BurmaNet News: November 4, 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

November 4, 2003 Issue #2361

INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Indian VP in talks with Myanmar leader Than Shwe, heads to Mandalay
AP: U.N. human rights envoy meets with Myanmar's prime minister
Xinhua: Myanmar, India pledge to enhance bilateral relations
Xinhua: Myanmar holds first anti-AIDS exhibition

MONEY
Nation: Bt1.9-bn aid deal to be offered to Burma
AFP: Thailand to sign gas drilling deal with Myanmar
BP: Thai Tariff Cuts to Boost Economic Trade with Burma

REGIONAL
TPR: Prime Minister Prepares for Four-Nation Meeting in Myanmar
AFP: Myanmar should speed up release of Aung San Suu Kyi: Thai FM

INTERNATIONAL
Nation: Trade Relations: EU eyes Thai role in Asean
NST: UN, EU satisfied with Razali's role in Myanmar
JEN: 15,000 sign petition for release of Myanmar man with no visa

OPINION / OTHER
BP: Time to Confront Burmese Leaders
Announcement: Oak Human Rights Fellowship


----INSIDE BURMA----

Agence France Presse   November 4, 2003
Indian VP in talks with Myanmar leader Than Shwe, heads to Mandalay

Indian Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat has held talks with
Myanmar's leader Senior General Than Shwe during a five-day visit
signaling a warming of bilateral ties, officials said Tuesday.

Shekhawat met Than Shwe, who is chairman of the ruling State Peace and
Development Council, for more than an hour on Monday, an official source
said.

While no specifics of the talks were revealed, such lengthy meetings are a
rarity for dignitaries visiting Yangon and a clear sign the two exchanged
more than pleasantries.

Shekhawat, who arrived here Sunday, is the highest-ranking Indian leader
to visit Myanmar in 16 years, since the late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi
was in Yangon in 1987.

On Tuesday he flew to the ancient capital of Bagan, where he was to tour
the famed temple complex before travelling Wednesday to the northern city
of Mandalay, where he was to address members of an Indian traders'
council.

The official New Light of Myanmar hailed the visit as "a shot in the arm"
for bilateral ties, strained in since India gave sanctuary to exiles
following the military's 1988 coup.

"The leadership of both countries had a desire to reach the target of up
to 1.0 billion dollars bilateral trade by 2006," the New Light reported.

Bilateral trade in the fiscal year to March 2003 was worth more than 400
million dollars.

On Sunday Indian and Myanmar officials signed an agreement on visa
exemptions for officials and diplomats, and a memorandum of understanding
between Myanmar's education ministry and India's human resource
development ministry.


Associated Press Worldstream   November 4, 2003
U.N. human rights envoy meets with Myanmar's prime minister

A visiting U.N. human rights envoy said Tuesday he has received permission
from Myanmar's military government to see everyone he has requested to
meet, and anticipated no problems in meeting pro-democracy leader Aung San
Suu Kyi.

On Tuesday, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro met Myanmar's prime minister as well as
representatives of international labor and aid agencies to evaluate human
rights developments in the country.

"It is positive that authorities have agreed with all the meetings that I
have proposed. I didn't encounter any difficulty having access to the
people I need to meet," he said.

He declined to tell reporters if or when he would meet Suu Kyi - the head
of the National League for Democracy party who is under house arrest - but
said he didn't expect "any difficulty in having access to her or other
members of the NLD."

Pinheiro said he had a "very long, fruitful and transparent meeting" with
Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyunt, lasting 1 hour and 15 minutes.

"I had the opportunity to share a few aspects of my report and also some
suggestions for the implementation of human rights," he said, referring to
his generally critical findings from a previous visit.

"He (Khin Nyunt) was very attentive and he took note of several points,"
Pinheiro said. "It was a good exchange."

Pinheiro, a Brazilian professor, said he and two assistants plan on
Wednesday to visit Insein prison, in a Yangon suburb, to interview
prisoners.

