BurmaNet News, May 20-22, 2006

[Editor]

May 20-22, 2006 Issue # 2967


INSIDE BURMA
Independent: Countdown to freedom
AFP: Aung San Suu Kyi meeting aimed at blocking UN action: analysts
Irrawaddy: More dying in political prisons, says report
DVB: Power struggle: Burmese officers reportedly irked by power of
pro-government body
LA Times: In Myanmar, a new voice for human rights

BUSINESS / TRADE
Channel NewsAsia: Myanmar's trade partners urged to press Yangon for reform

REGIONAL
Deutsche Presse-Agentur: Singapore urges Myanmar to build on UN envoy's visit

INTERNATIONAL
New York Sun: U.N. to hear of repression in Burma
AFP: US Senate calls for UN Security Council action on Myanmar
AFP: US official urges China to play greater role to foster reforms in
Myanmar
Fort Wayne News Sentinel: About 45 local Burmese protest 'silent genocide'
at embassy today

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

May 22, The Independent (London)
Countdown to freedom - Jan McGirk in Bangkok and Daniel Howden

17 years after she was first put under house arrest, will Aung San Suu Kyi
finally taste liberty?

The outside world has had its first direct word from Aung San Suu Kyi in
nearly three years. The next week could mean everything or nothing for the
imprisoned democratic leader of Burma. The Burmese junta's surprise
decision to grant a senior United Nations official access to the 1991
Nobel peace laureate has revived hope she may be released.

This week, the generals who crushed Ms Suu Kyi's democracy movement will
decide whether to extend her house arrest beyond its present term, which
expires on Saturday. That day will mark the 16th anniversary of her
overwhelming election victory. The military dictatorship ignored that and
she has spent 10 of the past 17 years imprisoned.

Ibrahim Gambari, the Under Secretary of the United Nations, became the
first person from outside the secretive and oppressive state, to see one
of the world's most prominent political prisoners, since March of 2004.
She is in virtual solitary confinement and in the absence of contact with
the outside world rumours arose that Ms Suu Kyi, now 60, is slowly being
poisoned.

In Bangkok, Mr Gambari said she was physically sound. "She is well, but of
course she is still under restriction," he said. The Nigerian envoy spent
45 minutes with Ms Suu Kyi, who was brought to see him from her overgrown
lakeside villa in Rangoon. He said he must report to the UN secretary
general, Kofi Annan, before saying more.

Among democracy activists the unexpected meeting was seen as a political
breakthrough. U Lwin, secretary of Ms Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy, said: "This is an improvement on the part of the authorities. I
think this is progress. It is quite likely that her detention might not be
extended this time."

Other party members had doubts. "I don't think expectations should be too
high because of just one meeting," said Win Myint. "We should wait and see
the developments before drawing positive conclusions."

On Saturday, an imposing black car with tinted windows left Suu Kyi's
residence and whisked her to a government guest house five minutes away,
and returned within the hour.

Earlier, Mr Gambari had toured the new administrative capital at
Naypyidaw, near Pyinmamna, where civil servants were ordered to move last
November. There, close to the jungle stronghold where Ms Suu Kyi's war
hero father, General Aung San, had launched Burma's independence movement,
the UN envoy met the country's absolute ruler, General Than Shwe.

The supremo forbids the mention of Aung San Suu Kyi's name in his
presence, but diplomats said talks touched on Burma's humanitarian
challenges, restrictions on international aid groups and, in particular, a
brutal army offensive that has displaced thousands of ethnic Karen
tribespeople.

"Gambari accomplished something the previous UN envoys have not been able
to do," U Lwin said. "This makes us optimistic. Slowly, slowly, catch the
monkey. Yet it's hard to say that the path is open for changes."

While the generals tout a road-map to democracy and called for a
constitutional convention to rubber-stamp a military government, the NLD
boycotted these proceedings and labelled them a sham. The junta threatened
to dissolve the pro-democracy party for its alleged links with illegal
organisations, which they blame for recent bombings in the capital.

"The government has enough evidence to declare the NLD an unlawful
association for its links with terrorist groups and exiled dissident
organisations," one minister said. Feeling the heat, numerous party
members have resigned.

Last week, the US Senate passed a resolution condemning attacks on Karen
insurgents, the most deadly in a decade, and urged the UN Security Council
to call for the immediate and unconditional release of Ms Suu Kyi and all
prisoners of conscience in Burma.

The country has been under repressive military rule since 1962. Since the
present junta took power in 1988, some 1,100 prisoners of conscience
remain in prison. The junta supports isolation from the West and closer
ties with China and India.

