From editor@burmanet.org Mon Dec 23 22:28:38 2002 From: editor@burmanet.org (editor@burmanet.org) Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 17:28:38 -0500 (EST) Subject: BurmaNet News: December 21-23 2002 Message-ID: <1349.172.132.75.45.1040682518.squirrel@webmail.pair.com> December 21-23 2002 Issue #2145 INSIDE BURMA Bangkok Post: Junta rejects latest soldier-rape charges Irrawaddy: Opposition offices closed Narinjara: Daily necessities from Burma: not for Rakhine State Narinjara: Rice purchase for the year 2003 in Rakhine State DVB: Suu Kyi in Arakan: reactions of harassment DVB: And comments from oppositions groups AFP: Myanmar SIDS sufferers escape sorry plight in their homeland Washington Times: Ne Win’s legacy: Burma in shambles Kao Wao: Mon youth office raided by Thai authorities MONEY Asahi: Japan to write off Myanmar debts Kaladan: $1B gas pipeline project proposed EDITORIAL/STATEMENTS Close shave in Burma INSIDE BURMA Bangkok Post December 23 2002 Junta rejects latest soldier-rape charges Burma's military government yesterday rejected fresh charges of gang rape and torture made by the United States last week that resuscitated controversy over earlier allegations. ``The recent release by the US of additional specific allegations of rape as a weapon of war in a `preliminary' study... is a rehash of the Shan Human Rights Foundation study in order to further attack and isolate Myanmar [Burma],'' government spokesman Hla Min said in a statement. The State Department said last Wednesday that the US consulate in the northern city of Chiang Mai had found evidence supporting accusations by rights groups, including the Shan Human Rights Foundation, that Burmese troops used gang rape of ethnic Shan women as a weapon of war. The groups released a report earlier this year documenting 625 sex attacks on Shan women and girls by Burmese soldiers. It drew international outrage and has been repeatedly rejected by the Rangoon junta. During a short preliminary investigation, US State Department officials said they found many victims whose stories were similar to those documented in reports by non-governmental organisations. ``Of the 12 rape victims interviewed, all stated that they had been gang-raped by Burmese soldiers sometime over the past five years,'' the department said in a fact sheet. ``Most also reported knowing several other women or girls who had been raped and/or killed.'' _____ Irrawaddy December 23 2002 Opposition Offices Closed Members of Burmese dissident organizations along the border in Sangklaburi, western Thailand are in hiding after the local army ordered them to close their offices. On Friday, several opposition groups in exile—the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), Democratic Party for a New Society (DPNS), Myeik Dawei United Front (MDUF), Mon Youth Progressive Organization (MYPO), People’s Defence Force (PDF) and People’s Progressive Front (PPF)—were given two days to close their offices. The commander of the Thai Ninth Army reportedly instructed the opposition to move their offices by the end of the weekend. Today, Thai officers took photos of the dissident offices today but no arrests have yet been made, according to a source in Sangklaburi. Since last August, more than 30 members of several dissident organizations based in Sangklaburi were arrested and deported to the Burmese border. ____ Narinjara News December 21 2002 Daily necessities from Burma: not for Rakhine State The Burmese SPDC junta’s ban on transportation of goods to Rakhine State since September 25th in the western part of Burma has caused skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, reports our correspondent. The ban on the transportation of such everyday commodities including onions, pulses, cooking oil, rice and red chillies, has caused severe shortage of edibles in the western state bordering with Bangladesh. The price of a viss (1.6 kg) of onion was kyat eighty before the ban while it is now selling at kyat five hundred. The price of cooking oil is at least kyat two thousand. The price of rice though it is harvest season in Rakhine state has not gone down as usual in the previous years. For a meal now one needs to spend at least five hundred kyat in the restaurants which is more than ten times than in previous occasions. On a radio interview with the Democratic Voice of Burma in the morning broadcast on 19 December, U Aye Tha Aung, secretary of the Arakan League for Democracy, appealed to the ruling Burmese junta led by general Than Shwe to allow free passage of the daily necessities to bring down the artificial price hike. Though the fish and all agricultural produce from Rakhine State are allowed free passage to Burma proper, the daily necessities of Burma proper cannot be brought to Rakhine State. “This is nothing but conducting of a systematic campaign of starvation against a whole people”, our correspondent said quoting a retired civil serviceman, “we have been treated as enemy to the jingoist Burmese SPDC junta generals. It is plain racism at its worst. Is Rakhine State not included in the map of Burma?” The situation has aggravated because of the stationing of over sixty battalion of armed forced in the state, which has never seen a serious conflict or guerrilla activities during the last fifty years, our correspondent concluded. ___ Narinjara News December 23 2002 Rice purchase for the year 2003 in Rakhine State The Burmese junta, SPDC, have stuck notices on boards in the agriculture corporation offices and at rice purchase depots asking the relevant officials to collect rice worth US$ 270 million from across Rakhine State in the western part of Burma, according to our correspondent. Beginning September 15th the junta officials have ordered the rice growers to harvest rice. The farmers and rice growers have been issued orders not to harvest even an acre of rice without the prior permission of the relevant Village Peace and Development Council (Yayaka) – the village level administrative body of the Burmese junta. The Yayaka members have been engaged to supervise the day-to-day harvesting process, keeping records of how much has been harvested. All the privately owned rice mills, big and small, in the state have also been ordered closed since the beginning of this year’s rice season. Just a handful of privately owned rice mills that have good relations with the military intelligence personnel have been reportedly operating under the blanket ban. The price of rice in the open market is about five times more than what the junta officials pay to the rice growers, which is plain exploitation, a rice farmer told our correspondent. At present 100 tinn of rice sells at kyat 150,000 in the open market, while the Burmese junta officials pay kyat 35,000 for the same. The average per acre produce of rice is less than 28 tinns, while the rice growers have to sell 12 tinns of rice to the junta appointed rice collectors. Besides that the farmers have also been ordered to sell all the rice that they think more than the amount required by the family of the farmers’ consumption, a rice grower said. Ninety percent people of Rakhine State earn their livelihood through rice growing since the state is hopelessly underdeveloped and there has been no industrialization even after more than half a century of independence. The official order will make the life of the rice growers not only miserable but also vulnerable to the worst state-sponsored exploitation, a retired public official said. ____ Democratic Voice of Burma December 20 2002 Suu Kyi in Arakan; reactions of harassments Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the touring NLD members are expected to be in Taunggoke, Arakan State tonight. Yesterday, the party left Sittwe and returned to Minbu to travel to Taunggoke [in the southern part of the State] as it is accessible only by air or by boat directly. From Minbu, they have to travel through Pandaung – Taunggoke road to reach Taunggoke Pass. She is expected to meet Taunggoke NLD organising committee and stay there for the night. Since her release from the house arrest, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been touring around Burma, but the present Arakan trip is the worst in terms of the harassments from local authorities. At Myauk-U, the local authorities tried to disperse the local population who came to greet her by beating them with batons and spraying them with water from fire engines. The spokesman of the NLD, U Lwin told the DVB about the latest situation as follows: U Lwin: She will stay the night at Taunggoke and there are plans to meet local NLD organising committee members. On the next day, she will go to Sandoway and raise the signboard [open the office] and she will take a rest in Ngapali. Q: What would the