Daily News-September 29 - 2001- Saturday

  • ILO turns spotlight on use of forced labour
  • Karenni Troops Battle Junta
  • Fishing Licensing Gets Technical
  • Thai police seize 4WDs used as payment in drug trade
  • The Myanma Alin And The Kyemon To Be Published in Magway And Taunggyi
  • Myanmar's flag carrier MAI will go on

    • ILO turns spotlight on use of forced labour

    Bangkok Post, Friday 28 September 2001
    By LARRY JAGAN

    Things are changing in Burma and another sign of this is the presence of a high level delegation from the International Labour Organisation to investigate the use of forced labour.

    Human rights groups like Amnesty International say the Burmese military routinely forces villagers to work on the construction of roads and bridges and to act as porters. "Anyone who refuses," said a Burma researcher for AsiaWatch, "is brutally beaten and put in jail."

    The members of the mission have had extensive discussions with both the government and the opposition. They have had a long meeting with the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is still under virtual house arrest. Now they are spending two weeks travelling round the country's border areas, where forced labour is still believed to be used extensively.

    The director-general of the ILO, Juan Somavia, said the mission would be extremely rigorous and had been guaranteed freedom of access. Any witnesses that give evidence will be protected. The members of the mission are internationally eminent jurists led by the former governor-general of Australia, Sir Ninian Stephen. "The high calibre of its members," said Mr Somavia, "will guarantee that they are not hoodwinked by the Burmese generals."

    Burma's generals have promised the ILO full co-operation. "The team will be given freedom of movement and we will not accompany them except to take care of their security," Burma's Deputy Labour Minister Brigadier-General Win Sein told the government-sponsored Myanmar Times.

    The ruling junta was stung into action last November when the ILO condemned Burma for its use of what the international community calls slavery. They called on members to implement what would in effect be an international economic boycott of Burma. With its economy plunging deeper into crisis, this is the last thing the Burmese generals want to see happen. Since then they have officially outlawed forced labour and circulated directives banning the use of forced labour throughout the country. The mission now hopes to assess to what extent forced labour has been stopped.

    Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, says the use of forced labour has been substantially reduced. "It's not as prevalent as it was," said NLD spokesman U Lwin.

    But that is not the experience of the ethnic groups like the Shan, Karen and Mon, who all live in Burma's border areas. These are the areas where the delegation is currently visiting. A Mon spokesman said that while it was not as bad as it was, forced labour is still a problem.

    The Burmese military are so anxious to impress the ILO mission that many of the country's regional commanders toured around the border areas in the weeks before the delegation arrived telling villagers what to say. In Mon state, the local military commanders even made villagers sign petitions saying there is no forced labour in their area.

    Human rights activists believe that forced labour is still used extensively in border areas, where the army still needs local people to help with the construction of roads and bridges and to carry supplies. "In the past few years, the army has certainly reduced its use of women and children," said an AsiaWatch researcher. "But forced labour persists. We have over a thousand fresh documented cases since last November."

    The mission will report back to the ILO in November at its major annual session. "The results of the mission will be crucial to whether western government's respond to Burma's attempts to lessen its international isolation," said a western diplomat based in Rangoon.

    The ILO says this mission is part of an on-going process. In private, senior officials admit that establishing a permanent presence in Rangoon is the only way to ensure the elimination of forced labour and to monitor the prosecution and punishment of those found to be using force labour.

    Observers feel this issue is going to be very divisive for the country's military leaders. There is likely to be great resistance to ending the practice within the army. "The army, especially in border areas, where there is rugged terrain, cannot do without press-ganging local villagers into service as porters and guides," said a Bangkok-based military specialist.

    The ILO mission's report is expected to be a strong of indicator of how much change is happening in Burma. But the ILO chief, Juan Somavia, probably best summed up the international mood when he said: "The ILO won't be satisfied with something that doesn't appear to be real progress. It is progress for a mission to be there, but progress has to continue."
    Karenni Troops Battle Junta

    By Chan Mya Aye
    The Irrawaddy

    September 28, 2001—Karenni Army (KA) troops attacked a Burmese army battalion in the Kayah (Karenni) State on September 23 reportedly killing eleven soldiers and injuring twenty-seven during a thirty-minute attack, according to a spokesman for the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP).

    KNPP’s Foreign Affairs Director Doh Say told The Irrawaddy that thirty soldiers belonging to KA Regiment 2, led by Lieutenant-Commander L. Mwe, ambushed Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 250 near the Maesalong mountain range. The government troops were reportedly escorting LIB 250 Commander Htun Htun Oo from Bawlakhe to the Kayah State capital of Loikaw when the ambush took place. The KA is the armed wing of the KNPP.

    "There were military trucks and other vehicles carrying troops and equipment. Our troops fired on the two military trucks at the front of the convoy," said Doh Say.

    The KNPP signed a cease-fire agreement with the junta on May 21, 1995. Although, within three months of signing that agreement fighting again broke out between the military regime and KA troops. However, the junta maintains that the cease-fire agreement is still being observed. There have been 18 cease-fire agreements signed between the junta and different ethnic groups inside Burma.
    Fishing Licensing Gets Technical

    By Maung Maung Oo
    The Irrawaddy

    September 28, 2001 - Burma’s Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries has asked foreign fishing companies applying for a 2001-2002 offshore fishing license to attach a copy of any contracts that they have signed with the Myanmar Economic Holding Co Ltd, (MEHCL), according to a business source in Rangoon. The source said that the government would only issue licenses to companies who are involved in contractual agreements with MEHCL.