"The regime has consistently played the Suu Kyi card whenever it got
backed into a corner, either to relieve outside pressure or to stage a
diplomatic coup to win hearts and minds at home and abroad," said Aung
Zaw, a Burmese commentator exiled in northern Thailand.

Ms Suu Kyi never intended to be a heroine for Burmese democracy. She was
nursing her ailing mother in Rangoon when General Ne Win staged the coup
in 1988 and the military fired on student protesters, killing thousands.
She spoke out against army brutality and was detained at gunpoint and put
under house arrest at her family's rundown house. But she became revered
as an icon for the dispossessed and a thorn in the junta's side.

Admirers would mob Ms Suu Kyi whenever she was allowed to travel in her
country, from 1995-2000 and for a few months in 2002-03. Her passion for
Burma meant less contact with her two sons, both in their thirties and in
the UK. While she was imprisoned, her husband, the Oxford don Michael
Aris, died of prostate cancer in 1999. Suu Kyi did not to visit him on his
deathbed because she feared the generals would block her return.

General Than Shwe assumed her message was becoming irrelevant, but was
astounded by the excitement her speaking tours generated. In May 2003, her
convoy was attacked by government thugs and Burma's stubborn hero, known
as the Titanium Orchid, was locked up again.

____________________________________

May 21, Agence France Presse
Aung San Suu Kyi meeting aimed at blocking UN action: analysts

Yangon: Myanmar, under international pressure for reforms, has allowed a
top United Nations envoy to see detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi
in an effort to block UN Security Council action, analysts said Sunday.

Ibrahim Gambari, UN under-secretary general for political affairs, held
talks with the 60-year-old Nobel peace laureate at a military guest house
in Yangon Saturday for about one hour.

The surprise meeting followed Gambari's talks with Myanmar's reclusive
leader Senior General Than Shwe at a secret jungle compound outside the
central town of Pyinmana early Saturday.

"The envoy told the junta leader that Myanmar should speed up
democratization and improve human rights," a Yangon-based diplomat who
received a briefing from Gambari on his mission told AFP.

"Also Gambari asked the junta to help UN humanitarian workers operate
smoothly in the country," the diplomat said.

The junta crushed pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988 and two years later
rejected the results of national elections won by Aung San Suu Kyi's
opposition National League for Democracy (NLD).

She has spent more than 10 of the last 17 years under house arrest in
Yangon and the junta was likely to extend her house arrest later this
month. She has also been barred from seeing foreigners for more than two
years.

The last foreign visitor to see the opposition leader was Malaysia's
Razali Ismail, the UN's special envoy for Myanmar, in March 2004.

Analysts said Myanmar set up the meeting between Aung San Suu Kyi and the
envoy in an attempt to block UN Security Council action against the junta
amid growing international pressure on the regime for democratic reforms.

"They know pressure is coming, particularly from the United States," said
Win Min, a Burmese political analyst in Thailand, referring to last week's
US Senate resolution calling on Washington to lead UN Security Council
action against Myanmar.

"If they don't allow Gambari to see Aung San Suu Kyi, they are worried
Gambari will take up the Myanmar issue to the UN Security Council. He is
the number three person at the UN," said Win Min.

The United States put the international spotlight on Myanmar in December
when it pushed the Security Council to hold a briefing on the junta's
human rights and other problems for the first time.

Last week US President George W. Bush renewed economic sanctions on
Myanmar for another year, saying the junta posed a threat to US national
security and foreign policy. The US has a total ban on Myanmar's exports.

The US Senate resolution also condemned Myanmar for its latest offensive
against ethnic Karen rebels, reportedly the most serious in a decade. Some
11,000 people are believed to have fled their homes because of the
violence.

"Even if it is an informal agenda at the Security Council, it will be
embarrassing for the regime," Win Min said.

Aung Naing Oo, another Burmese analyst in Thailand, agreed.

"They have to show some goodwill to the UN. Otherwise, the envoy will
bring the Myanmar issue to the Security Council. In a way, the meeting
between Aung San Suu Kyi and the envoy was the regime's pre-emptive
strike," he said.

A Western diplomat in Yangon described the meeting as "a good surprise."

But the diplomat argued it could be "an attempt by the regime to diminish
pressure on it as Americans are clearly getting impatient and are
increasingly talking about Security Council action."

All agreed that the junta was highly unlikely to release Aung San Suu Kyi
anytime soon.

"It will be a miracle if the military frees Aung San Suu Kyi," Aung Naig
Oo said.

