Burma Related News - Sep 09-11, 2006.
- From: "Tin Kyi" <maungtinkyi@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 06:32:16 +0000 (UTC)
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BURMA RELATED NEWS - SEPTEMBER 09-11, 2006.
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HEADLINES
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AP - Myanmar to restart constitution drafting
INQ7.net - US seeks puppet government in Myanmar, says state media
Kyodo News - European Union frowns on Myanmar over democratization
process
Kyodo News - ASEM to address N. Korea, Myanmar issues in chairman's
statement
Tulsa World - Laura Bush promotes literacy and the release of a Aung San
Suu Kyi
Outlook India - India to demand Bhutan-type operation in Myanmar
IANS - India, Myanmar talks from Wednesday
IHT - EU, Asian officials urge Myanmar to improve human rights,
democracy
New Kerala - Thailand-Myanmar to strengthen military ties
New Kerala - India-Myanmar home secretary-level talks from Sept 13
PD - Myanmar top leader meets Thai army chief
PD - Thailand's promised investment to boost Myanmar's FDI to new high:
official
Khaleej Times - EDITORIAL - Mind games in Myanmar
Bkk Post - Thai soldier shot dead near border with Burma
USUN - Letter of Ambassador John R. Bolton to UNSC
DVB News - Korea?s Daewoo and arms sales to Burma junta
DVB News - Forced relocation and land grabbing in central Burma
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Sat Sep 9, 11:02 PM ET
Myanmar to restart constitution drafting
By AYE AYE WIN, Associated Press Writer
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Myanmar's military government will reopen the
convention to draft the country's new constitution next month, a top
member of the ruling junta said Saturday.
Lt. Gen. Thein Sein said the National Convention, which is setting
guidelines for the new constitution, will resume Oct. 10 at Nyaung Hna
Pin, about 25 miles north of Yangon, state radio and television
reported.
It was the first public announcement of the exact date for resuming the
convention, which the junta calls its first step in a seven-stage "road
map" toward democracy that is supposed to lead to free elections. No
timetable has been set to complete the task, however.
Thein Sein, who chairs the meeting's Convening Commission, said at a
preparatory meeting for the convention at Naypyidaw that all delegates
have to be at the meeting venue by Oct. 7. Naypyidaw is the new
administrative capital of the country formerly known as Burma. It is
about 250 miles north of Yangon.
Thein Sein said invitations will be sent to all delegates except those
who have passed away or who are not well or too old to attend. He said
civil servants who had retired would also not get invitations.
Several deputy Cabinet ministers who were delegates to the convention
were dismissed from their jobs in June.
The convention was adjourned Jan. 31, with the government saying the
1,000-plus delegates ? including farmers and businessmen ? needed to
return to work and would resume before the end of the year "after
farmers have finished their cultivation and harvest."
Thein Sein said in late July that the convention has finished 75 percent
of its work, having laid down 15 proposed chapters to be included in the
new constitution.
Critics consider the proceedings a sham because the delegates were
hand-picked by the military, and detained opposition leader and Nobel
Peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for
Democracy party are not taking part.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory in
a 1990 general election but the military refused to hand over power,
claiming it had to first write a new constitution.
The junta first convened the National Convention in 1993, but its work
was aborted in 1996 after delegates belonging to Suu Kyi's party walked
out in protest, claiming the military was manipulating the proceedings.
The convention was resurrected in 2004, though Suu Kyi's party continued
not to take part.
The party and its members have faced constant harassment and Suu Kyi has
been in detention since May 2003. The junta's refusal to release her was
one reason the party boycotted the resumed meeting.
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INQ7.net
US seeks puppet government in Myanmar, says state media
Agence France-Presse
Last updated 06:05pm (Mla time) 09/09/2006
YANGON -- US attempts to haul Myanmar before the UN Security Council
showed that Washington wants to overthrow the ruling junta, state media
said Saturday.
"It is apparent that the US government is attempting to install a puppet
government in Myanmar," the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper
said.
The paper accused US lawmakers of colluding with "internal and external
lackeys and terrorist groups in exile" which were attempting to "make
good use of the Security Council for political gain."
It said some pro-democracy groups, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy, were seeking to seize power under the cover of the
US' diplomatic attacks.
Washington pressed Friday to have the issue of political repression and
human rights abuses in Myanmar put formally on the agenda of the
Security Council this month.
