Burma Update

Ian Timberlake
Jul 27, 05 11:45am

Burma's decision to withdraw from the chairmanship of Asean only confirms how grave the situation is in the military-ruled state, regional legislators said on Tuesday in a call for urgent political reforms.

"Today's decision confirms the fact that the world has known for almost 20 years - that the situation in Myanmar (Burma) is extremely grave, with no semblance of democracy in the country," said a statement by the Inter-Parliamentary Caucus on Democracy in Myanmar, a lobby group of regional legislators.

Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations earlier announced at their annual meeting that Burma had agreed to forego its turn as the group's chairman in 2006 to concentrate on what it calls its democratization process.

The Inter-Parliamentary Caucus dismissed the process and urged Asean to push for real reforms in the country, which has been ruled by the military since 1962.

"Asean ministers have demonstrated skilful diplomacy and prudence in Vientiane. However, this should not be seen as an excuse to ignore the urgent need for political reforms in Myanmar. Myanmar will continue to afflict Asean long after this debate on chairmanship is over," the statement said.

It said Burma should fulfil its promise to Asean ministers on the "commencement of genuine political reforms, including national reconciliation with ethnic groups and the release of political prisoners" led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi who has been under house arrest for nine of the past 16 years.

Burma has been pursuing what it calls a "road map to democracy", which has made little tangible process.

International pressure worked

Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won a landslide election victory in 1990 but the junta never recognized the results.

"A mere façade of political reform will not lead to stability and progress in Myanmar and will not alleviate the negative impacts felt throughout the region," the Asean legislators said.

Debbie Stothard, coordinator of the Bangkok-based Alternative Asean Network on Burma, said the announcement proves that international pressure worked.

"I am very happy that Asean has finally found its voice and its spine. This proves that pressure does work in the international arena," Stothard said, adding that Asean must now make sure that Aung San Suu Kyi is freed.

Philippine Foreign Minister Alberto Romulo agreed that Burma should free Aung San Suu Kyi to show it is really intent on democratic reforms.

Burma has "relinquished their turn and we are hoping that as they said, they will bring this to a fruitful and successful conclusion," Romulo told AFP.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Asean had managed the issue very well by engaging in dialogue and allowing time for Burma to make its own decision.

"I think it's not a crisis. It hasn't reached a crisis stage where we are incapable of making decisions," he said.

Larger strategic picture

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana welcomed the announcement. The EU and the United States had threatened to boycott Asean meetings had Burma taken the helm.

Solana, who will travel to Vientiane later this week for talks with Asean, said Tuesday's decision "goes at least in the direction the European Union wanted."

The Asean ministers said in their statement that Burmar wants to give its "full attention" to the democratization process and can take its turn as Asean chairman when it is ready to do so.

Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo said that in dealing with the issue, Asean is mindful that Burma borders both China and India

"And Myanmar has decided from very early that it would rather be a part of Southeast Asia than be a part of South Asia and we welcome that. That is the larger strategic picture against which all these questions have been set," he said.

- AFP

scmp - Tuesday, July 26, 2005


ASSOCIATED PRESS in Vientiane, Laos
Updated at 5.26pm:
Military-ruled Myanmar agreed on Tuesday to relinquish its scheduled chairmanship of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year to avoid a damaging Western boycott of the group's meetings, diplomats said.

The US and European Union had demanded that Myanmar either move toward democracy and release pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi or forfeit its turn at the rotating chairmanship of Asean in late 2006.

Foreign ministers from Myanmar and the other Asean countries agreed during their retreat on Tuesday in the Laotian capital to defer Myanmar's chairmanship, a joint ministerial statement said.

The post will go instead to the next-in-line Philippines, that country's foreign minister, Alberto Romulo, told a news conference.

The Asean statement said the group was informed by Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win that his government has "decided to relinquish its turn to be the chair of Asean in 2006 because it would want to focus its attention on the ongoing national reconciliation and democratisation process."

The statement said Nyan Win explained to his counterparts that "2006 will be a critical year and that the government of Myanmar wants to give full attention to that problem."

"We agreed that once Myanmar is ready to take its turn to be the Asean chair, it can do so. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the government of Myanmar for not allowing its national reconciliation to affect Asean's solidarity and cohesiveness," the statement said.

