BurmaNet News, July 15, 2004

[Editor]

July 15, 2004, Issue # 2517


INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima: New order for MI to watch ceasefire groups

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: First batch of Burmese refugees US-bound

DRUGS
World Market Analysis: Large-scale heroin haul highlights Myanmar's
ongoing drug problem

GUNS:
Irrawaddy: The arms keep coming—but who pays?

HEALTH / AIDS
AFP: Myanmar threatened by AIDS epidemic: UN

BUSINESS / MONEY
Straits Times: Chinese scholars propose building oil pipeline from Burma

REGIONAL
IPS via Irrawaddy: High HIV/AIDS risk for migrant fishermen


INSIDE BURMA
______________________________________

July 13, Mizzima News
New order for MI to watch ceasefire groups - Tun Naing

New orders were issued by the Military Intelligence (MI) battalion (29)
based in Shan State to watch more closer armed militant groups that have
signed ceasefire agreements with the State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC) based in the Sino-Burma border areas, said the military source from
that border.

The order reads that from the time of the order MI agents are to report
within 24 hours without fail all information regarding unusual behaviours
or events taking place within the ceasefire groups. The order also says
that failure to report in a timely manner all information the MI would be
lead to trial before a military tribunal.

The ceasefire militant groups based in the Sino-Burma border that are to
be kept under closer watch by the MI include Kokan, Northern Shan State,
Wa, Palaung and Kachin groups. The orders were issued to lower ranking MI
agents.


ON THE BORDER
______________________________________

July 15, Irrawaddy
First batch of Burmese refugees US-bound - Aung Su Shin

Mae Sot: The first group of Burmese refugees from Mae Sot boarded planes
for the United States this morning from the airport at the Thai border
town.

Thirty-one individuals from eight different families stopped at Don Muang
International Airport in Bangkok before flying on to the US for permanent
resettlement later today. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR,
and the International Organization of Migration, or IOM, helped arrange
the resettlement.

In January, the US entered into discussions with the Thai government over
the possible resettlement of up to 4,000 Burmese refugees in the US. The
US Embassy in Bangkok began processing applications for the resettlement
of 2,000 UNHCR-recognized Burmese refugees that month. The first 2,000 are
scheduled to leave for the US before the end of the year. The first group
of Burmese, from Bangkok, left for the US in May.

Seven of the families had members affiliated with Burmese political
opposition groups, including the Democratic Party for a New Society, or
DPNS, the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front, or ABSDF, and the Mae Tao
clinic, which trains medics and provides free medical treatment to Burmese
migrants in Thailand.

The departing refugees, some of whom have lived in Thailand for 15 years,
expressed mixed feelings about resettling in the US.

“I do not want to go to a third country,” said DPNS member Nyein Chan.
“But I have no choice but to accept the UNHCR’s arrangement because I can
not stay here [in Thailand] anymore.”

A member of the armed student group the ABSDF said even though he was
going Stateside, he was not turning his back on politics and his
colleagues.

“In fact I would like to stay here with my comrades,” Myint Naing said. “I
am not betraying Burma’s revolution. At this time, however, the situation
will not allow us to stay here so we are leaving for the [US]. When we get
travel documents we will come back to help our comrades,” he added.

Ta Ei, a medic at the Mae Tao clinic, was more upbeat, saying the
resettlement provided him the dream chance to study.

The eighth family to resettle the in US are not refugees, say several
Burmese residents in Mae Sot, but are Burmese migrants with a reputation
for swindling other Burmese migrants, merchants and refugees of their
money. One resident accused the family of deceiving other Burmese in Mae
Sot into lending them tens of thousands of baht, and promising to repay
the loan with high interest. But the money was never repaid.

“I do not know how they gained refugee status; they are robbing real
refugees of the opportunity [to resettle in a third country],” said Tin
Maung, a Burmese dissident living in Mae Sot, at the airport this morning.
“The real refugees have not got PoC [Person of Concern status] yet, while
the fake refugees are leaving for a third country for resettlement,” he
added.

In July more than 200 Burmese refugees will go to third countries, with
the assistance of the UHNCR and IOM in four batches. The remaining three
groups will leave on July 18, 20 and 23, according to refugees and UNHCR
officials.

