BurmaNet News: January 6 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

January 6 2003 Issue #2150

INSIDE BURMA

NCGUB News Unit: NLD clarifies stand, sets conditions
Irrawaddy: Mon splinter group member return
DVB: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s Independence Day message
Xinhua: Dolphins face extinction in Myanmar
Xinhua: Over 3 million employed in private sector in Myanmar

REGIONAL

Renmin Ribao: Myanmar head of state arrives in Beijing
BBC: Burma junta leader visits China
AFP: Bangladesh, Myanmar feeder service in the offing to boost trade
Bangkok Post: UWSA drug production still a worry, says Prem
Bangkok Post: Land snapped up on border

STATEMENTS/EDITORIALS

Asian Wall Street Journal: Thailand’s humanitarian reputation at risk
Dictator Watch: A Thai Christmas present: NGO harassment and intimidation
Boston Globe: Misplaced trust in Burma
SWAN: Burmese military authorities threaten villagers before International
Red Cross visit to Central Shan State

INSIDE BURMA

National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma January 6 2003

NLD clarifies stand, sets conditions

 The National League for Democracy (NLD) Central Committee released a
statement on "Independence Day" -- 4 January 2003 -- enunciating its
"policies and principles" which NLD says are "firm". The state-ment
described as "an unequivocal statement of our position" by the NLD sets
conditions for political talks with the generals in the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC).  The salient points in the statement:

On Political Prisoners
        NLD wants "Unconditional and immediate release of all political
prisoners"

Election
        "NLD will not accept the holding of another election without the
authorities first honoring the results of the 'fair and free' 1990
elections and abiding by successive annual resolutions of the UN
General Assembly calling on the SPDC to honor the will of the
people."

National Convention
        "On the subject of a National Convention, we recall that on
18/10/1990 Secretary 1 of the then State Law and Order Restoration
Council (SLORC), now SPDC, made the following statement at the
Magwe Division, Kyunchaung Fetilizer Plant opening ceremony:
'It is the responsibility of political parties and the successful
candidates of the elections  to convene a National Convention. SLORC will
play an assisting role only'
"Since nothing has changed about the National Convention and the
undertaking as given above has not been fulfilled, the NLD will not be
participating."

State Constitution
        "On the subject of drawing up the state constitution, on the 3rd
July, 1990, Chairman of the SLORC declared thus:
'It will be necessary to draw up a state constitution after the multiparty
general elections.  I have mentioned this in my speech on the 5th July,
1989.  I have already said that the State Law and Restoration Council will
not be writing that document.  I cannot allow myself to be the accused in
this matter.  The drawing up of a state constitution is the responsibility
of the elected party to work in consultation with the successful
candidates...'
"The National League for Democracy will not accept any provisions in a
constitution which is written by this National Convention."

Investments, Humanitarian Assistance
        "The limited investments by international organizations (including
financial  institutions) are the result of the uncongenial
political climate and impact negatively only a section of the
community.  Humanitarian aid and assistance by foreign countries
and governments (for example, control and management of AIDS) must
be bona fide and open.  We firmly adhere to the principle that
humanitarian assistance should be transparent, accountable and
independently monitored."

Tourism
        "We definitely specify that the time is not ripe for promoting
tourism."

CRPP
        "We are firmly committed to the Committee Representing the
People’s Parliament."

The NLD says "The above policies and principles remain firm and we will
continue to adhere to them.  This is an unequivocal statement of our
position."


__________

Irrawaddy January 3 2003

Mon Splinter Group Members Return
By Naw Seng
January 03, 2003—More and more members of the Mon splinter group
Honsawatoi Restoration Party (HRP) are returning to the New Mon State
Party (NMSP), the organization they originally broke away from, an officer
of the NMSP said.
In the past two months, more than 100 members of the HRP, including some
family members, re-joined to the NMSP. However, there are still around 20
member who remain committed and some, including leader Naing Pan Nyunt,
have extensive arms and control of jungle areas in Burma’s Mon State, the
NMSP officer estimated.
"We [the NMSP] are welcoming those who want to return," said the NMSP
officer. In a statement issued after the first members broke away in
November 2001, the NMSP declared that HRP members could return until the
end of 2002. But the NMSP has yet to decide whether it will continue to
welcome HRP members in the future.
The HRP, with so many of its members abandoning the group once the
condition lapsed, was unable to comment.
A small number of HRP members decided to return to the NMSP in Mon State
after Thai authorities last month closed their office in Sangklaburi,
north west of Bangkok in Kanchanaburi Province.
Sources in Sangklaburi said the HRP would collapse if members continued to
return to the NMSP.
Clashes between the two Mon groups heightened last October when four
members of the NMSP—including central executive committee member Naing Min
Htut—were shot in an attack by the HRP’s military wing, the Monland
Restoration Army in Mon State.
In another incident in early November, a member of the HRP was injured by
an unknown shooter while Pan Nyunt was nearby.
Pan Nyunt was once a colonel of Mon National Liberation Army, the military
wing of NMSP, but led the breakaway and established the HRP in November
2001.
The NSMP entered a ceasefire with Burma’s military junta on the June 29,
1995.
__________

