BurmaNet News, March 22, 2006

[Editor]

March 22, 2006, 2006 Issue # 2924

INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: More IDPs in Karen state
Deutsche Presse-Agentur: Myanmar's new capital gets a new royal surname
Narinjara: Civilian militia will join military parade at Burmese army day
DVB: Security tightened in Burma’s Pegu division after blasts in Taungoo
DVB: Diehards: NLD members pressured and intimidated in Burma’s Pegu
IMNA via BBC: Villagers penalized for pipeline blast

ON THE BORDER
SHAN: Star-crossed Thaksin crosses border

ASEAN
AFP: Malaysian FM to visit Myanmar on Thursday
Deutsche Presse-Agentur: ASEAN education ministers urged to adapt to
globalization
Mizzima: ASEAN politicians urge Malaysian FM to press the junta on use of
violence

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: US criticizes Junta on Thet Naing Oo case
Mizzima: UNESCO chief calls for release of jailed Burmese journalist

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Plotting Burma’s roadmap

PRESS RELEASE
ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) on recent reports of the
brutal killing in Burma of a former political prisoner

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 22, Irrawaddy
More IDPs in Karen State - Shah Paung

A new counterinsurgency campaign by the Burmese military in western Karen
State has forced more than 400 local villagers to seek refuge in the
jungle, a report from the Free Burma Rangers said on Tuesday.

The report stated that Burmese soldiers attacked a group of displaced
Karen in the Ler Way area, leading some 400 villagers to flee further into
the jungle and bringing the number of newly displaced Karen to more than
3,400 in recent months, with an additional 3,000 displaced in northern
Karen State.

The attacks occurred along a north-south line stretching from Toungoo to
Shwe Gyin in Nyaunglebin District, western Karen State. “They [attacks]
seem to be aimed at cutting off all support for the resistance as well as
stopping all rice, medicine and other needed material from reaching the
displaced people who are living in these areas,” the FBR report said.

The counterinsurgency appears to be a coordinated effort involving
multiple battalion-sized forces from 66 and 99 divisions of the Burmese
army.

“It is not yet a major offensive, but the area of attacks has increased
weekly for the past four weeks and the numbers of displaced have grown
from 400 newly displaced in February to about 3,400 as of March 21,” the
report said, which claims to originate from a relief team in the region
and to relate information about ongoing Burmese government attacks.

Security along rail routes and highways leading from Pyinmana to Toungoo
has been stepped up recently, and Burmese troops have been conducting
door-to-door searches in nearby villages, according to Karen National
Union General-Secretary Mahn Sha.

Villagers living near Taungoo claim that Burmese troops active in the area
have conscripted them for forced labor, beat them and burn them out of
their homes. The violence has disrupted agricultural production in the
region and could create lasting problems for local farmers unable to get
their rice crops planted.

“It is like genocide,” said Mahn Sha, “and this kind of thing is still
going on.”

He added that displaced persons face considerable challenges in getting to
refugee camps, such as the distance to the camps and the fact that they
would need to traverse Burmese army-controlled areas.

Some of the displaced who have managed to reach the Thai border are trying
to get into Mae Ra Moo refugee camp in Thailand’s Mae Hong Son province.
Many, however, remain on the Burmese side of the border for fear of Thai
authorities.

The Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
today released 83-page report (“Internal Displacement: Global Overview of
Trends and Developments in 2005”) that stated: “Burma remained the worst
internal displacement crisis in Asia, with 540,000 IDPs.”

The group said that displacement mostly resulted from “widespread human
rights abuses committed by the Burmese army and its allies, and—to a
lesser extent—insurgent groups.”

____________________________________

March 22, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Myanmar's new capital gets a new royal surname

Myanmar's (Burma's) new capital in the boondocks has been elevated to
"Pyinmana The Royal City," state-run media revealed on Wednesday.

Myanmar's state-controlled newspapers, TV and radio stations all started
referring to the new capital as "Pyinmana NayPyiDaw," on Wednesday, after
the new name was first used Tuesday evening on national TV in a weather
report.

The name change adds to the mysteries surrounding Myanmar's new capital,
which has yet to be visited by foreign ambassadors based in Yangon, the
old capital, and remains off bounds for tourists and ordinary citizens.

The country's ruling junta announced on November 7, last year, that it had
decided to move the capital to Pyinmana, a provincial backwater situated
300 kilometres north of Yangon, formerly Rangoon.

No formal explanation was ever provided for the capital shift.

Most ministries have already been moved to Pyinmana NayPyiDaw, although
living quarters and public utilities are reportedly very limited in the
new city.

