BurmaNet News, April 15-17, 2006

[Editor]

April 15-17, 2006 Issue # 2942

INSIDE BURMA
Kaladan: Army confiscates farms for Natala villagers in Arakan
Xinhua: Myanmar people greet new calendar year by doing deeds of merit
Xinhua: Telecom facilities in Myanmar new capital being upgraded
Xinhua: Three killed in collapse of water-throwing pandal in Myanmar

ON THE BORDER
SHAN: Wa "invited" to surrender
Kaladan: SPDC deploys army in border areas of northern Arakan

BUSINESS / TRADE
Japan Economic Newswire: Myanmar raises interest rates
AFP: China gives green light to Myanmar oil pipeline
Asia Pulse: Customs points say oil is not being smuggled out of Thailand
Hindustan Times: Nagaland border trade centres under wraps for years
Xinhua: Malaysian, Thai companies to invest in oil palm cultivation in
Myanmar

HEALTH / AIDS
AIDS Weekly: AIDS, TB, malaria, and avian influenza spreading unchecked in
Burma

DRUGS
SHAN: Chinese agents defeated Khun Sa: former aide

ASEAN
New Straits Times: The Generals won't relent

REGIONAL
The Hindu: Burmese group hold protests
Hindustan Times: Myanmar-India army talks at Dimapur

OPINION / OTHER
New Straits Times: The generals won't relent - Tunku Yusuf Jewa

PRESS RELEASE
NCGUB: Burmese junta at 'complete loss' over what's happening in country

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

April 17, Kaladan News
Army confiscates farms for Natala villagers in Arakan

Buthidaung, Burma: In unabated abuse of human rights, farmland belonging
to Rohingiyas are once again being confiscated by the Burmese Army for
Natala villagers, according to our correspondent.

On April 13 night, around 15 soldiers went to the house of Mohamed Salim,
(30) son of Noor Mohamed, hailing from Lanbow Bill village, Buthidaung.

The troops called him to their camp near the village and told him that the
army authorities wanted 16 acres of his farmland for new settlers who are
being brought in from central Burma. When he refused to sign the paper
which the army gave him expressing his willingness to hand over the land
to the army for Natala villagers, soldiers tortured and detained him till
he signed the paper, said a relative of Mohamed Salim.

On April 1, the same group of soldiers, called Noor Mohamed (60) son of
Ali Hussin, hailing from Pach Khali village, Buthidaung, to their camp and
asked him to sign the paper which said he was handing over five acres of
his farm land. When he refused, the soldiers tortured him physically and
mentally for 13 days till he signed the paper.

“We are facing a major problem as the army authorities are demanding our
farmland where we live in our mother land. If we have no farmland how do
we survive,” a schoolteacher asked.

The new settlers or Natala villagers as they are called, are long term
prisoners, drug addicts, HIV patients and poor Burman people from central
Burma and Rakhines (Arakanese) from Bangladesh, he added. SPDC deploys
army in border areas of northern Arakan.

____________________________________

April 17, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar people greet new calendar year by doing deeds of merit

Myanmar people on Monday morning started to greet the country's new
calendar year by doing deeds of merit according to Myanmar traditions and
customs after the four- day Thingyan water festival.

The centuries-old heritage of Myanmar people, who are mostly Buddhists,
includes visiting pagodas, paying obeisance and bathing the Buddha
statues.

The Myanmar new year day begins with the dawn feasting of monks, followed
by freeing of fish and other life, shampooing and bathing of the old-aged
and offering natural fragrant bark scents and manicuring.

Community welfare works such as dredging of wells and lakes, renovating of
roads and bridges and sanitation tasks are also carried out along with
recitation of Buddhist classics by monks for the people to be free from
all forms of dangers.

Meanwhile, Monday's official newspaper New Light of Myanmar in an
editorial called on the country to renew and double their efforts for
peace, progress and prosperity not only of Myanmar but also the region and
the world in the new Myanmar calendar year.

____________________________________

April 16, Xinhua General News Service
Telecom facilities in Myanmar new capital being upgraded

Telecom facilities in Myanmar's new administrative capital of Naypyidaw
are being upgraded to match Yangon, the previous capital, according to a
latest report of the Myanmar Times published on Sunday.

Six-digit phone lines, Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Lines (ADSL) and
flexible roaming capacity are being set up in the Naypyidaw city.

