~ r l d Events News Digest for February 1992

lt on Reconciliation, Military appointments Moslem rebels detained in Arakan by the govern- 0-0peration between The SLORC announced the appointment on ment had died S.LXVation Or suffocation in

preceding week, while 75 others were reported and the Joint Decla- Feb. 7 of Commander Than Nyunt as C.-in-C. mi,ing after Myanman lroops fired on boats of ization of the Korean of the Navy and of Maj.-Gen. Thein Win as refugees. A report issued on ~ ~ b . 9 by the N~~ ; into effect the terms c.-in-c. of the Air Force. h had been reached in

York-based organization Lawyers Committed for

desin~ecember 1991 Military offensives against rebels - Human Rights said that inside Myanma thousands Continued border tension with remained detained for long periods under poor Bangladesh and Thailand conditions, with some prisoners being tortured.

nuclear accords, ratified Throughout February the my continued its .Last article p. 38725; reference article pp. 38628-29.

g by President Roh Tae ~i~ 11 sung of the offensive against rebel forces in the south and

a presidential summit in west of the country [see also P. 387251. Aspart CAM BO DIA mg, however, voiced sus- of Operation Dragon King along the Thai uclear programme, point- border, 7,000 troops advanced to within 10 Approval of U NTAC r had not yet ratified the km of the town of Manerplaw, headquarters mission lentwhichithadsignedat of the Karen National Union (KNU), of exiled Energy (IAEA) students and of the "National Coalition Gov- The UN Security Council on Feb. 28 passed allowingfor international ernment of the Union of Burma", a parallel Resolution 745 authorizing the dispatch "as facilities. He warned that would not progress administration established by opposition par- soon as possible" of a 22,000-member peace-

this issue. ties in December 1990 [see pp. 37915-161. keeping force to Cambodia to establish the Despite being by three or four to one UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia

:Radio Service reported nment representative at the KNU claimed that it had inflicted heavy casual- (UNTAC-see p. 385

ht N o h Korea would ties. According tothe KNU in Januarythearmy lost At a cost of at least $1,900 million, the implemen- 128 dead and 500 wounded, while the KNU lost 20 tation of UNTAC would be the largest and most ition immediately after dead and more than 75 wounded. About 10,000 costly operation in the UN's history. Under the ;A accord which would civilians from Manerplaw and the surrounding vil- 15-month plan recommended by UN Secretary-

months. lages were reported to have fled to temporary refu- General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, 15,900 military ingron post of ~ ~ b . i3, the gee camps in Thailand. Aspart of thecampaign the personnel. 3.600 civilian police officers and 2,400

hat ~ J ~ A K~~~ was army attacked KNU strongholds along the border civilians were to be sent to Cambodia to monitor having nuclear weapons south of Manerplaw, capturing camps at Yegyaw the ceasefire, to disarm the combatants of all four

gence had estimated that (on Feb. 4) and Azin, overrunning an outpost of the Cambodian factions and supervise the cantonment nuclear weapom5 ready by KNU base at Kawmoora and attacking KNU posi- of the remaining armies, to take over the running

taking action to hide the tions in the Tenasserirn region. of key ministries and police forces, and to organize ats from possible intema- Many of these bases were particularly vulnerable elections in April 1993.

to attack from the Thai side of the border and on a UNTAC would only be successful, Boutros-Ghali ,uth K~~~~~ government number of occasions Myanman troops were re- stressed, if it had adequate human and financial-

ported to have crossed into Thailand. This led to a resources. There were widely held concerns over authorization granted deterioration in relations with the Thai army. Dur- the funding of the mission, the dispatch of which nerate to become the first ing the attack on Yegyaw Thai aircraft fired warn- had been delayed since November 1991 when the ) to invest * the ing shots at a Myanman unit of 100 men which had leaders of three of the four factions returned to ended. The group's chair- crossed into Thailand before attacking the KNU Phnom Penh, the capital. UNTAC's newly ap- North in January. camp. On Feb. 10 a Thai military commander an- pointed co-ordinator, Yasushi Akashi, had ad- M), reference articles pp. 37280- nounced that Myanman troops had beenorderedto mitted that UNTAC was "in competition with

halt the construction of a bridge across the Moei Yugoslavia" for resources, while observers had River near the Thai border town of Mae Sot. Thai termed the UNTAC budget unrealistic, according officials feared that the bridge would be used by to the Far Eastern Economic Review of March 5. Myanman troops to enter Thailand to attack rebel Attack on UN helicopter camps just inside Myanma.

