BurmaNet News, July 10, 2007

[Editor]

July 10, 2007 Issue # 3243

INSIDE BURMA
IMNA: Over 300 relocated villagers desperate for space to resettle
DVB: Shan rebel group disarmed by military: reports
IMNA: Women told to clear out from brothels and massage parlours in 15 days

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: New IRC funding proposal draws fire from local aid groups
DVB: Schools closed as fighting continues in Karen State

BUSINESS / TRADE
AP: Thailand's PTT exploration discovers big gas deposit off Myanmar coast
Irrawaddy: Online gambling big business in Burma

HEALTH / AIDS
Irrawaddy: Dengue fever strikes Rangoon

REGIONAL
VOA: China says Burma can solve own problems

INTERNATIONAL
Mizzima News: Gambari touring three Asian countries for consultations on
Burma
Bangkok Post: UN envoy upbeat overchild soldiers in Burma
ABC News: High level commission agreed between Venezuela and Myanmar

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

July 10, Independent Mon News Agency
Over 300 relocated villagers desperate for space to resettle

Over 300 villagers, comprising 100 households, are at a loss to find
shelter after being forced to relocate from Bayoun-ngae village by the
Burmese Army.

"Currently Bayoun-nage villagers have gone to Han-gan village. Local
military authorities have done nothing to resettle them. They are finding
it difficult to find space to resettle," a Han-gan villager said.

They were asked to vacate their homes and relocate on July 2, after
Burmese troops from the Light Infantry Battalion No.583 fought Mon rebels
outside the village. More than 60 villagers were beaten up on the
suspicion of supporting the Mon rebel outfit.

"Three families together resettled in some Han-gan villager's house. Some
Bayoun-ngae villagers who have relatives in Han-gan, went to their homes,"
a villager said. Some pleaded with Han-gan villagers who have space to
allow them to stay temporarily, he added.

Cow carts and heavy belongings have not been brought to Han-gan village yet.

"Most of their belongings from their home were brought here. But some
people are still going back to Bayoun-ngae village to get what they left
behind," the Han-gan villager added.

According to villagers, the relocated villagers had abandoned their farms
and plantations. The military government has imposed a curfew and locals
are using candle light at night and have been asked to inform the Burma
Army about the movement of Mon rebels.

____________________________________

July 10, Democratic Voice of Burma
Shan rebel group disarmed by military: reports

The splinter faction of the Shan State Nationalities People’s Liberation
Organisation, which fled to Karenni rebel territory last month, said
yesterday the remaining members of the group were disarmed by the Burmese
military on July 8.
Major Thurein, who led SSNPLO troops into Karenni State told DVB that main
group’s chairman and an 80-strong band of rebels handed their weapons to
State Peace and Development Council representatives at 3pm on Sunday.

“After we left [Shan State], the Taungyi military security forces
pressured U Chit Maung to convince us to come back within 15 days,”
Thurein said.

A meeting was then reportedly held between leaders of the remaining SSNPLO
faction, who said that they did not consider U Chit Maung to be fit to
continue leading the group.

“U Chit Maung then drove his men off to See Sai in three trucks at about
10pm later that night. A fight reportedly broke out there and some of his
men were injured. Yesterday, we were informed that a ceremony for the
group to hand over their arms had been held,” Thurein said.

____________________________________

July 10, Independent Mon News Agency
Women told to clear out from brothels and massage parlours in 15 days

Women working in massage parlours, restaurants and brothels in Mon state
have been ordered to clear out in 15 days by the Myanmar Maternal and
Child Welfare Association (MMCWA).

The directive was given in the beginning of this month and many
restaurants, massage parlours and brothels were ordered to close.

"No house was opened in Taung-Wine and Myaing-thar-yar quarter. The sex
workers and the female staff in restaurants and massage parlours have been
wandering on the streets without jobs," a Myaing-thar-yar resident said.

But some are still opening in the central of Moulmein (Mawlamyine), the
capital of Mon State.

