BurmaNet News: June 25 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

June 25 2003 Issue #2269

INSIDE BURMA

DVB: More arrests of NLD members in Kachin state
DVB: Exiled Burmese group names 10 MPs detained over Tabayin incident
Narinjara: Forced labor in the road through the Mayu Ranges
Kaladan: A Rohingya girl gang raped
Manchester Guardian: Burmese junta closes schools after seizing Suu Kyi
IPS: Muslims fear tense times ahead for Islamic schools

DRUGS

Xinhua: Myanmar makes achievements in drug control

REGIONAL

AP: Myanmar’s largest donor, Japan, suspends aid as junta denies Suu Kyi
at infamous prison
New Straits Times: PM: ASEAN in a quandary over Suu Kyi’s continued detention
AFP: Myanmar junta warns Thailand of possible dissident hostage plan
DPA: Thais beef up security after Myanmar kidnap plot tip-off

INTERNATIONAL

FT: UK and Japan increase pressure on Burma
Narinjara: UNHCR rejects press report
PTI: Indian agency reports UN to close refugee office in Bangladesh
AP: France issues Bastille Day invite to Aung San Suu Kyi

ON THE BORDER

Irrawaddy: Migrants and traffickers arrested in jungle

EDITORIAL

New York Post: Breaking Burma’s python grip

INSIDE BURMA

Democratic Voice of Burma June 24 2003

More arrests of NLD members in Kachin state

It is reported that many people were not only arrested during the bloody
Dipeyin incident but also after the incident many NLD members have been
arrested by the military intelligence (MI) throughout the country.

On the 31st of May, two secretaries of Kachin State NLD and a lawyer were
arrested. And on the next day, the NLD chairman of Kachin State was also
arrested.

A NLD member at Myitkyina in Kachin State told the DVB as follows:

A Myikyina NLD member: They have arrested four members in Kachin State;
the chairman, the two secretaries and a lawyer. It must be on the 31st of
May. As we are unable to contact them, we know nothing about them. They
arrested the chairman later. They first arrested the two secretaries and
the lawyer. The chairman was arrested on the next day.

According to the latest report obtained by the DVB, the chairman is U La
Seng and one of the secretaries is said to be U Ne Win. We are still
trying to find out the names of the other secretary and the lawyer. More
arrests are reported in Rangoon Division. On the 4th of June, 2 NLD
secretaries were arrested in Matupi, Chin State. On the 16th of June, six
youth members of the NLD in Dala Township and one member from South
Okkalapa, Rangoon were also arrested. After the 30th May incident, the
authorities have been watching members of the NLD and ex-political
prisoners and they have been summoned and interrogated regularly.
___________

Democratic Voice of Burma June 23 2003

EXILED BURMESE GROUP NAMES 10 MPS DETAINED OVER TABAYIN INCIDENT

The foreign-based Members of Parliament Union, MPU, said today that 10
members of parliament (MPs) were among the more than 100 people either
missing or detained during the 30 May Tabayin incident. In an interview
with DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma), MPU Secretary Dr Myint Cho said the
current arrest of 10 MPs has increased the number of detained MPs from 18
to almost 30.

(Dr Myint Cho) Before the 30 May Tabayin killings, there were 19 MPs in
detention, including U Win Myint Aung, NLD (National League for Democracy)
elected representative from Tabayin Township Constituency-2. After the
Tabayin incident, U Do Htaung from Kale Township Constituency-1, Sagaing
Division, was released. We received news that the SPDC (State Peace and
Development Council) has unlawfully arrested 10 MPs, in connection with
the Tabayin incident, since 13 June. Those arrested were;

- U Soe Win, elected representative from Pegu Township Constituency-1,
Pegu Division. He was one of the leaders of the Party for National
Democracy (PND) and also a new member of the CRPP (Committee Representing
People's Parliament). - U Paw Khin, NLD elected representative from
Myingyan Township Constituency-1, Mandalay Division.

- U Tin Aung Aung, NLD elected representative from Mandalay Northwest
Township Constituency-1, Mandalay Division.

- U Saw Hlaing, NLD elected representative from Indaw Township
Constituency, Sagaing Division.

- U Myint Kyi, NLD elected representative from Katha Township
Constituency, Sagaing Division.

- U Hla Maung, elected representative from Kya-in Seikkyi Township
Constituency-1, Karen State. He was a member of the Patriotic Old Comrades
League and also a new member of the recently-expanded CRPP.

- U Thein Oo, PND elected representative from Oktwin Township
Constituency-1, Pegu Division. He is also a new member of the CRPP.

- Dr Hla Soe Nyunt, NLD elected representative from Singaing Township
Constituency-2, Mandalay Division.

- U Bo Moung, NLD elected representative from Tabayin Township
Constituency-1, Sagaing Division.

