Daily News-January 10 - 2001 - Wednesday

  • U.N.: Burma, Suu Kyi Launch Talks
  • Treat Aung San Suu Kyi as leader not "little sister," Albright warns Burma
  • UN envoy "making a difference" in Burma: US
  • Suu Kyi meets military
  • Burma invites Msian investment: Dr Mahathir
  • Burmese drug connection still unknown
  • Condition of Burma's imprisoned student leader deteriorates
  • Talks between Burma's junta, Aung San Suu Kyi draw kudos
  • New hopes for Burma after junta meets with Aung San Suu Kyi
  • UN says Aung San Suu Kyi met Burma's junta leader "more than once"
  • Malaysia gave Green light for workers from Burma and Nepal
  • Burma amassing troops along Bangladesh border
  • Historic dialogue offers hope of end to perpetual deadlock
  • NLD central executive member U Lwin asked for patience

    • U.N.: Burma, Suu Kyi Launch Talks

    By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer

    UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Myanmar's military junta and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi - bitter rivals since the junta took power 13 years ago and violently crushed a democratic uprising - have launched face-to-face talks, the United Nations announced Tuesday.

    It was the first confirmation that Suu Kyi and the Southeast Asian nation's military rulers have ever spoken.

    The announcement came just hours after U.N. envoy Razali Ismail concluded a five-day mission to Myanmar, where he met with the military government and with Suu Kyi, a pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

    ``During his mission, Mr. Razali was able to confirm that the two sides had started a direct dialogue since last October,'' U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said in a statement. He said the sides are ``satisfied with the results achieved so far in the area of confidence building'' and are expected to start more substantive discussions on national reconciliation soon.

    Stephane Dujarric, another U.N. spokesman, confirmed that Suu Kyi herself had taken part in more than one round of talks since October with Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, a senior leader in the ruling junta.

    The talks represent a major advance in relations between the military government and Suu Kyi, who has faced years of harassment for her attempts to bring democracy to Myanmar.

    Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been ruled by the military continuously since 1962. The current generals took power in 1988, gunning down thousands of pro-democracy protesters nationwide. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy was formed two weeks later.In 1990, the military leaders organized general elections, and the NLD easily won, taking 82 percent of the seats. But the military refused to acknowledge the results and yield power. Afterward, NLD members were subjected to a nearly constant campaign of harassment and arrests.

    Suu Kyi spent the years from 1989 to 1995 under house arrest on trumped-up national security charges. Since her release, her movements and activities in Myanmar have been severely restricted.

    In a cruel test of her commitment, the government in early 1999 refused to grant her husband, British academic Michael Aris, a visa to visit her, even though he was dying of cancer. The government suggested instead that she go to her spouse's side in Britain - an offer Suu Kyi regarded as a one-way ticket to exile. She stayed, and her husband died in March of that year. Suu Kyi has been held under virtual house arrest since last fall, when she tried to leave Myanmar's capital, Yangon, on party business.

    Until now, Myanmar's military government has consistently refused to negotiate with the opposition if Suu Kyi took part. With word of a breakthrough Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged both sides to ``seize the momentum and work to achieve national reconciliation in Myanmar at an early date,'' Eckhard said.

    Earlier Tuesday, Razali told The Associated Press in Malaysia that his mission had been ``very satisfactory'' and that he intended to return soon.
    Treat Aung San Suu Kyi as leader not "little sister," Albright warns Burma

    WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (AFP) - Myanmar's junta must treat opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as a political leader not as a "little sister" when it meets her for talks, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright warned Tuesday.

    Albright told reporters that she welcomed the announcement that a secret dialogue had been taking place since October between the opposition leader and Nobel laureate and the core of generals that rule Myanmar, the former Burma.

    "One of the things that we have wanted to have is the establishment of such a dialogue," she said.

    "Obviously this is something that we will have to see where it leads and whether it is a genuine dialogue."