With the establishment, the Information Ministry's new telecom network
would be functioning fully by June and digitizing of key documents to
carry out business between the ministry's office in the new capital and
the departments under it left in Yangon will be made possible, according
to the ministry.

Those departments so far remained in Yangon to maintain public access are
the Department of Information and Public Relations, News and Periodicals
Enterprise, Printing and Publishing Enterprise and Myanmar Radio and
Television.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has started using video conferencing system to link
ministries' office work between Naypyidaw and Yangon cities. The system is
being preliminary introduced for the ministry and the Ministry of Commerce
as well to enable officials in the two cities to meet and exchange related
information data within a day.

The Myanmar government began on Nov. 6 last year shifting its
administrative capital from Yangon to Naypyidaw outside Pyinmana which
stands on a plain land in the central part of the country with mountain
ranges in the west and the east and 390 kilometers north of Yangon. The
move is said to enable more effective administration over the whole nation
from the central part.

With almost all ministries having been moved out from Yangon, government
office works in Naypyidaw have been functioning normally since Feb. 7.

However, analysts said the relocation of Myanmar's capital to Naypyidaw
would not change the status of Yangon as its commercial hub out of its
geographical position as a port city.

____________________________________

April 15, 200 Xinhua General News Service
Three killed in collapse of water-throwing pandal in Myanmar

At least three people were killed with over two dozen others injured on
Friday when a water-throwing pandal stage collapsed in Myanmar's Yangon
city, police sources confirmed Saturday.

The accident occurred on the second day of the country's four- day
Thingyan traditional water festival.

The festive activities at the four-storey water-throwing wooden pandal
stage, built on a concave ground and accommodates about a hundred
overjoyed revelers, is sponsored by Aung Kyaw Kyaw, famous goalkeeper of
Myanmar National Football Team, the sources said.

The accident was attributed to the weak withstanding load of the pandal
stage designed, on which huge and heavy audio instruments were placed, and
revelers jumped heavily in consonance with the hip hop and rap music which
became popular in recent years in Myanmar.

The pandal is one of the 45 set up by private companies and groups along
the Inya Road near the Yangon Institute of Economics for holding the
festival. The location is known as the most crowded and lively one during
the festival in Yangon this year despite far less number of such pandal
stages in the rest of Yangon.

It was the first ever accident of its kind in the history of Myanmar's
water festival that claimed human lives from the collapse of pandal stage,
Yangon residents said.

The erecting of pandal stage to throw water and give entertainment is a
traditional way of Myanmar people to celebrate the festival.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

April 17, Shan Herald News for Agency
Wa "invited" to surrender

Reports coming from the border both from Thai and Wa sources say the
United Wa State Army has recently been "invited to exchange (their) arms
for perpetual peace."

The "invitation" came during a meeting held in Tachilek, opposite Maesai,
on Sunday, 9 April, according to a Thai source who is in the logging
business. The Wa source, while tight-lipped about the details,
nevertheless confirmed the report. "It will be impossible for us to
comply," he said.

Significantly, the meeting took place three days after the visit in the
city by Lt-Gen Kyaw Win, who commands three military regions: Lashio-based
Northeastern, Taunggyi-based Eastern and Kengtung-based Triangle.

The UWSA has its forces placed along the Sino-Burma border from Kokang to
Mongla and along the Thai-Burma border from Tachilek to Homong.

Other sketchy reports also indicate Wa supreme leader Bao Youxiang has
been taking a break from his administrative and military duties, that were
taken over by his brothers Youri and Youliang. The reason for his
open-ended leave, though alluded by some to poor health ("he sometimes
doesn't even remember his own wife," says one), others are not buying it.
"I think he's under heavy pressure to do something about Wei Hsuehkang
(commander of the Thai-border based 171st Military Region) who has been
blacklisted not only by the United States and Thailand but most recently
by China also (on drug charges)".

According to old reports, the cash-trapped UWSA was bailed out by Wei
Hsuehkang following its overthrow of the Communist Party of Burma's
leadership in 1989.

____________________________________

April 17, Kaladan News
SPDC deploys army in border areas of northern Arakan

Maungdaw, Burma: The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) have been
deploying the army in the border areas of northern Arakan over the last
few days, reports our correspondent.

According to local people, the troops of Light Infantry Battalions (LIB)
354 and 234 have been deployed in the northern part of Maungdaw starting
from Kyein Chaung (Bawli Bazaar) and its surrounding area under the
Maungdaw Township, Arakan State.

