From editor@burmanet.org Mon Jan 6 14:25:30 2003 From: editor@burmanet.org (editor@burmanet.org) Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2003 09:25:30 -0500 (EST) Subject: BurmaNet News: January 3 2003 Repost Message-ID: <37191.207.10.94.131.1041863130.squirrel@webmail.pair.com> January 3 2003 Issue #2149 Repost INSIDE BURMA NYT: Myanmar Appeal rejected in treason case DVB: Accidental bomb explosion kills officer, maims 10 cadets in Maymyo MONEY Toronto Star: Criticism fails to deter French oil giant REGIONAL AFP: Myanmar junta leader to visit China Bangkok Post: Talks on border patrols planned Xinhua: Thai Army commander to visit Myanmar next weekend New Light of Myanmar: Than Shwe and wife to visit China 'in the near future' INTERNATIONAL AP: US assail harassment of democracy activist in Myanmar Energy Compass: UK makes new criticism of Burma's generals STATEMENTS US State Dept.: Burma support for dialogue Forum-Asia: Thai army raided Karen village in Sangkhlaburi Bangkok Post: Rangoon is its own worst enemy INSIDE BURMA New York Times January 3 2003 Myanmar: Appeal Rejected In Treason Case By Seth Mydans The Supreme Court rejected an appeal against death sentences handed down in September against a son-in-law and three grandsons of the country's former strongman, U Ne Win, who died on Dec. 4. The defendants were convicted of treason for trying to overthrow the military junta that has ruled since Mr. Ne Win stepped down in 1988. A defense lawyer said he would submit a "special appeal." It is also possible that the death sentences will be commuted since Myanmar rarely carries out executions. _________ Democratic Voice of Burma January 2 2003 Accidental bomb explosion kills officer, maimed 10 cadets in Maymyo A bomb accidentally exploded during a rehearsal by the final year cadets of the Defence Services Academy in Maymyo on 29 December, 2002. The bomb killed an officer and injured 10 trainees. The explosion took place during a long-distance march by the final year cadets. Details of the incident have not been received. According to a report received by the DVB, Vice-Chairman of the SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) Gen Maung Aye arrived in Maymyo soon after the incident and carried out investigations for 2 days. Meanwhile, telephone lines in Maymyo were cut and were restored only yesterday. The bomb explosion killed an officer instantly and maimed 10 cadets. MONEY Toronto Star January 3 2003 Criticism fails to deter French oil giant `We have to go where the oil and gas is,' TotalFinaElf says Firm's controversial partners include Iran, Myanmar, Iraq PARIS—French energy giant TotalFinaElf hasn't been deterred by controversy in its aggressive search for new oil fields. The Paris-based oil and gas company has provoked outrage in certain quarters by doing business with countries such as Iran and Myanmar. And the world's fourth-largest oil producer has positioned itself to profit when Iraq is free of United Nations sanctions. "We have to go where the oil and gas is," says Christophe de Margerie, executive vice-president in charge of exploration and production, "though not at any cost." The company's assertive stance has allowed it to surpass its larger competitors. While industry giants ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch/Shell and BP PLC have downgraded oil production targets amid tumbling profits, Total says it's on track to lift 2002 output by 10 per cent. "TotalFinaElf has been able to expand production and, above all, do it profitably," said John Parry, analyst at U.S.-based petroleum consultancy John S. Herold. The company posted net profits of $4.65 billion (U.S.) in the first nine months of 2002, down from the same period in 2001 but still in line with expectations. TotalFinaElf's expansion into politically sensitive countries has angered the United States and human rights groups. The company brushed aside U.S. objections and invested heavily in Iran during the mid-1990s, then insulated itself from the threat of U.S. sanctions by selling its American subsidiaries. At the same time, it opened negotiations with Saddam Hussein's government to develop two vast oil fields under the Iraqi sands once the United Nations lifts sanctions imposed after the Gulf War. Elsewhere, Total has angered separatist rebels in the disputed Western Sahara by signing a contract with Morocco to develop an offshore oil rig. While Total has pushed ahead with its investments in some politically sensitive countries, Canadian oil and gas giant Talisman Energy Inc. has bowed to pressure from human rights activists over its involvement in an oil project in war-torn Sudan. The Calgary company announced in October that it had sold its 25 per cent interest in the controversial Greater Nile oil project in the east African country for $1.2 billion (Canadian). The sale to a subsidiary of India's national oil company is expected to be completed by the end of January, a month later than previously expected. Does expanding into unstable countries not leave Total more vulnerable to Third World political risks such as coup d'etats, nationalization or terrorism? De Margerie, who sees Total's diversity as one of its greatest assets, says no. "We split our risks," he said in an interview at Total's headquarters just outside Paris. "No one country has such an exposure that it would put our company at stake." Furthermore, de Margerie said rising demand over the next 20 years means oil companies will need to find much more oil but "it's not easy to find new opportunities. ``It's a big fight." "When we see new opportunities, we are very aggressive," he said. "But we will never operate in a country unless we are certain we can uphold our rules of conduct and respect the laws." According to the labour movement, that wasn't the case in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. A group of unions has lodged a complaint in a French court alleging the company used forced labour during the construction of a pipeline. Total denies any wrongdoing. De Margerie rejected calls by some rights groups for Total to leave the country because of the ruling junta's poor human-rights record, citing the company's commitments to local communities in Myanmar. Asked about Iran, de Margerie said Washington's decision to bar U.S. companies from doing business there did not apply to Total. Now the company is focused on Iraq. It is anxious to develop vast new energy deposits in a post-Saddam Iraq. But it also fears that two tentative agreements it has signed with Saddam's regime could be voided by U.S.-led military action. "We would like to develop those fields as soon as possible," de Margerie said. REGIONAL Agence France-Presse January 3 2003 Myanmar junta leader to visit China Myanmar junta leader Senior General Than Shwe is to pay an official visit to China later this month, officials said Friday. The January 6-11 visit will be Than Shwe's second as chairman of the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), a government official told AFP. He will be accompanied by the chief of military intelligence General Khin Nyunt and several ministers including Foreign Minister Win Aung. "This latest visit will provide new opportunities for enhancing mutual understanding, extending common views and strengthening friendly cooperation between the two neighbours," said a Chinese diplomatic source. The source said the goodwill visit was especially significant in light of the advent of a new leadership in China under Hu Jintao, who is expected to succeed President Jiang Zemin. Sino-Myanmar relations have always been strong, except for a brief period during the 1960s when the "Cultural Revolution" swept across China and spilled over the border into Myanmar. Ties took a turn for the better after the 1998 military coup when Myanmar was shunned by most other nations, obliging to turn towards its big northern neighbour to help develop its infrastructure. Than Shwe, number two in the military hierarchy at that time, was the first high-level Myanmar visitor to China after the takeover, leading a huge delegation there in 1989. His latest visit comes at a time when the junta's staunchest critics, led by the United States, are renewing calls for it to revive a dialogue with the opposition led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Jiang made