Burma Update
News and updates on Burma22 June 2009
[ReadingRoom] News on Burma - 22/6/09
U.N.'s Ban invited to visit Myanmar in July: diplomats - Louis Charbonneau Myanmar's ruling military junta has invited U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to visit the country in early July, though it was not clear whether he would accept, Western diplomats said on Wednesday. The diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Ban was concerned the government of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, could use such a visit for propaganda purposes. "He doesn't want his trip to be seen as giving any kind of legitimacy to the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi," one of the diplomats told Reuters, referring to the imprisoned leader of Myanmar's democratic opposition. Suu Kyi is currently on trial for allegedly violating the terms of her imprisonment. She has been detained for more than 13 of the last 19 years. Ban has not made a final decision on whether to visit Myanmar, said Michele Montas, his spokeswoman. The U.N. chief had said that he was considering a trip to Myanmar soon to press the junta to release Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners in the country and to keep its promises to democratize. But it was not clear until now whether the generals would be willing to receive him. The diplomats said they suspected Myanmar's ruling generals want to ensure that Suu Kyi is in detention when next year's multi-party elections take place. "Ban can put pressure on them to let her go," one of the diplomats said. "We don't have many options apart from the secretary-general." The trial of Suu Kyi and of American John Yettaw, whose uninvited visit to her home last month was deemed a breach of her house arrest, is set to resume on June 26. Suu Kyi faces up to five years in prison if found guilty. Ban and his special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, received a petition on Tuesday signed by more than 670,000 people worldwide. It urged Ban to make the release of Suu Kyi and more than 2,000 political prisoners his personal priority. Czech President Vaclav Havel, who spent many years in prison due to his activities as an anti-communist dissident, was among the world figures who signed the petition. Myanmar troops threaten Karen rebel bases Myanmar government forces captured three Karen rebel positions on Thursday in the latest fighting that has forced thousands of refugees to flee into neighbouring Thailand, commanders said. The army and their Karen allies were also threatening two bases of the Karen National Union (KNU), the largest rebel group in the eastern former Burma. "We captured 3 small KNU positions and are closing in on two main bases," said Captain Kha Koe of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), which joined government troops in an offensive against the KNU on June 3. There were no confirmed reports of casualties. Earlier on Thursday, KNU Commander Kyaw Ny said his fighters were preparing to abandon their 7th brigade base to avoid unnecessary loss of life. "It is a tactical redeployment. We also do not want to kill our fellow Karens in this battle," he told reporters by telephone. Thai army officials say some 3,000 Karen refugees have fled across the border into Thailand since the fighting began. The U.N. refugee agency has said it is working with the Thai government to assist the refugees. Myanmar's state-controlled media said on Thursday those who fled to Thailand were "insurgents" from several KNU units. The KNU has been fighting for autonomy in the hills of eastern Myanmar for the last 60 years, one of the world's oldest insurgencies. Rebel leaders say the latest offensive is part of the military regime's campaign to eliminate all opposition ahead of promised multi-party elections in 2010. The trial of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who faces up to five years in jail if convicted of violating her house arrest, resumes next week. Critics say the trial is aimed at keeping the Nobel laureate and National League for Democracy (NLD) leader in detention ahead of next year's polls. The KNU are one of a handful of rebel militias not to have signed a ceasefire with the military junta. In February last year, KNU leader Mahn Sha Lar Phan was shot dead at his home in a Thai border town in an assassination blamed on the regime and its Karen allies. Myanmar has been under military rule of one form or another since 1962, during which time it has been riven by dozens of ethnic guerrilla wars, funded in part by revenues from opium sales from the notorious "Golden Triangle". (Reporting by Somjit Rungjumratrussamee; Writing by Kittipong Soonprasert; Editing by Darren Schuettler) DKBA: Burma's second largest non-state armed group? - Wai Moe Ethnic ceasefire groups were upset this year when the Burmese junta announced plans to transform them into a Border Guard Force (BGF). However, one Karen rebel splinter group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), quickly joined, seeing it as an opportunity to expand its troops and as a road to riches. According to a DKBA report on a meeting in May on the transformation of the Border Guard Force that was obtained by The Irrawaddy, the DKBA plans to expand its troops from 6,000 to 9,000. DKBA troops march in a parade. (Photo: Shah Paung/ The Irrawaddy) At the meeting, Tun Hlaing, the DKBA commander, said that the armed group would recruit or conscript 3,000 more soldiers. If the DKBA reaches an armed force of 9,000 troops, it would be the second largest non-state-armed group in Burma, after the United Wa State Army (UWSA). The UWSA has an estimated 25,000 troops based in northern and southern Shan State. In 1995, Buddhist Karen rebels separated from the mainly Christian-dominated Karen National Union (KNU) that has sought Karen autonomy for more than six decades. Later, they formed the DKBA. In 1995, the DKBA allied with the Burmese army, which eventually led to the fall of the then KNU headquarters at Manerplaw. "The [Burmese] government has had some success using religion to split the insurgent factions," Larry J Remon, a security analyst wrote in a bulletin of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, while noting that the success has been coupled with lucrative rewards for corrupt leaders. Maj-Gen Thet Naing Win, the commander of the Burmese army's Southeast Regional Command, met with leaders of the DKBA at the headquarter of the 22nd Light Infantry Division in Hpa-an in Karen State on April 18. At the meeting, the DKBA commander, Thar Htoo Kyaw, said that the DKBA will transform into a Border Guard Force in order to survive. According to Thar Htoo Kyaw, the Burmese commander told them that the DKBA headquarter will become a Border Guard Commanding Headquarter under the transformation plan. After transformation, the border guard forces of the DKBA will still be under the DKBA flag. Under a draft plan on troop transformation, DKBA commanders would be allowed to have 22 battalions under five brigades and one central headquarters. Thar Htoo Kyaw said at the meeting that the DKBA will recruit between ages 18 and 50. In early fall, the DKBA will report on its armed structure to Burmese commanders. Since May, along with DKBA troops, Burmese forces have conducted a military offensive against the Karen National Liberated Army, the military wing of the KNU. Thousands of Karen have escaped the offensive to neighboring Thailand and an unknown number of villagers are now internally displaced persons living in the jungle. In the past 14 years, the DKBA, allied with the junta, several times crossed into Thailand and burned Karen refugee camps. Security analysts describe the DKBA as an armed group that brings in income from drug trafficking and car smuggling activities, which are tacitly condoned by the military junta. Which ever side wins in the current offensive, the territory under its control will provide lucrative income from timber, commercial trading and taxes. Chinese firms to have stakes in two mega dams - Moe Thu Business stakeholders from Burma, China and Thailand are into discussions for Chinese investors to involve themselves in two huge hydro power dams in Burma, said a Rangoon-based energy expert. The two multi-billion-dollar projects on the Salween River are being developed by Thailand's MDX Group and Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, both of which have joint ventures with Burma's Ministry of Electric Power (1). "A few Chinese firms are holding discussions with officials concerned to participate in the two projects - Tasang and Hatgyi," said the expert. The Tasang hydropower project, worth US$ 7 billion, is the largest Thai investment in Burma. It will generate an estimated 7,100 megawatts (MW) and is being operated by Thailand's MDX Group, while the US$1 billion Hatgyi project is being developed by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). However, the expert, who wished not to be named for fear of reprisal, refused to comment on how many shares the Chinese side will take. The Tasang project, located about 75 kilometres from the Thai border, will be 868 metres long and 227 metres high and will be the biggest dam ever and is scheduled to become functional in 2022. A joint venture agreement to build the dam was signed in Rangoon in April 2006 between Burma and MDX Group. The pre-feasibility study started in 1997. The expert said the Burmese side was delaying building the Tasang project and that the actual construction only started in early 2007 but was suspended shortly thereafter. The Tasang project, one of the five mega hydropower projects on the Salween River, is being jointly developed by Burma and Thailand. Meanwhile, the expert said China is negotiating to participate in the $1 billion Hatgyi project on Salween River in Karen State. China's Sinohydro Corp will be the investor in the Hatgyi project that is located in the conflict zone between the Karen rebels and the Burmese Army. Two EGAT technicians were killed while on a survey at the dam site in 2007, forcing the EGAT to halt the survey work. Burma's generals must free Aung San Suu Kyi and embrace democracy - Gordon Brown Today is the 64th birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi. The fact that she remains under arrest is tragic for Burma and for all those who believe in democracy. The trial of Ms Suu Kyi is an absurd mockery of justice. The real injustice was not that someone broke into her compound, but that she was imprisoned in the first place. Ms Suu Kyi has now been imprisoned for 13 of the past 19 years, since the party she led won the last elections in her country. More than 2000 others are imprisoned across Burma for sharing her commitment to a better future for the long-suffering population. Even in the face of such injustice, Ms Suu Kyi has always supported the path of peace and reconciliation. But the regime has consistently spurned her offer of dialogue and reconciliation. It wants to isolate her from the people of Burma, for whom she has long been a symbol of hope and defiance. Her refusal to buckle in the face of tyranny is an inspiration. But words of support are not enough. The region, the European Union and the United Nations are all urging the junta to release Ms Suu Kyi. So far all requests for moderation have been spurned. In the face of such obstinacy, the world must now act. I believe there are three things we must do. First, we need to support the countries of the region as they step up efforts to secure democracy and reconciliation. I have been struck by how Burma's neighbours have led the world in calling for Ms Suu Kyi's release. We need to translate this outrage into political pressure for change. Second, we need the UN Security Council to reinforce its calls for Ms Suu Kyi's release and to support the Secretary-General's efforts to bring about political progress through an early visit to Burma. Third, we should impose a new set of tough sanctions that target the regime's economic interests. We will be pushing for stronger EU action in this regard. Such a step would hit the business interests of the generals and their cronies. I also believe we should identify and target those judges complicit in the recent political show trials. The growing sense of outrage and the unity of the international community behind this message should mark a turning point. The regime is at a crossroads. Long-promised elections in 2010 will remain a charade while political prisoners are being tortured, ethnic minorities are persecuted, the media muzzled, freedom of speech and assembly are non-existent and Ms Suu Kyi is silenced. The regime can choose to ignore the clamour for change. But this will only condemn the country to deeper isolation, poverty, conflict and despair. Or it can choose the path of reform, as the region has urged. Burma is rich in natural and human resources, at the heart of a dynamic continent. Democratic reform would unleash the country's enormous potential. Britain and the international community would be ready to extend the hand of friendship. If the Burmese generals rethink their ways, we will be ready to recognise and embrace any genuine reforms they make. Some may question why Burma warrants so much attention. There are other countries where human rights are ignored or people live in poverty. But the Burmese junta stands virtually alone in the scale of its misrule and the sheer indifference to the suffering of its 50 million people. How we respond to this injustice will send a message about our resolution to tackle similar injustices across the globe. To those that stand for human rights, freedom and democracy, our message remains clear - you are not alone. * Gordon Brown is the British Prime Minister. Myanmar court allows Suu Kyi final witness appeal Myanmar's highest court said Wednesday it will allow a final appeal by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's defense lawyers for the reinstatement of two key witnesses at her trial, her lawyer said. Defense lawyer Nyan Win called the ruling ''good news'' and said the High Court was expected to set a date for the appeal on Friday. Four truckloads of armed riot police circled the court, and two trucks mounted with machine guns and filled with riot police were parked outside. Tight security is standard during hearings in the trial. Suu Kyi is charged with having violated the terms of her house arrest when an uninvited American man swam secretly to her closely guarded lakeside home last month and stayed two days. The trial has drawn outrage from the international community and from Suu Kyi's local supporters, who say the military government is using the bizarre incident as an excuse to keep the Nobel Peace Prize laureate detained through next year's elections. Suu Kyi's trial, which started May 18, has been delayed to allow appeals for more defense witnesses. Nyan Win said the High Court appeal would cause further delays to the trial, which was scheduled to resume June 26. The District Court trying Suu Kyi initially allowed only one of four defense witnesses to take the stand. On appeal, the Yangon Divisional Court ruled last week that a second witness could be heard. Two senior members of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party - Tin Oo and Win Tin - remain barred from giving testimony. It is widely expected that Suu Kyi will be found guilty. Courts in Myanmar are known for handing out harsh sentences to political dissidents. If convicted, she faces up to five years in prison. Suu Kyi, who has been detained for more than 13 of the last 19 years, will spend her 64th birthday Friday in Yangon's Insein prison, where was transferred from house arrest on May 14. Over 700,000 stateless persons in Burma - Francis Wade Burma has the world's third largest population of stateless persons according to the UN refugee agency, while at the same time Burmese refugees were last year the main beneficiaries of UN resettlement programmes. The issue of stateless persons in Burma was thrown into the spotlight earlier this year when around 1000 ethnic Muslim Rohingya refugees from western Burma washed up on Thailand's shores, only to be towed back out to sea and set adrift by Thai authorities. The incident shed light of the plight of the Rohingya, who are not recognized by the Burmese government and suffer frequent discrimination due to their lack of legal status. In total, around 723,571 people are considered to be stateless in Burma, according to an annual Global Trends report released yesterday by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The report warned however that figures do not "capture the full magnitude of the phenomenon of statelessness - a significant number of stateless people have not been identified and statistical data on statelessness is not yet available in many cases". Alongside the Rohingya, other ethnic groups such as Burmese Chinese, Burmese Indian and Panthay are not recognized by the government. Burma is also home to over 500,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), the majority of which are in eastern Karen state, who have been forced out of their homes largely by fighting between the Burmese army and the Karen National Union. No data was available for the total number of Burmese refugees living abroad, although Burma is thought to contribute the majority of the total 3.5 million stateless persons living in neighbouring