BurmaNet News, March 18-20, 2006

[Editor]

March 18-20, 2006 Issue # 2922


INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Chicken curry goes underground as Myanmar battles bird flu
SHAN: Salween dams force hundreds of Karens to leave home - Arntai
Khaikharnfha

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Thai Senator reviews migrant conditions in Mae Sot - Sai Silp

HEALTH / AIDS
Japan Economic Newswire: Bird flu kills over 10,000 birds in Myanmar,
41,000 birds culled

DRUGS
Narinjara: Drugs from Burma a menace in Bangladesh hill district
DVB via BBC: Sharp rise in drug usage by Burmese young reported

BUSINESS / TRADE
Narinjara: Unresolved issues of BIMSTEC and SAFTA will hinder July 1
deadline - Iftekhar Ahmed
Xinhua: Myanmar to change 6,000 more motor vehicles into CNG-operated ones

ASEAN
AFP: Myanmar finally sets date for delayed ASEAN visit

REGIONAL
AP: Report: Malaysian foreign minister to visit Myanmar, unsure about
meeting Suu Kyi
Mizzima: Burmese university in Thailand to close due to lack of funds -
Mungpi
Antara: RI-Myanmar joint commission to hold first meeting in Bali

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 19, Agence France Presse
Chicken curry goes underground as Myanmar battles bird flu

Mandalay: Myanmar's first bird flu outbreak has swept chickens from
markets in this central city but in a country with a thriving black
market, many know how to get their hands on illicit poultry.

While many shoppers and diners said they had been scared off eating
chicken, others were undeterred by a ban on the sale and transport of
poultry and eggs.

"I'm afraid of bird flu. I've removed chicken curry from our menu because
I don't want my customers to get sick," said the owner of a popular
restaurant in Mandalay, 700 kilometres (450 miles) north of Yangon.

"Even if we serve chicken curry, nobody will eat it. Also we have not been
able to buy chickens since the outbreak," said the 40-year-old owner who
declined to be named.

A waitress at another restaurant said her eatery and several others in
Mandalay were buying chickens illegally to meet customer demand.

"We have to find ways to buy chickens. We still serve chicken curry
because of demand from customers," she said on condition she not be
identified.

Myanmar, one of the world's most isolated and impoverished nations,
reported the virus in chickens in Mandalay a week ago and immediately
banned all trade in chicken, ducks and eggs here.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Authority has said that tests on samples of
dead chickens from Myanmar confirmed the lethal H5N1 strain of the virus,
which has killed about 100 people, mostly in Asia, since 2003.

Mya Mya, 40, a vegetable vendor, said she was not upset by the sudden
disappearance of poultry from the city's menus and market stalls.

"Why should we continue to eat chicken? I've learned that bird flu can
kill people. Even without chicken, our country has many things to eat,"
she said.

"Chicken and egg sellers are not allowed to sell their products at our
market. That is a good way to prevent this disease."

In Yangon, chickens were still being sold in markets but shoppers said
prices which used to be prohibitive for ordinary people had dropped by
nearly 30 percent since bird flu erupted.

Even though international health experts say properly cooked poultry and
eggs were safe, many people were opting for alternative foods.

"Chicken sellers are just sitting beside their trays full of chickens,"
said a woman at a market. "The price of chicken has fallen sharply and
poor people are now buying it, saying they can afford to eat chicken. I
feel sorry for them."

While the world learned about Myanmar's outbreak Monday, its notoriously
secretive military rulers maintained a news blackout inside the country
until Thursday.

The government, which has been controlled by the military since 1962, once
dismissed concerns that bird flu could break out in Myanmar, saying the
country's mountainous borders were protection against the virus.

Now state television and radio broadcast daily bulletins about the
disease, explaining that H5N1 might have been brought here by migratory
birds or through illegal chicken imports.

Aung Tun, 51, a Yangon taxi driver, said he was aware of the outbreak in
Mandalay but was not giving up chicken, especially local delicacies such
as chicken liver, kidneys and intestines.