Until January, the UNHCR was charged with the responsibility of screening
Burmese refugees. But the agency temporarily stopped accepting
applications, at the request of the Thai government, until a more
restrictive government-controlled screening procedure was announced on
March 22.

Thailand will not permit the refugees to integrate locally. The Thai
authorities only reluctantly permit the refugees to remain, and every year
impose more restrictions on them, often to appease the Burmese regime.
Thailand has important trade and economic relations with Burma that are of
much greater concern to Bangkok than is the fate of the refugees.


DRUGS
______________________________________

July 15, World Markets Analysis
Large-scale heroin haul highlights Myanmar's ongoing drug problem -
Elizabeth Mills

The police announced yesterday that authorities last week seized one of
the country's largest drug hauls in years. According to news agency AFP,
more than 500kg of heroin was seized in a coastal village, 610km south of
the capital, Yangon (Rangoon). It appears that traffickers had hired a
fishing crew to smuggle the drugs out of the country, but a dispute over
unpaid wages saw the crew instead hide the drugs and flee. The incident
comes at a time when the region and its drug-trafficking operations are
receiving considerable international attention. The authorities in
Myanmar, along with those in Thailand, have made moves to crack down on
the problem; the United Nations (UN) praised Myanmar's efforts earlier
this year, stating that the country had reduced its production of opium by
two-thirds since 1996. However, as has happened elsewhere, traffickers
have instead switched their attention to other countries, notably
Cambodia, as well as to the production of other drugs - especially
methamphetamines (see Cambodia: 30 June 2004: UN Warns of Cambodia's
Growing Drugs Problem, as Authorities Make Convictions in Major Haul). The
latter has created further problems for the authorities, who have seen an
escalation in domestic rates of addiction to this type of drug.

Significance: It is evident that when the authorities make some gains in
tackling the cultivation, trafficking and usage of illicit drugs, it loses
ground in other areas, as different types of production emerge. The
so-called 'Golden Triangle' of drug-producing states - Laos, Myanmar and
Thailand - continues to create international concern, prompting China,
India and the US to join forces recently, in moves to counter
international drug syndicates. China continues to complain that the Golden
Triangle poses the greatest threat to Asian efforts to address drug
problems.

GUNS
______________________________________

July 14, Irrawaddy
The arms keep coming—but who pays? – William Ashton

The Burmese military’s appetite for weapons appears insatiable. William
Ashton details the regime’s recent purchases.

Burma’s ruling State Peace and Development Council, or SPDC, has been at
pains over recent months to tell the international community that it is
devoting a considerable effort to implementing a new “road map” to
multi-party democracy and introducing measures for a more open economy.
The military government has also claimed major advances in promoting
education and public health, and in developing the country’s civil
infrastructure.

The Rangoon regime can certainly point to an increase in diplomatic
activity, and show visitors to Burma many new roads, buildings and dams.
However, the SPDC’s statements continue to ignore the fact that, for the
past 15 years, a large proportion of its central budget—probably between
35 and 45 per cent each year—has been allocated to the armed forces, or
Tatmadaw. This does not include significant allocations to the defense
sector from off-budget sources and unofficial payments that never appear
in the national accounts. Also, while an increasing proportion of Burma’s
annual defense expenditure is now used to pay for recurring personnel and
maintenance costs, a high percentage is still devoted to the acquisition
of new arms and equipment from abroad.

Continued Military Expansion

When the armed forces took back direct political power in 1988, they
launched an ambitious defense expansion and modernization program. Since
then, the regime has consistently spent a greater proportion of central
government outlays on defense than any other country in the Asia-Pacific
region. The Burmese armed forces have doubled in size, making them the
second largest in Southeast Asia and, by some calculations, the 15th
largest in the world. New command and control structures have been put in
place, and capabilities in key support areas like intelligence,
communications and logistics have been substantially upgraded. The
country’s military infrastructure has also been improved. In addition, the
Burma Army has acquired a wide range of tracked and wheeled armor, towed
and self-propelled artillery, air defense weapons, transport, small arms
and communications equipment. The air force has taken delivery of more
than 150 helicopters, fighters, ground attack, transport and training
aircraft. The Burma Navy too has expanded dramatically, with new
corvettes, missile patrol boats, offshore patrol vessels and riverine
craft.

