BurmaNet News, September 16-18, 2006

[Editor]

September 16-18, 2006 Issue # 3047

INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar's opposition calls for more pressure on junta
AFP: Myanmar muted on UN move

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Urban Burmese refugees moved to border camps
The Nation: A positive change in refugee policy
AFP: India seeks stronger action by Myanmar against rebels

BUSINESS / TRADE
Xinhua: Myanmar to levy income tax on sale of assets of foreign oil companies
Xinhua: Myanmar, Russia, India to explore gas in Myanmar

REGIONAL
Deutsche Presse-Agentur: Myanmar dissidents mark anniversary of military
crackdown

INTERNATIONAL
AP: Security Council puts Myanmar on agenda
AFP: UN action on Myanmar only diplomatic victory for US:
AFP: US classifies six more Asian nations as religious freedom violators
DVB: UN Human Rights Council and Burma

STATEMENT
88 Generation Students’ statement on Burma issue at the UN Security Council

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

September 16, Agence France Presse
Myanmar's opposition calls for more pressure on junta

Myanmar's pro-democracy party on Saturday hailed the UN Security Council's
vote to put the military regime on its formal agenda and called for more
global pressure on the junta.

"We welcomed the decision and thanked the UN for it," said Lwin, a
spokesman for the National League for Democracy, which is led by detained
opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, 61.

"We hope the international community will keep putting pressure on the
military government," said Lwin, who goes by only one name.

On Friday, the UN Security Council backed a US proposal to put the issue
of Myanmar's repression and human rights violations on its formal agenda,
defying objections from China, Myanmar's staunchest ally and one of its
major trading partners.

The move was a victory for the United States, a vocal critic of Myanmar,
as it has been pressing for months for Myanmar to be put on the council's
agenda.

The United States has argued that drug trafficking, the mounting numbers
of refugees, human rights abuses and the growth of AIDS cases in the
military-run country represents a threat to international peace and
security.

Japan, which in June ganged up with Russia and China in opposing UN
Security Council action against Myanmar, voted in favor of putting the
issue on the council's formal agenda.

Putting Myanmar on the Security Council agenda starts a process that will
allow for regular formal re-ports by the UN secretariat to be made on
developments in the country, which has been run by the military since
1962.

The Security Council heard two briefings on Myanmar in June and December
but the issue was not formally put on the agenda because of the opposition
of some countries, notably permanent council members China and Russia.

Washington has led efforts to force Yangon to ease human rights concerns,
notably release Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for most
of the past 17 years.

Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party won 1990 elections but was never
allowed to rule. Its offices have been shut down by the junta, which has
also locked up many other party members.

____________________________________

September 17, Agence France Presse
Myanmar muted on UN move

There has been a muted response in Myanmar to Friday’s announcement by the
United Nations that they backed a US plan to put the country’s repressive
military regime on its formal agenda.

State-run media Sunday chose instead to focus on domestic issues, with the
official New Light of Myanmar newspaper leading with a story about a
military commander visiting farms and plantations in northern Shan State.

There was no mention of the Security Councils decision late Friday to put
the issue of political repression and human rights violations in Myanmar
on its agenda, something the United States has been urging for several
months.

They argue that drug trafficking, mounting numbers of refugees, human
rights abuses and the growth of AIDS represent a threat to international
peace and security, a stance 10 council members agreed with de-spite
objections from China, Myanmar's staunchest ally and one of its major
trading partners.

Myanmar government officials did not respond to questions about the UN
move over the weekend, and ordinary people in Myanmar, influenced by
decades of political suppression, were reluctant to comment on political
matters.

"I’m interested in my own business now. This is their business, not my
business," a 30-year-old general worker said. "I do not dare to be
interested in politics."

A prominent businessman, who did not wish to be named, also said he had
little interest in politics, but said he was not too concerned about any
impact on the Myanmar economy.

"They are just discussing about this matter so there will be little effect
on the economy. They have many things to discuss, for example further
sanctions, and that will take some time," he told AFP. "They just want to
push pressure on the government."

