BurmaNet News, August 29, 2006

[Editor]

August 29, 2006 Issue # 3035


INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima: The hell that is Sittwe prison
Mizzima: Need for open dialogue to abolish child soldiers in Burma: SACSUCS
DVB: Police brutality: another civilian beaten to death in Rangoon
Mizzima News: Burma sentences 20 Indians to over 10 years prison term

ON THE BORDER
Reuters: Myanmar refugees head for new U.S. life

HEALTH / AIDS
IMNA: Continuous heavy rain causes diseases on Thailand–Burma border

BUSINESS / TRADE
AP: Piracy hits Burma’s legitimate film and music scene
Agence France Presse: Myanmar to sell 1,300 jade, gem lots at auction

REGIONAL
Thai Press Reports: Thailand recruits 10,000 more Myanmar workers

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: US waives law to allow more Myanmar refugees into US
Reuters: Myanmar refugees head for new U.S. life

OPINION / OTHER
New Straits Times: Looks like Myanmar has done in the sacred cow - Syed
Nadzri

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

August 28, Mizzima News
The hell that is Sittwe prison - Aung Khaing

The Sittwe prison in Arakan state in Burma is a hell hole. Conditions in
the prison are appalling and have been deteriorating by the day with
prison wardens continuing to torture, maim and kill inmates. Prisoners are
used as beasts of burden and made to plough paddy fields, cultivate and
perform other forms of hard labour, according to prisoners who have
escaped from the jail.

Prisoners who fled the prison said they were sent to plough paddy fields
without any cattle and were not given proper meals and clean water to
drink.

Aung Marm, an escaped prisoner from Sittwe prison said, "If prison wardens
were not bribed, we were severely tortured and sent for hard labour such
as farming, cultivating, and carrying water. But we did not get to eat the
fruits of our hard work."

Another prisoner who escaped from Sittwe, Khaing Marm San said, "We were
beaten by the prison authorities if we did not maintain discipline or obey
their orders. I did not understand them because they also beat us even if
we obeyed their orders."

The first jail in Burma was established by the British in 1824 in Sittwe,
about 590 miles northeast of Rangoon, in Arakan state, western Burma.

The prison in Sittwe currently houses about 1,000 prisoners of whom about
100 are women and 25 are children. The prisoners are said to be deprived
of proper medical care as medical supplies are inadequate. Moreover, the
prison wardens indulge in corruption, selling medical supplies meant for
prisoners for their personal gain.

"We do not get any treatment at the prison clinic. Even if we are
seriously ill and approach the clinic for medicines and medication, no
body cares us," Aung Marm said.

Despite the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) providing
medicines for prisoners, the medicines never reach the prisoners, said
Aung Marm.  So, the only way to get treatment was to bribe the authorities
or even the doctors, he added.

"They [authorities] never gave us any medicine and would sell them
outside. Though we wanted to tell the ICRC officials the truth, we were
afraid that we would be tortured by the prison authorities later," Aung
Marm said.

"We worried that if we did inform the ICRC of the true situation in the
prison, conditions would worsen and prisoners' suffering would increase,"
Aung Marm added.

"We were tortured if we told the truth to the ICRC officials during their
inspection trips and were beaten at least seven to 15 times with bamboo or
wooden sticks," Khaing Marm San said.

Since prisoners are not given proper meals, many prisons suffer from
malnutrition and some even said they lost their taste for food.

Despite the hard work prisoners are made to do in the paddy fields and at
plantations they never get to see the fruits of their hard labour not to
mention reaping it.

"We do not even get to eat the fruits and crops that are obtained from our
hard work but the prison authorities would sell them all. The authorities
would sell even rice bags from the supply meant for prisoners. So, there
was never enough food to eat," Aung Marm said.

In 2004, while there were about 1,800 prisoners there was only one well
for drinking water. And the water in the well was filthy and unhygienic
and it caused sickness to a lot of prisoners, added Aung Marm.

Death has become acceptable in Sittwe prison. At least two to three
prisoners die everyday with most of the deaths caused by diseases,
starvation and hard work, according to prisoners escaping the inhuman
prison conditions.

During December 2005, diarrhea broke out in the prison and about 80
inmates were hospitalized and 12 died. Many believe that the 12 men would
have escaped death if they were sent to hospitals outside the prison, Aung
Marm said.

Bribery is a common phenomenon in the prison, and is practiced by most of
the prisoners. Most prisoners in Sittwe prison bribe the authorities to
receive adequate treatment and to avoid being sent for hard labour or not
to be used as human shields or mine sweepers in the frontlines in conflict
zones.

