BurmaNet News: January 8 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

January 8 2003 Issue #2152

INSIDE BURMA

Mizzima: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s independence day speech stresses faith in
Burma’s youth
Mizzima: Burmese literature and journal group will hold literature talk in
Shan State
DVB: Interview with Daw Shwe Zin—U Sein Hla Oo’s wife

DRUGS

DPA: China and Myanmar vow closer cooperation against drugs

MONEY

AFP: China lends Myanmar 200 million dollars
Irrawaddy: Economic anomalies

REGIONAL

Xinhua: China’s vice-president meets visiting Burmese leader, vows to
enhance ties
Xinhua: NPC chairman meets Myanmar head of state
SCMP: Junta’s ties with Beijing evoke fear, but hope too

STATEMENTS/EDITORIALS

SCMP: A golden opportunity
WP: Burma in a bowl

INSIDE BURMA

Mizzima News January 42003
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's independence day speech stresses faith in Burma's
youth

Today, on Burmese Independence Day, a ceremony was held at NLD
headquarters in Yangon, featuring traditional singing and a dance party.
In the morning, the Secretary- General of the NLD, Daw Aung San Su Kyi,
attended the celebration as did other senior politicians. Daw Aung Su Kyi
shared her good wishes for the Burmese people.
Daw Aung San Su Kyi extended her gratitude especially to the young people
of Burma: "What I want to say to the people of Burma is that to protect
the spirit of liberty is to protect something that is worthwhile, so no
one will set it aside or throw it away on the street if it is so truly
worthy. So liberty is not the thing that should be thrown away in the
streets. Only if we are able to protect liberty will it be long lasting.
That's all! I also personally want to express my gratitude towards the
young people. When I was on my trip, especially the young people welcomed
me very warmly and supported me. I was very much encouraged by them, and I
found a lot of hopes for the future of Burma. Therefore I want to thank
the youth and encourage them to keep trying, and I would like to share my
best wishes for the young people so that they may grow into people serving
the country".
__________

Mizzima News January 3 2003

Burmese literature and journal group will hold literature talk in Shan State

Literature and journal associations in Burma are planning to visit cities
in Shan State in order to deliver literature talks in autumn on the
occasion of Burmese month of Pyatho, during which traditionally the
composition of literature was celebrated. The Literature and Journal
Association, run by the SPDC, will commence its programme in Lasho on 5
January. Between 6 and 17 January, literature talks will be delivered in
Thipaw, Kyawt Me, Lasho, Muse, Kwan Lone, Tant Yan, Lawt Kaing, and Ho Pan
City. Each meeting will be preceded by a meeting with the local
authorities. It is as yet unknown which speakers will be featured in the
military-sponsored events.
In Burma, freedom of literature and journalism is curtailed while the SPDC
tramples on democratic rights. These kinds of literary events are bound to
be mistrusted by the public. Local sources report that there is also
suspicion that the event could be intended for SPDC's propaganda.
Meanwhile popular Burmese writers like U Tin Moe, Saya Tin Maung Than,
Maung Thar Ra and others live and work in exile in order to be able to
compose literature free of the bounds of censorship and suppression.
________