Not only in Moulmein , but Myou-taw-oo restaurant, massage parlours and
restaurants in Kawkhapone village in Mudon Township and Thanpyuzayart
Township have been closed.

"Myou-taw-oo in Mudon was closed after the order was passed," said a
customer. Myou-taw-oo had about 30 women and it was owned by the Union
Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) leader, U Thaung Kyi.

Most of the women are from Rangoon (Yangon), and upper Burma . Some of
them were working on contract. Although the staff in these restaurants
were paid around Kyat 30,000 Kyat per month by the owners, they made about
Kyat 300,000 Kyat from customers, said a Myou-taw-oo staff.

A majority of the owners of restaurants massage parlours, and brothels are
USDA members and people who are close to military government officers.

Although the government mounted pressure on the brothel houses, massage
parlours and restaurants, the number such establishments increased in
recent years in Mon State .

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

July 10, Irrawaddy
New IRC funding proposal draws fire from local aid groups - Violet Cho

Burmese women’s groups on the Thai-Burmese border have called on
international humanitarian organizations to cooperate more closely with
local workers to insure that projects meet real needs o­n the ground.

Complaints from local groups on the border first emerged following the
release of a funding proposal for 2007-2008 by the International Rescue
Committee published by the UNHCR and the Committee for the Coordination of
Services to Displaced People in Thailand.

One proposal in particular has drawn criticism from local humanitarian
groups. The report suggests that substantial funding—some US $300,000—be
used to address the issue of sexual exploitation and abuse of refugees by
humanitarian workers in border refugee camps.

Timothy Swett, the deputy director of IRC in Thailand, told The Irrawaddy
that the proposal was based o­n a study in West Africa by the UNHCR and
Save the Children that found that aid workers were abusing refugees and
asking for sexual favors in exchange for food and other services.

But local humanitarian workers say the situation on the ground does not
warrant the project and was made without consulting local groups.

“Sexual abuse and exploitation by non-government organization staff are
not serious problems here,” said Zipporah Sein, the general-secretary of
the Karen Women’s Organization, which provides educational training and
relief projects in seven of nine refugee camps o­n the Thai-Burmese
border.

About 160,000 Karen and Karenni refugees from Burma live in nine camps
along the border.

“We want international humanitarian groups to do things that will really
meet the requirement of the communities,” said Zipporah Sein, a veteran
aid worker and nominee for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize.

“We want them to consult with us [local groups] before they make any
proposals for our community,” she added. “We do not agree if they do what
they want to do first and let us know later.”

Bwee Paw, chairperson of the Karenni Women’s Organization based in Mae
Hong Son, said there have been some cases of rape by Thai soldiers in the
Karenni refugee camp in the past but that local women’s groups managed to
handle the cases by themselves.

“Since then, we have never heard of any sex abuse cases like that again,”
Bwee Paw said.

But IRC’s deputy director Swett dismissed views from the local women’s
groups, saying that the community is not aware of the issue because they
don’t understand exploitation.

“In (cases involving sexual exploitation), it’s quite difficult because
the community isn’t aware of abuse and exploitation and so the project
itself is trying to define and find out the prevalence of abuse and
exploitation,” said Swett.

The deputy director added that he does not know of any cases of abuse by
humanitarian staff in Thailand but suggests that because such abuse is a
global problem it must exist in Thailand too.

Bwee Paw, who has worked for two Karenni refugee camps where more than
20,000 people reside, said that this sexual exploitation issue shouldn’t
be the priority and there are more important problems to be solved in the
camps.

She gave the example of high rates of depression among young and older
women in the camps resulting from domestic problems or the harsh
conditions of life in the camps as an issue that needs to be urgently
addressed.

____________________________________

July 10, Democratic Voice of Burma
Schools closed as fighting continues in Karen State

More than 5000 children have been forced to flee Karen State for the
Thai-Burma border after recent clashes between rival Karen rebels forced
the closure of their schools.

Dr Cynthia Maung from the well-known Mae Tao clinic said that many of the
children were being enrolled in migrant schools in Thai territory.

