BurmaNet News, January 24, 2008

[Editor]

January 24, 2008 Issue # 3387

INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Imprisoned writer Win Tin admitted to hospital
AP: Myanmar poet arrested for critical poem
Mizzima News: 80 armed policemen disperse five NLD members
Mizzima News: Burmese opposition MP loses eyesight in prison
DVB: Military commander makes surprise donation
DVB: Four children sold to army recruiter
SHAN: Locals forced to donate

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: Price of cell phones falls in Burma
Xinhua: Myanmar airline to fly to India

HEALTH / AIDS
AP: and Irrawaddy: Burma has second highest child mortality rate in Asia

REGIONAL
SHAN: Asian gays call for acceptance

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Suu Kyi wins another Award

STATEMENT
Joint statement on Burma by the UK, US and French foreign ministers at the
World Economic Forum in Davos

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

January 24, Irrawaddy
Imprisoned writer Win Tin admitted to hospital - Shah Paung

Burma’s longest-serving political prisoner, the 78-year-old journalist Win
Tin, has been admitted to hospital for treatment to a hernia, according to
opposition sources.

Bo Kyi, joint secretary of the Thailand-based Assistance Association for
Political Prisoners (Burma), said Win Tin was taken from his cell in
Rangoon’s Insein prison and admitted to hospital for an operation to
correct the condition.

Win Tin
Win Tin was arrested in 1989 and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment on
charges that included “anti-government propaganda.” International appeals
for his release have gone unheeded by the Burmese regime.

A former editor of the newspaper Hanthawathi, author of many articles
critical of the regime and vice-chairman of the Writers Union, Win Tin
participated actively in the 1988 pro-democracy uprising.

Win Tin is one of several elderly political prisoners in Burmese jails.
According to the AAPP, at least 36 are aged over 60.

They include National League for Democracy members Hla Myint Than, 77, and
Kyaw San and Maj-Gen Sao Hso Ten, president of the Shan State Peace
Council. The NLD’s vice-chairman, Tin Oo, 80, is under house arrest.

NLD spokesman Myint Thein, who was released in October after one month in
prison, is also in poor health, suffering from gastric problems, according
to his family.

Several elderly monks and nuns also face imprisonment in trials that began
in January in Rangoon’s North Okkalapa Township. They are accused of
involvement in the September demonstrations.

Radio Free Asia said 14 senior monks and nuns went on trial on January 18.
They included  monks U Ananda, 61, U Naravara, 69, and U Vimala and nuns
Daw Ponnami, 80, Daw Tayri, 70 and Daw Wonna, 67. No word has been issued
on their fate.

According to the AAPP, Burma has more than 1,850 political prisoners.

____________________________________

January 24, Associated Press
Myanmar poet arrested for critical poem

A Myanmar poet known for his odes to love was arrested after penning a
Valentine's Day poem that carried a hidden message criticizing the leader
of the country's military junta, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, colleagues said
Thursday.

The poet, Saw Wai, was arrested Tuesday, a day after his poem "February
14" was published in the popular weekly entertainment magazine "A Chit,"
or "Love," according to friends and colleagues who spoke on condition of
anonymity fearing reprisals.

The eight-line poem in Burmese is about a man brokenhearted after falling
for a fashion model, whom he thanks for having taught him the meaning of
love.

But if read vertically, the first word of each line forms the phrase:
"Power crazy Senior General Than Shwe."

Than Shwe, 74, who has headed the junta since 1992, has little tolerance
for criticism. He keeps himself sequestered in his remote, newly built
capital, Naypyitaw, deep in the countryside.

The junta regularly arrests dissidents and critics, and drew the world's
condemnation after turning its troops on peaceful anti-government
protesters last September. More than 30 people, including Buddhist monks
who led the protests, were killed in the crackdown.

Saw Wai regularly writes innocuous love poems for Burmese-language
magazines and journals. He is also a member of an organization of local
artists and actors called White Rainbow which helps HIV-infected orphans.

"You have to be in love truly, madly, deeply and then you can call it real
love," reads the poem for which he was arrested.

