Burma Update
News and updates on Burma28 March 2008
[ReadingRoom] News on Burma - 28/3/08
- Activists Stage Protest against Constitution
- Burma, land where people wear the tattered shreds of the Saffron Revolution
- Human rights abuses at heart of Burma's ills
- Junta steps up screening of visa applicants
- Govt okays Rs. 535 cr Myanmar project to help North East
- Are Burma's generals really looking at Indonesia model?
- India wooing Myanmar junta despite being hoodwinked
- Monks denounce referendum call
- Time's up, Gambari!
- Pro-junta militia forces people to relocate
- Daughter raped, mother beaten, villagers robbed
Activists Stage Protest against Constitution - Min Lwin
Irrawaddy: Thu 27 Mar 2008
A group of activists staged a rare protest in front of the Rangoon headquarters of the National League for Democracy (NLD) on Thursday, calling on Burmese citizens to vote against a proposed constitution which will give sweeping powers to the country's armed forces.
A member of the NLD said that more than 30 protesters wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the word "No" gathered at the party's headquarters as hundreds of others came to attend a ceremony marking Burma's Armed Forces Day.
Protesters in front of the National League for Democracy headquarters in Rangoon.
According to the NLD member, some the protesters wore prison uniforms and shackles, while others held the flags of the United Nations and the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League, Burma's main political party prior to the military takeover in 1962.
"They shouted slogans against the junta's constitution and called on people to vote 'no' at the polling stations," the NLD member told The Irrawaddy on Thursday, adding that some members of the party joined in the protest.
The rare show of defiance lasted just 30 minutes and attracted the attention of security forces stationed around the NLD's headquarters, who photographed the protesters.
According to witnesses, the demonstrators also distributed pamphlets calling on voters to go to the polls and vote against the constitution. Under a new law enacted in February, it is illegal to publicly criticize the referendum or the constitution. Violations are punishable by fines and three-year prison sentences.
Meanwhile, sources said that a signboard with the words, "Never Deceive the Nation," appeared today in front of the home of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
"The signboard has the words and a portrait of [Burmese independence hero and father of Aung San Suu Kyi] Aung San, painted by Suu Kyi," said a member of the NLD.
Burma, land where people wear the tattered shreds of the Saffron Revolution - Kenneth Denby
The Times UK: Thu 27 Mar 2008
He wore the traditional Burmese man's skirt, spoke with an out-of-town accent and, right up until the moment of horror, there was no suggestion that the young man was anything out of the ordinary. It was Friday evening and thousands of people were praying at the Shwedagon Pagoda, the golden monument that towers above Rangoon. Before the plain-clothes police could react, the young man whipped out a placard denouncing the junta and placed it round his neck. Then he produced a bottle of petrol, shook it over his clothes and set himself alight.
"He was still standing and he was trying to shout something but I couldn't hear it," a young Buddhist monk who witnessed the immolation said. "He was trying to speak but the flames were round his face. And then the police jumped on him."
Six months ago tens of thousands of monks and students demonstrated in the streets of Rangoon, demanding freedom from the brutal junta of General Than Shwe after 45 years of military rule.
But the marchers were beaten and arrested, the monasteries were raided and, six months later, the stirring spectacle of the "Saffron Revolution" has been reduced to this - the agonising suffering of a nameless man. He is reported to be in hospital but with 70 per cent burns his prospects for survival are poor.
It was hard to imagine a Burma worse off than it was in September 2007 but it has come about because all of the frustrations that drove the demonstrators on to the streets last year have redoubled. Food and transport prices are higher than ever, political oppression is greater and the violent treatment of the country's revered monks has increased popular contempt for the regime.
But, for all their bravery, opposition activists in Burma are in disarray. Their figurehead and icon, Aung San Suu Kyi, who was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, has spent 12 years under house arrest and, after the crackdown in September, the remaining senior leaders have nearly all been arrested.
Those who remain at large are in hiding, their networks broken or in the hands of young and inexperienced activists. And having been physically crushed they face the danger of being politically outflanked after a remarkable move by Than Shwe's government - in February it announced a national referendum will be held on a new constitution, to be followed by a general election in 2010.
The constitution, which has not been published in full, is based on the 14-year-long deliberations of an assembly of handpicked members, which contained no representatives of Ms Suu Kyi or members of her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).
It is expected that it will guarantee 25 per cent of parliamentary seats to the military and to disbar Ms Suu Kyi from politics on the basis that she was married to a foreigner - Michael Aris, the late, British academic.
Western diplomats and members of the opposition assume that the Government will manipulate the result of the May referendum to ensure a yes vote. But for the opposition the vote has shifted attention from the blatant iniquities of the regime to the question of how to campaign.
A "vote no" campaign seems to be the emerging choice but some members of the opposition argue that rejecting the constitution will remove the only hope of a transition to some form of democracy in Burma, however imperfect.
A boycott campaign would be risky - Burmese law makes an offence, punishable by years in prison, of any criticism of the referendum.
The NLD has yet to announce its official position - either by necessity, because it is divided internally, or deliberately, so that the eventual call for a no vote will have all the more impact for being close to the date of the referendum. Meanwhile the activists who remain at liberty do what they can to prepare in a country where any criticism of the government can lead to jail.
Anti-junta manifestos and vote no posters are circulated by e-mail and occasionally posted in university campuses, before being torn down hastily by the authorities. Activists distribute T-shirts bearing "NO!" in huge letters, with the word "smoking" tucked unobtrusively at the bottom - thus disguising a political slogan as a public health message.
Perhaps the most unexpected piece of political contraband is the latest instalment in the Rambo series, a film of predictable brutality, in which the eponymous hero righteously mows down his enemies. The difference is that in this case the film has a South-East Asian setting and the enemies of Rambo are the Burmese Army.
The film has become an underground hit and the authorities have responded with a predictable lack of humour: three weeks ago Ko Thant Zin and Ko Tun Tun, two young men, were arrested and locked up for a uniquely Burmese offence - watching a Sylvester Stallone film.
A zoo has been opened in Naypyitaw, the remote, administrative capital of Burma, by the junta who hope it will attract tourists. The attraction includes animals taken from zoos in Rangoon and Mandalay. Civil servants, who are required to live in Naypyitaw, had complained that there was nothing to do in the city.
Diary of a protest
- As many as a hundred thousand ordinary Burmese people and Buddhist monks took to the streets last year to demand democratic reform and protest against the country's violent military regime
- The confrontation developed from a small-scale protest against a doubling of state-controlled fuel prices announced on August 15, 2007
- Police attacked monks who joined the protesters
- Outraged by the violence, thousands more monks from monasteries across the country marched to demand an apology
- As the protests grew, pro-democracy activists and ordinary citizens joined them in their tens of thousands
- After a period of indecision, the regime cracked down with military force on September 25. Troops entered the cities of Rangoon and Mandalay, firing live ammunition and teargas
- One Japanese journalist and an unknown number of Burmese were killed
- Many witnesses reported seeing soldiers indiscriminately firing volleys into crowds and bloodied bodies dragged from Buddhist temples
Sources: Federation of American Scientists; Free Burma Campaign
Human rights abuses at heart of Burma's ills
Mizzima News: Thu 27 Mar 2008
The British government has concluded that the rabid abuse of human rights by Burma's military government is the principle reason for the country's myriad of problems.
In its annual report on the global human rights situation, the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) states, "The Burmese regime's persistent violations of human rights not least the denial to its citizens of the right to take part in the government of their own country - is at the heart of Burma's political, economic and social problems."
Calling for the Burmese government to respect the freedom of media, trade unions and the judiciary, the FCO cautions that despite modest progress in some areas, including a working arrangement with the International Labor Organization, Burma remains a country in the grips of corruption, patronage, impunity and a failing economy.
With more than 30 percent of the Burmese population believed to live on less than one dollar a day, the FCO warns that "without serious progress on political and economic reform, leading to a transparent, accountable and inclusive government that respects human rights, the situation in Burma will continue to deteriorate."
Speaking at the tome's official launching Tuesday in London, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband remarked that the regime's heavy-handed response to last years peaceful protests "frustrated the demands of millions of decent people in Burma."
Though admitting that the military has an important role to play within Burmese society, the FCO emphatically states that its role cannot be one of military dictatorship.
The FCO asserts that the British Embassy in Rangoon played a crucial part during last year's Saffron Revolution, "immediately" responding to the crisis and playing "a leading role in bringing details of the human rights abuses to the attention of the world."
From its outpost in Rangoon, the British Embassy is said to actively monitor the human rights situation in Burma and serve as a conduit for European Union initiatives aimed at protecting human rights defenders.
Looking forward, the United Kingdom will continue to support the mission of the UN Special Envoy to Burma and insist that Burma's generals work with the United Nations and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The report also alleges that, "It is widely recognized, including by countries in the region, that the regime's ongoing denial of the real situation in Burma is both unacceptable and unsustainable." However Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, following a visit this month to Naypyitaw, Burma's capital, severely downplayed the dire condition of human rights and democracy in Burma.
Having already approved through the Department for International Development a doubling in aid assistance to Burma by 2010, to approximately $36 million, the FCO maintains that the British government stands ready to assist with even greater financial aid if there should occur "genuine political change."
Junta steps up screening of visa applicants
Mizzima News: Thu 27 Mar 2008
With May's constitutional referendum fast approaching, the Burmese government is apparently tightening control over the issuance of tourist visas to the country.
A vast majority of tourists to Burma enter via flight from Thailand, having secured a Burmese tourist visa from one of Bangkok's multitude of travel agencies. But the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok is now rejecting some passports unless the owner of the passport appears in person at the embassy.
Specifically targeted by Burmese authorities are reportedly citizens of the United States, United Kingdom and Japan.
According to a Chiang Mai-based travel agent, Burmese Embassy staff are now requesting to speak in person with those wishing to enter the country, requiring additional verification as to the identity of some applicants as well as further details of the applicant's profession.
Asked whether it was now mandatory for persons from the U.S., U.K. and Japan to apply in person at the Embassy, a Bangkok travel agency confirmed that it was increasingly becoming the case. "We can still try to obtain the visa for them, but we cannot promise anything," stated an employee of Olavi Tours.
Remarking that the new obstacles for hopeful travelers to Burma are a relatively new phenomenon, the agents expressed their belief that the restrictions will be lifted in some four to five months.
Though the exact impetus for the actions of the Consular Services section of the Embassy are not known for sure, the steps are assumed to be related to the junta's desire to keep foreign reporters and journalists out of the country ahead of and during May's scheduled constitutional referendum.
The junta accused foreigners of entering the country under the guise of tourism to report on and cover last year's Saffron Revolution, which culminated in the deaths of dozens of protesters at the hands of security forces.
Kenji Nagai, the Japanese journalist shot dead at point blank range on September 27, had entered the country on a tourist visa.
The loosening of visa restrictions in five months time, if proven correct, would coincide with the start of high season for tourism in the Southeast Asian country, an industry that was devastated by events in the latter months of last year and has yet to fully recover.
Burmese Embassy staff in Bangkok were unavailable for comment.
Govt okays Rs. 535 cr Myanmar project to help North East
The Hindu: Thu 27 Mar 2008
The government on Thursday approved a Rs 535.91 crore multi-modal transit transport project in Myanmar, which India will use for improving access to the North-Eastern states.
The Union Cabinet sanctioned the funds under the 'Aid to Myanmar' project for the upgradation of Sittwe Port and Kaladan Waterway. The money will also be used for construction of a road from Setpyitpyin (Kaletwa) to the India-Myanmar border.
"The project will provide an access to Mizoram and to other North-Eastern states as well as an outlet to the sea," an official spokesperson told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.
