BurmaNet News, February 3, 2006

[Editor]

February 3, 2006 Issue # 2893


INSIDE BURMA
VOA via Thai Press Reports: Karen ethnic group calls for dialogue with
Burma's government
Mizzima: Gas pipeline undamaged by explosions in Mon State
DVB: From Ukraine with love: Missile launching pads arrive in Burma
Mizzima: Burma bans generators in markets
IMNA: Junta to check information outflow to foreign and media in exile
AP: Bomb explodes in Myanmar, no casualties

ON THE BORDER
Mizzima: Karenni refugees accused of political activities turn to Thailand

ASEAN
Japan Economic Newswire: ASEAN, U.S. mull 1st summit in Nov., but differ
over Myanmar

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Burmese activists stage global protest against Total
Irrawaddy: EU reconsiders Burma visa ban
Irrawaddy: Burmese third most restricted travelers in the world
Mizzima: Thai FM discusses Burma with German leaders

OPINION / OTHER
Heritage Foundation: Time for a U.N. Security Council Resolution on Burma
- Dana R. Dillon

ANNOUNCEMENT
House International Relations, Human Rights in Burma Hearing Tuesday
February 7
For more information, see below

PRESS RELEASE
Shan Relief and Development Committee: New report: Burmese regime’s
policies causing rice production to plunge in Shan State



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

February 3, Voice of America via Thai Press Reports
Karen ethnic group calls for dialogue with Burma's government

Leaders of Burma's Karen ethnic group have called for dialogue with the
military government, but accuse the regime of stage-managing
constitutional talks that have just been adjourned. The comments come as
the Karen mark 57 years of resistance to Burma's central government.

Senior members of the Karen ethnic community said Burma's
constitutional-drafting convention is fraudulent and lacks nationwide
support. However, the Karen leaders on Tuesday called for negotiations
with the military government to promote political dialogue.

The government on Tuesday adjourned the constitutional convention, which
the military says will eventually lead to democracy.

Karen National Union (KNU) leaders on Tuesday gathered at their
headquarters near the border with Thailand to mark the 57th anniversary of
their armed rebellion.

"When we talk about the national convention, [it] should be like a genuine
national convention, not a fake one. And if their national convention is
recognized nationwide, then we can accept the national convention," said
KNU Secretary-General Mahn Sha Lar Phan.

Mahn Sha spoke to reporters at a parade by 300 Karen soldiers wearing
battle fatigues and carrying automatic rifles.

The KNU was not invited to join other ethnic groups at the convention.

Burma's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy,
boycotted the convention. Its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been under
detention for nearly two years.

Mahn Sha called on the international community to maintain pressure on the
Rangoon government to sign cease-fire pacts with all of Burma's ethnic
minorities.

Talks between the Karen and military government on a cease-fire failed in
2004 although Karen officers say a "gentleman's agreement" to avoid
hostilities remains in place.

The government wants rebel groups to surrender their weapons and has
stalled talks with those that refuse. Rangoon has said for years it wants
to avoid having the country split by ethnic groups.

Colonel Nerdah Mya, a battalion commander, says the Karen need to show the
world they are willing to negotiate with the government.

But as parading soldiers fired shots to mark the anniversary, Colonel
Nerdah said the Karen would continue to fight if talks failed.

"We need to be daring," said Colonel Nerdah. "We need to dare to fight the
enemy; we need to stand up against all the wickedness and whenever we have
to fight we have to fight, whenever we have to kill we have to kill for
our freedom, for the Karen rights." Under former Prime Minister Khin
Nyunt, the government negotiated cease-fires with 17 groups, but did not
reach deals with several others. And some groups that signed pacts have
split, with new factions continuing to fight.

Since Khin Nyunt was ousted in 2004, the military has moved to tighten
control over the groups still maintaining armed forces.

Burma has been under military control since 1962. The National League for
Democracy won 1990 general elections but the government refused to hand
over power and jailed most NLD leaders.

