BurmaNet News, June 27, 2007

[Editor]

June 27, 2007 Issue # 3235

INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima News: Family members stopped from meeting detained activists
DVB: Farmers complain of forced paddy cultivation
DVB: Solo demonstrators take to Rangoon streets
Irrawaddy: Villagers in northern Burma’s town ordered to relocate
DVB: Mandalay prison cracks down on food for political inmates

ON THE BORDER
IPS: Psychological woes haunt Burmese refugees

BUSINESS / TRADE
Kaladan News: Burmese timber seized on Teknaf border
Airline Business: International carrier for Myanmar

HEALTH / AIDS
Irrawaddy: Lack of compensation keeps bird flu a threat in Burma

DRUGS
www.CCTV.com: China, Myanmar work together to fight illegal drugs

ASEAN
Irrawaddy: Asean trade ambitions likely to pressure Burma

REGIONAL
AFP: India's democracy forced to deal with military neighbours

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: ILO confirms junta-appointed delegate expelled
Business Report: Mr. Price defends its Myanmar imports

OPINION / OTHER
Asia Times: A lurch on Myanmar's road to democracy - Jessicah Curtis

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

June 27, Mizzima News
Family members stopped from meeting detained activists

Family members, desperate to meet Burmese activists detained for
conducting prayer campaigns for the release of Burmese democracy icon Aung
San Suu Kyi, were warded off by authorities in Rangoon today.

Over 20 family members of those detained for keeping a prayer vigil for
the release of Suu Kyi were stopped while going to the Kyaik Ka San
Interrogation Centre, where the activists are believed to be detained.
They were attempting to meet the prisoners.

Sabe Oo, the elder sister of an HIV activist, Phyu Phyu Thinn, also among
the detained, told Mizzima that police and intelligence officers sealed
the street, where the interrogation camp is located in Thar Mwe Township
of Rangoon, with barbed wire and stopped them from going near the camp.

"The authorities were maintaining tight security because they knew that we
are coming," she added.

Since the beginning of May, Burmese authorities stepped up the crackdown
on activists, who launched a prayer campaign for the release of detained
pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, resulting in the arrest of over 50
activists.

However, authorities have not informed relatives of the activists of their
whereabouts, which have raised concern for them.

While authorities have denied detaining the activists in the Kyaik Ka San
camp, labour rights activists Suu Suu Nwe, who was the only one released,
told friends that she had seen the others in the camp.

Family members of the detained were concerned a bout the activists as they
were taken by surprise by the authorities and wanted to find out about
their living conditions, said Ko Yazar, an HIV activist and a colleague of
Phyu Phyu Thinn.

"It was quite a scene today. Sabe Oo, despite her pregnancy stood in the
rain for nearly two hours hoping the authorities would allow them to meet
her sister [Phyu Phyu Thinn]," said Ko Yazar.

Families of Phyu Phyu Thinn, who had begun a hunger strike since June 19,
were worried as they had heard that she had become extremely weak and had
fallen down on the fifth day of starvation. But the authorities did not
take proper care of her, Ko Yazar told Mizzima quoting reliable sources.

HIV activists, Phyu Phyu Thin was arrested on May 21 by authorities
following her involvement in the prayer campaign for the release of
Burma's Nobel Peace Laureate.

____________________________________

June 27, Democratic Voice of Burma
Farmers complain of forced paddy cultivation

Farmers from Mandalay division’s Myinchan township said yesterday that the
Burmese government’s decision to force them to grow rice paddy on
unsuitable ground had left them struggling to make ends meet.

“All the farmers from villages along the Myinchan-Nyaung Oo highway have
been forced to grow paddy on dry ground. Officials are collecting the
names of farmers who refuse and say that their farms will be confiscated,”
one farmer from the area told DVB on condition of anonymity.

“They said that they were acting under the orders of senior general Than
Shwe,” he said.

Farmers in the area have complained that because their land is too dry for
paddy the crops are failing, leaving them with no livelihood since they
were forced to stop cultivating their chosen produce.

“We raised this issue with agricultural officials who said that they knew
it was impossible but that we should try anyway because they were under
orders from higher authorities,” another farmer said.

But local Agriculture Department staff told DVB that they thought the
farmers’ land was suitable for rice paddy cultivation and that it was the
duty of the farmers to produce enough rice to meet the country’s needs.

“Myinchan district doesn’t produce enough rice for food. That’s why we
were ordered to grow paddy here,” an official said.

____________________________________

June 27, Democratic Voice of Burma
Solo demonstrators take to Rangoon streets

Two men staged solo public protest in Rangoon on Sunday and Monday, one
calling for greater civilian rights and the other calling on the Burmese
military to release detained democracy icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

On Sunday, Ko Maung Oo from Rangoon’s New Dagon township was arrested
after walking up and down a street calling for the release of Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi and complaining about the economic conditions in Burma.

“He also shouted that the government’s 12 season cropping system is
causing people to starve,” one eye witness told DVB.

