BurmaNet News, July 2-5, 2005

[Editor]

July 2-5, 2005 Issue # 2753


INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar's junta pondering leaving Yangon for somewhere "safer": analysts
AP: Women's group calls for Suu Kyi's continued detention, Myanmar's state
media reports
Narinjara News: Phenomenal rice price rise in western Burma threatens
social unrest
Xinhua: Landslide occurs in Myanmar gem land

BUSINESS / FINANCE
Reuters: RPT-Who will get Unocal? Maybe both Chevron and CNOOC

ASEAN
Channel NewsAsia: US Secretary of State not attending 38th ASEAN
Ministerial Meeting
AFP: Timor keen to join ASEAN and maintain Australian, Indonesian ties
Yonhap News Agency: S. Korea-ASEAN dialogue to open in Myanmar

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: Burmese tsunami search underway
AFP: China pledges Mekong group cooperation, but issues veiled warning
Xinhua: Roundup: Myanmar strengthens cooperation with GMS countries

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: France rejects rights groups' calls for Total to leave Myanmar

OPINION / OTHER
Mizzima: India-Burma footsie

PRESS RELEASE
BCUK: Aung San Suu Kyi to reach 10 years in detention on 24th October
Amnesty, RSF, PEN: 75 year old editor U Win Tin must be immediately released

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

July 4, Agence France Presse
Myanmar's junta pondering leaving Yangon for somewhere "safer": analysts -
Pascale Trouillaud

Yangon: Myanmar's military junta may be readying to move part of their
administration outside the capital to somewhere "safer", analysts and
diplomats here say.

Pyinmana, a region described by tour guides as full of "verdant charm",
could become the "escape city" for top leaders, military commanders and
some ministers, they said.

Some suggested that the relocation inland would be aimed at warding off a
potential Iraq-style invasion by the United States, one of the regime's
staunchest critics.

Several ministries are preparing to move from October to the mountainous
region, about six hours north of the capital Yangon along the road to
Mandalay, analysts said.

"Starting in October, some ministries are going to move -- defense,
agriculture and energy," one Western diplomat said.

"The ministers would go there, but they would keep a presence here in
Yangon with the deputy ministers," he said, noting that "this would allow
another layer of screening when it comes to welcoming visiting
foreigners."

"These are rumors, but Myanmar bureaucrats are busy finding housing there,
thinking of schools for their children," he said. "I am told that they
have laid a lot of concrete."

Another observer said five ministries could move to the region which used
to be a bastion of communist insurgents.

"It's been in the works for three or four years. It's pretty well
prepared," he said. The Myanmar authorities have called "for help from
foreign experts, especially Russian."

Plans for the site call for a military base, a large hydroelectric dam at
Paung Laung built with Chinese assistance, as well as tunnels, bunkers,
hospitals and, of course, a golf course, observers said.

A Myanmar businessman said the government's military headquarters could
leave Yangon in the next month and set up in Pyinmana. "Some went
already," he said.

Government officials will neither confirm nor deny the rumors, but admit
they exist.

"We haven't received any order, although rumors are widespread," an
official at the home affairs ministry told AFP.

The information ministry was similarly vague. An official there said
simply: "We haven't got any order nor instruction so far."

Some are skeptical about the talk.

"They're building something, that's certain, but nobody knows exactly what
it's going to be," another diplomat said.

"I don't believe part of the government will move," he said. "Either
everyone moves, or no one. It wouldn't make much sense (for only part to
move)."

"And this is not a move of the capital, it's not Brasilia," he said.

Talk of an "escape city" for the generals has spread throughout Yangon.

The plan was apparently reinforced by the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003,
which heightened the junta's fears of attack by the United States,
analysts say.

While Myanmar is not among the White House's top foreign policy
priorities, as are Iran, North Korea, Cuba or Syria, it imagines it isn't
far behind.

Some observers believe the generals think the United States could invade
by sea, which would put Yangon -- a port on the Andaman Sea -- and all the
top command on the front line.

"Some people describe it (Pyinmana) as a strategic base to which they
would retreat in case of an attack by sea," one analyst said.

Another diplomat agreed that the US-led invasion of Iraq had rattled junta
leader Senior General Than Shwe.

