BurmaNet News, May 26, 2006

[Editor]

 May 26, 2006 Issue # 2971

INSIDE BURMA
AP: Hopes high among backers of Myanmar democracy leader Suu Kyi for her
release
Irrawaddy: Crowd gathers at Suu Kyi’s home
AFP: Myanmar police remove barriers around Suu Kyi's home
DVB: Friendly warning: Revered Burmese monks urge dialogues between junta
and NLD
Mizzima: Burma’s science research department moves to Kyaukse

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Karen and Burmese armies clash

REGIONAL
AP: Malaysia urges Myanmar to free Suu Kyi, says she is no threat
Korea Times: Airlines Launch Service to Phnom Penh, Yangon

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Annan Calls for Suu Kyi’s Release
Mizzima: ILO to consider referring Burma to International Court of Justice

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Turning a new page? Freedom is not enough
South China Morning Post: Investing in a transition to democracy

PRESS RELEASE
May 25, The statement of Indian Parliamentarians' Forum for Democracy in
Burma (IPFDB)

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

May 26, Associated Press
Hopes high among backers of Myanmar democracy leader Suu Kyi for her
release - Aye Aye Win

Hopes ran high among supporters of detained Myanmar pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi that she would be released when her house arrest order
expires Saturday, and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appealed to the
ruling junta's chief "to do the right thing."

Police went to the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner's home Friday evening but
there was no indication of the reason for the visit.

Officials would have to deliver a new order to hold her past the
expiration of her detention. But if she was to be released, they also
would be expected to visit to make arrangements.

A police van entered Suu Kyi's residence about 5:15 p.m. and left about 10
minutes later, according to witnesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity
because they fear official harassment for talking to the media.

Visiting neighboring Thailand, Annan told Myanmar junta chief Senior Gen.
Than Shwe that Suu Kyi's release would "allow the government and the
people, not only to build the nation together, but to focus on the
essential issue of economic and social development."

"I'm relying on you, Gen. Than Shwe, to do the right thing," he added.

Suu Kyi, who has spent about 10 of the last 17 years in detention, was
most recently taken into custody on May 30, 2003, after her motorcade was
attacked by a pro-junta mob as she was making a political tour of northern
Myanmar.

She has been held at her Yangon residence and not allowed visitors or
telephone contact with the outside.

While the military junta has not indicated publicly whether her detention
would be extended, a visit last week by U.N. Undersecretary-General
Ibrahim Gambari who became the first foreigner to see Suu Kyi in more than
two years has fueled optimism.

Annan's host, Thai Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon, said Suu Kyi's
release would improve Myanmar's relations with the world community.

In Malaysia, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Myanmar's military
junta shouldn't fear Suu Kyi's release.

"The government is very strong and very stable," he told reporters. "They
are able to maintain security. Why should they be worried? I don't think
Aung San Suu Kyi should be a cause for worry to them."

Questioned Thursday in New York about the possibility of Suu Kyi's
release, Gambari said the world body was hopeful.

The U.N. made "a recommendation, a request to the authorities to consider
lifting the restrictions and also releasing other political detainees as
that would give a signal that Myanmar is indeed truly ready to open a new
page with the U.N. and international community, but that is to be seen,"
he said.

The junta took power in 1988 after crushing vast pro-democracy
demonstrations in the country formerly known as Burma. In 1990, it refused
to hand over power when Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won
a landslide victory in general elections.

The United States and many Western nations shun the junta because of its
poor human rights record and failure to hand over power to Suu Kyi's
party.

Party members gained further hope from an unusual comment this past week
by Myanmar national police chief Maj. Gen. Khin Yi, who said Suu Kyi was
unlikely to be able to draw large crowds because support for her had
dwindled over the years.

"I can handle every situation. There will not be rallies and riots in
Myanmar if Aung San Suu Kyi is released," Khin Yi said on the sidelines of
a regional security conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The government's rationale for detaining Suu Kyi has been that she could
be a threat to public order.

By coincidence, Saturday is the anniversary of the democracy party's
election victory, which the party will mark at its headquarters in Yangon.

