BurmaNet News, March 6, 2007

[Editor]

March 6, 2007 Issue # 3155


INSIDE BURMA
Xinhua via People’s Daily: Myanmar introduces e-govt system in new capital
DVB: Magwe villages forced to move for Metta reservoir
DVB: Farmers complain of forestry department “bully”
IMNA: Pro-SPDC film Kyan Sit Min bags four awards
Deutsche Presse-Agentur: Myanmar government frets over "threat" of foreign
movies

ON THE BORDER
DVB: Burma, Thai authorities ban border poultry trade

HEALTH / AIDS
Xinhua: No human cases detected with H5N1 in Myanmar: LBVD
AP: UN: AIDS-related illness "devastatingly high" in fishing communities

BUSINESS / TRADE
Mizzima: Northeast trade bodies sign MoU with Burma
Bangkok Post: PTTEP announces new gas finds in Burma
The Business Times (Singapore): Yoma ventures into biodiesel, China real
estate market

REGIONAL
AFP: Malaysia nabs Myanmar illegals with no food, water

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Burma remains high on US agenda, says State Dept official

OPINION / OTHER
New Straits Times (Malaysia): Myanmar bleeding

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 6, Xinhua via People’s Daily Online
Myanmar introduces e-govt system in new capital

Myanmar has started to introduce a computer-based e(electronic)-government
system in the new administrative capital of Nay Pyi Taw to replace paper
filing government work system, local Voice journal reported in this week's
issue.

Quoting the Myanmar Info-Tech, a technical supplier of the system, the
report said the e-government system, which cost 12 million US dollars,
includes Electronic Document Management System and Government Personal
Management System, and is being implemented by the state-run Myanmar Posts
and Telecommunications.

The system not only inter-links government departments but also connects
the Data Center established at the end of last year, the report added.

So far, Myanmar has launched some e-government systems including e-visa,
e-passport, e-procurement and e-D (departure) form for effective
management of government bodies.

To help build the entire e-government system for the country over the next
few years, a South Korean consortium comprising two business companies
reached a contract with the Myanmar communications authorities in June
last year.

According to the contract, the consortium, made up of Daewoo International
Corporation and KCOMS, is to provide information and communication
technology infrastructure for the Myanmar government to link its 38
ministries to a high-speed internet network and computerize its personnel
management system.

Myanmar's e-government project is implemented under the e-ASEAN Framework
Agreement signed at a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) in Singapore in 2000 with the aim of narrowing the IT gap among
the 10 regional members.

Meanwhile, the authorities have projected to introduce 400 public internet
service centers in 324 townships in the country within three years to
facilitate communication links.

According to the authorities, the number of internet users in Myanmar has
reached nearly 300,000.

____________________________________

March 6, Democratic Voice of Burma
Magwe villages forced to move for Metta reservoir

Four villages near the developing Metta Reservoir in Gangaw township,
Magwe Division are being forced to move to Myuak district by the local
authorities.

U Aye Myint, a lawyer with the Guiding Star legal aid group, told DVB
yesterday the Thetnang, Yinma, Sabai and Sinmon villages were being forced
to move by the Burmese military’s Infantry Battalion 50 and the local
police.

“There are about 120 households . . . They are about 22 miles away from
Gangaw town. They are to be transferred to a place 70 miles away,” U Aye
Myint said.

But residents from the villages have said they do not want to move to the
area insisted on by local officials and have asked the authorities to find
a more appropriate site, according to a Buddhist monk who will also be
relocated.

“They don’t want to move to Myauk district. They want to move to the hills
near their villages where they can get water,” the monk said on condition
of anonymity.

He said the land designated by the military for the villages was
unfarmable and that water supplies in the area were scarce.

Construction work on the Metta Reservoir started in 2001 and is due for
completion in 2008.

____________________________________

March 6, Democratic Voice of Burma
Farmers complain of forestry department “bully”

A group of 16 farmers from Aunglan township, Magwe Division has sent a
letter to State Peace and Development Council leader senior general Than
Shwe, complaining that they have been bullied by forestry officials.

The group of farmers, led by U Pan The, sent a letter to the SPDC head on
February 20, saying local Forestry Department official U Tin Ohn had tried
to force them off their land and had attempted to destroy their crops.

The group claims that U Tin Ohn attempted to have their farms listed as
part of the Bwetgyiyebaw conservation area - a move that would have
prevented them from developing the land.

But the farmers filed a complaint against the action with Magwe Division’s
chairman major Phone Maw Shwe, who reportedly stepped in to stop the move.

