BurmaNet News: December 23, 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

December 23, 2003, Issue #2393

INSIDE BURMA
AP: Myanmar junta slams Amnesty for its criticism of progress on democracy
AP: Myanmar Rebels Committed to Peace Talks
Financial Times: Burma 'must free prisoners to progress'
DVB: Who is afraid of Wa genius? – Thai PM cancels trip to Burma
DVB: Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors
Kaladan News: Arakan body urges PM not to allow pipeline


REGIONAL
AFP: India, Myanmar, Thailand to begin building highway next year
Far Eastern Economic Review: When Business And Politics Mix
Kaladan News: Burma-Bangladesh Friendship Road Starts this Winter

INTERNATIONAL
Amnesty International: Amnesty International Calls for Actions not Words

OPINION/OTHER
Washington Post: The Two Burmas



INSIDE BURMA
___________________________________

Associated Press, December 23, 2003
Myanmar junta slams Amnesty for its criticism of progress on democracy

Myanmar's junta on Tuesday lashed out at Amnesty International a day after
the watchdog group released a report saying human rights in the country
have deteriorated in recent months.

The group said the situation worsened after a May 30 clash between junta
supporters and members of the motorcade of opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi, after which the government detained Suu Kyi and cracked down on her
pro-democracy party.

The government said in a statement that it regrets "the recent negative
statement issued by the Amnesty International claiming they were
discouraged with the political process in Myanmar."

Two Amnesty officials who ended a 17-day visit to the country this month
said in their report Monday that the junta's recent promises to restore
democracy remain useless unless it improves human rights and sets
deadlines for its plans for political liberalization.

"Their assurances ring hollow in the face of continued repression,"
Catherine Baber, the London-based group's deputy program director for Asia
Pacific, told reporters in Bangkok, Thailand after releasing the report.

Tuesday's government rebuttal dealt only with this statement by Amnesty
and ignored the main thrust of the group's criticism - continued detention
of nonviolent political activists, jailing without trial or charges and
appalling conditions in prisons. It also did not respond to Amnesty's call
- echoed by several governments - for the unconditional and immediate
release of some 1,300 political prisoners.

Amnesty said "there has been an upsurge in detention of those peacefully
exercising freedom of expression and association" since the May 30 clash.

The government cited the melee, which left at least four people dead, as a
reason for detaining Suu Kyi, saying it was for her own protection.
Foreign governments strongly criticized the move, and have demanded her
release. She remains under house arrest.

The government said it provided Amnesty with "every available and possible
cooperation ... with the sole purpose of achieving a common objective ...
in the area of human rights."

It said Amnesty's criticism of the democracy situation comes "at the time
when many nations around the globe including the secretary-general of the
United Nations are hailing" the junta's efforts at national
reconciliation.

The government started reconciliation talks with the NLD in October 2000
but the process came to a halt after the May 30 incident. It says it is
now working on a seven-point road map to democracy, a move hailed by
Myanmar's Southeast Asian neighbors.

The current junta came to power in 1988 after crushing a pro-democracy
uprising. It called elections in 1990 but refused to hand over power to
the victorious NLD. Many of its elected candidates were arrested and
remain in jail.

___________________________________

Associated Press, December 23, 2003
Myanmar Rebels Committed to Peace Talks

Myanmar's largest guerrilla group said Tuesday it is committed to peace
talks with the military government, but it wants future rounds held in the
Thai capital to preserve neutrality.
Karen National Union rebels and government troops stopped fighting for the
first time in years after an initial round of official peace talks was
held in the Myanmar capital, Yangon, earlier this month.
"If we are opportunists, no one will care about us. Now we are holding
peace talks with (the junta). It is just starting," KNU Vice Chairman Bo
Mya told about 2,000 villagers and guerrillas at their jungle base near
the Thai border town of Mae Sot.
The Karens, a minority in Myanmar, have been fighting for more than five
decades for autonomy for the Karen state bordering Thailand.
Government offensives in 1995 and 1997 wiped out the fighters' main
headquarters, and the rebels now wage a low-level war.
Bo Mya said negotiations could take two years. He added that Karen
refugees in the jungles and in Thai camps should not go back to their
homes because the situation remains dangerous.
Bo Mya told reporters later that the two sides will meet soon in Yangon,
but he prefers Bangkok to be the venue for future rounds.
"I am sure Thai government will not mind providing the venue. We can have
free talks there," he said, adding that the Myanmar government has not
responded to his proposal.
The junta, which took power in 1988 after violently crushing mass
pro-democracy demonstrations, reached cease-fire agreements with more than
a dozen rebel groups by offering them limited autonomy.
The KNU is the only major group that has not agreed to lay down arms.