He cut short his last mission to the country in March after finding a
bugging device when he was talking to political detainees at the notorious
prison, and later accused the junta of making "absurd" excuses to keep
political opponents behind bars.

Pinheiro has said the junta still holds 1,200-1,300 political prisoners,
many old and ailing. About 600 prisoners have been released since the
junta started reconciliation talks with Suu Kyi in October 2000.

Suu Kyi was detained following a bloody clash on May 30 between a group of
her supporters and a pro-government mob in northern Myanmar.

In a report to the U.N. General Assembly last month, Pinheiro said the May
30 events "spoiled all the progress achieved in confidence-building and
have shattered people's hope for political transition."

Pinheiro's concerns include forced labor, political freedoms and civil
rights, the administration of justice and chances for an independent
evaluation of alleged human rights violations in Shan State, a U.N.
statement said.

The Myanmar junta is accused of widespread human rights abuses in the
eastern Shan State, including using rape by soldiers as a weapon of terror
to fight ethnic insurgency.

Pinheiro is scheduled to present his preliminary findings from this week's
mission to the United Nations on Nov. 12.


Xinhua General News Service   November 5, 2003
Myanmar, India pledge to enhance bilateral relations

YANGON, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) --Myanmar and India on Tuesday pledged to enhance
their bilateral relations by exploring further possibility in economic,
trade, education, culture and technical cooperation.

The pledge was made in a joint statement issued during the current visit
to Myanmar by Indian Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

The Myanmar side expressed deep appreciation for the training fellowships
provided by India to more than 300 Myanmar nationals, the statement said.

The statement stressed the importance of building long-term linkages
between the two countries after reviewing progress on several development
projects.

Myanmar expressed in the statement its desire to work with India for
closer economic relations and to maintain peace and stability on their
common border, while India expressed support for Myanmar's national
reconciliation process and progress in the transition to the democracy in
the country.

Reviewing progress in strengthening defense cooperation, the statement
said both sides were satisfied at the regular exchange of visits involving
sports teams, as well as the first ever goodwill visit to Myanmar of the
Indian naval vessels in December 2002.

The two sides shared the view that the United Nations reform process
should be expedited with Myanmar voicing support for India 's aspiration
to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council when
the issue comes up, the statement noted.

The two sides agreed to work jointly to strengthen regional cooperation
including in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the
BIMST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand-Economic
Cooperation), and the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation and to ensure timely
progress in the implementation of the Trilateral Highway Project.

The two sides expressed support for the Non-Aligned Movement which had a
vital role to play for promoting peace, development and a more equitable
world economic order.

On terrorism, the statement said that all forms and manifestations of it
was unacceptable, noting that no cause justifies terrorism.

The two countries are committed to strengthening bilateral mechanism and
to considering additional ways to intensify efforts to prevent, counter
and suppress the activities of terrorist groups and to cooperate in this
regard, according to the statement.

Indian Vice-President Shekhawat arrived here on Sunday on a four-day
official visit at the invitation of SPDC Vice-Chairman Vice Senior-General
Maung Aye. During the visit, the two countries signed an agreement on visa
exemption for official and diplomatic passports of the two countries and a
memorandum of understanding between the Myanmar Ministry of Education and
the Indian Ministry of Human Resources Development.

Shekhawat is the highest-ranking Indian leader to have visited Myanmar
since December 1987 when the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi paid a visit
to the country.


Xinhua General News Service   November 4, 2003
Myanmar holds first anti-AIDS exhibition

YANGON, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) --An anti-AIDS exhibition is underway here to
educate people against the danger of HIV/AIDS in Myanmar.

The week-long exhibition, the first of its kind in the nation, was opened
on Monday, with 58 booths from the Ministry of Health, United Nations
agencies and International non-governmental organizations (NGOs) among
others.

Myanmar has worked out a three-year joint program (2003-05) to fight
HIV/AIDS. The program, which has been developed to strengthen the enabling
environment and supporting capacity for prevention and cure of the disease
in the country, involves UN agencies, government departments,
international and national NGOs.

