BurmaNet News: May 20 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

May 20 2003 Issue #2240

INSIDE BURMA

DVB: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and team at Bhamaw, Kachin State

MONEY

LA Times: Stockholders press Unocal on Myanmar

INTERNATIONAL

AP: UN envoy to Myanmar admits to frustration, but says reconciliation is
still possible

REGIONAL

Nation: Burma says yes to deal on repatriation
Nation: New bridge to link Mae Sai and Tachilek
Xinhua: Myanmar stresses importance of ASEAN transport cooperation
DPA: Myanmar, Bangladesh begin talks on curbing border crimes
Bangkok Post: Burma pledges cooperation on anti-drug and economic issues

STATEMENTS

Refugees International: Burma’s Rohingya: The fate of one forgotten
community in Bangladesh

INSIDE BURMA

Democratic Voice of Burma May 20 2003

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and team at Bhamaw, Kachin State

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and team have planned to raise the signboard for
Bhamaw Township NLD office today but it is not known whether they have
done so or not.

The NLD’s spokesman, U Lwin told the DVB that he was told only that they
have departed from Myikyina to Bhamaw. The team went to Waingmaw from
Myikyina yesterday for a day trip and opened the township’s NLD office and
returned to Myikyina. U Lwin told the DVB about yesterday’s event and the
activities of the team as follows:

U Lwin : They left for Waingmaw at 9am but I don’t know when they got
there. They raised the signboard and talked to the people who attended the
opening ceremony and they returned at 12.30pm. They rested for awhile and
went to the Confluence [Hmai Kha and Mali Kha Rivers] at about 2.30, 3pm.
They arrived back at Myikyina at 6pm. They rested for awhile and had
dinner at the home of the former chairman of a Kachin political party. He
was an elected representative. He died two years ago. His wife invited Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi to dinner. After dinner, they retired and left this
morning at 9 o’clock.

U Lwin also told the DVB how the team was harassed by mobilised members of
USDA [Kyant Phut] as follows:

U Lwin : At Waingmaw, as usual, about one hundred USDA people protested
against them. They were sitting with posters and banners in their hands
and shouting. The team had to go past them. These members also attended
the signboard raising ceremony.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the team also planned to go to Hlaingza, the town
under the control of the Kachin Independence Organisation [KIO] but they
had to turn back because the military authorities didn’t give them the
permission. The people of Hlaingza wore traditional national costume and
waited to welcome Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in the pouring rain. The KIO also
prepared for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to speak inside the Town Hall. A local
resident told the DVB about it as follows:

A Hlaingza resident : We really want to see Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. We want
to talk to her if we could. We want to hear her speech. We want to hear
her words of comforts, her future plans and the rest. The people here want
to see her and we have prepared the banners with welcoming words in both
Kachin and Burmese. We waited to welcome her. As for the KIO’s government,
it was told that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would come and give a speech at the
Town Hall. Students and pupils including us and old people and many people
here waited for her. It is raining very hard here. We have been waiting
for her in the rain. As we are unable to see her we are feeling very
empty. Our desire is – we want to chase after her.

The SPDC authorities summoned and warned the KIO leaders only yesterday
not to welcome Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and team, said another resident of
Hlaingza as follows:

Another Hlaingza resident : Yes. Yesterday, Sergeant Soe Nyunt of No.21,
Military Intelligence summoned Dr. Tuja, the General Secretary of DKO and
warned him not to welcome Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and team. That’s what I
have heard.

The reason for the military authorities not allowing Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
and team to meet the KIO could be to do with the worries of the present
military government, said a leader in Hlaingza as
follows:

A leader in Hlaingza : It all depends on the current military government.
I think they are very worried that she would be entering into our
territory. The whole country is supporting her. All the authorities and
top leaders of the opposition groups and the people are in Hlainza. I
think that Daw Suu would come to a place where there is no one who doesn’t
support her here.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and team will be rest at Bhamaw tonight.

MONEY

Los Angeles Times May 20 2003

Stockholders Press Unocal on Myanmar
By Elizabeth Douglass

A group of major pension funds Monday called on Unocal Corp. to reconsider
its role in a controversial pipeline project in Myanmar, saying it was
concerned that the El Segundo-based company's involvement there was a
financial liability and a drag on the stock price.

