BurmaNet News: May 12 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

May 12 2003 Issue #2234

INSIDE BURMA

DVB: Government spokesman admits preventing supporters from welcoming Suu Kyi
Kaladan: A young girl raped by police
NYT: Burmese women are reporting systematic rapes by military
Xinhua: More malaria-prone areas found in Myanmar
AFP: Tourist tower at historic Myanmar site throws preservation into question

DRUGS

Narinjara: Bangladesh: the new passage [of] drugs from Golden Triangle

GUNS

Pak Tribune: India actively exporting arms to Burma

ON THE BORDER

Narinjara: Anti-repatriation leaflets in the Burmese refugee camps
NMG: Rainstorm crashes 300 refugee huts, 5 injured in Karen refugee camp

REGIONAL

Straits Times: Thailand keen on economic hub with neighbors: Summit soon
with Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia
Myanmar Times: Japanese PM reiterates assistance offer
Xinhua: South Korean maritime vessel visits Myanmar

INTERNATIONAL

Mizzima: Burmese deported from Germany

EDITORIALS/STATEMENTS

WSJ: Burma shows UN’s failure
SCMP: Aung San Suu Kyi is Myanmar’s only hope for democracy, but the
generals refuse to budge

INSIDE BURMA

Democratic Voice of Burma May 10 2003

Government spokesman admits preventing supporters from welcoming Suu Kyi

The SPDC Peace and Development Council has admitted today that it has been
preventing supporters from welcoming Burma's democracy leader Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi on her political trip to the Kachin State.

Brig-Gen Than Tun, an SPDC spokesman, admitted to news correspondents
today that for the sake of security and stability they have told the
supporters to refrain from coming out in large numbers and shouting and
carrying posters to welcome her to town. Brig-Gen Than Tun claimed just as
the SPDC would not hinder Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's freedom to travel, the
people are also not prevented from welcoming her in front of NLD National
League for Democracy offices.

Political observers were intrigued by the SPDC's actions. They also viewed
this as the first time the SPDC has admitted that they have harassed and
hindered Daw Aung San Suu Kyi during her political trips.
__________

Kaladan Press May 12 2003

A YOUNG GIRL RAPED BY POLICE

Buthidaung, May12: A girl was gang raped by police while she was returning
to her home after visiting her relatives at Rathedaung township on 19th
April 2003, according to our correspondent The victim Rohima Khatun, 23,
daughter of Momtaz Meah, accompanied by her maternal uncle Moniruz Zaman,
62, son of Khalasan of Yaung Chaung village of Buthidaung Township, in
Arakan was going to her home on foot after visiting her relatives at Razar
Bill village of Rathedaung Township on the said day, he further added.

When they reached at a bushy place near Khadir Para village of Buthidaung
township, they met with a team of three policemen from Tuor Para police
camp, which was in search of some culprits. Two of the policemen separated
Moniruz Zaman from his nice by taking him away to a nearby jungle and
fasten him with a rope to a tree. Meanwhile, the other policeman took her
to an isolated place and forcibly raped her. Later, the two other
policemen came and also raped her in turn, sources said. After that
Moniruz Zaman was unfasten. But the police took signatures, on a white
blank paper, from both of them and threatened with dire consequences if
they complained against them, sources further added. They, however,
continued their journey disappointedly and reached home, Yaung Chaung
village, at about 4:00 pm. The day following the rape, the victim along
with her uncle and the Village Peace and Developing Council (VPDC)
Chairman of Yaung Chaung Village went to the officer of Military
Intelligence (MI-18) and apprised him the whole matter, who called the
police rapists to the office of MI-18 on April 20, 2003. But the culprits
were failed to appear on that day so it was deferred to a later date on
26th April for a settlement, sources said to our correspondent.
______________