"I paid the prison authorities Kyat 50,000 twice not to be sent to
battle-fields or labour camps, but the last time I could not afford to pay
the money, so I had no choice but accept if I were to be sent to the
frontline," said Aung Marm.

"If we did not want to go to battle-fields as prisoner-porters, we had to
pay a large amount of money. Prison officials ask for money to free
prisoners from all work. Since I could not afford to pay money, I followed
them," Aung Marm San said.

Prisoners, not only in Sittwe but through out the country are reported to
be suffering in a similar manner in deteriorating prison conditions where
there is restriction in freedom of speech, reading books, and other
activities.

Many prominent Burmese politicians, including Arakanese political
prisoners and student leader Min Ko Naing were detained in Sittwe prison
before being released.

____________________________________

August 28, Mizzima News
Need for open dialogue to abolish child soldiers in Burma: SACSUCS - Mungpi

Despite claims by both the Burmese junta and ethnic armed groups, that the
use of child soldiers has been effectively controlled, child soldiers
continue to exist in large numbers in both the camps, the Coalition to
Stop the Use of Child Soldiers said.

The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, dismissing the Burmese
junta's claim that the use of child soldiers has been checked, said the
military junta must stop working in secrecy and should start a dialogue
with various civil societies in order to effectively stop the use of child
soldiers.

The Coalition's Southeast Asia Regional Coordinator, Ryan Silverio told
Mizzima, "If they [the junta] are serious and have the political will to
ensure the effective implementation of the plans set forth by the Special
Committee, they would open up the doors for NGO's, especially child rights
organizations, to participate in the planning and implementation of the
plans and not operate in an atmosphere of secrecy."

The junta's secretary (1) Lt-Gen Thein Sein, admitting for the first time
the presence of child soldiers in the Burmese Army said on August 23 at
the fifth meeting of the special committee to prevent recruitment of
children into the military, Burma has effectively controlled recruitment
of children and all military recruitments are made in keeping with
prescribed rules and regulations.

Following mounting international pressure over its random recruitment of
child soldiers the Burmese junta formed a special committee to prevent
recruitment of minors into military services in January 2004.

However, the committee's nine step plan of action was never carried out
effectively said the Coalition's Southeast Asia regional office.

The Burma focus person of the Southeast Asia Coalition to stop the use of
child soldiers, Banya told Mizzima that at present the number of child
soldiers in Burma still stands at 70,000, which has been reported by
rights groups including the US based Human Rights Watch.

Banya said the junta should open the flow of independent researching and
data collection to update records on the number of child soldiers.

While the plan of action of the special committee includes co-ordination
with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC) "there has been limited coordination in operating
areas and cooperation among UNICEF and ICRC," Banya added.

The Burmese junta as part of its plan to expand the army has made false
promises and has forcibly recruited children as young as 11, according to
the Coalition.

However, the use of child soldiers is not only confined to the Burmese
junta but ethnic armed rebel groups are also documented to have child
soldiers in their camps.

"Almost all of the [ethnic] armed groups in Burma have used children as
soldiers in many ways too," said Banya.

Rights groups have reported that at least 4,000 child soldiers are present
in ethnic armed rebel groups. However, most rebel groups including the
Karen National Union, Karenni National Progressive Party and the Shan
State Army – South rejected the accusations.

The Karen National Union, Burma's longest running insurgent group fighting
for autonomy and self-determination, admitted that it had child soldiers
in its camps during the 1990s but said new recruitments are made on
specific rules that prevents
children joining.

Nam Khur Hsen, spokeswoman of the SSA-S told Mizzima that the group has
many children, especially whose parents have been killed during conflicts.
They are under its care and are sent to schools instead of being recruited
in the military.

The SACSUCS said while a number of ethnic rebel groups continue to have
child soldiers many have started a dialogue on the issue with rights
groups and United Nations agencies.  "Today KNU and KNPP have open
discussions on the issue of child soldiers," said Banya.

With such initiatives, during the past three years the armed groups have
been able to bring down the number of child soldiers effectively in their
camps, SACSUCS said.
"The number of child soldiers in KNU and KNPP have dropped compared to
three year ago. There are less than 50 child soldiers in KNU and KNPP,
according to dialogues with the KNU and KNPP," said Banya.

Despite their claims to have stopped recruiting children to the military,
the SSA-S has a much higher number of child soldiers in their army Banya
added.

