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Burmese
Junta leader to visit Bangladesh
The Burmese Junta leader Senior General Than
Shwe willpay an official
visit to Bangladesh on December 17 - 18 at the invitation of the
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, local dailies in
Dhaka
reported quoting foreign office sources yesterday.
The date of General Than Shwe's visit was
finalized during the talks
between the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan, and his
Burmese
counterpart, U Win Aung, while he was on a three-day official
visit of to Burma from November 20 to 22.
A coordination meeting was held at the foreign
office in Dhaka Monday, where elaborate discussions on the
programme were made in preparation of the impending visit of the
head of the Burmese junta.
According to the tentative programme, general
Than Shwe will lead a
high-level Burmese delegation on December 17 morning.
Official talks between the heads of the two neighbouring
countries will be
held on the same day, it said. Bilateral relations,
economic cooperation
and other matters of mutual benefits will dominate the talks,
the dailies said.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh has in recent time shown
increased interest in
bilateral trades with Burma, gas pipeline for the Burmese gas to
India and
a highly expected Asian Highway to connect Burma on the eastern
front with
the Rakhine State of Burma.
Source: Narinjara News ,
November 27 ,2002
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Onions
seized at Burmese security gate
A large consignment of onions brought from Burma
proper to Arakan
(Rakhine) State was confiscated at the Nasaka security gate No.
25 at Ann
Pass, close to the Magwe Division, our correspondent writes
quoting a local businessman.
On 12 November 02, a consignment of about ten
thousand kilos of onions was being carried in a truck by Mr U
San Tin 36, Assistant Supervisor of the Department of
Agriculture at Ann Township and Ms Daw Moe Moe 47 of Kanthaya
Quarter of Meikthila Town in Burma Proper. The consignment
was headed towards Arakan (Rakhine) State in the western part of
Burma. While the truck was on its way to the Nasaka gate at
Ann where the Western Command is headquartered, the guards at
the gate stopped the truck and
later seized its contents.
The carriers with the trucker Mr U Saw Win and
his helper Naing Lin Kyaw were detained for two hours at
the gate. Later each of the men was made
to pay kyat 10,000 as bribe to the guards. The consignment
of onions was seized for the consumption of the military
personnel of the Western Command without being handed over to
the customs official, which is the legal procedure in such
cases, the businessman added.
It is worth mentioning that some basic
commodities including rice, cooking
oil, dry chilli and onion have been declared banned for free
trading in
Arakan State beginning October. As a result the prices of
essentials have
recorded a sharp increase in price in Arakan State, encouraging
traders to do a brisk business in these commodities 'smuggled'
in from Burma Proper.
At present the price of a kilo of onion is
selling at kyat 500 and garlic
kyat 1,000 in Sittwe, the capital of the western state of Burma.
Source: Narinjara News ,
November 27 ,2002
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Death
Railway Festival Begins
November 26, 2002—A festival commemorating the
building of the Death Railway during World War II, and the
thousands of individuals who died during its construction, began
in Thailand’s Kanchanaburi Province on Saturday. The festival,
which began in 1979, runs until December 5, and serves as a
memorial for the Asian laborers as well as the Australian,
British and American prisoners of war who died from sickness,
malnutrition and exhaustion after being forced to build the
railroad by Japanese forces.
The Death Railway as well as the ceremony itself
have turned into a boon for Thailand’s tourism industry, as
millions of people flock every year to see the fabled
"Bridge over the River Kwai" and the Death Railway
memorial.
"The reason to hold a commemoration is to
remember the people and the tens of thousands of victims who
were killed during the construction of the Death Railway,"
said Mr Runrit Kamonpoon, governor of Kanchanaburi Province.
Mr Pawrame Amatayakon, the director of the
Tourism Authority of Thailand for Kanchanaburi Province, said
that over a half a million tourists were expected at this
year’s festival. He also said that last year nearly one
million foreigners and four million Thais visited the site,
generating over six billion baht (US $130 million) in revenues.
Despite the railroad becoming a hot spot for
tourism in Thailand, the one hundred kilometers of track located
inside Burma lies in an unstable area of Mon State, where
factional disputes among Mon insurgent groups as well as
fighting against government troops occasionally ignites.
The Japanese began building the railway in
September 1942 to connect Bangkok with an ocean port in
Thanbyuzayat in Burma’s Mon State. The railway was finished in
just 16 months, and spanned 415 km from Thanbyuzayat to Nong
Pladuk in Bangpong District of Thailand’s Ratchaburi Province.
An estimated 90-100 thousand Asians and 16 thousand POWs died
during its construction. Allied forces bombed the railroad after
just 20 months of operation.
Source: The Irrawaddy online , (by Naw Seng ), November
26 ,2002
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Complaint
over Harassment on Suu Kyi Trip
November 26, 2002—Burma's opposition National
League for Democracy (NLD) has lodged an official complaint to
the ruling junta after local military intelligence (MI) officers
reportedly harassed party leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in
northern Shan State, an NLD official said today.
Suu Kyi finished her trip in the south of the
state last week, then headed north when harassment by MI
officers began.
In the party's convoy on its way from Taunggyi
to Maymyo, a local intelligence van sped up to take videotape
Suu Kyi's car at the front of the convoy. As the van rushed to
get ahead of the convoy, one of the NLD escort motorcycles fell
and crashed on the roadside.
U Lwin, an NLD spokesperson, said incidents in
the town of Muse, northern Shan State were worse. Before Suu Kyi
arrived at the town, military intelligence officers instructed
local people not to welcome the democracy leader.
Local people on motorcycles were banned from
going out to welcome the opposition leader. Restrictions meant
that fewer people went to greet Suu Kyi at the local NLD office,
sources say only around 200 supporters gathered to see her.
Intelligence officers watched Suu Kyi closely.
"Local intelligence videotaped Aung San Suu Kyi even when
she went to rest room," U Lwin told The Irrawaddy.
"She told authorities that it wasn't appropriate, but they
continued."
In Hispaw, local people were also warned to stay
away from Suu Kyi and NLD officials visiting the area. Despite
restrictions and harassment in Maymyo, Muse and Hispaw, around
50,000 supporters welcomed Suu Kyi when she arrived in the town
of Kyaukme.
