BurmaNet News, December 8, 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

Dec 8, 2003 Issue # 2382



INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar junta "doing its best" to engage Aung San Suu Kyi: PM Khin Nyunt
APW: Second group of ethnic Kachin pledges support for Myanmar junta's
"road map" to democracy

DRUGS
AFP: Amphetamines could become world's most severe drug problem: UN
Shan: Sickness and death hit Wa - again

BUSINESS / MONEY
LAT: Unocal Pipeline Trial to Begin
FT: Thailand invites US to participate in economic cooperation strategy

REGIONAL
NCGUB: NCGUB calls on Japan, ASEAN to Intercede in Burma
AFP: Myanmar to attend international forum on democracy "roadmap": Thailand
Korea Herald: Japan, Southeast Asia differ on Burma
ABC: Singapore denies democracy activists permission to hold Burma forum

OPINION / OTHER
Dallas Morning News: The Lady’s Courage - Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi sets
example for everyone.
AFP: Cambodian opposition chief scorns Myanmar's "roadmap" for democracy
Irrawaddy: Dancing to the Same Old Tune


INSIDE BURMA
___________________________________

Dec 8, Agence France Presse

Myanmar junta "doing its best" to engage Aung San Suu Kyi: PM Khin Nyunt

Myanmar Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt claimed in a rare television
interview broadcast here Monday that the Myanmar junta is trying to gain
mutual understanding with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"We are doing our best to have better understanding of each other. When a
third party is involved, the efforts for mutual understanding will be
disturbed and causes confusion, so we are taking precautionary measures"
by detaining her, he told the publicly funded broadcaster Japan
Broadcasting Corp. (NHK).

He did not say when Aung San Suu Kyi will be released, NHK said.

"First, a national convention will be held, followed by drafting of a new
constitution," Khin Nyunt explained.

"The national convention will be the most important step (toward
democracy). But it is difficult to clearly say when it will be held."

The interview was aired as Japan prepares to host a summit meeting with
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on December 11-12 to
commemorate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the group's ties
with Tokyo.

Khin Nyunt is expected to discuss Mynmar's democracy efforts with Japanese
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi when the two meet on the sidelines of the
meeting, NHK said.

Khin Nyunt is believed to have responded to the TV station's request for
an interview because Myanmar wanted to gain the confidence of the Japanese
public as Western nations continue to take a hardline stance against
Yangon.

Khin Nyunt told NHK that he wished Japan would release more economic
assistance for his nation as it pushes for democracy.

"To push for democratisation of our country, it is important that we build
a solid economic foundation. Japan's current economic assistance is not
enough, but I believe Japan would extend a helping hand," he said.
______________________________

Dec 8, Associated Press Worldstream

Second group of ethnic Kachin pledges support for Myanmar junta's "road
map" to democracy

A second group of ethnic militia allied with the ruling junta has
expressed its support for the government's "road map" to democracy,
state-owned newspapers reported Saturday.

The ethnic Kachin New Democratic Army promised to join a
government-sponsored National Convention, a body charged with drafting a
new constitution, the newspapers said.

The Kyemon (Mirror) daily said NDA leader Za Khun Ting Ring conveyed his
support for the process to Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyunt on Friday.

Last Sunday, the government announced that another militia group, the
Kachin Independence Army, had expressed its support for the road map and
the National Convention.

Both Kachin groups are among 17 ethnic militias that signed peace
agreements with the junta between 1989 and 1997. However, a few other
armed groups continue to fight the junta.

Myanmar's military rulers are keen to prove that they are not entirely
without domestic support, despite scathing international criticism over
their detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the
suppression of her National League for Democracy party.

On Aug. 30, the government unveiled what it called a seven-point road map
to restore democracy in Myanmar, outlining a path to national elections
and a new government but providing no details or timeframe.

The junta held elections in 1990 but refused to relinquish power when Suu
Kyi's party won.

Myanmar does not currently have a constitution. A 1974 Socialist
constitution was dropped when the military seized power in 1988.

The government first organized a National Convention in 1993, but
suspended it in 1996 after the NLD walked out, saying it was being forced
to rubber stamp decisions made by the junta.

On Friday, a senior military intelligence officer, Brig. Gen. Than Tun,
said the junta was preparing to reconvene the National Convention, but
that the number of delegates - and the participation of the NLD - had not
yet been decided.

Five top NLD leaders who were freed from house arrest last week said they
are still considering how to respond to the junta's road map, which was
announced while they were detained.

Suu Kyi reportedly told U.N. special envoy Razali Ismail in October that
she could work with the road map, but later told U.N. human rights envoy
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro that she would not accept freedom from house arrest
until her party members were also released.

