BurmaNet News, June 15, 2007

[Editor]

June 15, 2007 Issue # 3227

INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Burma’s state media accuses US donor foundation of neo-colonialism
Irrawaddy: European films in Rangoon draw big crowds
Khonumthung News: Villagers unable to travel without army permission

ON THE BORDER
Nagaland Post (India): Fencing on Moreh border to speed up

BUSINESS / TRADE
DVB via BBC Monitoring: Rangoon rice traders group fixes rice prices 'to
lower paddy prices'

HEALTH / AIDS
Xinhua: Myanmar calls on public to continue biosecurity measures against
fresh H5N1 virus

REGIONAL
SCMP: Myanmar shaping up as Beijing's main ally in Asia; Mainland forging
strategic ties with southern neighbour
Bangkok Post: Exim bank loan to Burma not usual transaction, says ex-boss

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: World prepares for Suu Kyi birthday in detention
AP: U.S. senators introduce bill to extend sanctions against Myanmar,
including import ban
DVB: ILO director advises Burma to strengthen cooperation

OPINION / OTHER
Mizzima News: Junta's thugs go all out to crush dissent and opposition -
Larry Jagan
UPI Asia: The inanity of dictatorship - Awzar Thi

STATEMENT
AHRC: Burma: Worrying resurgence of government-backed goon squads

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

June 15, Irrawaddy
Burma’s state media accuses US donor foundation of neo-colonialism - Htet
Aung

A state-run daily newspaper in Burma o­n Friday attacked the Washington,
DC-based National Endowment for Democracy for inciting civil unrest in the
country and planning to control UN agencies and international
non-governmental organizations behind the scenes.

“NED is ploying a strategic way to isolate Myanmar [Burma] politically and
economically, and to get the international community to put pressure o­n
the country,” according to an article titled “It Is Not Too Late to Mend,”
in The New Light of Myanmar o­n Friday.

“NED is conspiring various schemes to incite civil unrest in the nation,”
the article said. “Its wicked schemes include controlling INGOs from
behind the scenes, helping operate direct-controlled organizations,
persuading international figures and giving operational assignments to the
hand-picked persons.”

“It is not true,” Brain Joseph, director of South and Southeast Asia for
the NED, told The Irrawaddy by phone o­n Friday. “The endowment’s support
for democracy in Burma is very well known and publicly understood, and
that we are very proud of supporting democratization in Burma, and it’s
not behind the scenes and not geared toward inciting civil unrest.”

He added: “We have no policy position o­n how the UN agencies operate
inside Burma, and the same goes for international organizations.”

The NED was established in 1983 as a private, nonprofit organization “to
strengthen democratic institutions around the world through
nongovernmental efforts,” according to the group’s Web site, and that
“democracy cannot be achieved through a single election and need not be
based upon the model of the United States or any other particular country.
Rather, it evolves according to the needs and traditions of diverse
political cultures.”

The junta’s attack o­n the NED follows a familiar pattern in state media
of accusing Western democracies of trying to colonize Burma by imposing
their own ideologies.

For many years, the endowment has provided assistance to Burmese
organizations, including The Irrawaddy magazine, “to promote human rights,
the rule of law, independent media and a strong civil society,” which have
been absent under Burma’s military dictatorship for more than four
decades.

The US has maintained strict economic sanctions against Burma since 1997,
and the country was labeled as an “outpost of tyranny” by US Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice in 2005.

____________________________________

June 15, Irrawaddy
European films in Rangoon draw big crowds - Aye Lae

A festival of European films ends in Rangoon o­n Saturday after attracting
full houses at the city’s Naypyidaw cinema.

Entry to the week-long EU Film Festival was free, but tickets fetched up
to 3,000 kyat (US $2.30) o­n the black market.

The festival program of eight films was organized by the Italian Embassy
in Rangoon. An embassy official told The Irrawaddy that the festival was
intended to give a picture of European culture and was also aimed at young
Burmese studying foreign languages in courses offered European embassies
in Rangoon.

The eight films were Sailing Home (Italy), Sister-in-Law, Storm Breaker
and Go for Zucker (Spain), The Lives of Others (Germany), The Tiger
Brigades (France), By the Pricking of My Thumbs and Bread and Tulips
(Italy).

A prominent member of the audience at the showings was the Burmese
comedian and filmmaker Zaganar, who welcomed the opportunity to see what
European studios were producing.

“We are not familiar with European films,” he told The Irrawaddy.
“Instead, we can just watch Hollywood movies, most of which are action
o­nes.” He found the European films “very creative” and well-acted,
compared to Hollywood productions.

