BurmaNet News, January 1-2, 2008

[Editor]

January 1-2, 2008 Issue # 3371

INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Sixty years after independence, Myanmar remembers in secret
Irrawaddy: Burmese junta not interested in dialogue with opposition, EIU says
Irrawaddy: Regime denies fuel price increase rumors
DVB: Monk group urges peaceful protest

ON THE BORDER
Kaladan News: Rohingyas flee from Northern Arakan

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: Junta levies massive fee increase to access satellite TV
Kachin News Group: Regional Commander's son exports illegal timber to China
Kaladan News: Border trade halted in Bangladesh-Burma Border

HEALTH / AIDS
Irrawaddy: Fresh bird flu outbreak in Burma

REGIONAL
BBC News: India urges Burma reconciliation
Narinjara: Exile Arakanese mark 223 years since the fall of Arakanese
sovereignty

INTERNATIONAL
Evening Echo News: 'Lady of Burma' to tour Irish theatres

OPINION / OTHER
Guardian Unlimited: We must do more for Burma

PRESS RELEASE
Reporters Sans Frontieres: Three months of quiet repression & arrests

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

January 2, Agence-France Press
Sixty years after independence, Myanmar remembers in secret  - Hla Hla Htay

Pausing in front of the fence around Yangon's main park, a man points
through the iron bars to show his two young children the statue inside.

"This is Myanmar's independence leader General Aung San. He was a very
honourable man," he said.

The children gazed at the 10-foot (three-meter) statue and started to ask
a question when their father hushed them.

"I will tell you all about him once we get home," he said.

Although Kandawgyi Park is one of the most popular public spaces in
Myanmar's main city of Yangon, almost no one takes the path that leads by
the statue or reads the inscription, "General Aung San, the leading star
of the Union."

The man credited with winning Myanmar's independence from Britain, 60
years ago on January 4, is now most famous overseas for being the father
of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi -- the Nobel peace prize winner who
has spent 12 years under house arrest for her efforts to end decades of
military dictatorship.

She is so despised by the ruling junta that few are willing to speak
publicly about her father, even though Aung San is revered as a hero for
leading the battle against British colonisers and Japanese occupiers
during World War II.

He is also remembered for uniting the nation's many ethnic groups in the
struggle for independence, which Aung San never lived to see.

He was assassinated at the age of 32, along with eight of his top
lieutenants in July 1947, in a plot blamed on a rival politician who is
now seen as a national traitor.

Even the military leadership remembers Aung San's sacrifice on the
anniversary of their deaths, which is called Martyrs' Day.

But since his daughter achieved prominence during a 1988 pro-democracy
uprising, few people are willing to mention Aung San in public for fear of
angering the junta and its ubiquitous informers.

"We never forget our independence leader. He's always in our hearts and
minds. People just dare not to show their love openly because they don't
want any problems," Khin, a 30-year-old company staffer, told AFP.

"He had very high hopes for our country's future. I'll tell my infant
daughter about him and his struggles for our country's independence," she
added.

For those old enough to remember independence, the upcoming anniversary
brings a certain sense of loss at what might have been had Aung San
survived to lead the new nation.

Mya Mya, a retired government officer, was only 11 when Burma became a
country that was seen as far more developed than most of its neighbours.

Sixty years later, the nation now known as Myanmar is among the poorest in
the world, hobbled after 45 years of military dictatorship and disastrous
economic policies.

"We all love Aung San like a father. That's why we were so hurt when he
died," Mya Mya said, her eyes watering at the memory of his death.

"I don't understand politics, but I often wonder what might have happened
if he had lived to see independence," she added.

Aung San had succeeded in cobbling together an alliance with Myanmar's
ethnic minorities, many of whom had seen independence as an opportunity to
win their own sovereign homelands.

After his death, that alliance quickly fell apart and the nation was
wracked by a score of armed insurgencies across the country.

The military used the rebellions as a pretext to seize control over the
government in 1962, and has ruled with an iron fist ever since.

