BurmaNet News, January 31, 2006

[Editor]

January 31, 2006 Issue # 2890


INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar constitution talks close until late 2006
Narinjara: High-powered radar station set up in Arakan
Irrawaddy: Red Cross hopes to be left alone Irrawaddy: Property boom in
Pyinmana, slow-down in Rangoon

ON THE BORDER
AP: End to Myanmar's bloody ethnic insurgencies unlikely, rebels say

DRUGS
Thai Press: Thailand Myanmar (Burma) makes empty promises on controlling
drug trade

BUSINESS / TRADE
AP: Bangladesh cracks down on smuggling of oil, fertilizers to India, Myanmar

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: Hong Kong group appeals to Burma’s Supreme Court

INTERNATIONAL
Kaladan: A Rohingya spiritual leader passed away in Saudi Arabia

OPINION / OTHER
Mizzima: Keeping it together - Nyo Ohn Myint
Thai Press: Thailand Myanmar (Burma) makes empty promises on controlling
drug trade

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

January 31,Agence France Presse
Myanmar constitution talks close until late 2006

Yangon: Myanmar's military rulers on Tuesday adjourned constitutional
talks until later this year, delegates said, as diplomats in Yangon
questioned the junta's commitment to implementing any democratic reforms.

An ethnic leader and delegate quoted the chairman of the talks, Lieutenant
General Thein Sein, as saying: "The National Convention will be resumed at
the end of this year."

The delegate, who declined to be identified, speculated that Thein Sein
meant December. Another delegate confirmed that the talks had adjourned,
adding they would resume "by the end of the year."

The junta says the talks on drawing up a new constitution are the first
step in its self-proclaimed "road map" to democracy for a nation which has
been ruled by the military since 1962.

The talks have been held sporadically for more than a decade but have been
condemned internationally for failing to include opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.

The NLD has boycotted the talks to demand the release of their leader and
of other political prisoners.

"We can say about 80 percent of the national convention is finished," the
ethnic leader said, adding he believed the next session could be the last.

"The other chapters (eight of 15 chapters) that need to be discussed are
not very important."

The Karen National Union, which was not invited to the talks and Tuesday
celebrated the 57th anniversary of the start of its uprising against
Yangon, dismissed the convention as "fake".

Diplomats in Yangon voiced disappointment over the lack of progress and
questioned whether the military has any political will to introduce
democracy.

"They are slowing down (the pace of the talks) and they are not in a hurry
to end the first of the seven steps of their own road map" introduced in
2003, a Western diplomat said.

"It's not good news."

Another diplomat in Yangon said: "It really raises a question whether the
government has a political will to carry out democratic reforms."

"If they're not reconvening until the end of the year, I don't think
that'll be received well within ASEAN as it will mean they're still on
their go-slow timetable," a third diplomat said.

Under pressure from the international community, the Assocation of
Southeast Asian Nations at its annual meeting in December signalled its
impatience with fellow member Myanmar.

It reached agreement with Yangon to allow Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed
Hamid Albar to visit the country as an ASEAN envoy to check on the
progress of democracy.

But earlier in January, the junta said it was "too busy" relocating its
administrative capital to receive him and no new date has been set.

There are rumours in Yangon that junta leader Than Shwe will in early
February officially open all the country's relocated ministries at a new
compound in Pyinmana, a logging town 320 kilometers (200 miles) north of
the capital.

Speculation about the reason for the relocation ranges from the
government's fear of a US invasion to astrological predictions and worries
over possible urban unrest in Yangon.

The constitutional convention resumed eight weeks ago with some 1,000
handpicked delegates who discussed various topics including details of the
military's role in government and relations between the national, state
and division parliaments.

Future sessions are due to debate the rights of citizens, elections,
amending the constitution and the national flag, anthem and capital.

____________________________________

January 31, Narinjara News
High-powered radar station set up in Arakan

An increasingly hypersensitive military junta set up a high-powered radar
station at a naval base on the Arakan coast on December 24 2005, said a
source with contacts in the Burmese Navy.

The radar station is situated at Kyunt Thaya Island, a sub-naval base
under the Danyawaddy naval base in Kyaukphu, the third largest naval base
in Burma.

A number of army officials from Rangoon and Sittwe attended the opening
ceremony, but the local people were unable to obtain the name of the
general, said a boat owner.

The military authorities are also setting up a number of windmills to
produce electricity at three sub-naval bases - Kyunt Thaya, Manaung, and
Nantha Kyunt, situated on the Arakan coast.

