BurmaNet News: January 14 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

January 14 2003 Issue #2156

INSIDE BURMA

DVB: Burmese authorities refuse to recognize United Nationalities Alliance
AFP: Human rights abuses persist in Myanmar: Human Rights Watch
Xinhua: Myanmar makes achievements in leprosy eradication

ON THE BORDER

Irrawaddy: Rapprochement continues

REGIONAL

AP: Chinese vice premier Li visits Myanmar
Xinhua: Sino-Myanmar friendship to develop faster
Xinhua: 74 anti-government armed members surrender in Myanmar
The Guardian: Naga rebels declare end of war with India
AFP: SE Asian officials in Manila to boost cooperation against terror

REPORTS

HRW: World report 2003 (excerpt)

INSIDE BURMA

Democratic Voice of Burma January 13 2003

Burmese authorities refuse to recognize United Nationalities Alliance

The SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) has refused to officially
recognize the United Nationalities Alliance (UNA) that was formed with
eight national race political parties that won seats at the elections held
in 1990 (except Karen National Congress for Democracy).
A political source from Rangoon told DVB that the announcement came after
the military intelligence summoned some UNA leaders and warned them about
it on 6 January. Although the SPDC has been saying all along that they
could not recognize the UNA, this is the first time they had officially
summoned the UNA and issued a warning.
The eight national race political parties in the UNA are Arakan League for
Democracy, ALD; Chin National League for Democracy, CNLD; Kachin State
National Congress for Democracy, KNCD; Karen National Congress for
Democracy, KNC; Kayah State all Nationalities League for Democracy, KNLD;
Mon National Democratic Front, MNDF; Shan Nationalities League for
Democracy, SNLD; and Zomi National Congress, ZNC.
It is not clear how the SPDC's warning will affect the activities of the
national races, but the same political source from Rangoon pointed out to
DVB that the warning to the national races coming amid the obstructions on
National League for Democracy activities agitated by the Kyant Phut
(derogatory vernacular abbreviation for the pro-Rangoon Union Solidarity
and Development Association) members could not be considered as sheer
coincidence.
Although both sides have not officially issued a statement on the military
intelligence warning so far, Rangoon-based political observers seem to
have increasing fear over the SPDC's new method of suppression.
________

Agence France-Presse January 14 2003

Human rights abuses persist in Myanmar: Human Rights Watch

Myanmar's population faced ongoing civil and political rights abuses over
2002, with ethnic minorities in particular suffering atrocities, Human
Rights Watch said in its annual report released Tuesday.

Hopes for an improvement in the human rights situation which were raised
following the release from house arrest of democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi in May failed to be realised, the New York-based watchdog said.

"By late 2002, talks between Suu Kyi and the government had ground to a
halt and systemic restrictions on basic civil and political liberties
continued unabated," the group said in its report for 2003. UN-brokered
talks between the junta and Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy party aimed at national reconciliation began in October 2000,
but are yet to progress to a political dialogue.

The report noted that although the junta released more than 300 political
prisoners following Aung San Suu Kyi's release, a call from the UN for a
general amnesty for all political prisoners was ignored and political
dissidents continued to be arrested.

Human rights problems facing the population included forced labour, forced
relocations, censorship, the use of child soldiers, violations of
religious freedom and atrocities committed against ethnic minorities, the
report found.

"Children as young as seven were used as forced labour in many parts of
the country to carry army supplies or work on construction sites," it
said, adding that thousands of boys as young as 11 had been forced into
the army.

The most extreme violations were reported against the country's ethnic
minority groups, particularly in Karen and Shan states.

The junta also launched a broad crackdown on Rohingya Muslims following
international press reports alleging ties between them and al-Qaeda, the
report said.

Thailand's relationship with Myanmar also came under criticism.

"At times, Thailand, the main destination for minorities, political
dissidents, rural people, and women and children fleeing violence in
Burma, appeared to respond to Burma with efforts aimed at appeasing the
military junta," the report said.

In a particularly gruesome case illustrating the problem of illegal
workers, the bodies of 20 ethnic Karen villagers were found in the river
dividing the two countries.