The army has boosted its military spending in the past few years,
according to experts, notably buying MiG 29s.

"There's a clear phenomenon of bunkerization," he said. "They feel
threatened and have become paranoid. They think that the Americans have an
Iraq-style solution" for Myanmar.

"If all this turns out to be true, the top leaders would also go. The
country functions like an army with a chain of command, and the chief of
staff would move," he said.

"The army could fall back to the north," a mountainous and forested
region, "to organize a guerilla-style resistance not far from China," he
said. "It's like something from science fiction."

____________________________________

July 5, Associated Press
Women's group calls for Suu Kyi's continued detention, Myanmar's state
media reports

Yangon: Myanmar's military government should continue to detain
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to safeguard stability, a
representative of the country's official women's organization was quoted
as saying Tuesday.

Suu Kyi, head of the opposition National League for Democracy party, has
been under house arrest at her residence in Yangon since May 2003, after a
pro-government mob attacked her entourage as she made a political tour of
northern Myanmar. She has not been charged with any crime.

"As she creates various problems wherever she travels, people live in
fear. I suggest that the government maintain the status quo," Thanda Hpone
Win, a representative of the Myanmar Women's Affairs Federation, was
quoted as saying by the Myanma Ahlin daily.

Newspapers and mass organizations such as the federation are under the
tight control of the ruling military, and publication of such remarks can
be taken as a reflection of official opinion.

Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel peace prize, was taken into custody after the 2003
mob attack, which caused several fatalities among Suu Kyi's supporters.
During her tour she was greeted by large and enthusiastic crowds.

It was the third time since 1989 that she was confined to her residence
for an extended period. Her party vice chairman, Tin Oo, was also
detained.

Leaders of many Western nations, as well as U.N Secretary-General Kofi
Annan, have repeatedly called for her release.

Thanda Hpone Win's comments were made at a ceremony to mark Myanmar
Women's Day on Sunday in Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, the
report said.

On Monday, a commentary in the Myanma Ahlin said "the woman" from the
opposition National League for Democracy who advocated sanctions to
pressure the junta will bring only hardship to Myanmar women.

The author didn't identify "the woman," but said she was popular because
of her father's image and support by the West. Suu Kyi's father was the
country's martyred independence hero, Gen. Aung San.

The United States and other Western nations maintain political and
economic sanctions against Myanmar because of the junta's poor human
rights record, and its failure to hand over power to a democratically
elected government. The NLD was the landslide victor of a 1990 general
election, but wasn't allowed by the military to take power.

The Myanmar Women's Affairs Federation, the central organization of
various women's associations in the country, claims 1.5 million members.
____________________________________

July 5, Narinjara News
Phenomenal rice price rise in western Burma threatens social unrest

The price of rice in western Burma has jumped phenomenally within the last
two or three days, and community leaders worry that it could lead to
social unrest in the region.

A retired school teacher with social standing in the community has told us
that “commodity prices are shooting up; especially rice. It is the main
staple food for Arakanese here. One Pray (about 2 kilogram) of poor
quality rice costs 800 kyats in Maung Daw Township. Good quality rice is
1250 kyats. This price rise is a great strain on the daily budget of the
people. In many parts of the region, there are many families who won't be
able to afford to cook rice everyday.”

In Maung Daw, a 50-kilogram bag of poor quality rice price is about 20,000
kyats, while the good quality rice is about 30,000.

In nearby Buthidaung Township, the poor quality rice is 22,500 while the
good quality 25,000 kyats.

Due to the availability of poor quality rice that has been smuggled from
Bangladesh into Maung Daw, the price there is lower than in Buthidaung,
according to border sources.

“Such a price rise has never been seen. It is hard going for the public
servants. A bag of rice costs about two to three times our monthly salary.
It is a very difficult time”, says a public servant from Buthidaung.

The rice price is related to the Burmese government's policies, said
residents in the border areas.

In Arakan state, the local authority does not allow the transport of rice
from one place to another, especially in the northern townships of the
state. Hence, there are huge price differences within the region.

In other parts of Arakan, such as Akyab, Ponna Kyaun, and Mrauk U, the
poor quality rice is about 500 kyats a pyay.