“Schools have been closed down because of ongoing fighting . . . Many of
the children are here alone and are being housed in hostels. We are having
problems trying to feed them all,” Cynthia Maung said.

Mahn Shwe Hnin, chairman of the Migrant Teachers’ Association in Mae Sot
said that the number of children leaving Karen State to seek an education
in Thailand had doubled since last year.

“We have increasing numbers of students in every school now. There are now
more than 5000 refugee and migrant students here,” Mahn Shwe Hnin said.

There are more than 50 schools along the Thai-Burma border that cater to
children whose parents are either refugees fleeing conflict areas or
economic migrants. One child told DVB that life in Thailand was much
better than in Burma.

“My mother came here to work as she couldn’t make money in Burma . . . I’m
happy to stay here. When we were in Burma we had to borrow money to pay
our tuition fees but here we have everything,” the child said.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

July 10, Associated Press
Thailand's PTT exploration discovers big gas deposit off Myanmar coast

Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production PCL has discovered a large
offshore gas deposit in Myanmar's Gulf of Martaban, state media reported
Tuesday.

The Thai company confirmed the find, and said it expects to start
production from the field next April.

Drilling in a test well, the company discovered a gas deposit estimated at
8 trillion cubic feet (240 billion cubic meters), the New Light of Myanmar
newspaper reported.

The gas field holds international-market quality gas deposits much like
the Yadana and Yetagun gas fields operated by France's Total SA and Unocal
Corp. of the United States, in the Gulf of Martaban, 300 kilometers (188
miles) south of Yangon, the paper said.

Thailand currently buys natural gas from the two gas fields.

PTT Exploration and Production said Tuesday it plans to start production
in the block, designated M-9, next April, and it is expected to be one of
the main sources of natural gas for Thailand, a net oil importer, as its
energy demands grow.

"The field shows promising potential for further development. It has a
significant deposit," Maroot Mrigadat, PTTEP president told Dow Jones
Newswires. He said, however, a precise estimate of the reserves awaited
additional exploration work.

The minimum level of confirmed reserves would have to be around 1.5
trillion-to-2.5 trillion cubic feet (45 billion-75 billion cubic meters)
before the company starts production, he said, adding that the company
plans to drill another four or five appraisal wells in the block between
now and April.

Since late 2006, PTTEP has drilled a total of 10 wells, nine of which made
significant discoveries.

PTTEP signed a production-sharing contract with the Myanmar government for
the exploration and production of oil and gas from Blocks M-7 and M-9 in
November 2003.

The two blocks cover a total area of 10,530 square miles (27,000 square
kilometers).

Exploration work in Block M-7 will start later, Maroot said.

Since Myanmar began allowing foreign investment in 1988, the government
has signed exploration contracts with companies from Malaysia, South
Korea, India, Australia, Canada and Indonesia, as well as France, Thailand
and the United States.

Despite condemnation of the ruling military regime by Western nations,
foreign companies are still competing to enter Myanmar's potentially
lucrative energy sector.

____________________________________

July 10, Irrawaddy
Online gambling big business in Burma - Aye Lae

Despite vigorous official attempts by the authorities to stamp it out,
online gambling in Burma has become a multimillion kyat business among the
country’s better-off middle class.

The risk of heavy legal penalties is ignored by bookmakers cashing in on
the love affair between the typical Burmese punter and the twin
attractions of football and gambling. Financial restrictions, such as the
lack of a credit card system, are also overcome by cash-only operations.
Even ceasefire groups are involved, a sports journal editor told The
Irrawaddy.

The Burmese bookmakers are so successful at skirting the law that during
last year’s World Cup football contest Thai operators slipped in from
neighboring Thailand, where online gambling is also outlawed.

With the qualifying rounds of the 2008 European Football Championship
contest under way and the start of Asia Cup matches, big money is being
posted on Internet sites accessed by Burmese gamblers. Mandalay bookmaker
Aung Ko told The Irrawaddy about 20 regular customers place bets with him
worth 80 million kyat (US $62,400) a week. The minimum stake is 100,000
kyat (about $90).

