BurmaNet News: Oct 18-20, 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

October 18-20, 2003 Issue #2350

INSIDE BURMA
BBC: Gas Pipeline Explodes In Mudon Township, No Casualties Reported
BBC: Youths Arrested For Planning To Distribute Anti "Road Map" Leaflets
Irrawaddy: Burma’s New Beat

ON THE BORDER
SHAN: Wa sets conditions for junta convention
Kaladan: Burmese Army Demands Farm Products And Fire Wood To Withdraw
Farmlands Confiscation Order

REGIONAL
BERNAMA: ASEAN countries against discussing Myanmar at APEC
AFP: US holds 'deep desire' for democratic Myanmar: Bush
AP: President Bush asks Thai leader to help push for democracy in Myanmar
AFP: Thai PM to rebut expected US criticism on Myanmar at APEC talks
AFP: Thai premier says he expects Myanmar's Suu Kyi to be released soon
Mizzima: Burma third from last in World Press Freedom Ranking

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: Bush stumbles over name of Myanmar's detained Nobel peace laureate
CNN: Will Bush Discuss Aung San Suu Kyi's Plight at APEC Summit?
DVB: Activists arrested for staging protest in front of Burmese embassy in US

OPINION / OTHER
Asia Times: Myanmar's Muslim sideshow
WP: Empty Chair for Burma


----INSIDE BURMA----

Oct 18, BBC
Gas Pipeline Explodes In Mudon Township, No Casualties Reported

It has been learned that a huge explosion occurred at the natural gas
pipeline connecting Kanbauk region in Tenasserim Division and Myainggale
Cement Factory in Karen State near KwanSar Village in Mudon Township.
Although there were no reports of any casualties, many paddy fields
surrounding the area were destroyed and the local villagers had to endure
breathing the contaminated air. Furthermore, similar gas pipeline
explosions have occurred twice before in Mon State and the local villagers
are terrified. DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) correspondent Maung Too
filed this report. (Maung Too - recording) The explosion occurred near
Thinneik Bridge west of KwanSar Village in Mudon Township, Mon State. The
explosion caused the natural gas to shot upward and created a crater about
a man's height deep. Nai Chan Mon, a responsible official from the
Independent Mon News Agency, said:

(Nai Chan Mon) Local villagers were terrified about the natural gas
explosion west of KwanSar Village in Mudon Township and evacuated their
village around midnight. The leaking gas contaminated the surrounding air
which still smells of gas. Paddy fields near the explosion site were
destroyed.

(Maung Too) As the pipeline was being installed, the SPDC (State Peace and
Development Council) not only confiscated the farmlands belonging to the
local Mon and Karen villagers but also forced them to contribute labour in
building the pipeline. A similar explosion occurred once in 2002. Another
explosion took place near Ye Lamaing Village on 8 February 2003. Nai Chan
Mon continued to explain about the feelings of the local villagers.

(Nai Chan Mon) As there have been frequent explosions, the villagers begin
to fear the dangers of the natural gas pipeline. The natural gas pipeline
is not beneficial to the ordinary people at this juncture. During
construction, the military government promised that after completion of
the gas pipeline Mon and Karen States and Tenasserim Division will have
full electricity and so far it has not materialized. The people have not
received any benefits from the pipeline but have faced many dangers.
____________________________________________

Oct 19, BBC
Youths Arrested For Planning To Distribute Anti "Road Map" Leaflets

It has been learned that Ma Myint Myint Soe, Yankin Township NLD (National
League for Democracy) youth member, and Ko Han Win Aung, a former
political prisoner from South Okkalapa Township, who were arrested on 3
October, have been detained at Insein Jail. Ma Myint Myint Soe and Ko Han
Win Aung were arrested by the Military Intelligence (MI) personnel on 3
October on their way to Kinmunchone Village in Kayan Township. A Rangoon
Division NLD youth member said Ko Han Win Aung and his group of friends
were arrested for attempting to distribute leaflets criticizing and
opposing the State Peace and Development Council's seven-point road map.
Although Ma Myint Myint Soe's participation in the matter is still
unclear, the MI arrested her because she was together with Ko Han Win Aung
at the time of arrest. The families were unaware of their whereabouts
because they were not informed by the MI of the arrest. A Yankin Township
NLD women group member told DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) they
discovered that Ma Myint Myint Soe was in Insein Jail only when the wife
of Ko Myo Khin, Yankin Township NLD youth in charge who was sentenced to
seven years imprisonment, went to see him at Insein Jail on Monday, 13
October. (NLD women's group member - recording) I was told it was about
anti-government leaflets and believed they have already been sent to
Insein Jail. The families did not know. Family members of Ko Myo Khin who
visited him heard that Ma Myint Myint Soe was in Insein Jail and informed
her family. (End of recording)

That was a report of a Yankin Township NLD women group member. A Rangoon
Division NLD youth member provided more details about the arrest.

