BurmaNet News, October 6, 2007

[Editor]

October 6, 2007 Issue # 3313

INSIDE BURMA
The Independent: Opposition rejects Burmese leader's negotiation offer
AFP: Suu Kyi appears on state TV as under-fire Myanmar frees monks
DPA: Burma releases detained monks but diplomats not hopeful
Mizzima News: Karenni Army kills three Burmese soldiers, seize arms,
ammunition

ON THE BORDER
AP: Ex-Myanmar prisoners describe torture - Robin McDowell

ASEAN
IPS: ASEAN backs neither U.S. nor China over Burma

REGIONAL
Reuters: Singapore denies money laundering Myanmar leaders-CNN
The Asia Age via BBC Monitoring: Indians form group to show solidarity for
Burmese people

INTERNATIONAL
New York Times: U.N. Chief calls crackdown in Myanmar 'abhorrent'

AP: UN Envoy urges Burma's junta to start talks
AFP: Myanmar tries to cool international pressure
AP: Global protests for Burma
Reuters: Myanmar monk makes phone appeal to backers in NY
IHT: UK's Gordon Brown: Britain wants further EU sanctions against Burma
Reuters: Jim Carrey calls for U.N. sanctions on Myanmar

STATEMENT
ENC: Statement on the current situation in Burma
BRN: Rivers Network asks Burma's neighbours to end energy deals with the
Myanmar military junta

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

October 6, The Independent (London)
Opposition rejects Burmese leader's negotiation offer - Andrew Buncombe

The party of the detained Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
yesterday dismissed the military junta's purported offer of talks,
claiming its pre-set conditions would force her to admit to offences of
which she was not guilty.

The country's senior general, Than Shwe, who was ultimately responsible
for the violent repression of pro-democracy demonstrations last week, has
said he will meet the head of the National League for Democracy (NLD) if
she drops her support for international sanctions and abandons her
"confrontational attitude". But Nyan Win, a spokesman for the NLD, said:
"They are asking her to confess to offences that she has not committed."

The NLD's dismissal of the regime's conditions - which was supported by
activists and campaigners outside Burma - came as the United Nations'
special envoy briefed the Security Council about his talks earlier in the
week with General Shwe. Ibrahim Gambari said he was cautiously optimistic
of progress.

At the same time, the most senior US diplomat in Burma, Shari Villarosa,
travelled to the jungle capital, Naypyidaw, for talks with the Deputy
Foreign Minister, Maung Myint. The American embassy in Burma has been
outspoken in its criticism of the regime and vocal in its support of
dissidents and groups such as the NLD.

According to state-run television, General Shwe set out his conditions for
talks with Ms Suu Kyi when he met Mr Gambari on Tuesday. He reportedly
demanded that she must abandon "confrontation", give up "obstructive
measures" and her support for sanctions.
Western activists said General Shwe had been making such demands since
1992. "We have been here before," said Mark Farmaner, of the Burma
Campaign UK. "The regime is still refusing to enter into genuine dialogue.
Gambari's mission has failed. We have to break out of this cycle. UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon must go to Burma and deliver a strong
message to the regime that further delay is unacceptable."

The UN leader is unlikely to undertake such a mission without a resolution
from the Security Council, but that would be blocked by Burma's most
important trading partner, China. Yesterday, Beijing again stated that the
repression of pro-democracy protests in Burma did not demand international
action. China's UN ambassador, Wang Guangya, said: "There are problems
there but these problems, we still believe, are basically internal. No
international-imposed solution can help the situation. We want the
government there to handle this issue."

Campaigners believe as many as 200 people were killed by Burmese troops as
they moved to crush the street protests led by Buddhist monks. The junta,
however, claims only 10 people were killed.

In New York yesterday, Mr Gambari told the UN Security Council he was
"cautiously encouraged" that the Burmese regime was offering talks. "This
is an hour of historic opportunity for Myanmar," he said. "This is a
potentially welcome development which calls for maximum flexibility on all
sides."

His comments came shortly after Ban Ki-moon, speaking in the Security
Council chamber, urged Burma's rulers to "take bold actions towards
democratisation and respect for human rights".

Burmese state television broadcast rare footage of Ms Suu Kyi yesterday
for the first time in four years. The junta claimed it had freed hundreds
of detained monks and restored internet access - steps which appeared
aimed at appeasing world opinion. The regime admitted its troops raided 18
monasteries and jailed more than 700 monks as an estimated 2,000 people
were rounded up last week.

However, it insisted that only 109 monks remained in custody.

____________________________________

October 6, Agence France Presse
Suu Kyi appears on state TV as under-fire Myanmar frees monks

Suu Kyi appears on state TV as under-fire Myanmar frees monks Myanmar
Senior General Than Shwe and democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Myanmar's
military regime broadcast rare footage of the detained Suu Kyi on state
television on Friday, in what were the first images of her to appear in at
least four years.

Myanmar's military regime Friday broadcast rare footage of detained
democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi on state television for the for first time
in at least four years.

The junta also said it had freed hundreds of detained monks, and it
restored Internet access after a week, steps that appeared aimed at
appeasing world opinion as the generals came under strong attack at the
United Nations.

The TV report showed Aung San Suu Kyi with UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari and
said he met the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) twice
and held talks with regime leader General Than Shwe during his four-day
visit this week.

Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has spent most of the past
18 years under house arrest, and her image has not appeared in state media
since before her last period of detention started in 2003.

The junta has said Than Shwe was ready for a face-to-face meeting with
her, provided she first drops her call for sanctions against the country,
and an NLD spokesman said she was looking positively at the offer of
dialogue.

The TV report -- broadcast as UN members were discussing Myanmar's
crackdown on protesters -- referred to her as "Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,"
using a respectful form of address, rather than just her name, as was
common in the past.

Aung San Suu Kyi, 62, whose NLD won 1990 elections but was never allowed
to govern, continues to symbolise the nation's democratic aspirations.

The regime also admitted that security forces last week raided 18
monasteries and jailed more than 700 people -- part of the more than 2,000
people detained in the sweep -- but said only 109 monks now remain in
custody.

Buddhist monks were at the vanguard of the largest anti-regime protests
that military-ruled Myanmar, also known as Burma, has seen in almost 20
years before they were crushed last week, leaving at least 13 people dead.

The state media report said Gambari had told Myanmar "to find a political
solution by avoiding a violent crackdown," to pull back troops and end an
overnight curfew, and to "start solid steps for the democracy process."

He had also asked that the International Committee for the Red Cross be
allowed to meet with the detainees and that all political prisoners be
released as soon as possible, state media said in unusually detailed
reporting.

Culture Minister Khin Aung Myint, a regime spokesman, had replied that the
protests were "not in a democratic way," that the protesters were only
detained for investigation, and that "there are no political prisoners in
Myanmar."