The NLD office in Rangoon confirmed that Suu Kyi
was in Mandalay today where she would stay overnight. Suu Kyi is
due to return to Rangoon tomorrow.
Suu Kyi began her trip to Shan State on Nov 13.
It was her first trip to the state since her release from house
arrest in May this year.
Source: The Irrawaddy online ,
November 26 ,2002
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Burma
Urged to Expedite Return of Muslim Refugees
Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan has called upon
the Burma authorities to
expedite the process of repatriation of remaining Muslim
Rohingya refugees languishing in Bangladesh, according to
yesterday's the independent quoting to UNB.
He made the call when he paid a courtesy call on
the Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)
Senior General Than Shwe in Rangoon
Thursday, said a handout.
The foreign Minister said Bangladesh greatly
valued its relationship its Burma and considered that two
countries could work as abridge between ASEAN and SAARC.
"As one of the immediate neighbors,
Bangladesh wanted to promote relation with Burma to its fullest
extent," he said.
The foreign Minister categorically said
Bangladesh would not allow it soil for any unlawful activities
against its neighbours.
The Burma Military leader assured the Bangladesh
Minister of all possible
assistance in maintaining good neighbourly relations.
Earlier in the day, Morshed Khan also met with
the Burma Foreign Minister U Win Aung, the handout added.
Source: Narinjara News ,
November 24 ,2002
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The
remaining 162 person released, except 4 Rohingya youths detained
at Maungdaw
The remaining 162 persons including the 4 women
were released at the end
of October 2002, with a bribe of Kyats 10,000 to 70,000 for each
and 4 main accused Rohingya youths still kept in police custody
of Maungdaw,
Arakan State, according to our correspondent.
According to Our sources, Haji Ghoni is one of
the member of detainees was
released on payment of Kyats 70,000/- on 21st October. The rest
had to take time to set free till last October. The sooner you
give the sooner you will release. Bribe money has been given to
the authorities according
to the status of the detainees.
The unpleasant incident of 10th October 2002,
was under the joint
instigation of Military Intelligence (MI)-18 and the police to
extort
money and upset the Muslim villagers and to create hatred policy
between
two sister communities, said our correspondent.
The police have been unable to find any trace of
Mohamed Yunus, who
remained absconding since October 10, 2002. The two Rakhaing
Buddhist girls who involved in the event of 10th October are not
the villagers of
Rwa Thaya of Maungdaw Township. They are the inhabitants of
Rathedaung,
another town of Arakan State with bad characters called by Maung
Lun, the village Peace and Development Council Chairman, to
design a plot against the Baggona villagers of Maungdaw
Township, said our sources.
Source: Kaladan Press ,( Editor ),
November 22 ,2002
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Two
Burmese opposition students taken to Bangkok Myanmar Embassy
Two Burmese exiled students who have applied for
recognition to UNHCR were
arrested and taken to Myanmar (Burmese) Embassy in Bangkok by
Thai special police on November 19, while they were going to a
NGO office for assistance. After refusing and struggling in
front of the embassy, they were finally sent to Immigration
Detention Center (IDC) in Bangkok, said
Aung Khine, a Burmese refugee student in Bangkok.
Than Oo, 25 and Naing Aung, 21 years old were
arrested on the way to
Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) around 11 am on Tuesday.
When they reached to Myanmar (Burmese) Embassy, they refused to
go inside and after struggling for some time, police agreed to
send them to IDC.
But, police handed the personal documents of them to Myanmar
Embassy,including biographies, photographs of them while they
were in All Burma
Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) and other documentation, which
they took with them as identification for themselves to JRS,
said a Burmese student who got phone contact with them after
they had reached to IDC.
"They were sent to Burmese Embassy. When
they reached to the embassy, they
refused and told the police that they cannot go to embassy. So,
finally they were sent directly to IDC. We referred the case
directly to UN," said a relief worker, Ye Yint, who works
with National Catholic Commission on Migration, a religious NGO
helping refugees and migrants in Bangkok.
"As soon as they were arrested, we got the
information. So, we contacted
to UN office first. UN took immediate action. As I know so far,
they are still in IDC. UNHCR will try for their release. I
learnt that to send them
to the border has also been postponed," Ye Yint continued.
Daw Cho Cho, mother of Naing Aung, who lives
with them in Bangkok, said,
"(Burmese) Embassy took their bios and photos. So, they
cannot go to the border. I am afraid that Thai will send them to
the border. If they were sent to the border, people from other
side (Burmese authorities) will come and get them."
Two students were ex-members of All Burma
Students Democratic Front and
they applied for recognition of UNHCR in Bangkok during May and
June of this year. UNHCR had issued them "protection
papers" which were dismissed
in September for unknown reason, said Burmese students in
Bangkok.
This is the first time that Thai police tried to
send opposition members
to Burmese embassy.
Thousands of Burmese students fled to Thailand and border areas
after crack down of military regime on pro-democracy uprising in
Burma during 1988. Some students also fled to border in 1990s to
avoid the suppression
the Junta. Around two thousand students have resettled in third
countries with the help of UNHCR. Hundreds of students are still
left in Thailand
and border areas.
Source: Network Media Group ,
November 20 ,2002
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4000
Evicted Rohingyas camp near Teknaf border
Evicted by a combined police and army drive, at
least 4,000 Muslim
Rohingyas have taken shelter at a makeshift camp nears Teknaf
border,
according to the daily star.
Apart from the 21,000 Rohingya refugees living
in the town refugee camps
in the country, a number of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are
living in the border area said the township administration.
These Rohingya people are living in hardship
under open sky near the
Teknaf Township office. Most of them do not want to go back to
Burma.
Severe torture by the Mogh ( Rakhaing) people compelled them to
leave to
country, they noted.
However, the administration remained
tight-lipped about whether these Rohingya Muslims are refugees.
Source: Narinjara News ,
November 20 ,2002
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Over
100 fishermen missing in Bay of Bangal as cyclone hit
Cox’s Bazar, November 18: Over 100 Rohingya
fishermen remained missing
after 12th November’s Cyclone hit that lashed the coastal belt
of Cox’s Bazar of Bangladesh, said our correspondent from
Cox’s Bazar.
Our correspondent further added that bodies of 2
fishermen were washed
ashore on 13th November. Some fishing boats and trawlers while
fishing in Bay of Bengal were hit and damaged by rough waves and
strong gale-force winds. Some fishermen who returned from the
Bay said that they saw 3 bodies were floating on the sea.
