BurmaNet News, April 2-4, 2005

[Editor]

April 4, 2005 Issue # 2689

Editor’s note: The Agence Farce Presse article (‘Than Shwe discovers joy
of cooking’) published on BurmaNet on April 1, 2005 was indeed a farce.
Apologies for any confusion caused.

INSIDE BURMA
DVB via BBC: Burma: Students, police clash in Monywa
DVB via BBC: Authorities said to detain Burmese pro-democracy MP
AP: 'Don't's' outnumber 'do's' at upcoming Myanmar water festival
Xinhua: Japan to aid Myanmar food projects

ON THE BORDER
Narinjara: A Burmese guerrilla group is suspected in the kidnapping of 5
Bangladeshis

BUSINESS / MONEY
AFP: Myanmar dismays investors with ban on foreign firms drilling onshore
Xinhua: Dhaka not ready to sign tri-nation gas pipeline memo

ASEAN
Nation: ASEAN Leadership: Kantathi for consensus
Philippine Daily Inquirer: Burma issue excluded from IPU meet

REGIONAL
AP: Myanmar prime minister to visit three ASEAN neighbors

INTERNATIONAL
Reuters: Myanmar says embassy official in U.S. absconds
Irrawaddy: Opposition groups slam “Burma Day”
Myanmar Times: Independent report challenges Europe to reassess Myanmar

OPINION / OTHER
Asian Wall Street Journal: Don't let Burma cast a stain over Asean

______________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

April 4, Democratic Voice of Burma via BBC
Burma: Students, police clash in Monywa

Newsreader: The SPDC State Peace and Development Council has stationed
many security forces in Monywa as clashes broke out between the students
and police at Monywa Institute of Economics. The clashes that broke out on
31 March night landed 10 students in hospital and the situation remains
complicated. DVB Democratic Voice of Burma correspondent Ko Khin Maung Soe
Minn filed this report.

Khin Maung Soe Minn: A tea shop owner near Eco-King students' hostel of
Monywa Institute of Economics said fully armed police attacked the
students from the hostel.

Tea shop owner: The students had a fight with policemen on the beat last
night, injuring one policeman. Later policemen in two Toyota Dyna light
trucks arrived and attacked the students from the hostel, injuring many
students.

Khin Maung Soe Minn: That was an eyewitness report of the incident. Many
Monywa Institute of Economics students have been treated at Monywa General
Hospital emergency ward and the doctor on duty explained about the
situation and where the students are from.

Emergency ward doctor: Yes, 14 students have been admitted and they
received many injuries. Most of them suffered from head, face, and chest
injuries. They are from Lashio, Wetlet, Shwebo, Pakokku, Kachin State, and
Mu-se. The students are all males. We are from the emergency ward and they
have all been transferred to the respective wards.

Khin Maung Soe Minn: That was the doctor on duty at Monywa General
Hospital emergency ward. The incident started when the students quarrelled
with local youths on the last day of the exams. Some monks joined the
local youths and as the situation became tense the police arrived and
charged towards the students, it has been learnt. DVB telephoned a police
officer on duty at the police station about the attack on the students.

Police officer: May I know who is speaking?

Khin Maung Soe Minn: I am from the Norway Broadcasting Station.

Police officer: No, we have no authority to say anything. But we know that
they are a rowdy bunch of kids. It has nothing to do with the police
force. We have no authority to say anything. They are doing their duty and
the allegation is untrue.

Khin Maung Soe Minn: You said it is untrue and at the same time you said
you had to stop the commotion because it is your duty. What are we suppose
to believe?

Police officer: In fact we are all doing our duty.

Khin Maung Soe Minn: That was a police officer from Monywa police station.
The problem is still not resolved and the situation remains tense with the
local youths and the monks on one side and the students from Monywa
Institute of Economics and Monywa College on the other side. Just as the
students destroyed the motorcycles that some brought to college from town,
some monks and the local people have destroyed the motorcycles belonging
to the students. Thus the authorities, in order to prevent the violence
from escalating, have stationed many security forces day and night at
Monywa Institute of Economics and Monywa College, it has been learnt.

______________________________________

April 2, Democratic Voice of Burma via BBC
Authorities said to detain Burmese pro-democracy MP

Newsreader: U Saw Hlaing, National League for Democracy NLD elected
representative from Indaw Township Constituency in Sagaing Division, was
arrested by the authorities on 30 March, it has been learnt.

