BurmaNet News, December 4, 2007

[Editor]

December 4, 2007 Issue # 3356

INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Junta takes hard-line stance on 'Seven-step' Road Map
Irrawaddy: Burma’s National Day celebrated in Rangoon
AP: Pro-democracy party says Myanmar's national prestige at its lowest
DPA: Myanmar grants amnesty for 8,552 prisoners including 33 foreigners
Mizzima News: Activists to launch 'non-cooperation' campaign in January 2008
Mizzima News: Army tanks patrol Myit Kyina town: KIA
Mizzima News: Junta bans wedding ad of actor Kyaw Thu's daughter
DVB: 88 student leader unable to attend mother’s funeral
DVB: Government troops prepare KNU offensive

REGIONAL
BurmaInfo.Org: Japanese MP Ryuhei Kawada releases YouTube appeal calls for
support for a Free Burma

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: More bloody confrontation unavoidable in Myanmar: exiled monk
VOA: Commission calls for full accounting by Burma's military
Mizzima News: U.S.-ASEAN share same goal for Burma: U.S. official

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Charles Petrie leaves today, victim of Than Shwe’s “I’m in
control” stand - Yeni
Irrawaddy: Aid cut off to armed opposition group raises questions [News
Analysis] - Shah Paung

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

December 4, Irrawaddy
Junta takes hard-line stance on 'Seven-step' Road Map - Wai Moe

Hope for a solution to Burma's political crisis through a political
dialogue dimmed this week, following the junta’s hard-line stand at a
press conference on Monday and Snr-Gen Than Shwe's endorsement on Tuesday
of the seven-step roadmap to democracy.

Than Shwe made his comments in a statement released on the 87th
anniversary of Burma’s National Day.

He said the junta stands behind the seven-step roadmap it adopted to
transform the nation into a “peaceful, modern and developed
discipline-flourishing democratic country.”

He also introduced a national day slogan, “To realize the state’s
seven-step road map,” The New Light of Myanmar reported on Tuesday.

One of Than Shwe's right-hand men, Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, the head of the
junta’s information committee, said during a press conference on Monday
the junta will not open up the process of writing the constitution to
opposition groups or figures, even though the international community,
including China, has called for an inclusive process in writing the
constitution and in national reconciliation.

“The suggestions to review adopted principles by forming necessary bodies
and to coordinate the principles with the aspirations of anti-government
groups which did not participate in the Nation Convention are no longer
appropriate to the present situation,” said Kyaw Hsan

The press conference’s main agenda was to blame dissident groups inside
and outside Burma and foreign governments, particularly the United States,
for the demonstrations in August and September.

Brig-Gen Khin Yi, the head of Burma’s police, said on Monday the September
uprising was aimed to bring down the junta through joint efforts by the
FDB (the Forum for Democracy in Burma), the 88 Generation Students group
and other opposition elements by “placing the Sangha [monks] cause in the
center.”

Khin Yi also blamed the main opposition party, the National League for
Democracy, for attempting to form an interim government.

Nyan Win, a spokesperson of the NLD, denied Khin Yi's accusation.

“If we review the accusation, we will see that Brig-Gen Khin Yi said the
police knew about the forming of an interim government by the NLD. But he
[Khin Yi] did not give any details. Therefore, it is just false blaming,”
said Nyan Win. “Individuals from the NLD joined the protests. But no
protesters, including the Buddhist monks, committed violence.”

Criticizing the junta's stance, Aye Thar Aung, a prominent Arakan ethnic
leader, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday the junta repeatedly says it will
hold a dialogue, but it also says it will complete its roadmap without
including any opposition groups.

“If the one-sided way of the generals cannot be reviewed, why should we
talk in dialogue?" he asked. "Dialogue means to discuss and adjust.
Therefore, if the junta goes on with its one-sided roadmap, their calling
for a dialogue is just a trick.”

Thakin Chan Tun, a veteran politician and a former Burmese ambassador to
China, said there is a clear message that the junta is going to complete
the roadmap—the drafting of a constitution, a referendum for the
constitution, new elections and then a new government.

“There is no chance of a dialogue or a review of the constitution,
whatever the international community suggests," he said. "What I learned
from them is that the junta still does not have any political will for
dialogue or for national conciliation. The ongoing meetings between Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi and Minister U Aung Kyi are just for show. ”

The former ambassador to China said even China's efforts to achieve
national reconciliation will not be enough to change the junta's course.

Meanwhile, the China National Petroleum Corp, the country's biggest oil
and gas producer, signed an agreement on December 2 with the southwestern
province of Yunnan to cooperate in building an oil refinery, a step toward
building a pipeline through neighboring Burma.

____________________________________

December 4, Irrawaddy
Burma’s National Day celebrated in Rangoon - Saw Yan Naing

About 200 veteran politicians, opposition leaders and dissident activists
gathered on Tuesday at the headquarters of the National League for
Democracy in Rangoon to celebrate the 87th anniversary of Burma’s National
Day.

Among those attending the ceremony were veteran politician Thakin Chan
Htun, members of the Committee Representing the People's Parliament, such
as Aye Tha Aung, Cin Sian Thang and Nai Ngwe Thein, and leaders and
members of the National League for Democracy. The ceremony started at
11:30 a.m. and concluded at about 4:00 p.m.

