From editor at burmanet.org Fri Nov 21 12:03:15 2003 From: editor at burmanet.org (editor@burmanet.org) Date: Tue Mar 9 07:32:48 2004 Subject: (no subject) Message-ID: <1874.66.159.181.46.1069434195.squirrel@webmail.pair.com> November 21, 2003 Issue #2374 INSIDE BURMA AFP: Myanmar hits out at US over being consigned to financial blacklist BBC: Burma junta claims Suu Kyi talks MONEY Financial Times: Burma put on dirty money blacklist by US DRUGS Xinhua: China trains 115 drug-fighting police officers for Myanmar, Laos SHAN: Wa spared from terrorist charge but ON THE BORDER Asia Times: CHINA MOVES ON MYANMAR: Part 1: PLA masses on the border INTERNATIONAL Kyodo News: ILO asks Myanmar to take action on forced labor AP: Report: U.N. agency gives rice to former poppy growers in Myanmar OPINION/OTHER The Nation: The third Burmese empire ----INSIDE BURMA---- Agence France Presse, November 21, 2003 Myanmar hits out at US over being consigned to financial blacklist Myanmar's military government hit out at the United States Friday after Washington put it on a financial blacklist and said the ruling generals had failed to crack down on money laundering. "The US government has been criticising and condemning almost every institution in existence in Myanmar and now is the time and the turn for the Myanmar Financial Institution to be accused of wrongdoing, not doing enough, failing to implement, not good enough and etc..." it said in a statement. The junta said the US was failing to give the support which any developing country needed to prosper. Some rich nations "are heavily hampering the countries of peaceful evolution like Myanmar by their constantly negative attitude, irresponsible actions and unrealistic expectations," it said. The US Treasury Department said its decision announced Wednesday would require US financial institutions to terminate correspondent accounts with Myanmar and two offending banks -- Mayflower Bank and Asia Wealth Bank. The action, under the USA Patriot Act, is another blow at Myanmar's military rulers by the United States, which holds them in contempt for their suppression of the pro-democracy movement and human rights record. The designation of Myanmar follows the failure of the Yangon government to remedy serious deficiencies in its money laundering system, the Treasury said. Washington already maintains a punishing range of economic sanctions against Myanmar which were strengthened after the May detention of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi who is now under house arrest. Earlier this month, the international anti-money laundering organisation Financial Action Task Force called on its member states to impose sanctions on Myanmar, saying it had not cooperated in the battle against money laundering. It said "additional countermeasures" against Myanmar should be adopted, under which the nation's financial institutions are required to identify their clients and report any suspicions of money-laundering. Myanmar is one of nine nations on a list created by the FATF to single out countries seen as slack in the fight against money recycled from the proceeds of illicit activities. ___________________________________________ BBC, November 21, 2003 Burma junta claims Suu Kyi talks Burma's deputy foreign minister has said the government is having regular contacts with the detained Burmese pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. In a rare interview with a BBC correspondent in the capital, Rangoon, Khin Maung Win described the contacts as being positive. Khin Maung Win is regarded as a key figure in the Burmese military government's roadmap to democracy. Aung San Suu Kyi is under house arrest and is allowed few visitors. Khin Maung Win said Aung San Suu Kyi's "protective custody", as the government puts it, would not be permanent and would end at an appropriate time. He said the dialogue process was at a delicate juncture. Aung San Suu Kyi was returned to her home and effective house arrest in September after being detained following a clash in May between pro-democracy and government supporters. Her National League for Democracy party won 1990 elections by a landslide but the military junta refused to hand over power. ----MONEY---- Financial Times, November 21, 2003 Burma put on dirty money blacklist by US By William Barnes The US Treasury Depart-ment has moved to tighten the noose on Burma by designating it a centre for money laundering. For the first time the Treasury has also named two individual financial institutions as having links to drug traffickers. The banks - Asia Wealth Bank, the country's biggest deposit-taker, and Myanmar May Flower Bank - would be barred from doing business with US financial institutions, the Treasury said. "The Burmese government has failed to take any regulatory or enforcement action against these financial institutions, despite their well known criminal links," it said. The move will come as no surprise to many banking experts who have long maintained that Burma's military rulers turn a blind eye to where profits from the drug trade go. It may have little immediate effect but the move backs up claims by the regime's critics that Burma's battered economy is supported by tainted money. "Until Burma implements an anti-money laundering regime that meets international standards, Treasury will continue to take steps to ensure that criminal proceeds emanating from Burma do not reach the US financial system," said a Treasury statement. The action has been taken in concert with the Financial Action Task Force, an international anti-money laundering group based in Paris, which called last month for member countries to restrict dealings with Burma. The Asia Wealth Bank is estimated to hold up to half the country's bank deposits after a bold expansion since its founding in 1994. Foreign narcotics agents have claimed its managing director Aik Tun has close links to drug traffickers, as well as to Gen Khin Nyunt, the new Burmese prime minister. Myanmar May Flower Bank's founder, Kyaw Win, has close links to several Thai businessmen who are expert at cross-border deals, including logging tycoon Choon Tangkakarn. Bruce Hawke, an author on narcotics trafficking in Burma, said the effect would be limited as long as funds continue to flow easily into foreign accounts: "The entry to the legitimate global banking system is not Burma but Singapore and to some extent Thailand." The money laundering designation was established in the anti-terror Patriot Act passed after the 9/11 attacks in the US. Only Ukraine and the Pacific island of Nauru have been so named. ----DRUGS---- Xinhua, November 21, 2003 China trains 115 drug-fighting police officers for Myanmar, Laos China has trained 115 drug-fighting policemen for Myanmar and Laos since 2002, sources with the Ministry of Public Security said here Friday. In recent years, the anti-drug