BurmaNet News, March 1, 2006

[Editor]

March 1, 2006 Issue # 2910


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Democracy not the Issue as Indonesian leader visits Burma
Mizzima: Burmese military slams US diplomats for meeting NLD
AFP: Myanmar general urges crackdown on human trafficking
Mizzima: Mandalay officials arm themselves with homemade weapons
SHAN: Warring Ceasefire factions square it with each other

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Salween dam project raises objections in Thai Senate

INTERNATIONAL
AP: EU calls for release of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: The military connection
South China Morning Post: Myanmar's ethnic conundrum - Ian Holliday

PRESS RELEASE
Asia-Pacific Peoples' Partnership on Burma: The NLD’S proposal for a
power-sharing transition:  A bold move forward for Burma
EU: Statement on the award of the Olof Palme Prize 2005 to Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi

___________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 1, Irrawaddy
Democracy not the Issue as Indonesian leader visits Burma - Clive Parker

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono today met with junta leader
Snr-Gen Than Shwe as part of a two-day visit to Rangoon which looked set
to largely avoid the issue of Burma’s progress towards democracy,
officials and politicians said today.

Despite calls by lawmakers in Indonesia and the rest of the region for
Yudhoyono to address the regime’s record on democracy, talks instead
focused on bilateral cooperation between the two countries. The Indonesian
president has no plans to meet with opposition figures, including National
League for Democracy Leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the party’s head office in
Rangoon confirmed.

“The main purpose is just
bilateral talks with the SPDC chairman [Snr-Gen
Than Shwe], that’s it,” a spokesperson of the Indonesian Embassy in
Rangoon said today.

The junta’s stalling of Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar’s
proposed visit to Burma on behalf of Asean to assess the country’s
democratization process was also off the agenda: “It’s only a state visit
to discuss things between the two countries, not other items,” the
Indonesian official added.

However, Associated Press reported presidential spokesperson Dino Djalal
as saying the Indonesian president would address the junta’s promise to
restore democracy to Burma. It was not confirmed whether Yudhoyono—himself
a former army general—gave account of Indonesia’s own transition towards
democracy, a move widely tipped by Indonesian politicians prior to today’s
meeting.

Both sides signed a general Memorandum of Understanding aimed at
“increasing bilateral cooperation in the future.”

The Indonesian delegation—which also includes Coordinating Minister for
Economic Affairs Boediono, State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra and
Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda—were due to meet with members of
Rangoon’s Indonesian community tomorrow before returning to Jakarta in the
late afternoon.

The Indonesian Caucus on Myanmar—made up of Indonesia parliamentarians in
support of democracy in Burma—had signed a petition prior to the visit
urging the president to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi and to press the junta
for her release, as well as for progress towards democracy.

However, the NLD’s head office in Rangoon today said that neither Jakarta
nor the Indonesian Embassy in Rangoon had contacted the party ahead of the
president’s visit, confirming that a meeting between Yudhoyono and Aung
San Suu Kyi would almost certainly not take place.

“We’re a bit disappointed with the outcome,” the chairman of the Myanmar
Caucus in Indonesia, Djoko Susilo, told The Irrawaddy today.

Indonesia’s press was today largely cynical of what appeared to be a
wasted opportunity to address Burma’s poor record on human rights: “When
it comes to ‘democracy,’ President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono can talk the
talk. But his true passion for democracy is being tested today as he
visits this region's democratic wasteland: Myanmar [Burma],” The Jakarta
Post said in an editorial.

The Indonesian president’s state visit to Burma rounds off a short tour of
the Asean region which began in Brunei prior to a one-day visit to
Cambodia yesterday.

___________________________________

March 1, Mizzima News
Burmese military slams US diplomats for meeting NLD - Min Thu

Officials in Mandalay have distributed leaflets accusing United States
diplomats of meddling in Burmese affairs after 14 embassy staff met
National League for Democracy members in the city on Monday.

Authorities in Mandalay circulated the leaflet titled 'Beware of the
Charge D'affaires of a Western Country Meddling in Our Country' just days
after US diplomats met NLD officials for lunch.

The leaflet said, "Like in their tradition in ancient times, 14 diplomats
from this western country are intriguing and meddling in our affairs. The
Charge de affaires of the said western country met with five members of
the NLD Mandalay Division Organising Committee at the upstairs of Shwege
restaurant in luncheon meeting from 12:25 to 14:05".