(NLD youth member - recording) Han Win Aung is from South Okkalapa
Township and he is not an NLD member. Ma Myint Myint Soe is a Yankin
Township NLD youth member. Ma Myint Myint Soe and Ko Han Win Aung are
friendly. Ko Han Win Aung planned to distribute leaflets that object and
oppose the seven-point road map. His accomplices were arrested in Dagon
area with the documents and relevant papers. Ko Han Win Aung's stepfather
and mother burnt the leaflets so he dare not return home to sleep and have
been absconding. He went along with Ma Myint Myint Soe to a monastery in
Kayan Thongwa to give donations. He did not have his national registration
card so he told his friend to get his national registration card from his
house. When the MI, staking out near his house, interrogated his friend
they found out his whereabouts. They arrested and took him away. His
whereabouts are unknown till today. Ma Myint Myint Soe was also arrested
together with him. But only Ma Myint Myint Soe herself will know about her
involvement. We do not know. We heard the MI inspected and searched Ma
Myint Myint Soe's house at night. (End of recording)

That was a report of a Rangoon Division NLD youth member. Lawyers U Myint
Thaung and U Khin Maung Sein from NLD Central Legal Assistance group are
planning to take Ma Myint Myint Soe and Ko Han Win Aung's case. U Nyan
Win, an NLD lawyer, told DVB that the illegal arrest of NLD members just
by attempting to express one's view, the closed-door trial at Insein Jail,
and sentencing to long prison terms are not in accordance with the legal
system.

(U Nyan Win - recording) U Myint Thaung is trying to inquire about the
trial court. They usually do not announce the particulars of the trial we
have to find out by ourselves. Although the detainees are in Insein Jail,
a township court is given the jurisdiction to carry out the trial which is
usually carried out at the court inside the Insein Jail. That is the norm
and if we do not have the details we cannot get inside the court. First,
we have to find out about the court details like the date and time and
only then can we plan our defence. There are many difficulties to overcome
to take up a case. Secret trial inside the jail is illegal. The law says
it must be an open court and we have been pointing that out all the time
but they still continue to practice that and we have to deal with it.
Furthermore, they try to put into consideration very remote facts to pass
judgments and deliver sentences. Legally speaking whether an offensive was
committed is in doubt but they would pass the sentences anyway. (End of
recording)

That was NLD Central Legal Assistance group member U Nyan Win. Similarly,
DVB has learned through family members that the authorities have wrapped
up the case last Monday and will soon sentence prison terms to Ko Maung
Maung Lay, NLD member from Kemmendine Township, Ko Myint Swe, NLD youth in
charge from Tamwe Township, and Ko Ne Win, Rangoon Division NLD central
security and organization in charge, who were all arrested in early June
for distributing illegal pamphlets.
____________________________________________

Oct 20, Irrawaddy
Burma’s New Beat

A virtual band of young Burmese has found a new, funky way to exercise
their freedom of expression: political hip-hop.

Myanmar Future Generations (MFG) is an online music group that began by
just six close friends. But now the group has dozens of members scattered
across the world who contribute music to the site. All of MFG’s songs have
a political bent, and musicians use rap and hip-hop to call for change in
their homeland, Burma. Yeni interviewed one of the band members by email.
http://www.mmfg.netfirms.com

Question: Why are you so interested in hip-hop?

Answer: Because a rap or hip-hop song can contain a lot more lyrics than
other music styles. The genre has more freedom. We can explore a lot more
ideas with hip-hop. It is also the current flavor of the month among most
youth today, even in Burma.

Q: In the US, hip-hop is associated with the pain and frustration of young
black people. So what pain and frustration has motivated your music?

A: We’re facing a similar situation here. "A Waste of Time" and
"Generation Damage" are two songs that show our frustration.

Q: Some music critics have said that hip-hop culture in Burma doesn’t
reflect the taste of most young people and it’s a trend for kids from
elite families chasing things modern. What is your opinion on that?

A: It’s like that all the time in Burma when you try to introduce a new
genre. Hip-hop might be hard to listen to when you hear it for the first
time. But people are getting more and more familiar with hip-hop beats.
It’s not just for a bunch of rich kids.

Q: Your songs can only be heard on the Internet. But very few people are
online inside Burma, how do you plan to get the message out inside the
country?

A: We distribute our songs on our website because the Internet is the most
suitable medium for sharing music. But we are aware of the fact that
people in Burma cannot access our songs online. In that case, radio
stations, CDs and mini-discs can help to send our songs and messages to
Burma.

Q: Some people say music is for entertainment. Do you feel your songs are
too political?

A: Music can be utilized for information dissemination as well. We are not
singing for love and romance. That’s not our job. We just intend to sing
for our freedom, peace and unity. There are many amateurs out there to
sing love songs.

Q: What do you think about the role of music, especially hip-hop songs, in
the struggle for social change of Burma?

A: Influential hip-hop culture has the potential to change the minds of
young people in Burma. It can even improve the way we think, act, behave
and live. Music plays a powerful role in our lives. As Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi has mentioned, a good freedom song can go a lot further than long
speeches.

----ON THE BORDER----

Oct 20, SHAN
Wa sets conditions for junta convention

A "tripartite" meeting held in Panghsang, 13-15 October, agreed on a
5-point position as a prerequisite for the upcoming "National Convention"
to be summoned by Rangoon, according to a joint statement that was
received by S.H.A.N. this morning (19 October).

The 5 conditions jointly set by Mongla, Shan and Wa representatives are as
follows:
Freedom of meeting among leaders of ethnic nationalities prior to the
convening of the National Convention
Delegates to the National Convention to be chosen freely by each
nationalities concerned
The National Convention must be all inclusive and participated by "proper"
delegates
Freedom of discussion and freedom of activities during the National
Convention
To lay down democratic principles in order to establish a modern and
developed new democratic state
"The National Convention being deemed as central to the resolution of our
internal problems, we have agreed to send delegates to attend it if we are
invited under the principles of Adherence to democratic norms, Equality
and Coordination," it adds.

The "tripartite meeting" was declared "a success" by the three groups.

