Daily News-November-06-Monday-2000

  • Pressure builds for decision on forced labour
  • Korea strengthening commercial ties with junta
  • Burmese Troops Extend Offensive
  • Junta purging the HIV Positive Officers
  • Burmese scholar drops integrity to rewrite country's history
  • Thais prevented from visiting a casino in Myawaddy
  • Burma's Metal Export Doubled in First Half of 2000
  • India And Burma Discuss Combatting Terrorism
  • Wa Consolidates Hold on The Border
  • Maha Sang: Man of his People
  • Exasperated UN observer leaves big shoes to fill
  • ILO may still punish Burma despite ban on forced labour
  • Burma's Metal Export Doubled in First Half of 2000
  • India And Burma Discuss Combatting Terrorism
  • Wa Consolidates Hold on The Border
  • Maha Sang: Man of his People
  • Exasperated UN observer leaves big shoes to fill
  • ILO may still punish Burma despite ban on forced labour

    • Pressure builds for decision on forced labour
    source : BURMA COURIER No. 243 - Oct 29 - Nov 4, 2000

    Based on reports from Reuters, Kyodo, AP, ICFTU and Mizzima: Updated to Nov 3

    GENEVA -- A key policy-making body of the International Labour Organization has begun sessions in which Burma's military government is expected to face renewed pressure over accusations of widespread use of forced labour.

    An ILO team is to report next week to the ILO's Governing Body on its recent mission there, before a November 30 deadline for the ruling junta to make its laws and practices conform to an international treaty banning forced labour. "Their report is being prepared. It is clear there has been cooperation,'' ILO spokesman John Doohan said in response to an inquiry. "The question is whether the government has gone far enough in implementing the legal, administrative and executive measures to eliminate forced labour,'' he added.

    The team's report, to be issued next week, will be followed by a full debate in the Governing Council the following week.

    In Rangoon, Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win told reporters that the government had issued an ordinance effectively banning forced labour in compliance with ILO requirements. He said the order had become effective the day the ILO team had left the country the previous week. There was no evidence of publication of the announcement in English language media.

    There were also attempts by junta sympathizers to paint a different face on the practice of corvee labour. An Internet contributor reposted a 1996 magazine article which claimed that there are records dating back a thousand years that demonstrate the principle of community volunarism in Burmese society through labour contributed to community projects such as road, dike and dam building. The practice was said to conform with the Buddhist belief in the merit making efficacy of charitable acts.

    Another 'netizen' posted a long defence of the military practice of requiring civilians to porter military supplies and equipment in front line operations carried out by the army. The anonymous essay was typical of the style of Col Hla Min. a top ranking officer of Burma's Military Intelligence.

    Meanwhile, in Brussels the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) issued a call for solidarity with Burma's working people. It appealed to its members and partners around the world to step up pressure on the Burmese junta and to ensure that the ILO would take swift action against it for failing to eliminate forced labour in the country. It proposed measures such as the disruption of essential services to junta embassies in world capitals and a flood of faxed letters and protest messages against forced labour to be forwarded to the official junta website.

    In Bangkok the exiled Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB) released a major report which provided case histories evidencing that unpaid civilian labourers continue to be required to build roads and barracks and work on army-owned farms and to serve as porters for military supplies.

    Three villagers who fled across the mountainous Thai-Burma border last week told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand how the army had coerced them into arduous manual tasks, giving them little food and no compensation.

    "I was walking on the road in my village when soldiers suddenly came and took eight of us away," said a 56-year old ethnic Mon farmer, describing his experience in September. "They came with their guns pointing at us, we were afraid and we had to obey."

    The villager, who did not want his name used for fear of retribution, said he spent 18 days with an army patrol in southern Myanmar, carrying baskets of rice, bullets and heavy weapon shells. "I saw other people beaten by the soldiers. I wasn't beaten because I could walk fast," he said. The villager later abandoned his farm in Ye township and fled by foot with his wife to Thailand.

    A government spokesman in Rangoon called the allegations in the report fabrications and said the country has a tradition of voluntary community labor, most of it unrelated to the military. "There are times" when villagers and troops work together to improve the living standards of the village, he said in a faxed statement. Due to lack of equipment and machinery, "the nation has to rely much on community service."
    Korea strengthening commercial ties with junta
    source : BURMA COURIER No. 243 - Oct 29 - Nov 4, 2000

    Based on news items from Asia Pulse, Korea Herald, NLM: Updated to Nov 1, 2000

    RANGOON -- A visit to Korea this week by the junta's trade minister Pyi Sone served to emphasize the growing commercial relations between the two countries.

    LG Industrial Systems marked the occasion by announcing that is has signed a deal to supply Myanmar Electric Power Enterprise with high voltage equipment and switchboards worth US$ 3.5 million. The equipment will be used for substation construction in central Burma. LG, one of Korea's largest manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment, said it already commanded a 30% share in Burma's electronic market which it supplies from Vietnam.

