BurmaNet News, March 4, 2005

[Editor]

March 4, 2005 Issue # 2668


INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar lashes out at US over human rights report
AFP: Veteran socialist Myanmar freedom fighter Chit Maung dies at 90
Xinhua: Myanmar national convention lays down principles for sharing
legislative power
Irrawaddy: Burmese women should be “proud”
Irrawaddy: Shan leader’s cars “confiscated”
Narinjara: Labor camp prisoners used on shrimp farms

DRUGS
Nation: Narcotics growth feared

REGIONAL
Reuters: ASEAN unhappy with Myanmar reform effort--report
ABS-CBN & Today: Santiago opposes Burma’s ASEAN stint
AP: U.N. refugee agency worried over Malaysia's migrant crackdown

OPINION / OTHER

ANNOUNCEMENT
US Campaign for Burma in Washington, DC are hiring a Human Rights
Campaigner. For more information, please visit:
http://www.uscampaignforburma.org/whatyoucando/jobdescription.html

______________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 4, Agence France Presse
Myanmar lashes out at US over human rights report

Yangon: Myanmar's ruling military junta lashed out at the United States
over its annual human rights report released this week, which slammed the
isolated state's rights record, state-run media reported Friday.

"The United States Department of State has once again arrogated to itself
the moral authority to pass judgement on human rights practices in
Myanmar," the junta said in a statement published in the New Light of
Myanmar.

"The report... is patently false and is nothing more than a catalogue of
allegations. It fails to reflect the true situation... in the country."

The highly critical report released Monday charged that Myanmar's already
extremely poor human rights record had worsened and accused the junta of
continuing to commit "numerous serious abuses".

"Security forces continued to carry out extrajudicial killings.
Disappearances continued, and security forces raped, tortured, beat and
otherwise abused prisoners and detainees," the report said.

It said arrests and detention for political dissent occurred on numerous
occasions and also noted the ongoing detention of opposition leader and
Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Myanmar, which has been run by the military since a 1962 coup and often
engages in wars of words with the United States, rejected the report
outright.

"No foreign power can claim to have greater interest in the well-being of
citizens of Myanmar than the government and people of Myanmar," it
retorted.

"The report... can only be regarded as a politically motivated attempt to
maintain pressure on Myanmar and to interfere in the domestic affairs of
the country."

The junta took a swipe at the United States over the tough sanctions it
and other nations have imposed in a bid to secure the freedom of Aung San
Suu Kyi, insisting its economy -- considered a basket case by experts --
was thriving.

It also said a convention under way aimed at drafting a new constitution
-- the first step in a seven-point plan supposedly aimed at shifting the
country towards democracy -- showed that "the aspirations of the people
are being met".

The European Union, the United Nations and the United States have
condemned the convention, which has been boycotted by Aung San Suu Kyi's
opposition National League for Democracy.

The United States has identified Myanmar as one of six "outposts of
tyranny" along with North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Belarus and Zimbabwe.

______________________________________

March 4, Agence France Presse
Veteran socialist Myanmar freedom fighter Chit Maung dies at 90

Yangon: Chit Maung, one of Myanmar's few surviving veteran politicians who
sought freedom from British rule alongside independence hero Aung San more
than half a century ago, died Friday at age 90, relatives said.

The avowed socialist began his extended political career in Burma as a
teenager in the early 1930s, and in his later years urged the country's
military rulers to seek an accommodation with the pro-democracy
opposition.

"He died naturally and peacefully of old age," one of his sons told AFP.

Fellow politician Ohn Maung said Chit Maung spent his final days "still
fighting for the cause of peace, national unity and democracy."

He was active in the anti-British campaign led by General Aung San, the
father of pro-democracy icon and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Aung San was assassinated in 1947, less than a year before the country
gained independence.

In 1950 Chit Maung helped form the Burma Workers and Peasants Party,
nicknamed the "Red Socialists", but was sidelined after a military coup in
1962.