New York Times May 12 2003

Burmese Women Are Reporting Systematic Rapes by Military
By SETH MYDANS

BANGKOK, May 11 — Women from the Shan minority and other ethnic minority
groups in northeastern Myanmar are telling stories of rapes by the
military that are sometimes characterized by sadism and that human rights
groups say appear to be authorized and systematic.
The State Department investigated the reports, which it called
"appalling," and said it found them credible.
The military government of the former Burma has denied that rape is
tolerated, asserting that any perpetrators are harshly punished, and
calling the reports fabrications by domestic and foreign enemies of their
government.
"Isolated rape cases may have happened in certain areas, as is happening
in many other countries around the world," the Myanmar government said in
a statement last month. "But `systematically using rape as a weapon of
war' is just too ridiculous."
The minister for labor, U Tin Win, said, "Severe punishment is always
handed down to any member of the armed forces who rape women, be they
officers or other ranks or privates.
"The Myanmar society upholds very high standards of decency and culture
under the all-encompassing fold of Buddhist teachings," he said.
However, the reports have been supported by widespread and consistent
descriptions given by victims and witnesses, including members of separate
ethnic groups.
The government must contend with three separate and mutually corroborating
reports — the initial collection of accounts by a Shan human rights group
a year ago, an unusual follow-up investigation by the State Department and
most recently a report by an independent human rights group.
"Women are raped during forced labor assignments, they are raped while
farming, they are raped in their own homes and raped also when they are
trying to flee to Thailand," said Veronika Martin, an author of the most
recent study, by the human rights group Refugees International, based in
Washington.
That report, released last month, made the point that the allegations came
from a range of ethnic groups and that the rapes — sometimes conducted on
military property by high-ranking officers — appeared to be officially
sanctioned.
It documented accounts of 43 rapes among women from the Karen, Karenni,
Mon, and Tavoyan groups as well as the Shans. It said 75 percent of the
women interviewed reported knowing someone who had been raped.
"Aside from the fact that rapes are happening across ethnic boundaries,
our report also showed that rape is happening on a widespread basis and is
not the result of rogue groups or occasional unruly soldiers," Ms. Martin
said.
Because military units are often stationed near villages for long periods
and use local people as forced laborers, the report said, three-fourths of
the women interviewed were able to identify their attackers by their
battalion number.
The initial allegations were made last year by the Shan Women's Action
Network, a private human rights group based on the Thai-Myanmar border,
which described rape as a systematic weapon of war.
Its report said it had documented 173 incidents of rape or sexual violence
against 625 women and girls committed by soldiers from 52 military
battalions between 1992 and 2001.
It alleged that 25 percent of the rapes resulted in death and that 83
percent were committed by officers.
In December, the State Department issued a statement saying that it was
"appalled by the reports" and that its own interviews in three separate
locations appeared to confirm them.
It said its investigators had talked to 12 women who said they had been
gang raped by Burmese soldiers during the past five years.
"All of the victims under 15 appeared severely traumatized by their
experiences, were disturbed mentally and spoke in whispers, if at all,"
the State Department said. "The older women sobbed violently as they
recalled horrific incidents of their own rapes, as well as brutal rapes,
torture and execution of family members."
The Refugees International report included graphic accounts by a number of
women.
One, named Thay Yu, said she had witnessed the rape of a woman who was
heading for the Thai border with her family, like tens of thousands of
other refugees who have fled war, forced relocations and military abuses
over the years.
The woman's husband was forced to watch as she was raped, sexually
mutilated and killed, according to this account. The soldiers then killed
him as well.
_________________

Xinhua News Agency May 12 2003

More malaria-prone areas found in Myanmar

More malaria-prone areas have been found in Magway division in central
Myanmar during the past year, the local Myanmar Times reported Monday.

Quoting sources at the Malaria Control Program of the Myanmar Ministry of
Health, the report said new breeding areas for mosquito, which carry the
malaria parasite, have been detected along three waterways in the
division.

Myanmar has stepped up its fight against malaria, one of the top three
diseases in the country in terms of fatalities.

In collaboration with the World Health Organization and the UN Children's
Fund, the Myanmar's Health Ministry has so far provided 80,000
insecticide-treated mosquito nets for people living in high-risk areas in
the country.

About 80 percent of Myanmar's population live in malaria-prone areas.

Official figures show that there has been a significant decline in
Myanmar's mortality rate since 1996. In 2001, 1.2 percent of its
population contracted malaria and the disease accounted for about six
deaths in every 100,000 people.
_____________

Agence France Presse May 12 2003

Tourist tower at historic Myanmar site throws preservation into question

The awe-inspiring temples and stupas of Myanmar's ancient city Pagan are
to be joined by a 60-meter high viewing tower that could help boost
tourism revenue, but the plans are rekindling concern over commitment to
cultural heritage preservation.

The spectacular collection of thousands of 11th and 12th century Buddhist
monuments, covering some 40 square kilometers in remote central Myanmar,
is rivaled only by Cambodia's Angkor Wat complex as mainland Southeast
Asia's finest example of ancient archaeology and cultural heritage.

But the military government's plans to erect the tower, from where paying
tourists will be granted a bird's eye view, have alarmed preservationists
at UNESCO, the United Nations cultural body, an outraged other critics.

"We are definitely concerned about any plans to develop any kinds of new
infrastructure within a protected area, or impacting on the protected
area's buffer zone," Richard Engelhardt, UNESCO's Bangkok-based advisor
for culture in Asia and the Pacific, told AFP recently.

A report in the state-run New Light of Myanmar last month said the
Nanmyint Tower would be built near a golf course "in Bagan ancient
cultural region".

The report carried mock-up photos of a 20-story cylindrical metallic
tower. It would take a year to erect, it said.

Myanmar's leader, Senior General Than Shwe, made a visit to the site and
inspected the plans, virtually assuring the project has the firm support
of the military junta.

UNESCO's backing would be more complex. For decades the UN body has
assisted in restoration work in Pagan, and for the past few years it has
quietly liaised with Myanmar over eventual listing of Pagan as the
country's first World Heritage site.

But key steps must be taken by the government first, including Yangon's
provision of copies of national heritage legislation.

"What we're awaiting is not particularly controversial but we are waiting
to receive these from the Myanmar government and when they are received,
the nomination process will be picked up again," Engelhardt said.

The tower would not just be a representation of the growing tourist
designs which the government has on Pagan; it throws into question the
very nature of how the ancient city should be preserved.

"We are concerned that there becomes a confusion between heritage
conservation of an ancient site ... and recreational tourism," he said.

Though built by a succession of Burmese kings, there are few if any
trappings of royalty in Pagan. But critics say the name of the proposed
tower (Nanmyint means "high palace") hints at a shift from reverence to
pretension.

"Pagan is an expression of humility by former kings and not a symbol of
power," one Myanmar historian said, asking not to be named.

