BurmaNet News, December 3-5, 2005

[Editor]

December 3-5 2005 Issue # 2857

INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar vows 'disciplined democracy' amid new demands to reform
AP: Myanmar to resume drafting constitution amid simmering discontent
DVB: Peace group NMSP won’t attend Burma’s convention
DVB: Earthquake reported in Burma’s delta region of Irrawaddy division
Bernama: Myanmar pro-democracy leaders hail UN Security Council decision

HEATH/AIDS
Hindustan Times: AIDS infection rate among women rising alarmingly in Manipur

INTERNATIONAL
Australian: Burma denies nuclear ambition after UN move
Manila Standard: ASEAN urged to expel Myanmar
Manila Times: Pimentel calls for ouster of Myanmar from Asean
Irrawaddy: UN Security Council to hear briefing on Burma

OPINION
South China Morning Post: UN briefing offers hope for people of Myanmar
Houston Chronicle: Noticing Myanmar
S.H.A.N.: Will the United Nations act on Burma?

STATEMENTS
AIPMC: Conference on good governance, democracy and ASEAN

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

December 5, Agence France Presse
Myanmar vows 'disciplined democracy' amid new demands to reform – Nyaung
Hnapin

A top Myanmar general Monday insisted a new round of constitutional talks
would move the country toward "disciplined democracy", despite a chorus of
international demands to step up reforms.

"We are in the process of transition to a disciplined democratic nation,"
Lieutenant General Thein Sein, the head of the National Convention, said
in an opening address to some 1,000 delegates chosen by the ruling junta.

"This is the first step in the transition to democracy, and it is the most
crucial step. Genuine and disciplined democracy -- there is no other way,
this is the way."

Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party, the National
League for Democracy (NLD), is boycotting the talks to demand her release
from house arrest, which was extended by six months on November 27.

The absence of the NLD at the latest round of constitutional talks in this
isolated military compound north of Yangon has prompted the United States,
the United Nations and the European Union to dismiss the proceedings as a
sham.

The NLD, which won a landslide victory in 1990 elections but was never
allowed to take office, has boycotted all three sessions of the convention
held over the last two years.

NLD spokesman U Lwin declined to comment on the latest round of talks.

The National Convention aims to provide Myanmar with a new constitution,
but even officials and delegates here doubt that a new basic law will
bring any significant change to the isolated Asian country.

"Everything going on here depends on the (military) leadership," said one
official who helped organize the convention. "It's going to be like old
wine in a new bottle."

Critics say the constitution is merely the junta's way of giving itself a
veneer of legitimacy while enshrining its own central role in the nation's
political future.

"I don't expect any sound and good results coming out of the convention,"
said Win Naing, an independent politician not invited to the talks.

"This is just a mask to wear," he said. "They have to show the world, look
at what we are doing for democracy."

Officials have refused to give a timetable for completing the
constitution, and Thaung Nyunt, a senior official working with the
convention, told AFP that less than half of the document was completed.

But Thein Sein urged delegates to ignore the criticism.

"Those who are jealous of our success, both internal and external, have
tried to disrupt our National Convention," he said.

"We must try to defend ourselves against these destructive elements."

He also insisted that the delegates at the talks adequately represented
the nation, despite the NLD's boycott.

"We are building the foundation of a stable democracy," he said. "We have
invited people from every strata of society, so this is a very
representative gathering."

More than half of the delegates come from the country's more than 100
ethnic groups. Myanmar's military has battled ethnic rebels in border
regions for decades and has signed ceasefires with 16 groups.

The military has already laid out an extensive set of principles to be
incorporated into the new basic law, which notably would bar Aung San Suu
Kyi from standing for president and allow the military to name one quarter
of the members of an eventual parliament.

Under consideration at the latest talks is also the question of whether to
formally name the mountainous central town of Pyinmanar the country's new
capital.

The junta issued a surprise order one month ago for government staff to
begin moving to the partially completed compound, even though housing,
water and electricity are not yet ready.

The constitutional talks resumed just three days after the UN Security
Council called for a formal meeting on Myanmar, and as Southeast Asian
lawmakers urged Myanmar's expulsion from the ASEAN regional grouping
unless it carries out democratic reforms within a year.

Writing a constitution is the first step on the military's "road map" to
democracy that, in theory, would eventually lead to elections in the
impoverished country of more than 50 million people, formerly known as
Burma.

____________________________________

December 4, Associated Press
Myanmar to resume drafting constitution amid simmering discontent –
Michael Casey

Myanmar's military junta reopened a key national constitutional convention
Monday, calling on its citizens to support the meetings it considers a
step toward democracy in the politically isolated Southeast Asian nation.

But in the tea shops and markets of the rundown capital - and in much of
the international community - the convention is being largely dismissed.

"It's a farce," said Khin Maung, an 89-year-old retired government
employee. "I don't have faith in this whole process which is done for (the
junta's) own convenience, not for the good of the country.