Four NLD leaders, including Suu Kyi, are still in detention.

DRUGS
______________________________

Dec 8, Agence France Presse

Amphetamines could become world's most severe drug problem: UN

An epidemic of illicit amphetamines abuse in Southeast Asia could blow up
into the world's most severe drug problem, the UN Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC) warned Monday.

Addressing a meeting of national drug law enforcement agency heads from
Asia and the Pacific, UNODC senior programme management officer Narumi
Yamada said the rise of amphetamine-type substances (ATS) needed urgent
attention.

"The region faces the threats of ATS, which has turned into an alarming
epidemic in Southeast Asia, drawing younger consumers, offering large
profit margins; and it may become the world's most severe drug problem,"
Yamada said.

"Whilst law enforcement alone cannot control this menace, law enforcement
agencies have an undoubtedly critical and indispensable role to play --
and with urgency," she told the gathering, held annually to exchange ideas
between law enforcement agencies.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra last week declared victory in the
kingdom's recent "war" against drugs, which was aimed especially at
methamphetamines flooding into Thailand from neighbouring Myanmar.

According to figures released before the drugs war, Thailand was the
world's largest per capita consumer of methamphetamines, with five percent
of its 63 million people thought to be users.

Last month the United Nations warned that Asian nations were losing the
war against illegal drugs despite having some of the toughest penalties in
place against their trafficking and abuse.

It said that the sharpest increases in drug abuse regionally has been
among youth from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and China's
Yunnan province using amphetamines.

The UNODC-hosted meeting was attended by representatives from the UN's
Economic and Social Commission for the Asia Pacific (UNESCAP) as well as
several observers including Canada, Germany, Italy and Sweden.

______________________________

Dec 7, Shan
Sickness and death hit Wa – again

Two years after thousands of Wa who were resettled along the Thai border
perished through a wave of diseases, the epidemic has made another return
to claim more lives, said sources from Mae Ai, 180 km north of Chiangmai.

No less than 50 have died, according to 8 patients who were receiving
treatment at the Mae Ai hospital, opposite Mongyawn, lately renamed
Yongpang. "More each day were dying when I left," said a Shan, whose dark
complexion made him look more like a Wa, told S.H.A.N..

A Thai physician had put the death toll at 2 per day since the sickness
struck Mongyawn towards the end of October.

"Many wanted to come across the border for treatment," said another
patient." But they have no IDs issued by Thailand."

All the eight clients were carrying Highlanders Survey IDs (green cards
with red rim) issued in 1999: 5 were suffering from incessant coughs, 2 of
whom already emitting blood, and the rest from attacks of diarrhea. "The
diseases were brought by the newcomers from Panghsang (the Wa capital near
the Chinese border), who came in September," one of the inmates claimed.

Unused to warmer climate along the Thai border, many Wa resettlers began
falling ill, of malaria and other diseases shortly after their arrival,
according to Unsettling Moves, a report published last year. Estimates put
the death toll at 4,000 for the year 1999 and 1,000 for 2001. However, one
news report by AFP in September 2000 quoted a Thai military source as
saying as many as 10,000 Wa had died during the rains of 2000.

The total number of Wa resettled in the southeastern border of Shan State
from the beginning of 1999 to the end of 2001 was placed at 126,000 by the
Lahu National Development Organization that published Unsettling Moves.
However the official figure given by the Wa authorities was only 50,000,
according to a recent report by Amsterdam-based Transnational Institute.

"They are of course still coming down," said a patient, "but not in droves
as in the past but one or two truckloads per week, most of them going to
Mongpiang and Mongjawd (in Mongton township). We also heard that the Wa
are being allotted new land in Tangyan and that the majority of the
resettlers are going there."

Tangyan, a township south of Lashio, is located just west of the original
Wa states. Land was given to Wei Hsuehkang, commander of the southern Wa
forces, after his presence along the Thai border became too embarrassing
for Rangoon.

"Since then, he has been setting up a new Wa fiefdom," said a Thai
observer. "Even the Thai-initiated drug free project organizers have
agreed to expand their work from Yawngkha (opposite Chiangrai's Mae Fa
Luang district) to Tangyan."

For further information, please contact S.H.A.N. at: Shan Herald Agency
for News.
Phone: 66-1-5312837 e-mail: <shan at cm.ksc.co.th>


BUSINESS / MONEY
__________________________

Dec 8, Los Angeles Times

Unocal Pipeline Trial to Begin
Lisa Girion

Seven years after it was filed, a landmark human rights lawsuit against
Unocal Corp. is set to go to trial Tuesday in Los Angeles.

