BurmaNet News, July 1, 2005

[Editor]

July 1, 2005 Issue # 2752


INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima: Trying to penetrate the iron curtain
Mizzima: US $17 million for new military town

HEALTH / AIDS
The Economist: There's good news and bad news; AIDS in South-East Asia

DRUGS
AFP: China, Myanmar bust international drug trafficking gang
Irrawaddy: Asian amphetamine producers are diversifying, say experts

ASEAN
AFP: ASEAN chief warns of "downside" if Myanmar skips chairmanship

OPINION / OTHER
The Irish Times: EU must push for tougher sanctions on Burma


____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

July 1, Mizzima
Trying to penetrate the iron curtain - Mungpi

In defiance of the military censorship over the media in Burma, young
Burmese journalists have begun to show keen interest and are willing to
meet the challenge and work in their homeland. This they are doing, even
as they maintain the principles and ethics of journalism.

At the conclusion of a two week intensive journalism training programme by
UNICEF, in Rangoon, a group of 24 young Burmese journalists drafted a code
of ethics and vowed to abide by them in their work.

"The response of the trainees was good. Though there are certain areas
where they cannot apply journalistic ethics (in violation of the
censorship), they are willing to meet the challenge," Jason Rush,
communication officer of the UNICEF Rangoon office told Mizzima over
telephone.

The UNICEF Burma completed its second batch of journalism training for
local reporters today. The training, which is a rare opportunity in
military-ruled country, was launched by the UNICEF in 2004.

"We are organising the training independently but we do inform the
government. And there is nothing that we hide from them," added Jason.

Every publication has to go through the censorship boards of successive
military regimes of Burma, who grabbed power in 1962.

Focusing on Burma's pressing issues such as child rights and HIV/AIDS, the
training programme also taught reporters to dare to report fairly in order
to create awareness and make a difference to the lives of people.

Jason also indicated that Press freedom in Burma should be continuously
pressed for and "journalists must take up the challenge despite prevailing
situation."

____________________________________

July 1, Mizzima
US $17 million for new military town

The Burmese military regime has made a budget provision of approximately $
17 million for Pyinmana new military town, in central Burma.

According to sources close to the top level of the military junta, an
emergency cabinet meeting in the last week of June allotted US $ 10
million for the military, $ 5 million for purchasing oil, and $ 2 million
for the Ministerial Departments. About $ 200,000 was reserved for
emergency needs for any of the departments.

The new military town is coming up along the Rangoon-Mandalay highway,
near Kyatpyay village in the north of Pyinmana which is 244 miles from
capital Rangoon.

The town is being built mainly for the Defence Ministry. The Forestry,
Agriculture, Energy and Information Ministries are also scheduled to shift
before the end of October. Agriculture and Forestry Ministries will
reportedly move this month.

The contractors of the projects are Htoo and Yuzana Construction
Companies. Tayza, the owner of Htoo is very close to the head of the
military junta Senior General Than Swe.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

July 2, The Economist
There's good news and bad news; AIDS in South-East Asia

Good prevention work has tamed the AIDS epidemic in some countries, yet it
is getting much worse in others

"BOOM!" That, in a word, is how one epidemiologist describes the spread of
AIDS in Vietnam. Infection rates may be higher in Africa, but AIDS is
growing faster in South-East Asia than in any other part of the world.
What is more, in populous countries like Vietnam and Indonesia, even small
increases in the proportion infected means millions of new cases.

Until recently, South-East Asia was considered a beacon of hope in the
fight against AIDS. Thailand and Cambodia, where the epidemic took hold in
the 1990s, have managed to reduce the incidence of the disease through
vigorous and well-funded public-health campaigns. In Cambodia, the
proportion of adults infected by HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, fell
from 3% in 1997 to a still high 1.9% in 2003. In Thailand, the number of
new cases has fallen each year for the past decade.

Even as Thailand and Cambodia get to grips with AIDS, however, the disease
has been taking hold in other countries in the region. Myanmar and Papua
New Guinea, with estimated infection rates of 1.2% and 1.7% respectively,
face what the United Nations AIDS programme calls generalised epidemics.

Several others, including Indonesia and Vietnam, are witnessing
sky-rocketing infection rates among drug users, from whom the disease
might soon start spreading to the wider population. In East Asia as a
whole, the number of people living with HIV rose by 24% in 2004 alone,
according to a UNAIDS report, to be released on July 1st at a regional
AIDS conference in Kobe, Japan.

AIDS is spreading so quickly because those most in danger are still taking
risks. A recent survey of injecting drug users in three Indonesian cities
found that 88% had used unsterilised needles in the previous week. No
wonder, then, that half of all drug users in Jakarta and Bali have HIV. By
the same token, repeated surveys find that relatively few prostitutes use
condoms in Indonesia. Infection rates among them have risen as high as 17%
in some parts of the country. In Ho Chi Minh City, in Vietnam, over a
third of prostitutes inject drugs, and half of those are HIV positive.

