From editor@burmanet.org Fri Nov 29 22:32:07 2002 From: editor@burmanet.org (editor@burmanet.org) Date: Fri, 29 Nov 2002 17:32:07 -0500 (EST) Subject: BurmaNet News: November 27-29 2002 Message-ID: <19359.207.10.94.131.1038609127.squirrel@webmail.pair.com> November 27-29 2002 Issue #2130 INSIDE BURMA AFP: Suu Kyi supporter arrested after making symbolic golden hat AP: Opposition party calls for substantive dialogue and better education DVB: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon AFP: Suu Kyi wraps up lengthy trip to Myanmar’s Shan State NYT: After freeing dissident, Burmese rulers move slowly on reform Irrawaddy: Same old ways SHAN: War on the border over Burmese offensive DRUGS Xinhua: Myanmar to declare three more ‘drug-free’ towns MONEY Network Media Group: Austrian airline criticized for opening route to Burma AFP: Rights group slams Lauda Air for launching Myanmar route Narinjara: Onions seized at Burmese security gate REGIONAL Narinjara: Burmese junta leader to visit Bangladesh INTERNATIONAL Myanmar Times: Annan welcomes decision to release 115 detainees MISCELLANEOUS The Nation: Of dreams and realities in modern Burma ___INSIDE BURMA_____ Agence France-Presse November 29 2002 Suu Kyi supporter arrested after making symbolic golden hat A supporter of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been arrested in Myanmar after moulding a golden bamboo hat -- the symbol of the struggle for democracy, the National League for Democracy (NLD) said Friday. Ko Shwe Maung was arrested in early November in the north-central city of Mandalay before he could travel south to Yangon to present the hat, called a "khamauk," to NLD leader Suu Kyi, party spokesman U Lwin said. A dissident group said he was sentenced to three years in prison. "We aren't sure exactly when he was arrested, but what I heard is that he was arrested" before he was set to present the golden khamauk to Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday, national day, U Lwin told AFP. According to the Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), Ko Shwe Maung was arrested November 7 and sentenced four days later to three years in prison. He was apparently one of a handful of NLD supporters responsible for moulding the hat -- a simple bamboo head covering that became a potent symbol during the pro-democracy student movement of the late 1980s and the election of 1990 won by the NLD in a landslide but ignored by the junta. "Ko Shwe Maung and his friends who are very keen on politics made it," the DVB quoted comedian Par Par Lay, who helped with the hat, which was decorated with fighting peacocks, another NLD symbol. U Lwin said the group had begun distributing free rice porridge to poor Mandalay children as an act of charity after they completed the khamauk, an event that drew hundreds of people. "The reason they charged him was that the charity movement was not acceptable to the authorities," U Lwin said, adding the NLD will seek to provide legal assistance during the appeal of Ko Shwe Maung, who is not an NLD member. The hat is currently being kept at the NLD's Mandalay office, U Lwin said, until an appropriate time to present it to Aung San Suu Kyi is determined. _______ Associated Press November 29 2002 Opposition party calls for substantive dialogue and better education Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy marked a key holiday Friday by renewing its call for meaningful political dialogue with the country's military rulers. The party's statement celebrating National Day - the anniversary of a student strike against British colonial rule in 1920 - also called for the unconditional release of political prisoners and reforms to improve the education system. The themes are familiar ones for the opposition and underlined how little progress has been made since party leader Aung San Suu Kyi began closed-door talks with the ruling junta in late 2000. Hopes for a breakthrough in resolving the country's political deadlock were heightened in May this year when Suu Kyi was freed from 19 months of house arrest, but since then there have been no substantive talks between the government and opposition. Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. The military staged a general election in 1990, but refused to honor the results when Suu Kyi's NLD party won a landslide victory. Instead, it harassed and detained party members and other pro-democracy activists. "Only through a meaningful political dialogue could a peaceful change be guaranteed and the country's prevailing general difficulties be solved," said a five-page statement read out at a ceremony at the NLD's party headquarters. "As we have passed the confidence-building phase, it is time to start the process of a meaningful political dialogue," it said. The government's confidence-building steps have included allowing Suu Kyi freedom of movement and freeing hundreds of political prisoners. But about 1,000 more prisoners remain in detention. In a brief speech, Suu Kyi stressed the importance of better education standards. "A good education system is necessary for the long-term development of a country and we all are responsible to work for the improvement of education system," she said. National Day marks the anniversary of a student boycott of a British-imposed law that was seen as a deliberate move to limit higher education to a privileged few. The 1920 boycott rekindled the nationalist spirit of Myanmar - then called Burma - and helped propel the struggle that led to independence in 1948. To this day students are a potent symbol of