BurmaNet News: November 27-29 2002

[editor at burmanet.org]

November 27-29 2002 Issue #2130

INSIDE BURMA

AFP: Suu Kyi supporter arrested after making symbolic golden hat
AP: Opposition party calls for substantive dialogue and better education
DVB: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon
AFP: Suu Kyi wraps up lengthy trip to Myanmar’s Shan State
NYT: After freeing dissident, Burmese rulers move slowly on reform
Irrawaddy: Same old ways
SHAN: War on the border over Burmese offensive

DRUGS

Xinhua: Myanmar to declare three more ‘drug-free’ towns

MONEY

Network Media Group: Austrian airline criticized for opening route to Burma
AFP: Rights group slams Lauda Air for launching Myanmar route
Narinjara: Onions seized at Burmese security gate

REGIONAL

Narinjara: Burmese junta leader to visit Bangladesh

INTERNATIONAL

Myanmar Times: Annan welcomes decision to release 115 detainees

MISCELLANEOUS

The Nation: Of dreams and realities in modern Burma

___INSIDE BURMA_____

Agence France-Presse
November 29 2002

Suu Kyi supporter arrested after making symbolic golden hat

A supporter of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been arrested in
Myanmar after moulding a golden bamboo hat -- the symbol of the struggle
for democracy, the National League for Democracy (NLD) said Friday.

Ko Shwe Maung was arrested in early November in the north-central city of
Mandalay before he could travel south to Yangon to present the hat, called
a "khamauk," to NLD leader Suu Kyi, party spokesman U Lwin said.

A dissident group said he was sentenced to three years in prison. "We
aren't sure exactly when he was arrested, but what I heard is that he was
arrested" before he was set to present the golden khamauk to Aung San Suu
Kyi on Friday, national day, U Lwin told AFP.

According to the Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), Ko Shwe
Maung was arrested November 7 and sentenced four days later to three years
in prison.

He was apparently one of a handful of NLD supporters responsible for
moulding the hat -- a simple bamboo head covering that became a potent
symbol during the pro-democracy student movement of the late 1980s and the
election of 1990 won by the NLD in a landslide but ignored by the junta.

"Ko Shwe Maung and his friends who are very keen on politics made it," the
DVB quoted comedian Par Par Lay, who helped with the hat, which was
decorated with fighting peacocks, another NLD symbol.

U Lwin said the group had begun distributing free rice porridge to poor
Mandalay children as an act of charity after they completed the khamauk,
an event that drew hundreds of people.

"The reason they charged him was that the charity movement was not
acceptable to the authorities," U Lwin said, adding the NLD will seek to
provide legal assistance during the appeal of Ko Shwe Maung, who is not an
NLD member.

The hat is currently being kept at the NLD's Mandalay office, U Lwin said,
until an appropriate time to present it to Aung San Suu Kyi is determined.

_______

Associated Press
November 29 2002

Opposition party calls for substantive dialogue and better education

Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy marked a key holiday
Friday by renewing its call for meaningful political dialogue with the
country's military rulers.

The party's statement celebrating National Day - the anniversary of a
student strike against British colonial rule in 1920 - also called for the
unconditional release of political prisoners and reforms to improve the
education system.

The themes are familiar ones for the opposition and underlined how little
progress has been made since party leader Aung San Suu Kyi began
closed-door talks with the ruling junta in late 2000. Hopes for a
breakthrough in resolving the country's political deadlock were heightened
in May this year when Suu Kyi was freed from 19 months of house arrest,
but since then there have been no substantive talks between the government
and opposition.

Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. The military staged a
general election in 1990, but refused to honor the results when Suu Kyi's
NLD party won a landslide victory. Instead, it harassed and detained party
members and other pro-democracy activists.

"Only through a meaningful political dialogue could a peaceful change be
guaranteed and the country's prevailing general difficulties be solved,"
said a five-page statement read out at a ceremony at the NLD's party
headquarters.

"As we have passed the confidence-building phase, it is time to start the
process of a meaningful political dialogue," it said.

The government's confidence-building steps have included allowing Suu Kyi
freedom of movement and freeing hundreds of political prisoners. But about
1,000 more prisoners remain in detention.