The only official response came from opposition politicians, with the
National League for Democracy, led by detained democracy leader and Nobel
peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, on Saturday welcoming the UN decision.

But there was also pessimism from within the military-ruled Asian nation.

Win Naing, an outspoken independent politician, said he thought the move
would be encouraging for ordinary people, but added: "I don’t think there
will be a change."

There is also mixed opinion on the success of international pressure, with
years of sanctions by the United States and Europe having little apparent
effect on the junta.

"It is a regime impervious to outside influence," a Western diplomat told
AFP last week before the news broke on the UN decision. "They don’t care
what the world thinks of them."

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

September 18, Irrawaddy
Urban Burmese refugees moved to border camps - Khun Sam

More than 3,000 Burmese refugees living in urban areas near the
Thai-Burmese border will be transferred to two border camps pending their
decision to apply for resettlement in a third country, according to the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees.

Kitty McKinsey, a spokesperson for the UNHCR in Asia, told The Irrawaddy
on Monday that the refugees, who live in the Mae Sot area in Tak province,
will be transferred to Noh Poe and Umpium camps before the end of this
month, through the cooperation of the UN group and local Thai authorities.

The refugee organization will provide accommodation to the new arrivals in
the two camps, where they will be given the opportunity to apply for
resettlement. The US, UK, Canada and Australia have agreed to take in
Burmese refugees, and about 6,000 are expected to be accepted in 2006.

In late August, UNHCR head Antonio Guterres visited Thailand to evaluate
conditions among the 140,000 Burmese refugees living in camps along the
Thai-Burmese border. Guterres urged western nations to provide more
resettlement opportunities for what he called “victims of conflict and
persecution
who have lived for 10 years without freedom of movement,
without employment, without any hopes for the future, and who now might
have a chance to start a new life.”

Sei Kho Thang, a member of the Kuki Students Democratic Front who lives in
Mae Sot, said that he and another member of the group will leave the city
for the border camps on Tuesday, along with more than 100 other refugees.

“We have lived here [Thailand] for years, but I’ve never enjoyed my
freedom because of seeing so many arrested by police,” Sei Kho Thang said.
“But now that I leave tomorrow, I feel a little happier because no matter
what happens, I can hope that my life will be better in a third country.”

____________________________________

September 17, The Nation
A positive change in refugee policy

Thailand's policy toward the more than 140,000 displaced persons from
Burma has undergone some positive changes lately. In addition to allowing
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), foreign donors and
non-governmental organisations to provide basic humanitarian services,
including food, shelter and healthcare, to the refugees, the government is
now easing restrictions on travel outside the confinement of camps for
education and, eventually, for employment as well.

Under a recent agreement between the government and the UNHCR, both sides
have promised to adopt a "new vision" and implement measures to enable the
mostly Karen refugees, who had been kept idle, to further their education
beyond basic schooling, receive training and seek employment in and
outside the camps.

The new thinking is aimed at reducing the stress of prolonged confinement
in border camps. It will also offer camp residents a chance to
productively use the time in a way that promotes self-reliance and a sense
of self-worth, as well as preparing them for the future and for making a
positive contribution to Thailand's economy.

The Education Ministry and providers of services to refugees are already
outlining a plan to enhance the current education services inside the
camps by adding Thai- and English-language training along with guide-lines
on how to measure camp residents' educational attainment. The goal is to
enable them to further their studies at vocational schools and
universities in courses to be provided via online distance programmes or
at educational institutions outside the camps.

By conservative estimates, Thailand hosts hundreds of thousands of
immigrant workers. Most of them entered the country illegally from Burma,
Laos and Cambodia. Due to the general improvement in living conditions as
well as falling birth rates, thanks to economic and social development,
many Thais now shun "hard and dirty" jobs, such as construction work,
fishing and domestic help. Immigrant workers are now filling these jobs.

