BurmaNet News, November 29, 2007

[Editor]

November 29, 2007 Issue # 3353

INSIDE BURMA
DVB: Maggin monastery officially closed
Narinjara News: Comedian arrested for ‘shooting’ monk in a play
Irrawaddy: Writer Ludu Daw Amar's birthday celebrated in Mandalay

ON THE BORDER
Relief Web: Episcopal Relief and Development responds to refugee crisis on
the Thai/Burmese border
IMNA: KNU not to reopen Three Pagoda Pass-Thanphyuzayart highway

BUSINESS / TRADE
AFP: Myanmar gas industry attracts record investments: official data
Thomson Financial News Super Focus: Total to build compression platform to
maintain Myanmar gas-production levels
AP: Myanmar Investment: Right or Wrong?

HEALTH / AIDS
Mizzima News: Authorities conceal bird flu detection in Shan State

REGIONAL
Mizzima News: Over 200 Monks and locals protest in Gaya
AP: UN envoy and Cambodian foreign minister discuss Myanmar's political
crisis
Xinhua: China, Myanmar sign MoU on science, technology cooperation

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Burma blights Asean’s European-imitating ambitions
Turkish Press: US will not replicate Pol Pot, Myanmar on torture: McCain

OPINION / OTHER
South China Morning Post: China can shine by acting on Burma - Teddy Buri

ANNOUNCEMENT
S.W.I.S.S. Mission: Musicians come together in NYC for Aung San Suu Kyi
and Human Rights

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

November 29, Democratic Voice of Burma
Maggin monastery officially closed

Maggin monastery in Thingangyun township has been closed by local
authorities and its inhabitants forced to leave today, following an order
given to the head monk yesterday.

Bote Sone, an HIV/AIDS patient who was living at the monastery, said that
the local Sasana authorities who had passed on the order yesterday
returned to the monastery at around 4.30pm today and spoke to the acting
head monk, U Nandiya.

They informed U Nandiya that the monks and other monastery residents would
have to leave, and read out a government order saying that the monastery
would be officially closed from 6.30pm today.

The Sasana authorities did not say where the order came from, and when
Bote Sone asked who had authorised the closure, she was told not to ask
any further questions.

Bote Sone said she was worried about the head monk, who did not have
anywhere to go.

“I don’t know where the head monk will live now. He seemed really sad
after they spoke to him, and he couldn’t even talk afterwards,” she said.

Bote Sone said she and the other HIV/AIDS patients from the monastery
would stay on the street at the junction near the monastery.

HIV/AIDS activist Phyu Phyu Thin said that the monastery closure would put
its inhabitants at risk.

“The government authorities are putting all these monks and HIV/AIDS
victims in a lot of trouble by closing this monastery,” she said.

U Aung Thein, lawyer for the National League for Democracy, said that
officials did not have the authority to order the monastery closure.

“It is beyond the authority of township-level administration officers to
come and close down a monastery by verbal order. This kind of order can
only be made by the National Head Monks Association.

____________________________________

November 29, Narinjara News
Comedian arrested for ‘shooting’ monk in a play

The intolerance of the Burmese military regime is legion. A member of a
comedy troupe was arrested by township authorities in Mrauk U for acting
out a scene in which he shoots a monk in a comedy show performed one
evening last week in Mrauk U in Arakan state, western Burma, said Ko Hla
Htun Pru, a shopkeeper in the city.

Ko La Raung is a famous Arakanese comedian and performed the Ingulimala
comedy to the delight of the audience. In the comedy, Ko La Raung plays
the title character, Ingulimala, who cuts his mother's forefinger to
present to his teacher.

During the scene in question, Ingulimala was chasing his mother in order
to cut her finger and the mother was fleeing. A monk, being played by
another comedian in the troupe, came to the front of the stage attempting
to intervene. He asks Ingulimala not to cut his mother's finger.
Ingulimala suddenly shoots dead the monk with his revolver.

The audience appreciated and enjoyed Ko La Raung's performance but
township authorities were annoyed and felt that the comedian had attacked
the regime by performing the show.

At night after the show, a police team picked up the comedian and took him
to the police station, where he was detained.

Ko La Raung was released from police custody after three days, after the
troupe owner promised authorities that they would not perform that
particular comedy anywhere again.

____________________________________

November 29, Irrawaddy
Writer Ludu Daw Amar's birthday celebrated in Mandalay - Saw Yan Naing

Burma’s most admired female writer, Ludu Daw Amar, celebrated her 92nd
birthday on Thursday when hundreds of admirers gathered in her honor to
pray and offer food to some 1,000 Buddhist monks in Maha Gandayon
Monastery in Amarapura Township in Mandalay.

