BurmaNet News October 27, 2004

[Editor]

October 27, 2004, Issue # 2588

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Fracas in Mae La Refugee Camp

BUSINESS
Mizzima: India, Burma to increase trade volume
Standard: CNOOC plans Burma foray

REGIONAL
AP: Myanmar military ruler prays at Buddhist shrine
Mizzima: Strengthening India, Burma relations with three ties

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: North Korea, China, Iraq score badly in press freedom list; US slips

OPINION / OTHER
Bangkok Post: Politics of South Asia: Delhi moving closer to Burmese junta

PRESS RELEASE
Karen Human Rights Group: Two new KHRG reports are now available online

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ON THE BORDER

October 27, Irrawaddy
Fracas in Mae La Refugee Camp - Shah Paung

A personal feud between two men in Mae La refugee camp turned into a
massive riot Tuesday night, said a resident of the camp, which is based in
Thailand on the border with Burma.

On Monday evening, a Karen and a Burmese Muslim refugee quarreled after
the drunken Karen provoked the Muslim at his home, said Naw Paw Paw, a Mae
La resident. About 100 Muslim refugees arrived on the scene and beat the
Karen man, inflicting serious injuries. The following evening, nearly 200
Muslim refugees squared off with dozens of Christian Karen and Buddhist
Karen refugees. Two Karen and one Muslim sustained serious injuries.

An official from the international aid agency Medicines Sans Frontiers, or
MSF, said one Karen man may lose his sight after sustaining severe wounds
in the head inflicted by a knife attack.

Thai authorities at the camp arrested three Karen men for their role in
the fracas and are being held at the camp’s detention center. Police and
camp security officials are investigating the attack but have not made any
public comment, the camp resident said.

She added that Muslim-owned shops in the camp have been temporarily closed.

Mae La refugee camp is the biggest refugee camp along the Thai-Burma
border, with about 40,000 refugees—mostly ethnic Karen, who are Buddhist
or Christian, and also several hundred Muslim refugees.

____________________________________
BUSINESS

October 27, Mizzima News
India, Burma to increase trade volume - Surajit Khaund

India and Burma have decided to double their bilateral trade from 500
million to $ US 1 billion within two years. They have also agreed to
upgrade present infrastructure in the border trade points of Moreh and
Zokhawthar-Rih.

Participating in a programme in New Delhi this evening, Indian Commerce
Minister Kamal Nath, said that India and Burma should work together to
increase the volume of trade between the two countries. The programme was
attended by the Burmese Commerce Minister, Aung Thaung, and the Science &
Technology Minister, U Thaung, at which Indo-Burma Task Force report was
released.

Mr Nath further said that border trade between India and Burma had not
achieved its full potential and hence more steps are required to enhance
trade in coming years. He emphasised improving the existing infrastructure
in the border trade points.

"Despite obstructions, India has emerged as the largest export market for
Myanmar, accounting for nearly 1/4 of Myanmar's exports," he said, adding
that to gear up trade with this neighbouring country, the Government of
India has taken a slew of steps for the Northeast India, including
improving road communication, telecommunication and air services. He also
assured that India is willing to send expertise to Burma in the
telecommunication and medical sectors.

Hailing India's effort for the last couple of years, Aung Thuang appealed
to Indian companies to invest in Burma. Aung Thuang said that his country
would provide all possible help to Indian companies to set up projects.

_____________________________________

October 26, The Standard
CNOOC plans Burma foray - Karen Teo

CNOOC, China's dominant offshore oil producer, wants a piece of the
onshore action, too, and has set its sights on a country that for
political reasons few international oil companies would even contemplate -
Burma.

CNOOC is tying up with state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, China
Huanqui Contracting and Engineering Corp and Singaporean firm Golden Aaron
in a production sharing contract to explore an onshore block in Kyaukpyu
in Burma's western state of Rakhine. The onshore block covers about 7,760
square kilometres.

The country's military dictatorship has made it a virtual pariah in much
of the world, though the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has
maintained ties despite widespread criticism.

Some analysts say CNOOC's involvement with Burma is an opportunistic move
to take advantage of the absence of significant foreign competition rather
than any great hopes for finding substantial reserves of oil and natural
gas. ``Not a lot of oil has yet been found in [Burma], but China has good
relations with the country,'' said Ong Eng Tong, a former consultant with
Itochu Petroleum.

``It is also easier for Chinese oil companies to gain access as most oil
companies won't go there,'' CNOOC spokesman Xiao Zongwei said.