____________________________________

February 3, Mizzima News
Gas pipeline undamaged by explosions in Mon State - Kanyamaw

A series of small explosions occurred near a gas pipeline in Mudon
township, Mon State on Wednesday.

No damage was caused to the pipeline that carries gas from the Yadana
offshore field to a new cement factory in Myaingkalay village in Karen
State, according to local sources.

Noise from the explosions lasted more than four hours, scaring local
people and causing a strong smell, which reportedly spread across a large
area.

The site where the explosions occurred was heavily guarded and local
security forces blamed the blasts on terrorists.

A spokesperson from the New Mon State Party told Mizzima the people behind
the attack had not been identified.

“We don’t know the exact damage from this explosion and we are
investigating more about the cause,” the spokesman said.

The Kanbauk-Myaingkalay gas pipeline was constructed by the military in
early 2000. Several explosions have occurred at the pipeline in the past
few years, but were caused by leaks or breaches in the pipe itself.

____________________________________

February 2, Democratic Voice of Burma

>From Ukraine with love: Missile launching pads arrive in Burma


More missile launching pads and carriers believed to be from Ukraine, had
arrived in Burma on 30 January aboard a ship registered in Ukraine,
according to a Burmese port authority official who doesn’t want to be
named.

The official also said that he could not give the name of the ship but he
confirmed that the ship travelled from Thilawa Port to Rangoon on 1
February.

Another port official said that 10 launching pads and 10 carriers
transported in containers, were picked up by army personnel from nearby
Hmawbi Airbase and they were accompanied by 10 foreign people believed to
be Ukraine nationals.

No independent confirmation has been obtained about the report.

____________________________________

February 3, Mizzima News
 Burma bans generators in markets - Nem Davies

Authorities in Rangoon have banned the owners of market stalls from using
generators, saying they are a fire hazard.

Khin Saw Nwe, assistance director of the market department under the
Yangon (Rangoon) City Development Committee, said generators posed a
threat to market safety.

"The shops are very close and it is danger of fire also," she said.

She said the smoke emitted from the machines caused heavy pollution in the
markets and that store owners had complained generators made too much
noise.

When the electricity to the markets cuts out, as it frequently does in
Rangoon, YCDC said people should use inverters instead.

Many store owners were only aware of the authorities' decision after
reading about it in a local weekly newspaper. Bogyoke and Mingalar markets
rely on generators when power cuts occur.

But the state-run newspaper the New Light of Myanmar said the threat of
fire was too great. A fire in Hlaing township on Wednesday was believed to
have been caused by a candle left near a generator.

____________________________________

February 3, Independent Mon News Agency
Junta to check information outflow to foreign and media in exile

The military regime plans to come down heavily on people who have been
passing on information to the media in exile and the foreign media. The
junta intends to check this trend with a trained force, according to a
source close to a former military intelligence officer.

Chairman of the Yangon Division Peace and Development Council Lt-Gen Myint
Swe summoned some Military Intelligence officers (MI) to train Military
Security Force (Sa Ya Hpa) on how to find people who are giving
information to the foreign and media in exile.

The training was secretly held in Rangoon and Lt-Gen Myint Swe selected
former officer of MI No.5 Captain Aung Kyaw Kyaw to be the trainer,
according to sources in the military.

“They intend to investigate and find persons who give information to the
media outside the country,” according to the source.

Captain Aung Kyaw Kyaw was a former deputy commander of MI No.5 based in
Mon State. MI No.5 was known to regularly launch operations to find out
how media groups in exile access information.

MI No.5 regularly seized Thai made satellite phones in Mon State for
checking information passed to the media outside. In addition the MI also
tapped phones in Burma.

People inside Burma would like to give information, but phone lines are
not secure, said a reporter from Rangoon.

“People are afraid because they can be sent to jail for passing on
information given phones are tapped,” a reporter said.

MI No.5 and soldiers launching military operations against rebel groups
regularly said they would kill people if they passed on information
outside the country.