If the same ban on rice transport continues and the rice price keeps going
up during this rice cultivating monsoon season, a famine and some severe
social unrest could occur in the region. These problems could also lead to
another exodus of refugees into Bangladesh, said those with a political
interest in Arakan State.

____________________________________

July 5, Xinhua General News Service
Landslide occurs in Myanmar gem land

Yangon: A landslide occurred in the Mongshu gem land, southern part of
Myanmar's Shan state, last weekend out of torrential rain, the official
newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Tuesday.

Some people were killed and buildings destroyed by the disaster on Sunday
afternoon, the paper quoted a preliminary report as saying without giving
specific figures.

Emergency relief work is underway by the regional authorities, the paper
added.

Mongshu is one of the three most famous gem lands in Myanmar where gems
and jade exploration and exploitation are being done. The other two are
Mogok in Mandalay division and Phakant in Kachin state.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / FINANCE

July 4, Reuters
RPT-Who will get Unocal? Maybe both Chevron and CNOOC - Charlie Zhu

Singapore: As the battle between China's CNOOC Ltd. and Chevron Corp. to
buy Unocal drags on, speculation is emerging that they may eventually
agree to carve up the U.S. producer.

By splitting up some of Unocal's assets, such as stakes in its Indonesian
natural gas fields, CNOOC and Chevron can avoid a bidding war that could
make Unocal too expensive for either of the bidders, some observers say.

If Chevron at some stage feels it may be pulled into an expensive and
drawn-out bidding war, it may find merit in the idea of selling CNOOC part
of Unocal's Thai natural gas assets or all of Unocal's gas assets in
politically-sensitive Myanmar, according to this line of thinking.

The Unocal assets in Myanmar, Indonesia and Thailand are collectively
valued by Deutsche Bank at more than $6 billion. Most analysts see these
as the core assets that would be of interest to CNOOC.

Separate from the Unocal assets, Chevron could also sell CNOOC part of its
stake in the giant Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Australia
for a favourable price, analysts say.

"When both parties find it is becoming too costly to acquire Unocal, they
will probably talk to each other," said Lawrence Lau, an analyst at
Beijing-backed brokerage BOCI in Hong Kong.

But analysts stress this is just a possible scenario that could emerge at
the end of a Unocal acquisition saga. If either side pulls ahead as a
clear potential victor, a compromise would not be necessary.

Currently, neither Chevron nor its Chinese rival is likely to initiate
such ideas, analysts say. If either of the bidders proposed it now, that
would weaken their negotiating positions, which are at a delicate stage.

Both Chevron and state-run CNOOC are going all-out to persuade Unocal
shareholders to accept their bids.

"At the moment, they are not going to do anything to change what is on the
table," said a senior investment banker at a global bank in Asia, which is
not involved in any discussions about the Unocal deal.

CNOOC is scrambling to convince Unocal shareholders that its $18.5
billion, all-cash bid is superior to Chevron's stock-and-cash offer, now
valued about 10 percent below CNOOC's, despite the risks or possible
delays associated with obtaining U.S. approvals.

CNOOC is also seeking to assure Unocal shareholders that a CNOOC-Unocal
tie-up eventually will be approved, asserting a deal would not hurt U.S.
energy security because Unocal's assets account for a tiny fraction of
U.S. production.

Both sides are enlisting political allies. Chevron is whipping up a sense
of uncertainty among Unocal shareholders that the CNOOC bid will not pass
government reviews, while noting that its own bid, which is supported by
Unocal management, has won nearly all necessary approvals.

For its part, CNOOC has hired lobbyists with political connections to the
Republican-dominated Congress and the White House.

Foreign investment in the U.S. energy sector is not new, but some U.S.
lawmakers object to CNOOC's bid being largely funded by Chinese government
entities, making it difficult for Chevron to compete on financing terms.

CNOOC, which hopes an acquisition of Unocal would help fulfill its
ambition to become a regional LNG giant, said on Friday it had asked for a
top-level U.S. government panel to review its merger proposal with Unocal.

The clock is ticking. Unocal shareholders are scheduled to vote on
Chevron's offer on August 10.

"The CNOOC bid is not off the table yet. It really comes down how they
manage the politics in the next couple of weeks," said another banker who
is not involved in the process.