condition of the people of Taunggoke be like? A: The people there always come here. In the previous years, they dared not show their faces. They had to lie low. They were oppressed that much. In that condition, the delegates from Taunggoke always came to our HQs. The audience in Taunggoke have always been good and enthusiastic. Q: In the Shan State trip, the authority tested the water but in the Arakan State, they are clearly reacting? A; Yes, it’s true. Q: The way things are going; would there be plans to discuss with them - for them to give a reliable promise? A; We have plans for that because we specially need it. We need to study and we will do it after considering properly. We didn’t expect that things would be that bad. Q: As for the future trips to Irrawaddy and Tenesserim Divisions, would the authorities try to ban her from travelling? A; We can discuss with them about that. Q: So you don’t expect that the authorities will block future trips? A; No, I don’t expect so. ____ Democratic Voice of Burma December 20 2002 And Comments from Oppositions Groups The followings are the views of the opposition groups inside and outside Burma regarding increase harassment during Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's trip. U Aye Tha Aung of CRPP and Arakan NLD: At this time, it shouldn’t be like that. The reason is the General Secretary of the NLD went there after discussing with the authorities. This is the era that is heading to national reconciliation. It is an ugly thing and politically not a good sign to try to intimidate the supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi with batons and fire engine hosepipes while the SPDC are claiming that they are opening a new page and allowing people to take part in politics freely. The views of Shan NLD Chairman, U Khun Tun Oo: There must be some polarities between the top and the bottom. There is unevenness between the central and the local areas. They have been talking to each other. Daw Suu is also saying that there will be some obvious developments. I think that there are some gives and takes, but the essences haven’t trickled down to the bottom yet. That must be the reason. Q: The administrative machinery of the SPDC is very good. Why that kind of things happened? A; My guess is they are over-following their little orders. Q: Could the incident affect the future dialogues? A: You have to negotiate but if you can’t do that…. we have to narrow down the polarity and differences. Thakhin Thein Pe of Veteran Politicians: What we are seeing is not very comforting. What should not happen could happen. Is it the local authorities doing or? They have done it with plans. Even though it happened in the local area, the Rangoon's HQs also have the responsibility. She went there with their consent and understanding and if that consent is being broken and it’s not a good sign. Q: Would the incident affect the future dialogues? A: We don’t like that problem. We thought that there must be a little improvement, but now they seem to be reversing. We don’t like that. People are now starving and that kind of things happen; they will be more dissatisfied. The views of one of the ministers of the exiled NCGUB, Dr San Aung : The SPDC are saying that they have built confidence and that they have opened a new page. That kind of harassments and prohibitions should not happen anymore. The local authorities should support her as a leader of a legal opposition party. U Khaing Myo Khaing, the exiled General Secretary of the Arakan NLD: We are despairing about the way the local SPDC authorities are treating Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. SPDC has promised that Daw Suu is allowed to travel and do things freely. The NLD people are going about and doing their jobs. So, it is very difficult to believe that the SPDC leaders are heading for democracy after seeing their action. I want to welcome Daw Suu on behalf of Rakhine NLD. The people of Arakan respect her and trust her. So we are welcoming her enthusiastically. We are very much despaired by the fact that the SPDC are harassing her like now. The Chairman of ABSDF, Ko Than Khe: It is clear that there is no real change in the SPDC by looking at the way they are harassing Daw Suu and intimidating people. We believe that the top military leaders are responsible for that. The bottom followers will not do anything without their permission. If the bottom followers have done something, the top leaders should have the courage to take precise responsibility. It also comes to show that the people are eager for democracy despite the oppression and hindrances. If the SPDC are really following people’s wish, it is necessary to start political dialogues as demanded by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Or else, things will become worse for people and it could explode. ____ Agence France-Presse December 23 2002 Myanmar AIDS sufferers escape sorry plight in their homeland By SON MOE WAI Shunned and mistreated by a government which would prefer to pretend they didn't exist, HIV-AIDS sufferers from military-ruled Myanmar who make their way into Thailand say they escaped a sorry plight in their home country. Ko Lwin Moe, an 37-year-old trader who was diagnosed with the disease two years ago, says he spent a year being treated at a private clinic in the capital in Yangon before fleeing to Thailand. "I would be dead already if I continued to live in Myanmar," he told AFP. "The Thai doctors simply treat me as a patient, which makes me very happy. But in Yangon the Myanmar medical staff treated me like I was a criminal." After grilling him for details of his financial background to ensure he could pay for treatment, the Myanmar doctors only gave him antibiotics, and at one point told him "You're going to die some time anyway." "I was lucky that I had enough money and the opportunity to leave for Thailand for further treatment," said Ko Lwin Moe, who earns his living importing Thai goods into Myanmar. The United Nations agency UNAIDS estimates that up to 400,000 people among a population of 48 million are infected with HIV, while independent experts working in Yangon say the incidence could be twice as high. However, Myanmar's junta insists that infections are a fraction of those estimated by organisations like the UN, and that a culture of abstinence before marriage and fidelity afterwards will prevent the virus from spreading. The health ministry also rejects World Health Organisation reports condemning health services as among the worst in the world as merely attempts by "reactionary elements" to smear the country's reputation. "The cultural and social values of Myanmar society are found to have a protective effect to a greater extent than in many population groups," junta number-three General Khin Nyunt said in his World AIDS Day speech this month. The government's view, and a lack of accurate information about the disease and how it is spread and treated, has helped create an unhealthy attitude towards HIV-AIDS sufferers in the general community, citizens say. Government health campaigns urge people to "respect family values" and "stay faithful to your spouse" but never mention condoms or the need for drug addicts to use clean syringes. And those who develop the tell-tale signs of the disease -- skin lesions and wasting -- are shunned and left to sink into depression. "In our society, people are labelling those who are HIV positive as the bad guys," said young Myanmar businessman Tun Aung who has several friends living with the disease. "As far as I know there are only a handful of clinics for AIDS patients, which are founded by missionaries and NGOs (non-governmental agencies)," he said, adding that government hospitals do not provide specialised care. Medicine is expensive and usually only available on the black market, he said. Patients can spend between 70 and 300 dollars a month on drugs -- an enormous amount in a country where a teacher's salary is less than 10 dollars. Khin Sein, secretary general of the Burma Medical Group, a health organisation based on the Thai-Myanmar border, said that for the country's sake the government should focus on public health rather issues than politics when dealing with the AIDS crisis. "We are living in a poor country where people can not effort to buy the latest medicines," said Khin Sein, who works as a volunteer at an AIDS clinic in the Thai border town of Mae Sot. "So the only and most effective way to deal with the situation is to provide knowledge about this dreadful disease to the public and teach them how to prevent being infected." Khin Sein said that often, HIV suffers were forced to rely on treatment and advice from pharmacies and unlicensed practitioners in small towns, and then die quickly from opportunistic