BurmaNet News: August 14-16, 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

August 14-16 2003 Issue #2306


INSIDE BURMA
Scotsman: Behind bars for wielding a pen
VOA: Burma: Ne Win's Relatives Face Death Penalty
DVB: Clash between monks and police in Paukkhaung
AP: Yangon stifles citizens' access to foreign meida
DVB: Burma: Mon Ceasefire Group to Seek Members' Release at Meeting with
Khin Nyunt
AP: Myanmar's deputy leader to lead military delegation to China
Asia Times: Martyr's Day in Myanmar: Karen rebellion

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Politics and Sanctions Strike Border Trade
Irrawaddy: Opposition Rations Slashed
Irrawaddy: Politics and Sanctions Strike Border Trade

MONEY
BBC: Burma favours euros over dollars
AP: China to lend Myanmar $200 million for hydel project

REGIONAL
ADB: Ministers of Mekong River Countries to Discuss New Cooperation
Initiatives

INTERNATIONAL
Asia Times: Thailand's Myanmar roadmap under fire
AFP: "Unthinkable" that Myanmar can lead ASEAN: top US official

OPINIONS/STATEMENTS
The Nation: Road Map For Burma: Academics not optimistic


INSIDE BURMA


Scotsman, August 16, 2003
Behind bars for wielding a pen
By Rosemary Burnett

AMONG his many awards, U Win Tin has won the World Press Freedom Prize and
the Golden Pen of Freedom. But in March this year he spent his 73rd
birthday behind bars in the notorious Insein Prison in Burma, now known as
Myanmar.

He has been in prison for 14 years.

His crime was to be one of the founding members of the National League for
Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, set up in 1988 to challenge decades of
military rule.

In 1990, the new party won a landslide victory in the first democratic
election in many years.

But a military coup overturned the election result and put many of the
newly elected MPs and NLD supporters in prison.

General Than Shwe, leader of the coup, is still in power at the head of
the ironically named State Peace and Development Council.

A prominent journalist and writer, U Win Tin was originally sentenced to
three years in prison, but his sentence was extended twice, most recently
in March 1996 as a punishment for smuggling out a report to the United
Nations describing the appalling prison conditions in Insein.

He and four or five of his colleagues were moved to a small military cell,
measuring eight by ten feet.

They had no blankets and were allowed to leave the cell for only ten
minutes a day to shower.

They were detained like this for two months.

U Win Tin’s rapidly deteriorating health is believed to have been caused
by a lack of adequate food, water, sanitation and medical care in prison.

In June 2002 he was taken to Yangon, or Rangoon, General Hospital, but was
denied the operation doctors said he needed.

Recent events in Myanmar have led to a further surge in arrests and
killings of members of the National League for Democracy.

During a government-sanctioned tour of upper Myanmar, members and
supporters of the NLD were attacked by a mob armed with sharpened sticks,
clubs and iron bars.

They blocked the motorcade and began attacking NLD supporters and the
vehicles in which Aung San Suu Kyi, U Tin Oo, and other NLD leaders were
travelling.

Youth members and others attempted to protect the leaders, and some may
well have been injured or killed in the attempt.

MANY other supporters were said to have been beaten by attackers, several
of them to death. Attackers repeatedly hit the heads of supporters,
including several women, with iron bars and bamboo staves, until they lost
consciousness.

The security forces eventually arrived on the scene and gunshots were also
heard at that time. It is alleged the mob were members and supporters of a
rival political party, the Union Solidarity Development Association, an
organisation established and supported by the military rulers.

Some people managed to escape, but Aung San Suu Kyi, U Tin Oo, and many of
their supporters who fled the scene were later detained. Scores of other
NLD members were also arrested during or after the event. NLD offices
around the country - including the headquarters in Yangon- were shut down.

During a press conference on May 31, a government spokesman accused Aung
San Suu Kyi, U Tin Oo, and other NLD members of having incited unrest
during the NLD tour of upper Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi is being held in
"protective custody" at an unspecified location. U Tin Oo is also detained
at an unnamed location in upper Myanmar.

Eight other NLD leaders, all of them elderly, are being held under de
facto house arrest.

Amnesty International believes all ten NLD leaders were arrested solely
for the peaceful expression of their non-violent political views.

On June 10, during a visit to Myanmar, Ambassador Razali Ismail, the
United Nations Secretary General’s special envoy to Myanmar, visited Aung
San Suu Kyi at an unnamed location in Yangon, where she is being held in
solitary confinement. During the last week of June, a delegation of the
International Committee for the Red Cross travelled to upper Myanmar,
where they visited U Tin Oo, who was reported to be in good health.

THE ICRC was also given access to at least 30 others arrested on and after
May 30. Amnesty International is concerned that in the wake of the attack,
the authorities have continued to arrest and interrogate NLD supporters,
some as recently as mid- July.