The European filmmakers showed it was possible to produce good movies
without investing Hollywood-sized budget, Zaganar said. Burma’s film
industry could learn from this, he added—“We Burmese filmmakers usually
blame our obsolete technique and things
sadly our film industry has almost
disappeared. We need to change the culture of the Burmese film industry.”

Art critic Aung Way also praised the European films, saying they focused
o­n tradition and culture. They were well shot and edited, he said.

Last year, a festival of South Korean films was held for the first time in
Rangoon. A Japanese film festival was also staged in Rangoon and Mandalay.

____________________________________

June 15, Khonumthung News
Villagers unable to travel without army permission

Travel restrictions are in force for villagers in Meihwa. They are not
allowed to travel without the permission of the Meihwa based army camp on
the Indo-Myanmar border.

In southern Chin state, the Kyaukpyu based Burma Army Infantry Battalion
34 in Meihwa, Paletwa Township do not allow villagers to go out of the
village if they do not take permission from the army, a local said.

"We have to reveal all the details about where we are going, the number of
days and the purpose of our travel to the army, if we plan to go out of
our village" he said.

"We have no idea why we need to take permission. We feel that the army is
afraid that we may lend support and contact underground outfits, he added.

Besides, all traders arriving in the village have to drop into the army
camp and are asked whether they have any contact with underground groups.

If a person does not come back in time and reports to the army, troops are
sent to his family and they are ordered to send a family member to call
him back immediately.

"We don't have freedom to travel. A journey may take a month or more than
that and we are harassed without any reason, he added.

Residents in other villages in Paletwa also have to submit details of
their journey before they go out of the village.

 It is also learnt that the Meihwa based army unit forces villagers to
guard their camp every night, draw water for the army camp and do other
jobs.

Meihwa village has about 150 households with a population of 1,000. The
locals are into agricultural work.

The Meihwa based army unit started this restriction on villagers 15 years
ago.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

June 15, Nagaland Post (India)
Fencing on Moreh border to speed up

Imphal: Manipur chief minister, O Ibobi Singh today said fencing along a
portion of the international border at Moreh would be speeded up to check
cross border activities of Manipur based militants group.

The decision to expedite fencing works was taken by the state government
in consultation with the Centre following the spate of violence that
erupted international border the northeastern states share with Myanmar is
manned by Indian security forces.

Ibobi said the Ministry of External Affairs has sanctioned funds for
taking up 10 km fencing on the international border.

The Centre is also considering construction of parallel road along the
entire length of Indo-Myanmar border as emphasized by the Planning.

Commission above the fencing, another official source here said.

The Border Road Task Force (BRTF) has been entrusted to take up the works,
the chief minister told journalists.

Official sources said the chief minister’s announcement was a part of the
proposed Indo-Myanmar border fencing work, which would be taken up to.

Check illegal drug trafficking and cross border activities of the
separatists in the north eastern region of the country bordering Myanmar.

Intelligence output revealed that militants who were indulging in killing
civilians escaped crossing the international border, the source disclosed.

“The work to be taken at Moreh is the first phase of the proposed fencing
along the porous Indo-Myanmar border,” officials of the state home
department said.

Many civil bodies in the border town had also alleged that militants
usually cross to the other side of the border after committing crimes in
Indian territory.

The United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) and International
Narcotic Control Board (INCB) had also cautioned that entire northeast
could become a major transit point for illicit drugs if drug routes along
the border were not closed down.

There is a direct correlation between proximity to the border and drug
abuse and easy drug flow has fueled the rise of HIV/AIDS epidemic in the
northeast turning it into a high-risk zone, the UNDCP said in its report.

Myanmar is currently ranked second in opium and heroin production.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

June 15, Democratic Voice of Burma via BBC Monitoring
Rangoon rice traders group fixes rice prices 'to lower paddy prices'

Dear listeners, Democratic Voice of Burma Correspondent Ko Htet Yarzar
filed this report about the situation of rice traders in Burma.

[Begin recording] [DVB] The Rice Traders Association in Rangoon issued an
order a few days ago fixing prices of rice and saying that action will be
taken against those who sell rice above the announced prices.

A rice shop owner at Bayintnaung Brokerage House said:

[Female trader] The wholesale price is set at 16,800 kyats and retail at
18,000 kyats. They said we cannot sell rice above that price. They want to
bring the price of paddy down so they are controlling the rice price. I
was told that their current move is to lower paddy prices. But, the main
reasons for the rising paddy price are linked to prices of fertilizer and
[diesel] oil, so they also need to lower those prices as well. They should
resolve the problem by selling agricultural inputs at reasonable prices;
paddy prices will then fall. Controlling the price of rice alone will not
bring down paddy prices.

