BurmaNet News, January 25, 2008

[Editor]

January 25, 2008 Issue # 3388

INSIDE BURMA
Guardian Unlimited: Burmese military intensifies crackdown
Irrawaddy: Detained activists charged under printing and publishing act
DVB: Landmine explosion kills three DKBA soldiers
DVB: Lack of facilities hampers computer students
DVB: Travelers face delays and extortion at checkpoints

ON THE BORDER
Bangkok Post: Burma gets Thai help

BUSINESS / TRADE
Reuters: Burmese art features in US smuggling probe

ASEAN
DVB: Can ASEAN fly with a new face?

REGIONAL
Mizzima News: China hedges its position on Burma
AP: Myanmar man slips past security and onto tarmac at Bangkok airport

INTERNATIONAL
VOA: US, Britain, France make joint appeal on Burma
Asian Tribune: How to establish peace and security in Burma

PRESS RELEASE
SEAPA: Renews call for release of Burmese journalist U Win Tin as noted
writer is hospitalized

OPINION
Irrawaddy: After “Rambo,” the “Lady”—Hollywood discovers Burma

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

January 25, Guardian Unlimited
Burmese military intensifies crackdown – Mark Tran

The Burmese military has intensified its crackdown on political opponents
despite pledges given to a senior UN official, a human rights group said
today.

According to Amnesty International, there have been 96 arrests since
November, when Burma's prime minister, Thein Sein, assured Ibrahim
Gambari, the UN's special envoy to Burma, that there would be no more
arrests.

"Four months on from the violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators,
rather than stop its unlawful arrests the Myanmar government has actually
accelerated them," said Catherine Baber, director of Amnesty International
Asia-Pacific programme.

Amnesty said the arrests in December and January targeted people who had
tried to send evidence of the crackdown abroad and clearly showed the
government's priority was to silence its critics.

Those arrested since November include Buddhist monks, trade unionists,
pro-democracy dissidents and members of the National League for Democracy,
led by the Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

Among the latest detained was a popular poet, Saw Wai, who was taken into
custody on January 15 after authorities deciphered part of a love poem
that contained a hidden message criticising the junta leader, General Than
Shwe.

At least 700 people who were arrested as a result of the September
protests, sparked by a rise in petrol prices, remain in prison, Amnesty
said. About 1,150 political prisoners held before the protests remain in
jail. More than 80 others remain unaccounted for since September, the
group said.

Buddhist monks started the protests in September that swelled to mass
demonstrations, posing the most severe challenge to Burma's military
rulers for years.

The EU's special envoy to Burma is scheduled to make a three-day visit to
Thailand, Burma's neighbour, next week to discuss efforts to press Burma's
ruling junta on promised reforms.

Piero Fassino is expected to meet the Thai foreign minister, Nitya
Pibulsonggram, and UN agencies and non-governmental organisations.

Fassino last week called for Gambari to return to Burma and seek the
release of the opposition leader leader, Suu Kyi, who has spent 11 of the
past 18 years in detention under Burma's military regime.

Gambari had reportedly asked to return to Burma this month, but was told
that April would be more convenient. He has visited the country twice
since September.

After worldwide condemnation of the Burmese junta, the UN sent Gambari to
broker a political compromise between Suu Kyi and the military. He was
promised the arrests would stop, but as Burma fades from the news, Burma's
rulers show little sign of change.

____________________________________

January 25, Irrawaddy
Detained activists charged under printing and publishing act – Shah Paung

About 10 leading members of the 88 Generation Students group who were
arrested in August were charged on Wednesday under Section 17/20 of
Burma’s Printing and Publishing Act. Meanwhile Amnesty International
condemned the Burmese military government for the continued imprisonment
of political activists and expressed concern for the detainees’ health.

Family members who had visited in prison said they were told that about 10
former student leaders were charged inside the prison.

Win Maung, the father of Pyone Cho, a leader who is being detained, told
The Irrawaddy on Friday that they do not know the details of who was
charged, but they heard it included well-known leaders of 88 Generation
Students group Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi and Min Zeya.

According to various family members who have recently visited detainees,
the student leaders were charged under Section 17/20 of Burma’s Printing
and Publishing Act at Insein Prison where they have been detained since
their arrests during the protests against the hike in fuel prices in
August.

Speaking alongside the sister of arrested student leader Panniek Tun, Win
Maung said that they last visited Panniek Tun and Pyone Cho on Monday, but
at that time the students said nothing about any formal charges.

The Burmese authorities arrested 13 leading members of the 88 Generation
Students group on August 21 after they led a march protesting increased
fuel prices.

On Tuesday, the Burmese authorities tried a member of the National League
for Democracy, Mya Than Htike, who was arrested at a hospital while
receiving medical treatment for a gunshot wound. He is currently being
detained in Insein Prison.

According to Aung Thein, a lawyer in Rangoon, the police accused Mya Than
Htike of being a prominent activist in September’s demonstrations. The
trial was held at a court in Kyauktada Township in Rangoon.

