BurmaNet News, September 16, 2004

[Editor]

September 16, 2004, Issue # 2560

INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar rebuts US charge it violates religious freedom
AP Worldstream: Myanmar opposition calls for immediate release of Suu Kyi
Irrawaddy: Press groups rally behind banned Burmese journal
Kaladan: Demolition of mosques in Northern Arakan

REGIONAL
Bangkok Post: Thailand, Burma to study feasibility of Salween dams

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: Asia-Europe summit must not fail over Myanmar
S.H.A.N.: Khin Nyunt shows up, we exit, declares EU
Irrawaddy: Germany grants aid to Burma

______________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

September 16, Agence France Presse
Myanmar rebuts US charge it violates religious freedom

Myanmar on Thursday vehemently rejected as irresponsible and insensitive a
US report which listed the military-run state as one of the world's worst
violators of religious freedom.

Myanmar joined other Asian states China, North Korea and Vietnam on the
blacklist drawn up by the State Department in its annual report on
international religious freedom released Wednesday.

The US and other governments "are irresponsibly accusing Myanmar of
exercising religious intolerance", the ruling junta said in a statement.

"The US State Department's allegations against Myanmar for the so-called
religious persecution reveal its lack of basic knowledge and
misperceptions regarding the situation and concept of religions in
Myanmar," it added.

"The government of Myanmar believes that it is absolutely improper and
insensitive to accuse other nations or governments on the basis of hearsay
evidence," it said.

The junta also said the US, while accusing Myanmar of religious
intolerance, was itself experiencing its own wrenching religious
conflicts, "reminding us of a popular western expression 'People in glass
houses shouldn't throw stones'."

Under US law, countries on the list -- which also includes Saudi Arabia,
Eritrea, Sudan and Iran -- could face US sanctions.

But Secretary of State Colin Powell said Washington would use diplomacy
with the listed nations including Myanmar to prod them to change their
policies.

"Let me emphasize that we will continue engaging the countries of
particular concern with whom we have bilateral relationships," Powell told
reporters.

The US report said Myanmar "systemically" restricted efforts by Buddhist
clergy to promote human rights and political freedom and discouraged or
prohibited minority religions from constructing new places of worship.

In some ethnic minority areas, it "coercively" promoted Buddhism over
other religions such as Christianity and Islam.

According to US figures, Myanmar's population is 89 percent Buddhist, four
percent Christian, four percent Muslim and one percent animist. Hinduism
and Judaism are also followed, the junta says.

____________________________________

September 16, Associated Press
Myanmar opposition calls for immediate release of Suu Kyi, others

Myanmar's pro-democracy groups on Thursday demanded the immediate release
of all political prisoners including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, and
said the military junta seems bent on destroying the opposition.

A 10-party coalition led by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party
also urged the government to reopen all political party offices and allow
freedom of political organization and expression.

The coalition, called the Committee Representing People's Representatives,
was set up as an alternative parliament on Sept. 16, 1988, to protest the
junta's refusal to yield power when the NLD won elections in 1990.

"We want the unconditional and immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi, Tin
Oo and political prisoners," the committee said in a statement.

It said the opposition parties have "constantly called for a dialogue to
solve the country's various problems. However, the (junta) has
consistently tried to weaken or disintegrate the political parties using
various means such as arresting, jailing and harassing their members."

The government has ignored the committee's annual meetings, and is also
expected to turn a deaf ear to its renewed demands for democracy.

Myanmar has been military-ruled since 1962. The current junta came to
power in 1988 after crushing a pro-democracy movement.

It has since jailed thousands of dissidents and closed party offices. Suu
Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has spent long periods under
house arrest and languishes there today, as does her party's vice
chairman, Tin Oo.

Thursday's statement from the Committee Representing People's
Representatives also dismissed as sham a "National Convention" that the
junta organized earlier this year and touted as the first step in a
seven-step "roadmap to democracy."

The convention, which aims to draft a new constitution, is in recess. The
NLD stayed away from it because the government wouldn't let Suu Kyi
attend.

"The National Convention is not a convention that deserves the confidence
of the people," the CRPR statement said.

"If the government wants to establish Myanmar as a democratic nation the
government should respect democratic rights and adopt democratic
practices," it said.

