BurmaNet News, July 29-31, 2006

[Editor]

July 29-31, 2006 Issue # 3015

INSIDE BURMA
AP: Constitution guidelines nearly completed, says Myanmar junta leader
DVB: ‘Russia-returned’ Burmese army officers dismissed
DVB: Burmese authorities continue to pressure NLD members to quit party
DVB: Burmese joke: Comedian Metta allowed to make movies again, after 9 years

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: KNLA commanders accuse unnamed KNU leaders

BUSINESS / TRADE
AFP: Thailand eyes Myanmar's natural gas reserves
Xinhua: S. Korea to develop Myanmar electric power network

REGIONAL
Japan Economic: Myanmar pro-democracy activists to file for refugee status
in Japan

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: Deadline passes for Myanmar to release labor activists
Nation: Burma political issue holding up EU-Asean free-trade talks

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: The regime’s other war against ethnic rebels
The Advertiser: Burma still a long way from freedom
New Straits Times: Asean can do more for change in Myanmar

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

July 30, Associated Press
Constitution guidelines nearly completed, says Myanmar junta leader

Myanmar's National Convention, meant to lay the groundwork for the
country's new constitution, has nearly completed its task, a top member of
the country's ruling junta was quoted Sunday as saying.

Lt. Gen. Thein Sein said at an organizational meeting for the convention
that it has finished 75 percent of its work, the New Light of Myanmar
newspaper reported.

Speaking Saturday at Naypyidaw, the new administrative capital 400
kilometers (250 miles) to the north of Yangon, Thein Sein said the
convention has laid down 15 proposed chapters to be included in the new
constitution, the state-run newspaper reported.

Thein Sein, who is chairman of the meeting's Convening Commission as well
as a top junta leader, said the convention will meet again at the end of
this year, though he did not specify a date. It last adjourned in January.

The convention is part of a seven-step "roadmap to democracy" proposed by
the junta, which however has never announced a set schedule for a return
to electoral democracy.

The next steps after the guidelines are completely drafted are supposed to
be the "step by step implementation of the process necessary for the
emergence of a genuine and disciplined democratic system," followed by the
drafting of the actual document and a national referendum to adopt it.

Myanmar has been without a constitution since 1988, when the existing 1974
charter was suspended after the military violently suppressed mass
pro-democracy protests.

"It is the duty of all citizens to strive for the emergence of a modern
and developed discipline-flourishing democratic nation," Thein Sein was
quoted saying. "To help achieve the goal, the National Convention is
adopting basic principles and detailed basic principles to write an
enduring constitution."

Critics consider the proceedings a sham because the delegates were
hand-picked by the military, and detained opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi and her National League for Democracy party are not taking part.

The party won a landslide victory in a 1990 general election but the
military refused to hand over power, claiming it had to first write a new
constitution.

The junta first convened the National Convention in 1993, but it failed to
make much headway and soon suspended its work. The convention was
resurrected in 2004, starting its work from scratch.

____________________________________

July 28, Democratic Voice of Burma
‘Russia-returned’ Burmese army officers dismissed

More than 20 Burmese army officers trained in Russia, who had been
carrying out their duties at the ‘nuclear’ battalion of the State Peace
and Development Council (SPDC), were dismissed from the army last week,
according to sources close to military HQs.

Several army officers were detained and interrogated at the country’s new
capital Kyappyay near Pyinmana since last month, for allegedly leaking
some top secret military news to the outside world.

It is not clear whether they will be taken action against at the martial
court or not. But their vacant positions are to be filled by some army
officers who had just returned from Russia.