The project, to be executed by the Inland Waterways Authority of India, also involves construction and improvement of 117 km road on the Indian side from India-Myanmar border.
The government approved signing of the Framework Agreement and Protocol on Facilitation of Transit Transport and Protocol on Maintenance and Administration to facilitate the project.
Are Burma's generals really looking at Indonesia model? - Wai Moe
Irrawaddy: Thu 27 Mar 2008
The UN special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, recently told Singapore's Straits Times that the military rulers in Burma were looking to the 'Indonesia model' for the transition to democratic rule.
He said in an interview with the newspaper, "I can reveal to you that the [Burmese] junta has been looking for a model closer to Indonesia where there was a transition from military to civilian rule and ultimately to democracy."
However, according to an analyst, although the Burmese regime certainly wants to learn former President Suharto's tactic of prolonging his grip on power, the top generals in Naypyidaw don't want to put well-educated military officers who have studied abroad in important positions within the Tatmadaw (Burma's armed forces).
"You know, during Suharto's rule, well-educated military officers were in significant positions," said a Burmese researcher in Bangkok. "Western-educated military officers became actors for reform in Indonesia. But in the Tatmadaw, well-educated officers cannot attain top positions.
"Most of the generals in the ruling military council originated in the DSA (the Defense Service Academy)," he added. "People like Col Thaung Htike, a Western-educated military officer, never became top generals in the Tatmadaw. They retired with ranks no higher than colonel or lieutenant colonel."
The military regime in Burma has previously imitated policies of the Suharto regime - forming a military-backed organization, the Union Solidarity and Development Organization (USDA) to legitimize military rule. The USDA is modeled on Suharto's Golongkan Karya (Golkar Party).
However, Burma observers say the junta draws the line at copying the Indonesian commitment toward democratic reform in the late 1990s.
"The Burmese junta had planned to follow the Indonesian model under Suharto for years to come," said Htay Aung, a Burmese military analyst with the Network for Democracy and Development. "But I don't see the top generals in Naypyidaw contributing toward democratization in Burma the same way the Indonesian generals did 10 years ago.
"The Burmese generals might copy Indonesia, but they only think about prolonging military rule," he added.
The Indonesian military junta's founder, Gen Suharto, came to power in the wake of an abortive coup in 1965. He imposed authoritarian rule while allowing technocrats to run the economy with considerable success.
"Gambari should be clear what kind of 'Indonesia model' he is talking about. The model in the Burmese generals' mind is Suharto's one. But even Suharto, he liberalized his country," said Aung Moe Zaw, a secretarial member of the National Council of Union of Burma. "As the UN special envoy, Gambari should be principled. Advocating the Burmese junta is unprincipled."
Thakin Chan Tun, a veteran politician in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy on Thursday, "I don't understand what Gambari's talking about. I don't see the Burmese junta working toward a democratic transition as the Indonesian generals did."
Some also suggest Gambari should understand the "big picture" in Burma, without looking to Indonesia for a model that leads "ultimately to democracy."
Burma analyst Aung Naing Oo said that, under Suharto's rule, Indonesia's newspapers had more room than the current Burmese press.
"If the junta really imitated Suharto's model in Indonesia, it would be better than the current situation in Burma," he added. "But I see no evidence that the Burmese generals are following what Gambari's saying."
India wooing Myanmar junta despite being hoodwinked - Shyamal Sarkar
Merinews: Thu 27 Mar 2008
India has been wooing the wily generals of the Myanmar military junta on many fronts, from supply of armaments on territorial compulsions to making investments for the sake of its economic and energy needs. But is the junta reciprocating honestly?
INDIA AND Myanmar are playing footsie and on many counts the larger neigbour is being taken for a ride. India, which has been cosying up to military ruled Myanmar for a number of years, now has been supplying military hardware to the junta. Among the armaments supplied is also an Islander aircraft that India passed on to the regime despite strong objections from the UK that supplied the aircrafts to India in the first place.
India's idea behind arming the junta was to seek in return the flushing out of Indian insurgents from the northeast hold up in Myanmar from where they launch guerilla operations on the Indian armed forces. This is apart from the bilateral trade ties that the two countries have.
Myanmar on its part seems to be playing a dubious game. Over a year ago it went through the motions of attacking an Indian insurgent camp on its soil but nothing much was heard about it afterwards. Myanmar shelters rebels from Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and other splinter groups in the northeast. There have been reports earlier that Indian insurgents based in Myanmar stay comfortably and have business interests in the country. Both the shelter and the business ventures have the patronage and the blessings of the Tatmadaw (the Myanmar military) yet India continued to supply armaments till the other day on the belief and conviction that these would be used against the Indian rebels. No such thing is happening.
Recent accounts in the Myanmar media in exile suggests that an Indian insurgent group from Manipur state in northeast India has set up an elaborate establishment in Maungdaw Town near the Bangladesh border and is into lucrative business ventures. The group was said to have set up an office in Myoma Ka Nyin Tan (Sidar Para) village in Maungdaw Township last year. It has been based in the neigbouring country since 2002.
The office is reported to be well equipped with computers cellular telephones and the works. The Manipuri rebels use the Internet to keep in touch with the outside world and are in constant touch with Myanmar military officers. The Myanmar army was said to have gone to the extent of building houses for them and Nasaka, Myanmar's border security force provides security wherever they go.
Of the several business ventures that the group has one is operating vehicles on hire through agents. The group has bought buses, cars and jeeps and then hired it out to locals to ply between towns. The real money, however, comes from poppy cultivation in the jungles away from the town where locals are prohibited from going. Locals and shopkeepers were quoted as testifying that the rebels were flush with money, as they deal in heroin.
It is not that India's intelligence agencies are unaware of what is going on. No major offensive against the Indian rebels, as was done in Bhutan against the ULFA, has come to light in Myanmar. India seems to have reasons not to push too hard in having the rebels flushed out because it has larger and more immediate interests at stake. It is set to put the seal on the Kaladan Multi-Model Project. The project envisages the development of Sittwe port on the Bay of Bengal in Arakan state of Myanmar. It will connect Mizoram state in landlocked Northeast India through the Kaladan River. Built by the British the port is in disarray. The Myanmar junta's number two man Maung Aye will arrive in New Delhi on April 4 and finalise a host of business deals including the Kaladan project.
The project envisages an Indian expenditure of about $ 100 million. The Myanmar military regime has Promised Land but had been extremely reluctant to invest funds. After much haggling India gave in to the junta's whims and granted a soft loan of $ 10 million to Myanmar. The target for completion for the Kaladan project is about four years. Rail India Technical Economic Services (RITES) will execute the project.
As in the case of the Kaladan project where India has had to given into the junta's demands the country has had to accept the junta's decision to give precedence to China on access to gas reserves in Myanmar. Despite all this India continues to woo the Myanmar Tatmadaw much to the chagrin of the international community, which views the Southeast Asian nation as a rouge state
Monks denounce referendum call - Lincoln Tan
The New Zealand Herald: Thu 27 Mar 2008
The head of the International Burmese Monks Organisation yesterday denounced a junta-backed constitutional referendum in Myanmar as "unlawful" and called on the New Zealand Government to reject it and join other world leaders to help the country get back on track towards "true democracy".
Venerable U Pannya Vamsa, a revered Burmese Buddhist leader who is in New Zealand on a three-day visit, made this call in a declaration at the Ratanadipa Buddhist Temple in New Lynn yesterday.
The 83-year-old abbot will also be meeting politicians, including Green MP Keith Locke, community leaders and journalists this afternoon to help garner local support to the Burmese cause.
Mr Vamsa is calling on the Government "to bring its target sanctions policy into line with Australia, United States and European Union policies" and "to use its embassy in Thailand to regularly meet with Aung San Suu Kyi and her party".
He is also asking New Zealand to start a "Burma democracy fund" to help finance pro-democracy movements outside Myanmar, similar to the Zimbabwe Democracy Fund established by Australia.
There are about 2000 Burmese in Auckland and the temple has become a meeting place for the community, where hundreds flock to during weekends.
Ma Maung, who entered New Zealand as a refugee last year, said life here was "like living in heaven" compared with where he came from. An estimated 90 per cent of the population in Myanmar lives on about US$1 ($1.25) a day.
"Some people complain here about how hard life is and how poor they are in New Zealand, but I think no one knows what is being poor unless you have lived in Burma," he said. "There is also no freedom, and you have to watch every word and every movement, otherwise the Army will be ever ready to get you."
Last month, Myanmar's military rulers announced they would hold a referendum on a new constitution in May to set the stage for a multiparty democratic election in 2010.
Although China, Russia and some South East Asian countries have said this was a step in the right direction, the US and some Western countries saw it as being aimed at entrenching the military's role there.
Mr Vamsa said the referendum was an attempt by the junta to "trick the international community" into believing they were heading towards democracy.
"How can they say it is democracy when they have laws that are like guns pointing at our heads?" asked the abbot, who is living in exile in Penang, Malaysia. "The junta has imposed laws to make speeches and leaflets about the referendum illegal and even declared democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi could not participate because she was married to a foreigner who is now dead."
He said the referendum was identical to the stalling tactic the regime used when it refused to recognise the democratic elections in 1990 that was won by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.
"They are only trying to trick the community because they don't want the world to remember what happened in September last year," Mr Vamsa said, referring to the regime's crackdown on the pro-democracy uprising which left at least 31 people dead.
Time's up, Gambari! - Min Zin
Irrawaddy: Thu 27 Mar 2008
The United Nation's mediation efforts in Burma have become snared in a trap. The special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, is now caught between an unsuccessful mediation and his reluctance to admit failure.
Frustration abounds. Gambari appears to have become the target of mounting disappointments. Most Burmese opposition groups would say he deserves it.
During his briefing on Burma with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on March 18, Gambari seemed anxious to prove how important his role as special envoy really was. Though he admitted his efforts had yielded "no immediate tangible outcome," he insisted the efforts of the UN good offices were "relevant" to both sides - the opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi and the military regime.
Gambari even said in his briefing that he had reason to believe that the Burmese government attaches importance to his mission and "continues to value the Secretary-General's good offices as the best prospect for further cooperation through mutual trust and confidence, and constructive suggestions."
Unfortunately, the facts do not allow the special envoy grounds for such optimism.
According to highly publicized state media reports, Burmese Information Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan urged him to support the junta's "Seven-step Road map" and stop pursuing alternatives suggested by Western democracies.
The regime's information czar added that if Gambari tried to force the country to meet Western calls for reform, "We would be concerned that your task of offering impartial advice may be undermined."
As a clear indication of the regime's lack of cooperation, military chief Than Shwe, the only true decision-maker in Burma, shunned Gambari on his last two visits.
In fact, the junta has already rejected the UN's key proposals. It turned down suggestions that Burma should set up a broad-based constitutional revising commission in order to ensure an inclusive political process, and establish a poverty alleviation commission.
After the two proposals were rejected, Gambari, on his last trip to the country, put forward one more suggestion to the junta - that Burma invite international observers to the upcoming referendum. Reportedly, the junta's information minister responded with a blunt "no."
Additionally, senior Burmese military officials announced that the new constitution would bar Aung San Suu Kyi from running in future elections because she was previously married to a foreigner, a British scholar, who died of cancer nine years ago.
Gambari's failure has become so severe that he could not even manage to persuade the Security Council members to release a much-anticipated Presidential Statement after his briefing. However, the Council may release a Presidential Statement on Burma next week, thanks to the hard work of US-led Western democracies. Council members are now negotiating the language of the statement. However, no one should not expect a strong statement from the UNSC, a diplomat warned. "It will be a statement with a very mild tone," said a source close to the UN.