"They are afraid of her because once she is out, she can quickly gather
supporters," he said. The Western diplomat also said it would be "a dream"
if she goes free.

Win Min said he doubted Saturday's meeting would lead to any negotiations
between Aung San Suu Kyi and the military government.

"The military government only responds to international pressure, but they
don't respond to internal pressure," he said.

On Sunday, Myanmar's state media reported Gambari's talks with Than Shwe
but said nothing about Aung San Suu Kyi's meeting with the UN envoy.

Gambari on Saturday ended his three-day mission aimed at pressing the
junta on reforms. It was the highest-level mission by the UN in more than
two years.

____________________________________

May 22, Irrawaddy
More dying in political prisons, says report - Yeni

The number of political activists dying in harsh Burmese prison conditions
is increasing, says a Thailand-based human rights advocacy group.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) said in a
report published on Monday that nine jailed democracy supporters have died
since early 2005. It said the increased number of deaths in custody in the
past year reflects a rise in torture and ill-treatment.

The 148-page report, “Eight Seconds of Silence: The Death of Democracy
Activists Behind Bars”, records all the known cases of political prisoners
who have died in custody since 1988. It details the names, stories and
fate of 127 democracy activists—90 have died in prisons, 8 in
interrogation centers, 4 in labor camps and 10 shortly after being freed
from jail.

Eight seconds is a reference to the pro-democracy uprising on August 8,
1988, that was quelled by government troops. The secretary of AAPPB, Tate
Naing, told The Irrawaddy: “This report exposes the brutality that has led
to the death of democracy activists.”

The report highlights the case of Aung Hlaing Win, a member of the
National League for Democracy, who died in custody last year. Independent
doctors found injuries consistent with torture on his body, but the
Burmese authorities informed his family he died from a heart attack.

“Torture is state policy in Burma,” said Tate Naing. “But no legal action
has ever been taken to hold them accountable.”

AAPPB says the families of political prisoners are usually informed of a
death in custody only after the authorities have cremated the body.
Officials pressure medical workers into falsifying the cause of death and
family members have been offered bribes to remain silent.

Tom Malinowski, of the Washington-based Human Rights Watch, writes in a
foreword to the report: “Its members [democracy activists] have been
ruthlessly persecuted, many killed, others imprisoned or forced into
exile.”

The AAPPB has urged the UN Security Council to empower the
Secretary-General to press for national reconciliation and democratization
in Burma. “We strongly believe that taking effective measures to end
arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment behind bars is an essential
for first step in the process of national reconciliation and
democratization,” said Tate Naing.

____________________________________

May 20, Democratic Voice of Burma
Power struggle: Burmese officers irked by power of pro-junta USDA

Middle-ranking military officials of Burma’s ruling junta, the State Peace
and Development Association (USDA), are said to be unhappy with the Union
Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), a pro-junta civilian group,
for its unjust acts, unfair economic practices, and the misuse of power to
bully others just like the former military intelligence agents.

The dissatisfaction is the result of USDA officials showing deference only
to regional and tactical operations commanders while increasingly treating
military officers of other ranks with disdain.

An officer with the rank of major, who did not wish to be identified, has
this to say about the dissatisfaction with USDA officials:

“How shall I put it? USDA is subordinate to the regional and tactical
operations commanders concerned. But, they are somewhat the equals of
regimental commanders. They have almost the same power as regimental
commanders in a certain region. But, since they are civilians they have a
wider say in the civilian circles. Those in the military, however, have
influence in the military only. But, USDA does have influence in the
military also because when, say, the children of military personnel want
some privileges they have to approach the USDA. That is because the
regimental commanders do not have the authority to give them anything. For
instance, if you want computer training, the commander cannot arrange it
for you nor can he himself teach you that. The regimental commander also
cannot give recommendations either, but the USDA can. Hence, the military
automatically becomes inferior. For instance, if one needs to apply [words
indistinct], or get employed, and so forth one needs recommendations. The
USDA has a hold on all of these. Hence, people who wish to get privileges
and have no misgivings, try to associate with the USDA. But, people who
joined the military to serve the nation and remain morally upright, feel
unhappy about the situation. That is because the nation is being
destroyed. What I can say with complete conviction is that a large number
of middle ranks or people holding the rank of captain and major are
already thinking about something. Yes, they are thinking about something.”

____________________________________

May 21, Los Angeles Times
In Myanmar, a new voice for human rights - Richard C. Paddock

Su Su Nway challenged officials on the use of forced labor and won. But
now she's in prison

Yangon: Su Su Nway was orphaned as a child and has a heart condition. But
that hasn't kept her from challenging one of the most brutal regimes on
Earth.