- U Tin Htut Oo, NLD elected representative from Lewe Township
Constituency-1, Mandalay Division.

We heard that the SPDC arrested these 10 gentlemen after the 30 May
Tabayin incident. We have not heard about their whereabouts till today.

(Htet Aung Kyaw) Well, 10 MPs have been arrested in connection with the
Tabayin incident. Now, an ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross)
delegation has departed for Mandalay and we do not know where they will go
next. We believe they went to meet them. It is not sure whether they will
meet them but what would you like to say to the ICRC delegation?

(Dr Myint Cho) We have an organization that oversees the activities of the
international parliament unions called the IPU, Inter-Parliamentary Union.
We continuously report to the IPU about the arrests and unlawful
suppression, torture and detention of MPs. Then through the IPU and the
respective parliaments, they tried to pressure the SPDC. Regarding the
ICRC, what I would like to say is there are two points in the SPDC
granting ICRC access to prisoners. The first is I think they will allow
ICRC to meet with unimportant and uninjured prisoners. But with regard to
important political prisoners, like MPs and members of state and division
party organizing committees, I do not think they would allow the ICRC to
meet them. Another point is for those who are severely wounded, I think
they will prolong their detention until their wounds are properly healed.
What we want to say to the ICRC is please do not believe in the SPDC's
list (of prisoners) but carefully review the list obtained from various
other sources. Try and obtain a comprehensive list of NLD leaders, NLD
members and NLD sympathizers, including the MPs from various sources. Once
they know the places, then they can precisely request the SPDC to meet
them. They cannot be satisfied with only what the SPDC has permitted them.
If that is the case, then the safety and future of the remaining prisoners
are at stake.
__________

Narinjara News June 25 2003

Forced Labour in the Road through the Mayu Ranges

The construction of a motorable road connecting Rathedaung and Maungdaw
townships in Rakhine State, in the western part of Burma, has been
underway since January this year, according to our correspondent.

Forced labour has been widely used in the road that runs through the
middle section of the Mayu ranges, which will connect the Mayu and Naaf
Rivers.

The Naaf River serves as the common border between Burma and Bangladesh.

The road is being constructed under the direct supervision of Lieutenant
Colonel Aung Naing Tun  commander of the tactical unit at Buthidaung.  An
elderly man working in the road told our correspondent that the villagers
from the western bank of the Mayu River are being conscripted for the
construction of the road.

Each morning villagers from Athak-Naingra, Auk-Naingra, Belami,
Shwet-Prung, Chinn-Rwa, Thanga-net, Navi-cheik, Paingphaw-brung,
Kan-brung, Thabre-daw, Zedi-brung, Thaya-gung, etc. are seen forced to
work in the road.  The nature of jobs include embankment, carrying of
stone chips and bricks, mortar, and other road construction materials.

Our reliable source said that the road is entirely made by the order of
the army and no NGOs or any government departments have been engaged in
constructing the road.
_________

Kaladan Press June 25 2003

A Rohingya girl gang raped

Buthidaung, June25: On June 01, a Rohingya woman named Ms. Naziya Bi, 25,
daughter of Farook Ahmed hailing from San Nyin Way (Lambabil-East) village
of Buthidaung Township in Arakan State, was gang raped by three Burmese
soldiers, according to our correspondent.

 Before the month of June 2003, two sections of Burmese army from
Battalion No. 556 have encamped by the side of a bridge close to the said
village of San Nyin Way. Then they extended an outpost to the southeast
of the village where 3 soldiers were sent to collect taxes from the wood
and bamboo cutters. Accordingly, the soldiers collected 4 pieces of wood
and 5 pieces of bamboos from each of them, he further added.

At about 01:00 pm, while the victim Naziya Bi was on way back to her home
with a basket of vegetables from her farm, the soldiers of the outpost
suddenly stopped her asking for vegetables tax. Though she had given them
some vegetables as they demanded, she was not set free with bad intention
and made her waited a little while, said the source.

In one stage, one of the three soldiers gripped and dragged her into a
room and gang raped her in turn. She cried and cried but no one came at
her rescue. The rapists threatened the poor woman to kill if she exposes
the matter to anyone, the source further added.

However, she was released at 04:00 pm and reached home in great fears and
frustration. Then, she apprised the villagers of the matter in tear, said
a relative of the victim to our source.

The next morning, the village chairman accompanied by village elders went
to the concerned Battalion and reported the incident to the army
commander, but no action has yet been taken against the culprits, the
relative further added.

“ This kind of gang rapes were occurred in many other villages, but the
villagers did not dare to complain for fear of further punishment by the
army. In previous times, when such kind of cases were reported, the
concerned authorities threatened the victims not to come again to vilify
their soldiers,” said a schoolteacher preferring not to mention his name.
_______

Manchester Guardian June 25 2003

Burmese junta closes schools after seizing Suu Kyi
By Vaudine England and John Gittings

Burma's military junta closed all schools and colleges indefinitely last
weekend, following its detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
and her party's leadership.

