BurmaNet News, January 20, 2006

[Editor]

January 20, 2006 Issue # 2883


INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar constitution talks to close until May
Irrawaddy: Junta points finger at Shan group, NGOs
AFP: Myanmar says 50 rebels surrender
Xinhua: Myanmar top leader meets Indian navy chief
Narinjara: Arakanese forced to attend rally in support of National Convention
Reuters: Myanmar junta says rebels using child soldiers

ON THE BORDER
Mizzima: KNU armed wing stops talks with Burmese military

ASEAN
Japan Economic Newswire: Yudhoyono may raise democratization issue during
Myanmar visit

REGIONAL
The Asian Age via BBC: Indian navy chief to present communication
equipment to Burma
Mizzima: IID accepts military's challenge to visit Burma

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Burma need not be referred to UNSC, says Malaysian FM
Irrawaddy: Burma’s ethnic minorities among world’s most at risk

OPINION / OTHER
Mizzima: Strategy, not words will help Burma change – Bo Kyaw Nyein

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

January 20, Agence France Presse
Myanmar constitution talks to close until May

Military-ruled Myanmar's ongoing constitutional talks are expected to
close next weekend until May, amid an international cry over the country's
slow push to democracy, delegates said Friday.

"We can say that this session will be finished next weekend and hope to be
resumed in May," an ethnic minority leader attending the National
Convention told AFP.

Lieutenant General Thein Sein, who heads the convention at an isolated
military compound north of Yangon, told state media Friday that a plenary
session would be held next week.

That is normally a sign that the delegates are preparing to recess from
the convention, where some 1,000 people chosen by the junta are discussing
a new basic law in a process condemned internationally for failing to
include the pro-democracy opposition.

Since the convention reopened on December 5, delegates had drafted
detailed plans for a new bicameral legislature, as well as rules for
citizenship and for the military's role in government, state media said.

Myanmar's leading opposition party, the National League for Democracy, has
boycotted the talks to demand the release of its leader Aung San Suu Kyi
and of other political prisoners.

The latest round of constitutional talks are wrapping up as the secretive
regime comes under mounting pressure to made good on its promises of
democratic reform.

The United States led a lobbying effort to convene the first-ever
discussion of the situation in Myanmar at the UN Security Council last
month.

The closed-door council meeting, also attended by UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan, focused on human rights abuses and the increase in AIDS,
tuberculosis and malaria cases in Myanmar, and the outflow of refugees and
drugs from the country.

The UN meeting followed a very critical report to the world body by
ex-Czech president Vaclav Havel and South African archbishop Desmond Tutu
about Myanmar and on the need for Security Council action.

Amid rising international concern about the country, the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is a member, planned to
send Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar to Yangon to press for
reforms.

Syed Hamid is expected to visit Yangon in February or March, after the
military junta put off a January date, saying it was too busy relocating
its capital to a mountainous compound in central Myanmar to meet the
envoy.

____________________________________

January 20, Irrawaddy
Junta points finger at Shan group, NGOs - Khun Sam and Clive Parker

Speaking at a Rangoon press conference on Tuesday, representatives of
Burma’s military government announced the surrender of a Shan State
Army-South brigade, and accused the rest of the armed ethnic minority
group of committing crimes against local villagers and producing
narcotics. According to a report in state-run newspaper The New Light of
Myanmar, several international aid agencies were also singled out and
accused of supporting the insurgents.

It was reported that Sao Khun Kyaw, also known as Than Gyaung, commander
of the Shan State Army-South Brigade 241, which has more than 50 soldiers,
surrendered to the Burmese army on January 1st following a four-month
hide-and-seek campaign. The Burmese junta’s minister for information,
Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, said 11 SSA-S soldiers surrendered and the rest were
captured.

Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan told the audience of journalists, diplomats and
representatives of UN agencies that the brigade’s supplies had been
running out, routes were blocked by government troops and “they were being
opposed by local people.”

