BurmaNet News, November 23-27, 2006

[Editor]

November 23-27, 2006 Issue # 3093


INSIDE BURMA
Financial Times: Despots and dissidents put politics into aid business
Irrawaddy: Burmese junta orders ICRC operations closed
New York Times: A tiny window on the U.S., prized by those peering in
Xinhua News Agency: Burma: Paid TV channel to air on 'pilot basis' in Burma
DVB via BBC: Burmese leader reportedly orders to consider Thailand as
"nearest enemy"

ON THE BORDER
AP: Myanmar wages offensive against Karen minority relentless despite
international criticism

BUSINESS / TRADE
Xinhua: China, Myanmar sign economic, trade cooperation agreements
Irrawaddy: Burma asks Thailand for more time to repay loan

REGIONAL
AFP: Thai PM's Myanmar visit invites uncomfortable comparisons
Irrawaddy: Indian air chief offers to upgrade Burma's Air Force
Nation: Concern over dams on Salween, Mekong

INTERNATIONAL
Mizzima News: Security Council to continue Burma debate

PRESS RELEASE
International Committee of the Red Cross: Myanmar: ICRC pressed to close
field offices

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

November 23, Financial Times
Despots and dissidents put politics into aid business - Amy Kazmin

Burma's wretched jails hold more than 1,100 political prisoners and, for
six years, the International Committee of the Red Cross provided these
opponents of the ruling junta with a measure of comfort bringing doctors,
soap, books and blankets and even repairing the water and sewerage
systems. Confidential talks with inmates also helped the ICRC push
authorities to improve conditions.

But this year the ICRC suspended its programme after the military rulers
headed by General Than Shwe demanded that the foreign representatives
should be accompanied on prison visits by members of government-affiliated
groups an unacceptable breach of confidentiality and Red Cross
international practice.

The obstacles encountered by the Red Cross reflect the problems
confronting other international aid groups as they seek to step up their
work in Burma. It is a dilemma faced in many repressive countries: whether
to follow a regime's instructions and be accused of "subsidising" corrupt
despots, or to resist and risk both the wrath of the regime and the future
of the project. The answer is not obvious anywhere, least of all in Burma.

After years of trying to use the promise of aid as an incentive to push
for democratic change, western governments are de-linking" politics from
aid and are increasingly willing to finance medical, educational and
welfare schemes  for Burma. The country receives just about $3.50 in
annual aid per capita, far less than any other poor country in the region
or many "fragile states" globally.

Yet the military regime's stance towards aid workers has hardened
considerably since the late-2004 purge of General Khin Nyunt, the
pragmatic prime minister who provided aid workers some space, albeit
limited, to do their work.

"The humanitarian community is at a crossroads," says Charles Petrie, the
United Nations Development Programme's resident co-ordinator in Burma.
"The overall political environment is a lot more intense. If we are not
able to get all political groups to understand that the response to acute
suffering goes beyond politics, it is going to be exceedingly difficult to
provide assistance."

While many Burmese technocrats long for greater international
co-operation, those now at the regime's highest echelons view foreign
assistance with intense suspicion. "They view westerners as liberals who
are empowering the masses and [fear] that this will be a backdoor route to
political change," says one UN official.

But even many Burmese dissidents, eager for the junta's demise, have their
own distrust of aid workers albeit for different reasons. In her brief
spells of freedom from house arrest, Aung San Suu Kyi Burma's Nobel peace
prize-winning democracy advocate has expressed deep ambivalence towards
aid and scepticism about its ability to improve people's lives without
fundamental change and better governance. Some exiles oppose aid as a
"subsidy" for the regime's weapons spending.

In this way, humanitarian aid to Burma has long been entangled in the
prolonged stand-off between the junta and Ms Suu Kyi, whose National
League for Democracy won a landslide 1990 election victory but was barred
from taking power. As long as Burma was not a mass catastrophe with
millions starving under camera lights, the debate had little sense of
urgency. But over the past four years, Burma's HIV/Aids epidemic persuaded
many western governments they could no longer wait for political change
before responding to the pervasive problems of disease, chronic
malnutrition and poverty.

However, the junta's recent efforts to exert tighter controls over aid
projects which they suspect may be a covert means of undermining their
authority is threatening both existing and new initiatives such as the
$100m fund to combat HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria.

Viewed by the junta as "neo-colonials" impinging on Burma's sovereignty,
foreign aid workers have always been subjected to a time-consuming process
securing permission for every trip they make, even to their own project
sites. Access to eastern Burma, where the army has battled ethnic rebels
for decades, is particularly difficult.

Mr Petrie says that a successful US push to put Burma on the agenda of the
UN Security Council, citing the worsening humanitarian situation, has
exacerbated tensions. "It has increased the sense among the senior
leadership that we are nothing more than the extension of the west and the
sanctions policy," he says.

Now, as they move towards a public referendum on a new constitution that
they hope will legitimise the military's "leading role" over society, the
generals have been pushing international agencies to work through
junta-affiliated organisations, such as the Union Solidarity and
Development Association. Ostensibly an independent social welfare
organisation, the USDA is headed by a general and is expected to emerge as
a pro-military political party in future elections.

