BurmaNet News, May 21 - 24, 2004

[Editor]

May 21-24, 2004, Issue # 2481

"It has no weapons of mass destruction, no terrorist organizations, no
missile programs, no expansionist ambitions, and no animosity towards the
United States
So it is quite odd to hear that we pose an 'extraordinary
threat' to the most powerful nation on earth."
- Myanmar Information Sheet, May 24, 2004

INSIDE BURMA
AP: Myanmar junta tells U.S. to stop lecturing it about democracy
AFP: Myanmar's prime minister declares convention a success: report
AFP: Myanmar's constitutional talks ignored by impoverished population
Economist: A constitutional charade
Irrawaddy: SSNA says it will bail from NC if no room for compromise

ON THE BORDER
Nation: Clampdown ahead of worker registration

BUSINESS/MONEY
Xinhua: Malaysia seeks free trade with Myanmar
AFP: China-ASEAN reach basic consensus on world's largest free trade area

REGIONAL
IFI-Burma: Dams upstream and downstream

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: US hits out at Myanmar for leaving out opposition leaders from talks
Wave (NBC): Ky. Senator Teams With U2's Bono To Spread Democracy
AFP: Myanmar must admit it has forced labour problem: ILO
Kaladan: Burma Abusing Muslim Minority, Amnesty Says


INSIDE BURMA
______________________________________

May 24, Associated Press
Myanmar junta tells U.S. to stop lecturing it about democracy, cites Iraq
chaos

Yangon: Myanmar's military government on Monday told the United States to
stop lecturing it about democracy, saying the violent chaos in Iraq proves
the dangers of imposing change from outside.

The junta, which has drawn repeated international accusations of stifling
human rights and civic freedoms, said in a statement that it's committed
to restoring democracy - but at its own pace.

Myanmar's continuing convention to draft a new constitution "will lay the
foundation for elections and for a stable, democratic, and representative
nation," the statement said.

Washington and other critics have derided the convention as irrelevant
after the main pro-democracy opposition party, led by Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, boycotted it to protest against her continued
house arrest.

But the junta's statement said the closed-door convention, which started
May 17, fully represents Myanmar's people because 98.9 percent of the
invited delegates are taking part.

It also warned of the dangers of a push for democracy by "forces from the
outside."

"The recent developments in Iraq and Afghanistan are ... classic examples
of how wrong things could end up when the respective political histories,
cultures, and security needs of a country are ... ignored in making a
transition to democracy by forces from outside," the statement said.

It accused the United States of "creating more chaos, more violence and
more instability" in the Middle East through its attempts to transform
countries there.

The junta also criticized a May 17 White House statement calling Myanmar
an "unusual and extraordinary threat to American national security."

It said Myanmar is a primarily agrarian country living in harmony with its
neighbors.

"It has no weapons of mass destruction, no terrorist organizations, no
missile programs, no expansionist ambitions, and no animosity towards the
United States," the statement said.

"So it is quite odd to hear that we pose an 'extraordinary threat' to the
most powerful nation on earth," it said.

The statement called the constitutional constitution's success "crucial
for the future of Myanmar."

"The opportunity to maintain peace, security and stability in Myanmar will
be brought about by the people of Myanmar and must be home grown," it
said.

The junta says the National Convention is the first of seven steps in a
"road map" to democracy. It hasn't set a timetable for completing the
steps.

Myanmar has been military-ruled since 1962. The current junta came to
power in 1988 after crushing a pro-democracy movement. It called elections
in 1990, but refused to hand over power when Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy won in a landslide.

She has been kept under house arrest several times since then, and has now
been in detention for the past year.

_____________________________________

May 23, Agence France Presse
Myanmar's prime minister declares convention a success: report

Yangon: Myanmar Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt has hailed the nation's
constitutional convention as a success, state media said Sunday, despite a
boycott by the opposition and growing international criticism.

The premier described the convention -- which began on May 17 -- as a
manifestation of "unity and solidarity" among the nation's diverse ethnic
groups, according to the state-run New Light of Myanmar.

"Now the National Convention is in progress for perpetuation of the union
and for (the) formulation of stable better foundations," Nyunt was quoted
as saying.

The military junta's decision to go ahead with the convention to frame a
new constitution without involving Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy party (NLD) and key ethnic group representatives had come under
fire, including from the United Nations and some of Myanmar's Asian
neighbours.