A technical working group has also been set up to provide technical advice
to the implementation of the program.

HIV/AIDS is recognized as one of the three priority communicable diseases
in Myanmar.

According to the World Health Organization, 3,817 AIDS cases were reported
and 510,000 HIV infections were estimated in the country by the end of
2000.


----MONEY----

The Nation (Thailand)   November 4, 2003
Bt1.9-bn aid deal to be offered to Burma

[Editor’s note: Br1.9 billion = 45 million US dollars]

Thailand will offer Burma Bt1.9 billion in the form of aid and a
low-interest loan to support the construction of a transportation link
between the two countries, Deputy Prime Minister Korn Dabbaransi said
yesterday.

The offer will be made to Burma when Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
visits Rangoon on Monday to attend a meeting with his counterparts from
Cambodia, Laos and Burma. Thaksin will also hold a meeting with Burmese
Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt.

Korn was speaking after chairing a preparatory meeting for Thaksin's
three-day visit, which will include a trip by the leaders to Pagan on
Tuesday.

Korn said yesterday's meeting agreed that Thailand would grant aid of
Bt122.9 million to Burma to construct an 18-kilometre road from Tak's Mae
Sot district to the Burmese town of Myawaddy.

An additional Bt1.78 billion will be granted for the project in the form
of a low-interest loan, Korn said.

Thailand also wants to jointly develop plantations for corn, potatoes,
beans and bamboo shoots in Myawaddy. Thai businesses including members of
the Thai Chamber of Commerce and those operating along the border have
agreed in principle to buy the crops from the plantations.

Korn said that Thailand had also agreed to support a study into the
construction of a deep-sea port at Tavoy. Rangoon has invited Thailand to
join in the project, but the Thai side wants a study to be conducted on
its commercial feasibility first.


Agence France Presse   November 4, 2003
Thailand to sign gas drilling deal with Myanmar

Thai energy giant PTT will sign a gas drilling agreement with neighbouring
Myanmar next week, Thai government officials said Tuesday.

"Today, the Prime Minister (Taksin Shinawatra) said as an example that
Myanmar has given a concession to PTT for drilling in several gas areas
which is the result of our (financial) assistance," government spokesman
Sita Divari told reporters.

A government source told AFP that Myanmar has granted the concession to
PTT for gas drilling in Mawlamyine, the capital of Myanmar's southern Mon
state.

The deal, details of which were not disclosed, would be signed when Thai
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra visits Myanmar next week to attend a
mini-regional summit, said the source who asked not to be named.

The financial assistance, Sita said, refers to a Thai government fund that
has already doled out some 2.98 billion baht (74.69 million dollars) in
loan aid to neighbouring countries including Myanmar.

State-owned PTT Plc. is already a major buyer of Myanmar gas, having
reportedly signed a pair of purchasing agreements with Myanmar gas fields
in 1994 and 1999.


Bangkok Post   November 4, 2003
Thai Tariff Cuts to Boost Economic Trade with Burma
By Chatrudee Theparat

Local business groups have agreed to purchase all agricultural output from
Burma under the new Economic Co-operation Strategy (ECS) but on condition
that Thai import tariffs are cut to zero under the new scheme.

Should the initiative become policy, it would signal a landmark in trade
terms as Thailand now imports no farm goods from its neighbour to the
west.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Korn Dabbaransi, representatives from
the Thai Chamber of Commerce and Federation of Thai Industries said they
would support the ECS in encouraging co-operation in trade and investment
between Thailand and Laos, Cambodia and Burma.

Mr Korn said the Finance Ministry was expected to propose that the cabinet
scrap tariffs on 400 items, mostly farm products, to stimulate
Thai-Burmese trade. The main farm products expected to be traded under the
ECS are maize, potatoes, tapioca and bamboo shoots.

According to the National Economic and Social Development Board, Thailand
imports about 20 billion baht worth of crops each year but next to none
from its neighbours. Thailand could pay lower costs if it purchased more
goods from its neighbours, it said.

