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BurmaNet News: November 1, 2001



______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
        An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
          November 1, 2001   Issue # 1910
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________


INSIDE BURMA _______
*DVB: NLD says  "no improvement" in political situation 

MONEY _______
*Xinhua: Myanmar's Foreign Trade Up in 1st 8 Months of 2001
*Xinhua: Foreign Investment in Myanmar Down in 1st 8 Months of 2001 
*The Independent: Aptech launches its operation in Yangon

DRUGS______
*Narinjara News: 10,000 kyat for a month: Open season for a private

REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*Asia Times: Former aide to Suu Kyi slams sanctions, draws flak 
*Reuters: Myanmar students say peace talks a farce
*Shan Herald Agency for News:  Thailand to create a refugee monitoring 
team 

EDITORIALS/OPINION/PROPAGANDA________
*Xinhua: Myanmar Media Complain Getting Least Foreign Aid 

OTHER______
*PD Burma: Calendar of events


					
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________





DVB: NLD says  "no improvement" in political situation  



Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese 1430 gmt 29 Oct 01  



 
National League for Democracy NLD spokesperson U Lwin told Democratic 
Voice of Burma DVB that NLD has managed to reopen 24 of its township 
offices in Rangoon Division. U Lwin added that the NLD is attempting to 
reopen its township offices step by step nationwide. To learn more about 
NLD's plans to reopen the township offices and the recent release of 
some political prisoners by the SPDC State Peace and Development Council 
DVB correspondent Ko Moe Aye interviewed NLD spokesperson U Lwin about 
the latest developments.  

Ko Moe Aye We have learned that the NLD has managed to reopen 24 of its 
township offices in Rangoon Division. On the other hand, the news we 
received indicated that the local authorities did not allow the 
reopening of NLD township offices in the other states and divisions. U 
Lwin Well, some of our offices were shut down because they say that we 
did not have enough membership. The signboards of some were also taken 
down and the people held rallies denouncing their support for the NLD. 
That is why the Election Commission closed down the offices. 

There are townships like that and there are some townships where the NLD 
offices were not closed. In Mandalay six NLD township offices were not 
closed down... Meanwhile, some anxious NLD members approached their 
respective Township Election Commissions and asked permission to put up 
the signboards and to reopen the township NLD offices. But they were 
denied permission and the township authorities told them to inform the 
NLD head office and let the NLD deal with the higher authorities. If 
they can get approval, then the township offices can carry on. That is 
the current situation. We will work with Rangoon Division first and then 
Mandalay Division. We have told all the responsible personnel...  

Ko Moe Aye Do you mean to say that the NLD will reopen its township 
offices one division after another, one state after another like a 
roster?  

U Lwin Well, as I said before we have a programme and we will have to 
follow that programme. You just cannot reopen the offices based on 
rumours and then take matters into your own hands. If you follow the 
programme step by step then these things will be all right.  

Ko Moe Aye In one recent news report you mentioned that the political 
prisoners were released only once a month. Any comment on that?  

U Lwin Well, it is not once a month now. After Mr Pinheiro UN special 
rapporteur for human rights returned they released some prisoners, I 
think it was the 26th, a Friday evening.  

Ko Moe Aye We learned about your comments that the rate of releasing the 
political prisoners is pretty slow.  

U Lwin Yes, that is correct. It is not only slow but few as well. I am 
always commenting about that.  

Ko Moe Aye How many NLD members are still in the jails? 

U Lwin If they are from the organizing committees we know the exact 
number but if they are ordinary NLD party members and if their 
respective families did not inform us then we are not in a position to 
know. So, the real number of incarcerated members amount to twice of 
what we actually know. At this point there are over 800, including 
ordinary NLD members, in the jails. We did not even know when the 
recently-released members were arrested except one township organizing 
committee member. We have now asked for the list of imprisoned NLD 
members from the townships. So, according to the list there are 
altogether 827 NLD members in jails.  

Ko Moe Aye You mentioned that the release of political prisoners is not 
only slow but few as well. Do you think the reopening of the NLD offices 
is also slow?  

U Lwin This matter involves both sides. First consider it our matter and 
there are many things NLD has to do. Since we have to do it ourselves, 
it will take time.  

Ko Moe Aye You mean to say that the NLD head office will draw a 
programme in accord with the party's constitution.  