"It's obvious they are not sincere. Most of the delegates are not
representative of the people, and most of them are hand-picked."

The junta is portraying the constitution-drafting convention, held
intermittently since 1993, as the first step in a seven-stage "road map"
toward democracy and free elections. Junta officials say the convention
will produce a document that will help unify the country and allow it "to
build a disciplined and democratic nation."

More than 1,000 delegates - including politicians, leaders of ethnic
groups, workers, businessmen and government employees - gathered at a
convention center about 25 miles north of the capital to resume work. The
session is set to last as long as two months but is seen as unlikely to
produce a final draft.

However, some see the convention as a ploy by the junta to stay in power
by guaranteeing the military a leadership role in any future government.
Critics argue it cannot reflect the desires of the people when the main
opposition party, the Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League
for Democracy, and other sectors of society are not participating.

The NLD won a landslide victory in general elections in 1990 but the
military refused to hand over power, saying the country first needed a new
constitution.

Suu Kyi has been under continuous house arrest for more than two years.
Her detention was extended by six months last week, and she has been
barred from the convention. Her party has said it will boycott the event.

The meeting is being boycotted by a party representing the Shan people,
Myanmar's second-largest ethnic group after the Burmans, and a smaller
minority organization known as the Kokang.

Representatives of a cease-fire group, the New Mon State Party, which
signed a peace deal with the junta in 1995 and represents the ethnic Mon,
said Saturday it would only observe.

The United Nations has called for "all the different groups of Myanmar's
landscape" to be allowed to participate, expressing regret that the NLD
and other groups are not taking part.

During a meeting with reporters Saturday, leaders brushed aside
suggestions that the NLD's absence would hurt the convention. Aung Toe,
the chief justice and vice chairman of the National Convention Convening
Commission, said the NLD had "ignored the wishes of the people" by pulling
out.

Also Saturday, the government-owned New Light of Myanmar newspaper ran a
page-long commentary telling Myanmar's 54 million citizens it was their
duty to support the process. The event is being promoted in the capital
with huge billboards featuring images of smiling residents wearing ethnic
clothes and carrying the country's flag.

The convention appears to be a welcome distraction for the government at a
time when the economy is foundering and its leaders are under increasing
U.S. pressure.

About a month ago, Myanmar's government began relocating its ministries to
a planned new capital, Pyinmana, about 250 miles north of Yangon. Some
analysts said the move is being driven by irrational fears of a U.S.
invasion, while many in Myanmar believe it is due to worries about
possible internal unrest.

"The main reason to move the capital is to avoid the situation that took
place in 1988," said Myanmar political analyst U Win Naing, referring to
anti-government demonstrations that ended when troops fired on protesters,
killing hundreds.

There were coup rumors in the country earlier this year. In May, a series
of bombings rattled the capital, killing 29. No one has claimed
responsibility.

Still, most analysts say the junta is firmly in control, noting there have
been few public protests. The country also has the economic and political
support of neighboring China and India - two of Asia's biggest powers.

____________________________________

December 3, Democratic Voice of Burma
Peace group NMSP won’t attend Burma’s convention

Armed ethnic national group, New Mon State Party (NMSP) which signed
ceasefire agreements with Burma’s military junta, the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), won’t be attending the constitution-drafting
‘National Convention’ of the junta, due to start on 5 December.

During an interview with DVB today on 3 December, NMSP secretary Nai
Hantha said that the party decided not to attend the convention because of
the lack of the right to discuss matters freely and openly.

Hantha added that NMSP delegates attended May 2004 and March 2005 sessions
of the convention, and although it systematically and properly put forward
and discussed ethnic national problems and federal issues with other 13
ethnic national ceasefire groups, the military authorities made no proper
response nor discuss the issues, but regrettably only ‘recorded’
(pigeonholed) them.

He reasoned that NMSP delegates are likely to be implicated in the
so-called protection of national convention from ‘destructive elements’
law 1/96, if they attend the convention and discuss the matters, and there
is an implicit danger of them being detained and imprisoned if they do so.
Moreover, the NMSP is not attending the convention because it has been
busy with its own party conference, Hantha said.

Hantha also insisted that there is not likely to be a confrontation
between the NMSP and the junta, as it decided not to attend the convention
because of the lack of freedom of speech and for fear that it might offend
the junta by attending the convention and saying what it wants to say. The
group will continue to observe the ceasefire agreements with the junta and
carry out regional development activities, he added.

But, the absence of the NMSP would discredit the much criticised
convention of the junta which is to be resumed at Nyaung Hnapin (Two
Banyan Trees) on the north of Rangoon, and it could have repercussions on
Shan ceasefire groups whose leaders are being imprisoned, according to
political observers.

Moreover, the decision of NMSP not to attend the convention coincides with
the time when the United Nations Security Council is trying to discuss the
situation in Burma, which could turn out to be a major political disaster
for the junta and partial success for pro-democracy activists and the
people of Burma, they added.