"The regime is very worried that they are facing a Cory Aquino-type people
power movement, and basically they've panicked," said a diplomat,
referring to the mass protests that ousted the Philippine dictator
Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.

A government spokesman, Brigadier Than Tun, has accused Ms Suu Kyi -- who
was seized last Friday after a clash in Mandalay between her supporters
and a pro-junta mob -- of making "inflammatory speeches" critical of the
ruling junta, inciting the people to violence.

According to sources in Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD),
the Nobel peace prize-winner is being held in a military intelligence
guesthouse in the capital, Rangoon. The military regime said that she and
19 other party members were in "protective custody".

Offices of the NLD -- more than 1,000 of whose members are already in jail
-- were closed over the weekend and their telephones cut off.

Ms Suu Kyi, who was on a month-long political tour of the country, had
been drawing crowds of up to 20,000 -- the spark for the regime's latest
move, diplomats believe.

The closure of schools and universities harks back to the years following
Ms Suu Kyi's victory in elections of 1990 -- an event that the military
never recognised, instead placing her under house arrest. Educational
institutions were reopened and Ms Suu Kyi released from house arrest for
the second time just over a year ago, amid hopes for fresh dialogue and
promises for the opposition leader's freedom of movement.

Her fresh arrest has prompted widespread concern and condemnation. The UK
foreign office minister, Mike O'Brien, called on Burma to release Ms Suu
Kyi and other party members immediately. "Over the past few weeks I have
been alarmed by persistent, credible reports that the Union Solidarity
Development Association [Usda], and other groups supported by the military
regime, have been inciting local people into protests against [Suu Kyi's]
National League for Democracy," he said.

Ms Suu Kyi has faced violent and apparently organised harassment from the
Usda on her recent trips out of the capital.

The UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, expressed concern about the
situation and said the developments underlined the urgent need for
national reconciliation.

Meanwhile calls are growing for EU sanctions against the Burmese junta,
with Europe's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, comdemning the regime's
"repressive behaviour".
____________

Inter Press Service June 25 2003

Muslims Fear Tense Times Ahead for Islamic Schools
By Marwaan Macan-Markar

Since the much-hyped arrest of three Thai Muslims with alleged links to
militant groups in the region, the Muslim minority in the country’s south
has been fearing that Islamic schools there may soon face a lesson in
survival.
The Thai Muslims’ worries arise from the fact that one of the arrested
men—Maisuri Haji Abdulloh—is a religious leader and owner of an Islamic
school in Narathiwat, one of Thailand’s five southern provinces with a
large Muslim population.
Maisuri’s son, Muyahi, is also among the three taken in by the police on
suspicion of having links with Jemaah Islamiyah, a group that aims to
create a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia and has been classified as a
terrorist organization by several governments.
A rumor that spread through some Muslim communities in the wake of the
June 10 arrest—that the government was planning a sweep through at least
10 other Islamic schools in the south—reflected this undercurrent of
concern.
The government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra denied having such a
plan. Still, "teachers and students in these schools are worried about
what may happen next," said Nimu Makaje, vice president of the Islamic
Council in the southern province of Yala. "We have already seen a drop in
the numbers of teachers and students in some schools."
Muslims who fund these religious schools fear that they may be hounded, he
disclosed during an interview. "Some religious schools that receive money
from the Middle East are also afraid now."
Thai Muslims always took their religious schools to be safe, but the
current events are threatening to change this, added an academic versed in
Southeast Asian Islam, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "The concerns
are genuine, because it is making them feel vulnerable, being treated with
suspicion by the government for getting an Islamic education."
In Satun, Narathiwat, Yala, Pattani and Songkhla—the predominantly Muslim
provinces in the south near Malaysia—Islamic schools have played a vital
role in sustaining the tradition of Muslims, who are the largest minority
in this Buddhist nation. There are close to four million Muslims out of a
population of some 61 million people.
Religious education is offered through a number of private Islamic
schools, which offer both Islamic teachings and other subjects, or a
traditional school system called "pondok," where only Islamic learning
occurs.
The arrest of the three men, including Waemahadi Wae-dao, a medical
doctor, took place after the authorities learnt that the Thai men were
allegedly planning to detonate bombs near selected Western and Asian
embassies in Bangkok and popular tourist spots in Thailand.
Bangkok had been tipped off by authorities in Singapore, following the
arrest of a Singaporean Muslim identified as being the head of Jemaah
Islamiyah in the city-state. Governments in the region and the US accuse
the group of plotting to unleash terror in Southeast Asia.
Government officials, including Prime Minister Thaksin, were quoted in the
local press saying that Arifin bin Ali, the Singaporean, had confessed to
having met the three Thais and discussed the plot to detonate bombs during
the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in
Thailand in October.
However, the government is having difficulty bringing charges against the
accused Thai plotters, a fact that emerged during a briefing that local
intelligence officials gave on June 18 to members of the diplomatic
community. "They admitted that there is no evidence that links the three
Thais to Jemaah Islamiyah besides what Arifin revealed," said an Asian
diplomat who was present at the morning briefing. "They also do not have
information about how the bombings were to take place other than for when
it would be and where."
This chain of events is adding to the anxiety among Muslims, said Pakorn
Priyakorn, an executive committee member of the Bangkok-based Islamic
Center of Thailand. "The people want to know what is happening, if it is
true, if there is evidence about the three arrested men." He pointed out
that a delay in clarifying innocence or guilt will also keep alive another
issue that has been catapulted into the media glare—the type of Islam
being taught in the religious schools.
Some media accounts have sounded the alarm over the influence of the
Wahabi strand of Islam in religious schools, including the one run by
Maisuri. Wahabism emerged in Saudi Arabia in the 18th century and has
since become the dominant strand of interpreting and practising the
Islamic faith in the Saudi kingdom. It has been marked for its austere and
extremely conservative views.
But since the multiple acts of terror in the US on Sept 11, Wahabism has
been increasingly seen as promoting intolerance and breeding Islamic
militants. That arose due to, among other reasons, A majority of the men
involved in the September terror attacks, including Osama bin Laden,
reportedly subscribed to Wahabism.
However, both Pakorn and Nimu explain that the Wahabi influence in
Thailand’s religious schools does not propagate violence. "In Thailand,
Wahabism is not considered radical. It is seen as another discipline to be
taught in schools," said Pakorn.
For decades, Thai Muslims have been going to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and
Egypt to be trained as religious teachers. These Arab governments also
help local Muslims financially—either by offering scholarships in Islamic
studies or financial aid for the religious schools.
"But these links and the Wahabi presence in Thailand have been
misunderstood, because of the wrong impression given by the media," said
Nimu. "There has been distortion."
However little of that surprises him, given the way Muslims in the south
have been negatively portrayed since outbursts by Muslim separatists in
the 1960s. "To say that we want to promote violence is wrong," he added.
"There is no truth about the Jemaah Islamiyah link to the schools."