Meanwhile, Amnesty members are involved in preparing a giant petition
protesting at the treatment of the democratically elected members of the
NLD to be presented to the authorities in Myanmar.

The petition calls for the immediate release of all those imprisoned for
their peaceful political activities. Amongst the signatories are Sir Sean
Connery and Ariel Dorfman.

The situation of U Win Tin is also causing concern. Comedian Boothby
Graffoe has persuaded many of his friends to make a special video in
support of the frail prisoner and you can watch the video and sign up to
the online petition at his site, www.uwintin.org.

Boothby, and fellow comedians Bill Bailey, Ed Byrne, Dara O’Briain, Nina
Conti, Daniel Kitson and Adam Hills will be appearing at the Amnesty
International Stand up for Freedom benefit night tomorrow at midnight in
support of the campaign to release U Win Tin. The fight for democracy
needs him.

Rosemary Burnett is Amnesty International’s programme director for Scotland

______________________________________


Voice of America, August 15, 2003
Burma: Ne Win's Relatives Face Death Penalty
By Ron Corben

Several relatives of former Burma strongman Ne Win face the death penalty,
after their appeal of a conviction for high treason was rejected by the
country's Supreme Court. A final decision on the four men's fate now rests
with the leader of the military government, General Than Shwe.
The four relatives of Burma's long-ruling strongman, the late Ne Win, were
convicted last September of plotting to overthrow Burma's government.

Ne Win's son-in-law and three grandsons had been arrested the previous
March on charges of attempting to recruit army officers to stage a coup.
They were all sentenced to death.

The verdict was upheld on appeal six months ago, and now two judges of the
Supreme Court have refused to overturn that decision.

Unless government leader Than Shwe grants the four men clemency, they face
death by hanging. But observers expect the men's lives to be spared, as
death sentences are rarely carried out in largely Buddhist Burma.

The government said the group had plans to reinstall Ne Win in power,
after kidnapping the government's present leaders and forcing them to
express loyalty to a new regime. During their trial, the four were accused
among other things of using "black magic" in their bid for power.
Ne Win died at the age of 91 last December. He had been under house arrest
with his daughter, Sandar Win, a well-known businesswoman.
It was Sandar Win's husband, Aye Zaw Win, and their three sons who were
convicted and now face the death penalty.

Ne Win took power in a 1962 coup, and held it until 1988. He remained a
significant behind the scenes influence in Burma's political life until
his latter years.

Analysts and diplomats have expressed doubts about the charges, saying the
case probably reflected a desire by the government to discredit the once
powerful Ne Win clan.

______________________________________


Democratic Voice of Burma, August 14, 2003
Clash between monks and police in Paukkhaung
There had been a clash between Buddhist monks and local police in
Paukkhaung, western Pegu Division on the night of 12th August.

The clash occurred after six policemen searched Kyauksri monastery which
was inhabited by about 100 novice monks and demanded one monk to be
defrocked for arrest on the night of 12th August. Instead, the six
policemen were detained by the monks for the night and the army had to
come and solve the problem.

To confirm the news, DVB contacted Prome (Pyi) a major town near
Paukkhaung and a local resident described the incident as follows:
A Prome resident : Yes, it is true. It occurred on the night of the 12th.
They went to check the guest list at the monastery. As there were some
visiting monks at the monastery, the police tried to arrest the monks who
were deemed to be not in accordance with the rules and there was a clash
between the monks and the authorities. The authority claimed that the
visiting monks were not following religious rules as they were not at
their own monastery during lent. Now, we have heard that after discussing
with authorities concerned the monks were released. At the moment, the
monastery was ordered to close temporarily for five days and the novice
monks were ordered to go to their respective homes.

At the moment, the monastery is being closed down temporarily and the
monks were told to return to their homes and it is reported that the monks
are said to be feeling more aggrieved.

According to other reports received by DVB, about 20 monks vandalised some
decorative flowerpots, hedges and signboards along the streets of the town
around 8pm on the night of the incident. The clash occurred when the
district police officer, U Tun Win arrived at Paukkhaung and marched to
the monastery and demanded the monks to release the culprits for arrest.

______________________________________


Associated Press, August 14, 2003
Yangon stifles citizens' access to foreign meida

Myo, a taxi driver, has memorized the entire daily broadcast schedule of
the BBC, the Voice of America and two other foreign radio stations.
Driving a visitor around Yangon in his beat-up, white Toyota, he proudly
recited the schedules from early morning until night: "VOA is 6 in the
morning. BBC is at 6:30. Radio Free Asia is from 7 to 8. Voice of America
is 6 in the evening again."

He continued through the list, counting off times excitedly on his
fingers, shifting gears between gestures, and turning around in his seat
to ensure his passenger understood.

Myo, who did not want to give his full name, is among millions of people
in Myanmar who listen to foreign radio broadcasts as the main source of
news about the country. Along with the US and British government stations
VOA and BBC, the most popular stations are Radio Free Asia, also financed
by the US, and the Democratic Voice of Burma, an opposition station based
in Norway.

