BurmaNet News October 14, 2004

[Editor]

October 14, 2004, Issue # 2579

INSIDE BURMA
Kaladan: Western Commander orders villagers to move out
BBC: Burmese paper hails growth of media industry, says people "hungry"
for news
SHAN: Ceasefire congress endorses new leadership

HEALTH/AIDS
BBC: South Korea donates health equipment to Burma

DRUGS
South China Morning Post: Opium growing falls but farmers are facing disaster

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: Asean to Launch Environment Fund
The Statesman: Border watch as CCS sits up
Mizzima: India, Burma to fight Northeast Rebels

OPINION / OTHER
Birmingham Times: Getting to know the real Burma

______________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

October 14, Kaladan Press Network
Western Commander orders villagers to move out

The Commander of the Western Command in Burma has ordered the villagers to
move out of their village in western Burma, a village elder here said.

A group of high military and border security forces visiting Thet Khine
Nyar Village on 6th October 14, 2004 inquired about the circumstances of
the death of a junior military officer in the area.  The team members also
asked about the whereabouts of the gun possessed by the dead soldier.  The
western Commander, Major General Maung Oo in a heated speech ordered the
villagers either to hand over the missing gun or face being forced out of
the village, he further added.

According to the villagers the drunken officer was chased and while he
jumped into the nearby stream to escape the wreath of villagers, he got
swept away and met with his death.  Two days later his body was found in
the creek.  It is believed that the gun sank and was lost while the
soldier got drowned.

Since the incident villagers have left the village to avoid arbitrary
arrest and harassment by law enforcing agencies. On September 13 Col. Aung
Naing Tun, the Tactical Operation Commander (TOC), Lt Col Myint Oo, the
Director of Nasaka, Maungdaw Township – across Bangladesh, and Lieutenant
Tin Thet of Military Intelligence-18 came to the village and made detailed
enquiry about the death of the soldier.  It is alleged that the officer,
Ran Aung, got drowned when he fled for life after being chased by
villagers as he had raped a 13-year-old girl, a villager quoted Nasaka
sources.

According to Nasaka sources 172 families out of 250 who had fled the
village to escape repression have come back by 19 September.  Some of the
villagers are still away and believed to be fleeing from place to place in
the border areas.  On October 10th the ruling SPDC junta has ordered to
deploy two sections of defense forces to hunt for the fleeing villagers,
another villager quoted Nasaka orders.

The high level military team comprised of the Western Commander Major
General Maung Oo, the Tactical Operations Commander Col. Aung Naing Tun
(Buthidaung), the Director of Nasaka (Border Security Force), Lt Col Myint
Oo, Col Aye Thite of Military Operation Command (MOC-15), Major Than Sein
of the Military Intelligence (MI-18) and other military officers who
visited the said village on October 6, 2004.

______________________________________

October 14, BBC
Burmese paper hails growth of media industry, says people "hungry" for news

Source: The Myanmar Times web site, Rangoon, in English 11 Oct 04

A veteran journalist has welcomed an increase in the number of journals
devoted to domestic news, saying they were contributing to a revival of
the profession. "As a journalist, I welcome the increase in the number of
journals because they are the eyes and ears of the nation and the
information they provide broadens the knowledge of the public," said Lu Du
Sein Win, 64.

A total of 15 journals, or weekly newspapers, devoted to domestic news
have been launched since 1999, including three this year. Another five
journals have changed their focus from celebrities to domestic news
coverage since the start of the year. "Myanmar people are hungry for news;
that is the main reason why the journals devoted to domestic news have
been successful," said Lu Du Sein Win, the editor of the Yangon (Rangoon)
office of the Mandalay-based daily newspaper, Lu Du, from 1960 until it
was closed in 1967.

He joined the newspaper as a reporter in 1957 when he was studying for an
Arts degree at Mandalay University. Lu Du Sein Win said the emergence of
more journals was making an important contribution to the development of
journalism. A prolific writer on topics related to journalism for more
than 20 years, Lu Du Sein Win contributes more than 30 articles every
month for publication to six journals and 12 magazines.

The director of the Press Scrutiny Board under the Ministry of Home
Affairs, U Aye Tun, said market demand was the main reason for the
increase in the number of journals devoted to news. "Publishers are more
interested in news journals because the demand is there," U Aye Tun said.
He said many publishers had become interested in news journals following
the launch in late 2000 of Seven Day News and Kumudra journals.