____________________________________

December 5, Democratic Voice of Burma
Earthquake reported in Burma’s delta region of Irrawaddy division

A considerably strong earthquake hit Myaungmya in Burma’s delta region of
Irrawaddy Division on 4 December and people are living in fear as they are
afraid that another destructive tsunami which struck coastal regions of
Burma last year will occur again, a local resident told DVB.

The tsunamis which struck western Burma on 26 December 2004 caused heavy
destructions to nearby Laputa, killing at least 47 people and wounding 45
people. At least 10 people and 80 fishing boats were reported missing and
around 700 homes were destroyed.

At Kawthaung, Tennesserim Division in southern Burma near Thailand which
was hit the hardest by the tsunamis, 27 people were killed and 300 homes
were destroyed and 12 people were killed at Arakan State in western Burma.

Local residents at Tennesserim Division and Arakan State told DVB that the
situations at their regions are normal so far. But there was a report of
the outbreak of a fire on 5 December which destroyed 3 homes at Taungnauk
Ward, Myayipule Street of Kawthaung.

____________________________________

December 5, Bernama
Myanmar pro-democracy leaders hail UN Security Council decision

Myanmar pro-democracy leaders have welcomed the United Nations (UN)
Security Council's decision to discuss human rights in the country.

Thein Oo, a Member of Parliament from Myanmar's National League for
Democracy (NLD) party, said the decision was an important step forward to
pressure the ruling military junta to restore human rights conditions and
release all political prisoners, including pro-democracy leader Aung San
Suu Kyi.

"This is very significant for the Myanmar people because the Government
always use the non-interference policy as a shield," he told Bernama.

The 15-member Security Council on Friday agreed for the first time to
discuss human rights in Myanmar which had come under severe criticism for
many years from the international community for its record on democracy
and human rights.

Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Laureate and daughter of Myanmar's independence
hero Aung San, led the NLD party to a landslide victory in the May 1990
parliamentary elections in which the NLD swept 392 of the 485 seats but
the junta refused to recognise the results.

She had been under detention most of the time since 1990 and her latest
period in custody began in May 2003. Early this week, the Government
extended her house arrest for another six months.

Oo, now exiled in Bangkok and who is also chairman of Myanmar Lawyers'
Council said there was a resolution in 1993 and last month by the UN
General Assembly about human rights conditions in his country, but the
Myanmar Government did not listen or take any action to improve the human
rights conditions.

He said the UN, through Secretary-General Kofi Annan, could help to
mediate to resume tripartite dialogue between the government,
pro-democracy factions and ethnic minorities.

"We hope Annan can pressure the Myanmar Government to undertake this," added
Oo, who was here for the just-concluded Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar
Caucus.

Secretary of NLD's Members of Parliament Union San San said Asean should
review its policy on Myanmar as Yangon had totally ignored the advice and
requests by Asean and the international community to restore democracy and
human rights.

In this context, she said, Asean's constructive engagement policy was also
a failure and Asean should not continue that in any form.

"We don't know where the Myanmar Government is heading to...only effective
pressure can make things change for the better," said San, who is also a
NLD MP and currently based at the Thailand-Myanmar border.

San said NLD also wants Asean to pressure Yangon to resume dialogue with
the party and representatives of all ethnic groups and political leaders
to find a solution to the "Myanmar problem as the country is heading to
the worse."

"The economic situation is so alarming that Myanmar is now one of the
poorest countries in the world, with the people getting little or no
access to healthcare or education," she said.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) indicators ranked Myanmar 148 of the
176 countries for combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross
educational enrolment ratios and 157 out of 175 countries for Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) per capita.

____________________________________
HEALTH/AIDS

December 3, Hindustan Times
AIDS infection rate among women rising alarmingly in Manipur

With a population of 2.4 million people, the north-eastern frontier state
of Manipur, better known for its political unrest is also a state that has
the highest concentration of HIV/AIDS infection in India.

With its proximity with the Golden Triangle drug trail, the early
transmission route of HIV/AIDS in this border state, sharing its frontiers
with Myanmar, was through intravenous drug use.

Of late, this trend has changed and women and children are increasingly
falling prey to this yet incurable attack of the human immune deficiency
virus. With an estimated 40,000-odd addicts in Manipur, injected heroin
addiction among young people has been a problem in the state since the
early eighties. The first HIV/AIDS cases in Manipur were reported from a
random blood sampling of injecting drug users (IDUs) done in 1989-90.

Thanks to the concerted efforts at harm reduction programs, like the
innovative 'Needle and Exchange Programme' of NGOs, funded by the nodal
AIDS control agency in the State, the Manipur State AIDS Control Society,
this alarming figure has dropped to nearly 22 % at present.

