BurmaNet News, May 20, 2004

[Editor]

May 20, 2004, Issue # 2480

“Burma's military regime has told delegates creating the country's new
constitution they must bathe correctly, avoid junk food and live in a
self-contained camp where they can enjoy karaoke, movies and golf.”
- “Burma rewrites its constitution in a unique manner,” Richard Ehrlich,
Scoop, May 20, 2004

INSIDE BURMA
DVB: SPDC still attacking opposition despite Convention
Scoop: Burma rewrites its constitution in a unique manner

ON THE BORDER
Myanmar to build river-crossing bridge linking Laos

DRUGS
Xinhua: Mekong sub-region countries study projects on drug control

INTERNATIONAL
Glebe: Downhill in Burma

OPINION/OTHER
Business Day: Myanmar is in danger of losing its friends by excluding Suu Kyi
Asian Tribune: Declaration of the Rohingya National Convention
ACHR: Myanmar: Time to expel the generals


INSIDE BURMA
______________________________________

May 20, Democratic Voice of Burma
SPDC still attacking opposition despite Convention

The army of SPDC is still attacking armed ethnic rebel groups despite the
ongoing so-called National Convention to find solutions to the country’s
political problems.

The junta, State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) is holding a
constitution drafting convention at Nyaung Hnapin Kwin, north of Rangoon
mostly attended by handpicked delegates and armed ethnic national groups
which signed ceasefire agreement with the junta.

But on the Thai-Burma border, the junta’s army is increasing offensives on
armed ethnic groups who have signed ceasefire agreements.

According to the General Secretary of Karenni National Progressive Party
(KNPP) Khoo Rimond Htoo, its fighters are increasingly facing the assaults
from the Burmese army and he added that the increase of clashes is due to
the convention. He is expecting more attacks from the army in the coming
days.

The spokeswoman of Shan State Army (SSA) Nang Kher Seng said there have
been daily clashes in Shan State between the SSA fighters and Burmese
soldiers.

She insisted that the junta should declare a nationwide ceasefire and
allow all groups to participate in the talks at the convention if it is to
really solve the problems of the country and achieve true peace.

Kher Seng added that the SSA tries to avoid initial attacks to avoid
blames from the junta if the convention fails.

Similarly, sporadic clashes are still occurring in the Karen National
Union (KNU) controlled areas in Karen State near Thailand despite a
provisional ceasefire agreement reached between the KNU and the junta at
the end of last year.

_____________________________________

May 20, Scoop
Burma Rewrites Its Constitution In A Unique Manner - Richard S. Ehrlich

Bangkok: Burma's military regime has told delegates creating the country's
new constitution they must bathe correctly, avoid junk food and live in a
self-contained camp where they can enjoy karaoke, movies and golf.

Washington has criticized the event as a sham, and pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi's political party boycotted it because she is detained at
her villa in Rangoon under house arrest.

Burma's unelected prime minister, Gen. Khin Nyunt, along with the
country's head of state, Gen. Than Shwe, are manipulating collaborators,
submissive political groups and others into drafting a constitution which
will allow the military to enjoy immunity from severe human rights
violations, according to diplomats and Burmese dissidents.

Burma's generals however hailed the process as a "road map to democracy",
but indicated the constitution will ensure a future governing role for the
military.

"The delegates are advised to put on suitable clothes, avoid having a bath
at an unreasonable time and [not] eat junk food," the government-run New
Light of Myanmar newspaper reported, describing how more than 1,000
representatives from urban and rural zones must behave while drafting the
constitution.

Burma, a majority Buddhist nation also known as Myanmar, is one of the
poorest countries on earth but "TV, karaoke, newspapers, movies, a stage
show, gymnasium and golf course are being provided for health and
recreation of the delegates," it said.

"A hospital complete with specialists, modern medicine and medical
equipment is being opened in the camp while restaurants, a beauty parlor,
barber shop, optical shop and grocery shop are being opened for the
delegates," the paper added.

The convention, which opened on Monday (May 17), was expected to be long
and drawn out, with no schedule announced.

The previous convention met sporadically for about three years until it
was officially "postponed" after Mrs. Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy party walked out claiming it was a rubber stamp for the
military.

The regime's future role under the new constitution is no secret.