Given its enormous expansion since 1988, the massive influx of arms and
equipment since then, and the difficulties of keeping its current
inventory fully operational, it might be expected that the Tatmadaw’s
acquisition programs would now be slowing down. Yet, over the past 18
months, there has been clear evidence that the Rangoon regime continues to
give its highest priority to the development of Burma’s military
capabilities.

While some of the SPDC’s more ambitious projects, such as the planned
acquisition of strategic weapon systems, have reportedly been shelved for
the time being, other major contracts have gone ahead. China remains
Burma’s principal source of military technology but, despite an arms
embargo imposed by its traditional suppliers, the regime has managed to
find a number of new vendors.

Arms Deliveries

A survey of arms deals with Burma over the past 18 months has revealed the
following:

China

Rangoon is locked into a continuing close logistical relationship with
Beijing, due to the need to maintain all the arms and military equipment
purchased from China, at an estimated cost of billions of dollars, since
1988. However, the SPDC is interested in acquiring even more arms, and new
weapons and consignments of materiel continue to be delivered. There have
been reports of 200 heavy-duty trucks crossing the China-Burma border, and
of shipments of unspecified “air force weapons”, multiple rocket launchers
and possibly artillery. There were also reports in March 2004 that the
Burma Army was negotiating yet another arms deal with China, this time to
buy obsolescent weapons being phased out by the People’s Liberation Army.
In addition, there have long been rumors that Burma has been negotiating
with China for the purchase of combat helicopters, minesweepers, anti-ship
missiles and sea mines.

North Korea

Rangoon’s developing relationship with Pyongyang has gone well beyond the
small arms ammunition purchased in 1990, and the sixteen 130mm artillery
pieces acquired by the SPDC in 1998. For example, in 2003 a team of North
Korean technicians was sent to Rangoon to install surface-to-surface
missiles on some new Burma Navy vessels. In addition, discussions have
taken place between Rangoon and Pyongyang over the purchase of a small
submarine, and possibly even a number of SCUD short-range ballistic
missiles. Late last year there were even suggestions that North Korea was
assisting Burma with the construction of a nuclear reactor, raising the
specter of the Rangoon regime one day acquiring a nuclear weapon.

India

As part of a renewed effort to get closer to Burma, India has provided the
Tatmadaw with a range of weapons, ammunition and equipment. In May 2003
the Indian Defense Ministry confirmed that it had sold the Tatmadaw eighty
75mm howitzers (or “mountain guns”). Also, India has reportedly sold
mortar and artillery ammunition to Rangoon, and advanced communications
equipment. A Burmese military delegation visiting India in early 2004 said
that the Tatmadaw welcomed further arms deals. The Indian Defense Minister
has stated that New Delhi is keen to sell Burma naval vessels. A
demonstration by Indian combat aircraft in Burma this year prompted
speculation about future sales to the Burma Air Force.

Ukraine

The Russian language press stated in late 2002 that the Ukraine had
contracted to provide Burma with some 36D6 radar systems. In mid-2003 it
was reported that the Ukraine had sold the Tatmadaw 50 T-72 main battle
tanks. In February 2004, a Ukrainian-flagged ship made a secret delivery
to Rangoon, probably of air defense weapons. Also, in May 2003, one of the
Ukraine’s leading arms exporters signed a contract with Burma worth US
$500 million, to provide the Rangoon regime with components for 1,000
BTR-3U light armored personnel carriers. Over the next ten years these
vehicles will be supplied in parts, and assembled in a new, purpose-built
factory in Burma. More arms deals between Rangoon and Kiev are likely.

Serbia

In December 2003, Serbian language sources claimed that Rangoon had
contracted with Belgrade to buy a number of “Nora” self-propelled
howitzers. The cost of these weapons, which are marketed by
Jugoimport-SDPR, is unknown. In addition, in March 2004 about 30 Serbian
engineers arrived in Burma to repair and upgrade the Burma Air Force’s 12
Soko G-4 jets, which were purchased from the Republic of Yugoslavia in the
1990s. These aircraft have been grounded for several years, due largely to
a lack of spare parts.

