BurmaNet News: July 17 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

July 17 2003 Issue #2286

INSIDE BURMA

AFP: Myanmar opposition paralysed after arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi
Irrawaddy: 130 arrested near border
Narinjara: Forced conscription in western Burma
DVB: Veteran politicians urge junta to hold talks, solve political impasse

REGIONAL

Nation: PM: Prepare for refugees
Kyodo: Japanese foreign minister calls for dispatch of ASEAN mission to Burma
Reuters: Thais propose ‘road map’ for democracy in Myanmar

INTERNATIONAL

AFP: Bush eager to sign Myanmar sanctions bill
AP: UN: Release Myanmar opposition head
WP: Hill passes measure to punish Burma with trade sanctions

ON THE BORDER

Kaladan: Rohingya welcomes US-approved sanctions on Burma

INSIDE BURMA

Agence France Presse July 17 2003

Myanmar opposition paralysed after arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi
By PASCALE TROUILLAUD

The axe has fallen on Myanmar's opposition party since the arrest of its
charismatic leader Aung San Suu Kyi six weeks ago, leaving it virtually
shut down and its entire leadership in detention.

The crackdown comes as a dramatic reversal of fortune for the
long-suffering National League for Democracy (NLD) which had enjoyed a
rare flowering in the past year after Aung San Suu Kyi was released from
house arrest.

After the junta promised she would be free to carry out political
activities, the Nobel peace laureate and enthusiastic rank-and-file
members seized the opportunity to rebuild the party by reopening hundreds
of branch offices around the country.

Although a political reconciliation process begun in October 2000 at the
bidding of the United Nations made little progress towards achieving
democratic reforms, the brief period of openness revived the opposition's
spirits.

That ended on May 30, when Aung San Suu Kyi's supporters were ambushed by
a pro-junta mob during a political tour of Myanmar's north, triggering her
detention at an undisclosed location.

NLD vice-chairman Tin Oo who had been accompanying her was thrown into
jail and the rest of the party's leadership was put under house arrest in
Yangon with armed guards in front of their homes and their telephone lines
cut.

An unknown number of opposition supporters were also taken into detention,
and the party's head office in Yangon and all its branch offices were
closed down.

"The opposition simply does not exist any more," said one diplomat in
Yangon. "The party's headquarters is closed, the activists are in prison
or on the run -- in effect there is nothing left."

A senior member of the NLD said the crackdown, which has drawn intense
criticism abroad, had left the party completely paralysed.

"With our leadership effectively under wraps and our offices sealed, there
is very little we can do, including damage assessment," he told AFP.

"The NLD is undergoing another period of intimidation and harassment as
the military continues with its mopping-up operation."

The ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), whose past
campaigns of repression had left the party on the verge of collapse before
the UN-sponsored talks began, has it under intense scrutiny once again.

"All I can say is that the crackdown continues and any sign of dissent is
quickly nipped in the bud," one member said. "Anyone foolish enough to
demonstrate as has been done outside of the country would have been
immediately pounced on."

Analysts in Yangon and exiled dissidents believe the campaign of
repression and arrests of opposition activists will continue until the
ruling generals consider the situation is "normalised".

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has been touring
prisons in recent weeks to visit those rounded up in the wake of the
clashes, says 30 have been registered so far but dissident sources put the
figure above 100.

The National Council of the Union of Burma, one of the exiled groups, has
said that an NLD MP, Soe Win, was tortured for 24 days after his arrest.
Its claims cannot be independently verified.

Myanmar's junta has ignored the mounting calls for the opposition members
to be released, and in a tight-lipped response said only that it had
chosen "the most suitable way" to maintain law and order.

Given the junta's aggressive stance, no one rules out the possibility that
the NLD could simply be banned.

"Anything can happen," said the diplomat. "There were already rumours of
this in 2000 when (a junta-sponsored society) called for the NLD to be
banned at meetings orchestrated by the government."

The party -- one of the few in the world not to have any idea of how many
members it has but which undoubtedly enjoys immense popular support --
only last November launched a renewed membership campaign.

"We are back on our feet," NLD spokesman U Lwin told AFP at the time. "We
know that they are many more who want to join us."

Over the past year, the party elder became a favourite with journalists
who could call him up at any time of the day in Yangon. Now, his telephone
line is dead.
_____________

Irrawaddy July 17 2003

130 Arrested Near Border
By Kyaw Zwa Moe

July 17, 2003—Approximately 130 people attempting to flee Burma were
arrested near the Thai-Burma border on Monday, according to ethnic Karen
sources in the area.