If the political climate turns in favour of CNOOC towards the end of this
month, Chevron may have to sweeten its offer, observers said.

Another factor that could press Chevron to improve its bid is if Unocal
shares continue to trade heavily at the current level of just below $66
each for the next few weeks while Chevron share prices remain largely
unchanged, the second banker said.

That would mean many Unocal shareholders would unlikely accept Chevron's
present offer, now at just about $60 per Unocal share over CNOOC's offer
of $67 a share.

U.S. securities house Fulcrum Global Partners said in a research report on
Friday that it still expected Chevron to prevail because "it has politics
on its side as a cheap weapon", noting that Chevron may have to improve
its bid.

It added: "CNOOC could still try to carve out a partnership or asset swap
with Unocal or its successor, paying a premium only for the part the
Chinese actually want most. Chevron could still buy Unocal, CNOOC could
still buy what it needs."

____________________________________
ASEAN

July 4, Channel NewsAsia
US Secretary of State not attending 38th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting

Singapore: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be skipping the
38th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting and 12th ASEAN Regional Forum to be held in
Laos later this month.

This is seen as a break in tradition as her predecessors had made it to
these meetings.

Responding to media queries, Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo said he
understood the reasons for Dr Rice's inability to take part in the
meetings.

He added he was delighted that Deputy Secretary of Sate Robert Zoellick,
who he said knew the region well, would be representing her instead.

No reason was given for Dr Rice's absence. But some reports have quoted
diplomatic sources saying there were concerns in Washington that the
region is not pushing enough for democratic reforms in Myanmar.

Myanmar is due to take over the chairmanship of ASEAN next year.

____________________________________

July 5, Agence France Presse
Timor keen to join ASEAN and maintain Australian, Indonesian ties

Sydney: East Timor President Xanana Gusmao said Tuesday his impoverished
nation wants to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),
while maintaining close ties with Australia and Indonesia.

On his first state visit to Canberra, Gusmao stressed that East Timor
wants to become ASEAN's 11th member rather than being seen as a Pacific
island nation.

"We continue to be committed to strengthening our relations with both
Australia and Indonesia, our closest and most important neighbours," he
told a function at Parliament House.

"We also enjoy very good relations with other Southeast Asian countries,
establishing diplomatic ties with a majority of them. We place a high
priority on becoming a member of ASEAN."

ASEAN currently groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

East Timor gained full independence from Indonesia in May 2002 after more
than two years of UN stewardship under a peacekeeping force led by
Australia.

Gusmao will meet Prime Minister John Howard Wednesday.

Officials from Australia and East Timor will also attempt to finalise
protrated negotiations over revenue-sharing arrangements for oil and gas
fields in the Timor Sea.

A deal is expected to be signed in the next few weeks under which the two
countries will shelve for the next 50 years negotiations on a permanent
maritime boundary.

In return East Timor would receive a 50 percent share in the Greater
Sunrise field compared to the current 18 percent, according to Australian
media reports. It would continue to receive a 90 percent share of revenues
from the Joint Petroleum Development Area.

Under the proposed new deal East Timor, which was Asia's poorest nation
upon independence, will get an extra two to five billion dollars (1.5-3.6
billion US) from Sunrise royalties, depending on world energy prices.

____________________________________

July 4, Yonhap News Agency (South Korea)
S. Korea-ASEAN dialogue to open in Myanmar

Seoul: Senior officials from South Korea and a bloc of Southeast Asian
countries will meet in Myanmar this week to discuss ways of increasing
cooperation, officials said Monday.

Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon will represent South Korea at the
meeting with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) scheduled
for Tuesday and Wednesday in the capital Yangon, officials said.

His ASEAN counterpart will be U Kyaw Thu, deputy foreign minister of
Myanmar and ASEAN's dialogue coordinator.

This week's meeting is the ninth session of the South Korea-ASEAN Dialogue
aimed at discussing ways of boosting all-round cooperation between the two
sides. Its first meeting was held in 1993.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

July 4, Irrawaddy
Burmese tsunami search underway - Aung Lwin Oo

A process of tracing missing Burmese tsunami victims in Thailand through
use of a DNA matching program got underway on Sunday in Thailand’s
affected areas. The project’s working group—comprising the Thai Action
Committee for Democracy in Burma, the Lawyers Council of Thailand, NGOs
and volunteers—hopes to match DNA samples from possible relatives of 110
Burmese tsunami victims.

