BurmaNet News, October 21, 2005

[Editor]

October 21, Associated Press
No casualties reported in unexplained explosion near leading hotel in
Myanmar capital - Aye Aye Win

Yangon: A small explosion took place in front of a luxury hotel Friday
evening in the Myanmar capital Yangon, but there appeared to be no
casualties, witnesses said.

The explosion took place at about 6:45 p.m. local time, according to the
staff of the Traders Hotel, who said no one was hurt.

Several street vendors nearby said the explosion appeared to have
originated next to a signboard on a small lawn next to the hotel, and that
there appeared to be no casualties.

They were uncertain of what caused the explosion. Hotel staff and
witnesses both asked not to be named, not wishing to attract the attention
of the authorities, who severely restrict the flow of public information
in the military-ruled nation.

Security forces, including armed soldiers, sealed off the area along Sule
Pagoda Road, one of Yangon's busiest thoroughfares, and were inspecting
the site. No officials were available to speak to journalists, who were
kept at a distance from the scene.

In recent years, the tightly-guarded Myanmar capital has been rocked by a
number of bombings for which no group has claimed responsibility.

The government has blamed exile dissident groups opposed to military rule.
In the absence of convincing evidence, however, there has also been
speculation that the bombings are provocations by the authorities
themselves, or part of an internal struggle with the ruling circles.

In the most serious attacks, on May 7 this year, at least 23 persons were
killed and more than 160 others injured when bombs exploded at two
supermarkets and a convention center in the capital.

The junta came to power in 1988 when it crushed a pro-democracy uprising
led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. It held elections in
1990 but refused to hand over power when Suu Kyi's party won an
overwhelming victory.

In addition to the legal political opposition of Suu Kyi's National League
for Democracy party, the junta numbers several ethnic guerrilla groups
along the country's border among its foes, in addition to many groups of
exiles, most notably former students.

Friday night's blast was felt and heard by people living in the area, but
no shattered glass could be seen at a distance.

"The explosion was loud and I could feel the building shudder," said Myo
Myo, a woman who was eating dinner at the nearby Grand Miyahta Hotel.

Despite the absence of free and timely media reports, news of the blast
spread very quickly among residents of the capital, still jittery from the
bombings earlier this year.

An Asian diplomat said the explosion heightened security concerns in the
diplomatic community, already disturbed by the withdrawal earlier this
month of armed police posted outside the residences of foreign envoys, to
be replaced by plainclothes personnel. He spoke on condition of anonymity
so his comments would not be seen as breach of diplomatic protocol.

____________________________________

October 21, Associated Press
Prices for consumer goods and services jump after Myanmar fuel price hike

Yangon: Merchants and consumers both struggled Friday to cope with rising
prices of goods and services in the wake of the military government's
surprise nine-fold increase in the price of gasoline.

The fuel price hike, which took effect Thursday, was an evident effort to
cut government losses on its subsidy of gasoline and curb black market
sales of supplies allocated at the subsidized price. The government holds
a monopoly on the distribution of fuel.

Prices of consumer goods had already been creeping up as a recent fall to
historic lows in the value of the kyat currency spurred inflation because
of increased purchases on fears that the value would fall further.

Since the fuel price increase, transport costs have doubled in some cases,
and food prices have also gone up as a result, though not at as high a
rate.

A bag of middle-quality rice which was about US$8 ([euro]6.66) last week
is now US$8.50 ([euro]7) Thursday and a viss (1.6 kilo, or 3.52 pounds) of
onion which cost the equivalent of US$0.33 ([euro]0.27) last week is now
US$0.42 ([euro]0.35). Grocery store owners predict that prices would
continue to increase as cost of transportation goes up.

Myanmar faces constant fuel shortages due to limited domestic oil
production and tight foreign exchange reserves. It has had a rationing
system in the capital since 1980, allowing car owners to purchase 60
gallons (228 liters) per month. Vehicle owners who do not use their full
quota often sell the excess to black-market vendors, who in turn sell it
to other drivers.

The increase in the price of gasoline to 1,500 kyats (US$1.25, [euro]1) a
gallon from 180 kyats (US$0.15, [euro]0.13) was announced Wednesday in
notices posted at gas stations but not in the media. Aside from keeping
pace with high world oil prices, the move appears to be an effort to curb
the black market by forcing prices too high for resale.