"The conceived royal tower would therefore be quite incongruous in that
setting and stick out like a sore thumb," he added. "We want very much for
Pagan to be preserved in its pristine form."

One diplomat described the plans to erect the tourist tower as "crazy."

"The beauty of Pagan will be disfigured," said the diplomat. "It is a
crime. It is reminiscent of what happened to the Buddhas in Bamiyan and
the looting in the Baghdad museum," he said, referring to giant statues
destroyed by the Afghan former Taliban regime.

Whether the viewing tower would have to be scrapped for the site to earn a
UNESCO listing is unclear, but Engelhardt, who is familiar with the
tower's proposed location, is not happy.

"Normally the construction of a large new structure inside an
archaeological site is something that we would not endorse."

UNESCO's blessing could be key for Pagan, as tourism revenues at World
Heritage sites are often heavily boosted by such international
recognition.

One source close to the process says Yangon is holding back on Pagan's
World Heritage process.

"I think they are really in a fierce debate over what to do with Pagan,
whether it's exploitation or educational conservation, and they think
they'd better do that internally rather than open it up to public
scrutiny," said the source.

Pagan is one of Myanmar's biggest money-spinners. Officials say over
70,000 foreign tourists visited Pagan last fiscal year, spending 750,000
dollars in entrance fees, an increase of some 40 percent over the previous
year.

Total tourist revenues for Pagan have not been released.

The area some 400 kilometres (248 miles) north of Yangon is a must stop on
many visitors' itineraries, but travel agents in the capital expressed
frustration with the latest plans.

"Everybody seems to feel that it was not a very good idea," said one tour
guide, adding that there is disappointment that authorities have not
cooperated with UNESCO.

DRUGS

Narinjara May 12 2003

Bangladesh: the new passage to Drugs from Golden Triangle

Dhaka, 12 May 03:  The porous border of Bangladesh is a challenge for the
Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) since there is a marked increase in
drug users and peddlers all over the country in recent years.  In Cox’s
Bazaar, a border town in the southeastern part, close to the border with
Burma, a large number of youths could be found who deal and use narcotics
including heroin.

One official of DNC said to the Independent, “We don’t have any specific
figure of the addicts but the number is huge.  We only have an official
statistics about Injecting Drug Users (IDU), which is 3,000, but the
actual number would be close to 20,000.   IDUs are mostly responsible for
spreading diseases like HIV/AIDS.”

Opium and its various derivatives including heroin is basically produced
in the Golden Triangle formed by the borders of Thailand, Laos and Burma. 
While the drug trade is facing a serious setback in Thailand because of an
all-out campaign to free the country from the scourges of drugs, the
producers and smugglers are increasingly using their elusive techniques of
diverting the route for the transit of their produce through Bangladesh.

According to the monitoring report of DNC the volume of drug trafficking
began to rise since 1995 and its consumption picked up the race, too.  An
official on condition of anonymity told the Independent that nearly
seventy percent of the opium produced in the golden triangle is smuggled
through Bangladesh.  The traffickers with the clandestine link with
officials of different agencies involved in drug control carry out the
trade beyond the reach of the hand of the law.

Director of the DNC also said that considering the worsening situation the
government (of Bangladesh) has decided to include drug as a subject in the
curriculum at the primary school level.  An awareness drive might also
help to check the growing number of drug addicts.  He also added that his
department is shorthanded and has little logistic support to fight drug
trafficking.

Bangladesh has a long porous coastline stretching from Chittagong to
Teknaf on the Burmese border through which a huge traffic in smuggled
goods is an open secret.  The possibility of drug transit through this
coastline cannot be ruled out, said a veteran journalist.

GUNS

Pak Tribune May 12 2003

India actively exporting arms to Burma
NEW DELHI, May 12 (Online): In a clear sign of a growing strategic
interest in southeast Asia, India is now actively exporting arms to Burma.
According to sources, this includes the transfer of 80 Indian made
mountain guns to the Burmese military junta earlier this year.
The Indian Ministry of Defence has confirmed to NDTV that exporting
weaponry to Burma is part of a strategy to establish closer links with
Burma's military regime in order to counter the growing Chinese influence
in the region.
In February 2001, India's former foreign minister Jaswant Singh
kick-started what was seen as a new friendship with the Burmese
government.
On that visit to Rangoon, India invested heavily - inaugurating a Rs. 121
crore highway between the two countries besides looking into
hydro-electricity and other infrastructure projects.
Two years later, the government has confirmed that the sale of weaponry is
an essential element of the evolving relationship.
In a statement to NDTV, the Ministry of Defence said, "As part of the
government policy of export promotion and development, India is inclined
to export arms to countries, including Burma."
This has included the sale of up to eighty 75 mm mountain guns that were
transferred from Binaguri in West Bengal earlier this year, in addition to
small arms and ammunition.
India condemns technological curbs
Alleging that countries in the neighbourhood guilty of missile and nuclear
proliferation had not attracted sanctions, Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee on Sunday asserted India had to depend on in-house technology to
develop major defence and dual-use items whose potential had been
graphically demonstrated in recent wars.
"Some (guilty countries) even continue to receive liberal economic
assistance," he was quoted as saying by PTI in an apparent reference to
Pakistan and China.
This, he said, was in sharp contrast to India, which had strictly
exercised a self-imposed restraint on transfer of nuclear, missile and
dual-use technologies and material.
"We have denied ourselves many lucrative contracts and joint ventures. We
have never received any recognition for this," Vajpayee told the country's
top defence scientists after presenting the annual Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO) awards on the National Technology Day,
marking the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests.
While lauding the achievements like development of 700-km-range
nuclear-capable Agni-I missile, supersonic Brahmos cruise missile and
Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, the Prime Minister warned that the nation had
to realise that these technological breakthroughs could be short-lived
unless newer capacities were constantly developed in cutting-edge
technologies.
"There can be no respite. War fighting technologies are constantly being
upgraded. Recent military conflicts in our neighbourhood have graphically
demonstrated this. They underline the importance of overwhelming
technological superiority over an adversary. Technological innovation is a
continuing imperative," he said.
He further said, "until a more equitable and free technology regime is
adopted by the world, we will have to depend on indigenous technology
development for major defence and dual-use items."
Referring to the Pokhran nuclear tests five years ago, Vajpayee said "it
was a difficult political decision in response to the harsh realities of
our security environment.
"Our tests were also a major technological achievement in the face of
stringent sanctions and technology import restrictions," he said,
reminding that sanctions against India did not begin with the 1998 nuclear
tests and were first imposed after the 1974 tests even though India was
not party to the discriminatory non-proliferation treaty.