The reason for deploying troops in the area stems from the belief of the
SPDC government that pro-democracy opposition groups have entered these
areas from Bangladesh.

The troops are not only watching over the places but have also forced
Rohingya villagers to keep a watch along with them day and night. However,
till date nobody from the opposition groups have either been found or
caught by the troops.

A local elder said, because the poor villagers are being forced to be on
watch with the soldiers the whole day and night, they cannot earn to feed
their families. Their families have to go without food frequently.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

April 16, Japan Economic Newswire
Myanmar raises interest rates

The Myanmar central bank and the country's commercial banks raised their
interest rates by 2 percentage points effective April 1, the country's
state-run press reported Sunday.

The central bank raised its rates to 12 percent from 10 percent per annum,
while rates at private banks were raised to 17 percent from 15 percent for
ordinary loans, and from 13 percent to 15 percent for special loans for
agriculture and industry.

The interest rate on savings account was raised from 9 percent to 12
percent per annum.

____________________________________

April 17, Agence France Presse
China gives green light to Myanmar oil pipeline

China's planning ministry has approved an oil pipeline linking Myanmar's
deep-water port of Sittwe to Kunming in the landlocked southwestern
Chinese province of Yunnan, state press said Monday.

The National Development and Reform Commission gave the green light to the
project at the beginning of April, the China Business newspaper reported,
citing official sources.

The long-expected pipeline would provide an alternative route for China's
crude imports from the Middle East and Africa and help reduce its
dependence on traffic through the Strait of Malacca.

The paper did not give the cost or the capacity of the pipeline but said
construction was slated to begin this year.

It could also serve as a conduit to transport crude to China's populous
inland provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan and the Chongqing municipality.

____________________________________

April 17, Asia Pulse
Customs points say oil is not being smuggled out of Thailand

Thai customs points along the border in Chiang Rai have affirmed that
there is no oil being smuggled out of the province at the moment.

Chuchai Udomphot, the chief officer at the customs point in Mae Sai
district in Chiang Rai, spoke on concerns about the smuggling of oil from
Thailand to sell along the border. He said this would certainly not happen
as there are state officials stringently overlooking the matter.

He said oil exports to Chiang Tung in Myanmar pass through the Mae Sai
customs point due to the ease of transportation. He also said that the
diesel price in Myanmar is now around 1-2 baht higher than in Thailand.

In the meantime, customs officials in Chiang Saen district revealed that
oil exports from the Kingdom are sent to Myanmar and Laos through the
Chiang Saen customs point.

They also affirmed that smuggling has not yet occurred, while expressing
confidence that the exports would not be affected by the increase in
prices in the Kingdom.

____________________________________

April 16, Hindustan Times
Nagaland border trade centres under wraps for years

The much hyped international border trade centres in Nagaland which were
received with much appreciation by the public have been lying untouched
for last six years.

Considering the issue, Nagaland Lok Sabha MP, W Wangyuh Konyak has asked
New Delhi to initiate border trade with Myanmar at an early date at the
designated trade centres at Lungwa, Pangsha, and Mimi.

Urging the Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, Nagaland MP in a letter,
requested the Central Government to construct an international border
trade centre, particularly at Pangsha in Tuesnsang district and Lungwa in
Mon district and also the other projects on a priority basis.

The MP's suggestions included construction of ITC building with
international trade library, seminar hall, conference room, auditorium
hall, trade/custom offices. The suggestions also included construction of
shopping complex with retail outlets and sheds for temporary squatters for
sale of merchandise, storage arrangement separately for perishable and
hazardous materials and a guest house for business officials.

He also requested the Union Minister to construct a mini township at
Pangsha and Lungwa with residential accommodation, social infrastructure
such as school, hospital, bank, police station, telecommunication, postal
services, etc.

Northeastern region shares 98 per cent of the border with neighbouring
countries of Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan and China. Having realized the
potentials of border trade in the region, an Indo-Myanmar border trade
agreement was signed on January 21, 1994. It was also decided to conduct
weekly haats at four points at Longwa, Pangsha, Mimi and Molhe including
the fifth point Avangkhu during the ninth sectoral meeting in Kohima in
1999.

Published by HT Syndication with permission from the Assam Tribune.

____________________________________


April 15, Xinhua General News Service
Malaysian, Thai companies to invest in oil palm cultivation in Myanmar

Companies from Malaysia and Thailand are seeking permission from the
Myanmar authorities for investment in oil palm cultivation in the
country's southern Tanintharyi division, a prospective oil bowl in
Myanmar, said a latest report of the local Khit Myanmar weekly.

