BurmaNet News, October 5, 2006

[Editor]

October 5, 2006 Issue # 3060


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Activists accused of creating unrest
DVB: Burma’s ‘Mother’ author Ama supports call for prisoners’ release
DVB: Factory wastes in Rangoon damage health of local residents

ON THE BORDER
IMNA: Environmentalists in exile critical of law to protect water sources

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: Burmese refugees detained in Malaysian raid
Bangkok Post: Surakiart quits UN race
Mizzima: India arming Burma no more a secret

INTERNATIONAL
Reuters: Asian politicians plead for UN action on Myanmar
Inner City Press: At the UN, Ban Ki-Moon's track record on Myanmar
criticized by ASEAN Parliamentarians on human rights
The Australian: Australia giving counter-terrorism training to Burma

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Arrests of former student leaders will achieve nothing

PRESS RELEASE
AIPMC: AIPMC calls for release of recently detained ex-student leaders /
pro-democracy activists

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

October 5, Irrawaddy
Activists accused of creating unrest - Aung Lwin Oo

Burma’s state-run media has accused five detained former student leaders
and their associates of creating instability in the country and having
ties with exiled opposition groups.

The official daily newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported on Thursday
that five leading members of the 88 Generation Students group, arrested
last week, were called in for “necessary inquires and investigation” to
expose links with opposition groups in exile.

The report charged that security officials intercepted a letter last
December—sent by a fellow activist, Zaw Zaw Aung, who has taken refuge in
Thailand—that describes planned political activities. It also claimed that
the exiled activist was serving as a “political proxy” for two of the
group’s principal leaders, Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi, and had transferred
money to them in Burma.

The 88 Generation Students group on Thursday dismissed the charges as
groundless. “It’s erroneous to say that we are responsible for actions
expressed in a letter without our knowledge,” said Mya Aye, a leader of
the group. He maintained that his group has no ties with exiles and
receives no financial support at home or from abroad.

Following the arrest of five of its members—Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Htay
Kywe, Min Zeya and Pyone Cho—the group initiated a petition campaign to
push for their immediate release. The report in The New Light of Myanmar
said the petition drive is regarded by “patriarchs, journalists and the
people” as “a campaign of destabilization, instigated to cause unrest and
undermining the peaceful pursuit of education of students.”

“We have no intention of creating confrontation or instability but are
simply exercising a democratic practice,” Mya Aye said. He added that the
campaign has been successful, and the group has collected nearly 50,000
signatures from across the country, including prominent writers, artists
and politicians, despite obstacles preventing many others keen to sign the
petition form doing so.

Meanwhile, no official explanation has been given for the arrest of a
former member of the opposition National League for Democracy, Myint Aye,
who was taken into custody on Saturday in Rangoon. Sources say that his
detention might be related to his involvement in rights campaigns in the
country.

____________________________________

October 4, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burma’s ‘Mother’ author Ama supports call for prisoners’ release

Burma’s most respected and elderly author Ludhu Daw Ama (Ahma, Amar) was
one of the first people to have put her signature to the petition
demanding the release of all political prisoners including Aung San Suu
Kyi and recently detained 88 Generation Student leaders and urged others
to do the same.

Ama, who is in her early 90s, added that student leaders such as Min Ko
Naing should be immediately released as he had been imprisoned for more
than 14 years. She also insisted that the students are neither involved in
any efforts to destabilise the country nor terrorist activities as claimed
by the state-run newspapers published yesterday.

“In Mother’s (my) opinion, they (the military authorities) are telling
fibs. They (the students) are not people to do that kind of thing. I think
they should not be detained. The news we are hearing is not good. Mother
wants them to be released immediately. They are talented people. They
haven’t committed any crime,” she said. “In Mother’s country, the sooner
we could solve problems through dialogue, the better. If we are tardy, the
country will suffer. That’s all Mother wants to say.”

Veteran journalist Ama with her late husband Ludhu U Hla opposed the
British colonial rule and successive military dictatorships and paid
dearly for their fights for truth and human rights. In April this year,
she also told the people of Burma to ‘explode’.