Khun Kyaw’s men were accused of crimes including the rape of local
villagers. Kyaw Hsan also said the SSA-S, whose headquarters is at Doi
Taileng, near the Thai-Burmese border, were engaged in other illegal
activities: “Drug Lord Yawd Serk [the SSA-S leader] is undertaking
narcotic drug trafficking as well as producing counterfeit currency notes
with his followers.”

The SSA-S could not be reached for comment.

Kyaw Hsan went on to say that villagers living near the Doi Taileng were
being forced to settle close to SSA-S headquarters, to act as a “buffer of
the camp.” He added that these villagers received aid and frequent visits
from international NGOs, including the International Committee of the Red
Cross and the Free Burma Rangers. “I would like to know what sort of
groups and persons are they?” he asked.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy by phone, Patrick Vial, the head of ICRC’s
operation in Burma, dismissed the claim that his organization was active
in the area.

In the early 1990s, the ICRC began a program offering prosthetic limbs to
amputees in upper Burma from a center in Mandalay, a program which was
initiated with the full cooperation of the Burmese authorities, Vial said.
ICRC provided funding in the form of transportation and accommodation for
patients.

“This is the only activity that would justify [the comments made in
today’s The New Light of Myanmar],” he said. “Obviously it is a concern
when there is wrong information like this being published.” Vial went on
to confirm that the ICRC intends to address the issue with the necessary
authorities.

Today’s incident is the second time this month when the ICRC has been
implicated in an event which, if true, would appear to contravene its own
strict rules of independence and impartiality. The New Light of Myanmar
reported that representatives from Myanmar Red Cross, which is affiliated
to the ICRC, attended a rally in support of the junta-backed National
Convention in Rangoon on January 7th.

____________________________________

January 20, Agence France Presse
Myanmar says 50 rebels surrender

Fifty fighters from the Shan State Army (SSA), the largest of the ethnic
rebel groups still battling Myanmar's military government, have
surrendered, state media said Friday.

The SSA members were arrested and the military seized their weapons,
drugs, gold bars and cash during their surrender on January 1, the
official New Light of Myanmar said, quoting Information Minister Kyaw
Hsann.

During a battle between government troops and 58 SSA fighters, four were
killed and four others fled, Kyaw Hsann told a press conference on
Tuesday, the paper said.

"The remaining 50 insurgents surrendered and were arrested," he said.

State media rarely report on fighting with ethnic rebels, which has raged
for more than four decades.

The Shan Democratic Union, an exiled dissident group in neighboring
Thailand, confirmed the surrender.

Last May the SSA, which has some 8,000 members, joined forces with the
Shan State National Army, which had signed a ceasefire with Yangon in 1995
but broke it to continue fighting the junta.

Myanmar's ruling State Peace and Development Council has long accused the
SSA of cultivating poppy crops, refining opium and selling the drug to
dealers in neighbouring countries.

The military has ruled Myanmar, formerly Burma, since 1962.

____________________________________

January 20, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar top leader meets Indian navy chief

Yangon: Chairman of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council
Senior-General Than Shwe met with visiting Chairman Chiefs of Staff
Committee and Chief of Staff of the Indian Navy Admiral Arun Prakash here
Friday, state-run Radio Myanmar reported in the evening.

Than Shwe is also Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Services.

No details about the meeting were disclosed by both sides.

Arun arrived here Thursday on a goodwill visit to Myanmar following the
call of two Indian warships at the Yangon Port last Dec. 22. The call
formed part of India's efforts to forge closer ties with maritime nations
including Myanmar in the Indian Ocean region.

The warships, which comprise guided missile destroyer INS Ranjit and
missile corvette ISN Kuthar, had visited the Chittagong Port of Bangladesh
earlier and stayed in Myanmar for five days and had joint naval maneuvers
with navy of the host nation. The Indian naval warships' visit to Myanmar
ports was the third over the past three years.

Meanwhile, India also hosted its first major regional naval exercises off
the Andaman and Nicobar island chain on Jan. 9-14 involving Bangladesh,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand as well as
Australia since the tsunami disaster hit at the end of 2004.

In December 2002, an Indian naval fleet, comprising a submarine and two
destroyers, called at Yangon's Thilawa Port, while in September 2003, two
more Indian naval warships called at Yangon Port again, carrying out a
four-day joint naval maneuvers with the Myanmar navy.