Aung San Suu Kyi has emerged as the leader of peaceful resistance to
military rule. Although she was only two when her father was killed, her
stature has been built in large part because of the similarities the
public sees in them.

She led her National League for Democracy (NLD) party to victory in
elections in 1990, although the junta has never recognised the result.

When Buddhist monks led protests against the government in September,
their movement was galvanised by a single, brief appearance by Aung San
Suu Kyi to greet them at the gate of the home where she is detained.

Many here see her leadership as a continuation of her father's, although
the junta has tried to diminish both their roles while building up its own
image through relentless propaganda extolling the virtues of the military.

In the privacy of their homes, many families are quietly passing along
their own unfiltered history of independence.

"I love General Aung San unconditionally, because my teacher taught us he
was the father of our independence from Britain," said Pyi Sone, an
eight-year-old boy.

"But I have never seen his picture," he said.

___________________________________

January 2, Irrawaddy
Burmese junta not interested in dialogue with opposition, EIU says – Wai Moe

Burma’s junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), “fails to
show any interest in talks” with Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National
League for Democracy (NLD), The  Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said on
Tuesday.

In its January 2008 report on Burma, the London-based EIU, an influential
think tank, said the junta took a small step forward in October with the
appointment of Aung Kyi, the labor minister, as a liaison officer to meet
the detained leader of the opposition, Suu Kyi.

 Liaison officer Aung Kyi meets Aung San Suu Kyi on October 25, 2007
The liaison officer subsequently met with Suu Kyi three times. The most
recent meeting was on November 19, and since then “the junta has shown no
interest in holding a dialogue with the opposition.”

Snr-Gen Than Shwe, the head of the junta, has shown no sign of honoring
the commitment to meet with Suu Kyi himself that he made in September
during talks with the UN Special Envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari.

The EIU added that there is certainly no sign that the junta has heeded
Suu Kyi’s recent call for preliminary confidence building talks with Aung
Kyi to move swiftly towards substantive dialogue with senior members of
the junta.

The junta has appointed 54 members of a commission to draft a new
constitution, but failed to include any members of opposition groups. The
minister of information, Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, rejected calls by the UN to
include opposition, indicating the commission would be implementing
decisions already taken by the National Convention, the body set up by the
junta to agree on principles to be included in the new constitution, the
report said.

The EIU also noted Gambari’s concerns over the continued detention of Suu
Kyi and the ongoing arrests of those involved in the pro-democracy
demonstrations, calling it “counter to the spirit of national
reconciliation.”

The EIU said Asean, as a regional body, “is not prepared to step up
pressure on the junta.” It noted that Gambari’s scheduled briefing on
Burma to Asean leaders in November was cancelled at the last minute after
strong opposition from the junta’s Prime Minister, Lt-Gen Thein Sein.

Referring to the junta’s commitment to dialogue, a spokesperson of the
NLD, Han Thar Myint, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that the last talk
between Suu Kyi and Aung Kyi was six weeks ago. The NLD has called for
dialogue on national conciliation for 20 years, he said, and the junta has
never responded.

“Despite no sign from the junta, the NLD’s commitment to dialogue still
remains,” said Han Thar Myint.

Many analysts, including the EIU, say the junta’s latest round of talks
with Suu Kyi after the brutal crackdowns on mass demonstrations in
September is a ploy to appease the international community.

Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Signh was scheduled to meet with
his counterpart, the junta’s foreign minister, Nyan Win, on Wednesday in
New Delhi. Signh is expected to call on the junta to speed up the
democratization process as well as strengthen bilateral economic ties.
Nyan Win arrived in India on Monday.

____________________________________

January 2, Irrawaddy
Regime denies fuel price increase rumors – Violet Cho

In an apparent attempt to quash rumors of impending fuel price rises or
restrictions on sales, Burma’s state-run press has assured motorists that
no increases or quota cuts are planned.

On the contrary, according to an official announcement on Tuesday, natural
gas fuel, CNG, is to be made freely available.

Rumors circulating in Rangoon said that even if the government plans no
fuel price rises it could be considering a reduction of the daily quota
for car owners from two gallons a day to one.