At Kyunt Thaya sub-naval base, the military authorities have recently
constructed a large concrete water tank.

The Burmese military regime has reportedly set up at least four sub-naval
bases on the Arakan coast to guard the sea and the offshore gas field
drilling operations.

____________________________________

January 31, Irrawaddy
Red Cross hopes to be left alone - Clive Parker

The International Committee of the Red Cross says it is “confident” of
resuming prison inspections in Burma as it continues talks with the
military government. The Geneva-based organization suspended prison visits
this month following interference by the junta-affiliated Union Solidarity
and Development Association, which insisted on taking part in the scheme.

Patrick Vial, ICRC’s chief representative in Burma, said the problem was
likely to have been a misunderstanding at the local level that could be
resolved through ongoing discussions with the relevant authorities in
Rangoon.

“It’s true there were difficulties in January
but having said that we are
still in dialogue with the concerned authorities,” Vial said yesterday.
“We hope this dialogue will bear fruit and that we will shortly be able to
resume our activities in this domain.”

ICRC has conducted monthly inspections of Burmese prisons since 1999 when
it first received permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs. Its 358
employees in Burma—including 80 foreign staff—run other programs in the
country including health training, improving water supply and sanitation
and a prosthetics centre.

Its operations were, however, jeopardized this month when local USDA
branches reportedly insisted on joining ICRC representatives conducting
prison inspections on the basis that—as representatives of the Burmese
people—they should also be present, prompting ICRC to suspend the program.
Vial would not reveal which facilities—and therefore which branches of the
USDA—were involved in the standoff, but The Irrawaddy understands the
earlier standoff was at Thayawaddy prison, north of Rangoon.

Relations between both sides were further complicated this month when the
authorities alleged in the state-run The New Light of Myanmar that the
ICRC had been giving aid to areas controlled by the rebel Shan State
Army-South, including financial support.

Vial again denied the claims, saying the issue had been taken up with the
relevant authorities, but would not say whether his office had received
any response: “We officially communicated our surprise about these
comments and again I
believe it’s the result of some kind of confusion,”
he said.

Meanwhile, the ICRC chose yesterday to distance itself from responsibility
for the actions of the Myanmar Red Cross, whose representatives continue
to be seen at USDA-organized rallies “in support” of the
constitution-forming National Convention, a process engineered by the
junta.

On Saturday, representatives of the organization—which is autonomous of
the ICRC but subject to the same principles of political neutrality—were
reported in The New Light of Myanmar to have been present at rallies in
Pa-an in Karen State and Nyaung U in Mandalay Division.

In response, Vial said the ICRC’s role is to “disseminate” awareness of
principles and not to “monitor” national Red Cross and Red Crescent
societies.

“If there were concerns
I would discuss them directly with the relevant
organization, ie the Myanmar Red Cross, and that is what we are doing,” he
said.

“Each national society is independent, they have difficulty balancing
[government ties and impartiality] and this is
the nature of the problem.
The national society is very often close to the government in place,”
added Carla Haddad, ICRC’s media relations officer for the Asia-Pacific
region, in Geneva.

In Burma’s case the national Red Cross has close ties to the ministries of
health and social welfare, and relief and resettlement. Its Rangoon
headquarters was today unavailable for comment.

The ICRC’s deteriorating situation is disturbingly similar to that which
has confronted most international humanitarian organizations operating in
Burma in the past year, and which prompted the Global Fund and Medecins
Sans Frontieres (France) to withdraw from the country.

The IRC insists though that it has no plans to reduce its operations in
Burma, or worse, end its 20-year long involvement in the country.

“We cannot at this stage speculate about withdrawal
 [it] is just out of
the question,” Haddad said. “It happens extremely rarely and it means that
all other avenues have been exhausted.”

She added: “We’re waiting to see the impact of this dialogue that is
ongoing and to see how things will open up. But I think in general the
delegation [in Burma] is optimistic.”

If the ICRC were to withdraw from Burma, Bo Kyi, of the Mae Sot-based
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), said that torture
and the detention of political prisoners would likely continue whether the
organization remains or not. The junta ignores its recommendations aimed
at improving conditions for prisoners anyway, he added.

However, as the only independent body able to monitor Burma’s detention
centers, which currently house more than 1,000 political prisoners, the
ICRC’s presence is a start, he said.

“The existence of ICRC in Burma is better than nothing.”

____________________________________

January 31, Irrawaddy
Property boom in Pyinmana, slow-down in Rangoon - Khun Sam

The Burmese government move to Pyinmana has given a big boost to property
prices there, according to real estate agents. At the same time, they
report a slow-down in the real estate market in Rangoon.