____________________________________

July 28, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burmese authorities continue to pressure NLD members to quit party

Local authorities at Ingapu and Laputa Townships in Burma’s delta region
Irrwaddy Division have been piling all sorts of pressure on National
League for Democracy (NLD) members to quit the election winning party led
by detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

“There are two things the divisional (NLD) organising committee members
(told me). One, if they do not quit, they will go to jail and another
thing, the son of the NLD chairman of the local ward there, is carrying
out his duties with the township fire brigade. (They told him that) he
will lose his job, your children will lose their jobs,” NLD spokesman Nyan
Win told DVB. “Another thing, Laputa Township organising committee
chairwoman Dr. Aye Kyu herself came to report at the office (NLD HQs in
Rangoon) today. They (the authorities) have been pressuring NLD members to
quit in the wards of the town and they refused to do so. Someone called Ma
(Miss) San San Htay said that she joined the party out of belief; I can’t
quit. If I want to quit, I will go to the party and quit. I have no reason
to quit, she insisted. But what the authorities are doing is – they used
to give favours to the NLD (members) before. Now they are rather distant.
They are forcing these people and some non-NLD members to sign resignation
letters.”

The authorities at nearby Pegu Division in lower central Burma have also
been piling on similar pressure on NLD members, but members are still
resisting pressures and intimidations hurled against them because they say
that Pegu Division was a place where many people gave up their lives
during the 1988 pro-democracy nationwide uprising, Nyaunglebin NLD
organising committee member Aung Thwin Oo told DVB.

____________________________________

July 28, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burmese joke: Comedian Metta allowed to make movies again, after 9 years

Burmese comedian Metta, who had been banned from making movies for nearly
nine years because he ‘criticised’ the Burmese military junta, was allowed
to resume his movie career again.

The permission was given during a meeting between artists, journalists and
government officials at the Information (and propaganda) Ministry on 20
July, according to Metta’s wife. She added that her husband will start to
shoot films on 31 July.

Meanwhile, fans of another famous comedian and variety artist, Zargana
(Tweezers in Burmese) are hoping that he would be allowed to resume his
creative career. But Zargana himself is not optimistic.

“His (Metta’s) and my positions are not similar,” Zargana told DVB
candidly. “From the beginning, Ko Metta could give public performance at
‘pwes’. As for me I can’t do that since 1988. Another thing is, nobody
knew that he was banned. The reason being, one, he was performing
publicly. As he was entertaining at all the restaurants at night around
Rangoon, nobody knew he was banned. But only when he gave an interview to
Ko Moe Aye (DVB staff) it was known that he was banned. What is so funny
is, only then did the Information Department know that he has been banned.
The reason is, he was not banned by the Information (Ministry). As far as
I know, he was banned by General Maung Aye from the top. I was banned by
means of an edict. He was banned orally. As he was banned with the oral
order, ‘I don’t want to see this person on TV’, he was banned with no
document. No one realised it.”

When asked why the Burmese public is so fond of comedians and comedies
hated by the generals, Zargana said.

“For those of us who live in Rangoon and Mandalay, whether we go to the
cinema or stay at home, the situation is like this. Wherever we go, it is
depressing. It is depressing to be on the buses and to go to the stores.
As it is depressing, they do not want to see other things (films); don’t
want to see the crying ones (tragedies) or the fighting ones (actions) –
they just want to watch funny films. Some of them (jokes?) are spreading
among us. Recently, a joke credited to me came out. An American, an
English and a Burmese meet and boast. The American said, we, the Americans
had climbed the Everest with no legs. The English said, that’s easy, man.
We, the English had crossed the Pacific without arms, twice. Then, the
Burmese said; your efforts are nothing. Our country has been governed
without the head (brain) for 18 years.”

Zargana (a.k.a.) Thura was a trained dental surgeon who came to prominence
in the 1980s for poking fun at the then Burma Socialist Programme Party
junta. The comedian has been jailed twice for his social and political
activism, first as a political dissident in 1988, then again in 1990. He
was freed in 1994 on condition that he no longer practiced as a comedian.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

July 31, Irrawaddy
KNLA commanders accuse unnamed KNU leaders - Shah Paung

The commanders of the 7th Brigade of the Karen National Liberation Army
and of GHQ Battalions have said they will no longer heed any “statement”
or “order” coming from certain unnamed leaders of the Karen National
Union.