A big hike in fuel prices last August sparked the demonstrations that grew
into an anti-government uprising in September. Fuel price changes are
rarely announced officially, and a report in the state-run The New Light
of Myanmar on Tuesday, saying increases are planned, is seen as an attempt
to head off any repeat of public protests.

The report was greeted with skepticism, however. “I don’t believe in any
government promises,” said one Rangoon taxi driver. “There are so many
examples of broken promises.”

Gasoline and diesel has been sold under a rationing system in the
country's major city, Rangoon, since 1980. Each car has a ration book,
allowing car owners to purchase 60 gallons per month.

One gallon of gasoline at state-controlled outlets costs 2,500 kyat (US
$2), half the price demanded on the black market.

Limits are to be lifted on the purchase of CNG, which will be made freely
available at government controlled outlets in Rangoon, according to the
government announcement.

____________________________________

January 2, Democratic Voice of Burma
Monk group urges peaceful protest – Aye Nai

The All-Burmese Monks Alliance called on the people of Burma to support
their struggle against the regime, but stressed that they should not use
violence, in a statement issued yesterday.

The statement urged monks to continue with their boycott of the Burmese
regime, and said that if monks and the general public work together, they
can bring an end to the country’s humanitarian problems.

“If the public and monks join forces, we can resolve all our problems,”
the statement said.

“We vow to continue with the boycott until every monk and political
prisoner is released.”

However, the group rejected the use of violence to achieve its goals.

“We must take responsibility for our own future, but avoid all violence,”
the statement said.

Monks have been targeted in raids and arrests since their involvement in
the September protests.

In response to the government’s violent crackdown on these demonstrations,
many monks have refused to accept alms from government officials and
supporters, and called for a boycott of government-run monk examinations.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

January 2, Kaladan News
Rohingyas flee from Northern Arakan

Maungdaw, Arakan State : A number of Rohingyas fled from Northern Arakan
for fear of being arrested after they clashed with Natala (model)
villagers of the Buddhist community in Taungbro sub-border town of Burma -
Bangladesh border on December 20.

"I escaped from my village, when the   police and ( Burma's Border
Security Force or Nasaka) came and arrested 50 people and were looking for
young Rohingya youths," said a 22 years Rohingya youth from Taungbro who
recently arrived in Chittagong.

"I left my village for fear of arrest. If they had arrested me they would
have harassed me and my family and take money from me. And we have no
extra money to give them as we are farmers," said a young farmer from the
village.

According to Kaladan news dated December 20, the authorities arrested 50
Rohingya people after the clash. Some of the injured were admitted at
Taungbro government clinic.

But, the government authorities stated that the concerned authority
(Nasaka) had come on time and intervened to sort out the problem which had
occurred between Natala villagers and local Rohingya villagers. No one was
arrested, they claimed.

According to the local Rohingya villager, on that night the concerned
authorities released 30 local Rohingya villagers from detention and kept
others in police custody in Taungbro. On December 21, after foreign radio
broadcasts about the clash, the authorities released again15 local
Rohingya villagers.

On December 31, the Taungbro police again sent three Rohingya villagers
from the arrested five Rohingya villagers to Maungdaw police station for
further interrogation, said a teacher in the village.

The three local Rohingya villagers are -- Shafi Alam son of Abdul Shukur,
Syed Islam son of Syed Karim and Syedul Islam son of Syed Karim.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

January 2, Irrawaddy
Junta levies massive fee increase to access satellite TV – Violet Cho

In what is seen as an attempt to stop Burmese citizens from accessing
foreign news and information broadcasts, the Burmese government has
ordered a massive hike in the annual satellite television license fee
without any warning.

According to local journalists, military authorities recently increased
the license fee from 6,000 kyat [US $5] to 1 million kyat [$780], a
166-fold increase. The deadline to apply for a satellite license is
January 30.

The average annual income in Burma is $300.

The huge increase in the satellite license fee will in effect prevent the
majority of Burmese from accessing international news and other
information via satellite broadcasts.  Two satellite broadcasts, the
Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) and Doha-based Al Jazeera
broadcast, are popular sources of information.

