BurmaNet News, September 17, 2004

[Editor]

September 17, 2004, Issue # 2561

INSIDE BURMA
AP: Myanmar government denies closing down magazine
Irrawaddy: Bomb blast kills NDA-K member
AFP: Myanmar opposition calls for release of leaders

ON THE BORDER
FEER: Tighter conditions at Thai camp

DRUGS
AFP: Myanmar raps US for keeping it on drug blacklist

BUSINESS / MONEY
Business Daily Update: Myanmar-China border trade fair to be held in Muse

REGIONAL
Nation: Surakiart to urge reform of UN at assembly in US

INTERNATIONAL
FEER: U.S. groups join Burma boycott
Reuters: EU wrong to let Myanmar attend summit - assembly

PRESS RELEASE
White House: Annual presidential determinations of major illicit
drug-producing, drug-transit countries

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Sweet sixteen for Burma’s junta

______________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

September 17, Associated Press
Myanmar government denies closing down magazine

Bangkok: Myanmar's military government on Friday denied allegations by a
press freedom group that it had shut down a magazine, saying the journal
had temporarily stopped publication because of financial difficulties.

On Wednesday, the Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders said the
junta's censorship bureau ordered the privately owned fortnightly
Khit-Sann to stop publication on Sept. 1.

However, the government said in a statement Friday that Khit-Sann had not
been banned.

The magazine's publisher "made a request to the department concerned that
due to some financial problem he would like to temporarily stop publishing
his journal," said the statement, in reply to a query from The Associated
Press.

It also said the editor had never been summoned by the censorship board
and was never told to stop publishing.

A spokesman for the magazine could not be reached for comment Friday.

Reporters Without Borders said no reason was given for the magazine's
closure, but that in August censors warned its editor, Kyaw Win, that the
magazine was too pro-American.

The United States is a strong critic of Myanmar's military government
because of its human rights abuses and failure to hand over power to a
democratically elected government. Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy won a 1990 general election, but the military never allowed
parliament to convene.

The junta tolerates little dissent, and all major media, print and
broadcast, are controlled by the state. There are a plethora of
small-circulation, privately owned journals, but they generally engage in
strict self-censorship, or cover uncontroversial subjects.

____________________________________

September 17, Irrawaddy
Bomb blast kills NDA-K member - Nandar Chann

Duwa Bawmwang Sinwa Naw, a member of the New Democratic Army-Kachin, or
NDA-K, was killed in a small grenade blast in the Kachin State capital of
Myitkyina on Wednesday evening.

“It was just an accident,” said Col Mukyin Dau Hawng, an NDA-K liaison
officer in Myitkyina, by telephone today. “Nobody was trying to kill him.”

The colonel said the incident took place during a party at the home of
Duwa Bawmwang Sinwa Naw’s sister, when the victim accidentally dropped a
hand grenade which exploded and killed him instantly and injured his
brother-in-law, who is receiving treatment in a hospital in Myitkyina.

He added that the victim was highly intoxicated.

Some observers, however, suspect the victim was assassinated by the Kachin
Independence Organization, or KIO.

Local police are investigating the case and questioning three witnesses,
including the victim’s son, according to NDA-K Col Mukyin Dau Hawng. A
funeral service was held Thursday afternoon in Myitkyina.

Duwa Bawmwang Sinwa Naw was a former member of the Kachin Independence
Army, or KIA, which is the armed wing of the KIO. His brother Duwa
Bawmwang La Raw, is the chairman of Pan Kachin, an organization based in
Chiang Mai, Thailand, which runs several healthcare and education projects
in Kachin State. Pan Kachin was formed by Kachin scholars and businessmen
in 1994.

Earlier this year, the KIO ordered Pan Kachin to shut down its projects in
Kachin State after its chairman was accused of taking part in an alleged
coup in January.

On February 26, Col Lazing Bawk, the KIA’s deputy chief of staff, was
assassinated by a bomb explosion in the bathroom of his house, in Laiza,
Kachin State. Initial speculation indicated that the assassination may
have been related to the alleged coup, led by Lasang Aung Wa at the KIO’s
Pajau headquarters in early January. But Kachin intelligence sources say
business disputes between Kachin army leaders and a group of mainly
Chinese businessmen were behind the killing.

