BurmaNet News, September 3-6, 2005

[Editor]

September 3-6, 2005 Issue # 2796


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Burma to host copyright workshop
DVB: Not worth it: Burma junta’s newspapers’ price to rise
South China Morning Post: General's eyesore tower mars sacred Bagan skyline
Xinhua: Myanmar to establish community conserved areas
Xinhua: Myanmar, Israel strengthen staff training cooperation in agriculture

ON THE BORDER
Mizzima: 250 Burmese workers sent back to Thai-Burma border
Narinjara: Two more BDR battalions will camp along Burmese border region
Bangkok Post: Thai army to establish Border Affairs Department

HEALTH / AIDS
Irrawaddy: International community seeks to overcome Global Fund setback
Xinhua: New AIDS control program with Global Fund financing launched in
southwest China

BUSINESS / FINANCE
AFP: Bangladesh and India fail to reach agreement on tri-nation gas pipeline
AP: Myanmar, China sign contract for nation's biggest hydro plant

REGIONAL
DVB: Burmese workers intimidated by Thai police and employers
Bernama (Malaysian National News Agency): Stop deporting Rohingya refugees
- Tenaganita
AFP: East Asian Summit to drive regional strategy: Thai and Singapore PMs

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Wilton Park meeting ends in continued secrecy

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

September 6, Irrawaddy
Burma to host copyright workshop - Shah Paung

Burma is set to host a copyright workshop this month in Rangoon to educate
media professionals in the country about copyright law.

The workshop will be held at Traders Hotel from September 7-9 and will be
sponsored by Japan’s Sasakawa Foundation, according to Myo Thant of the
Myanmar [Burma] Writers and Journalists Association, who will attend the
workshop.

Apart from the Sasakawa Foundation and MWJA, other contributors to the
workshop include the Asia Pacific Culture Centre for Unesco and the World
Intellectual Property Organization.

According to Myo Thant, Burma currently has no legal mechanism to protect
intellectual property rights. Many local artists and writers copy music
and literature from other countries, translating lyrics and texts into
Burmese without seeking permission.

The lack of copyright protection in Burma made headlines recently when
Rangoon-based musicians objected to a popular local radio station—City
FM—using their songs on the air without paying royalties to the artists.
The station has been operated by the Yangon [Rangoon] City Development
Committee since 2002 and is one of three government-owned radio stations.

The Chinese news agency Xinhua recently reported that Burma intends to
formulate copyright law by January 2006 in order to provide legal
protection for its artists. The law will follow guidelines set by the WIPO
and would set intellectual property rights for the protection of literary
works, trademarks, mechanical design and patents for inventions. Burma is
currently the only member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
that has not signed any international copyright agreements.

As a member of the World Trade Organization and the WIPO, Burma was set to
draft intellectual property protection laws by 2005, in accordance with
the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Right Agreement signed
in January 2000.

____________________________________

September 5, Democratic Voice of Burma
Not worth it: Burma junta’s newspapers’ price to rise

Burma’s military junta, State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), had
announced on 5 September that it is to raise the price of all its
newspapers five folds – from ten to fifty kyat, from the coming October.

The announcement followed the announcement of tax hikes on electricity,
water and land a couple of weeks ago and ordinary Burmese people are
promising not to buy the newspapers anymore.

“They are not the kinds of newspapers worth that amount of money,” a woman
reader told DVB. “I am only subscribing the newspapers to read obituaries
and wedding announcements. I mainly read obituaries. The rest are useless.
They are not news.”

“I only read newspapers to read obituaries and job ads and the like,”
another reader said. “There is no news. Inside them, there are only
pictures of pagodas and the like. As I had scant interest earlier on, now
it is worse as the price would jump five folds.”

The woman insisted that car accidents, murders, inflation and the rise of
commodity price are also news and they should be included in the
newspapers.

“They don’t include that kind of news. They only say what they want to do.
By reading their newspapers, you can clearly see their intention. If you
want to know only that, you can read them,” she said. “For example, if
there is an outbreak of diseases like the current outbreak of typhoid,
they should tell people how to prevent it from occurring and how many
types of typhoid there are and the like.

