BurmaNet News, December 15, 2006

[Editor]

December 15, 2006 Issue # 3107


INSIDE BURMA
DVB: Jailed 88 students' families call for acquittal as remand deadline looms
South China Morning Post: World shuts eyes to junta's ethnic cleansing
Independent Mon News Agency: Village leaders trained to rally people
around military regime
Xinhua: Myanmar paid TV channel starts free-to-air telecast
Xinhua: Sri Lankan PM to visit Myanmar

ON THE BORDER
AP: 120 Myanmar migrants workers found hidden inside trucks
South China Morning Post: 49 years of war for Asia's forgotten army

INTERNATIONAL
AP: New UN Secretary-General takes oath of office

OPINION / OTHER
Inter Press Service: Argentina, Burma, and international solidarity -
Kerry Kennedy

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

December 15, Democratic Voice of Burma
Jailed 88 students' families call for acquittal as remand deadline looms

The families of five '88 generation student leaders taken into police
custody almost three months ago have again pleaded for their release.

Min Ko Naing, Ko Htay Kywe, Ko Ko Gyi, Min Zayar and Pyone Cho were
detained in late September and have not been charged. The military have
remanded them in custody ever since but under Burmese law, the period of
remand must end on December 18.

Min Ko Naing's elder sister, Daw Kyi Kyi Nyunt told DVB her family was
increasingly worried about his health.

"His heart is weak . . . We are very worried as we are not allowed to give
medicines or see (him) personally,” she said.

She said her family and the family members of the other former student
leaders planned to appeal to authorities to allow them to spend time with
the detainees.

“The two week remand is going to expire on 18 December. If we are not
allowed to see them even then, or if the situation is not getting better,
we are thinking of requesting the authorities to let the families meet
with them," Daw Kyi Kyi Nyunt said.

"The five families will consult. When they were taken away it was said
that it was for only a short while. When they were remanded, the families
were not notified officially."

Fellow '88 generation student leaders Ko Arnt Bwe Kyaw and Ko Jimmy told
DVB they would continue to make public calls for their colleagues'
release.

“We believe that the five student leaders are being detained lawlessly. We
will continue to carry out activities within the legal boundary,” they
said.

____________________________________

December 15, South China Morning Post
World shuts eyes to junta's ethnic cleansing - Nick Meo

Karen state, Myanmar: First they killed his neighbours, shooting them as
they were gathering the rice harvest. Then they set fire to Saw Tah Wah's
village. Finally the Myanmese Army soldiers planted landmines around the
burned homes to maim anybody daring to return.

This year thousands of Karen villagers like Mr Saw Tah Wah have fled to
the refugee encampment of E Tu Hta, a collection of bamboo huts in a
forest clearing on the Myanmese bank of the Salween river, on the border
with Thailand. The camp was thrown up overnight in April when villagers
began streaming out of Karen state clutching their children and whatever
possessions they could carry.

At the end of last year the Myanmese Army began a series of offensives
around the new capital Pyinmana, where the junta moved the seat of power
from Yangon last year.

Nearby were areas where the Karen National Liberation Army is active -
called black areas by the junta - so soldiers attacked villagers who could
support the guerillas, forcing around 18,000 to flee to camps like E Tu
Hta. Far more are believed to be hunted refugees inside Karen state.

The Karen, at war with Myanmar's rulers for 58 years, now fear new
offensives in coming weeks as the dry season begins.

Mr Saw Tah Wah, a 70-year-old farmer with gentle eyes who believes he has
fled the Myanmese perhaps a hundred times in his life, spent nine days
trekking across mountains during the rainy season to make it to safety.

He said: "We were scared of running into army patrols and we were scared
of landmines. They plant them everywhere now - in paddy fields and on
paths.

"Before the soldiers weren't like this, they didn't shoot to kill. Now
they do."

Two of his neighbours were shot dead in Chaw Wa Der village four months
ago and two others were wounded. One of them, a 30-year-old mother of
three called Naw Mu Tu, was hit in the throat by a bullet. She was not
able to go to a hospital because Myanmese soldiers occupying the village
stopped anyone from leaving.

The bodies of his neighbours were recovered at night after lying in the
paddy fields for two days.
"We were very scared that they had planted landmines around them," Mr Saw
Tah Wah said.
Landmines are being sown indiscriminately in Karen state as a terror weapon.