Ludu Daw Amar offering food to some 1,000 Buddhist monks in Maha Gandayon
Monastery in Amarapura

About 250 participants from political and literary circles, including
well-known journalists and writers such as Maung Moe Thu, Htet Myet and
Maung Wuntha, were among those who paid tribute to Ludu Daw Amar.
Participants also came from Rangoon, Kyaukse, Sagaing and Maymyo.

Burma's most well-known author and journalist, Ludu Daw Amar released two
birds during the celebration in a symbolic gesture for peace to prevail in
the country.

The gathering ran from 9:15 a.m. to noon.  Local authorities could be seen
taking photographs and gathering information, participants said.

Nyein Chan, the son of Ludu Daw Amar, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday, “My
mother is healthy and all believe she can still live for a long time. I’m
happy to see that her birthday ceremony has finished safely and
successfully.”

During the celebration, writer Nyein Shwe Li and her family donated 90,000
kyat (US $69) to writers and poets who are in ill health, including Aye
Min Saw, said Nyein Chan.

Burma's most renowned writer has never hesitated to speak out openly about
her political and social views. She earned the prefix Ludu (“the people”)
after establishing a successful journal of the same name with her late
husband, U Hla in 1946.

Ludu Daw Amar’s best known literary works include the award-winning "The
Artists who People Loved," which is celebrated as a classic of modern
Burmese literature, and cultural books such as "Burmese Non-Dramatic
Performances" and "Contemporary Dramatic Art." Her 1938 translation of
Maurice Collis’s "Trial in Burma" also received critical acclaim.

Many of her admirers and colleagues from literary circles in Rangoon,
including Ludu Sein Win and Dagon Tayar, were unable to attend.

Last year, her birthday celebration at Mandalay’s Taung Lay Lone
Monastery, where celebrations have been held for many years, was cancelled
because about 100 military-backed thugs—members of the paramilitary group
Swan Ah Shin—had gathered near the monastery and Ludu Daw Amar’s home. A
party was held later in her daughter's home.

Celebrations were also held on Thursday by exiled Burmese living in
Thailand and the US.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

November 29, Relief Web
Episcopal Relief and Development responds to refugee crisis on the
Thai/Burmese border

Episcopal Relief and Development is providing emergency assistance to
refugees from Burma living in refugee camps in Thailand. A low-intensity
civil war has been waging in Burma for nearly three decades, with dire
consequences for the country’s many ethnic minority groups, including the
Karen, Karenni and Mon. Since then thousands of people have been killed
and hundreds of thousands have been forcibly displaced.

Episcopal Relief and Development is responding to this ongoing emergency.
In 1984 there were 10,000 refugees at the border camps, in 2005 the number
had swelled to 150,000 and, as the political situation in Burma has
recently taken a turn for the worse, the number has further increased.

Episcopal Relief and Development maintains an ongoing partnership with the
Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), an independent humanitarian
organization. TBBC implements several initiatives at the refugee camps,
including nutrition and feeding programs, construction of temporary
shelters and personal livelihood and capacity building projects.

Through Episcopal Relief and Development’s support of TBBC, people
arriving at the refugee camps will receive critical emergency aid. Because
families flee their homes under duress and arrive at the camps without
possessions, save the clothes on their backs, a “New Arrivals Pack” was
created to meet immediate and basic needs. The pack contains blankets,
mosquito nets, sleeping mats, cooking pots and utensils and food
containers. Episcopal Relief and Development is committed to supplying
packs to 455 families, or 2,275 refugees.

To help refugees affected by the political strife in Burma, please make a
donation to ERD’s “Emergency Relief Fund” online at http://www.er-d.org/ ,
or call 1-800-334-7626, ext. 5129. Gifts can be mailed to: Episcopal
Relief and Development “Emergency Relief Fund” P.O. Box 7058, Merrifield,
VA 22116-7058.

Episcopal Relief and Development is the international relief and
development agency of the Episcopal Church of the United States. An
independent 501(c) (3) organization, Episcopal Relief and Development
takes its mandate from Jesus’ words found in Matthew 25. Its programs work
towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Together with the
worldwide Church and ecumenical partners, Episcopal Relief and Development
strengthens communities today to meet tomorrow’s challenges. We rebuild
after disasters and empower people by offering lasting solutions that
fight poverty, hunger and disease, including HIV/AIDS and malaria.

