Daily News-June 06 - 2001- Wednesday

  • UN Envoy: Burmese Military, Opposition Held Talks
  • US Official Says Few Signs Of Progress In Buema Talks
  • In Burma, UN envoy holds meetings to help national reconciliation talks
  • Envoy's visit to Burma "timely" says Annan
  • UN envoy 'fails' in Burma
  • ABSDF call for pressure on Burma over talks
  • Thaksin: Thais Love Democracy,But Won't Preach To Burma
  • New History Book Tells Burmese Kids That Thais Are Lazy
  • Twisted view of history
  • Protest over new pagoda
  • Burmese junta builds new administrative centre
  • Tourist Arrivals in Burma Decline in January, February
  • Labour group to assess Burma

    • UN Envoy: Burmese Military, Opposition Held Talks

    KUALA LUMPUR (AP)--The U.N. envoy credited with brokering discussions between Myanmar's military rulers and its pro-democracy leaders said Tuesday they have been in talks, and was cautiously optimistic they could reach an agreement.

    But Razali Ismail, a Malaysian diplomat who just returned from a visit to Myanmar where he met members of the ruling junta and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, would not give any details of the talks or say when they occurred.

    "I can confirm that they have been talking," Razali told The Associated Press.

    Asked if he was confident the two sides could reach agreement, Razali said: "I remain realistic enough that it can be done, it must be done."

    He declined to enter into "any qualitative discussion" about his most recent visit to Myanmar, but said that it was "it was important for me to be there."

    "I think the U.N.'s role is further underlined by my visit," he said.

    Western nations and Myanmar's opposition hope that the talks could lead democracy in Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military since 1962. The current group of generals took power after crushing a pro-democracy movement in 1988, killing thousands of people. The junta called national elections in 1990 but refused to honor the results when the Suu Kyi's party won overwhelmingly. Since then, the junta has harassed and arrested scores of opposition members and thwarted political activity. Suu Kyi has been living under virtual house arrest since September.

    Razali is credited with achieving the first breakthrough in the deadlock by initiating reconciliation talks between Suu Kyi and the junta leaders in October, conducted in secrecy in the Nobel Peace laureate's lakeside villa.

    Belying initial hopes of progress, however, some diplomats and pro-democracy groups have expressed concern that the talks have stalled.

    "The current talks are not open," the All Burma Students' Democratic Front said in a statement issued in Bangkok Tuesday. "People are frustrated waiting for information while human rights abuses and forced labor are still occurring inside the country.

    "We ask (both sides) to open up the talks so the people of Burma and the world can see if there is progress," spokesman Sonny Mahinder said.

    Earlier Tuesday, a U.S. State Department official said in Kuala Lumpur that U.N. efforts to foster talks between the two sides in Myanmar began promisingly, but that after six months there is little to show for it.

    President George W. Bush's administration strongly supports efforts to bring about democracy in Myanmar and was encouraged by the release of a small number of prisoners in March and the visit in April by a U.N. human rights investigator, said Ralph Boyce, the deputy assistant secretary at the State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

    "However, it has now been over six months since the political dialogue began and there have been few signs of significant progress," Boyce said at an Asia-Pacific Roundtable conference.

    "We hope that the regime in Yangon understands the urgent need for positive political developments."
    US Official Says Few Signs Of Progress In Buema Talks

    KUALA LUMPUR (AP)--United Nations efforts to foster talks between Myanmar's military rulers and the country's pro-democracy movement began promisingly, but after six months there is little to show for it, a U.S. State Department official said Tuesday.

    President George W. Bush's administration strongly supports efforts to bring about democracy in Myanmar and was encouraged by the release of a small number of prisoners in March and the visit in April by a U.N. human rights investigator, said Ralph Boyce, the deputy assistant secretary at the State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

    "However, it has now been over six months since the political dialogue began and there have been few signs of significant progress," Boyce said in a speech to the Asia-Pacific Roundtable conference of academics and bureaucrats in Kuala Lumpur.

    "We hope that the regime in Yangon understands the urgent need for positive political developments," he said.

    A U.N. envoy Razali Ismail ended Monday a visit to Myanmar, also known as Burma, after talking with Suu Kyi and members of the ruling military junta. He didn't release details of the talks.