Aung Ko said he is one of at least four Mandalay bookmakers running their
business online. “My business has made me very rich in a short period,” he
said.

Other online bookmakers operate in Rangoon, Taunggyi and Monywa. All deal
through a leading Rangoon operator. Because of the difficulty of handling
online currency dealings and the lack of a credit card mechanism, debts
are collected and payouts made in cash.

One of the gambling websites Burmese gamblers place bets is MANSION88
which is licensed in the Philippines.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

July 10, Irrawaddy
Dengue fever strikes Rangoon - Khun Sam

An outbreak of dengue fever in Rangoon—mostly among children—has filled
patient rooms in government and private hospitals and killed 30 people,
according to sources in the former capital.

Rangoon health worker fumigates school in response to dengue fever
outbreak. Photo: AFP
“The number of dengue patients coming to the hospitals to receive
treatment is increasing,” an official from Yangon [Rangoon] General
Hospital in eastern Rangoon told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. “Most patients
are children.”

The state-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar, which rare confirms the
details of epidemics of any kind in the military-ruled country, today
admitted the number of patients was o­n the rise but attributed it to
parents who rushed their children to hospitals at the first sign of a
fever.

A recent report in the English language weekly newspaper The Myanmar Times
said that some 3,000 people have fallen ill from dengue fever in the first
six months of 2007, with 30 people dead from the virus.

The New Light of Myanmar reported that government officials from the
Yangon City Development Committee, health department officials, medical
superintendents, doctors and professors from the University of Medicine-1
on Monday attended a coordination meeting o­n the prevention and treatment
of dengue fever.

Measures to combat dengue have been carried out since January 2007, the
report said, but noted that the number of patients—particularly
children—has increased.

Private hospitals are crowded with children suffering from the virus,
according to a source in Rangoon with close ties to private clinics.

Another Rangoon resident said government hospitals are only admitting
serious cases for treatment due to overcrowding and all other patients
have been given medicine and sent home.

“Patients are even waiting outside the hospitals for treatment at some
locations,” the resident added.

Burma’s health minister, Dr Kyaw Myint, claimed at yesterday’s
coordinating meeting that the rate of incidence in Burma had decreased
year by year compared to neighboring countries.

According to statistics published by The Myanmar Times, a total of 130
people died and 11,049 contracted dengue fever in Burma last year. In
Cambodia, 132 people have died of the virus this year, while Thailand has
reported 21,000 cases in 2007, an increase of 36 percent over last year.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

July 10, Voice of America
China says Burma can solve own problems

China says the situation in military-ruled Burma does not pose a threat to
regional security, and that people there should be allowed to resolve
their own problems.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman in Beijing, Qin Gang, said Tuesday that as a
neighbor to Burma, China hopes the southeast Asian country will have
stability, economic development and peace. He did not comment on the
ongoing house arrest of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi or Burma's
reported detention of more than 1,000 political prisoners.

The remarks follow a visit to Beijing by the United Nations Special
Adviser on Burma, Ibrahim Gambari. Gambari met with senior Chinese
government officials during his stopover, which is part of wider regional
discussions on Burma.

Gambari also will travel to India and Japan for further talks.

Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won Burma's 1990
election, but was never allowed to take office. She has spent most of the
past 18 years under detention of some form.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

July 10, Mizzima News
Gambari touring three Asian countries for consultations on Burma - Mungpi

Ibrahim Gambari, the UN Secretary General's special advisor on Myanmar,
who met Chinese officials in Beijing on the political situation in Burma,
is expected to arrive in New Delhi tonight, according to the UN
information centre in New Delhi.

A UN official in New Delhi said following the trip to China the UN chief's
representative will arrive in New Delhi and is scheduled to visit Tokyo.
He will hold consultations on Burma with government officials in both
places.

