BurmaNet News, September 7, 2005

[Editor]

September 7, 2005 Issue # 2797


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Burma’s former students leaders call for humanitarian aid
DVB: Burmese opposition groups welcome students’ call for cooperation
Irrawaddy: Burma struggling to meet millennium development goals
DVB: ‘Peace’ talks in Burma stall after rumours of coup
Irrawaddy: Fifteen new publications approved in Burma
Narinjara News: Two defense outposts built on two islands

BUSINESS / FINANCE
Irrawaddy: Tax and utility rates on the rise in Burma

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: New report condemns junta on human rights

OPINION / OTHER
New Era Journal: Where there's smoke there may be fire

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

September 7, Irrawaddy
Burma’s former students leaders call for humanitarian aid - Yeni

Well-known former student leader Min Ko Naing and a group of other
activists called Tuesday for the international community to continue
providing humanitarian aid to Burma and for the removal of government
restrictions on international aid agencies.

The group—comprising former students who led the 1988 uprising and
subsequently spent many years in prison—released a statement saying that
Burma’s humanitarian issue is now “at a critical point.”

“The crisis of health and education in Burma is in an alarming stage, and
effective measures should be taken immediately,” Min Ko Naing told to The
Irrawaddy by phone today. “Only international cooperation and humanitarian
aid will resolve the problems effectively.”

Min Ko Naing—translated “Conqueror of Kings” in English—now 42, was
arrested by Burma’s military intelligence in March 1989 for his role as a
leader in the 1988 pro-democracy uprising. He spent nearly 16 years in
solitary confinement before his release in November 2004.

“As one of the least developed Asian countries, Burma obviously needs aid
from the international community—especially in the areas of health and
education,” said Min Ko Naing. He added that the situation in remote areas
of the country is “unmanageable.”

The activist group also called for the junta and opposition groups to work
together to meet Burma’s humanitarian needs and urged Rangoon to provide a
suitable and effective environment for social workers, highlighting the
need for an “impartial, open, transparent and accurate process.”

Restrictions on international humanitarian efforts in Burma increased
sharply following the purge of former prime minister Khin Nyunt last
October, and experts have recently warned that such measures will
ultimately spark a humanitarian crisis.

In August, Global Fund, the world’s single largest funding body,
terminated its US $98.4 million allocation to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis
and malaria in Burma, citing increased restrictions on access to
implementation areas.

According to Global Fund, Burma is the second most-affected country in
terms of HIV/AIDS in Southeast Asia, behind Thailand, and has one of the
highest rates of tuberculosis worldwide. About 71 percent of the
population is at risk for malaria.

____________________________________

September 7, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burmese opposition groups welcome students’ call for cooperation

Burmese opposition groups within and without Burma welcomed the renowned
Burmese student leaders’ call for cooperation among the ruling military
junta and opposition groups for humanitarian purposes.

The students known popularly as 88 Generation Students led by Min Ko
Naing, in a statement issued on 6 September, called for cooperation among
the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and pro-democracy
opposition groups on the matter of humanitarian activities such as giving
help to the needy and HIV/AIDS sufferers.

The call came after the UN Global Fund to fight Tuberculosis, AIDS and
Malaria decided to pull out its help from the country several weeks ago
due to "an impossibly difficult environment to work in."

The main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) warmly
welcomed the call on 7 September, stating that the views of the students
are the same as those of the NLD.

“In Burma, we need to take urgent actions on national health and
education,” said NLD communication and information spokesman Myint Thein.
“In a least developed country like Burma, we could solve these problems if
we get humanitarian helps. In doing so, it is the duty of host nations
concerned to be impartial, transparent and fully monitored. The opposition
groups and the military government need to cooperate in order to carry out
the activities
We have been urging the military government to so for a
long time.”

Exiled National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB)
expressed its full support for the call. Its Prime Minister Dr. Sein Win
told DVB that the junta should react to the call in a positive way.