Prices in central Pyinmana have leapt as much as tenfold in one year, said
a Rangoon-based estate agent who is busy now in the property market in
Burma’s new administrative center.

“In downtown Pyinmana, near the clock tower and the market, sites of
between 100 and 150 square feet, which last year were selling for 10
millions kyats (US $8,849), are now fetching more than 100 millions kyats
(US $88,495), a tenfold increase.”

By contrast, real estate prices in Rangoon are showing signs of a
slow-down, according to San Aye, of Rangoon’s Moe Thauk Kyae Real Estate
Services. In some cases, asking prices had halved. “The real estate market
in Rangoon seems silent, dead,” he said.

Another Rangoon estate agent, of Golden Residence Co, said it was a
buyers’ market, with many more homes for sale than purchasers.

The real estate market usually follows economic trends, but San Aye said
the current boom in Pyinmana and slow-down in Rangoon had been triggered
by the government decision last November to relocate key ministries to
Pyinmana.

The government move is bringing many changes to Pyinmana, according to
residents. The city has become more crowded, and prices—not only in the
real estate market—have risen.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

January 31, Associated Press
End to Myanmar's bloody ethnic insurgencies unlikely, rebels say- - Denis
D. Gray

Karen insurgents, marking nearly six decades of fighting, said Tuesday
there was little chance Myanmar's military rulers would come to the
negotiating table and end their bloody campaign against the ethnic
minorities.

Peace talks between the rebels and military junta were in "limbo," with
even less hope of a ceasefire under the current hardline regime than when
the two sides last met in 2004, said Col. Ner Dah Mya, a spokesman for the
world's longest running insurgency.

The insurgency erupted 57 years ago, shortly after Myanmar, then known as
Burma, gained independence from Great Britain. Other ethnic minorities
later also took up arms, demanding autonomy from the central government.

Hundreds of thousands, according to expert estimates, have died in a
conflict largely hidden from the international spotlight. However, human
rights groups have documented continuing killings, rapes, forced
relocations and burning of villages as the military seeks to control areas
of Myanmar regarded as sympathetic to the Karen National Union and other
insurgent groups. These atrocities are denied by the junta.

"While there is no opportunity to find answers politically through
dialogue, we have to carry on the war of revolutionary resistance for our
very existence and survival," said KNU President Ba Thin Sein in a speech
read for him at the Karen Revolutionary Day ceremonies.

Ringed by morning mists, hundreds of helmeted, white-gloved soldiers
paraded on a soccer field at this KNU headquarters just across the Moei
River, which marks the frontier with Thailand. Celebratory rifle fire
echoed through the encampment nestled in a valley protected by jungled
limestone cliffs.

The Karen once controlled large swaths of the Thai-Myanmar border but
their territory shrank to virtually nothing following the capture of their
stronghold of Manerplaw in 1995. Ner Dah Mya said the KNU had been able to
secure more outposts along the border in the past two years and that
purchase of weapons had become easier.

"The Thais are very flexible these days. They have always been friendly to
us and they know the Burmese are not trustworthy," he said.

But he said the prospects for an end to the bloodshed were dim. The
current junta leaders, he said, were more hardline and less flexible than
Gen. Khin Nyunt, who masterminded 17 cease-fire pacts with rebel groups
before he was ousted by hardline generals just as the last KNU-junta talks
were taking place in October 2004.

"We have already gone through the blackest days of our history but we
carry on, we continue," Ner Dah Mya said, in describing what the KNU calls
"the long march of the Karen revolution."

Several survivors of the march were present at the ceremony, including
Defense Minister Bo Mya, who fought with the Allies against the Japanese
in World War II as a member of the legendary Force 136. As many who joined
the Karen uprising, he had hoped the British would keep their promise of
pressing for some autonomy for the ethnic minorities when independence was
granted in 1948.

The bemedalled, 78-year-old warrior, who took to the jungles 57 years ago,
was brought onto the field in a wheelchair, his speech slurred by a
stroke, his right hand trembling.

____________________________________
DRUGS

January 31,

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

January 31, Associated Press
Bangladesh cracks down on smuggling of oil, fertilizers to India, Myanmar
- Parveen Ahmed

Dhaka: Authorities have sealed several sea and river routes to stop
smuggling of subsidized fuel, fertilizers and cooking oil to neighboring
India and Myanmar, the junior home minister said Tuesday.

The rampant smuggling had caused shortages and higher prices for the goods
in Bangladesh, Lutfozzaman Babar told reporters.