All the readers said that there is no informative and educational news in
the junta mouthpiece newspapers and that they won’t buy them even if they
are forced to.

But the price hike would not only hurt the reading public but also the
junta who use the newspapers as their mouthpieces and purveyors of their
monotonous propaganda as people will avoid buying them, said renowned
Burmese newspaperman Ludhu Sein Win.

____________________________________

September 2, South China Morning Post
General's eyesore tower mars sacred Bagan skyline - Nick Meo

Bagan: It is known as Than Shwe's tower after the military dictator who
had a vision in a dream of a 60-metre viewing complex complete with
cocktail lounge in Myanmar's exquisite city of 1,000-year-old temples.

Inhabitants of the ancient city of Bagan privately admit they hate it and
whisper it was sacrilegious to build the tower higher than all the 3,000
pagodas. Tourists call it an eyesore.

Global experts trying to preserve one of the world's great cultural
treasures have condemned it.

For Myanmar's military rulers and their business cronies, however, the
opening of the Bagan Tower last month promises lucrative revenues and the
generals are deaf to complaints that it disfigures a spectacular skyline.

The cylindrical tower, 16 storeys high, with a viewing platform reached by
a lift, has been erected next to a golf course in the south-west corner of
the ancient city.

The tower is part of a 72-room luxury hotel and conference centre that
will open this year as part of a drive by Myanmar's generals to
reinvigorate a tourist trade, damaged by calls from democracy campaigner
Aung San Suu Kyi for foreigners to stay away.

Campaigners argue that hard currency spent by tourists helps shore up one
of the world's worst regimes, notorious for its human rights abuses.

Bagan is the biggest tourist draw in the country. Tens of thousands of
visitors make the nine-hour journey by boat from Mandalay to see
spectacular pagodas, built by 11th and 12th century kings along the banks
of the Irrawaddy River.

New development projects are, however, destroying the area. Hotels are
sprouting up around the ruins; a monstrous concrete "palace" is under
construction next to the ancient city gate; and hundreds of small pagodas
have been rebuilt in new brickwork, destroying their historical value.

Observers have been scathing about the tower, which has been labelled a
"big mistake" by Unesco. World heritage status, craved by the Rangoon
regime, has pointedly not been granted for Bagan.

Sloppy rebuilding of pagodas by the government, much of it paid for by
officials anxious to win religious merit, has also been lamented.

The tower is the most prominent eyesore at the site, although it is
trumpeted by the tourist board as an exciting new attraction.

It was built by ruling strongman Than Shwe's son-in-law U Teza, one of the
most powerful men in the country.

Teza is banned from visiting European Union countries under targeted
sanctions and is suspected of involvement in arms deals.

The project has always been closely associated with the military.

In a ceremony to mark the start of construction in 2002, General Khin
Nyunt drove a golden stake into the ground and buried gems for good luck.

The project is loathed by the people of the city, who were forcibly
cleared from their homes 10 years ago. One Bagan taxi driver said: "We all
hate the tower. It is higher than the biggest pagodas and that is
offensive to our religion. It is ugly and spoils our beautiful city. But
what can we do? In Myanmar nobody can go against the government."

The most damaging long-term development may be the dire reconstruction of
pagodas.

Regime officials eager to atone for their sins are responsible for most of
the rebuilding, using modern materials such as bathroom tiles.

In traditional Burmese culture, spending money on religious buildings is a
meritorious act which counts against sins when it comes to the next
reincarnation.

Donors hope that their generosity will stop them from returning as a rat
or a cockroach in their next life.

"The generals could not build a pagoda big enough to wipe out their sins,"
one tour guide said.

____________________________________

September 6, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar to establish community conserved areas

Yangon: Myanmar will launch a nationwide campaign to establish community
conserved areas in the next two months, urging increased participation of
the rural community, sources with the Forestry Department said on Tuesday.