"Investigators later concluded that the Karens were being smuggled in by a
Thai couple, who discovered en route that the labourers had suffocated and
simply dumped their bodies in the river," it said.
__________

Xinhua News Agency January 14 2003

Myanmar makes achievements in leprosy eradication

Myanmar has made achievements in eradicating leprosy with its prevalence
rate dropping to 1.2 in every 10,000 people at the end of 2002, thus
approaching the target of one in every 10,000 set by the World Health
Organization (WHO).

According to the country's leprosy elimination project sources, it was a
further drop of the rate following the declination from 5. 93 for every
10,000 people in 1987 to 2.5 in 1998 and 2.2 in 2000. The sources
attributed the achievements partly to the financial support extended by
international donors and partners to the National Leprosy Elimination
Program of Myanmar.

Among these donors and international non-governmental organizations are
WHO, UN Children's Fund, the Netherlands Leprosy Relief, World Vision
International, Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation and the Japan
International Relief Agency.

Myanmar is among the 11 countries in the world where leprosy is still
highly endemic.

ON THE BORDER

Irrawaddy January 14 2003

Rapprochement Continues
By Aung Su Shin

 Bangkok appears poised to continue satisfying the demands of Burma’s
military government. Thai immigration officials yesterday repatriated the
second batch of Burmese migrant workers in less than a month to Burmese
authorities in Myawaddy, Burma. Thai authorities said the move is in
response to an agreement they have with the Burmese regime and that they
would be increasing border patrols in areas that serve as conduits for
Burmese migrants seeking employment in Thailand.
The 15 migrants handed over to Burmese officials yesterday were part of a
group of 58 arrested in a May raid in Bangkok. Thirty-nine members of the
group were sent back December 18 and four others will remain in detention
in Bangkok until Burmese authorities can locate their addresses in Burma,
according to Thai officials.
"According to the agreement between Thailand and Burma, the names and
addresses of the detained were sent to Burma via the Burmese embassy in
Bangkok," said immigration official Maj Chamnong Genafe. He said
repatriation could only take place once the addresses were located.
Col Watchara Sanwaurayothin, a Thai immigration official, said the workers
might be interrogated upon return and told not to come back to Thailand
illegally. Burmese law, however, states that those found entering
neighboring countries illegally could be sentenced from 6 months to 5
years in prison. Sources said the status of the 39 individuals repatriated
in December is unknown.
Concerning the stepped up patrol of the border, Col.Watchara
Sanwaurayothin said: "We have spread out our officials on the highway and
jungle paths. We have also set up many check points and we are going to
severely suppress traffickers."
Mae Sot immigration officials say more than 8,000 Burmese migrant workers
have been deported since the Thai-Burma border reopened in October, but
that thousands more had since come illegally to Thailand looking for work.
"If there are job opportunities in Burma, we will not leave our native
land," says U Maung Maung, 50, and father of six. "But we have to come
here for the food and school expenses of our children."
Other recent arrives said due to inflationary pressures they had no choice
but to come to Thailand. "The price of airplane and bus tickets have gone
up three times since January first, and all the edible and household goods
have also gone up," says Ma Kyi, 40, and mother of four, while choking
back tears. "So I have to come here. I have never dreamed to come to
Thailand. I have never thought to leave my family. My husband’s income is
not enough to feed the whole family."
U Aung Htoo, secretary of the Burma Lawyers Council, says the junta must
arrange for Burmese to work abroad if they are to overcome the country’s
unemployment crisis.
"People in Burma have no jobs and are facing unemployment," says U Aung
Htoo. "If the Burmese junta compromises with neighboring countries to
legally employ, and issue the legal documents for those workers, it would
be beneficial for the Burmese people."
The number of Burmese migrant workers in Thailand is estimated to be
between one and two million. More than 500,000 of them have work permits.

REGIONAL

Associated Press January 14 2003

Chinese Vice Premier Li visits Myanmar

Chinese Vice Premier Li Lanqing and a 75-member entourage arrived in
Myanmar Tuesday for a three-day goodwill visit, officials said, just days
after a high-level Myanmar delegation visited China.

China is Myanmar's northern neighbor and its closest international ally.
The West shuns Myanmar's military regime because of its poor human rights
record and failure to hand over power to a democratically elected
government.

Li arrived three days after the leader of Myanmar's ruling junta, Senior
Gen. Than Shwe, returned from a six-day visit to China.