After the MI was abolished the Sa Ya Hpa is working in its place
collecting general information of movements opposed to the military
regime.

Sa Ya Hpa is a newly formed force, which replaced the MI that was
dismantled after Gen Khin Nyunt was sacked.

____________________________________

February 1, Associated Press
Bomb explodes in Myanmar, no casualties


Yangon: An explosion occurred at a police station in northern Myanmar soon
after a shopkeeper arrived bearing a package left at his shop that he had
feared was a bomb, state-run media reported on Wednesday.

It was the fourth bombing since January in military-ruled Myanmar.

There were no injuries in the blast on Monday, which left a hole in the
floor of the police station in the town of Pye, about 190 kilometers north
of the capital Yangon, the New Light of Myanmar reported.

The newspaper said when the shopkeeper arrived, police placed the package
in a secure part of the station and it exploded about an hour later.

No one claim responsibility for the blast. Investigations showed that a
13-year-old boy was paid to place the package at the shop and police were
still working to determine who was behind the incident, the paper said.

There have been no claims of responsibility for any of the low-level
bombings since the New Year, and the government has not blamed any group.

In recent years, the tightly guarded Myanmar capital has been targeted by
a number of bombings.

At least 23 people were killed and more than 160 injured in a series of
explosions last May, when bombs exploded at two supermarkets and a
convention center in the capital. Responsibility for those blasts also
remains undetermined.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

February 3, Mizzima News
Karenni refugees accused of political activities turn to Thailand - Kaypoe

More than 100 Karenni people have fled to a refugee camp in Thailand’s Mae
Hong Son since November last year after being threatened by the Burmese
military.

Many have been accused of having ties to Karenni armed resistance groups
or political movements.

One woman said, on the condition of anonymity, the Burmese military had
stopped allowing Karenni people to access their land or use torches during
the night.

Oo Htan, former chief of the Kayan Tayar village told Mizzima, “The
Burmese military accused me of working in the under-ground movement for
the Karenni National Progressive Party, and then they arrested my wife and
two children”.

Oo Htan’s wife is nine month’s pregnant and his two children taken by the
authorities are aged 11 and three.

He fled with his four other children after the authorities stormed his
home while they were out.

His six year-old daughter told Mizzima, “I saw the rice pot was on the
stove with full of rice but I didn’t see any curry. And the wall and the
statue of Jesus Christ were destroyed, so I started to cry”.

Burmese authorities have reportedly stopped allowing farmers to sleep at
their farms during the night and are forcing villagers to ask for
permission to work their own land.

Phray Meh said the authorities were hunting her as they suspected she was
involved in the Karenni resistance movement.

“They searched for me, so I have to move to my husband’s village with my
one-month-old daughter” she said.

She said one woman from her village was tied and forced to sit in the hot
sun for an hour after she was caught on her land without permission.

Mee Reh said the Burmese military continues to use forced labor in Karenni
State. He said so many people were finding the situation in their villages
unbearable that they were all fleeing to Thailand for sanctuary.

“They burn down my rice-store and I can’t survive without having rice so
choose to come to refugee camp,” he said.

New arrivals to the Karenni camp in Mae Hong Son are forced to stay in a
holding centre away from the camp until they are processed by officials.

____________________________________
ASEAN

February 3, Japan Economic Newswire
ASEAN, U.S. mull 1st summit in Nov., but differ over Myanmar

Singapore: The United States and the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations are considering to hold their first summit as early as next
November, or possibly in conjunction with next year's 30th anniversary of
their dialogue relations, a top ASEAN official said Friday.

Washington has recently proposed holding the first U.S.-ASEAN summit in
Hanoi in November this year on the sidelines of the next Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation forum summit, Ong Keng Yong, secretary general of the
Jakarta-based ASEAN Secretariat, told Kyodo News.