US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton said he sent a letter to the
incoming council president, Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis of Greece,
asking for the move "because of the threat to international peace and
security that the policies and actions" of the junta in Yangon pose.
The newspaper, a mouthpiece for Myanmar's highly secretive regime which
has ruled the country since 1962, said the US' allegations were not
"based on true events or prevailing conditions."
Security Council action, it said, could undo the stability already
achieved by the junta.
"The real problems do not lie in Myanmar; they are the consequences of
outside pressure and lop-sided sanctions," the paper said.
Early last month, US President George W. Bush signed legislation
renewing economic sanctions on Myanmar to signal his "serious concern"
about the military regime there, the White House said.
Washington has led efforts to force Yangon to change its repressive
policies and notably release Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house
arrest for most of the past 17 years.
A number of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members have
also openly expressed frustration at the lack of democratic reform in
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
Myanmar has indicated it would resume constitutional talks in October
that were suspended earlier this year, but critics warn that democratic
reforms are almost impossible under the current regime.
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Monday September 11, 7:05 AM
European Union frowns on Myanmar over democratization process
(Kyodo) _ European Union leaders criticized Myanmar Sunday over its
democratization process at their meeting with Asian counterparts on the
first day of a two-day summit.
Chairman of the Asia-Europe Meeting and Prime Minister of Finland Matti
Vanhanen said Sunday he was "not satisfied" with Myanmar's moves toward
democratic and humanitarian development as Myanmanese Foreign Minister
Nyan Win had outlined.
At a news conference closing the first day of the ASEM summit in
Helsinki, Vanhanen said many of the 39 assembled heads of state from the
ASEM member countries shared his strong feelings that no concrete
progress had been made in Myanmar since the last ASEM summit.
That took place in Hanoi in 2004.
"Myanmar's foreign minister gave an outline of the situation in his
country...but he did not give any clear promises for the future so I did
not leave satisfied,"
Vanhanen said, adding that the European Union in particular had
reiterated its "well-known" stance on Myanmar.
"We made a very clear demand for the release of political prisoner Aung
San Suu Kyi," Vanhanen continued, saying that ending the Nobel
laureate's highly publicized and extended house arrest would be a clear
indication to the world of Myanmar's first steps toward development.
Earlier in the day, European Union officials, including European
Commission Asia director James Moran, met with Nyan Win. The EU
officials urged Myanmar to bring about urgent democratic reform.
They reportedly called on the military government to "enter into a true
process of national reconciliation and democratization...and an early
resumption of a national legislature where all legitimate
representatives would be able to participate."
Myanmar, as well as North Korea and energy security, is expected to
feature in the chairman's statement at the end of the summit Monday.
ASEM groups the 25 member states of the European Union, the 10 members
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and Japan, China and
South Korea. The European Commission, the executive body of the European
Union, is also a member.
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Sunday September 10, 9:31 PM
ASEM to address N. Korea, Myanmar issues in chairman's statement
(Kyodo) _ The chairman's statement to be issued at the end of the sixth
Asia-Europe Meeting summit taking place in Helsinki will place a large
emphasis on the two very serious issues of North Korea and Myanmar, ASEM
officials said Sunday.
Briefing ahead of the start of the two-day summit, Markus Lyra,
undersecretary of state for the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
told reporters there is a great deal of concern over North Korea,
including Pyongyang's nuclear development.
"We will be calling for an abandonment of the nuclear weapons program
and a return to the six-party talks," Lyra said, adding it is important
that ASEM takes a clear stance against the worrying nuclear developments
in North Korea, heightened by recent missile launches toward the Sea of
Japan.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reportedly told a meeting of
Asian leaders ahead of the ASEM summit that he wishes to discuss issues
surrounding the Korean Peninsula.
Koizumi was also listed as having wanting to discuss aspects of the
Middle East conflict and the proposal from the Asian side to include
India, Pakistan and Mongolia as members of ASEM.
On Myanmar, Lyra confirmed that a preliminary troika discussion had
already taken place, attended by Myanmar Foreign Minister U Nyan Win,
with some "positive elements."
Europe's visa ban on government officials from Myanmar was lifted
temporarily to allow Win to attend the platform in Helsinki under the
pretext that human rights issues would be discussed in depth. It is a
move that has caused a deal of protest in the Finnish capital and around
Europe.