Although not strictly illegal, listening to news on foreign radio stations
is considered a defiant gesture unlikely to be looked on favorably by the
authorities in Myanmar, or Burma, as it's also known.

The military, in power since 1962, is paranoid that independent
information may dent its hold on power and add to the popularity of the
pro-democracy opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. It limits sources of
outside information by requiring licenses for fax machines and blocking
Web sites critical of the government.

Aside from foreign stations, the only other news comes from
state-controlled media, which are devoted to recording the activities of
junta leader General Than Shwe and his Cabinet. The newspapers Myanma
Ahlin, Botahtaung and Kyemon publish no news of Suu Kyi and her party --
unless it is to berate them.

Foreign radio stations' listenership has shot up since the May 30 arrest
of Suu Kyi, and Philippe Latour of the international press freedom group
Reporters Without Borders said their listeners could face the government's
anger.

"They are at risk of getting into really big trouble for getting news from
outside," said Latour, who is based in Bangkok in neighboring Thailand.

However, in a faxed reply to a query, a government spokesman said this was
not the case: "There is no such law concerned with listening to foreign
radio stations and watching foreign TV stations ... Telling what you have
heard or watched on the radio or TV is not against the law unless you are
doing it with the intention to agitate, incite or cause some sort of
public unrest."

The spokesman, who asked that his name not be used, added that the
Democratic Voice of Burma and Radio Free Asia "are not very much accepted
by sensible listeners" because of their weak signals and the "black
propaganda" they broadcast.

Taxi driver Myo said that 90 percent of the people he knows listen to
foreign broadcasts on small, easily hidden transistor radios. As if to
show how it is done, Myo crouched low in his driver's seat with his hand
cupped over a pretend radio next to his hear.

According to Intermedia, a private firm hired by the BBC and VOA to survey
their impact in Myanmar, 39 percent of the country's 42 million people
listen to the BBC and 30 percent to VOA.

"Our purpose is long term, to empower people with information," the VOA's
Jay Henderson said in a telephone interview from Washington.

Kyaw Zen Tha, the chief of the BBC Burmese service based in London, said:
"The BBC is only out there so that the Burmese people can hear from the
outside what is true. News from the Burmese government is only propaganda.
Our programs are often the only source of information."

The few Myanmar journalists who have tried to be independent in their
reporting have faced harassment, censorship and very often prison.

Latour of Reporters without Borders said 16 journalists were in prison in
Myanmar at the end of 2002, compared to 11 in China, whose population is
more than 30 times greater. He added that a few more reporters have been
jailed since the detention of Nobel laureate Suu Kyi in May.

The only foreign journalist based in Myanmar is from China -- an ally of
the Myanmar government -- and other reporters working for foreign
news organizations in the country are from Myanmar, and can be intimidated
by the authorities.

One diplomat recounted that diplomats who are allowed to attend news
conferences are usually the ones asking tough questions as the Myanmar
reporters sit silently, fearful of directing pointed questions at military
officers.

Myanmar does not have any privately operated daily newspapers. It has up
to 100 private weeklies or monthlies but these publications -- and their
individual articles -- must be approved by a government board.

One editor of a monthly news journal, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
reported that the board rejects many of his articles and even prohibits
the use of many words.

"We can't use the words like warlord, inflation or exchange rate," he
said, chuckling over the junta's intolerance to any mention of the
country's problems.

The editor's combined home, office and print shop suggested his own -- and
the country's -- economic troubles. The walls were a smudged
fluoride-green, and he talked from behind a scratched and dented desk.

The editor said he has never been detained, but that he has been
threatened with arrest and his previous publication was once shut down.
Now he publishes his journal under someone else's name and seemed pleased
that -- in some small way -- he could flout the system.

"I'm so envious of foreign reporters who can say whatever they want," he
said.

______________________________________


Democratic Voice of Burma, August 16, 2003
Burma: Mon Ceasefire Group to Seek Members' Release In Meeting with Khin
Nyunt


It has been learned that a New Mon State Party (NMSP) delegation led by
NMSP Chairman Nai Htin departed for Rangoon today to hold talks with SPDC
(State Peace and Development Council) Secretary-1 Gen Khin Nyunt. During
the talks, the NMSP will present the case of two of its members detained
during July for allegedly planning to plant bombs and seek their release.