"The government of Myanmar has shown its commitment to the well-being of Asean," the statement said.

The issue came to a head in Laos this week during the group's annual ministerial meeting that runs through Friday, followed by the Asean Regional Forum - a security dialogue with 14 other governments with interests in the region, such as the US, EU, Russia and China.

acmp editorial - Monday, July 25, 2005


Southeast Asia has changed dramatically since the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand met in Bangkok almost 38 years ago to create the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Much of the region has since blossomed economically, socially and politically, although not in the uniform way those founding fathers would have wanted.

That will be obvious to the regional grouping's foremost diplomats when they begin meetings in Laos today to assess progress and determine the way ahead over the next year. Thorniest of the issues they will encounter will be Myanmar.

Of the five new members to join Asean since its founding, Myanmar has proved the most troublesome. Since a military junta took control in 1962, the country's people have been denied basic rights and freedoms, subjected to crimes of humanity including rape and slavery and become mired in poverty and disease.

Under Asean's vision of bringing all the region's nations together in a spirit of friendship and co-operation, Myanmar was granted membership eight years ago yesterday. The thinking was that through interaction with other members, the military leaders would change their ways.

That was the blueprint laid out by Asean's original members; it led to the quick resolution of territorial disputes, fostering and strengthening of dialogue on a host of common concerns and the putting in place of co-operative networks that have considerably boosted the economic standing of most members. Military regimes in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand have since been replaced by democratically elected governments.

That has not happened in Myanmar's case and the junta is arguably more hardline now than it was in 1997. Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy political party overwhelmingly won elections in 1990, remains under house arrest; many of her supporters are among the more than 1,500 people in prison for their opposition to the junta and promised reforms remain unfulfilled.

Economic and diplomatic pressure through sanctions by the European Union and US have amounted to little. Asean's continuing policy of seeking a solution through economic co-operation, and closer links between the junta and the region's biggest powers, rivals China and India, have strengthened, rather than weakened, the military's hold on power.

With key Asean trading partners the EU and US now counting on a solution coming from Southeast Asian nations, events this week in Vientiane are crucial for Myanmar's people. The problem for Asean's newest generation of foreign ministers is the nation's scheduled chairing of the grouping from the middle of next year. Permitting this would discredit Asean internationally and further strain ties with its foremost providers of foreign income. Pressure on Myanmar not to take the grouping's chair without political reform and releasing Ms Suu Kyi is increasing among Southeast Asian politicians. And it might pay off. There are signs Myanmar may give up the chair.

At the signing of the document creating Asean in Bangkok in 1967, Thailand's then foreign minister, Thanat Khoman, observed that the region's people especially wanted "to erase the old and obsolete concept of domination and subjection of the past and replace it with the new spirit of give and take, of equality and partnership". "More than anything else, they want to be master of their own house and to enjoy the inherent right to decide their own destiny," he said.

Those ideals have not changed. Myanmar has benefited from the fruits of being allowed into Asean, but its leaders have ignored the obligations of membership.

If Asean is to live up to its charter, its foreign ministers this week must take a hard line towards Myanmar. Without Ms Suu Kyi's release and a promised timetable for political and social reform, its leaders must be sidelined and, if necessary, isolated from the rest of the region.

scmp - Monday, July 25, 2005


ASSOCIATED PRESS in Vientiane
As Asia-Pacific nations prepared to open their top annual security conference, Myanmar yesterday indicated it could forgo the chairmanship of Asean to spare neighbours' embarrassment over the junta's poor democracy record.

Australia, meanwhile, was set to embrace a regional non-aggression pact, reversing long-standing opposition after Asian neighbours made the accord a prerequisite for attending a summit in December aimed at moving towards a large East Asian trade bloc.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said yesterday that he hoped to resolve concerns over the treaty in coming days.

A draft conference statement said Australia would sign a declaration of intent to join the treaty before Friday.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus more than a dozen other governments with interests in the region - such as the US, Russia, the European Union and China - is to begin ministerial meetings in the Laotian capital today, leading up to Friday's Asean Regional Forum.

Myanmar's colleagues in Asean have urged it to meet US and EU demands to liberalise and release pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest or forgo its scheduled chairmanship of Asean late next year.