Duwa Bawmwang Sinwa Naw’s death, meanwhile, remains unresolved. “There are
no clues at all,” said Col James Lum Dau, the KIO Foreign Office spokesman
in Bangkok. He rejected speculation that the KIO killed the NDA-K member.

____________________________________

September 16, Agence France Presse
Myanmar opposition calls for release of leaders

Yangon: Pro-democracy parties have repeated their demands for the release
of all political prisoners in Myanmar including opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi and her deputy Tin Oo, according to a statement.

A 10-party group headed by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy (NLD) also called for the reopening of the offices of political
parties that contested 1990 elections, according to a statement released
Thursday.

The statement by the Committee Representing the People's Parliament, set
up six years ago after the refusal of the military regime to allow the NLD
to rule after winning 1990 elections, also demanded freedom of expression
and the press.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been kept under house arrest for more than a year.
The military has run Myanmar since a 1962 coup.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

September 23, Far Eastern Economic Review
Tighter conditions at Thai camp

Thailand is tightening its grip on the ethnic-minority groups that have
taken refuge from fighting and human-rights abuses in neighbouring Burma.
Thai authorities recently started constructing a new
cement-and-barbed-wire security fence around Mae La refugee camp in Tak
province, which historically has allowed its inhabitants to forage for
food and buy supplies in nearby areas, say camp residents. The Thai
Foreign Ministry tells the REVIEW that the government is building the
fence to stop refugees encroaching on forest reserves. The authorities
have also recently imposed new restrictions on foreign aid agencies
operating at the camp, including bans on overnight stays. Mae La,
established in 1992 and home to around 48,000 mostly ethnic Karen
refugees, is the largest refugee camp in Thailand, according to the
Burmese Border Consortium, a relief agency. One camp doctor says between
30% and 40% of children at Mae La are chronically malnourished. A
tentative ceasefire between the rebel Karen National Union and Burma's
military government has recently allowed Burmese troops to establish new
positions closer to the border and extend the reach of road-building
projects, according to Western aid workers. But they add that Burma's
continued use of forced relocations of villagers to flush out insurgents
and make way for such infrastructure projects has contributed to a new
flow of refugees into Mae La camp this year.

_____________________________________
DRUGS

September 17, Agence France Presse
Myanmar raps US for keeping it on drug blacklist

Yangon: Myanmar on Friday launched a fierce attack on the United States
for a second consecutive day and said Washington had "irresponsibly"
blamed the military-run state for failing to do enough to combat drugs.

US President George W. Bush on Thursday maintained Myanmar on an annual US
narcotics blacklist despite acknowledging that Yangon had taken strides in
cutting cultivation of poppy, the plant from which heroin is derived.

The junta cited praise from the United Nations over what it said was its
70 percent reduction in opium production over the past 10 years.

"Myanmar now realizes that the US actually does not have a convincingly
worthwhile and contributory drug policy at all but is using tactics to
deflect the blame from coming to her by irresponsibly pointing fingers at
others and blaming them for not doing enough."

Myanmar on Thursday had rejected a separate US report in which it was
listed as one of the world's worst violators of religious freedom.

Yangon has implemented crop substitution programs, cracked down on
traffickers and seized and destroyed billions of dollars worth of drugs in
the past decade, it said.

"Myanmar has waged this war with virtually no help from the outside
world," it said, adding that Washington limits its anti-drugs cooperation
with Myanmar to opium yield surveys and bars Myanmar narcotics officers
from training programs.

Bush reported to Congress that Myanmar "failed demonstrably" during the
last year to adhere to its obligations under international
counter-narcotics agreements and to take the measures set forth in US law.

The United States had warned in March that while Myanmar had cut opium
poppy cultivation it remained the world's second-ranked supplier of the
drug.

Along with Myanmar the US maintained other Asian nations Afghanistan,
China, India, Laos, Pakistan and Vietnam on the list.

_____________________________________
BUSINESS / MONEY

September 17, Business Daily Update
Myanmar-China border trade fair to be held in Muse

A Myanmar-China border trade fair will be held in Myanmar's border town of
Muse linking China's Ruili to boost the border trade between the two
countries.

According to the exhibition sources, the biennial border trade fair is
scheduled for December 18-22.

