BurmaNet News, September 17-19, 2005

[Editor]

September 17-19, 2005 Issue # 2805

INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Coup in Kachin State leads to further regional unrest
DVB via BBC: Burmese Karen group accuses military of preferring
"annihilation" to talks
Xinhua: Myanmar finalizing master plan for ICT development

HEALTH / AIDS
Xinhua: Myanmar urges import of quality medicines for safe consumption

BUSINESS / MONEY
AFP: Myanmar rice prices fell 20 percent in 2004: report
Mizzima: Burmese import: A shot in the arm for wood-based industry

ASEAN
AFP: ASEAN boycott of EU meeting a matter of principle: Singapore

REGIONAL
AP: Moderate quakes hit India, Myanmar, Bangladesh; no damage reported

INTERNATIONAL
AP via Irrawaddy: Tension marks Thaksin’s visit to White House
Irrawaddy: Burmese FM stresses non-interference in UN address


____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

September 19, Irrawaddy
Coup in Kachin State leads to further regional unrest - Khun Sam

Some members of the ceasefire group New Democratic Army-Kachin and
residents of Pang Wah, where the group’s headquarters is located, have
expressed discontent over the September 14 coup that removed the group’s
chairman from power, said a ceasefire official who requested to remain
anonymous.

The source said that NDA-K members are unhappy about the removal of the
group’s chairman, Zahkung Ting Ying, by other senior NDA-K members while
the chairman was on a visit to Rangoon.

The coup—reportedly led by NDA-K General Secretary Layawk Zelum and two
associates—was initiated after objections to the chairman’s strict control
of business in the region and his use of predominantly Chinese troops for
his personal security team. Some 80 people—including the chairman’s wife
and son, and members of his security detail—were arrested during the coup.

Local residents have also expressed distrust of the new leaders of the
group by refusing to attend recent NDA-K meetings. Many are relocating to
Myitkyina—the capital of Kachin State—and across the China border for fear
of violence breaking out within the group, said the source, who added that
Burmese troops are taking up positions within 28 miles of Pang Wah.

Residents in Hpimaw—north of Pang Wah, where the majority of the ousted
chairman’s relatives live—have protested the coup by destroying a bridge
that links the town to Pang Wah and other locations in southern Kachin
State, according to the source.

Zahkung Ting Ying, who now lives in Rangoon, has denied reports that his
removal had anything to do with his administration of local businesses,
and he suggested that the coup was staged by a minority within the group’s
leadership.

“What they are saying is not true. Of the 17 members that form the NDA-K
central committee, only six have challenged the group’s current
procedures,” said Zahkung Ting Ying by telephone from Rangoon.

Dr Manam Tu Ja, a Kachin Independence Organization delegate to the Burmese
junta’s National Constitution, told The Irrawaddy that he thinks the coup
has nothing to do with NDA-K policy.

“The main thing is their [NDA-K’s] economic businesses and personal
disputes between group members,” he said.

NDA-K General Secretary Layawk Zelum was unavailable for comment.

____________________________________

September 19, Democratic Voice of Burma via BBC
Burmese Karen group accuses military of preferring "annihilation" to talks

Source: Democratic Voice of Burma website, Oslo, in Burmese 14:30 GMT, 17
Sep 05

The Karenni National Progressive Party, KNPP, has accused the SPDC [State
Peace and Development Council] of attempting to annihilate the ethnic
groups rather than choosing to work towards holding peace talks while the
Karen National Union, KNU, urged the SPDC to stop meddling in the affairs
of the national race peace groups. DVB [Democratic Voice of Burma]
correspondent Ko Maung Too filed this report.

[Maung Too - recording] KNPP spokesperson U Raymond Htoo explained about
the dim prospect of the bilateral talks after the SPDC attacked
KNPP-controlled Nya Moe hilltop.

[Raymond Htoo] They fired seven heavy artillery shells at Nya Moe Base on
14 September and then advanced to our base but they were repelled by our
troops and they retreated. I think the prospect for cease-fire talks does
not look too good.

[Maung Too] In a similar manner, KNU General Secretary Phado Mahn Sha
explained about the lull in the KNU-SPDC ceasefire talks.

[Phado Mahn Sha] Nothing has improved and we have received no letter or
information. As we were unable to build the cease-fire agreement we had
[gentlemen agreement] on a good foundation, this is what happened. Since a
meaningful dialogue did not emerge, I think the situation does not look
too good.