NLD members told DVB Democratic Voice of Burma that he was arrested by the
Indaw Township police officer and Criminal Intelligence Department
personnel while his personal computer at his home was also confiscated. He
was arrested and sent to Katha jail that same evening, it is learnt.

The 49-year-old U Saw Hlaing has a long tradition of political activities
and this is the fifth time he has been arrested. He was first arrested in
1974 during the U Thant unrest demonstrations relating to funeral services
of late former UN secretary-general , followed by the arrests in 1990 for
trying to form a parallel government, in 1998 when the Committee
Representing People's Parliament, CRPP, was formed, and in connection with
30 May 2003 Tabayin incident.

Although he is currently being detained and interrogated at Katha jail, it
is unclear why he was arrested and on what charges.

U Saw Hlaing is the fourth elected representative to be arrested this
month March and those who were arrested before him are Sagaing Division
NLD chairman U Kyaw San, CRPP member and elected representative from
Buthidaung Township Constituency-1 in Arakan State U Kyaw Min, and NLD
elected representative from Taunggyi Township Constituency-1 in Shan State
U Kyaw Khin.

U Khun Tun Oo, elected representative from Hsipaw Township Constituency-1
in Shan State, was arrested earlier in February together with another Shan
leader. When DVB asked U Cin Sian Thang, CRPP member and elected
representative from Tiddim Township Constituency-1 in Chin State, about
the arrest of elected representatives, he answered as follows:

U Cin Sian Thang: The arrest of CRPP members U Khun Tun Oo and U Kyaw Min
has made me very sad although I know it is the State Peace and Development
Council's policy. Those arrested are the elected representatives and not
ordinary persons because they have been given the mandate by the people.
The CRPP has joined hands with the NLD to stop the arbitrary arrest of
CRPP members, to hold reconciliatory talks with the junta, and to begin
everything with a clean slate. I am disheartened because even that
approach was not accepted by the military junta.

______________________________________

April 2, Associated Press
'Don't's' outnumber 'do's' at upcoming Myanmar water festival

Yangon: The message from Myanmar's military government is clear:
merrymaking is OK, but not if it turns into mayhem.

At this month's "Thingyan" festival, for four days in the seasonal heat,
people splash friends and strangers alike with water to usher in Myanmar's
New Year.

But warnings in Saturday's state-run newspapers, including the English
language New Light of Myanmar, stressed that celebrations must be in
accordance with Myanmar traditions and values.

The list of rules set by the Yangon Division Peace and Development Council
seems unlikely to thrill youths who see the holiday as a rare occasion to
unwind in the tightly controlled nation.

Officially encouraged: upholding national culture.

Not to be tolerated: making remarks that could hurt national unity;
honking horns; shooting water from powerful pumps; selling alcohol from
cars and roadside; wearing "unbecoming clothing" contrary to Myanmar
tradition; and behaving impolitely in a manner contrary to Buddhist
teachings.

And if horseplay really gets out of hand, and celebrants engage in
activities that could hurt others - such as using compressors to send out
powerful jets of water, or hurling ice-filled water balloons around - they
could face three years' imprisonment.

Those making and supplying such water weapons could get five years.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been under virtually continuous military
rule since 1962, and the warnings probably reflect concern within the
government that public gatherings could turn into spontaneous anti-junta
protests.

The military government bans public assemblies without official
permission, but tolerates celebration of Thingyan.

______________________________________

April 4, Xinhua General News Service
Japan to aid Myanmar food projects

Yangon: The Japanese government will provide Myanmar with an aid of
500,000 US dollars through the UN World Food Program (WFP) to help the
country implement food security projects, a local press reported Monday.

About 180,000 population will be benefited from the Japanese aid which
will be used for buying over 1,000 tons of rice and other food made from
buckwheat, a kind of opium-poppy-substitute crop, to be supplied to
growers in Kokang region in northern Shan state, the Japanese Embassy was
quoted by the Myanmar Times as saying.

Japan, in cooperation with Myanmar, launched the buckwheat project in the
region in 1997 and the opium-substitute crop was exported to Japan for
producing soba noodle.

The crop was initially grown on only 1.62 hectares but the area has
increased to more than 1,620 hectares. The project involved about 5,000
local farmers.