Malaysia will take over from Laos this week.

Both the US and EU have threatened to boycott Asean meetings if Myanmar becomes the bloc's leader, and Southeast Asian nations fear the issue could endanger trade ties with the west.

Myanmar's delegation was widely expected to announce this week it would step aside.

"We do not want to have our friends in a very difficult position," Myanmar Foreign Ministry official Thaung Tun said yesterday, suggesting that Myanmar would step aside but declining to confirm it.

Asean comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

They will be joined this week in Vientiane by Australia, Canada, China, the EU, India, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, North Korea, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

Laos, holding its second international conference, had deployed soldiers in armoured cars at street intersections and along the main road towards the nearby Mekong River separating the country from Thailand.

At a bus terminal, youth volunteers supervised by police officers searched passengers and their luggage.

Forum officials yesterday were working on a statement about sharing intelligence to better combat international terrorism, officials said.

"The recent bombings in London and Egypt are a reminder that this sort of thing can take place at any time and any place," Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said.

New Zealand and Mongolia were expected to add their signatures to Asean's non-aggression pact, which the bloc also has signed with nations such as China, Russia, Japan, India and Pakistan.

Australia had long refused to join, calling the agreement a cold war relic that could interfere with its 54-year-old defence pact with the US.

But Asean made it a prerequisite for attending the inaugural East Asia Summit in December in Malaysia, which is expected to begin moves towards forming a major trade bloc.

Mr Downer said yesterday that Canberra was eager to attend the summit and hoped to resolve concerns during the Vientiane conference on whether the non-aggression pact would conflict with its US accord.

"I hope we can finalise arrangements," Mr Downer said.

scmp - Saturday, July 23, 2005


AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Yangon
Former Myanmar prime minister Khin Nyunt received a 44-year suspended sentence after being convicted yesterday on eight charges, including bribery and corruption, legal sources said.

A secret tribunal also handed down considerably stiffer jail terms to two of Khin Nyunt's sons, just days before Southeast Asian ministers meet in Laos to discuss whether Myanmar takes over the helm of Asean next year.

It is believed Khin Nyunt would be kept under house arrest, where he has been detained since he was purged last October, said the legal source and a source close to the former premier's family.

The family source also confirmed the conviction of Khin Nyunt, who was the junta's powerful chief of military intelligence, but declined to provide details.

A Friday tribunal at Insein also handed down prison sentences of 68 years and 51 years respectively to two of Khin Nyunt's sons, Zaw Naing Oo and Ye Naing Win, the legal source said.

Their charges included export-import violations, the diverting of public property, bribery and corruption. Unlike their father, they are to serve their sentences in prison, the source said.

The status of Khin Nyunt's wife, who was also facing trial, was not immediately known.

The junta arrested hundreds of people during the October purge described as a crackdown on corruption that toppled Khin Nyunt and dismantled his powerful military intelligence network.

About 300 people linked to the former premier have stood trial, with more than 40 tried and convicted, mainly for economic crimes. Some received sentences of more than 100 years.

Khin Nyunt, who announced military-ruled Myanmar's "roadmap to democracy" in 2003, was seen as a pragmatist favouring limited dialogue with detained opposition leader and Nobel peace recipient Aung San Suu Kyi. He was replaced by junta hardliner General Soe Win.

A western diplomat in Yangon described Khin Nyunt's suspended sentence as "surprising".

"Everyone had expected him to be harshly sentenced and the trial swiftly wrapped up," the diplomat said.

"Perhaps some high-ranking military officials who rose with him together in the ranks were willing to spare him a little."

Yet, the authorities seemed to ignore Khin Nyunt's plea for clemency for his sons.

Debbie Stothard
Jul 23, 05 1:00pm


Next week, as Asean foreign ministers meet in Vientiane, the biggest question of the day will be whether or not Burma will voluntarily defer its 2006-2007 chairmanship of Asean.

Never before in recent history has such a question, considered a “routine” matter provoked such controversy and pressure within and upon Asean, a regional body generally dismissed as being somewhat staid. Previously, what the US Secretary of State wore and sang during the concluding social evening was the highlight of the “Asean Week”.