his first visit to Myanmar in December 2001, when the two countries signed cooperation agreements in the agriculture, natural and human resources, and infrastructure sector, in addition to agreeing on new soft loans. Analysts say China has boosted its influence in Myanmar a bid to secure strategic access to the Andaman Sea, where it is funding a sea port. It is also interested in offsetting India's growing links with the junta, they say. To improve ties, China has helped Myanmar expand its military capabilities, providing it with dozens of light and medium battle tanks, hundreds of armored personnel carriers as well as jets and naval craft. _____ Bangkok Post January 3 2003 TALKS ON BORDER PATROLS PLANNED By Wassana Nanuam and Subin Khuenkaew Army commander Somdhat Attanant will visit Rangoon next weekend for talks expected to focus on proposals for joint border patrols. The visit would be Gen Somdhat's first to Burma since becoming army commander-in-chief in October. At a meeting with Burmese army commander Gen Maung Aye, Gen Somdhat would propose joint border patrols to tackle drug trafficking and illegal migrants, a source said. Rangoon has rejected a similar proposal before, saying it does not have enough staff. But in fact they don't want Thai troops in their areas. They don't have complete control in the border areas either,'' the source said. Lt-Gen Udomchai Ongkhasingh, Third Army commander, is worried about a Burmese crackdown on ethnic minority fighters along the shared border. The fighting could spill into Thai territory, he said. The commander still hoped that disputes could be solved through the Township Border Committee. Any Burmese soldiers captured on Thai soil would be handed over to the TBC. Thai soldiers are required to promote better relations with Burmese troops.'' Lt-Gen Udomchai also quoted Gen Maung Aye as saying that conflicts between Thailand and Burma were the work of a third party. Deputy Prime Minister Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh is visiting Rangoon late this month. The army says it will not hold any big exercises near the border to avoid misunderstandings with Rangoon. Gen Somdhat said neither country would hold exercises along the border, as that was the agreement made at the 20th Thai-Burmese Regional Border Committee in Moulmein on Dec 26-28. If Thailand or Burma does plan an exercise, they must tell each other in advance. The military would send troops for the joint Thai-US Cobra Gold 2003 and Balance Torch exercises, held every year. But it would not repeat the Surasee 143 exercise, held near the border last year, which Burma found provocative. A source said Burma was mobilising troops for a crackdown on ethnic minority rebels at bases opposite Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son and Chiang Mai. ________ Xinhua News Agency January 3 2003 Thai Army commander to visit Myanmar next weekend Thai Army Commander Somdhat Attanant will pay his first visit to Rangoon next weekend since he took the position last October for talks expected to focus on joint border patrols, the Bangkok Post reported Friday. A source of the Army revealed that at a meeting with Myanmar's Army Commander Maung Aye, Somdhat would propose joint border patrols to tackle drug trafficking and illegal migrants, even though Rangoon had rejected a similar proposal before, saying it does not have enough staff. Thai Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh would also visit Rangoon late this month, the report said. Meanwhile, Thai Army said it would not hold any big exercises near the border to avoid misunderstandings with Rangoon. Somdhat was quoted as saying that neither country would hold exercises along the border, as that was the agreement made at the 20th Thai-Myanmar Regional Border Committee in Moulmein on Dec. 26-28,2002. The military would send troops for the annual joint Thai-US Cobra Gold 2003 and Balance Torch exercises. But it would not repeat the Surasee 143 exercise, held near the border last year, which Myanmar found provocative, the report said. ________ New Light of Myanmar January 3 2003 Than Shwe and wife to visit China "in the near future" Yangon, 3 January: At the invitation of HE Mr Jiang Zemin, President of the People's Republic of China, Sr Gen Than Shwe, chairman of the State Peace and Development Council and prime minister of the Union of Myanmar, accompanied by wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing, will pay a State Visit to the People's Republic of China in the near future. INTERNATIONAL Associated Press January 3 2003 US assails harassment of democracy activist in Myanmar The State Department on Thursday criticized what it called harassment by government-affiliated groups in Myanmar of democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi. Spokesman Richard Boucher said the harassment occurred during a recent trip Suu Kyi made outside the capital. He said efforts by such groups to harass opposition party leaders cannot help a national reconciliation process to which the Myanmar government has committed. "The United States calls on the Myanmar regime to ensure that all political parties can carry their message to the Myanmar people in safety," he said. Criticizing continued military rule in Myanmar, Boucher said, "Political change is needed in Myanmar." ______ Energy Compass January 3 2002 UK makes new criticism of Burma's generals UK Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien has called on the Burmese (Myanmar) government to "end harassment" of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and said he was appalled by reports that the government had distributed leaflets that made personal attacks on her family, and that a minister had dissuaded people form meeting opposition representatives. O'Brien called on senior Burmese general Than Shwe "to enter into a serious dialogue with the National League for Democracy and other opposition parties." The latest statement from London will further embarrass firms active in Burma, such as Total Fina Elf, US Unocal, and UK-listed Premier Oil, which for the time being still has a 26.7% operating interest in the Yetagun gas field. Three months ago labor unions in the EU urged a ban on European investment in the country after fresh evidence suggesting that multinationals were profiting from forced labor(EC Oct.25,p12). Premier had said in September last year that it was selling its entire 26.7% stake in Yetagun. But Premiere said on Jan. 2 that its sale to Malaysia's state-owned Petronas had still not been finalized because of approvals pending from Myanmar and Indonesia. STATEMENTS/MISCELLANEOUS U.S. State Department January 2 2003 Burma Support for Dialogue Press Statement Richard Boucher, Spokesman Washington, DC January 2, 2003 In a press conference in Rangoon on December 31, Aung San Suu Kyi described harassment from government-affiliated groups to which she was subjected during her recent trip to Burma's Rakhine State. Efforts by such groups to harass opposition party leaders cannot help a national reconciliation process to which the Burmese government has committed itself. The United States calls on the Burmese regime to ensure that all political parties can carry their message to the Burmese people in safety. We also call on the regime to join with the National League for Democracy and representatives of Burma's ethnic communities in a real dialogue regarding constitutional issues. Political change is needed in Burma. As Aung San Suu Kyi said December 31, the Burmese people deserve a better government and a better standard of living. Every effort should be made to see that they get both in 2003. ______ Forum-Asia January 3 2003 Thai Army Raided Karen Village in Sangkhlaburi The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is concerned about reports that 65 Karen villagers from 19 families were issued a three-day deadline to evacuate their homes after a military raid on 24 December 2002 in Wia Ka Di Village, tambon Nong Lu, Sakhlaburi district, Kanchanaburi Province, western Thailand. The incident was explained by Colonel Somkhuan Saenpattaranate, Army spokesman, during an official press conference on 26 December 2002 that the Surasi Task Force, which oversees security along the Thai-Burmese border in Kanchanaburi province, rounded up ethnic Karen rebels who had