BurmaNet News, March 14, 2007

[Editor]

March 14, 2007 Issue # 3161


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Seven protesters released in Rangoon
Narinjara: Kawthaung Township NLD secretary dispatched to Rangoon for
interrogation
SHAN: Junta war chief for Shan State in Kengtung

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: A house divided
Mizzima: India proposes border fencing to Burma
Irrawaddy: Security tightened at smoke-polluted border with Burma

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: Myanmar set to cloud EU-ASEAN meeting
Irrawaddy: Watchdog calls for freedom of jailed Burmese journalist

OPINION / OTHER
Mizzima: Give China a chance - Christopher Smith

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 14, Irrawaddy
Seven protesters released in Rangoon - Khun Sam

Seven protestors who took part in last month’s anti-government
demonstration in Rangoon were released on Tuesday night after a week-long
detention and interrogation.

“We were released after signing an acknowledgement of police warning that
we should not hold such protest in the future,” Myint Shwe, one of the
detained protestors, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.

The seven were arrested on March 6 and questioned by police offers from
Burma’s Special Branch for their involvement in a protest in Rangoon on
February 22.

They were detained together at the Aung Thabye interrogation center in
Rangoon, according Myint Shwe. He added that authorities asked him and the
other arrested protesters about the purpose of their demonstration and
warned that their activities were illegal and could lead to further
punishment if they were charged.

A total of 16 participants in February’s protest have been detained. All
were subsequently released without charge. About 25 people took part in
the protest, during which they demanded lower commodity prices, better
health care and education, and 24-hour electricity.

On March 8, two activists—included Rangoon-based politician Amyotheryei
Win Naing, 70—were detained after holding a press conference in Rangoon to
urge the junta to improve the military-ruled country’s living conditions
and release the seven protestors. Amyotheryei Win Naing and a second man
were released the following day.

Meanwhile, a Rangoon court on Wednesday postponed the trial of a
65-year-old man, Thein Zan, who complained about high commodity prices by
writing and posting messages on his fence. Thein Zan was arrested on March
5 and charged with inciting public unrest. His case will be tried again on
March 26, according to his lawyer.

Another activist, Thwin Lin Aung, was arrested without explanation of the
charges on March 5 while waiting at the airport for a flight to the US,
where he had received a scholarship to study, sources close to him told
The Irrawaddy. He remains in police custody.

____________________________________

March 14, Narinjara News
Kawthaung Township NLD secretary dispatched to Rangoon for interrogation

The Kawthaung Township NLD general secretary was sent on 9 March from
Kawthaung, a southernmost town of Burma opposite Thailand's Ranaung, to
Rangoon to be interrogated by authorities about the recent seizure of
gunpowder in Kawthaung, said a report of the local NLD.

Kawthaung Township NLD general secretary U Maung San was arrested by a
joint force team led by army intelligence and police on 7 March on
suspicion of his involving in the gunpowder trafficking.

A local source said on 6 March the joint force authority seized a few
kilograms of gunpowder from inside two biscuit cans on a jetty at Strand
Road, which were sent to Kawthaung from the Thai town Ranaung on a ferry
boat.

One biscuit can had the name 'U Maung San', presumed to have been written
by the sender and stuck on the side. Because his name was found on the
can, the authorities arrested him.

An NLD source said there are many people in Kawthaung with Maung San's
name, but the authorities arrested him because he also happens to be
general secretary of NLD Kawthaung Township.

The authorities also arrested another seven people in connection with the
gunpowder, including the ferry man, a clerk from Township Municipal, and
four businessmen.

A source reported that all arrestees, including U Maung San, were
dispatched to Rangoon from Kawthaung on 6 and 7 March by plane for more
interrogation regarding the gunpowder seized in Kawthaung.

____________________________________

March 14, Shan Herald Agency for News
Junta war chief for Shan State in Kengtung

Lt-Gen Kyaw Win, who oversees military operations in Shan and Kayah
states, arrived in Kengtung, the Burma Army's Triangle Region Command
headquarters on March 12, reports Mawk Pao from the border.

He is reportedly on another inspection tour of eastern Shan State,
according to a reliable source in Kengtung.

His visit coincides with reports of an inspection tour by Brig-Gen Way
Lin, deputy to Maj-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, Commander of the Triangle Region,
between March 9 and 13 in Mongton Township, opposite Chiangmai province.
The anti-Rangoon Shan State Army (SSA)'s two main border bases, Loilam
(Doi Dam for Thai) and Sanzu, are in the township's jurisdiction.