Without Condolezza Rice (and her diplomatic or entertainment capabilities) to grace Laos next week, it is no wonder that the Burma “will they or won’t they” show now constitutes the headline act.

The past few weeks have witnessed a concerted campaign to persuade Burma’s State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to voluntarily defer their chairmanship of Asean, scheduled to begin mid-2006. Government leaders from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore and the Asean Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong have all, unprecedentedly, weighed in with predictions that Burma is expected to step aside for the sake of the region.

Western governments, particularly the USA, have hinted that their participation at top Asean meetings may be downgraded under a Burma chair, and Ms Rice’s absence may be a foretaste of that. Asean legislators have crossed party and national boundaries to protest the Burmese chair on grounds that the regime has consistently failed to deliver on promises concerning human rights and democracy made to Asean.

Rangoon has responded with stunning silence. The rumours and speculation emanating from Rangoon indicate that the SPDC, led by Senior General Than Shwe, will tough it out and insist on their turn at the Asean chair. Than Shwe would rather chair an Asean depleted by boycotts and/or downgraded attendance, than not chair at all.

Political survival

Senior General Than Shwe’s political survival may depend significantly on the Asean chair. Than Shwe, who has been striving to consolidate his hold over the notorious regime, may be seen as a weak leader if Burma defers its turn at the chair.

Despite the perception that Than Shwe’s hold on Burma is stronger after October’s systemic purge against former Prime Minister Khin Nyunt (photo) and his associates, the brutal Burmese dictatorship is becoming increasingly brittle.

Than Shwe loyalists who were rewarded with senior posts after the purge are feeling demoralized and worried. The return on their “investment”, has not been forthcoming amidst the rapidly shrinking economy. The deferral of the Asean chair would further compound the fear that there will not be enough business deals for everyone to get their cut.

Rangoon-based diplomats have been complaining that ministries have essentially been paralyzed because new cabinet members dare not advocate for much-needed reforms for fear of being seen as disloyal while others simply have no idea of how to move forward.

The regime is running desperately low on foreign exchange reserves. In May the SPDC urged the tourism industry to deposit their foreign exchange in local banks which underwent a massive liquidity crisis in 2003. The population were also sternly warned that it was illegal for them to possess any foreign currency. Citizens cannot take more than US$100 out of the country without permission.

The regime was also unable to deliver a proposed pay hike for civil servants scheduled for April 1. The cruel April Fool’s joke has compounded plunging business confidence, with many businesspeople becoming openly derisive of the cabinet’s ability to halt the economic slide.

Shows of force

Meanwhile, ethnic groups in ceasefire arrangements with the SPDC are unhappy that key leaders have been detained, and in two cases, charged with treason. Instead of a genuine political dialogue, the general embarked on shows of force to compel submission, a strategy that the ethnics have not found endearing.

It is no wonder that key sections of Burmese society now feel almost nostalgic for the good old days of Khin Nyunt, who led the much-feared Military Intelligence, because profit and a little negotiation was still possible then.

And it is no wonder that Senior General Than Shwe (photo), notorious for his imperial aspirations, has perpetuated a campaign to lock in the perception that his grip remains firm.

The Asean chair is an important part of this psychological strategy. Emperor Than Shwe needs the chair as his only chance to prove to his subjects that he has the respect of his peers. The fear of being seen as weak trumps any consideration for his neighbours.

Emperor Than Shwe, having presided over the massive political and economic deterioration of Burma, is now ready to export his brand of leadership to the region.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DEBBIE STOTHARD, a longtime Burma analyst, is Coordinator of the Alternative Asean Network on Burma (Altsean-Burma). A former journalist and academic, she has been actively supporting Burma’s pro-democracy movement since 1988.

scmp - Thursday, July 21, 2005


LARRY JAGAN in Bangkok
Myanmar's military rulers are preparing to move the centre of government inland for safety, according to diplomats and government officials in Yangon.

The military's headquarters, government ministries and the new parliament are all scheduled to be moved within the next 12 months to a location that many in Myanmar are calling Escape City.

A massive complex is being built at Pyinmana, about 400km north of Yangon in the centre of the country.

It will house the military war office, government ministries and a parliament, according to a government official who has seen blueprints for the 10sqkm complex.

"It's one of the biggest constructions I have ever seen," a western diplomat said.

