BurmaNet News, December 2, 2005

[Editor]

December 2, 2005 Issue # 2856

INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima News
National Convention is behind schedule military tells foreign officials
S.H.A.N.: Present establishment favors the militia
Guardian: Torture 'state policy' in Burma
DVB: 11 ethnic national parties express lack of faith in Burma’s convention
Asian Tribune: New report reveals torture of political prisoners in Burma

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Lack of identity papers holds up return of tsunami bodies
AP: Myanmar refugees rally in Bangladesh
Irrawaddy: Migrant worker’s burned body found

DRUGS
Mizzima: The human face of Burma's drugs scourge

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: Malaysian lawmaker likens Myanmar junta to Hitler, Stalin

OPINION
Mizzima: Will the national convention legitimise the junta?

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

December 2, Mizzima News
National Convention is behind schedule military tells foreign officials

National Convention Convening Commission officials in Rangoon have briefed
international diplomatic and UN workers on expected delays to the
completion of the National Convention.

Officials met foreign diplomats yesterday and UN officials today and said
as so few of the expected chapters of Burma's draft constitution had been
finalised, it would be impossible to wrap up the convention by the end of
the year.

International diplomatic workers in Rangoon said very little information
was given at the meeting with military officials who refused to provide
any concrete answers to questions on the convention.

The convention, first convened in 1993, has stalled many times and Burma's
ruling junta has been widely criticised by the international community for
foot-dragging on political reforms.

The purpose of the convention is to create a draft of a new constitution
and the meeting is one step in the military's 'road map to democracy'.

Sources in Rangoon said that of 15 potential chapters, less than five had
been finalised. One international worker told Mizzima, "They are never
planning to finish the convention. It is only designed to keep the rest of
the world off their backs".

While military officials reportedly told international workers the session
resuming on December 5 would not be the last, they gave no time frame for
the completion of the convention and refused to say how many more sessions
there were likely to be.

Ministry of Information officials will also hold a press conference in
Rangoon tomorrow. Journalists from many major publications have been
invited to attend with some saying attendance was compulsory.

The latest delay to the completion of the convention is likely to cause
further international concern over the political situation in Burma. Only
in May this year, Senior General Than Shwe told UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan in Jakarta the convention was going well and could be completed by
the end of 2005.

____________________________________

December 2, Shan Herald Agency for News
Present establishment favors the militia

Gone are the days when ceasefire groups received preferential treatment
from Burma's rulers, according to militia sources in Mongton, opposite
Chiangmai.

"We no longer need feel shy of meeting the Wa now," said a Lahu source,
who was among those visiting Thailand through its porous border. "We
aren't third class citizens anymore. It's the Wa who have become third
class under (Gen) Maung Aye."

The reason for their newly-found pride, his companion said, was given to
them by area commander Col Win Maung at a meeting in Nakawngmu, roughly
half way between Mongton and the Chiangmai border, 53 miles, on 4
November.

"Militias had been formed under our supervision," he was quoted as telling
Ja Pikoi, leader of the nearby Hwe Aw militia, and his deputy Maung Hla.
"You have been most loyal to us as our eyes and ears. Our superiors have
therefore directed me to inform you that thenceforth you need not play
second fiddle to the Wa and other ceasefire groups. Consider yourself
superior to them and if there is any encroachment by the Wa in your
assigned area without your permission, you may shoot first and question
them later. We will be ready to come to your rescue anytime you find
yourself unable to beat them off."

Most of Mongton township's 10 militia forces are composed of Lahu, one of
the main non-Shan groups of Shan State, besides which there are the United
Wa State Army's 171st Military Region and the Shan State Army-South's
727th Brigade. Two of the SSA's fighters who passed through Loi Khilek,
west of Nakawngmu, on 25 November, were shot dead by the militia.

____________________________________

December 1, The Guardian
Torture 'state policy' in Burma - John Aglionby South-east Asia correspondent

The Burmese junta is torturing political prisoners to crush dissent not
just using such methods to punish and interrogate, and at least five
political detainees have been tortured to death in the past six months, a
report published today alleges.