The two Mon nationals - Nai Yetkha and Nai Kyin Kaung alias Nai Myo Win -
were arrested on 17 July for allegedly planning to plant bombs.
Furthermore, the talks will also include DKBA (Democratic Karen Buddhist
Army), one of the ceasefire groups, members' intrusion into NMSP
territory. DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) contacted NMSP spokesperson Nai
Ba Nyar Mon who declined to comment anything prior to the meeting. But Nai
Ba Nyar Mon told DVB the SPDC's allegations are not true since the NMSP is
totally against terrorism. (Nai Ba Nyar Mon - recording) These two persons
- Nai Yetkha and Nai Kyin Kaung - are NMSP members. Nai Yetkha is one of
the party organizers for Moulmein while Nai Kyin Kaung was formerly from
the battalion of garrison engineers. We discovered their arrests only when
we saw the SPDC newspaper reports on the press conference and learned that
they were detained for alleged involvement in terrorist acts. We are
inclined to disbelieve that allegation because Nai Yetkha's political
activity is generally always centred around his organizational works
while, in a similar manner, Nai Kyin Kaung is almost always engaged in
headquarter activities. If he does anything unusual, our party would
definitely know. That is why we disbelieve the allegation because our
party has no knowledge of anything. (End of recording)

Furthermore, Nai Ba Nyar Mon said the DKBA members' intrusion into NMSP
territory had also been discussed with responsible SPDC officials.

(Nai Ba Nyar Mon - recording) Currently, the DKBA 96th Battalion is not
stationed inside the NMSP military zone. It is outside of the NMSP
military zone but inside the KNU region. However, it is very close to the
NMSP military zone. They have the right to collect taxes in their own
region and so far, it has not affected our relations. We are carefully
monitoring the situation and have already reported to the relevant Burmese
authorities. (End of recording)

That was NMSP spokesperson Nai Ba Nyar Mon. Meanwhile, it has been learned
that SPDC Secretary-1 Gen Khin Nyunt has planned a meeting of the
ceasefire groups including the UWSA (United Wa State Army) Wa armed group,
KIO (Kachin Independence Organization), and the SSA (Shan State Army).

______________________________________


Associated Press August 14, 2003
Myanmar's deputy leader to lead military delegation to China

The second-highest ranking member of Myanmar's ruling junta will make a
six-day official visit to China as head of a military delegation starting
this Sunday, diplomats said.

The planned visit, which had not yet been publicly announced locally by
Thursday, comes as Myanmar is facing increasing international isolation
because of its crackdown on the pro-democracy movement of Aung San Suu
Kyi.

China has been the country's top ally for the past decade, becoming closer
as Western nations have ostracized the military regime for its poor human
rights record and failure to turn over power to Suu Kyi's party, which won
general elections in 1990.

Deputy Senior Gen. Maung Aye, who is also army chief, will lead a
delegation of more than 30 members on the upcoming China trip, said
diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity. It will include Foreign
Minister Win Aung and several military commanders, they said.

Maung Aye last led a military delegation to China in 1996. In June 2000,
he made an official goodwill visit to mark the 50th anniversary of
diplomatic ties, but in his capacity as Myanmar's number two leader.

A Chinese diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Thursday that
he expected some people would find the timing of the upcoming visit
unusual, but he stressed that the trip just part of a routine of military
meetings.

Myanmar's government was widely condemned for detaining Suu Kyi and
members of her National League for Democracy party after a bloody clash on
May 30 between her followers and government supporters as she was making a
political tour of northern Myanmar.

______________________________________


Asia Times August 14, 2003
Martyr's Day in Myanmar: Karen rebellion
By Nelson Rand

MAE SOT, Thailand - "Give Us Liberty." That's what the sign is supposed to
say on the guard's hut at the entrance to the Karen National Liberation
Army's 201st Battalion headquarters. But the sign is old and fading - the
last four letters of "Liberty" are no longer visible, and the sign reads
"Give Us Lib". The sign may be fading away, but not, according to rebel
leaders, the Karen's struggle for an independent homeland in eastern
Myanmar.

"Do not underestimate the determination of the Karen people," said KNLA
Colonel Saw Ner Dah Mya on Tuesday as his army marked the 53rd anniversary
of the death of their slain leader, Saw Ba U Gyi. Gyi was gunned down by
Burmese government forces on August 12, 1950, becoming a martyr to his
people. August 12 has since become known as Martyr's Day - a day when the
Karen commemorate his death and pay tribute to all of their fallen
soldiers.

"Today we remember all of our leaders, soldiers, and revolution men who
gave their lives for the people," said KNLA Lieutenant Saw Ba Wah, who
attended the ceremony at the KNLA's 201st Battalion headquarters. He had
many people to remember. Besides his father who died in battle in 1975, Ba
Wah has lost two cousins, an aunt, and almost 200 friends in the
revolution.

The Karen's struggle for independence is one of the longest and least
known conflicts in the world. It began in January 1949, a year after
Myanmar - then known as Burma - gained independence from the British.
Under Saw Ba U Gyi, the Karen demanded an independent state of their own -
as promised to them by the British during World War II as they fought
alongside them in the campaign for Burma. Rangoon refused, and the Karen
have been fighting ever since.

