• Forced Labour and Lands Confiscation Continued in Arakan

• Bangladesh foreign secretary will discuss border trade with Myanmar

• UNHCR and WFP’s Assistance for Settlers

• House built for surrendered insurgents with forced labour

• A rohingya gril raped

• Just for one night stay a Rohingya has to bribe 3,000 kyats

• Junta shuts checkpoints 

• Razali to return to Myanmar for more concessions by junta

• Burmese Navy loot fishingboat and throw the crew into the sea

• A villager unable to bribe 5 million still detained

• For Democracy, Myanmar Needs Free Press 

• Ethnic groups want to join Myanmar talks

• The worst kind of movement restriction and Rohingya students' appeal to international community

• UN  Secretary-General appoints Tun Myat of Myanmar as new United Nations Security Coordinator 

• Kachin, Karen and Rohingya Leaders Welcome  Unconditional Release of Aung San Suu Kyi

• Rohingyas entering Bangladesh again

• Ceasefire Groups Clash in Rangoon Nightclub

• Clarification on the news report of State-run TV Myanmar on May 2, 2002

• Review identifies Bangladesh as 'cocoon of terrorism'

• Press Release: On all non-Burman ethnic nationalities

• 'Don't raise hopes yet. It's only a beginning.' 

• Suu Kyi is Free. What Now?

• Press Release: ARNO warmly welcomes unconditional release

• Burma talks will include ethnic minorities ( Washington )

• Myanmar Frees Opposition Leader 

• Students uprising occurred in Shwe-Bo

• 73 Rohingyas, Rakhaings and Indians seek political asylum in Bangladesh 

• Cautious Optimism from Exile

• An embrace of change, not for a brutal regime 

• More than 200 Burmese Separatist Rebels Surrendered 

• Vietnamese President to Visit Myanmar

• Burmese Border Security Forces shoot a Bangladeshi citizen

Forced Labour and Lands Confiscation Continued in Arakan

By our Correspondent

Maungdaw,Arakan, May 30: On May 25, 2002 the SPDC armed forces ordered to the chairmen of the many local Village Peace and Development Council ( VPDC ) in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State to  supply house building materials and construct a total of 347 houses within the next few months on the confiscation lands of Rohingyas with the forced labour of the Rohingya villagers, said  a VPDC chairman.  

On May 23, 2002, a Joint Survey Report was submitted to the NaSaKa headquarters of Maungdaw Township by Maj. Tun Oo, Maj. Sein Tun and Maj. Khing Lay Maung, who are commanders respectively of sector No. 1, 2 and 5 together with U Ray Lwin the ranger of Maungdaw township, U Tin Maung, chairman of the “Natala” (responsible for model villages) and personnel from survey departments to confiscate more Rohingyas’ lands, said a source in the NaSaKa headquarters.

Earlier the NaSaKa headquarters at Kawarbil (Gyi Gan Byin) village, 9.7 miles from the Maungdaw town, had asked its Sector No. 1, 2, and 5 to submit lists of lands suitable for construction of proposed new model villages for new Buddhist settlers by May 23, he added.

Sites for new villages are to be selected on consideration of giving total lands to be confiscated for the villagers, number plots in proposed villages, acres of wasteland around the proposed villages for possible clearance, distance between proposed villages and farmlands, feasibility for freshwater and environmental condition, he further said.

It has been also reported that 347 houses for Buddhist settlers would be completed in three phases: in the first phase a total 90 houses will be constructed the villages of Tharapi (30 houses), Kying Gyi (30 houses) and Thazan Myiang (30houses), said a chairman of VPDC who wish not be named The second phase 70 houses will be constructed in the villages of Tharapi (15 houses), Kying Gyi (12 houses), Thazan Myaing (15 houses), Pi Dok (15 houses) and Gim Min (15 houses), he further added. 

In early May 2002 the military authorities of Maungdaw also ordered to the chairmen of VPDCs to construct 48 houses at  “ Prasa Village”, 3 miles from Maungdaw east within two weeks and the village was completed with unpaid and forced labour from Rohingya villagers. It may be mentioned here that the SPDC government initiated the model village program in 1988 to encourage ethnic Burman Buddhist villagers from the Irrawaddy delta to move voluntarily into the selected sites. Later, the government forced villagers to move and drew people from the delta and within Arakan. Model Villages are reserved exclusively for Buddhists, so Rohingya Muslims are prohibited by the government from occupying them. Most often it is the Rohingya who pay for the construction of model villages through the provision of land, labour and building materials for the construction of model village homes.

SOURCE : Kaladan press , May 27, 2002

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Bangladesh foreign secretary will discuss border trade with Myanmar

THE INDEPENDENT (Sheikh Rakib Uddin )

Foreign Secretary Shamser Mobin Chowdhury is due to hold official talks with Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Myanmar Khin Maung Win in Yangon in the third week of June to bolster Dhaka- Yangon ties.

The talks, to cover the entire gamut of bilateral relation, would put special focus on border issues, border trade, general trade,economic cooperation and the refugee issue. The talks will also follow up the trade talks between Bangladesh and Myanmar in Yangon in March on the occasion of the Bangladesh Trade Fair.

During his three-day visit to Myanmar beginning June 15, the Foreign Secretary will also call on Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung. The repatriation of the Rohingya refugees is one of the bilateral issues between Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Of a quarter of a million Myanmar refugees who crossed into Bangladesh territory in early 1991, 2,30,000 voluntarily returned to their homesteads in the western Arakan state of Myanmar during the last 12 years.

The more than 20,000 remaining Myanmar refugees are living in cramped camps in Teknaf thana of Cox's Bazar awaiting repatriation, which now remains stalled. Even the repatriation process under the tripartite agreement between Bangladesh, Myanmar and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is virtually stopped now.

The meeting of senior officials, which handles the refugee problems between the two countries, has been pending for the last two years. It was learnt that Yangon is yet to respond positively to repeated requests by Dhaka for a fresh meeting of the senior officials. It was also learnt that Myanmar government did not give clearance to the last list of the refugees submitted to them about a year ago.

According to the UN mandate, there are three ways for resolution of the refugee problem. The first way is that the refugees should return safely to their own countries, the second is that the refugees should be locally invegrated into the countries from where they have come and the third is that they should be settled in a third country through mediation.

Bangladesh has taken a move to further strengthen both its economic and political relations with all its neighbouring and South Asian countries. With this end in view, the Bangladesh Foreign Secretary is likely to visit capitals of the other South Asian countries the in near future.

SOURCE : THE INDEPENDENT ,Rebound88, May 30, 2002

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UNHCR and WFP’s Assistance for Settlers

By our correspondent

Maungdaw,Arakan, May 28: The two UN aid agencies, UNHCR and WFP, who are working inside Arakan State of Burma are now rendering financial help in cash and kind to the new illegal Buddhist settlers, said a villager  who does not wish to be named.

A team of UNHCR staffs, stationed in Maungdaw comprising of Bawdi Alam, Dil Mohd, Ms. Hla Aye Tin and Ms. Ma Khing Swe Lat went to a Buddhist settler village of “Kamagon” in Maungdaw Township on 21st May. They reached the village at about 11:AM and distributed cash Kyats 5,000/- per family. Although the exact number of beneficiaries are not known, Aung Gyi, 60, son of U Sein Tun Oo, U Maung San, 40, son of U Maung Maung Tha, U Aung Sein, 40, son of U Mg Tun Sein, Ms. Ma Mu Ma, 50, daughter of U Soe Maung, and U Hla Aye, 50 son of U Saw Tun are among those who received the financial assistance, said a source in UNHCR. 

Earlier on 9th May, World Food Programme (WFP) had also distributed 893 bags of rice among the Model Villagers of Ray Aung San Kom, Seik Jin, Aung Sik Bin, all are in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State that were built in recent years for the Buddhist settlers, he further added.

It may be mentioned here that the settlers are usually brought into Arakan for re-settlement programme by the direct supervision of Secretary No. (1) Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt. The settlers are hailed from central Burma mostly ex-jailed drug addicts, convicted criminals, vagrants and street miscreants. It is obvious that the settlers brought and distributed in the Muslims areas are hostile to local Rohingyas and the SPDC is using them as one of tools to oppression the Rohingyas in Arakan.

SOURCE : Kaladan press , May 28, 2002

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House built for surrendered insurgents with forced labour

By our Correspondent

Maungdaw, Arakan, May 27: The surrendered Rakhaing insurgents numbering about 245, including their family members, are being settled by the SPDC authorities in houses built with forced labour in “Prasa” village, a settler village 3 miles east of Maungdaw, Arakan, Burma, said a local villager.

Since May 13 the authorities have been busy constructing over 48 houses for the surrendered people at “Prasa Village” with the forced labour of daily 200 villagers. In addition, about 100 acres of Rohingya owned land would be seized within a short time for these settlers, a source in the Na Sa Ka administration said.

