BurmaNet News: February 28 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

February 28 2003 Issue #2186

INSIDE BURMA

Narinjara: Death sentence for 14 alleged murderers of Burmese policemen
Xinhua: 11 more anti-govt armed members surrender in Myanmar
DVB: Justice in Burma?

MONEY

SCMP: A run on Myanmar banks affects crony capitalists
Irrawaddy: Banks still not flowing
Xinhua: Myanmar’s foreign trade declines in first 10 months of 2002
Sacramento Bee: Labor protest planned for men’s store opening

INTERNATIONAL

Washington Post: DCI, Burma and D.C.

INSIDE BURMA

Narinjara News February 27 2003

Death sentence for 14 alleged murderers of Burmese policemen

Fourteen alleged murderers of four policemen in the western Burmese
township of Maungdaw have been awarded death sentence and ten years’
rigorous imprisonment on two counts, according to our border
correspondence.

The accused were allegedly charged with the murder of four members of the
police force and a prostitute at Laungdung police outpost in the northern
Maungdaw Township in the night of 23rd November 2001.  The case numbers of
the prosecution charges lodged by the Maungdaw police are: Pa-222/2001,
under the Criminal Code 302/114, and Pa  223/2001, under the Criminal Code
(2  1)  1 Ka.  The charges on involvement in the murder were submitted to
the Maungdaw District Court with the number of cases as: 8/2002, 9/2002,
which were given subsequent hearing according to the quotes of a lawyer to
our correspondent.

After a number of hearings each of the accused 14 persons were ‘found
guilty’ and awarded the sentences on 18th February 03 according to Penal
Code 2-(1) Ka for ten years’ RI.  Then on another count the same persons
were awarded death sentence according to Penal Code 302  (1) Kha  34,
according to courtroom sources.

On the night of the 23rd November 01 the policemen and a prostitute were
murdered by strangulation with nylon chords and six guns (three M16s, -one
BA 52 Sten, one 0.303 light machine gun, and one 0.303 rifle) with a large
number of rounds of bullets were stolen. According to the forensic report
the dead were drugged with alcohol laced with powerful tranquilizer before
the murder. The missing arms and ammunition have not yet been recovered.

The names of the accused in the murder case are: Nurul Bashar, Osman Gani,
Gonira, Nur Muhammad, Habib Ullah, Zahabur Rahman, Nurul Islam, Abu
Quasem, Syedul Amin, Ruhul Amin, Shamsul alam, Qader Hussein, Bashir
Ahmed, and Khairul Amin, all of whom hail from Laungdung Village.

On 19th this month all the accused have been moved to Sittwe Jail in the
capital of Rakhine State, in the western part of Burma, for carrying out
the execution, added our correspondent.

Some of the villagers alleged that the actual murderers who escaped with
the guns and ammo have never been found, and it is thought that the real
perpetrators must have crossed the border to a neighbouring country.
_____________

Xinhua News Agency February 28 2003

11 more anti-govt armed members surrender in Myanmar

Eleven more members from three anti-government ethnic armed groups in
Myanmar laid down their arms to the government in four military command
areas in January this year, according to a report of the Myanmar Defense
Ministry available here Friday.

These members, in the south-east, eastern, southern and coastal region
command areas respectively, are from the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP),
Kayinni National Progressive Party (KNPP) and Kayin National Union (KNU).
They brought along with them a total of six rounds of ammunition among
others, the report said.

Of the three armed groups, the ALP usually operates in Myanmar' s western
Rakhine state, while the KNPP, with its main force numbering 7,750,
returned to the legal fold in March 1995 and the KNU is the largest
anti-government ethnic armed organization operating on the Myanmar-Thai
border.

Official statistics show that up to now, 17 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 Shan United Revolutionary Army,
Chin National Army and Lahu Democratic Front.
____________

Democratic Voice of Burma February 28 2003

Justice in Burma?