[DVB] The reason why rice prices are rising exorbitantly in the country is
because there are insufficient rice stocks in the country and also because
a large quantity is being exported, said a trader in Rangoon who did not
wish to be identified.

[Male rice trader] There is shortage of rice stocks for consumption
because more rice is exported now. In previous times, monsoon rice stocks
of the previous year would still be available in the pre-monsoon months of
the following year. But, now, monsoon rice stocks are almost unavailable.
Prices of summer rice crops also remain high even at the time of their
availability. This is because rice supply is short.

[DVB] We contacted the Rice Traders Association in Rangoon about the
matter and a staff member there said:

[Unidentified female] No. The association does not fix prices. I don't
think so. Besides, my work does not concern rice. When they hold meetings
people who are not in the business are not allowed to attend. So, I don't
know. [End recording]

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

June 15, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar calls on public to continue biosecurity measures against fresh
H5N1 virus

The Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department of Myanmar Friday called
on the public to continue to take biosecurity against recent fresh bird
flu outbreak, warning that remnant H5N1 virus is still striking the
country.

The call came after some four new cases occurred at farms in three
townships in Yangon and Bago divisions.

The authorities said the residual virus was found in Hmawby, Insein and
Bago townships during the post-outbreak surveillance period which ran from
May 7 to June 9.

During the period, a total of nearly 2,000 chickens were culled for risk
prevention, the report said.

Bird flu, which broke out in five townships in Yangon over the period from
Feb. 28 to March 31 this year, was claimed to have been contained and
restrictions on transport and sale of chickens, ducks, quills and their
products in those areas was lifted on last April 22.

The five townships were Mayangon, Hlaingtharya, North Okkalapa, Mingaladon
and Hmawby.

The department has urged people to keep taking of biosecurity measures in
poultry farms although the outbreak of the avian influenza in the city has
been claimed to have been under control.

Warning that such residuals of the virus are still in existence, the
department called on the people to continue to report unusual death of
poultry if found and not to sell and consume and affected poultry and its
products among measures introduced in order to control the residuals of
the H5N1 virus and to ensure no recurrence of the virus.

According to the authorities, post-outbreak surveillance was carried out
in areas three kilometers radius of the affected farms after outbreak
containment based on serum and other samples of 44, 000 poultry.

According to official statistics, during the bird flu outbreak period,
nearly 2,000 fowls died of the virus with 65,812 poultry from the affected
farms and those nearby were culled.

In fight against the disease, Myanmar has been cooperating with experts
from the Food and Agriculture Organization and USAID.

According to the Myanmar authorities, no human cases have so far been
detected with bird flu virus in Yangon.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

June 15, South China Morning Post
Myanmar shaping up as Beijing's main ally in Asia; Mainland forging
strategic ties with southern neighbour

The mainland has been courting Myanmar in recent months, with leaders in
Beijing having decided that the junta is now its most important ally in
Asia.

Beijing's support for the military regime has strengthened immeasurably
recently as Myanmar has become the cornerstone of its revised Southeast
Asia strategy in the face of what Beijing regards as the growing and
unwanted influence of the United States in the region.

Since the beginning of the year there has been a flurry of diplomatic and
business visits between the two capitals, with the aim of boosting
economic, trade and technology ties.

A mainland delegation led by Gu Xiulian, vice-chairwoman of the Standing
Committee of the National People's Congress and president of the All-China
Women's Federation, is now in Myanmar.

She is there as the president of the recently formed China-Asean
Association, which aims to promote co-operation and communication,
especially in politics, culture, business, technology and transport,
between the mainland and its Association of Southeast Asian Nations'
allies. The delegation includes government officials, legislators and a
large contingent of businessmen.

Ms Gu met acting Myanmese Prime Minister Thein Sein this week in the new
capital Naypyidaw, and agreed to further boost political and economic ties
between the two countries, including co-ordinating their positions on
international and regional issues.

More importantly for Myanmar, the China-Asean Association also signed a
co-operation agreement with Myanmar's government-sponsored mass
grass-roots organisation - the Union Solidarity and Development
Association.

It is the first time the community movement, founded by Myanmar's top
military leader, Senior General Than Shwe, has received international
recognition. It has been shunned because of the regime's violent attempts
to crush pro-democracy groups.

The mainlanders' visit follows Lieutenant-General Thein Sein's first major
trip to the mainland, from which he returned last week. In Beijing he met
top lawmakers and discussed a wide range of issues of concern to both
sides.

Both countries are keen to boost bilateral trade and investment ties, as
well as develop social and cultural exchange programmes.

The mainland is anxious to explore co-operation with Myanmar in almost all
economic and business areas. During a provisional visit by mainland
officials three months ago, 600 businessmen from both countries discussed
mutual co-operation covering a wealth of resources.