Aung Thein said that Mya Than Htike was shot from behind on September 27
at the junction of Sule and Anawrahta roads by Burmese soldiers. On
January 22 he was charged under sections 143 and 505(b) of the penal code,
relating to involvement in the demonstrations.

Section 143 of the penal code carries a maximum sentence of two years,
while 505(b) carries up to six months imprisonment. Mya Than Htike is now
being detained at Insein Prison. His trial is due on January 29, the
lawyer said.

Meanwhile, many of the detained political prisoners are in poor and
deteriorating health, according to NLD spokesman Nyan Win, including: Win
Mya Mya, an organizer of the Mandalay branch of the NLD; Than Lwin,
vice-chairman of the NLD’s Mandalay Division and an elected candidate for
Madaya Township in the 1990 elections; and Shwe Maung, a member of the
NLD. All are currently being detained in Mandalay Prison.

International human rights group Amnesty International on Friday condemned
the Burmese military government for its continued imprisonment of
political activists and expressed its concern for the health of the
detainees. In a statement released on January 25, AI said that since
November 1, 2007, the military authorities had arrested no less than 96
activists.

“Four months on from the violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators,
rather than stop its unlawful arrests, the Myanmar [Burma] government has
actually accelerated them,” said Catherine Baber, director of Amnesty
International’s Asia-Pacific programme.

She added: “Such prosecutions are politically motivated, imposed after
proceedings that flagrantly abuse people’s rights to a free and fair trial
and contravene international human rights standards.”

The group also urged the international community to press the Burmese
military government to immediately invite Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the
United Nations human rights envoy to Burma, to return to Burma “to conduct
the full-fledged fact-finding mission he has requested.”

AI said that 1,850 political prisoners are currently detained in Burmese
prisons while more than 80 persons remain unaccounted for since the
September demonstrations.

____________________________________

January 25, Democratic Voice of Burma
Landmine explosion kills three DKBA soldiers – San Kanyaw

Three Democratic Karen Buddhist Army personnel were killed and eight
others injured in a mine explosion near the border town of Myawaddy in
Karen state, according to the Karen National Union.

Major Saw Hla Ngwe, secretary of the KNU information committee, said the
explosion took place near Balehdo village, south of Myawaddy, at around
12.20pm when a vehicle from DKBA battalion 333 drove over a mine laid by
KNU troops while it was mobilising troops with another DKBA vehicle and a
government military truck.

"Two died on the spot and nine others, including a platoon leader, were
injured and sent to Myawaddy hospital where one died from his wounds,"
said Saw Hla Ngwe.

"They are from the DKBA triple 3 battalion led by battalion commander
Pha-be."

Saw Hla Ngwe added that the attack, carried out by the KNU brigade 6
special regiment, was the first attack launched by the group in 2008.

"This attack is to prevent [SPDC and DKBA troops] from mounting offensives
and taking control of our territories. This is a defensive measure we take
to keep our enemy from dominating our area," he said.

An officer from the DKBA battalion 907's central war office said only two
died while nine others were injured by the KNU mine.

____________________________________

January 25, Democratic Voice of Burma
Lack of facilities hampers computer students – Naw Say Phaw

The Burmese government’s Science and Technology Ministry has started an
investigation into a university in Meikhtila after several complaints were
made by students about the principal and facilities.

Students at the Meikhtila Government Computer College wrote a letter of
complaint to Naypyidaw about the restrictions placed on them by the
principal of the college, Daw Khin Moh Moh Tun.

The problems reportedly began when the principal forced three male
students to sign an agreement to cut their hair.

Students also complained about the length of study hours, which run from
8am to 3pm with a half-hour break for lunch, and the lack of transport
facilities, one female student said.

“There are only four buses available in the whole university for student
transportation, and there are an increasing number of students because of
Masters students transferring from Mandalay university,” the student said,
adding that the cramped buses made some female students feel unsafe.

When government officials began their investigation on 18 January, four or
five days after the complaint was filed, they also found out that there
were not enough computers for the students at the university.

The female student said that the officials interviewed the students
individually in a closed room and asked them if they were able to use the
internet.

“The students had been told to answer ‘yes’ to that question by the
university teachers so they did, but then they couldn’t show the officials
how they used the internet because they haven’t had much practice,” the
student said.

“Even though they are studying at the computer college, they have only
been allowed to use the internet once a week, and their level of skill is
about the same as a grade 10 student.”

The officials also asked students for their opinions on what needed to be
improved at the university.

The investigation lasted for three days, and officials said they would
return soon.

____________________________________

January 25, Democratic Voice of Burma
Travellers face delays and extortion at checkpoints – Htet Yazar

People travelling on Burmese highways have been stopped and searched or
forced to pay money to officials at checkpoints being operated as part of
increased security measures.

Armed government troops have been deployed to checkpoints on the highway
linking Rangoon and Bassein, Irrawaddy division, and are carrying out
identity checks and vehicle searches and arresting anyone they find
suspicious.

