From editor@burmanet.org Tue Jan 14 18:26:32 2003 From: editor@burmanet.org (editor@burmanet.org) Date: Tue, 14 Jan 2003 13:26:32 -0500 (EST) Subject: BurmaNet News: January 14 2003 Message-ID: <12688.207.10.94.131.1042568792.squirrel@webmail.pair.com> January 14 2003 Issue #2156 INSIDE BURMA DVB: Burmese authorities refuse to recognize United Nationalities Alliance AFP: Human rights abuses persist in Myanmar: Human Rights Watch Xinhua: Myanmar makes achievements in leprosy eradication ON THE BORDER Irrawaddy: Rapprochement continues REGIONAL AP: Chinese vice premier Li visits Myanmar Xinhua: Sino-Myanmar friendship to develop faster Xinhua: 74 anti-government armed members surrender in Myanmar The Guardian: Naga rebels declare end of war with India AFP: SE Asian officials in Manila to boost cooperation against terror REPORTS HRW: World report 2003 (excerpt) INSIDE BURMA Democratic Voice of Burma January 13 2003 Burmese authorities refuse to recognize United Nationalities Alliance The SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) has refused to officially recognize the United Nationalities Alliance (UNA) that was formed with eight national race political parties that won seats at the elections held in 1990 (except Karen National Congress for Democracy). A political source from Rangoon told DVB that the announcement came after the military intelligence summoned some UNA leaders and warned them about it on 6 January. Although the SPDC has been saying all along that they could not recognize the UNA, this is the first time they had officially summoned the UNA and issued a warning. The eight national race political parties in the UNA are Arakan League for Democracy, ALD; Chin National League for Democracy, CNLD; Kachin State National Congress for Democracy, KNCD; Karen National Congress for Democracy, KNC; Kayah State all Nationalities League for Democracy, KNLD; Mon National Democratic Front, MNDF; Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, SNLD; and Zomi National Congress, ZNC. It is not clear how the SPDC's warning will affect the activities of the national races, but the same political source from Rangoon pointed out to DVB that the warning to the national races coming amid the obstructions on National League for Democracy activities agitated by the Kyant Phut (derogatory vernacular abbreviation for the pro-Rangoon Union Solidarity and Development Association) members could not be considered as sheer coincidence. Although both sides have not officially issued a statement on the military intelligence warning so far, Rangoon-based political observers seem to have increasing fear over the SPDC's new method of suppression. ________ Agence France-Presse January 14 2003 Human rights abuses persist in Myanmar: Human Rights Watch Myanmar's population faced ongoing civil and political rights abuses over 2002, with ethnic minorities in particular suffering atrocities, Human Rights Watch said in its annual report released Tuesday. Hopes for an improvement in the human rights situation which were raised following the release from house arrest of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in May failed to be realised, the New York-based watchdog said. "By late 2002, talks between Suu Kyi and the government had ground to a halt and systemic restrictions on basic civil and political liberties continued unabated," the group said in its report for 2003. UN-brokered talks between the junta and Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party aimed at national reconciliation began in October 2000, but are yet to progress to a political dialogue. The report noted that although the junta released more than 300 political prisoners following Aung San Suu Kyi's release, a call from the UN for a general amnesty for all political prisoners was ignored and political dissidents continued to be arrested. Human rights problems facing the population included forced labour, forced relocations, censorship, the use of child soldiers, violations of religious freedom and atrocities committed against ethnic minorities, the report found. "Children as young as seven were used as forced labour in many parts of the country to carry army supplies or work on construction sites," it said, adding that thousands of boys as young as 11 had been forced into the army. The most extreme violations were reported against the country's ethnic minority groups, particularly in Karen and Shan states. The junta also launched a broad crackdown on Rohingya Muslims following international press reports alleging ties between them and al-Qaeda, the report said. Thailand's relationship with Myanmar also came under criticism. "At times, Thailand, the main destination for minorities, political dissidents, rural people, and women and children fleeing violence in Burma, appeared to respond to Burma with efforts aimed at appeasing the military junta," the report said. In a particularly gruesome case illustrating the problem of illegal workers, the bodies of 20 ethnic Karen villagers were found in the river dividing the two countries. "Investigators later concluded that the Karens were being smuggled in by a Thai couple, who discovered en route that the labourers had suffocated and simply dumped their bodies in the river," it said. __________ Xinhua News Agency January 14 2003 Myanmar makes achievements in leprosy eradication Myanmar has made achievements in eradicating leprosy with its prevalence rate dropping to 1.2 in every 10,000 people at the end of 2002, thus approaching the target of one in every 10,000 set by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the country's leprosy elimination project sources, it was a further drop of the rate following the declination from 5. 