BurmaNet News: August 22 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

August 22 2003 Issue #2311

INSIDE BURMA
NMG: Burma cuts circulation of two Burmese Language dailies
Xinhua: Myanmar adjusts financial policies in face of US sanctions
Kaladan: Does Forced Labour Exist in Arakan?

DRUGS
BP: Rangoon Told To Do More To Help
AFP: Myanmar hits out at Thailand's salvo over drugs trade

MONEY
Irrawaddy: WPP, Intrepid Leave Burma
Irrawaddy: Kunming Trade Fair Welcomes Ceasefire Leaders

REGIONAL
AFP: China to promote bilateral relations with Myanmar
AFP: East Asia plans emergency rice reserve system to boost food security

EDITORIALS
Irrawaddy: Standing with a Pariah

STATEMENTS
NCUB/NCGUB: Declaration following Joint Meeting, August 18-20


INSIDE BURMA

Network Media Group   August 22, 2003
Burma cuts circulation of two Burmese Language dailies

Two Burmese dailies controlled by the State  Myanma Alin (the Burmese
version of The New Light of Myanmar) and The Mirror newspapers cut their
circulation up to 30 per cent each started on August 8 because of lack of
paper supplies, staffs from two papers said.

Some critics commented that the reason to reduce circulation of newspaper
might be because of lack of newspaper paper supplies. A female staff, who
wants to be in anonymity, working at the official English daily “The New
Light of Myanmar”, said that the NLM was yet to reduce its circulation and
the other newspapers had to reduce due to lack of paper supplies.

“We, the New Light of Myanmar (NLM) do not reduce the circulation though I
heard that Myanma Alin and The Mirror (Kyay Mon) have to reduce its
circulation due to lack of paper supplies,” she said.

However the circulation had cut off only to street sales, she said. “The
circulation do not reduce to the contracted distributors. It only effects
on vendors who are earning with selling newspapers on the streets such
paperboys on traffic lights and railways stations” she explained.

However, the news from Myawaddy confirmed that peoples were receiving in
less quantity of all newspapers including the New Light of Myanmar
although the newspaper officials said they did not reduce the circulation
for nationwide distributors. The normal distribution of two Burmese
dailies was around 430,000 copies previously for nation wide.

When NMG asked directly to the Myanma Alin and The Mirror offices, the
dailies admitted that they had to cut off its circulation up to 30 per
cent after they got directives from the Information and Periodical
Headquarters and they were not informed whether there was shortage of
paper supplies.

In early August, United State issueed a strong sanction against Burma
(Myanmar) including money transfer which may affect the import of
newspaper papers.
______________________

Xinhua General News Service   August 22, 2003
Myanmar adjusts financial policies in face of US sanctions

YANGON: The Myanmar government has made some adjustments of its financial
policy in face of new economic sanctions being imposed on it by the United
States.

Faced with ban on remittance of US dollar to the country among a series of
US sanctions, the military government is advising foreign embassies in
Myanmar to use euro in addition to US dollar through opening of accounts
in euro in the Myanma Foreign Trade Bank with US dollar still in effective
use.

The government's move was disclosed at a diplomats briefing here on
Thursday given by Myanmar Deputy Foreign Minister U Khin Maung Win.

Meanwhile, the government decided on Aug. 10 following a cabinet meeting
that government organizations and private enterprises should use euro in
place of US dollar for international business transactions including
import and export. If the trading partners agree, Japanese yen or
Singapore dollar are also allowed for use in the trading activities,
according to the decision.

US dollar transferred from any country into Myanmar has to be cleared
through US banks. So the ban has made it practically impossible to send
dollars into the country through normal financial channels.

The cabinet meeting also decided that border trade with Myanmar 's five
neighbors --Bangladesh, China, India, Laos and Thailand --will be
conducted in euro as well as the currencies of the countries concerned.

As another new measure of the government in face of US sanctions,
according to U Khin Maung Win, it has withdrawn since Aug. 15 its policy
of compulsory exchange by tourists visiting Myanmar.