Burma’s National Day, is a day steeped in political significance,
commemorating a boycott by Burmese university students to protest the
British colonial administration’s Rangoon University Act of 1920, which
took place on the 10th day after the full moon in the month of Tazaungmon.

During the celebration in Rangoon, Soe Win, a prominent member of the NLD,
read out a statement urging unity among the people of Burma, as well as
calling for the release of NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political
prisoners.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, NLD spokesman Nyan Win said, “To be
a peaceful democratic country, unity is very important. We highlighted the
statement of Aung San Suu Kyi, released by Gambari, and called for the
release of her and detained ethnic leaders, including Khun Htun Oo and Sai
Nyunt Lwin.”

The statement also highlighted the history of Burma’s National Day and the
unity of Burmese people struggling for Burmese independence, said Nyan
Win.

Meanwhile, Kyaw Ko Ko, a member of the All Burma Federation of Student
Unions, speaking from Rangoon, said, “Now, the state of education in Burma
is very different from the past. It [the current education system] is
worse than during the era of the British colonial administration. It gives
more favor to quantity then quality.”

Students have lost their rights to freedoms of expression, such as freedom
of thinking, writing and organizing students’ unions, said Kyaw Ko Ko.

He urged the Burmese military government to allow students to exercise
their freedoms of expression, in terms of thinking, writing, forming
groups and establishing students’ unions.

“They [the junta] should change the basic education system. They should
allow students to think freely. And in terms of increasing the budget for
military equipment, they should reduce that amount and increase it
accordingly for education,” added Kyaw Ko Ko.

The state-run newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, reported on National
Day in 2005 that the country’s educational system has shown “sustainable
progress” since the days of imperial interference.

However, a report released in February 2004 by the UN’s culture agency,
UNESCO, claims that nearly half the children who enter primary school will
not reach grade five. Statistics suggest that some 84 percent of all
Burmese children who drop out of primary school come from rural areas,
where a lack of security and the distance to most schools from rural
villages are the two chief contributing factors.

ABSFU also sent an open letter to the UN special rapporteur on human
rights in Burma, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, calling for freedom of expression
for students.

Meanwhile, a statement released on Tuesday by the 88 Generation Students
group urged the Burmese military government to accelerate political
dialogue in the process of achieving national reconciliation in Burma.

In order to achieve real political dialogue, the 88 Generation Students
movement demanded that the regime unconditionally release pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi, detained Buddhist monks, ethnic leaders, student
leaders and other political prisoners.

The report also urged the regime to stop its ongoing arrests, torture and
brutal crackdown on monasteries, as well as on dissident activists.

Burma’s National Day has become a symbol of the unbreakable link between
political and intellectual freedom, and the important role that students
have played in Burmese politics.

____________________________________

December 4, Associated Press
Pro-democracy party says Myanmar's national prestige at its lowest

The opposition party of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
marked the anniversary Tuesday of a student strike protesting British
colonial rule by criticizing Myanmar's military government for lowering
the nation's prestige.

The statement from the National League for Democracy also called for the
release of Suu Kyi who has been detained for 12 of the past 18 years and
other political prisoners, including those arrested during anti-government
demonstrations in August and September.

The NLD released its statement at a ceremony attended by 200 of its
members and sympathizers at party headquarters in Yangon, the first such
gathering since the ruling military violently cracked down on the
protests, killing 15 people and detaining thousands, including hundreds of
NLD members.

State media reported Tuesday that the junta had granted amnesty to 8,585
prisoners, but it was unclear if any of those released were among those
detained during the crackdown.

The statement said that according to the evaluation of Myanmar's
situation, "national prestige has reached a very low level."

"To raise national prestige, it is now imperative that all the
nationalities of the Union should rebuild national reconciliation," said
the message.

Unity of the country's fractious ethnic groups is a crucial issue for
Myanmar. Some ethnic minorities along the eastern border with Thailand
have been fighting for several decades for greater autonomy from the
central government.

The NLD also called for the "immediate and unconditional" release of Suu
Kyi and NLD Vice Chairman Tin Oo and the release of "all the democratic
activists, including the venerable monks and 88 Generation Student leaders
who had peacefully demonstrated their beliefs and wishes."

The 88 Generation Students group launched protests against onerous fuel
price hikes in August, and the demonstrations expanded in size and scope
when Buddhist monks took over their leadership in September.

The NLD also urged the government to allow it to reopen its party branch
offices, to stop coercing party members from resigning and to let
political parties carry out activities such as holding public meetings.

Suu Kyi's party won a 1990 general election, but the military refused to
hand over power, instead stepping up its harassment and arrests of party
members and other pro-democracy activists.

Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace laureate, and Tin Oo have been detained
since May 2003 when a pro-junta mob attacked her motorcade as she toured
northern Myanmar.

A U.N. effort to mediate political reconciliation began after September's
crackdown, but has shown only small signs of progress, such as allowing
Suu Kyi to meet with fellow party executives for the first time in more
than three years.

In his official National Day message, junta chief Senior Gen. Than Shwe
sounded a familiar theme, blaming "neocolonialist countries" for
interfering with the internal affairs of small countries such as Myanmar.