In a brief speech, Suu Kyi stressed the importance of better education
standards.

"A good education system is necessary for the long-term development of a
country and we all are responsible to work for the improvement of
education system," she said.

National Day marks the anniversary of a student boycott of a
British-imposed law that was seen as a deliberate move to limit higher
education to a privileged few.

The 1920 boycott rekindled the nationalist spirit of Myanmar - then called
Burma - and helped propel the struggle that led to independence in 1948.

To this day students are a potent symbol of resistance, and the military
has sometimes shut down universities for extended periods to keep students
from organizing.

In his official National Day message, published in the state press, junta
leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe said the government "has implemented
education promotion programs designed to contribute to the prevalence of
peace and tranquility and development of the nation."
_______

Democratic Voice of Burma
November 28 2002

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has arrived in Rangoon last night at 11 o'clock from
her 15-day trip to the Shan State. She took a short rest and attended a
farewell party for an ambassador last night with the NLD spokesman U Lwin.
According to him, the Shan State is the biggest area of Burma she'd been
to in terms of size and ethnic diversities. She was also able to discuss
matters with local NLD leaders and people, and plan for the future with
them properly. And the journey was fairly a safe one. He also added that
there are some successes more than she had expected in some matters.
As for the matters of obstructions and harassments of local authorities, U
Lwin said that there is some elements of the abuses of power from their
part and incidents are being reported to relevant authorities. The people
who videotaped and photographed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi came to apologise her
personally. The news of the local authorities and the USDA banning people
from welcoming Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is in some cases, it's true and in
some, not true.
The incident in Kyaukme in which some intelligence members disguised
themselves as NLD members and tried to disrupt a public meeting was solved
at the scene by telling them not to deceive people like that. If they
wanted, they could come and take part in the meeting as intelligent
personnel and the like.
U Lwin also added that there are approximately 110 NLD political prisoners
still languishing in prisons. The health conditions of the released 51 NLD
members are being tested. The remaining released prisoners are from other
organisations and nobody seems to know exactly who they are and only the
military authorities know who they are. He admitted that the NLD is only
able to confirm its members.

_______

Agence France-Presse
November 27 2002

Suu Kyi wraps up lengthy trip to Myanmar's Shan state

Myanmar's pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi left Shan state for
home Wednesday, wrapping up her longest political trip outside the capital
since the military junta first placed her under house arrest 13 years ago.

"From a political organization point of view, it was quite successful," U
Lwin, spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), told
AFP of the mission on which the opposition leader was often greeted by
throngs of supporters.

"She is on her way back to Rangoon," he said, calling Yangon by its former
name. By mid-day she had reached the oil town of Yenangyaung, on the banks
of the Ayeyarwaddy River some 370 miles (590 kilometres) north of Yangon,
U Lwin said.

She was due to arrive late Wednesday, but heavy flooding in the north
threatened to delay her arrival by a day.

The Nobel peace laureate took full advantage of her May freedom from house
arrest, spending two weeks criss-crossing the restive state known for its
simmering ethnic rebellions.

She presided over the re-opening of four NLD offices in Shan state,
bringing to 72 the number of offices reopened since an easing of
restrictions on the NLD. More than 230 remain shuttered, however, U Lwin
said.

On several occasions Aung San Suu Kyi was met by large numbers of
supporters who lined roads and congregated in villages where she stopped.

"We did not expect such huge crowds to greet her," U Lwin said.

A cheering crowd of about 30,000 gathered in Lashio, the capital of
northern Shan state, to hear her speak despite what U Lwin described as
"warnings by the authorities that no one should come and greet her."

Aung San Suu Kyi has made several political trips around the country since
she was released in May from 19 months under house arrest with a guarantee
that she would have complete freedom of movement.

Her trips have gone off smoothly, although Yangon is informed of her
movements in advance and dispatches a security detail for her "protection"
wherever she goes.

In Shan state she met with the state's major nationalities in efforts to
engage various ethnic groups who till now have been excluded from national
reconciliation talks between the State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC) and the democratic opposition.

"This trip was very important because this is the area with the most
ethnic diversity," U Lwin said.

