BurmaNet News, April 4, 2006

[Editor]

April 4, 2006 Issue # 2933


INSIDE BURMA
Narinjara: New recruits of the Burmese Army have to sign a contract upon
joining training
World Markets Analysis: Number of registered telephones in Myanmar passes
500,000
AP: Mangrove elephants face extinction as their ecosystem flounders

HEALTH / AIDS
AFP: Myanmar slaughters over 400,000 birds after first H5N1 outbreak

BUSINESS / TRADE
AP: Report: Myanmar, Thailand sign US$6 billion hydropower plant agreement

ASEAN
AFP: ASEAN seeks new rights mechanism

REGIONAL
BBC News: Thai prime minister to step aside
Irrawaddy: Burmese activists weigh in on Thailand’s political crisis
Mizzima: Burmese activists in India to stage protest

INTERNATIONAL
Press Trust of India: Russia to supply wide range of arms to Myanmar
Kommersant: Air-to-minerals missiles
Irrawaddy: ILO wants progress on forced labor in Burma

PRESS RELEASE
Reporters Without Borders/Burma Media Association: Burma: Seven students
arrested for publishing a poem

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

April 4, Narinjara News
New recruits of the Burmese Army have to sign a contract upon joining
training

Sittwe: New recruits of the Burmese Army have to sign contract with the
Army before joining training, said a family member of a new recruit.

Recently, about forty new recruits in northern Arakan State have had to
sign a contract upon the start of training, said an Army source.

The contract says that the recruit will serve in the forces for ten years,
not to dissert during the training and obey any order without question.

This new contract system is believed to have been implemented because of
the increase of dissertation during training, said the same family member.
The military authority is trying to halt this dissertation and to have
more control over soldiers.

____________________________________

April 4, World Markets Analysis
Number of registered telephones in Myanmar passes 500,000 - Annina
Kaltenbrunner

The Chinese People's Daily reported yesterday that the total number of
telephones in Myanmar reached 513,301 in March, according to data from the
Ministry of Telecommunications, Posts and Telegraphs. GSM (global system
for mobile), cellular and CDMA (code division multiple access) accounted
for 146,320, while fixed telephones remained at 303,228. The source added
that officials were actively trying to increase GSM usage in the capital
Yangon (5.2 million inhabitants), from a current level of one GSM phone
per 64 people to one phone per 43 people, and that two Chinese companies
would be actively involved in this expansion.

Significance: The report reflects two major characteristics of Myanmar's
economic (under)development. The amount of telephone usage, especially in
the mobile sector, has increasingly become a sign of economic development
and integration in the international economy. While the mobile phone
sector has become a key growth-driver in Myanmar's neighbours, such as
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, it remains at its lowest level in the
military-ruled Myanmar. Teledensity currently stands a 0.8% - ie, eight
people out of every 1,000 own some sort of telephone - and the country
remains closed to international investors and companies. The second
characteristic is the increased interest that Asia's big emerging markets,
such as China and India, are showing in Myanmar. While the country's large
unexploited natural gas reserves are of major interest for the
energy-hungry nations, the largely unexploited domestic economy offers an
opportunity for Asian firms, with sustained human rights abuses continuing
to deter Western investors.

____________________________________

April 4, Associated Press
Mangrove elephants face extinction as their ecosystem flounders

Yangon: Elephants who once roamed the mangrove swamps of Myanmar's vast
Ayeyarwaddy Delta are headed for extinction, with only two of their number
still alive, a local newspaper said Monday.

The two survivors live in the delta's Meinmahla island wildlife sanctuary
about 130 kilometers (80 miles) southwest of Yangon, the Flower News
weekly newspaper said.

"These elephants are different from other wild elephants. Their toes are
more delicate and they cannot survive in harsh terrain," the paper said,
quoting a forest ranger from the island sanctuary.

A substantial number of wild elephants once roamed the mangrove swamps but
the population fell to 27 by 1989, and to 14 by 1994.