___________________________________

Financial Times, December 23, 2003
Burma 'must free prisoners to progress'
By William Barnes

Claims by Burma's military regime that it is following a "road map"
towards representative government will continue to ring hollow while it
keeps senior opposition figures in jail, said an Amnesty International
team after an investigative trip to the south-east Asian dictatorship.

The intimidation and harassment of critics of military rule had increased
since the bloody ambush of a motorcade carrying opposition Leader Aung San
Suu Kyi in May, according to Amnesty.

Many more arrests had been made and many people held - often in isolation
- for long periods without trial, said the London-based human rights
organisation.

"We are waiting for action to match the fine words," said Catherine Baber,
deputy director of Amnesty's Asia region programme. The two- member team,
which spent 17 days in the country, was not permitted to meet Ms Suu Kyi,
who remains under house arrest.

Burma's intelligence chief Lt-General Khin Nyunt announced a seven-point
road map towards civilian government in August, shortly after he became
prime minister. The first step will be the relaunch of a decade-old
National Convention that stalled seven years ago, when it became clear it
was designed to enshrine permanent military control.

The Burmese foreign minister Win Aung told an international diplomatic
meeting in Bangkok last week that the convention would be "all-inclusive",
but the road map remains vague on key points - notably the role of the
opposition and ethnic minorities, as well as on a timeframe.

It has nevertheless received a cautious welcome from some quarters. The
United Nations special envoy Razali Ismail, who is trying to broker talks
between Ms Suu Kyi and the regime, said it was a positive step. Thai prime
minister Thaksin Shinawatra has predicted that the country would make
brisk strides towards democracy with the roadmap if "everybody sits down
together and helps".

According to Amnesty there are 1,300 political prisoners in Burma. "Dozens
of members of parliament are in prison...how can we move forward without
these people?" said Donna Guest, the agency's researcher for Burma and
Thailand.

Amnesty said that although the entire judicial system should be overhauled
it was urgent and vital for all political prisoners to be released. They
include MPs, journalists, doctors, lawyers and teachers with the potential
to make an "invaluable contribution" in reshaping the country.

The sharp and unhappy impression from the trip was that tolerance of
criticism or dissent was shrinking even as the regime talked of moving
towards a civilian government, said Amnesty's Ms Baber.

___________________________________

Democratic Voice of Burma, December 23, 2003
Who is afraid of Wa genius? – Thai PM cancels trip to Burma

Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra abandoned his planned one-day trip
to a border region in Burma because of security concerns.
Thaksin had intended to travel by helicopter on December 26 with his
Burmese counterpart, General Khin Nyunt to the town of Yong Kla in
Northeast Shan State, across the border from northern Thailand, where the
two were to inaugurate a new hospital and visit projects to substitute
legal crops for opium growing.
The town is situated in territory controlled by Burma's Wa ethnic group.
It is also the base of the United Wa State Army (UWSA), the world's
largest drug army.
Another representative will be sent in Thaksin's place, either a minister
or deputy prime minister, it is reported.
A Thai advance team including a senior military commander is said to have
travelled to the town on several occasions. "We found that only Wa troops
took care of the area, while official Myanmar (Burmese) soldiers from
Yangon (Rangoon) will be there only upon arrival of their prime minister,"
said a man who doesn’t want to be identified.
In March Thai authorities contended that UWSA commander Bao Youxiang (a
Chinese?) had hired a hit man to kill Thaksin for about 1.9 million
dollars due to his ruthless war on drugs. The ‘accused’ dismissed the
charges as groundless.
The vast majority of methamphetamine pills that flood into Thailand each
year are believed to be made in that area of Burma, while the reclusive
state is also a major opium producer.
The Thai PM told reporters on 22 December that "something might happen to
make me lose face" if he visits that area of Burma.

