BurmaNet News, November 29, 2006

[Editor]

November 29, 2006 Issue # 3095


INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar warns UN resolution will 'destroy the peace'
Irrawaddy: Burma's closure of ICRC offices draws more condemnation
Xinhua: Myanmar denies closing down of ICRC field offices
Irrawaddy: Junta bans comedy VCD
Mizzima: Ludu Daw Amar celebrates 91st birthday at different venue
DVB: Rape case reports on the rise in Rangoon
DVB: Rangoon court dismisses poets' appeals

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Fifty customs officials arrested in new police sweep

DRUGS
Xinhua: Myanmar seizes large amount of narcotic drugs

BUSINESS / TRADE
Mizzima: Gas from Burma will come to India first: GAIL

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: UN repeats call for action on child soldiers
The Australian: Burma a threat to peace, US warns
Mizzima: Burma should release political prisoners: top UN official

OPINION / OTHER
The Nation: Pressure builds up on Burma
Asian Tribune: What international support for Argentina can teach us about
Burma

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

November 29, Agence France Presse
Myanmar warns UN resolution will 'destroy the peace'

Naypyidaw, Myanmar: Military-ruled Myanmar said Wednesday a UN resolution
against the junta would "destroy the peace" and accused the Security
Council of trying to interfere in its domestic affairs.

"The situation in Myanmar is something that does not need to be handled by
the Security Council," the national police chief, Brigadier General Khin
Yee told reporters.

"On the contrary," he said, the Security Council was being used "to
interfere in the internal affairs of Myanmar and destroy the peace".

"Only then will it become a threat to peace and security in the region, as
well as to the international community as a whole," he added.

The US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, said Monday he would
soon introduce a draft Security Council resolution lambasting Myanmar's
military junta as a threat to regional peace and security, but without
threatening UN sanctions.

The US envoy said Yangon's policies, including human rights violations and
political repression, "continue to contribute to instability in the region
and therefore in our view constitute a threat to international peace and
security".

Bolton has lobbied hard to put the Myanmar issue on the agenda of the
15-member council, despite strong opposition from China, an ally of the
regime.

The US has singled out the flow of migrants out of Myanmar, along with the
regime's failure to crack down on trafficking in people and illicit drugs.

Khin Yee accused the United Nations of "turning a blind eye to the
country's achievements in eliminating drugs, and to fully realize the
actual evolution of Myanmar's undertaking to eliminate narcotic drugs".

"We firmly believe that the problem of drug abuse is a great threat to our
entire population of Myanmar," he told a press conference in the new
administrative capital, Naypyidaw, in the jungles of central Myanmar.

With UN help, Myanmar has made strides in eradicating opium production in
recent years, but at the same time, trafficking in methamphetamines has
soared.

Washington has already imposed investment and trade bans on Myanmar in
protest at the regime's dismal human rights record and refusal to adopt
democratic reforms.

US President George W. Bush told key Southeast Asian leaders earlier this
month, on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in Vietnam, that the
situation in Myanmar was "totally unacceptable".

____________________________________

November 29, Irrawaddy
Burma's closure of ICRC offices draws more condemnation - Sai Silp

The Burmese government’s closure of five International Committee of the
Red Cross field offices, which effectively halts most of its work in the
country, continues to draw criticism, the latest from the UK and US.

In a press statement released on Wednesday, British MP and Foreign Office
Minister, Ian McCartney, condemned in “the strongest terms" the Burmese
junta’s decision.

“It is one of the few remaining independent monitors of the human rights
situation in Burma and is a highly respected, neutral and independent
organization,” McCartney said.

He added that the ICRC has made every possible effort to continue their
essential work, but over the past year the Burmese authorities have
increasingly restricted its ability to carry out humanitarian work in
prisons and border areas, culminating in the order this week to close the
field offices and stop prison visitations.

“This action by the Burmese government illustrates yet again its complete
disregard for international human rights standards, and its unwillingness
to engage constructively with the international community,” according to a
foreign office statement.

Meanwhile, a US State Department spokesperson, Sean McCormack, called the
move by Burma a “negative step” and urged the country’s generals to allow
the humanitarian organization to continue its work, which includes helping
thousands of people in sensitive border areas.

“I guess we shouldn't be surprised by the action, given the nature of the
regime in Burma,” McCormack said.