Russia

In late 2002 the SPDC purchased eight MiG-29B-12 air superiority combat
aircraft and two dual-seat MiG-29UB trainers from Russia, at a reported
cost of about US $130 million. All these aircraft were delivered to Burma
by the end of 2003. In addition, in July 2002 Rangoon signed a contract
with the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy (Minatom) for the construction
of a nuclear reactor in Burma. While the project has encountered major
problems, probably due to its cost, it may still go ahead. It is likely
that the shipments of Russian military equipment detected in southern
Burma in April 2003, which were thought to be components for the reactor,
were in fact deliveries of a new communications system.

Slovakia

According to a news report dated October 2003, the Unipex Company of
Slovakia is currently being investigated for taking part in the illegal
export to Burma of machines for the manufacture of “artillery grenades”
(possibly rocket propelled grenades).

It is likely that other contracts have been signed but not yet been made
public. The frequent visits to Rangoon of North Korean and Ukrainian cargo
vessels over the past 18 months, and the measures taken to hide the nature
of their cargoes, strongly suggests that other deliveries of arms and
equipment have occurred. Several eastern European countries are keen to
sell arms to Burma. Also, countries like Singapore, Pakistan and Israel
maintain close links with Rangoon. All have weapon systems that are on the
Tatmadaw’s wish list. In the past, these factors have often led to
substantial sales of weapons, military equipment and dual use goods to
Burma, and related training contracts.

Paying The Bill

In considering the financial implications of these sales, several factors
need to be borne in mind. Not only does the regime need to cover the
initial purchase price of these arms, but it faces the continuing costs of
keeping them serviceable, providing facilities to house them, buying spare
parts to maintain them and training people to repair and use them. The
latter often includes sending selected military personnel overseas for
specialized training, and in a few cases supporting foreign experts
resident in country. Some of these costs can be paid in local currency,
but they still constitute a heavy drain on Burma’s precious foreign
exchange reserves. The regime is still able to earn hard currency through
the export of gas, gems, timber, agricultural produce and other natural
resources, but its economy is facing major problems. These have not been
helped by the new sanctions imposed by the US in June 2003, after a
government mob violently attacked democratic opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi.

In the past, some of these costs have been met through trade deals, under
which Burma has paid for part of its contracts with primary goods like
rice and teak. North Korea and Russia, for example, have accepted such
commodities in part payment for arms and military equipment. Even the
Russian nuclear reactor could be paid for in part through barter
arrangements. Also, for strategic and other reasons, some arms suppliers
have been very generous in their terms. For example, China has repeatedly
offered the Rangoon regime special “friendship prices” for arms, and
overlooked deadlines for the repayment of loans. The Ukrainian firm
selling Burma APCs has probably provided vendor financing of some kind.

Even so, given the regime’s current debts, its continuing need for foreign
logistical support, and its latest acquisitions, the investment required
now and in the future will be huge for a country like Burma. These costs
must inevitably be carried at the expense of other sectors of the
government that are desperate for scarce resources.

William Ashton writes regularly about security issues in Asia.


HEALTH / AIDS
______________________________________

July 15, Agence France Presse
Myanmar threatened by AIDS epidemic: UN

Bangkok: AIDS threatens to career out of control in Myanmar with a health
infrastructure woefully inadequate to cope with the epidemic, the United
Nations said Thursday.

The military-ruled state is "one of the top three countries in Southeast
Asia in terms of infection prevalence," with up to 620,000 people aged 15
to 49 believed to be infected with HIV, said Eamonn Murphy, country
coordinator for UNAIDS.

The figure, from UN and national data, is a near 50 percent increase on
the estimated 420,000 cases two years ago, he said.

HIV prevalence in the population is at 2.0 percent, the UN said, driven by
20-30 percent infection rates of sex workers.

Nearly three-quarters of injecting drug users also test positive in some
areas.

"It's in crisis, and HIV is growing exponentially there," Murphy told AFP
at the 15th International AIDS Conference gathering in Bangkok.

"The response is also 10 years late in terms of scale-up when compared to
Thailand's response," he added.