Thailand. That situation has been compounded by the exodus of around 4000 civilians from eastern Karen state in recent weeks who are fleeing a government offensive against the Karen National Union. Furthermore, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) on Monday warned that even children with migrant status in Thailand were struggling to access education. However around 23,200 Burmese benefited from UNHCR-facilitated resettlement programmes last year, the majority of these departing from Thailand. This, according to the report, was the world's highest proportion. Globally, however, the situation last year for refugees was bleak, with a total of 42 million people had been uprooted by conflict. The UNHCR found that numbers of IDPs in the world was at an historical high of more than 28 million, catalysed latterly by the intensification in recent months of conflict in Pakistan's Swat valley, which had forced some 2 million to leave their homes, and in Sri Lanka where 300,000 were held in intenrment camps following government offensives against the Tamil Tigers. Junta to resettle 200,000 Burmans in Hukawng Valley The Burmese military junta plans to resettle 200,000 Burman people in ethnic Kachin's Hukawng Valley (also called Hugawng in Kachin) in the country's northern Kachin State before 2010, said regime insiders. The new Burman settlers, who make up the majority of the country's population, will be mainly settled in areas close to three Kachin villages known as Nawng Mi, Sahtu Zup and Wara Zup on the Ledo or Stilwell Road also called Burma Road during WW II, added insiders. In the guise of Rangoon-based Yuzana Company's crop plantation in the Valley, only Burman people from different areas of lower Burma have been resettled in the Valley since late 2006, said native Kachins from the Valley. U Htay Myint a Chinese-Burman from Kutkai town in northeast Shan State chairs the company, which bought over 200,000 acres of land in Hukawng Valley from the junta. The purchase was politically motivated, said company sources. The company is now continuously transporting Burman workers into its crop plantation area in the Valley. However, many workers are leaving the job and fleeing because of very low salaries, said sources among workers. All runaway workers not only do not return homes from the Valley but the company also does not have a programme of bringing them back, added company sources. The company has already constructed over 1500 houses for the workers in identical styles in two separate places. Two Thai-styled big factories are also being constructed in two different places near the labour quarters, said eyewitnesses. The company is now mainly growing Cassava Plants and Sugar Cane in the newly ploughed fields, said eyewitnesses. The glue and curry-sweet powder are being produced for export from next year, according to company sources. Till now, the junta has already resettled over 40,000 Burman people from lower Burma in the Valley. They were systematically transported by both Yuzana Company and local Burmese Army battalions, said native Kachin community leaders. There are an estimated 20,000 native Kachin in villages in the Hukawng Valley along the Ledo Road starting from Namti to Shingbwi Yang. The entire Valley has been separately ruled by 12 Kachin Duwas (rulers) in Kachin history until the Britishers gave Burma Independence on January 4, 1948. At the same time, Htoo Company owned by the Burman tycoon U Te Za (also spelled Tay Za), son-in-law of the junta supremo Senior General Than Shwe is taking out at least 50 trucks of hardwood per day from the Valley to Mogaung train station for export under the banner of Yuzana Company, said company sources. Besides, U Te Za's Htoo Company is also practically supporting the Yuzana Company with essential finance and construction machinery, according to company insiders. Recently, the junta's Northern Command (Ma Pa Kha) commander Brig-Gen Soe Win landed in a helicopter at the helipad in No. 1 Yuzana Village of Yuzana Company in the Valley. He proudly spoke to the local people that the crop plantation can be done by every one because peace has been restored in the Valley, said local people. The Hukawng Valley was named as the world largest Tiger Reserve by the US-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in 2004. However, the Yunaza Company is destroying the reserve by heavy logging and converting forests into crop fields, said locals. Locals and eyewitnesses told KNG, the Yuzana Company has already occupied and destroyed the No. 1 Tiger Conservation Camp near Nawng Mi village for crop plantation. The Burman-dominated junta's response to people or organizations who oppose the crop plantation of Yuzana Company by saying, "Man is more important than the Tiger", said company sources. Kachin people in Burma feels that the junta is deeply is into ethnic cleansing and huge land confiscation in Hukawng Valley by using the Yuzana Company and local Burmese Army bases. Myanmar said to overrun 3 Karen rebel positions - Caroline Stauffer Myanmar government forces have overrun three Karen rebel positions in an offensive that has forced thousands of refugees across the Thai border, an aid group said Wednesday, even as the rebels claimed to have killed or wounded scores of government soldiers. Myanmar troops and their allies in the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, a local militia, launched an offensive against Karen National Union strongholds in early June, shelling their camps and sending more than 4,000 civilians fleeing into Thailand. The KNU says Ler Per Her camp in Myanmar, which sheltered internal refugees, was abandoned last week - prompting one of the largest refugee movements into Thailand in recent years - and that government forces were trying to overrun five Karen positions in the area of the camp. The Free Burma Rangers, which helps displaced people in eastern Myanmar, said Wednesday that government troops had overrun three of those positions. KNU spokesman David Thaw maintained that the guerrillas have largely repelled the offensive and "killed or wounded 148 soldiers" in recent weeks. Only five Karen have been killed in the fighting, he said. A spokesman for Myanmar's military government did not respond to a request for comment, and it was impossible to independently verify the claims because reporters cannot access the area. The KNU has been fighting for more than 60 years for greater autonomy from Myanmar's central government, but its strength has dwindled over the past decade due to army offensives and divisions within its ranks. Some 100,000 mostly Karen refugees already shelter in camps in Thailand after fleeing counterinsurgency operations in the past two decades, while aid agencies say nearly half a million others are internally displaced inside eastern Myanmar. The latest refugees were taking shelter about 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of Mae Sot, a border town that is 240 miles (380 kilometers) northwest of the Thai capital, Bangkok. Human rights groups as well as the United Nations have long accused the Myanmar government of torture, killings and rape of Karen civilians in their attempts to stamp out the insurgency. The military regime denies such allegations. Junta out of step with Asean economic ambition - William Boot Singapore's "no new investment without reform" message to the Burmese generals is more than just a tough response to the widely condemned trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, say regional analysts. It signals an end to the old indulgence of the junta for commercial reasons, and the beginning of a new collective more responsible attitude in with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Singapore has been one of Burma's biggest investors over the last 15 years and has been a de facto banking house for the regime. But the global financial crisis has changed that, possibly forever. "The current financial crisis, and Singapore's grave exposure to it, makes [Singapore Senior Minister] Goh Chok Tong's gesture more meaningful than it would be in more tranquil and prosperous times," said Burma economy expert Prof Sean Turnell. The cost of associating with the Burmese junta are "rather more than Singapore seems willing to pay" in its worst financial crisis in more than 40 years, said Turnell, who produces the Burma Economic Watch for Macquarie University in Australia. For a long time, Singapore was Burma's second-largest investor, spending heavily in tourism developments such as hotels and other areas. China's increasing importance to the junta had already pushed Singapore into investment third place. Singapore banks have traditionally been a haven for money from both the junta chiefs and the leading Burmese companies that do business with them. Singapore's state-controlled Channel News Asia reported that Goh advised junta leader Than Shwe during a visit to Naypyidaw earlier this month that Singapore investors would likely stay away until "the picture is clear, before this move to democracy is seen to produce results." He was referring to the trial of Suu Kyi and the junta's promised national elections in 2010. Significantly, Goh is also chairman of the city state's central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Turnell said that while Singapore's economy was booming it was easy for the city state to indulge Burma's excesses and ignore international opinion and Western-led sanctions. "In straightened times the tolerance to one's indigent and grasping relatives in the Asean family might just stretch affections," he told The Irrawaddy. In prosperous times, the economic "cushion" allows countries such as Singapore to "ignore the reputational damage of indulging Burma's military leaders." "Now such a cushion is threadbare indeed, and the costs of associating with Burma's dysfunctional state apparatus are rather more than Singapore seems willing to pay." Singapore's blunt economic message to Than Shwe and his cohorts comes as more member countries of Asean begin to openly criticize the junta and especially its trumped up trial of Suu Kyi on spurious allegations widely perceived as being intended to stop her participation in next year's promised elections. "Aung San Suu Kyi may be behind bars, but the junta is in the hot seat," said the chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, Simon Tay. "In the present circumstances, it is not only Western democracies and activists who protest what is being done. The telling evidence of the weight of opinion comes from looking across members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations." And the reason, again, is economic. Asean finally seems to have lost patience with its former tolerance and indulgence of the Burmese junta's excesses, said the analysts. "As Asean moves more determinedly toward a European Union style of economic community, with free trade, free movement of people and respect for human rights which lie at the core of the EU's purpose, it can no longer continue to ignore a festering sore," said the economic attaché of a European embassy in Bangkok, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the still sensitive nature of the issue. "The political and economic landscape of this region is changing forever and the Burmese generals have yet to realize they are not only out of step but out of time," he said. China adds 'democracy,' 'economic growth' to Burma policy - Wai Moe Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has told the Burma's No 2 leader, Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye, on Tuesday in Beijing that China hopes the military junta will promote democracy in Burma. According to a Chinese language news website, www.news.qq.com, Wen said in order to achieve Burma's national reconciliation, safeguard national stability and economic development, Beijing hoped the military government would promote democracy. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Burma's No 2 leader, Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye, greet each other in Beijing on Tuesday. Apart from the political situation in Burma, Wen also spoke of the nearly six decade long diplomatic ties between the neighboring countries as well as sustained bilateral relations. The Chinese media reported that Maung Aye said during his meeting with Wen on Tuesday that "Paukphaw," or deep friendship relation between Burma and China, have been deepen even more. He thanked the Chinese government for its aid for economic and social development in Burma. Maung Aye also said Burma supported the one-China policy when he met with Premier Wen, the Chinese media reported. Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese analyst based on the Sino-Burmese border, said it was a positive step for Bejing to add democracy, national reconciliation and economic development to its old policy of "stability" in Burma. "Wen Jiabao's words of national reconciliation, stability and economic development to Gen Maung Aye reflected China's current Burma policy," he said. However, other Burma observers are still skeptical about China's policy on Burma, saying Beijing only focuses on its own economic and military interests in regard to Burma. "I do not expect much out of this visit and certainly not Chinese pressure on Naypyidaw to adopt reforms," Jeff Kingston, the director of Asian Studies at Temple University's Japan campus, told The Irrawaddy. "China wants stability on its border and even if it has some reservations about the SPDC's methods and capabilities, it shows no inclination to gamble on democracy or condemn human rights abuses." He noted that Burma's powerful neighbors, China and India, are its largest trading partners and their dependence on natural resources and desire for a stable Burma trump their interests in a free and democratic Burma. "The development of Burma is for their own interests," he said. During his China visit, Muang Aye was accompanied by ministers and seniors officials of Burma's Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Energy as well as representatives from Burmese businesses. According to Aung Kyaw Zaw, www.news.qq.com also recently republished an article by Swedish journalist Bertil Lintner on North Korea's involvement in tunnel and underground facility construction in Burma. Observers say Beijing is observing the relationship between Burma and North Korea, and does not want North Korea to help the Burmese generals achieve nuclear or missile capabilities, such as in Iran and Syria. "Definitely, China will not want two more nuclear power countries on its northeast and southwest border," Aung Kyaw Zaw said. In last year, officials of Burma and North Korea exchanged a number of visits. Burmese foreign minister Nyan Win visited North Korea in October 2008. In November 2008, North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Young Il stopped in Burma before he flew to Iran. The junta's No 3 leader, General Shwe Mann, reportedly visited Pyongyang in April 2008. During Maung Aye visit to China, Kim Jong Un, 26, the favored youngest son of the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Il, also made a secret trip from Pyongyang to Beijing last week. "It is interesting that Maung Aye's visit follows that by a delegation from North Korea, two pariah regimes that owe much to Beijing's support - economic, diplomatic and military," said Kingston. 