    The Secretary of State, a consistent supporter of Aung San Suu Kyi, warned however that the military must not be allowed to submit the opposition leader to "patronizing and cruel conversations that were evident when I was there."

    "She needs to be respected as a political leader and not as, what was explained to me, as a 'little sister' that they have to take care of by keeping her in her house."

    Albright, who visited Myanmar while US Ambassador to the United Nations in September 1995, said she was called by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan on Monday to inform her of the dialogue.

    She said she believed it was "extremely useful" that UN envoy Razali Ismail was taking an "active role" in brokering dialogue in Myanmar.

    UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said Tuesday that Secretary General Kofi Annan "reiterates his call for the two sides to seize the momentum and work for national reconciliation."

    He reported that more substantial discussions between the opposition and Aung San Suu Kyi were expected to start shortly.

    The United States has been one of the most consistent supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi, and vilifies the junta which refused to hand over power when her National League for Democracy won a landslide election victory in 1990.

    Earlier Tuesday, Razali gave the first concrete sign of an easing of Myanmar's tortured political climate, as he arrived in Kuala Lumpur after flying in from Yangon.

    "There have been talks between Aung San Suu Kyi and the Myanmar government which started towards the end of last year," Razali told AFP.

    Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, the junta's first secretary and powerful chief of military intelligence, met with Aung San Suu Kyi at least once last month, diplomatic sources in Bangkok and Myanmar's capital Yangon said.

    A second meeting scheduled with the Nobel peace laureate may have taken place over the last few days.Diplomats said the preliminary talks, which "went well," were aimed at building the framework for a landmark dialogue, the first since 1994, that could end a decade of political deadlock.

    The breakthrough is largely credited to Razali, who Tuesday left Yangon at the end of his third mission to the country since he was appointed in April.

    The "Razali initiative" comes at a time when the junta, despite enjoying total control over the country, is under increasing pressure from a range of influences from abroad.
    UN envoy "making a difference" in Burma: US

    WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (AFP) -US officials on Tuesday urged all sides of Myanmar's political stalemate to cooperate with UN envoy Razali Ismail, who brokered secret talks between bitter foes in the junta and the opposition.

    Razali "has been in contact with us, we understand his talks were productive," a senior State Department official said hours after Razali told AFP that contact had taken place between the generals and democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

    "We understand progress has been made in starting a dialogue between the government and Aung San Suu Kyi," said the official.

    "Obviously, this is something that we have been pushing for some time. We think he is really making a difference, we urge everyone to cooperate with him."

    The United States has been one of the most consistent supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi, and vilifies the junta which refused to hand over power when her National League for Democracy won a landslide election victory in 1990.

    Earlier Tuesday, Razali gave the first concrete sign of an easing of Myanmar's tortured political climate, as he arrived in Kuala Lumpur after flying in from a five-day mission in Yangon.

    "There have been talks between Aung San Suu Kyi and the Myanmar government which started towards the end of last year," Razali told AFP.

    Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, the junta's first secretary and powerful chief of military intelligence, met with Aung San Suu Kyi at least once last month, diplomatic sources in Bangkok and Myanmar's capital Yangon said.

    A second meeting scheduled with the Nobel peace laureate may have taken place over the last few days.

    Diplomats said the preliminary talks, which "went well," were aimed at building the framework for a landmark dialogue, the first since 1994, that could end a decade of political deadlock.The breakthrough is largely credited to Razali, who Tuesday left Yangon at the end of his third mission to the country since he was appointed in April.

    The "Razali initiative" comes at a time when the junta, despite enjoying total control over the country, is under increasing pressure from a range of influences from abroad.
    Suu Kyi meets military

    source . BBC

    Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has met senior representatives of the military government in the first such reported contact in five years.

    The UN envoy to Burma Razali Ismail told the BBC that regular contact was planned and the process of national reconciliation had begun. He was speaking after a visit to Rangoon during which he met both sides - even though Aung San Suu Kyi is under virtual house arrest.