infections. Others resort to traditional medicines, advertised widely with the consent of the military government despite their dubious efficacy, or from black magic practitioners, while some leave everyday life and enter the monkhood. "I don't understand why the government is so slow to produce the true figures of people who are infected with the virus. We need help and assistance urgently from the outside world," said Ko Lwin Moe "As far as I know people are dying everyday with AIDS." ___ Washington Times December 21 2002 Ne Win's legacy: Burma in shambles; Dictator took a prosperous country, wrecked it through corruption, mismanagement By Richard S. Ehrlich The death this month of Gen. Ne Win, Burma's elderly ex-dictator, ended the life of a bizarre, brutal leader who used superstition, military repression and economic mismanagement to turn a prosperous Southeast Asian nation into a pauper and pariah. "The former military dictator of Burma, Gen. Ne Win, has died while under house arrest, according to reports citing family sources," the British Broadcasting Corp. reported Dec. 5. "Family members said the 91-year-old died at 0730 local time at a lakeside house he has been held in, along with his daughter, since March 7," the BBC said. The Associated Press reported that Ne Win's remains were cremated the afternoon of his death in a private ceremony lacking the military honors befitting a general. Only about 25 relatives and friends - but no government representatives - attended, and Ne Win's passing was ignored in Burma's official media. Ne Win's health deteriorated over the past few years, culminating in a heart attack in September 2001 and a secretive trip to Singapore for medical treatment. The late ex-strongman was named Shu Maung - "apple of one's eye" - when he was born in Paungdale, central Burma, then part of British India, on May 24, 1911. His father was a civil servant. After seizing power in a bloodless 1962 coup, Gen. Ne Win proudly announced his xenophobic reign as "the Burmese Way to Socialism." He was largely responsible for turning the relatively wealthy, rice-exporting nation nearly the size of Texas into a ruined, repressive land. Inspired by Marx and Stalin, he kicked out foreign corporations and nationalized their businesses. The hermit-minded leader dreamed up eccentric economic policies based on his superstitious belief in numerology. In 1987, he canceled the Burmese kyat currency and introduced new notes in denominations based on his personal lucky numbers - 15, 45 and 90. Many people were bankrupted overnight when the previous currency was declared invalid. People were suddenly given new 90-kyat notes, and told they could only make change with new 45-kyat and 15-kyat bills. "He was said to have bathed in dolphins' blood to regain his youth, and his dedication to numerology was legendary," the BBC reported. Ne Win set up a powerful, politicized military regime. According to the U.S. State Department, Amnesty International and other human rights groups, the Ne Win government tortured prisoners and carried out extrajudicial killings to keep Burma's people in line. Ne Win was forced aside in 1988 after the military killed thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators during a failed uprising in Rangoon, the capital of Burma, which Ne Win's successors renamed Myanmar. >From 1988 to 2002, the regime allowed the aged ex-despot to dwell in oblivion as a wealthy recluse in Rangoon, where he spent much of his time and fortune building a Buddhist pagoda in hopes of ensuring a happy afterlife. But last March, his world crumbled. Ne Win's favorite, business-savvy daughter, Sandar Win, and her husband and their three adult sons were arrested by the military junta. Sandar Win's husband and sons were charged with attempting a coup - which surprised diplomats, who suspected the real problem was the family's attempt to profit from its status by ignoring the military's monopolistic commercial regulations. The Ne Win family was said to have been insulted at not receiving special privileges to continue exploiting Burma's wrecked economy. As evidence for the coup accusation, the military regime produced weapons, uniforms and other items allegedly amassed by Gen. Ne Win's family. The authorities also said they found "a golden embroidery" illustrated with a crowned peacock, a tiger, a lion, a fish, three swords and a harp. The "peacock represents Ne Win ... the emblem forms part of a royal regalia, and it seems as if they were creating a royal family," reported the government-controlled New Light of Myanmar newspaper. "It seems that if they managed to seize state power, they would establish the monarchy and try to maintain family power for life," the paper added. The purported evidence for this included three small dolls representing the regime's top leaders - Gens. Than Shwe, Maung Aye and Khin Nyunt - purportedly used in black-magic rituals by the Ne Win family. In September, a court sentenced to death Ne Win's son-in-law, Aye Zaw Win - husband of Sandar Win - and the couple's three sons, Aye Ne Win, Kyaw Ne Win, and Zwe Ne Win. The four men have appealed. Several military officials and other influential people were also imprisoned. The aged Ne Win and his daughter, Sandar, were put under house arrest, where he remained until he died. During the trial, many Burmese expressed delight that Ne Win's family was suffering harsh treatment like that he meted out to his countrymen while in power. Some said the trial was reminiscent of one 25 years ago, when Ne Win had the masterminds of a suspected coup plot against him executed. Today, Burma is one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy is reeling under U.S. and international sanctions put in place to force the regime to allow democracy. Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won a landslide victory in 1990, but the military regime refused to let the elected parliament convene. Though his life ended in disgrace, Ne Win's 1962-1988 reign formed much of recent Burmese history. Burma was subjugated by the British in three 19th-century wars and ruled as part of British India until 1937, when it was separated from the latter. In 1941, hoping to break Britain's grip, Ne Win traveled to Japan, trained under the Japanese Imperial Army and helped Japan invade Burma. After Burma's occupation, Ne Win decided Japan wanted to keep his country, so he plotted against the puppet government and undertook a guerrilla campaign, enabling the British to return in December 1944. After India and Pakistan attained independence in 1947, Britain granted Burma the same in January 1948. Ne Win commanded the Burma National Army from 1943 to 1945 and, after World War II, commanded the Burma 4th Rifles, where he established ties with many of his future regime officials. >From 1949 to 1950, he was minister of defense and interior and also commander in chief, a post he held until 1972. In that position, he took over Burma's faltering government as a caretaker leader in 1958-60 and staged a coup in 1962, arresting the former prime minister, U Nu. Ne Win was rumored to have died in 1997, but showed up in Indonesia alongside President Suharto, who was a close friend. Upon his death this month, the French newspaper Le Monde summed up the general's legacy by saying Ne Win dominated Burma with an iron hand for more than a quarter-century of unenlightened rule. ___ Kao Wao December 20 2002 MON YOUTH OFFICE RAIDED BY THAI AUTHORITIES The Mon Youth Progressive Organization (MYPO) office at Sangkhalaburi, Karnchanaburi Province of western Thailand was raided by Thai army on December 19, 2002. According to a local source, about twenty Thai Army Regiment No. 9 and officers raided the MYPO office in the morning and all Mon youths were deported to Plaing Japan of Three Pagodas Pass border town inside Burma after questioning. Nai Ong, a Mon youth leader reported, “most of Burmese democratic offices and MYPO office was forced by the Thai military to move out from the Thai soil. Now all members of MYPO are in the Japanese Well (Plaing Japan) village and we are concerned of their fate as the village is inside Burmese territory and the Burmese army can charge them for their political activities.” The Mon Youth Progressive Organization (MYPO) was formed after a gathering of Mon youth and student at Sangkhalaburi border town last year. The MYPO is working at forging solidarity among Mon youths and reaching out network with other ethnic youths, democratic forces and the international community. In August, the Burmese opposition offices Peoples Democratic Front (PDF), National League for Democracy - Liberated Area (NLD-LA), Democratic Party for New Society (DPNS) and a Christian church were raided by the local Thai authorities. Many ethnic and