set up a stronghold in Wia Ka Di village. "Those arrested were members of the anti-Rangoon Karen National Union (KNU) and were not carrying any identification cards, and therefore they would be forced back across the border." FORUM-ASIA understands that Thailand has a longstanding policy not allowing any armed groups to use the Thai territory to launch military activities against neighboring countries. However, information received by FORUM-ASIA disputed the official statement of the Army. FORUM-ASIA received information confirming that all the 65 villagers were unarmed civilians from ethnic Karen communities in Sangkhlaburi district, and their families have settled down in Thailand for many generations. They were neither members of an armed group nor illegal migrants as claimed by the Army. At least two villagers issued with a deportation deadline even possessed Thai ID cards. Some were holders of temporary ID cards and others had blue highlanders' cards. Even villagers without ID cards were also in the process of identifying themselves as allowed by the Cabinet Resolution on 27 August 2002, which provided these a whole year for the verification process and no deportation order could be issued against them until at least August 2003. FORUM-ASIA also learned that there were reports of excessive use of force, harassment and human rights abuses during the raid when troops from the Surasi Task Force torched three huts and stocks of rice paddy. Villagers have appealed for help from the National Human Rights Commission and the Low Society of Thailand, which could temporarily stop the deportation after the end of a three-day deadline on 27 December 2002. But the Thai Army as well as officials from the local administrative authorities have repeatedly warned villagers until this morning (3 January 2003) that they would be pushed across the border very soon because "their existence has seriously affected Thailand's national security and relations with Burma." In parallel, the new Secretary General of the National Security Council (NSC), General Winai Phattiyakhul, on 29 December 2002 stated that Thailand would soon end its role of sheltering and resettling refugees fleeing political conflicts in Burma. General Winai Phattiyakhul warned that "from now on, Thailand would force refugees to go back to where they came from", and that "Thailand would not welcome refugees from Burma and other neighboring countries anymore." Regarding the Karen communities in Wia Ka Di village, FORUM-ASIA fears that the deportation will practically mean the revocation of the Thai citizenship of these villagers, making them stateless and highly vulnerable to all forms of abuses and mistreatment by the Burmese authorities. ________ Bangkok Post January 3 2003 RANGOON IS ITS OWN WORST ENEMY The United States has informed Burma that it will remain on the very short list of countries blackballed for illicit drugs trafficking. It seems likely, in fact, that Burma will be the only such country on the final list for the second year in a row. The decision will be announced in March. By any objective view, Burma deserves to be at the top of the list of nations where drug trafficking thrives. But the arcane and secretive manner of the annual US certification list leaves a lot to be desired. The process is mandated by the US congress but a series of presidents has gone along with it. Essentially, the law requires the US government to identify countries where there is drug trafficking _ not too difficult _ and then to certify'' that each is taking determined steps against growing, making, smuggling and profiting from the trade. Last year, for example, 23 countries including Thailand were named as major international players in the illicit drug industry. Just three were judged as ineffective fighters: Afghanistan, Haiti and Burma. At this point, the law requires the US to cut off most aid, as well as name and shame the countries involved. But then it gets worse. The multi-section law allows the US president to exempt the worst trafficking nations from punishment. In fact, it allows him to increase aid and attention if, somehow, it's in the interest of the United States. Last year, helping newly liberated Afghanistan was in everybody's interest despite the huge opium crop. Poor Haiti, in the American physical sphere of influence, is too important to let fall to another dictator over a relatively small amount of drug aid. So last year Burma was the world's only nation judged as friendly to drug trafficking, yet too insignificant to get help. And each stage of the American decision-making process provided less public justification. Now it appears it has done it again. Two months ago, officials of the US State Department _ the nation's ambassadors and professional diplomats _ were openly recommending that Burma receive US aid for drug activities next year. Last week, the Rangoon dictators were informed they would spend another year on the blacklist. What happened was crudely political. The European Union put heavy pressure on Burma to begin moves to democracy, and Rangoon refused. The same US State Department conducted its own investigation and found substantial evidence that the Burmese army was involved in the serial and mass rape of women and girls during the forced removal of the Shan people from their homelands so that Rangoon-friendly Wa leaders could take over their land. So the decision to keep Rangoon isolated from drug aid seems to have been made during a totally opaque investigation that did not look directly at the drug trafficking problem. It is exactly the sort of situation which has caused personalities from the president of Mexico, Vicente Fox, to the former US drug czar General Barry McCaffrey to abandon the whole certification process. Let's make no mistake about the facts. Burma is a major producer of illicit drugs, perhaps the biggest in the world. The heroin and methamphetamines cartel of the United Wa State Army is the world's largest. The Burmese dictatorship has acquiesced in a drug trade which threatens the entire fabric and culture of Thailand and other neighbours. That acquiescence has raised questions of whether Burma is a narcocracy, and an addict of the drug money from money laundering. The certification system allows little leeway on other questions. It may be better to provide help to those Burmese offices taking steps, for example, to fight the heroin trade. Under the current and non-accountable certification system, no one will know. _______ The Times (London) January 3 2003 Real guns for Burma's lost boys By Hans Nichols THE BURMESE MILITARY HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF MASS RAPE AGAINST ETHNIC MINORITY WOMEN AND GIRLS. BUT THIS IS A CULTURE IN WHICH BOTH THE RULING JUNTA AND ITS OPPOSITION THINK NOTHING OF USING CHILDREN TO FIGHT THEIR WAR. HANS NICHOLS REPORTS ITS MUZZLE TO his toes, Saw Yo Ba's M16 reaches just shy of his armpit, where the stock disappears into the folds of his adult-sized fatigues. His gun is a standard metre long - one of half a billion small arms in circulation. At 13, Yo Ba is one of 300,000 child soldiers worldwide. He is about 4ft 9in (1.47m) tall. In early June, he joined the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU) for the same reasons that child soldiers join militias the world over: a place to belong, a chance for revenge, a thing to do. Both Yo Ba's parents were killed by the military junta that has been in power in Burma since 1988 (the country was renamed Myanmar the following year). His father was shot dead in their ancestral village when Yo Ba was three; his mother's body was found hacked to death in a field when he was 11. Why were they killed? "Because we are Karen," he says with a smile and shrug. Yo Ba is more mascot than mercenary. The elders in his unit look after him. He is fed three meals a day - more than most of his fellow Karen, an ethnic group of seven million in eastern Burma along the Thai border, get to eat. Unlike the child soldiers enlisted by the military junta in Rangoon, Yo Ba is not forced to walk across an unmapped minefield. He can go home whenever he wants. Except, or course, that he has no home. In Karen State, known to its inhabitants as Kawthoolay, or "land of the flowers", death comes freely. It is as cheap as the Chinese landmines that seed these