Officials also agreed yesterday to propose that the government provide a
soft loan to Burma as requested by the country. Burma has asked for a
1.78-billion-baht soft loan with a 1.5 percent interest rate from Thailand
for road construction to link Mae Sot in Tak province in the north of
Thailand and western Burma. The committee will also help conduct a
feasibility study in building a deep-sea port and export-processing zone
in Burma.

On the tourism front, the committee agreed with a proposal by the
Immigration Office which suggested allowing tourist groups from Burma to
use border passes instead of passports when entering Thailand at the Mae
Sot checkpoint.


----REGIONAL----

Thai Press Reports   November 4, 2003
Prime Minister Prepares for Four-Nation Meeting in Myanmar

Section: Economy - Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday expressed
confidence that four-nation talks to be held in Myanmar later this month
would lead to an increase in Thai economic assistance to neighbouring
countries, and a resultant decrease in problems associated with
disparities in the sub-regional economy.

Calling for cooperation among the four nations, including Thailand, Laos,
Cambodia and Myanmar, when their leaders meet in Rangoon and Pagan on
10-12 November, Mr. Thaksin voiced hope that policies resolved during the
meeting would generate employment and incomes for Thailand's neighbours.

Mr. Thaksin expressed optimism that this, in turn, would serve to solve
problems currently faced by neighbouring countries, whether human rights
problems resulting from poverty or ideological differences. In offering
assistance to neighbouring countries, Thailand would no longer have to
accept their burdens, he said.

"Rather than solving the problems of neighbouring countries on our soil,
we will solve them at the source", he said, citing the example of US
assistance to Mexico to solve the problem of illegal Mexican immigrants.

Describing the four national leaders as being at the heart of the upcoming
meeting, Mr. Thaksin expressed confidence that the conference would lead
to excellent cooperation. As Thailand's economy was larger than that of
its neighbours, Thailand had to be 'open-hearted', especially given the
fact that these countries would form important markets for Thailand in the
future, he said. At the same time, these countries would serve as good
sources of production whether in terms of resources or raw materials, he
pointed out.

"The whole world is watching Thailand's changing role", he said. "We want
stability in this region, whether in economic, social or political terms",
he added.

Asked if the meeting would touch on continuing detention of Myanmar
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Mr. Thaksin said although the issue
was unlikely to be addressed directly at the meeting, the conference
would, nonetheless, serve to further the process of national
reconciliation and democratization. He also noted that Myanmar was aware
of the fact that Thailand was extremely concerned about the region's drugs
problems, and said that assistance to neighbouring countries was dependent
on cooperation in stamping out narcotics.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Korn Dabbaransi said that a committee on
the border economy and the relationship between Thailand and Myanmar had
identified a number of key topics to place on the agenda of the upcoming
leadership meeting, including the provision of free economic assistance to
Myanmar, with the construction of an 18-kilometre road from Mae Sot in
Thailand's northwestern province of Tak to Myawaddy in Myanmar, worth
Bt122.9 million. He said that the Thai government would also propose the
granting of Bt1.780 billion worth of low interest loans to Myanmar for the
purposes of road construction, noting that this would be beneficial from
both an economic and a security perspective. In addition, a Thai-Myanmar
study committee would be established to construct a deep sea port, and an
export industrial estate.

Mr. Korn said that the meeting would also address the issue of Myanmar
tour groups in Thailand, with Thailand proposing that Myanmar tourists use
border passes rather than passports. Also on the agenda would be the
development of Myanmar's agricultural sector, with the private sector
pledging to purchase all of five commodities from Myanmar, including maize
for animal feed, green beans, bamboo shoots, potatoes and cassava, without
levying import tariffs. All of these items were ones that Thailand lacked,
he said.

On a lighter note, Thailand and Myanmar would organize a car rally from
Myawaddy to Danang in Vietnam in February next year to coincide with a
joint Thai-Vietnamese cabinet meeting, Mr. Korn announced. The route would
pass through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia.