As the government intensifies its efforts to regulate immigrant workers by
encouraging them to register to work in this country legally while at the
same time cracking down on illegals, asylum-seekers who want to find legal
employment while being sheltered in Thailand should be able to do so. The
authorities will in the near future issue identification cards to enable
students or employable camp residents to travel outside refugee camps to
school or work. This well-intentioned step must be supported by clear-cut
guidelines on how to protect these people from harassment by corrupt
government officials or abuse by their prospective Thai employers.

Many asylum-seekers who fled the fighting between Burmese government
troops and ethnic rebels, as well as their children, have been held in
camps for the past two decades with minimal or no contact with the outside
world. These people are waiting for the situation in Burma to improve so
that they can safely return. A lucky few will apply for and receive the
right to resettle in a third country. Either eventuality could end many
more years of waiting.

For both administrative and practical reasons, the majority of these
Burmese asylum-seekers are not recognised by the UNHCR as refugees, which
would otherwise make them eligible for screening and possible resettlement
in a third country. Many Western countries that have traditionally
accepted refugees for re-settlement in the past are restricting or closing
the door completely on new immigration because of political and economic
reasons at home.

Treating refugees humanely is in line with Thailand's efforts to be a
responsible member of the international community. What's more, the mutual
benefits of educating displaced Burmese people, providing them with useful
skills and legally employing them with decent protection against abuse are
valid not just in the short term.

If and when democracy is restored in Burma and peace is made between
Rangoon and the country's ethnic rebels, this stock of better-educated,
highly trained workers will be able to return home and help rebuild their
country. Taking care of refugees will also serve Thailand's long-term
national interests, because it will lay the groundwork for future good
relations with a democratic Burma.

____________________________________

September 16, Agence France Presse
India seeks stronger action by Myanmar against rebels

India has urged Myanmar to intensify its crackdown on anti-India
separatist rebels based in Myanmar and sought Yangon's cooperation to curb
the smuggling of drugs and arms, an official said Saturday.

"Myanmar has been cooperating with us," said the official when asked if
India was satisfied with Yangon's operations against the insurgents active
in India's restive northeastern states of Assam, Nagaland and Manipur.

But "we have asked them to do more," said the official who wished to
remain unnamed.
India says there are about 30 insurgent groups active in its northeast, of
which at least 12 operate out of Myanmar's northern regions.

Myanmar's latest crackdown on Indian rebel camps was in February. Yangon
lost 10 soldiers in the operation which took place in the jungles of
northern Sagaing Division.

India has been pursuing closer relations with Myanmar, formerly known as
Burma, despite domestic criticism of its military junta. Ties between the
two neighbours have been friendly with India's president Abdul Kalam
visiting Yangon in March.

India says some sections of the 1,640-kilometer (1,000-mile) border with
Myanmar are not properly manned, permitting easy movement of rebels, arms
and drugs.

But both sides had agreed on "a mechanism" to manage the border better
during talks between Indian Home Secretary Vinod Kumar Duggal and his
Myanmarese counterpart Deputy Minister for Home Affairs Brigadier General
Phone Swe that ended Saturday.

"Security related issues which comprised of activities of undesirable
elements against the interest of each other and arms smuggling," were
discussed in detail, Duggal said.

Myanmar's Swe said the decisions taken at the meeting "will be followed up
and implemented."
Another Indian home ministry official said India had asked Myanmar to open
more border trading points.

At present, India has two trading points with Myanmar -- Zokhawtar in
Mizoram and Moreh in Manipur.

"Myanmar has agreed to one place at this point, which is Phangsu," in the
northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, he said.

_____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

September 18, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar to levy income tax on sale of assets of foreign oil companies

Foreign companies engaged in oil and gas projects in Myanmar are to pay
income tax for sale of assets under a fresh measure taken by the Myanmar
finance authorities, according to a report of the local Weekly Eleven News
Monday.

 An income tax ranging from 40 to 50 percent will be levied in foreign
exchange if derived from the sale, exchange and transfer of share,
assets, ownership and benefit of the companies, an order of the Ministry
of Finance and Revenue was quoted as saying.

