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Forced labour and extortion still exists in Arakan
Buthidaung, December 26: Forced labour and
extortion are still continuing in Arakan State even if SPDC
authorities have officially denied the existence any forced
labour across the country, according to our correspondent.
The Commander of the Military Operation Command
(MOC)-15 of Buthidaung Township, Arakan State had ordered the
Chairmen of the Nanragon and Quandaung village tracts Peace and
Development Councils (VPDCs) on December 01,to provide 200
laborers daily for cultivation of seasonal crops like chili,
tomato, egg plant, potato, cabbage, pea and cauliflower…etc, he
further added.
About six acres of farmland had already been
confiscated from nearby villagers for seasonal cultivation. The
villagers of the two village tracts were also asked to complete
the cultivation of six acres of land by December 15 for growing
vegetables,said a daily labor to our correspondent.
In this connection, Abul Kalam and U Kyaw Thein,
the two Chairmen respectively of Quandaung and Nanragoon village
tracts, had sent forcibly 200 laborers daily, from these two
village tracts for the army camp for the purpose of cultivation,
he further said.
At present, there are a total of 1,490 houses in
these village tracts. The two Chairmen of the village tracts had
collected an amount of Kyats 3, 87,000/- from 1,290 households
at the rate of Kyats 300/-each per house. The rest of the 200
houses had to supply forced labor---one person per house---
continuing for 15 days for which they were paid Kyats 200/- each
from the money collected from the villagers. Normally the daily
wage of an ordinary labor is Kyats 800 to 1,000 in the area, a
clerk from VPDC office told our source.
Source: Kaladan Press,
( Editor ) , December 26 ,2002
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Bangladesh standby Myanmar for construction of Asian highway
Chittagong, December 25, 2002: If the tangle
over the Asian Highway is not resolved immediately Bangladesh
should stand by Myanmar regarding the following confusing
matters with all her available resources, said in the Daily Star
on December 22.
In this regard, building a bridge over the Naaf
River should get precedence over any other similar project
inside the country, it further added.
A highway and a railway-connecting south Asia
and southeast - Asia will certainly change the socio-economic
and geo-political scenario of the two regions in a dramatic way.
From any logical point of view that should go through the south
of Bangladesh via the Chittagong-Teknaf-Sittwe-Thaton-Chiang
Mai-Bangkok and then dawn up to Kuala Lumpur-Singapore
convergence, said the Daily Star.
But, ESCAP has been pressing hard from the
beginning to build the Asian Highway and the Trans Asian
Railway proposing a route that would enter Bangladesh from a
point in West Bengal and go through Sylhet---Tamabeel towards
the Indian border town of Moreh in Manipur and then to Myanmar
border town of Kelewa on the other side. There after it will go
all the way dawn the highlands of Myanmar to Thaton and enter
Thailand through Mayawadi covering an additional distance of
more than 1,000 miles, F.A Guarishi said in Daily Star.
Evidently, this route suggested by ESCAP, if
implemented, shall deprive Bangladesh from having direct access
to the South East. This will make Moreh in Manipur the route
focus between the South and South East Asia, depriving Teknaf,
the natural candidate for the same. This will be an irreversible
system distortion making Bangladesh a mere corridor for transit
and transhipment. Her geo-political nodality in the regional
setting shall be damaged for all time to come, he further added.
At a meeting of the foreign ministers of the
three countries, India, Myanmar and Thailand held in Yangon on
April 7, early this year, agreement had already been reached to
develop a 1,600 km road over Myanmar linking Moreh of India and
Mae sot of Thailand. As a pert of that Thailand has agreed to
provide a low-interested long-term loan towards construction of
a 238 km stretch of the road in eastern Myanmar. On the other
hand, the road link between Moreh and Kelewa has already been
developed, funded by India, he further said.
Protagonists of the Sylhet-Manipur route for the
Asian Highway used to tell Bangladesh that building road
connecting via Teknaf is not possible because of, what they
maintained, the inaccessible mountain range standing its way.
Bangladesh was also told that that the Myanmar was not
interested in this route, said in the Daily Star.
Belying all those assertions Myanmar has already
developed the road link between Yangoon and Sittwe(Akyab) and is
said to be looking for funds upgrade it, it further added.
Source: Kaladan Press,
( Editor ) , December 25 ,2002
TOP
Forced collection
of chicken by army
Buthidaung, December 23, 2002: Rohingya
villagers of Buthidaung Township, Arakan State are still being
paid 8 to 12 Visses (1 Viss = 1.75 kgs) of chicken to the army
camp per quarter in every 3 months, according to our
correspondent.
Sometimes, the army did not take the chicken.
Instead of that the villagers have to pay money to the army at
the rate of Kyats. 2,000/- per a viss, he further added.
If the armies buy vegetables or other necessary
things from the villagers they do not pay the real price to
them. Every so often, they do not pay any cost to the villagers,
said a village trader to our source.
“Though the armies are rationed by the
government,this kind of forced collection is a kind of
repression to the minority group,” said a school teacher to our
correspondent.
Source: Kaladan Press,
( Editor ) , December 23 ,2002
TOP
A
pregnant Rohingya woman kickedout a Nasaka
Maungdaw, December 22:
A pregnant Rohingya woman kicked out a Nasaka while he checked
her stomach and whole body insincerely on 5th December, said a
man to our source who preferred not to mention his name.
Every Rohingya married
couple would be appeared before the local Nasaka camp after 4-5
months of pregnancy for the advanced registration of newborn
child, he further added.
On that day, the said
couple --- Mohamed Nasim and Roshida Begum (not real names), 25
and 20 respectively--- hailed from Ngakhura village of Nasaka
area No.5, under the Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, went to
the local Nasaka camp to inform the pregnancy for registration .
When the couple was being there, the female was called in a room
while the male was sitting out side the room. Later on, one
Nasaka pretending as a doctor came to the room and was checking
the whole body of the patient insincerely, a woman from the
village said to our source.
In one stage, the
patient kicked out the Nasaka that she could not tolerate the
performance of him. Hearing the hue and cry, nearby some Nasaka
forces rushed to the spot and defused the fighting, she further
added.
In this connection, the
couple was beaten severely by the colleagues of the Nasaka and
released by threatening them that “ you all Kalas should be the
foreigners unless your pregnancy record is present at the Nasaka
camp,” said a relative of the victims to our correspondent.
According to our
correspondent, after delivery, every couple has to be presented
again at the Nasaka camp for registration. At the end, every
Rohingya couple has to become visible before the local Nasaka
camp to get recommendation as to enroll the baby in the family
list.
“In reality, this
performance is a kind of mentally and physically harassment by
the Nasaka to the Rohingya people. In other words, Rohigyas are
treated as a animals, not like a human being by the SPDC
authorities,” said a prominent Rohingya leader to our source.
Source: Kaladan Press,
( Editor ) , December 22 ,2002
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$ 1 B Gas pipeline
project proposed
( Plan to link Myanmar with India via
Bangladesh )
Chittagong, 20 December:The Ministry of Energy
and Mineral Resources has accepted, in principle, a proposal for
the construction of a Myanmar-Tripura- West Bengal gas pipeline
through Bangladesh, according to the Independent of 19th
December.
The ministry forwarded the proposal, submitted
by a hitherto unknown Bangladeshi company, to the Prime
Minister’s Office (PMO) last month seeking its approval. It is
now waiting for green signal from the PMO, it further added.
"It is not a bad proposal; we accepted it in
principle and we shall take it up with the Prime Minister," AKM
Mosharraf Hossain State Minister for Energy and Mineral
Resources told The Independent of 18th December.
The Minister in a tone of robust optimism said,
"Bangladesh can earn Tk. 1,000 crore per year through this
project and I think there is no harm in constructing such a
pipeline. It is not at all a political issue."
"Mohona Holding Limited, a Bangladeshi company,
recently submitted the one billion-dollar project to the Energy
Ministry. The ministry formed a committee to examine the
proposal and submit a report. Sources said that the ministry did
not as yet have adequate background information about the
company and its technical and financial competence to undertake
such a huge project covering three countries of the region.
The company has not furnished detailed
information as to how it would organize funds for the project,
stated in the Independent.