“About an hour later he was arrested by local peace and development
council and fire brigade officials.”

On Monday, U Than Lwin from Bahan township took to the streets in protest
over a Rangoon courts decision against him in a housing dispute. He
reportedly stood in front of city hall holding a placard that said
‘protect civilian rights’ and was briefly detained by police before being
released.

“Two policemen came out of city hall and took me inside. I was protesting
for between 10 and 15 minutes before this happened,” U Than Lwin later
told DVB.

____________________________________

June 27, Irrawaddy
Villagers in northern Burma’s town ordered to relocate - Khun Sam

Burmese local authorities have ordered residents near the 105-mile border
trade gate office in Muse in Burma’s northern Shan State to relocate,
leading the villagers to refuse the order, according to sources in Muse.

“They [authorities] called for a meeting and simply ordered residents to
move their homes," a Muse resident told The Irrawaddy o­n Wednesday. "They
offered no compensation or no alternative site to live.”

At the meeting, Aung Naing Oo, the head of Mong Yu Village, Myo Tin of the
Muse Municipal Department and Muse police official Kyaw Sein Lin
reportedly claimed that the villagers’ compound overlapped into the area
of the border trade zone. They were ordered to move by June 20.

The deadline has passed, and the villagers say they will not move unless
authorities provide an alternative area to live in.

“They [villagers], ethnic Kachin and Shan, have already lived there for
ten years. Their area is connected to the trade zone, but actually it is
not in the range of the gate office area,” said a Muse resident.

Muse police officials were not available for comment.
Earlier, the Muse-based Border Trade Committee had ordered a Kachin
Baptist Church located near the 105-mile border trade office to be
demolished by April 30, claiming the church compound belonged to the trade
zone. Church leaders and about 80 supporters submitted a letter to the
committee challenging the order.

The letter asked the committee to provide an official letter from the
Naypyidaw government ordering the church to move. According to residents,
the church was built 10 years ago by ethnic Kachins.

So far, there has been no response from local authorities.

____________________________________

June 27, Democratic Voice of Burma
Mandalay prison cracks down on food for political inmates

Mandalay prison officials have imposed increased restrictions on food
brought to the prison for political inmates, according to several
prisoners’ family members.

Sources close to the prison said the new restrictions banning many types
of food for political prisoners have been implemented since the birthday
of detained National League for Democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on
June 19.

“On Daw Suu’s birthday, the prison authorities seized all the political
prisoners’ food and packets of instant coffee mix. They are now allowing
less food to be brought in. They have an official notice at the prison
gates saying this is a new policy,” the daughter of one political prisoner
told DVB.

“The families of regular prisoners are allowed to bring in food with no
problems,” she said.

A former political prisoner who was recently released from Mandalay prison
said many of the civilian prison officers had been replaced by former
military personnel who were much stricter on the inmates.

Ko Shwe Maung, a member of the NLD and a former inmate, said that the
orders to restrict the food given to political prisons likely came from
higher authorities and that the move was designed to decrease inmate
morale.

“That normally leads to a point when the political prisoners lose their
patience and start complaining or becoming rebellious. Then the officials
can say that restrictions were laid down because the prisoners were
undisciplined,” Ko Shwe Maung said.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

June 27, Inter Press Service
Psychological woes haunt Burmese refugees - Lynette Lee Corporal

As the United Nations marks International Day of Support for Victims of
Torture on Tuesday, Burmese refugees who have fled violence in their own
country are facing another kind of torture—not physical, but mental and
psychological.

Depression and stress-related disorders are becoming more common, experts
say, in many Burmese refugee camps. Unfortunately, psychosocial services
are still lacking in most areas due to shortage in human and material
resources.

"Mental health patients are increasing in the camps for the last several
years. This is due to dismal living conditions in camps, plus the fact
that they have been living here for almost two decades facing a bleak,
uncertain future," Annabelle Mubi, International Rescue Committee
psychosocial programme officer in the refugee camp in Mae Hong Son
province in north-western Thailand, told IPS in a phone interview.

The IRC is a global network that provides emergency relief, as well as
refugee relocation and rehabilitation.

According to Mubi, sufferers are often depressed and stay at home most of
the time. Suicide attempts, she adds, are not uncommon especially among
teenagers.

There are an estimated 150,000 documented Burmese refugees here in
Thailand, many of whom fled the military-run country after the 1998 army
crackdown.

The life that they experience day in and day out consist of staying in
overcrowded, confined camps for almost two decades, facing a bleak future
with almost no opportunities for finding a stable job, and even less hope
of returning to their homeland anytime soon.

While international groups like the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees, Medecins Sans Frontieres, IRC, the Catholic Office Emergency
Relief for Refugees provide psychosocial services, experts say that much
more assistance is needed.

"Not much is happening at all in the psychosocial services level due to a
lack of psychiatrists and psychologists in the field," said a
representative of the human rights documentation unit of the US-based
National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma.