In New York, Myanmar was under the spotlight at the United Nations over
its bloody crackdown last week, images of which have horrified the world.

At least 13 people were killed when troops opened fire at the peaceful
demonstrators, but most observers believe the true death toll is far
higher.

Gambari, addressing the world body, warned the generals that their
crackdown on anti-government protests "can have serious international
repercussions."

"No country can afford to act in isolation from the standards by which all
members of the international community are held," said Gambari.

US ambassador the UN Zalmay Khalilzad warned: "If the Burmese regime does
not respond constructively to the demands of the international community
in a timely manner, the United States is prepared to introduce a
resolution in the Security Council imposing sanctions."

The State Department, meanwhile, said a meeting earlier Friday between the
top US diplomat in Myanmar and the junta was "not a terribly edifying
meeting from our perspective."

UN ambassador Wang Guangya of China -- a major trade partner of Myanmar and
arms supplier -- said that putting pressure on Myanmar's military rulers
to achieve greater democratisation "would only lead to confrontation."

China has already opposed UN sanctions when in January in a rare double
move with Russia it vetoed a draft US-sponsored resolution urging
Myanmar's rulers to free all political detainees and end sexual violence
by the military.

Rights groups have called for a global day of protests on Saturday over
the crackdown on peaceful protests demonstrations in Myanmar.

Events are to take place at midday local time, and have already been
scheduled in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, India, Ireland,
New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Britain and the United
States.

____________________________________

October 6, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Burma releases detained monks but diplomats not hopeful

Rangoon - The Burmese junta has released hundreds of Buddhist monks
arrested in a crackdown on the largest anti-regime protests in 19 years,
but few see such lenience as a sign of positive change in the brutal
regime's tactics towards dissent, diplomats and activists said Saturday.

The New Light of Myanmar, a government mouthpiece, announced Saturday that
404 of the 513 monks arrested since September 26 had already been released
from prison, together with 30 women who had been caught in the authorities
dragnet of 18 monasteries in Rangoon, citing military sources.

The regime previously said that altogether 2,093 people had been arrested
in their latest crackdown on dissent, of whom 692 had been released.

Authorities now acknowledge that they raided 18 monasteries in Rangoon
last month as part of the crackdown on the monk-led rebellion, which
started on September 18 with peaceful barefoot marches through the streets
of the city and peaked on September 25 with 100,000 anti-government
protesters.

The Burmese junta crushed the "saffron revolution" on September 26 and 27,
killing at least 10 people, according to official figures. Anti-government
activists in Rangoon say the death toll was closer to 200.

Residents near the Yeywey crematorium in Rangoon saw government personnel
burning 71 bodies on the night of September 26, and people living near
Insein prison have witnessed three to four dead bodies being brought out
nightly from the notorious jail, where many of the protesters were
detained and reportedly beaten.

In is unlikely that the full extent of the atrocities committed against
Burmese revered monkhood and the laymen who joined their peaceful protests
will ever be disclosed.

Calls for an independent investigation into the events have been ignored.
Confidence in the United Nations' ability to do anything to pressure the
regime is limited and dwindling fast, diplomats said.

UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari visited Burma between September 29 to
October 2 to deliver a strong message of disapproval to the country's
ruling generals and returned to New York on Thursday with a report for the
UN Security Council.

After the 15-member council met Friday it failed to reach a consensus on
future actions against the regime or even a joint statement of
condemnation.

What was decided was that Gambari will visit Burma again in mid-November,
but whether he visits depends on whether or not the junta grants him a
visa.

"After his critical statements in New York I doubt they will let Gambari
come back again," said Lars Backstrom, the Finnish ambassador to Burma and
Thailand.

Backstrom and the Danish ambassador were briefed by a deputy director of
the Burmese Foreign Ministry in Naypyidaw, the country's new capital, on
Friday.

"There were no surprises," said Backstrom of the briefing. Like many
Burma-watchers, the diplomat expressed pessimism about Burma's prospects
for democracy in the aftermath of the latest protests and crackdowns.

"This was just another sad chapter in a very sad history of the country,"
said Backstorm in an interview in Bangkok with Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

Senior General Than Shwe, who heads the ruling junta, has offered to meet
with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on the precondition that she drops
her calls for "confrontation" and support for western sanctions against
the country.

Ironically, Suu Kyi has not been able to call for anything over the past
four years as she has been kept in near complete isolation under house
arrest in Yangon. She has no telephone, and the last person she has met
besides her maid and personal doctor was Gambari, who held talks with her
on September 30 and again on October 2.

Observers speculate that Than Shwe has set preconditions for a dialogue
with Suu Kyi in order to blame their eventual failure on the 1991 Nobel
peace prize laureate.

"The military has the upper hand. That's the fact," said Backstrom. "Time
is on their side."

____________________________________

October 6, Mizzima News
Karenni Army kills three Burmese soldiers, seize arms, ammunition - Than
Htike Oo

October 5, 2007 - The ethnic Karenni armed rebel group said it attacked
two Burmese Army battalions based near the Kayah State early on Thursday
morning and seized arms and ammunitions after killing three Burmese
soldiers.

The Karenni National Progressive Party, an armed ethnic rebel group, said
its cadres attacked the Burmese Army's Light Infantry Battalion (54),
based about three kilometers south of Kayah State's capital Loikaw.

The KNPP said it found three bodies of Burmese soldiers and seized arms
and ammunition. The group also added that it encountered the Burmese
Army's LIB (337) based in Pharuso township in Kayah State.

"The KNPP cadres found three bodies of Burmese soldiers and 4 MA and 1 PA
type rifles along with a few rounds of ammunition," the KNPP secretary,
Khu Oo Reh told Mizzima.

The Burmese Army, so far, has made no statement about the clash.

The KNPP secretary said that while the rebel group attacked with about 40
soldiers, it did not lose any. He said, LIB (54), (102) and other
artillery battalions.

While another encounter between the KNPP cadres and the LIB (337) took
place on Thursday about 8 a.m. (local time), Khu Oo Reh said detailed
information of the encounter has not reached him.

Military Alliance, an alliance of ethnic armed rebel groups based along
the borders of Burma, earlier this month declared increasing military
operations against the Burmese junta as a support to the peoples' movement
inside Burma.

The Military Alliance (MA) has been formed with ethnic armed rebel groups
including the KNPP, Karen National Union, Kachin, Chin, Arakan and Shan
State Army (south).

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

October 6, Associated Press
Ex-Myanmar prisoners describe torture - Robin McDowell

Mae Sot - Thet Oo says his military interrogators in Myanmar kicked him in
the head until he blacked out, shackled his polio-ridden legs, and then
threw him in a tiny, dark cell where he spent much of the next 12 years.

"They treat people like animals," said the 46-year-old, one of dozens of
former political prisoners who have fled across the border to Thailand.