These areas would be set up in natural or modified ecosystems, the Nature
and Wildlife Conservation Division of the department disclosed, adding
that the program would provide support needed for systematic forest
management.

So far, Myanmar has established 41 protected areas covering over 45,000
square-kilometers or 7 percent of the total land area. These areas include
national parks, biodiversity conservation, buffer zones and public
recreation.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Development Program has helped 50 villages
to conserve mangrove forests in the delta region of Ayeyawaddy division,
while the Japan International Cooperation Agency is promoting community
participation in 54 townships in Myanmar's central dry zone.

In addition, Myanmar set up the world's largest tiger reserve in the
Hukuang Valley in 2003 with the support of the New York- based Wildlife
Conservation Society.

Myanmar has a coverage of 52 percent in terms of forest.

____________________________________

September 5, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar, Israel strengthen staff training cooperation in agriculture

Yangon: Myanmar will send 150 government employees to Israel later this
month to undertake a year-long agriculture diploma course as part of its
bid to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the sector, according to
sources at the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation Monday.

The present batch of Myanmar trainees, sent to Southern Israel' s Arava
International Center for Agricultural Training, will bring the total to
more than 280 in the diploma course since 2003 when the first batch were
dispatched for the course.

Before that such training was only meant for on-the-job training, the
sources said.

The diploma programs on agriculture include subjects such as advanced
farming techniques, economics, marketing, post-harvest technology, animal
husbandry and computer use, it added.

The bilateral cooperation program has been funded by Israel since 1994.,

With a population of about 54.3 million now, Myanmar stands as a country
with agriculture as the mainstay of its economy. The agricultural output
value takes over 40 percent of the gross domestic product and its export
represents about 20 percent of the total.

The country has a cultivable land of 18.23 million hectares, of which
10.12 million are under crops, the figures from the Ministry of
Agriculture and Irrigation show.

Meanwhile, Myanmar and Israel have been seeking economic and industrial
cooperation. Israel's investment has reached 2 million US dollars so far
in Myanmar.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

September 4, Mizzima News
250 Burmese workers sent back to Thai-Burma border

A Thai factory laid off and sent 250 Burmese workers back to Burma border
after they called a strike demanding for working hours reduction.  The
workers from a Thai fishing net factory located at Khao Ke township (Htee
Char Phannit Factory) in eastern Thailand called a strike for reduction of
working hours from 12 hours to 9 hours a day. First, the factory officials
compromised with the workers. Then, they made some leaders of workers to
be arrested by police and sent back to border. When other workers
protested against this, all workers were laid off and sent back to Burma
border.

Moe Moe from Mon State of Burma told Mizzima over telephone while she was
still on the bus, “They called our leaders for holding meeting. Then we
heard they (leaders) were arrested. We smell rat when they don’t return in
a considerable time. Then, we asked the whereabouts of leaders. We were
told that they were sent back to Maesot (Thailand’s border town with
Burma). When we asked the manager to allow us to see detained leaders,
they called in the ferry buses, told us to board the buses if we wish to
see our leaders. We waited for a whole night without sleep. In the
morning, they settled all the wages, gave back our work permit and sent us
back to Burma border. We left our factory this afternoon (September 3) and
now entering Maesot”.   The

Burmese workers in the factory worked 12 hours a day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
and were paid only Thai Bhat 130. The workers held a meeting and decided
to demand working hour reduction to the factory manager. After the
negotiations, the owner of the factory compromised with the workers to
reduce the working hours to one and half hour, from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
And then they raised the wage to Thai Bhat 140. The workers agreed with
this compromised solution and went back to work again.   But on that
evening, the ferry buses did not appear even after waiting half an hour
after their working hours.

Thus, the workers returned to their quarters on foot. The owner was
displeased with this action of the workers and called some leaders of the
workers and their relatives total 16 in the pretext of holding meeting
with them.  Other workers worried about them and asked the manager to let
them see their colleagues. Then the police arrived the factory and told
them that all 16 workers were sent back to Burma.  “We are told that they
would take us back to Burma if we wish. Then we all decided to go back to
Burma”, Moe Moe said.  All five buses were escorted by police pilot car
and policemen on each car. The workers requested police not to send hem
back to Burma directly.

