BurmaNet News, October 19, 2007

[Editor]

October 19, 2007 Issue # 3324

INSIDE BURMA
Radio Free Asia/Burmese Service: Burmese monks' leader speaks from hiding
DVB: Family members of monk leader arrested
AP: World may never learn death toll in Myanmar protests, British official
says
Irrawaddy: Junta presses on with “Exclusive” constitution drafting
Kantarawaddy Times: Over 50 villagers picked up for helping attack
military base
Irrawaddy: Gen Thura Shwe Mann: Ready to be new army commander?
Narinjara News: Census for monks in Arakan

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: Weekly business roundup

HEALTH / AIDS
Independent (London): Five million Burmese are going hungry, warns UN
Irrawaddy: Fears for health of detainees

ASEAN
The Straits Times (Singapore): Asean's role 'should be to get junta to
negotiate'

REGIONAL
The Nation: PM's second letter sent to Burma
AP: Beijing vice mayor says boycott over Myanmar would be `inappropriate
and unpopular'
Mizzima News: Indian Ambassador did not meet Suu Kyi: Diplomats, activists

INTERNATIONAL
IPS: Rights-Burma:  Media-in-exile examine strengths, weaknesses
AP: Bush penalizes countries for trafficking
SHAN: Rally demanding Australia stop secret cooperation with junta proposed

OPINION / OTHER
IHT: Saffron Revolution: The power of nonviolence - Shaazka Beyerle and
Cynthia Boaz
Economist: Sticks and carrots; Myanmar diplomacy
Cape Times (South Africa): Time to act on Burma

PRESS RELEASE
TBBC: Humanitarian atrocities in eastern Burma exposed

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

October 18, Radio Free Asia/Burmese Service
Burmese monks' leader speaks from hiding

U Gambira, a leader of the All-Burma Monks’ Alliance that spearheaded
nationwide protests in Burma in September, became a fugitive following the
deadly Sept. 26-27 crackdown on protesters nationwide.

“My situation is not good. I have slept without shelter for two nights. I
am not very well now. My security is pretty bad,” he said, speaking from
an undisclosed location. “Now these fellows are trying to butcher me. Now
if you are done talking, as soon as you hang up, I have to move
somewhere
”

“The important thing for overseas Sanghas [monks] is to carry out the
Burmese cause continuously, with unity. At the moment, as you know, we
cannot do anything inside Burma. We have been assaulted very badly. A few
got away, a few left. I am still trying to get away but I haven't
succeeded.”

He read the following message to U.N. Spcial Envoy Ibrahim Gambari, U.S.
President George Bush, and to the world:

“Mr. Gambari
 I wish to say, please do something effective and practical
for Burma. Measures such as economic sanctions and arms embargo will take
time (years) to achieve a political solution. What is most important is
for today, for tomorrow. Please tell Mr. Gambari that I am very grateful
for his active participation in Burmese affairs. I have a tremendous
respect for him. But please tell him to implement the most effective
practical measures in Burma. Please try. Please send U.N. representatives
to Burma to carry out various ways and means to get political results now.
For today.”

“To Buddhists all over the world and activists and supporters of Burmese
movement, please help to liberate the Burmese people from this disastrous
and wicked system. To the six billion people of the world, to those who
are sympathetic to the suffering of the Burmese people, please help us to
be free from this evil system. Many people are being killed, imprisoned,
tortured, and sent to forced labor camps. I hereby sincerely ask the
international community to do something to stop these atrocities. My
chances of survival are very slim now. But I have not given up, and I will
try my best.”
Killings, torture, labor camp

“...I would like to make an appeal to President Bush: Please take pride as
a President who has worked hard for Burma to achieve something before his
term expires.”

“I might not have very long to live. I, Gambira, speaking by phone with
you right now, have a very slim chance of survival. Please try your best
to relieve our suffering. It will be worse in future when they [the junta]
have laid down their roadmap so they can remain in power forever—it will
be a blueprint to oppress us systematically. Once they establish their
constitution, the Burmese people will suffer for generation after
generation.”

Translation by Ko Ko Aung for RFA’s Burmese service. Service director:
Nancy Shwe.
URL: http://www.rfa.org/english/burma/2007/10/18/burma_monk/

____________________________________

October 19, Democratic Voice of Burma
Family members of monk leader arrested

Government authorities have arrested family members of U Gambira, a monk
wanted for his involvement in anti-government demonstrations, and say they
will not release them until U Gambira has been detained.

U Gambira, leader of the All-Burma Monks Alliance, the monks’ group which
organised large-scale protests in the former capital Rangoon and other
townships across Burma, has been on the government’s most wanted list and
but has not yet been located by government security forces.

Ko Aung Kyaw Kyaw, the younger brother of U Gambira and secretary of the
National League for Democracy in Pauk township, Magwe division, was
arrested in Rangoon on Wednesday by authorities. Another brother of the
monk, Ko Win Zaw, a HIV/AIDS patient, was also arrested in their hometown
of Pauk recently.

Sources close to the family told DVB that U Gambira's mother and sister
were also arrested by the township police in Meikhtila in Mandalay
division, leaving his father and another sister on the run.

The sources also told DVB that the military intelligence officer who
arrested U Gambira's family members apparently told them they would not be
released until the monk is detained.

____________________________________

October 19, Associated Press
World may never learn death toll in Myanmar protests, British official
says - David Stringer

Hundreds of pro-democracy supporters are being detained daily by Myanmar's
military junta, and it may never be clear how many died during the violent
suppression of their protests, a senior British diplomat said Friday.

The official said figures released by Myanmar authorities showed around
800 people had been arrested in the last 10 days alone. Britain estimates
between 2,000 to 2,500 are being held in squalid labor camps, prisons and
makeshift detention centers, said the senior diplomat, who spoke on
condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

"There are substantial nighttime raids still going on. They have scooped
up hundreds of people," he said.

He said all remaining leaders of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising had been
seized by authorities, among a total of 2,927 people arrested since new
protests began last month.

The British official told reporters it is proving impossible to assess the
death toll.

"The official figure remains at 10," he said. "We believe it is many, many
multiples more and we will never get to the bottom of that I'm afraid."

British diplomats have received accounts from those held in prisons and
labor camps, describing "excrement-smeared rooms, hundreds to a room,"
where detainees have been denied food and interrogated.

"There is a profound sense of trauma amongst the population, and amongst,
I would guess, certain parts of the army and the government too. There is
a huge sense of outrage, the anger is quite extraordinary if you just
scratch the surface," he said.

Mark Canning, Britain's ambassador to Myanmar, will attempt to hold new
talks with the regime Wednesday, Foreign Office officials said. London has
urged the junta to open a dialogue with opponents, saying it will win
economic aid in return.