Virtually all 10,000 or so activists detained since the pro-democracy
uprising in 1988 have been abused physically or psychologically, says the
report, The darkness we see: Torture in Burma's interrogation centres and
prisons.

Impunity for the perpetrators is "complete", says the report, which was
written by the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political
Prisoners (Burma) and based on interviews with 35 recently released
political inmates.

"Torture is state policy in Burma," it says. "It is used to break down
political activists and instill fear into the general public. They are
tortured not only to halt possible opposition to the regime but so they
may return to their families and friends with the physical and
psychological remnants of their torture on display, silencing any thoughts
the public may have of speaking out against the regime."

Amnesty International and the US government think there are about 1,150
political prisoners in Burma. No one from the Burmese government was
available to discuss the report yesterday.

Beatings in Burma's jails are so regular they appear almost standard
compared with the torture involving water, hot objects, deprivation and
other intimidation, says the report. Mark Farmaner, of the Burma Campaign
UK, says the report is significant for its witness accounts. "They are
clearly trying to break everyone involved in the opposition."

The UN security council is preparing to discuss Burma, including demanding
the release of political inmates, particularly the opposition leader, Aung
San Suu Kyi.

____________________________________

December 1, Democratic Voice of Burma
11 ethnic national parties express lack of faith in Burma’s convention

11 ethnic national political parties based in Rangoon, recently issued a
statement saying that they have no faith in the constitution drafting
‘National Convention’ sponsored by Burma’s military junta, the State Peace
and Development Council (SPDC).

The groups also urged the junta to release all political prisoners
including Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) chairman Khun
Htun Oo and National League for Democracy (NLD) leader and Nobel laureate
Aung San Suu Kyi.

The statement said that ethnic national parties have been working
consistently towards the emergence of a federal union, equality and
self-determination, and insisted that it is time to lay down policies for
true national unity and reconciliation.

Cin Sian Thang of Zomi National Congress (ZNC) told DVB that the recent
sentencing of nine Shan leaders to lengthy jail terms shocked and dismayed
ethnic national groups and increased their mistrust of the ruling junta.

____________________________________

December 2, Asian Tribune
New report reveals torture of political prisoners in Burma

An Asian-based human rights group today released an authoritative report
detailing the brutal and systematic torture of political prisoners that
for the first time specifically names those directly responsible in
Burma's military regime, as well was reveals the "shocking" scale and
severity of the practice.

The 126 page report by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners
(AAPPB), "The Darkness We See: Torture in Burma's Interrogation Centers
and Prisons" is released on the heels of an international push led by
former Czech President Vaclav Havel and South Africa's 1984 Nobel Peace
Prize recipient Desmond Tutu to place Burma on the UN Security Council
agenda.

The effort has gained support after Burma's military regime has refused to
implement a total of 27 UN General Assembly and UN Commission on Human
Rights resolutions calling for change.

The European Parliament endorsed UN Security Council action two weeks ago,
while U.S. President George W. Bush pointedly raised Burma on his recent
trip to Asia.

Reacting to the report, Senator John McCain, whose essay “Torture's
Terrible Toll” appeared on the cover of Newsweek Magazine in late
November, said "My heart goes out to those suffering for their belief in
human rights and democracy. This report demonstrates that torture of
political prisoners is a state policy of Burma's junta. All Americans, who
stand by the Burmese people in their aspirations for freedom, should be
outraged." McCain went on to say that the report "Illustrates in
painstaking detail yet one more reason why United Nations Security Council
action is long overdue. Those who care about human rights and human
decency should press the Security Council to take up the issue of Burma
immediately."

The evidence in the report is based on interviews with thirty-five former
political prisoners conducted by AAPP. The report is divided into sections
detailing the various forms of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse
used by the junta.

The report also explains how deliberately poor prison conditions combined
with purposeful medical negligence are encouraged and perpetrated by the
junta to cause an aggravated degree of suffering tantamount to torture. It
concludes that Burma's prisons have become institutions whose primary
function is to deliberately and systematically shatter the identity of
political activists and other civilians deemed threatening by the junta.