The latest transmission trend is all the more alarming as HIV/AIDS is no
longer confined to injecting drug users. It has spread to general
population and increasingly the virus is taking the sexual route and women
and children are being infected steadily. According to Manipur AIDS
Control Society, over 25 per cent of the total reported AIDS cases are
women and children in Manipur.

S Thoibi, a HIV-positive widow, said: "As India is a male dominated
society, the problem of the women is huge. For instance in Manipur, when
both husband and wife are sick, the care shown by the family is never the
same. And problem multiplies when the man passes away, leaving the kids
behind. The family do not show sympathy towards the woman who actually got
infected through the drug habits of their son."

In the span of a few years, from September 1986 to September 2005, the
number of HIV positive men and women are 20,980 of which 3537 cases are
confirmed AIDS. Many have died of this syndrome, while many more are on
the brink of death. While anti-retroviral therapy, a combination of three
drugs that control the virus to almost zero level, is only affordable to
only a few, at least 300 positive people out of the 20,980 reported HIV
positive people living in Manipur have a reason to smile with the vital
anti-retroviral therapy given to them free of cost by NACO.

The impact of HIV/AIDS is more harshly felt by women, especially, in the
poor families. The situation is made even worse, given the current ethnic
polarization and the armed conflict situation prevailing in Manipur.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

December 5, The Australian
Burma denies nuclear ambition after UN move

Burma’s military regime has played down a decision by the UN Security
Council to call for a formal briefing on the situation in the country.

The junta also strongly denied US accusations that it was "seeking nuclear
power capabilities" and was a security threat to the region.

Prompted by Washington, the Security Council on Saturday agreed for the
first time to discuss human rights in the Southeast Asian nation. But the
action fell short of adding the situation in Burma to the 15-member
council's formal agenda.

The decision came after Burma's rulers ordered opposition leader and Nobel
peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to remain under house arrest for a
further six months.

US ambassador to the UN John Bolton said he hoped the organisation's
Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, would agree to brief the council personally
on Burma behind closed doors in the next few weeks.

Among the reasons for the briefing were the illegal drug trade, the spread
of AIDS, a stalled transition to democracy, and human rights abuses
including the detention of political prisoners, Mr. Bolton said.

He also cited media reports that the authorities were "seeking nuclear
power capabilities, diverting scarce resources better used to address the
needs of the Burmese people".

No date was set for the briefing -- which the council agreed to
unanimously -- and it was unclear if Mr. Annan would accept.

"I think it is quite important that the situation in Burma will now be
before the council," Mr Bolton told reporters.

Burmese Information Minister Kyaw Hsan told a rare news conference in
Rangoon that "regarding the UN Security Council, we are continuing with
what we have to do. Their accusations are wrong".

"For example, the accusation that we are developing nuclear power. We will
refute this false accusation,"he said.

His comments came after a committee of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations called for the possible expulsion of Burma from the group unless
its military rulers carried out substantial democratic reforms within a
year.

The chairman of ASEAN's Inter-parliamentary Burma Caucus, Zaid Ibrahim,
said the regional grouping had to show it was not complicit with the
military junta in Rangoon.

"I think the longer the situation goes, this lack of progress and this
lack of reform in Myanmar (Burma), for ASEAN to do nothing would suggest
ASEAN is supporting the regime," Mr. Zaid said. "We must do something
about the membership of Myanmar. Either a suspension or an expulsion."

The council's agreement does not mean the Security Council will put on its
formal agenda, but that a senior UN official will brief member states on
the situation in the country.

Last week, an Asian human rights group released what it called the most
comprehensive report on torture in Burma, accusing the military junta of
"brutal and systematic" abuse of political prisoners.

The 124-page report released in Washington by the Assistance Association
for Political Prisoners was based on interviews with 35 former political
prisoners and, for the first time, identified military officers directly
responsible for the torture.

The group detailed physical, psychological and sexual abuses as well as
poor prison conditions and medical negligence purportedly encouraged by
the regime.

US senator John McCain said the report "demonstrates that torture of
political prisoners is a state policy" of Burma's junta.

Last month, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution slamming
Rangoon's violations of human rights, including extrajudicial killings,
use of torture, rape, forced labour and harassment of political opponents.

____________________________________

December 4, Manila Standard
ASEAN urged to expel Myanmar - Joyce Pangco Panares

Southeast Asian lawmakers have called for the expulsion of Myanmar from
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, citing the lack of commitment
from the military junta in adopting the Roadmap to Democracy.

In a statement, Asian Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) chaired
by Zaid Ibrahim of Malaysia, said the military junta should be given a
year to carry out substantial democratic reforms, including the release of
freedom fighter Aung San Suu Kyi. "We must do something about the
membership of Myanmar. Either a suspension or an expulsion."

The statement came a few days before Asean leaders convene in Kuala Lumpur
from Dec. 12-13 for their summit meeting where President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo as vice chairman of the regional bloc is expected to issue a strong
statement urging Myanmar to adopt the Roadmap.

