BurmaNet News: June 11 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

June 11 2003 Issue #2258

INSIDE BURMA

Bangkok Post: Junta under intense pressure
Irrawaddy: Suu Kyi never asked about injuries
CSM: Path to civilian rule eludes Burma
Washington Post: UN envoy to Burma finds Suu Kyi unharmed, but still in
custody
NYT: Critic of Burmese junta not hurt, envoy says
DVB: AAPP announced the names of the wounded and the dead

REGIONAL

Irrawaddy: ASEAN keeps hands off Burma
Kyodo: Japanese minister to press for release of Burma’s Suu Kyi at ASEAN
meeting
PTI New: India considers fencing border with Burma

ON THE BORDER

Xinhua: Skirmishes between Thai and ethnic Myanmar break on border

STATEMENTS/EDITORIALS

LA Times: Freeze Myanmar assets
Guardian: Burma’s hour of need: Asian leaders face a testing moment
Myanmar Information Committee: [Briefing on latest situation]

INSIDE BURMA

Bangkok Post June 11 2003

Junta under intense pressure

Burma's junta was under intense pressure yesterday to release democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi after a renewed appeal from the United Nations and
protests from the United States which called her detention ``shameful''.

UN envoy Razali Ismail, who met with the National League for Democracy
(NLD) leader on Tuesday in the closing hours of his mission to Burma,
pronounced her ``well and in good spirits'' and said he expected her to be
freed in two weeks.

``I'm hoping and praying she will come out earlier than that,'' the
Malaysian diplomat told reporters in Kuala Lumpur. ``They gave assurances
that she will be released but did not give any details,'' he said.

Mr Razali said he had asked the junta, which took her into protective
custody on May 30 in the wake of violent clashes, to release her
immediately ``but they say it will take time and they have to look at
other circumstances''.

``They can't keep her too long,'' he added. ``It creates a negative impact
on them.'' The military government has said the detention measures were
temporary and that they would be lifted ``as soon as the situation returns
to normal''.

Some observers in Burma said that with university classes which were
cancelled at the height of the crisis resuming on June 16, rumours were
rife that Mrs Suu Kyi's release was imminent. But others were doubtful.

``The government is sticking to its script of saying they'll release her
as soon as it's safe to,'' said one diplomat. ``But we're not rejoicing
yet. If it was before this weekend that would surprise us all.''

Mrs Suu Kyi, the daughter of the nation's independence hero Aung San, has
been held incommunicado at a military camp outside Rangoon since the
violence in northern Burma which pitted her supporters against a pro-junta
gang. The government said four people were killed and 50 injured in the
incident but unconfirmed eyewitness reports say that as many as 100 died.

Amid growing fears Mrs Suu Kyi had been injured in the violence, there was
relief that Mr Razali was able to see her and check on her health, but the
junta's last-minute move did not alleviate the pressure for her release.
The United States, which has led an international outpouring of anger over
her detention, stepped up its rhetorical war overnight, calling the
situation ``outrageous,'' ``shameful'' and ``unacceptable''.

As US President George W. Bush and visiting Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra demanded Mrs Suu Kyi's immediate release, the State Department
said her detention had ``turned back'' the clock of Burma's progress
towards democracy.

Deputy State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said Washington was
pleased to learn that Mrs Suu Kyi had been unharmed in the melee that
broke out during a political tour of the north. But he stressed the US
remained ``deeply concerned'' about her welfare and that of other NLD
members who have been detained in a recent wider crackdown.

``The Burmese regime's continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and other
members of her party is outrageous, is shameful, is unacceptable,'' he
said. ``They should be released immediately.''

The military government is likely to face even more pressure next week at
a meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers
which US Secretary of State Colin Powell is attending.

The United States and the European Union have threatened to tighten
sanctions against the Rangoon regime if their calls for Mrs Suu Kyi's
release are not heeded. UN chief Kofi Annan also called overnight for the
ruling generals to release Mrs Suu Kyi and revive a stalled reconciliation
process with the democratic opposition.