The group, led by New York State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi and joined by
California's treasurer and the state's two largest pension funds, released
a letter to Unocal management about the Myanmar project during the oil
company's annual shareholders meeting Monday in Brea.

In all, representatives from 10 investment funds owning more than 4.5
million Unocal shares, or 1.6% of the stock, signed the letter and
requested a meeting on the matter with Charles Williamson, Unocal's
chairman and chief executive. The 10 funds include the California Public
Employees' Retirement System and the California State Teachers' Retirement
System.

Unocal's role in Myanmar, previously known as Burma, has been dogged by
controversy for years. But until recently, the most vocal objections have
come from a determined band of human rights groups and Myanmar nationals,
who have held protests outside the company's shareholders meeting for
several years running.

A wide range of organizations, from the International Labor Organization
to the U.S. government, have accused the Myanmar government of human
rights abuses and using slave labor. Through it all, Unocal has maintained
that its investment in local schools and hospitals has benefited villagers
— and its commitment to the pipeline project has not wavered.

"We have no intention of leaving Burma because we believe in what we are
doing there," Williamson told shareholders Monday.

In its letter to Williamson, parts of which were read at the meeting
Monday, the investor group said: "We fear that Unocal's involvement in
Burma, in particular its business relationships with the Burmese military
regime, has contributed to the stock's decline in value and could further
depress the stock price due to the political and legal risks associated
with the joint venture."

In particular, the group cited Unocal's possible financial liability in
several pending cases accusing the company of looking the other way as
soldiers protecting a gas pipeline project allegedly dragooned residents
into forced labor and committed other human rights violations, including
murder and rape.

Much of the discussion Monday centered on the Myanmar project, but
shareholders also voted down shareholder proposals that would have split
the chairman and CEO posts and would have supported hiring an investment
banking firm to consider putting the company up for sale.

Unocal's stock price fell 29 cents to $28.81 Monday in New York Stock
Exchange trading.

INTERNATIONAL

Associated Press May 20 2003

U.N. envoy to Myanmar admits to frustration, but says reconciliation is
still possible
By JASBANT SINGH

The U.N. envoy credited with breaking the decades-old deadlock between
Myanmar's military rulers and pro-democracy opposition said Tuesday it was
a frustrating, lonely job and he will consider quitting at the end of the
year.

Until then, Razali Ismail said, he will push hard to advance
reconciliation between the junta and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
and encourage democratic reform in the country.

Razali, a veteran Malaysia diplomat who was appointed U.N. special envoy
in 2000, achieved a breakthrough soon afterward by brokering talks between
the junta and Suu Kyi's opposition.

The talks were followed by Suu Kyi's release from 19 months of home
detention and the freeing of hundreds of political prisoners.

But analysts and opposition leaders say reconciliation has foundered in
recent times and accuse the ruling generals of not being serious about
restoring democracy.

Razali confirmed Tuesday he would visit Myanmar again June 6-10 and said
he expects to hold talks separately with Suu Kyi and top Gen. Than Shwe.

He admitted the process had sometimes been frustrating for him, but said
he was committed to it.

"I see no reason why it should be only me that should be doing it," Razali
told The Associated Press. "Someone else could take over and continue
doing it.

"But I am going to do my damnedest to get this done in as quick a time as
possible," he said.

He declined to say if he would quit the job, saying "I will look at the
matter by the end of the year." He stressed that this was not meant as an
ultimatum.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been ruled by the military since 1962.
The current junta came to power in 1988, and has faced widespread
international criticism for ignoring democracy and human rights.

The military government held elections in 1990, but refused to hand over
power when Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won overwhelmingly.

The regime has freed some political prisoners since Suu Kyi's release more
than a year ago, but more than 1,200 others are believed to remain behind
bars, according to human rights groups.

Razali said he was confident reconciliation could still be achieved in
Myanmar, though "we have come up with some things, we've got to formulate
new ideas, new approaches."

Asked if he believed the junta was still committed to reconciliation,
Razali said: "The leaders are on record (as being) fully committed to make
the transition from authoritative government to civilian, democratic and
constitutional government. The United Nations continues to believe that
this is so."