international cooperation in lawenforcement and personnel training among the three countries has become closer, said an official with the ministry's Drug-fighting Bureau. China has signed agreements with Myanmar and Laos in anti-drug cooperation and exchanges. ___________________________________________ SHAN, November 21, 2003 Wa spared from terrorist charge but According to an upcoming report from Thai-based Alternative Asean-Burma (Altsean), the United Wa State Army of Bao Youxiang has long been exempted from charges of terrorism since two State Department officials listed it among terrorist organizations last year. The two, Rand Beers, Assistant Secretary of State of Drug and Law Enforcement and Francis Taylor, Ambassador at large for Counter-terrorism, were reported by Bangkok Post to have testified to the Senate on 13 March 2002 that the UWSA was among terrorist organizations connected to drug trafficking. Two days after the news broke on 18 March, Priscilla Clapp, then head of the US Burma mission told Rangoon "Washington regrets" the affair. However, the Americans' 'abrupt U-turn' was not able to convince either the generals in Rangoon or the leaders in Panghsang who had, by all accounts, taken the matter seriously. The Altsean report meanwhile says the Drug Enforcement Agency's Congressional testimony on 24 April 2002 had refused to list the UWSA as an organization of terror. The DEA stated, "The UWSA exists primarily as a separatist organization, seeking autonomy from the central government in Burma. It funds its separatist activities by being the major international drug trafficking organization in the region. The UWSA is characterized as a narco-trafficking organization but is not deemed as a terrorist organization at this time." The report adds: The dozens of insurgent groups that have emerged since Independence in 1948 have utilized revolutionary tactics that have largely avoided the random targeting of civilians for the purpose of terror. While infrastructure installations and transport nodes have been targeted, direct attacks on soft civilian targets have been extremely rare. Kidnapping and political assassinations of officials have also been exceptions rather than norms. This may appear somewhat a relief to the Wa leadership but it still faces a number of actions and allegations: ? On 2 June, President Bush notified Congress the group had been added to the Drug Kingpins Act list that makes it completely illegal for any company, either American or foreign, trading with the United States, to do business with the UWSA. The legislation provides major fines and stiff prison sentences against companies and executives that choose to violate the law. The initial list, released in June 2000, included Khun Sa and Wei Hsuehkang. ? On 19 April, 125 kg of heroin was seized by Australian officials on a North Korean freighter, Pong Su. They have been traced to Burma and, inevitably, Wa. ? Newsweek, 19 July, further reports that a General Mohammad Daud in northern Afghanistan has been operating several laboratories with assistance from Wa experts from Burma. ? Of late, Burma specialist Bertil Lintner told Irrawaddy the UWSA had replaced Cambodia as a main source of arms for rebel armies in South Asia. The latest action taken by US Treasury Department listing the group's Mayflower Bank, as well as U Aik Htun's Asian Wealth Bank, as money laundering centers yesterday may be a short but not the last straw. According to a Shan businessman in Yunnan, Bao was said to own 43% of the bank's shares. One Shan observer was quick to express surprise that Yoma Bank, the firm set up by Law Hsinghan, was not included in the American list. "But it's clear to us like the moon and the sun that it has been up to its neck in dirty money," he said. According to Legal Issues on Burma, December 2001, the National Bank in Rangoon provides money laundering services openly, turning drug proceeds into clean money for a 40% charge. "Occasionally, official arrangements in the state controlled press promote specials at a reduced rate of 25%, no questions asked," it reports. Burma promulgated an anti-money laundering law on 17 June 2002. However, the State Department's report on 27 September this year noted "implementation of the law faltered in 2003". Prior to the latest US announcement, Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had, on 3 November, called its 31 members states to impose sanctions on Burma, saying it had not cooperated in the battle against money laundering. ___________________________________________ Associated Press, November 20, 2003 Report: U.N. agency gives rice to former poppy growers in Myanmar A U.N. agency has delivered an emergency shipment of rice to former opium poppy farmers in Myanmar who have turned to growing substitute crops, state media reported Thursday. The United Nations' World Food Program on Saturday delivered 690 metric tons (760 U.S. tons) of rice to the remote Kokang region of northeastern Shan State, where people are facing a serious food shortage, the Myanma Ahlin newspaper said. Myanmar is the world's second-largest producer of opium after Afghanistan, and recently has become a major exporter of the illicit stimulant methamphetamine. Several government and other independent programs seek to persuade farmers to give up poppy farming by giving them opportunities to grow other crops in a bid to end the opium trade. The government has pledged to achieve the goal by 2014. Since Kokang leaders banned poppy cultivation during the 2002-2003 growing season, tens of thousands of farmers have turned to substitute crops. But poor yields and low profits have led to acute food shortages. The rice was handed over to Kokang leader Phone Kya Shin by the WFP's Myanmar representative, Bhim Udas, at a ceremony on Saturday in the Kokang capital of Lauk Kai, 950 kilometers (590 miles) northeast of the nation's capital Yangon, Myanma Ahlin said. A separate World Food Program statement said the rice is being given to 50,000 people who are ``facing extreme hardship'' in cooperation with the Japanese government and three humanitarian groups. It did not elaborate or give the details reported by Myanma Ahlin. It said the shipment is part of a relief project that began in October and is expected to last five months. Under the operation, the farmers will undertake food-for-work projects such as building latrines, irrigation ponds and upgrading roads, it said. The Golden Triangle area where the borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet has long been one of the world's major sources of opium and its derivative, heroin. ----ON THE BORDER---- Asia Times, November 22, 2003 CHINA MOVES ON MYANMAR: Part 1: PLA masses on the border By Xu Er HONG KONG - On September 16, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan told a press conference that China had early that month changed