    "I think this [meeting] is extremely significant," Mr Razali said. "It's what the UN and international community were hoping would happen and we're very glad this has taken place."

    Optimism

    Mr Razali declined to name the military leaders who met Aung San Suu Kyi, but said it was at a sufficiently high level that both sides were satisfied.

    Sources in Rangoon believe the military intelligence chief Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt was involved.Although the UN has confirmed the meeting no one is divulging any details.

    According to diplomats in Rangoon there is cautious optimism that the country's political deadlock is in the process of being broken.They believe recent international pressure may have unsettled the country's military leaders and encouraged them to be more conciliatory towards Aung San Suu Kyi

    In November the International Labour Organisation demanded member countries consider adopting economic sanctions against Rangoon.The Association of South East Asian Nations, to which Burma was admitted in 1997, has also played a constructive role.

    Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who was in Rangoon last week, is understood to have told Burma's regime very forcefully that they needed to be more conciliatory.
    Burma invites Msian investment: Dr Mahathir

    KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 (Bernama) -- The Myanmar government has invited Malaysian companies to invest in the processing of raw materials in that country, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Tuesday.

    "They would like Malaysia to study the possibility of investing in Myanmar for the processing of raw materials, including fisheries," he told a press conference on his return from a week's visit to Myanmar.

    Dr Mahathir, who was accompanied by Datin Seri Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali to Myanmar, said Myanmar offered plenty of investment potential as well as opportunities for importing from that country.

    "Myanmar is a country blessed with abundant natural resources as well as large agricultural areas," he said.

    Dr Mahathir said Malaysia could buy a lot of agricultural products like chillies, onions, sugar, maize and fish from Myanmar.

    "They also have rich sources of fish," he said.

    The prime minister explained that the purpose of his visit to Myanmar was to obtain first hand information on the situation in that country.

    "There were reports which we had obtained from other sources which showed that things were seemingly bad (in Myanmar)," he said.

    In actual fact, he said the Myanmar government was giving attention to efforts in developing the country as well as its citizens, especially those staying in the rural areas.

    Dr Mahathir also said that he believed that the Myanmar government was keen to have closer bilateral ties with Malaysia. -- BERNAMA
    Burmese drug connection still unknown

    source : The Nation

    HELP would be sought from Burma to locate drug traffickers behind the largest ever haul of methamphetamines and heroin seized in Thai waters, Narcotics Control Board chief, Kitti Limchaikit said yesterday. The Burmese counterparts who made the hand-over to Thai drug traffickers were believed to be at large and Thai authorities would like to see them stand trial in a Thai court, Kitti said.

    Thai anti-narcotics and security officials had found 7.8 million methamphetamine pills and 114 kilograms of heroin in two fishing boats in the Andaman Sea.Acting on a tip-off, the Narcotics Suppression Bureau sought assistance from the Royal Thai Navy, which on Sunday deployed two cruisers and an aircraft to arrest the alleged drug traffickers.

    According to an official, an initial investigation suggested the drugs may have originated from the Golden Triangle. Anti-narcotics officers said this area was largely controlled by a pro-Rangoon minority group, called the United Wa State Army.

    Kitti said authorities had seized Bt30 million worth of assets from Pratheep, Bt3 million of assets from Chairat and Bt300,000 of assets from Supachai. They were also looking into Chairat's 24 bank accounts.

    Suchart was being held responsible for the offence as he was the owner of two trawlers found carrying the drugs, which had an estimated street value of about Bt1 billion, officials said.

    According to the officials, the drug shipment was loaded in Burma. The heroin-loaded trawler was destined for lower Southeast Asia, while the other vessel carrying the amphetamines was bound for Thailand.
    Condition of Burma's imprisoned student leader deteriorates

    New Delhi, January 9, 2001
    Mizzima News Group (www.mizzima.com )

    The health condition of Burma’s prominent student leader, Min Ko Naing is reportedly deteriorating day by day and if necessary medical treatment is not given urgently, he can be paralyzed soon, according to a political prisoner who was together with him in the Sittwe Prison in Arakan State of Burma.