The authorities are collecting donations from various departments, organizations and individuals in aid of the surrendered insurgent settlers.  So far, a total of Kyats 3,900,000 has been collected till writing of this news as follows:-- the Western Command. Maj. Gen. Maung Oo-10,00,000 Kyats, the Home Minister 400,000 Kyats, the Trade Association of Akyab 6,00,000 Kyats,the Trade Association of Kyauktaw 400,000 Kyats, the Private Company of Akyab 500,000 Kyats, the Military Intelligence No- (10) 100,000 Kyats, books and stationeries worth 200,000 Kyats from the Education Ministry, medicine worth 200,000 Kyats from the Health Ministry, clothes worth 500,000 Kyats from the Immigration and Ministry of Relief and Rehabilitation and, in addition, 5,000 bags of rice from the government, the Na Sa Ka source further added.

The settlers were members of the breakaway faction of Arakan Army surrendered to the government on April 29,2002 with more than 50 assorted arms and a good quantity of ammunition.

SOURCE : Kaladan press , May 27, 2002

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A rohingya gril raped

By our Correspondent

Teknaf, May 27: On May 13 Jamalida, aged 14 years, daughter of late Jamal of Pranpru village under Na Sa Ka Sector No. 6, in Maungdaw north, Arakan State,Burma, was raped by one Rahmat Ullah (28), son of Kabir of same the village. The culprit is an agent of the Na Sa Ka as well as chairman of the Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC), a villager, requesting anonymity, said yesterday.

The victim Jamalida is an orphan, lost her both parents years ago, and has no near relative and kin except her old grandmother to look after her. In the dead night of May 13, the culprit Rahmat Ullah sneaked into the house of the poor lady breaking the door and violated Jamalida at dagger point, he further added.

The next morning when the matter was reported to the village elders, a villager namely Khairul Amin, son of Abdul Malek, in sympathy with the victim, lodged a complaint with the Officer-in-Charge of the nearby Na Sa Ka camp. But no action has yet been taken against the culprit. Rather, the rapist threatened the poor girl and her grandmother to kill if they expose the matter.

SOURCE : Kaladan press , May 27, 2002

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Just for one night stay a Rohingya has to bribe 3,000 kyats

By our correspondent:

Teknaf, May 23:  “Any Rohingya travelling from Buthidaung to Maungdaw has to bribe 3,000 Kyats to concerned authorities,” a Rohingya who recently crossed the border, told Kaladan Press yesterday in Teknaf preferring not to be named.  

“Rohingyas are totally banned to travel any parts of Arakan and Burma except within the townships of Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships, but under severe restrictions,” he further added angrily.

“Many Na Sa Ka camps with several check-posts are set up in the name of security and development of the border areas. But, in fact, they are controlling and restricting our day to day activities, including our freedom of movement and economic pursuits,” said the man in disappointment.

According to his statement, first of all a Rohingya traveller has to get recommendation from his VPDC (Village Peace and Development Council) showing his family list and paying Kyats 200/- as fee. Then he has to submit VPDC recommendation to the local Na Sa Ka camp to get its recommendation for which he has to pay  200/- Kyats. Upon receipt of those recommendations, he has to take “From 4”, and recommendation from the township immigration office on payment of Kyats 500/-. It is to be mentioned that ”Form 4” is commonly meant for foreigners.

Afterwards, the filled up copy of the “Form 4”, accompanied by all necessary recommendations, has to be submitted to the Na Sa Ka outpost, set up on Maungdaw-Buthidaung road, for gate-pass paying Kyat 100/-.

On way to Maungdaw, he has to show all his documents and recommendations again to the Military Intelligence Service No. 18, which stands on Buthidaung-Maungdaw road, about 10 miles from Maungdaw town where they charge him 200 Kyats. Again, he has to show all the documents to the Na Sa Ka outpost, situated at Razarbil, a place on Buthidaung—Maungdaw road, about 3 miles from Maungdaw town, There an amount of Kyats 200/- has to be paid. On arrival at destination, he is bound to report to Maungdaw immigration office of his arrival where he needs to pay 100 Kyats.

On his way back to Buthidaung he has to appear before the Na Sa Ka outpost and MI-18 camp, located on Maungdaw-Buthidaung road, where he has to pay 100 Kyats to each and in case of over stay at Maungdaw, he has to pay extra 500 Kyats per night. On his back home, he is again required to report to Buthidaung Na Sa Ka outpost of his return from Maungdaw. There he is charged 100 Kyats and, in case of overstay, additional 500/- Kyats per night.

Failure to report, in time, to the concerned township immigration office and Na Sa Ka camp of his return, he is punished for 3 months imprisonment or a fine of 2,500 Kyats. Thus a Rohingya visitor from Buthidaung needs at least an amount of 3,000 Kyats for one night stay at Maungdaw.

He continued that sometimes one has to spend 5,000 to 6,000 Kyats to travel between the two northern cities of Maungdaw and Buthidaung with a distance of 16 miles only.

SOURCE : Kaladan press , May 23, 2002

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Junta shuts checkpoints

Hundreds of tourists, traders turned away from four gates, as bilateral ties sour- In response to border skirmishes early this week, Burmese authorities yesterday closed all four major border checkpoints with Thailand, bringing to an end the improved relations between the two countries under the government of Thaksin Shinawatra.

The junta closed the checkpoints connecting Mae Sai and Thachilek, Mae Sot and Myawaddy, Three Pagoda Pass and Pyathuangsu, and Ranong and Victoria Point at 6am yesterday. All of the border crossings except the Three Pagoda Pass are permanent checkpoints that are not supposed to close without advance notification.

Hundreds of tourists, traders and trucks loaded with goods waiting to cross the checkpoints to Burmese towns were turned away from the four border gates, according to Thai local authorities.

Border checkpoints are the main gateways of trade between Thailand and Burma generating billions of baht annually. Burma usually enforces border closures whenever it falls into conflict with Thailand.

The latest border conflict took place on Monday after the Thai military moved thousands of troops to northern border provinces - for activities the military claimed were routine exercises - amid attacks by the Shan State Army on several posts of the pro-Rangoon United Wa State Army (UWSA).

Burma accused the Thai military of shelling its territory to help the Shan guerrillas in the battle. Burmese Deputy Intelligence Chief Kyaw Win on Tuesday rejected a claim floated by Thai officials via local and foreign media that General Maung Aye gave the green light to the Thai military to strike strongholds of the UWSA during his visit to Thailand in April.

Thai officials believe the UWSA is the main producer and exporter of narcotics - notably methamphetamines - to Thailand. Maj-General Picharnmet Muangmanee, Deputy Commander of the Third Army Region, told a press conference in Chiang Mai yesterday that the Thai military was not involved in the conflicts inside Burma. Shelling over the past days was just warning rounds after some mortar shells landed on Thai soil, he said.

The commander insisted that troops were deployed in the northern area this week for a drill. "But we made it a bit earlier than previously scheduled due to the situation of narcotics trafficking and the international scenario," he said without elaborating. A military source, however, said the Thai army has a plan to suppress illicit drug refineries believed to be under control of the UWSA in border areas. The deployment is the pretext for an operation but final decision from a "higher level" has not yet been made, the source said.

Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said the conflict on the border would not damage relations between the two countries since the incident was a minor misunderstanding among local officers. "I keep contact with my Burmese counterpart Win Aung all the time . . . there are so many rumours. We need to screen the information we get," he said.

SOURCE :  The Nation ,Burmanet online, May 23, 2002

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Razali to return to Myanmar for more concessions by junta

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - The U.N. envoy who brokered this month's release of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest plans to return to Myanmar soon to seek further concessions from its military government.

Razali Ismail said on Wednesday that U.S.-led economic sanctions against the Southeast Asian country were likely to remain until it was clearer that the junta was cooperating with the Suu Kyi to end a long political deadlock. Razali met U.N. officials in New York last week and said Wednesday that he would make his eighth visit to Myanmar in a few weeks. The generals freed Suu Kyi on May 6 after 19 months of house arrest. However, they have not announced a date for talks with the opposition leader, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her nonviolent promotion of democracy.

"They are not going to tell you when they are going to meet,'' Razali, a retired Malaysian diplomat, told reporters in Kuala Lumpur. "You shouldn't look for a situation where it is a formalized structured arrangement.'' Euphoria over Suu Kyi's release has given way to questions about when the military,which has ruled since 1962, will hold talks with Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy. The party won parliamentary elections in 1990, but was never allowed to take office. Suu Kyi has spent most of the past dozen years under various degrees of confinement.

Hundreds of political prisoners remain behind bars."The priorities are more releases of people who are in custody of the government, greater freedom of activity for all political parties, not just the NLD, matters like that,'' Razali said.

Progress in reconciliation talks was vital for the lifting of economic sanctions, Razali said. Myanmar is among the world's poorest countries. "It is not a question of asking for sanctions to be lifted,'' he said. "It is having things happen in the country that would make it unnecessary for the sanctions to be there.''

