BurmaNet News, January 28-30, 2006

[Editor]

January 28-30, 2006 Issue # 2889


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Builders under pressure to complete Pyinmana parade ground
Mizzima: Burma's new Rangoon and special bureau military heads named
DVB via BBC: Two inmates reported killed in Burmese prison riot
DVB: Burmese students protest against rising bus fare in Arakan State

ON THE BORDER
Narinjara: Diplomats urge Bangladesh to allow free movement of Burmese
refugees

DRUGS
Reuters: Myanmar opium trade flourishing, says rebel chief
AP: Myanmar reports 4,700 drug-related arrests past year

BUSINESS / TRADE
Xinhua: Thailand finalizes feasibility study on economic zone in Myanmar

REGIONAL
AFP: Bodies of six suspected Myanmar labourers found floating off Thailand
Thai Press Reports: More than 100 illegal foreign workers nabbed in
southern Thailand

INTERNATIONAL
AP: Olof Palme Prize awarded to Burmese pro-democracy activist Aung San
Suu Kyi
Yonhap (South Korea): N. Korea, Myanmar close to accord on diplomatic
ties: report

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

January 30, The Irrawaddy
Builders under pressure to complete Pyinmana parade ground

Burmese government engineers and private contractors are reportedly under
pressure to complete work on a military parade ground in Pyinmana, the
country’s new administrative capital, before the next Armed Forces Day, in
late March.

Local sources and engineers working on the project told The Irrawaddy that
the parade ground will be the size of three or four football pitches. One
unconfirmed report said the parade ground project will cost the equivalent
of about US $9 million.

Armed Forces Day has traditionally been marked by a grand military parade
in Rangoon. Last year, the 60th anniversary of Armed Forces Day, more than
7,000 military personnel took part in the parade, through Rangoon’s
Resistance Park.

The parades are usually attended by Burma’s ruling military junta,
including supremo Snr-Gen Than Shwe, who is rumored to be demanding that
this year’s event, the 61st anniversary, be held in Pyinmana.

The order to move government ministries from Rangoon to Pyinmana, 320 km
to the north, came last November, and since December hundreds of trucks
and cement-mixers have arrived in Pyinmana to work on the parade ground.

The pressure is also on to finish work on Snr-Gen Than Shwe’s new home on
a hilltop site in Pyinmana. The huge house, with a floor space of about
4,000 sqm, is said to be almost complete.

____________________________________

January 27, Mizzima News
Burma's new Rangoon and special bureau military heads named

The new military commander of Rangoon and chief of the newly created
Bureau of Special Operations were named today, sources told Mizzima.

Former Rangoon Commander Lieutenant General Myint Swe was posted as chief
of the Bureau of Special Operations under the ministry of defense, and
Brigadier General Hla Htay Win took over the position of the commander of
Rangoon - one of two posts formerly held by Myint Swe.

The reshuffle has been expected by Burma watchers and analysts for several
months but is unlikely to be officially announced.

Sources in Rangoon told Mizzima, Myint Swe, a close ally of Senior General
Than Shwe, was made head of the new bureau to balance power between Than
Shwe and his deputy Vice- Senior General Maung Aye.

The Bureau of Special Operations was created after the military junta
moved its offices to the new capital Pyinmana. His new position gives
Myint Swe administrative economic power over Rangoon, Pegu and Pyinmana.

Hla Htay Win will take over as the military commander of Rangoon in
another power play between Burma's two highest ranking generals. He is
believed to have been nominated for the post six months ago, but sources
said Than Shwe delayed authorisation on the move.

Military reshuffles often allow analysts the chance to identify
allegiances between military members and while Myint Swe is known to be
closely tied to Than Shwe, Burma analyst Win Min said it is hard to tell
whose side Hla Htay Win is on.

Hla Htay Win was helped through the military ranks by Than Shwe but has
spent the past few years close to Maung Aye.

