BurmaNet News, August 2, 2006

[Editor]

August 2, 2006 Issue # 3016


INSIDE BURMA
DVB: Burmese authorities persuade monks not to accept donations from
political activists
Mizzima: Imprisoned students' leader needs treatment for skin disease: ABFSU
IMNA: Villagers forced to remove bushes along motor road
Myanmar Times: Govt works to establish laws regulating GMOs

ON THE BORDER
DVB: Divide and rule: We can work it out says KNU

BUSINESS / TRADE
Xinhua: Roundup: Myanmar takes measures to boost border trade with
neighboring countries
Xinhua: Myanmar-Thai bilateral ties maintains good momentum: experts

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: Thai PM holds sudden talks with Than Shwe
DVB: Burmese workers hiding in Malaysian jungles
DVB: Black Eyed Peas serenade detained Burma’s democracy leader

PRESS RELEASE
NCGUB: NCGUB applauds renewal of U.S. sanctions on Burma
SHAN: Junta generals in cahoots with druglords, says new report

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

August 1, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burmese authorities persuade monks not to accept donations from political
activists

Authorities at Rangoon Thinganggyun Township approached Buddhist monks
living at local Maggin Monastery and donated worldly materials in an
attempt to curry favours from them, according to a monk who doesn’t want
to be named.

The monastery has been frequented by political activists and their circles
in Rangoon since the time of the late abbot, known simply as Maggin
Sayadaw, who himself was a political prisoner. In the past, members of
pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), ‘people
power holders’, special branch (SB) police agents kept a close watch on
people who came to visit the monastery, the monk added.

But within last week, Eastern Rangoon District authority chairman Lt-Col
Maung Maung Shein came to the monastery and offered some material needs to
the head monks and requested them not to accept donations from political
circles. It is not known how the monks reacted to the 'request' from the
authorities and we were unable to speak to them as there is no phone
connection to the monastery.

Local residents are said to be very interested in as to why the
authorities approached the monks at the monastery known for their support
for democracy.

____________________________________

August 2, Mizzima News
Imprisoned students' leader needs treatment for skin disease: ABFSU - Nga
Ngai

With student prisoner, Myo Min Zaw, suffering from a debilitating skin
disease for over three months, which has led to decay of his fingers and
nails, the exiled student union has urged authorities of Mandalay prison,
in central Burma, to provide immediate treatment.

The Thailand based Foreign Affairs Committee of the All Burma Federation
of Student Unions ABFSU (FAC) in a statement released on July 30 said Myo
Min Zaw, who was sentenced to 52 years in prison in September 1998 for
leading a student's demonstration in Mandalay, has been suffering from a
skin disease which has severely affected his fingers and nails.

"We are told that the skin disease was caused by unhygienic water, food,
and toilet, the use of soap and lack of treatment by prison authorities",
said Min Naing, in-charge of the ABFSU (FAC) to Mizzima.

Min Naing said prison conditions in Burma have worsened since January 2006
after the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stopped making
prison inspections over an alleged insistence of the government backed
members of Union Solidarity and Development Association on joining an
inspection team at a prison in Bago division.

Fiona Terry, media spokesperson of the ICRC in Rangoon told Mizzima, that
discussions between the ICRC and the Burmese government over the
continuation of prison visits and other ICRC activities are on but said,
"We don't know when we will visit again [the prisons."

ICRC, which started operations in Burma in 1985, withdrew from the country
in 1995 citing restriction of access to prisons and field operations. But
in 1998 the ICRC returned to Burma and in 1999 the teams started regular
prison inspections.

Min Naing said skin diseases are wide spread in the prison and that
another inmate lost all his finger nails.

Myo Min Zaw, a second year student majoring in English was arrested on
September 1998 and then sentenced to 52 years imprisonment for leading the
1996 December and August 1998 demonstrations in Mandalay.

He was initially kept in Basein prison in Irrawaddy division in lower
Burma but was transferred to Mandalay prison after joining the Basein
prisoners hunger strike in 2003.

Burma has banned the formation of any kind of student union.

____________________________________

July 24-30, Myanmar Times
Govt works to establish laws regulating GMOs - Win Nyunt Lwin

The government presented the first draft of its proposed bio-safety
regulations to stakeholders in the process last month, with plans to
complete a finalised version early next year.

The regulations will seek to safeguard human and animal health, protect
the environment and promote safe agricultural and industrial production
practices, said project coordinator U Aung Kyi, who is also assistant
director of the Department of Agricultural Planning under the Ministry of
Agriculture and Irrigation.

