BurmaNet News, June 28, 2005

[Editor]

June 28, 2005 Issue # 2749


INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima: Brokers engaged for forced recruitment in the army
Independent Mon News Agency: Pegu residents patrol town under forced labor
DVB: Reconciliation in Burma must continue despite junta’s refusal
Irrawaddy: Burma to get early warning system

ON THE BORDER
Narinjara: Burma close watch on alleged American naval base in Bangladesh

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: Forgotten Burmese victims of tsunami rebuild Thai resorts
AFP: Rights groups urge Malaysia to free 68 Myanmar pro-democracy activists
Thai Press Reports: Cambodian officials voice support for Myanmar's
opposition leader

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Russia, China refuse to discuss Burma
Irrawaddy: Burma Office in Japan says aid won’t reach people

OPINION / OTHER
The Boston Globe: The war on Burma’s women

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INSIDE BURMA

June 28, Mizzima
Brokers engaged for forced recruitment in the army - Myo Gyi

Army battalions under the Northeastern Region Command have been using
brokers for conscripting people into the ranks as they were forced to
recruit 72 new soldiers every year, said a local man.

With orders from the Military headquarters for conscription of at least
six new soldiers per month, youths in the Northern Shan state were the
first to be targeted.

"Brokers target youths, orphans and widowers from Palaung, Kachin and Shan
villages and lure them with a stipend of up to 20,000 Kyats and two bags
of rice per month for joining the army. But in reality, these youths don't
get anything and it is rather the brokers who get richer with 5000 Kyats
and a bag of rice per month. If these new recruitees want to leave the
army they have to find a replacement. The battalions which get more people
make trading with other battalions so that the practice of forced
conscription flourishes," said a villager who asked not to be named.

As the military junta goes for random recruitment of soldiers, it does not
even set a minimum age limit. "Some ethnic youths cannot even tell their
ages. But the military authorities accept them," he added.

Battalion Commanders failing to get new recruits as per the order of the
military headquarters are not referred by their regional commander for
promotion to higher ranks, said a Sino border military analyst.

There are 21 battalions under the Northeastern Region command. Reportedly,
seven battalions are increasing since mid 2004.

With the effort for such forced recruitments being on the rise, there is a
high incidence of desertion from the army. This has prompted the
authorities to put up signboards in Kyethi and Laycha villages issuing
orders for the arrest of the deserters.

____________________________________

July 27, Independent Mon News Agency
Pegu residents patrol town under forced labor - Nai Chan Mon

Residents of Pegu town, situated east of Burma’s capital, Rangoon, have
been forced to launch town security patrols instead of soldiers and
militias, according to the residents. The State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC) township authorities force them to patrol "at least one
time per month.

Sometimes, we have been forced three or four times to patrol in the town
quarter,” said a resident who claimed he has to hire a substitute for 500
Kyat per round instead of his family if they cannot patrol when its their
turn in the rotation. “We had paid 50 Kyat to a Township Peace and
Development Council (TPDC) officer every month as a security fee,” a woman
resident added.

At least three to five people per day from her town quarter now have to
patrol a small road entering the main town. They have to stay in a small
hut built beside the road. The TPDC has forced local residents to take
responsibility for patrols for more than a year.

If the capital Rangoon faces security conditions, there is often more use
of forced labor for security patrol services, the residents said. “If a
bomb exploded in the capital (Rangoon), authorities checked more on
civilians and forced us to patrol more,” a Pegu community leader said.
"After the last explosion in Rangoon, the TPDC checked on all families and
residences in town, climbing from one house to another checking civilians’
belongings. “During the checking process, if a family member of yours
wasn't at home, you were interrogated about where your son or daughter
went, what was their purpose for traveling
 You would be interrogated
seriously," he added. "Although authorities put tight security on Pegu
every time after a bomb explosion happens in the capital, no culprit has
ever been arrested in Pegu," the leader said.