But Prime Minister Gordon Brown has warned any failure to institute
political reform is likely to lead to an increase of punitive measures by
the European Union and United Nations.

The British official warned that though mass protests have been quelled,
pro-democracy activists aim to continue their campaign.

"The population is traumatized and for the moment, they are licking their
wounds, but they are determined to carry on showing their resistance," he
said. "The trauma and the anger is so deep, that it is going to come back
in some way."

____________________________________

October 19, Irrawaddy
Junta presses on with “Exclusive” constitution drafting - Wai Moe

The appointment by Burma’s ruling junta of a committee to write a draft
constitution, without the participation of the opposition National League
for Democracy, is being regarded as further proof that the generals have
no intention of listening to international pleas for an all-inconclusive
process of national reconciliation.

The committee, appointed on October 18, is being hailed by the Burmese
government, the State Peace and Development Council, as another important
step on its seven-stage “road map” to democracy, described as “2/2007.”

Aung Htoo, Secretary of the Burma Lawyers’ Council, told The Irrawaddy on
Friday that the job of writing a constitution still lay legally with
winning candidates in the 1990 election. That was enshrined in a junta
statement described as “1/90,” which was still technically in effect.

NLD candidates won 80 percent of the votes in the 1990 election.

“According to the junta’s 1/90 statement, only those elected can write the
constitution,” said Aung Htoo.

Aung Htoo said the 1/90 statement and a later one, 11/92, calling for the
establishment of a National Convention, conflicted with each other. “It
means the junta doesn’t follow its statements and the law itself,” he
said.

Aung Htoo said a further statement, 5/96, ruled out any public
participation in drawing up a new constitution, ensuring it would be an
“exclusive” process and not an “inclusive” one.

Although the proposed draft of the constitution enshrines some civil
rights, such as freedom of expression, it retains such articles as 10 (A),
10 (B), “Protection of the State from Threat”, which date from 1975. These
laws allow the state to detain citizens without trial for up to five
years, said Aung Htoo.

NLD spokesman Thein Nyunt confirmed that the party had signed the 1/90
statement in 1990 and still stood by its terms, which dictate that elected
candidates in the 1990 election should  write the new constitution.

Thein Nyunt rejected the junta’s 5/96 statement. “The 5/96 [statement]
means non- participation by the public in the constitution process,” he
said. “The constitution is for all Burmese. So all must join in.”

Win Min, of Chiang Mai University, said the committee might have been
formed at this time because of international pressure and to show the
global community that the regime is confident it can proceed without an
inclusive process.

“Here the important actor is China [which] can push the junta for an
inclusive process for national reconciliation and democracy in Burma,”
said Win Min.

Mahn Sha, general secretary of the Karen National Union, said the
formation of the committee showed that the regime was demonstrating to the
international community that it was going its own way regardless. The KNU
could not accept such a one-sided approach to writing the constitution, he
said.

“The real solution for real change in this country is dialogue between the
military rulers and dissidents,” Mahn Sha said.

A spokesman for the New Mon State Party ceasefire group, Nai Oung Ma-nge,
told The Irrawaddy that the party had walked out of the National
Convention because it felt its proceedings were unjust. The party would
not accept any unjustly drafted constitution, he said.

In a further comment on events in Burma, Aung Htoo said: “Some diplomats
and experts said recently that the role of the Tatmadaw [Burma’s armed
forces] prevented anarchism in Burma, even though there are many armed
groups. But they failed to see that state-backed terror on civilians is
also creating anarchism.”

____________________________________

October 19, Kantarawaddy Times
Over 50 villagers picked up for helping attack military base

Over 50 villagers have been arrested by the Burma Army on suspicion of
helping the Karenni Army attack IB 54 (Infantry Battalion) stationed
between Chikel and Dawtakhar village, early this month in Loi Kaw
township, Kayah State, Karenni Army commander General Bee Htoo said.

One corporal and three soldiers of the IB 54 died in the attack by the
Karenni Army on October 4. The Burma Army suspected that the villagers had
helped the rebels and rounded up 50 villagers on October 8 for
interrogation.

"Over 50 villagers were arrested and soldiers will interrogate them to
find out whether they helped the rebels," Gen Bee Htoo said.

Apart from the interrogation of the arrested, one person from each family
in Daw Kalo Hku, Kan Kunasin and Daw Lar Lee village has to go carrying
their own food to repair the damaged military-base, he added.

"Villagers from Daw Kalo Hku , Kan Kunasin and Daw Lar Lee village were
forced to fell timber and bamboo to repair the base. Villagers have to
carry food," General Bee Htoo said.

The arrested villagers have been detained in Loi Kaw's prison.

____________________________________

October 19, Irrawaddy
Gen Thura Shwe Mann: Ready to be new army commander? - The Irrawaddy

Gen Thura Shwe Mann has effectively taken over day-to-day command of the
armed forces and the country's internal affairs as instructed by Snr-Gen
Than Shwe, according to unconfirmed reports from Naypyidaw.

Speculation is rampant that he will soon become the army commander in
chief, a position currently held by Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye, who also holds
the deputy commander in chief of the armed forces position. Snr-Gen Than
Shwe is commander in chief.

In the past, Thura Shwe Mann, the regime’s No. 3 man, was seen as waiting
in the wings, ready to take over a more powerful position in the armed
forces. He is currently chief of staff, responsible for the coordination
of special operations (Army, Navy and Air).

He has been posted in the Ministry of Defense since 2001 and has not
gained widespread support among the hard-line army leadership and field
commanders. However, he has earned the trust of Snr-Gen Than Shwe, who has
been shuffling military appointments and placing his most trusted men in
key positions.

During the pro-democracy demonstrations, there were rumors that Maung Aye
opposed the use of soldiers to crack down on monks and activists. In
recent months, Maung Aye’s position and influence has waned, sources said.

Recent reports also suggest that Maung Aye has been removed from the Trade
Council.

For more information about Shwe Mann click
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=6631

____________________________________

October 19, Narinjara News
Census for monks in Arakan

A census is on for the monk population in Arakan State, Burma by the junta
since last week. The idea is to monitor the activities of monks' in the
future, said an abbot on the border.

A team of Nasaka border security officers came to his monastery in
Maungdaw Township yesterday to collect the names of monks in the
monastery. Later, the Nasaka team went to another monastery to get names
there, the abbot said.

The authorities are collecting the names, ages, address, family names, and
photographs of each monk in every monastery in Arakan, according to a monk
source.

The census for monks in Arakan is part of the regime's plan to keep a
check on monks and many township authorities in the state are now going
about preparing the lists.

General Thura Shwe Man, the third most powerful man in Burma, is handling
the affairs of monks in the country directly, and he is likely to have
ordered the collection of information on the monk population in Arakan, a
source said.

In Rathidaung, 20 miles north of Arakan State capital Sittwe, the township
authorities and police are jointly making the list of monks in every
monastery in the township.