muddy hills and as expensive as the anti-malarial medicine no one can afford. Here, killing breeds familiarity and, ultimately, acceptance. Yo Ba acknowledges, rather absent-mindedly, that he enlisted in the KNU because he "wants to kill SPDC", using the English acronym for the junta's State Peace and Development Council. But to Yo Ba killing doesn't mean the same as it does to people in the West. For him killing is a way of surviving. Yo Ba's attitude - a combination of nihilism and cheeriness - is common among the Karen fighting for survival inside Burma. In the week I spent with them around their 7th Brigade headquarters across the Moei River from Thailand, stories like his became familiar. One of the medics who nursed Yo Ba back from malaria described how she found her pregnant sister face down in the family rice paddy, her traditional Karen skirt - the longyi - partially removed, suggesting rape. A recent US State Department investigation has corroborated claims that Burmese military officials have systematically raped ethnic minority women. The medic's sister's body lay next to that of her brother-in-law, whose neck was almost severed from his torso, as were his arms. Yet the medic tells her story without emotion or anger. At 13, Yo Ba was the youngest child soldier I met, though there are stories of even younger warriors. Thirteen is also the age that the Karen's leader, General Bo Mya, took up arms. Now well into his seventies, he has been at war all his life. When Japan invaded colonial Burma, the ethnic Burmese sided with the Japanese while the Karen stayed loyal to the British. Then, in the aftermath of the Second World War the British, in search of the easiest solution, cut a deal with the Burmese, and left their erstwhile allies without a home, and without protection. It was during the Japanese occupation that a young Bo Mya, and a generation of Karen, learned their guerrilla art. Those skills have allowed his people to survive decades of persecution by various regimes in Rangoon in what may be the world's longest-running war, beating the conflict in the Middle East and Kashmir by a few years. Indeed, the shooting stops only when rain starts to fall, as it does for three months starting in late June. Perhaps it is the noncombatant civilians who are the hardest hit as, according to Karen refugees, their land remains undeveloped. More than 100,000 of these refugees live in camps in Thailand. For more than 50 years the conflict has continued in varying degrees of intensity. Like the jungle itself, it is a constant struggle between genesis and decay. By some estimates, annual casualties are similar to America's losses in the early stages of the Vietnam War - in the low thousands. High, but not high enough for UN intervention. Some have called this "Burma's forgotten war", but that implies that the war was once remembered. If the Karen are known for anything today, it is for their child soldiers. Four years ago, Johnny and Luther Htoo, leaders of God's Army, an offshoot of the KNU, made spectacular advances into territory that the SPDC was clearing of ethnic minorities. The twins made gripping headlines and sensational photos: the angelic Johnny juxtaposed against the cynical Luther. Their pictures and the story of their people's plight spread around the world. For a moment, the international community showed some interest in the Karen. Then the twins fell out of international favour three years ago when God's Army laid siege to a Thai hospital, demanding that their wounded be treated. A year later, Johnny and Luther surrendered to the Thai authorities. The Htoo twins were nothing more than a sideshow to the ongoing conflict in Burma, say KNU regulars. They were more interested in tempting fate by dancing on landmines and exploring the superstitions of their religion - a conflation of animism and Christianity - than in fighting for Karen autonomy. Today, the twins live in relative obscurity under house arrest in Thailand. It is a grim irony of this war that the Karen's opposition has even more of a reputation for enlisting child soldiers. Defectors from the SPDC tell how Burmese youngsters are routinely kidnapped in Rangoon, forced into the army and then plied with yaa-baa (amphetamines) to fortify their courage. Along with unwilling porters (many of whom are "released" from Rangoon's crowded jails) the child soldiers are used as sappers and ordered to lead a pack of men through unmapped minefields. Stories about drug-addled child soldiers, like other reports of the SPDC's outrages, regularly seep across the Thai border, but rarely make it much further. A recent Amnesty International report was an exception, concluding that "the situation for civilians in the east of Myanmar is cause for grave concern. The Government needs to show it is serious about human rights improvements throughout the country by taking urgent steps to protect civilians from forced labour, extortion and land confiscation at the hands of its armed forces". Official spokesmen in Rangoon dismissed the Amnesty report, suggesting - in a brash attempt to borrow the anti-terrorism language of the White House - that it "emanated from armed ethnic terrorist groups". Either way, no one seemed to notice and Burma looks as if it will be a casualty of neglect in the world order. That leaves its fate in the hands of the armed insurgencies along the border and the non-violent movements in Rangoon. Aung San Suu Kyi, the head of the National League for Democracy and 1991 Noble Laureate, and Bo Mya have spent their lives fighting for self-determination in Burma. And yet they have never met. They probably never will. When asked if he has ever spoken to her, Bo Mya shakes his head dismissively. "She doesn't dare contact our armed groups," he explains. Bo Mya doesn't seem keen on breaking the ice. That's because the Karen never trusted Suu Kyi's father, a prominent independence leader (and ethnic Burmese) who was assassinated in 1947. Shortly after Suu Kyi was released from her latest house arrest - this one lasting 20 months - the junta persuaded the Thai authorities to exile Bo Mya from his headquarters in Thailand, the first official exile of his 50 years of guerrilla insurgency. As he snaked back into a KNU stronghold inside Burma, Suu Kyi became relatively free. Suu Kyi has spent much of the past decade under house arrest and is no stranger to seclusion. Educated at Oxford, she follows in the non-violent tradition of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. For many Burmese, she is the only bright spot in Burma's bleak future. By contrast Bo Mya's classroom was the jungle: ceasefire is not in his vocabulary. Even in the monsoons of early August, the KNU holds training exercises, firing off M16s, mortars, and that staple of all Third-World wars, the rocket-propelled grenade. By any definition, it is a ragtag guerrilla army: barefoot or in flip-flops; short on supplies and long on morale. Bo Mya claims to have 10,000 troops (the number is probably half that, say independent sources) and insists that victory will come soon, even as he sits in front of a poster of Rambo and an old yellowed newspaper clipping from one of Thailand's English dailies that reads: "Against all odds the Karen continue their struggle." In many ways Burma's ethnic tribes are similar to Afghanistan's Northern Alliance. They control a fraction of the country's border regions, are outnumbered and outgunned and, save outside intervention, face imminent defeat. A perpetual stalemate is their best hope. Some groups are unsavoury (mostly because of their drug trade) and others - in particular, the Karen - aren't so bad. Many have known famine, war and drugs for generations. And just as the Tajik and Uzbek warlords of Afghanistan distrusted each other, as well as moderate Pashtuns from the south, the leadership of Burma's ethnic tribes are not inclined to trust each other, nor a moderate from Rangoon like Suu Kyi. Since assuming power in 1988, the junta has been efficient at exploiting these differences. In 1995, when a split in Karen leadership gave birth to Christian and Buddhist factions, the junta was quick to form an alliance with the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army. Now, these two groups of Karen are at war with each other, just as they once were united against