Burmese soldiers made the arrests as people traveled in small groups along
a temporary road between Myawaddy and Vallay Kee in Karen State, says Win
Tun, an official from the News and Information Department of the Karen
National Union (KNU), an armed ethnic group. He believes the groups
intended to enter the jungle outside Vallay Kee before crossing into
Thailand.

Karen people in the area informed Win Tun that most of those detained were
teenagers, and the group included both men and women. He was also told
that dissidents from Rangoon and Pegu Divisions intending to join exiled
political groups in Thailand were among those arrested.

Padoh Mahn Sha, the Sec-Gen of the KNU, told The Irrawaddy, "Locals
reported that Burmese soldiers told them that those arrested included
political activists who fled to avoid possible arrests by the junta." He
did not know the number of dissidents taken into custody.

Vallay Kee locals also reported to Mahn Sha that 15 more people who may be
activists were arrested in the same vicinity yesterday.

 Burmese soldiers told them [locals] that those arrested included
political activists who fled to avoid possible arrests by the junta —
Padoh Mahn Sha


Other independent sources along the border confirmed the arrests of about
130 people, but did not know for certain whether any dissidents were among
them. The sources were aware of reports that the arrested were ordinary
people leaving Burma to seek jobs in the Thai border towns.

The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), a pro-Rangoon group, denied any
arrests by the Burmese army. "If the Burmese army did arrest them, we
would surely know about it, because our troops are working in the area,"
said a DKBA official based in Myawaddy.

The number of Burmese security personnel along the border has increased
since the May 30 attack in Upper Burma, as the regime seeks to prevent
political activists and Black Friday witnesses from fleeing the country.
____________

Narinjara News July 17 2003

Forced Conscription in Western Burma

 Fresh forced conscription into the Burmese Army has been reported from
various townships of Rakhine State in the western part of Burma.  Maung
Tun Yein (17) who fled and crossed the border to Bangladesh said that
Light Infantry Battalion 538, at Rathedaung Town, about thirty miles
north of Sittwe  the state capital, has been conducting fresh
conscription in and near his township.

He hails from Kodan-gauk village in the southern part of Maungdaw Township
close to the Bangladesh border.  Sergeant Major Thaung Myint, Sergeant Tun
Yein, and Sgt Soe Tin of LIB 538 came to Kodan-gauk village on 11th July
03 and forced the village chairman to collect villagers for conscription
to the army.

Reports from other parts of the western Burmese state also confirm that
though each of the Burmese army battalions is supposed to have seven
hundred members, there are only 150 to 200 members in average in each of
the nearly sixty battalions across Rakhine State.  The Burmese Army has
been desperately trying to fill up the gap, Tun Yein said.

Maung Tun Yein said that people are now most reluctant to join the army
because most of the people extremely dislike the life of a soldier unlike
in the past.  He also added that though the ruling Burmese military regime
issued orders not to forcefully draft civilians into the armed services,
they have again come up with the much controversial method of coercion in
conscripting civilians into the defence services.

Meanwhile the villagers have been forced to offer food and drink to the
members of the Burmese army who came for conducting the conscription as
well as to those who have been newly and forcefully recruited, he said.
___________

Democratic Voice of Burma July 17 2003

VETERAN POLITICIANS URGE JUNTA TO HOLD TALKS, SOLVE POLITICAL IMPASSE

The veteran politicians' group held a meeting today to discuss the
prevailing political situation in the country after the 30 May Tabayin
incident. The group said they are especially worried about the prevailing
situation because the authorities have not released Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
and the NLD (National League for Democracy) leaders but continue to detain
NLD members in various states and divisions. Furthermore, if the US and EU
step up their economic sanctions against the country, they worry about the
impact on the people. Thakhin Thein Pe, a veteran politician, said this
prompted them to hold a meeting to discuss the current political impasse.
Thakhin Thein Pe told DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma), the meeting passed
a resolution that the best way to solve Burma's current political impasse
is national reconciliation through the dialogue process. (Thakhin Thein
Pe, recording) At today's meeting, we discussed the world's situation
because Burma has come to a stage where it is scorned by the world. The US
and UK have slapped sanctions and only Asia and China remains. We
discussed the matter today and considering the prevailing situation, there
is no other way to improve Burma but the Burmese holding reconciliation
talks themselves and rebuilding national unity through dialogue. We agreed
on that resolution. As for the dialogue process, we heard that the other
party is claiming that the dialogue process is the last resort and there
is no other step. We began to think and believe that Burma has now become
a rogue nation. It is the duty of the present people to improve the
situation. In other words, the Burmese must hold talks with the Burmese,
try and find unity, and work for the emergence of a democratic nation.
Only then can Burma return to the international arena and be part of the
world community. (End of recording)

After the 30 May Tabayin incident, the veteran politicians' group
presented a nine-point petition to State Peace and Development Council
Chairman Sr Gen Than Shwe on 14 June. In that letter, they urged the
immediate release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD members, to reopen
all the NLD offices and to hold a dialogue and solve the political
impasse.