The program aims to assist migrants’ relatives as they search for loved
ones and was set up after the Thai Tsunami Victim Identification’s
Information Management Center on the Thai island of Phuket approved the
proposal in late April. Problems the relatives face include filling
lengthy application forms printed only in Thai and English and organizing
travel. The working group will also seek compensation for Burmese victims
from the Thai Labor Ministry.

According to San, a Burmese data banking coordinator with the working
group, tracing undocumented Burmese migrants is not an easy task, even
with the help of other Burmese grassroots organizations such as the
Thai-based Seafarers’ Union of Burma and Yaung Chi Oo Workers Association.
“It’s hard to locate [immediate] relatives,” he told The Irrawaddy by
phone today. “We can’t take DNA samples from victims’ wives or cousins.”

Coordinator of the Bangkok-based TACDB Nassir Achwarin explained that
relatives of about 40 missing Burmese had failed to show up for testing as
some were prevented by their employers while others, lacking proper
documentation, worried about their safety. “The numbers were short because
of the difficulties migrants face,” he said. Migrants have proved
particularly difficult to locate as many scattered after the tsunami
stuck, and yet more are reluctant to disclose personal information for
fear they may be punished for having illegally left their home country.

A Burmese grassroots group, Human Rights Education Institute of Burma,
estimated earlier this year that between 700-1,000 migrants died in the
catastrophe. According to the Thai Labor Ministry, an estimated 30,000
Burmese migrant workers were registered with the ministry in the
Thailand’s tsunami-affected area at the time.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to visit Thailand’s
tsunami-devastated areas and inspect recovery efforts on July 11.

_____________________________________

July 5, Agence France Presse
China pledges Mekong group cooperation, but issues veiled warning

Beijing: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledged Tuesday to cooperate with the
six-nation Greater Mekong Subregion group but issued a veiled warning the
region should not become overly dependent on China.

In the opening speech of the second GMS economic cooperation summit in
China's southwestern Kunming city, Wen said China had already contributed
to the region substantially despite being at a "critical stage of
development".

"China will mainly count on itself in the process of development, but it
also needs better cooperation with the outside, particularly with its
neighbors," Wen said in the speech carried by state television.

"Despite the impressive growth of the Chinese economy as a whole, we must
be sober enough to recognize the fact that China's per capita GDP ranks
lower than the 100th in the world due to its huge population," the premier
said.

"There is still a very long way to go before China modernizes itself,
which will require strenuous efforts of several or even a dozen of
generations ... All of us are at a critical stage of development."

Wen said China had furnished money for projects like the Kunming-Bangkok
highway, provided training programs in various sectors and set up a 20
million dollars fund under the Asian Development Bank.

He urged greater cooperation in regional infrastructure construction,
while also underscoring the need to step up environmental protection, and
joint control of communicable diseases, especially HIV/AIDS and avian flu.

Besides China, the GMS grouping also includes Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia,
Laos and Myanmar and also enjoys strong backing from the Asian Development
Bank (ADB).

Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, Myanmar Prime Minister Than
Shwe and Laotian Prime Minister Boungnang Vorachit are attending the
two-day conclave in Yunnan province's Kunming city.

Since the GMS was set up in cooperation with the ADB in 1992, the bank has
provided about 1.18 billion dollars in loans and an additional 140 million
dollars in technical assistance to help jump-start economic development in
the region.

The region has also benefited from about 5.6 billion dollars in direct
foreign investment, the Xinhua news agency said.

The ADB expects to pour another 1.0 billion dollars of funding into the
six-nation group in the next five years, bank officials said earlier.

"We will provide a lot of funding over the next five years and we expect
that the sum will be something like 1.0 billion US dollars," Rajat M. Nag,
the bank's director general for the region, told Xinhua.