its guard on the border with Myanmar in Yunnan province, with People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers taking over the border defense responsibilities from local armed police. He said the move was a normal adjustment and had been completed, adding that many journalists had asked him about the issue the day before. In fact, Kong's statement came out of the blue - nobody was asking any questions about the China-Myanmar border. The focus of the press conference was China's military buildup on its North Korean border. However, the Beijing government was evidently eager to let the world know that it was massing its forces on the Myanmar border as well, hence Kong's seemingly irrelevant statement. For despite China's preference for a low profile, it likes to keep the outside world posted on what's happening on its borders. Intrigued by Kong's remarks, Asia Times Online sent a team to the southern province of Yunnan, and into Myanmar itself, to investigate the nature and scale of the border "adjustment", and to try to determine why it is taking place. Had a US military force been secretly deployed inside Myanmar, as one rumor had it? Or, more likely, was Beijing worried that the embattled military dictatorship in Yangon was losing control of the country all on its own, without interference by Americans in the shadows? ATol found that Kong did not tell the whole truth by describing the deployment as a routine adjustment. The deployment is large, and existing border patrols have not been replaced, but have been reinforced by well-equipped units of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). A restaurant owner in a night market near the southern border witnessed the "military adjustment" one night in early September. He said the fleet of army trucks from Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, and other places could have numbered in the hundreds, to say nothing of other vehicles. It took about 10 minutes for these trucks to pass by his door. They were heading toward Yunnan's border with Myanmar within the province's Xishuangbanna autonomous prefecture. As with the situation on the Sino-North Korean border at the end of September, the changes on the China-Myanmar border were clearly reinforcements, not replacements. The existing border police were not removed; in fact, to make things more complicated and mysterious, some of them were transformed into a "mobility brigade". For local residents, this is one of the signs of prewar preparations. The military buildup is most conspicuous in Jinghong, the capital of Xishuangbanna autonomous prefecture. Originally, there was one military branch zone and an armed-police branch stationed in the prefecture. The former was north of Jinghong, while the latter was on Jingdexi Road beside Jinghong Produce Market. Both of them were of division level. Military units 7702 and 7701, both under the branch zone of Xishuangbanna, have been stationed in Menghai and Mengla counties as well as Jinghong for a long time. At the same time, armed police of a regiment size have also been quartered respectively in places mentioned above. In Daluo town of Menghai, which is on the border, there is one checkpoint with 26 police officers. Though small in size, its head, surnamed Zhu, is nonetheless a lieutenant-colonel, equivalent to a battalion commander in the military. A large number of armed police have been removed from the border because of the "adjustment", but some 100 police officers (equivalent to a company in size) are still kept in this tiny town. The armed police that were stationed in Menghai and Mengla previously, one regiment in size each, seem to have been withdrawn. Yet a new mobility brigade with more than 300 officers has been set up along with existing forces: a squadron of armed police guarding the prison and a border brigade. According to informed sources, the evacuated armed police were not sent far, but were redeployed in the deep forests closer to the border for tighter defense, forming a garrison model of armed police in the first frontline and PLA troops in the second. On September 9, the newly arrived troops took over the barracks and the battalion headquarters from border police. Villages that were never garrisoned before were now for the first time fortified. According to informed sources, the reinforcements were PLA 13th Army field troops who were beyond the command of the Xishuangbanna Autonomous Prefecture Military Branch Zone. The 13th Army is nicknamed the Chuan Army (ie Army from Sichuan province) in the locality, for it has apparently never been back to Yunnan since 1968, when the province came under the Chengdu Military Zone. Since that time, the field army stationed in Yunnan has been the 14th Army. But now, the Chuan Army has broken the convention and marched into the "taboo" region, a possible indication of Beijing's desire to reinforce the border. The 13th Army is ranked as a Level A field army, equipped with sophisticated armored weaponry, while the 14th is an inferior Level B, largely consisting of infantry. The 13th Army has fielded troops in numerous towns and villages in the area. Radar and missile forces have been deployed in a deep valley near Mengzhi village, which has been demarcated as a forbidden zone. At the time of Asia Times Online's investigation in the area, rumors were rife that US paratroops had infiltrated northern Myanmar to establish an air force base there. ATol confirmed that the rumor originated from the PLA barracks and soon spread among the local residents. Informed sources in Washington and Bangkok told ATol that the rumors were totally groundless. Some Bangkok sources insisted that the Thai government would not tolerate any such unilateral US action in neighboring Myanmar. Other sources in Beijing told ATol that China's reinforcement is a result of its fear that the military government in Yangon might collapse because of domestic and international pressure. As Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been put under house arrest for the third time, opposition voices are mounting. Internationally, the clamor against the junta has been mounting, even within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which is always reluctant to interfere in the internal affairs of a member state. Under these circumstances, even if the military government of Myanmar can hold on to its rule, its ability to control the border could deteriorate dramatically, leading to fighting among warlords in the region. For that and other reasons, China has seen the need to strengthen its own defense of the border. ----INTERNATIONAL---- Kyodo News, November 20, 2003 ILO asks Myanmar to take action on forced labor GENEVA, Nov. 20, Kyodo - The International Labor Organization (ILO) addressing Myanmar's forced labor problem on Thursday asked the country's military government to take ''concrete