Mr Razali said Mrs Suu Kyi had told him ``she wants to go forward with the
national reconciliation'' and that he had received similar assurances from
the military junta.
___________

Irrawaddy June 11 2003

Suu Kyi Never Asked About Injuries

United Nations Envoy Razali Ismail said that detained opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi was, "unhurt and in good health," after meeting with her
for thirty minutes Tuesday. But a BBC (Burmese Service) report says Razali
failed to ask Suu Kyi direct questions about her injuries, or what
transpired during the attacks.
The leader of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) has been
detained since May 30 when she and her party members were violently
ambushed by junta-backed groups in northern Burma. Some reports from
inside Burma say that Suu Kyi was injured in the incident, and dozens
others were killed.
Razali told reporters that Suu Kyi was "in good spirits" during their
half-hour meeting at a military guest house in the capital yesterday. His
statements were widely quoted in international news reports and lent
credence to the junta’s condemnations of earlier news articles saying the
opposition leader sustained injuries.
But, according to a BBC correspondent who interviewed Razali at Singapore
airport, the Malaysian diplomat didn’t ask Suu Kyi if she was harmed in
the incident. He simply said Suu Kyi was unhurt because she had no visible
signs of injury.
On the question of "protective custody," Razali told the BBC correspondent
that Suu Kyi might need it, adding that he was persuaded that she was in
custody for her own safety. Moreover, Razali emphasized that he came to
learn that the generals, particularly Deputy Sr-Gen Maung Aye and Sec-1
Gen Khin Nyunt had a real desire to protect Suu Kyi. He met both men
during his visit.
Suu Kyi didn’t personally know much about the violence of May 30,
according to Razali. Her car was ahead of the NLD motorcade when the
junta-backed group started attacking the motorcade and quickly sped off.
During their meeting, she asked Razali about the well-being of NLD
members, including her own driver.
BBC broadcasts from last night quoted one of their reporters who visited
Kyi village, where the Black Friday clash occurred. According to the
reporter, all the people near the village were shocked and angered by the
ambush. Some villagers were victims of the violence themselves, but they
could not provide details about the overall event. So, the exact nature of
the attack remains uncertain.
Villagers told the BBC that they were frightened since they saw so many
unarmed people violently attacked. They also said that 60 or 70 people
were killed and more than one hundred people were still missing. The BBC
correspondent concluded that the attack was planned by the military
regime.
A letter from a survivor of the ambush was received by the BBC and its
contents included in their report. According to the eyewitness, soon after
Suu Kyi’s motorcade left Kyi village about 7.30 pm on May 30, the
motorcyclists preceding the convoy returned to Suu Kyi’s vehicle and told
her the road was blocked. Meanwhile, sounds of the violent clash were
heard coming from Kyi village, which Suu Kyi had just passed. The witness
stated that the convoy included up to 80 motorcyclists and dozens of cars,
some of which were apparently held up at Kyi village. Later, according to
the witness, a mob, including 10 or 15 monks, set upon the vehicles,
throwing stones and bricks and beating cars at the back of the convoy.
Eventually, when the mob arrived at Suu Kyi’s car, young members of the
NLD threw stones back at the mob. When the attackers realized the car
belonged to Suu Kyi they stopped. But the mob soon started up again so Suu
Kyi’s driver, Kyaw Soe Linn, sped away, according to the witness.
The BBC reported that the letter says that NLD member Dr Hla Soe Nyunt’s
car followed Suu Kyi’s car. The witness wrote that a car hit a tree after
its tires were shot. [It was not clear which car hit a tree.] The
collision reportedly took place at Ywar Thit, one mile from Kyi village.
Three monks and four NLD supporters were killed, according to the witness’
account.
Yesterday, Burma’s Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win insisted that
only 4 people were killed and 48 people injured in the clash. He added
that the incident happened because Suu Kyi’s convoy sped into a mob of
anti-NLD demonstrators.
Even though Razali told the BBC that Suu Kyi might need to be in custody
for her protection, he later said it was his assessment that she would be
freed in two weeks. The National League for Democracy-Liberated Area
yesterday demanded that Razali produce some solid answers about the events
of May 30, and stated that it regrets the "fuzzy speculation" coming from
the special envoy.
________

Christian Science Monitor June 11 2003

Path to civilian rule eludes Burma
By Simon Montlake

The sun had already sunk behind the rice paddies and palm trees. The men,
armed with sharpened sticks and clubs, had chosen their ambush point well:
a one-lane bridge over a dusty creek. When a convoy of 90 cars and
motorbikes slowed at the crossing, the trap was sprung.