Mizzima has learnt that a Thai NGO, Migrant Assistance Program (MAP) will
assist them to get stay permit in Maesot.  The factory manager U Kyaw
Myint is a Burmese citizen, holding the Burmese passport (Myanmar
passport). The workers accused him of manipulating them.  Moe Moe said,
“We cannot see directly the factory owner. We had to say everything to
him. But he did not convey all our messages to the owner”.  Thailand
minimum wage for eight hours work a day is Bhat 135.

____________________________________

September 4, Narinjara News
Two more BDR battalions will camp along Burmese border region

After a number of arms and ammunition were seized by Bangladeshi arms
forces in the border area close to Burma, Bangladeshi authorities decided
to deploy two more BDR battalions in the border area of the Bandaban
district soon.

This deployment is intended to prevent infiltration of Arakanese rebels
into Bangladeshi territory.

The border with Burma is 288 km in length from Nakhongsari to Tansit
Township in Bandaban district, but Bangladeshi BDR guards are only
guarding 112 kilometers of this border. Thus, the remaining 176 km are
unguarded by Bangladesh BDR.

According to sources, there are only two BRD battalions in the Bandaban
district: one is in the town of Nakhongsari and another is in Tansit.

Bangladeshi authority is now aware that the number of BDR forces on the
border is inadequate to guard the border with Burma.

Local sources said the area of Chittagong Hill tract close to Burma is a
good place for Arakanese rebels because the area is covered in deep
forests and high mountain ranges.

It was learned that some rebel groups from Burma have been staying in the
area for 30 years after Bangladesh became independent from Pakistan.

One Arakanese politician said that following independence, Bangladeshi
authorities supported the Arakanese movement out of sympathy. For this
reason, the Bangladeshi local authorities allowed Arakanese revolution
groups to remain sheltered unofficially in Bangladeshi territory.

After 30 years, the Arakanese movement has been unsuccessful, and the
clashes among the Arakanese groups have become too strong. As a result,
the policy of Bangladeshi authorities on the Arakanese movement has
totally changed and the authorities are now trying to crack down upon
Arakanese groups.

As part of crack down, the Bangladeshi local forces recently seized a
number of arms and ammunition from Arakanese rebel groups, including the
last seizure of 20 sophisticated guns from Muslim rebels group.

According to a border expert, after two BDR battalions stationed in the
border area, Arakanese rebels will be encountering more difficult
struggles in their movement in Bangladesh territory.

_____________________________________

September 2, Bangkok Post
Thai army to establish Border Affairs Department

Bangkok: The Supreme Command will set up a border affairs department to
ensure better coordination and communication between Thailand and its four
neighbours - Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia - chief-of-staff Gen
Boonsang Niampradit said yesterday.

Gen Boonsang, also chairman of the military reconstruction panel, said the
new department will integrate all four border affairs coordination
offices, with a lieutenant-general and a major-general to be appointed its
director-general and deputy director-general, respectively.

Staff will comprise commissioned and non-commissioned officers who have
had long experience working with authorities from the neighbouring
countries, he said.

_____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

September 5, Irrawaddy
International community seeks to overcome Global Fund setback - Clive Parker

The UN and international donors say they are now trying to develop a
strategy to compensate for the loss of millions of dollars in humanitarian
aid to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria following Global Fund’s
decision to pull out of Burma.

Since it’s original decision—announced on August 19—to withdraw funding
from the country, Global Fund has decided not to recover US $11.9 million
already allocated in Burma, providing the UN devises a suitable plan for
how to use the funds in the interim period. However, Burma will not
receive an additional $24 million that had already been approved, leaving
a huge shortfall that the international community is now trying to make
up.

“Many European countries [as well as Australia and Japan] are rather
shocked by this event, and we are searching ways to increase funding for
HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This is the positive news,” said a
senior UN official in Rangoon involved in HIV/AIDS programs.