"During this trip, he [Gambari] will discuss Myanmar [Burma] with some of
the key countries in the region," UN spokesperson Marie Okabe said.

Gambari's Asian tour is part of the UN's engagement with important
regional countries to foster positive changes in military-ruled Burma. And
in keeping with this, Gambari met US government officials in Washington
two weeks ago.

"Any effort to promote positive changes in Myanmar [Burma] is going to
require not only direct dialogue with the government and the people of the
country, but also with all interested countries and all who can
potentially help support our efforts," said Marie Okabe.

Meanwhile, Burma 's largest opposition political party – the National
League For Democracy – in Rangoon welcomed UN's renewed efforts and said,
"We appreciate and thank the UN for taking interest in Burma 's political
situation."

However, NLD spokesperson U Han Thar Myint said the real solution to
Burma's political stalemate lies in negotiating between the ruling junta,
opposition groups and ethnic minorities.

"We believe that the UN will urge regional countries to pressurize the
Burmese junta to hold such talks," said Han Thar Myint.

Pressures from regional countries, including China will send a clear
message to the junta for political dialogue to begin in Burma.

On Monday, Gambari met Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Dai Binguo, Assistant
Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai, and Director-General Wu Hailong and held
discussions on Burma .

"Given the close relationship between the military junta and China, there
is no other country but China that could send a clear message to the
Burmese regime," Han Thar Myint added.

According to UN spokeswoman, Marie Okabe, Gambari, who made two visits to
Burma in May and November 2006 and met junta leaders as well as detained
Burmese pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, will soon revisit the
isolated Southeast Asian country to engage with the ruling regime for
political reforms.

____________________________________

July 10, Bangkok Post
UN envoy upbeat overchild soldiers in Burma - Larry Jagan

Her optimism, however, runs counter to other international organisations'
assessment
The UN is optimistic that Burma is committed to ending the recruitment of
children into the government's armed forces after a UN envoy's recent
comprehensive discussions with the country's acting prime minister. But
their upbeat mood runs counter to other international organisations'
assessment. Just as the envoy's trip to Burma ended, the International
Committee for the Red Cross president issued a rare public rebuke to the
regime accusing them of committing numerous violations of international
humanitarian law against civilians, especially in conflict areas.

Burma's military junta has agreed to set up a special government post to
work with the UN on the issue of child soldiers.

''The good news is they agreed to set up a focal point at the Ministry of
Social Welfare to engage directly with Unicef,'' the UN's Special
Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, told
reporters at the end of her five-day visit to the country, 10 days ago.

Officials involved in the talks with the government said the prime
minister was very accommodating and they are now hoping the government is
committed to acting to reduce the recruitment of children into the army.

But the practice of recruiting young boys into the Burmese army is
widespread. Burma has been heavily criticised by human rights groups over
the past two decades for recruiting large numbers of child soldiers, some
as young as 11.

The US-based group, Human Rights Watch, estimates that there may be more
than 70,000 child soldiers in the Burmese army. These youngsters are often
kidnapped on their way home from school, without their parents' knowledge.
They are then brutalised and physically abused during their induction and
basic training before being shipped off to fight in the country's border
areas.

But the envoy's visit was not a fact-finding mission.

''This was not an investigation mission or a fact-finding mission,'' she
told journalists at the end of her trip. ''There are various reports with
regard to child soldiers and the government gave me their point of view.
But the purpose [of this trip] was to set up a monitoring mechanism, which
the government has now agreed to.''

The next step is for the UN agencies on the ground in Burma, especially
Unicef, to gather information on child soldiers and clarify the real
situation before reporting back to the UN security council later this
year, according to the UN special envoy.

''The mechanism that the UN secretary general's special representative has
put in place will allow the UN to start gaining a better understanding of
the extent of the problem [of child soldiers] and to find ways to address
it,'' a senior UN official in Rangoon told the Bangkok Post on condition
of anonymity.

The fact that the trip took place at all has raised the UN's expectations
that the government maybe prepared to curb the recruitment of minors into
the Burmese army.

