Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 23:54:08 +0900 From: Mekong Watch <info@mekongwatch.org> Subject: [catfish 00019] DID JAPANESE ODA TO BURMA REALLY STOP AFTER THE MASSACRE ON MAY 30th, 2003? To: catfish@mekongwatch.org Message-Id: <200405271454.i4REs6fr004821@smtp3.dti.ne.jp> X-Mail-Count: 00019Mekong Watch CATFISH TALES TOPIC: DID JAPANESE ODA TO BURMA REALLY STOP AFTER THE MASSACRE ON MAY 30th, 2003? Date: 27 May 2004 DID JAPANESE ODA TO BURMA REALLY STOP AFTER THE MASSACRE ON MAY 30, 2003?: --JAPANESE AID INCREASINGLY MURKY-- On May 30th, it will be one year since the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi and the massacre of a still unknown number of her supporters near Depayin in northern Burma. After the Depayin Massacre, the Japanese government announced that "we cannot continue with economic cooperation projects as if nothing has happened." Without any progress towards a resolution of the political situation in Burma, however, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has restored ODA to Burma back to its "normal" condition since the end of last year, providing no explanation to the public. ODA AFTER THE DEPAYIN MASSACRE On 2 June 2003, the Japanese government released a very weak statement regarding the "incident" on May 30th. As governments of the US and European countries released statements condemning the violence, and media reports revealed the brutality that occurred that day, the Japanese government released a new statement on June 5 which was much stronger in tone. Three weeks after the massacre, Senior Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Yano visited Burma and demanded that the military regime immediate release Aung San Suu Kyi, allow the NLD to resume its political activities freely, and provide a believable explanation to the international community regarding the events of May 30th. At a press conference on July 7th, Vice Foreign Minister Takeuchi said that aid could not be given as if nothing had happened, if there is no movement towards the resolution of these three demands. The Japanese government has restricted aid to Burma since 1988, but has made exceptions for projects it determined to be humanitarian. Considering this, it is possible to interpret the statements made by top MOFA officials during the aftermath of May 30th to mean that even the provision of humanitarian aid itself had to be stopped. RESUMPTION OF HUMANITARIAN AID: It is true that after the Depayin Massacre, Japanese aid to Burma seemed to come to a halt. According to multiple sources, even grassroots grants (provided by the Japanese embassy to NGOs) were stopped. However, in October of last year, things began to change. We have made a list of Japanese official aid to Burma since May 30th of last year, based on information available on the Ministry of Foreign Affair's website (which is followed by more information). October 16, 2003 Grassroots Grant Assistance (to International NGO) for Water supply project in Kachin villages (5.71million yen) October 30, 2003 Grassroots Grant Assistance (to Local NGO) for Provision of Medical Equipment for Clinic in Kalay (4.87 million yen) November 4, 2003 Grassroots Grant Assistance (to International NGO) for Emergency Food Assistance Project in Kokang Special Region (1.66 million yen) November 12, 2003 Grassroots Grant Assistance (to Medical Institution) for Installation of elevator at a children's hospital in Yangon (9.27 million yen) November 26, 2003 Grassroots Grant Assistance (to Local NGO) for Construction of elementary school in Mon State (6.59 million yen) December 1, 2003 Aid through the Trust Fund for Human Security Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for Farmer Participatory Seed Multiplication in Rakhine State (1.45 million US Dollars) December 12, 2003 Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects (to Japanese NGO) for Construction of small bridge to Improve Village Access in Rakhine State (9.78 million yen) January 7, 2004 Grassroots Grant Assistance (to Local NGO) for Project to repair/remodel monastery school in Mandalay (2.61million yen) January 7 2004 Grassroots Grant Assistance (to Local NGO) for Schoolhouse repair and improvement of sanitation facilities at elementary school in Mon State (8.03 million yen) January 7, 2004 Grassroots Grant Assistance (to Local NGO) for Water Supply Project in Magwe Division (4.34million yen) January 13, 2004 Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects (to Japanese NGO) for Construction of Pier to Improve Access in Rakhine State (14.53 million yen) January 16, 2004 Bilateral Grant Aid (to Military Regime) for The Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship (159 million yen) February 6, 2004 Grassroots Grant Aid (to Local NGO) for Construction of Elementary School in Bago Division (4.17 million yen) February 6, 2004 Grassroots Grant Aid (to Local NGO) for Construction of Middle School in Sagaing Division (5.13 million yen) February 10, 2004 Grassroots Grant Aid (to Local NGO) for Construction of Elementary School in Karen State (2.42 million yen) February 18, 2004 Grassroots Grant Aid (to Local NGO) for Water Supply for an elementary school in Mandalay Division (4.24 million yen) March 1, 2004 Grant Aid (through UNICEF) for The Project for Improvement of Maternal and Child Health Care Services (Phase