Asking for anonymity, he added that most related services are provided by
grassroots groups that are facing drastic fund shortages.

Alcoholism and gender-based violence, including sexual abuse of women and
children, have increased over the last four years, laments Mubi.

The IRC staff has been going around the communities, conducting
information campaigns about the adverse effects of alcohol and drug use by
Burmese youth. They also do home visits for counseling.

"Young people, especially the men, have taken to drinking alcohol made
from rice wine, which would often lead to domestic violence," said Mubi.

These problems are not only confined to the refugee camps but spills over
to the population of Burmese migrant labour in Thailand, estimated at up
to one million.

According to Cynthia Maung, who founded the Mae Tao clinic in Mae Sot town
o­n the Thai border with Burma, excessive alcohol consumption is also
quite common among migrant workers.

"The oppression and violation basic rights of these people have continued
even after they left Burma. Life as migrant workers has been very
stressful for them because of long working hours, low pay and a still
uncertain future. Alcohol is a common form of relaxation, especially for
men," said the doctor and former Ramon Magsaysay winner, known for her
humanitarian work among Burmese refugees and migrant workers.

Children are the most vulnerable because as in the refugee camps, a lot of
violence happens within families and communities, Cynthia Maung continues.

"One of the most effective ways of giving psychosocial support to these
kids is through education. There are now efforts to do that," said Cynthia
Maung. Unfortunately, she adds, the present educational system is not
designed to deal with psychosocial issues affecting children.

According to a representative of another NGO working on the Thai-Burma
border who did not want to be identified, women and children may bear the
brunt of the effects of alcoholism, but the men should not be ignored.

"Men, especially those who do not have jobs, need that psychosocial care
too to stop them from turning to alcohol out of desperation. But
admittedly, there is really a lack of such services, and health agencies
need to address this issue in the camps," she added.

In Mae Hong Son, the IRC has so far had 80 mental health cases, most of
them involving psychosis, in one camp alone since the service was offered
last year. Mubi herself is handling 10 cases.

"The figure could be higher because many cases are not being reported. The
problem is that there's a lot of stigma attached to it and people are
often labeled as 'crazy' when they seek the help of counselors," noted
Mubi.

"Burmese, in general, don't feel comfortable opening up to a total
stranger. We are very particular about who we trust and choose to open up
to, maybe because of what we experienced in the political front and also
because of ethnic politics," said Myint Myint San of the Burmese Women's
Union, a former student activist and refugee.

"In Burma, people who have mental problems are sent to asylums and are
seen as crazy, so it's understandable if people keep their depression and
other stresses to themselves. We don't have that culture of seeking
counseling from outside our own family or peers," she said, adding that
she coped with her own trauma of being a refugee in Bangkok by turning to
her close friends.

Mubi says things can also become 'too close for comfort' for those living
in the camps. "From what we have observed here, they don't easily open up
to their friends either, since they think they will see their friends
everyday, their confidences will be betrayed and thus, suffer the stigma,"
she explained.

Refugees would most rather confide in foreign volunteers and visitors, she
adds. "They tend to look at foreigners as a kind of 'savior' who will
perhaps save them from all this misery," she said.

Domestic violence also makes matters worse, because it makes it difficult
for refugees or migrants to turn to other family members for help, Mubi
points out.

"We need the whole community to be involved more in solving the problems
and this is why we are conducting training, so that the people themselves
will know how to cope," said Mubi. "These people are lonely and need
someone to talk to and share their feelings and thoughts with another."

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

June 27, Kaladan News
Burmese timber seized on Teknaf border

Teknaf, Bangladessh: Tons of timber was seized by the Teknaf police, the
Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Forest department officials on the Teknaf
border area on June 25. The timber was being smuggled from Arakan
(Rakhine) State, Burma, said Shabbir from Teknaf.

Timber from Burma is allowed to be exported to Bangladesh as part of
border trade but not illegally. Two, three times a week, Burmese timber is
exported to Bangladesh in keeping with the border trade rules, he added.

The Bangladesh government has been getting a lot of revenue from importing
Burmese timber to Bangladesh through the Teknaf border trade point.

Bangladeshis are fond of Burmese teak for making furniture as it is of a
better quality than Bangladesh teak. It is also known to be the best
quality teak in the world. Bangladeshis also like Burmese iron wood for
construction purposes.

Relating to the smuggling of timber, the man arrested by the police and
has been identified as Monir Ahmed (41), son of late Khala Meah, hailing
from Teknaf union of Bangladesh . He was arrested as he did not pay tax on
the smuggled timber, according to police sources.

The police filed a case under Act No. 24 against Monir Ahmed and later he
was sent to Cox's Bazaar jail.

____________________________________

June 27, Airline Business
International carrier for Myanmar - Nicholas Ionides

Myanmar has a new international operator after domestic carrier Air Bagan
in May launched Airbus A310 services to the Thai capital Bangkok.