The soft-spoken 34-year-old, who lives just outside Yangon, thought it was
wrong that local officials forced her and her neighbors to work repairing
a road without pay. So she took them to court under a 1999 law, never
enforced, that banned compulsory labor.

To the surprise of many, a judge convicted the town chairman and a deputy
last year and sentenced them to eight months in prison. It was the first
time a government official had been jailed in Myanmar, also known as
Burma, for the widespread practice of making citizens work for free.

But in the end, Su Su Nway paid a bigger price. The new town chairman
accused her of harassing him by shouting and swearing at him. She denied
the charge, insisting, "As a Burmese Buddhist girl, I would not do such
things as they said I did." But she was found guilty by a different judge
of "insulting and disrupting a government official on duty." She was
sentenced to 18 months.

"That this would be grounds for an intimidation case is ludicrous," said
Richard Horsey, the chief representative in Myanmar of the United Nations'
International Labor Organization. "She's about 5 feet tall with a heart
condition. The idea that she would yell obscenities and that village
leaders are going to be intimidated is highly unlikely."

In a country where much of the population has passively accepted
authoritarian rule, Su Su Nway has become a standard- bearer for human
rights, a young woman willing to defy the military regime that has run
Myanmar for longer than she has been alive.

After taking the mayor to court, she challenged the regime further by
speaking out on the Democratic Voice of Burma, an opposition radio service
that is operated from Norway and broadcasts in Myanmar despite strict
censorship laws.

"They want to send me to prison because they are afraid of me," she told
the radio service shortly before her imprisonment in October. "I have no
responsibility, no power and no position. They plot against a common girl,
a disease sufferer, and sue her because they are afraid. If they are
afraid like that, our side is winning."

With her arrest, Su Su Nway joined the more than 1,100 political prisoners
in Myanmar. The best-known is opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, 60, the
Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has been detained for more than 10 of the
last 16 years.

Su Su Nway, part of a new generation of activists, is a youth leader in
Suu Kyi's political party, the National League for Democracy. Her courage
in challenging the regime has won her international attention.

The Bush administration condemned Su Su Nway's detention on "trumped-up
charges" and expressed concern that her heart condition was worsening in
prison. Amnesty International declared her a prisoner of conscience and
issued a worldwide appeal in April on her behalf. Myanmar activists in
exile and human rights groups created Web pages praising her as fearless.

"Su Su Nway's case highlights the brutality of the Burmese regime and its
disregard for democratic principles and fundamental human rights," State
Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters in February. "We call
on the regime to release Su Su Nway and over 1,100 political prisoners it
is holding and to initiate a credible and inclusive political process that
empowers the Burmese people to determine their own future."

In facing a government that rules by fear, Su Su Nway has shown uncommon
courage. Horsey, who met with her before the case went to court, described
her as modest in her demeanor but resolute in pursuing her claim.

"She seems quite conservative and traditional, not someone likely to hurl
obscenities in the streets, for example, but very determined and driven by
a strong sense of justice," said one foreigner who met her.

After winning her case against town officials, Su Su Nway realized she
would face retaliation.

"I know that they are watching me every day. They are looking for my
mistake," she told DVB radio. "They will come and get me anytime when they
see my weakness and mistake. I will wait for them eating my rice."

Su Su Nway, who is single, said she would have no regrets about standing
up to authorities. "I will stand for the truth," she said, even on the
pain of imprisonment.

A resident of Htan Manaing village near Yangon, the former capital, she
was the first to file a complaint under the 1999 law -- five years after
it was passed. Her case opened the door for other complaints to be heard,
and within months, 10 officials had been sentenced to prison for forcing
citizens to work. One of those she sent to prison was her cousin.

She filed her case at a time when the government was attempting to improve
its standing in Western eyes. But after a high-level shake-up and the
arrest of then-Prime Minister Khin Nyunt, the regime cared less how it
looked to the world. By June, local officials were no longer going to jail
and she was accused of intimidation.

In 1988 and '89, the regime quashed hopes for peaceful change by
slaughtering thousands of democracy protesters in the streets. It held an
election in 1990 but threw out the results after Suu Kyi's party won 80%
of the seats in a new parliament. Human rights groups criticize its use of
torture and arbitrary arrest.

The United States and the European Union have sought to bring about change
in the mostly Buddhist nation of 50 million people by imposing sanctions,
but Myanmar's isolation from the West has done little to loosen the
military's grip on power.

