BurmaNet News, February 26, 2008

[Editor]

February 26, 2008 Issue # 3410


INSIDE BURMA
AP: Myanmar enacts law on constitution vote
AFP: Myanmar market blaze leaves 21 injured: state media
Mizzima News: USDA rumored to be using bribery for enrollment
DVB: 100 homes destroyed in Hlaing Tharyar blaze
Irrawaddy: NLD condemns attack on Suu Kyi
Irrawaddy: Happy birthday virus hits Burma

ON THE BORDER
Narinjara News: Burma's border security force abducts Bangladeshi woodcutters

BUSINESS / TRADE
AFP: Singaporean, 10 firms under US Myanmar sanctions

DRUGS
Mizzima News: U.S. sanctions "Godfather of Heroin"
Macau Daily News: Three Chinese marine police hurt in Myanmar shootout:
officials

REGIONAL
Bangkok Post: New approach to Burma, says Noppadon

INTERNATIONAL
Reuters: China slams 'meddling' after Myanmar boycott call
The Straits Times: UN envoy to Myanmar in Japan: official

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Betrayed by Burma’s neighbors
The Nation: Burmese vote likely to be carefully choreographed

STATEMENT
Political veterans letter to Than Shwe: Advice relating to Statement No
1/2008 and 2/2008 issued by the SPDC


____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

February 26, Associated Press
Myanmar enacts law on constitution vote

Myanmar's military government said Tuesday that it had set the rules for a
referendum on a new constitution, a step on a purported "roadmap to
democracy" that critics call a sham.

The announcement broadcast on state TV and radio evening news said the
junta had passed a law covering the matters such as the preparation of
electoral rolls, vote counting and postponement and cancellation of
voting.

Planning for the vote has been widely criticized for failing to include
any input from opponents of military rule, and critics says the new
charter is aimed at perpetuating army control.

Detained Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party
warned last week that the ruling military junta's unilateral announcement
this month of a constitutional referendum and general elections was
undemocratic and could hurt national stability.

It stopped short, however, of advocating a boycott or a "no" vote for the
draft constitution.

The government did not set a date for the constitutional vote and said the
law itself will be published Wednesday in all three state-run newspapers.

It has said general elections will be held in 2010 but released no other
details.

Guidelines for a constitution released by the government late last year
would bar Suu Kyi from national office because she was married to a
foreigner — her late British husband, Michael Aris — and enjoyed the
rights to a foreign passport, residency and other privileges as a result.

The government also said Tuesday that a 45-member Referendum Convening
Commission has been established to oversee the process. The names of all
45 members were read, and most were representatives of the country's
ethnic minorities, as well as at least two legal experts.

The minorities had complained they were being kept from having a real
voice in the constitutional process, and the list could be an effort to
appease them.

Myanmar has not had a constitution since 1988, when the current junta took
power after violently suppressing mass pro-democracy demonstrations. The
army has ruled the country virtually continuously since a 1962 coup.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been under international pressure to
make democratic reforms, especially since it violently quashed peaceful
mass protests last September. The U.N. estimates at least 31 people were
killed and thousands more were detained in the crackdown.

Many Western nations, including the United States, maintain political and
economic sanctions against the junta because of its poor human rights
record and failure to hand over power to a democratically elected
government.

On Monday, Washington extended its sanctions against some of the junta's
allies, making it difficult for them to hold or trade assets outside
Myanmar. President Bush said in a written statement that, "concerted
international pressure is needed to achieve a genuine transition to
democracy in Burma."

____________________________________

February 26, Agence-France Press
Myanmar market blaze leaves 21 injured: state media

At least 21 people were injured in a fire that ripped through the main
retail district in Myanmar's second city Mandalay, destroying or damaging
1,500 businesses, state media said Tuesday.

The blaze erupted on Monday morning, sparked by an electrical
short-circuit in a shop in Yadanabon market, the official New Light of
Myanmar newspaper said.

"Altogether 21 people -- four monks, 11 firemen, three men and three women
-- were injured in the fire," the paper said.