    Western nations and Myanmar's opposition hope the talks with Suu Kyi will pave the way for democracy in Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military since 1962. The junta called national elections in 1990 but refused to honor the results when the NLD won overwhelmingly. Since then, the junta has harassed and arrested scores of NLD members and thwarted political activity.Suu Kyi has been living under virtual house arrest since September.

    Razali is credited with achieving the first breakthrough in the deadlock by initiating reconciliation talks between Suu Kyi and the junta leaders in October, conducted in secrecy in the Nobel Peace laureate's lakeside villa.

    Belying initial hopes of progress, however, diplomats have recently expressed concern that the talks have stalled.
    In Burma, UN envoy holds meetings to help national reconciliation talks

    source : UN News

    4 June- Secretary-General Kofi Annan's envoy for Myanmar completed today his visit to the country after holding high-level meetings aimed at facilitating progress in democratization and national reconciliation talks between the Government and the National League for Democracy.

    Special Envoy Razali Ismail had "important" discussions in Yangon with Lt.-Gen. Khin Nyunt, Secretary 1 of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), and other government officials, Mr. Annan's spokesman said today in New York. During the four-day visit, Mr. Razali also met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, General Secretary of the National League for Democracy.

    Spokesman Fred Eckhard said it was the Secretary-General's hope that his Special Envoy's visit and the Yangon discussions would contribute towards progress in the talks. Mr. Annan considered such timely visits to Myanmar as an important function in discharging the good offices mandate he had been given by the General Assembly, the spokesman said.
    Envoy's visit to Burma "timely" says Annan

    ABC Online

    United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan says a four-day visit to Burma by his special envoy has been "timely" and he hopes it will help reconcile the military rulers and opposition.

    The envoy, Razali Ismail, left Rangoon on Monday after holding what Mr Annan called "important discussions" with Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, the influential number three in the junta.Mr Razali also paid two visits to Aung San Suu Kyi, head of the National League for Democracy.

    In a statement through his spokesman, Mr Annan said the purpose of Mr Razali's visit had been to help facilitate progress in the talks between the government and Aung San Suu Kyi, which started in October.

    The dialogue, the first between the two sides since 1994, appears to have faltered after reaching a delicate decision-making stage, and all parties involved have agreed not to divulge any details of their content or progress.
    UN envoy 'fails' in Burma

    From the newsroom of the BBC World Service

    A statement issued by the United Nations suggests the recent visit to Burma by its special envoy, Razali Ismail, has had little impact on re-starting talks between the military leadership and the opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

    The UN statement said simply that the UN hoped Mr Razali's visit would help dialogue to progress further.

    The BBC's Burma analyst says the statement suggests that the visit has failed to kick-start the stalled talks, and that the UN has again failed in its efforts to bring democratic change to Burma.

    Sources close to Mr Razali told the BBC the main obstacle was the fear of Burma's generals that democratic change would lead to the break-up of the country.

    But many analysts believe that Burma's leaders have little option but to involve Aung Sang Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy in determining the country's future if they want to avoid the risk of economic ruin.
    ABSDF call for pressure on Burma over talks

    BANGKOK, June 5 (Reuters) - A leading Myanmar dissident group called on Tuesday for international pressure on Yangon's military government to help speed up landmark talks between the military and opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi. In a sign of growing anxiety among pro-democracy supporters inside and outside Myanmar, the exiled All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF) said progress in the eight-month dialogue between the two sides had been "virtually non-existent".

    "The current talks are not open. People are frustrated waiting for information while human rights abuses and forced labour are still occuring inside the country," the ABSDF said in a statement.

    "That is why the ABSDF strongly urges international governments and organisations to keep pressure on the (military government)," it quoted ABSDF chairman Than Khe as saying.

    The ABSDF represents hundreds of pro-democracy exiles living along the Thai-Myanmar border and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, many of whom fled Myanmar after the military crushed a student-led democracy uprising in 1988. The group usually reflects the views of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), which won Myanmar's last democratic election in 1990 but has never been allowed to govern.

    Suu Kyi, under de facto house arrest in Yangon, has been holding secretive talks with Myanmar's ruling generals since October last year, raising hopes that the political stalemate that has gripped Myanmar for more than a decade could finally be broken.