China and other Asian nations have stepped into the gap to exploit
business opportunities and prop up the regime. Top generals have become
wealthy by selling the country's resources -- gems, timber, oil and, some
say, opium.

The regime has long relied on forced labor to carry out public works
projects and fill the ranks of the army. Children as young as 12 have been
forcibly recruited as soldiers, said Horsey, the International Labor
Organization liaison officer in Myanmar.

By some estimates, as many as 800,000 people have been forced by the
regime to work without compensation. The practice is most common in areas
with a significant military presence, such as in ethnic minority regions
where the army is fighting separatist rebels.

At times, the army has forced civilians to act as porters and walk ahead
of the troops, sometimes through minefields, human rights groups say. The
International Campaign to Bar Land Mines calls it "atrocity demining."

The government defends its labor practices, saying that citizens are
engaging in a traditional form of volunteerism. It contends that any claim
of forced labor is a politically motivated attempt to discredit the
regime.

The government says it is trying to end the use of compulsory labor. But
in practice, those who lodge a complaint alleging that they were forced to
work are prosecuted on charges of filing fabricated claims.

"The government says it will prosecute anyone who makes a false allegation
of forced labor," Horsey said. "Every case we have brought to the
government in recent times the government considers false."

The 178-member ILO, which was founded in 1919 as an arm of the League of
Nations and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969, works in relative
obscurity in most parts of the world. But in Myanmar, it has become one of
the few organizations that citizens believe will help them pursue
complaints against the government. Some claims brought to the U.N. agency
have nothing to do with labor issues.

The regime has responded by arresting people who contact the ILO. One man
was sentenced to death for having Horsey's business card in his pocket.
Horsey says he has never met the man. The sentence was later commuted, and
he was released.

"The real problem is the complete absence of the rule of law in Burma,
where citizens are unable to make any complaint against state authorities
at any level, on any grounds, without facing some kind of retribution,"
said the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission.

Horsey, a 32-year-old Briton, also has been singled out. Last year, he
received numerous death threats in the mail at his home in Yangon. The
letters, many of them written on Mickey Mouse stationery, warned that he
would be "cruelly beaten," crushed, poisoned or decapitated if he did not
leave the country.

"I don't like you," one read. "You should leave our nation. You face
dainger. Take care."

"The 21 letters were clearly part of a campaign of intimidation," said
Horsey, who left the country temporarily. "As to who's behind it, I don't
know. But I believe it was officially sanctioned and officially
organized."

Today, Su Su Nway is locked up in notorious Insein Prison, a colonial-era
penitentiary in Yangon where many of the country's political prisoners
have been held, including Suu Kyi after she was arrested again in 2003.

The prison is crowded and inmates are not given enough to eat, advocates
say. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which inspects
detention centers all over the world, has been barred from entering
Myanmar's prisons since last year because it won't let government agents
accompany its inspectors.

Although Su Su Nway was imprisoned on criminal charges, she is kept with
other political detainees. She was initially denied her heart medication
but received it after supporters complained.

In February, the Myanmar Supreme Court summarily rejected her appeal. "I
will be sent to jail one day or another," she said before her sentencing.
"If I go to prison, I want to urge all those who have been subjected to
forced labor like me not to feel dejected but to fight on bravely.
Everyone is afraid, but be afraid with your eyes open."

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

May 20, Channel NewsAsia
Myanmar's trade partners urged to press Yangon for reform

Washington: Indonesia has urged Myanmar's main trade partners China, India
and South Korea to use their influence to press Yangon to restore
democracy.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda noted that Myanmar had close
economic ties with neighbours China and India and that South Korea had
emerged as an investor in Myanmar's energy and construction sector.

"China, India and Korea should work closely with us to make sure that
Myanmar changes itself to be more democratic," he said in a speech to the
US-Indonesia Society in Washington on Friday.

"We understand their economic interests, but at the same time they should
not forget the need to help convince Myanmar to make progress," he later
told reporters.

Wirajuda also said Jakarta and its partners in the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were frustrated at the failure of repeated
efforts to press Myanmar to reform.

The Indonesian minister was speaking after the US Senate adopted a
resolution calling on Washington to spearhead a campaign for a UN Security
Council resolution compelling Myanmar to work with the world body on a
plan for national reconciliation.

Adopted late Thursday, the resolution also condemned Myanmar's military
rulers for its current "campaign of terror" against ethnic minorities,
reportedly the most serious in a decade.