Armed Forces Day, marking the birth of the institution that has ruled
Myanmar for the past 44 years, will celebrated for the first time at the
new capital on March 27, sources in Yangon said.

Most Myanmar-watchers believe the shift to Pyinmana was made for security
reasons at the behest of military leader Senior General Than Shwe, head of
Myanmar's self-styled State Peace and Development Council, as the ruling
junta calls itself.

Myanmar is a pariah state among Western democracies for its abysmal human
and labour rights record, failure to pursue democratic reforms and the
imprisonment of opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi for
the past two and a half years.

The military has demonstrated a fondness for name changes in the past. In
the aftermath of anti-military demonstrations and the resulting bloody
crackdowns in 1988, the military decided to officially change the
country's name from "Burma," as it was known under British colonial rule
and up until 1989, to "Myanmar."

At the same time Rangoon was changed to Yangon, now the former capital.

____________________________________

March 22, Narinjara News
Civilian militia will join military parade at Burmese army day

Members from the civilian militia in Arakan will have to join a military
parade at this year's Burmese Army Day at western command playground at
Ann town on 27 March 2006, said a relative of the civilian militia.

16 members from the civilian militia of Buthidaung, Maungdaw and Taungbro
town have left for Ann town to practice the military parade since 15 March
2006.

According to a source close to the Army, at least five members from each
civilian militia throughout 17 townships in Arakan state will have to join
the military parade and now they are practicing along with other Burmese
army members.

In previous years, the Burmese army authority allowed only enforcement
including army, air, naval and police, not the civilian militia, in the
army parade. But this year authorities changed their decision and added
civilian militia to the military parade.
This is a signal from the Burmese army that it is upgrading the role of
the civilian militia in Burma in the future.

The civilian militia was recently formed by the Burmese army authorities
in Arakan state, aimed at defending the country from foreign invasion.
There are now about 6970 members of the civilian militia in Arakan state.

____________________________________

March 21, Democratic Voices of Burma
Security tightened in Burma’s Pegu division after blasts in Taungoo

The military authorities have been imposing tight security measures in
Pegu Division, lower central Burma, with the excuse of trying to prevent
exiled political groups and armed organisations from carrying out the
bombings of public places.

Local residents have been forced to guard crowded areas such as cinemas,
hospitals and train stations at night and farmers in rural areas were also
forced to dismantle their farmhouses and 50 of them were burnt down and
destroyed by the authorities at Min Ywa in Thanatpin Township as their
owners refused to obey the order, a farmer told DVB.

But the Karen National Union (KNU), which was often accused by the ruling
military government of carrying out bombings inside Burma, denied the
accusations and maintained that the junta deliberately uses the scare
tactic thus in an attempt to cow and oppress the civilians more.

The spokesman of the KNU, Phado Mahn Sha insisted that his organisation
does not carry out bombing activities which hurt the public, and pointed
out that every time there was a bomb blast in Burma, the military
authorities carried out more oppressive actions on the people.

“As it (the bombing) is an act of attack on the public, only those who
regard the public as enemy (i.e. the Burma army) will do such a thing,”
Mahn Sha said. “I want to say that only those who regard the students as
the enemy will do such a thing.”

Mahn Sha added that more civilians in the rural areas have been abandoning
their homes and fleeing into the jungles due to recent offensives of the
army which opened fire on unarmed civilians and burnt their villages and
farms.

____________________________________

March 21, Democratic Voices of Burma
Diehards: NLD members pressured and intimidated in Burma’s Pegu

Members of the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy at
Pegu in lower Burma, have been summoned and intimidated by Special Branch
(SB) agents of the police and local township authority members.

A local NLD woman member Khin Nyunt Mu was summoned and warned in December
not to tell ‘untrue’ things (about Burma) to the media and on 19 March,
another woman leader Nyunt Kyi was summoned and intimidated by the
township authority chairman and gang.

“They forced us to sign a pledge not to say untrue things to domestic
media,” said Khin Nyunt Mu. “On our part, we say no untrue things.
Therefore, we will only say what are true, we told them. On our part, we
are only saying what the people are feeling. We have no other intention”.

She added that Nyunt Kyi was summoned along with her local NLD chairman
Myint Than during the night and interrogated.

“They (the authorities) said they heard the rumour that our organisation
had a plan to take down the union flag and hoist the fighting peacock flag
at Waw’s State High School. They claimed they received a tip-off.
Therefore, they asked them whether it was true. If it was not true, they
(Nyunt Kyi & Myint Than) were told to sign (a statement) saying that it
(the rumour) was not true. They had never been to Waw anyway. She said
that this matter has nothing to do with our organisation’s aim and that
she did nothing of the sort.”