A Thai analyst told S.H.A.N. that any military offensive launched by the
Burma Army this month will essentially be a limited action like the March
8 attack on a Karen base further south. "March 27 is the SPDC (State Peace
and Development Council)'s Armed Forces Day," he said. "It's the time of
the year when each regional command gives a good account of itself."

The analyst, who requested anonymity, does not think a major operation
against the SSA is in the offing. "Too many crises face the junta," he
said, "like spiraling food and essential commodity prices, all-time high
military expenditure, sweeping reshuffle in the army and the resultant
widespread low morale. They can only afford small scale surprise attacks
at present."

The Thai Army nevertheless has deployed its units along the northern
border both to help fight against the spread of forest fires coming from
the Burmese side of the border and to head off any surprise attack by the
Burma Army that may spill over into Thailand, reported Bangkok Post today.

SSA commanders, on the other hand, promise they will never be caught off
guard by "the Burmese Army".

Kantarawaddy Times, quoting deserters from the Burma Army, meanwhile
reported that a major offensive against the SSA and its neighbouring ally,
Karenni Army (KA), is due in April.


____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March Issue, Irrawaddy
A house divided - Shah Paung

Infighting and unsanctioned peace overtures with Burma’s ruling regime
have left many wondering about the fate of the KNU, Burma’s oldest ethnic
opposition group

As its 60th year of armed insurrection approaches, the Karen National
Union is spending more of its time on internal skirmishes than in armed
rebellion against its historic foe, Burma’s ruling military government.

The latest conflict began in late January, when the Karen National
Liberation Army’s 7th Brigade commander, Maj-Gen Htain Maung, was
dismissed from duty for attempting, over several previous months, to
broker a ceasefire agreement without permission from the KNU’s Central
Committee.

A day after his dismissal, the 77-year-old Htain Maung and a group of
supporters from 7th Brigade formed the KNU/KNLA Peace Council, which is
currently establishing its headquarters in Toh Kaw Koe village, in a
junta-controlled region of Karen State.

There, on February 11, Htain Maung’s Peace Council held a welcoming
ceremony and officially “joined hands” with Burma’s military junta.

Htain Maung had previously led an unauthorized delegation to Rangoon in
early January and met Lt-Gen Thein Sein, the secretary-1 of the State
Peace and Development Council, and Maj-Gen Ye Myint, of the Military
Affairs Security.

Upon its return, the delegation claimed to have reached an agreement
whereby the SPDC would pull back some of its forces in Karen State,
including the area around Toh Kaw Koe village.

Htain Maung joined the Karen insurgency at its beginning in 1949 and
served as a Central Committee member and commander of 7th Brigade since
1970. While acclaimed as a professional soldier, critics say he is an
inexperienced political leader.

The death of renowned KNU leader Gen Bo Mya on December 24, 2006, led many
to fear the advent of a leadership vacuum. The celebrated leader had
suffered poor health for several years, and speculation about divisions
after his death was common.

Htain Maung’s splinter group, which numbered 320 people in mid-February,
including soldiers and their family members, is the most substantial troop
defection in the last 10 years.

“The breakaway [group] doesn’t harm the Karen revolution,” KNU General
Secretary Mahn Sha told The Irrawaddy. “They are just fake, soft, wrong
and gone [from the revolution]. We still have the right, strength, essence
and reality.”

In 1997, more than 200 KNLA soldiers from 6th Brigade surrendered to junta
forces. However, the KNU has downplayed its significance.

If history is any indication, the current split may be more problematic
than it appears. In 1995, a KNU faction comprising more than 1,000 Karen
soldiers, and led by Buddhist monk U Thuzana and Tha Htoo Kyaw, formed the
breakaway group Democratic Karen Buddhist Army amid conflicts between
Christian and Buddhist members of the KNU.

The new Buddhist army, bringing with it numerous weapons and equipment,
signed a ceasefire agreement with the junta. That same year, the KNU
headquarters at Manerplaw fell to the Burmese military.

Some Karen sources say that Htain Maung may not be the principle leader of
the KNU/KNLA Peace Council, but that he is following the lead of Pastor
Timothy, a former member of the KNU Foreign Affairs Committee, and Col Ner
Dah Mya, son of the late Bo Mya.

Ner Dah Mya has been listed among the members of the new Peace Council,
and Mahn Sha has said that he is currently being watched. He has not,
however, been dismissed from the Central Committee because of the
lingering influence of his father.