The resolution reflects the Senate's "grave concern about the
deteriorating situation in Burma (Myanmar)," said Republican Senator Mitch
McConnell, the majority whip, whose resolution received bipartisan
backing.

"It also reflects the view of the Senate that, while a second United
Nations Security Council briefing on Burma is welcomed, there now needs to
be a legally binding, non-punitive resolution regarding Burma passed by
the UN Security Council," he said.

Tom Lantos, a Democratic House of Representatives lawmaker who heads the
Congressional Human Rights Caucus, called for a "tough approach" on
Myanmar, saying the US legislature "must send a strong signal of support
for restoration of democracy and human rights in that impoverished
nation."

The United States put the international spotlight on Myanmar in December
when it successfully pushed the Security Council, despite initial
objections from China and Russia, to hold a briefing on human rights and
other problems there for the first time.

The Senate resolution came after President George W. Bush on Thursday
extended economic sanctions on Myanmar for another year and as a top UN
envoy arrived on a visit to Myanmar, marking the highest-level mission by
the global body for more than two years.

Ibrahim Gambari, UN under-secretary general for political affairs, however
was not given permission by the military rulers to see Nobel peace
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the democracy icon who has spent more than 10
of the last 17 years under house arrest.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had set June as an apparent deadline for
Myanmar to hold a political reconciliation dialogue and release political
prisoners and reopen offices of the political party of Aung San Suu Kyi,
according to Gambari's briefing paper in December that was leaked to the
media.

"The Secretary General hopes to see these steps implemented by the first
half of 2006," Gambari said.

He also said that as a "first step," the Security Council could request
Myanmar to allow Annan to "fully implement his good offices mandate."

Analysts point out that there were two options for the Security Council to
follow up on Annan's suggestion -- move a resolution against Myanmar or
adopt a milder "presidential statement" endorsed by all council members.

The UN General Assembly and Commission on Human Rights have adopted 28
consecutive non-binding resolutions so far on Myanmar.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

May 22, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Singapore urges Myanmar to build on UN envoy's visit

Singapore: Singapore urged Myanmar (Burma) on Monday to build on the
recent visit of UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari and release detained opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi as soon as possible.

The Singapore government was happy that Gambari, the under-secretary
general for political affairs, "had a good visit in Myanmar," said a
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman.
"In ASEAN, we have taken a position that Aung San Suu Kyi should be
released as soon as possible," he said.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Singapore,
Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos,
Cambodia and Myanmar.

Gambari spent 45 minutes with the 60-year-old Nobel peace laureate on
Saturday. It was her first direct contact with an outsider in three years.

Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy, has spent 10 of
the last 17 years under house arrest.

Singapore said Myanmar should work with ASEAN and the international
community to make further progress.

Gambari was in Myanmar from May 18 to 20.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

May 22, The New York Sun
U.N. to hear of repression in Burma - Benny Avni

United Nations: Undersecretary General Ibrahim Gambari, soon will brief
the Security Council on his trip to Burma, opening a new diplomatic front
between America and China, according to Turtle Bay diplomats assessing a
surprise meeting yesterday between Mr. Gambari and jailed opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Some analysts saw the hour-long meeting at a Rangoon government guest
house as an indication to a new openness by junta leaders. Others called
it a preemptive strike by the rulers, perhaps in coordination with their
Beijing patrons, to prevent deeper Security Council involvement.

American diplomats and Washington-based supporters of Ms. Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy hoped Mr. Gamabari's visit will lead to
further involvement of the council.

"According to one source, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi urged Gambari to ask for
the Security Council's involvement in Burma to enforce and realize the
negotiated political settlement," the policy director of the U.S. Campaign
for Burma, Aung Din, told The New York Sun, relying on Burmese opposition
contacts. "We are not able to confirm" Ms. Suu Kyi's request, he added.

Mr. Gambari's meeting with Ms. Suu Kyi was "exactly what we were hoping
for, "a spokesman for American U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, Richard
Grenell, told the Sun. Washington is now "looking forward to having a
council briefing," he added.

One Turtle Bay-based diplomat said the undersecretary general for
political affairs fully expected to brief the council. Mr. Gambari briefed
the15-member body several months ago, he noted. But a European diplomat,
who also asked for anonymity, said that several past attempts by America
and Britain to raise the Burma issue at the council met with strong
Chinese resistance.

Coming out of the meeting, which marked the first time in nearly three
years that Nobel laureate Ms. Suu Kyi was allowed to see an outsider, Mr.
Gambari told reporters, "She has a contribution to make and I hope she
will be allowed to make it."