One Rangoon resident said she can not afford to pay 1 million kyat to
receive the satellite TV channels.

“We hope to be able to watch Burmese news broadcast in other ways even if
we can not watch it though satellite TV channels,” she said.

Without a satellite connection, the main TV broadcast news source will be
state-controlled MRTV. There are some private television broadcasts, but
they avoid news and information of a controversial nature.

Foreign and exiled Burmese media played a major role in the August and
September pro-democracy demonstrations.

The military regime has maintained its assault on broadcast media such as
BBC Burmese Service, the Democratic Voice of Burma, the Voice of America
and Radio Free Asia, calling their broadcasts a "skyful of lies."

Licenses to open restaurants and tea shops in Rangoon have also been
cutback because, critics say, they are sources of satellite TV broadcast
and many Burmese people watch foreign broadcasts there because they can
not avoid a satellite connection at home.
According to official data, there were 60,000 registered satellite
receivers in 2002, although a glance at the dish-clad roofs of Rangoon
apartment buildings suggests the actual figure is much higher.

____________________________________

January 2, Kachin News Group
Regional Commander's son exports illegal timber to China

In the case of the Burmese military junta it is one of hogging everything
in sight. For instance the eldest son of Kachin State's Commander Maj-Gen
Ohn Myint controls a local logging company called Awng Mai and exports
timber to China, said local loggers.
Kyaw Thura owns most of the shares of Awng Mai Company since last year and
the company is a specially authorized to export timber from Northern Burma
to China. The authorization comes from none other than his father Maj-Gen
Ohn Myint, the loggers added.

A local logger close to the company told KNG today, the company is mainly
exporting hardwood called Tarmalan and teak from areas between the
Irrawaddy River and Mogaung Town to China. The timber is sent across a
ferry-bridge near Sinbo in Irrawaddy River.
The timber is then transported to China by crossing Laiza, the
headquarters of Kachin ceasefire Kachin Independence Organization (KIO)
controlled areas on the Sino-Burma border, the sources said.


>From early last month, hundreds of new Chinese log trucks with workers

have been entering those areas and the teak and hardwood are transported
to the Sino-Burma border, according to eyewitnesses.

Initially, Awng Mai Company was run by the people who are close to the
Commander Ohn Myint. However, most of the company shares are now
controlled by Kyaw Thura led Maj-Gen Ohn Myint's family, said sources
close to the company.

The company is famous in Kachin State as it mainly exports teak and
hardwood seized from others by Burma's military bases, the local log
businessmen said.

The company exported tens of thousand tons of hardwood and teak which were
seized during the biggest log seizure campaign ordered by Commander
Maj-Gen Ohn Myint in late 2005.

On the other hand, Chinese workers have been gradually entering Jubilee
Logging Camp which is the last and largest logging field in Kachin State.

China has officially stopped importing timber from Northern Burma since
late 2005, however, the illegal timber trade continues along Sino-Burma
border.

____________________________________

January 2, Kaladan News
Border trade halted in Bangladesh-Burma Border

Teknaf, Bangladesh: Border trade has been halted in Burma-Bangladesh
border after the arrest of two Burmese nationals by Bangladesh Rifles
(BDR) on December 29, says our correspondent.

On December 31, Nasaka Burma 's Border Security Force declared not to
export rice, timber, cattle, goats and other things to Bangladesh
following the arrest of two Burmese nationals, the clearing and forwarding
agent of Teknaf Land Port said.

On December 29, at noon, Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) arrested two Burmese
nationals including one Rakhine and one Rohingya while they were taking
video clips of area surrounding the land port without permission from the
concerned authority.

The arrestees were identified as Maung Situ Aye (25), son of Aye Lwin of
Ward No. 3 and Bodiul Alam (22), son of Ali Ahmed, from Ward No.5 of
Maungdaw Town . It is learnt that they are agents of Nasaka, according to
the land port authority.

After the arrest, they were handed over to the Teknaf police station for
further interrogation. They are still in the police custody.