The SPDC’s Information Committee said yesterday that every Burmese citizen
is equal under its legal system. Legally, no one is divided or favoured
according to criteria and each one is given a fair chance in the
judgement. The NLD said last week that the SPDC interfered with the legal
cases involving the NLD. The SPDC denied the accusation and it maintained
that there is fairness in the legal system in Burma.
According to the evidences collected by the DVB, the judges on township,
district and divisional levels are taking bribes and the income of a judge
is said to be more than 500,000 kyats per month. The government lawyers
and legal advisors are also taking bribes from both sides.
When it comes to political cases, lawyers are afraid to take up the cases
and some lawyers lost their license to practise for doing so. In some
cases involving narcotics, the intelligence, the police and judges
combined let the defendants scotch free.
We invited a former judge and a practising high court lawyer from Rangoon
who wants to remain anonymous to comment on the current legal system in
Burma. Our first question was whether the current legal system in Burma is
fair:
High court lawyer from Rangoon : You must be joking. Today in Burma, if
you have more money than your opponent you will win the case. It is very
clear and everyone knows it. 99 out of 100 people know it. If you have
money, you win. That is the main trend. But, to say the truth, there is
some fairness if you can go up to national high court. I have some
experience with that. Beneath that level, those who don’t have money
always lose.
DVB : Is the national high court only situated in Rangoon?
High court lawyer from Rangoon : No, there is one in Rangoon and another
one in Mandalay. But many cases don’t reach the high court. They tend to
end at the district courts. That law was imposed in 2000. There are some
honest judges and some dishonest ones. Things are like this. I don’t know
what to say. We dare not write articles and report about it. We just watch
helplessly.
DVB : How many percents of the judges are with good hearts?
High court lawyer from Rangoon : Very few. I think there must be only 2 to
3 percents. I could tell you by names. They are talented people but they
are starving now.
DVB : Who are they, by name?
High court lawyer from Rangoon : Let say. Among the judges who were
retired: of central court, U Soe Myint, U Ba Than Aung and the divisional
judge U Myint U. These people have good heart. They do not take bribe.
They are talented people and now they are starving.
DVB : These talented people are not judges anymore?
High court lawyer from Rangoon : No. They are ousted and retired.
DVB : How do judges take bribe?
High court lawyer from Rangoon : The decision in the court is entirely up
to judges. They can grant you bill or even let you go free completely if
they wish. It is entirely up to them. So, it is very easy to take bribe
for judges. I want to tell these things but I don’t want you to mention my
name. As I was a judge myself, I am saying this with the good intention of
cleaning up the judicial system. I am 73 years old now. The reason I am
still working is I really pity for poor people. I am able to feed myself.
But the legal system is so unfair that there is no one who would help poor
people in their legal cases. I am working for poor people. In our time,
75% of the judges were clean and honest. The judges these days are taking
bribes to buy houses and cars, not just for their basic needs. If you have
to do that just for your basic needs, it’s not that bad. These days, they
are doing it to buy the houses and cars. The practice is rampant
nationwide. People like us who help the poor are looked down on and hated.
We feel very stressed out at courts. We lose the cases and we hate it.
DVB : How about government lawyers and legal advisors?
High court lawyer from Rangoon : Yes. All the legal advocates take bribe
and they take bribe from both sides. If the litigants want to win, they
have to pay. And the defendants have to do the same so that he or she
would not make it so difficult for defendants. Legal advocates are getting
bribe half of the amount of what the judges are getting.
DVB : How about political cases?
High court lawyer from Rangoon : We dare not take up the political cases.
We tend to avoid these cases because we are afraid. Don’t be angry with me
for that. I dare not do it.