The faith of Burmese dissident groups in Gambari's mission is about to hit rock bottom.
"We hoped he (Gambari) would ask the Council to strengthen the mandate of the Secretary-General in pressuring the junta for an all party-inclusive, transparent and democratic process of national reconciliation in our country. However, to our surprise and sadness, he misled the Council," read a joint statement issued by the All Burma Monks Alliance and the 88 Generation Students group on March 26.
In fact, there may be a valid reason to consider broader factors for his ineffectiveness and do justice to Gambari.
"Mr Gambari's efforts should be understood in a larger context, instead of over-focusing on his diplomatic skill. The success of Gambari's mission depends on the readiness of key international players to use their leverage over the Burmese junta," said Dr Thaung Tun, UN representative of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma - effectively the Burmese government in exile. "At the same time, we also need to review how Gambari engages the junta; whether or not he adheres to the line of principled engagement."
UN officials maintain that "the role of the good offices is still very intact" and "very much a work in progress."
"I do understand there is the expression of frustration, but you can't expect miracles to happen to a situation that has been going years and years," said Choi Soung-ah, a UN spokeswoman. "Mr Gambari currently is the world's only tie into the government of Myanmar [Burma]. From the UN perspective, it is very important not to take drastic action immediately because we don't want to shut down the only channel."
This channel, however, can prompt disservice to genuine international mediation efforts on Burma.
According to senior diplomats in Europe, the argument prevailing among Asian countries - including China and even some European nations - is that they support the UN special envoy's mediation. So long as Gambari says his mission is relevant and can yield positive results, they will not undermine him. They will support him - and wait and see.
"In fact, they justify their handoff policy by hiding behind Gambari's mission," a senior diplomat from the EU told The Irrawaddy on condition of anonymity. "Unless Gambari admits that he can't do anything with the present mandate, he is unwittingly dragging the mediation effort into the swamp. No better alternative will be found."
Aung Din, the executive director of the US Campaign for Burma, agrees.
"Burma is now being hijacked by Gambari," said Aung Din. "His effort has failed miserably again and again and again. Unless the mission is enhanced and strengthened by the UN Security Council, nothing positive can be expected. But instead of admitting that, he is still acting like he remains relevant and can do magic. It is a high disservice to international mediation efforts. For the people of Burma, we feel betrayed."
In fact, Gambari has already exhausted his capacity for persuasion, the principal source of leverage that a mediator wields. Instead of drowning himself further in quagmire, he may want to use another source of leverage - his own termination.
As a mediator, he can say "I withdraw now. I can't make any progress with the current mandate. I need stronger Security Council support to deal with the Burmese generals."
Of course, his withdrawal will not have a direct impact on the military junta - the generals in Naypyidaw are not so sensitive to such threats. But it will make China and Asean feel more pressured to cooperate with Western democracies to resolve Burma's crisis.
At least, it will be easier for US-led Western democracies to compel China and Asean (especially two current Council members: Indonesia and Vietnam) to approve a stronger Council mandate for the UN special envoy.
All in all, if Gambari uses the threat of withdrawal skillfully it could yield a greater opportunity to raise the Burma issue in the UN Security Council.
Pro-junta militia forces people to relocate
SHAN: 2008-03-28 05:31
Former Shan State Army (SSA) South's 758th Brigade commander Sao Mong Zeun who surrendered to the Burmese military in 2006 has forced people in Pa Hsang village tract to move to Na Poi village tract under his control in Nam Zang Township.
The order was issued on 21 March at a meeting called by him. According to the order, they were to complete their relocation within 5 days. Failure to comply with has been threatened with unspecified punishment. Even families of his members were not exempted.
Daughter raped, mother beaten, villagers robbed
SHAN: 2008-03-28 05:34
A Burma Army patrol had last week robbed villagers in Southern Shan State, where a girl was raped and her mother was beaten, according to local sources.
By: Kwarn Lake (Tel:++6683 9474191)
On 21 March, over 40 soldiers from Laikha-based LIB 515 led by Captain Kyaw Myint Thein arrived at Park Yarn village, Mong Yai village tract, Mong Nawng sub-township Kehsi township. One of them went into a house in the village and raped a 17-year-old girl and beat her mother who was trying to stop the man, said a local.
A resident of Mong Nawng said, "Her mother was beaten by the soldier with a fire wood and her head was bleeding wetting her whole body. As villagers heard her crying, they came to try to stop [the man], but the rest of the soldiers came and beat the villagers who were then dispersed".
The source added, "While villagers scattered, the soldiers fired their guns into the air about 15 shots. Then the whole village became deserted. Some soldiers then went into the villagers' houses and took whatever they wanted in the houses".
Among the villagers who lost their property where Nai Mai [not real name] and Nang Aye Am [not real name]. Their losses were mats, chickens and cash, Kyat 5,000 ($ 4.54) and Kyat 20,000 ($17.9) respectively, according to the source.
LIB 515 is often found patrolling in Mong Keung, Kehsi and Laikha townships, said another local.
27 March 2008
[ReadingRoom] News on Burma - 27/3/08
- Activists launch underground campaign against Myanmar charter
- T-shirt campaign promotes No vote
- Activist groups accuse UN of letting Burmese people down
- Regime restricts more NGO activities
- Mon villagers flee from abuse to southern Ye Township
- New Delhi eyes a Burmese seaport
- Indonesia, Thailand expect ASEAN countries to help settle crisis in Myanmar
- Burma looking at democracy
- Silencing the 'Saffron Revolution'
- Crisis looms for Myanmar's riven junta
- Burma: Key facts on the working environment for international agencies
- Joint Statement Issued by the All Burma Monks' Alliance and the 88 Generation Students
- Time to release Aung San Suu Kyi
Activists launch underground campaign against Myanmar charter
AFP: Wed 26 Mar 2008
Myanmar's pro-democracy leaders have been arrested or forced into hiding, while their speeches and leaflets have been outlawed, and they have no access to the media.
But activists say they are defying the pressure and have launched an underground campaign against a constitution drafted by the nation's military rulers, who plan to put it to a referendum in May.
The 88 Generation Student Group, which kicked off the mass protests that shook the regime last year, says it is getting its message out through secretly distributed fliers and T-shirts, and emails passed clandestinely at Internet cafes.
Since speeches have been outlawed, the group is making video recordings on CDs that are copied and passed anonymously through Myanmar's main city of Yangon.
"In this way, we make our campaign in secret," said Tun Myint Aung, who is leading the group with a handful of other activists while living in hiding from the authorities.
"We are asking our people to go to the polling station and vote 'No.' The authorities have no right to arrest anyone for voting 'No.' Let's show the enormous power of the people," he told AFP in Bangkok, speaking by telephone from a secret location inside Myanmar.
"In this way, we reject the military constitution and we reject everything that was made by the military government," he said.
Tun Myint Aung's group is made up of former student leaders who spearheaded a pro-democracy uprising in August 1988.
The military crushed the protests by massacring students, with demonstrations and violent reprisals gripping the nation for five days. At least 3,000 people were killed, and more than 10,000 students fled into exile.
Tun Myint Aung, like most of the others who were arrested then, served a decade in prison but returned to activism upon his release three years ago.
The freed student leaders, now mostly in their 40s, rebuilt their network of activists and began new protests in August last year, harnessing public anger at a surprise hike in fuel prices.
The junta tried to stamp out the movement by arresting the group's most prominent leaders, Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi.
But Buddhist monks took up the cause, eventually bringing more than 100,000 people into the streets of Yangon in September, until the military launched a deadly crackdown.
At least 31 people were killed while hundreds remain behind bars, according to the United Nations. A UN report earlier this month said that since the crackdown, the regime has actually stepped up unlawful arrests over the protests.
Tun Myint Aung has managed to evade authorities by living in hiding since August.
"I'm not afraid of jail, but I'm afraid of not doing my work," he said. "I always struggle, I always take action to dismiss the military dictatorship. If I am in jail, I can't," he said.
He said the protests last year showed that the public wanted an end to military rule.
"There is no need to hold a referendum in May. The September movement was a real referendum. People don't want military rule. People showed that," Tun Myint Aung said.
Voters in Myanmar have not been to the ballot box since 1990, when they handed Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party a landslide victory in parliamentary polls.
During that election, the Nobel Peace Prize winner was under house arrest, as she is now.
The NLD's leadership has not been allowed to meet with her since the junta last month announced its plans for the referendum and multiparty elections for 2010.
Without her guidance, the party has not taken a clear position on the referendum, saying only that the constitution "cannot be accepted by the people" - but without calling for a "No" vote or a boycott.
But Tun Myint Aung said youth members of NLD were working with his group to campaign for voters to turn out in force to reject the charter.
"If they cheat in force to win the referendum, we will keep fighting for our freedom," he said.
"The military government, they don't want to abandon their throne, not even to share power with the civilians."
T-shirt campaign promotes No vote - Maung Too
DVB: Wed 26 Mar 2008
People in Burma's cities have started wearing t-shirts bearing the word "NO" as part of a campaign against the government national referendum, according to local sources.
Residents of Rangoon, Mandalay and other big cities told DVB there had been a noticeable number of people wearing NO t-shirts when they go out to express their disagreement with the referendum.
In addition to people wearing NO t-shirts, a Mandalay resident said monks have been writing NO graffiti on their monastery walls to remind civilians to vote No in the constitutional referendum, due to be held in May.
"Monasteries outside and inside Mandalay have the word 'No' written on their walls," he said.
The All-Burmese Monks Alliance recently called on the people of Burma to vote No in the referendum, adding their voice to similar calls from the 88 Generation Students group and the National Council of the Union of Burma.
Activist groups accuse UN of letting Burmese people down - Saw Yan Naing
Irrawaddy: Wed 26 Mar 2008
The All Burma Monks' Alliance and the 88 Generation Students group issued a joint statement on Wednesday accusing the UN and its special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, of letting the Burmese people down in their struggle for democracy.
The statement, coming six months after the September crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations, declared: "With or without the help of the UN Security Council, we are ready to determine our own future. We are prepared to confront the worst."
The two groups accused Gambari of "supporting the one-sided acts of the military junta and suggesting that democracy forces surrender."
Their joint statement also complained that the plight of the Burmese people had actually worsened since Ban Ki-moon took over as UN Secretary General. The suppression of dissidents hadn't ceased, the statement said - on the contrary, the arrests of pro-democracy activists had recently increased.
The two groups also condemned the governments of China, Russia and South Africa, accusing them of protecting the Burmese regime in UN votes. They called for greater pressure on the junta from EU countries.
They also reiterated calls for people to vote "No" in the upcoming referendum on a new constitution. "We all are determined to vote 'no' on the junta's sham constitution in the upcoming referendum," they said. "Our 'No' vote is not only to the sham constitution, but also to the junta."
Pyinya Jota, a leader of the All Burma Monks' Alliance, urged Burmese monks to campaign for a free and fair constitutional referendum.
In a telephone interview with The Irrawaddy from his hiding place in Rangoon, Soe Htun, a member of the 88 Generation Students group, said, "It is very hard for us to operate in [this] rigid situation. We even have to disguise ourselves when we go out. We have to be very careful. We could be arrested at any time."
Soe Htun said that authorities were employing informers to gather information about pro-democracy activists. Some informers were posing as taxi drivers, he said.
About 18 dissidents, including members of an underground activist group, the Generation Wave, were arrested earlier this month and are still being held.
Soe Htun said the Burmese people should hold no hope for concessions from the military regime. "The military regime doesn't want to have political dialogue, so we have to prepare for the worst," he said. "We have to rely on ourselves. We have to fight bravely for a system that we want."