___________________________________

Democratic Voice of Burma, December 23, 2003
Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors

A mysterious Burmese militant student group, ‘Vigorous Burmese Student
Warriors’ denounced the ‘road map’ plan and National Convention to be held
by Burma’s military junta the SPDC in a recent audio statement.
The statement was issued on the internet and it also denounced all the
organisations which enlisted themselves as possible attendants of the
convention.
The leader of the organisation, Ye Thiha said that his organisation
doesn’t accept the proposal of the junta and that it vows to defeat the
military dictatorship in Burma with the help of the people.
‘We don’t need to accept the decisions of the dictators. We don’t need to
get confused by their decisions and believe them. We have only one
decision; for all to take part in the fight against the dictators,’ said
the unclear audio voice of Ye Thiha.
‘Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors’ became known to the world for its
efforts in the siege of Burmese embassy in Bangkok and it later lost its
face and credibility with the siege of a hospital at Ratchburi province in
Thailand.
After that, no one knows exactly where the organisation disappeared to but
they tend to emerge occasionally at crucial periods by means of audio and
email messages.

___________________________________

Kaladan News, December 23, 2003
Arakan body urges PM not to allow pipeline

Chittagong, Dec. 23: The Arakan Muslim Community Development Foundation of
Burma has urged Prime Minister Khaleda Zia not to allow construction of
Burma toIndia gas pipeline through Bangladesh, according to Mr. Mohammad
Zahir Gaffari, the President of the Foundation.

In a letter sent to the PM recently, he said “the Arakanese are against
export of gas to India by the ruling junta in Burma and residents of
Arakan State in Burma have been agitating against the export of gas to
India as the gas sale would not benefit them. Export of natural gas to
India has been kept a secret to the people of the state.”

The international oil companies will start producing natural gas from
block (A-1) of the Arakan coast, but the public has no idea about what to
expect from the major oil exploration. The people of Arakan do not know
that the project has already been sold to India by the junta and
production will commence shortly by an international consortium led by
Indian Oil Company Kugos, according to a statement by Indian gas
companies, he further said.

The gas will be fed through a pipeline from Kyauktaw-Platwa in northern
Arakan via Tripura and Mizoram in India to Assam, Gaffari said in his
letter to the PM.


REGIONAL
___________________________________

Agence France Presse, December 23, 2003
India, Myanmar, Thailand to begin building highway next year

India, Myanmar and Thailand will begin construction next year of a 700
million dollar highway connecting the three countries, Indian Foreign
Minister Yashwant Sinha said Tuesday.

The 1,360-kilometer (845-mile) highway will stretch across Myanmar from
the Indian border post of Moreh to the Thai town of Mae Sot.

The first 252-million-dollar leg of the project will begin in early 2004,
Sinha said after talks in New Delhi with Myanmar's Foreign Minister Win
Aung and Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai.

India will provide 100 million dollars, Thailand 90 million dollars and
Myanmar the remaining 62 million dollars for the first phase, said Sinha,
quoted by the Press Trust of India news agency.

The first stage includes the construction of 78 kilometers (48 miles) of
new highway and the expansion of 400 kilometers (250 miles) of road into a
double-lane motorway, Sinha said.

The highway project, agreed to in principle in April 2002, comes as India
seeks closer ties with the economic giants of Southeast Asia.

India has worked to repair relations with Myanmar in recent years.
Relations had been strained after the military seized power in Yangon in
1988 and New Delhi granted sanctuary to exiled groups.