V) (662 million yen) March 1, 2004 Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects (to Japanese NGO) for Small Scale Bridge construction for livelihood improvement in a village in northern Rakhine State (9.93 million yen) March 15, 2004 Grassroots Grant Assistance (to Local NGO) for Construction of Middle School in Bago Division (7.72 million yen) March 15, 2004 Grassroots Grant Assistance (to Local NGO) for Construction of Elementary School in Bago Division (8.52 million yen) March 15, 2004 Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects (to Japanese NGO) for Repair of wells for household water supply in the Central Dry Zone (9.08 million yen) March 16, 2004 Grassroots Grant Assistance (to Local NGO) for Construction of Middle School in Irrawaddy Division (7.17 million yen) March 16, 2004 Grassroots Grant Assistance (to Local NGO) for Construction of Monastery School in Yangon Division (10 million yen) March 16, 2004 Grassroots Grant Assistance (to International NGO) for Repair of Primary Health Care Facility in Yangon Division (10 million yen) March 22, 2004 Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects (to Japanese NGO) for HIV/AIDS project in Coastal Region bordering Thailand (15.42 million yen) April 27, 2004 Emergency Food Aid (through World Food Program) for Emergency Food Assistance (300,000 US dollars) WHY HAS AID BEEN RESUMED? The three problems that Senior Vice Minister Yano demanded to be resolved during his visit to Burma in June last year have not been resolved. In spite of this, aid to Burma has been resumed with no explanation. Why? In response to questions raised by Mekong Watch on March 30th this year, Mr. Yamanouchi, Director of the Southeast Asia First Division, responded in the following manner. "The May 30th incident was a shock to people both in Burma and around the world, so Japan could not simply continue its aid. So we decided to put a halt on all new aid projects. However, we decided to quietly continue implementation of aid for emergencies, humanitarian problems, democratization, and economic restructuring. Other exceptions are projects for ASEAN and CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam) as a whole." The "exceptions" made here are not much different to those made prior to May 30th. If what Mr. Yamanouchi says is accurate, Japan has actually made no meaningful change in its aid policy towards Burma since the May 30th massacre. Was Vice Foreign Minister Takeuchi's explanation that "we cannot proceed with new economic cooperation as if nothing happened" simple deception? According to a MOFA official, the Japanese Government has, without any public explanation, been step by step relaxing its "de facto sanctions." The de facto sanctions were lifted for humanitarian aid in September, and in December for aid to promote democratization and projects for ASEAN and CLMV as a whole. Refer back to the chart above. Yes, grassroots grant aid was resumed in October, and in December this expanded to other schemes. Each time restrictions on aid were relaxed, there were no signs of meaningful progress regarding the three issues raised by Senior Vice Minister Yano. Putting aside the question of whether or not humanitarian assistance should be given to Burma to begin with, we would like to raise the question of transparency and accountability. THE "THREAT" OF CHINESE INFLUENCE-BEHIND AID TO BURMA There are also indications of another force influencing Japan's recent ODA to Burma-China. It has been reported that the Chinese government will assist in development of the Irrawaddy River, which flows through Burma to the Indian Ocean. In return, China expects to be allowed to use the river as a transport route for cargo. This means that China would be able to access the Indian Ocean using the Irrawaddy River, and not have to pass through the South China Sea. According to a Japanese Member of Parliament, the Japanese Government and parliamentarians in the ruling coalition parties are aware of this and are taking a very guarded position. They are in favor of providing more aid to the military regime in order to offset China's increasing influence (and physical ability to move) south. If the concern is to prevent China from more rapid access to the Indian Ocean, it would seem more effective to increase the pace towards democratization. The Japanese government, however, is using this (il)logic to justify providing aid to the military regime. Needless to say, this discussion is not taking place in the public sphere. The Japanese government's policies for aid to Burma have always been shrouded in darkness. But it is a shame that only 4 months after the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi and the massacre of her supporters, aid to Burma from Japan already began returning to its "normal condition," indeed as if nothing happened. *************************** To Subscribe and Unsubscribe to CATFISH TALES To subscribe to or to unsubscribe from CATFISH TALES, please visit the following: http://www.mekongwatch.org/english/catfish/ *************************** Contact us at: Mekong Watch 2F Maruko Bldg., 1-20-6 Higashi-Ueno Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0015 JAPAN Tel: +81 3 3832 5034 Fax: +81 3 3832 5039 E-mail: info@mekongwatch.org Website: http://www.mekongwatch.org/english/19_2.html (attatchment)(tag is disabled)