    “He has to totally depend on iron bars of the prison to walk even a few feet and he suffers from severe pains of his lower body. If it goes on like that, he will soon be a handicapped person”, said an Arakanese prisoner who was released two weeks ago from the same prison.

    Min Ko Naing alias Paw U Tun, Chairman of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU), was arrested on 24 March 1989. He was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment (later commuted to 10 years under a general amnesty, but he has not been released) for his anti-government activities.

    He was initially detained in solitary confinement in Insein Prison in Rangoon but has been regularly moved from one prison to another and currently he is being held in Sittwe Prison.

    According to London-based Amnesty International, Min Ko Naing was reportedly severely tortured and ill treated during the early stages of his detention and his health has suffered as a consequence.

    In 1993,a United States Congressman visited him in Insein Prison and he was said to be in poor health and appeared disoriented.

    In November 1994 the Special Rapporteur on Burma was also allowed to visit him briefly in Insein Prison, and described him as being nervous and thin.

    Besides some political prisoners from other parts of Burma, there are about thirty Arakanese political prisoners in the Sittwe Prison along with Min Ko Naing. They do not get sufficient medical care, food and clothing”, said the former prisoner who has escaped to Bangladesh border recently.

    Min Ko Naing, a pseudonym, means A Conqueror of Kings.

    Related stories :
    Free Min Ko Naing Campaign in Canada
    Min Ko Naing Scholarship Fund
    Talks between Burma's junta, Aung San Suu Kyi draw kudos

    BANGKOK, Jan 10 (AFP)

    Secret talks between Burma's junta and the opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi won a cautious welcome Wednesday as world leaders urged the bitter enemies to strive towards national reconciliation.

    Dissident groups also responded warmly to the news that several meetings with junta number-three Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt had paved the way for an official dialogue that could end a decade of political stalemate.

    Amid a growing sense of cautious optimism over the initiative, spearheaded by UN envoy Razali Ismail, analysts warned the process would now proceed slowly, and probably while Aung San Suu Kyi remained under house arrest.

    Razali, who has been attempting to bring the bitter adversaries together for the first time since 1994, revealed Tuesday that the process of bridging Burma's political divide had begun.

    "There have been talks between Aung San Suu Kyi and the Myanmar government which started towards the end of last year," he said.

    UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said Secretary General Kofi Annan was "encouraged to learn that during his mission, Mr Razali was able to confirm that the two sides had started a direct dialogue since last October."

    "The two sides are expected to start more substantive discussions shortly."

    Annan "reiterates his call for the two sides to seize the momentum and work for national reconciliation."

    Razali left Rangoon Tuesday after a five-day visit where he met with a number of top generals and was also twice permitted to see Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since September 22.

    US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright welcomed news of the breakthrough and applauded the role played by Razali, a veteran Malaysian diplomat who has won the confidence of Burma's warring sides.

    "One of the things that we have wanted to have is the establishment of such a dialogue," she said. "Obviously this is something that we will have to see where it leads and whether it is a genuine dialogue."

    Albright also warned the generals must treat Aung San Suu Kyi as a political leader when they finally meet with her and not as a "little sister" -- one of their many derogatory terms for the Nobel peace laureate.

    Support for the nascent process from the junta's most strident critics may help dispel suggestions the initiative is a cynical attempt to quell criticism of the brutal regime and loosen the burden of sanctions.

    Burma's government-in-exile, which fled Rangoon after being denied a landslide victory in 1990 elections, expressed delight at the development.

    "We welcome the secret talks between Aung San Suu Kyi and Khin Nyunt -- it's a positive move," said National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) spokesman Maung Maung Aye.