The fire damaged more than 1,400 shops and dozens of offices, including a
59-room computer training centre operated by the state-run Myanmar
Information and Communication Technology, the paper added.

The paper said the main blaze was extinguished after six hours, but
firefighters Tuesday were still combing through the debris and putting out
small fires in the wreckage, according to witnesses.

"The firemen and authorities are still trying to put out the fire
completely. They blocked all the entrances to the market and are not
allowing anyone to go inside because it's still dangerous. We can still
see the smoke coming out," one Mandalay resident told AFP by telephone.

Hospitals declined to give details on the casualties.

The paper also reported that 2,900 people were left homeless in Myanmar's
main city Yangon after a fire destroyed 200 homes in the outlying
Hlaingthayar township.

The fire department urged caution when filling electricity generators with
petrol or diesel, especially around lighted candles.

Myanmar's crumbling power grid provides only a few hours of electricity a
day, forcing many businesses and residents to rely on generators.

____________________________________

February 26, Mizzima News
USDA rumored to be using bribery for enrollment – Myo Gyi

The Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), on February 23rd
in the capital of Kachin State, commenced organizational work ahead of
May's constitutional referendum.

Kachin State USDA Chief and Minister of Post and Telegraph, Major General
Thein Zaw, came to Myitkyina and met with Christian clergymen and priests
from Dukataung Ward three days ago and said that they would be given phone
lines and business permits.

A related rumor circulating around Myitkyina is that the USDA is awarding
business permits for construction, furniture stores and cottage industries
in return for joining their organization.

"The use of incentives by the USDA in their organization for the upcoming
referendum is a hot topic among people in Myitkyina. They offer such
lucrative business incentives, such as landline phones and business
permits, even to widows and poor people," a resident of Myitkyina told
Mizzima.

A student from Dukataung Ward said that he was approached by the USDA
through the promise of passing his examination.

A local resident from Shansutaung Ward said that incentives offered by
USDA officials vary from one ward to another, though there is little
leeway in the registration forms distributed to households.

"USDA officials gave registration forms to every household in No. 3 Ward
on the 23rd of this month. But at the top of these forms it is printed
'List of people supporting the constitution.' On each page there is space
for 13 names and it must be signed after being filled up," he said.

However reports of business permits being used as incentives have yet to
be verified. Local USDA officials have not been available for confirmation
and no person with such a permit has been identified.

Thein Zaw, along with the Commander of Northern Command, yesterday paid a
visit to another Kachin city, Bamoh.

"They forced all government staff to join USDA last week, irregardless of
their having already joined or not. But they have yet to make such a move
in the Wards and villages. They might force the common people to join the
USDA after the Minister has left our city," postulated a resident of
Bamoh.

The SPDC issued Announcements 1/2008 and 2/2008 on the 9th of this month,
detailing plans for holding a referendum in May of this year and new
elections in 2010.

However detailed plans for holding these polls have not been made public.

Senior General Than Shwe, the patron of the USDA, said there are 24
million USDA members in Burma, out of a population of 55 million.

____________________________________

February 26, Democratic Voice of Burma
100 homes destroyed in Hlaing Tharyar blaze – Aye Nai

A fire raged for two hours yesterday morning in Hlaing Tharyar on the
outskirts of Rangoon, destroying around 100 houses, local residents said.

An eyewitness told DVB that the fire broke out in Hlaing Tharyar
industrial zone 4's Yay Oak Kan village at 7.30am on Monday and lasted for
about two hours before it was extinguished by firefighters at around
9.45am.

"The fire destroyed about 100 houses,” said the eyewitness.

“It burned for about two hours as the houses were so spread out in the
area and fire trucks were unable to get down the very narrow lanes to
reach the site of the fire."

The witness said he had heard rumours that some people had been killed in
the blaze, but this has not been confirmed.

The cause of the fire is still not clear, but locals said it was likely to
be due to careless use of fire by one of the households in the area.

An emergency aid centre was set up by authorities at a nearby monastery to
provide shelter and food to the fire victims.