Washington Friday dubbed the event a farce and accused the junta of
further smearing the military-run country's image by going ahead with the
convention without the opposition.

The criticism was delivered in separate statements from the White House
and the State Department which also called for Yangon to release all
political prisoners, including democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and U Tin
Oo.

Aung San Suu Kyi, whose NLD won 1990 elections but was never allowed to
rule, and her deputy, Tin Oo, remain under house arrest.

The junta has rejected calls for her release as one of the pre-conditions
by the opposition for attending the talks.

The convention is the first stage of the junta's seven-point "roadmap to
democracy" unveiled last year, which it claims will conclude with free
elections in a country ruled by the military for four decades.

Delegates have been tasked with setting out principles that would form the
basis of a new constitution for Myanmar, to replace one abolished in 1988
when the regime took power.

Myanmar's junta has set out strict rules surrounding the constitutional
talks, ordering up to 20 years in jail for anyone who criticises the
forum.

Distributing unauthorised information from the talks is also forbidden
under legislation passed after an earlier convention collapsed in 1996.

_____________________________________

May 23, Agence France Presse
Myanmar's constitutional talks ignored by impoverished population

Yangon: Myanmar's junta launched constitutional talks with great fanfare
last week despite an opposition boycott, but weary and oppressed citizens
say they have no hope the process will improve their lives.

Power cuts, spiralling prices of most commodities including food and fuel,
and long years of repressive military rule have left them despondent and
with little interest in the latest political drama.

"Who cares," said one of Yangon's day labourers, men who earn between 300
and 500 kyats (35-55 cents) for a day's work.

"We're more concerned with how we're going to pay for the extras as our
kids get ready to go back to school next month," he said of the convention
which began on May 17 without Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party.

Anxious to avoid the "desperation factor" that it knows could fuel
discontent even in an exhausted population, the generals who run Myanmar
subsidise the cost of rice to prevent food riots breaking out.

For 300 kyats, poor families can buy enough low-quality rice to feed
themselves for a day. Meat is off the menu -- the price of a chicken has
shot up to 3,000 kyats from about 1,500, well out of the reach of ordinary
citizens.

In the face of grinding poverty for urban dwellers, and a hardscrabble
existence for some 70 percent of the population who are farmers, political
freedom after four decades of military rule is only a dream.

Even Yangon's middle class are struggling to cope with daily eight-hour
power cuts which force many householders to stay up into the early hours
until supply resumes and they can pump water into their homes.

Since the start of the year, Myanmar's already woeful electricity
situation has worsened, as the government diverts power for construction
and beautification projects ahead of a regional summit to be held here in
2006.

To make a good impression for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) leaders, new buildings are being thrown up and parks are being
planted in the already unnervingly neat city.

"The power situation is definitely bad. Just driving around you can see
the traffic lights are out almost everywhere. Inflation has been a problem
here for several years now and it's not going away," said one political
observer.

It is no surprise then that the constitutional convention attended by
1,076 delegates, mostly handpicked by the regime and tasked with
establishing the framework for a new constitution, has made little impact.

"Most people think it's a farce, that it has no credibility whatsoever.
People are completely switched off to it," the observer said.

The convention is the first step in a so-called "roadmap to democracy"
unveiled last year after a crackdown on Aung San Suu Kyi's National League
Democracy (NLD).

But with the opposition staying away and its leader under house arrest,
the forum has been robbed of all credibility, say critics including the
United States which on Friday said it had further smeared Myanmar's
reputation.

"It lacks legitimacy, and therefore we deplore it," said State Department
spokesman Richard Boucher.

The government has tried to create excitement around the forum, flooding
the official press with endless details of the event and dedicating hours
of airtime on state television.

"On television every night there is two or two and a half hours of it.
People switch off or change the channel," said another Yangon-based
analyst.

Meanwhile, most are more concerned with their daily struggle for survival,
or for the better-off, trying to find enough fuel to put in their cars
after rationing was imposed to cope with a severe shortage.

The kyat currency, which is non-convertible but widely exchanged for
greenbacks on the black market, has shot up to 890 kyats to the dollar in
the last few days from 830 last week.