Sae Kae Der, a 39-year-old woman, said: "When we run through the jungle we
are afraid. We want to keep our feet on our heads. If we could fly, we
would."

Ahrleh, a 32-year-old farmer with one name, stepped on a landmine in
February while foraging for food for his pregnant wife after they fled
into hiding.

Karen medics amputated his leg in the jungle, then friends carried him to
Thailand where he was fitted with a prosthetic limb.

He wants to return to find his wife and find out whether the child he has
not yet seen has survived.
Refugees still arrive at E Tu Hta daily. Htee Mo Klo, 38, heard about the
camp from fellow refugees after he fled with his nephew when their village
was attacked by hundreds of soldiers.

He said: "I saw a poster left by the 16th Battalion saying they don't want
to see the face of a Karen and all the Karen people should go.

"They hate us and they are ruled by dictators who want control."

Mark Farmaner from the Burma Campaign said: "The regime is deliberately
targeting civilians to drive them out of the country. This is ethnic
cleansing and the international community looks the other way."

The Burma Campaign's website says the Myanmese Army began the offensive in
the second week of last month. As a result, 60 families from Mone Township
in the northern Karen state, left their villages.

"The families have begun to run out of food and there is no chance of
getting more food supply," the website says.

"They have been running and hiding for a month now, so their supply is
running out. They cannot return home because of the landmines planted by
the army and its continuing patrols."

____________________________________

December 15, Independent Mon News Agency
Village leaders trained to rally people around military regime - Joi Htaw

People selected by the military regime to be the chairmen and secretary of
Village Peace and Development Council have been trained in methods on how
to organize the people and approach the State Peace and Development
Council in what will be a military controlled democracy, said a trainee.

The list of pro-military community leaders was brought out in the second
week of November. They were imparted training for a month in South-East
Command, Mon State . The training was held in every state simultaneously.

The community leaders, who have been selected by the military command, are
chairmen of Union Solidarity and Development Association and those
involved in the activities of the military government associations. It
does not seem to matter that these persons are not graduates even though
the junta had said village level leaders have to be educated.

Instead of leadership skills to manage the community, they have been
trained to persuade and organize the people to implement the 25 percent
seats for the military in the so called new democratic system, according
to a source involved in the training.

The military claims that they are going to approach a democratic system
during the three years from 2007 to 2009.

According to a community leader who is being started organizing in a
village in Mudon Township said, there are two pro-military leaders will be
selected for each township as candidates. However, there is no clue yet as
to who is going to be selected.

This is the strategy adopted by the SPDC to divert the attention of ethnic
nationalities in the country. They had said they would select candidates
from among local community leaders, said an official of the New Mon State
Party. Ordinary people and civilians won’t be able to follow the strategy
of the SPDC and it will not be an effective change for people in Burma
(Myanmar).

____________________________________

December 15, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar paid TV channel starts free-to-air telecast

YANGON: The MRTV-4, a paid channel jointly implemented by the Myanmar
Radio and Television Department (MRTV) and the private-run Forever Group,
started free-to-air telecast  Friday covering Yangon and its nearby areas.

"The public now receiving UHF channel 16 can watch MRTV-4 programs except
pay channels", a report of Friday's state-run newspaper New Light of
Myanmar said.

Similar services of MRTV-4 will be extended to other regions in the
country, the report added.

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

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 carrying out heavy functions and is
striving to air quality radio and TV programs 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 programs since
color 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 programs of the MRTV
and Myawaddy TV, statistics revealed.

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

Meanwhile, a German company, the Deutsche Welle (DW), has agreed with
Myanmar to air its satellite programs through MRTV for the country's
audiences. Foreign broadcasters that have deals with Myanmar also include
ARIRANG of South Korea and CFI of France.

____________________________________

December 15, Xinhua General News Service
Sri Lankan PM to visit Myanmar

Yangon: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka will pay a
working visit to Myanmar in the near future, an official announcement said
here Friday without giving  the date of the visit.

Wickramanayaka will be the second Sri Lankan prime minister to visit
Myanmar since Mahinda Rajapaksa came to the country last time in December
2004, before which there had been no high-level visits between the two
countries in nearly three decades since 1976.

During Rajapaksa's visit, Myanmar agreed to export 2,000 tons of rice to
Sri Lanka to help solve the latter's rice shortage.