The measure will be effective at a date back from June 15, 2000, the order
said. According to official statistics, dozens of foreign oil companies
are engaged in the oil and gas sector which mainly include those from
Australia, Britain, Canada, China, Indonesia, India, South Korea,
Malaysia, Russia and Thailand.

The statistics also reveal that since Myanmar opened to foreign investment
in late 1988, such investment in the oil and gas sector had reached 2.635
billion U.S. dollars as of January this year, dominating the country's
foreign investment sectorally.

____________________________________

September 17, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar, Russia, India to explore gas in Myanmar

Oil companies of Myanmar, Russia and India have agreed to explore oil and
natural gas at a block lying off the Mottama offshore area, the official
newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Sunday.

Under a production sharing contract initiated by the state-run Myanmar Oil
and Gas Enterprise, JSC Zarubezhneft Itera Oil and Gas Company of the
Russian Federation and the Sun Group of India, the three companies will
conduct oil and gas exploration and production at block M-8 in the
offshore area.

It is the first time that the Russian Federation gets involved in the oil
and gas development in Myanmar, while India has been engaged in the sector
with two Indian companies of the ONGC Videsh Ltd and the Gas Authority of
India Limited (GAIL) working in partnership with South Korea's Daewoo
International and South Korean Gas Corporation in offshore gas
exploitation at two blocks of A-1 and A-3 off the western Rakhine coast.
In that project, Daewoo holds a 60-percent stake, while ONGC Videsh Ltd 20
percent, GAIL 10 percent and other South Korea Gas Corporation 10 percent.

Negotiation is underway over a pipeline project for India to import gas to
its West Bengal state from the two blocks which are estimated to hold a
recoverable gas reserve of 5.7-10 trillion cubic-feet (TCF) according to
Daewoo.

Myanmar has abundance of natural gas resources especially in the offshore
areas. With three main large offshore and 19 onshore oil and gas fields,
Myanmar has proven recoverable reserve of 18. 012 TCF out of 89.722 TCF's
estimated reserve of offshore and onshore gas, experts said.

The country is also estimated to have 3.2 billion barrels of recoverable
crude oil reserve, according to an official statistics. The Myanmar
figures also showed that in the first 11 months (April-February) of the
fiscal year 2005-06, the country produced 7.281 million barrels of crude
oil and 10.53 billion cubic meters (BCM) of gas.

Gas export during the 11-month period went to 8.06 BCM, earning 942
million U.S. dollars. More statistics also revealed that since Myanmar
opened to foreign investment in late 1988, such investment in the oil and
gas sector reached 2.635 billion dollars as of January this year,
dominating the country's foreign investment sectorally.

Foreign oil companies engaged in the oil and gas sector mainly include
those from Australia, Britain, Canada, China, Indonesia, India, South
Korea, Malaysia and Thailand.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

September 18, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Myanmar dissidents mark anniversary of military crackdown

Bangkok: Pro-democracy dissidents demonstrated on Monday outside Bangkok's
Myanmar (Burmese) embassy to mark the 18th anniversary of the military's
brutal suppression of the 1988 uprising that left an estimated 3,000
protestors dead.

Waving banners depicting the September 18, 1988 crackdown and chanting "We
want democracy" and "Free Aung San Suu Kyi," two-dozen members of the
Overseas National Students' Organization of Burma (ONSOB) attempted to
call attention to the repressive rule of the
Myanmar military.

The Bangkok-based Myanmar dissidents called on the international community
not to be fooled by the military's cosmetic efforts at restoring democracy
and addressing human rights abuses.

"The State Peace and Development Council aspires to deceive the people and
all international governments by freeing small numbers of political
prisoners slowly," said ONSOB president William Chit Sein.

Thousands of political prisoners remain in jail in Myanmar, including the
Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the opposition National
League for Democracy (NLD), who has been under house arrest since May,
2004.

Suu Kyi has spent more than 11 of the past 18 years under house arrest, as
have thousands of other political prisoners in Myanmar.

Exactly 18 years ago the military overthrew the one-month-old rule of
Doctor Maung Maung, the country's first civilian president in decades, and
unleashed a bloody crackdown on Myanmar's pro-democracy demonstrations
that left thousands dead.