____________________________________

September 16, Irrawaddy
Press groups rally behind banned Burmese journal - Yeni

International and Burmese press freedom advocates Thursday called on
Burma’s military regime to lift a ban on a popular journal that covers
social, economic and philosophical issues.

On September 1, Burma’s censorship bureau closed the privately-owned
weekly publication Khitsan, for unknown reasons.

Today, Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, and the Burma Media Association,
or BMA, an independent organization established by Burmese journalists in
exile, released a statement calling on the Press Scrutiny Board, or PSB,
to reverse its decision. The reasons for the shutdown are unclear.

The joint statement said that Khitsan editor Kyaw Win was told by the PSB
that his journal was “pro-American”. It added that the board, which
monitors the content of every publication, gave no explanation of the ban.
The PSB is controlled by the junta’s military intelligence services and
headed by Maj Aye Htun.

“I think that one of the reasons Khitsan was shut down is because so many
loyal readers among Burmese intellectuals,” said a Rangoon-based
journalist, speaking on condition of anonymity. He added that the board
barred publication of four articles in the latest issue of Khitsan.

Several others in Rangoon, however, speculate that the journal was closed
because it has gained popularity among high-ranking military officers.

Khitsan airs liberal views on various social issues and current affairs
and has included the translated writings of US political scientists
Francis Fukuyama and Samuel Huntington. Its print-run is 3,000 copies.

The BMA said that in June, Kyaw Win filed a complaint to authorities after
propaganda columns appeared in official newspapers which credited the
Khitsan editor as the author. His protest went unanswered.

Shwe Pa Zun, a monthly magazine based in Rangoon, was also ordered to
close without reason in September. The journalist in Rangoon said that the
Shwe Pa Zun editor May Thajan Hein was informed of the closure in advance.
She is the daughter of Htun Htun Hein, an elected representative for Shan
State of the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy.

Another privately-owned journal, Khit-Thit, was recently warned by the PSB
about a recent cover which featured a picture of US combat troops from
World War II.

_____________________________________

September 16, Kaladan News
Demolition of mosques in Northern Arakan

Buthidaung: Recently a total of 9 mosques had been demolished while many
more are about to destroy completely in Arakan, said Rashid (nicknamed), a
villager of the locality of Ba Da Gar village tract in Buthidaung
Township, Arakan State.

The Nasaka troops had forced the villagers into demolishing 9 mosques on
12 and 13 August that include 1 from Kinusi, 2 from Fatiya, 4 from Panze,
1 from Tanzama Dia and 1 from Nan Mraung villages, he further said.

Nasaka officials said, “ It is not necessary to have many mosques in one
village, one big mosque is enough for prayers. Soon many mosques will be
demolished.”

The repeated destruction of mosques, other places of worship and religious
schools make the Muslims of Arakan upset and demoralized. But they are
helpless having no opportunity to protest against these actions of the
government, said another villager.

4 people from Rohingya Taung (Ywet Nyo Taung) village in Buthidaung
Township, who were earlier arrested for repairing the village mosque, were
sentenced to 5 years imprisonment in the first week of September 2004.
They are Mostafa, 50, former Chairman of the Village Peace and Development
Council (VPDC), Moulavi Arifullah, principal of a religious school, Hafez
Salamat Ullah and the incumbent VPDC Chairman of the village, said a
villager of Ywet Nyo Taung village.

Burma under military rule has been criticized by the US and international
community for abuses of religious freedom. The recent report of the
Christian Solidarity Worldwide: “BURMA: Religious freedom Survey, August
2004,” dated 17th August 2004 stated:

“The Christians have sometimes been forced to contribute financially to
the construction of Buddhist pagodas...Any construction or renovation for
religious purposes requires a permit. Since 1994, all applications for
permission for the construction of new church buildings have been denied.


Muslims have been targeted. A report released by Amnesty International
earlier this year, called ‘Myanmar: The Rohingya Minority – Fundamental
Rights Denied’, claims that the Muslim Rohingya people in Rakhine (Arakan)
State in western Burma, along the Bay of Bengal coast, are virtually
stateless. They are effectively denied their citizenship rights, freedom
of movement as severely restricted, and they are subjected to arbitrary
taxation, land confiscation, forced eviction, destruction of property and
forced labor. Thousands have fled across the border to Bangladesh.”