But the two sides are still discussing the matter and have not reached any
decision, Ong said, noting that they have not been able to agree on the
issue of ASEAN-member Myanmar's participation in the summit.

ASEAN's position is that a U.S.-ASEAN summit must involve all the 10 ASEAN
member countries, he said.

The United States, which has strongly criticized Myanmar's lack of
progress in human rights and democracy, especially the continued detention
of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, is against Myanmar's
participation.

So far, no summit has ever been held between the United States and ASEAN,
which established dialogue relations in 1977 and have annual meetings at
the level of trade and foreign ministers or senior officials.

U.S. President George W. Bush had group meetings with leaders of some
ASEAN member countries in Los Cabos, Mexico, in 2002, and in Busan, South
Korea, last November, both times on the sidelines of APEC summits.

But the meetings were informal and are not regarded as U.S.-ASEAN summits
because they did not involve all the ASEAN member countries. Three ASEAN
countries -- Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar -- are not APEC members.

ASEAN's position is that the leaders of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar must
also be invited to Hanoi to take part in the proposed U.S.-ASEAN summit.

If they cannot resolve the issue of Myanmar, it is likely that they will
just hold an informal summit in Hanoi involving only the United States and
the seven ASEAN countries that are APEC members, as they have done before
in the past, political observers said.

The United States is currently trying to boost ties with ASEAN in a bid to
balance China's rising influence in the region. The two sides signed the
U.S.-ASEAN partnership agreement on the sidelines of the APEC summit in
Busan.

ASEAN's members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

February 3, Irrawaddy
Burmese activists stage global protest against Total - Shah Paung

Burmese activists in exile today called for a global protest against
French oil giant Total aimed at pressuring the company to end its
financial support of the Burmese military government and to pull out of
the country.

“We are now protesting in front of the French embassy [in New Zealand],
and we burn the French flag and the China flag,” said Aung Pe Khin, an
activist coordinating protests among Burmese pro-democracy groups in New
Zealand.

“We also sent an open letter to the French ambassador in New Zealand,” he
added. The letter asks that Total end its investment in Burma, as its
continued operations will only assist the regime and hurt the Burmese
people.

Similar protests are expected to take place in at least 15 countries
worldwide, including the Netherlands, France, UK, Germany, Belgium,
Austria, Romania, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Ireland,
Australia, Thailand and the US.

“It’s very clear that if we were to withdraw from the country, our
position would be taken immediately by another company,” Jean Francois
Lassalle, Total’s vice president for exploration and production, said
recently in an interview with The Irrawaddy.

But Aung Pe Khin warns that any company looking to fill the gap in the
event of Total’s withdrawal will face the same protest.

The Federation of Trade Unions Burma is also expected to make a formal
statement asking Total to pull out of Burma.

According to Zaw Win Aung, India-based FTUB’s assistant secretary, the
organization is currently collecting signatures for a petition that will
be submitted to Total as well as to the French embassy in India.

The French oil giant began investing in Burma between 1995 and 1998 during
the building of the US $1.2 billion Yadana gas pipeline project. A lawsuit
in 2002, stemming from accusations by local villagers that Total
sanctioned the use of forced labor in the construction of the pipeline,
led in late November to an out-of-court settlement worth $6.12 million.

Lassalle characterized the settlement not as an admission of guilt but
rather in accordance with the company’s feeling “socially responsible.”

“[Financial] compensation is not enough,” said Aung Pe Khin, adding that
Total’s continued presence in Burma is an obstacle to democratic reform.

Total is the fourth largest oil company in Europe and the largest
corporate funder of the Burmese military government.

____________________________________

February 3, Irrawaddy
EU reconsiders Burma visa ban - Clive Parker

The European Union is reconsidering its strict visa ban on high-ranking
Burmese government and military officials in a bid to engage the regime in
human rights and democracy discussions, European officials said today.

EU foreign ministers addressed the issue at a General Affairs and External
Relations Council meeting in Brussels, during private sessions on Monday
and Tuesday.

