Women's
Rights -
The Official Word
Presentation To The UN Committee On
The Elimination Of Discrimination Against Women
In
Their Own Words
In Their Own Words - Question From The Committee
and the
Response By The Union Of Myanmar
A
Shadow Report
In Brief
Burma Around The World
Briefing and Developments
Inside Washington
Busines Watch
SPDC Speaks
Media Resources
Voices of Burma
Ethnic Views
Burma Around The World
CANADA-
The current focus
of members of the Toronto Burma Roundtable has been on obtaining legislative
recognition of the Committee Representing the People's Parliament (CRPP) by
the Canadian government and exploring possibilities for a selective purchasing
law in the Toronto Council.
The Toronto Burma Roundtable meets monthly to discuss issues relating to Burma
and plan educational and political events. For more information contact Elizabeth
Shepherd by phone: (416) 465-3458 or email: mandalay@sprint.ca, or Paul Copeland
by phone: (416) 964-8126 or email: paulcope@interlog.com.
LONDON-
Gustaaf Houtman,
Robert Taylor, and Rachel Goldwyn spoke at a March 16 Rountable on "The Crisis
in Burma," held at the Center of South East Asian Studies, School of Oriental
and African Studies.
On February 3, Robert Gordon (former British Ambassador to Rangoon) and Pam
Gordon also shared their discoveries of Burma while exploring areas from Mergui
to Shan State and Mrauk-U. Cambridge anthropologist Naoko Kumada who spent two
years in an Irrawaddy village discussed Buddhism and its fusion with all aspects
of social life, on March 7 at the Medical Society of London.
Britain-Burma Society meets seven times per year, with an interest in cultural,
historical, and academic exchange. For more information contact Hon. Secretary
Derek Brooke-Wavell by phone: 44 118 947 6874, fax: 44 118 954 6201, or e-mail:
d.wavell@dtn.ntl.com.
NEW YORK-
Four refugee
women representing ethnic groups on the Thai-Burma border gave a special briefing,
"The True Situation of Women in Burma: A Rejoinder to Myanmar's Initial Report"
on January 19. They discussed the findings in the Shadow Report submitted to
the 22nd Session of the Convention to Eliminate all forms of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW) at the UN, and presented a video message from Aung San
Suu Kyi. The briefing was sponsored by the International League for Human Rights
and the Burma UN Service Office.
The New York Roundtable holds periodic meetings of organizations and individuals
interested in Burma. For more information contact the Burma UN Service Office
by phone: (212) 338-0048 or fax: (212) 338-0049.
WASHINGTON,
DC- "Burma
into Millennium: Facilitating Policy Options for the Democratic Transition,"
a January 29-31 conference featured experts from Australia, Sweden, the US and
British Columbia, and was sponsored by the Burma Fund, the National Endowment
for Democracy, the Open Society Institute, and the School of International Service
at American University.
The National Endowment for Democracy held a February 10 briefing on "Political
Developments in Burma's Ethnic States." Dr. Christina Fink, an expert on the
ethnic minorities of Burma and the author of a forthcoming book, together with
Naw May Oo, president of the Karen National League, discussed the leadership
change of the Karen National Union, relations between the ethnic groups, and
the recent hospital takeover in Thailand.
Sanctions on investment in Burma were a main topic at a symposium called "Sanctions
Reform? Evaluating the Economic Weapon in Asia and the World" organized by Georgetown
University Law Center on February 23. Panelists discussed the Supreme Court
case on the Massachusetts Burma Law.
The December 16 Washington Burma Roundtable hosted Senior Advisor Bradley Babson
of the World Bank who presented findings of the draft World Bank report on the
Burmese economy.
The Washington Roundtable is co-sponsored by Human Rights Watch/Asia, Jesuit
Refugee Service, US Committee for Refugees, and Refugees International. For
more information contact Refugees International by phone: (202) 828-0110 or
fax: (202) 828-0819.
