Opposition Can Join Convention, says Pinheiro
The UN human rights envoy to Burma, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, informed reporters in Bangkok that the Burmese junta told him the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) will be one of eight groups invited to the reconvened National Convention. Most NLD leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi, remain imprisoned or under house arrest, and have not commented on Pinheiro’s statement. The constitution drafting body is set to meet for the first time since 1996 in early 2004. Pinheiro said after his six-day trip to Burma in early November that "there has been a regression in the area of human rights" since his last visit in March.
Indian VP to Burma
Indian Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat visited Burma for four days in early November. He is the highest-ranking Indian official to hold talks in Burma in 16 years. Shekhawat met with Sr-Gen Than Shwe, chairman of the ruling junta, for more than one hour. After meeting with business officials, Shekhawat said India and Burma aim to boost bilateral trade to US $1 billion by 2006. India also agreed to extend a $57 million line of credit to Burma, for upgrading its Rangoon-Mandalay rail link.
India’s Beef with Smuggling
Indian authorities from the Burma border area say drug and gem smuggling is on the rise. Burmese drug gangs are feeding bags of illicit drugs to cows and buffaloes and driving the animals across the border, say police in Manipur, India. A recently arrested Burmese trafficker revealed the details of the operation. The Assam Rifles, which provide security on the India side of the border, said the Manipur border town of Moreh has become a major smuggling point for Burmese gems. An officer from the Assam rifles said 428 kg of gems were seized from two Indian youths who said the rubies and sapphires were from Burma.
Burma "Uncooperative" on Money Laundering
The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has called on its member states to impose sanctions on Burma for failing to cooperate with international efforts to combat money laundering. The group is comprised of the 31 member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Burma was first identified as "uncooperative" by the FATF in 2001. The task force released a statement on Nov 3, when a new deadline for improvements passed without notice. It said Burma’s existing money laundering law "lacks the implementing regulations necessary to make it enforceable." Only the Pacific island of Nauru has ever been sanctioned by the group.
Razali Must Go: US Congressman
A US Congressman from Illinois said the current UN approach to Burma is not working and called on the international body to replace its special envoy to Burma, Razali Ismail. Lane Evans said the UN envoy’s authority should be strengthened and someone "capable of rallying international support for change" should be chosen to succeed Razali. Three other US Congressmen criticized the Burmese junta for failing to engage in talks with the opposition. They also called upon the US, UN and other nations to change tactics in dealing with Burma, saying three years of UN efforts have not delivered any progress.
Prepaid Internet Launched
Bagan Cybertech is selling prepaid kits for access to the World Wide Web to Burmese with a computer and telephone line. Bagan, which is Burma’s largest Internet service provider and partly owned by the government, sold 300 kits at a Rangoon communication technology fair in late October. The kits retail for 8,000 kyat (US $8) for 15 hours of access or 28,000 kyat for 60 hours, and are being sold in Rangoon and Mandalay. Customers reported that many websites were still censored but added they could access some English-language news sites from Thailand and the US which they previously could not.
Thaksin Rejects the Reverend
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.
Religious Unrest Spreads
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.
Grant for Migrants’ Health
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.
Rice Policy Seminar Held
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. Despite a surplus of rice in some parts of the country, such as Arakan State, consumer rice prices have doubled in the past several months.
NLD Wants Offices Reopened
Executives, women and youth from branches of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) throughout Burma are pressing the junta to allow their offices to reopen. All of the opposition party’s offices have been closed since May 31. The campaign began when Rangoon Division members in all 40 townships filed their demands in letters to the township election commissions on Oct 22. Members from Mandalay and Magwe divisions forwarded their demands soon thereafter. The letters say that the NLD is a legal political party and should be able to perform party duties systematically and peacefully. The government has not yet responded to the demands.
DKBA Soldier Killed in Drug Sting
Thai anti-narcotics officers posing as drug buyers killed a soldier from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) in early November. Officers seized 90,000 methamphetamine pills, a 9mm pistol and a hand grenade from the 35-year-old dealer, who opened fire on police as they tried to apprehend him. The sting took place northwest of Mae Sot, Thailand, across the Moei River from the headquarters of the DKBA’s 907th Battalion. The DKBA is a Karen National Union splinter group which forged a ceasefire agreement with the military government in 1994.
Mass Arrest of Burmese in New Dehli
Police clearing a demonstration by Burmese asylum seekers at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees office in New Dehli arrested over 400 people on Nov 12. Demonstrators clashed with the officers, resulting in many injuries caused by police wielding batons and using water cannons to disperse the crowd, according to an eyewitness. Police sources told Indian daily newspapers that 22 Burmese and 12 police officers were hurt. Demonstrators returned to the scene the following day, and another 222 were arrested. Only 24 remain in detention, on charges of illegal entry and rioting. The demonstrators are demanding refugee status and resettlement in a third country.
Bangladesh Holds Burmese Terror Suspects
Bangladeshi police arrested seven Burmese suspected of being terrorists in early October. A Bangladesh trade group spokesperson said the men are legal traders from Rangoon who came to the country to study setting up a cold storage complex near Chittagong. The men were picked up by police two days after their visas expired and remain in prison. Their lawyer told Narinjara news service, a Bangladesh-based exile media group from Burma, that he was unaware what grounds the police had for alleging the men were involved in terrorist activities. Bangladeshi traders worry the incident will threaten bilateral trade, which declined by one-third in the month of September.