"I heard about the bird flu outbreak on the news, but I still eat chicken
because I cook it well-done. Our people in Myanmar cook all meat
well-done. So I don't need to worry about it," he said.

____________________________________

March 20, Shan Herald Agency for News
Salween dams force hundreds of Karens to leave home - Arntai Khaikharnfha

Since the beginning of March 2006, more than 500 Karen villagers from
Mutraw, Karen State, have fled to the Thai-Burma border after being forced
by the Burmese military to build a road for the Salween river dam project,
according to an environmental activist who has just returned from Karen
State.

“The road, which the villagers have been forced to construct runs from
Papun to Weigyi, on the Salween dam site. But since the Thai authorities
have not allowed them to cross the border, they are still hiding in the
jungle,” he said.

He quoted the villagers as saying that in the past four months the Burmese
military regime has sent thousands of its troops into Karen State. There
are at least 800 junta soldiers stationed around the dam site near the
Thai border.

Since January 2006, nearly a thousand Karen villagers have fled to the
Thai border, due to both the Salween dam projects and the shifting of the
new capital to Pyinmana by the Burmese government.

In December 2005, the Thai-Burmese government had signed a MoU to build
four dams along the Salween River, the longest free flowing river in
Southeast Asia: Tasang in Shan State and Hutgyi, Weigyi and Dagwin in
Karen State, which together will produce 15,000-20,000 megawatts of
electricity which will be sold to Thailand and other Asian countries.

On March 14, 2006, the green groups of Mon, Karen, Thai, Shan and Karenni
had together protested at the dam project site of Weigyi in Karen State
near the Thai border. They called for a halt to all the projects saying
that the dams would affect the way of life of local residents and the
environment.

Observers pointed out that either Hutgyi or Tasang project might be
constructed first, because they are far from the border and therefore
could evade protests by green groups.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March 20, Irrawaddy
Thai Senator reviews migrant conditions in Mae Sot - Sai Silp

Thai Senator Jon Ungpakorn led a delegation to Mae Sot on Sunday to meet
several non-governmental organizations and assess conditions among the
city’s migrant worker population.

The senator, who chairs a sub-committee of the Labor Welfare Commission,
told The Irrawaddy on Monday that the meeting took place at Maetao Clinic
in Mae Sot, where the majority of patients are migrant workers.

The group found that many of the problems faced by migrant workers were
the result of poor working conditions, unfair wages and few workers’
rights—all of which, the senator suggested, derived from Thailand’s
inability to appreciate the vital role migrant workers play in the
country’s economy.

“We have to [get] Thai society to accept that these groups of workers are
very important in the Thai economic system today, and they should be taken
care of according to the same standard applied to Thai workers,” Jon said.

He added: “We will send a proposal to the government to improve migrant
worker conditions, whether they will hear us or not. But we think it is
[an important] step to make better policies towards this group.”

Recent amendments to Thai Labor Office regulations have created
considerable confusion among workers and employers. A hike in the
registration fees—to between 10,000 and 50,000 baht—was recently
postponed. However, many employers are not aware of the postponement and
still have not registered their employees, according to a Mae Sot-based
officer for the Migrant Assistance Program foundation.

Another concern among migrants that surfaced at the meeting was the spate
of recent killings and rapes of migrant workers that have either been
poorly investigated or dismissed by Thai authorities.

Local officials in Tak province have also closed a number of migrant
schools in Mae Sot and in Pob Phra district. Jon suggested that the
closures—the reasons for which authorities have not clearly explained,
could be the result of national security measures similar to those in
place in Thailand’s embattled southern provinces.

Moe Swe, the director of the Mae Sot-based Yaung Chi Oo Workers
Association, said that his group focused on working conditions during the
meeting with the delegation. “The workers are still paid below the
standard wage, and many have suffered abuse in the workplace,” he said. “I
hope this meeting will improve the situation among migrants in the
future.”

Thailand has over 1.2 million migrant workers (legal and illegal) from
Burma, Cambodia and Laos, according to official statistics. In Mae Sot,
more than 43,000 migrant workers registered with the local labor office
last year as employees of mainly textile factories.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

March 18, Japan Economic Newswire
Bird flu kills over 10,000 birds in Myanmar, 41,000 birds culled

Yangon: More than 10,000 chickens and quails have died of the H5N1 strain
of bird flu in central Myanmar and authorities have culled nearly 41,000
more to prevent the disease from spreading, Myanmar state media reported
Saturday.