"He is allied with both. Than Shwe makes the final decision on this issue
. . . He delayed because he was not sure if [Hla Htay Win] was a supporter
of Maung Aye," Win Min said.

"Maybe Rangoon is not as important for Than Shwe as Pyinmana now so he
allowed Hla Htay Win to finally take the position," he said.

Hla Htay Win is known to have been involved in the military crackdown on
the 1988 protests. It is unclear who will replace him as the head of Light
Infantry Battalion 11, in charge of the security in the outskirts of
Rangoon, Yemon.

Power over Rangoon is believed to have been divided between three
departments: Police, Military and the Bureau of Special Operations. Major
General Maung Oo's police under the Home Ministry have taken over security
since the abolishment of military intelligence.

The Bureau of Special Operations is in charge of economic interests and
the military's Rangoon command is left to take care of other sectors.

____________________________________

January 30, Democratic Voice of Burma via BBC
Two inmates reported killed in Burmese prison riot

A riot broke out between the prisoners and guards at Kale Prison in
Sagaing Division when the prisoners reported to the authorities to solve a
severe water shortage there. It has been learned that two inmates were
killed by the guards in the riots which broke out on 24 January.

Sources close to the prison circles said the problem started at Kale
Prison due to water shortage which the inmates have been facing for
months. When Warden U Aung Linn inspected the prison on 24 January some
prisoners brought out the severe water shortage issue and the warden
responded rudely. The angry prisoners retaliated and fighting broke out
with the authorities. In the melee two inmates were killed and many other
prisoners were injured. They were later sent to solitary confinement.
[passage omitted]
In order to confirm the number of deaths and injured, DVB [Democratic
Voice of Burma] contacted Kale Prison authorities but the official
concerned replied that they did not have the authority to give any
answers. [passage omitted]

It is not clear whether any political prisoners were involved in the 24
January riot. It is believed that currently seven political prisoners are
being incarcerated at Kale Prison - Lashio Township Elected Representative
U Than Htay, Shan Nationalities League for Democracy Secretary U Sai Nyunt
Lwin, Ko Aye Aung, Ko Saw Win, Ko Kyaw Swe, Ko Nyunt Aung, and U Kyi Ngwe.

____________________________________

January 29, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burmese students protest against rising bus fare in Arakan State

Students at Sittwe (Akyab) University in western Burma’s Arakan State,
staged impromptu demonstrations against the doubling of the bus fare to
their campus from the town.

On 24 January, the authorities raised the bus fare from 50 Kyat to 100
without prior warning. 300 students boycotted their college buses by
marching towards their university campus, situated four miles outside the
town. On the following day, the number of protesters increased to 1000.

A local resident told DVB that the students are demanding the authorities
to keep the bus fare at 50 Kyat and if their demand is not met, there
could be more problems between the two sides in the near future.

Although there had been no arrest or interrogations of students by the
military intelligence agents so far, in the past, they tended to arrest
the ringleaders secretly once the situation settled down.

The incident is the second time Burmese students carried out such defiant
action against the military authorities in 2006. The first occurred in
Rangoon on 19 January when students at Ywathagyi Economic University in
Dagon Township staged a protest after a clash between five of their
friends and seven of policemen. The five were expelled from university
forever.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

January 30, Narinjara News
Diplomats urge Bangladesh to allow free movement of Burmese refugees

A delegation of foreign diplomats and UNHCR representatives have urged the
government of Bangladesh to allow free movement to Burmese refugees living
in two refugee camps situated in the border district of Cox's Bazaar close
to Burma.

The recommendation was made by the delegation while they were briefing
journalists at the UNHCR sub-office in Cox's Bazaar after visiting two
refugee camps on Friday.

Members of the delegation said that the basic human rights of the refugees
are not being ensured. The refugees should be allowed free movement so
that they do not feel confined to living in a prison-like situation.

At the press briefing, the delegation members also expressed concern over
the poor living conditions of Burmese refugees and the lack of facilities
for secondary education of refugee children. The diplomats will report
back to their capitals recommending inclusion of the issue on an
international agenda for a resolution.

