BurmaNet News, January 27, 2005

[Editor]

January 27, 2005, Issue # 2644


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Rumors of bizarre gun battle in Rangoon
Kachin Post: Clash broke out within Burmese generals
AP: Convention under threat, says junta officer
AP: Burma bans poultry from bird flu countries
Narinjara: Riots spread near Kyauk Pru; Army besieges 3 Buddhist Monastery
in Arakan

ON THE BORDER
Kao Wao: A hundred families fled to Mon resettlement camp

HEALTH / AIDS
Myanmar Times via BBC: Burmese paper reports spread of dengue fever

BUSINESS
Myanmar Times via BBC: Burma announces changes to foreign exchange system

_____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

January 27, Irrawaddy
Rumors of bizarre gun battle in Rangoon - Aung Zaw

In the absence of a free press, Rangoon’s rumor mill is hyper-active even
in quiet times. But in recent days it has bordered on the bizarre, with
reports of a gun battle among the Burmese military regime’s top three
leaders. Adding fuel has been the mysterious public disappearance of one
of them.

High Noon in Rangoon

The capital’s tea shops—always centers of the rumor industry—have been
abuzz with talk of a bitter quarrel breaking out among junta leader
Snr-Gen Than Shwe, his number two Dep Snr-Gen Maung Aye and
newly-appointed Prime Minister Lt-Gen Soe Win. They drew their guns and
began shooting at each other during a meeting at the war office, the rumor
goes. Then their bodyguards also pulled out their guns and began shooting
to protect their bosses.

The only casualty, if the rumors are to be believed, was Maung Aye, who
was supposed to have been pronounced dead. While all this has yet to be
confirmed, what is known is that Soe Win has not been seen in public since
January 11. He is now rumored to be under house arrest — like his
predecessor Gen Khin Nyunt, who was arrested last October and accused of
corruption.

Diplomats in Rangoon and Bangkok, Thai officials and the Bangkok-based
press have been glued to the Rangoon scene, waiting for some real news.
“Have you heard the news of a gun battle?” this correspondent asked a
senior western diplomat in Rangoon on January 27. This prompted a chuckle,
and the diplomat said close friends had seen Maung Aye recently, alive and
well.

Some observers think the gun battle story was sparked by the death “on
duty” of Lt-Col Bo Win Tun, 42, Maung Aye’s personal assistant. His
funeral was held at Mingaladon military cemetery, on the outskirts of
Rangoon. Perhaps inevitably, many believe he was killed in the
cowboy-style military shoot out.

Army sources and some diplomats are sifting through two versions of the
officer’s death. Many Western diplomats think Bo Win Tun had surprised his
wife with another man when he returned to his house. Instead of killing
his wife, he turned his gun on himself, according to this version.

“But why does he have to kill himself?” asked Khin Maung Thwin, a Rangoon
lawyer. “I think he would rather kill his wife.” The lawyer added: “I
heard his body was found in his office, not in the house. So why would he
have to return to his office to kill himself?”

Some army sources said the colonel’s body was indeed found in a pool of
blood in his office, with a gunshot wound in his head.

Many Burmese, however, do not believe the unfaithful wife story. They
think he was killed in the reported gun battle among the regime’s top
leaders. One factor throwing doubt on the gun battle rumor is that while
the generals’ personal assistants are allowed to carry weapons in the war
office, the top brass themselves have to hand in their arms outside the
meeting room.

Bo Win Tun’s death and rumors of the shoot out coincided with a meeting of
army regional commanders in Rangoon. The meeting was held last week, and
was attended by all three leaders as well as other senior officers.

Whatever the truth behind the rumors, analysts in Rangoon believe a major
military reshuffle is looming. Some thought an announcement would be made
by the junta on Thursday night. Rangoon-based news wire journalists were
on full alert. One veteran journalist said he had been watching TV and
listening to radio news bulletins for weeks expecting such an
announcement. “I don’t want to miss anything,” he said.

The one solid fact so far is that Soe Win was last seen meeting officials
from India in Rangoon on January 11. While some western diplomats scoff at
the idea of a gun battle, they have been making serious attempts to locate
Soe Win. They believe the Prime Minister’s job has been shaky for a while,
and that top military brass were about to show him the door.

Soe Win is widely believed to have organized the physical attack on
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her convoy while traveling through
Depayin, Sagaing Division, in May 2003. The incident was quickly followed
by her return to house arrest.

Further confusion was thrown on the gun battle rumor by Rangoon’s official
newspapers yesterday, when all three regime leaders were reported to have
sent messages to India congratulating it on its 56th Anniversary of the
Republic Day. But many Burmese appeared to remain unconvinced that all was
well.