U Lwin Well, when we work accordingly with the constitution we have to 
be very thorough. We have to be responsible for the township members. 
That is why we need to study them and discuss about them with 
responsible persons. Furthermore, they must also be trustworthy. There 
are some persons who are doing things on their own. Of course these are 
the irregularities. In the earlier part, due to the difficulty in 
communications some are operating on their own which is not systematic. 
That is why we are trying to do it systematically this time according to 
rules and regulations. This is to take responsibility of our own 
organization and does not concern them the authorities .  

Ko Moe Aye Does the NLD CEC Central Executive Committee have regular 
meetings? Do the CEC members go regularly to the NLD head office? Is the 
NLD headquarters operating normally?  

U Lwin Yes. 

Ko Moe Aye After considering everything - the reopening of township 
offices, the release of political prisoners, and the regular and normal 
functioning of the NLD headquarters, can you say that there is 
improvement in the prevailing political situation?  

U Lwin Well, this is part of the daily routine. According to the 
situation that you have heard, there is no improvement at all. 





______________________MONEY________________________



Xinhua: Myanmar's Foreign Trade Up in 1st 8 Months of 2001


YANGON, November 1 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's foreign trade, including the 
border trade, totaled 3,666.54 million U.S. dollars in the first eight 
months of this year, up 32.98 percent from the same period of 2000, the 
country's Central Statistical Organization (CSO) said in its latest 
data. Of the total trade volume during the first eight-month period, 
imports were valued at 2,032.12 million dollars, increasing by 18. 91 
percent, while exports amounted to 1,634.42 million dollars, rising by 
55.92 percent. 

However, the trade deficit stood at 397.7 million dollars, the CSO said. 
The data show that there are 14 countries and regions in the world with 
which Myanmar is mainly trading. Of them, Thailand had the largest 
bilateral trade volume with Myanmar during the eight- month period with 
648.89 million dollars, followed by Singapore ( 542.94 million), south 
Korea (309.62 million), Japan (287.64 million), India (279.95 million), 
China (251.02 million) and the United States (245.9 million). The 
statistics also show that Myanmar's bilateral trade with five member 
countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- 
Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines -- totaled 
1,669.01 million dollars in the first eight months of this year, up 
51.92 percent from the same period of 2000. 

The regional bilateral trade accounted for 45.52 percent of Myanmar's 
total foreign trade during the eight-month period with its import from 
these ASEAN members representing 944.25 million dollars and its exports 
taking up 724.76 million dollars. The figures also indicate that 
Myanmar's private sector accounted for 1,221.27 million dollars or 60 
percent of the total import value, while it made up 805.4 million 
dollars or 49.27 percent of the total export value in its foreign trade 
during the period. 


___________________________________________________



Xinhua: Foreign Investment in Myanmar Down in 1st 8 Months of 2001 


YANGON, November 1


 (Xinhua) -- Foreign investment in Myanmar totaled 49.49 million U.S. 
dollars in 10 projects in the first eight months of this year, reducing 
by 34.98 percent from the same period of 2000, according to the latest 
figures issued by the country's Central Statistical Organization. Of the 
investment, which came from seven countries and regions during the 
period, Thailand took the lead with 25.75 million dollars, followed by 
south Korea (9.21 million), Hong Kong (7.5 million ), Singapore (3.53 
million), Malaysia and Indonesia (1.5 million each) and Canada (0.5 
million). Of the sectors injected by these foreign investment, 
manufacturing stood the highest with 23.24 million dollars, followed by 
construction (20.5 million), hotels and tourism (5.25 million) and 
mining (0.5 million). Meanwhile, investment drawn specifically from 
member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 
amounted to 32. 28 million dollars in five projects during the first 
eight-month period, taking up 65.22 percent of Myanmar's total foreign 
investment. According to official statistics, since opening to foreign 
investment in late 1988, Myanmar had drawn a total of such contracted 
investment of 7,390.253 million dollars in 366 projects as of the end of 
August 2001. Of the leading foreign investors, Singapore ranked the 
first with 1,507.53 million dollars, followed by Britain with 1,401 
million and Thailand with 1,289.75 million dollars.  