ON THE BORDER

Narinjara News May 11 2003


Anti-repatriation Leaflets in the Burmese Refugee Camps

Members of the anti-repatriation group of Burmese refugees in one of the
refugee camps in Cox’s Bazaar in the southern part of Bangladesh have
taken a tough stand face to face with the administration, according to a
source in the camp at Kutupalong in the district.

While distributing anti-repatriation leaflets a member of the group,
Ibrahim, was arrested and interrogated last Wednesday.   He was later
snatched away by the anti-repatriation group members who attacked the
magistrate, police and paramilitary Ansars stationed in the Burmese
refugee camp.  Four persons including the magistrate were hurt in the
fight.

In recent months the camp has gone out of control of the law enforcement
agencies, resulting in a state of despair, the source said.  In recent
weeks the UNHCR and the government of Bangladesh have been compiling the
list of names and permanent addresses of the 21,000 Burmese refugees and
collecting affidavit of all the refugees willing to get repatriated to
their own homes in Burma.  The affidavit was executed on nonjudicial
stamps valued at taka 100 and 50, one part of which would be used by the
government of Bangladesh and the other part by the Burmese side.

Though a state of calm pervades at present the situation may go out of
control any moment, an elder of the camp expressed his concern.
____________

Network Media Group May 9 2003

Rainstorm crashes 300 refugee huts, 5 injured in Karen Refugee Camp

A powerful storm followed by heavy rain crashed over three hundred huts
and wounded five people including one infant in Mae-Khong-Khar Karen
refugee camp near Maesarian in North-West Thailand on Thai-Burma border on
the evening of May 8.

The rainstorm started after 9 pm on May 8 in the refugee camp that
destroyed almost 300 homes including the residence of Head of the Camp as
the storm smashed the trees and houses recklessly.

“Because, due to the storm our houses were collapsed all the furniture,
kitchen utensils almost all are in ruin. As the wind is so reckless, some
trees were wrecked and some of these wreckages smashed again to our
houses. As far as I know we lost not less than 300 homes” said Naw Khay
(alias) A-Moe-Gyi, former secretary of Camp Committee who just came out
from refugee camp.

“Among total 13 wards in that refugee camp, almost five wards including
No. 9, 10 and 11-B were victims of this rainstorm” she added.

An emergency rescue committee was formed by Mae Khong Khae Camp
authorities in order to take care of double-burden peoples at that refugee
camp. Karen Rescue committee (KRC) and Burma Border Consortium(BBC) teams
also rushed in the storm-effected area this morning.

However, vice president of Refugee Camp authority Naw Shae Maree said that
there is no need to worry for the lives of casualties.

In the last winter on September 2, 2002, this camp was also been a victim
of mountain torrent that caused thirty deaths, many casualties and some
lost their homes.

REGIONAL

Straits Times May 12 2003

Thailand keen on economic hub with neighbours;
Summit soon with Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia
By Nirmal Ghosh

BANGKOK - Thailand hopes to use a summit with Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos
to steam ahead with plans to develop the border area into an economic
catalyst and hub for the region.

Officials are working on the agenda for the summit - which was mooted at a
meeting between Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his Cambodian
counterpart Hun Sen during the Asean Sars summit in Bangkok on April 29
this year.

The summit is expected to take place within three months.

Thai officials are likely to use the opportunity to secure commitments
from neighbouring countries to a slew of plans that will require
cross-border cooperation.

Issues that may be on the agenda are border trade, the formation of
special economic zones and the development of a tourism network.

Thailand is ready to extend technical aid and develop basic infrastructure
to spur investment and trade, according to reports quoting National
Economic and Social Development Board deputy secretary-general Pornchai
Rujiprapa.

He said the country would need to invest about 6.7 billion baht (S$274
million) in the next five years to develop the necessary infrastructure.

Thai officials are looking at ways to exploit potential synergy in border
areas.