Authorities investigated many monks who recently returned to Sittwe after
the demonstrations by monks, asking them several questions about the
demonstrations in the capital, said a monk from the city.

It has also been learnt that monks in Arakan State are now facing
restrictions in travelling freely in Burma, and it seems that authorities
will be continuing to restrict travel by monks in the future, said the
abbot.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

October 19, Irrawaddy
Weekly business roundup - William Boot

Fear of Demonetization Curbs Remittances to Burma

Remittances back to Burma from overseas migrant workers have dropped since
the crackdown on street protesters, observers note.

Millions of breadline Burmese depend on money sent home from family
members working abroad and any cutback will add to already severe penury,
say economists and social welfare workers.

The reason for the drop is not callousness by the overseas workers, but
worries that the military regime might suddenly cancel currency notes once
again.

Demonetization has happened three times before in times of crisis in Burma
and can render cash invalid or greatly devalued.

Tens of thousands of Burmese working in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore
use informal financial “fences” to remit money home.

“Suddenly declaring various currency denominations as no longer legal
tender has been a favorite ploy of Burma’s military regime,” notes
economist and Burma watcher Sean Turnell of Macquarie University in
Australia.

“The most bizarre and destructive [occasion] was that which took place in
September 1987 when suddenly canceled currency notes were replaced by kyat
notes in the strange denominations of 45 and 90.”

This was done on the whim of former strongman Gen Ne Win who decided that
the number 9 and divisions by 9 would be auspicious for him and Burma.
History has shown that it wasn’t.

Gambari ‘Incentives’ on Burma Oil, Gas Developments?

Speculation is growing over what “incentives” UN special envoy Ibrahim
Gambari has in mind for the Burmese military regime in his future
discussions with Chinese and Indian government leaders.

Gambari said this week that negotiating with the Naypyidaw regime to
change its repressive policies should not be about punishment, but
incentives. He would not elaborate.

However, the only incentives the generals seem to appreciate are financial
or status-enhancing ones, note analysts.

“One of the biggest incentives the military seems to have for staying in
power is monetary, and the biggest part of its income comes from
gas-production concessions and royalties,” said Southeast Asian energy
commodities researcher Sar Watana in Bangkok.

“It would be interesting to know if he will discuss the involvement of
China and India in developing Burma’s fossil fuel reserves. India
especially has been recently stepping up its involvement.”

In addition to Indian state oil and gas developers GAIL and onGC taking up
new offshore exploration licenses in September, one of India’s biggest
private corporations, Essar, is, according to reports in energy industry
circles, to be urgently seeking drilling rig equipment to begin new
explorations both on shore and offshore in the near future.

Essar was awarded two licenses by the military junta in 2005, but has
decided to begin work on their concession sites at this time.

Diesel Substitute Plan Runs into Major Technical Hitch

Thousands of farmers and backyard gardeners in Burma are scratching their
heads about what to do with tonnes of jatropha plants they have been
forced to grow, supposedly to replace the estimated 50,000 barrels a day
of diesel the regime has to minimally import in order to keep the country
functioning at a minimal level.

The oily bush plant, also known as physic nut, is grown in other countries
as a source of ethanol to produce biofuels, including biodiesel—a sort of
watered down form of “green” gasoline.

“The regime thought it could save money on diesel imports if it grew
jatropha, but you need a quite sophisticated processing plant to convert
the plant oil to ethanol and then add it to fossil fuels,” said Bangkok
fuel commodities consultant-analyst Collin Reynolds.

“From what we know, Myanmar does not have such equipment.”

The forced conversion of up to 7 million acres of land to jatropha
cultivation has taken valuable food crops out of production, further
impoverishing farmers and cutting food supplies.

There is little sign producers will be properly paid for growing jatropha,
and farmers are barred from taking bridging loans from Burma’s commercial
banks, leaving them at the mercy of cash-strapped state institutions.

‘Tourism is Safe’ Statement Misses the Point, Say Agents

As tourists cancel or postpone holidays and international flights to Burma
are slashed in the wake of the military crackdown, some overseas tourism
industry representatives expressed surprise this week at an optimistic
statement from one of the regime’s tourism chiefs.

The chairman of the Myanmar Marketing Committee, Aung Myat Kyaw, said his
team was working “closely with every member of the tourism community to
help sustain Myanmar’s tourism industry.”

This meant persuading agents abroad that Burma was safe to visit and fully
participating in trade promotion fairs abroad, he said.

“They are missing the point—people are canceling not out of fear but out
of disgust,” said an agent in Bangkok for an international concern who
declined to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the issue.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

October 19, Independent (London)
Five million Burmese are going hungry, warns UN - Peter Popham

One in ten Burmese is going to bed hungry and an estimated five million
people do not have enough food, UN officials said yesterday. The hunger
gripping rural communities has spread to cities because of the steep
increases in the costs of fuel and other commodities which provoked last
month's nationwide protests against the ruling military junta.

Burma used to be known as the rice bowl of Asia and, on paper at least, it
still has a food surplus. But according to Paul Risley, an official with
the World Food Programme, who has just returned from the country, many
people are struggling to survive on meagre meals. "We can presently only
provide food to about 500,000 vulnerable persons - far less than is
needed," Mr Risley said. "There are points of real poverty and food
insecurity in parts of Burma's urban areas.

"This has happened before but it is becoming a larger problem, for
example, among particularly vulnerable groups such as HIV and Aids
patients. We haven't yet talked to the regime about alleviating this but
we are receiving requests from non-governmental organisations and other
groups working in urban areas to investigate the problem."

In a visit planned before last month's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy
protests, a WFP team including Mr Risley and Tony Banbury, its regional
director for Asia, spent five days in Burma and visited the southern Shan
stateat the heart of the Golden Triangle - once one of the world's most
important areas of illegal opium cultivation. There, they found desperate
poverty among the former opium farmers.

"Southern Shan state has a food surplus and we saw corn being harvested.
Outside every house, corn cribs were brimming with corn and the rice was
on the point of being harvested as well," Mr Risley said. "But the tragic
thing is that, just minutes away from the main road, there are traditional
mountain communities without access to land and without enough food.

"These are tribes who traditionally carry their wealth on their bodies in
the form of silver and gold bracelets. In several villages we were told
they were selling their bracelets to obtain food. We believe some of them
are going back to opium production because they don't want to lose all
their wealth."

Officials also visited the western state of Rakhine, formerly Arakan,
which is home to hundreds of thousands of Rohingas - the predominantly
Muslim people expelled from Bangladesh years ago after fleeing there from
Burma, and who are now essentially stateless. "We have been feeding the
Rohingas for 10 years and their conditions have not improved and their
livelihood has not improved," Mr Risley added. "It is an intractable
situation. It could be alleviated by economic and social reform, by the
free movement of people, food and resources."

