BurmaNet News, January 26, 2006

[Editor]

January 26, 2006 Issue # 2887


INSIDE BURMA
SHAN: Burma fast becoming China's 24th province
Narinjara: Arakanese forced to work as military porters

ON THE BORDER
IMNA: Passenger trucks forced to carry soldiers
Mizzima: Burmese child workers lured to Thailand by high wages
Mizzima: Thai training scheme launched for Burmese refugees

HEALTH / AIDS
Irrawaddy: Burma to tackle sex education in schools

DRUGS
The Nation: Politics fuel Burma drug trade

BUSINESS / TRADE
Mizzima: Burmese trade the lowest in ACU
Xinhua: Myanmar urges for full function of trading companies

REGIONAL
Mizzima: Former Thai FM calls for Aung San Suu Kyi's release

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Britain urges India to scrap aircraft deal with Burma
Asia Pulse: Rice urges Indonesia to work with U.S. on Myanmar democracy
AP: Bolton says central or east European could have claim to replace Annan

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INSIDE BURMA

January 26, Shan Herald Agency for News
Burma fast becoming China's 24th province

Military-ruled Burma is well on the way to becoming a Chinese dependency,
according to a Burmese business circle in Rangoon.

Since last year, Chinese engineers have been busy constructing the
Loije-Bhamo motor road. It is now halfway between Loije on the border and
Bhamo, where the Taping meets the Irrawaddy. Another under construction is
the Tengchong-Myitkyina road.

According to the sources, Chinese business firms in Rangoon have been
purchasing government buildings being vacated by the state employees who
are moving to the new capital in Pyinmana, 244 miles away in the north.

"They are also planning to lease the Rangoon port on a long term basis,"
said a businessman who travels between Rangoon and Muse. "And if
everything goes according to plan, future Rangoon will not be unlike
Hongkong under British rule before 1997."

"Mandalay for 10 years has been known as a Chinese city," chipped in
another. "Rangoon will be the second. From Myitkyina down to Rangoon, the
whole Irrawaddy basin will be practically under Chinese sway."

At least part of the military, according to the businessmen, is also
concerned about the growing influence of the Chinese. "For years, we've
been told of Thailand being the 51st state of the US," an officer was
quoted as saying. "Now it appears we are on the way to becoming China's
24th province."

To prove their point, the entrepreneurs drew attention to the latest event
that had dealt a major blow to India, which lost out in its bid to win a
sales contract of 6.5 trillion cubic feet of gas in Burma's waters to
Petro China on December 7.

____________________________________

January 26, Narinjara News
Arakanese forced to work as military porters

With the Burmese Army continuing to use civilians as military porters for
transportation of army rations in northern Arakan, people struggle to
survive for they don’t find time for their own work, said a village monk.

Civilians from several villages were forced to carry goods and commodities
from Taung Baza market to Sai Din Army Camp where at least three
battalions are stationed.

The distance between Taung Baza market and Sai Din Army Camp is 23 miles
(more than 38 kilometers) and it takes at least seven hours on foot
each-way.

A number of villagers from Pado Para, Pi Yuat, Mai Zari, Taung Gri Run,
Pyin Kaung, Sun Zwera, Wra Thaya, Yin Baung Laung Chaung, Baho Byin,
Pangon Ma Inn Chaung and Pauk Kyaing Aouk in Buthidaung township, 80 miles
north of Akyab, the capital of Arakan State, have been working as porters
for transporting army goods.

Generally the porters carry rice, peanuts, cooking oil and fuel including
diesel which are rations for the army. In Buthidaung township alone there
are nine army battalions.

A villager said that if a family refuses to work as porters then they have
to pay at least kyat 500. The army engages 20 to 30 people from one
village at a time and picks people from one village to the next by
rotation.

Sometime, villagers are forced to carry goods over long distances close to
the border area. If a porter falls sick on the way, he is not allowed to
rest. On the contrary soldiers beat and kick the porter.

The army not only forces people to work as porters but also engages some
of them to work as sentries to make sure that no strangers enter the
village at night, especially in villages close to the Bangladesh border,
the villager added.

Many Arakanese villagers are currently fleeing to the Bangladesh border
areas out of fear of being forced to be porters.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

January 26, Independent Mon News Agency
Passenger trucks forced to carry soldiers

A group of soldiers forced three pickup truck owners to transport them to
Three Pagoda Pass township early this week.