Democratic Voice of Burma January 7 2003


Interview with Daw Shwe Zin-U Sein Hla Oo’s wife

U Sein Hla Oo was an editor of ‘Botahtaung’ newspaper and he was elected
in 1990 General Election as the MP of No.2. Insein Constituency for the
NLD. He was first arrested in 1991 and sentenced to 10 years in prison and
in 1994, he was re-arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison. The
charge against him was trying to translate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s
book,‘Freedom From Fear’ into Burmese. Thayawaddi Daw San San Nwe who was
arrested at the same time with him was released last year but U Sein Hla
Oo and Dr Khin Zaw Win are still languishing in Myikyina Prison. U Sein
Hla Oo’s wife Daw Shwe Zin was allowed to see him on the 2nd of January.
She explained to the DVB her experiences and her husband’s condition as
follows:
Daw Shwe Zin : The plane ticket cost me 35,000 kyats at official rate. I
got there on the 1st of January and as the Secretary No.1 was there for
the Harvest Festival, I was not able to see my husband that day. I only
met him on the 2nd. I returned yesterday. I had to buy the plane ticket on
black market for 65,000 kyats. Altogether, it cost me 100,000 kyats for
plane fares. It’s not easy to see my husband.
DVB : I have heard that it’s very difficult to get a plane ticket?
Daw Shwe Zin : Yes. It is very difficult to get a ticket. His birthday is
on November the 17th and I tried to get a ticket for that date. I applied
seven times and I didn’t get it. I was very depressed and confused. So, I
sent only the money to him. In December, I applied with Daw Khin Myo
Myint, the wife of Dr Khin Zaw Win and I was told that we have to apply 12
times and I gave up at the 3rd time and I sent 20,000 kyats to him.
DVB : The ICRC refunds your expenses?
Daw Shwe Zin : Usually, the ICRC refunded the expenses. Now that the
prices have gone up, I hope they will refund me. I would only get 70,000
kyats.
DVB : How much have the prices of plane tickets gone up?
Daw Shwe Zin : Compared to the previous one, the price has gone up four
folds. It was 7545 kyats. Now, 35,000 kyats. That is official price. In
2003, the prices of train, car and plane fares have all gone up.
DVB : What is his health condition?
Daw Shwe Zin : I met him on the 2nd of January after the authorities have
gone. He doesn’t seem to be in a bad situation at all. I was able to see
him in a guest room just after the ICRC was there. He was not expecting me
and it was in the afternoon when I went there. I rang him after the
authorities have gone. I knew that I would be wasting time if I met him on
other days and so I went see him in the evening of the 2nd. I arrived on
the 1st and I didn’t tell them that arrived on the 1st because they might
try to find problems. When I got there on the 2nd, I told them that I
arrived that day and I was meeting him that day.
DVB : Dr Zaw Myint Maung’s wife told us that you have to get permission
from the MI before you go and see your husbands. Is that true?
Daw Shwe Zin : Yes. I had to. As soon as the plane landed, I wanted to
meet my husband and I rang the MI office and they told me that the
authorities [ General Khin Nyunt and co. from Rangoon.] are in town and
they are responsible for his security and they are not able to listen to
our conversation. Wait until they go, I was told. They told me that they
were meeting me on the third and the third is Karen New Year’s Day and
prisons are closed. So, I rang the MI on the 2nd when the authorities were
gone. They told me to see my husband the next day and I pointed out to
them that prisons are closed on that day. So, they asked me to arrange
with the prison authority and I rang them and they told me that I could
see him that day and I rang the MI. and they sent their representatives to
accompany me. I didn’t have to wait at the prison. My husband is a bit
hard of heard of hearing and when people shouted for his name he could
hear properly. I had to wait 45 minutes and we fetch a higher official in
the prison and the man told us that no one told him of my arrival. Maybe
my husband didn’t hear it.
DVB : If the authorities visit a place, can’t normal people go about their
business? Do the authorities know?
Daw Shwe Zin : Even hawkers and vendors are not allowed to ply their
trades. I don’t know whether the top leaders know it. These are done at
the bottom level. My visit coincided with the Harvest Festival and the
authorities also visit a pagoda. I didn’t know that General Khin Nyunt was
going there and I had to travel there when I got my plane ticket.
DVB : The health condition of U Sein Hla Oo..?
Daw Shwe Zin : Normally, he is very thin with only skin and bones. Now, he
is not that thin. It’s not bad to look at him. He takes medicines once in
three days and I told him not to do that and to take medicines regularly
and I would send money to him. Now, he is not that bad despite his age. He
doesn’t look that old. When I saw him last time I was so depressed. I had
to go all the way to the edge of Burma to see him and when I saw him he
looked like an ancient him with only skin and bones and I was not very
happy.
DVB : The prospects for his release? Dr Yu Yu May said that they signed
401 and they might be released soon and the like.
Daw Shwe Zin : I asked him that some people were not released because they
didn’t sign 401 and he told me that he had signed that since October but
they haven’t released him. I asked him when he was coming home and he
asked the prison governor. The governor could not answer his question.
DVB : How many days left for him to serve his sentence? Could you tell me
what his charge and the like?
Daw Shwe Zin : He is paying his ‘DEBT’. After the election, all the MPs
were arrested and he was one of them. He was sentenced to 10 years. When
Senior Than Shwe gained power, he was given amnesty and released. We
thought that he had served his terms. He stayed at home for two years. And
in 1994, he was re-arrested again. He was sentenced to seven years in
prison. His sentence was supposed to end at 2000. He told me to send money
for his return journey and I did. I waited and waited but he never turned
up. When I went to see him in August [2001?] I asked him why he didn’t
come home, he said that the authority told him that he had to pay his
DEBT. What debt, I asked? He told me that he had to also serve his first
sentence in 1991. That is the debt he has to pay. For how long you have to
pay for that and he said that he doesn’t know that either.
DVB : So, we don’t know when he will be released?
Daw Shwe Zin : Yes. He has served two years of his debt and if we are told
how many years for him more to serve, it would be better. Some people who
have paid their ‘debts’ are not released either. He puts in the hand of
God. He will be released when the time comes. He still has to suffer to
pay his ‘debt’.
DVB : He is imprisoned twice now and he is now paying his ‘debt’. What is
his attitude on him for his activities? Are you proud of him?
Daw Shwe Zin : Some people are ashamed of their husbands for going to
prison. There is nothing to be ashamed about it for his political
activities. I am proud of him. My nieces and nephews encourage me to do
whatever I have to do and not to worry.
DVB : The international organisations are urging the authorities to
release writers and journalists like U Win Tin. What is your feeling on
that?
Daw Shwe Zin : As a wife, I want him to be free. I don’t know why he is
not still released after the shouts from the outside and our best efforts
from the inside. Maybe, it’s my fate or his fate.