    MEHCL is the largest company in Burma and is under the direct control of the Defense Ministry. MEHCL is responsible for six types of businesses in Burma that are related to the fishing industry such as ice production and cold storage for fish and prawns.

    "If you want to do any kind of business in Burma, you have to be involved with MEHCL," says an influential businessman in Burma. "It is the only way to officially bribe the generals," he adds.

    MEHCL was responsible for the issuing of offshore fishing licenses but this year the company transferred the duty to the Fisheries Department. Foreign companies are required to use US dollars when dealing with MEHCL in order to generate foreign currency reserves for the government.
    Thai police seize 4WDs used as payment in drug trade

    The Nation-Published on Sep 29, 2001

    CHIANG RAI - Over the last year, police have seized 45 four-wheel-drive vehicles that were stolen in Malaysia and smuggled into Thailand to be used as payment in the drugs trade in the north of the country, Chiang Rai police chief Somkid Boonthanom said yesterday.

    The vehicles were worth at least Bt18 million, Somkid said."They are used vehicles and each should be worth around Bt400,000," Somkid said. "But if the vehicle was used as payment for methamphetamines, the drug producers would give Bt800,000 worth of pills for it."

    He said drug producers in Burma previously allowed the traffickers in Thailand to take the drugs first and pay later but they did not get paid if the pills were seized."Many traffickers were killed as a revenge, so they later settled to use four-wheel-drive vehicles |as a means of trading," Somkid said."The drug producers love four-wheel drive vehicles because they can be used on rugged terrain," Somkid said.

    He said the gangs collaborated with corrupt Customs officials in the South to allow the stolen vehicles from Malaysia to pass border checkpoints. He said the gangs hired Malaysian who posed as tourists to bring in the vehicles, which were later sent to be stored in garages in Chiang Rai waiting to be smuggled out to Burma.

    Somkid said one of the gangs was headed by Sawang Yossingsak, a village headman from Mae Sai district, who was later slain apparently because of drug conflicts.He said police believed that about 10 vehicles a month were successfully smuggled across the border to drug producers on the Burmese side.
    The Myanma Alin And The Kyemon To Be Published in Magway And Taunggyi

    MIC-Information Sheet N0. B-1970 ( I ) 28th September, 2001

    The Ministry of Information has been implementing a plan to publish dailies in States and Divisions starting from 2001-2002 fiscal year. According to the plan, the Myanma Alin and the Kyemon ( both Myanmar versions) and the New Light of Myanmar ( English version)dailies have been published in Mandalay and directly distributed to the cities in States and Divisions in Upper Myanmar since 1st March 2001.

    Sub-printing houses of the Myanma Alin and the Kyemon in Magway and Taunggyi have been already equipped with modern offset printing machines. The Myanma Alin and the Kyemon will be published at the printing houses in the above-mentioned cities and directly distributed to cities, towns and villages in the respective regions starting from 1 October.

    The sub-printing house in Taunggyi will publish and directly distribute the dailies to Taunggyi and the towns in Shan State (South) including Loikaw and the towns in Kayah State. The sub-printing house in Magway will publish and directly distribute the dailies to Magway and the towns in Magway Division plus An Township and the townships in An region in Rakhine State.
    Myanmar's flag carrier MAI will go on

    By Zach Coleman

    HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Leasing companies have grounded part of the fleet of Biman Bangladesh Airlines due to the slashing of the carrier's insurance coverage this week. Insurers canceled existing policies airlines globally held to cover injury and damages to people and property on the ground from terrorism, hijackings and other war risks as of Tuesday morning in Asia, reducing coverage to $50 million an incident from more than $1 billion. Many governments have stepped in to indemnify local carriers to restore coverage to meet operating requirements set by airports and leasing companies. In recent days, more carriers have been finding privately issued policies to make up for lost coverage.

    Biman, however, still has just $50 million in coverage, two of its lessors told The Asian Wall Street Journal Friday. So Pegasus Aviation has told Biman since Tuesday not to operate the two McDonnell Douglas DC10s it leases to Biman, according to Troy J. Tollen, marketing vice president at Pegasus. The planes were used for flights to London, New York and Hong Kong from Dhaka. Tollen said Biman was also behind on its lease payments. He said Airbus, which leases one of its A310s to Biman, had coordinated with him and had its plane grounded as well. An Airbus spokesman couldn't immediately confirm that was the case.

    Referring to the insurance situation and another A310 it leases to Biman, a Singapore Airlines (Singapore: SIAL.SI - news) spokesman said, "Until that is resolved, the plane has been grounded." Friday is a public holiday in Bangladesh and officials for the carrier couldn't be reached. Biman was the last Asian carrier to get U.S. approval to restore flights after the suspension of all air service in the wake of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington Sept. 11. Airlines in some of the region's other less developed countries, though, said Friday that they have resolved their insurance situation.

    Gerard de Vaz, managing director of Myanmar Airways International, said the airline, Myanmar's flag carrier, had arranged for $1 billion in private coverage, restoring the airline's original level of protection. He said he expected some of the cost would be passed on to passengers.

    Air Pacific, Fiji's flag carrier, was finalizing arrangements for $1 billion in private coverage Friday as well, according to Chief Executive John Campbell.