From editor@burmanet.org Fri Dec 20 17:55:38 2002 From: editor@burmanet.org (editor@burmanet.org) Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 12:55:38 -0500 (EST) Subject: BurmaNet News: December 20 2002 Message-ID: <21528.207.10.94.131.1040406938.squirrel@webmail.pair.com> December 20 2002 Issue #2144 INSIDE BURMA NYT: Myanmar: Backers of opposition harassed Narinjara: Rohingya rapist murderers nabbed: one absconding Myanmar Times: Corporate governance, transparency ‘essential’ AFP: Myanmar delays verdict on Ne Win’s relatives’ death sentences DVB: Democracy League supporters stopped from meeting Suu Kyi DVB: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Minbu TV Myanmar: Burmese leader rejects ‘slanderous accusations’ of religious persecution Guardian: Burma rallies for Suu Kyi DRUGS AFP: Thai police seize 22 kilos of heroin on Myanmar border REGIONAL Mizzima: Indian airlines connects Bangkok and Gaya ON THE BORDER Irrawaddy: Thais arrested by DKBA INSIDE BURMA New York Times December 20 2002 Myanmar: Backers Of Opposition Harassed By Seth Mydans For the first time since she was released from house arrest in May, supporters of the pro-democracy leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, were harassed by the military on one of the out-of-town trips she has been allowed to make, according to party members. Instead of the enthusiastic crowds that have greeted her on four previous trips, they said, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi found the streets empty when she arrived in Maruk Oo, about 300 miles from the capital. The next day the police ordered a crowd of about 20,000 to disperse. _______ Narinjara News December 20 2002 Rohingya rapist murderers nabbed: one absconding Three of the four Muslim Rohingya fishermen rapists who killed two Rakhine mother and daughter after rape in the second week of November in the mouth of the Kaladan River have been nabbed in the first week of December, according to our correspondent from Sittwe. As the authority has imposed a news blackout on the incidence there have been many speculations and dissatisfaction among the Buddhist and Muslim communities in the capital of Rakhine State in the western part of Burma. A tense situation still prevails among the townsmen and the rumour resulting from the news black-out is spreading to other towns and villages in the state. The leader of the group of four was arrested from a tea shop at Nazirwa village, Rohingya quarter of Sittwe. Acting on a tip-off the officer in charge of Police Station No.2 nabbed him while he was planning to flee to Bangladesh. Two other accomplices were later arrested by the Police Station No.2. According to sources in the police department, they were preparing to escape to Bangladesh in a hired motorboat owned by a Rohingya. The owner of the boat, a Rohingya informer of the Military Intelligence has also been on the run since the seizure of the boat. According to the confession given by the three arrested to the police, four of the fishermen attacked the broken down engine boat where the two Rakhine women and two Rakhine boatmen were aboard. While two of them raped the two women the other two boatmen attacked with knife and one of the two boatmen was able to jump into the river. After rape, the four Rohingya Muslim fishermen looted all the gold ornaments belonging to the women and then stabbed the women in the breasts and their genitalia and threw them into the water. The confession given by the three arrested rapist murderers to the police testified to the post mortem report of the recovered two bodies, the source told our correspondent. Later the rapists sank the boat to remove any testimony. The leader of the gang of the four Rohingya rapists was released from prison just two months ago he was sentenced on charges of murder. One boatman was later picked up by another passing boat and was admitted into the Sittwe State Hospital. The incident was taken up seriously and a nighttime curfew was imposed in the state capital. Meanwhile as soon as the annual examinations of the first and second year examinations were taken, the distance education college students were forced to pack up and go back home on eleven motor launches and thirty buses the same day, the 26th November. Though the students were reluctant to go back to their respective homes as there was a storm warning that day, the military and police ordered the students to vacant the student halls immediately. The news black-out imposed about the incident and the way the students were hastily sent home has given birth to speculations and till now the general people have not stopped to blow the matter out of proportions. Discontent especially among the Rakhine community runs deep, which may turn violent at any moment, our correspondent added. But some of the leaders of the Rakhine community have been trying to make people understand by telling them not to act on any rumours or exaggerations resulting from the news black-out and tactless handling of the matter. _________ Myanmar Times December 9-15 2002 Corporate governance, transparency ‘essential’ By Kimberly Fielding TRANSPARENCY and effective corporate governance are essential for protecting investors and encouraging the flow of capital, a Singapore-based Australian lawyer said in Yangon last week. Mr John Miller, the head of the Singapore branch of the international Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, was addressing a talk at the British Council titled ‘Accountants in tears – the World after Enron.’ The talk touched on the global implications of the debacle earlier this year involving the collapse of Enron, the biggest energy company in the United States. A combination of bad corporate governance, a conflict on the part of Enron’s supposedly independent auditor, Arthur Anderson, and the incompetence of overlapping bureaucracies contributed to the failure of the company and sent shock waves through the global business community and the accountancy profession. Mr Miller, who is also in charge of new market (Asean) development for the ACCA, said it would be hard to say whether the scandal had any implications for the accountancy industry in Myanmar because the profession was still in the early stages of development. He welcomed moves by Asean to harmonise the widely varying standards of corporate governance of its member countries. Mr Miller said he hoped the developing accountancy institutions in Myanmar would take a lead in setting professional standards. It was also important that an awareness of the economic necessity of transparency and corporate governance would soon permeate Myanmar’s business community, he said. The next presentation in the British Council’s new ‘Talkback’ series, ‘Patients as Consumers of Medical Science,’ will begin at 6pm on Thursday, December 12. ________ Agence France-Presse December 20 2002 Myanmar delays verdict on Ne Win's relatives' death sentences The fate of four relatives of Myanmar strongman Ne Win, who were sentenced to death for plotting a coup, continues to hang in the balance with their appeal delayed since the death of their patriarch. The son-in-law and three grandsons of the former dictator were sentenced to death by hanging in September, after being arrested in March on charges of attempting to involve sections of the army in their plan to seize power. On November 12 Myanmar's Supreme Court heard their appeal, and said it would hand down a verdict within three weeks. But on December 5 Ne Win died at his Yangon home where he had been held under house arrest since March along with his favoured daughter, Sandar Win. Since then diplomats and the media have been scouring the court's daily lists for an indication that the appeal verdict is to be released. "This is not an ordinary case so they will want to take more time over it," a court official admitted to AFP. Although some analysts believed Ne Win's death would give the government a free hand to take action against the four, other said they would want to tread more carefully to prevent antagonising sections of the army loyal to him. Family sources say the four relatives languishing in separate cells in Yangon's infamous Insein jail have not been informed of the death of the "Old Man", who ruled Myanmar with an iron fist for 26 years until 1988. Sandar Win remains under house arrest at the family compound and has not been allowed to receive visitors, but it is unclear whether the ruling junta will take legal action against her, as it has hinted it could do. However, she was allowed to attend her father's cremation and funeral rites, held within hours of his death, and later to offer alms to Buddhist monks at her residence in accordance with Buddhist tradition. She was also permitted to personally scatter Ne Win's ashes into the Yangon river a day after the cremation. Diplomats and analysts believe the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) is unlikely to hang the four as it has never carried out the death penalty since coming to power 14 years ago. "I think the Supreme Court will decide to scrap the death penalty in favour of a life sentence as a gesture of respect for the Old Man," said one legal expert with close ties to the Ne Win family. He also said he expected Sandar Win to be confined to the house, possibly for years, but that no charges would be levelled at her. "Sandar is likely to be kept under restriction for some time to come... They won't be trying her for conspiracy since no charge has as yet been legally made and its somewhat too late to do so," he said. ___ Democratic Voice of Burma December 19 2002 Democracy League supporters reportedly stopped from meeting Suu Kyi Burmese authorities have imposed restrictions preventing National League for Democracy supporters from meeting Aung San