"Now the political mentors from these countries cannot content with
pulling the strings from behind the scene and finally they came to their
disciples and get involved themselves. Let's the people from Mandalay who
are having the fine tradition of anti-imperialist stance take care of not
stepping their trap," the leaflet said.

Member of the NLD's Mandalay divisional organising committee, Win Mya Mya
told Mizzima Mandalay authorities often published leaflets attacking the
NLD.

"They always send the similar letters attacking me before. This time, the
letter didn't address me directly, but they sent 31 copies for the
Divisional HQ and 30 township NLD offices in Mandalay division," Win Mya
Mya said.

She said US diplomats also met top NLD officials Bo Zan, Than Htike, Kan
Htun and Maung Maung Than.

___________________________________

March 1, Agence France Presse
Myanmar general urges crackdown on human trafficking

Yangon: A top general in military-ruled Myanmar has told law enforcers to
use a new law to crack down on human trafficking, in a country where
Washington says the crime is widespread, state media reported Wednesday.

Myanmar banned the practice in September and made it punishable by life in
prison, but Lieutenant General Thein Sein told a government seminar that
officials needed to use the law more effectively, according to the
official New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

The seminar in Yangon was part of a national campaign to educate local
officials about the new law with workshops set for towns around the
country, said the home minister, Major General Maung Oo.

"The challenge now is to successfully and effectively implement the law,"
Thein Sein said in the paper.

"The whole law enforcement sector and the criminal justice system
including everyone from all walks of life will have to cooperate and work
together to ensure its effective implementation," he said.

The US State Department, in its annual report on human trafficking last
year, listed Myanmar as among the world's worst offenders, a problem it
said was fueled by the junta's use of forced labor.

The report accused Myanmar of failing to make efforts to eliminate
trafficking, charges the junta dismissed as "lacking in objectivity."

___________________________________

March 1, Mizzima News
Mandalay officials arm themselves with homemade weapons - Min Thu

Authorities in Mandalay have started arming themselves with catapults,
bamboo spears and sharp sticks, residents told Mizzima.

Ward-level Peace and Development Council authorities from Chan Aye Tharzan
and Chanmya Tharzi townships in Mandalay are also reported to have built
barbed-wire barricades outside their offices.

A man from Haymarzala came across weapons when he visited local
authorities' offices. When he asked what the weapons were for officials
told him they did not know.

Mandalay residents said they thought the weapons were either for use
against the National League for Democracy or to protect officials in the
event of Muslim riots.

Last Friday, NLD members from 30 township offices held a meeting where
they passed a resolution to support a 59th Union Day declaration from
their headquarters in Rangoon.

A source from Chanmya Tharzi said on condition of anonymity, news of the
officials' weapons started circulating about the same time as the NLD
meeting.

Before the infamous Depayin attack on NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi on May
30, 2003, authorities in Mandalay and Monywa are known to have armed
themselves with bamboo sticks, formed the Swan Ahshin force and Pyusawhti
forces and participated in combat training.

____________________________________

March 1, Shan Herald Agency for News
Warring Ceasefire factions square it with each other - Hawkeye

The two warring factions of a PaO dominant ceasefire group has lately
ceased hostilities against each other after an agreement was reached to
share and share alike the drug revenue, report sources from the border.

Although the exact terms of the agreement is not known, there has for two
weeks been no fighting between Takelay's Shan Nationalities Peoples
Liberation Organization (SNPLO) faction and Hkun Chit Maung's PaO Regional
Nationalities Unity Organization (PNUO) faction, they said. "Both the SPDC
(State Peace and Development Council) and the UWSA (United Wa State Army)
had pressured both to work out a compromise solution," according to Hkun
Tet Lu of the non-ceasefire PaO People's Liberation Organization (PPLO).
The SNPLO, led by Takelay had concluded a ceasefire with Rangoon on 9
October 1994. The group controls part of Hopong, Hsihseng and Mawkmai
townships. It has, unlike another PaO ceasefire group, PaO National
Organization (PNO) of Aung Hkam Hti, also been active in calling for the
rights of non-Burman ethnic nationalities of Burma, along with 15 other
ceasefire groups.

On 12 October 2005, Takelay, 77, was ousted by the rival Chit Maung
faction that decided to rename the group as PNUO, a move seen by some
observers as an attempt to unite with the PNO that is reportedly being
"showered with favors" by Rangoon.

"However, when the two sides split, the poppy-producing areas west of the
Pawn, went under Chit Maung, while the heroin refineries remained under
the firm control of the Taklay faction," said a ceasefire source. "The
ensuing fight between the two was therefore political as well as economic
in its origins."