Air Bagan launched domestic services in 2004, but recently added two used
A310-200 widebodies that it purchased in the hope of capitalising on
growth in tourism to the reclusive state. It is now the only widebody
aircraft operator in the country.

Air Bagan is controlled by one of Myanmar's largest companies, Htoo
Trading, which has wide-ranging business interests including hotels and
tourism. The airline is now serving Bangkok from its Yangon base. In the
coming months it plans to add services to Singapore, Seoul in South Korea,
Kunming in China and Siem Reap in Cambodia.

Its international launch represents a major step up for the airline, which
until now has only operated domestically using ATR 42/72 turboprops and
Fokker 100 regional jets. The airline added a second Fokker 100 in June.
Its main home-based competitor on international routes is Myanmar Airways
International, which is majority owned by the Myanmar government and 49%
owned by foreign interests. It operates a Boeing MD-82 on international
routes.

State-owned Myanmar Airways is the country's largest domestic carrier and
operates Fokker F27s and F28s. Privately owned Air Mandalay and Yangon
Airways also compete in the domestic market and use ATRs. Yangon Airways
only operates scheduled domestic services while Air Mandalay also has one
international destination, Chiang Mai in Thailand.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

June 27, Irrawaddy
Lack of compensation keeps bird flu a threat in Burma - Violet Cho

Despite greater cooperation between Burma’s military government and
international agencies, the spread of H5N1 avian influenza, or bird flu,
in Burma still poses a major threat because farmers do not receive
adequate compensation for culled poultry stocks, according to a new
report.

In its June 2007 Country Report on Burma, the Economist Intelligence Unit
said the bird flu virus could spread more widely in the country because
the government has no adequate system of compensation for poultry farmers.

“Unless it does [provide compensation], farmers are likely to be
discouraged from notifying the authorities of suspected outbreaks of bird
flu, thereby undermining official efforts to contain the spread of the
virus,” the report said.

Danielle Nierenberg, a food researcher at the Washington, DC-based
environmental research organization Worldwatch Institute, expressed a
similar concern about the role of compensation in identifying and
containing the spread of the virus.

“I think that [compensation] is one of the main problems we’re going to
have in controlling bird flu,” Nirenberg told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.

She added: “If [the Burmese government] is not currently going to help
these small farmers, then there’s no point as far as I’m concerned in
funding bird flu education or anything else. You are fighting a losing
battle unless you include compensation.”

Poultry farmers in Rangoon claim the government does not do enough to
support them when they cooperate with culling orders and other containment
measures.

“I have lost about 15 million kyat (US $12,000) from the outbreak of bird
flu, and it is very hard to restart my poultry business again,” said one
poultry farmer in Rangoon who refused to be named.

The farmer has yet to receive any compensation from the government for her
cooperation in destroying her poultry stocks. “An informal message from
local authorities said the government would give two mobile phones as
compensation (for killing all chickens on the farm), but I have not
received anything yet.”

“Now there are more chicken farmers who do not want to cooperate with the
government because we do not receive any compensation,” said another
Rangoon-based poultry farmer.

Dr. Wantanee Kalpravidh, the regional project coordinator for the UN Food
and Agriculture Organization’s Emergency Center for Transboundary Animal
Disease in Bangkok, said the Burmese government has made some steps to
provide “in-kind” compensation, including low-interest loans, new breeding
stocks and feed, and is looking for other ways to improve the situation.

“The FAO is currently assisting the Burmese government in developing the
strategy and mechanism for compensation,” said Wantanee.

The coordinator also said, “A compensation scheme for the destruction of
affected premises, a key factor in achieving effective control and
encourage prompt reporting, has yet to be developed.”

Farmers say much more needs to be done in explaining available resources
for farmers. “I have heard rumors about government low-interest loans, but
when I tried to ask people—including civil servants—they could never give
me clear information,” said o­ne Rangoon poultry farmer.

The FAO has drawn criticism from international observers who say they
could do much more o­n the issue of compensation.

“I don’t think the FAO are doing enough,” said Worldwatch Institute
researcher Nierenberg. “They can push governments to give more
compensation, more resources, to help these farmers all over the world,
and I just don’t think they’ve done enough yet [in Burma].”

The FAO provides about $1.38 million—funded mainly by Japan, Australia and
the US—for the prevention and control of bird flu in Burma. Last year, the
US pledged $1.4 million in emergency bird flu assistance to Burma’s
military-led government.

Bird flu was detected in Burma in early June among chickens on a private
farm in Pegu Division. This followed earlier outbreaks in February and
April, in which more than 60,000 chickens and other birds were culled.

Bird Flu was first detected in Burma in March 2006 near Mandalay. No human
cases of the H5N1 virus have yet been detected in the country.