150,000 Myanmar working in Malaysia About 3.5 million Myanmars have fled the country and are now living in refugee camps or have sought employment abroad, including an estimated 150,000 in Malaysia, the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) said Tuesday. Its researcher, Stephen Hull, said that among the three milion people who were now in Thailand, about 135,000 were cramped in 10 refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar border, with the Karen ethnic group being the single largest group. He said between 50,000 and 60,000 were in Singapore, up to 100,000 ethnic Chin from western Myanmar lived in the north-eastern Indian state of Mizoram while about 200,000 Rohingya, also from the western side, had settled in eastern Bangladesh. "Most of the people fled the country because of poverty or torture and forced labour carried out by Myanmar's ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)," he said at the launch of the KHRG's report on "Abuse, Poverty and Migration: Investigating migrants' motivations to leave home in Burma." here Tuesday. He said the number of Karens fleeing the country was expected to rise, citing the 3,000 villagers who crossed into Thailand early this month from Dta Greh Township, following the joint SPDC and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army forces attack on a Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) camp, as well as those fleeing forced recruitment as porters to carry supplies for the troops. The KHRG said this was the largest refugee exodus from Karen state on a single occasion since 1997. The report said many of the Myanmars were seen as economic migrants, approximately 135,000 individuals in refugee camps in Thailand, about 1,500 UNHCR-recognised refugees in India and 26,000 Rohingya residing within two officially recognised refugee camps in Bangladesh are acknowledged as forced migrants entitled to host-government or UN assistance. Jackie Pollock from the MAP Foundation (Thailand) said that despite the Karen people fleeing the country to escape the attack and torture, many receiving countries, including Thailand, regarded them as a threat to the national security. She said statistics compiled by several international agencies showed that there were 200,000 migrant children in Thailand while more than 200,000 aged between 15 to 18 years had registered to work in the kingdom. Asked how the workers send back money to support their families, she said many of them used brokers who charged small amounts of commission or through friends returning home. Pollock said that while many of the Asean countries continued to address the migrant issues, the regional grouping had set up a committee to implement a non-binding declaration on the migrant workers. On claims that many of the Myanmars were going to refugee camps to get resettled in a third country, she said about 30,000 had been resettled in other countries and added that Thailand's new law allowed children of stateless people to be given citizenship. U.N.'s Ban urged to help free Myanmar prisoners - Louis Charbonneau U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his envoy to Myanmar have received a petition from over 670,000 people worldwide urging them to press Myanmar's military junta to release all political prisoners. The petition calls on Ban and his special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, to secure the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the democratic opposition in the country formerly known as Burma, and other political prisoners. Suu Kyi is currently on trial for allegedly violating the terms of her imprisonment. U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas confirmed on Tuesday that Gambari had received the petition. "The release of all political prisoners is the first and most important step toward freedom and democracy in Burma," the petition says. "We, the undersigned, call upon U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to make it his personal priority to secure the release of all of Burma's political prisoners." More than 670,000 signatures were collected in some 220 countries and territories, said the petition organizers, who include former political prisoners and human rights activists. Among the Burmese activists behind the petition are Khin Ohmar, vice chairwoman of the Burmese Women's Union, and former political prisoners Tate Naing and Aung Din. Myanmar is holding 2,100 political prisoners and since October more than 350 prisoners have been given jail sentences of up to 104 years, according to a statement issued by the Czech Republic, which has helped publicize the petition. Among the world figures who signed the petition is former Czech President Vaclav Havel, who spent many years in prison due to his activities as an anti-communist dissident. The trial of Suu Kyi and of American John Yettaw, whose uninvited visit to her home last month was deemed a breach of her house arrest, is set to resume on June 26. Suu Kyi faces up to five years in prison if found guilty. Ban is considering a visit to Myanmar next month to personally urge the junta generals to keep their promises to democratize. (Editing by Eric Beech) It's not too late to rescue Burma from further tragedy - Benedict Rogers It is time to treat Than Shwe as the war criminal that he is, and hold a commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity, writes Benedict Rogers. Within the past month, two new shocking chapters of misery have opened up in Burma's decades-long tragedy. The first is the trial, on ludicrously fabricated charges, of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who marks her 64th birthday this coming Friday. Now in the notorious Insein Prison, after over 13 years of house arrest, her trial is a blatant attempt by the regime to keep her locked up. Her continued detention is illegal under both international and Burmese law, according to the UN - which is why the regime has gone to such absurd lengths to find fresh charges. The second is the attacks within the past week on Ler Per Hur , a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Karen State, Burma. Situated on the banks of the Moie river, opposite Thailand, Ler Per Hur has been home to more than 1,200 Karen IDPs who had fled the Burma Army's attacks on their villages deeper inside Burma. Although it has twice been attacked before, it has for the past seven years provided a place of sanctuary and relative peace for those escaping the junta's policies of forced labour, rape, torture, destruction of villages, crops and livestock, extrajudicial killings and conscription of villagers as human minesweepers. I know Ler Per Hur well. I have visited many times. The people there are my friends. I have ridden in their boats, walked through their vegetable patches, played with their children and talked with new arrivals. I have brought British and Irish politicians, including John Bercow , perhaps the next Speaker of the House of Commons, there. My mother has visited, and my sister , a professional musician, has played her violin there. Now, the inhabitants of Ler Per Hur and the surrounding area have had to flee for their lives. Over 5,000 Karen civilians are now encamped on the Thai side of the river, in urgent need of food, medicine and shelter, surrounded by the sound of mortars and RPGs. As Rainbow, a school teacher and a friend of mine, told the BBC : "Last week government troops attacked our camp. They were shelling every day … We can't go back because the military has taken over our camp. But we can't stay here for long either. We are illegal here … We can only hope that we'll be able to go home soon." That hope, that they and the several million other Burmese refugees around the world will be able to go home soon, requires the international community to wake up. In recent years, abundant evidence has been provided of the extraordinary inhumanity of Burma's ruling military dictator, Senior General Than Shwe. In 2007, his military beat, arrested, imprisoned and killed Buddhist monks and civilians participating in peaceful protests. Last year, he rammed through a rigged referendum on a new constitution, while denying humanitarian aid to the victims of Cyclone Nargis. Yet rather than jolting the international community into serious action, these events appear to have increased muddled thinking among some. There are those in academia, diplomacy and major aid agencies who, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, argue that the regime shows signs of reasonableness and that all we need to do is lift sanctions and engage unconditionally. Perhaps, in some of their minds, a round of golf with the Generals would do the trick. It is as if the wind and rain of Cyclone Nargis swept through their brains - not removing the cobwebs that previously existed, but instead leaving a soggy mess behind. It gives a whole new meaning to the concept of 'water on the brain'. The farcical trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, combined with the intensification of the offensive against Karen civilians, must surely be a wake-up call for those who have not previously heard the sirens ring. Than Shwe is not a man with whom we can simply have a nice chat. Significant pressure, far from being a cause of his intransigence, is the only language he understands. Sanctions, rather than being lifted, need to be tightened and more carefully targeted, to hit Than Shwe and his cronies. The United Nations Security Council must impose a universal arms embargo, and the European Union - which has at last issued a statement condemning the offensives in eastern Burma - should lead the charge. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon should make the release of political prisoners in Burma his personal priority, as called for in a petition signed by almost 700,000 people . And it is time to treat Than Shwe as the war criminal that he is, and hold a commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity , as called for by two previous UN special rapporteurs. Such steps should be given the sense of urgency the situation deserves, by invoking the UN's 'Responsibility to Protect' mechanism. That would be the most appropriate way of marking Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday. Moreover, humanitarian aid - both within the country and especially to the IDPs on the run in the border areas - must be increased. Those who criticize pressure accuse campaigners of opposing aid. It is time to nail that lie once and for all. I know of no Burma activist who has opposed humanitarian aid, provided it is properly channeled and reaches those who need it most, without benefiting the regime. Indeed, the Burma Campaign UK and Christian Solidarity Worldwide fought hard to get the British government to increase aid to Burma in 2007, a battle we won in the face of stiff opposition from some civil servants. So while we can debate the merits of other policies, I urge those who perpetuate the lie about aid to put away their childish games and accept that on the humanitarian issue, at least, there is significant common ground. Furthermore, if they really do care about the humanitarian crisis in Burma, I hope they will join me in calling for significant emergency aid to the IDPs and refugees newly displaced as a result of the current eastern Burma crisis. It is of course clear that Burma's regional neighbours, notably China, India, Japan and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), have a crucial role to play. Thailand in particular must see the offensives on its border, which may amount to attempted genocide, as the last straw. China should recognize that its reputation is seriously at risk if it continues to provide economic and diplomatic support for Than Shwe's barbaric regime. They must join the US and the EU in urging UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to increase his efforts to bring change to Burma, and supporting initiatives at the Security Council. Burma's political and humanitarian crisis surely ranks in the same category as North Korea, Sudan and Zimbabwe, and as such it must receive the attention it deserves and has for so long been denied. It is not too late to rescue Burma from further tragedy, nor is the international community's already much-tarnished moral record irredeemable - but both hang in the balance. Benedict Rogers is a human rights activist working for Christian Solidarity Worldwide , which recently launched the Change for Burma! campaign. He is the author of A Land Without Evil: Stopping the Genocide of Burma's Karen people (Monarch Books, 2004). He has travelled almost 30 times to Burma and its borderlands, and is currently writing a biography of Senior General Than Shwe. India's stance on Burma long overdue for change - Editorial New Delhi's shocking silence on developments in its neighbour, particularly the plight of Aung San Suu Kyi, could come back to haunt it. It is amazing how India can be so blind towards developments in its western neighbour, Burma, and the ongoing political oppression there. The world's largest democracy is doing a big disservice with its silence. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is a man of virtue when it comes to Burma. He sounds like an accomplice with the Burmese military junta. It is beyond the regional and international community's understanding why India keeps defending Burma - even though the junta leaders are thugs. The conventional wisdom is that New Delhi is protecting its turf inside Burma, which has been won through drastic changes of its position 15 years ago. Lest we |forget, India used to be one of the biggest supporters of Burmese pro-democratic movements and students in exile. Then, the Indian leaders saw China's southward influence kept expanding and spreading. Instead of helping to accelerate positive changes inside Burma, they decided to play the trade-off game plan devised by Burma. Today, India believes that it has struck a deal with Burma along with an energy plan and the use of sea ports inside Burma. It is an open secret that India wants to counter China's growing economic clout in the Bay of Bengal. But it will be a wasteful exercise. Just look at how wrong Asean was when Burma was admitted into the group as a way to balance the Chinese influence. Look at what has transpired in the past decade. China's presence inside Burma, not to mention the rest of Southeast Asia, has increased rapidly and permeated the social fabric there. The best way is to manage the relations with China and play on Beijing's growing international responsibility. Joint statements from the UN Security Council and the ministerial conference of Asia-Europe Meeting in Hanoi last month on Burma and the plight of Aung San Suu Kyi showed the adroitness of Beijing's diplomacy and the international sentiment. It is sad that India remains the only country - among those who matter on Burma - which still keeps quiet. More than a 100 Indian politicians have called on their government to intervene and help to free the opposition party leader and bring democracy there. Indeed, their demands were a bit too far-fetched. What India can do best is to behave like China - respond to the outcries and international sentiment. Certainly, India behaves uniquely in global affairs. But on this particular issue, the newly established government must take heed of what is going on with the farcical trial and the plight of other political prisoners. Furthermore, international solidarity is needed if there are going to be changes in Burma. Burma has been able to get away scot-free playing one power against the other, using its rich energy and natural resources as baits. India, China as well as other countries are subjected to manipulation by Burma's energy diplomacy. Somehow all of them, except India, do come out and express their outrage over the latest developments. But it is a shame that India continues its silence. The time has come for India to change its soft approach to Burma. Indeed, several countries are reviewing their foreign policy towards Burma in view of the current situation. India will be a loser in the future if it continues to entertain the idea that silence is golden at this junction. New Delhi is wrong to think that it will be rewarded for its continued inaction. Like it or not, India's international image and reputation has been tarnished greatly. Apparently, India has not learned from its bitter history with Southeast Asia. Back in 1979, India was the only Asian odd ball that recognised the Vietnam-backed Heng-Samrin regime in Phnom Penh, much to the chagrin of Asean. Bilateral ties with the region were downgraded and took over a decade for India to catch up with Asean. When India became flexible and pragmatic, it produced great results. Look at Asean-India relations now, they have progressed tremendously. At the moment, the very least India can do is to break its silence and support Asean's position and the chair's statement on Suu Kyi and call for inclusive election next year that is free and fair. Failure to do so would be a huge sham. KIA troops take to forests for possible war with Burmese Army Troops of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) are going into the forests from their army battalions in Burma's northern Kachin State for a possible war with the Burmese Army. This, despite having accepted the junta's strategy of transforming the armed-wing in principle, said local sources. Columns of KIA soldiers are heading for the frontline. The KIA's activity is mainly concentrated in the areas around Laiza, the headquarters and the border trade centre of KIA and its political wing the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), said sources close to KIA soldiers. A KIO serviceman of the KIA 3rd Brigade in Bhamo district told KNG, "Now, all KIA soldiers are entering the bushes. Many KIA soldiers have fanned out around the KIO/A headquarters in Laiza on the Sino-Burma border." An eyewitness told KNG today, she surprisingly saw several columns of Burmese Army soldiers on the road between Bhamo and Kai Htik, the border trade route between China and Burma in Bhamo district. All KIA soldiers are equipped with sophisticated guns and ammunition. They have been ordered to standby 24 hours in their army bases, KIA sources said. The KIA's preparation is to defend itself from the Burmese troops. It is not offensive in nature, according to KIA officials. Maj-Gen Gunhtang Gam Shawng, Chief of Staff of KIA reiterated that the junta's proposal of transforming KIA into a battalion of border guard force before the end of this year is a load of nonsense. The KIA's transformation will be considered after all political problems between the KIO and the junta are resolved. On the other hand, political leaders of the KIO met the junta's army officials at least twice on transforming the KIA in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State in the last two weeks, said KIO/A's headquarter sources. As of now, Kachin political leaders are against the junta's proposal of transforming KIA to a battalion of a border guard force. All Kachin political organizations, Kachin university students in the entire country and Kachin people both inside Burma and abroad are against this move. The KIA is one of strongest ethnic armed groups in the country because it connects with all Kachin people and is supported by all Kachins in Burma and abroad. Unless the political problems are resolved first, the