The adjustment of its financial policies has to be made because of the new
US economic sanctions imposed on Myanmar, the deputy minister noted,
assuring that best convenience will be provided to foreign diplomatic
organizations in the country for normal operation.

Under a Congress bill signed by President George W. Bush on July 28, the
United States has tightened sanctions on Myanmar on account of the May 30
bloodshed and the continued detention of the opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi (ASSK).

The US sanctions include not only banning imports from Myanmar, freezing
the military government's assets in the United States and stopping all US
dollars remittances to the country but also expanding the current ban on
granting US visas to Myanmar's officials and codifying the existing policy
that opposed new international loans or technical aid to the country.

Meanwhile, Japan has also suspended its economic aid to Myanmar.

The May 30 incident refers to the case that a convoy of ASSK was
reportedly ambushed by the government supporters on her political trip to
the north of the country, which resulted in, as claimed by the government,
four people being killed, 48 others injured and 136 persons arrested in
the bloody clashes between supporters of ASSK's National League for
Democracy (NLD) and pro-government protesters.

Following the incident, the government has detained ASSK in the name of
protection and since then, the United States and other western countries
has stepped up sanctions against Myanmar to press for ASSK's release.
______________________

Kaladan News   August 22, 2003
Does Forced Labour Exist in Arakan?

Buthidaung, August 22: On June 30,2003, the Township Peace and Development
Council (TPDC) Chairman of Buthidaung Township under the Arakan State
ordered five villages to plant seedlings along the roadsides, said our
correspondent.

The villagers of Quan Dine, Tharakani, Nanragon, Dabru Chaung and Sinyan
Way of Buthidaung south have been engaged in forced labour for planting
seedlings along the roadsides. This road is connected to Buthidaung Town
from the headquarters of Military Operation Command –15 (MOC-15) of
Buthidaung Township, he further said.

The villagers have to plant 92 seedlings per family all along the both
sides of the road at a distance of 4-feet. They have to purchase these
seedlings from the government agriculture department at the rate of
Kyat-100/- per seedlings. They have also to fence the seedlings to protect
from the cattle and to feed chemical fertilizer in time. This project will
be completed by the end of this month, a farmer said to our source.

This rainy season is very important for the farmers to grow paddy in time.
Regarding this, farmers have to complete the paddy growing by the end of
this month; other wise, late paddy growing is hampered to the next
harvest, source further added.

At that moment, the farmers have to divert their labour forces for
planting seedlings along the roadsides. As a result, the farmers are
absolutely furious with SPDC authorities, but they have no rights to say
anything, said another farmer to our source.


DRUGS

Bangkok Post   August 22, 2003
Rangoon Told To Do More To Help

Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai has asked for increased cooperation
from Burma in fighting drug production and smuggling along the border.

Mr Surakiart said in a letter yesterday to Than Shwe, first secretary of
the State Peace and Development Council, that Thailand was concerned about
drug trafficking and would like to see intensified cooperation from Burma.

On Wednesday Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Thailand would take
tough measures against the ethnic Wa army and traffickers under its
control if Burma did not step in to help.

The Wa's production and trafficking of drugs would be discussed at a
Regional Border Committee meeting this weekend, said Third Army commander
Lt-Gen Picharnmet Muangmanee.

The meeting, to be attended by Maj-Gen Tura Myint Aung, commander-in-chief
of Eastern Burma, would touch on the Wa's involvement in drug production.

Drug problems had been raised in talks with Rangoon, which had promised to
destroy drug factories on the border, he said.

Mr Thaksin lost his patience after the latest clash between Wa drug
traders and border patrol police on Thursday in Chiang Mai's Mae Ai
district. Nine Wa smugglers were killed and 11 wounded.

The prime minister said the government would deal with the Wa traffickers
if Burma did nothing. He said killing them would be the only option.
Lt-Gen Picharnmet said he would show pictures taken of the clash to
Burmese participants at the RBC meeting in Cha Am, Petchaburi.

He would find a diplomatic approach to encourage his Burmese counterpart
to increase anti-drugs cooperation.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh said the prime
minister's reaction to the clash was a stern signal to Burma that drugs
were a global problem which should be tackled firmly.