The local boats owner of Cox’s Bazar claimed
that at least 25 trawlers
with around 150 fishermen, of them over100 are Rohingyas, are
still missing. The cyclone inundated vast tracts of lands in the
southern region of Bangladesh, damaging farmlands and shrimp
bed, our sources said.
5 to 7 feet tidal surge swept through some
coastal areas during the
cyclone. Naval forces have been ordered to search for the
missing
fishermen, reported in the Daily Star Newspaper on 14th
November.
The missing fishermen are mostly unofficial and
official refugees, sources
added.
Source: Kaladan Press ,( Editor ),
November 18 ,2002
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Muslims
pay rice for Burmese settlers
Muslim villagers living in Maungdaw Township in
the western Burma
bordering with Bangladesh have been forced to give rice to the
Burmese
junta officials for the upkeep of the Burmese settlers in the
area - our
correspondent reported quoting a Muslim leader in the area.
Beginning 1995 a number of model villages have been built around
Maungdaw Town for the Burmese settlers brought in by the ruling
Burmese junta.
Each of the Muslim families in the villages
around Padummala village
situated 10 miles south of Maungdaw Town has been ordered by the
Burmese junta officials to pay illegal toll in rice. The
amount each family should contribute has been fixed at fifteen
baskets (about 180 kilo) for the present season.
The Burmese settlers brought in during 1995-96
are mostly composed of
homeless people. "Many of them are single persons
either jobless or of doubtful livelihood", said a village
elder in the area and hinted that "many are believed to
have had connections with crime in Burma proper."
Each of the settlers was given three acres of
paddy land, a buffalo cart,and a pair of bullocks. For all
the settler families, houses with
corrugated iron sheet roof were also made by the junta
officials.
Interestingly, as most of the settlers were
unskilled at working for a
livelihood. Soon many were forced to sell the corrugated
iron sheets for
buying food. Many have so far surreptitiously left for
their old home in
Burma proper including Rangoon and Mandalay.
Today these settlers have become a heavy burden
upon the Muslim and Buddhist villagers living nearby since they
have to do all the
agricultural works for them besides paying rice as ordered by
the local
Burmese junta for them
Source: Narinjara News ,
November 18 ,2002
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UN
Third Committee hears introduction of 13 draft resolutions on
human rights,situations in Myanmar
This morning the General Assembly's Third
Committee (Social, Humanitarian,Cultural) heard the introduction
of 13 draft resolutions on human rights questions, including
alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of
human rights and fundamental freedoms. Draft resolutions were
also introduced on human rights situations and the reports of
special rapporteurs and representatives.
Draft resolutions introduced on human rights
questions, covered the issues
of cultural diversity; globalization; missing persons; religious
intolerance; responsibility of individuals, groups and organs of
society;
regional arrangements; the United Nations Decade for Human
Rights
Education; a democratic and equitable international order; and
human rights education.
The human rights situations in the Sudan,
Myanmar, Iraq and the Democratic
Republic of the Congo were taken up in the introduction of
drafts on human
rights situations and reports of special rapporteurs and
representatives.
Introducing draft resolutions were
representatives of Iran, Egypt,
Azerbaijan, Ireland, Norway, Belgium, Australia, Cuba, Denmark
(on behalf
of the European Union) and Suriname. The Committee will
reconvene tomorrow
at 10 a.m. to resume its general discussion on questions
relating to refugees, returnees and displaced persons and hear
more introductions of draft resolutions on human rights.
Introduction of Drafts
The Committee began its work by taking up draft
resolutions on human
rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving
the
effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The representative of Iran introduced a draft on
human rights and culture
(document A/C.3/57/L.41), which would have the Assembly urge
States to ensure that their political and legal systems
reflected the multicultural diversity within their societies.
The representative of Iran said the issue of cultural diversity
and its relationship with human rights was
becoming an increasingly important aspect of life in the
twenty-first century. The draft resolution aimed to sensitize
the international community to the importance of respecting
cultural diversity.
A draft resolution on globalization and
its impact on the full enjoyment
of all human rights (document A/C.3/57/L.44) was introduced by
the representative of Egypt, and would have the Assembly call
upon Member States, relevant United Nations agencies,
intergovernmental organizations
and civil society to promote equitable and environmentally
sustainable economic growth for managing globalization so that
poverty was systematically reduced and the international
development targets met. The
representative of Egypt stressed that the draft aimed to ensure
that the process of globalization - a powerful and dynamic force
- would be utilized to the benefit of all countries and that
human rights would not be forgotten in this process.
The representative of Azerbaijan introduced a
draft resolution on missing
persons (document A/C.3/57/L.46), which would have the Assembly
call upon States which were parties to an armed conflict to take
immediate steps to determine the identity and fate of persons
reported missing and request States to pay the utmost attention
to cases of children reported missing.The representative of
Azerbaijan said that a number of Member States were facing the
problem of missing people, often due to armed conflict. It was
therefore necessary that the international community deal with
this issue.
The next text before the Committee, on the
elimination of all forms of
religious intolerance (document A/C.3/57/L.47), was introduced
by the representative of Ireland. Emphasizing that the right of
freedom of thought, conscience religion and belief is
far-reaching and profound, that draft would have the Assembly
express its alarm that serious instances of intolerance and
discrimination on the grounds of religion and belief were
increasing in many parts of the world. The Assembly would
therefore urge States to take all necessary action to combat
hatred, intolerance,
intimidation and acts of violence based on religion or belief.
The representative of Norway introduced the
draft on the Declaration on
the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs
of Society
to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms (document A/C.3/57/L.51), noting that the
text was often referred to as the draft on "human rights
defenders". It would have the Assembly express its grave
concern regarding human rights violations committed
against persons engaged in promoting and defending human rights
around the world. That text would have the Assembly condemn all
human rights violations committed against human rights defenders
and urge States to take all appropriate action, consistent with
the Declaration and all other human rights instruments, to
eliminate such violations.
Next, the representative of Belgium introduced
the draft on regional
arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights
(document
A/C.3/57/L.52). He said there had been considerable progress in
regional cooperation in recent months and underlined that
regional arrangements should reinforce universal human rights
standards as contained in international human rights
instruments. The draft would have the Assembly request the
Secretary-General to continue to strengthen exchanges between
the United Nations and regional intergovernment organizations
dealing with human rights and to make available adequate
resources from within the regular budget, for technical
cooperation, to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights to promote regional arrangements.
