BurmaNet News, June 9, 2004

[Editor]

June 9, 2004, Issue # 2492

"The caucus also calls upon the (Burma) government to respect Asean and
international opinion and return to the mainstream of responsible
international norms and behaviour."
- Statement of Malaysian MPs, as quoted in Financial Times, June 9, 2004


INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar PM tours region devastated by cyclone
Irrawaddy: Ethnic delegates disappointed over National Convention
Narinjara: Na Sa Ka announces 5 year jail terms for illegal expat workers
S.H.A.N.: MP was squeezed out, say dissidents
Myanmar Times: Magazines struggle to establish their image in competitive
market

DRUGS
S.H.A.N.: Enter Bao's son-in-law
Mizzima: Drug trafficking in northeast India still not contained

BUSINESS / MONEY
AFX: India to start exporting diesel, petroleum products to Myanmar -
official

REGIONAL
Financial Times: Malaysia signals falling support for Burma's military
government
New Straits Times (Malaysia): MPs to help solve crisis in Myanmar


INSIDE BURMA
______________________________________

June 9, Agence France Presse
Myanmar PM tours region devastated by cyclone

Yangon: Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt has toured a region of western
Myanmar devastated by a cyclone which the Red Cross says left at least 220
dead and 14,000 people homeless, the official press said Wednesday.

Khin Nyunt's visit to Rakhine state was reported on the front pages of the
state press, which until now has offered only sparse coverage of the
disaster which whipped across the Bay of Bengal and struck four townships
on May 19.

The junta broke its silence on the disaster 10 days after the storm, and
while it admitted in the state media that people were killed, it did not
report specific casualty figures.

According to Wednesday's reports, Khin Nyunt inspected ongoing relief
measures as well as reconstruction of buildings destroyed in the storm.

The "New Light of Myanmar" said the premier presided over a ceremony
Monday in one of the worst-hit towns, Sittwe, where donations of cash and
goods received from at home and abroad were handed over to officials.

"Such donations show the spirit of national consolidation... if something
occurs in a region, there is a tradition of providing assistance from one
region to another under the leadership of the government," he said.

The Red Cross, which prepared the casualty figures from data reported to
the agency by government officials, said last week that it was launching
an emergency appeal for relief aid.

It also said that an unknown number of people were missing after the
cyclone -- the worst to hit the coastal communities of Rakhine state, near
Bangladesh, in nearly 40 years.

Red Cross officers and volunteers were on site in Sittwe, whose harbour
was devastated by the storm, and confirmed official reports of severe
damage to buildings such as schools and homes.

UNICEF has said Myanmar made a surprise appeal for international
assistance, asking for large quantities of rice, tarpaulin sheets for
temporary shelters, medical supplies, rain water collection tanks,
blankets and clothes.

Military-run Myanmar is known for under-reporting natural disasters or
accidents such as ferry sinkings and fires and only rarely seeks foreign
help.

_____________________________________

June 9, Irrawaddy
Ethnic Delegates Disappointed over National Convention - Nandar Chann

An ethnic-ceasefire representative to the National Convention—which is
charged with drafting a new constitution for Burma—said that delegates are
not permitted to discus the six objectives and 104 tentative articles of
the charter blueprint that was put forward by the government.

“We say that we have no complaint about the [military’s] involvement for a
certain period,” said the representative, who spoke on condition of
anonymity by telephone from Nyaung Hnapin, where the convention is
sitting. “But if this [status] is adopted in the constitution, it would
last permanently. Therefore, we are working on this status to be for only
a limited period.”

Convention chairman Lt-Gen Thein Sein yesterday told representatives that
all issues are to be discussed within the guidelines of the six objectives
and 104 articles—the implication being that nothing in the junta-written
blueprint is up for debate.

Ethnic delegates are unhappy at what the chairman said because the Office
of the Chief of Military Intelligence, or OCMI, staffer, Brig-Gen Than
Tun, told them before the assembly started that they would be free to
discuss all issues.

Although some delegates want to walk out of the convention, they fear that
they may be punished under Order 5/96, or the “Law Protecting the Peaceful
and Systematic Transfer of State Responsibility and the Successful
Performance of the Functions of the National Convention against
Disturbances and Oppositions.”