Having overshadowed ASEM summits in previous years, both European and
Asian heads of state -- who have previously diverged on how best to move
forward -- seem keen to make at least some progress on the controversial
topic of Myanmar's human rights and developmental issues.
"Asia can much more effectively influence development in Myanmar but the
European Union also has to do its part," Lyra said, emphasizing that,
with Myanmar's apparent recent interest and cooperation with the United
Nations, there were likely to be areas of convergence on the country at
the ASEM summit.
It was also suggested that the issue of Myanmar would receive attention
during the evening's retreat by heads of state for a dinner at the
Presidential Palace, though clear conclusions are unlikely to be
reached.
"The reaction from Myanmar's foreign minister was traditional -- they
need more time," Lyra said.
He went on to suggest that the European Union's two-pronged approach of
combining economic sanctions on Myanmar while at the same time including
it in key international forums, such as ASEM, was gaining positive
feedback.
ASEM groups the 25 member states of the European Union, the 10 members
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and Japan, China and
South Korea, as well as the European Commission, the executive body of
the European Union.
Germany will take on the EU's rotating presidency after Finland's term
expires on Dec 31.
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Tulsa World - 9/11/2006
First lady increases global presence
by USA Today
As the president plans a U.N. address, Laura Bush promotes literacy and
the release of a Myanmar activist.
WASHINGTON -- As her husband prepares his annual address to the United
Nations next week, Laura Bush also is ascending the global stage.
The first lady is putting the finishing touches on a conference to
improve reading skills in the world's most illiterate countries, a
roundtable discussion on Myanmar to press for the release of democracy
activist Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, and a speech on
health problems facing women worldwide.
Her activities next week in New York underscore how Bush is pursuing her
own second-term agenda -- one that gets her out more to champion
favorite causes and that some analysts say also helps burnish her
husband's image and that of the United States around the world.
In an interview last week, Bush dismissed with a smile the notion that
her work might help the president overcome criticism in Europe and
elsewhere. She said such talk is "maybe slightly exaggerated in the
media."
"I'm traveling because I have this opportunity to talk about things that
are important to me and that are important to our country," she said.
A poll released this month of people in European countries said only 18
percent of respondents approve of President Bush's handling of foreign
affairs, compared with 39 percent in the United States. With that in
mind, the first lady's personable style can be an asset, according to
pollster Andrew Kohut.
"Even many people who don't like President Bush here like her," said
Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
"Maybe she can lend a hand on the other side of the Atlantic."
Barbara Kellerman, a public policy lecturer at Harvard University's
Kennedy School of Government, said Laura Bush's popularity ratings have
been above 60 percent. Kellerman said a first lady can help by being
"what we used to call an ambassador of good will."
Bush said she focuses on a wide range of global issues, including the
impact of HIV and AIDS in Africa, that have long been personal concerns.
She wants people in foreign countries to know they are not alone in
facing these problems, she said.
"The people of the United States are standing with them as they address
these various challenges," she said.
First ladies have long mixed advocacy with ceremony around the world.
Eleanor Roosevelt became the first presidential spouse to fly overseas
without her husband during a 1934 trip to the Virgin Islands, Haiti, and
Cuba to inspect labor, housing and farm conditions. Nancy Reagan
attended the 1981 wedding of Britain's Prince Charles and Diana Spencer
and participated in an anti-drug program in Sweden six years later.
Bush's predecessor, Hillary Rodham Clinton, made at least 23 solo trips
abroad, many of them focused on women's education and human rights for
children.
Laura Bush so far has made 11 solo foreign trips, White House records
show. She was the first member of her family to visit Afghanistan after
the Taliban's fall, and the first to meet with Pope Benedict XVI.
At times, Bush has attracted controversy overseas. During visits last
year to Jerusalem shrines sacred to both Jews and Muslims, a group of
Palestinians heckled her. She played down the incident, telling
reporters, "I knew very well exactly how emotions run in this very, very
important part of the world."
At the U.N., Bush -- a former librarian and schoolteacher -- will
participate in a literacy conference co-sponsored by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO has developed
plans in 34 countries to show how improving literacy can have health and
economic benefits, Bush said.
"People who are educated are much more likely to be able to contribute
to a work force."
As the president addresses the U.N General Assembly on Tuesday, the
first lady's roundtable will discuss the plight of Suu Kyi, the Nobel
Peace Prize winner whose party won elections in 1990 only to be blocked
from taking power by the military junta that controls the nation, also
known as Myanmar. Bush calls Suu Kyi, under house arrest off and on ever
since, a "role model for women around the world."