The move, however, also affects ordinary purchasers who don't resell their
gasoline. After the announcement, armed police, auxiliary fire brigade and
ward authorities manned gas stations to prevent possible violence by
motorists upset by the hike.

"If the government intends to thwart a handful of black marketeers by
raising the fuel price, it is a failure. It hasn't brought down the black
market fuel price but citizens suffer under reeling prices," said
schoolteacher Win Maung, whose monthly salary is about 10,000 kyats
(US$8.30, [euro]6.94).

Taxi fares have doubled, bus fare are two to four times higher, and even
trips by bicycle-powered trishaws have become more expensive, with a short
trip that used to cost 100 kyats (US$0.08, [euro]0.07) now costing 150
kyats (US$0.13, [euro]0.11).

"I have to charge more because food prices go up and I have to feed my
family," trishaw driver Than Hla explained.

Bus commuters who paid 20 kyats (US$0.02, [euro]0.02) for a trip now pay
40-80 kyats (US$0.04-0.08, [euro]0.03-0.07), depending on distance, as bus
drivers and operators said they have to increase bus fares to meet the
exorbitant fuel price.

A taxi ride of about five kilometers (three miles) which used to cost
1,000 kyats (US$0.83, [euro]0.69) now cost 2,000 kyats (US$1.66,
[euro]1.38).

_____________________________________

October 21, Narinjara News
Troops on high alert apprehending civil unrest over hike in petrol prices

Apprehensive of civil unrest by a disgruntled public following the
increase in the prices of petrol by the government, the military junta has
increased security presence in many major cities in Burma. The heightened
security perception has led to keeping security forces on high alert. This
was revealed by a source close to the Army in Akyab.

Troops are being ordered to stay on high alert in major towns in Arakan,
to prevent any untoward incident following the hike in petrol prices.The
government raised the official price of petrol from 180 kyats to 1500
kyats per gallon (about $1.20 US). As a result, transportation costs have
jumped three times. Prices of essential commodities in Burma are expected
to skyrocket soon.

A Maung Daw resident commenting on the rise of petrol prices said, "It is
currently 3500 kyat per gallon in the black market.  With the official
price rise, it is going to touch 5000 kyats soon.  We are worried that
with the increase in the price of petrol, price of rice will go up.

Price of rice has just come down from a record high, but it might go up
breaking the record again."In Maung Daw, a 50-kilo rice bag was priced
between 20,000 kyats and 30,000 kyats depending on its quality, but the
price recently dropped to between 15,000 kyats and 20,000 kyats.

_____________________________________

October 19, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burmese travel agencies exploit Buddhist monasteries for profits

Burmese travel agencies which arrange transports and accommodations for
pilgrims to Buddha-gaya, Mizzima regions and other historical Buddhist
holy sites in India, have been taking advantage of Burmese Buddhist
monasteries there for their own benefits.

The agencies use the monasteries as guest houses and ask the monks to
provide lunches and dinners for the pilgrims but they do not provide
enough monetary or material donations, causing unwanted difficulties and
headaches to the monks who are trying to concentrate on spiritual and
religious matters.

Each pilgrim is charged nearly 600,000 kyat (approx. US $ 500) by the
companies and they claim that they are inclusive of donations to the
monasteries they use as their accommodations. In reality, the agents
pocket most of the money and dump the pilgrims at the monasteries.
Moreover, rich pilgrims are also urged to make donations only to the
monasteries which are on friendly terms with the agencies.

“Before, the monasteries could depend on pilgrims to sort things out for
us, but now it seems that the pilgrims are only impoverishing us. The
ministry of religion is providing nothing for us either,” an abbot told
DVB.

These ‘religious’ agents such as Thazin Mya Aung from Aungchantha
pilgrimage agency and Hetin Lin from Rangoon pilgrimage agency, have been
avoiding to answer questions put to them by DVB. They obtained their
contract from the Burmese ministry of religion and when DVB contacted the
new director-general of the ministry Dr. Myo Myint and asked him if any
thing has been done to address the complaints of the monks, he said:
“Don’t talk to me because I am a responsible person (I am the one in
charge).”

____________________________________

October 20, Democratic Voice of Burma
More Burmese villagers sued for helping report forced labour to ILO

Burmese authorities had sued some villagers of Ngapyin, Aunglan (Allen)
Township, Pegu Division in central Burma, for allegedly reporting ‘false’
news to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), in connection with
the death of Win Lwin during a forced labour session.