Pastor Timothy gained some influence within the KNU in 2002, when Bo Mya
proposed his election to the Central Committee as someone who could help
the organization. In 2004, however, Pastor Timothy lost in an election to
become a Central Committee member at the 13th KNU Congress.

KNU leaders have said that Pastor Timothy was angered by the election
result—in which he received no votes—and his later dismissal from the KNU
in June 2005 following his publication of a letter critical of the ethnic
organization titled “Leader without Mirror.”

“The first person he [Pastor Timothy] tried to manipulate was Gen Bo Mya,”
Mahn Sha said. “When he failed, he turned to Htain Maung.”

In a 2006 interview with The Irrawaddy, Pastor Timothy claimed that the
KNU had dismissed him without cause and with no warning or explanation.

After his dismissal, Pastor Timothy and other KNU members—including Ner
Dah Mya, Maj Yin Nu, Mort Tho and Ler Moo, the son-in-law of Htain
Maung—organized several meetings, starting in December 2005, with several
representatives of Burma’s military government.

Despite its difficulties with Pastor Timothy and Htain Maung, the KNU
continues to pursue a ceasefire agreement with the junta, according to
Mahn Sha, who says that members of the splinter group are not real Karen
revolutionaries and do not have the strength to stand up against Burma’s
military rulers.

For other armed ethnic groups, the present conflicts bring back memories
of the late Bo Mya.

“If Bo Mya were still alive and healthy, this kind of conflict would not
have happened,” said Hkun Okker, the general secretary of the National
Democratic Front. The NDF was founded in 1976 and comprises 11 armed
Burmese ethnic groups, including the KNU.

“The enemy [Burmese junta] has tried to profit from his death,” Hkun Okker
added.

Many in the KNU feel the organization’s future depends on new leadership.
“We need another leader like Pu (Burmese for “grandfather” and a title of
respect for Bo Mya), because he was brave and decisive,” one senior KNU
officer said.

Mahn Sha agrees. “He kept the issue of military rule in front of him and
spoke out decisively against it.”

It is Burma’s military rulers, when all is said and done, that Mahn Sha
and the KNU see as the real culprits behind current divisions by
exploiting internal differences of opinion.

Nevertheless, without a strong and uncompromising leader like Bo Mya, and
with growing mistrust between its members, the KNU seems to be doing a lot
of the junta’s work for them.

____________________________________

March 14, Mizzima News
India proposes border fencing to Burma - Mungpi

India proposes to fence the Indo-Burma border and has asked the Burmese
military junta to cooperate. The fencing is deemed necessary to check
rampant cross border crime, smuggling, insurgency and other illegal
activities.

Mr S. Regupathy, the Indian Minister of State for Home said in a written
reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament, today
that India has proposed to the Burmese government to cooperate on fencing
approximately 10 kilometres of the Indo-Burma border.

"Discussions have been held at various levels with the Government of
Myanmar [Burma ] to seek their cooperation to start Reconnaissance Survey
& Trace Cut for border fencing," the minister said.

However, he said there has been no positive response yet from the Burmese
government.

The 1,643 km border, which is used as a safe haven both by insurgents and
smugglers, has been is a bone of contention and concern with India. And
effective border management has been a major clause of discussion at the
annual home secretary level meetings of the two countries.

Since 1994, India and Burma agreed to have Home Secretary level meetings
annually to discuss and maintain bilateral relations and peace on the
border.

Meanwhile, India, as part of the Kaladan multipurpose project, has agreed
to invest US $103 million to develop Sittwe port on Burma's northern
coast, which will allow India to conduct trade directly with Southeast
Asia.

And as a step towards strengthening bilateral trade, India and Burma have
set a US $1 billion bilateral trade target for the 2006-07 fiscal.

____________________________________

March 14, Irrawaddy
Security tightened at smoke-polluted border with Burma - Khun Sam

Thailand has beefed up security along the Burmese border to better monitor
movements of Burmese troops, drug smuggling gangs and ethnic rebels under
cover of a blanket of thick smoke which has polluted the sky for weeks.

Thai army and immigration officials said more troops and security
officials have been deployed at official checkpoints and along border
areas because the pollution has severely restricted vision.

Third Army commander Maj-Gen Jiradet Khotcharat said troops have been
instructed to guard border areas around the clock, according to the
Bangkok Post, an English-language newspaper. Troops have also been asked
to help fight wildfires along the border.

Military officials are worried that Burmese troops could take advantage of
the situation to attack the Shan State Army-South, causing refugees to
flee to Thailand.