He said the law will focus on regulating the flow of genetically modified
organisms (GMO) into Myanmar and maintaining the country’s indigenous
biodiversity.

The project, which started in 2004, is a cooperative effort among 10
ministries. However, the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation has taken
a leading role as more than 80 percent of the world’s GMOs are
agricultural products.

The United Nations Environment Program provided US$180,000 in assistance
for the project when it started, and has continued to supply technical
assistance and advice.

“We are not trying to prevent the flow of all GMOs, but to regulate those
that have the potential to harm human health and biodiversity in Myanmar,”
U Aung Kyi said. “The law will include who to contact for permission to
import GMOs, who will examine the imports and for how long, and what
action will be taken against those who violate the law.”

The final draft of the regulation is expected to be submitted to the
Office of the Attorney General for approval early next year.

Before then, a seminar is expected to be held in August or September to
get additional input from concerned ministries, including Forestry,
Livestock and Fisheries, and Education.

U Aung Kyi said genetically modified (GM) crops are becoming more
important as a means to ensure that agricultural production keeps pace
with the rapid growth of the world’s population, but added that Myanmar
must balance the benefits of increased productivity with possible impacts
on human health and the environment.

The United States accounts for more than two-thirds of the 167 million
acres of GM crops now grown throughout the world.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

August 1, Democratic Voice of Burma
Divide and rule: We can work it out says KNU

Although two commanders of the 7th Brigade of the Karen National
Liberation Army (KNU) and of GHQ Battalions said recently that they will
no longer heed any ‘statement’ or ‘order’ coming from certain unnamed
leaders of the Karen National Union (KNU), KNU leaders and their Burmese
allies said that they can work out their differences by peaceful means.

In a joint announcement issued on Sunday, the two commanders, 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, 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,” said the statement.

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.’

“There have been many (incidents of the) spreading of the propaganda of
General Mya being sacked, (or) General Mya being forced to retire,” said
KNU General Secretary and spokesman Phado Mahn Sha. “None of them is true.
Many people know that General Mya is receiving medical treatments because
his health is not good. Therefore, we, the leaders said that it would be
good for him to get a medical (sick) leave for his treatments, but we
didn’t announce it officially. Now, General Mya himself said that he
doesn’t want sick leave and we gave him no sick leave. Therefore, people
are saying many things about this matter but I want to say that none is
true. Another thing, I heard that they alleged the Karen leaders are
abandoning our national interests. The Karen national revolution is still
surviving strongly to this day because the current Karen revolution
leaders have been serving the Karen revolution and Karen national
interests firmly and righteously. Therefore, I want to say that their
accusations are very wrong.”

Mahn Sha added that the problem between KNU HQs and Brigade-7 will be
‘corrected’ by means of cooperation.

“In fact, we accept that the Karen revolution is part of Burma’s
revolution. Democracy affair and national affairs are connected. As it is
thus, if some thing happens to the Karen revolution, it is sure that there
would be a stop to the whole of Burmese revolution. As it is so, there are
things we are trying to make the Karen revolution correct and stand
firmly. We know our duties. We will fulfil our duties strongly. Another
thing, the commanders themselves said that they will follow the four
principles of Saw Ba Oo Gyi (the first modern Karen national leader). If
they stand firmly on what they say, there is no reason they can’t
negotiate and cooperate with the (KNU) HQs. Therefore, we believe that we
will be able to carry out negotiations.”

At the same time, KNU’s pro-democracy allies based on the Thai-Burmese
border said that the KNU central committee members will be able to solve
the quarrel by peaceful means.

“We all believe and accept that the role of the KNU is very important on
the path of Burmese revolution,” said the joint secretary of National
League for Democracy – Liberated Areas (NLD) Myint Thein. “If you asked me
if the resulting political situations from (this) KNU problem could have
ramifications on the situations in the liberated areas on the border, I
have to say that they could. As far as we believe, the KNU is aware of
this. If you look at more than 50 years long journey, the KNU has been
able to control these matters strongly. Therefore, we believe that the
leaders concerned will try to return to the controllable situation by
holding the best plans.”

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 General Mya was arranged to meet the SPDC’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, other reports said.