Myanmar's neighbour saw infection rates rocket in the early 1990s, but
Thailand's frank public awareness campaigns and 100 percent condom-use
programmes reversed the trend.

Yangon is relatively flush with aid money to fight AIDS, experts say, but
infrastructure problems and lack of hospital facilities are hampering the
country's ability to fight the disease.

A joint Fund for HIV/AIDS in Myanmar (FHM) has put together 42 million
dollars for AIDS prevention and treatment in 2003-2005.

The world's war chest to fight AIDS, the Global Fund, has also allotted 54
million dollars to the country, but sources say the money may not get used
because of western opposition to the junta.

The military regime has ruled the country since 1962 and critics, headed
by the European Union and the United States, have dismissed claims it is
heading towards a democracy as a sham.

But Murphy said the fight against the epidemic should not be hamstrung by
the political showdown.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's detained opposition leader, has also publicly
endorsed the country's anti-AIDS plans, he said.

Min Thwe, who heads the National AIDS Control Program in Myanmar, told the
conference his government is tackling the crisis.

Only 150 HIV-positive people countrywide are being treated with crucial
antiretroviral medicines, but Myanmar has targeted treatment for 2,000
people by the end of this year and 12,000 by late 2005, Min Thwe said.


BUSINESS
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July 15, The Straits Times (Singapore)
Chinese scholars propose building oil pipeline from Burma - Tschang Chi-chu

Beijing: Chinese scholars are proposing to build an oil pipeline from
Burma to China in order to reduce the country's dependence on shipping oil
imports through the Strait of Malacca.

The plan is one of numerous proposals to build a second oil pipeline from
Asian countries, including Thailand, Pakistan and Bangladesh, to China.
China is now building an oil pipeline from Kazakhstan.

This was originally reported in the latest issue of Oriental Outlook
magazine, which is published by the official Xinhua news agency.

The proposal put forward by three professors from south-west Yunnan
Province, which borders Burma, suggested that China build an oil pipeline
from Burma's western deep water port of Sittwe across the country to the
south-western Chinese city of Kunming.

However, contrary to the report, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Burma
Prime Minister Khin Nyunt did not discuss the plans for an oil pipeline
when they met last Sunday 11 July .

"Most of China's oil imports come from the Middle East and Africa. Given
the current situation in the Malacca Strait, we feel that we should come
up with a suitable alternative," Professor Li Chengyang, a co-author of
the proposal, told The Straits Times.
China is concerned that the rise in terrorist activities in Southeast Asia
will increase the risk of a terrorist strike in the strait, where
four-fifths of its oil imports must pass through.

Also, South-east Asia is home to the world's most pirate-infested waters,
with 79 attacks in the first quarter of this year, says the International
Maritime Bureau.

Earlier this year, US Pacific Command chief Admiral Thomas Fargo proposed
the idea of a Regional Maritime Security Initiative aimed at improving
cooperation, intelligence-sharing, response mechanisms and patrolling of
waters, particularly around the Malacca Strait.

Said Prof Li: "Nominally, the American initiative will help Southeast
Asian countries fight terrorism. But in reality, they want to control the
Strait of Malacca. For China to fall under American control is a very
risky thing."

China is determined to protect its national security by diversifying where
and how the world's second-largest oil consuming country obtains its oil.

China's hunger for oil, which has been one factor in the rise of world oil
prices, is expected to grow by 8.1 per cent or 510,000 barrels a day,
according to the International Energy Agency.

"Limited refining and oil-import capacity and transportation bottlenecks
may put a cap on Chinese demand growth by constraining supply," it said on
Tuesday.


REGIONAL
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July 15, Inter Press Service (IPS) via Irrawaddy
High HIV/AIDS Risk for Migrant Fishermen - Sonny Inbaraj

2004—Motivated by a sense of adventure that allows them explore a world
beyond their villages, many young men in the Mekong countries take to the
high seas—lured by the promise of high earnings as fishermen on Thai-owned
vessels operating in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. But a
recent report warns that the high-risk behavior of these migrant fishermen
plays a big role in the spread of HIV through the region.