    NO SIGN OF PROGRESS

    But so far there have been no concrete signs of progress and concern has been growing that the talks are deadlocked.

    Diplomats in Yangon say they believe the dialogue has stalled in recent months, amid talk of a heightened power struggle between senior members of the government.

    Until recently both the government and NLD have stuck to an agreement not to criticise each other in public to allow the talks the best chance of success.

    But in recent weeks this deal appears to have been broken.

    NLD sources have begun to call for evidence that the talks are making progress and diplomats have warned the pro-democracy movement could break apart unless progress is made soon.

    The exiles' statement came one day after U.N. special envoy to Myanmar Razali Ismail told diplomats he was confident Myanmar would make a transition from military rule in coming years.

    The veteran Malaysian diplomat, who is credited with helping to broker the start of dialogue between the government and Nobel Peace Prize winner, on Monday ended a four-day visit to Myanmar.

    One diplomat who declined to be identified told Reuters on Monday that Razali thought Myanmar would move to civilian rule in "two to four years".

    The military says it is committed to building a democracy in Myanmar. However, it says the country could disintegrate if the process moves too quickly.

    But the ABSDF urged both sides to "open up" the talks so the Myanmar people and the world "can see if there is progress".
    Thaksin: Thais Love Democracy,But Won't Preach To Burma

    BANGKOK (AP)--Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra says Thailand would like to see democracy flourishing in every country, but won't preach its virtues to neighboring Myanmar, long ruled by the military.

    However, if a dialogue between Myanmar's junta and the opposition led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi paves the way for civilian rule, "we would welcome it," Thaksin said late Monday.

    He was answering questions after giving a speech at a dinner hosted by the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand.

    "We love democracy. We would like to see ... democratic system in every country," Thaksin said when asked if he supported Suu Kyi's cause. "But we wouldn't like to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, especially our friends," Thaksin said.

    His remarks demonstrate the cautious path Thailand treads as it tries to mend its relations with Myanmar, which have plunged to their lowest levels in years over border skirmishes, drug smuggling and aid to rebel groups.

    As one of the most democratic countries in the region, Thailand is often hailed as a role model for other nations such as Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military since 1962. The current junta refuses to hand over power to Suu Kyi, whose party won the 1990 general elections, but both sides are now holding reconciliation talks.

    Thaksin denied that Thailand is providing help or sanctuary to ethnic rebel groups from Myanmar fighting the central government in Yangon for autonomy. This is one of the main points of contentions poisoning Thai-Myanmar relations.

    The other issue is Thailand's accusation that the junta is doing little to stop drug production and trafficking by the pro-Yangon United Wa State Army in border areas, especially methamphetanines that are flooding Thailand.

    Thaksin said he would travel soon to Myanmar, also known as Burma, for talks to resolve the disputes. He said no date has been set. "After I come back from bilateral (talks) with Burma, things will be solved," he said. "It is the willingness of the two governments to solve the problems together. We both understand our problems and our concerns."

    Thailand has declared drugs as public enemy no. 1, and Thaksin said he fully supports the death penalty for drug smugglers. "We will guarantee justice for all criminals but punishment should fit the crime," he said, citing statistics that 2 million of Thailand's 64 million people are drug addicts.
    New History Book Tells Burmese Kids That Thais Are Lazy

    YANGON (AP)--Fourth graders in Myanmar will be required to study a new history textbook on Myanmar-Thai relations, which portrays Thais as servile and lazy.

    The new textbook will be mandatory reading in government schools for nine-year-olds who began the 2001-2002 academic year Monday after a three-month holiday. The textbook is a 12-page supplement to the regular history book.

    Its surprise addition to the curriculum is certain to infuriate Thailand, which has been engaged in a war of words with Myanmar for months. The Thai government didn't immediately comment on the development.

    Thai-Myanmar relations have plunged to their lowest level, principally over Thailand's accusations that Myanmar's ruling junta aids drug traffickers. Myanmar denies the charge and charges Thailand with supporting anti-government rebels. Their arguments have sparked frequent border skirmishes since January.

    The book says Thailand has consistently launched anti-Myanmar campaigns and those who grew up under such campaigns had deep-rooted hatred for the Myanmar people. The book has five chapters, the last one titled "Current Myanmar-Thai Relationship." Its three subchapters blame Thailand for the support to anti-government dissidents, loss of Myanmar's natural resources and the drug problem.

