BurmaNet News, October 25, 2007

[Editor]

October 25, 2007 Issue # 3328

INSIDE BURMA
AP: Suu Kyi Meets junta's official
Mizzima News: Junta arrest more activists
Irrawaddy: Women recall life in prisons, interrogation centers
DVB: Monks kept away from rice donation
Khonumthung: Burmese police keep up hunt for protesters

ON THE BORDER
Mizzima New: Thailand to launch operation against Burmese dissidents

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: Air Bagan suspends flights to Singapore; sanctions cited as Reason
DVB: Huge tax rise on loudspeakers
Mizzima News: Activists demand PTTEP's withdrawal from Burma

DRUGS
Kantarawaddy Times: Opium addiction rises in Northern Kayah

REGIONAL
Myanmar Times: Gambari continues tour to promote Myanmar dialogue
DPA: Sonia Gandhi visits China; ministers discuss Myanmar

INTERNATIONAL
Bloomberg: Myanmar junta may have killed 110 protesters, UN says
AP: China, India, Russia urge Myanmar to meet opposition, say sanctions
not needed
Washington Post: Unity lacking on diplomatic approach to Burma's junta
AP: UN rights expert wants free access to gather information on Myanmar
crackdown
Reuters: U.S senators urge Manmohan to get tough on Myanmar
Guardian Unlimited: Carter offers himself as Burma envoy

PRESS RELEASE
Altsean-Burma: ASEAN urged: Stop passing the buck on Burma

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

October 25, Associated Press
Suu Kyi Meets Junta's Official

Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi—under house arrest for 12 of the
last 18 years—met for about one hour with a Burmese military government
official Thursday afternoon, a diplomat said.

Suu Kyi was driven a few minutes from her home to a government guest
house, where she held talks with newly appointed liaison minister, Aung
Kyi. The information came from a diplomat who did not want to be
identified for political reasons.

A retired major general, Aung Kyi, was appointed to the post on October 8
to hold talks with Suu Kyi.

It is not clear if this is Suu Kyi's first meeting with Aung Kyi, who on
Wednesday was elevated to labor minister from deputy labor minister.

With Aung Kyi's appointment, the junta said it hoped to achieve "smooth
relations" with Suu Kyi. Early this month the New Light of Myanmar
newspaper, a mouthpiece of the junta, printed a brief official
announcement on its front page saying that Kyi had been appointed
"minister for relations" to coordinate contacts with Suu Kyi, the
country's democracy icon.

Appointing a liaison officer was suggested by UN special envoy Ibrahim
Gambari during his September 29-Oct. 2 visit to Burma, state media said.

Gambari met with both top junta officials and Suu Kyi.

A protest movement began August 19 over the government raising fuel
prices. It mushroomed over weeks into a broad-based anti-government
movement pressing for democratic reforms.

Tens of thousands demonstrated—the largest protests in nearly two decades
of brutal military rule.

Gambari's trip came after troops quelled mass protests with gunfire. 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.

Aung Kyi's exact duties have not been detailed, but it appeared he would
coordinate all of Suu Kyi's contacts with both the regime and the United
Nations, which is seeking to end the political deadlock between democracy
advocates and a military that has ruled since 1962.

Aung Kyi has a reputation among foreign diplomats, UN officials and aid
groups as being relatively accessible and reasonable compared to top junta
leaders, who are highly suspicious of outsiders. He has had the delicate
task of dealing with the International Labor Organization, which accuses
the junta of using forced labor.

Early this month the government announced that junta leader Snr-Gen Than
Shwe was willing to meet with Suu Kyi—but only if she met certain
conditions, like renouncing support for foreign countries' economic
sanctions against the military regime.

Than Shwe has only met Suu Kyi once before, in 2002.

____________________________________

October 25, Mizzima News
Junta arrest more activists

While the Burmese military junta claims to have release several detainees,
arrested in connection with the recent protests, it has arrested eight
more key activists over the week, activists said.

The Thailand based Asia-Pacific Peoples' Partnership on Burma said student
activist D-Nyein Aye and 88 generation member Aung Naing were arrested
from hiding on Tuesday, while a youth member of the National League for
Democracy Thein Swe was arrested on Monday.

The APPB also said another five activists were picked up by the
authorities on Saturday, accounting for eight arrests over the week.

Khin Onhmar, coordinator of the APPPB, said the junta continues to
hunt-down key activists even as it claims to be releasing several of those
arrested earlier.

"The junta wants international pressure to ease off and is therefore
releasing several detainees," she added.

Meanwhile, Tate Naing of the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners
– Burma (AAPP-B), said the Burmese junta has arrested more than 4,000
monks, activists and ordimary people since it began cracking down on the
largest public demonstration in two decades in September.

The junta said it has released a majority of those arrested and only 190
more remain in detention, Tate Naing said "there are at least 700 people
still remaining in custody."

____________________________________

October 25, Irrawaddy
Women recall life in prisons, interrogation centers - Shah Paung

Women prisoners in Burma are facing many difficulties, according to women
who have been released following detention. The health conditions for
those in interrogation centers are also a concern.

Last week, the UN issued a report citing abuse against women throughout
the world, especially in conflict zones.

Activist Nyut Nyut Tin, 49, who was detained in Taungoo No. 2 police
interrogation centre for three days, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday she
still has back pain from being kicked many times and still finds it
difficult to work.

Nyut Nyut Tin, a member of the National League for Democracy in Pegu about
80 km north of Rangoon, was arrested three times, on August 29, October 15
and October 16.