He noted that the US is now in talks with members of the UN Security
Council about a resolution that would press Burma to change policies that
Washington says constitute a threat to international peace and security.
The US proposal is likely to be discussed in a matter of days.

“And certainly this action by the regime in Burma should be an important
part of the conversation and an indicator that you do need a resolution,”
McCormack added.

The recent condemnations follow a statement from the Singapore Ministry of
Foreign Affairs on Tuesday which urged the Burmese regime to sincerely
re-engage the ICRC and to find an amicable solution so the international
aid agency can resume its Burma operations.

The ICRC has provided assistance to Burmese citizens for the past 20
years. The ICRC has not been able to independently visit Burma prisons
since December 2005; its prison visitations began in 1999.

On Monday, the Burmese authorities ordered the ICRC to close five field
offices, in Mandalay, Moulmein of Mon State, Pa-an of Karen State,
Taunggyi and Kengtung of Shan State.


____________________________________

November 29, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar denies closing down of ICRC field offices

Nay Pyi Taw: The Myanmar government denied on Wednesday that it has closed
down field offices of the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC)
in five areas of the country, but saying that it was just a temporary
suspension.

The denial was made by Police Chief Brigadier-General Khin Yi at the first
press conference held in the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw.

Some foreign media had reported that the government had ordered five ICRC
field offices in Myanmar outside Yangon to close, namely, in Mandalay,
Mawlamyine, Hpa-an, Taunggyi and Kyaing Tong.

Khin Yi stressed that all organizations in Myanmar, including the ICRC,
must abide by Myanmar's related rules and regulations for their functions.
He disclosed that the government is preparing to promulgate new rules and
regulations to govern the launching of operation of all organizations.

He said that before the introduction of the new rules and regulations, the
government temporarily suspended the operation of the ICRC field offices
but is still in contact with the ICRC.

Between 1999 and 2005, the ICRC made 453 visits to prisons and labor camps
across Myanmar, according to ICRC.

____________________________________

November 29, Irrawaddy
Junta bans comedy VCD - Shah Paung

Burmese authorities have banned a VCD depicting a traditional anyein
performance on the grounds that some of the content is critical of the
military government.

Anyein is a form of traditional entertainment that combines music, dance,
opera and satirical comedy.

The VCD, titled say yaung sone, or “The Colorful,” by the Burmese director
known simply as Godzilla, was officially banned on Tuesday. Its script had
at first made it past Burma’s draconian Press Scrutiny Review Board, but
the subsequent release of the VCD led authorities to ban it, according to
an actor living in Rangoon who requested that his name not be used.

The actor said that authorities found some of the material on the disc was
intentionally satirical towards the government.

A source familiar with the film industry in Burma said that performances
on the disc made reference to electricity shortages in the country,
problems with public health assistance, Burma’s national football team and
the news readers on Burma’s state-run MRTV network.

“At the beginning of the VCD, [performers] cited old Burmese sayings:
‘ruined bricks shall be replaced with stones’ and ‘the old ones shall be
replaced eventually,’” said the industry insider.

He added: [Performers] also joked about Burma’s news programs by showing
[the presenter] having to stop in the middle of a lengthy list of names
and positions because time ran out.”

Anyein is a popular part of Burmese cultural life, but in the last decade
troupes have been prohibited from performing in public.

Films by Burma’s best-known comedian Zarganar are among the most
frequently banned in Burma. The most recent examples, from May of this
year, include Thee Makhan Nai Taw Bu (Intolerance), Mee Chit (The Lighter)
and  Shar Shay Kya Thu Myar (The Chatterbox).

One Rangoon-based director said that performers in banned movies face
growing difficulties finding future work, as producers are reluctant to
hire them for fear that their works will be banned as well.

“Our aim is to pass on our comedy to a new generation of young viewers,”
the director said. “But before we can do that, they are being banned.”

He added: “Our life consists of not being able to do or say what we want
to do or say. To raise the quality of our films to the international
level, it would be good if there was no censorship in Burma.”

____________________________________

November 29, Mizzima News
Ludu Daw Amar celebrates 91st birthday at different venue - Mungpi

The 91st birthday of Burma's most prominent woman literary personality,
Ludu Daw Amar was celebrated today at the home of her daughter, west of
Mandalay city to avoid the prying eyes of the military regime.