____________________________________

September 7, Irrawaddy
Burma struggling to meet millennium development goals - Clive Parker

Burma is making little progress and even regressing in its attempt to meet
the Millennium Development Goals set in 2000 by the global community,
according to a report on the Asia-Pacific region’s progress released
today.

The Asian Development Bank—one of the co-authors of the report entitled “A
Future within Reach”—said in a statement that “none of the region's
developing countries is on track to achieve all the goals,” however
Burma’s progress on most of the seven goals was deemed to be particularly
weak.

ADB, along with the UN Development Program and the UN Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific concluded Burma had regressed in at
least one category in each of the seven goals except for one—that relating
to eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. However, the authors of the
report were unable to gain sufficient information to determine whether
Burma is on course to halve the number of people in the country living on
less than US $1 a day, prompting an international aid official in Rangoon
to comment: “How can anyone definitively say that progress is made when we
don't even have the freedom to collect reliable data?”

The report did, however, find that the country should meet the target of
halving malnourishment by 2015.

Statistics showed that enrollment and graduation rate at Burma’s primary
schools is on the decline. According to the report, more than one third of
Burmese primary school children drop out before grade five, which in the
region was found to be worse only in Papua New Guinea, where more than
half of children fail to reach the same level of education.

The UN and ADB’s findings on education in Burma contradict recent positive
reports in the country’s state press, which only today concluded that
“Myanmar’s [Burma’s] school age children enrollment rate has reached the
international standard.” Burma was also found to be regressing on gender
equality in secondary education, although it’s considered to be “not far
from the target.”

The report concluded that Burma’s efforts to curb its infant mortality
rate and prevalence of HIV/AIDS are also going backwards. The UN estimates
that 1.2 percent of the Burmese population is HIV positive, a rate that is
worse only in Thailand and Cambodia in the whole of the rest of Asia.
Burma’s two Southeast Asian neighbors were deemed to “have already
achieved their MDG targets, since they have reduced the prevalence.”
Indeed, humanitarian workers are particularly worried about the spread of
the disease in Burma given the recent withdrawal of the Global Fund from
an HIV/AIDS program that was already considered to be “poorly funded” by
humanitarian workers.

Burma’s progress in relation to maintaining forest cover, reducing carbon
dioxide emissions and usage of ozone-depleting substances was also deemed
to be moving in the wrong direction.

“The most rapid rates of deforestation have been in Micronesia, Myanmar
[Burma], Indonesia and Malaysia,” the report said.

The only factor under consideration that the junta could be congratulated
for were sanitation and access to clean drinking water, for which Burma
was awarded “early achiever” status.

Burma’s performance and those of the rest of the region in relation to the
Millennium Development Goals will be one of the talking points at the
forthcoming UN Summit to be held in New York next week.

____________________________________

September 6, Democratic Voice of Burma
‘Peace’ talks in Burma stall after rumours of coup

Mooted peace talks between Burma's military junta, State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC) and armed ethnic national groups have stalled,
following recent rumours of coup within the junta flew around in previous
weeks, according to the groups spokesmen.

Before rumours of the ouster of the junta chairman Gen Than Shwe and his
illness spread, a ‘peace advocate’ between the junta and Karenni National
Progressive Party (KNPP), said that a team of negotiators will be sent to
the Thai-Burma border to resume peace talks with the KNPP. But KNPP
General Secretary and spokesman Rimond (Raymond) Htoo told DVB that there
has been no development since the advocate mooted the idea.

“There has been no response (from the junta) so far. When they first told
us on the phone, they said they will send us an official letter to us,”
Htoo said. “On the next day, they told us to send (a letter containing)
our attitude on the matter. We told them we could not do that as it was
made clear by our leaders.” Htoo added that KNPP would accept the promised
letter and delegates but they are not going to respond to the trickeries
of the junta. “The best thing is for you to send us the promised letter
and we will discuss among ourselves how to proceed, we told them thus and
there has been no response from them ever since,” Htoo said.