“Our country tends to explode from unexpected places. Only then would the
camp be dismantled. That’s what I think. I think we have to explode,” said
Ama from her home in central Burma’s Mandalay. “You can’t just despair, my
sons (children). You have to do something. We have to find a way by public
(movement) means to do things needed to be done. If you don’t do that
nothing will happen. They will go on like that.”

In response to her call and example, Burmese people inside, outside the
country are enthusiastically supporting the campaign by putting their
signatures to the petition.

____________________________________

October 4, Democratic Voice of Burma
Factory wastes in Rangoon damage health of local residents

Chemical wastes dumped and toxic fumes emitted from factories owned by
businesses close to the Burmese army generals are causing health problems
and damages to local residents in Rangoon.

Wastes thrown away and odours emitted from palm oil factory at Rangoon
Thaketa Township owned by Yuzana Company recently killed two children and
have been causing bloating, headache and dizziness to adults who live near
the area, a local resident told DVB.

“The factory is quite big. Because of that factory, the odours have been
churning the whole area of our Thaketa Township,” a local resident said.
“When the public complained about them, they told the public to move out
of the area if they could not bear it.”

The factory was opened three months ago and local residents reported their
plight to higher authorities but no action has been taken so far. When we
contacted officials concerned at the factory and officers from the local
police station for comments, no one was willing to talk to us.

Similarly, chemical wastes dumped in the streams and gutters by breweries
and distilleries at Mingaladon and Htaukkyant Townships, caused severe
health hazards to local residents in previous years.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

October 5, Independent Mon News Agency
Environmentalists in exile critical of law to protect water sources - Mi
Kyae Goe

Environmental activists in exile have refused to accept that the
protection laws for water sources and maintenance of rivers of the Burmese
military government would benefit people.

The Karen River Watch (KRW) organization said, “We rejected the law
because it does not involve any organizations and the people.”

Moreover “We didn’t see the environment impact assessments (EIA) in the
protection law for water resources. EIA means a study of how much the
environment will be affected, how to protect it and the manner in which we
can protect relocated people if they build a huge dam,” said Laueh Roland,
the deputy director of KRW.

Laueh Roland said the law didn’t have clauses to improve or better the
situation of the people from the terrible consequences of environmental
degradation.

He added that their intention in brining the laws is good, but it came
into being after the regime misused water resources and natural resources.

According to the New Light of Myanmar, the four clauses in the law are to
ensure maintenance of water resources for people’s use, saving the rivers
for transportation, to develop water resources and rivers for improving
the economy of the nation, and to protect the environment from damage.

“In the law framed the government said the river is meant only for
transportation and communication. But when they built the bridge in
Salween (Thanlwin) River, they banned transportation,” said Nai Taing
Pakao, Mon environmental activist who is against the Salween Dam
Downstream Project.

According to Laueh Roland, the environment and the Kathit brook in Taungoo
District, Pego (Bago) Division, were destroyed after the government built
the dam on the brook.

He said the residents who stay on both sides of rivers face huge problems
because sometimes they receive a lot of water and sometimes they do not.
Now they can’t plant on both sides of the sandbank. Earlier they could
cultivate on the sandbanks of the river.

Most of the vegetables eaten in Moulmein , Mon State used to come from
cultivation of the sandbank of the Salween River . If they can’t
cultivate, they will be jobless and relocate to another place, said Mon
environmental activists.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

October 5, Irrawaddy
Burmese refugees detained in Malaysian raid - Clive Parker

At least 52 Burmese, as well as Nepali, Bangladeshi and Indonesian
immigrants, were facing the prospect of months in a Malaysian immigration
detention facility and possible deportation following a raid in Kuala
Lumpur early on Thursday.

Malaysia’s controversial volunteer security force, RELA, descended on the
neighborhood of Jalan Imbi at 3 am, ordering 2,000 residents out of their
homes, including dozens of Chin, as well as Burmese and Karen. The Chin
Human Rights Organization says that 52 Chin were taken to Lenggeng
detention center two hours outside of Kuala Lumpur after they were found
not to have the necessary UN refugee agency papers. An unknown number of
other Burmese were also transported to the center.

Reports say that conditions at immigration detention centers in Malaysia
are poor, with up to 400 detainees housed in individual holding cells.