Observers said that the latest crisis in the KNU could be the result of
the SPDC’s insidious divide-and-rule political campaign exploiting the
weaknesses of the former. The KNU was also split along religious lines in
early 1990s resulting in the losses of many vital territories.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

August 2, Xinhua General News Service
Roundup: Myanmar takes measures to boost border trade with neighboring
countries

Myanmar is taking some measures to boost border trade with neighboring
countries, establishing Muse border trade zone and transforming its border
trade with China into normal trade as an initial step for the move.

In fact, such transformation from border trade into normal trade has been
implemented in the 150-hectare Muse trade point linking China's Ruili in
Yunnan province as a pilot project since early 2005.

Since achievements have been claimed in the Muse trade point with China,
which is also known as the Muse 105th Mile Border Trade Zone and was
formally inaugurated on April 11 this year, all other trade points with
the rest of the neighboring countries such as Tamu with India, Maungtaw
with Bangladesh, and Tachilek and Myawaddy with Thailand are set to follow
suit.

Myanmar has a total of 13 main border trade points with the four neighbors.

Recently, as part of its bid in the move, Myanmar has liberalized some
trade procedures dealing with the border trade being carried out in Muse
trade zone with China to facilitate exporters and boost bilateral trade
between the two countries.

The newly-introduced trade procedures on July 24 by the Ministry of
Commerce allow merchants to freely and directly transport some of their
exporting items from across the country to the Myanmar-China border trade
zone of Muse first and export licenses will be available within a day on
the spot after a sale contract is formally established with buyers from
the Chinese side.

Such export licenses-on-arrival of exporting goods are applicable only to
beans and pulses, sesame, maize, onion, rubber, marine products and forest
products except teak.

Previously, traders had to seek export licenses first in Yangon and later
in Nay Pyi Taw, the newly-relocated administrative capital, for their
exporting goods to be carried to the Muse trade point for trading.

The liberalization was made in line with the norms prescribed by the World
Trade Organization so as to reduce the hindrance of red tape and smooth
the regional flow of commodities, said the Directorate of Trade under the
Commerce Ministry.

According to government statistics, daily trade volume in Muse ranges
between 500,000 U.S. dollars and one million dollars with 347 million
dollars being registered in the fiscal year of 2004-05 (April-March), 505
million dollars in 2005-06 and 207 million dollars in the first quarter of
2006-07, and it is predicted that the total trade volume in 2006-07 will
be higher than the previous year.

According to Chinese official statistics, China-Myanmar bilateral trade
hit 1.209 billion dollars in 2005, up 5.6 percent from 2004. Of the total,
China's exports to Myanmar took 935 million dollars, while its import from
Myanmar stood at 274 million dollars.

Of the bilateral trade, that between Yunnan province and Myanmar,
including the border trade, amounted to 630 million dollars during the
year, up 14.6 percent from the previous year.

Yunnan's exports to Myanmar represented 400 million dollars, while its
imports from Myanmar was valued at 230 million dollars. The two countries
have set a target for their annual bilateral trade to increase to 1.5
billion dollars.

Following the establishment of the Muse border trade zone with China,
similar zone in Myawaddy bordering Thailand's Maesot will be opened later
this year, local reports said. The Myawaddy border trade zone in
southeastern Kayin state will be the second largest of its kind after the
Muse trade zone.

Thailand stands as Myanmar's largest trading partner, taking up about 1.9
billion U.S. dollars or 38 percent of Myanmar's 4.9 billion dollars'
foreign trade in 2004-05, statistics show. Of the Myanmar-Thai bilateral
trade, the border trade represented about 70 percent.

Dealing with India, Myanmar is also planning to set up similar zone in
Tamu linking the neighbor's Moreh. According to official statistics,
Myanmar-India bilateral trade amounted to 557.68 million dollars in the
fiscal year 2005-06 which ended in March, up 24 percent from 2004-05. Of
the total, the border trade accounted for 14.68 million dollars.

India stands as Myanmar's 4th largest trading partner after Thailand,
China and Singapore and also Myanmar's second largest export market after
Thailand, absorbing 25 percent of Myanmar's total exports.

Myanmar and India have set a target for their bilateral trade to attain 1
billion dollars in 2006.

With respect to border trade with Bangladesh, Myanmar is also planning to
set up similar trade zone in Maungtaw with the neighbor's Teknaf. The
formal border trade between the two countries was initiated in September
1995.

According to local reports, bilateral trade between Myanmar and Bangladesh
reached over 60 million dollars in the fiscal year 2005- 06 which ended in
March, up 20 percent from 2000-01's 50 million dollars. Of the total,
Myanmar's export to Bangladesh stood 55 million dollars, favoring Myanmar.
The two countries are striving to increase their bilateral trade to 100
million dollars.