A rebels’ spokesperson, however, said there has been no significant
movement of Burmese troops. He said drug smugglers could also take the
advantage of the lack of visibility to move illicit drugs into Thailand.

The official from the SSA-S told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that Burmese
farmers have used controlled fires for agricultural purposes over the past
few weeks. In addition, he said military units have also set fires to
clear brush from areas surrounding military bases for security purposes.

Pol Lt-Col Jetsada Yaisun, chief of the Mae Sai Immigration Office in
northern Thailand, speaking to The Irrawaddy by phone, said Burmese
migrants have been prohibited from taking charcoal and firewood to sell in
Thailand.

The air pollution situation in Mae Sai district is getting better,
according to the Mae Sai chief of police.

The NASA MODIS Image shows a large area of smoke from agricultural fires
in Burma and neighboring Thailand and Laos, cutting visibility in almost
all of the towns and villages in the Thai northern provinces of Chiang
Mai, Lampang, Mae Hong Son and Chiang Rai. The Burmese town of Tachilek
opposite Mae Sai District of Chiang Rai Province has also been under heavy
haze.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

March 14, Agence France Presse
Myanmar set to cloud EU-ASEAN meeting - Guy Jackson

Nuremberg, Germany: Foreign ministers from the European Union and the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet here Wednesday hoping
to move towards a free trade deal between the regions.

The EU is also set to indicate its willingness to provide humanitarian aid
to Myanmar, without altering its strong opposition to the country's
military junta.

The two-day meeting will also include discussions on moves to sign a
non-aggression and cooperation pact between the 27-nation European bloc
and the 10-country Asian body, whose membership ranges from wealthy
Singapore to impoverished Laos and Cambodia.

The gathering in the southern German city marks a milestone as the
partners are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of
their relations.

Behind the official EU line that the Nuremberg meeting is aimed at both
sides "working together for security and stability in Asia," there is
great concern from the Europeans at events in Myanmar.

The EU and the United States accuse Myanmar of massive human rights abuses
and suppression of political dissent, including the continued detention of
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is chairing the
meeting because his country currently holds the EU presidency, will
personally express the European concerns to Myanmar's foreign minister U
Nyan Win, diplomats said.

His message is likely to fall on deaf ears as Myanmar has repeatedly
refused to implement reforms demanded by its bigger ASEAN neighbours.

However, the EU is prepared to commit up to 10 million euros to a
humanitarian package for Myanmar, to treat conditions such as tuberculosis
and malaria.

In the absence of a trade deal with ASEAN as a whole, the EU is already
well on the way to establishing an individual partnership agreement with
Indonesia, the most populous ASEAN member with 225 million inhabitants.

Steinmeier said after meeting Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda
in Berlin on Tuesday that Germany would "do its best to achieve the
conclusion of the partnership talks," but warned that the Europeans
expected more progress from the Indonesian authorities on fighting
corruption.

Another issue likely to de discussed at the meeting are accusations from
the EU mission monitoring elections in Aceh province that the Indonesian
military has interfered in polling in some areas this month.

Indonesia played down the criticism, with Wirajuda saying "one or two
incidents" should not detract from what he said were "peaceful, fair and
democratic elections."

The Philippines, the current ASEAN chair, said it would use the meeting to
brief its EU counterparts on the "solid achievements" from the ASEAN
summit held in the country in January when leaders agreed to push for
freer trade and more secure energy supplies.

Foreign Secretary (minister) Alberto Romulo said he would also be
reviewing European efforts to help bring peace to the troubled southern
Philippine island of Mindanao.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

_____________________________________

March 14, Irrawaddy
Watchdog calls for freedom of jailed Burmese journalist

A New York-based press freedom group, The Committee to Protect
Journalists, has called for the immediate release of veteran Burmese
journalist Win Tin, who has spent 18 years of a 20-year sentence in
Rangoon’s Insein Prison.

“It is an outrage that an ailing, 77-year-old man be kept behind bars and
denied early release because he cannot perform hard labor,” CPJ Executive
Director Joel Simon said in a statement on Tuesday. “We demand the
immediate and unconditional release of our colleague U Win Tin.” On
Monday, Burmese activists and supporters in several countries marked 77th
birthday of Win Tin and the 80th birthday of Tin Oo, a deputy of the main
opposition party, the National League for Democracy, who has been under
house arrest since 2003.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

March 14, Mizzima News
Give China a chance - Christopher Smith

In many circles it is the norm to criticize Chinese policies regarding
Burma. And by most accounts the Chinese are attempting to exploit Burma
for all it's worth. This insistence on condemnation was only strengthened
by China's recent refusal to back the United States and British sponsored
Security Council resolution against Burma.

However the situation in Burma might just be aided if the international
community and opposition groups were willing to reach out and work with
China. In addition to future conjecture, there is a historical argument to
be made as well.

Chinese policy drastically differed from that of both the United States
and Britain following the 1962 assumption of complete power by the
military under the command of Ne Win.

During this period the Chinese government actively supported, monetarily
and otherwise, opposition and rebel groups to the military dictatorship,
most notably in the form of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB). Chinese
support for the insurgents enabled the CPB to become a major force inside
Burma and threaten the very existence of the regime in Rangoon.

And where were America and Britain at this time? Or, maybe better put,
where was Ne Win at this time? He was enjoying the hospitality of the
Americans and British and taking in the horse races.

A joint statement from the White House on September 9th, 1966, following
meetings between Ne Win and President Lyndon Johnson, stated that "During
the visit the President and the Chairman discussed the further development
of the friendly relations existing between the United States and the Union
of Burma and exchanged views on international questions of common
interest. These discussions were held in an atmosphere of cordiality and
mutual understanding."

Meanwhile, commencing in the mid-1970s, military assistance from the
United States was forthcoming in the form of guns, rocket launchers and
helicopters. This support went uninterrupted during the presidency of
Jimmy Carter, a presidency that was said to be beholden to the pursuit of
human rights.

In 1977 the Office of Drug Abuse Policy in the United States issued the
following statement: "It is unthinkable that any representative of this
administration would negotiate with representatives of insurgent groups
opposed to the legitimate government of Burma."

Chinese policy only began to flux following the deaths of both Mao and
Zhou Enlai in 1976 and the subsequent change in tack as Deng Xiaoping
cemented his position as leader of China in the 1980s.

United States and British policy only drastically altered following the
fateful events of 1988.

A more recent instance of Chinese policy toward Burma that in hindsight
looks a better alternative is the support and preference China
demonstrated for the leadership of Khin Nyunt as opposed to the current
senior generals.

"There is no doubt that China lost one of its main allies in Burma when
Gen Khin Nyunt and his supporters were arrested and purged at the end of
2004. At the time China had dubbed him Burma's Deng Xiaoping", wrote
columnist Larry Jagan.

This is not to say that Burma under Khin Nyunt would be a workers paradise
or that he has no blood on his hands. However, policies enacted and steps
taken by Khin Nyunt appear now to be more favorable than what the
alternative has provided.

Khin Nyunt is considered by many a pragmatist who sought to bring both
political and economic reform to Burma. It was Khin Nyunt who initiated
many of the ceasefire pacts with rebel groups and he is also believed to
have been behind the idea of seeking negotiations with Aung San Suu Kyi.
Additionally, on becoming Prime Minister in 2003, Khin Nyunt brought to
the table a seven step road map to democracy.

So while China was interested in securing the position of Khin Nyunt and
engaging with the country, actions such as economic sanctions leveled
against the Burmese state were pulling in the exact opposite direction,
making any attempts at reform extremely difficult and, by default,
strengthening the position of hardliners within the military. As a result
of this struggle both the United States and China lost. However the
biggest losers, by far, continue to be the Burmese people.

True, China's policies vis-à-vis Burma have always been directed by
realpolitik and economic analysis and interests. But hindsight tells us
that if past Chinese positions had been afforded more strength and
support, the Burma of today may be vastly different.

Would it be a burgeoning democracy? In all likelihood no. Would there
still be human rights violations? In all likelihood yes. Yet only the
staunchest of idealists would fail to admit that a Burma in some ways in
the image of China as opposed to the Burma of today would not be an
improvement and provide more hope for the future.

While certainly not directly responsible for the current state of Burma,
Western policies contributed to the ability of the Ne Win regime to
maintain control and helped foster an environment conducive to the ousting
of Khin Nyunt in favor of Than Shwe and company. Concurrently, Chinese
policy was directed against Ne Win and in favor of Khin Nyunt.

Idealism has its time and place. But for now, ask what can actually be
done to improve the lot of the 50 million plus Burmese citizens. The
answer to this question may very well lay not in seeking Security Council
resolutions, but rather in an understanding and working relationship with
China. And the force brought to bear on the Burmese government by such a
consortium just might lead to an altering of the social, economic and even
political landscape inside Burma.

Far from perfect, but far better than the present.