The first phase of the complex case, closely watched by human rights
advocates and multinational companies facing similar civil suits, will
decide the seemingly arcane but potentially pivotal point of which Unocal
corporate entity should be the defendant.

If the case moves to the second phase, the trial will then turn to the
specific allegations: that Unocal indirectly aided and profited from human
rights abuses -- including murder, rape and forced labor -- carried out by
soldiers guarding a natural gas pipeline in Myanmar.

In recent pretrial hearings, Unocal has signaled that it would attack the
credibility of the some of the plaintiffs, including a woman known as Jane
Doe 1, whose account of her infant's death at the hands of Myanmar
soldiers is the most vivid and best-known in the case. The company has
produced evidence that it said contradicts key facts in her story.

More broadly, Unocal denies that it had knowledge of the incidents or
control over the Myanmar military and says it should not be held liable
for any human rights violations.

On Tuesday, the El Segundo-based company will urge Superior Court Judge
Victoria Gerrard Chaney to dismiss the case before a jury hears any
evidence because, the company will argue, the plaintiffs sued the wrong
corporate entities.

Unocal's lawyers have said the targeted parent companies -- Unocal and
Union Oil Co. of California -- were not legally responsible for the
$1.2-billion pipeline, which transports natural gas from the Andaman Sea
to Thailand across the southern panhandle of the nation formerly known as
Burma. Instead, the lawyers say, several subsidiaries are responsible for
any liabilities that arise from the pipeline, which Unocal operates in
partnership with French oil company Total, Myanmar's ruling junta and a
Thai utility.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs -- 15 refugees who live in hiding under a
court-ordered cloak of anonymity -- allege the subsidiaries are mere
shells, some of them incorporated after some of the abuses occurred.

About two dozen suits in federal courts across the country accuse firms of
complicity in human rights abuses abroad. The Bush administration has
joined business groups in opposing the suits, and none of the federal
cases has reached trial. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is
considering the fate of a companion suit against Unocal filed in federal
court.

For Unocal, the subsidiary argument is only the first line of defense. Its
lawyers have begun laying the groundwork for an attack on some of the
underlying allegations. In recent hearings, lead Unocal lawyer Daniel
Petrocelli accused two of the plaintiffs, Jane Doe 1 and her husband, John
Doe 1, of purposefully misdirecting the blame for an assault on the
family.

The couple has said that after the husband ran out of food and fled a
forced-labor crew for the pipeline, soldiers came looking for him and
found his wife. Jane Doe 1, who recounted her story in an interview with
The Times a year ago, said that soldiers assaulted her, knocking her baby
out of her arms and into a cooking fire, and that the baby died of
internal injuries after they arrived in a Thai refugee camp.

Petrocelli submitted a Thai newspaper article that links the attack to
soldiers dragooning labor for a railway project -- not the pipeline, as
the suit alleges. The story is accompanied by a photograph of Jane Doe 1
cradling her injured baby.

Because the article states the baby was injured but alive at the time,
Petrocelli said there was a possibility she survived the assault.

"I don't know if it's a murder," he said in an interview. "I don't know if
it's even deceased."

Petrocelli pointed out that the article was published in the Bangkok-based
newspaper The Nation on March 22, 1994 -- more than a year before the
couple had said the incidents occurred.

Unocal lawyers also have uncovered a human rights group's report, dated
April 13, 1994, that includes another account of the attack and links it
to forced labor on a railway, this time near a village that is located far
from the pipeline route. Both accounts appear to be based on interviews
with the husband.

There is only one conclusion to draw from the two new documents,
Petrocelli said. The most infamous allegation in the suit is "a complete
fabrication so far as it's being laid at the feet of Unocal," he said.
"It's been the big lie in this case told for the past seven years."

Lawyers for the plaintiffs said they had plenty of evidence showing the
attack on the family was carried out by soldiers with a battalion guarding
and preparing the area for the pipeline.

John Doe 1 may have been confused when he gave the interviews, said Katie
Redford, a plaintiffs' lawyer and founder of Earthrights International, a
human rights group that is backing the suit. She said he was one of many
villagers forced to work on both the pipeline, which runs east-west, and
the railway, which runs north-south.

"The soldiers don't show up and say, 'We're working on the pipeline survey
road,' " Redford said. But her client's story, she said, clearly indicates
it was the east-west pipeline on which he worked.

Plaintiffs' lawyers said they eventually were able to distinguish pipeline
work from railway work by identifying the type and location of the labor,
as well as the battalions involved in each of the plaintiffs' cases.

Jane Doe 1 has said the uniforms of the soldiers who came after her and
her baby bore the insignia of Battalion No. 407, Redford said. That was
one of several military units that "hired" villagers to work as porters,
carrying weapons, supplies and equipment in the pipeline area, according
to a document prepared by Total.