It came at a sensitive time for Shan state, which has been in the
spotlight recently with the release of a report alleging systematic sexual
abuse of ethnic minority women there.

Two UN envoys, Razali Ismail and human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro,
visited Myanmar recently but both cancelled their scheduled trips to Shan
state.

Ethnic Shan rebels who oppose Yangon rule said that Myanmar government
troops had attacked one of their positions during Aung San Suu Kyi's visit
and accused them of attempting to disrupt her trip.

Aung San Suu Kyi was already considering her next political trip, U Lwin
said, though he did not offer a destination.

"There are many more places to go," he said.

Aung San Suu Kyi was first placed under house arrest in 1989, a year
before her NLD party won a sweeping election victory that was never
recognized by the junta.
___________

New York Times
November 29 2002

After Freeing Dissident, Burmese Rulers Move Slowly on Reform

By SETH MYDANS

Six months after releasing the pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
from house arrest amid a fanfare of promises, Myanmar's military rulers
seem to have lost interest in political compromise.

They have released only a trickle of political prisoners from among more
than 1,000 who are behind bars. And they have dragged their feet on a
pledge to open substantive talks with Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi and her
political party, the National League for Democracy. In place of the upbeat
words that accompanied the announcement of her release on May 5,
government officials have settled back into a familiar refrain: give us
time.

"The process is moving forward," said Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt this month. "But
such movement can only occur at a pace with which we are comfortable."

He added, "Much has been achieved already this year, and people have to
understand the process may be slow because it is complicated."

There is no question about that achievement. After 19 months under house
arrest, Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi was granted the most freedom of movement and
political activity she has had in more than a decade.

She has made four trips outside the capital, Yangon, to rally supporters
and has reopened more than 65 party offices, reviving a network that had
almost been eliminated by the government.

But this has not been accompanied by the sort of cooperation and political
accommodation she said the government promised her.

"We are prepared for dialogue with the government, and we have not set any
preconditions," a spokesman for the party, U Lwin, said this month. But he
has begun to sound a bit less upbeat than he did immediately after the
release of Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi.

"Since the beginning, we have been reading too much into her release,"
said Aung Zaw, the editor of Irrawaddy magazine and a leading figure among
Burmese exiles.

"I think it was just part of their regular routine practices, to release
her into a larger cage," he said. "But I think it was very premature to
call it a political milestone."

In a sign that foreign nations are losing patience, the American deputy
secretary of state for Asia and the Pacific, James A. Kelly, this week
offered the strongest warning yet by the Bush administration.

"We are at the point where, absent further progress, the process that has
begun may well falter," he said on Sunday. "If progress remains elusive,
Burma must consider the possibility that other countries may join in
measures with us, such as a ban on new investment."

The United States has led international economic and political sanctions
against the military junta, which took power in 1988 and then nullified
the results of a parliamentary election in 1990 that was won
overwhelmingly by the National League for Democracy.

Although it may resist cooperating with the opposition, Myanmar's military
government badly needs international aid to revive its mismanaged economy
and to address severe public health problems, including the rapid spread
of AIDS.

"It is by no means certain that attempts to work with the government to
avoid a health disaster will succeed," wrote Robert Templer in a recent
report for the International Crisis group, a policy institute. "What is
certain is that the country cannot stem the tide without immediate,
substantial and sustained financial and technical support."
______