Suu Kyi during a tour of Arakan state, opposition radio reported. An NLD member in Sittwe township said authorities had made a number of arrests as supporters gathered for the opening of various local party offices. The following is an excerpt from the report broadcast by Burmese opposition radio on 19 December We have learned that National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party have left Sittwe this afternoon. Despite the difficulties, they were successful in reopening the Sittwe Township party branch office and the Arakan state party branch office at 0800 local time this morning. A large number of people showed up for the opening of the party branches despite the restrictions imposed by the authorities. To know more about the events, we contacted U Tha Kyaw, a member of the NLD in Sittwe. Tha Kyaw Everything went quite well (?and the offices were opened). There were a lot of people. Crowds of people were following her (?wherever she went). The plan was for them to rest today but they left at 1130 today. DVB When you said there were a lot of people when the offices were reopened, did NLD organizers also come? Tha Kyaw Yes, they did. Despite the difficulties, people came through. There were a lot of people. I think you understand what "difficulties" mean, don't you? DVB Yes, of course. Did Daw Aung San Suu Kyi speak to the people who came to the reopening of the offices? Tha Kyaw Yes, she did. She did speak quite a lot. She spoke about national unity, about how she is working for the whole country, and for all the ethnic nationalities. She said people must continue to work with determination for democracy and national unity. Everybody must work for the whole nation. She said a lot of things, but if it concerns policy matters, only the NLD headquarters can tell you. DVB Were there any arrests made by the authorities in Sittwe? Tha Kyaw Yes, there were some arrests at the grassroots level. But, people could overcome that obstacle and come to us. DVB Can you also tell us something about the opening of the office in Mrauk-U? Tha Kyaw There were difficulties when the Mrauk-U office was reopened. There were problems. We did not think that office opening in Sittwe would be successful because of what happened in Mrauk-U. But, we succeeded because people came out in force in Sittwe. There were frequent applauses when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi spoke. They chanted, "Long Live Daw Aung San Suu Kyi!" Daw Aung San Suu Kyi also looked very happy and pleased... End of recording NLD spokesperson U Lwin said regional authorities obstructed the people and imposed restrictions when the Mrauk-U party branch office was reopened last Tuesday 18 December . Here is what he said. U Lwin Regional authorities had imposed restrictions on the people before the party reached Mrauk-U. People were not allowed to leave or come into the town. All traffic was blocked; no car, boat, or ship was permitted to come in or go out. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party arrived in Mrauk-U under those circumstances. She met with the NLD township organizing committee members who also had difficulties trying to reach her because police, fire service personnel, and USDA Union Solidarity and Development Association members were stationed around the house where Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was staying. They had to ask permission to meet her from these people. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi discussed office reopening matters with NLD members and told them the time the office would open. She had some time to rest although it wasn't that long. This is because she was hearing about the situation around Mrauk-u and she was not happy. People wanted to come to her but they could not and she could also see the barriers set around her area. When the time came to open the office, NLD organizing committee members were prevented from coming in. They were allowed in only after a heated exchange of words. The office signboard was hoisted only after that. End of recording When Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party were on their way out of Mrauk-U, people came out to greet her. Regional fire service personnel and USDA members obstructed them. But, since the people would not move, a fire engine arrived and tried to spray water on the people. When that was happening, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi intervened. U Lwin described it as follows: Beginning of recording When that was happening, a fire engine arrived and tried to hose the people. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi saw the scene from her car and because she was not happy with what was happening, she left her car immediately and climbed onto the fire engine. She said what was happening there was because of her visit. The reason she was there was because she wanted to meet the people. A political party that works for democracy has to meet with the people and must work in the interests of the people. She said police and the others there were also public service personnel and that they should be working in the interests of the people. Their organizations were formed for that purpose. They must work in the interests of the people and show them discipline. She said instead of doing that they were mistreating the people and that she was not going to stand for that. She said she would settle the problem for them. She said she would leave after meeting the people peacefully. She said since she would be meeting the people only briefly, the authorities should not intervene. The two sides agreed to the proposal. I understand she was able to meet about three different groups of people. About 10,000 people were in each of the groups. End of recording We also understand that the authorities tried to stop the people in Kyauktaw. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party have left Sittwe for Minbu today. From there, they will proceed along the Monywa-Bassein road to Okshitpin, west of Prome. From there, they will proceed to Sandoway via Taungup. _________ Democratic Voice of Burma December 19 2002 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Minbu Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and party left Sittwe today. Despite the attempt to disrupt the event, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party were successful in reopening the party branch office in Sittwe. She also met people who had come out to meet her. U Tha Kyaw, member of National League for Democracy, said despite some arrests people could overcome the obstacles and greet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. It was the same in Mrauk-U. There were about 20,000 to 30,000 people. NLD Spokesperson U Lwin also recounts the problem in Mrauk-U. People were prevented from coming into Mrauk-U when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party arrived. Police and security personnel were stationed around the home they were resting. When the authorities tried to disperse the people, who had come out to greet the leader, Daw Suu intervened and succeeded in meeting the people. The party left for Minbu. _______ TV Myanmar December 18 2002 Burmese leader rejects "slanderous accusations" of religious persecution Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council Gen Khin Nyunt delivered a speech at the pre-Christmas service and dinner jointly sponsored by Myanmar Burma Christian Council of Churches and Yangon Rangoon Catholic Priests Council. The ceremony was held on the lawns of the Bishop Court of Myanmar on Pyidaungsu Yeiktha Road in Dagon Township, Yangon, at 1900 this evening... Speaking on the occasion, Secretary-1 General Khin Nyunt said: "I would like to begin by saying that I am at peace and happy on this auspicious occasion because I have joined my national brethren and the religious leaders who are striving for the welfare of our universe in a pre-Christmas service to celebrate the birth of All Compassionate Jesus Christ"... "While the government has shown sympathy and understanding, ethnic nationalities have also mutually shown tolerance and understanding for the right of all ethnic nationalities to freely preserve their own traditions and culture, religion, and race, and this has contributed to the perpetuity of national unity and integrity of the Union of Myanmar... "All religions teach people to practice loving kindness, to have compassion, sympathy, and forgiveness, and to have strong ethical and moral values... The government believes that professing any religion strictly according to its teachings can only bring benefits and prosperity to mankind. Because of that belief, the state encourages all citizens in the Union of Myanmar to freely worship and practice their religious faith strictly according to their religious teachings. "Because of piety and magnanimity, Myanmar has shown profound respect for different religions and given encouragement so that they can develop peacefully. But recently, there have been deliberate attempts to accuse Myanmar of not having any religious freedom. These improper acts are aimed at breaking up the unity of the people. "Turning a blind eye to the fact that all religions are peacefully co-existing and flourishing in the nation, slanderous accusations are being made against Myanmar about religious persecution and the lack of religious freedom in the country. The fact is these are attempts to exploit the goodness of religion for political gains. Hence, all religious leaders are requested to show sincere compassion in quashing all these unfounded accusations. Exploiting the righteousness of religion to achieve an improper result is to tarnish the good image of religion. All people who are truly religious will therefore oppose such slanderous