[Maung Too] At the same time, the SPDC is pressuring the groups that have
signed cease-fire agreements with the junta such as the Shans, the Was,
and the Kachins. The following is KNU's view on the matter:

[Phado Mahn Sha] The KNU believes the junta's pressure on the NLD
[National League for Democracy] and the cease-fire groups is immoral and
not a positive move. These activities should be halted.

[Maung Too] The following is KNPP's view.

[Raymond Htoo] Well, a cease-fire agreement is to bring us back in a
roundabout way. For the SPDC, we would become a cease-fire group or a
group which exchanged weapons for peace. If there is a person among us who
is likely to be against the SPDC then he would be labelled as one opposing
the State and problems will arise. The ceasefire would be condemned. That
would be a very regrettable situation.

[Maung Too] KNPP Spokesperson U Raymond Htoo added that the SPDC is
implementing the annihilation policy and plans to eliminate the KNU and
the KNPP, which have not signed cease-fire agreements with them.

[Raymond Htoo] According to what [former Prime Minister Gen] Khin Nyunt
did, the KNU and the KNPP have not signed cease-fire agreements with the
SPDC and they plan to eliminate them first. The junta will strive to write
and approve the constitution for the military to hold on to power.

____________________________________

September 19, Xinhua
Myanmar finalizing master plan for ICT development

Myanmar is finalizing an upgraded draft of an ICT (information and
communication technology) master plan for implementation to speed up the
ICT development in every business sector in the country, a local weekly
reported Monday.

The one-year draft upgradation project, undertaken by the Myanmar Computer
Federation (MCF) involving Myanmar and South Korean experts, has been
submitted to the e-National Task Force ( NTF) for verification, the
Myanmar Times quoted the MCF as saying.

The master plan is aimed mainly at developing ICT infrastructure, drafting
ICT related laws and regulations, implementing ICT in the education
sector, achieving the comprehensive use of ICT in the public and private
sectors and liberalizing ICT services and investment.

The ICT development master plan was first drafted in 2000 by the MCF under
the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) program, aimed at narrowing the
development gap among the regional members. Detailed programs to link
international networks are to be carried out under plan.

Besides, work is well underway to systematically implement the tasks under
e-ASEAN Framework Agreement (AFA) which calls for development of
information infrastructure, emergence of e-commerce and e-government
systems, lifting of restriction on ICT commodities, services and
investment and increasing of them, and building of ICT capacity to create
an e-society after reducing the digital divide among regional members.

Due to the move, Myanmar has been on a par with other regional members in
terms of work progress, having launched e-visa, e- passport, e-government
portal and e-procurement and contributing much to the effective management
of government bodies.

Being a signatory to the e-AFA initiated at 2000 Singapore summit, Myanmar
has formed the e-NTF to support the IT development.

Moreover, the country has also signed a series of memorandums of
understanding in 2003 with companies from Malaysia, Thailand and an ASIAN
organization on ICT development.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

September 19, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar urges import of quality medicines for safe consumption

The Myanmar authorities have urged medicinal drug importers in the country
to buy in genuine, potent and quality pharmaceutical products for safe
consumption of the people.

Assistance will be rendered by the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) to
facilitate such trade and ensure the quality of the imported drugs, said
FDA officials Monday.

Disclosed by the officials after a market survey, 23 percent of the
medicinal drugs on sale in the market are unregistered.

Statistics show that there are 7,840 kinds of medicines registered with
the Ministry of Health and nearly 190 companies are allowed for importing
such drugs.

Meanwhile, the Myanmar authorities are strengthening the supervision of
security of food and drug on sale in the markets and a campaign is being
launched to examine such products manufactured locally or imported.

The authorities have urged producers in the country to yield quality
products which meet the set standard.

Myanmar enacted the National Food Law in March 1997 and formed the special
FDA as a follow-up in its bid to enable the public to consume food of
genuine quality, free from danger and hygienic problem, and to control and
regulate the production, import, export, storage, packaging, distribution
and sale of them systematically.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / MONEY

September 19, Agence France Presse
Myanmar rice prices fell 20 percent in 2004: report

Rice prices in Myanamr fell an average of 20 percent last year, the weekly
Myanmar Times reported Monday, as strict government limits on exports
boosted domestic supply.