steps'' to improve the situation by next March. The ILO issued a sanction on Myanmar in November 2000 following reports that the junta uses forced laborers in public works and other projects. The ILO has established a liaison office in Yangon and in May drew up the ''Plan of Action'' with the junta. At its meeting Thursday, however, the ILO Governing Body expressed deep concerns over the forced labor situation, stating that the situation in the border area of Myanmar, where there is a large military presence, ''remains serious and has changed little.'' The body said there were some improvements in central Myanmar. The ILO said that efforts to carry out the action plan have been delayed by the political instability in the end of May following the detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. ----OPINION/OTHER---- The Nation, November 20, 2003 The third Burmese empire The Third Burmese Empire, established by Alaungpaya (1752-1760), the founder of the Alaungpaya or Konbaung dynasty, held fast until the British annexed upper Burma in Mandalay and overthrew Thibaw, the last king of Konbuang in 1886. According to Burmese chronicles, after the decline of Hongsawady, Aungzeya, who was believed to be inspired by the good nats (spirits), found himself the leader of a national movement. A village headman from the small town of Moksobomyo (present-day Shwebo), he fended off an attack by the Shan and Mon who, at that time, ruled Ava. Aungzeya, with support from his people, crowned himself Alaungpaya, which means the great king or ?embryo Buddha?. He announced the beginning of the Great Burma era and elevated Moksobomyo (the town of the hunter chief), after renaming it Shwebo (the town of the golden leader) to his capital. That was the first chapter in the Konbaung dynasty. But while Alaungpaya was establishing Konbaung, a new threat appeared on the horizon ? Westerners. Alaungpaya successfully drove off the French and the British. During the 1750s, his power spread over the whole of upper Burma, including Shan State. He also controlled the area previously under the rule of the Toungoo dynasty. He recaptured Ava from the Mon and also secured Hongsawady and Syrium. He drove the Mon out of Dagon (Takoeng in Thai), a small port near Hongsawady, and celebrated his victory with a festival at the Shwedagon Pagoda. His grandiose plans included making Dagon the chief port of his kingdom and he began work on the foundations of a new city, which he named Yangon (Rangoon), which translates as ?City of Peace? or ?the End of Strife?. He later compromised with the Mon by taking a Mon princess as his consort. As the French and the Kingdom of Ayutthaya had allied themselves with the Mon, Alaungpaya tried to gain British support. In 1757 he concluded a treaty with the British East India Co, granting it generous trade concessions. Nonetheless, the company, at war with the French in India, was unwilling to become involved in Burma. Alaungpaya?s last campaign was the invasion of Ayutthaya in April 1760. He was wounded and died while his was army retreating to Shwebo at Thathon. His eldest son and successor Naungdawgyi was usurped by his younger son Hsinbyushin (King of the White Elephant) in 1763, after just three years on the throne. King Hsinbyushin (1763-1776) conquered Ayutthaya in 1767. Thought to be from a race of cruel warriors, Hsinbyushin and his men were unsparing in their destruction of the people and the land. According to Thai chronicles, the King of Hongsawady (Bayinnaung) waged war like a monarch, but the King of Ava (Hsinbyushin) did so like a robber. However, Burmese control of Siam was very brief since later that same year, Sin, a brave Siamese soldier, and his followers were successful in expelling Hsinbyushin?s armies and established a new capital of Siam in Thonburi. In 1782, Bodawpaya (1782-1819), a son of Alaungpaya, came to power. He invaded Arakan, the maritime kingdom on the eastern coast on the Bay of Bengal and deported more than 20,000 people to Burma and into slavery. The borders of Burma and British India became contiguous, leading to conflicts between Burma and Britain during the reign of King Bagyidaw (1819-1838). This grandson of Bodawpaya followed his grandfather?s policy of aggressive expansion in northeastern India. The border with British India extended from Arakan on the Bay of Bengal northwards to the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. The British, angered over Burmese border raids in pursuit of rebel forces, launched its first war against Burma on March 5, 1824. On February 24, 1826, Bagyidaw?s government signed the Treaty of Yandabo, thus awarding Tenasserim, Arakan, Assam and Manipur to the British. Although Burma?s weaknesses became more apparent, especially following the defeat the brothers of the Konbaung family, arts and culture continued to flourish in the royal court and no more so than during the reign of King Mindon (1853-1878). Mindon?s reign is considered a golden age of Burmese cultural and religious life. As soon as he became king, Mindon insisted on peace. To avoid further trouble, he signed a commercial treaty in 1867 that gave the British generous economic concessions in the unoccupied parts of his country. In 1872 he sent his chief minister, Kinwun Mingyi U Gaung, on a diplomatic mission to London, Paris and Rome to secure international recognition of Burma?s status as an independent country and to appeal for restoration of its lost territory. In 1857 Mindon built a new capital, Mandalay, with palaces and monasteries that are masterpieces of traditional Burma architecture. Mindon also made Mandalay the centre of Buddhist learning. The Fifth Buddhist Council was held there in 1871 in an effort to revise and purify the Pali scriptures. Scholars, among them Dhida Saraya, speculate that Mindon built Mandalay as a sanctuary for himself and his subjects, who needed understanding and energy to face and fight against the new problems that had flown in with the winds from the West. Mindon promoted numerous reforms. The most important were an assessment of land tax and fixed salaries for government officials. He standardised the country?s weights and measures. He built roads and a telegraph system, and was the first Burmese king to mint coins. His reign is comparable with those of Siam?s Kings Rama IV and V. Mindon was succeeded by his son, Thibaw (1878-1885), the last king of Kanboung and Burma. On November 28, 1885, the British seized the land of four million pagodas and placed the country under complete colonial rule. The series is a part of ?The Wonders of 3 Cultures? festival being held in Chiang Mai from November 28 to 30, which is sponsored by Thai Airways International and a number of other organisations including the Nation Group. The highlights include seminars and a spectacular celebration of art, crafts and culture. From editor