During Than Shwe's visit, China agreed to grant Myanmar 50 million Chinese
Yuan (US$6 million) for technological cooperation between two countries,
and a preferential loan of US$200 million for economic development.

Myanmar's economy is stagnant, and its treasury is believed to lack
substantial foreign reserves.

During his trip to China Than Shwe held talks with top leaders including
President Jiang Zemin, Vice President Hu Jintao and chief legislator Li
Peng.

He signed agreements on economic and technological cooperation, and on
cooperation in health and sports.

Li's planned activities while in Myanmar were not announced. He arrived
from Malaysia, and is on a tour will also take him to India, South Africa
and Thailand.

His delegation included China's ministers of education and technology,
along with six vice ministers.
_________

Xinhua News Agency January 14 2003

Sino-Myanmar friendship to develop faster By Duan Tingchang
By Duan Tingchang

China and Myanmar are close neighbors, linked by mountains and rivers,
with a common border of over 2,000 kilometers enjoying a long-standing
friendship.

The earliest exchange between them dates back to the 4th century BC. Since
ancient times, the Myanmar people have called the Chinese "paukphaw"
--"full brothers." The two countries established diplomatic relations in
1950. For half a century since then, their cooperation in politics,
economy, culture, education has been developing continuously, based on the
five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence jointly advocated by both sides
despite the great changes that have taken place in the international
situation.

Both China and Myanmar belong to the developing nations, sharing an
extensive common view on many major issues. In international affairs, they
support each other and coordinate closely, becoming trustful cooperative
partners.

China has always respected Myanmar's independence, sovereignty and
territorial integrity while Myanmar has stuck to the "One China" policy,
supporting China's reunification cause.

There have been frequent exchange of visits between their leaders. The
late Premier of China Zhou Enlai made nine visits to Myanmar, while the
late former Myanmar leader U Ne Win went to China on 12 occasions.

During the past few years, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Vice-President
Hu Jintao, and other Chinese leaders visited Myanmar. On their part,
leaders of Myanmar including SPDC Chairman and Prime Minister Senior
General Than Shwe, SPDC Vice-Chairman Vice-Senior General Maung Aye and
others toured China several times.

Sino-Myanmar bilateral economic and technical cooperation has also made
rich achievements. They have successively signed a number of agreements on
economic cooperation, according to which, China has extended to Myanmar a
great deal of assistance in projects of agriculture, industry, transport,
electric power, education, health and human resources development.

Meanwhile, the two countries have also launched various forms of technical
cooperation, based on the principles of equity, mutual benefit and mutual
supplement of superiorities. Chinese companies have initiated a large
number of projects in Myanmar, setting up factories in the form of whole
investment or joint ventures, covering as many sectors as oil and gas
exploitation and processing of forest and marine products.

China-Myanmar bilateral trade stands an important position in their
foreign trade. During the past eight years, bilateral trade including
border trade reached over 600 million US dollars annually, accounting for
12 percent of Myanmar's total foreign trade.

Further development of China-Myanmar friendly and cooperative ties not
only conforms to the fundamental benefit of the two countries but is also
beneficial to peace, stability and development of the region.

Vice-Premier of the State Council of China Li Lanqing will pay a four-day
goodwill visit to Myanmar from Tuesday at the invitation of First
Secretary of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)
General Khin Nyunt.

His visit will be another important tour to the country made by the
Chinese leadership, bound to further the development of the bilateral
ties.
________

Xinhua News Agency January 14 2003

74 anti-govt armed members surrender in Myanmar

Seventy-four members of the Kayinni National Progressive Party (KNPP), an
anti-government ethnic armed group operating in eastern Myanmar's Kayah
state, laid down their arms to the government last week, according to a
report of the Myanmar Defense Ministry on Tuesday.

These members, who "exchanged arms for peace" with the government on Jan.
9 in the regional command control area of Loikaw of the state, brought
along with them 22 assorted weapon and 314 rounds of ammunition, the
report said. The KNPP, with its main force numbering 7,750, returned to
the legal fold in March 1995.

Official statistics show that up to now, 17 anti-government armed groups
have reached cease-fire agreements with the government since 1989.