Economic zones near the border at Mae Sot, Mae Sai and Chiang Rai in
Thailand, for instance, will be able to absorb workers from Myanmar and
benefit from being close to natural resources used in industries such as
value-added agricultural products.

Thailand can help Myanmar grow cash crops in border areas in order to feed
units in the economic zones.

Koh Kong and Poipet in Cambodia can have similar economic zones too,
officials say.

Developing closer economic ties with these three neighbours dovetails with
Bangkok's plans to turn the northern city of Chiang Mai into an
international aviation hub.

Meanwhile, Thai officials say plans to establish a highway link from
Kanchanburi through Myanmar to India's north-east are on track.

This road will release trading potential for north-eastern India, northern
Thailand and the hinterlands of countries such as Laos and Cambodia.

These efforts mirror the administration's foreign policy.

Under Mr Thaksin, Thai foreign policy has been undergoing a change to
'forward engagement', characterised by a hard-nosed style driven by
economic imperatives.

Thailand is seen as a potential leader in the immediate region and perhaps
even in Asean because after Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and
Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, Mr Thaksin is the most senior
incumbent Asean leader.

Speaking on foreign policy last March, Mr Thaksin said: 'The East-West
Economic Corridor, stretching through India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and
Vietnam, will help integrate the Mekong sub-region with the Indian
sub-continent.

'These 'roads of opportunities' will be the basis in opening up
trade...and stimulating tourism across the region.

'Sub-regional linkages will contribute to the narrowing of the development
gap between the old and new members of Asean, the latter being Cambodia,
Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

'Thailand is conscious of bridging the development gap within Asean.'
__________

Myanmar Times May 12 2003

Japanese Prime Minister reiterates assistance offer

THE Japanese Prime Minister, Mr Junichiro Koizumi, has reiterated Tokyo’s
desire to help Myanmar in its process of political and economic
development, a Japanese media source said last week.

Mr Koizumi made the pledge in a letter to the Chairman of the State Peace
and Development Council, Senior General Than Shwe, the source told Myanmar
Times.

The letter was handed over to Senior General Than Shwe by a former
Japanese prime minister, Mr Yoshio Mori, during a meeting at the Pyithu
Hluttaw (parliament house) on April 30.

The 90-minute meeting focused on the political and economic development
plans in Myanmar, the source said, quoting a Japanese official who
attended the meeting.

The meeting between Senior General Than Shwe and Mr Mori was “very
cordial”, the source said.
Senior General Than Shwe hosted a dinner in honour of Mr Mori at the
Pyithu Hluttaw after the meeting, which was also attended by the SPDC’s
Vice Chairman, Vice Senior General Maung Aye, and its Secretary 1, General
Khin Nyunt.

Mr Mori arrived in Yangon on April 29 for a three-day visit arranged by
two Japanese non-government organisations, the Nippon Foundation and the
Sasakawa Peace Foundation, which fund a number of health and community
development projects in Myanmar.

Mr Mori held separate meetings with General Khin Nyunt, and the Foreign
Minister, U Win Aung, on April 30, when he also visited the Drugs
Elimination Museum in Kamaryut township and a Japanese school in Dagon
township.

The former Japanese prime minister was accompanied by 11-member
delegation, which included officials from the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo.

Before leaving Yangon on May 1, Mr Mori visited the Shwedagon Pagoda as
well as Japanese war graves at a cemetery at Yayway in Mingaladon
Township.

Mr Mori was prime minister for a year from April 2000.

He is the second former Japanese prime minister to visit Myanmar this year
after Mr Tsutomu Hata, who was in Yangon in February. Mr Hata was prime
minister in the early 1990s.
___________

Xinhua News Agency May 12 2003

South Korean maritime vessel visits Myanmar

A maritime training vessel of the Republic of Korea (ROK) began calling at
the Yangon Port of Myanmar on Sunday, aimed at enhancing bilateral
relations between the two countries.

According to the ROK embassy here on Monday, the Hannara ship, carrying
128 officers and crew members, is operated by the Korean Maritime
University (KMU).

The goodwill visit of the South Korean vessel is being paid under a
memorandum of understanding signed between KMU and its Myanmar counterpart
in February this year to cooperate in maritime training, the sources said.

In April 2001, a fleet of Pakistani naval vessels, comprising a submarine,
a destroyer and a tanker, visited the Myanmar port, the first time in
several decades that a foreign naval fleet was permitted to visit the
country.

Later in December 2002, a fleet of Indian naval vessels, made up of a
submarine and two destroyers, made similar call at another port in Yangon,
the Thilawa.

INTERNATIONAL

Mizzima May 11 2003

The Burmese asylum seekers in Germany are in a state of alarm after the
German government repatriated a Burmese asylum seeker to Rangoon this
week. Ko Maung (real name withheld), around 30 years old, was forcefully
deported to Burma (now known as Myanmar) on May 6 after his application
for refugee status was rejected by a High Court in Germany. He had applied
for refugee status after he landed in Germany last year. Before he was
suddenly deported, Ko Maung survived by working in a restaurant in
Germany.

Although his fate at the hands of Burmese military authorities in Rangoon
is not known yet, the Burmese refugee community in Germany feared that he
may face imprisonment in Burma.

Sensing the growing insensitivity of the German government’s policy
towards refugees and immigrants, the Burmese political asylum seekers in
Germany are worried that they may be the next victims.