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Outlook India
India to demand Bhutan-type operation in Myanmar
NEW DELHI, SEP 10 (PTI) With reports of northeast insurgent groups
operating from Myanmar, India will press for measures to flush them out
like Bhutan's crackdown on the ULFA in 2003, official sources said.
New Delhi will raise its concerns with Yangon over the activities of the
insurgent groups during the 12th Home Secretary-level talks between the
two sides beginning here on September 13.
Sources in the security establishment say that there are reports on the
activities of insurgent groups in Myanmar and their whereabouts and New
Delhi will utilise the four-day talks to make the demand for flushing
them out, besides raising issues like drug trafficking and smuggling.
They said some insurgent groups from Manipur and Nagaland were operating
from Myanmar and cited the instance of the killing of some Assam Rifles
personnel by insurgents a few months back.
They said New Delhi will take up the matter seriously with Yangon.
Though Bhutan launched 'Operation All Clear' to flush out ULFA militants
nearly three years ago, neither Bangladesh nor Myanmar has so far agreed
to similar action against Indian insurgent groups.
The northeastern states have been voicing concern over this issue,
pointing out the importance of Myanmar as the gateway to East Asian
countries from the strategic point of view.
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India, Myanmar talks from Wednesday
Monday September 11, 03:59 PM
New Delhi, Sep 11 (IANS) Hoping to strengthen cooperation in cracking
down on arms and drug trafficking, India will again raise concerns over
reports of rebel groups from the northeast operating from Myanmar when
home secretaries of the two countries meet here Wednesday.
While security issues such as border management are likely to figure in
the 12th round of home secretary level talks, New Delhi will seek a
categorical assurance that Myanmar will not allow its territory to be
used for activities detrimental to its interests.
While Home Secretary V.K. Duggal will lead the Indian side, Myanmar
Deputy Minister Brig Gen Phone Swe will lead the Myanmar team in the
four-day talks that will also explore ways of making the border
peaceful.
The two countries share a 1,643 km long land border and a coastline of
1,930 km wide open on the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal posing a
strategic challenge to India's eastern frontier.
As peace talks with the insurgent groups of the northeast make headway
in fits and starts, the security situation in the region continues to be
cause for concern, especially with some rebel groups taking refuge and
having camps in Myanmar.
Senior home ministry officials say while cooperation from the military
junta of Myanmar has been forthcoming in recent years, much more needs
to be done.
'Relations with Myanmar have to be maintained for effective
neutralisation of these insurgent groups,' said a senior ministry
official.
In the last such meeting held at Yangon in October last year, both sides
agreed to further strengthen cooperation for tackling the activities of
insurgents and drug traffickers with Myanmar assuring that arms
smugglers would be severely punished if caught on its soil.
Both countries will also review the status of various infrastructural
projects in Myanmar, particularly in the road and power sectors, over
which the two countries had agreed to cooperate.
Also on the agenda are issues relating to security, border trade, border
management and proposed infrastructure projects in Myanmar.
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The International Herald Tribune
EU, Asian officials urge Myanmar to improve human rights, democracy
The Associated Press
Published: September 10, 2006
HELSINKI, Finland Asian and European officials on Sunday urged Myanmar
to improve its human rights record, and the Southeast Asian nation
seemed more willing to cooperate with the United Nations, an EU official
said.
The officials met with Myanmar's foreign minister, U Nyan Win, at the
start of a two-day, 38-nation summit of Asian and EU leaders in
Helsinki, Finland.
"We reiterated our well-known positions on human rights and democracy, a
lack of democracy in Myanmar," said Markus Lyra, undersecretary of state
for political affairs for Finland, which now holds the EU presidency.
"Myanmar's reaction was traditional: Myanmar needs time," Lyra told
reporters at the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).
Myanmar's military took power in 1988 after violently suppressing mass
pro-democracy protests. It held a general election in 1990, but refused
to recognize the results after a landslide victory by the party led by
Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
The U.N. has tried to bring about a reconciliation between Myanmar's
junta and Suu Kyi's party. Earlier this year, U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari
was allowed to visit the country and meet with Suu Kyi.
Later Sunday, Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, whose country now
holds the EU presidency, said that the 25-member bloc regretted the lack
of progress in reconciliation and that Europe wanted to see tangible
progress in the near future. He added that Myanmar should release all
its political prisoners.