A Rangoon resident who recently travelled to Bassein said that bus
passengers had to leave their bus and pass the checkpoint on foot.

“The checkpoints are being guarded by the army, police and several other
government officials, and all the passengers have to get off the buses and
walk past them holding their identity cards,” the resident said.

“They were also searching people’s luggage and comparing people’s photos
with pictures from a list of people wanted by the police.”

The resident said that people travelling with their identity guarantee
document but not their actual card were taken into custody.

In Karen state, officials were extorting 1000 to 2000 kyat from people
travelling on the highway between Myawaddy and Pha-an, the Karen capital.

A merchant from Myawaddy said that government officials, including from
the police and immigration, were at each checkpoint along the highway.

“They are searching everyone thoroughly at the checkpoints and we have to
spend about 1000 or 2000 kyat at each checkpoint paying them the money
they demand,” the merchant said.

“They are also seizing drinks and monosodium glutamate from people.”

____________________________________

January 25, Shan Herald Agency for News
Ceasefire group defies junta over land grab

The Mongla ceasefire group in Shan State East has for 2 months been on a
collision course with a Burma Army commander over the latter’s seizure of
a 16-acre woodland belonging to local villagers, according to ceasefire
sources.

The said woodland between the two villages: Kawnghsarng and Wanyang in
Mongyang township, inside the territory claimed by Mongla, was taken by
Infantry Battalion 281 based in Mongyang on 22 November, according to the
report received by SHAN. The battalion commander Nyan Myint Kyaw then had
the area cordoned off by erecting 4 concrete boundary posts.

Angry villagers, after hearing that the commander had been planning to
sell the woodland to a Chinese businesswoman from Hopong township,
Taunggyi district, reportedly smashed three of the posts to pieces.

“Since then the two sides have been locked in a stalemate,” said the
ceasefire source who requested anonymity, “with Nyan Myint Kyaw demanding
that Brigade 369 (one of the 3 brigades under Sai Leun, leader of
Mongla-based National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State,
designated as Special Region #4 by Burma’s ruling military council)
surrender the post smashers and the 369 demanding that the Army return the
woodland back to the villagers.”


>From then on, no villagers from the two villages are seen visiting the

township seat, 64 miles northeast of Shan State East capital Kengtung,
fearing they would be detained and ransomed in exchange for those
responsible for the destruction of the boundary posts set up by the army.

Mongla, together with its closest allies, the United Wa State Army (UWSA)
and Kokang, are also under pressure from Pyinmana, the junta’s new
capital, to surrender. The three had further infuriated the generals when
they refused to sign a junta-prepared statement denouncing the country’s
detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi in November.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

January 25, Bangkok Post
Burma gets Thai help – Anucha Charoenpo

Thailand and Burma will sign a deal next month to cooperate in opium
eradication to pave the way for the introduction of a Thai-initiated crop
substitution project in the military-ruled country.

Deputy secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board
(ONCB) Pitaya Jinawat said Burmese anti-drug officials led by
director-general of Burma's Police Brig-Gen Khin Yi, will visit the Doi
Tung Development Project in Chiang Rai next month to study the opium
eradication scheme and crop substitution project.

After that, the two countries will sign a formal Memorandum of
Understanding, at a ceremony tentatively set for next month.

The drug eradication cooperation comes under the bilateral framework on
drug prevention and suppression of the two countries.

Run by the Mae Fa Luang Foundation, the Doi Tung Development Project has
been successful in encouraging hilltribe people in the North to grow cash
crops instead of opium for decades.

The MoU will pave the way for cooperation between Thai and Burmese
officials to introduce an addictive drugs eradication and alternative
development project in Burma, Mr Pitaya said.

Besides development projects, Thailand has worked closely with Burma on
exchanging information such as names of drug suspects and locations of
drug factories along the Thai-Burmese border.

Mr Pitaya also expressed concern over an increase in female and child
drugs couriers in the North.

"More women are entering the drug trafficking business because we don't
have enough female officials to search women and children suspected of
carrying drugs," he said, adding that more female police should be
recruited to strengthen drug suppression operations.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

January 25, Reuters
Burmese art features in US smuggling probe – Jill Serjeant

Four leading Southern California museums were raided on Thursday by US
authorities investigating illegal smuggling of art from Thailand, China,
Burma and from American Indian tribal lands.

Dozens of US federal agents searched galleries, offices storage areas and
computer archives at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the
Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, the Mingei International Museum in San Diego
and the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena.

No one was arrested and no charges have been filed in what has been a
five-year investigation by customs and immigration officials, a spokesman
for the US attorney's office in Los Angeles said.

According to a 120-page search warrant, two Los Angeles men smuggled
hundreds of ancient artifacts from Southeast Asia and from Native American
graves and other heritage sites and sold them to the museums.

Some museum officials knew the art works were illegally or suspiciously
purchased, according to the warrants.

Michael Govan, director and chief executive officer of LACMA, said the
museum was cooperating fully with the investigation.