    He cautioned that with the opposition leader under house arrest "it is difficult to say what has been achieved -- we do not know yet what they have discussed.

    "However, we expect the recent meetings helped establish better understanding, trust and openness between the two sides, and will support true dialogue to achieve national reconciliation."

    Umbrella rights group Altsean-Burma also gave its approval, while calling for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

    "These talks are long overdue, we look upon them with optimism," said spokeswoman Debbie Stothard.

    "But further negotiations will be hampered by the fact that most of the NLD (National League for Democracy) leadership remains in detention, either under house arrest or in military camps."

    The dissident All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF) said rights for ethnic minorities ranked with lack of democracy as pressing issues in Burma, a reminder that their support will be crucial in the coming months.

    "This is truly an historic breakthrough after 12 years of struggle," said ABSDF spokesman Sonny Mahinder. "We're very optimistic. It has been a long conflict."

    Burma's largest aid donor Japan said it was pleased to hear talks had finally begun.

    "Japan has been urging a dialogue between the government and Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi," said a foreign ministry official.

    "We welcome their talks and we believe it is a good move. We hope the talks will lead to further dialogue between the two."

    The "Razali initiative" comes at a time when the junta, despite enjoying total control over the country, is under increasing pressure due to a range of influences as its "temporary" rule stretches into a second decade.

    As the weight of sanctions and poor economic management threaten to bring the country to its knees, many observers believe the junta may at last be willing to countenance some sort of change.
    New hopes for Burma after junta meets with Aung San Suu Kyi

    BANGKOK, Jan 10 (AFP)

    As Burma's generals and their nemesis Aung San Suu Kyi sketch out plans for a landmark dialogue, observers are cautiously optimistic that the process of national reconciliation has now begun.

    However, they caution that doubts remain over the sincerity of the brutal regime, and the views of its formidable opponent who has been under house arrest and out of touch with the outside world since September 22.

    News that the opposition leader has held secret meetings with the junta's powerful number three Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, paving the way for the start of an historic dialogue, raised hopes the Nobel peace laureate would soon be freed.

    But observers, who marvelled at the military's ability to keep the process under wraps until now, said the military was unlikely to jeopardise it at such a delicate stage by throwing it open to international scrutiny.

    "This is the first time they've been in direct contact with her for an exended period about political changes. I think they very much want it to continue," one diplomat said.

    On the other hand, they may come under pressure to relax the restrictions as a gesture of goodwill and a sign that it is serious about embarking on a substantive dialogue for the first time since 1994.

    "These talks are long overdue, we look upon them with optimism," said Debbie Stothard, spokeswoman for the umbrella rights group Altsean-Burma.

    "But further negotiations will be hampered by the fact that most of the NLD (National League for Democracy) leadership remains in detention, either under house arrest or in military camps.

    "One would normally expect effective talks to take place when the key players are free to meet and discuss the issues."

    Sources close to the talks have told AFP the regime's leading critics among the international community were asked to exercise discretion as United Nations envoy Razali Ismail went about brokering the secret talks.

    Observers in the capital Rangoon say the official media's vicious daily attacks and personal insults aimed at the opposition leader have also tailed off in recent months.

    The initiatives were believed to be part of Razali's strategy to ease the bitter mistrust between the two sides, in a confidence building process that has apparently met with success.

    "There have been talks between Aung San Suu Kyi and the Myanmar government which started towards the end of last year," the veteran Malaysian diplomat told AFP after arriving home to Kuala Lumpur.

    As the international community, led by UN chief Kofi Annan and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, welcomed the contacts and urged both sides to work towards national reconciliation, the junta remained silent Wednesday.

    However, observers said that all the factions within the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) appeared to be on board for the process, as were the bulk of the National League for Democracy.

    "I think the SPDC is behind this, it's the whole government that is involved," said one diplomat, striking down suggestions that Khin Nyunt's only interest was to promote himself ahead of a succession battle in Burma.