Irrawaddy
November 28 2002

Same Old Ways
By Kyaw Zwa Moe

In the wake of the Burmese junta’s largest general amnesty for political
prisoners since entering into "secret talks" with the opposition in
October 2000, international governments and human rights groups all agree
on two things: the release of 115 political detainees is a positive step
but woefully insufficient. The United States’ senior Asia policymaker
James Kelly said the release was "welcomed, but highly incomplete and
inadequate". Amnesty International echoed the same sentiment.
The regime maintains the November 21 release was in response to the
"steady progress in national reconciliation" with the opposition National
League for Democracy (NLD). The release, however, occurred less than two
weeks after UN special envoy to Burma Razali Ismail urged the military
leaders to free more than 200 political prisoners by year’s end, while
also announcing that if real reforms were not implemented he would step
down as the UN envoy.
Some 550 political detainees have been released since January 2001 and
comparatively speaking the scale of last week’s amnesty was relatively
significant, but it is not indicative of a policy shift inside the ruling
State Peace and Development Council. Opposition leaders are quick to note
that 18 members of Parliament as well as an estimated 1,500 political
prisoners remain in detention—including student leader Min Ko Naing and
journalist U Win Tin, who have been incarcerated for over 13 years.
The continued crackdown on political activities inside Burma is also not
adequately reported on, creating a false sense at times that the regime is
moving ahead, albeit slowly. Two Rangoon law students were sentenced this
month to seven and 14 years in prison for staging a protest in front of
Rangoon City Hall in August. And former professor Salai Tun Than was
sentenced to seven years earlier this year for the same.
The recent batch of released political prisoners are free, but remain on
parole. The regime is notorious for rearresting dissidents and accusing
them of collaborating with the opposition. U Sein Hla Oo, U Khin Maung Swe
and U Kyaw San, all elected members of Parliament from the NLD, are
serving the remainder of previous sentences, plus additional sentencing
that was imposed after they were found to be active again in politics
after being released.
Despite some noted improvements in prison conditions by the Red Cross and
the UN special rapporteur on human rights to Burma, Sergio Paulo Pinheiro,
the situation inside the prisons can still be described as barbaric. The
deaths of four political prisoners since July serves as a reminder of just
how bad conditions are. In Pinheiro’s latest report to the UN he wrote,
"prisons were still hell" even with these improvements.
Unfortunately, the junta will continue to use political prisoners as
bargaining chips whenever they feel outside pressure. But international
influence alone will not cause dramatic changes inside the government.
Whether the regime chooses to move in the proper direction is unclear,
however, if the regime ever wants to be taken seriously it needs to take a
markedly different approach. And much to the chagrin of the generals,
credit for the latest release all goes to Razali.
_____

Shan Herald Agency News
November 27 2002

Shan Herald Agency for News
War on the border: debate over Burmese offensive

A controversy has arisen as to whether or not a Burmese offensive to
wipe out the Shan rebel strongholds along the border is in the offing,
in the light of three interviews S.H.A.N. had conducted this morning.

S.H.A.N. source from southern Shan State re-confirmed earlier reports
that Burmese units would depart from their staging areas towards their
individual objectives in early December. "Towards this end, 6
battalions from MOMC (Military Operation Management Command) #17 and
another 3 from MOMC #21 have been going through vigorous training for
over a month in Kengtawng (47 miles south of Kunhing)," he added.
However, he was not able to give information about maneuvers in other
parts of Shan State.

Thai border watchers also said all their available data pointed out to
one fact: a massive operation against the Shans is fast approaching.
"There are
several indicators: the unusual training during the monsoons, the
movement
of heavy weapons to the border areas, the construction of roads to the
border, and the purchase of huge amount of fuel oil from Thailand",
said an officer whom S.H.A.N. had known for nearly 20 years. "Kawwan
(SSA stronghold in Monghsat, opposite Chiangrai) in particular, is the
most likely target."

Shan State Army's top commanders appear to be skeptical about the
news. "We
have yet to receive any report from both our own sources and units in
the field," said Col. Khurh-ngern, SSA's chief of staff. "We even
can't help thinking whether this is another misinformation campaign by
Rangoon."

One Shan commander noted however that recent concentration of Burmese
forces in Kengtawng in Mongnai Township, west of the Salween and
Mongkok in Monghsat Township, east of the Salween, was significant.
"They used to be our connections between our north and south
expeditions," he said. "Now we have to make wide detours."

The Battle of Pang Maisoong, located between Burma's Mongton Township
and Thailand's Chiangmai Province, that was fought from 20 May - 20
June, had reportedly ended with a Pyrrhic victory for Rangoon.

____DRUGS_____

Xinhua News Agency
November 29 2002

Myanmar to declare three more "drug-free" towns

Three more Myanmar border towns will be declared "drug-free" ones by the
Myanmar government in the near future, a press release of the Foreign
Ministry said Friday.

The three planned "drug-free" towns will be Tachilek, Myawady and
Kawthoung in the country's Shan, Kayin and Tanintharyi states and
divisions. In 1997, Myanmar declared the Mongla region in Shan state as an
"opium-free" zone, the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Wa and Kokang ethnic leaders in Shan state have pledged to
totally eradicate drugs from their lands by 2005, it said.