DRUGS

Xinhua News Agency June 25 2003

Myanmar makes achievements in drug control (1) By Duan Tingchang

Myanmar is one of the main origins of narcotic drugs in the world. In face
of the grave danger of drugs posed to the country and the international
community, the Myanmar government keeps on its long-term fight against
drugs and has made achievements in the sector.

According to the figures of the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control
(CCDAC), during the 15-year period from 1988 to 2002, Myanmar exposed a
total of 68,074  narcotic-drug-related cases, arresting 91,532 drug
offenders and seizing several dozen tons of drugs including 35 tons opium,
4.959 tons heroin, 8.048 tons marijuana, 0.649 tons morphine and 21.04
tons ephedrine as well as 124.4 million tablets of stimulants.

The statistics also show that during the period of nearly 13 years from
Feb. 13, 1990 to June 26, 2002, Myanmar openly burned up seized narcotic
drugs for 16 times in the capital of Yangon and 26 times in border areas
totaling 42 times.

Of the 50.989 tons of drugs destroyed in Yangon for the 16 times, were
26.721 tons opium, 3.969 tons heroin, 5.851 tons marijuana and 14.448 tons
ephedrine as well as 115.8 million stimulant tablets.

Of the 122.151 tons of drugs put on fire in border areas for the 26 times,
there included 117.93 tons poppy seeds, 3.466 tons opium, 0.405 tons
heroin and 0.35 tons morphine.

Up to now, Myanmar has built three drug elimination museums in the
country. They were opened in 1997, 2000 and 2001 respectively. The
historical data and materials displayed in these museums cover the danger
of narcotic drugs, the origin of drug and Myanmar's drug control
achievements, calling on people to stay away from drugs.

According to a report on Myanmar's drug control status issued by the US
Counter Narcotic Center (CNC), in 1996, Myanmar's poppy cultivated area
was 163,100 hectares with opium production registering 2,560 tons, while
in 2002, its poppy cultivated area was 77,700 hectares with opium output
reaching 630 tons. Over the six-year period, the country's poppy
cultivation area and opium production dropped sharply.

At present, Myanmar adopts two strategies in combating drugs, the first
being to take the drug control task as an important task of the country,
while the second being to raise the living standard of ethnic minorities
inhabiting in border areas by gradually changing their traditional
livelihood of depending on opium cultivation, production and trafficking.