Despite the intervention of the Chin Refugee Committee in Malaysia, RELA
officials indicated that those without UNHCR documentation would not be
released, said CRC spokesperson Victor Khensang. He blamed UN officers for
refusing to intervene on behalf of those that were not registered, but
which had documentation provided by CRC.

“The director who was in charge of the RELA operation was cooperative,”
Khensang said. “UNHCR was not cooperative.”

UNHCR has been unable to register asylum seekers in Malaysia since July
last year.

Amy Alexander, a legal consultant for CHRO, said that the payment of
bribes—a commonly used method for securing the release of detained asylum
seekers in Malasyia—had proven ineffective.

“Sometimes you’re able to pay and they release people, this time there is
absolutely no way to talk to them [RELA] and try and pay money in return
for their release,” she said.

Another witness at the raid, a 35-year-old Karen woman, Naw Htoo Lwe, said
that some of the 100 RELA officers beat those trying to flee. UNHCR and
RELA were not immediately available for comment.

This latest raid on a Burmese community in Malaysia—an increasingly common
occurrence, sources say—has again prompted accusations of brutality by
RELA, a volunteer force of more than 300,000 personnel, which CHRO says
has been charged with “frequent misuse of powers.”

“They [RELA] are pretty rough, they don’t understand what ‘refugee’ means.
There have been a lot of complaints about that organization in the past,”
Alexander said.

Members of the force receive little in the way of training, aside from
instruction on how to use automatic weapons, along with marching and what
is described as an “Excellent Family Course,” among other courses, which
together last a maximum of two weeks.
Rights groups and immigrant community representatives say that raids like
that on Thursday are becoming increasingly common throughout the country
since Malaysia announced in July 2004 its plan to expel more than one
million “illegal immigrants.” There are more than 16,000 Chin—less than
5,000 legally—and many more Burmese living in Malaysia.

RELA is now considered the main force in Malaysia’s efforts to expel
asylum seekers. In the case of Burmese, some are relocated to third
countries depending on the peculiarities of each case. Others are not so
lucky—CHRO says that many are deported at the border crossing with
Thailand, and while they escape being forced to return to Burma, many end
up in the hands of traffickers and are then sold into the sex trade and
fishing industry in Thailand.

____________________________________

October 5, Bangkok Post
Surakiart quits UN race

Ousted deputy prime minister Surakiart Sathirathai has officially quit the
race to succeed Kofi Annan as secretary-general of the United Nations, the
new Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont confirmed.

Mr Surakiart, who was a dark horse from the time he became the first
official candidate, lost his last chance for the UN post on Tuesday, when
at least two of the five permanent members of the Security Council
blackballed him in an important straw poll.

"We have to accept the defeat," Surayud told reporters.

The next UN chief is likely to be Ban Ki-Moon, the foreign minister of
South Korea. Mr Surakiart was the official nominee of Thailand and was
backed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, but his candidacy
attracted no other important support.

____________________________________

October 5, Mizzima News
India arming Burma no more a secret - Syed Ali Mujtaba

India's latest policy of transferring military hardware to Burma is no
longer a closely guarded secret. Military officials at the highest level
in the country have confirmed arming the junta in Burma.

India is transferring military equipment to Burma's military junta in
order to neutralise China's burgeoning defence, diplomatic and economic
ties with Burma. This is reminiscent of much the same thing India did with
Nepal earlier.

"We have recommended and started giving them (Burma) 105-mm Indian field
guns," Indian Army Vice-Chief Lt. Gen. S. Pattabhiraman told Force
magazine recently.

Pattabhiraman declared that India had given Burma 75/24 Howitzers in the
past adding that though the numbers were not "much" they were neither
"symbolic".

In August, uncaring of British protests, the Indian Navy transferred two
BN-2 'Defender' Islander maritime surveillance aircraft and deck-based
air-defence guns and various surveillance equipments to Burma.

According to sources, last month India supplied 98 truckloads of arms and
ammunition to Burma as part of an agreement reached during the Home
Secretary level talks held earlier in September in New Delhi.

This was part of the deal struck with the Burmese military junta to
cooperate in flushing out northeast Indian militant groups operating from
Burma's soil.