DRUGS

South China Morning Post January 8 2003

Regime's lobbying effort on drug eradication fails to win over the US
By William Barnes

Despite a vigorous lobbying effort and attempts to portray itself as
"onside" in the fight against drugs and terrorism, Myanmar's military
junta has failed to win any merit points in Washington.

Sources in the United States say that President George W. Bush will not
overturn a State Department view that the regime is still supporting the
export of drugs.

Last year, opponents of the junta discovered that some department
officials wanted to reward the regime for overseeing a sharp drop in opium
production. That would have made it eligible for anti-drug aid that might
have been modest in size, but enormous in psychological impact. Activist
argued that the regime still cossets drug traffickers, who control a
swathe of poppy fields. Production of amphetamines for sale in
neighbouring countries has also rocketed.

In the US Congress, the junta has few, if any, friends. The administration
was warned about the dangers of leniently treating a regime attempting to
revamp its image in a superficial fashion. Those in the department who had
argued that rewarding "good" results would reinforce good behaviour were
forced to withdraw. The recommendation that the US should move closer to
the regime melted away.

The Yangon government issued a statement through its Washington lobbyist
last month - even though no presidential decision had been made –
regretting the loss of what it said would have been a deserved reward.

Myanmar government spokesman Hla Min said the only people celebrating
would be the drug traffickers. "Our regret is that without US
co-operation, the timeframe to totally eradicate drugs in Myanmar is
significantly longer," he said.

Confirmation by State Department officials of independent reports of
widespread rapes of Shan women by Myanmar soldiers has also soured the US
attitude towards a regime that has failed to impress with its actions.

In November, James Kelly, the US Assistant Secretary of State for East
Asian and Pacific Affairs, said: "The junta does not enjoy the benefit of
the doubt nor is it entitled to do so. The gap between its conduct and its
statements is such that the regime as a collective entity does not have
credibility in the international community."
____________

Deutsche Presse-Agentur January 8 2003

China and Myanmar vow closer cooperation against drugs

Senior officials from China and Myanmar (Burma) vowed Wednesday to improve
their cooperation in the fight against illegal drug production, Chinese
state media reported.

Myanmar valued the development of areas bordering China and had devised
action plans to eliminate drugs from those areas, said the official Xinhua
news agency quoting Khin Nyunt, the head of Myanmar's secret police. The
Myanmar government is keen to increase cooperation with southwestern
China's Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar, Khin Nyunt told State
Councillor Luo Gan, China's top public security official.

The talks between Luo and Khin Nyunt were part of a visit to China by
Myanmar Prime Minister Than Shwe, who met China's Vice President and
Communist Party leader Hu Jintao and Premier Zhu Rongji on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Than Shwe and Chinese President Jiang Zemin agreed to expand
economic cooperation, signing three bilateral agreements on economic and
technical cooperation.

China agreed to grant Myanmar preferential loans worth 200 million dollars.

More than 70 per cent of illegal drugs seized in China last year were
found in Yunnan, where in 2002 police uncovered 8,731 kilogrammes of
drugs, investigated 15,601 drug-related cases and convicted 5,292 people
of drug-related offences, Xinhua said on Tuesday.

Seven major cross-border campaigns, launched in the "Golden Triangle" area
last year in cooperation with police from Myanmar and Laos, led to the
destruction of 10 manufacturing bases.

Than Shwe and Khin Nyunt left Beijing later on Wednesday for the
southwestern city of Chengdu, accompanied by their 40-strong delegation of
military and economic leaders.

China is Myanmar's largest importer and its third largest export market.
According to Myanmar government statistics, trade volume between the two
countries for the year ending March 31, 2002 exceeded 530 million dollars.

MONEY

Agence France-Presse January 8 2003

China lends Myanmar 200 million dollars

China said it will give Myanmar 200 million US dollars in preferential
loans for economic development as the junta's leader met vice-president Hu
Jintao Wednesday.