He and others recounted this week how they were imprisoned and tortured by
Myanmar's military regime for their pro-democracy activities.

Oo was a security guard for opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi before she
was placed under house arrest in 1989. Her party won national elections
the next year, but the junta did not recognize the results and began
rounding up her supporters.

Oo was detained and brought before his interrogators, who reeked of
alcohol, and was beaten so badly that he lost most of his hearing.

As Myanmar's security forces cracked down on demonstrators last week,
former prisoners said they were sickened by televised images of Buddhist
monks and students being chased down, bludgeoned with batons and loaded
onto police trucks.

"I'm so worried for them," Oo told an Associated Press reporter and
television crew traveling through this remote border region in northern
Thailand.

Myanmar's military government has repeatedly denied using torture or
abusing its prisoners.

A group of political prisoners is collecting evidence, including lists of
jailers and torturers, to give to human rights organizations.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, comprised of around
100 former inmates, has already put out one report on torture in Myanmar.
It described homosexual rape, electric shocks to the genitals, partial
suffocation by water, burning of flesh with hot wax, and being made to
stand for hours in tubs of urine and feces.

The government said 10 people were killed and nearly 2,100 arrested in
last week's demonstrations, with 700 later released. Diplomats and
dissidents say the death toll is likely much higher and up to 6,000 people
were seized, including hundreds of monks who led the protests.

Some were brought to Yangon's notorious Insein prison. Witnesses said
others were held in university buildings and an old horse track for
questioning.

Those who have been released so far have been too frightened to speak out
about their treatment. One man detained for five days, however, said he
was not allowed to contact his family, had no bed, and did not get enough
to eat.

Myanmar's military seized power in 1962, ending an experiment in democracy
and leading the resource-rich nation toward isolation and economic ruin.
The current junta has been in power since 1988, when it crushed
pro-democracy demonstrations.

Myo Myint, who lost a leg, an arm and an eye while fighting as a soldier
for the Myanmar government, was arrested in 1989 after he quit the army
and switched his loyalty to the pro-democracy movement.

He says his interrogators stripped him naked and tied him with a leather
belt to a seesaw, placing him head down for four hours and pouring water
in his face as he fell in and out of consciousness. Another time they put
a bag over his head and kicked away his crutch.

"I still have nightmares," the 45-year-old says. "I wake up and my whole
body is wet with sweat."

Oo Tezaniya, a 42-year-old monk who spent eight years and three months in
prison for opposing the government, clenched his hands in the folds of his
saffron robe as he told how he was seized in the middle of the night in
1988.

He was brought to an interrogation center, beaten with guns, and then
thrown into a dark cell for a month with two other men and no bathroom.

"There was excrement all over the floor," he said.

Tezaniya's heart sank this week when he saw pictures of what dissidents
said was a monk's body floating face down in a Yangon river. The junta
said in a statement Friday that the body was not of a monk but of a man
"with a piece of saffron robe tied round the neck."

"I thought the monks might be arrested and defrocked, but not that the
troops would open fire," Tezaniya said sadly. "I'm surprised, even after
all I've seen."

____________________________________
ASEAN

October 6, Inter Press Service
ASEAN backs neither U.S. nor China over Burma - Thalif Deen

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which
Burma (Myanmar) is a member, is refusing to see eye-to-eye either with the
United States or China on how the international community should deal with
the ongoing crisis in the politically-troubled military-run country.
Speaking as chair of ASEAN, Ambassador Vanu Gopala Menon of Singapore told
the Security Council Friday the military repression in Burma "cannot just
be an internal matter" -- a view diametrically opposed to that of China.

At the same time, he said, he can understand the impulse to punish
unacceptable behaviour, even though ASEAN should not rule this out.

"But we have to pause to consider dispassionately what the real impact of
additional sanctions will be?" he asked, expressing scepticism over a
proposed move by the United States and Western nations to impose mandatory
sanctions on Burma as a punishment for its repression.

"How will they affect a regime that is only tangentially connected to the
rest of the world? Will they help or hinder the U.N.'s role?" he asked.
"And what is their impact on the people of Myanmar?"

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told delegates his country has already
"imposed sanctions on the regime to encourage it to make further
progress."

If there was no such progress, he warned, "the United States would call
for Security Council sanctions. It was time for the Council to do more
than simply listen to a briefing."

Last week, nine of the 10 foreign ministers of ASEAN -- representing
Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietam,
Laos and Cambodia -- expressed "revulsion over reports that the protests
(in the streets of Burma) were being suppressed by violence."

Burma was the only ASEAN member to skip that meeting, which took place in
the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly sessions in New York.

Ambassador U Kyaw Tint Swe, the permanent representative of Burma to the
United Nations, said he was made to understand that Menon's statement was
"not on behalf of ASEAN" -- a claim denied by Singapore.

But he stressed that despite the "recent tragic events, the situation in
Myanmar is not a threat to either regional or international peace and
security."

He expressed his country's deep appreciation to members of the Security
Council -- namely Russia and China, whom he did not name -- for taking
that position.

"I would therefore like to call on the Security Council to refrain from
any action that would be detrimental to the good offices role of the
secretary-general mandated by the General Assembly," he added.

The U.N. secretary-general's special adviser on Myanmar, Ambassador
Ibrahim Gambari, returned to New York Thursday after a brief visit to the
country.

He said his visit was short, but ideally, the next time around he would
like "stay as long as possible and meet all the people I want to meet."

Gambari said a return visit -- possibly in mid-November -- should help
sustain the momentum and not allow it to slip by. He also told reporters
that China and India, along with ASEAN, could be "critically important" in
helping resolve the crisis in Burma.
"We are working closely with them," said Gambari, who called for a
time-bound and serious dialogue for national reconciliation.

Last week, an unnamed Indian official was quoted as saying: "We are not
the only democracy that works with generals," as he made a veiled
criticism of the United States, which has been a close ally of General
Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan.

India, which has close economic and military ties to Burma, has taken a
less critical view of events in that country.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council he was
"deeply concerned" about the recent events in Myanmar and the reports of
continued human rights violations.

"I must reiterate that the use of force against peaceful demonstrators is
abhorrent and unacceptable," he said.

"A united Security Council could play an important role in support of the
ongoing efforts of the United Nations," he added.

The Security Council, however, remains divided, with China and Russia, two
veto-wielding permanent members, taking the position that the events in
Burma do not constitute a threat to international peace and security.

Last week, the Council was also unable to reach consensus on a proposed
presidential statement expressing concerns over the killings in Burma
because of opposition from China.

The traditional Chinese party line is that the demonstrations and killings
in the military-run country were a "domestic" problem warranting no
international condemnation or U.N. sanctions.

Yvonne Terlingen, head of Amnesty International's Office at the United
Nations, said Friday the Security Council must press for drastic change in
"Myanmar's appalling human rights policies and keep the human rights
situation under close and constant review as resolving the human rights
crisis is key to addressing peace and security and advancing national
reconciliation in Myanmar."