As part of its "look east" policy, India has strengthened cooperation with
Myanmar militarily with military delegations of the two countries
exchanging visits for more than a dozen times. Besides, a large amount of
Myanmar military personnel were reportedly trained in India.

In the border security affairs, Myanmar and India have resolved to
strengthen cooperation in tackling insurgency, arms smuggling and drug
trafficking in the areas. The Myanmar side has assured not to allow its
territory to be used for anti-India activities. The two countries have
also agreed to enhance cooperation in curbing terrorism and other illegal
activities.

____________________________________

January 20, Narinjara News
Arakanese forced to attend rally in support of National Convention - Aung Min

People from Arakan were forced by the Burmese military authorities to
attend a mass meeting in support of the National Convention. The meeting
was organized by the Arakan State Union Solidarity and Development
Association, and was held today in the Arakan state capital, Sittwe
(Akyab).

A large number of people from Rathidaung, Pauktaw, Ponnans Kyunt, the
townships nearest to Sittwe, were seen gathering in Sittwe since yesterday
evening to attend the meeting.

According to a source, Arakan State authorities want to publicize their
support to the National Convention, being held at Hmawbi in Rangoon, to
the international community through the media.

The regime ordered the township authorities to send at least one person
from each house to the mass meeting.The Arakan state authorities have
summoned about 25,000 people from Akyab, Rathidaung, Pauktaw and Ponna
Kyunt for the meeting.

A boat owner said that in reality the authorities are not only forcing
people to attend the meeting, but are also forcing people to use their own
motorboats and several vehicles to carry people from the country side. The
authorities are not reimbursing vehicle owners for the cost of
transporting people.

The mass meeting in support of the National Convention organized by the
Arakan State Union Solidarity and Development Association was held at
Danyawaddi Sports Ground in Sittwe, Arakan State, today.

____________________________________

January 20, Reuters
Myanmar junta says rebels using child soldiers - Aung Hla Tun

Lashio:  Myanmar's military junta has accused an ethnic Shan militia which
has been waging a guerrilla war for decades of forcibly recruiting child
soldiers as young as 13.

Information Minister Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan said 48 fighters of the
Shan State Army (SSA) (South), in the east of the country, had surrendered
or been captured at the start of January.

Of several teenagers in the group, the youngest, a private called Soe
Naing, was 13, he said.

"What we are saying is not a groundless accusation," Kyaw Hsan told
reporters and diplomats on a government trip this week to Lashio, 600
miles (950 km) northeast of Yangon.

"Private Sai Yi of the SSA (South), who surrendered in 2005, admitted that
SSA members were murdering the relatives of newly recruited youths so that
the new members had no attachments to their relatives and didn't dare
desert," he said.

Diplomats and reporters were given access to around 30 of the SSA
fighters, including Soe Naing, who was dressed in brand new military
fatigues and who described how he had ended up in the guerrilla ranks.

"Our village head handed me over to the SSA (South) over a month ago," he
said. He had never been to school, he added.

SSA commander Sai Htoo, who led the surrendering group, said the rebels
generally recruited fighters aged between 18 and 40, but boys in their
early teens were enlisted if older conscripts were unavailable.

"Depending on the size of villages, each village has to send four or five
recruits," Sai Htoo said. "There are not many members who joined of their
own will. Therefore, they flee whenever they get the chance."

In 2002, Human Rights Watch accused Myanmar's junta, which has been
fighting several ethnic minority militias for years, of recruiting an
estimated 70,000 child soldiers.

Many were forced to commit atrocities against ethnic minority civilians,
the New York-based group said. The military, which has run the former
Burma in various guises since 1962, denied the allegations.

According to a U.N. report released last year, 42 armed groups in 11
nations were guilty of recruiting or using children in war. The countries
named were Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Somalia,
Sudan, Uganda, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Colombia.

Spokesmen for the SSA (South) were not immediately available for comment.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

January 20, Mizzima News
KNU armed wing stops talks with Burmese military- Saw Ehna

Karen National Union leaders said they had solved a party split that
resulted in part of their military brigade holding separate talks with
Burma's military.