However, it is reported that there are still over 10 such groups in
operation in the country including the Kayin National Union, the Chin
National Army, Shan United Revolutionary Army, Arakan Liberation Party and
Lahu Democratic Front.
______

The Guardian (London) January 14 2003

Naga rebels declare end of war with India
By Luke Harding and Yoga Rangatia

There was muted optimism in Delhi last night at the progress of
negotiations designed to end one of the longest-running separatist
insurgencies in Asia.

For more than half a century, the Nagas who live in north-east India and
Burma have been waging their own struggle for an independent state.

Over the weekend, for the first time in 37 years, the Naga rebel leaders,
Isak Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah, came to New Delhi to flesh out a peaceful
political resolution. At the end of three days of talks with the
government, the Naga leaders announced on Saturday that they were
confident the war was now over.

L K Advani, India's deputy prime minister, said yesterday that the
government would be appointing a negotiator to further the Naga peace
process.

Mr Swu and Mr Muivah began talks outside India after both initiated a
ceasefire in August 1997 to end the on-off guerrilla war with India.

The Naga people were forcibly absorbed into India in 1947 when the British
- who had fought their own colonial battles with the Naga tribes - pulled
out. They have been unhappy with their lot ever since. Fighting with
Indian troops first broke out in 1954. In the long, obscure and costly
guerrilla war that followed, more than 200,000 Nagas have been killed,
rebels say.

Emerging from the negotiations with Atal Bihari Vajpayee, India's prime
minister, Mr Muivah said: "The war is over. . . We praise the government
of India. There is a much better understanding on their part."

There is no doubt that the talks mark a historic turning point in
relations between the Naga leadership and the Indian state. But several
questions remain unanswered - not least whether a greater Nagaland is now
on the cards.

There are some 3.5 million Nagas, but they do not all live in Nagaland,
the narrow strip of mountain territory next to the border with Burma.
Instead, large numbers of Nagas are settled in the neighbouring states of
Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. They also live in eastern Burma's
Kachin and Sagaing districts, where they are a downtrodden and persecuted
minority.

But it is in Manipur that the fiercest opposition to the idea of a greater
Nagaland has come, with widespread riots and strikes last week. The state
does not want any of its territory lopped off.

"There would be more turmoil than peace in the region if Delhi tries to
appease the council by agreeing to a Greater Nagaland," Manipur's chief
minister, Okram Ibobi Singh, warned.

A lasting political solution to the Naga problem faces other obstacles.
The dominant separatist Naga faction, the National Socialist Council of
Nagaland (NSCM), led by Mr Muivah and Mr Swu, has clearly given up on
armed struggle.

But other Naga militant groups remain opposed to any peace deal with
Delhi, and the movement is split.

The real test comes in February, when elections in Nagaland are due to be
held. The NSCM has traditionally boycotted the polls, but last week said
for the first time it supported the election.

"New Delhi should not think of a solution by merging Naga areas in Manipur
state to the existing state of Nagaland," said R K Anand, of the
Democratic People's Party in Manipur, one of the northeastern states.
______

Agence France-Presse January 14 2003

SE Asia officials in Manila to boost cooperation against terror

Security officials from Southeast Asian countries Tuesday attended a
conference here to boost intelligence cooperation to fight terrorism, the
Philippines' National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said

Golez said the aim of the three-day meeting was to fine-tune multilateral
procedures in addressing potential threats by exchanging experiences in
the fight against terrorism.

"In this simulation exercise, we expect to benefit from the experience of
other ASEAN countries. No one is an expert in this new security
environment," Golez said. "We have to share information, we have to share
intelligence and we have to share our experiences and our knowledge," he
said.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam.

Golez said security chiefs in the region were mulling the creation of an
ASEAN center where intelligence information on threats could be assessed.
No other details were available, but he said the center could be "here or
it can be rotating."

The terrorist bombings in Bali, Indonesia last year and a spate of attacks
in the Philippines have highlighted the need for greater cooperation to
crack down on suspected terrorist groups.

Singapore last week linked the southern Philippines-based Muslim
separatist group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to the Jemaah
Islamiyah terror group, which has been blamed for the Bali attack.

It said the MILF, which has been waging a rebellion in the south since
1978, had played a key role in training JI militants at its sprawling
guerrilla base on Mindanao island, which was later overrun by the
military.

Regional authorities said the JI's ultimate aim was to establish a
caliphate comprising Malaysia, Indonesia, southern Philippines and
Singapore.