Such obstacles have put aid efforts in jeopardy. Medicins Sans Frontieres
of France this year pulled out of a malaria project in eastern Burma,
citing access difficulties to the conflict zone for its foreign staff.
During October floods in the north, a Red Cross offer of help was met with
demands to channel the relief through junta-affiliated groups, in effect
thwarting the assistance.

Recently, the junta cancelled a $9m internationally-backed campaign to
vaccinate around 13m children under the age of 10 against measles which
Unicef says kills some 1,200 Burmese children annually. In scaling back
the immunisation programme to only those under two years old, the regime
cited concerns that some children could suffer adverse reactions to the
vaccines and that such cases would be used as anti-regime propaganda.

Amid these developments, the UN is now desperate to persuade sceptical
Burmese leaders and wary pro-democracy activists that foreign aid is both
genuinely needed and available but will be delivered only through
non-partisan entities. Ibrahim Gambari, the UN under-secretary general,
delivered that message on a visit to Burma this month.

"It is a question of telling them to back off and getting the senior
leadership and other political groups both inside and outside the country
to understand that they have to work with us," Mr Petrie says.

Whether or not Mr Gambari has succeeded in convincing the generals will be
crucial for the future prospects of the new "Three Diseases Fund"
established by the UK, European Commission, Australia, Sweden, the
Netherlands and Norway, and a $43m educational initiative being planned by
Unicef with the EU, UK, Norway and Denmark.

Even then, however, the battle to get aid through to Burma will go on.
Says Mr Petrie: "There is an imperative to address certain aspects of
human suffering and that imperative is different from the effort to
promote political change."

____________________________________

November 27, Irrawaddy
Burmese junta orders ICRC operations closed - Khun Sam

The Burmese government has ordered the International Committee of the Red
Cross to close five field offices, effectively preventing it from offering
humanitarian services to civilians in border areas. The junta also said
ICRC visits to detainees would not be allowed.

Burma’s Ministry of Home Affairs ordered the relief agency to close down
five field offices in Mandalay, Moulmein of Mon State, Pa-an of Karen
State, Taunggyi and Kengtung of Shan State

The ICRC's work in recent months had been cut back because of
deteriorating discussions with the government, limited mainly to a few
projects in the field of physical rehabilitation for amputees.

Pierre Krahenbuhl, the organizations director of operations, said the ICRC
has had a tangible impact on the lives of Burmese people, according to an
ICRC press release on Monday. The latest discussion with the government
took place on November 17. Because of a lack of progress, Krahenbuhl said
the ICRC will review its operational framework in the country. However,
the agency will work to continue a dialogue and "re-expand" its scope of
action.

In recent days, the government-run newspaper carried a series of reports
that government-sponsored social organizations are now visiting the
country’s prisons and claimed that conditions in Burma's prisons are
improving.

The New Light of Myanmar on Monday said that a medical team provided
treatment to 16 inmates in Insein Prison on November 25. Another social
organization also donated medicines valued at 300,000 kyat to Insein
Prison on November 21. Another medical team reportedly conducted blood
test for 79 woman inmates in the prison, provided health education and
comforted those who were HIV/AIDS positive. The junta-run media did not
mention how many prisoners are infected with the virus.

Bo Kyi, the joint secretary of the Thailand-based Assistance Association
for Political Prisoners (Burma), said the junta’s reports do not reveal
the real situation in prisons and the junta's efforts were minimal.

“What they are doing is merely an effort to win political points,” Bo Kyi
told The Irrawaddy on Monday. “They can’t do what ICRC does.” The ICRC in
Burma has made regular visits to Burmese prisons since 1999. There are an
estimated 1,100 political prisoners in the country.

 “To know the real situation just let an independent international
organization inspect prisons,” Bo Kyi said, refereeing to state-run media
claims that conditions in Burma’s prisons are improving.

Thierry Ribaux, ICRC’s deputy head of delegation in Rangoon, told The
Irrawaddy on Monday that the ICRC was “very concerned” about prison
conditions. He said discussions are ongoing with the relevant agencies and
he hoped for a solution to resolve the dispute.

____________________________________

November 23, The New York Times
A tiny window on the U.S., prized by those peering in - Jane Perlez

Yangon: For a window into how people think in this closed and cloistered
Asian society, consider these eclectic interests in American culture,
found on the bulletin board and library shelves at the American Center
here.

''The Devil Wears Prada'' is popular, but Edith Wharton's ''Age of
Innocence'' has fans. The Paris Review is in demand, but so are Vogue,
Vanity Fair and Architectural Digest.

The movie ''Brokeback Mountain'' is must viewing. ''I would like to see
the movie 'Brokeback Mountain,' '' wrote one man. ''It is not available
here in Burma. P.S. I am not a gay.''

More than 15,000 members come to the American Center to borrow books, see
DVDs and study in a modern reading room and computer area equipped with
high-speed Internet connections. An auditorium screens Hollywood's latest.
(Attendance at ''Brokeback Mountain'' outstripped all others this year.)