____________________________________

February 26, Irrawaddy
NLD condemns attack on Suu Kyi – Min Lwin

Aung San Suu Kyi is a Burmese citizen and is playing a key role toward
national reconciliation, said the National League for Democracy (NLD) in
an official statement on Monday, countering reports that the junta wish to
bar her from running in any future election in Burma because she married a
foreigner.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, NLD spokesperson Han Thar Myint
said, “A Burmese citizen who marries a foreigner is not disqualified from
politics, according to the 1974 constitution.”

The NLD spokesperson added that Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win’s
comments were “hurting the process of national reconciliation and national
stability.”

Suu Kyi was born in Rangoon in 1945 to Aung San, Burma’s father of
independence, and Khin Kyi, a Burmese citizen and former ambassador to
India.
The NLD spokesperson was responding to reports that Nyan Win had told
George Yeo, the Singaporean foreign minister, that the constitution would
bar Suu Kyi from running in an election because she had been married to a
foreigner, Michael Aris, a Briton who died from cancer in 1999.

Han Thar Myint said the government had made a “personal and political
attack” against Suu Kyi and shown ill-will against her.

“In disqualifying Aung San Suu Kyi from the election, the regime is
showing that it wants to weaken the NLD,” said Win Min, an exiled Burmese
researcher.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda on Thursday said that Burma’s
draft constitution entrenches military rule by banning leading opposition
activists from politics, including Suu Kyi, the Nobel prize-winning
democracy advocate.

“It is very clear that the generals don't want Aung San Suu Kyi to contest
the election. They are trying to disqualify her,” said Hnin Pwint Wai, a
spokesperson from the All Burma Federation of Students’ Unions.

The last election in Burma was held in May 1990, after which the
authorities detained the winning party NLD’s leaders, including Suu Kyi,
and subsequently placed her under house arrest.

____________________________________

February 26, Irrawaddy
Happy birthday virus hits Burma

A computer virus, appearing as “Happy Birthday” on screens, has infected
computer networks from government offices in Naypyidaw to internet cafés
in Rangoon, according to IT technicians from a computer school in Burma.

Many networks have temporarily closed to avoid the virus, said the
technicians.

An IT technician from a private computer training school in Rangoon, KMD,
told The Irrawaddy that the “Happy Birthday virus” had been attacking
computer networks in Burma since mid-February.

The “Happy Birthday virus” has also hit computers in the new capital,
Naypyidaw, say the technicians, adding that they had been contacted by the
authorities to go to Naypyidaw to fix computers.

The virus is difficult to detect or remove by average computer users, said
another technician.

“As soon as you boot up, you will see a ‘Happy Birthday’ message on your
monitor,” he said. “It means your computer is under attack from the virus.
It cannot be deleted or removed with Internet security software we have
here.”

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

February 26, Narinjara News
Burma's border security force abducts Bangladeshi woodcutters

Burma's border security force, Nasaka, abducted two Bangladeshi
woodcutters on Thursday from Bangladesh territory and are extorting money
from their family, according to a local report.

The report stated tat a group of Burmese Nasaka personnel entered
Bangladesh territory in Okia Township of Cox's Bazar District on Thursday
evening and abducted two woodcutters who were working in the area.

The two woodcutters were identified as Mayhi Ahli, aged 26, and Adurohim,
aged 21.

A family source told a local newspaper yesterday that Nasaka has asked for
a ransom from the family if they wanted them released in the near future.

Nasaka also reportedly threatened the family, saying that if the family
failed to pay the ransom to Nasaka, the two woodcutters would be sent to
jail for illegally entering Burmese territory.

Burmese authorities typically sentence Bangladeshis found guilty of
illegally entering the country to two or three years in prison.

Locals report that it is not uncommon for Nasaka forces along the border
to extort tolls and ransom money from local Bangladeshis when they need
money for their own interests.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

February 26, Agence-France Press
Singaporean, 10 firms under US Myanmar sanctions

A Singaporean citizen and 10 of her companies have been targeted under
fresh US sanctions aimed at the Myanmar junta, adding to a list of
city-state firms hit by US sanctions.