A total of 5,628 chickens and 4,482 quails have died of the virus in the
Mandalay and Sagaing areas of central Myanmar, and authorities have
slaughtered 13,970 chickens and 27,018 quails and destroyed more than
50,000 eggs from farms in the affected areas as part of preventive
measures, state-run newspapers, radio and television reported.

This is the first ever report that quail farms have also been affected by
bird flu in Myanmar.

Myanmar officials first reported Monday that 112 chickens had died of the
H5N1 strain of bird flu, at a poultry farm in Mandalay, the country's
second-largest city, about 600 kilometers north of Yangon.

On Friday, a Thai government laboratory confirmed the report of Myanmar
officials after testing samples of dead chickens sent from Myanmar for lab
testing.

A team of Bangkok-based experts of the Food and Agriculture Organization
visited the bird flu-affected farms in central Myanmar to study and
analyze the situation, state media said Saturday.

The FAO experts from Thailand will hold discussions with Myanmar
government after the field studies, reports said.

A ban on the sale of poultry and eggs in and around the affected area has
been imposed since Monday, the reports said.

Restricted areas have been imposed within a 7-kilometer radius of the
affected farms and authorities are checking all other farms in the areas
as well.

State television also started, for the first time, broadcasting video
footage of bird flu education Friday.

On Tuesday, the FAO provided $40,000 in emergency assistance to the
Myanmar government, including laboratory and personal protection
equipment, said Tang Zhengping, resident FAO representative in Yangon.

The H5N1 virus has killed at least 98 people since late 2003 in seven
countries -- Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Cambodia, Turkey and
Iraq -- according to the World Health Organization.

_____________________________________
DRUGS

March 20, Narinjara News
Drugs from Burma a menace in Bangladesh hill district

An increased flow of drugs through many parts of a hill district in
Bangladesh in recent times is causing grave concern among the people of
the district, said a report in a local newspaper.

Khagrachhari, known as Falan Htaung, is located in the northern part of
Chittagong hill tract in Bangladesh and close to India's Tripura state
where various kinds of drugs are available. Among the most popular drugs
are heroin and phensydil.

According to the newspaper that drugs are being sold at eight points in
Khagrachhari town area and several gangs are involved in the racket.

The drugs particularly heroin, are brought from Burma and India by gangs.
Some gangs use ambulances to transport the heroin from border areas so as
not to arouse suspicion among Bangladesh law enforcement agencies, the
report said.

According to official sources, drugs from Burma are coming into Bangladesh
through India's north-eastern states. Most drugs, including heroin and
Yaba tablets, enter Bangladesh through several border points including
Cox's Bazaar, Bandarban and the Chittagong seaport.

The increased flow of drugs in Bangladesh and the tendency among the youth
to take to drugs is a cause of serious concern for the guardians in the
hill district.

Due to the increased flow of drugs in Khagrachhari, the social equilibrium
is being destabilised. To make matters worse drug addiction is breaking
apart a number of families and many young people in the district town are
destroying themselves, said the report.

_____________________________________

March 17, Democratic Voice of Burma via BBC
Sharp rise in drug usage by Burmese young reported

It has been learned that there is an alarming increase in the use of Ya
Maa stimulant tablets among the youth and students in the capital,
Rangoon. A Rangoon resident told DVB [Democratic Voice of Burma] about the
abundance of the Ya Maa stimulant tablets in Rangoon as follows;

[Begin Rangoon resident, recording] There are many people using Ya Maa in
Rangoon. The government only made token arrests so the stimulant tablets
are continuing to flood the Rangoon market till now. Those arrested for
drug possession included medical college students. The majority of the
drug users are between ages 16 to 25 or 30 years old. The female
population exceeds the male users and they include models and prostitutes.
[End of recording]

Another Rangoon resident also commented as follows;