For a change this year, given security concerns, her birthday reception
was held at the residence of her daughter Dr. Mya Mezu instead of Tuang
Lay Lone monastery near Taungthaman Lake shore in south Mandalay where it
is ritually held every year.

Reports suggest that celebration in the monastery was cancelled by Ludu
Daw Amar's family as it attracts the attention of the authorities, who are
known to keep a close surveillance on the abbot.

Despite the shift in location, the birthday celebration was attended by
over 300 well-wishers, including writers, poets, artists and students.

"A lot of people turned up at the reception. And the house is a bit small
to accommodate the large number of people," Nay Myo Kyaw a youth who
attended the reception told Mizzima.

Daw Amar, who got her title of Ludu - meaning the people - from the Ludu
Daily News, which she co-founded with her late husband Ludu U Hla in 1946,
is known as an energetic political commentator, a left-oriented journalist
with the spirit to resist injustice which she still articulates in her
works.

At the age of 25 she was actively involved in the struggle for freedom
from British colonial rule. Her political activism started in 1936 after
she enrolled in Rangoon University. However, she combined her political
activism with her passion for literature and journalism and by 1938 she
had made a lasting impression on Burma's literary landscape.

In 1953, she took her political activism a step forward to the
international arena and attended the World Democratic Women's Conference
in Copenhagen, the World Peace Conference in Budapest , and the
International Youth Festival in Bucharest.

Given her outstanding personality and pioneering journalism in standing up
for truth, Ludu Daw Amar is today revered by Burmese journalists, writers,
poets and artists. So much so that her birthday is observed by Burmese
journalists and literary figures world wide.

On November 22, 2006 Burmese journalists, artists, poets and writers in
exile at the sidelines of Burma Media Conference observed Ludu Daw Amar's
91st birthday in advance.

At Taungthaman Lake in Mandalay, where Ludu Daw Amar's birthday has been
celebrated every year - except this year - well-wishers were seen in
groups celebrating her birthday.

"There are a lot of people scattered here and there near the lake.
Well-wishers have made it a point to be here at the lake on this day just
to mark her birthday," said Nay Myo Kyaw, who was among the many
well-wishers.

____________________________________

November 27, Democratic Voice of Burma
Rape case reports on the rise in Rangoon

Reports of rape cases involving underage girls have increased in the past
few months in both Rangoon and Magwe divisions in Burma.

Seven underage girls were allegedly raped in Thanyin, Hlaing, Htaut Kyant,
Shwe Pyi Thar townships in Rangoon last month, according to the Weekly
Eleven Journal.

In Magwe division, a fourteen-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by
three men, including one police officer, at a Pagoda fair in Thiri Minglar
Village on November 25.

“There were three of them. One is named Zaw Zaw, a policeman with private
ranking. He's studying law with distance university education. He's
stationed in Thayat Kyal police station,” local sources speculated.

An officer from the Taung Twin Gyi police station said three men suspected
of involvement were being detained in Taung Twin Gyi jail.

“They are now putting under charges, under act 376. We made a check up on
those boys yesterday. We found scratch marks on their bodies. They said
the marks were from thorns,” the officer said.

____________________________________

November 27, Democratic Voice of Burma
Rangoon court dismisses poets' appeals

The high court in Rangoon has dismissed appeals lodged on behalf of two
men sentenced to 26 years imprisonment for writing and distributing a
politically sensitive poem.

Aung Than, a National League for Democracy member from Bago division, and
Zayar Aung, a law student, were both arrested on May 29 and sentenced to
26 years in prison over the publication of a book of poems titled Daung
Man (A Peacock's Pride).

The symbol of the fighting peacock is widely used among Burmese opposition
groups.

Myint Thaung, a lawyer acting on behalf of both men, told DVB the high
court dismissed the appeals the same day they were lodged.

"We filed the appeal on November 21 and by four (o'clock) in the
afternoon, they had dropped all four appeals already. We filed it at the
high court since the Bago district court has dropped the appeals. But the
high court, as well, dropped them immediately," Myint Thaung said.

Special appeals will now be filed within six months with the high court,
Myint Thaung said, adding the outcome would depend on the judges' sense of
dignity.

"At least we will be able to show how we are losing our rights according
to the law, and the results of the case. This is my only concern now.
Winning or losing only depends on the judges' common sense . . ."