:ampaign A senior Australian UN officer was wounded The government also continued its offensive when a helicopter of the UN advance mission ; i t i o n against Moslem Rohingya rebels in Arakan i, Cambodia was hit by gunfire on Feb. 26 province [see p. 387251 and the of while flying over Khmer Rouge-controlled junta, the State Law and civilians crossing into Bangladesh continued kmitory in K~~~~~ ~h~~ province. ne :ouncil (SLORC), placed to grow. The Office of the UN High Cornmis- ~h~~~~ R~~~~~ issued a denial of responsi- ~ctions on the National sioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced on bility for the attack, blaming the phnom penh acy (NLD) and other op- Feb. 2 1 that it was allocating in government for staging the incident. ng early 1992. emergency funds for the refugees, which it

estimated now totalled at least 100,000 and Visit Of Chinese ce with the re~~mmendation were crossing the border at the of 1,000 a Foreign Minister mocratic General Elections ion of Myanma, the SLORC day. The Chinese Foreign Minister, Qian Qichen, ~f 17 political parties, on the The Bangladesh government said on Feb. 24 that Penh On Feb. '.'-I2. The first failed to provide the Com- tho-nd. were on the verge of starvation because visit by a senior C h i n a official in Over 13 ~f their party structures and relief efforts were inadequate. On the same day the years, and designed to signal China's support I were abolished on Feb. 13, UN World ~ o o d Programme announced that it was for the Cambodian peace process, it had been :eb. 27. An NLD member of granting $1,900,000in emergency supplies to Ban- postponed twice in December due to w e s t in wasdisqualifiedonFeb. 19. gladesh. The SLORC continued to accuse the Phnom Penh [seep. 386801. egisfration of 17 parties in foreign media of carrying "exaggerated and fabri- Qian told Prince Norodom Sihanouk head of state llalification of 15 People's cared" reports about the situation in Arakan and the and Chairman of the Supreme National Council, ves from the NLD. refugees crossing into Bangladesh. that China would "at all times" back the implemen- 'ormer chair of the NLD, The Associated Press news agency on Feb. 9 re- tation of the peace accord. He also emphasized seven years on Feb. 21. ported Bangladesh sources as claiming that 200 China's position on equal treatment of all four

38767

News Digest for March 1992 I jn) was HONG KONG govenunent spending should be kept within the

limits of the revenue it raised. The Far Eastern Economic Review of March 19 said that Lu's com-

elegates Appointment of advisers - ~pproxi- ment was based on "the mistaken belief' that tax he Sin0-British negotiations increases imposed by Macleod had been necessary ,,lo finl to avoid a deficit. wa-urj. :ongress Appointment by China of advisory Significantly, Macleod announced during his foreign pane' speech that the govenunent planned to ensure that

The Chinese government formally appointed Hong Kong's fiscal reserves would stand at

reported 44 advisers on affairs in Hang Kong at a HK$71,600 million by March 1997 (Hang Kong

to the ceremony in ~ ~ i j i ~ ~ on ~~~h 1. ~h~ cere- was to revert to Chinese sovereignty in July 1997). Although this figure was less than the current level ' demo- many was attended by Premier Li Peng, Presi- of HK$9 1,000 million, it was almost three times the

the dent Yang Shangkunand Chinese Communist amount promised to China by the UK in the 1991 le of the Party general secretary Jiang Zemin. memorandum of understanding, which was the sm and ."., The role of the advisers was to "facilitate mutual condition for Chinese approval for Hang Kong's '51.