A smaller Islamic radical group, the Abu Sayyaf, also operates in the
southern Philippines, and last year was the target of a joint United
States-Philippines counter-terrorism operation.

The Abu Sayyaf was formed by a Muslim firebrand in the early 1990s, but
has since deteriorated into a bandit group responsible for a spate of
bombings and attacks in the south.

REPORTS

Human Rights Watch January 14 2003

World Report 2003 (excerpt)

With the release of opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in May after
nineteen months of de facto house arrest, hope arose that the military
junta might take steps to improve its human rights record. However, by
late 2002, talks between Suu Kyi and the government had ground to a halt
and systemic restrictions on basic civil and political liberties continued
unabated. Ethnic minority regions continued to report particularly grave
abuses, including forced labor and the rape of Shan minority women by
military forces. Government military forces continued to forcibly recruit
and use child soldiers.

HUMAN RIGHTS DEVELOPMENTS
Burma faced serious economic problems in 2002, but internal political
struggles prevented a unitary response to the economic crisis. A reshuffle
of top generals in November 2001 was followed by the March 2002 arrests of
four relatives of former top general Ne Win, amidst allegations of coup
plots. In September 2002, the four were sentenced to death for treason.
In the midst of this political and economic instability, Suu Kyi's release
in May seemed to augur a new readiness on the part of the ruling military
party, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), to negotiate with
opposition groups in hopes of gaining much-needed international investment
and aid. Suu Kyi traveled outside of Rangoon to Mandalay and elsewhere,
meeting with thousands of supporters without interference or arrest.
These negotiations were held chiefly with the National League for
Democracy (NLD), which is led by Suu Kyi. The NLD had been elected to a
majority of seats in parliament in 1990, but was blocked from taking power
by the then-ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). SLORC
changed its name to the State Peace and Development Council and shuffled
some top leaders. In 2002, local NLD township offices reopened around the
country. In September 2002, the NLD called on the SPDC to fulfill its
pledge to begin negotiations to hand over power to the elected
representatives. Ethnic minority opposition groups called for their
inclusion in negotiations between the government and the NLD, but the SPDC
and Suu Kyi have yet to agree to this.
During the negotiations, the government released more than three hundred
political prisoners. In August, Burmese opposition groups jointly called
on the SPDC to release hundreds of political prisoners still in prison,
including eighteen elected members of parliament from opposition political
parties. The U.N. urged the SPDC to declare a general amnesty for all
political prisoners, but the SPDC ignored these demands.
In the meantime, more political dissidents were arrested, and prominent
political prisoner U Aung May Thu passed away. In December 2001,
seventy-four-year-old former university rector Dr. Salai Tun Than was
arrested for his one-man protest in front of Rangoon City Hall. The Yezin
University professor of agronomy from Pyinmana had distributed copies of
his letter calling for political reform and multiparty elections. He is
serving a seven-year sentence in a Rangoon prison.
In mid-August, during a visit by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohamad, the state detained fifteen Rangoon university students in the
first major crackdown after Suu Kyi's release. Thirteen were subsequently
released, but two law students were sentenced to long prison terms for
distributing pro-democracy pamphlets. In September, dozens of dissidents
were detained in Rangoon.
Burma's other continuing human rights problems include the widespread use
of forced labor, forced relocations, censorship, use of child soldiers,
violations of religious freedom, and atrocities committed against ethnic
minorities, whose regions make up most of the country's territory. Burmese
Muslims were especially targeted for persecution.
Although a law banning forced labor was passed in October 2000,
authorities continued to use forced labor, especially in rural ethnic
regions. The Burmese military compelled villagers to work on
infrastructure and agricultural projects, as porters in army camps, and on
the construction of Buddhist temples. In November in Shan State, villagers
were compelled to build railroads and to farm; one laborer who resisted
was reportedly beaten to death. Children as young as seven were used as
forced labor in many parts of the country to carry army supplies or work
on construction sites.
The military continued to forcibly relocate minority villages, especially
in areas where ethnic activists and rebels were active, and in areas
targeted for the development of international tourism. The U.S. State
Department's 2002 country report on human rights in Burma estimated that
forced relocations had produced hundreds of thousands of refugees, with as
many as one million internally displaced persons within the country.
The state continued to censor media. The Committee to Protect Journalists
reported that eighteen journalists were held on charges ranging from
"illegal possession of a fax machine" to smuggling poetry out of prison.