When asked why the authorities summoned the NLD members and interrogated
them so, Khin Nyunt Mu said:

“They did that because someone informed them. As the revolution has been
eking out for along time and the survival becomes more difficult, either
our members or those who are close to them have to deal closely with the
authorities concerned for economical reasons. In this situation, I think
that in order to obtain some privileges, they inform on us like this. On
our part, we won’t be retreating. The remaining members are real
hard-cores/diehards. The reason being, we respect those members who are
still standing firm despite the difficulties and persecutions. The
authorities on the other side should also be careful. Unfair arrests and
tortures are things should not be carried out. While were are in a
political stalemate like this, I believe that it is time to release Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi, Shan leaders, political prisoners, and all old people
such as Win Tin immediately and start a national reconciliation process.”

____________________________________

March 22, Independent Mon News Agency via BBC
Villagers penalized for pipeline blast

In a new twist to the harassment of people following the explosion in the
gas pipeline, the Southeast Command based in Moulmein, Mon State is now
forcing Kwan Hlar villagers to pay for the gas that was lost during the
explosion.

The Burmese military authorities have directed the villagers to pay for
the gas lost in the Kanbauk-Myaing Kalay gas pipeline explosion on 1
February.

Authorities from the Southeast Command came to Kwan Hlar village, Mudon
Township and began collecting money forcibly from the entire village
including the wealthy and the poor, according to a villager. Kwan Hlar
village has about 800 households.

The poorer villagers paid at least about 50,000 Kyat and the well off paid
more than 100,000 Kyat, according to the villager.

"Although the poorer villagers cannot afford to pay they are borrowing the
money to give to the authorities," he said.

The villagers had also paid the cost of repairing the gas pipeline.

The Burmese Army has already issued a warrant for the arrest of four
villagers they suspect. They are Nai Abeal, Nai Ha Kuu, Nai La Port and
another villager who could not be identified.

The army had earlier arrested three innocent villagers on 9 March and
seven on 5 March including three women.

The villagers are terrified because the army has announced that mines had
been laid around the streams where the gas-pipeline crosses by putting
signboards on the fencing.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March, Shan Herald Agency for News
Star-crossed Thaksin crosses border

If the citizens of Shan State's Tachilek were to be believed, the
technical border crossing on Monday (20 March) by Thailand's beleaguered
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was merely an astrological act to avert
his impending departure from the kingdom.

On his arrival in Maesai, Thaksin crossed the Friendship Bridge I between
the two towns to shake hands with three Burmese officers to express his
appreciation for the drug campaign in January that had reportedly made a
record seizure of 12 million speed pills.

The prime minister, who is campaigning for his re-election, is known to be
a fervent believer in the influence of the stars in human affairs.

"By going over the bridge, he had gone technically out of the country,"
said a Shan who makes a living as a sara, master of the occult arts. "So
he could come back without fear of any future expulsion by his opponents."

Zaray Auto, one of the saras in Chiangmai, well-known among Shan circles,
told a meeting on Shan culture at the Chiangmai University last month that
Thaksin would be under the influence of malevolent planets until July.

The prime minister has been under heavy pressure to resign since his sale
of controlling stake in his Shin Corp to Singapore's Temasek Holdings on
23 January.

____________________________________
ASEAN

March 22, Agence France Presse
Malaysian FM to visit Myanmar on Thursday

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar is set to make his
long-delayed visit to Myanmar to check on democratic reforms on Thursday,
diplomats told AFP.

Both Malaysian and Myanmar officials have kept the date a closely guarded
secret to avoid excessive publicity after previous trips to Yangon were
delayed by the junta.

But diplomats in Yangon said Syed Hamid would arrive on Thursday and stay
until Friday or Saturday. They said he was unlikely to meet with detained
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"It is highly unlikely that he will meet her," one diplomat said Wednesday
on condition of anonymity.

Syed Hamid was originally due to visit in January, but Myanmar's military
government said it was too busy relocating the national capital to receive
him.

The visit had apparently stalled on the envoy's insistence on meeting
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent most of the last 16
years in jail or under house arrest.

The diplomats would not say why Syed Hamid had apparently relented on that
demand.

Myanmar is under heavy international pressure to undertake democratic
reforms. The junta brutally crushed pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988
and two years later rejected the result of national elections won by Aung
San Suu Kyi.

The 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) decided to
send Sayed Hamid to Myanmar at its annual meeting in December.

____________________________________

March 22, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
ASEAN education ministers urged to adapt to globalization

Education ministers from South-East Asian countries were urged on
Wednesday to respond to the challenges of a new global environment and
seize the opportunities it presents.