''We feel there is a chance the government may be fairly serious about
cooperating _ or at least being seen to be _ on this issue,'' another UN
official in Rangoon told the Bangkok Post.

But one issue remains unresolved: what will the regime do, if anything, to
release soldiers who were abducted into the army before they were 18, but
have since reached adulthood. After all they are still by definition child
soldiers, having been recruited when they were minors.

But the UN understandably remains coy about this issue. ''I am not sure
how they will be handled,'' a senior UN official who accompanied the envoy
on her visit said. ''It is still not clear.''

There could be as many as 90,000 soldiers in this category. The biggest
obstacle to their release is the need to find replacements for them _ any
soldier who wants to be discharged must find a substitute. That is
virtually impossible at present as the army recruiters cannot even meet
their annual quotas. Privately UN officials have conceded that they are
unlikely to make any headway on this issue and may not press the regime
for fear it may cause the government to abandon its commitment to stop the
future recruitment of minors into the army.

In the past few years, the Burmese regime has become increasingly
sensitive about the issue of child soldiers. Human Rights Watch's
comprehensive report released in late 2002 provoked an international
outcry and pressed the junta into doing something about the forced
conscription of child soldiers.

The military regime set up the Committee for the Prevention of Military
Recruitment of Under-Age Children in January 2004. In early October 2004,
the government adopted the committee's action plan which included a
provision for the discharge of young soldiers under the age of 18 from
military service and their reintegration into their families and
communities.

Opposition activists believe the government's apparent willingness to
cooperate is only because this issue now comes with a UN Security Council
tag, and the last thing the regime wants is for the UN to have another
excuse to put Burma back on the Security Council agenda. UN officials
accept that this has helped their cause and top military brass's
endorsement of the government's commitment.

''The fact that Resolution 1612 which refers to the issue of child
soldiers relates to the Security Council, even if only as a working group
of the council, has been sufficient to attract the attention and agreement
of the higher authorities,'' said a senior UN official.

But while the use of child soldiers is still common in the Burmese army,
there may have been a drop in the number of under-age recruits in recent
years, according to some international aid workers working with children
in Burma.

''In the past when army recruiters were short of their quota [of new
recruits] they would target young kids at the few street children centres
that operate in Rangoon,'' a former aid worker in Burma, Karl Dorning
said.

''Since the committee was set up and we pointed out that it's illegal to
recruit children under the age of 18 they have left us alone.''

But UN agencies and diplomats in Rangoon continued to report the use of
child soldiers in the government armed forces. ''There may have been a
drop in recruitment of children during the Khin Nyunt era, but this has
since changed, especially in the last two years with a major renewed
offensive against the ethnic minorities in eastern Burma,'' according to
the Human Rights Watch researcher in Chiang Mai, David Scott Mathieson.

No independent comprehensive assessment of the use of minors by government
forces or ethnic rebel armies has been conducted since the setting up of
the government's committee. But the UN hopes the special envoy's visit may
have helped to put a mechanism into place the will be able to do that in
the future.

Human rights activists remain sceptical. They point out that the army is
under strength, according to secret Burmese military documents. Mass
desertions have crippled the Burmese army. In 2006, there were some 9000
desertions from the army, whereas the army was only able to recruit 6000,
according to the junta's military meeting minutes. This trend has
continued and the army is facing an acute shortage of trained soldiers.

The optimum size for an infantry battalion is between 600 to 800
personnel, whereas many battalions on the frontline are composed of fewer
than 200 men, according to Thai intelligence sources.

As a result, army recruiters are being pressed to increase their quota of
new soldiers. Those who exceed their quota are rewarded, while those who
fall short are punished, according to Burmese military sources. Regional
and provision commanders have even taken recruitment into their own hands
and conscripted local lads into their battalions.

This inevitably means many young men are still being targeted.

''Many are still picked up by recruiters at public places like train
stations or teashops or coming out of cinemas and given few, if any,
choices but to enlist,'' Mr Mathieson said.