Earlier in February 1996, the two countries established a Joint Commission
for Bilateral Cooperation, and Sri Lanka has so far  injected one million
U.S. dollars investment in Myanmar since 1988, official statistics show.

Meanwhile, indirect air link exists between the two countries via Bangkok
with Sri Lankan Airlines connecting the Bangkok flights of the Myanmar
Airways International (MAI) and the Thai Airways International (TG) and
transiting passengers from Yangon to Colombo.

Later in November this year, Myanmar agreed with Sri Lanka to establish
direct air and sea links to effectively boost bilateral trade ties as
proposed by Sri Lanka.

Currently, trade between Myanmar and Sri Lanka is transacted through
Singapore.

According to the Directorate of Trade under the Ministry of Commerce, Sri
Lanka mainly imports forestry products and beans and pulses from Myanmar
via brokers in Singapore and the country has expressed interest in also
importing Myanmar gems and selling its own products in the Myanmar
markets.

Myanmar and Sri Lanka are members of the sub-regional grouping  of
BIMST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand- Economic
Cooperation), which was originally formed with four members in June 1997
and later joined by Myanmar in August the  same year.

The grouping expanded its membership to include Nepal and Bhutan at the
first BIMST-EC summit in Bangkok in July 2004.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

December 15, Associated Press
120 Myanmar migrants workers found hidden inside trucks

Bangkok: A total of 120 migrant workers from Myanmar were found hidden
inside two trucks as they were being smuggled from the border to
Thailand's capital, police said Friday.

Both trucks were stopped Thursday in different districts in the border
province of Tak, about 370 kilometers (230 miles) northwest of Bangkok.

Police stopped an 18-wheel gasoline transport truck early Thursday and
found 41 workers inside its storage compartment, said police Maj.
Rangsiman Songkhotham.

They looked exhausted due to heat and lack of air, he said.

"Two or three of them fainted after they got out. I think there would have
been people dying if the truck had driven on," he said.

The driver planned to put about 40 more workers into the tank before he
was stopped by police, the officer said. He said each of the workers paid
about 4,000 baht (US$115; euro85) for the trip to Bangkok.

"Myanmar workers want to go to Bangkok because they return home with more
money," Rangsiman said.

On Thursday night, police stopped another truck and found 79 illegal
migrants standing crammed together in the back, said Lt. Col. Raphiphong
Sukphaiboon. They were headed to locations around Bangkok, he said. It was
not clear whether the two smuggling cases were connected.

The illegal migrants will be deported to their home country.

Police arrested three Thai drivers of the trucks, who face up to five
years in prison and fines of 50,000 baht (US$1,400; euro1,080) on charges
of transporting illegal immigrants into the country.

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled Myanmar's repressive military
regime in search of better economic opportunities in Thailand. Many of
them do not go through official channels and find themselves exploited by
unscrupulous employers.

The government started to register migrants from Myanmar, Cambodia and
Laos following an influx from the less-developed neighboring countries.

____________________________________

December 15, South China Morning Post
49 years of war for Asia's forgotten army – Nick Meo

Nick Meo travels to the Thai-Myanmese border to meet the ethnic Shan
soldiers fighting Yangon for independence

With a phalanx of orange-robed monks seated behind him and a battalion of
peasant soldiers in front, Colonel Yawd Serk rose to address his people in
their mountain-top fortress on Myanmar's side of the border with Thailand.

The man they call "the leader" congratulated his rebel warriors on
surviving their 49th year of war and pledged to fight on against the
brutal generals in Yangon until the Shan people taste victory and freedom.

Rows of well-drilled men in uniforms cast off by the Cambodian army
listened intently, the Shan State Army's snarling tiger symbol stitched on
to their jacket shoulders and an extraordinary range of weaponry in their
hands: M-16s and grenade launchers from the Vietnam war, AK-47s, Uzis and
ancient Bren guns made in Britain.


>From their primitive base of thatched huts at Doi Tailang, perched on a

ridge with spectacular views of mountains in Thailand in one direction and
jungles in Myanmar on the other, the colonel's army is one of the few
ethnic rebel forces opposed to the ruling junta to still put up much of a
fight.

For foreigners the base can be reached only from the Thai side by clinging
to the back of a motorcycle for four hours on a forest logging trail,
before dismounting to walk around Thai border posts.