_____________________________________

January 26, The Kachin Post
Clash broke out within Burmese generals

A fresh shake-up has been broke out within top Burmese generals this
morning, according to the ceasefire groups in northern Burma.
Vice-Chairman of junta’s State Peace and Development Council Vice-Senior
General Maung Aye was rounded up at undisclosed location in capital
Rangoon and his office was closed down.

Rumor has been spreading that Minister for Home Affairs Maj-Gen Maung Oo
and Burma Army’s Yangon Command Commander Maj-Gen Myint Swe were wounded
after shooting broke out in Rangoon. Cesaefire groups believe that head of
the Burmese military government Senior General Than Shwe is taking planned
coup attempt on other generals.

Last Friday, Lt-Col Bo Win Tun, a personal assistant to Vice-Senior
General Maung Aye, was died “on duty”. Burmese authority gave no official
account on that. Rumors in Rangoon say that there has been planned
shake-up within Burma Army. Vice-Senior General Maung Aye serves as Deputy
Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services, and Commander-in-Chief (Army) of
Burma Army.

Burmese Prime Minister Lt-Gen Soe Win has also been missing since last
week on the Junta’s media; Myanmar TV, The New Light of Myanmar, Kye Mone
and Myanma Alin newspapers. Sources in Rangoon said he is believed to be
under house arrest.

However, junta’s mouthpiece The New Light of Myanmar today reports that
Senior General Than Shwe, Vice-Senior General Maung Aye, Lt-Gen Soe Win
and Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win sent facilitation letter to their
Indian counterparts on the occasion of 56th Anniversary of the Republic
Day of India.

Today’s meeting between Maj-Gen Maung Oo and KIO vice president Gen Gauri
Zau Seng has been canceled, according to the Kachin Independence
Organization.

Meanwhile, the trail of over 300 military intelligence officers, who were
arrested after the purge of intelligence chief and prime minister Gen Khin
Nyunt in last October, begins on Monday at Insein prison in Rangoon.

Diplomat sources in Rangoon said, Brig-Gen Myint Aung Zaw, former head of
the administration department at the Office of Chief of Military
Intelligence, or OCMI, is believed to have been tortured to dead and his
body was secretly cremated.

_____________________________________

January 27, Associated Press
Convention under threat, says junta officer

A top member of Burma’s ruling junta has claimed that foreign and domestic
forces are trying to derail the process of creating a new
constitution—something this tightly controlled country has not had since
the military seized power in 1988.

The remarks by Lt-Gen Thein Sein were reported by state-controlled media
Wednesday just a few weeks before the resumption of a
constitution-drafting National Convention.

Thein Sein, who holds the title of the junta’s “secretary-1,” said social
organizations should fight the dangers of “internal and external
destructionists who want to destroy the convention,” the Myanma Ahlin
newspaper reported.

Thein Sein, who made the remarks while speaking to a veterans’ group
Tuesday, did not mention any specific organizations or say what should be
done to combat them.

He said the constitutional convention is a crucial first step in a
seven-phase “road map” to becoming a democratic, developed nation.

Critics dismiss the convention because the military chose all its
delegates, and because the opposition National League for Democracy party,
or NLD— which won a general election in 1990 but was not allowed to take
power— is not taking part.

The NLD, headed by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, stayed away from the
convention because the government would not release her from house arrest
and refused to change some procedures the party called “undemocratic.”

The convention is set to resume on February 17 after a seven-month hiatus.
It had resumed is sessions on May 17 last year but adjourned after nearly
two months of closed-door discussions.

Burma has had no constitution since its 1974 charter was suspended after
the military took power in 1988.

_____________________________________

January 27, Associated Press
Burma bans poultry from bird flu countries

Burma has banned poultry imports from countries struck by bird flu, after
new outbreaks were discovered in Thailand and Vietnam, a livestock
official said Wednesday.

Burma has had no confirmed cases of bird flu.

Dr. Than Tun, director of the government’s Livestock Breeding and
Veterinary Department, said Burma has banned poultry imports from
countries where bird flu has been found.

New cases of bird flu among poultry have been reported in Thailand, where
the government has approved an emergency budget to deal with the outbreak.
In Vietnam, nine people have died from the H5N1 bird flu strain in recent
weeks.

“We closely monitor poultry farms near the border and have alerted farmers
to report to us if there is an unusual disease or increase of mortality
among chickens,” Dr. Than Tun said.


_____________________________________

January 27, Narinjara News
Riots spread near Kyauk Pru; Army besieges 3 Buddhist Monastery in Arakan

Dhaka: Religious rioting is now spreading a town near Kyauk Pru and 3
monasteries have been besieged by army personnel, said a Buddhist monk.

"The monks are not allowed to offer food from outside by authority and
army has now besieged 3 monasteries in Kyauk Pru", said U Shet Kinda from
a monastery of Akyah via a telephone interview.

Five students were also arrested for their involvement in the riot in
Kyauk Pru, the monk added.