To stop the illicit trade, he said the navy and coast guard had stepped up
patrols in coastal waters and along rivers. Police are also trying enlist
the help of residents of border villages, he said.

"We have identified 13 sea and river routes of smuggling," Babar said.
"Local administrators have been asked to involve locals in the
anti-smuggling drive. They should hold meetings with villagers and traders
every week to motivate people."

Border guards have been unable to stop smuggling along Bangladesh's
4,300-kilometer (2,670-mile) border with India and Myanmar, an porous
frontier intersected by rivers and forested hills.

Bangladesh imports crude oil, edible oil and fertilizers and sells them at
cheaper prices to farmers for use in agriculture.

However, the oil is being smuggled to India, where it costs more and is in
great demand during winter for heating. There also is a lucrative market
in border districts of India and Myanmar for soybean oil and fertilizers.

Authorities say smuggling was the main reason for the shortages and high
prices of these commodities in Bangladesh.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

January 31, Irrawaddy
Hong Kong group appeals to Burma’s Supreme Court - Yeni

The Hong Kong-based advocacy group Asian Human Rights Commission today
challenged Burma’s Supreme Court to prove the integrity of the Burmese
judicial system when it hears an appeal tomorrow by human rights activist
Su Su Nway.

Su Su Nway, a 34year-old National League for Democracy youth leader, is
serving an 18-month jail sentence imposed last October after conviction on
charges of criminal intimidation. Her arraignment followed her successful
legal action against four village officials, who received eight-month jail
terms for practicing forced labor.

The charges against Su Su Nway accused her of threatening local officials
and swearing at then. She vigorously denied the accusations.

Successive appeals against her conviction and prison sentence have been
rejected by lower courts. In a statement released in Hong Kong today, the
AHRC said the question now before the Supreme Court was whether or not
there “exists any final resort for complainants, particularly in cases
that relate to blatant abuse of state authority
The case that is coming
before it tomorrow, February 1, gives the court an historic opportunity to
answer that question.”

Basil Fernando, the group’s executive director, said: “Su Su Nway’s case
stands as a serious challenge to the Burmese judicial system, which is in
all respects under the control of the military authorities.

“Its success or failure will speak to the integrity of the entire Burmese
judicial system and prospects for the making of complaints about
fundamental rights violations in that country.”

The AHRC pointed out that since 1960 positions within Burma’s judicial
structure were given to political appointees, and charged that the
practice of criminal law had been steadily eroded. “Judges are known to be
bribed routinely. Punishments are applied arbitrarily and selectively,
with little regard to judicial principles” the group said.

Su Su Nway is now in Rangoon’s Insein prison and is reportedly suffering
from a chronic heart condition. Nyan Win, an NLD lawyer, told The
Irrawaddy that a legal team had prepared its best lawyers for tomorrow’s
appeal.

The AHRC also launched yesterday a bilingual webpage
www.ahrchk.net/susunwe —containing links to appeals, statements, press
releases, and other information relating to jailed Burmese human rights
activists.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

January 30, Kaladan News
A Rohingya spiritual leader passed away in Saudi Arabia

Makkah, January 22: A Rohingya spiritual leader Khalifa Mojaffar Ahammed
passed away peacefully in Saudi Arabia on Sunday January 22nd 2006, while
he was returning home after completing Hajj (Inna Lillahe Wainna Illahe
Rajeun), said his son from Saudi Arabia.

He hailed from Mee Gyaung Zay village of Buthidaung Township in Arakan
State, Burma. He was not an ordinary person and he obtained his Master
Degree in Arabic literature from "Deyoban Madrassa" of India. He was also
a person with supernatural powers.  He had many pupils in Burma and
abroad, his son more added.

He was also the most respectful person among the Muslims and non-Muslim
communities in Burma. Moreover, the State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC) members respected him. If the authority concerned met any
difficulties, he was called by the authority to solve the problem, said a
pious Rohingya from Maungdaw Township.

One of his sons-in-law, Monir Ahamed, a schoolteacher said, "We express
our deep and profound condolences on the sad demise of Khalifa Mojaffa
Ahammed at noon of January 22nd."

He passed away at the age of 75 after suffering from a short illness at
Zeddah air port of Saudi Arabia. He was deeply loved by his people, he
further added.

"We all pray to the Almighty Allah to grant eternal peace to his departed
soul. We also pray to Almighty Allah to give enough patience and strength
to the bereaved family to bear the loss with fortitude," said a group of
Rohingyas from Saudi Arabia.