    Korea's Industry and Energy Minister Shin used the opportunity to promote a project that Daewoo Corporation is getting underway to probe for oil and gas along the coast of the Bay of Bengal in southern Burma. Daewoo announced in August that it would invest up to US$ 180 million over the next four years in the oil search which it defined as an "excavation project" similar to one it is currently carrying out in Peru. Daewoo may be looking to use the project as a bargaining chip in its current efforts to work its way out of $80 billion worth of bad debt.

    Shin also pressed Pyi Sone to issue much needed import licenses for Myanmar Posco Steel, a jointly owned venture of Korea's Pohang Iron and Steel Corp and Myanmar Economic Holdings, the main investment instrument of Burma's generals and colonels and the Department of Defence Procurement. Posco imports the raw steel it needs to produce galvanized metal sheeting directly from Korea.

    Not mentioned, but also of current interest, was the deal announced in July of this year whereby a consortium of Korean steel companies led by Hyundai Corp is supplying 45,000 tons of 20 inch steel pipe worth US$ 30 million to Burma's national petroleum company, MOGE. The piping will be used to bring gas from the offshore Yadana field to an onshore location in the Irrawaddy delta. Shipments were due to begin in September.

    For his part, Pyi Sone pressed his Korean counterpart to use his influence to increase corporate investment in Burma. Sure enough, only a couple of days later, the junta's Revenue Minister, U Khin Maung Thein, and the Governor of the Central Bank, U Kyaw Kyaw Maung, were in meetings in Rangoon with the president of Korea's Export-Import Bank Mahn-Ki Yang and the Korean ambassador in Rangoon.
    Burmese Troops Extend Offensive
    MAE SOT, Thailand (AP) - Myanmar government soldiers have extended their offensive against Karen ethnic rebels, attacking another guerrilla stronghold on Sunday, rebel officials and Thai villagers said.

    Five hundred government troops attacked the Karen National Union base at Waw Lay Khee, about 210 miles northwest of Bangkok, said KNU officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.

    It was the second attack on a KNU stronghold opposite Phoppra district in Thailand's Tak province in less than a week.

    Myanmar troops, aided by ethnic guerrilla allies of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, launched an attack on a KNU stronghold at Wei Na Na Hta, about 18 miles north of Waw Lay Khee on Thursday.

    The Karen claim to have held the base despite artillery and ground attacks by about 400 troops. KNU officials said about 150 civilians had been caught in Sunday's fighting and were unable to flee to safety in Thailand.

    The KNU claimed that four Myanmar soldiers died in the attack on Waw Lay Khee and one of their own guerrillas was injured. They also said that one Myanmar officer and nine other government troops were wounded in heavy fighting through Saturday night around Wei Na Na Hta.

    Thai villagers near the fighting are being evacuated to safer areas away from the border. The attacks seem to follow a familiar pattern of the government taking the offensive just as the rainy season, which began around July, is coming to an end.

    The KNU has been fighting for regional autonomy since Myanmar's independence in 1948. It once controlled a large part of the country's eastern border region, but in recent years lost its last major enclaves along the border with Thailand. Its forces, thought to number 2,000 to 3,000, now fight in mobile guerrilla units.

    It is the only major ethnic army that has refused to sign a cease-fire with the military regime of Myanmar, also known as Burma. The government has brokered deals with at least 15 other armies.

    The KNU has said it will give up its armed struggle if its political rights are guaranteed.
    Junta purging the HIV Positive Officers
    Source : Shan Herald Agency

    According to a high ranking Burmese military officer along the Thai border, Rangoon is launching a purge campaign against its HIV - positive officers whose number is on the rise.

    During the past few years, he said, commissioned officers graduating from Maymyo's Defense Service Academy (Burma's West point), and Officers Training Schools (OTS) from Ba Htoo, Kalaw, Mingladon and other training institutes have been undergoing blood-tests, and those found with HIV or AIDS were discharged from the army without compensation or benefits for their past services.

    "One of my subordinate officers was sent to Kalaw (southern Shan State) for staff training early last year, and when he was discovered infected with HIV, he was not only rejected entry to the training course, but both his rank and commission were removed," said the officer who spoke on condition of anonymity. "For those who had committed other offenses, even murderers and rapers, they were given a chance to serve in other capacities such as USDA (Union Solidarity and Development Association) functionaries or as heads of fire brigades, but for who were unfortunate enough to catch AIDS, there is no more future for them as far as the army is concerned".

    According to him, at least 15-20% of the officer class is ridden with the syndrome.
    Burmese scholar drops integrity to rewrite country's history
    Source : Bertil Lintner,The Taipei Times

    In August 1988, millions of people took to the streets of Burma's capital Rangoon (now called Myanmar and Yangon by its military regime), and every town and major village across the country.