Mansions for the senior generals, government offices and national headquarters for the country's ethnic groups and the Union Solidarity Development Association - the official social organisation - are being built.

Although a new parliament is being built, it is unclear from the plans whether plots will be allocated to political parties, particularly Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, according to the government official.

Bunkers, tunnels, a large military hospital, apartments, a huge airstrip and a golf course are being built, according to witnesses.

The creation of the new capital is primarily the idea of Senior General Than Shwe. The plans have been in the pipeline for several years and building began almost two years ago.

"The planned retreat is essentially strategic," said an Asian diplomat who regularly deals with the junta.

The US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 reinforced General Than Shwe's fear that Washington might attack, according to analysts. Myanmar's military strategists have long argued that the country was vulnerable to attack from the sea.

"Than Shwe has a bunker mentality, and when he's completely secure, he'll launch his offensives," according to senior Myanmar analyst Win Min, who is based in Chiang Mai, Thailand. "But a key strategic drawback of the site is its lack of access to the sea - it is not close to a port."

According to the plans, the whole military and government administration is to be relocated there. Even foreign embassies are likely to have to follow when the government is finally transplanted to the hills.

Several ministries are scheduled to move to the new capital in the next few months, according to diplomats.

Civil servants have been panicked by the planned move.

The lack of accommodation for families at Pyinmana means only bureaucrats who are single are likely to be transferred in the first phase. As a result, many young public servants are desperately trying to find marriage partners to help postpone their reassignment.

The construction work is being largely carried out by several prominent Myanmese companies, including Htoo Trading, owned by the wealthy magnate and arms dealer Te Za, who is reputed to be very close to General Than Shwe.

But the construction work has been plagued by material shortages and delays.

Last year, a shortage of cement temporarily stopped construction. But General Than Shwe rejected out of hand Mr Te Za's request to import cement from China.

Now an acute shortage of timber has added a further complication to the project's completion.

"The delay in the reconvening of the National Convention and the drafting of the constitution may actually be related to the completion of the new capital at Pyinmana," a western diplomat in Yangon said.

scmp - Wednesday, July 20, 2005


AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Singapore
A bitter dispute over Myanmar chairing the Asean and a proposed charter for the group are expected to top the agenda when the region's foreign ministers meet in Laos next week.

The discussions are also expected to centre on disaster preparedness following last year's devastating tsunami, terrorism, the possible use of biometrics in passports and East Timor's admittance to a high-level security forum. The issue of participation by countries such as Australia and the United States in an inaugural East Asia summit - to be hosted by incoming Asean chair Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur - later this year will be another issue on the agenda.

But the spotlight will be on the rogue member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the international pariah Myanmar. Other Southeast Asian nations are hoping it will announce a decision on whether or not it will assume the alphabetically rotating chairmanship of the bloc next July.

Myanmar has been under intense pressure to relinquish its chance for the chair because of political repression and what many say are massive human rights abuses by the ruling military clique.

The United States and the European Union have warned they will boycott Asean meetings if Myanmar becomes the group's chair - a move analysts and diplomats say will severely damage the grouping's credibility.

"The issue of future Asean chairmanship is a matter that members take seriously," spokesman M.C. Abad said.

Asean foreign ministers will gather in the Laotian capital, Vientiane, from Monday until Friday for their 38th annual meeting and post-ministerial conferences.

With the Myanmar issue threatening to hurt Asean's credibility, its ministers are expected to endorse drafting a charter that makes members legally bound to adhere to collective decisions.

Approval of the Asean Charter would transform the 10-nation group, often accused of being a mere talking shop, into a treaty-based organisation.

scmp - Tuesday, July 12, 2005


ASSOCIATED PRESS in Phuket
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday urged Thailand to press the junta in neighbouring Myanmar to release political prisoners - including Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi - and move towards greater openness and democracy.

On Sunday, after talks in Beijing with central government leaders during a four-nation tour through Asia, Dr Rice focused primarily on how to get North Korea to give up nuclear-weapons development.

After a working brunch yesterday hosted by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Dr Rice held talks with Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon at the start of a one-day visit to review efforts to rebuild coastal areas battered by the December tsunami.