For a United States worried about its tarnished image in the world, the
bustling center is testimony to how an accessible library, seminars and
courses in English can burnish America's reputation and comfort those
living under autocratic rulers.

The center is so cherished in this poor and oppressed nation with a
passion for books that attendance far exceeds that at the American library
in democratic New Delhi.

The junta of Myanmar, formerly Burma, regards the United States as a prime
enemy, chiefly because Washington has imposed economic sanctions for
nearly a decade. Washington also insists that the government recognize the
1990 election, which was won overwhelmingly by the political party of Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader, even though she was under house
arrest. (She remains so.)

Still, the government has allowed the American Center to operate.

''We're here to say this country deserves better than it has got,'' said
Todd Pierce, the public affairs officer at the American Embassy who runs
the center. ''This country is a classic closed society where the tea shops
and the role of rumor are very large. So this is a place that says, 'Let's
throw it open.' ''

The requests come thick and fast. Someone wanted books by the French
philosopher Michel Foucault. (''On order,'' Mr. Pierce replied via the
bulletin board.) Someone else wanted the collected poetry of John
Berryman. Also on its way, Mr. Pierce replied. There were requests for
books on starting online businesses. And more comics, please.

Mr. Pierce has revamped the interior of the whitewashed villa (formerly
the North Korean Embassy) with fresh paint; handsome, made-in-America
reading lamps; and tables and chairs that are often full, leaving readers
to spill onto the floor.

In addition to the information services, Mr. Pierce has introduced lighter
touches to draw the crowds. The center had an open house with door prizes
for the 800 people who turned up. An ex-political prisoner won a copy of a
chick-lit novel, ''The Princess Diaries,'' by Meg Cabot.

All of this has led to a near doubling of the membership, to 15,899, from
about 8,000 in July last year.

Some Burmese say they are reluctant to visit the center, fearing
persecution by the government, which operates a pervasive intelligence
network. On some days, rumors circulate that the center is surrounded by
the military. When that happens, attendance often drops just a bit, Mr.
Pierce said.

''If someone is not comfortable in coming, I respect that,'' he said.
''The vast majority of people who come are not political. Some government
people come -- they have to keep up with Vogue and W, too.''

On a nearby street corner, tea shops have sprung up where people who have
been reading or studying can relax, gossip and eat. Mr. Pierce says he
regards it as the ''campus.''

At midday recently, a young man carried a thick book from the library --
''Nongovernmental Organizations and the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights'' -- while he nursed a cup of tea. Was he nervous about coming to
the center? ''It's my right to have human rights,'' he said.

Despite the government's distaste for foreign influence, the American
Center is not the only place for Burmese to find things out. There is the
British Council, a less sprightly equivalent, and various news media
outlets.

Just after sunrise people can be seen walking around with transistor
radios glued to their ears listening to shortwave broadcasts in Burmese by
the British Broadcasting Corporation, the Voice of America and Radio Free
Asia.

More than two-thirds of all radio listeners said they tuned to the BBC
World Service, according to a recent BBC survey.

The government also allows American and European popular culture of
different sorts -- often, it seems, as a diversion from declining living
standards.

Ultra-law-and-order movies like ''Judge Dredd,'' with Sylvester Stallone,
are a favorite on the television sets of tea shops, where Burmese dawdle
over small cups of sweetened, milky tea.

At 2:30 a.m. one recent day, live screenings of two European soccer games
-- Arsenal vs. CSKA Moscow and Manchester United vs. FC Copenhagen --
captivated an audience at a makeshift cinema of young men dressed in
traditional sarongs, Buddhist monks in ruby-hued robes, and even women.

As vibrant as the American Center is, it is actually a relic, one of the
last examples of what used to be a common and important tool in
Washington's public diplomacy. After the cold war ended, Washington closed
almost all the libraries it had set up to project the ideals of the United
States as a welcoming democratic nation.

At downtown city addresses in countries prominent and obscure, the
libraries provided books, information on scholarships, and sometimes just
quiet space to do homework or read a newspaper.

With the terrorism threat now, the libraries, if they exist at all, are
usually hidden behind the walls of fortresslike American embassies that
many local people feel are too forbidding to penetrate.

Even in India, the State Department has ordered the free-standing library
to move, on the ground that it does not have enough security.

Here in Myanmar, the open and inviting nature of the American Center, the
availability of tea just across the way and, of course, the wealth of
information seem to be truly appreciated.

Just consider this note among the 40 or so on the bulletin board: ''Every
moment of my time spending in this library is paradise.''

____________________________________

November 23, Democratic Voice of Burma via BBC
Burmese leader reportedly orders to consider Thailand as "nearest enemy"

Senior Gen Than Shwe has issued an order to consider Thailand as the
nearest enemy, according to sources close to the War Office. We learned
that the instruction was issued at the third quarterly meeting held at
Kyetpye [new capital] in September.

We understand that Senior Gen Than Shwe told the meeting that among the
neighbouring countries, Thailand was the most politically, economically,
and socially stable nation which had been harbouring opposition elements
from Burma, and that the most critical factor was that Thailand was
receiving assistance from the United States and was conducting Cobra Gold
exercises every year.