He declined to disclose the size of CNOOC's planned investment except to
say it is ``very small'' relative to the company's overall investments
overseas. Burma has 2.46 trillion cubic metres of gas reserves and 3.2
billion barrels of recoverable crude oil reserves, according to Xinhua.

Although there are 19 onshore and three large offshore oil and gas fields,
Burma produced just 9.79 billion cubic metres of gas and 7.2 million
barrels of crude oil in 2003.

CNOOC is not the only mainland company forging ties with Burma. Sinopec,
the country's largest refiner, signed a production-sharing contract in
September to explore for oil and gas in Block D, which lies 640km north of
the capital, Rangoon.

Petro-Canada fruitlessly explored Block D in 1993, before leaving the site
at the end of its five-year deal with the Ministry of Energy in 1998.

The company will spend about US$20 million (HK$156 million) exploring the
7,7000 square-kilometre block over a span of three to five years.

China's oil companies are also attracted to Burma because it offers a
potential of bypassing risky sea lanes connecting East Asia with the
Middle East.

Since most of China's oil is imported from the Middle East, and shipped
via the Straits of Malacca, Chinese academics have proposed building an
oil pipeline from Burma's western deepwater port of Sittwe across the
country to the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming.

CNOOC's Burma foray comes as the company's production growth has slowed
pending new fields coming on stream next year.

``CNOOC's production growth is on track but there won't be significant
increases this year offshore China,'' Standard & Poor's analyst Lorraine
Tan said. Production will not receive a big boost until the company's East
China Sea fields come on stream next year, she said.

CNOOC's offshore oil and gas production grew 22.7 per cent in the third
quarter, reaching 33.4 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Crude oil and liquids production reached 28.6 million barrels and natural
gas production was 8.4 billion cubic metre.

The increase was largely due to a 67 per cent increase in crude oil and
liquids production in the eastern South China Sea and a 72 per cent jump
in natural gas production from the western South China Sea, the company
said.

All told, the company's offshore China production rose 13.6 per cent in
the first nine months of this year compared to a year ago.

Those increases, coupled with rising oil prices, helped drive revenues up
65.5 per cent, to 11.4 billion yuan (HK$10.7 billion), in the third
quarter from the same period last year.

_____________________________________
REGIONAL

October 27, Associated Press
Myanmar military ruler prays at Buddhist shrine - Abdul Qadir

Gaya, India: The leader of military-ruled Myanmar prayed at Buddhism's
most sacred shrine Wednesday in the eastern Indian state of Bihar.

Senior Gen. Than Shwe began a six-day visit to India on Sunday, a trip
that has been denounced by Myanmar exile groups because of the ruling
junta's poor human rights record.

Relations between India and Myanmar had been tense after the Southeast
Asian country's military rulers brutally crushed a pro-democracy uprising
in 1988. However, ties have improved in recent years as New Delhi seeks to
boost relations with Asian neighbors to counter China's growing influence.

On Wednesday, Than Shwe, his wife, five daughters and two granddaughters
visited the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, a World Heritage site.

They joined prayers at the temple, where Prince Siddhartha attained
enlightenment to become the Buddha nearly 2,500 years ago.

Buddhists make up less than 1 percent of India's more than 1 billion
people, while Myanmar is a predominantly Buddhist.

Bodh Gaya is nearly 130 kilometers (80 miles) southeast of Patna, the
capital of Bihar state.

_____________________________________

October 27, Mizzima News
Strengthening India, Burma relations with three ties - Surajit Khaund

In a bid to cement relation, India and Burma have signed three important
accords in New Delhi, capital of India today.

The accords were signed by the Indian Prime Minister, Dr Man Mohan Singh,
and the Chairman of Burma’s State Peace and Development Council (SDPC),
Senior General Than Shwe.

The accords covered various issues including non-traditional security
issues, setting up the Tamanthi hydro-electric project in Burma and a
cultural exchange programme. The two leaders discussed a wide range of
issues covering security aspects in the bordering areas of India and
Burma. The discussion, which lasted for hours, laid stress on
strengthening bilateral relations between the countries.

Highly-placed official sources told this correspondent that India and
Burma have agreed to step up operations to combat drug trafficking and
militancy problems. “During the course of discussions, the Indian Prime
Minister assured the Burmese chief they would provide all co-operation in
this regard,” the sources added.

The Burmese chief is also likely to hold talks with various political
leaders on various issues. Than Shwe, along with a huge delegation
comprising of senior ministers, arrived in New Delhi yesterday on 6-day
visit to India. With the signing of the security pact, between India and
Burma militant groups of Northeast India, which shelter across the border
in Burma, are likely to face a tough time in coming days. As many as 12
Northeast India insurgent groups have made strong bases in Tamu, Kabaw
Valley, in Sagaing Division in Burma from which they have been carrying
out subversive activities in various states of the region.