Normally, the office would close after the anniversary ceremony, but this
time it will stay open into the evening in anticipation of Suu Kyi's
possible release, said Ni Ni Win, a party member.

"We will wait for her the whole day tomorrow, hoping that she will join
the celebrations," she said.

____________________________________

May 26, The Irrawaddy
Crowd gathers at Suu Kyi’s home

Sources in Rangoon say that more than two dozen people—journalists, city
residents, opposition party National League for Democracy members, even
Chinese and American diplomats—have gathered near detained democracy icon
Aung San Suu Kyi’s lakeside home at 54 University Avenue Road.

“Expectations are high for her [forthcoming] freedom,” said one
Rangoon-based democracy activist. One witness claimed to have spotted
Special Branch officers and plainclothes security personnel in the crowd,
while other unconfirmed reports claim that the government has brought in
riot police in an effort to step up security in the former capital.

____________________________________

May 26, Agence France Presse
Myanmar police remove barriers around Suu Kyi's home

Uniformed Myanmar police Friday removed barbed wire barriers from around
Aung San Suu Kyi's home and cleared spikes from the front of her gated
driveway, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene.

At least two policemen removed the barbed wire barriers, which lined the
outside of her rambling lakeside home around 5:30 pm (1100 GMT), just
minutes after a police officer had entered her home for about 10 minutes
and then left.

Officials were not immediately available to comment on why the barriers
had been removed or why the policeman had visited her home.

The unusual movements came as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan appealed
directly to junta leader Than Shwe for the release of the Nobel peace
laureate when her latest house arrest comes under review at the weekend.

"I'm relying on you, General Than Shwe, to do the right thing," Annan said
in a statement in Bangkok, one day before the term of her current house
arrest expires.

"Her release will facilitate national dialogue and allow the National
League for Democracy (NLD) to participate in that dialogue," he said.

"The government will be reviewing her status within 24 hours," he said. "I
take this opportunity to appeal to General Than Shwe and the government to
release her."

Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won 1990 elections in a
landslide victory but has never been allowed to govern. She has spent 10
of the past 17 years under house arrest.

The order confining the Nobel peace laureate to her home expires Saturday,
and hopes for her freedom were lifted last week when Myanmar's military
rulers allowed her to meet with a visiting UN envoy.

UN undersecretary general Ibrahim Gambari said Wednesday there appeared to
be a willingness by the Myamnar junta to "turn a new page in relations
with the international community."

Annan's appeal was the latest in a series of international demands, led by
the United States but including neighbors like Thailand and Malaysia, for
Aung San Suu Kyi's freedom.

____________________________________

May 25, Democratic Voice of Burma
Friendly warning: Revered Burmese monks urge dialogues between junta and NLD

Revered Burmese monks called on Burma’s ruling military junta, the State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and the main opposition party, the
National League for Democracy (NLD) to cooperate in order to solve the
ongoing political problems and for the benefits of the people of Burma.

The call was made by Rev Nandasara, abbot of Nyaungtone Monastery, Rangoon
Pali University and Rev Kaweindabiwuntha, the abbot of the New Masoeyein
Monastery in Mandalay.

“As the NLD is talking gently (and) the SPDC is refusing, it is the fault
of the SPDC,” said Reverend Nandasara. “The SPDC generals are our acolytes
(Buddhists) and citizens of Burma. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the like are
also citizens of Burma. I want them to try to keep the spirit of older and
younger brothers (family spirit). I want to make a plea (to all) to solve
(the problems of Burma) at the table by peaceful means.”

“As for those who are ruling the country, by looking at the need of the
people and the problems they are facing, the ruling government must
relent/oblige as much as it is needed. If the opposing side relents, it is
possible,” the abbot of Masoeyein said. “If one side (the NLD) relents
thus and the other side (SPDC) is still tensing up completely, it won’t be
viable. If there is a real desire to work for the benefits of the people,
we plead the current government to relent.”

Rev Nandasara added that the situation in Burma is so bad that the Burmese
people within and without Burma are too ashamed to say that they are
Burmese.