The meeting was invited by Bao Youxiang, President of the "Special Region
No.2 Government" and attended by the following delegates:

Special Region No.2 (United Wa State Army)
Bao Youxiang (President)
Li Ziru (Vice President)
Shao Minliang (Vice President)
Bo Laikham (Commander-in-chief)
Ai Lon (Chief-of-staff)
Zhao Wenguang (Agriculture, Irrigation and Forestry)
Chen Longseng (Central Office)
Ying Hsinbing (Political Department)
Zhao Ainub (External Affairs Department)
Special Region No.3 (Shan State Army "North")
Maj Gen Hsoten Patron
Maj Gen Loimao President
Col Yabi (General Secretary)
Col Sai Du (Alliance Affairs)
Col Pangfah (Chief of Staff)
Special Region No.4 (National Democratic Alliance Army - Eastern Shan State)
Hsanglu (Chairman, Military and Local Administrative Committee)
Min Ein (Secretary, Military and Local Administrative Committee)
Htun Naing (Chairman, Local Administrative Committee)
The statement does not explain why other groups were absent.
____________________________________________
Oct 19, Kaladan
Burmese Army Demands Farm Products And Fire Wood To Withdraw Farmlands
Confiscation Order

 Buthidaung, October 19: Rohingya villagers have to pay chili, potatoes,
peas and fire woods for army battalion to withdraw their confiscated
farmlands and grazing ground in Buthidaung Township, Arakan State, said
villager.

 On September 25, 2003, a section of army accompanied by three others from
the Township Agriculture Department went to Maung Nama Palay Daung
village tracts, Buthidaung Township with the collaboration of village
Chairman. The army battalion Commander issued an order to confiscate 1120
acres of farmlands and grazing grounds which are surrounded with army
battalion No. 564. The Commander said, “From today, the lands will be
owned by the battalion and no villagers can claim its ownership”. The
Commander also warned the villagers that if anyone opposes the
confiscation of the lands, he/she will be punished or jailed as anti
state activist, said a farmer from the village.

 On September 29, 2003, the owners of the farmlands accompanied by the
Chairman went to the Commander and submitted an application, requesting
him to withdraw the order of farmlands confiscation.

 Finally, the battalion Commander has come to agree with the villagers for
short time withdrawal of order with payment of 100- Visses (1 Viss =1.75
kg) of chili, 200- Visses of potatoes, 70- Visses of peas and 4 tons of
fire wood to them. The land owners have also to sign on an agreement to
return their lands to the said battalion by 30th April 2004, he further
said.

 It may be mentioned here that there has been a continuation of land
confiscation in Arakan State from Rohingya villagers. These lands are
being used for army battalion for sometimes and many are distributed to
new settlers from Burma proper. The Rohingya people are frequently
threatened to vacate their lands for new settlers which affects the
Rohingyas to become landless. ##

----REGIONAL----

Oct 19, BERNAMA
ASEAN countries against discussing Myanmar at APEC

The seven Asean countries in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec)
is steadfast that any issue on Myanmar should not be discussed during the
11th Apec Leaders' meeting tomorrow.

Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Brunei, Indonesia, the
Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam felt that Apec
should only concentrate on economic cooperation among its 21 members.

Myanmar is not an economic issue. Asean's stand is it (Myanmar) should not
be discussed here as Myanmar is not economic related, he told reporters
after an Asean-7 leaders working luncheon hosted by him here.

The leaders, including Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir
Mohamad and Indonesian President, Megawati Sukarnoputri, are here to
attend the two-day Apec Leaders' meeting.

Thaksin said that the stand was made in view of the calls from the United
States and several of its allies which want Southeast Asian countries to
put more pressure on Myanmar's military rulers to release detained
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Founded in 1989, the Apec has been largely devoted to promoting trade and
economic growth in the Pacific rim. But there has been call by several
leaders, including US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, for the Myanmar
issue to be discussed during the meeting.

Powell had also urged the Apec ministerial meeting to play a greater role
in the fight against terrorism, although there were resistance from
several countries, including Malaysia, which felt Apec should stick to its
original objective of promoting trade cooperation and leave security
matters to other international forums like the United Nations Security
Council.

On the move by US to expand Apec's agenda to various issues, including
security and terrorism, Thaksin said "we are in the opinion it should be
confined to Apec's original goal. Anything to do with terrorism is not
related to this objective, unless it affects the economy."

He said that Apec should concentrate on expanding economic issues and
facilitation of trade among member countries.

On calls from some Thai officials that the Bogor Goal of achieving trade
liberalisation among developing countries in Apec be expedited, Thaksin
said that Asean countries would not push towards that.

"We will not push for earlier dates. But I am impressed that many
countries are clinching free trade agreements, this will help in reducing
trade barriers earlier than 2020," he added.
____________________________________________

Oct 19, AFP
US holds 'deep desire' for democratic Myanmar: Bush

The United States has a "deep desire" to see democracy take hold in
military-run Myanmar, US President George W. Bush said Sunday, stepping up
pressure for the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Bush said he had told Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose
government along with other neighboring nations has taken a softer line on
Myanmar, of Washington's "deep desire for freedom to take place in Burma."

"We care deeply about Aung Suu San Kyi and the status of Aung Suu San
Kyi," he said, accidentally transposing the Nobel peace laureate's second
and third names.

The call marked the third time in as many days that US officials have
turned up the heat on Southeast Asian nations over their failure to push
harder for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, who is now under house arrest.

Secretary of State Colin Powell on Friday and again on Saturday said the
United States wanted the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to
take a firmer line with member Myanmar.