REGIONAL

Nation July 17 2003

PM: Prepare for refugees

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday ordered the Labour Ministry
and security agencies to prepare for adverse ramifications from the US
sanctions against Burma.

Thaksin said the sanctions would result in severe economic hardship for
Thailands neighbour and likely lead to an influx of illegal Burmese
workers.

The US sanctions include an embargo against Burmese imports, a freeze on
the juntas assets and a travel ban on senior government officials.

The US House of Representatives passed sanctions yesterday, one month
after the Senate approved the move.

Washington wants to punish Rangoon for its human rights abuses and its
latest crackdown on the countrys democracy movement, including the
detention of prodemocracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Ive been trying to warn Burma that they should not have let things come to
this because the embargo will make life hard for them, Thaksin said
yesterday.

Burmas rebel leaders, meanwhile, welcomed the move and said it was long
overdue.

They should have passed it a long time ago, Shan State Army (SSA) leader
Colonel Yawd Serk told The Nation.

He said the SSA was prepared to throw its support behind Suu Kyi and her
National League for Democracy (NLD), which won a landslide victory in the
1990 general election.

Pado Man Sha, secretarygeneral of the Karen National Union (KNU), said the
US moves were good for the Burmese people.

We have waited for this for a long time. The KNU support this move very
much because the junta will not move forward unless it is pressured to do
so.

Panithi Tangpati, adviser to the Tak Chamber of Commerce, said the
sanctions were unlikely to have a great impact on the Burmese government
but some factory workers producing goods for the US might be laid off. But
layoffs could lead to widespread looting, he said.

The sanctions could lead to informal trading and encourage trade through a
third country. He said Burma might become more economically dependent on
Thailand.

Western governments and Japan, Burmas key aid donor, stepped up pressure
on the communist state following clashes on May 30 between Suu Kyis
supporters and a juntabacked mob in northern Burma. The incident led to a
massive crackdown on NLD members, many of whom were detained in
undisclosed locations.

Asean and many foreign governments have demanded the immediate release of
Suu Kyi and the speedy implementation of reforms leading to democratic
rule in the country.The US House of Representatives voted 4182 on Tuesday
to ban imports from Burma, where prodemocracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has
been held by the government since May 30.

The Senate could approve the new House version in coming days and send a
final bill to President George W Bush to sign.
____________

Kyodo News July 17 2003

JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS FOR DISPATCH OF ASEAN MISSION TO BURMA

Japan hopes the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will send a
mission to Myanmar (Burma) to help achieve the release of detained
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi
told her Indonesian counterpart on Thursday (17 July).

"It is quite important that ASEAN work towards resolving the issue, and I
hope ASEAN will send a mission to Myanmar under the leadership of
Indonesia which chairs the grouping," Kawaguchi was quoted by Japanese
officials as telling Indonesian Foreign Minister Hasan Wirayudha in a
telephone conversation. The 10-member ASEAN is exploring the possibility
of a high-level mission to Myanmar to urge the junta to release Suu Kyi as
early as possible.

Hasan responded that ASEAN will make efforts to achieve her release, the
officials said.

The junta detained Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, and other leaders
of the National League for Democracy on 30 May in northern Myanmar
following what the junta claims was a clash between Suu Kyi's supporters
and backers of the government.

Suu Kyi's detention, as well as the North Korean nuclear issue, is high on
the agenda at an Asia-Europe Foreign Ministerial Meeting to be held in
Indonesia 23-24 July. Hasan will chair the meeting.
____________

Reuters July 17 2003

Thais propose ''road map'' for democracy in Myanmar
By Dan Eaton

BANGKOK, July 17 — Thailand has proposed a ''road map'' for democratic
change in military-run Myanmar and spoke out on Thursday against U.S.
plans to impose stiffer sanctions on its impoverished Southeast Asian
neighbour.

