Daily News-February 24 - 2001- Saturday

  • Thailand Bans Shipment Of 'Strategic' Goods To Burma
  • Burmese Newspaper Blames Businessmen For Currency Plunge
  • Thai Army says junta must initiate talks
  • Border Closure pushes prices up in Burma
  • Thai Merchants agree on need to close border
  • Burmese general mourned by thousands
  • Malaysia Stop Hiring Bangladeshi workers,Recruit From Cambodia,Burma
  • Burma installs new naval radar
  • Hun Sen: Cambodia doesn't need a Suu Kyi
  • Japan makes grant to Burma to improve health care
  • Border Jitters Send Currency Skidding

    • Thailand Bans Shipment Of 'Strategic' Goods To Burma

    MAE SOT, Thailand (AP)--Thailand barred the shipment of so-called strategic commodities to Burma from four northern provinces, Thai officials said Friday.

    The ban, which Thai army spokesman Col. Somkuan Saengpataranetr said is a joint operation of the army and the interior ministry, comes at a time of military tension with Burma.

    The ban covers such materials as fuel, medicine, vehicle spare parts and rice, and applies to the provinces of Tak, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.

    Many consumer goods in Burma are imported overland from Thailand. Last year, Thailand exported more than 36 billion baht ($1=THB43.075) worth of commodities though six official border checkpoints, and probably at least as much was smuggled across the border.

    Thousands of Thai and Burmese troops have been facing off along the 160-kilometer stretch of border at the northernmost part of Thailand since clashes about two weeks ago.

    The fighting was a spillover of fighting between Burmese troops and Shan ethnic rebels. Thailand said the Burmese troops intruded onto the Thai soil to take a hill overlooking the rebel bases. They were driven out after heavy fighting, the Thai army said.
    Burmese Newspaper Blames Businessmen For Currency Plunge

    Rangoon (AP)--With Burma's kyat currency hitting record-low rates of exchange, a commentary in a state-controlled newspaper Friday blamed "avaricious businessmen" for spreading rumors destabilizing commodity prices.

    The article in the Myanma Ahlin daily warned that these "selfish" entrepreneurs will have to pay for their actions.

    "Any action has an equal reaction (and they) will suffer for their own misdeeds," it said.

    The kyat fell past the level of 500 to one U.S. dollar on the free market Feb. 17 in Burma.

    It temporarily went to 580 to the dollar Wednesday before rebounding to 510 Thursday. The plunge resulted in a sharp hike in the price of gold and imported goods, and in the past few days, local basic goods as well.

    The official exchange rate remains at about 6 kyats to the dollar, but many business and consumer transactions are based on the rate quoted on the black market, which is tacitly tolerated by the government as necessary to carry on business.

    The reasons for the kyat's recent slide hasn't been clear, although the trend reflects the military government's failure to boost a sluggish economy. Recent clashes along the border with Thailand have also been blamed.
    Thai Army says junta must initiate talks

    Source: Bangkok Post

    The army has accused Burma of lacking sincerity in solving border disputes and ruled out the possibility of initiating talks to clear the air.

    Quoting the army chief, army spokesman Col Somkuan Saengpattaranet said Rangoon must initiate the move and whether or not the conflict can be resolved depends on Burma's sincerity.

    "Gen Surayud Chulanont stresses that the disputes should be resoved through talks, but we are not going to start the process. "This round of talks must be hosted by Burma which has kept postponing the border talks for two years. Burma's sincerity is being fully tested this time," he said.

    Col Somkuan was speaking after a meeting between the army chief and unit commanders.

    The spokesman said the Thai-Burmese border situation remained critical and warned journalists not to venture too close to the border after some photographers were reportedly intimidated by Burmese troops.

    Col Somkuan condemned the mistreatment of Thai photographers who ran into armed Burmese troops on the Mai Sai-Doi Tung road in Ban Pha Mee and tried to take pictures.

    The area is believed to be in Thai territory.

    Jetjaras na Ranong, of the Bangkok Post, said he and other photographers were forced to flee after being intimidated by Burmese troops.

    Chaiwat Pumpuang, of the Nation, said he was positive that he and his group were on Thai soil.

    "They were pissed off and told us not to take pictures. We rushed to our car and left," he said.

    He said no-one was detained by the Burmese as earlier reported.

    Col Somkuan said checks were under way to verify whether the area is in Thai or Burmese territory.

    "Although there is no proper border demarcation there, the road is ours and it is a temporary border line. It is not difficult to see who is wrong here," he said.