The verse ends with a call for unity in the name of love: "Millions of
people who know how to love please clap your hands of gilded gold and
laugh out loud."

The Burmese word for million is "Than" and the word for gold is "Shwe."

News vendors in Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar, also called Burma,
said authorities had removed the magazine from their newsstands.

Saw Wai's poem is the latest attempt by artists and others to circumvent
the junta's muzzle on expression.

A comedy troupe known as "The Four Fruits" has recently become popular for
satirical jokes about the September crackdown.

A well-known comedian who uses the stage name Zarganar was arrested during
the crackdown and held for three weeks for providing food and other
necessities to the monks who spearheaded the protests. He had earlier been
imprisoned twice and his comedy routines were banned for their jokes about
the regime.

Several monks have gained strong followings for delivering sermons with
anti-government messages thinly cloaked in religious language, such as one
stating that, "Those who kill monks will go to hell." There is high demand
for CDs of the sermons, which are circulated among friends and families.

The junta took power in 1988 after crushing a democracy movement led by
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. In 1990, it refused to hand
over power when Suu Kyi's party won a landslide election victory. Suu Kyi
has been in detention for 12 of the last 18 years.

____________________________________

January 24, Mizzima News
80 armed policemen disperse five NLD members - Htein Lin

About 80 armed Burmese policemen stopped five NLD members in of the
Rakhine State, Taungkok NLD from going to their township NLD
Vice-Chairman's home this morning.

Ko Than Lwin, Ko Moe Nay Soe and three other NLD members on Wednesday
morning left a teashop in Chaungauk ward and were heading for the
residence of township NLD Vice-Chairman. Suddenly about 80 armed policemen
armed with batons, guns and shields blocked their way on U Uttama Street
and ordered them to disperse.

"Five of us [on Wednesday morning] sipped tea at the teashop and were
going to U Than Pe's residence. Then about 80 policemen led by
Sub-Inspector Win Aung Ni ordered us to disperse," Ko Moe Nay Soe told
Mizzima.

He added that security forces are deployed at all crowded places downtown
and they are on standby to disperse crowds trying to stage demonstrations.

Fresh demonstrations are likely as residents are facing daily economic
hardships and tight security measures. There is growing resentment among
them against the regime.

"The voice of peaceful expression of their desire will roar again and
again as long as they (the regime) fail to resolve the problems. They have
been intimidating the people in all sorts of ways and by any kind of
weapon," Ko Moe Nay Soe added.

Thirteen NLD members were arrested in connection with the 'Saffron
Revolution' and they are still behind bars. Ward level PDC member Ko Win
Maung was arrested last November and has been sentenced to two and-a-half
years in prison. But he is still in the Manaung police lockup.

"Ko Win Maung can have a bath only twice a week. He is suffering from
backache again. I've no idea why they haven't yet sent him to Kyaukphyu
prison. He's got backache and he needs to exercise and have a bath. His
health situation will deteriorate in Manaung police lockup," his wife told
Mizzima.

He gave an anti-government speech to the people when he was assigned to
monitor the people's movement. He was charged under section 143, 505(b) of
the Penal Code and then sentenced to two and-a-half years in prison.

Ko Kalashae a.k.a. Than Htay and Ko Zaw Naing were arrested on Tuesday for
staging a protest demonstration after they chanted slogans riding
bicycles. Till now they are in the township police lockup.

____________________________________

January 24, Mizzima News
Burmese opposition MP loses eyesight in prison - Than Htike Oo

Than Lwin, a Member of Parliament has lost sight in one of his eyes at the
detention camp in Mandalay, a family member said. He was elected in the
last general election in 1990 from Mattaya Township in central Burma.

Daw Khin Thi, wife of Than Lwin, arrested in June 2007 and detained at
Ohbo prison in Mandalay, said she found her husband loosing sight in one
of his eyes when authorities on Wednesday permitted her to meet him.

"Right now he is no longer complaining of pain in the eye. But he said his
ear, nose and eyebrows are aching. He has totally lost sight in one of his
eyes," Daw Khin Thi told Mizzima.

