Daily News-February 22 - 2001- Thursday

  • Burma hit by diving currency, rampant inflation
  • Two Bodies Recovered From Burma Helicopter Crash Site
  • Burma copter crash caused by engine trouble, not ground fire
  • Crashed Burmese helicopter being salvaged
  • Thai Army issues warning to drug lords
  • India studies pipeline routes to import Burma gas
  • Burma minister's body recovered from helicopter crash
  • Russia may build nuclear reactor in Burma
  • >Biography of Secretary-2 of State Peace and Development Council
  • Junta sending jet fighters and tanks against SSA
  • Bangkok welcomes Burma olive branch after clashes

    • Burma hit by diving currency, rampant inflation

    source : Reuters

    Myanmar's kyat currency is in free-fall against the dollar, dropping with unprecedented speed and hitting new record lows on Tuesday amid crippling inflation in the prices of imported consumer goods.

    .The kyat hit 560 per dollar on Tuesday, down from 520 on Monday and 505 at the weekend. The embattled currency has been steadily plumbing new depths since last year, undermined by spiralling inflation and black market speculation.

    .The official exchange rate - unchanged for nearly four decades - is just six kyat to the dollar.

    Currency traders said panic buying of dollars amid a shortage of the currency was one of the major causes of the kyat's plunge..They said the speed and steepness of the recent plunge was unprecedented.

    Some said recent buying of dollars by Muslims planning the haj pilgrimage to Mecca had also hurt the local currency..Prices of imported goods have also been rising rapidly, fuelling an inflationary spiral which is dragging down the baht, local currency traders said.

    Some merchants said on Tuesday they were refusing to sell imported goods, as the currency was depreciating so rapidly they were better to hold onto their wares."The more we sell the more we lose," one said.

    Prices of basic foods and consumer goods were not rising so rapidly, due to recent government measures like the opening of four special tax-free markets in Yangon.

    Myanmar's economy remains tightly controlled, despite the introduction of some market reforms in 1988 after 26 years of central planning.

    Although trade with neighbours such as Malaysia and China is brisk, Myanmar has suffered due to the economic isolation imposed by most Western countries, which are fiercely critical of Yangon's human rights record.The economy relies heavily on the export of agricultural, marine and forest products.

    The government has moved to halt soaring prices of cars and gold, but analysts said this had made more people speculate in the currency market.

    Gold dealers said the price of 24-carat gold bars had shot up to 70,000 kyat per tickle (0.525 troy ounce) from 62,000 in September and 51,500 last March, despite a government warning not to exceed a price of 58,000 kyat per tickle.
    Two Bodies Recovered From Burma Helicopter Crash Site

    YANGON (AP)--Rescue workers on Wednesday recovered the bodies of two military officers on board a helicopter that crashed into a river, killing the ruling junta's No. 4 general, a government official said.

    .Air force, army and navy troops were still searching for 12 people unaccounted for, including another top general and a Cabinet minister. Four people are now confirmed dead, including army chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Tin Oo. Thirteen survived.

    The Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter was carrying 29 people when it crashed Monday into the Salween River in bad weather near Pa-an, 160 kilometers southeast of Yangon, the capital. The river is also known as Thanlwin.

    .Tin Oo was the fourth-most-powerful man on the ruling council, a 21-member group of army officers who took power in Myanmar in September 1988 after crushing a democracy uprising.

    Efforts to search for the missing were continuing after two bodies were retrieved from the river, said a government official, who did not want to be named.The official said the air force was conducting an aerial search on the banks of the river while navy divers were working in the fast-flowing water.

    He identified the two bodies found Wednesday as Col. Win Hlaing, 58, deputy director of armor division and Warrant Officer Maung Maung Than, 34, who worked at a military television station.

    Others feared dead include one other member of the dominant ruling military council, Maj. Gen. Sit Maung, who is the commander of the southeastern forces, and Brig. Gen. Lun Maung, a minister in the prime minister's office.

    The identities of those rescued and those missing have not been published in state media, the main source of information in Myanmar that is tightly controlled by the regime. It is not clear whether any of the survivors were injured.