During an earlier meeting, Burma's strongman, General Than Shwe, agreed to
"try to find common ground" with the NLD, said Mr. Gambari, who once
represented Nigeria's dictator, Sani Abacha, at the United Nations.

____________________________________

May 19, Agence France Presse
US Senate calls for UN Security Council action on Myanmar

Washington: The US Senate has adopted a resolution calling on Washington
to spearhead a campaign for a UN Security Council resolution compelling
Myanmar's military junta to work with the world body on a plan for
national reconciliation.

Adopted late Thursday, the resolution also condemned the military rulers
of the Southeast Asian nation for its current "campaign of terror" against
ethnic minorities, reportedly the most serious in a decade.

The resolution reflects the Senate's "grave concern about the
deteriorating situation in Burma (Myanmar)," said Republican Senator Mitch
McConnell, the majority whip, whose resolution received bipartisan
backing.

"It also reflects the view of the Senate that, while a second United
Nations Security Council briefing on Burma is welcomed, there now needs to
be a legally binding, non-punitive resolution regarding Burma passed by
the UN Security Council," he said.

Tom Lantos, a Democratic House of Representatives lawmaker who heads the
Congressional Human Rights Caucus, called for a "tough approach" on
Myanmar, saying the US legislature "must send a strong signal of support
for restoration of democracy and human rights in that impoverished
nation."

The United States put the international spotlight on Myanmar in December
when it successfully pushed the Security Council, despite initial
objections from China and Russia, to hold a briefing on human rights and
other problems there for the first time.

The Senate resolution came after President George W. Bush on Thursday
extended economic sanctions on Myanmar for another year and as a top UN
envoy arrived on a visit to Myanmar, marking the highest-level mission by
the global body for more than two years.

Ibrahim Gambari, UN under-secretary general for political affairs, however
was not given permission by the junta to see Nobel peace laureate Aung San
Suu Kyi, the democracy icon who has spent more than 10 of the last 17
years under house arrest.

"It is ironic that while Gambari is in Burma the military is escalating
attacks against ethnic minority groups," said Jeremy Woodrum of the US
Campaign for Burma, which is coordinating a global push to free Aung San
Suu Kyi.

Reports estimate that approximately 540,000 people are now internally
displaced within Myanmar, "the most serious internal displacement crisis
in Asia," McConnell said.

Gambari's visit "should not be viewed as a success unless and until" he
meets with Aung San Suu Kyi and military strongman Than Shwe, he said.

"Mr Gambari should consider cutting his trip short if it becomes apparent
he will not be permitted to hold these meetings, or if the (junta)
otherwise interferes with his visit," he said.

The Senate resolution also adds pressure on the Bush administration to
lobby for Security Council action against Myanmar even as it faces an
uphill campaign for council action on Iran over its sensitive nuclear
program.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had set June as an apparent deadline for
the junta to hold a political reconciliation dialogue and release
political prisoners and reopen offices of the political party of Aung San
Suu Kyi, according to Gambari's briefing paper in December that was leaked
to the media.

"The Secretary General hopes to see these steps implemented by the first
half of 2006," Gambari said.

He also said that as a "first step," the Security Council could request
the junta to allow Annan to "fully implement his good offices mandate."

Analysts point out that there were two options for the Security Council to
follow up on Annan's suggestion -- move a resolution against Myanmar or
adopt a milder "presidential statement" endorsed by all council members.

The UN General Assembly and Commission on Human Rights have adopted 28
consecutive non-binding resolutions so far on Myanmar.


____________________________________

May 22, Agence France Presse
US official urges China to play greater role to foster reforms in Myanmar

Singapore: A senior US diplomat on Monday urged China to work more closely
with the international community to foster reforms in Myanmar, describing
the country formerly known as Burma as a "source of ills" for the region.

"Clearly we are very concerned about the political events in Burma,"
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Christopher Hill said during a lecture on US foreign policy in East Asia.

"We'd like to see some effort by China to work more with us in trying to
effect positive change in Burma to put Burma on a stronger platform for
growth in the future," he said.

Myanmar's military junta has been accused of serious human rights abuses,
including jailing Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and other
opposition leaders.

"It was once the star of Southeast Asia and Burma is now the source of
ills and poses risk to the entire region including drugs, cross-border
migration, infectious disease," Hill said.

The US is working closely with the international community and countries
in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to press for reform
but the miltary regime has shown no signs that it is keen, Hill said.

"We're working very actively with ASEAN, we're working very actively with
the Chinese and the Indians," said Hill.