In a bid to put pressure on the underground groups, the previous Indian
Government initiated a joint task force with representatives of Burma to
share intelligence between the security forces of the two countries, but
it has failed to achieve the desired results.

Highly placed Home Ministry sources told this correspondent that the pact
would help both countries to combat militancy to a large extent. "The pact
has laid emphasis on strengthening the present task force and intensifying
patrolling along the bordering areas of Burma and India," they added. The
pact is learnt to include a series of measures for containing drug
trafficking and gearing up operations against the militants in sensitive
points of Burma.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

October 26, Agence France Presse
North Korea, China, Iraq score badly in press freedom list; US slips

Paris: North Korea, Myanmar and China rated the worst countries in the
world for press freedom according to an annual report released by media
watchdog Reporters Without Borders on Tuesday, while Iraq and the United
States also earned black marks.

North Korea remained at the bottom of the list at 167th place, the
Paris-based organisation said in a statement. Other east Asian countries,
notably Myanmar, China, Vietnam and Laos were closely ranked.

Middle Eastern countries scored little better, with Saudi Arabia, Iran,
Syria and Iraq all languishing around the same level.

"In these countries, an independent media either does not exist or
journalists are persecuted and censored on a daily basis. Freedom of
information and the safety of journalists are not guaranteed," the group
said in what was its third annual survey.

On Iraq, it said continuing war there has made the country "the most
deadly place on earth for journalists in recent years, with 44 killed
there since fighting began in March last year."

US behaviour towards media representatives in Iraq was rated separately
from the overall situation in the country.

Reporters Without Borders noted that "six journalists and media assistants
have been killed by US army gunfire without the US military ever
conducting proper enquiries."

As for the United States itself, "violations of the privacy of sources,
persistent problems in granting press visas and the arrest of several
journalists during anti-Bush demonstrations" gave it a ranking of 22 --
very good, but not ideal.

The top-scoring countries for press freedom were in northern Europe, the
report said, listing Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, the Netherlands
and Norway.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

October 27, Bangkok Post
Politics of South Asia: Delhi moving closer to Burmese junta - Kobsak
Chutikul

India has long had nothing but contempt for the military government in
Rangoon, but is slowly recognising its eastern neighbour has a more global
role, militarily and as a energy supplier

Despite the power play that exposed deep fractures in the Burmese state
apparatus last week, Burmese leader Gen Than Shwe together with his wife
Daw Kyaing Kyaing, their children, and a planeload of security personnel,
cabinet ministers and assorted hangers-on have gone ahead with a
previously scheduled week-long visit to neighbouring India which the
Indian government has termed historic.

When the present crop of Burmese military leaders took power in 1988 and
violently suppressed a student rebellion, India was the first neighbouring
country to condemn the military government.

The Indian embassy in Rangoon actively supported the pro-democracy student
activists and many sought shelter in India after the military coup,
including Soe Myint who hijacked a Thai airways plane flying from Bangkok
to Rangoon in 1990 and forced it to land at Kolkata airport in India.

Soe Myint is now a leader of the Burmese resistance active in New Delhi.

As the world's largest democracy, India at that time committed itself to
pursuing a policy of openly supporting the forces of democracy in Burma
and one of complete disengagement from the military junta.

It was a policy in line with the legacies bequeathed by Mahatma Gandhi and
Jawarharlal Nehru. Gandhi had said: The only tyrant I accept in this world
is the still voice within. The Burmese resistance under Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi adopted the non-violent passive resistance philosophy of Gandhi's
independence movement.

In 1995, Aung San Suu Kyi was conferred with the prestigious Jawarharlal
Nehru Award for International Understanding.

Nehru and the Congress Party of India had supported the independence
movement in Burma led by Aung San, Mrs Suu Kyi's father. When Burma gained
independence in 1948, Nehru sent a message to the Burmese people: As in
the past, so in the future, the people of India will stand shoulder to
shoulder with the people of Burma, and whether we have to share good
fortune or ill fortune, we shall share it together. On July 7, 1951 a
treaty of friendship was signed between the two nations that was to remain
in force for ever thereafter.