Meanwhile, a boycott of state examinations by many monks, which started on March 24, is continuing, with only about 300 monks in Rangoon and some 60 in Sittwe reportedly turning up to sit the tests. Monks are also boycotting the exams in Mandalay and in Pakokku, central Burma, where last September's demonstrations began.
Thousands of monks are remaining in their monasteries rather than attend the examinations, according to sources.
Regime restricts more NGO activities - Violet Cho
Irrawaddy: Wed 26 Mar 2008
Burma's military regime has imposed further restrictions on international non-government organizations (NGOs) working in Burma, voicing concerns over their activities at grassroots levels in the run-up to the constitutional referendum in May.
According to one NGO source, earlier this month the authorities called a meeting with international organizations working in Burma and ordered every group to cease all activities at grassroots level in health education and counseling for HIV/AIDS patients, especially in rural areas.
Among the organizations that have been warned by authorities are Save the Children Fund, Population Services International (PSI), Marie Stopes International (MSI), Care International in Myanmar (Care-Myanmar) and World Vision.
According to an international NGO worker who asked not to be named for security reasons, NGOs can only carry out their projects if they allow staff from the official health department to oversee their activities.
"They [the authorities] allowed us to open our office, but now all the activities have to stop," he said. "They also asked us to report every single thing we do in the field. It is very difficult to implement our project because we can only work when there is government staff with us."
During the meeting between Burma's Ministry of Health and UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari on March 9, the minister of health, Dr Kyaw Myint, reportedly informed Gambari that the government was aware that some international NGOs were providing financial support to Burma's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), who, in turn, was distributing it at a grassroots level.
The NLD's youth group, led by HIV/AIDS activist Phu Phu Thin, is known to provide health care, counseling and HIV/AIDS education in Rangoon.
In mid-January, Dr San Shwe Win, the deputy director general of the Public Health Department, called a meeting with international NGOs in Burma's new capital, Naypyidaw. During the meeting, he informed the NGO heads that they had to report on all their activities and that they could only continue their work if they receive permission from the Public Health Department. Reportedly, the military authorities also strongly warned NGOs against fact-finding missions or research projects in the country.
There are more than 34 organizations that deal with HIV/AIDS issues in Burma. All of these health groups are registered with Burma's Ministry of Health.
Just recently, a clinic known as the Drop-in Centre, which works on HIV/AIDS issues and provides counseling to patients, was ordered by authorities to halt their activities, according to a Burmese doctor close to international organizations in Rangoon.
Mandalay Health Department issued a letter earlier this month ordering the Drop-in Center to stop all their programs with grassroots people without giving any reason.
Mon villagers flee from abuse to southern Ye Township - Mon Son
IMNA: Wed 26 Mar 2008
Widespread human rights violations, namely arbitrary arrests, torture and forced labour of adults and minors, are forcing Mon villagers to flee to more secure areas.
About 15 households in Toe Thet Ywar Thit Village of Kaw-Zar Sub Township have shifted to Hangan village in Ye Township, said sources in Toe Thet Ywar Thit.
The villagers were beaten and tortured almost every day by soldiers of the Burmese Army's Infantry Battalion No. 31, said a villager. Unable to live with the abuses, they moved to Hangan village and other places where they believe they will be more secure, added the villager.
The villagers do not have time to run their business ventures as they are forced to work in the military camp. They are made to collect timber and work in construction sites.
Many more people want to relocate, believing that bigger villages will offer better security and less abuse. Uncertainties about their survival in a new village prevent low income households from moving.
The vast majority of villagers depend on their plantations and farms in Kaw-Zar sub township.
Despite over 13 years of the ceasefire agreement between the New Mon State Party and the Burmese military junta, Human Rights violations continue in Mon State, especially in southern Ye Township.
New Delhi eyes a Burmese seaport
Narinjara News: Wed 26 Mar 2008
Come April 4 and New Delhi will unfold the red carpet for the 'second man in command' of the Burmese junta, Maung Aye, who supposes to arrive in India for finalizing many business deals, primarily the Kaladan project.
The project includes the development of Sittwe port in the Bay of Bengal and then connects it with the landlocked Northeast India through the Kaladan river and road transport. The connected Indian state will be Mizoram, which is adjacent to Chin province of Burma (also known as Myanmar).
Vice Senior General Maung Aye, the deputy commander-in-chief of Defence Services, is expected to arrive in New Delhi for signing the much discussed Kaladan Multi-Model Project. It will be an important visit of a Burmese high profile leader to New Delhi after Senior General Than Shwe, the head of the State Peace and Development Council (as the present brand of Generals is known) paid a visit four years back. The project includes the up-gradation of the seaport in Sittwe, widening and deepening of the Kaladan river and development of a road to connect Aizwal.
"The Kaladan project will include shipping, riverine and road transport," said Jairam Ramesh, the Minister of State for Commerce. Talking to media persons during one of his recent visits to the Northeast, Mr Ramesh also added, "New Delhi wants to connect the Northeast with the commercial sea routes. Moreover, with the development of Sittwe port and the Kaladan river as a navigation efficient, the region is expected to have another viable access to the South East Asian counties."
India has decided to spend nearly $ 100 million for the project. The junta, though assured free land for the project, had shown reluctance to invest money in the project, which finally compels New Delhi to extend a soft loan of $ 10 million to the SPDC leaders. The Kaladan project is anticipated to be completed within four years and the project will be executed by the public sector Rail India Technical Economic Services organization.
New Delhi's move to invest in a Burmese port assumes significance in view of Bangladesh's reluctance to give India access to Chittagong port, which is nearer to the Northeast. Chittagong port in Bangladesh is less than 200 km from Agartala, where as Sittwe is around 400 km away from Aizwal. Mr Ramesh clarified the issue, "It is unfortunate that we have not been able to develop our relationship with Bangladesh to the level of making it our gateway to Southeast Asia." But he pointed out that New Delhi was constantly working on enhancing ties with Bangladesh.
But the signing of the deal will not be out of repercussion, as the international communities have been raising voices against the military junta for its continued repressive policies on the pro-democracy activists including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and of course poor human rights record in Burma. The public memory remained fresh for the political observers worldwide, where thousands of agitating monks in the streets of Rangoon, the former capital of Burma, were subjected to torture during last September. The junta controlled the movement with strong hands killing nearly hundreds.
The Burmese exiles irrespective of their organizations have come out heavily against New Delhi for initiating for a business deal. The supporters of pro-democracy movement in Burma have raised a single point that India should not invest money at this moment in Burma as the money will not reach the common people, but the pockets of the Generals. They unanimously point out that it is not the suitable time to invest in Burma, even if one does not endorse the pro-democracy movement led by the Nobel laureate Suu Kyi.
"This is not a right time to build long-term relationship with the Burmese rulers," argued M. Kim, the coordinator of Shwe Gas Pipeline Campaign Committee (India). Talking to this correspondent, Kim added, "India must not bury alive its extraordinary democratic values and inspiration of promotion of peace and human rights by dealing business and building relation with this barbaric Burmese military junta which recently not only kill, torture and imprison its own innocent people and monks but also violated religious rights by sealing off monasteries and restricting basic rights of prayers at pagodas."
Even a public meeting at Aizwal during January resolved to appeal New Delhi to snap all ties with the military junta as 'the economic cooperation with them would never benefit the people unless democracy was restored in Burma'. Organized jointly by the Mizoram Committee for Democracy in Burma and the Campaign for Democratic Movement in Burma, the meeting also resolved that New Delhi should work with the UN to find amicable solution to the Burmese imbroglio. Dr Tint Swe, a leader of National League for Democracy led by Suu Kyi, who is living in exile in India, was also present at the meeting and argued that dealing with Burma 'would only have a meaning after restoration of democracy' there.
Tayza Thuria, a Burmese exile based in London debates that 'India's doing business with Burma and engaging with Burma's de-facto military government is not wrong in itself'. But the Indian government needs to be careful to maintain a balanced and ethical approach towards Burma; i.e., while engaging with Burmese government in business and security affairs, New Delhi must also try to persuade, advice and guide the junta to make the systematic democratic reforms in due course of time.
Kyaw Than, the leader of All Burma Students' League (ABSL), a conglomeration of Burmese students' organizations in exile, asserted that it is not the suitable time to do business with Burma. He rather claimed, "It is high time for the international communities, more precisely India and China, to come clean on Burma policies. Otherwise, they will be criticized in future that both New Delhi and Beijing had continued business for good reasons but sadly with wrong people."
Indonesia, Thailand expect ASEAN countries to help settle crisis in Myanmar
Xinhua: Wed 26 Mar 2008
Indonesia and Thailand on Wednesday said that ASEAN member countries were the best to play peaceful roles to help settle the crisis in Myanmar, the leaders of the two countries said here.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundravej told a joint press conference after a meeting at the State Palace that both countries support the Myanmar road map to democracy.
The agreement came after the failure of the United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari to settle the crisis in Myanmar recently.
"On our fellow (Myanmar), both of us agree that the countries in the ASEAN region are in the best position to understand and have dialogue with the Myanmar government," Thai Prime Minister Sundravej said.
During the meeting with President Susilo, Sundrajev said they discussed how Thailand, which will become the chairman of the ASEAN in July this year, and Indonesia work closely together with other ASEAN countries to develop and materialize an effective and strong ASEAN in order to settle the crisis in Myanmar.
"We also discussed how the ASEAN could play a positive role in working with Myanmar to help it face the challenges it is facing," he said.
On his turn, President Susilo said that Indonesia and Thailand insist to contribute for the crisis settlement in Myanmar.
"The cooperation of Thailand and Indonesia is aimed at contributing to the crisis settlement in Myanmar," he said.
The president reaffirmed Indonesia's support on the road map to democracy in Myanmar.
"We will give assistance to maintain the stability and integrity (of Myanmar) in its way to reach the road map," said Susilo.
Newly-elected Sundravej is on his two-day visit to Indonesia. He will leave for Thailand on Thursday.
Indonesia, which has supported the Myanmar government plan to hold a referendum in May and a general election in 2010, has asked for the transparency of the election process.
The member countries of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) include Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Cambodia, Lao, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Burma looking at democracy
AFP: Wed 26 Mar 2008
MILITARY-RULED Burma is looking at the Indonesian model for its planned transition to civilian rule, UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari said in remarks published today.
"I can reveal to you that the junta has been looking for a model closer to Indonesia where there was a transition from military to civilian rule and ultimately to democracy," Dr Gambari said in an interview with Singapore's Straits Times newspaper.
Dr Gambari, who visited Burma earlier this month, said the country's military rulers were also studying the experience of Thailand, which had previously come under army rule, the report said.
The Indonesian model of transition to civilian rule was engineered by then president Suharto, an army general who seized power in 1966 in the violent aftermath of a botched coup blamed on the Indonesian communist party.
Suharto, who assumed the presidency in 1968, later retired from the military but ensured that the armed forces would continue to play a key role in the country's politics. Under his rule, the military was guaranteed seats in parliament and officers held key posts as administrators.
Suharto also consolidated various political parties under a single party during his 30-year rule that ended following massive street demonstrations in 1998.
Burma's ruling military has embarked on a "roadmap" to democracy, which includes the recently finished drafting of a new constitution. The charter will be put to a referendum in May and followed by elections in 2010.
The Straits Times said Dr Gambari spoke at length on the proposed Burma constitution, which bars detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi from running in the elections and is dismissed by critics as another means for the junta to remain in power.
Dr Gambari said the charter's text includes clauses that would keep the military's dominant role in politics.
About 25 per cent of the parliamentary seats would go to the junta, which would have the power to appoint personnel to key ministries such as defence, home affairs and border affairs, the report quoted Dr Gambari as saying.