Caught in that trap were opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate Aung
San Suu Kyi and about 200 of her supporters. The attackers were led by a
civilian front for Burma's military regime. When they finished, at least
70 people, mostly youth activists, lay dead, most of them bludgeoned,
according to Burmese who have collated eyewitness accounts. Opposition
activists, diplomats and analysts say the Burmese junta was behind the May
30 attack and the wider crackdown on the prodemocracy movement.

Suu Kyi, who led the National League for Democracy (NLD) to victory in
1990 only to see the vote annulled, was arrested that night after her car
was attacked. Tuesday, Razali Ismail, a UN envoy who has been trying to
broker political talks in Burma, met with the Nobel laureate and told
reporters that she was in good health, contrary to reports she was injured
in the attack. Scores of other NLD officials are also in custody or under
house arrest.

US officials have responded to the crackdown by calling for more economic
sanctions, while joining international calls for the release of Suu Kyi
and other political detainees. But the attack has dealt a body blow to
this nation's hopes of emerging from years of isolation and strife under
military rule. The message behind the recent violence seems clear: there
is no road map for a return to civilian rule in Burma.

"To the generals, they see that dialogue with the opposition means that
they will ultimately lose out, and basically they just don't want to
know," says Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese political analyst based in Thailand.

The latest crackdown comes more than a year after Suu Kyi was released
from 19 months of house arrest, her most recent detention. At that time,
the military regime spoke of "national reconciliation" and held out the
prospect of political negotiations with the NLD, only to stonewall
attempts to initiate serious talks.

Observers say senior leader Gen. Than Shwe, a hard liner who loathes even
the mention of Suu Kyi's name, has now dropped any pretense of peaceful
coexistence with pro-democracy forces. His control over the civilian
militia that carried out the May 30 ambush puts him squarely in the
driving seat of that bloody operation, they say, and underscores his
willingness to use force to stay in power.

Diplomats say the regime also grew frustrated with the refusal of US and
European countries to lift diplomatic and economic sanctions, despite
releasing Suu Kyi in 2002. "They didn't get the rewards, so they probably
started saying, 'hey, why do we bother playing ball with the West?' " says
a European diplomat in Bangkok.

But sparks also flew closer to home. In the past year, Suu Kyi had
doggedly rebuilt a political party that had withered through years of
repression. Branch offices were reopened and young activists recruited to
the cause. Suu Kyi toured the country, drawing rapturous crowds, even in
Burma's more remote regions with large ethnic populations, where her
party's Burmese base could be a handicap.

As Suu Kyi's popularity increased, so did harassment from the regime.
Thugs were sent to disrupt her rallies by menacing onlookers and blasting
loud music to drown out her speeches. But the crowds kept coming. The last
NLD rally held in Monywa, a day before the fateful night drive, drew tens
of thousands of supporters for a 20-minute address by Suu Kyi and caused
three-hour tailbacks on the road from Mandalay.

The next day, the regime struck back. According to state media, what
happened on the road from Monywa was a spontaneous clash between pro- and
antigovernment forces, an example of the chaos wrought by democracy
activists, or "internal destructive elements."

But local residents have a different story to tell. They say it was a
preplanned attack staged by government forces that press-ganged villagers
to fight, without telling them for what cause, and brought convicts to
nearby houses where they were plied with alcohol before the attack.
Opposition sources that spoke to eyewitnesses say that trucks were driven
onto the road to cut off the rear of the convoy and that soldiers shot and
killed students and monks from Monywa who tried to reach the scene.

US officials reached a similar conclusion last week when they visited the
scene. A team from the US Embassy in Rangoon retrieved bloody clothing,
weapons, and broken glass from what the State Department has since called
a "premeditated ambush" by "government-affiliated thugs."

Secretary of State Colin Powell is likely to press Burma for answers at a
regional meeting of foreign ministers in Cambodia next week. Diplomats say
the strike against Suu Kyi is a rude awakening for Western countries that
thought the junta had turned over a new leaf when it released her in 2002.
"We've tried the carrot and now this: a reality check. The US and Europe
are really fed up," says a Western diplomat.

But any hopes of concerted international pressure on the regime will be
dented by the reluctance of many Asian countries to reprimand the junta.
Diplomats say Burma is confident that China and Japan, as well as trading
partners in Southeast Asia, won't join any campaign to squeeze the regime.

Even a proposed ban on US imports of Burmese textiles, worth about $ 350
million a year, can only exert so much effort, say analysts.