Rural towns and villages are being swept for recruits rather than Rangoon,
according to human rights activists who have interviewed young army
deserters who have fled to the Thai-Burmese border. UN officials in Burma
concede that it will be difficult to monitor the activities of local
recruiters throughout the country, especially in remoter areas.

''The effectiveness of the mechanism put in place will depend on its
ability to pick up such cases, and to deal with them,'' said a senior UN
official based in Rangoon. ''We are still in the early stages of
establishing the process.''

But while the UN may be upbeat about the prospect of reducing child
soldiers in the Burmese army, the reality faced by other international
organisations working in the conflict areas suggests it is misplaced.

Ten days ago ICRC president Jakob Kellenberger publicly condemned Burma's
military leaders for routinely abusing civilians in conflict areas,
including the use of porters, arbitrary arrests and even summary
executions.

They have created a climate of fear and forced thousands of civilians to
flee their homes. More than half-a-million people are internally displaced
in eastern Burma, according to aid workers who provide food and medical
treatment to them. Burmese soldiers repeatedly commit abuses against men,
women and children living in communities affected by armed conflicts along
the Thai-Burmese border. These include the large-scale destruction of food
supplies. The armed forces severely restrict the population's freedom of
movement in these areas, making it impossible for many villagers to work
in their fields.

''It is clear that civilians in the conflict zones are increasingly at
risk as the army forces local people into daily servitude: being used for
everything from, fetching water, cleaning barracks, building roads,
carrying equipment and construction material, guarding roads at night and
walking ahead of Burmese army troops to trigger landmines or deter attacks
from anti-government armed groups,'' Mr. Mathieson said.

The internally displaced in eastern Burma face the constant danger of
landmines sown by government and anti-government armed groups in the areas
where they are fleeing, They are also facing a public health crisis that
rivals some of the worst places in the world.

____________________________________

July 9, ABC News
High level commission agreed between Venezuela and Myanmar

The governments of Venezuelan and the Union of Myanmar have agreed to
establish a Mixed High Level Commission to strengthen bilateral relations
in the political, economic and commercial areas.  Myanmar is located in
south-east Asia, with the city of Yangon as its capital.

The information was made public by the vice-minister of Foreign Affair of
the Union of Myanmar, Maung Myint, after a meeting with the Venezuelan
Chancellor Nicolas Maduro.

The south-eastern country's representative, who is visiting Venezuela as a
special guest of the government, pointed out that the Mixed Commission
would work in Venezuela and, in that moment, the cooperation details would
be discussed.

Maung Myint also said that the "Mixed Commission World be established
after a possible visit of President Hugo Chavez to that region."

Myint highlighted that both countries are trying to identify common
interests, and reminded that Myanmar is "a country that is about 100
percent cultivated ... we export rice, and we are also the second biggest
exporter of beans. Last year we exported about 1,2 million tons of beans."

When Maung Myint arrived in Venezuela, July 5, he said that the Union of
Myanmar is interested in strengthening relations with Venezuela and in
identifying different areas where cooperation between the two countries is
possible.

"Myanmar counts on great gas reserves ... that is why I think it is a good
moment to discuss themes related to energy, in order to find ways to
cooperate in the different basic areas dealing with the use of
refineries."

During his visit, Myint has visited several historic places such as the
National Pantheon, Simon Bolivar's birthplace, the Bolivarian Museum and
the Bolivar Square in downtown Caracas. He also walked through the
Hospital Cardiologico Infantil, (Children’s Cardiology Hospital) and was
scheduled to visit the Nucleo de Desarrollo Endogeno (Endogenous
Development Center) Fabricio Ojeda, to see social achievements of the
Revolution.

The fortieth biggest country in the world shares borders with China, to
the North, with the Andaman Sea to the South, with Laos and Thailand to
the East, and with India, and Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal to the
West.

It is a predominantly agricultural nation, with 63% of its inhabitants
linked to the cultivation and processing of its products, with greats
reserves of gold and precious stones, including diamonds and a great
hydroelectric energy potential.