_____________________________________

June 9, Narinjara News
Na Sa Ka Announces 5 Year Jail Terms for Illegal Expat Workers

Maung Daw:  Burmese authorities have announced that people returning to
their native lands after working in foreign countries will receive at
least 5 years in jail, reports our correspondent from the border area.

Though officially not available, the news of this announcement is common
over the Bangladesh-Burma border area, it was learnt.

Due to this news, many Burmese Muslims of Bu-thee-daung and Maung-daw who
returned from Middle Eastern Countries dare not enter Burma. They have
become stranded in Bangladesh and are spending their days in great worry.

In previous days, illegal workers who worked in Middle Eastern Countries
could peacefully return to their residences by paying kyat 2 million each
to the Na Sa Ka authority, said the sources.

Burmese Muslims living at the Bu-thee-daung and Maung-daw areas of Burma
often come to Bangladesh looking to find work in foreign countries using
Bangladeshi passports.

Nearly 20 thousand Burmese Muslims holding Bangladeshi passports are now
working in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Jordan and Malaysia, it is said.

In the same way that Burmese Muslims of Arakan State are getting richer by
working in foreign countries, the Na Sa Ka officials are also making huge
sums of money from these expatriate Burmese Muslims.

_____________________________________

June 9, Shan Herald Agency for News
MP was squeezed out, say dissidents

Sai Tun Aung, MP of Langkher (Langkho), whose resignation as a member of
the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy had been hyped up by the
State-run media last week, was threatened with dire consequences to force
him to sign his departure, according to sources from northern Shan State.
Hawkeye reports:

"His brother-in-law Sai Long's Sein Naykya store in Lashio operates as an
alternative financial service for overseas Shans transferring money to
their relatives backhome," said a ceasefire source. "Sai Tun Aung himself
makes a living by dubbing Thai TV soaps into Shan, another occupation not
officially registered. Both of them, as a result, are at the mercy of the
military authorities."

Sai Tun Aung, 46, is a native of Lankher, a township 114 miles southeast
of Taunggyi, and holds a veterinary degree. Despite his maternal uncle,
Maj Aung Thein, being an intelligence officer, who had served as chief of
MI #22 in Kengtung until a few years ago, he had been active in Shan
literacy and cultural movements during his student days and later as a
member of the SNLD, and served as Vice Chairman of the Lankher township
SNLD.

He was among the 23 SNLD candidates elected as Members of Parliament in 1990.

"He is rather a quiet fellow," said one of his friends. "He doesn't drink
except with his friends."

Sai Tun Aung moved to Lashio in 1994 after he found himself in
difficulties earning a livelihood in his hometown, they said.

On 21 January 2001, remaining members of the SNLD's Langkher branch, were
told by the authorities to close shop. Four months later, members of the
branch in Mongkung, 108 miles northeast of Taunggyi, were "asked" by the
authorities to make a choice between economic gains on resignation and
persecution on refusal to resign. "In addition, the authorities warned us
we might also face charges like collaboration with the armed resistance,"
one source told S.H.A.N. at the time.

The upshot of the military's pressure campaign in 2001 was the resignation
by Sai Panlu, secretary of the SNLD's Hsihseng branch, on 3 September.

"It is the same with Sai Tun Aung," said a source in Lashio. "The military
intelligence wrote the resignation for him. He only had to sign. Now his
home in Lashio is under close guard, as though he has to fear from his
friends."

Hkun Tun Oo, leader of SNLD, told Irrawaddy Sai Tun Aung would be welcomed
back to the party if he wishes.

One observer noted however that the current predicament of the SNLD that,
along with the National League for Democracy of Aung San Suu Kyi, had
decided not to join the ongoing National Convention which began on 17 May,
was not "unique".

"The NLD had also faced the same situation when it boycotted the NC in
1995," he said. "Only Sai Tun Aung is the first non-Burman party member to
quit."

_____________________________________

June 7-13, Myanmar Times
Magazines struggle to establish their image in competitive market - Khin
Nyein Aye Than

With more than a hundred magazines available in Yangon, readers have a
wide range of publications available to choose from. The magazines must
struggle to find the best way to present themselves and succeed in the
competitive market, said Yangon magazine editors last week.