In his message, published in the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper,
he accused those countries and their puppets inside Myanmar of agitating
people to create unrest and violence.

The junta usually uses the term "neocolonialists" for Western nations that
criticize the military regime for its poor human rights record and refusal
to hand over power to a democratically elected government.

Than Shwe also urged the backing for the junta's seven-step road map to
democracy that is supposed to lead to free elections, though no timetable
has been set to complete the task. The junta on Monday began implementing
the third step of the road map, the drafting of a new constitution.

National Day is a public holiday commemorating the 1920 boycott of classes
by university students in Yangon then called Rangoon to protest British
colonial regulations. The strike spread to schools all over the country
and inspired Myanmar's independence movement.

____________________________________

December 4, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Myanmar grants amnesty for 8,552 prisoners including 33 foreigners

Myanmar's junta granted 8,585 prisoners, including 33 Thais, amnesty to
mark the completion of the national convention process last September,
state media said Tuesday.

"The government granted amnesty for 8,585 prisoners between 16 November
and 3 December to mark the successful holding of the National Convention
in September 2007 and the commencement of the functions of the commission
for drafting the state constitution, the third stage of the seven-step
road map," said The New Light of Myanmar, a government mouthpiece.

Among those released were 33 Thai prisoners, most them fishermen, who were
freed on November 30 to commemorate Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 80th
birthday on December 5.

It was unclear how many of the prisoners who received amnesty were in
arrested last September for participating in peaceful protests led  by
Buddhist monks against the government and Myanmar's deteriorating economic
conditions.

Myanmar Police Chief Khin Yi told a press conference on Monday that there
were only 21 monks and 59 laymen still in Myanmar jails on charges related
to the protests.

Khin Yi also said only 15 people died in the unrest, a number that UN
special human rights' envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro announced as the
government's official death toll last month.

On December 11, Pinheiro plans to announce his own estimates of the death
toll, as well as the number of people arrested since the peaceful
anti-government protests in Yangon, the former capital, led by Buddhist
monks.

The demonstrations, the largest since 1988, ended in a brutal crackdown on
September 26-27, and led to the arrests of more than 3,000 people. With
arrests still occurring on a daily basis, it is difficult to know the real
number of people detained for participating in the protests, sparked by a
shock fuel price hike announced on August 15.

Khin Yi's comments came during a news conference in Naypyitaw, 350
kilometres north of Yangon, held to announce the continuation of the
junta's seven-step road map to democracy.

A 54-member constitution drafting committee started work on a new charter
for the country on Monday.

It took the junta 15 years to write up the guidelines for a new
constitution, which must now be drafted and then passed by a general
referendum, according to the junta's seven-step plan.

The lengthy process, dubbed a sham by the international community, has
lost all credibility since the September demonstrations which were seen as
a call for real political change.

____________________________________

December 4, Mizzima News
Activists to launch 'non-cooperation' campaign in January 2008 - Maung Dee

In a well conceived plan which has to do with governmental and social
boycott, a campaign of 'non-cooperation' will be begun by an unidentified
Burmese activist group. It has urged all government employees to stop
working and stay at home from the January 1, 2008 for a break down of the
junta's governance.

With the slogan "Freedom to all on August 8, 2008", the activist group, in
an email message to Mizzima said they have planned to launch the new
campaign of 'non-cooperation', where they will request all government
servants to defy the regime by staying at home from New Year's Day.

While the existence and authenticity of the group could not be
independently confirmed, the group in their email said, "We cannot wait in
uncertainty and for tricky 'TALKS'. Don't be trapped in dialogue. 2008,
August 8 is set for FREEDOM for all."

In the wake of the September 'Saffron Revolution', which was brutally
suppressed by the ruling junta, several satellite groups, which claim to
have been formed secretly, have emerged and have been campaigning for a
public boycott of the junta and its business cronies.

An activist in Rangoon, who maintains a close relationship with such
groups, told Mizzima that they have effectively urged the people not to
buy weekly journals run by the junta's cronies, to avoid using buses whose
owners are known to have a good relationship with the junta's generals and
not buy goods from shops and stores owned by junta's henchmen .

"For instance if it is question of using transport, people should start
avoiding buses like the Paramy, Ahtih Pathih, and other government
operated bus services. It began within a circle of friends and has spread
to larger groups now," added the activist, who requested anonymity for
security reasons.

Moreover the activists have also targeted business enterprises, and are
making a list of shops, stores, and other business houses run by the junta
or their associates. The groups are likely to come out with a
comprehensive list soon and will begin their campaign against the junta's
business enterprises, added the activist.

Kyaw Kyaw, a member of the All Burma Federation of Students' Union, a
group banned by the junta, said, "These kinds of activities are effective
in its own way. Small businesses also needed to be targetted. If we can
shake these small businesses, it will hit the junta hard ."

However, Kyaw Kyaw said he would rather go on a slower pace to launch the
'non-cooperation' campaign that calls on all government employees to
boycott the junta by staying home .

"I am not sure whether many people will join the campaign because most
government servants are tied to their services for their daily bread.
Besides, there are several other factors that they need to consider. So, I
would rather take more time to build up the momentum of the campaign,"
Kyaw Kyaw added .