democratic offices working at Sanghalaburi, the Thai-Burma border town have closed in fear of the Thai government's alleged decision to crack down on the activities of their organizations. MONEY Asahi News Service December 23 2002 JAPAN TO WRITE OFF MYANMAR DEBTS By ATSUSHI YAMADA Japan will write off 150 billion yen ($1.25 billion) in loans to Myanmar (Burma), but sone fear it may be opening itself up to international criticism for doing so. The Myanmar write-off is only one component of the government's efforts to ease the burden on heavily indebted nations, but it could be construed as support for the nation's military dictatorship. The United States, Europe and other countries have imposed economic sanctions on Myanmar in protest against its form of government and its poor record on human rights issues. The writing off of the loans was to be announced at a Japan-Myanmar economic assistance conference on Sunday. Up until now, Japan has loaned Myanmar about 400 billion yen ($3.3 billion). The once-prosperous nation suffers from a dire shortage of foreign currency and struggles every year to procure the several billions of yen it needs to repay loans to Japan. As such, portions of these loans have been reclassified as nonperforming. Japan stopped loaning money to Myanmar in 1988 when the current regime took power, but has provided debt-relief measures in the form of grant aid equivalent to the amount of principal and interest on previous loans. As a result, Myanmar has not been making payments on the loans for some time in any case. >From next April, Japan will not ask Myanmar to make payments. Myanmar's current administration has been in dialogue with democratic activist Aung San Suu Kyi, but talks have stagnated and it is difficult to predict when a general election might be held or when the national assembly might reconvene. The United Nations special envoy to Myanmar, Kazali Ismail, an intermediary in the dialogue, recently described the situation as disappointing. _____ Kaladan News December 20 2002 $1B GAS PIPELINE PROJECT PROPOSED Plan to link Myanmar with India via Bangladesh Chittagong, 20 December:The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has accepted, in principle, a proposal for the construction of a Myanmar-Tripura- West Bengal gas pipeline through Bangladesh, according to the Independent of 19th December. The ministry forwarded the proposal, submitted by a hitherto unknown Bangladeshi company, to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) last month seeking its approval. It is now waiting for green signal from the PMO, it further added. "It is not a bad proposal; we accepted it in principle and we shall take it up with the Prime Minister," AKM Mosharraf Hossain State Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources told The Independent of 18th December. The Minister in a tone of robust optimism said, "Bangladesh can earn Tk. 1,000 crore per year through this project and I think there is no harm in constructing such a pipeline. It is not at all a political issue." "Mohona Holding Limited, a Bangladeshi company, recently submitted the one billion-dollar project to the Energy Ministry. The ministry formed a committee to examine the proposal and submit a report. Sources said that the ministry did not as yet have adequate background information about the company and its technical and financial competence to undertake such a huge project covering three countries of the region. The company has not furnished detailed information as to how it would organize funds for the project, stated in the Independent. If Bangladesh government finally approves the project, a consortium will have to be set up to implement it within Bangladesh territory. In any such consortium Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation Ltd, a subsidiary of Petrobangla, will be a major player. Interestingly, Petrobangla sources did not share the Minister’s optimism and termed the proposal " immature." Myanmar, Tripura and West Bengal State Governments of India have accepted the proposal in principle, to construct a pipeline through Bangladesh territory, the State Minister for Energy said. It could not however be ascertained if the proposal came up for discussion during the just-concluded visit of the Prime Minister of Myanmar, said in the Independent. The minister said if the Prime Minister’s office Okayed the project then they would go ahead to form a consortium in this regard, it further said. Sources said that Bangladesh would put forward some terms and conditions to the company. One of the conditions is that Bangladesh will be the sole operator of the pipeline and will be entitled to use it as and when necessary in her own interest including export and import of gas whenever needed, it more added. Other terms and conditions include provisions requiring the company to construct the pipeline with 30 to 40 inch diameter and to include BPCL as one of the main parties in the consortium, the sources said. The proposed pipeline will enter Bangladesh border through Brahmanbaria from the Indian territory of Tripura and will cross into West Bengal through Rajshahi border, affirmed in the Independent. The pipeline may help export gas to India without interference by any IOC, the sources said. According to the sources, it will cost Tk.900 crore to construct the pipeline in Bangladesh. Energy Ministry source said USA, Australia and some Indian companies have indicated their willingness to offer fund for construction of the pipeline in Bangladesh. “We welcome the latest developments in the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Myanmar during the short but effective visit of Prime Minister General Than Shwe. But it was disappointing to learn that the high level meet failed to make any progress in resolving the long pending repatriation of Rohingya refugees from the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. More than 20,000 refugees have been waiting for years with the hope that their government would agree to take them back, but all the attempts in the past failed to achieve any success. Their hopes must have been dashed somewhat since this was the first topmost level visit to Bangladesh by any Yangon dignitary in more than ten years. We earnestly wish the repatriation process would be expedited so that the thousands of Rohingyas could be relieved from their years of miseries in the camps, said the Daily Star of 20th December. EDITORIAL/STATEMENTS Washington Post December 23 2002 Close Shave on Burma By Al Kamen Who can forget that fateful chat then-Ambassador to Iraq April C. Glaspie had with Saddam Hussein in 1990, just before the Iraqi president invaded Kuwait? Of course, it was policy then to kow-tow to Hussein. But it appears she may have started a diplomatic trend, for now we have our top official in Burma saying nice things about the military thugs who run the country. Worse, chargé d'affaires Carmen M. Martinez -- our top diplomat there -- did it in an "exclusive interview" in the weekly Myanmar Times, a rag that makes the old Pravda look like a hard-hitting investigative journal. Word leaked out in November that the State Department was considering recommending that Burma be certified as cooperating in the war on drugs. Such a move would have given the military, once known by its initials as SLORC, a major political and economic boost. Furious editorials and congressional protests, plus a Time magazine Asian edition story detailing the repressive regime's links to major drug dealers, helped persuade State to reverse course. The department may have been in the process of that course correction Dec. 3, when Martinez praised the regime for "a good job on counternarcotics efforts." Martinez, according to the paper, said Washington supported democracy, but the Burmese have to find a solution in "their style of government." A lot of Burmese probably thought they did just that when they overwhelmingly elected Aung San Suu Kyi's party in 1990, just before the military arrested her. "We are not trying to impose our style on this country," Martinez said. "We can understand how it is difficult to have a democracy in a multiracial and multireligious society," she observed. "There are similarities between our country and this country; we have diverse ethnic groups, diversity of religions." It might be a whole lot less difficult if the Burmese army would stop using rape as a weapon against those minorities. "We wish that foreign journalists could be permitted to visit the country," she said, "because there are positive things going on . . . and the story of this country will be written by the press." There would be no need for foreign journalists, of course, if the pond scum in charge would allow the opposition to publish a newspaper. From