The massacre, which saw Myanmar's armed forces turning their guns on their
own people, marked the end of the 1988 popular uprising against 26 years
of incompetent military rule under the so-called "Burmese Way to
Socialism."

In the aftermath of the crackdown, a new military junta renounced
socialism as its guiding ideology but refused to give up its grip on
political power despite staging a general election in 1990 that was
clearly won by the opposition NLD party.

The junta, which now goes by the name State Peace and Development Council,
has denied the NLD power for the past 16 years and excluded the opposition
from their National Convention process that is supposedly paving the way
for a new constitution and democratic reforms.

"Without the NLD in the process, how can we expect democracy in the
future?" Sein said.

Myanmar's failure to introduce democratic reforms and address its human
rights abuses prompted the United Nations Security Council to place the
issues on its agenda this year.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

September 16, Associated Press
Security Council puts Myanmar on agenda - Kim Gamel

United Nations: Over strong opposition from China, the U.N. Security
Council on Friday put Myanmar on its agenda in what U.S. officials called
a "major step forward" in American efforts to increase pressure on the
country's military dictatorship.

The council voted 10-4 to formally list Myanmar, which has drawn
international condemnation for imprisoning hundreds of political
opponents, including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

China led Russia, Qatar and Congo in opposing the move, saying Myanmar has
made strides in solving its problems and doesn't pose a threat to
international security the requirement for council consideration.

Tanzania abstained, while the United States, Britain, France, Argentina,
Denmark, Greece, Japan, Ghana, Peru and Slovakia voted in favor of
considering Myanmar, which also is known as Burma."

This a major step forward for President Bush's effort to bring to the
attention of the international community the situation inside Burma and
its effects in its region and around the world," U.S. Ambassador John
Bolton said.

He also cited a refugee crisis and problems with drug smuggling and AIDS
in his contention that Myanmar threatens to destabilize southern Asia and
therefore poses a "threat to international peace and security.

"The council requested a formal briefing by U.N. Undersecretary-General
for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari, who was allowed to visit Myanmar
earlier this year and meet with Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner for
her pro-democracy efforts.

The United States has long sought to get Myanmar formally onto the council
agenda to bring more scrutiny to its government and the plight of the
South Asian nation's people.

The council cannot take up issues that are not on its agenda, a procedural
rule that allows nations to block discussions of issues and nations they
don't want to draw attention to.

Conversely, once an item is on the agenda, it can be repeatedly brought up
by any nation.

"This is the kind of public action that you have to take to show the
regime in Burma how it's regarded by much of the rest of the international
community and that is as a potential threat to international peace and
security," Bolton said.

France's U.N. ambassador, Jean-Marc de La Sabliere, said the decision
could help spur efforts to promote democracy in Myanmar. "They really need
to have big change in Myanmar and the council can discussing this issue
help," he said.

When asked if the council can do anything to promote Suu Kyi's release, he
said, "This is something we have to look at.

"Myanmar's junta took power in 1988 after crushing the democracy movement.
In 1990, it refused to hand over power when Suu Kyi's political party won
a landslide election victory.

Suu Kyi has spent nearly 11 of the last 17 years in detention, mostly
under house arrest, despite worldwide calls for her freedom along with
hundreds of other political prisoners.

Chinese Ambassador Wang Guangya said it was "preposterous" to put a
country on the council's agenda because of issues like human rights,
refugees, drugs and AIDS.

"To force the Security Council intervention is not only inappropriate but
will further complicate the situation," he said.

China and Russia have business ties with Myanmar and have competed with
one another for more trade deals there. Human rights groups say China
sells weapons to Myanmar.

____________________________________

September 17, Agence France Presse
UN action on Myanmar only diplomatic victory for US: Analysts - Shino Yuasa

Washington scored a diplomatic victory by hauling Myanmar before the UN
Security Council, but the move is not likely to result in tougher measures
like economic sanctions, analysts say.