One of the six "objectives" of the constitutional convention is "for the
tatmadaw [military] to be able to participate in the national political
leadership role of the state," the report said.

In an apparent dig at Mrs. Suu Kyi, who has received millions of dollars
in awards and assistance from abroad, Information Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw
Hsan warned delegates "not to accept any other country's patronage."

Delegates must also "avoid speaking ill of others" not express
anti-government views, and keep all news about the convention "secret"
until announced by the regime, Kyaw Hsan said in a speech.

"Delegates are not allowed to walk out individually or in group and to
mock others," he said.

The constitutional convention's opening ceremony was attended by
ambassadors representing Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Egypt,
India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines,
Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam plus
envoys from China, Japan, the United Nations and other groupings, it said.

Delegates represent Burma's political parties, ethnic groups, peasants,
workers, intellectuals and government.

Tight censorship has controlled most news emitting from the convention and
its residential camp on the outskirts of the capital, Rangoon.

The regime shrugged off the boycott by Mrs. Suu Kyi's widely popular
National League for Democracy party apparently because the generals
consider her effectively marginalized after years of on-and-off
confinement.

The military and its supporters "know that her isolation under house
arrest is acceptable to the Burmese people and the international
community, so long as everyone knows or believes that she is not
mistreated and is allowed a tiny degree of freedom within the walls of her
villa," wrote Josef Silverstein, a U.S. academic and noted analyst of
Burmese affairs.

The regime may have calculated the United States and Europe are "unwilling
to repeat the Iraq experience" while Burma slithers through international
sanctions and trades with partners in China, Southeast Asia and elsewhere,
said Mr. Silverstein, author of a book tilted, "Burma: Rule and the
Politics of Stagnation".

Burma, the biggest country in mainland Southeast Asia, had two previous
constitutions: one written in 1974 and an earlier constitution from 1947
when the country attained independence from Britain.

"There is no constitution in operation in Burma currently," said Khin
Maung Win, an executive committee member of the pro-democracy,
Bangkok-based Burma Lawyers' Council.

"Abolition of the constitution by the military regime in 1988 was due to
political reasons, to pave the way for the army to take over state power,"
he wrote in the latest edition of the group's Legal Issues on Burma
Journal.

"Burma has an informal Bill of Rights drawn from Buddha's teaching" --
which are similar to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- plus
common law and international conventions and obligations, he said.

The junta earlier barred Mrs. Suu Kyi, who is a Nobel Peace laureate, from
leading Burma despite her National League for Democracy (NLD) party's
landslide election victory in 1990.

Mrs. Suu Kyi's recent request to be freed from house arrest was rejected
by the military, so her party boycotted the convention.

"The NLD does not believe that it will be able to benefit the nation by
participating in the national convention. Therefore the NLD decided that
it will not attend," NLD Chairman Aung Shwe told reporters in Rangoon.


ON THE BORDER
_____________________________________

May 20, Xinhua News Agency
Myanmar to build river-crossing bridge linking Laos

Yangon: Myanmar has agreed to building a bridge crossing the Mekong River
to link Laos, a local journal reported in its latest issue.

It will be the first bridge connecting the two countries and the bridge is
projected near Kengkoke on the Myanmar-Lao border, the Ministry of
Transport was quoted by the 7Day Journal as saying.

The bridge is linked with the R-3 road section connecting Thailand's
Chiangmai and China's Kunming, the report said.

Similar to the R-3 section, the R-4 section connecting Kunming and
Myanmar's Lashio and Kengtung provides access for the GMS ( Greater Mekong
Subregion) countries to cross through Mynamar.

The 4,500-kilometer Mekong River originating from China's Qinghai, stands
as a boundary river of Myanmar and Laos and the river runs through
Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam down to the South China Sea
near Ho Chi Minh city.

Initiated by the Asian Development Bank, the GMS-Economic Cooperation was
founded in 1992 to bring together the six countries along the Mekong
river. The six GMS nations signed an agreement and a protocol in last
April in Phnom Penh with regard to cross-border transportation.


DRUGS
_____________________________________

May 20, Xinhua News Agency
Mekong sub-region countries study projects on drug control

Bangkok: Six countries of the Mekong River sub-region pledged to continue
their cooperation to fight illegal drug production in the region during a
meeting ended Wednesday in southern Thailand.