    According to the spokesman, Gen Surayud also ordered border units to stay alert and praised them for their swift action in dislodging the intruders following the Burmese incursion on Feb 9.

    "We will do what we are allowed to, and that is to protect national sovereignty. Beyond this, it is the government's concern," he said.

    He said the public and the media fully support army operations.

    He also rejected Burmese media reports that Thailand had been backing the rebel Shan State Army.

    "Accusing us of supporting the SSA is like accusing us of being drug manufacturers. We have never supported any rebel groups or drug producers. The army has been trying very hard to suppress and prevent narcotics trafficking. There would not have been a confrontation had the Burmese troops not encroached on our territory," he said.
    Border Closure pushes prices up in Burma

    Source: Bangkok Post

    Thailand's closure of the border with Burma has pushed prices in Rangoon up by 20% and weakened the kyat, the Thai ambassador to Burma said yesterday.

    However, the Burmese leadership had still not responded to Thai protests over the shelling of Mae Sai district on Feb 11, Oum Maolanond said.

    The protest note the envoy delivered to Rangoon on Feb 12 asked for compensation for the death of two Thai citizens, damage to property, and a meeting of the Regional Border Committee as soon as possible.

    The envoy also said Asean ambassadors in Rangoon expressed their governments' regrets over the death of Lt-Gen Tin Oo, secretary two of the ruling military junta, around the same time in order to show group solidarity.

    Mr Oum was speaking before reporting to Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai yesterday.

    The ambassador is due to return to Rangoon today.
    Thai Merchants agree on need to close border

    Source: The Nation

    CHIANG RAI- - The Third Army's top brass and local merchants in Chiang Rai met yesterday to clear the air over the government's decision to close the northern Thai-Burmese border, which has cost tens of millions of baht in cross-border trade.

    Maj General Narith Srinet, the Third Army's chief of staff, said the two groups exchanged views, but both understood that security needs required the border to be closed for the time being.

    Third Army's deputy commander, Maj General Chamlong Phothong said the army would keep a close watch on trading at Chiang Rai's Chiang Saen district, which borders Laos, to ensure no Thai goods reached the Burmese side.

    "If trading in Chiang Saen district continues like before, we will have no objection," Chamlong said.

    Anan Laowthammathat, chairman of the Chiang Rai Chamber of Commerce, admitted that more exports had been shifted to the Chiang Saen crossing point after the closing of the Mae Sai-Tachilek crossing.

    Indeed, the amount of goods going through Chiang Saen should be a point of concern. About 60,000 litres of petrol were going through this crossing on a daily basis, even before the northern border was sealed.

    The Mae Sai-Tachilek border crossing was ordered shut over two weeks ago by the Thai Army following clashes between troops from the two sides. The crossing is one of the busiest trading points for both countries, with about Bt5 million of exports being moved each day. As well as closing the main crossing point, Thai soldiers have also cracked down on informal trading routes normally used by small-scale traders in a determined bid to deny the Burmese troops essential goods, such as gasoline, medicine and rice, from Thailand.

    And dialogue between the two sides to open the border is likely to be shelved for some time while Rangoon mourns the death of Lt General Tin Oo, the fourth highest-ranking member of the ruling State Peace and Development Council.

    Chiang Rai Chamber of Commerce head Anan said closing the border had had a devastating impact on trade and tourism in the province. However, the private sector understood the situation and agreed with the decision to close the border, he said.

    Meanwhile, leader of the Shan State Army, Col Yawd Serk, told reporters from his base camp on Doi Kaw Wan adjacent to Chiang Rai's Mae Fah Luang district that the build-up of Burmese troops was aimed at destabilising Thailand more than attacking his troops.

    Yawd Serk said he only had about 500 soldiers along the border area adjacent to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai and insisted that he was not the real target.

    He said SSA troops had been attacked because they were positioned along a border route used by Burmese to transport drugs, and that the SSA was simply following its policy to suppress the drug trade.

    The Shan army, formerly a faction within opium warlord Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army (MTA), has for the past three years tried to convince the international community that it is drug free.

    Rangoon, on the other hand, has accused the SSA of being a major drug trafficker, and Burma's state-run press claims the Thai army supports them.

    "We have our own legal businesses. We are not involved in drugs," the SSA chief said, declining to reveal the nature of the group's businesses for fear the Burmese authorities might intervene.

