In this issue:

No Alternative to Sunshine Policy, Says South Korean President-elect

Russia, Japan To Propose Six Party Talks

Khmer Rouge Military Leader Pledges To Disclose Western Supporters

Cambodia Exerts Sovereignty Against World Bank NGO Policing Agency

Myanmar and Bangladesh Agree on Direct Road Link

Macapagal Arroyo Proposes 'Unity' Government

From Volume 2, Issue Number 1 of Electronic Intelligence Weekly, Published Jan. 6, 2003
Asia News Digest

No Alternative to Sunshine Policy, Says South Korean President-elect

South Korean President-elect Roh Moo-hyun, in his New Year's press conferences, said that he views the settlement of North Korean problems as "primarily an internal Korean issue, not primarily something for international" play. "The U.S. cannot act unilaterally, with South Korea just obeying. We must consult in advance, and Washington must respect South Korea's views," Roh said Dec. 30. "For the U.S. to announce the policy and expect South Korea follow it, is not Korean-American cooperation, and it is not the way to resolve the issue."

"There is no alternative to the Sunshine Policy and the initiative has not failed," Roh said in an interview published in the Dec. 24 Le Monde. "My views of North Korea could differ from those of the hawks in Washington because I am Korean and place more emphasis on Korea's national interests above those of the United States."

President Kim Dae-jung said Dec. 27 that South Korea should play a "leading role" in the resolution of North Korea's nuclear issues. Yim Sung-joon, Kim's national security advisor, told reporters that the U.S. has got to return to the policy of endorsing the Sunshine Policy. "Pyongyang has not yet turned on its nuclear power plant and I believe it is trying to bring Washington to the negotiating table," he said.

"Pressure and isolation have never been successful with communist countries. Cuba is an example," President Kim told the Cabinet Dec. 30. "We will work closely with our allies to solve this Korean peninsula problem, but no matter what, we cannot go to war with North Korea, and we can't go back to the Cold War system and extreme confrontation."

Seoul has began a diplomatic drive to solve conflict, President Kim announced Dec. 30; Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Tae Shik went to Beijing Jan. 2, and Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hang Kyung goes to Moscow Jan. 6 for consultations, Kim said.

On Jan. 6-7, South Korea will also send a representative to Washington for three-way talks involving the U.S., South Korea, and Japan.

Russia, Japan To Propose Six Party Talks

Japanese Premier Junichiro Koizumi travels to Moscow Jan. 10, where Russian President Vladimir Putin and he will reportedly issue a statement calling for Six Party talks on Korea ("2+4 talks"). These will involved both Koreas, China, the U.S., Russia, and Japan—six equal, sovereign nations. They see this as "a new framework to replace the collapsing 1994 Framework Accord and the failing Korean Energy Development Organization (KEDO)," according to a Nihon Keizai Shimbun report Dec. 30.

"Attempts to isolate North Korea can only lead to a new escalation in tension," Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Dec 31. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov told Interfax that nothing can be achieved through accusations, pressure, or tight demands, not to mention threats, which will only make the situation worse.

Khmer Rouge Military Leader Pledges To Disclose Western Supporters

Ta Mok, former military commander of Khmer Rouge forces in Cambodia, issued a statement through his attorney on Dec. 23, in which he promised to "shock the world" by revealing the depth of Western support for the murderous group's "Killing Fields" regime from April 1975 to January 1979, during which period an estimated 1.7 million, or roughly one in five, Cambodians were killed.

Ta Mok is one of only two Khmer Rouge leaders in custody. The other detainee is Kang Kek Ieu, or "Duch," the executioner at the Tuol Sleng high school in Phnom Penh, which was turned into a prison/torture chamber. Ta Mok's statement follows a UN General Assembly vote on Dec. 18, in which a majority of member states endorsed a resolution authorizing new talks on a trial for surviving Khmer Rouge leaders. Cambodia accepted an invitation for a new round of talks to begin in January.

In the statement released by his lawyer, Ta Mok said, "It was the Western countries that gave us the recognition and support to go ahead, and we proceeded primarily because of the help of these developed Western countries. The truth will be revealed during the trial and the world will be shocked to know the truth behind the Khmer Rouge regime."