The armed wing of the Karen National Liberation Army's Brigade 7 agreed to
stop private talks with the regime after a meeting with the central KNU
leaders on Wednesday.

The KNU's central leader, P'doh David Taw, said the divisions in the group
had been solved.

"[Brigade 7] promised the Central Committee they would abandon their
communication with the regime," said P'doh David Taw.

He said any further talks with the Burmese military would be handled by
KNU leaders.
On December 7 six Brigade 7 members, led by former KNU member Pastor
Timothy who was sacked by the KNU last year, had a secret meeting with
Burmese military workers in Bangkok.

Some Karen officers were ordered to attend the meeting by Brigade 7
commander, Brigadier General Tin Maung, according to KNU's David Taw.

The group approached the regime to ask for a special control area for
development purposes. The Burmese military said it would respond to the
request this month.

The KNU, which had fought the military since the end of the Second World
War, reached an agreement with the junta to end hostilities in 2004.

There has been no progress towards a formal ceasefire agreement since but
the KNU said they were open to dialogue.

____________________________________
ASEAN

January 20, Japan Economic Newswire
Yudhoyono may raise democratization issue during Myanmar visit

Jakarta: Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono may raise the issue
of Myanmar's democratization process when he visits the military-ruled
country next month, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday.

"About the agenda (of the meeting), it will be finalized later by an
inter-ministry team...I can't disclose it right now," ministry spokesman
Yuri Thamrin told a press conference.

But when asked whether the process of democratization in Myanmar will be
on the agenda, he answered, "Yes, I think."

"There will be an exchange of experiences, because Indonesia, in many
ways, is similar to Myanmar in various aspects, such as its
multi-ethnicity, political experiences, etc.," he added.

Thamrin said the planned visit to Myanmar, which is a part of a tour of
three countries of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
may take place in mid-February. The two other countries are Brunei and
Cambodia.

The three are the remaining ASEAN countries Yudhoyono has yet to visit
since becoming president in 2004. It is customary for Indonesian leaders
to visit all ASEAN countries.

ASEAN has called on the junta to show "tangible results" considering that
it has been two years since the junta unveiled its so-called "road map to
democracy" promising to hold fair elections and draft a new constitution.

Despite its spotty human rights record, ASEAN has never acted against the
country because of its noninterference policy.

Last month, however, on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur,
the ASEAN Eminent Persons Group said it will review the group's principle
of noninterference and its policy of decision-making by consensus.

The group consists of 10 experts, mostly former ASEAN politicians and
diplomats, tasked with formulating an ASEAN Charter, a legal instrument
that binds the now loosely organized group into a rules-based legal
regime.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Myanmar joined the grouping
in 1997.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

January 19, The Asian Age via BBC
Indian navy chief to present communication equipment to Burma- Ashwani Talwar

New Delhi: In a friendly overture to Burma, the Indian Navy will deliver a
consignment of communication equipment to Rangoon.

The communication sets are part of a small consignment which will be
presented to the Burmese during the visit of Navy chief Arun Prakash to
Rangoon, which began on Thursday [19 January].

The equipment is on two Indian Navy ships which are scheduled to call at
Rangoon during Admiral Prakash's 19-22 January trip. The admiral's visit -
and the modest gift - are being seen as part of the warming of relations
between the two countries in recent years.

Delhi has chosen not to take an aggressive stand on lack of democracy in
Burma and on restrictions on dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

In return, Burma has cooperated with Delhi by denying sanctuary to
insurgents operating in the northeast. In recent weeks, there has been
reportedly another Burmese military operation against Naga [Nagaland]
rebels in their territory. India is also keen on weaning Burma away from
China. There had been disquiet in Delhi about reports that Burma had
allowed the Chinese to set up surveillance facilities in Coco Islands, a
short hop from India's Andaman and Nicobar Island chain.

But the Burmese have denied that anything like that exists: at least for
the record the Indian Navy now accepts the Burmese assertion.