At the beginning of the war, Karen forces were within 15 kilometers of the
capital Rangoon (now Yangon). Now they are reduced to small pockets of
resistance operating in mobile jungle units and controlling small enclaves
mostly along the Thai border, such as the 201st Battalion headquarters of
Walaykee just opposite Thailand's Phop Phra district. But things may be
changing.

According to Colonel Ner Dah, who commands the KNLA's 201st Battalion, the
Myanmar military is suffering from the country's economic downfall
compounded by US and European Union sanctions. Yangon was slapped with
increased US sanctions last month because of the detention of opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Ner Dah said he has seen deterioration in the past three years of the
Myanmar military because of less funding. Even in frontline areas where
government troops battle Karen guerrillas, the soldiers are poorly
equipped. "Some don't even have boots," he said.

"The SPDC are facing all kinds on problems," Ner Dah said, using the
military government's official name, the State Peace and Development
Council. "Sanctions are working."

The KNLA supports Suu Kyi and believes that a peaceful solution could be
made between the Karen and the government if she were in power.

Aung San Suu Kyi "is not our leader, but we agree with what she's trying
to do for Burma. We have to work together to achieve our goals ... We
respect her as a focal point for democracy [to bring] self-determination
and freedom for all ethnic groups."

"We want to work together to have momentum to strike and destroy the
government," he said. "Now is the golden moment for us."

Ner Dah's soldiers commemorated Martyr's Day on Tuesday with a military
parade and wreath laying followed by a feast. Speeches were read out
written by their leaders who live in the Thai town of Mae Sot - their
sanctuary since the fall of their headquarters of Manerplaw in 1995. "All
Karen people must take responsibility to help liberate their people," one
speech said. "We need to control our own land," another said.

Major Saw We, the second-in-command of Battalion 201, was the only soldier
in the ceremony that was alive when Saw Ba U Gyi was killed. At the time,
We was 14 years old. Today he is 67 and has been a soldier in the KNLA for
the past 33 years. "It is not easy to get freedom and democracy," he said.
"If countries support us, we can get our freedom. Even if they don't help
us, we will stand on our own feet and continue our revolution until we
die."

Another soldier hasn't seen his wife in more than 15 years. "After this
match is finished I will go and see her," said veteran guerrilla Ge Ge.

For now, Ge Ge's best bet is Aung San Suu Kyi and the international
community to end this "match" and bring peace and stability to Myanmar.
But as the past half-century has shown, it seems that no political
settlement will stand without the inclusion of the country's ethnic
minority groups such as the Karen.

"For us, surrender is out of the question," Saw Ba U Gyi told his people
before he became a martyr to his cause. Even today, some heed his words.


ON THE BORDER


The Irrawaddy August 14, 2003
Politics and Sanctions Strike Border Trade
By Aung Su Shin

Importers and exporters on the Thai-Burma border have been badly hit by
increased US sanctions and the economic spillover from political chaos
inside Burma, traders in Mae Sot said today.

According to the Mae Sot Customs Office, Thai merchants only exported 315
million baht (US $7.5 million) in commodities to Burma last month.
Normally, Thailand sends more than 400 million baht in goods across the
border at Mae Sot.

Imports from Burma were also down. Officials say Thailand normally buys
around 80 million baht in goods from Burma, but recent figures had
plummeted to just 30 million baht.

Suchart Triratwattana, vice chairman of the Tak Chamber of Commerce, said
there was nothing border traders could do about the lull in economic
activity, and just had to wait until Burma’s political situation returned
to normal.

A Thai shopkeeper in Mae Sot, who asked to remain anonymous, blamed
Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and opposition political
forces for hurting her business. She praised one of Burma’s top junta
leaders, Gen Khin Nyunt, for encouraging trade at Mae Sot in the past.

She said confusion and uncertainty over the political situation in Burma
had meant that no Burmese customers had come to her shop since July.

Most Thai merchants at Mae Sot export food, beverages, clothing, vehicle
spare parts and construction materials. While gems, furniture, seafood and
cattle are commonly imported from Burma.

After the arrest of Suu Kyi and her supporters in Upper Burma on May 30,
border trade has been slow. But sources say that tougher US sanctions,
approved by President George W Bush on July 29, have had an even heavier
impact. Traders say wholesale trade has come to a complete halt, because
merchants on the Thai side of the border have stopped placing orders.

"Only retailers who sell food are still going," a Burmese trader in Mae
Sot said. "The only reason I came across the border to Thailand is to get
some of the things I left behind. I don’t buy commodities anymore."

______________________________________


Irrawaddy, August 15, 2003
Opposition Rations Slashed
By Naw Seng

A Thai-based non-governmental organization which provides assistance to
Burmese refugees along the Thai-Burma border has stopped giving rations to
opposition offices in Mae Sot, according to Burmese opposition members.

About ten offices, including those of ethnic groups, face a lack of food
since the Burma Border Consortium’s (BBC) decision to stop offering
support last month. Many offices depend solely on the BBC ration, which
includes rice, salt, cooking oil, chili, beans and fish sauce.

