BurmaNet News, May 5, 2004

[Editor]

May 5, 2004, Issue # 2470

‘In the report, ICG’s Asia Program Director Robert Templer said, "The
unfortunate thing about Burma is that it doesn’t matter enough to anybody
for there to be any really serious policy making done on it and therefore,
it is very easy for the U.S. Government to have an extremely dumb policy
on it," ‘
Myanmar Information Committee, May 2, 2004


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Last Year’s Earthquake Destroyed Junta’s Massive Bunker,
Killing Dozens
Myanmar Times: Women trafficking complexities exasperate the problem

DRUGS
Globe and Mail: Opium addiction rampant in Myanmar

BUSINESS
Asia Pulse: India-Myanmar Trade Expected To Touch US $1 Bln In 2006
Xinhua: Thai trade exhibition opens in Myanmar
Kaladan: Why Bangladesh choose ‘Look East’ Policy?

INTERNATIONAL
Nation: UN urged to Burma

OPINION
Mizzima: Junta faces turning point after sixteen year of military rule
Mizzima: Critical Engagement, Alternative Policy to Burma Crisis
Yoga Journal: A Tourist's Paradox

STATEMENT
Myanmar Information Committee: Myanmar urges United States to be a
positive partner in democracy and adopt to a policy of fairness and
responsibility
Inter-Parliamentary Union: Resolution adopted unanimously by the IPU
Governing Council at its 174th session

PRESS RELEASE
Statement Of U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell On Burma


INSIDE BURMA
_____________________________________

May 5, Irrawaddy
Last Year’s Earthquake Destroyed Junta’s Massive Bunker, Killing Dozens -
Kyaw Zwa Moe

A severe earthquake that hit central Burma last September destroyed a
massive hidden bunker being constructed by the junta, killing dozens of
government staffers working in the underground building, journalists and
local residents said recently.

The earthquake, measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale, centered at
Taungdwingyi town, Magwe Division, 225 miles north of Rangoon, at midnight
on September 22. The military reported some destroyed buildings, including
a few ancient pagodas around the town, but failed to report any
casualties.

The journalist said he was informed of the event by a government official
of the Accounts Department. The official, according to the journalist,
said the Department is currently preparing to pay compensation to victim’s
families.

It was reported last year that the military regime was constructing the
bunker to house MiG-29s fighter jets that were bought from Russia in 2002.
Other reports speculated the bunker was intended to shelter a
nuclear-research reactor.

Local residents couldn’t confirm the exact death toll though they said
dozens of people were killed in the incident.

A 50-year-old local resident of Taungdwingyi told The Irrawaddy on the
phone that Military Ordnance Factory numbers 17 and 18, known as ka-pa-sa
in Burmese, near Taungdwingyi, were also damaged by the quake.

He continued that in factory number 18, buildings both above and under the
ground were destroyed and as many as 12 above-ground buildings collapsed.
Factory number 17, located near Myothit town, 15 miles north of
Taungdwingyi, was less damaged and may have been where a nuclear reactor
was located, he added.

The resident said the government urgently reconstructed the damaged
buildings, the construction of which he thought began three to four years
ago.

Government officials were unavailable to comment on the event.

Last November, the Far Eastern Economic Review quoted Rangoon-based envoys
in saying that Asian diplomats were worried the junta was making plans to
build a nuclear-research reactor at Natmauk, 10 miles north of Myothit,
with the help of North Korea.

The Review reported that diplomats watched North Korean technicians
unloading large crates and heavy construction equipment from trains at
Myothit. It also said aircraft owned by the North Korean national airline,
Air Koryo, were seen landing at military airfields in central Burma. Junta
spokesperson Col Hla Min refuted the allegations that Burma has a nuclear
reactor.

_____________________________________

May 5, Myanmar Times
Women trafficking complexities exasperate the problem - Eve Eve Maung and
Jessicah Curtis

When people hear the words ‘women trafficking’, many associate the phrase
with kidnapping, sex work and slavery.

But women trafficking extends further than abduction and kidnapping and
according to Ma Ohnmar Ei Ei Chaw, the trafficking program coordinator for
World Vision, common misconceptions surrounding the definition of
trafficking contribute to the problem.

“Women trafficking is more complex than people think, and they assume that
it means women are being kidnapped in the middle of the night or
something,” Ma Ohnmar Ei Ei Chaw said.