Razali made the comments at the public signing of an agreement with a local bank to handle the flotation on Malaysia's stock exchange of Iris Technologies, a microchip document company that he chairs. Iris and Razali were at the center of conflict-of-interest questions on the eve of Suu Kyi's release when it was revealed that the company had sealed a deal to supply the Myanmar government with high-tech passports. Razali has rejected accusations that the deal compromises his work with the United Nations, which appointed him as a part-time envoy to Myanmar,also known as Burma, in April 2000.

On Wednesday, Razali said he would not give up his jobs at either the United Nations or Iris. He holds a substantial stake in the company. "I am disciplined enough, I think I have enough integrity, to be able to deal with whatever my responsibilities are and whatever my business commitments are quite separately,'' Razali said.

Razali said he had spoken to Suu Kyi on the issue and quoted her as saying it was "no problem.''U.N. authorities have said Razali did not violate the organization's rules.

SOURCE :  Associated Press ,Burmanet online, May 22, 2002

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Burmese Navy loot fishingboat and throw the crew into the sea

Maungdaw, May 20: On 21st April members of the Burmese Navy with seven Muslim villagers attacked a fishing boat off Maungdaw coast in the western part of Burma, throwing the crew members into the sea, according to one of the two surviving crew members of the boat.

The three Burmese Navy personnel, one of who was in uniform,came aboard a passenger boat owned by Fazlul Huq (46) from Thawang- chaung village of Maungdaw township drew near to the fishing boat. The passenger boat which carried the Navy personnel was registered with the number of Sa/141/Na Ma 8. The Navy personnel who had three guns and two radios with them stopped the fishing boat, registered Sa/18/Na Ma 7, owned by U Sayed Qasim (36) of Kanbu village of Maungdaw. Then they demanded the necessary official papers and conducted a thorough search in the boat. They challenged that the papers were fake and demanded kyat 100,000 as bribe. The owner of the boat realizing that they were not after the official papers after all,agreed to pay kyat 50,000, which the members of the Burmese Navy flatly refused. The three Navy personnel instantly grabbed the money bag of Qasim, the boat owner, which contained about kyat 200,000 that he kept for buying shrimp from fishermen. Afterwards they put the six crew members into the ice boxes kept for preserving fish and threw them into the sea at about 9.30 in the evening.

On 23rd April a fishing boat from Sittwe spotted two of the six crew members who were thrown into the sea floating in the waters off the coast of Sittwe. They were Syed Qasim and Zia Husein. The unnamed boat later left the survivors on the bank of the Surali creek near Thawangchaung-village under Maungdaw township. The fate of the other four fishermen is still unknown and believed to have drowned in the sea. The two survivors with the help of a Thawang- chaung village tract Peace and Development Council member lodged a complaint with the Area No. 8 Nasaka Security forces headquarters at Mraunglwet in Maungdaw township regarding the cold-blooded murder of Muslim fishermen.

Till today no action has yet been taken regarding the incidence. The three Navy personnel are from Thawangchaung navy outpost while the missing four fishermen are as follows:

Hashib Ullah (25) son of Muhammad Hussein of Kambu village of Maungdaw,Hali Ullah (45) son of Nazir Ahmed of Kambu village, Abu Taher (48) son of Abdus Salam of Kyaukpandu village of Maungdaw, and Abdul Mottalib (22) son of Abdus Salam of Thawangchaung village of Maungdaw.

SOURCE : Narinjara News , May 20, 2002

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A villager unable to bribe 5 million still detained

By our correspondent:

TEKNAF, May 17: A Rohingya villager named Abdul Gaffar from Wamakya village of southern Buthidaung in Arakan State, Burma, who was arrested on April 19, 2002, is still detained in Na Sa Ka camp No. 23 of Sector No- 9,  as he could not afford to pay a bribe of 5,000,000/- (five million) Kyats to the Na Sa Ka officer, a villager who wanted not to be named, told Kaladan Press  yesterday.

On April 17, two armed Na Sa Ka soldiers accompanied by 11 new Buddhist settlers, from the nearby model village, had looted 4 tolas of gold (one tola = 11.11 gms) and a cash of 5,00,000 (Five hundred thousand) Kyats, from the house of Abdul Gaffar said a villager.

At about 10:00 p.m. of the night the  Na Sa Ka soldiers with the settlers came to the house of Abdul Gaffar and carried him away from his house and threatened him into showing them cash and valuables in his house. Then at about 3:30 a.m. the Na Sa Ka took
Abdul Gaffar to his house and looted the cash and gold ornaments. Then  the soldiers immediately withdrew leaving Abdul Gaffar behind.

On the following morning of April 18 when the house owner Abdul Gaffar reported the event of decoity committed by the Na Sa Ka, the officer of the camp told him that the matter would be judged  on April 20 next. So he returned to his home.But, before the judgement date, Abdul Gaffar was called and detained instead of remedy. For his release, the Na Sa Ka officer was demanding a sum of 5,000,000/- (five million) Kyats which was impossible to meet on the part of  Abdul Gaffar, whereupon the Na Sa Ka continue to detain him in their camp No. 23..

Similar incidents were also occurred in the past. At about 8:30 p.m., on the day of 15th  March,  5 army personnel from battalion No. 353 of Buthidaung North, in the guise of dacoits, had looted the house of an old lady namely Salama Khatun of Mogbil village under
Buthidaung township, said a reliable source.

SOURCE : Kaladan Press Net Work, May 18, 2002

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For Democracy, Myanmar Needs Free Press

By Kavita Menon; Kavita Menon is the Asia program coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists,  a New York-based press freedom advocacy group; This is from the Los Angeles Times

When the military government in Myanmar announced the release from house arrest of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, an official statement made a tantalizing promise: "We shall recommit ourselves to allowing all of our citizens to participate freely in the life of our political process." What could the generals in charge possibly mean? The last time the junta allowed citizens to participate in the country's political life was in 1990, and the government ignored the election results when it became clear that the regime had lost badly.

Suu Kyi's release May 6 came after months of secret talks between the opposition leader and the ruling generals. It's time to let the public in on the discussion. If the government is serious now about permitting the public a voice in the country's affairs, then the first step toward political reform must be to lift state censorship of the media. Myanmar, which was known as Burma before the junta renamed it, is a country in crisis. The economy is a shambles.

One-third of all children under 5 are malnourished, according to the United Nations, and more than half a million citizens are HIV-positive. The country is one of the world's leading exporters of opium. Its jails hold more than 1,000 political prisoners. Yet, information about these issues is hard to come by because real journalism is nearly impossible. Local journalists are forbidden by state censors to publish almost anything of substance and are subject to imprisonment for simply expressing a dissenting view.

"The censorship board has told us we must not write about AIDS, corruption, education or the situation of students," an editor said last year. "We also cannot write about any bad news, and we must be careful about everything political. That does not leave very much for us to publish." Witness Suu Kyi's release, which grabbed headlines around the world - but not in Myanmar, where state-controlled newspapers and TV neglected to mention it. Censorship used to be obvious, with the Press Scrutiny Board either inking over or ripping out offending sections from magazines and books.

In the past few years, however, the censors have become subtler, forcing editors themselves to make the required cuts and adjust layouts to hide the damage. Because these last-minute changes can be costly, self-censorship is widespread. And, even when journalists do tackle sensitive topics, they often write in an elliptical style that is designed to confuse the censors but can be equally puzzling to ordinary readers. <SB200,80,120>Restrictions on foreign correspondents also have helped ensure that Myanmar's problems do not receive the international attention they deserve. The regime announced that "national unity, peace and stability" must accompany any moves toward democratization. But these worthy goals will never be born of repression. To get there, the junta must consult the people and this time listen to what they have to say. A national conversation, carried through free media,would be a beginning.

SOURCE : Newsday (New York, NY), May 15, 2002

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Ethnic groups want to join Myanmar talks

RANGOON: Five Myanmar pro-democracy ethnic groups have called to be included in national reconciliation talks between the military junta and newly freed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The ethnic groups, led by the Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD),said they welcomed the May 6 release of Aung San Suu Kyi from 19 months of house arrest. "We welcome this development and hope that such meaningful dialogue will commence soon," they said in a statement. "In this period of the dawning of a new day, we, the political parties of the national groups, declare that we will take on any responsibilities assigned to us towards establishing national reconciliation which is inevitably needed. "Development of national reconciliation will succeed in as much as the tri-partite talks are successful."

The SNLD statement represented political parties of the Shan, Mon, Zomi (Chin), Karen and Arakanese ethnic minorities within the country's borders,it said. Several minority groups have waged armed struggles against Myanmar's four-decade military rule, while many have signed shaky ceasefire agreements with the junta.

The SNLD's chairman, Khun Tun Oo, said it would not be easy to forge a common approach among the various minority groups, some of which are accused of massive drug manufacture and trafficking along the Thai border.

