Daily News-March-24- 2001- Saturday

  • DVB reports Rangoon's paper on measures to resist sanctions
  • Thai military chief urges Burma to name politicians involved in drug trafficking
  • China Said To Agree To Thai-Sino-Burma Anti-Drug Plan
  • China agrees to anti-drug cooperation with Thailand, Burma
  • Burma stocks up on ammunition
  • Burmese Activist speaks at UC-Berkeley about experiences as student leader in Burma
  • Malaysia Trade minister says 'buy our cars'
  • Triumph accused of double-speak over refusal to quit Burma

    • DVB reports Rangoon's paper on measures to resist sanctions

    BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Mar 23, 2001

    Text of report by Burmese opposition radio on 22 March

    The SPDC [State Peace and Development Council] Foreign Ministry has issued a secret White Paper to defend the action by the International Labour Organization, ILO, over the SPDC's use of forced labour and its ramifications.

    The White Paper includes detailed plans to entice and organize the domestic workforce and to export Burmese products through Malaysia and Singapore when international sanctions come into effect. The White Paper was submitted to top SPDC leaders at the end of last year and DVB [Democratic Voice of Burma] has obtained a copy of the White Paper.

    The White Paper forewarned the SPDC leaders that Western nations and private organizations fully exploiting the ILO's resolution will categorically impose sanctions against Burma. The Foreign Ministry also recommended that Burma should take appropriate measures domestically to withstand and retaliate such actions.

    The first recommendation is that although the Burmese government has tuned down relations with the ILO, the Burmese government delegation should continue attending the ILO meetings otherwise the exiled Burmese group FTUB [Federation of Trade Unions, Burma] will take its place.

    According to the second recommendation, if international economic sanctions are imposed Burmese produce should be exported to third countries via Singapore and Malaysia. At the same time, it is recommended that border trade should be extended from now as international port workers could call a strike anytime and refuse to handle any freight concerning Burmese exports. Therefore Burmese export products should be properly packed into containers so that stevedore independent mechanized freight handling systems could be utilized. It is also recommended that the trading companies should be given the responsibility to pack the produce into containers by including it in the trade agreement.

    Last year, the Indian Workers Union members staged a strike and refused to unload the cargo from the SPDC's Burma Five Star Line freighter so the ship was held up at the Indian port for more than 24 hours. To avoid such incidents in the future the paper suggested that Burma should woo port workers from India, Japan, Bangladesh and South Korea where Burmese products are regularly exported.

    The ILO passed a resolution condemning Burma's use of forced labour and urged member countries to review its policy towards Burma. The UN Economic and Social Council will discuss the ILO sanction at its July Conference. If the case is discussed at the meeting then the SPDC's forced labour issue will become a focal point not only of ILO but the UN as well. Thus, in its fourth recommendation the paper suggested that Burma should approach the 54 member nations of the UN Economic and Social Council.

    In its recommendation to entice and organize the domestic workforce, the paper cited that the ILO sanctions against Burma was because of anti-government organizations' propaganda. It said if international sanctions are imposed the workers will become jobless and the people will suffer and the blame should fall on anti-government groups. Moreover, workers should be persuaded to sign protest letters against the ILO sanctions and the letters should be forwarded to the ILO Headquarters in Geneva.

    The SPDC government did not mention that the ILO sanction was because of its use of forced labour but cited it as an attempt by the ILO to exert political pressure on Burma by not following the meeting procedures. The White Paper finally urged the need for Burma to stop the use of forced labour in accord with the ILO's resolution.

    Source: Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese 1245 gmt 22 Mar 01
    Thai military chief urges Burma to name politicians involved in drug trafficking

    BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Mar 23, 2001

    Text of report in English by Thai newspaper The Nation web site on 23 March

    Supreme Cdr-Gen Sampao Chusri said yesterday that he would call on the Burmese government to reveal the names of the Thai politicians it suspects are linked to drug trafficking along the border.

    Sampao said he would instruct Third Army Commander Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong to submit a request for the names to be revealed at a Regional Border Committee (RBC) meeting scheduled for 2-4 April. Wattanachai will lead a Thai delegation to the meeting, which he will co-chair with Burmese Triangle Region Commander Brig-Gen Thein Sein.

    Rangoon reportedly has drawn up a list of 10 Thai politicians that it believes are involved in the trade of illicit drugs along the border. However, Wattanachai said more than 10 may be involved, adding drug trafficking was rampant along the Thai-Burmese border and government officials were often guilty of providing protection. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said yesterday that he would not spare any official, regardless of rank, if it can be proved they are linked to drug trafficking.