If Bangladesh government finally approves the
project, a consortium will have to be set up to implement it
within Bangladesh territory. In any such consortium Bangladesh
Petroleum Corporation Ltd, a subsidiary of Petrobangla, will be
a major player. Interestingly, Petrobangla sources did not share
the Minister’s optimism and termed the proposal " immature."
Myanmar, Tripura and West Bengal State
Governments of India have accepted the proposal in principle, to
construct a pipeline through Bangladesh territory, the State
Minister for Energy said. It could not however be ascertained if
the proposal came up for discussion during the just-concluded
visit of the Prime Minister of Myanmar, said in the Independent.
The minister said if the Prime Minister’s office
Okayed the project then they would go ahead to form a consortium
in this regard, it further said.
Sources said that Bangladesh would put forward
some terms and conditions to the company. One of the conditions
is that Bangladesh will be the sole operator of the pipeline and
will be entitled to use it as and when necessary in her own
interest including export and import of gas whenever needed, it
more added.
Other terms and conditions include provisions
requiring the company to construct the pipeline with 30 to 40
inch diameter and to include BPCL as one of the main parties in
the consortium, the sources said.
The proposed pipeline will enter Bangladesh
border through Brahmanbaria from the Indian territory of Tripura
and will cross into West Bengal through Rajshahi border,
affirmed in the Independent.
The pipeline may help export gas to India
without interference by any IOC, the sources said.
According to the sources, it will cost Tk.900
crore to construct the pipeline in Bangladesh.
Energy Ministry source said USA, Australia and
some Indian companies have indicated their willingness to offer
fund for construction of the pipeline in Bangladesh.
“We welcome the latest developments in the
bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Myanmar during the
short but effective visit of Prime Minister General Than Shwe.
But it was disappointing to learn that the high level meet
failed to make any progress in resolving the long pending
repatriation of Rohingya refugees from the refugee camps in
Cox’s Bazar. More than 20,000 refugees have been waiting for
years with the hope that their government would agree to take
them back, but all the attempts in the past failed to achieve
any success. Their hopes must have been dashed somewhat since
this was the first topmost level visit to Bangladesh by any
Yangon dignitary in more than ten years. We earnestly wish the
repatriation process would be expedited so that the thousands of
Rohingyas could be relieved from their years of miseries in the
camps, said the Daily Star of 20th December.
Source: Kaladan Press,
( Editor ) , December
19 ,2002
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Dhaka - Rangoon deal to set up joint trade commission finalised
Dhaka, December 19:
Resolving all pending issues of bilateral trade, Bangladesh and
Myanmar on yesterday finalised agreements to establish a Joint
Trade Commission and introduce Accounts Trade and Coastal
Shipping Link, report in Financial Express.
The agreements are
expected to be signed next March, opening new vistas in trade
between the two neighbouring countries, officials said.
Bangladesh Commerce
Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and visiting Myanmar
Commerce Minister Brig. General Pyi Sone in a 45 – minutes
exclusive meeting at a local hotel finalised the deals, yielded
by Tuesday’s officials talks between the two countries,
according to the Business News.
“On implementation of
the agreements, bilateral trade will increase substantially
while the current informal trade will be turn into formal trade
gradually,” Khosru told reporters at his secretariat office
after the meeting.
He said an expected
increase in trade between the two countries would help
Bangladesh earn more revenue besides creating positive impact on
country’s foreign exchange reserve.
Terming “most
successful” the Myanmar Commerce Minister’s current visit as a
member of his Prime Ministre’s entourage, Khosru said all
issues, pending since March this year when a single- country
fair of Bangladesh was held in Myanmar, were resolved through
this trip.
Another single-country
fair of Bangladesh will be organised in Myanmar next March when
the agreements will be formally signed, according to the
Business News.
During the visit of the
Bangladesh Commerce Minister to Myanmar lat March, the two
countries came to an understanding that there would be a coastal
shipping agreement and an account-trade agreement signed for
boosting bilateral trade, it further added.
A draft Coastal
Shipping Agreement has already been sent to Myanmar authorities
while Bangladesh received from Myanar draft documents on Account
Trade arrangement that provides for two-way trade transactions
without needing hard cash in terms of foreign currency for
payments, added in Business News.
Besides, the two
countries entered into a border-trade agreement in 1994 and
formal border trade began under the deal in 1995, said in the
New Nation.
The volume of trade
under normal trading system was around $26 million in 2000-2001.
Bangladesh’s imports from Myanmar were worth $24.69 million
while exports to Myanmar fetched only $ 1.09 million. The trade
gap was $23.77 million. Normal trade volume between the two
countries declined to US 19 million dollars in 2001-02,
according to the Business News.
Source: Kaladan Press,
( Editor ) , December
19 ,2002
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Suu
Kyi Stands Up to Harassment
In a defiant stand against government forces,
Aung San Suu Kyi surprised thousands of onlookers yesterday by
suddenly leaping out of her car and rushing aboard a fire truck
that had been called to disperse a crowd of supporters in Arakan
State. Once on the truck, Suu Kyi berated the security forces,
telling them that their real job is not to bully the people of
Burma but to serve them.
The incident occurred yesterday in Mrauk-Oo
Township, 535 kilometers west of Rangoon, as riot police were
about to clear the crowd with fire hoses after they resisted
government calls by coming out to welcome Suu Kyi.
National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesperson
U Lwin told The Irrawaddy today that an estimated 20,000
on-lookers gave Suu Kyi a roaring applause once she boarded the
truck. "The people faced the fire trucks and the police, who
were preparing to crack down," explained U Lwin. "Then Aung San
Suu Kyi intervened to settle the tension."
Details of yesterday’s dramatic episode were
given today at a press conference at NLD headquarters in
Rangoon. U Lwin noted that this is the most serious harassment
Suu Kyi has received from the government since September 2000,
when her entourage was barred from travelling to Mandalay.
Suu Kyi was placed under 19 months of house
arrest following that incident.
The NLD also stressed the significance of
government intimidation efforts aimed at keeping supporters from
welcoming Suu Kyi to Arakan State.
Mrauk-Oo looked like a ghost town when Suu Kyi
first arrived on Wednesday, according to NLD sources. Local
government authorities also reportedly warned Buddhist
monasteries and temples not to permit visits by Suu Kyi.
After leaving Mrauk-Oo, Suu Kyi’s entourage
stopped by at Kyauktaw Township and headed to Ponnagyun where
she planned to visit the famous Ponnagyun Temple. Authorities,
however, did not permit her party from entering Ponnagyun.
Yesterday evening, Suu Kyi faced even more harassment, when she
traveled to Sittwe. Security forces had already been deployed
and were lining the city’s intersections. "There were around 25
soldiers guarding every junction of Sittwe," said U Lwin.
According to the NLD, they feel the harassment
is being organized at the local level and is not being dictated
by Rangoon. They said local police, fire brigades and active
members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association
[USDA], the junta’s de facto political party, had been working
together to interfere with Suu Kyi's trip and intimidate locals.
"I am in regular contact with the authorities in
Rangoon to resolve these problems," U Lwin said. "I don't think
this is a sign of resuming confrontation between the government
and the NLD. Since the government claimed that they already
turned a new page in history, they should not return to the
previous one. They must have courage to go on positively."
Suu Kyi left Rangoon Monday for a two-week tour
of Arakan State and Chin State along Burma’s western border with
Bangladesh and India. Despite the harassment, Suu Kyi said she
would be continuing her trip.
The NLD also expressed dismay towards the
government after completing a two-week political organizing trip
to Shan State in November. The NLD complained that there had
been excessive surveillance of their leader, with security
officials constantly snapping photos of her, even when she was
resting.
Source: Irrawaddy online, (By Min Zin ) , December
19 ,2002
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Burmese Junta Leader reached Dhaka yesterday
Chittagong, December 16,02: The Burmese junta leader Gen. Than
Shwe, also the chairman of Myanmar’s SPDC, arrived Dhaka
yesterday morning for a two-day state visit to Bangladesh at the
invitation of Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia.
Prime Minister Beguym Kahleda Zia received Gen. Than Shwe and
Madame Kyaing Kyaing when they arrive Zia International Airport
by a special flight of Myanmar Airways International at about
10:35am.
Myanmar PM is leading a 54 member delegation that included his
wife, two daughters and ministers of Foreign Affairs,
Agriculture, Industries and Commerce.