Times have changed. With the increasing grip that China has gained over
the economic, political and military life of Burma, the stranglehold on
power that has been maintained by the military junta, the quantum leap in
terrorist-related insurgencies in India's northeastern region bordering
Burma, the flow of drugs and spread of HIV/Aids across the border from
Burma, the desirability of stable relations with neighbours as a conducive
environment for economic progress, a Look East approach toward the Asean
states, and the need for new sources of energy and markets to sustain
growth, India's policy towards Burma's military junta moved in the
mid-1990s from complete disengagement to one of working relations and now
with the visit of Gen Than Shwe, the first by a Burmese head of state in
24 years, India apparently has embarked on the well-trodden path of
constructive engagement long pursued by the other neighbours of Burma.

Despite steadily improved relations since the 1962 border skirmishes,
China remains an obsession for many Indian strategists. They point to the
Chinese-built radar facility on Burma's Coco Islands near India's Andaman
and Nicobar islands which is thought to serve as a listening post for
Beijing to monitor missile-testing facilities on India's eastern coast.

India also believes China wants to develop Yangon and Hangyi islands as
ports for their naval presence in the Indian Ocean. Of concern also is the
four-lane highway from Kunming in China's Yunnan province to the Irrawaddy
River in Burma. The highway is wide enough to transport army divisions,
warned an Indian government official. That would further endanger our
Northeast.

When former Burmese prime minister Khin Nyunt made a formal visit to
Pakistan in July 2000, many Indian analysts feared that under the
influence of China a sinister Beijing-Rangoon-Islambabad axis was
emerging. Those fears were reinforced with the visit to Rangoon by
Pakistani leader Gen Pervez Musharraf in May this year.

The visit was preceded by a stopover of three Pakistan navy ships, the
first foreign naval call to Burma since the popular uprising of 1988.

The supply of arms and ammunition by Pakistan and China to feed the
seemingly insatiable requirements of the Burmese military junta has been
another cause of concern for India.

Burma has been on a military spending spree. According to international
defence analyst William Ashton, between 35% and 45% of Burma's total
government budget has been allocated to the armed forces each year for the
past 15 years.

The spending does not include significant allocations from off-budget
sources and unofficial payments that never appear in the national
accounts.

Under an ambitious defence expansion and modernisation programme, the
Burmese armed forces have doubled in size since 1988, making them the
second largest in Southeast Asia and, by some calculations, the 15th
largest in the world.

The Burmese military has searched far and wide for armaments and weaponry
from such far away places as North Korea, Russia, the Ukraine and Serbia.

Arms purchases have included MIG-29B-12 combat aircraft from Russia, Nora
self-propelled howitzers from Serbia and on-going discussions for purchase
of a submarine, Scud short-range ballistic missiles and nuclear technology
from North Korea.

Of special interest is the recent purchase of 1,000 BTR-3U light armoured
personnel carriers from the Ukraine. The vehicles feature a German-built
Deutz engine and an American-made General Motors Allison automatic
transmission. The sale of the BTR-3U to Rangoon may breach US law, which
bans the export of American-made military and dual-use products to Burma's
military.

Burma's military posture can no longer be ignored and Indian policymakers
have chosen to pay attention. In addition, if Burma wishes to update its
ageing Soviet-era armaments and is looking for suppliers, then it would be
preferable in Indian eyes that some of the armaments be obtained from
India both to maintain military links and provide a market for Indian
manufacturers.

Politics and business would once again converge quite nicely in the
context of constructive engagement.

Of more immediate security concerns on the ground for India, is the
long-simmering insurgencies in its Northeastern states bordering the
Burmese border that are home to more than 40 million people. Numerous
ethnic insurgent groups have been battling the central Indian government
for decades, such as the National Socialist Council of Nagaland, the
United Liberation Front of Asom, and the National Democratic Front of
Bodoland.

Insurgent activities recently took an ominous turn. Over a space of four
days beginning on Oct 2, the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's birth, 75
people were killed and 200 injured in 17 separate attacks that involved
bombings of markets, shooting up of trains and dragging villagers out of
their beds to be executed. Attacks of such magnitude and coordination had
never been experienced in the past.

Civilians had never before been directly targeted. Indian newspapers were
quick to point their fingers at Pakistan and radical Islamic groups in
Bangladesh as masterminds behind the escalation of violence.

But to quell the insurgency, Burma's cooperation is seen as essential.
Indian officials say the insurgents have bases and safe houses in Burma
and Bangladesh. The root of the problem lies in these two countries.
Unless the rebels are uprooted from there, violent attacks are bound to go
on, insisted Tarun Gogoi, chief minister of Assam state.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised to pursue talks with the two
countries. The visit of Gen Than Shwe will be his first chance to do so.