Beijing decided a while back that Myanmar was crucial to the mainland's
economic development, especially that of its backward southwestern
regions. But while relationships have flourished, Beijing remained
cautious, fearing instability in Myanmar could threaten security and
stability in its sensitive border regions.

It also feared losing its investment should the regime fold, according to
a senior official dealing with foreign-policy issues.

Beijing's greatest fear remains instability in Myanmar. More than a
million mainlanders - farmers, workers and businessmen - have crossed into
Myanmar in the last 10 years and are working and living there.

Mainland leaders worry that any upheaval would cause these people to flee
back across the border, creating increased industrial and social unrest in
the border regions.

In the past few years, mainland businessmen and provincial government
enterprises have boosted their investment in Myanmar - Lashio, Mandalay
and Muse are virtually Chinese cities now.

Even in Yangon, over the last two years mainland business has expanded
enormously. They are also involved in building a special tax-free export
zone around Yangon's port.

Beijing decided some time ago that the only way to ensure existing
investment in Myanmar was to strengthen it.

"Some six months ago China's leaders sanctioned an increase in economic
and business ties with Burma (Myanmar)," one mainland official said.
Although Beijing is well aware that the junta's failure to implement
political reform and release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will cause
it some problems, the leaders have decided it is a cross they can bear
because of strategic priorities.

Beijing has long been eyeing the US' growing influence in the region,
especially in what it regards as its own backyard and natural sphere of
influence - Cambodia, Vietnam and, to some extent, Laos.

So it is unlikely Beijing will criticise the junta in Naypyidaw - publicly
or privately.

____________________________________

June 15, Bangkok Post
Exim bank loan to Burma not usual transaction, says ex-boss - Ampa
Aantimatanedol

The Export-Import Bank of Thailand's multi-billion-baht loan to Burma was
not a usual business transaction, former bank president Sataporn
Jinachitra said.

Mr. Sataporn said the bank's four-billion-baht loan represented a conflict
of interest, although he denied allegations that the loan scheme was
tainted with corruption.

He was speaking after giving testimony on the case before a sub-committee
of the Assets Scrutiny Committee (ASC) yesterday.

He said the approved loan amount was higher than usual and the loan
extension entailed high risk.

In light of this, the Exim bank asked the then Thaksin Shinawatra cabinet
to guarantee the loan, he said.

Earlier, other witnesses appearing before the sub-committee said the loan
was originally set at three billion baht. However, it was later increased
to four billion baht.

The four-billion-baht loan was granted to Burma, which allegedly used the
money to rent the iPSTAR satellites' transponder from Shin Satellite, a
firm then controlled by the Shinawatra family.

Mr Sataporn said that when the Burmese government was taking out the loan
from the Exim bank, it said only that it intended to spend the money on
improving the country's infrastructure. The Burmese government did not say
it planned to rent the satellites with the loan, he said.

He said the loan request was examined by the Exim bank, the Finance
Ministry, and the Foreign Ministry.

The interest on the loan was low, only 3%, compared to the usual rate of
6-7%, he said. The Burmese government has to pay back the money and
interest over 12 years.

Mr. Sataporn said the Exim bank had not been forced to disburse the loan.
It was the Thaksin government's policy to provide financial assistance to
Burma, he said.

A source at the ASC said Surakiart Sathirathai, who was foreign minister
in the Thaksin government, and Exim bank executives would be treated as
witnesses in the case.

Meanwhile, Udom Fuangfung, who heads the ASC's sub-committee probing the
Ratchadaphisek land deal, said the Office of the Attorney-General can
issue a warrant ordering the Financial Institutions Development Fund
(FIDF) and the Prime Minister's Office to hand in evidence, if the
agencies fail to cooperate.

The prosecution would ask for documents related to the case including the
FIDF bond issued to Mr Thaksin's wife, Khunying Potjaman, before
considering whether to indict the ousted prime minister and his wife in
the 772-million-baht Ratchadaphisek land purchase case.

Mr. Udom, who is also looking into alleged misuse of the proceeds from the
two- and three-digit lottery sales, said the sub-committee handling that
case is expected to wrap up its inquiry next Thursday before presenting
its findings to the ASC on June 25.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

June 15, Irrawaddy
World prepares for Suu Kyi birthday in detention - Shah Paung

Burmese opposition groups in and outside the country are preparing to
celebrate the birthday of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who turns
62 o­n June 19.

A party scheduled at the Rangoon headquarters of the National League for
Democracy will include the freeing of doves and balloons to symbolize
their desire for the release of their party leader, according to NLD
spokesperson Myint Thein.

The NLD will also moderate a debate o­n politics, culture and social
issues in Burma during the celebration, with participants drawn from
various states and divisions in the country.