“We, the monks sympathise with the people for feeling down-hearted like
that, but to get democracy, we have to have it by peaceful means, or we
will have to get democracy by demonstrating,” warned the abbot from
Rangoon. “Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic national leaders are offering
peace for dialogues. But the army clique is still stubborn. We have to
demonstrate and demand that there would be progress in Burma only when
there is democracy. We want to tell all the people of Burma that only when
we reach our democracy goal, will our future generations be able to live
like human beings.”

Rev Kaweindabiwuntha also said how the people should go about achieving
their goal:

“They are the ruling government. If you demand too vigorously you won’t
get it. The method I like is, when General Aung San demanded independence
(from British), the governor-general’s team didn’t like General Aung San
and team very much. But they had to get involved and managed to get
independence. I think we need to learn the lesson from this. As for the
opposition and the people, only when they carry out their duties, will the
country become orderly and head toward progress. I want to tell you to be
disciplined; the opposition as the opposition, the ruling junta as the
ruling junta. That’s all. We do not have the intention to hurt or better
anyone (we are impartial).”

____________________________________

May 23, Mizzima News
Burma’s science research department moves to Kyaukse

The secretive Research Department under Burma’s Ministry of Science and
Technology has been moved to Kyaukse, Mandalay division as a result of
security concerns, official sources told Mizzima.

The department, which had been housed in the town of Ayelar near Pyinmana
since 2005, was moved five miles east of Kyaukse to Dattaw Chaink in the
first week of this month.

“When Ayelar airport has to operate more flights for new the capital, the
department needed to move to other place for safety reasons,” an official
said on condition of anonymity.

The department employs more than 100 scientists and technicians—many of
which were trained in Moscow—and conducts research in a variety of
scientific fields including aeronautics, weaponry and nuclear energy.

“Russia trained (technicians) have to report straight to this department
instead of signing into their original department,” the official said.

More than 1500 Burmese army officers have been sent to universities in
Russia to study nuclear and computer technologies.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

May 26, Irrawaddy
Karen and Burmese armies clash - Shah Paung

The Burmese military government has begun to systematically attack the
Karen National Liberation Army, according to the Karen National Union
General Secretary Mahn Sha.

“Fighting between State Peace and Development Council soldiers and us
[KNU] is happening right now in Karen State.”

Mahn Sha claims the fighting was started by the Burmese army, and these
latest skirmishes come in spite of a fragile ceasefire agreed to
informally in January 2004.

“We didn't want to fight them [SPDC troops], but they attacked our soldiers.”

Mahn Sha says fighting broke out in early May when Burmese soldiers
attacked the KNLA's 7th battalion headquarters and frontline positions in
Pa-an District. “The fighting killed three of our soldiers and we lost six
weapons.”

Mahn Sha named the SPDC units who attacked as battalions 701, 703 and 709,
under Division 44 command.

“They burnt down our battalion headquarters, a front line office and
arrested two villagers,” he said. “The Burmese army claims they were KNLA
soldiers, but they were civilians.”

The KNLA has also had to deal with attacks from the Democratic Karen
Buddhist Army, a Karen militia group aligned with the regime. Mahn Sha
said KNLA soldiers in 7th Brigade on May14 killed five DKBA soldiers from
special battalion 999 based in Ko Ko village, close to Myawaddy. A DKBA
source said the group now wants revenge for the deaths.

Mahn Sha said fighting between the KNLA and the Burmese army has now
spread to almost all KNU-controlled territory in Karen State.

The fighting broke out after more than 16,000 Karen people fled their
homes in Taungoo, Nyaunglaybin, Papun and Thaton districts when government
troops locked down the region.

According to a local Karen leader, the SPDC has plans to finish this
current military offensive within six months, or until the military has
complete control of the area. The Burmese army has been building new camps
and moving soldiers and supplies into KNU’s Brigade 6, Mahn Sha said.

Though eager to defend KNU territory, Mahn Sha still clings to a verbal
ceasefire agreement brokered by Karen leader Gen Bo Mya and former Burmese
prime minister Khin Nyunt in Rangoon in 2004.

“We're disappointed,” he said. “We want a genuine peace through political
dialogue, but we will never surrender.”