The text on the United Nations Decade for Human
Rights Education,
1994-2004 (document A/C.3/57/L.54) was introduced by the
representative of
Australia, who said the draft, which had nearly 100 sponsors,
aimed to promote sustained and effective human rights education
as an important part of international efforts to achieve
universal human rights. The text would urge all Governments to
contribute further to the implementation of the Decade's Action
Plan, by in particular, initiating and developing cultural and
educational programmes aimed at countering racism, racial
discrimination and xenophobia, as emphasized at the Durban World
Conference against Racism.
A draft resolution, introduced by the
representative of Cuba, on the
promotion of a democratic and equitable international order
(document
A/C.3/57/L.55) would have the Assembly urge all actors on the
international scene to build an international order based on
inclusion, justice, equality and equity, human dignity, mutual
understanding and promotion of and respect for cultural
diversity and universal human rights. The representative of Cuba
said this draft showed the great hopes of a great number of
co-sponsors for justice and equality in the form of a democratic
and equitable international order.
The Committee then took up draft resolutions on
human rights questions,
human rights situations and reports of special rapporteurs and
representatives.
In this connection, the representative of
Denmark, on behalf of the European Union, introduced a draft
resolution on the situation of human rights in Myanmar (document
A/C.3/57/L.48), which expressed its grave concern at the ongoing
systematic violation of the human rights, including civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights of the people of
Myanmar. The text of
the draft would have the Assembly strongly urge the Government
of Myanmar to end the systematic violations of human rights in
Myanmar, to end impunity, and to investigate and bring to
justice any perpetrators of
human rights violations. The representative of Denmark said the
draft
resolution was the outcome of constructive dialogue between
concerned
Member States, including with the Government of Myanmar. He
noted the
recent positive developments in Myanmar, including the release
of several political prisoners, but expressed concern as to the
overall human rights situation in the country.
Source: M2 Presswire ,
November 15 ,2002
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Two
French nationals detained in Myanmar for illegal entry
Two French nationals have been detained in
Myanmar for the past four days
after crossing into the military-ruled state from Thailand
without visas, a diplomat here said Friday.
The two men "have been detained since
Tuesday at the border post because
they lacked visas, and verifications are being made," the
French diplomat told AFP. They crossed the border opposite the
southern Thai city of Ranong and were taken into custody at
Kawthoung, in an area of southern
Myanmar known as Victoria Point.
The pair, who are in their thirties and hail
from Paris and the
southeastern city of Toulon, "acknowledged they have
crossed the border
without visas after they took a boat.
"They said they wanted simply to go and
have a drink on the other side,"
the diplomat said.
The French Embassy in Yangon said it would make
an official diplomatic
inquiry into the matter on Friday with Myanmar's ministry of
foreign affairs.
Myanmar is one of the world's most isolated
nations and remains intensely
suspicious of foreigners crossing illegally into the country,
particularly those whom it believes may be dissidents or foreign
correspondents posing
as tourists.
Source: Agence France-Presse ,
November 15 ,2002
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Employment
increases 25 million in Myanmar in 14 years
YANGON, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) --The number of
employees in Myanmar has
increased 7 million in the past 14 years since 1988, reaching
the total employment to 25 million now, official newspaper The
New Light of Myanmar said Friday.
These employees are mostly engaged in the
industrial development in state,
cooperative and private sectors. Since privatization of
state-owned
enterprises in 1995, the private sector has been playing a key
role in the development.
There are 53,338 businesses in Myanmar, of which
51,101 are private-run,
1,600 state-owned and 637 cooperative-operated.
With the establishment of the 18 industrial
zones since 1995 for the
development of the private sector, there has been a total of
4,496
factories and plants in the country.
According to official statistics, the net value
of goods produced in the
industrial sector increased 10,204 million kyats ( about 14.5
million US dollars) in 2000-01, up 149.24 percent from 1988-89.
The paper said Myanmar's economy grew by 8.4
percent annually against the
target of 6 percent.
Source: Xinhua News Agency ,
November 15 ,2002
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Army
used forced labour in Arakan State
Buthidaung, November 14: The Commander of the
Military Operation Command
of (MOC-15) of Buthidaung Township, Arakan State used forced
labor for reaping his own crop, according to our source.
The villagers of Nanragoon and Quandaung village
tracts of Buthidaung
township of Arakan State had to pay 100 labors daily for reaping
the said Commander’s own paddy crop from last October 22 to
27. The two village
tracts, about one mile east of Buthidaung town consisting of
1125
households, said a villager preferring anonymity told our
source.
Besides, they had to do other works: such as
threshing, carrying, storing the grains in his granary, put the
paddy into heat, etc, source further added.
The aforesaid Commander previously seized 10
acres of farmland from
Rohingya villages adjacent to the MOC-15 headquarters and
growing paddy with forced labor and now the time of harvest.
According to the order of the aforementioned
Commander, one person per
family was called by the Village Peace and Development Council
Chairmen of both village tracts and gathered them in one
suitable place. Afterwards, 100 villagers were picked up and
sent to the MOC-15 headquarters for forced labor and the
rest were set free after taking Kyats 300/- per head.
This money was going to their pockets, said a teacher to our
source.
After 6 days of continued forced labor, the villagers were freed
and paid
Kyats 300/- per head by the MOC-15 Commander while outside labor
charge is Kyats 1000/-per day. But, the SPDC authorities have
declared that there is no forced labor in Burma, said sources.
For the earnings of army Headquarters, they had
previously seized about
750 acres of arable lands include camp area from nearby villages
for growing crops. The army authorities again let the villagers
to grow paddy
on condition that the villagers have to pay 37.5 Tongs of paddy
(1 Tong = 14 kg) to the headquarters per acre. But, the
villagers are freed from
Tans of paddy (1 Tan=35 kg) which are payable to the Government,
said our correspondent.
Source: Kaladan Press ,( Editor ),
November 14 ,2002
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13
families of new settlers brought to Maungdaw
Maungdaw, 8th November: 13 families of new
settlers
were brought to Maungdaw north, Arakan State from Rangoon for
settlement on 22nd October, according to our source.
