Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra reiterated in early November that Thailand will not be an outspoken critic of the Burmese military government. He made the comments after US civil rights activist Jesse Jackson visited a refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border and said Thailand should push for change in Burma. "We cannot apply pressure," said Thaksin. "There must be peaceful means. Obvious pressure will humiliate Burma." Thaksin traveled to Burma from Nov 10-12 for a four-nation economic summit in Pagan. During a meeting with Burmese PM Gen Khin Nyunt, Thaksin announced that a Thai-sponsored international forum to help bring reconciliation to Burma would be held soon.
An anti-Muslim riot in Kyaukse in Mandalay Division resulted in eleven deaths, mostly women trapped in burning houses, according to an eyewitness. The riot was reportedly sparked when three Muslims cut the head off a Buddha image. News agencies reported that religious tension was running high throughout Mandalay Division and in Thingangyun Township in Rangoon. Locals and Western diplomats have accused Burma’s government of inflaming religious conflict to delay political reconciliation and of employing "fake monks" to incite unrest.
The US government’s aid agency is giving $1.4 million to healthcare providers in northern Thailand for the care of Burmese migrants. Hospitals and clinics in three districts in Tak Province and three districts in Chiang Rai Province will receive the funds from the US Agency for International Development. The funds will be partly managed by the Geneva-based International Organization for Migrants. A senior member of the Thai Public Health Ministry said the money would be used for basic health provisions such as sanitation and clean water as well as disease prevention and control.
Burma at Bottom of Press Freedom List
International press watchdog Reporters Without Borders ranked Burma third from the bottom of its worldwide press freedom index for 2003. Only Cuba and North Korea ranked lower, in a repeat of the bottom three from the first index produced by the group last year. The ranking reflects the degree of freedom that journalists and news organizations enjoy, and the government’s efforts to ensure freedom of the press. The list was compiled after surveying journalists, researchers, jurists and regional specialists about threats to journalists’ personal safety, censorship and the legal situation affecting the news media.
The Burmese Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization held a joint seminar on Burma’s rice policy in Rangoon in October. The seminar focused on the experiences of neighboring countries and included presentations by Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese representatives. The junta announced a new rice procurement policy in April, which eliminates much of the state control in the rice market. But farmers around the country say the policy has been slow to take effect and that the industry remains troubled.
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