Some four Malaysian companies and some Thai's have been interested in
engagement in the sector since last year with some of them having sought
for investment approval from Myanmar's Foreign Investment Commission,
while some making feasibility study.

Of the companies intending to invest in the sector, TDM and Agoo Venture
of Malaysia are leading, the report said.

Myanmar is implementing a project to transform the Tanintharyi division
into an edible oil pot next to the Magway division in the central part in
a bid to ensure domestic oil sufficiency.

Involving 35 local national companies, a total of 64,800 hectares of land
in the Tanintharyi division have been reclaimed and put under oil palm
plantations so far against the target of 202,500 hectares.

Magway division was once an oil pot at a time when the country has a few
millions of population. However, as the population is increasing, palm oil
is being imported from abroad due to demand.

Myanmar's population had hit 54.3 million in 2005.

According to statistics, oil palm cultivated area in Myanmar now covers
over 130,000 acres (52,650 hectares) and there still remains tens of
thousands of hectares of vacant and fallow land suitable for reclamation
for such crop plantation.

The country has also been placing emphasis on growing edible oil crops in
a bid to meet domestic consumption, outlining three major items of crops
-- groundnut, sesame and sunflower to be grown in the three divisions of
Sagaing, Mandalay and Magway as well.

Myanmar produced some 250,000 tons of edible oil annually but still has to
import the same amount of palm oil to meet its local demand.

Official figures disclosed that in the 2004-05 fiscal year, Myanmar
produced 249,000 tons of groundnut out of 654,880 hectares grown, 197,000
tons of sesame out of 1.46 million hectares and 94, 000 tons of sunflower
out of 511,100 hectares.

Meanwhile, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC) is at
present implementing a 12-million-US-dollar edible oil project to help
Myanmar upgrade its oil crops production for self- sufficiency.

The five-year project, which is the biggest of its kind since 1988, would
assist farmers in their undertakings in 36 main oil seed growing areas and
help cut the import of edible oil.

In addition, OPEC will also help Myanmar build two edible oil mills which
worth 5 million US dollars as part of its aid to the country, local
reports said.

The oil mill projects, which also involve the Food and Agricultural
Organization (FAO), will be implemented in Yangon and Mandalay according
to a plan yet to be finalized and approved by Myanmar's Agricultural
Planning Department, according to FAO's earlier

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

April 17, AIDS Weekly
AIDS, TB, malaria, and avian influenza spreading unchecked in Burma

Government policies in Burma that restrict public health and humanitarian
aid have created an environment where AIDS, drug-resistant tuberculosis,
malaria and bird flu (H5N1) are spreading unchecked, according to a report
by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

In that report authors Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH, director of the Bloomberg
School?s Center for Public Health and Human Rights, Luke Mullany, PhD,
Voravit Suwanvanichkij, MD, MPH and Nicole Franck, MHS, document the
spread of these infectious diseases, which if left unchecked, could pose a
serious health threat to other Southeast Asia nations and the world. They
believe international cooperation and policies are needed to restore
humanitarian assistance to the Burmese people, but caution that new
restrictions imposed by the military junta are making such efforts more
difficult. The full report was presented at a briefing for State
Department officials and is available from the Johns Hopkins Center for
Public Health and Human Rights at www.jhsph.edu/burma. The report is also
under review for publication with the journal Public Library of Science
Medicine.

The report states that Burma reported its first cases of bird flu among
poultry to the World Health Organization. However, the ruling junta
censored reports of the outbreak to its own public until the outbreak
killed 10,000 more birds and 41,000 needed to be culled to stem further
spreading.

The report documents a longstanding and severe under funding of health and
education programs in Burma. Health expenditures in Burma are among the
lowest globally, including an annual budget of less than $22,000 for the
prevention and treatment of HIV among a total population of 43 million
people. Much of the country lacks basic laboratory facilities to carry out
a CD4 blood test, the minimum standard for clinical monitoring of AIDS
care. In 2005, 34% of tuberculosis cases in Burma were resistant to any
one of the four standard first-line drug treatments, which is double the
rate of drug-resistant cases in neighboring countries. Nearly half of all
deaths from malaria in Asia occur in Burma. The report also reveals that
70% of anti-malarial pills sold in Burma contain substandard amounts of
active ingredients, which increases the risk of drug-resistance.