Exhibits at the five-day border trade fair from the Myanmar side will
include value-added finished timber products, handicraft, marine products,
gem items, personal and household goods, costume, cigarette and beer,
while those from the Chinese side will cover foodstuff such as beverage,
biscuit, cake and wafer, plastic products, cement, iron products, edible
palm oil and ceiling roof zinc plates, the sources said.

The economic and trade relations between Myanmar and China have continued
to develop in recent years.

According to official statistics, their bilateral trade, including border
trade, reached US$1.07 billion in 2003 with Myanmar's exports to China
amounting to US$170 million, while its import from China US$900 million.

Myanmar has opened six border trade points along the border with China.

Meanwhile, under a framework agreement of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China initiated in 2002, China has unilaterally
cut import tariff on over 100 Myanmar products along with those of
Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Besides, under an early harvest plan, which is an advanced countrywise
program of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area targeted for establishment by
2010, Myanmar and China have started some free trade activities, covering
596 items of products, the tariff of which is set to be ultimately removed
by 2009.

_____________________________________
REGIONAL

September 17, The Nation
Surakiart to urge reform of UN at assembly in US - Don Pathan

Human security, international terrorism and United Nations reforms will be
high on Foreign Affairs Minister Surakiart Sathirathai's agenda during the
59th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, a ministry spokesman
said yesterday.

Sihasak Phuangketkeow said the minister would urge UN members to look at
terrorism in a sociological and cultural context rather than as a
conventional security threat.

Thailand wants to see more dialogue among societies and cultures to push
for a 'culture of peace and culture of tolerance', he said.

The government believes the United Nations should be reformed to allow it
to effectively address non-traditional security issues such as economic
depravity, environmental degradation and human trafficking - issues that
affect the lives of average people on a daily basis, he said.

During his ten-day trip to the United States, Surakiart intends to raise
the issue of global terrorism at a meeting with delegates at the
Asia-Europe Meeting and at discussions with Richard Lugar, chairman of the
powerful US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Lugar is very likely to quiz Surakiart about Thailand's role in the
democratisation process in Burma, Sihasak said, pointing to Thai-sponsored
Bangkok Process and the so-called roadmap to peace.

Thailand has come under severe criticism by members of the US Congress
over its 'cozy' ties with Rangoon, including allegations by Senator Mitch
McConnell that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's Shin Corp stands to
benefit from policies on Burma.

Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are scheduled to
hold a meeting with former Prime Minister Anand Panyara-chun in his
capacity as chairman of a panel examining global threats and analysing
future challenges to international peace and security. UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan appointed the panel last year.

Surakiart's trip to the UN will be his first since Thaksin announced his
candidacy for secretary-general of the United Nations. Annan will step
down as UN leader in two years.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

September 23, Far Eastern Economic Review
U.S. groups join Burma boycott

The University of Washington's Alumni Association in early September
joined at least three other United States educational groups in suspending
their sponsorship of tours to Burma because of continuing human-rights
violations by the military rulers of the Southeast Asian nation. "In
response to the many e-mails we've received from the U.S. Campaign for
Burma, we have withdrawn our sponsorship of [our coming] tour," Pauline
Ranieri, director of the association's alumni tours, said in a message to
the activist group that presses American companies to end activities that
benefit the Rangoon regime. In August, three other U.S. groups -- the
American Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian Institutions'
Smithsonian Journeys and the Asia Society -- joined a boycott of tourism
to Burma until the government moves to introduce democracy, the campaign
says. The non-governmental organization says tourism provides badly needed
hard-currency earnings to the Burmese government and claims that Burma's
leaders have used forced labour to develop the country's tourism
infrastructure.

_____________________________________

September 16, Reuters News
EU wrong to let Myanmar attend summit - assembly

Strasbourg, France: Europe's decision to ease the international isolation
of military-ruled Myanmar by letting it attend an Asia-Europe summit could
increase repression, the European Parliament said on Thursday.

In a non-binding resolution, the EP called for the immediate release of
pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.

It also called for United Nations sanctions against the military rulers,
who have governed the former Burma in various guises since 1962.

"This decision could give a signal to the Burmese regime that the EU
attaches a lessening priority to the release of Suu Kyi ... encouraging it
to take harsh measures against the National League for Democracy," the
resolution said.

