BurmaNet News, July 21, 2006

[Editor]

July 21, 2006 Issue # 3009

INSIDE BURMA
DVB: ILO 'informers' trial postponed in Burma's Aunglan

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Growing disunity among Karen opposition leaders
Mizzima News: Trade resumes in Moreh after week of violence
Kaladan Press: Three years in jail for couple in love

BUSINESS / TRADE
Xinhua: Myanmar to set up cattle breeding zone in new capital
Narinjara: BIMSTEC to propose new date for FTA implementation
Myanmar Times: India to invest $100m in new Sittwe port

HEALTH / AIDS
NLM: Reproductive health tasks to be stepped up

ASEAN
AFP: Malaysia says Myanmar holding back SEAsian diplomacy
Thai Press: Asia Asean to try once again to persuade Myanmar (Burma)
government to become democratic

PRESS RELEASE
AIPMC: Asean "abused" the notion of non-interference: It doesn’t mean
silence, says AIPMC
DVB: Unofficial translation of the statement of 88 Generation Students on
the 59th anniversary of Martyrs’ Day, 19 July 2006.

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

July 20, Democratic Voice of Burma
ILO 'informers' trial postponed in Burma's Aunglan

The trial of three people accused of sending ‘untrue’ reports to the
International Labour Organisation (ILO), was today postponed by Aunglan
(Allen) Township court in central Burma.

National League for Democracy (NLD) elected representative (MP) Thein Zan,
member Zaw Htay and Arakan State Taungup Township NLD member Aung Than Tun
were accused of reporting ‘untrue’ information to the ILO over the death
of Win Lwin from Ngapyin Village in Aunglan Township, during a forced
labour session.

Lawyer representing the three, Khin Maung Shein said the judge told him
that the case has been transferred to Thayet District Court and the trial
is to be postponed to 21 August, with summons to the accused pending.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

July 21, Irrawaddy
Growing disunity among Karen opposition leaders - Shah Paung

Tensions have increased between leaders of the Karen National Union and
its military wing, the Karen National Liberation Army, after members of
the opposition group met secretly with Burmese government officials in
Thailand, sources in Karen State told The Irrawaddy on Friday.

Burmese intelligence official Col Myat Htun Oo and KNU leader Gen Bo Mya
met briefly on July 15 in Mae Sot to discuss future ceasefire
negotiations, but sources say no commitment was reached.

The meeting is said to have raised conflicts between civilian KNU leaders
and factions within the KNLA. Some Karen leaders said the meeting was not
official and took place without the knowledge of the KNU Executive
Committee.

Others among the Karen civilian leadership believe the meeting to be part
of a secret agenda by the Burmese junta to create divisions among Karen
opposition leaders.

This view was rejected by Pastor Timothy Laklem, a former member of the
KNU foreign affairs department, who said that the regime has no intention
of dividing the Karen leadership.

Pastor Timothy, a controversial Karen peace broker who was dismissed by
the KNU last year, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that he met Myat Htun Oo
on June 21 in Myawaddy, across the border from Mae Sot in Burma, to urge
the regime to stop its deadly campaign against Karen civilian populations.

Burmese soldiers began a violent campaign against the Karen in Pegu
Division and in Karen State in November 2005. The attacks sent thousands
of villagers fleeing to the Thai border to escape the violence.

According to the Free Burma Rangers, a covert relief organization
operating in Burma, the military government initiated new attacks in
Nyaunglebin District, western Karen State, on July 15 that have left
villagers dead, incarcerated or compelled into forced labor.

Pastor Timothy, who no longer represents the Karen in an official
capacity, blames KNU leaders for the attacks by Burmese forces, saying
that a bomb attack in Pegu Division—ordered, he claims, by Mahn Sha, the
group’s general secretary—incurred the wrath of the Burmese army.

Junta representatives, according to Pastor Timothy, want to establish ties
between Burmese troops and those of the KNLA, as soldiers can better
understand each other. He added that Karen troops are ready for peace
talks, and if civilian Karen leaders disagree, greater divisions could
occur in the future.

Mahn Sha dismissed Pastor Timothy’s claims, saying that he is simply
toeing the junta’s line. “Timothy is no longer a member of the KNU. His
loyalties are with the SPDC [State Peace and Development Council],” he
said.