LOS ANGELES -
The
Burma Forum of Los Angeles coordinated a Weekend of Prayer for Burma, March
10-12, as a means to raise awareness about Burma in communities of faith. Christians
Concerned for Burma, based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, was also involved in the
effort, calling for a Global Day of Prayer for Burma.
The Burma Forum of Los Angeles meets on the second Wednesday of every month.
Contact Heidi Quante by phone at (323) 653-4571.
SEATTLE -
The Seattle Burma Roundtable met on March 6 with updates on a number of topics,
including the tense situation for refugees on the Thai-Burma border and Burmese
refugee resettlement in Seattle, recent US government reports on Burma (Human
Rights Country Reports and Counternarcotics report), and a corporate withdrawal
from Burma.
The Burma Interest Group is a non-partisan forum attended by representatives
of NGOs, business, academia, and other interested parties that meets monthly
to discuss Burma-related topics. For more information contact Larry Dohrs by
phone: (206) 784-5742 or fax: (206) 784-8150.
Brief and Developments
REBELS TAKEOVER THAI
HOSPITAL
Armed gunmen seized a hospital in Ratchaburi, Thailand on January 24 taking
hundreds of patients and medical personnel hostage. The takeover was orchestrated
by members of a Karen rebel faction known as "God's Army." The rebels demanded
medical care for their soldiers injured during fighting with Burmese government
troops and that the border be opened to allow in refugees fleeing the conflict.
Thai police stormed the hospital during the early morning hours of January 26,
killing all ten of the rebels. All the hostages were unharmed. The manner in
which the Thai government handled the takeover has sparked controversy in the
press and among citizen's groups in Thailand as some hostages claimed that the
Karen gunman were killed execution style, even after they had surrendered to
authorities.
NEW PUBLICATION LAUNCHED IN RANGOON
With the approval of Burma's military regime, the premier issue of The Myanmar
Times & Business Weekly found its way to newsstands February 12. Touted as an
"independent" English-language publication and described as both a newspaper
and a journal, it will carry local and foreign news about politics, business,
social affairs and sports. Although the weekly claims to be the first "truly
free press" in the country for over three decades, it has been sponsored by
Burma's military intelligence establishment. According to the editor, Australian
Ross Dunkley, "self-censorship" will be exercised. The fact that the regime
has approved the new publication is seen as a reaction to the way the junta
has been perceived by the international community through its official newspaper,
The New Light of Myanmar. According to Col. Thien Swe of the Office of Strategic
Studies, "The Myanmar Times will be different, more flexible."
Inside Washington
US OFFICIAL VISITS BURMA
Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Ralph Boyce, the highest-ranking
US official to visit Burma in the past five years, spent February 17 in the
country meeting with the military regime and members of the democracy movement.
During his one-day stop in Rangoon, Mr. Boyce held meetings with Aung San Suu
Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy, as well as Khin Maung Win,
deputy foreign minister of the State Peace and Development Council, and international
aid workers. In a statement released by the US Embassy in Bangkok the day following
Mr. Boyce's trip, the US government reaffirmed its policy toward Burma: "Until
we see movement toward democracy, respect for human rights, and cooperation
on counternarcotics efforts, the United States will continue to apply broad
sanctions against Burma."
BURMA BRIEFINGS HELD ON CAPITOL HILL
The Congressional Human Rights Caucus sponsored two briefings during the
month of February highlighting the current situation in Burma. A February 1
event, held in conjunction with the Asia Pacific Center and the Protection Project
of the Kennedy School of Government, featured representatives from a number
of ethnic women's organizations speaking on the issue of women's rights in conflict
areas. On February 15, the briefing "Current Religious Liberty Violations in
Burma, Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia" included testimony by Stephen Dun, an ethnic
Karen human rights monitor.
Business Watch
CANADIAN COMPANY INVESTS
IN BURMESE OIL AND GAS
A Canadian company
has signed an agreement to exploit gas and oil reserves in western Burma. The
production-sharing agreement between the regime's Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise
and Prime Resource Management (Cyprus) Ltd., which was signed January 24, calls
for the Canadian company to explore an area 280 kilometers northwest of Rangoon,
and produce natural gas and oil.