While the proposed constitution calls for a multiparty democracy with regular elections, it gives extensive powers with the president, who can appoint or dismiss legislative and judicial officials, the report added.
The interview with Dr Gambari in New York came after the envoy's latest visit to Burma from March 6-9 which he said was disappointing.
During his trip, the junta refused his proposal to amend the constitution and rejected an offer of UN technical assistance and foreign observers during the referendum.
While Dr Gambari held two meetings with Aung San Suu Kyi, he was unable to see junta leader General Tan Shwe.
Silencing the 'Saffron Revolution' - Min Zin
Far Eastern Economic Review: Wed 26 Mar 2008
On Feb. 15, the military stormed the offices of the Myanmar Nation and took my brother, the weekly journal's editor in chief, to jail. His crime? Possession of a United Nation's report on the ruling junta's brutal crackdown on last September's demonstrations by monks and democracy activists - the so-called Saffron Revolution. My brother's name is Thet Zin, and he is one of hundreds of Burmese citizens who struggle to tell the truth about what is happening in their country - whether through traditional forms of journalism or through the Internet - under threat of arrest or worse by the military regime.
Indeed, even as the Burmese military promises the United Nations it will implement its "Roadmap to Democracy," the generals are stepping up their crackdown on the media. News of my brother's arrest was painful, but I should have been prepared for it. This kind of brutal repression and disregard for freedom of speech is the defining phenomenon of daily life in Burma.
The irony here is that my brother, who was a political prisoner in 1988, has not been involved in clandestine political activities or activist groups since he began working as a reporter and editor for several legally published weekly journals in the early 2000s. He founded Myanmar Nation Weekly, where he worked as editor in chief until his arrest, in 2006.
When the military raided the offices of Myanmar Nation, they discovered video footage of last September's Buddhist monk-led protests, a copy of the aforementioned report by U.N. Special Rapporteur Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, and a book about federalism written by a veteran Shan ethnic leader. Along with my brother, his office manager, Sein Win Maung, was also arrested. The authorities confiscated mobile phones and computer hard-drives during the raid.
In early March, both were charged under section 17/20 of the Printers and Publishers Registration Law. The court cited the U.N. report as evidence of possessing "illegal material" in order to set up a case against my brother. If found guilty, they could serve up to seven years' imprisonment. The publication of Myanmar Nation has also been suspended since their arrest.
Sadly, my brother's case is not uncommon. In the wake of last September's protests, the military has stepped up its crackdown on the media and severely curtailed freedom of expression. At least 20 journalists have been arrested in the past six months, although many were released after severe interrogations. According to Reporters Without Borders, 11 journalists are known to be imprisoned in Burma, including 78-year-old U Win Tin, who has been in jail since July 1989.
The exile-based Burmese Media Association (BMA), however, places the number of imprisoned writers - including journalists, poets, fiction writers, etc. - at 30. These journalists, writers and poets, who exercise their free speech as a birthright, add to the more than 1,800 political prisoners who, according to Human Rights Watch, are still behind bars.
Since the Buddhist monk-led protests of September last year, about a dozen publications in Burma have been banned or suspended for allegedly failing to follow the directives of the regime's censorship board.
Burma, which enjoyed perhaps the liveliest free press in Southeast Asia until the 1962 military coup, is now facing some of the severest media repression in the nation's history. The Burmese military launched a "fight media with media" campaign in 2005 in order to "rebuff the unfair and baseless news produced by the Western media." The junta's notorious censorship board has imposed ever more stringent restrictions on private publications. Journalists are pressured to write articles in line with the regime's views and policies. Journals and magazines are forced to print an increasing number of "planted" pro-junta articles.
"The situation is now getting worse and very rigid," says Zaw Thet Htwe, a well-known journalist inside Burma, who himself received the death penalty in 2003 for sending reports to the outside world, a sentence which was later reduced to three years imprisonment due to international pressure. "The news journals are increasingly facing a hard time due to the whimsical regulations. The atmosphere of fear and pressure for self-censorship has been growing."
Thankfully, the Burmese people's main sources of information remain free from the military's abuses. They are the daily Burmese language radio broadcasts from abroad by the BBC (Burmese Service), Voice of America (Burmese Service), Radio Free Asia, and the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB).
At the height of the protests last year, large numbers of people (including military personnel) relied on these broadcasts for information. The regime's anger was apparent in state-controlled newspapers and TV announcements that described the radio broadcasters as "killers on the airwaves" and "saboteurs" who were "airing a sky full of lies." In addition to radio, DVB launched a new Burmese language TV broadcast in May 2005 that can be received via satellite in Burma. The TV broadcast was a main source of news during the September protests.
Now, a new generation of Burmese has found another means of defying the junta's thought police: the Internet. Although less than 1% of the total population has access to the Internet in Burma, that 1% generally has access to cell phones, digital cameras and memory sticks and can disseminate information widely. During last September's protests, these "cyber dissidents" - citizen reporters and bloggers - posted hundreds of images and eyewitness accounts of the Saffron Revolution and the regime's brutality on the Internet.
Unlike the 1988 pro-democracy uprising - when the killing of at least 3,000 unarmed demonstrators received little international attention - images of violence against last fall's protestors, including the killing of Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai, spread fast throughout the world and helped ignite international outrage.
The regime, of course, responded by hunting down and arresting those who posted the images, and by further limiting access to the Internet. Internet café owners are now reportedly forced to install spy software provided by military intelligence officials that take automatic screen shots of user activity every five minutes. The monitoring results then have to be delivered to the military for surveillance.
Meanwhile, the military promises the outside world that it is marching toward "democracy" with its constitutional referendum in May and new elections in 2010. But nearly all observers agree that the military's constitution won't lead to legitimate political freedom or national reconciliation. Violations of human rights are expected to continue, as are repression and censorship of the media.
"Though the military promises reform by holding a constitutional referendum in May," says Maung Maung Myint, chairman of the Burmese Media Association, "the arrest of journalists and constraints on the free flow of information clearly demonstrate that the regime discourages any informed public debate on their draft constitution."
Clearly, my brother and other recently detained journalists are being held by the junta in an effort to spread fear among Burma's defiant media in the run-up to the constitutional referendum. Without outside pressure, the sad fact is these tactics will likely succeed - and the Burmese people will continue to suffer under a repressive military dictatorship, and those brave journalists and writers willing to challenge Burma's censors will be silenced.
* Min Zin is a Burmese journalist.
Crisis looms for Myanmar's riven junta - Larry Jagan
Asia Times Online: Wed 26 Mar 2008
As the health of Myanmar's senior general, Than Shwe, deteriorates, two major factions, one loosely allied to the ailing junta leader, and one loyal to the junta number two, General Maung Aye, are aggressively jockeying for position in anticipation of a new era of Myanmar politics - though not necessarily a more democratic era, as billed.
Reports received by Asia Times Online that certain top junta members are now under secret investigation for corruption, similar to the probes in the leadup to the purge of former intelligence chief and prime minister General Khin Nyunt and his faction in 2004, indicate that another "soft coup" could be in the cards, this time against ambitious military officers who would gain the most from a planned democratic transition.
Tensions between two major factions within the military government are increasingly on the boil, according to military insiders. At the core of the conflict is Than Shwe's mass organization, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), which has been given authority to manage the recently announced constitutional referendum set for May and follow-up multi-party elections scheduled for 2010.
If successfully staged, despite barring the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) from participating, the process would fundamentally change the country's political landscape and see the rise of one set of military officers who trade in their khakis for business suits and take top positions in a democratic government over those who remain in the barracks.
With that writing on the wall, several senior army members are becoming increasingly resentful of the USDA's growing prominence and apprehensive about the curtailment of their authority after the referendum is held in May. "It will bring an abrupt end to the army's absolute power," said one Myanmar government official.
Intra-junta rivalry is believed to be breaking down on institutional lines as much as on personalities, pitting those who graduated from the Officers Training School (OTS), like Than Shwe, against those who attended the Defense Services Academy (DSA), where Maung Aye is an alumni. Several current cabinet ministers associated with the USDA hail from the OTS, as are several hardliners on the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), who once but no longer hold operational commands.
Key OTS-affiliated ministers, including Industry Minister Aung Thaung, Fisheries Minister Maung Maung Thein, who is also head of the influential Myanmar Investment Commission, Construction Minister Saw Htun and Agriculture Minister Htay Oo, who is also a key leader of the USDA, are all extreme hardliners and stand accused by rivals and critics of being among the government's most corrupt officials.
The group has now been in government for over eight years and enjoys an extravagant lifestyle in the impoverished country. The members are also among the military generals who are expected to move into the USDA and take up prominent roles in a new civilian-led government.
Many in the army now fear that this group - along with certain other senior SPDC officers, who are currently or were formerly heads of the Bureau of Special Operations (BSO) - may be plotting a more immediate power grab, using the USDA and its mass following as its front.
Those concerns apparently run strongest among officers in the Ministry of Defense, many of them divisional commanders in their late 40s or early 50s and widely known as the "Young Turks". "They see no definite future and are just sitting around in the office with nothing to do," said a well-placed source in the capital, Naypyidaw. "They are watching their colleagues hiding behind their uniforms and building up massive fortunes from corruption in government," he said.
So far, apart from governmental inertia, there are no overt signs of a palace coup. "There is no doubt that many in the army are extremely unhappy with they way things are going, and are concerned about what will happen to them after the referendum and the elections," said a Thai military intelligence official. "Nothing can be ruled out at this stage as resentment and anger is growing among the junior officers and the rank-and-file soldiers," said Win Min, an independent analyst based at Chiang Mai University in northern Thailand.
The OTS-affiliated ministers, some insiders believe, may in fact be planning a pre-emptive strike to protect their positions. The Fisheries minister, Maung Maung Thein, and BSO officials Maung Bo and Ye Myint, are all currently under secret investigation by the Bureau of Special Investigations on allegations of bribery, kickbacks and illegal smuggling, a well-placed source inside the regime told Asia Times Online on condition of anonymity. Several other ministers and members of the SPDC, and their families, are also under investigation, according to the same source.
That's apparently one main reason why the ruling council has not held its regular quarterly meeting for more than nine months. Military insiders say Than Shwe wants to avoid the meeting because he knows Maung Aye will, based on the evidence of the investigations, demand the resignations of at least four BSO-affiliated officers - including Maung Bo and Ye Myint. The council meeting held last year reportedly ended when Maung Aye refused to accept Than Shwe's recommendation that Maung Bo be promoted to a full general, according to Myanmar military sources.
"The top generals have not met [for the quarterly meeting] for months, since before the August and September protests, so during that time, apart from the appointment of three regional commanders, there have been no promotions," said the academic Win Min. "The impact of this will certainly add to the growing frustration amongst some of the commanders who should have already been promoted," he said.
For over a year there has been near total inertia in Myanmar's new capital as the ailing Than Shwe becomes more withdrawn and reclusive and tries to chart a course that will protect his family's interests after he passes from the scene. Some military observers believe that the junta leader's well-worn divide-and-rule tactics may eventually backfire, as a growing number of top generals immediately below him view his plans to move towards "discipline democracy" as a threat to their future positions and power.
"We cannot rule out the possibility of a mutiny or purges within the army," said independent analyst Aung Naing Oo. "Than Shwe is standing in the way of change, but so far no one has had the guts to tell him that he is the main obstacle."
As news of the investigations and concerns about the planned democratic transition become more widespread, the potential for purges and coups will only grow.
* Larry Jagan previously covered Myanmar politics for the British Broadcasting Corp. He is currently a freelance journalist based in Bangkok.