On Friday, the Council backed a US proposal to put the issue of Myanmar's
repression and human rights violations on its formal agenda, defying
objections from China, Myanmar's staunchest ally and one of its major
trading partners.

The United States has been pressing for several months for Myanmar to be
forced onto the council's agenda, arguing that drug trafficking, the
mounting numbers of refugees, human rights abuses and the growth of AIDS
cases in the Asian nation represent a threat to international peace and
security.

The UN's decision underscores the international community's growing
frustration with the regime's lack of democratic reform.

"By putting Myanmar's issues on the council's agenda, the United States
aims to bring more international pressure on the junta," said one diplomat
in Yangon who declined to be named.
It could also give the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) more
leverage to deal with its most difficult member, which has repeatedly
rebuffed any efforts by the grouping to persuade the junta to change.

"Myanmar has been taking advantage of ASEAN's non-interference policy in
domestic affairs and made lots of empty promises about reforms and
national reconciliation," said Soe Aung of the Network for Democracy and
Development, a Thai-based group of pro-democracy exiles from Myanmar.

But some analysts say Myanmar's biggest trade partners would likely try to
block any serious actions against the isolated state, which is a key
source of oil and other commodities like gems.
Neighboring China, India and Thailand are all eager to tap Myanmar's vast
natural wealth to fuel their own growing economies.

"If the UN Security Council called for sanctions, Thailand, India and
China would be very unhappy be-cause they have lots of economic interests
in Burma," said Asada Juyanama, Thailand's former ambassador to the UN,
calling Myanmar by its former name.

"It will be very difficult because of the veto power of Russia and China,"
he said.

Analyst Aung Naing Oo also suspected China would be the biggest obstacle
to a tougher line against the junta.

"When it comes to Myanmar, you need to have strong resolutions. But I'm
not sure China will impose economic sanctions because of its huge economic
interests in Myanmar," Aung Naing Oo said.

China has historically opposed UN action over domestic issues and was
among four nations that voted against putting Myanmar on the council's
agenda, calling the motion "preposterous".
Being on the council agenda means regular formal reports by the UN
secretariat on developments in the country, which has been run by the
military since 1962.

The Security Council heard two briefings on Myanmar in June and December
but the issue was not formally put on the agenda because of the opposition
of some countries.

Washington, which along with the European Union maintains economic
sanctions against Myanmar, has led efforts to force Yangon to ease human
rights concerns and to release Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house
arrest for most of the past 17 years.

Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party won 1990 elections but was never
allowed to rule. Its offices have been shut down by the junta, which has
also locked up many other party members.

____________________________________

September 16, Agence France Presse
US classifies six more Asian nations as religious freedom violators - P.
Parameswaran

The United States on Friday classified six Asian countries as religious
freedom violators, aside from China, Myanmar, North Korea and Vietnam
already blacklisted as worst offenders in the region.

Afghanistan, Brunei, India, Laos, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were included in
a "significant" list of violators of religious freedom in the US State
Department's annual International Religious Freedom Report 2006.

John Hanford, US envoy for international religious freedom, said there was
a possibility that one or more from the six nations could be added to a
blacklist of "countries of particular concern" that includes China,
Myanmar, North Korea and Vietnam.

The blacklist is renewed annually and the State Department is expected to
publish an update in coming weeks.

In this year's report, the State Department emerged with two category of
countries.

The first list of eight "countries of particular concern" or "severe"
violators of religious freedom comprised Myanmar, China, North Korea,
Iran, Sudan, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam.

The other list of 20 countries, including the eight, where religious
freedom was seen with "significant interest" were Afghanistan, Brunei,
Cuba, Egypt, India, Israel and Occupied Territories, Laos, Pakistan,
Russia, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

"The list of 20 countries are ones that we just felt gave a good overview
of some of the dynamics that constitute this past year of religious
freedom issues in the world," Hanford said at a media briefing after
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice launched the report covering 197
countries and territories.

"Yes, I think generally speaking they reflect some of the more serious
violators of religious freedom. I think it's fair to say that if we add
any countries this year (to the Countries of Particular Concern), probably
they'll come from that list," Hanford said.