    The other crucial element in the mix will be the support of the nation's fractious ethnic groups, some of which are still fighting government troops in a decades-old civil conflict.

    The dissident All Burma Students' Democratic Front said Wednesday that rights for ethnic minorities ranked with lack of democracy as pressing issues in Burma.

    "This is truly an historic breakthrough after 12 years of struggle," said spokesman Sonny Mahinder. "We're very optimistic. It has been a long conflict."

    The response from the regime's critics has been warm, largely dispelling suggestions the process is a completely cynical attempt to get the international community off the government's back.

    "The question now is how sincere they are, will they give credible guarantees -- are they playing for time or are they genuine," one diplomatic source.

    But they noted the talks so far have been of "excellent quality", leading the diplomatic community in Rangoon to be "cautiously optimistic" about the chances of success.

    It was not yet clear what form the dialogue would take, but it was believed Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta would broach political issues while other topics, such as the economy and health care, are addressed on the sidelines.

    Sources said Razali would now to travel to China, in a sign he wants to bring Burma's major international backer into the reconciliation process.

    The "Razali initiative" comes at a time when the junta, despite enjoying total control over the country, is under increasing pressure from a range of influences.

    As the generals' rule stretches into a second decade, it is becoming harder to justify their continuing grip on power.

    Pressure is also being brought to bear by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which Burma joined in 1997. The appalling state of the economy, which has been strangled by sanctions and mismanagement, may have forced some elements in the junta to countenance change.

    Meanwhile, after a decade of intimidation, repression and arrests, the NLD is an extremely weak state with little but the fame of its charismatic leader to sustain it as its membership shrinks.

    Diplomats say some within the party believe it is high time Aung San Suu Kyi began doing business with her enemy, much like South African leader Nelson Mandela with whom she is frequently compared.
    UN says Aung San Suu Kyi met Burma's junta leader "more than once"

    UNITED NATIONS, Jan 9 (AFP)

    The UN's special envoy to Burma reports that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has met the military junta leader "more than once," a UN spokesman said Tuesday.

    UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's envoy, Razali Ismail, left Rangoon on Tuesday after a five-day visit during which he held talks with government officials and with Aung San Suu Kyi.

    Annan's spokesman, Fred Eckhard, said Razali met separately with Aung San Suu Kyi and with Lt. General Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).Razali confirmed that the government and the opposition "had started a direct dialogue since last October," Eckhard said.

    Stephane Dujarric, an associate spokesman, said the dialogue included a direct meeting between Aung San Suu Kyi and General Khin.

    Asked for details, he replied "we don't have dates, but they met more than once."
    Malaysia gave Green light for workers from Myanmar and Nepal

    Source : The Star (Malaysia)

    PETALING JAYA-- Employers in the manufacturing, construction and plantation sectors can now recruit workers from Burma and Nepal.

    Deputy Home Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung yesterday confirmed the move.

    "The Government has decided to allow employers to recruit workers from both these countries,'' he said when contacted.

    Immigration Department director-general Datuk Aseh Che Mat said he was informed of the move about two weeks ago.

    "The hiring of workers from Myanmar and Nepal will be implemented very soon, perhaps even within the next week or so.

    "Workers from these two countries will, however, only be allowed to be recruited for the manufacturing, construction and plantation sectors.

    "We have been told for example that workers from Myanmar are good for the manufacturing sector,'' he said.

    Aseh said employers intending to recruit workers from the two countries would have to adhere to current regulations on the hiring of foreign workers.

    "Employers will have to apply to the Home Ministry if they want to hire workers from Myanmar and Nepal just like they do now with workers from Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia and other countries. No workers' agencies will be allowed to do so on their behalf.

    "Once an application has been approved, employers will then have to come to the Immigration Department for the payment of levy and others,'' said Aseh, adding that the number of workers which would be allowed to be recruited from the two countries had not been decided yet.

