Daily News-October 31 - 2001- Wednesday

  • U Lwin says "no improvement" in political situation
  • Aptech launches its operation in Yangon
  • Secretary-1 unveils new foreign policy emphasis
  • Myanmar Builds 126 Dams in 13 Years
  • Safe reputation good for tourism

    • U Lwin says "no improvement" in political situation

    Excerpt from report by Democratic Voice of Burma on 29 October

    National League for Democracy [NLD] spokesperson U Lwin told Democratic Voice of Burma [DVB] that NLD has managed to reopen 24 of its township offices in Rangoon Division. U Lwin added that the NLD is attempting to reopen its township offices step by step nationwide. To learn more about NLD's plans to reopen the township offices and the recent release of some political prisoners by the SPDC [State Peace and Development Council] DVB correspondent Ko Moe Aye interviewed NLD spokesperson U Lwin about the latest developments.

    [Ko Moe Aye] We have learned that the NLD has managed to reopen 24 of its township offices in Rangoon Division. On the other hand, the news we received indicated that the local authorities did not allow the reopening of NLD township offices in the other states and divisions.

    [U Lwin] Well, some of our offices were shut down because they say that we did not have enough membership. The signboards of some were also taken down and the people held rallies denouncing their support for the NLD. That is why the Election Commission closed down the offices. There are townships like that and there are some townships where the NLD offices were not closed. In Mandalay six NLD township offices were not closed down... Meanwhile, some anxious NLD members approached their respective Township Election Commissions and asked permission to put up the signboards and to reopen the township NLD offices. But they were denied permission and the township authorities told them to inform the NLD head office and let the NLD deal with the higher authorities. If they can get approval, then the township offices can carry on. That is the current situation. We will work with Rangoon Division first and then Mandalay Division. We have told all the responsible personnel...

    [Ko Moe Aye] Do you mean to say that the NLD will reopen its township offices one division after another, one state after another like a roster?

    [U Lwin] Well, as I said before we have a programme and we will have to follow that programme. You just cannot reopen the offices based on rumours and then take matters into your own hands. If you follow the programme step by step then these things will be all right.

    [Ko Moe Aye] In one recent news report you mentioned that the political prisoners were released only once a month. Any comment on that?

    [U Lwin] Well, it is not once a month now. After Mr Pinheiro [UN special rapporteur for human rights] returned they released some prisoners, I think it was the 26th, a Friday evening.

    [Ko Moe Aye] We learned about your comments that the rate of releasing the political prisoners is pretty slow.

    [U Lwin] Yes, that is correct. It is not only slow but few as well. I am always commenting about that.

    [Ko Moe Aye] How many NLD members are still in the jails?

    [U Lwin] If they are from the organizing committees we know the exact number but if they are ordinary NLD party members and if their respective families did not inform us then we are not in a position to know. So, the real number of incarcerated members amount to twice of what we actually know. At this point there are over 800, including ordinary NLD members, in the jails. We did not even know when the recently-released members were arrested except one township organizing committee member. We have now asked for the list of imprisoned NLD members from the townships. So, according to the list there are altogether 827 NLD members in jails.

    [Ko Moe Aye] You mentioned that the release of political prisoners is not only slow but few as well. Do you think the reopening of the NLD offices is also slow?

    [U Lwin] This matter involves both sides. First consider it our matter and there are many things NLD has to do. Since we have to do it ourselves, it will take time.

    [Ko Moe Aye] You mean to say that the NLD head office will draw a programme in accord with the party's constitution.

    [U Lwin] Well, when we work accordingly with the constitution we have to be very thorough. We have to be responsible for the township members. That is why we need to study them and discuss about them with responsible persons. Furthermore, they must also be trustworthy. There are some persons who are doing things on their own. Of course these are the irregularities. In the earlier part, due to the difficulty in communications some are operating on their own which is not systematic. That is why we are trying to do it systematically this time according to rules and regulations. This is to take responsibility of our own organization and does not concern them [the authorities].