India's Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt followed up the meeting by visiting
Burma in the third week of September. Dutt offered an unspecified number
of T-55 tanks that the Indian Army is phasing out. Along with it comes
armoured personal carriers, 105-mm light artillery guns, mortars and the
locally designed advanced light helicopters. All this is up for grabs by
Burma, it is learnt.

In anticipation of a joint India and Burmese Army's anti-insurgency
offensive the security forces have stepped up vigil along its borders with
Bangladesh and Bhutan to "tie-in" the insurgents.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

October 4, Reuters
Asian politicians plead for UN action on Myanmar - Michelle Nichols

United Nations: Asian politicians pushing for democracy and human rights
in Myanmar appealed on Wednesday for the U.N. Security Council to take
concrete action against the Asian nation's military government.

The Security Council held its first official session on Myanmar last week,
at which the United States and its allies advocated a resolution to
pressure the former Burma to stop jailing political opponents, persecuting
minorities and flooding the region with refugees.

"We can no longer tolerate the situation. Please do something more
concrete rather than just paying lip-service diplomatically, which is no
real solution in the situation," Indonesian parliamentarian Djoko Susilo
told a news conference.

Susilo, Filipino Member of Parliament Loretta Ann Rosales and Thai Senator
John Ungphakorn are members of the Asian Inter-Parliamentarian Myanmar
Caucus who traveled to New York seeking support for U.N. Security Council
Action on Myanmar.

The military has run the southeast Asian nation under various guises since
1962 and the current group of generals have been in power since 1988. They
officially changed the English version of the country's name from Burma in
1989.

They put charismatic opposition leader Aung San Suu Ki, a Nobel Peace
Prize laureate, under house arrest and many of her followers in prison
after her National League for Democracy won a landslide election victory
in 1990.

"We feel that Burma at the very least is a security threat within the
region and can therefore easily be a security threat within the
international community," Rosales said.

"We are here to express our collective position as members of parliament
within the region to try to at least reach out to the other countries, who
are members of the U.N. Security Council, to give a measure of priority to
Burma."

Western nations had fought to get the issue on the council's agenda over
the objections of China, Russia, Qatar and Congo Republic, who maintained
that the junta government was not a threat to international peace and
security.

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton has said Myanmar is destabilizing the region,
preventing agencies from helping to stop the spread of AIDS, compelling
some 200,000 people to flee and becoming the second largest opium producer
in the world.

____________________________________

October 4, Inner City Press
At the UN, Ban Ki-Moon's track record on Myanmar criticized by ASEAN
Parliamentarians on human rights - Matthew Russell Lee

United Nations: Criticism of apparently incoming UN Secretary General Ban
Ki-Moon came from an unexpected quarter on Wednesday, on a timely issue in
the Security Council: Myanmar.

Speaking for the Asian Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus, Mr. Djoko
Susilo of Indonesia said, when asked about Ban Ki-Moon's track record on
Myanmar, "I have to say regarding Mister Ban Ki-Moon when he was foreign
ministers, as a member of Caucus, we are not quite happy... you are quite
right."

Inner City Press had asked, in the context of South Korea-based Daewoo
Corporation's reported plan to develop natural gas fields off Myanmar's
western coast, what the Caucus thought of South Korean foreign minister
Ban Ki-Moon's positions on Myanmar. Mr. Susilo called Daewoo's engagement
with the Myanmar government "regrettable," and also said of Ban Ki-Moon
that "we hope for a significant change in policy."

Mr. Ban Ki-Moon and GA President

The United States, which pushed to get Myanmar on the UN Security
Council's agenda on September 15, has supported Ban Ki-Moon as
Secretary-General, as has China, whose extensive business and military
ties with Myanmar came up repeatedly at Wednesday's press conference. A
question arose about whether China would veto any substantive Security
Council resolution on Myanmar. The panelists, including Ms. Loretta Ann P.
Rosales of the Philippines, said hopefully they will continue reaching out
to Chinese parliamentarians. Efforts may also be made with India, which as
inquired into by Inner City Press has developed military ties with the
government of Myanmar.