The 1994 human rights group's report ties Battalion No. 407 to the
pipeline, saying "10 new battalions" -- up to No. 410 -- had been sent to
the area "mainly to secure the gas pipeline route. This flood of new
troops and their demands for money, food and slave [labor] have already
made life desperate for the villagers, and the Ye-Tavoy railway has driven
them the final step to starvation."

Plaintiffs' lawyers acknowledge that their clients have trouble with dates
and say the newly discovered newspaper article helps pin down the year the
attack on the family occurred. The plaintiffs are Karen and Mon, ethnic
minorities who lived a primitive existence as subsistence farmers and
fishermen in a remote part of Myanmar where calendars are not used.

As for the death of the baby, plaintiffs' lawyers said it must have
occurred after the interview and photographs were taken for the newspaper
article. "The only thing we concede," Redford said, "is that these people
aren't good at dates."
_________________________________

Dec 8, Financial Times Information

Thailand invites US to participate in economic cooperation strategy

Thailand has invited the United States to participate in its Economic
Cooperation Strategy (ECS) Project, aimed at pulling up economies of
neighboring countries, despite the acknowledgement of differences over
Myanmar, according to Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai.

Speaking after meeting Mr. Theodore Stevens, Acting US Senate Speaker, Mr.
Surakiart said here on Thursday that the US had thanked Thailand for its
cooperation on various security projects, which had served to smooth the
100-year old relationship between the two countries.

After hearing Mr. Surakiart speaking of Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra's ECS initiative, the US parliamentary leader had pledged full
support.

Mr. Surakiart said that he would work with Mr. Stevens to push for US
participation in the project.

Particular attention would be paid to the provision of assistance to Laos
and Cambodia although reservations remained over Myanmar, he said.

Noting Mr. Thaksin's desire to see various other countries involve in the
initiative, he said that Thailand now joined Japan, New Zealand and the US
as possible partners.

"As far as Myanmar is concerned, we informed the US that Thailand wishes
to push for procedures that would lead to national reconciliation and
democracy in Myanmar. However, our methods may differ from those of the
US, as Myanmar is Thailand's neighbour. Mr. Stevens understands this", he
said.

Mr. Surakiart said that Mr. Stevens, who also chairs the US Senate Budget
Committee and is considered the fourth most important man in the US
administration, had pledged the US's full support to Thailand in ensuring
secure trade.

Projects, including cooperation between the two countries on x-raying
shipping containers at the Laem Chabang Deep-sea Port in Thailand's
eastern province of Chonburi, were also discussed, he said, while noting
that such the measure served to benefit Thailand's private sector.

In addition, the two countries were working together to track containers
by satellite from Laem Chabang to Seattle to ensure that no terrorist
incidents occurred en route.

Asked about the proposed free trade area (FTA) linking Thailand and the
US, the foreign minister said that US President George W. Bush would
propose the matter to the US Congress for approval in January 2004.

However, Mr. Stevens, himself, had promised to back the establishment of
the proposed FTA, said the foreign minister, adding that the size of the
US market meant that the setting up of the US-Thai FTA would be enormously
beneficial to Thailand.

Earlier, Mr. Surakiat expressed confidence that Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra's plan to introduce a single visa valid for the four Economic
Cooperation Strategy (ECS) nations would soon become reality, noting that
Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar had already agreed in principle to the scheme.

Prime Minister Thaksin mooted the idea of the single visa during the
recent ECS leadership meeting in Myanmar.

Voicing optimism that concrete developments would be made on the scheme in
the near future, Mr. Surakiart noted that the leaders of Laos, Cambodia
and Myanmar had already agreed in principle.

All that now remained, he said, was for the four countries to exchange
information to safeguard against possible security problems, noting that
each country had its own immigration blacklist, and had imposed differing
commission fees for visa applicants.

"When the ECS visa is in use, it will mean that foreign tourists in
possession of a Thai visa will be able to continue their travels in
Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, without having to make any further visa
request. At the same time, anyone with a visa for Myanmar, Laos or
Cambodia will be able to enter Thailand. This is similar to the European
Union (EU)", he said.

"This issue will benefit all countries, and will facilitate tourists, who
will no longer have to go running round for visas for four separate
nations", he added.


REGIONAL
____________________________

Dec 8, National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma

NCGUB Calls on Japan, ASEAN to Intercede in Burma

In light of the Japan-ASEAN Commemorative Summit in Tokyo on 11-12
December, the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB)
urges Japan and all responsible members of the ASEAN to bring Burma into
the agenda of that meeting.