The police of Teknaf filed a case against the Burmese nationals in Teknaf
police station, according to an official report.

The authorities in Burma closed the Burma-Bangladesh border trade
indefinitely until matter is settled. Border businessmen said, "Rice,
cattle, timber, goats and other things are imported from Teknaf land port
along the corridor of Shaphuri Dip. If goods from Burma are not exported
from the said points, Bangladesh will face many kinds of difficulties. So,
the problem needs to be solved early, said a trader from Teknaf.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

January 2, Irrawaddy
Fresh bird flu outbreak in Burma – Saw Yan Naing

A ban on the sale of chickens and eggs was imposed in Tachilek on Tuesday
after a fresh outbreak of bird flu was discovered in a village in Shan
State’s Mongphyat Township in eastern Burma, according to sources in
Tachilek.

A resident from the Thai-Burmese border town said, “The authorities have
prohibited the sale of chickens since yesterday. They publicized the
decision by setting up a sign in the town, advising vendors not to sell
chickens or eggs.”

The H5N1 virus was confirmed by authorities after the unusual deaths of
domestic chickens in a village in Mongphyat Township was reported to the
Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department on December 23, according to
state-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar.

The pro-government newspaper reported on December 29 that authorities had
taken necessary measures such as setting up restricted zones and control
zones, as well as the culling of poultry in the restricted zones,
disinfection and a ban on the sale of chickens.

In November, Burma’s first human carrier of the bird flu virus was
identified when a seven-year-old girl in a village in Shan State’s
Kengtung Township became infected during a bird flu outbreak among
poultry. At that time, some 2,058 chickens at a farm died and another 533
were slaughtered to prevent the virus from spreading.

In July, 2007, the H5N1 virus was also detected on a poultry farm in
Letpadan Township, about 80 miles (130 km) northwest of Rangoon.

The first H5N1 outbreak in Burma was discovered in its second largest
city, Mandalay, central Burma, in 2006. Other outbreaks were subsequently
reported on several farms in Rangoon in February and March, 2007; in Pegu
Division in southeastern Mon State in July; and in eastern Pegu in
October.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

January 2, BBC News
India urges Burma reconciliation - Sunil Raman

India has urged Burma to launch broad based political reforms and initiate
"national reconciliation".

The call came as Burmese Foreign Minister U Nyan Win held talks in Delhi
with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

An Indian foreign office spokesman said the prime minister stressed the
need for greater urgency in bringing about political reforms.

He said that the process has to include all sections of society.

The spokesman said that included detained pro-democracy leader Aung San
Suu Kyi and all the various ethnic groups.

The two countries are expected to finalise a $100m project on the river
Kaladan that will provide a transit route to India's north-eastern states.

The foreign minister is the highest-ranking minister to visit India since
September's military crackdown on Buddhist monks in the Burmese capital,
Rangoon.

In December India agreed to establish a centre in Rangoon to improve the
IT skills of young Burmese people.

The Kaladan project includes the building of waterways and roads.

It will also result in the development of Sitwe port, linking Burma to
Mizoram state through the Kaladan river.

'Early signing'

India has long tried to get a transit route to its north-eastern states
but its plans have always been thwarted by the Bangladeshi government,
which has refused to give official backing to the idea.

After that initiative was shelved, India then lobbied the military junta
in Rangoon to support its ambitious plan.

At present India spends huge sums of money to transport goods to its
north-eastern states.

An Indian foreign ministry spokesman said Mr Mukherjee had expressed his
satisfaction at the completion of discussions, and hoped for their "early
signing and implementation".

But experts believe that the project might be delayed over concern in a
section of the Indian establishment that China might build a rail link to
Sitwe port and secure its long-standing desire for a south-western sea
base.

India has refused pleas from the West to disengage with the military
junta. Instead it has argued that its good relations with Burma gave it
leverage to influence its military leaders.