Similarly, the junta also hasn’t resumed planned peace talks with the
Karen National Union (KNU), the union’s General Secretary Phado Mahn Sha
told DVB.

“There is no special development yet. There is no exact plan how we are
going to contact each other next time, what to discuss, where and when.
But we still keep in touch.”

Peace talks between the SPDC and the KNU were due to resume at the end of
August in Moulmein but sporadic armed clashes are still occurring despite
provisional ceasefire agreements between them.

____________________________________

September 7, Irrawaddy
Fifteen new publications approved in Burma - Louis Reh

Burma will see the launch of fifteen new journals in the next few months,
sources in Rangoon confirmed today.

Following the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division’s allocation of 18
new publishing licenses in July, six new monthly magazines and nine weekly
publications will soon go on sale, with the first—Akhwint Alan—printing
its first issue next Tuesday, according to the official  New Light of
Myanmar.

The forthcoming journals will bring the number of publications allowed the
choice of printing news analysis to 10, veteran journalist Sein Win told
The Irrawaddy by telephone today.

“There are many more journals that would publish news,” said Sein Win “but
most publications focus on health, sports, beauty, education and society.”
These subjects draw less attention from the censors of the PSRD.

The new publications should begin to appear in the next two months
providing that the government doesn’t revoke the licenses. In the past,
such publications were compelled to hire their staff from a pool of former
state-run media outlets.

“The government has frequently refused licenses to media organizations
because they were considered the wrong people to be writing news,” said
Sein Win. “I hope that new publications will have more freedom and
independence as the number of available journals increases in Burma.”

The forthcoming Akhwint Alan—aptly named “opportunity” in English—hopes to
do just that. “We are targeting the youth of Burma,” said the journal’s
editor Than Soe, adding that the journal will be a source for “youth
educational opportunities, employment information and a wide range of
informative articles.”

The 20-page weekly Akhwint Alan will be published in Burmese and sell for
180 kyat, significantly cheaper than Burma’s weekly newspaper Myanmar
Times, which sells for 500 kyat. “This is a test. We don’t know how many
issues we will produce per issue because it depends on our financial
situation,” said Than Soe, who is funding and staffing the new journal out
of his own pocket.

Prices for state-run daily newspapers in Burma will rise from 10 kyat to
50 kyat—five times their normal price—beginning in October. Burma
currently has nearly 250 monthly magazines and 100 weekly journals, all of
which are subject to the censorship of the Press Scrutiny Board.

____________________________________

September 7, Narinjara News
Two defense outposts built on two islands

The Burmese military authority has built two defense outposts on two
coastal islands of Arakan since last week, said a local report.

The islands where the outposts have been built are Kyunt Tha Ya and Nan
Tha Kyunt of Mre Bon Township, which is located between the state capital,
Akyab, and Kyauk Pru, the second city of Arakan state.

Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 270 has been stationed on the island Kyunt
Tha Ya since 2001 but there has not been a strong outpost on the island
for the last three years.

Now the army authority is building the permanent, concrete constructed,
outpost on Kyunt Tha Ya Island. The army authority has also extended
another defense outpost on Nan Tha Kyunt, on which a new defense outpost
building is being constructed.

According to local sources, the army team is now going to several villages
on the two islands to mobilize fishermen and urge them to join with the
Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA).

It has been learnt that the outposts are intended to be used to guard the
Arakan sea, but is more likely intended for guarding the Arakan off-shore
gas fields.

_____________________________________
BUSINESS / FINANCE

September 7, Irrawaddy
Tax and utility rates on the rise in Burma - Shah Paung

Businessmen and the general public in Rangoon and Mandalay are chafing
under recent increases in tax and utilities fees imposed by the military
government, one resident said today.