A trader said, “The SPDC officials and Nasaka forces used to launch
vitriolic attacks on the Rohingya villagers saying that the lands
belonging to their mosques, cemeteries and religious schools are fertile
and so are to be taken over for the benefit of the government.”

_____________________________________
REGIONAL

September 16, Bangkok Post
Thailand, Burma to study feasibility of Salween dams

Thailand and Burma will sign an agreement next month to study a proposal
for a massive hydroelectric development project in the Salween River
Basin, according to a high-ranking Thai energy official.

Thailand's Energy Ministry and Burma's Ministry of Electric Power agreed
in April to develop four dam projects at Hutgui, Upper Salween, Lower
Salween and Tanintharyi. The massive Upper Salween dam will generate an
estimated 5,600 megawatts of electricity, while the other three will
produce from 600-900 MW.

A joint working group was formed after both countries endorsed the Salween
proposal and agreed to conduct a feasibility study. The group will review
a proposal for an additional dam, at Tasang, also in the Salween River
Basin.

If the four dams are found to be economically viable, the undertaking will
be implemented as soon as possible so that electricity from the Salween
installations can be fed into the main power grid as early as 2011, said
Ministry of Energy vice-minister Viset Choopiban.

The study will cover construction costs and advance negotiations for
Thailand to purchase electricity from all five of the dam projects being
considered.

Initially, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) and the
Electricity Authority of Burma are to invest equally in the first four dam
projects, with Egat, on behalf of Thailand, agreeing to buy 4,000 MW of
electricity from the Salween dams, said Mr Viset.

A 1994 memorandum signed by both countries called for Thailand to buy
1,500 MW of electricity from four Burmese dams at Kok River, Hutgui,
Tasang and Kanbauk, starting in 2010.

The Tasang dam was postponed indefinitely after the economic crisis,
leaving both countries with no clear policy direction for pushing the
project ahead.

Mr Viset said the Tasang dam, with an initial output of about 200 MW,
would be developed ahead of the other four.

Meanwhile, Kraisi Karnasuta, Egat's governor, said the state utility will
hold talks with Lao electricity officials about buying electricity from
six new power plants, five of which will be hydroelectric-based.

Egat currently buys about 336 MW of electricity each year from Lao hydro
generating stations, said Mr Kraisi.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

September 16, Agence France Presse
Asia-Europe summit must not fail over Myanmar: Malaysia

ASEAN will not object a lower-level Myanmar delegation to the Asia-Europe
(ASEM) summit in Vietnam because it does not want it to fail, Malaysian
Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Thursday.

He was commenting on a remark by Thailand's Foreign Minister, Surakiart
Sathirathai, who said Wednesday the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) would be satisfied if Myanmar sent Foreign Minister Win Aung.

European Union (EU) states agreed earlier this month to attend the October
8-9 summit in Hanoi but said they did not want to see the top leaders of
emilitary-ruled Myanmar there.

"We do not want the Asia-Europe summit to fail. There is a bigger picture
for us to achieve. The level of representation is not the fundamental
issue," Syed Hamid told reporters.

"There is a need for Asia and Europe to work closely together for mutual
benefit."

But Syed Hamid said it was up to Myanmar to decide on the level of
representation and nobody should set conditions for the admission of new
members into the ASEM process.

ASEAN had wanted its newest members -- Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar -- to be
included in the summit in return for the participation of 10 new EU
members who joined in May.

The EU Monday warned Myanmar's top leaders not to try to attend the ASEM
summit, saying it could make the meeting "difficult" for all sides.

The EU has also threatened to tighten existing sanctions unless Yangon
takes steps to improve its human rights record.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, launched a national political convention
earlier this year which it billed as the first step in its "roadmap" to
democracy.

The earlier EU refusal to let Myanmar attend the summit -- grouping the EU
and 10 members of ASEAN plus China, Japan and South Korea -- had
threatened to scotch the meeting.

In particular the EU lamented the continued house arrest of Aung San Suu
Kyi, and Myanmar's refusal to allow her party, the National League for
Democracy an unfettered role in the convention.

Myanmar is due to take over the chair of ASEAN in 2006 despite showing
little progress in democratic reforms.

Syed Hamid said the topics to be discussed at the meeting included
economic issues, trade, investment, terrorism, education and culture.

"Europe can play a constructive role to promote the prosperity of our
area," he said.