Some attract readers by crafting their image around a niche market.

For example, Alinka music journal is known by music fans as the top
publication to turn to for the latest happenings in the Myanmar music
industry. It includes interviews with musicians and singers, articles on
Myanmar and international music news, top 20 album lists, music jokes and
cartoons and lessons on different musical instruments.

The chief editor of Alinka, Ko Nay Myo Nyunt, began publishing in 1993
after deciding to limit its content to issues related to music. He said
that when he started others were skeptical that such a magazine would
succeed because the other magazines all included a wide range of topics.

After its first print, only 700 copies sold out of the 2000 printed.

However, he said Alinka now has established itself in the monthly magazine
industry and he receives letters from readers all over the country with
feedback.

“Some want more local articles; some want to know foreign bands; others
want us to reduce the music lessons. We try to please our readers with
their wishes,” he said.

“Profit is not important,” he added. “To do according to my passion is
more important. I’m satisfied.”

Other magazines are still trying to find their place like Alinka did. In
order to become more successful, they are trying to adapt to the current
situation of the literary world, economic circumstances and their readers’
demands.

Magazines such as Rati have changed their focus to attract more readers.

Rati magazine began as the only gems and jewellery magazine in Myanmar.

Two years later, it is on its third editor, has been taken over by Popular
journal and its target market has completely shifted.

U Lwan Wai Naing, the chief editor of Rati magazine, said that
establishing a new magazine is difficult, but to re-establish an old
magazine with a new trend is even more difficult.

The first problem he faced was that the readers and magazine distributors
did not acknowledge that Rati had changed.

“When they saw Rati magazine, they thought of it as a gemology magazine,”
he said.

“So it was very difficult for me to penetrate to the market and to get the
acceptance of the readers.”

While two contributed gemological articles still appear monthly, the new
Rati magazine focuses on Myanmar films, music, celebrity news and gossip,
poems, and short stories and features by Myanmar famous authors.

U Lwan Wai Naing said that it took him nearly three months to change the
image of Rati in the eyes of his readers.

Other magazines attempt to reach more readers by increasing the range of
topics they cover.

The former editor of Fashion Image magazine, Daw Tu Tu Myint Thein, bought
out Mu Kha (Faces) magazine in 2001. She decided to begin attracting older
readers as well.

“Most of the magazines in Myanmar targeted youth. I wanted to put emphasis
on the older readers. I wanted to fill a gap for the older readers, and
also fill a void in the Myanmar magazine world,” she said.

In Faces magazine older authors can contribute articles and features,
which ideally attract older readers. There are also sections that target
youth, such ‘cyber friendship’, ‘men’s folio’ and the ‘handwriting of a
girl’.

“At a time when people are so busy and have little time to read books and
magazines, they want to read light literature,” Daw Tu Tu Myint Thein said
on her magazine’s shift to general topics for all ages.

She said that Faces has since been more successful – evidenced by the
increase in advertising sales – and she has attracted the interest of
older readers, even some monks.

On the other side of the spectrum, Myanmar People magazine has changed its
look and content to target the younger generation.

The chief editor, Ma Mya Marlar, said that when she took the position in
August 2003, the magazine upgraded its quality by printing every page with
four-colour art paper and shifted its target to strictly youth.

The earlier issues of Myanmar People were also geared toward the younger
readers, but she said the magazine gradually contained articles and short
stories that were too serious and intense.

“When I became the editor, I found out which themes could attract the
young readers more,” she said.

In addition to eye-catching paper, the new Myanmar People magazine has
news and interviews with teenagers’ favourite music bands and stars, as
well as stories on love, relationships, fashion styles and career choices
and human interest pieces.

Ma Mya Marlar said she thinks she has reached her targeted audience of
middle and upper class youth in her year as chief editor.

What trends will change the magazine industry next year? We will have to
wait and see.


DRUGS
_____________________________________

June 9, Shan Herald Agency for News
Enter Bao's son-in-law

Most of Wa president Bao Youxiang's businesses are handled by Haw
Zeng-tien a.k.a Hsiao Haw, who married his second daughter, said informed
sources in the north. Hawkeye reports:

Hsiao Haw, 43, a native of Longlin in Yunnan's Dehong Prefecture, moved to
Ta Moeng-ngen in Kutkhai township, 48 miles north of Lashio, with his
parents during his adolescence. "He is even darker than Wa," commented a
Shan source from Kunming on his complexion.