Earlier this month, though, ASEAN leaders irked Washington when they noted
"positive developments" in Myanmar and lent their support to Yangon's new
"roadmap" to democracy, which envisages free and fair elections and a new
constitution but does not mention a timeframe or Aung San Suu Kyi.

Thaksin has said the United States does not understand the issue well and
that he would resist pressure from Bush to do more to intervene in the
neighboring nation's internal affairs.

On Sunday however he insisted Bangkok and Washington had the same goals,
but different ideas on how to achieve them.

"We agreed that we share the same goal of reaching national reconciliation
in Myanmar, but our methods are different," Thaksin told reporters.

"We share the same goals of national reconciliation, democracy and the
release of Aung San Suu Kyi, who is now staying at home, and I think it
won't take long before she receives her freedom."

Bush, who was speaking to reporters after meeting with Thaksin as part of
a state visit to Thailand, sounded a slightly conciliatory note, saying
that he had had a "sympathetic hearing" from the Thai leader.

"I appreciate the sympathetic hearing I got from the prime minister," he
said, noting that despite differences in approach, Thailand and the United
States agreed that Aung San Suu Kyi should be released.

"We share the same goals," Bush said. "The government assured us of that
and I am thankful for that."

The United States tightened sanctions on Myanmar after Aung San Suu Kyi
was detained at an undisclosed location following a bloody clash between
her supporters and pro-junta demonstrators on May 30.

She was admitted to hospital last month for major gynaecological surgery
and afterwards taken to her home to begin her third stint under house
arrest since beginning her political career in 1988.
____________________________________________

Oct 19, AP
US holds 'deep desire' for democratic Myanmar: Bush

President Bush pressed Thailand's leader Sunday to help restore democracy
in neighboring Myanmar and to push for the release of pro-democracy
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Bush and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra met on the eve of the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, likely to take up the repressive
rule of Myanmar's junta.

The United States urged Southeast Asian countries over the weekend to use
"all tools at their disposal" to free Suu Kyi and bring democracy to a
country which has been under a military regime since 1962. Myanmar, also
known as Burma, has drawn international criticism for detaining Suu Kyi,
and dragging its feet on a long-standing promise to free its political
system.

The current junta held elections in 1990, but refused to recognize the
results after Suu Kyi's party won.

"He asked me to help push for democracy in Myanmar and for the release of
Aung San Suu Kyi," Thaksin said after his session with Bush.

Bush said Thaksin gave him a "sympathetic hearing" on the subject and
assured him that the two countries share the same goal.

"We care deeply about Aung San Suu Kyi and the status of Aung San Suu Kyi,
and we would like to see her free," Bush told reporters.

Bush also told Chinese President Hu Jintao in a later meeting that the
United States wants Suu Kyi's "immediate freedom" and described her as a
hero, said a senior administration official.

Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since Sept. 26, after spending a week
in a hospital for an operation for a gynecological condition. Before, the
1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner was held incommunicado at an undisclosed
location.

She was detained following a bloody May 30 clash between her supporters
and a pro-government mob while she was touring northern Myanmar.

The junta first said she was being held for her own safety, but later that
it was to safeguard public security.

Critics say Myanmar has been let off lightly by the 10-member Association
of Southeast Asian Nations, of which it is a member. The group has not
criticized Myanmar for Suu Kyi's detention because they considered it an
internal matter.
____________________________________________

Oct 20, AFP
Thai PM to rebut expected US criticism on Myanmar at APEC talks

ASEAN has made Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra its spokesman to
rebut criticism expected from US President George W. Bush at an APEC
summit here over the continued detention of Myanmar opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi.

"Mr Thaksin will be ASEAN's voice on Myanmar at the APEC leaders summit,"
a diplomat from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) told
AFP Monday.

Bush on Sunday told Thaksin, whose government along with other neighboring
nations has taken a softer line on Myanmar, of Washington's "deep desire
for freedom to take place in Burma.

"We care deeply about" Aung San Suu Kyi, Bush said at their meeting in the
sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

US officials have turned up the heat on Southeast Asian nations over their
failure to push harder for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, who is now
under house arrest.

At an ASEAN leaders lunch meeting Sunday, Thaksin was asked to rebut
expected criticism from Bush during the talks "because he has been our
link with Myanmar on its democratisation programme," the ASEAN diplomat
said.

Yangon announced earlier this year a new "roadmap" to democracy, which
envisages free and fair elections and a new constitution but does not
mention a timeframe nor Aung San Suu Kyi.

Thaksin has said the United States does not understand the issue well and
that he would resist pressure from Bush to do more to intervene in the
neighboring nation's internal affairs.

The United States tightened sanctions on Myanmar after Aung San Suu Kyi
was detained at an undisclosed location following a bloody clash between
her supporters and pro-junta demonstrators on May 30.

She was admitted to hospital last month for major surgery and afterwards
taken to her home to begin her third stint under house arrest since
beginning her political career in 1988.
____________________________________________

Oct 18, AFP
Thai premier says he expects Myanmar's Suu Kyi to be released soon

Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said after talks with US
President George W. Bush Sunday that he expects Myanmar's opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi to be released soon.

"I think it won't take long before she receives her freedom," Thaksin said
of the Nobel peace laureate who is being held under house arrest by
Myanmar's military government.

Bush is expected to use a summit of Pacific Rim leaders starting here
Monday to admonish Southeast Asian governments over their failure to push
Myanmar's regime to release Aung San Suu Kyi and introduce promised
democratic reforms.

"We agreed that we share the same goal of reaching national reconciliation
in Myanmar, but our methods are different," Thaksin told reporters.