In a joint announcement issued on Sunday, the two commanders accused “some
leaders” elected to the KNU central committee at last year’s 13th congress
of corruption.

“Using their important positions and ‘Karen national affair’ as a tool
[or] as stepping-stone, they have been accepting various ways of bribery
from different groups and individuals for their sake of own personal
interest.”

The announcement charged the unnamed KNU leaders of abandoning Karen
national interests, clinging to power by all means, placing corrupt
individuals onto the central committee—and also claimed they “eliminate
anyone, by all means, who notices [or] realized the way they corrupt, and
[who] tried to correct it.”

The announcement was signed by KNU 7th Brigade Commander Brig-Gen Htain
Maung and the Tactical Commander of GHQ Battalions, Col Ner Dah Mya, son
of Gen Bo Mya, head of the KNU Defense Department. They were unavailable
for comment on Monday. A KNU official said the announcement was “not
appropriate with our policy.”

The attacked leaders were also accused of accepting bribes to issue
“statements” and “orders” which had nothing to do with the “reality on the
ground.”

As a consequence, the announcement said, “the KNLA Nr 7 Brigade and the
GHQ Battalions will no longer recognize any of [the] so-called
‘statements’ or ‘orders’ influenced by those self-interested individuals
who use the Karen national affair as their tool for personal benefit.”

A number of KNLA military leaders said on Monday they knew nothing of the
instruction to ignore statements or orders emanating from the KNU. A 7th
Brigade colonel said orders from the KNU leadership would still be
followed.

Tension between the KNU leadership and the KNLA has been growing since Gen
Bo Mya met the regime’s Col Myat Htun Oo in the Thai-Burmese border town
of Mae Sot in mid-July without the agreement of the KNU central committee.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

July 31, Agence France Presse
Thailand eyes Myanmar's natural gas reserves

Thailand's largest energy firm PTT Plc Monday said it has joined the race
against China and India in a bid for exclusive rights to military-run
Myanmar's northwestern natural gas reserves.

"We have expressed interest to buy gas from Myanmar's A-1 block,"
Chitrapongse Kwangsukstith, PTT senior executive vice president for
exploration and production, told AFP.

Neighboring countries have been jostling to take advantage of Myanmar's
abundant natural resources, despite international condemnation of the
junta's human rights record and calls for the release of detained
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Myanmar, which borders both China and India, possesses significant
untapped natural gas reserves off its western Arakan coast, and the two
Asian giants have been pushing to formalize a deal to build pipelines from
the A-1 block in the northwest.

The semi-official Myanmar Times newspaper on Monday quoted an unnamed
energy ministry official, who said that the rights to the gas would
probably go to the highest bidder.

"At present we haven't decided which country to sell A-1 gas to," the
senior official said, adding that they were considering three options;
selling the gas via pipeline, building a LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) plant
and construction of gas-based industries in the country.

China signed a deal with Myanmar in November 2005 to study building a
pipeline from the Arakan Coast to its Yunnan province.

India has been trying to negotiate a three-billion-dollar deal to run a
pipeline from Myanmar across Bangladesh to the eastern Indian city of
Kolkata, but has failed to make headway.

In March this year, Indian President Abdul Kalam visited Yangon and left
with an agreement for studies into a much longer pipeline through
northeast India, or converting the gas to LNG for shipping.

Thailand already pipes about one billion cubic feet of gas per day from
Myanmar's offshore reserves in the southeast in the Andaman Sea.

PTT's Chitrapongse said Thailand's negotiations for the A-1 block would
depend on the results of the firm's exploration in the Martaban Gulf,
where they were granted a 100-percent concession from the Myanmar
government.