    Among the other conditions employers have to satisfy now are that they would only be allowed to recruit foreign workers if their numbers do not exceed the number of local employees.

    For the manufacturing sector, only those producing goods for export would be considered.

    The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) welcomed the move. Its executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said the government's decision would help alleviate the shortage of workers in the country.

    But he cautioned that employers would not be jumping into hiring workers from Burma and Nepal straight away.

    "Basically we do not know about the quality of workers from these two countries. Employers will probably take a cautious approach of first testing how workers from these two countries perform in the jobs they are hired for.

    "There is also the question of the skills level of workers from these countries as we do not know much about them compared to those from Bangladesh for example.

    "Employers will take some time to get used to them,'' said Shamsuddin.
    Burma amassing troops along Bangladesh border

    Source : India Abroad News Service

    Dhaka, Jan 10- - Burma has started deploying regular troops along Bangladesh's southeastern border since Tuesday morning, according to sources here.

    Burmese army personnel have moved to forward positions within one-and-a-half kilometers of the border on the river Naf, which separates the two countries sources said. Soldiers were being deployed across the paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) border outposts at Ulubonia, Palangkhali, Rejupara, Chakdala and the Ashartali, they added.

    On Monday, Nasaka, the border force of Burma, traded fire with BDR personnel, they said.

    The deployment of troops within eight kilometers or five miles of the Zero Line that separates the two countries is in violation of international border regulations, the sources said. The troop movement across the border has prompted the BDR to call for additional reinforcements from southeastern areas like Cox's Bazar, Bandarban and Rangamati. The Bangladesh Army, however, has not made any move as yet.

    Meanwhile, tension prevails near the border outpost in Ukhia, 48 km from Cox's Bazar. Reports said that some villagers of the Ulobonia and Palangkhali areas had already fled their homes following Monday's skirmishes that lasted for several hours. A company-level flag meeting between the BDR and the Nasaka on Monday had resulted in both sides agreeing to a weeklong cease-fire and suspension of construction of an embankment.

    The government is closely monitoring the situation along the southeastern border. The foreign ministry, it is learnt, is expecting a reply to its complaint lodged with Burma's Ambassador in Dhaka U Ohn Thwin on Monday regarding the construction of an embankment on the Naf.

    Authorities here said they were expecting assurances from their counterparts in Burma about not erecting any permanent embankment on the river, since it would lead to flooding, erosion and shrimp farming losses in Bangladesh territory.
    Historic dialogue offers hope of end to perpetual deadlock

    Source : South China Morning post

    Twelve years after she returned home from Europe, Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi remains excluded from power by Burma's junta but has emerged in Western eyes as an icon of democracy.

    The Nobel peace laureate saw aspirations for democracy in heady 1988 demonstrations evaporate in a hail of gunfire which left thousands of protesters dead.

    The years since then have been ones of ultimately fruitless struggle against the military by her National League for Democracy (NLD).

    After a decade of intimidation, repression and arrests, it has little but the fame of its charismatic leader to sustain it.

    During the past three months, with international attention drifting from Burma and Ms Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest yet again, things looked particularly grim.

    But yesterday's news that the dogged efforts of United Nations envoy Razali Ismail have achieved a breakthrough that may end the political deadlock has brightened the outlook.

    Sources said the two sides were poised to start an historic dialogue aimed at achieving national reconciliation.

    As the weight of sanctions and poor economic management threaten to bring the country to its knees, many observers believe at least some elements in the junta are willing to countenance change.

    The daughter of Burmese independence hero Aung San - who is revered by the opposition and junta alike and was assassinated months before the country won independence from Britain in 1948 - has paid a high price for her fame.

    A victim of her own popularity, she was placed under house arrest in 1989 under the "Law Protecting the State from Destructionists" and granted limited freedom only in 1995.

    Her thunderous silence during those years of house arrest galvanised global opposition to the junta, drawing denunciations from the UN, governments and human rights groups worldwide. The award of a Nobel peace prize in 1991 only served to reinforce that opposition.