The official warned, however, that funding may be lost in other
areas—including education and food security—as a result.

In the long term, there is discussion of the UN Office of Project Services
replacing the UN Development Program as the main facilitator of funds for
HIV/AIDS in Burma, the source confirmed.

Another UN worker in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy there was currently “a big
behind-the-scenes push for greater bilateral assistance now that the
Global Fund has pulled out.”

“Without an infusion of assistance, more people than ever will die of
AIDS, malaria and TB.  This transcends politics, and we're all hoping that
governments across the globe will recognize this and back it up with
funding,” the official added.

Japan—the largest donor of humanitarian aid to Burma—has already announced
an additional $57,277 to help fight malaria since Global Fund’s decision
to leave the country. The British government on Monday also reaffirmed its
commitment to help Burma fight HIV/AIDS, saying it would not be the end of
its—and the global community’s—efforts to fight the disease.

Meanwhile, a representative of Global Fund in Switzerland said the door is
still open for Burma to receive funding in the future.

“The decision to approve future grants for Myanmar [Burma] would really
depend on the soundness of those grant proposals and if it were likely
that the same obstacles would not be encountered,” the representative
said, adding that Burma was the first country in the three-year history of
the Global Fund to have money withdrawn following approval.

Global Fund denied the decision had been made because of pressure from
lobby groups and politicians in the US, a claim made by some humanitarian
workers in Burma.

“The decision was really taken in response to the fact that funds could
not be put to use rapidly and effectively, which is the bottom line as far
as Global Fund grants go,” the representative said, adding that there is
still desire at the Geneva-based organization to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and
malaria in Burma.

“Clearly the need is there—there is an urgent need there for people to
receive prevention and treatment
so the Global Fund would certainly want
to support that, but not under these conditions.”

_____________________________________

September 6, Xinhua General News Service
New AIDS control program with Global Fund financing launched in southwest
China

Kunming: Altogether 17 counties, cities and districts in southwest China's
Yunnan Province will benefit by a new AIDS control program with financial
support from the Global Fund.

Zhang Chang'an, director of the office with the Yunnan Provincial AIDS
Control Work Committee, said the program, with a term of two years, was
designed to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS among mainline drug consumers and
commercial sex workers, and reduce the negative impact of the killer
disease by way of introducing comprehensive preventive measures.

They include methadone substitute, syringe swap, behavior change via
publicity and peer education, use of condoms, regular, standardized
service to patients with sexually transmitted diseases, as well as
automatic consulting and testing.

The program involves a budget of 5.79 million US dollars, including 1.31
million US dollars worth of supportive fund provided by the Chinese
partners. It has been executed in the province's Gejiu, Kaiyuan, Dali,
Lincang, Simao, and Kunming, the provincial capital, and will be
introduced to the rest of the target areas in the province by October,
said Zhang.

Yunnan, which borders Myanmar, Laos and Viet Nam, is one of the worst
affected areas by HIV/AIDS. And 70 percent of the patients in the province
have contracted the pandemic disease with no cure via mainline drug
consumption.

The Global Fund, which began operation in Jan. 2002, was created to
dramatically increase resources for fighting AIDS, TB and malaria, the
three of the world's most devastating diseases, and to direct those
resources to areas of the greatest need.

_____________________________________
BUSINESS / FINANCE

September 5, Agence France Presse
Bangladesh and India fail to reach agreement on tri-nation gas pipeline

Dhaka: India and Bangladesh Monday failed to reach agreement on a proposed
tri-nation natural gas pipeline to meet New Delhi's growing energy
demands, Bangladeshi officials said.

Indian Oil Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar visited Dhaka Monday to push for an
agreement on the three-billion-dollar pipeline to transport gas to India's
eastern city of Kolkata from Myanmar via Bangladesh.

He said the two sides had "constructive dialogue and "considerable
satisfaction" on the pipeline issues.

But Mahmudur Rahman, Bangladesh's deputy minister for energy and mineral
resources, said a deal had not emerged because India would not agree to
link the pipeline to three trade-related concessions sought by Dhaka.