“Trafficking rarely involves abduction and usually happens to women and
children who are already migrating or on-the-move.”

She said that trafficking begins with movement from one place to another,
either between countries or within a country. After women are in transit,
they may then be taken to a different country or city by means of deceit,
force, abuse or coercion.

Once a woman has been moved they are often exploited and forced to work
for little or no money in a variety of occupations, including hairdressing
salons, household work, fishing or prostitution.

As a result of the misunderstanding surrounding the meaning of
trafficking, many women may not realise they are victims at all.

“There is a thin line between illegal migrations and trafficking, and
people can’t differentiate between illegal migration, smuggling and
trafficking,” said Professor Daw Khin Aye Win, a spokeswoman for the
Myanmar Women Affairs Federation.

A solution is therefore more awareness about the situation.

“The challenge is to get as much information to the public as possible so
that women can know the negative consequences of being trafficked,” said
Daw Khin Aye Win.

It is estimated that tens of thousands of Myanmar people are trafficked
each year, having a devastating effect on the victims, their families and
the wider community.

Jeremy Stoner, program director for Save the Children UK, who had been
working with trafficked women since 2001, said women repatriated or
reunited with their families often need ongoing counseling to help them
cope with their ordeals.

“It can be difficult for women and children to fit back into their
communities because they may experience some social stigma attached to
what they had been doing overseas,” he said.

But Mr Stoner explained that it is difficult to estimate how many women
have been trafficked, as there are few statistics available to give an
accurate picture of the problem.

“Because there is such a fine line between migrations and trafficking,
statistics are difficult to get and many people mistake women who are
moving for women who are being moved by force,” he said.

Organisations have, however, been able to identify types of women and
particular areas that may be more prone to the problem.

According to data collected by World Vision, women between the ages 15 and
25 are the most likely to be trafficked. While some young men and boys
also fall victim, it is mainly women who are targeted by traffickers.

Women who already work in the sex industry or in factories are also more
vulnerable as these workers are in high demand across Asia. With little
education and less economic security than others, these women are a common
target because they are more likely to agree to an offer to earn more
money.

Women from the Mon, Kayin and particularly Shan states tend to be the most
vulnerable as it is easier for traffickers to transport women from border
areas.

However, despite the difficulties in identifying trafficking victims, many
stories of trafficking have had a happy ending, as thousands of women have
been rescued from traffickers during the past few years.

“World Vision has had women trafficking programs since 2001, and we work
on a few main areas,” Ma Ohnmar Ei Ei Chaw said.

“We focus on prevention by educating people in border areas, and we also
work on repatriation and reintegration for women who have become victims.”

Myanmar’s Ministry of Home Affairs implemented prevention and protection
programs in 2002 that have resulted in the arrests of more than 500
traffickers and the rescue of more than 1400 victims in the past two
years.

The Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation is also involved in the prevention
of women trafficking and last year produced videos, which have been
broadcast on MRTV.

“The program teaches people about trafficking and how it can be prevented.
It has been translated into four Myanmar dialects so it can be understood
by people all over the country,” Daw Khin Aye Win said.

“We estimate that about 10,000 people across the country have seen the
video already.”

Daw Khin Aye Win said education is the key to solving the problem and that
once more women are aware of the danger and have the knowledge to resist,
levels of trafficking will decrease.


DRUGS
_____________________________________

May 5, Globe and Mail
Opium addiction rampant in Myanmar - Geoffrey York

As he puffs deeply on his opium pipe in the evening gloom of his
thatched-roof hut, Kya Teh is wreathed in clouds of sweet, heavy smoke.

And slowly his pain disappears.

The 56-year-old farmer has been hooked on opium for 30 years. It began as
a form of medicine. Like most of the impoverished villagers in this remote
drug-producing land in northern Myanmar, opium is the only medicine he can
afford.

But a few years ago, Kya Teh felt a severe new sickness, a sharp pain in
his lungs, and he began coughing up blood. His addiction grew. Soon he was
smoking three or four pipes of opium every morning, another three or four
pipes in the afternoon, and 10 or more every night.

Kya Teh's enslavement to opium has exacted a terrible price on his family.
Their own poppy fields, which produce about 1.5 kilograms of opium per
year, are not enough to satisfy his habit. So his children work in
neighboring farms to pay for their father's addiction.