Similar problems of mass hunger are found in other border regions,
including Karen tribal areas in the west which WFP officials were not
allowed to see. "On most parts of the border, conflicts have stopped for
the past 10 years but food insecurity remains owing to the inability of
the government to prioritise the development and the feeding of its
people," said Mr Risley. "The sale of commodities is controlled by an
elite. The wealth of Burma is in its natural resources - oil, gas, timber,
gems - and the income from this does not reach the people."

The UN estimates that one third of children under five are underweight and
10 per cent are classified as acutely malnourished or "wasted". Child
mortality rates of 106 per 1,000 are among the worst in Asia.

One Burma analyst said last night: "The generals who took over in 1988
prided themselves on being more technocratic than Ne Win, the dictator
from 1962, but they ignore the rest of the economy. They don't care
whether rice gets to the people because they are earning $2bn a year
selling natural gas to Thailand. They don't need to care about the
economic distress in the rest of the country."

n Burma's military government announced last night the formation of a
constitution drafting commission - another step in the junta's "road map"
to democracy which is supposed to lead to free and fair elections.

____________________________________

October 19, Irrawaddy
Fears for health of detainees - Saw Yan Naing

The International Committee of the Red Cross said that it is “deeply
worried” about the fate of those arrested in Burma.

Pierre Krähenbühl, the director of the Swiss-based organization, said in a
statement released on Friday, “The ICRC is deeply worried about the fate
of the thousands of people who have reportedly been arrested in connection
with the recent events in Myanmar.”

Krähenbühl also said that dozens of worried families had contacted the
ICRC for help locating relatives who have been detained or are missing.

The ICRC is trying to gain access to the detainees, but to date the junta
has not yet agreed to talks.

The organization hadn’t seen any sign of progress in dealing with the
regime so far, said the director; however, they would keep pursuing the
junta to restore “meaningful” dialogue concerning the ongoing situation.

Meanwhile, family members of detainees are deeply worried about the health
conditions of their loved ones who, they say, are being held in the
notorious Insein prison without sufficient medical treatment.

Spokesperson for the main opposition party, the National League for
Democracy, Myint Thein was arrested on August 23 and is in poor health in
Insein prison, according to Zarganar, the best-known Burmese comedian, who
was released on Wednesday.

“I’m very worried about him,” said Myint Thein’s wife. “I want authorities
to let him receive medical treatment. He only has rice gruel to eat. I
want to give him medicine and some food, but I haven’t seen him,” added
the detainee’s wife.

Myint Thein and other opposition leaders are currently being detained in
Cell-Block 1 and Block 2, said Zarganar, who met with Myint Thein and
other opposition leaders while in Insein prison.

Amyotheryei Win Naing, a veteran politician, is now seriously suffering
from hypertension. “His condition is not good,” confirmed Zarganar.

Meanwhile, a prominent leader of the 88 Generation Students Group, Hla Myo
Naung is now suffering seriously from a ruptured cornea. His left eye is
not visible and he is currently receiving medical treatment. Hla Myo Naung
was arrested on October 10 by authorities when he emerged from hiding to
be treated in a Rangoon clinic.

Hla Myo Naung was also warned by his doctor that he would lose the sight
in one eye if he is not treated soon. He played a leading role in the 1988
pro-democracy uprising and spent five years in prison during the early
1990s.

Other 88 Generation Students Group leaders, including Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko
Gyi and Htay Kywe, as well as ethnic leaders, such as Cin Sian Thang and
Htawng Kho Thang, are also in Insein prison.

Also, two brothers and the father of U Gambira, the leader of the Alliance
of All Burma Buddhist Monks, were arrested by the authorities on Thursday,
said sources. It is believed that the family members will be held in
exchange for U Gambira, who is now in hiding and has been continuously
hunted by the authorities, the sources claim.

The security forces are also continuing their nighttime raids on the homes
of suspected activists and monasteries, according to new arrivals at the
Thai-Burmese border.

Burmese state-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported on Friday
that the government had released 2,550 detainees, but had retained 377
persons. However, independent sources are unable to confirm these claims.

____________________________________
ASEAN

October 19, The Straits Times (Singapore)
Asean's role 'should be to get junta to negotiate' - Ong Hwee Hwee

ASEAN'S immediate task should be to bring Myanmar's ruling junta to the
negotiating table, said a foreign policy adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi's
party.

Mr Nyo Ohn Myint, a senior member of the National League for Democracy
(NLD) who lives in exile in Thailand, said yesterday: 'We need benchmark,
not sanctions or isolation. Asean should work towards bringing the regime
to the dialogue table.'

Speaking at a seminar in Taipei organised by the ruling Democratic
Progressive Party and the Taiwan Thinktank, he said: 'If they (the junta)
refuse to answer or hold a dialogue with the NLD, then maybe it is time to
think about economic sanctions.'

The upcoming Asean summit in Singapore could offer an opportunity for
talks, said Mr Ohn Myint, who heads the foreign affairs committee of the
NLD-LA (National League for Democracy-Liberated Areas). The organisation,
which is separate from the NLD, operates in the Thai-Myanmar border areas
and abroad.

'Asean should invite the military regime. Listen to what they have to say
and talk faceto-face,' he told The Straits Times.

Asean, of which Myanmar is a member, will mark its 40th anniversary with a
high-profile leaders' summit in Singapore next month.

Mr Ohn Myint, who is on a visit to Taiwan to drum up support for the NLD's
cause, was Ms Suu Kyi's spokesman during the 1988 pro-democracy uprising.

He said some 5,000 people - including 2,000 monks and nuns - have been
detained during the recent violent crackdown on dissent by the military
junta. His own brother has been reported missing.

Asean's response to the crackdown is widely seen as a credibility test for
the regional bloc, which has operated on a consensual basis.

The group has come under growing pressure to take tougher actions,
including imposing economic sanctions and suspending Myanmar's membership.

It had issued an unusually stern statement last month expressing
'revulsion' at the killings in Yangon. But it ruled out punitive measures,
stressing the importance of engaging Myanmar's military regime.

While hailing the statement as a positive 'change in tone', Mr Ohn Myint
yesterday urged Asean to do more by bringing pressure on China - Myanmar's
main ally - to exert its influence on junta chief Than Shwe.

'Asean has strong political, economic and social ties with China,' he said.

'It is time for China to wash its hands off Myanmar' if its leadership
hopes to project a positive international image in the run-up to the
Beijing Olympic Games next year, he added.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

October 19, The Nation
PM's second letter sent to Burma - Supalak Ganjanakhundee

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's second letter was delivered to the
military leaders in Burma Friday, urging them to clear the way for United
Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari to spend some time there working
towards democracy and national reconciliation.