"We national groups intend to meet frequently among ourselves to seek a common ground," Khun Tun Oo said, adding "we forsee a lot of difficulties in this process as our political stances are quite diverse."

"Some of the ethnic groups ... with illicit drug backgrounds and who enjoy special favour and perks by toeing the military line ... have become wealthy beyond their dreams and will be very difficult to bring into the political process," he added.

Minority groups have yet to be included in the secret talks which began in October 2000 between Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta and which were brokered by United Nations envoy Razali Ismail, the personal envoy of UN chief Kofi Annan.

Aung San Suu Kyi said after her release that the talks had completed an initial "confidence-building" phase designed to put aside years of hatred and mistrust, and were ready to begin tackling policy issues.

Deputy chief of military intelligence Major General Kyaw Win said last week the talks would be resuming "very soon," but did not provide a timeframe. Following Aung San Suu Kyi's release the junta also said it would allow "all citizens" to freely participate in political development.

Analysts and diplomats have said inclusion of ethnic groups in national reconciliation will be vital in any transition to democracy, but the process has yet to include minorities. "We haven't reached this stage yet," Aung San Suu Kyi said last week following her release.

The SNLD said the Nobel peace laureate, who heads the National League for Democracy (NLD) which won a landslide election victory in 1990 but was barred from assuming power, told them they should address matters pertaining to the ethnic groups.

"We do need a person like Daw Aung San Suu Kyi who can infuse new concepts and ideas," Khun Tun Oo said. "We trust her and we respect her intellect. She understands our desire for justice and equality." Aung San Suu Kyi said her release was unconditional, but Khun Tun Oo stressed the SNLD will be watching closely to see how free she is to move around the country. "It will not do if 'Big Brother' is hounding us all the time and is constantly watching our movements," he said

SOURCE : Agence France Presse, May 15, 2002

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The worst kind of movement restriction and Rohingya students' appeal to international community

By our Correspondent

Buthidaung, May 13:  “Cattle can freely move from grazing ground to grazing ground, but we  Rohingyas can’t  move from place to place, even within a same locality. The whole Arakan is like a hell for the Rohingyas,” said Sultan who is a student of Akyab University.

Restriction on the freedom of movement has seriously affected the Rohingya Muslims in Burma in all their activities – social, economic, religious, cultural and educational. Since SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) sponsored communal riot at Akyab in the 1st week of February 2001 the Rohingyas are totally forbidden to travel to this provincial capital.

NGOs and Human Rights Organizations have often expressed that the Rohingyas are experiencing the worst kind of restriction on their freedom of movement in Burma. Even the Rohingya students are required Travel Permits to go to their schools, colleges and universities issued under very restrictive regulations. It takes a few weeks to process their applications for Travel Permits.

“Last year 8 Rohingya students could not appear in their examinations in Akyab University as the authorities deliberately delayed to issue travel passes with unholy intention”, said another student who wishes to remain anonymous.

First of all a Rohingya student has to get recommendation from his VPDC (Village Peace and Development Council) showing his Offer letter or Student Identity Card and paying Kyat 200 as fee. On receipt of it he has to take “Form 4”, from the Township Immigration office on payment of Taka 100, which is usually meant for foreigners. Then  the completed copy of  “Form 4”, accompanied by VPDC recommendation, Offer letter/ Student Identity Card and original copy of Family Holding List, has to be submitted to Military Intelligence (MI) 18, who forwarded the same with necessary  remark to its headquarters. Here the student is required to meet the demand of the MI-18. After scrutiny, the MI-18 headquarters send it back to the local MI office with “No Objection”. Upon receipt of “No Objection” the applicant has to make prayer to the Township Immigration Authority enclosing all documents andrecommendations obtained from various departments and officials, including Offer letter/ Student Identity Card (photocopy), National Registration Certificate (original & photocopy) paying Taka 500/-. Then  “Form 4” or Travel Permit is issued to travel to Akyab for a stay of 14 days only. Finally the applicant has to approach the NaSaKa for recommendation and approval paying Kyat 200.

All the way to Akyab the students travelling with Travel Permits have to pay and pay at various check-posts dotted all along the motor road and waterway. Each student has to pay at least Kyat 200 at each check-point. Sometimes, students are required to give the photocopies of their travel documents and recommendations.

On arrival at Akyab, the provincial capital of Arakan, the students have to appear before State Immigration officers with both original and Photostat copies of the “Form 4” or Travel Permits, thereupon the original copies are returned to them. For this Kyat 200 is charged from each student. On expiry the students are required to renew the Travel Permits from State Immigration office for which the students have to pay again.

The worst is Rohingya students admitted to professional courses in Rangoon and other institutes in Burma proper could not continue their studies due to movement restriction. Sometimes in the past, a few Rohingyas who could grease the palm of the army officials, with an amount of not less than Kyat 1,20,000/- were permitted to travel to Rangoon and proper Burma. But from 1st October 1997 the Rohingyas are totally prohibited. This conspired many Rohingya students to abandon their studies, as they do not see any other way left for them.

“This year Rohingya students, who were admitted to professional courses like Medicine, Engineering, Veterinary Science, Commerce, Forestry etc. in Educational Institutes in Rangoon and other places in Burma proper, have waited in vain for travel permits despite their efforts exploring all available venues while making repeated appeals even to the SPDC”, said a guardian of student who want not be named.

“Is there any country in the world that deprives its people of their right to freedom of movement, residence and education in this 21st century…… Even a foreigner has the right to pursue his education and to travel with dignity and honour”,  a student who is forced to give up his studies and who does not wish to be identified exclaimed angrily.

Talking to Kaladan Press, on condition of anonymity, some of the victimized Rohingya students cried, “ we appeal to UN with the international community, fellow student community with the Seats of learning of the world, NGOs and Human Rights Organizations to sympathise with us and help us continue our studies in Burma or elsewhere in the world”.

SOURCE : Kaladan Press Net Work, May 14, 2002

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UN  Secretary-General appoints Tun Myat of Myanmar as new United Nations Security Coordinator

The Secretary-General today announced the appointment of Mr. Tun Myat of Myanmar as the new United Nations Security Coordinator. The appointment is at the Assistant Secretary-General level.

Born in September 1942 in Myanmar, Mr. Tun Myat is a United Nations veteran of over 24 years. Since April 2000, he has served as the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq at the Assistant Secretary-General level. As the senior United Nations official resident in Iraq, Mr Tun Myat was also the United Nations Designated Official for Security. Prior to his appointment as the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq, Mr Tun Myat served in the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) for over 22 years where he began his career as an Insurance Officer in 1978. Subsequently, he held increasingly responsible positions, including Chief of the Ocean Transportation Branch, Chief of the Logistics Branch, Special Assistant to the Executive Director of WFP, the Director of Transport and Logistics Division, and the Director of the Resources and External Relations Division. In these various capacities with the WFP, Mr Tun Myat traveled extensively to some of the most hazardous areas of conflict to set up mechanisms and structures for the provision and delivery of humanitarian relief.

Prior to joining WFP, Mr Tun Myat worked in a variety of capacities in the national shipping corporation in Burma for nearly 15 years, the last four of which as manager of the Legal and Insurance Department. In this period he also lectured law on a part-time basis at the University of Rangoon and was retained as Legal Advisor to the Ministry of Transport and Communications in Burma.

Mr Tun Myat graduated from the University of Rangoon with Bachelor degrees in Commerce, (B.Com), and Law, (B.L), and from the University of London a Masters Degree in Law, (LLM), as well as an Associateship Diploma by Examination, (ACII), from the Chartered Insurance Institute of the United Kingdom.

Mr Tun Myat is married to Daw Myint Kyi Myat. They have two married daughters.

SOURCE : M2 PRESSWIRE ,Burmanet online, May 13, 2002

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Kachin, Karen and Rohingya Leaders Welcome Unconditional Release of Aung San Suu Kyi

By our Correspondent

Chittagong, May, 13: The leaders of Kachin, Karen and Rohingya welcome the unconditional release of Nobel Peace laureate and pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi  from 19 months of house arrest in Burma on 6 May 2002, said in their respective press statements.

"We, the KIO, are releasing a statement supporting tripartite dialogue and we will continue to assist the ongoing dialogue between Suu Kyi and the ruling junta," said Col Zaw Seng, representative of KIO's office in Thailand. "We have a policy to participate in the tripartite dialogue to help solve the country's political problems," he said.

“We, the Karen National Union (KNU), welcome the unconditional release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest by the SPDC military regime after 17 months of detention and secret talks, said the KNU press release.  “There is no doubt that the international pressure, especially by the European Union and the United States, which have been adopting a variety of sanctions, as well as the efforts of UN Special Envoy Razali Ismail, whose role in brokering the necessary talks, was instrumental,” the press release added.

“However, we must not forget that the Burmese military regime is one of the most intractable dictatorships in the world. It is still early to say whether the move was simply aimed to get a temporary relief from the international pressure or a real change of attitude on the part of the military regime,” it further said.