"There is no change in our position. The main difference is that they in
principle don't agree to link any of the three issues to the tri-nation
pipeline, which is in principle opposite to our position," Rahman said.

Rahman said Dhaka wanted New Delhi to agree to road transit for Bangladesh
through India to Nepal, steps to narrow a trade deficit which now favors
India and to be allowed to import hydro-power from Nepal and Bhutan.

In January the three countries had agreed in principle to cooperate in gas
exploration and an overland pipeline project that would send fuel to
population giant India.

The project was expected to yield 600 million dollars in investment for
Bangladesh, besides annual charges and financial benefits to its energy
firms.

During his day-long visit, Aiyar also met Prime Minister Khaleda Zia,
Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan and leader of the opposition Sheikh
Hasina.

India, which imports 70 percent of its energy needs, has been seeking new
supplies of oil and gas from several countries including a natural gas
pipeline from Iran via Pakistan.

However, Bangladesh has ruled out exporting its own considerable gas
reserves to India.

Bangladesh has proven recoverable gas reserves of 13 trillion cubic feet,
of which more than three trillion cubic feet has already been extracted,
according to official figures. Current gas reserves are expected to last
until 2020.

Dhaka is being urged by the United States and other major donor countries
to export gas as it would bring much-needed income to the impoverished
country.

____________________________________

September 3, Associated Press
Myanmar, China sign contract for nation's biggest hydro plant

Yangon: Myanmar has signed a US$45.8 million ([euro]35.5 million) contract
with a Chinese company to purchase equipment and power cables for the
construction of the country's largest hydropower plant, a state-run
newspaper reported Saturday.

Under the agreement, signed Friday, Myanmar will buy the material from the
China National Heavy Machinery Corp. for sub power stations of the Yeywa
hydropower project, the Myanma Ahlin newspaper said.

It was the fifth contract between Myanmar and several Chinese companies
for the 790-megawatt Yeywa project, the country's largest. Yeywa is
located in central Myanmar about 50 kilometers (30 miles) southeast of the
country's second largest city of Mandalay.

Much of Myanmar faces power shortages because the country's electricity
supply has not kept up with rising demand. Myanmar cannot afford to import
large quantities of oil.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

September 5, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burmese workers intimidated by Thai police and employers

Two Thai police in civilian clothing entered the office of Yaungchi Oo
Burmese workers’ union at the border town of Maesod on 5 September and
beat up a Burmese worker in broad daylight.

“They kicked the door open and once they were inside, they punched him and
slammed him with their knees. His face is swollen and his chest is
painful. They took him outside and continued to assault him,” Yaungchi
Oo’s spokesman Than Naing told DVB.

The incident was reported to the police and labour departments urging them
to take action on those responsible.

At the same time, some local Thai employers are hiring professional
killers to endanger the lives of worker leaders for trying to protect the
rights of Burmese workers through Yaungchi Oo and Burma Solidarity Labour
Organisation (BSLO).

“There are five members in our office at present. They (employers) told
them (the killers) that they will pay them 300,000 Baht for each head they
secure. Some of them who were told to do that are quite friendly with us
and they came to tell us. We are very worried for our safety. We dare not
go out,” said Than Naing.

Than Doke of BSLO also said that his organisation members were arrested in
2002 and they are all living in fear and care at the moment.

_____________________________________

September 2, Bernama - Malaysian National News Agency
Stop deporting Rohingya refugees - Tenaganita

Kuala Lumpur: The Home Ministry has been asked to review its policy of
deporting Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.

Making the call today, Tenaganita Director Irene Fernandez said her
organisation viewed their deportation seriously, saying it was not in line
with the government's recent decision.

She said the Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced on
Aug 1 that Rohingya refugees would be absorbed to ease Malaysia's manpower
shortage.

Unfortunately, she said, the decision had not been implemented and the
refugee status of Rohingyas in this country had also not been recognised
by the government.

"They are being detained and sent back," he told reporters.