"The military doesn't care unless there is real pressure, and I don't
think that pressure is forthcoming from the European Union, let alone
ASEAN," says Ms. Naing Oo, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations.

In Burma, where few are brave enough to speak out and risk the regime's
wrath, public reaction has so far been understandably muted. In private,
though, Burmese express frustration with the military's decaying grip on a
nation and the harsh treatment meted out to the woman known simply as "The
Lady."

"She's here in our hearts, but this is a setback for us. It may be another
five or 10 years before my country can get better," says a schoolteacher.
____________

Washington Post June 11 2003

U.N. Envoy to Burma Finds Suu Kyi Unharmed, but Still in Custody
By Ellen Nakashima and Alan Sipress

Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition leader held incommunicado for 11
days after a violent clash between her supporters and pro-government
demonstrators, is uninjured, "in good spirits and very feisty," U.N.
special envoy Razali Ismail said after a brief visit with her today.

But Razali, who flew on Friday to the Burmese capital, Rangoon, failed to
persuade Burma's military government to release her before he left the
country today.

Suu Kyi, who has spent much of the last 14 years under house arrest, told
Razali today that she had not been mistreated. He said he saw no sign of
injury. "She said, 'Nothing wrong with me, Raz,' " he said. "The only
thing is she was not as immaculately dressed as the other times I've seen
her. And she apologized for that."

"The whole world was very concerned about her safety," Razali said in a
telephone interview. "I was happy to see that she was well, that she's in
good spirits, very feisty, the Aung San Suu Kyi that I know."

In the days following the May 30 clash in northern Burma, diplomats said
they believed her head and shoulder were injured when her car's windshield
was shattered by supporters of the government.

Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win told diplomats this afternoon that
her detention was temporary and that she and other supporters would be
released "as soon as the situation returns to normal."

Suu Kyi, 57, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has waged a nearly 15-year
struggle for democracy against one of the world's most oppressive
governments, was placed in "protective custody" after what diplomats and
Burmese exiles described as a confrontation between at least 500
military-backed assailants and about 200 members and supporters of her
National League for Democracy.

The NLD won 80 percent of the vote in parliamentary elections in 1990, but
the military government, which has ruled for more than 40 years,
invalidated the results. After being released from house arrest a year
ago, Suu Kyi has attempted to rebuild her party's base, particularly among
Burma's ethnic minorities, by traveling throughout the country. The
increasingly large crowds she drew alarmed the government, which
reportedly is divided over whether to engage Suu Kyi's movement in
reconciliation talks or crush it.

Razali said the first thing he did when he met with two senior military
officers on Friday was to ask for her release. "I explained the downside"
of keeping her, he said. "I'm sure there are some who would like to have
her released faster than others," he added.

Today's meeting with Suu Kyi lasted between 15 and 30 minutes and was
attended by a government official, Razali said. According to a Western
diplomat with knowledge of the discussion, the official was a military
intelligence general who has been Suu Kyi's primary liaison with the
government. Suu Kyi carried on a parallel conversation in Burmese with the
official that Razali could not understand, the diplomat said. Neither
Razali nor the government would say where the meeting took place.

Suu Kyi was not able to shed light on the clash because she was in a
vehicle at the head of the convoy and "wouldn't know what happened
behind," Razali said.
_________

New York Times June 11 2003

Critic of Burmese Junta Not Hurt, Envoy Says
By SETH MYDANS

A United Nations envoy said Myanmar's pro-democracy leader, Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi, showed no sign today of having been injured in an attack on her
supporters that killed and injured scores of people.

"I can assure you she is well and in good spirits," the envoy, Razali
Ismail, told reporters on his return to his home country, Malaysia, after
meeting with her for an hour this morning. "No injury on the face, arm. No
injury. No scratch. Nothing." Reports had been circulating that she was
wounded in the head and arm.

Mr. Razali is the first outsider to see Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi since the
clash, in which diplomats and exiles from the former Burma say
military-backed thugs attacked her motorcade in northern Myanmar.

He said the military junta had assured him that she would be released,
possibly in two weeks. Since the violence on May 30, Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi
has been held in what the military calls "safe custody."

Myanmar's deputy foreign minister, Khin Maung Win, issued a statement
today that said, "The safe custody measures instituted are temporary and
they will be lifted as soon as the situation returns to normal."