Ten of those 14 survivors were transferred to Ngaputaw, north of Meinmahla
sanctuary in the Ayeyarwaddy Delta, but all perished due to their change
in habitat and an overall degradation of the mangroves, the report said.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

April 4, Agence France Presse
Myanmar slaughters over 400,000 birds after first H5N1 outbreak

Yangon: Myanmar has slaughtered more than 400,000 birds following its
first bird flu outbreak last month, with the government claiming the
deadly virus had been contained, state media said Tuesday.

The military-run country reported bird flu in chickens in the central city
of Mandalay in March and immediately banned all trade in chicken, ducks
and eggs there.

Since the outbreak, health authorities have killed more than 200,000
chickens and 200,000 quail in the city, 700 kilometres (450 miles) north
of Yangon, the state-run Mirror Daily said.

"At this time, the government has contained a possible threat of the virus
in the area," the paper said.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health
Organization sent bird flu experts to help Myanmar, one of the world's
most isolated nations, cope with the outbreak.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed more than 100 people worldwide
since 2003, mostly in Asia, according to WHO figures.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

April 4, Associated Press
Report: Myanmar, Thailand sign US$6 billion hydropower plant agreement

Yangon: Myanmar has signed an agreement with a Thai company to build a
hydropower plant on Southeast Asia's longest free-flowing river, the
Salween, state-run media reported Tuesday.

The Ta Sang hydropower plant is one of several dam projects planned for
construction on the river, known as Thanlwin in Myanmar. It is expected to
be completed within 15 years, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.

The plan to dam the Salween has drawn strong protests from environmental
groups who claim they will degrade one of the region's most biodiverse
areas, which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Opponents of Myanmar's ruling junta say the dam construction will likely
involve forced labor. When the dams are built and surrounding land
flooded, it could also lead to ethnic minority groups who have long been
suppressed by central government being driven from their villages.

The government signed a US$6 billion agreement (euro5 billion) with
Thailand's MDX Group to build the 7,110-megawatt plant located about 480
kilometers (300 miles) northeast of the capital Yangon, the newspaper
reported.

After completion, most of the electricity generated from the hydropower
plant will be sold to Thailand, while Myanmar will be supplied with an
unspecified amount of free power, it said.

Myanmar faces constant power shortages, with many parts of the country
suffering frequent outages because electricity supply has been unable to
keep up with rising demand.

____________________________________
ASEAN

April 4, Agence France Presse
ASEAN seeks new rights mechanism

Manila: Southeast Asian experts and the European Union on Tuesday called
for a regional mechanism to address human rights in the face of Myanmar's
continued detention of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

The issue is topping the agenda at a three-day conference here of
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) human-rights coordinators
and EU officials.

Officials said a new framework should give ASEAN, which has stepped up its
criticism of Myanmar despite a long-held policy of non-interference in
members' internal affairs, a stronger collective voice in dealing with
human rights.

"Sometimes it is useful for countries in the ASEAN region to be able to
use regional mechanisms to advance their causes or channel their
concerns," EU envoy to Manila Jan de Kok told reporters.

He said that Myanmar had sent a small delegation to the meeting, which he
said was "significant" and showed the junta's willingness to discuss human
rights with other governments.

De Kok said he was "not expecting miracles" at the meeting but added: "I
hope we can learn from each other where the problems are and where we can
advance to improve the situation."

The EU and the United States have imposed sanctions on Myanmar, which has
held Nobel Peace Prize-winner and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in
detention for most of the last 16 years.

Her party won elections in 1990 but was never allowed to govern by the
junta which has ruled the former Burma since 1962.

Last month Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar visited Myanmar as
an ASEAN special envoy, but he was not allowed access to the famous
detainee.

Former Philippine senator Wigberto Tanada, a member of an experts panel
helping craft the mechanism, said that it was important for ASEAN members
to have an open and frank discussion with Myanmar.

ASEAN must be "persistently patient and patiently persistent" when it
comes to Myanmar, he said.