Until a decade ago, the Shan were key players in the Golden Triangle and
controlled a huge swathe of territory under the leadership of Khun Sa,
once the world's most powerful opium warlord. But in 1996, the warlord
switched sides to join the junta in return for a cosy retirement, leaving
his mercenary army to surrender, die or fight on.

The soldiers of the Shan State Army are the ones who refused to surrender.

Now they control just a slither of land along the Thai border, are bereft
of income from the opium trade, which they have renounced, and lack
international support. But they remain determined to liberate their
homeland.

"Colonel" Yawd Serk, once a lieutenant of Khun Sa, claims to wage war on
the drugs trade, which he believes has brought nothing but misery for the
Shan. Their struggle has triggered a brutal mass relocation campaign of
more than 300,000 Shan civilians. Risking being shot on sight if they
return to their old villages, tens of thousands of displaced villagers
have escaped to Thailand. His soldiers love him. They are a mix of teenage
boys and gnarled old veterans, unpaid volunteers who cover their torsos
with mystical tattoos for protection against bullets and the evil spells
of their enemies. Many have had arms or legs blown off by mortars or
landmines.

The colonel joined them at celebrations for the Shan New Year last week,
dancing with his people and toasting freedom with rice wine as paper
balloons fuelled by candles were released into the night sky.

Sai Yon, a 19-year-old private with a toothy grin, said: "The colonel is a
good leader. He is trying to get our country back."

The clerics support him with equal enthusiasm. The Venerable U Thama, the
abbot of Doi Tailang's Buddhist temple, said: "If it wasn't for Yawd Serk
us monks couldn't be here."

The junta hates him. The Shan State Army claims to have killed 200
government soldiers in daily attacks inside the state in the last year.

A few kilometres from Doi Tailang is a first world war-style frontline
with barbed wire and machine gun emplacements overlooking positions at the
bottom of the mountain held by the Wa, former headhunters once known as
the Wild Wa and now allied to the regime.

They have been promised Shan territory if they can overrun Doi Tailang and
tried to earlier this year in a vicious battle in which 300 of their men
died in attacks launched after they consumed amphetamines for courage.

Yee Tip, a Shan politician, said: "The British taught the Burmese well
about divide and rule. Now they turn one people against another."

Three times, assassins sent by the junta have tried to kill the colonel on
his frequent trips to Thailand, where his family lives. He refused to
reveal what happened to his would-be killers but said darkly: "If someone
tries to kill you, you are justified in killing them first."

Everywhere he goes he is trailed by bodyguards with Kalashnikovs and his
assistant, a former monk with the nom de guerre of Philip, who swapped his
prayer beads and robes for a sidearm when he joined the Shan's armed
struggle.

Philip said: "We will take back Shan state one day. We just don't know
when that will be."

The regime they fight is an international outcast notorious for its
brutality. It attacks villages in Shan state where the Shan army and other
rebels are active, and it is accused by the Shan of killing relatives of
any Shan army members its military intelligence can track down.

Colonel Yawd Serk, who at 49 is as old as his people's war, said peace can
only come when the regime gives rights and self-government, or an
independent state, to the Shan people and withdraws from the drugs trade.

He claims to attack heroin factories run by the military and opium mule
trains, and insists he tries to stop villagers from growing the plant.

Foreign help is non-existent, he claims, although the US Drug Enforcement
Administration sends occasional observers to Doi Tailang on quiet
intelligence missions.

Colonel Yawd Serk said: "It leaves a bad feeling that the international
community won't help. Why can't they understand us? If we were making
money out of opium we would be much better armed than we are now and the
Thais wouldn't tolerate us on their border. These days all the Shan agree
that Khun Sa's way was wrong."

Soldiers caught smoking opium are jailed. Execution is the penalty for a
third offence, which the colonel says has never been carried out.

How the Shan State Army is financed is a mystery. "Taxes" is the official
answer.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

December 15, Associated Press
New UN Secretary-General takes oath of office - Edith M Lederer

South Korea's Ban Ki-moon took the oath of office as the next
secretary-general of the UN, promising to restore the world body's
tarnished reputation and push for peace in the Middle East and
conflict-wracked Darfur.

In his sharpest comments yet after his swearing in, Ban said Iran's call
for Israel's destruction and its dismissal of the Nazi Holocaust were
"unacceptable," and he expressed concern at the regional and global
implications of Tehran's nuclear program.