He said the junta must be encouraged to take up the "norms and principles"
that govern other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
the 10-country regional trade grouping Myanmar joined in 1997.

"ASEAN is moving in the direction of ... dealing with people's
participation more and more, free markets - the same thing must happen to
all ASEN members," Razali said.

REGIONAL

Nation May 20 2003

Burma says yes to deal on repatriation

Burma and Thailand will soon sign an agreement on repatriation of illegal
Burmese workers, said Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai yesterday.

Surakiart said General Khin Nyunt, Secretary 1 of the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), had agreed to all the details of the draft
memorandum of understanding (MoU).

Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung would be signing the agreement, he said,
adding that the date for the signing had yet to be set.

Surakiart held bilateral talks yesterday with Khin Nyunt on another MoU
concerning the construction of a second Friendship Bridge over Mae Sai
River in Burma's Tachilek province.

The MoU for Burmese workers would facilitate the process of deportation of
illegal workers back to Burma.

The Burmese authorities would accept all illegal workers regardless of
ethnicity, he said. "We could directly send illegal Burmese workers to the
border without having to send their names [to the Burmese authorities] in
advance," he said. Surakiart said this was an important step in solving
the long-standing problem of illegal migrant workers between the
countries.

The influx of migrant workers was expected to persist, however, due to the
economic disparity between the countries.

Surakiart also said multilateral talks would be held between Thailand,
Burma, Laos and Cambodia to discuss a collective plan for economic
development.

"Only with economic cooperation with our neighbouring countries can
Thailand find a long-term and sustainable solution to the problem of
illegal workers," he said. He said Thailand would help create jobs in
Burma by promoting the cultivation of cash crops.
__________

Nation May 20 2003

New bridge to link Mae Sai and Tachilek

Thailand and Burma yesterday signed an agreement to build a second
"friendship bridge" across the Mae Sai River to facilitate trade and
tourism in the upper Mekong region.

Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai signed the pact with his Burmese
counterpart, Win Aung. Also on hand in the Burmese province of Tachilek,
opposite Chiang Rai's Mai Sai district, was Secretary No 1 of the State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC), Gen Khin Nyunt.

Surakiart said this bridge was a significant symbol of the strong
relationship between Thailand and Burma, especially at the
people-to-people level. It would facilitate the road linkage between the
two countries, increasing the efficient movement of goods and tourism
along the border and providing an access to southern China, he said.

An existing bridge across the Mae Sai proved too narrow to serve
increasing traffic. The new bridge will be located approximately 2.5
kilometres to the east.

Construction of the bridge is expected to be completed within six months.

Asked if the bridge might facilitate drug trafficking, Surakiart said drug
problems would continue to exist with or without it. He noted, though,
that Gen Khin Nyunt had vowed to give full cooperation to Thailand's drug
crackdown efforts.

Surakiart said the two countries would soon sign an agreement on the
repatriation of Burmese workers in Bangkok as Khin Nyunt had agreed to all
details of the draft accord.
_________

Xinhua New Agency May 20 2003

Myanmar stresses importance of ASEAN transport cooperation

Myanmar Transport Minister Major-General Hla Myint Swe Tuesday afternoon
stressed the importance of cooperation among member countries of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the transport sector.

Hla Myint Swe made the remarks here at the opening of the 15th ASEAN
Senior Transport Officials (STO) Meeting.

He noted that the outcomes from the 8th ASEAN Summit and the Hanoi Plan of
Action for the period of 1999-2004 have made the transport meetings at
ministerial and senior officials level as well as the working groups work
more closely for the implementation of tasks and responsibilities laid
down by these important events.

He called for working hand in hand to materialize these tasks to integrate
the ASEAN transport links and facilitation which he said will lead to the
promotion of trade, investment and tourism sectors in the ASEAN region.

He said he hoped that the present ASEAN STO meeting will pave the way for
the signing of the ASEAN Transport Cooperation Agreement in the
forthcoming 9th ASEAN Transport Ministers Meeting and 16th ASEAN STO
Meeting to be held in Myanmar.