But diplomats said it was doubtful that if released, Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi
would have the kind of freedom she has enjoyed during the past year to
tour Myanmar and meet with supporters and members of her party, the
National League for Democracy.

They also noted that there was still no word on the condition of 19 of her
chief lieutenants or as many as 100 other supporters who have been rounded
up since the attack.

Without giving details, Mr. Razali said Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi told him her
version of the clash, but he added: "She did not see it all. She was in
the front car."

The military said that her supporters were at fault and that four people
were killed and about 50 injured. Exile groups say they believe as many as
70 people were killed in what the American Embassy says was an ambush by
junta supporters.

In his statement, the deputy foreign minister said, "Allow me to say
categorically that the allegations that the attack was premeditated are
unfounded." He said the violence erupted when members of her motorcade
tried to plow through a crowd of bystanders.

The American Embassy sent two investigators to the site and said they
found evidence of a pitched battle, including clubs, spears, broken glass
and bloody clothes.

Despite the collapse in political relations that he had been nurturing on
behalf of the United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, Mr. Razali
pressed forward today, saying the government must engage in a
long-promised political dialogue with Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi.

The junta released her from 19 months of house arrest in May 2002, after
two years of what were called confidence-building talks, with what she
said were promises of substantive talks on political issues.

That promise was never honored, and in the wake of the May 30 violence,
the government has been shutting down scores of party offices it had
permitted her to open.

"I believe this incident has woken up a lot of people in Myanmar itself as
to the necessity of moving this process very quickly," Mr. Razali said.
"This is a point I have made to the government and Aung San Suu Kyi. They
have to get back to discussing things with each other as expeditiously as
possible."

He said he would be willing to continue his periodic visits to Myanmar if
the government invites him.

Diplomats and other analysts said a key to any future progress would be
the degree of pressure exerted by other nations. The strongest
condemnations of the killings have come from the United States, Britain
and the European Union, which have all said they are considering
additional trade and investment sanctions.
_________

Democratic Voice of Burma June 9 2003

AAPP announced the names of the wounded and the dead

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) have announced
today more names of the people who were wounded and killed during the
assaults on the 39th of May. Their names, addresses and other details are
included in the list. Ko Tate Naing, the Secretary of AAPP told the DVB
about the list as follows:

Ko Tate Naing : In the list, there are 15 MPs. There are the names of
three dead people and 8 people are under house arrest. We sent the list to
the national governments, the NGOs, the UN Security Council and democratic
activists in the form of letter of pledges.

DVB : There are some discrepancies between the list we got and the one you
are providing now. He heard that nearly 100 people were killed and you now
say that three people killed. Could you explain it to us?

Ko Tate Naing : Yes. The one we got is an unconfirmed list. What I mean by
unconfirmed list is this list is made up of people who haven’t returned
home yet. We are getting more names. We are collecting as much as we could
all the names of the people who are missing. As far as we know, people in
the hundreds are missing. According to eyewitness accounts at least 30-40
people were killed. But no one can say who is who exactly. If the
international community is demanding the government to issue a statement
describing who is held where and the like, we will be able to say who is
in which prison, who is missing, who is wounded. We are urging the
international to participate in this enquiry.

The list of the names will be officially announced tomorrow and copies
will be sent to international human rights organisations, ICRC, the UN
organisations including the Security Council and international
governments.

According the latest news obtained by the DVB, 128 political prisoners who
were arrested during the Dipeyin assaults were taken out of Mandalay
Prison and transferred to Rangoon Insein Prison yesterday. Among them were
22 people who were transferred from Sagaing Prison, 32 from Shwebo Prison
and 27 from Monywa Prison, according to people close to prison
authorities. Moreover, there have been more arrests throughout the country
and they include members of Kachin State NLD.

U Marit Hla Seng, the chief organiser of Kachin State NLD, the secretary U
Naing Zaw Win and U Mran Paukla, a legal adviser were arrested within
recent days. According to news from Tenesserim Division, at least ten
youth including the NLD members were arrested at Kawthaung today by the
military intelligence. According to the latest news, Mandalay Division NLD
chairman U Bo San was also arrested.