Myanmar PM was given a red-carpet reception on his arrival. A
smartly turned out contingent drawn from the three services
presented a guard of honor and gave 21 gun salutes.
Bangladesh and Myanmar reached total understanding on road link
between the two countries and decided to set up two task forces
for studying technical and financial feasibilities in this
regard.
One agreement and MOU were also signed between the two
countries yesterday following the formal talks of PM Begum
Khaleda Zia with the visiting Myanmar PM Senior Gen. Than Shwe.
Foreign ministers of two countries signed the agreement on
Culture Cooperation between the two countries and the MOU on
Annual Consultation between two foreign ministers.
The Cultural accord aims at promoting and strengthening
relations in different fields including art, music, education,
research, media and tourism.
During the talks, Bangladesh side said bilateral trade between
Bangladesh and Myanmar can be boosted, if border trade
facilities can be expanded.
Begum Zia stressed on concluding agreements on avoidance of
double taxation and arrangement of coastal shipping of the
benefit of the both countries. In response, Gen. Than Shwe said
he would instruct his officials to look into the suggestions.
Repatriation of some 22,000 Rohingya refugees, who are still
staying in Bangladesh, also camp up for discussion. Shwe told
Begum Zia that his Government is committed to solve the issue
through dialogue.
“Than Shwe was positive on Rohingya issue, he expressed
willingness to take back remaining refugees from Bangladesh
through proper way” the Foreign Secretary Mr. Shamser Mobin told
a questioner.
“The Myanmar leader also assured that his Govt. would support
and help Bangladesh to become a dialogue partner of ASEAN”, the
Foreign Secretary said.
During the talks, Than Shwe apprised Begum Zia about the
prevailing political situation in his country and said his Govt.
has no intention to deny democratic
rights of the people. “Presently, Myanmar is in a transition
period to democracy”, he pointed out.
Source:
Kaladan Press, ( Editor ) , December
16 ,2002
TOP
Burma Bangladesh on a new course: Improved relations and road
link
Burma and Bangladesh have agreed to establish
road links at a prime ministerial level talk held yesterday.
The two countries would sponsor two technical and financial
taskforces to conduct feasibility studies on the Dhaka to
Rangoon road link shortly, reported the local press. The
Burmese leader said that Burma is ready for the establishment of
road links.
Prime minister of Burma and chairman of State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC) junta senior general Than
Shwe arrived at Dhaka Tuesday morning on a two-day state visit
as the head of a 55 member delegation.
He was given a warm reception by Bangladeshi
Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia at the Zia International
airport. Burmese junta leader was given a red carpet welcome
and a 21-gun salute on his arrival.
Just before the official dialogue, the two
leaders had a twenty minute long informal discussion at the
Prime Minister's Office. Present in the occasion were Foreign
Minister and the chief secretary.
An agreement was reached when the Bangladesh
side formally proposed for establishment of road links between
the two countries in the bilateral talked. Both sides agreed to
set off two task forces in this regard.
On repatriation of Rohingya refugees the Burmese
side expressed their determination to take all of them back
through bilateral and normal course within a short time.
Besides road link the two sides also agreed on
coastal shipping agreement, stepping up border trade and easier
visa procedures for the business community and doing away with
the double-taxation that sometimes pose obstacles to smooth
trade between the two countries. They also agreed to set up a
joint business council.
In the light of the success of a Bangladeshi
Trade Fair in Rangoon, Burma announced to hold a Burmese trade
fair in Dhaka.
On including Bangladesh as a dialogue partner of
ASEAN, Burma ensured that it not only supports the proposition
but also would like to discuss with the other members of the
regional forum on this regard.
Agreement was also reached on improved bilateral
trade. At the end of the official talks, foreign ministers of
the two countries signed deals on two agreements: that the
foreign ministers of the two countries would officially meet at
least once a year to discuss bilateral issues in the two
capitals, and that there would be promotion in the fields
including arts, culture, scientific research, media and tourism
development.
The Burmese junta leader reached Dhaka on a
two-day official visit at 10.40 am. Four air force fighter
planes guarded the specially chartered plane carrying the
guests. Bangladeshi prime minister welcomed the distinguished
guests at the VVIP tarmac. A smartly turned out contingent of
members of the air force, armed force and navy gave a guard of
honour to the prime ministers.
Among the 55 member delegation are the wife of
the Burmese junta leader, two daughters, secretary 1 of SPDC
junta, and other higher officials.
From the airport the Burmese delegation went to
the National Mausoleum at Savar Nabinagar and paid homage to the
martyrs of the liberation war of Bangladesh. The junta leader
also planted a medicinal plant there. He attended a banquet at
Bangabhavan hosted by the Bangladeshi prime minister.
In the evening the two heads of state held a
formal bilateral talk at the Prime Minister's Office. At a
press conference held later in the office of the foreign
minister the foreign secretary Shamser Mabin Chowdhury said that
the talks was held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere. The
visit, he hoped, would strengthen the historical and friendly
relations of the two countries.
The secretary said that Madame Zia remembered
the state visit of the late Bangladeshi president Ziaur Rahman,
her deceased husband, in July 1977.
The Burmese leader remembered the late president
with a deep sense of honour and mentioned him as a great leader
in the region. This was the first official visit of a
high-ranking leader of Burma in the last sixteen years. The
Burmese leader gave assurance to keep "Burma's door" always open
to the bilateral trade, and increased trade and economic
activities with Bangladesh.
The Bangladeshi Prime Minister proposed poverty
alleviation, development, rule of law, establishment of a
corruption-free society and other related fields of
development. She also stressed on her government's deep
commitment to develop friendly relations with the neighbours and
the world at large. She said that the trade has made headway,
but there was a need for changing the accounting system for the
trade. She also requested for extending visa to the
Bangladeshi businessmen for up to six months and to facilitate
travelling up to Sittwe with a border pass.
The Burmese leader also said that his government
is firmly resolved to establish democracy. He also mentioned
about the presence of an interim arrangement in this regard. He
expressed his satisfaction at the measures taken by the
Bangladeshi government concerning the (Burmese) separatists and
thanked her for the measures taken.
To the proposal of the repatriation of the
Rohingyas he agreed to take measures to repatriate them soon
through agreement by discussion. At the end the prime minister
of Bangladesh accepted the invitation of the Burmese junta
leader to visit Burma.
Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh to a question
said that most of the Rohingya refugees have returned while the
rest few would be soon repatriated through bilateral discussions
between the two countries. But he did not mention any time
frame for when would the repatriation take place. He also
assured that the Burmese side have given clearance for five
thousand Rohingya refugees out of the 22,000 remaining in the
camps.To another question he said that the proposed road link
with Burma is not related to the Asian Highway. But he said
that Bangladesh wants to get linked with ASEAN by establishing
road links with Burma.
Bangladesh hoped to benefit from the proposed
road link as it would open up trade up to the ASEAN countries
and China through Burma.
For repatriation of Bangladeshi prisoners in
Burma he said that, there were four prisoners there while two
have already been repatriated.
The Burmese junta leader would call on the
President of Bangladesh, Iaz Uddin Ahmed, this afternoon and
join a lunch party hosted in his honour.
Besides this the trade ministers of the two
countries will meet today.
The Burmese prime minister leaves for home this
evening.
Source: Narinjara News , December
18 ,2002
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Myanmar, Bangladesh agree on road, cooperation on Asean
Myanmar and Bangladesh on Tuesday agreed to
boost bilateral ties with linking their two capitals by road "at
the earliest," a foreign ministry spokesman said.
"Myanmar Senior General Than Shwe responded
positively to (Bangladesh) Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's proposal
for linking Dhaka and Yangon by road at the earliest," Foreign
Secretary Shamser Mobin Chowdhury told reporters.
He added:"Task forces on studying technical and
economic feasibility study on the road link will be set up at
the earliest." Chowdhury said Than Shwe, in reply to Zia's
request on backing Bangladesh's eagerness to join the Asian
Regional Forum (ARF), responded by saying "we will not only help
Bangladesh, but will also talk with other ASEAN members to
support Bangladesh."
Joining ARF is the first step in becoming a
dialogue partner of the Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN) and Dhaka is seeking it as part of its efforts to
develop ties with its eastern neighbours who have made great
economic strides.