The soldiers asked the pick up owners to drive them from Tadeim village to
Three Pagoda Pass, according to a local villager.

“They wanted to go back to Three Pagoda Pass but, did not want to walk
because it is quite far and it was getting late,” said Nai Banya, a
resident of Three Pagoda Pass.

Although the army provides transport expenses the soldiers forced the
truck owners to travel to Three Pagoda Pass, without paying. The truck
owners who were from Tadeim had to buy 10 litres of fuel for each vehicle.

The villagers are extremely unhappy to provide free transportation to the
soldiers, who came to their village to make security preparations for a
VIP visit. Given the short notice by the army authorities the soldiers had
to use their own money. So they forced the pick up owners to arrange for
their travel.

The villagers said if the army wanted to use their trucks, they ought to
inform the township leaders in advance.

____________________________________

January 26, Mizzima News
Burmese child workers lured to Thailand by high wages - Sandar Moon

Naw Phaw sat on a mat in her cousin's apartment, her small, fit body
making her look even younger than her 14 years. She had just arrived in
Chiang Mai from Burma's Mon state, hoping to find work.

"I wanted to come to Thailand because my cousin is making a good salary -
more than twice as much as a maid," said Naw Phaw (not her real name), a
Karen.

Naw Phaw had a relatively good job in Rangoon - for a 13-year-old. She was
a maid for a well-to-do family, who treated her nicely. But she earned
only about $10 a month.

Her mother encouraged her to come to Thailand, where maids can earn up to
10 times that amount.

Naw Phaw is one of an estimated 200,000 Burmese children in Thailand, many
of whom are working. It is not clear exactly how many child workers there
are in Thailand, but some studies have estimated the number of Thai and
foreign child labourers at more than 300,000.

The children often end up as targets for abuse and exploitation, as their
illegal status makes it impossible for them to demand rights, experts say.

"At that age, they should be studying or be with their parents. They don't
have a chance to spend their childhood happily," said Nyi Nyi Lwin, deputy
director of the Rakhine National Council.

Burmese children who come to Thailand work with their parents in gardens,
construction sites, as domestic workers, or selling goods at the Night
Bazaar and in restaurants. Some children sell flowers and beg, and even
end up in prostitution, according to non-governmental organisations in
Chiang Mai who work with migrants.

"Young Burmese children are not skillful in their jobs, they have no
language skills, have excessive work assignments, and are harassed by
their employers. It's too much pressure," said Lin Lin, a Burmese
construction worker in Chiang Mai.

"Some children who come and work with us are so tired," he said. "They
have to do the same job - carrying bricks, stones and sand. Sometimes,
they have to carry cement to very high places. Injuries occur often.
Employers do nothing for them. Sometimes they don't even want to pay the
wages."

Children in Thailand - regardless of whether they have birth certificates,
housing registration or identity cards - have the right to study at Thai
government schools from primary to high school levels.
But many migrant children prefer not to attend, according to Thein Lwin, a
Burmese teacher and trainer in Chiang Mai.

"Burmese children don't want to go to Thai schools," Thein Lwin said.
"They have a different nationality, cannot speak the language fluently and
feel discriminated against when studying or playing."

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was
ratified in 1989, children should be protected from work that is likely to
be hazardous, could interfere with their education, or harm their
physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.

The minimum age for children to work in Thailand is 15. Those old enough
can get a Thai labor registration card and are entitled to rights under
Thai labour laws. But the wages they earn are usually considerably less
than those of adults.

One of the most common forms of child labor can be seen easily on the
streets of Chiang Mai: Burmese children selling flowers.

"Selling flowers only earns a bit of money," said Nam Phone, a girl from
the Akha hill tribe who sells flowers in the morning. "If I get money, I
give it to mom."

But it is rarely enough money, she said.

"They earn only 10 Baht if they sell one bunch of flowers, so they are not
interested in selling flowers and try to make a living by sex, which
brings in more money," said Anuchon Holsong, a social worker who runs a
foundation trying to help street children in northern Thailand. Anuchon
said it was easy for children to be lured into prostitution as they sold
flowers near tourist and 'entertainment' establishments.

Many Akhar children came to Chiang Mai with their families from the
Thai-Burma border, he said. Their parents were often drug users and
dealers.

"You can tell them to stop working, to change their jobs, but to get a job
is very difficult for child workers," he said. "The chance to choose a job
is not possible for them."

Naw Phaw is unlikely to end up on the streets, thanks to her family's
connections in Chiang Mai. But she is eagerly awaiting her chance to work.