1 Dash- ber cen-

March : Party ~t party ave the ow rate

.ted on al Pro- 'arty of a "with y at the

[inister, ,n com- Dn. An very of

bngo~ian k l Russia In agree- is would 2 [see p.

bn Feb. br to the bcussed

k;:: kt Ger-

ing an ngolia

understandingn between China and Hong Kong and to reflect the views of the people of Hong Kong. The Far Eastern Economic Review of March 26 reported that there were fears in Hong Kong that the advisers would constitute a second, unelected power-base in the colony. The report also stated that the narrowness of representation among the advisers had served to highlight Hong Kong's mis- givings. The majority of the advisers were "long- t ime pro-Peking f igures and confirmed establishment types". There was no representation for either of the two dominant political groups in the Hong Kong Legislative Council (Legco)-the liberal United Democrats of Hong Kong and the conservative Co-operative Resource Centre- whereas the pro-Chinese New Hong Kong Alliance and Liberal Democratic Federation, both of which had performed badly in the 1991 Legco elections. enjoyed significant representation.

Sino-British discussions

Qian Qichen, the Chinese Foreign Minister, held talks in London on March 9 with John

new airport L a s t article pp. 38765-66; referencearticle pp. 38612-13.

MYANMA Military offensive against Karen rebels - Rohingya refugees issue

The government offensive against Karen re- bels based along the Thai border escalated during March. The fighting, which often spilled into Thai territory, increased tension between the military authorities in Myanma and Thailand. According to some commenta- tors the Myanman military had set out to capture the Karens' last two bases on the Thai border (Manerplaw and Kawmoora) by March 27, the country's Armed Forces Day. However. as of late March both bases were

Maior. the United Kingdom Prime Minister. still believed to be under rebel control. rn a n d ~ o u ~ l a s Hurd, the Foreign and common: wealth Secretary. Reporting on the talks the Financial Times of March 10 stated that the UK had failed to persuade China to "speed the work" of the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group (JLG), which dealt with problems arising from the 1997 transfer. The JLG held its 22nd meeting on March 24-26. Topics discussed included the Hong Kong govern- ment's plan to privatize Radio Television Hong Kong, a move opposed by Clina [see p. 387651. The group also discussed the future of military facilities in the colony.

1992-93 budget

On March 4 Hamish Macleod, the Hong Kong Financial Secretary, unveiled the budget for the fiscal year beginning April 1, 1992. Ma- cleod forecast a surplus of HK$5,000 million with revenue of HK$126,200 million set against expenditure of HK$12 1,200 million (US$1.00=HK$7.7461 as at March 30,1992). The key features of the budget were a rise in the corporate tax rate (by 1 per cent to 17.5 per cent) and the closing of a number of tax loopholes. Macleod was attacked by both liberals and conser- vatives in the Legco for failing to provide sufficient tax concessions to middle income earners.

On March 14 government forces captured the strategic Sleeping Dog Hill near Manerplaw, and then advised Thai forces to retreat from the area or face air and artillery attack. Thailand responded by placing air force units on alert and by reinforcing troop numbers along the border. On March 17 Thai and Myanrnan forces fought a fierce gun battle following Myanrnan incursions. The next day Thai fighter-bombers attacked Myanman positions on the Thai side of the border, killing at least five soldiers. The attack came only a few hours after the Thai Interior Minister, Gen. Issarapong Noon- pakdi, had issued a "last warning" to the Myanman militarv to withdraw all its t r o o ~ s from the Thai side oithe border. Reports on arch 19 suggested that at least 30 Myaiunan troops had been killed in the Thai offensive.

Rohingya refugees issue

Large numbers of Moslem Rohingya refugees from Arakan state in Myanma continued to cross over into Bangladesh during March to escape persecution and the effects of a mili- tary offensive against rebel forces in the state. By mid-March as many as 2 10,000 were liv- ing in makeshift camps in Bangladesh and the numbers entering were increasing daily amid reports of mass killings, forced conscriptions and torture in Arakan province. Talks be-

Theb~~dgetwasalsocriticized by L ~ I P i n o head tween Bang1adesh dur ing lia. of China's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, January and February had yielded few results

who claimed that i t was in contravention of Hong and SO in March the Bangladesh govemment Kong's oost-1997 Basic Law, wllichstiptrlated that launched a diplomatic offensive in an attempt

Visit by singapora's Foreign Minister

Formation of National Convention Onoct. 1

commission W) d a without p The ruling junta, the State Law and Order and that

a l l in the fields of iuhtmcture, finance and economic management".