the SPDC. Some ethnic leaders hope that these disparate groups will unite against Rangoon instead of each other. But they also admit that their best chance lies more with Suu Kyi's non-violent approach than with guerrilla insurgencies. That may be a matter of practical realisation. Having signed ceasefires with 24 ethnic armies, the junta can concentrate its 400,000-strong army - which has increased from 180,000 since 1988 - on the holdout groups, most notably the Karen and the Shan. Meanwhile, the junta is making a play for international support, with an eye towards lifting the sanctions, by releasing political prisoners like Suu Kyi, in addition to some 300 others. But an estimated 1,400 dissidents remain under lock and key. Bo Mya is now back in Thailand, planning operations for the dry season. He may not get the chance, as there are signs that the new Thai Government, eager for improved relations with Rangoon, is growing tired of hosting the Karen. Like Suu Kyi, Bo Mya may have to adjust to a life of seclusion - an exile in his own land. If that happens, his best hope for freedom may be Suu Kyi, a woman he doesn't trust. I ask Yo Ba if he thinks that peace will come to Burma. My translator, who up to this point has performed admirably, stumbles over "peace". I rephrase: "Will the fighting ever end?" Yo Ba smiles and shakes his head. He "hopes not". He still wants to shoot some SPDC. From editor@burmanet.org Mon Jan 6 19:53:02 2003 From: editor@burmanet.org (editor@burmanet.org) Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2003 14:53:02 -0500 (EST) Subject: BurmaNet News: January 6 2003 Message-ID: <41025.207.10.94.131.1041882782.squirrel@webmail.pair.com> January 6 2003 Issue #2150 INSIDE BURMA NCGUB News Unit: NLD clarifies stand, sets conditions Irrawaddy: Mon splinter group member return DVB: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s Independence Day message Xinhua: Dolphins face extinction in Myanmar Xinhua: Over 3 million employed in private sector in Myanmar REGIONAL Renmin Ribao: Myanmar head of state arrives in Beijing BBC: Burma junta leader visits China AFP: Bangladesh, Myanmar feeder service in the offing to boost trade Bangkok Post: UWSA drug production still a worry, says Prem Bangkok Post: Land snapped up on border STATEMENTS/EDITORIALS Asian Wall Street Journal: Thailand’s humanitarian reputation at risk Dictator Watch: A Thai Christmas present: NGO harassment and intimidation Boston Globe: Misplaced trust in Burma SWAN: Burmese military authorities threaten villagers before International Red Cross visit to Central Shan State INSIDE BURMA National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma January 6 2003 NLD clarifies stand, sets conditions The National League for Democracy (NLD) Central Committee released a statement on "Independence Day" -- 4 January 2003 -- enunciating its "policies and principles" which NLD says are "firm". The state-ment described as "an unequivocal statement of our position" by the NLD sets conditions for political talks with the generals in the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). The salient points in the statement: On Political Prisoners NLD wants "Unconditional and immediate release of all political prisoners" Election "NLD will not accept the holding of another election without the authorities first honoring the results of the 'fair and free' 1990 elections and abiding by successive annual resolutions of the UN General Assembly calling on the SPDC to honor the will of the people." National Convention "On the subject of a National Convention, we recall that on 18/10/1990 Secretary 1 of the then State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), now SPDC, made the following statement at the Magwe Division, Kyunchaung Fetilizer Plant opening ceremony: 'It is the responsibility of political parties and the successful candidates of the elections to convene a National Convention. SLORC will play an assisting role only' "Since nothing has changed about the National Convention and the undertaking as given above has not been fulfilled, the NLD will not be participating." State Constitution "On the subject of drawing up the state constitution, on the 3rd July, 1990, Chairman of the SLORC declared thus: 'It will be necessary to draw up a state constitution after the multiparty general elections. I have mentioned this in my speech on the 5th July, 1989. I have already said that the State Law and Restoration Council will not be writing that document. I cannot allow myself to be the accused in this matter. The drawing up of a state constitution is the responsibility of the elected party to work in consultation with the successful candidates...' "The National League for Democracy will not accept any provisions in a constitution which is written by this National Convention." Investments, Humanitarian Assistance "The limited investments by international organizations (including financial institutions) are the result of the uncongenial political climate and impact negatively only a section of the community. Humanitarian aid and assistance by foreign countries and governments (for example, control and management of AIDS) must be bona fide and open. We firmly adhere to the principle that humanitarian assistance should be transparent, accountable and independently monitored." Tourism "We definitely specify that the time is not ripe for promoting tourism." CRPP "We are firmly committed to the Committee Representing the People’s Parliament." The NLD says "The above policies and principles remain firm and we will continue to adhere to them. This is an unequivocal statement of our position." __________ Irrawaddy January 3 2003 Mon Splinter Group Members Return By Naw Seng January 03, 2003—More and more members of the Mon splinter group Honsawatoi Restoration Party (HRP) are returning to the New Mon State Party (NMSP), the organization they originally broke away from, an officer of the NMSP said. In the past two months, more than 100 members of the HRP, including some family members, re-joined to the NMSP. However, there are still around 20 member who remain committed and some, including leader Naing Pan Nyunt, have extensive arms and control of jungle areas in Burma’s Mon State, the NMSP officer estimated. "We [the NMSP] are welcoming those who want to return," said the NMSP officer. In a statement issued after the first members broke away in November 2001, the NMSP declared that HRP members could return until the end of 2002. But the NMSP has yet to decide whether it will continue to welcome HRP members in the future. The HRP, with so many of its members abandoning the group once the condition lapsed, was unable to comment. A small number of HRP members decided to return to the NMSP in Mon State after Thai authorities last month closed their office in Sangklaburi, north west of Bangkok in Kanchanaburi Province. Sources in Sangklaburi said the HRP would collapse if members continued to return to the NMSP. Clashes between the two Mon groups heightened last October when four members of the NMSP—including central executive committee member Naing Min Htut—were shot in an attack by the HRP’s military wing, the Monland Restoration Army in Mon State. In another incident in early November, a member of the HRP was injured by an unknown shooter while Pan Nyunt was nearby. Pan Nyunt was once a colonel of Mon National Liberation Army, the military wing of NMSP, but led the breakaway and established the HRP in November 2001. The NSMP entered a ceasefire with Burma’s military junta on the June 29, 1995. __________ Democratic Voice of Burma January 4 2003 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's Independence Day message What I would like to say to the Burmese people is that you must protect the spirit of Independence. You must protect a valuable asset. If the things you possess are really valuable no one would throw them on the road. In a similar fashion, Independence is not a thing to be thrown on the road. Our Independence will continue to flourish only if you embrace, nurture, and protect it. That's the message I want to give on Independence Day. Another thing is I would like to thank especially the youth of Burma. When I went on the tours I found out that the youth warmly welcomed and supported me. When I saw the youth I was very encouraged and hopeful