Official statistics show that total opium-substitute crops cultivated area
in the Kokang region has reached over 17,520 hectares.

Cultivation of opium-substitute crops play a key role in tackling food
problem in Myanmar's poppy growing areas as well as in consolidating the
country's achievements made in drug control.

According to the sources, the WFP extends 3.6 million US dollars annually
for the emergency food security program in Myanmar. Last year, Japan, the
main donor, provided 300,000 dollars, while other donors include
Australia, Germany, Sweden, New Zealand, Switzerland and Thailand.

______________________________________
ON THE BORDER

April 4, Narinjara News
A Burmese guerrilla group is suspected in the kidnapping of 5 Bangladeshis

Dhaka: A guerrilla group from Burma is suspected in the kidnapping of 5
Bangladeshis from a work site in the Bandaban district town of Bangladesh
during the early hours of April 2, reported local sources.

According to an official source, up to eight criminals abducted the five
at gunpoint from a labour shed in Bangchhari, 15 km from the Roangchhari
Township's headquarters in Bandaban Hill district.

The abductees are said to be bulldozer-driver Mohammad Helal, his
assistant Mohammad Belal, and three unidentified indigenous locals.

No-one has yet claimed responsibility for the abduction, but the
authorities suspect that a guerrilla group from Burma has taken the
Bangladeshi people hostage for ransom.

A few days ago the guerrilla group demanded money from construction
firm-owner Kazi Mohotul Hossain, said the officials.

However, a former member of an Arakanese guerrilla group has said that it
is too early to release such details regarding the incident, because in
the Chittagong hill tract area there are not only guerrilla groups from
Burma but also local tribal insurgent groups. All groups have been
collecting ransom from local people, as well as from businessmen.

He added that some Bangladeshi criminal groups have at times operated
under false Arakanese group names, such as Arakan Army, to collect toll
money from local people.

High officials from both the Bangladesh Army and police departments have
visited the area in order to take necessary action.

______________________________________
BUSINESS / MONEY

April 3, Agence France Presse
Myanmar dismays investors with ban on foreign firms drilling onshore -
Pascale Trouillaud

Yangon: Myanmar's energy-hungry neighbors have an eager eye on its large
oil and gas reserves, but the ruling junta has dampened their enthusiasm
by barring foreign firms from onshore exploration and production.

The decision announced in March stumped energy experts left wondering if
the move wasn't inspired by a sudden bout of nationalism at top level or a
more rational attempt to keep control of its onshore, mainly oil reserves.

Until now, Myanmar's secretive military rulers had largely opened the
country's energy industry to foreign investors, while ensuring a strong
presence for the state-run Myanma (ATTN EDs: correct spelling) Oil and Gas
Enterprise (Moge) with production-sharing deals.

With economies booming in China and India, and Thailand bouncing back
strongly from the 1997 financial crisis, Myanmar sits in a strong position
to exploit soaring energy demands in the region.

Right now, drilling in Myanmar is concentrated mainly offshore, in the
Yetagun and Yadana natural gas fields.

Malaysia's Petronas, Japan's Nippon Oil and Thailand's PTTEP operate the
Yetagun field, while France's Total, US firm Unocal, and PTTEP run Yadana
field -- both of which have a projected 20 to 30 year life and send gas
mainly to Thailand.

A consortium led by South Korea's Daewoo has found another offshore gas
deposit near Sittwe, on the west coast in the Gulf of Bengal, that could
enter production in 2010 and would double the current potential of Yadana
and Yetagun with some nine trillion cubic feet of natural gas in two
blocks.

New Delhi has lobbied hard for an agreement to be signed this month with
Myanmar for a natural gas pipeline that would run through Bangladesh to
deliver gas to India.

But Myanmar's total known natural gas deposits are still modest, estimated
at about 20 trillion cubic feet -- roughly a third of Malaysian reserves
and a fifth of Indonesia's.

"All the blocks in Myanmar waters are pretty much taken," one foreign
expert said. "Until now, there was room for China and India, but now
there's not much left to claim."

That leaves Myanmar's onshore fields, which are all the more sought-after
since the offshore wells don't seem to hold any oil.