transformation of KIA is unacceptable for both KIA and the Kachin people. Junta-backed militia will 'make Karen state peaceful' - Naw Noreen A pro-junta militia in Burma believed to be responsible for the burning of Karen villages and forced recruitment of civilians as troops has said it intends to make Karen state "peaceful". The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), who broke from the opposition Karen National Union (KNU) in 1994 and allied itself with the Burmese government, is involved in the current offensive against the KNU that has forced around 4000 civilians to flee to Thailand. The clash began on 2 June. Yesterday two KNU battalion outposts were captured by the Burmese army, adding to the one captured on Sunday. The KNU have said that the offensive is motivated by the looming 2010 elections, with the Burmese army keen to save face amidst mounting international criticism by proving it can effectively carry out difficult wet-season offensives. "Our view is, they are carrying out offensives against the KNU for the 2010 election and trying to make the whole area the DKBA's border," said KNU secretary-general Naw Zipora Sein. But a commander from the DKBA's Battalion 999, Colonel San Pyone, said the offensive is an effort to pressure the KNU to hold peace talks again. "It is not for the gain or loss. It is just a kind of pressure [to make the KNU] reinitiate peace [talks]…and an effort to create a situation so as we can live together again," he said. "And this kind of army [KNU] should not exist, I think. They will not exist in the future -we will try to make sure that they will not exist. "We will make Karen state really peaceful." In February the DKBA Battalion 999 reportedly raided and burned down a Karen village near the Burma-Thai border. Villagers said they were forced to flee into the jungle to escape the attack. Some of the 4000 or so Karen who have arrived in Thailand in recent weeks have said they fled to escape forced recruitment by the DKBA into the Burmese army. A spokesperson from the Karen Human Rights Group said that villagers near to the fighting were being forced to porter military supplies to the frontline, as well as acting as minesweepers. "They have to go in front of the soldiers because for the attack, if you go in front of the soldiers then probably there are landmines and they will step on the landmines first," said September Paw. Burma-China pipeline work to start in September - Wai Moe Work on the delayed Sino-Burmese oil and gas pipelines will begin in September and the project will be completed in 2012, one year ahead of schedule, according to The China Security Journal. The pipelines, constructed by the China National Petroleum Corp, will run from the Burmese port of Kyaukpyu to Kunming, capital of China's Yunnan Province, the publication reported on Monday. The pipelines will cut about 4,000km off the route tankers carrying Middle East oil and gas for China now have to take, through the Strait of Malacca. An estimated 85 percent of China's imported energy requirements will be carried by the pipelines. Sources at the Sino-Burma border say China has started to move materials for the pipelines project into Burma. "I have seen Chinese containers for the pipelines project cross onto the Burma side these days," said Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese observer based in the border area. Analysts believe China sees geopolitical possibilities as well as economic benefits in building the pipelines through Burma. Beijing is expanding its navy in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, at least five Chinese-assisted monitoring facilities are in Burma. "Close to the key shipping lanes of the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia, Myanmar [Burma] could help China to extend its military reach into a region of vital importance to Asian economies," the Institute has noted. "The bulk of Japan's Middle East oil imports, for example, pass through the area. China also wanted to check India's growing strategic influence," it said. The report on the pipelines appeared in The China Security Journal as the Burmese junta's No 2, Dep Sen-Gen Maung Aye, began a visit to China. In a report on Maung Aye's visit, China's state-run Xinhua news agency noted that Sino-Burmese trade had increased 26.4 percent, to a total value of US $2.626 billion, in 2008. Burma imported Chinese goods worth $1.978 billion and China's investment in Burma amounted to $1.331 billion. Analysts say Maung Aye's talks with Chinese leaders in Beijing will cover more than bilateral trade. Political issues and military ties are expected to figure on the agenda. It is felt that the international concern over the trial of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi could also be an issue. China has appealed for dialogue and national reconciliation in Burma. Another Chinese concern is the increasing tension between Burma's ceasefire ethnic armed groups and the Burmese military. Ahead of the 2010 elections in Burma, the junta wants all ceasefire groups to become "border guard forces." Ethnic groups including the United Wa State Army, the Kokang army and the Kachin Independence Army based on the Sino-Burmese border have not yet accepted the junta's plan for them. Under the plan, the Burmese military would have command of the proposed border guard forces. The junta has given the ceasefire groups until the end of June to accept the plan. Observers say a standoff between ceasefire groups and the Burmese army in border areas could pose a threat to the pipelines project. Suu Kyi trial flouts justice, UN investigators say - Stephanie Nebehay U.N. investigators said on Tuesday the trial of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi flouted international standards and urged the country's military rulers to ensure it was open and fair. In a strongly worded joint statement, the five human rights investigators noted a U.N. panel issued an advisory ruling a year ago that the Nobel laureate's continued house arrest was arbitrary. The trial of Suu Kyi and of American John Yettaw, whose uninvited visit to her home last month was deemed a breach of her house arrest, is set to resume on June 26. "The five experts called upon the authorities of Myanmar to allow the justice system to function in an independent and impartial manner, so as to guarantee an open and fair trial for the defendants, and to grant unfettered media access," the joint statement said. Suu Kyi says the trial is politically motivated to keep her in detention during next year's multi-party elections. "So far, the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi and her aides has been marred by flagrant violations of substantive and procedural rights," said Leandro Despouy, the U.N. special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers. "Transparency in the administration of justice is a pre-requisite of any state governed by the rule of law," added Despouy, an Argentine lawyer. All witnesses with relevant evidence must be allowed to testify, he said. Only one witness called by the defence had been permitted to give evidence so far, although a second has been granted permission, compared with 14 called for the prosecution. The trial had mostly been conducted behind closed doors and the media were prevented from speaking to the defence lawyers, according to the statement issued in Geneva. "National and international media should be granted full access to the trial," said Frank La Rue, U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression. The U.N. working group on arbitrary detention declared arbitrary her house arrest after May 2008. Chairwoman Manuela Carmena Castrilo said on Tuesday this meant "Aung San Suu Kyi needs to be released immediately and unconditionally". Suu Kyi faces up to five years in prison if found guilty of violating her house arrest after Yettaw swam across Inya lake and stayed for two nights at her Yangon home. (Editing by Andrew Dobbie) Thai PM Abhisit on Burma and Asean - Haseenah Koyakutty Haseenah Koyakutty, a freelance Southeast Asia correspondent, spoke recently with the Prime Minister of Thailand Abhisit Vejajjiva. The exclusive interview dealt largely with how the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) should handle the junta in Myanmar in the wake of the recent trial of Nobel laureate and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Mr. Abhisit is the current chairman of Asean, which advocates engagement with the Myanmar regime. Below are excerpts of the interview. Ms. Koyakutty: There's a perception out there that Asean has been ineffectual in dealing with the Myanmar issue. How concerned are you as the chairman of Asean? Prime Minister Abhisit: I think it would be unfair to single out Asean and I think the whole international community puts in an effort and if its not succeeding, why single out Asean? On the contrary, we think that Asean has helped to facilitate possible channels and processes by which the situation there can be resolved and we'll continue to do that. We hope that the U.N. secretary general will also play a role and we would do what we can to facilitate that. Q: You say why single out Asean, but Asean was the one that brought Myanmar into the club, presumably you have clout and leverage over Myanmar and you've not been able to influence them, why is that? Do a mind exercise … suppose we have taken the approach of isolating or alienating Myanmar even further, I doubt that that would make the situation better now, so I think it would be wrong to just say that Myanmar is now part of Asean and things are not going as well as people would like… and say that somehow that was the fault of Asean. We accept our responsibilities and we're doing what we can. Q: How confident are you that Ms Aung Sang Suu Kyi will be released? It's difficult to say. It's difficult for anybody to say with certainty. We hope that the sentiments that we and the rest of the international community have expressed will have some bearing on how Myanmar decides to go forward because what is at stake is not just the case of Aung Sang Suu Kyi but also the acceptability of the political process as it moves forward as a whole, and clearly Myanmar has taken a lot of time and effort to draw up this roadmap [to democracy]. And I don't see why they would not want it to succeed. Q: And what happens if they continue to detain her? What will Asean and Thailand's response be? We will have to consult but clearly our stance has been and will always be that the political process in Myanmar will have to be inclusive to gain the acceptability and respectability of the international community. Otherwise, obviously, her credibility and Asean's credibility will be affected inevitably. Q: Thailand is a very close neighbor of Myanmar's, and I think a lot of people in the international community are wondering how much access do you really have to the generals there? If you recall the time when [Cyclone] Nargis struck, clearly, we had that channel, we had that access. Q: And how have you been using that access? Well, again, going back to Nargis, it was us who provided that channel and in the end allowed the international community to do a lot of work for the Myanmar people. So that proves the value of earning the trust of Myanmar and so we have to strike that balance, it's not easy to do so but we are determined to do it. Q: What can you tell us about Senior-General Than Shwe? I don't think I'm in a position to say much at the moment; I think what we are looking at is more the direction that Than-Shwe and the leadership of Myanmar would take and clearly, it begins with how the trial plays out and so we'll watch that. Q: How far reaching is Thailand's business engagements with the regime and how has that changed under your leadership? We're neighbors and there is clearly an energy link but having said that, there is a lot of Western business presence in Myanmar. Again, we share a long common border and there's a lot of border trade too, and the energy that we buy from Myanmar is the same as we buy from our neighbors. And we have to make sure that we ensure our people have enough energy and security. So I don't think it's particularly surprising or special and it wouldn't in any way detract us from the goal that we would like to see Myanmar succeeding in her political transition. Q: Do you think that's keeping the regime afloat? I don't think so, I don't think that would be the right conclusion to draw and as I say, there's so many other businesses around and other governments also have contacts with Myanmar, I don't think it would be the decisive factor. Q: I think of larger concern to a lot of people is the deep-rooted authoritarianism in Southeast Asia. Why do you think it's so hard for the military to leave politics? Well I think, is it just the military? I see a lot of leaders around the world who find it hard to give up power. Q: And specifically military leaders because they have the hard power? They're used to one system and you know making the transition is never easy. It hasn't been easy elsewhere; it shouldn't be surprising that it is not easy there. Q: Now in Thailand you're not exactly a shining example for Myanmar because you've had coups after coups. You've had silent coups, judicial coups, not-so-silent coups and colorful coups; do you think that Myanmar is going to go down that road if and when it flings its door open to a more civilianized government? And how concerned are you that Thailand isn't exactly a model in that… I don't think it is accurate to try to portray some changes and coin them in terms of coup. I could do that with other democracies too. I think we should note that at least for Thailand when we did have a real coup which is extra-constitutional changes, the experience is clear: These days we return to democracy and elections as soon as possible. And that even the people who carry out the coup are very sensitive to democratic demands. They have to go through the referendum process for the Constitution for instance and they were very careful not to use extra powers even when they were in office. Q: But American listeners are particularly curious as to why all the American training and influence in Thailand has not really had an impact if you're still having coups after coups given that Thailand is now a very modern polity. We've had democracy for over just over almost 80 years and a lot of democracies had centuries, they went through civil wars, they went through bloodshed probably worse than what we've seen in Thailand, so you know the process of maturity, of democracy maturing isn't always smooth but I'm still confident that the direction and evolution of the system is such that democracy gets stronger. Q: Can you describe to our audience what is Thailand's brand of democracy? We are a liberal democracy but we are a maturing and a growing democracy, and we are going through a time of growing pains. |
16 June 2009
[ReadingRoom] News on Burma - 16/6/09