____________________________________

July 31, Xinhua General News Service
S. Korea to develop Myanmar electric power network

South Korea's International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) will develop
Myanmar's electric power network dealing with management and operation in
cooperation with the Myanmar power authorities, the local weekly Myanmar
Times reported Monday.

Involving the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), the network
project worth of 1.4 million U.S. dollars, will include the transfer of
Korean knowledge and experience in power system operation and protection,
general facilities testing, fault analysis and the provision of relay
equipment, the KOICA was quoted as saying.

The network development project, which is likely to last for three years,
also includes a study of the condition of power lines and power
substations in Yangon and Mandalay, the sources said.

The electric power network development project is among a number of
projects funded by the KOICA. Other projects cover the sectors of health,
agriculture, information and communications technology, and rail
transportation.

According to the electric power authorities, Myanmar has built 39 new
power plants since 1988, of which 30 are hydropower ones and the country
is currently implementing 16 other hydropower projects in the country's
five states and divisions in a bid to increase electricity supply.

Plans are underway to build 15 more hydropower plants in the future.

Meanwhile, other official statistics reveal that South Korea's investment
in Myanmar had reached 191.31 million dollars in 34 projects as of January
this year since the country opened to foreign investment in late 1988.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

July 29, Japan Economic Newswire
Myanmar pro-democracy activists to file for refugee status in Japan

A group of people from Myanmar calling for democracy in the country under
military rule will file a petition with Japan's immigration authorities on
Monday to grant them refugee status, their supporters said Saturday.

About 10 activists, most of them staying in Japan illegally, claim they
will suffer persecution if deported to Myanmar. They will submit the
petition to the Nagoya Regional Immigration Bureau, the supporters said.

The supporters say the move is rare because Myanmar activists living
abroad tend to shy away from actions that could attract attention out of
fear the government in their home country might harm their families. This
time, they are going to request that the Japanese government take a more
active role to reduce chances of that happening.

Only one of the applicants, all male and in their 20s to 40s, has stayed
in Japan on a visa. They have lived and worked in Aichi and other
prefectures while taking part in rallies for a democratic Myanmar, held in
large Japanese cities like Tokyo and Nagoya.

Among them, a 45-year-old man was imprisoned by the junta for three years
before coming to Japan for his role as a security guard at a speech in
1988 given by Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning
pro-democracy advocate who in her latest period of detention in Myanmar
has been under house arrest since May 2003.

Another man, 35, claims the military government intimidated his mother,
urging her to persuade him to quit political activities.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

July 31, Agence France Presse
Deadline passes for Myanmar to release labor activists

A deadline set by the UN's labor agency for Myanmar to free jailed
workers' advocates and end any related prosecutions passed Monday amid
confusion over how much the junta had done to comply.

The International Labor Organization said two activists had been freed,
but three others still faced court charges that could see them imprisoned.

"The headlines are that the two people who were in prison for cases
related to the ILO have been released," ILO's representative in Myanmar,
Richard Horsey, told AFP in Bangkok.

"Prosecution of three more people is ongoing," he added.

The last hearing in that case was held on July 20, when it was referred to
a higher court for another hearing next month.

Horsey said it remained unclear if the case had been referred so that it
could be dismissed.

The passing of the deadline does not trigger any specific action, but was
intended to push Myanmar to create conditions that would allow talks with
the ILO on creating a credible new mechanism for handling complaints of
forced labor, Horsey said.

"It's a question of creating an environment where those discussions can go
forward with credibility and good faith," he said.

The ILO's governing body will then reconsider Myanmar's case at its next
meeting in November.

If the military-ruled country is deemed to have failed to make progress,
the ILO could refer the case to the International Court of Justice in The
Hague.

The ILO has been trying for almost a decade to get Myanmar's government to
crack down on forced labor.

In 1998, an ILO inquiry found that forced labor was pervasive and
systematic throughout the country, particularly with the military.

As part of a deal aimed at averting sanctions, Myanmar agreed to allow the
ILO to maintain a liaison office in Yangon.