Zia termed the visit as a "historical one" and
hoped it has opened "a new era of bilateral ties."
Zia told reporters "the talks have been very
fruitful."
Foreign affairs analysts here said a road link
between the two capitals would open wider links to ASEAN member
countries.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam.
Earlier on the day, Than Shwe arrived on his
maiden visit to neighbouring Bangladesh and held official talks
with Zia.
Than Shwe, Myanmar's military
commander-in-chief, prime minister and defence minister, was
greeted by Zia and cabinet members as he arrived at the
colourfully decorated Zia International Airport in Dhaka.
Four Bangladesh Air Force fighter aircraft had
escorted his plane as it landed and a 21 gun-salute heralded his
arrival.
The leader reviewed an armed forces honour guard
before driving to the nearby National Martyrs' Memorial,
dedicated to those who died in Bangladesh's 1971 war of
independence.
Myanmar, formerly Burma, was among the first
countries to recognise Bangladesh after it won independence from
Pakistan in 1971.
Than Shwe, whose planned trip last year was
cancelled due to illness, is the first leader of Myanmar's junta
to visit Bangladesh. In 1986 the then president Yu San Wu came
to Dhaka.
He is accompanied on his two-day visit by a
38-member delegation, including his wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing and
two daughters.
The two countries also signed a memorandum of
understanding and agreement.
Among the delegation are Foreign Minister Win
Aung, Commerce Minister Brigadier General Pyi Sone and Industry
Minister Aung Thaung.
He will also meet President Iajuddin Ahmed on
Wednesday. Current trade between Bangladesh and Mynamar is very
small.
Relations between the neighbours were strained
in the early 1990s when around 250,000 Rohingya Muslims flooded
into Bangladesh from Myanmar, claiming atrocities by the junta.
Ties have improved since then, with the
repatriation of most of the refugees under a United Nations
agreement, but more than 20,000 still live in camps in
Bangladesh.
The spokesman said Than Shwe also assured of
repatriating the remaining Rohingyas through proper process.
Source: Agence France-Presse(AFP),( By Nadeem
Qadir) December
17 ,2002
TOP
Myanmar gets low-calibre Indian artillery
New Delhi: In line with its new policy of doing business with
the military junta in Myanmar, India has begun shipping low-calibre
artillery pieces, ammunition and pyrotechnic signalling devices
to Yangon.
The first consignment of these artillery pieces, drawn from
ordnance stores at Jabalpur and Panagarh, was shipped last
month. The Army's Eastern Command will also be sending the
second consignment, comprising ammunition for the artillery,
mortar pieces and signal hardware.
Once the shipment is completed, an Army delegation will
travel to Myanmar to familiarise their counterparts with the
equipment.
The cargo for Yangon includes:
* 40,000 rounds of high-explosive (HE) ammunition for the
75/24 mm howitzer
* 5000 rounds of smoke ammunition for the 120-mm mortar and
20,000 rounds of HE mortar ammunition
* 25,000 rounds for the 40 mm L-70 AD gun
* Pyrotechnic signalling devices, 25,000 rounds each of red,
green and white
* 5000 rounds for the Carl Gustav rocket launchers
The military export follows the visit to India in February
this year by Maj Gen Thura Shwe Mann of the SPDC - the junta
functions as the State Peace and Development Council - which
evinced interest in Indian ordnance equipment.
Sources at Army headquarters said the Myanmarese fancied the
105-mm artillery gun but the request was turned down. Artillery
pieces of lower calibre were instead shipped across with the
promise to "familiarise and train" them.
In February 2001, India signalled the start of a new phase in
relations with its eastern neighbour when the then External
Affairs Minister, Jaswant Singh, flew to Myanmar to open the
strategic Kalay-Kalewa-Kyigon-Tamu road constructed by the
Indian Border Roads Organisation. This stretch will form part of
the designated Asian Highway from Singapore to Istanbul.
New Delhi considers Yangon as the gateway to the ASEAN though
it is aware of the growing Chinese influence in Myanmar. India
is also discussing measures to check North-East insurgents
operating out of bases in Myanmar.
Source: Asian Tribune , December
17 ,2002
TOP
Bangladesh:
Myanmar Ruler Vows Democracy
Myanmar's military ruler has promised a return
to democracy, the country's leader was quoted as saying by the
Bangladeshi government Tuesday. But there was no indication of
when the ruling junta might allow elections or a new
constitution.
"The military establishment has no intention to
deny democracy to the Myanmar people, and state power ultimately
belongs to the people. The present set up is a transitional
arrangement," Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shamser Mobin
Chowdhury quoted Myanmar's Senior Gen. Than Shwe as telling the
Bangladeshi prime minister on Tuesday.
Apart from the release of opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi and some political detainees, Myanmar's military
junta has made no other concessions or given any indication that
it is getting ready to give up its grip on power.
The Myanmar side did not hold any news briefing
after the meetings in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital.
The Myanmar leader arrived Tuesday in Dhaka on a
two-day visit, aiming to promote trade, communication links and
cultural exchanges.
Source: Associated Press ( AP ), December
17 ,2002
TOP
Myanmar's strongman began with a method to his madness
The death of Myanmar's former strongman, Ne Win,
this month was an opportunity widely taken to flay his dismal
record as a national leader and eccentric character.
But for all his much-trumpeted quirks, Ne Win's
journey to power was less mad and more organised than is
generally recognised. After all, he did take definitive control
of the chaotic country after his coup in 1962.
During the civil war that followed independence
in 1948, the ethnic Karen forces fought Ne Win's army on the
outskirts of Yangon. It was Ne Win's finest hour. The experience
of surviving provided the military with a vital esprit de corps,
a feeling that anything was possible with enough determination.
Many histories, certainly contemporary reviews, credit the
success of the coup largely to Ne Win's charisma and the respect
of his troops. This may have been important but it overlooks a
perhaps more important point.
In the years immediately after 1948, army
commanders in the field had an unusual degree of freedom.
Desperately short of resources, they did deals with local
rebels, made money by taxing smugglers, traded in weapons and
generally behaved like little warlords.
Yet during the 1950s, when the country was
partaking of its brief, chaotic experiment with democracy, the
military underwent vigorous reform.
Analyst Mary Callahan wrote a few years ago:
"There is a tendency even today to hold up Ne Win as the
residual cause for whatever curious politics or reforms come out
of the country.
"No amount of charisma could have pulled off
either the coup of 1962 or the radical reforms that followed if
the military planning staff . . . had not laid the framework,"
she said.
In other words, a decade was spent creating an
institution which, by the standards of the time and place,
worked unusually well. That the army embarked after its coup on
a radical restructuring of the economy was no whim of Ne Win's.
Army officers had studied the foreign domination of the economy
for years. A psychological warfare section had devoted itself to
winning the hearts and minds of a bemused population.
It was an unfortunate accident of history that
the nation-building forces in Myanmar found their strongest,
plainest expression not in any political party but in the
military. This again was no Ne Win conspiracy.
The ruling civilian coalition was a mess that
might have developed into something under the independence hero
Aung San. But this powerful personality was assassinated by a
rival almost on the eve of independence, leaving an organisation
that had little power to implement policy outside the capital.
The ruling coalition was riven with tensions
that hindered the development of workable policy, thwarted the
ambitions of enterprising men and failed to provide a
satisfactory outlet even for venting political differences.
The country ended up with the irascible Ne Win -
an intelligent man who spent many of his formative years in the
company of friends-cum-rivals such as Aung San and U Nu, who
later became prime minister. What Ne Win had that his former
friends did not was both an organisation and a plan.
It was probably not a very good plan even by the
post-colonial standards of many newly free countries of the
time, but it was a plan for all that.
Ne Win was fond of saying in the early years
after the coup that "cardinal virtues such as mutual trust,
magnanimity and the spirit of co-operation are almost
non-existent". Could it not be argued that that situation exists
today? For all his faults, Ne Win set himself achievable
targets.
Who has a plan for Myanmar now? The military's
goal is mere survival. The opposition's goal is to get the
military out - but then what? If the past half-century has
taught potential leaders of Myanmar anything, it is that nothing
can be done without a strong platform and a clearly defined end.