Dealers attributed the drop to the NLD boycott, but one business analyst
blamed meddling in the import-export sector by the government, which is
widely accused of having run the economy into the ground.

_____________________________________

May 22, The Economist
A constitutional charade

No junk food—and no democracy either

Yangon: In the small town of Nyaung Hna Pin, 1,076 delegates gathered this
week to draft a new constitution for Myanmar. The drafters, almost all of
them hand-picked by the country's military junta, are sequestered in a
conference centre surrounded by army bases. By law, they must not
criticise or even discuss the proceedings with outsiders. The generals
have helpfully laid out some guiding principles for the document,
including a prominent role for themselves in politics. The delegates have
even been told what to wear (national dress), what to eat (no junk food)
and when to shower (not late at night). Local television has shown them
nervously swiping at golf balls and singing quavering karaoke under the
watchful gaze of the top brass.

Myanmar went through a similar charade once before, in the 1990s. After
the National League for Democracy (NLD), the country's biggest
pro-democracy movement, won a landslide victory in 1990, the junta cited
the need to draft a new constitution as an excuse not to hand over power.
A similarly rigged convention then agreed to all manner of repressive
proposals such as reserving a quarter of seats in the national parliament
and a third in regional ones for the army. The NLD eventually walked out.
The junta then suspended the convention and reverted to its more familiar
mode of ruling by diktat and locking up all of its critics.

This time around, the NLD has boycotted the proceedings from the outset,
after the generals insisted that the new convention should pick up where
the old one let off. They also refused to release Aung San Suu Kyi, the
leader of the party and winner of the Nobel peace prize. Despite the NLD's
absence, however, the junta may still meet some opposition at the
convention. Representatives of various ethnic militias are attending, and
have already registered their displeasure with some of the generals'
ideas. These erstwhile rebels signed ceasefires with the government during
the 1990s, but still enjoy some autonomy and retain all their weapons. The
junta might find it hard to ignore their opinions, especially over the
question of federalism. The previous convention collapsed not just because
the NLD walked out, but also because various minority delegates began
crying foul.

But most observers believe that the regime is determined to ride roughshod
over all objections. It has produced a road map to democracy, which
envisages a referendum on the constitution, followed by new elections. The
government is already transforming its nationwide society of thuggish
enforcers, the Union Solidarity and Development Association, into a
political party, presumably with an eye to stealing any future elections.
Many of its members are delegates to the convention.

U Lwin, the spokesman of the NLD, says that outsiders must put more
pressure on the junta. But it is hard to imagine any country taking steps
severe enough to influence Myanmar's isolationist rulers. The European
Union and the United Nations have registered their dismay at the NLD's
absence from the convention. Even Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's prime
minister and a longstanding apologist for the generals, seemed astonished
and dismayed by their failure to release Miss Suu Kyi. George Bush renewed
American sanctions on Myanmar for another year on May 17th. But for the
past 14 years, all attempts to persuade the regime to surrender power have
come to naught.

_____________________________________

May 21, Irrawaddy
SSNA says it will bail from NC if no room for compromise - Naw Seng

The Shan State National Army or SSNA, a ceasefire group based in northern
Shan State, Burma, will walk out of the National Convention if it becomes
clear that none of its demands on the shape of the new constitution will
be met, according to the group’s liaison officer.

“We have a plan to walk out from the convention [tasked with drawing up a
new constitution] if the junta continues with all the 104 articles and six
objectives,” said the officer, who spoke by telephone from Rangoon on
condition of anonymity.

The articles and objectives in the current blueprint for the constitution
guarantee a central role for the military in future administrations. The
liaison officer alleged that most of the delegates were deferring to the
wishes of the government.

He said he will meet with his group on Sunday to discuss the National
Convention. Last Monday the organizers of the meeting confiscated cameras
and recorders from all delegates, he told The Irrawaddy.

The SSNA dispatched three representatives to the National Convention:
Lt-Col Hseng Zoom, Lt-Col Oom Khur and Sai Hseng Harn.

The Shan State National Army was formerly a part of the now defunct Mong
Tai Army, or MTA. The SSNA deserted from the MTA in 1995 and agreed a
ceasefire with Rangoon. The MTA then surrendered to the government of
Burma in January 1996 and its leader Khun Sa retired to Rangoon where his
family have reportedly developed significant business interests.