Large hauls of drugs seized from the Wa smugglers indicated the ethnic
minority remained intent on continuing the illegal trade despite the
government's help in promoting substitution crops to wean them off drug
production.

The head of Burma's Drug Enforcement Department, Pol-Col Hkam Awng, said
Rangoon had difficulty obtaining detailed information from the remote
areas along the border where the drug factories were located.

Several groups operated in the area, he said, not only the United Wa State
Army (UWSA). Thailand, however, focused solely on the activities of the Wa
group, he told The Irrawaddy, the Burmese opposition's magazine. Reports
in some newspapers said Mr Thaksin had warned he may send troops to
destroy drug labs in Wa-controlled areas if Burma sat on its hands.
Pol-Col Hkam Awng, however, doubted whether Mr Thaksin would speak so
irresponsibly.''
____________________________

Agence France Presse   August 22, 2003
Myanmar hits out at Thailand's salvo over drugs trade

BANGKOK: Myanmar hit out Friday against Thailand's demands that it close
down drug laboratories on their common border, saying the comments were
harmful to relations between the neighbours.

Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win summoned Thailand's charge d'
affaires to Myanmar Opas Chantarasap Thursday to complain about Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's warning which made front-page news in
Bangkok.

"The news reports were discordant and detrimental to the existing
friendship between the two neighbouring countries," said the official New
Light of Myanmar.

"The deputy minister stated that in view of the friendship between the two
countries, it was hoped that the report had no validity," it said,
referring to the reports instead of Thaksin directly in typical diplomatic
phrasing.

Thaksin warned earlier this week that if Myanmar did not wipe out the
drugs trade, which is pumping vast amounts of methamphetamines across the
border, Thailand would be forced to close down the drug labs itself.

Deputy premier Chavalit Yongchaiyudh upped the pressure Thursday, accusing
Myanmar's ruling junta of "indifference", in rare criticism from the
former army chief who is a close ally of the Yangon generals.

The attacks indicate Thailand is becoming increasingly angry over the
junta's failure to solve its narcotics problem, which has caused a huge
addiction crisis in Thailand.

Thaksin's comments came after a clash on the border between Thai police
and drug traffickers the government identified as being from the
Yangon-allied United Wa State Army, a feared ethnic militia better known
as the "Red Wa".

Pointing the finger at the Red Wa has evidently angered Yangon which
insists the group has abandoned drug-trafficking.


MONEY

The Irrawaddy   August 22, 2003
WPP, Intrepid Leave Burma

Two more foreign companies pulled out of Burma on Thursday, and several
other big businesses say they are reconsidering their investments in the
country.

Advertising giant WPP, which has a Rangoon-based subsidiary, Bates
Myanmar, withdrew after making the Burma Campaign UK’s "Dirty List" of
companies who do business in military-ruled Burma.

Another company, Melbourne-based Intrepid Travel, announced yesterday that
it would suspend trips to Burma because of the May 30 ambush on opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters. This is the second time
Intrepid has withdrawn from Burma. Intrepid announced a return to the
country in March this year, claiming their had been promising political
developments.

Twenty-three firms on the Burma Campaign’s list are from the tourism
industry, most of which are based in Britain. The tour operators continue
to sell holidays to Burma despite pressure to pull out from British
Foreign Office Minister Mike O’Brien.

Global cruise operator P&O is also on the list because of a recent merger
with Carnival Corporation, which owns a smaller cruise company that visits
Burma. Carnival says it is reviewing its operations in Burma, but has not
yet made a decision.

The Burma Campaign says global accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and
tobacco giant British American Tobacco (BAT) are also having second
thoughts about their controversial interests in Burma. BAT operates a
factory on the outskirts of Rangoon in a joint venture with the military
regime.