Senior General Than Shwe, chairman of Myanmar's State Peace and
Development Council, is on his second trip to China and vowed closer ties
with his neighbour. "We place great importance upon developing good
relations with China," he said after meeting Hu.

State press said the loans were offered to deepen bilateral economic
cooperation. On Tuesday the two sides signed six bilateral agreements on
health, sport and trade.

President Jiang Zemin said the two sides should continue to cooperate on
regional and international issues, and within the framework of
multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations and the ASEAN Regional
Forum.

Sino-Myanmar relations have generally been strong, except for a brief
period during the 1960s when the Cultural Revolution swept across China
and spilled over the border into Myanmar.

Analysts say China has boosted its influence in Myanmar in a bid to secure
strategic access to the Andaman Sea, where it is funding a sea port. It is
also interested in offsetting India's growing links with the junta, they
say.
________

Irrawaddy January 8 2003

Economic Anomalies
By Danu Maung

During Burma’s time as a Socialist state, citizens were prevented by
foreign exchange proceed laws to possess any foreign currency. Minor
adjustments were made to this situation after 1988 when the military junta
allowed a number of businessmen to open foreign currency accounts at two
state-owned banks: the Myanma Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) and the Myanma
Investment and Commercial Bank (MICB).

There is a catch, however. The account holders, unlike in some neighboring
countries, are not allowed to withdraw any foreign currency from the banks
for personal reasons, thereby leading only to account transfers within the
business establishment.
The country’s unrealistic official exchange rate of 6 kyat to the US
dollar—including Foreign Exchange Certificates (FECs)—means that account
holders devised their own terms of exchange rates leading to multiple
tiers of currency rates, unheard of anywhere else in the world. One
anecdotal story, concerning these markedly different rates that made the
rounds in Rangoon, involves an eminent Japanese economics professor who
visited Burma. As the story goes, the economist was completely shocked
after witnessing these numerous rates of exchange, which were beyond any
economic theory that he had ever studied.

Nevertheless, the opening up of the economy did lead to an influx of US
dollars into Burma. Some local salaries also began to be paid in US
greenbacks with the establishment of multinational firms and foreign
investment in Rangoon. The kyat was so artificially strong during this
time that from 1994 to 1997 it equaled the Japanese yen at around 125 to
the dollar. It is suspected that the strength of the kyat resulted from
exports of illicit drugs by Wa and Kokang groups, who then reinvested
their proceeds in the local economy.
The good times, however, did not roll for long as the ruling generals made
one disastrous economic policy after another. Cash reserves were spent on
an extensive military buildup—including jet fighters from Yugoslavia,
tanks from China and helicopters from Poland. Money was also carelessly
squandered on unnecessary infrastructure projects such as dams and
reservoirs in a country with one of the highest annual rainfalls in the
world.

The dramatic collapse of the kyat finally came during the latter part of
1997, when Asia’s economic crisis hit Burma hardest. The free-fall stopped
at around 300-400 kyat to the dollar. Then, the capable but corrupt, Trade
Minister Lt Gen Tun Kyi and his Cabinet cronies were sacked in a power
struggle within the ruling elite. Pro-business elements were substituted
by, equally corrupt, but totally incompetent generals.

The situation has been exacerbated by the power struggle between Vice
Sr-Gen Maung Aye and Gen Khin Nyunt, whose arena happens to be in the
trade sector. This has led to arbitrary rules enacted by both sides that
have caused importers and exporters, depending on which side of the coin
they fall, to suffer grave financial losses.

Economic recession in Japan and elsewhere in Asia, particularly in
Thailand, also hit hard as Burmese expatriate workers found themselves
jobless, and unable to remit hard currency back home. Then during
mid-2002, the depreciation of the kyat took an unprecedented dive. Foreign
investors from multinational oil companies, including Premier Oil Co, to
small enterprises folded, and hordes of businessmen left the country. The
generals then sealed the border with Thailand after a series of border
conflicts erupted, causing border trade to come to an immediate halt.

The generals, incompetent and unable to assess or correct the worsening
situation, then implemented a sequence of inward-looking policies. They
established import substitution industries and banned the export of
numerous commodities such as rice and sesame. The only band-aid solution
they did enact was to arrest, from time to time, a few prominent currency
traders, including Ma Khin Aye and her sister-in-law Aye Aye Myat who work
in Rangoon’s Myenigone Ward.