resistance, and the military has sometimes shut down universities for extended periods to keep students from organizing. In his official National Day message, published in the state press, junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe said the government "has implemented education promotion programs designed to contribute to the prevalence of peace and tranquility and development of the nation." _______ Democratic Voice of Burma November 28 2002 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has arrived in Rangoon last night at 11 o'clock from her 15-day trip to the Shan State. She took a short rest and attended a farewell party for an ambassador last night with the NLD spokesman U Lwin. According to him, the Shan State is the biggest area of Burma she'd been to in terms of size and ethnic diversities. She was also able to discuss matters with local NLD leaders and people, and plan for the future with them properly. And the journey was fairly a safe one. He also added that there are some successes more than she had expected in some matters. As for the matters of obstructions and harassments of local authorities, U Lwin said that there is some elements of the abuses of power from their part and incidents are being reported to relevant authorities. The people who videotaped and photographed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi came to apologise her personally. The news of the local authorities and the USDA banning people from welcoming Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is in some cases, it's true and in some, not true. The incident in Kyaukme in which some intelligence members disguised themselves as NLD members and tried to disrupt a public meeting was solved at the scene by telling them not to deceive people like that. If they wanted, they could come and take part in the meeting as intelligent personnel and the like. U Lwin also added that there are approximately 110 NLD political prisoners still languishing in prisons. The health conditions of the released 51 NLD members are being tested. The remaining released prisoners are from other organisations and nobody seems to know exactly who they are and only the military authorities know who they are. He admitted that the NLD is only able to confirm its members. _______ Agence France-Presse November 27 2002 Suu Kyi wraps up lengthy trip to Myanmar's Shan state Myanmar's pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi left Shan state for home Wednesday, wrapping up her longest political trip outside the capital since the military junta first placed her under house arrest 13 years ago. "From a political organization point of view, it was quite successful," U Lwin, spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), told AFP of the mission on which the opposition leader was often greeted by throngs of supporters. "She is on her way back to Rangoon," he said, calling Yangon by its former name. By mid-day she had reached the oil town of Yenangyaung, on the banks of the Ayeyarwaddy River some 370 miles (590 kilometres) north of Yangon, U Lwin said. She was due to arrive late Wednesday, but heavy flooding in the north threatened to delay her arrival by a day. The Nobel peace laureate took full advantage of her May freedom from house arrest, spending two weeks criss-crossing the restive state known for its simmering ethnic rebellions. She presided over the re-opening of four NLD offices in Shan state, bringing to 72 the number of offices reopened since an easing of restrictions on the NLD. More than 230 remain shuttered, however, U Lwin said. On several occasions Aung San Suu Kyi was met by large numbers of supporters who lined roads and congregated in villages where she stopped. "We did not expect such huge crowds to greet her," U Lwin said. A cheering crowd of about 30,000 gathered in Lashio, the capital of northern Shan state, to hear her speak despite what U Lwin described as "warnings by the authorities that no one should come and greet her." Aung San Suu Kyi has made several political trips around the country since she was released in May from 19 months under house arrest with a guarantee that she would have complete freedom of movement. Her trips have gone off smoothly, although Yangon is informed of her movements in advance and dispatches a security detail for her "protection" wherever she goes. In Shan state she met with the state's major nationalities in efforts to engage various ethnic groups who till now have been excluded from national reconciliation talks between the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and the democratic opposition. "This trip was very important because this is the area with the most ethnic diversity," U Lwin said. It came at a sensitive time for Shan state, which has been in the spotlight recently with the release of a report alleging systematic sexual abuse of ethnic minority women there. Two UN envoys, Razali Ismail and human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, visited Myanmar recently but both cancelled their scheduled trips to Shan state. Ethnic Shan rebels who oppose Yangon rule said that Myanmar government troops had attacked one of their positions during Aung San Suu Kyi's visit and accused them of attempting to disrupt her trip. Aung San Suu Kyi was already considering her next political trip, U Lwin said, though he did not offer a destination. "There are many more places to go," he said. Aung San Suu Kyi was first placed under house arrest in 1989, a year before her NLD party won a sweeping election victory that was never recognized by