Australian High Commissioner in Dhaka, Douglas Foskett, Swiss Ambassador
Dora Rapold, Norwegian Ambassador Aud Lise Norheim, Swedish Ambassador
Britt F. Hagstrom and UNHCR Country Representative Christopher Beng Cha
Lee were present at the briefing.

Regarding up gradation of health and education facilities in the refugee
camps, the Norwegian Ambassador said that Bangladesh has done well in
promoting Bangladeshi children's education, and it should do the same for
the children of refugees. The Swiss envoy stressed that the refugees
should have freedom of movement and scope for income generating
activities. They have been living there for a long time and, "it is also
difficult for us to provide funds for so long."

Meanwhile, the UNHCR and the European Commission have been asking the
government to initiate steps for the secondary level education of children
of refugees.

However, government officials said that the Memorandum of Understanding
between the UNHCR and Bangladesh provides for education of refugee
children only up to class V.

The refugee children are being deprived of education in the refugee camps
while refugee women are afraid of harassment both by outsiders and
insiders in the camps.

At present there are 20,984 Burmese Muslim Rohingya refugees living in two
refugee camps in Nayapara in Teknaf and in Kutupalong in Ukia under Cox's
Bazaar district Bangladesh.

Besides this, about 150 urban Arakanese Buddhist refugees recognized by
the UNHCR are living in Dhaka and Cox's Bazaar.

____________________________________
DRUGS

January 29, Reuters
Myanmar opium trade flourishing, says rebel chief - Ed Cropley

Doi Tailang, Myanmar: The heroin trade is burgeoning in Myanmar's Golden
Triangle, a reality hidden from the international community by the lies
and cunning of the former Burma's military junta, a top rebel leader said.

In an interview with Reuters in his jungle hideout on the Thai-Myanmar
border, Shan State Army (SSA) supremo Colonel Yod Suk rejected U.N.
studies suggesting opium poppy cultivation in the world's second largest
heroin producer was falling.

"The U.N. trips are very limited. They have not seen the grass roots. They
are stopped by the Burmese soldiers from getting the correct information,"
said the bespectacled 48-year-old ethnic guerrilla leader, whose name
means "Warlord."

"They were guided and only went to the clean places where there were no
drugs," he said last week on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the SSA's
split from the opium-fuelled Mong Tai Army of infamous Golden Triangle
drug lord Khun Sa.

Despite a $2 million U.S. bounty on his head, Khun Sa is now thought to be
living a life of luxury in Yangon, having struck a deal a decade ago with
Myanmar's State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the junta's official
name.

"I don't think it's decreasing. There are poppies everywhere -- in places
where there were no poppies when we were young. The opium trade is still
flourishing. Those who say it is decreasing are blinded by the SPDC," Yod
Suk said.

To back up his claims, he showed SSA video footage of dozens of poppy
fields in central and northern Shan State.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has estimated overall
poppy cultivation in 2005 at 32,800 hectares (81,000 acres), down from
160,000 hectares in 1999 when the junta launched a campaign to eradicate
opium by 2014.

ANTI-DRUGS DRUG LORD?

While declaring a strong opposition to narcotics, Yod Suk admitted some in
his 10,000-strong guerrilla army, which has been accused of involvement in
heroin trafficking, might still be dabbling in the trade in Myanmar's
wild, mountainous east.

"Opium has been in the Golden Triangle for a long time -- that means the
Shan State. And the SSA is formed by Shan State people, so maybe,
partially, some people will be involved," he said.

However, he said the blame for Myanmar ranking behind only Afghanistan in
the production of opium -- the raw material for heroin -- lay firmly at
the doors of the military, which has run the formerly British-ruled
country under various guises since a 1962 coup.

"If the SPDC left Shan State, we could eradicate opium in 10 years. But
now, it's more important to drive out the enemy. The opium eradication
will be second," he said.