____________________________________

January 1, Narinjara
Exile Arakanese mark 223 years since the fall of Arakanese sovereignty

Dhaka: The Arakanese community in exile in Bangladesh held a ceremony in
Dhaka marking the 223rd anniversary of the downfall of Arakan's
sovereignty and calling for national unity among Arakanese people in
fighting against the Burmese military junta for self-determination and
equal rights in Burma.

The ceremony was held in a hotel in Dhaka during the afternoon with many
Arakanese, including politicians, women, and students, participating.

Arakanese leaders delivered speeches during the ceremony and called for
unity among the Arakanese people in the fight against the Burmese military
junta.

U Maung Maung, general secretary of the Arakan National Council, urged the
people of Arakan to unite in fighting against the Burmese junta in order
to reach the national goals of Arakan.

He also remarked to attendees that Arakan lost its sovereignty in 1784 as
a result of disunity among the Arakanese people, so Arakanese today must
unite in achieving their goals. He added that without unity, "we can not
achieve our goal."

Arakan was a sovereign country before 1784, and lost its independence
after the Burmese king Bodawpara invaded the kingdom.

Arakanese hold ceremonies on 31 December every year around the world
marking the somber anniversary, but the Burmese government has banned any
such ceremonies inside Burma.

Arakanese refer to the day of 31 December as "Black Day", because it is
the day their kingdom lost its sovereignty to the Burmese invaders who
occupied Mrauk U palace. The Mrauk U royal palace was subsequently burned
by the Burmese invaders after the Arakanese king was deposed.

After Arakan lost it's sovereignty, it was ruled by Burmese kings from
1784 - 1826. The British then invaded and ruled Arakan from 1826 - 1942,
with the Japanese ruling Arakan and Burma from 1942 to 1945. Britain again
ruled briefly from 1945 to 1948, when Burma was granted independence.
Arakan has since been ruled by the successive regimes of Burma, and is
today part of the officially named Union of Myanmar.

The chairmen of the ceremony were: U Maung Maung, General Secretary of
ANC; Dr. Khin Maung, vice-president of the National United Party of
Arakan; U Khaing San Lun, vice-president of the Arakan League for
Democracy; U Ani Maung, secretary of the ALD; Daw Saw Mra Razarlin,
chairman of the Rakhine Women's Union; and Ko Khaing Mrat Kyaw, editor of
Narinjara News.

The ceremony concluded at 5:30 pm with a vow to continue fighting against
the Burmese military junta until self-determination and a genuine federal
union of Burma is established.

Arakanese communities in exile in other countries, including Thailand,
Denmark, India, and Malaysia, also observed the day marking the fall of
Arakanese sovereignty.

Many Arakanese organization such as the ANC, NUPA, AASYC, and ASU also
issued statements regarding the anniversary of the fall of Arakan's
sovereignty and calling for unity among the people.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

January 2, Evening Echo News
'Lady of Burma' to tour Irish theatres

A play based on Burma’s inspirational opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
will hit Irish theatres in 2008.

'The Lady Of Burma' has already played to packed houses in London and at
the Edinburgh Festival.

The one-woman show, which is written and directed by Richard Shannon,
stars Liana Mau Tan Gould in the lead role.

The play will be staged in Dublin, Sligo and Lisburn in April and May.

A two-night run at the Helix Theatre in Glasnevin is included in the tour.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi, 62, has been under house arrest in
Rangoon by Burma’s military junta for more than a decade.
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The leader of the National League for Democracy party won a 1990 general
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Last September’s pro-democracy protests led by barefooted Buddhist monks
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A total of 100 Burmese refugees, forced to leave their country by the
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____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

January 2, Guardian Unlimited
We must do more for Burma – Rosa Davis

Though diplomats at the UN human rights council discuss the country, its
people continue to suffer under the military regime

Imagine waking up each day not knowing whether you will see your family
members again. Imagine going to work each day not knowing whether you will
be paid enough to feed your dependants, and with no welfare state to fall
back upon. Imagine knowing that your son or daughter was languishing in a
state prison but without knowing where they were being held, nor why.
Imagine coming home at night not knowing whether your wife had been raped
by government members with impunity from investigation. Imagine being so
desperate to see a change in your country that you joined a peaceful
protest in the full knowledge that your mere presence would endanger your
life and the lives of your loved ones. Imagine all that, and you are not
even close to understanding the lives of the Burmese people.