But Govan told reporters the two men, named in the warrants as Robert
Olson and Jonathan Markell, had donated about 60 items to the museum over
the past decade and officials had no reason to suspect anything improper.

Thursday's raids follow a scandal two years ago over looted art from
Greece and Italy that made its way to some of the most prestigious museums
in the United States, including the Getty Museum in Los Angeles and New
York's Metropolitan Museum.

The Getty, the Met and Boston's Museum of Fine Arts have since all
returned statues, jars and frescoes to Italy that Rome says were taken out
of the country illegally, often after being dug up by tomb raiders.

The current raids involved artifacts alleged to have been stolen from the
Ban Chiang ancient archeological site in northeast Thailand which is a
UNESCO World Heritage site.

Other objects named in the warrants came from China, which has strict laws
on the export of antiquities, and from Burma. The US in 2003 banned all
imports from Burma.

Some objects were alleged to have been stolen from ancient tribal lands
belonging to American Indians.

The search warrants said an investigation began in 2003 when an undercover
US agent posed as a buyer. The agent bought several looted works of art
from two Los Angeles dealers and was introduced by them to museum
officials who are alleged to have accepted donations of looted art.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has one of the biggest collections on
the western United States and the Bowers Museum is the largest in Orange
County.

____________________________________
ASEAN

January 25, Democratic Voice of Burma
Can ASEAN fly with a new face? – Naing Ko Ko

ASEAN secretary-general Dr Surin Pitsuwan will need to overcome many
obstacles if he is to reshape ASEAN’s structure, principles and outlook to
better meet the needs of the people of ASEAN.

At the start of 2008, Dr Surin Pitsuwan took office as secretary-general
of ASEAN, having been nominated for the post by the military government of
Thailand last year. He is charged with bringing ASEAN closer in line with
international moral responsibilities and dignity in the global political
arena.

There has been a leadership vacuum in ASEAN since Lee Kuan Yew and Dr
Matathir retired from its political horizon. Will Dr Surin and his Thai
diplomacy be able to play a significant role at the local, regional and
international levels?

Thai diplomacy will face some opposition from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and
Burma, the poor and illiberal newer members of ASEAN, because of proposals
for a policy of “flexible engagement” outlined in a non-paper handed out
in the 1998 ASEAN ministerial meeting in Manila, Philippines. The Thai
policy was formulated by Dr Surin and Dr M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra during
former democrat Chuan Leekpai's administration. The non-paper challenged
the present core policies of ASEAN: non-intervention, the ASEAN Way and
constructive engagement, the latter also a Thai brainchild, formulated by
former Thai Foreign Minister Arsa Sarasin in 1991, according to Ambassador
Mr Asda Jayanama of Thailand.

It is no exaggeration to say that Dr Surin has both the intellectual
abilities and field experience of diplomacy and foreign affairs to handle
ASEAN. However, the contemporary political landscape and practices of
state leaders from Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Vietnam, could stop
ASEAN getting off the ground in the race for modernization, globalization
and democratization.

Moreover, external factors such as growing economic interdependence,
globalization, international terrorism, transnational migration and
non-traditional security issues mean that ASEAN members cannot afford to
be complacent any longer about bilateral, regional or inter-regional
problems.

There are countless challenges and obstacles facing Dr Surin as
secretary-general of ASEAN. Among these is the need to restructure or
renew the current unproductive and inefficient management mechanism of
ASEAN. It is time to reshape Asean’s principles, structure and leadership
to create a new model for a democratic ASEAN.

Firstly, no judges have been selected or appointed to the High Council
since its inception. The High Council should be established as a political
mechanism for solving bilateral/trilateral problems and disputes between
member states. The High Council should select judges to look into the
legal procedures for dealing with existing disputes and problems. Dr Surin
could help to develop a proactive policy of results-oriented engagement in
ASEAN.

Secondly, ASEAN ought to adopt common foreign and security policies to
create harmony between globalization and regionalization and to become a
more coherent and effective organisation. A democratic ASEAN parliament
should be introduced to achieve a more people-oriented ASEAN. In addition,
it should introduce accepted common basic principles for international
dialogue to ensure smoother cooperation, such as those used by the United
Nations, the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and
the African Union.

Third, every member country's political system must reflect the needs of
the people living in that country, which means that basic political
freedoms and civil rights should be established within each political
system. The ASEAN community should guarantee democratic principles,
pluralism and government for the people, of the people and by the people.
This means that ASEAN has a responsibility for policies which directly
affect the social life and well-being of the people of ASEAN. ASEAN should
allow the ASEAN People's Assembly, civil society and independent academics
to oversee the monitoring, formulation and regulation of these policies.

Fourth, ASEAN should improve cooperation on justice and home affairs to
solve the problems of transnational migration, human trafficking,
international terrorism, asylum-seeking, transnational crime and crimes
against humanity, guided by the universal standards of human rights,
individual rights and workers’ rights.