[Begin second Rangoon resident, recording] Most people in Rangoon are
using the stimulant tablets. Ordinary drug dealers dare not handle the
trade and it is controlled entirely by the Kokang and the Wa drug lords.
[End of recording]

When DVB contacted Thingangyun and Bahan Police Stations, the officers on
duty said;

[Begin Thingangyun police officer, recording] It is not as many as they
say but compare to last year, the number of Ya Maa stimulant drug users
have increased. [End of recording]

[Begin Bahan police officer, recording] We are now tackling this problem
in Rangoon. [End of recording]

The Rangoon resident also explained about the street market price of the
stimulant tablets in Rangoon and by which route they are entering the
city.

[Begin Rangoon resident, recording] The current price in Rangoon is about
2,500 kyat per tablet. If it is a small amount it is 2,500 but if you buy
in bulk then the price is 2,000. There are two drug trafficking routes.
One is via Myawadi [in Karen State bordering with Thailand] and the other
is via Mu-se [in northern Shan State bordering with China]. Instead of
arresting the big drug barons who have bribed their way, the police have
arrested only the small drug pushers. The effect of the Ya Maa stimulant
drugs is very frightening. This will lead to a sharp rise in criminal
activities.

_____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

March 20, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar to change 6,000 more motor vehicles into CNG-operated ones

Yangon: Myanmar has set to change 6,000 more petrol- and diesel-run motor
vehicles into compressed natural gas (CNG)-operated ones this year under a
plan to modify all vehicles in the country in terms of fuel operation, the
Voice Weekly reported Monday.

To facilitate the conversion, Myanmar has allowed some private industries
to carry out the undertakings on buses, trucks, taxis and saloons in
addition to the Ministry of Energy and some banks have also been
designated to loan for changes for buses, it said.

According to the report, a total of 5,268 motor vehicles in the country
had undergone such changes as of January this year since the plan started
a decade ago. Of the already converted motor vehicles, 4,521 are in Yangon
division, while 325 are in Mandalay division.

Myanmar began the move amid sustained rise of crude oil prices in the
world and the plan was introduced due partly to the abundance of natural
gas in the country.

Myanmar has been using natural gas limitedly to run cars safely after
tests on compressed natural gas were carried out in 1986. Such gas brings
benefits of saving of fuel, effective use of locally produced gas,
prevention of air pollution, speedy flow of passengers and commodities and
catching up with modern technology.

With a total of about 900,000 motor vehicles moving in the country now, of
which over half are motorcycles, Myanmar's petrol consumption has at least
doubled in the past decade as registered, consuming about 100 million
gallons (420,000 tons) of petrol and about 340 million gallons (1.4
million tons) of diesel annually in most recent years.

Although Myanmar produced about 6 million barrels (798,000 tons) of crude
oil annually at home, yet it could not meet the demand and had to import
about 130 million U.S. dollars worth of the oil per year.

With three main large offshore and 19 onshore oil and gas fields, Myanmar
possesses a total of 87 trillion cubic-feet (TCF) or 2.46 trillion
cubic-meters (TCM) of gas reserve and 3.2 billion barrels of recoverable
crude oil reserve, official statistics show.

Figures also show that in the fiscal year of 2004-05 which ended in March,
Myanmar produced 7.48 million barrels of crude oil and 10.69 billion cubic
meters (BCM) of gas. Gas export during the year went to 9.5 BCM, earning
over 1 billion US dollars.

____________________________________
ASEAN

March 19, Agence France Presse
Myanmar finally sets date for delayed ASEAN visit

Kuala Lumpur: Myanmar has ended months of delays by setting a date for the
visit of ASEAN special envoy and Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid
Albar to check on democratic reforms, he told AFP Sunday.

Syed Hamid said he would visit this month but that the date of the trip
would remain a secret to avoid excess publicity.

"A date has been firmed for my visit this month," he said.

Syed Hamid was originally due to visit in January but Myanmar's military
government said it was too busy relocating the national capital to receive
him.

The visit has apparently stalled on the envoy's insistence on meeting
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent most of the last 16
years in jail or under house arrest.