REGIONAL

Irrawaddy June 11 2003

Asean Keeps Hands Off Burma
By Chris O’Connell

The detention of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the issue
of human rights abuses by the Burmese military rulers are likely to be the
topic of heated discussion at next week’s Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (Asean) meeting in Phnom Penh.
But don’t expect the talks to take place publicly and don’t expect much
progress to be made, say analysts. Asean’s long-standing policy of turning
a blind eye towards the internal politics of its member countries will
probably not be altered, according to sources familiar with the
organization.
"They [Asean] will talk about the Burma issue unofficially and in the
corridors," said Somchai Homlaor, secretary general of Forum-Asia, a
Bangkok-based regional human rights group. "It will be quiet diplomacy and
they [Asean] will maintain their non-interference policy."
Recent statements from Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad have
echoed the Asean ethos of non-inteference. Mahathir reaffirmed that
Malaysia would not use diplomatic channels or sanctions to pressure the
junta. Securing Suu Kyi’s freedom was up to the Burmese, Mahathir said,
adding that Malaysia does not normally meddle in the internal conflicts of
Asean member countries.
Debbie Stothard, coordinator of the Bangkok-based Alternative Asean
Network on Burma (Altsean), a regional human rights groups, said the
unwillingness of Asean nations to criticize fellow countries compromises
the integrity of the organization and has been at the expense of the
Burmese people. It also makes member nations complicit in the actions of
the Burmese military junta, she said.
"They [Asean] are ultimately responsible for failing to protect the people
of Burma," Stothard said. "The war on terror and SARS will continue to be
on the agenda, but the reality is they’re not going to discuss the one
Asean member which is a terrorist state: Burma."
China, which is not an Asean member but has close military and economic
ties with Rangoon, also has a hands-off approach towards its neighbor to
the south. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kong Quan said Tuesday
that Rangoon could handle its own affairs without any outside
intervention. China, he told the Xinhua News Agency, "believes that what
happened in Myanmar [Burma] lately is an issue between the Myanmar
government and its opposition parties."
Stothard believes that such responses only embolden Rangoon. In reference
to the May 30 attack, which some eyewitnesses say left as many as 70
people dead, she said: "Frankly, Sr-Gen Than Shwe was confident that
China, India and Asean member countries would help him whether or not
there was international backlash for his attack. He wouldn’t have carried
it out otherwise."
Meanwhile, a Tuesday meeting between US President George W Bush and Thai
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra highlighted the difference between the
approaches to Burma of Asean member countries and the US and European
Union. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said both leaders "expressed
their deep concern over recent developments in Burma, in particular the
violence that occurred on May 30th." While the US Congress is actively
seeking to ban all Burmese imports until Rangoon accepts a democratic
government, a Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that Bangkok would
not be seeking sanctions against its neighbor.
______-

Kyodo News Service June 11 2003

JAPANESE MINISTER TO PRESS FOR RELEASE OF BURMA'S SUU KYI AT ASEAN MEETING

Tokyo, 11 June: Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi plans to urge
the Myanmar (Burma) military government to release detained pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi when she meets Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung
in Phnom Penh on 19 June, government sources said Wednesday (11 June).
Kawaguchi will make the request when she meets Win Aung on the sidelines
of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings in Cambodia.

Suu Kyi and some members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) were
placed in "protective custody" following violent clashes 30 May between
NLD supporters and pro-junta demonstrators in northern Myanmar. In May
last year, the junta released Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize
laureate, from 19 months of confinement at her home in Yangon. Suu Kyi has
led the fight for democracy in Myanmar through the NLD, which won the
country's 1990 elections by a landslide but was never allowed to take up
seats in parliament. Japan apparently decided that the meeting between the
foreign ministers would be a good chance to urge Myanmar to release Suu
Kyi because ASEAN member countries will also likely put pressure on the
Myanmar junta at the forum. The junta has given assurances that they will
release Suu Kyi, UN special envoy Razali Ismail said Tuesday. "They gave
assurances but they didn't give specific dates," he told reporters in
Kuala Lumpur airport after returning from a five-day mission to Yangon.

"Well, I think in two weeks they should release her. They can't keep her
too long. It could create negative effects on them," he said. Razali met
with Suu Kyi on Tuesday and said she is in good health. Kawaguchi has told
Razali that Japan would back his efforts to obtain Suu Kyi's release.
ASEAN groups Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines,
Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.
____________

PTI News Agency June 11 2003

INDIA CONSIDERS FENCING BORDER WITH BURMA

The federal government is considering fencing of the India-Myanmar (Burma)
border to prevent cross-border terrorism and arms smuggling, junior
federal Minister for Home I.D. Swami said Wednesday (11 June).