    Wattanachai has headed a war of words with Rangoon over the past month, which included accusations that Burmese generals took kickbacks from the United Wa State Army (UWSA), one of the world's largest armed drug-trafficking groups.The spat began when the two sides engaged in a day of cross-border shelling after a battalion of Burmese troops refused to retreat from a hill near Ban Pang Noon in Chiang Rai that it had forcefully taken from a platoon of Thai Rangers.

    Sampao said he did not believe yesterday's shoot-out in Mae Fah Luang district in Chiang Rai between the Thai Army and an unidentified armed group, would create an obstacle to the RBC talks. While patrolling the border region, Thai troops intercepted and traded gunfire with a group of about 20 suspected UWSA troops, officials said. After the Thai platoon sent a radio message asking for backup, an 81-mm mortar was deployed. The situation remained tense for about an hour, before the suspected Wa soldiers retreated back into their territory, the officials said.

    Source: The Nation web site, Bangkok, in English 23 Mar 01
    China Said To Agree To Thai-Sino-Burma Anti-Drug Plan

    BANGKOK, Thailand (AP)--Chinese President Jiang Zemin agreed to Thailand's proposal of Thai-Sino-Myanmar cooperation to combat drug trafficking, Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said Friday.

    Surakiart flew to the Chinese capital, Beijing, Thursday for a four-day official visit. He was interviewed by reporters in Thailand by telephone.

    Cooperation in fighting drug trafficking was a major item on Surakiart's agenda in his discussion with Jiang. Also on the agenda were trade issues, and China promised to increase its imports from Thailand, Surakiart said.

    Thailand and China signed an agreement last year on exchanging information on the suppression of drugs.

    The focus is the trafficking of the illegal stimulant methamphetamine produced by ethnic minority guerrilla groups in Myanmar, also known as Burma.Millions of tablets are believed to be smuggled from Myanmar into Thailand and China every year. Myanmar is also a major exporter of heroin.

    ccording to Surakiart, China agreed to the stationing of drug suppression officials in each other's country for better cooperation and more effective action under the pact.
    China agrees to anti-drug cooperation with Thailand, Burma

    BANGKOK, March 24 (AFP)

    China has agreed to cooperate with Thailand and Burma to combat the flow of illegal drugs in the region, the foreign ministry here announced Saturday.

    "The Chinese foreign minister has agreed in principle on a tripartite cooperation with Thailand and Myanmar for drugs suppression," a ministry statement said.

    The announcement coincides with a four-day official visit by Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai to China that started Thursday and which has included meetings with President Jiang Zemin and his counterpart Tang Jiaxuan.

    The minister said before the visit he would request broad cooperation from Chinese officials on the regional narcotics trade, especially the fight against the amphetamines which are tearing at the fabric of Thai society.

    He has specifically asked Beijing to exchange information and offer technical assistance to combat drug production and trafficking along the Burmese-Thai border, an area close to China's southern Yunan province.

    Thailand and China have agreed during Surakiart's visit to exchange embassy-level anti-narcotics agents.

    Beijing has already signed separate initial agreements with Bangkok and Rangoon on bilateral anti-drug cooperation.

    However, Thai authorities are increasignly concerned by the flood of amphetamines -- estimated at some 600 million pills per year -- from the Golden Triangle drug-producing area which includes parts of Burma, Laos and Thailand, and borders on southern China.

    The raw chemical ingredients which go into the making of amphetamines are often illegally imported into Thailand and Burma from China.

    Thailand is hoping China will be able to use its influence on Burma at a time when its own relations with Rangoon are at a low point over a border dispute stemming mainly from the region's lucrative drug trade.

    Isolated by the international community, Burma has drawn close to China, and is counting on its "big brother" to help thwart Western sanctions, and with its failing economy.

    Surakiart's visit to China is his first outside Southeast Asia since he took up his post last month.

    He is scheduled to hold anti-drug talks with Burma's vice foreign minister Khin Maung Win next week in Chile on the sidelines of a meeting between ministers of East Asian and Latin American countries.
    Burma stocks up on ammunition

    Source : Jane's Defence Weekly via Burmanet

    Myanmar is obtaining through international dealers a significant quantity of 82mm smoothbore mortar ammunition, apparently intending to replenish its supplies in the face of continuing border tension with Thailand.

    The shipment involves some 50,000 to 100,000 mortar bombs that should cost Rangoon around $2 million. It originates from Vietnam, although Hanoi may be unaware of its ultimate destination. A Vietnamese-flagged ship was due to land the ammunition in Thailand in mid-March for covert trans-shipment to Burma, Bangkok- based intelligence sources informed Jane's Defence Weekly.