    They demanded an end to 26 years of military-dominated dictatorship, and to a disastrous economic policy called "The Burmese Way to Socialism," which had turned what used to be Southeast Asia's most prosperous country into an economic and social wreck.

    What had begun as peaceful demonstrations turned into a bloodbath when the military stepped in, first to crush the demonstrations in early August and, when that failed, again on Sept.18 to reassert power.

    On both occasions, thousands of unarmed demonstrators were gunned down in massacres far bloodier than China's more publicized crackdown on its pro-democracy movement a year later.

    Dr Maung Maung, who served as Burma's president for a month during the upheaval of August-September 1988, purports to chronicle these dramatic events in this book.

    But it is more an attempt to rewrite history, a white-wash of one of the most brutal massacres in modern Asian history. More precisely, it is a blind eulogy to Burma's ageing strongman Ne Win, and Maung Maung's reverence for the "Old Man" is extended even to his children and grandchildren. For these reasons alone, Maung Maung's book is worth reading because it shows how far an academic sycophant is prepared to go to please his mentor.

    One of the worst examples of a deliberate distortion of history is Maung Maung's version of Ne Win's infamous warning in July 1988 to the increasingly restless people of Burma, who by then had begun to protest against the old order: "As for the control of civil disturbances, I have to inform the people that when the army shoots, it shoots to hit, it doesn't fire into the air to scare. Therefore, I warn those causing disturbances that they will not be spared if in the future the army is brought in." However, Maung Maung quotes Ne Win as saying: "Soldiers are trained to shoot straight on order, not overhead into the air. Let those inclined to anarchy be duly warned: if they have to face the troops it will be no laughing matter."

    But then the army didn't use violence at all. In Maung Maung's bizarre interpretation of what happened in Rangoon 12 years ago, some Buddhist monks opened fire on "looters." The president at that time and Maung Maung's predecessor as head of state, Sein Lwin, who became universally known as "the Butcher of Rangoon" for his role in the killings, was "as soft as soft could be."

    The people of all ages who in 1988 risked their lives to demand political and economic change are called "hooligans, looters, arsonists, headhunters" and the only reason why the world paid any attention to the upheavals was because "sensational news was not breaking out elsewhere in the world in 1988."

    But despite such far-fetched interpretations, the book contains precious little about the events of 1988. Nearly three quarters of the text is a glowing account of Ne Win and his efforts to build up Burma's armed forces to a formidable and "responsible" institution. It is even questionable whether the title of the book, "The 1988 Uprising in Burma," is Maung Maung's own. Nowhere in the text does he call the events of 1988 an "uprising." Instead, he uses "the disturbances" and similar terms to describe the events of 1988, echoing the military regime's own description of the popular uprising.

    It is far more likely that the title was given by the American scholar, Franklin Mark Osanka, who met Maung Maung in Burma in the mid-1990s and then obtained the original manuscript. Osanka's foreword to the book also reveals some astonishing ignorance about Burma and Maung Maung. Osanka, for instance, believes that Maung Maung was elected President of the Union of Burma on Aug. 18, 1988. Maung Maung was appointed -- not elected -- president on Aug. 19 by the inner circle of the then besieged ruling party, the Burma Socialist Program Party (BSPP).

    This is a very sad book. Under different circumstances, an obviously intelligent and well-educated person such as Maung Maung could have been an outstanding scholar. But he decided to adjust his scholarship to please one of Asia's cruelest dictators and, in the process, to become a defender of mass murder. It is perhaps even more astonishing that Yale University's Southeast Asia Program, a respectable institution, chose to publish this book without a serious and objective commentary.
    Thais prevented from visiting a casino in Myawaddy
    Source : Bangkok Post

    Local tourism has dropped by two-thirds because of fighting across the border in Burma and strict measures to prevent Thais from visiting a casino in Myawaddy.

    Samart Loyfa, Mae Sot district chief, said 500-600 tourists used to visit the weekend Ban Rim Moei market, near the Thai-Burmese Friendship Bridge. Last weekend there were only about 200.

    He blamed the decrease on a clash last month between the army and Burmese soldiers in Umphang district, which claimed the life a Thai soldier.

    A battle between Burmese troops and the Karen National Union opposite Phop Phra district was another cause for concern.

    A National Security Council ban on Thais from outside Tak crossing the border in Mae Sot, to prevent people visiting the casino, was also having an effect.

    Pol Capt Sombat Phannarong, owner of Umphang Hill Resort, said 200 tourists have cancelled trips to the area because of the fighting.

    Only 70 people had confirmed their bookings.