Deutsche Post, owner of the courier company DHL, is also said to be
rethinking its business in Burma.
_________________

The Irrawaddy   August 22, 2003
Kunming Trade Fair Welcomes Ceasefire Leaders
By Naw Seng

China’s eleventh Kunming Export Commodities Fair has officially welcomed
leaders of armed ethnic groups which have signed ceasefire agreements with
the Burmese military government, according to Chinese and ceasefire
sources.

The trade fair will be held in Kunming, the capital of China’s Yunnan
province, from August 26 to 30.

About seven ceasefire groups based in Burma’s Shan and Kachin states were
invited to attend the Kunming fair, said a source in China close to the
groups. The groups include the United Wa State Army and the Kachin
Independence Organization (KIO), along with groups formerly aligned with
the Communist Party of Burma.

An official from the KIO confirmed that its leaders were asked to attend,
saying it was the first official invitation issued to the KIO leadership
by Chinese officials. He believed the purpose of inviting ceasefire groups
was linked to the current political situation inside Burma. "China wants
to hear something from us [KIO]," he said.

Burmese military intelligence (MI) officials met leaders of seven
ceasefire groups in Rangoon early this week. MI officials offered the
government’s version of the May 30 events in Depayin, which resulted in
the arrest of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the death of an
estimated 70 of her supporters. Those groups invited had sent a letter to
the regime asking for a peaceful political settlement between the
opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and the ruling State Peace
and Development Council. Leaders from many of the same groups will attend
the trade fair in Kunming.

A Burmese political analyst living in Yunnan Province said China wants the
groups to retain their arms and continue honoring their ceasefire
agreement with the Burmese military authorities. "China wants to know what
the Burmese government told them and what the groups’ current policies
are," he said.

A Burmese government delegation will also participate the Kunming trade
fair. Burma has reserved space for 49 exhibition booths at the fair, which
features a total of 1,525 spaces, most of which are reserved by the
hosting province.

According to a Burmese government report, the Ministry of Livestock and
Fisheries and the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and
Industry will also attend, and numerous cooperative companies from Burma
will exhibit products such as jade, jewellery, silverware, and wooden
handicrafts.

Yu Dingcheng, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic
Cooperation of Yunnan Province, told the press that all ten members of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have registered to
participate in the fair.

The purpose of the 2003 fair is to help lay the foundation for the first
China-Asean trade fair, which will be held in Yunnan Province in 2005.


REGIONAL

Agence France Presse   August 22, 2003
China to promote bilateral relations with Myanmar

BEIJING: China will promote bilateral relations with Myanmar to ensure
stability and development even as sanctions are levelled against Yangon by
the United States and other nations, state media reported Friday.

In a meeting Friday with Myanmar's Deputy Senior General Maung Aye, the
junta's number-two leader, President Hu Jintao said China will work with
Myanmar to enhance bilateral relations in line with the principle of
"treating neighboring countries as friends and partners," Xinhua said.

China, one of the few countries to maintain diplomatic ties with Yangon,
has repeatedly refused to apply pressure on its smaller neighbour to
release democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained May 30 during
clashes between her supporters and a junta-backed mob.

Beijing sees friendship with Myanmar as an important strategic asset,
offering China its only direct access to the Indian Ocean.

"The Chinese government and people value China-Myanmar friendship and
will... join efforts with Myanmar in implementing the two countries' joint
statement so as to further promote bilateral relations," Hu was quoted as
saying by Xinhua.

"As a friendly neighbor, China hopes that Myanmar will remain stable, its
ethnic groups will live in harmony, its economy will keep growing and the
Myanmar people will live in happiness," Hu said, expressing confidence
that the junta will "make the situation in the country develop in a
positive and constructive direction".

Cooperation between the world's most populous country and its smaller
neighbor has expanded in recent years in areas including trade, border
management and the fight against narcotics.

On Wednesday, Beijing denounced US sanctions against Myanmar announced in
the wake of Aung San Suu Kyi's detention.

"The current domestic situation in Myanmar is the country's internal
affairs, and China will not agree to foreign interference or to sanctions
and isolation," State Councilor Tang Jaixuan, a former foreign minister,
was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
_______________________

Agence France Presse   August 22, 2003
East Asia plans emergency rice reserve system to boost food security

KUALA LUMPUR: East Asian agriculture ministers Friday agreed to speed up
plans to set up an emergency rice reserve system to cope with crises and
strengthen food security.