93 for every 10,000 people in 1987 to 2.5 in 1998 and 2.2 in 2000. The sources attributed the achievements partly to the financial support extended by international donors and partners to the National Leprosy Elimination Program of Myanmar. Among these donors and international non-governmental organizations are WHO, UN Children's Fund, the Netherlands Leprosy Relief, World Vision International, Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation and the Japan International Relief Agency. Myanmar is among the 11 countries in the world where leprosy is still highly endemic. ON THE BORDER Irrawaddy January 14 2003 Rapprochement Continues By Aung Su Shin Bangkok appears poised to continue satisfying the demands of Burma’s military government. Thai immigration officials yesterday repatriated the second batch of Burmese migrant workers in less than a month to Burmese authorities in Myawaddy, Burma. Thai authorities said the move is in response to an agreement they have with the Burmese regime and that they would be increasing border patrols in areas that serve as conduits for Burmese migrants seeking employment in Thailand. The 15 migrants handed over to Burmese officials yesterday were part of a group of 58 arrested in a May raid in Bangkok. Thirty-nine members of the group were sent back December 18 and four others will remain in detention in Bangkok until Burmese authorities can locate their addresses in Burma, according to Thai officials. "According to the agreement between Thailand and Burma, the names and addresses of the detained were sent to Burma via the Burmese embassy in Bangkok," said immigration official Maj Chamnong Genafe. He said repatriation could only take place once the addresses were located. Col Watchara Sanwaurayothin, a Thai immigration official, said the workers might be interrogated upon return and told not to come back to Thailand illegally. Burmese law, however, states that those found entering neighboring countries illegally could be sentenced from 6 months to 5 years in prison. Sources said the status of the 39 individuals repatriated in December is unknown. Concerning the stepped up patrol of the border, Col.Watchara Sanwaurayothin said: "We have spread out our officials on the highway and jungle paths. We have also set up many check points and we are going to severely suppress traffickers." Mae Sot immigration officials say more than 8,000 Burmese migrant workers have been deported since the Thai-Burma border reopened in October, but that thousands more had since come illegally to Thailand looking for work. "If there are job opportunities in Burma, we will not leave our native land," says U Maung Maung, 50, and father of six. "But we have to come here for the food and school expenses of our children." Other recent arrives said due to inflationary pressures they had no choice but to come to Thailand. "The price of airplane and bus tickets have gone up three times since January first, and all the edible and household goods have also gone up," says Ma Kyi, 40, and mother of four, while choking back tears. "So I have to come here. I have never dreamed to come to Thailand. I have never thought to leave my family. My husband’s income is not enough to feed the whole family." U Aung Htoo, secretary of the Burma Lawyers Council, says the junta must arrange for Burmese to work abroad if they are to overcome the country’s unemployment crisis. "People in Burma have no jobs and are facing unemployment," says U Aung Htoo. "If the Burmese junta compromises with neighboring countries to legally employ, and issue the legal documents for those workers, it would be beneficial for the Burmese people." The number of Burmese migrant workers in Thailand is estimated to be between one and two million. More than 500,000 of them have work permits. REGIONAL Associated Press January 14 2003 Chinese Vice Premier Li visits Myanmar Chinese Vice Premier Li Lanqing and a 75-member entourage arrived in Myanmar Tuesday for a three-day goodwill visit, officials said, just days after a high-level Myanmar delegation visited China. China is Myanmar's northern neighbor and its closest international ally. The West shuns Myanmar's military regime because of its poor human rights record and failure to hand over power to a democratically elected government. Li arrived three days after the leader of Myanmar's ruling junta, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, returned from a six-day visit to China. During Than Shwe's visit, China agreed to grant Myanmar 50 million Chinese Yuan (US$6 million) for technological cooperation between two countries, and a preferential loan of US$200 million for economic