People in the region remain worryingly ignorant about AIDS. Last year, the
World Health Organisation reported that prevention programmes had reached
only 19% of prostitutes in Asia and the Pacific, 5% of drug users and 1%
of gay men. People in risky situations use condoms only 8% of the time, it
reckoned. Only 1% of Indonesian women have ever been tested for HIV.

Most governments are responding pragmatically. After years in which AIDS
was denounced as a social evil, Vietnam's communist rulers have begun to
attend AIDS-awareness functions and promote AIDS-prevention schemes. In
neighbouring Laos, soldiers are taught about AIDS as part of their
training. Indonesia is running needle exchanges and handing out methadone
to heroin users, although only at a handful of clinics.

But when Malaysian authorities announced that they would start similar
programmes earlier this year, religious leaders reacted with horror. The
government of the state of Perak said it would distribute condoms only to
married men. In 2003, the Philippines' Catholic bishops succeeded in
blocking a proposal to spend government money on condom distribution. The
military regime in Myanmar has not yet allowed any prevention campaigns on
radio or television. Even Thailand, which mounted a much-imitated "100%
condom" campaign in the 1990s, is uncomfortable with any policies that
imply forbearance in the face of drug use.

Even when governments are willing to tackle the problem, funds are often
in short supply. UNAIDS reckons that AIDS prevention and treatment
programmes in the region will get less than half the money they need this
year, and less than a third of what they require in 2007 ()see related
story on page 82. The Philippines has slashed its AIDS budget by more than
three-quarters since the Asian financial crisis in 1997.

One of the hardest hit places in the region is New Guinea. Both the
Indonesian portion of the island in the west, and the independent country
of Papua New Guinea in the east have infection rates of over 1%. This
seems to be linked to Papuans' relative promiscuity: the majority of
Papuan men report multiple sexual partners. Yet New Guinea's awkward
geography, poor infrastructure and myriad ethnic divisions make it
difficult to mount an effective prevention campaign.

Myanmar presents even more daunting challenges. There too, AIDS has
already spread beyond the most susceptible groups to the general public.
In the city of Hpa-an, for example, 7.5% of pregnant women test positive
for HIV. High rates of drug abuse (Myanmar is the world's second biggest
producer of heroin) help spread the disease. So does the civil war that
rages in much of the country, displacing many people and making others
difficult to reach.

There is no independent media, so a frank discussion of the country's
problems is impossible. The junta is suspicious of NGOs and activists,
while donors and aid agencies are leery of it. The generals are not good
administrators at the best of times, and the health system is a shambles.
Indeed, as bad as things sound, no one really knows how bad: the
government conducted only 28,000 HIV tests last year, in a country of more
than 50m.

_____________________________________
DRUGS

July 1, Agence France Presse
China, Myanmar bust international drug trafficking gang

China and Myanmar have smashed an international drug-trafficking gang,
state media said Friday.

China's National Narcotics Control Commission and its counterpart in
Myanmar busted the gang in May, the China Daily said.

After receiving a tip-off from Chinese police, police in Myanmar arrested
the alleged ringleaders, two Myanmese brothers, in the capital Yangon.
They also confiscated 102.5 kilogrammes (224 pounds) of the drug "ice".

Police in China's southwestern province of Yunnan subsequently caught two
other alleged gangmembers, who had escaped to China, and another suspect
was captured in late May.

Tin Maung Htay, director of Myanmar's Narcotics Control Commission, was
quoted as saying the gang had been involved in drug-trafficking for years.

The destinations for the drugs included Hong Kong, Malaysia and South
Korea, with each shipment consisting of at least 200 kilogrammes, the
daily said.

_____________________________________

June 30, Irrawaddy
Asian amphetamine producers are diversifying, say experts – Grant Peck

Producers of amphetamine-type stimulants in Southeast Asia have started
making more expensive products such as Ecstasy and crystallized
methamphetamine, also known as ice, UN and Thai anti-drug officials said
Wednesday.

Although opiates such as heroin remain the main problem in Asia,
amphetamine-type stimulants run a close second, and more people are being
treated for addiction to them than heroin in countries such as Thailand,
they said at a news conference to launch a new report.

“Almost two-thirds of the world’s amphetamine and methamphetamine users
reside in Asia,” most in East and Southeast Asia, said the 2005 World Drug
Report, compiled by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Drug syndicates in Burma—the region’s major source of methamphetamine and
heroin—began producing ice in 2002, said Chartchai Suthiklom, deputy
secretary general of Thailand’s Narcotics Control Board.

Methamphetamine tablets are mainly produced in Shan State in eastern
Burma. The drug is consumed primarily in neighboring Thailand and
increasingly in Laos and Cambodia.