"I have asked that our Thai friends, who have relations with Burma and dialogue with Burma, to continue to press the case of those who are held, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and to press the Burmese towards a more open society," she said. Myanmar was formerly known as Burma.

Mr Thaksin's government has been criticised for its conciliatory approach towards Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military for more than four decades, and has been subject to US and European sanctions over its failure to introduce democracy.

Myanmar's ruling generals are holding an estimated 1,300 political prisoners. Ms Suu Kyi has been under detention most recently since May 2003, when her convoy was attacked by a pro-government mob in the country's north.

Dr Rice said the US was "encouraging all of our partners ... who have contacts with Burma to press the case for human rights, to press the case for greater openness, to press the case for human rights activists like Aung San Suu Kyi".

She said Ms Suu Kyi was "someone who represents the possibility of reconciliation" for Myanmar.

Myanmar's junta has pledged to restore democracy, but has made little visible progress. Opposition figures have refused to attend a constitution-drafting meeting convened by the military government as part of a so-called road map to democracy, dismissing it as a sham.

Also yesterday, Dr Rice said she would not attend a gathering of Asia and Pacific foreign ministers to be held after a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Laos, set for July 24 to 29.


US secretaries of state without exception have attended the conclaves, known as the Asean Regional Forum, for many years.

The US has previously suggested that it would not send a representative to next year's Asean meetings if Myanmar becomes chair of the body as scheduled.

Dr Rice did not comment on the issue yesterday.

scmp - Monday, July 11, 2005


AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Phuket
Updated at 6.00pm:
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Southeast Asian nations on Monday to press Myanmar’s military rulers to reform, as she toured the reconstruction in tsunami-hit southern Thailand.

After meeting with Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on the resort island of Phuket, Dr Rice said Myanmar’s release of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest could “be a possible case for reconciliation”.

“We talked about the need for the Burmese government to make progress,” she told a press conference, referring to Myanmar by its former name, Burma.

“We hope there will be progress. We are encouraging all our partners who have contacts with Burma to press the case for human rights, for openness,” she said.

“I asked our Thai friends, who have dialogue with Burma, to press the case for those who are being held, including Aung San Suu Kyi,” Dr Rice added.

Yangon said it released some 400 prisoners last Wednesday. The opposition National League for Democracy said most of those freed were prisoners of conscience, but party leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains confined to her home.

Dr Rice’s Thai counterpart Kantathi Suphamongkhon, who attended the meeting, said Bangkok also wanted to see reforms take hold in neighbouring Myanmar.

“We do want to see democracy and the national reconciliation process completed in Burma as soon as possible,” he said.

Concerns about Myanmar have become a sticking point in US relations with the region, as the junta in Yangon is set to take the helm of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year.

Dr Rice said she would not attend the group’s annual meeting and the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) in the Lao capital of Vientiane later this month, saying she had a scheduling conflict.

“I am very sorry I am not able to go to the Asean meeting this year and to the ARF. This is a vital organisation and I have external travel at that time,” she said.

Deputy-Secretary of State Robert Zoellick will represent the United States at the meeting, she said.

A State Department official travelling with Dr Rice said the secretary was expected to be travelling to Africa during the Asean meeting, although plans have yet to be finalised.

The meeting includes a July 28-29 post-ministerial dialogue between Asean and its key trading partners, notably the United States, the European Union, China, Japan and Russia, as well as the ARF, the only official security meeting in the Asia-Pacific region.

Dr Rice’s decision not to attend the meeting has drawn expressions of concern within Southeast Asia, with Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar on Monday calling the move “regrettable”.

“I hope it is not an indication that the US is giving less importance or showing less interest in Asean, while focusing on the Middle East,” he said.

The United States, citing Yangon’s dismal human rights record, including its refusal to free Aung San Suu Kyi, has warned that if Myanmar chaired Asean, the grouping’s image would be smeared.

The chairmanship is determined by alphabetical rotation among member states, which also include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Officials and parliamentarians from some Asean member states also fear that Myanmar’s chairmanship will damage the group’s image and international links, although Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam are backing Yangon.

After meeting with Mr Thaksin, Dr Rice left on a helicopter tour of areas still recovering from the December 26 tsunami that killed some 5,400 people, roughly half of them believed to be foreign holidaymakers. More than 2,800 others are still listed as missing.