    "Some tourists have cancelled bookings to visit Thi Lor Su waterfall because they believe it is near the war zone. "They are actually 30km apart," he said.
    Burma's Metal Export Doubled in First Half of 2000
    Source : XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

    Burma exported 14,000 tons of base metal and ores in the first six months of this year, doubled as compared with the same period of 1999, according to the latest official economic indicators.

    Meanwhile, the country imported base metal manufactures worth of 113 million dollars in the half-year period, 93 million less than the same period of 1999.

    Burma annually exports 19,460 tons of base metal and ores, while importing 255 million dollars of such manufactures.

    Burma is well endowed with mineral resources, having two state enterprises under the Ministry of Mines undertaking the production of metallic minerals such as gold, copper, silver, lead, zinc, tin and tungsten, and one enterprise dealing with non- metallic minerals or industrial minerals such as iron, steel, coal, barytes, limestone, gypsum and dolomite.

    The production of precious stones such as gems, jade and diamond are handled by another state enterprise known as the Myanma Gems Enterprise under the same ministry.
    India And Burma Discuss Combatting Terrorism
    Source : Asia Pulse

    NEW DELHI, Nov 6- - India and Burma have discussed ways of combating terrorism, insurgency, narco-trafficking and gun-running in addition to illegal border crossing.

    This figured during talks visiting Burmese Home Minister Tin Hlaing had with the Indian External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh here.

    Hlaing, on a eight-day visit, had been instrumental in setting up an institutional mechanism between the two countries to deal with these issues.

    Singh underscored the need for expanding cooperation particularly in infrastructure-related projects.

    The two sides also agreed to explore avenues for improving transborder infrastructural links, a foreign office spokesman told reporters. India and Burma have a 1,600 km-long border.

    The spokesman said the Tamu-Kalemyo road link in Burma built by the Border Roads Organisation would be made operational soon.

    Burma sought more facilities from India to provide training to its security personnel in the country.

    During his stay, Hlaing will hold parleys with the Indian Home Minister L K Advani, Defence Minister George Fernandes besides Minister of State for Personnel Vasundhra Raje. He will also visit Bodhgaya, Mumbai and Hyderabad.
    Wa Consolidates Hold on The Border
    Source : Shan Herald Agency

    The Wa army that has been authorized by Rangoon since mid June to become gatekeeper along the border opposite Chiangmai-Chiangrai is building up its consolidation, according to sources across the border.

    From Namyoom, the village that serves as a supply depot on the Mongton-BP1 road (5 km from BP1), a road is being constructed to connect with the strategic Loihtwe (Doithuay in Thai) overlooking Thailand.

    Gen Htay Oo, Commander, LID 99, issued leaflets last month inviting the SSA to "exchange arms for peace".

    The local populace appears to be concerned with the SSA's publicized fight against drugs in the area. "We were not worried about the Shan's anti-narcotics activities against other groups, but with the Wa, it is a different story," said a Buddhist monk. "They are not going to take it meekly. There is a Shan saying, 'A creeper climbing over a trellis, pulling one strand will shake the whole bunch'. It aptly applies to the Wa".

    He added, "The Shans might say the Wa are fighting someone else's war but it is difficult to differentiate who's a proxy and who's not."
    Maha Sang: Man of his People
    Source : Maxmilian Wechsler, Czech Press

    Mae Hong Son, November 6, 2000--The picturesque valley of Mae Aw village in Mae Hong Son province is the home of the legendary opposition Wa leader Maha Sang.

    A son of the Prince of Veang Xing of Wa State, Maha Sang has been living for many years at his modest two-storey house surrounded by hills, only a stone throw distance from the Burmese border. In fact, the SPDC soldiers could easily watch his house if dare to come so close!

    Maha Sang is the chairman of the Wa National Organization (WNO) and the commander of its military wing, the Wa National Army (WNA).

    He commands several hundreds well disciplined and professional soldiers of the WNA based inside Burma.

    Maha Sang is also the vice-chairman of the National Democratic Front (NDF) and the chairman of its anti-narcotic suppression department.

    Ironically, Maha Sang has been often accused by the Thai press as being involved in the drug related activities. He vehemently refute these allegations blaming a foreign country for orchestrating a campaign against him. “They asked me to cooperate with them but I refused. I just couldn’t accept their conditions. That’s why they are trying to taint my name,” Maha Sang firing back.

    “If I was involved in the drug dealings the Thais wouldn’t allow me to stay here,” Maha Sang explained in the tone that made his argument convincing.

    A permanent Border Patrol Police (BPP) checkpoint is located on the main road just few meters from Maha Sang’s house with several alerted Thai policemen.

    Maha Sang is a friendly, hospitable, softly speaking Wa leader. He’s constantly watched by his men. The border is too close and one can never be careful enough. An enemy agent could always sneak in under the cover of the night….