After the May 17 bomb blast in Rangoon, the SPDC’s Rangoon Division
Mililtary Command launched a military training on the Zae-mile-gone (10
Mile Hill) ground near Pegu, with so many gun sounds that local residents
were frightened into thinking there was a war.

Although the International Labor Organization (ILO) is instructing and
assisting the SPDC regime to eradicate use of forced labor, Pegu Township
authorities still force civilians to perform duties on behalf of
government servants, the soldiers and militias in the armed forces,
tatmadaw or Burmese Army.

____________________________________

June 27, Democratic Voice of Burma
Reconciliation in Burma must continue despite junta’s refusal

Responsible people and fund-providers for National Reconciliation
Programme (NRP) in Burma met with exiled pro-democracy activists during a
meeting at an unidentified location on the Thai-Burma border on 22 June.

The meeting was attended by around 100 representatives from ethnic
national groups and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) based on the
Thai-Burma border and they discussed the funding of the national
reconciliation projects.

One of the NRP officials and the director of Euro Burma Office, Harn
Yawnghwe told DVB that all the delegates tried to find a way to tripartite
talks leading to democracy in Burma and make preparations for the future.

Harn admitted there has been no political progress within Burma because
the ruling junta, State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) is refusing
to talk to the opposition seriously. But he insisted that the junta could
not last forever as there is going to be inevitable changes in Burma in
the future.

“When it happens thus, if there is no preparation on our part and there is
no understanding among us, there could be big problems,” said Harn,
pointing out the ethnic diversity in Burma. “Therefore, I urged them to
prepare and learn to solve problems when they arise and to prepare basic
constitutions.”

____________________________________

June 28, Irrawaddy
Burma to get early warning system

A million-dollar tsunami warning system is to be built in Burma within
three years, a semi-official newspaper reported on Sunday. The Myanmar
Times quoted the head of Burma’s meteorology department, San Hla Thaw, as
saying that the department will expand the existing communication network
and generate public warnings at times of natural disaster. The system will
also include new radio stations, which will broadcast warnings to the
country’s coastal areas.

The project, which began in March, is expected to gain adequate funding.
Burma will seek assistance for the project at the 23rd meeting of the
International Governmental Oceanographic Commission in Paris, which is
scheduled to run from June 21 to 30.

The government’s official death toll from the December 26 tsunami stands
at 61, while a still unknown number of Burmese migrants perished in
neighboring Thailand.

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ON THE BORDER

June 2, Narinjara News
Burma close watch on alleged American naval base in Bangladesh

Cox’sbazar: Burmese military personals in western Burma are keeping a
close watch on Onn kyunt Island, Known as St. Martin’s Island, in southern
Bangladesh bordering Burma. The watch resulted from a rumour spreading in
the border area that an American naval base is being built at Onn Kyunt
Island.

The Nasaka Regional 8, the Burmese border se curity, based in Inn Dinn,
has been gathering information on the local rumour as well as the ship
movement around the Island.

The Burmese authority believes that Onn Kyunt Island has been borrowed by
the American and soon there will be American navy ships will be
trafficking around the Island soon, said an Arakanese person closed to
Nasaka.

According a Burmese government official the Nasaka Region (8) has reported
to the higher authority of the regime about the rumours of the American
Naval base.

He said, the report said that there are 10 building at the Onn Kyunt
Island as part of the building project of the naval base. The buildings
includes one command centre, a radar station, a watch tower which can
monitor up to 300 miles, a guest house, a training centre, a school for
the family members and a bridge.

The report also said to have mentioned that since Bangladesh government
has ordered the Island resident to relocate, and it also said that the
locals do not like the idea of an American military base in the region.

Burma became interested in Onn kyunt Island which located close to the
border between Burma and Bangladesh, Naff River, only during the late 2004
with the local rumo ur of American Naval base.

There has been any official announcement from either American or
Bangladeshi governments.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

June 27, Irrawaddy
Forgotten Burmese victims of tsunami rebuild Thai resorts - Alisa Tang

Migrant workers from Burma were the cheap labor that built Thai resorts
where 2,000 foreign tourists died in the tsunami. Now, they're rebuilding
bungalows and hotels on this splendid beach to lure back tourists.