The topics up for discussion will include differences in gender roles in
nurturing child development, preserving national culture and maintaining
lasting relationships, and how literature is a more effective tool for
human development than other artistic mediums, Myint Thein said.

Commemorative events have also been planned in exile communities in 17
countries, including the US, Thailand, South Korea, India, Japan and
Canada.

Some 250 activist groups in 42 US states have also pledged to “arrest”
themselves by staying home for 24 hours to show their support of Suu Kyi.

Parliamentary members in Thailand, South Korea, Japan, India and Canada
also plan to demand further action by their governments.

The Washington, DC-based lobby group US Campaign for Burma in a statement
released o­n Thursday said it will demand action against China, a “leading
ally” of Burma’s military government.

“The events around Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday represent a new, serious,
high-level campaign to bring change to the 55 million people of Burma and
call o­n China to modify its unquestioning support for the Burmese junta,”
said Aung Din, policy director of the Washington-based the US Campaign for
Burma, in the group statement.

In December 2006, China and Russia vetoed a US and British-sponsored
resolution against Burma at the UN Security Council. Both counties also
continue to provide economic and military support to the country’s ruling
junta.

Last month, Burmese authorities extended by o­ne year Suu Kyi’s current
term of house arrest. A Nobel laureate, Suu Kyi has spent 11 of the last
17 years under house arrest.

“Aung San Suu Kyi is being imprisoned by Burma's ruling military regime,”
Aung Din said, “But, with China refusing to support UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon’s call for her release, [she] is looking more like China’s
prisoner as well.”

According to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political
Prisoners (Burma), more than 1,000 political prisoners remain in prisons
in Burma.

____________________________________

June 15, Associated Press
U.S. senators introduce bill to extend sanctions against Myanmar,
including import ban

Washington: A bipartisan bill was introduced Thursday that would extend
sanctions against Myanmar because of the human rights record of the junta
that runs the Southeast Asian country.

Called the "Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act," the bill was introduced by
the Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, and Democratic Sen.
Dianne Feinstein.

The sanctions include a ban on imports from Myanmar, also called Burma,
and visa restrictions on members of the junta. Unless extended, they
expire on July 26.

McConnell, a leading Senate voice against the generals, said the sanctions
will be lifted only after the rulers change their policies.

Uppermost of changes required, he said, is unconditional release of more
than 1,000 political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung
San Suu Kyi. She has spent most of the last 17 years in prison or under
house arrest, and her political party, the National League for Democracy,
which won elections in 1990 but was barred from taking power, remains
banned.

____________________________________

June 14, Democratic Voice of Burma
ILO director advises Burma to strengthen cooperation

The executive director of the International Labour Organization Kari
Tapiola told DVB in an exclusive interview yesterday that Burma’s chances
of having past ILO resolutions on the country repealed depended on ongoing
cooperation.

Tapiola said that the request from Burma’s delegate at the International
Labour Conference in Geneva, deputy minister for labour Aung Kyi, on
Tuesday for the rights organisation to repeal emergency resolutions
adopted on the country would be considered by the ILO’s Governing Body and
ILC.

“[Aung Kyi] expressed the government’s position and, of course, the
government would like to have these resolutions and decisions repealed . .
. It’s the Governing Body and the conference who have to take the
decision,” Tapiola said.

“We have just appointed a new liaison officer and we are going to continue
the trial period of the understanding . . . and we trust that we will have
more international staff there,” he said.

An agreement signed by the ILO and the Burmese government in February
allows for the ILO to increase its staff in the country and for the
establishment of a mechanism for the processing of forced labour
complaints.

The mechanism is already up and working but so far the ILO had not
received permission to hire new staff in Burma. The group’s liaison
officer Richard Horsey has resigned from his position and will be replaced
by high-ranking ILO officer Steve Marshall. Aung Kyi asked this year’s
96th session of the ILC to revoke resolutions adopted by the 87th and 88th
sessions regarding Burma’s failure to adhere to international standards in
labour rights, citing new “constructive engagement” between the military
and the rights body.

Also at this year’s session were members of the Federation of Trade Unions
of Burma and other labour rights activists who submitted a report to the
conference detailing more than 3400 cases of alleged forced labour against
the military.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

June 15, Mizzima News
Junta's thugs go all out to crush dissent and opposition - Larry Jagan

Burma's military rulers are preparing for the next stage of their so
called "roadmap to democracy". But rather than genuine multi-party
democracy, it appears that the junta is now planning to civilianise its
existing military administration. One of the elements in the way in which
Burma will be governed in the future is the mass community organisation,
the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA). Its' functions
will be many in the new regime that Senior General Than Shwe envisages– it
has already become a quasi-civilian militia intent on crushing all
opposition and dissent in the country.