U Min Naing, one member of the farmers group, told DVB U Tin Ohn held a
grudge against them and had repeatedly tried to interfere with their crops
since.

“The forestry official bore grudges against us and forcibly planted castor
oil plants in the sugarcane, cotton and bean crops of the farmers,” U Min
Naing said.

“He told them that he would sue them if they destroyed his plants or it
they were damaged . . . the farmers were then unable to plant early or
late monsoon crops. The Forestry Department has been harassing us for the
whole year.”

The group claims U Tin Ohn’s actions have cost them about 10 million
kyats. Forestry Department officials were repeatedly unavailable for
comment yesterday.

____________________________________

March 6, Independent Mon News Agency
Pro-SPDC film Kyan Sit Min bags four awards - Joi Htaw

Kyan Sit Min, a film which is a favourite of the State Peace and
Development Council about the life of not only Burmese king, Kyan Sit Min
but also the rule of King A-naw-ra-hta, bagged four awards in the 2005
Mayanmar Movie Academy Awards. It was broadcast live by state run Myanmar
Television (MR-TV).

One of Burma's famous actors, Lu Min was not only the lead actor in the
movie but also the director.

Khin Maung Gyi was honoured with an award for background tunes and music.
Richard Ye Win was awarded for clear audio of the movie.

Kyan Sit Min was recognized by the SPDC military government as the best
movie for 2005.

Ceremony announcer said Kyan Sit Min was given the award because it was
not only patriotic but encourages people to love their nation. It is also
a film which honours the state.

Kyan Sit Min with English subtitles was shown in foreign countries.

The Academy Award ceremony is usually held at the end of the year but this
year it was delayed till March 5, 2007 so that it could be celebrated in
the new capital Naypyitaw.

Director Kyi Soe Tun received the award for the best script (drama is
called Hexagon) this year. This is the fourth award he has got. "I thank
the film industry people who came (to Academy Award ceremony) happily
travelling over 200 miles," Kyi Soe Tun said during his speech at the
award ceremony.

In 2005, only 16 films were released because the cost of producing a film
is very high and it is not easy to make profits. More over, people prefer
to watch South Korean drama and Thai plays.

Htun Eindra Bo was honoured with the women's leading drama award and Myat
Kay Thi Aung was awarded for the actress supporting the play (Chit Chin
Phwe Myinyta).

Similarly, Hexagon movie Chan Tha Kyi Soe is organized for 2005 for the
actor who supports others to bring the plot into focus. He is new in the
Burmese film industry.

There were 11 awards this year and Kyan Sit Min got four of them.

____________________________________

March 6, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Myanmar government frets over "threat" of foreign movies

Myanmar government frets over "threat" of foreign movies

Foreign movies, VCDs and CDs are flooding Myanmar, posing a threat to the
local film industry as well as to national culture, the state-run media
reported on Tuesday.

"Only when that threat is removed would there be improvement in the
Myanmar film and video industries, and national culture, nationalistic
spirit, patriotic spirit and Union Spirit would flourish and could be
preserved," said Information Minister Brigadier General Gen Kyaw Hsan in a
speech at the Myanmar Academy Awards held Monday night.

The annual academy awards ceremony, which passed out 16 "Oscars" to
directors, film editors, actors and actresses who participated in 16
Myanmar movies that were released in 2005, was held for the first time in
Naypyitaw, Myanmar's new capital situated about 300 kilometres north of
Yangon.

Kyaw Hsan, who hosted the event, acknowledged that Myanmar's movie
industry would also need to make some minor self-improvements if it is to
competes with international films and pirated VCDs and CDs.

"The Myanmar movie industry still has its weaknesses in various sectors
such as plots, presentation, acting, costumes, production, studio covering
sound, pictures, colour and techniques, screening and cinema services,"
said Kyaw Hsan, as reported by the New Light of
Myanmar.

"Only when there are some remedial measures would the standard of the
Myanmar film world improve and it would be able to cope with media
challenges," he noted.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March 6, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burma, Thai authorities ban border poultry trade

Thai and Burmese officials have banned the import and export of chicken
and eggs across border trade points such as Tachileik and Myawaddy,
causing steep drops in the price of chicken.

The move comes just days after news broke of a fresh outbreak of the
deadly bird flu virus in Rangoon. Chicken prices in Tachileik have dropped
to between 700 and 800 kyat a viss (1.63kg), while prices in Myawaddy have
dropped to about 1800 kyat a viss.