Harvard's Kennedy School Student Government Passes
Free Burma Selective-Purchasing Policy
The student government of the John F. Kennedy School of Government (KSSG) at
Harvard University passed a "Free Burma Resolution" aimed at companies that
do business with the military regime in Burma. The motion, which passed unanimously,
bars the KSSG from purchasing any goods or services sold by companies conducting
business in Burma or with the Burmese government. It calls upon the Kennedy
School itself to resolve the same, as well as Harvard University. In addition,
it calls upon Harvard to disclose all ties with companies linked to Burma, to
support shareholder actions related to withdrawal from Burma, and to remove
funds from all financial institutions with outstanding loans to Burma.
Burma joins new tourism campaign of ASEAN nations
At the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in November,
the foreign ministers of Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos created a new tour
package called "Suwannabhumi." The tourism campaign aims to promote the countries'
tourist spots (in Burma, the Mandalay area), increase foreign revenues, and
further develop air and road transport links between the countries.
Meanwhile, the Xinhua News Agency reported in February that the number of foreign
tourists to visit Burma in the first ten months of 1999 dropped by 3% from the
same period in 1998. Foreign tourism in Burma earns 30 million US dollars annually.
SPDC Speaks
The following is a translation
of the message sent by Chairman
of the State Peace and Development Council Commander-in-Chief
of Defense Services Senior General Than Shwe on the occasion of the
53rd anniversary of Union Day.
Esteemed national brethren.
...Myanmar regained
the status of a sovereign and independent Union in 1948, as the national brethren
were able to clear and wash away all the suspicions which were the consequences
of the colonialists divide-and-rule policy, in accord with the basic principle
of the Union Spirit, "In times of emergency, blood inspires unity," putting
up fierce fights against the colonial government and firmly showing the Union
Spirit and national solidarity at the Panglong Conference on February 12, 1947.
When compared with some neighboring countries, Myanmar lagged behind in progress
in the economic and social sectors, as national development undertakings could
not be carried out due to lack of national peace and stability resulting from
the wounds of the divide-and-rule policy and new forms of instigation made by
neo-colonialists after regaining of independence. It is required for all the
national people to strive in harmony for the success of the task to build a
peaceful, pleasant, modern and developed nation in accord with the political,
economic and social objectives so as to pay back the nation's historical debt
of lagging behind in development despite richness in natural resources.
The State Peace and Development Council laid down the national policy or national
belief or national convictionÑnon-disintegration of the Union, non-disintegration
of national solidarity and perpetuation of sovereigntyÑin carrying out profound
and extensive organizational work for the perpetuation and flourishing of Union
Spirit.
...The main requirement in building a peaceful, pleasant, modern and developed
nation is the firmness of the strength of the national forces. Thus, the government
laid down strategies for the emergence of good and vital foundations such as
perpetual propagation of Union Spirit, uplifting of cultural standards and moral
conduct, proportionate progress of agricultural and other economic sectors,
development of human resources and betterment of the transport sector.
The national people themselves have witnessed and heard the launching of perpetrations
in various forms by destructive elements from inside and outside the nation
to intensify the disturbances and distinctive and terrorist acts at a time when
peace and stability, which is the most important and essential requirement of
the Union, is being built up firmly and efforts are being made with added momentum
for national economic development.
The entire Union people must ward off the danger of internal and external destructionists
who are attempting through various means to ruin and undermine the national
peace and stability and development which have already been achieved.
I hereby profoundly urge the national brethren to consolidate the national forces,
national people, the government and the Tatmadaw and to collectively strive
to realize the following objectives of the 53rd Anniversary Union Day:
Media Resources
Burma: Political Economy
under
Military Rule
Edited by Robert H. Taylor
February 2000
C. Hurst & Co. Ltd.
38 King Street
Covent Garden
London WC2E 8JZ
Phone: (44 171) 240-2666
Fax: (44 171) 240-2667
Email: hurst@atlas.co.uk
An international group of Burma experts (including Martin Smith, David Steinberg,
Joseph Silverstein, Robert H. Taylor, and Seng Raw Heinze) attempt to explain
the long life and vigor of the "temporary" military regime installed in 1988.