____________________________________

August 28, Democratic Voice of Burma
Police brutality: another civilian beaten to death in Rangoon

A Burmese civilian living at Maggin Monastery Street, Taungthukone Ward in
Rangoon Insein Township died, on 16 August from the wounds he received
from the savage beating of local authority and police members, according
to his grieving family members.

On 4 August, district control police officer and local ward authority
member San Win and team came to the home of a Hindu named Mutna, and
accused him of being drunk and beat him up. He suffered serious head and
facial injuries, and he was hospitalised at Insein General Hospital.

A doctor who treated Mutna advised him to report the incident and sue the
perpetrators as the wounds he received was life threatening. When the
authority members and the police force learnt about it, they told him not
to report the incident on the pain of being beaten to death.

As his family is too poor to get proper medical treatments fro him, Mutna
died in agony. When DVB contacted Insein police force, an officer on duty
denied the claim that Mutna died as a result of the beating, and dismissed
it as a case of death from excessive consumption of alcohol. When we asked
local residents about it, they said that although Mutna was drinking
heavily, it was more likely that he died from the excessive beating he
received in the hand of Myo Nyunt and gang.

____________________________________

August 29, Mizzima News
Burma sentences 20 Indians to over 10 years prison term - Mungpi

A township level court in Chin state in western Burma sentenced 20 Indian
nationals, who were arrested in May for illegal logging, to over 10 years
each in prison on August 26.

Burmese authorities in Tonzang township of Chin state arrested 21 Indian
nationals including a six-year old boy on May 6 for illegal logging and
detained them in Tonzang police station.

A legal source in Tonzang town told Mizzima the court on August 26
released the six-year old boy because he is underage but charged 19
Indians for illegal logging and one Indian for poaching.

While the Indian charged for poaching was sentenced to 15 years in prison
the other 19 were sentenced to 12 years said the source, speaking on
condition of anonymity fearing reprisal.

The source said the 20 Indians will be shifted to Inndainggyi
prison-cum-labour camp in Kalemyo Township in Sagaing division to serve
their prison terms.

According to the source the trial and sentence of the Indians in Tonzang
Township court was done in a hurry following the Indian government's
intervention.

Earlier this month, Mani Charenamei, an Indian Member of Parliament from
the northeastern state of Manipur, where the arrested Indians lived,
raised the issue in Parliament and also met Burmese embassy officials in
New Delhi to discuss the matter of their release.

The Burmese authorities had initially demanded cash from the Indians and
promised to release them without trial, said the source. However, the
source failed to state the amount of money that the Burmese authorities
had demanded.

According to legal procedures foreigners cannot be put on trial and
sentenced in a township level court but have to be transferred to Hakha,
the capital of Chin state, where there is a state level court, explained
the source.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

August 29, Reuters
Myanmar refugees head for new U.S. life - Ed Cropley

Tham Hin Refugee Camp: Sixty-three ethnic Karen refugees from army-run
Myanmar left their home of the last nine years on Tuesday, the first of
thousands trading bamboo huts in the Thai jungle for a new life in the
United States.

"I really want to see cowboys in real life because so far I've only seen
them on video," said Thalay Moe, a petite 26-year-old heading for Texas.

For most of the group, the bus trip to Bangkok was the first time they had
been beyond the gates of Tham Hin camp since they arrived as refugees
fleeing the former Burma's military junta nearly a decade ago.

Set in densely forested hills 12 km (7 miles) from the Myanmar border,
Tham Hin is a virtual prison, with the Thai police and army preventing any
of its 10,000 residents from leaving -- a policy designed to deter a
further influx.

In all, around 140,000 refugees, most of them ethnic Karen, Karenni, Shan
or Mon, are crammed into ramshackle camps along the border between
Thailand and Myanmar. Some have been there for nearly 20 years.

With little hope of being able to go back home -- Myanmar's junta shows no
signs of giving up any time soon -- their only hope was for resettlement
in a third country.

That hope grew in May when the United States waived a clause in its
security laws to allow Karen to apply for asylum even though Washington
views the Karen National Union, an ethnic rebel militia, as a terrorist
organisation.

Since then, 2,700 have received approval to go.

"I'm just so happy to be leaving because here, we have no freedom," said
Wei Han, 34, who is destined for Florida. "In another place we will be
free."

CULTURE SHOCK

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Refugees and Migration Ellen
Sauerbrey praised Thailand for granting refuge to the Karen, but said
Bangkok's policy of keeping them corralled in camps was an unnecessary
waste of human talent and resources.