The dead body of Khalifa Mojaffar Ahammed, was brought to Makkah from
Jeddah air port and it had been reached after Magrib (sun set). The dead
body was kept in his son's house until burial.

However, on 24th January 2006, the dead body was buried at the graveyard
of "Janatul Mala" which is nearby Baitullah, his son more said.

He gave magic water, which was used as a medicament to the people who live
in Makkah when he was leaving for Jeddah air port. He was sent to the
Jeddah air port by his son, nephew and other relatives, said Zarina Khatun
from Makkah.

He left for his native, Arakan State, Burma accompanied by his two
sons-in-law from Saudia. But, he failed to reach his native and had gone
to eternal place for ever.

He left behind his wife, sons, daughters and relatives and his followers
to mourn his death.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

January 31, Mizzima News
Keeping it together - Nyo Ohn Myint

If everyone agrees on one thing, it is that 2006 will be a critical year
for the Burmese democracy movement.

The end of 2005 saw a wave of international support for Burma flood the
news and the momentum created should not be lost. But, as usual, the road
ahead is rough, and the National League for Democracy will bear the brunt
of it.

A division commander from Northern Burma lambasted the NLD during the
forth quarter meeting with about 80 high-ranking officials in October.

Aside from spouting the regime's six principles and five future
objectives, his speech centered around anti-NLD rhetoric and methods for
maintaining the military's role in Burma's political future.

While the speech may not have represented his personal feelings, it was
certainly representative of the military's desire to do away with the NLD.

The regime's policy should be crystal clear to everyone. They want to
destroy all their political opponents, suppress ethnic, political and
armed organisations and do away with attempts to create meaningful
dialogue.

They have no intention of compromising or reaching agreements with anyone.

They are, in fact, preparing for the destruction of the opposition. As
they preach national unity, solidarity and democracy at the National
Convention, they are widening the divide between the military and civilian
populations.


They are throwing their weight behind the Union Solidarity and Development
Association in an attempt to consolidate their grip on Burma.

While this is happening, some Europeans, international non-governmental
groups and other organisations are promoting an alternate method of
democratic transition in Burma: A system that is acceptable to the
military.

But these ideas threaten the NLD's legitimacy and these people question
public support for the opposition. They call for increased humanitarian
aid to Burma in an attempt to create political change through a different
channel.

But when we look at the nature of the regime, their scare tactics, abuse
and meddling, it is hard to support the view that we should make political
change acceptable to them.

These policies do not support the wishes of the peoples of Burma for
political liberalisation, democracy and a new way of life.

While change has not come to Burma yet, the long, hard struggle for rights
and liberty should not be dismissed or ruled out by a handful of people
whose only concern is for their own interests.

____________________________________

January 31, Thai Press Reports
Thailand Myanmar (Burma) makes empty promises on controlling drug trade

And thus any but a politically centred approach is bound to fail in ending
this scourge from our neighbour.

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. Governments with strong records in
cooperating with international anti-drug efforts continue to do so by
providing financial support, technical assistance and manpower. But those
with dismal records continue to wallow in drug-related corruption and turn
a blind eye to the domestic trade flourishing right under their noses.

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 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. They have done this before countless times, and
each time swearing they really mean business now. But doubts remain as to
how far all parties are willing to go to see things through.

Drug-trafficking groups like the Wa and Kokang Chinese have been trying to
convince the world that they are quitting the opium and heroin trade. Such
assertions raise the question of what will happen to the hundreds of
thousands of poor farmers who had long depended on the illicit crop for
their livelihood? But have they really kicked the habit? What these groups
failed to say is that their resources have now been converted into
producing methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs, which can be produced
quickly and more cheaply but with higher profit margins.

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 UN projects,
this was a futile attempt. Any counter-narcotic policy to succeed in Burma
must take into consideration the political side of the problem. For
decades, these warlords and their armies have been operating with impunity
in return for agreeing to a cease-fire with the beleaguered Burmese junta,
which has shown little consideration for drug problems plaguing Burma, let
alone the effects of its drugs in destroying lives around the world.

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.

Thailand has also tried to carry out a crop-substitution programme with
the United Wa State Army (UWSA) in an area controlled by the 20,000-strong
pro-Rangoon outfit. But the Yongkha Project found it impossible to find
countries or agencies willing to fund it. The international community was
puzzled as to why Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra would reach out to the
UWSA, dubbed the world's largest armed drug-trafficking army by the US
State Department. Perhaps it was an attempt to cosy up to Rangoon.

While a sustainable political solution acceptable to all parties in Burma
may be an elusive long-term goal, Burma and neighbouring 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 recognised 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.