"The situation in Myanmar remains a great concern of our regional
partners and the international community," Vanhanen said.
The prime minister added that Myanmar's foreign minister gave no "clear
promises in the way of a more democratic Myanmar."
Myanmar, also known as Burma, joined ASEM in 2004 ? along with Vietnam
and Cambodia ? despite reservations by the EU which has imposed
diplomatic and economic sanctions against the Yangon government. Only
the country's foreign minister was given a visa to attend the summit.
On Sunday, the Finnish official said there were some "positive elements"
in the meeting with Myanmar's foreign minister.
"They seemed to be more interested in cooperation with the United
Nations," he said.
Lyra also noted that Myanmar's National Convention planned to meet next
month to draft a new constitution. The country's existing 1974 charter
has been suspended since the military took over.
The Finnish official said that Myanmar was urged to allow a variety of
political parties and groups to participate in the convention.
HELSINKI, Finland Asian and European officials on Sunday urged Myanmar
to improve its human rights record, and the Southeast Asian nation
seemed more willing to cooperate with the United Nations, an EU official
said.
The officials met with Myanmar's foreign minister, U Nyan Win, at the
start of a two-day, 38-nation summit of Asian and EU leaders in
Helsinki, Finland.
"We reiterated our well-known positions on human rights and democracy, a
lack of democracy in Myanmar," said Markus Lyra, undersecretary of state
for political affairs for Finland, which now holds the EU presidency.
"Myanmar's reaction was traditional: Myanmar needs time," Lyra told
reporters at the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).
Myanmar's military took power in 1988 after violently suppressing mass
pro-democracy protests. It held a general election in 1990, but refused
to recognize the results after a landslide victory by the party led by
Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
The U.N. has tried to bring about a reconciliation between Myanmar's
junta and Suu Kyi's party. Earlier this year, U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari
was allowed to visit the country and meet with Suu Kyi.
Later Sunday, Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, whose country now
holds the EU presidency, said that the 25-member bloc regretted the lack
of progress in reconciliation and that Europe wanted to see tangible
progress in the near future. He added that Myanmar should release all
its political prisoners.
"The situation in Myanmar remains a great concern of our regional
partners and the international community," Vanhanen said.
The prime minister added that Myanmar's foreign minister gave no "clear
promises in the way of a more democratic Myanmar."
Myanmar, also known as Burma, joined ASEM in 2004 ? along with Vietnam
and Cambodia ? despite reservations by the EU which has imposed
diplomatic and economic sanctions against the Yangon government. Only
the country's foreign minister was given a visa to attend the summit.
On Sunday, the Finnish official said there were some "positive elements"
in the meeting with Myanmar's foreign minister.
"They seemed to be more interested in cooperation with the United
Nations," he said.
Lyra also noted that Myanmar's National Convention planned to meet next
month to draft a new constitution. The country's existing 1974 charter
has been suspended since the military took over.
The Finnish official said that Myanmar was urged to allow a variety of
political parties and groups to participate in the convention.
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New Kerala
Thailand-Myanmar to strengthen military ties
Bangkok, Sep 11: Thailand's Army Chief begins his official visit to
Myanmar to strengthen military ties and cooperation.
General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin is expected to call on Chairman of
Myanmar's State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), armed forces chief
and defence minister Gen. Than Shwe, Vice Chairman of the ruling council
Gen. Maung Aye as well as deputy armed forces chief and Army chief.
"This is my first offiical visit to Myanmar since I took office. I'll
take the opportunity to meet the Myanmar top leaders to discuss issues
of mutual interest," he said before departure.
Sonthi revealed that his discussions with the Myanmar military junta
leaders would include bilateral cooperation between the Thai and Myanmar
military to address narcotics problems along the border.
"The Thai and Myanmar military have good ties and have no problems along
our common border. The drug problems along the border is actually caused
by armed ethnic groups in Myanmar," he noted.
On the question of joint patrol, the Thai army chief said the final
decision would be taken after detailed discussions.
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New Kerala
India-Myanmar home secretary-level talks from Sept 13
New Delhi, Sep 11: Steps needed to curb smuggling of arms and ammunition
and illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances
will come up for discussion at the forthcoming Home Secretary level
India-Myanmar talks.
The meeting, to be held here from September 13 to 16, will also review
the progress of various cross-border projects over which the two
countries have agreed to cooperate, an official release said today.