"So there's a lot of discussion going on but ultimately we have to have
Burmese authorities who really want to want to make some changes and that
has been the problem."

The US last December pushed the Security Council to hold a briefing on the
junta's human rights and other problems for the first time.

Last week US President George W. Bush renewed economic sanctions on
Myanmar for another year, including a total ban on its exports.

A US Senate resolution also condemned Myanmar for its latest offensive
against ethnic Karen rebels, reportedly the most serious in a decade.

In a move seen by analysts as an effort to block UN Security Council
action, the junta allowed top UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari to see Aung San Suu
Kyi in Yangon for about one hour on Saturday.

The pro-democracy leader has spent more than 10 of the last 17 years under
house arrest.

____________________________________

May 20, Fort Wayne News Sentinel (Indiana)
About 45 local Burmese protest at embassy today Burmese protest 'silent
genocide' - Jennifer Martinez, Knight Ridder Newspapers

Washington: A small but noisy demonstration broke out Friday in front of
the Burmese embassy as Burmese refugees from the Mon ethnic group
protested their home country's repressive military dictatorship and recent
attacks on Burma's ethnic minorities.

The protesters, about 60 in all, wore red headbands, waved the Mon flag
and chanted, "Burmese Army, stop killing Mon people! Burmese Army, stop
raping Mon women!" Many, including 45 protesters from Fort Wayne and seven
from High Point, N.C, bore posters with drawings of Burmese troops
harassing Mon women and executing Mon men.

"Our people have been executed, houses have been burned down; there's not
any change. It's silent genocide," said Michael Mon, 35, of Fort Wayne,
who organized the demonstration. Michael Mon and his wife, Ma Hla, fled
Burma four years ago.

The Burmese government, which has renamed the country Myanmar, offered no
response, except from one woman who peered out from the embassy at the
demonstrators from behind a white curtain on the second floor. She turned
away after about 10 minutes.

The Burmese refugees' cause got lots of attention this week from U.S.
lawmakers, however. The Senate on Thursday passed a resolution urging the
United Nations Security Council to undertake a national reconciliation
effort in brutally repressed Burma. On the same day, President Bush
renewed sanctions against Burma that were to expire today. A measure
similar to the Senate's is pending in the House of Representatives.

Repressive military juntas have ruled Burma since 1962. The current regime
placed under house arrest Aung San Suu Kyi, who led her pro-democracy
party to victory in the last national election in 1990. The dictators have
refused to accept the election results. Although awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1991 as part of a global campaign to restore democracy to Burma,
she remains in detention. So do more than a thousand leaders and loyalists
from her National League for Democracy party.

Military ruler Than Shwe's government, which is from the dominant Burman
ethnic group, has cracked down on most ethnic minorities, including the
Karen and Shan, as well as the Mon. The Mon, from a kingdom in lower Burma
absorbed in 1757, make up 1 million of Burma's population of about 52
million.

According to the U.S. Campaign for Burma, a rights group for the refugees,
government attacks on ethnic minorities in eastern Burma have intensified
recently, killing untold numbers and making refugees of tens of thousands
more.

"We were exiled by the government. It's unforgettable what's happening to
the Mon people," said Nai Kim Mar, a worker at FFNZ, a High Point
furniture manufacturer. Also participating was Min Htaw, 52, of Fort
Wayne, who spent16 years as a refugee in Thailand before obtaining a U.S.
visa.

Min Htaw, who's now learning English and translating for his countrymen at
the Salvation Army, fled Burma after participating in a 1988 demonstration
against the military government in which thousands of protesters were
killed.

The Senate resolution, which had broad bipartisan support, condemns "the
military junta in Burma for its recent campaign of terror against ethnic
minorities" and calls on the UN Security Council to "to pass immediately a
binding, non-punitive resolution calling for the immediate and
unconditional release of Daw (Aunt) Aung San Suu Kyi and all other
prisoners of conscience in Burma."

Earlier this week, South African Bishop Desmond Tutu pushed for the same
issue in a meeting with Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice in Washington.

"This is just a huge crisis that hasn't been on the world agenda, but with
these recent attacks it's been put to the forefront," said Jeremy
Woodburn, campaigns director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma.

Friday marked the 249th anniversary of Burma's absorption - by genocide,
the Mon say - of what was once the Mon kingdom, located in southern Burma.

The U.N. World Health Organization ranks Burma last among 190 countries in
health care spending, and Transparency International, which ranks
countries by perceived corruption, ranks it 163rd out of 167 countries
tallied.