Weekly Digest 103

Weekly Digest, No. 103 (4 � 10 July 2004)

Quote

I was a young man in an entirely different setting. You can tell me I was wrong. You can tell me I failed. But I can also tell you how it was and how I tried.
Chin Peng, My side of History, quoted in Bangkok Post, 10 July 2004

The World

4 July
The Dalai Lama is now 70, and when he dies, the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trintey Dorje, 19, who escaped from China 4 years ago, will likely become the rallying point for Tibetans. (Bangkok Post)

1 July

Movie Icon Marlon Brando, 80, passes away of lung failure in Los Angeles. (AFP)

4 July

Underdog Greece beat host Portugal 1-0 to become Euro football 2004�s champion, its first major trophy in the history of Europe�s football minnows. (Bangkok Post)

6 July
AIDS is spreading unchecked in �Asia with sharp increase of HIV infections reported in China, Indonesia, and Vietnam with the number of victims rising to 7.4 million, says 2004 Report on the global AIDS epidemic. In Burma, Cambodia and Laos, three percent of the population is infected with HIV. (AFP)

International Relations

5 July
The constitution of Bangladesh has a lot of provisions in Articles 31 and 44 on refugees, which is rare in other countries, says Minister of Law Maudud Ahmed, who calls for a logical solution of the Rohingya problem through negotiation. (Kaladan)

6 July
Asean should �cajole� Burma on democratic reforms, UN envoy Razali Ismail, who met FM Win Aung on the sidelines of Asean meeting last week. �He said Suu Kyi would be released, but didn�t say when,� he tells reporters. (AP)

7 July
The news of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein going on trial is not published or broadcast by Rangoon. The trial of former Yugoslav leader Slobadan Milosevic never appeared in the papers either, says veteran journalist in Rangoon, Ludu Sein Win. (Irrawaddy)

Cambodia PM Hun Sen says he will refuse to join the Asia-Europe Meeting refuse to unless EU allows Burma entry to the biennial summit, to be held in Hanoi in October. (AFP) Previously, on 11 June, its FM Hor Namlong, had complained its membership to ASEM should not be unfairly tied with that of Burma. (AP)

President Bush signs law renewing "import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003.� (AFP)

Thai-Burma Relations

6 July
There are alien workers who come to register. One reason is the workers fear that they will be prosecuted by Burmese authorities once they get back home if accurate personal information were entered. However, fear of more immediate action against them by Thai authorities: 3 year improvement and upwards for not having an official permit will likely force more people to register themselves in the coming weeks. (FIG)

Thai police are cracking down on illegal bankers who provide service for workers remitting money back to Burma. The current exchange rate is 25 kyat for 1 baht while, at the official rate, it is 4 baht while, at the official rate, it is 4 baht for 1 kyat. (FIG)

The ongoing registration of alien workers have opened the door for Thais to extort money from the aliens, according to a seminar held today. Village heads in Mae Rim and Wianghaeng charge each immigrant 1,000 � 3,000 baht each to transport them for registration. Owners of rented houses, rooms and flats demand 1,200 baht each if they want permission for house registration.

Many district offices are also refusing to register unemployed aliens although the government had announced they could be registered. Also, in the past, aliens were still extorted even if they held work permits. (Bangkok Post)

Politics

5 July
The National Convention will adjourn for a month beginning 10 July, says Mon spokesman Aung Shein. The NC Convening Commission dismissed the ceasefire groups� demands for power-sharing on Friday, 2 July. (Irrawaddy)

6 July
Burma�s oldest party, Communist Party of Burma, declares there is no need for a new round of elections as stated by FM Win Aung a week earlier. The first thing is to implement the 1990 elections results, says the statement. (NMG)

9 July
The Convention adjourns indefinitely. To resume in the coming open season but does not say when. (FIG)

Shans

7 July
As World AIDs Day, 11 July, gets closer, the pandemic in Shan State is of serious concern. The explosion of HIV/AIDS women in Shan State is frightening, says USAIDS expert Chris Beyrer. 17% of pregnant in Lashio, who were tested voluntarily two years ago, were found to be positive. (Interpress News)

Economy / Business

5 July
Soe Myint, the director general of the Energy Minister�s Energy Planning Department, told Myanmar Times only 4 of Burma�s 17 sedimentary basins suitable for oil production have been explored and exploited. Some working onshore oil fields have more capacity than their current output. Burma will be a major gas and oil exporter in the region in the future, he said. The onshore crude oil production will be increased from 16,000 barrels per day in 2002 to 2,000 from December. (AP)

8 July
7 Day news journal says Burma is preparing for the establishment of steel plants and machinery equipment factories in 3 industrial zones: Mandalay will produce diesel engines, while Monywa will manufacture gear boxes and Taunggyi other accessories. Burma has designated the current fiscal year as Industrial Development Year. (XNA)

Human Rights

2 July
Thet Lwin, 46, an employee of the Canada-based Ivanhoe Mines imprisoned in December. He was in company with a foreign official who was attempting to pay a visit on Aung San Suu Kyi, who is, according to Rangoon�s statements, not under custody. (AAPP/FIG)

5 July
Out of 85 people caught trying to enter Singapore illegally by sea in the first five months of this year, 31 are from Burma. (AFP)

7 July

Thai police arrest Yuwadee Akarawiboon, 41, who has been accused of helping her husband, an air force captain, torture their 18-year old Burmese maid, who was later set on fire and died at the hospital two years ago. The husband Suchart is still at large. (AP)

Environment

2 July
UNESCO�s World Heritage Committee, meeting in Suzhou, is considering whether to include the Three Parallel Rivers in Yunnan in its endangered list. The decision will be made before the meeting ends on 7 July. The committee is concerned about plans to build 13 dams across the Nujiang, called by downstream countries as the Salween. (SCMP)

Drugs

25 June
Opium output in 2003 has increased, says a UN report. The decrease was seen in Burma and Laos, but Afghanistan produced three-quarters of the total output. (VOB)

8 July
There is large scale increase in drug-smuggling in India�s northeast that borders with Burma. Drug addiction is also on the rise. High value drugs however have yet to made much inroad. There are several cases of abuses of the synthetic stimulant, Proxyvone. (Mizzima)

8 July
Thai Drug Users' Network argues that the war on drugs campaign is misguided and could lead to an increased risk of HIV infection among drug users. (UNDP)

War

18 June
Tayza Myo, 24, a saboteur sent by Loijie police and arrested by the Kachin Independence Army in the border town of Mai Jayan returned to Burmese military intelligence. He had confessed of the assignment to set off a bomb in one of the town�s busy spots. (Mizzima)

4 July
A team of Burma border security force known as Nasaka enters Bangladeshi territory and took three Bangladeshi nationals and their boat from Teknaf Township, Cox�s Bazar district. They had already abducted two others in 2 July. (Narinjara)