Calling himself "a harmonizer and bridge-builder," Ban said Thursday his
first priority when he takes the reins of the UN on January 1 will be "to
restore trust" in the UN, which has been criticized for corruption and
mismanagement as well as distrust among member states who have been deeply
divided over UN reforms.

At a ceremony in the General Assembly chamber, packed with diplomats from
the UN's 192 member nations, representatives of all regions first paid
tribute to Kofi Annan, who steps down as the UN chief on December 31 after
10 years of service.

The assembly approved a resolution by acclamation lauding Annan's "many
bold initiatives" to reduce poverty, promote peace and security, protect
the environment and launch the reform process, and then rose to give him a
standing ovation.

Ban was then escorted to the podium where General Assembly President
Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa administered the oath of office as he stood
with his right hand raised and his left hand on the UN Charter—a special
request he made.

Ban swore to conduct himself solely in the interests of the UN, and
refused to accept instructions from any government or other authority.
Afterwards, he said key words in the oath—loyalty, discretion and
conscience—"will be my watchwords as I carry out my duties as
secretary-general."

When the 62-year-old career diplomat becomes secretary-general, he will be
the first Asian to lead the organization in 35 years. It will also mark a
milestone for South Korea, which only joined the UN in 1991 and still has
UN troops on the tense border with North Korea.

Ban defeated six other candidates vying to be the UN chief and won final
approval from the General Assembly in October. Over the last month, he has
been meeting with a wide range of people inside and outside the UN to
prepare for the job.

He said Thursday he preferred a woman to be deputy secretary-general and
was looking at several names, which he did not disclose. He indicated that
other senior appointments would not take place until next year.

Ban will oversee an organization with some 92,000 peacekeepers around the
world and a US $5 billion (4 billion euro) annual budget whose reputation
has been battered by scandals in the oil-for-food program in Iraq and in
peacekeeping procurement, and whose outdated practices need reform to meet
the challenges of the 21st century.

In a brief address after being sworn in, Ban pledged "to set the highest
ethical standard" and "work to enhance morale, professionalism and
accountability among staff members, which in turn will help us serve
member states better, and restore trust in the organization."

"The good name of the United Nations is one of its most valuable assets
but also one of its most vulnerable," Ban said.

He promised to strengthen the three pillars of the UN—security,
development and human rights—in order to build "a more peaceful, more
prosperous and more just world for succeeding generations."

Speaking to reporters, Ban singled out Middle East peace as a priority and
said he will try "to energize" the roadmap to Israeli-Palestinian peace
drafted by the Quartet of Mideast peacemakers—the UN, the US, the EU and
Russia.

He also expressed concern at the "deteriorating situations" in Lebanon and
Iraq, as well as conflicts in Africa.

Ban said he plans to become "directly engaged" in efforts to bring peace
to Darfur and promised to discuss how the commitment of world leaders to
protect civilians from genocide and war crimes can be "operationalized."

"The suffering of the people of Darfur is simply unacceptable, and despite
intensive efforts, the security situation appears to be deteriorating over
recent days," Ban said.

He told reporters his first trip may be to an African Union summit in late
January.

As South Korea's foreign minister, Ban was deeply involved in the
six-party effort aimed at disarming North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
He said he will be watching the talks, which resume December 18 in
Beijing, and will "try to facilitate the six-party process" and think
about initiatives he can undertake as secretary-general.

Ban said Iran's nuclear program has much greater regional and
international implications, and therefore he urged the Iranians to
negotiate with the Europeans, the US, Russia and China to resolve all
issues peacefully through dialogue.

Ban distanced himself from Annan's farewell address on Monday, in which
the secretary-general criticized the leadership of US President George W
Bush's administration on the global stage. Annan called on America not to
sacrifice its democratic ideals while waging war and to work with other
countries.

"That, I think, was his own personal assessment and insight, which he
gained during his tenure," Ban said.

He stressed that the US is an important member of the UN, and the world
body needs its support. When US and UN goals and interests differ, Ban
said, "it is very important ... to resolve the differences of opinion, and
I, as secretary-general, will try to harmonize" to ensure constructive US
participation in all UN activities.

In his farewell speech to the General Assembly, Annan said that "despite
many difficulties and some setbacks" he was proud of many achievements and
convinced that "today's UN does more than ever before."

At a time of sweeping change, he said, the UN reoriented and remolded
itself, "became more transparent, accountable and responsive ... (and)
began to better address the needs of individuals worldwide."