Tactics currently being used on political prisoners include:

-- Severe beatings, often resulting in loss of consciousness and sometimes
death

-- Electrocution to all parts of the body including genitals

-- Rubbing iron rods on shins of prisoners until flesh is ripped off, a
tactic known in Burma as the "iron road"

-- Burning with cigarettes and lighters

-- Pro-longed restriction of movements, for up to several months, using
rope and shackles around the neck and ankles

-- Repeatedly striking the same area of a person's body every second for
several hours, a tactic known in Burma as "tick-tock torture"

Said Ko Tate, Secretary of the AAPP: "This report is the first to show the
shocking full scale of torture in Burma's interrogation centers and
prisons. It should eliminate any doubt as to the severity of human rights
violations against those suspected of political dissent in Burma."

Most political prisoners in Burma are arrested for publicly expressing or
otherwise indicating opposition to the ruling military junta. Burma's most
high-profile political prisoner, Aung San Suu Kyi, is the world's only
Nobel Peace Prize recipient in detention. Hundreds of members of her
political party, the National League for Democracy, are held in prison.
Most have been tortured.

The report reveals for the first time the chain of command and individuals
responsible for torture in Burma. The Minister of Home Affairs, Minister
of Defense, and Minister of Foreign Affairs all serve on a three-person
committee responsible for overseeing the detention of prisoners charged
under section 10 (A) and (B) of the junta's State Protection Act, which
provides the "legal" basis for which many prisoners are held. In that
capacity, these individuals are directly responsible for torture in Burma,
in addition to those serving under them.

Torture carried out during initial interrogations is carried out mainly by
the Military Intelligence Service, which is under the Directorate of
Defense Services Intelligence, organized under the Minister of Defense.
Interrogation is additionally conducted by the Bureau of Special
Investigations, and the Special Investigations Department (also known as
the Special Branch, part of the Burma Police Force), that report to the
Ministry of Home Affairs.

The report recommends that the UN Security Council should immediately take
up issue of Burma, and calls for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's
personal involvement. "We are pleading for the United Nations to take
meaningful action," added Ko Tate, "If now now, when?" The UK, Burma's
former colonial power, serves as the chair of the UN Security Council in
December.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

December 2, Irrawaddy
Lack of identity papers holds up return of tsunami bodies - Shah Paung

Nearly 80 bodies of Burmese victims of the 2004 tsunami can be returned to
their families by the end of the year, provided the necessary
identification documents are provided, the Thai Tsunami Victim
Identification, said on Friday.

Only a few families of the dead Burmese had so far contacted the TTVI, the
organization’s superintendent, Pol Col Khemmarin Hassiri said. Problems
were being encountered in matching the bodies with the correct
identification documents, and in an effort to tackle the issue the TTVI
would be contacting the International Organization for Migration and the
Lawyer Council of Thailand, two concerned groups.

One difficulty is the necessity to establish the home address in Burma of
the deceased and to verify such details as date of birth. Lack of
co-operation by the Burmese authorities was hampering this procedure, the
TTVI said.

Myint Wai, of the Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma, which is
working with the LCT to help Burmese tsunami victims, said the TTVI is
ready to return 24 bodies to their families but was waiting for the
necessary documents. DNA testing could be used as a last resort, but that
procedure would be very difficult, Myint Wai said.

Thailand’s Labor and Social Welfare Ministry stands ready to provide
financial aid to the families of tsunami victims, Pol Col Khemmarin
Hassiri said.

On December 16, the TTVI identification center will move from Phuket to
Bang Maroun, Takua Pa in Phang Nga province.

____________________________________

December 2, Associate Press
Myanmar refugees rally in Bangladesh to demand end to democracy leader Suu
Kyi's detention
 - Julhas Alam

Dozens of Myanmar refugees demonstrated in Bangladesh's capital Friday to
demand U.N. intervention to win the release of Aung San Suu Kyi from house
arrest, organizers said.

The protesters, who fled their country over the years due to alleged
persecution by the military junta, gathered in downtown Dhaka carrying
banners and placards with slogans such as "Please intervene in Burma's
political issue" and "Withdraw house detention on Suu Kyi."