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton has cited Myanmar's export of opium as a
threat to international peace and security, the term of art triggering
compulsory action under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. Since then, the
head of the UN's Office on Crime and Drugs told Inner City Press that
virtually all of the world's opium and heroin is coming from Afghanistan,
and that Myanmar like Laos is on its way to having no opium exports. Inner
City Press asked the ASEAN panelists about this discrepancy.

John Ungphakorn, who was a Thai parliamentarian until the recent military
coup, responded defensively that it is not only opium, but amphetamines,
which are produces in Myanmar. Whether there is evidence of this is
unclear. So to a claim pushed on Inner City Press at the end of the
briefing by an advocate in the audience with a business card from the
"National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma," who whispered that
North Korea is providing nuclear technology and materials to Myanmar.

_____________________________________

October 5, The Australian
Australia giving counter-terrorism training to Burma - Greg Sheridan

Australia is providing counter-terrorist training to officials from
Burma's ruling military junta, which has asked the Howard Government to
increase its level of co-operation.

The request for closer ties from the pariah state is potentially
embarrassing for Canberra because the agencies leading Burma's
counter-terrorist effort are at the forefront of the country's human
rights abuses.

Although the Government has not yet made a formal decision on Burma's
request, it is considered unlikely to significantly increase co-operation.

Australian government agencies have been involved in providing
counter-terrorist training for the Burmese, as part of broader programs
for ASEAN member nation officials.

Burmese law enforcement officers -- who tolerate a huge narcotics trade
that places Burma as second only to Afghanistan in the worldwide
production and distribution of illegal opium -- also attend courses at the
Australian-run Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Co-operation in
Semmarang, Indonesia.

The centre is substantially funded by Australian aid and is jointly run by
the Australian Federal Police and the Indonesian national police.

The Burmese officers have attended courses in major investigation
management, post-blast incident management and the international
management of serious crime.

The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs has also provided
training on immigration intelligence; the cash transactions reporting
agency, AUSTRAC, has trained Burmese officials on how to track terrorist
financing; and the Australian Nuclear Science Technology Organisation has
provided assistance on monitoring radioactivity and detecting illegal use
of nuclear material.

In July, The Australian revealed that Burma had attempted to buy nuclear
weapons technology from North Korea's rogue regime in an alliance that
would present a frightening new threat to regional security.

The US issued a warning to Burmese military dictator General Than Shwe to
cease all such activities after discovering Rangoon's bid late last year.

A spokesman for Foreign Minister Alexander Downer yesterday defended
Australia's co-operation with Burma, saying all such assistance was
consistent with Australia's policy of limited engagement with the military
State Peace and Development Council, which rules Burma.

The spokesman said counter-terrorist training assistance given to Burma
occurred in the context of pro-grams given to the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations, of which Burma is a member.

The training assistance was not given solely to Burma, but Burmese
officials and law enforcement officers participated in training given to
groups of ASEAN officials, he said.

However, the disclosure of such assistance will be controversial because
US and European policy has been to isolate Burma's regime through minimal
contact. The US and European Union have imposed a broad range of sanctions
against Burma.

In 2003, the US Congress froze imports from Burma and the assets of some
of its financial institutions and imposed travel restrictions on Burmese
officials.

Both the US and the EU have insisted that Burma's ruling generals release
dissident opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who won a democratic
election in Burma in 1990 but has never been allowed to take office.

For most of the past 16 years, the Nobel laureate and leader of the
National League for Democracy has been under house arrest. In previous
interviews, Ms Suu Kyi has favoured Western sanctions against the Burmese
regime.

Asian nations, especially China, have engaged Burma deeply, although some
of Burma's ASEAN partners have been critical of its human rights record
and its failure to honour the 2003 road map to democracy.

An Australian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the
counter-terrorism co-operation with Burma as ''helping to protect
Australia''. The official said: ''The key question is whether this
training would help us protect Australian lives, and the answer is yes,
especially in the event of a disaster.''

It is believed that by providing such training, Australian officials
develop contacts and elicit information that is considered extremely
helpful in the event of an emergency involving Australians in Burma, or
involving Australians and Burmese nationals in third countries.