Figures released by the board show that Myanmar has 144 journals and 234
monthly magazines, up from six journals and 35 magazines in 1988. Among
those in a position to observe the expansion of the market is U Sai Than
Win, 42, who sells journals and newspapers from a stall on Bogyoke Aung
San Road. "When I opened my stall in 1980 there were about five journals,
now I sell 135, of which about 30 cover sport and about 15 cover domestic
news," he said. U Sai Than Win said sport journals account for most of his
sales, closely followed by Seven Day News, Kumudra and Myanmar Times.

______________________________________

October 14, Shan Herald Agency for News
Ceasefire congress endorses new leadership

The Third Congress of the Shan State Peace Council, a joint setup of two
ceasefire groups, Shan State Army "North" and Shan State National Army,
held on 3-5 October in northern Shan State's Hsipaw township, had
virtually re-elected previous leaders to guide the alliance for the next
4-years, reports a Thai source returning from Burma:
"There are only two noticeable changes," said the Thai of Shan origin, who
is currently employed by a Thai firm." "The new General Secretary is Col
Sai Du and the new head of the military affairs is Col Sai Yi." "The rest
remain the same."

Pangyang-born Sai Du, who, in 1973, had been assigned by the Shan State
Army to liaise with Luo Xinghan, then proclaimed by anti-narcotic agencies
as the opium king, was nabbed by the Thai police and extradited to Rangoon
together with Luo. He rejoined his old outfit upon his release. He was
also one of the participants in the 17 May-9 July National Convention.

Col Gaifah, Acting General Secretary since the sudden death of its former
office holder Col Gunyawd on 14 March, was re-elected as Vice President-2,
a post he had held since the Second Congress in 2000.

Col Sai Yi, the new leader of the SSNA since Gunyawd's passing, and
acknowledged as the most capable military strategist in the grouping,
succeeded Col Pangfah, Commander of the SSA's First Brigade, as Chief of
the Military Affairs. He had joined the resistance in 1976 together with
the SSA 'South''s leader, Col Yawdserk. "Sai Yi loves politics," commented
a senior officer from the SSNA, "but he is only at home with martial
subjects."

The source also said, contrary to S.H.A.N. report on 20 September, the
SSPC had yet to make any final decision as to whether or not to attend the
next session of the National Convention until a meeting of 13-ceasefire
groups that had co-signed the federal proposal at the last session is held
sometime in the near future. "The prevailing undercurrent, no doubt, is to
attend it," he added.

S.H.A.N. had reported then that the SSPC would be sending its
representatives to the next session of the National Convention, causing
some concerns among its other allies.

During S.H.A.N.'s last interview with Gaifah, he quoted officials from
"one of Burma's neighboring countries" saying "the show should go on with
firm principles and flexible approaches."

The National Convention, according to Rangoon, is to resume in the coming
open season but the exact date is yet to be announced.

The new line-up:

1. Maj Gen Hsoten, President
2. Maj Gen Loimao, Vice President-1
3. Col Gaifah, Vice President-2
4. Col Sai Du, General Secretary
5. Col Sai Yi, Chief of Military Affairs
6. Lt-Col Khemin, member
7. Lt-Col Hsengzoom, member

For further information, please contact S.H.A.N. at: Shan Herald Agency
for News.
Phone: 66-1-5312837 e-mail: <shan at cm.ksc.co.th>

_____________________________________
HEALTH/AIDS

October 11, The Myanmar Times via British Broadcasting Corporation
South Korea donates health equipment to Burma

The South Korean government's overseas aid agency has donated medical
equipment valued at about 9,000 US dollars to the Department of Medical
Research (Lower Myanmar). The Korea International Cooperation Agency
(KOICA) donated a microscope, a digital camera and equipment used in liver
disease research.

The equipment was handed over by KOICA's representative in Myanmar, Ms
Baek Sook-Hee [names as published], to Prof Dr Paing Soe, the
director-general of the department, at a ceremony at its headquarters on
Ziwaka Road, Dagon township, on 5 October. The equipment will be used at a
hepatitis clinic established by the department in 2001, said U Aung Myo
Min, the head research scientist of its computer division.

KOICA and the department also presented certificates to 43 department
officers and staff members who had completed three-month computer courses
conducted by KOICA volunteers and Myanmar teachers. The course covered web
page design and basic programming and applications. The aid agency and the
department started a healthy liver project in 2001 to help control
hepatitis B and C infections. The agency, which opened its office in 1998
at the South Korean embassy on University Avenue, last year donated
computers and medical equipment valued at about 10,000 US dollars for use
in liver disease research.