Representatives from the six countries, namely China, Laos, Vietnam,
Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand, discussed the progress of 14 on-going
projects related to drug demand reduction, alternative development and law
enforcement during their three-day meeting held in the Thai province of
Krabi, some 900 kilometers south of Bangkok.

The projects under discussion were initiated under a memorandum of
understanding on drug control signed by them in 1993 and had a total
budget of more than 13 million US dollars, according to a press release
issued by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC).

The projects reviewed by the meeting also focused on response to
amphetamine type drugs abuse, HIV vulnerability in custodial and community
settings and judicial and prosecutorial capacity building.

Besides, participants signed a project document on regional collaboration
on community-based alternative development to eliminate opium production
in Southeast Asia.

The newly-agreed project was aimed to continue regional cooperation and
establish institutional linkages to share innovative approaches and best
practices on participatory alternative development and illicit crop
elimination.


INTERNATIONAL
_____________________________________

May 20, The Glebe (Australia)
Downhill in Burma

While the world observes human rights issues in Iraq, abuse continues in
many other countries says Amnesty International Balmain Group.

Group spokesman Peter Sheehy said the human rights situation in Burma had
deteriorated significantly since a violent attack on the National League
for Democracy in May 2003.

He said prisoners of conscience were being held and the Myanmar
authorities were arresting people for peaceful dissent.

At Liberty Square, Balmain, on May 29, the group is holding its letter
writing day and calls on Inner West residents to sign letters of support
that call for prisoner freedom.

"Freeing the people of Burma is a big issue, but we can concentrate on
three or four people," Mr Sheehy said.

Members will be onsite from 10am with letters for people like Min Ko
Naing, chairman of the All Burma Federation of Students Unions, who was
sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for anti-government activities.

"Min Ko Naing was severely tortured and ill-treated during the early
stages of his detention and as a result his health has suffered," Mr
Sheehy said. "We appeal to you to become a human rights defender and
increase our efforts to help change the face of human rights in Myanmar."


OPINION/OTHER
_____________________________________

May 20, Business Day (Thailand)
Myanmar is in danger of losing its friends by excluding Suu Kyi

Thailand’s attempt to help Myanmar’s military junta build up its roadmap
to democracy has now encountered a major roadblock as the Myanmar rulers
have refused to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house
arrest to enable her to lead her National League for Democracy (NLD) in
joining the country’s National Constitution Convention now under way.
There was no explanation from that country’s military rulers, officially
known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), as why they
wanted to keep Aung San Suu Kyi and her pro-democracy colleagues out of
the constitutional talks. The convention is being held in a military camp
near Yangon.

The absence of Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD from the constitutional
discussions, which have no timeframe for completion, has adversely
affected Myanmar’s roadmap to democracy from the very beginning.

In fact, the details of the Myanmar junta’s roadmap have never been
clarified. However, it was the understanding of the leaders of the United
Nations and pro-democracy countries that the release of Aung San Suu Kyi,
a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and other opposition political activists was
one of the primary steps for paving the road towards Myanmar’s democracy.

United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan said in a statement issued in
New York that he was “dismayed” by Aung San Suu Kyi’s continued detention.
Annan emphasised that if the Myanmar National Constitutional Convention
was to be credible, it must be all-inclusive and that all the delegates to
the convention must be able to express their views freely.

In Washington, US President George W Bush labelled Myanmar an
“extraordinary threat” to US interests. On Monday, he extended US
sanctions against the military rulers of Myanmar another year.

As far as Thailand is concerned, the latest steps taken by the Myanmar
junta in forging its own-style roadmap to democracy have started to
embarrass the Thai government, which had earlier initiated an
international forum, known as the Bangkok Process, to discuss Myanmar’s
roadmap to democracy and national reconciliation.

The first round of the Bangkok Process, held last year, was successful as
it drew the attendance of representatives of the members of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) as well as those of several
western countries. However, the junta refused to participate in the second
round of the forum, scheduled for April 29 and 30, causing the meeting to
be cancelled.

The failure of the Bangkok Process was considered the first
disappointment, or a loss of face, for the Thai leaders who had strictly
observed the policy of restrictive conservation and constructive
engagement with regard to Myanmar’s political affairs. They even initiated
a policy to help Myanmar develop steps to bring back international trust
and confidence, believing that Myanmar would listen to their advice.