"We share the same goals of national reconciliation, democracy and the
release of Aung San Suu Kyi."

The United States, a leading critic of the Myanmar junta, reacted with
fury over the junta's move to detain Aung San Suu Kyi, and tightened
sanctions in a bid to secure her release.

Thailand has, however, supported Myanmar since it announced a "roadmap"
aimed at shifting the country towards democracy, and called on the
international community to support the process.

Thaksin also said ahead of Bush's arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) leaders summit that the United States did not
understand the Myanmar issue well.

He said Thailand would resist US pressure to do more to intervene in the
neighbouring Southeast Asian nation's internal affairs.
____________________________________________

October 20, Mizzima News
Burma third from last in World Press Freedom Ranking

The Paris-based Reporters without Borders (RSF) issued its second ranking
of press freedom in countries around the world today and Burma is ranked
164th position out of 166 countries listed.

Burma ranked third from last ahead of Cuba, North Korea and ranked below
Bhutan and China.

It is the same status Burma enjoys with last year's RSF ranking found the
country to be third position from last ahead of Cuba and North Korea as
regards to press freedom.

The findings point out that the most catastrophic situation is to be found
in Asia, with eight countries in the bottom ten: North Korea, Burma, Laos,
China, Iran, Vietnam, Turkmenistan and Bhutan.

"Independent news media are either non-existent in these countries, or are
constantly repressed by the authorities. Journalists there work in
extremely difficult conditions, with no freedom and no security. A number
of them are imprisoned in Burma, China and Iran", the RSF said.

Cuba, second from last in the ranking, is the world's biggest prison for
journalists.

The ranking also distinguishes behaviour at home and abroad in the cases
of the United States and Israel. The United States is ranked 31st and
Israel as 44th position as regards respect for freedom of expression on
their own territory, but they fall to the 135th and 146th positions as
regards behaviour beyond their borders.  India ranks 128th in world
ranking of press freedom.

The RSF ranking measures the state of press freedom in the world based on
surveys of journalists, researchers, jurists, regional specialists and the
researchers about a range of press freedom violations, such as murders of
journalists, state censorship, free flow of information, etc.

----INTERNATIONAL----

Oct 19, AFP
Bush stumbles over name of Myanmar's detained Nobel peace laureate

Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has irritated Myanmar's military
government for years but it was her polysyllabic name, not her outspoken
political views, that flummoxed US President George W. Bush here on
Sunday.

The president, known for his malaprops, mispronunciations and use of
questionable syntax, tripped twice in the same sentence over the detained
opposition leader's name as he repeated Washington's demands for the junta
to release her.

"We care deeply about Aung Suu San Kyi and the status of Aung Suu San
Kyi," he said, transposing the pro-democracy advocate's second and third
names in comments to reporters after meeting Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra.

The inadvertent flub drew chuckles from reporters in the White House
filing center and one veteran correspondent was overheard to say: "At
least he got all four syllables in."

The slip-up did not make it onto the official transcript which was issued
later by the White House with the name set out correctly.

The United States has been stepping up pressure on Myanmar's junta since
Aung San Suu Kyi was detained at an undisclosed location following a
bloody clash between her supporters and pro-junta demonstrators on May 30.

She was admitted to hospital last month for major gynaecological surgery
and afterwards taken to her home to begin her third stint under house
arrest since beginning her political career in 1988.

In August, Washington slapped tough new economic and trade sanctions on
Yangon and has been calling since then for Myanmar's neighbors to take a
tougher stance with the junta on Aung San Suu Kyi and the country's return
to democracy.
____________________________________________

Oct 19, CNN
Will Bush Discuss Aung San Suu Kyi's Plight at APEC Summit?

A troubling human rights issue is not likely to be in the spotlight when
President Bush and other world leaders sit down for the APEC summit. But
the issue has not gone unnoticed by Mr. Bush. It involves the plight of an
opposition leader in Thailand's neighbor, Myanmar.

BODY:
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: A troubling human rights issue is not likely to
be in the spotlight when President Bush and other world leaders sit down
for the APEC summit. But the issue has not gone unnoticed by Mr. Bush. It
involves the plight of an opposition leader in Thailand's neighbor,
Myanmar. The story from Bangkok bureau chief Tom Mintier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM MINTIER, CNN BANGKOK BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): She may not be on the
agenda at the APEC summit in Bangkok, but Burmese opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi most definitely will be discussed. During an interview with
Thai television before he left for the summit, U.S. President George W.
Bush says Suu Kyi is on his agenda. Mr. Bush's National Security Adviser,
Condoleezza Rice, says the United States will have discussions at APEC
about promoting democracy in Myanmar.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Absolutely and also
about the fate of Aung San Suu Kyi. Because we have been in constant
contact with the U.N. representative about this.

MINTIER: The plight of Suu Kyi is discussed regularly by ASEAN. At this
meeting in Cambodia last June, the group went so far as to publicly
express its displeasure with the continued detention of Suu Kyi. Myanmar's
foreign minister, during a CNN interview on the sidelines of that meeting,
claimed that his country wanted a change in the situation.

U WIN AUNG, MYANMAR FOREIGN MINISTER: We are working to get the situation
back onto the right track and we would like to see Myanmar moving forward
again.

MINTIER: But Suu Kyi remains under what is described as house arrest at
her home in Yangon following a week's hospitalization and surgery. Allowed
to go home from the hospital, but still not free. Thai Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra believes that taking a hard line with Myanmar is not a
good idea.