According to him, there are two heroin refineries in Honam Tract, Mawkmai
township:

One operated by Zhao Huo, 38, from Hpya Hpyu Quarter, Taunggyi, since 2001
Another by Zhang Daguo, 47, of Hopang-Kunlong, northern Shan State,  since
early last year

Zhao Huo also owns a rice mill in Honam. "It serves as a convenient front
for Zhao," said the source who knows both Zhao and his wife.

All sources agree that the season's harvest in the area will be ample.
"Especially when people in the area are running 2-3 crops per year," said
a migrant worker coming from Hsihseng.

___________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March 1, Irrawaddy
Salween dam project raises objections in Thai Senate - Sai Silp

A group of Thai senators plans to resubmit an official letter of inquiry
to the Ministry of Energy urging the disclosure of details about a
proposed dam project on Burma’s Salween River, after a previous request
was denied in a meeting with environmental groups and representatives of
the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand yesterday.

Senators sought details of a memorandum of understanding between Thailand
and Burma, signed in December 2005, for the construction of a
hydroelectric dam on the Salween River in Burma’s Karen State.

Their actions were prompted by an unofficial report by local
environmentalists that ethnic minority populations had fled the proposed
construction area for Mae Hong Son in Thailand and could be adversely
affected by the dam project.

“We are preparing  a second letter to ask for project information and to
explain our worries about recent developments in the proposed dam site,”
Thai senator Tuenjai Deetes, deputy-chairman of the Committee for Social
Development and Human Sustainability, told The Irrawaddy today.

This latest effort to get information about the project comes after
representatives from Egat Plc refused to disclose documents about the
proposed project. According to Sen Deetes, the company claimed that it
could not discuss the project without getting permission from the Burmese
government.

She added that many senators were concerned that the project would
negatively impact local communities near the Salween River site. “I heard
from local NGOs recently that many Karen families have fled to refugee
camps in Mae Hong Son after renewed fighting broke out between rebel
forces and government troops in the Salween construction area.”

The senate group also wants Egat Plc to allow for public participation and
input by openly declaring the scope and progress of the dam project.

An agreement on the Salween dam project—one of five proposed dams inside
Burma and along the Thailand-Burma border—was reached between Thailand and
Burma in early December 2005

The Hat Gyi dam, the first to be built, will be located on the Salween
River in Burma’s Karen State and equipped with a 600-megawatt turbine. The
project is expected to take five or six years to complete.

The Hat Gyi dam project has drawn strong protests from NGOs concerned by
the potential environmental impact to the region and the dam’s effect on
the livelihood of local villagers.

Pianporn Deetes, an environmentalist from Southeast Asia Rivers Network,
who works in the construction area, confirmed that the exodus of villagers
in the construction area was prompted by the settlement of Burmese troops
near a proposed reservoir for the Hat Gyi dam, where construction has
already begun.

SEARIN intends to release more information tomorrow about the likely
impact of the dam on the region.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

March 1, Associated Press
EU calls for release of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi

Vienna: The European Union urged Myanmar's ruling military junta to
release pro-democracy activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu
Kyi, adding that it remains "gravely concerned" about human rights
violations in the Southeast Asian nation.

"The European Union urges the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)
to release Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners
immediately," the EU said in a statement from Austria, which holds the
rotating EU presidency.

The statement said the EU remains gravely concerned about "the human
rights situation in Burma/Myanmar and wishes to reiterate its commitment
to supporting national reconciliation and respect for human rights and
democracy in Burma/Myanmar."

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

March 1, The Irrawaddy
The military connection

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono arrived in Rangoon on Monday
for a two-day official visit, amid hopes that the former four-star general
may impress Burma’s ruling generals with Indonesia’s recent dramatic shift
from authoritarian to democratic rule.

One hope of Indonesian legislators that he would be allowed to see
detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has already been dashed, as the
Burmese junta will not allow a meeting. He will, however, discuss Burma’s
professed progress on a seven-step road to democracy “in a persuasive,
soft but powerful way, without throwing his weight around,” according to
Indonesian officials.

Yudhoyono, who oversaw East Timor’s transition to independence when he
served as Chief of Territorial Affairs, is also visiting at a time when
Indonesia, as Southeast Asia’s largest country, is trying to regain its
unwritten leadership role in Asean. Burma is an Asean member.

Therefore, it is hoped there is a better chance that Burmese generals will
listen to Yudhoyono bilaterally more than Asean as a grouping. The
Indonesian president will also note that both countries share similar
histories of fighting colonial powers for independence.