Burma: Key facts on the working environment for international agencies
Refugees International via Relief Web: Wed 26 Mar 2008
The U.S. government should re-evaluate policies that prohibit humanitarian assistance to Burma, and join the U.K. and Europe in increasing support for independent work inside the country. In calling for increased assistance, it is important to recognize the difficult working environment facing United Nations agencies and international non-governmental organizations. Burmese leadership is suspicious of foreign involvement in the country, especially from liberal democratic countries. Nonetheless, patient work has resulted in expanded access by international organizations.
- The geographic scope of international aid organizations in Burma has increased significantly in recent years. There are now internationally supported activities in 300 of Burma's 325 townships. Areas with continuous presence by international organizations include such sensitive locations as Northern Rakhine, Kachin, Kayin, Kayah and Mon States.
- The scale of the programs of individual organizations is impressive. Population Services International (PSI), working through the private sector, markets condoms and conducts AIDS awareness activities throughout the country. PSI also treats 10,000 tuberculosis patients and 40,000 children with pneumonia. Save the Children has 37 offices, 500 local staff, and supports pre-schools in 200 communities. Médecins Sans Frontières-Holland provides anti-retroviral treatment to 10,000 HIV/AIDS sufferers.
- Access to areas affected by conflict remains problematic, especially in southeastern townships bordering Thailand. A proposed joint UN assessment of conditions in Kayin and Mon States is presently on hold. The International Committee of the Red Cross has reduced its staff from 55 expatriates to five since December 2005 due to restrictions on its ability to work independently in conflict areas and to conduct prison visits.
- The Burmese government's policy towards international organizations is restrictive on paper, and slightly less so in practice. The government issued Burmese and English versions of operating guidelines in 2006, with the former being more restrictive. When Burmese staff of international organizations were convoked to Naypidaw in January 2008 the government presented them with guidelines that proved to be a Burmese translation of the less restrictive English version - a significant victory for operational agencies. International organizations have also succeeded in getting the government to withdraw proposals to hire local staff from government rosters and to have project funds go through government accounts.
- Requirements for program work include signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the organization and the relevant technical ministry; review and oversight by inter-governmental committees from national to state to township levels; advance travel permission for international staff and travel accompanied by government officials. In practice, agencies routinely continue working without signed MOUs, and reach local agreements to assure independent access and oversight of projects. Contrary to reports that circulated abroad after the January 2008 meeting in Naypidaw, the government has not carried out proposals to restrict the travel of local staff of international organizations.
- The Burmese senior leadership responded to the September 2007 protests with a tightening of control over the international community based in Rangoon. The government suspended the granting of visas for international staff, especially from Western countries, and only within the past two months has the process begun to move again. As of the end of February about 50 staff from the UN and international non-governmental organizations were waiting for visa extensions. No visa extensions have been denied to date, however. Further, the government has made it clear to UN organizations that it would prefer that their representatives be from Asia rather than from Europe or the United States; with the UN Resident Coordinator and UNHCR representative positions presently vacant, this policy, if enforced, will pose new challenges to the international leadership in the country.
Joint Statement Issued by the All Burma Monks' Alliance and the 88 Generation Students
Wed 26 Mar 2008
The United Nations Has Failed to Take Responsibility to Protect the People of Burma, Who Are Prepared for the Worst
(1) We paid serious attention to the briefing by the UN Special Envoy Mr. Ibrahim Gambari to the United Nations Security Council on March 18, 2008 on Burma. Since his recommendations to the Burmese military junta have been flatly rejected on this and every one of his previous trips, we believed Mr. Gambari would report this failure truly. We hoped he would ask the Council to strengthen the mandate of the Secretary-General in pressuring the junta for an all party-inclusive, transparent and democratic process of national reconciliation in our country. However, to our surprise and sadness, he misled the Council. >From the perspective of the people of Burma, he altered his mission from "pressuring or persuading the military junta in Burma to create a credible process of constitution writing and engage in a meaningful and time-bound dialogue with our leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi". Instead, it now appears he is "supporting the one-sided acts of the military junta and suggesting that democracy forces surrender". We have been 100% supportive of the UN efforts on Burma, but we object Mr. Gambari for misleading the world body in favor of the Burmese military junta.
(2) We are also disappointed that the UN Security Council has failed to take an effective action on Burma. Under the misguidance of Mr. Gambari and due to objections by the governments of China, Russia and South Africa, the UN Security Council is paralyzed and has failed to undertake its major responsibility to protect the citizens of Burma, who continue to be severely oppressed by their own government, as has been the case for decades. We denounce the governments of China, Russia and South Africa for their strong protection of the most brutal military junta, ruling our country against the will of our people.
(3) We are also disappointed with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his reluctance to ask for the UN Security Council to strengthen his good offices role in Burma by a binding resolution. Over the past 18 years, various UN Special Envoys and Rapporteurs have visited Burma 35 times to try to persuade the military junta to fully cooperate with the democracy forces led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and representatives of Burma's ethnic nationalities, without success. The UN Charter, Article 99 authorizes the Secretary-General to bring the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security . Despite the fact that the situation in Burma has spilled out over the region and become a threat to peace and stability in the region and in the world, Ban Ki-moon has failed to call for the Security Council to take effective action on Burma. From the perspective of the Burmese people, he has made zero impact on the situation in our country. On the contrary, the situation in Burma has grown even worse on his watch.
(4) However, we are encouraged by the continued and persistent support by the United States, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Australia, European Union, Switzerland, Mongolia, Costa Rica, Argentina, Ghana, The Czech Republic, Norway and other supportive countries. We appreciate these governments for standing together with us in our darkest time, sharing our feelings and lending much-needed assistance. We request these countries to continue to support us and continue to apply maximum pressure on the military junta, especially including the implementation of finance and banking sanctions against the generals, their family members and crony businessmen. We also request these governments not to recognize the military junta's constitution and urge the UN Security Council to do the same.
(5) Nonetheless, the people of Burma will stand on their own feet and confront the injustices and oppression of the military junta by peaceful means. We all are determined to "VOTE NO" on the junta's sham constitution in the upcoming referendum. As the military junta is aggressively and desperately pressuring the people to vote in favor of the constitution, our challenge to reject it will surely be met with a bloody response by the junta. Our vote "No" is not only to the sham constitution, but also to the junta. With or without the help of the UN Security Council, we are ready to determine our own future. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi recently told us to "hope for the best, prepare for the worst". This call echoes the message of her father our National Independence Hero U Aung San. We are prepared to confront the worst. We are working for truth and justice, and we will prevail.
On behalf of the All Burma Monks' Alliance:
Ashin Aww Ba Tha, Ashin Tay Za, Ashin Pyannya Vamsa
On behalf of the 88 Generation Students:
Tun Myint Aung, Nilar Thein, Soe Tun
Time to release Aung San Suu Kyi
Amnesty International: Wed 26 Mar 2008
Call for the immediate and unconditional release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all prisoners of conscience in Myanmar.
There are more than 1,850 known political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Myanmar (formerly Burma). Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is the best-known.
The co-founder of Myanmar's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), Aung San Suu Kyi is also one of the country's best-known political figures and campaigners for human rights.
Aung San Suu Kyi has endured unofficial detention, house arrest and restrictions on her movement since 1989, all aimed at preventing her from becoming the national leader of Myanmar. She has been under house arrest since July 2003 and her most recent detention will be up for review on 27 May 2008.
Aung San Suu Kyi is also a member the global Elders but, because she is under strict house arrest, she cannot join them in their international work celebrating and promoting the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Her continued absence is a powerful reminder of the unrelenting repression in Myanmar and what must be done to make human rights a reality.
26 March 2008
[ReadingRoom] News on Burma - 26/3/08
- Factions within junta deaw battle lines
- Myanmar monasteries deserted six months after protests
- Insein prison inmates join metta chanting campaign
- Student activists initiate vote 'No' campaign
- Total & Kouchner see eye to eye on Burma
- India cuts a deal with Burma's junta
- Thai PM defends investments in Myanmar
- Apt time to push for change in Myanmar
Factions within junta draw battle lines
BangkokPost: 26/3/08
LARRY JAGAN
Tomorrow is Army Day in Burma - the moment the country's military leaders show a united front in a pompous ceremony in the new capital, Naypyidaw, that is held every year. The junta chief, Senior General Than Shwe, has imported another new Mercedes Benz to stand in as he leads the parade. He brought a new one in last year for the same occasion.
But underneath this show of unity is the start of a new battle for Burma's future. This time it is not between the monks and the military, as it was last year, but between two factions in the army.
In the past few months a major rift has emerged within Burma's military government over the country's political future. At the centre of the conflict is who should control the roadmap - Burma's plans for political change.
The confrontation is now beginning to take shape - between those who are currently in control of Burma's government and the country's economic wealth, and those who see themselves as the nation's guardians and wish to protect the country from unscrupulous officials.
The junta is no longer cohesive and united, as two major camps have clearly emerged. On one side there are the ministers and members of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) who have major business interests and are associated with Gen Than Shwe's brainchild, the mass community-based Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA).
On the other side are the top ranking generals - loosely grouped around the second in command, General Maung Aye - who want a professional army and see its main role as protector of the people.
They have become increasingly dismayed at the corruption within government and understand that it is undermining the army's future role in the country.
As the war between these two groups begins to escalate, Gen Than Shwe's rapidly deteriorating health has effectively left the country without a real leader. The result is total inertia in government administration and a growing fear that one of the contesting factions may launch a "soft coup" in the near future, according to Burmese military sources.
But the "real" army, as these officers under Gen Maung Aye view themselves, is going to have to act quickly if it is to remain a force to be reckoned with.
The planned referendum for May and the election in two years' time will radically change the country's political landscape.
The USDA, which is organising both the referendum and the elections, will significantly increase its power and control over the country's new emerging political process.
Senior members of the army are increasingly resentful of the growing dominance of the USDA and the likely curtailment of the army's authority after the May referendum. "It will bring an abrupt end to the army's absolute power," said a Burmese government official.
At the centre of this emerging battle for supremacy is the growing division within the army between those who graduated from the Officers Training School (OTS) like Gen Than Shwe, and those who went to the Defence Services Academy (DSA) like Gen Maung Aye.
Many cabinet ministers associated with the USDA are from the OTS, as are several hardliners within the ruling SPDC, though some no longer have operational commands. These leaders are known to have the ear of Gen Than Shwe and have convinced him to take an uncompromising stand against detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).
These key ministers, including Industry Minister Aung Thaung, Fisheries Minister Maung Maung Thein (who is also head of the powerful Myanmar Investment Commission), Construction Minister Saw Htun and Agriculture Minister Htay Oo (who is also a key leader of the USDA), are notorious hardliners and amongst the most corrupt members of the government.
They have all amassed huge personal fortunes from smuggling and kickbacks. "These fellows are out of control and racking up the money from bribery and fraud - not even Maung Aye, who despises excessive corruption, can touch them," a Burmese military source told the Bangkok Post on condition of anonymity.
Everyone seems powerless to stop them at present, according to Burmese government sources. "They are known as 'the Nazis' within the top ranks of the army," according to a Burmese businessman with close links to the military hierarchy. "They have the money and they have their own militia."
Many in the army now fear that this group - with some senior officers in the SPDC, current or former heads of the Bureau of Special Operations (BSO) - are planning a grab for power using the USDA as a front. "They are the real enemies of the people," said the Burmese businessman.
There are growing numbers within the army that are viewing these developments with increasing concern. There is mounting resentment and frustration amongst the junior officers in Naypyidaw. Many of the junior officers are divisional commanders, aged between 47 and 55. These are the army's "young Turks", who are alarmed at the way in which the USDA is growing in influence at the expense of the army.
"They are watching their unscrupulous colleagues, hiding behind the uniform, building up massive fortunes from corruption in government and they are worried that this tarnishes the image of the army," said a source in Naypyidaw.