Too many of the military's opponents define
themselves by their opposition to the regime - not by their
ambition. William Barnes is the Post's correspondent based in
Bangkok.
Source: South China Morning Post,( By William
Barnes ), December
17 ,2002
TOP
Opposition leader Suu Kyi begins political tour of Myanmar's
west
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
departed Yangon Monday for a two-week tour of Rakhine and Chin
states in the country's west bordering Bangladesh and India,
party officials said.
Only a fortnight ago the Nobel peace laureate
completed an extensive tour of Shan state in northeast Myanmar,
as she exercised her newly won freedom to travel around the
country.
She was released from 19 months under house
arrest in May with a guarantee from the military government that
she could make political trips to rebuild her party, which had
suffered in the years she was confined to Yangon. On the latest
trip, one of several undertaken in recent months,she was again
accompanied by National League for Democracy (NLD) vice-chairman
Tin Oo and a group of youth wing members who act as her personal
security.
The group were heading on an arduous road
journey to the sea-port town of Sitwe, the state capital of
Rakhine which lies about 634 miles (1,025 kilometres) northwest
of the capital.
Rakhine is effectively divided from the rest of
Myanmar by a long stretch of hills called the Arakan Yoma which
are difficult to negotiate throughout most of the year,
particularly during the rainy season which has now abated.
Aung San Suu Kyi's party was expected to arrive
later Monday in Pyay, a town 180 miles (112 kilometres)
northwest of Yangon in Pago Division, before starting out on the
17-hour journey to Sitwe across the Arakan Yoma.
The party officials said the group is expected
to first visit the southern part of Rakhine state, where the NLD
made a clean sweep during disallowed 1990 general elections,
before making their way to Sitwe in the north.
Before returning to Yangon, she is also expected
to cross over into Chin state which borders India.
After November's two-week trip to Shan state,
the NLD complained there had been excessive surveillance of
their leader, with security officials constantly snapping photos
of her even when she was resting.
Source: Agence France-Presse ( AFP ), December
16 ,2002
TOP
Myanmar PM visit Dhaka tomorrow
Chittagong, December 16: Myanmar (Burma) Prime
Minister Senior General Than Shwe will fly in Dhaka tomorrow on
two-day visit to Bangladesh, according tothe Daily Star.
His wife Madame Daw
Kyiang Kyaing will accompany General Than Shwe and his large
entourage will also comprise Secretary- 1- General Khin Nyunt
and his wife, member of the SPDC Lt. Gen. Khing Maung Than, the
agriculture and irrigation minister and his wife, the industry
minister (1), the foreign minister and his wife, the commerce
minister, the deputy foreign minister, the deputy health
minister, the deputy irrigation and population minister and a
number of high civil and military officials from different
ministries, it further added.
The visit is as a
“landmark” that intends to bolster bilateral cooperation,
particularly in trade and commerce, said a foreign ministry
announcement yesterday.
“ This will be the
first high-profile meet between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the
last 16 years said”, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh.
The two Prime Ministers
would hold officials talks tomorrow afternoon at the Prime
Minister’s Office, according to the Foreign Ministry release.
“The officials talks
would cover the entire gamut of Bangladesh- Myanmar bilateral
relations with special emphasis on trade and economic
cooperation, and road linkage between the two countries”, said
the foreign ministry release.
Bangladesh Prime
Minister, Khaleda Zia said in a meeting with Thai Prime Minister
while she recently visited Thailand, all the three
countries---Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand--- should work
together for implementation of the Asian Highway for the greater
benefit of the people. And she also assured to the Thai Prime
Minister that the proposal Asian Highway, connecting the three
countries, would be on the top agenda of the meeting of between
Bangladesh and Myanmar, according to the Daily Star of 14th
December.
Local sources said that
the“ Burmese Rohingya Refugees issue” would be also discussed in
the two countries meeting.
The visit of the
Chairman and other senior leaders of the SPDC and the government
of Myanmar to Bangladesh will provide impetus to further
strengthening relations between two countries, the Daily Star
further added.
Senior General Than
Shwe is due to leave for Rangoon on 18th December afternoon.
Source: Kaladan Press Network ,( by
Editor ), December 16 ,2002
TOP
Bangladesh set to welcome Myanmar leader on maiden visit
Myanmar's leader Senior General Than Shwe is to
make his first visit to neighbouring Bangladesh this week,
officials said Sunday.
Than Shwe, Myanmar's military
commander-in-chief, prime minister and defence minister, was to
arrive here Tuesday on a two-day official visit.
"The landmark visit of the chairman and other
senior leaders of the State Peace and Development Council... to
Bangladesh will provide impetus to further strengthening
relations between Bangladesh and Myanmar," a foreign ministry
official said.
Than Shwe is the first Myanmar leader to visit
Bangladesh since Dhaka won independence from Pakistan in 1971.
Myanmar, formerly Burma, was among the first countries to
recognise the new state.
Than Shwe is to meet Prime Minister Khaleda Zia
to discuss bilateral ties, "particularly in the areas of trade,
economic cooperation and road linkage between the two
countries," the official said.
He will also meet President Iajuddin Ahmed.
Than Shwe was due to visit last year, but the
trip was postponed after he fell ill.
Relations between the neighbours were strained
in the early 1990s when around 250,000 Rohingya Muslims flooded
into Bangladesh from Myanmar, claiming atrocities by the junta
against them.
Ties have improved since then, with the
repatriation of most of the refugees under a United Nations
agreement, but more than 20,000 still live in camps in
Bangladesh.
Source: Agence France-Presse (AFP ) , December
15 ,2002
TOP
Opposition
Plots New Course
December 06, 2002—The Burmese opposition
pushed the political envelope a little further this week by
testing the tolerance of the ruling State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC). On Wednesday the Committee Representing the
People’s Parliament (CRPP), an umbrella organization for
opposition groups inside Burma, accepted two more political
parties—including exiled Prime Minister Dr Sein Win’s party.
Three political parties and one independent
elected Member of Parliament (MP) applied for CRPP membership
this week. CRPP Secretary U Aye Tha Aung, however, said that
only two of the parties, along with the independent MP, were
accepted. The new members are Dr Sein Win’s National Democracy
Party and the Party for National Human Rights and Democracy.
Both parties were banned by the military regime in 1991. No
reason was given for why the third party was denied membership.
The CRPP was formed in September 1998 after
authorities refused to convene Parliament. The CRPP attempted to
call its own session, inviting all elected MPs from the 1990
election, however, hundreds of MPs were arrested for trying to
attend, and 18 of those remain in detention.
The original members of the CRPP are the NLD,
Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD), Arakan League for
Democracy, Mon National League for Democracy and the Zomi
National Congress.
Rangoon-based observers have noted the expansion
of the CRPP is one of the more significant moves taken by the
opposition since Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
was released from house arrest in May. There has been no
immediate reaction from the SPDC. But last October when the CRPP
first expanded, regime officials said it was normal and did not
crackdown on the group.
SNLD leader Khun Htun Oo said the expansion of
the CRPP is part of a shifting strategy by the opposition.
"It's a new way to break the current political
deadlock," says Khun Htun Oo. "We should see the CRPP
as a negotiating token."
He also urged all political parties and
independent MPs to join the CRPP in order to gain legal status
from the regime. "The allowed expansion of the CRPP means
all members are becoming semi-legal even though they were banned
by authorities," adds Khun Htun Oo. The regime only
recognizes three parties: the National Unity Party, comprised of
former socialist party members, the NLD and SNLD.
U Aye Tha Aung told the Oslo-based Democratic
Voice of Burma that the SPDC needs to stop dragging its feet and
enter into dialogue with either the CRPP or the NLD.
Meanwhile, the NLD has decided to accept new
party members. The decision came in late November after Aung San
Suu Kyi returned from a two week political organizing trip in
Shan State. "Many people want to join our party, mostly
youth, and now we are ready for it," said NLD spokesperson
U Lwin.
U Lwin refused to comment on whether the
opposition is now shifting courses to a more proactive line.
However, many see the CRPP expansion and the NLD’s increasing
party membership as indicators that the opposition is no longer
content on simply waiting for dialogue.
