Daily News-January 23 - 2001- Tuesday

  • DVB: Burmese groups skeptical about dialogue
  • Twins would prefer to be back in Burma
  • Bangla, Burma border talks collapse
  • Situation along border with Burma slightly improves
  • Border tense as Burma continues to mass troops
  • Afghanistan, Burma top drugs blacklist: UN report
  • Burma project to return sacred bell
  • Gas Export from Burma to India likely
  • UN Happy With Burmese Junta Efforts To Fight Drugs
  • Bangladesh detains three Burmese Muslim rebels

    • DVB: Burmese groups skeptical about dialogue

    source : Burmanet

    January 18, 2001, Thursday
    Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese 1245 gmt 16 Jan 01

    DVB Democratic Voice of Burma correspondent Htet Aung Kyaw reports on whether there is a possibility of a peace agreement between the Karen National Union KNU and the SPDC State Peace and Development Council as recently mentioned by SPDC Secretary-1 Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, and that the SPDC military government is not only holding talks with the NLD National League for Democracy but also attempting to hold talks with the nationalities armed groups at the border.

    Htet Aung Kyaw This news came up when a group led by Col San Pwint, an SPDC military intelligence officer, arrived Myawadi. Border news sources told DVB that their main target was the KNU. But Phado Mahn Sha, the KNU secretary, told DVB that it was a meeting between the liaison officers from both sides and that there is no possibility of a dialogue at this moment.

    Phado Mahn Sha We would like to say that this is false news. We are not having any talks with the SPDC at the moment. The SPDC is also carrying out their offensive against the KNU. But one thing which is true is that we have communication between us. We established the communication links between us after the 1996 talks. We use a central third party for communications, some from their side and some from our side. They are meant only for communication, not to hold talks.

    Htet Aung Kyaw DVB also asked another nationalities group the KNPP, Karenni National Progressive Party. U Ohn Mawkhi - name as received By talking with the NLD they the SPDC are sending us mixed signals. They sent negotiators to negotiate for a cease-fire in 1994-95 with the KNU, the KNPP and other nationalities groups under the policy of getting the armed groups back to the legal fold. Now they are not sending liaison people but writing to us. In the letter they wanted us to join with the SPDC Armed Forces and engage in development activities, to return for talks and to return to the legal fold.

    But as for us and as the whole world knows, even the whole of Burma knows, what their peace means and what will happen with peace. If you want to know more go and ask around. We know what happened and that is why we cannot easily accept the overture.

    If they really want then they have to do it nationwide and must include a third party because the KNPP has had a bad experience. Everyone knows in 1995 we signed a cease-fire agreement.Well, we signed a bilateral agreement but the thing is nothing was actually agreed upon between the KNPP and the SPDC. We told U Kyaw Thein Burmese defence official that. This time we cannot accept that condition and we need to be very careful.

    Htet Aung Kyaw That was U Ohn Mawkhi, the secretary of KNPP. In fact the SPDC military government is trying to show the world that they can hold talks with any organization but we will have to wait and see what the outcome will be from the actual talks.
    Twins would prefer to be back in Burma

    source : The Nation
    BY DON PATHAN

    SUAN PHUNG, Ratchaburi - The teenage twin leaders of a rag-tag Karen rebel group, the God's Army, yesterday played down reports that they have magical powers but maintained their strong commitment to their religion, saying the Lord has always been with them amid their struggle.

    "If God is not helping us our people would have fallen apart long ago," said Luther Htoo, sitting next to his more reticent brother, Johnny.

    Speaking to a group of reporters for the first time since turning themselves over to the Thai authorities last week, the chain-smoking,devoutly Christian twins told a group of local and foreign journalists that they missed their parents and would like to go to school.

    They said they had taken part in battles against Burmese government troops but maintained they were carrying out their religious duty against what they described as Burmese aggression.

    "God sent me to be the leader to fight against Burma," said Luther. "I am not afraid because God is always with me."

    Since putting down their arms, the twins have attained the status of celebrities, receiving outgoing Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai and Army chief General Surayudh Chulanont, both of whom said they would like to see the twins reunited with their parents and going to school.

    The twins were also visited by Ratchaburi provincial Governor Gomate Daengthongdee,who arrived here yesterday with huge baskets of fruit. He said the twins and their followers have been given a clean bill of health and are being fed three meals a day. The twins are keeping a strict diet in line with their religious beliefs, and not taking eggs or pork, Gomate said.