She said that during interrogations officers pulled her hair, beat her and
kicked her. She was forced to crouch in a space 1-foot square for 36 hours
and received food only two times during her three-day dentention.

She was released on October 20, but the authorities came to  her home each
day to make sure she did not talk to the media.

“They [authorities] don't want me to talk to media, but they can not stop
me,” Nyut Nyut Tin said.

She said the authorities arrested her for praying at a Shwemawdaw Pagoda
on a Tuesday. She said authorities believed she was praying for democracy
icon Aung San Suu Kyi, who was born on a Tuesday. However, she said
Tuesday was also the day she was born, and she was simply praying for good
health.

"I think I am unlucky for being born on Tuesday, because I was badly
beaten," she said.

Another woman activist, Khin Mar Lar, was arrested on September 25 while
following a peaceful demonstration of monks in Mandalay. She was detained
for nearly one month.

Officials at the Shwe Sar Yan interrogation centre questioned her about
her views on the National Convention, the tamadaw [armed forces] and why
she was involved in the demonstration, she said.

Later, she was transferred to Mandalay prison and was put in a cell for
people who would be hanged. Food and water was insufficient, she said.

In prison, she met pro-democracy supporters and members of the National
League for Democracy, including Win Mya Mya, a senior member of the
Mandalay NLD. Win Mya Mya was keep isolated, and she is in bad health and
needs medical treatment, said Khin Mar Lar.

Before her release, she was forced to sign a paper saying if she was
involved in another demonstration she would be imprisoned and fined
500,000 kyat (US $377), and authorities would confiscate her household
possessions.

“We have been waiting for this kind of situation for a long time since
they [Burmese authorities] attacked Suu Kyi in Depayin,” Khin Mar Lar
said. “We are unhappy, and we are just waiting to see who will lead us
again.”

On May 30, 2003, a mob of junta supporters attacked Aung San Suu Kyi and
her supporters, killing and injuring scores of pro-democracy activists.

____________________________________

October 25, Democratic Voice of Burma
Monks kept away from rice donation

The annual rice donation ceremony in Magwe division is to go ahead with
some restrictions, despite local authorities’ earlier concerns that monks
would boycott the event.

The rice donation has been held annually for the past five years to mark
the end of Buddhist lent, and has always been a popular event, but local
authorities were worried that this year monks would refuse to accept alms
from government supporters.

The local Peace and Development Council refused to organise the ceremony,
so it will now be planned by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and its
local offices.

Township authorities still appear cautious about the event, which will be
widely publicised, and have issued restrictions on monks attending in an
apparent attempt to prevent large groups of monks assembling.

Only one monk from each monastery will be invited to the ceremony to
receive the donations. The rest of the alms will be taken to the monks at
their monasteries.

____________________________________

October 25, Khonumthung News
Burmese police keep up hunt for protesters

The Burmese police have intensified its search for people who are believed
to have been involved in the Buddhist monk-led street rally against the
Burmese military junta in Kalay town in Sagaing division, northwestern
Burma.

The police in Kalay with pictures they recorded during the demonstrations
are looking for the suspected students and other activists.

"They (police) came to my home and took me to the police station accusing
me of participating in last months anti-junta demonstrations. They
released me after interrogating me for around eight hours," a local in
Kalay said.

Security forces have also been watching the movement of a daughter of Dr.
Thein Win of the National League for Democracy in Kalay. It is very likely
that the security forces are planning to arrest her as soon as she comes
out from her house, he added.

Even though the international community had mounted pressure on the
Burmese regime telling it to refrain from using violence against
protesters on streets across Burma after the regime increase fuel prices
in August 15, the security forces killed around 30 demonstrators including
monks and activists and thousands were detained.

"They (police) accused me of being involved in the protests. They said
that I will be arrested if I don't pay Kyat 50,000 (US $ 36.76). My friend
was almost arrested for turning on the radio loudly," a local in Tahan,
Kalay town said.

Moreover, local authorities used to cut off and tap telephone lines of NLD
members, said a person from the political circle in Kalay.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

October 25, Mizzima New
Thailand to launch operation against Burmese dissidents

Offices of pro-democracy Burmese opposition groups in Thailand will be
searched by security personnel in the kingdom as part of an "operation",
informed sources told Mizzima.

The nation-wide operation will be launched in two weeks. Sources say the
measure follows the Burma military junta's claims that Thai-based
organizations instigated or were helping recent anti-regime protesters in
the neighbouring country.

The regime has linked the monks leading the demonstrations in August and
September with Maesot based organizations.

The Burmese Religion Minister Brig Gen Thura Myint Maung, in the state-run
newspaper today said, "Bogus [fake] Monks" who are in contact with
opposition groups based in Thailand had instigated the recent protests in
Burma.

Myint Maung, citing the names of monks who organized the protests, said,
"All 15 monks have visited Maesot in Thailand and some of them have
attended explosive training courses and community organizer (CO) courses
there."

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

October 25, Irrawaddy
Air Bagan suspends flights to Singapore; sanctions cited as Reason -
Violet Cho

Air Bagan Ltd has announced it will suspend flights to Singapore, as of
November 4, citing the effects of economic sanctions against the airline's
owner, businessman Tay Za.

A letter signed by the airline's sales and marketing manager said "the
final blow" came when the company was informed by its Singapore bank that
"they will no longer deal with us for the time being."

“Sanctions have been imposed on our airline and also our parent company in
Singapore. This has indeed caused us a lot of pain and anguish, as with
these sanctions we now have no access to aircraft spare parts," the letter
said. "We are now facing some major obstacles that need to be dealt with
in the next few months."