The KNU further urged the SPDC military regime to declare a nationwide cease-fire and reinstate freedom of assembly and speech in order to facilitate the ethnic nationalities to freely meet and consult for the formulation of a common policy essential for the initiation of the “Tripartite Dialogue” for the resolution of all problems by political means.

“We reiterate that it is pleasure to welcome the release of Daw Aung  San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD),” said Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO) in a press release.  “But any positive changes that translate the hopes and aspiration of the people of Burma will only be possible through a meaningful dialogue with the representatives of the all non-Burman ethnic nationalities,” the statement further said.

“It is to be mentioned that, unlike other people in Burma, the serious problems being faced by the Rohingyas of Arakan have distinct characters which need to be redressed, with human rights consideration, on the principle of parity, justice and equality,” it further said.

“We are deeply grateful to international community for its endeavour for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. In this connection, the contribution of Malaysia with Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, as an ASEAN country, and specially the untiring efforts of the UN special envoy Tan Sri Razali Ismail, who brokered the release, is worthy of the highest praise”, the statement also said.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that the dialogue would continue for now between her and the government, but it would expend in future to include ethnic minority groups, according to U Khun Htum Oo, leader of the Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD). The Shan Democratic Union, the umbrella organisation of Shan exiled group, has called for an “all inclusive wider participation” in the on going talks in Rangoon in order to work out a durable solution, reports the Irrawaddy News Magazine. 

" Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's release should not be looked at as a major breakthrough for democracy in Burma. There remain over thousand political prisoners and hostilities against minority peoples. The secret talk (between Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta) has just passed the confidence building phase and political dialogue is yet to come", said the Burma pro-democracy activists in India in a statement.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who leads the NLD said on May 7, “ I am very greatful for the role that UN has played and what Mr. Razali has done. I am cautiously optimistic. Most of the changes over the past 18 months have benefited the NLD but it is not for NLD but for the people that we are struggling for freedom,” she said.

"He has been very helpful in giving his thoughts and opinions on what is going on in the world and what should happen," said Col. Hla Min, a military spokesman. "He has done it in such a friendly way that both sides could be receptive to his advice,” he further said.

Retired Malaysian envoy Razali Ismail has been widely credited with playing a pivotal role in advancing Burma's reconciliation process with his low-key, non-confrontational approach over the past two years. But, despite Aung San Suu Kyi's release from house arrest, it will be some time before Razali's diplomacy can be judged -- he defines success as the holding of a free and fair general election, reports FEER.

While freedom for Daw Aung Suu Kyi is a major achievement for the people of Burma, democracy activists around the world recognise that it will be an uphill task before free election are held in Burma. Still many are hoping that Mr. Razali will be the man to help bring about an amicable settlement for the people, reports the New Straits Time.

SOURCE : Kaladan Press, May 13, 2002

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Rohingyas entering Bangladesh again

By Our special Correspondent

Teknaf: About 2000 Rohingyas have entered into Bangladesh in last 5 days from different maritime and land border crossing points like Ukhiya, Falong Khali,Kanjorpara, Dhamonkhali, Balukhali, Whykong, Unchiprang, Zadirmura, Teknaf sadar, Shapurirdip, Taungbro, Ghundum and Amtoli located in the districts of Cox's Bazar  and Chittagong Hill Tracts According to Bengali Daily Azadi published from Chittagong on 11. 5. 2002.

The Rohingyas have been crossing the border under the cover of darkness and are taking shelter in different forest and mountainous areas of Cox's Bazar, Bandarban and Chittagong districts.

High officials of the Cox's Bazaar district administration told this correspondent that the influx has been taking place as a result of very bad economic situation in Burma  and the Rohingyas are particularly affected by it. More over The Rohingyas are facing acute unemployment problem in Arakan as a result of discriminatory treatment meted out to them.

About 20,000 registered Rohingya refugees are stranded in two makeshift refugee camps set up on the Bangladesh side of the Burma-Bangladesh border since 1992 while large numbers of Rohingyas have been taking shelter unofficially in different parts of Bangladesh.

SOURCE : Arakan News Agency, May 12, 2002

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Ceasefire Groups Clash in Rangoon Nightclub

By Ko Thet ( Irrawaddy news )

May 11, 2002—A late-night brawl between members of two ceasefire groups broke out in a Rangoon nightclub on May 4, leaving three people seriously injured and several others in police custody, according to witnesses.

Sources said that Kaung Myat Thu, the 23-year-old son of Nay Win Tun, an influential economic advisor to the Pa-O National Organization ceasefire group, and his friend, hip-hop musician R-Zarni, were in serious condition following a fight with a group led by Ike San, an economic advisor to the United Wa State Army.

The fight started sometime after 11:30 at the BME nightclub on Rangoon’s University Ave, where Kaung Myat Thu encountered the Wa group after leaving a rock and rap music concert at the Mya Yeik Nyo Royal Hotel. According to a witness, the two groups attacked each other using Shan swords,pocketknives and baseball bats.

Sources close to Kaung Myat Thu said that he was receiving treatment at the Asia-Royal Hospital, while R-Zarni had been admitted to the Sakura Hospital. Ike San was also reportedly in serious condition at an unnamed hospital. Three other friends of Kaung Myat Thu—Ye Ye, Ye Min and Win Naing—are still in police custody, the sources added.

The incident, which took place near the home of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, fits a pattern of increasing lawlessness among members of ceasefire groups active in the Burmese capital, where they often engage in criminal activities with impunity.

SOURCE : Irrawaddy online News, May 11, 2002

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Clarification on the news report of State-run TV Myanmar on       May 2, 2002

Regarding Lan-dmine explosion in Haimual Village. On May 2, 2002 the State-run  TV Myanmar announced that a land-mine planted by Chin National Army, CNA exploded,costing both legs of Ma Lal Lyan Nguri, daughter of U Hlaing Ku of new Hmaimual village. This report is not NOT true and is fabricated.

The fact is that all the Burmese army battalions stationed in Chinland have been planting land-mines along the border as per the order of the Burmese Army tactical commander. This order gives specific direction to all Burmese army Light Infantry Battalions including (LIB)266, LIB 268, LIB 269, LIB 274 and LIB 289 to plant land-mines along India-Burma border, where the Chin National Army operates.

It was the Burmese army themselves who planted land-mines between Tio Chaung village and new Haimual village and later spread news among villagers of the surrounding areas that the Chin National Army planted them, while their intention is to create misunderstanding between the CNA and the Chin people. This is the very reason why the Burmese army could easily discover land-smines when they were pretending to clear the area.

In the morning of May 1, 2002 between 7 AM and 8 AM, Ms. Lalliannguri (13 ), daughter of Pu Lallianzoa of new Haimual village stepped on the land-mines planted by the Burmese army on her way to Tio Chaung bazar. Ms. Lalliannguri lost both of her legs, and she is now in Champhai hospital in Mizoram state of India with critical condition. In order to avoid responsibility and to cover up its own mischievous and cowardly acts, the Burmese military regime accused the CNA of planting the land-mines. In reality the Burmese army is responsible for this horrendous incident.

SOURCE : Kaladan Press, May 9, 2002

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Please note error: The story attributed to Kaladan Press in Rohingya.com ,may news , May 9 is a product of the Chin National Army war office only and not the Kaladan Press.

Review identifies Bangladesh as 'cocoon of terrorism'

Staff Correspondent

The Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER) in its April 4 edition ran a cover story under the headline "Beware of Bangladesh", portraying a negative image of Bangladesh.

The Hong Kong-based news weekly in the report by Bertil Lintner further carries headlines inside -- "Bangladesh: A Cocoon of Terror" with a sub-headline, "Secularism and moderate Islam are threatened by rising fundamentalism and religious intolerance".

The issue can be viewed on the Internet (www.feer.com).

The Review also issued a press release where it says "While the Western-led international war on terrorism continues to focus on a few high profile countries, Bangladesh, a nation with 120 million Muslims and 10 million Hindus, is moving away from its tradition of moderate Islam."

The cover story highlighted how some analysts believe that a 'revolution' is taking place in the country which could spell trouble for Asia and beyond. "FEER reports on growing religious extremism and intolerance within Bangladesh and an alarming rise in militant Muslim groups with links to international terrorist organizations."

The number of radicals in the country has been swelled over the past decade by graduates from the country's 64,000 madrassahs, or religious schools. They have been described by a retired high-ranking civil servant as a "political time bomb", the FEER report added.

Source: The Daily Star, 1st April 2002 .   

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Press Release: On all non-Burman ethnic nationalities

We reiterate that it is pleasure to welcome the release of Daw Aung  San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD). But any positive changes that translate the hopes and aspiration of the people of Burma will only be possible through a meaningful dialogue with the representatives of the all non-Burman ethnic nationalities. 