the junta. ___________ New York Times November 29 2002 After Freeing Dissident, Burmese Rulers Move Slowly on Reform By SETH MYDANS Six months after releasing the pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest amid a fanfare of promises, Myanmar's military rulers seem to have lost interest in political compromise. They have released only a trickle of political prisoners from among more than 1,000 who are behind bars. And they have dragged their feet on a pledge to open substantive talks with Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi and her political party, the National League for Democracy. In place of the upbeat words that accompanied the announcement of her release on May 5, government officials have settled back into a familiar refrain: give us time. "The process is moving forward," said Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt this month. "But such movement can only occur at a pace with which we are comfortable." He added, "Much has been achieved already this year, and people have to understand the process may be slow because it is complicated." There is no question about that achievement. After 19 months under house arrest, Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi was granted the most freedom of movement and political activity she has had in more than a decade. She has made four trips outside the capital, Yangon, to rally supporters and has reopened more than 65 party offices, reviving a network that had almost been eliminated by the government. But this has not been accompanied by the sort of cooperation and political accommodation she said the government promised her. "We are prepared for dialogue with the government, and we have not set any preconditions," a spokesman for the party, U Lwin, said this month. But he has begun to sound a bit less upbeat than he did immediately after the release of Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi. "Since the beginning, we have been reading too much into her release," said Aung Zaw, the editor of Irrawaddy magazine and a leading figure among Burmese exiles. "I think it was just part of their regular routine practices, to release her into a larger cage," he said. "But I think it was very premature to call it a political milestone." In a sign that foreign nations are losing patience, the American deputy secretary of state for Asia and the Pacific, James A. Kelly, this week offered the strongest warning yet by the Bush administration. "We are at the point where, absent further progress, the process that has begun may well falter," he said on Sunday. "If progress remains elusive, Burma must consider the possibility that other countries may join in measures with us, such as a ban on new investment." The United States has led international economic and political sanctions against the military junta, which took power in 1988 and then nullified the results of a parliamentary election in 1990 that was won overwhelmingly by the National League for Democracy. Although it may resist cooperating with the opposition, Myanmar's military government badly needs international aid to revive its mismanaged economy and to address severe public health problems, including the rapid spread of AIDS. "It is by no means certain that attempts to work with the government to avoid a health disaster will succeed," wrote Robert Templer in a recent report for the International Crisis group, a policy institute. "What is certain is that the country cannot stem the tide without immediate, substantial and sustained financial and technical support." ______ Irrawaddy November 28 2002 Same Old Ways By Kyaw Zwa Moe In the wake of the Burmese junta’s largest general amnesty for political prisoners since entering into "secret talks" with the opposition in October 2000, international governments and human rights groups all agree on two things: the release of 115 political detainees is a positive step but woefully insufficient. The United States’ senior Asia policymaker James Kelly said the release was "welcomed, but highly incomplete and inadequate". Amnesty International echoed the same sentiment. The regime maintains the November 21 release was in response to the "steady progress in national reconciliation" with the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD). The release, however, occurred less than two weeks after UN special envoy to Burma Razali Ismail urged the military leaders to free more than 200 political prisoners by year’s end, while also announcing that if real reforms were not implemented he would step down as the UN envoy. Some 550 political detainees have been released since January 2001 and comparatively speaking the scale of last week’s amnesty was relatively significant, but it is not indicative of a policy shift inside the ruling State Peace and Development Council. Opposition leaders are quick to note that 18 members of Parliament as well as an estimated 1,500 political prisoners remain in detention—including student leader Min Ko Naing and journalist U Win Tin, who have been incarcerated for over 13 years. The continued crackdown on political activities inside Burma is also not adequately reported on, creating a false sense at times that the regime is moving ahead, albeit slowly. Two Rangoon law students were sentenced this month to seven and 14 years in prison for staging a protest in front of Rangoon City Hall in August. And former professor Salai Tun Than was sentenced to seven years earlier this year for the same. The recent batch of released political prisoners are free, but remain on parole. The regime