Prime Minister Thaksin on Tuesday expressed his disappointment over the
lack of democratic progress in Myanmar. He said Thailand would have liked
to see Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD leaders participate in the convention.
He was quoted as saying that the convention for drafting a new
constitution without the participation of the main opposition party is
affecting the international image of Myanmar.

Despite the embarrassment that Thailand will feel resulting from the
snubbing of the good intentions it has extended to its northwestern
neighbour, it is unlikely the Thaksin government will unilaterally take
stern measures against the Myanmar military rulers. Rather, Thailand will
act along with its Asean partners to put pressure on Myanmar to honour a
pledge to the United Nations to let Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD take part
in the constitutional drafting convention.

Asean now has an important role in pushing the Myanmar junta to
demonstrate its sincerity in its democracy development process, taking
into consideration the fact that Myanmar will be taking over the chair of
Asean in 2006.

If the junta continues to ignore the good ideas and initiatives of the
United Nations and Asean, it could eventually sour its relationships with
its friendly neighbours, including Thailand, which have been trying to
help Myanmar gain better international acceptance and respect.

_____________________________________

May 20, Asian Tribune
Declaration of the Rohingya National Convention

Arakan, also known as Rohang, had been a sovereign independent kingdom for
many centuries. Burman invaded and occupied it 1784. Then the British
imperialist colonized our homeland in 1824. They transferred the
“sovereignty’ over Arakan to Burma at the time of Burmese independence in
January 1948.

Arakan is a land with a population of diverse, ethnic, linguistic,
cultural and religious identities. Rakhaing and Rohingya are the two major
indigenous peoples of Arakan. There are other ethnic races distributed
among Chin, Kaman, Thet, Dinnet, Mramagri, Mro and Khami etc.

Throughout the Burmese rule, the Rohingya are under endless tyranny.
Campaigns of terror, genocide, ethnic cleansing, extermination and other
grave human rights violations have been perpetrated against them in a
systematic and planned way.

The Rohingya tried to redress their grievances by peaceful means. But
their non-violence resistance was met with premeditated and planned
government and state sponsored terrorism directed towards annihilating the
Rohingya population. So, the Rohingya first embarked on freedom movement
for their “right of self-determination” soon after the Burmese
independence in 1948. The current movement is but the continuation of the
Rohingya people’s long and heroic struggle.

The Rohingya National Convention was held on 14-16 May 2004, in a place on
the border area. It was a long felt national conference of the Rohingya
people, participated by Arakan Rohingya National Organization (ARNO),
Burmese Rohingya Association in Japan (BRAJ), Burmese Rohingya Community
in Australia (BRCA), exiled leaders of the National Democratic Party for
Human Rights (NDPH), Students and Youth League for Mayu Development (SLMD)
and National League for Democracy (NLD) in Arakan, and other organizations
and leaders from inside and outside Arakan -- including Rohingya Youth
Development Forum (RYDF), Arakan Human Rights Organization (AHRO), Ex.
Members of the Parliament (MPs), Rohingya elites from Bangladesh,
academics and professionals, religious and community leaders, youth and
student leaders, refugees leaders and social welfare activists. A number
of Rohingya groups and individuals from home and abroad, particularly from
USA, Canada, France, Netherlands, KSA, UAE, Pakistan, Thailand and
Malaysia sent their messages expressing their solidarity with the
Convention.

The delegates and participants discussed on the current political
developments and process and other important issues and problems relating
to Arakan and its peoples, particularly matters of Rohingya’s concern.

The Convention expressed its total support and solidarity with Arakan
Rohingya National Organization (ARNO) entrusting all matters of national
interest to it.

The Convention formed a “Working Committee” with the participants for
building consensus and drafting Arakan State Constitution, in a manner
consistent to democracy and federalism.

The Convention unanimously issued a Declaration as follows:

(1) The Rohingya are an indigenous people in Arakan and, therefore, are
one of the many ethnic nationalities of the Union of Burma. The Rohingya
-- having a supporting history, separate culture, civilization, language
and literature, historically settled territory and reasonable size of
population and area -- consider themselves distinct from other sectors of
the society and are determined to preserve, develop and transmit to future
generations their ancestral history, and their ethnic identity, as the
basis of their continued existence as people, in accordance with their own
cultural pattern, social institution and legal system.