Whispers at the Pagoda: Portraits of Modern Burma
By Julie Sell
October 1999
| In the US: Weatherhill 41 Monroe Turnpike Trumbull, CT 06611 Phone: (800) 437-7840 Fax: (800) 557-5601 Email: jnims@weatherhill.com |
In Thailand: Orchid Press/Bangkok Fax: (662) 930-5646 Email: wop@inet.co.th |
| In
the UK: The Radcliffe Press Victoria House Bloomsbury Square London WC1B 4DZ Phone: (44 020) 7831 9060 Fax: (44 020) 7831 9061 |
In
the US: St. Martin's Press, Scholarly & Reference 175 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10010 Phone: (800) 221-7945 x 270 Fax: (212) 982-3900 |
| Email: sales@ibtauris.com | |
Voices Of Burma
Message of U Aung Shwe
of the National League for
Democracy (NLD) for Union Day, February12, 2000
Wishing you all happiness and good health. I am U Aung Shwe, Chairman of the
NLD. The 12th of February 2000 is Union Day in our country, Burma. I would like
to explain how Union Day began in Burma's history.
Our national hero General Aung San and the ethnic nationality leaders from frontier
areas signed the Panglong Agreement on 12 February 1947 in Panglong, Southern
Shan State. The purpose of the Panglong Agreement was to reunite the ethnic
nationalities in an attempt to gain independence. It was intended to build a
federal union when the country gained independence.
The Agreement also established the "Panglong spirit" or the "Union spirit."
However, the spirit has disappeared in recent days because no genuine federal
union emerged. The ethnic nationalities do not trust each other and hatred and
hostilities have grown among them. This also is due to the fact that the Burmese
Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), dominated by members of the military, drafted
and promulgated a unitary system constitution which installed a dictatorial
regime rather than establish the federal union that was demanded by the people
of Burma. As a result, the federal spirit has been destroyed.
It is very important for all our ethnic nationalities, such as Kachin, Kayah,
Karen, Chin, Burman, Mon, Rakhaing, and Shan, to re-enforce the spirit of unity
that existed when the Panglong Agreement was signed in order to prevent the
country's disintegration. The NLD strongly requests and urges all the ethnic
nationalities of Burma to rebuild the Panglong spirit or solidarity of ethnic
nationalities by joining hand in hand, with courage, firm efforts and objectives,
and genuine patriotic spirit. Moreover we believe that in order to achieve unity
among the ethnic nationalities, it is necessary to draft a constitution in a
democratic manner, acceptable to all people including ethnic nationalities.
This is reprinted from Burmanet News.
Ethnic Views
Message
of U Lun Tin for Union Day, February 12, 2000
I am U Lwin, a central executive committee member of the NLD. I am of Mon nationality.
The reason I became involved in the struggle for democracy in Burma was because
we needed a democratic system of government and I wanted to stand for the people.
I took part in the independence movement led by General Aung San when I was
a student at the age of 21. Our slogan at that time was that independence must
be first and final. It meant our one and ultimate goal was independence. After
independence, our slogan changed, so that independence was the priority, and
democracy had to follow.
When the country became independent, parliamentary democracy was introduced.
Unfortunately, the country fell into the hands of the military dictatorship
in 1962. Since the 1988 struggle for democracy, I have been participating in
the democracy movement by joining the National League for Democracy (NLD) which
is led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of General Aung San. I believe that
my actions are those of a noble person who loves his own country. In our democratic
struggle, the slogan we have been using until now is democracy is priority,
and after democracy, we can address the requirements of states and divisions.
We believe that after we achieve democracy we will be able to discuss our needs
among ourselves. As a person, an ethnic Mon, and a patriotic revolutionary,
I absolutely believe this slogan.
The above is reprinted from Burmanet News.