Air Bagan began flights to Singapore last month, during massive civil
unrest in Burma when the military regime suppressed pro-democracy
demonstrations.

Observes close to Air Bagan said the suspension of flights could last as
long as six months.

Air Bagan currently flies internationally from Rangoon to Bangkok. Its Web
site says it plans to fly to Kunming and Siem Reap in Cambodia, but no
date for the start of the service was provided.

Tay Za, a wealthy businessman in Burma, is closely associated with the
ruling generals. He started the private airline about three years ago.

Sanctions were the main reason cited for the suspension of the airline,
according to the letter. The US imposed additional sanctions against the
Burmese military government on October 19, including freezing the bank
accounts of an additional 25 military officials and 12 businessmen or
business entities closely associated with the military regime.

“More passengers and travelers refuse to use Air Bagan now,” a travel
agent with Sinmyanmar, based in Singapore, told The Irrawaddy. “We have
stopped taking responsibilities for the sale of tickets for Air Bagan."

With the new sanctions, the company apparently found it impossible to do
business in Singapore. Some observers said companies affected by the
sanctions may try to do business with banks in Kuala Lumpur and Dubai.

Bagan Airlines launched flights to Singapore in September, with a
promotional 14-day roundtrip flight between Rangoon and Singapore for US
$223 and a 14-day return ticket between Rangoon and Bangkok for $129. Its
airfares were about $50 cheaper than other airlines.

____________________________________

October 25, Democratic Voice of Burma
Huge tax rise on loudspeakers

Authorities in Aung Lan township, Magwe division, have raised the annual
tax on loudspeakers this week from 150 kyat to 15,000 kyat, according to
local residents.

Locals told DVB that the decision to raise the tax was taken by Aung Lan
township peace and development council’s motion and sound committee.

Loudspeakers are used widely in Burma, particularly in villages, to pass
on important information to the community, to broadcast public prayers and
for advertising. As they are viewed by the government as sensitive items,
all owners must be registered and pay an annual tax.

There are approximately 40 loudspeakers in Aung Lan itself, and hundreds
in the villages in the township territory, local residents said.

One loudspeaker owner in Aung Lan said that while the tax rise is not too
much of a burden on video-theater business owners, as they make money from
their daily audiences, it makes it difficult for loudspeaker rental
businesses who can only rent their speakers during festival time and have
little income at other times.

The loudspeaker owner added that monasteries and community groups would
also be affected by the increase.

"They are also charging tax on loudspeakers owned by monasteries, pagodas
and other social associations," he said.

____________________________________

October 25, Mizzima News
Activists demand PTTEP's withdrawal from Burma

Burmese activists today demanded the Thai government owned PTT exploration
and production (PTTEP) stop its collaboration with the Burmese junta in
exploring and drilling natural gas and oil from Burma.

Led by the Peace for Burma group, about 20 activists held a demonstration
in front of the PTTEP office in Bangkok this morning and demanded that the
company immediately stop its dealings in Burma.

"We are demanding the PTTEP halt all business dealings with the Burmese
junta. It also has to stop the gas pipeline that they are planning to
undertake in the Mottama bay," Win Aung, an activist from the Shwe Gas
Campaign said.

Gas exports from the Mottama bay, where Thailand has increased its
investment up to USD 2.1 billion, has earned the Burmese junta an annual
fee of USD 600 million, activists said.

Activists added that this income helps the Burmese junta to continue in
power and continue suppression of the people.

A PTTEP official accepted the protesters' memorandum saying he will hand
it over to the concerned officials, said Win Aung adding that activists
are determined to continue their protests in other ways if the company
fails to withdraw from its operations in Burma.

____________________________________
DRUGS

October 25, Kantarawaddy Times
Opium addiction rises in Northern Kayah

Drug addicts in Loi Kaw, De Maw So and Shar Daw, Kayah State are now more
into opium than methamphetamine compared to last few years, said Karenni
Anti-Drugs and Action committee (KADAC).

Following the ban on use, buying and selling of methamphetamine tablets by
Kanrenni ceasefire groups, drug addicts have turned to opium.

"It's easy to buy opium because poppy cultivated in their area. They used
Yaba (methamphetamine) in the past. Now it's not easy to buy Yaba. So
opium consumption has increased in the area," said Dominish of the KADAC.

Kayah locals plant poppy and produce opium in their area. Therefore opium
is easy to buy at teashops, betel-nut shops, liquor stores, and
restaurants, said Dominish.

Opium is mixed with powder of banana leaf and dried in Myinn Khwar leaves
to be smoked. Most drug addicts are young school boys and labourers, and
only a few are poppy farmers.

Methamphetamine could be bought easily at shops in 2005 and 2006 like
opium now.

Karenni Nationalities People Liberation Front (KNPLF) has ordered locals
not to sell or buy the tablets in KNPLF's controlled area. After the order
there was a shortage of methamphetamine.

KNPLF turns a blind eye and allows locals to cultivate poppy, trading in
opium and using it because methamphetamine shortage, said Dominish.

"Even though KNPLF banned Yaba tablets, it has allowed local people to
grow imperceptibly poppy. Currently trading and using opium is almost the
same as methamphetamine in the past. Drug addiction is increasing because
it is easy to buy," he said.

Locals from Loi Kaw, De Maw so and north of Shar Daw Township have been
poppy as their formal cultivation.

According to TBBC's (Thai-Burma Border Consortium) report, local people in
those areas have grown poppy for a livelihood and farmers pay huge taxes
to Burma army and ceasefire groups.