He is a principal share holder in Mong Mau Co., one of the some-30
subsidiaries of the Wa's Hongpang Co, with whom they have to share 10% of
their profits. He handles money laundering operations both for Bao and Wei
Hsuehkang, with whom he maintains a close relationship. He often calls on
Wei at his home in the orange orchard at Tawniu-Nampateb, 7 miles east of
Tangyan and sometimes seen with him in Kunma (a town in Pangwai, the Wa's
northeasternmost township).

"Every time the generals hold their bi-annual gems emporium in Rangoon,
you can bet Hsiao Haw's there," a businessman confided. (Bangkok Post
reported on 4 November 2002 that the United Wa State Army used a gems
auction in October to launder millions of drug money by paying up to 10%
more than the original costs to miners.) His gem dealings are managed by a
Kachin from Myitkyina named Zawngkhawng, 60, known affectionately among
friends as Deng Zawngkhawng for his short height.

Hsiao Haw is also reported to be the owner of the 6-story Tekham Hotel
which he had built with a 60 million yuan capital in Zegao, opposite Shan
State's Muse. "If you can pay Y 100 per night, you have a room there,"
said a source. "It's of course not something you call grand, but it's
convenient."

Like many of those who want to get close to Burma's top officials, he
plays golf, mostly with Col Tin Maung Htay, who had formerly served as
Chief of Military Intelligence Unit #9 in Lashio before moving up to
become a drug buster in Rangoon. One source claimed Hsiao Haw was seen
last March pitching golf with a Singapore diplomat in Rangoon.

Close ties to people who matter had their advantages, said sources. Last
July, a speed factory was found in one of Hongpang's orange orchard in
Zay-an, between Hsipaw and Lashio. Nothing ever came out of it, they
maintained.
_____________________________________

June 8, Mizzima News
Drug Trafficking in Northeast India Still Not Contained - Surajit Khaund

Though the India and Burmese Governments are now cooperating to fight the
growing drug trafficking along their shared international border, they
have not been successful in containing the problem. Drug trafficking in
the northeast India is increasing at an alarming rate as indicated by
frequent seizures of drugs by government agencies.

Police in Jorhat, Assam, northeast India seized 550 gram of heroin and
arrested four youths on drug trafficking charges last Tuesday. The
consignment of heroin was brought from Burma through the Moreh point by
the youths, Jorhat police told Mizzima correspondent. The police have
valued the seized heroin at Rupees 5 crore (50 millions rupees) (1 US $ is
equivalent to Rs. 44) at the international market.

Police, however, refused to release the names of the youths involved
saying this would hamper future investigations. "We have laid a trap to
seize more consignments," they added.

Asked about the operation, Jorhat police said that according to reports,
consignments of heroin are generally brought to Assam before distribution
to different destinations. "What is more alarming is that most of the
consignments are brought from Burma through the porous border," they said.

Jorhat, a peaceful town in Assam province which experiences
anti-government insurgency, is located 300 km from the state capital. The
seizure of heroin has created a sensation among the people in the town.

Last week the Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 15,000 kg of
cannabis in plastic bags, valued at over Rs 7 crore, from an oil tanker
near Guwahati. The DRI also arrested the driver of the tanker, Ranjit
Singh. "According to Ranjit, the consignments were brought from Manipur to
Punjab," said a DRI official.

Cannabis, colloquially known as ganja, is cultivated in the bordering
district of Manipur and then sold for distribution in different parts of
India. "Ganja is in huge demand in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab and one
kilogram of ganja is sold for Rs 4000 to Rs 5000, depending on the
demand," the DRI in Guwhati told this correspondent.

In 2003, Mizzima conducted a study on drug trafficking in northeast India,
finding that cannabis was creating a major problem in the northeast India
as youths were increasingly attracted to the drug. But, so far, no
organization has initiated any pragmatic steps to contain the problem. The
state governments of in northeast India seem to be unconcerned as the
problem becomes aggravated.