On 8 December 2004, local authorities forced Ngapyin villagers including
Win Lwin to repair a road connecting Ngapyin to Rangoon-Prome motorway.
Win Lwin was killed by an avalanche of stones. His family reported the
incident to the ILO and Labour Ministry at Rangoon in February 2005. The
brothers of Win Lwin and some villagers of Ngapyin were later forced to
state by the authorities concerned that they willingly took part in forced
labour practice.

Aunglan Township National League for Democracy (NLD) member Zaw Htay told
DVB that he and two other villagers named Than Zan and Aung Than Tun, were
sent a summon letter on 14 October informing them that they are to be sued
for sending untrue reports to the ILO. The letter was sent to them by
Aunglan Township court judge Khin Khin Swe and the litigant is Thayet
District chief of police Sein Win.

The latest lawsuit came after another NLD youth leader and human rights
activist, Su Su Nway of Htan Manaing Village in Rangoon Kawmoo Township
was sent to prison recently by the authorities, in revenge for
successfully suing them over forced labour practices.

_____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

October 21, Mizzima News
Indian troops remain on watch in Assam - Hrishikesh Saikia

Three weeks after the Indian Army called off its operations in the
Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, in the easternmost part of Assam bordering
Arunachal Pradesh, forces are still present in the area as officials aim
to prevent possible attempts by rebel outfits to regroup.

Army sources said a battalion was still posted in Laika forest village, as
the presence of troops was necessary to ensure the area remained free from
militants.

"Operation Balwan has been suspended temporarily but the troops are
keeping a close watch on the possible movement of the militants," the
sources said.

Following last month's offensive, one group of the United Liberation Front
Asom (ULFA) taking refuge in Dibru-Saikhowa escaped to Burma through
Nagaland. Another group is still hiding in the jungles of upper Assam.
Army officials are reportedly worried the group will attempt to increase
its numbers in upper Assam.

A month-long operation against the ULFA in September resulted in the
destruction of two of the group's major camps and the deaths of three
members including one militant leader. Huge quantities of arms, ammunition
and cash were also recovered.

But there have been no reports major encounters between the army and the
ULFA since the formal suspension of operations in the area. Villagers near
the forest are reportedly growing accustomed to the military presence.

"Though the army is still having a strong presence, we have not heard any
guns firing in the last couple of weeks," a villager of Laika said.

The September offensive caused medicinal and food shortages in several of
the villages in the area as the army laid siege to the group. The incident
caused concern that a humanitarian disaster was imminent. Operations were
suspended on September 17.

_____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

October 21, Mizzima News
Bangladesh wants to join Asian Highway through Burma - Siddique Islam

Bangladesh has expressed interest in being part of the proposed Asian
Highway network through Burma, upgrading its highway 41 to international
stading from its sub-regional status.

Bangladeshi officials decided Thursday to utilise the next working
committee meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) to propose the route before ratifying the
multinational treaty.

The decision to make the bid was made at an inter-ministerial meeting held
in Dhaka.

Burma, Thailand and China will be asked to make the route upgradation
proposal on behalf of Bangladesh during the UNESCAP working committee
meeting from December 14 to 15 in Bangkok.

UNESCAP has dismissed similar proposals in the past but advised Bangladesh
last August to raise their requests through a member country.

The decision has been made by authorities in Dhaka to send a two-member
delegation headed by a foreign ministry official of Bangladesh to the
working committee meeting.

If the upgradation proposal is accepted, the highway will enter Bangladesh
from India through Benapole and into Burma through Teknaf.

This is likely to be the last attempt by Bangladesh to convince UNESCAP to
approve the project after the organisation set a December 31 approval
deadline.

If Bangladesh fails to meet the deadline, it may miss the chance of
linking with the 140,000 kilometres international highway connecting 32
Asian countries and will stretch from Tokyo to Ankara.

"We can't accept any highway route that will turn the country into a
transit point for a certain country," communications minister Nazmul Huda
told reporters after the meeting yesterday.

The minister expressed his optimism that the foreign ministry would be
successful in persuading one of the three countries to take Bangladesh's
proposal to the UNESCAP meeting.

So far, 27 out of 32 member countries including Japan, China, India,
Malaysia, Pakistan Iran and Turkey have signed on to join the highway.
Every South Asian country except Bangladesh signed the inter-governmental
agreement last year.

