BurmaNet News, December 6, 2005

[Editor]

December 6, 2005 Issue # 2858

INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Burma signs UN resolution on corruption
DVB: European Commission opens new charity office in Rangoon
Narinjara: Transportation costs between Akyab and Rangoon more than doubles
AFP: Myanmar military-backed group denies Aung San Suu Kyi attack
AP: Humanitarian crisis looming in impoverished Myanmar: UN

ON THE BORDER
AP via Irrawaddy: Burma army attacks Indian rebels fighting from its
territory

BUSINESS/TRADE
Nation: Egat, Burma to sign deal
Thai Press Reports: Thailand, Myanmar ink contract-farming pact

INTERNATIONAL
Mizzima News: US slams Burmese junta's National Convention

OPINION
Bangkok Post: UN hears case against Burma
Khaleej Times: Action, not words

PRESS RELEASE
USUN Remarks

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

December 6, Irrawaddy
Burma signs UN resolution on corruption

Burma has signed a UN resolution on corruption that requires “honesty and
responsibility among its public officials,” according to UN General
Assembly records from yesterday. Burma signed the resolution on Friday,
just over two years after it was first passed by the General Assembly. The
43-page resolution covers all areas of combating graft, demanding
government transparency on spending and in its decision-making related to
the use of all public funds. The document also calls for an adequate legal
framework for prosecuting those that are involved in corrupt practices.

Burma has consistently performed poorly in studies on corruption. Less
than two months ago, Berlin-based Transparency International released an
index for 2005, in which it placed Burma as the third least transparent
nation in the world behind Bangladesh and Chad.

____________________________________

December 6, Democratic Voice of Burma
European Commission opens new charity office in Rangoon

The European Commission's Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) has opened a
field office in Rangoon on 6 December - in order to give humanitarian help
to desperate and hungry people of Burma.

In a news release issued on the same day, ECHO said it hopes its permanent
presence in the country will allow the European Commission to improve the
assessment of humanitarian needs and the monitoring of projects and thus
ensure the quality of the aid it finances.

The European Commission has provided funds through its humanitarian aid
department to assist refugees living in camps along the Thai-Burma border
for over 10 years, and its latest ability to open an office inside Burma
was hailed as a major success.

During 2004, ECHO provided €8m (US$10m) humanitarian aid to Burma. It is
not clear whether the opening of the office is related to the recent visit
of a team of EC delegates who met with Burmese business people and those
active in civic life, political opposition figures, local and
international NGOs, consultants and the media, in which €40 aid package
was promised for Burma from 2007.

____________________________________

December 5, Narinjara News
Transportation costs between Akyab and Rangoon more than doubles

The latest rise in petrol prices at government pumps has led to a marked
increase in transportation costs between Akyab and Rangoon.

A tourism worker from Mrauk U says private airlines will soon be
increasing their ticket prices, with Air Mandalay set to increase their
fares from 32,000 kyat to 67,000 kyat, while Yangon Airways and Air Pagan
will increase theirs from 20,000 to 50,000 kyat. Even the state-owned
airline will increase its fares.

Rising petrol prices have also affected bus and ferry transportation in
the region, with ticket prices increasing more than fifty percent. The bus
fare between Akyab and Rangoon jumped from 8,000 to 12,000 kyat.

An Akyab resident commented that these increased transportation costs will
mean an increase in basic living costs, and with most people already
facing difficulties finding adequate work, increased hardships will
inevitably follow.

____________________________________

December 6, Agence France Presse
Myanmar military-backed group denies Aung San Suu Kyi attack

The head of a military-backed group in Myanmar denied Tuesday that his
organization had staged the deadly May 2003 attack on the convoy of
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi that ended with her arrest.

"We have no involvement in that. It is not true that we participated in
it," Htay Oo, secretary general of the Union Solidarity and Development
Association (USDA), told reporters, in the group's first-ever remarks on
the incident.

"Regarding this matter, the state made an investigation into it," he said.
"They didn't come to investigate us, and there is no report on this."

Supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi have accused the USDA, a powerful youth
group closely allied with Myanmar's military rulers, of ambushing her
convoy as she travelled near the village of Depeyin in northern Myanmar.

The junta said four people were killed in the attack, but Aung San Suu
Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) put the toll at nearly 100.

The Nobel peace laureate's supporters say USDA staged the attack because
the regime was frightened by her ongoing popularity, more than a decade
after the NLD won a landslide victory in 1990 elections that the junta
never recognized.

After the attack, Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested along with her deputies
and many party activists, while the junta shuttered the party's offices
around the country.

She was initially held in secret at the notorious Insein prison outside
Yangon, despite vocal international protests, but was later returned to
house arrest.

The NLD's headquarters in Yangon was allowed to reopen in April 2004,
though its provincial offices remain closed.

The junta last week extended Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest by another
six months. She has spent more than 10 of the past 16 years in some form
of detention.

____________________________________

December 6, Associated Press
Humanitarian crisis looming in impoverished Myanmar: UN – Michael Casey

The United Nations warned Tuesday that worsening economic conditions and
rising rates of disease in Myanmar could eventually lead to a
"humanitarian crisis" in the impoverished country.

"There is increasing poverty and people are having a harder time
surviving," Charles Petrie, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in
Myanmar, told The Associated Press.

Myanmar has always been one of the poorest countries in Asia, but its
situation has become more precarious in recent months with the ruling
junta's decision to increase fuel prices nine-fold. It has led to price
increases for most consumer goods and many Myanmar people - whose monthly
salaries amount to little more than a few dollars - say they barely have
enough to eat.

"What we are seeing is a greater inability for families and communities to
survive shock, whether it's natural shock such as tsunamis or economic
shocks," he said. "It is not a humanitarian crisis today but that doesn't
mean it won't become one in the future."

With little money for health care, the country has also become a hot spot
for a range of infectious diseases, Petrie said. A majority of the malaria
cases in Asia come from Myanmar, and cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis
are on the rise, while more than a third of sex workers and intravenous
drug-users are believed to be infected with HIV.

"What we're hearing is an evolution of trends that we're already seeing in
Africa," Petrie said. "It could all of a sudden explode. We're looking at
three very serious diseases."

Petrie said the government must take some of the blame, because the ruling
military regime hasn't grasped the seriousness of the situation.

But he also pointed a finger at the international community, criticizing a
move earlier this year to terminate assistance from a key fund set up to
fight malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS.

The Geneva-based Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in
August announced it cut all its funding to Myanmar because of government
travel restrictions on aid workers. It has since said it would phase out
the program in six months.

"The termination of the global fund is so worrying," Petrie said.
"Abruptly, this was terminated. If we are not able to come up with an
alternative, people are going to die as a result."

Some have suggested Global Fund severed aid because of political pressure
from the junta's critics, who most notably include Washington, which shuns
the military regime for its poor human rights record and failure to hand
over power to a democratically elected government.

Global Fund had promised to spend more than US$98 million ([euro]80.4
million) over the next five years to fight tuberculosis, malaria and AIDS
in Myanmar, and so far disbursed US$11.9 million.

Of the total, US$54 million ([euro]44.3 million) was allocated for the
fight against HIV/AIDS, US$27 million ([euro]22.2 million) for malaria and
US$17 million ([euro]14.0 million) for tuberculosis.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

December 6, AP via Irrawaddy
Burma army attacks Indian rebels fighting from its territory

Thousands of Burmese soldiers attacked tribal fighters using bases in the
Southeast Asian nation to fight for independence from India, a rebel
spokesman said Tuesday.

The ongoing offensive by as many as 3,000 Burmese soldiers began three
days ago and is targeting a faction of the National Socialist Council of
Nagaland, which is fighting for a homeland for the Naga people in a border
region of India, said the group’s spokesman, Kughalu Mulatonu.

No tribal fighters have been killed yet, but three have been arrested, he
said. Burmese officials were not immediately available for comment.