For some time now it has been obvious that the USDA was going to play a
prominent role in Burma's political future. Formed by Than Shwe more than
a decade ago, this organisation has been used to ensure government policy
is adhered to throughout the country. That it is now an official
government body was clearly underlined during a visit by an important
Chinese delegation to Burma, this week.

During the visit earlier this week the China-Asean Association, led by its
president, Gu Xiulian, who is also the vice-Chairwoman of the Standing
Committee of China's National People's Congress and president of the
All-China Women's Federation, signed a co-operation agreement with the
USDA.

This is the first time the community movement has received international
recognition – in the past it has been shunned by the international
community, including the UN, because it of its involvement with the
regime's violent attempts to crush the country's pro-democracy groups.

The regime obviously wants to give the USDA some form of legitimacy. It
wants it to be recognised as the country's main mass community-based
organisation – the equivalent of non-government organisations (NGOs) in
other countries. After carefully studying the Chinese government model,
Burma's military rulers opted for the Beijing approach of forming
government sponsored bodies and then claim they represent civil society.

Over the past few years the regime has repeatedly told the UN team based
in Burma, that it should view the USDA as its main local partner. The UN
has stridently rejected this – but every time a leading UN representative
from New York turns up in Burma, including the new special envoy Gambari,
there is a compulsory visit to the USDA headquarters and meet its head, --
a close confidante of the top general Than Shwe. On one such visit,
according to a senior member of the UN who wished to remain anonymous, the
USDA flag and the UN flag were crossed in the usual international sign of
friendship.

More ominously though, is the use to which the regime has been putting the
USDA in recent months. It has been using it as an auxiliary police force.
Dressed in their white uniforms or "white shirts" as they are more
derisorily called, they have been harassing demonstrators who dared to
voice dissent and support for the detained opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi. All protests and rallies in the past few months have run into USDA
opposition.

It was the USDA which tried to break up the pro-democracy rally earlier
this year on the May 27 -- the anniversary of the National League for
Democracy's overwhelming victory in the elections in 1990. They arrested
leading members of the demonstration and handed them over to the
police."The police were visibly annoyed and afraid at this encroachment on
their duties," a witness to the event told Mizzima. Most of those arrested
were later released, but warned not to say who had detained them.

"The local USDA leaders were involved. They hired farmers from nearby and
brought them in buses to Rangoon to help with their crowd-control
activities," a member of the USDA told Mizzima on strict condition that he
remain anonymous. "It was a very carefully planned action," he added.

In the past months there have been several incidents where USDA members
have intervened and detained activists. The well-known human rights and
labour campaigner Su Su Nway and the other NLD members were also detained
in early May for participating in the prayer campaign for Aung San Suu
Kyi's release. Su Su Nway was subsequently released after a massive
international outcry.

But nearly 50 other NLD activists remain in detention, according to UN
sources in Rangoon. The daily prayer vigil for Aung San Suu Kyi continues,
but the NLD ladies who go daily to the temple to pray for her release are
hassled and attacked by USDA members almost every day, according to
opposition sources in Rangoon.

The new USDA role emerged earlier this year when at the beginning of the
88 Students White Sunday campaign, they posed as street sweepers, and
blocked the way for the students. Since then the have become even more
active in trying to counter any ant-government protest – all of which are
relatively small and very peaceful.

It was also the USDA which was responsible for the arrest of HIV/AIDS
activist Phyu Phyu Thin – although after some time she was released -- and
the sweep-up into hospital of the HIV victims who have protested demanding
her release.

Of course they are not opposed to pro-government demonstrations and
initiated them in front of the British and US embassy in Rangoon several
months ago opposing the West-led international sanctions against Burma.

Than Shwe established this organisation in 1993 and since then it has led
and organised all pro-government activities. They held mass rallies at the
time the National Convention started discussing the new constitution, and
many believe this will also be the process by which the regime ratifies
the new constitution – a referendum mass meetings and rallies organised by
the USDA.

Now with nearly 23,000 members, it has the potential to become a potent
force. Though most members have either been coerced or bribed into
joining. There is little doubt that Than Shwe's overall plan is to make it
a political party when the time is right to fight the next elections,
under the new constitution. The USDA leader even confided this was the
intention when he met the UN envoy Ali Alatas in Rangoon more than 18
months ago. Similar tactics, and an organisation with a similar name, were
used by the former military dictator General Ne Win in the 1960's to build
his Burma Socialist Programme Party.

The recent suspension of more than 20 privately run associations and
charities recently is also part of a larger strategy to legitimise the
USDA and provide it with a source of funds. In particular the banning of
the Free Funeral Service Association, a popular charity led by film star
Kyaw Thu, was targeted because its founder is extremely popular throughout
Rangoon and it blocked the development of a potentially lucrative
business.