Agence France Presse   November 4, 2003
Myanmar should speed up release of Aung San Suu Kyi: Thai FM

Myanmar's military rulers should speed up the release of pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart
Sathirathai said Tuesday.

"Obviously Thailand wants to see Aung San Suu Kyi released quickly,"
Surakiart told reporters. "If there is anything that needs to be done
before she can be released, they should speed it up."

"They told our prime minister (Thaksin Shinawatra) that they will allow
Aung San Suu Kyi to rest at her home and they have done that," he said,
referring to her convalescence after surgery.

The Nobel peace laureate was shifted to house arrest in September after
spending four months in detention at a secret location following a May 30
attack on her supporters during a political tour of northern Myanmar.

The junta has come under heavy criticism for failing to free the
58-year-old democracy icon, including boosted economic sanctions from the
United States and the European Union.

However, until now Thailand has been conciliatory in its approach, and
chided western governments for their scathing criticism of the regime.

Surakiart also said Thaksin may broach the issue of Aung San Suu Kyi's
detention during a mini-regional leaders summit next week in Myanmar which
also includes Cambodia and Laos.

"There are no bilateral talks scheduled, but the prime minister will
consider when and how to bring up this issue," Surakiart said. "It will
depend on the situation."

After talks with visiting US President George W. Bush last month, Thaksin
said he believed "it won't take long" before Aung San Suu Kyi is freed,
but said Thailand's methods of pushing for progress were different to
Washington's.

In late September Thaksin said foreign governments should ease pressure on
Yangon and allow it act in its own time.

The two countries have long had a prickly relationship and Thailand is
careful not to antagonise its military-run neighbour.


----INTERNATIONAL----

The Nation (Thailand)   November 4, 2003
TRADE RELATIONS: EU eyes Thai role in Asean; Influence of China, US
prompts concern

The European Union (EU) is looking towards Thailand as an 'engine' to
revitalise political and economic cooperation in Southeast Asia amid
growing concerns that the region is becoming too close to the United
States and China, a seminar was told yesterday.

'Given the country's political stability and economic prosperity, the
European Union expects Thailand to be an engine in forging new EU-Asean
partnerships,' said Andreas List, an EU representative.

In August, the EU announced a comprehensive strategy, 'A New Partnership
with Southeast Asia', that covers a wide range of issues including
anti-terrorism, transnational crime, migration, trade and investment.

List said Europe and Southeast Asia shared the view of a rule-based
multi-polar world, but added that the new strategy would usher in a change
from the old bloc-to-bloc model to one of dealing with individual
countries on the basis of their readiness and capacity.

Panithan Wattanayakorn, a security expert at the Chulalongkorn University,
said the EU move was an attempt to counterbalance the increasing political
and economic influence of the United States and China in Southeast Asia.

But a dispute over Burma's human rights record continued to pose a problem
for cooperation between the two regions.

The EU established its common position on Burma in 1996. It includes an
arms embargo, visa bans for senior Burmese officials and a freeze on their
assets. The EU also refused to allow Burma to take part in the
Asean-European Commission cooperation until it resolves the political
stalemate in the country.

Kachit Chittasevee, a lecturer at Thammasat University's Faculty of
Political Sciences, said cooperation between the EU and Asean faced many
hurdles because of the economic divide and differing pace of political
development.

The EU is Thailand's third largest trading partner after the US and Japan.


New Straits Times (Malaysia)   November 4, 2003
UN, EU satisfied with Razali's role in Myanmar

UNITED Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan has the right to withdraw the
appointment of Tan Sri Razali Ismail as negotiator in the release of
Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi if he finds Razali no longer
possesses the necessary integrity and qualification.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said reports so far received
stated that the UN and the European Union were satisfied with Razali's
role in Myanmar.

Replying to a supplementary question by Abdul Rahman Yusof
(Keadilan-Kemaman), Syed Hamid said the Opposition should in fact respect
Razali's function in the issue of Suu Kyi's release.

Abdul Rahman had questioned Razali's role on grounds that Razali had
business interests in Myanmar.