Australian, Canadian, French, Indian, Norwegian and Swiss interests either
have or were seeking to explore for onshore reservoirs, but China has the
biggest presence with four blocks for Sinopec and CNOOC.

India was about to sign its first onshore production sharing contract when
the new ruling was announced. Foreign minister Natwar Singh apparently
expressed India's displeasure at Yangon's sudden decision to bar foreign
firms during his visit here in late March.

Firms that had received permission for onshore exploration were seeking
clarification on the future of their investments.

Others that had already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in applying
for blocks were irate after receiving a letter from the energy ministry
seeking their "understanding ... for all the inconvenience" caused by the
new regulation.

"This is (junta leader) Than Shwe's decision, it came out of nowhere," one
western investor said. "The reason could be: 'Burma for the Burmese'," he
said, using the country's former name.

Myanmar wants to jack up production from 10,000 barrels per day to 50,000
bpd, but also apparently seeks to maintain control over its resources.

"Myanmar made the latest decision to develop the remaining onshore blocks
on its own since it already has the technical capability to do so, whereas
we don't have the technical expertise nor the vast investment needed to
develop the offshore reserves on our own", a Moge official told AFP on
condition of anonymity.

But experts said Moge doesn't have the financial or technical capacity for
onshore drilling either.

"The Moge can't do the work," the western investor said. "They don't have
the equipment, the expertise. The government has taken all the money from
gas and oil but it hasn't put it back in the industry."

Experts noted that the latest policy leaves Moge as the sole onshore
operator, with no joint production deals, but does not prevent the state
monopoly from subcontracting work to foreign firms.

Meanwhile, foreign investors struggle to find official interlocutors in
the secretive military regime.

"Everybody is trying to see the minister of energy," Brigadier General Lun
Thi, who is close to Than Shwe, the western investor said.
______________________________________

April 3, Xinhua General News Service
Dhaka not ready to sign tri-nation gas pipeline memo

Dhaka: Dhaka has decided not to host a meeting on April 20-21 for signing
of a memorandum of understanding on the proposed tri-nation gas pipeline
from Myanmar to India through Bangladesh.

Dhaka says it is yet not ready for the meeting as the three pre-
conditions put to India as quid pro quo still remain outstanding, The New
Age reported Sunday.

Dhaka will inform Yangon of its decision within a day or two, sources in
the Energy and Mineral Resources Division were quoted as saying.

Myanmar in a letter on Thursday informed Dhaka that Yangon had finalized
the draft of the memorandum, prepared by a working committee of experts
from the three countries in February, and offered a proposal for a meeting
in Dhaka on April 20 - 21 to sign the memorandum.

Sources in the Energy and mineral Resources Division said Dhaka wanted to
settle the conditions with India before inking the memorandum.

Dhaka wants India to provide transit facilities to import hydro-
electricity from Nepal and Bhutan, give scope for Bangladesh to trade with
the two countries and reduce trade imbalance between Bangladesh and India.

Although these conditions of Dhaka were incorporated in the draft memo in
Yangon meeting, the Indian external affairs ministry reportedly opposed
the inclusion of bilateral issue in the tripartite memo.

______________________________________
ASEAN

April 3, The Nation
ASEAN Leadership: Kantathi for consensus - Supalak Ganjanakhundee

Foreign minister, Cambodian counterpart agree on approach to Burma

Phnom Penh: Thailand and Cambodia want Asean to build a consensus on the
issue of Burma taking over leadership of the regional association next
year, Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon said Friday.

"We want Asean to seek a constructive solution [to the political deadlock
in Rangoon], and for Burma to become receptive to international opinion in
order to help it move toward democracy," he told reporters.

Kantathi, who is making his first official visit to Phnom Penh, was
speaking after exchanging views on Burma with his Cambodian counterpart,
Hor Namhong.

Asean, for which non-interference is a core principle, should handle the
issue with care, he said.

In recent months, lawmakers from Malaysia and the Philippines have both
tabled motions demanding that Asean deny the rotating chairmanship to
Burma if the junta fails to make progress on political reform.

Despite strong criticism from the international community over the slow
pace of democratisation, the junta last week ordered a halt in the
National Convention to allow rural members of the charter-drafting
assembly to return to their farms ahead of the monsoon season.

Malaysia and the Philippines have not yet formed official positions on the
issue but an Asean official said foreign ministers of the group would
discuss Burma when they meet in the Philippines on April 10-12.