In the meantime, she is studying English and Thai, and does not regret
having stopped her education at grade four.

"I don't want to go back to Burma," she said.






____________________________________

January 26, Mizzima News
Thai training scheme launched for Burmese refugees - Ester Shay

Authorities in Thailand have launched a new program to teach 140,000 young
Burmese refugees Thai from April.

The training, funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
and organised by the Non-Formal Education Commission, will take place in
nine refugee camps in Thailand with the aim of helping young refugees
integrate into Thai society.

Children in some camps in Thailand's Kanchanaburi, Tak, Ratchaburi, and
Mae Hong Son provinces will also be taught vocational skills under the
scheme that will help them find employment when they graduate.

Students will learn to read and write Thai and study English, computing,
mechanics, crafts and Thai culture.

UNHCR funding will also be used to equip schools with textbooks,
televisions, satellite receivers, computers and solar power generators.

Gabriel, an adult student at the Karenni Student Development Programme,
said not knowing Thai has made it difficult to get by.

"When I meet Thai people, I avoid them and I feel ashamed of myself,"
Gabriel said.

"And when I go to town for shopping, I don't dare ask the prices because I
have no confidence to speak Thai. But, now that they are starting to teach
the Thai language in schools I hope that it would be a great chance for
the refugee students . . ."

Lar Bwe Htaw, from ZOA Refugee Care, an NGO helping refugees in border
camps, said the future was looking brighter for students.

She said her organisation had provided vocational training at the Karen
Refugee Camp in Tak since 2001 and would soon start Thai classes to
students from grade eight and upwards.

Students in some camps have already started learning Thai and have had
satellite dishes installed to aid vocational training.

But in some Thai classes, teachers have already run into problems.

As students in the camps speak a variety of different ethnic languages,
classes have to be taught in English, Burmese and Thai, making the
teaching process slow and problematic.

Often the standard of Thai taught is too basic leaving students bored and
disillusioned, said Khin Khin Soe of the Jesuit Refugee Service, which is
involved in the education program.

But Augustino, the Karenni Education Minister, has welcomed the new program.

He said while some students were too old for their class and others did
not feel motivated to study, the vocational and Thai training would help
them work and stay in Thailand as they did not know if they could return
to Burma.

An educational officer from the Karenni Education Department said the
training would help combat illiteracy and equip students who are to be
resettled in a third country with the necessary skills to survive.

For Augustino, the benefits are obvious.

"And we are not only teaching Thai, but we also teach our own language at
home so that our children don't lose our culture. We are living in
Thailand, whatever is going to happen, we should be able to speak Thai."

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

January 26, Irrawaddy
Burma to tackle sex education in schools - Khun Sam

Burma plans to add an HIV/AIDS prevention and education program to its
national school curriculum, according to the government’s Public Health
Department.

Reports in the Burmese language news journal The Flower News say the
program, called “SHAPE,” will target children aged between 7 and 16—an age
group considered particularly vulnerable.

The move appears to have resulted from an “HIV/AIDS and Youth” seminar
held in Thailand’s Bangkok and Chiang Mai last October.

Some schools have already started HIV/AIDS education programs. A high
school teacher in Hopin Township, Kachin State said that her school began
a special weekly awareness class at the start of the 2005-2006 school
year, with assistance from UNICEF Myanmar [Burma].

Dr Thein Lwin of the Thai-based Teacher Training for Burmese Teachers
program agrees the move is necessary. “This issue [HIV/AIDS] is not
usually talked about among parents and children, brothers and sisters, and
teachers and students. Therefore many experts...will be required, and
school teachers will need adequate training.”

UN estimates put the number of Burma’s adult population infected with HIV
at 610, 000, about 2 percent of the population. Experts have warned that
the epidemic is spreading from concentrated high-risk groups, such as
intravenous drugs users and sex workers, into the general population and
will gradually threaten neighboring countries.

Last year, Global Fund, the world’s single largest funding body,
terminated its mission to fight HIV/AIDS and other diseases in Burma,
citing the difficulties it had faced in dealing with the Burmese junta.

____________________________________
DRUGS

January 26, The Nation
Politics fuel Burma drug trade

International anti-drug officials are supposed to step down if they cannot
persuade governments to cooperate with the global effort to eliminate the
trade in the illicit substances. But many countries take no responsibility
in suppressing this trade within their own borders, much less extend a
helping hand in international interdiction.