    .Newspapers Thursday carried the biography of Tin Oo, including his participation in military operations in the early 1950s when Kuomintang nationalists who had fled China were driven out of Myanmar, then known as Burma. The brief biography said that Tin Oo had made "selfless and strenuous efforts in serving the interests of the State and the people day and night" since the current regime took power in 1988. It noted his work on government committees concerned with race and religion.

    Ambassadors of diplomatic missions in Yangon and United Nations agencies signed a book of condolences for Tin Oo - who was regarded as the most personable figure in the Myanmar leadership - opened at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Tin Oo will be buried with full military honors in Yangon on Friday.
    Burma copter crash caused by engine trouble, not ground fire

    .source :Deutsche Presse-Agentur

    .Bangkok -Feb. 20, 2001 -A helicopter crash which killed the fourth most powerful member of Myanmar's (Burma's) military junta was caused by mechanical failure, not ground fire, government officials and Western diplomats said Tuesday.

    "Considering the poor state of Myanmar's aircraft, both military and civil, the most likely cause for the crash was mechanical failure," a Yangon-based diplomat, who is also a pilot, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa by telephone.

    His point of view conformed with announcements by the Myanmar government saying the helicopter crashed due to engine trouble and not, as some foreign media reported, as a result of an attack by Karen or Shan rebels.

    The Russian-built helicopter crashed Friday morning into the Salween River near the town of Pha-An, 160 kilometres east of Rangoon, killing State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) Second Secretary Lieutenant General Tin Oo. Twenty-one others, including some other top military leaders, were on board the aircraft.The military government appeared unusually quick in confirming through state-controlled newspapers and radio the deaths of the second secretary and one other unnamed military officer on Tuesday, just one day after the crash.

    "Generally, official announcements of this magnitude are held back for a couple, three days. This time, the government has been unusually quick in confirming Tin Oo's death, who was one of the junta's top members," said the diplomat, who asked not to be named.

    According to Myanmar radio broadcasts, the secretary was still alive after the accident but died shortly afterwards in a military hospital near the crash site.

    Rescue teams were searching Tuesday for 14 missing passengers who are also feared dead, the radio broadcasts said, while refraining from commenting on earlier rumours that other prominent military officials might be among the missing.

    Ambassadors in Yangon (Rangoon) have received an official invitation by Myanmar's foreign ministry to sign a condolence book laid out at the ministry to commemorate Tin Oo's death.
    Crashed Burmese helicopter being salvaged

    source : ABC

    Burmese rescue workers have salvaged the wreckage of a helicopter that crashed into a river killing the ruling junta's number four general Tin Oo.

    He was a key member of the ruling council, a 21-member group of army officers who took power in Burma in September 1988 after crushing a democracy uprising.

    The Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter was dredged in two pieces from the bottom of the Salween river where it crashed in bad weather onMonday with 29 people aboard, 160 kilometres southeast of Rangoon.

    A body was retrieved from the wreckage bringing the confirmed death toll to five.

    Troops are still searching for 11 people missing, including another top general and a Cabinet minister.

    A number of survivors are recovering in a military hospital in Rangoon.
    Thai Army issues warning to drug lords

    source : The Nation
    BY CHAIWAT PUMPUANG

    BAN PHA HEE, Chiang Rai - The Third Army commander yesterday warned drug warlords operating along the border in the North, saying the build-up of Thai troops in the area is partly designed to put the squeeze on drug-trafficking armies.

    "We will shut the door and beat the bad cats," Lt General Wattanachai Chaimuanwong said.

    In addition to securing the border against Burmese intrusion, the build-up is an opportunity to zero in on the armies of drug traffickers and the opium warlords, he said.

    Third Army deputy commander Maj General Chamlong Phothong said the ban against cross-border trade, especially to areas where drug armies are positioned, will be strictly enforced.Any type of precursor chemicals used for making methamphetamines, or yaa baa, or other illegal drugs would be strictly prohibited from entering the area. However, Chamlong said, Thai troops will not cross the border to pursue drug armies such as the 20,000-member United Wa State Army (UWSA).

    The UWSA is a pro-Rangoon group that over the years has expanded its drug operations from its stronghold along the Chinese border to areas adjacent to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces.If the UWSA or any other drug trafficking group is seen approaching the Thai border, Chamlong said, Thai soldiers won't hesitate to use force.