____________________________________
REGIONAL


October 25, Myanmar Times
Gambari continues tour to promote Myanmar dialogue

Last week the UN special envoy, Mr Ibrahim Gambari, continued a six-nation
tour of the region to seek support for UN efforts to promote political and
economic reforms in Myanmar.

The 13-day tour, during which Mr Gambari has travelled to Malaysia and
Indonesia and was also scheduled to visit India, China and Japan, began in
Bangkok on October 14.

Mr Gambari, the special envoy on Myanmar of UN Secretary General Mr Ban
Ki-moon, said the tour’s objectives include seeking support for promoting
a dialogue in Myanmar aimed accelerating a democratic transition. Another
objective is to discuss how the UN can help alleviate political and
economic challenges facing Myanmar.

The tour, Mr Gambari’s second to the six countries this year as special
envoy, has underlined the growing emphasis being placed by the UN on the
importance of regional countries in promoting democratic transition in
Myanmar.

“The secretary general is absolutely committed to working with the
government of Myanmar, with neighbouring countries (and) with ASEAN, so
that together we can achieve this goal of a peaceful, democratic,
prosperous Myanmar that is a positive influence on its neighbours,” Mr
Gambari told a news conference in Kuala Lumpur after meeting the Malaysian
Prime Minister, Mr Abdullah Badawi, on October 17.

Mr Gambari said the main obstacle to further progress in a political
transition was the lack of a dialogue between the government, Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi and other groups.

“Noting the government’s recent appointment of a liaison officer tasked
with starting dialogue with the opposition, Mr Gambari stressed the need
to begin such a dialogue without any further delay,” the statement said.

The statement was referring to the government’s appointment on October 8
of a deputy minister of labour, U Aung Kyi, as Minister for Relations to
liaise with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Mr Gambari said he hoped to return to Myanmar by the third week of
November to continue his efforts to encourage dialogue between the two
sides.

“I have confirmed an invitation to Myanmar to visit by the third week of
November. And I intend to honour that invitation. But there is a
possibility of going earlier,” Mr Gambari was quoted as saying by AFP.

Mr Gambari also held talks with the Malaysian Foreign Minister, Mr Syed
Hamid Albar, who said encouragement from the international community,
rather than pressure, would be more useful in encouraging Myanmar to
continue its cooperation with the UN.

The Malaysian foreign minister also ruled out suspending Myanmar from ASEAN.

On October 15 Mr Gambari completed the second leg of his tour in Kuala
Lumpur on October 17.

Mr Gambari arrived in Jakarta later that day on the third leg of his visit
and met separately the next day with Indonesia’s president, Mr Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono, and foreign minister, Mr Hassan Wirayuda.

The UN said Mr Gambari was due to fly from Jakarta to New Delhi on October
21, where he was to meet the prime minister, Mr Manmohan Singh, and the
foreign minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee.

On October 24, Mr Gambari was scheduled to travel to Beijing where he was
expected to hold talks with the Chinese premier, Mr Wen Jiabao.

The UN said Mr Gambari was due to spend October 26 and 27 in Tokyo before
returning to New York, where he will brief Mr Ban on his tour.

Mr Gambari was dispatched to the region following the adoption by the UN
Security Council on October 11 of a statement that welcomed the
government’s decision to appoint U Aung Kyi.

During a visit to Myanmar from September 29 to October 2, Mr Gambari met
with Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Senior General
Than Shwe, and with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

At his meeting with Mr Gambari in Nay Pyi Taw on October 2, Senior General
Than Shwe made a conditional offer to hold talks with Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi.

____________________________________

October 25, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Sonia Gandhi visits China; ministers discuss Myanmar

Sonia Gandhi, the head of India's Congress party, began a five-day visit
to China on Thursday, as foreign ministers of the two nations discussed
Myanmar and their long-running border disputes.

Gandhi was invited to China by the ruling Communist Party and was expected
to meet leaders including party and state head Hu Jintao in Beijing.

"We attach great importance to her visit," Chinese foreign ministry
spokesman Liu Jiancaho told reporters.

"We believe her visit will promote relations between the two parties and
increase the understanding between the two peoples," Liu said.

Gandhi was also scheduled travel to the ancient inland city Xi'an and to
Shanghai, China's most important economic hub, he said.

Meanwhile, the Indian and Chinese foreign ministers held talks in the
north-eastern Chinese city of Harbin on Thursday, the ministry
said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiachi and Indian External Affairs Minister
Pranab Mukherjee agreed to "strive for an ealy agreement on a framework
which could be fair, rational and acceptable for both sides on resolving
the bilateral border issue," it said.

State media quoted Yang as saying the fact that the Chinese and Indian
ministers had met four times in six months reflected the "great attention
paid by the two countries on bilateral ties."

They also "exchanged views on how to appropriately solve the Myanmar
issue," the ministry said without elaborating.

Yang, Mukherjee and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday
jointly opposed sanctions against Myanmar, following a trilateral foreign
ministers' meeting in the north-eastern Chinese city of Harbin.

The three foreign ministers also pledged support for the Kyoto Protocol on
reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and vowed to strengthen cooperation
against terrorism, transnational organized crime and drug trafficking.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

October 25, Bloomberg
Myanmar junta may have killed 110 protesters, UN says -  Ed Johnson

Myanmar soldiers may have killed as many as 110 people during a crackdown
on anti-government protests last month, said a United Nations official
tasked with probing alleged human rights abuses by the military regime.

Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, who will travel to the Southeast Asian nation next
month, said he had verified ``allegations of the use of excessive force by
the security forces, including live ammunitions, rubber bullets, tear gas,
bamboo and wood sticks, rubber batons and catapults.''

Thirty to 40 monks and 50 to 70 civilians may have been killed in the
crackdown, Pinheiro, who is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's special
rapporteur on human rights in the country formerly known as Burma, said in
New York yesterday.

General Than Shwe's regime has faced global condemnation since it deployed
soldiers Sept. 26 to crush the biggest anti- junta protests in almost 20
years. UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari is trying to rally neighboring countries
to pressure the regime to take steps toward democracy. He is holding a
second day of talks today with officials in China, Myanmar's closest ally.

Reports continue of deaths in custody, torture, disappearances,
ill-treatment and lack of access to food, water and medical treatment for
those in detention, Pinheiro told a General Assembly committee, according
to a statement on the UN's Web site.

Army Raids
The army and militia are reportedly ``going home by home searching for
people and detaining participants in the demonstrations,'' Pinheiro said.
``Relatives of people in hiding have reportedly been taken hostage as a
way of pressure.''

A ``situation of fear prevails,'' he added.

The junta must unconditionally release all detainees, grant amnesty to
those who have been sentenced, reveal the whereabouts of missing people
and conduct an independent investigation into the killings, Pinheiro said
in a statement to the committee.

He also demanded the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who
has spent 12 years in custody since the junta rejected the results of
parliamentary elections won by her National League for Democracy in 1990.

Protesters staged rallies yesterday in cities around the world, including
London, Paris, Bangkok and Washington, demanding Suu Kyi's release.

China is one of Myanmar's biggest trading partners. As a permanent,
veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council, its support is essential
for any international effort to end the political crisis in Myanmar.

Gambari will meet Tang Jiaxuan, China's highest-ranking foreign policy
official, and Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi today.

``This is a very important stop on this mission,'' Gambari told reporters
yesterday in Beijing.

He will travel next to Japan before returning to New York on Oct. 27 to
brief Ban on his trip, which included visits to Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia and India.

Gambari, who held talks with junta leaders earlier this month, is
scheduled to return to Myanmar in the first week of November, the UN says.

____________________________________

October 25, Associated Press
China, India, Russia urge Myanmar to meet opposition, say sanctions not
needed

China and Russia urged Myanmar's military rulers to talk with the
country's opposition but said Wednesday that they opposed any U.N.
sanctions against the junta.

The two veto-wielding countries on the U.N. Security Council say Myanmar's
crushing of pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks was an internal
issue, a position that has prevented discussions of sanctions.

Foreign Ministers Yang Jiechi of China and Sergey Lavrov of Russia said at
a meeting with India's Pranab Mukherjee that, instead of punishment, they
support efforts by U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari, who was in China on
Thursday talking to leaders about the issue, to open talks between the
opposition and the ruling generals.

"The initiatives (Gambari) has taken, he should be encouraged," Mukherjee
told reporters. "There should not be any sanctions at this stage."

Lavrov warned that sanctions, threats or other forms of pressure on the
junta risked "aggravating the situation and generating a new crisis."

Yang echoed that, saying: "We hope that countries concerned will play a
helping role instead of applying sanctions and applying pressure."

The junta has also agreed to allow Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the U.N.'s
independent rights investigator on Myanmar, to visit the country next
month for the first time since in four years. He said he'll arrive on the
heels of Gambari's trip.

Pinheiro told reporters at the U.N. on Wednesday that he will demand
access to prisons while in Myanmar, and that he'll try to determine the
number of people killed and detained by the military during the crackdown.

"My task is to offer an honest, complex, objective picture of ... the
immediate origins of the crisis, the crisis itself, the excessive use of
force," Pinheiro said.

Meanwhile, activists wearing white prison garb and masks held small
protests in cities around the world to mark pro-democracy leader Aung San
Suu Kyi's 12 years in detention in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

"I'm very angry, governments around the world know that people in Burma
suffer and have been suffering for so long," refugee Zoya Phan, 26, said
in London. "They know the regime is brutal, but they have done almost
nothing to help the people in Burma."

The meeting of China, India and Russia is part of the revival of a loose
1950s alliance against U.S. dominance of global affairs. A joint statement
said, however, that the countries' third recent forum "was not targeted
against any other country or organization."

India and China want to secure energy supplies and natural resources that
Russia has in abundance. In addition, India wants to promote its bid for a
permanent veto-wielding seat on the Security Council. The joint statement
said China and Russia "support India's aspirations to play a greater role
in the United Nations."

China is one of Myanmar's leading trading partners and its communist
government has frequent contacts with the junta and provides the military
with much of its weaponry.

In Beijing, Gambari called on China to use its influence to help persuade
the junta to stop its crackdown. Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister He
Yafei told Gambari China backs his efforts, but made no new commitments.

Myanmar security forces crushed the recent wave of protests by shooting
and beating demonstrators on Sept. 26-27. The regime said 10 people were
killed, but dissident groups put the toll at up to 200 and say thousands
of students, Buddhist monks and others were arrested. The crackdown
ignited international outrage.

Myanmar state radio and television reported that a top leader of the
ruling junta, Lt. Gen. Thein Sein, had been appointed prime minister.

Thein Sein had been serving as acting prime minister since May, filling in
for ailing Gen. Soe Win, who died Oct. 12.

The prime minister's job holds little independent power because the
military controls the state through the junta, officially known as the
State Peace and Development Council.