Ma Khin Aye exchanges money with a number of ranking army officers, and is
known to keep records of those transactions. Gen
Khin Nyunt, being aware of this, attempted to blackmail these officers by
bringing her under his wing. But she is still repeatedly arrested, if and
when the kyat depreciates. Sources say, however, that she is treated well
and kept in a safehouse. Ma Khin Aye refers to such occurrences by saying
that she "went on a pilgrimage". But Ma Khin Aye is just a small fish in a
vast and hungry ocean. Major currency dealers, who are in cahoots with the
regime's business cronies, buy dollars abroad on state funds. Other
currency traders are known to be Bengalis working on the Bangladesh side
of the Burmese border.

By the mid-to-end of 2002 the economy had gone into a tailspin, and had
caused people from all walks of life, including notorious druglords, to
stop holding their money in local private banks, namely due to the
anti-Money Laundering Law enacted on June 17, 2002. The law allows the
regime to seize any accounts allegedly related to drug trafficking or
other non-state sanctioned ventures. Instead people have invested heavily
in cars, gold, real estate, hand phones and, not surprisingly, in
greenbacks.

The kyat, therefore, skyrocketed to 1,200 to the dollar, but again
stabilized at around 1,050 by the time of writing. It would be too
optimistic to say that the kyat will hold at this rate as we have
witnessed the present state of the economy. Meanwhile, Ma Khin Aye will be
going on more "pilgrimages" when the kyat does slide further.

Danu Maung is a writer based in Rangoon. He contributed this article for
The Irrawaddy.

REGIONAL

Xinhua News Agency January 8 2003

CHINA'S VICE-PRESIDENT MEETS VISITING BURMESE LEADER, VOWS TO ENHANCE TIES

 China will work with Myanmar Burma to boost cooperation in various fields
for their mutual benefit and to improve future bilateral ties, says
Chinese Vice-President Hu Jintao.

Hu made the remarks Wednesday 8 January at a meeting in Beijing with Than
Shwe, chairman of Myanmar's State Peace and Development Council, who
arrived in Beijing Monday for a six-day state visit to China at the
invitation of Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

Hu said China's new leadership would continue to follow guidelines for
good-neighbourly friendship and cooperation, and would always consider
Myanmar a good neighbour, friend and partner. Hu said in the more than 50
years of diplomatic ties, China-Myanmar relations, based on the Five
Principles of Peaceful Co-existence, had withstood the test of
international and domestic changes, and made steady and vigorous progress.

Bilateral cooperation in various fields had continued to grow and had
reaped positive results, Hu said.

He voiced China's appreciation for the Myanmar government's one-China
policy and support for China's reunification.

He stressed that to further strengthen good-neighbourly friendship and
cooperation was in the fundamental interests of the two peoples and their
common wish, and conducive to regional peace, stability and development.

Than Shwe said Myanmar valued its fraternal friendship with China,
regarded it as the most reliable of friends and would educate younger
generations to pass the torch of bilateral friendship from generation to
generation.

The Myanmar government and people were concentrating on national
reconciliation and building the economy, and Myanmar's efforts had proved
positive in a variety of ways with people's lives and conditions improved,
he said.

He thanked China for helping in Myanmar's development, saying it had
played an important role in the country's economic growth.

Myanmar would continue to abide by the one-China policy, support China's
reunification and further boost its overall cooperation with China, he
said.
_________

Xinhua News Agency January 8 2003

NPC chairman meets Myanmar head of state

The visit to China of Myanmar's head of state, Than Shwe, will strengthen
the friendship between the two countries, says Li Peng, chairman of the
Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC).

Li said during his meeting in Beijing on Wednesday with the chairman of
Myanmar's State Peace and Development Council, that Myanmar was one of the
first countries to forge diplomatic ties with China. Their bilateral ties
had grown steadily in the past 50 years and their fraternal friendship had
taken root in the hearts of the two peoples. Cooperation in politics,
trade and economics, culture and the military had borne fruit in recent
years and both countries worked together well in international affairs, Li
said.

Li said the traditional friendship was established by former leaders of
the two countries and late Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai had visited Myanmar
nine times.

The 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) had just
concluded and China's leadership transition had been smooth, Li said.

China would continue to follow guidelines for good-neighborly friendship
and cooperation, and would always highly value China-Myanmar ties, he
said.

Li stressed that China had always held that all countries, big or small,
strong or weak, were equal members of the international community and had
the right to choose their own path.

China played an active part in multipolarization and economic
globalization, maintaining global peace and advocating a new international
order.

Than Shwe happily recalled Li's visit to Myanmar in 1994. He said Myanmar
had made great progress in economic and social development in recent years
and cooperation with China had also reaped fruitful results and maintained
a good momentum.

He said he believed their fraternal friendship would be strengthened. He
also thanked China for its economic assistance and political support.