The group, in the email message said the boycott would be kick-started if
the government fails to release all political prisoners including monks
and students arrested during the August-September protests and apologize
to the monks for its brutality on them, before December 31, 2007.

____________________________________

December 4, Mizzima News
Army tanks patrol Myit Kyina town: KIA

In a show of military muscle, a number of military tanks have been spotted
doing the rounds of Myit Kyina town, capital of Kachin State in northern
Burma, an officer of the Kachin Independence Army, an armed ceasefire
group, said.

"I was told by our headquarters [on the Sino-Burmese border] that several
tanks are seen doing the rounds in Myit Kyina town, particularly in front
of the KIA office in Shatapru quarter," the KIA officer, who requested
anonymity, told Mizzima.

While the reason for the sudden show of strength by the Burmese Army is
still unclear, the KIA officer said it could be a warning to the KIA,
which has been fighting the Burmese military dictators for over 40 years,
for failing to comply with the junta's request.

The Burmese military junta has pressured the KIA to sign a pre-written
statement that refuted the declaration made by detained Burmese
pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in early November.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on November 8, issued a statement through the
visiting UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari, stating her willingness to
cooperate with the ruling junta to kick-start a process of national
reconciliation in serious consideration to the interest of ethnic
nationalities.

Following the statement, the junta sent its Minister for Culture to area
along the Sino-Burmese border and pressured ethnic cease fire groups to
issue statements countering Daw Suu's statement.

"May be the junta wants to show its strength to us and wants to give us
some kind of warning," added the KIA officer.

Meanwhile, a source in Myit Kyina town confirmed that he had seen several
army tanks doing the rounds of the town.

"I think it was in the last week of November, when I returned from work I
saw a few tanks in the centre of the town," said the source, who does not
wish to disclose his identity.

____________________________________

December 4, Mizzima News
Junta bans wedding ad of actor Kyaw Thu's daughter - Nem Davies

In a blatant act of vindictiveness, a wedding advertisement for prominent
movie actor Kyaw Thu's daughter has been banned by the Burmese military
junta's censorship board, allegedly for the actor's involvement in the
monk-led protests in September.

The censorship board has stopped the inclusion of the wedding
advertisement of actor Kyaw Thu's only daughter Myint Mo Oo in any of the
newspapers in Burma. Myint Mo Oo, who is living in Australia, will wed
Kyaw Ko Ko in Sydney on December 16, 2007.

"As for me I have been banned from all my work like acting or directing.
And my name cannot be published in any of the journals or newspapers. Even
to advertise my daughter's wedding I cannot include my name," actor Kyaw
Thu told Mizzima.

During a rare press briefing held at Burma's new jungle capital, Nay Pyi
Taw, the Burmese Information Minister Brig. Gen Kyaw San described artists
and litterateurs who participated in the September monk-led protests, as
'those lacking patriotism'.

"I don't understand what they [the junta] mean and I don't know what they
want to refer to," Kyaw Thu said.

"We did not do it just because others were doing it. We all joined out of
our own free will. Ko Thura [comedian Zargarnar] also joined on his own
and I did the same. But since we had the same intention, we met and it
comes out that Kyaw Thu and Zargarnar joined hands," added the Burmese
film academy award winning actor.

The Burmese actor along with several other artists, poets and litterateurs
during the protests in September offered 'Swan', food offerings, to the
protesting monks at Burma's most revered Pagoda of Shwe Dagon .

Following the protests and the junta's brutal crackdown, authorities
arrested Kyaw Thu, Zargarnar and several other artists as well as
politicians and activists. However, the junta later released Kyaw Thu and
Zargarnar after detaining them for three weeks.

The junta, in its effort to punish the artists, has banned all works of
artists who took part in the protests. More than 20 of Kyaw Thu's films
are currently banned from being released in theatres.

Similarly, comedian and actor Zargarnar is also banned from performing on
stage while writer Than Myint Aung is barred from using her pseudonym and
writing for newspapers.

____________________________________

December 4, Democratic Voice of Burma
88 student leader unable to attend mother’s funeral

Detained 88 generation student leader Ko Htay Kywe was denied permission
to attend his mother’s funeral yesterday, according to a friend of the
activist.

Daw Mi Mi Lay’s funeral was held at around 1pm yesterday at Yay Way
cemetery in North Okkalapa township, Rangoon.

Around 1,500 people came to pay their respects, including political
activists, veteran politicians, ABFSU members, commodity protestors, actor
Kyaw Thu and 68 monks and 68 nuns.

A friend of Htay Kywe said he wished that the student leader could have
been at the funeral.

“Ko Htay Kywe couldn’t make it here and it’s really sad; we wanted him to
be here at his mother’s funeral,” he said.

“But he did send in a card and a wreath.”

Daw Mi Mi Lay died aged 68 on 29 November at around 9.30pm.

She had been suffering from cancer since 2003, and was admitted to the
Shwegonedine special clinic in October for about a month.

She was sent home on 29 November when the hospital decided it could do no
more for her.

Htay Kywe has been detained since 13 October for his part in instigating
the protests over commodity prices beginning in August this year.

____________________________________

December 4, Democratic Voice of Burma
Government troops prepare KNU offensive

Twelve regiments of the ruling State Peace and Development Council army
are heading for Karen National Union territory to launch an offensive,
according to a KNU official.