    He said it is believed the twins are 15 years of age, though they appeared to be no more than 10.

    Thai authorities are considering giving the two the status of "displaced persons", and sending them to their parents so they can attend a school run by aid agencies. No timeframe has been set, Gomate said.

    When asked if he would like to remain in Thailand, Luther said: "If I could go back [to Burma] I would."

    Appearing in front of the camera yesterday, the twins and their followers looked neat and clean,most of them sporting new haircuts and oversized T-shirts provided by government officials.

    The exception was Johnny, who had his signature long hair in a ponytail. "If I have a hair cut, I will get sick," he explained.

    Asked if they would give up smoking, Luther shook his head.

    The God's Army came into being after the larger Karen National Union, which had stubbornly resisted the government for decades, was driven out of the area opposite Ratchaburi's Suan Phung by a massive Rangoon offensive in 1997.

    At its peak, the group had about 150 soldiers,but now only three fighters are still in the jungle,Luther said. Stories about their success on the battlefield began to spread among ethnic Karens while their Messianic reputation grew.But last week, driven by hunger and tired of being on the run since their stronghold Karmaplaw was overrun by Burmese troops last year, the twin leaders, along with 16 others - mostly children - turned themselves over to the Thai army. Their parents are living in two separate camps along the Thai-Burmese border, where more than 100,000 Burmese displaced people, mostly ethnic Karens, are currently being sheltered.

    Gomate said the authorities are still investigating to see who, if any, from the group were involved in the New Year's eve killing of six Thai villagers, as well as the hostage crisis at the Ratchaburi hospital last February, and the seizing of the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok five months before that.The hospital crisis was initially blamed on the God's Army but it's questionable how many from the group that took part in the hospital raid were in fact Karen. The names of the hostage takers eventually released to the press by the authorities indicated that most, if not all, were members of another resistance group, the Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors.
    Bangla, Burma border talks collapse

    source : Times of India
    by Ershadul Huq

    DHAKA: Talks between the border security force commanders of Bangladesh and Myanmar have collapsed over Myanmar's refusal to sign the minutes of a flag meeting that took place over the weekend.

    Media reports of the flag meeting between the commander of paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and the commander of Myanmar's "Nasaka" border security force reaching here said the Myanmar side displayed a "bellicose attitude" and refused to sign the proceedings of the meeting.The meeting was held on Sunday at Maungdau in Myanmar.

    The reports said the Myanmar delegation led by Commander U.Kyaw Sanhala had suggested that they would repair the damaged parts of an embankment running along the river Naf, which divides the two nations, to defuse border-related tensions. BDR Commander Lt. Colonel Rafiqur Rahman Bhuyian, who led the 11-member Bangladesh team to the talks, rejected the proposal, saying the embankment was constructed in flagrant violation of the border treaty between the two countries and further construction or repair of it would not be allowed.

    According to the reports, this led to the Myanmar side leaving the meeting abruptly. A Myanmar proposal to form a Joint Survey Commission (JSC) to defuse border tensions was also left hanging in the balance because of the failed talks.

    It was not known till Sunday whether the JSC would be formed, but foreign ministry sources here said the JSC would be formed at the "local command level," involving the border forces of the two countries.

    Meanwhile, reports from Myanmar say that two light infantry regiments have been deployed at forward positions, some 500 yards from the Bangladesh border. About 15,000 regular troops have also been stationed near the border with Bangladesh. (IANS)
     Situation along border with Burma slightly improves

    source :independent-bangladesh

    The situation along the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar has slightly improved.Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) Director General Major General Fazlur Rahman told The Independent yesterday that an atmosphere, conducive to solving the problems peacefully, has been created following Saturday’s flag meeting.

    The BDR chief who returned to the capital yesterday after visiting the frontiers in Teknaf and Ukhiya, hoped that a joint survey of the controversial dam in the Naf river would take place soon. Myanmar has proposed for the joint inspection of the place.Meanwhile, the Myanmar government has expressed its desire to resolve the border problems with Bangladesh through peaceful means.

    According to reports received here, the Myanmar Deputy Foreign Minister voiced his government’s sentiment, while briefing the heads of the diplomatic corps in Yangon about the developments along Bangaldesh-Myanmar border over the weekend.The Myanmar DFM has denied the allegation that his country had amassed regular troops in the frontier.

    Following the briefing the diplomatic circles in Yangon feel Myanamar seems to have played down the tension along its border with Bangladesh.