Source: Irrawaddy , ( By Htet Aung Kyaw), December
6,2002
TOP
Muslims
from Burma flee forced labour
A fresh intrusion of Muslims from Burma
including the Rohingya Muslims has
been reported through the porous borders of the south-eastern
district of Bangladesh close to Burma's western border, reports
our correspondent.
The influx has caused wide concern among the
local administration. So far an estimated five thousand
illegal Rohingyas crossed the Naaf River up to
the last week of November who took shelter in the district of
Cox's Bazaar, according to a news item in the Independent ( 26
Nov) from Dhaka.
Though the officials claimed the number to be
3,500 the actual number of
the new arrivals could not be ascertained as many get mingled
with the local Muslim population, residents in the area said.
When investigated, our correspondent came to
know that the influx resulted
from fresh forced labour employed by the Burmese junta officials
at home.
Zabid Ali (not real name), a resident of
northern part of Maungdaw
Township available in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, said that there
is an
undisclosed famine-like situation prevailing in the entire area
where Rohingya Muslims largely live due to conscription for
forced labour in
construction works. Besides, the cost of essentials in recent
months has recorded the highest in the area, making life very
difficult. There were
no jobs available, too, he added. When asked about the
actual number of Rohingya Muslims presently staying in
Bangladesh he said he did not know, but in Cox's Bazaar upazila
alone, the number of illegal Rohingyas would be about nine or
ten thousand he said.
"The Burmese junta imposed travel
restrictions on the movements of the
Muslim Rohingyas also make our life miserable as we cannot even
move from one village to another without the permission of the
local junta officials. That does not come without a large
bribe," he said, "Our wedding also needs
permission from the junta to take place. In the coming
Eid-ul-fitr, the greatest of Muslim festivals, we will have
difficult times observing it as most of the Muslim population is
hard-up due to all the restrictions."
Meanwhile, the unscrupulous businessmen in the
district have been engaged in producing semai (a kind of
vermicelli), the popular sweet used during the Muslim festival
of Eid celebrated at the end of the month-long Ramadan fasting
using palm stearin, in frying the product, which have been
smuggled into Burma. Palm stearin is used in soap-making
but in this case
it is used in making artificial ghee (as the real clarified
butter is costly) that is used in frying the vermicelli before
smuggling it to Burma, according to a local newspaper report
here. The article demanded that at least one hundred tons
of semai will make its way into Burma before the Eid, posing a
health threat to thousands of Muslims there.
Source: Narinjara News , December 5
,2002
TOP
The
Death of Burma's Despot
News of today’s death of Ne Win was met with
skepticism and disbelief. It
wasn’t the first time that the former dictator who ruled Burma
with an iron-fist for 26 years passed away in the news.
Family members said Ne Win, 91, died this
morning at 7.30 in his lakeside villa where he had been confined
with his daughter since the arrest of his three grandsons and
son-in-law on March 7. They were charged with
attempting to overthrow Burma’s military government, the State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Ne Win’s favorite
daughter, Sandar Win, who was also accused of masterminding the
alleged coup, remains under house arrest.
Unconfirmed reports say that an earthquake
occurred at 6.00 this morning about 150km outside of Rangoon.
Journalists in Rangoon say that Ne Win has already been cremated
and that his funeral was attended by family members and about 20
military officers wearing civilian clothing. Former friends and
close associates of the strongman expressed their grief, but
doubt that dramatic political changes are in store as a result
of his death.
Aung Gyi, 83, who served under Ne Win’s
government, then known as the Revolutionary Council [RC], was
shaken by the news. "I feel sad for him as the final
episode of his life was disgraceful."
"He was responsible for what has happened to the
country." His remarks were the veteran politician’s first
critical comments against his former boss. He and Ne Win
masterminded the coup in 1962, but Aung Gyi
quickly fell out of his favor. After being forced to resign he
was thrown into prison for proposing more pragmatic economic
policies.
Prior to the 1988 democracy uprising, Aung Gyi wrote a series of
open letters to the general asking him to initiate economic
reform, but it never happened.
According to Thakin Chan Htun, a veteran
politician living in Rangoon, Ne Win had played a key role
during the independence movement but after seizing power in
1962, his "Burmese Way to Socialism" drove the country
to economic ruin.
Thakin Chan Htun put the death in a Buddhist
perspective saying that Ne Win was paying retribution for his
past actions by spending his final days as a prisoner of the
military regime "because of the similar actions he
had taken against other people".
Under Ne Win’s rule many were imprisoned or
placed under house arrest.
Prominent political leaders died in detention while others
survived the harsh punishment and torture. "Ne Win died
while under house arrest,"
noted Thakin Chan Htun. "I felt sad to hear the news, and I
pray for him."
After his official resignation as Burma’s
leader in 1988, many veteran
politicians and friends went to see Ne Win and advised him to
help change the country, but Ne Win seemingly lost all interest
in politics.
U Tin Htun, a high-ranking army officer in his
80s who was close to Ne Win, said that he had advised the former
leader to die as a savior of the
country, not as a villain.
"I told him [after Ne Win stepped down in
1988] to take part in politics [to undertake reform]. He did not
listen and said he is only interested in religion and
meditation. He chose to die as a villain."
Close associates to Ne Win, including
Singapore’s Senior Minster Lee Kwan Yew, agreed that "the
Old Man" lost interest in politics in his later years and
instead devoted himself to meditation. The two political leaders
often met on Ne Win’s visits to Singapore.
In his memoirs, Lee Kwan Yew writes: "He [Ne
Win] talked about his peace and serenity of mind through his
practice of meditation. For two years
after he withdrew from the government in 1988, he had been in
torment, fretting and worrying about what was going on in the
country. Then in 1990 he began to get interested in and practice
meditation. He was spending many hours each day in silent
meditation. He certainly looked much better than the sickly
person I had met in Rangoon in 1986."
U Tin Htun added that Ne Win was surrounded by
people who cared little
about him.
"They take action against him when they
feel strong and confident," he said, referring to the
alleged coup conspiracy. "The general was betrayed
by his own people who he brought up."
Ne Win’s death in Rangoon immediately raised
questions concerning Burma’s future and the internal struggle
among the top generals.
Nothing will change, however, according to U
Lwin, once a deputy minister for finance under Ne Win and now a
secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD).
U Lwin said that when his department recognized
financial and economic problems looming ahead, he suggested to
Ne Win to receive foreign aid and begin earnest reforms. He
agreed initially but later changed his mind and
ignored the issue.
Ne Win was born on May 24, 1911 at Paungdale in
Prome. His parents, U Po Kha and Daw Mi Lay, gave him the name
Shu Maung. When he joined the Burmese resistance forces to
liberate Burma from the British, he changed his name to Ne Win,
meaning the "Sun of Glory".
Ne Win officially came to power in a 1962 coup
and formally stepped down in July 1988 amid nationwide protests
calling for an end to his 26 years of military rule, a period
that drove Burma into deep poverty.
Since then, many believed that the Old Man had
continued to play a
"behind-the-scenes" role in politics.
In May of last year, Ne Win surprised everyone
by appearing at the Sedona
Hotel in Rangoon to celebrate his 90th birthday. His favorite
daughter, Sandar Win, and some old military friends accompanied
Ne Win to the ceremony. Those in attendance included Aye Ko and
Myo Nyunt, and Sein Lwin, also known as the "Butcher of
Rangoon" for his role in the 1988 massacres.
It was an unexpected ending for the "Sun of
Glory". He never thought he would die in disgrace. Despite
being a pivotal figure in Burma’s modern political history, Ne
Win will be remembered only as a despot.
Source: Irrawaddy, ( By Aung Zaw ),
December 5
,2002
TOP
Former
Myanmar strongman dies
In his last public appearance in March last
year, General Ne Win appeared
a mere shadow of the powerful figure he once was.
Ne Win ruled with an iron fist in what was then
called Burma (now Myanmar) for 26 years, seizing power in a
bloodless coup in 1962.
Since then, he took the country from relative prosperity to
poverty during
his hard-line socialist rule, damaging his reputation as a hero
for his role in winning independence from Britain in 1948.
Rarely appearing in photographs, especially
since his retirement from politics, there have been several
reports of his death over the years, but they have always ended
up being little more than rumor.
On this occasion, though Ne Win's death was not
announced officially, a senior military official told CNN that
they could not deny the story of
his passing.