    Bangkok and Rangoon are at odds over a series of border-related problems that recently produced some skirmishing and exchanges of artillery fire, along with a build-up of forces. Burma accuses Thailand of providing covert support to ethnic Shan and Karen rebels, while Thailand holds Rangoon responsible for the growing cross-border flow of illicit methamphetamines.

    A broad range of issues should be addressed in a forthcoming meeting of the regional border committee, co-chaired by Thai 3rd Army commander chief Lt Gen Wattanachai Chaimuanwong and Burma's Southwest Army commander Maj Gen Than Sein. Some reports say these may be supplemented by bilateral talks at a more senior level.
    Burmese Activist speaks at UC-Berkeley about experiences as student leader in Burma

    Source : Daily Californian

    Berkeley, Calif---Former Burmese student leader Ko ko Lay spoke about his country's struggle for liberation from its current single-party government at a Free Burma Berkeley meeting Friday.

    Lay, who migrated to the U.S. in 1993 and is currently taking classes at University of California at Berkeley Extension, was involved in the 1988 student-led uprising.

    "People are getting poorer and poorer," he said. "Before 1962 (when the current military dictatorship took over) Burma was one of the richest Southeast Asian countries, and now it is the poorest country in the world. In 1988 there were many poor people and no clinics, no schools. It was a really bad situation."

    Lay also gave an account of more personal experiences, which he said were typical of student organizers.

    "In 1974, my father was arrested because I was involved in the student movement," he said. "They tortured him. In 1988, the military intelligence captured him and tortured him again. Last month, I heard he had a stroke and is in the hospital. I have no opportunity to meet with him. I cannot go there and he cannot come here, but this is what I chose for my life. It's not only me who is in this position."

    Lay's speech was a part of Free Burma Berkeley's efforts to urge the UC Board of Regents to divest in companies, including Unocal 76, which are investing in a pipeline that is being built through rural regions of Burma, said Teddy Miller, head of the group.

    "It's environmental racism that is typical of oil companies around the world," he said. "The UC Regents have billions of dollars invested. Our goal is to get these billions of dollars of Berkeley funds out because the military regime is propped up by them."

    Tony Cirella, Oakland resident and stock market investor, said the information would definitely affect his market strategy.

    "It was informative to know who is investing in what," Cirella said. "It will affect me as an investor most immediately."
    Malaysia Trade minister says 'buy our cars'

    Source : Myanmar Times

    Malaysia's visiting Minister for International Trade and Industry, Rafidah Aziz, has made clear her country's intentions to aggressively market regional exports from its automobile manufacturing industry, proposing at a business forum in Rangoon that Myanmar begin importing her country's Proton cars.Ms Rafidah's visit to Rangoon coincided with the application of increasing pressure on her country - particularly from Thailand - to open up its protected car manufacturing industry to regional competitors as part of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) process.

    Ms Rafidah delivered the unexpected Proton proposal during the question and answer session at the end of the Malaysia-Myanmar Business Opportunities Seminar, held at Traders Hotel on March 14.She began by asking how much consideration the idea was being given in Government circles."Is there any plan (for) selling Malaysia's national car, Proton, in Myanmar?" Ms Rafidah asked."Secondly, are there any negotiations (within) the Ministry of Commerce, Myanmar for importing Proton?" she said during part of her statement.

    The most senior Myanmar official at the seminar, Brig Gen Abel, the Minister for the Office of the Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), said Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed had offered Myanmar preferential trading status if the country wanted to import Proton cars.

    However, he said, the importation of any make of vehicle would require the approval of the Central Purchasing Council.Under the current situation, the rules and regulations governing car imports would prohibit the import of Proton cars, he said.The Malay-Myanmar seminar was sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "Being a trading nation, Malaysia always seeks ways and means to expand its trade with other countries and facilitate efforts of its companies to venture overseas, especially to new and emerging markets," Ms Rafidah told attendees."Malaysia's trade with Myanmar, though still relatively low, accounts for US$300.5 million (and) has potential to increase."

    Malaysia's main export items to Myanmar include petroleum products, vegetable fats, crude and refined oils, plastics, glass, margarine and shortening, to a value last year of US$231million.

    Myanmar exports to Malaysia were mainly vegetables, rubber, timber and seafood worth US$69.5m.During the seminar, private business operators from the Malaysian delegation held discussions with their Myanmar counterparts to explore a range of economic issues and business opportunities.
    Triumph accused of double-speak over refusal to quit Burma

    Source : The International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation

    Lingerie giant Triumph has been slammed over its refusal to pull out of Burma following a campaign by unions and rights organisations to urge the multinational to sever its links with the slave nation.