Sources from informed Burmese community in Germany said that this is not
the first time Burmese refugees are repatriated. Last year, in separate
incidents, two Burmese asylum seekers were sent back home directly from
Frankfurt International Airport, and one of them reportedly ended up in
jail. The sources revealed that for four months after his arrival back
home he was not taken any action by the Burmese junta. However, after that
he was arrested by the Military Intelligence and eventually sentenced to
ten years prison term.

At present, there are around 600 Burmese residing in Germany. They include
refugee-status holders, political asylum seekers and Burmese passport
holders.

Several western countries including USA, Canada, Australia, Netherlands
and Scandinavian countries have accepted hundreds to thousands of Burmese
refugees in their countries since after the military crackdown on peaceful
democracy uprising in Burma in September 1988.

EDITORIALS

Wall Street Journal May 12 2003

Burma Shows U.N.'s Failure
By TIN MAUNG THAN

Let me put it bluntly: The United Nations is hopeless in dealing with
dictators. As a Burmese, I know this first-hand because I've seen the U.N.
sit by and do virtually nothing to help free my people from the oppression
of the military junta. That's why I wasn't the least bit surprised to see
the U.N. fail to deal with another dictator, leaving it to U.S.-led
coalition forces to take on the task of overthrowing Saddam Hussein. For
over a decade, the U.N. adopted numerous resolutions urging the Burmese
military junta to honor the results of the 1990 elections, to respect
human rights, to free all political prisoners and to launch a dialogue
with the National League for Democracy and members of ethnic groups.
Nothing happened. The NLD, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won 82% of 
parliamentary seats in the 1990 polls. But instead, a few years later, the
State Law and Order Restoration Council convened the National Convention
and filled 85% of the seats in the body with its own appointees.  It would
take three years after the U.S. and EU imposed limited sanctions on Burma
for the generals to finally accept U.N. Special Envoy Razali Ismail as a
mediator between them and Ms. Suu Kyi. In May 2002, after releasing Ms.
Suu Kyi from house arrest, the junta declared that Burma had entered "new
pages of history." Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, the military intelligence chief
and secretary of the junta, promised Mr. Razali a dialogue with Ms. Suu
Kyi would happen. The world thought a political breakthrough was imminent.
But a year later, we have had nothing.  In an interview in November with
Malaysiakini, the Malaysian Internet news service, Mr. Razali puzzled over
why the junta broke its promise. He mused that, though the generals did
not give him an exact timetable on which they would start talks with Ms.
Suu Kyi, they had said dialogue would begin "very soon." Mr. Razali said
that in his understanding "very soon would be like a couple of weeks or
three to four weeks." So why nothing? The fact is that the military
dictators treat the U.N. with contempt.  By contrast, even as they were
snubbing the U.N., Burma's rulers were busy seeking a dialogue with the
U.S. Why? Because they knew they had to watch their step with the
Americans. Especially when Lorne Craner, the U.S. assistant secretary of
state for human rights, democracy and labor, had warned that: "Our
patience for positive change is beginning to run out and we, along with
the U.K. and others, are considering all options, including further
sanction." A week after those remarks were made in February, the junta
issued a statement urging the U.S. to enter into a "constructive dialogue
toward humanitarian, economic and political development in Myanmar" and
welcomed "American advice on making the transition to a stable democracy."
Quite likely, Burma had noticed the American forces that had by then
massed on Iraq's border. For although the generals may shrug off the U.N.,
but they dare not ignore the United States' muscle, military or economic.
      The U.S. already imposes on Burma an investment ban, travel
restrictions on junta members and an arms embargo. Further sanctions
were expected after Mr. Craner's remarks. And the generals
understood that the United States means what it says. In that is a
lesson for all: Those who stand firm against dictators get treated
with respect. That's why Burma's rulers are afraid of the U.S., but
not the United Nations.
      U Thant, the late Burmese secretary-general of the United Nations,
saw the   world divided between civilized nations and uncivilized
regimes, not between East and West. His view is as relevant today as
when he ran the world body. But the experience of Burma, which has
endured brutal military dictators for 40 years, leads me to believe
that we need to expand on U Thant's understanding. Although we
cannot ignore the uncivilized world, we must speak to it in a
language it can understand. Unfortunately, that language is force,
which is necessary if civilization is to triumph against tyranny and
terrorism. As the United States has shown it understands, and
rightly, sometimes must overcome barbarity with war. Although war
can be the shame of humanity, war dedicated to humanity is not. On
the other hand, a peace that provides no space for democracy is a
sham; in war some innocent people may die, but peace under a
dictatorship represses all. The need for war results from the
failure of existing rules of international diplomacy and a dated
understanding of the concept of sovereignty. This lies at the heart
of the problem for international relations. The U.N. and others
often refrain from action because of their understanding of
sovereignty. Yet if after the Cold War the United States and Europe
had been less particular about sovereignty and poured all their
effort into a global agenda against tyranny, Saddam Hussein or Kim
Jong Il might have been removed sooner.
      What we need is a new order to achieve sustainable peace by
empowering people and their institutions through a new set of
international rules that refuses to recognize that tyrants have
sovereignty over the land and people they terrorize. The U.N. and
all it symbolizes has been shown to be inadequate to the task, as
Burmese can testify. We need a world body willing to take action,
one that is less particular about concepts like sovereignty when it
comes to tyrannical regimes and one that is willing to act as
forcefully in a multilateral manner as the U.S. has done
unilaterally.
      Maybe then my people can be free.