The SSNA’s leader Gun Yawd, who originally deserted with troops loyal to
him because he believed that Khun Sa intended to have him assassinated,
died in early April of this year. The group is now led by Col Sai Yi.

Last week, six ethnic ceasefire groups issued a joint statement that
called for discussions on amendments to the constitutional blueprint’s
articles and objectives. The communique claimed that the current draft
does not accord with democratic principles.


ON THE BORDER
_____________________________________

May 24, The Nation
Clampdown ahead of worker registration

Immigration police have been ordered to intensify screening at checkpoints
on the borders with Burma, Cambodia and Laos ahead of next month's
registration of illegal foreign workers.

The move aims to pre-empt an expected surge in the number of foreign
nationals entering the country ahead of the registration programme that
will give legal status to foreign nationals currently working here
illegally.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare will begin registering foreign
nationals working here illegally from June 15. The registration is one
step in a process of addressing problems associated with illegal labour.

Acting National Police chief General Sunthorn Saikwan recently ordered
Immigration officers to be on alert at all border checkpoints across the
country to prevent an influx of illegal workers, his spokesman,
Maj-General Pongsapat Pongcharoen, said yesterday.

Moreover, police would closely monitor areas at the borders with Burma,
Cambodia and Laos where illegal crossings are likely to occur, Pongsapat
said.

Immigration officers would work with the military to crack down on
shelters for illegal workers in 30 provinces, he added. Illegal workers as
well as their Thai employers, those sheltering them and those who helped
get them into the country would be arrested and charged, Pongsapat said.
Last year, 106,597 illegal workers - most from Burma, Cambodia and Laos -
were arrested and deported.

However, only 287 Thais were arrested for illegally employing foreign
nationals, 179 for providing them shelter and 125 for helping them enter
the country.


BUSINESS/MONEY
_____________________________________

May 24, Xinhua News Service
Malaysia seeks free trade with Myanmar

Yangon: Malaysia is seeking free trade with Myanmar to promote bilateral
trade cooperation via Penang Port, a local press reported Monday.

The Penang Port Authority (PPA) is calling for an early conclusion of an
agreement with Myanmar for this move to facilitate bilateral trade and
increase trade flexibility between the two countries, a PPA delegation,
who visited Yangon recently, was quoted by the Myanmar Times as saying.

The free trade between the two countries would also allow easier access to
Myanmar for Malaysian investors, the sources said.

Malaysia stands as Myanmar's major importing partner in terms of palm oil
and machinery. Myanmar imported over 62,000 tons of such oil from that
country in 2003 and over 3,800 tons in the first quarter of 2004,
according to the PPA statistics.

The PPA is scheduled to export more palm oil to Myanmar depending on
market demand, it disclosed.

Myanmar, in return, exports sea food, beans and pulses to Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Myanmar and Malaysia agreed in last February to set up a Joint
Commission for Bilateral Cooperation to promote the two countries'
bilateral cooperation including trade and economic cooperation.

Myanmar official figures show that the two countries' bilateral trade
volume stood over 360 million US dollars annually with Malaysia standing
as Myanmar's fifth largest trading partner after Thailand, China,
Singapore and India.

Myanmar-Malaysia bilateral trade also represents about 13 percent of
Myanmar's trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations which
accounts for 43 percent of Myanmar's foreign trade.

Meanwhile, Malaysia also stands as Myanmar's 4th largest foreign investor
after Singapore, Britain and Thailand with 660 million dollars in 33
projects as of the end of March 2003, taking up about 8 percent of the
total foreign investment in Myanmar, the figures reveal.

_____________________________________

May 21, Agence France Presse
China-ASEAN reach basic consensus on world's largest free trade area

Beijing: Negotiations on establishing a China-ASEAN free trade area are
set to wind up ahead of schedule next month after the parties reached a
basic consensus that would create the world's biggest trade zone, state
press reported Friday.

China and the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations were in
agreement on a trade arrangement which would cover 1.7 billion consumers
with a combined gross domestic product of two trillion dollars, the China
Daily said quoting sources close to the talks.

ASEAN, which hopes to have its own free trade area beginning 2010 and a
European-style single market 10 years later, currently only has plans in
the works with China, South Korea and India.

Agriculture, information and communication technologies, human resources
development, investment and the development of the Mekong River were
identified as priorities for co-operation between ASEAN and China, the
newspaper said.