“There is a growing humanitarian crisis in Burma. In our report, we
document how the ruling government’s policies have restricted nearly all
aid and allowed serious infectious diseases to spread unchecked,” said
Beyrer, who is also an associate professor in the Department of
Epidemiology at the Bloomberg School. “With the global spread of bird flu,
there is a fear that if a human form of H5N1 were to take hold in Burma,
it could potentially spread unchecked for weeks or months before anyone
knew about it. Uncontrolled spread of any disease, especially an emerging
disease like H5N1, poses a serious health threat to Burma’s populous
neighbors, like China and India, as well as the rest of the world.”

The report also documents threats and restrictions to foreign relief
workers and relief groups, including the Red Cross. Because of the
deteriorating situation, the United Nations Global Fund for AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria was forced to withdraw its five-year, $96 million
dollar grant agreement with Burma. Backpack Health Worker Team, an aid
group that provides primary health care services in rural areas of Eastern
Burma and Thailand, is also raising concerns about its ability to monitor
and contain outbreaks of bird flu and other diseases.

“The Burmese junta is increasing restrictions on humanitarian assistance
and public health while the health of Burmese people deteriorates, posing
a widening threat to Burma and her neighbors,” said Beyrer.

This article was prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other
reports.

____________________________________
DRUGS

April 16, Shan Herald Agency for News
Chinese agents defeated Khun Sa: former aide

Ten years after the surprise surrender of Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army, once
conceded by Rangoon as its strongest armed opposition, one of his closest
aides has revealed to S.H.A.N. for the first time that Khun Sa was brought
to his knees not by the Burma Army but by the genius of Beijing's agents.

The aide, who is also Khun Sa's close relative, claimed that the MTA
forces fell apart during their drive to the Sino-Burma border at the
invitation of Chinese agents who had also tipped off the Burma Army.

"The disaster was compounded by the mutiny of Gunyawd (in June 1995) that
further splintered the MTA, leaving him with no choice but to surrender,"
he explained.

The aide, who asked not be named, maintained the starting point was the
visit in 1993 by three Chinese led by a Li W. J. (full name edited out by
request), who were received by three MTA men: Khun Sa, Gunjade and
"myself, whose job was only to take down notes."

Encouraged by the talks, Khun Sa, against counter advice by several
lieutenants including Gunjade and his able chief of staff Falang aka Zhang
Suchuan, that the Chinese should not be taken at face value, went on to
make three costly mistakes:

    * Declaration of Independence on 12 December 1993
    * The attack on Burmese garrisons on the Thai-Burma border
    * The march to the north to establish new bases along the Sino-Burma
border

"All of which proved to be fiascos", the 42-year old former aide who left
Burma last year "after 9 years of trying to make a living there".

A few months after the surrender, the aide ran into Li in Rangoon, whom he
strongly condemned for double-crossing. "He was not annoyed by my
accusations," he recalled. "Instead he calmly told me he was only doing
what was in the interests of China."

Despite the indictment on Khun Sa in 1990 by the United States, the
Chinese were not convinced he was not an American stooge, said the aide.
"Moreover, they were alarmed by his call for independence. So they
naturally drifted towards Rangoon."

The ailing Gunjade, 68, who had served as Khun Sa's deputy, agreed with
the aide's account when interviewed by telephone.

At present, Khun Sa, 72, is living under protective custody in Rangoon.
"They keep injecting him with strange drugs, against the family's
protests," the aide said. "He can now barely nod or shake his head."

The aide's statement was in response to S.H.A.N.'s question on the latest
declaration of independence by a Shan group called "Interim Shan
Government" on 17 April 2005. The group however has continued to brush
aside counsels by several Shan elders that Beijing would not tolerate
separatist tendencies among its neighbors especially Burma.

The MTA came into being in 1985 when three groups: Shan United
Revolutionary Army (SURA), Shan State Army 'South' (SSA - S) and Shanland
United Army (SUA) merged together. In 1994 it reportedly fielded 25,000
men. After its surrender in 1996, the SURA, renamed SSA 'South', has been
continuing with the fight under the leadership of Col Yawdserk.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

April 15, The Hindu
Burmese group hold protests

New Delhi: About 50 activists of Burmese Democracy Group in India (BDGI)
held a protest demonstration at Jantar Mantar here on Thursday against
``human rights violations'' by the military regime there.