Burmese junta cracks down on Suu Kyi's party - Yee May Aung Three members of the National League for Democracy were arrested last week on unspecified charges while another elderly member had his property vandalised by men armed with slingshots. Members of the NLD, whose leader Aung San Suu Kyi is currently on trial for alleged breach of house arrest conditions, suffer frequent harassment and intimidation from Burmese authorities. The two cases, both of which occurred last Friday, coincided with a police raid on the house of Thi Han, an NLD youth member involved in a photo campaign to raise public awareness of the Suu Kyi trial. "Some government officials showed up, claiming they need to check for [unregistered] guests at his house on evening of June 12," said fellow NLD member Win Naing. "They said they had some information about his house and searched thoroughly before leaving without finding anything." Meanwhile, a teashop owned by the financial director of the NLD in Mandalay division was damaged when unknown men fired slingshot pellets. "They came in the deep of night on June 12 and broke some florescence light sticks in the teashop," said 60-year-old Ko Ko Gyi, who was also involved in the photo campaign. "We found out that the pellets they used were made hard by baking them in the fire - this shows that the attack was well-prepared." He added that he had filed a complaint with local authorities but would not be notifying police. "I'm not going to bother opening a case with the police as we all know who is backing the attackers," he said. Two prominent NLD members called to testify in Suu Kyi's defence were disqualified by the court last month for reasons unknown. According to the Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP), around 450 NLD members are currently serving jail sentences in Burma. Reports emerged last week that five political prisoners, including an NLD member, were transferred to solitary confinement after prison authorities got wind that they were planning a protest against Suu Kyi's trial. Junta seeks regional support: Win Tin - Mungpi Veteran journalist Win Tin said on Monday Burma's military rulers are going the whole hog to garner diplomatic support from regional countries in the face of growing international condemnation over the trial of Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Win Tin, who is also a central executive committee member of the Aung San Suu Kyi led National League for Democracy said, the visit of Sri Lankan President Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa and Singapore's Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong are all part of the junta's effort to cosy up to regional countries. "Clearly, the junta is in a tight spot as the international community has reacted more sharply than it had anticipated. And since it might be difficult for the regime to try and influence the West, they at least want the support of regional countries," Win Tin added. On Sunday, the junta's mouthpiece newspaper reported the visit of Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa to Burma. Rajapaksa was received in Naypyitaw by the Burmese Army Chief Snr. Gen Than Shwe - a rare gesture by the junta supremo. Similarly, Singapore's former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong on a four-day visit to Burma last week had meetings with Than Shwe and other junta brass. Win Tin said, such visits are indications that the junta is seeking support from regional countries. He said the junta had not anticipated that there would be such a loud outcry from the international community by putting on trial Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. "It [junta] seems to have miscalculated on the strong support for Aung San Suu Kyi by the international community," Win Tin said. The junta wants to gauge China's reaction over the mounting pressure and is likely to go ahead and sentence the Burmese Nobel Peace Laureate, if China gives the green signal, he said. According to Win Tin, the junta is determined to sentence Aung San Suu Kyi to a prison term and put her away before their proposed 2010 general elections. But it had not anticipated such an outburst from the international community. Sources said Thura Shwe Mann, the third leader in the Burmese military hierarchy, last week visited China without making any official announcement. On Monday, the Chinese News Agency Xinhua reported that Vice-Senior General Maung Aye, number two in the military hierarchy, is visiting China. Observers believe these visits are aimed at explaining and trying to convince China about the junta's stand regarding the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi and the regime's plans ahead. Win Tin said, "Whatever the circumstances, the junta is likely go ahead with its plan if China approves." Junta bars monks from traveling abroad - Min Lwin Burma's Ministry of Religious Affairs is effectively prohibiting Buddhist monks from traveling abroad by refusing to issue letters of recommendation, according to senior monks in Rangoon. Without a letter of recommendation from the ministry a monk cannot apply for a visa to travel to a foreign country. A monk from a monastery near Rangoon's revered Shwedagon Pagoda said that Rangoon's religious department stopped issuing the letters last week. "There are currently several monks in Rangoon who are waiting for visas but who have been refused letters," he said, adding that young Burmese monks often travel abroad for Buddhist study, especially to India and Sri Lanka. Another source said that two Buddhist monks were recently barred from flying by authorities at Rangoon's Mingaladon International Airport because, although they had foreign visas, they did not have letters of recommendation from the government. A monk who asked to remain anonymous told The Irrawaddy on Monday that the officials at the religious affairs department had denied his application for a letter, even though he was seeking to go abroad for health purposes. "The officials said the restrictions were orders passed down by a senior military general," the monk said. When The Irrawaddy asked an official from the Ministry of Religious Affairs about the matter, he refused to comment. The military government tightened restriction on Buddhist monks traveling within Burma during the monk-led uprising of August-September 2007. On September 27, 2007, the military government crackdown turned bloody and dozens of monks were forced to flee their monasteries to escape arrest. It is thought many fled the country at that time. According to official data, there are more than 400,000 monks in Burma, and its community, the Sangha, is considered one of the strongest and most revered institutions in the country. South Korea firms 'linked to Myanmar gas abuse' South Korea is failing to hold its corporations to account for abuses linked to natural gas development in military-ruled Myanmar, a report released by rights groups said. The report, by EarthRights International and the Shwe Gas Movement, documents "conflicts of interest" within the government in Seoul and says South Korea is not upholding international guidelines. The report urged the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which meets in Paris on Tuesday, to investigate a complaint on the issue that it said the South Korean government had dismissed. "The Korean government is failing to hold Korean corporations accountable for abuses connected to natural gas development in military ruled Burma," the groups said in a statement. The statement said that the gas project "has already been linked to forced relocations and other human rights violations. Local people who criticized the project faced arbitrary arrest and detention." Myanmar's ruling junta signed a deal in December with Daewoo, the Korean Gas Corporation and Indian companies to pipe gas to China from the Shwe gas project, which is developing a natural gas field in the country. Myanmar's huge gas reserves and other natural resources are a major target for neighbouring and Asian countries which eschew the sanctions imposed by the United States and other Western nations on the country formerly known as Burma. The two rights groups helped file a complaint in October to South Korea about alleged abuses linked to the project, saying that it violated OECD guidelines including by failing to respect international human rights law. But Seoul rejected the complaint, the report said, adding that the Korean ministry dealing with OECD complaints also has the job of promoting overseas energy development projects. The ministry also gave Daewoo a sizable loan to proceed with the Shwe project, while the South Korean government is also the largest stakeholder in Korean Gas Corporation, it added. "The Shwe project should stop until the people of Burma can genuinely participate in development decisions and realise their human rights," said Wong Aung, co-ordinator of the Shwe Gas Movement. He said the Korean government had "conveniently dismissed" the complaint "and now the OECD must fill the gap". Myanmar's junta is currently under renewed pressure over its trial of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi. Burma-Sri Lanka connection: Religion and terrorism - Arkar Moe Sri Lankan President Mahindra Rajapakse paid an official visit to Burma on Sunday to cement ties between the two countries. Burma was the first country to be visited by President Mahindra Rajapakse after his government defeated the Tamil Tigers guerrilla forces in May. Inside sources in Burma said that Burmese military leaders who recently launched a military offensive against Karen rebels in eastern Burma were impressed by Mahindra Rajapakse's military strategy used against the Tamil tigers. Deputy Minister for Defense Maj-Gen Aye Myint said at the 8th Shangri-La Dialogue Meeting in Singapore in May: "The world has recently witnessed the successful end of a long-standing insurgency in Sri Lanka. But, people have forgotten about insurgency in Myanmar [Burma]. Why? Because there is no more major fighting erupted in Myanmar in recent days. But it does not mean Myanmar has completely brought to an end of its internal insurgency. We have realized that hard power alone is not fully effective in winning the counter-insurgency campaigns. Therefore, we are painstakingly, patiently and time-consumingly [sic] solving the problems of insurgency." The Burmese regime donated US $50,000 to the Sri Lanka government to assist internally displaced persons in the Northern area of Sri Lanka. Snr-Gen Than Shwe warmly welcomed President Mahinda Rajapaksa and expressed appreciation for his visit to Burma as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in 2004 to participate at the World Buddhist Conference in Rangoon. The visit also commemorated the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations established between the two countries. The state-run newspapers in Burma stressed the Theravada Buddhism that the two countries share. But aside from religion, the two governments agreed to enhance their military cooperation. Minister of Foreign Affairs Rohitha Bogollagama who accompanied the president said that the decision of President Rajapaksa to choose Burma as the country for his first overseas tour after successfully defeating terrorism is of significant event for both nations. Minister Bogollagama noted that Snr-Gen Than Shwe had commended that the "bold steps" taken by the government to fight terrorists organizations. The regime in Burma often labels ethnic rebel groups in Burma as terrorists. According to the official government news portal of Sri Lanka, President Rajapaksa also agreed to offer placements for two officials of the Burmese armed forces to be trained at the Kothalawala Defense Academy as a follow-up to a MoU signed on Intelligence Exchange Cooperation in 2007 to strengthen cooperation in combating terrorism and intelligence sharing. Dr Tint Swe, a self-appointed minister for information of the exiled Burmese government, the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, told The Irrawaddy that the regime in Burma is deceitful to use the religion card in light of its brutal crackdown on monks in September 2007. Ashin Issariya, a leader of the All Burma Monks Alliance (ABMA) in exile, said: "Sri Lanka is a Buddhist country and exercised Theravada principles. The government (in Sri Lanka) allowed Burmese monks to demonstrate in the country in 2007 (to protest against brutal crackdown in Burma). But they did not condemn the Burmese military junta." Minister Bogollagama said that Burma and Sri Lanka maintained a close and cordial relationship as both nations are influenced by Theravada Buddhism. "Both countries are linked through political, religious and cultural heritages that have an extended history of over 20 centuries," he said. Minister Bogollagama said that President Rajapaksa expressed a willingness to offer scholarships to Buddhist monks from Burma to pursue higher studies in Sri Lankan Universities. But to political analysts in Burma, see the visit by the Sri Lanka president as not about religion, but rather that the generals are increasingly finding it difficult to contain insurgent groups in the country's northern frontier and are willing to learn some fresh lesson from President Mahindra Rajapakse on how to defeat the enemy. China must get tough on Burma too - Yeni The Burmese junta's No 2, Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye, recently began an official six-day visit to China. This comes as international and regional pressure mounts on Burma to reconsider its ongoing trial against pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It also comes just after several ethnic ceasefire groups based near the Chinese border reportedly rejected a regime proposal to be reassigned as border guards. For Maung Aye, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Burmese defense services and commander-in-chief of the Burmese army, this is his third visit to China in six years. The official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, noted that Maung Aye's meeting with Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping is one of an "exchange of visits." Whenever it is facing a crisis, the Burmese junta likes schedule one of these official visits to approach its big brother for advice. The Burmese army is in turmoil-despite last year entrenching itself in Burmese politics after pushing through a constitution that gives it a guaranteed 25 percent of seats in parliament. Suddenly, the Burmese army's authority is being challenged by the ethnic ceasefire groups it has long taken pains to subdue, especially the powerful United Wa State Army, the Kokang group known as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Kachin Independence Organization, all of which have reportedly rejected the junta's bid to transform them into border guard forces under Burmese army command. Behind the pleasantries of his meeting in China, what Maung Aye will be trying to weed out is whether China will take a back seat if the junta launches a military operation against the ceasefire groups. There is no doubt that China would like to see the Burmese regime and the ceasefire groups negotiate the sensitive issue peacefully and maintain regional "stability," so that China can continue to capitalize on Burma's natural resources and a border trade which reached US $2.6 billion in 2008. Apart from the pressing border issue, knowing that Naypyidaw is losing its diplomatic joust with the international community over Suu Kyi's ridiculous conviction, the Burmese generals are anxious that their traditional ally stands by their side. Maung Aye is expected to plead for the continued use of the Chinese veto to block any future resolution unfavorable to the Naypyidaw regime. Concerning the issue of Suu Kyi, China has so far only said that the trial is an internal affair. At the European Union and China summit in Prague in May, China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao initially asked the EU to "ensure that our bilateral relationship will not be adversely affected by individual incidents." However, soon after, Chinese foreign ministry officials voiced rare criticism of the Burmese junta's treatment of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate at an Asia-Europe Meeting in Hanoi with Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win. There is no doubt the Chinese government has been quietly expanding its international influence in the 21st century. It already commands a superpower's status throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America in the energy and extractive industries. China has added to its leadership role in the region by initiating a $10 billion investment cooperation fund and an offer of $15 billion in credit to its Southeast Asian neighbors. China knows that in the political world, international recognition comes at a price. It must exercise its power carefully and, in countries such as North Korea and Burma where Western countries have little leverage, it must show responsibility. Of course, Burma is China's closest ally in Southeast Asia and has been a major recipient of Chinese military hardware and a potential springboard for projecting Chinese military power in the region since 1988. Like the recent public pressure on North Korea for its foolhardy demonstration of nuclear missiles, China must also show a firm hand when dealing with the Burmese regime. China must send a strong message to Naypyidaw to release political prisoners immediately, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and to start a meaningful dialogue with the opposition, including ethnic groups. Above all, the junta must be told that the time has come for it to allow its people an opportunity to participate in the development of genuine "national reconciliation." To this end, China holds the key. UN should treat Burma as it has North Korea - Editorial After long and excruciating negotiations over the new sanctions by the United Nations Security Council to punish North Korea for its nuclear-weapons test, once again the council has shown its ability to act in response to a crisis that genuinely threatens global peace and stability. What Pyongyang has done has so rubbed the raw nerves of key players that they are acting with common positions and standards. It is rare indeed for them to agree on common retaliation against North Korea's stubbornness. This time the harsher sanctions are more targeted, including weapons exports and financial transactions. Furthermore, the resolution allows inspections in port and on the high seas of ships suspected of carrying nuclear technology. It urges North Korea to return to the six-party talks immediately without conditions and abandon its nuclear ambitions. This shows the determination of the 15-member council to adhere to its international obligations. Unfortunately, the same thing cannot be said of the council's attitude towards Burma and its continued oppression of its citizens. Although the council adopted a non-binding resolution last month in response to the continued detention and farcical trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, it still lacks the teeth to punish one of the world's worst regimes. Like North Korea, Burma's military leaders know how to test the water and push the envelope. They have succeeded before, knowing full well that the council, with its different players and national interests, will never agree on a common plan of action. Worse, the council's attention span is usually brief given the myriad global issues confronting it. For the time being, the Burmese junta is obviously correct in its assessment. Despite some bridging of the gap between members preferring tougher sanctions and those advocating a softer approach, the council does not see eye to eye on reprimanding Burma. Of