Burma's obdurate refusal to move along a path of political dialogue and
reform and its well-documented human rights abuses against ethnic
minorities and political dissidents have embarrassed its ASEAN partners.

However, while they have been critical of Burma, they have not embarked on
a policy of isolation along the lines of the US or Europe.

Australia's policy is seen as a compromise between Western and Asian
approaches that reflects its Western values but its Asian geography. It is
one area where Australian policy is starkly divergent from US foreign
policy.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

October 5, The Irrawaddy
Arrests of former student leaders will achieve nothing

The arrests of former student leaders in Burma show that the military
regime is living under a paranoiac fear of those who initiated the
nationwide pro-democracy uprising in 1988. It also demonstrates that the
military leaders are still tackling political problems with obsolete
political tactics.

On September 27, the police arrested three prominent former student
leaders— Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi and Htay Kywe—saying high-ranking leaders
wanted to hold discussions with them. Three days later, two more student
leaders, Min Zeya and Pyone Cho, were also taken into custody. All those
arrested belong to the 88 Generation Students Group.

The arrests were followed up with government newspaper attacks on the
student leaders and the group in general. On Tuesday The New Light of
Myanmar reported that Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi and Htay Kywe being held
under questioning to prevent “unrest” and “sabotage.”

In fact, the student group has been working to help solve the country’s
political problems by means of a peaceful dialogue. Since their release
from the imprisonment that followed the 1988 unrest, Min Ko Naing and his
colleagues have resumed a leading role among students and activists,
accelerating a public political awareness.

Although many of the 88 Generation Students Group served lengthy prison
terms because of their role in the 1988 movement, they haven‘t hesitated
to speak out about human rights abuses and wrongdoings committed by the
authorities.

That is why many activists have regarded the group as their leaders,
representatives with whom they could discuss their grievances.

When the group marked the 18th anniversary of the 1988 uprising in August
this year, thousands of people attended—an unprecedented turnout that
certainly made the military leaders insecure. The group fills the gap left
by the absence from the public scene of opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi, confined to house arrest.

The military regime also seems worried about the student group’s criticism
of the National Convention, which resumes next week.  The group is urging
the military leaders to talk to opposition and ethnic leaders in a bid to
end the country’s political stalemate. The regime’s response has been to
resort to its old method of arresting those who criticize it. Based on
fear, such a reaction will achieve nothing and only tighten Burma’s
political vicious circle.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

October 5, ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC)
AIPMC calls for release of recently detained ex-student leaders /
pro-democracy activists

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) is deeply concerned
at the continued detention of five (5) citizens in Myanmar/Burma who were
recently arrested or what seems to be a move to further suppress peaceful
efforts to promote democracy in the country.

The reported arrests and continued detention of Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi,
Htay Kywe, Min Zeya and Pyone Cho are clear signs that the junta is not
serious about its said - commitment to adopt internal democratic reforms.

The five former student leaders, who were reportedly not involved in any
violent street demonstrations or committing crimes when arrested, are seen
by many Burmese people and organisations as advocates of a peaceful
reconciliation to the political deadlock in Burma.

Given that the junta has failed to bring them to trial, after days of
being detained, the AIPMC calls for their immediate release as that of
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners.

As it has been clearly stated on more than one occasion - by the UN
Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma Mr Paulo Sergio Pinheiro -
that treatment of political prisoners / detainees in Burma is cause for
serious concern, the AIPMC urges prison authorities and the junta to
respect the rights of an individual as a human being and treat their
detainees with care pending their release.

AIPMC, an organisation of Parliamentarians from countries within ASEAN,
fully condemns the continued show of tyranny by the Military Generals in
Burma and strongly urges the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to
take note of these recent arrests and weigh it when deliberating the issue
of Burma, now on its permanent agenda.

We further encourage UN Under Secretary-General Mr Ibrahim Gambari,
reportedly poised for a high-level meeting with the junta in the near
future, to critically consider that the de-facto Burmese government has
shown no clear signs or evidence that it is reforming its undemocratic
state.

ENDS

For further inquires/media contact, please call Roshan Jason (AIPMC
Executive Secretary) at: + 6012 - 375 0974 (mobile) or at the contact
details above.