Major Saw Hla Ngwe, secretary of the KNU information committee, told DVB
that more than 1,000 soldiers were involved in the offensive into
territory held by the KNU’s 6th brigade in Kawkareik district, Karen
state.

The KNU secretary said that the 1st, 2nd and 3rd KNU brigades were also
being targeted.

Three regiments each from the 12th Military Operations Command, 8th
Military Operations Command and the 22nd Light Infantry Division are
taking part in the offensive, along with troops from the SPDC-backed
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army.

Major Saw Hla Ngwe said sporadic clashes had already taken place and
claimed that the SPDC and the DKBA had taken casualties.

On 25 November, a DKBA unit lobbed 10 shells into Lan Pha village, where
around 50 DKBA men later took up positions.

Further clashes took place in the same area on 26 November when DKBA
troops burnt down the rice storage facilities located in the villages
north of Lan Pha village. One DKBA soldier was killed and two were
seriously wounded in the ensuing battles.

Also on 26 November, KNU troops clashed with the 231st Regiment under the
12th Military Operations Command when the soldiers entered the Dawbla
Chedi Hill area. One government soldier was killed and another wounded.

On 27 November, government forces led by DKBA troops and backed up by SPDC
units with artillery fire advanced on Nan Shwe Mon village, resulting in
one DKBA soldier being killed and another wounded when KNU troops returned
fire.

Attempts to contact the DKBA for comment were unsuccessful.

Maj Saw Hla Ngwe said the KNU would make all efforts to counter the SPDC
offensive.

“They intruded into our region first, so we had to prepare whatever we can
in order to stop them from whatever they intend to do inside our
territory, and to have an impact on them so that they will leave the
territory in a hurry,” he said.

“We have been resorting to all means, including military, to disrupt their
road building and supply routes as well as to defend the territory when
they come to clear it. For this reason, the casualty rate between them and
us is nine to one."

Local residents said that the offensive has forced some Karen villagers
along the Thai border to flee into Thailand.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

December 4, BurmaInfo.Org
Japanese MP Ryuhei Kawada releases YouTube appeal calls for support for a
Free Burma

(Tokyo) Ryuhei Kawada, a member of the Japan's House of Councilors (upper
house), has released a video message on YouTube calling for people to join
him in supporting freedom for Burma.

The video can be viewed at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdrGWt3Rkxk

A Japanese video was also released:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF1I-K-rkmY

This past September in Burma, tens of thousands of people led by Buddhist
monks demonstrated on the streets.  The ruling regime cracked down on the
demonstrators by force, and hundreds of people including Japanese
journalist Kenji Nagai were killed or injured.

Since then, UN Envoy Ibrahim Gambari has visited Burma twice to urge the
military regime to begin a dialogue with the opposition, but there has
been no substantive progress.  In mid-November, UN Special Rapporteur
Sergio Pinheiro also visited Burma to investigate the human rights
situation during and since the crackdown.  His report is expected to be
released on December 11.

Meanwhile, arrests of citizens and monks who participated in the
demonstrations continue.  In late November, the military regime ordered
the prominent Maggin monastery in Rangoon to close down.  The monastery
was raided four times since September, and many of its monks including the
abbot have been arrested for participating in the demonstrations. Maggin
monastery also provided treatment and other support to HIV patients. After
the order was given to close down, the patients taking refuge there have
had to move elsewhere.

In the video message, Mr. Kawada points out that Burma's regime spends
more than half of the state budget for its military, and that only a
fraction of the state budget is spent on health.  Himself an HIV patient
who became infected through tainted blood products, Kawada is shocked
about the closure of Maggin monastery:  "These patients depended on the
monastery because the military regime gave them no help.  I find it
appalling that the regime would deprive these people of the monastery's
support and make them suffer more."

At the end of the message, Mr. Kawada quotes Nobel Peace laureate and
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi: "Please use your liberty to promote
ours."  Mr. Kawada calls on viewers to join him in promoting freedom for
Burma.

Contact: Yuki Akimoto +81-(0)90-5564-4443, Kanae Doi +81-(0)90-2301-4372

Ryuhei Kawada Official Website
http://ryuheikawada.jp/

Read about Burma in Japanese
www.burmainfo.org

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

December 4, Agence France Presse
More bloody confrontation unavoidable in Myanmar: exiled monk

Myanmar's Buddhist monks are prepared to face another bloody confrontation
with the ruling military junta if the international community fails to
force the generals to accept democratic reforms, an exiled monk with links
inside Myanmar said Monday.

US-based Ashin Nayaka, a key member of the International Burmese Monks
Organization, said monks were a "symbol of hope" for reforms in Myanmar
but were "forcibly disrobed, assaulted and killed" by the junta.

"If this continues unaddressed, further bloody confrontation is
unavoidable," he told a hearing of the US Commission on International
Religious Freedom, a non-partisan panel appointed by the US president and
leaders of Congress.

"The very existence of monastic life is being destroyed by the evil
military regime and it will face bloodshed again, if the international
community, including the UN Security Council, cannot find a collective and
effective way to stop this evil regime from killings and arrests," he
said. At least 15 people died and 3,000 were jailed when Myanmar's
military and police broke up pro-democracy protests, which saw Buddhist
monks lead 100,000 people in the streets of Yangon on successive days.