___________________________________________________





The Independent: Aptech launches its operation in Yangon


October 30, 2001 Tuesday 


 

Aptech Worldwide, the global IT training and education major, launched 
its operation in Yangon, Myanmar, the 45th country, through a special 
ceremony held at International Business Centre, Yangon recently.  

The chief guest of the ceremony was U Hlaing Win, Deputy Minister, 
Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. Avinash C Pandey, 
First Secretary, Embassy of India in Myanmar, also present on the 
occasion.  

Aptech Worldwide Bangladesh Limited, Dhaka, will control Aptech's 
operations in Myanmar and Pakistan.  

Inaugurating the ceremony, Tin Win Aung, Group Managing Director of MCC 
Group of Companies and the master business partner, said: "India, 
Bangladesh and Myanmar have many synergies that brought these countries 
together. Aptech's Programs will enable students of Myanmar to learn IT 
in the Aptech way. Through the India Window Program in India and the 
eACCP- 2003 curriculum which would be offered in Myanmar, Aptech has 
taken up the responsible position of a modern day Gurukul with a strong 
determination to train participants in the latest technology and prepare 
them to compete in the fast paced world of IT."  

Speaking on the occasion, Amitava Ghosh, Managing Director, Aptech 
Worldwide, Bangladesh, said: "It gives me immense pride to be associated 
with Myanmar, a country rich in culture and literature and today on the 
road to be an IT power to reckon with. Students of Myanmar will 
definitely be able to imbibe the best in information technology through 
Aptech's IWP (India Window Program), a modem day Gurukul." 






________________________DRUGS______________________



Narinjara News: 10,000 kyat for a month: Open season for a private


31/10/2001


Teknaf, 31 Oct. 01:  As the SPDC junta cannot bear the expenditure for 
running the battalion headquarters in Rakhine State, the battalions have 
recently been directed to carry out all types of businesses, legal or 
clandestine, so that the running cost for the offices may be collected 
from outside, according to a top Muslim trader from Sittwe who on 
condition of anonymity told to Narinjara. A monthly contribution of 
10,000 kyats to the SPDC coiffure now allows a private to conduct any 
type of business including smuggling.  The move has encouraged many of 
the real traders and merchants to advance money to the soldiers and 
carry on business on their behalf, which, as it is natural, helps to run 
a profitable business and protects the businessmen from hassles of other 
law enforcing authorities, including the much-hated MIs. The top 
businessman himself has invited and offered money to three members of 
the military so that he can now carry on his business without any 
intimidation.  However the businessman expressed his inability to tell 
anything about any drug trade that could entail such an open season for 
the military when asked by Narinjara. It may be mentioned here that, 
there are more than fifty battalions of the army and their headquarters 
all over Rakhine State alone.


___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
				



Asia Times: Former aide to Suu Kyi slams sanctions, draws flak 

October 31, 2001.

By Tim Shorrock 

WASHINGTON - A former aide to Myanmese opposition leader Aung San Suu 
Kyi is stirring up anger among exiled dissident groups for calling on 
the US Congress and human-rights groups to end their economic sanctions 
against the military regime in Yangon.  

"To target innocent people makes me very, very bitter," Ma Thanegi, a 
Myanmese writer who spent three years in prison after working as the 
personal assistant to Suu Kyi in the early 1990s, said of the US 
sanctions against Myanmar. "This is economic terrorism. It won't bring 
economic change and won't even bring any positive change. It is so 
unfair and so cruel." 
 
Thanegi is a contributing editor to the Myanmar Times, one of a handful 
of publications tolerated by the Myanmese government. In a speech here 
to a forum this week sponsored by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, she 
said economic sanctions against Myanmar do not hurt the government but 
instead threaten the livelihood of "totally innocent workers", including 
more than 200,000 women employed in the garment industry.  

A sanctions bill under consideration in the US Senate, she said, would 
force 300 to 400 factories to close, putting thousands of young women 
out of work and forcing many of them to become prostitutes to survive. 
"Why can't there be other means than to target people without skills, 
and women?" she asked.  

Thanegi's comments did not draw much sympathy from the audience, which 
appeared to be composed primarily of student and human-rights activists, 
with a few business people and State Department officials also in 
attendance. During her question-and-answer session, Thanegi was barraged 
with hostile questions from the activists. They demanded to know where 
she got her statistics, whom she was representing and why she refrained 
from asking tough questions of Myanmar's military leaders in her 
capacity as a journalist.  