    Maha San explained in the well spoken Thai language that all his support come from his people who live in the surrounding villages all around Mae Hong Son province. Everybody respect his devotion to the cause and treats him as their “Prince.” Maha Sang devotes all his time to fight against the SPDC and to reduce the drug menace.

    Maha Sang suddenly point to his roof and saying: “I fought the Mong Tai Army ( MTA) led by the drug warlord Khun Sa’s 10 years ago. Just look at the roof ridden with many holes. The MTA soldiers fired their machine guns at my house from the surrounding hills. Luckily nobody was hurt. The MTA soldiers were everywhere at that time.

    Presently, Mae Aw and surrounded area are popular tourist spots with many foreign tourist visiting everyday. This partly thanks to Maha Sang’s day to day work with his Thai allies .

    Maha Sang is well known and respected anti-SPDC dissident closely associated with many opposition groups. “We have to join the fight against our common enemy. The WNO/WNA coordinates with other political and armed groups inside and outside Burma,” Maha Sang explained.

    Even the Karen National Union (KNU) once requested for his troops with nothing but a praise for his soldiers.

    Unfortunately, Maha San’s health has not been the best lately because of his sacrifices, but despite all the inconveniences he spends all day looking after his people and that’s why they love him.

    Maha Sang continued while sipping delicious Chinese tea: “ Whenever the Thai or foreign press mentions the name Wa, it is always connected to some illegal activities, mostly narcotic dealings. The press always describes the Wa people as the outcast, criminals and drug traffickers. This is wrong.. Not all the Was are involved in the criminal activities. The Was are peace-loving and hard working people who, same as other ethnic groups, want to live in the free, democratic and peaceful country. Most of the Wa people, including the UWSA, despise the SPDC.”

    Maha Sang continuously urges the UWSA and other Wa groups to stop production of the drugs and to find other sources of income., which will not harm people in Thailand and abroad! Many listen to him.

    The UWSA leadership pledged to stop all narcotic related activities within five year.

    Maha Sang doesn’t have any grudge against some people who criticize him. “That’s how the democracy should work. We should all be brothers fighting together with our common enemy, the SPDC.”
    Exasperated UN observer leaves big shoes to fill
    Source : South China Morning Post

    The resignation of the United Nations human rights investigator for Burma, Judge Rajsoomer Lallah, shows how difficult it is to deal with a regime that is deaf to criticism, say sympathetic observers.

    The resignation also points to the difficulty of finding adequate funding for an unpopular job.

    Human rights activists now fear that the United Nations will be tempted to appoint a less critical inquisitor to try to tempt the regime to respond positively.

    Mr Lallah cited a lack of support from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. "This is a tremendous shame because his reports were good. It's a nightmare job really because you don't get much thanks from anyone - least of all from the regime of course," said one London-based human rights activist.

    The last straw may have been the recent "unfortunate administrative misunderstanding" that prevented him from travelling from Geneva to New York to present his latest human rights report to the UN General Assembly and conducting important meetings relating to his mandate. His predecessor as special rapporteur, Professor Yozo Yokota, resigned for similar reasons.

    The former chief justice of Mauritius said in what turned out to be his last report that he viewed "with deep concern the continuing deterioration of the human rights situation in Myanmar [Burma]". His report serves as the draft for the UN General Assembly resolution on Burma this month.

    Mr Lallah, who has written increasingly gloomy reports over the last four years, was never allowed to enter the country, but gathered information from local experts, exiles, written testimony and neighbouring countries.

    As well as bitterly criticising the "extortion, rape, torture, forced labour and portering" inflicted by the army on ethnic minorities, Mr Lallah also slammed the hounding of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her colleagues by threats and arrests.

    One UN Human Rights Commission watcher said lack of funding was clearly a problem.

    This veteran observer described Mr Lallah as "an exemplary rapporteur, delivering firm, well-written and legally meticulous reports on the human rights situation in Burma", who noted above all the deep lack of respect for democratic rights of all kinds.

    "The generals will no doubt be very happy that they are no longer in Judge Lallah's sights, and be hoping that the next special rapporteur appointed by the Commission on Human Rights will be more accommodating," he said.
    ILO may still punish Burma despite ban on forced labour
    Source : Malaysian National News Agency

    GENEVA, Nov 6 (Oana-Kyodo)- - Burma's bid to dodge International Labor Organization (ILO) sanctions by banning its practice of forcing citizens to toil on public works may not pass muster with the body, diplomatic sources said Sunday.

    They said an ordinance containing the ban, announced Thursday by the Rangoon junta, lacks ''the specifics'' needed to avoid punishing measures that could include the suspension and downsizing of assistance from U.N. agencies and international organizations.

    The ILO governing body is to deliberate this month on whether to impose sanctions on Burma under the ILO constitution's article 33, which the global labor body has never invoked.