(2) The Rohingya have the right to ‘self-determination’ by virtue of which
they have the right of whatever degree of autonomy they choose. The
concept of the Rohingy’s ‘self-determination’ is to charter the future of
the Rohingya and that of their generation to come under genuine federalism
of the Union of Burma.

(3) The Convention stresses the need for unity among all the peoples of
Arakan and Burma, irrespective of language, culture, religion and ethnic
background, for establishing a genuine Democratic Federal Union of Burma
that will ensure political self-determination, self-identification,
democracy, equality, justice and human rights to all.

(4) The Convention deplores the policy of ‘exclusiveness’ being practiced
by some Rakhaing political party leaders and individuals to keep the
Rohingya politically marginalized and urges upon them to shun from
inflammatory writings, speeches and activities against the Rohingya, in
the interest of the all people of Arakan. Such practice that leads to
confrontation rather than co-existence cannot be done without doing
injustice to the composite nature of the Arakan society. Let’s come
forward with a commitment for both unity and diversity, a respect for
difference, willingness to share power. Replace hatred with love and
affection, because the third party preaches the hatred. Let’s replace the
policy of confrontation and destruction with cooperation, peace and
development and let’s work together to find the best solution for our
future generation.

(5) The Convention expresses its solidarity with all Burmese oppositions,
democratic forces and ethnic nationalities and aspires to work together
with Members of the Parliament Union (MPU), United Nationalities League
for Democracy (UNLD) Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC), National
Democratic Front (NDF), National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB), and
National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB).

(6) The Convention expresses its support to the 1990 General Elections
results and National League for Democracy (NLD) whose parliamentarians won
an overwhelming victory and its leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other
political and ethnic parties, including the National Democratic Party for
Human Rights (NDPH) and Kaman National League for Democracy (KNLD).

(7) The Convention expresses its concern over the SPDC sponsored sham
National Convention to be held, on 17 May 2004, only with its handpicked
persons, without regards to democratic norms. This unauthentic convention
is liable to be condemned nationally and internationally. There would be
no genuine indication of democratic changes and national reconciliation in
Burma while the military regime continues to keep political prisoners and
suppress basic freedom. The SPDC Roadmap has yet to be manifested by real
and tangible changes on the ground towards a genuinely free, transparent,
and an inclusive process involving all political parties, ethnic
nationalities, including Rohingya, and elements of civil society. The only
real route to political reform in Burma is a ‘tripartite dialogue’ with
the junta, the democratic oppositions and ethnic nationalities as called
for annually by the United Nations since 1994. Without ‘tripartite
dialogue’ there is little hope for national reconciliation and, there will
be no peaceful resolution of crisis in the Union.

The Convention supports the decisions and actions of the NLD and UNLD,
including Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD), not to participate in
the sham convention.

(8) The Convention strongly condemns the SPDC’s state terrorism upon Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters at Depayin on 30 May 2003, in which
hundreds of people were reportedly killed and injured. In contradiction to
its slogan about national harmony and unity, the SPDC is practicing
violence and terrorism to oppress and subjugate the country’s democracy
activists and ethnic nationalities. The Convention demands for an
immediate and impartial investigation into the massacre and take action
against perpetrators. It also calls upon the SPDC to immediately release
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners across the country,
including the ailing student leader Min Ko Naing now in Akyab jail.

(9) The Convention welcomes and thanks the United States and European
Union for their renewal and continued sanction against the SPDC. In view
of the absence of tangible and substantial efforts and measurable progress
toward transition to democracy, the Convention urges upon the
international community to take tougher political and economic sanctions
against SPDC. In this connection, the US and EU may formally place the
issue on the agenda of the U.N. Security Council, and work urgently toward
a resolution threatening credible sanctions against the Burmese regime
unless it initiates meaningful progress toward democracy

(10) The Convention notes that there are huge number of refugees from
Burma sheltering in all neighboring countries and urges upon the
international community, UN with UNHCR, and the host countries to help
them continue their peaceful living on humanitarian ground. Since 1948
about 1.5 million Rohingyas have been expelled or have fled the country
for their lives. Many of these uprooted people are taking shelter in
Bangladesh, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, other Middle-East countries,
Thailand and Malaysia. They are still waiting to return to their ancestral
homeland of Arakan with dignity and honor.