No change in policy is expected with the appointment, because policy is
set by the top leaders of the junta, who despite rumors of rivalries act
in concert, with no public disagreements.

The military regime alleged that "bogus" Buddhist monks connived with
political activists they had previously met in prison to stage last
month's mass anti-government protests.

The allegations were made by Religious Affairs Minister Brig. Gen. Thura
Myint Aung during a Wednesday meeting with senior monks in Yangon, and
reported by state-run radio and television.

Buddhist monks enjoy high respect among the country's population at large,
and the violent suppression of their protests has seriously hurt the
junta's reputation.

To counter the bad impression, state media have been filled with stories
suggesting that the monks taking part in the recent protests were a tiny
minority and not properly religious, and reporting virtually daily on
junta members visiting monasteries to make donations.

Associated Press writers Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and D'Arcy
Doran in London contributed to this report.

____________________________________

October 25, Washington Post
Unity lacking on diplomatic approach to Burma's junta - Jill Drew

While activists focus on increasing pressure on Burma's military leaders
to open a dialogue with the country's pro-democracy activists, diplomatic
consensus is eroding on what steps to take next.

Pro-democracy advocates had hoped that last month's protests -- led by
monks, who are revered in Burma -- would galvanize world opinion and
create enough outside pressure to force the junta's leaders to the
bargaining table. Indeed, for the first time, the U.N. Security Council
approved a formal censure of Burma and called for all political prisoners
to be released.

But now there are growing divisions among countries about the best
approach to Burma. And those who sense that democracy is closer than it
has been in decades are grappling with how the country's transition would
be managed.

"That bright and shining moment, that's crumbled," said one diplomat, who
spoke frankly on condition of anonymity. He was referring to the strong
language in September from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
which expressed "revulsion" at Burma's bloody crackdown on the protesters,
in which at least 10 and perhaps hundreds were killed. Now, some of
ASEAN's 10 members are questioning current sanctions against Burma's
government, arguing that countries should engage the generals rather than
cut them off. "There is no consensus," the diplomat added.

ASEAN is scheduled in November to celebrate Burma's 10-year anniversary as
a member of the group and adopt a new charter that could include clauses
addressing issues of human rights and good governance. Some diplomats had
hoped that before the high-profile meeting, ASEAN would unify to take an
active role in helping Burma, which the generals call Myanmar, toward a
dialogue on democracy.

"The attempt by ASEAN to rein in the Burmese regime has been futile," said
Kraisak Choonhavan, a former Thai senator now running in elections
scheduled for December to reestablish a democratic government in Thailand
after a 2006 coup. Kraisak said he opposes the view expressed by some
governments, which urge closer cooperation with Burma's leaders, because
he believes it would lead to more refugees fleeing into neighboring
Thailand.

About 3 million Burmese migrants already live in Thailand, Kraisak said.
"All the migrants tell one story -- about abuse of power by the military."

China and India, meanwhile, which are vying to deepen their strong
business ties in resource-rich Burma, have taken a hands-off attitude in
the aftermath of the government's crackdown. U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari
met Wednesday with China's assistant foreign minister, He Yafei, in the
first of two days of talks about Burma. The Chinese official expressed
support for Gambari's attempt to structure a meaningful dialogue, but
reiterated China's position that Burma's problems are an internal matter.

Activists say they believe China might be vulnerable to pressure to
reconsider its position because the day it picked to open the 2008 Beijing
Olympics, Aug. 8, is the same date when in 1988 the Burmese military
crushed a student-led protest, killing an estimated 3,000 people.

Burmese authorities, meanwhile, have arrested seven more dissidents since
Saturday, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners
(Burma), which tracks, documents and reports on those missing and detained
in the country. The government continues to stage rallies throughout the
country condemning last month's protests.

At the same time, the generals are trying to convey a greater sense of
movement and openness. They invited U.N. human rights envoy Paulo Sergio
Pinheiro to visit the country before the ASEAN summit in Singapore in
November. Activists urge that he be given wide freedom to go where he
wants and interview whomever he pleases. Pinheiro has not been granted a
visa to Burma, despite several requests, since 2003. Burma's leaders also
said they would invite selected journalists from ASEAN nations to the
country in advance of the summit.

This month, the generals appointed a liaison to lay the groundwork for
talks with Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who as of Wednesday
has been imprisoned or detained by the regime for exactly 12 years, a
point underscored in protests staged by her supporters in 12 cities around
the world. The military leaders, however, have set conditions that make it
unlikely any talks will occur, experts say.

"The government is just playing games," said Bertil Lintner, an author and
prominent expert on Burma.

He said it is naive to think that Burma's top military ruler, Senior Gen.
Than Shwe, would step aside as a result of a dialogue. Lintner said he
believes the government is eating up time, as it has many times before,
hoping world attention fades.

One Burmese adviser to last month's protesters, interviewed on condition
of anonymity in the back of a darkened coffee shop in Rangoon this week,
said he believed that only continued global attention would move the junta
into dialogue. He acknowledged that a transition to democracy in Burma
would raise difficult problems but said that anything is better than the
current state of affairs.

"We are daily faced with depression," he said, describing the many
dysfunctional aspects of Burma's economy, most of which is controlled by
the military government. "The hard part is to shape a democracy in such a
situation. We are a spiritually collapsed, physically poor, economically
darkened country."

Still, he welcomes the challenge of a transition to democracy, he said,
and thinks other Burmese do, too, especially students. "Most students have
been kept out of politics for the past 40 years," he said. "I was afraid
they didn't know our political careers, how our generation protested the
government. But in September we learned we have many youths willing to
sacrifice for the cause."