___________________________________

Far Eastern Economic Review, December 11, 2003
When Business And Politics Mix
By Shawn W. Crispin

THAI PRIME MINISTER Thaksin Shinawatra vowed to bring "CEO-style
management" to government upon winning office in early 2001. Now, almost
three years into the tycoon-turned-politician's term, the line between big
business and government has, indeed, blurred. But not necessarily by
instilling a sense of corporate efficiency to the business of government,
as candidate Thaksin promised.
Thaksin has pursued expansionary economic policies and easy credit to
revive Thai businesses, pump up the stockmarket and set a new property
boom in motion. The resulting surge in growth has put Thailand back on
foreign investors' radar screens, helping drive the Stock Exchange of
Thailand up as much as 85% since January.
That economic success has earned Thaksin unprecedented political
popularity, and most political analysts believe that he and his Thai Rak
Thai party will score another huge victory during upcoming general
elections, which must be called by January 2005. But the way in which
Thaksin appears to be using that strong mandate is worrying to some. They
believe that the closer ties he has encouraged between big business and
politics often create the appearance of conflicts of interest.
At the same time, Thaksin has vigorously suppressed criticism of his
government, pressuring opposition politicians and democracy groups with
the threat of libel suits, and manoeuvring to win favourable press with
the offer of advertising from state enterprises and politically connected
private companies.
Such moves are prompting critical comparisons between Thaksin's
administration and one-party-dominant governments in Malaysia and
Singapore. Former prime ministers Mahathir Mohammad of Malaysia and Lee
Kuan Yew of Singapore used democratic mandates to tame the press, quash
political opposition and direct economic development.
"The stronger [Thaksin] gets, the more he sees the interests of the Thai
people as one and the same with the interests of his friends' and family's
growing business empires," says Sirichoke Sopha, a member of parliament
for the opposition Democrat Party.
Thaksin's cabinet includes several former leaders of big businesses. While
the Thai constitution required them to personally divest all holdings when
they entered government, their families have retained interests in
everything from entertainment and media to finance and telecoms. For
example, while Education Minister Adisai Bodharamik, founder of telecoms
firm Jasmine International, no longer has a personal stake in the company,
his family still owns a majority stake. Deputy Interior Minister Pracha
Maleenont's family owns BEC World, Thailand's biggest multimedia company.
Thaksin and his supporters argue that business-minded politicians can
better manage the economy than the career politicians in the previous
Democrat Party-led government. They have recent performance on their side.
Thailand is on track to grow 6.4% this year and Thaksin predicts the
economy will grow 8% next year and 10% in 2005.
"With a high tide, all boats rise," says Suranand Vejjajiva, spokesman for
Thai Rak Thai. "Our government has opened opportunities for many people,
like [small and medium-sized enterprises] and farmers." He notes that it
isn't just big business that benefits from the strong economy.
Still, some opposition politicians and democracy groups are crying foul
about what they perceive to be increasing conflicts inherent in cosy ties
between public and private interests.
They point to the recent move by Thaksin's family, which mainly consists
of ownership by his wife and son, into the residential-property market, a
sector which Thaksin's government has supported with an array of
incentives for developers and buyers. As a result, new housing purchases
are expected to grow 30% this year, an upbeat trend that the family hopes
will benefit its SC Asset Co.
The family-controlled Shin Corp.'s recent joint venture with AirAsia to
establish Thailand's first budget airline is cited as another potential
conflict of interest. Earlier this year, Thaksin unveiled plans to
transform the northern city of Chiang Mai, in his home province, into a
regional aviation hub. AirAsia intends to use Chiang Mai as a base for
flights into China.
Meanwhile, Shin Satellite, another company in which Thaksin's family holds
a majority stake, recently won an eight-year tax holiday worth 16 billion
baht ($401.5 million) for its soon-to-be-launched IPSTAR broadband
satellite system from Thailand's Board of Investment. The tax break raised
eyebrows because it represented the first time the state agency,
historically charged with attracting foreign investment, had offered such
incentives to a Thai-owned company.
"We are concerned about growing indications of policy corruption among