_____________________________________
DRUGS

October 14, South China morning Post
Opium growing falls but farmers are facing disaster

Opium production in Myanmar has fallen dramatically over the past 12
months and China and Thailand have hailed the reduction as a major success
in the campaign to stamp out the region's drug trade.

Myanmar's two neighbours have prodded Yangon to reduce opium cultivation
amid worries about the rising drug dependence among their youngsters.

But aid workers in the region are warning about a dark side to this
success story. They say little has been done to prevent a humanitarian
crisis in the villages along Myanmar's isolated, mountainous border with
China, villages that for centuries have relied on the sale of opium
poppies to survive.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been left dependent on food handouts
as a result of the reduction in poppy cultivation, they say.

More than 500,000 people were now dependent on food aid, said Sheila
Sisulu, of the World Food Programme (WFP), who visited areas hit by the
crisis last month.

"Farmers' incomes have fallen by more than 70 per cent. This is likely to
become worse unless the government in Yangon changes its policy" and
introduces alternative means of generating income, she said.

Disease and malnutrition have risen alarmingly, according to international
aid workers who have access to the area. The WFP and Japanese development
groups are distributing emergency aid.

Poppy production in Myanmar's section of the Golden Triangle, which
borders China, Laos and Thailand, is expected to fall 54 per cent this
year, according to estimates in the latest survey by the UN's Office on
Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

This year's decline is part of a long-term trend. Myanmar's opium
production had fallen by almost 75 per cent since its peak in 1996, the
head of the UNODC in Yangon, Jean-Luc Lemahieu, said.

By the end of June next year, areas under control of the Wa ethnic
minority will be completely free of opium, Wa leader Bau Yuxiang has
claimed. He has even promised to cut off his own head if they fail to
reach this goal.

But the end of poppy cultivation also will mean disaster for many of the
farmers who rely on it as their only source of cash income. At the
northern tip of Burma, the Kokang - Burma's rural ethnic Chinese - banned
poppy production last year under extreme pressure from Beijing.

The result has been catastrophic, Mr Lemahieu says.

"The population fell by 60,000 [from 200,000 to 140,000], with the most
people heading inland in search of a better living," he said. "Two out of
three private Chinese clinics and pharmacies closed their doors and one in
three community schools stopped operating.

"About 6,000 children were forced to leave school, effectively halving the
enrolment rate compared to the previous year."

The humanitarian crisis is likely to be replicated in Wa areas next year
if they succeed in ending opium cultivation. Wa leaders and poppy farmers
are worried. Most Wa villagers have traditionally relied on poppy crops to
survive.

"We buy rice in the lean season [with money from selling poppies] and it
pays for clothes, medicines and school books for the kids," said Na Pha,
an 80-year old grandmother from a village near the UN project centre at
Mongkok.

Even Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt understands the problem.

"The anti-drug drive will achieve success only if the food, clothing and
shelter requirements, and basic health, education, economic and social
needs of poppy farmers can be fulfilled," he told diplomats in Yangon
recently.

Mr Lemahieu said: "China and Thailand are playing an important role in
increasingly providing bilateral assistance." But even this was unlikely
to stave off the looming humanitarian crisis, he said.

Crop substitution and alternative-income programmes will only produce a
fraction of the money that poppies previously did. The future looks bleak,
according to UN officials. Many former poppy producers will turn to
working in the sex trade and other illegal activities.

Trafficking in women and children, already a major problem, will worsen,
experts predict. Many women and young girls already are ending up in
brothels in Thailand, the mainland and even Taiwan.

_____________________________________
REGIONAL

October 14, Irrawaddy
Asean to Launch Environment Fund

Southeast Asian governments agreed Thursday to launch a fund to support
environmental projects in the region, and Indonesia's neighbors called on
it to ratify a deal to introduce anti-haze pollution laws.

Environment ministers and other officials from the 10 Association of
Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, member-states were also set to consider
how to clean up their cities and educate the region's 500 million people
on environmental protection during their two-day Asean environmental
summit, which ends Friday.

Asean Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong said member nations planned to
establish the fund by the end of 2004, and that it could be worth up to US
$10 million. How much money each member will contribute has yet to be
agreed, he said, adding that China, South Korea and Japan were also
considering collaborating on the Southeast Asian fund.

The ministers have not decided exactly how the fund will work, but it will
support existing projects and be used to kick-start new ones, with a focus
on education programs in poverty-stricken rural areas, Ong told reporters.

"We can say: 'don't throw rubbish into the river.' But where else can you
throw?" he said, referring to the lack of proper disposal and sanitation
facilities in many Asean nations.