A senior KNLA leader told The Irrawaddy on Friday that Karen soldiers are
not looking for peace talks at any cost, but are fully prepared to
continue the fight. “We are under control,” the leader said.

____________________________________

July 21, Mizzima News
Trade resumes in Moreh after week of violence - Sobhapati Samom & Mungpi

Life appeared to have returned to normal for residents in Moreh yesterday
with trade across the Indo-Burma border resuming despite the discovery by
Indian security forces of a rudimentary explosive device in the town.

Police were able to diffuse the device and maintain the cautious air of
calm that has followed a week of violence in the town, starting with the
shooting of an Assam Rifles officer on Tuesday by a Manipuri militant.

As many as nine people were injured in cross-fire as security forces from
Chavangphai village tried to gun down the suspected rebel.

The next day, Pramesh Kumar, also with the Assam Rifles, sustained serious
injuries when a bomb exploded near Khudengthabi on the Indo-Burma road.

Law and order in the city then deteriorated further as the Assam Rifles
cracked down on businessmen in the area, interrogating civilians are
trashing the local market. A Manipuri women's groups responded by calling
for a bandh against the security group.

High-level talks

The situation in Moreh has led Indian officials to call for high-level
talks with their Burmese counterparts.

"The unwanted things that have erupted between Indian and [Burmese]
security forces from time to time will be resolved through Ministry of
External Affairs-level talks," lieutenant colonel S Dev Goswami, public
relations officer for the ministry's defense wing, told reporters
yesterday.

But Goswami refused to say when talks would occur and said there were
still no plans for joint Indian and Burmese security operations along the
border or in Manipur.

Militant links

Goswami also told reporters the United National Liberation Front, a
Manipuri militant group known to have bases in Burma, were responsible for
the Tuesday shooting of the Assam Rifles officer.

The Kuki Students Democratic Front, a Burmese ethnic group fighting for
autonomy, accused Burma's military regime of sheltering UNLF cadres in
Tamu, Sagaing division.

KSDF president Thangjalun told Mizzima, "The Burmese regime since 2000 has
sheltered five Manipuri militant factions—the UNLF, the Peoples Liberation
Army, the [People's Revolutionary Army of Kangleipak], the [ Kanglei Yawol
Kanna Lup] and the [Kangleipak Communist Party], which has a joint force
of nearly 3000 armed men".

In 2002, residents of Kyundawyeshin village in Tamu township reported
seeing a group of armed men talking in Manipuri and camping in the jungle
nearby.

Payback

The KSDF, which is based in Moreh, said while the Burmese military's
motives for harbouring the rebels could be related to the illegal drugs
and arms trades, it could also be the result of the junta's desire to
punish India for allowing Burmese dissidents to operate inside the
country's borders.

In January this year, a group of 25 armed men in uniform, speaking both
Burmese and Manipuri, abducted two Burmese refugees—Chit Thein Tun and
Maung Maung Oo—from their house in Moreh in the middle of the night.

While the armed men remain unidentified, local residents and Burmese
opposition groups in Moreh said Manipuri militants were involved.

"The Burmese armies are using the Manipuri militants to work for them and
in turn they are free to do any types of business, including smuggling of
heroin and arms," said Thangjalun.

____________________________________

July 21, Kaladan Press
Three years in jail for couple in love

Rathedaung, Burma: Being in love, wanting to marry and set up home of
one’s choice is considered a crime in parts of Burma. A couple in love was
arrested by the Nasaka (Burma’s border security force) while preparing to
cross over to Bangladesh to tie the knot. The two were sentenced to three
years in prison, a close relative of they would be groom said.

The couple has been identified as Nami Ullah (25) son of Sona Meah and
Hasina Begum (20) daughter of Sayed Mohamed. Both of them hail from Kon
Tan village–tract, Rathedaung Township in Arakan State, Burma.

The couple was into a relation for a long time and their parents were
trying to get permission for their marriage from the concerned Nasaka
authorities legally by submitting an application. But they did not get
permission.

This led the couple to prepare to cross the Burma-Bangladesh border to
marry in Bangladesh. On June 29, the couple went to Maugdaw from
Rathedaung to cross the border.