"In 1998, we asked for democracy and a lot of people were killed in the 
streets," said one activist, referring to the violent crackdown on the 
opposition by the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), as 
the ruling junta was then called. Now called the State Peace and 
Development Council, it seized power in September 1988 and refused to 
abide by the results of a 1990 election, which gave Suu Kyi's National 
League for Democracy (NLD) 392 out of 485 parliamentary seats.  

With Yangon holding thousands of political prisoners and resorting to 
torture and other forms of repression against dissidents, "the only 
power we have is the ability to impose some economic restrictions on the 
country", said a student.  

As Thanegi spoke, some in the crowd passed out leaflets calling her "the 
dictator's spokesperson". Thanegi replied that she spoke "as an ordinary 
person who knows all levels of society". The people of Myanmar, she 
asserted, "want peace and more freedom, but they also want economic 
prosperity".  

Throughout her talk, Thanegi referred to her country as Myanmar (as 
opposed to Burma), using the name adopted by the Yangon regime but which 
is rejected by the United States and most dissidents. "Burma", she said, 
was the name forced on the country by Britain during colonial 
occupation. "I feel the name should have been changed immediately after 
independence," she said.  

David Steinberg, a former US diplomat in Asia who has written a book 
about Myanmar, responded to Thanegi's remarks by pointing out that 
military's control of the economy was "enormous". "Even if Suu Kyi came 
to power, the military will have massive influence to control the 
markets," he said. "It will be a quasi-market society."  
US policy toward Yangon, he said, was based on the military's refusal to 
honor the results of the legitimate election of 1990. "There's no doubt 
about what the NLD did in that election; it devastated the military and 
the military-backed parties."  

The United States formally imposed sanctions on Myanmar in 1990, and the 
policy has received bipartisan support from the US Congress. The issue 
of human and labor rights in Burma has also become a major issue for 
local governments. Over the past decade, many cities and states have 
passed ordinances banning their governments from doing business with US 
corporations, such as Unocal, that continue to do business with Myanmar. 
 

These campaigns have been fueled by reports from Amnesty International 
detailing the widespread use of torture by the Myanmese military regime 
and reports from the United Nations, Human Rights Watch and other groups 
of forced labor, massive relocations of minority peoples and numerous 
other human-rights abuses.  

In recent years, US business groups have challenged the sanctions 
movement, saying local laws favoring sanctions violate the US 
constitution's requirement that foreign policy should be conducted by 
the federal government. Last year, in a landmark decision, the Supreme 
Court agreed with their arguments. That has inspired several bills in 
Congress that would extend sanctions in Myanmar and ban US investment 
until Yangon releases all political prisoners, concludes its ongoing 
dialogue with Suu Kyi, provides assurances that it is not employing 
forced labor and makes substantial progress in halting the flow of 
narcotics.  

"That means we are guilty until proved innocent," said Thanegi. "That I 
find very strange in a country like the United States."  

During a visit to Yangon in January, Steinberg said, he told the 
military "at a senior level" that the Republican Party, reflecting the 
views of its business supporters, generally does not like sanctions. 
"But no administration, even a Republican one, can lift those sanctions 
unless you do something significant, something substantial," he told the 
military. "But nothing has happened."  

In any case, Steinberg said, the relationship between market capitalism 
and democratic development "is not a simple matter". He pointed out that 
South Korea began its export push in 1961 but did not have political 
liberalization until 1987. In addition, "business wants predictability, 
and in [Myanmar] you have no predictability", he said.  

During her talk, Thanegi admitted some problems with the press in 
Myanmar but said the situation was improving. "Censorship still exists," 
she said. "But compared to [the period of] socialism, there are many 
good magazines. There are very good articles about finance and 
economics."  

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent organization 
that monitors the media around the world, paints a very different 
picture, however. In its 2000 report on the state of the press in 
Myanmar, the center said "conditions for journalists ... are among the 
worst in the world and showed no sign of improvement".  

"All media outlets are either owned or controlled by the [military 
government]. The handful of private journals allowed to publish face 
strict licensing requirements, and all published material must be 
submitted to the official Press Scrutiny Board for approval. 

Most foreign journalists are barred from the country," it said.  