____________________________________
REGIONAL

May 26, Associated Press
Malaysia urges Myanmar to free Suu Kyi, says she is no threat - Sean Yoong

Malaysia on Friday urged the military junta of Myanmar to free
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi when her detention expires, saying
she poses no threat to the country's stability.

Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, head of the opposition National League for
Democracy, has been held mostly under house arrest for about 10 of the
last 17 years. She was last arrested in May 2003, and the sentence is set
to end Saturday.

"I don't think it is beneficial for Myanmar to keep her indefinitely. One
of the best ways is, rather than renew the detention, is to release her,"
Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told reporters.

He praised the junta's recent decision to allow U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari
to meet with Suu Kyi, her first meeting with a senior U.N. official in two
years.

Gambari said in an interview Thursday with Associated Press Television
News that the U.N. hopes she will be freed and that the authorities would
also consider releasing other political detainees.

"That would give a signal that Myanmar is indeed truly ready to open a new
page with the U.N. and (the) international community," he said.

Myanmar's military junta took power in 1988 after crushing a pro-democracy
movement. In 1990, it refused to hand over power when detained
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's political party won a landslide
victory in general elections.

"The government is very strong and very stable. They are able to maintain
security. Why should they be worried? I don't think Aung San Suu Kyi
should be a cause for worry to them," Syed Hamid said.

He said releasing Suu Kyi is ultimately the junta's decision but "we hope
they will take the views and the feelings of others into account."

"The international community would welcome it," he said.

Myanmar's Foreign Minister Nyan Win will be in Kuala Lumpur Monday to
Tuesday for a ministerial meeting of Nonaligned Movement member countries,
but Syed Hamid said he does not expect the issue of Myanmar to be raised
during the meeting.

Some 52 foreign ministers of NAM's 114 members are attending the meeting.
The rest will be represented by deputy ministers and senior officials.

Syed Hamid said the issues expected to be discussed are Palestine and how
developing countries can play a role in the multilateral system. They are
free to discuss other issues including Iran's nuclear program, he said.

Associated Press Writer Edith M. Lederer contributed to this report from
the United Nations.

____________________________________

May 26, Korea Times
Airlines Launch Service to Phnom Penh, Yangon - Kim Rahn

South Korea's two national flag carriers are breaking into the Indochina
market, launching regular and charter flights to new destinations there
this month.

Asiana Airlines started non-stop regular operations to Phnom Penh, the
capital of Cambodia, Wednesday.

The two weekly flights will depart from Incheon International Airport
every Wednesday and Saturday evening, while return flights will land in
Korea the next day. An A320 plane with 143 seats will carry passengers.

"Phnom Penh is one of the best tourist attractions in Southeast Asia, and
the operation will provide tourists with a chance to travel to the city
and Siem Reap, the famous historic site for Angkor Wat ruins," an Asiana
official said.

The carrier started operations to Siem Reap in March of last year,
carrying 55,000 travelers so far.

Korean Air also started operating charter flights to Yangon in Myanmar on
the same day.

Previously, Korean travelers had to visit the city via Singapore or
Bangkok. Korean Air operated five charter flights to the Southeast Asian
city in 2004 and three in 2005.

The charter flight service will be provided twice a week, but the day of
departure can differ by month, so travelers are required to check plane
schedules in advance.

Yangon has beautiful scenery with about 40 percent of the city comprising
of parks, lakes and pagodas. There are also numerous religious sites
including Shwedagon Pagoda, which was made using 70 tons of gold.

Other tourist attractions include Mandalay, one of Myanmar's famous
Buddhist remains, and Bagan, a World Heritage site designated by UNESCO
with 2,200 pagodas.

The carrier plans to increase the operation to four flights per week from
November, and to promote a regular service.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

May 26, Irrawaddy
Annan calls for Suu Kyi’s release - Dan Smith

Bangkok: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Friday called on Burma’s
military rulers to “do the right thing” and release detained pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi, affirming she had a role to play in the process
of political reconciliation.

Annan, visiting Bangkok, in a statement noted that the junta would review
Suu Kyi’s status within 24 hours, the deadline for deciding whether to
renew her detention under house arrest in Rangoon or release her. He urged
her release as a step that would be “in the interest of Myanmar [Burma],
the region and the world at large.”