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

November 29, Irrawaddy
Fifty customs officials arrested in new police sweep - Khun Sam

More than 60 Burmese Customs Department officials have been arrested in
countrywide raids and a similar number have gone into hiding, according to
border sources.

The junta issued warrants for the arrest of 114 officials, 61 of whom had
been detained, the sources said. Police were searching for the others.

The latest raids follow an earlier sweep resulting in the imprisonment of
about 60 customs officials and traders in Rangoon and Shan State on
charges of corruption, illegal trading and tax evasion. One prominent
defendant, Customs Department Director-General Col Khin Maung Lin,
received a 66-year sentence.

Among those arrested in the latest police action was the Custom Department
and Border Trade’s deputy director-general in the Shan State border town
of Tachilek, Win Swe. A police official in Tachilek confirmed that two
arrests had been made there.

Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese political analysis based on the Burma-China
border, said police and Special Bureau Investigation officials from
Rangoon and local police had raided the Muse customs office in northern
Shan State, near the Chinese border, on Monday evening.

Aung Kyaw Zaw said two officials had been arrested and around a dozen had
escaped to China. One official had reportedly committed suicide.

Police sources told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that the latest arrests
were ordered by the newly appointed Customs Department Director-general,
Col Hla Win, in a move to sever links with his predecessor.

The arrests follow an announcement in state-run newspaper The New Light of
Myanmar on November 21 by Burma’s Ministry of Finance and Revenue,
inviting members of the public to “file complaints against any misconduct”
by its staff members in a drive to ensure a so-called clean administrative
machinery.

In recent months several customs officials at Burmese airports, sea ports
and border trade offices have been replaced. The property and assets of
those convicted and jailed have been confiscated by the state.

The regime scheduled a press conference for Wednesday, at which more
details of the latest arrests were expected to emerge.

____________________________________
DRUGS

November 29, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar seizes large amount of narcotic drugs

Nay Pyi Taw: The Myanmar anti-drug authorities seized a large amount of
narcotic drugs worth of a street value of 5.71 billion U.S. dollars
between April 2004 and October 2006, Police Chief Brigadier-General Khin
Yi told a press conference here Wednesday.

The confiscated drugs include 1,973.78 kilograms (kg) of heroin, 1,473.51
kg of No.3 heroin, 3,649.76 kg of opium, 319.23 kg of marijuana, 3,019.3
kg of Amphetamine tablets and 1,795.2 kg of ephedrine.

At the press conference, Khin Yi also rejected the United States' charge
for Myanmar's lack of performance in drug control in its bid to press for
a U.N. Security Council resolution on Myanmar issue, citing many facts in
identifying its achievements in the aspect.

Quoting an opium survey report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC), Khin Yi noted that the country's opium poppy cultivation
fell 34 percent to 21,500 hectares in 2006, representing a dramatic 83
percent fall from 130,300 hectares in 1998.

Khin Yi also pointed out some areas where ethnic minorities inhabit have
become poppy-free regions, citing Shan state's Mongla, Kokang and Wa.

Noting that Myanmar has been implementing a 15-year plan (1999- 2000 to
2013-14) to totally eradicate poppy in three phases each  running for five
years, he expressed Myanmar's commitment to  maintain the present momentum
of eliminating drugs in the country.

He went on to stress that "the situation in Myamar is something that does
not need to be handled by the Security Council. On the contrary, it is the
use of the security council to interfere in the internal affairs of
Myanmar that can destroy the prevailing  peace and tranquility, prevalence
of law and order, national unity, multifaceted development and democratic
reform".

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

November 28, Mizzima News
Gas from Burma will come to India first: GAIL - Syed Ali Mujtaba
An overtly optimistic New Delhi is of the view that out of the three gas
pipeline projects India is eyeing to meet its soaring energy needs, the
one from Burma will come to fruition first.

Iran–Pakistan-India and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan–Pakistan-India are the
other two gas pipeline projects being pursued by India.

"All three projects are geopolitically sensitive, but the Burmese pipeline
is probably the least so because it is now just between Burma and India,
with Bangladesh almost out of the equation from a pipeline routing
perspective," said B.S. Negi, director of business development at the
state-run Gas Authority of India Ltd during a media interview in New
Delhi.