“Fishermen are highly mobile, moving from source communities to transit
sites, between ports, and back again. This contributes to their
vulnerability of HIV/AIDS and plays a role in the spread of HIV through
parts of the Greater Mekong sub-region,” says a report released yesterday,
called “Untangling Vulnerability: A Study on HIV/AIDS Prevention
Programming for Migrant Fishermen and Related Populations in Thailand.”

The countries in the Greater Mekong sub-region are Thailand, Burma,
Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and China.

The report, authored by the Bangkok-based Raks Thai Foundation with
support from the US-based Rockefeller Foundation, was launched at the 15th
International AIDS Conference, in the Thai capital, on Wednesday.

“The motivation of the men to take up fishing is not influenced by coming
from a fishing background but rather the potential of high earnings and
the sense of adventure,” the report indicates, explaining why migrant
fishermen are lured to Thailand from neighboring countries.

The increasing mobility of migrant fishermen, the report also points out,
narrows the link between people in areas of high HIV/AIDS prevalence and
those in low prevalence areas.

Particularly vulnerable are women with few options for decent livelihoods
who resort to exchanging sex for money with the migrant fishermen.

“HIV rates among sex workers at port provinces [in Thailand] are much
higher than rates for sex workers in other parts of the country,” reveals
the report.

The Raks Thai Foundation report points out that in 2003, the national
prevalence rates for female direct sex workers in Thailand was 10.87
percent and 3.67 percent for female indirect sex workers.

“Although not all [migrant] fishermen seek out commercial sex, the
majority of those who do engage in these behaviors are likely to be
placing themselves and their partners in highly risky situations by being
inebriated, having multiple sex partners, and using condoms
inconsistently,” the report says.

What’s alarming is that sex workers, servicing fishermen at the ports, are
also highly mobile—thus enabling the virus causing AIDS to spread widely.

“These women and girls will often find themselves in a circuit where they
may stay for only six months before moving on. They are also most likely
to follow a route where there is a concentration of sex work venues, such
as other ports,” the report says.

Raks Thai Foundation Chairman Promboon Panitchkpakdi says focus was put on
Thailand because the country is the recipient of migrant labor from the
neighboring Mekong countries.

“Migrant workers have filled the labor void in Thailand, especially in the
fishing industry. The largest number of migrant fishermen are from Burma,
followed by Cambodia and then Laos,” Promboon told reporters during the
report launch.

“People become more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS when their work takes them away
regularly from home and family. With fewer social ties they are more
likely to have new sexual contacts,” he adds. “For fishermen, it’s the
nature of the occupation after long months out at sea.”

It is generally known that labor policies in Thailand are unfavorable to
migrant workers and less than one-third of them are registered, with the
remaining one million unregistered being considered as “illegal”.

The “illegal” workers are denied health services and if they fall ill in
Thailand, they often find themselves without community, family or the
ability to access care and support.

The Raks Thai Foundation chairman hit out at the Thai government for
ignoring migrant workers.

“Little is done to look into their health needs and the problem is made
worse by their Thai employers who don't care for them,” says Promboon.

Because of this, he says, non-governmental organizations have to fill in
the gap left empty by government agencies.

But Lee-Nah Hsu, of the UN Regional Task Force on Mobility and HIV
Vulnerability Reduction, points out that there is no longer a divide
between sending and receiving countries for labor.

“This message needs to be loud and clear to all governments. What they do
to foreign workers is what other governments would do their own citizens,”
she points out.

“There are Thai workers all over Asia, so we’re all in the same boat,”
stresses Lee.

One area of awareness that the Raks Thai Foundation is trying to create
among migrant fishermen is on the use of condoms.

“Many are ill-informed about condom use and HIV/AIDS generally, which
leads to misconceptions that result in decreased condom use,” says
Promboon.

Dangerous myths were also revealed in the report.

“Many also believe that a person’s HIV status can be discerned from
appearances. For example, a fair-skinned woman, or those whose skin is
cool to the touch are thought not to have HIV/AIDS, and thus fishermen may
not perceive the need to use a condom.”

One distribution strategy that Raks Thai Foundation plans to use is to
place free condoms at locations where fishermen may go prior to seeking
commercial sex, such as barber shops, food stalls, bars and snooker halls.