Governments globally and particularly in the region are fully cognizant of
the fact that the military regime in Burma is the source of regional
problems because of its reckless political and human rights policies. 
Yet, ASEAN and Burma's neighboring countries are unfortunately not showing
much concern to help resolve that problem and may even appear to be
somewhat partial to that military regime.

The announcement of the "seven-point roadmap" by the State Peace and
Development Council has also become an excuse for these countries to avoid
confronting the Burmese generals and to embrace them as proponents of
Burma's democracy despite the fact that the green light to murder National
League for Democracy members and supporters at Tabayin was given by these
generals.

The generals today are as uncompromising as they were during the previous
and now defunct constitution drafting National Convention.  With that
attitude prevailing among the generals, the "seven-point roadmap" will
never bring national reconciliation and democracy to Burma.

 The NCGUB believes that the Japan-ASEAN Commemorative Summit provides an
opportunity for regional countries to intercede in Burma.  For Burma to
achieve genuine peace and democracy through national reconciliation, the
generals must be persuaded to address the following issues first:

(1) Release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners

(2) Hold a substantive political dialogue with the National League for
Democracy led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and representatives of non-Burman
ethnic nationalities,

(3) Allow basic political freedoms, which include reopening of the NLD
party offices and resumption of political activities

(4) Cooperate with the UN Special Envoy and UN Special Rapporteur to
assess the situation after the 30 May Tabayin Massacre so that the country
can be guided towards a transition to a civilian rule

The NCGUB profoundly believes that a peaceful and democratic Burma can
emerge once the process of national reconciliation begins.  But that
process will be a nonstarter unless there is a consensus, particularly
among neighboring and ASEAN countries, to persuade the generals to be more
receptive to international and domestic opinion.
_________________________________

Dec 8, Agence France Presse

Myanmar to attend international forum on democracy "roadmap": Thailand

Myanmar will attend next week's Thai-sponsored international meeting to
discuss prospects for democratic reform in the military-run state, Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Monday.

The announcement comes after Myanmar said last week it would refuse to
attend the December 15 forum, aimed at allowing Myanmar to explain its
proposed "road map" towards democracy, if it would face criticism from
participants.

"It is certain that there will be a meeting on the 15th. Myanmar will come
and also deputy foreign ministers from several other countries, including
some Western countries," Thaksin said.

"Myanmar understands what are we doing. They understand 100 percent that
we are trying to help them bring about national reconciliation."

A Thai foreign ministry spokesman said the half-day meeting would be
attended by representatives from Austria, Britain, China, France, Germany,
India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.

Myanmar's roadmap for reform announced by Prime Minister General Khin
Nyunt in August has been dismissed as a smokescreen by Western nations who
point out that it gives no date for embarking on the reforms.

It also fails to mention opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is being
held under house arrest after being detained in May in the wake of deadly
political unrest in northern Myanmar while she was there on a political
tour.

Myanmar's neighbours have been criticised for not doing enough to push for
change in the impoverished country, which has been run by the military for
four decades.

However, Thaksin has argued that "silent pressure" is more effective than
the harsh words and economic sanctions wielded by Western governments.
____________________________________

Dec 8, The Korea Herald

Japan, Southeast Asia differ on Burma
Don Pathan

ASEAN members are increasingly turning to Beijing for leadership in
dealing with the Burmese junta and its "road map" to democracy and
national reconciliation.

Ever since the military government of Burma was admitted to the ASEAN
family in 1997, Japan and the Southeast Asian regional grouping knew they
were in for a long haul. Legitimizing a military government that came to
power by gunning down thousands of its own people, it seems, has been a
tough nut to crack.

Japan, the biggest aid-provider to Burma, took a tough stance, siding with
the West by calling for national reconciliation and democracy before
much-needed aid could resume. Thailand and ASEAN toyed with a number of
ideas on how to engage the regime but failed to produce anything concrete
other then a few fancy labels - "constructive engagement" and
"constructive intervention" - which later became "flexible engagement"
because the earlier terminology was deemed too strong.

Besides being a member of the regional community, Japan was counting on
its generosity, especially toward poorer ASEAN countries, to be repaid
with receptive ears when it came to Burma.

Along the way there were lots of stern warnings and statements of concern
coming from Tokyo, while ASEAN, with the exception of Thailand under the
previous administration, consistently stuck to its non-interference
policy.

A breath of fresh air came during the last annual ASEAN Ministerial
Meeting in Phnom Penh, when the regional bloc issued a statement calling
on Rangoon to release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest
and urged the country to resume reconciliation talks. From Tokyo's
perspective, ASEAN had swung in the right direction.

For whatever it was worth, the so-called "right direction" was
short-lived. Just months after the Phnom Penh meeting, ASEAN leaders
issued another statement at the Bali summit praising Burma's road map even
though nothing concrete had come out of it.