Every morning he watches them trudge off to their work while he stays at
home to take care of the chickens, the pigs and the grandchildren. He is
too weak to work. His only happiness is the opium pipe. "If I don't smoke
it, I feel the pain more and more," he said. "It's easier to sleep when I
smoke. But then later I worry about tomorrow. I worry how I will get the
opium tomorrow."

For more than 140 years, opium has been the main crop in the remote hills
of the Golden Triangle, where Myanmar meets the borders of China, Laos and
Thailand.

Because opium is so easily available, many villages are full of addicts.
But a new ban on opium is due to be enforced in most of this territory in
July of next year, and the addicts are frightened. They know that when the
drug flow stops, they will suffer horribly. "If I can't find any opium, my
pain will get worse and worse," Kya Teh said.

With the coming ban, the United Nations drug-control agency is working
frantically to help free the farmers from their addiction. Every month, 40
villagers are forced into a detoxification program in the town of Ho Tao,
often with police escorts. Some addicts are as young as 13 years old. Many
struggle to escape the detox center, and more than 40 percent fall back
into opium addiction when they go home.

"Using opium as medicine is an ingrained habit in these communities," said
Dr. Sai Seng Tip, head of the detox center. "They take opium for
everything _ stomach aches, diarrhea, even for labor pains when they are
giving birth."

A harsher form of detoxification is imposed by the Wa tribal army that
controls this region. Army brigades have forced hundreds of addicts to
quit their habit cold turkey, often by isolating them in jails or pits in
the ground. This method can be fatal to addicts, the U.N. said.

In a village of the Akha tribe, near Ho Tao, more than half of the 29
families have opium addicts. "When we're hungry for opium, we don't want
to do anything or talk to anyone," said one of the addicts, 56-year-old Ah
Chan.

"When I'm hungry for food, I can last a day. But when I'm hungry for
opium, I can only last for half an hour. Even if the most delicious food
is sitting right beside me, I won't touch it if I want opium."

Every five days, Chinese merchants visit the markets in the nearby towns
to haggle with the farmers, who bring in balls of opium wrapped in leaves.
The merchants use stacks of century-old silver coins from India to weigh
the opium and pay the farmers. The current price is about $220 per
kilogram _ double the price of two years ago. The merchants and other
middlemen reap huge profits, because the price rises drastically as the
opium is refined into heroin and sent to cities in Asia and the West.

In Kya Teh's small hut, the only sound is the clucking of the chickens and
his greedy puffing on the pipe. His children sit and silently watch. "He
is getting old," they say. "We feel pity for him."


BUSINESS / MONEY
_____________________________________

May 5, Asia Pulse
India-Myanmar Trade Expected To Touch US$1 Bln In 2006

Chennai: Myanmar Ambassador U Kyi Thein on Tuesday said moves were afoot
to boost the volume of trade between India and his country and it was
expected to touch the US$1 billion mark in 2006.

The two-way trade between the two countries had been growing steadily and
touched US US$328 million in 1997-98 and US$428 million in 2001-02, he
told a press conference here.

"In 2002-03 our trade volume even grew up to US$480 million", he said.

_____________________________________

May 5, Xinhua News Agency
Thai trade exhibition opens in Myanmar

Yangon: A Thai trade exhibition was inaugurated at the Yangon Trade Center
here Wednesday, aimed at further strengthening the trade and cooperation
between Thailand and Myanmar.

The four-day Thailand Exhibition 2004 is the 9th of its kind and the first
this year, sponsored by the Department of Export Promotion of the Thai
Commerce Ministry.

Held under Thailand-Myanmar economic cooperation program, the exhibition
is participated by 140 Thai companies with 175 booths displaying auto
parts and accessories, chemical products, children products, industrial
and construction materials, cosmetics, electrical products, food products,
beverages and packaging, furniture, garments and textile, household
products, kitchen ware, leather products, footwear, machinery tools and
parts, pharmaceutical and sanitary products, service trade and stationery
products.

Thailand held its first trade exhibition in Myanmar in December 1998 and
the event became a biannual one since 2002 as the economic and trade
cooperation between the two countries grew. The last event took place in
last December.

Myanmar official statistics show that Myanmar-Thailand bilateral trade
amounted to over one billion dollars annually, accounting for over 20
percent of Myanmar's total foreign trade and standing as the highest
volume among that with member states of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations.