Strengthening cooperation in drug control sector internationally,
regionally and bilaterally is one of the main measures taken by Myanmar.
So far, Myanmar signed memorandum of understanding on regional drug
cooperation with China, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. It has also
endorsed agreements on bilateral cooperation in the sector with China,
India, Vietnam, Russia, Laos and the Philippines.

Besides, since 1993, Myanmar has jointly carried out field survey on poppy
cultivation status in Shan state for nine times with the US CNC. It has
also, since 2001, conducted poppy cultivation survey for three times with
the UN International Drug Control Program.

REGIONAL

Associated Press June 24 2003

Myanmar's largest donor, Japan, suspends aid as junta denies Suu Kyi at
infamous prison
By AYE AYE WIN

Japan, Myanmar's largest donor, froze all financial aid to the country on
Wednesday to punish its military government for detaining pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Japan appears to be rethinking its policy of engaging the junta in a
dialogue with promises of aid - unlike the United States, the European
Union and Britain, which have already imposed sanctions to press for Suu
Kyi's freedom.

Also Wednesday, U.N. special envoy Razali Ismail, the only outsider to see
Suu Kyi since her arrest more than three weeks ago, said U.N. officials
are "increasingly alarmed" about the government's refusal to release her.

Suu Kyi and members of her National League for Democracy party were taken
into "protective custody" after a clash between her supporters and
government backers during a political tour in northern Myanmar on May 30.

She has been held incommunicado since then, and the government has refused
to disclose her whereabouts or say when she will be released despite an
international outcry.

Britain's Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien set off a fresh round of
outrage last week when he said the Nobel Peace Prize laureate was being
held in a "two-room hut" at the infamous Insein prison in northern Yangon.
He did not say how he had learned of her purported location.

But Myanmar Home Minister Col. Tin Hlaing, in a meeting with British
Ambassador Vicky Bowman on Wednesday, denied that Suu Kyi was in Insein,
said Martin Garret, a British diplomat who also attended the meeting. The
minister did not say where she was, only that it was not Insein, Garret
said.

Tokyo's decision to freeze the aid comes two days after Senior Vice
Foreign Minister Tetsuro Yano returned empty-handed from a mission to
Myanmar to secure Suu Kyi's release. Japan, one of the few developed
countries in direct talks with the military government, gave $78 million
in fiscal 2001, the latest year for which figures are available.

Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962. The current junta came
to power in 1988 after a crackdown on a pro-democracy movement that left
thousands dead.

Japan halted new loans following the military takeover but says it has
been providing development aid on a case-by-case basis as it monitors the
junta's progress on human rights and democratization.

Before 1988, Japan's grants to Myanmar, also known as Burma, made up 60
percent of all foreign aid and grants to the country.

Suu Kyi's detention has brought to a halt the slow-moving national
reconciliation process initiated by Razali in October 2000 to end the
country's political deadlock. The government has been at loggerheads with
Suu Kyi since 1990, when it called elections but refused to hand over
power when her party won.

Suu Kyi, 58, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her nonviolent
democracy campaign and has spent most of the time since then under house
arrest or strict surveillance.
______________

New Straits Times June 25 2003

PM: Asean in a quandary over Suu Kyi's continued detention
By Firdaus Abdullah

PUTRAJAYA, Tues. - Saying that Asean was in a quandary due to the arrest
and continued detention of Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi,
Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad today called on the Myanmar Government to
consider the views of fellow Asean members.

"I hope she is released as soon as possible. I don't know why she has
not been released yet. I hope that the Government of Myanmar takes into
consideration the views expressed by other countries, especially its
fellow Asean members as this (the detention of Suu Kyi) has put Asean in a
quandary," the Prime Minister said.

Dr Mahathir was asked to comment on the Myanmar Government's reluctance
in releasing Suu Kyi during a Press conference at his office today.

Myanmar's military Government had placed the Opposition leader under
"protective custody" since May 30 after violent clashes between her
supporters and pro-Government groups.

She is believed to be held in a Government "safe-house" near Yangon, but
Western wire-reports suggest that Suu Kyi is being held in the Insein jail
which has been described as being in a deplorable state.

United Nations special envoy from Malaysia, Tan Sri Razali Ismail, is
the only outsider who has managed to persuade the military leadership for
a brief meeting with Suu Kyi since her arrest.

Razali was also instrumental in persuading the junta to free Suu Kyi
from her last period of house arrest in May 2002.

The career diplomat had told the media last week that Suu Kyi was not
injured and that she would be released as soon as possible, but to-date
the Government is yet to free her.

The latest attempt to secure her freedom was undertaken by Japanese
Deputy Foreign Minister, Tetsuro Yano, who met Myanmar's military
intelligence chief Khin Nyunt, third in command in the ruling State Peace
and Development Council (SPDC) yesterday.

It was widely speculated last week that Japan might scale down its aid
to Myanmar due to the latest saga but Yano's remarks, published today,
were toned down.