Prices for the high-quality Paw San variety of rice dropped to about 7,600
kyat (about 6.30 dollars) per bag last year, 20 percent less than the
average price in 2003, the semi-official newspaper said, citing data from
the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation.

The most widely consumed variety, Emata, sold for an average 4,086 kyat
(about 3.40 dollars) a bag last year, about one-third less than in 2002,
it said.

The steep drop in rice prices came after Myanmar's military rulers shocked
traders with a surprise six-month ban on rice exports on January 1, 2004.
Rules have since been loosened to allow a handful of companies to export
rice, although the ban still applies broadly.

The military, always fearful of civil unrest, imposed the ban after rice
prices soared in 2002. Even with the latest drop, prices remain
significantly higher than two years ago.

Rice deliveries to Yangon also rose last year by more than a quarter, up
three million bags to 14 million bags, according to the ministry's data
cited by the newspaper.

The limits on rice exports aimed to boost domestic supply and keep prices
low, with the military ever mindful that the last popular uprising in 1988
-- while politically motivated -- came at a time of severe economic
hardship.

Urban consumers are the main beneficiaries of the scheme, with 70 percent
of Myanmar's population living in rural areas where they normally grow
their own food.

The head of the Myanmar Rice and Paddy Traders Association, Nyein (EDS:
one name), told the newspaper that current prices were about 50 percent
lower than prevailing prices on the international market.

"Today's prevailing market price just covers production costs. However, if
it goes down further with the arrival of the new crop, rice production
next season will probably decline," Nyein told the Myanmar Times.

He urged the government to again allow exports, which he said would earn
greater profits for farmers and encourage them to boost production.

Forty years ago, Myanmar was the world's biggest rice exporter but decades
of military rule and experiments with socialism sent production
plummeting.

The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) said last month that around 40 percent
of children in Myanmar suffer from malnutrition.

____________________________________

September 19, Mizzima
Burmese import: A shot in the arm for wood-based industry - Hrishikesh Saikia

In a trade initiative that is expected to give a fresh lease of life to
the struggling plywood industry of Assam and the North-east India besides
providing a new impetus to formal business transactions between India and
Burma, the Government of India has given the nod for import of soft
Burmese wood.

The move comes in the wake of hectic lobbying by the soft-wood industry of
India and subsequent approval by the high-powered committee of the
north-eastern region to allow import from Burma.

Kitply Industries of India has signed an agreement with Myanmar Timber
Enterprise, Ahlone, Yangon, for import of teak and Gurjan.

Consignments of soft wood, mostly teak and Gurjan have already left for
India and some of them are currently at the Moreh (Manipur) border trade
point.

A highly-placed source in the Plant Quarantine Division, Ministry of
Agriculture, Government of India, told this correspondent that one lakh
cubic feet (CFT) of soft wood from Burma, the quarantine verification for
which has already been completed, is scheduled to reach the North-east
later this week.

Following the Supreme Court's ban on timber felling in 1996 in view of the
grave threat it posed to the North-east's forests and environment, the
thriving plywood mills of the region had to down their shutters. Most of
the 70-odd factories were located in the states of Assam, Arunachal
Pradesh, Nagaland and Meghalaya, which used to account for about 60 per
cent of India's total plywood production.

As the new agreement covers all the six wood-based industries in the
region, they will be in a position to meet their demand for wood from
Burma. The new initiative should boost the wood-based industries in the
region, given the name that Burmese teak has all over the world for its
quality.

____________________________________
ASEAN

September 17, Xinhua News Agency
ASEAN boycott of EU meeting a matter of principle: Singapore

A move by Southeast Asian economic ministers to skip a weekend meeting in
Rotterdam with their EU counterparts was made "on a matter of principle"
after Myanmar's minister was denied a visa, Singapore's foreign ministry
said.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ministers had been
scheduled to meet with their European colleagues in Rotterdam on Friday
and Saturday as part of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) dialogue process.

However, the host government refused to issue a visa for Myanmar Economic
Minister Soe Tha, effectively barring him from attending the meeting.

"The ASEAN ministers' decision not to attend the ASEM Economic Ministers'
Meeting held in Rotterdam was made on a matter of principle," Singapore's
foreign ministry said in a reply to media queries issued late Friday.

It said however that the meeting would proceed on the officials' level.