_____________________________________

July 3, Xinhua General News Service
Roundup: Myanmar strengthens cooperation with GMS countries

Yangon: Myanmar, a member of the six-country Greater Mekong Subregion
(GMS)-Economic Cooperation, has worked for closer economic ties together
with other members of the grouping by taking part in the implementation of
the GMS program.

Myanmar Prime Minister General Soe Win is due to leave Yangon on Sunday to
attend a two-day Second GMS Summit scheduled to kick off in Kunming,
capital of China's southwest Yunnan province. Together with other heads of
government, Soe Win will discuss sharing of efforts in boosting economic
cooperation among the GMS member countries and make a major step in the
future endeavors.

Initiated by the Asian Development Bank, the GMS-Economic Cooperation was
founded in 1992 to bring together China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand
and Vietnam along the Mekong river.

Since then, Myanmar has joined in signing several GMS agreements, under
which the six participating countries have prioritized some 100 projects
in eight sectors including investment, trade, transport, tourism,
telecommunications, energy, environment and human resources development.

Covered by the Mekong project in the transport sector, Myanmar has
completed building of Lashio-Muse road, and Lashio-Hsipaw- Loilem-Kengtung
road, while the building of 253-kilometer Tachilek- Kengtung-Mongla road
is underway.

Aimed at developing the international passenger and cargo transportation,
trade and tourism on the Lancang-Mekong river, Myanmar joined three other
countries located in the upper reaches of the Mekong river -- China, Laos
and Thailand, in signing a commercial navigation agreement in April 2000
in Myanmar's Tachilek.

Under the agreement, which provides for vessels of any signatory country
to sail freely between Simao in China and Luangprabang in Laos, Myanmar
opened two ports along with three other signatories for the move. The
Lancang-Mekong international waterway was officially opened to commercial
navigation in June 2001.

Meanwhile, a deep seaport project at Mawlamyine in Myanmar's southern Mon
state, which will contribute to the development of the East-West Corridor
under the GMS-economic cooperation program, is under survey. The East-West
economic corridor links the South China Sea to the Bay of Bengal, that is
from Vietnam's Danang Port in the East to Myanmar's Mawlamyine in the
West.

The project, which will prospectively promote regional cross- border
transportation, is likely to attract Singapore's investment into Myanmar.

On completion of the project, Myanmar will become a key seaport in the GMS
region and will benefit from being lying in the East- West economic
corridor.

The development of the East-West economic corridor constitutes part of the
GMS strategy program for the current decade starting in 2002, which calls
for further cooperation to realize the potential of the subregion through
the enabling policy environment and effective infrastructure linkages that
will facilitate cross- border trade, investment, tourism and other forms
of economic cooperation.

Myanmar also joined five other GMS nations in signing an agreement and a
protocol in April 2004 in Phnom Penh with regard to cross-border
transportation.

Moreover, Myanmar has been engaged in a plan to build a bridge crossing
the Mekong River to link Laos. The bridge, which will be the first
connecting the two countries, is projected near Kengkoke on the
Myanmar-Lao border linking with the R-3 road section connecting Thailand's
Chiangmai and China's Kunming.

Similar to the R-3 section, the R-4 section connecting Kunming and
Myanmar's Lashio and Kengtung provides access for the GMS countries to
cross into Myanmar.

In another cooperation with other GMS nations, Myanmar joined in signing
in May 2004 in Yangon the first ever comprehensive memorandum of
understanding (MoU) on joint combating of human trafficking in the
Asia-Pacific region at the ministers meeting, which is part of the
Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative against Trafficking (COMMIT)
process.

The MoU lays out methods and areas of cooperation to combat all aspects of
human trafficking, encompassing areas of policy and cooperation at the
national and international levels, legal frameworks, law enforcement and
criminal justice, protection, recovery and reintegration of victims as
well as preventive measures.

In this regard, Myanmar reaffirmed its commitment and willingness to work
together with GMS member countries by translating the words of commitment
into actions to break the vicious cycle of trafficking in the region.

The 4,500-km Mekong river originates from China's Qinghai and runs through
Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam down to South China Sea near
Ho Chi Minh city.

The GMS has a combined land area of nearly 2.3 million square- kilometers
and home to more than 250 million people.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

July 5, Agence France Presse
France rejects rights groups' calls for Total to leave Myanmar

Paris: France on Tuesday called accusations from human rights groups that
it was protecting the French oil company Total's activitivies in Myanmar
"unfair and baseless" and insisted it was observing EU sanctions on the
military junta ruling that Asian country.