Fifth, ASEAN should adopt "community citizenship" and a "social charter"
to involve the people of ASEAN in the preparation, formulation and
adoption of decisions and policies. Moreover, ASEAN should work hand in
hand with member states, employers, and trade unions to draw up social
safety standards for the workplace, so that all workers will enjoy the
same labour rights and level of labour protection throughout the ASEAN
community.

Sixth, ASEAN should adjust the economic structure of member states to
decrease the development gap between the rich founding fathers of ASEAN-5
and latecomers Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Moreover it should
adopt legal enforcement mechanisms for environmental protection and
emergency crisis management to monitor emergencies and natural disasters
such as earthquakes, tsunamis, forest fires, haze, volcanic eruptions and
epidemics.

Seventh, ASEAN should strengthen the UN-ASEAN relationship and take on
international moral responsibilities, following the example of NATO, the
AU and the UN's peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding mechanisms. It
should focus on "results-oriented engagement" by bringing in an ASEAN
centre for peacekeeping, conflict prevention and conflict management.

Eighth, the ASEAN Secretariat should be restructured to give it enough
power and flexibility to work more efficiently and strengthen social
capital and human security. The ASEAN Secretariat should also promote
better dialogue with the private sector, non-government organizations,
parliamentarians, academics, student unions, labour unions and independent
local authorities.

Ninth, the secretary-general of ASEAN should be given more executive power
and a greater mandate to solve problems such as non-traditional security
issues affecting the 567 million people of ASEAN.

Naing Ko Ko is a postgraduate scholarship student in International
Relations at Auckland University, New Zealand and a former political
prisoner of Burma.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

January 25, Mizzima News
China hedges its position on Burma - Mungpi

Burma's main opposition party – National League for Democracy – says
China's recent move in urging the Burmese military regime to allow the
early return of United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari, is a
significant shift in its policy towards Burma.

Nyan Win, spokesperson of the NLD, said China, the ruling junta's closest
ally, finally seems to be yielding to the calls of the international
community to pressure the generals toward implementing political reforms.

On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a news
conference in Beijing that China supports Gambari's efforts on Burma and
hopes that both Gambari and the Burmese government can set a date for his
return to the country.

"We think that, as China is one of the emerging economic powers of the
world, it does not want to openly defy the international community's call
anymore," Nyan Win said.

During a meeting with Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister U Maung Myint on
Monday, Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan said China is paying close
attention to the situation in Burma and is pushing for democratic reforms.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry, in a statement released after the meeting,
said: "Tang noted that China pays close attention to the situation in
Burma and sincerely hopes Burma enjoys political stability, economic
development and that the Burmese people live and work in peace and
contentment."

"The Chinese side encourages the Burmese government and people to push the
domestic political process forward through consultations, and achieve
democracy and development at the earliest date possible," the statement
added.

Possible reasons for a change in posture

While China, which maintains a close relationship with Burma and is one of
the few countries that has leverage with the ruling generals, has voiced
its support for the initiative of the United Nations Special Envoy on
Burma, it has avoided using pressure on the ruling generals.

Win Min, a Burmese analyst in Thailand, said China's recent calls indicate
a significant shift in their policy towards Burma and believes that it
could be the result of international pressure or a genuine drive to see a
stable Burma.

"China has always wanted a stable Burma, as it shares a long border.
Besides, there has been an enormous international campaign urging the
Chinese to deliver a clear message to the junta," Win Min said.

"China is concerned of the situation in Burma, and has quietly urged the
Burmese junta to reform its economy, though the junta has ignored their
suggestions," Win Min added.

While China has been supportive of Gambari's mission in Burma since it
started in May 2006, it is significant that China is urging the Burmese
junta to again host Gambari soon, when the generals made clear Gambari is
unwelcome until mid-April, Win Min said.

The Nigerian diplomat, who visited Burma twice after the junta brutally
suppressed protestors in September, told reporters last week that while he
has asked to return to Burma this month, the Burmese junta said they
prefer him returning in mid-April.

One of the few countries that has leverage on Burma, China been urged by
the international community, including Western countries, the United
Nations and special interest groups, to pressure the Burmese junta for
changes.

The traditional stance

While China has publicly urged the Burmese junta to allow the early return
of Gambari and to implement political dialogue with the opposition, it has
rejected United States demands to further increase pressure on the Burmese
junta to implement reforms.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu, on Tuesday, said while
China wants to see stability, democracy and development in Burma, it
opposes sanctions and unconstructive pressure against the Burmese junta.

Jiang added that instead of sanctions and pressure the international
community should objectively view the Burmese situation and provide
"constructive assistance".

Jiang's comments followed the United States' call, on Monday, for the
international community to step-up pressure against the Burmese generals
over its failure to implement political reforms.

Following the bloody crackdown on monk-led protests in September, the
United States and European Union have taken the lead in stepping-up
economic sanctions against Burma's generals.

However China, which sees Burma as a provider of valuable resources,
continues exploring business ventures and strengthening economic links
with the Southeast Asian country, including the development of a vast
natural gas deposit in the Bay of Bengal.