"Singapore's position is that all members of international fora, such as
the Asia-Europe Meeting, should be treated equally.

"If an EU member country has a bilateral problem with an ASEAN country,
this should not translate into unequal treatment in the multilateral
context," the ministry said.

The Netherlands' move was in line with the European Union's common
position on the military-ruled Southeast Asian nation.

The EU bars top Myanmar leaders and senior military officers from
travelling to Europe as part of sanctions to pressure the ruling generals
to release democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and implement democratic
reforms.

Japan made an unusual move into the politically sensitive issue on
Thursday when it questioned the EU's attitude towards Myanmar, according
to a Japanese official.

"The EU side seems to have mixed up bilateral and multilateral issues a
bit," Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura was quoted as telling Southeast
Asian counterparts in a meeting on the sidelines of the UN summit in New
York.

"Since I plan to meet EU officials during my stay in New York, I will
bring this issue up there," Machimura was quoted as saying by the Japanese
official.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

September 18, Associated Press
Moderate quakes hit India, Myanmar, Bangladesh; no damage reported

Two moderate earthquakes hit separate parts of India on Sunday, sending
panicked residents running from their homes, but there were no reports of
injuries or serious damage, officials said.

The second quake shook parts of neighboring Bangladesh and Myanmar,
seismologists said. Residents of India's northeastern Assam and Manipur
states and Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, rushed into the streets when it
struck at 12:56 p.m. (0726 GMT), the Indian Meteorological Department
said.

It measured the magnitude of the quake at 6.1, while the U.S. Geological
Survey said it was 5.8.

The earthquake was centered in the India-Myanmar border region, the USGS
said.

Hours earlier, a moderate earthquake hit India's Nicobar Islands but
caused no damage or injuries, the Indian Meteorological Department said.

It was the fifth earthquake to strike the region this month, all with
magnitudes ranging from 5 to 5.4.

The quake was an aftershock from last year's massive Dec. 26 earthquake
which spawned the Indian Ocean tsunami, the IMD said. It put the quake at
magnitude 5.4, while the USGS said it was 5.3.

The earthquake struck at 9:17 a.m. (0347 GMT) just under the seabed
northeast of the Nicobar islands, the IMD said.

The islands are in the Indian Ocean between India and Thailand.

The Dec. 26 tsunami, caused by a magnitude 9 earthquake off the coast of
Indonesia, killed nearly 11,000 people in India - 3,500 of them in the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

In July, a magnitude 7.2 quake hit the Nicobar Islands and parts of
Indonesia, triggering panic but causing no fatalities or serious damage.

The Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami killed more than 178,000 people in 11
countries and left nearly 50,000 more missing, with most presumed dead.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

September 19, AP via Irrawaddy
Tension marks Thaksin’s visit to White House - Foster Klug

When Thailand’s prime minister meets with US President George W. Bush
today, the conversation will likely include the nations’ vibrant trade and
increased military cooperation.

But a group of US lawmakers is also pushing Bush to publicly take Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to task for his cozy relationship with the
military dictatorship in neighboring Burma and for pummeling the
democratic freedoms of Thai citizens.

“We want to see Thailand emerge as a bastion of freedom and democracy, not
as a ... partner with the Burmese dictatorship,” said Rep Chris Smith, the
Republican chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa and Global Human
Rights. “Friends don’t let friends enable dictatorship.”

The 11 lawmakers asked Bush in a letter to publicize American
dissatisfaction with Thailand’s economic and political ties with Burma “so
that Prime Minister Thaksin cannot portray the meeting as an endorsement
of his policies.”

Despite the rumblings in Congress, the Thai-US relationship is generally
good, with the White House praising Thailand as “a long-standing ally and
a democratic partner.” Thaksin’s visit comes as the two countries continue
to negotiate a free trade agreement and cooperate on anti-terrorism
operations.

But many, in both the US and Thailand, also recognize an underlying tension.

“It’s a healthy relationship,” said Kasit Piromya, the Thai ambassador to
the United States. “But,” he added, “there are problems on both sides.”

Perhaps the biggest sticking point is Burma.

Thailand supports the country’s military junta and has welcomed Burma’s
membership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The United States, meanwhile, demands that Burma restore freedoms lost
when the military took power in 1962, and has imposed tough sanctions
against the generals.