Observers here said that Myanmar's border trade with neighboring countries
stands an important position in its foreign trade. Therefore, promotion of
border trade through establishing trade zones and liberalizing trade
procedures not only contributes to the country's economic development but
also enhance the continuous development of its economic and trade ties
with neighboring countries.

____________________________________

August 2, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar-Thai bilateral ties maintains good momentum: experts

Bilateral ties between Myanmar and Thailand including economic and trade
cooperation has maintained good momentum in recent years, experts with
international issues said on Wednesday.

Amid growing international pressure on Myanmar, Thai Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra's half-day surprise visit to Nay Pyi Taw, the new
administrative capital of Myanmar, on Wednesday where he would have talks
with Myanmar leaders on a number of issues, would contribute to the two
countries' bilateral ties, the experts said.

In 2005, two Thai military leaders -- Supreme Commander of the Royal Thai
Armed Forces General Chaisit Shinawatra and Commander- in-Chief of the
Royal Thai Army General Pravit Wongsuwon as well as Deputy Prime Minister
Surakiart Sathirthai and Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon visited
Myanmar successively.

During the year, in their electric power cooperation, the two countries
inked a memorandum of understanding on developing some hydropower projects
on Myanmar's Thanlwin and Tanintharyi rivers. The projects include EGAT
Public Company's one-billion-US-dollar Hutgyi hydropower project plant
which consists of a 600 megawatt ( mw) turbine that can produce 3.82
billion kilowatt-hours (kwh) yearly. Power generated from these projects
are expected to be partly exported to Thailand.

This year, Myanmar and Thailand's MDX Group signed a 6 billion US dollars'
power project with Myanmar, which is the 7,110- megawatt (mw) Ta Sang
hydropower project on the Thanlwin River in southern part of Shan state.
The project is set to complete within 15 years.

Other accords with regard to the energy sector signed during the last two
years were production sharing contracts between the PTTEP International
Ltd of Thailand and the state-run Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise on oil
and gas exploration in block M-11, M-7 and M-9 in Myanmar's Mottama
offshore area.

A latest report said that the Thai firm has expressed interest in buying
natural gas from A-1 block in Myanmar's western Rakhine offshore gas field
being developed by a consortium led by South Korea's Daewoo International
Corporation.

As part of the Ayeyawaddy-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy
(ACMECS) agreed upon at a summit of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand
held in Myanmar's ancient city of Bagan in November 2003, Thailand has
finalized its feasibility study on the establishment of three proposed
economic and industrial zones on the Myanmar side along the Myanmar-Thai
border. And the finding on the feasibility was presented to the Myanmar
side for deliberation early this year.

The study on such establishments in Myawaddy and Hpa-an in southeastern
Kayin state and Mawlamyine in southern Mon state was jointly conducted by
the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand and the Myanmar Ministry of
Industry-1.

According to official statistics, Thailand stands as Myanmar's largest
trading partner, taking up about 1.9 billion US dollars or 38 percent of
Myanmar's 4.9 billion dollars' foreign trade in 2004- 05, statistics show.
Of the Myanmar-Thai bilateral trade, the border trade represented about 70
percent. Meanwhile, Thai investment in Myanmar amounted to 1.345 billion
dollars in 56 projects as of the end of January this year since 1988.

In their bilateral cooperation in law enforcement, the two countries also
signed a memorandum of understanding in Yangon during 2005 on cooperation
in suppressing money laundering especially against laundering of funds
obtained from transnational crimes.

To facilitate the two countries' border link, the Second Myanmar-Thailand
Friendship Bridge-2, spanning the Maesai Creek between Tachilek and Maesai
on the two countries' border, was opened on Jan. 22, this year.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

August 2, The Irrawaddy
Thai PM holds sudden talks with Than Shwe - Clive Parker and Sai Silp

Thailand’s caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra led a delegation to
Naypyidaw for talks with junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe and other
undisclosed junta officials on Wednesday.

The visit left commentators and even government officials confused because
no such visit had been scheduled, despite claims otherwise in an official
announcement released after Thaksin’s arrival in the new Burmese capital
on Wednesday afternoon.

Upon boarding a military aircraft in Bangkok with the rest of the
delegation—which included the head of the Thai Army Gen Sondhi
Boonyarataglin and Foreign Minister Kantathi Supahmongkhon—Thaksin told
reporters the visit would address “bilateral and multilateral issues.”