Established in January 2001 to provide free burial services for the poor,
it has handled more than 45,000 funerals since, which is more than half
the funeral services in Rangoon, according to officials of the
organisation. "This association has gained the trust and confidence of the
public as it helps the poor and the needy by providing free funeral
service and medical treatment," said student activist, Min Ko Naing.

"While the authorities may feel threatened by the growing popularity of
this organisation and especially its founder, the government may well be
trying to find another avenue to boost popular support for the USDA," a
Rangoon businessman told Mizzima. "They are already "running" free
dispensaries and want to take over the free funeral service businesses
that have been established," he added.

Diplomats in Rangoon are certain the die is truly cast, and the USDA is
going to lead the military government's efforts to become a civilian
administration. Not only will it be the main political party, but it will
also be the militia which will ruthlessly enforce government policy.
Opposition politicians have already drawn comparisons between this and the
Nazis in Germany before the Second World.

"The fact of the matter is that this regime only understands repression
and the exercise of sole and unquestioned authority – so Nazi and
Stalinist models of conduct are bound to appeal to the generals," said
senior western diplomat based in Bangkok, who has dealt with the Burmese
regime for more than a decade. "The difference is they have no policy, no
strategy and no vision – other than to hold onto power ruthlessly using
fear and repression."

(Larry Jagan is a freelance journalist and Burma specialist based in
Bangkok. He was formerly the News and Current Affairs editor for Asia and
the Pacific at the BBC World Service.)

____________________________________

June 14, United Press International Asia
The inanity of dictatorship - Awzar Thi

A group of schoolchildren in Burma were recently given a lesson on the
inanity of their government and its officialdom. According to a report by
the Thailand-based Yoma 3 news group, representatives of the Myanmar
Maternal and Child Welfare Association came on June 6 to distribute free
books to students at a middle school in Shwepyithar, an industrial area
among Rangoon's outskirts. They posed for photographs on the school
grounds with the chairman of the local council, the books and the
children. When done, they took the books back and left the children with
nothing.

 This little event speaks volumes about how dictatorship debilitates
society. Whereas all ceremony is in part about something being seen to be
done, it is in most places also about something actually being done: the
awarding of a prize, the giving of a donation, the opening of an edifice.
But in Burma, whether or not something is actually done has long since
ceased to be of primary importance. What matters above all is the
affirmation that it has been done, through endless public performances
choreographed to demonstrate the benevolence of the state and wisdom of
its agents, irrespective of reality.

Official observances are important to autocrats because they put everyone
else in his or her correct place. In Burma, teachers, students, parents
and members of the public are co-opted to witness and applaud the largesse
of their self-appointed leaders. They are reduced to the role of silent
passengers on endless bureaucratic voyages. Whether at a ceremony to hand
out books that are never actually given, to open a hospital that has no
doctors or drugs, or to discuss a chapter of a constitution that is never
actually finished, the respective roles of all participants are
predetermined and unchanging.

In a 1990 performance recorded on video that can be viewed via You Tube,
Burma's most famous comedian makes a mockery of these public rituals.
Waves of laughter roll across the stage as Zarganar and his troupe hold
their "Beggars' Convention." A man in rags formally announces the arrival
of The Chairman to others squatting on the floor amid filth and bandages.
Zarganar approaches regally and tugs at his national headgear, only to
find a bit fall off. He opens his mouth to speak and even before the first
sentence is finished the assembled delegates chorus agreement. This biting
ridicule earned Zarganar four years in jail. Although continuing to joke,
he has since been subjected to frequent bans and has been forced to be
more circumspect in what and how he satirizes.

The tragedy of Burma is that it is a country full of brilliant and
creative people, none of whom are welcome to contribute anything to the
state. As in all dictatorships, it is the dull and mediocre who get ahead.
Cardboard-cutout army officers parade nightly around the television news,
followed by their untalented children performing bad MTV covers and
selling toothpaste. Scholars and writers of dubious credentials are feted
with literary awards while the greats of the 20th century fade one by one
into the distance. Artists unwilling to compromise their integrity produce
obscure works of hidden significance, beyond the comprehension of both the
censors and the general public. And as for students, those who succeed are
certainly not the ones waiting in vain for a free book: while in most
countries money and privilege count in getting an education, in Burma
these days they count far more than in most.

Dictatorship is bad not just because it permits abuses and perverts
institutions, but because it willfully denies talent and saps enthusiasm.
It obliges people to be champions of their own debasement. While a few
openly resist, most unwillingly go along until it looks safe to do
something else. Whatever else happens, the struggle for change in Burma
will have to overcome the accumulated suspicions of these millions who
have repeatedly had things put in front of them only to have them cruelly
snatched away again.