Crystallized methamphetamine, called ice or shabu, is more expensive and
is popular in East Asia, the Philippines and elsewhere. Ecstasy is another
relatively expensive amphetamine-type stimulant and is called a club drug
because it is often consumed in discos and nightclubs.

Chartchai said authorities recently seized 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of
ice in Burma and 148 kilograms (325 pounds) in Thailand.

Chartchai said regional production of ice has shifted over many years,
from Korea and Taiwan, to eastern China, and after a crackdown there, to
the Philippines, Malaysia and Fiji.

John Doyle, a drug control expert for UNODC, noted recent evidence for
shifting amphetamine production, including Ecstasy labs busted in
Indonesia and Malaysia this year, and “superlabs”—of industrial scale and
standard—seized by authorities in Fiji and Malaysia last year.

____________________________________
ASEAN

June 30, Agence France Presse
ASEAN chief warns of "downside" if Myanmar skips chairmanship

An international campaign to restore democracy in Myanmar would face a
setback if the military-ruled state gives up its turn to lead the ASEAN
group next year, a top ASEAN official warned.

"The downside of this is that if Myanmar voluntarily steps out of the
chairmanship, it means for the next two to three years, the issue is out
of the radarscope," Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong told AFP in Washington.

"How are we going to leverage for the early release of Aung San Suu Kyi
and whatever things we want in Myanmar," Ong asked, referring to Myanmar's
democracy icon under house arrest for most of the last 15 years.

Aung San Suu Kyi's party won 1990 elections but was never allowed to rule.
Its offices have been shut down by the military junta.

Myanmar is due to take over the ASEAN helm from Malaysia in 2006. The
chairmanship is determined by alphabetical rotation among member states,
which also include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Holding the ASEAN chair means Myanmar will set the group's agenda and
direction as well as host a series of high-profile, media-seeking
meetings, including a summit and a top regional security forum.

But both the United States and European Union, key partners of ASEAN, have
vowed to boycott the Southeast Asian group's meetings if Myanmar is
chairman.

Officials and parliamentarians from some ASEAN member states are also
afraid that Myanmar will damage the group's image and international links
if it takes over the mantle.

ASEAN officials have indicated that Myanmar would announce at the annual
ASEAN ministerial meeting next month that it would skip the chairmanship.

Ong, who attended an ASEAN-US dialogue here this week, said: "On the one
hand, people can claim victory that they have prevented Myanmar from
taking the chair but I ask the question: What is the end thing that you
are driving at?

"If the end goal is a democratic Myanmar and a country with popular
participation with their own political national development, this
situation of forcing Myanmar out of the chair, will it bring the results?

"I don't think so."

Myanmar was among issues discussed at the US-ASEAN dialogue of senior
officials, convened every 18 months to discuss wide-ranging issues and
coooperation programs.

The United States has warned that if Myanmar chaired ASEAN, the grouping's
image would be smeared.

"It's actually a question for ASEAN to decide. What's going to happen to
the image of the group if it is led by Burma," a State Department official
asked, using Myanmar's previous name.

Ong, a former senior Singapore official, said: "If I am in the Myanmar
government's position, I can see the upside. The upside is: 'we will be
off the radarscope for the next few years ... there is a merit to be
gotten out of not taking the chair of ASEAN.

ASEAN in recent years has taken a slightly higher profile in prodding
Myanmar to embrace democratic reforms, slowly moving away from its
so-called "constructive engagement" policy under which members muted
criticism of one another.

Jeremy Woodrum, the co-founder of the US Campaign for Burma coordinating
the global push to free Aung San Suu Kyi, said ASEAN should use its clout
to bring about rapid political reforms in Myanmar.

He said ASEAN should have delayed Myanmar's chairmanship by a year,
setting a deadline for Yangon to embrace reforms.

"The chairmanship comes up once in 10 years and ASEAN should have used
this golden opportunity to set a timeline for changes in Burma," Woodrum
said.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

June 29, The Irish Times
EU must push for tougher sanctions on Burma – John Boorman

At the first of U2's concerts in Dublin, Bono led 80,000 people in singing
Happy Birthday to Burma's imprisoned Aung San Suu Kyi, or the Lady, as she
is known by her people.

The previous Sunday, on the actual date of her 60th birthday and marking
her 2,523rd day in detention, Michael Stipe of REM used his Irish platform
to dedicate three songs to her and call for her release. His appeal was
beamed live into Rangoon by RTÉ's 2FM.

Galway City Council marked the occasion by conferring on Suu Kyi the title
of honorary freeman of the city, to add to the freedom of Dublin awarded
her in 2000. Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern also reiterated
that diplomatic relations with Burma were impossible while she remained
under house arrest.