The delegation left Bangkok at 12:30 pm local time on Wednesday and was
scheduled to return the same day at about 8 pm, the Thai government
announcement said. The trip had been arranged “because the leaders of both
sides want to meet,” The Associated Press reported Thaksin as saying,
without elaborating further.

Commentators noted that it usually takes weeks to arrange a high-level
meeting with the junta. The Philippines Foreign Minister Alberto Romulo
has been finalizing a trip to Burma for some time and has yet to fix a
date, spokesperson Gilberto Asuque said on Wednesday.

The most telling anecdote came from a Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs
official. After meetings on Wednesday morning, the foreign minister told
her that he was going to lunch but never returned. The next the official
knew of her boss’s whereabouts, she said, came from press reports on the
internet saying he had flown to Burma.

“This is not normal because it is urgent and there was no transparency
about the reasons for going,” said Dr Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a faculty
lecturer in political science at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.

The Thai government usually announces such visits in advance but in this
case none were issued, while Gen Sondhi had been scheduled to visit
Thailand’s restive south before plans were changed.

Speculation that the visit was related to Thai interest in Burma’s natural
gas resources was fueled by the news that Energy Minister Viset Choopiban
was previously scheduled to visit Burma on Wednesday. The Thai Embassy in
Rangoon said that on Tuesday it had been instructed to make arrangements
for the trip but could not confirm whether Viset was in the country.

Burmese officials from the Ministry of Energy in Rangoon and Naypyidaw
knew nothing of the proposed visit or that of Thaksin. Although the
official Thai statement on the visit did not mention inclusion of the Thai
minister of energy, the Minister of Natural Resources Yongyut Tiyapairat
was part of the group, it said. On Monday the Petroleum Authority of
Thailand confirmed it was vying to secure exclusive rights to the A1 gas
block off the coast of Arakan State in western Burma—resources that China
and India are also trying to purchase.

Thaksin made a telephone call to the Philippines President Gloria Arroyo
shortly before leaving for Naypyidaw on Air Force 6, the government
statement said, although there was no further information on the
discussion. The Philippines took over the rotating presidency of Asean at
the end of July in place of Burma, which forfeited last year under extreme
pressure from the US, Europe and campaign groups.

____________________________________

August 1, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burmese workers hiding in Malaysian jungles

As the Malaysian police and authorities have been carrying out crackdowns
on illegal foreign workers, and Burmese workers are hiding in the jungles
around the capital Kuala Lumpur, according to the Burmese communities
there.

“They have been mostly raiding industrial zones and carried out arrests,”
a Burmese national living in Kuala Lumpur told DVB. “Illegal workers go
and sleep in the jungles in temporary tents at night.”

An illegal Burmese worker in hiding also said that workers were told not
return to the town yet as the crack-downs haven’t ended, and that they are
surviving on boiled eggs and pickled tea leaves.

According to a local newspapers at 13,000 illegal workers have been
rounded up and it is estimated that there could be up to 2000 Burmese
nationals among them. The worker added that the punishment ranges up to
death sentence and many Burmese nationals were detained at immigration
detention centres and returned to the Burmese border town Myawaddy via
Thailand’s Ranong.

____________________________________

August 1, Democratic Voice of Burma
Black Eyed Peas serenade detained Burma’s democracy leader

The Grammy award winning hip-hop band Black Eyed Peas ended their Asian
tour with a song honouring Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi in the Thai capital
Bangkok today.

With large images of her posted on stage, The Black Eyed Peas dedicated
their hit song "Where is the Love" at today's concert to the imprisoned
Burmese democracy leader and Nobel laureate.

In a press release, the organisers, the Human Rights Action Center and
U.S. Campaign for Burma said that ‘the performance will also be simulcast
into Burma where she is under house arrest and the government forbids
democratic messages to its populous’.

“With the aid of un-censored satellite technology, this will be only the
second time the Burmese people will be able to watch part of an
international music concert in which musicians speak about Aung San Suu
Kyi and the first time ever that this has been done from any of Burma's
bordering nations.”

This performance kicks off the global Freedom Campaign; a partnership
between the Human Rights Action Center and U.S. Campaign for Burma
designed to bring attention to Aung San Suu Kyi and the cause for freedom
for the people of Burma, the press release said.

The dedication portions of this concert will be broadcast inside Burma via
satellite through the brand-new DVB television station. There are an
estimated two million satellite dishes inside Burma, reaching up to 10
million of the country's population of 52 million persons.