The problem extended to other ASEAN neighbors with up to 15,000 ethnic
Rohingyans displaced by the junta now on Malaysian soil, said Simon
Sipaun, vice chair of Kuala Lumpur's human rights commission.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

April 4, BBC News
Thai prime minister to step aside

Thailand's embattled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra says he is stepping
down and has urged Thais to re-unite after a months-long political crisis.

Speaking on national TV, he said he would remain a caretaker prime
minister until a new premier was chosen.

On Monday Mr Thaksin claimed 57% of the vote in Sunday's snap election,
which he called in a bid to end the crisis.

His opponents, who accuse him of abuse of power and corruption, threatened
fresh street protests unless he quit.

Mr Thaksin's televised news conference came after he met with the
country's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

He said he was "sorry" that he would not be accepting the post of prime
minister when the post-election parliament convened.

But he said he would remain a caretaker prime minister "until the
selection process for the next prime minister is complete."

He apologised to the 16 million people who voted from him on Sunday, but
said he had made the decision out of respect for the king, who marks his
60th anniversary on the throne this year.

"I decided that the unity of the country is the most important thing for
Thailand," he said.

Large protest vote

Opposition leaders - who earlier on Tuesday said they would call off fresh
protests if Mr Thaksin resigned - welcomed the announcement.

"This is our victory. If we had not helped each other [in the protests],
today would not have happened," Chamlong Srimuang, Mr Thaksin's one-time
political mentor, said.

It is not yet known when parliament will convene as by-elections in 38
constituencies must be held after candidates failed to get the 20% of
votes needed to claim victory.

On Monday Election officials said they would carry out the by-elections
within 30 days so parliament can convene, with all seats filled, as
required under the constitution.

Mr Thaksin claimed an election victory on Monday after saying his Thai Rak
Thai party had won 57% of the vote.

But he acknowledged that his share of the vote had dropped, from 19
million in last year's election to 16 million in Sunday's poll.

Before the election, he had said he would step down if he failed to get
more than half of the votes.

Opposition parties boycotted the poll, and there were signs of a large
protest vote, particularly in Bangkok and in the south of the country.

Mr Thaksin has been under increasing pressure following his family's
decision in January to sell its shares in one of Thailand's biggest
telecom groups, Shin Corp, which netted them and others $1.9bn.

The move angered many urban Thais - already discontented over his
perceived brash, authoritarian style of leadership - who took to the
streets in protest, complaining that the prime minister's family had
avoided paying tax and passed control of an important national asset to
Singaporean investors.

____________________________________

April 4, Irrawaddy
Burmese activists weigh in on Thailand’s political crisis - Shah Paung

Exiled Burmese activist groups claimed on Tuesday that a popular vote will
not end Thailand’s political crisis.

Zin Linn, head of the information department of the Bangkok-based National
Coalition Government of Union of Burma said the April 2 elections have
done little to ease tensions in the country.

“If you look at the overall numbers, most people from rural areas strongly
supported Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra,” said Zin Linn, “while the
more educated city populations remain against him.”

According to a member of the National Council of the Union of Burma, the
perception of Thaksin as a strong and successful leader remains strong. “I
think the main thing that the Thai Rak Thai party has done is make people
believe that they have improved peoples’ lives in the country,” said Nyo
Ohn Myint.

Thailand’s current crisis reached its boiling point when Thaksin sold his
family’s owned Temasek Holdings in a deal worth 73.3 billion baht (US $1.
billion).

Opposition to the prime minister, led by media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul
and former controlling interest in telecommunications giant Shin Corp to
Singaporean government- Thaksin ally Maj-Gen Chamlong Srimuang, grew in
the months following the controversial deal, as hundreds of thousands took
to the streets of Bangkok to call for Thaksin’s resignation.

The NCGUB has been critical of the Thaksin-led government for its
restrictions on exiled activist groups and ethnic rebel armies operating
along the border. “We see that he [Thaksin] talks about democracy, but he
doesn’t seem to use it in an appropriate way,” said Zin Linn. “We do not
support any person or government that does not use democracy.”