Observers said the climate for the negotiations was good although some
reservations remain among a number of ASEAN nations -- Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand
and Vietnam.

"The technical negotiations are not the biggest block to the FTA (free
trade area), compared to worries about a 'China threat' in some ASEAN
member countries," the newspaper quoted Zhao Jinping, an official with
China's Development Research Centre of the State Council as saying.

China's trade with ASEAN hit a record high 78.25 billion dollars in 2003,
up 42.8 percent from 2002, according to official statistics from the
General Administration of Customs.

China's imports from ASEAN jumped 51.7 percent to 47.33 billion dollars
last year while exports grew at a slower pace of 31.1 percent to 30.93
billion dollars, leaving a trade deficit of 16.4 billion dollars.

Despite the increase in trade, Zhao said establishing a free trade area
would be more complex than that of the world's two other major commercial
zone agreements -- the European Union and the North American Free Trade
Agreement.

Asian countries differ significantly in terms of their social conditions,
he said.

Meanwhile, China and Singapore are expected to begin negotiations on a
free trade agreement in November, the city-state's Deputy Prime Minister
Lee Hsien Loong said earlier this month.

Australia and New Zealand are also in bilateral discussions with China on
similar trade links.


REGIONAL
_____________________________________

May 21, IFI-Burma
Dams upstream and downstream

[The following 3 articles were compiled by IFI-Burma – Ed]

Three items:

1. Dam builders damn Beijing's command, Shan Herald Agency for News, May
21, 2004
2. Dam work continues despite directive, South China Morning Post, May 19,
2004
3. The Governor urges to speed up the Salween dam's impact study, Phu Jad
Kan, May 17, 2004

IFI-Burma compiler's note:

The first two articles are about the dam planned on the Salween River
(Nujiang) in China.  The third article is about the two dams planned on
the Salween River on the Thai-Burmese border.  For more information, see
the Salween Watch website (www.salweenwatch.org).
______________________________

http://www.shanland.org/Environment/News_2004/Dam_builders_damn.htm
[Compiler's note: There is a map on the S.H.A.N. webpage]

Shan Herald Agency for News
21 May 2004, Environment

Dam builders damn Beijing's command

Despite Premier Wen Jiabao's February directive that work on the dam
projects stop to allow an assessment of their potential impact,
preparatory work on the Chinese part of the Salween, known there as Nu,
had been going around the clock, reported South China Morning Post,
Wednesday 19 May.

A day earlier, laborers were seen paving a road near the town of Liuku,
while 60 km upstream at Yabiluo, 10 surveyors were taking hydrological and
geological measurements.

Both sites are included in the advanced plans of the state-owned Huadian
Corporation, reputed as one of the big 5 power generation companies, for a
cascade of up to 13 dams, according to Watershed, a publication by
Bangkok-based environmental group, TERRA.

The Post quoted members of the Nujiang Community Party Committee as saying
the work at both sites was within the parameters of the premier's order.

The project has been strongly opposed by environmentalist and rights
groups both inside and outside China. The staunchest opposition outside
the Middle Kingdom is from those in downstream countries, namely, Burma
and Thailand, who had jointly presented a protest letter on 16 December.

Meanwhile, Yunnan Daily, 16 May, reported that 14th Hydropower Bureau had
signed an agreement with Dali municipal government on exploring wind
energy potential in Dali, known as the city of wind. If its wind power is
exploited, the power shortage will be substantially alleviated, says the
report.

The Nu-Salween has its birth-place in Tibet, known as the Roof of the
World and Source of Rivers. The Chinese government attaches great
importance to ecological improvement and environmental protection,
declares one of Beijing's information sheet that was released in March
2003.

______________________________

South China Morning Post. May 19, 2004.

Dam work continues despite directive
RAY CHEUNG in Nujiang county, Yunnan

Workers are labouring around the clock on a controversial hydroelectric
dam project in Yunnan province, despite Premier Wen Jiabao's order that
work stop to allow an assessment of the dam's potential impact.

Preparatory work was continuing on two sites for the dam on the Nu River
yesterday.

At Yabiluo, 10 surveyors from a Beijing-based company were taking
hydrological and geological measurements, while 60km downstream, near the
town of Liuku, labourers were paving a road on the eastern side of the
river bank.