THAKSIN SHINAWATRA, THAI PRIME MINISTER: But we should not tell them to do
this, not to do that, because it's their country. They have their own
dignity and sovereignty.

MINTIER: Behind the scenes, Thailand and other ASEAN members have been
quietly urging Myanmar to release the Nobel peace laureate. Two ASEAN
delegations have visited Yangon in the past two months. Neither were
successful in securing Suu Kyi's freedom.

Although the APEC summit doesn't have the plight of Suu Kyi on the agenda,
there's no doubt that in bilateral meetings, especially with the U.S.
president, the matter most certainly will be brought up.

Tom Mintier, CNN, Bangkok.
____________________________________________

Oct 20, DVB
Activists arrested for staging protest in front of Burmese embassy in US

18 October is the birthday of the long imprisoned Burmese student leader
Ko Min Ko Naing and political activists in Washington DC had staged a
protest in front of the Burmese embassy on 17 october to mark the
occasion. Four activists were arrested by security staff for blocking the
entrance to the embassy.

Ko Nyi Nyi Aung, one of the Burmese activists told DVB about the protest
from the front of the embassy as follows:

Ko Nyi Nyi Aung : The people arrested were three non-Burmese nationals
from US Campaign for Burma and Ko Aung Din. We staged the protest to mark
the birthday of the imprisoned chairman of Burma Students Union. We want
to make the regime aware of what it is like to spend one's birthday inside
a prison and to have pity on all political prisoners who have been
arrested like him. We blocked the entrance of the embassy because we want
to highlight the fact that the SPDC is an illegal government and that we
don't recognise it.

Ko Yin Aye, another activist explained the purpose of the protest as follows:

Ko Yin Aye : Min Ko Naing has served his ten year sentence but they are
still detaining him illegally and without any charges. Therefore, we have
intensified the campaign for his release internationally. We want to show
that as long as the regime doesn't release him, it will have to be afraid
of the students. He shows that the regime is afraid of a student like him
who owns only one pen. Min Ko Naing is 41 years old today and during his
41 years, he was forced to waste his 15 youthful years in prison. We want
to say that it's high time the military leaders including their chairman
General Than Shwe release Min Ko Naing.

Min Ko Naing was arrested by the military intelligence on the 24 March
1989 and he is currently being incarcerated in Sittwe Prison, Arakan
State.

He was to be released in 1999 but the authorities refused to release him
and kept on detaining him with Act 10a every year. There had been reports
that his health condition is deteriorating but his family members are not
allowed to contact him directly at the moment. Sittwe Prison is very far
from his family in Rangoon and family members are only able to see him
once or twice a year.

Min Ko Naing is known to be strong mentally and he opposes the regime
without compromise and he is being respected inside and outside Burma. He
has been awarded many international honours but the SPDC is still refusing
to release him.

----OPINION / OTHER----

Oct 20, Asia Times
Myanmar's Muslim sideshow -- By Cem Ozturk

As the world continues to glare at Myanmar's ruling junta for its ongoing
oppression of the country's popular democracy movement, it is hardly by
coincidence that tensions between Buddhists and Muslims, in the past
instigated by Yangon in times of political crisis, are on the rise again.

Some in Myanmar point the finger at alleged new "terrorists" among the
Muslim minority. Do these allegations represent a heightened Islamist
presence in Myanmar, or is this just the inner grumblings of a regime
hoping to use the "war on terror" for desperately needed international
support?

With red robes, a freshly shaven head and a look of serene indifference
across his face, the seated monk was a near perfect emulation of the gold
image of Buddha placed against the far wall. His words, however, were far
from tranquil.

"We have a problem in Myanmar; we have a problem here in Mandalay. The
problem is called Islam. There are many new Muslims in Mandalay from
Pakistan [and Bangladesh]. These people are thieves and terrorists. They
do not respect our religion and our women. We are Buddhist, and we are
peaceful, but we must protect ourselves."

The scene was a Buddhist seminary adjacent to Shwe In Bin Monastery in
Mandalay - Myanmar's second largest city. In this deeply Buddhist nation,
the monkhood is second only to the government in public influence. The
abbot, a charismatic Burman named Win Rathu, is a highly respected leader
among the Mandalay clergy whose tough talk has earned him the
Hollywood-esque nickname "The Fighting Monk". He is widely accepted as the
leader of a growing anti-Muslim movement.

Several weeks prior to his conversation with Asia Times Online (September
14), he gave a speech on the matter which attracted a voluntary audience
of nearly 3,000 monks - a substantial number by all accounts, and one that
reflects the seriousness with which the perceived Muslim threat is being
taken by the monkhood.

This perceived threat is nothing less than the largest religious minority
in Myanmar. Numbering approximately 2 million people, Myanmar's Muslims
comprise at least 4 percent of the overwhelmingly Theravada Buddhist state
- a percentage as large as neighboring Thailand's. The percentage is very
likely to be even higher as the ruling junta in Yangon refuses to
recognize a large number of Muslims as citizens, and furthermore, all
official statistics from the Myanmar government are known to be far from
reliable at best, and completely fabricated to fit the government's needs
at worst.

There are at least four ethnically distinct Muslim communities in Myanmar,
all of which are Sunni. The ethnically Chinese Hui, with roots in Yunnan,
dominate much of the cross-border trade in Mandalay and the north. Indian
and Pakistani Muslims, who arrived with British colonial rule, are still
found all over the country, most evident in Yangon and Mandalay. The
ethnically Burman Muslims were converted in the same wave of Indian and
Arab traders and scholars that influenced Thailand and Malaysia between
the 9th and 14th centuries, and live throughout the central plains. The
largest, also the poorest, Muslim ethnic group in Myanmar today is that of
the Rohingyas. This struggling community shares both a border and a common
cultural heritage with Bangladesh's Bengali Muslims, and live primarily in
Myanmar's northwestern Rakhine state.