But the junta's cooperation has never come easily. The ILO has complained
about limits on its activities and death threats against its staff last
year.

The generals have banned forced labor in law, but the outside monitors say
little action has been taken to stop the practice.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International said last year that tens of
thousands of people were being forced into labor and suffering other
abuses.

____________________________________

July 29, The Nation
Burma political issue holding up EU-Asean free-trade talks

Trade counsellor Jean-Jacques Bouflet said in a telephone interview that
EU members were now focusing on pushing for political reform in Burma.

"We feel it is the main issue that we have to consider as we decide
whether to proceed on free-trade association negotiations with Asean," he
said.

The Burmese issue has often emerged as a thorny one during meetings
between Asean and EU ministers. While EU ministers tend to favour adopting
strong measures to force the junta to move towards political reform and
the release of pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, Asean members tend
to prefer a more lenient approach with their neighbour.

Bouflet added that the wide difference in economic performance among Asean
countries was another difficulty for the prospective FTA talks.

Asean and EU ministers have long floated the idea of creating a trade deal
between the two regions. A study by a "vision group" set up by the two
sides found that such an agreement would be beneficial to both sides,
stimulating the economy of Asean members by another 2 percentage points of
gross domestic product by 2020.

The vision group suggested that the agreement should be a comprehensive
package covering trade, services and investment.

But Malaysia, Laos and Burma have already said that they cannot accept the
inclusion of government procurements in the scope of the framework for
negotiations on any Asean-EU free-trade pact.

The EU has already wrapped up free-trade talks with South America's
Mercosur group - Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela. The
union is preparing to open talks with the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC).
The Gulf country members are the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and
Saudi Arabia.

The European Commissioners will soon send a recommendation to the members'
states for seeking ideas on the prospective FTA. Members should conclude
their viewpoint whether to hold the talk before the beginning of next
year, he said.

Chutima Bunyapraphasara at the EU section of the International Trade
Strategy Agency said it was likely that the EU and Asean would agree to
open free-trade talks.

She noted that Asean economic ministers were scheduled to discuss the
issue at a meeting next month in Kuala Lumpur.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

July 31, Irrawaddy
The regime’s other war against ethnic rebels - Aung Lwin Oo

While the Burmese government’s campaigns against the remaining ethnic
groups still fighting is well-documented, a more insidious, political
approach seems to be reaping some dividends. In recent weeks, a split in
the ranks of the Karen National Union may now be exploited by the regime,
while a group of Shan State Army-South fighters has already defected to
the regime.

A statement issued on Sunday by a group of fighters from the KNU’s
military wing, the Karen National Liberation Army, said it no longer
recognizes orders from the current KNU leaderships. The group accused
leaders of corruption and lack of vision.

This follows a growing rift between the KNU’s political leaders and
military factions since some KNLA members met junta officials.

The KNLA’s Col Ner Dah Mya, son of KNU former longtime leader Gen Bo Mya,
met Col Tin Soe, military attache at the Burmese embassy in Bangkok, in
late June. At the meeting, the officials invited the ailing, ageing Bo Mya
to receive medical treatment in Rangoon, also offering 300,000 baht (US
$7,800) to cover expenses.

KNU headquarters promptly said it had not sanctioned the meeting. But the
KNLA faction then said it was unhappy about the KNU leadership’s own
meeting with a junta delegation led by Col Myat Htun Oo, from the Burmese
army military affairs security department, at the Thai border town of Mae
Sot. Myat Htun Oo also offered medical help for Bo Mya.

While Bo Mya is understood to have turned down the offer made in Mae Sot,
the 79-year-old rebel leader planned to take up the other offer of a
medical trip via Bangkok. His trip was cancelled at the last minute.

The disputes over Bo Mya’s medical treatment follow evidence of a number
of incidents taking place recently without the KNU leadership’s
permission. Some of those involved in such incidents are regarded by KNU
headquarters as traitors.