Late into Tuesday evening a female representative of a nameless NGO asked
why there was a report being given on Myanmar when the UN human rights
council agenda clearly said that Burma was to be discussed. Far from being
shocked, I jadedly responded that the two were one and the same. Three
days in Geneva at the resumed 6th session of the aforementioned council,
and my cynicism is already in overdrive.

After a lengthy report of the vile practices that are a daily occurrence
in a country that has endured decades of an oppressive regime, the
ambassadors and delegates filed out to spend more on their lunches than
the average Burmese citizen earns each week. Did anyone other than me spot
the irony? I doubt it. If there were to be a council session every week I
would finally crack the whole dieting thing; after graphic depictions of
the abuse of basic human rights there is little chance I could even smell
food without vomiting.

I returned home with the country report on Burma ringing in my ears. The
military junta had cooperated, on a surface level, with the UN
fact-finding mission, and had subsequently done absolutely nothing to
rectify the flagrant human rights violations that are consistently
perpetrated under its regime. Arbitrary detentions, subhuman prison
conditions, disappearances, forced labour, child soldiers, sexual crimes
committed by soldiers from the military regime; needless to say, I did not
sleep well at all that night.

A group of well-rested delegates took the floor the next day to discuss
the findings from the special rapporteur's mission. There is little more
amusing to a cynic than blatant displays of flagrant bias from those who
are supposed to maintain a neutral standpoint. Nowhere have I found this
to be more hilarious than from the mouths of diplomats; those people who
should know the art of tact and subtlety, but who often fail to display
such insight into the ways of the world.

The western states, most notably Canada, took the moral high ground in
condemning the actions of the Burmese government, especially in relation
to its arbitrary detention of political prisoners. The western notion of
how a country should be run is not being conformed to, so it's easy to
pick on this particular regime without actually producing any concrete
ideas for how the system can be overturned. Some states even went as far
as issuing state sanctions against the country, a fantastic idea until you
realise that the only people that will suffer will be the civilians.

On the flip side, the Asian states - particularly Burma's closest
neighbours - spoke of the wonderfully constructive dialogue between the
government and the UN representatives. Time and again, delegates told the
council of the vast improvement that had occurred merely because the
government allowed the UN to have a handful of meetings with the junta's
ministers. Some states even had the gall to suggest that so long as no
punitive action is taking against the country that democracy would soon be
set into place. Then again, all concerned states realise that a civil war
in their region can de-stabilise economies that they have worked hard to
set into place.

This could be viewed as a clash of cultures, west meets east, and
fundamental disagreements occur on basic tenets of law and morality. That
would be a complete and utter copout. I could sit and analyse the reasons
for the behaviour of these delegates, but even that seems to be a
fruitless exercise. Ultimately the country report on Burma went well,
everyone involved received their pay cheques, and the representatives of
state parties to the council were able to hear the sound of their own
voices. The only real losers are the people living under the Burmese
regime, but who cares because they were already losing anyway. Right?

______________________________
PRESS RELEASE

January 1, Reporters Sans Frontieres
Burma: Three months of quiet repression & arrests

Burma: Three months of quiet repression, arrests, censorship and propaganda

The military government has constantly hounded Burma's journalists during
the three months that have gone by since 27 September 2007, the day that
Japanese video reporter Kenji Nagai was murdered by a soldier in Rangoon,
report RSF and the Burma Media Association.

The police and army continue to hunt for journalists and activists who
photographed and filmed the crackdown on the pro-democracy demonstrations.
At least nine have had to flee to Thailand. The privately-owned media have
resumed publishing but the Censorship Board has stepped up its control.

"The impression that things are back to normal is false," the two
organisations said. "The security services are still looking for the
underground journalists who let the world know about the violence against
monks and pro-democracy activists. We call for an end to the intimidation
of the press and for the release of the six journalists currently held.
The international community must find a way to get UN special rapporteur
Sergio Pinheiro's recommendations implemented."