____________________________________

November 29, Independent Mon News Agency
KNU not to reopen Three Pagoda Pass-Thanphyuzayart highway- Joi Htaw

The Karen National Union in a letter to the Three Pagoda Pass Township
Peace and Development Council authorities has announced that it is not
going to work in tandem with the Burmese military authorities to reopen
the highway from the Thai-Burma border town of Three Pagoda Pass to
Thanpyuzayart, Mon State .

The letter was sent not only to TPP authorities, but also to traders and
businessmen who operate from across its gate in Kyungyaung village. The
officer at the check point gave the letter to them.
The letter has the seal of the KNU and said that they would not take any
responsibility for those passing through the Three Pagoda Pass to
Thanpyuzayart road and would shoot whoever uses the vehicular route.

There are three routes, Three Pagoda Pass to Kyainnseikyi Township , Karen
State , TPP to Ye Township, and TPP to Thanphyuzayart Township , Mon State
.

KNU has allowed businessmen and traders the use of two roads but not TPP
to Thanphyuzayart route because there are thousands of Burma Army troops
using the road. They are the enemy and KNU have said they will shoot at
any car, boat or people they see on this route, a person who read the
letter said.

He added that KNU will take off its gate after its water trip at the end
of this month and will have a meeting on December 4 to let car owners and
the traders know which route they will be allowed to use.

KNU has prohibited use of  the vehicular route  fromT PP to Thanpyuzayart 
because the regime armed forces marched to their area of influence to
establish four more army bases in Kyainnseikyi and Three Pagoda Pass
Townships.

A car owner who used to drive from the Thai-Burma border town to
Thanpyuzayart said that this will affect the local people badly because
the ban and restriction is not only from KNU but also from the Burma
Army's side.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

November 29, Agence France Presse
Myanmar gas industry attracts record investments: official data

Myanmar's booming natural gas industry drew a record 471.5 million dollars
in foreign investment last year, accounting for over 60 percent of the
total, official statistics showed Thursday.

The remainder of the 752.7 million dollars in foreign investment during
the 2006-2007 fiscal year, which ended on March 31, went into the power
sector, according to data from the government's Central Statistical
Organisation.

Myanmar's neighbours, especially energy-hungry China, India and Thailand,
have rushed to tap the energy resources in the military-ruled nation.

Investment in the oil and gas sector jumped nearly 12-fold in the last
fiscal year, the statistics showed.

Opponents to the regime say such investments prop up the regime and blunt
the impact of western sanctions, which have been toughened since the junta
cracked down on pro-democracy protests in September.

Overall, foreign investment fell by nearly 88 percent, but the previous
year's figure was unusually high due to a single six-billion-dollar
investment by Thailand to build a hydropower dam near their shared border.

The statistics showed no foreign investments in areas like mining,
tourism, or manufacturing last year.

The biggest foreign investor last year was China, which poured 281.2
million dollars into the country.

Britain was the second-largest investor at 240.7 million dollars, which
includes money originating in offshore banking havens like the British
Virgin Islands and Bermuda.

Companies registered in the British Virgin Islands have signed lucrative
natural gas exploration and production-sharing deals with Myanmar's
government.

Singapore was the third-largest investor at 160.8 million dollars,
followed by South Korea at 37 million dollars and Russia at 33 million
dollars.

Despite the international outcry over Myanmar's violent suppression of
protests, investment in the nation's energy sector looks set to keep
growing.

Thailand's largest oil exploration firm, PTT Exploration and Production,
said earlier this month it would invest at least one billion dollars over
the next five years to develop its offshore gas project.

____________________________________

November 29, Thomson Financial News Super Focus
Total to build compression platform to maintain Myanmar gas-production levels

Total said it will build a compression platform in Myanmar to support its
gas production in the Yadana field.

A spokesman told Agence France-Presse that the move aims to offset the
'depletion' of production in the field and 'thereby meet the requirements
of its contract'.

Regarding the Myanmar government's decision to exclude maritime traffic
from part of the gulf area around Yadana, the spokesman said it is 'in all
likelihood a precautionary move' that will be 'temporary'.

Official newspaper The Mirror reported that the fishing ministry is to ban
ships from a zone within the Gulf of Martaban from December.

Following president Nicolas Sarkozy's call for French businesses to freeze
their investments in Myanmar, in response to the suppression of street
protests in September, Total has said it will make no new investments but
will not withdraw from the country either.

According to government figures released today, the Myanmar natural gas
industry drew a record 471.5 mln usd in foreign investment last year,
accounting for over 60 pct of the total.

____________________________________

November 29, Associated Press
Myanmar Investment: Right or Wrong? - Thomas Hogue

The recent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Myanmar has rekindled
a decades-old debate: Is it morally right to do business in countries with
repressive regimes?

Some foreign businesses, including French jeweler Cartier, cut ties with
the country after the suppression of the protests in September and
October. But others remain, arguing that they help the people of the
impoverished country by creating jobs.

France's Total SA contends that cutting off Myanmar, also known as Burma,
hurts ordinary people more than it harms the military regime and could
hinder moves toward democracy. Total and Chevron Corp., which are partners
in a natural gas field off Myanmar's coast, also provide health and social
programs for local communities.

"We feel the country would have evolved much more if more responsible
companies had remained," said Jean-Francois Lassalle, Total's vice
president of public affairs for exploration and production. "Development
of human rights goes along with the development of the economy."

More broadly, the arguments form part of a larger debate over whether
economic sanctions work.

South Korea has invested in some business ventures in North Korea in an
attempt to encourage the communist state to abandon its nuclear weapons
programs and open its economy. But Iran has been hit by limited United
Nations sanctions for defying demands to freeze uranium enrichment.

In the past, companies and governments wrestled with whether they should
do business with apartheid-era South Africa. The effectiveness of that
boycott _ which some corporations ignored _ is still disputed.

"This is not a slam dunk kind of debate," said W. Michael Hoffman, the
executive director of the Center for Business Ethics at Bentley College in
Waltham, Massachusetts.

The United States has banned new investment in Myanmar since 1997, and the
European Union has had less stringent restrictions since the mid-1990s.
But both allow pre-existing investments to continue, including Total's
natural gas operation in the offshore Yadana field. Chevron has a 28
percent stake in the project, which it inherited when it took over Unocal
Corp. in 2005.

The approximately $2 billion in gas sold every year to Thailand from the
Yadana field and from another field operated by Malaysia's Petronas
provides the bulk of Myanmar's foreign exchange earnings.

"Only a few people are benefiting from these investments ... the majority
of people are not," said Soe Aung, spokesman for the National Council for
the Union of Burma, an umbrella organization based in Thailand for exile
groups.

An estimated 90 percent of Myanmar's 54 million people lives on about $1 a
day.

But some argue that Western sanctions harden the regime against
negotiations for a democratic opening and that they strengthen the
influence of China _ which shows little interest in democratic reform _ in
Myanmar affairs.

Chevron and Total provide free healthcare to 50,000 people along the
Yadana pipeline, where local infant mortality rates are a sixth of the
national rate and enrollment in school has doubled due to the creation of
44 schools in 23 villages, Chevron said.

Activist groups call this propaganda.

"Every time we focus on a company doing business in Burma, they throw some
money at a local foundation ... and throw some pictures up on their Web
site of smiling, happy people," said Mark Farmaner, acting director of the
Burma Campaign UK.

"They don't put up pictures of the MIG jets that the generals bought with
their first oil and gas paychecks," he said.

Total and former partner Unocal Corp. were accused of cooperating with the
military in human rights violations during construction of a pipeline
across Myanmar to Thailand in the 1990s. Both companies denied the
accusations, though Unocal settled a related lawsuit in the U.S. in 2005.

The top U.N. official in Myanmar says some companies do help ordinary people.

"They (Total) are providing fairly significant support to communities near
the pipelines, and probably more support than we do in our support in
other parts of the country," said Charles Petrie, the humanitarian
coordinator for the U.N. in Myanmar.

Petrie said he sometimes asks the head of Total in Myanmar to raise human
rights issues with the government "because I feel the government is going
to be less likely to close the door on Total than on us."

Authorities in Myanmar plan to expel Petrie by Dec. 5 for criticizing the
regime for not meeting the needs of its people.

Burma Campaign UK has a "Dirty List" of more than 100 companies it says
provide income to the government while doing business in Myanmar,
including timber and gem companies, and hotel and tour operators. Even the
British guidebook company Lonely Planet has been listed for encouraging
tourism to Myanmar.

"We want to hit the regime in the pocket," Farmaner said.

Adidas AG, Levi Strauss & Co. and underwear manufacturer Triumph
International are among those that have pulled out of Myanmar or won't buy
products there.

"The way we view this is as safeguarding our reputation," said William
Anderson, head of social and environmental affairs in the Asia Pacific
region for Adidas.

Jewelers of America, which represents more than 11,000 stores in the U.S.,
has also called for the U.S. Congress to include Myanmar gemstones in the
list of items barred from import until the release of all political
prisoners and an end to human rights abuses.

The U.S. and EU are now considering beefing up their sanctions primarily
to close loopholes that allow American and European businesses to deal in
gems and timber from Myanmar.

But for sanctions to be effective, Myanmar's Asian trading partners such
as China, Thailand and India would need to be involved, said Leon de
Riedmatten, a Bangkok-based representative of Switzerland's Centre for
Humanitarian Dialogue. Companies like Total should do more to pressure the
regime on human rights, he said.

"We should not ask these companies to withdraw. We should just ask them to
use the leverage they have," de Riedmatten said.

Total says that goes too far.

"We are an investor, not a political entity," said Lassalle.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

November 29, Mizzima News
Authorities conceal bird flu detection in Shan State

An alarming situation is developing with the deadly avian flu once again
surfacing in Burma's eastern Shan State. Reports are tricking in that the
virus is fast spreading in the region while authorities remain silent and
inactive, sources said.

Sai Muing, a Thailand based journalist, who covers Shan State, said the
flu had been first noticed in October in Nawng Ming village. But with
authorities concealing the information, the flu has spread to many more
areas in Shan State.

"There are rumors that the flu was first noticed when a local villager
lost about 20 of his ducks bought from China . He bought about 600 ducks
from China ," Sai Muing said.

Following the detection of the flu, local authorities including the
Myanmar Red Cross and fire brigade were sent into slaughter chickens from
local farm houses, local residents said.

"So far, the worst hit is Keng Tong township, and local authorities have
culled over 1,800 chickens and fowls," a local resident told Mizzima.

After the news of the outbreak, the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) has been conducting awareness trainings in the 10 severely hit
townships including the Keng Tong, Tachileik, Maipheik, Maimyaung, Mai
Yan, Maiying, Maisat and Maikhat.

"They [UNDP] has been providing training in Lashio town since October 15,
and will come to Keng Tong area to impart the same training," added the
local resident.

The UNDP office in Rangoon could not be immediately reached for comment.

Following the outbreak of bird flu, authorities banned the sale of chicken
and chicken products including eggs. Authorities also banned the sales of
chicken on the Thai- Burma border town of Tachileik , local residents
said.

Meanwhile, Sai Muing said local authorities, particularly members of the
Myanmar Red Cross and Fire Brigade, who are tasked to spearhead the
culling of chickens and fowls, are taking bribes from local poultry
farmers.

"They [Red Cross and fire fighters] are taking bribes from the poultry
farm owners and businessmen and are killing chickens of those who could
not afford to pay bribe," Sai Muing said.

While the information could not be independently confirmed, such practice
could have serious impact as several birds that carry the flu, could
escape culling.

Sai Muing said, local authorities are demanding 10,000 Kyat in order to
avoid killing one chicken.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

November 29, Mizzima News
Over 200 Monks and locals protest in Gaya

Over 200 monks and local residents in India's eastern city of Bodhgaya, in
Bihar state, today held a protest rally in commemoration of the monk-led
protests in Burma in September and to condemn the Burmese junta's
blasphemous act on Buddhism where it killed and arrested monks.

As an honor to the fallen monks and to protest against the junta's acts,
monks from at least four countries Bangladesh, Burma, Sri Lanka, and India
held a four day sit-in protest in Bodhgaya, the historic place where Lord
Buddha attained enlightenment.

The monks were joined by local supporters, today, the concluding day of
the four-day sit-in protest, and they marched through the streets of
Bodhgaya.

"We are now marching from the Japan Pagoda to the Bodhi temple. And at the
Bodhi temple, we will pray for the fallen monks and people during the
September revolution. This march is also for peace to prevail in Burma ,"
said Zaw Gyi, Joint-Secretary of the India based All Burma Students
League, who is in Bodhgaya for the protest.

The protest march was joined by over 100 monks including the President of
the All India Bikkhu Association, monks from South Korea , Vietnam ,
Thailand , Sri Lanka , India , Tibet along with four monks from Burma .
Besides, over 100 local residents and foreign tourists joined the protest.

Protesters carried posters and banners which said 'Killer Than Shwe
release all monks arrested', 'Release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all other
political prisoners', 'Reopen all schools', and 'Solve the peoples' desire
for lower commodity prices'.

"The Burmese military junta is rampantly killing and torturing monks in
Burma , so, it is our duty to protect them. This is what our Lord Buddha
has taught us. Lord Buddha has sacrificed his life for this religion and
it is our duty to protect the religion. So, we must stop all kinds of
repression against the monks," Dr. U Zanihthah, a Burmese monk joining the
protest, told Mizzima.

____________________________________

November 29, Associated Press
UN envoy and Cambodian foreign minister discuss Myanmar's political crisis

Myanmar's ruling military junta should be given incentives to find a
democratic solution to its political crisis, Cambodia's foreign minister
said Thursday after meeting a U.N. special envoy to the country.

"We should not talk about sanctions but we'd better talk about how to take
the momentum forward and prevent the situation from sliding backward," Hor
Namhong told reporters after his meeting with Ibrahim Gambari, the U.N.
secretary general's envoy to Myanmar.

Hor Namhong said Cambodia supports Gambari, who has been allowed to visit
Myanmar twice since the military's crackdown on pro-democracy
demonstrations in September.

The international community should encourage Myanmar's rulers to continue
holding talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Hor Namhong said.

Gambari said he had a frank and useful discussion with the foreign
minister, but did not elaborate.

Gambari's visit is part of his tour through Southeast Asia to encourage
Myanmar's neighbors to promote reconciliation between the junta and the
pro-democracy movement.

After Myanmar's September crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators,
Cambodia joined countries around the world in calling for the junta to
halt its violence and embrace democracy. Prime Minister Hun Sen also
called for the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations which
includes Myanmar and Cambodia to play a more active role in resolving the
crisis.

Gambari was scheduled to leave Cambodia on Friday.

On the same day, Myanmar Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Thein Sein is to arrive
to hold talks with Hun Sen and leaders of Cambodia's parliament.

Hor Namhong said the timing of the two visits to Cambodia was coincidental.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, sparked global outrage in September when the
country's ruling military junta crushed pro-democracy protests led by
Buddhist monks, killing at least 15 people. Nearly 3,000 were arrested,
most of whom have been released, according to the junta.

During Gambari's visit to Myanmar, the junta assured him that political
arrests would stop, but more were reported after he left.

Amnesty International said the junta has arrested a dozen activists and
Buddhist monks this month.

The U.N. envoy visited Vietnam earlier this week and is scheduled to
travel to Laos after leaving Cambodia.

____________________________________

November 29, Xinhua General News Service
China, Myanmar sign MoU on science, technology cooperation

China and Myanmar signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) here Thursday
on enhancement of bilateral cooperation in the sector of science and
technology.

The MoU between the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST)
and the Myanmar Ministry of Science and Technology was inked by Executive
Vice-President of the CAST Deng Nan and the Myanmar Minister U Thaung on
behalf of respective sides.

Under the MoU, the two sides will strengthen cooperation in academic
exchange in science and technology as well as personnel exchange.

Before the signing ceremony, Deng and U Thaung held discussions over the
two countries' science and technology cooperation with both sides holding
that the endorsement of the MoU will be beneficial to the enhancement of
the exchange and cooperation between the two countries in science and
technology.

The two sides also considered that the enhancement of bilateral
cooperation in science and technology would also push the development of
the two countries' socio-economy.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

November 29, Irrawaddy
Burma blights Asean’s European-imitating ambitions - William Boot

The shadow of Burma’s woes will blight efforts by Asean and the European
Union to develop closer economic ties via a collective free trade
agreement, analysts say.

No sooner had leaders of the two international bodies issued a statement
calling for enhanced economic relations, than a group of European
lawmakers from EU countries vowed to block any bilateral deals until the
Burmese military regime reforms.

The group is led by German hardliner Hartmut Nassauer who says, “Without
any change in Myanmar [Burma], there will be no agreement from the
European parliament on the FTA. Myanmar erodes the credibility of Asean as
a whole.”

Nassauer is chairman of the EU Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with
Asean and Southeast Asia.

Although policy is generally set by the European Commission, the
parliament is becoming more assertive in influencing action via its member
country representation.

In any case, Nassauer’s warning came as the EU began enforcing new
expanded sanctions against Burma, embracing more than 1,200 businesses,
asset freezes and specifically targeting the foreign currency-earning
timber and gems industries.

The sanctions underline the behind-the-scenes rift between Europe and
Asean despite the public face of cooperation presented at joint
conferences in Singapore earlier this month, said observers.

“Officially they are going to work toward the FTA, but unofficially there
are great gulfs in attitude, primarily concerning Burma, but also wider
issues of democratic development and human rights in Asean,” an economic
specialist with an EU embassy in Bangkok, speaking on strict condition of
anonymity as a background briefing only, told The Irrawaddy this week.

“Look at what is happening even in apparently enlightened Malaysia, with
the government there threatening detention without trial against people
who wish to publicly demonstrate,” the source added. “This comes right
after Asean agreed on a human rights plan, and goes against all EU policy
for human and social development.”

Another analyst, Chin Kin Wah, says that despite Asean’s talk of creating
an EU-like economic community an “undercurrent of protectiveness and
narrow economic nationalism bordering on the xenophobic” is evident.

“This is particularly so given that Asean comprises economies at different
levels of development,” said Chin, deputy director of the Institute of
Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

“In the case of Myanmar, Asean is reminded of the possible serious effects
of domestic turbulence at a defining moment of regional transformation.
Its capacity to effect real political change in Myanmar however is highly
circumscribed.

“While broad engagement rather than ostracism may be the way to go with
respect to Myanmar, it is also most difficult to practice on a paranoiac
military regime that is quite determined to isolate its people from
outside influences against all the odds,” said Chin.

Razeen Sally, a co-director of the European Centre for International
Political Economy, thinks an FTA between the EU and Asean is, in any case,
a long way from becoming a reality “because Asean lacks a common
negotiation machinery to deal with the EU.

“Thus it takes so long to come up with even a basic common position,” he
said recently.

ECIPE is an independent Brussels-based think tank. Chin says that remaking
Asean along the lines of its new collective charter drafters—supposedly in
preparation for becoming the EU of Asia—“is only possible to the extent
there is collective political will, and that in turns depends on the will
and capacity for economic and social reform—as well as political renewal
on the part of national governments.”

Chin says Burma illustrates the problem facing Asean in its “attempts at
re-patterning regional order through the charter.”

But others are more optimistic.

“The conditions are right for Asean to show, ten years after the Asian
[financial] crisis, that they are rising to new challenges to create a
competitive as well as a caring community that deserves international
credibility,” said the chairman of the Singapore Institute of
International Affairs, Simon Tay.

____________________________________

November 29, Turkish Press
US will not replicate Pol Pot, Myanmar on torture: McCain

Republican White House hopeful John McCain warned Wednesday the United
States must not adopt the "torture" methods of genocidal Cambodian leader
Pol Pot, or Myanmar's generals.

McCain, a former US prisoner of war in Vietnam who was tortured during his
captivity, clashed openly with Republican rival Mitt Romney on the
question of US interrogations of terror suspects.

"If we're going to get the high ground in this world and we're going to be
the America that we have cherished and loved for more than 200 years,
we're not going to torture people," McCain said in a campaign debate in
Florida.

"We're not going to do what Pol Pot did. We're not going to do what's
being done to Burmese monks as we speak."

McCain reacted angrily after Romney refused to say whether he belived
water-boarding, a technique which is intended to make a suspect believe he
is on the verge of drowning, was torture.

"It's in violation of the Geneva Convention. It's in violation of existing
law," McCain said.

Former Massachusetts governor Romney said it would be unwise for any
presidential candidate to stipulate what kind of methods he would
countenance for terror suspects, to avoid tipping off US enemies.

"I do not believe that as a presidential candidate, it is wise for us to
describe precisely what techniques we will use in interrogating people.

"I oppose torture. I would not be in favor of torture in any way, shape or
form," Romney said.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

November 29, South China Morning Post
China can shine by acting on Burma - Teddy Buri

The fact that Asean members allowed Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein to
dictate the terms of their summit in Singapore last week would have
pleased many in Beijing. Party apparatchiks and bureaucrats no doubt
breathed a sigh of relief; if the spotlight had been cast more fully on
Burma, then China would also have been caught in the glare.

But, for Beijing, this sangfroid in the face of failed diplomacy is both
counter-intuitive and counterproductive. Burma remains an opportunity that
has, thus far, been wasted by the Chinese government.

That's because Burma represents a real chance for Beijing to seize the
moment as a regional and now global power, and seek to rein in the Burmese
military.

China has some $1US.5 billion embedded in Burma, and is the second-biggest
investor. Large amounts of this money flow through the investment projects
straight into the pockets of the junta. Meanwhile, 75 per cent of Burmese
live in poverty.

China is hoping to run oil and gas pipelines through Burma. Clearly, this
gives Beijing leverage, and its ability to act as a force for change is
considerable.

There is also a strategic imperative. Last week in Singapore, the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations dropped the ball on the Burma
issue. This allows China to step forward, which would result in improved
relations not only with Southeast Asian nations but also with the rest of
the world, where people are looking to Beijing to take a lead in such
matters.

China could use as a template its approach to the North Korean nuclear
problem. Here, Beijing has been influential in setting up six-party talks,
also involving the US, Japan, South Korea and Russia. This forum has made
headway: Pyongyang has reined in its nuclear programme and is waking up to
the fact that it cannot stand up to major powers when they unite.