Democratic Voice of Burma January 4 2003

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's Independence Day message

What I would like to say to the Burmese people is that you must protect
the spirit of Independence. You must protect a valuable asset. If the
things you possess are really valuable no one would throw them on the
road. In a similar fashion, Independence is not a thing to be thrown on
the road.
Our Independence will continue to flourish only if you embrace, nurture,
and protect it. That's the message I want to give on Independence Day.
Another thing is I would like to thank especially the youth of Burma. When
I went on the tours I found out that the youth warmly welcomed and
supported me.
When I saw the youth I was very encouraged and hopeful for the future of
the country. That is why I would like to thank the youth and urged them to
continue their efforts.
As an Independence Day gift I would like to ask for blessings upon the
youth so that they may be able to contribute more for the benefit of the
country.

________

Xinhua News Agency January 6 2003

Dolphins face extinction in Myanmar

Dolphins are facing extinction in Myanmar, according to the result of a
survey published in local weekly Myanmar Times Monday.

The survey, led by New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in 
November-December last year, found the number of dolphins in the country's
Ayeyarwaddy river has declined to only 37 existing between Bhamo and
Mingun on the river from the estimated 59 on the same stretch of the river
in 1998. "The population of the dolphins is isolated to a limited area," a
zoologist of the WCS said, adding that the survey indicated the mammals
were at risk of becoming an endangered species in Myanmar.

The zoologist attributed the danger of extinction to gillneting, using
electrical charges to catch fish and the run-off mercury from gold mines
along the river.

According to the report, the survey was funded by the WCS and the
British-based Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

The survey team included scientists from the WCS, the Department of
Fisheries of Myanmar and the Forestry and Zoological Department at Yangon
University.
________

Xinhua News Agency January 6 2003

Over 3 million employed in private sector in Myanmar

There were 3.1 million people working in the private sector in Myanmar in
2002, up from about 2. 6 million in 2000, according to the latest figures
of the Department of Labor.

Over 200,000 job opportunities were created in the private sector in 2002,
of which 4,000 were in the joint-ventures, the figures show. According to
the department, the government had helped find work for about 15 percent
of registered job seekers during the year.

Official statistics show that the total number of employees in Myanmar has
increased by 7 million in the past 14 years since 1988, reaching 25
million now, who are mostly engaged in the industrial development in
state, cooperative and private sectors.

REGIONAL

Renmin Ribao January 6 2003

Myanmar Head of State Arrives in Beijing

Shwe, chairman of Myanmar's State Peace and Development Council, arrived
in Beijing Monday fora six-day state visit to China at the invitation of
Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

Than Shwe stopped over in Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province in southwest
China, before arriving in Beijing.

This is his second visit to China since he became chairman of the State
Peace and Development Council.

Than Shwe will hold talks with Jiang Zemin and meet with other Chinese
leaders Hu Jintao, Li Peng and Zhu Rongji. He will also visit the
southwestern city of Chengdu
________

British Broadcasting System January 6 2003

Burma junta leader visits China

Burma is grateful for 14 years of Chinese support
Burma's junta leader Senior General Than Shwe has arrived in China for a
six day visit to Burma's most important economic and military ally.
He is expected to hold talks with President Jiang Zemin and with the
president's expected successor Hu Jintao, who took over as Communist Party
leader in November.
Beijing has been one of Rangoon's closest allies since 1988 when the army
seized power in a bloody coup.
Burma is shunned by the West over its human rights record and the junta's
failure to hand power to the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose
National League for Democracy overwhelmingly won 1990 elections.
The BBC's Larry Jagan says the fact that Than Shwe is making this rare
trip abroad emphasises the importance Rangoon places on the relationship
with Rangoon.
Burma has relied heavily on China for economic support and weapons. China
is officially Burma's third most important trading partner after Singapore
and Thailand - though the figure probably underestimates informal trade
across their shared border.
China also remains Burma's most important defence ally, supplying most of
its military hardware and training.
Reform urged
Analysts say China has boosted its influence in Burma, also known as
Myanmar, since it offers a potential path to the Indian Ocean. It is also
thought to be keen to offset India's growing links with Burma.