____________________________________
DRUGS

June 27, www.CCTV.com
China, Myanmar work together to fight illegal drugs

Diplomatic relations between China and Myanmar have been solid for over 50
years, especially in the fight against illegal drugs. The two countries
have also actively participated in multilateral cooperation efforts to
solve drug-related problems, with these efforts playing an important role
in stabilizing both China and Myanmar.

The golden triangle is one of the largest opium poppy growing areas in the
world. This area produces more than half of the total world's drug supply
annually. Even though most countries surrounding the Golden Triangle
region have made serious efforts to crack down on drugs, production and
trafficking are still rampant.

Zhai Kun, Asian affairs analyst, said, "It is important to enhance both
international and regional cooperation in the Golden Triangle area,
especially among major countries like China and Myanmar. Myanmar is one of
the largest drug-producing countries, and China is a huge market for
drugs. Cooperation among major regional countries is very important in the
crackdown on drugs produced in the Golden Triangle."

China and Myanmar have worked together in the fight against drug
operations along their borders. Through cooperation, they have managed to
capture various drug criminals. China has also provided financial and
technological support to Myanmar, helping it replace poppies, the sole
source of income for many Golden Triangle inhabitants, with other crops.

But to solve the drug problem, cooperation among all the countries in this
area, including Laos and Thailand, is needed. China and Myanmar are now
actively taking part in multilateral talks with these other countries in
order to deal with the illegal drug issue.

Zhai Kun said, "A multilateral cooperation among countries in this area is
a long-term and effective system to deal with drug-related crimes.
Countries in this area are still just developing, and face many
difficulties, such as the lack of advanced technology. A multilateral
system is a very effective way to help the affected countries crack down
on drug-related crimes."

Through the cooperation between China, Myanmar, and other countries in the
region, the anti-drug campaign is continuing to put a stop to drug abuse,
and save people's lives.

____________________________________
ASEAN

June 27, Irrawaddy
Asean trade ambitions likely to pressure Burma - William Boot

Burma marks the 10th anniversary of its membership in Asean in July, but
the junta can expect a much rougher ride when Thailand’s Surin Pitsuwan
takes over the job of secretary-general in early 2008, say analysts.

Former Thai Foreign Minister Surin has a record of toughness against the
Burmese regime and is taking over Asean as the 10-country organization
gears up to try to copy the European Union’s economic integration. Among
the first steps on the route to establishing the AEC—the Asean Economic
Community—will be some tariff-free trade and visa-free movement of people
in member countries.

Surin was among those who successfully demanded that the Burmese junta
abandon its turn to hold the chairmanship of Asean in 2006—an action which
did not endear him to the generals.

He is also in favor of Asean dropping its non-intervention policy among
members—a policy that has shielded Burma from real penalties.

“Until now Asean has been little more than a political talk shop but it
has set itself a tight agenda to create some form of a common market by
2015. That is less than eight years away,” a Bangkok-based economic
counselor at one of Asean’s member embassies told The Irrawaddy.

“If we are to move forward on economic integration it needs to be on the
basis of collective action as with the EU and not special pleading
let-outs for some members, like Burma,” said the official, who wished to
remain anonymous.

That view might not be shared by some Asean members who are anxious to
preserve the organization’s veneer of unity, but there have been
increasing signs over the last 18 months that most are no longer prepared
to tolerate the international image that Burma’s junta presents to major
trading partners such as the EU.

“It’s ironic that while Asean has chosen to try to follow the European
economic integration model, the EU is one of the most fiercely critical of
Burma’s political and human rights record,” said an analyst with an EU
embassy in Bangkok.

Surin is particularly keen to raise Asean’s international profile and to
encourage ordinary people in the 10 countries to develop a feeling of
belonging to a regional club.

That’s a view shared by Europeans who are encouraging the AEC.  “The
integration must justify itself in the eyes of the population by offering
solutions to the problems they face in their daily life,” says the former
Danish ambassador to Singapore, Jorgen Orstrom Moeller.

In an outline to a book on the EU model, being published by the Institute
of Southeast Asian Studies Singapore (ISEAS), Moeller says: “There must be
a hard core of member states determined to drive the integration,
supported by suitable institutional machinery.”

Some analysts suggest that an AEC hardcore is likely to be made up of
Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. But a key role in whipping the laggards
into action will need to be played by the Asean Secretariat, the
equivalent of the EU’s powerful European Commission.

It’s significant, say analysts, that Asean has chosen a man like Surin who
is known for his firm views and who can be expected to crack the whip at
the secretariat.

“Compromise will have to take a role, but if Asean is serious about its
2015 economic development goals then decisions are going to have to be
taken which some countries will find hard to swallow and could test their
membership status,” said the Bangkok-based economic counselor.

Denis Hew, an Asean expert at ISEAS, thinks the Asean countries need to
undertake “an awful lot of work” to integrate their economies, not least
strengthening the Asean Secretariat in Jakarta.

Establishing a customs union is regarded as a critical first step, he says.

China is now Asean’s fourth-largest trading partner after the US, Japan
and the European Union and is catching up fast.