The behaviour of Thailand and the developments there could affect Burma
and, hence, it must be considered as the closest enemy, the chairman of
the State Peace and Development Council [SPDC] told regional and
divisional commanders, according to sources close to the War Office.
Dear listeners, we contacted the War Office in Kyetpye in connection with
Thailand being considered as the closest enemy but as usual there was no
one to answer the phone.

However, an officer of lieutenant-colonel rank who did not wish to be
identified confirmed that Burma had designated China as its nearest enemy
in 1967 but since Senior Gen Than Shwe became the commander in chief of
the defence services Thailand has taken that place. [Passage omitted on
military affairs observer Htay Aung's comments]

We also tried to contact the Thai military and Ministry of Foreign Affairs
in connection with Senior Gen Than Shwe's comments but were unable to get
hold of them. We, therefore, contacted Mr Asda [Jayanama], former Thai
ambassador to Burma and the United Nations, and this is what he had to
say:

[Asda, in English fading into Burmese translation] We are neighbours, so I
think it is the wish of the Thai government, regardless of whoever is in
power in Rangoon, to be at peace with Burma even if the SPDC cannot
understand this. Tomorrow, our prime minister will be visiting Rangoon to
have talks with the generals and that represents an opportunity. We must
only use peaceful means [to resolve problems]. [End of recording]

When asked how what it means to him as a Thai citizen about Thailand being
considered the nearest enemy of Burma. He said:

[Asda, in English fading into Burmese translation] Well, it just means
that maybe he does not understand us enough. He needs to understand
Thailand a little bit better. Perhaps, we need to explain more and work
more closely. At the same time, we also need to make other preparations in
case they make things worse. [End of recording]

When Mr Asda was asked if he wished to reply to the senior general and the
other generals who have been accusing Thailand of harbouring pro-democracy
elements, he said:

[Asda, in English fading into Burmese translation] They should understand
that the dissidents are people who want peace. Senior Gen Than Shwe should
be more humanitarian and the SPDC generals need to see the truth. The
military policy they are practicing now does not seem to be working. [End
of recording]

That was an interview with former Thai ambassador to Burma and the United
Nations, Asda Jayanama, in response to Burma designating Thailand as its
nearest enemy.

____________________________________

November 27, Xinhua News Agency
Burma: Paid TV channel to air on 'pilot basis' in Burma

Yangon: The MRTV-4, a paid channel jointly implemented by the Myanmar
[Burma] Radio and Television Department (MRTV) and the private-run Forever
Group, will be aired free of charge starting mid-December and covering the
areas around Yangon on a pilot basis, the local Flower News journal
reported Monday.

The free-of-charge programmes of the MRTV channel will mainly comprise
entertainment, documentaries, Sunday talks, and so on. The eight-hour
programmes will be aired three times to meet 24-hour run, the Forever
Group was quoted as saying.

The channel is the first free-of-charge one jointly implemented by the
government TV and private company.

The MRTV, established 60 years ago, is striving to air quality radio and
TV programmes across the country, extending functions to link countrywide
network by converting analogue system into digital one, and expanding
coverage to other countries.

The MRTV has launched four channels including Myanmar and English
languages to telecast news, education and entertainment programmes since
colour television was introduced in the country in 1980.

Meanwhile, the military-run Myawaddy TV, which is next to MRTV, started
telecasting in March 1995 and has morning and evening services at present.
It plans to introduce a 24-hour service in the country to cater to the
demand of domestic watchers.

In cooperation with China Central Television (CCTV), Cable Networks News
(CNN) and the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), there is satellite
news available with the MRTV.

Myanmar last year opened 17 TV relay stations, bringing the total in the
country to 195 scattered in nine zones and relaying programmes of the MRTV
and Myawaddy TV, statistics revealed.

To help more domestic watchers in remote areas to get access to the
government's TV programmes telecast from Yangon, Myanmar will add nine
more TV relay stations this year.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

November 24, Associated Press
Myanmar wages offensive against Karen minority relentless despite
international criticism - Denis D. Gray

Chiang Mai: The stories of horror arrive every day, from refugees and aid
groups.

Severely ill and unable to run, Saw They Chur stayed behind when his wife,
six children and other villagers fled the advancing Myanmar government
troops. They say the soldiers burned the 47-year-old man alive as they
torched every house in Play Hta.

Nine-year-old Eh Ywa Paw, whose name means "The flower that loves God,"
escaped but suffered a stomach wound when she ran from an ambush in which
her father and 80-year-old grandmother were gunned down. Several months
later she's reported on the run again as government units close in.

Nearly a year since the military regime of Myanmar, also known as Burma,
launched a major offensive against the rebellious Karen minority,
atrocities continue unabated, according to aid groups like the Free Burma
Rangers, an advocacy group of Western and local volunteers that works
inside Myanmar.

Condemnation from Western governments, U.N. officials, and human rights
groups has had little effect.

"The world knows what is happening in Darfur and they know what took place
in Rwanda," but they don't know about the plight of the Karen, "the
world's least-known major disaster," said Cristina Moon of the U.S.
Campaign for Burma, an activist group.