editor@burmanet.org Mon Dec 23 22:28:38 2002 From: editor@burmanet.org (editor@burmanet.org) Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 17:28:38 -0500 (EST) Subject: BurmaNet News: December 21-23 2002 Message-ID: <1349.172.132.75.45.1040682518.squirrel@webmail.pair.com> December 21-23 2002 Issue #2145 INSIDE BURMA Bangkok Post: Junta rejects latest soldier-rape charges Irrawaddy: Opposition offices closed Narinjara: Daily necessities from Burma: not for Rakhine State Narinjara: Rice purchase for the year 2003 in Rakhine State DVB: Suu Kyi in Arakan: reactions of harassment DVB: And comments from oppositions groups AFP: Myanmar SIDS sufferers escape sorry plight in their homeland Washington Times: Ne Win’s legacy: Burma in shambles Kao Wao: Mon youth office raided by Thai authorities MONEY Asahi: Japan to write off Myanmar debts Kaladan: $1B gas pipeline project proposed EDITORIAL/STATEMENTS Close shave in Burma INSIDE BURMA Bangkok Post December 23 2002 Junta rejects latest soldier-rape charges Burma's military government yesterday rejected fresh charges of gang rape and torture made by the United States last week that resuscitated controversy over earlier allegations. ``The recent release by the US of additional specific allegations of rape as a weapon of war in a `preliminary' study... is a rehash of the Shan Human Rights Foundation study in order to further attack and isolate Myanmar [Burma],'' government spokesman Hla Min said in a statement. The State Department said last Wednesday that the US consulate in the northern city of Chiang Mai had found evidence supporting accusations by rights groups, including the Shan Human Rights Foundation, that Burmese troops used gang rape of ethnic Shan women as a weapon of war. The groups released a report earlier this year documenting 625 sex attacks on Shan women and girls by Burmese soldiers. It drew international outrage and has been repeatedly rejected by the Rangoon junta. During a short preliminary investigation, US State Department officials said they found many victims whose stories were similar to those documented in reports by non-governmental organisations. ``Of the 12 rape victims interviewed, all stated that they had been gang-raped by Burmese soldiers sometime over the past five years,'' the department said in a fact sheet. ``Most also reported knowing several other women or girls who had been raped and/or killed.'' _____ Irrawaddy December 23 2002 Opposition Offices Closed Members of Burmese dissident organizations along the border in Sangklaburi, western Thailand are in hiding after the local army ordered them to close their offices. On Friday, several opposition groups in exile—the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), Democratic Party for a New Society (DPNS), Myeik Dawei United Front (MDUF), Mon Youth Progressive Organization (MYPO), People’s Defence Force (PDF) and People’s Progressive Front (PPF)—were given two days to close their offices. The commander of the Thai Ninth Army reportedly instructed the opposition to move their offices by the end of the weekend. Today, Thai officers took photos of the dissident offices today but no arrests have yet been made, according to a source in Sangklaburi. Since last August, more than 30 members of several dissident organizations based in Sangklaburi were arrested and deported to the Burmese border. ____ Narinjara News December 21 2002 Daily necessities from Burma: not for Rakhine State The Burmese SPDC junta’s ban on transportation of goods to Rakhine State since September 25th in the western part of Burma has caused skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, reports our correspondent. The ban on the transportation of such everyday commodities including onions, pulses, cooking oil, rice and red chillies, has caused severe shortage of edibles in the western state bordering with Bangladesh. The price of a viss (1.6 kg) of onion was kyat eighty before the ban while it is now selling at kyat five hundred. The price of cooking oil is at least kyat two thousand. The price of rice though it is harvest season in Rakhine state has not gone down as usual in the previous years. For a meal now one needs to spend at least five hundred kyat in the restaurants which is more than ten times than in previous occasions. On a radio interview with the Democratic Voice of Burma in the morning broadcast on 19 December, U Aye Tha Aung, secretary of the Arakan League for Democracy, appealed to the ruling Burmese junta led by general Than Shwe to allow free passage of the daily necessities to bring down the artificial price hike. Though the fish and all agricultural produce from Rakhine State are allowed free passage to Burma proper, the daily necessities of Burma proper cannot be brought to Rakhine State. “This is nothing but conducting of a systematic campaign of starvation against a whole people”, our correspondent said quoting a retired civil serviceman, “we have been treated as enemy to the jingoist Burmese SPDC junta generals. It is plain racism at its worst. Is Rakhine State not included in the map of Burma?” The situation has aggravated because of the stationing of over sixty battalion of armed forced in the state, which has never seen a serious conflict or guerrilla activities during the last fifty years, our correspondent concluded. ___ Narinjara News December 23 2002 Rice purchase for the year 2003 in Rakhine State The Burmese junta, SPDC, have stuck notices on boards in the agriculture corporation offices and at rice purchase depots asking the relevant officials to collect rice worth US$ 270 million from across Rakhine State in the western part of Burma, according to our correspondent. Beginning September 15th the junta officials have ordered the rice growers to harvest rice. The farmers and rice growers have been issued orders not to harvest even an acre of rice without the prior permission of the relevant Village Peace and Development Council (Yayaka) – the village level administrative body of the Burmese junta. The Yayaka members have been engaged to supervise the day-to-day harvesting process, keeping records of how much has been harvested. All the privately owned rice mills, big and small, in the state have also been ordered closed since the beginning of this year’s rice season. Just a handful of privately owned rice mills that have good relations with the military intelligence personnel have been reportedly operating under the blanket ban. The price of rice in the open market is about five times more than what the junta officials pay to the rice growers, which is plain exploitation, a rice farmer told our correspondent. At present 100 tinn of rice sells at kyat 150,000 in the open market, while the Burmese junta officials pay kyat 35,000 for the same. The average per acre produce of rice is less than 28 tinns, while the rice growers have to sell 12 tinns of rice to the junta appointed rice collectors. Besides that the farmers have also been ordered to sell all the rice that they think more than the amount required by the family of the farmers’ consumption, a rice grower said. Ninety percent people of Rakhine State earn their livelihood through rice growing since the state is hopelessly underdeveloped and there has been no industrialization even after more than half a century of independence. The official order will make the life of the rice growers not only miserable but also vulnerable to the worst state-sponsored exploitation, a retired public official said. ____ Democratic Voice of Burma December 20 2002 Suu Kyi in Arakan; reactions of harassments Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the touring NLD members are expected to be in Taunggoke, Arakan State tonight. Yesterday, the party left Sittwe and returned to Minbu to travel to Taunggoke [in the southern part of the State] as it is accessible only by air or by boat directly. From Minbu, they have to travel through Pandaung – Taunggoke road to reach Taunggoke Pass. She is expected to meet Taunggoke NLD organising committee and stay there for the night. Since her release from the house arrest, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been touring around Burma, but the present Arakan trip is the worst in terms of the harassments from local authorities. At Myauk-U, the local authorities tried to disperse the local population who came to greet her by beating them with batons and spraying them with water from fire engines. The spokesman of the NLD, U Lwin told the DVB about the latest situation as follows: U Lwin: She will stay the night at Taunggoke and there are plans to meet local NLD organising committee members. On the next day, she will go to Sandoway and raise the signboard [open the office] and she will take a rest in Ngapali. Q: What would the