Than Shwe congratulated the CPC on the success of the 16th National
Congress, saying he believed the new leadership would make an even greater
contribution to the friendship with Myanmar in the new century.
________

South China Morning Post January 8 2003

Junta's ties with Beijing evoke fear, but hope too There is optimism that
China will use the warming relationship to influence Myanmar's generals to
adopt reforms
By Vaudine England

Myanmar's growing relationship with China, evidenced by this week's trip
to Beijing by the military leadership, has the junta's wary neighbours
torn between concern and guarded optimism about the impact of the link.
The concern is that China's firm support of the generals who reinstated
military rule in 1988 gives the regime in Myanmar impunity on rights abuse
charges, and access to economic benefits denied it elsewhere.

There is also curiosity about whether China will use its burgeoning
relationship with Myanmar to suggest the regime adopt reforms to stave off
social unrest.

"Both China and Myanmar are very concerned about national stability, so
the Chinese could be telling Myanmar to take steps to hold their country
together. I would expect China not to be totally uncritical, and it would
not be surprising if China could exert some influence, given that Myanmar
is part of a growing net of Chinese assertive influence," a Western
diplomat said. Another diplomat from a member of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, said he was sure
Chinese concerns about stability on its southern flank would be aired
privately this week in Beijing.

Beyond this hope for pressure to be brought to bear on the junta,
Myanmar's neighbours remain deeply interested in how the close
relationship with China affects the region's strategic balance. Indian
officials have watched the growing ties with concern. Previously distant
from the generals, they are now pursuing closer engagement to counter
Chinese influence so close to India's land and maritime borders.

To Myanmar's east, worries focus on the smuggling and drug production
allowed to blossom along Myanmar's 2,185km northern border with China.

"There is a very significant Chinese presence in Myanmar, particularly in
the north, much of it focused on the exploitation of natural resources,
including people," a diplomat said.

"This has produced, among other things, very high rates of deforestation,
with a lot of tropical hardwoods heading north into China."

A large question mark hangs over whether it is Myanmar or China which
plays the stronger role in the relationship.

Both countries describe their friendship as paukphaw or fraternal, a form
of close brotherhood between equals. But just as China has ambitions to
secure its borders and expand trade, including an active arms trade, so
too can Myanmar play off those ambitions against those of India and Asean.

"Myanmar's neighbours, who have in turn changed their policies towards
Rangoon Yangon in an effort to offset or at least provide an alternative
to Chinese influence, have viewed Myanmar's close, recent relationship
with China warily," concluded a forum attended by diplomats, academics and
Myanmar officials at Georgetown University in the US in 2001.

"Chinese military assistance, extensive construction of infrastructure,
unrecorded investment, increasing but undervalued overland trade and large
-scale informal migration have all prompted concerns," it noted.

China's economic help to Myanmar includes at least US$ 2 billion (HK$ 15.5
billion) in military sales, training, and crop-conversion funds, with the
arms sales regarded as key to the growing strength of Myanmar's military.

Myanmar was the first to recognise the Chinese communist republic in 1949,
and in 1960 signed the Sino-Burmese border treaty, the first border treaty
signed after the Chinese civil war.

Further clues to the importance of the relationship might be gleaned from
the six days being spent in China this week by General Than Shwe, chairman
of Myanmar's ruling junta, the State Peace and Development Council.

Than Shwe is accompanied by his wife and a 63-member official delegation
that includes powerful intelligence chief General Khin Nyunt, and
ministers for foreign affairs, agriculture, energy and information. Than
Shwe is expected to hold talks with Premier Zhu Rongji, President Jiang
Zemin, and with president -in-waiting Hu Jintao. He will also visit the
southwestern city of Chengdu.

The visit is in return for that of Chinese President Jiang Zemin to
Myanmar in December 2001. General Than Shwe last visited China in 1996.

STATEMENTS/EDITORIALS

South China Morning Post January 8 2003

A golden opportunity

This week's visit to the mainland of Myanmar's leader Than Shwe is a
golden opportunity for Beijing to show its diplomatic mettle. The military
ruler has promised the international community his country will effect
change, but little has been forthcoming.

As head of the ruling State Peace and Development Council, General Than
Shwe wields enormous influence in his country. There is no better person
China could appeal to for a policy rethink. Although the mainland
maintains a policy of non-intervention towards the affairs of other
countries, Myanmar has to be considered differently. The junta tramples on
human rights and has driven the country to economic ruin. Diseases such as
Aids and malaria are rampant and illegal drugs are pouring into the region
from within its borders.

The junta has promised that democracy, snatched from opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi after elections in 1990, will be restored.