    In a separate development yesterday, a platoon of soldiers from the Shan State Army (SSA) overran a Burmese military base near Chiang Rai's Ban Pha Hee at dawn, bringing the fight between the rebels and Rangoon to the doorstep of Doi Tung, a popular tourist destination.

    One Burmese soldier was killed and another was taken hostage, an SSA official said. The rest abandoned the camp and fled to a nearby Burmese Akha village.The camp, situated on the curb of a paved road on Doi Chang Moob that links Doi Tung to Mae Sai, was occupied by 11 Burmese troops at the time.Empty casings of rocket propeller guns fired by the SSA were scattered near the camp.

    Wattanachai insisted the Army was not involved in the operation, saying the incident was an internal Burmese matter.

    Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry yesterday welcomed a remark by Burmese intelligence chief Lt General Khin Nyunt that suggested the junta is serious about resolving problems with Thailand through peaceful means.Foreign Ministry spokesman Pradap Pibulsonggram said Rangoon should match words with deeds, adding that a convening of the Regional Border Committee would be welcome.

    "If they are as serious as they said, they should answer [invitations] officially and not just through newspapers reports," Pradap said.

    Defense Minister General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh yesterday suggested that border problems with Burma could be dealt with more effectively if the local and regional border committees would agree to meet regularly. There should be at least one meeting a year at the government level, he said.In any case, the border dispute should be solved soon after the new Thai government formulates its policy on the situation, he said.

    Chavalit said he would send a "personal representative" to attend a funeral of Lt General Tin Oo, the fourth-ranking member of Burma's ruling State Peace and Development Council, who died in a helicopter crash on Monday.
    India studies pipeline routes to import Burma gas

    source :Oil & Gas Journal
    By an OGJ Online Correspondent

    NEW DELHI, Feb. 20—In a bid to diversify its energy supplies, India is sending a delegation to Myanmar to identify possible gas pipeline routes.

    Jaswant Singh, India's External Affairs Minister, recently visited Myanmar to discuss cooperation in the gas sector.

    Two pipeline routes from Myanmar are under consideration. One would run up the Kaladan River valley to the Mizoram sector of India. It would continue via Assam and Meghalaya to link with the national grid.

    The other option is an offshore pipeline from Sittwee, on the mouth of the Kaladan River, across the Bay of Bengal to land in India at West Bengal.

    Bangladesh, which is between India and Myanmar, is debating whether to allow gas exports to India.
    Burma minister's body recovered from helicopter crash

    ASSOCIATED PRESS

    YANGON, Myanmar, Feb. 21 — Rescue workers have found the body of a Cabinet minister killed when a helicopter with 29 people on board, including senior members of Myanmar's ruling junta, crashed into a river, a government official said Thursday.

    The body of Brig. General Lun Maung, a minister at the prime minister's office, was recovered Wednesday from the Salween River, where the Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter crashed in bad weather Monday, the official said.

    Six passengers are now confirmed dead, including army chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Tin Oo, the fourth-ranking general in the Myanmar regime. He had been leading an official delegation to inspect a bridge in Pa-an. There were 13 survivors.

    The search for 10 passengers still unaccounted for continued at the crash site near Pa-an, 100 miles southeast of Yangon, the capital.

    Full details of those missing and the survivors have not been made public by the government, which keeps a tight grip on the media.Authorities are expected to investigate the crash. There was no indication it was caused by sabotage.

    Among the 10 passengers still unaccounted for is Maj. Gen. Sit Maung, the commander of southeastern military command. Along with Tin Oo, he was a member of the 21-member ruling State Peace and Development Council, as the regime is known.

    The SPDC took power in 1988 after crushing a popular uprising for democracy in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
    Russia may build nuclear reactor in Burma

    MOSCOW, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- In a development that may alarm Washington,officials at Russia's Atomic Energy Ministry said Wednesday plans are afoot to build a research reactor in Myanmar, the impoverished, secretive Southeast Asian state formerly known as Burma.

    The reactor in Myanmar would be the first step in a plan to boost construction of reactors in the region, according to the official Itar-Tass news agency.