"These Pakistanis - they are the worst ones," says Win Rathu. "They are
making it bad for everyone in Myanmar. The real reason America put the
sanctions on us because they wanted to punish al-Qaeda, which is here -
and now we are all paying. Buddhists are starving because of their
connections to al-Qaeda."

While Win Rathu might be the first to claim that the US's sanctions on
Myanmar are aimed at terrorists rather than the ruling junta, he is not
the first person to claim that terrorists have mingled with Myanmar's
Muslims. International attention was drawn to the Rohingya Muslim
community when its links to Islamist groups were discovered. Anti-terror
officials around the world took note, and so did the ruling junta in
Yangon.

The government in Myanmar has never recognized the Rohingyas as a native
population. It sent hundreds of thousands of them fleeing into Bangladesh
in 1978 during a cleansing campaign ominously named Naga Min (Dragon
King). Similar pogroms erupted again in the early 1990s, resulting in
similarly massive migrations of refugees.

Most of the Rohingyas have since repatriated to Myanmar. However, over
100,000 remain inside Bangladesh. Some enjoy the relative protection of
United Nations refugee camps, but all live in dire situations as refugees
in a state than can scarcely manage to support its own people.

From the desperate conditions of these camps have sprung several
generations of small resistance groups which have operated a low-level
insurgency along the northwestern border for some decades. Most of these
groups have sought equal religious and economic standing in Myanmar, and a
few have demanded the creation of a separate Muslim state along the
border. All of these groups have been completely ineffective against
Myanmar's large military - battle hardened by 50 years of
counter-insurgency warfare.

The Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) is one of these groups, and the
subject of much of the world's attention on Myanmar's Muslims. Founded in
the early 1980s, the RSO has aped movements such as the Taliban and the
Kashmir-based Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. After a failed merger with another
Rohingya insurgent group to form the moderate Arakan Rohingya National
Organization, the RSO split into several factions, all claiming the name
RSO.

As the South Asia Intelligence Review reports, at least one of the RSO's
factions is known to have enjoyed financial and technical support from a
variety of pan-Islamist organizations throughout South and Southeast Asia,
including the Bangladeshi/Pakistani Jamaat-e-Islami, Afghan warlord
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hizb-e-Islami, and most importantly, Bangladesh's
Harakat-ul-Jihad-ul-Islami (HuJI) - all of whom are unquestionably linked
with al-Qaeda.

Videotapes of Bangladeshi/Rohingya mujahideen training camps acquired by
the media and US intelligence during the October 2001 campaign in
Afghanistan also support this link, as does the fact that Rohingyas were
among some of the Taliban fighters captured by the Northern Alliance and
coalition forces. According to Islamist network expert Subir Bhaumik,
Rohingya volunteers have been sent to international flashpoints as far
away as Kashmir and Chechnya. Further establishing the links is the fact
that Osama bin Laden himself has openly referred to the persecution of
Muslims in Myanmar, as well as his supporters there, in at least one
speech.

Back in Win Rathu's office, the tranquil smiling continued as he switched
on a digital video camera, a Compaq PC, and an air conditioner - all
incredible luxuries for anyone in this desperately poor country, and
especially unusual material possessions for an avowed ascetic monk.

"There have been problems before, but the problems have really grown in
the last several years with the Pakistani Muslims," said Wi Rathu. "They
want Myanmar to be Muslim - but Myanmar is Buddhist. They want the rest of
Asia to be Muslim and live by Muslims rules - but we are Buddhist."

Win Rathu's fears call to mind the stated goals of some of the
pan-Islamist jihadi groups such as Jemaah Islamiya, which wish to see an
Islamic super-state encompassing territory from Bangladesh to Indonesia.
It is not difficult to see why this idea might be cause for alarm. His
other fears, however, call to mind nothing but the kind of superstitions
that give rise to religious violence in the first place.

"The Muslims are responsible for nearly all of the crime in Myanmar:
opium, theft, many rapes. They want to deface images of the Buddha like
they did in Afghanistan. Now they mock us with these longyis [a common
traditional garment]". As he said this, three young monks presented framed
pictures of the longyis - on which they claimed patterns of Buddhist
symbols were placed next to symbols which supposedly represented female
genitalia. The longyis, they asserted, were worn and sold by Muslims, and
were imported from Malaysia - a Muslim country.

It was this kind of tension which led to nationwide sectarian riots in
2001. Violence broke out between the two faiths in the towns of Taungoo,
Prome, Sittwe, Pegu and Mandalay, as large mobs often led by what appeared
to be Buddhist monks attacked Muslim businesses, homes and mosques. The
violence resulted in at least nine deaths and considerable destruction of
property.

As Human Rights Watch reported in its 2001 report, "Crackdown on Burmese
Muslims", monks, working with the support of the government, have
distributed anti-Muslim pamphlets such as the 2001 tract "Myo Pyauk Hmar
Soe Kyauk Hla Tai (The Fear of Losing One's Race). Distribution of the
pamphlets was also facilitated by the Union of Solidarity and Development
Association (USDA). The USDA is the civilian support wing of the military
regime, and the same group that recently ambushed and abducted democratic
opposition leader Aung San Su Kyi.