One such person, Pastor Timothy, who was expelled from the KNU in 2005,
has defended his position by saying the KNU leadership should seek common
ground for contact with the military regime.

There seems to be similar disarray in the leadership of the SSA-S. Earlier
this month, Col Moengzuen, commander of the SSA-S’s 758 brigade, ignored
summonses from his headquarters and defected to the junta with his men.

Moengzuen, aide to former drug lord Khun Sa, had fallen fowl of the SSA-S
leaders after supporting the concept of a Shan government in exile, when
it declared itself in 2005. The SSA-S had rejected it.

In another incident earlier this year, another SSA-S faction led by Khun
Kyaw—also known as Than Gyaung—was apprehended by Burmese troops while
carrying out activities not condoned by the SSA-S leadership.

Observers say both incidents resulted from lack of effective SSA-S
leadership, and were exploited by the junta—leading to Moengzuen’s
defection. It is depressing to see the junta moving quickly like this,
outside the theatre of battle.

Perhaps it will now take advantage of discord among the Karen rebels.

____________________________________

July 31, Advertiser (Australia)
Burma still a long way from freedom - Natasha Stott Despoja

Next week is the anniversary of the suppression of the pro-democracy
movement in Burma. On August 8, 1988, thousands of unarmed protesters took
to the streets of Rangoon, the Burmese capital. By late evening, hundreds
of thousands of protesters gathered outside Rangoon's city hall. Then,
Burmese army armoured vehicles and soldiers made their appearance. Once
the firing started, panic gripped the crowd.

No one knows how many people died as a consequence of this act of blatant
military repression, but what figures there are suggest as many as 2000
protesters were killed. No doubt the unofficial count was much higher.

The attitude of military authorities was summed up by Burma's then ruler,
General Ne Win, who said: ''I want the entire nation, the people, to know
that if the army shoots, it hits - there is no firing into the air to
scare.''

This was the terrible price the Burmese people paid for democracy. The
defeat for Burmese democracy was an unmitigated tragedy, but out of this
episode the pro-democracy movement in Burma redoubled its efforts.

In 1990, the Burmese military loosened its grip on political power, partly
as a result of international pressure, and acquiesced to demands for free
elections. In an apparent triumph over severe adversity, these elections
saw Burma's major opposition party, the National League for Democracy
(NLD), headed by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, win 80 per cent of the available
seats.

Fearing total loss of power as well as the possibility of war crimes
trials against senior members of the Burmese junta, military rulers robbed
the Burmese people of their chance for democracy. Aung San Suu Kyi, as
well as other leading pro-democracy figures, was placed under house arrest
and the election results ignored.

The events of 1988 were a defining moment for the modern Burmese political
landscape. It led to the 1990 elections and the nullification of those
results.

The Burmese people are still living with the results of the military
crackdown of '88 and its aftermath. Since 1990, political freedoms in
Burma have continued to be curtailed. In many instances, political dissent
is met with brutal, state-sanctioned violence, meted out by the so-called
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

The Australian Government's policy on Rangoon's overt human-rights
violations and assaults on political liberty is limited engagement. This
position argues that keeping some diplomatic channels open to Rangoon will
make the SPDC less isolated and therefore less likely to indulge in
uncontrolled violence.

Implicit in this is a hope that by keeping low-level channels open, the
Burmese military junta will see the error of its ways and reform, or
eventually give political power back to the people.

The Burmese military have been in control since 1962. In 2006, they do not
look like honouring the 1990 parliamentary election results any time soon.
In late May, a draft resolution on Burma was defeated in the United
Nations Security Council. The dissenting voices on the Security Council
came from the Russians, Chinese and Japanese.

Complicating our position is the fact that China and Japan are Australia's
key regional trading partners and unlikely to be easily moved to change
their positions.

We must push for a UNSC resolution as promoted by many including the ASEAN
Inter-parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (the two-day meeting I attended the
weekend before last).