is notorious for rearresting dissidents and accusing them of collaborating with the opposition. U Sein Hla Oo, U Khin Maung Swe and U Kyaw San, all elected members of Parliament from the NLD, are serving the remainder of previous sentences, plus additional sentencing that was imposed after they were found to be active again in politics after being released. Despite some noted improvements in prison conditions by the Red Cross and the UN special rapporteur on human rights to Burma, Sergio Paulo Pinheiro, the situation inside the prisons can still be described as barbaric. The deaths of four political prisoners since July serves as a reminder of just how bad conditions are. In Pinheiro’s latest report to the UN he wrote, "prisons were still hell" even with these improvements. Unfortunately, the junta will continue to use political prisoners as bargaining chips whenever they feel outside pressure. But international influence alone will not cause dramatic changes inside the government. Whether the regime chooses to move in the proper direction is unclear, however, if the regime ever wants to be taken seriously it needs to take a markedly different approach. And much to the chagrin of the generals, credit for the latest release all goes to Razali. _____ Shan Herald Agency News November 27 2002 Shan Herald Agency for News War on the border: debate over Burmese offensive A controversy has arisen as to whether or not a Burmese offensive to wipe out the Shan rebel strongholds along the border is in the offing, in the light of three interviews S.H.A.N. had conducted this morning. S.H.A.N. source from southern Shan State re-confirmed earlier reports that Burmese units would depart from their staging areas towards their individual objectives in early December. "Towards this end, 6 battalions from MOMC (Military Operation Management Command) #17 and another 3 from MOMC #21 have been going through vigorous training for over a month in Kengtawng (47 miles south of Kunhing)," he added. However, he was not able to give information about maneuvers in other parts of Shan State. Thai border watchers also said all their available data pointed out to one fact: a massive operation against the Shans is fast approaching. "There are several indicators: the unusual training during the monsoons, the movement of heavy weapons to the border areas, the construction of roads to the border, and the purchase of huge amount of fuel oil from Thailand", said an officer whom S.H.A.N. had known for nearly 20 years. "Kawwan (SSA stronghold in Monghsat, opposite Chiangrai) in particular, is the most likely target." Shan State Army's top commanders appear to be skeptical about the news. "We have yet to receive any report from both our own sources and units in the field," said Col. Khurh-ngern, SSA's chief of staff. "We even can't help thinking whether this is another misinformation campaign by Rangoon." One Shan commander noted however that recent concentration of Burmese forces in Kengtawng in Mongnai Township, west of the Salween and Mongkok in Monghsat Township, east of the Salween, was significant. "They used to be our connections between our north and south expeditions," he said. "Now we have to make wide detours." The Battle of Pang Maisoong, located between Burma's Mongton Township and Thailand's Chiangmai Province, that was fought from 20 May - 20 June, had reportedly ended with a Pyrrhic victory for Rangoon. ____DRUGS_____ Xinhua News Agency November 29 2002 Myanmar to declare three more "drug-free" towns Three more Myanmar border towns will be declared "drug-free" ones by the Myanmar government in the near future, a press release of the Foreign Ministry said Friday. The three planned "drug-free" towns will be Tachilek, Myawady and Kawthoung in the country's Shan, Kayin and Tanintharyi states and divisions. In 1997, Myanmar declared the Mongla region in Shan state as an "opium-free" zone, the statement said. Meanwhile, the Wa and Kokang ethnic leaders in Shan state have pledged to totally eradicate drugs from their lands by 2005, it said. The statement said drug menace is a global problem and no single country can find an effective solution to that global scourge. Myanmar signed memorandums of understanding with its neighbors --China, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam --to jointly solve the drug problems, while the country signed bilateral agreements on drug control with India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos, the Philippines and Russia. In the latest development, the Myanmar government has decided to accede to the 1972 Protocol Amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961 to show its serious commitment in combating drug abuse and illicit trafficking. According to government figures, since April this year, the authorities received 165.65 tons of poppy seeds turned in by farmers in five divisions and states under the seed exchange project. These poppy seeds can cultivate 101,437 acres (about 41, 050 hectares) of opium fields from which 446.32 tons of opium can be produced and refined into 44.63 tons heroin worth 9,413.5 million US dollars. Since then, the authorities have burnt up a total of 143.22 tons of poppy seeds and 12,000 acres (4,850 hectares) have been substituted with alternative crops. Myanmar targets to reduce opium output from 828 tons in 2002 to 400 tons in 2003. ____MONEY____ Network Media Group November 28 2002 Austrian Airline criticized for opening route to Burma Bangkok-based regional human rights organizations criticized Austrian Lauda Air's opening of new service