for the future of the country. That is why I would like to thank the youth and urged them to continue their efforts. As an Independence Day gift I would like to ask for blessings upon the youth so that they may be able to contribute more for the benefit of the country. ________ Xinhua News Agency January 6 2003 Dolphins face extinction in Myanmar Dolphins are facing extinction in Myanmar, according to the result of a survey published in local weekly Myanmar Times Monday. The survey, led by New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in November-December last year, found the number of dolphins in the country's Ayeyarwaddy river has declined to only 37 existing between Bhamo and Mingun on the river from the estimated 59 on the same stretch of the river in 1998. "The population of the dolphins is isolated to a limited area," a zoologist of the WCS said, adding that the survey indicated the mammals were at risk of becoming an endangered species in Myanmar. The zoologist attributed the danger of extinction to gillneting, using electrical charges to catch fish and the run-off mercury from gold mines along the river. According to the report, the survey was funded by the WCS and the British-based Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. The survey team included scientists from the WCS, the Department of Fisheries of Myanmar and the Forestry and Zoological Department at Yangon University. ________ Xinhua News Agency January 6 2003 Over 3 million employed in private sector in Myanmar There were 3.1 million people working in the private sector in Myanmar in 2002, up from about 2. 6 million in 2000, according to the latest figures of the Department of Labor. Over 200,000 job opportunities were created in the private sector in 2002, of which 4,000 were in the joint-ventures, the figures show. According to the department, the government had helped find work for about 15 percent of registered job seekers during the year. Official statistics show that the total number of employees in Myanmar has increased by 7 million in the past 14 years since 1988, reaching 25 million now, who are mostly engaged in the industrial development in state, cooperative and private sectors. REGIONAL Renmin Ribao January 6 2003 Myanmar Head of State Arrives in Beijing Shwe, chairman of Myanmar's State Peace and Development Council, arrived in Beijing Monday fora six-day state visit to China at the invitation of Chinese President Jiang Zemin. Than Shwe stopped over in Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province in southwest China, before arriving in Beijing. This is his second visit to China since he became chairman of the State Peace and Development Council. Than Shwe will hold talks with Jiang Zemin and meet with other Chinese leaders Hu Jintao, Li Peng and Zhu Rongji. He will also visit the southwestern city of Chengdu ________ British Broadcasting System January 6 2003 Burma junta leader visits China Burma is grateful for 14 years of Chinese support Burma's junta leader Senior General Than Shwe has arrived in China for a six day visit to Burma's most important economic and military ally. He is expected to hold talks with President Jiang Zemin and with the president's expected successor Hu Jintao, who took over as Communist Party leader in November. Beijing has been one of Rangoon's closest allies since 1988 when the army seized power in a bloody coup. Burma is shunned by the West over its human rights record and the junta's failure to hand power to the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy overwhelmingly won 1990 elections. The BBC's Larry Jagan says the fact that Than Shwe is making this rare trip abroad emphasises the importance Rangoon places on the relationship with Rangoon. Burma has relied heavily on China for economic support and weapons. China is officially Burma's third most important trading partner after Singapore and Thailand - though the figure probably underestimates informal trade across their shared border. China also remains Burma's most important defence ally, supplying most of its military hardware and training. Reform urged Analysts say China has boosted its influence in Burma, also known as Myanmar, since it offers a potential path to the Indian Ocean. It is also thought to be keen to offset India's growing links with Burma. China has stood steadfastly behind Burma, though in the past year senior Chinese Government officials have been urging reform. They have told the Burmese that they must introduce political and economic reforms or face the increasing possibility of social unrest. Our correspondent says China's leaders are likely to reiterate that message during Than Shwe's visit. The Burmese leader is accompanied by his wife and a 63-member delegation that includes military intelligence chief General Khin Nyunt, officials said. China's official Xinhua news agency said Than Shwe was to hold talks with Mr Jiang, Mr Hu and Premier Zhu Rongji before visiting the south-western city of Chengdu. _________ Agence France-Presse January 6 2003 Bangladesh, Myanmar feeder service in the offing to boost trade A feeder shipping service between Bangladesh and neighbouring Myanmar is in the offing to boost bilateral trade, official sources said Monday. The sources in Chittagong Port and Mercantile Marine Department said the government had already asked a private shipping company to start operating its feeder container vessels on the Chittagong-Myanmar route as soon as possible to increase bilateral trade. "A high-level meeting to this effect was held recently on this issue and if the service starts on this route, the trade gap between the two countries will come down to a great extent," one port official said. Imports from Myanmar include timber, maize, rice and fish, while exports include fertiliser, cement and medicines, but there are no official estimates bilateral trade, which is said to be very small. Smuggling also takes place across the border. The official said the step was a follow up to the landmark visit by Myanmar Senior General Than Shwe in December when the countries pledged to boost bilateral ties to overcome economic challenges facing them both. "The Myanmar government has also agreed to place a container vessel on the route," he said. Shipping sources said due to a lack of vessels, the state-owned Bangladesh Shipping Corporation was unable to provide the service immediately, so the government opted for the private HRC Shipping Lines, which is already operating feeder vessels between Chittagong and Sri Lanka as well as Malaysia. Than Shwe was the first leader of Myanmar's junta to visit Bangladesh. The last leader to come was the then Burmese president Yu San Wu in 1986. Myanmar, formerly Burma, was among the first countries to recognise Bangladesh after it won independence from Pakistan in 1971. But relations were strained in the early 1990s when around 250,000 Rohingya Muslims flooded into Bangladesh from Myanmar, claiming atrocities by the junta. Ties have improved since then, with the repatriation of most of the refugees under a United Nations agreement, but more than 20,000 still live in camps in Bangladesh. ________ Bangkok Post January 6 2003 UWSA drug production still a worry, says Prem By Wassana Nanuam Privy Council chairman Gen Prem Tinsulanonda has expressed concern that the United Wa State Army (UWSA) shows no sign of curtailing drug production just across the border in Burma. The Burmese minority group, which is allied with Rangoon, is held responsible for most of the methamphetamines and heroin smuggled into Thailand. Gen Udomchai Ongkasingha, the Third Army commander, said after a meeting with the statesman at his Si Sao Theves residence that Gen Prem was worried the end of drug production was nowhere in sight. Gen Udomchai told Gen Prem the UWSA continued to make and supply drugs. They smuggled them across the border and there were frequent clashes with Thai patrols. The UWSA has said it would permanently end all drug production by 2005. Gen Udomchai said he believed Rangoon was sincere in its promise of cooperation in drug suppression. Gen Udomchai said he had briefed Gen Prem on the joint Regional Border Committee meeting in Moulmein on Dec 26-28. At the meeting, the Narcotics Control Board agreed to inform Burmese authorities of the location of drug factories so Rangoon