Despite their economic role, they say they have become forgotten victims
of the disaster—having received little or no aid from either Thailand or
their own government in Burma. As foreign governments helped Thailand in
the frantic search for tsunami victims, nobody looked for these Burma
workers, an estimated 1,000 to 7,000 of whom perished. The laborers say
they watched from their shanties and cinder block homes as food and
supplies were handed out to their Thai neighbors.

“When I come here to help do construction work for them (the Thais), I
make them happy, but when something happens to me, they don't help me,”
56-year-old Aung Than said, holding two photos of his son and nephew, who
were killed in the tsunami along with his niece. Only the body of his
nephew was found, while the other two are still missing.

About 5,400 people died in the tsunami along Thailand's Andaman Sea coast,
half of them foreigners.

Some officials believe as many as 1,000 of the migrants died, but the
exact number may never be known because of the large number of
undocumented workers. Many migrants also refused to go to official
mortuaries to identify their colleagues, fearing police would arrest them
for not having work permits.

The Tsunami Action Group, a non-profit organization that helps migrant
workers from Burma puts the number of dead Burmese at 6,000 to 7,000.
Before the tsunami, there were more than 31,000 Burmese workers registered
in Phang Nga province, north of the resort island of Phuket. After, it
fell to 23,000, the Tsunami Action Group said, but added the actual number
of may be twice that because many workers are illegal.

The reconstruction boom in the Khao Lak resort area on Phang Nga's coast
makes the area look like a city being built from scratch. Earning about US
$3 to US $6 (euro2.50 to euro5) for a day's work, the Burmese comprise a
majority of the labor, living in temporary shelters behind the luxury
resorts they are building.

Aung Than and his co-workers described the inequality of tsunami aid on a
lunch break at their corrugated metal shanties. Among them was a small,
sinewy 13-year-old boy who earned 100 baht (US $2.50; euro2) a day mixing
and transporting cement. A rash covered the boy's shoulders, back and
chest with sand grain-sized bumps.

There was less bitterness in their voices than a mere sad acceptance of
their fate as the poorest of Thailand's poor.

“My life was very hard in Burma, so I had to come to Thailand. It felt
awful that no one came to help after my son, nephew and niece died,” said
Aung Than. “Still, life is better here than at home.”

While the Thai government handed out US $500 (euro400) to each Thai
survivor, most of the Burmese, who have contributed greatly to Thailand's
economy, received nothing and were afraid to ask for help for fear of
being arrested or harassed by authorities.

Thai police made Burma migrants scapegoats by publicly accusing them of
looting after the tsunami, worsening discrimination against them.

Min Zaw, a 26-year-old construction worker who lost both his in-laws,
helped an injured Western tourist flee the waves, and then fled himself to
Burma, fearing authorities' arbitrary, groundless arrests. He returned
when he knew he would be needed to rebuild.

“I came back, but of my former work crew of 20 guys, 16 are in Burma
because they were scared of the authorities,” Min Zaw said.

Amnesty International in a report this month said Burma migrant workers
take jobs that Thais consider too dirty, dangerous or demeaning. They “are
routinely paid well below the Thai minimum wage, work long hours in
unhealthy conditions and are at risk of arbitrary arrest and deportation,”
the report said.

Still, hundreds of thousands have fled Burma's repressive military regime
and high unemployment in search of jobs in far more prosperous Thailand.
Sitting on the floor of a one-room cinder block home in Phang Nga's Bang
Niang district, Burma rubber tappers told of being passed over by Thai aid
donors.

“They asked if we were Thai or Burmese. When we said Burmese, they told
us, 'Get out of here” said Yee Than, 32, who was born in Thailand but is a
Burmese citizen. “We're migrant laborers, so they treat us badly.”

How does that make her feel?

“We're poor people. We don't feel anything.”