Two-way trade rose above US $130 billion last year compared with $39
billion in 2000. China wants this figure to grow to $200 billion by 2010.

Thailand’s Department of Commerce permanent secretary recently warned that
any delay in implementing the AEC would lead to Asean being overshadowed
by China and India as a foreign direct investment destination.

“Asean is now at a crossroad after almost 40 years of its existence.  It
needs to achieve a qualitative jump in cooperation if it is to maintain
its relevance or it risks fading into oblivion,” says the Singapore
Institute of International Affairs. But it adds, somewhat cryptically: “In
the case of Myanmar [Burma], it has already been accepted by many within
and without Asean that China plays a much more significant [economic] role
than Asean.”

Foreign direct investment into the Southeast Asian bloc has dropped by 35
percent since a high of $33 billion in 1997.

Surin takes over in January for a crucial five-year period in Asean’s
collective trade development. He will operate out of Jakarta with a staff
of more than 200 and an operational budget of almost $10 million.

The question of whether he succeeds in coaxing Burma into closer economic
union with the rest of Asean will only be fully answered in 2012.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

June 27, Agence France Presse
India's democracy forced to deal with military neighbours - Elizabeth Roche

Often hailed as a beacon of democracy among developing nations, India's
overriding business and security needs have forced it to overcome a
reluctance to deal with military regimes, analysts say.

The latest sign of this realpolitik was the red-carpet welcome afforded
this week to Thailand's military-installed Prime Minister Surayud
Chulanont, making a first official visit to India for talks heavy on
trade.

India's reaction to last September's coup in Thailand was a diplomatic
"wait and watch" -- something independent analyst C. Uday Bhaskar said
highlighted years of steady but nonetheless dramatic changes in New
Delhi's foreign policy.

"India did have a sense of discomfort that was most pronounced in the
1980s," Bhaskar said of India's traditional disdain for men in uniform and
politics.

"The revamp of Indian policy began in the 1990s, when it was decided that
Indian national interests would be paramount," he said, explaining that
India was now far more "nuanced" in its diplomacy due to its often
conflicting ideals and interests.

Just a year ago, US President George W. Bush said "America and India would
bring the light of freedom to the darkest corners of our Earth," and that
"India has an historic duty to support democracy around the world."

But it is not as simple as that, said former foreign secretary Salman Haider.

"India's earlier idealism has become increasingly tempered by pragmatism,"
he said, saying practicality alone was a good enough reason for India to
adapt its foreign policy.

Apart from Thailand, India has close dealings with the military junta in
neighbouring Myanmar, which has been helping the Indian army deal with
separatist rebels operating in India's remote northeast.

Bangladesh, now run by a military-backed emergency government, is also a
neighbour. And India has to deal with arch-rival Pakistan and President
Pervez Musharraf, not the first military general to govern the nation
after a coup.

"India disapproved of the coups there but dealt with these governments, as
there was no alternative," said Haider.

Another former Indian diplomat, S. Shashank, noted that India -- which
actively campaigned for the expulsion of Pakistan from the Commonwealth
grouping after Musharraf's coup in 1999 -- did not oppose its readmission
in 2005.

"We had re-started talks with Pakistan (in 2004) and Islamabad had
promised to rein in Islamic militants acting against India," Shashank
said, explaining India's turnaround.

Former Indian ambassador to Myanmar G. Parthasarthy noted that New Delhi
had kept the military junta at arms length after the 1988 coup, but then
changed track when India realised its security interests were in jeopardy.

"Insurgents from India's northeast were taking shelter there (in Myanmar).
Drugs were coming into India from Myanmar."

"There are instances of Myanmese soldiers being killed fighting Indian
insurgents in the jungles there. Our policy of engagement has paid off,"
he said.

Fears of China's assertive diplomacy in the region had also contributed to
India's rethink, he added.

India's top diplomat Shivshankar Menon is heading for talks this week in
Bangladesh, with democracy again seemingly off the agenda.

An editorial in the Indian Express on Monday cited the military-backed
regime's willingness to combat religious extremism, crackdown on Indian
insurgent groups and provide trade transit facilities.

If Bangladesh is ready to cooperate on these more overriding matters, the
paper said, "India should be prepared to walk the extra mile."

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

June 27, Irrawaddy
ILO confirms junta-appointed delegate expelled - Saw Yan Naing

The International Labour Organization has denied statements by the Burmese
government on Wednesday that its delegate to the workers section of the
ILO wasn't expelled.

The state-run newspaper Kyaymon (The Mirror) on Wednesday denied exiled
media reports that the delegate, Khin Maung Oo, was expelled from the
workers’ section.

However, Cecilia Brighi, a spokesperson for the workers’ section of the
ILO who follows Burmese issues, told The Irrawaddy, “Yes, the delegate
[Khin Maung Oo] was expelled because he did not represent the workers in
Burma. He wasn’t appointed by the workers. He was appointed by the
government. That’s why he was not representative of workers.”