Josef Silverstein, professor emeritus from Rutgers University and author
of several books on Myanmar, says the government's goal is nothing less
than genocide. "They (the military) in my estimation are determined to
destroy them forever and that is what they are doing," he says.

The Myanmar government rejects such characterizations.

"I can assure you that there is no policy or order to burn villages, kill
civilians and commit other atrocities," said Ye Htut, a Ministry of
Information official in Yangon, the Myanmar capital. "We have a military
code and anyone who commits these crimes will be punished."

The government campaign's aim is "to win the hearts and minds of local
people," the official said in an e-mailed response to questions. By
contrast, he said, the rebels were sowing "fear and destruction -- the
same tactics used by all insurgents, even in Iraq."

The Karen have been fighting for autonomy since Burma gained independence
from Britain after World War II. Their fight, under the banner of the
Karen National Union (KNU), is one of the world's longest-running
insurgencies.

The government's latest major push against the KNU began last December,
focusing on northern Karen State and adjacent areas.

U.N. Deputy Secretary General Mark Malloch Brown in September described it
as a "devastating and terrible" offensive.

Aid agencies and refugees tell stories starkly different from the
government line. The troops, they say, carry out killings, rapes, forced
labor, burning of fields, and logging of community forests. Villagers are
herded into military-controlled areas to cut them off from the rebels.

The Thailand Burma Border Consortium, the main aid agency caring for tens
of thousands of refugees along the Thai-Myanmar frontier, estimates that
this year alone the violence forced 82,000 people to leave their homes.

Since 1996, more than 3,000 villages have been destroyed or abandoned in
eastern Myanmar and more than 1 million people displaced, according to its
most recent report. Major uprooting and abuses have also occurred in other
ethnic minority areas such as Shan State.

The government's next step will be to divide the region into quarters and
cleanse each one of potential guerrillas, experts predict.

"They do seem intent on moving all villagers into villages under their
direct control, with terrible consequences for those who resist," says
Desmond Ball, a military analyst at The Australian National University who
is tracking the offensive. He estimates some 7,000 troops are deployed in
northern Karen State, the greatest number fielded against the Karen in 11
years.

Sudden attacks prevent farmers from returning to their fields as the vital
harvest approaches. As a result, rice is being eaten by wild animals, a
recent report the Free Burma Rangers said. Others describe residents
forced by soldiers to build fences around their villages to restrict their
own movement.

As troops of the 66th Division recently swept into his village and
everyone fled, 75-year-old Poo Thu Kee Dee, quoted in a Free Burma Rangers
report, told neighbors he would stay, because "even if they see me, I am
old, so they will not shoot me." The report says his bullet-riddled body
was found in a betel nut grove at the edge of the village.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

November 23, Xinhua General News Service
China, Myanmar sign economic, trade cooperation agreements

Yangon: China and Myanmar signed an agreement on economic and technical
cooperation here Thursday to further push the economic and trade
cooperation between the two countries.

The agreement was endorsed by Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Guan Mu and
Myanmar Deputy Minister of National Planning and Economic Development
Colonel Thurein Zaw.

Visiting Assistant Minister of Commerce of China Chen Jian and Deputy
Minister of Foreign Affairs U Kyaw Thu of Myanmar also signed the minutes
of the second consultation meeting between the governments of China and
Myanmar on cooperation in trade, timber  and mining.

Chen arrived here Monday and had open, frank and friendly discussions with
U Kyaw Thu over expanding Sino-Myanmar economic and trade cooperation
including timber and mining cooperation in the border areas and reached
common view in a wide range of areas.

During the meeting with Kyaw Thu, Chen said that China and Myanmar should
look forward to the future based on the present and jointly develop on
mutually beneficial basis, adding that the cooperation between the two
countries should touch on sectors including investment, economy,
technology and tourism.

Kyaw Thu said that Myanmar welcomed Chinese enterprises to launch
cooperation in sectors such as timber and mining, while thanking China for
its efforts to help Myanmar eliminate narcotic drugs and grow
opium-poppy-substitute crops.

The two sides agreed to jointly work out three cooperation master plans on
timber, mining and agriculture, emphasizing their important significance
in boosting the level of economic and trade cooperation and bilateral
ties.

The two sides also agreed to conduct study and initiate more cooperation
master plans in the sectors of energy, industry and infrastructure after
working out the timber, mining and agriculture master plans.

At the signing ceremony Thursday, other documents including  that on
Chinese government's exemption of Myanmar government's  partial debt and a
framework agreement on provision of  preferential loan to Myanmar were
also inked.

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

A latest figures of the Chinese Customs Department indicate that
China-Myanmar bilateral trade in the first half of 2006 amounted to 662
million dollars, a 10.8-percent rise compared with the same period of
2005. Of the total, China's export to Myanmar took 549 million dollars, up
30.5 percent, while China's import from Myanmar 114 million dollars, down
35.9 percent.

The two countries have set a target for their annual bilateral trade to
increase to 1.5 billion dollars.