accusations"... ______ The Guardian (London) December 20 2002 Burma rallies for Suu Kyi Burma's opposition said yesterday that the ruling military had failed to stop a crowd of 20,000 people flocking to a rally by the pro-democracy politician Aung San Suu Kyi. The rally was a sign of tension between the military and Ms Suu Kyi since UN-brokered talks began two years ago. Rangoon, Reuters __________ DRUGS Agence France-Presse December 20 2002 Thai police seize 22 kilos of heroin on Myanmar border Thai anti-narcotics police said Friday they had seized 22 kilos (48 pounds) of heroin smuggled from Myanmar and arrested five suspects, including two from an ethnic militia allied to the Yangon junta. Police intercepted the drugs haul in an operation staged in Mae Ramat district in the northwestern province of Tak on Tuesday. Apart from the heroin, they also confiscated a semi-automatic pistol and ammunition, three mobile phones and a pickup truck. Three Thais from Tak province were arrested, along with two members of the Democratic Buddhist Karen Army (DKBA), and all were charged with trafficking. The two Karen fighters also faced charges of illegal entry and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, police said. Although methamphetamines have taken over in Thailand as the drug of choice, trafficking of heroin into the country remains a major problem. In September authorities announced their biggest heroin seizure on record, a haul of nearly 140 kilograms (308 pounds). Drug trafficking is a perennial irritant to relations between Thailand and Myanmar, with both sides accusing the other of supporting ethnic armies involved in the narcotics trade. REGIONAL Mizzima December 18 2002 Indian Airlines Connects Bangkok and Gaya Good news has come for the Buddhist pilgrims from Burma. Indian Airlines will today start direct flights between Bangkok and Gaya in the Indian state, Bihar. The inaugural flight was flagged-off today by India's Civil Aviation Minister Mr. Syed Shahnawaz Hussain at a function in Gaya, a center of Buddhist pilgrimage in India. An Airbus A-320 will fly every Saturday from Bangkok to Gaya, before continuing on to Calcutta. The reverse flight will operate on Wednesdays from Calcutta, stopping at Gaya, then onto Bangkok. According to travel agencies in New Delhi, the fare for a Bangkok-Gaya (one way) ticket is Rupees 16,500 ($344) while a Bangkok-Gaya-Bangkok (return) ticket costs Rupees 22,500 ($469). Bodh Gaya, where Buddha attained enlightenment, is the center of attraction for the Burmese Buddhist pilgrims. Every year, hundreds of Burmese visit Bodh Gaya and other Buddhist sites in India and Nepal under supervision from the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Currently, the Burmese pilgrims have to travel from Yangon to Bangkok to Kolkata (Calcutta) and then proceed to Gaya by bus. The introduction of the new flights between Bangkok and Gaya will reduce the travel fatigue previously experienced by pilgrims when undertaking the long bus journey between Kolkata and Gaya. ON THE BORDER Irrawaddy December 20 2002 Thais Arrested by DKBA By Aung Su Shin Two Thai nationals are being detained by brigade 999 from the pro-Rangoon Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) for alleged heroin trafficking, according to Thai security officials. The two are from Wan Ta Kiang Village in Mae Sot District and have been held since Wednesday. Pa Teing, 50, aka Nang Nuu Lumyai, and her nephew are reportedly being held in Burma’s Hwe Shan Village by DKBA troops. They reportedly fled to the village after Thai narcotic agents raided a home in Ban Wan Phar Village belonging to Nai Kaew Pinsunar, seizing 22 kilograms of heroin, a 9-mm handgun and one M-40 grenade. According to Tongmuang Sittikaew, the village headman from Wan Phar Village, DKBA troops apprehended the two upon arrival for their suspected involvement in Tuesday’s raid. Four men were arrested in the raid, including Lar Pho, 29, from the DKBA. Tongmuang Sittikaew traveled to Burma’s Kokko Village this week, where Brigade 999 was holding a meeting, to inquire about the two after Pa Teing called him and told him of their arrest. He said Kokko’s village headman told him that they were being held by the DKBA. The village headman "said that anyone who committed drug offenses would receive a heavy punishment," Tongmuang Sittikaew said. He also said two DKBA soldiers, who were arrested in connection with the heroin, had come to the home of Nai Kaew Pinsunar’s daughter this week looking for money from an alleged jade transaction. "I do not know what is really happening," said Tongmuang Sittikaew. Concerning Wednesday's call from Pa Teing, he said, "It means they were alive yesterday evening, but I do not know today." The DKBA split from the Karen National Union in 1994. They have long been suspected of trafficking drugs into Thailand through the porous Thai-Burma border.