    [Ko Moe Aye] Does the NLD CEC [Central Executive Committee] have regular meetings? Do the CEC members go regularly to the NLD head office? Is the NLD headquarters operating normally?

    [U Lwin] Yes.

    [Ko Moe Aye] After considering everything - the reopening of township offices, the release of political prisoners, and the regular and normal functioning of the NLD headquarters, can you say that there is improvement in the prevailing political situation?

    [U Lwin] Well, this is part of the daily routine. According to the situation that you have heard, there is no improvement at all.
    Aptech launches its operation in Yangon

    THE INDEPENDENT

    Aptech Worldwide, the global IT training and education major, launched its operation in Yangon, Myanmar, the 45th country, through a special ceremony held at International Business Centre, Yangon recently.

    The chief guest of the ceremony was U Hlaing Win, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. Avinash C Pandey, First Secretary, Embcssy of India in Myanmar, also present on the occasion. Aptech Worldwide Bangladesh Limited, Dhaka, will control Aptech's operations in Myanmar and Pakistan.

    Inaugurating the ceremony, Tin Win Aung, Group Managing Director of MCC Group of Companies and the master business partner, said: "India, Bangladesh and Myanmar have many synergies that brought these countries together. Aptech's Programs will enable students of Myanmar to learn IT in the Aptech way. Through the India Window Program in India and the eACCP-2003 curriculum which would be offered in Myanmar, Aptech has taken up the responsible position of a modern day Gurukul with a strong determination to train participants in the latest technology and prepare them to compete in the fast paced world of IT."

    Speaking on the occasion, Amitava Ghosh, Managing Director, Aptech Worldwide, Bangladesh, said: "It gives me immense pride to be associated with Myanmar, a country rich in culture and literature and today on the road to be an IT power to reckon with. Students of Myanmar will definitely be able to imbibe the best in information technology through Aptech's IWP (India Window Program),a modem day Gurukul."
    Secretary-1 unveils new foreign policy emphasis

    By Thet Khaing
    Myanmartimes

    MYANMAR will step up efforts to consolidate the close relationships it has built with neighbouring countries, Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council, Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, said inYangon last week.

    "We will cooperate more closely with our neighbouring countries in political, diplomatic, economic and social fields," Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt said in an address at a Foreign Affairs Ministry graduation ceremony. But foreign policies would not concentrate only on neighbouring countries. "Just as emphasis is being given to bilateral relations, Myanmar will focus on achieving solidarity with regional organisations and seek to be more active in the international arena," Secretary-1 said.

    He said that Myanmar’s international prestige was increasing because of its independent and active foreign policies. The government would continue its efforts to improve the international community’s "appreciation of Myanmar’s objectives and policies," Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt said, adding that he hoped this would help to dispel the "jaundiced views" held by some Western countries.

    Secretary-1 was addressing an audience which included the Foreign Affairs Minister, U Win Aung, Foreign Affairs Ministry officials and 35 diplomacy course graduates. He said called on Ministry officials to be "well acquainted" with the nation’s foreign policies. "At the same time as Myanmar enters the mainstream of international activities and plays an increasingly active role, those who are responsible for international relations must be highly qualified," he said.

    Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, who also chairs Myanmar’s foreign policy committee, also reiterated the government’s commitment to cooperate with the United Nations and other multilateral organisations. He said the government had shown "genuine sincerity" in cooperating with an International Labour Organisation mission that toured the country last month to assess measures to eliminate forced labour. The government’s decision to approve the visit by the four-member mission was its own and not the result of outside pressure, he said. The government had wanted to prove that accusations against Myanmar were unfounded and to counter misunderstandings among sections of the international community.

    On current international events, Secretary-1 said Myanmar would be adversely affected by what he termed a "greatly complicated and delicate" situation. "There is no doubt that this situation will have a negative impact on small countries such as Myanmar that are not economically strong," Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt said, without elaborating. He said the government was doing its best to minimise the impact of the situation on Myanmar, noting that austerity measures would be useful to counter the economic challenges arising from the events.