The reclusive general died early Thursday, aged
91.
His health had been declining in recent years and the former
dictator suffered a heart attack in September last year and had
a pacemaker attached.
That was reportedly done in Singapore -- a
favorite destination for Ne Win because of the high quality of
medical care in the city-state.
Once a powerful figure, Ne Win had faded into
the history books over the years and was totally discredited
earlier this year after he and members of his family were placed
under house arrest.
His three grandsons and one son-in-law were
accused and convicted of corruption and attempts to overthrow
the military government. All received
death sentences but are appealing their convictions.
Ne Win retired from politics and public life in
1988 just prior to a
popular uprising for democracy led by Nobel Peace Prize winner
Aung San
Suu Kyi, daughter of the late independence hero General Aung
San.
But he still maintained a lot of behind-the-scenes political
clout.
In recent months, Aung San Suu Kyi and the
current military government have held secret talks to attempt a
dialogue between the two sides.
Following Ne Win's death, those talks may now have a better
chance of moving forward.
Source: CNN , December 5,2002
TOP
Swedish
Ambassador calls at villages in western Burma
Mr Jan Nordlander, Swedish Ambassador in Bangkok
called at some villages
in the western part of Burma, northern part of Maungdaw Township
in Arakan (Rakhine) State, according to our correspondent
quoting a high-ranking
official.
An entourage of nine dignitaries including Mr
Rao, the Chief of UNHCR
branch at Maungdaw, accompanied the Ambassador on his tour on 27
November.
The dignitaries accompanied the Ambassador to
Kring-chaung High School, where he watched the UNHCR
distributing rice to the disadvantaged students in the area.
From there he went to Aung-cheilk-prung (Aung-seik-pyin)
Embroidery School where local jobless female students were
attending
training classes.
Later he headed towards another nearby village
Uda-rwa where the villagers complained him about the difficulty
in eking out a living and scarcity of rice there, concluded our
correspondent.
In the morning he called Lieutenant Colonel Aung
Ngwe at the Nasaka Security headquarters at Kyigan Byin in the
western Burmese town of Maungdaw, close to Bangladesh. He
was accompanied by high officials from UNHCR, Rangoon, and
others from Maungdaw.
The Ambassador was there to have a look over the
ongoing activities of the
UNHCR including the repatriation process. He also
expressed his surprise at the difference of the developmental
activities of the region as a whole compared to Rangoon and he
said he felt deeply for all the underdevelopment he saw in his
short visit, the official said.
He then put some questions to the Nasaka
officials. He wanted to know
whether there were restrictions on the movement of the local
residents, how the junta officials took measures to provide the
landless repatriated
refugees in the area, the means the authority adopted to
differentiate between distribution of land to the model villages
and that of the
repatriated refugees, and finally he enquired about the
existence of any form of forced labour in the area.
When the questions about the repatriation of
refugees and distribution of
land to them and the existence of forced labour were raised, Lt
Col Aung Ngwe replied that there were no discrepancies in this
regard, and therefore there were no dissatisfaction among the
returnees or the local population.
On November 28, the Ambassador and his entourage
visited the repatriation camps in the area and left for Mrauk-u,
the ancient city of Rakhine State in western Burma.
Source: Narinjara News , December 4
,2002
TOP
Burmese
Nasaka troops summarily executed two Rohingya villagers in
Arakan
Maungdaw, Dec. 04: Burmese
Border Security Force ( Nasaka ) summarily executed two
Rohingya villagers on 23rd November 2002 in the Headquarters of
Nasaka Sector No.2, at Maungdaw Township in Arakan State,
Western part of Burma, said a source in Nasaka Headquarters.
The two youths are: Ansar Ullah son
of Maulvi Syed Alam, 18 years, Ngaran Chaung Village; Shafiur
Rahman son of Mohamed Ismail, 38 years, Linchi village, both of
them belong to Maungdaw township, Arakan State, the source
further added. These villages are only about 2 miles from
Burma-Bangladesh border.
It may be mentioned here that on
21st October 2002, there was a landmine blast near the
Headquaters of Nasaka Sector 2 at Burapara under Linchi ( Linthi
) Village Track about 38 miles north of Maungdaw town, Arakan
State. In this blast two army personnel including a sergeant
were killed and two other wounded which were earlier laid by the
Nasaka troops themselves. The above two youths were implicated
in the blast case but were not tried in the court. After
detaining and torturing inhumanly for one moth the two were
summarily executed in the Nasaksa Headquarters.
Source: Kaladan Press Network ,( by
Editor ), December 4 ,2002
TOP
Persecuted
Muslims Fear Deportation to Military Burma
Over 4,000 undocumented Rohingya
asylum seekers camping near local
administration buildings in Teknaf, Bangladesh fear deportation
to
military-ruled Burma.
The asylum seekers, members of a
stateless Muslim ethnic minority group from Burma’s Arakan
State, have been living in appalling conditions since 15
November, after being evicted from the houses in Teknaf,
Bangladesh, where they were taking refuge. The Asian Forum
for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia) called on the
Government of Bangladesh and the UNHCR, the United Nations
Refugee agency, today to abide by international humanitarian
principles and ensure that the group is not forcibly deported
to Burma.
Forum-Asia, a regional human rights
organization, is concerned for the
safety of the asylum seekers who are likely to face continued
discrimination and human rights abuses should they be returned
to Burma.
The authorities in Bangladesh, who
claim there are about 25,000 illegal
Rohingya immigrants in Teknaf area alone, began to evict
Rohingya from the area in November, forcing over 600 families to
camp out in front of the
Teknaf district offices, without adequate food or clean water.
Local MP Mr. Shah Jahan told reporters that the “push-back”
process would start soon.
Forum-Asia sources report that more
than half the asylum seekers living in
the makeshift camp are children, many malnourished, and shelters
made from
leaves and plastic sheets are being shared by two to three
families.
Sources say that many of the asylum
seekers are refugees who had been sent
back to Burma previously, only to flee again due to continued
abuses by
the Burmese military.
Rohingya are a minority Muslim
group who live under strong oppression in
Burma’s Arakan State. The Rohingya are stateless, and
are subject to severe restrictions on their movement within
Burma, often being used as forced labour by the military.
According to a Human Rights Watch report of July 2002, the
persecution of Muslims in Burma has intensified since September
11, 2001.
One Rohingya man in the Teknaf camp
said: “I left the country [Burma] when
I could no longer bear the amount of forced labour…. The
Burmese Army will just kill us if we go back. The
Bangladesh Government repatriated many refugees to Burma after
the last refugee crisis. Why are they coming back again,
like me? No one can go back and stay until there is
some peace in Burma. If they are sent back forcefully, they
will come back again after a short time. No, I will not go
back! If they send me by force, I will jump in the Naf
River!”
Source: Forum Asia , December 3 ,2002
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Those
human minesweepers
In the western part of Burma, the
ruling junta commanders have been
reported to use people in clearing landmines along the
Burma-Bangladesh border in recent weeks, according to our
correspondent.
Beginning November 22, the Burmese
Nasaka security forces have engaged
forced labour in clearing landmines on the Burmese side of the
border under Nasaka Area No. 2, north to Maungdaw Town on the
Naaf River.
At least twenty villagers from the
Burmese side have recently crossed the
border and took shelter at Reju, a Rakhine village on Bangladesh
side under Bandarban Hill District, fleeing the
landmine-clearing drive by using forced labour consisting of a
number of residents of border villages. The forced
labourers found two anonymous Bangladeshi 'intruders' with them
who were arrested and forced to work in the landmine-clearing
drive as human 'minesweepers', a local headman said.
The mine clearing drive has been
conducted around border pillar no. 53.
According to our correspondent, in the last week of October
there was a landmine blast at a model village in the area that
killed a Burmese army sergeant and that, the Nasaka Forces
themselves laid the mines in the area. But as there was no
proper record of the exact locations of the landmines, the
Nasaka troops are now at a loss as to the spots where the
previous Nasaka troops had laid the mines.
To avoid being finger pointed the
Nasaka troops have invented that the
landmines had been laid by Arakan rebel groups, and to prove
their 'story' true, they arrested two Bangladeshi intruders and
forced them to lead the group of 'landmine-clearing gang'
accompanied by a few dozen villagers as forced labourers.