He emphasized that the development in transport cooperation with ASEAN
dialogue partners --China, Japan, South Korea and India --at present will
play a vital role in the implementation of infrastructure development
projects, institution and capacity building measures and human resources
development needs of the sector leading to sustainable economic
development of the region.

He warned of some negative impact on the transport, trade and tourism
sectors in the ASEAN region due to the present global situation.

He urged the ASEAN member states to strive with strong will and
determination to overcome whatever the situation arises in the region.

The four-day ASEAN STO Meeting is being attended by representatives from
10 Southeast Asian nations and the ASEAN Secretariat.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
___________

Deutsche Presse Agentur May 20 2003

Myanmar, Bangladesh begin talks on curbing border crimes

Myanmar (Burma) and Bangladesh began border talks in Dhaka Tuesday in an
attempt to reach a bilateral accord on a joint campaign against
cross-border crimes, diplomatic sources said.

The three-day talks between the senior officials of the two neighbouring
nations are expected to draw up common plans to curb smuggling, illegal
migration and piracy in the Bay of Bengal.

A Bangladeshi government spokesman said the talks, the first in 10 years,
also aimed to settle disputes between the two countries over fishing
rights in the Bay.

Myanmar is being represented at the talks by U Maung Htay, Director
General of immigration in Yangon (Rangoon) and Bangladesh by Major General
Mohammad Jahangir Alam CHowdhury, chief of the Bangladeshi border guards.
________________

Bangkok Post May 20 2003

BURMA PLEDGES COOPERATION ON ANTI-DRUG AND ECONOMIC ISSUES
By Achara Ashayagachat Subin Kheunkaew

A key Burmese general yesterday pledged full cooperation with Thailand in
drug suppression and economic cooperation, Foreign Minister Surakiart
Sathirathai said.

Gen Khin Nyunt, secretary one of the Burmese State Peace and Development
Council, told Mr Surakiart after the ground-breaking ceremony on a new
bridge linking Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district with Tachilek that Rangoon
was committed to the anti-drug policy and would help Thailand if the
kingdom had intelligence information on drug trafficking.

Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung said political will remained strong for
the two countries, resulting in seizures of opium and methamphetamines in
Burma. But he insisted cooperation had to continue to stop chemical
precursors coming into Burma for drug production. Fighting against drugs
requires intelligence cooperation with the neighbouring countries and good
detection equipment. That is what we are doing now,'' Saman Polnok, chief
of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board's northern region said.

Mr Surakiart led a Thai delegation in bilateral talks in Tachilek town
before the signing of an agreement with his Burmese counterpart to build a
two-lane, 38 million baht bridge to boost trade and tourism between the
two countries and southern China.

It was due for completion by December this year, according to Terdsak
Sedthamanop, director-general of the Highways Department.

Mr Surakiart was escorted by Gen Khin Nyunt and Mr Win Aung on a
helicopter tour of the Yong Kha village in Shan state, where the Mae Fah
Luang Foundation is aiding the Wa ethnic group under the crop substitution
programme.

The Burmese delegation also showed off a similar self-initiated
development programme in Hong village by ethnic Burmese with a long-term
plan to export lamyai, oranges and rice to Thailand.

But Thai border traders in Chiang Rai yesterday called on the government
to urge Rangoon to lift sanctions on 24 products it has banned from
entering its markets.

The call was made in a letter handed to Mr Surakiart after the ceremony.

Boontham Thipprasong, deputy president of the provincial trade chamber,
complained that even other Thai goods not included in the list of banned
products were finding it difficult to reach the Burmese markets. Despite
the restrictions, exports to Burma from Mae Sai town account for five
billion baht a year. Lifting the barriers could boost the figure to more
than 10 billion baht, the trader claimed.

Traders now have to send goods upstream on the Mekong river to southern
China and then re-export them to Burma on its northern border.

Thanomsak Seerivichayasawasdi, president of the Thai-Burmese culture and
economic forum in Chiang Rai, noted that the restrictions were placed due
to Burma's lack of confidence on Thai policy towards the Burmese ethnic
minorities.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra needs to do more to end Rangoon's
suspicion, he said.

Products banned from sale in Burma include instant noodles, cigarettes,
fresh fruits, washing machines and soft drinks.