The BBC announced the cuts by emailing opposition offices based in Mae
Sot, Thailand. "The BBC has to terminate all support for your office," the
email reads. The BBC will continue to support the activities of opposition
groups while they conduct training seminars in the refugee camps, the
email says.

"We will surely go back to the refugee camp if we can’t find another
source of funding," says an opposition member in Mae Sot.
An official from the BBC said their mission is to provide support only to
people inside the camps.

Opposition members in Mae Sot believe that the decision to cut support is
a result of pressure from the central Thai government. Several opposition
offices along the Thai-Burma border closed in recent months, after staff
members were threatened with deportation by Thai authorities.

The BBC provides food, shelter and relief items such as blankets and
mosquito nets to more than 100,000 refugees living in 16 refugee camps
along the Thai-Burma border. The group’s year 2000 budget totalled nearly
US $13 million, donated from 40 sources, including 11 governments.

______________________________________


Irrawaddy, August 14, 2003
Politics and Sanctions Strike Border Trade
By Aung Su Shin

Importers and exporters on the Thai-Burma border have been badly hit by
increased US sanctions and the economic spillover from political chaos
inside Burma, traders in Mae Sot said today.

According to the Mae Sot Customs Office, Thai merchants only exported 315
million baht (US $7.5 million) in commodities to Burma last month.
Normally, Thailand sends more than 400 million baht in goods across the
border at Mae Sot.

Imports from Burma were also down. Officials say Thailand normally buys
around 80 million baht in goods from Burma, but recent figures had
plummeted to just 30 million baht.

Suchart Triratwattana, vice chairman of the Tak Chamber of Commerce, said
there was nothing border traders could do about the lull in economic
activity, and just had to wait until Burma’s political situation returned
to normal.

A Thai shopkeeper in Mae Sot, who asked to remain anonymous, blamed
Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and opposition political
forces for hurting her business. She praised one of Burma’s top junta
leaders, Gen Khin Nyunt, for encouraging trade at Mae Sot in the past.

She said confusion and uncertainty over the political situation in Burma
had meant that no Burmese customers had come to her shop since July.
Most Thai merchants at Mae Sot export food, beverages, clothing, vehicle
spare parts and construction materials. While gems, furniture, seafood and
cattle are commonly imported from Burma.

After the arrest of Suu Kyi and her supporters in Upper Burma on May 30,
border trade has been slow. But sources say that tougher US sanctions,
approved by President George W Bush on July 29, have had an even heavier
impact. Traders say wholesale trade has come to a complete halt, because
merchants on the Thai side of the border have stopped placing orders.

"Only retailers who sell food are still going," a Burmese trader in Mae
Sot said. "The only reason I came across the border to Thailand is to get
some of the things I left behind. I don’t buy commodities anymore."


MONEY


BBC, August 15, 2003
Burma favours euros over dollars

Burma's military government is trying to keep its economy functioning by
using euros rather than dollars.

All government organizations and private businesses have been instructed
to use the euro for importing and exporting goods, the Associated Press
news agency reported.

The document says Japanese yen and Singapore dollars may also be used if
trading partners agree.

The decision comes less than a month after the US imposed economic
sanctions on Burma, and banned remittances to the country.

Previously, most trade was conducted in US dollars, with US banks clearing
money transfers used to finance Burma's international transactions.

This means the US crackdown has made it practically impossible to continue
trading in dollars.

The US move came in response to the Burmese government's continued
detention of civilian opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
But critics have said that the sanctions will make life more difficult for
ordinary workers rather than the government elite.

______________________________________


Associated Press, August 16, 2003
China to lend Myanmar $200 million for hydel project

China will lend Myanmar's military government $200 million for its biggest
hydroelectric power project, an official newspaper reported on Saturday.

Officials from the two neighbouring countries signed the loan agreement on
Friday in Myanmar's capital, Yangon, the Myanmar Ahlin daily said.

The money will be used to purchase equipment for the 790-megawatt Ye-Ywa
hydroelectric power project in central Myanmar, 50 kilometres southeast of
Mandalay city. Construction on the project began last year.

The loan will be issued in foreign currencies other than US dollars, the
newspaper said, without elaborating. Myanmar currently faces US sanctions
banning dollar payments to the country because of its poor human rights
record.

Separately, a Chinese company, Yunnan Machinery and Equipment Import and
Export corporation, signed an agreement last week to build a $150 million,
400-megawatt hydroelectric power station in Myanmar's north-eastern Shan
State.

Myanmar is suffering an energy crisis due to rising demand and a shortage
of foreign exchange reserves needed to buy fuel for electrical generators.