China has stood steadfastly behind Burma, though in the past year senior
Chinese Government officials have been urging reform. They have told the
Burmese that they must introduce political and economic reforms or face
the increasing possibility of social unrest.
Our correspondent says China's leaders are likely to reiterate that
message during Than Shwe's visit.
The Burmese leader is accompanied by his wife and a 63-member delegation
that includes military intelligence chief General Khin Nyunt, officials
said.
China's official Xinhua news agency said Than Shwe was to hold talks with
Mr Jiang, Mr Hu and Premier Zhu Rongji before visiting the south-western
city of Chengdu.
_________
Agence France-Presse January 6 2003

Bangladesh, Myanmar feeder service in the offing to boost trade

A feeder shipping service between Bangladesh and neighbouring Myanmar is
in the offing to boost bilateral trade, official sources said Monday.

The sources in Chittagong Port and Mercantile Marine Department said the
government had already asked a private shipping company to start operating
its feeder container vessels on the Chittagong-Myanmar route as soon as
possible to increase bilateral trade.

"A high-level meeting to this effect was held recently on this issue and
if the service starts on this route, the trade gap between the two
countries will come down to a great extent," one port official said.
Imports from Myanmar include timber, maize, rice and fish, while exports
include fertiliser, cement and medicines, but there are no official
estimates bilateral trade, which is said to be very small. Smuggling also
takes place across the border.

The official said the step was a follow up to the landmark visit by
Myanmar Senior General Than Shwe in December when the countries pledged to
boost bilateral ties to overcome economic challenges facing them both.

"The Myanmar government has also agreed to place a container vessel on the
route," he said.

Shipping sources said due to a lack of vessels, the state-owned Bangladesh
Shipping Corporation was unable to provide the service immediately, so the
government opted for the private HRC Shipping Lines, which is already
operating feeder vessels between Chittagong and Sri Lanka as well as
Malaysia.

Than Shwe was the first leader of Myanmar's junta to visit Bangladesh. The
last leader to come was the then Burmese president Yu San Wu in 1986.

Myanmar, formerly Burma, was among the first countries to recognise
Bangladesh after it won independence from Pakistan in 1971.

But relations were strained in the early 1990s when around 250,000
Rohingya Muslims flooded into Bangladesh from Myanmar, claiming atrocities
by the junta.

Ties have improved since then, with the repatriation of most of the
refugees under a United Nations agreement, but more than 20,000 still live
in camps in Bangladesh.
________

Bangkok Post January 6 2003

UWSA drug production still a worry, says Prem
By Wassana Nanuam

Privy Council chairman Gen Prem Tinsulanonda has expressed concern that
the United Wa State Army (UWSA) shows no sign of curtailing drug
production just across the border in Burma.

The Burmese minority group, which is allied with Rangoon, is held
responsible for most of the methamphetamines and heroin smuggled into
Thailand.

Gen Udomchai Ongkasingha, the Third Army commander, said after a meeting
with the statesman at his Si Sao Theves residence that Gen Prem was
worried the end of drug production was nowhere in sight. Gen Udomchai told
Gen Prem the UWSA continued to make and supply drugs. They smuggled them
across the border and there were frequent clashes with Thai patrols.

The UWSA has said it would permanently end all drug production by 2005.
Gen Udomchai said he believed Rangoon was sincere in its promise of
cooperation in drug suppression.

Gen Udomchai said he had briefed Gen Prem on the joint Regional Border
Committee meeting in Moulmein on Dec 26-28.

At the meeting, the Narcotics Control Board agreed to inform Burmese
authorities of the location of drug factories so Rangoon could close them
down.

Gen Udomchai said the army had no plans for another full-scale military
exercise similar to Surasee 143 held last year near the Burmese border.
Rangoon had felt threatened by the exercise.

In future, the two governments would advise each other in advance of any
military training close to the border.

Gen Udomchai said Gen Prem thought the army should feel free to hold
military exercises provided they did not affect neighbouring countries.