Besides heroin, the lawless region is also becoming infamous for
industrial-scale production of methamphetamine, or "yaba" -- the "crazy
drug" as it is known in Thai.

However, Yod Suk said ethnic militias such as the Wa, a wild semi-Chinese
ethnic group whose penchant for headhunting tailed off only in the 1970s,
played a subordinate in the yaba trade to Yangon's generals.

"Very few people have the knowledge to produce yaba," he said. "The common
Wa are too ignorant to make it. They are just standing guard and taking
some of the benefits. The businessmen take the main profits."

____________________________________

January 29, Associated Press
Myanmar reports 4,700 drug-related arrests past year

Yangon: Authorities in Myanmar seized thousands of kilograms (pounds) of
heroin, opium and other narcotics and made more than 4,700 drug-related
arrests in 2005, state media reported.

The year's drug seizures included 812 kilograms (1,790 pounds) of heroin,
773 kilograms (1,704 pounds) of opium, 280 kilograms (617 pounds) of
crystal methamphetamine, also called "crystal ice" in Myanmar, and 5,807
ecstasy tablets, the New Light of Myanmar reported Saturday.

Authorities arrested 4,754, compared with about 4,100 arrests in 2004.

Anti-drug authorities destroyed 3,980 hectares (9,840 acres) of opium
fields in the country's northern Shan, Kachin, Kayah and Chin states in
2005, and dismantled four opium refineries in Shan state, the paper said.

The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime said in a 2005 report that Myanmar was
the world's second-biggest opium producer after Afghanistan, but estimated
that the amount of land used for opium poppy cultivation has dropped by 80
percent in the past nine years.

The report said Myanmar's total potential opium production in 2005 was
estimated at 312 metric tons (344 U.S. tons), down from 370 tons (408
tons) in 2004 and a peak of 1,760 tons (1,940 tons) in 1996.

The Southeast Asian nation has set a goal of being opium-free by 2014.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

January 30, Xinhua General News Service
Thailand finalizes feasibility study on economic zone in Myanmar

Yangon: Thailand has finalized its feasibility study on the establishment
of three proposed economic and industrial zones on the Myanmar side along
the Myanmar-Thai border, the local Myanmar Times reported Monday.

The finding on the feasibility has been presented to the Myanmar side for
deliberation, according to the Myanmar Times.

The study on the establishments in Myawaddy and Hpa-an in southeastern
Kayin state and Mawlamyine in southern Mon state was jointly conducted by
the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand and the Myanmar Ministry of
Industry-1.

The three special economic and industrial zones constitute part of the
economic cooperation strategy (ECS) program agreed upon at a summit of
Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand held in Myanmar's ancient city of
Bagan in November 2003.

The strategic project, aimed at creating job opportunities in the region,
is also known as the Ayeyawaddy-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation
Strategy (ACMECS).

Myanmar has reportedly allotted 384 hectares for setting up the Myawaddy
zone, while 396 hectares for Hpa-an and 275 hectares for Mawlamyine.

Under the Myanmar-Thai cooperation, Thai factories are planned to move to
the zones and both countries are expected to benefit from the
establishment economically and socially.

The ECS provides for cooperation in five strategic areas covering
agriculture, industry, trade and investment, transport, tourist and human
resources development.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

January 30, Agence France Presse
Bodies of six suspected Myanmar labourers found floating off Thailand

Bangkok: Six bodies have been found bound and floating in the sea off
southern Thailand and are believed to be labourers from neighbouring
Myanmar working in the kingdom, police said Monday.

The four men and two women were beaten to death before they were bound
with their arms behind their backs.

They were recovered off the coast of Surat Thani and Chumpon provinces.

Several had been blindfolded with pieces of red cloth, Surat Thani
provincial police deputy commissioner Major General Santan Chayanont told
AFP.

Surat Thani is the province where Samui island is located. The body of
British student Katherine Elizabeth Horton was found floating in the sea
off Samui on January 2 after she was raped and murdered by two Thai
fishermen.