    "Thai people are given to fun and appreciation of beauty. They are disinclined to self-reliance and hard work," according to an excerpt from the chapter, "Traits and Characteristics of Thai People".

    "In order to keep their thrones, Thai kings often yield to the West European nations," says the Myanmar-language books, in an apparent reference to the fact that unlike other Southeast Asian countries, Thailand was never colonized by a Western power.

    "During the first World War, Thais sided with the Allies; during the second World War, Thais first sided with the Japanese and later with the Allied forces....Foreign policy of Thailand is known 'to bend with the wind,"' according to the textbook.

    The textbook also recalled history when successive Myanmar kings attacked Thailand after alleged intrusions by Thai soldiers.

    It concludes with the statement that "the narcotic problem will exist so long as Thailand continues to accept and support the insurgents, because drug trafficking problems are connected with insurgents."

    Thailand says Myanmar's military junta does little to stop the production of drugs in its border areas where an ethnic armed group, the United Wa State Army, has virtual control. The drugs, largely methamphetamines, land up in Thailand in huge quantities, and the government has declared it public enemy no. 1

    The UWSA has been named by the U.S. State Department as the biggest drug army in the world. Myanmar says it is trying to put an end to the narcotics business but says the problem wouldn't be so rampant if corrupt Thai officials weren't involved as well.
    Twisted view of history

    source : The Nation
    Vorapun Srivoranart

    Historians argued yesterday that controversial articles run recently in the Burmese state-run press insulting past Thai monarchs were fraught with "historical anachronisms" and pointed to serious problems for the bilateral relationship.

    In the past, Thailand and Thai history were not principal concerns of the Burmese public, whose chief enemy was the British, said Chalong Soontravanich, from Chulalongkorn University's history department.

    However, articles allegedly penned by Ma Tin Win, from a Burmese educational institution, in the New Light of Myanmar, showed explicit feelings of hatred toward the Thai public and sent a "dangerous signal" as far as people-to-people ties on both sides were concerned, Chalong said.

    He said the articles offered a gross misinterpretation of the history of Thailand and of Southeast Asia as a whole. For example, Rama IV could never have been personally involved in the negotiations leading up to the Bowring Treaty between Siam - as Thailand was then known - and Britain, as protocol did not allow it.

    He dismissed the allegation that the former King had given greater importance to the throne than he had to the nation."At that time, there was no such thing as the nation-state and, therefore, the monarchy and the Kingdom could be referred to interchangeably."

    "She [Ma Tin Win] chose to say only what she wanted to say, and chose to ignore what she wanted to ignore," said

    Thamsook Numnonda, a retired historian from Silpakorn University. Thamsook said one should not draw a parallel between the time Siam acceded to the Bowring Treaty in1855 and when Burma, then the Hanthawaddy kingdom, signed an accord with the British in 1826.

    "The social and historical contexts were completely different," involving disparate factors and strategies," said Thamsook. Moreover, the Burmese king in 1867 even signed an agreement with the British granting the latter extra-territorial rights in the wake of a palace coup.

    Suthachai Yimprasert, also of Chulalongkorn University's history department said while it was true that history was subject to individual interpretation, the articles were a special case since they occurred in the context of interstate tension and constituted a deliberate attempt to hurt the Thai people.

    He accused successive Thai governments of showing excessive friendliness towards Rangoon, while turning a blind eye to human rights and political repression.
    Protest over new pagoda

    Bangkok Post - Thailand; Jun 5, 2001

    Chiang Rai: Thailand will protest against Burma's construction of a pagoda in the disputed border area of Kuteng Nayong.

    Col Wanthip Wongwai, commander of the Third Cavalry Regiment and head of the Thai Township Border Committee, said the one-square-kilometre area overlooking Mae Sai district was claimed by both Thailand and Burma.

    Burma had begun building the temple in the disputed area but halted work from Feb 21, when conflict between Thailand and Burma became serious.A few days ago Burmese troops delivered construction material to the area and work was resumed.

    "We want Burma to stop the construction since the dispute over the area has not been settled," Col Wanthip said. He would raise this matter at a meeting of the Thai Town Border Committee when preparing a protest note to Burma.