“There was a discussion amongst foreign ministers
to try and find a
solution to the issue of participation of Burmese ministers in the various
ASEM [Asia Europe Meeting] meetings to be held in Europe in 2006,” a
European diplomat told The Irrawaddy today. “We are working towards a
solution which we hope will be acceptable to both European and Asian
partners, and which will be consistent with the existing EU Common
Position.”

Currently, all high-ranking Burmese government and military officials are
banned from traveling to Europe. However, Brussels is planning to exercise
an existing clause in the European Common Position, which allows member
states to “grant exemptions from the measures imposed
where travel is
justified on the grounds of urgent humanitarian need, or on grounds of
attending intergovernmental meetings, including those promoted by the
European Union.”

The current agreement, which was last updated in April 2005 and is
applicable for a period of one year, is dependent on the presence of a
political dialogue “that directly promotes democracy, human rights and the
rule of law in Burma/Myanmar.”

It is not yet clear exactly what the decision means in terms of who the EU
will accept to represent Burma at future ASEM meetings, the most notable
this year being  September’s head of states summit in Helsinki, Finland.
It is understood, however, that junta supremo Snr-Gen Than Shwe would not
be allowed to attend.

Brussels is anxious to establish clear guidelines on the issue to avoid
confrontation with its Asian partners while guaranteeing that Burma will
be addressed formally at future ASEM meetings, regardless of whether Asean
members—including Burma—agree. Such guidelines would also allow informal
discussions on the sidelines of such summits.

EU representatives are expected to update Asean coordinators on the recent
Burma discussions within the next few days.

The Brussels development follows last September’s decision from the
Netherlands to refuse a visa to Burma’s economics minister, Soe Tha, for
an ASEM meeting in Rotterdam, which prompted a complaint from Japan.

____________________________________

February 3, Irrawaddy
Burmese third most restricted travelers in the world

Burmese enjoy the third least degree of freedom of all the countries of
the world when traveling internationally, according to research conducted
by Zurich-based firm Henley and Partners AG. Yesterday’s report found that
Burmese passport-holders can only travel to 15 countries worldwide without
the need for a visa, the same as war-torn Iraq and Somalia. Only Iran (14)
and Afghanistan (12) came lower in the survey. Travelers from Denmark,
Finland and the US were deemed to be the most free, given that they can
visit 130 countries without the need for a visa. The Swiss company
suggested the rankings reflect the standing of respective countries on the
global stage.

____________________________________

February 3, Mizzima News
Thai FM discusses Burma with German leaders - Kanyamaw

Thailand’s foreign minister, Dr Kantathi Suphamongkhon, discussed the
political situation in Burma with German leaders yesterday during a
meeting in Munich.

Foreign ministry spokesman Sihasak Phuangketkeaw, who attended the
meeting, said Kantathi and Germany’s foreign minister Frank Walter
Steinmeier discussed the need for change in Burma.

Sihasak told Mizzima Kantathi had called for faster democratic transition
in Burma and for the international community to remain realistic about the
situation in the country.

“We think that Thailand and other countries should urge the [Burmese]
government to reform into democratisation and engage with the government
to improve the situation in the country,” Sihasak said.

“We can’t reform the situation in Burma by approaching to Than Shwe alone
but international communities must work for engagement with the [Burmese]
government for more interest of its people.”

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

February 2, The Heritage Foundation
Time for a U.N. Security Council Resolution on Burma - Dana R. Dillon
Executive Memorandum #990

http://www.heritage.org/Research/AsiaandthePacific/em990.cfm

The plague of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the despotic
military junta that rules in Burma, is no longer simply an issue of human
rights abuse and economic mismanage­ment inside Burma’s borders. The
SPDC’s arbitrary and secretive decisions are causing vast human suf­fering
across Asia, including ram­pant drug production and smuggling,
displacement of mil­lions of political and economic refugees, and now the
spread of deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS across Burma’s borders.