Only days back, a Burmese corvette was at an Indian port. The ship had
been sent to Port Blair by the Burmese to take part in "Milan 2006" - a
nine-nation meeting of regional navies. That had been the first time in
four decades that a Burmese ship had visited a foreign port. Officers on
board the Burmese ship had told reporters that the corvette had been built
indigenously, and a larger ship, a frigate, was now being put together at
their docks.

Adm Prakash has visited Burma earlier as well, in 2003. During his tenure
as Naval chief, he has also been to Seychelles, Singapore, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

____________________________________

January 20, Mizzima News
IID accepts military's challenge to visit Burma - Mungpi

The Philippines-based Initiative for International Dialogue said today
they would accept a challenge made by the military's vice minister for
tourism to visit Burma.

In a tirade against the IID yesterday, Brigadier General Aye Myint Kyu
said the group's claims that Burma had disgraced ASEAN were baseless and
said the organisation should come to Burma to see the real situation for
themselves.

Gus Miclat, IID's executive director told Mizzima he thought a visit to
Burma was a good idea, provided the military kept their word and actually
allowed the group in.

"The challenge is being accepted . . . because [Brigadier General Aye
Myint Kyu] said that you go see for yourself ... but visas have been
denied and people are blacklisted," Miclat said.

"[The junta] should ensure the safety of people going inside and allow us
to go places and meet people we like to see, like the political prisoners
and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," he said.

Miclat said the junta should also stand by their challenge and let United
Nations representatives, Philippines former president Cory Aquino and an
ASEAN delegation come to Burma and meet Aung San Suu Kyi.

Aquino, who has asked for permission to visit Aung San Suu Kyi several
times, has had his visa applications denied. The UN Secretary General's
special envoy to Burma, Razali Ismail resigned from his post on January 3,
after being denied a Burmese visa for more than two years.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid was scheduled to visit Burma this
month as part of an ASEAN delegation to asses Burma's political transition
process. The junta cancelled his trip saying they were too busy moving
their capital to Pyinmana.

"There has been inconsistency in their statements. [The junta] say things
and we accept and then they did not follow it," said Miclat.

He said accepting the military's challenge was a way to force the junta to
stick to their promises.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

January 20, Irrawaddy
Burma need not be referred to UNSC, says Malaysian FM- Clive Parker

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar today said that Burma need not
be referred to the UN Security Council, as it does not currently represent
an international security threat.

Syed Hamid also told the Malaysian state news agency Bernama, however,
that if the junta continues to ignore international concerns it may find
itself on the council’s agenda.

“If Myanmar [Burma] is seen as not cooperating, the country would
eventually face pressure from all parties
there will be pressure, to the
extent the issue may be turned into a topic on the Security Council,” he
said.

Syed Hamid’s comments come at a crucial time. The Malaysian foreign
minister is waiting for Burma’s military government to approve his
anticipated visit to Rangoon on behalf of Asean to inspect the extent of
democratization in the country. Subject to acceptance from the junta, this
would include a discussion with the leader of the opposition National
League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Despite Syed Hamid’s suggestion that Burma did not warrant consideration
at the UNSC, his comments were welcomed by groups supporting such action.

“What is more significant about his comments is the fact that they are in
effect a threat to the regime that unless they cooperate with the proposed
Asean delegation they will end up before the UN Security Council again,”
said Mark Farmaner of Burma Campaign UK. “He is using the threat of the UN
Security Council as leverage against the regime, something unimaginable
just two years ago. It is another sign of how Asean is losing patience."

The Philippines is so far the only Asean country to openly support Burma’s
case being addressed at the council, a decision that proved significant
last month, helping the US to garner enough support among the body’s 15
members to secure a briefing on Burma.

International Initiatives for Dialogue—an organization that lobbied Manila
on Burma during the Philippines’ stint on the council, which ended last
year—said today that perhaps Syed Hamid would modify his decision after
seeing the situation in Burma for himself.

“Of course maybe after his visit—if he is able to visit
unhampered within
Burma—then he might change his mind if he sees the problems with drugs for
example
spilling over into the region,” said Gus Miclat of IID.