MONEY

South China Morning Post February 28 2003

A run on Myanmar banks affects crony capitalists
By WILLIAM BARNES

A financial crisis that shook Myanmar this month has revealed the weakness
of its banks - some of which are run by former truckers and schoolteachers
with powerful friends.
The collapse of more than a dozen finance houses that used depositors'
money to fund their other business interests turned into a mad scramble to
withdraw money after the chairman of the central bank, U Kyaw Kyaw Muang,
said publicly there was "nothing to worry about".
Since the state-controlled media is rarely permitted to report unpleasant
truths, ordinary citizens feared the worst. The country's three leading
banks quickly placed limits on withdrawals in the face of a rapid rundown
in reserves of the national currency, the kyat.
The turmoil has tested the abilities of some bankers who have used their
military connections, rather than their financial expertise, to grow since
private banking was re-established in the early 1990s.
The biggest, the Asia Wealth Bank, is said to be the hardest hit.Its
effective chief is U Eike Htun, an ethnic-Chinese former truck driver.
Bangkok-based newspapers have claimed he has strong links to the drug
trade. The Kokang enclave on the Chinese border, from which he comes, has
a history of drug trafficking.
Eike Htun is known to be close to a very senior member of the government.
His bank's sister company is the country's biggest builder, the Olympic
Construction company.
"Many of these banks make significant money by laundering drug profits.
The government doesn't care. But it is a tricky business, so many things
can go wrong," one Myanmar analyst in Bangkok said.
The small, informal deposit-taking companies whose plight triggered the
panic withdrawals appeared to operate outside official banking rules by
paying up to 50 per cent interest to attract funds for their construction,
manufacturing and trading businesses. The ripple effect has been sharp:
the three-year-old Kanbawza Bank, run by former schoolteacher U Aung Ko
Win, who is close to army chief General Maung Aye, and Yoma Bank, run by
overseas Myanmar businessman Serge Pun, were also forced to turn
depositors away temporarily. These three banks also suspended payments on
their credit cards, the only ones issued in Myanmar.
Residents say the banking crisis has been hugely disruptive for ordinary
business. Even earners of precious foreign exchange have been unable to
obtain kyat to settle local bills. The important border trade has also
been hit.
Even more worrying for the military regime are the memories of past
collapses of people's savings, which ultimately set off massive nationwide
protests over army rule. The military has cancelled major note
denominations in 1964, 1985 and 1987 in an attempt to punish smugglers and
speculators, to the fury of a wounded populace.
The central bank has transferred billions of kyat to those banks able to
provide collateral and the junta's powerful intelligence chief General
Khin Nyunt himself has told depositors their money is safest in the bank.
Given the military's history of ruthless financial manoeuvring, that may
not be a great reassurance.
"People have been very, very upset by all this," one Yangon resident said.
"I predict a surge in purchases of property, land and cars. For some
people it is either that or stuffing gold and dollars under the bed."
________________

Irrawaddy February 28 2003

Banks Still not Flowing
By Kyaw Zwa Moe

Burma’s private banking system continues to disappoint depositors despite
a reported 25 billion kyat (US $25 million) bailout last week by the
central government. Other than some large business accounts, regular
account holders still have been unable to access a significant amount of
funds for the third consecutive week, according to sources in Rangoon.
Sources say banks have granted larger withdrawals to some business owners,
who had first sent letters explaining their reasons for needing the money.
One wealthy businessman was able to withdraw 5 million kyat in order to
pay out workers, after submitting a letter to the bank identifying labor
costs.
An account holder at Rangoon’s Universal Bank said it was allowing
depositors to withdraw up to 50,000 kyat (US $50) per week, a decrease,
however, from last week.
A desperate trader in Rangoon said his assets remained tied up in the
banks, and said he was unsure when the situation would be resolved. "I
have yet to pay for a crop of beans that I bought last week," he said
today from Rangoon. "I won’t be able to pay until the bank can return my
money."
The current bank crisis has been going on for nearly a month now. It was
spurred by the bankruptcies of a dozen general service enterprise
companies earlier this month. After an initial rush on banks by customers,
a series of regulations were instituted limiting withdrawals.
Last week, government officials tried to quell discontent by reassuring
account holders that banks were the best option for cash holdings. Sec-1
Gen Khin Nyunt, while addressing a Trade and Commerce Ministry meeting,
said, "Banks have guarantees, so for those who have withdrawn money
without having the need to use it, there is no safer place to keep your
money than in the bank."
Analysts, however, feel the banking sector will take three to four years
to overcome this latest fallout, as consumers will instead invest cash
reserves in gold, real estate and other luxury items. "Certainly, people
will not put their money in the banks any more," one analyst said today
from Rangoon.

____________-

Xinhua News Agency February 28 2003

Myanmar's foreign trade declines in first 10 months of 2002

Myanmar's foreign trade declined by 11.78 percent, registering 4,140
million US dollars in the first 10 months of 2002 compared with the same
period of 2001, according to the latest data of the Central Statistical
Organization.