A steady supply of rice -- the staple diet in East Asia -- is key to
regional food security, ministers from the 10-member Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan and South Korea said in a
joint statement after a two-day meeting here.

"The ministers noted that a management team would be established early
next year to carry out the pilot project of the East Asian Emergency Rice
Reserve and called for accelerated progress," the statement said.

Azmi Mat Akhir, a director with the Jakarta-based ASEAN secretariat, said
East Asian ministers "agreed in principle" to carry out the pilot scheme
and implementation would be on a voluntary basis.

Although the region produces 90 percent of rice in the world, only four
countries -- China, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar -- are rice exporters,
he said.

"We want to ensure there is enough of rice for our needs, that in times of
emergency there is ready stock. The basic idea is to provide rice for a
friend in need," he told reporters.

He said for instance that floods were a major problem affecting crops in
Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Azmi said creating a buffer stock was unlikely because it would be too
expensive.

But each country could keep surplus stock to cope with crises while more
advanced members such as Singapore could provide financial assistance to
buy rice to help those in need, he said.

Details would be worked out by the management team, headed by Thailand,
and the pilot scheme would be conducted as soon as possible, he added.

The ministers expressed full support for Cambodia's accession to the World
Trade Organization at the next ministerial meeting in September.

In a separate statement, ASEAN ministers said they would form a special
taskforce to collectively address the problem of unfair trade affecting
their food, agriculture and forestry products.

Malaysia's Agriculture Minister Mohamad Effendi Norwawi said ASEAN
products were at a disadvantage because of high agricultural subsidies, to
the tune of nearly one billion dollars a day, by rich countries.

"This makes our products uncompetitive and there is a possibility of their
products coming to our countries and displacing our local products because
they are highly subsidised," he said.

"It is time for ASEAN to come out with common plans on how to deal with
this in a more organised way."

Ministers also agreed to set up an ASEAN food safety network, headed by
Thailand, to coordinate efforts to resolve problems of non-tariff barriers
that shackled the region's agricultural exports.

Myanmar will host the next meeting in 2004.


EDITORIALS

The Irrawaddy   August 22, 2003
Standing with a Pariah

Since the brutal attack on Burma’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and
her supporters in May, a consensus has grown inside and outside the
country that tough action is the only way to get the military thugs in
Rangoon to listen.
Under the sustained avalanche of sanctions from the US, criticism from its
usually mute Southeast Asian neighbors and other forms of international
pressure, many expected the ruling junta and their regime of oppression to
finally collapse.

But their hopes have been largely dashed by yesterday’s comments from
China’s State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan denouncing the sanctions imposed by
the US last month. Receiving a high-level delegation in Beijing led by
Rangoon’s top generals, Tang said, "The current domestic situation in
Myanmar [Burma] is the country’s internal affairs, and China will not
agree to foreign interference or to sanctions and isolation."

The former Chinese foreign minister added that the people of Burma are
"intelligent and capable" enough to handle relevant issues and to push
forward its internal peace process. Tang is not overestimating Burma’s
people, but, since the bloody incident in Upper Burma in May, it is clear
that he has seriously misjudged the ruling generals.

Did Tang and other Chinese leaders realize that some of the visiting
generals had prior knowledge of and even directed the attack on Suu Kyi’s
convoy that killed an estimated 70 supporters? While the rest of the world
demands the regime bring the culprits to justice for the heinous and
officially organized crimes, China is playing the role of indispensable
ally by keeping silent, but saying the matter is for Burma to resolve
internally.

After the organized killing of democracy supporters in May, the US
President punished the regime by signing the "Burmese Freedom and
Democracy Act of 2003" into law. Most observers and exiled dissidents
argue that US sanctions alone won’t force the junta’s hand and say the UN
Security Council should take up the matter—UN Special Envoy to Burma
Razali Ismail already briefed the Security Council in July.