Fencing work and lighting along Indo-Pak(istan) and Indo-Bangla(desh)
borders were in progress to prevent cross-border terrorism and other
crimes, he told reporters here before leaving for Delhi after a two-day
Manipur visit. Swami said that the government was prepared to hold talks
with any insurgent outfit in the region without precondition and within
the framework of the constitution.

The government was providing necessary help to all state governments for
modernisation of police forces, the minister added.

On beefing up security in Manipur to tackle insurgency, Swami said that if
the state wanted, the federal government would sanction funds for
mobilization of more Reserve Battalion forces in addition to the present
four. However, the state government should try to solve its own problems
and maintain law and order as it was a state subject, he commented.

ON THE BORDER

Xinhua News Agency June 11 2003

Skirmishes between Thai and ethnic Myanmar break on border

Small-scale armed clashes broke out on Thai-Myanmar border on Monday
evening and Tuesday morning with the ethnic Myanmar troops' withdrawal,
the local press reported on Wednesday.

Some 20 troops of the Myanmar ethnic United Wa State Army crossed the
border into Thailand near the northern border town Mae Ai, according to
newspaper Bangkok Post.

Rangers from Thailand's Special Task Force 3208 were engaged in the two
skirmishes on Monday evening and Tuesday morning.

The Myanmar ethnic troops were pushed back into their side with trails of
blood marking their retreat.

The Thai rangers suffered no casualties in the clashes which took place
some 700 kilometers north of Bangkok.

Meanwhile, Thailand on Tuesday refused to withdraw its troops from a
disputed border area at the 30th meeting of the Thai-Myanmar Township
Border Committee.

Both sides claimed sovereignty over the area some 700 kilometers north of
Bangkok.

Thailand refused to withdraw its 32 military outpost, saying an agreement
signed by the two sides prohibited any troop reinforcement or movement at
the area until the border demarcation there was completed.

STATEMENTS/EDITORIALS

Los Angeles Times June 11 2003

Freeze Myanmar Assets

The military thugs running Myanmar finally may have opened their eyes to
the esteem in which Aung San Suu Kyi is held outside their nation. They
already knew how much their oppressed citizens thought of the woman who
should be leading the nation formerly known as Burma: The huge numbers
greeting her on her journeys around her country provided graphic evidence
of her popularity.

Harboring despots' fears of ouster by a charismatic pro-democracy leader,
the army rulers arrested Suu Kyi, again, after a deadly attack on her
motorcade May 30. However, they let United Nations representative Razali
Ismail meet with the democracy activist Tuesday after stalling for days.

Delay is not new for Razali, who has sought for two years to push the
nation's autocrats toward democracy. He deserves credit for insisting on a
meeting with Suu Kyi; so does his boss, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan,
who denounces the generals.

In 1947 a political rival assassinated Suu Kyi's father, an architect of
the independence movement. Forty years later, his daughter began
campaigning against the military regimes that ruled the country for much
of its post-independence history. In 1990, she and her party won a
parliamentary election but the military scrapped those results and kept
her under house arrest. It also refused to let her leave to receive her
1991 Nobel Peace Prize or to be with her husband as he lay dying in
England.

But a year ago, the junta let Suu Kyi travel again. Seeing her popularity
undimmed, the government organized the May30 ambush of her motorcade and
cited the violence as cause for her arrest. She was held incommunicado
until Razali met her. Nearby nations like Thailand and Malaysia feebly
protested the assault and arrest.

The U.S. Congress is considering tougher measures to freeze the assets of
the Myanmar government held in the United States and to bar the country's
leaders from traveling here.

Those steps are warranted unless Suu Kyi is released and allowed to travel
freely. The United States and other countries earlier imposed economic
sanctions on Myanmar that devastated its economy. Trade with Thailand and
China, plus the export of narcotics, has kept it afloat.