Visit to Europe by Vicepremier

In late October Vice-Premier Pham Van

--A scandale -4 admitted

The Far Eastern

Air Marshal Sibun, Chief of Staff of donesian Air Force, announced on Oct.

~cil of ssem- ening of the :lect a :nerd

mclud- es and

:ording I he re- tst. The om de- t as "a

I Kabul letween Kister 'amr or s. Hek- mching lst Ma- out be- tiamen nasud's er bom- defence ighting, tension

kistani o darn- e n the 38726;

cording ?akistan nuclear )85 law nic and on the pons )92 that ons [see ision by

semble one nuclear device [see pp. 38762631. A Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman on Dec. 2 denied the latest allegations, stressing that "F'akistan's nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes", but added that "in the evolution of this progmmme Pakis- tan has acquired some technical capabilities". On Dec. 9 Pakistan also denied reports, backed by US intelligence officials, that it had recently acquired some two dozen Chinese M-11 guided missiles, in possible violation of the Missile Control Technology Regime (MTCR). Reports of the sale were described by Chinese officials as "groundless". In October Pakistan had confirmed the purchase of 40 Chinese fighter aircraft [see p. 391461. Visit by Sharif to Japan

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held talks on nu- clear non-proliferation in south Asia with his Japanese counterpart Kiichi Miyazawa and other senior ministers during a visit to Japan on Dec. 16-19. Pakistani officials denied reports that these talks had been prompted by Japan's recent policy of linking development assistance to nuclear and anns-related issues. Pakistan was to receive Japanese aid worth an estimated 55,000 million yen (about US$445 million) for five projects during the fml year 1992-93. IMF emergency assistance

The International Monetary Fund on Nov. 25 approved emergency assistance equivalent to SDR 189,550,000 (about US$262,000,000) to help Pakistan meet its immediate foreign ex- change requirements in the wake of floods which had caused widespread destruction during Sep- tember [see p. 390981. L a s t artkk p. 39193; reference artiile p. R78-79.

MYANMA Settlement of border dispute with Thailand A border dispute with Thailand which at times threatened to intensify into full-scale fighting was settled in December following intervention by the Thai monarch, King Bhumibol 'Adulyadej. Myanman troops had occupied the disputed Hill 491 along the Myanma-Thai border since clearing Karen rebels from the area in early 1992. By November the Thai government was under heavy pressure from the opposition and the military to use the anny to clear the hill. On Dec. 4 King Bhumibol made a highly unusual intervention and called on the two sides to settle the affair peacefully. Within a few days military delega- tions from Myanrna and Thailand had met and Myan- man troops were withdrawn by Dee. 25. Visit by UN delegation and critical UN resolution - Reports of hunger strike by opposition leader

Yozo Yokota, a UN Human Rights Commission representative, visited Myanma in early Decem- ber, holding meetings with various ministers and visiting prisons and refugee camps. During Yokota's visit the UN General Assembly's committee on social, humanitarian and cultural issues unanimously approved a resolution condemning My- anma's ruling military junta, the State Law and Order

parliament [for victory of opposition National Leam2- for Democracy in May 1990 general election see pp. 37457-58: 366121. The resolution also called for the lmconditibnal r e l k of omit ion leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been under house arrest since 1989.

Reports in early December which claimed that Suu Kyi had started a hunger strike to protest over her continued detention were denied by the Myanman authorities. Last article p. 39145; reference article pp. R76-77.

General election A general election to a newly created 85-mem- ber National Assembly, whose creation was laid down in the Constitution promulgated in mid- 1991, was held on Dec. 20. All 154 candidates were approved by the Lao Front for National Construction, the "mass organization" domi- nated by the ruling Lao People's Revolutionary Party. The final election results had not been compiled by the end of December because many ballots had to be brought in from remote villages. L a s t article D. 39195: reference artkk DD. R72-73.