On June 30, they came to the Naff River bank and were trying to cross the
Burma-Bangladesh border. On receiving information, the Nasaka based in “Pa
Nyaung Pin Gyi” (Daung Khali) went to the spot and arrested them.

On July 3, they were handed over to the nearest police station. They were
produced in Maungdaw Town court on July 6. They were sentenced to three
years in jail, a close relative of the girl said.

The couple is now languishing in Maungdaw jail.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

July 21, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar to set up cattle breeding zone in new capital

Myanmar will set up a cattle breeding zone in the new capital of Nay Pyi
Taw to mainly breed milk cows in a bid to meet the daily rising demand of
milk in the area, livestock breeders said on Friday.

The cattle breeding zone, which involves a milk processing factory, will
be established in three townships of the capital.

The establishment is also aimed at reducing import of milk and other dairy
products, the sources said.

Currently, Mandalay and Sagaing areas produce most of the milk and dairy
products.

According to official statistics, Myanmar imported 17.8 million U.S.
dollars' condensed milk and 7.63 million dollars' milk powder and other
milk food and malted milk in the fiscal year 2004-05.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has imported the first time since this month from India
high-quality nutritious feedstuff for milk cow to raise milk production,
local reports said.

____________________________________

July 21, Narinjara News
BIMSTEC to propose new date for FTA implementation - Iftekhar Ahmed

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic
Cooperation (BIMSTEC), an economic bloc consisting of seven South and
Southeast Asian countries, has missed the FTA implementation deadline of
July 1, 2006.

Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand – seven
member-states of BIMSTEC had earlier planned the Colombo meeting for May
but it was cancelled due to internal problems in Sri Lanka and political
turmoil in Thailand.

Now BIMSTEC member-states are going to resume trade negotiations next week
in order to finalize the bloc's Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and propose a
new date for its enforcement. Trade Negotiation Committee (TNC) has
announced to convene a meeting from July 25 in Colombo and the meeting
will last four days.

According to the sources, the upcoming meeting will mainly revolve around
outstanding issues of free trade accord on trade in goods and free trade
accord on trade in services would be dealt on the sideline.

TNC experts from member states will argue on key trading arrangements such
as rules of origin, negative list for tariff reduction and list of items
to be opened under the fast track of trade liberalization programme during
the meeting. Technical experts will also negotiate on a separate framework
of dispute-settlement mechanism.

The TNC will also work out a new date for implementing the FTA on trade in
goods which is most likely to be fixed for January 1, 2007.

As for the FTA on trade in goods, they have agreed to open trade under
'fast track' and 'normal track' of trade liberalization.

Under the fast track, the members have agreed to bring down tariffs to a
range of zero to five percent by June 2009 for developing countries and by
June 2011 for least developed countries.

Under the normal track, however, they will follow a gradual tariff
liberalization programme. The developing countries will have to reduce
tariff for each other by June 2010 and with least developed members by
2012.

While the compliance deadline for developing countries is June 30, 2015,
for LDC members it is July 2017.

Besides FTA on trade in goods, BIMSTEC members have agreed to kick start
free trade area for service trade and investment from July 2007.

____________________________________

July 10-16, Myanmar Times
India to invest $100m in new Sittwe port -  Win Nyunt Lwin

Sittwe’s waterfront will get busier with the opening of the new seaport.

PLANS are underway for India to invest more than US$100 million in the
construction of a port in the coastal town of Sittwe in Myanmar’s Rakhine
State.

The port will allow cargo vessels from India’s landlocked northeastern
Mizoram state to navigate the Kitsapanadi River, formerly known as the
Kaladan River, all the way to Sittwe, where it spills into the Bay of
Bengal.

“The northeast region [of India] is rich in resources, but due to lack of
access their potential has always been under-utilised,” Dipankar
Chatterjee, chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry’s
Northeastern Council, was quoted as saying by an international news
agency. “A gateway through [Myanmar] will allow resource-led growth in the
northeast.”

The nearest available seaports for India’s seven northeastern states are
Kolkata and Haldia, both in West Bengal state and a long drive for trucks.
The Sittwe port project is expected to take three years to complete and to
foster closer economic cooperation between Myanmar and India.