Countless empty promises have been made by virtually all governments to do
everything they can in the fight against the domestic and international
drug trade. Little has changed.

This explains why international anti-drug agencies continue to be as busy
as ever trying to enlist support against this scourge of mankind.

At a recent gathering of regional narcotics officials in New Delhi, yet
another pledge was made to assist Burma (Myanmar) with crop substitution.
Senior officials from India, China, Laos and Thailand voiced a common
concern over the flow of narcotics from Burma, second only to Afghanistan
as the world's largest source of opium, and expressed their willingness to
help with crop substitution.

Since the 1990s, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has carried
out pilot projects for alternative crop production in a Wa-controlled area
in Shan state, which lies opposite Mae Hong Son. Like other U.N. projects,
this was a futile attempt. Any counter-narcotic policy to succeed in Burma
must take into consideration the political side of the problem.

Political solutions have not been properly explored, but this is the only
way to get to the bottom of Burma's vicious circle linking illicit drugs,
insurgencies, national reconciliation and last but not least, democracy.

While a sustainable political solution acceptable to all parties in Burma
may be an elusive long-term goal, Burma and neighboring countries could
start getting serious about cooperation in law enforcement. There has been
talk about getting tough with the flow of precursor chemicals needed to
produce these illicit drugs.

Yet illicit drugs continue to pour out of the Golden Triangle, suggesting
that the precursors are still making their way to the clandestine Burmese
labs from factories in China and India.

Since they aspire to be recognized as major regional powers, it shouldn't
be too much to ask China and India for better regulation of the trade in
the legal chemicals that can be used as precursors for synthetic drugs.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

January 26, Mizzima News
Burmese trade the lowest in ACU - Siddique Islam

Burma recorded the lowest trade levels in the Asian Clearing Union in 2005
despite a 31 percent increase on last year's figures, according to the
ACU.

The ACU, which groups Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, India, Iran, Nepal,
Pakistan and Sri Lanka, provides member states with a simple
intra-regional payment system through which central banks are able to
settle bills.

According to a recent ACU document released in Tehran, Burmese
transactions amounted to just US $2.70 million in 2005. India recorded
transactions worth $7.249 billion followed by Iran, Bangladesh and Sri
Lanka with $4,415, $2,109 and $1,659 million respectively.

According to the document, Burma's central bank channeled $2.68 million
through the system last year and borrowed about $15,000 from other
members.

Burma's trade figures were up 31 percent from 2004 when the country
recorded $2.06 million-worth of trade through the system.

The main objective of the clearing union is to promote trade among member
countries by making transactions easier, economising the use of foreign
exchange reserves and minimising transfer costs.

The ACU started operations in November 1975 with Burma's military joining
in 1976.

____________________________________

January 26, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar urges for full function of trading companies

Yangon: The Myanmar commerce authorities has urged private trading
companies in the country to function fully to boost foreign trade, a local
weekly reported Thursday.

"There are only 2,000 to 3,000 private trading companies or one fifth
actually engaged in export and import activities out of over 10,000
registered with the Directorate of Trade," sources with the department was
quoted by the Khit Myanmar as saying.

According to the sources, most trading companies are based in Yangon with
lesser number of such companies available in the second largest city of
Mandalay.

Recently, Myanmar called for exporting raw goods with value added so as to
attain the target of reaching a total foreign trade volume of 5 billion US
dollars in the fiscal year 2005-06 ending March.

Commerce officials outlined some raw export commodities such as onion,
rice, beans and pulses to be processed and added with value.

Myanmar's exports are expected to hit 3 billion US dollars in the fiscal
year 2005-06 ending March, slightly up from 2.9 billion in the previous
fiscal year out of the total foreign trade volume of 4.9 billion with a
trade surplus of 954 million.

Myanmar mainly exports natural gas, marine and forest products as well as
agricultural products such as beans and pulses.

The private sector has played an important role in Myanmar's exports and
imports. In 2004-05, the private sector accounted for more than 85 percent
of its exports and more than 80 percent of the gross domestic product.

Myanmar has set a target of 1.5 billion dollars of bilateral trade with
China, 1 billion with India and 50 million with Vietnam in the 2005-06.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

January 23, Mizzima News
Former Thai FM calls for Aung San Suu Kyi's release - Nava Thakuria in
Guwahati

Former Thai foreign minister Dr Surin Pitsuwan called for the release of
Burmese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi at a function in Guwahati, in
India's Assam state on Friday.

Dr Surin, a member of the Thai parliament, told Mizzima, "[Aung San Suu
Kyi] should be released as early as possible."

A sitting member of Thailand's parliament, Dr Surin is visiting northeast
India as part of a delegation of scholars, politicians and senior citizens
from Southeast Asia. He delivered the keynote speech at an inaugural
workshop on India's northeastern economic zone.

Titled "The NER (Northeast India) as a Regional Market and Economic Zone:
Going beyond the Look East Policy," the workshop was organised by the
Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research and the Confederation of
Indian Industry, with support from the Ministry of Development for the
North Eastern Region (Government of India).

"India can no longer stand aside and say it does not want to take a stand
on democracy in Burma because it is worried about losing the Burmese vote
(of support for its campaign for a seat in the UN Security Council)," said
Dr Surin.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

January 26, Irrawaddy
Britain urges India to scrap aircraft deal with Burma

Britain has requested India not to proceed with the planned sale of
British-made BN-2 Islander aircraft to Burma.

Indian press reports said the request was made in a letter sent by the
British High Commission in New Delhi to the Indian Foreign Ministry ahead
of a visit to Rangoon last week by Indian Navy chief Arun Prakash.

The Foreign Ministry forwarded the letter to the Defense Ministry and Navy
for “necessary action,” the reports said. They did not report on the
nature of any action taken.

The BN-2 Islander is a twin-engine light aircraft used mostly for survey
and reconnaissance work. Burma had told India it wanted to use the
aircraft for maritime surveillance and aerial ambulance missions

The Indian reports said the Indian Navy feared that if the sale of
British-made aircraft to Burma went ahead it could jeopardize deals for
the supply to India of helicopter parts and 10 second-hand Royal Navy Sea
Harriers. The Harriers are intended to replace India’s Goa-based fleet air
arm aircraft.

During the Indian Navy Chief’s visit to Rangoon, the Burmese regime
proposed the creation in Burma of bases where the Indian Navy could train
Burmese military personnel and officials in weapons and sensors,
engineering and offshore operations.

____________________________________

January 26, Asia Pulse
Rice urges Indonesia to work with U.S. on Myanmar democracy

Jakarta: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has expressed hope that
Indonesia and the United States can cooperate in seeking a solution to
democratic problem in Myanmar.

Receiving Indonesian Ambassador to the US, Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrad, in
Washington DC on Monday, Dr. Rice said Indonesia could play an important
role in ASEAN to solve the Myanmar issue.

The US was the most persistent country in the promotion of democracy and
in the defence of human rights in Myanmar, she said.

The US also had been constantly raising the Myanmar issue in the UN
Security Council, especially when the Myanmarese military junta extended
the arrest of pro-democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Dr. Rice expressed hope that Indonesia can play its role as one of the
largest democratic countries in the world.

According to her, Indonesia has achieved great progress in the defence of
human rights and as a predominantly Muslim country, it can represent
moderate Muslims around the world. Rice said her country can also
cooperate with Indonesia in solving other issues such as terrorism and the
Iranian nuclear program.

Sudjadnan met with the US secretary of state to submit his credentials as
Indonesian ambassador and plenipotentiary to the United States.

In his address, Ambassador Sudjadnan said Indonesia respects the positive
change in US policy which is expected to benefit the Indonesian government
and people.

Sudjadnan assumed the post of Indonesian Ambassador to the US this month
to replace Soemadi DM Brotodiningrat.

____________________________________

January 25, Associated Press
Bolton says central or east European could have claim to replace Annan

Washington: U.S. Ambassador John Bolton raised the possibility Wednesday
that an eastern or central European could have a claim to become the next
U.N. secretary general because no one from either region has held the
post.

But, Bolton told a news conference, the United States believes that the
successor to Kofi Annan, who steps down at the end of the year, should be
selected irrespective of geographic location.

Bolton heads the U.S. mission to the United Nations and was visiting
Washington for consultations with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

He acknowledged that many Asians believe the next secretary general should
come from Asia because no one from that continent has held the post since
U Thant of Myanmar, also known as Burma, served from 1961-71.

The declared candidates from Asia are Thailand Deputy Prime Minister
Surakiart Sathirathai and Sri Lankan peace negotiator Jayantha Dhanapala.

Bolton said the United States hopes the U.N. can decide on a successor to
Annan this summer to give that person more time to prepare for the job.

He noted that the selection often is delayed until a few weeks before the
handover.