Individual members of the group also have a significant role to play in
bringing about national reconciliation and democracy in Burma, Kantathi
said.

He said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen had informed him that Phnom Penh
might raise the issue when Burmese Prime Minister Soe Win visits Cambodia
for a two-day trip beginning on Friday of this week.

Hun Sen said earlier that any move to block Burma from taking over the
chair might violate Asean's principle of non-inference.

_____________________________________

April 4, Philippine Daily Inquirer
Burma issue excluded from IPU meet - TJ Burgonio

Parliamentarians from the Philippines and other member-countries of Asean
yesterday failed to include the issue of lack of democratic reforms in
Burma (Myanmar) as an "emergency item'' in the 112th Inter-Parliamentary
Union assembly which began last night.

But the parliamentarians from the Asean+3 Group (China, Japan and South
Korea) decided to press ahead with an earlier agreement to add a single
item-tsunamis-to the convention's agenda.

Legislators from the Philippines, buoyed by expressions of support from
their counterparts from Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia,
however, vowed to raise the Burma issue anew in tomorrow's meeting of the
Committee on Human Rights.

"It is not a loss. This is a process... This is the position that the
Philippine delegation has taken and we will continue to work on it,'' said
Senate President Franklin Drilon, who was nominated as the Philippine
Congress' representative to the committee.

"The issue of Myanmar will be taken up whether they like it or not. One of
the items of the IPU is the role of parliamentarians in human rights.
We'll raise it there,'' Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said.

Parliamentarians from Southeast Asia have adopted a resolution urging the
IPU to put pressure on Burma to institute reforms, including the release
of democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, prior to Burma's assumption of
Asean's rotating chairmanship next year.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate, remains under house arrest. She and other
leaders of the National League for Democracy won the 1990 national
elections by a landslide but were rounded up by the military junta which
sought to keep its grip on power.

Pimentel had pushed for the inclusion of the Burma issue as an "emergency
item'' in addition to tsunamis during the regular sessions, saying that
this was a problem that "confronts Asean as Asean.''

Only tsunamis

Singaporean Chew Heng Ching, chair of the Asean+3 Group meeting, however,
said they were standing by an earlier agreement to include only tsunamis,
particularly proposals for the establishment of an early warning system,
on the conference's agenda. "We should go by what has been tabled,'' he
said.

But Pimentel acknowledged that the inclusion of tsunamis in the
conference's agenda "had been decided a long time ago'' and that the rules
allow only one emergency item to be tackled.

The debt problem and Millennium Development Goals, HIV/AIDS, international
polices on the situation of women, war crimes, crimes against humanity,
genocide and terrorism, among others, top the agenda of the conference.

Drilon's dare

Drilon also challenged lawmakers to take a stand on unfair trade practices
and demand that rich nations play fair vis-a-vis poor nations.

He said the UN Millennium Development Goal of reducing world poverty by
half by 2015 would never be met unless developed countries adopted fair
trade practices.

"There would never be economic stability for as long as the gods of the
world economy continue to circumvent the rules of global trade. The poor
nations will never get out from the economic and social quagmire if the
clique of rich nations will continue to rig the trade game,'' he said.

He said the expansion of global wealth was only possible if "trade
distorting farm subsidies and tariffs are scrapped.''

Leftists' appeal

Leftist members of the House of Representatives, meanwhile, appealed to
the IPU delegates to help stop the violent attacks on militant political
parties and organizations in the country.

In a letter to the IPU delegates, party-list representatives from Bayan
Muna, Anakpawis and Gabriela asked the IPU delegates to write to President
Macapagal-Arroyo, expressing concern over the killings, abductions and
violent attacks against members of leftist groups.

The militant party-list representatives also asked the IPU delegates to
file a resolution before their respective parliaments to condemn the
killings and called on the Arroyo government to immediately investigate,
prosecute and punish the perpetrators. With a report from Delfin T.
Mallari Jr., PDI Southern Luzon Bureau

_____________________________________
REGIONAL

April 4, Associated Press
Myanmar prime minister to visit three ASEAN neighbors

Yangon: Myanmar's Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Soe Win will visit Laos, Vietnam
and Cambodia, a state-run newspaper said Monday, amid growing frustration
in Southeast Asia over the slow pace of democratic reform by the ruling
military.