development. Myanmar's economy is stagnant, and its treasury is believed to lack substantial foreign reserves. During his trip to China Than Shwe held talks with top leaders including President Jiang Zemin, Vice President Hu Jintao and chief legislator Li Peng. He signed agreements on economic and technological cooperation, and on cooperation in health and sports. Li's planned activities while in Myanmar were not announced. He arrived from Malaysia, and is on a tour will also take him to India, South Africa and Thailand. His delegation included China's ministers of education and technology, along with six vice ministers. _________ Xinhua News Agency January 14 2003 Sino-Myanmar friendship to develop faster By Duan Tingchang By Duan Tingchang China and Myanmar are close neighbors, linked by mountains and rivers, with a common border of over 2,000 kilometers enjoying a long-standing friendship. The earliest exchange between them dates back to the 4th century BC. Since ancient times, the Myanmar people have called the Chinese "paukphaw" --"full brothers." The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1950. For half a century since then, their cooperation in politics, economy, culture, education has been developing continuously, based on the five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence jointly advocated by both sides despite the great changes that have taken place in the international situation. Both China and Myanmar belong to the developing nations, sharing an extensive common view on many major issues. In international affairs, they support each other and coordinate closely, becoming trustful cooperative partners. China has always respected Myanmar's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity while Myanmar has stuck to the "One China" policy, supporting China's reunification cause. There have been frequent exchange of visits between their leaders. The late Premier of China Zhou Enlai made nine visits to Myanmar, while the late former Myanmar leader U Ne Win went to China on 12 occasions. During the past few years, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Vice-President Hu Jintao, and other Chinese leaders visited Myanmar. On their part, leaders of Myanmar including SPDC Chairman and Prime Minister Senior General Than Shwe, SPDC Vice-Chairman Vice-Senior General Maung Aye and others toured China several times. Sino-Myanmar bilateral economic and technical cooperation has also made rich achievements. They have successively signed a number of agreements on economic cooperation, according to which, China has extended to Myanmar a great deal of assistance in projects of agriculture, industry, transport, electric power, education, health and human resources development. Meanwhile, the two countries have also launched various forms of technical cooperation, based on the principles of equity, mutual benefit and mutual supplement of superiorities. Chinese companies have initiated a large number of projects in Myanmar, setting up factories in the form of whole investment or joint ventures, covering as many sectors as oil and gas exploitation and processing of forest and marine products. China-Myanmar bilateral trade stands an important position in their foreign trade. During the past eight years, bilateral trade including border trade reached over 600 million US dollars annually, accounting for 12 percent of Myanmar's total foreign trade. Further development of China-Myanmar friendly and cooperative ties not only conforms to the fundamental benefit of the two countries but is also beneficial to peace, stability and development of the region. Vice-Premier of the State Council of China Li Lanqing will pay a four-day goodwill visit to Myanmar from Tuesday at the invitation of First Secretary of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) General Khin Nyunt. His visit will be another important tour to the country made by the Chinese leadership, bound to further the development of the bilateral ties. ________ Xinhua News Agency January 14 2003 74 anti-govt armed members surrender in Myanmar Seventy-four members of the Kayinni National Progressive Party (KNPP), an anti-government ethnic armed group operating in eastern Myanmar's Kayah state, laid down their arms to the government last week, according to a report of the Myanmar Defense Ministry on Tuesday. These members, who "exchanged arms for peace" with the government on Jan. 9 in the regional command control area of Loikaw of the state, brought along with them 22 assorted weapon and 314 rounds of ammunition, the report said. The KNPP, with its main force numbering 7,750, returned to the legal fold in March 1995. Official statistics show that up to now, 17 anti-government armed groups have reached cease-fire agreements with the government since 1989. However, it is reported that there are still over 10 such groups in operation in the country including the Kayin National Union, the Chin National Army, Shan United Revolutionary Army, Arakan Liberation Party and Lahu Democratic Front. ______ The Guardian (London) January 14 2003 Naga rebels declare end of war with India By Luke Harding and Yoga Rangatia There was muted optimism in