BurmaNet News, August 18, 2005

[Editor]

August 18, 2005 Issue # 2785


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Former Indonesian FM will meet Than Shwe
Irrawaddy: NLD members among 17 arrested for Rangoon bombings
SHAN: Still no signs of outlawing license to rape
Irrawaddy: HR activist, two others arrested in Kachin State
Khonumthung News: Primary students engaged in transporting army ration
Kaowao News: Heavy rains cause villagers to evacuate in Karen state

ON THE BORDER
Khonumthung News: Kaladan multi-modal transport project soon to be on course

BUSINESS / MONEY
Socialfunds.com: Lack of human rights policy concerns Chevron shareowners
in light of Unocal merger
Irrawaddy: Massive investment in Burmese port

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Burmese people are ready for compromise

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

August 18, Irrawaddy
Former Indonesian FM will meet Than Shwe - Yeni

Former Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas arrived in Rangoon as a
special envoy of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to promote the UN’s
reformed policies on the world’s poor countries.

"I come here as an envoy of the secretary-general to discuss UN reform and
have been visiting many countries in the Pacific," he told reporters in
Rangoon.

Former Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas (left) talks with
journalists at a hotel in Rangoon upon his arrived in Burma.Alatas was
appointed in April as Kofi Annan's envoy to the 2005 World Summit next
month, together with other prominent political figures from Ireland,
Mozambique, Mexico and Latvia, to help promote Annan's new agenda, which
calls on world leaders to decisively move towards important goals—reducing
poverty, the threat of war, terrorism and deadly weapons, and promoting
human rights in developing countries.

Alatas is expected to meet Burmese junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe and
other government leaders such as Prime Minister Gen Soe Win, as well as
representatives from NGOs during his three-day visit. Democratic
opposition group the National League for Democracy said that it had not
been included on Alatas’s schedule.

But a western diplomat told The Irrawaddy that the UN envoy may be seeking
permission to meet detained NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Some observers
also suggest that Alatas may raise the issue of Burma's political deadlock
and the release of  Suu Kyi when he meets Than Shwe.

Alatas last visited Burma in September 2003 as a special envoy of
Indonesia's then-president Megawati Sukarnoputri. At that time, he raised
the issue of Suu Kyi's release from house arrest ahead of an Asean summit
meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

Alatas is the highest-ranking UN delegate to visit Burma since James
Morris, executive director of the UN World Food Programme, arrived in
early August. Morris warned that Burma faces a humanitarian crisis,
charging that the junta has failed to address the burgeoning problem by
imposing restrictions on international aid agencies in the country.

UN agencies have strongly advocated aid to Burma, and some representatives
in Burma—mostly concerned with humanitarian assistance—want to keep good
relations with the junta. But some have expressed skeptism about UN
efforts on human rights in the country.

Razali Ismail, the UN special envoy to Burma for the past five years, has
not been allowed entry to Burma since his last visit in March 2004. He was
also refused a meeting last month with Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win,
whom he had flown to Vientiane to see during an Asean security meeting. UN
human rights rapporteur Paulo Sergio Pinheiro also has not been allowed to
visit Burma since November 2003.

However, Kofi Annan received an invitation to visit Burma from Snr-Gen
Than Shwe when the two met in Indonesia for the 50th anniversary of the
Asian-African summit of nonaligned nations in April. Alatas refused to
confirm to reporters in Rangoon whether Annan would accept the invitation.

Alatas will submit his report on UN reform to a summit of global leaders
next month at UN headquarters in New York.

____________________________________

August 18, Irrawaddy
NLD members among 17 arrested for Rangoon bombings - Shah Paung

The Burmese military government arrested 17 ethnic Karen in Irrawaddy
Division, Ein-me Township, in early July on suspicion that they assisted a
Karen rebel group in carrying out the deadly May 7 bombings in Rangoon, a
spokesperson for the opposition National League for Democracy said today.

The spokesperson, Myint Thein, said that the group of 17 included two NLD
members—Saw Myo Chit and Saw Poe Dye—both of whom were forced to wear
hoods before being transferred to an undisclosed location in Rangoon.