The report in the Myanma Ahlin newspaper gave no further details, but
diplomatic sources said Soe Win would begin his tour Wednesday.

The junta's continued autocratic rule has been the subject of much recent
discussion in the region as Myanmar prepares to assume the revolving
chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations late next year.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has come under growing pressure in the
region to make democratic reforms and release political prisoners,
including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi who has been detained
since May 2003.

Some ASEAN member nations have voiced concerns that Myanmar's assumption
of the chair could damage the 10-nation bloc's reputation and the United
States has indicated it may boycott ASEAN meetings if Myanmar is allowed
to lead the group.

But Cambodia has already asserted that ASEAN should abide by its principle
of not interfering in the internal affairs of its members, and Vietnam and
Laos are unlikely to press hard for change in Myanmar.

Soe Win visited the Philippines in February, his first official visit to
an ASEAN member country since he took office last October. He replaced
Gen. Khin Nyunt who was sacked on charges of corruption and
insubordination.

Other ASEAN members are Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.

______________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

April 3, Reuters
Myanmar says embassy official in U.S. absconds

Yangon: A retired army officer attached to Myanmar's embassy in Washington
has absconded with his family, and may be seeking political asylum, an
official newspaper and political analysts said on Sunday.

"U Aung Lin Htut, a retired major, attached to the Myanmar embassy in
Washington...absconded with his wife Daw Tin Lay Nwe, one son, two
daughters and a maid, in an act of betrayal to the state on April 1,
2005," state-owned the New Light of Myanmar reported on Sunday.

Political analysts said the official was a former major in the military
intelligence unit of ousted Myanmar Prime Minister Khin Nyunt.

Nobody from the Myanmar Foreign Ministry or U.S. embassy in Yangon were
immediately available for comment.

Sources close to the Foreign Ministry said Aung Lin Htut had been planted
at the embassy by Khin Nyunt, who was purged in October, to spy on Myanmar
citizens and democracy activists abroad.

Analysts said it was the first apparent defection from the former Burma,
which continues to detain democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, in years.

"There were some similar cases when the ruling military government came to
power in 1988. Those who actively took part in the pro-democracy
demonstrations sought asylum in some western nations," one source said.

______________________________________

April 4, Irrawaddy
Opposition groups slam “Burma Day” - Yeni

Pro-democracy groups both inside and outside Burma have slammed tomorrow’s
European Commission-sponsored ‘Burma Day 2005’ in Brussels, likening it to
the military dictatorship’s own widely disparaged National Convention.

Central to the day’s proceedings is a controversial, EC-commisioned report
titled “Supporting Burma/Myanmar’s National Reconciliation Process:
Challenges and Opportunities” in which, among other measures, the lifting
of sanctions against Burma is advocated.

Opposition groups have dismissed the authors of the report, Robert Taylor
and Morten Pederson, as “military regime apologists.” Taylor is currently
a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, while
Pederson, is an analyst for the International Crisis Group.

Spokeperson of the main Burmese opposition party National League for
Democracy U Lwin told The Irrawaddy by phone on Monday, “The proposal of
lifting sanctions is not in the interests of Burmese people. It does not
take into account the reality of the Burmese political situation.”

The Burma Day conference has also been drawing fire from European and
International Trade Unions. “The union bodies have expressed their deep
concern over the contents of the report prepared for the meeting,” read a
statement from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions,
together with the World Confederation of Labour and the European Trade
Union Confederation . “The exclusion from the European Commission event of
most groups campaigning for democracy in Burma is also singled out for
criticism.”

“Most of the attendendees have been hand-picked,” said Nwe Aung, a
Germany-based Burmese activist. “The meeting looks like the junta’s
National Convention.” He went on to say that the organizers had rejected
his appeal to attend the meeting.

In contrast, Ross Dunkley, editor-in-chief of Burma’s semi-official,
government-backed newspaper The Myanmar Times, called it “a powerful and
compelling independent report
.for an alternative, sweeping approach on
how best to help Myanmar achieve reconciliation, develop its economy and
build a civil society.”