The delegate was denied the chance to vote in the worker’s section
delegation meeting, Brighi said.

Khin Maung Oo could not be reached for comment.

Khin Maung Oo, a supervisor at the Myanmar [Burma] Mayson Industrial Co
Ltd in Rangoon’s Hlaing Thayar Industrial Zone 4, was selected by the
government to attend the conference, which ran from May 30 to June 15.

Khin Maung Oo was quoted in Kyaymon as saying, “My name has finally been
officially listed as a Burma workers delegate on June 13. There should be
no difficulties till the end of the International Labour Conference.”

It is believed that Khin Maung Oo was allowed to attend other sections of
the ILO though he was expelled from its workers’ section.

The state-run newspaper also criticized comments made at the ILO delegate
meeting by Maung Maung, the general secretary of the exiled Federation of
Trade Unions—Burma.

Maung Maung told The Irrawaddy earlier that Khin Maung Oo was expelled
from the workers’ group of the ILO conference when officials learned there
are no trade unions or worker associations in Burma.

The newspaper said that Maung Maung wrote a letter criticizing Khin Maung
Oo's status to the ILO’s censorship committee.

In February 2007, the ILO negotiated an agreement with Burma’s junta on
the issue of forced labor. The agreement created a mechanism whereby
complaints can be reported without fear of government reprisals.

____________________________________

June 27, Business Report
Mr. Price defends its Myanmar imports - Tom Robbins

Cape Town - A clothing sector researcher has called on Mr. Price Group to
confirm that its supplier in Myanmar meets International Labour
Organisation working condition standards.

Researcher Renato Palmi said it was disturbing that Mr. Price imported
clothing from the Asian country, given the human rights and labour
violations that occurred under the military junta there.

"Mr. Price should make available for scrutiny and independent verification
its model of conduct" in Myanmar, also known as Burma, said Palmi.

But Mr. Price said members of its quality assurance department had
recently visited factories there and all had a high standard of labour
practice, including adherence to minimum wage legislation. It added that
other local retailers imported from Myanmar.

Palmi questioned what these minimum labour standards were. He said the
average working week in Myanmar clothing factories was 60 hours.

Monthly wages, including overtime pay, varied between $14 (R100) and $36.
To earn $36, workers needed to put in nearly 157 hours' overtime a month.
Click here!

Earlier this year the South African representative on the UN security
council voted against condemning human rights violations in Myanmar.

Palmi said he had found women's long-sleeve shirts with the "Made in
Myanmar" label at Mr. Price, adding that retailers had said they would be
forced to seek other suppliers after the imposition of quotas restricting
imports of Chinese-made clothing.

Mr. Price said it had started importing clothing from Myanmar about two
years ago, before the quotas came into effect at the beginning of this
year.

Last week Palmi said employment at KwaZulu-Natal clothing makers continued
to fall. Most factories did not expect to hire any time soon, despite the
quotas aimed at boosting the sector.

He said registered firms in the sector lost 5 275 jobs in the province
between last July and May this year. The industry employed 26 785 people
in KwaZulu-Natal, based on information from the provincial bargaining
council.

The government denied that jobs had been lost this year, saying jobs had
rather been created.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

June 27, Asia Times
A lurch on Myanmar's road to democracy - Jessicah Curtis

After nearly 14 years in the drafting, Myanmar's ruling generals have
announced that next month they will finalize a new constitution that,
after a national referendum, will pave the way for a political transition
from military to civilian rule.

For much of the past decade, Myanmar's slow-moving constitution-drafting
National Convention has been paid short shrift by the political
opposition, which has openly chided the junta's so-called "roadmap for
democracy".

The announcement by the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)
that the convention will reconvene for its final session on July 18 has
sent shock waves through the pro-democracy movement, led by the opposition
National League for Democracy (NLD).

The final draft of the long-awaited constitution is nearly complete, and
for the first time the SPDC appears ready to take significant steps toward
some sort of political transition where the military will maintain
political control through civilian proxies. In that direction, reports
have recently emerged that the SPDC has commenced construction on a big
new parliamentary building in the reclusive new capital city, Naypyidaw.

Yet rather than moving toward genuine political reconciliation, as the
United States, the European Union and the United Nations have all
encouraged, news that the constitution is near completion has stirred
concern rather than confidence among pro-democracy groups, which fear that
they will be even further marginalized in the political transition.

Since its launch in 1993, the National Convention has been widely viewed
as a convenient excuse by the SPDC not to hand power over to the NLD,
which won a landslide election victory over military-backed candidates in
1990. The military later annulled the results and has since ruled the
country with an iron fist.

Originally designed to lay down the "basic principles" for a new
constitution, the convention was later repackaged as the first step on the
junta's "roadmap for democracy", which was launched in August 2003 by
then-prime minister Khin Nyunt. At the time, the SPDC claimed the roadmap
would lead to a new constitution, free and fair elections, and a
multiparty democratic political system.

