BurmaNet News: February 20 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

February 20 2003 Issue #2179

INSIDE BURMA

AFP: Myanmar rejects US skepticism of reform, sanctions threat
Kaladan: Rohingya and Rakhine youths jointly completed a human rights
workshop
Narinjara: New Conscription for the Burmese Army
DVB: New political prisoners

MONEY

Irrawaddy: Kyat Strengthens; Border Trade Hit
AP: Myanmar media black out news of bank runs
The Australian: Banks withdraw from Burmese customers

REGIONAL

Myanmar Times: JICA gears up to spend $20 m
The Hindu: Myanmar leader seeks Delhi’s support
Kyodo: Tokyo confab urges end to trafficking children for sex in Asia

INSIDE BURMA

Agence France-Presse February 20 2003

Myanmar rejects US scepticism of reform, sanctions threat

Myanmar's ruling military regime on Thursday rejected US scepticism over
the progress of its political reform process and slammed a warning that it
may consider further sanctions against the country.

In a statement released here, the junta said it "noted with
disappointment" remarks made last week by Lorne Craner, US Assistant
Secretary of State for Human Rights, Democracy and Labour.

Craner had said that the US government was concerned about the
"recalcitrance" of Myanmar's regime in implementing political change. "Our
patience for positive change is beginning to run out and we, along with
the UK and others, are considering all options, including further
sanctions," he said.

The United States currently maintains an investment ban, travel
restrictions for Myanmar officials and an arms embargo on Myanmar, among
other sanctions.

The junta responded by condemning sanctions for failing to solve the
country's problems.

"Sanctions, by definition, impede economic growth, and deprive the Myanmar
people of job opportunities. Sanctions, especially against a developing
country, directly hurt healthcare and education," it said in the
statement.

"Sanctions, in short, do not solve problems; they only make them worse."

The junta instead urged the US to enter into a dialogue with it over
Myanmar's development.

"The government therefore invites the United States to join us in open,
constructive dialogue toward humanitarian, economic and political
development in Myanmar," the statement said.

"We urge the United States to roll up its sleeves, open its heart, and
join with us to bring a better life to the people."

Washington is a staunch critic of Myanmar, and a strong supporter of
democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy
party won a landslide election victory in 1990, which has never been
recognised by the military.

The Nobel peace laureate -- who was released from house arrest in May --
has been engaged in UN-brokered talks with the junta since October 2000,
but they are yet to progress beyond a confidence-building stage.
_________

Kaladan News February 20 2003

ROHINGYA AND RAKHINE YOUTHS JOINTLY COMPLETED A HUMAN
RIGHTS WORKSHOP

Chittagong, February 20: Rohingya and Rakhine youths successfully
completed a joint human rights workshop at Dhaka from 4th to 8th February
2003, according to a participant of the workshop.

Six youths from Rohingya Youth Development Programme under the Arakan
Education & Welfare Association (AEWA) and nine youths including two
females from National United Party of Arakan (NUPA), in total 15, were
participated in the workshop and there were two instructors from  the
Nationalities’ Youths Development Programme (NYDP), he further added.

The workshop aimed to develop the economy, to understand the civil
societies and the quality development of the participants from the angle
of human rights, another participant told Kaladan press.

 At first, participants were being introduced to human rights and detailed
discussions were going on, in the recognition, protection and promotion
of human rights, he further added.

 There were also rendering the basic concept of human rights and
regulations, history of the development of human rights, the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), International Convention on Civil &
Political Rights (ICCPR), International Convention on Economic, Social &
Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

Furthermore, the topics on Convention on Elimination of all Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), role of citizens to promote the
human rights, equality, promotion of collective rights, ethnicity,
nationalities and indigenous rights, rights of women and gender
discriminations and the advocacy programs and its ways and means in both
theoretical and practical bases were discussed, according to the
participants.
__________

Narinjara News February 20 2003

New Conscription for the Burmese Army

Maungdaw, 20 February:  Forced conscriptions into the Burmese Army have
been reported from Rakhine State in the western part of Burma, according
to our correspondent from Maungdaw Town.