It is to be mentioned that, unlike other people in Burma, the serious problems being faced by the Rohingyas of Arakan have distinct characters which need to be redressed, with human rights consideration, on the principle of parity, justice and equality.

We are deeply grateful to international community for its endeavour for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. In this connection, the contribution of Malaysia with Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, as an ASEAN country, and specially the untiring efforts of the UN special envoy Tansri Razali Ismail, who brokered the release, is worthy of the highest praise.

Central Executive Committee
Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO)
Arakan.

Source: ARNO ,Press & Publication  dept:  ,9th May, 2002   

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'Don't raise hopes yet. It's only a beginning.'

Analysts are wary as Myanmar opposition leader Suu Kyi was freed in the past, only to be detained

By Edward Tang( NEWS ANALYSIS )THAILAND CORRESPONDENT

HOW things have changed. While Myanmar's key opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi celebrated her first day of freedom yesterday, close relatives of the country's former military strongman General Ne Win are facing subversion charges. For those who do not follow Myanmar politics, they could be forgiven for thinking that a new political era has finally dawned on the country.

While analysts have welcomed Ms Suu Kyi's release from 20 months of house detention, they have cautioned the international community against raising expectations.

'Yes, it's a positive development, but let's see what agreement she has reached with the generals,' said Mr Soe Aung, foreign affairs director of the Bangkok-based Network for Democracy and Development.

The former student rebel, who fled his country in 1988 after a military crackdown on the opposition, told The Straits Times: 'It has happened before. From our experience, we have to be very careful.' Among his major concerns: Ms Suu Kyi's freedom of movement within the country, her access to members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party,and the results of her ongoing political dialogue with the country's ruling generals.

Some of these concerns have apparently been addressed by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), as Myanmar's military government, which seized power in 1990 after the NLD won an election, is called. The government statement, issued yesterday, that announced the lifting of house arrest on the opposition leader also mentioned generally the removal of restrictions on her political activities. Because this is not the first time that she has been freed only to be detained again - she was under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 - few are raising their hopes of a major political breakthrough. She may be free to travel, but intelligence agents are expected to keep a tab on her movements.

A Bangkok-based Myanmar academic, who did not wish to be named, said: 'We've been through this before. Let's wait and see.' According to his sources, Ms Suu Kyi, who spoke publicly yesterday for the first time, is expected to exercise self-restraint as her side of bargain to keep the ongoing political process alive. Speaking to reporters outside the NLD office in Yangon yesterday, she welcomed the recent lowering of political tension in the country. However, she did not divulge details of the talks she reportedly has held with top Myanmar generals since October 2000. Neither did she want to comment on rumours that she would be part of a new official committee to oversee political reconciliation and tackle the country's health and education problems.

Analysts said Myanmar's moribund economy was the most crucial and difficult part of future discussions she was expected to hold with the government. Rampant inflation, corruption and a free-falling local currency - which plunged to 1000 units to the US dollar recently - are major problems.

The kyat, Myanmar's currency, is officially traded at 6 units to a dollar, but most people in the country rely on the black market rate. Ms Suu Kyi's release is also clouded by fresh political uncertainties with the arrest in March of the son-in-law and three grandsons of former president Ne Win on charges of attempting a coup. Analysts are confused by the action taken against family members of the powerful ex-military dictator, who is said to still wield influence despite having retired more than a decade ago.

The arrest has fuelled persistent rumours of a split in the SPDC - with number one leader, Senior General Than Shwe, on one side and military intelligence chief Lt-General Khin Nyunt, who is known as Ne Win's protege, on the other. A third leader, army chief General Maung Aye, was said to have been summoned home from an official trip in Bangkok last week, reportedly because of last-minute hitches with Ms Suu Kyi's release.

While her freedom has been hailed as the most positive news from Myanmar in recent times, analysts are not holding their breath. 'Politics in Myanmar is complicated,' said Mr Soe Aung. 'This is only the beginning of a long and difficult process.'

Source: The Straits Times  , Burma net online, 7th May, 2002   

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Suu Kyi is Free. What Now?

Will Burma's military rulers embark on a real dialogue with dissident Aung San Suu Kyi to help lift the long-suffering nation out of its rut? 

BY ROBERT HORN Rangoon

For Burma, a country where symbols and omens are woven into the fabric of life, the portents were all positive. True, University Avenue, the winding road leading to the monsoon-stained mansion where opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since September 2000,was still closed off. But behind the sawhorses, blue-trousered municipal workers could be seen repairing potholes and sweeping the sidewalks clear of cheroot butts, palm fronds and bamboo leaves.

Neighbors reported that the Nobel Peace Prize winner's lawn was being mowed, her grounds spruced up. A few blocks away, the once forlorn and empty headquarters of the National League for Democracy (NLD), Suu Kyi's political party, was jammed with more than 200 members. Dozens of journalists, rarely granted access to the country by the military government, had been invited in. As TIME went to press, what had been strongly rumored for days—that Suu Kyi would be freed, and details of an agreement between her and the junta announced—had yet to occur. But all the signs pointed to a breakthrough delayed, not denied. "We are certain she will be released," said NLD vice chairman Tin Oo, "but we can't say when."

The timing matters a lot less than the fact that Suu Kyi's release is essential if the stop-start negotiations between her and the junta, already ongoing for 18 months, are to yield any results. This is make-or-break time, and more so for the junta than for Suu Kyi. She has little to lose—after all, her legitimacy (as the leader of the party that won the 1990 general election), integrity and stoic acceptance of house arrest enable her to occupy the moral high ground. The generals, on the other hand, are under growing pressure to thrash out with their arch nemesis a framework to move the country forward. Burma is in desperate shape due to a combination of grievous abuse and mismanagement by the military regime and international isolation over allegations of forced labor and the treatment of dissidents, chief among them Suu Kyi. Letting her go is the vital first step on Burma's road to recovery.

"There's no way out of these problems, unless the generals have her on board," says a Western diplomat. When Suu Kyi does walk through her sky blue metal gate, Burma's ailments won't be magically healed. Most are chronic and beyond the scope of one woman—even an icon like Suu Kyi—to cure. The country is devoid of the institutions needed to build a civil society: a democratic legislature, a functioning bureaucracy and education and health systems, an independent judiciary, a free press. But Suu Kyi stands at the very least as a symbol of hope. In the markets, tea shops and offices of the crumbling capital, Rangoon, the whispered conversations about politics now contain wisps of optimism rarely heard after four decades of military rule. "We believe she can help get the country out of this mess," says tour guide Thet Aung.

That depends on what kind of deal Suu Kyi and the junta are striking. In truth, no one apart from Suu Kyi, two or three of her top aides and a handful of military leaders knows what will transpire, but most local observers aren't expecting anything that will give Suu Kyi a political or power-sharing role or a speedy end to military rule. "That's too big a leap," says Kyi Maung, a former NLD vice chairman. More likely is that the government and the NLD will work together to try to bring relief as rapidly as possible to a people being crushed by inflation, corruption and epidemics of aids and other diseases. Kyi Maung is cautiously optimistic that "reason will prevail," not least because Suu Kyi has mellowed and is willing to compromise. Where she isn't likely to give ground, however, is over the release of several hundred NLD members from Burma's notoriously harsh prison system. "These jails are our killing fields," says Kyi Maung. (The junta did release five political prisoners last Friday.)

While many diplomats agree that Suu Kyi will prove to be more flexible, they are divided over whether the military is sincere about continuing rapprochement. "I don't think they know themselves," says a diplomat."They may have got themselves into something they don't know how to get out of." The real tests will be whether or not the military maintains a mechanism for dealing with Suu Kyi and instituting reforms, and what happens when the time comes to discuss political change.

One conundrum is what to do about the 1990 election outcome in which the NLD won 82% of the seats in a parliament the military refuses to convene. Suu Kyi has always insisted that the results be recognized. "Suu Kyi is ready to deal," notes Burma expert Joseph Silverstein of Rutgers University in the U.S., "but not to sell out." Suu Kyi has better cards to play today than when she was released in 1995 (and later rearrested). Then, the economy was in much stronger shape. The local currency, the kyat, was a relatively healthy 130 to the dollar, Rangoon's streets sported new cars and the government could boast more than $6 billion in foreign direct investment since opening up the country after more than a quarter-century of socialist isolation imposed by recently detained dictator Ne Win. Now, the economy is teetering on the precipice. Growth is negligible, the kyat is pushing 1,000 to the dollar and inflation is running between 50% and 70%. Economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and threats of sanctions from the International Labor Organization have companies such as Pepsi steadily pulling out. "At this point, disinvestment is greater than investment," says a Western diplomat.