between Vienna and Rangoon yesterday although European Union recently extends its strict sanctions on Burma for next six months. Lauda Air plans to introduce a non-stop flight from Vienna to Rangoon in its upcoming 2002/2003 winter schedule. It will be the first direct service to Burma from a European city. "The decision to open this service between Austria and Burma is based on purely commercial economic interests - to claim the move will benefit the people of Burma in any way is to ignore the political and humanitarian realities, and the human rights crisis in Burma," quoted Mr. Somchai Homlaor, Secretary General of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia) in a press release of Forum-Asia on November 27. Military ruled Burma offers new visa regulation for the passengers coming with Lauda Air from Europe, giving special privilege to apply visa on arrival at Rangoon airport. "All the economic engagements with SPDC are only directly benefiting SPDC. They (Economic Engagements) directly assist SPDC on expending the army and buying weapons. We don't see it benefits the people of Burma. So, the economic engagement should not start at this time while trying for political change in Burma," said Aung Moe Zaw, General Secretary of the National Council of Union of Burma, commenting on the Lauda Air's opening. The passengers from Europe to Burma had to transit at Bangkok airport in Thailand or Changi Airport in Singapore. _______ Agence France-Presse November 27 2002 Rights group slams Lauda Air for launching Myanmar route Human rights monitor Forum-Asia on Wednesday criticized Austria-based Lauda Air for launching flights between Vienna and Yangon this month, saying the deal ignored Myanmar's "human rights crisis". "The decision to open this service between Austria and Burma is based on purely commercial economic interests," the Bangkok-based group's secretary general Somchai Homlaor said in a statement. On November 6 Lauda Air inaugurated a non-stop service to Yangon from Vienna -- the first direct flight to Myanmar's capital from a European city -- with the return routing via the Thai resort island of Phuket. But Somchai rejected the notion that engaging Myanmar by opening the service would assist the troubled country. "To claim the move will benefit the people of Burma in any way is to ignore the political and humanitarian realities, and the human rights crisis in Burma," he said, calling the country by its former name. "ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) has been engaging Burma for years now and there has been no improvement in the humanitarian or human rights situation in the country." Forum-Asia said it demanded to see "substantial improvement" in key areas of human rights and democracy, including the release of political prisoners, and an end to alleged abuses such as forced labour and rape of ethnic minority women, before supporting commercial engagement of the military leadership. Several Western nations including the United States and the European Union continue to impose strict sanctions on Myanmar, whose economy has been decimated in the four decades of military rule. Myanmar's tourism industry is in its infancy, and the country's efforts to boost it have been dogged by the wide-ranging sanctions. Myanmar has been widely criticised for its human rights performance and refusal to hand over power to the National League for Democracy, led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, which won an overwhelming election victory in 1990. ______ Narinjara News November 27 2002 Onions seized at Burmese security gate A large consignment of onions brought from Burma proper to Arakan (Rakhine) State was confiscated at the Nasaka security gate No. 25 at Ann Pass, close to the Magwe Division, our correspondent writes quoting a local businessman. On 12 November 02, a consignment of about ten thousand kilos of onions was being carried in a truck by Mr U San Tin 36, Assistant Supervisor of the Department of Agriculture at Ann Township and Ms Daw Moe Moe 47 of Kanthaya Quarter of Meikthila Town in Burma Proper. The consignment was headed towards Arakan (Rakhine) State in the western part of Burma. While the truck was on its way to the Nasaka gate at Ann where the Western Command is headquartered, the guards at the gate stopped the truck and later seized its contents. The carriers with the trucker Mr U Saw Win and his helper Naing Lin Kyaw were detained for two hours at the gate. Later each of the men was made to pay kyat 10,000 as bribe to the guards. The consignment of onions was seized for the consumption of the military personnel of the Western Command without being handed over to the customs official, which is the legal procedure in such cases, the businessman added. It is worth mentioning that some basic commodities including rice, cooking oil, dry chilli and onion have been declared banned for free trading in Arakan State beginning October. As a result the prices of essentials have recorded a sharp increase in price in Arakan State, encouraging traders to do a brisk business in these commodities 'smuggled' in from Burma Proper. At present the price of a kilo of onion is selling at kyat 500 and garlic kyat 1,000 in Sittwe, the capital of the western state of Burma. ___REGIONAL______ Narinjara News November 27 2002 Burmese Junta leader to visit Bangladesh The Burmese Junta leader Senior General Than Shwe willpay an official visit to Bangladesh on December 17 - 18 at the invitation of the Bangladeshi Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, local dailies in Dhaka