The trading partners, other countries in the region and aid givers like
Japan need to get tougher by imposing sanctions and aid suspensions to
push the country toward democracy; that's the outcome Myanmar's citizens
show they favor every time they get the chance.
___________

The Guardian June 11 2003

Burma's hour of need: Asian leaders face a testing moment

Reports yesterday that Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's pro-democracy leader, is
uninjured and "in good spirits" are welcome news if true. But that does
not mean international pressure for Ms Suu Kyi's release after her violent
ambush and arrest last month by pro-junta thugs should slacken. Those
detained with her and an estimated 1,000 other political prisoners
belonging to the National League for Democracy should also have their
freedom. Given this latest relapse into brutality by Burma's generals,
this is a minimum precondition for a meaningful resumption of the
UN-backed national reconciliation dialogue. It may be that the junta,
alarmed by Ms Suu Kyi's popular speaking tours reminiscent of her
victorious campaign in the stolen 1990 election, would be content to see
the dialogue founder, calculating that the international community will do
little by way of punishment. That is why the energetic, behind-the-scenes
lobbying of the Bush administration is so important. US diplomats have
reportedly delivered tough "requests" to 11 regional countries to exert
pressure on the junta. George Bush, urged on by Congress, was also
expected to discuss additional measures with the visiting Thai prime
minister yesterday. Thailand has significant business and trade links with
Burma and, like Japan, is reluctant to act tough.

While Britain, France and the EU have all condemned recent events, this
roundabout US approach stems from the sensible hope that Asian states will
resolve an Asian problem without deeper western intervention that might
become highly objectionable to them. That is not to say that the EU should
merely look on helplessly. Unless there is a rapid improvement, Britain
must push for the immediate levying of targeted EU investment sanctions,
like those of the US, as campaigners and MEPs urge. Companies still
defiantly operating in Burma, such as British American Tobacco, must be
told to wind down and pull out.
__________

Myanmar Information Committee June 10 2003
H.E. U Khin Maung Win, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, briefed the
Heads of Missions of the embassies in Myanmar on the latest situation and
development concerning the 30th May incident at 15:30 hrs, today at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Yangon.
The salient points mentioned at the briefing are as follows:-
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary General Ambassador Razali
Ismail paid a visit to Myanmar from 6 to 10 June. He left Yangon early
this afternoon.
During his visit, he called upon Vice Chairman Vice Senior General Maung
Aye and had extensive discussions with Secretary-1 General Khin Nyunt.
In the course of the meetings, the Myanmar side was able to assure him
that we regarded the incident as most unfortunate and that our commitment
to national reconciliation and democratization remains firm.
We also informed him that the safe custody measures instituted are
temporary and that they will be lifted as soon as the situation returns to
normal.
One of the agenda of Ambassador Razali’s current mission is to have a
meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The international community has also
shown great interest in the matter.
I wish to inform you that he met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi earlier today.
He was very pleased with this special gesture on the part of our
Government and expressed his deepest appreciation.
I am now also in a position to provide more infonnation about the incident
that took place on the night of 30th May.
An official inquest is being conducted by the Police Department under the
Ministry of Home Affairs. Preliminary investigation reveals that the
incident began when the convoy of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi attempted to plow
through the crowd that was blocking the road. Up to that point there were
no incidents of violence.
However, since some people were hit by the cars in the convoy, a melee
ensued between the followers and opponents of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. As it
was nighttime and in an area with no public lighting, there was much
confusion and things got out of hand.
Finally, when the police regained control of the situation, four persons
were found dead and 48 persons injured. As a result, the Dapayin Police
Station has opened a case under Section 304 (A) of the Penal code.
Contrary to the exaggerated reports circulated by some quarters, I wish to
confirm once again that only four persons died during the incident, not 70
or more as alleged.
As for the 48 people injured in the clash, 16 were treated for superficial
wounds and sent home without having to undergo treatment at the hospital.
Out of the 32 persons hospitalized, 14 have been subsequently discharged
from the hospital and only 18 are still undergoing treatment in the
hospital. According to preliminary enquiries, the injured included both
local people as well as members of the NLD party.
These are the facts that we are able to garner from the preliminary police
investigation. The inquest is still on going and we hope to uncover more
details in the near future. However, wild speculations and rumors are
still being spread.
Allow me to say categorically that allegations that the attack was
premeditated are unfounded. As I have stated, the melee began when the
cars belonging to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s convoy tried to force their way
through the crowd in the dark of the night. Both Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and
NLD Vice Chairman U Tin Oo were not hurt in the incident. After his
meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi earlier today, Ambassador Razali
confirmed that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is well and has not been injured in
the incident.
I wish to assure you that the police inquest will be conducted fairly and
objectively.