at burmanet.org Fri Nov 21 12:24:03 2003 From: editor at burmanet.org (editor@burmanet.org) Date: Tue Mar 9 07:32:48 2004 Subject: BurmaNet News: November 21, 2003 Message-ID: <1912.66.159.181.46.1069435443.squirrel@webmail.pair.com> November 21, 2003 Issue #2374 INSIDE BURMA AFP: Myanmar hits out at US over being consigned to financial blacklist BBC: Burma junta claims Suu Kyi talks MONEY Financial Times: Burma put on dirty money blacklist by US DRUGS Xinhua: China trains 115 drug-fighting police officers for Myanmar, Laos SHAN: Wa spared from terrorist charge but ON THE BORDER Asia Times: CHINA MOVES ON MYANMAR: Part 1: PLA masses on the border INTERNATIONAL Kyodo News: ILO asks Myanmar to take action on forced labor AP: Report: U.N. agency gives rice to former poppy growers in Myanmar OPINION/OTHER The Nation: The third Burmese empire ----INSIDE BURMA---- Agence France Presse, November 21, 2003 Myanmar hits out at US over being consigned to financial blacklist Myanmar's military government hit out at the United States Friday after Washington put it on a financial blacklist and said the ruling generals had failed to crack down on money laundering. "The US government has been criticising and condemning almost every institution in existence in Myanmar and now is the time and the turn for the Myanmar Financial Institution to be accused of wrongdoing, not doing enough, failing to implement, not good enough and etc..." it said in a statement. The junta said the US was failing to give the support which any developing country needed to prosper. Some rich nations "are heavily hampering the countries of peaceful evolution like Myanmar by their constantly negative attitude, irresponsible actions and unrealistic expectations," it said. The US Treasury Department said its decision announced Wednesday would require US financial institutions to terminate correspondent accounts with Myanmar and two offending banks -- Mayflower Bank and Asia Wealth Bank. The action, under the USA Patriot Act, is another blow at Myanmar's military rulers by the United States, which holds them in contempt for their suppression of the pro-democracy movement and human rights record. The designation of Myanmar follows the failure of the Yangon government to remedy serious deficiencies in its money laundering system, the Treasury said. Washington already maintains a punishing range of economic sanctions against Myanmar which were strengthened after the May detention of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi who is now under house arrest. Earlier this month, the international anti-money laundering organisation Financial Action Task Force called on its member states to impose sanctions on Myanmar, saying it had not cooperated in the battle against money laundering. It said "additional countermeasures" against Myanmar should be adopted, under which the nation's financial institutions are required to identify their clients and report any suspicions of money-laundering. Myanmar is one of nine nations on a list created by the FATF to single out countries seen as slack in the fight against money recycled from the proceeds of illicit activities. ___________________________________________ BBC, November 21, 2003 Burma junta claims Suu Kyi talks Burma's deputy foreign minister has said the government is having regular contacts with the detained Burmese pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. In a rare interview with a BBC correspondent in the capital, Rangoon, Khin Maung Win described the contacts as being positive. Khin Maung Win is regarded as a key figure in the Burmese military government's roadmap to democracy. Aung San Suu Kyi is under house arrest and is allowed few visitors. Khin Maung Win said Aung San Suu Kyi's "protective custody", as the government puts it, would not be permanent and would end at an appropriate time. He said the dialogue process was at a delicate juncture. Aung San Suu Kyi was returned to her home and effective house arrest in September after being detained following a clash in May between pro-democracy and government supporters. Her National League for Democracy party won 1990 elections by a landslide but the military junta refused to hand over power. ----MONEY---- Financial Times, November 21, 2003 Burma put on dirty money blacklist by US By William Barnes The US Treasury Depart-ment has moved to tighten the noose on Burma by designating it a centre for money laundering. For the first time the Treasury has also named two individual financial institutions as having links to drug traffickers. The banks - Asia Wealth Bank, the country's biggest deposit-taker, and Myanmar May Flower Bank - would be barred from doing business with US financial institutions, the Treasury said. "The Burmese government has failed to take any regulatory or enforcement action against these financial institutions, despite their well known criminal links," it said. The move will come as no surprise to many banking experts who have long maintained that Burma's military rulers turn a blind eye to where profits from the drug trade go. It may have little immediate effect but the move backs up claims by the regime's critics that Burma's battered economy is supported by tainted money. "Until Burma implements an anti-money laundering regime that meets international standards, Treasury will continue to take steps to ensure that criminal proceeds emanating from Burma do not reach the US financial system," said a Treasury statement. The action has been taken in concert with the Financial Action Task Force, an international anti-money laundering group based in Paris, which called last month for member countries to restrict dealings with Burma. The Asia Wealth Bank is estimated to hold up to half the country's bank deposits after a bold expansion since its founding in 1994. Foreign narcotics agents have claimed its managing director Aik Tun has close links to drug traffickers, as well as to Gen Khin Nyunt, the new Burmese prime minister. Myanmar May Flower Bank's founder, Kyaw Win, has close links to several Thai businessmen who are expert at cross-border deals, including logging tycoon Choon Tangkakarn. Bruce Hawke, an author on narcotics trafficking in Burma, said the effect would be limited as long as funds continue to flow easily into foreign accounts: "The entry to the legitimate global banking system is not Burma but Singapore and to some extent Thailand." The money laundering designation was established in the anti-terror Patriot Act passed after the 9/11 attacks in the US. Only Ukraine and the Pacific island of Nauru have been so named. ----DRUGS---- Xinhua, November 21, 2003 China trains 115 drug-fighting police officers for Myanmar, Laos China has trained 115 drug-fighting policemen for Myanmar and Laos since 2002, sources with the Ministry of Public Security said here Friday. In recent years, the