The meeting, held annually to discuss various issues related to
maintenance of peace and tranquility along the border, is likely to
discuss action against Indian Insurgent Groups (IIGs) present in Myanmar
territory and effective border management.
With reports of northeast insurgent groups operating from Myanmar, India
will press for measures to flush them out like Bhutan's crackdown on the
ULFA in 2003, MHA sources said.
There are reports on the activities of insurgent groups in Myanmar and
their whereabouts and New Delhi will utilise the four-day talks to make
the demand for flushing them out, besides raising issues like drug
trafficking and smuggling.
They said some insurgent groups from Manipur and Nagaland were operating
from Myanmar and cited instance of killing of some Assam Rifles
personnel by insurgents a few months back.
Though Bhutan launched 'Operation All Clear' to flush out ULFA militants
nearly three years ago, Myanmar has not so far agreed to similar action
against IIGs.
The northeastern states have been voicing concern over this issue,
pointing out the importance of Myanmar as the gateway to East Asian
countries from the strategic point of view.
Border management and fencing are among the issues expected to be
discussed at the talks. They are likely to be taken up in the light of
recent reports indicating the smuggling of Chinese grenades and
counterfeit Indian currency through the Myanmar border.
While the Indian side will be led by Union Home Secretary V K Duggal,
Deputy Minister Birg Gen Phone Swe will lead the Myanmar side.
Sources said during the last meeting, held at Yangon in October last
year, issues related to security, drug trafficking, border trade, border
management and proposed infrastructure projects in Myanmar were
discussed.
Both sides had agreed to further strengthen cooperation in tackling the
activities of insurgents, arms smugglers, drug peddlers and other
hostile elements along the India-Myanmar border.
The status of various infrastructure projects in Myanmar, particularly
in the road and power sectors, for which the two countries have agreed
to cooperate, was reviewed at the last meeting and a follow up is
expected this time.
India and Myanmar had signed an agreement for maintenance of peace and
tranquility in the border areas in 1994, under which Home Secretaries of
both countries are to meet once a year while Joint Secretaries are to
hold sectoral meetings every six months. The last sectoral meeting was
held in Kolkata in July last year.
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People's Daily Online - September 12, 2006
Myanmar top leader meets Thai army chief
Chairman of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)
Senior-General Than Shwe met with visiting Thai Army Commander-in-Chief
General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin in Nay Pyi Taw, the new capital of
Myanmar, Monday, the state-run Radio Myanmar reported in a night
broadcast.
Than Shwe, who is also Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Service,
received the Thai military leader shortly after the latter's arrival
earlier on the day at the invitation of Vice Senior-General Maung Aye,
SPDC Vice-Chairman and Deputy Commander- in-Chief of the Defense and
Commander-in-Chief of the Army.
Both sides did not disclose the details about their meeting.
Aimed at enhancing military ties and cooperation between the two
neighbors, Sonthi is paying a three-day official visit to Myanmar for
the first time since he took up his post.
Before his departure, Sonthi said in Bangkok that he would discuss with
Myanmar military leaders on issues of mutual interest including
bilateral cooperation in the military sector and addressing of narcotic
problems along the two common border as well as seeking the possibility
of conducting a joint patrol along the border.
Sonthi's Myanmar trip came more than a month after Thai Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra, Supreme Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces
General Ruengroj MahasarYangond, and Thai Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Justice Police General Chidchai Vanasatidya visited the
country in the same month of August successively. (Source: Xinhua)
********************************************************************
People's Daily Online - September 11, 2006
Thailand's promised investment to boost Myanmar's FDI to new high:
official
Thailand's promised investment of 6 billion U.S. dollars in Myanmar's
Thanlwin River hydropower project would boost the country's foreign
direct investment (FDI) to nearly two times, said Monday's Myanmar
Times, pre-published on Sunday.
The Thai investment project to be implemented under a memorandum of
understanding between the Myanmar Ministry of Electric Power and the
Thai Ministry of Energy is expected to take six years to complete and
would raise Myanmar's FDI of 7.78 billion dollars to about 13.8 billion
dollars, the Myanmar Investment Commission was quoted as predicting.
The 6-billion-dollar Thai Ta Sang hydropower plant project of 7, 110
megawatt (mw) will be implemented on the Thanlwin River in southern part
of Shan state, according to an agreement signed in April between the
Hydroelectric Power Department of Myanmar and the MDX Group of Thailand.