Mulatonu said there have been “intermittent gun fights” since the start of
the offensive against the Indian rebels in the dense forests and
mountains—classic insurgent country—that run along the porous 1,600
kilometer (1,000 mile) border separating Burma from India.

“These are early days of the Myanmar [Burma] army assault, and our
fighters are holding on to their positions and have not suffered any
casualties so far,” he said.

Dozens of insurgent groups, most claiming to represent minority ethnic or
tribal communities, have been fighting for decades in India’s northeast,
demanding independent homelands or autonomy.

The group being targeted in Burma says it has nearly 5,000 fighters—a
claim that could not be independently verified—and is one of three Naga
rebel factions that signed ceasefires with India in 2003.

Relations between India and Burma soured after the military took power in
Burma in 1988 but have improved significantly in the last five years, and
the militaries of both countries have been working together to combat
insurgencies and drug trafficking.

____________________________________
BUSINESS/TRADE

December 6, The Nation
Egat, Burma to sign deal

Egat Plc is set to ink an agreement with the Burmese electricity authority
on Friday to form a joint venture to construct at least five hydropower
plants in Burma with a combined capacity of 10,000 megawatts.

CEO Kraisi Karnasuta said yesterday that the energy ministers of the two
countries would witness the signing ceremony. The memorandum of
understanding will encourage the JV to put up a hydropower plant at the
Wegyi Dam in Burma.

The project will spin off mutual benefits. Both countries will enjoy
energy security and Thailand can import electricity from Burma at a low
cost.

The dam is located on a stretch of the Salaween River across from Tak,
Kraisi said. Total capacity of the power plant is planned for 1,200MW.

Egat will approach prospective investors both in Thailand and abroad to
join in the project, which is expected to take five to six years to
complete.

China has already expressed interest, he said. Allying with China would
reduce construction costs as it can move equipment that was used on
building a dam in Burma near their border.

Thailand and Burma will co-invest in constructing other hydropower plants
on the Salaween. The second plant will be located opposite Prachuap Khiri
Khan province, with a capacity of 600MW.

The output will be supplied directly to the Sahaviriya Steel mill in the
province.

The whole scheme of five hydropower plants along the Salaween will ensure
energy security in the Asean region.

____________________________________

December 6, Thai Press Reports
Thailand, Myanmar ink contract-farming pact

Thai contract farmers will get access to 44 million rais (7 million
hectares) of arable land in Myanmar under a new inter-government
agreement, according to Thai Agriculture Minister Khunying Sudarat
Keyuraphan.

The minister said the Memorandum of Understanding was aimed at meeting
demand for high yield crops in Thailand, while creating employment in
Myanmar.

The agreement was signed in the Myanmar capital, Yangon, on Friday, by
Khunying Sudarat and Myanmar Minister for Agriculture and Irrigation
Major-Gen Htay Oo.

The Thai agriculture minister said both countries hoped to begin the
project next year. The government will select a number of Thai companies
to invest in crops for which there is unmet local demand in Thailand, such
as corn, rubber, sugarcane, tapioca and palm oil.

Under the MoU, Khunying Sudarat said, Thai businesses would also be
allowed to hire Myanmar workers from many areas to farm the crops.

The MoU is in line with the Bangkok Declaration on cooperation concluded
at last month's summit of the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic
Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS).

Thailand is seeking to conclude similar contract-farming deals with the
other three ACMECS members --Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Sataporn Jinachitra, president of Export-Import Bank of
Thailand (Exim), said the bank was ready to grant credit to local
entrepreneurs in Myanmar on a case-by-case basis under a four-billion baht
official loan scheme.

So far, he said, the bank had approved total credit of 2.5 billion baht to
businesses in Myanmar.

Last year, the Cabinet approved a four-billion baht "soft" loan to Myanmar
to finance infrastructure projects.

The Exim bank will provide and supervise the credit, which falls under the
financial aid programme of the Economic Cooperation Strategy (ECS).