"The Council must also ensure that those responsible for human rights
violations are held accountable and that the Myanmar authorities deal with
the country's longstanding human rights concerns, which have helped fuel
the recent crisis," she added.

Last January, both China and Russia exercised their vetoes to block a
U.S.-sponsored draft resolution calling for an end to political repression
and human rights violations in Burma.

Ambassador Wang Guangya of China argued then -- as he did Friday -- that
the problems facing Burma are "basically internal". "No
international-imposed solution can help the situation," he told reporters.
"We want the government there to handle this issue."

If the United States pushes for sanctions against Burma, China is expected
to use its veto once again to protect a neighbouring country with which it
has strong political, economic and military interests.

A longstanding U.N. observer told IPS that Western oil companies such as
Chevron and Total have a major stake in Burma's big gas fields, the
financial mainstay of the military junta.

"So, the story is not just about brutal Chinese policy vs enlightened U.S.
policy," he said. "The cynical maneuvers in these cases are revolting, as
great powers seek their geopolitical interests, never the authentic
defence of human rights."

Taking a different perspective, Ian William, who covers the United Nations
for several international publications including the London Guardian, says
that even though there is no justification for China to use its veto to
protect a universally condemned regime, he sees a parallel in the United
States using its own veto to protect its ally Israel over the last
decades.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Williams told IPS, Washington has been
adding annually to its veto total and will soon outrun the former USSR's
tally of "Nyets".

China is doing itself no favours in using its vetoes for issues like Sudan
and Burma, which are surely peripheral to its national interests, and
Beijing seems to be realising that it is getting close to calls for
boycott of next year's Olympics, which would be an additional blow to its
prestige.

"But it is understandable that it should want to emulate its number one
debtor, the United States which has devalued the veto by using it for
resolutions which often actually reflect longstanding U.S. policy on
Israel, over settlements, Jerusalem and so on," noted Williams.

Ironically, it is that same support for Israel which has caused the United
States to disregard its own innovation, the "Uniting For Peace" procedure
by which issues stuck in the Security Council could be taken up by the
General Assembly.

Williams said the United States invented it during the Korean War -- but
declared it non-binding after Palestine invoked it to bypass
"unreasonable" U.S. vetoes in the Council.

"In Kosovo, in Sudan, in Bosnia, the procedure could have been used to
save lives, but Washington has effectively disarmed the United Nations in
order to protect Israeli -- not U.S. -- interests," added Williams, who
also writes for the Nation.

___________________________________
REGIONAL

October 5, Reuters
Singapore denies money laundering Myanmar leaders-CNN

 Singapore's prime minister has defended the country against accusations
that it is a money-laundering centre for members of Myanmar's military
regime in a CNN interview reported by local media on Saturday.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also said the country could not
deny Myanmar leaders who travel to the wealthy island republic for medical
treatment as this would be inhumane.

"We don't play dirty money, we don't condone money laundering. Our rules
against that are as strict as any other financial centre - London, Hong
Kong, New York," Lee said in the CNN interview broadcast late on Friday.

European Union parliamentarians on Tuesday urged the city-state to ease
strict bank secrecy laws to avoid becoming a financial haven for organised
crime. It also urged Singapore to punish the Myanmar generals that ordered
the bloody crackdown on anti-government protests by seizing their assets
in Singapore.

"The European Union parliamentarians were in Singapore. They wanted us to
open up to them so that they can collect tax for Europeans who have
invested in Singapore. That's a different matter altogether, nothing to do
with Myanmar," Lee said.

Singapore is one of Myanmar's biggest foreign investors and its trade with
the country formerly known as Burma was worth S$1 billion ($680 million)
last year.

Lee said denying Burmese leaders medical treatment in Singapore would go
"against human nature".

"I mean, somebody is sick, he wants to come to Singapore, he needs
treatment and you're telling me that I shouldn't treat him because he's
not a good man? It goes against the Hippocratic Oath of doctors," he said.

Myanmar junta leader Tan Shwe, 74, stayed in a Singapore hospital in
January amid tight security for an undisclosed ailment. Myanmar Prime
Minister Soe Win, 55, was in Singapore at least twice this year to treat
an illness reported to be leukemia.

____________________________________

October 5, The Asia Age via BBC Monitoring
Indians form group to show solidarity for Burmese people

New Delhi: Human rights organizations, lawyers, students and activists
across the country came together to form Burma Solidarity, a platform to
show their support and solidarity for the protesting monks and civilians
inside Burma.

Burma Solidarity came into existence on 2 October and it is demand is that
the government of India takes a more pro-active role in the unfolding
situation within Burma and pressurises the Burmese military to end the
crackdown on protests across the country. On 3 October in Aizwal, Mizoram
[northeastern Indian state], more than 600 people, including Mizos and the
Burmese activists joined hands and participated in a rare rally calling it
"Mizoram for democracy in Burma". The rally was organised by Human Rights
Law and Network (HRLN), a non-government organisation in Mizoram to
express solidarity for the peoples movement in Burma.

Demonstrators passed a resolution strongly condemning the military junta
for its attempt to brutally suppress innocent civilians and monks who are
trying to restore democracy. They demand that India must live up to its
claim of being the largest democratic country in the world and must take
strong initiative for restoration of democracy in Burma.

They also urged the Indian government to stop all inter-state commercial
relationship with Burma until democracy is restored in the country.

Burma Solidarity is organising a Candle Light Vigil on 6 October at 6 p.m.
[local time] in India Gate [in capital], as part of the world wide protest
in response to the current military crack down in Burma against the
peaceful demonstrations by civilians and Buddhist monks.

Burma Solidarity said the situation within Burma continues to be tense.
Despite brutal crackdown, severe repression - in the form of arbitrary
detention, arrests and violence - people in Burma continue to protest,
albeit in small numbers in the last few days, they said. What began in mid
August as protests against hike in fuel prices is gathering momentum as a
struggle for restoring democracy and peace in Burma.

In India, people continue to show their support across the country.

The Burma Solidarity demands that: India immediately denounce the violence
on peaceful protesters in Burma, join the rest of the international
community in condemning the violence of the Burmese military junta, stop
the sale and supply of military hardware to the Burmese junta, stop
investment in the gas and all projects until there is a democratically
elected government in Burma and immediate release of all the political
prisoners in Burma including Daw Aung San Su Kyi.


____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

October 6, New York Times
U.N. Chief calls crackdown in Myanmar 'abhorrent' - Warren Hoge and Seth
Mydans; Warren Hoge

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Friday that the use of force to put
down peaceful protests in Myanmar was ''abhorrent and unacceptable,'' and
that the country's government must release those it had arrested and start
a dialogue with political opponents.