The missive was sent through diplomatic channels from Bangkok to Burma's
paramount leader Senior General Than Shwe in Nay Pyi Taw, a government
source said.

Gambari, who was in Thailand between Sunday and Tuesday, had asked Surayud
for help in requesting the Burmese generals to issue a longstay visa for
him.

The envoy was taking this week to visit Malaysia, Indonesia, India, China
and Japan to relay the UN's concerns over the grave situation in Burma and
seek cooperation from Burma's neighbours to support his mission.

He plans to visit Burma again by the middle of next month to exert efforts
to move the country toward democracy and national reconciliation after a
crackdown on mass street demonstrations last month left at least 13 people
dead.

More than 2,000 protesters including Buddhist monks were detained and are
still subjected to interrogation.

Surayud sent his first letter to Burma early this month to express
Thailand's distress over the situation and urge the Burmese junta to
restrain from using force against the protesters, notably Buddhist monks.

His second letter urged the Burmese junta to open a political dialogue
with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to end the conflict and pursue
national reconciliation.

Surayud has suggested forming a core group consisting of Asean plus China
and India to deal with the Burma issue, similar to the sixparty
negotiations over the North Korean nuclear standoff.

The Thai government was consulting with Singapore, which holds the
rotating chairmanship of Asean, to explore ways to solve political
problems in Burma, which is also an Asean member, the source said.

The 10 Asean leaders will meet at their annual summit in Singapore next
month with the Burma case expected to be a dominant topic.

____________________________________

October 19, Associated Press
Beijing vice mayor says boycott over Myanmar would be `inappropriate and
unpopular' - Stephen Wade

Moves to link China's role in Myanmar to a boycott of next summer's
Olympics would be "inappropriate and unpopular," the vice major of Beijing
said Friday.

"I believe that any political issue or issues that have nothing to do with
the Olympics should not be linked with the Olympic games," Liu Jingmin,
who is also a vice president of the Beijing organizing committee, said in
a briefing on preparations for the Olympics, which are just under 10
months away.

China's communist government has been criticized for its ties with
governments in Sudan and Myanmar, and calls from boycotts have stemmed
from business China does with both countries.

"The Chinese government has played a constructive and responsible part in
the Myanmar issue," Liu said. "The constructive role by China has been
recognized by all. I think the attempt to use this issue as an excuse to
boycott the Beijing Olympics is both inappropriate and unpopular."

The recent violence in Myanmar increased calls for China to push its
southern neighbor more toward change.

A boycott would be embarrassing to China, but there seems to be little
appetite for it with world leaders resistant to the idea.

Liu also said human rights conditions were improving in China as a result
of the Olympics. In bidding for the games, Chinese officials said having
the games would speed change.

"Indeed I believe that preparations for the Olympics have tremendously
boosted the development of human rights in China," Liu said, citing
improved living standards and moves to clean up the environment.

"All the preparations for the games will accompany the process of further
development in China," he said. "Democracy and human rights in China will
also receive a big boost as a result of these preparations."

Liu also promised tight security for the games.

"We are 100 percent sure that we can demonstrate to the world that the
2008 Games in Beijing will be games of safety and security," he said in a
wide-ranging, 90-minute news conference.

Liu said a "high-level command and control system" was being set up and he
called the planning "thoughtful and meticulous."

"We have carefully analyzed every incident that has occurred in the
history of the Olympic games and then we formulated a strategic plan."

He said fans attending major events would be identified by electronic
chips in tickets.

Liu said the operating budget for the Olympics had risen by at least 25
percent from the first budget of US$1.6 billion (euro1.12 billion), which
was submitted during the bid process in 2001. He said the budget had risen
to "more than US$2 billion (euro1.4 billion)" but said it was still below
the US$2.4 billion (euro1.68 billion) budget for Athens 2004.

He said the increase was due largely to more spending on security and the
rising value of the Chinese currency against its American counterpart.

Liu said construction on 27 of the 37 venues had been completed, with nine
more set to be finished by the end of the year.

The exception is the National Stadium the Bird's Nest which will be ready
in March. The Media Village and Olympic Village will also be completed
next year, Liu said.

____________________________________

October 19, Mizzima News
Indian Ambassador did not meet Suu Kyi: Diplomats, activists

Contrary to the news that the Indian Ambassador in Rangoon and the Foreign
Secretary met detained Burmese pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,
party activists and foreign diplomats in the former capital said they were
unaware of any such meeting.

Amidst increasing pressure on the Burmese military junta to implement
political changes, news spread from the Indian Ministry of External
Affairs that India is vibrantly working for changes in Burma with its
ambassador to the country and foreign secretary meeting pro-democracy
leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi towards the end of September.

Along with several Indian newspapers, Mizzima on October 11 published a
report titled "Indian envoy meets detained Burmese democracy icon",
mentioning that the Indian Ambassador met detained Aung San Suu Kyi based
on the information reportedly from the MEA.

However, MEA officials, upon reconfirming, declined to comment.

According to a western diplomat in Rangoon, such meetings have never taken
place and that diplomats as much like others are not allowed to meet Suu
Kyi.

U Lwin, spokesperson of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's party – the National League
for Democracy – told Mizzima, "I am not aware of such a meeting. And if it
took place I am sure it will be known to at least the diplomatic circle
here [Rangoon]."

The information could have been spread purposely to project that India is
secretly working for changes in Burma, he added.

India, which has officially stated that it hopes to see Burma's political
problems resolved peacefully through an inclusive and broad based
dialogue, said it preferred a 'non-condemnatory' approach to Burma instead
of international sanctions.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

October 19, Inter Press Service
Rights-Burma:  Media-in-exile examine strengths, weaknesses - Lynette Lee
Corporal

As Burma’s junta clamps down on citizen journalists in the wake of the
brutal repression it unleashed on monks and pro-democracy protestors, the
‘media-in-exile’ are hard put to maintain the information flow on events
in their country.

There is now just a trickle of news where there was free flow of
information via blogs, videos, photos, phone calls and text messages from
people inside Burma that international news media depended on until Sep.
26 when the military cracked down hard breaking up rallies and raiding
monasteries to quell weeks of protests.

Although the government has eased its tight hold on the Internet and
opened communication lines once again, the seed of fear has apparently
been sown.

"People are too afraid to talk on the phone as the lines are tapped. We
can still call some numbers but these are very limited calls. Many people
can still use e-mail but they are careful because these too are being
monitored," said Aung Naing, chief editor of the Thailand-based Network
Media Group, which distributes news to Burmese- language radio programmes
of media outfits as Radio Free Burma and the Democratic Voice of Burma.

For Aye Chan Naing, director of the Norway-based Democratic Voice of
Burma, the suppression of both the voices of the public and of journalists
in Burma has made the double-checking of information all the more
difficult. "While we still have regular communication with our reporters
on the ground, getting accurate information is getting to be a challenge,"
he said.