could close them down. Gen Udomchai said the army had no plans for another full-scale military exercise similar to Surasee 143 held last year near the Burmese border. Rangoon had felt threatened by the exercise. In future, the two governments would advise each other in advance of any military training close to the border. Gen Udomchai said Gen Prem thought the army should feel free to hold military exercises provided they did not affect neighbouring countries. Earlier, Gen Prem had advised Defence Minister Gen Thamarak Isarangkura na Ayudhaya, Supreme Commander Gen Surayud Chulanont and the armed forces leaders to put their minds and efforts into drug suppression. He also told them to clearly identify the enemy'' in the war against drugs. Gen Udomchai said Rangoon would be officially informed about Her Majesty the Queen's coming visit to border villages in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son next week. The Queen would stay at Puping Ratchanives Palace in Chiang Mai. The army would ensure ample security to a prevent a recurrence of incidents like last year when shells from fighting between Burmese and rebel minority troops landed close to a village the Queen was due to visit. Gen Udomchai said Burmese army chief Gen Maung Aye had informed him of intelligence reports that Col Yawd Serk, leader of the Shan State Army, was engaged in the drug trade. It was possible, he said. The SSA needed money to finance its fight with Rangoon. The army recently clashed with drug smugglers, many of whom carried SSA identity cards. _______ Bangkok Post January 6 2003 Land snapped up on border The reopening of a border checkpoint opposite a village in Mae Hong Son province has led to land speculation in Burmese border areas. Many land plots in Hua Muang town, a former stronghold of former drug kingpin Khun Sa, had been bought by Chinese Haw and Ko Kang ethnic businessmen, said a border source. Land prices soared following the agreement by Thailand and Burma to reopen the border checkpoint at Huay Phung village in Mae Hong Son, opposite Hua Muang town. Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh will preside over the reopening of the checkpoint on Jan 10. The source said a group of Thai businessmen also planned a casino in Hua Muang town. Chao Maha Ja, the town ruler, said he had asked a construction firm to speed up repair of roads in his town before the opening ceremony. STATEMENTS/EDITORIALS Shan Women’s Action Network January 6 2003 Burmese military authorities threaten villagers before International Red Cross visit to Central Shan State Press Release by the Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN) Before the visit of an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) team to Laikha town in Central Shan State on December 9th, 2002, village elders were threatened by the military authorities, according to reports from Shan refugees who have recently arrived at the border. The ten-member ICRC team were conducting a ten-day assessment visit to Central Shan State, from 2-12 December, travelling by road east from Taunggyi to Loilem, Namzarng, Murng Nai and Laikha. Two days prior to the visit to Laikha, police and military authorities ordered some of the local teachers, headmen and ex-government officials to come to the Laikha police station, and commanded them to form a civilian "committee" which would liaise with the ICRC. They were ordered to accompany the ICRC team and note down all questions asked, and threatened to be "careful" when answering any questions. The ICRC has only recently been allowed by the regime into this area of Central Shan State, where over 300,000 villagers have been forcibly relocated by the military regime since 1996, and where the majority of the 173 rape incidents documented in the June 2002 report "Licence to Rape" by SWAN and the Shan Human Rights Foundation were committed. The military regime has repeatedly rejected the findings of the report, citing the presence of international agencies, including the ICRC, in Shan State as evidence that the rapes could not have taken place. On December 26, 2002, it again denied it had been using rape as a weapon of war, in response to a US State Department report repeating the allegations. "It is very clear that the military regime wants to use the presence of ICRC in Shan State to help deny the charges that they are licencing rape of ethnic women," said Mo Lao of the Shan Women's Action Network. "But if they really have nothing to hide, why are they asking villagers to be "careful" when answering questions?" ________ Asian Wall Street Journal January 6 2003 Thailand's humanitarian reputation at risk By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK - Thailand's much regarded open-door policy of offering refuge to people fleeing persecution from nearby conflicts may be on its last legs. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and human-rights activists are troubled by signs that the humanitarian policies for which Thailand has long been regarded may soon change in the wake of ominous signs emerging from the country's national-security establishment. On Friday, Forum-Asia, a Bangkok-based regional rights watchdog, added its voice to those of rights groups who have been objecting to plans by the Thai military establishment to clamp down on refugees from conflict-ridden Myanmar who seek sanctuary in this country. On December 29, General Winai Phattiyakhul, the newly appointed secretary general of the powerful National Security Council, said: "From now on, Thailand [will] force refugees to go back to where they came from. Thailand [will] not welcome refugees from Burma and other neighboring countries anymore." His words came in the wake of the military telling 64 members of the Karen ethnic community on December 24 that they had three days to leave Thailand and head back to neighboring Myanmar (formerly Burma). As far as military officials were concerned the Karen, who were subsequently arrested during a roundup, belonged to a rebel movement waging a separatist war with Myanmar's military junta. They were "members of the anti-Yangon Karen National Union", an army spokesman said. Forum-Asia disagrees, declaring in a statement on Friday that the 65 Karen were "unarmed civilians". The affected communities have appealed to the Human Rights Commission and rights groups to come to their aid, since the Thai army had been warning the Karens that "they would be pushed across the border" to Myanmar, Forum-Asia stated. "I don't agree with these steps," said Jaran Ditapichai, a member of the Thai Human Rights Commission. "We have appealed to the army not to send people back." But these words have done little to stop the chill spreading among the many refugees and political activists from Myanmar who fled persecution in their. "There is a sense of fear and insecurity that the people are feeling due to what is going on," said Masao Imamura, an analyst based in Thailand's northern city of Chiang Mai for EarthRights International, an environmentalist and rights lobby. Signs of this "climate of pressure" have become increasingly evident during the past year, admits Aung Zaw, editor of The Irrawaddy, a Thailand-based English-language magazine that focuses on Myanmese and other Southeast Asian issues. "There are a lot of dissidents, some having been here for 10 years, who have had to live carefully, playing hide-and-seek, due to signs coming from the Thai government that made them feel uneasy," he added. Last year, for instance, the Thai government announced it was hoping to close at least 10 camps along the Thailand-Myanmar border where refugees from the Karen and Kareni ethnic groups live. That came on top of Thai authorities' crackdown on a rights group working for another ethnic-minority group from Myanmar, the Shan. Commentators attribute this trend to a move by the government of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to develop closer bonds with Yangon. The Thaksin administration's policy of strengthening ties with Thailand's northern neighbor is a marked contrast to that of the previous government, which kept Yangon at some distance because of its notorious rights record. Critics say that Myanmese authorities can handle the flow of economic migrants crossing into Thailand, but they see red at the increasing number of those