In Vietnam, overall, respect for religious freedom has improved, the
report said. Hanford hinted the country could be removed from the
department's blacklist.

The religious freedom report illustrates "the importance and the salience
of religion in all the big issues in Asia -- extremism, terrorism,
democratic transition and integration of countries such as China and
Vietnam into the international system," said Scott Flipse, a senior policy
analyst with the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, a
Congress-mandated panel.

"Policy makers and diplomats ignore religion at their peril," he said.
"More and more the salience of religion is becoming an international
relations strategic factor."

The commission each year recommends to Rice which countries should be
blacklisted.

In Afghanistan, the report this year cited "a conservative culture of
intolerance, which at times manifested in acts of harassment and violence
against reform-minded Muslims and religious minorities."

Oil-rich Brunei was accused of using laws to restrict the expansion of
religions other than official Islam while in India "some extremists
continued to perceive ineffective prosecution of attacks on religious
minorities" as a "signal that they could commit such violence with
impunity."

In addition, religious conversion remained a highly contentious issue and
terrorists carried out deadly violence against religious targets in India,
it said.
In Laos, the authorities were accused in the report of "intolerance" for
minority religious practice, especially by evangelical Christians.

Pakistan was cited for having "discriminatory legislation and the
government's failure to take action against societal forces hostile to
those who practice a different faith."

This fostered religious intolerance and acts of violence and intimidation
against religious minorities, the report said.

In Sri Lanka, the report highlighted "violent resistance" by some
Buddhists to Christian church activity of particularly evangelical groups.

There also were sporadic attacks on Christian churches by Buddhist
extremists, it said.

____________________________________

September 17, Democratic Voice of Burma
UN Human Rights Council and Burma

The UN Human Rights Council was due to begin a three week session on
Monday amid calls for it to spotlight the situation in Sudan's
conflict-ravaged Darfur region, as well as Lebanon, Burma, North Korea and
a host of other countries.

The reformed Council held its first-ever session in June, after replacing
the much-criticised UN Commission on Human Rights. Much of the Council's
second session, which runs until October 6, is likely to be taken up by
reports from a string of UN human rights monitors.

"This session will not just limit itself to keeping the machinery in
limbo," said Mexican Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba, the president of the
Council. "It will be able to send the message that the machinery is fully
operational," he told journalists ahead of the meeting.

The previous Commission, which had 53 member nations, was widely regarded
as discredited due to the dominant presence of countries with poor human
rights records, and riven by power politics and behind-the-scenes
bargaining to help states duck criticism.

“We are very satisfied with the decision of recently reformed human rights
council,” Aung Myo Min of Thailand-based Human Rights Education Institute
of Burma (HREIB) told DVB. “The previously existed Commission on Human
Rights only passed resolutions and very weak in taking action
after the
emergence of the council, the decision to monitor countries with human
rights violations including Burma, I assess, is an initial step to take
better actions.”

Aung Myo Min also called on Burma’s ruling military junta, the State Peace
and Development Council (SPDC) to end all forms of human rights abuse.

_____________________________________
STATEMENT

September 16, 88 Generation Students

Unofficial translation of 88 Generation Students’ statement on the
decision to discuss Burma issue at the UN Security Council

The statement of 88 Generation Students regarding the decision to discuss
Burma issue at the United Nations Security Council.

1. We welcome the decision to take the decision to discuss Burma issue at
the United Nations Security Council as the crucial step in substantiating
Burma’s democracy and national reconciliation.

2. All domestic forces, regional countries and the international community
as a whole had urged and are still urging for the discussion of Burma’s
national reconciliation, by both quiet and loud means.

3. As for the United Nations, it has come to this situation of taking the
decision to discuss the issue at the Security Council after trying the
resolutions at the General Assembly every year.

4. In solving Burma’s political difficulties (problems), no one person, no
organisation could do it unilaterally.

5. Therefore, when trying to substantiate Burma’s national reconciliation,
in order to include all political forces concerned, we again seriously
urge (all) to contrive with great understanding and patience.

88 Generation Students