The UN chief’s appeal followed a visit to Burma last week by UN Under
Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari, who held talks
with junta boss Snr-Gen Than Shwe and then became the first foreigner to
see Suu Kyi in two years.

The meeting attracted a great deal of interest as the first hint of
flexibility from Tan Shwe after two years of hardline policies,  in which
even fellow Asean officials had been denied access to her. A former UN
special envoy had also been denied a visa even to enter the country for
two years.

Annan welcomed Gambari’s visit, noting that Suu Kyi had spent 10 of the
last 16 years in detention or under house arrest. He said her release
would facilitate national dialogue and her National League for Democracy
party’s participation in it.

“For the democratic process and the reconciliation process to be truly
successful, it has to be inclusive. And she has a role to play,” Annan
said, “and I'm relying on you General Than Shwe to do the right thing.”

Meanwhile, journalists and residents in Rangoon gathered near Suu Kyi’s
lakeside home, hoping the democracy icon would soon be released.
“Expectations are very high for her freedom,” a Burmese activist near the
scene told The Irrawaddy.

Other sources in Rangoon said more plain-clothes security agents were seen
around Suu Kyi’s house, and security appeared to have been stepped up in
other parts of the city. Other reports said squads of riot police had also
been brought into Rangoon.

____________________________________

May 25, Mizzima News
ILO to consider referring Burma to International Court of Justice -
Jessicah Curtis

Delegates at the International Labour Conference, which starts at the end
of this month, will consider several courses of action on Burma, including
referring the country to the International Court of Justice, according to
a provisional report received by Mizzima.

The report, an agenda item prepared by the ILO office in Rangoon, suggests
three courses of action to be considered by the conference’s 95th session
in Geneva to help secure Burma’s compliance with the recommendations of
the Commission of Inquiry set up in 1997.

In particular, the report highlights the need for steps to ensure Burmese
authorities stop prosecuting people they believe to have made false forced
labour claims—a practice the report claims is ‘incompatible’ with the ILO
constitution.

The first step recommended in the report was for an ILO member to seek a
ruling on Burma from the ICJ.

“Although it cannot be taken for granted that . . . any ruling would be
binding and the judgement could be enforceable through the United Nations
Security Council . . . This solution would not require a formal decision
by the International Labour Conference and could be initiated by a Member
at any time,” the report said.

The second possible course of action listed in the report would be the
establishment by the ILO of an independent tribunal “for the expeditious
determination of any dispute or question relating to the interpretation of
a Convention”.

The third option would be to seek an advisory opinion from the ICJ under
the United Nations Charter.

“While an advisory opinion is not binding, it carries juridical weight . .
. Requests for advisory opinions do not enter the queue of contentious
cases before the Court, and are therefore dealt with more quickly,” the
report said.

In May 2003, the ILO and Burma agreed on a plan to crack down on forced
labour but the ILO later said the regime failed to cooperate with the
international community.

News of the recommendations comes as the military faces a second United
Nations Security Council briefing on the human rights and political
situation in the country and significant international pressure over their
recent offensives in Karen State.

While the military regime has also been condemned for their failure to
cooperate with the ILO, particularly in the past 18 months, the report
said it was not too late for Burmese authorities to come to the
negotiating table.

“The approach adopted by the ILO has been consistently to offer dialogue
and cooperation. Indeed, it is only through cooperation with the
authorities that progress on the elimination of forced labour can be
achieved,” the report said.

“So while the ILO has no option but to draw the consequences of
non-cooperation—both in the hope that this can have an impact on the
attitude of the authorities, as well as to ensure that they do not benefit
from noncooperation—the door for dialogue must remain open.”

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

May 26, The Irrawaddy
Turning a new page? Freedom is not enough

Rumors are swirling in Rangoon that Aung San Suu Kyi may soon be released
from house arrest following the visit of UN Under Secretary-General for
Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari. His three-day trip last week provoked
the unexpected move by the regime to allow a meeting with the detained
democracy icon.

Suu Kyi has spent her most recent stint under house arrest in almost total
isolation. Apart from infrequent visits by her physician, she has remained
effectively cut off from the outside world.