Paris is "especially preoccupied by the situation in Myanmar" and believes
that only a genuine national reconciliation between the junta, its
opposition and ethnic minorities can provide a solution to its
international ostracism, foreign ministry spokeswoman Cecile Pozzo di
Borgo told journalists.

She noted that the European Union decided in April to renew for a year
sanctions against the Myanmar regime and said that "France is strictly and
forcefully applying these sanctions."

The sharp comments were in reaction to a statement from an association of
human rights groups Monday which alleged that the EU sanctions were
ineffective and that France was partly responsible.

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the League of Human
Rights, France Libertes and Info Burma complained that Myanmar's oil,
wood, construction and gas sectors that are most valuable to the regime
were unaffected by the international restrictions.

They singled out Total as profiting from Myanmar's oil sector and
contributing to the junta's coffers, and called for the French company to
withdraw from the country.

"To remain in Burma (Myanmar) is to be complicit in the ongoing human
rights violations that are taking place in the country," the FIDH said in
a statement.

A spokesman for Total said Monday that the sanctions against Myanmar
"penalised" local populations and expressed the opinion that the French
government's approach to the junta was in line with French diplomatic
tradition.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

July 4, Mizzima
India-Burma footsie

India's diplomatic overtures to Burma and its military junta, which has no
respect for democracy, has surprised many Burmese nationals in exile in
India, Thailand and the west. At a time when the west continues to condemn
the highhanded junta for rampant violation of human rights by imposing
economic sanctions, India is seen as sidling up to the Burmese military
rulers.

India did not even mince a word on Aung San Suu Kyi when world leaders and
the international community at large were loudly demanding her release on
19 June, her 60th birthday.

It is surprising that India, one of the larger democracies in the world,
should play footsie with the junta. At stake is India's geo-political and
economic interest, which one would think, is the reason for the UPA
government maintaining cordial relations with the junta. One ostensible
reason offered is that India wants the junta to flush out insurgents from
the northeastern region in safe havens in Burma. Apart from the ULFA and
Naga insurgent groups, the UPA government is worried about many insurgent
outfits including the PLA finding shelter in Burma and Bangladesh and
launching operations from these hideouts. In return for this favour India
instructed the Mizoram government to flush out Chin rebels hailing from
Burma holed up in the Mizoram hills and jungles. The Mizoram
administration sent word to the Chin rebels to vacate the camps or face
action. Without a shot being fired the camp was seized after the rebels
left. India was reciprocating the junta's gesture of coming down on Naga
rebels in camps in Burma some time ago.

On the economic front, India is keen to see through its tri-nation gas
pipeline project which will originate in Burma and pass through Bangladesh
into India. The 900-kilometre pipeline will bring in gas as far as Kolkata
in West Bengal. Bangladesh has laid down some conditions which India may
find difficult to meet. Bangladesh has been pressing India for allowing a
corridor to conduct trade with Nepal. The removal of existing trade
barriers between India and Bangladesh and the permission to use its land
will help Bangladesh bring in hydroelectric power from Bhutan.

Another reason for India to keep Burma in good humour relates to India
wanting to counter the growing Chinese influence on the military junta.
India had done much the same thing with Nepal earlier. It helped Nepal
with arms and ammunition to checkmate the Maoists and China's growing
proximity to the Nepal King.

India laid out the red carpet for military ruler General Than Shwe's visit
towards the end of 2004. It has also maintained a discreet silence over
human rights violation in Burma by the dictatorial military junta. In the
recent past India has also avoided mention of pro democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi under house arrest in Burma. While it suits India to keep its
lips sealed on the goings on in Burma, Burmese supporters of Suu Kyi are
appalled at India's about turn in the recent past. The UPA seems to have
swallowed General Than Shwe's much publicised proposed drafting of a new
Constitution and the seven-point programme trumpeted as a roadmap to
democracy. On this the UPA government is just following the policies of
previous NDA government, which too had extended the hand of friendship to
the Burmese military junta.