Army personnel from LIB 34 have besieged 3 monasteries in Kyauk Pru, a
district town of Arakan, including Naga Pariyeti Satin Thike, Bura Gri,
and Yet Thi in hoping of prevent the riot from spreading.

However the religious riot has now spread near the towns of Rambree. Both
Kyauk Pru and Rambree are located on Rambree Island, one of Burma’s
biggest islands. There was not yet any information regarding the riot at
Rambree.

The riot began on January 20, before the Muslim religious festival,
Eid-ul-Azha, after a clash between several monks and a Muslim sweeper in
Kyauk Pru.

A video of the scene shows houses that were destroyed and so far 3 people
are reportedly killed in the riot.

The Burmese authority has prohibited any Muslims from traveling in all
townships of Arakan State.

In Buthi Daung and Maung Daw, both Muslim dominated areas, security has
been heavily tightened and Muslims are not allowed to visit between
villages.

_____________________________________

January 26, Kao Wao News Service
A hundred families fled to Mon resettlement camp - Nai Ong  Mon and Taramon

Sangkhalaburi: About a hundred families fled to Mon resettlement camp near
Thai Burma border during this month after their homes were destroyed by
Burma Army, Mon Relief and Development Committee reported.

The majority of newly arrived IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) are from
Pauk Pinkwin (Wae Kwao), Ma Kyi (Mang Glong) and Hoay Kyar villages of
southern Ye and Yebyu Townships after some houses were uprooted by the
Burma Army.

“My house and other six were destroyed and burnt down,” Mi Doot, an old
woman who recently arrived to the camp claimed. Another woman also said
that ten houses from her track were uprooted by the aggressive Infantry
Battalion during military operation to wipe out Mon armed group.

“The Army accused local villagers as rebel supporters and took their
furniture and wood to the military camps before they burned the houses,” a
member of Mon Relief and Development Committee told Kaowao.

“Many houses were built in traditional style several years ago with strong
hard wood, they brought furniture and wood to the military base before
burning our house,” the family who temporarily arrived at the camp said.

Some porters are used to carry ammunitions and food for the army. 
Chairman of Hle-Seik (Hnaek Kwi) and other village headmen were ordered to
provide porters for the LIB 408 led by Captain Nyi Nyi Htwe.

The local villagers also have to purchase daily ticket (travel allowance)
to work in their farms and plantations.  Civilians from Southern Ye are
suffering from brutal human right violations and oppression by the Burma
Army under the name of military offensive to annihilate the Mon armed
group led by Nai Hloin and Nai Bin.  The insurgents in turn use ambush
tactics and guerrilla warfare.  Conflict between the groups has been
raging now for about (8) years and local villagers are being driven out of
their homes.

Currently, Light Infantry Battalion No. 408, 304, and 309 are in charged
of operation in northern Yebyu and Infantry Battalion No. 31 is on duty in
southern Ye site.

_____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

January 26, Myanmar Times via BBC
Burmese paper reports spread of dengue fever - Nwe Nwe Aye

Rangoon: Increased cooperation from the public is needed to prevent the
environmental conditions in which mosquitoes bearing dengue haemorrhagic
fever can thrive, said a senior Health Ministry official.

The comment by Dr Saw Lwin, a director of the Department of Health,
follows the hospitalization of some young people with the disease in
Yangon Rangoon in recent months.

Dr Saw Lwin said cases of the disease had not waned since the end of the
rainy season, when the mosquito population was at its peak.

"It is important to take proactive measures to control the occurrence of
the disease before the next rainy season," he said.

Dr Saw Lwin said the best way to prevent dengue fever was to cover and
regularly change the water in tanks to ensure that they did not become
breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

Such an approach was preferable to using insecticides, which can affect
the environment, he said. Although dengue fever was previously assumed to
mainly affect children, the past two years had seen a rising incidence of
the disease among young people and adults in Yangon, Dr Saw Lwin said.

As with children, the death rate among adults can also be high unless they
receive early treatment, he said. Dr Win Naing, an assistant director at
the department, said dengue fever occurs throughout Myanmar Burma , except
in Chin and Kayah states.

There were more than 7000 reported cases of the disease in 2003, down
sharply on the 16,047 cases the previous year, he said. Dr Win Naing said
about half of cases occurred in Yangon Division.

People who move to Yangon from areas less prone to the disease are more
vulnerable because they have not developed resistance, he said.

The Ministry of Health, with the assistance of the World Health
Organization, is planning to provide insecticides to townships where
dengue fever cases have occurred.

A recent survey involving about 300 people in Dala, Insein and Hlaing
Tharyar townships found that most were not taking precautions to prevent
the disease even though they were aware how it was transmitted.