On June 15, 2007, Than Lwin, while returning from a prayer session for the
release of Burmese opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other
political prisoners, was punched on the face by an unidentified person.

Reportedly, his nose was broken and one of his eyes was severely injured.
However, even as he went for medical attention authorities arrested him
for allegedly attacking a government office.

"He was arrested while applying medication on the wounds from the punch he
received last year. So his injuries may have become worse in the prison,"
Daw Khin Thi added.

Following his arrest, authorities permitted his family members to meet him
thrice.

Daw Khin Thi said, she has requested the authorities to allow him an
emergency operation of his eyes. However, authorities said that 'we will
forward the request to higher authorities'.

____________________________________

January 24, Democratic Voice of Burma
Military commander makes surprise donation

Four lecturing monasteries in Pakokku have received donations from the
commander of Burma’s Central Military Division in a surprise visit,
according to monks.

General Khin Zaw turned up unannounced at Pakokku's East, West, Central
and Baw-de Mandi lecturing monasteries and donated items for the student
monks, a monk from the East monastery said.

"The general, accompanied by about 20 uniformed officers and about 30
others in civilian clothing, came to the monastery and donated robes,
slippers and umbrellas," said the monk.

“We had to accept their donation as it would be bad for us if we refused,”
he said.

"They came into the monastery premises without taking off their shoes.
That was rude."

A monk from Baw-de Mandi monastery said the general and his group also
showed up at this monastery, handed over items for donation and then left
again within 10 minutes.

"A lot of us barely noticed that they were in the monastery," the Baw-de
Mandi monk said.

“They stayed for less than 10 minutes and we don't even know what kind of
items they donated to us,” he said.

"We couldn't pay much attention to them as we have been busy with our
upcoming exams."

Monks at the Pakokku monasteries have been involved in a boycott against
the military regime.

When officials visited the same monasteries in early December, monks
refused to give blessings to the officials, and passed their offerings on
to the poor.

____________________________________

January 24, Democratic Voice of Burma
Four children sold to army recruiter

Four children who were detained by market security guards in Kyi Myint
Taing were reportedly sold to an army recruiter yesterday morning,
according to an eyewitness.

The four children, aged between 12 and 15, had been working during the
night collecting pieces of ice when they were arrested by security guards
at the Central Model Fish Market in Kyi Myint Taing township, Rangoon
division, just after midnight.

The children live in a municipal compound in Kamaryut and were hoping to
sell the ice they collected from the fish market to help support their
families.

Market security officials told the children’s parents they would have to
pay a fine of between 20,000 and 30,000 kyat for each child before they
would be released, but the parents could not afford to pay immediately.

At around 4.30am, sergeant Soe Myint from the military recruitment centre
in Danyin Gone, Rangoon, came to the market and paid 15,000 kyat for each
child and took them to the recruitment centre.

When the parents asked the security guards if they had an arrest warrant,
they said they were acting on the orders of officials from Kyi Myint Taing
Peace and Development Council.

Neighbours explained to the children’s parents that they could report the
incident to international organisations such as the International
Committee of the Red Cross, but the parents were afraid that they would
lose their living accommodation if they took any action.

The father of one of the children is on the municipal staff, and the
family lives on the municipal compound in Simmlight, Kamaryut.

Sergeant Soe Myint has reportedly bought other children from poor families
in the same way and taken them to the recruitment centre.

When parents have tried to report the forced recruitment, they have been
threatened with losing their homes.

Sources close to the families of municipal staff have said an estimated 20
children have been taken from this compound alone.

____________________________________

January 24, Shan Herald Agency for News
Locals forced to donate - Lieng Lern

The Tachilek Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) is forcing
people to donate money to the city's Shwedagon pagoda replica on the
Thai-Burma border, said a local source.

On January 20, 2008, the Venerable Hseng La, the abbot who resides in
Hsanhsai Leu monastery, made a request to TPDC official U Min Thein, to
collect donations to buy gold leaves to gild the Shwedagon pagoda. U Min
Thein then ordered village heads to collect Baht 45,000 (US $ 1,363) per
village.