    Washington is already upset by Russia's close cooperation with Iran, where it is building a nuclear power plant in Bushehr.Ignoring Western concerns over possible transfer of sensitive technologies that could be used by Iran to bolster its military programs, Deputy Atomic Energy Minister Yevgeny Reshetnikov announced Wednesday that the Bushehr construction was going full steam ahead.

    Reshetnikov said the turbine and equipment for the reactor would be built and delivered to Iran this year, with construction of the plant scheduled for completion in 2003. He said 780 Russian specialists were now working at the construction site.

    Russia has announced its intention to earn more than $1.5 billion this year from export of equipment and expertise in construction of nuclear reactors. Russia has already reached lucrative agreements to export technology and equipment to India and China, and last year earned some $1.4 billion.
    Biography of Secretary-2 of State Peace and Development Council

    source : NLM

    Chief of Bureau of Special Operations and Chief of Staff (Army) Lt-Gen Tin Oo State Peace and Development Council Secretary-2 Lt-Gen Tin Oo was born of U Thu Nge Lay and Daw Khin on 13 May 1933 in Letpadan, Thayawady District.

    He joined the Tatmadaw in 1950. He successfully completed the Officers Training Course No 22 in 1958 and was commissioned in 1959.

    He served as the platoon commander, intelligence officer and mortar platoon commander in No 5 Brigade, No 10 Brigade, No 10 Light Infantry Regiment, No 20 LIR and No 21 LIR till 1963. He had participated in Naga Naing and Bayintnaung military operations to drive out the foreign intruders.

    Lt-Gen Tin Oo also served as General Staff Officer (Grade III) at North-West Command Headquarters and the Office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army), Company Commander (Major) at No 34 LIR, General Staff Officer (Grade II) at North-East Command HQ and Military Operations Department of Office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army).

    He became Commanding Officer of No 106 LIR in 1977, Staff Officer (Grade-I) at Military Operations Department of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army) in 1979. He served as Tactical Operations Commander at No 55 Light Infantry Division and No 33 LID as well as Deputy Division Commander from 1980 to 1985.

    From 1985 to 1988, he became the Colonel General Staff at the Office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army) -cum- the Defence Services Inspector-General.

    From 1988 till his demise, he had made selfless and strenuous efforts in serving the interests of the State and the people day and night as Secretary-2 of the State Law and Order Restoration Council, Secretary-2 of the State Peace and Development Council, Chief of Bureau of Special Operations and Chief of Staff (Army). He had also tirelessly discharged duties as Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the many committees formed by the State Peace and Development Council in the interests of the race and religion.

    He got married to Daw Khin Than Nwe in 1963 and is survived by Daw Khin Than Nwe, daughters Ma Phyu Phyu Oo and Ma Yin Mar Oo and sons Ko Zaw Tun Oo and Ko Nay Tun Oo.
    Junta sending jet fighters and tanks against SSA

    Source : Bangkok Post

    Rangoon is preparing to send jet fighters and tanks against Shan State Army forces who overran a Burmese army border post, killing one soldier, yesterday.

    Intelligence sources said Rangoon had deployed six Chengdu F-7 light fighter interceptors to Kengtung, 150km north of Tachilek, opposite Mae Sai district, Chiang Rai.

    The Chengdu F-7 is a Chinese copy of Russia's multi-role MiG-21 and equivalent to the F-5 operated by the air force.

    Rangoon had also sent 50 Chinese-made light tanks to the Tachilek area, the sources said.

    Air force pilots at Wing 41 in Chiang Mai, Wing 1 in Nakhon Ratchasima and Wing 4 in Nakhon Sawan, were placed on full alert as the build-up in the conflict zone increased.

    The Burmese soldier was killed and five wounded yesterday morning when the Shan took the outpost opposite Ban Pha-hi, 5km southwest of Mae Sai. The scene of the fighting is 500m from a Thai position and close to the area where Thai and Burmese troops exchanged gunfire on Feb 11.

    After 30 minutes of fighting, the outpost fell to the Shan, who set it on fire and took one Burmese soldier prisoner.

    Col Yawd Serk, chairman of the Shan State Restoration Council, said the action was aimed at disrupting Burmese military movements.