The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on Burma on 14 December
that calls on the government to guarantee the freedom of the independent
media. An RSF representative addressed the council, calling for the
release of Burma's journalists and an end to the censorship.

Ko Aung Gyi, the former editor of the sports magazine "90 Minutes", is one
of the latest journalists to be detained. It is not known why he was
arrested in Rangoon. Two other former journalists, Ko Win Maw and Ko Aung
Aung, have also been arrested without being charged. At least 15 other
journalists have been arrested since September and then released. The six
currently in prison include Win Tin, a prominent journalist held since
July 1989.

People who have been arrested and then released say the police ask
everyone for the names of the "cameramen," meaning the journalists who
work clandestinely for foreign news media or Democratic Voice of Burma, an
exile radio and TV station based in Oslo. Many photographers and cameramen
who contributed to exile media have stopped working altogether for fear of
being identified and some have even thrown away their equipment.

The Union Solidarity anda Development Association (USDA), a pro-government
militia, continues to be hostile towards journalists. "The Myanmar Nation"
photographer Aung Khine Nyunt was beaten by thugs believed to be USDA
members while taking photos of a march on 21 October. In all, about 10
journalists were beaten or roughed up during the demonstrations.

At least nine Burmese journalists have fled the country because of the
repression, and have sought refuge in Thailand. Most of them left the
capital during the first wave of arrests at the end of September.

The Censorship Board has had no qualms about asserting itself. The weekly
"News Watch" was banned for a week in mid-November after proposing the
publication of photos that displeased the military. The military censors
have even forced editors to resign. In early December, the authorities
punished the magazine "Action" for failing to withdraw articles censored
by the government. A censorship official publicly criticised "Action" for
not being "constructive."

The newspaper "Middle Line" also got into trouble. It was suspended after
its editor, Oo Swe, complained that some media were getting favourable
treatment from the censors, according to the exile magazine and website
"Irrawaddy".

To prevent Burmese from seeing reports and pictures of the crackdown in
September, the military government has controlled the sale of foreign
publications very strictly since mid-October. The magazines "Time" and
"Newsweek" and Thai newspapers have not been seen in newsstands for the
past few weeks. The Internet has been restored but surveillance has been
stepped up in Internet cafés. For fear of reprisals, many Internet café
owners have removed the programmes from their computers that allowed users
to circumvent the government's filters.

Around 10 journalists suspected of sympathizing with the pro-democracy
protests have been banned from being published or interviewed. They
include sports reporter Zaw Thet Htwe, cartoonist Au Pi Kyee and writer Pe
Myint. The censorship is not limited to political topics. The military
government, for example, banned coverage of a new outbreak of bird flu on
20 October, although the outbreak was announced by the government agency
responsible for dealing with it.

Anyone who criticises the government can be the target of repression. This
is why the authorities banned a video of a show by the comic troupe "Say
Young Sone." According to Democratic Voice of Burma, which decided to
televise it, the DVD is selling very well on the streets of Rangoon.
Similarly, a spokesman for the Zantila Rama monastery was sentenced to two
years in prison in December for complaining that military personnel stole
money during a search. Democratic Voice of Burma said he was found guilty
of defamation. A Burmese rapper was arrested in November for paying
tribute to the monks at a concert. And "Irrawaddy" reported in early
November that Tin Yu, a resident of a Rangoon suburb, was arrested for
"talking to foreign media."

The government media continue to pump out their propaganda, putting all of
the activities of the military government's leaders on the front page. The
government's TV stations have on several occasions vilified the reporting
of the foreign media, such as the BBC, RFA and VOA, accusing them of
trying to "destabilise" Burma. The government media have been ordered to
praise the return to normality and the country's economic progress. At the
end of November, the USDA militia announced the launch of a new daily
newspaper to reinforce the public's support for the regime.

Finally, many Rangoon-based journalists have criticised Myat Khaine, the
editor of the weekly "Snap Shot", for voluntarily giving the information
ministry photos of protesters.