He formed his own political party, the Democratic Front for National
Reconstruction, in the 1980s.

In his later years Chit Maung joined 22 other former freedom fighters in
founding the Veteran Politicians Group. They have sent open letters to
Myanmar's present military ruler, Senior General Than Shwe, urging the
release of Aung San Suu Kyi and the renewal of national reconciliation
talks.

"He was a politician to the last, and never gave up hope that democracy
would prevail here," Ohn Maung said.

Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won a landslide victory
in 1990 general elections but the military junta, which changed Burma's
name to Myanmar, ignored the result, saying it would hand over power only
after a new constitution was put in place.

The country remains without a charter, but a national convention is
underway to draft one as part of the junta's first step in its democracy
"roadmap".

Western governments and the United Nations have derided the convention as
a sham.

______________________________________

March 4, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar national convention lays down principles for sharing legislative
power

Yangon: Myanmar's ongoing national convention to frame a new state
constitution laid down on Thursday detailed basic principles for sharing
of legislative power in 11 sectors contained in the proposed legislative
list, Friday's state- run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported
carrying the details of 4 sectors out of them.

The legislative list is to be entrusted to the union parliament comprising
the house of representatives and the house of nationalities, and region
and state parliaments.

The seven points which have been worked out as such principles to be
included in the union legislative list with regard to the defense and
security sector cover the country's defense and preparation of a defense
program; defense and security industries; arms and ammunition and
explosives including biological and chemical weapons; nuclear energy,
nuclear fuel and radiation, and mineral resources that produce them;
declaration of war and declaration of peace; peace and stability of state
and the rule of law; and police force.

Another seven points concerning the foreign affairs sector include
diplomats, consular affairs; United Nations Organization; participation in
and signing of agreements of international, regional and bilateral
conferences and implementation of their resolutions; passports and
identity cards; entry visa and immigration and deportation; and
extradition of criminals.

The 25 points relating to the finance and planning sector include the
union budget; union fund; the central bank of Myanmar and financial
institutions; foreign exchange control; capital and money market;
insurance; income tax, commercial tax; and customs with 11 other points to
be included in the region or state legislative list.

The seven points regarding the economic sector are economy; trade;
cooperatives; corporations, enterprises, companies; imports and exports,
hotels and accommodation; and tour business with 3 other points to be
embodied in the region or state legislative list.

These points were adopted with the consent of most delegates, the report
said, adding that those of the remaining 7 sectors approved will be
continued to be published.

Myanmar's constitutional national convention resumed its session at the
Nyaunghnapin camp here on Feb. 17 after over-seven- month adjournment
since mid-last year. The session was attended by 1,075 delegates among
those invited by the government.

The delegates came from eight categories of delegate groups mainly
including political parties, representatives-elect (in the 1990 general
election), state service personnel (including armymen) and invited
individuals (including turned-in former anti- government ethnic armed
groups).

Of these groups, the number of delegates of national races invited
dominate with 633, while that of state services personnel share 109 and
invited individuals 105. Other number of delegates of political parties
and representatives-elect take 29 and 13 respectively.

The session, besides approving detailed principles for sharing the
legislative power is scheduled to go on discussing the principles for
sharing administrative and judicial powers to be included in drawing up
the constitution.

The national convention, first resumed on May 17 last year, is the first
step of the government's seven-point political roadmap to democracy
announced in August 2003, followed by undergoing a national referendum on
draft of the constitution through the national convention, holding a
general election to produce parliament representatives and forming a new
democratic government.

______________________________________

March 4, Irrawaddy
Burmese women should be “proud” - Khun Sam

Burmese women enjoy the same rights as men, according to the military
regime. “Myanmar [Burmese] women can be proud to be citizens of Myanmar,
as throughout the nation’s history they have been enjoying rights equally
with men,” the state-run New Light of Myanmar quoted Prime Minister Lt-Gen
Soe Win Friday.