reported quoting foreign office sources yesterday. The date of General Than Shwe's visit was finalized during the talks between the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan, and his Burmese counterpart, U Win Aung, while he was on a three-day official visit of to Burma from November 20 to 22. A coordination meeting was held at the foreign office in Dhaka Monday, where elaborate discussions on the programme were made in preparation of the impending visit of the head of the Burmese junta. According to the tentative programme, general Than Shwe will lead a high-level Burmese delegation on December 17 morning. Official talks between the heads of the two neighbouring countries will be held on the same day, it said. Bilateral relations, economic cooperation and other matters of mutual benefits will dominate the talks, the dailies said. Meanwhile, Bangladesh has in recent time shown increased interest in bilateral trades with Burma, gas pipeline for the Burmese gas to India and a highly expected Asian Highway to connect Burma on the eastern front with the Rakhine State of Burma. \ ___INTERNATIONAL____ Myanmar Times November 25-December 1 2002 Annan welcomes decision to release 115 detainees By Thet Khaing The United Nations secretary general, Mr Kofi Annan, has welcomed the government’s decision to release a large group of detainees last week, saying it would provide "fresh momentum" for the national reconciliation process in Myanmar. Mr Annan was responding to a government announcement that 115 detainees, including an unknown number of members of the National League for Democracy, were released last Thursday. It is the largest single release of detainees since national reconciliation talks began between the government and the NLD’s Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in October 2000 and brings the number to regain their freedom since then to 550. "Because of steady progress in national reconciliation, we continue to release more individuals who will cause no harm to the community nor threaten the existing peace, stability and unity of the nation," a government spokesperson, Col Hla Min, said in a statement issued last Wednesday. Reports suggested that the detainees began being released from various detention centres last Thursday morning. A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross said he was "happy" with the government’s decision to release a large number of detainees. The deputy head of the ICRC’s delegation in Yangon, Mr Alfredo Mallet, said those released last Thursday may include detainees who were ill. The government intended to provide their names to the ICRC this week, Mr Mallet said. Diplomats in Yangon have also welcomed the release. "The government said earlier this week that the [reconciliation] process is moving forward and I see this release as proof of that," an Asian diplomat told Myanmar Times last Friday. In another development, the International Labour Organisation has revealed that its liaison officer in Yangon, Ms Hong-Trang Perret-Nyuyen, met Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council, General Khin Nyunt, on November 14 to discuss the future work of the ILO in Myanmar. "General Khin Nyunt underlined the fact that the liaison officer was free to visit any place that she wished," said an ILO report released last week. "He encouraged her (Ms Perret-Nyuyen) to visit as many places as she could in order to see the situation, and offered any assistance that might be required to facilitate such visits," the report added. A meeting of the ILO’s governing body was due at its meeting in Geneva late last Friday. ____MISCELLANEOUS________ The Nation November 29 2002 Of dreams and realities in modern Burma By MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra The following is former deputy foreign minister MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra's presentation to the conference on "Burma: Reconciliation in Myanmar and the Crisis of Change", organised by the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, the Johns Hopkins University's Southeast Asia Studies Programme, in Washington DC on November 22-23. Nowadays, when I am participating in a gathering such as this, I feel rather awkward. I am neither fish nor fowl, neither fauna nor flora, neither a part of government nor completely divorced from it. Therefore, I am not sure how best to conduct myself. Given this "identity crisis", perhaps it might be better for me, instead of providing a deep and learned analysis of what is happening in Burma (that is, assuming I am capable of doing so), to relate my personal experiences to this distinguished audience. I have been dreaming a lot recently; in fact, I have been dreaming on nine successive nights, a number which happens to be astrologically auspicious for Asians. On the first night, I dreamed that Burma is at peace with herself. I dreamed that a successful process of national reconciliation has taken place, not only between the SPDC and the NLD, but also between the present government and all the minorities, and that this process has brought about a much more open and representative system of politics and governance, characterised by respect of human rights, the rule of law, accountability, freedom and participation. And I woke up a happy man. For such national reconciliation would mean that the people of Burma are no longer fighting and killing one another, that now they all have a chance to work together to develop their society and economy, and that they can end their country's isolation and begin to make use