       Myanmar detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in late May,
marking the start of a fresh crackdown on dissent, and has shrugged
off mounting pressure to release her.
       Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said plans by the Bush
administration to ban imports from Myanmar -- ruled by the military
for the past four decades -- would not hurt the junta. ''Thailand
disagrees with the U.S. sanctions on Myanmar because it will not
hurt the government but the poor,'' Surakiart told reporters.
''There will also be more illegal labour flooding to Thailand.''
       The U.S. Congress on Wednesday cleared legislation closing the U.S.
market to imports from Myanmar, sending the bill to the desk of
President George W. Bush for his signature.
       Surakiart said Bangkok had proposed a plan for a transition to
democracy in Myanmar in a series of recent meetings with the junta.
       ''Thailand has already proposed a road map for Myanmar and its
direction towards democracy and we have discussed it with them,''
Surakiart said, but declined to give details.
       ''Its up to Myanmar to decide how they want to do it, but
Thailand's road map is very practical. This road map is based on a
common basis for national reconciliation in Myanmar.''
       Surakiart said Bangkok would ''like to see a clear cut plan that
Myanmar announces to the the world on its process to democracy,
when it will release Suu Kyi and when it will have a
constitution.''
ANNAN
       U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan told an envoy from the reclusive
nation on Wednesday that it must quickly free Suu Kyi and said he
held the junta responsible for her wellbeing.
       Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, won 1990
elections by a landslide but has never been allowed to take power.
She has spent much of the past 14 years in detention.
       Suu Kyi and two dozen top party officials were detained on May 30
after a bloody clash between pro-junta groups and her supporters
while she was visiting the north of the country.
       Witnesses to the clash who have since fled to Thailand say Suu
Kyi's convoy was attacked by club-wielding thugs, resulting in
dozens of deaths.
       The junta denies orchestrating the violence and says four people
were killed.

INTERNATIONAL

Agence France Presse July 17 2003

Bush eager to sign Myanmar sanctions bill

US President George W. Bush looks forward to signing newly passed
legislation imposing sanctions on Myanmar's ruling military junta, White
House spokesman Scott McClellan said Wednesday.

"This legislation sends a clear message to the Burmese regime that their
continued detention of Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and their
assaults on freedom cannot stand," he said in a statement.

The Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 authorizes Bush to provide
aid to Myanmar's democracy activists, impose trade restrictions, freeze
the regime's financial assets in US banks, and install a visa ban on
regime members seeking to enter the United States. The legislation, which
the US president has said he would sign, was introduced to punish the
junta for its recent crackdown on pro-democracy groups and its detention
on May 30 of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"The president applauds today's passage of the Burmese Freedom and
Democracy Act by the Congress, and he looks forward to signing it into
law," said McClellan.

The measure "is intended to focus the world's attention on the Burmese
regime's continuing oppression of its people. The United States fully
supports the Burmese people in their struggle for democracy," the
spokesman said.

Aung San Suu Kyi won 1990 elections in a landslide but has never been
allowed to take power.

Myanmar has come under mounting pressure to release Aung San Suu Kyi, who
has been honored with a Nobel Peace Prize for her pro-democracy activism.

She was taken into "protective custody" after clashes broke out during a
political tour of northern Myanmar last May, when her supporters were
attacked by hundreds of members of a pro-junta organization. Dissidents
say dozens were killed in the violence.

Myanmar's ruling generals also have cracked down on her National League
for Democracy (NLD), arresting an unknown number of its members.

Myanmar's junta has said the democracy activists were responsible for
inciting the clashes and that Aung San Suu Kyi had been temporarily
detained for her own safety.

After being held for a while at Yangon's notoriously tough Insein prison,
she is now being held at an undisclosed location.

The Senate approved the legislation in a 94-1 vote just a day after the US
House of Representatives passed it by a 418 to 2 margin.

The regime in Yangon on Wednesday condemned that vote, calling the move to
tighten economic sanctions "weapons of mass destruction" that would create
havoc.
________

Associated Press July 17 2003

U.N.: Release Myanmar Opposition Head
By JESSICA VASCELLARO

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan called on Myanmar's leaders to
immediately release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

He did not rule out the possibility of U.N. sanctions to pressure the
country's military government for her release. Any U.N. sanctions on
Myanmar, however, would have to be approved by the Security Council, and
Annan said Wednesday the issue is not on its agenda yet.

The secretary-general issued a strong statement and spoke to reporters
after meeting Myanmar's Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win and his
special envoy, Razali Ismail, the only foreigner to have met with Suu Kyi
since her May 30 arrest.

"I remain convinced that the only way to build durable peace in Myanmar is
to release the detainees, ensure their political freedoms, and begin
substantive dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi immediately," Annan said in
the statement. "To that end, I requested that the government take the
initiative and meet with her."

Annan said he had no immediate plans to take the Myanmar issue to the
Security Council, but "I'm not saying it's excluded."