____________________________________

November 24, Irrawaddy
Burma asks Thailand for more time to repay loan - Sai Silp

Burmese Prime Minister Soe Win has asked Thailand to extend the period of
repayment of a 4 billion baht (US $109.6 million) loan by one year, saying
Burma might have difficulty meeting the deadline.

The request was made by Soe Win in talks with Thailand’s interim Prime
Minister Surayud Chulanont during the Thai premier’s one-day visit to
Naypyidaw on Thursday.

Surayud told reporters the request would have to be considered by the
Export-Import (Exim) Bank of Thailand, which had advanced the money as a
“soft” loan to improve Burmese infrastructure.

An Exim Bank official said previous loans to Burma had been repaid on
time. The bank’s consideration of an extension of the repayment of the
current loan would depend “on the reason why the customer wants to extend
the payment period,” he said.

Apart from the current loan to Burma, Exim has advanced 2.9 billion baht
($78 million) to Thai businesses operating in Burma, according to a
statement released by the bank last month.

The 4 billion baht loan agreement was sealed in 2003 between ousted Thai
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and former Burmese Prime Minister Gen
Khin Nyunt. The funds were earmarked for improvements to Burma’s Internet
system. Interest on the loan was expected to reach 2 billion baht ($54
million) in 2006.

The Thai organizations involved in the loan were recently investigated by
Thai anti-graft bodies, investigating possible Thaksin family conflicts of
interest.

During his Naypyidaw talks, Surayud discussed with Burmese officials plans
to register Burmese migrants working in Thailand. The Burmese government
recently approved documents for 10,000 Burmese citizens allowing them to
apply for visas to work legally in Thailand.

Others topics of the Naypyidaw talks included energy cooperation, closer
joint efforts on narcotics drugs suppression and health issues, especially
the problem of HIV/AIDS. Thailand has offered help to tackle the problem.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

November 23, Agence France Presse
Thai PM's Myanmar visit invites uncomfortable comparisons

Bangkok: Thailand's army-installed premier on Thursday pressed neighboring
Myanmar's junta for democratic reform in a one-day visit that invited
comparisons between the two military juntas.

Largely in the hope of avoiding that comparison, Surayud Chulanont made
Myanmar the last stop in his series of visits around Southeast Asia since
the military appointed him after the September 19 bloodless coup.

Surayud met Senior General Than Shwe at Myanmar's new capital, Naypyidaw,
some 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of Yangon, earlier in the day and
had a separate one-hour meeting with Prime Minister Soe Win.

"I asked Mr Than Shwe to consider democratic reform in Myanmar, which is a
member of ASEAN," Surayud told reporters after returning to Bangkok late
Thursday.

The premier said Myanmar's democratic reform would be further discussed at
the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit next
month in the Philippines.

Surayud said he also had "an informal talk" with Soe Win about Myanmar's
detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, but declined to give further
details.

The 61-year-old Nobel peace laureate has been under house arrest for most
of the past 17 years in Yangon.
Myanmar poses especially prickly problems for Thailand, and there has been
bad blood between Surayud himself and the generals in Naypyidaw over his
past efforts as army chief to stop drug trafficking along the border.

Before the coup, Thailand had been the region's main intermediary with
Myanmar, which has frustrated its neighbors and the United States with its
refusal to follow through on promises to make democratic reforms.
The new Thai government has said it will continue to press Myanmar to
reform, while acknowledging that argument is a tough sell coming from
another junta.

Analysts said Surayud was keenly aware of the inevitable comparison with
the dictatorship in the country formerly known as Burma, where the
military has ruled since 1962 by violently suppressing pro-democracy
movements.

"They are sensitive to this perception. Is Thailand retrogressing toward
Burma? Of course not, but the comparison will be made, and they are
walking a very fine line," said political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak in
Bangkok.

Surayud's government, and the junta that backs it, have insisted they want
to end the business dealings with Myanmar that ousted prime minister
Thaksin Shinawatra fostered.

However, they will find that difficult to do. Thailand last year was by
far the largest foreign investor in Myanmar, due to a six billion dollar
dam the kingdom is building across the border to generate electricity for
its own use.

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

The kingdom desperately needs those energy resources to keep its economy
growing and reduce its staggering import bill for oil.

Surayud shows no sign of backing away from these energy deals, which have
become a key source of revenue for Myanmar, one of the world's poorest
nations.

The economic deals have also helped the junta weather the impact of US and
European sanctions, imposed over its human rights abuses and the house
arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Thai Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand accompanied Surayud on the trip,
and Thai media reported that Thailand hoped to discuss expanding energy
deals.

Surayud was likely to have addressed other areas of concern, including
illegal migration and drug trafficking, during talks with the junta
leaders.

Migrants from Myanmar have become an important source of cheap labor for
Thailand. Some 500,000 Myanmar workers are registered in Thailand, but
another 800,000 are thought to be in the kingdom without papers.

____________________________________

November 24, Irrawaddy
Indian air chief offers to upgrade Burma's Air Force - Smita Mishra

Indian air force chief SP Tyagi offered Burmese military strongman Snr-Gen
Than Shwe a comprehensive air force modernization package during a visit
to Burma this week.