Burmese exiles and their supporters are understood to be organizing
protests in front of the EU Council building in Brussels on Tuesday.
______________________________________

March 28 – April 3, Myanmar Times
Independent report challenges Europe to reassess Myanmar - Ross Dunkley

Starting with the recognition of Myanmar as the official name of the
country, a powerful and compelling independent report commissioned by the
European Union has called for an alternative, sweeping approach on how
best to help Myanmar achieve national reconciliation, develop its economy
and build a civil society.

Its backbone emanates from recognition that the EU’s strategy in the past
15 years has been a failure - that now is the opportune time to move away
from a US-led ideology based on isolation and sanctions which have had
negative effects on the Myanmar people and society.

The report challenges the EU to take the unique opportunity and lead a
renewed and more effective effort to help Myanmar fulfil its aspiration
for a freer and better life.

It also highlights the vital importance of governance and economic factors
in generating the conditions for a sustainable political opening toward a
more democratic society.

Compiled by Professor Robert Taylor and Mr Morten Pederson, Myanmar
experts with 30 years experience, the paper has been circulated to all the
member government and the European Commission members concerned with aid,
development and foreign affairs.

It will be presented at an open Myanmar Day public meeting in Brussels on
5 April where the authors and others will speak.

Professor Taylor is a leading scholar and author on Myanmar, conducted
extensive research at Yangon University in 1978 and 1982 and has visited
Myanmar frequently since 1975. He is a former professor of Politics at the
University of London and is currently a Visiting Senior Research Fellow of
the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore.

Morten Pedersen works as a Senior Analyst for the International Crisis
Group and is a consultant on Myanmar to various governments and
international organisations.

In its essence, the two academics offer a critical assessment of EU policy
and recommend significant changes in policy beginning with recognition
that Myanmar is the official name of the country. “The insistence by
foreigners on using ‘Burma’ when the official name of the country is
Myanmar is an insult to the national pride of the leaders and only
reinforces their perception that European governments lack respect for
Myanmar and its people,” they said.

Other wide-reaching recommendations include:
- Resuming high level visits at a senior level
- Developing an assistance strategy with associated funding
- Lifting political constraints on aid
- Encouraging a normalisation of the role of international financial
institutions and UN agencies

“Many aspects of governance and life in general Myanmar have changed,” the
authors say in their report titled Supporting Myanmar’s National
Reconciliation Process: Challenges & Opportunities.

“Owing to extensive infrastructure development and the cessation of armed
hostilities in most parts of the country, Myanmar is now much more
physically and psychologically integrated than at any time in its past.

“These ceasefire agreements have given leaders on all sides an interest in
maintaining peace and stability. The country is also far more open to
foreign influence than previously and positive relationships have been
established with all of its neighbours,” said Dr Taylor and Mr Pedersen.

The report says that although there is no certain prescription for
managing transitions from a military government to multiparty elected
governments, global experience including that of Myanmar’s Asian
neighbours, demonstrates that the presence of certain precursors creates
the conditions for easier and more assured change. Comparative studies
show that countries which are riven with ethnic and religious conflict,
where the sense of national unity and identity is weak, have fraught
prospects for developing and sustaining democracy. Myanmar’s 50 years of
civil war and ethnic conflict provide infertile soil for the development
of a sustainable democracy.

“Civil society needs to be nurtured and developed to create the social
capital for democratic institutions to thrive,” the authors said.

“The current policies of the West, directed at isolating and undermining
the government, have in reality isolated and undermined the social and
economic institutions which the country requires if it is to become a
viable democracy.”

In their 32-page report the two academics put forward the view that the EU
and the international community should work to promote three longer term
process of change – political liberalisation, peace-building and
social-economic development. This, they say, will result in a more
meaningful and sustainable reform process.

“Opponents of the government argue that it lacks commitment to developing
the economy; some have even suggested that it is deliberately keeping the
people poor to ensure control. This is not borne out by observations on
the ground,” they said.

“The leaders are proud nationalists who wish to see their country catch up
with its neighbours in the region.

The report also calls for the participation of global finance institutions
(such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank) in Myanmar’s
reconstruction. Addressing macro-economic issues would remain extremely
limited without access to these global institutions, it noted.

Professor Taylor and Mr Pedersen urged the EU to adopt a fresh way of
thinking in order to advance the welfare of all the Myanmar people.

That, they say, requires a strategy which not only develops the economic
and political capacity of civil society but also reveals to the government
the advantages of opening up the political process.