The first bodies of the suspected labourers were found on January 24 and
the sixth body was recovered on Sunday, Santan said.

"Given the tattoos found on the bodies of two men and the way the women
were dressed, we expect that they were from Myanmar," Santan said.

Marine police investigating owners of fishing boats near where the bodies
were found are working on the assumption the people were killed because of
personal disputes, Santan added.

At least 850,000 people from Myanmar are registered to work in Thailand,
according to a government registration programme held in 2004, but many
thousands more are believed to be working illegally.

Amnesty International said in a 2005 report Myanmar migrant workers in
Thailand lacked basic human rights and are routinely abused, paid below
the minimum wage, arbitrarily arrested and forced to live in unhealthy
conditions.

____________________________________

January 30, Thai Press Reports
More than 100 illegal foreign workers nabbed in southern Thailand

Police in Thailand's southern province of Songkhla on Thursday cracked
down on 110 immigrants, all of them are Myanmar nationals, for working
illegally in the kingdom.

The provincial police force raided workers' shelters of several
construction sites in Hat Yai, the province's business centre, and nabbed
the illegal foreign workers following tip-offs from local residents.

They are now detained at the local police station, with 22 of them to be
soon deported for illegal entry into the kingdom, while the rest to be
prosecuted for illegal working although they entered the country legally,
according to the local police.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

January 30, Associated Press
Olof Palme Prize awarded to Burmese pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi

Stockholm: Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy activist and Nobel Peace
Prize laureate who has long been under house arrest in Myanmar, has been
named winner of the Olof Palme Prize, organizers said Monday.

The award is endowed by the family of the slain Swedish prime minister and
the governing Social Democratic Party.

Suu Kyi was cited for being "an outstanding example of the efforts to
attain democracy by the people of Burma, where respect for human rights,
ethnic unity, and a life in peace remain only a dream," the organizers
said in a statement.

Myanmar was formerly called Burma. The US$50,000 (euro41,000) prize is to
be presented Feb. 28, the anniversary of the 1986 shooting of Palme as he
and his wife walked home unguarded from a movie theater.

The organizers said Suu Kyi was awarded the prize for her "unyielding
fight for a democratic Burma."

Last year's winners were three Russian human rights advocates, all critics
of Russia's war in Chechnya. Previous winners include former Czech
President Vaclav Havel and Amnesty International.

"To her compatriots, she is known as the 'Iron Butterfly,' a name alluding
both to her peaceful struggle and her courage and strength of character.
Aung San Suu Kyi has devoted her life to Burma, and is a stubborn believer
in the final victory of its peoples' will," the group said of Suu Kyi.

"To peoples around the world fighting oppression, she is an important
symbol of peaceful opposition to repressive power," the group said.

The military government in Myanmar 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 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner, who has spent 10 of
the last 16 years in detention, is among some 1,100 political prisoners.

The prize will be accepted on behalf of Suu Kyi by Sein Win, who is
heading the U.S.-based exile group National Coalition Government of Burma,
which has been banned by Myanmar's military rulers. Sein Win is a cousin
of Suu Kyi.

On the Net:

http://www.palmefonden.se

____________________________________

January 29, Yonhap (South Korea)
N. Korea, Myanmar close to accord on diplomatic ties: report

Tokyo: North Korea and Myanmar are close to an agreement on normalizing
their diplomatic ties, a Japanese newspaper reported Saturday, citing
multiple sources.

The normalization talks were launched at the request of the North and the
timing for the final agreement is not clear, the Asahi Shimbun said.

Myanmar severed diplomatic ties with North Korea in 1983, when the
Southeast Asian country was called Burma, after 17 high-ranking South
Korean officials, including two Cabinet ministers, were killed by a bomb
planted by North Korean agents at the Martyr's Mausoleum in Rangoon.

The officials were accompanying then President Chun Doo-hwan on an Asian
tour.