anti-drug international cooperation in lawenforcement and personnel training among the three countries has become closer, said an official with the ministry's Drug-fighting Bureau. China has signed agreements with Myanmar and Laos in anti-drug cooperation and exchanges. ___________________________________________ SHAN, November 21, 2003 Wa spared from terrorist charge but According to an upcoming report from Thai-based Alternative Asean-Burma (Altsean), the United Wa State Army of Bao Youxiang has long been exempted from charges of terrorism since two State Department officials listed it among terrorist organizations last year. The two, Rand Beers, Assistant Secretary of State of Drug and Law Enforcement and Francis Taylor, Ambassador at large for Counter-terrorism, were reported by Bangkok Post to have testified to the Senate on 13 March 2002 that the UWSA was among terrorist organizations connected to drug trafficking. Two days after the news broke on 18 March, Priscilla Clapp, then head of the US Burma mission told Rangoon "Washington regrets" the affair. However, the Americans' 'abrupt U-turn' was not able to convince either the generals in Rangoon or the leaders in Panghsang who had, by all accounts, taken the matter seriously. The Altsean report meanwhile says the Drug Enforcement Agency's Congressional testimony on 24 April 2002 had refused to list the UWSA as an organization of terror. The DEA stated, "The UWSA exists primarily as a separatist organization, seeking autonomy from the central government in Burma. It funds its separatist activities by being the major international drug trafficking organization in the region. The UWSA is characterized as a narco-trafficking organization but is not deemed as a terrorist organization at this time." The report adds: The dozens of insurgent groups that have emerged since Independence in 1948 have utilized revolutionary tactics that have largely avoided the random targeting of civilians for the purpose of terror. While infrastructure installations and transport nodes have been targeted, direct attacks on soft civilian targets have been extremely rare. Kidnapping and political assassinations of officials have also been exceptions rather than norms. This may appear somewhat a relief to the Wa leadership but it still faces a number of actions and allegations: ? On 2 June, President Bush notified Congress the group had been added to the Drug Kingpins Act list that makes it completely illegal for any company, either American or foreign, trading with the United States, to do business with the UWSA. The legislation provides major fines and stiff prison sentences against companies and executives that choose to violate the law. The initial list, released in June 2000, included Khun Sa and Wei Hsuehkang. ? On 19 April, 125 kg of heroin was seized by Australian officials on a North Korean freighter, Pong Su. They have been traced to Burma and, inevitably, Wa. ? Newsweek, 19 July, further reports that a General Mohammad Daud in northern Afghanistan has been operating several laboratories with assistance from Wa experts from Burma. ? Of late, Burma specialist Bertil Lintner told Irrawaddy the UWSA had replaced Cambodia as a main source of arms for rebel armies in South Asia. The latest action taken by US Treasury Department listing the group's Mayflower Bank, as well as U Aik Htun's Asian Wealth Bank, as money laundering centers yesterday may be a short but not the last straw. According to a Shan businessman in Yunnan, Bao was said to own 43% of the bank's shares. One Shan observer was quick to express surprise that Yoma Bank, the firm set up by Law Hsinghan, was not included in the American list. "But it's clear to us like the moon and the sun that it has been up to its neck in dirty money," he said. According to Legal Issues on Burma, December 2001, the National Bank in Rangoon provides money laundering services openly, turning drug proceeds into clean money for a 40% charge. "Occasionally, official arrangements in the state controlled press promote specials at a reduced rate of 25%, no questions asked," it reports. Burma promulgated an anti-money laundering law on 17 June 2002. However, the State Department's report on 27 September this year noted "implementation of the law faltered in 2003". Prior to the latest US announcement, Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had, on 3 November, called its 31 members states to impose sanctions on Burma, saying it had not cooperated in the battle against money laundering. ___________________________________________ Associated Press, November 20, 2003 Report: U.N. agency gives rice to former poppy growers in Myanmar A U.N. agency has delivered an emergency shipment of rice to former opium poppy farmers in Myanmar who have turned to growing substitute crops, state media reported Thursday. The United Nations' World Food Program on Saturday delivered 690 metric tons (760 U.S. tons) of rice to the remote Kokang region of northeastern Shan State, where people are facing a serious food shortage, the Myanma Ahlin newspaper said. Myanmar is the world's second-largest producer of opium after Afghanistan, and recently has become a major exporter of the illicit stimulant methamphetamine. Several government and other independent programs seek to persuade farmers to give up poppy farming by giving them opportunities to grow other crops in a bid to end the opium trade. The government has pledged to achieve the goal by 2014. Since Kokang leaders banned poppy cultivation during the 2002-2003 growing season, tens of thousands of farmers have turned to substitute crops. But poor yields and low profits have led to acute food shortages. The rice was handed over to Kokang leader Phone Kya Shin by the WFP's Myanmar representative, Bhim Udas, at a ceremony on Saturday in the Kokang capital of Lauk Kai, 950 kilometers (590 miles) northeast of the nation's capital Yangon, Myanma Ahlin said. A separate World Food Program statement said the rice is being given to 50,000 people who are ``facing extreme hardship'' in cooperation with the Japanese government and three humanitarian groups. It did not elaborate or give the details reported by Myanma Ahlin. It said the shipment is part of a relief project that began in October and is expected to last five months. Under the operation, the farmers will undertake food-for-work projects such as building latrines, irrigation ponds and upgrading roads, it said. The Golden Triangle area where the borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet has long been one of the world's major sources of opium and its derivative, heroin. ----ON THE BORDER---- Asia Times, November 22, 2003 CHINA MOVES ON MYANMAR: Part 1: PLA masses on the border By Xu Er HONG KONG - On September 16, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan told a press conference that China had early that month