Both countries maintained neutral foreign policies during the Cold War, as
both were members of the Non-Aligned Movement. Former Indonesian president
Suharto, whose authoritarian rule was dismantled in 1998, and the late
Burmese despot Gen Ne Win, who fell from power a decade earlier, were also
friends.

According to Indonesian presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal,
Yudhoyono’s trip is to focus on efforts to enhance bilateral relations.
But with the two countries’ similar backgrounds, including experience of
military rule, Yudhoyono may also be able to impress on the regime how it
can move Burma towards democracy and prosperity.

Burma’s military leaders in the past were known to have been interested in
copying Indonesia’s dwifungsi arabi , or dual function, system of
government under Suharto. The system meant giving the military a leading
role in running the country, alongside civilian administrators.

When Burma’s supreme leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe founded the pro-government
Union Solidarity Development Association in 1993, he is thought to have
used Indonesia’s ruling party at the time, Golkar, as his model.

Indonesian officials and legislators have been critical of Burma’s slow
pace of reform, and the fact that it is Asean’s black sheep and something
of a thorn in its flesh. Just before the visit by Yudhoyono, a group of
Indonesian parliamentary legislators urged the president to cancel his
trip if he was not allowed to see Suu Kyi. They also said he should push
the Burmese generals to move faster towards democracy.

It is good that Asean leaders, such as Yudhoyono, want to keep channels
open to fellow member Burma, and encourage reform. UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan, frustrated by Rangoon’s policy of continuing to snub his
envoys, is reported to have sent a “special message” to Than Shwe via
Yudhoyono.

Despite this build up, the Indonesian president is likely to face a stone
wall in Rangoon, with Than Shwe trying to lecture him on Burma’s path to
democracy, the progress of nation building, and Rangoon’s efforts to make
peace with all ethnic rebel groups in the country.

Still, Indonesia’s ex-general, known before as a crisis manager, has much
to tell the generals, and from a similar background. There is just a
chance that the generals will give some serious thought to the way
Indonesia has managed to move from dictatorship to democracy relatively
smoothly – and with no retribution against the Indonesian generals.

____________________________________

March 1, South China Morning Post
Myanmar's ethnic conundrum - Ian Holliday

In Myanmar, March 2 resonates down the years as the day on which, in 1962,
a military coup overthrew the democracy created at independence from
Britain in 1948. That established the army as the arbiter of the people's
fate. Today, on the eve of the bleak 44th anniversary of that event, a
military junta continues to hold sway over the country's 55 million
citizens.

In almost every domain, the governance record of the world's
longest-running military dictatorship is abysmal. Myanmar currently finds
itself near the bottom of all the best international league tables, and
near the top of all the worst. A feeble economy and zero transparency keep
company with endemic corruption, booming narcotics industries and
repression.

Military dictatorship has been particularly catastrophic for the many
ethnic groups that make up roughly one-third of the population.

Minority groups are still subject to forced labour, forced relocation,
rape, torture and extrajudicial killing. They have borne the brunt of the
army's often violent rule.

The game plan devised by army leaders to manage Myanmar's ethnic conundrum
is devastatingly simple. As long ago as the 1950s, military strategists
drew parallels with Yugoslavia. As the Balkan wars gathered pace in the
1990s, they reinforced their determination never to allow Myanmar to
disintegrate. Relentlessly, the junta stresses national unity in a Myanmar
context.

The brutality of ethnic repression is one of the great indictments of army
rule. At the same time, however, Myanmar's ethnic conundrum is one of the
major reasons why neighbouring Asian countries continue to offer reluctant
support to the junta. The last thing leaders in Bangkok, Beijing and New
Delhi want is ethnic warfare on their long Myanmar borders.

Here lies the biggest problem for critics of the regime. Part of the
counterpoint to authoritarian rule is obvious. One day, hopefully not too
far in the future, Myanmar must make a transition to democracy. Different
routes are conceivable, but the desirability of the final destination is
not seriously questioned. Even the military junta claims to be heading in
this direction.

However, in Myanmar more than almost anywhere else, democracy is unlikely
to be an all-purpose solvent. Rather, sustained and detailed attention
must also be paid to the country's ethnic problem. This is the greatest
challenge for would-be reformers.

To date, however, little has been done to meet the challenge. The National
League for Democracy, led from house arrest by democracy icon Aung San Suu
Kyi, rarely addresses Myanmar's ethnic question. Student activists who
helped spark mass pro-democracy protests in 1988, and were subsequently
jailed, equally have no clear policy.