He was commenting on Thursday’s meeting in Rangoon of the Myanmar Women’s
Affairs Federation, led mainly by wives of high-ranking military officers.
“They have a golden opportunity to play an important role in tasks,
sharing the same status as men in developing families of their own,
society, the motherland and the people,” said Soe Win.

However, a different slant on the role of women in Burma was given by an
exiled organization the Women’s League of Burma, or WLB. “Actually, it’s
totally impossible for Burmese women to enjoy their rights in a country
where there aren’t any human rights,” said WLB secretary Nang Yain. She
was commenting on Soe Win’s remarks.

She added that she thought it was simply an attempt to respond to
international criticism of the regime’s human rights record.

The latest condemnation of rights abuses in Burma was in the United States
State Department’s annual report on the state of human rights worldwide on
February 28. The military regime rejected the US report, saying it was “a
politically-motivated attempt to maintain pressure on Myanmar and to
interfere in its domestic affairs.”

______________________________________

March 4, Irrawaddy
Shan leader’s cars “confiscated” - Kyaw Zwa Moe

Burma’s military authorities have confiscated six cars owned by detained
ethnic Shan leader Hkun Htun Oo, his colleagues in Rangoon reported
Friday.

The cars were confiscated earlier this week, Amyotheryei Win Naing said in
a phone interview from the Burmese capital.

Hkun Htun Oo, chairman of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, or
SNLD, was arrested along with eight other Shan leaders in early February
and all are currently being held in Insein Prison, Rangoon.

The office of Hkun Htun Oo’s Overseas Courier Service company was shut
down on February 14. The company distributed foreign newspapers and
journals inside Burma. Most of the confiscated cars were used for company
business.

It’s not yet clear on what charges the Shan leaders are being held. Some
opposition leaders assume, however, that one motive for Hkun Htun Oo’s
arrest is to weaken the ethnic umbrella organization, United Nationalities
Alliance, or UNA. The UNA is a leading coalition of pro-democracy ethnic
political parties, although it isn’t registered.

Win Naing said that Hkun Htun Oo was a key player within the UNA, and
supported the organization financially. “Without him, the UNA can’t be
active at all,” Win Naing added.

Most activities of the UNA are prohibited. Last month, US State Department
Spokesman Richard Boucher said Washington was “concerned that authorities
have prohibited the United Nationalities Alliance (UNA), Burma’s leading
coalition of pro-democracy ethnic political parties, from commemorating
Union Day on February 12.”

Legal experts who were hired by Hkun Htun Oo’s family were this week
refused entry to the special court in Insein prison where the trial of the
Shan leaders was due to start on Tuesday.

______________________________________

March 4, Narinjara News
Labor camp prisoners used on shrimp farms

Akyab: Some Arakan State labor camp prisoners are being forced to work at
a number of shrimp farms as unpaid day laborers, said one prisoner’s
father, under anonymity.

The labor camp in question is situated in a remote area near Sabyin
Village of MyeBon Township, under Kyauk Pru District in the Arakan State
of Burma.

The authorities of the Akyab jail often send their prisoners to the labor
camp near the end of their jail term.

"My son was sent to the labor camp last December, two months before he was
to be released, but he is still in the prisoner labor camp", the father
said.

He said that his son, along with another 9 prisoners, were removed from
the Akyab Jail compound by the jail authorities in the middle of the night
and taken to a small jetty in Akyab. The prisoners were then reported to
be sent to the labor camp by motor boat before the town’s people awoke.

According local sources, there are a number of large shrimp farms that
belong to local businessmen, however a local army battalion owns two or
three of the farms.

The prisoners are forced to work at the site, mostly on the construction
of farm embankments, from 6 AM to 6 PM each day.

It is good business for the jail authority because they make a lot of
money from the owners of shrimp farms that pay the prisoners’ wages. The
Rangoon authority does not seem to know that the jail authority is using
forced labor from the prisoners on the shrimp farms, the man said.