Mr. Tin is the former editor of Thint Bawa magazine, which was shut down
in 2000 by the military in Burma. He is an editorial consultant for Radio
Free Asia (Burmese Services) in Washington, D.C. and for the Democratic
Voice of Burma, which broadcasts out of Norway.
______________

South China Morning Post.
May 11, 2003.

Aung San Suu Kyi is Myanmar's only hope for democracy, but the generals
refuse to budge
By SNM Abdi

MENTION AUNG SAN SUU KYI in the lobby of a five-star hotel in Yangon, or
in a humble roadside teashop, and the conversation immediately stops. The
locals look nervously over their shoulders, lower their voices and then
praise her.

"She is our only hope. But the generals are standing between her and us,"
said a young teacher dressed in a wraparound skirt and blouse as she
haggled over the price of chicken wings in the capital's bustling Scot
market. "We have waited for far too long and we still don't know when our
ordeal will come to an end."

For years Myanmar has yearned for a saviour, someone to deliver them from
human rights abuses, rampant corruption, a rapidly deteriorating economy,
galloping inflation, rising unemployment and the growing threat posed by
Aids, drugs and malaria.

Hopes soared in May last year when the military rulers suddenly freed the
charismatic 57-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner from house arrest. They
hinted at an early power-sharing compromise which would pave the way for
national elections and a democratic government in the impoverished country
of 50 million people.

But the generals have not yielded a centimetre since then. The government,
which refers to itself as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC),
has stubbornly refused to engage in any meaningful dialogue with the
democracy leader despite prodding from many quarters. Malaysian diplomat
Razali Ismail, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy to Myanmar,
has issued several reminders to the SPDC to start negotiations.

Diplomats, academics and political analysts in Yangon say that instead of
loosening its grip, the military government has in fact tightened its
control since releasing Ms Suu Kyi - a move which was then warmly welcomed
by the international community as a sign that the junta was finally ready
for long-awaited, sweeping political reform.

But today, like the ordinary people of Myanmar, seasoned observers and
advocates of civilian supremacy also lament that their hopes have been
badly crushed. Ms Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD)
party are still trapped in the political wilderness, and the much-hyped
national reconciliation talks between the generals and the NLD to usher in
multi-party democracy remain a distant dream.

To the outside world, Ms Suu Kyi symbolises Myanmar's fight for freedom
and democracy, but within her own country she is the invisible woman. Her
photograph does not appear in newspapers or magazines. State-run radio and
TV are forbidden to mention her name. Even in private conversation, her
name is uttered only in hushed tones.

"When I was released, it was agreed between the authorities and ourselves
that ... we should go on to a more advanced stage of our relationship. But
I do not think there has been any progress. In fact, I think there has
been some kind of regression", Ms Suu Kyi said angrily when asked to sum
up her thoughts just before the first anniversary of her release.

In another scathing attack last week on the ruthless generals who are
refusing to give up power, she said: "It is not power that corrupts, but
fear. Fear of losing power corrupts".

Ms Suu Kyi can now move around freely in the country. But she is followed
by hundreds of military men wherever she goes.

Above all, she is not allowed to address public meetings. She tried twice
to defy the curbs but on both occasions the authorities promptly used
loudspeakers to drown out her voice.

On another occasion, fire engines were deployed to scatter her flock. But
despite obstructions, she has undertaken seven trips outside the capital
since her release, and reopened nearly a 100 party offices, according to
her spokesman, L. Lwin. To celebrate one year of relative freedom, this
week she set off on a month-long political trip to the restive north,
accompanied by her vice-chairman, U Tin Oo, and 12 men from the party's
youth wing who serve as her personal security detail.

Analysts say that while Ms Suu Kyi is free to travel and reorganise the
NLD, the people of Myanmar are no nearer to exercising their right to
vote. But a government statement last Sunday claimed that the SPDC was
striving hard to "to move Myanmar closer to multi-party democracy and
national reconciliation", and cited the release of NLD detainees as proof
of its sincerity.

The statement also said that the government had no desire to suppress
political expression and wanted a "safe, sound and successful" democratic
transition. The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962, but in 1990, after
years of suppressing calls for change, it allowed elections. The NLD, led
by Ms Suu Kyi won the elections overwhelmingly, winning 392 out of 485
seats, including constituencies where the armed forces and their families
decided the outcome of the polls. But the military reneged on its
agreement to allow the winners to form a government and annulled the
results. The junta shoved Ms Suu Kyi aside, ignoring international calls
to hand over power to her.

Ms Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her commitment to
bring about non-violent change in Myanmar. But this international
recognition only made her seem more dangerous in the eyes of the ruling
generals. Her movement was severely restricted and thousands of NLD
members were jailed without trial. She was repeatedly put under house
arrest.

Her release last year after 20 months of confinement followed secret
parleys between SPDC and Mr Annan's special envoy. But there has been no
progress whatsoever since Mr Ismail secured her freedom of movement, and
patience is wearing thin, particularly among the country's youth.
According to a Yangon-based British diplomat, Senior General Than Shwe,
prime minister and chairman of the all-powerful SPDC, is the biggest
stumbling block to resolving the 13-year-old deadlock in Myanmar.