Syed Hamid said steps taken by Myanmar's Prime Minister Jeneral Khin Nyunt
to conduct discussions towards democratisation was a positive move.

Malaysia welcomed Myanmar's efforts, he said in reply to Datin Seri Dr Wan
Azizah Wan Ismail (Keadilan-Permatang Pauh) earlier.


Japan Economic Newswire   November 4, 2003
15,000 sign petition for release of Myanmar man with no visa

TOKYO:  More than 15,000 people have so far signed a petition seeking the
release of a Myanmar man detained for overstaying his visa in Japan and
who is also on the brink of being separated from his Filipino wife and
their two daughters, petition organizers said Tuesday.

With the end of the first stage of the signature campaign, initiated by
the Tokyo-based nongovernmental organization People's Forum on Burma
(PFB), lawyers for Khin Maung Latt, a 46-year-old pro-democracy Myanmar
activist, again called on the Tokyo Immigration Bureau to release him
temporarily, pending a ruling on his request for asylum and the family's
wish for a special residence permit.

The immigration authorities say they will respond to the request in a week
or two, according to Mayumi Kubo of the PFB secretariat.

Kubo said she believes the signature drive will have a great bearing on
the campaign for Khin Maung Latt in hopes of overturning the reality that
the couple may be deported to their respective countries -- the husband to
Myanmar and the wife to the Philippines along with the daughters.

She added the signatures were gathered in only a week, and pinned hopes
that as the drive continues, more signatures will be gathered.

As of Tuesday, organizers gathered the names of 15,108 people, for the
petition, which asks the Justice Ministry not to deport or detain the
family. Authorities are also urged to take into account the family's
circumstances and allow it to remain in Japan.

Some 2,400 signatures were received online and about 12,500 others were
delivered to the PFB personally and by other means.

Khin Maung Latt has been detained twice at the Tokyo Immigration Bureau,
the first time in 1998 when he and his wife Maria presented themselves to
immigration authorities with expired visas, only to be detained soon
after, according to the PFB.

Maria, 36, and their daughters Demi, 9, and Michelle, 6, were released
temporarily but Khin Maung Latt was detained for about three months. After
his provisional release, he was again detained this year.

As the Myanmar government restricts marriage by Myanmar nationals to
foreigners, the daughters hold Philippine citizenship as does their
mother. The two girls were born and raised in Japan, and can speak only
Japanese.

Khin Maung Latt arrived in Japan in 1988 to escape persecution by the
military junta in Myanmar, the PFB said. He later married Maria in 1995.

He began working at a delivery firm in 1993 while being politically active
in supporting the democracy movement in his home country.

In 1994, he applied for refugee status but was rejected. His family and
their supporters have since been working for the justice ministry to
reconsider its decision about the family's status and to prod authorities
to release him.

Supporters believe that if Khin Maung Latt returns home, he will be sent
straight to prison. Prospects are also apparently dim as to whether his
family could join him there, given the existing political conditions in
Myanmar.

His wife and daughters currently live in a home in Tokyo, according to the
PFB.


----OPINION / OTHER----

EDITORIAL
Bangkok Post   November 4, 2003
Time to Confront Burmese Leaders

When Thaksin Shinawatra sits down with General Khin Nyunt next Monday in
the former Burmese royal capital of Pagan, it is, diplomatically speaking,
a meeting of political equals. The two are prime ministers of their
respective countries. In fact, the totally different political systems
mean that an all powerful Thai premier will be talking with a Burmese
prime minister who is answerable to a military junta in which his exact
place and power are somewhat unclear. In any case, Monday's meeting offers
a golden opportunity to broach serious problems between the two countries.
Mr Thaksin must not allow the conversation to turn into a photo
opportunity that lets Burma off the hook on important issues.

Ever since he assumed office by landslide election, the continuing foreign
policy and security problem for Mr Thaksin's government has been drugs.
The week he took office, the prime minister set in motion a chain of
actions against drug traffickers. He has done about all any leader could
do to battle the tide of methamphetamines and heroin. But the drug barons
remain poised on the Thai border, they continue to do business in
Thailand, and they continue to threaten the health of Thai youth and the
moral integrity of the country.