Last month, the military government in Myanmar, also known as Burma,
extended the house arrest of Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy leader who has
spent 10 of the last 16 years in detention.

"We can't accept the extension of Suu Kyi's detention. It must end,"
Khaing San Lunn, a spokesman for the Arakanese Refugee Affair Community,
told The Associated Press at the rally. "We want democracy, our next
generation wants a free and democratic Burma.

One of the protesters wrapped himself in an iron chain and wore a white
shirt sprayed with red to symbolize wounded democracy in Myanmar.

A number of refugee children also attended the rally.

Suu Kyi, 60, is under virtual solitary confinement at her residence in the
capital, Yangon.

She is not allowed outside visitors or telephone contact. She was last
taken into custody on May 30, 2003, after her motorcade was attacked by a
pro-junta mob as she toured northern Myanmar.

The junta seized power in 1988 after crushing pro-democracy protests, and
refused to hand over power when Suu Kyi's party won general elections in
1990.

Several thousand Myanmar refugees currently live in Bangladesh with
support from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

____________________________________

December 2, Irrawaddy
Migrant worker’s burned body found - Khun Sam

Police are investigating the case of a Burmese migrant worker whose dead
body was found in Thailand’s Tak province on November 30.

According to Moe Swe, director of a Mae Sot-based Burmese migrant workers
association, 28-year-old Kyaw Naing Tun may have been killed as a result
of complaining about conditions at the garment factory where he worked.

Moe Swe told The Irrawaddy today that on November 27, Kyaw Naing Tun and a
group of co-workers had complained about low pay at the Jiab Tuk garment
factory in Mae Sot, to a company liaison officer.

Two days later, four people—allegedly including the factory liaison
officer and her husband—turned up at Kyaw Naing Tun’s accommodation,
demanding to speak with him. Kyaw Naing Tun’s sister told the visitors
that he was out, and later left the house to go shopping. When she
returned, her brother was missing.

The following day, police found Kyaw Naing Tun’s body, which had been
beaten and badly burned, on the outskirts of town.

Mae Sot police today confirmed the body was due to be sent to Bangkok’s
Institute of Forensic Medicine today for examination.

____________________________________
DRUGS

December 2, Mizzima News
The human face of Burma's drugs scourge - Kanyamaw

As Burma faces increasing international pressure over its narcotics
production and Australian and Singaporean officials battle over the
country's ties to Burma's drug trade, thousands of Burmese remain addicted
to illegal drugs.

While recent surveys show dramatic drops in opium production levels in
Burma and aid organisations are working to help those affected by drug
use, production and trafficking it could take years for Burma's affected
peoples to recover.

Gyung Mang, a 28-year-old ethnic Kachin from a rural village in Lashio,
northern Shan State, is uncomfortably familiar with the devastating effect
of Burma's drug trade.

Once a user, dealer and cultivator of opium and heroin, Gyung Mang
recently fled to Thailand to change his life and stop using.

"When I was young, there were only a few acres of poppy field in my
village and few people were addicted to the drug. But later on, more
families rapidly extended their opium cultivating as they wanted to make
more money," Gyung Mang told Mizzima.

"The village that once made up of only 60 households has now increased to
more than 300 as farmers from other villages also got into the drug
business."

He said his village was permitted to grow poppies by regional authorities
but only on a small scale to help enrich the poor soil farmers used to
grow other crops. But within a few years the area was full of poppy fields
as more and more farmers discovered the crop was easier to grow and sell
meaning larger profits and more food for their families.

Gyung Mang said he was addicted to heroin for about seven years after his
friends introduced him to the drug. He said when he first started using he
felt extreme feelings of relaxation and unconsciousness. Soon he became
physically addicted and as his body yearned for the powerful substance he
began to experience pain throughout his body.

And he wasn't the only one. In Lashio, where opium and heroin and readily
available and reasonably priced, many people are addicted and unable to
break away from the temptation of the high.

Just as many people are involved in the trafficking and production of the
drugs.