EU foreign ministers agreed earlier this month that if Myanmar had not
released Suu Kyi by the start of the two-day meeting on October 8, and met
other previous demands, they would tighten sanctions at their next meeting
on October 11.

They reached the compromise to save face after Asian states wanted Myanmar
to attend the meeting in Hanoi in spite of EU human rights concerns.
Myanmar will be represented at a lower rank than the 10-member Asian side.

The military rulers announced a roadmap to democracy last year and a
National Convention to draft a new constitution is expected to reconvene
in November.

But critics say the move is a sham without participation of Suu Kyi and
her National League for Democracy (NLD).

_____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE
September 16, White House
Annual presidential determinations of major illicit drug-producing,
drug-transit countries

Consistent with section 706 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for
FY03 (PL 107-228), the President today has identified the following
countries as major drug-transit or major illicit drug-producing countries:
Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, China, Colombia,
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Laos,
Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
  These countries are on the "majors list".

The President removed Thailand from the list of major drug-transit or
major illicit drug-producing countries because, according to the
Administration, Thailand's opium poppy cultivation is below the de minimus
acceptable level, no heroin processing laboratories have been found in the
country for several years, and Thailand no longer is a significant direct
source or transit point of controlled substances to the U.S.

In addition, the President determined that Burma has failed demonstrably
during the previous 12 months to adhere to their obligations under
international counternarcotics agreements and to take counternarcotics
measures specified in U.S. law.

Although Haiti remains on the majors list, the President considers that
the counter-narcotics performance of the "New Interim Government of Haiti"
to have been such so as not to necessitate deeming that the island nation
failed demonstrably to adhere to its CN responsibilities.

Other countries meriting specific mention include the Netherlands (as a
dominant source of ecstasy), Canada (as a source of precursor chemicals
and marijuana), Nigeria (for how its pervasive corruption is debilitating
its CN efforts), Afghanistan (for steady increases in opium crop
production), and North Korea (as a source of heroin and methamphetamine).

The complete report should become available on the website for the Office
of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), which is at
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/international/index.html.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

September 17, Irrawaddy
Sweet sixteen for Burma’s junta

Tomorrow will mark the 16th anniversary of the Burmese military regime’s
vicious suppression of the nationwide democracy movement. On September 18,
1988, the military seized power, killing several thousands of peaceful
demonstrators across the country.

Now, 16 years later, the generals are still in power. Opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of her National League for Democracy
party remain in detention. More than one thousand activists are in jail.
The democracy movement has been totally handicapped.

This does not mean that the junta—formally known as the State Peace and
Development Council, or SPDC—has not, in 16 years, encountered obstacles;
it comes under international fire all the time.

Recently, the US government has staged serial attacks on the junta’s
record of human rights violations, religious intolerance, human
trafficking, and drug production. The US also renews its sanctions on
Burma again and again.

In addition, the EU maintains constant pressure on the junta, imposing
sanctions and attempting to exclude its leaders from every meeting with
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean.

Unfortunately, the SPDC seems mostly immune to these blows. Just glance
back at the past 16 years: one way or another, the military regime always
overcomes any difficulties.

For instance, the EU recently tried to prevent the junta from attending
the Asia-Europe summit, to be held in Hanoi this October. In return, Asean
threatened to exclude the EU’s new members. Eventually, a compromise was
reached: only low-ranking officials would be allowed to attend the
meeting. The final result of this much-publicized argument is that Burma
will be included in the summit.

Debacles of this nature stem from a fundamental rift in the way the world
believes Burma should be treated. One camp, including some Western
scholars and opposition groups, holds the idea that sanctions will help
bring democracy. On the other hand, another camp maintains that sanctions
worsen the situation of the people of Burma, and that only a policy of
engagement can pull them out of penury.

The EU-Asean dispute is one example of the wars of words that have been
waged among opposition groups, scholars, and the international community
since September 1988. Meanwhile, the junta is gaining resources and
strengthening its military. As for the people of Burma, they are suffering
from the political instability and battered economy they have faced since
the beginning.

These ceaseless debates about international policy towards Burma only buys
time for the military regime, allowing it to consolidate its rule. Only a
swift, consistent, and universally agreed-upon resolution can truly help
the people.