That economic message seems to have finally got through to Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, the junta's official name. Until recently, the 69-year-old Than Shwe was viewed by many as an ailing figurehead, anxious to retire. Real power was supposed to reside in the hands of Army Commander-in-Chief General Maung Aye and Intelligence Chief General Khin Nyunt. But Than Shwe showed he was the man in charge when he ordered the arrests of Ne Win and his family members in March for allegedly planning a coup. That Than Shwe would move against Ne Win and purge his supporters in the military shows that Than Shwe will brook no dissent on either political or economic fronts. Diplomats say Ne Win, his clan and their followers in the army were opposed to the dialogue with Suu Kyi. Now, says a Western diplomat, "Than Shwe has never been stronger." Than Shwe may also be influenced by asean leaders who are fed up that Burma's pariah status has blackened the organization's reputation since the nation joined in 1997. And he may be concerned about his own legacy.

A family man who dotes on his three daughters and one grandson, Than Shwe, some Burma watchers say, views the impasse with Suu Kyi as somewhat of a family squabble that he wants to set right. This theory has Than Shwe acknowledging that Burma's military has lost the love of much of the populace for holding on to power, and that he wants to be seen as the man who at least started the process of moving the country toward a more inclusive political system.

In the end, however, Than Shwe is a military man, and that's where his chief loyalty lies. He still firmly believes the army is best suited to rule Burma and its fractious ethnic groups. Even some diplomats agree a transition to a freer society will have to be slow and gradual as the country has no democratic institutions. But the struggle to build them may well begin with this first thaw between two once implacable foes—and when Aung San Suu Kyi takes those first steps toward freedom.

Source: Time Asia , Burma net online, 7th May, 2002   

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Press Release: ARNO warmly welcomes unconditional release

Dated: 7th May 2002

Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO) warmly welcomes the unconditional release of Nobel Peace laureate and pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from 19 months of house arrest in Burma on 6th May 2002.

ARNO hopes it a positive step that can encourage the process of democratisation through national reconciliation between various groups in Burma, including Rohingya in Arakan.

In this context, we would like to draw the attention of all Burmese leaders and international community that the Rohingyas are the worst victims of human rights violations facing ethnic cleansing in Burma. They have been denied their right to nationality in their historical and ancestral homeland of Arakan.

Nurul Islam
President
Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO)
Arakan

Source: ARNO ,Press & Publication  dept:  ,7th May, 2002   

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Burma talks will include ethnic minorities ( Washington )

Ongoing talks between Burma's ruling junta and the pro-democracy leader it has now freed from house arrest must eventually include the Southeast Asian country's fractious ethnic inorities, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi said a day after her release.

Khun Htun Oo, leader of the Shan National League for Democracy (NLD), told Radio Free Asia's Burmese service Aung San Suu Kyi wants to expand the role of ethnic minorities in an 18-month-old effort at political reconciliation brokered by U.N. envoy Razali Ismail. At a meeting with the central committee of her NLD party, along with members of the Chin and Kokang Shan minorities, Aung San Suu Kyi said "now the role of ethnic minority groups in Burma has broadened." "New ethnic leaders must work hard and ... get involved in matters of the state and the country," Khun Htun Oo quoted her as saying. "She said that dialogue continues for now between the NLD and the [junta], but that it would expand in the future to include ethnic minority groups," he said in an interview. "She also said matters of the state are not only for Burmans talking to Burmans, and that solutions cannot be found by just the [junta] and the NLD talking amongst themselves. When the time comes, the ethnic nationalities must also participate," he quoted her as saying.

Khun Htun Oo couldn't say when such tripartite talks might begin. But he quoted Aung San Suu Kyi as saying the confidence-building stage had concluded-and that she is now preparing for substantive discussions with the ruling State Peace and Development Council SPDC). Aung San Suu Kyi was freed earlier Monday from her lakeside villa, where she has lived under house arrest since September 2000. She returned to NLD headquarters and vowed to continue the fight for democracy. Government spokesman Colonel Hla Min said in a statement on Sunday that Burma's history had turned a "new page." What that might mean for the country remains unclear. Burma has lived under military rule since 1962. The SPDC seized power in September 1988 after suppressing a nationwide pro-democracy uprising. It held national elections in 1990 in which the NLD won by a wide margin, but the junta has refused to honor those election results.

Burma's 1947 Constitution identified six major ethnic minorities, but the SPDC sets the figure at 135 distinct groups-which it views as too unwieldy to include in the U.N.-brokered talks. In its 2001 report on human rights worldwide, issued in March, the State Department described Burma's human rights record as "extremely poor," citing its "longstanding, severe repression of its citizens" and "systematic" discrimination against minorities. "Wide-ranging governmental and societal discrimination against minorities persists.

Animosities between the country's many ethnic minorities and the Burman majority, which has dominated the Government and the armed forces since independence, continued to fuel active insurgencies that resulted in many killings and other serious abuses during the year," the report said.

Army soldiers are frequently reported to be involved in killing, beating, and raping members of the Chin, Karen, Karenni, and Shan minorities.

Minority groups also claim that economic development among minorities has lagged, leaving many people struggling to survive.

Source: Radio Free Asia – Burmese Service ,6th May, 2002   

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Myanmar Frees Opposition Leader

By DANIEL LOVERING, ( Associated Press Writer )

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was freed Monday after 19 months of house arrest, the military government said, marking a breakthrough toward ending the country's political deadlock. An official at the Office of the Chief of Military Intelligence confirmed the restrictions were lifted. He spoke on condition of anonymity.

However, the Nobel peace laureate, who has been confined to her lakeside villa since September 2000, did not come out to make a public appearance. Scores of reporters assembled at University Drive, which leads to the villa,were blocked by a police barricade that has been in place since the restrictions on Suu Kyi were imposed.

Earlier Monday, Myanmar's ambassador to Washington told The Associated Press in a telephone interview: "With regard to Aung San Suu Kyi, I have been informed that she is at liberty to carry out all her activities,including matters concerning her party, as of May 6, 2002." The end of Suu Kyi's detention had been widely expected for days following U.N.-brokered negotiations aimed at breaking a 12-year-old political deadlock in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

The junta came to power in 1988 after crushing a pro-democracy movement during which Suu Kyi came into prominence. The government put her under house arrest in 1989 and called general elections in 1990, which were won by her National League for Democracy party. However, the junta refused to hand over power. She was released in 1995 but was prohibited from traveling outside Yangon. She was put under virtual house detention again in September 2000 after two high-profile attempts to leave Yangon.

In a written statement released earlier Monday, government spokesman Col. Hla Min said Monday would mark "a new page for the people of Myanmar and the international community."

The statement did not mention Suu Kyi by name, but said: "We shall recommit ourselves to allowing all of our citizens to participate freely in thelife of our political process, while giving priority to national unity, peace and stability of the country as well as the region."

It said the government has released nearly 600 detainees in recent months and shall continue to release those "who will cause no harm to the community." Separately, Hla Min told the AP by telephone that Suu Kyi will be allowed to travel. "She can travel. We will sort of cooperate because she is a prominent person.

The government is responsible for her security," he said. The news of Suu Kyi's release was yet to filter down to her supporters. There were no waiting crowds at University Drive or outside the NLD headquarters. Two municipal workers cleaned the quiet street as policemen and military intelligence agents lounged nearby. Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace prize for her democracy struggle, began reconciliation talks in October 2000, brokered by U.N. special envoy Razali Ismail, who also predicted major political changes after his latest visit to the country last month. But he also advised caution — echoed by other observers — that Suu Kyi's release will not mean an overnight return of democracy after 40 years of military rule.

Still, the release will be a symbolic acknowledgment of the government's willingness to consider the National League for Democracy as a legitimate political party and a partner in nation building.

Suu Kyi's release has been one of the main demands of the West, which has placed severe economic sanctions on the impoverished country to force political change.

Source: Associated Press  ,6th May, 2002   

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Students uprising occurred in Shwe-Bo

Last midnight, the students uprising occurred in Shwe-Bo, Saggaing Division. Around 1000, students from Shwe Bo Distant University  participated inthis uprising.

Source:  Democratic Voice of Burma,5th May, 2002   

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73 Rohingyas, Rakhaings and Indians seek political asylum in Bangladesh

By Our Special Correspondent

Dhaka May 3 : 5 Rohingya Burmese nationals and an Indian national released from a Bangladesh jail recently appealed for political asylum or to send them to a third country for settlement at a press conference organized by two Bangladesh human rights organizations at National Press Club, Dhaka on May 2.

Advocate Sigma Huda and Elina Khan of “Manab Odhikar Bastabayan Sangstha” and Masud Alam Raghib Ahsan of “Odhikar” briefed the newsmen who stated that Burmese Rohingya nationals Mohammed Nurul Haque,Mohammed Ramza Ali and MA Rahim and Burmese Rakhine nationals Khin Kyaw and Kyaw Aung and an Indian national have fled to Bangladesh during 1994 and 1995 to escape persecution and to save their lives when they were arrested for illegal entry. Although their sentences ranging from 3 months to 7 months have long been completed the government on various grounds did not release them.