senior politicians and the companies that their families own and manage,"
says Akapol Sorasuchart, a member of parliament and former spokesman for
the Democrat Party.
Thaksin denies allegations of conflicts of interest, according to a
spokesman for the Thai Rak Thai party. Surathian Chakthranont, president
of the family's property company, also dismisses the criticism, saying
Thaksin plays "no role" in the company. And Shin Corp. Chairman Boonklee
Plangsiri says Thaksin had "no role whatsoever" in Shin's recent move into
the budget-airline business.
Thailand's 1997 constitution included provisions to prevent conflicts of
interest between elected officials and big business, including an
unprecedented bar on politicians holding shares in companies. Such
provisions were seen as necessary to avoid a repeat of the corruption in
previous governments that greatly contributed to Thailand's 1997 financial
collapse.
Indeed, on taking office, Thaksin and other former businessmen in his camp
divested shares in the companies they owned. But loopholes remain,
including the fact that the Thai constitution doesn't bar family members
of politicians from owning shares in companies that do business with the
government. Critics note that the spouses of several serving ministers
have reported big increases in their wealth in recent disclosure notices.
For example, Justice Minister Pongthep Thepkanchana, formerly Thaksin's
personal lawyer, has seen his family's wealth increase 21% in the past
year to 2.84 billion baht. Thaksin's own family enjoyed a 2-billion-baht
windfall upon listing a 20% stake in its property company last month.
Thailand's historically vocal print media has been notably restrained in
reporting allegations of government corruption or conflicts of interest.
One reason, some media executives contend, is that Thaksin's family's
companies have withheld advertising from publications perceived to be
critical of the government. Similarly, some of Thailand's biggest
state-owned enterprises--often key advertisers--seem to steer clear of
publications critical of Thaksin.
For a while that put the financial squeeze on the local print media, many
of which still carry big debts left over from the 1997 financial crisis
and rely heavily on large Thai advertisers.
Family members of Industry Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit, a trusted
Thaksin lieutenant and secretary-general of the Thai Rak Thai party,
recently bought about 20% of Nation Multimedia's shares, making the
Jungrungreangkit family the largest shareholder of what has been a
fiercely independent media firm. Dow Jones, parent of the REVIEW, owns
7.54% of Nation Multimedia.
PRESS FREEDOM
Editors at The Nation newspaper say that their editorial freedom will not
be curbed by the purchase. But independent media watchdogs are concerned.
"Politicians are trying to monopolize and control the press," says Supinya
Klangnarong, secretary-general of the Campaign for Popular Media Reform, a
Bangkok-based advocacy group.
Supinya contends, for example, that since Shin Corp. bought a majority
stake in iTV, formerly Thailand's only independent television station, the
network now broadcasts only pro-Thaksin programmes. It is a criticism many
other political and media analysts have noted. ITV's ratings, particularly
for its news programmes, have declined precipitously since Shin Corp.
purchased the station.
Fears of lawsuits may also have contributed to quieting dissent. Shin
Satellite, for example, has filed criminal and civil charges against
opposition politician Sirichoke Sopha for allegations he made in
parliament that the company evaded taxes on capital equipment it imported.
The case is still being tried.
Shin Corp., meanwhile, recently sued activist Supinya for comments she
made about a possible conflict of interest involving proposed
telecoms-industry rules that would give private mobile-phone operators,
including Shin's Advanced Info Services, billions of baht worth of tax
relief.
Thaksin himself recently filed criminal charges against opposition
politician Jutti Krailert for making conflict-of-interest allegations in
parliament. A senior Democrat Party member says Thaksin has filed a string
of libel suits against opposition parliamentarians, and that many of the
party's star legislators now spend more time defending themselves in court
than scrutinizing policies in parliament.
The government's moves to squelch criticism and seemingly inhibit the free
flow of information are worrying to some foreign investors. That's
particularly significant as the government plays a bigger role in deciding
how financial resources are distributed throughout the Thai economy.
"The government keeps saying everything is coming up roses," says a
Bangkok-based executive with a multinational company, requesting
anonymity. "But its getting harder to know what's really happening out
there."