Nayaka, a visiting scholar at Columbia University, said he had been
working closely with U Gambira, the leader of the Alliance of All Burma
Buddhist Monks and key leader of the September protests arrested by the
junta last month. He expressed regret that pressure by the international
community on the junta had eased even as serious questions remained over
the number of monks forcible disrobed, imprisoned and killed following the
protests. "Where has the global outcry gone? This should be of grave
concern for all governments worldwide. This is a moral crisis that
Americans must stand for," he said.

The United States, which has long imposed a trade and investment ban on
Myanmar, has twice tightened sanctions since the clampdown on protests. It
ordered an asset freeze on key junta figures and blacklisted seven
companies and five individuals allegedly linked to those companies and the
regime.

Aung Din, executive director of the US Campaign for Burma, urged
Washington to appoint a full-time sanctions coordinator for Myanmar as it
did in the late 1990's against Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic's regime
accused of genocide. This would enable coordination of global sanctions
against Myanmar's junta, he said.

Citing the Australian government which had targeted financial sanctions
against 418 Myanmar citizens, including 40 businessmen, he asked the US
government to impose restrictions on more Myanmar businessmen who provided
money to the junta leaders and their families.

Jared Genser, president of human rights group Freedom Now, raised the
prospect of Washington imposing sanctions, such as those used against a
Macau bank accused of money laundering for nuclear-armed North Korea, on a
Southeast Asian state-owned bank suspected of links to Myanmar's military
rulers.

The move against Banco Delta Asia in Macau underscored US financial clout
and reportedly compelled North Korea back to the negotiating table.

"Anecdotally in conversations with diplomats in ASEAN countries, I know
there is a deep concern about the prospects of the United States doing to
a state-owned bank what happened to Banco Delta Asia in Macau because of
its laundering of North Korean funds," Genser told the hearing. He did not
name the bank. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations comprises
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

____________________________________

December 4, Voice of America
Commission calls for full accounting by Burma's military - Dan Robinson

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has called on the
world to demand that the Burmese military government end its crackdown on
dissidents, including Buddhist monks, in the wake of nationwide democracy
demonstrations more than two months ago. VOA's Dan Robinson reports, the
commission held an unusual public hearing on Capitol Hill to re-focus
attention on the situation in Burma.

Coinciding with a brief resumption of legislative activity by the U.S.
Congress, four members of the commission presided over the hearing to
assess the current situation in Burma.

Commission vice chairman Richard Land says many questions remain about the
full scope of the crackdown and what he calls the brutality of Burma's
military. He refers to reports suggesting that the abuse of protesters was
more brutal than initially described and that there were more fatalities,
torture and arrests than reported.

"The military's bloody response to the demonstrations was a setback. But
if we have learned anything from recent history we know that freedom
trumps tyranny," said Land. "As Burma's elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi
has eloquently stated, "We will prevail because our cause is right,
because our cause is just. History is in our side. Time is on our side."
But I am also reminded of another quote, this one from Dr. Martin Luther
King, who wrote in 1963 that "freedom is never voluntarily given by the
oppressors. It must be demanded by the oppressed."

In recorded video testimony from Mae Sot, on the Thai-Burma border, one
23-year-old Burmese monk Ashin Kavida, described a scene of confusion and
violence in September as Burmese troops began rounding up monks at
Rangoon's Shwedagon Pagoda.

Among seven witnesses appearing in person was Ashin Nayaka, a leading
member of the International Burmese Monks Organization, and a visiting
scholar at Columbia University's Department of History in New York City.
He says that in their actions, Burma's military rulers launched an assault
on the integrity of the country's Buddhist spiritual life, and asserts
that if tensions are not addressed they will lead to further bloody
confrontation.

"Our spiritual obligation is to freedom, not to silence or submission.
Today, we know that several leading Buddhist monks in Burma are still on
the run. We do not know with any accuracy how many monks have been killed,
how many were forcibly disrobed," said Nayaka. "We do not know how many
monks are in prison. We do not know how many monks have been taken to
secret locations. What we know is there is a terrible secrecy and silence
over Burma."

Paul Rush, a journalist whose video footage of Burmese troops in Rangoon
shooting and killing a Japanese journalist was widely seen around the
world suggests Burma's military is likely continuing a brutal crackdown.

"The Burmese people, which includes the country's badly-persecuted ethnic
minorities need the help of the international community, to shed this yoke
of a half a century of oppression by a minority of murderous military
elite. That I presume is why this hearing is taking place today [and] is
why the international community is still listening," said Rush. "The
Burmese people want democracy. They yearn for democracy. It is why I join
with you all to reveal the tremendous reservoirs of light struggling
beneath a darkness, the darkness of a tiny and unconscionable minority.

Aung Din, Executive Director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma, estimates
that more than five-thousand people including two-thousand Buddhist monks
were arrested, in contrast to lower figures provided by the military, and
says that 700 Buddhist monks remain in detention.