Asean does not currently have any members on the Security Council,
although Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Andrey Denisov, has
previously said the 10-member bloc should be consulted on the Burma issue,
given its understanding of the situation in the country.
____________________________________

January 20, Irrawaddy
Burma’s ethnic minorities among world’s most at risk

New York-based Minority Rights Group International says ethnic minorities
in Burma are among the five groups most at risk from government
persecution in the world today. In State of the World’s Minorities—which
was released yesterday and is the first document of its kind—MRG says
Iraqi minorities are the most vulnerable group. Burma’s ethnic minorities
are considered the fifth most at risk group. The Burmese army continues to
wage military operations against armed factions in the country’s
outer-lying areas, fighting that in some cases first began following
independence in the late 1940s. Other countries in the region that are
considered to pose a serious threat to their ethnic minorities include
Indonesia (who rank 10th) and the Philippines (15th).

Mark Lattimer, executive director of Minority Rights Group International,
said: “Around the world today, civilians from minority communities are
being persecuted, tortured and killed. Outrageously, some governments
justify these practices as their contribution to the ‘war on terror’.”
Juan Mendez, the UN special advisor to the secretary general on the
prevention of genocide, yesterday welcomed the report as an important
first step in the prevention of genocide worldwide. “Many
governments
persist in labeling some people a threat simply because they
are members of a minority,” he said.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

January 20, Mizzima News
Strategy, not words will help Burma change – Bo Kyaw Nyein

Burmese activists and analysts have welcomed the recent US focus on Burma.
President Bush and members of the administration have been pushing the
Burma issue in international circles like never before.

And while their help is welcome, just like the military they have no
actual plan or strategy. They want change in Burma but they have not put
forward any concrete proposals for how that change should come about.

What the Burmese community is getting is 'microphone politics'.

In fact, even the military can lay claim to having some sort of
transitional strategy. While it is a sham, they have the National
Convention and the road map to democracy.

Using these, the military will be able to emulate the 1974 election when
the junta transformed itself into a civilian government. They will claim
legitimacy without giving the Burmese people any real political change.

The military also has an isolation strategy, perfected by General Ne Win.

During the cold war era, while the world's political giants fought, Ne Win
took the term 'self-isolation' to a new level, allowing the military to
suppress internal opposition without attracting international attention.

Things were bad for the military after the '88 uprising and the 1990
election but they stuck to the same old strategy – stay in power no matter
what happens.

So they have crawled along fobbing off call after call for dialogue. They
have continued their practice of throwing people who oppose them in jail
and have successfully tied themselves to China, ASEAN and India, forging
economic links that are difficult to break.

These ties have allowed them to make the US's only real strategy –
sanctions – ineffectual and have further entrenched Burma's military.

If the SPDC continue with their current strategy they will successfully
isolate themselves from spheres of western influence, consolidate their
power and marginalise Aung San Suu Kyi making both her and the National
League for Democracy largely irrelevant.

The junta's 'time and space' strategy has served them well, allowing them
to remain in power for 16 years.

But the NLD's plan of focusing on Aung San Suu Kyi has failed as it has
prevented them from becoming a workable political party.

There are some groups in border areas that continue to successfully resist
military rule, including the Free Trade Unions of Burma with the help of
the International Labour Organisation. But these are exceptions to the
rule.

Many opposition groups are left to choose from only three political
options. They can form radical opposition groups that refuse to compromise
with the military; they can engage the generals and try to come to a
mutual arrangement; or they can accept the junta's terms for
reconciliation.

None of these positions will be met with success because they do not take
into account military thinking or demands.

The military are soldiers and their strategies are formed by their
battlefield experiences.

They think and act like a soldiers and the opposition does not understand
this.

The western world and the US are shouting for democracy and political
transition in Burma but they have no clear strategy for how they will
implement these things. They have plenty to say, but no solutions for the
Burmese people.

It is time to formulate a plan and a policy if we want to see a democratic
Burma.

As hard as it seems, we have to overcome our emotions and look critically
at the situation. The US and China both need to play major roles in the
future of Burma and tough political decisions must be made by all sides.