The Black Eyed Peas dedication follows a previous dedication made by
R.E.M. on Aung San Suu Kyi's 60th birthday in June 2005. The Freedom
Campaign concerts will be led by renowned activist Jack Healey; well-known
for organizing Amnesty International's highly successful concerts around
the world, said the organisers.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

August 1, National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma
NCGUB applauds renewal of U.S. sanctions on Burma

The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) warmly
welcomes the renewal of the “Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003”,
which President Bush has signed into law today.

The NCGUB is deeply grateful to the United States Congress, in particular,
Senator Mitch McConnell, Representative Tom Lantos and all co-sponsors of
this crucial bill (S.J.Res. 38 and H.J.Res. 86) for extending sanctions
against the Burmese military junta for three more years.

Through this measure, the United States sent a strong and clear message to
the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) that continued egregious
human rights violations and the generals’ blatant ignorance of
international calls for national reconciliation and democratization
process in Burma will not be tolerated.

The Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 honored the brave leadership
of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and recognized the National League for Democracy
(NLD) as the "legitimate representative of the Burmese people as
determined by the 1990 election”.  This legislation also aimed to reach an
agreement between the SPDC and the democratic forces led by the NLD and
ethnic nationalities on the transfer of power to a civilian government
accountable to the Burmese people.

Prime Minister Dr. Sein Win said, “By renewing this Act,  the United
States reiterated its strong support for the NLD and Burmese people in the
struggle for freedom and democracy. I am confident that as clearly defined
in the bill, the United States will empower the Burmese democracy movement
and continue its efforts until the democratization process is irreversible
in Burma.”

The NCGUB also fully supports initiatives by the United Sates, the
European Union, and other democratic countries, including regional friends
of Burma, to bring the Burma issue before the United Nations Security
Council and help bring about democratic changes in the country.

The NCGUB will continue its efforts to bring about stronger unilateral as
well as multilateral action against the Burmese generals until democracy
is restored in the country.

____________________________________

August 1, Shan Herald Agency for News
Junta generals in cahoots with druglords, says new report

Never mind the shoddy parades of their seriousness in fighting the war
against drugs, most of Burma’s generals are indisputably colluding with
drug operators on the wanted lists of its neighbors, according to a new
report released today by S.H.A.N.

Most prominent on Hand in Glove’s 64 pages is Lt-Gen Myint Hlaing,
promoted in May to Air Defense chief, who had made his mark in the bloody
suppression of the Mongkoe Defense Army in 2000 and the sweeping crackdown
on military intelligence officers in 2004 that finally led to the downfall
of Gen Khin Nyunt. The report says, as Commander of Northeastern Region
Command (northern Shan State), he had been closely associated with
well-known drug bosses such as Sai Tun Aye ‘So-so Pyay-Pyay’, Bo Mon and
Panghsay Kyaw Myint, who also double as pro-junta militia leaders.

The report also gives profiles on 18 new faces other than those who are
already familiar to lay watchers of Burma: Law Hsing Han, Khun Sa, Lin
Mingxien and Wei Hsuehkang.

In addition, it discusses how, under Deputy Senior General Maung Aye, the
militias are being favored over the ceasefire groups, once “blue-eyed
boys” under Gen Khin Nyunt. “Militias have been formed under our
supervision,” a colonel in eastern Shan State was quoted as telling a Lahu
militia leader. “Ceasefire groups are merely enemies who have taken a
break in the fighting against us.”

The report concludes:

• As long as the junta’s principal focus is to get rid of the Opposition
and not the welfare of the people
• As long as pro-regime individuals and movements are granted immunity
• As long as there is non-stop expansion of the army and the policy of
self-reliance for military units
• As long as there is widespread corruption that begins right from the top

“The ordinary people of Shan State should not be blamed for doubting
whether the year 2015 will indeed bring a Drug Free Asean.”

Hand in Glove can be read at http//shanland.mongloi.org The booklet; which
will be available in a week, is 100 baht ($ 2.50) including postage in
Thailand. Prices for outside Thailand:

        Price           Postage         Total
Asia    $ 2.50          $ 3.50                  6
EU      $ 2.50          $ 4.50                  7
US      $ 2.50          $ 5.50                  8

Earlier publications Show Business: Rangoon’s War on Drugs in Shan State
(2003) and Finding Neverland: The story of Yawngkha (2005) are also
available at S.H.A.N.