In recent years, after ethnic groups including the Shan State Army and the
Kachin Independence Army began to condemn poppy cultivation, many pushers,
peddlers and users have been beaten and arrested.
Despite these threats most refuse to give up their trade as they have no
other way to feed their families Gyung Mang said.

"In growing the opium, farmers aren't the group who get the most profits
but they can make a little money in the same way as farmers who grow paddy
and corn for their livelihood," Gyung Mang said.

"Now, as opium cultivation in Shan State and other regions is banned, many
families who grow opium are faced with poverty and starvation because
their soil is poor for planting other crops and also they don't have other
jobs to do in the area."

Gyung Mang fled Burma's crumbling drug scene and is now employed on the
Thai-Burma border.

Others are less fortunate and remain in Burma to face the downfall of
their livelihoods and the destruction of their society.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

December 2, Agence France Presse
Malaysian lawmaker likens Myanmar junta to Hitler, Stalin

A senior Malaysian lawmaker on Friday likened Myanmar's military junta to
the regimes of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin and condemned nations which
trade with the pariah state.

Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, a senior minister in Malaysian Prime Minister
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's cabinet, said Southeast Asian lawmakers must
continue to pressure Myanmar to embrace democracy.

And he slammed the ruling generals' recent decision to extend opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest for another six months. The Nobel
peace laureate has spent 10 of the past 16 years in detention.

"The military junta reminds us of the days of Hitler and Stalin. We must
continue to pressure Myanmar to comply to international standards," he
told reporters.

Nazri also hit out at countries that trade with Myanmar.

"Would you do business with Hitler and Stalin? We can't be thinking of
just business while human rights are abused. I don't think I want to do
business with a devil," he said.

Malaysia has been the fourth largest foreign investor in resource-rich
Myanmar over the past seven years, according to the Myanmar Investment
Commission.

Other members of the ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC)
meeting here said the detention decision was embarrassing coming just
before Malaysia hosts this month's Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) summit.

Lawmakers from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and
Thailand have joined the caucus which was formed last year to push for
democratic reforms in Myanmar.

Tint Swe, a member of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy
(NLD) living in exile in India, said at the meeting ASEAN should abandon
its "whispering diplomacy" and confront Myanmar.

"ASEAN should speak out loudly. The military junta will listen. ASEAN must
press for Aung San Suu Kyi's freedom and democracy in Burma," he said.

AIPMC chairman Zaid Ibrahim from Malaysia described the Myanmar regime as
a threat to regional security and said ASEAN should review its policy of
non-interference in the domestic affairs of member nations.

"We cannot afford to ignore the fact that our local and national interests
are affected by regional problems," he said.

"We call for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners
and for free and fair elections."

The NLD won a landslide victory in 1990 elections but has never been
allowed to take power. The ruling junta announced a roadmap to democracy
in 2003 but it has barely got off the ground and has been denounced
internationally as a sham.

____________________________________
OPINION

December 2, Mizzima News
Will the national convention legitimise the junta?  - Mungpi

After 12 years, Burma's so-called National Convention finally seems to be
drawing to an end. The military junta has indicated it will wrap up the
session with a draft of a new constitution followed by a referendum and
national elections.

Since its start in 1993, the National Convention never had specific
timelines. It has stalled over and over again, with critics contending it
is the generals' way of buying time to avoid making substantial political
changes.

However, the upcoming National Convention session, which reconvenes Dec.
5, could very well be the last.

The National Convention convening committee chairman, Lt. General Thein
Sein, indicated in October that the session would draft a new constitution
designed to pave the way for a general election.
Critics and onlookers see it as an effort for the military to gain
'legitimacy.'

But with the opposition National League for Democracy and other key ethnic
political parties being out of the arena, the National Convention is a
convenient way for the military to draft a constitution to its own liking.

The junta has vowed to draw a new constitution based on several
guidelines, including "development of genuine multi-party democracy" and
the "promotion of social truths such as justice, freedom, equality and
others." But the guidelines also call for the "participation of the
military in the leading role of national politics."