Asked if he was hoping to meet the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Syed Hamid
said he was going with an "open mind."

"I am going there with an open mind. I would like to meet everyone
involved in the reform process," he said.

But he cautioned against hopes of a breakthrough.

"I would not put any expectations. I hope it is part of a confidence
building mechanism. We hope to build trust. Ultimately, it will be
Myanmar's own process (towards democracy)," he said.

The 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) decided to
send Sayed Hamid to Myanmar at its annual meeting in December.

Myanmar, under heavy international pressure to instigate democratic
reforms, proclaimed a seven-step "road map" to democracy in 2003 and is in
the process of drafting a new constitution.

But the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Paulo Sergio
Pinheiro, recently called the process "fundamentally anti-democratic" and
said that little had changed in terms of abuse and repression.

The junta brutally crushed pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988 and two
years later rejected the result of national elections won by Aung San Suu
Kyi.

She has had virtually no contact with the outside world since her last
detention period began in May 2003. Her house arrest was extended by six
months in December.

The United States and European Union have been vocal critics of Myanmar's
regime. US President George W. Bush said earlier this month that all
nations should seek the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Zaid Ibrahim, chairman of the Pro-Democracy Myanmar Caucus group of
lawmakers from ASEAN countries, said it was vital for Syed Hamid to meet
Aung San Suu Kyi.

"It is crucial that he meets Aung San Suu Kyi. If not I doubt their (the
military junta's) sincerity to find a solution," he said.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

March 20, Mizzima News
Burmese university in Thailand to close due to lack of funds - Mungpi

The Thai-based All Ethnics International Open University, which has
provided education to many Burmese, will close down due to a lack of
funds.

The AEIOU, run for students who were not able to further their education
in Burma, opened in 2000 with the help of funding from European and United
States donors and the Chiang Mai University.

Founder of the university professor Ba Than Win said funds were given back
to some donors last year after the university refused to let them
interfere in its policies and programs.

“The donor cannot dictate our educational policy (Burmese must decide the
Burma education policy) and nobody even our donor must not interfere with
our work,” Ba Than Win said.

“Even though we are operating on the NGO lines and as such nobody can
interfere with our educational policy. Here again we clash [with the
donors] and so much so that last year we give back some of the funds,” he
said.

But while he admitted the university would probably have to close, Ba Than
Win said he would not give up and would try to keep it open.

“We started the AEIOU project from scratch and we have our own indigenous
means to carry on
 We lobby compassionate and sympathetic individuals,
churches and associations,” he said.

“Where there is a will there is a way. Most of our students understand the
situation and have cooperated with us. We will borrow from somebody and
will continue the program because this is the only hope for the future of
Burma.”

While there are a number of vocational schools or training centres for
Burmese students in Thailand, most focus on particular skills such as
journalism or English and only the AEIOU provided university-level
courses.

_____________________________________

March 18, Antara (Indonesia)
RI-Myanmar joint commission to hold first meeting in Bali

Jakarta: Indonesia and Myanmar have agreed to hold the first meeting of
their Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation in Bali, an Indonesian
Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

"The two countries have agreed to hold the commission's first meeting in
Bali, but the time has yet to be decided. We hope it will be at the end of
April, not long after an ASEAN informal ministerial meeting that will take
place on April 17-21," Desra Percaya said on Friday.

The commission is the realization of Indonesia's efforts to help Myanmar
implement democratic principles successfully, he said.

"As we all know, Myanmar has withdrawn from the international world so
that it became difficult for people to come to Myanmar as once experienced
by a United Nations envoy. And Indonesian President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono's visit to Myanmar has become important to many parties as it
marked the first time for Myanmar to receive a top-level foreign
official," Desar said.

President Yudhoyono visited Myanmar on March 1 and 2, during which a
memorandum of understanding on formation of the joint commission was
signed by the foreign minister of the two countries.

During Yudhoyono's visit, the Head of Government/Chairman of the State
Peace and Development Council (SPCD) of Myanmar, Senior General Than Shwe
at a meeting with the Indonesiaa leader expressed his serious wish to
apply the road map to democracy.