course, the five permanent members have something to do with this. Previously, both China and Russia opposed any attempt by the council to punish Burma for nearly two decades of continued intransigence. They have since ameliorated their positions but are no nearer uniting with the other members to deliver a stronger message. Obviously the junta leaders are now playing hide and seek, testing the international community's determination and the sustainability of Asean positions against them, as witness their attempt to create havoc along the Thai border following Thailand's growing assertiveness by attacking minority groups so as to scarce the Thai security forces. This pattern of diplomatic brinksmanship has worked for the junta all along. If the international community, particularly the council, remains divided, pariah states can continue to exploit it. The new sanctions against North Korea are a case in point. Burma has delayed the trial of Suu Kyi for an additional two weeks. Of course, the junta is watching closely how the international community reacts to the ongoing court case and to her plight. International pressure has increased by the day. Major world leaders have spoken in support of her and called for her release. Asean has been firm. Burma's continued attack on Thailand as the Asean chair is aimed at undermining its position as such. It is to be hoped that Asean positions will be bolstered by increasing support from the international community. The North Koreans and the Burmese have suffered tremendously because of their leaders. Both countries have spent heavily on arms and left their citizens starving in the expectation of foreign assistance. The Burmese have risen several times since 1988 demanding democratic change and been violently put down. This could happen again due to economic hardship and rising fuel prices. The North Koreans have yet to do this. It is pivotal that when the council puts its mind to fighting pariah states such as North Korea and Burma it is intelligent and united, otherwise it will be manipulated and exploited, especially when there are cracks in its ranks. It backed Friday's tough sanctions against North Korea; it is to be hoped that in the near future it will do the same in the case of Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi trial delayed but there is no doubt about the outcome - Mark Canning Latest post in a series by the British ambassador in Burma, Mark Canning, one of the few outsiders who has been allowed into the courtroom during the trial of the opposition leader. The resumption of Aung San Suu Kyi's trial has been postponed until 26 June. Her defence team continues its effort to admit witnesses who were earlier excluded. Her lawyers scored a minor success last week when a higher court allowed one to testify, but are now taking the issue to the supreme court. This delay suits the government fine. It conveys an impression that the wheels of justice are turning and that there is some doubt about the final outcome. Of course there isn't. Daw Suu* will be found guilty - the only question is the length of the sentence and where she will serve it. The number of political prisoners has increased by more than 1,000 over the past 16 months. There is no precedent for the acquittal of those accused of serious "political crimes" and certainly not someone of her stature. Comedians, doctors, bloggers, journalists, housewives and aid workers have been packed off to Burma's jails and work camps. They are generally sentenced at short, closed hearings. The unusual thing about this trial is that the status of the defendant obliges a spurious impression of openness. Daw Suu told her lawyers this week that she wouldn't have gone into politics in the first place if she was afraid of the consequences. And consequences there have been - just a few fleeting moments of freedom in the more than 19 years she has fought for a better future for this sad country. Her 64th birthday on Friday marks another sad milestone. The military government has found time to launch another military offensive in eastern Karen state, which is forcing thousands of civilians to flee across the border to Thailand. This is an effort to finish off the Karen fighters, who for 60 years have struggled to gain a measure of independence for their people. But there are suspicions that Burma's unhappiness at Thai criticism of the trial might also have played a role in the timing. The government berated Thailand last week for its "unneighbourly" behaviour and contrasted their attitude with that of China, which had never sought to involve itself in Burma's affairs. *· Daw Suu is a short form used in Burma for Aung San Suu Kyi Kachin students spray paint demand for Suu Kyi's release Kachin university students have reiterated their demand that the Burmese junta frees democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi unconditionally. In another daring move they spray-painted their demand in Kachin State's capital Myitkyina, said student leaders. The sprayed message in red and in big letters were painted in two places- on the brick-walls in front of Myitkyina University and on the State High School in Manhkring quarter, said a student leader Francis who organized the movement. The students sprayed their demand on the walls in Burmese. It read "Free Daw Aung San Suu Kyi immediately!" The letters were sprayed in red paint so that it could be seen easily by people and would be hard to erase, Francis told KNG this afternoon over telephone. The movement is for the release of Mrs. Suu Kyi and it is being organized by the All Kachin Students' Union (AKSU), an underground student organization based in Kachin State, said Francis. The AKSU held a special Christian traditional prayer service with 25 participants including students, pastors and local people in a room in Myitkyina on Wednesday (June 10) between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Burma Standard Time, said Ms. Seng Mai, a student organizer. The prayer service took an hour. They prayed for the release of Mrs. Suu Kyi from illegal detention, receiving a fair decision on her trial as well as freedom and peace on her 64th birthday on June 19, she added. From Wednesday, special prayer services for the release of Ms. Suu Kyi were also held in other major towns in Kachin State- Sumprabum, Waingmaw, Masi (Manje in Kachin) and Bhamo (Manmaw in Kachin), said Ms. Seng Mai. She told KNG, more prayer services will be organized in different towns in Kachin Sate for the release of the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Ms. Seng Mai urged the junta to release Mrs. Suu Kyi because her detention is illegal and an injustice. She also urged all Kachin people to pray for the release of Mrs. Suu Kyi. The AKSU had earlier demanded her immediate release by pasting 50 posters on A-4 size papers in the major quarters in Myitkyina on May 20. Meanwhile, the Burmese junta is pressurizing the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the rest of the ethnic ceasefire groups in the country to transform their armed-wing to "Border Guard Forces". Education in Burma requires 'urgent support' - Ahunt Phone Myat United Nations' calls for urgent support for education in Burma have been reinforced by reports that schools in Rangoon are now reliant on donations from parents due to lack of government funding for education. At a donor meeting in Rangoon on Wednesday the UN encouraged the international community to increase its efforts to promote education in Burma, with particular focus on the Irrawaddy delta region where around 4000 schools were destroyed last year by cyclone Nargis. A statement released by the UN stressed that there was a shortage of learning materials and qualified teachers. Government spending on education in Burma is around 1.2 per cent of the annual budget, while nearly 40 per cent goes to the military. A parent in Rangoon said yesterday that small, ward-level schools are reliant on donations from pupils' families to cover expenses for school maintenance and to buy equipment such as chairs and desks. "They have to ask for donation money from parents to buy things such as power generators, as government electricity is not available most of the time," she said. "Also they needed money to renovate school buildings and to build new ones." Similarly, teachers are reportedly having to use their own money to keep their schools running. "The government never provide statistics on how much budget they use for the education because they don't want people to know how little they are spending on it," a teacher said under condition of anonymity. Due to the meagre 30,000 kyat (US$30) monthly salary given to teachers, many are looking elsewhere for careers. "Now only people who are really committed and passionate to teaching children choose to become school teachers," he said. "It very hard for them as the salary they are getting is nowhere near enough to survive with the commodity prices these days." State-run media in Burma often publishes reports about government openings of new schools, although the teacher said that these schools need a lot of financial assistance to become fully functional. The UN has said that about US$160 million is needed to provide assistance to Burma's education sector over the next three years. Report: Singapore investors wait on Myanmar polls Singapore investors will likely wait until after Myanmar's elections next year before pouring any more money into the country, former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said Friday, according to television station Channel News Asia. Goh made the comments at the end of a four-day trip to meet with Myanmar's military leaders, the television station said on its Web site. The military has run the country since 1962, and the current ruling junta has scheduled elections for next year. "I don't believe any Singapore investors would come in a big way before the picture is clear, before this move to democracy is seen to produce results," said Goh, who is a senior adviser to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, according to the station. Singapore is one of the biggest foreign investors in Myanmar, with annual bilateral trade of more than $1 billion. Goh, who met with top Myanmar leaders including Senior General Than Shwe, urged the government to hold fair and transparent elections and allow all political parties to participate, the station said. The trial of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was adjourned Friday for two weeks. Suu Kyi is charged with violating the terms of her house arrest when an uninvited American man swam secretly to her closely guarded lakeside home last month and stayed two days. The hearing has drawn outrage from the international community and Suu Kyi's local supporters, who say the military government is using the bizarre incident as an excuse to keep the pro-democracy leader detained through the elections. Goh told Myanmar's leadership that Singapore was "dismayed by the arrest," the station said. The neighborhood bully - Kyaw Zwa Moe One of the favorite tactics of the Burmese junta is its "bully" policy. The latest attacks against the army of the Karen National Union (KNU) on the Thailand-Burma border are proof. The troops of the military regime and its ceasefire group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, have launched sustained clashes since early June. In two weeks, the conflict has forced at least 4,000 Karen refugees to flee their villages and many are arriving in refugee camps on the Thai-Burmese border. The current rainy season is an unusual time for the regime to launch its military campaign, with about 9,000 soldiers in the area. This military campaign is linked by three factors: Aung San Suu Kyi, Thailand and the KNU rebels. A few days after Suu Kyi was charged with breaching the terms of her house arrest, Thailand, as the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), took an unusual step by denouncing the junta's trial of Suu Kyi and calling for her immediate release. The generals were furious and responded by attacking the Thai government in state-run newspapers, which said the announcement by Thailand interfered in the internal affairs of an Asean member country and disregarded the principle of non-interference in the Asean charter. Since then, the two governments have exchanged verbal volleys, and the junta continues to publish critical articles on Thailand's stance. One of the consequences of Burma's offensive against the KNU is that many Karen villagers strike out for one of the Karen refugee camps on the border, where hundreds of thousand of Karen refugees now live in nine camps. Thailand now faces a fresh flow of Karen refugees. On Monday, the Thai army commander, Lt-Gen Thanongsak Aphirakyothin, whose unit operates along Thailand's western border, said that a total of 1,741 Karen have entered Thailand from eastern Burma since the fighting started. Many are believed still to be in hiding in the jungle in Burma. "They fled because of the danger and fear of capture and forced labor by the Myanmar [Burma] army, the commander told reporters in Mae Sot. "Most of the refugees are women and children." David Takarpaw, vice chairman of the KNU, said on Friday, "The attack is continuous," meaning Thailand can expect more refugees in the coming months. Thailand, which has caused political problems for the regime, now has a problem of its own caused by Burma. Isn't it an act of bullying? However, an article published on Thursday in the junta's newspaper, New Light of Myanmar, sees it differently. "Thailand is self-conscious about the issues on internally displaced persons (IDP) and refugees which have rooted [sic] in the Thai-Myanmar border for ages," the newspaper said. "The root cause of issues on IDP and refugees in the Thai-Myanmar border is that they (Thailand) accept and let the problems keep on taking place." The article continued: "The remnant KNU troops have showed no sign of making peace with the government. Apparently, that is due to the fact that the remnant KNU members are aided and abetted, and KNU stations under the name of refugee camps are accepted." The article accused Thailand of offering its soil to insurgent groups and anti-government political groups. The generals in Naypyidaw have faced mounting international, regional and internal problems since they took power in 1988. But after Suu Kyi's trial last month, the problems intensified even more. Whenever the generals face problems, they use their 'bully' policy, among others. They are now bullying Suu Kyi, Thailand and the KNU. The more pressure the generals face in the future, the more you'll see their bully policy at work. Impunity bars justice for Burmese ethnic groups - Aung Htoo While the world has remained rapt by the trial of Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi, the ongoing crisis over rights for ethnic minorities in the country has received little international attention. Burma's ethnic minority groups constitute one-third of the population. This population has borne the brunt of the government's well-documented and widely condemned human rights violations. Ethnic children have been forcibly recruited into the army, some to act as minesweepers for troop patrols, while rape of ethnic women has been labelled by human rights groups an attempt to dilute the ethnic diversity of Burma. Their situation is being compounded by a culture of impunity in Burma It is only when greater international attention is focused on government impunity and on rights for ethnic minorities that Burma will be able to achieve peace. This was an argument put forward by Professor Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, former UN special rapporteur to Burma from 2000 to 2008, in an article published last month in the New York Times. The article highlighted the grievances and loss of rights of the ethnic minority in the country, with whom he worked with for eight years. While the plight of Burma's ethnic groups has been sidelined by the Suu Kyi trial, the Burmese government has focused greater attention, albeit highly cynical, on transforming armed ethnic groups into political tools for the convenience of next year's elections. One key issue that many observers have ignored is that if they accept such government proposals, they will effectively be complicit in supporting government impunity for crimes committed by the state army against their own people. According to agency reports, a delegation of government officials lead by the junta's chief of military affairs security, Lieutenant-General Ye Myint, has met with the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) ceasefire group as part of a series of discussions with ceasefire groups across the country. It is understood that the government tried to persuade the Shan group to form a political wing to contest the upcoming elections, in return offering them an opportunity to retain their armed status by transforming into a government militia. Rather than committing themselves to military rule, ethnic ceasefire groups should take this opportunity make demands about their status in the country and to speak out about their loss of rights. 'License to Rape', a 2002 report by the Shan Women's Action Network that gained attention from the international community, highlighted details of rape cases against Shan women by the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) army. But the SSA-N never made significant calls for international action against the SPDC's crimes either against Shan people or other ethnic minorities. Similarly, the SSA-N stayed silent about the government's manipulation of Burmese law under which their leader, Colonel Hso Ten, was in 2005 imprisoned for 106 years. If the SSA-N bows to government persuasion and forms a political party to enter the elections, they would automatically be placed in a position where they accept the 2008 constitution. Buried within the constitution is section 445 of the penal code, which grants the government an amnesty for crimes committed by the army during the State Law and Order Restoration Council era from 1988 to 1997. This would effectively mean the group supports an ongoing culture of impunity in Burma. Pinheiro documented a case where a Burmese soldier last December abducted, raped and killed a 7-year-old Karen girl. Authorities refused to arrest the soldier; instead, officers threatened the parents with punishment if they did not accept a cash bribe to keep quiet. This culture of impunity is becoming a huge problem for Burma, and is compounded by the country's failing legal system. But pure political thinking which aims to bring a solution merely to arguments about the constitution or the election will not solve the current situation. We need to build a new approach by restoring law and order under a framework in which whoever commits a crime can be punished. If Burma continues with the current 2008 constitution, people whose basic human rights were violated by the government will be denied their right to seek justice under legal terms of the abuses suffered. Furthermore, it would encourage such abuses to continue free of punishment. Since 1990, the United Nations' special rapporteur has made 37 visits to Burma while the international body's General Assembly and the Human Rights Council have passed over 35 resolutions regarding Burma. The UN Security Council, however, is yet to pass a single resolution. Pinheiro points out the international community's "diplomatic efforts [have] failed to bear fruit" and "the country's domestic legal system will not punish those perpetrating crimes against ethnic minorities". In this context, he says, "it is time for the United Nations to take the next logical step". Were this to happen, a possible indictment by the International Criminal Court could be on the horizon. This, Pinheiro argues, would have the dual effect of bringing greater attention to impunity in Burma, and deterring future crimes against humanity. If the ceasefire groups do not consider these facts and instead join hands with the government, whilst ignoring crimes being committed by them, they will, as the Burmese saying goes, be hiding from a lightning strike under a palm tree. * Aung Htoo is general secretary of the Burma Lawyers' Council Being a defense lawyer in Burma is a risky business - Min Lwin As the trial of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi unfolds, many people are asking: How difficult is it to be a defense lawyer who represents political activists in Burma? Defense lawyers who represent political dissidents routinely face government intimidation, in some cases leading to prison terms and the suspension or cancellation of their license to practice by the Burmese Bar Council. Eleven lawyers who defended pro-democracy activists are currently serving prison terms across the country. The Thailand-based human rights group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), said at least 207 Burmese lawyers, including central high court lawyers, have faced suspension, warnings, temporary suspension or dismissal of their license without a proper hearing process. "If you want to be a defense lawyer for political activists, you can have your lawyer license cancelled at any time," said Nyi Nyi Hlaing, who has represented political activists. "Sometimes judges intimidate us by saying if we upset the judicial process, we can be punished," he said. Prominent defense lawyer Aung Thein, who recently served a four months prison sentence for contempt of court and had his license cancelled, told The Irrawaddy: "There are two kinds of lawyers who have had their license dismissed. Political activist lawyers who are dismissed for their political activities and lawyers dismissed in the process of defending their activist clients. Aung Thein's colleague, Khin Maung Shein, who has represented political activists including Aung San Suu Kyi, was also dismissed from practicing law and sentenced to four months in prison. "The fact that the Burmese Bar Council cancelled our licenses is not fair, because we served four months detention in payment for what they called contempt of court," said Aung Thein. Late last year, attorney Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min was convicted of contempt of court after complaining of unfair treatment by a Rangoon court in a case involving political dissidents. "I was intimidated by the judge from Kyimyindine Township court when I asked to call a government witness to the court to testify," said Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min, 29. "She told me you don't have a right to call the government witness. If you do that, your lawyer license will be cancelled." In addition, attorneys Nyi Nyi Htway and Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min were both sentenced to six months imprisonment for contempt of court while representing activists. Saw Kyaw Kyaw fled to Thailand rather than serve time in prison. The convictions were politically motivated to intimidate other lawyers from defending political dissidents, said observers of the legal system. Like activist lawyers, average citizens who are caught up in politically sensitive issues are frequently intimidated or charged with criminal acts by the military government. Various professions, including comedians, doctors, private teachers, singers, writers, journalists and their family members, have been charged and imprisoned because of their political involvement. On June 9, Khin Khin Aye, a senior manger in the Central Cooperative Society under the Ministry of Cooperative, was dismissed from her job without warning because her husband, attorney Hla Myo Myint, had represented Aung San Suu Kyi. Reasons why Thailand can't push Burma too far - Supalak Ganjanakhundee There are at least four reasons why Thailand is not able to push Burma's political development toward democracy and national reconciliation, as well as to free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. First, the current government led by the Democrat Party has no record of civilian supremacy, not to mention democracy and reconciliation. The Thai government is not comfortable commenting on any military run government since it obtained help from military top brass to form its own coalition. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva knows very well how much he owes the commanders. People in this country love to call on the military to intervene whenever they have problems with civilian government. The latest military coup d'etat happened only three years ago. The Thai military junta dissolved at the end of 2007. Nobody in this country could say the military has no influence in politics, notably over this current government. So-called national reconciliation is a political term this government might not be able to spell out. As long as it cannot reconcile the red- and yellow-shirted movements, it's better to have no comment about the even worse national division in Burma. Disunity in that country is deeper than in Thailand, absolutely. It is not just a matter of political difference, but also a problem of race. Second, Thai elites - notably those in power - have no clear vision about future opposition and dissident groups. They have no more faith in the opposition's fighting against the Burmese junta. It seems the Thai elite jump to the conclusion the opposition, and even the rebellious ethnic minorities Thailand uses as a buffer, have a very slim chance of defeating the Tatmadaw [Burmese military]. Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya has talked to ethnic minorities along the Thai border several times over past months since he took the position, to convince them to turn themselves into the junta's fold. The move is most helpful for the junta but weakens the dissidents. Very few Thais connect strongly with Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy. Some female members of the ruling Democrat Party and SEA Write-award winning author Jiranan Pitpreecha met Suu Kyi more than a decade ago. Thammasat University conferred an honorary doctorate degree on her when she turned 60, but such a link is very slim. No strong pressure group could force the Thai government to help her. Third, the Thai economy relies too much on resources from Burma. The government, every government, would never dare challenge the junta. Making Burma angry might cause trouble in business. Thailand could not join any economic sanctions to pressure the junta since they would pose a direct challenge to its own economy. The jewellery industry, for example, suffered from the US's Tom Lantos Block Burmese Jade Act of 2008, since it stifled imports from any country of gems and jewellery containing Burmese raw material. Rubies and other Burmese gemstones account for about 20 per cent of raw materials for the Thai jewellery industry. Exports of gems and jewellery to the US dropped sharply in the last quarter of 2008 when the Act was enforced in October. Exports to the US contracted 35.19 per cent between October and December last year, according to Ministry of Commerce data. Besides gemstones, Thailand is buying via pipeline more than a billion cubic feet of gas a day from Burma's Yadana and Yedagun gas fields, accounting for some 20 per cent of total consumption in this country. Fourth, Thailand has the burden of proximity as it shares more than 2,200 kilometres of border with Burma. The borders shelter problems ranging from smuggling and trafficking to political conflict. The junta knows how to use border issues to mount pressure on Bangkok. Burma's military offensive against the Karen National Union over past weeks caused at least 3,000 people to flee to Thailand, home already to 111,000 displaced persons from Burma. The operation coincided with the Thai Asean Chairman's statement on Aung San Suu Kyi. As long as this country fails to overcome these obstacles, it will find it very difficult in lending a hand to save Aung San Suu Kyi. People made to construct road without wages by USDA Chin people are being forced to construct a road in Kanpelet Township by the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) in Kanpelet Town, Southern Chin State, in western Burma. "We have started work from April. A link road between Hmuchinding and Cin dwe villages, a stretch of 30 miles, will allow motor cars to travel on the road. The construction work is being led by USDA with 20 neighboring villages. We have been divided into five groups and told to construct a specific number of meters of the road. We have almost finished 16 miles," a local said. The construction of the link road between Hmuchinding and Cindwe village has been sponsored by "I Love Myanmar" which is a non government organization (NGO). However, the USDA does not pay daily wages to the villagers who are involved in the project. Although the USDA has spent all the sponsored funds for buying digging equipment, people's labour is more useful for the work. "Especially they're using people's energy. The machines can't handle crushing of big stones," he added. On the other hand, one of the USDA leaders told workers "The construction of the road is none of our business but we are only doing it to help transportation between the two villages. It will be beneficial for students who go to school in Hmuchinding village." There are about 70 houses with approximately 500 people in Hmuchinding village. The village has a Middle School where most students from neighbouring villages attend. "I Love Myanmar" will sponsor a new High School building next year. Similarly, people are being forced to build a road between Mukwe Inu village and Mindat town by the USDA. Meanwhile, the workers are anxious about their livelihood as they are being forced into road construction by the USDA without getting paid. They are worried about their family. Yet, they want to complete the project as it would mean better transportation between the two villages and will help their children's education. Serious violations against children in Burma: Ban - Lalit K Jha UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday reported grave violations against children in Burma including credible reports of recruitment and use of children by some government military units and several ethnic armed groups. Expressing serious concern over the plight of Burmese children, the secretary-general in a report to the UN Security Council urged the Burmese military government to put into place a tighter mechanism to prevent the military recruitment of children. Ban also urged the junta to demobilize unconditionally all children who participated in any capacity in its armed forces, in coordination with the UN country task force on monitoring and reporting. "The secretary-general stresses the need for the governments concerned to facilitate dialogue between the United Nations and the Karen National Union and Karenni National Progressive Party for the purposes of signing an action plan in accordance with [relevant] Security Council resolutions," Marie Okabe, deputy spokesperson for the secretarygeneral, told reporters at UN headquarters in New York. In the report, Ban urged Burmese authorities "as a matter of priority" to "redress the prevailing culture of impunity, to launch investigations into all incidents of recruitment and use of children, and to prosecute people responsible for such acts under the Penal Code." "Building on the limited progress thus far, the government should, with immediate effect, cease the arrest, harassment and imprisonment of children under the age of 18 for desertion and/or attempting to leave the army and continue to work with the country task force to monitor such cases and to ensure the swift and unconditional surrender of children," Ban said. Besides government military units, the secretary-general identified several ethnic armed groups involved in recruitment of children: the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, Kachin Independence Army, Karen National Liberation Army Peace Council, Karen National Liberation Army, Karenni Army, Karenni National People's Liberation Front, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Shan State Army-South and Shan National Population Liberation Organization and United Wa State Army. Ban noted in the report that there was a continued lack of humanitarian access to Burma, particularly in conflict zones and ceasefire areas, was an impediment to providing much needed humanitarian assistance. He urged the junta to ensure full, unhindered and safe access for children and to allow free passage for the delivery of UN humanitarian assistance in all parts of the country. KIO accepts junta's idea of transformation of armed-wing The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the largest ethnic Kachin ceasefire group in Burma has accepted the idea of transformation of its armed-wing proposed by the Burma's ruling junta, said KIO leaders. The agreement, however, does not automatically mean that the KIO has agreed to transform its armed-wing the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) into a battalion of the "Border Security Force" proposed by the regime, according to KIO officials in its Laiza headquarters on the Sino-Burma border in Kachin State. KIO/A's Vice-president No. 1, Lt-Gen Gauri Zau Seng who leads the 7-member committee of KIO to talk with Burmese regime on transforming KIA. On the other hand, the KIO would like to maintain the ceasefire agreement with the regime in the meantime because the ceasefire agreement will automatically end and war will result between them if it rejects the regime's idea of transformation of the armed-wing, said Dr. Manam Tu Ja, KIO's Vice-president No.2, who lives in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State. Recently during two meetings between the KIO leaders and junta officials at the regime's Northern Command headquarters in Myitkyina on April 28 and May 21, the KIO was offered two political options by the junta, said Dr. Manam Tu Ja. The first option is that if the KIO accepts what the regime calls the "Overall strategy of armed-wing transition," dialogues will follow between them in what the regime calls the "Plan of Tactics". Otherwise there will be no dialogue between them and the ceasefire agreement will automatically expire, which is the second option. The junta is yet to explain clearly to the KIO on the follow-up dialogues but it seems to be more focused on transition of KIA other ethnic armed-wings in the country into border security forces, not politics, according to KIO leaders. KIO repeatedly has claimed that the KIA may transform to a "Defence Force of Kachin Sate" not a "border guard force" someday in the future when it gains autonomy for Kachin State in the Union of Burma. At the same time, the KIO has just formed a special committee with seven members led by the KIO's Vice-president No.1 Lt-Gen Gauri Zau Seng and the committee will accept all suggestions from the Kachin public and its own organizations. The results will be discussed with the regime, said the KIO. On the other hand, the KIO has again requested Rev. Dr. Lahtaw Saboi Jum, former civilian peace mediator and General Secretary of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) to form a new civilian peace mediators' group for mediating between the KIO and the regime, said officials in the Laiza headquarters. Meanwhile, Maj-Gen Gunhtang Gam Shawng, the Chief of Staff of KIA rejected both the plan to disarm and transform KIA into a "border security force" by the regime before the political problems are resolved between the KIO and the junta. At the moment, the KIA military headquarters in Laiza has ordered its army battalions in Kachin State and Northeast Shan State to reorganize all deserters. It also announced that all men and women of the KIO and KIA have to join a possible war with the regime. There are over 20,000 men and women in KIO and KIA, according to KIO/A officials. KNU calls for tripartite talks - Saw Yan Naing The Karen National Union (KNU) has called on international bodies to pressure the Burmese military government for tripartite talks on political and ethnic military conflicts in Burma. The move comes as ongoing attacks have been launched by the joint forces of the Burmese army and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), a ceasefire group, against the KNU. "We, the KNU, earnestly urge the United Nations, the international communities, the regional and neighboring countries to concertedly pressure the SPDC for immediate acceptance of [a] tripartite dialogue process, for resolving the political and military conflicts in the country," said a KNU statement released on Monday. Since early June, following attacks against Brigade 7 of the KNU military wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), about 4,000 Karen villagers have sought safety in Thailand, while experiencing insufficient food, shelter, clothing and medical care. Some relief workers estimated the number of Karen refugees has now reached 6,000 people. On Monday, a Thai army commander, Lt-Gen Thanongsak Aphirakyothin, said that a total of 1,741 Karen have entered Thailand from eastern Burma since fighting started in early June, according to Reuters. The unit of Thanongsak operates along Thailand's western border. "They fled because of danger and fear of capture and forced labor by the Myanmar army, the commander told reporters in Mae Sot. "Most of the refugees are women and children." Karen sources claim that about 20 soldiers from the joint force have been killed during recent clashes. The number of KNU soldiers dead or injured was not given. The statement said the attacks against Karen villagers were an attempt to eliminate the Karen people. The Burmese regime's recent order to the DKBA, an armed group that separated from the KNU, to transform its troops into a border guard force under the ministry of defense turns the DKBA into the regime's "slaves," the statement said. Instead of serving the Burmese regime, the DKBA should listen to the voice of the Karen people and protect them, said the KNU. "Accordingly, we earnestly urge all concerned to study the entire condition and actively work for [the] prevention of [the] elimination of the Karen, as a people, and uniting the entire Karen people under the flag of Karen revolution," said the statement. The KNU urged the DKBA to assume the position of ethnic ceasefire groups in northern Burma, such as the United Wa State Army and Kokang group, also known as Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, which are bonding with the local population to take an independent role in opposition to the regime. "We would like to tell the DKBA that it is time for it to consider its aims and the actual conditions objectively, to listen to the voice of the Karen people and to stand for the Karen people's interest," said the statement. By working with the Burmese military government, the DKBA is helping to legalize the military dictatorship through its general election in 2010 and its attempt to eliminate all ceasefire groups, said the KNU. Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese analyst in Thailand, said the current offensive is also a part of a process to convince all armed ethnic groups to transfer their troops into a border guard force that would serve under the Burmese military. Army seizes villager's rice paddy, demands money for pipeline security - Kon Hadae Burmese Army soldiers seized a villager's rice paddy field by force in Mudon Township, Mon State. Three day ago, soldiers informed the Doe Mar villager that they would take 2.5 acres for themselves for rainy season rice cultivation. They offered no compensation, said a source close to the farmer. When he arrived at his farm, the soldiers, who are guarding the nearby Myaing Kalay pipeline, informed him that they would be working in his field and that he should go home. The villager's property is located close to the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) base. A land seizure of this type continues what has been called an "expansive set of human rights violations," along the 180-mile pipeline since its construction began in November 2000. A May 2009 report by the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) found 298 acres of farmland seized and nearly 12,000 acres in total. A villager told IMNA that the soldiers said "[they] will work in his field for the rainy [paddy season]. So that paddy field owner had to go back home." Another Doe Mar villager added that, if the soldiers asked last year it may not have been such an imposition; the farmer did not grow rice then, due to the high price of rubber. This year, however, rubber prices have dropped and the farmer needs the rice paddy to support his family. Residents told IMNA that soldiers have abused their power and demanded money from the villagers for a long time: "they try to take everything from the villagers. Not just the paddy field, money as well. We have been giving them [SPDC soldiers] money for a long time for gas pipeline security." Since April 2006, when the gas pipeline exploded, villages in Mudon Township have had to give 2,500 Kyat per family every single month to local battalions for gas pipeline security. A resident from Hnee Padaw village , Mudon township, added that "in our village, not only do we have to pay money for pipeline security, but also for the salary of the [SPDC organized] militia in the village." The May 2009 HURFOM report found that the most common of the numerous human rights abuses by the SPDC surrounding the Myaing Kalay gas pipeline were Land Confiscation, Forced Labor, Taxation, Extortion and Commandeering. Burma's unraveling web of deceit - Francis Wade The trial of Aung San Suu Kyi has made transparent the ease with which the ruling junta has sculpted Burmese law into a framework in which war crimes are legal and dissent is the most heinous of offenses. If any positive can come of current events, it is that the hermit state has been pitched onto the world stage, the full extent of its corrupt system plain to see and, we hope, ever vulnerable to mounting pressure. Even prior to the trial the country ranked at the tail-end of virtually every political freedom barometer in circulation, its media environment suffocated by some of the world's strictest censorship laws and its citizens placed under the crippling watch of a Soviet-style surveillance system. Perhaps most frighteningly, its courts of law, the very institution in which citizen and state crimes are supposedly scrutinized and punished, are under the direct control of the country's paranoid generals. Despite regular statements from the government suggesting otherwise, the Burmese courtroom is little more than the junta's legal wing, with judges usually handpicked by the generals. Those who aren't are regularly subject to intimidation by higher authorities: in March the brother-in-law of the All Burma Monks Alliance (ABMA) leader, U Gambira, was sentenced to five years imprisonment with hard labour under immigration laws after marking the anniversary of the founding of ABMA. The judge had told his sister there wasn't enough evidence to sentence him, but was forced by Burma's chief judge to hand down the guilty verdict. Trials, particularly those of would-be political prisoners, are often held inside closed prison courts, with no access granted to media. Lawyers who present an articulate case in defence of pro-democracy individuals have been threatened with allegations of contempt of court - indeed, 16 of the country's 2,100 political prisoners are lawyers. In March a renowned activist lawyer, Pho Phyu, was sentenced to four years after helping farmers file complaints of land confiscation by the army to the International Labour Organisation (ILO). He was charged under the Unlawful Associations Act, despite belonging to no organization. Such spurious charges are common under Burmese law. Earlier this year six students were sentenced under charges of sedition for collecting and burying the rotting corpses of victims of last year's cyclone Nargis. Numerous aid workers and journalists who reported on the disaster were imprisoned in a wave of sentencing following the cyclone. It is in this context that we once again find ourselves penning the verdict of Aung San Suu Kyi's trial even before the courts announce their decision, so foregone is the conclusion. That in the same breath they will sentence John Yettaw for trespassing and Suu Kyi for sheltering a foreigner, two 'crimes' that, despite their obvious ridiculousness, surely anyway contradict one another, shows the extent to which Burmese law is itself unlawful. Even before Suu Kyi was brought to the courtroom, the government had broken both international law and its own stated law by keeping her in detention beyond five years. There is little else they can do with the lady, her stubborn non-violent ideology stumping a regime whose method of governance only works when dialogue is reduced to the level of thuggery. In the face of Suu Kyi the generals have proved themselves almost impotent, forced to rewrite their own words in a desperate snatch at retaining power. Yet they do this all too easily. The constitution, the bedrock of the country's legal system, was ratified last May barely two weeks after the cyclone, one of Asia's worst recorded natural disasters. With 140,000 people dead, and the southern region of the country in tatters, the government rejected a call from the UN to postpone the referendum. Somehow, despite being scathed by international leaders for its antipathy towards victims of the cyclone, the government claimed 92.4 per cent approval of the constitution, with a 99 per cent voter turnout. But it is in this forest of legal jargon that the discrepancies between what is supposedly right and wrong in Burma come flooding out. The authors make no bones about the fact that what is essentially deemed a legal activity is one that props up authoritarianism, while a 'crime' attempts to counter, or even merely question, it. Thus, what is 'illegal' is for the daughter of Burma's founding father, whose party won a landslide victory in the 1990 elections, to run for government office because she was married to a foreigner. Paradoxically, the ILO last week voiced concern about a clause in the constitution that makes use of forced labour legal when the government deems it necessary. Cases of forced labour documented by the ILO include recruitment of child soldiers and recruitment of civilians to walk in front of army patrols as 'minesweepers', ensuring that it is not government troops who take the full force of a mine exploding at their feet. International jurists, British MPs and exiled Burmese lawyers have all said in recent months that such cases amount to war crimes. Corruption, absence of judicial independence, and state-sanctioned human rights abuses are perhaps all-too predictable byproducts of military rule left to fester behind closed doors. One silver-lining Suu Kyi's trial has generated is that Burma has been brought out of reclusivity, dragging behind it the entrails of its pitiful legal system for all the world to see. While the generals will no doubt breeze into the next decade on the back of a fraudulent election victory, their behaviour is being recognized as quite shocking, even by its hardened Asian neighbours, and they are showing increasing signs of unease. The head of the regime, Than Shwe, is well-known to be fearful of being indicted by the International Criminal Court, and his minor concessions, such as allowing journalists sporadic entry to the Suu Kyi trial, are seen by some observers as a tactic to placate his demons. There are few methods of intimidation that have made headway in Burma - sanctions have achieved little, while engagement has proved futile - but it is with this tool, with this threat that he will be brought to a court whose rule of law is unfamiliar to him, that the international community could start to influence change in Burma. Constitutional loophole leaves door open for forced labor: ILO A committee on International Labor Standards has called on Burma's military government to both amend existing legislation and address shortcomings in a new Constitution due to take effect next year in order to ensure the cessation of forced labor in the country. Referencing the Forced Labor Convention of 1930, an International Labor Organization (ILO) expert committee ruled that the practice of forced labor continues to prevail throughout the country, in all but one of the 14 States and Divisions - citing a lack of political will on the part of authorities to address the problem. The committee told the government it must amend both existing legislation and the new Constitution to effectively ban forced labor, publicize the ban and punish those who defy the ban - appealing to the government to "redouble their efforts" in enacting "long-overdue steps" to stamp out forced labor in Burma once and for all. Disagreeing with the Burmese government's interpretation of the 2008 Constitution, the committee concluded that the text of the document provides for the possible permission of forced labor, specifically drawing attention to a clause referencing "duties assigned thereupon by the State in accord with the law in the interests of the people." Additionally, the committee voiced the opinion that "even those constitutional provisions which expressly prohibit forced or compulsory labour may become inoperative where forced or compulsory labour is imposed by legislation itself." The junta, however, rebuked the view of the committee, noting the Constitution was approved by over 90 percent of voters in a May 2008 referendum and quoting paragraph 15 of Chapter VIII of the Constitution, which iterates: "The State prohibits any form of forced labour except hard labour as a punishment for crime duly convicted and duties assigned thereupon by the State in accord with the law in the interests of the people." Yet, it is precisely paragraph 15 of Chapter VIII, along with the Village and Towns Acts, which the ILO contends demands immediate attention in the amendment or retraction of text contained therein. Further, in response to more than 600 pages of evidence to the practice of forced labor in Burma submitted by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the ILO committee accused the government of failing to address the specifics of the cases brought forward, instead merely regurgitating previous statements to the general condition in Burma and practices of the government without providing any proof in support of the government's position. Included in the transcripts provided by the ITUC was evidence of direct demands of forced labor made by Burma's military of Karen and Chin villagers as well as forced labor relating to the reconstruction of the country's cyclone ravished delta region. The committee, in justifying their verdict, reminded the government that no military personnel have yet to be held accountable for any alleged rights violations, with the exception of three cases which resulted in salary reductions or loss of seniority as opposed to reprimands following from application of the penal code. China, India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), however, all came to the defense of the Burmese regime, with China and India opting to focus on the junta's positive achievements to date in putting an end to forced labor, while Singapore criticized those groups and countries choosing to raise the issue of Aung San Suu Kyi in conjunction with that of forced labor. Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is currently facing trial for breeching the terms of her house detention; charges which many critics and observers believe are purely political in motivation. Burma, under the government of democratically elected Prime Minister U Nu, ratified the Forced Labor Convention in 1955 - some fifty years ahead of fellow ASEAN members Philippines and Vietnam. The United States, China and Canada are three of the countries that have yet to ratify the 1930 Convention. The committee decided against referring the situation in Burma to the International Court of Justice, the highest venue for dealing with forced labor abuses. |
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