Refugees, Drugs, and Disease. There are more than 500,000 doc­umented
Burmese political and economic refugees in India, China, and Thailand. The
number of undocumented Burmese refugees living in Thai­land is estimated
to be in the millions.

Burma is the world’s second largest producer of opium and heroin and a
major supplier of amphet­amine-type stimulants (ATS), the world’s newest
illicit drug. The drugs are smuggled out of Burma through Thailand, India,
and China, and substan­tial evidence indicates that the SPDC is involved
in drug production and smuggling.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic in Burma is spreading into neighboring countries,
especially along drug trafficking routes. Despite the alarming situation,
the SPDC has refused to cooperate with efforts by the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP) to control the pandemic, finally provoking the
UNDP to close its Burmese program in 2005. The junta’s willful neglect of
disease control portends a black future for efforts to control avian flu
and other transnational diseases.

Sanctions Versus Engagement. The SPDC is remarkably adept at evading the
international community’s unco­ordinated economic sanctions and efforts to
freeze its assets. Without the cooperation of front-line states including
Thailand, China, and India, unilateral U.S. sanctions will neither prevent
international commerce nor ameliorate the regime’s harshness. For example,
congressional sanctions on financial services and attempts to freeze
targeted assets in 2003 netted very little of the SPDC’s money and
disrupted its financial trans­actions only briefly, until the junta
switched mone­tizing contracts from dollars to euros.

The junta is as indifferent to political engage­ment as it is to
sanctions. In 2002, it purportedly agreed to the engagement strategies of
Burma’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) partners and
announced a “new day” of national unity by offering a series of steps
toward the resto­ration of democracy that included releasing Aung San Suu
Kyi from house arrest, releasing other political prisoners, and promising
universal partic­ipation in the political process.

Many observers greeted the announcement as a success for the softer
engagement strategy prac­ticed by ASEAN, India, and China over the
puni­tive sanctions policy used by the United States and the European
Union.

However, a year later, unable to endure even the pretense of reform, the
SPDC rearrested Aung San Suu Kyi, closed the offices of the National
League for Democracy (her political party), and arrested many other party
officials. The military also arrested Prime Minister Khin Nyunt, the
author of the proposed road map to democracy, and replaced him with the
harder-line General Soe Win.

Growing Regional Frustration. Until recently, the other ASEAN members have
been Burma’s big­gest apologists. The traditional ASEAN principle of
non-interference in the internal affairs of other member states has
dominated the group’s policy toward Rangoon. Yet now there are strong
indica­tions that the manifest failure of ASEAN’s “con­structive
engagement” has convinced them to abandon their long-standing policy
toward the junta.

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Caucus Pro­moting Democracy and Human Rights
in Burma best exemplifies this new policy environment. This group of
parliamentarians from six of the 10 ASEAN countries rejects the policy of
noninterfer­ence, demands the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, and promotes
genuine national reconciliation. However, ASEAN members remain reluctant
to impose punitive economic sanctions without a multilateral mandate from
an international body.

In January 2006, Razali Ismail, the U.N. special envoy to Burma, resigned
in frustration because the SPDC would not permit him to enter the country.
Additionally, Burma watchers in Thailand say that even China, the junta’s
patron state, was dismayed by the arrest of Khin Nyunt and is now looking
for ways to restrain the SPDC’s worst excesses.

The time is ripe for a U.N. Security Council res­olution on Burma. A
resolution would be a first step in harmonizing international pressure on
the junta to implement a national reconciliation pro­gram and give U.N.
relief agencies and disease con­trol organizations unhindered access to
Burma.

A Realistic Resolution. A Security Council res­olution is the most likely
diplomatic tool to build a policy consensus among the countries interested
in resolving the Burmese problem. Realistically, a res­olution supported
by all U.N. Security Council members would probably not contain sufficient
sanctions to please Congress or force the hard­headed Burmese military to
immediate compli­ance, but it could become the justification for an
internationally coordinated, gradual escalation of punitive measures until
the SPDC complies or falls.

