BurmaNet News, February 14, 2006

[Editor]

February 14, 2006 Issue # 2900


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Activists back NLD proposal
Reuters: Myanmar opposition offers to recognize military rule

DRUGS
Deutsche Presse-Agentur: China presses Myanmar to crack down on drug
trafficking

BUSINESS / TRADE
AFP: Myanmar PM secures economic deals with ally China

REGIONAL
Financial Times: Burma's stability a concern for China as PM visits Beijing
Deutsche Presse-Agentur: Philippine activists call for inclusion of
Myanmar in UN agenda

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Amnesty slams NLD leader’s continued detention

___________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

February 14, Irrawaddy
Activists back NLD proposal - Yeni

Opposition activist groups in Burma and overseas say they support a
proposal issued by the main opposition National League for Democracy party
calling on the military regime to allow a “people’s parliament,” while it
remains as a transitional government.

Under the proposal, made on Sunday, a parliament would be formed according
to results of the 1990 general election, which were ignored by the regime
after the NLD won by a landslide. In return, the parliament would
recognize the regime as a de jure, or lawful, transitional government.

The NLD has asked the regime to review its proposal, and to respond by
Burmese New Year, on April 17.

Rangoon-based group the 88-Generation Students, led by well-known former
student activist Min Ko Naing, released a statement on Tuesday saying it
welcomes the proposal. “The offer looks practical and means an essential,
urgent step for a transition period,” Min Ko Naing told The Irrawaddy by
phone on Tuesday.

The self-styled National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, based
in Washington, has said it also supports the NLD’s proposal. The
government-in-exile, led by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s cousin,
Sein Win, urged the junta to take up the offer as a “partner” in solving
Burma’s social, economic and political problems.

The “government” also appealed to Asean and other Asian countries to try
to persuade the ruling generals “into accepting [the NLD’s] national
reconciliation offer 
 and to make a concerted endeavor through the
mechanisms of the UN Security Council to bring peace and national
reconciliation.”

Many observers, however, think that despite the NLD’s initiative, the key
to the current stalemate lies with Suu Kyi, who has been under house
arrest for more than 10 years. Indeed, the NLD has said in a statement
that any substantive political dialogue with the junta “must require the
participation of the party’s general secretary Aung San Suu Kyi.”

___________________________________

February 14, Reuters
Myanmar opposition offers to recognize military rule - Aung Hla Tun

Yangon: Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party has offered to recognize
Myanmar's military rule if the generals running the country free its
leader and summon a parliament whose election in 1990 they ignored.

The proposal would allow the generals to become a legally accepted
transitional government while talks are held on moving the former Burma to
democracy, the National League for Democracy (NLD) said.

There was no immediate response and acceptance appeared unlikely after the
generals who have ruled Myanmar in various guises since 1962 extended the
house arrest of a top Suu Kyi aide by another year and railed against
foreign critics.

"The SPDC needs to convene a people's parliament with the
representatives-elect of the 1990 election," the NLD said in proposals
sent to foreign news agencies on Tuesday and referring to the ruling State
Peace and Development Council.

"Then, that parliament will have to declare the State Peace and
Development Council de jure," it said in proposals first read out at a
party gathering on Sunday.

"Only a people's parliament is vested with the power to declare it so," it
said.

The party said the proposal, which would remain on the table until April
17, will enable the SPDC to act as a transitional government until the
emergence of a parliamentary government formed with representatives
elected by the people.

If a mediator were needed, a head of state from the 10-strong Association
of South East Asian Nations, one of the few international groupings which
will have Myanmar as a member, could be chosen, it added.

"FREE SUU KYI"

But, the NLD statement said, Suu Kyi would have to be freed from house
arrest to take part in talks on political reform.

"Aung San Suu Kyi is not only the leader of the National League for
Democracy that won the unanimous support of the entire people in 1990
election, but also a leader trusted and recognized by all democratic
forces and ethnic nationalities," it said.