The 12-year loan carries a three% interest rate, with interest-only
payments available for the first five years.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

December 6, Mizzima News
US slams Burmese junta's National Convention

The Burmese military's National Convention resumed in Rangoon yesterday
amid US criticism over the legitimacy of the conference.

The aim of the convention, attended by 1074 delegates from across Burma,
is the drafting of a new Burmese constitution. The latest session of the
convention will focus on the role of the military in any future democratic
system.

Lauded by the Burmese junta as a step forward on their 'road map to
democracy', the convention has been slammed by the international
community, journalists and members of Burma's democracy movement for being
designed to continue military rule.

US state department deputy spokesperson Adam Ereli said in a statement
yesterday the convention lacked the legitimacy to draft a constitution
representative of the wishes of the Burmese people.

"The Convention includes only delegates hand-picked by the regime,
prohibits free and open debate on crucial issues, and continues to exclude
Burma's democratic opposition and key ethnic minority groups," Ereli said.

"As currently constituted, the Convention provides neither a credible
political process leading toward a more representative government nor a
means for the genuine national reconciliation the people of Burma
deserve."

Many of Burma's opposition groups have boycotted the conference including
members of the National League for Democracy who say the process is
fundamentally flawed.

Ambassadors to Burma, local and international journalists and delegates
gathered for the start of the convention yesterday to hear Secretary 1 of
the State Peace and Development Council Lt. General Thein Sein praise the
slow progress of the convention and criticise "destructive elements" for
trying to derail the conference.

Journalists in Rangoon have also criticised the military over the
convention saying despite international journalists being given access to
the event, many local newspapers were barred.

Several sources in Rangoon said only local newspapers with a good
relationship with official censors have been allowed to attend not only
the opening of the convention but also press conferences about the
proceedings.

While this was previously expected to be the final session of the
convention, officials told diplomats, UN officials and journalist last
week, the process would take much longer. Less than six of a proposed 15
chapters of the new constitution have been finally drafted.

News of the further delays to the completion of the convention, which
would be followed with a national referendum, further aggravated the
international community, which has repeatedly called for Burma to stop
stalling political reforms.

____________________________________
OPINION

December 6, Bangkok Post
UN hears case against Burma

The decision by the United Nations Security Council to attend a formal
briefing on Burma is by far the biggest step the world body ever has taken
against the string of military juntas which have run Burma for 43 years.
The UN is still obviously far from taking direct action as it did in
places like Afghanistan and Cambodia. But the decision puts Burma on
notice that the threshold for tolerating dictators is shrinking.

The UN bureaucracy already favours a regime change in Burma. Now the vital
Security Council has served notice the generals may be on borrowed time.
The case against the regime is long, and clear. What began in 1962 as an
indefensible move against freedom and democracy has metamorphosed into an
often vicious, entirely arbitrary regime, governing a voiceless
population. Military rule has impoverished the country, enriched the
generals and established a drug-dependent, alternate-universe economy
where honest businessmen suffer and drug traffickers are honoured.
Speaking of democracy means punishment, working for democracy is
actionable and leading a democracy movement brings imprisonment. The
Internet is something the outside world enjoys, and TV news means reading
officially censored bulletins, generally about glorious agricultural
projects.

A month ago, without notice, the government packed up and left Rangoon for
the hill community of Pyinmana. Diplomats were bewildered, almost as
confused as citizens needing government services. The reasons for the move
are unclear, but seems to be a combination of legend and astrological
prediction of a US military invasion. The secretive move will cost Burmese
tens of billions of baht. Of course, they have no such funds, and the
moving costs will come as usual from foreign aid, forced labour and _ once
again _ the largesse of wealthy, ennobled drug dealers. All these
resources are owned by the Burmese, and all could be put to better use.