The Security Council resolution should call for:

The release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners,

A program for national reconciliation that includes the National League
for Democracy,

Immediate and unhindered access to all parts of Burma for U.N. relief
agencies and other inter­national humanitarian organizations, and

A timeline for compliance and punitive sanc­tions if the SPDC fails to
comply.

Conclusion. Since 1962, when the Burmese military overthrew the civilian
government, the international community has unanimously con­demned the
junta’s behavior. Yet the junta will con­tinue to survive for as long as
the international community remains divided on its strategy. A Secu­rity
Council resolution would move the interna­tional community toward an
effective, coordinated process for restoring democracy in Burma.

Dana R. Dillon is Senior Policy Analyst for Southeast Asia in the Asian
Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation.

____________________________________
ANNOUNCEMENT

Human Rights in Burma Hearing

House International Relations — Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human
Rights and International Operations, Subcommittee Joint Hearing

Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee (Chairman Leach, R-Iowa) and Africa,
Global Human Rights and International Operations Subcommittee (Chairman
Smith, R-N.J.) of House International Relations Committee will hold a
hearing titled "Human Rights in Burma: Where Are We Now and What Do We Do
Next?"
Contact: Noonan, Mary - Staff Director at 202-226-7812

Date Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2 p.m.
Place 2172 Rayburn Bldg.

Note Witnesses may be added.

Panel Christopher R. Hill - assistant secretary of State for East Asian
and Pacific affairs
Barry F. Lowenkron - assistant secretary of State for democracy, human
rights and labor
Panel Ko Bo Kyi - secretary, Assistance Association for Political
Prisoners, Burma
Naw Win Yee - Shan Women's Action Network, Thailand
Tom Malinowski - Washington advocacy director, Human Rights Watch

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

January 17, Shan Relief and Development Committee
New report: Burmese regime’s policies causing rice production to plunge in
Shan State

A new report by a Shan relief group reveals how the Burmese military
regime’s policies have caused a dramatic decrease in rice production
during the past decade in southern Shan State.

The report “Deserted Fields: The destruction of agriculture in Mong Nai
township, Shan State,” by the Shan Relief and Development Committee,
describes how rice production in this formerly fertile farming area has
plummeted by 56% since 1994.

Mong Nai, once known for its surplus production of both upland and lowland
rice, is one of the townships severely affected by the regime’s
large-scale forced relocations since 1996 in Southern Shan State. Of 57
original villages, only 25 remain, causing the abandonment until today of
over half of the cultivated farmland in the township. An estimated 10,000
people, 30% of the population, have fled to Thailand.

Local military authorities have placed increasing restrictions on the
remaining farmers, making it difficult to work fields any distance from
town without harassment and extortion. More than 10,000 acres of land,
including prime farmland, have now been confiscated by the military, who
then “rent” the land back to farmers for a fixed annual fee of paddy.
Farmers are forbidden to trade rice or other foodstuffs outside the
township. They have also been forced to work for free on the military’s
summer paddy projects.

The report contradicts the regime’s repeated claims that its policies are
leading Burma to self sufficiency and food security. “Mong Nai used to be
a thriving agricultural centre. Now fields are deserted and markets are
empty. This is the true face of agricultural development under the
regime,” said Sai Leng, one of the authors of the report.

While the World Food Program has doubled its emergency food program in
Shan State to US$8 million since mid-2005, the authors hope their report
can inform more effective responses to the decline in food security. “More
aid is not the answer to farmers’ problems. They need freedom to farm, and
the Burma Army off their backs,” said Sai Leng.

The report can be viewed at www.shanland.org

For further information, contact:

Sai Leng (Shan Relief and Development Committee) +66 (0) 4 1693960 or 
srdc97 at yahoo.com
Yan Murng (Shan Human Rights Foundation) +66 (0) 61842430
Charm Tong (Shan Women’s Action Network) +66 (0) 1 3876060