People were encouraged to donate large sums of money.  "Because if we
donate less than Baht 150 ($4) the authorities would not issue
certificates for us", a villager said.

The TPDC official U Min Thein had ordered that the donation quota be
filled within three months, the source said.

The authorities are collecting donations from surrounding markets, clothes
shops, restaurants, tea shops and mini-marts. Also, four to five officials
per day take turns to wait at the Shwedagon pagoda for donations from
tourists.

"They initially promised to cover the pagoda with gold leaves but there
are rumors they will actually cover it with copper leaves instead," the
source added.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

January 24, Irrawaddy
Price of cell phones falls in Burma - Wai Moe

GSM telephones have sharply fallen in price in Burma over the past month
after the military government authorized cellular phone licenses to
thousands of people, particularly government officials, according to
business sources in Rangoon.

“The price of a GSM phone recently fell more than 1 million kyat (US
$800),” a businesswoman in Rangoon, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday.

She said that, previously, a cell phone licensed in your own name would
cost no less than 2.86 million kyat ($2,280), and a cell phone registered
in another person’s name—almost certainly a well-connected private
dealer—would retail for 2.6 million kyat ($2,080). “But recently the
prices of both options fell to 1.75 million kyat ($1,400),” she said.

Business sources in Rangoon confirmed that the decrease in price is
directly related to the military authorities’ plan to expand the
telecommunications’ industry in the country.

“Word has spread among the business community in Rangoon that 70,000 GSM
and CDMA (code division multiple access) phones will soon be licensed,
particularly for government staff. That why the prices instantly fell,”
said a businessman who asked not to be identified.

The official license fee for a GSM cell phone from Myanmar Posts and
Telecommunications (MPT) is 1.55 million kyat ($1,240). However,
government employees cannot afford the amount—Burma’s gross national
income per capita is only $ 220. To supplement their income, many
government employees sell their GSM licenses for around 300,000 kyat
($240), according to business sources.

An official at MPT told The Irrawaddy that a prepaid cellular phone system
had been planned and tested by authorities. But he could not confirm when
prepaid cellular phones would be available for consumers. “Ultimately,
mobile phones will get cheaper and cheaper in the future,” he said.

Two Chinese telecommunications companies, Alcatel Shanghai Bell Co and ZTE
(Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment Company Limited) have been
involved in Burma's GSM expansion projects. The companies are constructing
telecommunications towers for the proposed expansion of mobile phone
networks in Rangoon and Mandalay.

MPT announced in August 2006 that it planned to expand its GSM network
capacity from about 80,000 lines in Rangoon and Mandalay to 160,000.

According to the CIA World Factbook, there were 503,900 landlines in the
entire country of Burma in 2005 and 214,200 cell phones in 2006.

Burma’s telecommunications devices and accessories are some of the most
expensive in the world. The official introductory cost for an ADSL
(Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) system is $1,400. Critics say the
ruling junta classifies telecommunications equipment as luxury items
because the generals fear that Burmese citizen’s will use the equipment to
expose, criticize and topple the regime.

____________________________________

January 24, Xinhua
Myanmar airline to fly to India

Myanmar Airways International (MAI) will extend its flight services to
India later this year as part of its plan to stretch its wings to more
international destinations, the local Yangon Times reported Thursday.

The planned introduction of the India air route followed the resumption of
MAI's flight services to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur Jan 15, which were
suspended for about three months for technical reasons.

With the prospective addition of India, the MAI will have four
international flight destinations, which also include Singapore.

MAI is a joint venture between the state-run Myanmar Airways (MA) and
Region Air of Singapore.

Besides MAI, Myanmar has MA and three private airlines - Air Mandalay,
Yangon Airways and Air Bagan.

The three private airlines, in addition to their domestic flights, have
also extended their services to Chiangmai, Phuket and Bangkok in Thailand,
to Incheon in South Korea and to Singapore.