Maung Than Naing Tun (18), son of U Than Win of Bo Ba Chouk Street, Dala
Town opposite Rangoon, is a secondary school matriculation student.  While
he came to travel to Rakhine State, the Nasaka troops picked him up at
Maungdaw Town and forced him to join the armed forces last week.  He was
threatened of being arrested and jailed if he refused to join the armed
service, said sources in the town.  Maung Than Naing Tun could not produce
national registration card when the troops demanded as he had lost it on
the way from Rangoon.  Many young visitors like him are falling prey to
the Burmese junta-sponsored conscription drives in the area.  A retired
judge in the area said to our correspondent that in last week alone the
junta soldiers came looking for young people like Than Naing who have been
caught unawares and forced into services.

In recent days there has been increased forced conscription into the armed
services, resulting obviously from an alarming rise in desertion from the
armed services said a source in the army.  Previously a large number of
Rakhine nationals joined the army finding no job opportunity in the state
and because of rampant use of forced labour and forced relocation,
resulting from wholesale militarization across the state, he added.

With shrinking sources of income, there is a rising rate of jobless people
in the countryside, our correspondent said. At present the number of
regulars deserting the military services has gone up due to meagre salary
and poor working conditions in the barracks.    Becoming desperate, the
Burmese junta have been leasing out even rivers and creeks in the state
for the collection of money for the upkeep of the
families of the members of the armed services.  As a knock-on effect the
move has also left a huge number of fishermen, estimated at 80 percent,
jobless in the state, he concluded.

In an official order issued last month by the Nasaka border security
forces Headquarters at Kyi-gan-byin, each of the nine Nasaka circles have
been directed to conscript at least five people from each of the
respective Nasaka circles.   The servicemen willing to go on pension have
also been instructed to find two new recruits to replace them, the sources
said.
In the village tracts in and around Punnagyun and Kyauktaw Townsips on the
Kaladan River, army recruitment teams have already visited at least ten
villages for fresh conscription, the source said.  It is hoped that the
conscription drive will continue till the last village in the state is
covered.
___________

Democratic Voice of Burma February 18 2003

New Political Prisoners

It is reported that the NLD is investigating about the 12 activists
including U Sai Nyunt Lwin of Shan NLD who were recently arrested by the
SPDC. The SPDC has not notified their families where they are being
detained and what they are charged with. The spokesman of NLD, U Lwin
explained to the DVB about seven party members as follows:

A: Our Legal Support Team is trying to help them. We are enquiring where
they are being detained, when they are going to be tried and what they are
going to be charged with.

Q: They didn’t inform you who were arrested and where they arrested and
the like?

A: No. They never do that. We don’t want [like] that. We want to know what
they are charged with and whether they are going to be tried together and
the like. If they did that we will hire lawyers for them.

When asked about the distributions of anti-Daw Aung San Suu Kyi articles
of the New Light of Myanmar and old newspaper cuttings, U Lwin continued:

A: They have started to say about the ‘destructive elements’ within and
without the country and the like again at the Information Ministry and it
was also expressed by Secretary –1. Things are not improving but becoming
worse. They must be feeling bad and angry. There was one batch of
pamphlets distributed before the Union Day and it was reported to us late,
according to the date we checked.

Q: Where was it done?

A: In Sagaing with the ones distributed there previously. They gave some
to delegates who attended the Union Day ceremony. In Shan State at Kyaukme
and Lashio.

Q: It must be widespread?

A: There are some from Palaw in Tenesserim Division, Lashio in Shan State,
Butalin in Sagaing Division and some distant places.

When asked about the efforts of Mr Razali, the UN special envoy and the
American government’s continuing economical blockades on Burma, U Lwin
said that he hadn’t heard anything from them. He also said that the
meeting in Tokyo was attended by the Japanese and American ambassadors to
Burma and he hopes to hear from them when they are back.