    Meanwhile, the process of the repatriation of Rohingya refugees came to a total halt due to the tension along the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar, official sources said.Of a quarter million Rohingyas who crossed into border early 1991 and took shelter in the south eastern region of Bangladesh, 2,30,000 had returned voluntarily to their homeland during the last ten years.

    Now over 20,000 refugees staying at a camp in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, awaiting repatriation. The repatriation which began late 1991 under a tripartite agreement, was going on at a very slow pace before it was halted in the first week of the current month.Bangladesh, Myanmar and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are the signatories of the accord.
     Border tense as Burma continues to mass troops

    source :The Daily Star

    Nasaka refuses to sign joint statement

    A near conflict situation is prevailing on the banks of the Naf river following massing of around 20,000 regular troops by Bangladesh's south-eastern neighbour Myanmar despite a Flag Meeting between commanders of border forces of the two countries on Saturday.

    Detailed reports of the meeting between BDR and Nasaka received in Dhaka yesterday said the Myanmar side displayed a 'bellicose attitude' and refused to sign its proceedings.

    The Nasaka commander at the meeting held at Maungdaw in Myanmar said they wanted to defuse border tension but would repair the embankment along the Naf constructed by them and part of which was damaged.But BDR Commander Lt Col Rafiqur Rahman Bhuiyan, who led in 11 member Bangladesh team, categorically told the Myanmar side they would not allow further construction or repair of the embankment, the reports said.he pointed out that the embankment was constructed in flagrant violation of the border treaty between the two countries.

    According to sources, the legal and just stand of Bangladesh apparently was not liked by the Myanmar side and their Commander U Kyaw Sanhla along with his team abruptly left the meeting without signing its proceedings.

    Besides, the proposal for formation of a Joint Survey Commission (JSC), which was earlier mooted by the Yangon authorities, could not at all be discussed at the Flag Meeting.Diplomatic sources and security experts pointed out that only an early formation of the JSC, agreed earlier by both the countries, would be formed and when it would visit the area adjoining the Naf river.

    Foreign Ministry sources however indicated that the JSC will be formed at the 'local command level' involving border forces of the two countries. The BDR has decided to nominate its Deputy Director General but the Myanmar side is yet to communicate its decision in this regard.

    Reports from across the border said two Light Infantry Regiments of Myanmar Army have been deployed in froward positions, within some 500 yards of Bangladesh border.Besides. 15,000 regular troops have also been deployed within three km of Bangladesh border. The Myanmar authorities have done this in gross violation of international border rules which forbid movement of troops within eight km of a neighbour's border except in case of a military exercise. In that case also, prior information has to be provided to the neigbouring country.

    The two Light Infantry Regiments and other troops formations of Myanmar are equipped with recoilless rifles, mortars, heavy machine guns and even artillery guns.The two Regiments have moved out from the western command headquarters at Sittwe.Military Commander of Myanmar's western region Lt General Wan Tuwa officially visited the forward deployment position of Myanmar troops twice in the last five days.Normally some 30,000 regular troops are at the direct disposal of Myanmar';s western command. Besides, the number of Naska forces in the area concerned is over 2500,reliable sources said.

    The Myanmar troops are learnt to have been deployed in Totardip area of Myanmar,bordering Bangladesh's Ulabania. Sources noted that the JSC can settle the Bangladesh claim that Myanmar is constructing embankments along the Naf river in violation of the maritime boundary demarcation agreement signed between the two countries in 1966. Later in 1980, a land boundary demarcation agreement was signed by the two neighbours and it incorporated the 1966 agreement.

    Foreign Secretary Shafi Sami, when contacted, said the border tension with "our close neighbour will be defused shortly." Asked about possible outbreak of a conflict, he said. "Let us not speculate now. We will cross the bridge when it comes."
    Afghanistan, Burma top drugs blacklist: UN report

    VIENNA, Jan 22 (AFP) -Afghanistan, Myanmar and Colombia are by far the world's biggest producers of heroin and cocaine, supplying an overall market of some 180 million people worldwide, a UN report said Monday.

    But the report, by the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (UNDCP), welcomed crackdowns by many other countries which have cut supplies substantially."Thanks to a 'get-serious' approach on the part of most major coca and opium poppy producing countries, production is now limited to fewer countries than ever before," said the report.

    "Afghanistan and Myanmar together account for about 90 percent of global illicit opium production, and Colombia alone is responsible for two-thirds of global coca leaf production," it said.