Cambodia Exerts Sovereignty Against World Bank NGO Policing Agency

Cambodia expelled a leading green fascist Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) which had been foisted on it by the World Bank, reported Agence France Presse on Dec. 30. Global Witness, a British NGO active in "exposing" the diamond trade in Africa and in forestry issues in Cambodia, was literally forced on the Cambodian government by the World Bank in 1999 as a condition for getting any loans. Global Witness was given policing powers over the forestry industry, despite the fact that it's made up of European eco-freaks.

Since Cambodia had to clean up the forestry operations anyway, it tolerated the activities of Global Witness, but when the group denounced the government (in the international press) for using "excessive force" in breaking up a demonstration by forest dwellers this month, Prime Minister Hun Sen, after reviewing films of the police action, announced that the NGO was to be expelled, and that he would bring suit against them, taking it to the International Court of Justice if necessary. He challenged Global Witness to produce evidence of anyone hurt or killed (they claim one person died), and asserted, "This is a matter of the country's prestige."

World Bank country director Ian Porter threatened to pull Bank operations out of the forestry sector, and the NGOs are screaming in reaction to Cambodia's move.

Myanmar and Bangladesh Agree on Direct Road Link

Following two days of meetings in Bangladesh Dec. 17-18, the chairman of Myanmar's State Peace and Development Council, Senior General Than Shwe, and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia signed an agreement to establish a direct road link between Maungdaw in Rakhine State, Myanmar, and the southeastern Bangladeshi port city of Chittagong. Surveying work is due to begin in the next three months. The two also signed a memorandum of understanding on holding annual consultations at the foreign-ministerial level and an agreement on cultural cooperation.

General Than Shwe's visit is the first by a Myanmar head of state in 16 years. A meeting between Than Shwe and Bangladesh President Iajuddin Ahmed was the first heads-of-state meeting between the two neighbors in more than 14 years. The two leaders discussed Bangladesh's interest in forging closer ties with ASEAN. At a state banquet, Prime Minister Zia declared the visit would take bilateral relations and cooperation to a new level. The 52-person Myanmar delegation included Myanmar's military intelligence chief, Gen. Khin Nyunt and four Cabinet ministers, including Foreign Minister U Win Aung. The Bangladesh air force honored the delegation with a four-jet escort on arrival and departure.

Trade between the two countries is valued at about $50 million a year, largely in Myanmar's favor. The proposed direct road link has the potential to increase bilateral trade tenfold. Most trade is conducted by ferry across the Naaf River.

Macapagal Arroyo Proposes 'Unity' Government

After announcing that she will not run for reelection in 2004, Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has proposed a "unity government," to include all opposition parties, as well as representatives of the Communist and Moro Muslim insurgencies.

House Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr., who is co-chairman of Macapagal's Lakas-NUCD party, announced Jan. 2 that the President "is interested in healing the country and moving it forward.... She just wants an effective, all-embracing successful government because she will be its leader."

In an interview with the Philippines Inquirer published on Jan. 3, De Venecia said he had obtained a commitment from ousted President Joseph Estrada for "national reconciliation," and that in the next few days he would seek the consensus of political parties, religious, civil society and business leaders for a "no-politics, no-nonsense government of national unity."

De Venecia said he had asked rival political parties, the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) led by Sen. Edgardo Angara, the Nationalist People's Coalition of businessman Eduardo Cojuangco, the National Democratic Front (NDF) led by exiled Communist Party leader Jose Maria Sison, and the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), headed by Hashim Salamat, to join a "unity government" until June 30, 2004, the end of Macapagal's term of office.

De Venecia said these leaders could either join the Cabinet directly or nominate representatives, but "if they or their representatives join the Cabinet, they will have a say in the policies of the government." The terms of the unity government would be discussed at a meeting of the ruling Lakas-NUCD party on Jan. 8.

De Venecia asked former NDF lawyer Romeo Capulong to convey the message to Sison in Utrecht, adding that the draft of the final peace agreement with the NDF would be submitted for Cabinet approval Jan. 3. As for the MILF, de Venecia said: "You sign the peace agreements and you immediately end 35 years of fighting. With this single stroke, you bring peace and order to the entire country."

De Venecia concluded that "critical collaboration" exists in the Senate for the proposal.

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