Earlier, Gen Prem had advised Defence Minister Gen Thamarak Isarangkura na
Ayudhaya, Supreme Commander Gen Surayud Chulanont and the armed forces
leaders to put their minds and efforts into drug suppression. He also told
them to clearly identify the enemy'' in the war against drugs.

Gen Udomchai said Rangoon would be officially informed about Her Majesty
the Queen's coming visit to border villages in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and
Mae Hong Son next week. The Queen would stay at Puping Ratchanives Palace
in Chiang Mai. The army would ensure ample security to a prevent a
recurrence of incidents like last year when shells from fighting between
Burmese and rebel minority troops landed close to a village the Queen was
due to visit.

Gen Udomchai said Burmese army chief Gen Maung Aye had informed him of
intelligence reports that Col Yawd Serk, leader of the Shan State Army,
was engaged in the drug trade. It was possible, he said. The SSA needed
money to finance its fight with Rangoon. The army recently clashed with
drug smugglers, many of whom carried SSA identity cards.
_______

Bangkok Post January 6 2003

Land snapped up on border

The reopening of a border checkpoint opposite a village in Mae Hong Son
province has led to land speculation in Burmese border areas.

Many land plots in Hua Muang town, a former stronghold of former drug
kingpin Khun Sa, had been bought by Chinese Haw and Ko Kang ethnic
businessmen, said a border source. Land prices soared following the
agreement by Thailand and Burma to reopen the border checkpoint at Huay
Phung village in Mae Hong Son, opposite Hua Muang town.

Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh will preside over the reopening of
the checkpoint on Jan 10.

The source said a group of Thai businessmen also planned a casino in Hua
Muang town.

Chao Maha Ja, the town ruler, said he had asked a construction firm to
speed up repair of roads in his town before the opening ceremony.

STATEMENTS/EDITORIALS

Shan Women’s Action Network January 6 2003

Burmese military authorities threaten villagers before International Red
Cross visit to Central Shan State
Press Release by the Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN)

Before the visit of an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
team to Laikha town in Central Shan State on December 9th, 2002, village
elders were threatened by the military authorities, according to reports
from Shan refugees who have recently arrived at the border.

The ten-member ICRC team were conducting a ten-day assessment visit to
Central Shan State, from 2-12 December, travelling by road east from
Taunggyi to Loilem, Namzarng, Murng Nai and Laikha.

Two days prior to the visit to Laikha, police and military authorities
ordered some of the local teachers, headmen and ex-government officials to
come to the Laikha police station, and commanded them to form a civilian
"committee" which would liaise with the ICRC. They were ordered to
accompany the ICRC team and note down all questions asked, and threatened
to be "careful" when answering any questions.

The ICRC has only recently been allowed by the regime into this area of
Central Shan State, where over 300,000 villagers have been forcibly
relocated by the military regime since 1996, and where the majority of the
173 rape incidents documented in the June 2002 report "Licence to Rape" by
SWAN and the Shan Human Rights Foundation were committed.

The military regime has repeatedly rejected the findings of the report,
citing the presence of international agencies, including the ICRC, in Shan
State as evidence that the rapes could not have taken place. On December
26, 2002, it again denied it had been using rape as a weapon of war, in
response to a US State Department report repeating the allegations.

"It is very clear that the military regime wants to use the presence of
ICRC in Shan State to help deny the charges that they are licencing rape
of ethnic women," said Mo Lao of the Shan Women's Action Network. "But if
they really have nothing to hide, why are they asking villagers to be
"careful" when answering questions?"
________

Asian Wall Street Journal January 6 2003

Thailand's humanitarian reputation at risk
By Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK - Thailand's much regarded open-door policy of offering refuge to
people fleeing persecution from nearby conflicts may be on its last legs.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and human-rights
activists are troubled by signs that the humanitarian policies for which
Thailand has long been regarded may soon change in the wake of ominous
signs emerging from the country's national-security establishment.

On Friday, Forum-Asia, a Bangkok-based regional rights watchdog, added its
voice to those of rights groups who have been objecting to plans by the
Thai military establishment to clamp down on refugees from conflict-ridden
Myanmar who seek sanctuary in this country. On December 29, General Winai
Phattiyakhul, the newly appointed secretary general of the powerful
National Security Council, said: "From now on, Thailand [will] force
refugees to go back to where they came from. Thailand [will] not welcome
refugees from Burma and other neighboring countries anymore."