“Thailand has stopped allowing the entry of Burmese chickens and Burma
isn’t allowing Thai chickens in either,” a Tachileik resident told DVB.

Dr Thiha Maung, an expert on bird flu with the Mae Taw clinic in Maesot,
said while the measures seemed strict, they were designed to stop the
spread of the disease.

“The outbreak is now in Rangoon and it is quite impossible for it to come
to the Thai-Burma border. But if chickens and birds are carried from one
place to another . . . there is a prospect for the spreading of the
disease,” Dr Thiha Maung said.

But the ban on the trade of chicken across the Thai-Burma border has not
stopped demand for the product in Myawaddy and Thachileik where
lower-income families are rushing to take advantage of the price drops.

One Tachileik resident said families who could not afford to buy chicken
before were now making large purchases.

“Compared to expensive food, if you can afford to buy chicken, your family
will feel better. Of course they are still afraid (of bird flu). But
chicken is so cheap. If they catch it they will die, but what can they
do,” the resident said.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

March 6, Xinhua General News Service
No human cases detected with H5N1 in Myanmar: LBVD

No human cases have so far been detected with bird flu virus H5N1 in
Myanmar despite close monitoring on 300 people who were in touch with
birds carrying H5N1, the local Newsweek Journal reported Tuesday.

"No sign of human infection with the avian influenza has so far been found
on them", said the Live-stock Breeding and Veterinary Department (LBVD),
adding however that a special hospital has been arranged for treatment of
those suspected of being with the virus.

According to a daily report of the LBVD carried on Tuesday's  official
newspaper the New Light of Myanmar, although there were  more deaths of
crows, pigeons and sparrows found in some 10 other  townships in Yangon on
Monday, no fowls and ducks died in those townships.

No new bird flu virus was reported to have been present for three days
since last Saturday on such dead crows, quails, pigeons and sparrows in
Yangon's townships amid the latest outbreak of bird flu in the former
capital city since early last week.

The authorities assumed the deaths of these crows, quails, pigeons and
sparrows might be due to the residue of disinfectant used in the poultry
farms among measures taken against the bird flu outbreak.

Meanwhile, movement of crows and sparrows are under strict control and
people are advised to avoid eating, selling and undisciplined dumping of
dead fowls and birds as well as to pay serious attention to bio-security
at poultry farms.

The LBVD has also urged pet keepers to keep their dogs and cats away from
eating dead crows, sparrows, pigeons and wild birds, and not to directly
use concentrate disinfectant on infected farms.

According to statistics, four townships in Yangon -- Mayangon,
Thingungyun, Insein and Hlaingtharya were detected with the bird flu virus
so far.

More preventive measures against the avian influenza are continuously
being taken in the aftermath of its outbreak in the city which include
poultry culling, pesticide spraying in the areas.

Suspicious avian influenza was first detected in a small private poultry
farm in northwestern Yangon's Mayangon suburban township after laboratory
test was done on some dead chickens on Tuesday.

The authorities have placed the areas in a radius of one km to the
affected farm as restriction zone and three townships of Mayangon, Yankin
and South Okkalapa in a radius of 10 km as bird movement control zone,
temporarily closing livestock trading markets within the control zone for
three weeks.

Deepened detection of the root cause of the disease has been underway
since then.

When the bird flu was first reported early last week, a total  of over
1,300 chickens suspected of carrying the deadly H5N1 virus were
slaughtered as an initial step by the authorities to deal  with the fresh
out-break of the disease.

The recurrence of the deadly influenza came nearly six months  after
Myanmar declared itself bird-flu-free in the country in  September last
year after making sure then that no virus had been present in the country
during a three-month program on detection  of avian influenza carried out
with the cooperation of foreign  experts.

Myanmar was first struck by an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in March 2006 in
two divisions of Mandalay and Sagaing and since then altogether 342,000
chickens, 320,000 quails and 180,000 eggs as well as 1.3 tons of feedstuff
were destroyed at 545 poultry farms.

_____________________________________

March 5, Associated Press
UN: AIDS-related illness "devastatingly high" in fishing communities -
Marta Falconi

Fishing communities in some poor countries have the highest HIV rates, a
U.N. agency warned Monday a little-known phenomenon caused mainly by
fishermen's travels and a custom of trading sex for fish.

AIDS-related illness and mortality are devastatingly high in some fishing
communities, making them a priority for prevention and treatment programs,
the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization said in a report on the
state of world fisheries.