Toward that end, the National Convention was reconvened in 2004 after an
eight-year break instigated by the NLD's unwillingness to participate in a
process that it has continuously characterized as a sham. The
international community has responded with similar skepticism and has
called for a more transparent, inclusive process.

That clearly hasn't been the case, with nine political parties and a
number of key ceasefire and rebel outfits either uninvited or refusing to
attend the National Convention. Many other political and civilian groups,
including some that have participated in the constitution-drafting
process, have said they are unhappy with the final draft charter now being
circulated.

Exclusive liberties
That's because the new charter includes various anti-democratic provisions
and predictably is designed to secure a role for the military in Myanmar's
future "civilian" parliament. It also ensures that popular opposition
politicians, including detained NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, will be
legally excluded from prominent decision-making roles in the to-be-elected
government.

For instance, the draft allots 25% of the seats in a future parliament to
the military and prevents anyone with a criminal or prison record from
taking on a legitimate political role. Since many of Myanmar's
pro-democracy candidates, including several leading members of the NLD,
have spent time in jail, they will be barred from running for political
office.

It also prescribes that the future president must have "political,
administrative, military and economic experience", and have lived in
Myanmar for at least 20 years, and his or her spouses and children's
spouses must not be citizens of a foreign country. This provision has been
clearly designed to rule out the possibility of Aung San Suu Kyi
campaigning for the premiership.

Several other cabinet positions, including those of the ministers of
defense, border affairs and homeland security, will by law be held by
members of the military, and according to provisions in the current draft,
the military can legally seize power at any time merely by declaring a
state of emergency. The constitution also gives the army the right to full
independence from parliamentary and public oversight.

Importantly, the final session of the National Convention next month will
also finalize the guidelines for constitutional-amendment procedures - a
provision that NLD members contend will be the key to the new charter's
eventual success or failure. "We are interested in this stage. If it can
be possible to change [the constitution], then it will not be so bad for
Burma," NLD spokesperson U Myint Thein said, referring to the country by
its previous name.

In previous drafts, the military has demanded that any constitutional
amendments be tabled as parliamentary bills that must carry 75% support of
the legislature, which the military will likely dominate through both its
appointed and elected proxies. If passed, the amendments must then garner
more than 50% of eligible voters in a national referendum.

If the draft constitution is finalized next month, the National Convention
finally comes to a close and a national referendum is quickly held to
ratify the new charter, where will it leave major opposition groups, such
as the NLD and the armed insurgent groups that have been excluded from the
drafting process? The short answer: in a tight political spot.

Sources along the Thailand-Myanmar border say that the military has
recently taken steps to disarm a number of ceasefire groups with which the
SPDC had brokered loose autonomy deals in recent years, including the Shan
State Nationalities People's Liberation Organization and the Democratic
Karen Buddhist Army. It appears that those ceasefire groups that did send
delegates to the National Convention did not expect the
constitution-drafting process to end so abruptly - nor were they prepared
for the military's recent moves to disarm their members.

Excluded from the constitution-drafting process, Myanmar's various
opposition groups likewise seem unprepared for the fresh political
challenges posed by the new constitution and a military-led democratic
transition that appears to be winning over significant international
support. While the constitution still needs to be finalized, the move
toward a limited form of democracy now seems inevitable and, according to
one Yangon-based journalist, "caught the opposition with their pants
down".

"If the constitution goes to a referendum, then the next step will be a
[general] election," a source close to the military told Asia Times Online
in a telephone interview. "How can the NLD run for election based on a
constitution they didn't ratify and when they still insist that the 1990
election results are right? They will have to choose between the 1990
election result and being a part of Myanmar's political future."

At the least, the charter's completion and its promise of new general
elections will provide a fresh challenge to the legitimacy of past
political landmarks, including the annulled 1990 election results.

"You can go against something because it is unfair and unjust, but then it
becomes a political reality, and what do you do?" asked Thailand-based
Myanmar political analyst Aung Naing Oo. "What the military is preparing
to say is that whatever happened in the past, it will be invalidated if
the new constitution is ratified."

Some analysts believe the military's decision abruptly to wind down the
National Convention and finalize the constitution was brought on by
pressure from China. Some analysts note that the announcement came hard on
the heels of Prime Minister Thein Sein's recent China visit. More
concretely, Beijing has recently become impatient with the military's
foot-dragging over a process that, once completed, would help to ease
Myanmar's political and economic isolation.

The UN , which helped broker secret national-reconciliation talks between
the SPDC and the NLD in 2003 and has consistently pushed the junta to move
toward more democracy, could be throwing its hat in with the SPDC's plan.
The United Nations Population Fund in Myanmar is helping the military
government prepare for the country's first national census in more than 20
years ahead of a national referendum. If that referendum leads to
democratic elections, more international concessions could be in the
offing.

Jessicah Curtis is a Chiang Mai-based freelance journalist.