Tokyo, as well as Washington, was quick to come up with a statement
pointing out that nothing had changed and that the opposition leader was
still being detained.

Diplomats said Japan was frustrated at being given the cold shoulder by
ASEAN, saying Tokyo went as far as offering to use its good relations with
the United States and the European Union to get them off Burma's back.
Instead, a group of ASEAN governments turned to the Chinese to solve the
Burmese problem.

The irony of it all, according to analysts, was that Burma was admitted to
ASEAN because the grouping was concerned that it was getting too close to
China, and today Burma is closer to China than ever before.

During the Bali summit Thailand floated the idea of a "road map" for
national reconciliation in Burma. The idea attracted attention, with both
Japan and Western countries wondering what it was all about.

But Thailand's effort was doomed because the country could never be seen
as a neutral party, due to its proximity to Burma. Besides, critics said,
the proposal could undermine the work of the United Nations, whose special
envoy Razali Ismail has been shuttling in and out of Rangoon, without much
success, for years to pave the way for a dialogue between opposition
leader
Suu Kyi and the ruling junta.

The idea was shot down when Rangoon politely declined the offer. China, on
the other hand, was more blunt. During a visit by Burmese army chief Gen.
Maung Aye, Beijing issued a statement telling the international community
to stay out of Burma's business because Rangoon could solve its own
problems.

Bangkok got the message but didn't know how to back off without losing
face. An opportunity to do so came when Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt
announced Burma's own "road map," with the blessing of the Chinese.

Now Japan, along with 10 or so other "like-minded" countries, has been
invited to take part in a forum scheduled for Dec. 15 in Bangkok.

In the middle of this month, just days after the 10 ASEAN leaders meet
with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Tokyo for a
commemorative summit, the coalition of the "like-minded" will gather in
Bangkok to discuss the so-called road map to democracy in Burma.

A Burmese representative, possibly Foreign Minister Win Aung, is expected
to brief participants about Burma's seven-point road map toward democracy
and national reconciliation, as announced by Khin Nyunt shortly after
taking up his post.

One diplomat, whose country is among the invited, expressed concern that
the gathering could amount to a move toward legitimizing the Rangoon plan
without knowing for sure what role, if any, the opposition and ethnic
nationalities would have in the reconciliation process.

While ASEAN is anxious to see Burma put on a more presentable face when it
takes up the chairmanship and hosts the annual ministerial meeting in
2006, some of the so-called like-minded countries are afraid that they
could be caught up in legitimizing a plan they would regret later.
____________________________

Dec 8, ABC Radio Australia News

Singapore denies democracy activists permission to hold Burma forum
Michael Dwyer.

Singapore's government has refused permission for regional pro-democracy
activists to hold a public forum on democracy in Burma.

Police refused to grant a permit for the forum, which was to be held today.

Organisers of the forum were told by Singapore police that the event was
likely to be against the public interest. Activists and opposition
politicians from Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Cambodia could
only meet in private as public political gatherings are illegal without
police permits. Cambodian Opposition leader, Sam Rainsy said he was
surprised and saddened that Singapore's government had stopped the event
saying Asian democrats needed to network. Organisers also claimed the
Singapore government had refused a visa for an exiled Burmese Opposition
MP who wished to attend the forum. Singapore is one of the largest
investors in Burma.

Officially, Singapore's government supports a return to democracy but has
spoken against sanctions and against public condemnation of the military
regime.


OPINION / OTHER
_____________________________________

Dec 8, Dallas Morning News

The Lady’s Courage - Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi sets example for everyone.
by Rena Pederson

If you need another example of why Aung San Suu Kyi is one of the most
respected leaders in the world, she provided it the other day. She
continues to set an example of courage that few contemporary politicians
can come close to.

The champion of Burmese democracy marked her sixth month of captivity last
weekend. The Nobel Peace Prize winner was dragged into prison on May 30
after government thugs attacked her convoy, killed scores of her
supporters and threw all of her party's leadership into prison. Punishing
international pressure is being placed on the military regime to free Ms.
Suu Kyi, but she told diplomats last week that she would refuse her own
freedom from house arrest until her jailed colleagues are freed.

How many U.S. politicians would do the same? How many other politicians
would jump at the chance to get out of captivity? How many would
rationalize that they might be able to do more agitating outside that
remaining inside on principle? How many of us would say "me first" instead
of "the others first?".

For Aung San Suu Kyi, such things are a matter of duty and honor. She
understands that none of us is truly free so long as others are not. Even
though the 58-year -old mother of two has spent much of the past decade
under solitary guard and even though many of her friends have been
murdered or imprisoned, she remains unbroken and unbowed. She doesn't
waver--even to get a glimpse of sunlight herself. And that's why "The
Lady" is so unique and so revered.