(Awzar Thi is the pen name of a member of the Asian Human Rights
Commission with over 15 years of experience as an advocate of human rights
and the rule of law in Thailand and Burma.)

____________________________________
STATEMENT

June 15, Asian Human Rights Commission
Burma: Worrying resurgence of government-backed goon squads

In recent weeks the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received many
detailed and worrying reports about the resurgence of government-backed
goon squads in Burma. Gangs of thugs, apparently most under the direction
of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), a
mass-organising body, have been used to attack human rights defenders
going about their business and persons holding prayer vigils for the
release of political prisoners. In some cases police officers and other
state security personnel are also known to have been among those carrying
out or organising the attacks. After a disturbance is created, the police
and local authorities step in and accuse the victims of being responsible
for stirring up trouble. The courts may then be used to add insult to
injury through the laying of charges against the targets of the violence.

The case of the Human Rights Defenders and Promoters group in Henzada,
west of Rangoon, is indicative. The AHRC has already issued a number of
appeals following the assault on members of the group in April, two of
whom were hospitalised with serious injuries.

Subsequently, six of the human rights defenders were themselves charged
with offences related to a series of incidents that the authorities claim
provoked the violence. The six have been kept in detention. Their
relatives are suffering hardship due to their absences, and fear that
worse is yet to come: they are farming families and now is the time for
planting, as the monsoon sweeps into Burma from the Bay of Bengal.
Attempts by their lawyers to have them released on bail have been
unsuccessful. By contrast, six persons accused of assaulting them have all
been granted bail. Another six whom they accused of being behind the
violence, including local USDA officials, police and the village council
chairman, have all escaped investigation. The court did not even call
those officials for inquiries about the complaint that was made against
them.

That it is easy for authorities in Burma to organise a gang to harass,
assault and abduct anyone of their choosing speaks to the complicity of
the state in systematic abuse there. And just how easy is it? According to
a participant in the illegal arrest of rights defenders gathering at a
pagoda in Rangoon's northern suburbs during May, thugs can be hired for
the cost of a cup of tea. In an interview with Democratic Voice of Burma
shortwave radio, he said that his gang was not even paid for the job but
just taken to a teashop for a snack afterwards. Among those they illegally
detained was John Humphrey Freedom Award laureate Ma Su Su Nwe, who was
released in June, in poor health but good spirits; others arrested with
her remain in illegal detention. Students in Rangoon have lodged a
complaint that one of their peers who was among the campaigners has
disappeared. And when devotees at another pagoda were pelted with
slingshots and went to complain to the police, they were reportedly warned
that next time they might get killed.

The threat of death is not idle. It is just over four years since the
infamous Depayin Massacre, when a convoy carrying democracy leader Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters was set upon by a murderous crowd
armed with makeshift weapons, estimated to have numbered in thousands. To
this day it is not known how many died, but some who fled to Thailand
testified to having seen their comrades being beaten and stabbed
unceasingly. Since that time, the government and its agents responsible
for the killings and injuries have continued to organise, train and
prepare for more to come. With the campaigns for peaceful political and
social change becoming increasingly visible and attracting more and more
supporters in recent months, it seems that for the army that time is now.

Although the military regime in Burma promotes itself as a defender of law
and order, its agencies and agents are in fact the greatest threats to
these principles, not to mention the rule of law and human rights. As it
again prepares its thugs to do battle with its own people, in the coming
days and weeks further arrests and violence can be expected, and the
security of all people in Burma thereby further threatened.

The Asian Human Rights Commission expresses strong support for all human
rights defenders in Burma, be they farmers or lawyers, villagers or
townspeople, struggling at this very difficult time to pull their country
forward from the morass in which it has been stuck for far too long. It
calls upon the international community to acknowledge this struggle and
pay heed to its features and implications through detailed study of
specific cases and urgent interventions, rather than merely making
superficial remarks that contribute little towards the prospects of
genuine change there.

Finally, the AHRC makes a special call to the judges of Burma: although
you are working in a deficient and corrupted institution that is entirely
under the control of other parts of government, still you have may choose
to uphold your own integrity through proper application of the law. This
would in itself go a long way towards an improvement in the prospects for
human rights in Burma. There are means available under domestic laws to
hear and consider cases against state officers accused of wrongdoing; use
them. Similarly, there are well-articulated and reasoned legal defences
being made by the human rights defenders being brought before you; hear
them. Give some cause for hope that all is not lost, that there remains
within Burma's judiciary some element of legal thinking, not merely the
crass expression of military power.

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional
non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues
in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.