"She is also a leader who is capable of making political compromises."

However, current expectations are that Suu Kyi will remain under house
arrest at her lakeside villa in Yangon, cut off from the outside world.

On Monday, the junta extended the house arrest of Suu Kyi's aide Tin Oo,
79, who was arrested with her in May 2003 after a bloody clash between NLD
supporters and government backers.

Suu Kyi's house arrest was extended for six months in November.

The junta is pursuing what it calls a seven-step roadmap to democracy
currently focused on an on-again, off-again constitutional conference
which the NLD is boycotting because Suu Kyi remains under house arrest.

Critics say the conference, suspended recently until later this year, is
designed to produce a constitution which will cement military power.

On Sunday, in message to the nation marking the 59th anniversary of an
agreement forged by Aung San, Suu Kyi's father, to demand independence
from Britain, junta chief Than Shwe showed no signs of softening.

He railed against western critics, led by the United States which has
imposed economic sanctions on Myanmar.

"Some powers wishing to dominate and manipulate the Union of Myanmar are
trying to cause racial dissension to ruin national solidarity and
propagate a recurrence of armed conflicts and the obstruction of national
development," he said.

"We must be vigilant against the steps and schemes of the neo-colonialists."

____________________________________
DRUGS

February 14, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
China presses Myanmar to crack down on drug trafficking

Beijing: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Tuesday pressed his Myanmar
counterpart Soe Win to take tougher action against cross- border drug
trafficking and urged more cooperation between China and Myanmar in energy
development.

"At present, drugs flooding across the (China-Myanmar) border bring great
harm to the local society and people's health," state television quoted
Wen as saying during talks in Beijing with Soe Win.

"We should pay high attention to it and take strict measures," Wen said.

Soe Win was quoted as saying that Myanmar "would like to coordinate and
cooperate with China on the anti-drugs issue."

"We will properly handle the issue of China's concern," the Myanmar army
general said.

Wen said China hoped to step up joint crackdowns on drug trafficking,
which he hoped would become the subject of a bilateral agreement "at an
early date."

The two leaders attended the signing Tuesday of an agreement on economic
and technical cooperation and another on air travel.

Wen also urged the two countries to implement an earlier memorandum of
understanding under which Myanmar plans to sell natural gas to China.

Soe Win arrived earlier Tuesday in Kunming, the capital of the
south-western province of Yunnan, which borders Myanmar.

During a brief meeting with provincial officials, he praised their
"successful cooperation" in fighting cross-border drug trafficking.

Soe Win said Myanmar wanted to learn more from Yunnan and other areas of
China about growing alternative crops to opium poppies, China's official
Xinhua news agency said.

Yunnan has porous borders with Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, and has China's
highest rate of drug use and drug-related crime.

Chinese police have launched dozens of cross-border operations with
Myanmar and Laos in the Golden Triangle of drug production in recent
years.

The reports did not say if Wen raised the issue of political reform with
Soe Win on Tuesday, although several other countries have urged Myanmar's
military junta to allow democratic reforms.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said earlier on Tuesday
that China regarded such issues as Myanmar's "internal affair."

"China's principle is not to interfere in another country's internal
affairs," he said. "It (the issue of reform) should be solved by the
Myanmar people and government."

Soe Win is also scheduled to visit the north-western city of Xian and the
southern economic hubs of Guangzhou and Shenzhen during his five-day visit
to China.

Bilateral trade value between China and Myanmar reached 1.21 billion
dollars last year, with Yunnan accounting for about half the total amount,
the agency quoted China's embassy in Myanmar as saying.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

February 14, Agence France Presse
Myanmar PM secures economic deals with ally China

Beijing: Myanmar Prime Minister Soe Win began a five-day visit to China
Tuesday by securing a series of economic agreements, further boosting ties
with one of his nation's few remaining allies.