Mr. Ban made his remarks to the Security Council before his special envoy,
Ibrahim Gambari, reported on his four-day emergency trip to Myanmar. Mr.
Gambari was dispatched after the junta ruling the country began a brutal
crackdown last week on Buddhist monks and those who joined them in
protests against the government.

Speaking to the Council in the morning, Mr. Gambari said there were
''continuing and disturbing reports of abuses being committed by security
and nonuniformed elements, particularly at night during curfew, including
raids on private homes, beatings, arbitrary arrests and disappearances.''

He also said there were unconfirmed reports that the number of casualties
was ''much higher'' than the number government had confirmed. The
government has been saying that 10 people died in the crackdown.

The junta said that hundreds of monks had been detained and that it was
hunting for four whom it described as ringleaders. It claimed only 109
monks remained in custody, but diplomats and other analysts have been
skeptical of government reports.

The main city of Yangon appeared normal in daytime, but was a place of
terror at night as people were dragged from their homes in a wave of
arrests, according to foreign aid workers reached by telephone.

At the United Nations, where 12 Buddhist monks from Myanmar watched from
the gallery, Mr. Ban said: ''While I am relieved to hear of reports that
some military forces have been withdrawn and that some restrictions have
been eased, the overall situation still remains of serious concern,
especially with regard to the unknown predicament of the large number of
individuals who were arrested without due process.''

He called for their release ''without further delay.''

Mr. Ban added, ''Now more than ever before, the government of Myanmar
should take bold actions toward democratization and respect for human
rights.''

The secretary general also said that a ''united Security Council could
play an important supporting role in the ongoing efforts of the United
Nations.''

While the Council has been united in its support of Mr. Gambari's mission,
China, which borders Myanmar and is one of its few allies and trading
partners, has argued that the crisis does not constitute the kind of
threat to international peace and security that calls for the involvement
of the Council.

After Mr. Gambari spoke, Wang Guangya, China's ambassador, said: ''It is
quite understandable for the outside world to express concern and
expectation regarding the situation on the ground. However, pressure would
not serve any purpose or would lead to confrontation or even the loss of
dialogue and cooperation between Myanmar and the international community,
including the United Nations.''

''If the situation in Myanmar takes a worse turn because of external
intervention,'' he warned, ''it would be the people of Myanmar who will
bear the brunt.''

Zalmay Khalilzad, the American ambassador, said at the Council session
that the crisis in Myanmar, formerly Burma, was clearly having effects
beyond its borders because it was ''closely tied'' to the flight of
refugees, the growth in the trafficking of drugs and people and the spread
of infectious diseases.

Countering China's claim that pressure could undermine cooperation, he
said: ''For engagement to be productive, pressure has to be applied, to
incentivize the regime to cooperate. The two are complementary rather than
the view expressed that they are in conflict or contention.''

He said that if the government did not take constructive action ''in a
timely manner,'' the United States would introduce a resolution in the
Security Council imposing sanctions on the country.

''It is time for the Council to do more than simply listen to a
briefing,'' he said.

He said the offer by the leader of Myanmar's junta, Senior Gen. Than Shwe,
to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning
opposition leader under house arrest, had come with ''unrealistic
conditions.''

According to state television, the general had told Mr. Gambari that he
would see Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi only if she gave up promoting activities
that it identified as ''confrontation, utter devastation, economic
sanctions'' against Myanmar and other sanctions.

In his report to the Council, Mr. Gambari appeared to take issue with the
argument, put forward by China, that the repression of antigovernment
protests was a ''basically internal'' matter.

''What happens inside Myanmar can have serious international
repercussions,'' Mr. Gambari said.

He added, ''No country can afford to act in isolation from the standards
by which all members of the international community are held.''

Mr. Gambari said he had been able to ''deliver clear and strong messages''
at the highest levels of the Myanmar government that it must cease night
raids and arrests, lift curfews, release all people detained during the
protests, withdraw the military from the streets and ''put an immediate
end to raids on monasteries.''

He said it ''remains unclear how responsive the authorities will be to
these messages.''

____________________________________

October 6, Associated Press
UN Envoy urges Burma's junta to start talks - Justin Bergman

The United States warned it would push for UN sanctions against Burma if
it fails to respond to international demands to move toward democracy, but
the country's UN ambassador strongly resisted punitive measures, saying it
is not a threat to regional security and needs "patience" to promote
reconciliation.

The US and its allies on the Security Council, France and Britain, said
Friday after being briefed on the UN special envoy's four-day trip to
Burma that they want swift action in response to the government's brutal
crackdown on demonstrations last week.

Security Council members met behind closed doors to discuss a possible
statement in support of national reconciliation in the country and UN
envoy Ibrahim Gambari's efforts, but US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad
stressed he was prepared to go further.

"The United States is appalled by the brutal repression that has been
carried out by the Burmese regime against its own people," he told the
council.

If the junta does not respond to the demands of the international
community, he warned, "the US is prepared to introduce a resolution in the
Security Council imposing sanctions," citing a possible arms embargo.

But China and Russia remain opposed to council action, saying the
situation in Burma is an internal affair that does not threaten
international peace and security.

China's UN Ambassador Wang Guangya called on the Security Council to
exercise restraint and reiterated his country's opposition to pressuring
Burma through such measures as sanctions.

"Pressure would not serve any purpose and would only lead to
confrontation," Wang said. "If the situation in Myanmar takes a worse turn
because of external intervention it will be the people of the country who
will bear the brunt."

Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said his government has called on
the junta to implement democratic reforms. The Security Council's job, he
said, "is to continue lending political support to the efforts of Mr
Gambari."

Burma's UN ambassador, Kyaw Tint Swe, also urged against Security Council
action, saying his country was committed to forging ahead with national
reconciliation.

"Patience, time and space is needed," he said. "Despite the recent tragic
events, the situation in Myanmar [Burma] is not, and I repeat not, a
threat to either regional or international peace and security. No Security
Council action is warranted."

Kyaw Tint Swe said stability had returned to his country and people have
been holding peaceful, pro-government rallies "to demonstrate their
aversion to recent, provocative demonstrations." Critics say such rallies
are shams, filled with people ordered to attend by authorities.

In his speech to the council, UN envoy Gambari said he was "cautiously
encouraged" that the country's military ruler, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, said he
would meet with Suu Kyi, with certain conditions. Those include giving up
her calls for confronting the government and for imposing sanctions
against it, Burma's state media said.

"This is an hour of historic opportunity for Myanmar," Gambari said. "To
delay the prospect of a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Myanmar is to
deny it to those who deserve it most, the people of Myanmar."

Gambari stressed, however, that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has
called for talks without any preconditions to overcome "the high level of
mistrust" between Than Shwe and Suu Kyi.

"From my own conversations (with Suu Kyi), she appears to be very anxious
to have a proper dialogue—and, of course, a dialogue that the
secretary-general has characterized as without preconditions—because that
would be the best way to move forward. Just start talking," Gambari told
reporters afterward.