It was learned that there are about 40 prisoners in the camp and that they
are currently still working at the shrimp farms as day laborers.

______________________________________
DRUGS

March 2, Nation
Narcotics growth feared - Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The United Nations anti-narcotics body yesterday expressed concern that
political instability in Rangoon might spur the production of illicit
drugs in the country, despite a steady decline of opium production in
recent years.

“We hope political developments in the country won’t affect efforts to
combat illicit drugs and urge the government to continue its political
will to control narcotics,” said Akira Fujino, representative of the UN
Office on Drugs and Crime’s Regional Centre for East Asia and the Pacific.

Political instability as a result of internal rifts between generals in
Rangoon’s ruling junta could affect armed minorities, notably the drug
producing Wa, who have close relations with the purged Prime Minister Khin
Nyunt’s faction. Tough action by the current power group, led by
hard-liner Than Shwe, could force the ethnic group to further rely on drug
economy, observers said.

The UN International Narcotics Control Board’s annual report for 2004,
released yesterday, states that illicit opium production was significantly
reduced within the Golden Triangle – the border conjunction of Thailand,
Laos and Burma.

Total poppy cultivating areas in Burma were reduced by 28 per cent, from
62,200 hectares in 2003 to 44,200 hectares last year, according to the
report.

Neighbouring Laos is heading the same way. Its poppy cultivation declined
by 45 percent from 12,000 hectares in 2003 to 6,600 hectares last year,
the report said.

Thailand is no longer major production source of opium and heroin,
according to the report.

Bad whether last year contributed to the dramatic decline, the UN Office
on Drug and Crime said, but an official declined to confirm a report that
opium production is expected to rebound this year.

However, the manufacture of, and trafficking in methamphetamines remains a
major concern in the region, the UN report said.

Asia accounts for over two-thirds of the world’s amphetamine abusers, East
and Southeast Asia account for nearly 95 percent of the amphetamine abuse
in Asia, it said.

Laos is emerging as an important transit country for methamphetamines
produced along the border with Burma and destined for Thailand and
Cambodia, the report said.

Methamphetamines continue to be produced in China, Burma and the
Philippines, it said.

_____________________________________
REGIONAL

March 4, Reuters
ASEAN unhappy with Myanmar reform effort--report

Singapore: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is unhappy about the
progress of democratic reforms in Myanmar and the impact this may have on
relations with Europe, Singapore state media reported on Friday.

Military-ruled Myanmar is due to take over the one-year chairmanship of
ASEAN in 2006, hosting a summit of the bloc's leaders as well as
ministerial meetings. Some ASEAN members fear that its failure to reform
could jeopardise relations with dialogue partners.

State-controlled broadcaster Channel News Asia quoted Singapore Foreign
Affairs Minister George Yeo as saying that the regional group would
discuss Myanmar's situation at a closed-door meeting in the Philippines
next month.

"Last year ASEAN countries took a firm position with the EU that Myanmar
could not be excluded from the ASEAN-Europe Meeting in Hanoi. We stood our
ground and succeeded, but subsequent developments in Yangon undermined our
position," Yeo told parliament.

"Our hope is that the ASEAN spirit of consultation and consensus will
enable us to find a solution for next year," he said.

Channel News Asia said some dialogue partners had threatened to boycott
meetings if there was no reform progress in Myanmar.

Many of ASEAN's other members -- Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand,
Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines -- have
criticised some of the junta's actions, especially its detention of
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Last November, parliamentarians of
ASEAN said Myanmar should not be allowed to take over as chairman of the
group and its membership should be suspended due to the lack of democratic
reform because it was "severely detrimental to the interests of ASEAN".