In Myanmar's FDI mainly coming from member countries of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), oil and gas accounted for 34
percent, manufacturing 20 percent, real estate 13.7 percent and hotels
and tourism 13.3 percent.
Other sectors include mining, livestock and fisheries, transport
communication, industrial estate, construction and agriculture.
Myanmar enacted the FDI Law in late 1988, and the energy sector which
comprises oil and gas and hydropower would stand the main contributor to
the increase in FDI in Myanmar in the future. (Source: Xinhua)
********************************************************************
Khaleej Times Online
EDITORIAL - Mind games in Myanmar
11 September 2006
THE military junta of Myanmar never seems to give up. Having defied the
international community all these years and abducted an entire country,
the Generals have come up with a new excuse to perpetuate the status
quo. They are now talking of resuming the talks to draft the country?s
new constitution on October 10 amid growing international pressure on
the regime for democratic reforms.
But the people of Myanmar as well as the Generals know full well that it
is not a new constitution that Myanmar urgently and desperately needs.
What Myanmar requires is real political change and freedom for its
people to determine their own destiny and choose their own leaders.
Besides, given the junta?s earlier attempts at stage-managing
?democracy? ? if it can be called that ? there should be no doubt in any
one?s mind that the Generals are far from serious in returning power to
the people.
The regime first convened a ?national convention? in 1993 to silence
critics at home and abroad upset over the refusal to hand power to Nobel
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi?s National League for Democracy after its
landslide victory in 1990 general election. Although the NLD took part
in the convention despite its reservations, it walked out after
realising it was a military-manipulated affair all the way. There was
another disastrous attempt to resurrect the Convention and the so-called
roadmap for democracy in 2004.
And now comes this move to find political legitimacy in the face of
growing international criticism. The junta clearly wants to bypass Suu
Kyi ? who remains a prisoner in her home for over a decade despite
winning an impressive mandate ? and her NLD by propping up its own
pliable puppets.
But the world community should call the junta?s bluff. For far too long,
the international community has neglected the people of Myanmar. Even
when the world stood up for Myanmar, the support has rarely gone beyond
ineffective rhetoric. That the junta continues to hold the people of
Myanmar under its thumb ? or should it be the military boot? ? now for
nearly four decades speaks volumes about the clout of the international
community.
Even the US, the sole superpower and self-styled champion of democracy,
has done little to ease the suffering of Burmese people. This week,
Washington demanded a discussion on Myanmar in the United Nations. But
given the world body?s influence and the stunning impact of its
decisions, or lack of it, can you blame the Burmese people if they view
such calls and demands with a heavy dose of scepticism? The visible lack
of interest of the world powers in the Southeast Asian country is not
all that difficult to explain though. After all, Myanmar does not have
oil!
********************************************************************
Bangkok Post - Tuesday September 12, 2006
Thai soldier shot dead near border with Burma
Mae Hong Son _ A Thai soldier was shot dead yesterday by unidentified
troops near the Thai-Burmese border while on a mission to intercept a
drugs caravan..
Pvt Somsak Kawkhao, 20, came under fire as he and his comrades from the
2nd battalion of the 17th infantry regiment were heading for Ban Pai Sam
Ngam village in Pai district, officials said.
The troops returned fire. The two sides exchanged fire for around 15
minutes before the attackers fled across the border into Burma,
according to officials.
The army sent troops to patrol the area bordering Pai district and
Chiang Mai's Wiang Hae district following a report that a drugs caravan
would use a route in Pai district to sneak into Thailand.
The body of Pvt Somsak was flown to his home province of Lampang for
funeral rites. He will posthumously receive a promotion, the officials
said.
A border source said that as drug supplies in Thailand were running low,
traffickers in Burma were trying to smuggle drugs into Thailand.
********************************************************************
US Embassy U.S. Mission to the U.N
USUN PRESS RELEASE # (06)
March 21, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Letter of Ambassador John R. Bolton, U.S. Representative to the United
Nations, on Burma to His Excellency Mr. Adamantios Th. Vassilakis,
President of the United Nations Security Council, for the month of
September, 2006
Excellency:
The United States and other members of the Security Council are
concerned about the deteriorating situation in Myanmar, known to the
United States as Burma, and this situation is likely to endanger the
maintenance of international peace and security. In his briefing to the
Council in December 2005 and June 2006, Under Secretary Gambari
described the grave human rights and humanitarian conditions in Burma,
including the detention of over 1,100 political prisoners, as well as
the outflow from Burma of refugees, drugs, HIV/AIDS, and other diseases.