____________________________________

January 25, Associated Press
Myanmar man slips past security and onto tarmac at Bangkok airport

A man from Myanmar who claimed to be a convict on the run was arrested on
the tarmac at Bangkok's international airport after having slipped through
security, authorities said Friday.

Police said the man, who identified himself as 28-year-old Zu Aung, was
found Tuesday aboard a Turkish Airlines jet that was parked in a waiting
zone before picking up passengers bound for Istanbul, said police Lt. Col.
Pranachai Sattawut.

The man, who had no travel documents, told police he had climbed into the
plane using a ladder leaned up to its door, Pranachai said. An engineer
inspecting the plane spotted the man sitting alone in the cabin and
alerted authorities, Pranachai said.

The man told police through an interpreter that he had escaped from a
Malaysian prison and walked for two months until arriving Tuesday evening
at the airport. Police questioned the veracity of his story as the trip
from the Thai-Malaysian border to Thailand's capital, Bangkok is about
1,000 kilometers (600 miles), Pranachai said.
Serirat Prasuntanond, the airport's director-general, denied the man had
entered the plane but said airport authorities were investigating how he
had managed to slip through security and make his way to the tarmac.

The man was near the plane, not on the plane,» Serirat said. «We are
investigating how this man was able to access the airport's off-limit
area. It's a mystery to me.
The man faces up to three years behind bars for trespassing and illegal
entry.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

January 25, Voice of America
US, Britain, France make joint appeal on Burma – David Gollust

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and foreign minister colleagues from
France and Britain issued a statement Thursday urging global pressure on
Burma's military government to end human rights abuses and return the
country to civilian rule. The appeal was issued at the World Economic
Forum in Davos, Switzerland after Rice's departure for Washington. VOA's
David Gollust reports from the State Department.

The use of Davos as a venue for the Burma appeal reflects, at least in
part, frustration among the three western powers over the lack of action
on Burma at the United Nations.

Following the harsh crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Burma last
September, the U.N. Security Council censured the Rangoon government for
the first time, and called on it to release all political prisoners and
create conditions for a genuine dialogue with the opposition.

But Burmese authorities have defied the call. With China, a major trading
partner of Burma, blocking tougher action, the Security Council last week
managed only a statement expressing regret over what was termed the "slow
pace of progress."

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner addresses a plenary session
during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Jan 24
2008
In their Davos statement, Secretary Rice, British Foreign Secretary David
Miliband and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the present
situation in Burma cannot continue.

They called on those attending the Davos Forum, world leaders from all
fields, to demonstrate that "while the Burmese regime may be indifferent
to the suffering of the Burmese people, the world is not."

Briefing reporters in Washington, State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom
Casey said Rice, Miliband and Kouchner wanted to take advantage of what he
termed the "critical mass" of influential leaders at Davos to stress the
need for action on Burma.

"The decision was made among the three that this would be a good
opportunity to remind people of the importance we place on this issue," he
said. "Also, to encourage them to continue to take actions to press the
Burmese regime to do what we all want to see them do, which is the release
of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, the entry by the
government, by the regime, into a real and honest dialogue over the future
of the country, as well as taking some of the other steps that we've
talked about."

The tripartite statement calls for the return to Burma by U.N. envoy
Ibrahim Gambari as soon as possible, and the launch of a "substantive and
time-bound" dialogue among the Rangoon leadership, democratic leaders and
ethnic minority representatives.

The three foreign ministers said a unified call for genuine reconciliation
and reform will be heard in Burma, and that those taking part at Davos
would not be living up to their values if they ignored Burma's plight.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Laureate, has been under detention
most of the time since her National League for Democracy party scored a
landslide victory in elections in 1990 but was barred from taking power.

The Davos statement said while Burmese authorities claim to be moving
ahead with a "roadmap" to civilian rule, that process, already 14 years
old, is open-ended and excludes Aung San Suu Kyi and other key political
actors.

____________________________________

January 25, Asian Tribune
How to establish peace and security in Burma – Zin Linn

Two venerable Buddhist abbots, U Pannya Vamsa, from Penang and U Uttara
from London, are journeying on a worldwide tour, which includes Indonesia,
Thailand, Japan, India, Europe and the United States to gain support from
leaders around the world for political change urgently needed in Burma.

An immediate summit between Burma's military junta and opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi is now sought in order to commence a genuine reform in
Burma. They criticized the reconciliation process sponsored by the United
Nations which was too slow to create such a favorite meeting. They
believed that waiting for United Nations to mediate and solve the crisis
in Burma is unacceptable.

The appeal of the two monks is now bringing attention to Burma. Making
peace a reality in Burma is now being discussed in many parts of the
world.

Burmese monks from all over the world have formed the International
Burmese Monks Organization, under the leadership of two Senior Monks,
Masoerain Sayardaw (Great Abbot of Masoerain Monastery in Mandalay and New
York ) and Penang Sayardaw U Pannya Vamsa. The two abbots helped to set up
the International Burmese Monks Organization (IBMO) in Los Angeles in
October after monks in Burma were killed in street protests in September
2007.