As we approach this anniversary, we should also consider whether our
Government's position on Burma will reap the positive results intended.

For the country's internal politics to change, the international
community, Australia included, must keep applying concerted pressure on
Rangoon.

Natasha Stott Despoja is Democrats senator for South Australia.

____________________________________

July 30, New Straits Times
Asean can do more for change in Myanmar - Zaid Ibrahim

The situation in Myanmar is getting worse and the people of Myanmar are
suffering for it.

On July 13, through a government newspaper, the Myanmar military regime
made it very clear that it will not tolerate any movement towards
democracy.

It made reference to the students who participated in the 1988 democracy
movement, describing them as destructive elements and saboteurs.

The inexplicable move of the capital from Yangon to Pyinmana has also
caused an enormous amount of hardship for the people.

The Government had to increase civil servants' salaries 10-fold just to
prevent mass defections.

Villages deemed too close to the new capital have been forcibly moved,
uprooting many people in the process.

Punishment of ethnic minorities continues.

The latest offensive has forced tens of thousands of villagers to flee
their homes and become refugees or internally displaced persons.

But I do not want to dwell on the negative. I wish to discuss some changes
that can be made to Asean's approach to Myanmar in order to make it more
effective.

What should Asean do to bring change to Myanmar?

We have made it clear that we will not tolerate the present situation, but
we have fallen short of saying what we should do next.

The Asean secretariat has expressed its disappointment but has claimed
that we cannot expel Myanmar from the group because there is no procedure
for doing so.

So what do we do about a member state that continually embarrasses us by
thumbing its nose at all of our suggestions for positive change?

I propose the following. First, Asean must co-operate with the
international community to support a sustainable and irrevocable
transition to democracy.

It is becoming clear that Asean cannot alter the current situation all by
itself. But saying that we cannot go it alone should not imply an
abdication of all responsibility.

Asean can do more than throw up its hands and express frustration.

The grouping, or maybe individual member countries, can co-ordinate with
other like- minded people, organisations and governments around the world.

We can bring together exiled politicians, refugee groups,
parliamentarians, governments and international organisations to build the
capacity for change in Myanmar and to prepare the country and the region
for the difficulties of democracy and economic development.

We still have an important role to play in supporting global solutions,
even if the Myanmar generals will not listen directly to us.

Second, we must engage with our important friends and neighbours -
particularly India and China - on this issue.

These countries currently have significant business ties with Myanmar.

We must work to help the Governments of these countries see that they will
be better off partnering with a free Myanmar.

The security of all of Asia is threatened by the trans-border flow of
refugees, human trafficking, drugs, HIV and so forth.

We must explain to our friends that a bit of economic gain in the short
term is not worth the long-term threats to security that it entails.

Moreover, as the history of Southeast Asia shows, trade opportunities will
grow immensely as countries move to open political and economic systems.

We must share our own experiences with our neighbours to help them see this.

By supporting strategies that will restore freedom and democracy in
Myanmar, all countries will be investing in their own prosperity.

Most importantly, Asean must not give up hope.

I would also like to remind everybody of the plight of Aung San Suu Kyi.
She is still under house arrest, as she has been for over 10 years now.

She was not well recently; she was not even allowed to honour her own
father, yet her spirit and resolve are unchanged. She is still committed
to a peaceful solution.

If she can sustain hope despite all the hardship she has faced, we must do
the same.

To reiterate what others have said before, we are not asking much from
Myanmar.

We want to see Suu Kyi and other political prisoners released.

We want to see the Myanmar military cease all hostilities against
civilians and ethnic groups.

And we want to see real progress towards an inclusive and sustainable
national reconciliation.

Are these requests really so burdensome?

The theme of Asean's 39th ministerial meeting is "the future". Asean must
realise that it will not be able to move into the future if it doesn't
change the present situation in Myanmar.

Datuk Zaid is the MP for Kota Baru and chairman of Asean
Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus