BurmaNet News, April 24, 2007

[Editor]

April 24, 2007 Issue # 3190


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: New report condemns junta development aims as abusive
DVB: Rangoon protestors bashed, detained by police
AFP: Food prices in military-run Myanmar soar: report
Xinhua: Myanmar leader meets Cambodian Deputy PM

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Rebels clash along Thai-Burmese border
Deutsche Presse-Agentur: Salween dams to disrupt Karen supply line, rights
group says
Irrawaddy: Burmese migrant worker registration hits snags

DRUGS
Mizzima: Police seize over 60 kilograms of opium from junta alliance group

GUNS
Irrawaddy: Burma to buy more Indian weapons

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Victims of regime’s brutality deserve greater world attention

ANNOUNCEMENT
Announcement of coordinator (part-time)

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

April 24, Irrawaddy
New report condemns junta development aims as abusive - Ron Corben

Burma’s military government has been “manipulating development programs”
in the country as part of a strategy to expand its military control and to
further abuse villagers in Karen State, a report released Tuesday said.

The report, titled Development by Decree: The Politics of Poverty and
Control in Karen State, investigates claims of widespread and systematic
abuse throughout Karen State by the State Peace and Development Council.

Kevin Heppner, the founder of the Karen organization, said the evidence
pointed to an increasing level of abuse among village communities both
within the control of the SPDC and those outside.

“We’ve seen a general increase in human rights abuses of many kinds. A lot
of these are related to the [development] projects—not all tied to foreign
aid , a lot of this is tied to SPDC controls—so its forced relocations,
garrison villages, road building projects,” Heppner told The Irrawaddy.

The report describes how the much-celebrated Asian Highway supported by
the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific has
involved widespread land confiscation and forced labor in its
construction.

It also warns that dams to be built by the Electricity Generating
Authority of Thailand and China’s Sinohydro Corp in partnership with the
Burmese regime will also involve massive human rights abuses.

The report said local people consistently told them the military regime
was currently enforcing development projects involving widespread,
frequently violent, human rights abuses in their implementation, as well
as to undermine villagers’ own efforts to improve their situation, and the
strategies they employ to resist abuse and claim their rights.”

“What they’re starting to find, especially as militarization increases and
the army
takes stronger control over every area, is that the abuses are
coming from more directions,” Heppner said.

The report said development implemented under the SPDC was “synonymous
with control.” But the group said it was not making a blanket statement
against all aid, but that aid needed to be implemented in a way that
“minimizes its harm and maximizes its benefit”.

The group singled out the UN Food and Agriculture Organization for its
support of agricultural development in Burma despite reports of forced
labor, forced planting of crops and forced relocation.

The UN agency has given some US $14 million to finance oil crop
cultivation, but “there is a risk that this program will involve similar
abuses,” the report said.

“There needs to be more honesty on the international level about what’s
really going on in Burma—more accountability, more transparency and less
willingness just to appease the regime in order to get aid in there,” said
Heppner.

Criticising the Burmese regime’s efforts to forcibly relocate villagers
into “model villages,” the report said “the SPDC claims that model
villages are places where the regime supports development.” But in Karen
State, model villages are more like concentration camps. They lack clean
water, sanitation facilities, schools and clinics, and enough farmland.”

The report concludes: “You cannot achieve sustainable development through
forced labor, forced cropping program, coercive forced membership
organizations and militarization. You can only achieve sustainable
‘development’ or poverty reduction by letting villagers control and decide
on the process.”

The KHRG called on organizations providing aid to Burma to ensure they
meet three fundamental principles: accountability to local people,
transparency, and the preservation of local people’s rights by conducting
human rights impact assessments.

____________________________________

April 23, Democratic Voice of Burma
Rangoon protestors bashed, detained by police

The Burmese special police launched a violent crackdown on a group of nine
protestors in Rangoon yesterday, bashing and arresting several people,
according to eyewitnesses.

The group, including high-profile activist Htin Kyaw, arrived at the
Thingangyun Sanpyat market at about 9am yesterday and started waving
placards and shouting demands for lower inflation and higher living
standards.

Two men held pictures of junta leader senior general Than Shwe. They were
immediately intercepted by police and removed from the area.

“The situation became rather tense. There were quite a lot of people,” one
onlooker told DVB.

After the two men were arrested, the remaining protestors reportedly tried
to continue their demonstration before also being stopped by police.

“The SB arrested the seven . . . They were still shouting when they were
arrested and the situation became out of hand. There were about 40 people
there and there were 200 special police and six police cars,” the
eyewitness said.

Onlookers said most of the protestors were beaten by the police as they
were taken into custody. While the identities of all the detained
protestors are not yet known, they are believed to have also been involved
in the February 22 protest near Rangoon’s Sule Pagoda.

____________________________________

April 24, Agence France Presse
Food prices in military-run Myanmar soar: report

Food prices in military-run Myanmar have soared over the past year, a
report said Tuesday, putting economic strain on residents already
struggling with continuing inflation.

Prices of chicken, cooking oil, onions and rice in April all shot up more
than 60 percent year-on-year, the Weekly Eleven news journal said, citing
a household survey conducted by the publication.

The finding came as Myanmar arrested seven people Sunday during a rare
protest against economic hardships here, which followed a similar economic
rally against the ruling junta in February.

The steepest increases were for chicken, which jumped more than 80 percent
to 4.40 dollars per 1.6 kilograms (3.5 pounds) in April, and cooking oil,
which rose 76 percent to 1.76 dollars per 1.6 kilograms.

"I can hardly manage on my income due to the soaring prices even though my
salary increased" in last April, a schoolteacher was quoted by the journal
as saying. The journal did not give details on how the survey was
conducted.

Despite its rich natural resources, Myanmar is one of the world's poorest
nations and is subject to US and European economic sanctions due to its
human rights abuses, including house arrest of pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi.

Decades of economic mismanagement have also worsened living conditions
here as residents in Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city, are left without
electricity for most of the day.

Myanmar's inflation rate in 2006 was estimated at 21.4 percent, according
to a US government report.

____________________________________


April 24, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar leader meets Cambodian Deputy PM

First Secretary of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)
Lieutenant-General Thein Sein met with visiting Cambodian Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hor
Namhong in the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw Tuesday, a state radio and
television reported.

No details about their meeting was disclosed by the Myanmar Radio and
Television in its night broadcast from Yangon.

Hor arrived in Nay Pyi Taw via Yangon on Monday and had discussions with
his Myanmar counterpart U Nyan Win on matters related to bilateral
cooperation.

In April 2005, Myanmar Prime Minister General Soe Win visited Phnom Penh
to boost ties between the two countries.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

April 24, Irrawaddy
Rebels clash along Thai-Burmese border - Shah Paung

At least four skirmish broke out on Tuesday morning between the Karen
National Liberation Army, the military wing of the Karen National Union,
and Karen splinter groups aligned with Burma’s ruling junta, according to
KNLA sources.

“Until this afternoon, there have been four clashes near the Thai-Burma
border village of Thay Baw Bo,” an official from the KNLA headquarter told
The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. “The enemies have reinforced the area with about
one hundred soldiers and more battles are expected later today," he added.

No causalities have yet been reported from today’s fighting.

The skirmishes occurred in KNU-controlled areas of 6th Brigade opposite
Thailand’s Phop Phra district of Tak Province, where one of the
junta-backed splinter groups, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, began
operations against the KNU in early March with support from the Burmese
army.

The DKBA left the KNU and negotiated peace with Burma’s military
government in 1995.

Residents in Phop Phra district said that about 200 villagers have fled
the area since last month in anticipation of the fighting.

A medic from the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot, Thailand, told The Irrawaddy
that four DKBA soldiers from Shwe Kokko village near Myawaddy, three KNLA
soldiers from 6th Brigade, two villagers and one porter have been admitted
to a hospital in Mae Sot after sustaining injuries from land mines.

Refugees in Noh Poe camp, opposite 6th Brigade on the Thai side of the
border, remain watchful after reports that the DKBA may target the camp.

“We have to be careful since we heard that they [DKBA and Burma Army] will
come and attack the camp,” one resident of Noh Poe said. “But so far, we
have seen no sign of it.

Meanwhile, refugees in two other camps—Mae La, about 30 km outside Mae
Sot, and Mae La Oon, opposite 7th Brigade in Thailand’s Mae Hong Son
Province—have feared for several days that DKBA troops would attack the
camps.

Camp authorities have warned residents to keep their lights out after dark
under penalty of punishment. According to one camp resident in Mae La,
refugees could lose their ID card, their refugee status and even their
place in the camp if they do not follow the camp leaders’ warnings.

“If the DKBA came and burned the camp, we do not know where to escape
because there are only mountains near Mae La camp,” said Mi Sha, a
resident of Mae La.

Since last week, at least one NGO in the area canceled its visits to Mae
La Oon near the conflict area, according to a staffer with a local aid
group.

____________________________________

April 24, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Salween dams to disrupt Karen supply line, rights group says

Three dams slated to be constructed on the Salween River on the
Thai-Myanmar border would create an "inland sea" that would cut off the
Karen insurgency's supply route and block refugees from escaping into
Thailand, the Karen Human Rights Group said Tuesday.

"If constructed, the reservoirs of these three dams will combine to turn
most of the territory along a 200-kilometre stretch of the Salween River,
including approximately 150 kilometres along which it forms the Burma-Thai
border, into an inland sea," said the group, one of several
non-governmental organizations dedicated to highlighting the plight of the
Karen.

The Karen are one of Myanmar's largest ethnic minority groups whose
traditional territory is the Karen State bordering Thailand.

The Karen National Union and its armed force, the Karen National
Liberation Army (KNLA), have been waging an insurgency against the Myanmar
government since 1949 and remain one of the last guerrilla groups that
have refused to sign a ceasefire with the Myanmar army.

Years of Myanmar military offensives in the Karen State, accompanied by
atrocities committed against civilians and forced labour, have driven more
than 100,000 Karen refugees into Thailand.

The Salween hydroelectric projects, which have the financial backing of
Thailand, would effectively cut international aid from Thailand from
reaching displaced villagers and the KNLA in Karen State, the rights group
said.

"Damming the river would, therefore, block the escape of refugees and cut
off supplies of relief aid from Thailand to the internally displaced while
simultaneously cutting off from behind the KNLA forces who protect the
displaced villagers and facilitate aid delivery," the Karen support group
said.

The Salween dam projects were also expected to displace tens of thousands
of villagers. Activists and environmentalists have urged the Thai
government to review their involvement in the Salween projects until
studies are carried out on the impact on the people and environment near
the dams.

In May 2005, the Thai Energy Ministry and Myanmar Ministry of Electric
Power signed a memorandum of understanding to build the hydroelectric dams
on the 2,800-kilometre Salween River, which runs from Tibet through
eastern Myanmar.

In December 2005, another agreement was signed between the Electricity
Generating Authority of Thailand and Myanmar's Hydropower Department to
build the 1-billion-dollar Hutgyi dam, on which construction is to start
in December.

The Karen Human Rights Group pinpointed dam construction as one of the
development activities undertaken in the Karen State by the ruling junta
that would further exacerbate the humanitarian crisis there.

It called on the international aid community, especially the United
Nations organizations active in Myanmar, to refrain from engaging in
projects that do not include the involvement of local communities.

"International development assistance, whether for humanitarian or other
programmes, must meet the requirements of transparency and accountability
to the civilian population while furthermore ensuring that it does not
undermine the rights of local people," the group said.

____________________________________

April 24, Irrawaddy
Burmese migrant worker registration hits snags - Sai Silp

Although Thai authorities expect to complete identification processing of
migrant workers from Lao and Cambodia this year, they say procedural
problems with Burma’s government are holding up progress in registering
Burmese migrants.

The Burmese government wants Thai employers to take their migrant workers
to processing points within Burma, a procedure that Thai authorities say
is difficult and time-consuming.

The director-general of Thailand’s Department of Employment, Manoon
Punyakriyakorn, said the Thai foreign minister would discuss the issue
during a visit to Burma next month.

About 500,000 Burmese workers are currently registered in Thailand, while
an unknown number are employed without proper papers, mainly in
construction, fisheries and garment factories. Manoon said about 50,000
workers from Lao and 40,000 from Cambodia were currently in Thailand.

Migrant workers from Burma registered since 2005 have not been not allowed
to be accompanied by their families and dependents, Manoon said—a decree
condemned as “impractical” by Pranom Somwong, of the Chiang Mai-based
Migrant Assistant Program. She said many of the migrants had been forced
to flee Burma with their families because of the fighting there or the
threat of starvation.

Confusion surrounds the regulations governing the recognition of migrant
workers, however, following a recent Thai Ministry of Interior project
allowing migrant children to be registered in public schools. Pranom
accused the Thai government of adopting an ‘instability policy,’
reflecting the inability of the authorities to manage migration from
neighboring countries properly.

____________________________________
DRUGS

April 24, Mizzima News
Police seize over 60 kilograms of opium from junta alliance group - Myo Gyi

In a surprise raid on Sunday, police in northern Shan state seized over 60
kilograms of opium from an anti-terrorist group in Pansae village, Namkhan
Township.

The Namkhan police (Narcotic Branch) seized about 60 packets, estimated to
contain over a kilogram of opium each. At least three people were arrested
during the raid. It was a surprise check of members of the anti-terrorist
group, who were heading towards the 105th mile gate on the Sino-Burma
border.

Following the seizure, a source close to the local authorities said
tension mounted between the Pansae anti-insurgent group and local
authorities. In a bid to destroy the evidence, the group torched the
vehicle in which the police were storing the seized opium.

The Pansae militia then sought the intervention of the Burmese Army in an
attempt to frighten the police and close the case, the source told
Mizzima.

On Monday morning an army battalion on patrol led by a commander from
Muse-Namkhan arrived at the spot and, in a bid to frighten the police,
surrounded the entire area, said a local resident.

"So far there have been no shootings. But we don't know what may happen,"
said the local.

The unanticipated check by Namkhan police may be related to a suspicion
that the anti-insurgent group is connected with an ongoing murder and
robbery case, according to local residents.

Local authorities are preparing to file a case against the Pansae
anti-terrorist group in connection with a murder and robbery case in Muse
town, according to a source close to authorities.

While the police arrested a few members of the militia, local residents
said the militia's leader, known as Kyaw Myint, was not detained.

The Pansae anti-insurgent group was formed, given arms and bestowed with
special powers by local junta authorities.

_____________________________________
GUNS

April 24, Irrawaddy
Burma to buy more Indian weapons

The Indian press reported on Monday that a senior Burmese general met top
leaders of the Indian Army in Delhi to negotiate the sale of additional
military hardware to the junta-led nation.

Burma’s quartermaster general, Lt-Gen Tin Aung Myint Oo, who oversees all
military supplies to Burma’s armed forces, met his Indian counterpart
Lt-Gen Sudhir Sharma and Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt-Gen Deepak Kapoor,
according to a report in The Indian Express.

At the meeting, Tin Aung Myint Oo requested the sale of infantry weapons
and ammunition in return for Burma’s help in flushing out Indian
insurgents based along the 1,600-km India-Burma border, the report said.

Most prominent on Burma’s military “shopping list” were small arms such as
assault rifles, light machine guns and hand guns, the report said.

Indian military officials had promised aid and training to Burma during a
previous visit by Burmese naval chief Vice Admiral Soe Thein in early
April.

Since the late 1990s, India has shown a greater willingness to engage
Burma’s military rulers in trade and weapons sales. Past negotiations have
seen the sale of two British-made “Islander” aircraft, light artillery and
T-55 tanks to Burma.

That engagement has come with a few strings. In return for weapons and
training, India has sought Burma’s help in crushing separatist
insurgencies in its eastern states along the Burmese border.

Indian separatist groups such as the United Liberation Front of Asom, the
United Nationalist Liberation Front and the People’s Liberation Army, are
thought to use bases set up in the thick jungles and hilly areas of
western Burma, from which they are said to launch attacks on Indian soil.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

April 24, Irrawaddy
Victims of regime’s brutality deserve greater world attention

Burma’s military rulers have once again shown their teeth against the
country’s civil rights defenders and social activists, who seek to earn
the attention of the regime in addressing social and economic hardship.
The regime has warned that it will not tolerate such “opposition.”