Ms. Arroyo earlier assured US President George W. Bush in the recently
concluded Asia-Pacific Economic Conference Leaders Summit of the
Philippines' support for a move in the United Nations Security Council to
tackle the issue of the continuing political repression in Myanmar.

The Philippines is the current vice chairman and incoming chairman of
Asean and is a nonpermanent member of the UNSC.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel, for his part, informed the
caucus during its two-day meeting in Malaysia that the Philippines will
spearhead efforts in Asean to convince the junta to allow Ismail Razali,
the representative of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, to visit Yangon,
which is one of the conditions spelled out in the Roadmap.

"We should not slacken on our efforts as legislators to push for the early
restoration of freedom and democracy in Myanmar," Pimentel said in his
speech before fellow Asian lawmakers.

Pimentel also hit the decision of Myanmar Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Soe Win
to extend the Nobel Peace laureate's house arrest by six more months after
it expired last week.

Zaid said the AIPMC would be seeking a meeting with Asean foreign
ministers this week to present their position on the possible expulsion or
suspension of Myanmar from the bloc.

____________________________________

December 3, Manila Times
Pimentel calls for ouster of Myanmar from Asean - Patricia Esteves

The Senate minority leader, Aquilino Pimentel, reiterated his call for the
expulsion of Myanmar (formerly Burma) from the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (Asean) for refusing to release opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi.

Myanmar’s military junta had promised to release Aung San this year but
decided to extend her detention by six more months.  This has sparked
outrage among leaders of the Asean member-countries.

Pimentel, vice chair of the Southeast Asian Parliamentary Caucus on
Myanmar, said the continued refusal of the junta led by Prime Minister Soe
Win to free Aung San “betrayed its lack of commitment to take concrete
steps toward democratization in disregard of Asean principle of full
respect for the rights of the people of its member nations.

“Myanmar has shown it can’t be trusted.  It should be expelled from the
Asean,” Pimentel said.

He suggested that the Philippine government take the lead in imposing
sanctions on Myanmar during the forthcoming leaders summit of Asean in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on December 11-14.

Pimentel described as “ruthless” the junta’s action of keeping Aung San in
prison or house arrest for 10 years.

Aung San, a Nobel peace laureate, and other leaders of the National League
of Democracy were imprisoned after the party won most of the seats in the
country’s parliament in the 1990 election.

Her house arrest was last extended by 12 months a year ago.

Earlier this month, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution
condemning systematic human-rights violations in Myanmar, including extra
judicial killings, torture, rape, forced labor and harassment of political
opponents.

Pimentel said that the repression of human rights in Yangon would worsen
unless organizations like the Asean intercede and exert pressure on its
military rulers to fulfill their promise to uphold democracy.

The junta has ignored the appeal of Asean political leaders to allow
members of Aung San’s party to be represented in the national convention
that is drafting a new constitution as part of the junta’s “road map” to
democracy.

Myanmar was scheduled to chair the Asean in 2006, but it decided to
forfeit this role over the controversy surrounding Aung San.

____________________________________

December 3, Irrawaddy
UN Security Council to hear briefing on Burma - Edith M Lederer

The UN Security Council unanimously agreed Friday to a US request for a
briefing on the situation in military-ruled Burma which Washington hopes
Secretary-General Kofi Annan will deliver to demonstrate the importance of
the issue.

The decision to hold a one-off briefing behind closed doors was a
compromise between countries that believe Burma poses a growing threat to
international peace and security, led by the United States, and nations
that don’t see any immediate threat including Russia, China, Japan,
Algeria and Brazil.

Holding the briefing does not mean that Burma will now go on the agenda of
the Security Council for further action, and there will be no document
issued, council diplomats stressed.

Nonetheless, US Ambassador John Bolton said the United States was “very
pleased,” calling the council’s decision “quite significant.”

When the United States last attempted to get the council to discuss Burma
in June, it failed to get enough support from members.

Bolton indicated that he saw the upcoming briefing as a step toward
getting Burma on the council’s agenda.

“As one of my mentors always used to say, keep your eyes on the prize,”
Bolton said. “What’s going to happen here is that we’re going to get a
briefing, hopefully from the secretary-general, on Burma. That’s what we
sought. That’s what we’re going to get.”

In a letter Tuesday to the council president, Bolton asked for a briefing
to address “the deteriorating situation in Burma.” The letter was sent two
days after the military government extended the house arrest of Aung San
Suu Kyi, which began in May 2003. The Nobel Peace Prize winner has spent
10 of the last 16 years in detention.

The junta took power in 1988 after violently suppressing mass
pro-democracy protests. It held a general election in 1990, but refused to
recognize the results after a landslide victory by Suu Kyi’s party.

The US request also followed last week’s approval of a resolution
condemning human rights violations in Burma by a key General Assembly
committee.

“There are several aspects of Burmese policy that adversely affect
international peace and security, and we think that makes it appropriate
for the Security Council to consider,” Bolton said Friday.