Myint Swe, a local businessman in Rangoon Division who owns a lumber
factory, said that the government has increased annual factory taxes from
4,000 kyat (nearly US $5) to 10,000 kyat (about $12). The increase became
effective early this month, leading some factory owners to stop production
because of an inability to pay the higher fee, said Myint Swe.

Residents in the capital city have also complained about increased fees.
Utilities such as water and electricity have increased by three percent
from the previous price.

The tax and utility fee increases have followed a forthcoming five-fold
rise in the cost of state-run newspapers, which will take effect next
month. Many residents complain that they will not be able to afford the
new rates. Burma’s military government has provided no explanation for the
hike in rates.

Han Tha Myint, a spokesperson for Burma’s opposition party National League
for Democracy, said the rate increases do not affect members of the
military or their families, adding that such measures are not just when no
explanation is given.

Burma’s military government raises rates each year, generally without any
explanation. Residents and business owners have no say with respect to
such actions, Myint Swe said. If they are not able to pay the new rates,
they will be forced to close their businesses and do without necessary
utilities.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

September 7, Irrawaddy
New report condemns junta on human rights

The Burmese government has received further criticism on human rights in a
new report by Amnesty International to be released on Thursday. The
23-page report, entitled “Myanmar: Leaving Home,” documents the
experiences of 115 migrant workers from areas throughout Burma now living
in Thailand. The evidence presented accuses the Burmese military of
widespread physical abuse, forced labor, destruction of property, theft,
restriction of movement and extra-judicial killings—charges previously
made by the International Labor Organization, non-governmental
organizations and independent researchers, including Guy Horton in his
report “Dying Alive,” published in June this year.

“The army are like robbers, or a gang. They do what they like to the
civilians,” a 22-year-old rice farmer from Kya-in-seik-gyi township in
Karen State is quoted as saying by Amnesty International. The report
suggests the military’s policy of self-reliance and reluctance to hold
individuals accountable for their actions are the main factors encouraging
officers to exploit the civilian population and contravene international
agreements on human rights.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

September 7, The New Era Journal
Where there's smoke there may be fire - U Professor

Rumours of coups and the forced retirement of the country’s top general
have swept through Rangoon in recent weeks. But the country’s top military
leader, General Than Shwe, appears to be still in control. “He’s hearty
and in good health,” according to sources who have seen him recently.

Rumours of coups and gun battles between the top generals have frequently
swirled around the capital ever since Than Shwe purged the former prime
minister, General Khin Nyunt, last year. These rumours reflect the
continuing battle for power and influence between the top two Generals –
Than Shwe and Maung Aye.

There is unprecedented tension and unease within the military, especially
as it prepares for a new era of military rule. “No one trusts anyone; they
are constantly looking over their shoulders for fear someone is preparing
to shop them,” says a former Burmese military officer.

The recent sacking of several ministers, the further swapping of regional
commanders and the appointment of deputy commanders, suggests that Maung
Aye has begun to reassert his authority over the military. Only when the
position of the Rangoon commander is finally resolved will the extent of
Maung Aye’s new authority be revealed.

Maung Aye is adamant that Myint Swe should not hold that post as well as
head the new military intelligence bureau. “We have already made that
mistake once,” he has frequently warned Than Shwe – referring to the fact
that Khin Nyunt was both prime minister and the military intelligence
chief.

Apparently Maung Aye is now effectively running the country. “He’s taken
over most of Khin Nyunt’s former role,” says an Asian diplomat in Rangoon.

Every morning the deputy army chief meets with key military leaders,
including Thura Shwe Mann and Thein Sein (Secretary One), and senior
government ministers, including new Prime Minister Soe Win, and the
interior minister, who is now playing a significant role in the
government. But all major decisions are still taken by Than Shwe. Although
he does not attend these meetings he is thoroughly briefed by the health
minister, Kyaw Myint, who is also the General's personal physician. Kyaw
Myint reports to Than Shwe every single day, according to sources close to
the minister.