"The purpose of my visit was not to deliver a review of the Japanese
position toward Myanmar, but I was hoping to break the stalemate," he told
the media after his meeting with the military leader.

Japan is the main aid donor to Myanmar.

Meanwhile, a Reuters report stated that UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan,
in a statement issued by his office in New York, said he learned she was
held in Insein jail outside Yangon and considered "the conditions under
which she is being held to be truly deplorable".

He said that Razali informed him Suu Kyi was being detained under a law
protecting the state against subversive elements.

The Myanmar junta has repeatedly said that it was holding Suu Kyi for
her own personal safety.

__________

Agence France Presse June 25 2003

Myanmar junta warns Thailand of possible dissident hostage plan

Thailand stepped up security surrounding Myanmar diplomats Wednesday after
Myanmar's government warned of a possible plan by dissidents to take
hostages and demand the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi,
senior police said.

The democracy campaigner has been held under what Myanmar's ruling junta
calls "protective custody" since attacks on her supporters by a
government-backed mob on May 30, prompting an international outcry.

"There was a warning that exiled Myanmar students may have planned to hold
Myanmar diplomats here to press the junta to release Aung San Suu Kyi,"
Lieutenant General Jumpon Manmai, head of Special Branch police told
reporters.

Jumpon said police had beefed up security at the embassy and around
embassy staff and were closely monitoring the movement of exiled Myanmar
students in Thailand.

"Special Branch police are closely monitoring the students' movement and
have coordinated with local police to safeguard diplomats' residences and
embassy premises," he said.

Jumpon said police would continue to allow students to protest peacefully
in public places, including in front of the Myanmar embassy, but he vowed
to arrest students who carried out illegal acts.

Dissidents angry at the glacial pace of democratic reform in Myanmar,
which has been ruled by the military since 1962, have previously staged
violent incidents in Thailand.

In October 1999, five armed rebels calling themselves the Vigorous Burmese
Student Warriors were involved in a day-long siege at the Myanmar embassy
in downtown Bangkok, in which nearly a hundred people were taken hostage.

The incident ended without bloodshed when Thai officials provided a
helicopter that took the rebels to the Thai-Myanmar border in exchange for
the hostages' release.

That incident was closely followed by a siege at a hospital in western
Thailand, when a dissident group going by the name God's Army took
hundreds hostage. Thai forces attacked the hospital, killing the ten
gunmen involved.
_______

Deutsche Presse Agentur June 25 2003

Thais beef up security after Myanmar kidnap plot tip-off

Thai police said Wednesday they have stepped up security at the Myanmar
(Burmese) embassy in Bangkok after receiving an intelligence tip that
dissidents were planning to kidnap the Myanmar ambassador.

Special Branch Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Chumpol Munmai said
the warning of a possible kidnap attempt was given by representatives of
Myanmar's Military Intelligence.

The Myanmar officers warned that opponents to the country's ruling junta
planned to kidnap the ambassador and try to swap him for the release of
jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"We've been monitoring the activities of the Burmese exiles," Chumpol
said. "We've warned the Burmese students in Thailand to respect Thai law.
They must keep their rallies peaceful."

He said Thai police have stepped up security at the embassy and at the
Myanmar ambassador's residence as a result of the kidnap warning.

Anti-junta demonstrations have been staged frequently at the Bangkok
embassy since Suu Kyi's arrest on the night of May 30.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner is still being held incommunicado at a
military prison north of Yangon, despite appeals for her release from the
U.N. secretary general, the U.S. president and other world leaders.

Myanmar dissidents in Thailand denied any violent intentions but said they
would carry on with their campaign for Suu Kyi's freedom.

Htay Lwin, from the Democratic Federation of Burma, said Thai Special
Branch police had ordered Myanmar dissidents to call off a demonstration
planned at the embassy on Thursday.

"There will be no demonstration tomorrow," Htay Lwin told Deutsche
Presse-Agentur dpa. "We cannot go."

Another anti-junta activist in Bangkok, Mo Hein, said police had
threatened Myanmar dissidents with arrest if they went ahead with the
protest on Thursday.

Seven anti-junta activists seized the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok in
October 1999, taking more than 200 hostages.

The hostage drama ended peacefully when the activists were allowed to fly
by helicopter to the Thai-Myanmar border.