Few additional details about the arrest of the NLD members are available.
According to Myint Thein, the case is not connected directly to the NLD,
but rather involves security issues related to the Burmese military
government’s ongoing conflict with the insurgent Karen National Union.

Mahn Sha, general secretary of the KNU, said that the junta has accused
people suspected of hiding weapons for the KNU of being involved in the
planning and execution of the May 7 bomb attacks in Rangoon.

Mahn Sha denies that any of the detainees are connected in any way with
the KNU.

Three bombs—placed at the Dagon Center, Junction-8 Center and the Yangon
[Rangoon] Trader—exploded nearly simultaneously in Rangoon on May 7.
Official reports claimed that 19 were killed and 162 injured in the
blasts. In the weeks following the bombings, the Burmese junta blamed
several armed opposition groups, including the KNU and the Shan State
Army, and even suggested that Thailand—with the assistance of a powerful
western nation—might have played a role in the bombings.

Two days after the Rangoon bombings, the Burmese government asked local
police to distribute leaflets offering a reward of 10 million kyat (US
$10,500) for information leading to the arrest of the bombers.
____________________________________

August 17, Shan Herald Agency for News
Still no signs of outlawing license to rape

More than three years after the regime was condemned by the international
community for condoning sexual violence following the publication of
License to Rape by the Shan Women's Action Network, the Burma Army has yet
to stop using sexual abuse as a weapon of war, reports border-based Lahu
National Development Organization.

Light Infantry Battalion 329, based in Monghpyak, roughly halfway between
Kengtung and Tachilek in eastern Shan State, is a case in point.

    * On 26 June, the column headed by the battalion commander (who was
identified by Thai-based Network for Democracy and Development as
Lt-Col Toe Myat) surrounded the twin villages of Jani and Ah Pawday, 4
miles south of Monghpyak. Some of the villagers, were accused of
supporting the Shan State Army "South" of Col Yawdserk, bound and
beaten. In the afternoon, Ah Sha, a 14 year old girl was raped by the
commander right in front of her parents. The villagers were later
warned, "If there is any failure in future to inform (the Army) about
the rebels' movements, you are going to witness more excesses from
us."
    * On 1 July, another village, Hajakhai, about 18 miles on the road to
Tachilek was surrounded and finding no signs of SSA members, a 15-year
old girl was picked out and raped while the village headman and her
parents, under armed custody, stood helpless outside the bedroom. The
act was committed by the battalion commander himself, claimed the
sources.

The 329th column was ambushed later on 13 July when 16 soldiers were
reportedly killed. (Spoils of War, 15 August 2005)

The SSA is active in Mongpiang, Kengtung, Mongyawng, Monghpyak, Tachilek,
Monghsat and Mongton townships in eastern Shan State.

____________________________________

August 18, Irrawaddy
HR activist, two others arrested in Kachin State

A human rights activist and two friends arrested last weekend by Burmese
military authorities and charged with possessing unauthorized VCD’s, tapes
and a Kachin language political book titled Lang Ji U E Pyen Yu Su—all
reportedly produced by exiled Burmese human rights groups—remain in
custody in Myitkyina, according to one detainee’s family.

N-Lum Ja Naw, 24, and two friends were arrested on August 13 at Laja Yang
check-point by Burmese soldiers while traveling to Laiza, a small town on
the China-Burma border in Kachin State. A family member of Ja Naw told The
Irrawaddy by phone from Laiza today that they learned of Ja Naw’s arrest
two days after the fact, when his sister called home to inform the family.
According to the family, the two friends—one an ethnic Shan, and the other
a Kachin—have not been identified by name.

No exiled Burmese political or human rights organizations have yet claimed
Ja Naw as a member. His father serves as an official in the Kachin
ceasefire group Kachin Independence Organization and has traveled to
Myitkyina with his wife to appeal their son’s case.

____________________________________

August 18, Khonumthung News Group
Primary students engaged in transporting army ration

The military authorities in Chin state, Burma reportedly engaged ten
students of Malar primary school, Malar village, transporting army
rations.