One Burmese national was arrested in February and accused of sending
information to foreign radio stations, and the SPDC alleged that many more
"informers" who were sending information to foreign media would be
arrested soon. Two Burmese magazines, Living Color and Mhyar Nat Maung
Mingalar, were each shut down for one month for minor infractions.
Burma continued to use child soldiers. Thousands of boys, some as young as
eleven, have been forced into Burma's national army. Recruiters typically
staked out railway, bus, and ferry stations; the street; marketplaces and
festivals; and threatened boys who could not produce identity cards with
long prison terms or military enlistment. Boys who resisted recruitment
were often beaten or detained. Once deployed, they were forced to fight
against Burma's ethnic minorities and other opposition forces; and to
participate in human rights abuses against civilians, including rounding
up villagers for forced labor, burning villages, and extrajudicial
executions. Child soldiers who deserted had few options, and typically
either joined armed opposition forces or fled to neighboring countries.
After an October 2002 Human Rights Watch report on the use of child
soldiers in Burma attracted international attention, the government denied
any recruitment or use of child soldiers.
Children were also present in many armed opposition groups, though the
numbers of child soldiers in these smaller armies were fewer. Both the
Kachin Independence Army and the United Wa State Army, which have
historically been the largest opposition groups, but which now sometimes
align with the Burmese military, forcibly recruited children. Others, such
as the Karen National Liberation Army, Karenni Army, and Shan State
Army-South accepted boys who expressed a desire to join, despite the
armies' official minimum recruitment age of eighteen.
Lack of access to education exacerbated human rights abuses against
children in Burma. Some schools in ethnic areas were closed because of
fighting, and even when schools were open, families were often unable to
pay the school fees. Children who left school often took jobs selling food
or goods in the streets. Many traveled to larger cities seeking work.
These children became easy targets for military recruitment or forced
labor.
Many of the worst violations in the country were reported against
civilians living in minority regions, especially in Karen and Shan States.
In March, fighting flared up along the Thai-Burmese borders, when Karen
rebels reportedly attacked army outposts. In May, the Burmese military and
Buddhist Karen allies attacked Christian Karen villages, hospitals and
schools. Burmese soldiers executed villagers suspected of sympathy with
the rebels, and in several instances also executed Karen families caught
while attempting to flee forced relocation. Townships in Shan State, such
as Loi Kha and Loi Kawwan, were closed off by the Burmese military to
outside visitors, amidst reports of forced relocation, forced labor,
torture, rape, and extrajudicial killings. Refugees reported massacres in
Shan State in September. Thousands of Karen and Shan refugees fled across
the borders to Thailand.
In July, the Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN) and the Shan Human Rights
Foundation (SHRF), based in Thailand, published a report on the systematic
rape of women and girls in Shan State by the Burmese military. The report,
based on interviews with refugees along the Thai-Burmese border,
documented the rapes of 173 women and girls by Burmese military forces.
According to the report, officers committed 83 percent of the rapes, often
in front of their troops; 25 percent of the rapes resulted in death; and
over half were gang-rapes. In some cases, women were held in sexual
slavery. The report attracted international attention. Subsequently, the
Burmese government claimed to have launched an investigation which
concluded the allegations were unfounded. In one of the ensuing series of
press conferences, the government said the report's authors were
"narco-terrorists" sponsored by foreign governments. Some researchers
reported harassment and threats in Thailand after the report's
publication. In September, some refugees fleeing Shan State reported that
villagers were being forced to sign statements denying the rapes.
In the wake of international press reports alleging ties between al-Qaeda
and the Burmese government, the government launched a broad crackdown on
Rohingya Muslims.
Tensions between the Buddhist majority and Muslim minority were still
apparent in 2002, and restrictions were tightened in late 2001.
Restrictions on travel by Muslims were far more rigidly enforced,
especially in Arakan State, and the government limited the number of
Muslims allowed to travel to Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage. Muslims
claimed they continued to have difficulties getting passports to travel
abroad and in building mosques. News accounts reported extortion and abuse
of Muslim crew members on fishing boats by the Burmese Navy off the
Maungdaw coast.
Other religious groups reported restrictions as well. In the northwest,
observers reported that the government was forcibly converting Naga
Christians to Buddhism. The government continued its widespread building
project with new Buddhist temples and statues erected around the country,
including on ethnic minority sacred sites. Some monuments sacred to ethnic
minorities were destroyed and replaced with new structures, such as
hotels, against local objections.