    Col Wanthip also said he had ordered about 20 border crossings to be closed permanently as they were reportedly being used for smuggling goods at night.

    Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has not tied his trip to Burma with Burmese Foreign Minister U Win Aung's pending's visit to Thailand scheduled for the third week of June. Political sources said the prime minister would visit once diplomatic arrangements were finalised.

    "The premier has not set any pre-condition for visiting Burma and would not mind speeding up his trip if this would help resolve border tension and create new understanding with Burma," the sources said. Mr Thaksin yesterday said he would make the trip this month, but declined to commit to a date.

    Third Army commander Lt-Gen Watanachai Chaimuanwong is optimistic tension along the border would decrease markedly with the approaching rainy season, which would hamper the movement of troops. A security source said Lt-Gen Watanachai has been instructed to avoid any unnecessary confrontation with Burmese troops along the border area that could lead to further tension.
    Burmese junta builds new administrative centre

    BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Jun 5, 2001

    Text of report in English by Moe Zaw Myint, published by Burmese newspaper The Myanmar Times on 5 June

    It will be something like a mini-Washington DC. A tiny version of Geneva. A tropical Canberra. Dagon Myothit Seikkan township, the new home of government for a future administration, is being built on the northern banks of the Bago River, about eight miles from downtown Yangon [Rangoon] and wedged between the South Dagon, Thaketa and Thanlyin townships. "The plans and projects for construction of State buildings are being implemented with the aim of turning Dagon Myothit Seikkan Township into a highly developed region of the future State," SPDC Secretary-1 Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt told a township development meeting last week.

    At the moment, the only development there is the Yuzana Garden City Project, built some years ago by the high-profile construction company of the same name. But an official from the Yangon City Development Council (YCDC) said State buildings in the new town would be finished within five years, at which time all government offices would be relocated to the new bureaucratic hub. Future meetings of regional bodies, including ASEAN forums, would also take place there.

    The Zaykabar Construction Group is behind the development of an unconfirmed number of hotels planned for the township, including the clearly targeted Asean. "Dagon Myothit Seikkan Township will be like the New Yangon," the enthusiastic YCDC official said. Eight-lane and six-lane roads into and through the township are being constructed, drainage systems built and trees planted. But markets and houses will be conspicuously absent from the landscape. Dagon Myothit Seikkan township is destined to become strictly the business end of town.
    Tourist Arrivals in Burma Decline in January, February

    Xinhua, Rangoon, 5 June 2001. A total of 32,377 foreign tourists visited Myanmar in the first two months of this year, dropping in number by 32.6 percent compared with the corresponding period of 2000, the country's Economic Indicators said in its latest issue.

    The decline was obvious in the number of those travelling across border, reaching only 4,692 during the two-month period and constituting a fall of 77.8 percent in the cross-border arrivals from the same period of 2000 when it was 21,195.

    The sharp reduction of cross-border tourists arrival was seen as being due to the outbreak of border clashes in February between Myanmar and Thailand which is one of Myanmar's two neighboring countries supplying most of the tourists to the country.

    While the number of foreign tourists arriving Myanmar by land was experiencing a sharp drop in the two months, those coming in by air increased by 2.8 percent, reaching 27,685 as compared with the same period of 2000.

    According to official statistics, in 2000, the number of tourist arrivals was registered at only 234,900, falling by 9.3 percent from 1999. Of them, 49 percent entered the country by land through border points.
    Labour group to assess Burma

    By Frances Williams in Geneva

    source : Financial Times

    Published: June 5 2001 Burma has agreed to a visit by a high-level International Labour Organisation team in September to conduct "an objective assessment" of the impact of measures taken by the military junta to end forced labour.

    The move, announced in a report to the ILO's annual conference which opened on Tuesday, is expected to dampen calls at the conference for tougher action against Burma, which has repeatedly flouted ILO and human rights conventions banning the practice.

    Last November, the ILO urged its 174 members, including trade union and employer representatives, and other international bodies to "review their relations" with Burma to ensure they were not abetting forced labour.

    Rangoon issued a decree last October instructing local officials to stop using conscript workers but human rights organisations claim villagers are still being forced to work unpaid on construction and agricultural projects or for the army.