changed its guard on the border with Myanmar in Yunnan province, with People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers taking over the border defense responsibilities from local armed police. He said the move was a normal adjustment and had been completed, adding that many journalists had asked him about the issue the day before. In fact, Kong's statement came out of the blue - nobody was asking any questions about the China-Myanmar border. The focus of the press conference was China's military buildup on its North Korean border. However, the Beijing government was evidently eager to let the world know that it was massing its forces on the Myanmar border as well, hence Kong's seemingly irrelevant statement. For despite China's preference for a low profile, it likes to keep the outside world posted on what's happening on its borders. Intrigued by Kong's remarks, Asia Times Online sent a team to the southern province of Yunnan, and into Myanmar itself, to investigate the nature and scale of the border "adjustment", and to try to determine why it is taking place. Had a US military force been secretly deployed inside Myanmar, as one rumor had it? Or, more likely, was Beijing worried that the embattled military dictatorship in Yangon was losing control of the country all on its own, without interference by Americans in the shadows? ATol found that Kong did not tell the whole truth by describing the deployment as a routine adjustment. The deployment is large, and existing border patrols have not been replaced, but have been reinforced by well-equipped units of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). A restaurant owner in a night market near the southern border witnessed the "military adjustment" one night in early September. He said the fleet of army trucks from Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, and other places could have numbered in the hundreds, to say nothing of other vehicles. It took about 10 minutes for these trucks to pass by his door. They were heading toward Yunnan's border with Myanmar within the province's Xishuangbanna autonomous prefecture. As with the situation on the Sino-North Korean border at the end of September, the changes on the China-Myanmar border were clearly reinforcements, not replacements. The existing border police were not removed; in fact, to make things more complicated and mysterious, some of them were transformed into a "mobility brigade". For local residents, this is one of the signs of prewar preparations. The military buildup is most conspicuous in Jinghong, the capital of Xishuangbanna autonomous prefecture. Originally, there was one military branch zone and an armed-police branch stationed in the prefecture. The former was north of Jinghong, while the latter was on Jingdexi Road beside Jinghong Produce Market. Both of them were of division level. Military units 7702 and 7701, both under the branch zone of Xishuangbanna, have been stationed in Menghai and Mengla counties as well as Jinghong for a long time. At the same time, armed police of a regiment size have also been quartered respectively in places mentioned above. In Daluo town of Menghai, which is on the border, there is one checkpoint with 26 police officers. Though small in size, its head, surnamed Zhu, is nonetheless a lieutenant-colonel, equivalent to a battalion commander in the military. A large number of armed police have been removed from the border because of the "adjustment", but some 100 police officers (equivalent to a company in size) are still kept in this tiny town. The armed police that were stationed in Menghai and Mengla previously, one regiment in size each, seem to have been withdrawn. Yet a new mobility brigade with more than 300 officers has been set up along with existing forces: a squadron of armed police guarding the prison and a border brigade. According to informed sources, the evacuated armed police were not sent far, but were redeployed in the deep forests closer to the border for tighter defense, forming a garrison model of armed police in the first frontline and PLA troops in the second. On September 9, the newly arrived troops took over the barracks and the battalion headquarters from border police. Villages that were never garrisoned before were now for the first time fortified. According to informed sources, the reinforcements were PLA 13th Army field troops who were beyond the command of the Xishuangbanna Autonomous Prefecture Military Branch Zone. The 13th Army is nicknamed the Chuan Army (ie Army from Sichuan province) in the locality, for it has apparently never been back to Yunnan since 1968, when the province came under the Chengdu Military Zone. Since that time, the field army stationed in Yunnan has been the 14th Army. But now, the Chuan Army has broken the convention and marched into the "taboo" region, a possible indication of Beijing's desire to reinforce the border. The 13th Army is ranked as a Level A field army, equipped with sophisticated armored weaponry, while the 14th is an inferior Level B, largely consisting of infantry. The 13th Army has fielded troops in numerous towns and villages in the area. Radar and missile forces have been deployed in a deep valley near Mengzhi village, which has been demarcated as a forbidden zone. At the time of Asia Times Online's investigation in the area, rumors were rife that US paratroops had infiltrated northern Myanmar to establish an air force base there. ATol confirmed that the rumor originated from the PLA barracks and soon spread among the local residents. Informed sources in Washington and Bangkok told ATol that the rumors were totally groundless. Some Bangkok sources insisted that the Thai government would not tolerate any such unilateral US action in neighboring Myanmar. Other sources in Beijing told ATol that China's reinforcement is a result of its fear that the military government in Yangon might collapse because of domestic and international pressure. As Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been put under house arrest for the third time, opposition voices are mounting. Internationally, the clamor against the junta has been mounting, even within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which is always reluctant to interfere in the internal affairs of a member state. Under these circumstances, even if the military government of Myanmar can hold on to its rule, its ability to control the border could deteriorate dramatically, leading to fighting among warlords in the region. For that and other reasons, China has seen the need to strengthen its own defense of the border. ----INTERNATIONAL---- Kyodo News, November 20, 2003 ILO asks Myanmar to take action on forced labor GENEVA, Nov. 20, Kyodo - The International Labor Organization (ILO) addressing Myanmar's forced labor problem on Thursday asked the country's military government to