"It's time to get rid of the OTS bastards," an officer recently told a visiting businessman. But so far there are no signs of a palace coup. Many officers may feel aggrieved, but there is no open discussion as yet about doing anything in practice. "The climate of fear that pervades the whole country is also prevalent in the military," according to a Thai military intelligence officer.
This resentment is going to continue to simmer. They know that after the referendum in May their position will become increasingly less significant, as ministers and selected military generals move into the USDA and take up civilian roles in the future. At the same time they fear that widespread corruption will also destroy the country and its political stability.
"The 'real' army is the only institution that can bring genuine democracy to the country in the future," a military man told the Bangkok Post. "The new generation of officers represent the real hope for the country." They would be open to a political dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi, he insisted, as they see themselves as the real guardians of the country.
Myanmar monasteries deserted six months after protests
An elderly Buddhist monk sits in his saffron robes inside a Yangon monastery, one of just a handful of senior monks trying to teach and care for dozens of young novices reviewing their lessons nearby.
Six months ago, this monastery was full of monks who were at the forefront of pro-democracy protests that unfolded in September, eventually swelling to more than 100,000 people in the streets of Yangon.
Now this monastery - like most others in Myanmar's main city - is almost empty, after monks and other activists fled a deadly military crackdown that began on September 26.
"We monks have done what we could do for the people. What is the result?" the senior monk said.
"Many monks went back to their hometowns. They left the monasteries because of the suppression and their fears," he told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The violence that Myanmar's security forces used to break up the peaceful protests shocked the world and instilled a pervasive fear in the people here.
Monks are considered inviolate in this devoutly Buddhist country, where they are treated with the utmost respect by the public.
They were treated as saviours when the began taking to the streets in cities around Myanmar - formerly known as Burma - in September.
Protests first broke out in Yangon on August 19, when pro-democracy activists began staging small street demonstrations in anger at a surprise hike in fuel prices that left many unable to afford even the bus fare to work.
Hundreds of monks in the central town of Pakokku joined the protests on September 5, but security forces fired shots over the crowd and beat some of the monks, according to witnesses.
The violence shocked the clergy, who began leading marches against the ruling junta in cities around the country.
About 300 monks joined the first march in Yangon on September 18, in what became daily protests.
The general public only started joining the movement four days later, when the monks defied a security barricade and walked to the home of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for 12 of the past 18 years.
She appeared briefly at the door, tearing up in an iconic moment that captured the nation's imagination and inspired tens of thousands of people to take to the streets.
At its peak, the protest movement drew more than 100,000 people on to the streets of Yangon, while other demonstrations took place in cities around the country.
When the military decided to crack down, their tactics were severe.
Protesters, including monks, were beaten in the streets. Shots were fired into crowds, and a Japanese photojournalist was shot dead at close range. More than 3,000 people were arrested, and rights groups estimate some 800 remain in detention.
The violence against the monks was particularly appalling for residents in Yangon. Security forces staged night-time raids on monasteries, leaving behind blood-stained floors and ransacked rooms as they took monks to makeshift detention centres.
Most monks fled the violence, growing out their hair and seeking shelter in villages.
Thailand-based Myanmar analyst Win Min estimated that as little as 10 percent of the monks in Yangon are still in the city.
Although the junta last month announced a timetable for elections, with a constitutional referendum set for May and a multiparty poll in 2010, daily life remains a struggle in Myanmar, one of the world's poorest countries.
"The economic situation in Burma is worse now than at the time of the protests last year," said Sean Turnell, of Burma Economic Watch at Macquarie University in Sydney.
"The regime's response to the protests frightened off any would-be investors who might have thought Burma a destination for their capital," he said.
"Of course, it also frightened away foreign tourists, and the much needed foreign exchange they bring in," he added.
Even in a nation that has suffered under military rule for 46 years, the violence against the monks has instilled an even greater sense of fear in the public, Win Min said.
"The frustration is still there, but the fear is greater. People are more afraid than they were before," he said.
"They are scared, because they think if the military can do this to the monks, they will do worse to the ordinary people."
Insein prison inmates join metta chanting campaign - Aye Nai
DVB: Tue 25 Mar 2008
A metta chanting campaign initiated by All-Burmese Monks Alliance leader U Gambira at Insein prison has been spreading to other prison wards, the monk's sister said.
U Gambira's sister Ma Khin Thu Htay said that detainees from different parts of the prison had joined the campaign.
"U Gambira said all the inmates who are being held in the main prison ward, the special detention area and also the women detainees have been chanting metta," Khin Thu Htay said.
Khin Thu Htay said the campaign was the reason prison authorities put U Gambira into solitary confinement on 14 March.
"We are all Buddhist people and it is not a strange thing for us when a monk chants metta. Putting him into solitary confinement for that is an unacceptable act and it makes our country look really bad."
U Gambira's last scheduled court appointment at Hlaing township court last week did not take place and his remand has been extended for another week.
U Gambira was arrested by government authorities in Magwe division's Sintgaing township on 4 November 2007 for his role in instigating public protests in September.
Student activists initiate vote 'No' campaign - Myo Gyi and Maung Dee
Mizzima News: Tue 25 Mar 2008
In a fresh campaign, student activists in northern Burma's Kachin State on Tuesday urged people in the state's capital of Myitkyina to vote 'No' in the upcoming referendum.
Eyewitnesses said A4 size posters carrying the message "vote 'No' to the junta's forced referendum," were pasted in various places around town, including the markets of Zeygyi Wards no. (1) and (2), Dukathaung Ward, Yanggyi Aung Ward, Station Ward and the Myitkyina University Ward.
Ma Brang, a member of the student group widely known as the All Kachin Student Union (AKSU), said, "We believe our poster campaign will be successful, because the people are confused as to whether they should vote 'Yes' or 'No' in the upcoming referendum or whether they should run away."
"All we want is to let the people know that we should vote 'No' in the referendum," added Ma Brang.
Local witnesses said soon after the members of AKSU pasted posters on the walls of Myitkyina University at about 8 a.m. in the morning, ten soldiers accompanied by police came and guarded the university.
"Police on motorbikes made rounds inside the university campus. In the university there are correspondent students, so the police are guarding them," a resident near the university told Mizzima.
A university student added, "Several soldiers were brought near the university campus. I think they feared that the students might start something after the posters were distributed this morning. Everyone here understands, and most people talked of voting 'No' in the upcoming referendum."
Tuesday morning's poster campaign is the second activity that AKSU has conducted this year. AKSU also pasted posters urging the people to vote 'No' in the town of Winemaw, opposite Myitkyina.
AKSU is an underground student group formed during last September's Saffron Revolution.
While AKSU and a few other activists are campaigning for a 'No' vote in the junta's upcoming referendum, authorities, including Township Chairmen in Shan State, are reportedly gathering local residents and urging them to vote 'Yes'.
Meanwhile, local residents in Muse of Shan State said activists on Sunday reportedly also urged the people to vote 'No' in the referendum by distributing pamphlets and pasting posters.
Total & Kouchner see eye to eye on Burma - Oliver Dours
Bakchich.info: Tue 25 Mar 2008
In Asia, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs never misses a chance to lend a hand to his pals at Total, who are getting bogged down in the Buddhist monks' rebellion.
Total's CEO, Christophe de Margerie, is determined to protect his company's assets in Burma. On October 16, 2007, he rambled somewhat senselessly before the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Commission. In answer to a question put by Commission Chair Axel Poniatowski, de Margerie claimed that neither Aung San Suu Kyi nor representatives of the Burmese opposition had ever, "asked Total to leave." He also boasted about the "opinion shared by a great number of people on the spot (i.e. in Burma) as well as all of the eyewitnesses who have been there, that Total's activities are essential, and should be sustained in the interests of the Burmese people, for whom they are directly beneficial."
Bizarre notions that the Burmese Prime Minister-in-exile, Dr. Sein Win, and his UN representative, Than Htun were quick to dispel during their recent stay in Paris, late last October. In actual fact, as far back as 1992, Burmese pro-democracy forces asked Total to abandon its project for a natural-gas pipeline from Burma to Thailand to produce electricity. To make matters worse, since it was put into service in 2000, they have never stopped pleading for the suspension of this financial windfall, which has already brought in some $3 billion to the Burmese generals' regime. For the opposition, it is abundantly clear that Total has been indeed been essential to the change in the junta's status on the international scene, from disreputable "narco-dictatorship" to the more presentable "gas-pipeline-dictatorship." At a press conference in Paris last October, Messrs. Sein Win and Than Htun expressed surprise that the letter they had addressed to the French government just before the meeting of the European Council in Luxembourg on October 8 had not been taken into account. In it, the Burmese government-in-exile requested the establishment of effective sanctions - which inevitably meant seizure or international control of natural-gas revenues. In actual fact, the European Ministers made haste to exclude fossil fuels from the scope of the sanctions. Decision which can surely be blamed on pressure from the French.
When asked, "Who is your leader ?", certain monks have been known to confess under torture, "His name is Siddhartha." As the agitator's identity and description was passed through the ranks of the uniformed hierarchy, in order to establish a warrant for his arrest anywhere in the country, one officer - slightly cleverer than the rest - realized that Siddhartha is the name of the historical Buddha born 2,500 years ago in Kapilavastu, now part of Nepal
To console his woes, Christophe de Margerie can always go sob on Bernard Kouchner's shoulders : after all, once upon a time, the high-spirited French Minister of Foreign Affairs was a consultant for Total-Burma. This week, the French doctor performed a strange belly dance in a neighboring country he was visiting. In Singapore on October 29, he came up with another suggestion based more on smoke and mirrors than true substance : a funding project for Burma that would allow the international community to finance micro-credits to assist the country's development, on condition that the junta become more democratic. All under the auspices of the World Bank which can no longer operate in Burma since the Americans vetoed it.
On October 30, 2007, in Bangkok, Kouchner laid it on even thicker by singing the praises of Total's pipeline, which, he said, was beneficial for the people of Burma and Thailand. And again, on October 31 in Beijing, he tried to sweet talk Chinese leaders - to get them to reason with their Burmese protégés - by offhandedly mentioning that French president Nicolas Sarkozy could be convinced not to receive the Dalai Lama during his planned visit to Paris in August 2008. Unlike a certain George W. Bush. During his visit to Beijing in December 2007, President Sarkozy asked his Chinese counterpart to intercede with his Burmese protégés in order to have visas granted to Bernard Kouchner and Rama Yade, his Secretary of Human Rights raising snickers in diplomatic circles around the region, but otherwise to no avail
Translated by: Regan Kramer
India cuts a deal with Burma's junta - Nava Thakuria
Asia Tribune: Tue 25 Mar 2008
Worried about its restive northeast, New Delhi is poised to make a major transport deal with Burma. Ignoring continued international pressure to boycott Burma's ruling military junta, New Delhi on April 4 will sign an agreement to develop a port on the western Burmese coast for the benefit of India's restive northeast, where a stubborn secessionist movement has continued its rebellion for decades.
Vice Senior General Maung Aye, second in command of the State Peace and Development Council, as the Burmese junta calls itself, is to arrive in New Delhi to finalize the US$100 million Kaladan project. This includes development of the Sittwe port on the Bay of Bengal, connecting it with landlocked northeastern India through the Kaladan River and road transport system and providing India with a crucial alternative route for transport of goods to the northeastern states, bypassing Bangladesh.
Maung Aye's arrival is the highest-profile visit to India for a Burmese leader since Senior General Than Shwe, the junta leader, was in New Delhi four years ago. Last August and September, the junta earned worldwide opprobrium with a brutal crackdown on the country's restive population, beating and shooting at peaceful protesters led by tens of thousands of Buddhist monks. Although the junta put total deaths at 10, unofficial tallies go much higher.