He praised the General Assembly for choosing Ban. "Our organization will
be in safe hands," Annan said.

Looking at Ban, Annan said the new secretary-general already had a
distinguished career in international diplomacy.

"But I can safely tell you that your most rewarding years lie just ahead,"
he said. "I wish you both the strength and the courage to make the most of
them."

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

December 13, Inter Press Service
Argentina, Burma, and international solidarity - Kerry Kennedy

New York: The military junta that ran Argentina during the late 1970s and
early 1980s thought nothing of keeping its naval officers in close
proximity to the thousands of dissidents tortured and executed for
opposing the regime.

Just how close became shockingly clear to me last year during a visit to
the Navy Mechanics School in Buenos Aires. Hooded prisoners were
transferred from their holding cells in the attic to the torture chamber
in the basement on the same staircases used by the military to go to and
from their dorm rooms, the mess hall, their offices, the hospital, and the
church.

First Lady Cristina Kirchner related the particularly chilling account of
the evidently criminal general who brought a priest in to say Mass with
torture victims on Christmas Eve, days before the same general had them
drugged and thrown live from airplanes into ocean or a river. A doctor was
kept on hand to stop the torture sessions prior to death, and a priest to
say last rights in case the doctor made a mistake.

Upon returning to the United States, I tried to explain to my daughters
the horrors that had taken place there as a military junta exterminated
5,000 civilians. How do you explain to innocents cruelty on such a scale?

The lessons learned from President and First Lady Kirchner and the
survivors of the Mechanics School taught us how their capacity to survive
often depended on their faith that they were not alone, that people on the
outside cared. We heard the same from the endlessly brave Mothers of the
Disappeared.

Despite differences in culture, history, and circumstance, I have heard
similar stories from other dissidents around the world. From Chile to
South Africa to Indonesia, the bravest people on earth, human rights
defenders imprisoned, tortured, and threatened with death for their work,
say that during their dark moments of despair, news of effective
international support lifted their spirits and infused them with
determination.

Today, the people of the Southeast Asian country of Burma find themselves
in a similar struggle, risking their lives to call for peaceful change and
national reconciliation. Their leader is Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's
only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient. She leads a political party,
the National League for Democracy, which in 1990 won 82 percent of the
seats in parliament in Burma's last, ill-fated democratic election.
Burma's ruling military junta annulled the results and has ruled by
country by brutal force ever since.

Aung San Suu Kyi's imprisonment, however, is only the most visible aspect
of the human rights and humanitarian nightmare in Burma. The abuses of the
military junta go far beyond brutal torture, murder, and disappearances.

The regime burned down 3,000 villages in the eastern section of the
country in an attempt to ethnically cleanse minorities. It is also
destroying food supplies and pressing thousands of ethnic villagers into
modern-day slave labour, forcing over one million refugees to flee the
country. Worst yet, half a million people are barely surviving as internal
refugees, almost completely beyond the reach of international aid. Human
Rights Watch reports that the junta has recruited and conscripted more
child soldiers than any other country in the world.

Thankfully, there is hope. Last September, the UN Security Council voted
to place Burma on its permanent agenda -- for the first time in history.
South Africa's Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu and former Czech
president Vaclav Havel launched the idea for the Security Council to
address Burma. Risking their lives, the leaders of Aung San Suu Kyi's
political party, the National League for Democracy, have strongly endorsed
the effort.

This initiative comes after the United Nations has sadly failed Burma for
too long. Over the past 14 years, 29 resolutions from the UN General
Assembly and UN Commission on Human Rights have accomplished nothing. The
General Assembly authorised Kofi Annan to appoint two special envoys to
Burma over 10 years, while the Commission on Human Rights appointed four
special rapporteurs since the early 1990s.

With each diplomatic visit, the military junta promised that it was
prepared to make changes. And, after each envoy returned to New York, the
junta broke those promises. Now, the regime has made more promises.

Don't believe them. It is time for the generals to be held to account.

Thankfully, Argentina is a member of the Security Council and knows the
trauma created by a ruling military junta. As a member of the Security
Council, Argentina should support the proposal for an immediate, binding
UN Security Council resolution on Burma.

Security Council member countries and the rest of the international
community should require Burma's generals to cease all human rights
violations and hold free elections.

Kerry Kennedy is the author of "Speak Truth to Power" and the founder of
the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Centre for Human Rights.