___________________________________
Kaladan News, December 23, 2003
Burma-Bangladesh Friendship Road Starts this Winter

Chittagong, Dec. 23: Burma-Bangladesh Friendship Road will be started in
coming winter for direct road link between Rangoon and Dhaka, Bangladesh
Communications Minister Nazmul Huda said yesterday, according to UNB, a
local news agency of Bangladesh.

A meeting at communications ministry yesterday reviewed development of the
34-km Ramu-Balukhali road at Bangladesh side and 25-km Taungbro Bolibazar
road in Burma part, officials said.

The meeting also discussed construction of two bridges and two kms of new
road for the project, they added.

A report on the construction site of a proposed bridge near Taungbro
border in Burma was handed over to the communications minister at the
meeting, sources said.

The proposed 91-km cross-border highway would be built from Ramu of
Chittagong to Buthidaung in Arakan State at an estimated cost of about Tk
400 crore, sources added.

Among other Bangladesh authorities, Syed Rezaul Hayat, communications
secretary, and Sheikh Rabiul Islam, chief engineer of Roads and Highways
Department, were present at the meeting.


INTERNATIONAL
___________________________________

Amnesty International, December 22, 2003
Amnesty International Calls for Actions not Words

Bangkok: 22 December 2003. Following a 17 day visit to Myanmar, an Amnesty
International delegation called on the government to release all prisoners
of conscience and stop arresting people for their peaceful dissent.

At a press conference in Bangkok the delegation issued a statement
outlining a range of serious concerns substantiated during the visit, and
called on the Myanmar authorities to take urgent steps to improve the
human rights situation, which has deteriorated significantly since the
violent 30th May attack on the National League for Democracy (NLD).
Amnesty International, which first visited Myanmar in February, has
documented the arrest of scores of people for non-violent political
activities since May, many of whom are now confirmed to have been
sentenced to long terms of imprisonment under repressive legislation.

In August of this year, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC,
Myanmar's military government) declared that it would reconvene the
National Convention in order to draft a constitution. Last week in
Bangkok, the Myanmar foreign minister, U Win Aung, reportedly pledged that
the transition process would be conducted in an "all-inclusive manner"
involving all groups.

"The most concrete demonstration of the government's recent commitment to
change would be the immediate release of all prisoners of conscience" the
organization said today.

During the visit Amnesty International delegates met with government
officials; interviewed 35 political prisoners in prisons in Yangon, Bago
and Mwalmyine; and talked to political party leaders from several ethnic
nationalities. However they were denied access to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,
the NLD General Secretary, who is currently held under de facto house
arrest.

"These encounters have strongly reinforced our concerns about political
imprisonment, including arbitrary arrest; prolonged incommunicado
detention; and unfair trials of political detainees", the organization
said.

Certain human rights improvements can, with a genuine commitment to
reform, move forward with all speed. Other much needed reforms will take
time, such as comprehensive overhaul of the justice system.

"The authorities have told us to be patient, and that change may come
soon. But these assurances ring hollow in the face of continuing
repression. We will judge progress on human rights in Myanmar by concrete
improvements on the ground. Fine words, and vague promises for the future
without any timetable for change carry little weight." Amnesty
International said.

Ultimately there comes a time for action, and that time is now. Once
again, and in the strongest possible terms, Amnesty International urges
the authorities to:

1. Release all prisoners of conscience immediately and unconditionally.

They include members of parliament elect, journalists, doctors, lawyers,
teachers and young activists. These men and women have the potential to
make an invaluable contribution to the future of the country. Selective
releases of a few high profile individuals will not suffice.

2. Stop the use of repressive legislation to criminalize freedom of
expression and peaceful association.

These laws date from the nineteenth century to the present. Examples of
their use in recent months include sentencing people for staging solitary
protests or for discussing social and economic issues in personal letters.