Delhi last night at the progress of negotiations designed to end one of the longest-running separatist insurgencies in Asia. For more than half a century, the Nagas who live in north-east India and Burma have been waging their own struggle for an independent state. Over the weekend, for the first time in 37 years, the Naga rebel leaders, Isak Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah, came to New Delhi to flesh out a peaceful political resolution. At the end of three days of talks with the government, the Naga leaders announced on Saturday that they were confident the war was now over. L K Advani, India's deputy prime minister, said yesterday that the government would be appointing a negotiator to further the Naga peace process. Mr Swu and Mr Muivah began talks outside India after both initiated a ceasefire in August 1997 to end the on-off guerrilla war with India. The Naga people were forcibly absorbed into India in 1947 when the British - who had fought their own colonial battles with the Naga tribes - pulled out. They have been unhappy with their lot ever since. Fighting with Indian troops first broke out in 1954. In the long, obscure and costly guerrilla war that followed, more than 200,000 Nagas have been killed, rebels say. Emerging from the negotiations with Atal Bihari Vajpayee, India's prime minister, Mr Muivah said: "The war is over. . . We praise the government of India. There is a much better understanding on their part." There is no doubt that the talks mark a historic turning point in relations between the Naga leadership and the Indian state. But several questions remain unanswered - not least whether a greater Nagaland is now on the cards. There are some 3.5 million Nagas, but they do not all live in Nagaland, the narrow strip of mountain territory next to the border with Burma. Instead, large numbers of Nagas are settled in the neighbouring states of Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. They also live in eastern Burma's Kachin and Sagaing districts, where they are a downtrodden and persecuted minority. But it is in Manipur that the fiercest opposition to the idea of a greater Nagaland has come, with widespread riots and strikes last week. The state does not want any of its territory lopped off. "There would be more turmoil than peace in the region if Delhi tries to appease the council by agreeing to a Greater Nagaland," Manipur's chief minister, Okram Ibobi Singh, warned. A lasting political solution to the Naga problem faces other obstacles. The dominant separatist Naga faction, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCM), led by Mr Muivah and Mr Swu, has clearly given up on armed struggle. But other Naga militant groups remain opposed to any peace deal with Delhi, and the movement is split. The real test comes in February, when elections in Nagaland are due to be held. The NSCM has traditionally boycotted the polls, but last week said for the first time it supported the election. "New Delhi should not think of a solution by merging Naga areas in Manipur state to the existing state of Nagaland," said R K Anand, of the Democratic People's Party in Manipur, one of the northeastern states. ______ Agence France-Presse January 14 2003 SE Asia officials in Manila to boost cooperation against terror Security officials from Southeast Asian countries Tuesday attended a conference here to boost intelligence cooperation to fight terrorism, the Philippines' National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said Golez said the aim of the three-day meeting was to fine-tune multilateral procedures in addressing potential threats by exchanging experiences in the fight against terrorism. "In this simulation exercise, we expect to benefit from the experience of other ASEAN countries. No one is an expert in this new security environment," Golez said. "We have to share information, we have to share intelligence and we have to share our experiences and our knowledge," he said. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Golez said security chiefs in the region were mulling the creation of an ASEAN center where intelligence information on threats could be assessed. No other details were available, but he said the center could be "here or it can be rotating." The terrorist bombings in Bali, Indonesia last year and a spate of attacks in the Philippines have highlighted the need for greater cooperation to crack down on suspected terrorist groups. Singapore last week linked the southern Philippines-based Muslim separatist group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group, which has been blamed for the Bali attack. It said the MILF, which has been waging a rebellion in the south since 1978, had played a key role in training JI militants at its sprawling guerrilla base on Mindanao island, which was later overrun by the military. Regional authorities said the JI's ultimate aim was to establish a caliphate comprising Malaysia, Indonesia, southern Philippines and Singapore. A smaller Islamic radical group, the Abu Sayyaf, also operates in the southern Philippines, and last year was the target of a joint United States-Philippines counter-terrorism operation. The Abu