____________________________________

April 4, Mizzima News
Burmese activists in India to stage protest - Mungpi

Pro-democracy groups in New Delhi will stage a ten-day demonstration to
urge the Indian government to pressure Burma over political reform.

The participants in the protest, to be held from April 7 to 16, plan to
call on the Indian government to pressure the Burmese military to accept
the recent proposal from the National League for Democracy for fresh
democratic talks, said Ngwe Toe, an organiser of the demonstration.

On February 12 the NLD urged the military regime to convene the previously
elected parliament and offered to accept the military as Burma’s
government de jure.

“India should publicly raise voice against the military junta
 and support
the NLD’s proposal to the military regime. As long as India and China are
supporting, the Military regime will hold on to power,” Ngwe Toe said.

Ngwe Toe, supported by Chin students in New Delhi, concluded a
100-hour-long hunger strike last week in protest against the Indian
president APJ Kalam’s recent visit to Burma.

During Kalam’s Burma visit, he signed several agreements with senior
general Than Shwe. India has had close diplomatic and trade ties to Burma
since the launch of its ‘Look East' policy in the 1990s.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

April 4, Press Trust of India
Russia to supply wide range of arms to Myanmar

Moscow: Russia has agreed to supply a wide range of arms including air
defence systems and MiG-29 fighters to Myanmar in exchange of access to
the rich oil and gas resources of the country, local reports said.

General Maung Aye, the number two in the ruling military junta of Myanmar,
is currently on a three-day visit to Russia, first by a top Myanmar
official in 40 years, held wide ranging negotiations with Russian Prime
Minister Mikhail Fradkov and other senior officials on Monday.

"We are interested in deepening Russia's role in the Asia-Pacific region
and Russian-Burmese ties in this context have good and promising
prospects," Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov was quoted as saying by
ITAR-TASS after yesterday's talks with General Aye.

Myanmar is interested in creation of national air defence system deploying
Russian Tor-M1 and Buk-M1-2 systems and is negotiating the supplies of
MiG-29 fighters, reports said on Tuesday.

It also wants to train its military personnel in Russian military
colleges, Kommersant daily reported.

It added that these issues would be discussed during Gen Aye's meeting
with the top Russian defence officials.

____________________________________

April 4, Kommersant
Air-to-minerals missiles

Russia exchanges military hardware for mineral wealth - Konstantin
Lantratov, Vladimir Soloviov

Myanmar wants to buy arms from Russia; An official delegation from
Myanmar, headed by General Maung Ej, Assistant Chairman of the State
Council for Peace and Development, arrived in Moscow yesterday. It will
discuss purchasing Russian arms. Myanmar wants Russian military hardware
in return for permission for Russian companies to work oil and gas fields
on its territory.

The delegation from Myanmar brought an extensive list of Russian arms and
military hardware for which it wants contracts. Myanmar needs help from
Russia in establishment of a national air defense system based on TOR-M1
and BUK-M1-2 systems. It also wants MIG-29 fighters, personnel training in
Russian military educational establishment, and cooperation in the sphere
of satellite-made photos. All these matters will be discussed at the talks
with the upper echelons of the Defense Ministry and Federal Military
Technology Cooperation Service.

China used to be the principal arms exporter to Myanmar until recently,
accounting for 90% of the merchandise this country bought abroad. North
Korea and Poland had some arms deals with Myanmar as well. It is Russia
that aspires for leadership in this sphere now. Experts expect the talks
in Moscow to end in the agreement to have Russia build two aircraft repair
and upgrade factories in Myanmar. The number of trainees from Myanmar at
Russian military educational establishment may increase soon, and
Rosoboroneksport promises to draft contracts for the signing on Chief of
the General Staff Yuri Baluyevsky's forthcoming visit to this country
later this year.

Since the military regime in Myanmar is not exactly a faithful payer, this
country promises to permit Russian companies to explore its oil and gas
fields on the territory of the country and on the shelf. His meeting with
General Maung Ej over yesterday, Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov mentioned
the singing of a memorandum on cooperation between Zarubezhneft and the
Myanmar Energy Ministry. Commenting on the talks, Fradkov called relations
with Myanmar "a priority for Russia's foreign trade policy in South-East
Asia." Ej announced that Myanmar invites Russian companies to invest in
its economy - particularly in the oil and gas sector.