On July 15, Sergeant Tin Soe along with his five companies from Light
Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 304 station in Matupi town had forcibly made
ten underage primary students to carry army rations to Lailenpi from Malar
village, Matupi Township, Chin state, according to a Village Council (VC)
from Chin state (withheld name) who is currently visiting Mizoram state,
India.

The relay transportation of the rations from Sabongte military camp by the
villagers along Sabawngte and Malar came to a halt as there was no
villagers to relay the rations to the next village. Malar villagers were
reportedly out working in their respective fields. (Village fields are
situated in a far off places from the village which require staying there
weeks after weeks during hectic work season)

The VC member further elaborated that the Sergeant immediately summoned
the village head of Malar village and slapped him twice for failure to
make earlier preparation and failure to provide porters.

The Sergeant demanded ten students and five government employees to
transport the ration despite the village head request to wait for the
villagers to return from their fields.

The students were exhausted halfway as their loads were heavy and
unbearable for them. Five villagers from Lailenpi, returning from Mizoram,
came to their rescue, who sympathized and help the students in carrying
the rations.

The students and the government employees were made to carry 10 bags of
rice, 20 bottles of edible oil, 15 kilograms of Fish paste, 15 kilograms
of Salt and 7 and half kilograms of Pepper. The distance between Malar and
Lailenpi village is about 12 miles.

SPDC authorities in Chin state often engage students in transporting army
rations, in tea plantation and road construction etc. badly affecting
their studies.

____________________________________

August 17, Kaowao News
Heavy rains cause villagers to evacuate in Karen state

Heavy monsoon rains have flooded out hundreds of villages and
transportations routes along the Jine and Zami rivers between Mon and
Karen States.

'Villages and motor roads have been submerged under floodwaters from the
heavy rains and the overflowing river,' said a local Mon woman to Kaowao
reporter yesterday.

 "My house is completely under water.  About a quarter of village homes of
over 500 are also under water," the elderly woman from southern Pha Ann
Township of Karen State said.

For over two weeks rain has fallen steadily almost everyday leading to the
heavy flooding. A combination of a poor drainage system and the heavy
downpours has forced villagers to evacuate from their homes.

Townships affected are Pha Ann, Kaw Kareik of Karen State and Kyaik Mayaw
in Mon State.  Water supplies and roads have also been damaged or wiped
out by the flooding and local people fears the floodwater will soon affect
low lying rice fields if the rains continue to fall like they have in the
past two weeks which have caused flooding in other parts of South and
Southeast Asia, particularly India.

'Heavy rains have also been reported in Kyar Inn Seik Kyi Township in
which many villages are now under water,' said a Mon trader who just
arrived to the Thai Burma border.

The heavy downpours have caused the Zami and Jine Rivers to overflow its
banks, the Zami river flows along the motor route to the border town of
Three Pagodas Pass.

'We travel by boat to get around,' the trader said. 'We see only water not
land, the roads and the whole area is under water.'

Another Mon woman from the area said the flooding is not usual,
transportation is only by motorboat; many families have packed up
everything into motorboats and are moving to higher grounds. 'The
passengers from Three Pagodas Pass border travel to Kyar Inn Seik Kyi
township easily by boat to the higher levels,' the trader said.

After the water recedes, the motor roads, water supplies, and villages in
the area will be heavily damaged from the flooding and there is concern
over the outbreak of flood related diseases which will affect the
vulnerable, the children and the elderly. Waterborne diseases include
dengue fever, diarrhea, and dysentery.

It is not known how the Burmese government will respond to the heavy
flooding in the area and there has been no news on cases of deaths
resulting from the flooding, The monsoon rains arrive in May and last
until October in Burma.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

August 15, Khonumthung News
Kaladan multi-modal transport project soon to be on course

Inland waterway and highway connecting Mizoram state, India and Paletwa,
Chin state, Burma will be on course soon, reports the Aizawl Post, Mizoram
local paper.
.
The Kaladan Multi-Modal Transport Project, connecting Mizoram and Chin
state and access to the Bay of Bengal, was on the list of cross-border
projects to improve connectivity between India and Burma since 2001. The
cost of the project will be bore by the government of India and it will on
course shortly, said E Ahmed, Minister of state for External Affairs,
Government of India.