"The India- Myanmar pipeline, which will stretch over 1,575 kilometres,
would become operational in 36 months with a daily capacity of 18-28
million standard cubic meters of gas," Negi said.

The total project, which also includes 37 kilometres of offshore component
for transporting the fuel from the gas fields in the Bay of Bengal, would
require an investment of about $3 billion, he added.

However, pricing remains the main hurdle, as Burma has not yet settled the
price for its gas. It rejected the bids by India, China, Thailand and
South Korea earlier this year. India will have to work out a competitive
price to beat its competitors in order to seal the deal and procure
Myanmar gas by its targeted date of 2009, the GAIL director said.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

November 29, Irrawaddy
UN repeats call for action on child soldiers - Clive Parker

The UN Security Council has repeated its call for action against the
recruitment of child soldiers in countries considered the worst offenders,
including Burma.

During a special day-long session to consider a UN report on progress to
fight the problem, the council heard of “reliable reports” that the
Tatmadaw (Burma Army) continues to recruit child soldiers. The junta was
also accused of failing to cooperate fully with the UN in Burma in
attempts to eradicate the problem, charges denied by the government.

Speaking to the council, Burmese government representative Kyaw Tint Swe
said the report contained “unfounded allegations,” and that appropriate
measures had been put into place to eradicate the problem, including
discharging minors from the military.

Radhika Coomaraswamy, the special representative of the UN
secretary-general for children and armed conflict, said that commitments
to demobilize troops in Burma, along with the Ivory Coast, Burundi and
Uganda, “would result in concrete action.” However, her report to the
council said it was currently impossible to verify Burmese government
efforts to eradicate the problem.

“The United Nations country team is aware of some cases of children being
released from army service [in Burma] but is unable to verify the
effectiveness of the [government] committee’s plan of action or whether
all children are being screened out of the Government armed forces,” the
report concluded.

In January 2004, Burma set up a committee to address the problem following
reports of extensive use of child soldiers.

Kyaw Tint Swe again criticized the UN decision to keep the Burmese army on
a blacklist of recruiters of children. Insurgent groups including the
Karen National Union and the Karenni National Progressive Party were
removed from the list following consultations with the UN Children’s
Agency earlier this year and are currently working with the UN to
eradicate the problem.

The UNICEF office in Rangoon was unavailable for further comment on
Wednesday.

Tuesday’s discussion at the Security Council means that Burma remains
under pressure to provide evidence to the UN that it is taking effective
measures to end the practice of recruiting minors into the army.
Successive resolutions include the provision of a complete ban on arms
sales to countries that persistently fail to address the problem.

The Tatmadaw has long been accused of forcibly recruiting children to its
400,000-strong armed forces. In 2004, the London-based Coalition to Stop
the Use of Child Soldiers reported that the junta had in some cases
kidnapped children as young as 11, forcing them to serve in the military.
At the time, it estimated that up to 20 percent of Tatmadaw and ethnic
insurgency forces were under 18—the current legal age of
conscription—which would have put the total number of child soldiers in
Burma at nearly 90,000, the highest of any country in the world.

____________________________________

November 29, Mizzima News
Burma should release political prisoners: top UN official - Siddique Islam

The Burmese government should release political prisoners, particularly
democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, open up the political process, and
take "concrete steps" to address other areas of global concern, a top
United Nations political officer said on Tuesday after a meeting with the
Security Council.

"Five major issues that I raised [during my trip]were: political
prisoners, humanitarian access, a more inclusive political process, the
International Labour Organization (ILO), and a cessation of hostilities
against the ethnic minorities, particularly in Karen state,"
Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari told
reporters in New York after presenting the Council with a report on his
mission.

Mr. Gambari briefed the 15-member body on his four-day trip to the South
East Asian nation that ended earlier this month, during which he met top
government officials, including Senior General Than Shwe, as well as Suu
Kyi, who has been under house arrest for 10 of the past 17 years.

"They need to release all political prisoners, including in particular
Aung San Suu Kyi
 now the ball is clearly in the court of the Government

we are just waiting for concrete action on their part." Earlier this
month, the ILO's Governing Body expressed "great frustration" at Burma's
(Myanmar's) failure to agree on how to deal with complaints of forced
labour.