    Ms Aung San Suu Kyi returned to Rangoon in April 1988 to tend to her sick mother and found the city awash in protests against the military, which had seized power in 1962. The demonstrations quickly spread nationwide and grew in intensity, prompting her to take on the role of intermediary in what was to become a bloody confrontation.

    In September 1988, she was named secretary-general and co-founder of the NLD, an alliance of 105 opposition parties challenging the junta.

    Beginning in October 1988 she crisscrossed Burma, delivering more than 100 campaign speeches for the NLD ahead of national elections.

    Despite being confined to her home, she led the NLD to a landslide victory in 1990 polls which the junta refused to accept.
    NLD central executive member U Lwin asked for patience

    Source : MSNBC

    Rangoon, Jan. 10 --Burma's National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition confirmed on Wednesday it had been in secret talks with the military government and said the dialogue appeared already to have achieved some progress.

    NLD central executive member U Lwin said the direct talks between NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the ruling generals would require patience on both sides so that the momentum of the meetings should not be interrupted.

    'We are very glad,'' he told Reuters. ''The meeting is what we have been working for. Since (news of) it has appeared, the responsibility has become greater on both sides not to interrupt the momentum of the process.''

    'Both sides have to be careful not to irritate the process.''

    NLD members were told of the dialogue in December: ''The meeting seemed to have achieved some progress then,'' he said.

    He gave no details.

    The United Nations announced on Tuesday Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi and the Rangoon government had had initial direct talks and were expected to open more substantive discussions soon.

    The meetings started in October and so far had involved Suu Kyi's talking to Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, a top member of the ruling State Peace and Development Council, officials said.

    The talks have been welcomed on all sides and raised hopes that Burma may finally move towards democracy after years of political stand-off between the NLD and the military and international isolation for the Rangoon regime.

    The NLD won Burma's last general election in 1990 by a landslide but has never been allowed to govern. Instead, Suu Kyi and NLD members have been harassed and imprisoned.

    ''HISTORIC BREAKTHROUGH''

    The All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF), exiled opponents of the Myanmar military, hailed the talks, calling them a ''truly historic breakthrough after 12 years of struggle.''

    ''We hope this dialogue will begin to overcome the major problems of civil war and bring about democratisation. This will start the process of healing and reconciliation.''

    ''This is the most positive sign we've seen since the general election held in 1990,'' the ABSDF said in a statement.

    The foreign ministry of neighbouring Thailand, with whom Burma has often had frosty relations in recent years, said it was delighted by news of the talks.

    ''Thailand is pleased to learn of the positive development in Burma, which will lead to a possible reconciliation. It is the hope and desire of Thailand and the world community to see the parties concerned continue their efforts,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Rathakit Manathat told Reuters.

    The head of a major diplomatic mission in Rangoon from a member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) called the talks a ''big breakthrough.''

    ''It is a big breakthrough in Myanmar's politics,'' he told Reuters. ''I am very optimistic about the process. It is a good sign, not only for Myanmar but for the whole of ASEAN.''

    Special praise was reserved for U.N. special envoy to Burma Razali Ismail, who has been credited with organising the talks and ended a five-day visit to Burma on Tuesday.

    ''We commend the relentless efforts of the United Nations special envoy and the U.N. secretary-general and hope the two will pursue the matter further,'' Thai foreign ministry spokesman Rathakit said.

    The talks have surprised many observers, particularly in light of a crackdown on the NLD last year.

    Suu Kyi has been under de facto house arrest since September and Razali's meetings with her were her first contact with an outside visitor in nearly three months.

    But U Lwin said hostilities between the two sides in Burma had calmed in recent weeks and noted that government-run papers had recently stopped attacking the NLD, once a daily ritual.

    'We have noticed the government papers have stopped carrying provocative articles and cartoons and therefore we decided not to do anything that will be provocative.''