Although he will declare Thai provinces officially drug free next month,
no-one believes Mr Thaksin has won the metaphorical war on drugs. And the
reason for that is Burma. After all the crackdowns, the terrible
anti-judicial killings, the education campaigns and the tight strictures
on Bangkok discos and nightclubs, drug trafficking is alive and often
well.

The United Wa State Army and its leaders are close to Gen Khin Nyunt, and
he has defended the Wa as a peaceful and law abiding ethnic group in
Burma. That may be true. But the UWSA and its leaders are not. Several,
most notably the notorious and violent Wei Hsueh-kang, are wanted in
Thailand and other countries. Here is the challenge Mr Thaksin must put to
his Burmese counterpart: If Burma shields fugitive drug traffickers,
Thailand will be forced to draw the conclusion that Rangoon is acting in a
threatening manner.

In recent months, Burma has begun slowly to cooperate with the foreign
community on suppressing heroin traffic. This is highly encouraging. This
progress, however, can only be compared with the total lack of public
action against methamphetamine making and smuggling. A methamphetamines
suppression programme would arrest Wei and his crime lieutenants.

By happy coincidence, Gen Khin Nyunt is the designated junta point man on
dealing with the political opposition. Mr Thaksin must insist and stress
that Thailand and the civilised world community demand the release of
popular leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and measurable cooperation with the
United Nations and others to bring democracy to Burma. For its part, the
junta should realise the Thaksin government is the best friend it will
ever have _ and it is lucky at that.

The generals may complain of injustice, but the American and European
sanctions will continue and grow tougher as long as Rangoon mistreats its
citizens. Life will not get easier for Burma or its autocratic rulers. It
is in everyone's interest to proceed towards an inevitable democratic
future at speed. This could ease sanctions and end the threat of violence
that dictatorships always cause.

Gen Khin Nyunt may not believe Mr Thaksin and Thailand can operate as
honest brokers in Burma. But he should believe Thailand cannot support
continued protection of drug trafficking and violence towards Burmese
citizens. Gen Khin Nyunt and his allies in the Rangoon junta deserve
honest words about common problems.


OAK FELLOWSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT

The Oak Institute for the Study of International Human Rights annually
hosts an Human Rights Fellow to teach and conduct research while at
residence in the College and organizes lectures and other events centered
around the fellow's area of expertise. The purpose of the fellowship is to
offer an opportunity for prominent practitioners in international human
rights to take a sabbatical leave from their work and spend a period of up
to a semester as a scholar-in-residence at the College. This provides the
Fellow time for reflection, research, and writing. While all human rights
practitioners are eligible, we especially encourage applications from
those who are currently or were recently involved in "on-the-ground" work
at some level of personal risk. The Oak Fellow's responsibilities include
regular meetings with students either through formal classes or informal
discussion groups and assistance in shaping a lecture series or symposium
associated with the particular aspect of human rights of interest to the
fellow. The fellow also is expected to participate in the intellectual
life of the campus and enable our students to work or study with a
professional in the human rights field. The Fellow will receive a stipend
and College fringe benefits, plus round-trip transportation from the
fellow's home site, housing for a family, use of a car, and meals on
campus. The Fellow will also receive research support, including office
space, secretarial support, computer and library facilities, and a student
assistant. The Fellowship is awarded for the fall semester (Sept.-Dec.)
each year. Following the period of the award, the fellow is expected to
return to her or his human rights work.

The search for the Fall 2004 Oak Fellowship will focus on a human rights
practitioner doing human rights work in East and Southeast Asia (i.e.,
China, Japan, North and South Korea, Philippines, Indonesia, East Timor,
Malaysia, Singapore, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Tibet,
Taiwan, Hong Kong).  If you want more information or application forms,
you can either access our webpage at http://www.colby.edu/oak or contact
us at oakhr at colby.edu.