    Earlier this month, the Minister for the Office of the Chairman of the SPDC, Brig-Gen Abel, said Myanmar’s neutral foreign policy made it deserving of playing a bigger role in international affairs. Brig-Gen Abel said the policy put Myanmar in a position where it could play a useful role as a catalyst among the major powers. Myanmar had been left out of mainstream of international affairs because of the attitude of some Western countries, he told Myanmar Times.

    "Our foreign policy is a tested policy and if we go back to the mainstream we can play the role of catalyst among the large players because Myanmar has been very neutral and this has paid off very well during the past 50 years," Brig-Gen Abel said.
    Myanmar Builds 126 Dams in 13 Years

    YANGON, Oct 31, 2001 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Altogether 126 dams have been built in Myanmar up to now since late 1988 when the present government took office, irrigating 710,276.4 hectares of farmland, according to the Myanmar Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation Wednesday.

    The 126 dams, which mostly lie in the country's Bago, Mandalay and Magway divisions, were built at a total cost of 47.9 billion kyats (about 136.85 million U.S. dollars). With the addition of the 126 dams in 13 years' time, the total number of dams in the country has been brought to 264.Besides, a total of 253 river-pumped water stations have so far been set up in Myanmar along the banks of Ayeyawaddy and Chindwin rivers, irrigating over 81,000 more hectares.

    Myanmar's cultivable land stretches 18.225 million hectares, of which 10.125 million or 55.5 percent have been put under crops, while 8.1 million or 44.5 percent remain to be utilized. Of the cultivated land, 1.92 million hectares or 19 percent are cultivated through irrigation.

    As agriculture is the mainstay of Myanmar's economy, the government is giving priority to the development of the sector in order to produce enough food to feed the nation's present 52-million population. Agriculture accounts for 37 percent of the country's gross domestic product and 25 percent of its export value.
    Safe reputation good for tourism

    By Bo Hill

    Myanmartimes

    MYANMAR tourism seems set to benefit from changed travel patterns since the September 11 terror attacks in the United States and the country’s reputation as a safe destination. There is increasing evidence that travellers are choosing holiday destinations within Asia since the attacks, a development which is certain to benefit Myanmar given the virtual absence of crime against foreign visitors.

    "It’s extremely safe," said Brett Melzer, owner and operator of the Balloons over Bagan hot-air balloon service, which attracts hundreds of bookings during the October to April tourist high season. "This incident (in America) hasn’t changed anything in Myanmar; we are still a very safe destination," said Mr Melzer. His comments are borne out by a survey of seven embassies which revealed that only one had a reported case against a visiting national in the past year. The survey findings are not surprising given Myanmar’s low overall crime rate.

    United Nations figures cited on the Myanmar Tourism Promotion Board’s website show that the number of reported crimes in Myanmar each year is much lower than for many Western countries.

    "The security situation in Myanmar has benefited travellers for many years," said Major Selvakumar, chief operating officer at Air Mandalay, one of the domestic carriers hit by cancellation rates of up to 40 per cent during October. Similar rates are predicted for November. Mr Selvakumar said changing travel patterns since September 11 could only benefit the Mekong sub-region, which includes Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and southern China. With choice of airline becoming a major factor in travel plans, the changing travel patterns may also see increased use of regional carriers.

    "A lot of people who haven’t considered Asian airlines before may well do so because they are non-American," said the chairman of the MTPB’s marketing committee, Mr Duncan MacLean. He predicted an increase in regional tourism, especially during the end of year holiday season as the typically conservative travellers in northern Asia look to destinations closer to home.

    "The traditional destinations for South Korean and Japanese travellers, for example, are the mainland United States and Hawaii as well as the US territory of Guam," Mr MacLean said. "They will be looking for even safer alternatives now," he said.