The settlers were shifted into Baruwa Khata
village of
Ngarang Chaung village tract, a place 38 miles north of Maungdaw
under the Nasaka area No.2. This village is placed nearly 2
miles from Bangladesh border. The members of the settlers were
looked like very gentle. Some of them were hanging gold chains
to their necks,
source further added.
Since August 2002, the authorities have been
very busy construction of
aforesaid model village for the new
settlers. In addition, some acres of Rohingya lands were seized
within a short time for these settlers. The houses were built
with forced labor of Rohingya
villagers though there is no forced labor in Burma,
declared by SPDC authorities. All these houses were built
with wood and looked very fine, said a ex-village
chairman.
About the construction of this Natala village
(model
village), a problem was occurred among the model, Nasaka, the
Secretary and a special intelligent branch for cutting wood and
bamboos. For this reason, Salay Ahamed, 35, the present Village
Peace and Development Council Secretary Furkhan’s younger
brother was dead
in last September while he was going to appear before
the special intelligent branch that came from Rangoon.
In this connection, the Secretary to the special
intelligent branch had paid Kyats 12,00,000/-, said a villager
to our source.
Source: Kaladan Press ,( By Our Correspondent ),
November 8 ,2002
TOP
Settlements
of the Kachin ceasefire groups in western Burma
MEMBERS of a Kachin ceasefire group were brought
into Rakhine State, in
the western part of Burma for settlement on 22nd October,
according to our correspondent.
A total of thirty three ethnic Kachin families
from the northern part of Burma were moved to be settled at
Ngaraing-chaung model village under
Maungdw Township, bordering with Bangladesh. The village
formerly called as Kathay model village, where a wide scale
forced labour was used, has
been renamed as Ngaraing-chaung by the Burmese junta (SPDC).
The group leader of the thirty Kachin families
is U Akru, and the second
leader is U Angki, and the third one is U Kunpa.
According to local sources, the members of the Kachin ceasefire
group brought for settlement carry guns and motorbikes with
them, which show
that they have been brought to be kept as paramilitary forces to
be used
for border surveillance and other military duties including
guerrilla
warfare against dissident insurgent groups.
On 20th October, some Burmese settlers from
Rangoon, the capital of Burma,
were also brought into the village.
A welcoming ceremony was arranged for the new
settlers on 23th October. The village is situated at about 1.5
km from the Bangladeshi border, it was learnt.
Before this batch of settlers, about one
thousand families from Burma proper have been settled by the
Burmese junta in the area close to Bangladesh.
Source: Narinjara News, November 7 ,2002
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Burmese
student demonstrator sentenced for 14-year imprisonment
A Burmese student who conducted solo
demonstration to urgently implement
the national reconciliation process and to release all political
prisoners in front of Rangoon City Hall last August, was
sentenced for 14 years
imprisonment on November 5 in two separate charges, an exiled
student committee issued a news release yesterday.
Thet Naung Soe, a final year student of Law in
Rangoon University, was
charged 14 years, 7 years each with the 1950 emergency provision
act 5(d) and 5(j).
"They shouldn't be imprisoned because of
that action. This imprisonment
violates the human rights and all other rights of a
citizen," said Min Naing, the spokesperson of the foreign
affair committee of All Burma
Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU).
Two students, Thet Naung Soe and Khin Maung Win,
held solo demonstration
on August 18 in front of Rangoon City Hall, and were arrested
and faced
trial in special court at Insein Prison Compound started on
October 23.
Khin Maung Win, second year student from Rangoon
University is still under
trial at the special court at Insein prison.
The national reconciliation process in Burma
seems at halt, as there is no
obvious progress since release of pro-democracy leader Aung San
Suu Kyi.
According to Assistance Association for
Political Prisoners in Burma,
there are still 1300 political prisoners in Burma though Burmese
regime
released around 300 political prisoners in last two years.
Source: Network Media Group , November 7 ,2002
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Responsibility
for Bombs Lies with the Junta
November 05, 2002-The Burmese government is
continuing to aver that
several of its diplomatic missions were delivered parcels rigged
with mild explosives over the weekend, while maintaining that
the letters originated from dissident groups in Thailand.
A senior official from Burma's Embassy in
Singapore confirmed that it
received a parcel bomb, and said that the they were the work of
political groups trying to incite hatred against his government.
Similar letters also turned up at Burma's diplomatic posts in
both
Japan and Malaysia.
The Burmese Embassy Counselor in Singapore, Ohn
Kyaw, took the
opportunity to equate these parcel bombs to acts of terrorism.
Shortly
after the bomb was defused without harming anybody, he said,
"It was an act of terrorist groups which are opposing the
Myanmar government, and these groups are based in
Thailand."
Other regime spokespeople also took the occasion
to finger Burmese
exiles living in Thailand-including Lt-Col Nyan Linn, from
Burma's military intelligence. While addressing a weekly press
conference in Rangoon, he said, "This is definitely the
work of a dissident terrorist group being harbored there
[Thailand] aiming to disrupt peace inside Burma."
But did these alleged "terrorists" have any serious
intentions of
disrupting peace inside Burma?
What would their motivations be in sending bombs to Burmese
embassies abroad?
Singapore police said preliminary investigations
of the letter showed
it contained a low-grade detonator without any explosives.
"Had the
letter been opened, it may have caused a mild burn," said a
Singaporean police spokesman.
Rangoon's claim that the letters were the acts
of Thai-based terrorist
groups has drawn a skeptical response from senior Thai
government officials. Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathi
voiced his doubts about the origin of the parcel bombs. However,
he and Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra later ordered a
full investigation.
Analysts say that it is quite unlikely that any
mainstream opposition
group would implement such tactics at this time, given the
possible
fallout that it could spawn at home and abroad as the
international war on terror continues. Opponents in exile went
further, saying that the country's military regime is
responsible for the parcel bombs as they attempt to discredit
the opposition by portraying themselves as the victim of a
terrorist attack. Thai-based Burmese democracy and dissident
groups say the bombs were staged by the regime in hopes that
Thailand would take drastic action against them.
Just last week, much to the chagrin of the
junta, the UN special
rapporteur to Burma, Sergio Paulo Pinheiro, was in Thailand to
meet
with three Shan groups who released the report "License to
Rape",
which identifies 625 sexual assaults committed in Burma's Shan
State
by the Burmese army. Pinheiro, who had completed his third trip
to
Burma before coming to Thailand, was still in the Kingdom when
news of
the parcel bombs broke.