Ong said more education on protecting natural resources and sustainable
development was needed across the region.

Ong and Singaporean Environment Minister Yaacob Ibrahim said Asean is
committed to reducing the pollution and haze caused by open burning and
forest clearing, particularly in Indonesia.

In 1997-98, blazes on oil palm plantations and farms in Indonesia's
Sumatra and Kalimantan provinces burned out of control for weeks,
destroying 10 million hectares (25 million acres) of land and blanketing
Singapore and parts of Malaysia and Indonesia with thick smoke.

Economic losses from those fires topped US $9.3 billion and prompted a
2002 agreement among six of the 10 Asean members, but not Indonesia, to
fight fire pollution. The agreement came into force late last year, but
Indonesia has not ratified the deal.

"We are in a delicate diplomacy to get Indonesia to ratify the agreement,"
said Ong. "As for enforcement, we believe Indonesia has done all it can."

Last month, over a thousand fires were reported in both Kalimantan and
Sumatra—sending smoke again to Singapore and Malaysia.

Asean comprises Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines,
Brunei, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

_____________________________________

October 13, The Statesman
Border watch as CCS sits up

NEW DELHI — The Cabinet Committee on Security today took note of the
serious problems in the North-east with militants finding shelter in
Bangladesh and Myanmar.
While Myanmar has agreed to take action against the militants, Bangladesh
is refusing to play ball. The government is now considering taking up the
militant issue with Bangladesh at a higher diplomatic level.

Senior leaders from Myanmar had visited India recently. The two countries
had taken part in operation “Golden Bird” against militants and help to
cut the flow of arms in the North-east via Myanmar. Some of the arms
unloaded in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh moved into Myanmar and then moved
back to India. Senior Army officers are in touch with their Yangon
counterparts but regret that the Myanmar army lacks logistics for a
thorough campaign against insurgency. Bangladesh is resistant to any
discussion about militant camps though top Ulfa leaders are believed to be
there.

The government is also working on getting the border fencing completed,
especially in the Tripura sector. An additional reason for quick action is
pressure from the Left as much of the influx from Bangladesh is into the
Marxist-ruled states of Tripura and West Bengal. — SNS

_____________________________________

October14, Mizzima
India, Burma to fight Northeast Rebels -  Surajit Khaund

The Indian Home Ministry is in close communication with its Burmese
counterparts to initiate stern action against the underground groups. This
new development emerged in the aftermath of subversive activities carried
out by Northeast Indian rebel groups in the region.  Highly-placed
official sources in the Indian Home Ministry informed this correspondent
that the Burmese government has sought assistance from India to put
pressure on the underground groups.  “We are ready to provide all possible
assistance to flush out the militants in the bordering areas,” the sources
added.

Asked about the nature of the assistance to be provided, the sources
revealed that India has been extending help to the “Myanmar government for
the last couple of years and the help would be more concrete.” During the
last BJP-led government India supplied weapons to Burma as part of the
assistance programme following a request from the Burmese government. It
is expected that India will provide Burma more weapons to tackle the
insurgency problem.

Additionally, the Burmese junta is facing a shortage of army personnel to
cope with the situation in its western frontier areas as a huge number of
soldiers have been deployed to its eastern Burma-Thai border. When asked
specifically about the supply of arms to Burma, the sources refused to
comment directly saying, “Help can be anything.” Commenting further, the
sources said, “We have already submitted a list of rebel members and their
camps in Burma and we seek full co-operation to drive them out.”
Additionally, they said that this time the Indian ministry is expecting a
concrete step from their side.

When asked about the possibility of a joint army operation between Indian
and Burma, they said, “It is too premature to make any comment now. But we
have received a positive response from the Myanmar side.” During the last
visit to the Northeast, the Indian Home Minister, Shivraj Patil,
categorically said that India is holding talks with Burma to initiate
concrete steps against the underground rebels and that within a short
period of time significant developments have taken place.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

October 14, Birmingham Post
Getting to know the real Burma – Emily Andrews

Burma is one of the jewels of South-east Asia but the ruling military
junta has a questionable human rights record. This week the annual
Asia-Europe (Asem) conference extended the hand of friendship, leading
Emily Andrews to ask whether it is now acceptable to visit "The Golden
Land"

Gleaming temples, majestic rivers and a world cut off from modern-day
living. No internet, no ATMs, no Coca-Cola and no credit cards.

To many travelers it sounds the perfect holiday getaway, the perfect
escape from the stress and strain of modern life.

Yet last summer the British Government called for all tourists to boycott
Burma.