In his letter, Bolton said Burma warrants council action because of the
potential destabilization from its international narcotics trafficking,
human rights practices, and internal repression which has led many of its
people to flee the country.

Bolton also cited press reports that Burmese authorities are seeking
nuclear power capabilities and accused the military regime of destroying
villages, targeting ethnic minorities, and forcing people to relocate.

“The regime’s failure to initiate democratic reforms while repressing
political opponents shows the regime’s continued intent to maintain power
regardless of its citizens’ desires,” Bolton stressed.

Russia’s UN Ambassador Andrey Denisov, stressing the importance of
Security Council unity, said there was agreement on a briefing “but
without inserting (Myanmar) ... to the agenda of the Security Council and
without any follow-up.”

“The agenda is overloaded. We have to stop,” he said.

Russia also agrees with “all Asian members of the Security Council that
with all the troubles, with all the problems we do have in Myanmar, there
is ... no immediate threat, to both international and regional peace and
security. We don’t see it.”

China’s deputy UN ambassador Zhang Yishan said “all the Asian members—the
Philippines, Japan and China—... believe that Myanmar doesn’t pose a
threat to the region or to the international security, so it should not be
discussed” in the Security Council.

“It’s a private briefing—so no follow-up, no resolution, nothing, just one
case,” he said.

Britain’s UN Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said the European Union has been
“intensely worried about the situation in Myanmar” for many years.

“It has the most wonderful people but they have been subject to the most
awful governments,” he said. “The present situation in Myanmar—the
restrictions and measures taken in the last week—just accentuate the need
to do something about the human rights situation, about the political
developments.”

____________________________________
OPINION

December 4, South China Morning Post
UN briefing offers hope for people of Myanmar

Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu predicts that Myanmarese opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi will emulate anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela
and emerge from many years of detention to lead her country in a peaceful
transition to democracy.

The retired South African bishop says that the experience in his country
shows that no situation is hopeless or intractable. "If former enemies [in
South Africa] could form a government of national unity and for there to
be a peaceful transition to democracy," he told the South China Morning
Post this week, "it will happen in Burma [Myanmar]."

Diplomats will point out that the comparison has a way to go. The
apartheid regime was virtually friendless and internationally isolated,
whereas Myanmar's military government retains powerful supporters in China
and India and fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
who have frustrated the objective of sanctions imposed by the United
States and the European Union.

Nonetheless, Archbishop Tutu and fellow Myanmar campaigner and
human-rights activist Vaclav Havel, a former Czech president, are entitled
to take heart from the decision by the United Nations Security Council to
seek a private briefing from the world body's secretariat on the
situation. This follows a report on human rights abuses in Myanmar they
presented to the general assembly.

It is a small victory. It does not mean the security council will agree to
list the Myanmar question on its agenda or that it is likely to any time
soon. Even the move for a briefing, proposed by the US, ran into
opposition because there is no immediate threat to international or
regional peace and security. China, among others, agreed to a compromise
to help form a consensus among the 15 council members.

But it is a breakthrough that will increase the pressure on Myanmar's
rulers to enter into dialogue with opposition leaders. It comes just after
the military government informed Ms Suu Kyi she will remain under house
arrest for at least a further six months and as her National League for
Democracy and other political parties are excluded from a national
convention drawing up guidelines for a new constitution under a so-called
road map to democracy.

The briefing, likely later this month, is bound to relate the dire
economic plight of the country as a result of government mismanagement,
civil rights abuses including torture, rape and forced labour, and
alarming rates of HIV/Aids and malaria. Ms Suu Kyi is only the best known
of more than 1,000 political prisoners, having spent 10 of the past 16
years confined to her home or in jail.

US Ambassador John Bolton is right to express the hope that UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan considers the Myanmar issue important enough
to deliver the UN secretariat's briefing in person.

____________________________________

December 3, The Houston Chronicle
Noticing Myanmar: The world must speak up for oppressed Myanmar.

Author Amy Tan, best known for her 1989 novel "The Joy Luck Club", says
one of the reasons she wrote her latest book, "Saving Fish From Drowning",
about a group of American tourists in Myanmar, was to bring attention to
the suffering of a people that goes largely unnoticed in this part of the
world.

This week, the American government focused attention to the plight of the
people living under the tight control of the military dictatorship in
Myanmar, also known as Burma.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton wrote to the president
of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday asking that Myanmar be placed on
the council agenda for discussion of the country's poor record on human
rights and intolerance for political dissent.

If nothing else, many Westerners are familiar with the country's silencing
of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Prize winner and leader of the
pro-democracy party that won more than 80 percent of parliamentary seats
in 1990 national elections. The military, which took power in 1988,
prevented Suu Kyi from becoming prime minister and has kept her under
house arrest since 2003. Her sentence was recently extended for another
year under the ridiculous assertion that it was for her own protection.
Suu Kyi has spent 10 of the last 16 years in detention.