The UN envoy also said the authorities had taken "some small steps" since
his previous visit in May, including the release of former officials from
Ms. Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), but he
warned that the "good offices" process of the Secretary General towards
Myanmar "cannot be open ended."

"And we are now waiting for the Government to take further steps to
respond to the concerns of the international community."

Speaking later in the day, Security Council President Jorge Voto-Bernales
of Peru, who holds the rotating presidency for this month, told reporters
that the members had "expressed support" for the Secretary-General and Mr.
Gambari's efforts on behalf of the UN in Burma (Myanmar) and thanked them
for their active engagement to assist the country resolve its "political
and social and humanitarian problems."

Besides, US Ambassador John Bolton announced on Monday that he was seeking
a Security Council resolution calling on the Burmese regime to comply with
"its obligations to reduce [the] downward spiral of its performance that
constitutes a threat to international peace and security." He expected to
produce a text within the next few days or weeks.

The UN Security Council held its first discussions on Burma in December,
2005. In September, 2006, Burma was formally placed on the Security
Council's agenda.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

November 29, The Nation
Pressure builds up on Burma

Thailand must not do anything to harm the growing international resolve
against the Burmese junta

The ruthless military junta of Burma has been at it again. Whenever the
international community piles pressure on the military rulers, they react
quickly. Just a few days ago, the regime's generals ordered the
International Committee of the Red Cross to close down its field offices
outside Rangoon. In one fell stroke, all the good work that the ICRC had
done on humanitarian grounds, including regular independent inspections
and visits to political prisoners in Burma, ground to a halt.

The move followed the General Assembly Committee of the United Nations
passing a resolution last week criticising Burma's worsening human rights
record. The resolution specifically indicated that the junta had refused
to investigate widespread human rights abuses such as summary executions,
torture, forced labour, sexual violence and the recruitment of child
soldiers. There are an estimated 50,000 child soldiers in Burma, which
makes the country one of the world's worst offenders in child abuse and
human rights violations.

The US government will submit a draft resolution on Burma to the UN
Security Council in order to put further pressure on Burma to improve its
human rights record and to reduce the threat to international peace and
security. The American ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, said
that ongoing Burmese policies have contributed to instability in the
Southeast Asian region. These problems include thousands of internally
displaced people and refugees crossing Burma's international borders.
Bolton said these issues had become a burden on countries that share
borders with Burma.

Citing the Burmese government's poor performance and the far-reaching
consequences of its actions and policies - especially in the burgeoning
illicit narcotics trade and the trafficking of people - the council will
be asked to take up the issue and act on it. There will be no threat to
impose further sanctions on Burma, but a series of demands for the regime
to improve its performance regarding these key issues.

UN Under-secretary General Ibrahim Gambari visited Burma recently and came
back empty handed. Although he was allowed to meet with the detained
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi during his time there, he did not make
any progress on the five issues he raised with the junta: political
prisoners, humanitarian access, a more inclusive political process, the
need to work with the International Labour Organisation and the urgent
need for a cessation of hostilities against ethnic minorities, especially
in Kayin State.

Burma has been and will continue to be a pariah state for the foreseeable
future. The reason is quite simple: the junta leaders have absolutely no
desire to change because they don't need to. They want to, and intend to,
hold on to power for as long as possible.

Over the past few years, Burma has been reacting to international pressure
with new-found confidence - and not without good reason. This isolated
nation has huge reserves of natural gas that are very much in demand as an
important source of energy. Countries that are desperate to meet their
energy requirements have to deal with the brutal dictators. This explains
why the junta has not made any concessions regarding its empty promises to
loosen its grip on power and restore democracy in Burma. Instead it
continues to rule this tortured country with an iron fist. And no one
appears to be able to do anything about it.

As a result of the world's continued appetite for energy, Burma will be
able to pit energy-starved countries, including Thailand, against one
another. During Thaksin's reign as prime minister, many deals were made to
secure a steady energy supply for Thailand. But these deals were struck at
the expense of other considerations, including Thailand's obligations as a
responsible member of the international community.

It is true now, after the September 19 coup, that Thailand is in no
position to lecture Burma on the promulgation of democracy. But the least
Thailand can do is to do no more to exacerbate the situation in Burma.
Thailand should continue to support the UN effort to break the political
impasse inside Burma. Bangkok must not make separate, self-serving pacts
with Rangoon as it has done in recent years, as this would undermine the
growing international solidarity to pressure the junta through the UN.