_____________________________________

May 5, Kaladan News
Why Bangladesh choose ‘Look East’ Policy?

Chittagong: It is the manifestation of the "Look East Policy" of the
Bangladesh government and must be given its due to priority if Bangladesh
really wants to come out of the choking economic stranglehold of its huge
western neighbor, according to Mr. Ali, a reporter from Dhaka.

The new "Burma Road" is the road to the future of Bangladesh. Raw
materials from China, Thailand etc. come by sea via Singapore or other
intermediate ports where transhipment and its related costs are involved.
In addition, to being slow and time consuming.

Direct access to ASEAN via Burma will allow Bangladeshi manufactures to
offer their customers better delivery schedules based on faster access to
cheaper but better quality raw materials from the east.

It is therefore of vital national interest that Bangladesh was a direct
road to ASEAN region and it also makes good common sense because
ESCAP/ADP- proposed road via northeast India will add a thousand
kilometres to the otherwise direct road via Burma.

On the flip side, the new Burma Road to the ASEAN region through
Bangladesh will open up new commercial opportunities. The road that India
is building via its north-eastern territories is a long and difficult ride
through some of the most difficult terrain in the world. Travelling on it
will be time consuming and uneconomical compared to the one through Ramu
(Bangladesh).

The proposed 91km cross-border Highway would be built from Ramu of
Chittagong to Buthidaung in Arakan State at an estimated cost of about Tk.
400 crore (US$ 66.6 million).

Burma, Thailand and India have conducted a survey in New Delhi on December
2003 for the construction of a 1,360 km long Highway connecting the three
countries to expand trade, tourism and people-to- people contact.

Bangladesh should be able to en-cash on the bonanza the new road will
offer to Indian businessmen trading with ASEAN region. In fact, the volume
of the traffic that is likely to be generated from ASEAN- India trade may
well justify a major new road connection Khulna to Chittagong via Laxmipur
(India).

Whatever ESCAP or ADP may say, the economic potential of the new Burma
Road via Ramu is much better than the one they planned via the Indian
northeast. This new road will also give Bangladesh the leverage needed to
demand direct road access to markets in Nepal and Bhutan.

Bangladesh has been unable to exploit the goodwill that its products enjoy
in Nepal and Bhutan because India does not allow Bangladeshi trucks to go
to these countries. Bangladesh goods have to be transferred to Indian
Trucks at the frontier crossing and certain taxes are also payable
although these goods are not for consumption in India.

Therefore, there is no reason to believe that if the road from Bangladesh
to the east leads via India, Bangladesh trucks and goods will be able to
travel on it.

Towards "Look East" policy, the Roads and Highway (RHD) of Bangladesh has
almost finalized the decision to build a bridge over the Karnapuli River
in Bangladesh with concrete pillars.


INTERNATIONAL
_____________________________________

May 5, The Nation
UN urged to Burma

US Senator Mitch McConnell has called on the UN Security Council to debate
the situation in Burma and impose sanctions against Rangoon.

In a statement released in Washington on Tuesday, he said he would push
for renewed sanctions against Burma in the next few weeks and take the UN
to task for its weak and tepid response to Rangoon's refusal to implement
UN related resolutions.

The US Congress imposed economic sanctions against Burma last year
following a May 30 incident in which the opposition leader Aung Sann Suu
Kyi was attacked and later detained by the junta regime.

"Unfortunately, the UN's misguided 'wait and see' approach serves to
further exacerbate a regional crisis that is a direct result of these
undesirable Burmese exports and that neighbouring countries - out of
political expediency - refuse to face. Thailand, China, India and other
regional
neighbours can only bury their heads in the sand for so long.

"As three Burmese were recently sentenced to death for merely talking to
the International Labour Organisation, one would think that the secretary
general would have publicly and forcefully condemned these sentences as a
means to defend both the Burmese victims and the integrity of his own
agency," McConnell said.

"It is not too late for such an expression."


OPINION
_____________________________________

May 5, Mizzima News
Junta faces turning point after sixteen year of military rule - Nyo Ohn Myint

The National League for Democracy (NLD) has sent a proposal to the ruling
junta indicating a positive outlook for national reconciliation.  There
are only a few days left for the Burmese military regime to answer or
accept the NLD proposal.  Meanwhile it appears to be business as usual for
the SPDC, opening and attending ceremonial events in Rangoon and regional
centres.