The dam project, which would involve construction at 13 sites, seeks to
harness one of the mainland's last naturally flowing rivers to produce
more than 20 million kilowatts of electricity a year.

The provincial and local governments support the project as it will help
reduce poverty.

But opponents say the dam project will destroy thousands of rare and
endangered plants and animals and force the relocation of thousands of
people, most of them from western Yunnan's 22 ethnic minorities.

In an apparent victory for the project's opponents, Premier Wen in
February ordered work to be suspended until an impact assessment could be
carried out.

One of the surveyors at the Yabiluo site said they began work in March and
expected to remain there until June or July. If we are here, my guess is
the work will begin soon, said the surveyor.

People living near the site at Liuku said workers had been building a road
since November and completed their work last week with the help of survey
teams from the provincial capital, Kunming.

Opponents of the dam said the preparations were an attempt by the local
governments to create unstoppable momentum for the project. Premier Wen's
order prohibits actual project work, but allows for land surveying and
hydrological analysis.

Yu Xiaogang, director of the Kunming-based environmental group Green
Watershed and leader of the campaign against the dam project, said the
actions were outrageous.

Why are they doing this work now when there is a possibility the project
will be cancelled? It is irresponsible, said Mr Yu.

He said the building of a road to the Liuku site might violate the order
to stop work.

But members of the Nujiang Communist Party Committee said the work at both
sites was within the parameters of the order.

Duan Bin, director of the county propaganda section, said surveying at the
Yabiluo site was part of the required environmental impact assessment
report, while the road to Liuku was part of a larger transport corridor.

He added: We follow the law here.

Asked what would happen if the central government rejected the project, Mr
Duan said: We don't believe in hypothetical [situations].

______________________________

Phu Jad Kan newspaper

Monday 17 May 2004

The Governor urges to speed up the Salween dam's impact study

Border Troop are sent to speed up the survey of the impacts of the Salween
dams after the Governor of Mae Hong Son met with Burmese official. At
present, it is found that homes of ethnic people in Thailand, 121
families, will be flooded. And the whole villages on Burma side have to be
relocated.

On his visit to Rangoon on 6-11 May 2004, Mr Supoj Laowansiri, the
Governor of Mae Hong Son, met with the Burmese military leaders to discuss
the issues on trade and tourism. The Burmese official also showed the
interest of Salween dam project, which is included of the Upper Salween
dam (4,500 MW) and the Lower Salween dam (800 MW). The Salween dams are
also believed to boost as a tourism destination for Mae Hong Son.

Mr Supoj also order the 36th Ranger Regiment based in Mae Sariang district
to conduct the survey on the population of ethnic people whom would be
affected by the dams. The report will be sent to the Ministry of Interior
Affairs to prepare for future assistance measures. At the same time, he
warns NGOs to chiefly concern of the nation's interest because Mae Hong
Son is facing of insufficient electricity which slows down the economic
growth of the city.

Chief of the 36th Ranger Regiment reveals that the troop are assessing the
likely impact of two dams on communities along the Salween river. There
are 121 families, 892 people who live along the Salween River will be
affected. These people earn 2,000 baht per month. Moreover, villages at
Weiyji and the Burmese army bases and Karen National Union rebel bases
would be affected as they are located on the dam site.

Translated from Thai by Luntharimar Longcharoen, TERRA


INTERNATIONAL
_____________________________________

May 22, Agence France Presse
US hits out at Myanmar for leaving out opposition leaders from talks

Washington: The United States hit out at Myanmar Friday for holding a
national convention without key opposition and ethnic group leaders,
saying it further smeared the military-ruled country's image
internationally.

The White House and the State Department issued separate statements
branding the convention to frame a national constitution which began
Monday as a farce and pressed Yangon to release all political prisoners,
including democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo.

"An assembly such as the convention now underway that lacks participation
by delegates of the democratic opposition is not truly representative of
the people of Burma," the State Department said, using Myanmar's old name.

"It lacks legitimacy, and therefore we deplore it," said department
spokesman Richard Boucher.

The military junta's decision to go ahead with the convention to frame a
new constitution this week without involving Aung San Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy party and key ethnic group representatives had come
under fire, including from the United Nations and some of Myanmar's Asian
neighbours.