Eight pacts, covering areas such as energy, information technology and
agriculture, were signed between the two neighbors on the first day of Soe
Win's trip, his first to Beijing since becoming prime minister in 2004.

"My goal is to strengthen the relationship in all areas including
deepening the friendly relations that we have developed over the years,"
he told Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during a meeting at the Great Hall of
the People.

Details about the agreements were scarce, although a list provided by the
Chinese government said China would help Myanmar build a hydropower plant
and provide it with railway cars.

The two sides also signed an agreement on air links, a deal on economic
technological cooperation, a credit arrangement for fertilizer and a
memorandum of understanding to build an "information highway" in Myanmar.

Trade with China is vital for Myanmar's military rulers amid enduring
Western economic sanctions and increasing international isolation over the
lack of democracy and reports of widespread human rights abuses.

Trade between the two countries last year reached 1.2 billion dollars,
according to Chinese government statistics.

"There is great potential for economic and trade cooperation, we will
continue to make efforts to promote economic and trade relations," Chinese
foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said Tuesday of the visit.

China has been a long-time supporter of Myanmar's military rulers, who
first took power in 1962.

One of the reasons for China's steadfast loyalty is Myanmar's strategic
importance on military, economic and geopolitical fronts, with the nation
bordering India and giving Beijing access to the Indian Ocean.

The former UN envoy to Myanmar, Razali Ismail, last week called on China
to use Soe Win's trip to pressure the junta to reform.

"China has a critical role to play in the efforts to bring reforms and
democracy in Myanmar," Razali, a Malaysian diplomat who resigned in
frustration in December after being denied access to the country for two
years, told AFP.

China has previously said it would not interfere in Myanmar's "internal
affairs."

However China has been keen on getting Myanmar's leaders to help curb the
opium trade that stems from the north of their country and is one of the
world's most productive poppy growing regions.

Soe Win reportedly pledged his nation's support on Tuesday.

"Myanmar will ... promote its cooperation with China, particularly with
Yunnan, in such areas as fighting narcotics and planting economic crops to
replace opium poppy," the Xinhua news agency paraphrased him as saying.

The long, 2,000-kilometer (1,200-mile) border between Yunnan province in
southwest China and Myanmar, witnesses much of the drug trafficking
between the two countries.

Soe Win is scheduled to meet President Hu Jintao and parliamentary head Wu
Bangguo on Wednesday. He will also visit Shaanxi and Guangdong provinces.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

February 14, Financial Times
Burma's stability a concern for China as PM visits Beijing - Amy Kazmin
and Richard Mcgregor

Beijing and Bangkok: Burma's prime minister arrives in China on an
official visit today, in a sign that Beijing remains willing to foster
close ties with the military junta even as it comes under rising pressure
from the west and south-east Asian nations to relax its dictatorial rule.

Burma is one of a number of pariah regimes, including Sudan, Iran and
North Korea, with which Beijing has been careful to preserve close
relations either for strategic reasons or to retain access to oil and gas
reserves.

China, long one of Burma's biggest patrons, sees itself as having broad
economic and strategic interests in its southern neighbour, including a
desire to tap into the regime's vast supplies of natural gas to power its
own economy.

Burma also has military bases and a port that would potentially allow
Beijing to project its naval power into the Indian Ocean.

Zhai Kun, of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations
in Beijing, said energy was a "priority in China's foreign policy" these
days.

But he said the most important issue remained Burma's "stability", to
ensure that China was not forced to police any troubles on its border with
its neighbour.

"Even if the democratic leaders took power in (Burma), we would be willing
to have good relations with them as well, if they could keep stability,"
he said.

The Chinese border town adjacent to Burma, Ruili, has been the centre of
Chinese efforts to control the spread of HIV/Aids and stop an influx of
illicit drugs.

But while China publicly maintains a posture of respect for the regime's
right to manage the country's internal affairs, Beijing was said to be
privately shocked and dismayed by the October 2004 purge of Khin Nyunt,
former prime minister, who was seen as a relatively pragmatic moderniser
within the junta.