But people are still turning to shortwave radio to listen to broadcasts by
the Burmese media abroad.

"The military may be aware of this, but this does not prevent people from
listening to the BBC, Democratic Voice of Burma or Radio Free Asia," said
Network Media Group editor Moe Zaw. All these stations can be accessed via
shortwave radio at certain times of the day. At best, they get more
information from sources in the border areas.

The challenge now is for these exiled media organisations to protect their
sources and keep them out of harm's way, explained Aung Naing.

What is quite alarming for Aye Chan Naing is that journalists in Burma,
particularly the underground network of journalists that ‘smuggle’
information out, are now the next targets of the junta, called the State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

"We are very worried about their situation within the country. (We have
received reports that) some pro-regime journalists are giving authorities
information about their colleagues in the media who covered the recent
protests (last week of September) in Rangoon," he told IPS.

While there is no solid evidence of pro-government journalists turning
against their fellow media members, Aung Naing believes this is quite
possible.

"Government control is too strong and they have been known to use
journalists working for state-run media to help them hunt down
anti-government journalists," said the former student activist who fled to
Thailand after the 1988 crackdown on pro-democracy student protesters
where more than 3,000 people were killed.

For the India-based editor of ‘Mizzima News’, Soe Myint, recent events
have negatively affected the morale of local Burmese journalists whose
lives are now being threatened. "The regime has basically made the
journalists and activists 'hostage' in its last efforts to hold on to
power, using any means to ensure its own survival," he said.

"We always keep in mind the safety of our network of journalists. This is
our utmost priority," he told IPS.

He, however, cautions people against letting down their guard in the wake
of government's relaxing Internet restrictions, intimating that this could
be a ploy to trace those who send information to the outside world via the
Internet.

Learning from the lessons of the September protests, Aung Naing sees the
need for journalists both in and outside Burma to develop their
information technology (IT) skills.

"We've seen how IT played a big role in the recent events, unlike in the
1988 protests," he explained. "We now know that most of the information
about the demonstrations that were picked up by the news media worldwide
came from tech-savvy teenagers who made full use of the new media during
those critical times."

Exiled Burmese media groups will be assessing their situation at the
Burmese Media Conference in November, to be held in the northern Thai city
of Chiang Mai.

Burma News international, a network of 10 media in exile organisations, is
also expected to discuss new reporting strategies in its regular
conference.

"We will discuss how we can develop the Burmese media more and how we can
make use of new communication technologies to improve reporting from
within and outside Burma," said Aung Naing. "We need to be able to learn
more IT skills, use software and programmes available to us."

But lest people start to expect too much from exiled journalists, Aye Chan
Naing says he does not think that the exiled media alone can bring
democracy and freedom back to Burma. These have to come from the people
inside Burma, he said.

For Moe Zaw, objective reporting remains the exiled media’s priority.
"Most of our news reflect the real situation. The exiled media, because of
their different backgrounds, have different 'leanings'. Some journalists,
because of their political backgrounds, are more involved in pro-democracy
ideas," he said.

Aung Naing agrees, saying that the style of reporting and the choice of
stories are different among the exiled media. Some want to be more
objective in their reporting while some are more 'involved', he added. But
one thing is clear, and that is "most of the exiled media are pushing for
change".

''To my knowledge, there is no alliance of exiled media formed to bring
down the dictatorship as a united front. We all report on the news and
what is happening in Burma, including pro-democracy movements. It is only
right that we should let people decide for themselves and not to try to
influence them based on what we want to happen," explained Aye Chan Naing.

"Otherwise, we won't be any different from the Burmese government media,"
he stressed.

____________________________________

October 19, Associated Press
Bush penalizes countries for trafficking

President Bush on Thursday punished two perennial adversaries — Myanmar
and Cuba — for alleged "human trafficking," the forced labor and
prostitution that the United States calls a modern-day form of slavery.

Bush chose not to come down hard on several other countries where the
State Department found serious trafficking problems, including important
Middle East allies such as Saudi Arabia. He approved partial punishment,
in the form of financial sanctions, against Iran and other nations where
the United States holds out hope that limited cultural or educational
outreach may deter abuses.

The Bush administration also lifted the immediate threat of sanctions from
two nations that had made progress in the months since the State
Department issued a preliminary assessment of worldwide trafficking abuses
in June.

Notably, the administration chose to change its assessment of Kuwait, a
key Mideast ally, because Kuwait recently opened a long-promised shelter
for abuse victims, often Asian women forced to work as virtual house
slaves in the homes of wealthy Kuwaitis.

"It's a nascent effort, but we made a conclusion that Kuwait had taken
steps that merited an upgrade," said Mark Lagoon, head of a State
Department office that compiled the annual list required by Congress.

The State Department gives countries listed as serious violators a chance
to address the problems before the White House issues its findings and
applies sanctions. In the case of Kuwait and equatorial Guinea, the
governments made enough gains to merit an upgrade, Lagon said.

Countries on the list are subject to sanctions for not doing enough to
stop the yearly flow of some 800,000 people across international borders
for the sex trade and other forms of forced and indentured labor. About 80
percent of those people are female, and up to half of them are children.

The Bush administration determined that Myanmar, also known as Burma, is
ineligible for U.S. aid for failing to meet the minimum standards of
fighting trafficking or make significant efforts to do so. On the same
grounds, Cuba's officials and employees will not be eligible for
educational and cultural exchange programs.

Those are the same two countries that suffered sanctions for human
trafficking last year.

Bush also declared Syria, Venezuela, North Korea and Iran in line for full
sanctions.

But in each of those cases, Bush invoked his waiver authority to continue
providing some U.S. aid to those countries, such as for cultural exchanges
or for programs that help victims of trafficking. The White House
determined that continuing the flow of money is in the national interest
of the United States.

Bush waived all sanctions against eight countries: Algeria, Bahrain,
Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Uzbekistan — all on the
same grounds that doing so would serve the United States' strategic
interests with these countries.

____________________________________

October 19, Shan Herald Agency for News
Rally demanding Australia stop secret cooperation with junta proposed -
Sai Awn Tai

A major rally is slated for November 15 in Sydney which will demand that
the Australian government stop its secret cooperation with the Burmese
military junta.

The rally to be organised by the Sydney based Joint Action Committee for
Democracy in Burma (JACDB) will be held in Martin Place, Sydney.

JACDB co-ordinator, Dr Aye Kyaw told News Day they also want the
Australian government to pressure the Chinese government and ASEAN
countries to take action against Burma.

The committee is made up of representatives from Burmese, Chinese,
Vietnamese, Laos, and Cambodian Sydney-based communities.

Also on the committee are representatives of Australian political and
social justice organisations.