The likelihood that Burmese dissident groups in
Thailand were involved
in such endeavors does not seem plausible as they already face
mounting pressure from the Thai government to curtail their
activities.
Could it be border-based insurgents? Doubtful.
Their targets are
Burmese troops attempting to push them out of their territories
along
the border, nor do they have the capabilities to successfully
send explosives through the international mail.
Meanwhile, such allegations from the regime are
troubling for the Thai
government, which has been busy quelling international fears
that Thailand is now home to Islamic fundamentalist terrorist
organizations.
Burmese analysts and critics of Rangoon,
however, feel the generals
may indeed have ulterior motives.
The regime officially gave their wholehearted
backing to the US-led
war against terrorism recently, and said they are prepared to
join the
US government in eradicating global terrorism. However, the US
still remains one of the junta's most vocal critics. Senior
analysts and Burma watchers in Rangoon say the regime is
attempting to prove that they are serious about terrorism in
hopes that the US government will ease its sanctions against
Burma.
So who are the culprits behind these parcel
bombs? While skeptics
quietly point the finger at the Burmese government and its
elements-the regime's opposition says the bombs are most likely
the
work of the government's intelligence wing. And given the
regime's track record this is not as specious as it may sound.
In 1989, after a bomb was found in Burma's
Embassy compound in Tokyo,
the regime was also quick to blame Burmese dissidents. However,
after an intensive investigation, Japanese police found that Tun
Ngwe, then
Counselor of Burma's Embassy in Tokyo, was behind the bomb. Tun
Ngwe was later transferred to Germany.
In April 1997, a parcel bomb exploded at the
home of Lt Gen Tin Oo,
who was then Burma's fourth most powerful general, killing his
daughter, Cho Lei Oo, when she opened the parcel. The junta
immediately accused Burmese dissidents Thomas Gon Aung and Thein
Ngwe,
who lived in Tokyo at the time, of sending the bomb. However,
after yet another thorough investigation by Japanese police, no
evidence linking the two to the bomb was ever unearthed.
Before the parcel bomb killed Tin Oo's daughter,
a bomb exploded at a
Kaba Aye pagoda festival in Rangoon just minutes before Tin Oo
was set to arrive. Opposition members strongly believed that a
rival faction within the junta was targeting Tin Oo, who later
died in a helicopter crash in February 2001. Despite the crash
occurring during bad weather, many people attributed Tin Oo's
death to foul play.
Nevertheless, senior Burma watchers say that the
latest accusations by
the junta show that the generals in Rangoon are desperate to
gain entrance to the international stage, perhaps seeing the war
on terror as their ticket to ride. However, it is going to take
more than a half-baked scheme for the international coalition
against terror to take one of the world's most oppressive
regime's seriously.
Source: Irrawaddy,( Aung Zaw ), November 5 ,2002
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Indian
arms shipment arrives in Rangoon
The Indian authorities have handed over weapons
and ammunition to the SPDC
(State Peace and Development Council) army in Tamu on 2
November.
A contingent led by the Indian military attache
to Burma, Col S F Pibirao
and the deputy commander from Imphal based Indian battalion
handed over 30
truckloads of weapons and ammunition including heavy artillery
shells.
The weapons shipment was accepted by the SPDC
army delegation led by
Kalemyo based Brig-Gen Tin Maung Oo, General Staff Officer
Grade-1 Lt Col Tin Aung, and Commander of No 365 Artillery
Battalion Maj Aung Zin Oo and
then taken to Kalemyo.
Regarding the transfer of weapons and
ammunition, border sources say it is
not clear whether the shipment was an aid from the Indian
government or whether it was purchased by the SPDC.
Source: Democratic Voice of Burma , November 4 ,2002
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Burmese
junta issues orders to stop forced conscription
The Western Command in Rakhine State in the
western part of Burma has
issued directives to stop forceful conscription for the Burmese
Army, our correspondent quoting an official source said.
Previously the Burmese junta used to allot its
administrative units in townships and villages of the state to
enlist new recruits for the Burmese Army. Besides that,
every soldier going for official retirement had to find three
new recruits as his replacement, without which his retirement
used to get delayed or even denied.
The villages which could not fill the quota of
the numbers of recruits
were made to pay 'fines' to the tune of kyat 100,000 or more.
The system
became a 'means' of earning extra money for those military
personnel who came to Rakhine State on official transfer orders.
Though the 'official order' was issued a few
months earlier, no one seemed
to follow the orders from 'high above'. So the junta have
been compelled
to issue new orders banning forced recruitment soon after the
news on child conscription has been talked about in the
international arena.
Children as young as 13 and 14 year olds were
conscripted from Rakhine
State. An official source told our correspondent that, the
number of Rakhine soldiers in the Burmese Army is about 30% out
of the total of 350,000 Burmese forces.
The official order included ban on forced
conscription, bribing or making monetary deals for escaping from
being conscripted, enlistment through
allotments made to towns and villages, and troop recruitment by
making temptations to minors. The order also contained
threats of punitive actions for non-compliance of the order.
Source: Narinjara News, November 5 ,2002
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Burmese
and Filipino Sisters Share Ideas
November 04, 2002—Ten days are not enough to
learn everything about the
political struggle of women in the Philippines. But for
representatives of the Women’s League of Burma (WLB) who
traveled to the Philippines in October, the opportunity to
listen to insights from dedicated and courageous women has
inspired them in their continuing fight against military
oppression in Burma.
The four Burmese women who participated in the
11-day exchange from October 6-16 all agreed that the exposure
to issues in the Philippines was
useful, particularly now as more women in Burma are starting to
speak out in their own communities. The women, originally from
four separate ethnic states in Burma, now work in exile for the
WLB, which is an umbrella
organization comprised of 11 members groups from South Asia and
Southeast
Asia.
In Burma there continues to be no independent
women’s organizations, and
the few women’s groups that are permitted to operate
there—including the National Committee for Women’s Affairs
and the Myanmar Maternal and Child
Welfare Association— come under the direct control of
government
ministries. There is the Myanmar Women Entrepreneur’s
Association run by local businesswomen who distribute small
loans, which ostensibly operates
outside of government controls. However, sources say the
organization works closely with the regime.