Last week, two members of the Human Rights Defenders and Promoters—Maung
Maung Lay, 37, and Myint Naing, 40—were hospitalized with head injuries
after they were attacked by more than 50 people while carrying out their
activities in Hinthada township, Irrawaddy Division. The attacks are
believed to have been orchestrated by local authorities and the
government-affiliated Union Solidarity and Development Association.

On Sunday, eight protesters were arrested by plainclothes police, members
of the USDA, while demonstrating peacefully in a Rangoon suburb. The eight
protesters, members of a group named the Myanmar Development Committee,
were calling for lower commodity prices, better health care and improved
utility services. They were also beaten up before their arrest.

Following the incidents, the official daily The New Light of Myanmar
accused activists of trying to create public unrest, while characterizing
the actions taken by groups such as the USDA and other government-backed
organizations as “preventative measures for ensuring community peace and
tranquility.”  The paper declared that the junta will deal with the
situation “in a democratic way.”

Activists were outraged by the latest violence and sought to bring it to
the attention of the outside world. The office of the UN secretary-general
told The Irrawaddy that it was unaware of the incident.

Sadly, such small-scale violence in Burma can indeed go unnoticed,
although larger acts of regime brutality have in the past inevitably drawn
international attention and condemnation. The popular democracy uprising
in 1988 left hundreds dead, and scores of opposition members were killed
and seriously injured in the infamous attack on pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi’s political entourage in upper Burma in 2003.

The continued detention of Suu Kyi and her deputy Tin Oo, who were taken
into custody at the time of the attacks, along with more than 1,000
political prisoners languishing behind bars, illustrate the failure of the
international community, including the UN and Asean, to help improve the
situation in Burma.

The military junta is clearly been behind the mob attacks. Recent events
suggest that the regime is intended to introducing its “thuggish
democracy” alongside its previously acclaimed “discipline flourishing
democracy.” In an Armed Forces Day address in March, the junta’s paramount
leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe vowed “to crush every danger of internal and
external destructive elements.”

With these fresh attacks on social activists and civil rights defenders,
Than Shwe’s pledge should not go unnoticed. These grassroots activists
deserve to have their voices given much more international attention.

_____________________________________
ANNOUNCEMENT

April 22, Shan Herald Agency for News
Announcement of coordinator (part-time)

Are you committed to freedom of speech in Burma, to build a strong and
independent press and to bridge the gap between inside and exile media?
Would you like to work as a coordinator with responsibility of bringing
the process of establishing a Burmese media institution forward?


The interim board of the Burmese media institution (consisting of
representatives of BMA and BNI) is looking for a part-time coordinator
from 1 June to 31 December 2007.

-Duties
Networking and advocacy for the establishment of a Burmese media
institution with media groups in exile, international organisations,
possible donors, journalist schools, other media institutions, etc.
Development of vision and mandate, organizational structure, division of
labour (to be decided upon at Burma Media Conference 2007)

-Fundraising
 The job will involve travelling within Thailand and possibly to
neighbouring countries (not Burma)

-Qualifications
Experience from media related work
Knowledge and experience in organizational development
Ability to work independently
Good networking and communication skills
Travel documents are required
Analytical skills
Fluency in Burmese required, and good knowledge in English an advantage
Experience in project management is an advantage

Conditions Contract: 7 months 50% position with possibility for extension
depending upon support from BMC and external funding


Conditions:  10,000 Thai Baht plus covering of communication and travel
expenses. Unfortunately we can not provide you with an office or relevant
equipment.

Start up date: 1 June 2007

Further information on the position, please contact: Maung Maung Myint
myintm at bma-online.org
Tel: +47 52 72 92 32
Mobile: +47 92 06 13 48

Deadline for application: 15 May 2007

Send letter of motivation for the job and CV including work related
references to
myintm at bma-online.org


The process and discussions about establishing a Burmese media institution
started in late 2005. As a result of this preliminary process, an interim
board has been established which will work towards the Burma Media
Conference 2007, where the decision about whether to establish such an
institution should be made. A comprehensive report  “Is the time ready for
a Burmese media institution”  was prepared in 2006.

Maung Maung Myint
Burma Media Association
Tel: +47 52729232 / +47 92061348
Fax: +47 52729174

E-mail:
myintm at bma-online.org