Since then, Burmese exiles say, Beijing has quietly broadened its range of
contacts with exile-based opposition groups and politicians.

"The Burmese situation is really unstable and the Chinese are worried,"
said Aung Thu Nyein, an independent Burmese political analyst who has had
contacts with Chinese officials.

"They are concerned about a 'colour' revolution, and they think that will
be grounds for the US to play in the region."

In another sign of its anxiety, Beijing allowed conditions in Burma to be
informally discussed by the UN Security Council last year.

For its part, Burma's military wants to shore up Chinese support to help
it withstand mounting international pressure - not just from traditional
critics like the US, but also from friendly south-east Asian countries
which have grown impatient with the lack of progress on long-promised
political reforms.

Washington has already signalled that it will soon try to raise again the
issue of Burma at the United Nations Security Council, and analysts say
the Burmese military wants to ensure that China will block any move to put
Burma on the council's formal agenda.

Kong Quan, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, said Beijing expected the
trip to "further expand and deepen the traditional friendship between
China and Myanmar".

Soe Win, who has previously visited China as the head of a trade
delegation but not on an official state visit as prime minister, will meet
President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao in his four-day trip. Bilateral
trade was worth Dollars 1.32bn in 2005. About three-quarters of Chinese
imports from Burma, worth Dollars 274m, were logs and wood products.

____________________________________

February 14, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Philippine activists call for inclusion of Myanmar in UN agenda

Manila: Philippine democracy activists on Tuesday rallied outside the
Chinese Embassy in the capital to urge Beijing to support the proposed
inclusion of Myanmar (Burma) in the agenda of the United Nations Security
Council.

"Have a heart! Support the inclusion of Burma at the UN Security Council
agenda!" the Free Burma activists urged China, saying Beijing "has been a
major stumbling block in the international campaign to pressure Yangon's
generals to reform."

"It's Valentine's Day and we are hoping for Cupid's arrow to hit the heart
of the Chinese government for them to realise that supporting the illegal
regime of Burma is not at all worth it," said Gus Miclat, Philippines
convenor of the Free Burma Coalition.

"No one can deny that the brutal Burmese regime is still in power because
of the support of a few powerful states like China," he added. "China is
the biggest support of Burma."

Last October, former Czech president Vaclav Havel and South African
Archbishop Desmond Tutu called on the UN Security Council to immediately
intervene in Myanmar to bring about democratic changes amid continued
reports of human rights violations there.

The Free Burma Coalition, which groups advocacy organisations around the
world working for freedom and democracy in Myanmar, said including Burma
in the UN Security Council's agenda would be a "major and crucial step"
towards genuine reforms there.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

February 14, Irrawaddy
Amnesty slams NLD leader’s continued detention - Shah Paung

Amnesty International has issued a statement deploring the Rangoon junta’s
apparent decision to extend National League for Democracy deputy-chairman
Tin Oo’s detention. The London-based AI was commenting on reports that the
78-year-old opposition politician was to be detained for another 12 months
from Tuesday.

The human rights organization also slammed the continued house arrest of
two other NLD members who were elected as MPs in a 1990 general election
not recognized by the regime: Than Nyein, 68, and May Win Myint, 56.

The NLD has not been officially told of any of the extensions.

Tin Oo has been detained since a motorcade led by NLD leader Aung San Suu
Kyi was attacked by a pro-government mob at Depayin, near Mandalay, in May
2003. Suu Kyi was also returned to house arrest after the clash. The other
two have been detained since 1997, and their detentions were again
extended early this year.

“These three senior NLD leaders, who are aged or in poor health, should
never have been deprived of their liberty,” said the AI statement.

The AI statement also called on the junta to end the use of state security
laws, including the infamous 1975 State Protection Law, to penalize and
imprison peaceful political activists. There are currently 1,100 according
to the UN.