Burma has a terrible record of human rights abuses, perpetrated by its
repressive regime, which, with supreme irony, is called the State Peace
and Development Council (SPDC).

The country has been under military rule, in one form or another, for more
than 40 years - so why now increase pressure on British visitors to
boycott the country?

The short answer is to punish the regime for re-arresting Burma’s elected
leader, Aung San Suu Kyi (whom the Burmese refer to as "the Lady"), and
other leaders of the National League for Democracy in a bloody strike on
May 30 last year.

The United States responded to this act of violence with new trade
sanctions, forcing US clothing companies to cancel contracts, putting tens
of thousands of Burmese women out of work and - according to critics of
sanctions - into prostitution.

The European Union has always taken a more measured stance, saying
sanctions should "ensure the ordinary people of Burma suffer as little as
possible".

As to visiting the country, it prefers to allow travelers to make up their
own minds.

The trouble, say the Burmese, is that a tourist boycott misses its mark.

"It’s all very well for expatriate Burmese to push for sanctions but they
don’t have to live here," says a taxi driver in Rangoon. "The money the
regime makes from tourists is nothing compared to what it makes from oil
and gas, from gems and from kickbacks from the opium trade.

"We think 500,000 ordinary people depend on tourism for a living. If the
EU follows Britain’s line, everyone living in Pagan (the country’s main
tourist site) will be destitute."

The British Government has come up with a number of reasons why tourism to
Burma is "inappropriate" now.

The most persuasive argument is that Aung San Suu Kyi apparently does not
want tourists to come. This belief stems from her call for a boycott of
the government-sponsored Visit Myanmar Year in 1996 "as a demonstration of
solidarity with the democratic movement in Burma".

But asked at the time, by the writer and former Buddhist monk Alan
Clements, whether she was advocating that travelers and tourists stay away
entirely, she replied: "No, we are not doing anything like that."

I examined, re-examined and twisted my conscience before visiting Burma
two months ago.

I decided that if I were to go, I would do my utmost to put my hard-earned
dollars into the hands of the local Burmese and not into the pockets of
the government.

Starting in the bustling capital of Rangoon, it was easy to believe that
this was any other Far Eastern country, complete with crumbling colonial
buildings and chattering crowds.

It’s a city that seems to have embraced capitalism wholeheartedly with its
half-built skyscrapers, shopping malls and smart cars.

But every so often the billboards of the SPDC stare down at you with their
chilling message of "Everyone must work for the good of the state" and
"Foreign stooges will not be tolerated." I wasn’t entirely sure what, or
who, foreign stooges were, but I certainly had not written my occupation
on my visa - on the whole, foreign journalists are banned from Burma.

And even in the capital people were very unwilling to be drawn into any
talk of the political situation.

Using public transport, eating in local restaurants and using
nongovernmental hotels all served to salve my conscience but all the local
Burmese I talked to said trade was down and their wages were suffering.

Even in Pagan, a spectacular plain dotted with thousands of 800-year-old
temple ruins, I didn’t encounter another British tourist.

This archaeological site has to be one of the most amazing I have ever seen.

At a bend in the river Irrawaddy, a Baman king built his kingdom here,
littering the lush greenery with wave after wave of Buddhist temples,
their gilded stupas glittering in the bright sunshine.

It is Burma’s premier tourist attraction, but it"s not busy.

In the local market of Nyaung U, the traders don’t necessarily depend on
my dollars but the brightly coloured lunghis, wooden carvings, Burmese
satchels and mellow cigars we buy are all helping to sustain the local
economy.

On the day-long boat journey to Bagan, sailing down the sluggish
Irrawaddy, I meet Alexander.

He wants to know all about Tony Blair, the Queen and what our Western
media is like.

I explain we have a democratic elections every five years and one of the
roles of the press is to hold our politicians to account.

He ponders this explanation for a minute, waits until the boat"s captain
has walked past, and whispers: "You are very lucky."

I watch as an elderly Burmese woman walks round the boat trying to sell
intricately woven blankets to the predominantly Italian and German
tourists on the boat.

She’s persistent but her blankets are cheap - about 1,800 kyat (£2).

This is a rare chance for ordinary Burmese to speak to foreigners on a
busy boat.

But the tourists wave her away impatiently, rather as one might swot a fly.

She may not speak English but over a shared cigar she still manages to
communicate to me that she is a widow, has three sons and needs the money.

If tourists are going to behave like this then Aung San Suu Kyi is right:
don’t come to Burma. But for those who have a genuine interest in the
country and its plight, the Burmese will be very pleased to show you
around and bend your ear.