"The rates of HIV are higher in fishing communities than any other
sector," said Serge Garcia, an expert at FAO's Fisheries Resources
Division. "The grandfathers and the babies are alive, but there's hardly
anybody in the middle."

Surveys done since 1992 show that HIV prevalence rates among people in
fishing communities in Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Honduras,
Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Uganda are between 4 and
14 times higher than the national average prevalence rate for adults aged
15 to 49.

The numbers are greater than those for other mobile populations such as
military and truck drivers, according to the available data.

"Our findings show that fishing communities are much more at risk than
agriculture communities," said Marcela Villarreal, FAO's focal point for
HIV and director of the Gender, Equity and Rural Employment Division. "Any
kind of profession involving migration and being away from home makes the
people more vulnerable to getting infected."

In some African communities, one of the reasons is transactional sex
between fishermen and female fish traders, which experts see as a
potential major route of transmission.

"There is almost an unwritten table of exchange of sex for fish,"
Villarreal said. "Women are forced into risky sexual behavior because of
lack of other means of livelihood."

The mobility, the time spent away from home, access to daily cash income
in an overall context of poverty and the availability of commercial sex in
many fishing ports are also among the causes, the report said. Exposure to
waterborne diseases and malaria, along with poor sanitation and limited
access to medical care, also increase the risk of infection.

The difference in HIV prevalence is likely to persist for several years,
the report warned, unless the community is identified as being at risk.

The report also said higher rates of HIV impact heavily on fisheries
management.

"It is not only a problem of health. These people depend on agriculture
and fishery for their survival," Villarreal said.

_____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

March 6, Mizzima News
Northeast trade bodies sign MoU with Burma - Mithu Choudhury

Two Northeast Indian and a Burmese trade body, part of a Burmese trade
delegation visiting India, signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding
(MoU) on late Sunday night to boost Indo-Burmese border trade.

The (MoU) was signed by the Industries &Trade Fair Association of Assam
(ITFAA), Indo-Myanmar Border Traders' Union of Manipur (IMBTU) and the
Union of Myanmar Border Trade Chamber of Commerce (UMBTCC), Burma.

The three trade bodies decided to work together in boosting bilateral
trade between North East India and Burma by involving more traders, the
Industries & Trade Fair Association of Assam Secretary, ITFAA Rupam
Mahanta said today.

The members of the three trade bodies also agreed to hold a meeting in
Moreh, Manipur in three months to exchange views about ongoing border
trade.

The trade bodies signed the MoU following a threadbare discussion.

The MoU was signed by President Jatin Hazarika, Secretary Rajeev Das on
behalf of ITFAA, President W Nabachandra Singh, Secretary General Ph.
Ibotombi Sharma on behalf of IMBTU and President U Hla Maung and Secretary
U Aye Ko on behalf of UMBTCC.

A 31-member business delegation from Burma arrived in Guwahati on March 2
on a three-day visit to the state. The delegation comprising senior
officials and heads of the companies visited tea gardens, textile units,
herbal medicinal plantations and fisheries.

The Indo-Burmese trade pact was signed in 1994 and it became operational
in 1995. Since then the volume of trade has not shown an encouraging
trend. The Burmese Government sent the delegation to Northeast India to
boost ongoing border trade.

____________________________________

March 6, Bangkok Post
PTTEP announces new gas finds in Burma

Thailand's national petroleum firm on Tuesday announced two successful
natural gas wells in its M9 concession in the Gulf of Martaban, Burma.

PTT Exploration and Production Co Ltd (PTTEP), in a report to the Stock
Exchange of Thailand, said two exploration wells drilled in the M9
concession, about 300 kilometres south of Rangoon, had discovered natural
gas flows of up to 15 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (MMSCFD)
and 30 MMSCFD, respectively.

PTTEP President Maroot Mrigadat said the company will make plans to
develop the natural gas in the area with the aim of starting production in
2011 or 2012 for export to Thailand.

Thailand currently imports at estimated 9 billion standard cubic feet of
gas per day from Burma, or about half of its natural gas supply which is
primarily used to generate electricity.

The natural gas is delivered from offshore reserves in the Gulf of
Martaban by a submarine and overland pipeline system.

____________________________________

March 6, The Business Times (Singapore)
Yoma ventures into biodiesel, China real estate market;
It plans one-for-one rights issue to raise up to $51.1m - Benuta Aw Yeong

Mainboard-listed Yoma Strategic Holdings, a property group in Myanmar, is
venturing into the bio-diesel business.