______________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

April 1-3, Asian Wall Street Journal
Don't let Burma cast a stain over Asean - Zaid Ibrahim

When Burma was allowed to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
in 1997, we were promised that this would lead to better behavior by its
military rulers and improve the lives of the Burmese people. Sadly that
assumption has proved horribly wrong. Instead the situation has continued
to deteriorate in Burma in recent years, as demonstrated by the junta's
refusal to release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.

By allowing its policy of "constructive engagement" to be used as an
excuse for inaction, Asean shares in the responsibility for that
deterioration and the negative repercussions this has had throughout the
region. That's why we can no longer afford to be complacent on Burma. Last
November, parliamentarians from across the region took the unprecedented
step of crossing national and party boundaries to form the Asean
Inter-Parliamentary Caucus on Democracy in Myanmar. This brings together
national caucuses of legislators in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the
Philippines, together with members of the Singaporean and Cambodian
parliaments.

Our immediate objectives are to critically review Asean policy on Burma,
seek the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and demand that Burma is not allowed
to take up its scheduled chairmanship of Asean in July 2006 unless the
regime initiates fundamental, democratic reforms.

For too long we, as Burma's neighbors, have, together with its people,
suffered the consequences of its government's repressive policies.
Refugees fleeing the military regime have adversely affected our
economies, public-health systems, and efforts to stamp out human
trafficking. When Rangoon joined Asean in 1997, there were 210,000 Burmese
refugees and asylum seekers scattered throughout the region. Now there are
more than 500,000 according to official statistics, and probably hundreds
of thousands more who have not been officially counted. That is further
proof, if any is needed, of the failure of the policy of constructive
engagement as it has been practiced since Burma's admission.

Our youth are increasingly at risk of drug addiction from the massive flow
of narcotics, particularly amphetamine-type stimulants, from Burma. The
country's production and shipment of amphetamines has increased to 800
million pills a year, according to U.S. Government estimates, up from
several tens of thousands of tablets in 1997. It's clear that such
large-scale drug production could only be carried out with the complicity
of Burma's ruling generals. And the repercussions extend far beyond Asia.
A U.S. federal court in New York recently indicted eight drug traffickers
from Burma in absentia for importing $1 billion worth of heroin into the
U.S.

While Asean states suffer the consequences of the regime's actions, the
junta continues to treats the regional body with contempt. It slapped
Thailand in the face when it tried to build a diplomatic bridge between
the junta and the international community through an initiative known as
the Bangkok Process. Last November saw an even worse insult, when the
regime embarrassed member states by extending Aung San Suu Kyi's house
arrest just as they were agreeing to keep Burma off the agenda of a summit
of Asean leaders.

In the meantime, the situation inside Burma continues to further
deteriorate. Earlier this year, ten leaders of the ethnic Shan nationality
were detained on charges of treason, which could lead to sentences of life
imprisonment. This was a transparent attempt to prevent them from
participating in the National Convention charged with drafting a new
constitution, which the detained leaders had criticized for its
undemocratic procedures and objectives.

Asean has suffered the indignities imposed by the Burmese junta for too
long, and allowing it to assume the chairmanship next year will only make
the situation even worse. It would, for instance, be comparable to the
European Union having allowed Serbia to join and take on the presidency
when Slobodan Milosevic was still ruling the country. At one stroke, Asean
would see its credibility evaporate in the international arena. At a
practical level, it will be difficult to make any progress on pressing
issues under a Burmese presidency, since key partners will be reluctant to
send high-level delegations to key meetings in Rangoon.

Over the last decade, Asean has evolved into a more politically and
economically sophisticated body. As an organization that includes many
mature democracies, it is only right that the next stage in that evolution
should be to actively promote democracy in the region.

We make no apologies for our stand. To those who argue that the future of
Burma should be left to the Burmese people to decide, we say that we
agree. The Burmese people have clearly voted for democracy when the
country held free elections in 1990 and, in taking this stance, we are
simply trying to help allow them to decide their future.

Refusing to allow Burma to chair Asean next year will make it clear to the
military junta that they cannot continue to get away with impugnity with
breaking promises to the people of their country and the people of this
region.

Mr Ibrahim, president of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Caucus on Democracy
in Myanmar, will introduce a motion into the Malaysian Parliament later
this month seeking to bar Burma from chairing Asean.