A senior official with Myanmar’s Ministry of Transport said the project
will not only benefit northeast India but will also contribute to the
development of Sittwe and the improvement of the Kitsapanadi/Kaladan river
system.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

July 20, New Light of Myanmar
Reproductive health tasks to be stepped up

Nay Pyi Taw - Minister for Health Dr Kyaw Myint called for stepping up
efforts for reproductive health tasks to meet the UN's millennium
development goals at the Advocacy Meeting on Reproductive Health for Key
Stakeholders on 18 July at the Health Department here.

The meeting was jointly organized by Ministry of Health and World Health
Organization (WHO).

At the meeting, the minister also urged NGOs to cooperate in implementing
the tasks to reduce the infant and child mortality rate and death rate in
labour in Myanmar. He also stressed the need to disseminate general
knowledge on reproductive health to the public.

The meeting was also participated by Deputy Ministers for Health Dr Mya Oo
and Dr Paing Soe, professors of the medical institutes, obstetric and
gynecologists, pediatrics and representatives of Myanmar Maternal and
Child Welfare Association (Central).

____________________________________
ASEAN

July 21, Agence France Presse
Malaysia says Myanmar holding back SEAsian diplomacy

Malaysia issued a scathing criticism of Myanmar, accusing it of
jeopardizing relations between Southeast Asia and other countries, and
making scant progress towards democracy.

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) had been trying to encourage reforms in the military-ruled
country since it joined the grouping in 1997.

Member countries had earned international criticism for their attempts to
engage with the Yangon regime but had little to show for their efforts, he
said.

"Nine years have passed since Myanmar joined ASEAN and there has been very
little progress achieved," Syed Hamid said in a speech read on his behalf
at a gathering of Southeast Asian lawmakers focused on the Myanmar issue.

"The Myanmar government is supposed to convince not only ASEAN but also
the international community that their plan is on track and is really
going to happen. But we are not seeing it yet," he said.

In some of the most open criticisms to date from a Southeast Asian
country, Syed Hamid said the Myanmar government had not kept its promises
to embrace reforms, and had refused to release opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi.

Syed Hamid laid bare the group's frustration in dealing with Myanmar,
saying its relations with other countries were "held hostage" by Yangon.

"Even when ASEAN as a group try to have sideline meetings during APEC or
Asia-Europe summits, it is always tricky to search for a special formula
to include Myanmar in the meetings," he said.

"There is also that general feeling among ASEAN members that the maximum
benefit to be gained by ASEAN through its cooperation with some of its
dialogue partners is being held hostage by Myanmar," he said.

Syed Hamid said there was "real concern" from most of the grouping's
members that Myanmar was undermining ASEAN's credibility and image.

"ASEAN has now reached a stage where it is not possible to defend its
member when that member is not making an attempt to cooperate or help
itself," he said, calling on regional powers China and India to exert
their influence on Yangon.

The criticisms from Syed Hamid come ahead of next week's meeting of the
bloc's foreign ministers in Kuala Lumpur, which is expected to take a more
outspoken position on Myanmar.

ASEAN has indicated that after its efforts to mediate were snubbed, it is
now stepping back and invited the United Nations to lead the push for
change in Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military for four decades.

"Myanmar doesn't want us to stand with them," Syed Hamid told a press
conference Friday. "So it means Myanmar does not need us for the purposes
of solving their issue, so it's best that it is handled by the United
Nations."

____________________________________

July 21, Thai Press
Asia Asean to try once again to persuade Myanmar (Burma) government to
become democratic

Section: Regional News - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(Asean) will next week make another attempt to push Burma towards
democracy and national reconciliation, The Nation reports.

Foreign ministers of the 10 member states will gather in Kuala Lumpur for
their annual meeting and they are looking for ways to try to speed up
political reform in military run Burma.

Rangoon's seven step "road map" towards democracy and national
reconciliation is moving at a snail's pace. But Asean's previous moves to
spur the junta into action have yielded little.

The Kuala Lumpur meeting is not expected to produce any break through on
the political deadlock, a Foreign Ministry official said.

Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon will propose the group enhance the
role of Asean chairman to allow more engagement with Rangoon and effort to
persuade the junta to democratise, Asean Affairs Department director
Nopadol Gunavibool said.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, the current chairman of the
group, failed to make any progress on his visit to Burma in March. The
junta rejected his idea that they meet all stake holders in Burmese
politics, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Asean needed to put more effort in maintaining contact with the junta,
Nopadol said, because Burma was about to shut down channels of engagement
with the group.

"The international community has seen that our regional approach toward
Burma does not work, so we need to prove it can work," he told reporters.
"If the Asean is able to maintain its role in engaging with Burma, it
would help boost creditability of the group, as well as the junta's
capacity to engage with the international community." Many Asean members
have different ideas over the political deadlock in Burma. Malaysia,
Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines want to see Asean take a tougher
approach toward the junta and are happy to see the issue of Burma
discussed by the United Nations Security Council.

But newer members including Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam are happy to see a
more lenient stance.

Thailand, Nopadol said, did not want to see a rift among Asean members
over Burma and would prefer to see the group adopt a united stance on
handling the issue.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

July 21, Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus
Asean "abused" the notion of non-interference: It doesn’t mean silence,
says AIPMC

A new report released in conjunction with the Burma and Democracies in
Transition conference in Kuala Lumpur today calls for Asean countries to
take a more proactive stance against Burma’s military regime.

The report, prepared by the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus
(AIPMC), said the regional association should stop hiding behind the
rhetoric of non-interference because what happens in Burma today affect
everybody in the region.

"If all countries are open and cooperative with each other, all will
prosper. If one country falters, the rest of the region will be held
back," it said.

AIPMC chairperson Datuk Zaid Ibrahim added that non-interference did not
mean "wilfully blinding oneself to threats to regional security, nor
should it be an obstacle to proactive engagement with one's partners",
particularly on issues that have regional consequences.

Backed-up by Asean’s founding principles and declarations, including the
1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, the AIPMC said in
its report that if the purpose of Asean was to help its members realize
their full potential, gagging them was an obvious risk.

"This purpose will be frustrated if any country can suppress uncomfortable
discussions by invoking a vaguely defined non-interference principle...
the non-interference principle becomes more of a protective screen for
regimes that are acting in improper ways than a meaning rule of
international law.  If all countries are to prosper, they must be able to
frankly discuss tough issues and engage each other over their
differences," it said.

As such, non-interference does not mean silence, said AIPMC.  It permits a
wide array of actions and inducements to ensure that no Asean member
pursues a course of action that is detrimental to the interests of the
group.

"Asean was formed to protect mutual political, economic and security
interests, not to create an excuse for one country to threaten the
prosperity and security of the rest of the region," it added.

For media enquiries please contact:
Roshan Jason (+60123750974)
Debbie Stothard (+60176647851)

____________________________________

July 20, Democratic Voice of Burma
Unofficial translation of the statement of 88 Generation Students on the
59th anniversary of Martyrs’ Day, 19 July 2006.

 “Today is a sad and thought-provoking (regrettable?) day on which the
whole Burma’s nationality faced the great invaluable loss.

“The independence (of Burma) was won through dialogue at the end of more
than 100 years of national struggle. The ability to build unity with
ethnic nationals, (and) the ability to negotiate with foreign nationals,
show that the political culture of Burma including that of the martyred
leaders, was high.

“After the independence, the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL),
led by Bogyoke (General Aung San), won a decisive 95.3% of (of the votes
from) all the constituencies when a nation-building parliamentary election
(referendum?) on rebuilding Burma with multi-party parliamentary system
was held.

“For a leader who claims the support of the public especially that of the
ethnic nationals to emerge, we have to wait with historical age. It is not
easy for such a thing to occur. If that kind of person dies, for a country
that relies on personality, it not only loses good prospects for the
country, but also the ability to solve problems. We are still enduring the
dire consequences because it was not attempted to gain the support of the
public the right way but through political violence and the assassination
of martyred leaders trusted by the public.

“As it is an era of building a democratic system, in order not to include
the bad seeds such as ugly political violence and assassination in the
(past) history of Burma, we seriously urge all those who have patriotic
spirit to diligently defend against and avoid (violence), and solve
(political problems) by means of dialogue.”

88 Generation Students