"There is nothing worse than being idle and not seeing anything that you
can do constructively with your time," she told a meeting of Karen and
Thai officials.

Having ironed out the "hiccup" caused by the anti-terrorism legislation,
Sauerbrey said the resettlement process could move into high gear over the
next 12 months.

"Within the next year we hope to bring thousands from Tham Hin and also to
begin processing refugees from the other six camps where there are Karen,"
she said.

At the camp, those being resettled undergo a crash course in all things
American -- from fast food, to history lessons, to using a sit-down toilet
and riding an escalator.

For many, it is a steep learning curve.

"The children adapt the fastest. They pick things up very quickly, but the
elderly have more problems and tend to suffer culture shock," said Hans
Beckers of the International Organisation for Migration, which oversees
the refugee move.

"Most of these people don't even have a concept of doors. We have films
showing them how to push the button on the toilet and how to order drinks
on the plane," he said.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

August 29, Independent Mon News Agency
Continuous heavy rain causes diseases on Thailand–Burma border - Banyol Kin

Unabated heavy rains have caused outbreaks of pneumonia, bronchitis and
malaria in the Three Pagodas Pass (TPP) Township along the Thailand-Burma
border.

Ta Done Village, which is 18 miles from TPP, has only about 100 houses but
70 people are suffering from pneumonia and bronchitis, according to a
human rights activist who just visited the village.

“Most of the patients suffering from pneumonia and bronchitis are
children. Before they used to get free medical treatment but now they have
to pay half the fee for medical care because after MSF (Medecins Sans
Frontieres) left, the hospital cannot afford free medical treatment,” said
Mi Jarai Non.

MSF, also known as Doctors without Borders, had been working with the New
Mon State Party (NMSP) since 1994 to help Internally Displaced Persons,
Mon refugees and others affected by civil war in Burma.

However, at the end of 2005, MSF stopped providing medical treatment in
border areas inhabited by Mon people and gave hospitals enough drugs to
last six months.

Ta Done hospital was previously supported by MSF but now they have almost
run out of medicines so they collect some money from patients to buy
drugs, said a medic, who declined to be identified.

Other hospitals in Pliy Ja-Pan village (Japanese well village) and
Hlockhani village, near the Thai-Burma border, which MSF used to support
are also struggling to get medical supplies.

“In our hospital, 30 percent of the patients are suffering from pneumonia
and bronchitis, the rest have colds and malaria,” said a medic in Pliy
Ja-Pan village near Three Pagodas Pass.

The hospitals are run by the NMSP.

 “People are suffering from pneumonia and bronchitis because it has been
raining for a month and many people are catching cold while working in
the forest. Children are also catching cold and are getting pneumonia and
bronchitis,” said Nai Lyi Ta-moe, a medic in Hlockhani hospital.

Heavy downpour caused three floods in the border areas in the last month
as well as in Mon state, especially in Ye Township, something which has
not happened for more than a decade.

As yet, no patients have died of pneumonia or bronchitis in the affected
border areas, the medic from Pliy Ja-Pan village said.

_____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

August 28, Associated Press
Piracy hits Burma’s legitimate film and music scene - Aaron Clark

One of Burma’s most famous singers sees no point in producing a new album,
and an accomplished movie director says it's nearly impossible to put
together financing for a film.

Such complaints are typical by Burma’s artists, who in addition to
struggling against the military government's tough rules, now face a
threat to their livelihood in the thriving outdoor markets on Rangoon’s
streets. In the makeshift stalls, plastic bins hold hundreds of pirated
copies of locally produced movies, CDs and music videos—everything from
Burmese rap and pop to comedies.

Customers get a choice. Legitimate DVDs and CDs displayed on rickety
tables are priced at around 2,000 kyat (US $1.50), while pirated copies
below the tables go for as low as 400 kyat ($0.30). Performers and
producers say the stream of cheap, pirated performances—only interrupted
by the occasional police crackdown—means artists earn no money.

"No one bothers to go to cinema halls," complained San Shwe Maung, a
director and producer who said that counterfeit versions of local films
are hurting the domestic movie industry. "Without piracy we would get a
portion of each sale, but because of the piracy we don't get anything," he
told the Associated Press.

Producers' frustration with piracy has led to a steady decline in film
production, San Shwe Maung and others said. A half-dozen films have come
out in the first six months of 2006, making it unlikely the annual
production will match the 27 films produced in 2004, he said.