REGIONAL


Asian Development Bank (ADB) web site August 14, 2003
Ministers of Mekong River Countries to Discuss New Cooperation Initiatives

MANILA, PHILIPPINES:  Ministers of the six countries sharing the Mekong
River will gather in Dali, Yunnan Province, the People's Republic of China
(PRC), on 17-19 September 2003 to discuss ways to step up cooperation
under an ADB-assisted program.

The 12th GMS Ministerial Conference will include ministers from Cambodia,
PRC, Lao's People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam
with responsibility for the Regional Economic Cooperation Program of the
Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS).

It will feature a GMS Senior Officials Meeting on 17 September, a
Development Partners Meeting on 18 September, and the Ministerial Meeting
on 19 September.

Delegates will review the progress of key GMS initiatives and discuss
proposals raised at the first GMS Summit of Leaders held in Cambodia last
November.

Issues to be discussed will include GMS tourist visas and the creation of
special economic zones.

With ADB assistance, the six GMS countries began a program of economic
cooperation in 1992. In its first decade, the program has built a solid
foundation for increased trade, investment, tourism, and other forms of
cooperation including human resources development and environmental
management.

Home to some 250 million people, the subregion, as big as Western Europe,
is tipped to become a dynamic growth area in the years ahead.


INTERNATIONAL


Asia Times, August 14, 2003
Thailand's Myanmar roadmap under fire
By Priscilla Koh

BANGKOK - Seminars have been held and many column-inches devoted the
so-called "roadmap" for Myanmar's democratization, but to many Myanmar
exiles here it is largely "old wine in new skins", or at best a hope that
is tempting to nurse but is unlikely to yield results.

Zin Linn, a member of Myanmar's government-in-exile, the National
Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), says the "roadmap" is
nothing but "a time-buying" device for both sides - the Myanmar junta and
the Thai government, which floated this idea last month.

"This roadmap will make it look as if they [the Thai and Myanmar
governments] are really doing something to change the situation," Zin Linn
said. "It could help to reduce international pressure on both governments.
At the same time, it makes both sides look good."

The cards are not on the side of the Myanmar generals at the moment, given
pressure from foreign governments and critics in the wake of the May 30
rearrest of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

In the weeks and months after she and her followers were arrested in
northern Myanmar, in an attack critics say was done by pro-Yangon
vigilantes, countries such as the United States have imposed or threatened
a series of economic and political sanctions on Myanmar.

The US government has passed a new law barring imports from Myanmar. This
adds to other measures that other governments and institutions have taken
over the years, ranging from the European Union to the International Labor
Organization.

Even the usually taciturn and non-confrontational members of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), led by Malaysian Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad, have voiced their concerns over the political
deadlock in Myanmar.

Of late, Thailand has also come under fire from the US government for
"siding" with Myanmar, after Bangkok said it was not the time to play
tough with Yangon.

The "roadmap" is still being discussed and shaped, and reports say Thai
officials plan to meet with different political and ethnic groups from
Myanmar.

But from various reports in media, the roadmap is envisaged to be a series
of 10 or 12 steps that would help Yangon move toward full democracy within
the next few years.

Last week, Thai officials discussed five stages of this map with the
English-language Bangkok Post newspaper. The first stage would see a
return to the status quo before the May 30 incident, meaning the release
of all political prisoners from house arrest, including Suu Kyi, and the
reopening of various branch offices of her National League for Democracy
(NLD) party.

In the next stage of "confidence-building", there would be a credible
investigation into the violent attack against Suu Kyi, an end to the media
campaign against her, and truce agreements reached with the remaining
armed opposition groups. The subsequent stage will involve the drafting of
a constitution that would include the military, the democratic opposition
and the ethnic groups, followed by the adoption of this document.

During the fourth and fifth stages, an independent election would get
under way. At the end of the process, an international conference on aid
for Myanmar would be held, media reports say.

Meanwhile, Thailand's role and policy toward Myanmar is of particular
concern to both local analysts and Myanmar exiles.

Some Thai analysts question Thailand's ability to take up the task of the
roadmap - presented like the roadmap the US government laid out in the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict - through the efforts of "certain ministerial
officers" on each side or as a country acting by itself.

Thailand is basically playing a "one-man show" on this issue, since there
has yet to be strong support from other nations at this point, Dr Wittayu
Sucharithanarak from Chulalongkorn University said in a discussion last
week.

As such, the military regime in Myanmar would not take Thailand's
suggestions seriously, some say.

In truth, "we don't really understand the internal political structure in
Burma, except through the three Burmese generals" led by top General Than
Shwe, Supraluk Khunjanahundee of the English-language newspaper The Nation
added, using the former name for Myanmar.

Activists are also trying to make sense of Thai policy after a crackdown
in recent months on Myanmar groups in Thailand, which is home to thousands
of exiles and dissidents from that country - apart from a million migrant
workers and 100,000 refugees.

Given this backdrop, many exiles fear that this latest roadmap is no
different from Yangon's roadmap for Myanmar that the junta drew up in
1988, or from the United Nations envoy to Myanmar's initiatives, the
opposition and the different ethnic groups in Myanmar.