"We believe that the collective groups from different communities and
organizations will give full moral support to the people of Burma and push
the Australian government to change its policy towards the Burmese junta,"
said Dr. Aye Kyaw, who is also an in charge of the Australia-based
National League for Democracy Liberated Area (NLD-LA).

The NLD-LA is a branch set up by exiled members of the NLD, which won the
general elections in 1990 in Burma, under the leadership of the Nobel
Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi who is currently under house arrest.

Last month in Burma there were at least 13 reported deaths as the junta
cracked down on monks and civilians who had taken to the streets to
protest rising fuel prices – a hike of up to 500 per cent and
deteriorating living standards.

Organisations like the JACDB say the Australian government has done little
on Burma and is still supporting the military regime by training the
regime's officers in Australia and Indonesia.

Recently, the Manly Daily local newspapers revealed that five police
officers from Burma were trained at the Australian Institute of Police
Management in Manly, Sydney over the past five years.

The recent crackdown in Burma shows that all the Australian government's
secret activities with the junta have failed to bring peace and democracy
in Burma instead it has substantially increased violence, bloodshed and
torture of innocent citizens.

"We urge the Australian government to stop its secret cooperation with the
regime, they are killing innocent people and the Australia government will
be committing a crime like the regime, if they don't stop training the
regime's officers. We believe that these officers have been involved in
this mass killings", said Dr Aye Kyaw.

The Australia government has great influence on China and ASEAN countries.
Therefore, Australia should initiate strong action to restore peace and
democracy in Burma. Australia should adopt a strong position as the US and
European Union has done, he said.
Instead Australia follows the position taken by some Asian countries which
do not actively support human rights and democracy.

Before the federal election JACDB will lobby the government and
influential Australian organisations to press for an official policy
change on Burma.

Meanwhile on this Sunday October 21, The National Council of Churches in
Australia, in collaboration with Caritas Australia, has invited
communities of all faiths to participate in a National Day of Prayer for
Burma.

They have also called on people to write to the Foreign Minister Alexander
Downer and the leader of the opposition Kevin Rudd requesting that the
Australian Government immediately cease counter terrorism training to the
Burmese police and military.

Caritas said that 20 Burmese policemen were among more than 70 from Burma
who, during the past three years, have participated in a regional training
program at the Australian-funded Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement
Co-operation in Indonesia.

The rally at Martin Place on November 15 is expected to attract at least
1000 people.

It has the support of the Australian Burma Council.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

October 18, International Herald Tribute
Saffron Revolution: The power of nonviolence - Shaazka Beyerle and Cynthia
Boaz

It was not a surprise that the Burmese junta violently cracked down on the
"saffron revolution." The generals had lost all credibility in the eyes of
their people, and were left with only one tool of control - repression.

But no matter how many guns and tanks they have, the generals still depend
on ordinary soldiers to do their dirty work. History teaches that once
enough people stop carrying out their orders, or switch sides, the junta's
power will disintegrate.

Through this lens, the saffron revolution isn't over, it has just begun.

Disobedience is at the heart of nonviolent struggle. "Even the most
powerful cannot rule without the cooperation of the ruled," Mahatma Gandhi
said. Nonviolent movements succeed not necessarily when there are masses
on the streets, but when enough people withdraw their cooperation, refuse
to obey, and thus undermine the sustainability of the existing system.

Reports of defiance continue to leak out of Burma. Dissident sources
report that opposition posters are appearing in public spaces, on prison
walls, taped to helium balloons, and even on river rafts.

Protests are not the equivalent of a nonviolent movement, but they are one
type of nonviolent tactic. Moreover, "people power" is not an inexplicable
force whereby thousands of citizens suddenly materialize on the streets
and trigger a conversion in the hearts of oppressors.

People power is the sustained, strategic application of a variety of
nonviolent tactics, including civil disobedience, boycotts, strikes and
noncooperation. Gene Sharp, a student of nonviolence, has documented over
198 kinds of nonviolent actions, and each successful struggle invents new
ones.

The strategic objectives of nonviolent actions are four-fold. They can
disrupt normal functioning in a city, region or country, thereby making
business as usual impossible. Under Augusto Pinochet's brutal regime in
Chile, the opposition called for a slow-down, and the designated day the
majority of Santiago's residents walked at half speed and drove at half
speed, and thus told the generals that they'd had enough - without putting
a single person at risk.

A Burmese exile with sources inside Myanmar reported that activists there
are "calling for noncooperation with the regime and for non-attendance of
factories and offices."

Nonviolent actions, as Thomas Schelling, a Nobel laureate in economics,
pointed out 30 years ago, can also deny an oppressor what it needs, such
as money, food, supplies or manpower.

During the popular revolt against Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines, the
public withdrew its money from banks associated with the regime and
stopped paying utility bills. This put real pressure on a cash-starved,
mismanaged economy. Marcos needed money because repression does not come
free. It costs huge sums to feed, transport and arm soldiers, as well as
to buy the loyalty of the top brass and the inner circle.

Nonviolent strategies and action can also undermine the oppressor's
pillars of support - the institutions and groups it needs to retain
control - including the police and military. A Burmese exile reports
hearing that Burmese soldiers are not fully obeying orders and that some
are going AWOL, and that a rift has apparently developed between the two
top generals in the ruling "State Peace and Development Council."

A lesson from past nonviolent struggles is the importance of communicating
a vision of society based on justice, not revenge, which includes a place
for those who defect from the oppressor's side.

Finally, nonviolent actions can themselves attract people to the
opposition. A growing number of Myanmar's residents have been turning off
their televisions, and even lights, when the regime's nightly newscast
begins, thereby signaling support for the opposition and disgust for the
government.

So if the generals wanted quiet, they got it - a quiet mobilization with a
potential to grow. Such was the case in Turkey in 1997, when a protest
against corruption that began with people turning off lights ended up with
demonstrations by 30 million.

While in prison, the Reverend. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote: "We know
through painful experience that freedom is never given by the oppressor;
it must be demanded by the oppressed." In Burma, thousands have been doing
and continue to do just that.

Shaazka Beyerle is senior advisor at the International Center on
Nonviolent Conflict. Cynthia Boaz is assistant professor of political
science and international studies at the State University of New York at
Brockport.

____________________________________

October 19, The Economist
Sticks and carrots; Myanmar diplomacy

The pressure rises—but not far enough

The United Nations' special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, toured Asia
this week to plead with the country's neighbours to step up the pressure
on its military regime. As he did so, the European Union tightened its
economic sanctions, banning imports of Burmese timber, gemstones and
precious metals. President George Bush talked of further measures on top
of those he imposed after last month's brutal crackdown on monk-led
pro-democracy protests. Japan cut its aid to Myanmar in protest at the
shooting of a Japanese journalist during the violence.