That changed last Saturday, when she was permitted to leave her University
Avenue Road home to meet Gambari in a government guest house—exactly one
week prior to the expiration of her latest term under house arrest.

Hence, the rumors that junta supremo Snr-Gen Than Shwe may once again
decide to free his political nemesis.

The international media, exiled activist organizations, and Rangoon
residents are closely tuned in to the fate of “the Lady”—and well they
should. But the world must not allow rumor and speculation to divert
attention away from other vital issues, such as the junta’s ongoing
brutalization of Karen civilians.

Burmese communities in and outside the country have been here before.
Burma’s generals have proven savvy enough in the past to use Suu Kyi in
the service of their own secretive and ruthless agenda.

Gambari told reporters at UN headquarters in New York this week that he
had urged the government to release Suu Kyi and all other political
prisoners. Should they decide to acquiesce, the genie—so to speak—would be
out of the bottle.

Skeptics will likely greet any news of her release with considerable
caution. Burma’s ever-changeable generals could easily chuck Suu Kyi right
back into her lakeside prison if her freedom proved inconvenient. Still
worse, USDA thugs might once again be called upon to massacre the
democratic opposition, as they did so effectively in Depayin in 2003.

The regime may well seize the opportunity to score points with the
international community by releasing Suu Kyi and thus alleviating the
considerable pressure by regional neighbors, western nations and close
political allies to make substantial inroads towards democratic reform.

Continuing their cat-and-mouse game with the international community in
this fashion could go hard on the generals and perhaps tip the scales in
favor of UN Security Council action.

In his statement to reporters in New York, Gambari called Suu Kyi “a
determined and principled woman who believed that she and her party had a
contribution to make to the country’s development.” This is precisely the
case, as the generals need Suu Kyi to rebuild the country.

Suu Kyi is still her own woman. If she is released, she will not settle
for living in a slightly larger cage. She will no doubt travel, meet
supporters and find a way to work for the country. She may even reevaluate
her past political positions and call for the lifting of sanctions to ease
the economic burden under which most Burmese suffer.

The generals have a genuine opportunity to break with past intransigence
and free Burma’s democracy icon, thus embarking on a legitimate path
towards national reconciliation.

They could invite her and fellow National League for Democracy party
members to participate actively and freely in the National
Convention—fulfilling Gambari’s hope that the country’s
constitution-drafting assembly “could resume in a more inclusive way.”

Yes, Suu Kyi could be free as early as Saturday—at least in theory. It’s
for the generals to decide if they’re ready to turn the page and start a
new, more hopeful chapter in Burma’s long, sad tale of political turmoil.

____________________________________

May 26, South China Morning Post
Investing in a transition to democracy - Ian Holliday

The greatest hope for change was a general election on May 27, 1990.
Confounding the expectations of the military elite and the predictions of
seasoned observers, Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD)
won in a landslide. However, the result was never implemented. Instead, a
National Convention was formed in 1993 to draft a constitution for a
"discipline-flourishing democracy". Its work remains unfinished.

External agents have key roles to play in promoting change. China may not
need to become a responsible stakeholder in global affairs to pressure a
regime it has long supported. It is also in Beijing's interests to secure
its southern border. Similar calculations could be made in India, and many
Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ capitals.

More widely, popular concern can highlight the fate of Ms Suu Kyi, held
under house arrest for 10 of the past 17 years. It can publicise the
plight of ethnic groups targeted by brutal campaigns of national
unification. It can prompt the UN and other agencies to pay proper
attention to injustices in Myanmar.

Ultimately, however, the key roles must be taken by insiders. For a while,
it seemed that the relatively liberal General Khin Nyunt might play South
Africa's reformist president, F.W. de Klerk, to Ms Suu Kyi's Nelson
Mandela. However, that possibility was denied when the general was purged
from the regime in 2004.

Ever since, the likelihood that democracy might emerge from within the
junta has been small. Indeed, the recent removal of the capital to a
jungle redoubt in Pyinmana appears to set the stage for a restoration of
the monarchy destroyed by British imperialism 120 years ago.

Attention, therefore, turns to Ms Suu Kyi and the NLD. For years, the
party urged supporters to isolate Myanmar under its military rulers. It
favoured stringent economic sanctions and even questioned humanitarian
aid. However, it is now shifting its position.