The ruling junta announced in 2003 that it was launching a democratic
reform plan and that it would convene a national convention to write a new
constitution. But leaders have excluded all political parties from the
convention, rendering the process a farce.

Bolton accused the military government of destroying villages, harassing
ethnic minorities and stalling on democratic reforms. The ambassador cited
unspecified accounts of Myanmar authorities attempting to build a nuclear
capability, and he expressed concern about drug trade through Myanmar,
forced relocations of ethnic minorities and detention of more than 1,100
political prisoners.

The United States already maintains broad sanctions on the Southeast Asia
nation, including a ban on most imports. And the continued efforts to open
Security Council talks on Myanmar is welcome. More vocal criticism of its
regime by fellow Asia-Pacific nations would be helpful, too.

The government's stifling repression extends even to limiting access to
the Internet. Because the people are barred from speaking out for the
democracy they crave, it is up to the outside world to advocate for a free
and democratic Myanmar.

____________________________________

December 3, Shan Herald Agency for News
Will the United Nations act on Burma? -  Harn Yawnghwe

The news that the United States has asked the United Nations to act on
Burma (30 Nov 2005), has electrified some people in Burma. They are elated
and celebrating. Their expectations are very high. Given developments,
they expect something to happen. The report commissioned by former Czech
President Havel and Archbishop Tutu; US President George Bush's meeting
with Shan activist Ms Charm Tong; his, and Condoleezza Rice's follow-up
statements on Burma, have all contributed to the heightened expectations.
Some Burmese believe that the United State's Burma policy has changed.
They believe that Burma is now a US priority. They expect that the US will
take action after many years of lip service. Some even expect a US-led UN
invasion to remove Senior General Than Shwe a la Saddam Hussein. What are
the facts? What can we really expect?

As a long time Burmese democracy advocate, I am glad Burma has come to the
attention of the UN Security Council. It is long overdue. I appreciate
President Havel and Bishop Tutu's push to highlight the situation in
Burma. President Bush's focus on Burma is also most welcome. But has US
policy towards Burma changed? Is Burma now a US priority? Will putting
Burma on the UNSC agenda bring action and change to Burma?

It is very important to clarify what is really happening. Wrong
expectations can lead to wrong decisions by all sides and hundred if not
thousands of lives can be needlessly lost in Burma. Some in the Burmese
democracy movement want a mass uprising as in 1988. They believe that the
time is ripe. The sharp rise in gasoline prices, and moving the capital to
Pyinmana are key factors. Others like the veteran politicians are calling
for a new coalition government in Burma. Expectations of UN action or a
US-led military intervention could influence these decisions.

First of all, the Security Council is not about to pass a resolution to
sanction a US-led invasion of Burma. The US-led action is merely to have a
"senior level official of the (UN) Secretariat" brief the Security Council
on the situation in Burma. The most we can expect as a result of the UN
briefing is a press statement by the Council reiterating the UN's existing
position “the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and others, access by the UN
Special Envoy and other representatives, the need for national
reconciliation and an inclusive political process”. Nothing more. There
will be no high drama of certain powers exercising their veto. A veto
comes into play only when the issue becomes the subject of a resolution.
This is not the case in the current situation. It is only a briefing.
There is a big reality gap between briefing the Security Council and
getting the UN to act on Burma. To get a resolution passed by the UNSC,
the situation in Burma will have to directly impact the region.

My colleagues will argue that the briefing is the first step towards a
UN-mediated solution to the problems in Burma. Yes, this is a possibility
but a remote one. Why a remote one? It is remote because almost everyone
in Burma is waiting for the international community to act, to intervene
and save them. No one is as yet willing to act to bring about the change
they desire. But the international community and the UN will not act until
there is a viable alternative to the despotic rule of Senior-General Than
Shwe. The key, of course, lies with the Burma Army (or Tatmadaw). If the
Tatmadaw were to initiate reforms, they would be welcomed by the people,
and supported by the international community.

In talking about acting to bring about a change in Burma, I am not
advocating a people's uprising as some of my colleagues are. In my
opinion, this will only lead to chaos and instability, and endanger
people, especially Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. I am saying this because the
Burma Army will have no compunction about shooting unarmed civilians. The
ensuing unrest will also scare Burma's neighbours. They will quickly
support another military dictatorship to stabilize the situation. This
will be done before the UN can be mobilized.

In conclusion, the UN Security Council briefing on Burma is most welcome.
But it will not solve Burma's problems unless and until there is a viable
alternative to the current dictatorship. The US has acted on Burma by
bringing it before the Security Council. But calling for a briefing is
very different from calling for a resolution. This does not signal a
change in US policy. Burma is still not of strategic interest to the US,
and is unlikely to be for some time. In any case, do we really want to see
the US intervening in Burma? Recent examples around the world are not
encouraging.

