”, made when the UN rights body inquired into his
deadly war on drugs in 2003 – was considered by the international
community as being anti-UN.

Kraisak urged the government to tell the truth about the disappearance of
prominent Muslim lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit and the violence in the deep
South.

The 26 topics picked by the UN rights body were divided into 11 categories
and addressed certain aspects of the Thai legal system and its practices.
It covers civil liberties guaranteed by the Constitution – from protection
against torture through to freedom of expression to child and minority
rights.

The issues were prompted by perceived violations of human rights under the
Covenant on Political and Civil Rights, which Thailand has pledged to
respect unconditionally.

Asda Jayanama, a former Thai permanent representative to the UN, said it
was important for the government to reply to the UN human-rights committee
report in order to get international recognition and maintain its good
record on human rights.

“If the government is wise, it should comply with international norms with
honesty, transparency and sincerity,” he said.

The government had a worrisome human-rights record including the massive
death toll in the war on drugs, the disappearance of the Muslim lawyer
Somchai, bloodshed at historic Krue Se mosque and the Tak Bai deaths in
custody, Asda said.

The report submitted to the UN provides a complete background on the
Kingdom’s political, economic and legal systems and judicial process, but
leaves out some key developments, including the Krue Se and Tak Bai
incidents.

Officials from the Foreign Ministry, Justice Ministry and Office of the
Attorney General will be dispatched to defend the report in Geneva in
July.

Pairob Polphet, a human-rights lawyer for the Union for Civil Liberty has
seen the report. He said the government needed to go into detail on many
specific cases in order to prove it was serious about protecting human
rights in the Kingdom.

“It’s not an embarrassing situation to admit it and tell the world that
there are human-rights violations in Thailand. The government would gain
credit if it faced up to the reality and corrected the mistakes,” he said.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

May 15, Saint Paul Pioneer Press (Minnesota)
Refugees renew church - Pratik Joshi

Karen immigrants from Myanmar, the former Burma, are getting help from —
and giving back to — downtown Baptists.

On one hand, Eh Say is fighting a battle for survival in his adopted home.
On the other, the 36-year-old refugee from Myanmar is helping revive a
downtown St. Paul church that had hit hard times.

Having fled the jungles of southeast Asia in the late 1990s after the
Myanmar Army killed his parents, Eh Say came to the United States in
February after living in a refugee camp in Thailand.

Unable to speak English and with few marketable skills, Eh Say, among a
trickle of refugees to Minnesota from the country once known as Burma, has
been struggling to find a job. But he and his fellow refugees, mostly
members of the ethnic group Karen, have found a sanctuary at First Baptist
Church.

They have drawn support from the church and infused new life into it, said
the Rev. Loren McLean, associate pastor. The Karens (pronounced cur-RENS)
have helped the church stay downtown when it looked like its dwindling
membership would force it to move, McLean said.

With the younger generation moving to the suburbs, McLean said, "the
church was shrinking."

The Baptist Church has a long missionary history in Burma, so when Karens
began arriving in the United States, it was natural for them to seek help
from Baptists.

There are about 450 Karen refugees in Minnesota, according to Wilfred
Shwe, chair of the Karen Community of Minnesota, an organization formed in
February 2003. The Karens are an ethnic minority, mostly Christian, from
the highlands near the Myanmar-Thai border, and they have been struggling
against the Myanmar government. The government has been accused of killing
them, burning their crops and forcing their youth into slavery.

The refugees from Myanmar also include a tiny minority of non-Karens.

The church has helped several Karens resolve immigration issues. It has
made the Karen community feel welcome in St. Paul, said Amy Twe, a
political asylum seeker from Myanmar.

When she and her husband came to the United States on a tourist visa and
applied for political asylum, the church provided them with a place to
stay. Now the couple has work permits, Twe said.

Wilfred Shwe, a Karen who has lived in Minnesota for four years, said he
came here because one of his comrades in arms in the fight against the
Burmese regime lived here.

Paw Say, 47, who came to St. Paul in January, said United Nations
authorities wanted him to go to Denmark, but he insisted on coming to the
United States to avoid isolation and to seek community support. That
support landed him an apartment, where he lives with his wife and five of
his seven children.

Julian Kessler, longtime member of First Baptist, at Ninth and Wacouta
streets, says the Karens have added new ideas, new music and younger
people to the congregation, which has been helping them settle — providing
essential household items, rice and money, for example — since 2000. Those
who have jobs contribute a fair share of their wages to the church,
Kessler said. "They do what they can," he said.

About 200 refugees from Myanmar show up for services every Sunday, McLean
said, bringing to the church "a whole new spirit of enthusiasm to
worship."

"We have become a family," said Kessler, who for two years has organized
donations of food, clothes and other necessary items.

"They are coping well because we take the time to listen to them," said
Kessler, a St. Paul postal worker.

McLean said the Karens have also formed choir groups that perform during
the church's Sunday service.

The Karens are reaching out to others in the congregation by inviting them
to participate in their cultural celebrations and offering them
traditional Karen meals, Kessler said.

John Borden, associate director of the International Institute of
Minnesota, said the Karen refugees who have become homeowners also extend
a helping hand to the new arrivals.

Karens arrange accommodations and airport pick-ups for the new arrivals,
Shwe said. They also arrange rides for newcomers to medical appointments
and help them get Social Security numbers, he said.

But it's not always easy, Shwe said. Trying to provide rides to the recent
immigrants is a juggling act for most Karen community volunteers with jobs
and children to look after.

Their inability to drive means many refugee settlers can't go to job
interviews. The downward economic turn has added to their woes, Shwe said.

Research analyst David Zander from the Council on Asian-Pacific
Minnesotans, says many Karen refugees feel that Hmong refugees have
garnered more attention and more benefits.

The Karens feel ignored or invisible, said Zander, who conducted
interviews with many Karen community members in 2003.

But it's case of numbers, he adds. Hmong refugees outnumber other ethnic
groups, Zander says.

He said the struggle of Karen refugees is similar to other refugee groups
trying to realize the American dream.

WHO ARE THE KAREN?

Inhabitants of the eastern highlands, near the Myanmar-Thailand border,
the Karen are one of seven ethnic minority groups in Myanmar (formerly
Burma). The Karen form about 7 percent (about 7 million) of the total
population, according to the CIA's World Factbook. More than 100,000
Karens are refugees in Thailand.

In 2004, 189 Myanmar refugees arrived in Minnesota from refugee camps in
Thailand, according to Elyse Chadwick, refugee health consultant at the
Minnesota Department of Health. Through April, another 39 arrived.

Chadwick said her department doesn't track refugees who move into
Minnesota from other states. Only federal program refugees are eligible
for state services and medical assistance, she said.

RESOURCES FOR REFUGEES

The Minnesota Council of Churches, Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota,
World Relief, Catholic Charities and International Institute of Minnesota
have helped resettle Karen refugees in the state since 2000, said Joel
Luedtke, director of refugee services for the Minnesota Council of
Churches.

Luedtke said the council helped 135 Karens come to the Twin Cities in 2004
and is expected to bring about 30 in this year. The relief agencies ensure
that refugees' basic needs are met in the first 30 days.

Under contract with the federal government, the agencies help refugees for
90 days, including assisting with medical tests and doctor visits and
enrolling new arrivals in English as Second Language programs and public
schools.

The refugees are also eligible for assistance from the county they live in.