The treasured narcotics dealers now are evolving into ``designer drug
traffickers''. The old, mass-market smuggling has given way to filling
specific orders for heroin, methamphetamines and similar drugs. While
claiming to be wiping out opium fields through heavy-handed destruction of
certain farms, the regime remains dependent on old and new heroin and pill
makers. Lo Hsing-han and his family, Khun Sa and his supporters and a
string of other drug barons continue to ``invest'' in the totally skewed,
largely corrupt Burmese economy. In recent months, the regime has also
announced it wants a nuclear research reactor. This is highly troubling.
Thailand has long had such a facility, but putting a nuclear station in
the hands of a secretive, unstable and seemingly incompetent regime would
be a bad idea.

Last September, Nobel Peace laureates Vaclav Havel and Desmond Tutu called
for the release of their colleague Aung San Suu Kyi. Their report called
for Security Council action, reminding the UN of its own past record
against outrageous regimes in Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Haiti, Yemen,
Rwanda, Liberia and Cambodia. Burma, they said, is worse than all seven,
``far worse'' in their words. Russia, that wants to sell Burma the nuclear
reactor, and China, a defender of many brutal dictators, at first resisted
the US-led call for Secretary-General Kofi Annan to arrange the formal
briefing on Burma. But even Moscow and Beijing failed to justify any more
protection of the Burmese junta. Similarly, every man and woman at a
meeting of Asean parliamentarians last week in Kuala Lumpur called for
their governments to stop supporting the generals.

A Malaysian MP compared the Burmese generals to Hitler and Stalin. As
former Thai ambassador to the UN Asda Jayanama said, the UN action is a
big step forward for democrats. The chairman of the inter-parliamentary
Burma caucus, Zaid Ibrahim, called on Asean to suspend or expel the
regime. As even China and Russia join the UN in searching for an end to
the Burmese dictatorship, the Thai government should change its policy. It
is no longer fitting for Thailand to be seen to be supporting such a
clearly disreputable and insupportable dictatorship at our border.

____________________________________

December 6, Khaleej Times (United Arab Emirates Newspaper)
Action, not words

Myanmar has returned to the world agenda. With the US giving notice to the
UN Security Council to discuss Myanmar, the issue of democracy, or lack of
it, in the Southeast Asian country, has revived itself as an issue in the
self-centric western media.

There's little doubt that it is thanks to the growing Western - especially
US - pressure that the UN and Asean are demonstrating greater interest in
resolving the Myanmar question. Again, it was due to this fresh activity
on the world stage that the military junta in Myanmar has been forced to
resurrect the so-called democracy convention this week.

Much welcome as it is, this is not enough though. Mere discussions in the
UN and perfunctory resolutions by the Asean in Myanmar are not going to
force the junta towards democracy and reforms. We are long past the stage
of academic debates and pointless resolutions. What the people of Myanmar
need is real time action by the world community that could bring the
corrupt and ruthless regime in Yangon to its knees and force it to
surrender itself to people's will.

The so-called National Convention that was unveiled by the junta in 2003
and revived this week is supposed to present a roadmap for 'genuine
disciplined democracy,' whatever that means. However, it's nothing but yet
another clever ploy to perpetuate the totalitarian regime that has been in
power for the past four decades. Such exercises in futility cannot
hoodwink Myanmar's people or the world community. This farce has gone on
long enough.

Time to call it off. Most of the opposition leaders from the National
League for Democracy including its chief Aung San Suu Kyi have been in
detention for a crime they did not commit. The League under Suu Kyi won a
landslide election in 1990 but the generals who have long grown addicted
to power couldn't surrender their power to the elected leader. As a
result, the Nobel peace prize recipient has been under house arrest for
the past 15 years. Repeated pleas by the international community for her
release have fallen on deaf ears.

This is most disgraceful at a time when the winds of democracy are blowing
everywhere. Even the lands traditionally known for authoritarian regimes
have in recent times embraced reforms. But Myanmar remains hopelessly
stuck in a time warp even when the onward march of democracy continues in
the neighbourhood. It's time to end the travails of people of Myanmar. The
world must take a more proactive stance on the Southeast Asian country.
Time for soft diplomacy is over. It's time for tough measures.