Sayyaf was formed by a Muslim firebrand in the early 1990s, but has since deteriorated into a bandit group responsible for a spate of bombings and attacks in the south. REPORTS Human Rights Watch January 14 2003 World Report 2003 (excerpt) With the release of opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in May after nineteen months of de facto house arrest, hope arose that the military junta might take steps to improve its human rights record. However, by late 2002, talks between Suu Kyi and the government had ground to a halt and systemic restrictions on basic civil and political liberties continued unabated. Ethnic minority regions continued to report particularly grave abuses, including forced labor and the rape of Shan minority women by military forces. Government military forces continued to forcibly recruit and use child soldiers. HUMAN RIGHTS DEVELOPMENTS Burma faced serious economic problems in 2002, but internal political struggles prevented a unitary response to the economic crisis. A reshuffle of top generals in November 2001 was followed by the March 2002 arrests of four relatives of former top general Ne Win, amidst allegations of coup plots. In September 2002, the four were sentenced to death for treason. In the midst of this political and economic instability, Suu Kyi's release in May seemed to augur a new readiness on the part of the ruling military party, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), to negotiate with opposition groups in hopes of gaining much-needed international investment and aid. Suu Kyi traveled outside of Rangoon to Mandalay and elsewhere, meeting with thousands of supporters without interference or arrest. These negotiations were held chiefly with the National League for Democracy (NLD), which is led by Suu Kyi. The NLD had been elected to a majority of seats in parliament in 1990, but was blocked from taking power by the then-ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). SLORC changed its name to the State Peace and Development Council and shuffled some top leaders. In 2002, local NLD township offices reopened around the country. In September 2002, the NLD called on the SPDC to fulfill its pledge to begin negotiations to hand over power to the elected representatives. Ethnic minority opposition groups called for their inclusion in negotiations between the government and the NLD, but the SPDC and Suu Kyi have yet to agree to this. During the negotiations, the government released more than three hundred political prisoners. In August, Burmese opposition groups jointly called on the SPDC to release hundreds of political prisoners still in prison, including eighteen elected members of parliament from opposition political parties. The U.N. urged the SPDC to declare a general amnesty for all political prisoners, but the SPDC ignored these demands. In the meantime, more political dissidents were arrested, and prominent political prisoner U Aung May Thu passed away. In December 2001, seventy-four-year-old former university rector Dr. Salai Tun Than was arrested for his one-man protest in front of Rangoon City Hall. The Yezin University professor of agronomy from Pyinmana had distributed copies of his letter calling for political reform and multiparty elections. He is serving a seven-year sentence in a Rangoon prison. In mid-August, during a visit by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the state detained fifteen Rangoon university students in the first major crackdown after Suu Kyi's release. Thirteen were subsequently released, but two law students were sentenced to long prison terms for distributing pro-democracy pamphlets. In September, dozens of dissidents were detained in Rangoon. Burma's other continuing human rights problems include the widespread use of forced labor, forced relocations, censorship, use of child soldiers, violations of religious freedom, and atrocities committed against ethnic minorities, whose regions make up most of the country's territory. Burmese Muslims were especially targeted for persecution. Although a law banning forced labor was passed in October 2000, authorities continued to use forced labor, especially in rural ethnic regions. The Burmese military compelled villagers to work on infrastructure and agricultural projects, as porters in army camps, and on the construction of Buddhist temples. In November in Shan State, villagers were compelled to build railroads and to farm; one laborer who resisted was reportedly beaten to death. Children as young as seven were used as forced labor in many parts of the country to carry army supplies or work on construction sites. The military continued to forcibly relocate minority villages, especially in areas where ethnic activists and rebels were active, and in areas targeted for the development of international tourism. The U.S. State Department's 2002 country report on human rights in Burma estimated that forced relocations had produced hundreds of thousands of refugees, with as many as one million internally displaced persons within the country. The state continued to censor media. The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that eighteen journalists were held on charges