From Phuket, Dr Rice flew to neighbouring Phang Nga province, which suffered the vast majority of the deaths and the destruction.

She then left Thailand for Japan, the third stop on her Asian tour, having already visited China. Her final stop is South Korea.

scmp - Tuesday, June 28, 2005

ASSOCIATED PRESS in Takua Pa, Phang Nga
Migrant workers from Myanmar were the cheap labour that built the Thai resorts where 2,000 foreign tourists died in the tsunami. Now, they are rebuilding bungalows and hotels to lure back tourists.

Despite their economic role, the labourers say they have received little or no aid from either the Thai or Myanmese governments.

As foreign governments helped Thailand in the frantic search for tsunami victims, nobody looked for the migrant workers, an estimated 1,000 to 7,000 of whom perished.

"When I come here to help do construction work for [the Thais], I make them happy, but when something happens to me, they don't help me," said Aung Than, 56, holding photos of his son and nephew, who were killed in the December tsunami along with his niece. Only the body of his nephew was found.

About 5,400 people died in the tsunami along Thailand's Andaman coast, half of them foreigners.

Some officials believe as many as 1,000 of the migrant workers died, but the exact number may never be known because of the large number of undocumented labourers. Many migrants also refused to visit official mortuaries to identify colleagues fearing arrest for not having work permits.

The Tsunami Action Group puts the number of dead Myanmese at up to 7,000. Before the tsunami, there were more than 31,000 Myanmese workers registered in Phang Nga province, north of Phuket. After, the figure fell to 23,000.


While the Thai government handed out US$500 to each Thai survivor, most of the Myanmese received nothing and could not ask for help for fear of being arrested.

Sitting on the floor of a one-room cinder block home in Bang Niang district, Myanmese rubber tappers told of being passed over by Thai aid donors. "They asked if we were Thai or Burmese. When we said Burmese, they told us, `Get out of here'," said Yee Than, 32, who was born in Thailand but is a Myanmese citizen.

scmp - Friday, July 8, 2005


LARRY JAGAN in Bangkok
The trial of the former prime minister Khin Nyunt has begun inside the country's notorious Insein prison in Yangon. He was arraigned on eight charges on Wednesday and was told he could appoint a defence lawyer, according to government sources.

Details of the charges against the former intelligence chief have not yet emerged but diplomats believe he probably faces allegations of corruption and insubordination.

Total secrecy and massive security surrounds the trial.

"The junta is totally tight-lipped over the whereabouts of Khin Nyunt and are desperate to keep the whole charade under wraps," an Asian diplomat in Yangon said.

Myanmese legal experts said, however, the former government leader is almost certain to face the death penalty in a trial that is scheduled to start in earnest next Tuesday. Three Supreme Court judges are appearing in a special court set up inside Insein prison.

Khin Nyunt's two sons have already been tried in a special court in the prison. The first, Ye Naing Win, a businessman and owner of the independent internet provider Bagan Cybertech, was charged with 33 counts of economic crimes, infringements of currency exchange regulations and corruption. The second, military officer Zaw Naing Oo, has been tried on more than 10 charges.

The two are due to be sentenced today, though this is the fifth straight week the court has been scheduled to announce the verdict.

Khin Nyunt's arraignment this week makes it more likely that the sons will finally be officially found guilty and sentenced to more than four years in prison, observers said.

Earlier this week former agriculture minister Nyunt Tin and his son Thar Gyi were arrested because of the family's involvement in a foreign exchange and import licence scam which netted more than US$10 million, mainly from government ministries and economic agencies, the Myanmar Economic Bank and the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited.

When Nyunt Tin was arrested, the authorities reportedly seized more than 30 unlicenced cars and a large amount of gold and jewellery. The former agriculture minister was sacked in September when Myanmar's top military ruler, senior General Than Shwe, started his move against Khin Nyunt, who was then the prime minister. Nyunt Tin was sacked for excessive corruption, according to government sources.

The agriculture minister and his family were notorious for their involvement in corruption. Last year the minister built a house in a plush area of the capital. Large amounts of gold bars, pearls and precious stones were plastered into the walls of the building, according to his neighbours.

Former home minister Tin Hlaing and the former foreign minister Win Aung were also arrested.