DRI officials said that northeast India alone has an annual cannabis
business of Rs 20 to 30 crore and most cannabis is brought from Manipur.
"The bordering districts of Manipur-Ukhrul, Bishenpur and Chandel are the
main cultivation areas of the state."


BUSINESS / MONEY
_____________________________________

June 9, AFX - Asia
India to start exporting diesel, petroleum products to Myanmar - official

Guwahati: India is to start exporting diesel and other petroleum products
to Myanmar next month from the Numaligarh refinery in the eastern state of
Assam, a petroleum ministry official said.

"Initially, tankers will be used to take diesel from Numaligarh by road to
Myanmar. We might explore possibilities of laying a pipeline to export
diesel at a later stage if technically feasible," said the senior
official, who asked not to be named.

The exports will begin next month, the official said.

Myanmar requires some 5 mln tons diesel annually and the oil-rich state of
Assam can easily meet the demand, he said.

"It would be a profitable business proposition and eventually we might
think of exporting other petroleum products," a senior official of Assam's
state-owned Numaligarh Refinery said.

The ministry official said natural gas could also be imported from Myanmar
to India using a separate pipeline.

"Between 4-6 trln cubic feet of gas reserves were discovered recently in
Myanmar. It would be economically cheaper to wheel back gas (through a
pipeline) from Myanmar for use in India," the ministry official said.


REGIONAL
_____________________________________

June 9, Financial Times
Malaysia signals falling support for Burma's military government - John
Burton and Amy Kazmin

Singapore and Bangkok: The formation of a committee by Malaysian MPs
yesterday to press for democracy in Burma could indicate weakening support
by Kuala Lumpur for Burma's military government.

Malaysia has been considered an important ally of Burma, which has faced
international isolation due to its poor human rights record.

It was a prime sponsor of Burma's controversial entry into the Association
of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) in 1997 and has been a firm believer
in the organisation's policy of non-interference in the domestic affairs
of other members.

The new committee, made up of ruling and opposition MPs including several
close to Abdullah Badawi, prime minister, comes less than a week after
Khin Nyunt, the Burmese prime minister, visited Kuala Lumpur.

The parliamentarians urged the Burmese military junta to release
immediately all political detainees and appealed for free and fair
elections in the country.

"The caucus also calls upon the (Burma) government to respect Asean and
international opinion and return to the mainstream of responsible
international norms and behaviour," the parliamentary group said.

The committee's formation reflects growing frustration among some Asean
members over the slow progress in restoring Burma democracy.

Burma is due to assume the rotating Asean chairmanship in 2006, which some
Asean members fear could hurt the region's relations with the US and the
EU.

Malaysia publicly backed Burma during the prime minister's visit, saying
the military junta had displayed a positive approach to reconciliation
with its political opponents. But Nazri Aziz, a minister in the prime
minister's office, said Mr Abdullah had privately told the Burmese leader
that "he must buck up and that something must come out of this. He told
Khin Myunt the future is democracy."

Burma is holding a constitutional convention as part of a proposed effort
to introduce political reform, but critics have complained about
restricted debate at the sessions and the junta's demand that the military
should continue to play a leading role in political developments.

_____________________________________

June 9, New Straits Times (Malaysia)
MPs to help solve crisis in Myanmar

Malaysian MPs want democracy to take root in Myanmar, beginning with the
release of National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The pro-democracy Myanmar MPs Caucus of the Malaysian Parliament plans to
enlist Asean MPs to help solve the crisis.

The caucus met for the second time at the Parliament House yesterday at a
meeting chaired by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri
Nazri Aziz.

Nazri said members of the caucus hoped to to meet Suu Kyi. "We will also
meet with the Myanmar ambassador to hear his Government's stand on the
issue," he said.

He said the Myanmar issue had affected Asean's relationship with the West,
including the European Union. At the meeting, Kota Baru MP Datuk Mohd Zaid
Ibrahim was elected chairman while Keadilan president Datin Seri Dr Wan
Azizah Wan Ismail was elected deputy chairman. Committee members include
Mohamed Nazri and DAP national chairman Lim Kit Siang. Mohd Zaid said he
was confident the caucus could come up with strategies to speed up the
process of Suu Kyi's release.