A separate ministry has been formed by the central government in New Delhi
to develop the remote northeastern region of India. One scheme for doing
so would be to bring in by pipeline across western Burma the four to six
trillion cubic feet of natural gas discovered last year off the coast of
Burma's western Arakan state by South Korea's Daewoo conglomerate. The Oil
and Natural Gas Corporation of India and the Gas Authority of India Ltd.
have struck partnership deals with Daewoo to exploit the gas finds.

The Indian economy has been slowing. From a growth rate of 10.4% in the
last quarter of 2003, it is projected to fall to 6.5% this year. One
reason is the rising cost of fuel. India this year will spend US$20
billion to import the 900 million barrels of oil it needs -- $9 billion
more than it had budgeted for.

Indian officials see China as the main culprit for the surge in oil
prices. They quote a study by Michael Rothman, a senior energy analyst at
Merrill Lynch, that without extensive hoarding by China which is buying
500,000 barrels of oil a day more than it needs in order to set up a
strategic reserve similar to those that some western countries have, world
oil prices would be in the range of $30 a barrel instead of the over $50
levels at present.

With oil producers already working at 99% of capacity according to the
International Energy Agency (IEA), until new technology becomes
economical, demand in the medium term can only be met by drilling new
wells in hitherto peripheral areas. India and China are already
aggressively engaged in securing sources of oil in Africa, Central Asia
and Latin America.

With an expanding economy, Indias energy needs are growing and it has
joined the US, Japan and China in the global hunt for energy supplies.

As lower-end players, India and China are in direct competition in many
locations. China has invested US$15 billion in foreign oil fields, and
India is catching up with investments of $3 billion. The two are clashing
more vigorously wherever their paths are crossing on the oil hunt,
according to the Businessworld magazine. When Indias Oil and Natural Gas
Corp tried to buy a 25% in Sudans Greater Nile oil project, Chinas
National Petroleum, which held a 40% stake, raised objections. India
managed to ink the $771 million deal only after frantic diplomatic
intervention by the Indian prime minister.

With proven oil reserves of 115 million barrels and proven gas reserves of
314.4 billion cubic metres, Burma is a relatively minor energy supplier.

But there are vast unexplored areas, and proximity makes Burma
increasingly of interest as a potential source of energy supplies for the
two Asian giants.

In the bigger global and regional picture, with terrorism and security
concerns, armaments, the dynamics of big power rivalry, international
competition for trade and energy supplies, the pageantry of state visits
and the real politik calculations of those who arrogate the right to
define national interests, it is easy to lose sight of the frail and
lonely figure of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Our heart is still with her, but our head tells us to deal with the junta,
an Indian military officer explained to a recent convention on the
restoration of democracy in Burma held in New Delhi.

If they were still alive, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawalarhal Nehru might have
enquired about the soul of India as the nation steps out to stake its
place in the modern world.

Kobsak Chutikul, a former diplomat and member of parliament, was in New
Delhi to attend the international convention for the restoration of
democracy in Burma.

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PRESS RELEASE

October 21, Karen Human Rights Group
Two new KHRG reports are now available online

Two new reports released in September 2004 by the Karen Human Rights Group
are now available online at www.khrg.org.

“Enduring Hunger and Repression: Food Security, Internal Displacement, and
the Continued Use of Forced Labour in Toungoo District” provides a
detailed analysis of the current human rights situation faced by rural
Karen villagers and the internally displaced in Toungoo District of Karen
State.  The villagers living in the SPDC-controlled areas must live with
constant demands for forced labour, building materials, food, and money
from the SPDC Army battalions that are based in the area. The villagers of
Toungoo District continue to suffer severe human rights violations at the
hands of the SPDC Army soldiers, including, but not limited to summary
arrest, torture, forced labour, extortion, extrajudicial execution, and
the systematic destruction of crops and food supplies.

KHRG Information Update “Papun and Nyaunglebin Districts: Continued
Oppression During the Ceasefire” discusses how human rights abuses
committed by SPDC Army units in Nyaunglebin and Papun Districts continue
despite the verbal ceasefire declared by the KNU and SPDC in January 2004.
 The SPDC has been using the ceasefire to improve its military access
roads in the region and to resupply its Army camps.  Most of the work on
the roads and the portering of supplies has been carried out by using
local villagers for forced labour.  The SPDC’s village relocation and crop
destruction programs have also continued in order to make way for the
construction of new Army camps.  Although SPDC soldiers are not allowed to
fight with the KNLA, villagers continue to be killed by SPDC Army columns.
 The continuing abuses have left many villagers with the feeling that the
SPDC is not negotiating in good faith and that the ceasefire may not hold.