Few artists in Burma concern themselves with the losses that piracy
inflicts on the big players like Hollywood and Microsoft. The struggling
artists here are focused on the domestic ramifications and say the absence
of intellectual property rights protection is slowly suffocating them.

"At the present ... we only have a handful of albums released," said Nwe
Yin Win, one of the country's most popular singers who has done everything
from Willie Nelson covers to Burmese hip-hop. "Even I don't dare to bring
one out.”

"These pirates are doing better than the producers," said Nwe Yin Win,
best known by her stage name, Aunty Joyce. "I know certain producers who
have changed their profession."

Hip-hop artist Tha Soe said he's given up trying to earn money from his
music.

"I have six to eight CDs ready for production," he recently told the
Burmese-language Kumudra news weekly. "But I've decided not to do it for
fear they'll fall into the hands of pirates. I'll put my songs on the
Internet free of charge."

It is illegal to make, sell and buy pirated goods in Burma. But
legislation on copyright is a mishmash of laws, some dating back to
Britain's colonial rule. Experts say the laws need to be overhauled and
modernized.

Those who work with the government concede that existing enforcement does
little to stop criminals from producing illegal CDs and DVDs.

"They pirate the product within hours, as soon as it comes out," said Myo
Thant, an anti-piracy advocate and adviser on copyright issues to the
Ministry of Information.

In November, the World Trade Organization delayed a new regulatory
framework for the least developed nations which need protection for
trademarks, copyright, patents and other intellectual property. The
implementation of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
Rights Agreement, known as TRIPS, was put off from 2006 until 2013.

It is now unclear if reforms will come anytime soon.

"I don't know exactly when we will begin to implement these laws," said
Moe Moe Thwe, deputy director of the Ministry of Science and Technology,
the agency responsible for overseeing the country's new intellectual
property laws.

Moe Moe Thwe said the central government has not given a timeline for
their implementation.

One vendor on a crowded street said he had no option but to sell pirated
movies. The man, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being
arrested, said he plays cat and mouse with police at least twice a week
but continues selling pirated DVDs because the 10,000 kyat ($13) he earns
a day is the "only way of earning money for my family."

Soaring unemployment is just one of the common complaints in Burma, where
the average income is about $1,700 a year. Citizens are struggling to cope
with inflation, frequent electricity blackouts and a military government
that continues to defy international pressure for democratic reforms.

Hla Htay, owner of Master Recording & Video Production, said music
producers like himself want tougher regulations that will stop piracy from
eating away at their profits. But Hla Htay, who produces about 10 of the
100 music and karaoke videos that Burma puts out yearly, said the
producers had little real hope the rampant piracy will end soon.

____________________________________

August 29, Agence France Presse
Myanmar to sell 1,300 jade, gem lots at auction

Military-ruled Myanmar plans to sell more than 1,300 lots of jade and gems
this week in an auction that has become an important source of revenue for
the junta, official media said Tuesday.

The sale will include 312 lots of gems and 1,029 lots of jade, apparently
making it about half the size of the last sale in July, the New Light of
Myanmar newspaper said.

The 890 buyers -- including 335 foreigners -- have been viewing the lots
since Monday and sales start Thursday, the newspaper said.

Myanmar used to hold gem and jade auctions once or twice a year but they
have been taking place with increasing frequency, providing the
cash-strapped junta with much-needed foreign income.

The next one is already set for October and the government has threatened
to punish mining companies by limiting their exploration work in the
future if they fail to bring enough jade and precious stones to the sale.

July's auction was the biggest ever, with 2,300 lots of jade being sold to
merchants including 1,450 foreigners.

The junta has been reluctant to say how much it earns from the auctions
but estimates run into tens of millions of dollars.

Myanmar is one of the world's poorest nations and is subject to US and
European economic sanctions because of human rights abuses and the house
arrest of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The impact of the sanctions has been weakened, however, by the eagerness
of neighboring China, India and Thailand to tap Myanmar's vast natural
wealth to fuel their own growing economies.

Myanmar can boast of significant natural gas and mineral resources, as
well as highly-prized teak. The timber often disappears onto the black
market which is estimated to be at least half the size of the formal
economy.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

August 29, Thai Press Reports
Thailand recruits 10,000 more Myanmar workers

Thailand plans to recruit a new batch of 10,000 workers from Myanmar to
legally work mainly in industrial sector, according to Labour Minister
Somsak Thepsuthin.