While the idea of monks actually leading rioters may seem unusual, certain
details make it less so. Myanmar's large and much feared military
intelligence service, the Directorate of Defense Security Intelligence is
commonly believed to have agents working within the monkhood. The monks
have always been courageous supporters of the democracy movement. It would
seem that monitoring dissident monks is not their only function.

Human Rights Watch also reported that monks in the 2001 riots were
carrying mobile phones, a luxury not readily available to the Myanmar
population - as very few without government connections can afford them.
It is also reported that there was a clear split between monks who
provoked violence and those who did not. It has been suggested by Human
Rights Watch and others that these facts may reflect the presence of
agents provocateur among the monks. That suggestion may not be far off.

"Win Rathu works for the government," said one monk to Asia Times Online
on strict condition of anonymity. "What he says is not Buddhist. What he
does is not Buddhist. Very many monks do not support these views." Indeed,
by his own admission, Wi Ra Thu's speech was not licensed or supported by
his seniors among the clergy. One doubts as well that it is the clergy
which finances his princely lifestyle.

In the past, the military regime has launched major campaigns against one
or another internal minority during times of major political crises. The
logic is clear - without internal crisis as an excuse for government
crackdowns, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)has no
justification for its heavy-handed rule. Indeed, the SPDC has often been
accused of inciting such sectarian violence for its own political ends. In
February 15, 2000 testimony before the United States Congressional Human
Rights Caucus Stephen Dun, a Christian member of the Karen ethnic
minority, related how the 1994 split between the Buddhist and Christian
factions of Karen rebels in the south was caused by agitators. The
sectarian schism resulted in the fall of the rebels' most important
stronghold, Manerplaw, to SPDC forces - a nearly mortal blow to the Karen
rebellion.

The 1991 scapegoating and subsequent exodus of 250,000 Rohingyas into
Bangladesh occurred at a time of major political crisis - the ruling
military regime had just been overwhelmingly defeated by the National
League for Democracy (NLD). Refusing to recognize the NLD's victory, the
regime was condemned domestically and internationally.

As the government faces economic sanctions and renewed international
condemnation for its imprisonment and treatment of Aunt San Su Kyi from
the West, one should expect the same diversionary tactics from the regime.
The recent military campaign against Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)
rebels in south confirms this.

The Muslim minority is another easy target. However, unlike the KNLA,
operations against Rohingyas have the added political value of being
framed as part of the international "war on terror". If tension continues
to escalate, setting off violence like it did in 2001 - the same kind of
desperate conditions that gave hold to Islamist groups in the first place
will be exacerbated. A further radicalized Muslim minority directly
adjacent to a major terrorist target like Thailand, in a region already
struggling to cope with terrorism, could indeed constitute a heightened
Islamist threat.

If violence does once again break out, it will be agitators like Win Rathu
at the lead. And this religious violence threatens to divert the world's
attention from the real issue in Myanmar - the continuing deprivation of
its people's prosperity by an unpopular military dictatorship.
____________________________________________
EDITORIAL

Oct 19, WP
Empty Chair for Burma

THE FIRST ORDER of business for President Bush and other leaders at the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bangkok on tomorrow should be
to set an extra place and leave one chair empty in symbolic honor of a
leader who isn't there. That would be Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace
laureate of Burma who won a landslide victory in a 1990 election but has
never been permitted to govern. The corrupt generals who do control Burma
-- and who will be strutting around at the APEC summit -- have placed her
once again under house arrest. What are Mr. Bush and his fellow leaders
going to say and do about it? Secretary of State Colin L. Powell denounced
her treatment as a travesty on Friday and said that he and Mr. Bush will
urge fellow leaders to take a tougher stand against the Burmese regime.

"You can believe the president will talk quite a lot about the need for
freedom in Burma," national security adviser Condoleezza Rice told
reporters before Mr. Bush left for Asia. That's good to hear. But her
pledge came in answer to a question, toward the end of a briefing. In her
opening statement on the president's principal plans and goals for the
trip, neither Burma nor Aung San Suu Kyi rated a mention.

The promotion of democracy in Burma, a nation of 50 million, is hampered
by the lack of interest on the part of two key neighbors. China to the
north is ruled by its own dictators, who have no desire to encourage a
government of greater legitimacy in Burma than they have at home. Thailand
to the east traditionally has offered more support, or at least a safe
haven, for Burma's exiled democrats and for the refugees forced out by the
Burmese military's use of rape and forced labor. But Thai Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra has been moving in the wrong direction with respect to
civil liberties in his own country as well as for Burma. His security
forces have banned human rights activists from entering the country,
intimidated local media, threatened to expel refugees and those who care
for them, and waged a war on drugs in which thousands of alleged criminals
have been shot in extrajudicial executions.

You may not hear much about this from Mr. Bush, because Thailand also has
been helping track down al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists. At times the war
on terrorism will force the United States to compromise on other
principles and forge alliances with unsavory characters. Still, this seems
an odd moment for Mr. Bush to consider bestowing on Thailand the same
"major non-NATO ally" status that Israel and South Korea enjoy. Ultimately
the best defense against Islamic extremism is the growth of stable
democracies. That cause is undermined by bullies such as Mr. Thaksin and
Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad, with his vile anti-Semitism and his use of
trumped-up charges to jail political rivals. Asian countries that are
democracies, such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines;
countries that are struggling on that road, such as Indonesia; and the
democrats resisting their governments inside dictatorships such as Burma
-- those are America's true allies. Mr. Bush should say so.

[ Ed: Burma is not a member of APEC as stated in the editorial ]