Daily News-March-08- 2001- Thursday

  • U.S. human rights group says Burma Uses Forced Labor Despite Decree
  • Thai Army Slams Burma, Accuses It Of Causing Problems
  • Mae Sai-Tachilek and Mae Sot-Myawaddy to re-open on Monday
  • Thailand Foreign Minister says Burma clashes will not escalate

    • U.S. human rights group says Burma Uses Forced Labor Despite Decree

    BANGKOK (AP)--A U.S. human rights group has accused the Burmese government of allowing forced labor despite issuing a decree last year making the practice illegal.

    In a statement received here Thursday, Human Rights Watch said "it had clear evidence" of forced labor that indicated the decree was passed only to avoid international criticism.

    A Burmese government spokesman didn't immediately respond to a faxed request for a reaction.

    The allegation by the New York-based Human Rights came a week before the governing body of the International Labor Organization is scheduled to meet in Geneva to review the progress made by Burma, toward eradicating forced labor.

    Burma's ruling military junta, the State Peace and Development Council, issued a decree Oct. 27, making the requisitioning of forced labor punishable by a maximum of one year in jail and a fine under section 374 of the Penal Code.

    "Either the Burmese government thought it could avoid international pressure by a sham decree or it just has made no effort to enforce the ban," Sidney Jones, Asia director for Human Rights Watch, was quoted as saying in the statement dated Wednesday.

    "Since the directive was clearly circulated (in the provinces), the Burmese government has to explain why the practice is continuing," said Jones.

    In November, the ILO's governing body adopted a resolution urging international organizations and governments to "reassess" their relationship with the SPDC, saying it is not very clear what it is actually doing to stop the use of forced labor.

    Burma has said civilians contribute their labor voluntarily to promote development of the nation.

    The Human Rights Watch statement said called on the junta to take immediate steps to enforce the decree and grant access to independent observers to monitor compliance.

    It said it conducted interviews in Thailand's Chiang Mai province in late February with many Burmese people "who had been recently subjected to forced labor."

    It cited the case of one ethnic Shan farmer who said that in January, a local unit of the Burmese military forced him to dig trenches and fence-post holes for a military base in Ton Hu in Shan State's Nam Zarng Township.

    The farmer and around 20 other villagers had to travel to the site five times during the month for two or three days at a time. Villagers had to bring their own food, sleep at the work site and were not compensated for their labor, the statement said.
    Thai Army Slams Burma, Accuses It Of Causing Problems

    BANGKOK (AP)--Thailand's army lashed out at Burma's ruling junta Thursday, saying it is causing untold problems for Thailand such as border security, narcotics and refugees.

    The strongly-worded statement increases the temperature in an ongoing war of words between the two countries over ethnic rebels and drug armies in Burma. The army prepared the statement in consultation with several government agencies, a Foreign Ministry official said.

    "The essence of Burmese politics is...that it tends to survive without realizing the sufferings and troubles of neighboring countries," the statement said. "It solves its own problems by using military forces," it said.

    A Burmese government spokesman didn't immediately respond to a faxed request for a reaction.

    The Thai rebuke was prompted by a recent accusation by Burma Brig. Gen. Kyaw Win, the deputy chief of military intelligence, that the Thai army supports the rebel Shan State Army, an anti-Burma group fighting for independence in a region bordering Thailand.

    The accusation is "groundless and has damaged Thai-Burmese relationship," the statement said.

    "Thailand has the policy neither to support minority groups fighting against the Burmese for their independence nor to create (a) buffer zone," it said.

    In fact, the statement said, the junta's use of military forces have caused "various problems to Thailand such as sovereignty violation, narcotics, refugees, illegal labor including contagious diseases."

    Thailand has long complained that Burma intrudes on its border and turns a blind eye to drug lords operating in its territory. Over the last five years, Thailand has reported an increasing number of seizures of methamphetamines flowing in from Burma.

    "The Burmese junta has never (taken) any action" against the United Wa State Army, which is "widely known as the main drug producer and trader in Burma," the statement said.

    It also accused the Burmese military of using UWSA as an ally to "cause problem to Thailand" by relocating them from northern Burma to the Thai border."

    The U.S. and other drug experts also say that the UWSA is the main producer and trafficker of methamphetamines in Burma. The UWSA, a former rebel group that signed a cease-fire with Burma, now enjoys a large degree of autonomy in the border areas it controls.
    Mae Sai-Tachilek and Mae Sot-Myawaddy to re-open on Monday

    Source : Bangkok Post

    Checkpoints at Mae Sai-Tachilek and Mae Sot-Myawaddy will re-open on Monday because conditions on the border have settled, Third Army commander Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuanwong said yesterday.

    The Third Army closed all border checkpoints with Burma in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son and Tak provinces after Rangoon launched military operations against Shan State Army rebels early last month.

    Burmese troops intruded into Thai territory and seized a Thai outpost at Ban Pang Noon in Chiang Rai's Mae Fah Lung district on Feb 9, prompting Thai military retaliation which resulted in heavy Burmese casualties.

    The following day, Burmese forces fired mortar shells into Mae Sai border town in Chiang Rai, killing two people and wounding others. The situation worsened with heavy military reinforcements on both sides of the border.

    Burma began pulling out some of its troops early this month although meetings of the Thai-Burmese township border committee failed to bear fruit.

    Lt-Gen Wattanachai yesterday said Rangoon proposed to hold a regional-level meeting, which has been postponed for two years, on March 17 at Keng Tung province. However, the Thai side asked that the meeting be put off until later this month, he said.

    Col Akaradet Songworawit, commander of the 3rd cavalry regiment, has been appointed chairman of the Township Border Committee. He succeeds Maj-Gen Tawat Jarukiat.
    Thailand Foreign Minister says Burma clashes will not escalate

    Source : MSMBC / Reuters

    KUALA LUMPUR--Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said on Thursday recent border clashes with neighbouring Burma would not escalate and he was hopeful disputes with Burma would be resolved.

    ''The border conflict, as far as Thailand is concerned, can be handled within the existing mechanism,'' Surakiat told reporters during a visit to Malaysia.

    ''It will not escalate to the national level at all,'' he said at the end of a meeting with his Malaysian counterpart, Syed Hamid Albar.

    Relations between the neighbours deteriorated last month after a series of border skirmishes with both sides accusing each other of involvement in drug trafficking.

    Surakiart said Thailand would stick to its policy of non-intervention in the internal affairs of its neighbours.

    ''The policy towards immediate neighbours is that we have to build on trust and adhere to the principle of non-intervention,'' he said.

    Surakiart praised Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Malaysian U.N. envoy Razali Ismail for their efforts in promoting reconciliation between Burma's military government and its pro-democracy opposition.

    A top Burmese military official has recently held talks with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

    ''That's a very positive step indeed and Thailand is ready if we can be of any assistance at all in the whole process,'' he said.

    Burma's government has faced international condemnation for its treatment of Suu Kyi, who is held under de facto house arrest, and the opposition.

    But Malaysia has been one of its strongest allies, insisting that Burma should be left to resolve its political deadlock without outside intervention.

    Burma was controversially admitted to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1997.

    Some ASEAN countries, in particular Thailand, are increasingly frustrated with the political isolation that Burma's membership has imposed on the bloc, and are pressing for outside mediation.