If you still need another example of why helping Aung San Suu Kyi to bring
democracy to Burma is so important, another little-noticed news story
deserves mention. The Far Eastern Economic Review last week reported that
military ties between Burma and the rogue North Korean government have
been increasing. There have been recent indications that Pyongyang may be
supplying Burma with new weapons, possibly in exchange for shipments of
heroin, which North Korea then sells to dealers in Taiwan and Australia.

U.S. and Asian officials believe that Burma is negotiating to buy a number of
surface-to-surface missiles from North Korea. It appears that North Korean
technicians are working at the Monkey Point Naval Base near Rangoon, possibly
preparing to install missiles on Burmese warships.

And just imagine what kind of trouble a narco-state like Burma could make
with its own missiles. Those who have pooh-poohed the worsening situation
in Burma because they think the country has little strategic interest
should think again. Its neighbours, India and Thailand, are increasingly
worried about the drugs and refugees pouring across the border from Burma.
China, which has beefed up its troops on the Burma border in case of a
collapse, covets Burma as a vassal state.

Which brings us to the United Nations. If you need more examples of why
the United Nations deserves scorched castigation for ineffectiveness, the
Burma crisis is ample proof. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has relied
for a long time on a part-time emissary, a Malaysian businessman, Razali
Ismail, to negotiate with the Burmese generals. The problem is that Mr.
Razali has been conducting business deals with the generals at the same
time. His company is providing the technology to place microchips in
Burmese passports. The United Nations has ignored the conflict of
interest.

The U.N. human rights envoy, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, has visited Burma more
than a half-dozen times with little result, because he has been given no
power to make things happen; there are no repercussions for delays or
human rights abuses.  Likewise, the U.N. General Assembly passed a
resolution last week urging the junta to pursue democratic reforms, but it
had no teeth.

Mr. Annan reportedly is giving the junta until 2006 to make progress.
Meanwhile, malnutrition, AIDS and drug trafficking are rampant in Burma.
The secretary-general could bring the Burma crisis to the Security Council
for action, but he hasn't.

To its credit, the Bush administration has opposed the abuses in Burma more
vigorously than the rest of the world. Just last week, the Treasury
Department took the rare step of using the Patriot Act to crack down on
Burmese banks that are allowing money laundering for drug traffickers. And
on Thursday, the White House issued a statement protesting the death
sentence slapped on nine Burmese citizens who oppose the regime.

But more pressure could and should be applied. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky,
the leading voice in Congress on the Burma crisis, has urged the
administration to send the Burmese ambassador home until changes are made.
That's a good idea. And Mr. Annan should send someone with real
international stature--like former Sen. George Mitchell-- to negotiate a
real road map to democracy.

In the meantime, Aung San Suu Kyi remains the only person in this scenario
to show real guts and real class. In this season of comfort and joy, she
shouldn't be forgotten.
____________________________________

Dec 8, Agence France Presse

Cambodian opposition chief scorns Myanmar's "roadmap" for democracy

Myanmar's proposed "road map" towards democratic reforms is merely a
public relations exercise to allow the military regime to buy time,
Cambodia's opposition leader Sam Rainsy said here Sunday.

"I am afraid that this could be only another public relations exercise ...
that the military regime is just trying to buy time and we can be
disappointed again," Sam Rainsy said at the sidelines of a media
conference organized by the Alliance for Reform and Democracy in Asia.

The military regime in Yangon in August announced a programme for
democratic reform but the plan met with scepticism from the West because
it lacked a timeframe and failed to mention opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi, currently under house arrest.

When asked if Southeast Asia can do more to push for democracy in Myanmar,
Sam Rainsy said: "I think ASEAN should reconsider its position ... if the
so-called engagement approach has failed, we should look for another
approach.

"There can be different kinds of sanctions and pressures but at least
neighbouring countries should speak a common language showing firmness and
not being too lenient," Sam Rainsy said. "It's a matter of will ... of
political will."

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which
includes Myanmar, has said trade sanctions on Myanmar would not help push
democracy in the country and backed the junta's democracy roadmap.

The United States in August imposed a blanket trade ban on Myanmar after
Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was detained at a secret location
following a bloody clash between her supporters and pro-junta
demonstrators on May 30.

____________________________________

Dec 8, Irrawaddy
Dancing to the Same Old Tune - Aung Naing Oo

Burmese politics is generally unpredictable. Lately, however, it has
become increasingly predictable. The most recent example is the about-face
taken by some ethnic groups with regard to the proposed National
Convention.
As feared, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) has agreed to
participate in the proposed Convention. This came to light after KIO
leaders met with the Burmese junta in Rangoon on Nov 29. According to the
government-run New Light of Myanmar, the KIO "expressed support for the
seven-point future policy program of the State" and promised it "would
attend the Convention."