There is more than economic cooperation between Russia and Myanmar, a
country shunned by the international community for human rights abuses.
The first in the laast 40 years visit to Russia from Myanmar takes place
in the wake of President Vladimir Putin's visit to Beijing. Beijing keeps
the Myanmar regime under its protection and controls most of its mineral
wealth. It means that the Myanmar authorities aren't exactly masters in
their own country, and China won't be happy with the emergence of Russia
as a rival for Myanmar's minerals. But China doesn't need Myanmar as a
source of raw materials alone. It also needs Myanmar from the standpoint
of China's own energy security. China is getting a great deal of energy
resources from the Persian Gulf, and the transportation routes run along
Myanmar's coast, where China already has numerous military bases. Thus, by
selling arms to Myanmar, Russia will ensure its stability and the energy
security of China.

Translated by A. Ignatkin

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April 4, Irrawaddy
ILO wants progress on forced labor in Burma

The International Labour Organization concluded the 295th session of its
Governing Body by expressing “profound concern” over Burma’s lack of
progress in ending forced labor in the country. In a statement released on
Monday, the ILO called on the ruling junta to stop prosecuting those who
report cases of forced labor and release anyone already prosecuted, such
as activist Su Su Nway and lawyer Aye Myint. “In particular, the
determination expressed by the Myanmar [Burmese] authorities to prosecute
individuals involved in lodging ‘false allegations’ represented a further
deterioration in the situation which seriously undermined any prospect of
progress, and was in direct contradiction with the conclusions adopted at
the International Labour Conference in 2005,” the statement said.

When the ILO convenes its 93rd session of the International Labour
Conference, from May-June 2006, it will review further action “to be taken
to effectively secure the compliance by Burma with this convention as well
as ways to ensure that no action would be taken against persons or their
representatives who complained about forced labor.” Further action may
include referring Burma to the Court of International Justice, as the
ILO’s Commission of Inquiry has stated that forced labor in Burma
constitutes a crime against humanity. A report explaining all options
being considered by the ILO is expected in mid-May. “It was understood
that the Office would take these into consideration in preparing its
analysis of the options,” the ILO statement concluded. “In the meantime,
all remaining possibilities to resolve the issue should continue to be
pursued.”

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

April 4, Reporters Without Borders/Burma Media Association
Burma: Seven students arrested for publishing a poem

Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association voiced outrage
today at the arrests on 29 March 2006 of seven students from the
University of Pegu, north of Rangoon, for writing and publishing a
pro-democracy poem. Their arrests came five days after journalists U
Thaung Sein and Ko Moe Htun were sentenced to three years in prison for
photographing and filming in the new capital of Pyinmana.

"The military authorities restrict freedom of expression by force," the
two organisations said. "Not only are journalists unable to work freely
but young people are also being stripped of their rights. We call for the
release of the students and journalists currently held in Burma."

The names of the seven students are as follows (the first two are women):
Hnin Wint Wint Soe, May Su Su Win, Ne Linn Kyaw, Thet Oo, Win Min Htut,
Maung Maung Oo and Zeya Aung. The title of the poem they composed and
circulated is "Daung Man," which means the Strength of the Fighting
Peacock, the symbol of the Burmese pro-democracy movement.

They were found in possession of copies of the poem when arrested.
According to the Democratic Voice of Burma, an exile radio station, they
were initially held at a Pegu police station. A lawyer said they were
subsequently transferred to the city's prison, but this was not confirmed
by the police. The lawyer also said a government prosecutor was visiting
them every day and interrogating them. Their families have not been
allowed to see them.

Prior censorship and the imprisonment of journalists are the most serious
problems which the Burmese press has to face. The country's most famous
journalist, U Win Tin, has been imprisoned in Rangoon since July 1989.