However, Air Bagan's Singapore flight had to be suspended on Nov 4 last
year due to sanctions by the US, the airline said, adding that it will
seek resumption of the flight by the peak tourist season of September this
year.

There are 15 foreign airlines flying Yangon, which include Thai Airways
International, Indian, Qatar Airways, Silk Air, Air China, China Southern
Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Hong Kong Express Airways, Mandarin
Airlines, Malaysian Airlines, Bangkok Airways, Jetstar Asia, Phuket
Airline and Thai Air Asia.

Myanmar and the United Arab Emirates reportedly initiated an agreement
last week for operation of air services between the two countries.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

January 24, Associated Press and Irrawaddy
Burma has second highest child mortality rate in Asia - Min Lwin

San San Aye, a farmer living some three miles from town, had no idea why
her two-year-old son was suffering from chronic diarrhea. She took her
child by foot to see the doctor at the government hospital nearest her
town, Pale, in Sagaing Division of upper Burma. However, her baby died on
the way.

This disturbing story is just one of hundreds of tragedies that happen in
Burma every day.

Dr Osamu Kunii, a nutrition expert in Burma with the United Nations
Children's Fund, said that between 100,000 to 150,000 children under five
years of age die every year in Burma. That’s between 270 and 400 daily—and
many are dying from preventable diseases.

Kunii was speaking Wednesday at the launch by UNICEF of its annual report,
"The State of the World's Children."  The report rated Burma as having the
4th highest child mortality rate in the world, surpassed in Asia only by
Afghanistan, which has the third-worst record after Sierra Leone and
Angola.

Burma’s unenviable position comes despite the fact that the death rate for
young children in Burma had been reduced by 1.6 percent between 1990 and
2006. The under-5 mortality rate is considered a critical indicator for
the well-being of children.

According to a child specialist in Monywa Township in Sagaing Division,
most infants die from septicemia, diarrhea and tuberculosis. The lack of
basic medical supplies and equipment is also a contributing factor for the
high death rate, she said.

In 2000, the World Health Organization ranked Burma's overall health care
system as the world's second worst after war-ravaged Sierra Leone. Tens of
thousands of people in Burma die each year from malaria, tuberculosis,
AIDS, dysentery, diarrhea and other illnesses.

The most vulnerable areas are, of course, in the rural and remote parts of
Burma.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, Dr Thiha Maung from Mae Tao Clinic
in Mae Sot, Thailand, said: “Some of these diseases are preventable, but
the public health system does not reach [rural areas in Burma].”

Poor incomes, malnutrition and a shortage of clean drinking water also
affect child mortality rates among the rural poor, added the doctor.

Eighty percent of Burmese people live in rural areas and continue to live
in poverty, even lacking proper water supplies. Early rains and flooding
increase the risk of malaria and dengue fever in rural areas, including
Burma’s borders.

Most of Burma's health care is funded by international sources, with the
government spending only about 3 percent on health annually, compared with
40 percent on the military, according to a report published this year by
researchers from the University of California, Berkeley and Johns Hopkins
University.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

January 24, Shan Herald Agency for News
Asian gays call for acceptance - Mu Byan Binn and Kwarn Lake

International Lesbians and Gays Association Asia (ILGA-ASIA) will
undertake the first pride parade on January 26, 2008, for the first time
in its history, a press release by ILGA-Asia stated.  The parade is part
of the 3rd International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) Asia Regional
Conference where more than 150 gay rights activists will gather from
January 24 to 28 at the BP Chiang Mai City Hotel.

Studying gender is not all about male or female in this modern society and
Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgender (LGBT) from different countries
around the world are trying hard to be recognized in their societies.  The
first ever pride march will start from Narawat Bridge to Chang Klan Road
along the Night Bazaar this Saturday.

The aim of the march and the conference is 'to be recognized, respected
and to gain solidarity and have equality' said Aung Myo Min, who is a gay
and the director of the Committee for Lesbigay Rights in Burma (CLRB)
founded in 1999.

Representatives from Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Burma, Canada, China,
India, Indonesia, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal,
New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and
United States will attend the conference, according to the statement.