These conditions threaten to have a destabilizing impact on the region.
Therefore, we request that the situation in Myanmar, known to the United
States as Burma, be placed on the Council?s agenda, and that a senior
official of the Secretariat formally brief Member States in a meeting of
the Security Council on this situation and its implications for
international peace and security.
Sincerely,
John R. Bolton
********************************************************************
Korea?s Daewoo and arms sales to Burma junta
Sep 08, 2006 (DVB) ? South Korea?s special investigation department
revealed yesterday that Daewoo, one of the biggest foreign investors in
Burma, has been selling military equipment to the ruling military junta,
the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).
The revelation was made during radio and TV broadcasts yesterday
evening, according to a Burmese who is living in Seoul. As the sale of
the equipment was made without the permission of the government, the
report said that officials concerned at Daewoo will be investigated as
soon as possible and taken action against.
?Yesterday, 7 September at 8pm (local time), a TV (station?) called SPL
and the IPC; both departments announced it. Similarly, the radios also
announced it. But there has been no statement (or news) in English up to
now. Korean newspapers also carried these reports in Korean language,? a
Burmese pro-democracy activists Yan Naing Tun told DVB. ?What the news
said was Daewoo international company based in Korea has been selling
auxiliary military equipment and materials needed to make military
weapons. With that, the special investigation department in Korea also
found out with strong evidences that (the company has been) teaching
(the Burmese) how to use the technology, it was announced thus.?
Thailand-based Burma army watcher, Htay Aung gave his opinion on the
development in South Korea as follows:
?In my view, as for the military government, in its efforts to make its
army a great modern army, it has been buying both technologies and
weapons from any country available, especially from neighbouring country
China, and Russia. Moreover, there have been attempts and actual
purchases (of weapons) from the black market. In this case, the South
Korean company Daewoo is investing in Burma offshore gas. It is possible
that it (the SPDC) is buying modern military equipment and technologies
with the money it gets from it (Daewoo). From the initial reports I got,
there had been some examples of exchange of weapons and equipment from
North Korea with narcotics manufactured in Burma. Therefore, I assess
that there is a great possibility that there could be an exchange of
weapons from the black market with the gas money gained from South
Korean company Daewoo.?
Yan Naing Tun said that Burmese activists in South Korea are planning to
stage a demonstration outside Daewoo head office on Monday to demand the
truth from the company.
Daewoo is the biggest investor in the exploration of natural gas off the
coast of western Burma?s Arakan State near Bangladesh. The latest report
emerged at a time exiled pro-democracy activists groups and rights
organisations are demanding foreign companies to stop doing business
with the SPDC which is accused of various forms of human rights
violation.
?In my opinion, as for big corporations, except for gaining profits for
themselves, there is no example of them caring for human rights and
democratic rights,? commented Htay Aung. ?Therefore, as for Daewoo
company, in my view, they are only concentrating on their own profits.
Therefore, although they might know that the military government is
violating human rights, if they can gain profits from the military
government, they will not be worried to do ?give-and-take? with
anything.?
********************************************************************
Forced relocation and land grabbing in central Burma
Sep 09, 2006 (DVB) - The authorities of Meikhtila Township in central
Burma and regional military officers have ordered local residents of 200
households to move their homes within 21 days from 25 September, on the
pain of being prosecuted for encroaching on army-owned lands.
The order was issued on 25 August with the signature of Khin Maung Soe,
the township chief administrator, and it was the second time the ?notice
letter? was issued, a local resident told DVB.
?The ward authority members came to give us that letter, but people from
the ward couldn?t accept it. Last time, we accepted it. This time, we
told them that we could not accept their letter and sent them back.?
He added that the first notice letter only told residents to move out
but they are very incensed by the second as it includes the threats of
forced relocation and prosecution. Residents have decided to stay put
and local Buddhist monks volunteered to protect them and intercede for
them.
The army claims that the land belongs to nearby army-owned textile
factory and accused the residents of being squatters. The residents
insisted that their land doesn?t belong to the army as they can prove
they bought the land with contracts long before the army built the
factory.
A similar attempt of land grabbing was made by an army officer some
years ago at the same place, but he was told to give up his claim by his
superiors after some investigations.
********************************************************************
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