condition of the people of Taunggoke be like? A: The people there always come here. In the previous years, they dared not show their faces. They had to lie low. They were oppressed that much. In that condition, the delegates from Taunggoke always came to our HQs. The audience in Taunggoke have always been good and enthusiastic. Q: In the Shan State trip, the authority tested the water but in the Arakan State, they are clearly reacting? A; Yes, it’s true. Q: The way things are going; would there be plans to discuss with them - for them to give a reliable promise? A; We have plans for that because we specially need it. We need to study and we will do it after considering properly. We didn’t expect that things would be that bad. Q: As for the future trips to Irrawaddy and Tenesserim Divisions, would the authorities try to ban her from travelling? A; We can discuss with them about that. Q: So you don’t expect that the authorities will block future trips? A; No, I don’t expect so. ____ Democratic Voice of Burma December 20 2002 And Comments from Oppositions Groups The followings are the views of the opposition groups inside and outside Burma regarding increase harassment during Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's trip. U Aye Tha Aung of CRPP and Arakan NLD: At this time, it shouldn’t be like that. The reason is the General Secretary of the NLD went there after discussing with the authorities. This is the era that is heading to national reconciliation. It is an ugly thing and politically not a good sign to try to intimidate the supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi with batons and fire engine hosepipes while the SPDC are claiming that they are opening a new page and allowing people to take part in politics freely. The views of Shan NLD Chairman, U Khun Tun Oo: There must be some polarities between the top and the bottom. There is unevenness between the central and the local areas. They have been talking to each other. Daw Suu is also saying that there will be some obvious developments. I think that there are some gives and takes, but the essences haven’t trickled down to the bottom yet. That must be the reason. Q: The administrative machinery of the SPDC is very good. Why that kind of things happened? A; My guess is they are over-following their little orders. Q: Could the incident affect the future dialogues? A: You have to negotiate but if you can’t do that…. we have to narrow down the polarity and differences. Thakhin Thein Pe of Veteran Politicians: What we are seeing is not very comforting. What should not happen could happen. Is it the local authorities doing or? They have done it with plans. Even though it happened in the local area, the Rangoon's HQs also have the responsibility. She went there with their consent and understanding and if that consent is being broken and it’s not a good sign. Q: Would the incident affect the future dialogues? A: We don’t like that problem. We thought that there must be a little improvement, but now they seem to be reversing. We don’t like that. People are now starving and that kind of things happen; they will be more dissatisfied. The views of one of the ministers of the exiled NCGUB, Dr San Aung : The SPDC are saying that they have built confidence and that they have opened a new page. That kind of harassments and prohibitions should not happen anymore. The local authorities should support her as a leader of a legal opposition party. U Khaing Myo Khaing, the exiled General Secretary of the Arakan NLD: We are despairing about the way the local SPDC authorities are treating Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. SPDC has promised that Daw Suu is allowed to travel and do things freely. The NLD people are going about and doing their jobs. So, it is very difficult to believe that the SPDC leaders are heading for democracy after seeing their action. I want to welcome Daw Suu on behalf of Rakhine NLD. The people of Arakan respect her and trust her. So we are welcoming her enthusiastically. We are very much despaired by the fact that the SPDC are harassing her like now. The Chairman of ABSDF, Ko Than Khe: It is clear that there is no real change in the SPDC by looking at the way they are harassing Daw Suu and intimidating people. We believe that the top military leaders are responsible for that. The bottom followers will not do anything without their permission. If the bottom followers have done something, the top leaders should have the courage to take precise responsibility. It also comes to show that the people are eager for democracy despite the oppression and hindrances. If the SPDC are really following people’s wish, it is necessary to start political dialogues as demanded by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Or else, things will become worse for people and it could explode. ____ Agence France-Presse December 23 2002 Myanmar AIDS sufferers escape sorry plight in their homeland By SON MOE WAI Shunned and mistreated by a government which would prefer to pretend they didn't exist, HIV-AIDS sufferers from military-ruled Myanmar who make their way into Thailand say they escaped a sorry plight in their home country. Ko Lwin Moe, an 37-year-old trader who was diagnosed with the disease two years ago, says he spent a year being treated at a private clinic in the capital in Yangon before fleeing to Thailand. "I would be dead already if I continued to live in Myanmar," he told AFP. "The Thai doctors simply treat me as a patient, which makes me very happy. But in Yangon the Myanmar medical staff treated me like I was a criminal." After grilling him for details of his financial background to ensure he could pay for treatment, the Myanmar doctors only gave him antibiotics, and at one point told him "You're going to die some time anyway." "I was lucky that I had enough money and the opportunity to leave for Thailand for further treatment," said Ko Lwin Moe, who earns his living importing Thai goods into Myanmar. The United Nations agency UNAIDS estimates that up to 400,000 people among a population of 48 million are infected with HIV, while independent experts working in Yangon say the incidence could be twice as high. However, Myanmar's junta insists that infections are a fraction of those estimated by organisations like the UN, and that a culture of abstinence before marriage and fidelity afterwards will prevent the virus from spreading. The health ministry also rejects World Health Organisation reports condemning health services as among the worst in the world as merely attempts by "reactionary elements" to smear the country's reputation. "The cultural and social values of Myanmar society are found to have a protective effect to a greater extent than in many population groups," junta number-three General Khin Nyunt said in his World AIDS Day speech this month. The government's view, and a lack of accurate information about the disease and how it is spread and treated, has helped create an unhealthy attitude towards HIV-AIDS sufferers in the general community, citizens say. Government health campaigns urge people to "respect family values" and "stay faithful to your spouse" but never mention condoms or the need for drug addicts to use clean syringes. And those who develop the tell-tale signs of the disease -- skin lesions and wasting -- are shunned and left to sink into depression. "In our society, people are labelling those who are HIV positive as the bad guys," said young Myanmar businessman Tun Aung who has several friends living with the disease. "As far as I know there are only a handful of clinics for AIDS patients, which are founded by missionaries and NGOs (non-governmental agencies)," he said, adding that government hospitals do not provide specialised care. Medicine is expensive and usually only available on the black market, he said. Patients can spend between 70 and 300 dollars a month on drugs -- an enormous amount in a country where a teacher's salary is less than 10 dollars. Khin Sein, secretary general of the Burma Medical Group, a health organisation based on the Thai-Myanmar border, said that for the country's sake the government should focus on public health rather issues than politics when dealing with the AIDS crisis. "We are living in a poor country where people can not effort to buy the latest medicines," said Khin Sein, who works as a volunteer at an AIDS clinic in the Thai border town of Mae Sot. "So the only and most effective way to deal with the situation is to provide knowledge about this dreadful disease to the public and teach them how to prevent being infected." Khin Sein said that often, HIV suffers were forced to rely on treatment and advice from pharmacies and unlicensed practitioners in small towns, and then die quickly from opportunistic