The diplomat said that the general, who is an expert in psychological
warfare, has categorically ruled out any talks with Ms Suu Kyi during his
lifetime. The junta's chief is even believed to have vetoed a proposal by
the military intelligence head, General Khin Nyunt, to remove the
roadblocks on either side of Ms Suu Kyi's sprawling villa at 54 University
Avenue in Yangon.

Interestingly, some specialists regard General Nyunt and SPDC
vice-chairman, Maung Ave as "liberals" in army uniform. Besides the top
triumvirate, the other key figures are Lieutenant-General Thura Shwe Mann
and Lieutenant-General Soe Win.

Brigadier Than Tun, who liaises with Ms Suu Kyi on behalf of the junta, is
known to enjoy General Shwe's confidence.

"As long as General Shwe is in command, there is no scope of a
breakthrough", the diplomat said. "Myanmar today is very much like
Zimbabwe - there is no hope as long as Robert Mugabe is around. There is
no chance of anything resembling democracy being established in Myanmar
during General Shwe's lifetime."

According to the diplomat, Ms Suu Kyi's freedom from house arrest and the
lifting of travel restrictions was a much-hyped "psychological game"
played by General Shwe to "con" the US and the West into accepting the
junta without insisting on real political reform.

Other diplomats said that the totalitarian SPDC had no intention of
transferring power to the NLD.

An Indian foreign service officer who was posted in Moscow before the
disintegration of the Soviet Union, and is now based in Yangon, said that
present-day Myanmar is far more repressive and oppressive than even
Stalinist Russia. Spies and informers abound in the police state.

Human intelligence is the forte of the dreaded secret service. All
embassies are closely monitored. An Australian diplomat had her telephone
line cut for a week because the military intelligence eavesdropped on her
conversations with a human rights group and did not like what they heard.

A regional specialist said that the military government was sitting pretty
despite being shunned by the west and subjected to economic sanctions.

The main sources of this comfort are China and India, which provide
virtually unqualified support to the junta, and the solidarity showed by
smaller neighbours like Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh. And,
mysteriously enough, the junta has excellent relations with North Korea,
Russia, Israel and Pakistan.

The junta's relationship with China is in a class by itself. Both
countries describe their friendship as "paukphaw", or fraternal - a form
of close brotherhood between equals. But Yangon has also perfected the
diplomatic art of playing off China against India, and vice-versa. It has
also used the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to its advantage,
particularly for strengthening trade and political ties with the European
Union.

Democratic India was a great champion of Ms Suu Kyi from 1987 to 1993.
India honoured her with the prestigious Nehru Peace Prize even before she
received the Nobel prize and the state-run All India Radio launched a
Burmese language service to help her campaign.

But India suddenly dumped her, citing its "national interests". Ms Suu
Kyi's passionate appeals not to desert her fell on deaf ears. India
justified its about-face on the grounds that it desperately needed
Myanmar's help to fight insurgent groups in the northeast and smash drug
cartels.

But India's real worry was Myanmar's growing military ties with China. It
sacrificed Ms Suu Kyi in order to snuggle closer to the generals in an
attempt to counter China's influence.

"It's a pity that the generals haven't learnt a lesson from the Chinese in
running the country", another diplomat said. "The Chinese Communist Party
used the army to stay in power but did not allow the armed forces to
administer the country. While China is governed very professionally by
bureaucrats and technocrats, all key ministerial and administrative
positions in Myanmar are held by army officers who know nothing about
governance. And hence the all-pervasive mess." According to the diplomatic
grapevine, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad gave his honest
opinion on the state of affairs in Myanmar, during a state visit to Yangon
last year.

"The management of your country is worse than the management of the worst
country in Africa", Mr Mahathir told General Shwe. Mr Mahathir, a known
supporter of the junta, apparently made the scathing remarks after a few
Malaysian investors close to him were ripped off by army commanders in
Myanmar. Sadly enough, the junta has deliberately kept Myanmar in the
early 20th century simply to hold on to power. An average Myanmar home
does not have a telephone, television or refrigerator. The communication
revolution seems to have bypassed the country - mobile telephones,
satellite dishes, cable TV and Internet surfing are only for the elite.
Passports are as rare as gold dust, and contact with the outside world is
limited to the foreigners, mostly Chinese traders.

The average monthly income of a professional worker - teacher, university
professor or government official - is still as low as 10,000 kyat (HK$78).

Analysts say that the generals' arrogance and disregard for democracy stem
from their 500,000-strong army - by far too big considering that the
economy is in a shambles and Myanmar has no external enemies to contend
with.

The junta was on a shopping spree last year, purchasing battle tanks,
armoured carriers, surface-to-air missiles and Soviet MiG fighters.
According to latest reports, it is eyeing submarines, and by its own
admission, has signed a deal with Russia for a nuclear reactor.

According to the Brussels-based think-tank, International Crisis Group,
Myanmar's armed forces continue to see themselves as the ultimate arbiters
of power in the country and the generals are terrified of the prospect of
any change. They ignore assurances by Ms Suu Kyi that the armed forces
will still have a "central role" in a civilian administration.

But perhaps they believe that Ms Suu Kyi is useful; while she is around,
refusing to consent to violence, an armed uprising, or people's revolt is
unlikely.