Regarding this statement, a government servant in Lawngtlai told
Khonumthung News Group, "The project has been cleared long back and
however the project can begin only after the Lawngtlai Autonomous Council
is enact." The water way is proposed to start off from Kawlcaw village,
Lawngtlai district, Mizoram.

Meanwhile, the Lawngtlai Autonomous Council was defunct and election for
the new terms of the council is set for the month of October 2005. "The
project will be initiated after the Lawngtlai Council's election" assumed
the government servant.

The Kaladan Multi-Modal Transport Project connecting Mizoram and Paletwa
of Chin state will serve as an easy accessibility of the two countries,
trade and commerce and an international highway between Burma and
Bangladesh.  Meanwhile, a Trilateral Highway connecting Moreh of Manipur
state via Bagan of Burma and Measot, Thailand and other ASEAN countries
has been an agenda of current discussion.

The Indian Government (IG) too will upgrade the Indo-Burma trade route
connecting Tedim and New Rih town, Rih and Falam roads. The IG has
constructed the 160 kilometers long route connecting Tamu-Kalewa-Kalaymyo
road in 2001.

In building a better relationship between India and Burma, the Second Head
of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), Gen. Maung Aye visited
India in 2001 and the MoU of the IG and Burma Military regime in 2004,
when Gen. Than Shwe visited India, up gradation of border roads and
cracking down on dissidents for the restoration of law and order in the
border areas, has been the outcome of the new relationship between the two
countries.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / MONEY

August 16, Socialfunds.com
Lack of human rights policy concerns Chevron shareowners in light of
Unocal merger - William Baue

Part two of this two-part article examines the implications of the delay
in adopting a human rights policy given the inheritance of Unocal holdings
in Burma and Alien Tort Claims Act cases.

Chevron (ticker: CVX) shareowners and socially responsible investment
(SRI) advocates are voicing concern over the company's lack of a human
rights policy. The 2002 Chevron Corporate Responsibility Report stated the
company had "developed a draft Human Rights Statement" and that it sought
to "revise and finalize the statement and begin corporate-wide
implementation in 2004."

"As of now, Chevron has not published its human rights statement nor
disclosed its timeline for implementing a human rights policy," writes
AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka in a July 22, 2005 letter to
Chevron CEO and Board Chair David O'Reilly. "How would Chevron implement,
monitor, and enforce such a policy?"

In a July 28 response letter, Chevron Board Vice Chair Peter Robertson
discloses a timeline, but he does not answer the question.

"While we had originally targeted 2004 to begin deployment of this
Statement, we have extended the time to allow for a more thorough internal
consultation," Mr. Robertson writes. "Our goal now is to complete
consultations and begin corporate-wide deployment of the Statement in
2006."

Mr. Robertson's letter leaves many other of Mr. Trumka's questions and
concerns unaddressed. For example, Mr. Trumka expresses concern over
Chevron's bid to aquire Unocal (UCL), complete with its stake in the
Yadana pipeline in Burma (also known as Myanmar) that links Unocal (and
now Chevron) to well documented human rights abuses. Mr. Trumka notes that
several other Chevron shareowners, including the California Public
Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS--the largest US public pension fund)
and the New York State Common Retirement Fund, share the AFL-CIO's concern
about this merger.

"In the case of Burma, we believe a human rights policy would not be
enforceable," states Mr. Trumka. "Does Chevron intend to divest from
Burma?"

Mr. Robertson does not answer this question in his July 28 response
letter, noting that the acquisition had not yet taken place then. Even
after Unocal shareowners ratified the acquisition last week, however,
Chevron spokesperson Jeff Moore maintains the silence.

"We are looking at all of Unocal's assets, but haven't yet made any
decisions on the disposition of assets in specific markets," Mr. Moore
told SocialFunds.com.

The financial liability of the Yadana investment was established earlier
this year when Unocal reportedly paid $30 million to settle an Alien Tort
Claims Act (ATCA) lawsuit alleging the company hired Burmese security
forces knowing they committed murder, rape, and forced labor. In an August
9 letter to Sam Nunn, the former Democratic Senator from Georgia who now
chairs the Public Policy Committee of Chevron's board, Mr. Trumka pointed
out that "Unocal may be subject to addiational claims."