DEFENDING HUMAN RIGHTS
The SPDC did not permit local human rights groups to operate in Burma and
those human rights and democracy organizations that did function had to do
so from abroad.

THE ROLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
The release of Suu Kyi from house arrest and the release of political
prisoners were welcomed by the international community. Some governments
and aid agencies made plans to increase humanitarian assistance, such as
to HIV/AIDS programs. Western governments kept in place bans on investment
or economic assistance to Burma. The United Nations was especially active
and appeared to play a critical role in the negotiations that preceded Suu
Kyi's release. The U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Paulo
Sergio Pinheiro, visited in February, April and October, meeting with top
generals, Suu Kyi, and ethnic minority representatives. After the October
visit, Pinheiro called for an inquiry into rights violations in ethnic
minority regions, and proposed that the International Red Cross be allowed
into all areas of conflict in Burma.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy for Burma, Razali
Ismail, visited the country in December and August. Razali was widely
viewed as active in bringing about Suu Kyi's release, but was unable to
convince the SPDC to resume the dialogue with Suu Kyi that began in
October 2001, or to declare a general amnesty for political prisoners.
After a visit in November 2002, Razali said he would quit the post if the
government did not begin talks with Suu Kyi aimed at political reforms.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) sent a high-level mission to
Burma in February, which was prevented from seeing Suu Kyi. This mission
followed the unprecedented decision of the ILO in 2000 to recommend that
ILO members review their economic ties with Burma and take appropriate
action to ensure that they did not abet what it called "widespread and
systemic" forced labor. In March, the ILO and the Burmese junta agreed
that the ILO would appoint a liaison officer to monitor Burma's pledges to
end forced labor. On September 9, 2002, Ms. Perret-Nguyen was appointed to
assume this position beginning in October.
Australia dispatched Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer to Burma in
October 2002. Downer was the first Australian senior official to visit
Burma in twenty years, and the first senior Western official to visit
after Suu Kyi's release. He reported after his visit that Burma's generals
had given him no timeframe for political reform, and that Suu Kyi was
increasingly pessimistic about the prospects for genuine change.
China continued to build its massive economic and military investment in
Burma. In December 2001, President Jiang Zemin visited Burma and promised
U.S.$100 million in new Chinese investment. That same month, authorities
delivered a digital high-resolution satellite ground station to the
Burmese government. In January and February 2002, the Chinese military
delivered sizeable shipments of arms to Burmese naval bases.
The European Union maintained its sanctions on Burma, but explored
possibilities for increased humanitarian assistance. The E.U. was again
the sponsor of critical Burma resolutions in both the U.N. Commission on
Human Rights, and in the U.N. General Assembly. A European Union troika
delegation visited Burma in March to continue a dialogue on promoting
political reconciliation with the opposition. In September, E.U. delegates
met with Suu Kyi and called on Burma to make progress toward
democratization. The Asia-Europe (ASEM) summit in Copenhagen in late
September did not include Burma.
India initiated diplomatic talks with Burma in late 2001 aimed at joint
action against ethnic militant groups on their shared border. Senior
Indian officials said anonymously that the Indian government was trying to
counter China's growing economic and military influence in Burma.
Japan, Burma's largest single aid donor, announced that it would give
Burma debt relief of ¥1.8 billion (U.S.$14.4 million). Following Suu Kyi's
release, Japan disbursed U.S.$4.9 million of a U.S.$29 million Official
Development Assistance (ODA) loan approved earlier for the renovation of a
hydroelectric plant in eastern Burma. In August, the Japanese foreign
minister met with Suu Kyi and SPDC generals. She urged progress on
democratization and human rights, but made no further aid commitments.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the Malaysian
government began a repressive crackdown on dissidents and other refugees
fleeing the Burmese junta and seeking asylum in Malaysia. Rohingya Muslim
refugees fled to Malaysia and Bangladesh. In June 2002, eight undocumented
Rohingya migrants entered the grounds of the local office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees in Malaysia and demanded asylum. In late July,
Malaysian police arrested 135 mostly undocumented Rohingya migrants