Analysts say the military is expected to demand a guaranteed number of
seats - say, 25 percent - in future parliamentary elections, as well as
guaranteed positions in government ministries.

"It is likely that this time, they will wrap-up the National Convention
with a draft constitution and hold a referendum and election," said an
independent Burmese researcher, Aung Naing Oo.

U Lwin, the NLD's spokesperson, during a telephone interview from Rangoon,
agreed that the military is determined to have a draft of the new
constitution at the end of this session. "They might even have already
drafted it and might just declare it," he said.

The question now is whether the National Convention and constitution will
be legitimate.

According to Larry Jagan, a former BBC correspondent and Burma affairs
expert, the military junta has been trying to draft a constitution that
will give legitimacy to its political role. But, he said, "Unless the
opposition, especially the NLD, is allowed to participate in drafting the
constitution, it will not be seen as legitimate."

"We have not been able to reach an agreement since the beginning, so we
will not attend," U Lwin said of the NLD. In 1996, the NLD walked out of
the junta's convention, claiming it was undemocratic.

The NLD overwhelmingly won Burma's last general election in 1990 with more
than 80 percent of the votes, but the party was denied power by the
military, which has ruled the country since 1962. The regime's official
excuse for keeping the NLD from assuming power was the need for a new
'constitution.'

The constitution-drafting process began in 1993, but collapsed three years
later when the NLD walked out.

In 2003, the junta resumed its stalled convention in what it said was an
effort to bring political reforms to Burma. However, the NLD, which
demanded the release of the Nobel Peace Laureate and party leader Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi and political prisoners, boycotted the convention as the junta
refused to meet its demands.

A top Western diplomat assigned to Burma, at an exclusive interviewed with
Burmese reporters in Chiang Mai, dismissed the ongoing process as a sham
and "nonsense."

"How can it be possible to have a constitution that excludes the majority
of the population?" said the diplomat.

Although some hand-picked representatives of ethnic cease-fire groups will
be attending, the diplomat said the convention is "irrelevant" because it
lacks the participation of the main political parties.
With 28 ethnic groups, including 16 ethnic ceasefire groups, attending the
last session early this year, the junta claims the National Convention is
representative of the country.

Critics, however, note that the leaders of major political parties - the
NLD and Shan Nationalities League for Democracy - remain under arrest.
On Nov. 3, a 'special court' inside the notorious Insein jail in Rangoon
sentenced eight Shan ethnic political leaders. Hkun Htun Oo, chairman of
the SNLD, the second largest political party in Burma, and general
secretary Sai Nyunt Lwin were sentenced to 53 and 85 years, respectively,
while Gen. Hso Ten of the Shan State Peace Council was sentenced to 106
years.

Moreover, major ethnic armed rebel groups such as the Karen National
Union, which has been fighting the regime for more than 50 years, have
boycotted the convention.

"The participants are not legitimate representatives of the people. They
are hand-picked to dance in the junta's court for the benefit of the
regime," said Raymond Htoo, general secretary of the Karenni National
Progressive Party, an ethnic armed rebel group that is not attending.

Naing Han Tha, general secretary of the New Mon State Party, said; "We are
not yet decided on whether to attend again or not. We are currently in a
meeting to decide."

With about 1,000 hand-picked delegates, the National Convention has been
held at a secluded location in Nyaung Hnapin, about 40 km north of Rangoon
. Reportedly, the delegates were under a curfew and essentially shut off
from the outside world.

Moreover, freedom of speech was strictly prohibited, with military
officials monitoring all sessions. Media coverage has been restricted, and
foreign journalists have been barred, except for the opening day of the
most recent session in February.

Despite the criticisms and many flaws, the junta is determined to carry on
with its proposed "roadmap" to democracy.

Critics say the constitution is designed to give the military an upper
hand in politics, with the junta likely sustaining power. But analysts
also say it might open up a space for political freedoms.

"It is definitely not good political progress, but we can expect a little
chance that things might be more open. And it is breaking the political
deadlock we are currently facing," said Aung Naing Oo. "But it does not
mean that it will give any legitimacy to the military."