infections. Others resort to traditional medicines, advertised widely with the consent of the military government despite their dubious efficacy, or from black magic practitioners, while some leave everyday life and enter the monkhood. "I don't understand why the government is so slow to produce the true figures of people who are infected with the virus. We need help and assistance urgently from the outside world," said Ko Lwin Moe "As far as I know people are dying everyday with AIDS." ___ Washington Times December 21 2002 Ne Win's legacy: Burma in shambles; Dictator took a prosperous country, wrecked it through corruption, mismanagement By Richard S. Ehrlich The death this month of Gen. Ne Win, Burma's elderly ex-dictator, ended the life of a bizarre, brutal leader who used superstition, military repression and economic mismanagement to turn a prosperous Southeast Asian nation into a pauper and pariah. "The former military dictator of Burma, Gen. Ne Win, has died while under house arrest, according to reports citing family sources," the British Broadcasting Corp. reported Dec. 5. "Family members said the 91-year-old died at 0730 local time at a lakeside house he has been held in, along with his daughter, since March 7," the BBC said. The Associated Press reported that Ne Win's remains were cremated the afternoon of his death in a private ceremony lacking the military honors befitting a general. Only about 25 relatives and friends - but no government representatives - attended, and Ne Win's passing was ignored in Burma's official media. Ne Win's health deteriorated over the past few years, culminating in a heart attack in September 2001 and a secretive trip to Singapore for medical treatment. The late ex-strongman was named Shu Maung - "apple of one's eye" - when he was born in Paungdale, central Burma, then part of British India, on May 24, 1911. His father was a civil servant. After seizing power in a bloodless 1962 coup, Gen. Ne Win proudly announced his xenophobic reign as "the Burmese Way to Socialism." He was largely responsible for turning the relatively wealthy, rice-exporting nation nearly the size of Texas into a ruined, repressive land. Inspired by Marx and Stalin, he kicked out foreign corporations and nationalized their businesses. The hermit-minded leader dreamed up eccentric economic policies based on his superstitious belief in numerology. In 1987, he canceled the Burmese kyat currency and introduced new notes in denominations based on his personal lucky numbers - 15, 45 and 90. Many people were bankrupted overnight when the previous currency was declared invalid. People were suddenly given new 90-kyat notes, and told they could only make change with new 45-kyat and 15-kyat bills. "He was said to have bathed in dolphins' blood to regain his youth, and his dedication to numerology was legendary," the BBC reported. Ne Win set up a powerful, politicized military regime. According to the U.S. State Department, Amnesty International and other human rights groups, the Ne Win government tortured prisoners and carried out extrajudicial killings to keep Burma's people in line. Ne Win was forced aside in 1988 after the military killed thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators during a failed uprising in Rangoon, the capital of Burma, which Ne Win's successors renamed Myanmar. >From 1988 to 2002, the regime allowed the aged ex-despot to dwell in oblivion as a wealthy recluse in Rangoon, where he spent much of his time and fortune building a Buddhist pagoda in hopes of ensuring a happy afterlife. But last March, his world crumbled. Ne Win's favorite, business-savvy daughter, Sandar Win, and her husband and their three adult sons were arrested by the military junta. Sandar Win's husband and sons were charged with attempting a coup - which surprised diplomats, who suspected the real problem was the family's attempt to profit from its status by ignoring the military's monopolistic commercial regulations. The Ne Win family was said to have been insulted at not receiving special privileges to continue exploiting Burma's wrecked economy. As evidence for the coup accusation, the military regime produced weapons, uniforms and other items allegedly amassed by Gen. Ne Win's family. The authorities also said they found "a golden embroidery" illustrated with a crowned peacock, a tiger, a lion, a fish, three swords and a harp. The "peacock represents Ne Win ... the emblem forms part of a royal regalia, and it seems as if they were creating a royal family," reported the government-controlled New Light of Myanmar newspaper. "It seems that if they managed to seize state power, they would establish the monarchy and try to maintain family power for life," the paper added. The purported evidence for this included three small dolls representing the regime's top leaders - Gens. Than Shwe, Maung Aye and Khin Nyunt - purportedly used in black-magic rituals by the Ne Win family. In September, a court sentenced to death Ne Win's son-in-law, Aye Zaw Win - husband of Sandar Win - and the couple's three sons, Aye Ne Win, Kyaw Ne Win, and Zwe Ne Win. The four men have appealed. Several military officials and other influential people were also imprisoned. The aged Ne Win and his daughter, Sandar, were put under house arrest, where he remained until he died. During the trial, many Burmese expressed delight that Ne Win's family was suffering harsh treatment like that he meted out to his countrymen while in power. Some said the trial was reminiscent of one 25 years ago, when Ne Win had the masterminds of a suspected coup plot against him executed. Today, Burma is one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy is reeling under U.S. and international sanctions put in place to force the regime to allow democracy. Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won a landslide victory in 1990, but the military regime refused to let the elected parliament convene. Though his life ended in disgrace, Ne Win's 1962-1988 reign formed much of recent Burmese history. Burma was subjugated by the British in three 19th-century wars and ruled as part of British India until 1937, when it was separated from the latter. In 1941, hoping to break Britain's grip, Ne Win traveled to Japan, trained under the Japanese Imperial Army and helped Japan invade Burma. After Burma's occupation, Ne Win decided Japan wanted to keep his country, so he plotted against the puppet government and undertook a guerrilla campaign, enabling the British to return in December 1944. After India and Pakistan attained independence in 1947, Britain granted Burma the same in January 1948. Ne Win commanded the Burma National Army from 1943 to 1945 and, after World War II, commanded the Burma 4th Rifles, where he established ties with many of his future regime officials. >From 1949 to 1950, he was minister of defense and interior and also commander in chief, a post he held until 1972. In that position, he took over Burma's faltering government as a caretaker leader in 1958-60 and staged a coup in 1962, arresting the former prime minister, U Nu. Ne Win was rumored to have died in 1997, but showed up in Indonesia alongside President Suharto, who was a close friend. Upon his death this month, the French newspaper Le Monde summed up the general's legacy by saying Ne Win dominated Burma with an iron hand for more than a quarter-century of unenlightened rule. ___ Kao Wao December 20 2002 MON YOUTH OFFICE RAIDED BY THAI AUTHORITIES The Mon Youth Progressive Organization (MYPO) office at Sangkhalaburi, Karnchanaburi Province of western Thailand was raided by Thai army on December 19, 2002. According to a local source, about twenty Thai Army Regiment No. 9 and officers raided the MYPO office in the morning and all Mon youths were deported to Plaing Japan of Three Pagodas Pass border town inside Burma after questioning. Nai Ong, a Mon youth leader reported, “most of Burmese democratic offices and MYPO office was forced by the Thai military to move out from the Thai soil. Now all members of MYPO are in the Japanese Well (Plaing Japan) village and we are concerned of their fate as the village is inside Burmese territory and the Burmese army can charge them for their political activities.” The Mon Youth Progressive Organization (MYPO) was formed after a gathering of Mon youth and student at Sangkhalaburi border town last year. The MYPO is working at forging solidarity among Mon youths and reaching out network with other ethnic youths, democratic forces and the international community. In August, the Burmese opposition offices Peoples Democratic Front (PDF), National League for Democracy - Liberated Area (NLD-LA), Democratic Party for New Society (DPNS) and a Christian church were raided by the local Thai authorities. Many ethnic