Aung Myo Min said 10 representatives from Burma will attend the
conference. There are about 300 members in the CLRB, he added.

When asked whether they have any support from the junta, he said, "in
Article 1:377, the Burmese government criminalizes homosexuality by law"
and the government "is a Champion of Human Rights violation".

But Burmese organizations in exile are more supportive and "it is no more
a taboo for them", he said.

Women's organizations in exile allowed LGBT to become members and All
Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF) had abolished their law that said
homosexuality shall be punished, Aung said.

 "In the current situation, we don't think it is necessary to have that
law so we abolished it during the sixth conference in 2001," said Sonny,
the general secretary of ABSDF.

According to the ILGA website," ILGA-ASIA is the Asian region of the
International Lesbians and Gays Association (ILGA). It gathers 66
organizations throughout the region working for human rights and equality
for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people. It is an
umbrella organization of ILGA which was founded in 1978. It now has more
than 600 member organizations.  Every continent and over 90 countries are
represented.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

January 24, Irrawaddy
Suu Kyi wins another Award

Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been awarded a Spanish
honor for her work for political reconciliation. The award, “Abogados de
Atocha,” named for two victims of right-wing Spanish terrorism, was to be
presented on Thursday evening in Toledo to a representative of Suu Kyi.
The Castilla-La Mancha regional selection committee said it wanted to show
that the Spanish people had not forgotten the plight of the Burmese
population and wanted to show solidarity with them. Bo Hla Tint, a member
of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, a Burmese
government in exile, was to accept the award on behalf of Suu Kyi.

____________________________________
STATEMENT

January 24, Joint statement on Burma by the UK, US and French foreign
ministers at the World Economic Forum in Davos

The Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum at Davos is a unique event.
No other occasion brings together so many of the world's leaders from all
fields. For over three decades now, these meetings have provided a global
platform for collaboration and action to address international priorities
of concern to us all.

One such priority is the urgent need for progress towards a transition to
democracy and improved human rights in Burma. The fact that we have chosen
to write about this issue, with so many competing priorities, should
underline the strength of our governments' determination to support the
people of Burma in their pursuit of a peaceful, prosperous and democratic
future. We have repeatedly made clear that the situation in Burma cannot
continue, and that we remain committed to helping the people of Burma.

It is now more than four months since the world was horrified by the
violent repression of peaceful demonstrations in Burma. The dramatic
pictures seen around the world of the brutality directed against peaceful
protestors, including monks and nuns, were truly shocking. We cannot
afford to forget. We must convince the Burmese regime to meet the demands
of the international community and respect the basic rights of Burma's
people.

The UN Security Council in October spelled out its expectations and
reiterated those expectations on January 17. First, the early release of
all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and the creation of
conditions for a genuine dialogue between the Government and the
opposition. Second, full co-operation and constructive engagement with the
UN. Third, the need for the regime to address the economic, humanitarian
and human rights concerns of the Burmese people. Several months on,
however, we find the regime has met none of these demands.

The regime claims to be moving ahead with its roadmap to civilian rule.
However the process, already 14 years old, is open-ended, and many key
political actors, not least Aung San Suu Kyi, are excluded. There can be
little doubt that only genuine and inclusive dialogue can deliver national
reconciliation and stability for Burma and its neighbours.

We call on all those attending the World Economic Forum to demonstrate
that, while the regime may be indifferent to the suffering of the Burmese
people, the world is not.

We ask you to support the return to Burma by UN Special Adviser Gambari as
soon as possible, and to urge the regime to cooperate fully with him and
the UN. We call on the regime to act on the recommendations of UN Human
Rights Envoy Pinheiro; to release all political prisoners, including Aung
San Suu Kyi; and to launch a substantive, time-bound dialogue with
democratic leaders and ethnic minority representatives, as called for in
Aung San Suu Kyi's statement of November 8.

A unified call for genuine and peaceful political reconciliation and
reform will be heard in Burma. We would not live up to our values if we
ignored Burma's plight.

David Miliband     Condoleezza Rice      Bernard Kouchner