His words came in the wake of the military telling 64 members of the Karen
ethnic community on December 24 that they had three days to leave Thailand
and head back to neighboring Myanmar (formerly Burma). As far as military
officials were concerned the Karen, who were subsequently arrested during
a roundup, belonged to a rebel movement waging a separatist war with
Myanmar's military junta. They were "members of the anti-Yangon Karen
National Union", an army spokesman said.

Forum-Asia disagrees, declaring in a statement on Friday that the 65 Karen
were "unarmed civilians". The affected communities have appealed to the
Human Rights Commission and rights groups to come to their aid, since the
Thai army had been warning the Karens that "they would be pushed across
the border" to Myanmar, Forum-Asia stated.

"I don't agree with these steps," said Jaran Ditapichai, a member of the
Thai Human Rights Commission. "We have appealed to the army not to send
people back."

But these words have done little to stop the chill spreading among the
many refugees and political activists from Myanmar who fled persecution in
their.

"There is a sense of fear and insecurity that the people are feeling due
to what is going on," said Masao Imamura, an analyst based in Thailand's
northern city of Chiang Mai for EarthRights International, an
environmentalist and rights lobby.

Signs of this "climate of pressure" have become increasingly evident
during the past year, admits Aung Zaw, editor of The Irrawaddy, a
Thailand-based English-language magazine that focuses on Myanmese and
other Southeast Asian issues. "There are a lot of dissidents, some having
been here for 10 years, who have had to live carefully, playing
hide-and-seek, due to signs coming from the Thai government that made them
feel uneasy," he added.

Last year, for instance, the Thai government announced it was hoping to
close at least 10 camps along the Thailand-Myanmar border where refugees
from the Karen and Kareni ethnic groups live. That came on top of Thai
authorities' crackdown on a rights group working for another
ethnic-minority group from Myanmar, the Shan.

Commentators attribute this trend to a move by the government of Thai
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to develop closer bonds with Yangon. The
Thaksin administration's policy of strengthening ties with Thailand's
northern neighbor is a marked contrast to that of the previous government,
which kept Yangon at some distance because of its notorious rights record.

Critics say that Myanmese authorities can handle the flow of economic
migrants crossing into Thailand, but they see red at the increasing number
of those fleeing due to political reasons. "So the planned crackdown helps
[Yanong]," said an international aid worker. Currently, there are well
over 100,000 people who have sought refuge in Thailand for political
reasons, many of them living in camps in four provinces in western and
northern Thailand. Others, particularly Myanmese dissidents in exile, live
in towns. This number, however, is far less than the number of migrants
from Myanmar - estimated at a million - and from Thailand's other poorer
neighbors, Laos and Cambodia, who have slipped into this country in search
of jobs.

Bangkok, in fact, has been trying to control this flow of illegal
migration. In 2001, it succeeded in getting some 560,000 Myanmese workers
to register with authorities to address this economic migration. Most of
the illegal workers are employed in the agriculture sector and in some
factories, where they accept lower pay than locals.

Indrika Ratwatte of the UNHCR said the Thai government should not act in a
manner that will squander its reputation as a country with an impressive
humanitarian record. "When it comes to refugees, Thailand has exemplary
achievements since the 1970s, unlike other more developed countries in the
region who closed their doors on refugees fleeing the Indochina war."

Since 1975, Thailand, although not a signatory to the UN Refugee
Convention, has opened its doors to more than 1.5 million people fleeing
conflicts from neighboring countries such as Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and
Myanmar.

"The vast majority of Burmese refugees want to go back home, as was the
case with those who came here during the Indochina war," Ratwatte
asserted. "But they want to go back when the conditions are right, when
they can return and live in safety and with dignity."

Life in Myanmar, however, does not measure up to safe conditions, given
the iron grip Yangon's ruling military junta has on the society and the
war the military is waging on some of the country's ethnic minorities. The
Thai authorities should think again before calling for Myanmese refugees
to be repatriated, argues Jaran, the Thai human-rights commissioner. "The
conditions in Burma are not safe for people to be pushed back."
_________

Dictator Watch January 3 2003

A THAI CHRISTMAS PRESENT: NGO HARASSMENT AND INTIMIDATION

Contact: Roland Watson, roland at dictatorwatch.org, please see associated
photos at www.dictatorwatch.org/phmain

On December 28th, a humanitarian team from the Karen Action Group finished
a tour of three refugee camps on the Thai/Burma border south of Mae Sot.
They were hoping to spread a little Christmas cheer. The party consisted
of some thirty-five people, from England, Australia and Thailand,
including fourteen children. The children brought toys, purchased with
money they themselves had raised, to give to the children in the camps.
The goal was a child-to-child exchange, and cultural interaction, to
foster goodwill and peace towards all.