Thailand’s view is that sanctions only make the plight of the country’s
already miserable citizens even worse; 1 million refugees have fled into
Thailand, Kasit says, bringing disease, drugs and a host of other problems
with them.

He points out that the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand all emerged
from military rule. “Why can’t Burma also come out of this military regime
and become like everyone else?” Kasit asked. “We believe in talking to
friends and enemies. You’ve got to talk in order to understand.”

Thaksin also faces strong criticism at home, especially for his handling
of a bloody Islamic insurgency raging in the South. In an editorial last
week, Thai daily The Nation called the prime minister a “petty, vindictive
and not very well-informed autocratic leader who is enamored of his own
sense of grandeur.”

Thaksin, critics say, has manipulated news coverage, canceled critical
television and radio commentary shows, and allowed his political and
business allies to take over media companies.

The 11 US lawmakers blasted Thaksin for issuing “an emergency decree
giving him draconian powers to censor the media, to forcibly move
populations, and to command citizens to act in accordance with the
government’s wishes.”

Kasit acknowledges the problems, but says Thailand’s ability to overcome
years of petty corruption and military rule to become one of the region’s
democratic success stories can’t be ignored.

“We still have to move forward,” he said. “But if you look back 10 or 20
years, we have come a hell of a long way.”

_____________________________________

September 19, Irrawaddy
Burmese FM stresses non-interference in UN address – Clive Parker

Burma’s Foreign Minister Nyan Win made the country’s first address to the
60th UN General Assembly on Friday afternoon in New York, using the
occasion to highlight the organization’s policy of non-interference in
internal affairs.

Nyan Win—Rangoon’s sole representative in New York at the UN Summit—told
gathered delegates: “While the United Nations must be reformed, its
sacrosanct principles of national sovereignty, territorial integrity,
equality, non-interference in internal affairs, settlement of disputes by
peaceful means, and non-use of force or threat of use of force should
remain inviolate.”

The foreign minister’s comments echo those regularly featured in Burma’s
state press. Rangoon has reportedly been fearful of UN and even US
intervention recently, although China and Russia have previously vetoed
attempts to address the Burma issue at the UN Security Council.

Nyan Win also commented on the junta’s efforts to realize the Millennium
Development Goals, saying priority would be given to combating terrorism
and transnational crime, tackling the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction and nuclear arms, ensuring sustainable development,
environmental protection and intensifying efforts to combat HIV/AIDS and
bird flu.

In analysing Burma’s progress, Nyan Win told the General Assembly: “In
Myanmar [Burma], we are making satisfactory progress towards reaching the
Millennium Development Goals by 2015.”

The foreign minister’s analysis of Burma’s efforts towards achieving the
development targets by 2015 contradict a recent assessment by the UN and
the Asian Development Bank which found the country to be regressing in
most areas including education, infant mortality, HIV/AIDS prevalence and
environmental protection. The country was, however, found to be meeting
targets on improving urban and rural sanitation.

Nyan Win’s speech was perhaps most notable for what was left out than what
was actually said to the gathered representatives. The initial draft of
the foreign minister’s address included comments referring to Global
Fund’s recent decision to pull out of the country with the words: “It is

regrettable that with regard to my own country even in addressing the
global challenge of HIV/AIDS there has been politicization.”

The comments refer to accusations made against the US—and backed up by
some UN representatives in Burma—that external pressure on UNDP was
responsible for Global Fund’s decision to withdraw as well as recent
restrictions the junta has imposed on humanitarian organizations operating
in the country.

Similarly, a proposed statement on the UN’s mission to “reaffirm
commitments to promote peace, security, social progress and betterment of
life in larger freedom” was excluded.

Nyan Win’s speech came in the last session of the General Assembly during
last week’s official UN Summit program, although he has stayed in New York
to fulfill other engagements.

The foreign minister on Sunday attended an Asian Cooperation Dialogue
breakfast meeting at the UN’s headquarters. Chaired by Thailand’s Foreign
Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon, discussions focused on a proposed Asian
bond market, energy security, natural disaster prevention, tourism and
public health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok said in a
statement.

The meeting is expected to be the Burmese foreign minister’s penultimate
multilateral event in New York ahead of a meeting of the G-77 group of
developing countries gathering on Thursday. Burma’s Ministry of Foreign
Affairs was today unable to confirm when Nyan Win would return to Rangoon.