Head of the Penang Buddhist monastery in Malaysia, Venerable Abbot U
Pannya Vamsa (80) paid a 5-day visit to Thailand in mid-January. As
President of the International Burmese Monks Organization (IBMO), U Pannya
Vamsa arrived in Bangkok on 12 January, accompanied by Venerable Abbot U
Uttara (50), chief of the Sasana-Ramsi-Vihara in London. The next day, two
venerable abbots were welcomed by various groups in Mae Sot on Thai-Burma
border. There they have successfully organized a Thai branch IBMO
consisted of over 20 monks presided by venerable abbot U Centita who came
out of Burma after the Saffron Revolution.

Some important objectives of the International Burmese Monks Organization
( IBMO) are to spread the Buddhism around the globe, to publish teaching
of Buddha and education in Buddhism, to protect or look after the interest
and perpetuation of Buddha’s Sasana, to establish good relationship with
other various religions in order to cooperate on common subjects, and to
serve for the interest and peace of all human beings throughout the world.

On 15 January, during a meeting - under the title of “How to Establish
Peace and Security in Burma?” - With civil society in Bangkok, the two
abbots denounced the Burmese military junta for its continuous atrocities
upon the Buddhist monks inside the country. The Penang Abbot U Pannya
Vamsa said that the roots of country's crisis are in the military's denial
to hand over power after Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for
Democracy (NLD) won the 1990 general election. The junta now declares it
is following its own seven-step "road map" to democracy that is supposed
to conclude in free elections, though it has not set a timeline for the
procedure.

The two venerable Burmese monks also expressed their plan and opinion on
the night of 15 January at the press briefings held at the Foreign
Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT), accompanied by one of Thailand's
most prominent social critics, Dr. Sulak Sivaraksa and Dr. Phra Maha
Boonchuay Sirindharo from Maha Chulalongkorn Buddhist University, Wat Suan
Dok, Chiang Mai.

U. Uttara showed his displeasure by saying that even the situation in
Burma is very critical, the UN special envoy for Burma, Ibrahim Gambari
has to wait for visa approval, before entering Burma. Besides, the
Security Council also cannot make any progress due to member countries
have different opinion based on their own interest. Actually, Burma needs
a rapid change and it is fed up with waiting for the UN process, which was
hindered by bureaucracy mechanism. The IBMO called on leaders around the
world to support its demand for an immediate summit between Burma's
military junta and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, in order to
commence a genuine reform in Burma.

Aung San Suu Kyi, detained leader of the National League for Democracy
(NLD), offered an olive branch to Burma's military rulers last November,
saying she was ready to take part in a regular, meaningful and time-bound
reconciliation talks in the interest of national unity.

The statement by Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for
Democracy (NLD), also called for the inclusion of ethnic and political
groups in dialogue. "In the interest of the nation I stand ready to
cooperate with the government in order to make this process a success,"
she articulated in her statement read out in Singapore by the UN envoy,
Ibrahim Gambari. "I am committed to pursue the path of dialogue
constructively and invite the government and all relevant parties to join
me in this spirit," she pronounced clearly.

But, the inflexible military regime not only took into account of the
thoughtfully composed statement but also discredit on the leader of the
NLD through its media. It happened during the facilitating period of the
UN’s special envoy. That means the junta has no intention of changing its
mind toward democratic reform urged by the international community.

According to U. Uttara of IBMO, monks and people can no longer keep hoping
for a talk between the military and Aung San Suu Kyi to produce good
results. It is time to take the opportunity that come to IBMO and it has
to accept its role to bring peace to people of Burma. So, he calls on the
brethren Buddhist monks to be united to support political change in the
country.

U. Pannya Vamsa emphasized support from neighboring countries was very
important in restoration of democracy in Burma, especially to press for a
substantive dialogue.

To crack up the junta’s obstinacy, the monk organizations inside and
outside give their mandates to Penang Abbot U. Pannya Vamsa to set up the
IBMO, which has to beef up the protests against the junta until it agreed
to stop human rights abuses and accept to come forward for a substantive
reconciliation talks.

According to U. Pannya Vamsa, IBMO will seek unity among various dissident
groups inside and outside of Burma.

“I want to encourage you, people of Burma, to be united as one and all. We
cannot achieve our goal without strong unity within us. You shouldn't
emphasize only on the interest of your group or party. All groups must
work together for the cause of the nation’s freedom. Unity is the key
question to overthrow the military dictatorship. We are still in the
vicious circle because of disunity. So, to gain our goal, keep the spirit
of unity at the first place”, said the venerable abbot.

The secretary of the organization, the venerable U. Uttara also said,
“IBMO will do its best organizing a peaceful movement of people on the
twentieth anniversary of the 8th August uprising which sparked in 1988.
So, we are starting our global tour to organize all parties under one
banner in order to work for the country’s freedom. We need concerted
effort to change Burma into a free state. IBMO has been seeking to gain
support from leaders around the world for political change in Burma”.