China's role in this has been crucial. Significantly, it represents
something of an about-face as, for years, Beijing has either supported the
regime of Kim Jong-il or refused to voice criticism. Moreover, China's
foreign policy has, for decades, been premised on a principle of
non-intervention, precluding any proactive measures.

As a way to resolve the situation in Burma, China must seek to involve
Asean, India and the UN in talks to move the military away from the levers
of power.

Talk is needed, but so is action. Unfortunately, China made its intentions
clear earlier this month, when it voted against a UN General Assembly
draft resolution which called for restraint from the Burmese government.
Any talks need to be backed by the weight of intent, or they will become
meaningless.

Whether China should withdraw its considerable investments from Burma is a
question for Beijing. But investing in a regime that puts corruption at
its core does not set a foundation for successful negotiations, or garner
international kudos. Nor does it present China in a good light in the eyes
of many of the Burmese who do not support the military regime.

Further, it does not give China any credit on the world stage. Yet, Burma
presents a golden opportunity.

Teddy Buri is a member of the National Coalition Government of the Union
of Burma, which is drawn from representatives elected in Burma's last full
national election in 1990

____________________________________
ANNOUNCEMENT

November 29, S.W.I.S.S. Mission
Musicians come together in NYC for Aung San Suu Kyi and Human Rights

Aung San Suu Kyi, a Human Rights Activist in Burma, is the world's only
imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient. On December 14th, Swiss Chris,
John Legends Music Director and DJ Johnny Juice, Public Enemy's Producer
will make the world more aware

Perhaps you can say getting the message to the masses by one of the oldest
forms of communication is an every day occurrence. Not only is music going
to be the conduit to bring awareness to the plight of Aung San Suu Kyi,
(pronounced Aung San Sue Chee ) but the message is being relayed with the
expertise of many different professional musicians, scratching, drumming,
guitar and bass playing as well as singing. And on this coming December
14th, at the historic Blue Note in Manhattan, more than a dozen musicians
with the help of S.W.I.S.S. (Saving With Instruments Samples and Soundz)
and the Freedom Campaign will be doing just that for a cause that needs a
voice.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is one of the world's most renowned freedom fighters
and advocates of nonviolence, having served as the figurehead for Burma's
struggle for democracy since 1988. Joining the newly-forming National
League for Democracy political party, Suu Kyi gave numerous speeches
calling for freedom and democracy. The military regime responded to the
uprising with brute force, shooting and otherwise killing up to 10,000
demonstrators.

Since 1989, Aung San Suu Kyi has been in and out of jail for her
courageous battle for freedom and democracy. She has won numerous
international awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, Sakharov Prize from
the European Parliament, United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, and
Jawaharlal Nehru Award from India. She has called on people around the
world to join the struggle for freedom in Burma, saying "Please use your
liberty to promote ours."

This December 14th, at the Blue Note in Manhattan, five time Grammy
winner, Swiss Chris, John Legends Music Director and Drummer will be
assembling his "DreamTeam1" team of musicians to play music and bring
awareness to Human Rights and Aung San Suu Kyi.

The DreamTeam1 will be Bonga Gaston Jean- Babtiste (master drummer from
Haiti) Stanley Banks (bass for George Benson), Josh Valleau (keyboard),
Ladell Mc Lin (guitar) Sun Singelton (vox), Alex Adhami (cello/ santur/
vox) Sataka Karama (Poet) Bemshi (vox). Also joining them will be award
winning and Emmy nominated DJ Johnny Juice who has worked with Chuck D and
Public Enemy on numerous projects, Ketsana, a young lady from Laos and a
popular singer/songwriter who has charted in Asia, as well as other
special guest musicians will be filling the stage for this special show
that evening. The benefit is being produced by the S.W.I.S.S. organization
(Saving With Instruments Samples and Soundz) and in cooperation with The
Freedom Campaign.
Admission will be a $10.00 donation at the door, and though not necessary,
a donation of any instrument that will help with the S.W.I.S.S.
organizations mission would be well appreciated.

WHEN:
December 14th, 2007 right before midnight

WHERE:
Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St
New York, NY 10012

S.W.I.S.S. Mission:
- Recognition of Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- Motivational education through music and sound
- Resolve conflicts through peaceful means with use of musical instruments
- Multiple collaborations with various artists in various fields of music
for multimedia
performances
- Educational workshops for beginner to advanced drum students in the
history of
African, African- American and cultures of African decent based music

Director and Founder: Swiss Chris
http://www.myspace.com/swisschristhemanonthedrums
http://www.thefreedomcampaign.org

Swiss Chris is a five time Grammy winner and DJ Johnny Juice an Emmy
nominated producer