Debbie Stothard, coordinator of Altsean-Burma, a human rights advocacy
group, said she hopes it does not come to that. "We would prefer to avoid
another round of bloodshed," she said. "If people came out, it would be a
repeat of September. These people cannot defend themselves. Their courage
should be matched by the political will of the international community."

She quoted opposition leader Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate, who in 1994
cited a Burmese saying to describe government stall tactics: "It's very,
very difficult to wake somebody up who is pretending to be asleep."

____________________________________

October 25, Associated Press
UN rights expert wants free access to gather information on Myanmar crackdown

A U.N. human rights expert says he will demand access to prisons when he
visits Myanmar next month and try to determine the number of people killed
and detained by the military government in last month's crackdown on
peaceful protesters.

"If they don't give me full cooperation, I'll go to the plane, and I'll go
out," said Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the U.N.'s independent rights
investigator on Myanmar who was given a green light by the government to
visit for the first time since November 2003.

Pinheiro said at a news conference Wednesday that he plans to visit
Myanmar, also known as Burma, immediately after U.N. envoy Ibrahim
Gambari, whose return trip has been moved up to the first week in
November. The U.N. hopes Gambari's visit will "kick-start" talks between
the government and opposition.

The U.N. Human Rights Council had urged an immediate investigation of the
rights situation in Myanmar at an emergency session on Oct. 2 where it
condemned the crackdown on the demonstrators. The government informed
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that Pinheiro could visit before the Nov. 17
summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

"My task is to offer an honest, complex, objective picture of ... the
immediate origins of the crisis, the crisis itself, the excessive use of
force," Pinheiro said.

"I will be particularly concerned to verify the numbers, whereabouts and
conditions of those currently detained, as well as an accounting for the
numbers killed during the protests," he said during an earlier briefing to
the General Assembly committee that deals with human rights.

Myanmar's government has been strongly criticized for sending troops to
quash peaceful protests, initially led by students and then by Buddhist
monks, in late September. The military junta said 10 people were killed,
but diplomats and dissidents say the death toll is likely much higher.
Thousands were arrested, and the hunt for participants is reportedly
continuing.

Pinheiro said since the crackdown, he has continuously received "worrying
reports of death in custody, torture, disappearances, ill-treatment, and
lack of access to food, water or medical treatment in overcrowded
unsanitary detention facilities across the country." He said he also
received regular reports of night raids by the army and militia going
house-to-house searching for people.

According to unidentified sources, he said, between 30 and 40 monks and 50
to 70 civilians have allegedly been killed, while 200 have been beaten. An
unidentified Web site has listed 775 people allegedly detained or missing,
and some sources report that over 3,000 demonstrators are being held
"under horrific conditions," he said.

The discrepancies show the need for an independent and thorough
investigation, Pinheiro said, and he urged Myanmar's military rulers to
reveal the whereabouts of the missing, allow the International Committee
of the Red Cross access to all detainees, and take steps to
unconditionally release them and grant amnesty to those already sentenced.

"What annoys me is that the repression has not stopped a single moment"
despite resolutions by the Human Rights Council and the U.N. Security
Council. "I think the situation of fear prevails. ... This situation
continues, I don't have any doubt."

When asked if he was concerned that the government might restrict his
movements, Pinheiro said: "I will ask free access. The secretary-general
will ask free access."

He said visiting prisoners in their cells was "a requirement," adding that
Myanmar's U.N. ambassador assured him on Wednesday "that they will give
full cooperation."

Pinheiro said he believes the military junta committed "a terrible mistake
by attacking the monks," who are an essential part of Myanmar's social
fabric.

While the monks' protest — and their refusal to accept alms from the
military — won't lead to any immediate change of power, Pinheiro said,
"this will have tremendous consequences in the social cohesion of the
country, and then you can have some political change, but ... it's not
something instantaneous."

____________________________________

October 25, Reuters
U.S senators urge Manmohan to get tough on Myanmar

The 16 women members of the U.S. Senate sent a letter to Indian Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday urging his government to press
neighbour Myanmar to end its crackdown on pro-democracy campaigners.

The letter to Singh by the Senate Women's Caucus on Burma, which stressed
shared U.S.-Indian democratic values and responsibilities, also registered
strong concern at Indian arms sales and oil dealings with the military
regime in Yangon.

"As the world's largest democracy, India should use its influence to put
pressure on the regime to stop the violence against pro-democracy
activists, release all political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi, and
begin a true national dialogue on national reconciliation that will lead
to a restoration of democratic government," said the letter.

Democracy leader Suu Kyi, a woman who marked 12 years in captivity on
Wednesday, enjoys widespread bipartisan support in the United States,
where first lady Laura Bush has taken a high-profile stance on the issue
since early this year.

"We are concerned that recent actions by India, including high-level
visits by members of your government to Burma, may be interpreted as
implicitly supporting the military junta," said the caucus, which is led
by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, and Sen. Kay Bailey
Hutchison, a Texas Republican.

The letter noted that Indian Petroleum Minister Murli Deora visited
Myanmar to sign energy deals at the height of last month's pro-democracy
protests and that New Delhi had sold the junta maritime surveillance
aircraft and a range of weapons.

Indian officials who hosted special U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari in New
Delhi this week promised to help push Myanmar toward democracy but stopped
short of committing to a tougher line against its military rulers.

____________________________________

October 25, Guardian Unlimited
Carter offers himself as Burma envoy - Lee Michael Katz

Former US president Jimmy Carter is offering to act as a mediator to Burma
in response to the military regime's recent crackdown on protesters.