He repeats a call on the United States, U.S. Congress, European Union and
others to maintain pressure on behalf of people in Burma, saying this
would also help persuade Burma's neighbors in ASEAN (Association of
Southeast Asian Nations) and pave the way for stronger action by the
United Nations:

"We are seeking a policy shift among governments of China, India and ASEAN
on Burma, as the U.S. has increased its diplomatic effort to organize
these countries to take a more responsible stance," he said. "We want the
U.S. government to maintain the U.N. Security Council as the venue to
discuss the situation in Burma, and double its diplomatic effort in
organizing these countries to be able to have a collective voice and take
effective action on Burma, beginning with a binding resolution from the
U.N. Security Council, which will effectively impose an arms embargo."

Despite efforts by U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari, human rights
attorney and Council on Foreign Relations member Jared Gensner asserts
Burma's military has taken no steps toward democratization. Gensner
predicts that China, the largest arms supplier to Burma , will continue to
try to strike what he calls a balance between its desire to be viewed as a
responsible actor in diplomatic efforts, and a need to secure its own
interests in Burma. Without firm action by the U.N. Security Council,
Gensner suggests there will be little change in the military's attitude.

"It is unlikely that the Burmese junta will feel compelled to do anything
meaningful until the Security Council is able to agree on a way forward.
This will of course be an uphill struggle, given China and Russia's seat
at the table," said Gesner. "But the U.S. and other countries can apply
pressure on the U.N. and Security Council members to adhere to Mr.
Gambari's comment that the U.N. "wants time-bound, concrete and serious
results." In the meantime further sanctions should be applied wherever
possible to increase pressure on the regime.

A former National Security Council official and now professor at
Georgetown University, Michael Green, says while there have been some
positive developments, including high profile attention from the Bush
administration, some strong statements from ASEAN, and what he calls small
but unprecedented steps by China, there has also been substantial inertia
[lethargy or inaction] by the international community.

"Mr. Gambari has certainly done better than any of us his predecessors in
getting access to Aung San Suu Kyi and keeping some process going.
However, many of these are tactical," Green said. "They are unprecedented
but not huge and many of them reinforce process without results and I
think the problem we face in terms of international work on this situation
is that we could easily slip into process for process' sake."

Specifically, Green says China and India may be tempted to accept limited
results, while he asserts that the United Nations continues to pursue what
he calls a lowest common den nominator approach. ASEAN, he asserts, is
going backwards in its role perhaps because of pressure from Burma's
military on what he calls like-minded members.

The hearing of the Commission on International Religious Freedom comes as
Congress began an intense two week period in which lawmakers must approve
a range of important funding and policy legislation. However, among bills
not yet acted upon are Senate and House measures supporting democracy
efforts in Burma, demanding the release of political prisoners, Buddhist
monks, and democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and targeting Burmese
military profits from sales of gems in the U.S. using third countries.
It's not yet clear whether lawmakers will press to consider and pass these
before the end the current congressional session, or if they will have to
wait until the new year.



____________________________________


December 4, Mizzima News
U.S.-ASEAN share same goal for Burma: U.S. official

Though tactics may differ, the United States shares the same vision for
Burma as does Singapore and the ASEAN community, according to an American
official.

"It is possible for partners to work perhaps with different tactics while
agreeing on the same strategic objective," Under Secretary for Political
Affairs Nicholas Burns said at a press conference yesterday in Singapore
following a day of meetings with Singaporean officials.

In talks with Singapore's Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, Burns expressed
the United States' support for both ASEAN and the United Nations roles in
trying to kick start a dialogue process between the Burmese junta and
opposition forces led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

Despite the last minute cancellation of United Nations Special Envoy to
Burma Ibrahim Gambari's scheduled briefing to ASEAN leaders in Singapore
last month, Burns said that the United States has "great respect for the
way that Singapore acted as ASEAN Chair and in hosting the meeting."

Defining talks on U.S.-ASEAN relations as "extensive," Burns said, with
respect to what needs to happen in Burma, that "there is a great deal of
common ground between the United States and ASEAN, particularly Singapore,
the Philippines, Indonesia."

The Under Secretary did say he wished Burmese representatives would have
come to November's ASEAN summit in Singapore with a more open mind,
proceeding to tell reporters that the current status of Burma is an
"embarrassment" for the region.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

December 4, Irrawaddy
Charles Petrie leaves today, victim of Than Shwe’s “I’m in control” stand
- Yeni

The head of the United Nations’ Development Programme in Burma and the
UN’s resident coordinator Charles Petrie left Rangoon on Tuesday after the
military regime had refused to renew his visa.

Petrie, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Burma, was summoned last
month to Naypyidaw and told he was no longer welcome because he had acted
“beyond his capacity.”

The accusation related to a press release issued by the UN Country
Team—headed by Petrie—on the 62nd UN Day on October 24, deploring the
"deteriorating humanitarian situation" in Burma and suggesting UN agencies
could help the country address "poverty and suffering and their underlying
causes."

The Burmese junta well understands that humanitarian and development
concerns have political implications, even though Petrie’s statement
focused on "socio-economic issues." The UN is urging Burma's ruling
generals these days to move towards dialogue with the opposition as part
of an inclusive national reconciliation process, as well as necessary
confidence-building measures in the humanitarian and socio-economic areas,
including the establishment of a broad-based poverty alleviation
commission.

It’s worth asking, therefore, how the Naypyidaw regime comes to angrily
attack Petrie’s remarks as "unprecedented" and "very negative."