    Yawd Serk said he had pledged to cooperate with international efforts to suppress drug trafficking and had invited drug-control officials to visit the area under his control.

    Ethnic Shan rebels were not the only target of Burmese troops, he added.
    Burmese general mourned by thousands

    Source: BBC

    Thousands of people have lined the streets of Burma's capital Rangoon to watch the funeral procession of the country's fourth most powerful leader.

    Lieutenant-General Tin Oo was killed on Monday, along with 11 others in his delegation, when his helicopter plunged into the Salween river after suffering engine trouble.

    Four people are still missing, presumed dead, while 13 passengers survived.

    All the victims were given a military funeral, with soldiers carrying coffins draped with Burmese flags and decorated with wreaths along the mile-long route.

    Reports said security was tight in the capital and shops were closed. The hundreds of wreaths sent by well-wishers reportedly had to undergo security checks.

    Officials have blamed bad weather and mechanical failure for the crash.

    Houses packed

    The houses of the general and Brigadier-General Lun Maung, a minister in the prime minister's office who was also killed, were packed with visitors paying their respects to their families.

    Analysts have said the death of General Tin Oo - officially known as Secretary Two in the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and chief of staff in the army - would have an impact on the government.

    A veteran of campaigns against ethnic and communist insurgents, General Tin Oo had often publicly threatened to "annihilate opponents of the regime".

    Parcel bomb

    There has been no suggestion of foul play in the helicopter crash, but the general has been the target of two previous assassination attempts in the 1990s.

    In April 1997, a parcel bomb sent from Japan exploded in his house, killing his eldest daughter but sparing him.

    General Tin Oo also had a narrow escape in December 1996, when two bombs exploded at a Buddhist shrine on the outskirts of Rangoon just hours after he visited the area.

    The blasts - which the government blamed on ethnic Karen guerrillas - killed five people and wounded 17.
    Malaysia Stop Hiring Bangladeshi workers,Recruit From Cambodia,Burma

    KUALA LUMPUR (AP)--Employers have been told that they can recruit workers from Burma and Cambodia since the government has moved to stop Bangladeshis from finding jobs in Malaysia.

    Home Ministry Secretary-General Aseh Che Mat told employers Feb. 17 that they weren't allowed to recruit Bangladeshi workers because of problems involving many of them marrying locals and abandoning them when their work permits expired.

    Others were accused of forging documents and marrying local Malay Muslim women to remain in the country illegally, according to domestic media reports.

    Human Resources Minister Fong Chan Onn told the national news agency Bernama Saturday that employers need not worry about the shortage of labor as they could recruit workers from Burma and Cambodia.

    He said workers from those two countries can speak English and have other skills needed by certain employers.

    The move to stop the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers wasn't to burden employers but because of the problems caused by these workers, he said.

    About 100,000 mainly Muslim Bangladeshis work in Malaysia's construction, plantation and services sectors.

    More than one million foreigners, many of them without valid documents, work in Malaysia, which is one of Southeast Asia's wealthiest countries and has recovered well from the 1997-98 Asian economic crisis.

    More than 60,000 illegal workers were deported in 1999 and another 97,251 were sent back last year. The Immigration Department expects deportation figures to surpass 100,000 this year.
    Burma installs new naval radar

    Source: Jane's Defence Weekly

    Bangkok--Asian intelligence sources report that the Burma Navy has installed a new radar station on St Luke's Island (also called Zadetkale Island) at the southern tip of Taninthayi division (formerly known as Tenasserim) situated opposite Thailand's Ranong province.

    Work on the station, carried out by Chinese engineers, began in March 2000 and was completed early this year. The radar equipment was procured from a Singapore-registered trading company, but its origin is unknown. There are three islands near the new radar base whose sovereignty are under dispute.

    Contradicting territorial claims have produced regular clashes in the region between Burma and Thai naval vessels, including at least two incidents late last year during which shots were fired. The coastal region is also a haven for smugglers and has rich fishing grounds.

    Rangoon has been complaining for several years that Thai fishing boats operating out of Ranong are illegally trawling in its territorial waters. In a related development, the same source told Jane's Defence Weekly that the Burmese Navy has stepped up its operations since last October with the intention of seizing Thai fishing boats operating illegally. The confiscated trawlers, so far numbering about 20, have been given to a government-owned fishing company.
    Hun Sen: Cambodia doesn't need a Suu Kyi

    Source: AFP

    PHNOM PENH-- Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen denied claims on Thursday from opposition leader Sam Rainsy that officials were plotting to remove his parliamentary immunity and have him jailed for slandering the king.