(11) The Convention expresses its serious concern over the continuing
human rights violations on the Burmese people and democracy activists,
particularly on the Rohingya and in areas of ethnic nationalities. Crimes
like extra judicial killings, summery executions, arbitrary arrests and
torture, humiliating restriction on the movement, forced labor, forced
relocation, confiscation of properties, destruction of settlements and
places of worship, mosques and religious schools are being perpetrated.
Rapes and molestation of womenfolk have become the unwritten but
institutionalized code of punishment by the military junta. The Convention
calls upon the SPDC to stop forthwith all its heinous actions against the
people.

(12) The Convention strongly condemns the SPDC for its continued
humiliating restrictions on the freedom movement and other socio-economic,
cultural and religious activities of the Rohingya. The movement
restriction imposed on the Rohingya is not acceptable to any living
creatures on earth. The Convention calls upon the junta to stop treating
the Rohingya as animals and ensure their human rights and freedom.

(13) The Convention proclaims that the people of Arakan with the
indigenous Rohingya have the right to own, develop and control their land
and territories, air, water, coastal sea, flora and fauna and other
resources, they have traditionally occupied or otherwise used. They have
complete right and ownership of the gas and petroleum in their homeland.

The Convention expresses its serious concern that the SPDC is now selling
the gas to serve its own purposes and the people of Arakan are not
benefiting from the huge gas reserve in their backyard. The Convention
urges upon all those interested in Arakan gas to comply with all civilized
norms and practices in order to serve the local people of the area, help
restore democracy with legitimate responsible government and thereafter
enter into gas deals and other projects with the informed consent of the
people.

(14) The Convention expresses its gratitude to neighboring Bangladesh for
providing food and shelter to our people. Being a neighboring Muslim
country affected by the Rohingya problem with a huge number of refugees
taking refuge on her soil over the decades, the Convention urges upon
democratic Bangladesh to review its policy toward military ruled Burma and
to play a ‘key role’ for a permanent solution of the Rohingya problem.
(15) The Conventions appeals to all neighboring countries, particularly
Bangladesh, India, China and Thailand to help restore democracy and human
rights in Burma.

(16) The Convention appeals to UN and its member states, including OIC and
ASEAN to mount effective pressure against the SPDC for the restoration of
democracy and human rights in Burma, in the interest of peace and
stability in the region.

_____________________________________

May 20, Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR)
Myanmar: Time to expel the generals

On 18 May 2004, Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt briefed the military
junta’s delegation which will attend the session on consideration of the
2nd periodic report of Myanmar by the United Nations Committee on the
Rights of the Child on 26 May 2004. The requirement of a briefing from the
military’s top honcho indicates obsession with power, authority and
control – the root cause of the political impasse in Myanmar.

The fear of losing power even at the junta's own choreographed pace of
national reconciliation is all pervading and therefore, the exclusion of
National League for Democracy and many ethnic nationality groups in the
ongoing national constitutional convention, the first step of the seven
points roadmap declared by General Khin Nyunt, which started on 17 May
2004. The NLD was forced to opt out of the talks as its leaders, Aung San
Suu Kyi and Vice Chairman Tin Oo, both of whom have been detained since
May 2003 are still under house arrest. The military also turned down the
NLD’s key demand to reopen all of its offices before the convention.
Currently, only the party's headquarter in Rangoon is open.

Is the Burmese military junta serious about its seven point road map
announced by Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt on 30 August 2003? The
seven point roadmap was basically an attempt to scuttle the roadmap
proposed by Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in July 2003 rather
than commitment for national reconciliation.

Nonetheless, the military junta rechristened as the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC) has so far managed to take the members of the
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) for a ride through its
“one step forward and two step backward policy” towards national
reconciliation. In a significant departure from its policy of
non-interference in the internal affairs of member-states, ASEAN Foreign
Ministers demanded the release of Aung San Suu Kyi at the June 2003 summit
at Phnom Penh. They later on tamely accepted Myanmar's claim that it is
committed to democracy at the Bali summit in October 2003. In addition to
"seven-point road map" to democracy, the ASEAN leaders also accepted the
junta's explanation that by moving Suu Kyi from a secret prison to
imprisonment in her home, it has made a major political concession to the
jailed leader. Consequently, additional sanctions by the United States
under the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act and the European Union after
the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi proved inadequate to flinch the military
generals.