Gambari said he has been invited to return to Burma in mid-November but
may try to go earlier.

Ban, in an earlier address the council, urged Burma's military rulers to
"take bold actions towards democratization and respect for human rights."

Gambari in his speech urged Burma's leadership "to make the bold choices"
to demonstrate its commitment to democracy and national reconciliation.

Ban sent Gambari to Burma last week after troops quashed the protests with
gunfire and detained hundreds of people. The government said 10 people
were killed, but dissident groups put the death toll at up to 200 and say
6,000 people were detained, including thousands of monks.

Burma's ambassador said Friday that 2,095 detainees had been released,
including 728 monks, and that more releases will follow.

The US, Britain and France circulated a draft presidential statement
Friday night that would welcome Gambari's mission, condemn the
government's "violent repression" of peaceful demonstrations, and call for
the immediate release of all detainees and political prisoners, including
Suu Kyi, to promote "genuine reconciliation, dialogue and
democratization."

The draft statement, which the council is expected to discuss next week,
supports a dialogue between the government and opposition "without
conditions."

Most Security Council members stressed the importance of China—Burma's
closest ally and biggest trading partner—in order to resolve the crisis.
But some also said Burma's neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations need to play a part.

Asean, of which Burma is a member, last week issued its harshest
condemnation of the junta, calling the crackdown "repulsive."

Singapore's UN ambassador, Vanu Gopala Menon, whose country currently
chairs Asean, told the council Friday, however, that the bloc has not been
given the access in Burma that Gambari has and its influence is limited.

"At this stage, Mr Gambari represents our best hope and is also the only
game in town," he said.

Burma's junta took power in 1988 after crushing the democracy movement led
by Suu Kyi. In 1990, it refused to hand over power when Suu Kyi's party,
the National League for Democracy, won a landslide election victory. Suu
Kyi has been detained for nearly 12 of the last 18 years and is currently
under house arrest.

The current protests began August 19 after the government hiked fuel
prices in one of Asia's poorest countries. The protests were faltering
when Buddhist monks took the lead late last month.

____________________________________

October 6, Agence France Presse
Myanmar tries to cool international pressure

Myanmar's junta Saturday tried to cool growing UN pressure over its deadly
crackdown on peaceful protests, offering talks with democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi, and relaxing its blockage of the Internet.

But analysts warned that the rare gestures offered by the regime appeared
to be token efforts to stave off tougher UN action demanded by the United
States and other Western countries.

Faced with the biggest protests against military rule in nearly two
decades, Myanmar's government launched a bloody crackdown in late
September that left at least 13 dead and more than 2,000 locked up.

Across Asia, activists on Saturday took to the streets in cities from
Sydney to Bangkok, kicking off a global day of protest against Myanmar's
bloody crackdown on dissent.

Hundreds rallied outside Sydney's iconic Opera House, while in Melbourne
1,000 people marched, some carrying red banners that read "no more
bloodshed."

In London, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown sent a message of support
to the people of Myanmar, saying the world was not forgetting them.

"We have not forgotten their courage and dignity, taking to the streets in
the face of a brutal regime. We have not forgotten the guns and batons,
the arrests and murders which met them," Brown said.

Meanwhile, UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari, who visited Myanmar to express global
outrage at the junta's actions, warned the UN Security Council Friday that
the nation's turmoil could have "serious international repercussions."

As Gambari was briefing the Council in New York, state television in
Myanmar broadcast images of the detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
for the first time in at least four years.

The regime also restored some Internet access and announced that it had
freed hundreds of detained Buddhist monks who led the protests.

The military, which has ruled this country also known as Burma for 45
years, rarely makes any concessions, but analysts warned the gestures were
a bid to ward off tougher international action.

"The regime is trying to cool down international pressure. The junta hopes
to defuse pressure as the UN Security Council is likely to take some
action against Burma following Gambari's briefing," Thailand-based Myanmar
analyst Win Min said.

Junta leader Than Shwe has made a heavily conditioned offer to hold talks
with Aung San Suu Kyi, insisting that the Nobel peace prize winner drop
her support for sanctions and tell supporters to stop confronting the
government.

"It's a mixed signal. It showed Than Shwe at least recognised internal and
international calls for dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi," Win Min said.

"But at the same time, the conditions set by the regime were not realistic
at all. It looks like the regime really doesn't want to talk to her."

Aung San Suu Kyi, 62, has spent most of the past 18 years under house
arrest but she remains an international symbol of non-violent struggle
against tyranny.

The United States has led global calls for her release and warned Friday
that it may push for UN sanctions if the ruling junta kept up a crackdown
on pro-democracy protesters.

After Gambari's briefing, the United States, Britain and France circulated
a draft of a non-binding statement condemning Myanmar's government.

"The Security Council condemns the violent repression by the government of
Myanmar of peaceful demonstrations, including the use of force against
religious figures and institutions," the text said.

Gambari told reporters that there was a consensus among members of the
Security Council that the status quo in Myanmar "is unacceptable and
unsustainable and probably unrealistic."

He also said Aung San Suu Kyi appeared to be in good spirits when he met her.

"But now I think she wants this to be used as an opportunity to really
engage in dialogue with the authorities so that together they can move the
country forward," he told CNN.

In Yangon, residents declined to comment on the UN draft statement
condemning the junta's actions.

"I don't want to talk about politics. Poor people like me are just trying
to survive. Now commodity prices are high, but my salary is still low,"
said a security guard in his 40s who works at a downtown building.

Myanmar's neighbour China has previously sheltered the generals from
action at the United Nations.

China's ambassador to the world body, Wang Guangyam, has warned that
pressure for greater democratisation "would only lead to confrontation."

____________________________________

October 6, Associated Press
Global protests for Burma

People around the world planned to march Saturday to protest Burma's
brutal crackdown on pro-democracy activists, as the military regime
admitted hundreds of Buddhist monks were detained after troops turned
their guns on last week's peaceful uprising.

Protesters hold candles during a rally against Burma's military junta in
Seoul. [Photo: Reuters]
Hoping to send a message to the junta that "the world is still watching,"
rights group Amnesty International called for a global demonstration in
cities across Asia, Europe and North America.

Protests were planned in at least a dozen countries, including Australia,
Thailand, Malaysia, Austria, Belgium, France, England, the United States
and Canada.

The junta's treatment of the Buddhist monks—who are revered in this deeply
religious nation and led the street protests—is a key issue that could
further inflame the people of Burma and anger soldiers loyal to the
military rulers.

The government insisted most of the monks it detained had already been
freed, with only 109 still in custody, according to an official statement
broadcast Friday night on state TV. The report noted the junta was still
hunting for four more monks it believed were ringleaders of the rallies.