Thanegi's publication, the Myanmar Times, was the first privately owned 
newspaper allowed to publish by Yangon, CJP said. The publication, "a 
joint venture between a local firm and an Australian businessman, showed 
no evidence of independence, however, merely presenting government 
propaganda more professionally than the clumsy official press", the 
report said.  

Asked to comment, Thanegi said the Times "does go through censorship. I 
know we try to push for press freedom, but sometimes we get censored."  
(Inter Press Service)







___________________________________________________



Reuters: Myanmar students say peace talks a farce


BANGKOK, Nov 1 (Reuters) - A group of exiled anti-government Myanmar 
students on Thursday accused military rulers of using talks with the 
pro-democracy opposition as a way of securing foreign aid and avoiding 
trade sanctions.   The All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) said 
in a statement marking the 13th anniversary of its founding that the 
ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) was negotiating in bad 
faith.   ``It is easy to decode that holding long-lasting, secret talks 
between democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the SPDC is just a 
political deception which the SPDC aims to (use to) lift the 
international sanctions and re-obtain the international aid,'' said the 
statement sent to news organisations.   ``Under present circumstances, 
many phases still need to be reached before there is true, politically 
balanced dialogue,'' it said.   

The ABSDF is made up of pro-democracy exiles mainly living in Thailand, 
many of whom fled Myanmar after the military crushed a student-led 
democracy uprising in 1988.   The group usually reflects the views of 
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, which won Myanmar's last 
democratic election in 1990 but has never been allowed to govern.   Suu 
Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, has been held under de facto 
house arrest for more than a year, cut off from most contact with the 
outside world.   

But since last October, the military government has been holding regular 
meetings with her to discuss ending the political deadlock.   But so far 
there have been no concrete signs of progress and concern has been 
growing that the talks are deadlocked.   The ABSDF called on the 
international community to maintain pressure on Myanmar's generals.   
The military has ruled the country, which is also known as Burma, since 
taking power in a 1962 coup. 





___________________________________________________




Shan Herald Agency for News:  Thailand to create a refugee monitoring 
team 

November 1, 2001


A member of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand disclosed  
yesterday (31 October) that the appointment of a sub-commission to 
monitor  treatment of refugees is in the offing.

Jaran Ditapitchai told the refugee protection workshop held in Chiangmai 
 that the 11-member commission (6 men and 5 women) nominated by the 
Senate  and appointed by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej four months 
ago, would  set up a working group in order "to promote the rights of 
refugees" and "to  receive complaints of refugees whose human rights 
have been violated." 
"Anyone residing in Thailand whose rights are violated has the right to  
lodge a petition to the Commission," he stressed.

The Commission conducts its duties also on the principle of Suomoto ("on 
 its own"). "It's the commissioners' duty to take notice of violations 
and  act on them," he said.

The Power and Duties of the Commission specifies that in conducting  
examination of violations, "the Commission shall, if it deems mediation 
is  possible, mediate between persons or agencies involved." Its powers, 
 however, does not include becoming a law court. "Remedial measures will 
be  suggested and if they are not implemented, the Commission shall 
report to  the Prime Minister," he said. "And if the Prime Minister 
fails to take  action, the report shall be forwarded to the National 
Assembly. And in the  event that the National Assembly refuses to act on 
it, the report shall be  disseminated to the general public."

He, however, conceded that the task was not easy because 90% of Thai 
people  knew very little about refugees. "Yesterday, I was talking to 40 
teachers  and 150 students in Tak. I sketched them a picture of a man, a 
woman, a  child, an old man and an alien refugee on a boat in a 
shark-infested sea  and asked them if the boat were to unburden its load 
of passengers to make  the boat faster, who they thought would be the 
first to go. The answer from  them, without exception, was the alien 
refugee."

The reason, he pointed out, was that most people did not see other 
persons  as human beings first, but as Chinese, Burmese, Laotians, etc. 
Another obstacle was that Thailand did not have a clearcut policy on  
refugees. "To make matters worse, many government ministers don't even 
know  the NHRC exists," he quipped.

The National Human Rights Commission's president is Saneh Jamarik, a  
longtime activist and its secretary-general is Dr. Choochai Supawong, "a 
 very smart man," commented Jaran. Its office is at 422, Phayathai Road, 
 opposite Sriprathum Royal Palace, Pathumwan District, Bangkok 10330.  
Telephone & Fax: 02-2192980 - 1.