Politically the NLD have done their job by clearly stating what they would
like to see included in the National Convention if it is to result in
positive political developments and eventually lead to concrete democratic
principles being adopted in Burma.  The many western diplomats and other
concerned parties have seen the NLD move as being more productive than
expected.  The diplomatic community based in Rangoon bluntly believes that
NLD participation in some form is better than nothing.  With NLD
involvement there is a realistic chance of some positive outcome emerging
from engagement with the ruling junta.

In fact, the impatience shown by the western and regional players might
push the NLD to decide but they do not expect the regime to react very
much at all to their involvement.  After all, the regime is made up of the
top Burmese generals and they have military principles to follow.  All
decisions or orders come from the very top and even the generals are
supposed to obey their orders without discussion or debate.  They are
supposed to report what the top general, Than Shwe, wants to know about
political development.  Whether you like it or not, the generals have to
wait on General Than Shwe's decision whether or not to free Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi, and in the mean time, they have to deal with the international
community.

The wish list and expectations of the regime's national convention by the
international community are unlikely due to the regime's formation and
decision-making process.  Regional players such as India, Indonesia and
The Philippines are preoccupied with their own national elections while
the Thais are busy with conflicts in the south of their country.  The
Western moderate countries may think that a political quick fix notion may
lead the NLD to gain political leverage, which is partially true but they
should also consider the view from the regime's side.  No one can predict
when the more moderate generals will be strong enough to change the regime
policy. At this time the regime has only one decision-maker, and that is
the hardline general, Than Shwe.

There is a very slim chance that the generals would reduce their iron
policies against any political activities led by the NLD only if General
Than Shwe also changed his position.

New prime minister General Khin Nyunt has had a limited role in the
political negotiations.  He has been doing his part to bring the ceasefire
groups into the national convention, and he is unlikely to suggest to his
boss what is the best for the country and people.

The NLD has found it difficult to calculate the regime's first move and
the Than Shwe's thinking and yet the junta has made it clear that there
will have no free discussion with other ceasefire groups and ethnic
parties during the convention if NLD decided to join.  The NLD has to have
free discussions with the masses if it is preparing to attend; the NLD has
to bring the opinions from the masses to the convention and in this way
the NLD can show off the people power that they alone possess.

The junta and General Than Shwe himself have to make this critical
decision and respond to the NLD proposal within two weeks.  Additionally,
the pressure on the NLD and the SPDC coming from the Burmese population
and from the international community is considerable.  Under these
circumstances, the pressure might result in a positive outcome for the
NLD.   But then the generals would be unhappy with the result.

The author is Coordinator of Global Burma Campaign of the Foreign Affairs
Committee of the National League for Democracy (Liberated Area).

_____________________________________

May 5, Mizzima News
Critical Engagement, Alternative Policy to Burma Crisis - Min Zaw Oo

"Pragmatic thinkers should realize that power asymmetry is not likely to
yield symmetric dialogue as an ideal scenario in Burma’s transitional
processes" - Min Zaw Oo

Both sanction and constructive engagement policies have failed to yield a
constructive change in Burma, said the International Crisis Group’s (ICG)
latest report on Burma. A few leading activists from the Free Burma
Coalition (FBC) made a similar conclusion two years ago. However, both the
oppositions and the international community are reluctant to shift their
policy paradigms.

The world community is generally divided into pro-sanction and
constructive engagement camps in their approaches to tackle the Burmese
junta. After 15 years of economic sanctions, isolation and constructive
engagement, it is obvious that none of these separate approaches have
promoted change towards democratic transition in Burma.

For full text please see:
http://www.mizzima.com/archives/news-in-2004/news-in-may/05-may04-05.htm

_____________________________________

May 5, Yoga Journal
A Tourist's Paradox - Jeff Greenwald

While a military junta rules Burma, can you visit this Buddhist nation and
still be an ethical yogi?

The hills of Sagaing, right across the Ayeyarwady River some 10 miles
southwest of Mandalay, look like an archetypal vision of Asia. Buddhist
stupas rise amid thickly forested hillsides, their golden spires gleaming
in the late afternoon light. Monks and nuns stroll the shaded lanes in red
and pink robes; at sunrise; their chants evaporate with the fog. Climbing
one of the serpentine stairways and gazing out over the landscape, you can
imagine you have returned to the Burma of Kublai Khan or Rudyard
Kipling--a golden land awash in riches, illuminated by the inimitable
light of Asia.