fleeing due to political reasons. "So the planned crackdown helps [Yanong]," said an international aid worker. Currently, there are well over 100,000 people who have sought refuge in Thailand for political reasons, many of them living in camps in four provinces in western and northern Thailand. Others, particularly Myanmese dissidents in exile, live in towns. This number, however, is far less than the number of migrants from Myanmar - estimated at a million - and from Thailand's other poorer neighbors, Laos and Cambodia, who have slipped into this country in search of jobs. Bangkok, in fact, has been trying to control this flow of illegal migration. In 2001, it succeeded in getting some 560,000 Myanmese workers to register with authorities to address this economic migration. Most of the illegal workers are employed in the agriculture sector and in some factories, where they accept lower pay than locals. Indrika Ratwatte of the UNHCR said the Thai government should not act in a manner that will squander its reputation as a country with an impressive humanitarian record. "When it comes to refugees, Thailand has exemplary achievements since the 1970s, unlike other more developed countries in the region who closed their doors on refugees fleeing the Indochina war." Since 1975, Thailand, although not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, has opened its doors to more than 1.5 million people fleeing conflicts from neighboring countries such as Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar. "The vast majority of Burmese refugees want to go back home, as was the case with those who came here during the Indochina war," Ratwatte asserted. "But they want to go back when the conditions are right, when they can return and live in safety and with dignity." Life in Myanmar, however, does not measure up to safe conditions, given the iron grip Yangon's ruling military junta has on the society and the war the military is waging on some of the country's ethnic minorities. The Thai authorities should think again before calling for Myanmese refugees to be repatriated, argues Jaran, the Thai human-rights commissioner. "The conditions in Burma are not safe for people to be pushed back." _________ Dictator Watch January 3 2003 A THAI CHRISTMAS PRESENT: NGO HARASSMENT AND INTIMIDATION Contact: Roland Watson, roland@dictatorwatch.org, please see associated photos at www.dictatorwatch.org/phmain On December 28th, a humanitarian team from the Karen Action Group finished a tour of three refugee camps on the Thai/Burma border south of Mae Sot. They were hoping to spread a little Christmas cheer. The party consisted of some thirty-five people, from England, Australia and Thailand, including fourteen children. The children brought toys, purchased with money they themselves had raised, to give to the children in the camps. The goal was a child-to-child exchange, and cultural interaction, to foster goodwill and peace towards all. Following their stay at the last refugee camp, No Po, near the town of Umphang, the Christmas cheer came to an end. As they were leaving the camp the party was stopped by the Thai military and then detained. They were forced to drive one and a half hours to an army base and then held for an additional three and a half hours. During this time they were not given food or water D the children were very hungry D and they were restricted from going to the toilet. The Thai soldiers kept them under armed guard, even pointed their guns at the children D the youngest was two years old D and treated them like criminals. The party was detained by soldiers under the command of Capt. Pahphom, acting on direct orders from Colonel Chirasak of Mae Sot HQ. The Thai army was responding to a complaint from the Burmese dictators. This is the extent to which the Thai government has yielded Thai sovereignty to Burma. Apparently, children with Christmas presents constitute a security threat to the generals in Rangoon. The party was finally released after the adults explained that the Karen are not enemies of Thailand (many Karen are Thai), and that they actually assist the nation in many ways including to preserve forests and to stem the flow of narcotics. This incident is the latest example of Prime Minister ThaksinOs policy to appease Rangoon in exchange for economic gain. The border crackdown against humanitarian groups thus far has included detainments and deportations in Sangkhlaburi, Mae Sot and Mae Hong Song. One wonders D fears D what will happen next. The incident also highlights the suffering of the refugees, although this label does not properly describe their situation. They cannot leave their camps, or receive visitors other than from a very few government-approved organizations. Even prison inmates in Thailand can receive visitors. Their condition more accurately comprises that of a concentration camp. These camps are not remote. Simply fly to Thailand, as many tourists do, and then instead of heading south for the islands travel west and north to the border. There you will find a string of camps, one after another, for hundreds of kilometers, with a total inmate population now approaching 150,000. These camps should be completely open, so the entire world can see the suffering they contain, and so any providers of assistance, including tourists, may help. They should not be guarded by soldiers and hidden from sight, so the world is ignorant of the refugeesO plight, so business between Bangkok and Rangoon may proceed without distraction. __________ Boston Globe January 6 2003 Misplaced trust in Burma THERE HAVE been disturbing signs recently of a penchant in the State Department to whitewash the brutal military junta that rules Burma. Last month the US charge d'affaires in Rangoon told a newspaper controlled by the junta that the regime ''has done a good job on counter narcotics.'' The diplomat, Carmen Martinez, even said: ''We can understand how it is difficult to have a democracy in a multiracial and multireligious society.'' This was one of several hints that some officials in the Bush administration may have been maneuvering to change Burma's designation as a major producer of narcotics. This is a priority for the junta and the lobbying firm it has hired to alter its deserved reputation for cruelty and criminality. The next step would be to end US sanctions against new investment in Burma. These sanctions are meant to last as long as the regime refuses to engage in genuine political dialogue with the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy won 392 of 485 seats in Parliament in a 1990 election that the junta has refused to honor. The junta has not stopped protecting drug lords and their money laundering operations. In recent years there has also been an explosion in methamphetamines, which are produced under the junta's jurisdiction and exported to neighboring Thailand with calamitous consequences. Within Burma, a combination of drug use, poverty, and scanty health care has fostered a rapid rise in rates of HIV and AIDS. For Burma's neighbors, the catastrophe wrought by the junta has become a multiform regional threat. The dictatorship's suppression of a legitimately elected government has led, step by step, to a flood of deadly exports: drugs, AIDS, and cross-border violence. One of the junta's most horrific crimes has been its army's systematic and widespread raping of women and girls from ethnic minorities such as the Shan and the Karen. To its credit, the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor sent an investigator to the Thai-Burma border in August to evaluate reports by local human rights groups of hundreds of Shan women and girls being brutally raped, most often by officers. A State Department report confirming the earlier reports was declassified last month. Congress should hold hearings on the junta's human rights abuses and focus on the use of rape to terrorize civilians. With the United States about to regain its seat on the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, President Bush should ask for a UN inquiry into all the junta's human rights violations. And to help bring about a democratic regime change in Burma, all imports from that country should be banned, at least until the junta engages in a dialogue with Suu Kyi that can lead to the revival of democratic government.