_____________________________________
BUSINESS

January 26, The Myanmar Times via BBC
Burma announces changes to foreign exchange system - May Thandar Win

Rangoon: Myanmar Burmese banks that handle foreign currency have since 1
January required that customer service fees be paid in US dollars or euros
rather than in kyats, the Ministry of Finance and Revenue announced last
week.

Under the new system the service fees do not change, but customers must
pay them in foreign currency, said an official from Myanma Investment and
Commercial Bank, one of the three financial institutions in the country
that handle foreign currency.

The other two are Myanma Foreign Trade Bank and Myanma Economic Bank.

These three banks and the Central Bank of Myanmar - all of which are owned
by the government - last March joined the Belgium-based SWIFT banking
transaction network.

SWIFT is a bank-owned cooperative with 7500 members in 200 countries that
facilitates the transfer of money between financial institutions

"We have to switch from kyats to dollars or euros as the banks that have
connected to the SWIFT network have to pay service fees in foreign
currency," said a bank official. "You have to pay for every transaction so
customers will not use the banks as often as before, and the trading cost
will be higher," said U Maung Shwe, a leading businessman in Yangon
Rangoon . "Previously, customers were charged in kyats calculated at a
rate of about 6 kyats to one US dollar," he said.

"At the open market rate, the new system will be about 140 times the
previous value," said another trader. "The new system is a small change
but we cannot predict how it will affect trade and the banking industry.
It will depend on other matters," said the trader.

"But we know trading costs will be higher, and that it is more complicated
I for us to use the euro for transactions," said the trader.

Many analysts said that Myanmar Burma has been able to use the SWIFT
network to minimize the effect of US sanctions, which among other things
seek to bar financial transactions to and from Myanmar using US dollars.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

January 27, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bloodthirsty government chokes Burma - Frida Ghitis

Bangkok --- Never again.

Those are the empty words that have long wafted in the rarified air of
high-level, important-sounding diplomatic gatherings; words made to sound
sincere by gifted speechwriters, crafted meticulously and couched in just
the right sentences so that the listener will feel that lump in his throat
and have to choke back tears.

Never again. The words came often on Monday, when the United Nations
gathered to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the
Auschwitz death camp, where as many as 1.5 million, mostly Jews, died in
gas chambers or from starvation at the hands of the Nazis in World War II.
Never again, they started saying almost 60 years ago. But somehow it took
60 years to say it officially in the U.N. General Assembly.

I read Monday's polished speeches in Thailand, as I tried to find out what
the tsunami wrought in nearby Burma, one of those lands where "never
again" means nothing at all.

The speechwriters know their craft. They managed to mention many of the
places where "never again" has long meant nothing. But they did not
mention Burma because the killing there is slower, slower than the
deliberate slaughter today in Darfur, the orgies of killings in Rwanda in
the '90s, or the madness that engulfed Cambodia in the '70s. Burma is
being slowly strangled by its own government. A once prosperous nation is
gasping for air.

A few years ago, I visited Burma --- renamed Myanmar by its brutal
dictators --- and discovered a land where people live in fear; where the
government does little more than strengthen its rule, enrich itself and
terrify the population. It's a land where a heroic woman, Nobel Prize
winner Aung San Suu Kyi, has spent most of the last nine years under
arrest, as have many of those chosen by their own people 15 years ago,
when the government made a mistake and allowed elections. I also found a
land whose suffering is all but forgotten by the rest of the world.

That's why when the tsunami swept across this region, killing more than
5,000 people on Thailand's Andaman Sea coast, a coast that continues on
Burma's side of the border, I worried about those living on Burma's
stretch of coast.

The Burmese government announced that just a few dozen people died there.
But, as one Burmese exile in Thailand told me, "If that's true, it's the
first time the Burmese government has spoken the truth."

So, I'm trying to find out the truth. I reached a European businessman
while he was in Burma. On his cellphone he told me the rumors swirling in
the streets, that more than 10,000 people died there during the tsunami. I
asked if I could speak with one of his friends. They all refused. He told
me they said the danger was not worth it, because "nobody cares what
happens in Burma."

I will continue trying to find out what the tsunami really did there, and
what the government has done to help the victims.

As I dig through the sparse information coming out of Burma, however, I
have found a muted sense of excitement. It turns out something happened in
Washington that stirred up political activists in Thailand and Rangoon.
Activists are elated by what they heard from Secretary of State-designee
Condoleezza Rice during her confirmation hearings. Rice actually mentioned
Burma as one of the six countries in her "outposts of tyranny."

The Burmese have had bitter experiences in their efforts to end decades of
tyranny, so they know better than to allow themselves any real optimism.
They don't expect much change in the international approach to their
plight --- an approach that has allowed their tragedy to continue
seemingly without end. Still, in a world that keeps promising never to
forget, it is nice to at least be remembered. But that's still a long way
from the true meaning of "never again."

Frida Ghitis is a writer living in Decatur.