Burmese political analysts point out that the regime, faced with
international condemnation of its ferocious crackdown on protesting
Buddhist monks, may have wanted to exploit Petrie’s departure as a way to
show how far the authority of Burmese junta's chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe
extends.

Sources close to the army say there are many educated, sophisticated
Burmese military officers who would agree with the UN coordinator's
assessment and who recognize that Than Shwe is attempting to establish a
monarchy-style rule which could lead the country into a dark age and
deeper into the category of a failed state. A former military public
relations employee told The Irrawaddy: "Than Shwe wants all of his
military men to know that he can expel whoever in this country he
controls—even the head of UNDP."

It’s thus hard to imagine how legitimate humanitarian concerns can be
tactfully expressed by international agencies, including those of the UN,
in the political environment created by Than Shwe and his hard-line
generals, who aren’t shy of making enemies.
It will be interesting to hear what Petrie has to say about his experience
in Burma—and the opportunity presents itself on December 10-11, when he
will be speaking at an Australian National University conference on Burma,
together with Richard Horsey, who also recently left Rangoon after his
term expired as the resident representative in Rangoon of the
International Labour Organisation.

____________________________________

December 4, Irrawaddy
Aid cut off to armed opposition group raises questions [News Analysis] -
Shah Paung

The recent decision of a Norwegian non-governmental organization to cut
off funds to a Burmese students’ armed group has renewed the debate over
humanitarian aid given to groups that support "violence."

On November 21, the Norwegian Burma Committee informed the All Burma
Students’ Democratic Front that it was “disappointed and very concerned”
about the release of a statement on October 4 in which ABSDF said it had
decided to conduct active military actions against the junta.

After the regime’s bloody crackdown in September, ABSDF issued a statement
saying it would conduct “internal military operations” in Burma.

In an e-mail reply to The Irrawaddy, the NBC said, “Due to our policy of
supporting nonviolent struggle for democracy and human rights, we see it
as unacceptable to offer support to organizations that do not comply with
our ethical quidelines.”

The ABSDF was founded in 1989 along the Thai-Burmese border shortly after
the regime crushed the 1988 democracy uprising.

Faced with limited resources, infighting and marred by some extrajudicial
killings among its members, the students’ army quickly dissolved into a
small force that relied heavily on larger armed ethnic groups,
particularly Karen groups, and humanitarian aid agencies. Many of its
original members and leaders have left the ABSDF.

The ABSDF is now led by Than Khe, a former university student from
Rangoon. It has about 800 soldiers and family members. NBC is one of the
aid groups that has supported the ABSDF during the past 10 years.

The regime routinely accuses the ABSDF and armed ethnic groups of
attacking civilians and being involved in other violent attacks in the
country.

Confusion has arisen among many aid workers and NGO groups when it comes
to how to separate humanitarian aid donations to an armed group, which
may, or may not, be in active conflict with Burmese troops. In many cases,
armed groups are one of the best channels to funnel aid to internally
displaced persons and others in desperate need of aid, aid workers say.

The NBC sent a one-page latter to the ABSDF signed by Inger Lise Husoy,
the director of NBC, and Harald Bockman, the chairperson, saying the
Norwegian group is concerned the ABSDF is "putting innocent civilian lives
as well as your members’ lives at stake.”

The NBC group said it supported the Ethnic Nationalities Council’s
statement released on October 6 that called for dialogue to solve Burma's
problems.

“We call on all parties in the conflict to withhold taking aggressive
actions and to seek a political solution through dialogue,” the ENC
statement said.

Others question the NBC's reliance on the ENC's nonviolent statement,
since the group is made up of many organizations from ethnic armed groups,
including Karen, Shan and Karenni who are militarily active in their
respected areas.

One Burmese aid worker based in northern Thailand said the NBC should have
a very good understanding of the ABSDF. "They have been working with the
ABSDF for a long time. They know what the ABSDF organization stands for.”

The ABSDF, in addition to being an armed group, supports schools and other
humanitarian aid activities.

Salai Yaw Aung, the joint general-secretary (1) of the ABSDF, said his
group, like many armed groups based on the border, may be involved in
hit-and-run guerrilla warfare, but they no longer conduct major military
operations. Moreover, funding and recruitment is a major problem, he said.

Meanwhile, aid groups continue humanitarian missions to support many
displaced persons along the Thai-Burmese border. Approximately 130,000
refugees live in camps along the Thai-Burma border. The refugees, many of
whom are family members of people in armed insurgent groups, receive
medical and food supplies from aid agencies.

Some aid groups based on the border have expressed concern that NBC’s
decision and ABSDF’s recent statement have renewed the debate over whether
aid should go to organizations inside or outside Burma.

It has been reported that many international NGOs want to work inside the
country and pay less attention to exiled refugees and groups. How much of
a factor violence or nonviolence would be given would be a decision to be
made by individual aid groups.

Since the crackdown in September, there has been renewed interest in the
Burmese democracy movement and the plight of Burmese inside and outside
the country, but some Western aid agencies say that financial support has
not materialized.

There has been an ongoing debate among aid workers over the effectiveness
of aid given inside or outside the country. Many experienced aid workers
say aid to groups inside and outside the country complement each other.