Because they have no record or 'map' of the laid landmines, the
Nasaka
troops have been driving the cattle and buffaloes forcefully
taken from
the villages over the entire area for mine-clearing purposes,
causing
death to the animals. Though no report of human casualty
has yet been
received, people in the nearby villages have fled their homes in
panic.
Burma has landmines laid along its
border with Bangladesh extending from
Maungdaw to Paletwa Townships, along a stretch of 208 km,
between border pillars 31 and 73. At pillar 73, the three
borders of Burma, Bangladesh
and India meet. According to the "Landmine Monitor
Report 2001: Burma", published from Thailand, 'a total of
26 elephants are now known to have perished in Bangladesh where
no veterinary help for them is available".
In January 2000, a Chak woman, Ma
Hla Sein (30) married to a Chak from the
Burmese side (Maungdaw Township) came to visit her parents on
Bangladeshside (Headman para, Baishari) was killed in a landmine
blast. Her one-year old baby flew off her lap and while
toddling around was hit by another landmine, getting killed
instantly, according to the village headman there.
Source: Narinjara News , December 2 ,2002
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Military
to establish three new air defence battalions
It has been learned that the SPDC
(State Peace and Development Council) is
preparing to establish three new air defence battalions under
the Coastal Region Military Command in Tenasserim Division.
Preparations are underway
to build Air Defence Battalion [ADB] No 3026 at Kalwin Village
in Mergui Township, ADB No 3031 at Kyaukkanyar Village in Tavoy
Township, and ADB No 3038 at Maliwun Village in Kawthaung
Township.
Formerly all heavy artillery
battalions were under the Military Armoured
and Artillery Division but since late 2000 it has been
reorganized and divided into air defence, heavy artillery, and
armoured divisions.
Since the reorganization, heavy
artillery divisions have been continuously
established at all the 12 military commands while the
establishment of these three air defence battalions would be the
first of its kind.
According to another news report,
preparations are underway to issue
(Hawk) type military vehicles and Nanjing type motor vehicles
that were
recently purchased from China to the air defence battalions and
the heavy artillery divisions.
Source: Democratic Voice of Burma ,
November 29 ,2002
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Burma's
Soldiers: Equal Opportunity Rapists
In the Burmese language, Burma's
military is named the Pyithu Tatmadaw, or
the People's Army. The Tatmadaw, according to Burma's ruling
military regime, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC),
"safeguards national solidarity and peace." According
to women from Burma's ethnic nationalities (ethnic minority
groups), particularly those living in the
ethnic States along Burma's borders, the Tatmadaw does the
opposite.
Rather than look to the Tatmadaw
for protection, women from the ethnic
nationalities flee in fear at the sight of a soldier. A recent
investigation by the Women's Rights Project of EarthRights
International
(WRP/ERI) documents the widespread use of rape by Burma's
soldiers to brutalize women from five different ethnic
nationalities.
During the month of September 2002,
the WRP/ERI, in collaboration with
Refugees International, conducted a month-long investigation
into rape in Burma perpetrated by the military. This project was
motivated by a report issued by the Shan Women's Action Network
(SWAN) and Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) in June 2002
entitled License to Rape, documenting the rapes of at least 625
Shan women by Burma's soldiers over a period over five years,
from 1996 to 2001. Despite the fact that rape by soldiers in
Burma has been a well-known, well-documented phenomenon for at
least a
decade, the License to Rape report inspired a level of interest
and
outrage on the part of the international community not
previously directed
against the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), Burma's
ruling
military regime. SWAN and SHRF are to be commended for their
excellent work documenting these brutal abuses. We at the WRP
are gratified that their efforts, as well as the problem of rape
in Burma, are both receiving the attention they deserve.
We were outraged by the report as well, but, unfortunately, not
surprised.
In 1998, after an intensive
investigation into gender-based abuses
committed by the Burmese army (the Tatmadaw in the Burmese
language), we
issued a report entitled School for Rape: The Burmese Military
and Sexual Violence. This report examined some of the
structures, policies, and practices of the Tatmadaw, and
concluded that many of these contributed to both the likelihood
and the prevalence of rape by soldiers against women from
Burma's ethnic nationalities, in particular. Based on our
previous research for that and other reports issued over the
intervening four years, as well as the regular contact we have
with refugee women from Burma, we knew that the rape of Shan
women is an enormous tragedy. We also
knew that it is just a part of the problem. We wanted to make
sure that the international community understood the full extent
to which the army of Burma abuses the human rights of that
country's women. We wanted to not only confirm that Shan women
face sexual violence on a regular basis, but also to expand the
scope of the investigation to confirm that the military abuses
women from other ethnic minority groups in Burma as well.
Over the course of a month, we
conducted interviews with individuals,
focus groups, indigenous NGOs, and local leaders. We talked to
more than 150 people about sexual violence against women
perpetrated by Burma's armed forces-people living in refugee
camps, outside of camps in villages, and people still living in
Burma. We spoke with women and men, former and
current soldiers, recent arrivals and long-time refugees. In
particular, we conducted 26 individual interviews with women
from 5 different ethnic
groups, 1 interview with a Burmese army defector, and 2 focus
groups
comprised of a total of 45 women. In the individual interviews,
we learned
of 41 cases of rape, and were able to confirm 24 of those cases
through testimony from victims or eyewitnesses. In 7 cases, the
perpetrator raped
the woman or women on military property, and in 8 cases, the
perpetrator was an officer in Burma's army. Members of the
Burmese army proved to be equal opportunity rapists, raping
women from the Karen, Karenni, Shan, Mon, and Tavoyan
nationalities.
The State Peace and Development
Council has denounced the reports about
Shan rape, and has conducted their own "investigation"
in Shan State (with
the active participation of SPDC general Khin Nyunt's wife) to
determine that such reports were fabricated. Our research tells
a different story, and leads to the inescapable conclusion that
the Burmese military uses rape on a widespread basis against
women from many of Burma's ethnic nationalities. These rapes are
not an aberration, committed by renegade
soldiers; they are part of a pattern of brutal abuse designed to
control, terrorize, and harm ethnic nationality populations
through their women.
In contradiction to the SPDC's
claims that "hands joined, the Tatmadaw and
the people stand steadfastly together," we also conclude
that:
Rape is not confined to Shan State.
It is widespread throughout the ethnic eastern States.
Rape by Burmese army members may be
systematic. The Tatmadaw's routine discrimination against both
ethnic nationalities and women may constitute the kind of
preconceived plan or policy necessary to characterize the rape
as systematic.
Rape and increased militarization go hand-in-hand. When more
soldiers are
deployed, typically more rape occurs.
Rape sometimes occurs on military
property (i.e. in military bases, in
military barracks, and in military jails). In those cases where
the
officer wasn't actually committing the offense on military
property, he
knew or should have known about these offenses.
Rape often occurs in conjunction
with other human rights abuses, such as
forced labor, forced relocation, forced portering, torture, and
extrajudicial executions.
There is a direct connection
between rape and migration. Many women flee
Burma either because they have been raped, or because they fear
being
raped. In addition, rape sometimes occurs while women are in
flight.
Widespread rape is committed with
impunity, both by officers and lower
ranking soldiers. Officers committed the majority of rapes
documented in our interviews in which the rank of the
perpetrator was known. The culture of impunity contributes to
the military atmosphere in which rape is permissible. It also
leads to the conclusion that the system for protecting civilians
is faulty, which may serve as proof that the rape is systematic.
Due to the well-known impunity for
rape, survivors and families are
extremely reluctant to complain about rape. In the rare cases
where
victims do complain, the military often responds with violence.
On Tuesday, November 19, 2002, the
United Nations General Assembly adopted
by consensus a resolution on the human rights situation in
Burma, "express[ing] grave concern at... rapes and other
forms of sexual violence carried out by members of the armed
forces" and the "disproportionate suffering of members
of ethnic minorities, women and children from such
violations." It is clear these abuses are directly linked
to the internal war the SPDC is waging upon its own citizens.
Until the violence ceases, and until the SPDC enforces its own
laws prohibiting rape and ends the culture of impunity for these
heinous crimes, the violations will
continue.
Source:Earthrights International,(By
Betsy Apple),November 26 , 2002
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