The project is regarded as one of the three pillars of Asian Land
Transport Infrastructure Development, comprising the Asian Highway and
Trans-Asian Railway.

About 55 routes connecting 32 member countries have been identified.

____________________________________
 REGIONAL

October 21, Irrawaddy
Rape case heads to court -Shah Paung

The case of a female Burmese migrant worker who says she was gang raped in
Phang Nga, southern Thailand, is to be presented in court, Grassroots
Human Rights Education said today.

On October 13, a gang—believed to number around 10—is understood to have
entered the workers’ accommodation where the woman and her father lived.
The gang tied up the father and daughter, along with 15 other people
present, and proceeded to beat and rape the daughter.

The woman, who does not wish to be named due to her status as an illegal
immigrant, was hospitalized for two days and given counseling after
attempting suicide. The father also sustained injuries to the head. Both
victims are from Mon State in southern Burma.

Authorities have so far been unable to apprehend the gang members,
although local police are believed to be in possession of pictures of the
suspects.

GHRE director Htoo Chit confirmed that the group was helping prepare the
case, alongside the Thai Human Rights Commission, the Lawyers Council of
Thailand and the Migrant Assistance Program Foundation.

LCT and MAP Foundation have a strong track record of successfully helping
migrant workers with legal assistance and protection. In late September,
they helped secure the conviction of four Thai citizens following the
murder of six Burmese migrant workers in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burma border.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

October 21, Los Angeles Times
Tutu, Havel ask U.N. intervention in Myanmar - Richard C. Paddock

Bangkok: Branding Myanmar's military regime a "threat to the peace," a
global coalition of human rights advocates is urging the United Nations to
intervene in the Southeast Asian nation to restore democracy, deliver
humanitarian aid and win the release of political prisoners.

Led by retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa and former
Czech President Vaclav Havel, activists are calling on the U.N. Security
Council to adopt a resolution that would pave the way for nonmilitary
intervention in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

In a 70-page report that accuses the regime of using forced labor, rape,
"ethnic cleansing" and child soldiers to control its population, Tutu and
Havel make the case that abuses by Myanmar are more egregious than in
countries where the United Nations intervened during the 1990s, including
Sierra Leone, Haiti and Cambodia.

"If a government violates the fundamental rights of its own people, that
can't be left as a domestic issue," said Tutu in a telephone interview
from his home in Cape Town, South Africa. "I believe that we have an
almost open-and-shut case for the intervention of the United Nations."

Tutu, 74, the 1984 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his struggle
against apartheid, and Havel, 69, the Czech playwright who helped end the
era of Soviet domination, called on the Security Council to pass a
resolution requiring Myanmar to work with the U.N. to achieve national
reconciliation and restore a democratically elected government.

The proposed resolution also calls for the immediate release of
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and 1,100 other political prisoners
and urges Myanmar to give unhindered access to international aid workers
so they can deliver assistance in the impoverished country.

So far, the proposal has not won enough support from the 15-member
Security Council to get on its agenda. Among those unwilling to discuss
the measure is China, one of Myanmar's biggest investors and supporters.
The United States, a vocal critic of the regime, supports the plan.

Myanmar has been ruled by the military for virtually all of the last 43
years. In 1988, the regime killed hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators,
a precursor to the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing the following
year.

In 1990, the regime held elections and the main opposition party, the
National League for Democracy, won more than 80% of the vote. However, the
military refused to hand over power.

On Monday, party leader Suu Kyi will mark her 10th year in detention out
of the last 16 years. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, she is being
held in virtual isolation at her house in the capital, Yangon, also known
as Rangoon. Now 60, she is the only Peace Prize winner in custody anywhere
in the world.

The Tutu-Havel report, titled "Threat to the Peace" and prepared by the
global law firm DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, alleges numerous human rights
violations, including the rape of ethnic minority women and the spread of
HIV by soldiers; widespread forced labor; destruction of more than 2,700
villages; massive forced relocations; and the torture and killing of
political prisoners.

As many as 70,000 children have been forced to become soldiers, more than
in any other country, the report says, and more than 700,000 refugees have
fled across the border into Thailand and other countries.

Myanmar is a leading producer of opium and amphetamine, and its heroin
trade has made it a primary contributor to the spread of AIDS in Southeast
Asia, the report charges. Strains of human immunodeficiency virus that
originated in Myanmar have spread to neighboring countries, it says.

More than 75% of the population lives below the poverty line, according to
the report.