But the Burma of today is an ambiguous place, where one person's dream is
another's nightmare. Drinking tea at a quiet monastery in the Sagaing
hills that welcomes Westerners for annual vipassana retreats, I struggled
with the conflict that dogs every mindful visitor to the country called
Myanmar by its rulers. It was a question of ahimsa, the yogic directive of
"nonharming." Does my presence here help the Burmese people or contribute
to their continued oppression? Is it appropriate to sightsee, relax, or
even study meditation in Burma, knowing that a portion of the money I'm
spending here goes to support a brutal dictatorship?

For full text please see: http://www.yogajournal.com/views/1045_1.cfm


STATEMENT
_____________________________________

May 2, Myanmar Information Committee
Information Sheet: Myanmar urges United States to be a positive partner in
democracy and adopt to a policy of fairness and responsibility

It is unfortunate to realize that peace, stability and prosperity of
nations are no longer significant to the U.S. and it is also regretful to
learn that the U.S. is continuing in pressuring nations to follow the path
it has chosen leading to nowhere but a sure failure. Pressing the emerging
democracies to become full-fledged democracies overnight without proper
institutions in place is like forcing a toddler to run before he or she
learns how to walk properly. According to history, as it was accurately
mentioned in the New York Times February article titled "Fragile Seeds of
Liberty", "creating working democracies took 400 years in the West and 40
years in East Asia". Even in the United States, all citizens were not
given complete freedom and equality, until about 40 years ago, nearly 200
years after the pilgrims first arrived in America.

Sanctions do not help a nation in building a sound economy in the creation
of a strong middle-class which is essential in establishing proper
institutions in the development of a sustainable democracy. Sanctions
delay or even derail the proper evolution to a democracy. But the U.S.
still seems to believe that sanctions, invasion and occupation are the
solutions to all the problems the world is facing today.

It is regretful that the U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell who presented the
bill ( The Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003) and proposed that
sanctions remain in place does not seem to understand or perhaps simply
refuses to acknowledge the reality --- a steady and proper evolution
taking place in Myanmar. His actions are, as one veteran Myanmar
politician described, "Championing inhumanity and a criminal act when
someone, for his own political agenda exploits the situation and abuses
other nations and the people there depriving their right to development
and progress".

The Belgium-based independent International Crisis Group recently issued a
report criticizing approaches to bring about changes in Myanmar. In the
report, ICG’s Asia Program Director Robert Templer said, "The unfortunate
thing about Burma is that it doesn’t matter enough to anybody for there to
be any really serious policy making done on it and therefore, it is very
easy for the U.S. Government to have an extremely dumb policy on it". He
also went on to say that, "And that’s what it is - a completely failed
policy". Mr. Templer called upon the United States to give up
"unrealistic" goals of sanctions.

Myanmar is indeed as international scholars unanimously agree, "a perfect
soft target for politicians as it creates no electoral damage in their
home State". A British scholar participating in a seminar, "Understanding
Myanmar", recently held in Yangon remarked that politicians while
self-proclaiming as the champion of democracy are "AWOL" when there is a
concern of democracy and human rights in countries with economic might and
countries that could cause direct and immediate negative impact on their
own countries. Regretfully, these politicians are invisible when it comes
to imposing sanctions on these countries. Therefore, leading us to assume
that such individuals are "committed" to democracy and human rights only
when and where convenient.

The Government of Myanmar together with the international community are
gravely concerned about the abuses of human rights by the United States in
many parts of the world. We all are extremely shocked and saddened to
learn about the recent violations of human rights in the Middle East where
the conqueror blatantly violates and humiliates the very basic rights of
prisoners and citizens of that nation. Therefore, the Government of
Myanmar urges the United States to abide by the International Convention
on Human Rights, and to adopt a policy of fairness, responsibility and
accuracy, when reporting on human rights issue in other countries. It also
encourages the United States to take the responsibility for the human
rights violations it has committed against the people of Myanmar through
unfair practices and economic sanctions. The common agenda of peace,
development and freedom for all the peoples of the world can only be
achieved by being sincere, honest and accurate.