"Education is the bedrock for the development of all our societies,"
Singapore's Minister for Education Tharman Shanmugaratnam told more than
150 officials and ministers from the Association of South-East Asian
Nations (ASEAN) in addition to Timor.

"It is how we equip our young with the skills, attitudes and values that
will take our societies forward," he said.

The delegates were attending the two-day 41st South-East Asian Ministers
of Education Organization Council Conference (SEAMEO).

SEAMEO's work in promoting regional cooperation in education and culture
"plays a useful and important role in the socio-economic development of
the region," Tharman said.

He cited the strong network of regional centres set up "with a deep
repository of knowledge" and SEAMEO as a useful conduct for ideas that
have been tried and tested in countries that can be shared with others.

The rich and diverse cultural heritage of the South-East Asia region is
being celebrated this year with the convening of an art and design
exhibition, Tharman said. Young students and designers will be presenting
the works and enable those at the exhibition "to gain insights into each
other's cultures."

The conference followed an ASEAN Education Minister's Meeting on Tuesday
which focused on ways to promote the grouping's identity.

ASEAN includes Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia,
Brunei, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar (Burma).

____________________________________

March 22, Mizzima News
ASEAN politicians urge Malaysian FM to press the junta on use of violence
- Mungpi

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus released a statement today
calling on the Malaysian foreign minister to condemn the Burmese junta’s
use of violence against civilians during his upcoming visit to Rangoon.

The group also slammed the Burmese military for the brutal murder of Thet
Naing Oo, a prominent student leader and former political prisoner, at the
hands of police and fire department officials on March 17.

AIPMC said in the statement members were gravely concern about the
incident. The statement also called on the Burmese military to release all
the country’s political prisoners including detained National League for
Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

“In relation to this, AIPMC urges the ASEAN Envoy to Burma, Syed Hamid
Albar, to raise issues of violence by Burmese authorities against
citizens, and the pro-longed detention of elected Members of Parliament in
Burma, during his forthcoming mission to the country,” the group said.

Malaysian foreign minister Syed Hamid is due to visit Burma before the end
of the month to asses Burma’s progress toward democracy, with some news
sources saying he would arrive in Rangoon tomorrow.

Zaid Ibrahim, chairman of the AIPMC told Mizzima, “We would like the
special envoy to be very open with the [military] regime about the issues.
Not just about [the murder of Thet Naing Oo] actually, it's about
political prisoners generally, about elections, about the participation of
different groups – things like that.”

But Ibrahim said he did not expect the military to allow Syed Hamid to
discuss sensitive political issues with them.

“I don’t think he can discuss in-depth. I think it will be good enough if
he can get agreement of the regime as to how to move forward
 I think it
will be difficult to expect more than that,” said Ibrahim.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

March 22, Irrawaddy
USc junta on Thet Naing Oo Case

The US on Tuesday condemned Burma’s military government for the beating
death of former political prisoner Thet Naing Oo. “This incident is the
latest in a string of increasingly violent acts targeting members of the
political opposition that highlight the brutality and repressiveness of
the Burmese regime,” said US State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack.
The 40-year-old Thet Naing Oo was beaten by municipal officers and members
of the fire brigade assigned as security personnel in a marketplace in
Kyeemyindine Township in Rangoon. He sustained serious head injuries in
the beating and died the following morning in a local hospital.

US officials have called on the Burmese junta to renounce violence against
its own people and to release all political prisoners. McCormack also
urged the junta “to engage all elements of Burmese political life in a
meaningful dialogue that empowers the people to determine their own
future.” Meanwhile, the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission, the
All Burma Federation of Student Unions and the Thailand-based Assistance
Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) jointly condemned the Burmese
government and demanded justice for the slain former political prisoner.

____________________________________

March 22, Mizzima News
UNESCO chief calls for release of jailed Burmese journalist - Mungpi

The director general of the United Nations Education, Scientific and
Cultural Organisation, Koichiro Matsuura, has again called on the Burmese
military to release detained journalist Win Tin.

Win Tin, who was the vice-chairman of the Myanmar Writers’ Association
before being arrested in 1989 and the recipient of UNESCO's Guillermo Cano
World Press Freedom Prize in 2001, turned 76 on March 12.

“I would like draw attention to the fact that U Win Tin, former editor of
the [Burmese] daily Hanthawati, is still in prison,” Matsuura said in a
statement on Monday.

“Concerned over the continued detention of a man who is elderly and in
ill-health, I renew my request to the government of [Burma] to show
compassion and release him,” Matsuura said.