The best option for Burma as a whole and for all its people, is for the
leaders in Burma to act in a coordinated manner. It should now be very
clear to the generals that Burma is moving towards a crisis. The Tatmadaw
was founded to safeguard Burma's sovereignty and protect its territory. It
should be apparent to the most dull-minded general that they cannot do
their job properly given current conditions. They will not be able to do
their job at all if things continue as they are. In times of crisis, a
patriotic army has to act. Now is the time for the Tatmadaw to show its
patriotism.

____________________________________
STATEMENTS

December 3, ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus
Conference on good governance, democracy and ASEAN

We, participants of the AIPMC Conference on Good Governance, Democracy and
ASEAN, comprising legislators from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Republic of Korea, of diverse
political affiliations, and joined by like-minded observers, met in Kuala
Lumpur on December 2-3, 2005.

We forcefully denounce the Myanmar military government’s persistent gross
and systematic human rights abuses and refusal to engage in meaningful
democratic reforms.

We are gravely concerned that:
* The Myanmar Military Government, known as the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC) continues to perpetrate gross and systematic
human rights abuses against the pro-democracy movement, ethnic nationality
communities and human rights defenders.

* The SPDC has yet to implement public commitments to ASEAN members,
agreeing to political change, and has been regressing on these commitments
in the past 12 months.

* The SPDC’s “roadmap to democracy”, including the National Convention to
draft a new constitution, continues to lack legitimacy in the absence of
democratic processes and the exclusion of 9 political parties representing
91% of parliamentary seats.

* The consequences of the SPDC’s bad governance in the context of
narcotics production, the spread of diseases including HIV/AIDS, human
trafficking and mass exoduses, continue to threaten regional and
international security.

We welcome the advocacy of ASEAN leaders over the deteriorating situation
in Myanmar that contributed strongly to the withdrawal of Myanmar from
ASEAN’s 2006 Chair. We call upon ASEAN members to:

* Confirm that Myanmar should never be allowed to chair ASEAN until it
achieves meaningful reforms.

* Endorse Government of the Republic of the Philippines’ support for the
initiative to raise Myanmar to the agenda of the UN Security Council in
order to progress efforts to bring about national reconciliation in
Myanmar.

* Institute the official inclusion of the Myanmar situation on the agenda
of ASEAN Summits and ASEAN Ministerial Meetings. The ASEAN
Secretary-General should be charged with the responsibility of making
regular reports on Myanmar in the same way that the UN Secretary-General
does to members of the UN.

We Parliamentarians renew our determination to advocate for the
achievement of the goals stated above. If there is no progress on this
matter within the next 12 months, we are resolved to campaign for the
suspension of Myanmar’s membership of ASEAN.

Further, we strongly urge that ASEAN, its member states and partners
intensify efforts to ensure that the SPDC fulfils calls to:

* Immediately and unconditionally release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a
legitimate leader with an integral role in the achievement of the
democratic aspirations of the people of Myanmar. Her detention without
trial for more than 10 of the past 17 years is completely unacceptable.

* Immediately and unconditionally release all other political prisoners
including elected Members of Parliament, as well as members of the
National League for Democracy and ethnic nationality parties, and human
rights defenders.

* End the systematic violations of human rights in Myanmar, including
extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, torture, rape and other forms
of sexual violence, forced labour, forced relocation, as well as
persecutions targeted at ethnic nationality communities.

* Respect the results of the 1990 elections

* Allow a full and independent inquiry into the Depayin Massacre of 2003.

* Declare a nationwide ceasefire to pave the way for a process of national
reconciliation that includes ethnic nationality groups and the NLD. This
is a fundamental prerequisite to ensure that any democratisation roadmap
observes internationally-accepted standards of human rights and democracy.

We call upon ASEAN, its member states and partners actively work to
achieve the implementation of the UN General Assembly resolutions on
Myanmar, in particular, calls for:

* The UN Security Council to discuss the issue of Myanmar and to call on
the military government to cooperate with the UN in moving forward on
genuine reform.

* The UN Special Envoy and the Special Rapporteur to be allowed full
access to Myanmar in accordance with their mandate.

We strongly believe that good governance at the national and regional
levels are mutually reinforcing and necessitate institutional change in
order to be effective and sustainable. ASEAN has a responsibility and
obligation to engage in these reforms in order to strengthen good
governance initiatives.

We demand that ASEAN set in place a pro-active and dynamic mechanism to

     * support the growth of good governance, ensuring the
institutionalisation of accountability, transparency and public
participation in our respective countries

     * effectively contain the regional effects of poor or bad governance
in an individual country

     * prevent the regression of governance in member states

We call on our Parliamentary colleagues, civil society organisations and
governments from ASEAN and other parts of the world to work with us in
solidarity for the fulfillment of these aims.

Finally, we express our appreciation to the Government of Malaysia and
other Asean governments for enabling the workshop to proceed days before
the ASEAN Summit in the same city. Kuala Lumpur