MONEY

Irrawaddy February 20 2003

Kyat Strengthens; Border Trade Hit
By Naw Seng and Tony Broadmoor

The continued freeze on private bank accounts in Burma has temporarily
strengthened the country’s currency, the kyat, as businesses are
struggling to obtain hard cash to pay workers and other expenses,
according to diplomatic sources in Rangoon. Border trade has also been hit
hard by the closure of the twenty private banks two weeks ago, forcing
merchants to sell slow in order to generate cash flows.
The kyat has gained more than 20 percent this week against the US dollar
as individuals who were able to withdraw their money three weeks ago are
holding on to it now, as it remains unclear when they will receive another
chance to access their funds. Today the kyat was trading at 900 to the
dollar up from 1,100.
"You have a situation now where actually the kyat is valuable because the
banks are running out of money," said a Rangoon-based diplomat today. "The
demand now is for kyat. So it’s really getting difficult to unload
dollars, which obviously has never been the case. It won’t last but it is
certainly a good indication of what people are thinking."
Businessmen at major border passes are also now facing a shortfall in the
stake needed to run their operations. "I have to sell goods at a low price
in China in order to meet the whole business demand," said a Burmese
businessman in Rulili, China. "I have only 13 million kyat in hand, but I
need 80 million."
A broker in Ruili today said the kyat had also gained ground against the
Chinese yuan, which has caused the bulk of large companies to halt
operations.
Sales have also been affected along the Thai-Burma border as the kyat also
rose against the baht. "No one dares to transfer their money," said a man
in the Thai border town of Mae Sot. "The [border] market has been in
turmoil."
Sources that have met with small to mid size businesses said most have
enough reserves to get through this week and next, but anything beyond
that was doubtful. They say regaining bank reserves will require a
combination of factors. Reeling in loans as well as a pronouncement by the
government guaranteeing the depositors money might help to ease unrest.
"If they [the private banks] can reestablish enough liquidity so that they
can give people some money on demand then it may ease people’s mind a
little bit," said the diplomat. "But if they’re not able to and the crunch
continues through the end of the week, when it’s pay day, it could be
ugly, people could be unhappy."
As the banks continue to hang on, analysts are questioning how a
protracted closure might affect some of the larger businesses in Burma,
who receive payment in foreign currency before having to exchange it for
kyat.
"The larger companies like the airlines that take in revenue in foreign
exchange and have kyat expenses for example," said the diplomat. "And they
can’t change their foreign exchange into kyat, what happens then?"
Commodity prices have also been rising in some areas since the bank
closure, while the price of gold has dropped. The latest financial unrest
in Burma was spurned by the bankruptcies of 16 general service enterprises
nearly three weeks ago.
___________

Associated Press February 20 2003

Myanmar media black out news of bank runs

A media blackout has been imposed on coverage of a banking crisis which
has led to runs on Myanmar's 20 private banks, editors said Thursday.

All three of the tightly controlled country's state-run daily newspapers
and its roughly 100 private weekly journals have made no mention of the
spate of panic withdrawals, which prompted the government to limit
withdrawals and money transfers. The blackout has caused turmoil in
business circles.

The Myanmar Fisheries and Livestock Fair, scheduled to be held in Yangon
from Feb. 25 to March 1, was postponed due to the bank crisis, a Fisheries
Ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

Even the English-language Myanmar Times newspaper - which is part
government-owned but allowed more publishing freedom because it serves the
expatriate community - has made no mention of the bank runs.

"We were requested by the authorities not to write about the bank crisis
for fear that it could exacerbate the problem or create more rumors," an
editor of a leading Myanmar-language journal told The Associated Press on
condition of anonymity.

On Feb. 10, Central Bank Chairman Kyaw Kyaw Maung attempted to quash
rumors that several banks were heading into bankruptcy. Crowds have been
gathering at banks since then, and withdrawals have risen.