If it comes to a Security Council decision, hopes are that China would
abstain from casting its vote, as it is unlikely to vote against the
Burmese regime. Such a move would contradict Tang’s conciliatory gesture
towards his guests.

Surprisingly, the EU has been nearly as soft as China in dealing with
Rangoon, largely as a result of Germany, which has defied calls from the
opposition and its EU partners to support stiffer sanctions against Burma.
The EU’s paralysis at Germany’s behest is as disheartening as China’s
unwavering support for the regime and allows the military regime to cling
to that slight shred of international legitimacy.

Germany, China and other supporters of the murderous junta in Rangoon
should learn from recent history and Burma’s past performance. Like
playing music for the water buffalo in hopes the beast will understand,
coddling the regime any longer will be a wasted effort. Burma’s problems
require firm action from the international community, not empty threats.

Germany and China must align their sympathies with the oppressed masses of
Burma rather than a small coterie of generals who are devastating Burma
and its people. If not, Burma, like the water buffalo, will continue to
bear the burden of someone else’s designs.


STATEMENTS

Joint Meeting of NCGUB, NCUB   August 21, 2003
DECLARATION

National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma
National Council of the Union of Burma

A joint meeting of the NCGUB and the NCUB was held at a location in Burma
from 18 to 20 August 2003 to review the prevailing political situation in
Burma and to explore ways to strengthen the close working relationship and
to increase bilateral cooperation.

The two sides viewed the situation in Burma as follows:

1.      The people of all nationalities in Burma today are facing the
worst political crisis and the situation is bound to worsen even further. 
The reason that the country is facing such a calamitous situation is
because the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) military clique
lacks the desire to resolve national problems through peaceful means.  The
SPDC's massacre of National League for Democracy (NLD) members at Tabayin
on 30 May, the continuing detention of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD
leaders, the unceasing offensives launched in ethnic regions, and the
refusal to accept constructive suggestions by the international community,
including neighboring countries, have all contributed to the demise of the
opportunity to peacefully resolve conflicts that have ravaged and divided
"kith and kin" within the nation.

2.      Neighboring countries to Burma are also being affected by SPDC's
failure to tackle Burma's crises and as a result, the country has now
become a regional problem.  Hence, the NCGUB and the NCUB strongly believe
that effective and concerted political action by the international
community and efforts to boost the momentum of the democracy movement
inside are vitally important to overcome the problems in Burma.

3.      The NCGUB and the NCUB believe that it is imperative for the two
sides as well as for the international community to take effective and
quick action to respond to the political developments in Burma.  For that
reason, the NCGUB and the NCUB welcome the concept of a roadmap towards
national reconciliation and democracy being proposed by the international
community and will explore ways to cooperate with parties initiating the
roadmap to resolve Burma's problems.

4.      The NCGUB and the NCUB reiterate their firm commitment to the
adherence of the policy of peaceful change and national reconciliation
through dialogue.  They also believe that a tripartite dialogue involving
democratic forces led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the ethnic nationality
forces, and the SPDC is instrumental in resolving Burma's problems.

5.      While trying to resolve problems peacefully, the NCGUB and the
NCUB will work with determination to explore ways to achieve a national
consensus on

        (1) Ways to honor the national mandate of the 1990 general
elections in accordance with the Burma
             resolutions unanimously passed by consecutive UN General
Assembly sessions,
        (2) Fulfilling the aspirations of the ethnic nationalities in
Burma, and
        (3) The role of the armed forces in the nation building process.

6.      When the international community endeavors to find a solution to
Burma's problems, it is vitally important that public leaders and
political forces which represent people of different nationalities are
given the opportunity to play a leading role to resolve the problems. 
This being the case, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the other NLD leaders must
be immediately and unconditionally released.  For that to happen, the
NCGUB and the NCUB as well as the international community have been
calling for the immediate resolution of Burma's problems.

7. To implement the goals mentioned above, the NCGUB and the NCUB will
cooperate with each other and work in unity to help the democracy movement
inside Burma, in initiating international diplomatic campaigns, and in
carrying out other activities.