Air Chief Marshal Tyagi offered to sell Indian-made advanced light
helicopters that can be used as gunships against insurgent forces and for
ferrying military quick-reaction teams—small groups of highly skilled
special units that can strike at rebel units with complete surprise.

Indian army chief Gen JJ Sing, during an earlier visit to Burma, had
offered to train Burmese army special forces in counter insurgency
operations.

Retired Indian major general Gaganjit Singh, who interacted with the
Burmese generals during his long tenure in counter-insurgency operations
in Northeast India, said the Indian army has achieved success in Kashmir
and the northeast with their quick reaction teams and the Burmese generals
were quite impressed.

"The Burmese military has shown keen interest in the helicopters developed
by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and we are keen to sell them,"
said a staff officer who accompanied Air Chief Marshal Tyagi to Burma. The
officer did not want to be named.

He said Tyagi impressed on Than Shwe "the importance of air power in
contemporary warfare" and offered advice on how to strengthen Burma's air
force.

"The chief offered them a comprehensive fighter upgrade program that would
include the transfer of the latest avionics, surveillance electronics and
airborne radio equipment," he said. "Tyagi also offered to sell radar
manufactured by Bart Heavy Electronics Limited (BHEL)."

 The meeting between the Indian air force chief and Than Shwe took place
on Tuesday at Burma's new administrative capital, Naypyidaw, about 400
kilometers (250 miles) north of Rangoon. The Rangoon media has given no
details of Tyagi's visit.

The Burmese army, Tatmadaw, has battled a host of rebel armies for several
decades and has sought to bolster its counter-insurgency capabilities,
possibly with helicopter gunships. India does not use helicopter gunships
in its counter-insurgency operations but no doubt would not be
disappointed if the Burmese use them against Indian rebel bases in the
remote Sagaing division of Western Burma

India recently gave Burma a pair of Naval BN-2 Islander short-range
surveillance aircraft, despite stiff opposition by Great Britain, the
original manufacturer of the aircraft.

India sees itself in a race with China to tap Burma's vast natural
resources to fuel its economic expansion. It is also trying to reduce
Burma's dependence on China for military hardware.  Delhi has also offered
to sell frigates and other combat vessels to the Burmese navy.

____________________________________

November 24, The Nation (Thailand)
Concern over dams on Salween, Mekong

About half of the 400 participants at a seminar in Chiang Mai signed an
open letter urging Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont to review government
policies that will directly affect more than 100 million people in six
countries along the Mekong and Salween rivers.

Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission Saneh Chamarik was one
who signed the letter at the "Mekong-Salween: People, Water, and the
Golden Land of Southeast Asia" seminar.
The move follows a series of highly controversial dam proposals in Burma
quietly backed by the Thaksin Shinawatra government.

The Thai government last year signed a memorandum of understanding with
the Burmese military junta to study the possibility of building dams in
the Salween and Tenasserim river basins.

The six planned projects would seriously affect the way of life of large
numbers in Burma's ethnic areas, and may have already led to forced
relocation in Shan and Karen states.

Prime Minister Surayud yesterday was on an official visit to Burma but the
letter was faxed to his office at Government House.

"We, who signed the letter, demand that your government review the
policies or projects that would lead to dam constructions on Mekong and
Salween rivers as well as investments in big projects that would disturb
the ecosystem and way of life of the people," the letter said.

"The two fertile rivers feed more than 100 million people and have passed
on cultural heritages as well as wisdom in natural resource management
based on mutual sustainable benefits for generations. No government or no
single international organisation has the right to dictate any decision on
development project that would affect their way of life and future."

The letter also urged the interim prime minister to focus not only on a
free-trade economy but also issues of human security, natural resources,
and the lifestyles of the river communities.

The seminar was organised by the Social Sciences and Humanities
Foundation. Other signatories included Charnvit Kasetsiri, Shalardchai
Ramitanond, Viroj Tangwanich and Witoon Permpongsacharoen.

Laos has just revealed plans for 23 dams on the Mekong by 2020, to
generate electricity for Thailand and Vietnam, said Witoon, director of
Towards Ecological Recovery and Regional Alliance.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

November 24, Mizzima News
Security Council to continue Burma debate - Christopher Smith

On the heels of United Nations envoy Ibrahim Gambari's recent meeting with
Burmese leaders, the United Nations Security Council is preparing to take
the next step in addressing the Burma question. Yet the case remains that
there is no consensus, and many questions abound, regarding exactly what
future actions will be undertaken.

On November 22, the United Nations Security Council issued an Update
Report pertaining to potential forthcoming steps to be taken against the
government of Myanmar. This update comes less than two weeks after UN
Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari concluded his second
visit to the country within the year.

The updated report, however, in addition to listing options available for
Security Council measures points to reasons why this is sure to remain a
highly divisive issue. Further, the report, in its simplified analysis,
serves to gloss over confrontational aspects of the current UN approach.

Following an expected briefing by Gambari before the end of the month, the
15 members of the Security Council will then have four options available
to them: no action; an informal response in conjunction with an expansion
of a US plan; discussion of US proposals at an expert level, or; the
issuance of a presidential statement.