_____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

July 1, Burma Campaign UK
Aung San Suu Kyi to reach 10 years in detention on 24th October

On Monday 24th October 2005 Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Burma's democracy
movement, will have spent a total of 10 years in detention.

On this day the Burma Campaign UK will publish a report highlighting the
disparity between the supportive words of world leaders towards Aung San
Suu Kyi, and the lack of effective action to support her. Other protests
and actions are also being planned.

ABOUT AUNG SAN SUU KYI
Aung San Suu Kyi has been in and out of detention since 1989. She was held
under house arrest from 1989-1995, and again from 2000-2002. She was again
arrested in May 2003 after the Depayin massacre, during which up to 100 of
her supporters were beaten to death by the regime's militia. She is
currently under house arrest in Rangoon.

Fears for Aung San Suu Kyi's safety have been growing since a government
reshuffle in October 2004, in which hardliners seized control of key
government posts. General Soe Win, the mastermind behind the 30th May 2003
massacre, has been promoted to the post of Prime Minister. Since then the
military dictatorship has been intensifying its isolation of Aung San Suu
Kyi. She is allowed no visitors, her phone line has been cut, post
intercepted, and National League for Democracy volunteers providing
security at her compound have been removed. The United Nations envoy to
Burma has been barred from entering the country by the regime

On June 19th 2005 she spent her 60th birthday under house arrest.

A full profile is available at:
http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/aboutburma/aung_san_suu_kyi.htm
For more information contact Mark Farmaner, Burma Campaign UK, Media
Manager, on 020 7324 4713.

_____________________________________

July 4, Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders, International PEN
Myanmar (Burma): 75 year old editor U Win Tin must be immediately released

Amnesty International, International PEN and Reporters without Borders
(Reporters sans Frontieres) today urged the State Peace and Democracy
Council (SPDC) to immediately and unconditionally release U Win Tin, a
Burmese editor and National League for Democracy (NLD) advisor.  He was
arrested 16 years ago, on 4 July 1989, and is serving a 20 year prison
sentence. He is Myanmar's longest serving prisoner of conscience.

In three weeks time Win Tin should be eligible for release with time off
for good behaviour. He and other victims of abuses of the justice system,
who should never have been imprisoned in the first place, must be
released, immediately and without conditions.

Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders have delivered
petitions for his release to Myanmar (Burma) embassies in Paris and London
and will be sending further petitions to Myanmar diplomatic
representatives in Hong Kong.

U Win Tin has been imprisoned for the last 16 years on account of his
peaceful political opposition to authorities. He has been denied basic
rights, including the right to a fair trial, to writing materials and to
humane prison conditions. His imprisonment highlights how the justice
system in Myanmar has been misused in order to silence peaceful exercise
of the right to freedom of expression.

U Win Tin was imprisoned because of his senior position in the National
League for Democracy (NLD), and was sentenced to further years in prison
for attempting to inform the United Nations of ongoing human rights
violations in prisons in Myanmar. Authorities also accused him of writing
a magazine and poems to be circulated in prison, where possession of
writing materials was banned by authorities. He has been in a poor state
of health, exacerbated by his treatment in prison, which has included
torture, inadequate access to medical treatment,  being held in a cell
designed for military dogs, without bedding, and  being deprived of food
and water for long periods of time.

Background

Among the more than 1,350 political prisoners in Myanmar, there are many
prisoners of conscience who have been penalized for peaceful  exercise of
the right to freedom of expression, including being penalized for
photocopying leaflets without official permission and for possessing
literature and political journals produced outside Myanmar.

This includes U Win Htein, whom authorities sentenced for allegedly
requesting a former student political prisoner to talk to foreign
journalists about torture. Many are elderly or infirm, or have been given
such lengthy prison sentences that they are not scheduled to be released
until they are in their 70s or 80s. The authorities continue to arrest and
hold political activists incommunicado, deny them access to lawyers and
due process of law, and to harass former political  prisoners and
activists.

To sign a petition for the release of U Win Tin and other prisoners of
conscience in Myanmar, please go to:
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=2059

For appeal cases on other prisoners in Myanmar, and further information on
U Win Tin's imprisonment, please see:
http://web.amnesty.org/library/eng-mmr/index