Late last month it entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement
to acquire a 53 per cent stake in Plantation Resources Pte Ltd (PRPL),
which has been appointed by Myanmar Agri-Tech Limited (MAGT) to manage,
operate and sell the produce from a 100,000-acre plantation.
The acquisition of PRPL, costing $5.87 million, is to be satisfied in full
by the allotment and issue of about 15.53 million new shares in the
company at 37.8 cents a share. Yoma will receive about 37 per cent of the
returns from MAGT, or 70 per cent of net profits after tax.

MAGT holds the planting rights to 100,000 acres of land in the Ayerwaddy
Division of Myanmar, or Maw Tin Estate.

PRPL is planning to develop a total of 42,622 acres of the Maw Tin estate
over the next four years for the cultivation of jatropha. The oil
extracted from its seed is an alternative feedstock for bio-diesel.

On average, each acre will be planted with 1,000 plants and each plant
produces about 0.6kg of seed in the first year, and two kilograms from the
third year onwards. PRPL plans to sell the seed through season-to-season
agreements to customers ranging from traders to bio-diesel refineries.
'In the whole bio-diesel value chain, the critical bottleneck is
feedstock, which is why we are focusing on cultivation of jatropha curcas.
We now have an immense opportunity to satisfy what will be a very huge
demand globally,' said Serge Pun, chairman and CEO of Yoma.

On its prospective clients, Mr Pun said that currently no contracts have
been secured because 'there are more buyers out there than products to
sell, and we are shopping for the best profit the market can offer'.

Mr Pun said that there is potential in jatropha because demand for
bio-diesel is set to soar once the Kyoto Protocol commences. He added that
the drought-resistant perennial plant has an edge over palm oil, also used
in bio-diesel production, as 30 to 35 per cent of the jatropha seed oil
extracted can be used as bio-diesel after refining, compared to palm oil's
22 per cent.

Mr Pun said the plantation will give the company a distinct competitive
advantage in the production of jatropha as it will have access to land for
cultivation and low-cost labour in Myanmar.

Mr Pun also added that Yoma has plans to go into carbon credit trading,
since jatropha has the ability to reduce greenhouse gases. Carbon credits
are certificates awarded to countries that are successful in reducing
emissions that cause global warming. Currently, Myanmar is a participant
of the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol, under which
developed countries can buy carbon credits to meet their emission
reduction targets while developing countries like Myanmar sell them the
credits at the prevailing market price.

Besides the acquisition marking the group's first foray into the
plantation and renewable energy business, Yoma yesterday announced it will
acquire up to a 100 per cent stake in Zhong Bei Building, a
partially-completed 22-storey twin-tower block in China in the Dalian
Economic and Technological Development Zone.

Yoma will do this by acquiring 75 per cent of Winner Sight Investment
Limited (WSI) and 100 per cent of Delight Result Limited. The latter owns
25 per cent of WSI, which owns the building.

The transaction is to be funded by internal resources, borrowings and a
proposed rights issue. The group is proposing a one-for-one rights issue
at 12 Singapore cents per rights share that is expected to raise gross
proceeds of up to S$51.1 million.

'The acquisition of the Zhong Bei Building marks our first foray into the
PRC market as a newly-listed en-tity and also the largest transaction for
the group to date. The real-estate sector in China continues to hold
attractive value for the group,' said Mr Pun.

'We believe that the acquisition is at an attractive price and it
represents an excellent opportunity for us to unlock value from an
uncompleted asset,' he added.

WSI intends to complete the remaining construction of Zhong Bei Building -
which will have a total gross floor area of 104,154 square metres, in
about 18 months' time.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

March 5, Agence France Presse
Malaysia nabs Myanmar illegals with no food, water

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian authorities detained 108 Myanmar nationals for
entering the country illegally after they were found on a fishing boat
with no food or water, officials and a news report said Monday.
"We were informed by fishermen who sighted the boat and we went out to
intercept them. They are now being held at the police station," officer
Fadziya Mat told AFP.
"We will turn them over to immigration officials as they don't have any
documents," Fadziya said. They were intercepted on Sunday.
The men were found crammed into a boat meant for 10 people, the New
Straits Times reported. It quoted police saying that the men had been
without food or water.
"We are very poor. That's why we decided to come here illegally to look
for jobs," Mohamed Alias, 37, a spokesman for the group, was quoted as
saying by the newspaper.
State Bernama news agency quoted officials saying that everyone on board
was male, aged between 12 and 52 years. They will be charged with entering
the country illegally.
Malaysia is one of Asia's largest importers of foreign labour.
Foreign workers, both legal and illegal, account for about 2.6 million of
its 10.5 million workforce, supplying much-needed labour especially in the
country's construction and plantation sectors.
But they are widely blamed for crime and other social ills, and the
government is mulling a controversial bill which proposes 24-hour
surveillance of foreign workers, including on their days off.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

March 6, Irrawaddy
Burma remains high on US agenda, says State Dept official - Lalit K Jha
The US will continue to raise the issue of human rights violations in
Burma and the lack of democracy there despite the failure of its Burma
resolution to win UN Security Council approval, according to a
high-ranking US State Department official.