of the international community's resources in their pursuit of a better life. On the second night, I dreamed that Burma was at peace with the world. I dreamed that national reconciliation has brought about conditions conducive to greater cooperation, both between Burma and the international community and between her and her neighbours, particularly her historic adversary, Thailand. And I woke up a happy man. I was happy because for so long I have wanted the ordinary people of Burma to enjoy the fruits of mankind's economic, scientific and technological development. For long I have wanted the ordinary people of Burma to have opportunities to interact with their peers in neighbouring lands, so that they can all learn from, as well as learn to cooperate with, one another. And for long I have wanted Burma and Thailand to turn their backs to the past and their faces to a common future. Like 60 million other Thais, I was not born when the mighty Burmese army burnt Ayuddhya to ashes 240 years ago. On the third night, I dreamed that Burma is turning swords into ploughshares. I dreamed that her leaders at long last recognised the anomaly whereby one of the world's poorest countries had one of the largest standing armies and some of the most advanced weaponry in Pacific Asia, and began to reduce both the defence budget and the number of men at arms. I dreamed that Burma is about to sell their MIG-29s back to Russia and that Russia is willing to buy them back. And I woke up a happy man. I felt happy for the ordinary people of Burma who will have more money spent on directly improving their extraordinarily difficult lives. And I felt happy for the ordinary people of Thailand, for our leaders will no longer have any clear and pressing rationale to buy more F-15s or revive their interest in purchasing F-18s, which would simply add a considerably greater burden to the rapidly escalating public debt. On the fourth night, I dreamed that Burma has become a good regional partner, with a good sense of regional responsibility. I dreamed that Burma is working very closely with her Asean partners to realise Asean's "Vision 2020", especially where the dream of having "caring societies" is concerned. I also dreamed that she is cooperating with her neighbours in resolving specific problems, which may have roots in one country's domestic conditions but have transnational, regional or international consequences, such as drugs, HIV/Aids, migration, and trade in women and children. And I woke up a happy man. I felt happy for Asean because Burma is an important country and her commitment to the cause of regionalism can only make Asean stronger. I felt happy for all the ordinary peoples living on both sides of the Burmese-Thai border, whose livelihoods are no longer interrupted by abrupt border closures. I felt happy for the women and children, whose lives have become more secure. And I felt happy for the ordinary people of Thailand, whose government can now concentrate its efforts on addressing the demand side of the drug equation and no longer has an excuse not to achieve greater success in its war against this evil threat to humanity. On the fifth night, I dreamed that Burma, while maintaining close ties with China, has good relations with all the major powers. And I woke up a happy man. For, while cooperation with China is a must and will be increasingly important in the years ahead, I have always considered a balanced foreign policy essential for the Asean countries, both individually and collectively: essential for maximising benefits and minimising costs in participating in global affairs; essential for restoring the bargaining power of Asean as a diplomatic community; and essential for building up the role of Asean as a force of reason and moderation in the international community, which may become more and more polarised by international terrorism and the West's responses to the threat thereof. On the sixth night, I dreamed that Burma plays a proactive and constructive role in the international arena, both on her own and in collaboration with her Asean partners. And I woke up a happy man. For it means that Burma, the quality of whose foreign service is second to none in the region, is beginning to fulfil her diplomatic potential, which must be good news for both Asean and the international community. On the seventh night, I dreamed that Burma is the next "Tiger" of Pacific Asia. I dreamed that progress made in the development of Burma's tremendous human and natural resources, together with those of the three Indochinese countries, is helpful to push Southeast Asia once more to the forefront of the world's economic success stories. I dreamed that an economically strong Burma can both act as a bridge between Asean and South Asia and help transform Southeast Asia into a bridge between China and India. And I woke up a happy man. On the eighth night, I dreamed that an economically strong Burma and an economically strong Thailand are becoming increasingly integrated through expanding ties of trade, investment and financial transactions, through the construction of a multiplicity of communication, telecommunication and transportation linkages, through the sharing of power grids, water resources and information technologies, and through the free movement of and exchanges among the peoples of the two countries. And I woke up a happy man. No more burning of Ayudhya. On the last night, I dreamed that all these dreams are true. Then I woke up very unhappy indeed, when I realised that these dreams were just that . .. . . dreams, not realities.