The Government of Myanmar therefore urges the United States to abandon its
misguided attempts to destabilize Myanmar and encourages Washington to
join with us and our regional partners in developing a peaceful,
prosperous and democratic Myanmar. This is far better than promoting
poverty, instability, drugs and armed conflicts as the result of imposing
sanctions, invasion or occupation.

_____________________________________

23 April, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)
Resolution adopted unanimously by the IPU Governing Council at its 174th
session/Mexico City

At its recent meeting in Mexico City, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the
expert body on parliaments and constitutions,  adopted a resolution highly
critical of the Burmese National Convention, due to begin 17 May, 2004
,and the continued detention of Burmese parliamentarians.

The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the outline of the case of the above-mentioned members-elect
of the Pyithu Hluttaw (People's Assembly) of the Union of Myanmar, as
contained in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of
Parliamentarians (CL/174/12(b)-R.2), and to the resolution adopted by the
Council at its 173rd session (October 2003),

Recalling that not only have the election results of 27 May 1990, in which
the National League for Democracy (NLD) won 392 of the 485 seats, not been
implemented, but also many MPs-elect have been eliminated from the
political process through arbitrary means, including their arbitrary
arrest, detention and sentencing under laws infringing basic international
human rights standards,

Recalling that in October 2000 talks which have since broken down -
between the military regime and the NLD leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had
started, which initially led to the release of several MPs-elect and to
the easing of some of the constraints on the operation of lawful political
parties;

Recalling that 17 MPs elect are nevertheless still serving their prison
sentences and, according to the source, the health of seven of them,
namely Dr. Than Nyein, Mr. Ohn Maung, Mr. Sein Hla Oo, Dr. Min Kyi Win,
Dr. Min Soe Lin, Dr. May Win Myint and Mr. Soe Myint, has seriously
deteriorated in prison,

Noting that, on 3 February 2004, MP-elect Myint Naing was released after
serving 14 years of a 25-year prison sentence under Penal Code Article
122(1) for planning to attend a secret meeting in September 1990 in
Mandalay to form a provisional government,

Recalling that, on 30 May 2003, following an attack on the motorcade of
NLD Leader Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi in the north of the country where she was
travelling, 26 MPs-elect and scores of NLD supporters were arrested and
several were killed; Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi and several senior NLD officials
were placed under protective custody;  all NLD offices were closed,

Noting that since then, while Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo,
Vice-Chairman of the NLD, remain under house arrest, all MPs-elect have
been released; however, Mr. Soe Win's health has seriously worsened in
detention reportedly as a result of torture by Military Intelligence
officials, which they denied; noting also that only the NLD Headquarters
has in the meantime been allowed to reopen,

Considering that the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Mr.
Pinheiro, last visited Myanmar in November 2003 and reported "significant
setbacks" in the country's human rights situation since his visit in March
2003; he stated that he had gathered prima facie evidence that the "30 May
incident" could not have happened without the connivance of State agents
and that there had been an escalation of threats, provocation, harassment,
intimidation, bullying, and orchestrated acts of violence with the
involvement of those opposed to the NLD and/or those who had some
connection with government-affiliated bodies,

Recalling that, on 30 August 2003, General Khin Nyunt announced a "road
map" for Myanmar's future; noting that, as a first step, the authorities
will on 17 May 2004 reconvene the National Convention on the basis of the
"6 objectives", including participation of Myanmar's military in the
leading role of national politics of the State in the future, which guided
the Convention when it was first set up in 1993, together with the same
widely criticised procedures and the "104 principles" and Detailed Basic
Principles which set out a detailed blueprint for a unitary,
military-dominated State,

Noting also that, according to the source, Order 5/96, which penalises any
criticism of the National Convention, is still in force and that MPs-elect
are at present forced to sign an agreement to participate in the
Convention or otherwise resign; noting in this respect that the NLD
leadership announced on 16 April that it would not participate in the
National Convention so long as it remained unchanged,


1.      Deplores the persistent absence of cooperation and response from
the authorities, particularly in view of the serious observations made by
the United Nations Special Rapporteur about the situation in Myanmar;

2.      Reaffirms its conviction that the National Convention, in its
present form, is designed to prolong and legitimise military rule against
the will of the people as expressed in the 1990 elections, and thus stands
in direct opposition to the principle enshrined the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights that the "will of the people shall be the basis of the
authority of government";