But the assurance has yet to be fulfilled, despite numerous forays by
United Nations special envoy Razali Ismail.

Restoring democracy would mean the lifting of economic sanctions and
restoration of full diplomatic ties by Western nations.

But elections are no nearer and Ms Suu Kyi and her National League for
Democracy continue to be ignored by the military. Hundreds of party
supporters remain in prison.

China is Myanmar's third biggest trading partner. It is helping to build
the nation's infrastructure and has close military and security links.

General Than Shwe is on his second visit to China, having led a high-level
delegation in 1989. President Jiang Zemin made his first trip to Yangon in
2001, during which agreements were signed in the agriculture, natural and
human resources sectors.

The close relationship gives China leverage over its southern neighbour
which few other nations have. It may be able to bring about the changes
Myanmar's people so desperately need.

Mr Jiang and his colleagues must use this opportunity to help Myanmar
escape isolation.
__________

Washington Post January 8 2003

Burma in a Bowl
By Walter Nicholls

Last summer, an alien species of aggressive, saw-toothed fish was
discovered in a Crofton, Md., pond. Biologists feared the northern
snakehead. native to China, would relentlessly devour other types of fish
and ultimately migrate from one body of water to another

To start the day, the Chinese favor congee (a rice gruel), Vietnamese go
for pho (beef broth with rice noodles). The Burmese breakfast of choice is
a hearty, slightly sour, fairly thick, lemon-grass-scented fish soup. A
basic bowl of mohingar serves as a foundation for an assortment of
elective toppings such as hard-cooked duck egg, fish cake or squash
fritter.

Burmese cuisine -- curried stews, rice with stir-fried vegetables, as well
as shredded fruit-vegetable-peanut salads -- reflects the gathered cooking
styles of Burma and the neighboring nations of India, China and Thailand.
But a steaming bowl of mohingar in the morning is a symbol of Burmese
culinary pride.

A fundamental mohingar recipe calls for whole fish boiled in water with
lemon grass, onion, ginger, garlic and seasonings such as turmeric and
black pepper. A proper, pungent fish sauce is essential. Finely ground,
roasted rice acts as a thickening agent. The sliced and cooked inner core
of the banana plant adds a crunchy, fibrous element. The resulting soup is
ladled over rice noodles, crowned with a tangle of crisp, browned onions
and a cluster of cilantro leaves. Lime wedges, crushed red chili pepper
and additional cilantro are served alongside.

I'd read that in Texas-size Burma mohingar is available on nearly every
street corner. No social gathering or religious observance is complete
without it.

Soup ingredients vary by region -- from the northern mountains that border
China and India, on south to the delta area where the Irrawaddy River
finds the Andaman Sea. Each spring the Myanmar Chefs Association holds a
mohingar festival.

Clearly, this is a soup that evokes the pride of the country. I wanted to
find the best mohingar in Burma.



Palm-filtered light breaks on Yetashea Street, not far from the massive,
gilded Shwedagon Pagoda -- the Buddhist monument that serves as a focal
point for the city of Rangoon (also known as Yangon). A line has formed at
the curbside kitchen of Daw Cho soup shop. Bleary-eyed students, office
workers and pilgrims on their way to Shwedagon have stopped for a quick
bowl of mohingar.

"There's a crowd every morning. This is a famous place," says Maung Yin, a
student at Yangon University.

Customers pass from left to right along a service table covered with
plastic colanders and stainless-steel bowls filled with soup components,
some difficult to identify.

"Just point to what you prefer -- onion, duck egg, fried liver, gourd.
Take your pick," says Maung Yin, who chooses fried garlic, chopped chives
and squash fritter.

With both hands moving quickly, owner Mya Daw Cho portions a wad of sticky
rice noodles into a soup bowl. She ladles on a chunky, gray chowder.
Scissors are used to snip the fried squash into bite-size pieces. Maung
Yin pays 100 kyat, about 10 cents, before taking a seat in the 40-seat
dining room. For Mya Daw Cho, no time to waste. Next.

"People like my soup because I use so much snakehead," says Mya Daw Cho,
who won third place at the 2002 Mohingar Festival. She has a secret to
share. "Curry powder, just a pinch. That makes it good."

Nearby, at the sweetly rustic Shwe O soup shop on Sanchaung Street, three
inscribed silver trays awarded at mohingar festivals are on display. Khin
Nkat Kywe and her two sisters sell more than 1,400 bowls of mohingar per
day. After one spoonful it becomes clear why customers love this place and
this soup.

"Some people use cheap [ingredients] -- bean powder, cheap fish. We use
only sweet catfish," says Khin Nkat Kywe. "But most important we use a
special fish sauce from lower Myanmar. You can't get the right smell
without it."