seeking asylum outside the same office. In August, after Suu Kyi called
for Burma to move more quickly toward reform, Prime Minister Mahathir
visited Burma and publicly declared that Burma should not be rushed
prematurely into democracy.
Russia became increasingly active in the ongoing Burmese military buildup,
promising to help Burma to construct a center for nuclear studies and a
research nuclear reactor. The plans were described as part of Russia's
commitment to improving Burma's technology and education sectors, but
these facilities could also provide a basis for future Burmese efforts to
acquire the means to build nuclear weapons.
Thailand's relationship with Burma continued to be extremely tense, with
occasional outbreaks of violence along the border. At times, Thailand, the
main destination for minorities, political dissidents, rural people, and
women and children fleeing violence in Burma, appeared to respond to Burma
with efforts aimed at appeasing the military junta. In November, a group
of undocumented migrants and workers in northern Thailand were repatriated
to Burma, amidst allegations that some had been tricked into signing
repatriation forms. Some Burmese child soldiers tried to escape forced
conscription by deserting their armies and fleeing across the border to
Thailand. Thai authorities should identify such children if arrested for
illegal presence and pass them over to the U.N. High Commission for
Refugees so that they may seek asylum, but many such children were unable
to access such protection and continued to live in hiding, fearing
deportation to Burma.
In late December 2001, the Thai government forcibly closed a major refugee
camp housing political dissidents, and conducted talks with Burmese
authorities about repatriation plans. The problem of illegal workers from
Burma was gruesomely highlighted when the bodies of twenty ethnic Karen
villagers were found in the river that divides Burma from Thailand.
Investigators later concluded that the Karens were being smuggled in by a
Thai couple, who discovered en route that the laborers had suffocated and
simply dumped their bodies in the river. The border problems were
highlighted again in June when Karen gunmen, in a debt squabble, fired on
a school bus full of Thai children, killing two and injuring fourteen;
this sparked a manhunt by Thai authorities on the borders and greater
ill-feeling toward Burmese refugees living in Thailand.
In April, NGOs reported that about three thousand Burmese migrants
deported from Mae Sot, Thailand were forced to undergo HIV testing in a
holding center on the Burmese side of the border. Those who tested
positive were reportedly segregated and sent to a hospital in Rangoon.
Both mandatory testing and the segregation of HIV-positive persons violate
international standards. The Burmese government has yet to take clear
steps in mounting a serious response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
In May, the Burmese-aligned United Wa State Army and Thai troops traded
artillery fire across the border. By July, Thailand and Burma were
embroiled in a no-holds-barred media war, in which Burmese state press
attacked the Thai monarchy; Burmese authorities also closed lucrative
border crossings to Thai traders. In what was seen by many as an attempt
to placate the Burmese junta and re-open the borders, Thai authorities in
August raided pro-democracy groups and a church on the border, detaining
dozens of Burmese refugee activists and repatriating them. The border was
officially reopened in October 2002.
In April, forty-nine U.S. congressional representatives called on the
Burmese government to release imprisoned student leader Min Ko Naing.
Congressional representatives and the U.S. State Department issued
statements condemning the Burmese military for raping girls and women in
Shan State. While lauding the release of Suu Kyi in April, the Bush
administration said in June that it would extend sanctions on Burma for
another year. A U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) team
visited Burma to explore the possibility of giving HIV/AIDS assistance
beyond the U.S.$1 million currently given through NGOs and U.N. agencies.
In a groundbreaking ruling, a U.S. superior court judge in California
ordered the Unocal corporation to stand trial for alleged human rights
abuses related to its pipeline project in Burma. A jury trial was set for
September 26, 2002 in Los Angeles, where Unocal is based. In a related
development, over thirty U.S. clothing manufacturers announced that they
would stop sourcing from Burma, and Marriott International announced plans
to withdraw from the two hotels it manages in Rangoon.
Neither the World Bank nor the Asian Development Bank resumed any
assistance to Burma. The SPDC failed to respond to the World Bank's
recommendations for major economic reforms. A team from the International
Monetary Fund visited Burma in July, and found continuing economic
problems and deteriorating social conditions.