Many Myanmar workers are employed in factories in Mae Sot on the Myanmar
border, and others are concentrated in the fisheries and food processing
industries.

Deputy Myanmar foreign minister U Maung Myint in talks with Mr. Somsak
focused on bringing more Myanmar workers for legal employment, mainly in
Thai factories.

The talks were considered a follow-through to discussions held earlier in
August between Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Myanmar
leaders when Mr. Thaksin visited Pyinmana, the new capital of Thailand's
neighbour to the west.

As many as one million Myanmar workers now working in Thailand must return
to their homeland in March next year as their terms of stay and employment
here will expire, Mr. Somsak said.

The Myanmar authorities want Thailand to legally employ greater numbers of
its nationals here, and stated that its officials would help screen
would-be workers wishing to take up employment here.

Myanmar relies on legal migrant workers in Thailand to provide foreign
exchange and hard currency for the national budget.

Mr. Somsak said that Thailand may extend the employment contracts for some
Myanmar workers whose terms are due to expire next March.

The Myanmar authorities will issue temporary passports within one day for
Myanmar workers wishing to work in Thailand.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

August 29, Agence France Presse
US waives law to allow more Myanmar refugees into US

The United States on Tuesday waived a law preventing thousands of ethnic
Karen who fled fighting in Myanmar from being resettled in the United
States, a US embassy official said.

The announcement came as Ellen Sauerbrey, US assistant secretary of state
for population, refugees and migrations, visited the overcrowded Than Him
refugee camp on the Thai-Myanmar border along with Antonio Guterres, the
UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
"She said she welcomed any Karen that were eligible to come to the United
States," an embassy official told AFP after the visit to the camp in
Thailand's western Ratchaburi province.

Karen refugees had previously not been eligible for resettlement because
many of them back the Karen National Union, an armed group fighting
Myanmar's military junta, and were thus viewed as terrorism supporters.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last May made a similar
announcement for the Than Hin camp, paving the way for some 9,300 Karen to
apply to live in the United States.

However until Tuesday, thousands of Karen refugees in eight other camps on
the border were still officially considered terrorism supporters.

The announcement came as a six-week operation got underway to settle about
1,700 Karen in the United States and Australia.

The US embassy official said that Sauerbrey met with 63 Karen who left the
camp on Tuesday, joining 146 others who have so far left for a new life
abroad.

The United States has previously said that it plans to accept a total
2,700 Karen refugees this year.

Thousands of ethnic Karen flee fighting in military-run Myanmar every year
and end up in cramped refugee camps on the Thai side of the border.

Human rights groups have accused Myanmar's military of killing civilians
and torching villages in their efforts to quell the Karen National Union,
the oldest and largest rebel force which is still battling the junta.

UNHCR's Guterres will Wednesday meet with Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra and hold talks with Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A UNHCR statement on Friday said the aim of Guterres's trip was to
underline the importance of resettlement as a solution for the refugees,
some of whom have been living in camps for 20 years.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

August 29, New Straits Times (Malaysia)
Looks like Myanmar has done in the sacred cow - Syed Nadzri

The proposed Asean Charter appears to be taking on a new, and certainly
more refreshing, direction.

This follows another groundbreaking statement four days ago by Tun Musa
Hitam, the head of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) drafting this document
which is to be a constitution of sorts for Asean.

He said the charter could include a mechanism to expel members. That's
something new.

The EPG is looking at sanctions as one of the mechanisms a member country
could face as punishment.

"It could be, on a more serious note, chuck them out or expulsion," Musa
was quoted as saying.

"It could mean just a resolution against them. We are looking at all these
options."

Although he said it was a general statement, it was quite clear that
Myanmar, which is under fire from almost all quarters for its bad human
rights record, was the reference point.

Significantly, it was the second time in a month that Musa gave hints
about where the charter is heading.

Just before the Asean Ministerial Meeting in Kuala Lumpur last month, he
said the consensus system, which is deeply imbedded in the grouping, ought
to go because it impedes progress.

Which has left us thinking.

Is there a big shift going on in the minds of those drafting the charter?

Just last December at the Asean Summit also hosted by Malaysia, the Kuala
Lumpur Declaration on the Asean Charter was signed, roughly spelling out
the course the charter would take.

In it was a paragraph saying Asean's almost sacred policy of
non-interference would stay. It added that the charter would continue to
uphold the right of every state to lead its national existence free of
external interference, subversion or coercion.

So, has Myanmar pushed them over the edge now?