    The last thing Cambodia needed was the international community seeing Sam Rainsy as a Cambodian Aung San Suu Kyi, Hun Sen said in a speech referring to the Burma democracy leader currently under de facto house arrest in Rangoon.

    "As far as I'm concerned, Sam Rainsy should remain an MP and I will not voice any support for the lifting of his immunity," said Hun Sen.

    "If he were imprisoned he would be considered like Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar. Therefore I need Rainsy to have freedom."

    The Sam Rainsy Party sent a statement to news agencies on Thursday claiming officials from Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) were fabricating evidence to eliminate him as leader of the opposition.

    "The latest trick the ruling CPP is planning ... is to frame him (Sam Rainsy) and get him sentenced for the crime of lese-majeste" against King Norodom Sihanouk.

    A tape had been fabricated, it said, so that Sam Rainsy can be heard saying "the king is a criminal."

    In Cambodia it is illegal to say anything regarded as defamatory against the monarchy.
    Japan makes grant to Burma to improve health care

    Source: Kyodo News

    Rangoon-- Officials signed Friday an agreement on a Japanese grant of $5.8 million to improve health services for women and children in Burma.

    The grant covers the third phase of a project called ''Improvement of Maternal and Child Health Care Services'' coordinated between Japan and the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) since 1999.

    The agreement was signed by Japanese Ambassador Shigeru Tsumori and UNICEF representative John Bertrand Mendis.

    The project was funded with $2.7 million in 1999 and $5.5 million 2000.
    Border Jitters Send Currency Skidding

    Source: Irrawaddy

    RANGOON--Burma's national currency, the kyat, has weakened substantially in recent weeks, as the country's tense relations with its neighbors take their toll on a frail economy.

    The US dollar, officially valued at 6.5 kyat, now commands 530 kyat on the open market, up from around 450 kyat at the beginning of the month. The price of gold, meanwhile, has similarly shot up, to 70,000 kyat for one kyat thar (15.3 grams) last week compared to 60,000 kyat a week earlier.

    Many goldsmiths in Rangoon say they have been forced to close their shops, as they can no longer meet the demand for gold from people anxious about the possibility of a further drop in the kyat.

    These latest indications of the parlous state of Burma's economy come on the heels of a series of border standoffs that have negatively impacted on trade relations and raised questions about the country's political stability.

    In Arakan State, on Burma's western seaboard, anti-Muslim riots have claimed an undetermined number of lives and resurrected the specter of a mass exodus of Rohingya Muslims across the border into Bangladesh. The recent unrest came just days after Bangladesh declared that the Burmese junta had backed away from plans to build a dam on a river dividing the two countries. More than 50,000 troops faced off across the Naaf River during a tense, weeks-long confrontation that began in January.

    Even more damaging, a recent conflict with Thailand at a major trading post in the Golden Triangle region has put further pressure on the kyat, pushing it to unprecedented low levels with no immediate end to the fall in sight.

    The area around the towns of Mae Sai and Tachilek, on the Thai and Burmese sides of the border, respectively, remains tense after Burmese troops seized control of a Thai military outpost last week in a bid to outflank Shan rebels. The two towns came under heavy shelling on Feb 11, and both sides remain on high alert as negotiations continue.

    "Since the news about the cross-border fighting spread throughout the markets, no one has been selling dollars," said one moneychanger in Rangoon, adding that brokers expected the free fall to continue.

    Under normal circumstances, the regime would step in to halt a run on the kyat by issuing public warnings and arresting key players in the currency market. But the sudden death of a top general, Lt-Gen Tin Oo, secretary two of the ruling State Peace and Development Council, has apparently distracted its attention. The general and several cabinet ministers were killed in a helicopter crash on Monday, amid rumors that his death was connected with power struggles within the regime. Tin Oo, a military hard-liner who has often publicly attacked leaders of the democratic opposition, has been the target of several assassination attempts.

    Sources in Rangoon say that the shock of the news has put trading in all vital commodities except rice on hold, as market players brace for changes in the power structure of the regime.

    Further fuelling worries about the state of the economy, there have also been rumors circulating that the regime is contemplating another wage hike for civil servants, the second in less than a year. In May 2000, salaries for government employees were increased fivefold--a move that many analysts believe initiated the kyat's steady decline over the past year.

    "Since this rumor came out, the cost of every thing has risen incredibly," said one civil servant in Rangoon, who declined to reveal his name.