The rumours also reflect the perception that the top leaders of the
regime, Than Shwe in particular, are preparing for a major change in the
next twelve months. Analysts and diplomats in Rangoon believe the senior
leader is preparing to retire so that he can assume the role of president
under the new constitution. “Than Shwe plans to become the president for
life,” says a military source close to the Senior General.

The new constitution is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The National Convention, which is drawing up the constitution, is due to
reconvene in November. According to several ethnic leaders who are
participating in the government’s national reconciliation process, “We
have been told there will be no discussion at the next session of the
Convention, we will only be allowed to say yes or no.”

Than Shwe also told the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan when they met at
the Asia-Africa leaders’ summit in Jakarta earlier this year that the
final session of the National Convention would be very short. After the
National Convention approves the draft constitution, the working committee
will put the final touches to it before it is put to a referendum. This
will be an affirmation process rather than a conventional vote, according
to analysts and diplomats in Rangoon. They believe that the USDA meetings
throughout the country will approve the constitution. Former foreign
minister Ohn Kyaw told a journalist as early as 1994, a year after the
National Convention first met, that the USDA would be involved in the
referendum process.

New elections are also planned once the constitution is approved. At that
point Than Shwe is expected to stand down to contest the elections and
Thura Shwe Mann would take over as the junta leader, according to Chinese
government officials who have discussed the National Reconciliation
process with Burma’s military leaders.

At this stage it seems the pro-democracy parties – especially the National
League for Democracy (NLD) and the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy
(SNLD), which won almost all the seats in the 1990 elections – would not
be allowed to contest the elections. “The Chinese have been advising the
junta to adopt Pakistan’s General Musharaff’s political model,” according
to a senior Asian diplomat in Rangoon.

Chinese officials believe all political prisoners, including Khin Nyunt
and his senior military intelligence officers who were sentenced to
hundreds of years of imprisonment for corruption and economic crimes
earlier this year, would be released under a mass amnesty. It is far from
certain that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would also be freed then.

But Burma’s military leaders are apprehensive about change, for fear that
it may loosen their grip on power. The military leaders are cautious and
customarily prepare dozens of strategic plans before they launch their
campaigns. "They approach politics just as they approach a battle," says a
senior military intelligence officer. Than Shwe is a master of
psychological warfare and is trying to use these tactics to undermine any
challenge to his position and authority, both within the army and outside.

Than Shwe’s plans, according sources close to him, involve Maung Aye also
retiring. The top general is not confident that if he leaves his deputy in
place that he would not try to engineer a coup against him. The memory of
what happen to the former junta leader, General Saw Maung, more than a
decade ago, still dogs him.

But Maung Aye’s recent strengthened position has thrown a spanner in the
works. He is refusing to retire, according to a senior Burmese military
source. But he may also be planning a move to take power himself in the
future. Increasing allegations of corruption levelled against Than Shwe’s
wife and Thura Shwe Mann’s playboy son have upset Maung Aye, who has
repeatedly tried to curb what he regards as excessive corruption.

The extent of Daw Kyaing Kyaing's greed was confirmed during the trials of
Khin Nyunt’s subordinate’s earlier this year when they detailed the
payments they had made to the first lady. The latest revelations during
the trial of former agriculture minister Nyunt Tin have been even more
shocking. Apart from regular payments, the minister said his family had
given Than Shwe’s wife several diamonds worth $6 million.

These revelations have angered many in the military, especially Maung Aye.
He knows that corruption will be the major obstacle to the military
convincing the population to vote for the USDA or any party the army puts
up at the next elections.

In the meantime, the issue of corruption at the top of the military
hierarchy is likely to increase tension and resentment within the army. It
may even prompt Maung Aye to move against Than Shwe in order to save the
army from further ignominy. So while the rumours of Than Shwe’s demise may
be premature, it is possible they are a forecast of things to come.