    Countries such as the United States and Britain, critical of Burma's human rights record, may argue for penalties by citing the lack of specifics as an another attempt by the junta to thwart the will of the international community, according to the sources.

    A week after a five-member ILO mission to Burma completed six days of talks with junta officials over the issue, Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win said various government ministries had also issued orders banning forced labor, but two laws -- the City Act and the Village Act -- allowing forced labor have not been repealed.

    Following the declaration of the ordinance by the Ministry of Home Affairs under the guidance of the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), Burma no longer has ''the legal basis which existed in the previous two acts,'' the sources said. The ordinance also says government authorities cannot ''request forced labor.''

    But diplomats see problems in the implementation of the ban.

    For instance, the SPDC must send specific instructions to local military commanders if the prohibition is to be effective and put into practice.

    ''So far, we have not seen any such thing,'' one diplomat said.

    The mission may submit its report to the governing body as early as Tuesday.

    The document will serve as the basis for discussions on the matter at the body.

    The sources said Burma's omission of details on terminating forced labor would be mentioned in the report, which will likely draw criticism of Rangoon by the U.S. and other states. An ILO spokesman declined to discuss the contents of the report, saying it is still in the ''editing process.''

    In addition, Burma has rejected repealing the two acts, saying the SPDC is only a ''transitional authority'' with no mandate to scrap laws passed by a legitimate legislature. In November 1997, the SPDC replaced the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), which was formed following a military coup in September 1988.

    In 1998, the ILO adopted a resolution requesting Burma to end ''all forms of forced labor.'' It calls for the repeal of the Town Act and Village Act, as well as the punishment of officials involved in forced labor.

    Article 33 states that the governing body can recommend the IlO general conference take ''such action as it may deem wise and expedient to secure compliance'' with a recommendation by an ilo commission of inquiry or a decision by the International Court of Justice.

    In June, the International Labor Conference, the ILO's highest decision-making body, adopted a resolution saying article 33 will be invoked unless Burma makes concrete progress that is satisfactory to the ILO by the end of November.

    The time-buying resolution was adopted following a fierce debate in which Japan and other Asian states pressed for more dialogue with and encouragement of the junta to bring about an end to its use of forced labor. The U.S. and European countries, meanwhile, urged immediate invocation.

    Some diplomats are concerned that resorting to the measure may open a pandora's box of labor-practices cases, leading to sanctions against countries such as Iraq and Cuba.
    Burma's Metal Export Doubled in First Half of 2000
    Source : XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

    Burma exported 14,000 tons of base metal and ores in the first six months of this year, doubled as compared with the same period of 1999, according to the latest official economic indicators.

    Meanwhile, the country imported base metal manufactures worth of 113 million dollars in the half-year period, 93 million less than the same period of 1999.

    Burma annually exports 19,460 tons of base metal and ores, while importing 255 million dollars of such manufactures.

    Burma is well endowed with mineral resources, having two state enterprises under the Ministry of Mines undertaking the production of metallic minerals such as gold, copper, silver, lead, zinc, tin and tungsten, and one enterprise dealing with non- metallic minerals or industrial minerals such as iron, steel, coal, barytes, limestone, gypsum and dolomite.

    The production of precious stones such as gems, jade and diamond are handled by another state enterprise known as the Myanma Gems Enterprise under the same ministry.
    India And Burma Discuss Combatting Terrorism
    Source : Asia Pulse

    NEW DELHI, Nov 6- - India and Burma have discussed ways of combating terrorism, insurgency, narco-trafficking and gun-running in addition to illegal border crossing.

    This figured during talks visiting Burmese Home Minister Tin Hlaing had with the Indian External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh here.

    Hlaing, on a eight-day visit, had been instrumental in setting up an institutional mechanism between the two countries to deal with these issues.

    Singh underscored the need for expanding cooperation particularly in infrastructure-related projects.

    The two sides also agreed to explore avenues for improving transborder infrastructural links, a foreign office spokesman told reporters. India and Burma have a 1,600 km-long border.

    The spokesman said the Tamu-Kalemyo road link in Burma built by the Border Roads Organisation would be made operational soon.

    Burma sought more facilities from India to provide training to its security personnel in the country.

    During his stay, Hlaing will hold parleys with the Indian Home Minister L K Advani, Defence Minister George Fernandes besides Minister of State for Personnel Vasundhra Raje. He will also visit Bodhgaya, Mumbai and Hyderabad.
    Wa Consolidates Hold on The Border
    Source : Shan Herald Agency

    The Wa army that has been authorized by Rangoon since mid June to become gatekeeper along the border opposite Chiangmai-Chiangrai is building up its consolidation, according to sources across the border.

    From Namyoom, the village that serves as a supply depot on the Mongton-BP1 road (5 km from BP1), a road is being constructed to connect with the strategic Loihtwe (Doithuay in Thai) overlooking Thailand.

    Gen Htay Oo, Commander, LID 99, issued leaflets last month inviting the SSA to "exchange arms for peace".

    The local populace appears to be concerned with the SSA's publicized fight against drugs in the area. "We were not worried about the Shan's anti-narcotics activities against other groups, but with the Wa, it is a different story," said a Buddhist monk. "They are not going to take it meekly. There is a Shan saying, 'A creeper climbing over a trellis, pulling one strand will shake the whole bunch'. It aptly applies to the Wa".

    He added, "The Shans might say the Wa are fighting someone else's war but it is difficult to differentiate who's a proxy and who's not."
    Maha Sang: Man of his People
    Source : Maxmilian Wechsler, Czech Press

    Mae Hong Son, November 6, 2000--The picturesque valley of Mae Aw village in Mae Hong Son province is the home of the legendary opposition Wa leader Maha Sang.

    A son of the Prince of Veang Xing of Wa State, Maha Sang has been living for many years at his modest two-storey house surrounded by hills, only a stone throw distance from the Burmese border. In fact, the SPDC soldiers could easily watch his house if dare to come so close!

    Maha Sang is the chairman of the Wa National Organization (WNO) and the commander of its military wing, the Wa National Army (WNA).

    He commands several hundreds well disciplined and professional soldiers of the WNA based inside Burma.

    Maha Sang is also the vice-chairman of the National Democratic Front (NDF) and the chairman of its anti-narcotic suppression department.

    Ironically, Maha Sang has been often accused by the Thai press as being involved in the drug related activities. He vehemently refute these allegations blaming a foreign country for orchestrating a campaign against him. “They asked me to cooperate with them but I refused. I just couldn’t accept their conditions. That’s why they are trying to taint my name,” Maha Sang firing back.

    “If I was involved in the drug dealings the Thais wouldn’t allow me to stay here,” Maha Sang explained in the tone that made his argument convincing.

    A permanent Border Patrol Police (BPP) checkpoint is located on the main road just few meters from Maha Sang’s house with several alerted Thai policemen.

    Maha Sang is a friendly, hospitable, softly speaking Wa leader. He’s constantly watched by his men. The border is too close and one can never be careful enough. An enemy agent could always sneak in under the cover of the night….

    Maha San explained in the well spoken Thai language that all his support come from his people who live in the surrounding villages all around Mae Hong Son province. Everybody respect his devotion to the cause and treats him as their “Prince.” Maha Sang devotes all his time to fight against the SPDC and to reduce the drug menace.

    Maha Sang suddenly point to his roof and saying: “I fought the Mong Tai Army ( MTA) led by the drug warlord Khun Sa’s 10 years ago. Just look at the roof ridden with many holes. The MTA soldiers fired their machine guns at my house from the surrounding hills. Luckily nobody was hurt. The MTA soldiers were everywhere at that time.

    Presently, Mae Aw and surrounded area are popular tourist spots with many foreign tourist visiting everyday. This partly thanks to Maha Sang’s day to day work with his Thai allies .

    Maha Sang is well known and respected anti-SPDC dissident closely associated with many opposition groups. “We have to join the fight against our common enemy. The WNO/WNA coordinates with other political and armed groups inside and outside Burma,” Maha Sang explained.

    Even the Karen National Union (KNU) once requested for his troops with nothing but a praise for his soldiers.

    Unfortunately, Maha San’s health has not been the best lately because of his sacrifices, but despite all the inconveniences he spends all day looking after his people and that’s why they love him.

    Maha Sang continued while sipping delicious Chinese tea: “ Whenever the Thai or foreign press mentions the name Wa, it is always connected to some illegal activities, mostly narcotic dealings. The press always describes the Wa people as the outcast, criminals and drug traffickers. This is wrong.. Not all the Was are involved in the criminal activities. The Was are peace-loving and hard working people who, same as other ethnic groups, want to live in the free, democratic and peaceful country. Most of the Wa people, including the UWSA, despise the SPDC.”

    Maha Sang continuously urges the UWSA and other Wa groups to stop production of the drugs and to find other sources of income., which will not harm people in Thailand and abroad! Many listen to him.

    The UWSA leadership pledged to stop all narcotic related activities within five year.

    Maha Sang doesn’t have any grudge against some people who criticize him. “That’s how the democracy should work. We should all be brothers fighting together with our common enemy, the SPDC.”
    Exasperated UN observer leaves big shoes to fill
    Source : South China Morning Post

    The resignation of the United Nations human rights investigator for Burma, Judge Rajsoomer Lallah, shows how difficult it is to deal with a regime that is deaf to criticism, say sympathetic observers.

    The resignation also points to the difficulty of finding adequate funding for an unpopular job.

    Human rights activists now fear that the United Nations will be tempted to appoint a less critical inquisitor to try to tempt the regime to respond positively.

    Mr Lallah cited a lack of support from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. "This is a tremendous shame because his reports were good. It's a nightmare job really because you don't get much thanks from anyone - least of all from the regime of course," said one London-based human rights activist.

    The last straw may have been the recent "unfortunate administrative misunderstanding" that prevented him from travelling from Geneva to New York to present his latest human rights report to the UN General Assembly and conducting important meetings relating to his mandate. His predecessor as special rapporteur, Professor Yozo Yokota, resigned for similar reasons.

    The former chief justice of Mauritius said in what turned out to be his last report that he viewed "with deep concern the continuing deterioration of the human rights situation in Myanmar [Burma]". His report serves as the draft for the UN General Assembly resolution on Burma this month.

    Mr Lallah, who has written increasingly gloomy reports over the last four years, was never allowed to enter the country, but gathered information from local experts, exiles, written testimony and neighbouring countries.

    As well as bitterly criticising the "extortion, rape, torture, forced labour and portering" inflicted by the army on ethnic minorities, Mr Lallah also slammed the hounding of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her colleagues by threats and arrests.

    One UN Human Rights Commission watcher said lack of funding was clearly a problem.

    This veteran observer described Mr Lallah as "an exemplary rapporteur, delivering firm, well-written and legally meticulous reports on the human rights situation in Burma", who noted above all the deep lack of respect for democratic rights of all kinds.

    "The generals will no doubt be very happy that they are no longer in Judge Lallah's sights, and be hoping that the next special rapporteur appointed by the Commission on Human Rights will be more accommodating," he said.
    ILO may still punish Burma despite ban on forced labour
    Source : Malaysian National News Agency

    GENEVA, Nov 6 (Oana-Kyodo)- - Burma's bid to dodge International Labor Organization (ILO) sanctions by banning its practice of forcing citizens to toil on public works may not pass muster with the body, diplomatic sources said Sunday.

    They said an ordinance containing the ban, announced Thursday by the Rangoon junta, lacks ''the specifics'' needed to avoid punishing measures that could include the suspension and downsizing of assistance from U.N. agencies and international organizations.

    The ILO governing body is to deliberate this month on whether to impose sanctions on Burma under the ILO constitution's article 33, which the global labor body has never invoked.

    Countries such as the United States and Britain, critical of Burma's human rights record, may argue for penalties by citing the lack of specifics as an another attempt by the junta to thwart the will of the international community, according to the sources.

    A week after a five-member ILO mission to Burma completed six days of talks with junta officials over the issue, Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win said various government ministries had also issued orders banning forced labor, but two laws -- the City Act and the Village Act -- allowing forced labor have not been repealed.

    Following the declaration of the ordinance by the Ministry of Home Affairs under the guidance of the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), Burma no longer has ''the legal basis which existed in the previous two acts,'' the sources said. The ordinance also says government authorities cannot ''request forced labor.''

    But diplomats see problems in the implementation of the ban.

    For instance, the SPDC must send specific instructions to local military commanders if the prohibition is to be effective and put into practice.

    ''So far, we have not seen any such thing,'' one diplomat said.

    The mission may submit its report to the governing body as early as Tuesday.

    The document will serve as the basis for discussions on the matter at the body.

    The sources said Burma's omission of details on terminating forced labor would be mentioned in the report, which will likely draw criticism of Rangoon by the U.S. and other states. An ILO spokesman declined to discuss the contents of the report, saying it is still in the ''editing process.''

    In addition, Burma has rejected repealing the two acts, saying the SPDC is only a ''transitional authority'' with no mandate to scrap laws passed by a legitimate legislature. In November 1997, the SPDC replaced the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), which was formed following a military coup in September 1988.

    In 1998, the ILO adopted a resolution requesting Burma to end ''all forms of forced labor.'' It calls for the repeal of the Town Act and Village Act, as well as the punishment of officials involved in forced labor.

    Article 33 states that the governing body can recommend the IlO general conference take ''such action as it may deem wise and expedient to secure compliance'' with a recommendation by an ilo commission of inquiry or a decision by the International Court of Justice.

    In June, the International Labor Conference, the ILO's highest decision-making body, adopted a resolution saying article 33 will be invoked unless Burma makes concrete progress that is satisfactory to the ILO by the end of November.

    The time-buying resolution was adopted following a fierce debate in which Japan and other Asian states pressed for more dialogue with and encouragement of the junta to bring about an end to its use of forced labor. The U.S. and European countries, meanwhile, urged immediate invocation.

    Some diplomats are concerned that resorting to the measure may open a pandora's box of labor-practices cases, leading to sanctions against countries such as Iraq and Cuba.