"If the leaders of Myanmar would accept my presence, I'd be delighted" to
serve as an envoy, he told Guardian America. Mr Carter has been known for
his decades of involvement in international political and humanitarian
crisis since leaving office.

But Mr Carter, who was president when America boycotted the 1980 Moscow
Olympics, rejects the notion of boycotting the 2008 Beijing Olympics over
the issue.

There have been suggestions of a boycott if China does not put pressure on
Burma to end repression of pro-democracy movements and on the Sudanese
government to end the crisis in Darfur. "I don't think it's a good idea at
all," he said.

The former president and Nobel peace prizewinner also commented on a
number of other international and political issues. In the exclusive
interview, conducted in early October in New York, Mr Carter:

• Warned an attack on Iran would be "a mistake," that could "precipitate
another war for which we're not prepared." Carter said the US should
establish a diplomatic relationship with Iran and "let them be reassured
that they're not going to be attacked."

• Revealed he held no ill will towards the Iranian president, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, identified by some as a leader in the 1979 taking of American
hostages that undermined Mr Carter's presidency. "I don't have any
animosity," he said.

• Said Mr Bush's human rights policies would bring problems for the
president, even though it is a "good idea" for Mr Bush to work for
democracy after he leaves office. "It'll be hard among human rights
activists to forget that we have declared that the Geneva conventions on
treatment of prisoners was inapplicable, or that we have done things that
are universally construed as torture," he said. "Or that we have seen the
embarrassments of our mistreatment of prisoners in Abu Ghraib and in
Guantanamo."

• Endorsed Bill Clinton's suggestion of taking an unofficial diplomatic
role globally promoting America if his wife, Hillary, wins the White
House.

• Observed that with front-loaded primaries for the 2008 presidential
election, it is "unlikely" a dark horse candidate could emerge as
president as he did in 1976. But Mr Carter pointed to New York Mayor
Michael Bloomberg and Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel as potential 2008 dark
horse or third-party candidates.

Mr Carter, promoting a new book, Beyond the White House, said he did not
apologise for the title of his highly controversial previous book,
Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, seen by some as a slap at Israel.

But he acknowledged in the interview his regret for a "misstatement"
suggesting Palestinians agree to stop terrorism in return for Israeli
actions. Mr Carter said he removed the statement from further book
editions, including the new paperback.

The former president also cited what he saw a bright spot over the
apartheid linkage controversy. "The criticism that it aroused, it probably
increased the sale maybe a couple hundred thousand" more books, he said.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

October 25, Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (Altsean-Burma)
ASEAN urged: Stop passing the buck on Burma

ASEAN-based activists have urged ASEAN to stop "passing the buck" on to
China for the Burmese regime's failure to reform.

Dismissing ASEAN's claims that it lacks leverage to influence the Burmese
junta members as a lie, the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma
(Altsean-Burma) claims that ASEAN countries have enough collective power
to paralyze the SPDC Army within days.

"Burma relies on ASEAN countries - Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore - as
its main sources of much-needed foreign exchange, fuel and financial
services.

"If ASEAN were to exercise its considerable leverage to insist that the
Burmese junta delivers genuine economic and political reforms, allies like
China, India, and Russia will have to fall in line with their lead,"
insisted Altsean-Burma Coordinator Debbie Stothard. Ms Stothard was
speaking in Manila, at the ASEAN People's Assembly.

"The regime is also afraid of the UN Security Council's power. Indonesia
which will chair the Security Council next month should use all
opportunities at its disposal to ensure that a genuine breakthrough
happens in Burma," she said.

In a briefer released by Altsean-Burma today, the regional human rights
group asserts that ASEAN countries must exercise their substantial
influence on Burma’s military leaders to secure the delivery of genuine
political and economic reforms, instead of using China as an excuse for
inaction. The briefer reveals that:

  * Burma relies on petrol and diesel supplies from Malaysia and Singapore
to keep business running and military vehicles on the road. The military
is the biggest consumer of fuel.
  * Burma relies on trade with ASEAN for 51.3% of foreign exchange
revenue, with gas sales to Thailand alone accounting for 48.4% in
2005/06.
  * Burma relies on Thailand and Singapore as their biggest sources of new
Foreign Direct Investment, constituting a total of 98.61% of FDI in the
past 2 years.
  * Burma relies on Singapore’s financial services to store and move the
wealth that they drain away from Burma.

The briefer, available at www.altsean.org, recommends an ASEAN freeze or
even a slowdown on economic, material, and diplomatic support in order to
shepherd the regime to political dialogue and the achievement of genuine
reforms. Action should include a temporary freeze on large Burmese-held
bank accounts and other financial assets in Singapore as part of a
money-laundering review.

Ms Stothard urged ASEAN leaders to use its considerable economic leverage
to pressure the regime to cease its witch hunt against monks,
pro-democracy activists and ethnic communities and to commence genuine
political dialogue. "Developments in the past few days prove that pressure
works. The regime is vulnerable. It faces financial shortages due to its
own mismanagement and irresponsible spending in anticipation of future oil
and gas revenue. The Army, which has been suffering from increasing
desertions has been further demoralized by orders to kill monks during the
recent crackdown.

"If ASEAN does not use pressure now, at this critical time, the Burmese
junta will do its usual 'one step forward two steps back' dance at the
ASEAN Summit in Singapore next month," concluded Ms Stothard.

Enquiries: Debbie Stothard tel +6681 686 1652 or Altsean-Burma tel + 6681
850 9008