The statement said drug menace is a global problem and no single country
can find an effective solution to that global scourge. Myanmar signed
memorandums of understanding with its neighbors --China, Cambodia, Laos,
Thailand and Vietnam --to jointly solve the drug problems, while the
country signed bilateral agreements on drug control with India,
Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos, the Philippines and Russia.

In the latest development, the Myanmar government has decided to accede to
the 1972 Protocol Amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961 to
show its serious commitment in combating drug abuse and illicit
trafficking.

According to government figures, since April this year, the authorities
received 165.65 tons of poppy seeds turned in by farmers in five divisions
and states under the seed exchange project. These poppy seeds can
cultivate 101,437 acres (about 41, 050 hectares) of opium fields from
which 446.32 tons of opium can be produced and refined into 44.63 tons
heroin worth 9,413.5 million US dollars.

Since then, the authorities have burnt up a total of 143.22 tons of poppy
seeds and  12,000 acres (4,850 hectares) have been substituted with
alternative crops.

Myanmar targets to reduce opium output from 828 tons in 2002 to 400 tons
in 2003.

____MONEY____

Network Media Group
November 28 2002

Austrian Airline criticized for opening route to Burma

Bangkok-based regional human rights organizations criticized Austrian
Lauda Air's opening of new service between Vienna and Rangoon yesterday
although European Union recently extends its strict sanctions on Burma for
next six months.

Lauda Air plans to introduce a non-stop flight from Vienna to Rangoon in
its upcoming 2002/2003 winter schedule. It will be the first direct
service to Burma from a European city.

"The decision to open this service between Austria and Burma is based on
purely commercial economic interests - to claim the move will benefit the
people of Burma in any way is to ignore the political and humanitarian
realities, and the human rights crisis in Burma," quoted Mr. Somchai
Homlaor, Secretary General of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and
Development (Forum-Asia) in a press release of Forum-Asia on November 27.

Military ruled Burma offers new visa regulation for the passengers coming
with Lauda Air from Europe, giving special privilege to apply visa on
arrival at Rangoon airport.

"All the economic engagements with SPDC are only directly benefiting SPDC.
They (Economic Engagements) directly assist SPDC on expending the army and
buying weapons. We don't see it benefits the people of Burma. So, the
economic engagement should not start at this time while trying for
political change in Burma," said Aung Moe Zaw, General Secretary of the
National Council of Union of Burma, commenting on the Lauda Air's opening.

The passengers from Europe to Burma had to transit at Bangkok airport in
Thailand or Changi Airport in Singapore.
_______

Agence France-Presse
November 27 2002

Rights group slams Lauda Air for launching Myanmar route

Human rights monitor Forum-Asia on Wednesday criticized Austria-based
Lauda Air for launching flights between Vienna and Yangon this month,
saying the deal ignored Myanmar's "human rights crisis".

"The decision to open this service between Austria and Burma is based on
purely commercial economic interests," the Bangkok-based group's secretary
general Somchai Homlaor said in a statement.

On November 6 Lauda Air inaugurated a non-stop service to Yangon from
Vienna -- the first direct flight to Myanmar's capital from a European
city -- with the return routing via the Thai resort island of Phuket. But
Somchai rejected the notion that engaging Myanmar by opening the service
would assist the troubled country.

"To claim the move will benefit the people of Burma in any way is to
ignore the political and humanitarian realities, and the human rights
crisis in Burma," he said, calling the country by its former name.

"ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) has been engaging
Burma for years now and there has been no improvement in the humanitarian
or human rights situation in the country."

Forum-Asia said it demanded to see "substantial improvement" in key areas
of human rights and democracy, including the release of political
prisoners, and an end to alleged abuses such as forced labour and rape of
ethnic minority women, before supporting commercial engagement of the
military leadership.

Several Western nations including the United States and the European Union
continue to impose strict sanctions on Myanmar, whose economy has been
decimated in the four decades of military rule.

Myanmar's tourism industry is in its infancy, and the country's efforts to
boost it have been dogged by the wide-ranging sanctions.