Kyaw Thu Ya, executive chef of the elegant, boutique Savoy Hotel in
central Rangoon, agrees that the soup is in the sauce.

"For perfect mohingar you want to choose a quality fish sauce, one that
has a smoky, salty smell of the sea," says Kyaw Thu Ya, a Rangoon native
who prepares the Savoy restaurant's Mexican menu. He believes that two
fish are better than one. "Best to use two, say carp and eel, for deep,
tasty flavor," he says.

It's widely held, in the world of mohingar, that some of the finest, most
flavorful soup comes from the Irrawaddy delta region.

"It's called jungle-style. They use lots of cracked pepper. It's so watery
you see your face reflected. But the flavor is brilliant," says Kyaw Thu
Ya.

A most memorable, jungle-style mohingar can be found on the central dirt
lane in Ngwe Saung, a fishing village on the Bay of Bengal, 170 miles west
of Rangoon. Tiny Ngwe Saung sits at the epicenter of a resort development
of 19 hotels that is planned for the surrounding 10-mile crescent of
white-powder sand beach.

Min Min Thaung and his brother-in-law Kyi Toe -- two young, local guys --
buy eel and catfish from a village fisherman who drags a net through the
canals surrounding a nearby rice field. Each night the two men make
hand-cut rice noodles. They know what to do with cracked pepper as well.

Every morning, from 5 to 9, they sell more than 125 bowls of delicious,
jungle-style mohingar. Crunchy fried lentil fritters are best crumbled on
top.

Says Min Min Thaung: "What we are kindly offering is good service and a
very traditional delicious soup. We are so happy that my grandmother
taught us."

Customers sit on foot-high plastic stools arranged around three communal
tables, just inches from oncoming bicycles. Dust flies. But for those who
love mohingar, the scene and the soup are sublime.

For those who want to try Rangoon-style mohingar but don't have access to
authentic ingredients, such soup is available -- without the snakehead! --
at the three Burmese restaurants in the Washington area, in Chinatown,
Falls Church and College Park. We visited all three for an informal taste
test. In addition to mohingar, we ordered squash fritters -- a traditional
accompaniment to the soup. Prices ranged from $ 4.99 to $ 7.50 per bowl.

At the cozy Myanmar Restaurant in Falls Church owner Pyu Pyu Win sets a
total of 10 tables with cobalt-blue glasses. Imported, indigenous artwork
and contemporary Burmese music lift the simple comfort. Every day, Pyu Pyu
Win, a native of Rangoon, prepares mohingar.

"I make it just the way I did back in Burma," says Pyu Pyu Win, who opened
Myanmar restaurant in 1999 with her three daughters, Lin Lin, Zin Mar and
Than Dar Aung. "I even use an imported white fish from Burma," she says.

Thin rice noodles are brought to the table in one bowl, a golden-colored
soup in another. "We don't give it all together because, at home, some
people like just a little soup with their noodles, others want more soup,"
she explains.

When asked if there is a special ingredient that separates her mohingar
from others, Pyu Pyu Win reveals a "top-secret ingredient." It turns out
to be coconut palm sugar (available at Asian markets). "It makes the soup
a little sweet," she says.

Pyu Pyu Win's mohingar is rich in color and complex in flavor. And yes, a
tad sweet.

The Hme family of College Park turned a former doughnut shop into Mandalay
Restaurant & Cafe. The pale green walls are covered with beautiful
embroidered tapestries worked with sequins and metal thread.

Chef Hla Hme uses whole Asian catfish to make a refined mohingar, which
has the refreshing and assertive flavor of lemon grass. It's colored by
turmeric to a lovely golden hue. Alongside were the customary dishes
filled with lime wedges, cilantro and dried red chili pepper. Squash
fritters were airy and light. Not to be missed is Hla Hme's pickled green
tea leaf salad -- a popular Burmese dish made with fermented tea leaves,
sesame seeds and lots of garlic.

The most expensive mohingar, at Burma restaurant, was overly thick in
texture, fishy in flavor and gray in color. A ring of red oil circled the
bowl.

Owner Jane Tinpe said that salmon was used to make the soup. "Any fish
will do." Lemon wedges were served alongside in place of limes.

"Lemons are cheaper," said Tinpe.

Jungle-style mohingar is not available in the Washington area. People have
their preferences.

"We don't like jungle-style. It's watery. They don't put lemon grass in or
enough fish. With mohingar, more is good," says Pyu Pyu Win of Myanmar
Restaurant.

But it's comforting to know, when the urge hits, that Min Min Taung's soup
shop in Ngwe Saung is open seven days a week.