On February 12, it issued a statement of reconciliation proposing that
General Than Shwe allow the 1990 parliament to convene. In return, it
undertook to recognise the junta as an interim government charged with
overseeing a transition to democracy.

On April 20, the party released a second special statement arguing that
its offer to recognise the junta as a legal government would facilitate
the flow of emergency aid from international humanitarian agencies. In
response, the regime claimed the NLD was linked to "terrorists and
destructive groups", and threatened to ban the party.

While senior UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari last week became the first outsider
to meet Ms Suu Kyi in almost three years, the NLD continues to face
determined attempts to erase it from the political scene.

In such circumstances, the party needs to make one further overture to the
generals. The economic sanctions that it has long supported have immense
moral appeal. On a practical level, however, inward investment from many
parts of Asia means they can never work.

Investing in a military dictatorship is unsavoury. However, to sustain a
transition to democracy, Myanmar requires a reasonable level of
development. By inviting the world to invest in a long-term project of
economic renewal, the NLD can promote eventual political change.

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

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

May 25, Indian Parliamentarians' Forum for Democracy in Burma (IPFDB)
Statement

The Indian Parliamentarians' Forum for Democracy in Burma (IPFDB) met in
New Delhi on 22 May 2006 to discuss the current scenario in Burma.

We are deeply concerned about the deteriorating political situation and
worsening human rights situation in Burma. Political activists inside
Burma have been arrested, tortured, imprisoned and killed by the military.
Members of the Aung San Suu Kyi led   National League for Democracy (NLD)
which won the Burmese Parliamentary Elections in 1990 have been targeted
and pressured to quit the party by the regime.

Moreover, we are also aware that the Burmese army has launched its biggest
military campaign in recent memory against the ethnic Karen and others in
eastern Burma. It is reported that Burmese troops have uprooted more than
15,000 ethnic minorities as part of attacks on civilians that includes
killing, torture, and the burning of villages.

Nobel peace laureate and opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi has been in
prison or under house arrest in the country for the last three years, with
her telephone disconnected and all visitors barred apart from her
housemaid and doctor.

We welcome the move of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to hold
an unprecedented briefing on Burma as well as the recent visit of UN's
under Secretary General Mr. Ibrahim Gambari to Burma. We see this trip as
a positive step since he was able to see the detained democratic leader,
Aung San Suu Kyi. But we still need to wait and see whether the regime's
move was just to rebuff the growing international criticism on its human
rights abuses. The UN Security Council is expected to have a briefing on
Burma by Mr. Gambari next week and we hope that the UN will be more
actively involved in Burma's national reconciliation and democratization
process.

We feel that the Indian government should take a stronger stand against
Burma's military which failed to bring the country and its long suffering
people any closer to democratic transition. Let us not forget out own
freedom struggle and the fact that many Indian leaders like Mahatma Gandhi
and Prime Minister Nehru had languished in jails.

The situation in Burma affect India's peace and security since Burma is
sharing 1600 km border with India. Regional security will continue to be
affected by a paranoid and unstable regime that is intent on flooding
drugs and refugees to its neighbours.

The IPFDB hopes that the Government of India will not shy away from
bringing about political reforms in Burma just because of its economic
interests and energy requirements.

Many political analysts and international campaigners have expressed hope
in the crucial and important role that India can play and are urging for
India's active involvement in the democratization process in Burma.

The Indian Government should take into consideration the international
expectations especially when the United Nations itself has made such
attempts and thus the Government should review its policy on Burma.

We urge the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), ruling military
regime in Burma to consider the power-sharing transitional arrangement
proposed by the NLD and convene the Parliament.

We urge the SPDC not to extend the period of Aung San Suu Kyi's detention
and immediately release her and to start meaningful dialogue with NLD to
solve the political problems in Burma.

IPFDB wishes to reiterate its strong support for the Aung San Suu Kyi-led
democracy movement and for national reconciliation in Burma.

Media contact: Robert Kharshiing, convener at +91-9868181160
               Nirmala Deshpande, Chief Patron at +91-9868181093