3.      Expresses therefore deep concern at the intention of the
authorities to reconvene the National Convention through coercion and
under conditions inimical to any genuine democratic procedure and debate;

4.      Remains  convinced that any transition towards democracy in
Myanmar, through the National Convention or otherwise, will fail so long
as it is not genuinely free, transparent and reflective of the peoples
will and preceded by the unconditional release of all political prisoners,
the lifting of all remaining restrictions on the enjoyment of human
rights, and the opening of all political parties offices;

5.      Urges therefore the authorities, as part of the necessary steps in
this direction, to release forthwith the 17 MPs-elect who are still
serving prison sentences, to conduct without any further delay a thorough,
independent and transparent investigation into the 30 May 2003 incident,
including the alleged torture of Mr. Soe Win in detention, and to hold
those responsible to account;

6.      Remains convinced that strong and concerted action by members of
the Inter-Parliamentary Union, in particular those from the region, is
crucial to bringing about respect for democratic principles in Myanmar;
calls on them to adopt appropriate and effective steps to this end;

7.      Reiterates its wish to conduct an on-site mission with a view to
assisting a satisfactory settlement of this case;

8.      Requests the Secretary General to bring this resolution to the
attention of the authorities of Myanmar and the source;

9.      Requests the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to
continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be
held on the occasion of the 111th Assembly (September-October 2004).

Contact: Ingeborg Schwarz, IPU, Geneva. Tel (+41-22)  919 4142; Email:
is at mail.ipu.org


PRESS RELEASE
_____________________________________

May 4, From the Office of Senator Mitch McConnell
Statement Of U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell On Burma

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell today released the
following statement on Burma:

“Mr. President, if my colleagues doubt that the pen is mightier than the
sword, they need to take five minutes to read Rena Pederson’s May 2nd
Dallas Morning News column entitled “Burma’s Icon Still Needs World’s
Help.”

“When it comes to continued repression in Burma (and a largely muted world
response) Ms. Pederson hits a bull’s-eye.

“She is right to demand the U.S. Congress to expeditiously renew sanctions
against Burma – which I fully expect us to do over the next few weeks –
and to take the United Nations to task for its weak and tepid response to
the State Peace and Development Council’s (SPDC) recalcitrance to
implement U.N. General Assembly and Commission for Human Rights
resolutions.

“I share Ms. Pederson’s disbelief that the U.N. Security Council has yet
to bring the Burmese crisis up for debate and sanction. We already know
that Burma poses an immediate and grave threat to its neighbors, whether
through refugees fleeing persecution, the spread of HIV/AIDS or the
proliferation of illicit narcotics.

“Unfortunately, the U.N.’s misguided “wait and see” approach serves to
further exacerbate a regional crisis that is a direct result of these
undesirable Burmese exports and that neighboring countries – out of
political expediency – refuse to face. Thailand, China, India and other
regional neighbors can only bury their heads in the sand for so long.

“As three Burmese were recently sentenced to death for merely talking to
the International Labor Organization (a U.N. agency), one would think that
the Secretary-General would have publicly and forcefully condemned these
sentences as means to defend both the Burmese victims and the integrity of
his own agency. It is not too late for such an expression.

“Further, Ms. Pederson’s concerns with U.N. envoy Ismail Razali’s business
dealings with the SPDC comes at time when the corrupt “oil for food”
program in Iraq is under investigation. It is only fair to ask if
principles are similarly being discarded in Burma for the sake of personal
profit.

“Mr. President, I suspect that the closer we get to the May 17th
constitutional convention, the louder the din – from the SPDC and its
advocates in Thailand – will become on “progress” being made in Burma. I
have little hope that the convention will serve as a catalyst for anything
but an attempt by the SPDC to bestow legitimacy upon itself and its
abusive rule. The Director of the Burma Fund, Zaw Oo, catalogued these
concerns superbly in an opinion piece entitled “Don’t Help Burma’s
Generals” in the May 6th issue of the Far Eastern Economic Review.

“My message to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy
could not be more clear: you are in a position of strength because of the
principled stand you continue to make in support of the struggle for
freedom in Burma. The people of Burma should know that America stands with
them and will continue to do so until democracy and justice triumphs in
Burma.

“I ask that a copy of Ms. Pederson and Mr. Zaw Oo’s articles appear in the
Record following my remarks.”

Source: http://mcconnell.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=221124&start=1