"The government is responsible for a decline in the economic situation so
alarming that Burma is now one of the poorest countries in the world,
providing its people little or no access to healthcare or education," it
says.

The report concludes that the country "threatens the peace and stability
of the region" and that the situation meets all the Security Council
criteria used in the past for intervention.

The Myanmar regime, which often ignores international criticism, has
denounced the report. The government declared that it was "based on false
information provided by some rebel remnants and the expatriate dissidents
who are surviving on politically motivated aid of some Western nations."

"These are vast exaggerations or mere outright distortions," the regime
said in a statement. "The truth is that the government does not condone
human rights violations and is in fact the guarantor of human rights in
the country."

Myanmar's reaction suggests that the regime is concerned about the efforts
by human rights activists to get the Security Council involved.

So far, Myanmar's allies on the Security Council have kept the issue from
being heard.

"I can't get Myanmar on the agenda at the Security Council," British
Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said in an interview. "I've tried for the last
six months. Some members say it is a matter of internal security and
domestic affairs, and unless the government of Burma is prepared to go
along with it, then you wouldn't make progress."

For years, there have been two competing but ineffective, approaches to
Myanmar. The U.S. has imposed economic sanctions, contributing to the
country's financial decline but failing to topple the regime. Neighbors
such as China, India and Thailand have advocated engagement with the
regime while developing economic ties, but this strategy has produced no
significant concessions.

The U.N. has had no success in promoting political change or winning the
release of Suu Kyi through negotiations. The world body's special envoy to
Myanmar, Razali Ismail, has not even been allowed to enter the country
since March 2004.

In the face of global criticism, Myanmar has pursued a strategy of
promising change while delivering little. It has claimed for years that it
is working toward democracy, but no elections have been held since 1990,
and military officers hold virtually every top position in government. The
drafting of a new constitution has been in progress for more than 12
years.

Tutu said the situation in Myanmar was similar to that of South Africa
under apartheid two decades ago: a small ruling minority, facing economic
sanctions, imposing its will on the majority while the nation's most
popular leader (Nelson Mandela in South Africa) languishes in detention.

But of the two ex-British colonies, Tutu said, the situation in Myanmar is
"a great deal worse."

"They are using rape as a weapon of war and deliberately infecting people
with HIV, which fortunately we didn't have at the time" in South Africa,
he said. "They are using child soldiers and participating in the drug
trade."

On his wall, Tutu said, he has two photos of Suu Kyi, whom he has never
met but admires greatly.

"These men who are armed to the teeth are dead scared of her because she
has this incredible thing: She has integrity," he said. "The people, who
are the ultimate arbiter, look upon her as their leader. I look forward to
attending her inauguration as president of Burma one day."

Times staff writer Maggie Farley at the United Nations contributed to this
report.

_____________________________________

October 21, Irrawaddy
Bad news for Burma - Khun Sam

An international press watchdog has ranked Burma as having the least free
press in East Asia and fifth from the bottom in the world in its 2005
index released on Wednesday.

The annual worldwide report of Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres,
ranks military-ruled Burma at 163 in a list of 167 countries, while North
Korea—one of “the world’s black holes for news,” where freedom of
expression does not exist—is bottom.

The report reflects the degree of freedom that journalists and news
organizations enjoy, and the governments’ efforts to ensure freedom of the
press.

“No improvement was seen in Burma,” says the report, adding that
pro-opposition journalists are still being detained in prison by the
military junta, while “the censorship office monitors the press, even the
death announcements columns.”

East Asia, including Burma, is “where journalists have the toughest time
and where government repression or armed groups prevent the media
operating freely,” says the report.

Burma his moved up from third from bottom in 2004. But as Zin Linn, of the
exile-based Burma Media Association, told The Irrawaddy, this is not
because press freedom in the country has improved, but because Iran and
Turkestan have been slotted in under Burma. Journalists have been killed
in the two countries. “In my opinion, press freedom has become weaker than
before,” he said.

Zin Linn said recent Rangoon regime initiatives to train journalists and
to allow 18 private media outlets did not actually benefit the media. They
were meant to counter critical foreign and exiled Burmese media. He cited
a recent article in the state-run New Light of Myanmar under the headline
“Counter Media with Media,” urging the pro-government press to attack
unfavorable reports from overseas.

In the RSF report, China ranked 159, Vietnam 158 and Thailand 107.