None of these organizations, however, have been
able to raise the status of women in the country, as incidents
of domestic violence, rape, prostitution and trafficking of
women remain commonplace throughout Burma.
While in the Philippines, the WLB delegation met
with a multitude of
women’s groups and discussed a wide range of
issues—including the
empowerment of women in political and social forums, human
rights for
ethnic groups and the establishment of income generation
projects—while also reviewing different training programs.
The delegates visited Gabriela, a Manila-based
network of over 100 women’s
organizations, which was started in 1984, and has since more
than doubled its membership. The network’s constituency now
includes grassroots women’s groups, peasants, members of the
urban poor, women representing religious institutions, students
as well as the most oppressed and marginalized
women in the country. The WLB representatives said the network
served as a model they could consider implementing amongst their
own organizations upon returning to Burma.
"We have learned a lot from the braveness
of women in the Philippines,"
said a delegate from Burma’s Mon State. "They know what
they are doing. I am sure, after getting back to Burma, I will
apply the strategies that they are using in their
struggles."
The delegates also traveled north for a meeting
with the Cordillera
People’s Alliance, a federation of indigenous peoples’
organizations. They
also visited with other groups such as the Igorota Foundation,
the Maryknoll Sisters Center for Justice, Peace and the
Integrity of Creation as well as the Cordillera Women’s
Education and Resource Center and Innabuyog.
During another trip to a mining town north of
Manila the group met
representatives from the Acupan Upper Camps Community Livelihood
Association (AUCCLA). At the time of their visit, AUCCLA members
were
barricading the entrance to a mine located close to their
village. The delegates said they learned how local women in the
area were actively
defending their land and resources from the threat of corporate
mining.
The exposure and sharing of ideas with the
Philippine women has also
created a network of solidarity and support between the two
countries.
Filipino women leaders, politicians and rights
activists were among the
2,000 international signatories that condemned Burma’s
military regime
after the release of the report, "License to Rape."
The report documented 625 cases of sexual abuse by military
personnel in Burma.
"We are making the atrocities and
suppression of the military against the
women of Burma into an international issue," remarked one
delegate. "We
are also looking for other countries such as Malaysia and
Indonesia to help us too."
Source: Irrawaddy,( Joanna C Castro), November 4 ,2002
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Bosnian
Serb premier says arms exports to Burma never proceeded
Banja Luka, 4 November: Republika Srpska Serb
Republic - RS Prime Minister
Mladen Ivanic admitted on Monday 4 November that the RS
negotiated the sale of a surplus of weapons to Burma, but that
the negotiations were stopped after finding out that Burma was
under a UN embargo.
"There is a problem of surplus of wars in
BiH Bosnia-Hercegovina . Since
Sfor Stabilization Force is destroying the surplus of weapons,
we concluded that it would be better to sell off a part of these
weapons.
However, the negotiations with Burma were
interrupted on time," Ivanic
said.
Five Bosnian Serb officials, including the
defence minister and army
chief, have stepped down in recent days over the export of parts
for Iraqi
MiG-21 aircraft by the state-owned Orao factory, in violation of
a UN arms embargo.
Source: Onasa News Agency, November 4 ,2002
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Burmese
prisoners in a Bangladesh jail on another hunger strike
Two hundred and thirty seven Burmese prisoners
in the Bandarban prison, in
the southeastern hilly district of Bangladesh bordering with
Burma, some of whom have overstayed their prison terms by as
much as nine years threatened to resort to another ‘fast unto
death’ hunger strike unless
they are repatriated, according to our correspondent.
As the prisoners started their hunger strike on
Saturday the District
Commissioner of Bandarban visited the prison and called on them
to refrain
from ‘such meaningless acts’ on condition that he would try
his best to take measures for solving their prolonged
detention. In reply the prisoners told the DC that, they
would go for mass suicide unless immediate steps are taken to
repatriate or free them.
The prisoners who were arrested for illegal
entry to Bangladesh had
already undergone various prison terms under the existing laws
of the
land. Though their terms of detention have ended long
since, they have
not been freed for the bureaucratic confusion resulting from the
Burmese
junta’s refusal to recognize them as their own citizens.
“Many of the ‘released’ prisoners come from homes
forcefully relocated by the Burmese junta in the 90s,” said a
released Burmese prisoner kept under the custody
of the UNHCR, Bangladesh, “making it difficult for the junta
to track down the exact ‘present’ locations of the addresses
of many of the families the
prisoners come from.”
A source in the jail told our correspondent that
the Burmese prisoners
would take up mass suicide if they are not freed shortly.
They expressed
that the life in the jail has become unbearable for the inhuman
conditions prevailing there. It is alleged that many of
the ‘troublemaking’ Burmese ‘released’ prisoners are now
kept in solitary confinement – for ‘fear of more trouble.’
The prison authority said that a number of
state-level correspondences
have been made for the release of these prisoners to no
effect since all the while the Burmese authority have remained
silent refusing to answer the queries.
Last March there was another continuous hunger
strike of three hundred
Burmese prisoners in Bandarban jail who the authority moved to
other prisons in Bangladesh to avoid a bloody confrontation.
According to a source, the district
administration is in a tight fix
regarding the ways to deal with the prisoners because there is
no other
way besides repatriating them through international efforts.
Meanwhile the environment inside the Bandarban
jail is deteriorating with
the uneasiness prevailing among the Burmese prisoners detained
for too
long inside the jail.
Source: Narinjara News, November 4 ,2002
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Rice
prices go up in Western Burma
Maungdaw, 4 November 02: The price of
rice, the staple food of Burma, has
gone up once again in Rakhine State in the western part of
Burma, according to our correspondent. The price of a 50
kilo bag of fine rice sells at kyat 25,000 while the coarse
variety sells at 16,000 kyat at Maungdaw, the town bordering
with Bangladesh.
Many of the travellers who can cross the border
to the nearby Bangladeshi
town of Teknaf across the Naaf River take back up to 20 kilos of
rice on their return home. Though rice was previously used
to be smuggled or exported to Bangladesh from Buthidaung and
Maungdaw Townships, the scarcity of rice in the area has been
caused due to the Burmese junta's ban on transportation of rice
to Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships from
inside the Rakhine State.