3. End the use of administrative detention provisions to hold prisoners of
conscience without trial or prolong the incarceration of political
prisoners who have completed their sentences.

Existing provisions (Articles 10a & 10b of the 1975 State Protection Law,
amended by law 11/91) allow for up to five years' detention without
charge, trial or recourse to appeal in the courts.

4. Address the black hole of incommunicado detention without charge or
trial carried out by Military Intelligence Personnel and other members of
the security forces.

Continued arbitrary detention and intimidation by the authorities have
created an atmosphere of fear and repression that will take more than
rhetoric to dispel.

"All of these improvements are essential to underpin the government's
professed commitment to an inclusive, transparent reconvening of the
National Convention process," Amnesty International said. Such reforms
will also create an enabling environment for independent, impartial
investigations into allegations of serious human rights violations, such
as the 30 May violence; and continuing forced labour imposed by the
military and other violations against civilians in counter-insurgency
areas.

Reconciliation and enduring security can best be achieved by protecting
rather than curtailing fundamental human rights for all the people of
Myanmar.


OPINION/OTHER
___________________________________

Washington Post, December 23, 2003
The Two Burmas

SOMETIMES IT SEEMS there really are two Burmas, to match the two names of
that ill-fated Southeast Asian nation. There is the real Burma, where
sports editors who displease the ruling regime are sentenced to death and
where the woman chosen as leader more than a decade ago by an overwhelming
majority of the people remains under house arrest. And then there is the
Burma of diplomatic pretense, the nation as the junta would like it to be
seen. This is the land of "Myanmar," as the generals call it, which
participates in international forums and play-acts at moving toward
democracy. This is the regime whose steps U.N. Secretary General Kofi
Annan can find "welcome" and "encouraging," even as more and more
political prisoners rot in prison.

A few facts not in dispute: Burma is a beautiful, resource-rich country of
about 50 million people located at the top of the Andaman Sea, with India,
China and Thailand on its borders. A former British colony, it once
boasted one of the better-educated populations of its region. Decades of
military rule have produced poverty and degraded levels of schooling. In
1990, miscalculating their popularity as dictators often do, the regime's
leaders permitted an election to take place, and the National League for
Democracy won more than four out of five parliamentary seats. That party's
leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, was under house
arrest then and is so today. Many of her colleagues have been tortured and
confined. The parliament was never permitted to meet.

The sports editor is emblematic of Myanmar's rule. A special court at the
aptly named Insein Prison on Nov. 28 sentenced Zaw Thet Htwe and eight
others to death for treason. They were alleged to have plotted to kill the
nation's rulers. The real crime, apparently, was to have published an
article in the sports journal First Eleven raising questions about the
possible corrupt use of a $4 million donation intended to promote soccer
in Burma. The only striking thing about this development is how normal it
is. Amnesty International yesterday reported a "grave deterioration of the
human rights situation in Myanmar" and "an upsurge in detention of those
peacefully exercising freedoms of expression and association."

To deflect attention from such unpleasantness, the regime has of late been
promising a "road map" to democracy that includes convening a national
assembly next year. This is the development welcomed last week by Mr.
Annan. An associate, giving assurances that the secretary general will not
bless any process that excludes Aung San Suu Kyi, pointed us to the phrase
"all-inclusive" in Mr. Annan's statement. But the Burmese junta, and the
Asian leaders who would like to do business with them, will steamroller
such nuances.

Here's what Mr. Annan and the U.N. Security Council should be saying: Any
claim of movement toward national reconciliation is meaningless unless
Aung San Suu Kyi is free to participate. That means she and her associates
must be released from house arrest and from prison and permitted to travel
and communicate with each other and with their supporters. As State
Department spokesman Richard Boucher said recently, "The facts of the
matter are very, very clear to the whole world, that the voices of the
Burmese people have not been allowed to participate in the political
process and that the voices of the Burmese people need to be included in
any process of change that's undertaken in Burma."

The people made clear 13 years ago which is the real Burma. The rest of
the world should not indulge the ruling thugs in their cynical game of
make-believe.