Gen Khin Nyunt has told the Thai minister that Burma would soon sign a
memorandum of understanding with Thailand on labour cooperation in
Bangkok.

The MoU, which has been delayed for nearly two years, was now waiting for
final approval from both cabinets to pave way for the smooth repatriation
of illegal workers back to Burma.

Thailand has sheltered a million illegal workers from the neighbouring
country.

STATEMENTS

Refugees International May 20 2003

Burma's Rohingya: The fate of one forgotten community in Bangladesh

Veronika Martin and Kavita Shukla are in South Asia looking into
conditions for Burmese refugees.
05/20/2003 - In a roadside field in the town of Teknaf, in the Cox’s
Bazaar district of Bangladesh, there is a large slum settlement of housing
made from plastic sheets. The residents of this settlement are Muslim
Rohingya people from the Arakan state of Burma. They have not received
recognition as refugees from the Government of Bangladesh, and are
considered to be illegal economic migrants in search of work. Until late
2002, many of these Rohingya were able to find makeshift housing in the
Teknaf area. However, during a Bangladeshi army exercise called "Operation
Clean Heart," intended to improve law and order, many of the Rohingya were
forced out of their homes. As a result, these people had no choice but to
establish a slum settlement in the center of town. At present there are
approximately 1,217 families, or 4,000 people, living in extremely poor
conditions.

The conditions in the slum settlement are grim. The sanitation is very
poor. There are only a few water pumps and almost no latrines. Six or
seven people cram into each small makeshift hut. Diseases are rampant (in
a span of 15 minutes in the slum settlement, the Refugees International
team saw numerous residents with serious infections and symptoms of
tuberculosis and malaria). The Government of Bangladesh considers these
refugees to be illegal immigrants, so they are ineligible to receive any
kind of health care from the Government or NGOs in the area.

If slum residents are lucky, they may be able to find small jobs working
as laborers or porters in the Teknaf area. These jobs, however, are
temporary and very limited in number. The Rohingya in the slum settlement
have no guarantee that they will be able to get food every day, and access
to proper housing and education are luxuries that they cannot even imagine
at this point.

In spite of these appalling conditions, the refugees prefer living in the
slum settlement to going back to Burma. RI spoke to several of the slum
settlement residents who emphasized that no matter how awful their lives
are in Bangladesh, they still do not want to return to Burma. “I will kill
myself by drowning in the river if they force me to go back,” one woman in
a Burqa told RI. All the residents RI talked to stressed that they felt
persecuted as Muslims in Burma. They described Burmese government policies
that target the Rohingya specifically and force them to pay taxes to the
military, especially for registration of births and marriages. Rohingya
are also required to obtain permits to travel anywhere outside their
villages, and they are forbidden to go to the Arakan state capital Sitwe
and the country capital Rangoon. These travel restrictions systematically
deny Rohingya access to advanced education and medical care. According to
these refugees, a covert policy towards the Rohingya is the confiscation
of their land by the Burmese military. More than a dozen people
interviewed by RI stated they had their land taken or had been evicted on
account of being Muslim and an ethnic minority.

The Rohingya in the slum settlements told RI that they were not free to
practice their religion in Arakan state. They also lacked the choice to do
work through which they can earn money because they were pulled from
income-generating activities by the Burmese army to work as forced
laborers. According to the slum residents, if they refused to comply with
the demands of the Burmese army, they were beaten, imprisoned or punished
through a variety of means.

For the Rohingya in the slum settlement in Teknaf, returning to Burma does
not seem to be an option until there is a major change in the attitude of
the Burmese government towards them. In the meantime, they are willing to
endure inhumane living conditions and reside without rights in Bangladesh.

The slum settlement in Teknaf that has provided a haven of sorts for the
Rohingya refugees may not be around for long. As the rainy season begins,
the huts in the settlement have started to collapse and the sanitation
situation is expected to worsen. This may make it impossible for the
residents to continue living in the settlement. The Rohingya may not have
a choice but to search for another location in Bangladesh. To date, no
permission to move has been granted, leaving this group of 4,000 in a
desperate and inhumane situation and at the mercy of the Government of
Bangladesh.