Following their stay at the last refugee camp, No Po, near the town of
Umphang, the Christmas cheer came to an end. As they were leaving the camp
the party was stopped by the Thai military and then detained. They were
forced to drive one and a half hours to an army base and then held for an
additional three and a half hours. During this time they were not given
food or water D the children were very hungry D and they were restricted
from going to the toilet. The Thai soldiers kept them under armed guard,
even pointed their guns at the children D the youngest was two years old D
and treated them like criminals.

The party was detained by soldiers under the command of Capt. Pahphom,
acting on direct orders from Colonel Chirasak of Mae Sot HQ. The Thai army
was responding to a complaint from the Burmese dictators.

This is the extent to which the Thai government has yielded Thai
sovereignty to Burma. Apparently, children with Christmas presents
constitute a security threat to the generals in Rangoon.

The party was finally released after the adults explained that the Karen
are not enemies of Thailand (many Karen are Thai), and that they actually
assist the nation in many ways including to preserve forests and to stem
the flow of narcotics.

This incident is the latest example of Prime Minister ThaksinOs policy to
appease Rangoon in exchange for economic gain. The border crackdown
against humanitarian groups thus far has included detainments and
deportations in Sangkhlaburi, Mae Sot and Mae Hong Song. One wonders D
fears D what will happen next.

The incident also highlights the suffering of the refugees, although this
label does not properly describe their situation. They cannot leave their
camps, or receive visitors other than from a very few government-approved
organizations. Even prison inmates in Thailand can receive visitors. Their
condition more accurately comprises that of a concentration camp.

These camps are not remote. Simply fly to Thailand, as many tourists do,
and then instead of heading south for the islands travel west and north to
the border. There you will find a string of camps, one after another, for
hundreds of kilometers, with a total inmate population now approaching
150,000.  These camps should be completely open, so the entire world can
see the suffering they contain, and so any providers of assistance,
including tourists, may help. They should not be guarded by soldiers and
hidden from sight, so the world is ignorant of the refugeesO plight, so
business between Bangkok and Rangoon may proceed without distraction.
__________

Boston Globe January 6 2003

Misplaced trust in Burma

THERE HAVE been disturbing signs recently of a penchant in the State
Department to whitewash the brutal military junta that rules Burma. Last
month the US charge d'affaires in Rangoon told a newspaper controlled by
the junta that the regime ''has done a good job on counter narcotics.''
The diplomat, Carmen Martinez, even said: ''We can understand how it is
difficult to have a democracy in a multiracial and multireligious
society.''

This was one of several hints that some officials in the Bush
administration may have been maneuvering to change Burma's designation as
a major producer of narcotics.

This is a priority for the junta and the lobbying firm it has hired to
alter its deserved reputation for cruelty and criminality. The  next step
would be to end US sanctions against new investment in Burma. These
sanctions are meant to last as long as the regime refuses to engage in
genuine political dialogue with the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San
Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy won
392 of 485 seats in Parliament in a 1990 election that the junta has
refused to honor.

The junta has not stopped protecting drug lords and their money laundering
operations. In recent years there has also been an explosion in
methamphetamines, which are produced under the junta's jurisdiction and
exported to neighboring Thailand with calamitous consequences.

Within Burma, a combination of drug use, poverty, and scanty health care
has fostered a rapid rise in rates of HIV and AIDS.  For Burma's
neighbors, the catastrophe wrought by the junta has become a multiform
regional threat. The dictatorship's suppression of a legitimately elected
government has led, step by step, to a flood of deadly exports: drugs,
AIDS, and cross-border violence.

One of the junta's most horrific crimes has been its army's systematic and
widespread raping of women and girls from ethnic minorities such as the
Shan and the Karen. To its credit, the State Department's Bureau of
Democracy, Human Rights and Labor sent an investigator to the Thai-Burma
border in August to evaluate reports by local human rights groups of
hundreds of Shan women and girls being brutally raped, most often by
officers. A State Department report confirming the earlier reports was
declassified last month.

Congress should hold hearings on the junta's human rights abuses and focus
on the use of rape to terrorize civilians. With the United States about to
regain its seat on the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, President
Bush should ask for a UN inquiry into all the junta's human rights
violations.
And to help bring about a democratic regime change in Burma, all imports
from that country should be banned, at least until the junta engages in a
dialogue with Suu Kyi that can lead to the revival of democratic
government.