_____________________________________

June 28, Agence France Presse
Rights groups urge Malaysia to free 68 Myanmar pro-democracy activists

A coalition of rights groups on Tuesday urged Malaysia to release 68
Myanmar pro-democracy activists arrested last week outside the Myanmar
embassy here for protesting the detention of democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi.

"We call for the immediate release of the 68 Myanmar nationals arrested,"
the Asia-Pacific Solidarity Coalition (APSOC) said in a statement.

The protestors were arrested as they peacefully gathered outside the
Myanmar embassy on June 16 in a symbolic celebration of the 60th birthday
of Aung San Suu Kyi. Public gatherings without a permit are illegal in
Malaysia.

APSOC, a coalition of 15 rights groups across the Asia-Pacific region,
said the detainees could be charged for unlawful assembly as well as
immigration violations if their travel documents were not in order.

Malaysia's tough immigration laws allows for caning, a fine and up to five
years in jail if found guilty.

Volker Turk, head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in
Malaysia, said that the agency was monitoring the situation.

"We will try to resolve the case," he told AFP, adding that UNHCR had met
with the detainees.

The arrests come as Malaysia prepares to assume the chair of the
Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) at the end of this year.

ASEAN has been dogged by criticism that it has not taken enough action to
convince military-ruled Myanmar to proceed with democratic reforms.

Myanmar is next in line to take over the alphabetically rotating chair of
the 10-member ASEAN from Malaysia next year.

_____________________________________

June 28, Thai Press Reports
Cambodian officials voice support for Myanmar's opposition leader

Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith has voiced support for Aung
San Suu Kyi as many world leaders have called for Myanmar's opposition
leader to be released on her 60th birthday this week.

Khieu, who is also a spokesman of the Cambodian government, said "Cambodia
is the first among ASEAN countries to ask Myanmar to elaborate on the
issue".

"Myanmar has pledged to gradually improve the situation and we hope the
Myanmar government will do so," he added.

Cambodia wishes to see Myanmar "overcome the issue", the spokesman stressed.

Meanwhile, Om Yengtieng, Chairman of the Human Rights Committee attached
to the Cambodian government and a close advisor to Prime Minister Hun Sen,
told the local media on June 22 that "there is no reason" to detain Aung
San Suu Kyi.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

June 28, Irrawaddy
Russia, China refuse to discuss Burma

A former Burmese ambassador to China on Monday accused China and Russia of
acting in their own interests at the UN Security Council meeting in New
York. The two countries objected to a discussion on Burma’s military
regime, raised by the US, because the issue was not on the official
agenda.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy by phone, former ambassador Chan Tun claimed
that by blocking the topic, Russia and China were protecting their own
interests: China has reportedly exported US $1.4 billion worth of military
equipment to the junta since 1993, while it is understood that Moscow is
helping to build a nuclear reactor in Burma and regularly receives
hundreds of engineering and science students from the military-ruled
country.

“The objection of China and Russia will just give the military government
longer to rule the country,” Chan Tun said.

_____________________________________

June 28, Irrawaddy
Burma Office in Japan says aid won’t reach people - Shah Paung

The head of the Burma Office in Japan, Dr Min Nyo, charged Tuesday that a
Japanese aid donation to Burma would have little chance of being used for
the benefit of the Burmese people.

In an agreement signed in Rangoon Monday, Japan pledged a package of aid
worth US $ 10.8 million. The agreement was signed by Japan’s Ambassador to
Burma and Burma’s Minister of National Planning and Economic Development,
Soe Tha.

The Associated Press reported that $ 3.7 million of the aid package would
be used to found a Burma-Japan Center for Human Resources Development at
Rangoon University. A further $ 4.4 million would finance scholarships for
young Burmese officials to study in Japan, and the remaining $2.7 million
would be used for afforestation projects in Burma’s dry central region.

Japan is Burma’s largest benefactor, although two years ago Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi warned that aid would stop unless Burma made progress
towards democracy.