Mr Gambari was sent on tour after last week's statement by the UN Security
Council "strongly deploring" the crackdown, calling for the release of
political prisoners and urging Myanmar's regime to start a real dialogue
with Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained pro-democracy leader. Unlike a council
resolution, the statement was not binding and, at China's insistence,
contained no threat of sanctions. But that the council reached consensus
on a fairly strong rebuke was a notable achievement.

However, the regime continues to defy world opinion. It has made some
token concessions: earlier this month, it appointed an intermediary to
handle talks with Miss Suu Kyi. But this week it rejected the UN's
statement and insisted it would "march on" with its supposed seven-step
plan for democracy, which in reality is a plan to entrench the army in
power. It continued to arrest protest leaders. The relatives of some
detainees said they had been tried in secret and given long jail
sentences. Last weekend state newspapers announced that Soe Win, Myanmar's
prime minister, thought to be fourth in the junta's hierarchy, had died.
His demise seems unlikely to change things.

The West has still not run out of sticks to wield against Myanmar—for
example, European firms are only discouraged from investing there, not
banned. But Britain's prime minister, Gordon Brown, has also offered a
carrot, a big package of aid to be provided to the deeply impoverished
land if its rulers make serious moves towards democracy. However, neither
carrots nor sticks will budge the stubborn Burmese generals unless the
Asian countries that are Myanmar's main trading partners and arms
suppliers join in.

So far, Mr Gambari's reception in Asian capitals has been lacklustre.
Malaysia ruled out even such mild sanctions as suspending Myanmar's
membership of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). General
Surayud Chulanont, the prime minister in Thailand's military-backed
government, suggested the creation of a regional forum to solve Myanmar's
crisis, comprising ASEAN, India, China and the UN, and modelled on the
six-party talks on North Korea. However, the North Korean talks include
countries—notably America—that urge a tough line against North Korea, as
well as friendlier China. Without such a "nice cop, nasty cop" act,
General Surayud's proposed forum would probably achieve little.

ASEAN's secretary-general, Ong Keng Yong, and several member countries'
senior ministers this week pointed to the country's various
ethnic-minority insurgencies and gave overblown warnings of "another
Iraq", should the regime change suddenly. But neither the West nor Miss
Suu Kyi herself is proposing a sudden regime change. Even the
pro-democracy leader agrees that the army should play a strong continuing
role. So far it looks as if Myanmar's neighbours are simply looking for
excuses to let them return to doing business as usual with its nasty
regime, as soon as all the fuss has died down.

____________________________________

October 19, Cape Times (South Africa)
Time to act on Burma

Towards the end of the latest wave of unrest in Burma, where the Myanmar
junta fired on peaceful, monk-led protests, killing many, our Foreign
Affairs Deputy Minister Sue van der Merwe called the Myanmar Ambassador in
South Africa into her office. Her statement to the ambassador was not
flattering about his government's actions.

This is the first occasion, in a long while, that a South African
government official has spoken against the human rights abuses happening
in that country.

In 1994 Nelson Mandela said: "South Africa's future foreign relations will
be based on our belief that human rights should be the core concern of
international relations."

This is the message to which government committed itself, but which, until
Van der Merwe's recent actions, has not been matched by action.

South Africans and the world have long been troubled by the junta's
repression of the Burmese opposition.

However, our government's first act as a member of the Security Council in
2006 was to vote with China to prevent a resolution condemning the junta's
human rights abuses from being debated, on some spurious technical reason.
When an icon of human rights such as Aung San Suu Kyi says: "I have often
wondered whether the government of South Africa does everything it can do
to support our cause or whether it is even interested in doing everything
that it can to support our cause", then there is a problem with our
foreign policy.

However, with the deputy minister's apparent about-turn, there appears to
be a glimmer of hope. It is time our government embraced a deeper
commitment to decrying past, present and future violations.

Sheila Camerer, MP
Democratic Alliance
Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

October 19, Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC)
Humanitarian atrocities in eastern Burma exposed

Bangkok - The Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) today exposed the
Burmese junta as being the primary perpetrators of violence and abuse
against civilians in conflict-affected areas of eastern Burma.  While the
brutality of the crackdown against pro-democracy protestors in Rangoon was
beamed throughout the world, a new report from TBBC documents ongoing
violations of international humanitarian law committed against internally
displaced communities beyond the media spotlight.

“The regime’s militarisation of border areas has brought terror to local
ethnic communities.  Threats to civilian safety and security such as
military attack, torture, arbitrary arrest and forced conscription to
carry military supplies have increased since last surveyed in 2005.  The
destruction of food supplies and other threats to livelihoods continue to
be committed with impunity”, said Jack Dunford, TBBC’s Executive Director.

TBBC is an alliance of ten non-governmental humanitarian relief and
development agencies from eight countries working to provide food, shelter
and other non-food items to Burmese refugees and displaced persons.  The
organisation also engages in research into the root causes of forced
migration and refugee outflows.  This current survey of internal
displacement was based on interviews with almost 1,000 households and key
informants spread across 38 townships in eastern Burma.

The survey found that approximately 76,000 people were forced to leave
their homes as a result of, or in order to avoid, the effects of armed
conflict and human rights abuses during the past year.  Forced migration
was most concentrated in the northern Karen areas where the junta’s
counter-insurgency operations displaced approximately 43,000 civilians. 
While the total number of deaths caused by these military operations is
unknown, at least 38 villagers have been killed by the Burmese Army during
2007 in Thandaung township alone.

TBBC has previously reported that more than 3,000 villages were destroyed,
forcibly relocated or otherwise abandoned in eastern Burma between 1996
and 2006.  During the past year, at least 167 more entire villages have
been displaced.  However, forced migration is more widely associated with
the coerced movement of smaller groups due to land confiscation, forced
labour, restrictions on access to fields and markets, asset stripping,
forced procurement policies, agricultural production quotas and arbitrary
taxation.

The total number of internally displaced persons is currently estimated to
be at least half a million people.  This displaced population includes
295,000 people currently in the temporary settlements of ceasefire areas
administered by ethnic nationalities.  A further 99,000 civilians are
estimated to be hiding from the SPDC in areas most affected by military
skirmishes, while approximately 109,000 villagers have followed SPDC
eviction orders and moved into designated relocation sites.

“The coping strategies of rural villagers are almost exhausted.  A window
of opportunity exists for change in Burma, an end to the primary causes of
forced migration, and a new era of peace and justice.  We welcome the
United Nation’s efforts to broker tri-partite dialogue and promote
national reconciliation, yet it is essential to specifically address
atrocities being carried out in remote areas and to demand an immediate
nation-wide ceasefire”, said Mr Dunford.

“Internal Displacement in Eastern Burma: 2007 Survey” is available at 
www.tbbc.org/idp.html
Enquiries: Sally Thompson +66 2 238 5027-8, Duncan McArthur +66 89 850 8457