Aung San Suu Kyi, whose NLD won 1990 elections in Myanmar but was never
allowed to rule, and her deputy, Tin Oo, are under house arrest.

The junta has rejected calls for her release as one of the pre-conditions
by the opposition for attending the talks.

"We urge the authorities in Burma to react positively to the concerns of
the international community before yet another opportunity to bring peace,
security and prosperity in Burma is lost," Boucher said.

He said that a convention that did not include all sections of Myanmar
society "cannot make real progress toward democracy or national
reconciliation, nor can it help Burma repair its international
reputation."

The United States has launched diplomatic, trade and investment sanctions
against Myanmar.

President George W. Bush Monday renewed for another year a set of
sanctions that included a ban on new investments to Myanmar.

The White House said there had been no progress on the junta's so-called
road map for democracy.

"Advancement of national reconciliation and democracy requires the
inclusion of all political groups and genuine, transparent dialogue," it
said.

"The protection of the civil and political rights of the Burmese people is
also crucial."

The White House also said it wanted the United Nations and the
international community to continue to support the NLD and the Myanmar
people in their desire for democracy, national reconciliation, and
improved human rights.

The convention is the first stage of the junta's seven-point "roadmap to
democracy" unveiled last year, which it claims will conclude with free
elections in a country ruled by the military for four decades.

Delegates have been tasked with setting out principles that would form the
basis of a new constitution for Myanmar, to replace one abolished in 1988
when the regime took power.

Reports say Myanmar's junta has set out strict rules surrounding the
constitutional talks, ordering up to 20 years in jail for anyone who
criticises the forum.

Distributing unauthorised information from the talks is also forbidden
under legislation passed after an earlier convention collapsed in 1996.

_____________________________________

May 21, Agence France Presse
U2 rocker Bono slams Europe for doing little against Myanmar - P.
Parameswaran

Washington: Irish rock star and political activist Bono told a US
Congressional hearing he was ashamed by Europe's lukewarm support for
punitive sanctions against military-ruled Myanmar.

The United States has launched diplomatic, trade and investment sanctions
against Myanmar, where the military junta launched a national convention
this week without first releasing democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"I am deeply ashamed as a European of the pitiful lack of volume of
support for her (Aung San Suu Kyi)," Bono, the lead singer in superstar
band U2, told a Senate foreign operations appropriations subcommittee
hearing this week.

A transcript of the testimony was made available to AFP Thursday.

U2 dedicated the hit song "Walk On" to Aung San Suu Kyi in its last album,
and all U2 music is banned by the Myanmar regime.

The Senate panel, chaired by the Republican party's Majority Whip Senator
Mitch McConnell, had asked Bono his thoughts on Myanmar, the efficacy of
sanctions, and a lack of European support for them.

Bono said British Prime Minister Tony Blair "has been doing some good
work, but we need more and we need the rest of Europe to pay attention" to
the situation in Myanmar.

He said he would personally raise the issue with Roman Prodi, the head of
the European Commission.

At the US Congress, human rights groups held briefings and screened films
on the plight of what could be up to 1.2 million internally displaced
people and about 600,000 Mynmar refugees outside the country, largely in
Thailand.

Footages of forced labour and other abuses committed by the military were
shown, accompanied by harrowing testimonies of victims.

"In the last few weeks, there have been increased crackdowns on Myanmar
activists in Thailand in an attempt to curtail their democratic activities
against the Myanmar government," said Veronika Martin, policy analyst with
the US Committee for Refugees.

Backing US sanctions and calling for more "punitive" action from the
Europeans, Bono said: "I think with Burma (Myanmar's old name) we have a
particular evil to deal with that needs a different and stronger
response..

He said the junta "should feel our mettle" and "they cannot walk over"
Aung San Suu Kyi "who is a true hero."

US President George W. Bush Monday extended for another year sanctions on
Myanmar "for large-scale repression of the democratic opposition.

They included a ban on new US investments to the Southeast Asian state.

Aside from that, the US sanctions include a ban on imports, an arms
embargo, suspension of all bilateral aid, visa restrictions on Myanmar's
senior government officials.

Since 1990, the United States has kept its diplomatic representation in
Myanmar at the charge d'affairs level.

The European Union's sanctions on Myanmar include a visa ban on those
linked to the military junta, an asset freeze and an arms embargo.