Issues raised with the government during the latest visit are given as a
continued call for an inclusive democratic process as well as the release
of Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, in conjunction with calls for
improved working relations with the International Labour Organization and
other humanitarian agencies. Gambari also urged the government to cease
its military offensives in Kayin State .

The report lists achievements of the visit as including meetings with Aung
San Suu Kyi and ethnic groups involved in the National Convention. This
positive spin contrasts with many opinions of ethnic and political groups
regarding the efficacy of Gambari's itinerary. This includes concerns
voiced by the NLD and other organizations not invited or not willing to be
party to the National Convention.

In a statement issued to Mizzima shortly after Gambari's second visit, NLD
spokesman Myint Thein described the visit as unsatisfactory. He said the
UN envoy had failed to meet the representatives of various political
groups inside Burma. It is a sentiment echoed by several Karen and other
ethnic leaders.

The report goes on to predict that instability resulting from continued
government human rights abuses is likely to play a leading role in any
drafting of a resolution. Yet, what most opposition groups to the current
government want
is a change of government. Proponents of a resolution on
Burma must be prepared to answer questions of stability in the case of a
collapse of central authority and/or a further worsening of living
conditions for the general public.

Significantly, in addition to Security Council members China, Russia,
Qatar and Congo who all voted against placing Burma on the formal agenda,
the updated report refers to unspecified countries that, while supporting
the inclusion of Burma as a topic of discussion, are likely to balk if it
comes to supporting a binding resolution. This group could include Japan,
which was somewhat of a surprise in supporting the inclusion of Burma on
the formal agenda.

The placement of Burma on the Security Council's formal agenda this past
September was spearheaded by the United States. The United States now says
they intend to bring a resolution forward by the end of the year.

President Bush, while attending the past week's Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation summit in Hanoi, reiterated that the current situation
regarding Burma is unacceptable. A Philippine presidential spokesman was
quoted by the Associate Press as in turn quoting President Bush stating
that, "As far as the Myanmar situation, this is something that's totally
unacceptable."

At present, the updated report gives no clear indication as to what
action, if any, the Security Council may attempt to take vis-à-vis Burma.
The actual dialogue and interests of constituents following Gambari's
briefing will be no less difficult to discern, as talks are scheduled to
be conducted as closed, informal consultations.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

November 27, International Committee of the Red Cross
Myanmar: ICRC pressed to close field offices

Geneva/Yangon (ICRC): The government of Myanmar recently ordered the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to close its five field
offices in the country (Mandalay, Mawlamyine, Hpa-an, Taunggyi and Kyaing
Tong), effectively making it impossible for the organization to carry out
most of its assistance and protection work benefiting civilians who live
in difficult conditions in border areas.

The Myanmar authorities also announced that ICRC visits to detainees would
not be allowed to resume. Those visits were halted in December 2005 since
the ICRC was no longer able to carry them out in accordance with its
standard procedures.

The ICRC utterly deplores the decision by the Myanmar authorities to close
its field offices as it places in jeopardy the accomplishments of the
humanitarian work already carried out in behalf of the most vulnerable
among the country's population, in particular people held in prison or
living in sensitive border areas. "We had years of productive discussions
with the Myanmar government, and our work since 1999 has had a tangible
impact on people's living and security conditions," said Pierre
Krähenbühl, the organization's director of operations. "The ICRC is
seriously worried that those most in need today will bear the brunt of the
current standoff."

Owing to the ICRC's increasing inability to do effective work in Myanmar
and to the deterioration, and subsequent cessation, of dialogue with the
government, the organization's activities have had to be scaled down in
recent months to a few limited projects in the field of physical
rehabilitation for amputees. In addition, assistance activities for
civilians in sensitive border areas were first severely hampered, then
prevented completely.

Over the past 12 months, the ICRC has tirelessly sought to restore a
constructive dialogue during meetings with the government of Myanmar to
address pressing issues of humanitarian concern. The latest of these took
place on 17 November, at the ICRC's request, between its president, Jakob
Kellenberger, and Myanmar's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva,
Nyunt Maung Shein. Unfortunately, despite the ICRC's strenuous efforts,
there has been no sign of the deadlock being broken, a fact which now
forces the organization to review its operational framework in the
country.

The ICRC has always worked in Myanmar in faithful accordance with the
mandate assigned to it by the international community. It remains
committed to helping all vulnerable people covered by that mandate –
wherever they are – in full transparency and with the agreement of the
government. The ICRC is convinced of the value of its work in Myanmar. It
is determined to re-engage the government in dialogue so as to re-expand
its scope of action and thus alleviate the drastic restrictions today
imposed on its humanitarian action in the country.

For further information, please contact:

Pierre-André Conod, ICRC Yangon, tel. +951 662 613  or  +951 664 524
Thierry Ribaux, ICRC Yangon, tel. +951 662 613  or  +951 664 524
Carla Haddad, ICRC Geneva, tel. +41 22 730 24 05  or  +41 79 217 32 26
or visit our website: www.icrc.org