    Neil Kearney, General Secretary of the Brussels-based International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation, today dismissed as double-speak a statement issued by the multinational defending its position not to close its Rangoon factory. In a letter to the head of Triumph International Overseas, Gunther Spiesshofer, the ITGLWF rebutted the company s arguments, and warned that international pressure would continue to mount until Triumph pulls out of Burma.

    "Triumph claims that it is not providing resources to members of the government, and is therefore not affected by the sanctions imposed by the Swiss government", says Kearney. "But in reality, the army s tentacles reach into all areas of foreign investment, and it is therefore virtually impossible for any foreign company to produce goods in Burma without providing direct or indirect support to the regime".

    "In the case of Triumph, the factory is located on an Industrial Estate rented from the Mingaladon military brigade, just north of Rangoon's airport. The leasing arrangements are no doubt handled through the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings (UMEH), a company which controls all investment in the industry, and whose major shareholder is the department of the Ministry of Defense responsible for purchasing arms for the junta. Then there is the 5% tax levied on exports. But the full extent of the army s control over the industry is not known. For instance, in 1997, a BBC report filmed with a hidden camera showed workers being forced to pay half their daily wages to the army in order to keep their jobs".

    Kearney points out that in November, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) adopted a Resolution calling on other organisations, as well as on national governments and private companies, to review their relations with Burma, in order to ensure their relations do not serve to perpetuate or extend the widespread system of forced labour. "This Resolution affects Triumph", says Kearney. "The garment industry provides support to the military, mainly to its most senior members. And it is precisely these senior members who responsible for the massive forced labour problem affecting the civilian population. In addition, the garment industry relies on the country s infrastructure, which is being built with forced labour". "And of course, as a member of EURATEX, Triumph subscribes to the code of conduct negotiated between EURATEX and the ETUC/TCL which prohibts the use of forced labour".

    According to Triumph, the campaign is a purely a political one aimed at a private company. "This is disingenuous", counters the international labour leader: "Triumph is purposefully ignoring the fact that this effort is spearheaded by Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy Party (NLD), who won 82% of the seats in 1990 elections".

    Kearney scorns the company s claim that its sense of responsibility to the 1,000 workers it employs prevents it from closing the factory. "The company s concern for its workers is touching", he comments. "But what about the 13 million people living below subsistence levels and the 40% of children suffering from malnutrition as a result of the junta s misrule ? Or the two million men, women and children pressed into forced labour on construction projects or as porters in the army ? Or the 300,000 who have been forced to flee the country ? Or the 800,000 people displaced either by the government s relocation policy or because of fighting ? Or the 1,500 political prisoners held behind bars in horrendous conditions and routinely tortured ? "The fate of a population of forty million people, condemned to live in poverty and fear by an odious regime, outweighs the limited benefits afforded by 1,000 low-paid jobs. While the 1,000 workers who lose their jobs might suffer in the short-term, by hastening the regime s deise the move would provide longer-term benefits for them and their families. Only a transition to democracy will give these workers the fundamental right to form independent unions and to engage in collective bargaining".

    Kearney suggests that the company s refusal to close its Burmese factory probably has more to do with the total lack of freedom in the country than its concern for the workers it employs. Workers are denied sometimes at gunpoint - the right to organise and bargain collectively. Not surprisingly, conditions in the garment industry are appalling. Working hours in the industry are said to approach 60 hours a week. Average shopfloor wages, said to be about 8 US cents an hour, are among the lowest in the world.

    According to Triumph, parts of the political opposition in Burma itself are against a boycott, and Tin Htun Maung, a former member of parliament and politician of the opposition, says that "sanctions are only damaging the people".

    "This is the regime s propaganda", retorts Kearney. "The fact is the military fears the withdrawal of investment and has reacted to the ILO s sanctions with a campaign of disinformation, including a open letter from the workers of Myanmar warning that the ILO s decision has jeopardized the livelihood of 18 million workers . In reality, the people will not be hurt by sanctions, because they are not being helped by investment. Foreign investment only helps perpetuate the rule of a repressive, unelected junta".

    Triumph also claims that dialogue, not economic sanctions, is the way to embarrass a government into changing its policies. "Forced labour has existed for many decades in Burma. The ILO has exhausted itself trying to persuade the regime to respect fundamental freedoms, but to no avail. The generals have simply become very good at making cosmetic gestures just before they are due to receive important foreign delegations".

    Concludes Kearney: "An international trade union conference entitled "Democracy for Burma and the ILO Resolution: Trade Unions in support" held in Tokyo last week resolved to keep up the pressure on multinationals still trading or investing in Burma. That includes Triumph. The company should know that pressure will not abate as long as it continues to support the illegal, corrupt and undemocratic regime in Rangoon".