Demonstrations that began in mid-August over a fuel price increase swelled
into Burma's largest anti-government protests in 19 years, inspired
largely by the thousands of monks who poured into the streets.

Television images last week showed soldiers shooting into crowds of
unarmed protesters—but the government described the troops' reaction as
"systematically controlling" the protesters.

The government says 10 people were killed in the September 26-27 crackdown
and 2,100 were detained. But dissident groups put the death toll at more
than 200 and the number of detainees at nearly 6,000.

An activist from Amnesty International holds placards during a rally in
conjunction with "Global Day of Action" in Bangkok Friday's state media
report said Burma troops searched 18 monasteries where alleged rogue monks
were living. Initially, authorities detained 513 monks, one novice, 167
men and 30 women lay disciples from the monasteries, but most were
released after "careful scrutiny," it said.

Now only 109 monks and nine other men were still being questioned, it said.

A government official met senior Buddhist monks Friday in Rangoon, the
country's main city, and asked them to "expose four monks who are at
large," the report said.

The visit aimed to show ordinary people the ruling generals still had high
regard for the Buddhist clergy, despite a crackdown that targeted monks.

The military has ruled Burma since 1962. The current junta came to power
after routing a 1988 pro-democracy uprising, killing at least 3,000
people. Suu Kyi's party won elections in 1990, but the generals refused to
accept the results.

Suu Kyi, who has spent nearly 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest,
won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her democracy campaign.

Sixty Nobel laureates added their voices to the global outcry over the
Burma crisis, saying they were "outraged" by the "ongoing violent
repression" of monks and other citizens.

In a statement issued by The Elie Weisel Foundation, the Nobel laureates
called on the international community, particularly China, Russia and
India—who have been competing for Burma's bountiful oil and gas
resources—to use their influence to secure democracy in Burma and the
release of Suu Kyi.

____________________________________

October 5, Reuters
Myanmar monk makes phone appeal to backers in NY - Claudia Parsons

New York, A leader of the Buddhist monks who have led street protests in
Myanmar urged Americans on Friday to press for more international action
to pressure the military junta toward dialogue with the opposition.

Speaking by phone from an undisclosed location in Myanmar to a public
meeting at the Asia Society in New York, the monk was identified by
organizers as "U Gambira," a name he took as leader of a group calling
itself the All Burma Monks Alliance.

"The military junta is still arresting people at the Buddhist monasteries
every night and every day," the monk was quoted as saying by Aung Din, a
former political prisoner who translated the monk's remarks to the
audience in New York.

"He said there are many soldiers surrounding the Buddhist monasteries and
also in the streets," Aung Din said.

The U.N. Security Council heard a report from special envoy Ibrahim
Gambari earlier on Friday in which he warned of international consequences
from the harsh crackdown in the former Burma.

But China, a close ally of Myanmar, and the United States clashed over
whether the international community should take any action through the
U.N. Security Council.

Aung Din said the monk, who is in hiding, welcomed a resolution by the
U.N. Human Rights Council this week deploring beatings, killings and
arbitrary detentions during the recent unrest and calling for an
investigation into the violations.

"He says that they are aware of the action by the international community
but he feels this is not enough to stop the violence in Burma," Aung Din
said.

"They hear about action of the international community and he welcomes the
action of the Human Rights Council but he feels these are not enough. He
would like to have the international community be more active, more
effective and more responsive."

"International assistance is needed urgently because the military junta is
trying every brutal method of keeping on to power," Aung Din quoted the
monk as saying.

SECURITY COUNCIL ACTION

Aung Din, who is policy director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma, said the
Security Council should pass a resolution calling for an end to repression
of demonstrators, the release of political prisoners and the start of
dialogue.

"We also want the U.N. Security Council to impose targeted sanctions
against the military junta, which include an arms embargo, a travel ban on
top generals and their family members, and a ban on investment," Aung Din
said in his own speech.

Aung Din said he believed more than 200 protesters, including monks and
students, had been killed in the protests -- far more than the dozen
deaths reported by the government.

Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in
Myanmar, said he was hopeful about international action given the strong
consensus at the Human Rights Council, where even China and Russia agreed
to the resolution.

Pinheiro has been denied a visa to visit Myanmar for four years but he
said he was still hoping to go and that there were positive signs despite
the resistance of China and Russia toward a Security Council resolution.

"Let's not despair at this moment," he told the meeting. "I can't
guarantee that something positive will happen but I think that we are
living at a moment where things are moving and perhaps this famous
'international community' will have some effect."

____________________________________

October 6, International Herald Tribune
UK's Gordon Brown: Britain wants further EU sanctions against Burma

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he wants new EU sanctions to be
imposed on Myanmar in the wake the violent crackdown on pro-democracy
protests there.

Speaking at the start of a day of global protests against Myanmar's
military junta Saturday, Brown said he wanted tougher EU sanctions,
including a ban on future investment in the country, which also known as
Burma.

"The anger of the world has been expressed about the outrages that have
taken place against the people of Burma," Brown said during a televised
meeting with Buddhist monks gathered in his 10 Downing Street Office
before the protests.

"I want the Security Council to oversee a process of reconciliation in
Burma led by the secretary-general, and I want the EU to impose further
sanctions on the regime to make it absolutely clear that we will not
tolerate the abuses taking place."

Brown also expressed his concern over those arrested by Myanmar's
government, and repeated his belief that many more had died during the
protests than the 10 people officials there claim.

"We believe that there have been many more killings than the regime
admit," Brown said in a statement released earlier Saturday. "And we have
very grave concerns about hundreds, possibly thousands, of monks, nuns and
others who have simply disappeared."

Protests are planned across the world as demonstrators vent their anger at
the regime's brutal crackdown on the monks who dared challenge its power.

In London, campaigners will join monks as they scatter petals into the
Thames from Westminster Bridge in solidarity with Myanmar protesters. The
gesture will be the climax of a rally which will take demonstrators from
the Tate Britain, in south London, to Trafalgar Square.

More rallies are planned in Austria, Belgium, England, France, Germany,
Ireland, Spain and Switzerland, the United States and Canada.

Brown said he hoped the protests would help keep the spotlight on the
abuses in Myanmar.

"The job of all those demonstrating today — campaigners, the media,
politicians, members of the public — is to keep up the pressure for
change," he said.

____________________________________

October 5, Reuters
Jim Carrey calls for U.N. sanctions on Myanmar

Actor Jim Carrey urged the U.N. Security Council on Friday to ban all
international arms shipments to Myanmar to pressure the country to end its
brutal suppression of pro-democracy protesters and its detention of
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"This is a government that uses its weapons not in self defense, but
against its own citizens," the actor/comedian told a news conference
across the street from the United Nations.

"The time has come for the United Nations Security Council to start acting
less like a group of corporations and more like united nations," he said,
urging China and Russia -- Security Council members that have been
resistant to sanctions -- as well as India to back the ban.