However with the order of the High Court they have been released recently. After their release the foreign nationals applied for political asylum, which was rejected by Bangladesh government. The government also did not reply to the applications of 67 other Burmese and Indian nationals seeking political asylum. The High Court has notified the government either to grant the applicants political asylum within 2 weeks or arrange to send them to a third country for resettlement through the good offices of the said human right organizations. The two human rights organizations stressed the government to review the matter and take necessary steps; otherwise it will amount to violation of human rights.

Source: Arakan News Agency News ,4th May, 2002   

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Cautious Optimism from Exile

By Ko Thet and Kyaw Zwa Moe

May 03, 2002—Despite intensifying hopes that the release of Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi could come at any moment, Burmese dissidents—inside and outside the country—are not celebrating just yet. They say the significance of the release hinges on whether it is conditional or not.

"We welcome the release of Aung San Suu Kyi," Khun Marko Ban, leader of the Democratic Organization for Kayan National Unity, told The Irrawaddy. "But what is important is allowing her to freely engage in political activities, including traveling around the country. Otherwise,her release will not make any sense."

Yesterday, National League for Democracy (NLD) Vice Chairman Tin Oo recounted that Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under de facto house arrest for nearly two years, told him that she believed a political breakthrough would be seen in a few days.

But as the secret talks between Suu Kyi and the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) have dragged into their twentieth month without producing tangible results, many people doubt that an imminent breakthrough will be forthcoming.

"We don’t know yet how far the talks between Aung San Suu Kyi and the military regime have gone," said Than Kae, chairman of the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF). "The release of Aung San Suu Kyi must be unconditional. If there are conditions on her release, then we would not believe that the talks have actually taken place."

As western governments and human rights groups remain skeptical of the regime’s sincerity, Than Kae said that the junta needs to be watched carefully and that opposition groups need to continue operating as best they can whether it be politically, through mass movements or armed struggles. Although news is rife that Suu Kyi and the junta are hammering out the final details of her release, not everyone believes that she will accept an offer with conditions.

"I don’t believe that Aung San Suu Kyi will accept her release with conditions," said Dr San Aung of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB). "The release should not be a change from house arrest to Rangoon arrest." Aung Naing Oo, a political analyst, told The Irrawaddy that the release should be unconditional and Suu Kyi herself would not agree to a conditional release. However he added that, "The SPDC is concerned about releasing her unconditionally, because she will be able to eliminate thefears of the people."

Not everyone agrees that Suu Kyi is demanding such ultimatums. Naing Han Thar, an ethnic Mon leader, told The Irrawaddy that, "Even if the junta releases Aung San Suu Kyi, they will release her only after making a compromise. In reality, the junta wants to ban her from political activities."

Some feel that the regime is running out of time and that a breakthrough of some sort must be announced in the near-term. In regards to whether Suu Kyi’s release will be conditional or if it might potentially be postponed, one Rangoon-based diplomat told The Irrawaddy, "[Burma’s military government] have gathered the press, they have to give them something."

With such a wide spectrum of political ideologies both within the government and the opposition, some doubt a major breakthrough at this time is feasible. Shan State Constitution Drafting Commission President, Sao Seng Suk, commented that after the junta releases Suu Kyi they would have to continue with reconciliation talks. "Since there are hard-liners and soft-liners in both the military and democracy forces, it is impossible to say how much political change will happen after the release."

At the time, most analysts and opposition members are content just watching the SPDC’s next move. Bo Kyi, a spokesperson for the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), told The Irrawaddy: "I don’t agree with the wait and see attitude. In fact, we should keep doing whatever we have to because there have been a lot of human rights violations by the military government. We still need to uncover all these wrongdoings by the government."

Meanwhile, the government in Rangoon, who had been busy inviting journalists from around the world to cover this landmark occasion in the country's reconciliation process, suddenly stopped granting visas to journalists yesterday, according to sources in Rangoon and abroad. One reporter who did manage to get one on Tuesday was only permitted to stay for three days.

Source: Irrawaddy News Magazine ,3rd May, 2002   

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An embrace of change, not for a brutal regime

By James Pringle

Aung San Suu Kyi is seeing things differently now, writes James Pringle in Rangoon. After taking a stance against the junta for years, at great risk to herself, her family and her political associates, Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi seems to be ready to make an accommodation. In opting for incremental change instead of trying to seek a full leadership role, the decision by the pro-democracy leader is in line with her Buddhist philosophy.

It appears that Aung San Suu Kyi will co-operate with the generals in administering humanitarian work in areas such as health and education for a population whose suffering has worsened recently as the Burmese currency fell to its lowest level in decades. I last interviewed Aung San Suu Kyi, a beautiful and charismatic woman, in September 1996, sitting alone with her in the lakeside compound villa, where she was under house arrest from 1989 to 1995. She told me then that she took the Buddhist view that nothing was unchanging in this world.

"To think otherwise is a lot of nonsense," she said. "With politics, you cannot see ahead more than a few days. Look at the Soviet Union. Its collapse happened so quickly and no one would have expected it."

There is no doubt that she has endured the unendurable, especially when her husband, British Tibetologist Michael Aris, died in 1999 without being granted a visa to visit his wife in Burma. She told me in 1996: "We all have to put up with some hardship. We have to make sacrifices to get where we want to. I suppose I have to say, as a good Buddhist, I believe that in the end you have nobody to rely on but yourself. It is only your own deeds that will decide what will happen to you."

Analysts believe that Aung San Suu Kyi will seek to rejuvenate her long-suppressed National League for Democracy. It won the 1990 election by a landslide, but the military did not allow it to take power. In addition, she will seek the release of about 1400 political prisoners.

She is likely to build bridges to the many minorities who have chafed under ethnic Burmese rule and suffered grievously under the bloody repression of the generals, who have ruled Burma since 1962. Aung San Suu Kyi will also try to travel in Burma to meet some of the 50 million people of what is one of the world's poorest countries. It was an attempt at such travel that led to her latest house arrest, which began in September 1990. This time the US has insisted that her release be unconditional.

It remains to be seen, however, if her forthcoming freedom is nothing more than another ruse of the desperate triumvirate at the top of the junta to deflect international criticism as it grapples with inflation and tries to encourage foreign investors to return.

Source: The Times ,3rd May, 2002   

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More than 200 Burmese Separatist Rebels Surrendered

By our Correspondent ( Chittagong, Bangladesh )

Cox’s Bazar, May 02:  More than 200 Burmese separatist rebels from the Arakan Army (AA) surrendered to Burmese army on the early morning of 29th April 2002 in Paletwa township of Arakan Hill Tracts, said a trader who witnessed the surrender.

The trader who arrived at Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday said that the rebels were first received by Capt. Hla Oo, a commander of Burmese army Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 550 at Taukpi in Paletwa Township.

“Among 245 rebels 85 are armed cadres of A.A and the rest 160 are family members of the rebels. The commanders who led the group were Khing Ling Ning, Chief of Staff of A.A, Khing Than Shey, Vice- Chief of Staff and Kyaw Thaung,” he further added.

The rebels surrendered 52 assorted fire arms to the Burmese army that included 37 A.K-47 assault rifles and medium machine guns, 12 M-16 automatic rifles, 2 RPGs, 1 M-79 Rocket Launcher, about 100 hand-grenades and huge quantity of ammunition, he further said.

A concerned source close to the Burmese army had confirmed the surrender. Bangladesh security officials at Cox’s Bazar also confirmed the surrender of Rakhing rebels on condition of anonymity.

It may be mentioned here that the surrendered rebels were an armed faction that broke away from the Arakan Army (A.A), the armed wing of the National United Party of Arakan (NUPA) headed by Dr. Khin Maung, with more than 90 assorted fire arms, on June 23, 2001. The leader of the break away A.A faction is one Mr. Kra Pru Aung. It is also reported that Mr. Kra Pru Aung stayed away from the surrendered group with about a dozen of his loyal men. 

NUPA and ARNO (Arakan Rohingya National Organisation), representing the two major communities of Rakhing and Rohingya in Arakan, had entered into a political alliance under the banner of Arakan Independence Alliance (AIA) on September 18, 2000.Taukpi is a small hilly place under Paletwa Township in Arakan Hill Tracts adjacent to Tansi area under Bandarban District in Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.

Editor ,Kaladan Press

Source: Kaladan Press,2nd May, 2002   

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Vietnamese President to Visit Myanmar

Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong will pay an official visit to Myanmar in  the near future, according to an official announcement here Thursday.

The announcement did not disclose the arrival date of the president for security reason. But it was learnt from another official channel that the president will visit the country from May 5 to 8 at the invitation of Chairman of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council Senior-General Than Shwe.

It will be the second visit to Myanmar by a top Vietnamese leader in as many years, after Prime Minister Phan Van Khai paid a friendly visit here in May 2000, during which three agreements were signed between the two countries.

Myanmar and Vietnam established diplomatic ties on May 28, 1975 and the two countries set up a joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation in May 1994.

Source: Xinhua News,2nd May, 2002   

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Burmese Border Security Forces shoot a Bangladeshi citizen