ranging from "illegal possession of a fax machine" to smuggling poetry out of prison. One Burmese national was arrested in February and accused of sending information to foreign radio stations, and the SPDC alleged that many more "informers" who were sending information to foreign media would be arrested soon. Two Burmese magazines, Living Color and Mhyar Nat Maung Mingalar, were each shut down for one month for minor infractions. Burma continued to use child soldiers. Thousands of boys, some as young as eleven, have been forced into Burma's national army. Recruiters typically staked out railway, bus, and ferry stations; the street; marketplaces and festivals; and threatened boys who could not produce identity cards with long prison terms or military enlistment. Boys who resisted recruitment were often beaten or detained. Once deployed, they were forced to fight against Burma's ethnic minorities and other opposition forces; and to participate in human rights abuses against civilians, including rounding up villagers for forced labor, burning villages, and extrajudicial executions. Child soldiers who deserted had few options, and typically either joined armed opposition forces or fled to neighboring countries. After an October 2002 Human Rights Watch report on the use of child soldiers in Burma attracted international attention, the government denied any recruitment or use of child soldiers. Children were also present in many armed opposition groups, though the numbers of child soldiers in these smaller armies were fewer. Both the Kachin Independence Army and the United Wa State Army, which have historically been the largest opposition groups, but which now sometimes align with the Burmese military, forcibly recruited children. Others, such as the Karen National Liberation Army, Karenni Army, and Shan State Army-South accepted boys who expressed a desire to join, despite the armies' official minimum recruitment age of eighteen. Lack of access to education exacerbated human rights abuses against children in Burma. Some schools in ethnic areas were closed because of fighting, and even when schools were open, families were often unable to pay the school fees. Children who left school often took jobs selling food or goods in the streets. Many traveled to larger cities seeking work. These children became easy targets for military recruitment or forced labor. Many of the worst violations in the country were reported against civilians living in minority regions, especially in Karen and Shan States. In March, fighting flared up along the Thai-Burmese borders, when Karen rebels reportedly attacked army outposts. In May, the Burmese military and Buddhist Karen allies attacked Christian Karen villages, hospitals and schools. Burmese soldiers executed villagers suspected of sympathy with the rebels, and in several instances also executed Karen families caught while attempting to flee forced relocation. Townships in Shan State, such as Loi Kha and Loi Kawwan, were closed off by the Burmese military to outside visitors, amidst reports of forced relocation, forced labor, torture, rape, and extrajudicial killings. Refugees reported massacres in Shan State in September. Thousands of Karen and Shan refugees fled across the borders to Thailand. In July, the Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN) and the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF), based in Thailand, published a report on the systematic rape of women and girls in Shan State by the Burmese military. The report, based on interviews with refugees along the Thai-Burmese border, documented the rapes of 173 women and girls by Burmese military forces. According to the report, officers committed 83 percent of the rapes, often in front of their troops; 25 percent of the rapes resulted in death; and over half were gang-rapes. In some cases, women were held in sexual slavery. The report attracted international attention. Subsequently, the Burmese government claimed to have launched an investigation which concluded the allegations were unfounded. In one of the ensuing series of press conferences, the government said the report's authors were "narco-terrorists" sponsored by foreign governments. Some researchers reported harassment and threats in Thailand after the report's publication. In September, some refugees fleeing Shan State reported that villagers were being forced to sign statements denying the rapes. In the wake of international press reports alleging ties between al-Qaeda and the Burmese government, the government launched a broad crackdown on Rohingya Muslims. Tensions between the Buddhist majority and Muslim minority were still apparent in 2002, and restrictions were tightened in late 2001. Restrictions on travel by Muslims were far more rigidly enforced, especially in Arakan State, and the government limited the number of Muslims allowed to travel to Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage. Muslims claimed they continued to have difficulties getting passports to travel abroad and in building mosques. News accounts reported extortion and abuse of Muslim crew members on fishing boats by the Burmese Navy off the Maungdaw coast. Other religious