On Monday, the central bank ordered a ban on money transfers and limits on
withdrawals from the 20 private banks.

The collapse of about a dozen companies that had illegally sold shares to
the public, offering greater returns than the interest given by banks, is
generally believed to have sparked the crisis.
__________

The Australian February 20 2003

Banks withdraw from Burmese customers
By Kimina Lyall

A RUN on private bank deposits in Burma could lead to the country's worst
financial crisis since the events that sparked massive unrest in 1988,
according to foreign observers and exiled politicians.

Assurances by central bank governor Kyaw Kyaw Maung that depositors have
"nothing to worry about" have failed to halt the rush of withdrawals,
which began last week with long queues outside most of the privately owned
banks, leading them to limit withdrawals and close doors on their
customers.

But observers believe that without further government intervention, the
banks could collapse, sparking a financial crisis not seen since the 1988
demonstrations that led to the rise of Aung San Suu Kyi as national
democracy leader. "This is the worst financial situation since 1988," said
Sann Aung, a member of Burma's government in exile, based in Thailand.
"The situation is now critical."

A Burmese academic based in Bangkok, who did not want to be identified,
agreed.

"The 1988 situation began because the year before the government
demonetarised the currency and people came out on the streets," he said,
referring to former dictator Ne Win's disastrous decision to reissue bank
notes in denominations of nine. "If you compare the two conditions, now it
is much worse," he said.

But he said it was too early to predict if the panic would spread to
street protests, because people still remembered the 3000 deaths and
disappearances that occurred after the military opened fire on the 1988
demonstrations.

"Terror hangs in the sky,' he said. "But the bottom line is people have no
confidence in the banking system, the economic system or the government
system."

Foreign diplomats in Rangoon also expressed concern.

"I think the Government is very worried. They are always worried 1988 will
happen again," said one diplomat, adding that the Government had been
largely silent on the issue, and people's behaviour had been fuelled by
rumours.

The rush on deposits began after the ruling military junta announced that
a number of non-banking financial institutions, which had attracted huge
deposits with interest rates of up to 50 per cent, were illegal, leading
many of them to collapse overnight.

Following rumours that the country's 20 registered private banks would
soon suffer the same fate, depositors rushed to withdraw their funds,
especially from the biggest bank, the Asia Wealth Bank.

"We were allowed to withdraw 1million kyat last Friday, but on Monday they
limited withdrawals to 500,000 kyat per week," one businessman outside the
bank said on Tuesday. "This morning, we are now only allowed to withdraw
100,000 kyat per week."

Analysts said the situation had been compounded by Burma's continuing
problem with inflation, growing at a rate of 50 per cent a year, and the
weakness of the currency.

In their few public comments on the issue, government members have blamed
the run on "destructive elements" spreading rumours to damage the country.


REGIONAL

Myanmar Times February 10-16 2003

JICA gears up to spend $20m

The Japanese government’s overseas aid agency plans to spend about US$20
million in Myanmar during the fiscal year beginning next April, its Yangon
representative said last week. Mr Takahiro Sasaki said the Japan
International Cooperation Agency had not made any changes from the current
year’s allocation for Myanmar despite a reduction in its overall budget.
Mr Sasaki said funding next fiscal year would go towards basic education
was and Myanmar Japan training centre, as well as providing information
technology courses and health care projects for major infectious diseases
control. He said JICA had gradually increased its assistance to Myanmar
since 1999, when it was the 40th largest recipient of funds from the
agency. Myanmar was the 27th largest recipient of JICA funds in 2000, the
13th largest in 2001 and the ninth largest in 2002. Its activities had
initially focused on meeting basic human needs and had been expanded to
include assistance for infrastructure development. An example was courses
in bridge construction resumed in 2000 which had been attended by more
than 90 government engineers over three consecutive years, Mr Sasaki said.
The latest such course, being attended by 21 engineers, opened in Yangon
last week. Mr Sasaki said that JICA would like to expand the training to
include other engineering fields. He said this training follows the first
technical cooperation project implemented by JICA in Myanmar which took
place between 1979 and 1985. The bridge engineering training centre
project included on-the-job training for Myanmar engineers during the
building of the Japanese-funded Thuwanna Bridge, on Yangon’s eastern
outskirts. Expertise gained during that project had enabled Myanmar
engineers to contribute to other bridge building projects throughout the
country.
______________