Dr Min Nyo said aid was welcome as long as it reached the Burmese people
and contributed towards national development. But as example of how aid
usually went astray he mentioned the fate of a hospital built with
Japanese money and which had fallen into neglect.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

June 28, The Boston Globe
The war on Burma’s women - Charm Tong

It has been three years since the report ''License to Rape" exposed to the
world how troops of the Burmese military regime have been committing
systematic sexual violence against women in Shan state, one of the ethnic
regions of Burma where civil war has been continuing for more than four
decades. The report, by the Shan Human Rights Foundation and the Shan
Women's Action Network, documented the rape of more than 600 women by
Burmese troops.

Regrettably, despite increased international awareness of the problem of
state-sponsored sexual violence in Burma following the report, the
suffering of women in the wartorn ethnic areas of Burma is continuing. The
Burmese regime is still using rape as a weapon of war to terrorize,
demoralize, and control local communities. Hundreds more women have been
raped during the last few years.

Burmese military personnel, including high-ranking officers, are raping
with impunity. Women who are seven months pregnant are being gang raped.
Girls are being kept for forced labor during the day and raped at night
for periods of months. Mothers and daughters are being raped together.
Girls as young as 4 are being raped.

Some stories are hard for many of us today to imagine. A woman, now
insane, weeps over the photo of her 14-year-old daughter, who was raped
and burned alive by Burmese troops.

Another woman tells how a commander dragged her to a bed in a hut, raped
her, then beat her unconscious. She awoke to find herself lying naked and
her sister's dead body outside the hut.

The sexual violence is happening not only in Shan state but in other
ethnic areas. Last year, the Karen Women's Organization released a report
detailing 125 incidents of rape by the regime's troops in Karen state. The
Women's League of Burma, an umbrella organization of 12 women's groups,
also released a report entitled ''System of Impunity" exposing a
nationwide pattern of sexual violence by the regime's troops.

Women and girls throughout the country are increasingly at risk from
military sexual violence, whether they are in civil war zones, cease-fire
areas, or ''nonconflict" areas.

The recent rape and murder of the young daughter of a Burmese Army soldier
by a fellow officer in April 2005 has shown that even families of the
regime's army are now suffering the consequences of the ''License to Rape"
policy.

The countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations and other
neighboring states bordering Burma continue to disregard human rights
abuses in their dealings with Burma. There have been constant calls by
women of Burma, particularly ethnic women, to condemn the regime and push
for genuine political reform in Burma. This is the only way to end the
regime's rape policies.

Some ASEAN countries have properly felt compelled to debate in public
whether the junta should assume the chairmanship of ASEAN in 2006. The
ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Caucus, composed of members of parliament from
throughout the region, is calling for political reform. If the ASEAN
legislators want a real change in Burma they must not ignore sexual
violence authorized by the military junta.

Political repression in Burma has intensified in recent months. Last
February, Hkun Htun Oo, chairman of the Shan Nationalities League for
Democracy, and other Shan state leaders were arrested by the junta and
remain imprisoned. Ethnic resistance leaders who had made cease-fire
agreements with the regime are now being forced to disarm and surrender.
Fierce military offensives along the Thai-Burmese border are causing
increased numbers of internally displaced persons and unabated flows of
refugees into Thailand.

But does this mean we will surrender to this regime, with its battalions
of rapists? The answer is no. We owe this to the women who have dared
speak out about the sexual violence committed against them. Women who
relate their stories say that each time they talk about rape it is like
they are being raped again. Yet they have been brave enough to speak out
in order that one day the violence can end.

Rape survivors say that all they want is to return home and to live in
peace, without fear of the regime's troops. Last week we marked the 60th
birthday of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house
arrest in Burma's capital. Let us be inspired to continue the struggle to
restore democracy and peace in Burma, and to fulfill the wishes of these
brave women.

Charm Tong is an advocacy team member of the Shan Women's Action Network
and recipient of the 2005 Reebok Human Rights Award.