Zin Linn is a freelance Burmese journalist in exile. He spent nine years
in a Burmese prison. He works as an information director of the NCGUB. He
is also an executive member of the Burma Media Association, which is
affiliated to the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

SEAPA renews call for release of Burmese journalist U Win Tin as noted
writer is hospitalized

The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) renews its call for the
immediate release of U Win Tin, Burma's most famous journalist who has
been in prison since 1989, following news of his hospitalisation.

"The Irrawaddy Magazine" reported on 24 January 2008 that the ailing
journalist-poet, who will turn 78 on 12 March 2008, has been taken from
his cell in Rangoon's notorious Insein prison for treatment at a hospital.
U Win Tin has reportedly been hospitalised for a hernia operation, which
he has undergone before.

SEAPA -- a coalition of press freedom advocacy groups from the
Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia -- has long denounced the political
repression of U Win Tin and journalists in general in Burma. It also
stresses that humanitarian considerations can only underscore the
unjustifiability of the noted writer's continuing incarceration.

SEAPA believes that releasing U Win Tin, Burma's longest-serving political
prisoner, should be high among the international community's demands of
the Burmese junta, by way of demonstrating the latter's commitment to
reform and its supposed roadmap to democracy. The United Nations Security
Council has urged the release of all political prisoners in Burma
following the junta's September 2007 crackdown on protesters.

BACKGROUND:

U Win Tin is a former editor of the "Hanthawathi" newspaper and founder of
the National League for Democracy, which was denied the right to govern
the country despite its landslide win in the 1991 general election. He was
sentenced to a total prison term of 20 years on various charges, which
included instigation to civil disobedience against martial law and
publishing "anti-government propaganda" about human rights abuses at
Insein.

He suffers from high blood pressure, diabetes, spinal problems, a prostate
gland disorder, and has had two heart attacks, all of which were worsened
by torture, solitary confinement and other forms of ill-treatment during
his 18-year incarceration.

Issued by SEAPA Executive Director Roby Alampay

__________________________________
OPINION/OTHER

January 25, Irrawaddy
After “Rambo,” the “Lady”—Hollywood discovers Burma – Yeni

The fourth in a series of war veteran “Rambo” films, featuring Hollywood's
mega-star Sylvester Stallone as a 61-year-old who heads into the Burmese
jungle to rescue abducted Western missionaries, has its world premiere on
Friday.

Many Burmese democracy activists believe this is a good time to release
the film, four months after the September pro-democracy protests in Burma
and the subsequent vicious military crackdown made international
headlines.

Although the character of Rambo is essentially apolitical and not known as
a subject of intellectual interest, many Burmese will watch the movie,
which is expected to direct wide attention again to the Burma issue.

Burmese inside the country will be looking for clandestine copies of the
film. Burmese youngsters are bound too enjoy the movie and will be
emulating Rambo and his feats.

Several Hollywood celebrities have recently shown interest in the Burma
crisis and helped increase awareness of the situation. Burma is now a hot
Hollywood property, figuring for the second time in less than two years in
action movies with Burmese settings. In the first, “Stealth”, a fictitious
air raid is made on a terrorist cell in Rangoon.

Rambo deserves thanks for attracting world attention to Burma's current
plight under the cruel oppression of the military junta. But while the
film remains true to Hollywood tradition and has a happy ending, the
reality in Burma has so such outcome.

Meanwhile, the leading US entertainment magazine, Variety, recently
reported that the life of Burmese democracy icon and Nobel Peace Prize
winner Aung San Suu Kyi will be the subject of a new movie, titled “The
Lady.”

Giuseppe Tornatore, director of the Oscar-winning Italian film “Nuovo
cinema Paradiso,” plans to make “The Lady” with Japanese producer Naofumi
Okamoto. Production is set to begin later this year.

According to the Variety report, “The Lady” will cover the period from Suu
Kyi’s return to Burma in 1988, when she was 43, to the present day, and
Okamoto is to produce the US $30 million project alongside Avi Arad,
Steven Paul and Benedict Carver of Los Angeles-based Crystal Sky Pictures,
which will finance the film.

Arad, best known for movies based on Marvel Comics superheroes such as
Spider-Man and X-Men, told Variety: "At first I thought it wasn't my kind
of movie, but then I realized it was. To me, Suu Kyi was like a character
from 'X-Men,' except she's a real hero, not an imaginary one. She didn't
need to do what she did, and she gave up a lot to do it."

Suu Kyi is, of course, a living heroine. That is why it will be
interesting to see who will play her in the movie and how the Italian
director and his film team will portray Burma's democracy icon and present
her—and her beloved people's—struggle against the military dictatorship.

Arad told Variety that the movie is intended to reach the broadest
possible audience. "It's a love story and a political thriller. If it's
not commercially successful, we will have missed the mark."

Who knows? The film could rival the highly successful film on the life of
Mahatma Gandhi, who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British
colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century.

So watch the cinema schedules—"The Lady" will be coming soon.