About a month ago, for a brief period, ethnic politics seemed different.
Then, several groups, including ethnic giants such as the Kachin and the
Wa, presented their demands with regard to the Convention. They said they
would not join unless freedom of association, discussion and other
democratic principles were introduced into the Convention’s procedures.

“So far no details are known about the KIO’s meetings with the Burmese
junta. But its agreement to join the Convention will certainly lend
legitimacy to the junta.”

They also stated that all ethnic groups must be allowed to meet freely,
and that they must be able to choose their representatives to the
Convention. Some groups even demanded that the National League for
Democracy (NLD) be made part of the process. And in order to shore up
their demands, a new alliance was even forged between the Wa and several
other groups.

Indeed, hopes were raised in the belief that at least there was some sort
of coordinated unity in opposing a Convention so undemocratically
organized, especially among ceasefire groups. It was also hoped that the
new trend could end the ethnic groups’ tendency to seek individual
solutions in a conflict with asymmetrical interests. Unfortunately, this
did not last long.

For many who know too well the politics, especially within the KIO and the
United Wa State Party (UWSP), it was a guarded optimism. Many were also
only cautiously optimistic because the Burmese regime was unlikely to let
these groups off the hook. As they are the major sources of legitimacy in
the game plan currently materializing, they had to be taken into the
fold—and they were.

So far no details are known about the KIO’s meetings with the Burmese
junta. But its agreement to join the Convention will certainly lend
legitimacy to the junta—in contradiction to an earlier statement made by
its chairman, Tu Jai. In an interview with The Irrawaddy in October, he
said, "By attending the National Convention we would not be giving
legitimacy to the SPDC," referring to the junta’s official name, the State
Peace and Development Council.

Whether the KIO has given the nod with or without conditions is not known.
But its decision to join the Convention is likely to create a domino
effect within the ethnic groups. There have already been conflicts and
wavering over whether to attend the Convention and provide legitimacy to
an illegal regime.
As a matter of fact, pro-democracy and hardline ethnic groups have been
suspicious about the policies of some ceasefire groups regarding the
Convention. Whether the KIO’s decision to take part in the Convention is
motivated by its pragmatic policy or a genuine belief that the Convention
would pave the way for some sort of political reform is hard to gauge. But
its latest move could heighten the political and ethnic dissension that
already exists.

“One should not be surprised by the KIO’s move. There is historical
evidence that the Kachin’s political direction is steered by their
pragmatism.”

One pro-democracy leader was sarcastic. He said, "It looks as if most of
the ceasefire groups are going to buy the regime’s roadmap." And he argued
that the KIO’s concession is likely to be seen as ignoring the role of
Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD. "Things could get worse," he added.

One should, however, not be surprised by the KIO’s move. There is
historical evidence that the Kachin’s political direction is steered by
their pragmatism. Recall that the Wa ceasefire with the Burmese regime in
1989 consolidated the latter’s political and military superiority. But the
KIO’s ceasefire with the Burmese regime nine years ago ripped apart the
fragile unity that had existed for a long time.

Its departure from the Democratic Alliance of Burma following its
ceasefire agreement with the regime jolted the rest of the armed
resistance and political groups—both big and small. The Karen National
Union, which remained defiant against a spate of truces, suffered most.

Should the Kachin be blamed? Probably not. After all, the conflict in
Burma has multiple players and one cannot assume that there is equality in
the interests of each and every protagonist. And the Kachin have the
discretion to pursue their own individual interests. Besides, they can be
pressured into submission the way the Mon are being pressed to join the
Convention.
According to KaoWao News, an electronic newsletter published by ethnic Mon
in exile, the mainstream Mon liberation organization, the New Mon State
Party (NMSP) has been given an ultimatum to attend the Convention. The
junta told NMSP leaders that if they chose not to participate, it would
take other Mon groups on board instead.

True, the Burmese regime’s coercive politics may be at work, but in the
pursuit of individual interests some groups will lose out. The bigger
picture is that the whole political movement may lose out. Who can tell?
But there is and will be only one sure winner.

Obviously, the Burmese regime has played the same old political tune. Some
ethnic groups have danced to that tune all along—for better or worse. But
one thing is for certain, the regime is playing the ethnic card very well,
regardless of the tactics it employs. And it will continue to excel in
this regard—as long as there are groups who will dance to its tune.

Aung Naing Oo is a Research Associate with the Washington-based Burma Fund.