A BDGI spokesperson Ngwe Toe said the Indian Government should pressure
the military regime to release the leader of the non-violent movement for
democracy and human rights, Aung San Suu Kyi, and the other political
prisoners.

"The military regime has forced the Burmese people to live in constant
fear. Its policies have precipitated a steady decline of the economic
condition. It has also failed to address the problem of HIV/AIDS and other
health problems in the country," he said, adding that the drug trafficking
and cross-border migration had also become a big problem. The protestors
urged the Indian Government to sever all relations with the military
regime and support the democratic movement there.

Mr. Toe said the protest demonstration would be organised every day till
April 16.

____________________________________

April 16, Hindustan Times
Myanmar-India army talks at Dimapur - Sobhapati Samom

IMPHAL, April 16 -- A high level Myanmar army delegation will be meeting
their Indian counterparts at Nagaland's Rangapahar Army headquarter
located in Dimapur, 216 km north of here, on April 19.

The joint international border survey and combat against drugs smuggling
along the border are expected to be in the main agenda of the forthcoming
meeting of the two armies. The meet is also likely to discuss taking up of
a joint effort to curb unwanted activities including militancy, a highly
placed source said.

However, there is no official notification in this regard. The move to
have an Indo-Myanmar border level meeting at Rangapahar this month was
reportedly charted out after the recent visit of Indian Ambassador to
Myanmar Bhasker Mitra at Moreh, the border town of the region,110 km south
of here.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

April 17, New Straits Times
The generals won't relent - Tunku Yusuf Jewa

A few months ago, when Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar was
appointed in Malaysia's capacity as Asean chairman to make a trip to
Myanmar, he was jubilant as he felt he had an important role to play.

Others before him had failed, and people like UN Special envoy Tan Sri
Razali Ismail were not even allowed into the country since March 2004. In
fact, the party of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi had
stressed that the visit of Syed Hamid could only be meaningful if the
military junta allowed him to see her and interview other leaders of the
party.

I was not surprised when it was reported in the media a few days ago that
Syed Hamid curtailed his visit to Myanmar.

I don't quite see how the trip could be called a success when he failed to
see junta strongman Senior General Than Swe or even get near Suu Kyi and
other political leaders if we are thinking of bringing democratic reform
to Myanmar.

Being familiar with the military rulers' peccadilloes and indecisive
approach to any problems followed by empty promises, I fail to see how
Myanmar can change its destiny or the fate of the people unless, of
course, the United States steps in and does what it did in Afghanistan and
Iraq for a quick change in regime.

We can see the military is not willing to hand over the country to
civilians. The junta prefers to see the people suffer than lose power.

At a recent gathering of the military rulers at their new capital,
Pyinmana, Than Swe had the audacity to say that moving too fast towards
democracy could fuel ethnic tensions and tear the country apart.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

April 14, National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma
Burmese junta at 'complete loss' over what's happening in country

There is a Burmese saying which goes, "You'd only lose sleep if you rise
up every time a dog barks".

Hence, the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) has
never lost a wink over the accusations that the Burmese military regime
has been hurling because they are merely groundless and childish outbursts
intended solely to discredit political opponents.

The baseless and flagrant lies alleged against the NCGUB at the regime's
press conference on 12 April and the follow-up "Declaration" by the
regime's Ministry of Home Affairs, which placed the NCGUB on the list of
"terrorists", raised two important and interesting questions.

Is the regime so desperate and insecure that it decides to embark on a
systematic smear campaign to discredit a political institution like NCGUB
which has never deviated from nonviolence as its firm policy or is Lt Gen
Myint Swe, the new head of the military intelligence under so intense a
pressure from his higher-ups that he has to come up with names to blame
for the acts of terrorism in the country?

There have been strong speculations that the present military intelligence
setup has become a nonfunctioning institution since the dismissal of all
capable intelligence officers led by former Prime Minister and
Intelligence Chief Gen Khin Nyunt, and the latest blunders by the regime
only confirm that fact.

It appears that the Burmese generals are more focused on building a strong
military and getting their new capital in Pyinmana accepted domestically
and internationally, without realizing that they are at a complete loss
over what is happening in the country.

It is time that the generals take a perceptive look at the problems in the
country and stop blaming others for the rising dissent, economic failure,
poverty, and other deteriorating conditions in the country.  Instead, they
should earnestly begin salvaging the situation together with democratic
parties which have so far shown nothing but goodwill toward the military.