The three-day workshop, 30 October - 1 November, was organized by Reach  
Out, an NGO driven training project, designed and implemented in  
cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. It 
was  participated by personnel from UNHCR, UNICEF and Thai Red Cross; 
students  and social workers from Burma Border Consortium, Migrant 
Assistance  Program, Law Society of Thailand, International Rescue 
Committee and  Friends without Borders among others. From more 
information, please contact  <reachout@xxxxxxxx> based in Geneva, 
Switzerland.




___________EDITORIALS/OPINION/PROPAGANDA__________



Xinhua: Myanmar Media Complain Getting Least Foreign Aid 



Xinhuanet 2001-10-31 13:26:12 

YANGON, October 31 (Xinhuanet) -- The official newspaper The New Light 
of Myanmar Wednesday complained that the country received the least 
amount of foreign aid coming through the United Nations. 

The paper quoted a human development report of 2001 as saying that in 
1999, Myanmar got only 73.2 million U.S. dollars or 1.6 dollars per 
person of foreign aid coming through the organization, adding that it 
was the lowest amount obtained as compared with 11 other neighboring 
countries. 

"When all the travelling allowances and monthly salaries of the foreign 
staff and the cost for meetings are deducted, the actual  amount of aid 
received by Myanmar per person would be only 0.25 dollar," the paper 
said in an article titled "Wishing to Share Surplus Food with Others". 

The paper claimed that despite the least amount of assistance it is 
receiving, "the government is able to feed the people well" due to the 
fact, which it said, that the government can provide surplus amount of 
food for its people out of its endeavors.
 
The paper also quoted the report as saying in support of its claim that 
the percentage of the undernourished people of Myanmar accounted for 
only seven percent of its population, the lowest compared with other 
countries as shown in the figures of the report. 
The paper pointed out that the developed nations of the world, which are 
enjoying the upper hand in the global trade, should have the 
responsibility to help the developing nations, warning not to neglect 
them which are their markets. 

The paper reiterated that "the state never takes any assistance from any 
foreign nation or organization in carrying out the  endeavors, but 
relies only on the internal strength". 




______________________OTHER______________________





PD Burma: Calendar of events




&#63568; November 1st ? 16th : 282nd Session of the Governing Body, ILO 
 

&#63568; December 1st : Worlds Aids Day 
 

&#63568; December 8th : World wide celebration for the Nobel Peace Prize 
for Aung San Suu Kyi www.burmapeacecampaign.org 
 

&#63568; December 10th : 10th Year Anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize 
for Aung San Suu Kyi. 
 

&#63568; 14th January 2002 : 26th Session of CEDAW, New York. For more 
info: www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/committ 
 

&#63568; February 2002 : The fourth Bangladesh, India, Burma, Sri Lanka 
and Thailand-Economic Cooperation (BIMST- EC) meeting, Colombo 
 

&#63568; February 12th 2002 : National Union Day in Burma (Official) 
 

&#63568; March 4-15th 2002 : 46th Session of CSW, New York, : 
www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw 
 

&#63568; March 8th 2002 : International Women Day 
 

&#63568; March 13th 2002 : Burma Human Rights Day (Unofficial) 
 

&#63568; March 17-23rd 2002 : 107th Conference of the IPU, Morocco 
 

&#63568; March/April 2002 : Commission on Human Rights, Geneva 
 

&#63568; March 27th 2002 : Resistance Day in Burma 
 

&#63568; April 4-6th 2002 : The Pacific Asia Travel Association will 
hold the Seventh Mekong Tourism Forum in Rangoon, Burma 
 

&#63568; May 27th 2002 : Anniversary of the 1990 election 
 

&#63568; June 19th 2002 : Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday and Burmese 
Women's Day 
 

&#63568; July 2002 : ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) 
 

&#63568; July 2002 : ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) 
 

&#63568; August 8th 2002 : Anniversary of the 8-8-88 uprising 
 

&#63568; September 18th 2002 : Anniversary of SLORC Coup, 1988 
 

&#63568; September 22-24th 2002 : ASEM Meeting, Copenhagen 
 

&#63568; September 2002 : United Nations, General Assembly, New York 
 

&#63568; October 2002 : Inter-Parliamentary Conference 
 

&#63568; December 10th 2002 : World Human Rights Day 











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