"As the first step to establish an enforceable human rights policy, the
Public Policy Committee should recommend when Chevron should divest from a
country with untenable human rights abuses," Mr. Trumka writes. "It is our
view that investment in the Yadana pipeline is an unacceptable legal and
political risk, and that Chevron should divest from Burma just as Texaco
did in 1997 prior to its merger with Chevron."

Mr. Trumka's July 22 letter cites another ATCA case (based on a 1789 law
allowing allowing non-citizens to seek legal recourse in US courts for
violations of international law) posing human rights and financial risks
to Chevron. Bowoto v. Chevron alleges Chevron's complicity in human rights
abuses carried out by Nigerian soldiers in 1998 and 1999, as detailed in
part one of this two-part article.

The AFL-CIO is not the only Chevron shareowner concerned about Unocal's
Yadana pipeline investment, the Bowoto v. Chevron case, and the company's
failure to uphold its promise to produce a human rights statement. The
Wisconsin Jesuit Province has been leading a coalition of faith-based
investors in dialogue with Chevron for about a year urging implementation
of a human rights policy, according to Doris Gormley, the SRI consultant
to the National Jesuit Committee on Investor Responsibility (NJCIR).

These issues "all pose both reputation and liability risk to the company
and they are topics of discussion and clarification during our dialogues,"
Sister Gormley told SocialFunds.com. "We continue to work in a focused way
to see this policy realized."

This work will continue at least through next year, if Chevron sticks to
the timeline presented by Mr. Robertson in his July 28 letter. Of course,
Chevron's implementation of a human rights policy would not end the work
of holding the company accountable on human rights issues.

"Frankly, from my perspective, it doesn't really matter what their policy
is, it matters what happens on the ground--the policy's wonderful if they
follow it," said Rick Herz, a lawyer for EarthRights International (ERI)
who is trying the Bowoto v. Chevron case.


Part one of this two-part article examines the implications of a new
document identified in the discovery phase of the Bowoto v. Chevron case
indicating Chevron paid Nigerian soldiers for services on a day several
villagers were allegedly killed.

http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/1781.html

_____________________________________

August 17, Irrawaddy
Massive investment in Burmese port

The Burmese government is set to invest US $700 million in a 1,230-hectare
industrial zone at Thilawa Port, 25 kilometers south of Rangoon, according
to local journal The Voice. The Rangoon weekly quotes the Department of
Human Settlement and Housing Development as saying "high-tech industries,
labor intensive industries, production of automobile spare parts,
electrical goods and foodstuff [industries] will be set up."

Work on the project, in which China is understood to have made huge
investments, is expected to begin in 2006 and not finish until 2020.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

August 17, Irrawaddy
Burmese people are ready for compromise - Amyotheryei U Win Naing

Rangoon: US President George Bush signed into law in July a congressional
decision to extend sanctions on imports from Burma by another year. The US
believes the move will reduce the military government's hard currency
earnings and finally force the dictators to their knees and return power
to the people. But how wrong are they? Although I am an activist for
democracy, living in Burma, I must now speak out against US government
policy, for the sake of finding a common ground for compromise.

For years I supported economic sanctions, but I don’t any more. On the
other hand, nor do I oppose them. I am just disappointed in the failure of
sanctions to help us achieve our democratic goals. All concerned should
ask themselves what economic sanctions have achieved for the Burmese in
the past five years. The answer is: nothing. Is Aung San Suu Kyi free?
Have any political prisoners been freed because of sanctions? Are we one
step closer to freedom from military dictatorship? The answer to all these
questions is a resounding no.

So what have sanctions achieved for the Burmese people? Moral support?
Yes, economic sanctions against the Burmese military government have given
moral support to those who are fighting for democracy and human rights.
That is all. I welcome the moral support for our struggles, but I must
honestly say it is not good enough any more. Right now we desperately need
truly effective measures to bring the State Peace and Development Council
to its senses.