Seizure of UN troops by Khmers Rouges

-

The seizure of six UN personnel by the Khmers Rouges on Dec. 1, and similar incidents later in the month, highlighted the dramatic deteriora- tion in relationsbetween theguemlla faction and the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia W A C ) . The six soldiers seized in the central Cambodian pmv- ince of Kompong Thom on Dec. 1 (and eventually released on Dec. 4) had been monitoring troop move- ments from a boat on the Stung Sen river. The Khmers Rouges accused them of spying "in order to help the Vietnamese and Phnom Penh forces". A UN helicop ter attempting a reconnaissance mission to the area where the troops were seized was hit by Khmer Rouge gunfii onDec. 2. The Khmers Rouges seized a further 21 UNTAC per- sonnel in Kompong Thom province on Dec. 15-16, holding them until Dee. 17. A further 46 UN soldiers, all Indonesian, were detained in the same area on Dec. 17-18. Another 11 UN personnel were released on Dee. 20 after being held captive for two days (and h t e n e d with execution, according to a UN spokes- man) by Khmer Rouge guenillas in the eastern pm vince of Kratie. Khmer Rouge attack on ethni Vietnamese

Khmer Rouge guerrillas attacked a ..,.,,,, .il- lage in the central province of Kompong Chhnang on Dec. 27, killing at least 13 ethnic Vietnamese and twoCambodians. Theguerrillas reportedly singled out Vietnamese settlers for summary execution.

Last article pp. 39195-%; reference artkle pp. R61-62.

.-

National Assembly session I The ninth National Assembly's second session was held in Hanoi on Dec. 9-23 [seep. 39007 for , election of ninth Assembly in July 19921. In his opening address to the Assembly on Dec. 9 F'rernier Vo Van Kiet gave details of the performance of the economy in 1992. Despite the cut-off inaid from the former Soviet Union and the continuing US econ- omic embargo, the economy had performed well, he said. Gross national product (GNP) had risen by 5.3 per cent, compared with a 2.4 per cent rise in 1991. Industrial output increased by 15 per cent and agricul- tural output by 4.4 per cent. Inflation fell to an an- nualized figure of 15 per cent, cornoared with about 70 per anpin 1991. state revenues ines& by 82 per cent, largely as a result of more efficient tax collection. On Dec. 23 the Assembly approved a number of amendments to foreign investment legislation in order to attract more foreign companies. The amendments included an increase in the maximum duration of joint ventures from 20 to 70 years and authorization of the opening of overseas bank accounts by joint venture companies; in addition tax concessions already pro- vided to joint ventures were extended to selected wholly foreign4wned investment projects. Visit by Chinese Premier

Li Peng, the Chinese Premier, visited Vietnam on Nov. 30-Dec. 4; the visit was the first by a Chinese Premier in 2 1 years. Vietnam and China had normalized diplomatic relations in Novem- ber 1991 [see p. 385741. Vietnam and China signed agreements during Li's visit, guaIanteeing foreign investment in each other's countries and encouraging economic, cultural and scientific cooperation. China also agreed to provide Vietnam with an interest-free loan equivalent to US$l4,000,000. Despite the signing of the four agreements, a report in the Dec. 17 edition of the Far Eastern Economic Review said that the two sides had failed to resolve territorial disputes which had strained relations since normalization [see pp. 39094; 391441. The article said that Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam had been "bluntn in detailing his counhy's views about the disputes. Easing of US trade curbs

On Dec. 14 US President George Bush auth- orized US companies to open offices, conduct feasibility studies and sign contracts in Vietnam. Bush refused, however, to lift outright the US trade embargo against Vietnam. Any contracts signed by US companies in Vietnam wuld only be executed should the embargo, put in place 17 years previously, be lifted. Diplomatic relations with South Korea

Vietnam and South Korea restored diplomatic relations on Dec. 22 during a visit to Vietnam by the South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Lee Sang Ock [for establishment of South Korean liaison of ice in Hanoi in October seep. 391441. Rela€ions had been severed in 1 Y c -"-- North Vietnam defeated the South 1 backed South Vietnamese regime. North Korea responded to the announcemen celling a scheduled visit to Pyongyang by V I ~ ~ ~ I I I s National Defence Minister Gen. Doan Khue. Last article p. 391%; reference article pp. R85-86.

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