and democratic offices working at Sanghalaburi, the Thai-Burma border town have closed in fear of the Thai government's alleged decision to crack down on the activities of their organizations. MONEY Asahi News Service December 23 2002 JAPAN TO WRITE OFF MYANMAR DEBTS By ATSUSHI YAMADA Japan will write off 150 billion yen ($1.25 billion) in loans to Myanmar (Burma), but sone fear it may be opening itself up to international criticism for doing so. The Myanmar write-off is only one component of the government's efforts to ease the burden on heavily indebted nations, but it could be construed as support for the nation's military dictatorship. The United States, Europe and other countries have imposed economic sanctions on Myanmar in protest against its form of government and its poor record on human rights issues. The writing off of the loans was to be announced at a Japan-Myanmar economic assistance conference on Sunday. Up until now, Japan has loaned Myanmar about 400 billion yen ($3.3 billion). The once-prosperous nation suffers from a dire shortage of foreign currency and struggles every year to procure the several billions of yen it needs to repay loans to Japan. As such, portions of these loans have been reclassified as nonperforming. Japan stopped loaning money to Myanmar in 1988 when the current regime took power, but has provided debt-relief measures in the form of grant aid equivalent to the amount of principal and interest on previous loans. As a result, Myanmar has not been making payments on the loans for some time in any case. >From next April, Japan will not ask Myanmar to make payments. Myanmar's current administration has been in dialogue with democratic activist Aung San Suu Kyi, but talks have stagnated and it is difficult to predict when a general election might be held or when the national assembly might reconvene. The United Nations special envoy to Myanmar, Kazali Ismail, an intermediary in the dialogue, recently described the situation as disappointing. _____ Kaladan News December 20 2002 $1B GAS PIPELINE PROJECT PROPOSED Plan to link Myanmar with India via Bangladesh Chittagong, 20 December:The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has accepted, in principle, a proposal for the construction of a Myanmar-Tripura- West Bengal gas pipeline through Bangladesh, according to the Independent of 19th December. The ministry forwarded the proposal, submitted by a hitherto unknown Bangladeshi company, to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) last month seeking its approval. It is now waiting for green signal from the PMO, it further added. "It is not a bad proposal; we accepted it in principle and we shall take it up with the Prime Minister," AKM Mosharraf Hossain State Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources told The Independent of 18th December. The Minister in a tone of robust optimism said, "Bangladesh can earn Tk. 1,000 crore per year through this project and I think there is no harm in constructing such a pipeline. It is not at all a political issue." "Mohona Holding Limited, a Bangladeshi company, recently submitted the one billion-dollar project to the Energy Ministry. The ministry formed a committee to examine the proposal and submit a report. Sources said that the ministry did not as yet have adequate background information about the company and its technical and financial competence to undertake such a huge project covering three countries of the region. The company has not furnished detailed information as to how it would organize funds for the project, stated in the Independent. If Bangladesh government finally approves the project, a consortium will have to be set up to implement it within Bangladesh territory. In any such consortium Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation Ltd, a subsidiary of Petrobangla, will be a major player. Interestingly, Petrobangla sources did not share the Minister’s optimism and termed the proposal " immature." Myanmar, Tripura and West Bengal State Governments of India have accepted the proposal in principle, to construct a pipeline through Bangladesh territory, the State Minister for Energy said. It could not however be ascertained if the proposal came up for discussion during the just-concluded visit of the Prime Minister of Myanmar, said in the Independent. The minister said if the Prime Minister’s office Okayed the project then they would go ahead to form a consortium in this regard, it further said. Sources said that Bangladesh would put forward some terms and conditions to the company. One of the conditions is that Bangladesh will be the sole operator of the pipeline and will be entitled to use it as and when necessary in her own interest including export and import of gas whenever needed, it more added. Other terms and conditions include provisions requiring the company to construct the pipeline with 30 to 40 inch diameter and to include BPCL as one of the main parties in the consortium, the sources said. The proposed pipeline will enter Bangladesh border through Brahmanbaria from the Indian territory of Tripura and will cross into West Bengal through Rajshahi border, affirmed in the Independent. The pipeline may help export gas to India without interference by any IOC, the sources said. According to the sources, it will cost Tk.900 crore to construct the pipeline in Bangladesh. Energy Ministry source said USA, Australia and some Indian companies have indicated their willingness to offer fund for construction of the pipeline in Bangladesh. “We welcome the latest developments in the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Myanmar during the short but effective visit of Prime Minister General Than Shwe. But it was disappointing to learn that the high level meet failed to make any progress in resolving the long pending repatriation of Rohingya refugees from the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. More than 20,000 refugees have been waiting for years with the hope that their government would agree to take them back, but all the attempts in the past failed to achieve any success. Their hopes must have been dashed somewhat since this was the first topmost level visit to Bangladesh by any Yangon dignitary in more than ten years. We earnestly wish the repatriation process would be expedited so that the thousands of Rohingyas could be relieved from their years of miseries in the camps, said the Daily Star of 20th December. EDITORIAL/STATEMENTS Washington Post December 23 2002 Close Shave on Burma By Al Kamen Who can forget that fateful chat then-Ambassador to Iraq April C. Glaspie had with Saddam Hussein in 1990, just before the Iraqi president invaded Kuwait? Of course, it was policy then to kow-tow to Hussein. But it appears she may have started a diplomatic trend, for now we have our top official in Burma saying nice things about the military thugs who run the country. Worse, chargé d'affaires Carmen M. Martinez -- our top diplomat there -- did it in an "exclusive interview" in the weekly Myanmar Times, a rag that makes the old Pravda look like a hard-hitting investigative journal. Word leaked out in November that the State Department was considering recommending that Burma be certified as cooperating in the war on drugs. Such a move would have given the military, once known by its initials as SLORC, a major political and economic boost. Furious editorials and congressional protests, plus a Time magazine Asian edition story detailing the repressive regime's links to major drug dealers, helped persuade State to reverse course. The department may have been in the process of that course correction Dec. 3, when Martinez praised the regime for "a good job on counternarcotics efforts." Martinez, according to the paper, said Washington supported democracy, but the Burmese have to find a solution in "their style of government." A lot of Burmese probably thought they did just that when they overwhelmingly elected Aung San Suu Kyi's party in 1990, just before the military arrested her. "We are not trying to impose our style on this country," Martinez said. "We can understand how it is difficult to have a democracy in a multiracial and multireligious society," she observed. "There are similarities between our country and this country; we have diverse ethnic groups, diversity of religions." It might be a whole lot less difficult if the Burmese army would stop using rape as a weapon against those minorities. "We wish that foreign journalists could be permitted to visit the country," she said, "because there are positive things going on . . . and the story of this country will be written by the press." There would be no need for foreign journalists, of course, if the pond scum in charge would allow the opposition to publish a newspaper.