Some countries within the EU have prevented the body from banning new
investment and trade with the country.

The EU has however refused to have any dealings with the junta,
overshadowing regional talks between the group and Asian countries.

Asian countries are threatening to block admittance to an October
Asia-Europe summit in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi by the EU's 10 new
members unless the bloc allows Myanmar to attend.

But the EU has made clear that Suu Kyi needs to be released and included
in substantive talks with the Myanmar regime as precondition for allowing
junta officals to attend the Vietnam gathering.

_____________________________________

May 21, Agence France Presse
Myanmar must admit it has forced labour problem: ILO

Bangkok: Myanmar must admit it has a forced labour problem and discipline
or jail violators before the military government can narrow its
"credibility gap" over the issue, the International Labour Organisation
representative to Yangon said Friday.

The junta must also review the sentences of three people jailed for
suspected contacts with the ILO before the UN agency implements a plan to
tackle the problem, ILO liaison officer Richard Horsey said.

"The difficulty I see is that the government has not yet found a single
case of forced labour," Horsey, who has served in Yangon since 2002 when
the ILO was allowed to station a representative there, told reporters in
the Thai capital.

The ILO has heard forced-labour complaints from 35 individuals since
January and passed on more than half to the government, Horsey said.

In some cases local officials were reprimanded or punished
administratively and the abuse stopped, but the government "has not
admitted that any of these cases constitute cases of forced labour," he
said.

"And I believe that until they do that, there will be a credibility gap."

The ILO's executive director for work standards Kari Tapiola said
Wednesday forced labour was "widespread" in Myanmar.

Much of the problem is fueled by local military commanders who order
village headmen to pick youths and adults to serve as porters or
militiamen in the army, or by state officials who demand villagers work
for no pay on projects such as building roads.

Recent incidents including November death sentences for three men linked
to the ILO have thrown the junta's commitment to labour reform into
question.

The junta's announcement earlier this month that it had cut the sentences
to three years in prison for two of the men, and life for the third was
"not enough to solve the issue," Horsey said.

"Once this is solved then we feel we can probably go ahead" with the
anti-forced labour plan.

The plan was put forward on May 28, 2003 but was shelved two days later
when democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was detained. She remains under house
arrest.

In March Yangon agreed to allow an independent ILO mediator, known as a
facilitator, to assist victims of forced labour as part of the plan but he
has yet to begin his work, the ILO said.

Horsey said the government had taken positive steps in some cases,
including returning to their families two minors who were forcibly
recruited in the army, and launching investigations.

_____________________________________

May 22, Kaladan News
Burma Abusing Muslim Minority, Amnesty Says

Chitagong: The Muslim ethnic minority (Rohingyas) continue to suffer from
multiple restriction and human rights violations, said Amnesty
International on Wednesday, May 19, 2004.

They, generally known as the Rohingyas, who live in northern Arakan
(Rakhine) State, western Burma are often forced to work on roads and at
military camps and they are also subjected to forced eviction and house
destruction, land confiscation and various forms of extortion and
arbitrary taxation including financial restrictions on marriage, the
rights group said.

Amnesty called on the junta to ease its discrimination against the group,
including harsh citizenship laws, which excluded many Rohingyas from being
naturalized even tough their ancestors have reportedly lived in the
country for generations.

Amnesty International is concerned that the local Burma authorities’
policies concerning the Rohingya population in the northern Arakan State
result in violations of a wide range of their basic human rights. While
the general human rights in Burma are far from satisfactory, the Rohingyas
suffer from specific deeply discriminatory policies targeting them. Other
ethnic nationalities in the northern Arakan State are not subjected to the
same extent to such restrictions and human rights violations.

The vast majority of Rohingyas are effectively denied Burmese citizenship,
rendering them stateless, Amnesty said.

Rohingyas are often unable to seek employment outside their village or
trade goods and produce unless they have official permission and obtain a
pass, which they must pay for and often cannot afford. As an estimated
half of the Rohingyas are poor day laborers, these restrictions on their
movement also greatly affect their ability to find work in other villages
or towns.

As the junta doesn’t recognize the Rohingyas as an ethnic group, they have
not been invited to the national convention currently underway in Burma
aimed at forging a new constitution ahead of potential elections.