But Thailand appears to view the situation pragmatically. For instance,
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra explained that Bangkok was not
"interfering" with Yangon but "since we are Burma's close neighbor, we
should initiate something that leads to the international community's
acceptance of developments in Burma".

In an interview with the Chiang Mai-based Irrawaddy magazine, Kobsak
Chutikul, vice chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the
vagueness of the roadmap is expected but it should provide a "modality, a
framework and a process wherein they can express their desires, their
wishes".

But those like Htoo Reh, a young Karen member of the anti-Yangon
Democratic Party for a New Society branch in Bangkok, remain apprehensive.
"It is okay that Thailand wants to help bring about change in Burma. But
if they really want to help, why do they put so much pressure on the
Burmese dissidents in Thailand?" he asked.

Said Daw San San, a 73-year-old veteran from the NLD: "Frankly, I never
heard of this roadmap you're all talking about until a few days ago. I
have just arrived from Burma."

She added: "If Thailand wants to help Burma, that's good. Because Burmese
people live in darkness. I hope that the roadmap can be a 'dim light' to
show us the way to democracy."

______________________________________


Agence France Presse, August 14, 2003
"Unthinkable" that Myanmar can lead ASEAN: top US official

A senior US official warned Thursday it was "unthinkable" that Myanmar's
generals could be handed the reins of the Association of Southeast Asian
(ASEAN) nations as scheduled in 2006.

Judith Strotz, a senior State Department official for Southeast Asia,
noted that ASEAN was well aware of the need for reform in Myanmar, where
the junta is locked in a showdown with detained democracy leader Aung San
Suu Kyi.

"The US government believes that ASEAN continues to be in a key position
to support progress towards democracy in Burma," she said at a Heritage
Foundation forum, using the country's former name which is preferred by
the democracy movement.

"Burma is after all ASEAN's only military dictatorship and it is
unthinkable that a military junta could assume chairmanship of ASEAN in
2006 -- that is the year that Burma is scheduled to take over," said
Strotz, director of the office of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and
Vietnam at the State Department.

Her remarks come less than a month after Malaysia's Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad said Myanmar might even have to be expelled from the
regional grouping if military rulers continue defying world pressure to
release Aung San Suu Kyi.

Mahathir played a major role in bringing Myanmar into the 10-member
Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 1997.

"We will have to examine every avenue before we can take such drastic
actions," Mahathir told AFP in an exclusive interview last month.

"In the end, it may have to be that way. I don't say that it cannot be,
but certainly not at this moment."

Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party won 1990 elections by a landslide but has
been denied power by the military, was detained on May 30 when her convoy
was attacked by a junta-backed mob while she was on a political tour of
northern Myanmar.

The incident triggered a wider crackdown on her National League for
Democracy which has left its entire leadership in jail or under house
arrest.

Although the junta has insisted that Suu Kyi is being detained on a
temporary basis for her own safety, it has not indicated when she could be
released, despite pressure from the United Nations and countries around
the world.

The United States responded by strengthening sanctions on Myanmar, and
making vehement calls for her release.


OPINIONS/STATEMENTS


The Nation, August 15, 2003
Road Map For Burma: Academics not optimistic
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee

Burma's receptiveness towards Thailand's proposed road map towards
national conciliation will not be as warm as hoped because the May 30
fighting left a deep rift between the junta and the opposition, Thai
officials and academics said yesterday.

Than Shwe, the head of Burma's ruling junta, and opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi have yet to show readiness to return to the negotiating table
anytime soon, they told a closed-door meeting of civic organisations,
exiled Burmese groups and government officials.

Suu Kyi feels the junta humiliated and betrayed her, said a source who
attended yesterday's meeting.

"A well-informed participant told us that Aung San Suu Kyi, who was
physically hurt in the bloody incident, and who has been detained in
isolation, vowed not to go back to any dialogue with the junta," said the
source, who requested anonymity. The junta has said on several occasions
that the Nobel laureate was not hurt in the clash.

Junta leader Than Shwe is still maintaining his silence on the road map,
which would delegate some power to Suu Kyi, the source said.

The 25 participants in the meeting urged the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations, China and India to help Thailand pressure Rangoon to move
forward on national conciliation and political reform.

Thailand is looking to Beijing to exert its influence over Than Shwe, an
official was quoted as saying at the meeting, while many participants
called on Singapore as a major investor in Burma to help persuade the
junta to soften its stance.

A Burmese exile suggested Thailand make contacts with other, possibly
lower-ranking, military officers in his country, rather than just the
foreign minister. Thai officials, including military personnel, seemed to
have agreed to explore that option, a participant said.

Human rights group Forum-Asia arranged yesterday's meeting at
Chulalongkorn University in an effort to have some input in the road map
proposal.

The Thai government initiated the road map, but has yet to discuss the
details.