In recent official statements, the Burmese military government has drawn
attention to unemployment caused by the closure of Rangoon garment
factories early last year because of economic sanctions. It claimed the
closures had affected almost 500,000 people, including the dependents of
the unemployed workers. The purpose of underlining these statistics was to
raise anti-American sentiments among the people and for no other reason.

The military leaders in Burma are quite aware of the problem of national
poverty but they couldn’t be less concerned about it; it’s not among their
priorities. US policy makers have to be made aware of this in order to
understand why sanctions have become ineffective against the Burmese
regime.

It is a known fact that Burma is one of the poorest countries in the
world. Once among the top economic performers in Southeast Asia, Burma now
struggles to stay clear of the last position in world poverty tables.  Did
economic sanctions cause this reversal? Certainly not. Economic
mismanagement, nepotism, corruption and incompetence by past and present
military governments were the cause, not sanctions.

People are impoverished in Burma by a bad economy. The poorer they get,
the more they become occupied with the problem of family survival. Anybody
with a job is pressured to keep his or her position and to remain fearful
of challenging or upsetting the employer. Have the economic sanctions
imposed by the US and other world nations advanced the freedom of workers
in Burma or have they pushed them into submission?  It’s a question that
demands close consideration by the nations that have imposed sanctions
against the regime.

The SPDC isn’t worried about international pressure. It has demonstrated
its defiance in face of the world before and it’s now doing so more than
ever. Government-sponsored mass rallies held throughout the country in
July in commemoration of Burmese Women's Day called for Aung San Suu Kyi
to be sent into exile and for an end to outside interference in Burmese
affairs.  Current rallies echo those demands.

Observers also point out signs of diplomatic tension between Rangoon and
the US and Britain. Burma has still not sent a replacement ambassador to
Washington, and the customary message of congratulations on the US July 4
national holiday was not sent this year. US Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice stayed away from the Asean foreign ministers’ meeting in Vientiane,
Laos, this month, in what was seen as a sign of protest against the
Burmese government. When terrorist bombs exploded in London no message of
condolence came from the Burmese government. Do these signs point towards
a stronger diplomatic war? If so, and if relations between Burma and other
nations deteriorated, this would have negative consequences for our
struggle for democracy and human rights.
It can also be questioned if Burma is trying to play the tough guy role
just to hide its internal conflicts and local problems My guess is that
Rangoon really is getting tough with everybody, both local and
international. It is showing its determination and hard stance by
repeatedly stating: "We will not change our ways."

So what should we do?  International leaders are talking about confronting
the military government with more boycotts and more isolation. I believe
an escalation of these kinds of actions will not work since they have
failed before.  The world must find new ways to approach the tough guys in
our country.  If the Burmese government won’t bow to threats, can we try
to persuade them to compromise? I mean real, true and serious persuasion
and compromise.

Western leaders must prepare themselves now to accept the most practical
resolutions for solving the Burma problem. All Burmese people, like me,
want full democracy right away, although we understand that is not
possible. So we want  compromise. We want the assurance of a future
democratic Burma within a certain time frame guaranteed by the military
government. In return we would work with the military leaders for a
smooth, peaceful and guaranteed change of systems. Consequently, I would
like to appeal to world leaders to make certain changes in their Burma
policy to include the following assurances:

1. To offer a general pardon to all individuals and groups in Burma
accused of political atrocities and international human rights abuses.

2. To allow a reasonable transitional period for establishing democracy in
the country.

3. Not to insist on transferring power to any individual party until a
time of stability and tranquility

At the same time the world must act together to force the military
government to take the first step of democratization immediately and allow
political, educational, and social freedom in accordance with
international practices. The world must see to it that these processes are
carried out by the military government earnestly and in all sincerity.
There’s much talk in Burma nowadays about a “national reconciliation”
process. Everybody wants to see it come about, but nobody knows how to
start the process let alone how to achieve its purpose. My proposal is to
start along the lines of those suggested policy assurances and to engage
the help of the world in bringing them about.

Amyotheryei U Win Naing heads the Rangoon-based pro-democracy National
Politicians Group, Myanmar.