Irene said as Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) Chair, Malaysia
should play a key role to help Muslims who have become refugees.

She claimed that on July 15, the Malaysian authorities deported 16
Rohingya refugees detained at the Juru detention camp in Penang to the IDC
detention camp in Thailand enroute to Myanmar.

At the same press conference, Teresa Kok, the member for Parliamentary
Consultative Council for Myanmar Refugees, said the Home Ministry agreed
last year to issue work passes to Rohingya refugees until the political
situation in Myanmar improved.

"Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri
Abdul Aziz also said in Parliament that the Cabinet had agreed to allow
Rohingya refugees to work in the country.

"Unfortunately, till to day they are being detained and this showed the
government's policy is not implemented," he said.

The Seputeh MP said she discussed the matter with Mohamed Nazri recently
and was told that till to date there was no change in the policy to allow
Rohingya refugees to work in Malaysia.

Rohingya Human Rights Society President Zafar Ahmead (rpt Ahmead) said the
Rohingyas did not want to return to Myanmar due to political uncertainties
and serious ethnic problems.

He claimed some Rohingyas were detained by Malaysian authorities despite
having authorisation letters from the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR).

_____________________________________

September 3, Agence France Presse
East Asian Summit to drive regional strategy: Thai and Singapore PMs

Chiang Mai: The inaugural East Asia Summit in December should focus on
devising strategies for the region, and not replace the ASEAN or APEC
forums, the leaders of Singapore and Thailand said Saturday.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said the summit, to be held in the
Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, would compliment the work of the 10-nation
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

"I think the EAS forum should be the forum for leaders to discuss regional
strategies of Asia, to make Asia more attractive in terms of investment
that comes to the region," Thaksin told reporters.

"Asia has to be working closer together, more than in the past," he said
after a two-day annual retreat in his home town of Chiang Mai with
Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

The East Asia Summit includes the 10 ASEAN members together with the
powerhouses of China, Japan and South Korea, plus new invitees Australia,
India and New Zealand.

The 21-nation Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum covers both
sides of the Pacific and includes the United States, which will not be
present at the EAS, giving rise to fears that China will dominate.

Lee said he also viewed the East Asia Summit as "a forum for discussing
strategic issues which affect the whole of Asia" but that ASEAN remained a
vital working organisation.

"ASEAN of course is at the core of the East Asian Summit," he said. "It's
because of ASEAN that the East Asian Summit has come into being.

"We see this as another rung in (the ladder) of cooperation. There's
bilateral cooperation between countries, there's ASEAN which covers 10
countries in Asia," plus EAS, which embraces leading Asian economies, he
said.

Lee said he saw the summit as being one rung above ASEAN on the diplomatic
"ladder", but below the APEC forums.

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

APEC has 21 members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong,
Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru,
the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the
United States and Vietnam.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

September 6, Irrawaddy
Wilton Park meeting ends in continued secrecy

The Wilton Park meeting in Surrey, England on instability in Burma ended
this afternoon with a continued blackout on information about the topics
of discussion and the list of attendees. A representative of Amnesty
International invited to the event and the British government again
refused to comment on the discussions on Tuesday. The head of the UN
Development Program in Burma, Charles Petrie—whom the UNDP office in
Bangkok confirmed would be attending the meeting—was also unavailable for
comment on Tuesday.

However, a draft copy of the schedule for the three-day talks obtained by
The Irrawaddy shows the 30 or so delegates were today due to discuss the
avenues available to parties with a stake in Burma to produce positive
change in the country within the next five to ten years. The group was
then scheduled to conclude the event with a session on whether
opportunities for change in Burma are being fully utilized before being
due to leave the venue at 4pm local time. The British government says it
always refuses to discuss the issues raised in its Strategy Unit meetings
“to allow people to participate freely without worrying that everything
they have said will be quoted in the press.” The meeting on Burma,
however, has been particularly secretive, with the British government
justifying its decision not to name participants from inside Burma, saying
they would not be able to travel to England if the junta discovered they
were due to attend.