Drastic steps like expulsion from Asean, as suggested by some Asean
lawmakers this week, may be the way to soften up the regime. Although UN
sanctions have seldom worked in such situations, there's no harm in trying
them either. Most important is the will on the part of the international
community, especially West and Myanmar's big neighbours like India and
China, to help and rescue the people of Southeast Asian nation. The world
cannot remain a silent spectator to the freak show in Myanmar anymore.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

December 2, United States United Nations Mission
Remarks by Ambassador John R. Bolton, U.S. Permanent Representative to the
United Nations, on Burma, the Mehlis Commission and the UN Budget Process,
at the Security Council Stakeout,



Ambassador Bolton:  Let me just start off with a few words here.  We are
very pleased that the Security Council has just unanimously asked the
Secretariat for a briefing on the situation in Burma.  The United States
requested this briefing by the Secretary General on Wednesday.  We had a
sufficient number of votes then to put that question to the Council, but
in the interest of seeking unanimity we postponed a discussion and final
decision until today.  And I think it’s quite significant that the Council
has now unanimously, by consensus as we say, called for the briefing.  So
it remains to be scheduled at a time that will be convenient, hopefully in
the next couple weeks.  And we’ll take it from there.  It’s simply a
request for a briefing.  I don’t want to overstate this, but I think it’s
quite important that the situation in Burma will now be before the
Council.  I’ll just stop there, I’d be happy to answer any questions.

Reporter: (inaudible)

Ambassador Bolton:  Yes, our view is that we hope the Secretary General
will give the briefing.  We think that is appropriate.

Reporter: (inaudible)

Ambassador Bolton:  On Burma, on Wednesday China objected, but after
further consultation they joined the unanimous view of the Council today
that we should hear the briefing.   So in that sense we’re happy that all
members of the Council, China included, reached the same decision.

The issue on Commissioner Mehlis is that we feel he’s done a thorough and
professional job, and that if his personal circumstances permitted, the
work of the Commission would benefit if he could stay on.  But he has
advised us, and others, that his personal circumstances are such that he
prefers to return to Germany, which he had explained to the Secretary
General at the beginning.  And certainly the risks that he’s been under
and the personal hardship make it understandable.  Nonetheless, we thought
it was worth asking again.  And that’s why a couple of days ago we asked
the Secretariat to follow through on that.  Our concern precisely is that
a new head of the Commission will have a certain learning period and that
we are eager that the Secretariat proceed to search for candidates now
that we know Commissioner Mehlis will not continue so that the gap,
whatever it may turn out to be, will be as short as possible, as
non-disruptive to the work of the Commission as we can make it.  It
certainly should not be taken as a sign by anybody that they could lessen
their cooperation with the Commission.

Reporter: Mr. Ambassador, several of your colleagues on the Council say
that what happened here today on Myanmar – Burma (inaudible)

Ambassador Bolton:  As a technical matter we’re going to discuss this in
informal consultations and that is the way UN and UN circles work, that is
the way we got unanimity.  But as one of my mentors always used to say,
keep your eyes on the prize. And 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.

Reporter: Could you tell us in your own words, why is this briefing so
important?

Ambassador Bolton:  Well, as the letter that I sent to the Russian
President of the Council laid out, 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 and the
reason we want the briefing (interrupted).

Reporter: (inaudible)

Ambassador Bolton: Well, I think most people who study this closely have a
high opinion of the Mehlis Commission’s work, one reason it would be most
desirable if he could continue.  But we would have to respect the personal
desires of someone like Mr. Mehlis, who has worked on this longer than he
expected, the life of the Commission has already been extended once.  And
we will respect it if that is his decision.  We will ask nonetheless and
see what happens.