    But the UN report noted that production of the world's two "main problem drugs", cocaine and heroin, was on the downturn.Between 1993 and 1999, the coca leaf harvests and cocaine production fell by some 20 percent, and in the last year the production of opium, heroin's key ingredient, has fallen by 17 percent, according to the report.And, it added, the number of consumers picking up the finished product has stabilized or even declined. In the late 1990s, some 4.2 percent of the world's population over 15 -- 180 million people -- were consuming drugs.

    Poverty reduction, conflict resolution and mediation must play a role in the reduction and eradication of drug production, the report said.The Colombian authorities' crackdown on the country's drug trade, which would deal a major blow to rebel political forces financed by drug sales, has some critics worried it will exacerbate a conflict that has claimed an estimated 130,000 lives since 1964.

    In Afghanistan, fears are mounting that a ban on opium cultivation could spur the exodus of refugees already fleeing drought and war.Afghan farmers say growing other crops won't meet the rising cost of living, and warn they will move their production to neighbouring Pakistan.Alternative development projects are one way for countries to climb out of this situation, and the report pointed to the "success" of such projects in Bolivia, Pakistan and Thailand.

    In the West, the report noted that the consumption of cocaine in the United States had fallen by a large 70 percent from 1985 to 1999, with a 40 percent reduction in overall drug use.
     Burma project to return sacred bell

    From the newsroom of the BBC World Service

    An English marine archaeologist is reported to have agreed to recover one of Burma's most sacred religious relics from the bed of the Irrawaddy river,where it has lain for nearly 400 years.

    The relic is the Dhammazedi bell, which is said to weigh 300 tons, and believed to the the biggest ever made.

    The bell, made of gold, silver and bronze and encrusted with emeralds and sapphires, once stood in Burma's holiest shrine, the Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon.

    It was looted from the pagoda by the Portuguese nearly four-hundred years ago, but sank into the river when an attempt to ship it away went wrong.

    The archaeologist, Mike Hatcher, says he will begin work on the project in March. It is estimated that the operation will cost some six-million dollars, the funds being provided privately.

    Mr Hatcher, who has several successful salvage operations to his credit, says he hopes the return of the bell will prove a positive catalyst for change in Burma.
    Gas Export from Burma to India likely

    New Delhi, January 22, 2001
    Mizzima News Group (www.mizzima.com)

    The volume of bilateral trade between India and Burma could go up substantially if Burma can export gas to Indian market. A leading state-owned company the Gas Authority of India Limited (Gail) in 1998 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Brown & Root, Cairn Energy and Shell to bring in 28 million cubic meters per day of natural gas from Burma to India. The Navratna Company (a Gail subsidiary) has also reportedly plans to bring gas from Burma to Orissa Sate of India through a sub-sea pipeline.

    The two countries are at present exploring the possibility of exporting gas from Burma to India through Bangladesh. As Burma has considerable gas reserves in the Arakan State of the country, the gas can be piped to India along a corridor through Bangladesh. The officials in Dhaka have been reluctant to commit itself on the idea due to the domestic political opposition.

    The authorities in Rangoon have, however, offered to cooperate with India in the supply of gas and Indian officials are discussing the possibility of taking this gas pipeline project under the framework of BIMSTEC grouping which has Burma and Bangladesh as members straddling the Bay of Bengal.

    The hopes were raised recently as the Bangladesh government is expected to take a decision on long-awaited Indo-Bangladesh gas pipeline project in the coming few months for exporting the natural gas reserves in Bangladesh to India. This Indo-Bangladesh pipeline project, which was recommended by the U.S. energy giant UNOCAL as the only feasible option for utilizing the natural gas reserves in Bangladesh, will cost 910-million US Dollars and the pipeline will extend 1350 kilometers from Rashidpur in Bangladesh to the HBJ pipeline in India.

    India and Burma are increasing political and economic ties in recent years. Burma has already invited India for developing a deep-water port and also sought India’s involvement in developing some of key infrastructure development projects in the country.

    During the high-profiled visit to India in November last year, Burma’s Vice-Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) General Maung Aye sought India’s participation in the 750 MW Yewa power project near Mandalay. India is already involved in the 110 MW Tamanthi hydel project on the banks of the Chindwin river. India is also involved in the Kaladan project in developing a transport corridor along the Kaladan river, which leads into the Bay of Bengal.