A new initiative would not be attempted at Security Council level, said
Grover Joseph Rees, the State Department’s special representative for
social issues. Instead, the US would raise its concern about events in
Burma at every possible international forum—“This is our new strategy,” he
told The Irrawaddy.

Rees, appointed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last October to
promote human dignity internationally, recently returned from a tour of
Southeast Asia and Japan, during which he raised his country’s concern
about Burma. He said he was in constant touch with other members of Asean
and Japan

He said that while the US was disappointed with the failure of its Burma
resolution to win UN Security Council approval, there were still positive
results.

“I am happy that nine out of 15 nations voted in favor of the resolution,”
he said. “Even those who voted against did not do so because they
disagreed with us on violation of human rights in Burma. They voted
against the resolution because they believe that the UN Security Council
is not the appropriate forum for such a resolution.”

While permanent members Russia and China vetoed the resolution, sponsored
by the US and Britain, a negative vote was also cast by South Africa,
which argued that the measure was not within its jurisdiction and would
set a wrong precedent.

Rees, however, reiterated the US position that the resolution was within
the jurisdiction of the UN Security Council, as Washington believed
Burma’s continuous violation of human rights and reluctance to restore
democracy was a threat to regional peace and stability.

Nevertheless, he said, the US would not attempt to reintroduce a Burma
resolution within the UN Security Council. “We are not doing that.
Instead, we will be taking it up at various forums, be it the UN or
others.”

Bringing an end to human rights violations against the people of Burma,
especially ethnic minorities and women, and the restoration of democracy,
topped the UN agenda, Rees said.

Last week, Rees initiated a US-sponsored UN meeting on the rape of women
in Burma and Sudan. The meeting was opposed by the Burmese government.
Similar such meetings would be held in the coming months, Rees said. The
UN Human Rights Council would be one forum in which to raise the issue, he
added.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

March 6, New Straits Times (Malaysia)
Myanmar bleeding

It would be farcical if it were not tragic: A total of 30 illegal
immigrants from Myanmar spilling out of three small cars in separate
incidents over four days last week, followed this week by another 108
washing up on Penang crammed onto a fishing boat meant for 10. In a
chilling flashback to the Vietnamese boat people saga of 30 years ago,
these wretched souls attest to the continuing degradation of human
dignities in Myanmar. In just the past year since the ruling junta
redoubled its assault on militant minorities, nearly 30,000 civilians have
been displaced.

Thailand and Malaysia are having to mop up the human spillover of these
troubles, and with the 10th anniversary of Myanmar's membership of Asean
approaching, that nation's welcome among our federation of Southeast Asian
nations is wearing thin indeed. Asean - in particular Malaysia - took a
great risk in championing the inclusion of Myanmar on the principle that
exclusion would only worsen conditions there. The international fallout
from that decision has been severe, especially as the decade since has
seen nothing but the most token and cynical gestures from the Myanmar
regime with respect to opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi and her National
League for Democracy.

The release last week of a handful of pro-democracy protesters means
little in a country where the people's welfare seems of no concern
whatsoever to their rulers. Myanmar spends less than RM5 per person per
year on health care, the lowest such budget in the world. Conversely,
infant mortality, at 106 per 1,000 births, is among the highest in the
world. Malnutrition afflicts more than 30 per cent of the country's
children, and one in 12 mothers dies in pregnancy or childbirth. Most
damningly, the regime's shunning of its people extends to international
aid agencies as well. In the past year, the International Red Cross and
Medecins Sans Frontieres have been compelled to pull out of Myanmar, and
the World Food Programme restricted in its efforts to bring desperately
needed nutrition to conflicted areas.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar is right to note
that Myanmar's expulsion from Asean would have to be as much a consensus
decision as was its admission. At this rate of decline, however, that
consensus looks like being a no-brainer - especially among those of
Myanmar's neighbours that are bearing the brunt of the human tragedy
unfolding in that benighted country.