____________________________________

November 29, Asian Tribune
What international support for Argentina can teach us about Burma - Dr.
Joseph Eldridge

During the 1970s and 1980s, Latin America endured the scourge of
dictatorship and yet US policy makers were slow to acknowledge the tragedy
unfolding before their eyes because Washington was locked in a Cold War
showdown with the USSR. It was often hard for the White House to hear the
cries from the region, despite the heroic efforts of human rights
activists in and out of country to speak out. In the case of Argentina,
great efforts were made to document and publicize reports of mass
disappearances and torture, and reverse a morally indefensible policy of
turning a blind eye to these hideous violations. As cofounder of the
Washington Office on Latin America I traveled to Argentina to document
disappearances so that we could provide this information to supporters of
human rights in the U.S. Congress, the Organization of American States,
media, and United Nations.

I vividly recall how the anger, fear, and sense of total injustice felt by
family members of the disappeared revealed a palpable sense of impunity.
Yet, at the same time, the courage displayed by heroic Argentine human
rights activists inspired those within Argentina and internationally to
demand effective action by the United Nations and others to bring an end
to abuses and a restoration of democracy.

A similar fear created by a brutal government, and the same bravery shown
by everyday people, is on display today in the Southeast Asian country of
Burma. When I traveled to Burma, thirty years after I first went to
Argentina, I was eerily reminded of 1970s Argentina. The sense of dread
among civic organizations, the repression of democratically elected
leaders, and the caution in interacting with foreigners revealed a country
dominated by fear of an unaccountable brutal, military government.

Indeed, there are many reasons for the Burmese people to be afraid.
Amnesty International has documented how the country's ruling military
junta has locked up over 1,100 political prisoners including Aung San Suu
Kyi, the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient. According to
Human Rights Watch, the junta has recruited 70,000 child soldiers, more
than any other country in the world. In the eastern section of the
country, the junta burned down 3,000 ethnic minority villages, forcing
over 1 million refugees to flee the country. An additional 500,000 live on
the run in Burma's jungles as internal refugees. Thousands of men, women,
and children have died unnecessarily of disease and hunger. The
International Labor Organization, a United Nations agency, says that
millions of Burmese have been pressed into modern-day slave labor.

Sadly, United Nations mechanisms and efforts have not worked in Burma. As
Adolfo Perez Esquivel, the Argentine Nobel Peace Prize recipient, pointed
out in a recent article, "the United Nation has tried to deal with the
situation in Burma, but sadly it has failed. The military junta has
ignored 28 consecutive non-binding UN Resolutions, four special envoys
from the UN Commission on Human Rights, and two special envoys from
Secretary-General Kofi Annan himself."

Two weeks ago, the United Nations fell short yet again. UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan dispatched his political chief Ibrahim Gambari to Burma
for the second time this year to meet with the leader of the Burmese junta
and with Aung San Suu Kyi. There was no major progress made from the
meeting, just as there was no major progress after dozens of similar
meetings over the past 10 years. Despite good intentions, the trip failed.

Now, members of the UN Security Council must alter its course and
strengthen UN efforts on Burma. South Africa's Nobel Peace Prize recipient
Desmond Tutu has called for the Security Council to pass a multilateral
binding resolution on Burma in order to strengthen UN efforts. His call
has been supported by Burma's democracy movement, led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
Her political party won 82% of the seats in parliament in Burma's last
democratic election. The military junta annulled the results and many
members of parliament are still in jail.

The scale of the crisis in Burma constitutes a threat to peace and
security, necessitating action by the Security Council. There is precedent
for action at the Council - indeed; it has acted in situations less severe
than in Burma. Action by the UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council
is not enough, and has not worked for the past 14 years. The United
States, Argentina, and other members of the Security Council should
support Tutu's initiative and press hard for an immediate resolution.

The ultimate vindication of the struggle in Argentina should inspire us to
stand firm with Aung San Suu Kyi and the struggle in Burma. The severity
of the situation in Burma demands it.

Dr. Joseph Eldridge is the University Chaplain at American University in
Washington, DC. He served formerly as the Washington Director of Human
Rights First (then-Lawyer's Committee for Human Rights) and co-founded the
Washington Office on Latin America.