    It assisted Burma in constructing the 160 km-long Tamu-Kalaymyo road, which is now waiting for the official inauguration by both countries.
    UN Happy With Burmese Junta Efforts To Fight Drugs

    BANGKOK (AP)--Myanmar's ruling junta is serious about fighting drugs, and its commitment is showing good results in controlling opium and amphetamine production, U.N. officials said Tuesday.

    The "problem has not been solved. The problem will not be solved tomorrow," Sandro Calvani of the U.N. International Drug Control Program told a news conference to discuss the UNDCP's second World Drug Report.

    The report, released Monday in Vienna, says Myanmar remains the second-largest producer of illicit opium in the world after Afghanistan. The two countries accounted for 95% of opium production in 1999 with Afghanistan's share at 75%. While Afghanistan remains a challenge to the global community, there is reason for hope in Myanmar, said Yngve Danling, a law enforcement adviser to the UNDCP, who also addressed the news conference.

    "We are seeing that (Myanmar) government authorities...are serious (and) committed. They are doing what they promised to do and they are performing. And they are getting results," said Calvani, the UNDCP's east Asia and Pacific representative.

    According to the World Drug Report, the production of opium poppy fell from 1,303 tons in 1998 to 895 tons in 1999. The seizure of amphetamine-type stimulants increased from 50 kilograms in 1997 to 160 kilograms in 1998. Amphetamines are the new scourge on the drug scene, with their trafficking growing more strongly than that of any other drug over the last decade, the World Drug Report said.

    Myanmar has emerged as a leading center for amphetamines, bringing it international opprobrium second only to the criticism it faces for suppressing democratic rights.Amphetamines are made by Myanmar rebel groups such as the Shan and Wa in makeshift laboratories strung along the border with Thailand and China, where the junta has little control.The two rebel groups have signed peace accords with the junta, which gives them virtual autonomy in large enclaves dominated by their minority communities.But by choosing to make peace with the rebels, the junta may have compromised its fight against drugs to some extent, Danling, the UNDCP adviser, said.

    Danling and Calvani also praised Myanmar for cooperating with neighbors Thailand and China in fighting drug lords by sharing information about their trafficking activities. Myanmar has also cooperated with the U.N. in running successful programs on making villagers give up the cultivation of poppy, Calvani said.

    He said the U.N. estimates it will need a $10 million investment by the international community to fight the drug problem in Myanmar, including providing alternative sources of income to villagers. But so far only $1 million has been provided, mostly by the U.S. and Japan.

    The international community has in the last three years invested 300 times more in Thailand in fighting drugs compared to Myanmar, he said.

    This is largely because of the pariah status that Myanmar has in the West over its refusal to hand over power to the National League for Democracy party of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, which won the 1990 general elections.
    Bangladesh detains three Burmese Muslim rebels

    source : Reuters

    CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, Jan. 23 — Bangladeshi police said on Tuesday they had detained three Myanmar Muslim rebels including a group leader in the southeastern port city of Chittagong.

    ''We arrested Mohammad Selimullah, chief-of-staff of Myanmar's rebel Rohingya National Army (RNA), and one of his aides, Noor Mohammad...on Sunday night,'' assistant commissioner of Chittagong Metropolitan police, Monoj Kumar Majumdar, told Reuters.

    He said police seized a number of forged passports and currency notes of different countries in a raid on a nearby house, which was also used by the RNA. Majumdar said the Myanmar rebels had rented the houses claiming to be Bangladeshis.

    The two were pickled up after another RNA member, Mohammad Yaser, was detained last week in Cox's Bazar district, which borders Myanmar's western Muslim-majority Arakan state.

    Police said the three were being interrogated and would at least face charges of violating Bangladesh's immigration law.Under a special powers act people can be detained for up to three months in Bangladesh without being charged.

    Small Muslim rebel groups in Arakan state have been fighting the Yangon military government for decades. Myanmar is predominantly Buddhist.Myanmar army operations against rebel groups in border regions occasionally send Muslim people from Myanmar, who are known as Rohingyas, feeing into Muslim Bangladesh.

    Some 21,000 Rohingyas live in camps on the Bangladesh side of the border.Bangladesh denies providing support to rebels from neighbouring countries.

    The detention of the Myanmar rebels follows a period of tension between Bangladesh and Myanmar along their common border over a water-diversion project Myanmar began building on the river.

    Both sides sent thousands of reinforcements to the border after a clash between their forces nearly two weeks ago.