A year has passed, yet Suu Kyi remains under house arrest. The UN Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Sergio Phinhero
visited the country in November 2003 followed by Amnesty International in
December 2003. The Secretary General’s Special Envoy, Ismail Rizali
visited in March 2004. The generals always gave the vague indication that
Suu Kyi would be released before the start of national convention. It is
clear that international community has been taken for a ride.

Human rights situation in Myanmar remains deplorable. The report of the
Special Rapporteur (E/CN.4/2004/33) is a clear testimony. In addition to
the events of 30 May 2003, the corresponding, subsequent and continuing
violations of human rights, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
in its resolution on the situtaion of human rights in Myanmar of 21 April
2004 expressed concerns about extrajudicial killings, rape and other forms
of sexual violence persistently carried out by members of the armed
forces, continuing use of torture, renewed instances of political arrests
and continuing detentions, including of prisoners whose sentences have
expired, prisoners held incommunicado while awaiting trial, forced
relocation, destruction of livelihoods and confiscations of land by the
armed forces, forced labour, including child labour, trafficking in
persons, denial of freedom of assembly, association, expression and
movement, discrimination and persecution on the basis of religious or
ethnic background, wide disrespect for the rule of law and lack of
independence of the judiciary, unsatisfactory conditions of detention,
systematic use of child soldiers and violations of the rights to an
adequate standard of living, such as the rights to food, medical care and
education. The majority of the victims belong to ethnic minorities, women
and children, especially in non-ceasefire areas. Gross and widespread
human rights violations have also caused large scale internal displacement
and exodus of refugees in neighbouring countries.

The exclusion of the NLD and the ethnic nationality groups clearly
indicates unwillingness of the military junta to engage in any substantive
reconciliation process which may diminish its absolute power. Therefore,
the conclusion of the Secretary General (E/CN.4/2004/30) that “It is high
time for the Government, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and ethnic nationality
representatives to set aside their differences, unite for the larger cause
of national reconciliation and commence substantive dialogue on ways to
achieve democratic transition in Myanmar” – was unfortunate. It is not Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi but the military generals who are opposed to national
reconciliation. In this context, the latest statement of the Secretary
General Kofi Annan of 17 May 2004 that “the release of Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi, who has clearly indicated her willingness to work with the
Government, and U Tin Oo, Deputy Chairman of the NLD, as well as the
lifting of the remaining restrictions on the NLD, are essential if the
international community is to recognize the national convention as a
legitimate forum for democratization and national reconciliation in
Myanmar” – is welcome.

As the SPDC initiated roadmap has failed at the outset, ASEAN members,
China and India, which engage in constructive engagement with the military
junta, need to change their policy. Burma’s Ambassador to the United
Kingdom, Dr Kyaw Win, dismissing the sanctions on Burma stated in an
interview to the BBC, "We (military junta) are not worried about US and
European sanctions, as trade with India, China and Thailand is already
good." Because of the economic and political patronage of the Burmese
dictatorship by the neighbouring countries, the sanctions of the European
Union and United States have so far proved ineffective.

Burmese Prime Minister Khin Nyunt is scheduled to start de-tour of ASEAN
countries to garner support for its national convention which has been
universally condemned; and is scheduled to meet Thai Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra on 4 June 2004. Prime Minister Shinawatra must
unequivocally convey the disapproval of international community and
absolute lack of credibility for any national convention which fails to
include NLD, Aung San Suu Kyi and the ethnic nationality groups.

At the same time, Prime Minister Shinawatra must also impress upon the
General Khin Nyunt that as the seven point road map has failed at the
outset, the process initiated under the “Forum on International Support
for National Reconciliation in Myanmar” will have to move forward with
inclusion of NLD and ethnic nationality groups. For any significant
national reconciliation, the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other
political leaders and participation of the NLD and the ethnic nationality
groups are fundamental. If the military generals refuse to engage in
national reconciliation processes facilitated by the United Nations and
the Forum on International Support for National Reconciliation in Myanmar,
time is also ripe for considering expulsion of Burma from the ASEAN.