_____________________________________

March 4, ABS-CBN & Today (Philippines)
Santiago opposes Burma’s ASEAN stint - Butch Fernandez

Sen. Miriam Santiago urged the Senate to pass a resolution asking Burma to
give up the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) in 2006 until Burma’s ruling junta frees detained opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and allows her political party to participate in
the political process in Rangoon.

“The release of Aung San Suu Kyi by the government of Burma is a golden
opportunity to demonstrate its renewed commitment to the promotion and
protection of human rights,” Santiago, chairman of the Senate committee on
foreign relations said in sponsoring the resolution at Thursday’s session.

Taking the floor, Santiago informed the Senate that the Department of
Foreign Affairs shares the sentiments of the majority of the Senators on
the issue.

She quoted a DFA position paper stating that the immediate release of
opposition leader Suu Kyi would show “Myanmar’s [Burma] sincerity and
restore its international credibility in its roadmap to democracy.”

“If the Myanmar government refuses to improve its human rights record,
then it should waive or defer its ASEAN chairmanship,” Santiago said.

She recalled Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel’s earlier report to
the Senate that parliamentarians from at least six of 10 ASEAN member-
countries -- Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and the
Philippines -- also expressed strong reservations about Burma’s assumption
to the ASEAN chairmanship next year amid concerns over Burma’s inaction on
charges of human rights abuses.

_____________________________________

March 4, Associated Press
U.N. refugee agency worried over Malaysia's migrant crackdown - Jonathan
Fowler

Geneva: The United Nations refugee agency on Friday rejected claims that
it is helping illegal migrants escape a crackdown in Malaysia.

Ron Redmond, spokesman for the U.N. high commissioner for refugees,
dismissed Malaysian media reports that the agency had issued identity
documents "indiscriminately" to foreigners ahead of the Asian country's
roundup of illegal foreign workers.

"It's a charge we strongly refute," Redmond told reporters.

Redmond said UNHCR has stringent rules for checking if people deserve its
documents, which certify that they have fled persecution in their
homeland.

"This ensures that only people who require protection by the international
community are documented by UNHCR," he said.

Hundreds of illegal workers have been arrested in the crackdown, which
started after a four-month amnesty ended at midnight Monday.

But many foreign workers were released because they had documents from
UNHCR, Malaysia's Star newspaper reported Thursday.

The government believes UNHCR is granting refugee status to too many
illegal immigrants, the newspaper quoted Home Minister Azmi Khalid as
saying.

"We are unhappy with this indiscriminate issuance of refugee status by the
UNHCR," Azmi was quoted as saying.

Redmond said UNHCR was aware of reports that some refugees may be carrying
fake documents purportedly from the agency.

"We have appealed to law enforcement officials to contact us immediately
to verify whether documents carried by asylum seekers are genuine," he
said.

About 300,000 police, immigration officials and volunteers are taking part
in the crackdown on an estimated 400,000 illegal workers still in Malaysia
after the amnesty. About 450,000 are believed to have left during the
amnesty period.

Wealthy, stable Malaysia has long attracted migrants, many fleeing poverty
or violence, from around Southeast Asia.

Foreign workers from Indonesia, the Philippines, Bangladesh and India form
the backbone of the country's construction and plantation industries,
doing low-paid jobs that Malaysians won't do. Some 1 million foreigners
work there legally.

The Malaysian government has vowed to evict all illegal workers, who are
blamed by many for rising crime in urban areas.

UNHCR says there are some 34,000 refugees in Malaysia, most of them from
Indonesia's conflict-ravaged Aceh province and from Myanmar. Many live in
makeshift settlements alongside illegal migrants, raising fears they will
be caught up in the sweep.

On Wednesday, Azmi told reporters that illegal migrants from Aceh, which
was worst affected by the Dec. 26 tsunami, would not be deported. "We will
be sympathetic and we will not send them back," he said.

Redmond said UNHCR welcomed that promise.

However, he said, the agency is concerned because at least a dozen people
carrying UNHCR identity have been sent to immigration detention centers.
Most are from Aceh, he said.