Of the total, imports amounted to 1,731 million dollars, down 32.47
percent, while exports were valued at 2,409 million dollars, up 13.13
percent. The country stood a favorable balance of foreign trade during the
10-month period with 678 million dollars.

Meanwhile, during the period, the import value of consumer goods,
intermediate goods and capital goods respectively accounted for 42.37
percent, 33.83 percent and 23.8 percent of the total imports.

Sectorally speaking, over the period, Myanmar's private sector took up
86.9 percent of the total import value and 56.9 percent of the total
export value.

During the first 10 months, Myanmar's bilateral trade with foreign
countries was lined up as with Thailand (1,095.71 million dollars), China
(675.76 million), Singapore (581.87 million), India (388.92 million),
Malaysia (231.31 million), Japan (226.72 million) and Republic of Korea
(147.19 million).

Regionally speaking, the country's bilateral trade with members of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) totaled 2, 032.86 million
dollars over the 10-month period, accounting for 49. 1 percent of
Myanmar's total foreign trade.

Of the total with the ASEAN members, that with Thailand also registered
the highest volume, followed by that with Singapore, Malaysia and
Indonesia.

The statistics also show that Myanmar's income from customs duties totaled
652.53 million dollars with that gained through import under normal trade
taking up 97.5 percent of the total. The minor rest was fetched through
border trade.
____________

Sacramento Bee February 28 2003

Labor protest planned for men's store opening
By Cathleen Ferraro

Labor and community activists are expected to protest today at the debut
of men's retailer Joseph A. Bank Clothiers in the Arden Fair mall.
The group is objecting to what they say is the retailer's renewed practice
of selling clothes made in Myanmar sweatshops.
In an October 2001 letter, merchandise manager Paul D. Miller promised the
Free Burma Coalition that Joseph A. Bank's "corporate direction is to
source no goods from Myanmar."
Now, according to human and labor rights groups, coalition partners have
found menswear at Joseph A. Bank stores in New York City, Haverford, Pa.,
and Atlanta, Ga., bearing "Made in Myanmar" labels.
Chief Financial Officer David Ullman said Joseph A. Bank has not sourced
any products through Myanmar or intentionally sold any from there since
its 2001 promise.
Hampstead, Md.-based Joseph A. Bank operates 165 stores, mostly in the
Midwest and East Coast. The chain's Arden Fair outlet is the company's
first in California. Over the next three to five years the clothing chain
expects to triple its size to roughly 500 stores nationwide.

INTERNATIONAL

Washington Post February 28 2003

DCI, Burma and D.C.
By Al Kamen

The Burmese military regime failed last year to improve its ties with the
United States and get "certified" for its anti-narcotics programs, but it
wasn't for lack of a solid effort by its lobbyists, DCI Associates.

DCI's filings with the Justice Department offer an unusual glimpse into
the efforts by the Rangoon junta. DCI lobbyists, featuring Charles
Francis, a longtime family friend of the Bushes, ran a sophisticated
campaign to improve the regime's image -- and steer the conversation away
from its rampant human rights abuses and such.

Francis, a prominent Republican, even set up two meetings with White House
National Security Council Southeast Asia director Karen B. Brooks -- an
unusual feat given that Burma is under U.S. sanctions and its top
officials are barred from coming here -- to tout Burma's cooperation on
anti-drug, HIV/AIDs and anti-terrorism efforts and in finding the remains
of U.S. soldiers from World War II.

Francis, along with Barry M. Broman, a retired U.S. government employee
who was stationed in Rangoon, lobbied lawmakers and staff on the Hill,
including Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.), as well
as Defense Department officials and think-tankers such as former U.N.
ambassador Jeane J. Kirkpatrick.

The campaign was on the verge of success -- the State Department was about
to certify the regime -- but the administration backed off amid pressure
from the Hill, human rights groups and the media.

DCI's work for Burma, which was to last a year, ended shortly after the
debacle. So the Burmese, who paid DCI $340,000 for eight months of work,
are looking for another PR/lobby firm.