These heartfelt and steadfast displays of Irish solidarity are part of a
worldwide show of support for Suu Kyi and the estimated 1,500 political
prisoners still languishing in jails in Burma, most of whom supported the
National League for Democracy (NLD), Suu Kyi's political party.

The NLD legitimately won an election in 1990 with more than 82 per cent of
the vote. Its platform promised freedom and democracy for a people
terrorised by a brutal military regime since 1962.

The birthday celebrations were cries of hope against a regime that
systematically tortures, rapes and enslaves ethnic groups. Egregious human
rights abuses have been well documented by the UN, Amnesty International,
International Labour Organisation, Human Rights Watch and the US
Department of State.

Demonstrations and ceremonies were organised across the globe, from
Australia to East Timor, from Japan to Malaysia, across India and all of
Europe, and in almost every major North American city. The first president
of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel, wrote in the Washington Post: "As
someone who years ago experienced first-hand the arbitrary rule of a
dictatorial regime but then lived to see better times - to a large extent
because of the solidarity extended to us - I appeal to all those who have
the opportunity to act against such arbitrary acts to express their
solidarity with people who to this day live in a state of 'unfreedom'."

The wonderful Bishop Desmond Tutu has called on the world to make Burma
the next South Africa. In Suu Kyi, "Burma would have a leader whose
commitment to her people is unwavering. Asia and the world would have one
of those rare leaders whose integrity and vision is already proven by her
courage and sacrifice". He goes on to laud the West's unflinching role in
applying political and economic pressure on the apartheid regime.

The US leads the way in imposing the economic sanctions against the regime
that Suu Kyi and her party ask of the world. The issue of extending import
sanctions against Burma was only recently passed in the House of
Representatives by 423 votes to two. It is an issue that unites
Republicans and Democrats, and one in which Senators McConnell, Feinstein,
McCain and Congressman Lantos have displayed stellar leadership.

In Europe, to our shame, the question of sanctions is much less decisive.
In October last year, the EU allowed a partial ban on investment in Burma,
and bowing to French pressure, excluded investment in the oil and gas
sector. France is keen to protect the interests of Total Oil, which has a
31.24 per cent interest in the Yadana gas project and is reported to
provide up to $450 million annually to the Burmese regime.

Given that the generals in Rangoon are mainly bankrolled by the protection
money they get from allowing the world's second largest crop of opium safe
passage out of the country, they welcome this contribution to their
coffers. They then use it mainly on military spending. Over 60 per cent of
the country's GNP is used in acquiring weaponry for a country that fights
no external wars. It does, however, fight a war against its own people.
And it has the largest child army in the world: 70,000 children are forced
to bear arms. Oil, drugs and guns: surely such a heady mix deserves our
close attention and condemnation?

When Tony Blair assumes the presidency of the EU on Friday, one hopes he
will make good on his promise to move Burma higher up on the EU agenda and
push for tougher sanctions. So far he has been all talk: under his watch
British imports from Burma have increased from £17.8 million to £74
million today. In the meantime, individual European nations should impose
sanctions unilaterally, rather than wait until the EU finds a single
voice.

And there are other forums where pressure can be and is being applied.
Last week in the UN Security Council, the US attempted to place Burmese
political oppression on its agenda. The motion failed but, hopefully, the
issue remains afloat in the council's ether. Even more significantly, all
eyes turn to next month's meeting of Asean, the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations. Burma is scheduled to chair the Asean in 2006. Its members
have finally, publicly, expressed anxiety over the chairmanship, given
that in the seven years of Burma's membership, it has not fulfilled its
promise of democratic reforms, a condition for its entry in 1997. The
"constructive engagement" the Southeast Asian nations hoped for has not
materialised.

The US Senate has urged Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to attend the
Asean meeting and one hopes she will repeat to the southeast nations her
birthday wishes for Suu Kyi: "The American people and I salute you on this
special occasion, and reaffirm that the US stands with you and all others
in your struggle to free the Burmese people."

It is unclear how much Suu Kyi is aware of the worldwide missives of
support. Her doctor is her only monthly visitor. The last time a UN envoy
was allowed to travel to her heavily guarded house was 15 months ago. We
do not even know if she still has her radio, her only link to the world we
inhabit.

It is only when these pledges of support translate into effective pressure
on the malicious regime that the Lady will be able to assume her rightful
position among her people and other leaders of the free world.

The international community should consider, and act upon, the political
expressions of support, crystallised in the message of 14 Nobel peace
laureates ". . . all should join in urging the Burmese government to
release immediately and unconditionally the nearly 1,500 political
prisoners it holds, to end its brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing against
the minority peoples of Burma and to begin a transition to genuine
democracy".

John Boorman has been campaigning on Burma since the massacre of democracy
supporters in Rangoon in 1988, and made the film Beyond Rangoon in 1993.
He is president of Burma Action Ireland.