"I think all things are going to be on the table very soon, but I have
sent a message to Gen. Than Shwe," he said.

Earlier, when asked about sanctions, Annan said, "It is a bit premature
for me to say that it is a possibility. But I know that some governments
are becoming quite exercised by developments in Myanmar."

U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte told reporters he raised concerns in the
council Wednesday about Suu Kyi's detention.

The U.S. Congress on Wednesday sent to President Bush legislation to
impose economic sanctions against Myanmar, also known as Burma, to protest
the detention.
____________

Washington Post July 17 2003

Hill Passes Measure to Punish Burma With Trade Sanctions
By Glenn Kessler

The Senate gave final approval yesterday to a bill that would bar all
Burmese exports to the United States in an effort to punish the country's
ruling junta, which has detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
since May 30.

The 94 to 1 vote, one day after the House approved the bill 418 to 2,
sends the measure to President Bush for his signature. "We applaud passage
of the legislation," White House spokesman Sean McCormack said.

"This legislation sends a clear message to the Burmese regime that their
continued detention of Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and their
assaults on freedom cannot stand," the White House said in a statement.

The measure represents a significant policy shift for the Bush
administration, which previously tried to encourage the military
leadership to engage in a dialogue with Suu Kyi and Burma's ethnic groups.
But lawmakers said yesterday that policy is dead, and that they will push
for Burma's neighbors to adopt similar actions. They said they will also
press for action against Burma, also known as Myanmar, at the U.N.
Security Council.

"As long as Aung San Suu Kyi remains in prison and the Burmese people live
in fear, convinced Burma's neighbors are complicit in their suffering, the
problem of Burma will be an issue in America's bilateral relations with
nations across Asia," Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said.

Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the prime backer of the
legislation, declared: "This policy of engagement has been a total
failure, and that's part of what our bill is about today, to not only
establish a leadership role for the United States but to lead the rest of
the world in moving in a different direction."

The bill would ban the import of goods from Burma -- worth about $ 356
million in 2002 -- and freeze the Burmese government's assets in the
United States. It would expand the current ban on granting U.S. visas to
Burmese leaders and codify the policy of opposing new international loans
and technical assistance to that nation.

In a statement titled "Sanctions Used as Weapons of Mass Destruction," the
Burmese government condemned the legislation. The sanctions "are imposed
on target countries by the rich and powerful nations mainly with the
intention to create havoc and bring hardship on the mass population of the
people who need to work to live and require basic human needs to survive,"
the statement said.

Burma last week claimed to have sent Bush a petition signed by 350,000
textile workers appealing against the ban, which the semi-official Myanmar
Times said could cut the country's export earnings by as much as one
third.

European nations have also sanctioned Burma, and Japan has indicated that
it will take a tougher stance and suspend future aid. But neighboring
Thailand and China have said they will continue relations with the Burmese
government. Lawmakers heaped scorn, in particular, on Thailand's position.

Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy won the 1990 elections, but
the military voided the results. Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest
from 1989 to 1995, and again for 19 months before her release in May 2002
-- a move that some administration officials had hoped would offer
opportunities for greater engagement. But the outlook changed when the
regime attacked Suu Kyi's supporters, killing scores, and seized her.

ON THE BORDER

Kaladan Press July 17 2003

ROHINGYA WELCOMES US APPROVED SANCTIONS ON BURMA

Chittagong, July 17: Rohingya people of Arakan State, Burma, welcomes US
approved sanctions on Burma in protest against its recent crackdown on the
pro-democracy opposition, said an exiled NLD member living in Chittagong.

The US House of Representatives passed sanctions on 15th July 2003, one
month after the Senate approved the move. It voted 418-2 to ban imports
from Burma, where pro-democracy leader Daw Aung SanSuu Kyi has been
detained by the Burmese military ruling junta since May 30.

A prominent Rohingya leader said, the US moves were “ tremendous for the
whole people of the country.”

The House bill would limit the import ban to 3 years to address US
business community concerns about the difficulty of lifting sanctions once
they have been imposed.

Burma’s textile and clothing industry is likely to be hardest hit by the
measures, which were welcomed by opposition groups.

Burmar's junta condemned the economic sanctions, describing them as
"weapons of mass destruction" that would create havoc, according to BBC.

The European Union has also imposed tighter sanctions on Myanmar, while
the country's largest donor Japan has suspended new economic aid,
according to AFP, Rangoon.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific Randy
Schriver on Wednesday criticised China's stance on Myanmar, saying it was
isolated in its failure to condemn the junta and should use its leverage
to push for change, AFP further added.