The Hindu February 20 2003

MYANMAR LEADER SEEKS DELHI'S SUPPORT

A leader of Myanmar's opposition group, the National League for Democracy
(NLD), Dr. Swe, has urged the Indian Government to help in "reviving the
dialogue between the Burmese military junta and the NLD" as a means of
restoring democracy in that country.

Dr. Swe, who is on a tour of south India under Amnesty International's
banner, told mediapersons here on Wednesday that India needed to provide
support for the dialogue process. The military regime would certainly be
more comfortable with its Asian neighbour than holding talks with Western
nation representatives. However, it should not stop with talking only with
the generals.

It should also hold talks with the Opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi,
whose NLD stood for peace and non-violence.

India had a "constructive engagement" with Myanmar's military leaders,
mainly to foster border trade and some forms of aid.

But recently, Dr. Swe noted, he was concerned with Indian arms supplies,
mainly artillery pieces, passed on through the Manipur border.

"At least 80 trucks of equipment passed through the Moreh-Tamu border post
in Manipur about two months back."

Pointing to the continuing human rights violations including oppression of
the people, mainly the ethnic minorities, Dr. Swe said 50 million people
live in permanent fear.

But, their only hope was Suu Kyi's movement, which spread its message
through the radio.
___________

Kyodo News Service February 20 2003

Tokyo confab urges end to trafficking children for sex in Asia
By Takuya Karube

Participants in a two-day symposium in Tokyo that began Thursday urged
that the trafficking of children in Asia, mainly for sexual purposes, be
eradicated immediately by enhancing the regional network combating the
problem.

'It is estimated that 1.2 million children are trafficked each year,
though the actual figure must be higher,' said Kul Gautum, Deputy
Executive Director of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Gautum said one of the problems underlying human trafficking in Asia is
its scale, which, for example, exceeds the number of Africans sold as
slaves over three hundred years between the 16th and 19th centuries. He
said that according to the Center for International Crime Prevention, 12
million Africans were sold as slaves during the period. But he said UNICEF
estimates the number of children and women trafficked for commercial
sexual purposes in Asia and the Pacific alone has exceeded 30 million over
the last three decades.

'It is the largest slave trade in history,' as it has become a global,
multi-billion-dollar industry, Gautum said at the United Nations
University. 'Fighting such a phenomenon requires cooperation at national,
regional and international levels.'

The symposium, a follow-up to the second World Congress Against Commercial
Sexual Exploitation of Children held in Yokohama in December 2001, was
organized by the Foreign Ministry and UNICEF.

Besides Japanese citizens working to crack down on child trafficking, NGO
representatives from seven Asian countries, including Myanmar, Bangladesh
and the Philippines, took part in the symposium.

The participants shared their experiences and the difficulties they face
in respective countries, and discussed future steps necessary to eradicate
human trafficking.

Many highlighted the importance of raising public awareness of the
problem, and cited that building closer partnerships among various sectors
is essential.

Saisuree Chutikul, vice-chairperson of United Nations Committee on the
Rights of the Child, was among those who said the role NGOs play in
tackling trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation are increasingly
becoming important.

'No longer can one person or persons from a single discipline fully assist
the child who has been trafficked or who has become victim of commercial
sexual exploitation of children,' she said.

Other participants in the symposium included Sadakazu Tanigaki, minister
of state, chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, and Shinako
Tsuchiya, parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs.