Daily News-September-05-Tuesday-2000

  • Britain calls in Burmese ambassador over crackdown
  • Asean 'not ready' to deal with Burma
  • Regime tightens screws on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's party
  • Britain's envoy manhandled in search for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
  • The Government Of Myanmar Requests The National League For Democray
  • Burma tourist PR a tough brief
  • Eatery outlets of Rangoon
  • Burma could face flak at UN as pressure rises against junta
  • Burma's foreign minister leaves for UN summit
  • Wa Hauling Drugs in The Name of Road Construction
  • Chairman Maung Aye will be Tough, says Insider
  • Burma to Host ASEAN Youth Affairs Ministers' Meeting
  • Burma Accuses West of Instigating
  • Burma promises access to Suu Kyi, but not yet
  • Concern grows for the whereabouts of Aung San Suu Kyi

    • Britain calls in Burmese ambassador over crackdown
    REUTERS

    LONDON, Sept. 4 — British Foreign Office minister John Battle summoned the ambassador of Myanmar on Monday to protest against its crackdown on the opposition National League for Democracy.

    Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi is being kept locked in her Yangon residence where she was forcibly returned in the early hours of Saturday following a nine-day stand-off in her car after authorities barred her and supporters from travelling outside the capital.

    Battle said he would tell Ambassador Kyaw Win that the forcible return of Suu Kyi, the de facto house arrest of NLD leaders and the search of the party's headquarters were serious infringements of their human and political rights.

    ''I deplore this treatment of the leader of a democratically elected party and other members of the NLD,'' he said in a statement issued in London.

    ''I shall be conveying to Dr Kyaw Win our protest at the manhandling of the British ambassador in Rangoon (Yangon) over the weekend as he tried to establish contact with members of the NLD. I will also demand that diplomatic access to Aung San Suu Kyi and her colleagues be immediately restored.''

    The Myanmar government denied Suu Kyi and senior colleagues were under house arrest, but said they had been asked to stay at home while it investigated reports that some NLD members had been involved in ''terrorist activity.''

    The NLD won 1990 elections by a landslide but has never been allowed to govern. The United States, Britain and Australia have all condemned the crackdown by the Myanmar military.

    The Foreign Office said Britain had persuaded its European Union partners to strengthen the common EU position on Myanmar, co-sponsored resolutions in the UN Commission on Human Rights and the UN General Assembly and tried to stop the use of forced labour in the country.

    Battle had also asked British-based oil and gas prospecting firm Premier Oil to end its involvement in Myanmar and the Yetagun pipeline project as soon as it lawfully could, to try to restrict the flow of revenue to the Yangon government.
    Asean 'not ready' to deal with Burma
    source : The Nation

    ASEAN might not be ready to deal with the current political stand-off in Burma, Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan hinted yesterday.

    Surin insisted, however, Burma had the right to solve its domestic problems - but should not let them hurt Asean's credibility.

    His comments were in response to reporters' questions on whether it was a mistake for Asean to admit Burma into the grouping in 1997 before the country solved its political problems.

    Surin's was speaking as the international community increased its criticism of Rangoon's use of force to end opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's nine-day roadside stand-off over the weekend.

    Surin's earlier comments, that Rangoon's heavy-handed action against Suu Kyi and her supporters would undermine Asean's credibility, have already drawn flak from the Burmese junta, which deemed his comments as counter-productive to Asean solidarity.

    "We wish to see national reconciliation taking place in Burma as fast as possible," Surin said.

    Asked whether Asean would discuss the latest situation in Burma, Surin said it was up to Vietnam, the regional forum's current chairman to decide.

    Asean agreed in July to set up a troika to deal with regional problems or conflicts that could affect the grouping's stability.

    However, Surin said the UN's special envoy on Burma was trying to help mediate the current stand-off with a mandate given to him by UN secretary-general Kofi Annan.

    The minister was expected to leave for New York last night to attend the UN Millennium Summit, during which the question of Burma is expected to come up on the sidelines.

    Surin said he would focus his speech on the oil crisis and a call for regional collective responsibility to deal with their own security matters to help alleviate the burden of the UN.

    The United Nations, the United States and the 15-member European Union have already condemned the junta's crackdown.

    Burmese leaders yesterday accused Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) of threatening national security and warned the crackdown on the party could continue for some time. Authorities had been watching with concern frequent visits to the NLD's main office in Rangoon by foreigners posing as tourists and carrying a number of parcels, which could be bombs, a junta's spokesman said.

    The NLD's headquarters were raided in the early hours on Saturday, just before the junta announced Aung San Suu Kyi had been "escorted" home from the roadside stand-off at Dala. Authorities continued a search of the NLD's offices yesterday for information about recent meetings between the opposition and foreigners, the spokesman said.

    "Reports concerning further infringement of the freedom of movement and the freedom of political expression are particularly disturbing," Fred Eckhard, the spokesman for United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan, said in a statement.

    Meanwhile, 11 members of the Bangkok-based regional human rights group Forum Asia held a protest yesterday in front of the Burmese Embassy against the junta's heavy-handed measure against the NLD.

    In a statement, the forum urged the junta to end Suu Kyi's house-arrest order immediately with out conditions.

    It also urged the international community to use all available means to persuade the junta to abandon the use of brutal forces and begin to resolve political problems peacefully.
    Regime tightens screws on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's party
    source : SMH

    Dozens of security personnel, including riot police, were stationed around Ms Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) headquarters in Rangoon yesterday, as activists expressed fears the party was in danger of being deregistered.

    An NLD official based in Bangkok, Mr Teddy Buri, said several senior party members, including Ms Suu Kyi, remained under virtual house arrest.

    The crackdown came as Burma's military regime claimed there was rising public support for the eradication of the NLD, although similar threats have been made in the past.

    A commentary in the government-controlled New Light of Myanmar newspaper yesterday said Ms Suu Kyi was making false accusations against the country's leadership and inviting detrimental foreign interference. It said all over Burma people were "clamouring for dissolution of the political party led by that woman".

    Democracy activists said yesterday they feared that as well as pressuring ordinary party members to resign, the regime was preparing the way for deregistration of the NLD.

    The party won 1990 elections overwhelmingly, but the military held onto power and has not allowed parliament to sit.

    Amid international condemnation of the crackdown, Australia's Foreign Minister, Mr Downer, rejected calls to dump Canberra's new policy of greater diplomatic engagement with Burma's rulers.

    Mr Downer said new initiatives, including the holding of human rights seminars for Burmese officials, were aimed at encouraging reform, and were without any "ulterior motive" .

    Critics say the seminars and Australian opposition to sanctions are being used by the military to portray an image of flexibility while crushing dissent.

    "The Australian Government is not silent over human rights abuses in Burma," Mr Downer told Parliament yesterday. "We make no attempt whatsoever to snuggle up to anyone in Burma.

    "The Australian Government is appalled by the standards of human rights in Burma and we certainly deplore the way Aung San Suu Kyi has been treated over a long period of time."

    The Opposition's spokesman on foreign affairs, Mr Laurie Brereton, said the "ill-considered" human rights seminars undermined international pressure on the Burmese military.

    Authorities on Saturday forcibly ended a nine-day stand-off with Ms Suu Kyi and 14 supporters who camped on the outskirts of Rangoon after being blocked from visiting rural areas. The military regime said an unspecified number of NLD leaders were being required to stay in their homes pending investigation of suspected NLD involvement in "terrorist" activities. One official said the matter involved the smuggling of five remote-controlled bombs into Burma in co-operation with a paramilitary sect called "God's Army".

    Mr Buri said the investigation was propaganda which the international community would not believe.

    "The regime has a long history of lies," Mr Buri said.

    There were unconfirmed reports yesterday that members of the NLD's youth wing had been detained for questioning.

    "We don't know how many are being held," a party member said.
     Britain's envoy manhandled in search for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
    source : The Times(04-09-2000)

    THE British Ambassador was manhandled as he tried to find out whether Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's pro-democracy leader, was safe.

    John Jenkins, the Ambassador, was leading demands for assurances about her safety after a nine-day stand-off in Rangoon which followed her first attempt to leave the capital in two years.

    Mr Jenkins told me of his anger yesterday, shortly after the incident. My meeting with him was as the only journalist to defy the near-ban on Western correspondents and visit Rangoon since the crisis began. To enter Burma I posed as a tourist, slipping in to the country after obtaining a visa in neighbouring Thailand.

    What I discovered was an extraordinary cloak of silence over the whereabouts of Daw Suu Kyi, which has left Western diplomats to play an unreal but deadly serious game of hide and seek over her fate.

    Her home remained sealed and off-limits as concern began to mount for the safety of the Nobel laureate. No one has been allowed to see the 55- year-old since the early hours of Saturday when soldiers swiftly ended the stand-off in a dingy suburb of the capital.

    Mr Jenkins was handled as he went from house to house seeking senior members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), to no avail. Diplomats from the US and other countries fared no better.

    Yesterday Daw Suu Kyi and members of her party's youth wing were thought to be behind armed guard in the compound at her home in Rangoon. Other leading figures, including the deputy party leader Tin Oo, also appeared to be held incommunicado.

    Mr Jenkins told last night of how he and his Second Secretary, Victoria Billing, toured senior NLD officials' homes and headquarters on Saturday morning:

    "We went first of all to the NLD headquarters, which was surrounded by riot police and Military Intelligence.

    We then went to Tin Oo's home. The approach road was blocked but I managed to get to the gate and I was pushed and manhandled by someone in plain clothes.

    Finally we went to Aung San Suu Kyi's compound at University Avenue and were simply denied access."

    The NLD claims that members of Daw Suu Kyi's party were "brought back forcefully" from the stand-off across Rangoon River at around 1.30am on Saturday, but the regime claims they were escorted back for the sake of their health and safety.

    Yesterday armed guards stood by outside the party headquarters, declaring it a "restricted zone" as officials seized documents and threw a cordon around the building, accusing party figures of "engaging in terrorist activity".

    Mr Jenkins said that he was concerned to see the regime spreading "disinformation" about the NLD having alleged links with armed Burmese separatist groups and insurgents. He feared the crackdown could mark the start of a campaign to ban the NLD.

    In sharp contrast to the muted response in Asia, Robin Cook, the Foreign Secretary, joined a chorus of Western condemnation. "We are examining with EU colleagues and other international partners what measures we should take in response," Mr Cook said.

    Madeleine Albright, the US Secretary of State, said that America was "outraged" by the military's actions.
     The Government Of Myanmar Requests The National League For Democray
    source : MIC

    ....To Cooperate In Maintaining The Existing Peace And Stability The Nation Is Enjoying

    There has been a lot of rumours and speculations floating around in the international media as well as in the diplomatic community in Yangon. In this regard the Government would like to clarify some points to clear those misunderstandings.

    None of the NLD's Central Executive Committee members are put under house arrest. There is an investigation going on at the NLD Bahan Township office in connection with the information concerning some activities made by a group of 14 foreigners and a team from the US Congress that visited the said office recently.

    Meanwhile, the reports have indicated that certain quarters of the NLD have been conspiring with some armed outlawed youth organisations, an armed terrorist group, God's army based on the Thai-Myanmar border has been involved in the smuggling of five remote-controlled bombs into the country in engaging the terrorist activity.

    Under these circumstances the senior NLD's CEC members have been requested to stay at their respective residences and to cooperate with the Government during the course of investigation.

    The Government, together with the cooperation of the senior NLD's CEC members, is working hard towards maintaining the existing peace, stability and tranquility the nation and its people are enjoying.
    Burma tourist PR a tough brief
    source : The Bangkokpost

    One of the most challenging jobs in the travel and tourism industry, other than the presidency of Thai Airways International, is now open for applications: A Burmese public-relations and marketing executive whose main responsibility will be to counter "negative media reports" about visiting that country.

    An advertisement in this week's issue of the Myanmar Times promised "an excellent salary and benefits package" to the successful candidate in exchange for helping the Myanmar Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB) "create increased awareness of Myanmar as a destination by promoting the benefits of the tourism sector".

    Considering itself wrongfully targeted by economic sanctions and the campaign against the country's military dictatorship, the Burmese tourism industry has decided to hit back.

    The MTPB feels that while sanctions may not be targeted at the Burmese people, it is the Burmese people who are being affected while the impact on the dictators has been zip. Instead, no-growth tourism has meant hundreds of job losses and hurt the incomes of people who need it most.

    "Given the tenacity on both sides, we have no idea how long the stand-off is going to continue," said one senior MTPB executive. "All we know is that the people are being affected, which is not what is supposed to be happening. It is about time to start doing something."

    The Burmese tourism industry has always felt that most tourists are not interested in domestic politics and just want to visit the country for its many tourism assets. However, tour operators still decline to actively promote tours to Burma in order to avoid a backlash from Burmese exile groups and human-rights organisations.

    Now, the MTPB has been emboldened by reports in the travel section of London's Daily Telegraph, in which more than 90% of readers' letters advocated continued and increased contact with Burma because it helped local people. Visitors could also make up their own minds by going and seeing for themselves.

    The Myanmar Times quoted one letter-writer as saying: "We should not be told where we can and cannot visit by pressure groups who see the world in black and white. It is better to visit a country and see it for yourself."

    Copies of the Daily Telegraph articles are being gleefully and widely circulated within the Burmese tourism industry.

    Nevertheless, the new PR person will not find life easy. Many in the industry say senior non-tourism government authorities offer little financial, moral or regulatory support, and pretty much leave it to the private sector to fend for itself in recouping the millions of dollars invested in tourism.

    Once in a while, there are encouraging signs, such as the lowering in mid-August of the compulsory conversion of foreign exchange for entry-visa visitors to $200 from $300 per person. On the other hand, in a country where security is a top concern, the taps of accessibility are the first to be turned off when trouble strikes, which happened last week as the stand-off with Aung San Suu Kyi continued.

    Tour operators were getting clear reports of some Burmese embassies temporarily suspending issuance of visas even while Ministry of Hotels and Tourism officials were denying them as "rumours". Rangoon itself was totally calm and quiet even as the stand-off with Suu Kyi continued.

    Another frustration: The new Mandalay Airport, potentially one of the best things to happen to the industry in years, is due to open "officially" on Sept 17 after a delay of over a year. But as of last week, tour operators said they knew nothing about flight schedules into the new airport-"so how are we supposed to start packaging tours?" asked one.

    Changing mindsets is another issue. In spite of being bashed in traditional tourism source-markets such as Europe, the industry has not even begun to look at other much more potentially lucrative places such as India, a market that has more purchasing power than Europe, shares both a colonial and cultural heritage with Burma, is right on its doorstep and has little interest in human-rights issues.

    "We feel [the Indians have] little interest in visiting Burma," claimed U Myo Lwin, general manager of Myanmar Hotels and Tourism Services, while acknowledging the Burmese had never sent an industry delegation to either Calcutta or New Delhi to make a sales pitch.

    Thai tourism officials are also getting frustrated with the Burmese, one reason why Tourism Authority of Thailand chairman Adisai Bodharamik flew to Rangoon last Friday to sign a new co-operation pact and get the Burmese to clear some of the hurdles.

    One Thai tourism official called Burma the only hold-out in the plans to promote regional tourism co-operation through various separate groupings.
    Eatery outlets of Rangoon
    source : Sanay news

    Tenri Ramen ,japan style shop opened

    The long expected commercial of Tenri Ramen which finished shooting two months ago was started to be telecast yesterday. Mr&Mrs.Nishigaki, Mr.Kimura and his room mates, four Japanese appeared in this commercial. Before the shop of Tenri Ramen is Japan style and now it becomes famous among Myanmar youths, for it is less expensive and can be ordered Kyee Oh (boil vermicelli with meet and vegetables).

    The branch shop Cafe Disbar of Cafe Demo has opened

    The branch shop Cafe Disbar of Cafe Demo has opened. It is located beside MC Cafe, opposite of Savoy Hotel. The place is near Pet shop (Hello) (I have already introduced to you), the cake shop (Pe'Chef) and famous Top Choice.

    Although, this place is separate from downtown area, there are many interesting shops. The owner Ko Ko Aung of Cafe Disbar studied Restaurant Management for six years in Japan. He married to a Japanese woman and his Japanese is very elegant.
    Burma could face flak at UN as pressure rises against junta
    YANGON, Sept 5 (AFP)

    Burma's junta could face flak under the international spotlight at the UN Millennium Summit as it steps up a crackdown on detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

    Burma's foreign minister Win Aung left Yangon for the US to attend the Summit, state media said, as international pressure increased on the junta to release Aung San Suu Kyi.

    Burma analysts in Bangkok Tuesday warned that Win Aung would face intense criticism from UN members including the United States and Britain at the summit for its handling of Aung San Suu Kyi and members of her National League for Democracy (NLD).

    Already, Amnesty International Tuesday called on the Rangoon junta to release Aung San Suu Kyi and her party lieutenants, who are under house arrest in Rangoon.

    "We strongly urge the Burmese government to allow them freedom of movement," the rights group said in a statement, referring to Aung San Suu Kyi and other NLD leaders.

    "The Burmese government should immediately reveal the whereabouts of Aung San Suu Kyi and her colleagues, who have been held incommunicado ...increasing fears for their welfare," it said.

    "The government should also remove the security forces surrounding Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's home compound and the NLD headquarters in Rangoon."

    In Rangoon, the crackdown on the NLD leadership continued, as diplomats from several Western embassies attempted to visit party chiefs but were rebuffed by the junta's security forces.

    A ring of armed guards remained encamped outside the party headquarters and leaders' homes, preventing them from leaving and shutting down tea shops and other businesses near the NLD headquarters.

    Burmese authorities raided the NLD headquarters and seized "incriminatory material" and documents early Saturday, just before they officially announced that a nine-day showdown between Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta was over.

    The Nobel peace laureate and a dozen NLD members had been camped out in their cars on the outskirts of Rangoon since August 24 when they were blocked from travelling to a party meeting outside the capital.

    At the same time as the raid, the authorities effectively placed the NLD leadership under house arrest, although the junta has denied anyone had been officially arrested.

    A spokesman for the Rangoon junta Monday told AFP the detention was necessary, as the military regime suspected the NLD of collaborating with armed opposition "terrorist groups" to smuggle bombs into Burma.

    Amnesty Tuesday said it "believes there is no evidence of support by the NLD, which has always espoused non-violence, for armed opposition groups."

    The NLD won a landslide general election victory in 1990, but the junta has never recognised the result and is accused by foreign critics and human rights groups of severe repression of opponents.
    Burma's foreign minister leaves for UN summit
    BANGKOK, Sept 4 (AFP)

    Burma's foreign minister left Rangoon Monday for the US to attend the UN general assembly and Millennium summit, state media said, amid speculation he will be criticised for his recent crackdown on the country's opposition party.

    Foreign Minister Win Aung was accompanied by a group of senior ministry officials and lawyers from the attorney general office, TV Myanmar said.

    Senior Burmese diplomats and ambassadors, based in US and European countries, will also join Win Aung to attend the 55th United Nationsgeneral assembly and summit, according to the report.

    Win Aung is expected to face criticism from UN members for the recent crackdown on the country's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) and its leader Aung San Suu Kyi, an observer here noted.

    Burma's authorities raided the headquarters of the NLD and seized "incriminatory material" and documents early Saturday, just before they officially announced that the nine-day showdown between Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta was over.

    The Nobel peace laureate and a dozen NLD members had been camped out in their cars on the outskirts of Yangon since August 24 when they were blocked from travelling to a party meeting. A government statement said Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters were "escorted" to the capital and had arrived home safe and sound Saturday morning after their stay in Dallah town."

    Win Aung told reporters at a brief press conference in Rangoon earlier that the move was "obviously premeditated" and designed to embarrass the military regime ahead of the UN meetings.

    "She would like to show the world that the people are against the government and if any action is taken against her by the government she thinks that the people will come out to the streets," Win Aung said.

    "She wants us to arrest her and put her in jail," he said adding that the eruption of violence would then be blamed on the government, he said.

    On Sunday, the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan expressed his "deep concern" about the Burmese military government's crackdown against Aung San Suu Kyi.

    "The reports concerning further infringement of the freedom of movement and the freedom of political expression are particularly disturbing," Annan's spokesman said in a statement.

    The United States also condemned the military government's treatment of Myanmar's opposition leader and her party members and accused the junta of forcibly ending her roadside stand-off.

    The US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Saturday she was "outraged" at Burma's treatment of Aung San Suu Kyi.

    Albright also called on the core of Burmese generals to "immediately cease all activities aimed at preventing the free exercise of internationally recognised human rights."

    The NLD won a landslide general election victory in 1990, but the junta has never recognised the result and is accused by foreign critics and human rights groups of severe repression of opponents.
    Wa Hauling Drugs in The Name of Road Construction
    Source : Shan Herald Agency

    A shan visitor from Monghsat who recently visited Chiangmai alleged that the Wa business company in eastern Shan State is trafficking drugs "by hiding behind the facet of road construction."

    "From Kengtung to Tachilek and from Panghsang through Mongpiang and Monghsat to Tachilek, Hongpang (Wa company believed to be established by Wei Xuegang, wanted by both Thailand and the United States on drug charges) has been deliberately delaying its completion by taking advantage of the ' until 2005' grace", he charged.

    The Was are due to declare the Wa region north of Kengtung drugfree by the year 2005. Eastern Shan State Army of U Sai Lin aka Lin Mingxian had already declared his area in Mongla, northeast of Kengtung, drugfree three years ago. According to Rangoon's schedule, Kokang, further north of Wa, is to declare itself free of drugs this year.

    Hongpang also monopolizes in chicken, pork, eggs, ajinomoto and some brands of soft drinks. Lately, it has been in construction of an industrialized zone east of Tachilek.

    The visitor, who is working both in Monghsat and Tachilek, also claimed that he doubted if more than 40,000 still remained in the Monghsat township now. "Many of the able-bodied young have gone with the four winds, though some of them are working as solders in the UWSA (United Wa State Army) in Mongyawn (where he admittedly has yet to visit)," he said. "The leadership gave each family B.5,000, rice and salt on their arrival. The old are dead now. Only the weak and the underage remain."

    As for the Chinese influx, he said he could not estimate the number, but "they are going back and forth all the time."

    It was reported late last year that 50,000 Wa families were to be relocated in Monghsat and Mongton.

    He also charged that the arrival of the Was coincided with the seizures of land from the local people by the local military authorities who sold them back to the newcomers. "It is easy for whoever is in power to confiscate lands and homes from the people who have lived and worked there for hundreds of years," he said. "Only nowadays you need to show Form 105 (land deed ) to show you own a piece of land, but few Shans have them. According to Shan customary law, one was considered the owner of any piece of land where he stayed and worked."

    As a result, some 500 families have already left Monghsat to work and possibly resettle in Thailand, said Kham Harnfah, secretary of Shan Human Rights Foundation, who was present at the interview.

    "The Shans suffer more than the Lahus," the source added. "The Lahus at least have strong militia forces that speak for them, but few Shan villages are allowed to set up militia units."

    "The only good thing you can say about the Wa presence is that they are improving the roads and bridges," he concluded. "However, drugs have become more available and cheaper. Many of our young are getting addicted. And the more they come, the more our people there will be evicted from their ancestral homes."
    Chairman Maung Aye will be Tough, says Insider
    Source : Shan Herald Agency

    General Maung Aye, slated to succeed the outgoing Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, Senior general Than Shwe, 67, is going to wield a no-nonsense hand with all including Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, according to an insider.

    The new Vice Chairman shall be Lt-Gen Tin Oo, 60, until now Secretary-2 and Chief of Staft of the Army, and Lt-Gen Win Myint, 57, currently Secretary 3, shall become Secretary-2 who will receive his orders straight from Maung Aye instead of Khin Nyunt, 61, said the source.

    Maung Aye, 60, is reported to have said repeatedly that he will not accept any office in which he is merely a "figurehead" like Gen Than Shwe.

    The Army shall also be divided into 2 armies the 1st Army, with base in Prome, shall be responsible for southern Burma, and the 2nd Army, with headquarters in Maymyo (Pyin Oo Lwin), for northern Burma, he said.

    The 1st Army is to be commanded by Gen Sit Maung, at present, Commander of the Coastal Region, and the 2nd by Gen Tin Aung Myint Oo, at present, Commander of the Northeastern Region. The vacated offices shall be filled in by Brig-Gen Aung Min and Brig-Gen Htay Oo, currently commanders of light Infantry divisions, the 66th and 99th, respectively.

    Apart from that, most of the important posts shall be held by the Defense Services Academy (DSA) graduates. "At present, only 2 of the 12 regional commands are held by the OTS (Officers Training School) graduates, and that is only out of courtesy," he said. [Gen Khin Nyunt is also one of the OTS graduates]. "Maung Aye and his cronies are going to do their best to outmaneuver Khin Nyunt."

    With regards to the ceasefire groups, together with the still "legitimate" National League for Democracy of the beleaguered Aung San Suu Kyi, he would not be "wishy-washy" like Gen Khin Nyunt, according to him.

    "With the ceasefire groups, he will have only 3 options for them to decide upon: One, to surrender their arms and establish legal political paties instead; Two, to return to non-political and non-partisan civilians life; and Three, to return to the armed struggle. They can make their own choice and he's ready to accommodate them," he said.

    It appears that Gen Khin Nyunt has to content himself "playing second fiddle" to Gen Maung Aye from now on, because whereas in the past, the Military Intelligence Service, headed by the former, had been "calling the shots", during the past six months or so, he is witnessing the MIS requesting endorsements from the local commanders for its activities.

    "We've been hearing about this imminent reshuffle for so many times and nothing has happened so far," said a Burma watcher in China. "It can still turn out in an unexpected way."
    Burma to Host ASEAN Youth Affairs Ministers' Meeting
    Source : XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

    YANGON (Sept. 5) XINHUA- - Burma is making preparations to host the Third Ministers' Meeting on Youth Affairs of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

    It will be the first event of its kind to be hosted by Burma concerning ASEAN youth affairs.

    At the upcoming meeting, the date of which is yet to be fixed, Burma will raise a topic on preparing ASEAN youths for a global community, Tuesday's official newspaper The New Light of Myanmar said, quoting Burmese leader Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt.

    Speaking at a coordination meeting here on Monday for hosting the ASEAN meeting, Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council, said Myanmar is a nation with significant characteristics and is free from sex, adult and youth, racial, religious and social discrimination.

    The government is making efforts to further promote rights and opportunities enjoyed by the country's youths, he noted, adding that it is also nurturing the youths with the aim of using their strength in building a developed nation, enhancing the ability of youths in all sectors such as economic, social and education sectors, and promoting their skills in enabling them to get abreast of the international development.

    He noted that Myanmar has formed youth organizations such as the Union Solidarity and Development Association, Red Cross and Auxiliary Fire Brigade.

    Burma has been actively participating in ASEAN youth activities and signed the 1997 Kuala Lumpur Agenda on ASEAN Youth Development.

    Last August, Burma hosted the 9th ASEAN Youth Day meeting, which discussed dissemination of ASEAN information, promotion of policies, social and cultural values among ASEAN youths.

    The first ASEAN ministers' meeting on youth affairs was held in Indonesia in 1992 and the second in Malaysia in 1997.

    Myanmar joined in July 1997 the ASEAN which groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
    Burma Accuses West of Instigating
    Rangoon, Burma (AP)- - Burma went on the offensive Tuesday against its critics over the latest crackdown on pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, saying foreigners are meddling in its affairs and instigating unrest.

    A statement from the iron-fisted military government accused Britain's ambassador, John Jenkins, of overstepping "universal diplomatic norms" by trying Monday to get to the house of Tin Oo, the deputy chairman of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.

    Tin Oo, Suu Kyi and seven other NLD party leaders have been kept indoors under virtual house arrest since Friday night. No visitors have been allowed and the gates of their homes have been padlocked from the outside.

    In separate comments published Tuesday, Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, Burma's chief of military intelligence, accused "two Western countries" of instigating unrest in the country. He was apparently referring to the United States and Britain, which have blasted the treatment of Suu Kyi and others.

    "They are creating unrest in the country by agitating a handful of disruptive and subversionist groups who will follow their dictates," Khin Nyunt, the No. 3 man in the ruling hierarchy, said in a speech Monday. It was reported by all the state-run newspapers, including the Kyemon daily and the New Light of Myanmar.

    Tuesday's government statement said a plainclothes security officer blocked Jenkins' path to "prevent the diplomat from forcing his way" into Tin Oo's house.

    "It is difficult to understand why a foreign ambassador was so adamant to intrude into the internal affairs of an independent and sovereign nation," it said.

    The statements indicated a hardening of the government's stand in the face of international condemnation of its political tug-of-war with Suu Kyi, the winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. The government said the restrictions on the NLD are an issue between it and a local political party, adding: "The people who are involved are purely Myanmar citizens and not British."

    The military rulers' latest confrontation with the NLD began on Aug. 24 when security forces blocked Suu Kyi, Tin Oo and 12 youth workers as they tried to drive out to the countryside for political work.

    Refusing to return to Rangoon, Suu Kyi and her followers camped out in the open near their vehicles for nine days before being forcibly returned to Yangon on Friday night. Since then, the NLD leaders have been forced to stay inside their homes. The government says the leaders are not under house arrest, but have merely been "requested" to stay indoors during a police investigation into the party's alleged terrorism links.

    On Monday, Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win met with a group of foreign diplomats to justify the restrictions. Britain and the United States were not invited.

    Khin Maung Win claimed that NLD youths had conspired with rebel groups to try to smuggle five remote-controlled bombs into the capital for terrorist activities in August and September. U.S. charge d'affaires Priscilla Clapp, contacted from Bangkok, Thailand, dismissed the claim as a "malicious fabrication."

    Suu Kyi has led Burma's pro-democracy movement since 1988, keeping up her struggle despite six years of house arrest that ended in 1995. The NLD won national elections in 1990 but the military government has refused to hand it power.
    Burma promises access to Suu Kyi, but not yet
    Source : Reuters

    LONDON, Sept. 5 —-- Burma has told Britain it may allow detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to meet diplomats within two weeks, the Foreign Office said on Tuesday.

    Diplomats say the gates to Suu Kyi's house have stayed locked since she was forcibly returned there on Saturday after a nine-day roadside standoff with the authorities outside Rangoon.

    The ruling military have denied Suu Kyi and colleagues are under house arrest, but say they have been asked to stay at home while they investigate reports of ''terrorist activity'' within their National League for Democracy (NLD).

    The crackdown in former Burma has drawn global condemnation, with diplomats voicing grave concern about the de facto house arrests and other alleged human rights violations.

    Rangoon, in turn, has lashed out at the West for meddling in its internal affairs, saying ''big western countries'' are trying to push Burma into poverty and unrest.

    John Battle, a junior Foreign Office minister, summoned Myanmar Ambassador Kyaw Win on Monday to protest at the crackdown and demand information about Suu Kyi.

    ''I got an interesting response,'' Battle said on Tuesday.

    ''I said 'Is there a crisis?' He said 'Yes'. I then said, 'When then can we have diplomatic access to Aung San Suu Kyi?' And he said, 'Shortly, perhaps in the next two weeks.'''

    Battle told BBC radio it was the first time the Rangoon authorities had admitted Burma was in crisis, which he attributed to the effect of international diplomatic pressure.

    ''The pressure now is stepping up and the regime cannot go into the 21st century in isolation,'' said Battle.

    ''There is one light of hope and that was that the ambassador said that Burma does need to move towards democracy a bit more quickly. Well, it can jump start now into the 21st century and join the rest of the league of nations.''

    CAMPAIGNERS SAY CRACKDOWN BODES ILL

    Rangoon authorities have not yet confirmed the whereabouts of Suu Kyi and her colleagues of the NLD, which won elections by a landslide in 1990 but hsw never been allowed to govern.

    London-based Amnesty International has expressed ''grave concern'' for their safety. It has called on the military to produce the Nobel Peace Prize winner to prove she is alive and well, but so far the authorities have not budged.

    ''The longer she's held incommunicado, the greater our concern for her safety,'' an Amnesty spokesman said. ''The situation could easily get very, very much worse.''

    The Burma Campaign said the crackdown could spell doom for the pro-democracy activists and the West must bear some of the blame for failing to impose tough sanctions.

    ''Obviously the regime has failed Burma. But so has the international community,'' Yvette Mahon, a director of the human rights lobby group, told Reuters. ''This could be the final death blow to the NLD. And as for Suu Kyi, nobody actually knows where she is, so how can we take it for granted that she is safe?''
    Concern grows for the whereabouts of Aung San Suu Kyi
    Source : BBC

    International concern is growing over the welfare of the Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has not been seen in public for several days.

    It comes amid allegations from the country's military leaders that members of her National League for Democracy party have been involved in "terrorist activity".

    Aung San Suu Kyi and 13 NLD members have not been seen in public since Saturday when police forcibly ended a roadside stand-off over the authorities' refusal to allow them to visit party members outside the capital, Rangoon.

    The human rights organisation, Amnesty International, has called on Burma to allow access to the opposition leader and her colleagues saying it is "gravely concerned" for their welfare.

    The government says Aung San Suu Kyi is at her house on Rangoon's University Avenue, but diplomats and journalists have been refused access to her.

    Armed guards are reported to be surrounding the property and telephone lines to the house have also been cut.

    Police raid

    The NLD's party headquarters have also been closed following a police raid on Saturday shortly before Aung San Suu Kyi and her colleagues were brought back to the capital.

    The government says it is investigating links between the NLD and an armed rebel group, God's Army, based on the Burmese border.

    It has denied reports that members of the group are being held under house arrest, saying instead they have been asked to stay at home whilst the investigation proceeds.

    Human rights groups say allegations of the NLD having links with terrorist group are routinely used to justify the mass arrests of party supporters.

    Amnesty says there is no evidence that the NLD, which has always espoused non-violence, has connections with any armed groups.

    Its comments were supported by the US Charge d'Affaires in Rangoon, Priscilla Clapp, who said any such claims were a "malicious fabrication".

    Clampdown warning

    Observers in the Burmese capital say there is mounting evidence that the military authorities are preparing to clampdown on the NLD's activities.

    On Tuesday, in a sign of the authorities' increasing frustration, Burmese newspapers quoted the country's powerful intelligence chief, Brigadier General Khin Nyunt, accusing western governments of meddling in Burma's internal affairs.

    "Two big western countries are applying various means to interfere in and dominate the internal affairs of Myanmar [Burma] and destroy her relations with the international community," he was quoted as saying.

    "They are trying to drag the Myanmar [Burmese] people into poverty and hardships and to cause unrest in the nation."

    Correspondents say criticism of Burma is likely to increase at this week's United Nation's Millennium Summit in New York which the Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung is expected to attend.