"The Kaladan project will include shipping, riverine and road transport," Jairam Ramesh, the Indian junior commerce minister, said in a press briefing during a recent visit to the region. "New Delhi wants to connect the northeast with commercial sea routes. Moreover, with the development of the Sittwe port and the Kaladan River to make it efficient for navigation, the region is expected to have another viable access to Southeast Asian countries."
India's northeast, which is almost cut off geographically from the rest of the country by Bangladesh, comprises eight states surrounded by Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, Burma and Bangladesh. The region's cumulative population of about 50 million enjoy more affinity toward China and Burma than with India because of its predominantly East Asian origin. The area is connected to mainland India through only 2 percent of its territorial boundary.
The Burmese junta, though providing free land for the Kaladan project, has been reluctant to invest, which finally compelled New Delhi to extend a US$10 million soft loan to the SPDC leaders, which critics characterized as a bribe. The project is anticipated to be completed within four years and will be executed by the public-sector Rail India Technical Economic Services organization.
India is already under fire across the globe after a visit to Burma by its petroleum minister, Murli Deora, in September at a time when the world's media were delivering pictures of massive protests against the junta and the crackdown. Although Deora witnessed as many as 100,000 demonstrators on the streets of Rangoon, he made no statements. Instead, during his visit, he signed three bilateral agreements for deep exploration in oil blocks. India's state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) Videsh pledged to invest nearly US$150 million for gas exploration in Burma's Rakhaine coastal region.
New Delhi strongly supported the pro-democracy movement in Burma until 1993 but has become increasingly concerned over growing Chinese influence in the country. That has forced India to change its Burma policy to one of greater economic cooperation. Another major concern remains the relentless insurgencies in India's northeast. Armed groups based in the trouble-torn region use the jungles of northern Burma as their hideouts and training camps. India cannot afford to ignore the junta's support in dealing with the situation along the porous 1,600-kilometer Indo-Burmese border.
New Delhi's move to invest in the Burmese port assumes additional significance in view of Bangladesh's reluctance to give India access to its Chittagong port, which is nearer to the northeast, and which is less than 200 km from Agartala, capital of the Indian state of Tripura.
"It is unfortunate that we have not been able to develop our relationship with Bangladesh to the level of making it our gateway to Southeast Asia," Ramesh said, although he pointed out that New Delhi is working on enhancing ties with Bangladesh. (As Asia Sentinel reported on March 12, Bangladesh's army chief of staff, General Moeen U Ahmed, recently spent a week in India in arguably the closest example of cooperation between the two countries since Bangladesh's independence in 1971.)
Burmese exiles have come out against New Delhi for initiating the project, saying any money invested in Burma will not reach the common people, but will go into the pockets of the generals.
"This is not a right time and [the junta leaders] are not the right persons to build a long-term relationship, while human-rights abuses have been claiming many lives every year in Burma," said M Kim, the coordinator of the Shwe Gas Pipeline Campaign Committee (India).
In an interview, Kim said: "India must not bury alive its extraordinary democratic values and inspiration of promotion of peace and human rights by dealing in business and building relations with this barbaric Burmese military junta, which recently not only killed, tortured and imprisoned its own innocent people and monks but also violated religious rights by sealing off monasteries and restricting the basic rights of prayers at pagodas."
Forced labor, Kim said, is still rampant in Arakan state, where the Kaladan project is to be built, with villagers forced to dig and dam fisheries and prawn ponds for the interest of the authorities. The only thing they receive from the authorities is mistreatment, he said.
"It is inevitable that if [Kaladan] is carried out under the present regime, gross human-rights violations will follow," Kim said. "No development project will be done without committing human-rights abuses, so India must hold off on the Kaladan project until the military dictatorship is replaced by a democratic regime, and local communities have a say in how their natural resources are used."
The Mizoram Committee for Democracy in Burma and the Campaign for Democratic Movement in Burma in January appealed vainly to New Delhi to cut ties with the junta as "economic cooperation with them [will] never benefit the people unless democracy is restored in Burma."
But Deepak Parvatiyar, a former journalist turned Indian government communication officer now based in Kuala Lumpur, said the mounting pressure on the military rulers of Burma "should be maintained at a diplomatic level but not at the cost of development."
Speaking to Asia Sentinel from the Malaysian capital, Parvatiyar said: "Contribution to development is always welcome, even after taking into consideration the recent happenings in Burma and the continued regressive policies by its military rulers.
"By participating in the development of the port in Burma, India has shown maturity in dealing with her troublesome neighbors," Parvatiyar said. "Opening bilateral trade with Pakistan was the beginning that considerably helped smooth the relationship between the two countries. By participating in the development of Burma, it will enhance the reputation of India as a country that cares for its neighbors irrespective of political differences. Moreover, the Kaladan project will give the backward northeast region access to commercial sea routes."
However, Tayza Thuria, a Burmese exile based in London, answered that "India's doing business with Burma and engaging with Burma's de facto military government is not wrong in itself. But the Indian government needs to be careful to maintain a balanced and ethical approach towards Burma; ie, while engaging with them in business and security affairs, New Delhi must also try to persuade, advise and guide the junta to make systematic democratic reforms in due course."
Thai PM defends investments in Myanmar
The Straits Times via AFP: Tue 25 Mar 2008
THAI Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej insisted on Tuesday that the kingdom would continue doing business with neighbouring Myanmar in a bid to pressure the military regime to reform.
Thailand is one of the biggest investors and trading partners in Myanmar, spending billions of dollars a year to tap into the country's natural gas and hydropower resources to fuel its own growing economy.
Western countries have tightened sanctions on Myanmar following the junta's crackdown on pro-democracy protests last September, when the United Nations estimates at least 31 people were killed.
Asked if Thailand would change its investment policy to add to the international pressure on the regime, Mr Samak insisted that the countries would remain good neighbours.
'Who will force Thailand to stop being friends with our neighbour? Do we have to adopt the Western opinion on what we can or cannot do?' Mr Samak told reporters.
'When we want something, and we ask Myanmar, they give it to us,' he said.
Myanmar monasteries deserted 6 months after protests
'For example, when we want electricity and we need to a build a dam there, they allow us. If we need transport facilities, they let us build a port. So we are good neighbouring countries,' Mr Samak said.
Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama has said that his country opposes sanctions on Myanmar, saying that talks with the iron-fisted generals could lead to positive developments in the country, which has been ruled by the military since 1962.
Apt time to push for change in Myanmar - Amy Chew
The New Straits Times: Tue 25 Mar 2008
With many military officers having family members who are monks, the Myanmar military has become more divided following the brutal way demonstrating monks were treated during protests in September last year, writes AMY CHEW IN the aftermath of Myanmar's brutal crackdown on the country's Buddhist monks' peaceful demonstration last year, the ruling regime's Gen Than Shwe called up his deputy for a regular game of billiards. But to Than Shwe's surprise, the country's second-highest military officer, Gen Maung Aye, turned him down.
"Gen Maung Aye doesn't play billiards any more with Gen Than Shwe," Win Min, an activist with extensive contacts with the military, told the New Straits Times.
"I heard that he (Than Shwe) called up General Maung Aye and said, 'Let's go play billiards', but Maung Aye refused.
"It's like a protest to the top general," Win Min said.
Myanmar's military is divided and at its weakest since 1988, the last time large-scale protests erupted and ended in bloodshed, say Win Min and pro-democracy activists.
Its once fearsome military intelligence service is also diminished, following the 2004 sacking of military intelligence chief Khin Nyunt.
Khin Nyunt was viewed as a moderate who was open to working with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
For the democratic forces in Myanmar, now is the best time to regroup to push for change.
"This is a window of opportunity to exploit," said Nyo Ohn Myint of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD). "It's the chance to regroup, reorganise another people's power (revolt)."
The activists were in Jakarta recently to attend an international conference on Myanmar.
Throughout the 46-year rule of the military regime in one of the world's poorest countries, dissent has always been crushed with brute force. But last September's crackdown backfired.
When Than Shwe's special troops beat and shot monks and raided monasteries in the capital Yangon, the brutality repulsed officers within the military itself.
U Awbata, 30, was one of the monks at the protests who managed to escape. He now lives in Sri Lanka.
"I saw three monks shot and one of them fell," he said. "The soldiers kicked and stomped his head with their military boots and started beating him. I couldn't do anything but cry."
With many military officers having family members who are monks and holding them in respect, "the military has become more divided after September's demonstrations", said Win Min, who also lectures on Burmese affairs at Chiangmai University.
"There are many mid-level and even some high-level generals who disagree with the level of force used against the monks. The monks are revered symbols in Burma. They are at the top of our value system."
Buddhist monks are an integral part of Burmese society, their presence as ubiquitous as the temples that dot the country's landscape.
"Just as the monks depend on the people for their basic needs, the lay people depend on the monks for their spiritual needs," said U Awbata.
"In the past, the people always acted on their own to demonstrate whenever they were faced with problems in their daily basic needs.
"So when the monks saw the people suffering, they took it upon themselves to act on behalf of the people because it's our duty. We never thought the military would treat us this way."
Maung Aye's loyalists and other troops, unhappy with the crackdown in Yangon, responded by not shooting at the monks.
"If you look at what happened in Mandalay, the troops just surrounded the temples but they did not shoot or beat the monks. They also did not raid the monasteries, unlike in Yangon," said Win Min.
"In Yangon, the special troops there are very close to Than Shwe."
But even as Than Shwe might see over Maung Aye's subtle insubordination, he has not sacked him. His deputy has many regional commanders behind him as well as the loyalty of the troops under his command.
September's peaceful uprising took the military by surprise and exposed the weakness in its intelligence service after Khin Nyunt's ouster.
"When the demonstrations erupted, (the junta) had no idea who the leaders were as all the informers they had planted in the monasteries were no longer working," said Win Min.
Pro-democracy activists put the death toll of monks and other protesters at 100, with another 1,200 jailed, bringing the total number of political prisoners to 2,200.
Western sanctions have failed to prod the regime to make any changes, as investments from China, Russia, India and Asean countries help offset its economic isolation.
Pro-democracy activists have begun lobbying China to use its influence over Myanmar to bring about reform.
Nyo, an aide to Suu Kyi, recently met in Kunming with Chinese officials, who expressed a list of concerns over regime change and extending support to Suu Kyi.
As China shares a very long border with Myanmar, the Chinese are concerned Suu Kyi would allow Myanmar to fall under Western influence and allow the United States to spy on them.
"I told them that Suu Kyi is a very nationalistic person," Nyo said.
China also worries it would lose its vast economic interests in Myanmar under a new regime.
Suu Kyi has agreed to give China special privileges for a period of time, perhaps around 10 years.
"She instructed me to work closely with China," said Nyo. "China is very important and she is willing to assure China that no matter how Burma is transformed into a democracy, China's interests are secure."
China is also worried about Russia's growing influence in Myanmar since 2000. Russia has large investments in nuclear power plants, coal mines and technical military hardware.
As the world's major powers jostle to balance their influence in the region, time is running out for the impoverished Burmese.
"The people are in a very bad situation," said Nyo. "Unemployment is running at around 70 per cent. People have very, very little opportunity to make money. The cost of living is very high.
"There is going to be another uprising, not because of Aung San Suu Kyi, but because the people have no tomorrow.
"We do not want to see more bloodshed, people sacrificing their lives. The alternative is for a political solution."
Archives
September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 September 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 December 2009 January 2010 February 2010 March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010 August 2010 September 2010 October 2010 November 2010 December 2010 January 2011 February 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 August 2011 October 2011