INTERNATIONAL

Financial Times June 25 2003

UK and Japan increase pressure on Burma

The UK and Japan on Wednesday put pressure on Burma's military leaders to
release Aung San Suu Kyi the opposition leader, from jail, while Kofi
Annan, United Nations secretary-general, grew more concerned about her
fate.
Britain is to press the international community to tighten sanctions on
Burma.
Mike O'Brien, UK Foreign Office minister, is furious after being refused a
telephone number for Ms Suu Kyi, who has been held in Rangoon's notorious
Insein prison since her arrest at the end of May.
He told reporters that the UK would not rule out using its position on the
United Nations Security Council to press for wider sanctions if the
Burmese authorities did not free the pro-democracy leader and implement
promised democratic reforms.
"What we're seeking to do is talk to America and other European partners
about how to tighten progressively the pressure. We want the European
Union to take further steps. The UN is an option available to us at a
later stage."
Tony Blair, UK prime minister, said British companies had been told that
trade with Burma was "not appropriate" amid the suppression of human
rights by the military regime.
Mr O'Brien is due next week to meet the head of British American Tobacco
(BAT), the only UK-based company with operations in Burma, and will
outline the government's concerns. The Foreign Office discourages
investment in Burma but there is no ban on British companies operating
there.
The biggest foreign investor in Burma is Total, the French oil company.
China could be an obstacle to any UN resolution.
Mr O'Brien's threat came after a meeting in London with Kyaw Win, Burma's
ambassador, who told him he had been unable to get a telephone number for
Ms Suu Kyi.
Speaking after Razali Ismail, a UN special envoy, met officials in Tokyo,
a senior Japanese government official said that Japan had told Burma aid
would be halted if it refused to release Ms Suu Kyi.
"First of all, we want the early release of Suu Kyi. Under the current
circumstances we will not extend economic assistance," the official said.
The move by one of Burma's biggest aid donors - and a country that has
been relatively willing to engage with Rangoon - is likely to have even
greater weight than strong criticism by the US and the UK.
Mr Razali said that when he left Burma, he had sought specific assurances
about Ms Suu Kyi's release, which he did not get.
"The UN, the secretary-general and a lot of people there are. . .
increasingly alarmed about the situation," Mr Razali said in Tokyo.
The EU decided last week to impose sanctions after Ms Suu Kyi's detention
on May 30. Deliberately targeted at Burma's leadership, these include an
arms embargo, visa bans and asset freezes on more than 150 government
officials.
Burma faces growing international demands to release Ms Suu Kyi. Diplomats
say they have been assured by Rangoon that she will be freed but are
privately pessimistic this will happen soon. The Foreign Office was told
she was no longer being held at Insein but had no confirmation of this.
The opposition leader was detained in an incident in which it was reported
that a substantial number of her supporters were killed.
The Burmese government said the Nobel peace laureate was taken into
"protective custody" after violent clashes between her supporters and
pro-government groups. Since her arrest, Mr O'Brien has unsuccessfully
attempted to contact her several times, even telephoning the prison.
France also added to the pressure on Rangoon on Wednesday, inviting Ms Suu
Kyi to its embassy Bastille Day reception on July 14.
Its foreign ministry said it was counting on the Burmese authorities, "who
control her living conditions, to not put any obstacles in the way of her
attendance".
Ms Suu Kyi, the daughter of an independence hero, Aung San, won Burma's
last elections by a landslide in 1990 at the head of her National League
for Democracy but has never been allowed to govern.
Additional reporting from Reuters in Tokyo
___________

Narinjara News June 25 2003

UNHCR rejects press report

The United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has not plan to
wrap up its programme in Bangladesh as long as all Rohingya refugees from
Burma are not completely repatriated, according to UNB, a local news
agency.

“ We’ve no plan to shut down our programme as long as refugees are here,”
a senior official of the UNHCR here told the news agency yesterday.

Rejecting a press report, UNHCR Deputy Representative Mulusew Mamo said,”
our priority is to protect the refugees.. and we are here to fulfil our
mandate given by the UN General Assembly.”

There are a number of international organizations have accused the UNHCR’s
repatriation process for Rohingyas that is forced repatriation plan has
been taken by UNHCR and Bangladesh government, a source said.

About twenty thousand refugees are still in Nayapara and Kutupalong camps
of the cox’sbazar district in Bangladesh.
__________

PTI News June 25 2003

INDIAN AGENCY REPORTS UN TO CLOSE REFUGEE OFFICE IN BANGLADESH

Dhaka, 25 June: The fate of several thousand Myanmarese (Burmese) Muslim
refugees here hangs in balance as the UNHCR (United Nations High
Commission for Refugees) wing looking after their repatriation is closing
office shortly and the Bangladesh government rejecting the UN body's
request to assimilate them. "The repatriation of about 21,000 Rohingya
(Myanmarese) refugees has became uncertain as UN high commissioner for
refugees has decided to wind up of its office at Cox's Bazar," a
commission source was quoted as saying by the official BSS (Bangladesh
Sangbad Sangstha) news agency. The refugees comprise of those who fled
their country during 1991-92 to evade alleged atrocities in their country
by Myanmar military regime. The sources said the UNHCR informed Bangladesh
government last week that it would wind up its repatriation activities by
30 June.