Reporter: (inaudible)

Ambassador Bolton:  Let me say, as I said to some of your colleagues this
morning, I suggested the Secretary General might cancel this trip when I
met with his chief of staff yesterday at 10:00.  So I think he’s done the
right thing.  I’m happy he’s decided to do that.  The United States has
never said we would hold the budget up.  The United States has said very
precisely that because of the disjunction between the typical December 31
deadline for consideration of the biennium budget and the likelihood that
the Secretariat’s recommendations on mandate review and the rules and
regulations review would not come until February that we sought a
mechanism whereby the two could be combined so that our basic objective
would be met – that being reform should drive the budget process not the
other way around.  And what we proposed in order not to disrupt the work
of the United Nations was an interim budget of 3-4 months, during which
time the members of the General Assembly could consider its
recommendations on reform and the way in which those recommendations would
be implemented in staffing and programs and therefore reflected in the
budget.  And that after due consideration we could then adopt a budget for
the remainder of the biennium, a budget of perhaps 1 year and 9 months or
1 year and 8 months.  I also have said repeatedly, as most of you will
remember, that the interim budget idea was one possible mechanism to allow
the conjunction of reform and budget.  There are other ideas as well and
we are open to those suggestions.  We think our suggestion is the most
operationally sound, but there may be others.  There’s a lot of genius
here in New York, we ought to be able to do that.

Reporter: (inaudible)

Ambassador Bolton:  Yes, I’d be delighted to address that. The United
States in fairly short order will be paying over $300 million to the
Secretariat for its 2005 contribution. The timing of the U.S. payment,
typically at the end of the calendar year, was first undertaken in 1981
when David Stockman, as part of his budget reform, flipped the U.S.
contribution from the fiscal year equivalent to the calendar year UN
budget to the subsequent fiscal year.  That is to say the contribution we
will make shortly for the UN calendar year 2005 will come from the U.S.
fiscal year 2006 budget.  This was a David Stockman one-time savings.  It
has been in place for 25 years.  That means the UN is perfectly aware of
what its cash flow situation is all the time.  And the U.S. contribution,
which will come in very shortly, once the money is apportioned by OMB,
will be consistent with that.  The notion of a limited budget is not
inconsistent with a full annual assessment, which the UN could vote so
that people would be assessed for 12 months, but the UN would have
spending authority only for 3 to 4 months.  The point is that we need to
bring together the opportunity for reform with a biennium budget.  We
cannot miss the opportunity that the Secretary General wants for reform by
adopting a two-year budget and losing two years of reform possibilities. 
That’s what we don’t want to see happen, that’s what gave rise to the
suggestion.  And there has never been a suggestion that we would not
approve a budget.  Never.  Yes, ma’am.

Reporter: (inaudible)

Ambassador Bolton:  Well, my view is that the Secretariat works for the
member governments.  And if the member governments are creative and
perhaps if the Secretariat is creative, and as I said, there’s a lot of
talent here in New York, we ought to be able to find a way to do this. 
I’m confident we can.  But I want to say our priority is we do not want to
miss the opportunity for reform.  We do not want to adopt a two-year
budget that makes it as a practical matter impossible to implement reforms
for another two years.  That would be a missed opportunity for the
organization and a missed opportunity for the Secretary General himself.

Reporter: (inaudible)

Ambassador Bolton:  Well, the '06 payment in regular course would be part
of the U.S. fiscal year '07 budget to be presented early next year.  And
so the cash flow, in other words, would remain the same functionally
whether there’s an interim budget or not.  I don’t think the cash flow
argument holds any water.

Reporter: (inaudible)

Ambassador Bolton:  I haven’t given up on the possibility that sweet
reason will prevail and the opportunity for reform will fill the spirit of
the General Assembly Hall.  The spirit of reform is what’s on our mind.  I
hope it’s on everybody’s mind.

Reporter: (inaudible)

Ambassador Bolton:  Certainly, you could have an interim budget of 3
months, and you could then project an assessment rate based on 4 calendar
quarters, you could issue that assessment then revise the assessment later
based on what the full biennial budget is.  But the point is you would
limit spending to a 3 or 4-month period thus forcing everyone to focus on
the reform issues.  I’m sure there are multiple ways to do this and I
think what we do not want is to have bean-counting business as usual
defeat the reform process.  Okay, thanks very much.