_____________________________________

September 16, Shan Herald News Agency
Khin Nyunt shows up, we exit, declares EU

The European Union's current president, The Netherlands, has promised a
walk out from the Asia-Europe summit meeting in October if Burma's Prime
Minister Khin Nyunt turns up without making good its earlier promise to
release Aung San Suu Kyi, reports Sai Wansai, General Secretary of the
Shan Democratic Union, from Amsterdam:

Asked by Shan and Karen representatives on 10 September what EU would do,
if Gen Khin Nyunt, and not his foreign minister Win Aung, sits at ASEM to
be held in Hanoi, 8-9 October, Robert Milders, Director of Asia and
Oceania Department, replied, "We will walk out. It is as simple as that."

Another official explained later to Wansai and Saw Sarky, Karen National
Union's representative, that Vietnam, as the host country, must circulate
a list of delegates before the summit "and if the EU doesn't like the
junta's choice, it may as well choose to stay home."

Five days later, the EU foreign ministers agreed to tighten sanctions
against Burma if it does not release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi by
8 October.

In spite of its verbal warnings, the EU officials were also aware that
Rangoon had not shown one bit that it would be turning to a new coat. "The
SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) is like an uninterested soccer
player in the championship league," Milders observed. "What on earth is he
doing, if he is not interested to play ball?"

Nevertheless, he went on to explain that EU is exercising what he called
"a dual-track policy" which emphasizes "engagement" as well as "pressure",
in other words, "a mixture of carrots and sticks," in dealing with the
Burma issue.

"Engagement through Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is a
better way to deal with Burma," he argued, "and Asean is in a better
position to carry this out than the EU. In extension, China, Japan and the
countries within the region should also be included to pressure Burma for
democratic change."

The foreign ministry officials at the meeting were reportedly impressed by
the duo's "Dossier-File" presented to them. "The contents and the maps
which we used in explaining the situation were factual, clear and short to
the point," says Wansai. "They commented that it was a 'complex situation
made easy' presentation."

Aside from the expected call for European support for Tripartite Dialogue,
a nation-wide ceasefire and release of political prisoners including Aung
San Suu Kyi, the two representatives also urged the EU on the following
points, among others:

To demand Rangoon to endorse and facilitate a conference of five main
non-Burman groupings, comprising of the ceasefire armies, non-cease fire
armies, legal ethnic-based political parties, deregistered ethnic-based
political parities and exiled ethnic groups

To recognize the elected members of parliament as the legitimate
representatives of Burma

To implement a benchmark policy to encourage a process for democratization

On the sidelines, the twosome met Marino Busdachin, General Secretary of
the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization "the Shadow UN" and A.
Burhan, European representative of Indonesia's Megawati Sukarnoputri, who
talked about the problems surrounding Aceh, South Moluccas and West Papua
and the necessity to preserve the Indonesian unity through a federal
arrangement. "When we informed him of our position on genuine federalism,"
reports Wansai, "he was impressed and said we are on the same wavelength."

_____________________________________

September16, Irrawaddy
Germany grants aid to Burma - Aung Lwin Oo

Germany plans to approve a humanitarian aid package to Burma worth around
500,000 euro (US $608,000), according to a press release by the German
Embassy in Rangoon on Wednesday.

German Agro Action, or GAA, and Malteser Germany will sponsor the aid
project, which seeks to provide food and raise health standards, primarily
in the southern Rangoon township of Dawbon over the next two years.

“Until the end of May 2005, GAA will distribute supplementary rice,
lentils, peanut oil and sugar to pregnant and nursing women and offer
education on proper nutrition,” the statement read.

The project aims to provide food to as many as 6,000 primary school
children, water wells and latrines for Dawbon residents as well as basic
health care. The statement claimed that all necessary arrangements have
already been made with the local communities and authorities.

In July, the regime’s semi-official newspaper Myanmar Times reported that
Japan, the biggest creditor and aid donor to Burma, granted 344 million
yen (US $3.1 million) assistance to battle extensive erosion in central
Burma caused by deforestation and drought. The aid package was signed by
Japanese Ambassador to Burma Yuji Miyamoto under the Japanese government’s
grant.

Last year, Japan threatened to freeze financial aid to Burma unless
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was freed from house arrest. In 1988,
Japan suspended most humanitarian assistance to Burma but resumed aid in
1994.