The BDR, Bangladeshi border security forces,
also allow the Burmese
tourists to carry small amounts of rice on humanitarian ground,
it is understood. The price of a bag of rice in Teknaf is
about kyat 12,600 which is equal to taka 700. Previously
the price of rice in Teknaf was about taka 550, which shot up to
taka 700 as the Burmese rice no more gets
smuggled into the country.
The poorer section of the people in Maungdaw
have now to eat the sticky
rice gruel as the bag of sticky rice is selling at kyat 12,500
in the open market.
As there is a scarcity of rice in the area,
farmers are forced by the
Burmese military junta officials to harvest even the hardly ripe
rice from
the fields to meet the acute rice shortage.
Every day only 200 bags of
rice are brought in by the junta officials for the consumption
of the army
personnel in the area. There is no quota of rice for the
civilian population in the two townships bordering with
Bangladesh, apparently due
to rice shortage in the interior areas of the country, which has
caused
the recent famine in the area, our correspondent concluded.
Source: Narinjara News, November 4 ,2002
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2
Army killed and 2 others wounded in landmine blast
Maungdaw, November 3: Two Burmese army personnel
were
killed and two others wounded in an explosion of landmine inside
their territory on the Burma-Bangladesh border on 21st October
2002, said a villager.
The explosion was occurred at about 10.00 am
(local
time) between pillar Nos. 40 and 41 at the Nasaka area No. 2,
Barua Para at under Line Thi village tract about 38 miles north
of Maungdaw town, Arakan State.
The landmines had been set in the no-man’s
land along
the 131 miles Burma-Bangladesh land border in their bid to
prevent trespassers and insurgent groups by the Burma Border
Security Force (Nasaka), said an ex-village Chairman.
According to a eyewitness, a villager of Barua
Para
told our source that while he was going to the forest for
cutting wood adjacent to the camp, suddenly he heard the
explosion of the landmine and he had gone into hiding and
watching the spot from a distance that
he could see the sight well. Other fellows carried about half an
hour later two dead body and another two wounded soldiers
towards their camp.
When asked the Rohingya National Army (RNA) told
that
the Nasaka together with the army planted the landmines for the
insurgence (rebellion) groups but they themselves tragically
fell into their own trap.
They also said that 2 armies were killed on the
spot
and another three were wounded while they were going to check
the border pillars by mistakenly stepping on the landmine.
Bangladesh Government compelled the Burmese
junta to
remove the landmines trough vigorous diplomatic campaign since
1993. Though Burmese junta had removed some of the landmines set
by Nasaka, but most of them remained un-removed despite heavy
pressure from Bangladesh side. Last year, the Nasaka forces
secretly again planted landmines along the Burma-Bangladesh
border. But, Bangladesh Government had removed by its
own arrangement, the landmines set by Nasaka in its territory,
said BRCT (Bangladesh Rehabilitation Center for Tranma Victims).
Source: Kaladan Press,( Editor ), November 3 ,2002
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Mizoram-Burma
border sealed prevent terrorists’ entrance
Chittagong, 2nd November 02: The
Bangladesh Army has been kept on red
alert along the Mizoram border of north eastern India and the
Myamar border along the country's south-eastern hilly areas to
check terrorists crossing out of the country, according to the
local press.
To bolster the nationwide anti-terrorist drive
that has stepped into the
third week, the Bangladeshi government on reports of terrorists
taking
shelter in the remote areas of the south-eastern district of
Bandarban Hill Tracts by various intelligence agencies has taken
up the measures,reported a Chittagong vernacular daily.
Strange faces frequenting the remote hills on
the face of the joint police - army operation dubbed as 'Clean
Heart' has prompted the law enforcing
agencies to take up the extra cautionary measures. Besides
the people of the hills mostly constituted of Buddhist tribal
have been panic-stricken
for the movement of crime gang godfathers, said the Independent.
It is alleged in a number of dailies that, most
of the tribal people are
reluctant to open mouth about the existence of outside
terrorists. A
tribal leader in the area said, "Terrorists or no
terrorists, tribal population here have always been looked with
suspicious eyes."
As for now there is a lull prevailing in the
hills before the impending
storm of what the government has dubbed as Police-Army Anti-
terrorist
Joint Drive.
Source: Narinjara News, November 2 ,2002
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Annan
worried Myanmar reform drive is losing steam
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Concerned that a
political reform drive in Myanmar is losing steam, U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Friday urged the Asian nation's
military government and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to
quickly launch talks laying the groundwork for democracy.
"It is only through an all-inclusive
dialogue that Myanmar will be able to
ensure that national reconciliation is durable and the
transition to democracy smooth," Annan said in a report to
the 191-nation U.N. General Assembly.
He also called on the authorities in the country
formerly known as Burma
to quickly release all remaining political prisoners and
eliminate all remaining restrictions on the activities of legal
political parties.
The military has raised hopes for political
change in the last two years
by releasing around 400 political prisoners and freeing Suu Kyi
from 19
months of house arrest in May.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won
national elections in 1990,
but has never been allowed to rule by the military, which has
held power for the last four decades.
Many Western countries, including the United
States and the European
Union, have imposed political and economic sanctions on Myanmar,
a country diplomats say has been impoverished by decades of
economic mismanagement.
Annan noted it had been five months since Suu
Kyi had been allowed to
resume her activities as the leader of a lawful party, yet no
talks had yet begun with the government on political reforms and
national reconciliation.
"I am concerned that the positive momentum
generated since this spring could dissipate unless some tangible
progress is made in the near future,"
he said. "It is my strong belief that the objectives of
preserving stability and pressing ahead with much-needed reforms
are mutually compatible."
Despite the recent releases of political
prisoners, his report said
hundreds were believed still in custody including 220 members of
the
National League for Democracy, 400 nonmembers
and "several hundred others, including students."
In addition, the activities of the Shan
Nationalities League for Democracy
has been limited in Shan state and the National League for
Democracy has been prevented from publishing and distributing
political material while
the pro-government National Unity Party is allowed to do so,
according to the report.
Annan said Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung,
during talks in New York in September, had assured him his
government was committed to moving toward
a multiparty democratic system "but at the same time
stressed the need to build a strong nation that could withstand
any challenge to its territorial integrity".
Source: Reuters ,(Irwin Arieff ), November 2 ,2002
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