Myanmar has been widely criticised for its human rights performance and
refusal to hand over power to the National League for Democracy, led by
Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, which won an overwhelming election
victory in 1990.
______

Narinjara News
November 27 2002

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.

___REGIONAL______

Narinjara News
November 27 2002

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. \

___INTERNATIONAL____

Myanmar Times
November 25-December 1 2002

Annan welcomes decision to release 115 detainees
By Thet Khaing

The United Nations secretary general, Mr Kofi Annan, has welcomed the
government’s decision to release a large group of detainees last week,
saying it would provide "fresh momentum" for the national reconciliation
process in Myanmar. Mr Annan was responding to a government announcement
that 115 detainees, including an unknown number of members of the National
League for Democracy, were released last Thursday. It is the largest
single release of detainees since national reconciliation talks began
between the government and the NLD’s Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in October 2000
and brings the number to regain their freedom since then to 550. "Because
of steady progress in national reconciliation, we continue to release more
individuals who will cause no harm to the community nor threaten the
existing peace, stability and unity of the nation," a government
spokesperson, Col Hla Min, said in a statement issued last Wednesday.
Reports suggested that the detainees began being released from various
detention centres last Thursday morning. A spokesperson for the
International Committee of the Red Cross said he was "happy" with the
government’s decision to release a large number of detainees. The deputy
head of the ICRC’s delegation in Yangon, Mr Alfredo Mallet, said those
released last Thursday may include detainees who were ill. The government
intended to provide their names to the ICRC this week, Mr Mallet said.
Diplomats in Yangon have also welcomed the release. "The government said
earlier this week that the [reconciliation] process is moving forward and
I see this release as proof of that," an Asian diplomat told Myanmar Times
last Friday. In another development, the International Labour Organisation
has revealed that its liaison officer in Yangon, Ms Hong-Trang
Perret-Nyuyen, met Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council,
General Khin Nyunt, on November 14 to discuss the future work of the ILO
in Myanmar. "General Khin Nyunt underlined the fact that the liaison
officer was free to visit any place that she wished," said an ILO report
released last week. "He encouraged her (Ms Perret-Nyuyen) to visit as many
places as she could in order to see the situation, and offered any
assistance that might be required to facilitate such visits," the report
added. A meeting of the ILO’s governing body was due at its meeting in
Geneva late last Friday.

____MISCELLANEOUS________

The Nation
November 29 2002

Of dreams and realities in modern Burma
By MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra

The following is former deputy foreign minister MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra's
presentation to the conference on "Burma: Reconciliation in Myanmar and
the Crisis of Change", organised by the Paul Nitze School of Advanced
International Studies, the Johns Hopkins University's Southeast Asia
Studies Programme, in Washington DC on November 22-23.
Nowadays, when I am participating in a gathering such as this, I feel
rather awkward. I am neither fish nor fowl, neither fauna nor flora,
neither a part of government nor completely divorced from it. Therefore, I
am not sure how best to conduct myself. Given this "identity crisis",
perhaps it might be better for me, instead of providing a deep and learned
analysis of what is happening in Burma (that is, assuming I am capable of
doing so), to relate my personal experiences to this distinguished
audience.
I have been dreaming a lot recently; in fact, I have been dreaming on nine
successive nights, a number which happens to be astrologically auspicious
for Asians.
On the first night, I dreamed that Burma is at peace with herself.
I dreamed that a successful process of national reconciliation has taken
place, not only between the SPDC and the NLD, but also between the present
government and all the minorities, and that this process has brought about
a much more open and representative system of politics and governance,
characterised by respect of human rights, the rule of law, accountability,
freedom and participation.
And I woke up a happy man.
For such national reconciliation would mean that the people of Burma are
no longer fighting and killing one another, that now they all have a
chance to work together to develop their society and economy, and that
they can end their country's isolation and begin to make use of the
international community's resources in their pursuit of a better life.
On the second night, I dreamed that Burma was at peace with the world.
I dreamed that national reconciliation has brought about conditions
conducive to greater cooperation, both between Burma and the international
community and between her and her neighbours, particularly her historic
adversary, Thailand.
And I woke up a happy man.
I was happy because for so long I have wanted the ordinary people of Burma
to enjoy the fruits of mankind's economic, scientific and technological
development. For long I have wanted the ordinary people of Burma to have
opportunities to interact with their peers in neighbouring lands, so that
they can all learn from, as well as learn to cooperate with, one another.
And for long I have wanted Burma and Thailand to turn their backs to the
past and their faces to a common future.
Like 60 million other Thais, I was not born when the mighty Burmese army
burnt Ayuddhya to ashes 240 years ago.
On the third night, I dreamed that Burma is turning swords into ploughshares.
I dreamed that her leaders at long last recognised the anomaly whereby one
of the world's poorest countries had one of the largest standing armies
and some of the most advanced weaponry in Pacific Asia, and began to
reduce both the defence budget and the number of men at arms.
I dreamed that Burma is about to sell their MIG-29s back to Russia and
that Russia is willing to buy them back.
And I woke up a happy man.
I felt happy for the ordinary people of Burma who will have more money
spent on directly improving their extraordinarily difficult lives. And I
felt happy for the ordinary people of Thailand, for our leaders will no
longer have any clear and pressing rationale to buy more F-15s or revive
their interest in purchasing F-18s, which would simply add a considerably
greater burden to the rapidly escalating public debt.
On the fourth night, I dreamed that Burma has become a good regional
partner, with a good sense of regional responsibility.
I dreamed that Burma is working very closely with her Asean partners to
realise Asean's "Vision 2020", especially where the dream of having
"caring societies" is concerned. I also dreamed that she is cooperating
with her neighbours in resolving specific problems, which may have roots
in one country's domestic conditions but have transnational, regional or
international consequences, such as drugs, HIV/Aids, migration, and trade
in women and children.
And I woke up a happy man.
I felt happy for Asean because Burma is an important country and her
commitment to the cause of regionalism can only make Asean stronger. I
felt happy for all the ordinary peoples living on both sides of the
Burmese-Thai border, whose livelihoods are no longer interrupted by abrupt
border closures. I felt happy for the women and children, whose lives have
become more secure. And I felt happy for the ordinary people of Thailand,
whose government can now concentrate its efforts on addressing the demand
side of the drug equation and no longer has an excuse not to achieve
greater success in its war against this evil threat to humanity.
On the fifth night, I dreamed that Burma, while maintaining close ties
with China, has good relations with all the major powers.
And I woke up a happy man.
For, while cooperation with China is a must and will be increasingly
important in the years ahead, I have always considered a balanced foreign
policy essential for the Asean countries, both individually and
collectively: essential for maximising benefits and minimising costs in
participating in global affairs; essential for restoring the bargaining
power of Asean as a diplomatic community; and essential for building up
the role of Asean as a force of reason and moderation in the international
community, which may become more and more polarised by international
terrorism and the West's responses to the threat thereof.
On the sixth night, I dreamed that Burma plays a proactive and
constructive role in the international arena, both on her own and in
collaboration with her Asean partners.
And I woke up a happy man.
For it means that Burma, the quality of whose foreign service is second to
none in the region, is beginning to fulfil her diplomatic potential, which
must be good news for both Asean and the international community.
On the seventh night, I dreamed that Burma is the next "Tiger" of Pacific
Asia.
I dreamed that progress made in the development of Burma's tremendous
human and natural resources, together with those of the three Indochinese
countries, is helpful to push Southeast Asia once more to the forefront of
the world's economic success stories.
I dreamed that an economically strong Burma can both act as a bridge
between Asean and South Asia and help transform Southeast Asia into a
bridge between China and India.
And I woke up a happy man.
On the eighth night, I dreamed that an economically strong Burma and an
economically strong Thailand are becoming increasingly integrated through
expanding ties of trade, investment and financial transactions, through
the construction of a multiplicity of communication, telecommunication and
transportation linkages, through the sharing of power grids, water
resources and information technologies, and through the free movement of
and exchanges among the peoples of the two countries.
And I woke up a happy man.
No more burning of Ayudhya.
On the last night, I dreamed that all these dreams are true. Then I woke
up very unhappy indeed, when I realised that these dreams were just that .
.. . . dreams, not realities.