take ''concrete steps'' to improve the situation by next March. The ILO issued a sanction on Myanmar in November 2000 following reports that the junta uses forced laborers in public works and other projects. The ILO has established a liaison office in Yangon and in May drew up the ''Plan of Action'' with the junta. At its meeting Thursday, however, the ILO Governing Body expressed deep concerns over the forced labor situation, stating that the situation in the border area of Myanmar, where there is a large military presence, ''remains serious and has changed little.'' The body said there were some improvements in central Myanmar. The ILO said that efforts to carry out the action plan have been delayed by the political instability in the end of May following the detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. ----OPINION/OTHER---- The Nation, November 20, 2003 The third Burmese empire The Third Burmese Empire, established by Alaungpaya (1752-1760), the founder of the Alaungpaya or Konbaung dynasty, held fast until the British annexed upper Burma in Mandalay and overthrew Thibaw, the last king of Konbuang in 1886. According to Burmese chronicles, after the decline of Hongsawady, Aungzeya, who was believed to be inspired by the good nats (spirits), found himself the leader of a national movement. A village headman from the small town of Moksobomyo (present-day Shwebo), he fended off an attack by the Shan and Mon who, at that time, ruled Ava. Aungzeya, with support from his people, crowned himself Alaungpaya, which means the great king or ?embryo Buddha?. He announced the beginning of the Great Burma era and elevated Moksobomyo (the town of the hunter chief), after renaming it Shwebo (the town of the golden leader) to his capital. That was the first chapter in the Konbaung dynasty. But while Alaungpaya was establishing Konbaung, a new threat appeared on the horizon ? Westerners. Alaungpaya successfully drove off the French and the British. During the 1750s, his power spread over the whole of upper Burma, including Shan State. He also controlled the area previously under the rule of the Toungoo dynasty. He recaptured Ava from the Mon and also secured Hongsawady and Syrium. He drove the Mon out of Dagon (Takoeng in Thai), a small port near Hongsawady, and celebrated his victory with a festival at the Shwedagon Pagoda. His grandiose plans included making Dagon the chief port of his kingdom and he began work on the foundations of a new city, which he named Yangon (Rangoon), which translates as ?City of Peace? or ?the End of Strife?. He later compromised with the Mon by taking a Mon princess as his consort. As the French and the Kingdom of Ayutthaya had allied themselves with the Mon, Alaungpaya tried to gain British support. In 1757 he concluded a treaty with the British East India Co, granting it generous trade concessions. Nonetheless, the company, at war with the French in India, was unwilling to become involved in Burma. Alaungpaya?s last campaign was the invasion of Ayutthaya in April 1760. He was wounded and died while his was army retreating to Shwebo at Thathon. His eldest son and successor Naungdawgyi was usurped by his younger son Hsinbyushin (King of the White Elephant) in 1763, after just three years on the throne. King Hsinbyushin (1763-1776) conquered Ayutthaya in 1767. Thought to be from a race of cruel warriors, Hsinbyushin and his men were unsparing in their destruction of the people and the land. According to Thai chronicles, the King of Hongsawady (Bayinnaung) waged war like a monarch, but the King of Ava (Hsinbyushin) did so like a robber. However, Burmese control of Siam was very brief since later that same year, Sin, a brave Siamese soldier, and his followers were successful in expelling Hsinbyushin?s armies and established a new capital of Siam in Thonburi. In 1782, Bodawpaya (1782-1819), a son of Alaungpaya, came to power. He invaded Arakan, the maritime kingdom on the eastern coast on the Bay of Bengal and deported more than 20,000 people to Burma and into slavery. The borders of Burma and British India became contiguous, leading to conflicts between Burma and Britain during the reign of King Bagyidaw (1819-1838). This grandson of Bodawpaya followed his grandfather?s policy of aggressive expansion in northeastern India. The border with British India extended from Arakan on the Bay of Bengal northwards to the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. The British, angered over Burmese border raids in pursuit of rebel forces, launched its first war against Burma on March 5, 1824. On February 24, 1826, Bagyidaw?s government signed the Treaty of Yandabo, thus awarding Tenasserim, Arakan, Assam and Manipur to the British. Although Burma?s weaknesses became more apparent, especially following the defeat the brothers of the Konbaung family, arts and culture continued to flourish in the royal court and no more so than during the reign of King Mindon (1853-1878). Mindon?s reign is considered a golden age of Burmese cultural and religious life. As soon as he became king, Mindon insisted on peace. To avoid further trouble, he signed a commercial treaty in 1867 that gave the British generous economic concessions in the unoccupied parts of his country. In 1872 he sent his chief minister, Kinwun Mingyi U Gaung, on a diplomatic mission to London, Paris and Rome to secure international recognition of Burma?s status as an independent country and to appeal for restoration of its lost territory. In 1857 Mindon built a new capital, Mandalay, with palaces and monasteries that are masterpieces of traditional Burma architecture. Mindon also made Mandalay the centre of Buddhist learning. The Fifth Buddhist Council was held there in 1871 in an effort to revise and purify the Pali scriptures. Scholars, among them Dhida Saraya, speculate that Mindon built Mandalay as a sanctuary for himself and his subjects, who needed understanding and energy to face and fight against the new problems that had flown in with the winds from the West. Mindon promoted numerous reforms. The most important were an assessment of land tax and fixed salaries for government officials. He standardised the country?s weights and measures. He built roads and a telegraph system, and was the first Burmese king to mint coins. His reign is comparable with those of Siam?s Kings Rama IV and V. Mindon was succeeded by his son, Thibaw (1878-1885), the last king of Kanboung and Burma. On November 28, 1885, the British seized the land of four million pagodas and placed the country under complete colonial rule. The series is a part of ?The Wonders of 3 Cultures? festival being held in Chiang Mai from November 28 to 30, which is sponsored by Thai Airways International and a number of other organisations including the Nation Group. The highlights include seminars and a spectacular celebration of art, crafts and culture.