Burmese authorities accused Win Tin of belonging to the banned Communist
Party of Burma and arrested him in July 1989. He was sentenced to 14 years
imprisonment. In 1996 he received an additional sentence of five years for
breaking prison regulations, which prohibit the possession of writing
materials. Despite his reportedly worsening health, prison officials
continue to deny him medical treatment.

UNESCO, the only UN agency with a mandate to defend freedom of expression
and press freedom, has often criticised the Burmese military for their
suppression of the press.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

March 22, The Irrawaddy
Plotting Burma’s roadmap

Finally, Burma has given the green the light to Malaysian Foreign Minister
Syed Hamid Albar’s long anticipated visit to monitor the country’s
progress towards democratic reform. The proposed visit had been delayed
for some months, but the latest from Rangoon and Kuala Lumpur suggests
that the foreign minister will be in Rangoon by month’s end.

Burma’s ruling junta twice postponed Syed Hamid’s trip because it was “too
busy” overseeing the government’s administrative relocation to Pyinmana,
in central Burma. During bilateral talks last week between Burmese Foreign
Minister Nyan Win and his Indonesian counterpart, the intractable generals
agreed to open their doors.

Syed Hamid will represent Asean during his visit and report back to the
regional bloc in April on the state of democratic reform in Burma. Given
the snail’s pace at which the military government has approached reform of
any kind, Syed Hamid’s report—provided his trip comes off at all—will
reach a predictable conclusion.

Malaysia’s foreign minister has his own doubts. He told reporters in Kuala
Lumpur on Monday that he has little hope of finding signs of progress in
Burma, but he characterized his upcoming trip as “part of a
confidence-building mechanism.” He concluded: “Ultimately, it will be
Myanmar’s [Burma’s] own process (towards democracy).”

Initially, Syed Hamid held out hope of meeting detained Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and members of opposition and ethnic minority
groups, but regional analysts doubt that such meetings will materialize.
When asked by reporters if he would meet Suu Kyi, the foreign minister
hedged. “I am going there with an open mind. I would like to meet everyone
involved in the reform process.”

An open mind is a good thing, but the generals are far less likely to
reciprocate than they are to lecture on the benefits of “disciplinary
democracy,” “road maps” and the “nation-building process.”

This is not to suggest that Syed Hamid’s trip is pointless. Asean has
often reiterated its commitment to engage the regime, and the foreign
minister has acknowledged that the bloc remains “engaged with Burma no
matter how difficult it is.”

Such engagement, it is hoped, will one day be fruitful, and not merely as
a confidence-building mechanism for the generals. Suu Kyi and the ethnic
minorities, as well, need such mechanisms. Only then will Syed Hamid’s
accepted role as Asean’s de facto monitor of reform be fulfilled.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

March 22, Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) on recent
reports of the brutal killing in Burma of a former political prisoner

For Immediate Release

Kuala Lumpur: The Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) is
greatly concerned with reports of the brutal killing of a former political
prisoner by Burmese officials in Rangoon, Burma on 17 March 2006.

It is reported that 40-year-old Thet Naing Oo was beaten in public by
Rangoon municipal officers and firefighters following an argument with
these officials at a marketplace.
This incident is further evidence that violent acts against the public,
especially the targeting of pro-democracy activists and members of the
political opposition, are still rampantly occurring in the military-ruled
country.

There have been constant allegations and reports made against Burmese
officials who use brutal and excessive force to suppress the pro-democracy
movement inside the country.

Burma’s military regime also continues to repress public figures such as
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi by unfair and unjust means
such as placing them on lengthy periods of house-arrest or indefinite
periods of detention in prisons.

AIPMC strongly calls on the Burmese government to renounce violence
against its people and to discontinue the suppression of its leaders. The
junta must immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners
including Suu Kyi.

We also call on the Burmese Generals to hold accountable the officials
responsible for the death of Thet Naing Oo, who only three years ago was
freed from a decade of imprisonment for his political beliefs.

In relation to this, AIPMC urges the ASEAN Envoy to Burma, Syed Hamid
Albar, to raise issues of violence by Burmese authorities against
citizens, and the pro-longed detention of elected Members of Parliament in
Burma, during his forthcoming mission to the country.

Only with the discontinuation of such blatant disregard for human rights
by Burma, can ASEAN be satisfied that the regime is indeed working towards
democratic reforms in the country as called for by the regional bloc.

Zaid Ibrahim
AIPMC Chairperson

Media contact:
Roshan Jason. +6-012-3750974

AIPMC
c/- ZICO, Level 19 Menara Millenium
Jalan Damanlela, Pusat Bandar Damansara
50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: +60-3-2087 9999  Fax: +60-3-2094 4888
http:// www.aseanmp.org  email:  info at aseanmp.org