All those who wish Myanmar well need to look at the many institutional
devices created around the world to govern ethnically fragmented
socie-ties. Merely calling for democracy is no longer sufficient. It is
therefore time for the Myanmar debate to turn to detailed democratic
blueprints. Mechanisms known to distribute power across society, rather
than concentrate it at the centre, are essential components of a
post-authoritarian future.

As well as deploring nearly half a century of ethnic repression by the
military junta, opposition leaders need to think seriously about
alternatives for a country in which the ethnic conundrum is more pressing
than any other.

Ian Holliday is dean of the faculty of humanities and social sciences at
City University of Hong Kong

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

February 28, Asia-Pacific Peoples' Partnership on Burma
The NLD’S proposal for a power-sharing transition:  A bold move forward
for Burma

The Asia-Pacific Peoples' Partnership on Burma calls upon all governments
of ASEAN and the Asian region, in particular China, India and Japan, to
strongly endorse the National League for Democracy's power-sharing
transition proposal, and advocate strongly for its adoption by Burma's
military authorities.

While the Burmese State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) is not likely
to respond favorably to the proposal at first, it is bound to seriously
consider the option if its key neighbors have a united front on the issue.

The NLD’s proposal, made on Union Day, February 12, 2006, calls for the
SPDC to convene Parliament comprising the MPs-elect from the 1990
elections so that the Parliament can, in turn, legitimately appoint the
SPDC as a legitimate, transitional authority.  This will set the stage for
the Pyitthu Hluttaw (People’s Parliament) to work in partnership with the
SPDC towards a transition.

The arrangement gives all parties what they want and need.  Instead of a
bogus National Convention and roadmap, the proposal will bestow legitimacy
on the SPDC, while at the same time, allowing the MPs-elect to fulfill
their mandate.

The arrangement will also function as a dialogue process, allowing elected
MPs from all political parties - NLD, ethnic nationality parties and the
regime-sponsored National Unity Party – to work together with the SPDC.

This innovative move utilizes both the law and historical precedent to
break the political impasse that has contributed to Burma’s deterioration.
 In recent months, several international stakeholders have expressed
concern at the economic and political deterioration in Burma and the
ensuing costs to regional stability. The international community,
including governments and organisations that have made significant
investments in Burma’s democratization, should therefore wholeheartedly
and energetically support this initiative.

The NLD has suggested that an ASEAN leader be appointed as a mediator, if
one is needed.  Clearly, ASEAN has always had a vested interest in
ensuring that a peaceful political settlement is achieved in Burma. 
Therefore, we hope that ASEAN, its respective members and dialogue
partners, will redouble their efforts to ensure that agreement is gained
from the SPDC by Burmese New Year, April 17, as suggested by the NLD.

Such an achievement would indeed herald an auspicious New Year, not just
for the Burmese, but also all the peoples of the region.

Note to editor - The Asia-Pacific Peoples’ Partnership on Burma is a
network of Burmese organizations and Burma- support groups formed to pool
collective capacities to accelerate the momentum for change in Burma.

For further information please contact:

Dr. Naing Aung, Forum for Democracy in Burma (FDB), + 661 883 7230
Ms Chalida Tajaroensuk, Forum-Asia, + 661 808 5622
Ms Anelyn de Luna, Altsean-Burma, + 661 403 4830
Mr Gus Miclat, Asia-Pacific Solidarity Coalition, + 6391 7701 3099

____________________________________

February 2, CFSP Statement
The Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2006

Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union regarding
the award of the Olof Palme Prize 2005 to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

On the occasion of today's award of the Olof Palme Prize 2005 to Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi, acknowledging her tireless peaceful struggle for democracy
and human rights in Burma/Myanmar, the European Union voices her deep
regret that Aung San Suu Kyi remains deprived of her personal freedom
which will prevent her from accepting the award in person.

The European Union urges the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to
release Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners immediately.

The European Union remains gravely concerned over the human rights
situation in Burma/Myanmar and wishes to reiterate its commitment to
supporting national reconciliation and respect for human rights and
democracy in Burma/Myanmar.

The European Union again calls upon the SPDC to enter into a genuine
dialogue with the National League for Democracy and with ethnic
representatives.

The European Union remains strongly committed to addressing the needs of
the poorest in Burma/Myanmar, in particular in the areas of health,
education and community development.

The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Countries
Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the
Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential
candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, and the
EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European
Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align
themselves with this declaration.

* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be
part of the    Stabilisation and Association Process.