The government also turned down a UNHCR proposal to assimilate these
refugees into the country. UNHCR will not only wind up its repatriation
activities, but also cautioned that "all financial aid in this task would
be terminated from 31 December next". There are around 21,000 Rohingya
living in two camps in Cox's Bazar district. So far around 234,000
Rohingyas have returned under the aegis of UNHCR.
_______

Associated Press June 25 2003

France issues Bastille Day invite to Aung San Suu Kyi

France called Wednesday on Myanmar's military government to let detained
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi attend Bastille Day celebrations at
the French Embassy in Yangon, stepping up pressure for her release.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate and 15 members of her National League for
Democracy party are invited to a July 14 reception at the embassy, Foreign
Ministry spokesman Herve Ladsous said.

France is counting on Myanmar authorities "not to put up obstacles to them
attending," he said.

Myanmar's ambassador to France, Wunna Maung Lwin, was summoned to the
Foreign Ministry on Tuesday and told about the invitation, Ladsous said.
The spokesman called for Suu Kyi's immediate release.

She and members of her party were taken into "protective custody" after a
clash between government backers and her supporters during a political
tour in northern Myanmar on May 30.

The government said four people were killed in the violence. Unconfirmed
reports from dissidents put the number at 70.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been ruled by the military since 1962.
The current junta came to power in 1988 after a bloody crackdown on
pro-democracy campaigners, leaving thousands dead.

ON THE BORDER

Irrawaddy June 25 2003

Migrants and Traffickers Arrested in Jungle
By Aung Su Shin

Village security officers in Mae Sot arrested eighty-eight illegal Burmese
migrants and two traffickers this morning, according to Mae Sot district
officials.
The group of migrants, which included 52 males, 35 females and a
three-year-old child, was nabbed while trying to cross the Tha Nong Thong
Chai mountain range en route to Kamphengphet Province. Most were planning
to travel to Bangkok by road after emerging from the jungle, said an
official from the Mae Sot district office.
Viraphong Subannaphong, secretary of the Mae Sot district office, said the
leading trafficker, Kao Sae Song, 32, escaped on foot, leaving his pickup
truck behind. Two teenage accomplices, Tao Sae Song, 15, and Plar Sae
Wang, 14, were apprehended.
The migrants paid the traffickers in advance for the trip, which they said
cost 6,000 baht (US $143) for the Mae Sot to Kamphengphet leg and an
additional 2,000 baht if they chose to continue to Bangkok by car.
The jungle route has been favored by traffickers this year to avoid
numerous roadblocks on the highways between Mae Sot and Bangkok. Last
year, the whole trip could be made by car for a 4,000 baht fee, according
to officials in Mae Sot. The necessity of trekking across the mountains
led to a doubling of the cost this year, said Viraphong.
Almost all the Burmese arrested this morning borrowed money to pay for the
trip, hoping to land a well-paying job in the Thai capital, said one of
the migrants.
"The money I used to travel to Bangkok was borrowed in Burma because I
could not find enough money to feed my family. Now I am in custody and the
interest is growing day by day," said a teary Maung Maung, 40, a father of
five.
An NGO official said that the human trafficking problem in Thailand is
difficult to solve because the root of the problem is in Burma, where
there is little economic opportunity and depressed wages. Traffickers are
attracted by the fees they receive from the migrants, who fulfill the
demand for cheap labor sought by entrepreneurs in Thailand, said the
official.
The arrested migrants will be deported to Burma via Thai immigration. The
traffickers face prison terms of up to ten years, according to Viraphong.

EDITORIALS

New York Post June 25 2003

BREAKING BURMA'S PYTHON GRIP

The vicious military regime in Burma is defying the civilized world by
holding incommunicado the famous pro-democracy leader and Nobel Prize
winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

A victim of house arrests and other persecution since her political party
won a general election in 1990 (the result was annulled by the military),
Suu Kyi was seized May 30 after government-sponsored thugs attacked her
convoy, killing scores.

She is now imprisoned in the notorious Insein Jail on the outskirts of
Rangoon, the capital of the formerly rich Southeast Asian country.

Once the world's biggest exporter of rice, Burma (renamed "Myanmar" by the
regime) is now a wretchedly poor economic basket case, as well as a vast
prison for its 45 million citizens - thanks to what the regime's founder
called "the Burmese way to socialism."

Secretary of State Colin Powell has called on the Burmese regime to
release the frail 58-year-old dissident, and Washington is imposing
sanctions. The foreign ministers of Britain, Australia, Canada, New
Zealand and Japan have also called for her release.

Even U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the European Union - with their
notorious soft spots for brutal third-world regimes - have joined the
chorus calling for Suu Kyi's release.

Unfortunately, Burma's Asian neighbors, including Thailand, India and
China, continue to befriend the Rangoon government.

They should cease to do so: The detention of Suu Kyi is as disgusting as
the regime that ordered it.