Last week, monks led protests of up to 100,000 people in Myanmar's largest
city Yangon and elsewhere. The marches were halted by security forces who
raided monasteries, imposed curfews, and killed 10 people, by the official
count.

Carrey's speech was a precursor to a day of marches and protests planned
by the U.S. Campaign for Burma.

He also made an appeal to Than Shwe, head of the latest junta in 45
unbroken years of military rule of the former Burma: "There is nothing to
defend if you have lost the faith of your people. It is already over."

Carrey is best known for his comic roles in movies like "Dumb and Dumber"
and "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective."

____________________________________
STATEMENT

October 6, Ethnic Nationalities Council
Statement on the current situation in Burma

The Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) met from 1 to 6 October 2007 to
discuss the critical situation in the Union of Burma.

1.      Given the extreme suffering of the people of Burma, the ENC sees
an urgent need for the violence to be stopped - both in the cities and in
the countryside in the seven ethnic states. We call on all parties in the
conflict to withhold taking aggressive action and to seek a political 
solution through a dialogue.

2.      The ENC understand that it is not NLD policy to call for
sanctions. We further understand that the NLD believes in solving
political problems in a non-violent non-confrontational way through a
political dialogue. Therefore the ENC would like to encourage Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi to seriously consider the offer to meet for talks made by Senior
General Than Shwe even though he has set preconditions for the talk. We
believe that this is an extremely important development for the future of
Burma.

3.      The ENC reaffirms its support for UN General Assembly resolutions
since 1994 that called for a 'tripartite dialogue' - the military, the
1990 election winning parties led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and the ethnic
nationalities - to solve Burma's problems and build a sustainable
democracy.

4.      Given the call by the people for national reconciliation, the ENC
does not deem it appropriate at this time for any party to form a parallel
government.

5.      We further call on the international community to urgently address
the situation in the Union of Burma and assist in the national
reconciliation process, either through -

a)      The continued good offices of the United Nations General-Secretary
as mandated by the UN General Assembly, supported by the UN Security
Council; or

b)      A 'Multi-Party' Talk on Burma including the SPDC, the UN, the US,
the EU, the Russian Federation, Japan,  and Burma's neighbours - China,
India, and ASEAN; and failing all else-

c)      The United Nations Security Council under Chapter 6 provisions of
the Charter of the United Nations; and if this does not yield results -

d)      The United Nations Security Council under Chapter 7 provisions of
the Charter of the United Nations.

6.      Pending a political solution and given the current situation
whereby the people of the Union of Burma are being subject to violent
force, the ENC has initiated a program to 'Protect the Civilian
Population'.

7.      To promote a political solution and ensure that a sustainable
democracy can be established, the ENC has initiated a program to build the
capacity of the people and ensure that there is 'Good Governance' in the
seven ethnic states.

The ENC believes that together with the people of Burma of all
nationalities and of all religions, we can achieve our goals for a
peaceful, just and prosperous future.

In conclusion, we once again call on the SPDC to stop all violent actions
against the people and religious leaders, and begin a dialogue with Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi.

Executive Committee
Ethnic Nationalities Council (Union of Burma)

Contact Persons:
Dr. Lian H. Sakhong                                     David Taw
General Secretary                                       Joint General
Secretary
Tel: 081-029-6100                                       Tel: 081-306-4351

____________________________________

October 6, Burma Rivers Network
Rivers Network asks Burma's neighbours to end energy deals with the
Myanmar military junta

The Burma Rivers Network supports the Buddhist Sangha and citizens of
Burma who seek solutions to Burma's economic problems, release of
political prisoners, genuine national reconciliation and the end of brutal
military rule. We condemn the use of violence against unarmed, peaceful
protestors. We call on neighbouring countries to pressure the junta to
forego further violence against monks and civilian protestors.

Energy development deals with the military junta are by far the largest
source of financial and political support to the regime.  We call on
Thailand, China, Bangladesh and India to withdraw from planned joint
ventures.  The multibillion-dollar energy projects push the military junta
into ongoing environmental destruction and human rights.

The military junta ordered their forces to open fire on peaceful
protestors. Monastery doors were smashed in and hundreds of monks were
seized, beaten and dragged away. Thousands of civilians and monks are
imprisoned, facing torture or secret execution. Hundreds have been killed
or disappeared.

This violence is consistent with other aspects of Burma's misrule. Along
the Salween River where large dams are planned, a 60-year war continues
with the help of neighboring countries. Burning, looting, landmines,
forced relocation, forced labor, systematic rape, and extrajudicial
killings are everyday occurrences. Ongoing partnerships with the Myanmar
dictatorship will directly support arms acquisitions and military
offensives against Burmese citizens

Dams on the Salween River alone could cost at least US $20 billion – a
king's ransom for the junta. In the second-most corrupt country in the
world, this money will benefit the military, not nation or its people.

Burmese citizens must endure enormous hardships under the brutal and
economically incompetent regime. Fuel price increases and attendant
inflation devastate families' lives throughout the impoverished nation.
Despite Burma's lack of electricity, hydropower and natural gas will be
exported to fund further military expansion.

Dams in Burma built for neighbors, and the associated environmental
catastrophe, will continue social and human health crises. Big dams like
China's Three Gorges Dam, are now recognized as creating more trouble than
they solve. Dams in war-zones will bring even more problems, as the people
of Thailand, India and China have already come to know.

Fisheries, floods and loss of farmland will disrupt the livelihoods of
millions of people in many countries. The Salween Dams will displace
73,000 villagers in addition to the hundreds of thousands of people
already forced to relocate. Thailand and other neighbors, in their quest
for cheap energy, will face ever more refugees.

Engaging the military rulers of Burma brings responsibility for heinous
crimes against Burma's people, monks and morality. China has recently been
strongly promoting the "8 Honors and Disgraces," India its Gandhian
heritage, and Thailand's military government also promotes higher
morality. Supporting the murderous Myanmar dictatorship is irreconcilable
with a peace-centered ethical position.

Given recent attacks against unarmed, peaceful monks and demonstrators, we
call on Thailand, China, India, Malaysia, Bangladesh and other countries
to recognize these grave abuses. Burma's partners should withdraw from
business deals with the Burmese regime to stop further militarization and
oppression of the people of Burma. The international community and civil
society can and must actively encourage China, India, and ASEAN to
establish targeted sanctions in the form of disinvestment from Burma's
destructive hydropower projects. Finally, we all must unite to pressure to
the military regime to refrain from using force against peaceful
protestors, and to respect the basic rights and needs of the nation's
people, especially the rights to life and livelihood.

*Burma Rivers Network is made up of ethnic community organizations that
represent people potentially affected by dams throughout Burma. We believe
that use of resources must be based on ecological sustainability and
social justice.*

*For more information please contact: Thay Law:
burmariversnetwork at gmail.com, (66) 843636603*