    The Shan had been aware of an imminent assault on their border bases and had to take the initiative, he said.

    Third Army commander Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong said he was not optimistic about the chances of a new round of border talks. It was up to Burma to call a meeting.

    Thailand would not push for talks since the latest round of clashes had not stemmed from the Thai side, he said.

    An estimated 200 Burmese troops had entered Ban Pang Noon, Mae Fah Luang district, on Feb 9, to assault a Shan base along the border area.

    "This is an issue of national integrity," he said. "Since we did not start the conflict and have not done anything wrong, we will not initiate such a move."Lt-Gen Wattanachai jointly chairs the Thai-Burma regional border committee, which has not met to discuss the border for two years.

    A first round of talks on the conflict was held last week in Tachilek and Mae Sai, but ended in deadlock.

    The Foreign Ministry said Burma should formally propose a meeting to settle the dispute rather than talk about its wishes for a peaceful solution, he said.

    Pradap Pibulsonggram, the ministry spokesman, urged Burmese authorities to submit in writing a proposal for talks. Thailand was concerned that it would again be affected by renewed tension on the Burmese side of the border, he said.

    Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, secretary one of the ruling State Peace and Development Council, on Monday said Burma was not aggressive in its foreign relations and wanted to resolve its border dispute peacefully.
    Bangkok welcomes Burma olive branch after clashes

    Source : MSNBC (Reuters)

    BANGKOK, Feb. 22-- Thailand said on Thursday it welcomed an olive branch from Burma's military government, which said this week it hoped a recent dispute over bloody border clashes could be solved peacefully.

    New Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said tensions at the border should subside soon.

    ''Everything will be settled soon because Myanmar has recently shown friendly gestures,'' he told reporters.

    Thaksin's remarks came after Burmese military intelligence chief Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt was quoted by government newspapers on Tuesday as saying Rangoon wanted to resolve its border dispute with Thailand peacefully.

    Khin Nyunt was quoted as saying the border problem should be solved with an optimistic approach based on ''mutual understanding, respect and magnanimity as true good neighbours.''

    But Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Pradap Pibulsonggram said on Wednesday if Rangoon was serious to restore peace, its leadership should inform Bangkok formally that it would restart bilateral border committee meetings, which it suspended two years ago.

    Tensions flared between the two countries earlier this month, with dozens reported killed in clashes between soldiers.

    Thailand said Burmese soldiers seized one of its border outposts and then hit the Thai frontier town of Mae Sai with stray shells during a battle against ethnic guerrillas.

    But Burma denied it shelled Mae Sai, and accused the Thai military of backing ethnic Shan rebels, who Rangoon says are the major drug producers and traffickers in the region.

    Fresh clashes broke out on Wednesday between Burmese soldiers and rebel ethnic guerrillas near the Thai border. Unlike earlier clashes the fighting neither involved Thai soldiers nor spilled over across the border.

    A source in the rebel Shan State Army (SSA) said the guerrillas had attacked a Burma's military outpost and killed 10 soldiers. There was no comment from the Burmese authorities.

    ''POSITIVE SIGN''

    Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai on Thursday hailed Khin Nyunt's remarks.

    ''This is a positive sign by the Myanmar leadership,'' Surakiart told reporters.

    Asked if Rangoon should formally write a letter to restore talks, Surakiart said: ''The communication of a good gesture by national security leaders need not come in a form of an official letter.''

    Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh blamed the local media on Thursday for the failure of recent talks with Burma.

    Local television stations on Wednesday showed footage of a raid by Shan State Army (SSA) rebel ethnic guerrillas on a Burma's military outpost near the Thai border.

    The SSA has fought Burmese government forces for several decades to try to secure an autonomous Shan state.

    ''We almost reached an agreement with them, but accidentally our media have shown the disgusting footage of SSA soldiers, which gives us a heavier burden in the talks,'' Chavalit told reporters.

    Rangoon accused Bangkok of giving moral and military support to the Shan guerrillas.

    Thai soldiers have said Burma's military was involved in the drugs trade and accused the United Wa State Army of being behind most of the methamphetamines flooding Thailand. The UWSA is allied with Burma's military.