groups reported restrictions as well. In the northwest, observers reported that the government was forcibly converting Naga Christians to Buddhism. The government continued its widespread building project with new Buddhist temples and statues erected around the country, including on ethnic minority sacred sites. Some monuments sacred to ethnic minorities were destroyed and replaced with new structures, such as hotels, against local objections. DEFENDING HUMAN RIGHTS The SPDC did not permit local human rights groups to operate in Burma and those human rights and democracy organizations that did function had to do so from abroad. THE ROLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY The release of Suu Kyi from house arrest and the release of political prisoners were welcomed by the international community. Some governments and aid agencies made plans to increase humanitarian assistance, such as to HIV/AIDS programs. Western governments kept in place bans on investment or economic assistance to Burma. The United Nations was especially active and appeared to play a critical role in the negotiations that preceded Suu Kyi's release. The U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, visited in February, April and October, meeting with top generals, Suu Kyi, and ethnic minority representatives. After the October visit, Pinheiro called for an inquiry into rights violations in ethnic minority regions, and proposed that the International Red Cross be allowed into all areas of conflict in Burma. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy for Burma, Razali Ismail, visited the country in December and August. Razali was widely viewed as active in bringing about Suu Kyi's release, but was unable to convince the SPDC to resume the dialogue with Suu Kyi that began in October 2001, or to declare a general amnesty for political prisoners. After a visit in November 2002, Razali said he would quit the post if the government did not begin talks with Suu Kyi aimed at political reforms. The International Labor Organization (ILO) sent a high-level mission to Burma in February, which was prevented from seeing Suu Kyi. This mission followed the unprecedented decision of the ILO in 2000 to recommend that ILO members review their economic ties with Burma and take appropriate action to ensure that they did not abet what it called "widespread and systemic" forced labor. In March, the ILO and the Burmese junta agreed that the ILO would appoint a liaison officer to monitor Burma's pledges to end forced labor. On September 9, 2002, Ms. Perret-Nguyen was appointed to assume this position beginning in October. Australia dispatched Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer to Burma in October 2002. Downer was the first Australian senior official to visit Burma in twenty years, and the first senior Western official to visit after Suu Kyi's release. He reported after his visit that Burma's generals had given him no timeframe for political reform, and that Suu Kyi was increasingly pessimistic about the prospects for genuine change. China continued to build its massive economic and military investment in Burma. In December 2001, President Jiang Zemin visited Burma and promised U.S.$100 million in new Chinese investment. That same month, authorities delivered a digital high-resolution satellite ground station to the Burmese government. In January and February 2002, the Chinese military delivered sizeable shipments of arms to Burmese naval bases. The European Union maintained its sanctions on Burma, but explored possibilities for increased humanitarian assistance. The E.U. was again the sponsor of critical Burma resolutions in both the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, and in the U.N. General Assembly. A European Union troika delegation visited Burma in March to continue a dialogue on promoting political reconciliation with the opposition. In September, E.U. delegates met with Suu Kyi and called on Burma to make progress toward democratization. The Asia-Europe (ASEM) summit in Copenhagen in late September did not include Burma. India initiated diplomatic talks with Burma in late 2001 aimed at joint action against ethnic militant groups on their shared border. Senior Indian officials said anonymously that the Indian government was trying to counter China's growing economic and military influence in Burma. Japan, Burma's largest single aid donor, announced that it would give Burma debt relief of ¥1.8 billion (U.S.$14.4 million). Following Suu Kyi's release, Japan disbursed U.S.$4.9 million of a U.S.$29 million Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan approved earlier for the renovation of a hydroelectric plant in eastern Burma. In August, the Japanese foreign minister met with Suu Kyi and SPDC generals. She urged progress on democratization and human rights, but made no further aid commitments. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the Malaysian government began a repressive crackdown on dissidents and other refugees fleeing the Burmese junta and seeking asylum in Malaysia. Rohingya Muslim refugees fled to Malaysia and Bangladesh. In June 2002, eight undocumented Rohingya migrants entered the grounds of the local office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Malaysia and demanded asylum. In late July, Malaysian police arrested 135 mostly undocumented Rohingya migrants seeking asylum outside the same office. In August, after Suu Kyi called for Burma to move more quickly toward reform, Prime Minister Mahathir visited Burma and publicly declared that Burma should not be rushed prematurely into democracy. Russia became increasingly active in the ongoing Burmese military buildup, promising to help Burma to construct a center for nuclear studies and a research nuclear reactor. The plans were described as part of Russia's commitment to improving Burma's technology and education sectors, but these facilities could also provide a basis for future Burmese efforts to acquire the means to build nuclear weapons. Thailand's relationship with Burma continued to be extremely tense, with occasional outbreaks of violence along the border. At times, Thailand, the main destination for minorities, political dissidents, rural people, and women and children fleeing violence in Burma, appeared to respond to Burma with efforts aimed at appeasing the military junta. In November, a group of undocumented migrants and workers in northern Thailand were repatriated to Burma, amidst allegations that some had been tricked into signing repatriation forms. Some Burmese child soldiers tried to escape forced conscription by deserting their armies and fleeing across the border to Thailand. Thai authorities should identify such children if arrested for illegal presence and pass them over to the U.N. High Commission for Refugees so that they may seek asylum, but many such children were unable to access such protection and continued to live in hiding, fearing deportation to Burma. In late December 2001, the Thai government forcibly closed a major refugee camp housing political dissidents, and conducted talks with Burmese authorities about repatriation plans. The problem of illegal workers from Burma was gruesomely highlighted when the bodies of twenty ethnic Karen villagers were found in the river that divides Burma from Thailand. Investigators later concluded that the Karens were being smuggled in by a Thai couple, who discovered en route that the laborers had suffocated and simply dumped their bodies in the river. The border problems were highlighted again in June when Karen gunmen, in a debt squabble, fired on a school bus full of Thai children, killing two and injuring fourteen; this sparked a manhunt by Thai authorities on the borders and greater ill-feeling toward Burmese refugees living in Thailand. In April, NGOs reported that about three thousand Burmese migrants deported from Mae Sot, Thailand were forced to undergo HIV testing in a holding center on the Burmese side of the border. Those who tested positive were reportedly segregated and sent to a hospital in Rangoon. Both mandatory testing and the segregation of HIV-positive persons violate international standards. The Burmese government has yet to take clear steps in mounting a serious response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In May, the Burmese-aligned United Wa State Army and Thai troops traded artillery fire across the border. By July, Thailand and Burma were embroiled in a no-holds-barred media war, in which Burmese state press attacked the Thai monarchy; Burmese authorities also closed lucrative border crossings to Thai traders. In what was seen by many as an attempt to placate the Burmese junta and re-open the borders, Thai authorities in August raided pro-democracy groups and a church on the border, detaining dozens of Burmese refugee activists and repatriating them. The border was officially reopened in October 2002. In April, forty-nine U.S. congressional representatives called on the Burmese government to release imprisoned student leader Min Ko Naing. Congressional representatives and the U.S. State Department issued statements condemning the Burmese military for raping girls and women in Shan State. While lauding the release of Suu Kyi in April, the Bush administration said in June that it would extend sanctions on Burma for another year. A U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) team visited Burma to explore the possibility of giving HIV/AIDS assistance beyond the U.S.$1 million currently given through NGOs and U.N. agencies. In a groundbreaking ruling, a U.S. superior court judge in California ordered the Unocal corporation to stand trial for alleged human rights abuses related to its pipeline project in Burma. A jury trial was set for September 26, 2002 in Los Angeles, where Unocal is based. In a related development, over thirty U.S. clothing manufacturers announced that they would stop sourcing from Burma, and Marriott International announced plans to withdraw from the two hotels it manages in Rangoon. Neither the World Bank nor the Asian Development Bank resumed any assistance to Burma. The SPDC failed to respond to the World Bank's recommendations for major economic reforms. A team from the International Monetary Fund visited Burma in July, and found continuing economic problems and deteriorating social conditions.