Cecilia Ng is the wife of Steven Law, whose father Lo Hsing Han is "known
as the 'Godfather of Heroin'," according to the US Treasury Department.

The department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) named the three
individuals on Monday under additional economic sanctions against
supporters of Myanmar's military regime, which the US accuses of grave
human rights abuses.

The OFAC notice says Ng, born in 1958, is a Singaporean citizen who owns
10 companies including Golden Aaron Pte Ltd.

State media in Myanmar reported in December 2004 that Singapore's Golden
Aaron Pte Ltd was part of a consortium that signed an oil and natural gas
exploration contract with military-ruled Myanmar.

OFAC listed Ng's other companies as: G A Ardmore Pte Ltd, G A Capital Pte
Ltd, G A Foodstuffs Pte Ltd, G A Land Pte Ltd, G A Resort Pte Ltd, G A
Sentosa Pte Ltd, G A Treasure Pte Ltd, G A Whitehouse Pte Ltd, and S H Ng
Trading Pte Ltd.

The Treasury Department accused Law and Lo Hsing Han of a history of
involvement in illicit activities.

"Lo Hsing Han, known as the 'Godfather of Heroin,' has been one of the
world's key heroin traffickers dating back to the early 1970s," it said.

"Steven Law joined his father's drug empire in the 1990s and has since
become one of the wealthiest individuals in Burma."

Ng could not be immediately contacted for comment on the allegations.

A woman who opened the locked door at Ng's offices in Singapore's business
district said she was not there. A plaque visible through the door listed
Golden Aaron, S H Ng Trading and another firm, Kokang Singapore Pte Ltd.

Attempts to locate Ng at the condominium complex listed as her residence
were also unsuccessful.

Singapore strongly denies allegations that it allows banks based here to
keep illicit funds on behalf of Myanmar's secretive generals.

Asked for comment, the foreign affairs ministry referred AFP to the
Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) which said the city-state, like all
other leading financial centres, operates "a strict and rigorous regime"
against money laundering.

"Banks and financial institutions in Singapore are required to institute
strict procedures, including the need to identify and know their
customers, and monitor and report any suspicious transactions," MAS said.

"Our rules are vigorously enforced. Should there be links with illicit
activity, MAS will not hesitate to take necessary action."

In early February the US named Singaporean resident U Kyaw Thein, 60, as
among those targeted under sanctions aimed at Tay Za, who the Treasury
Department called an alleged "henchman" and arms dealer for Myanmar's
junta.

A Singaporean company, Pavo Aircraft Leasing Pte Ltd, was also named.

US President George W. Bush last year named three other firms with offices
in Singapore as among those targeted under initial sanctions that followed
the junta's deadly September crackdown on protests led by Buddhist monks.

The city-state led regional criticism of the crackdown but rights
activists accused it of not taking economic action against the regime.

The US action freezes any assets the individuals and firms have under US
jurisdiction and bars Americans from conducting business with them at the
risk of heavy fines and prison sentences.

____________________________________
DRUGS

February 26, Mizzima News
U.S. sanctions "Godfather of Heroin"

In the latest sanctions directed at the economic assets of Burma's junta,
the United States has targeted former drug kingpin Lo Hsing-Han and his
family.

Lo's corporation Asia World Co. Ltd., now under the operational command of
his son Steven Law, whom U.S. President Bush labels a "regime crony," is
known to construct highways, ports and other government infrastructure
throughout Burma.

"As one element of our policy to promote a genuine democratic transition,
the US maintains targeted sanctions that focus on the assets of regime
members and their cronies who grow rich while Burma's people suffer under
their misrule," according to a White House statement released yesterday.

It's widely held that the Burmese regime assisted in transforming Lo's
former drug empire into a robust corporation during the 1990s, in an
attempt to appear to be combating narcotics while shoring up its own
internal security.

Law's wife, Singaporean native Cecilia Ng, and ten companies based in the
Lion City are also listed as coming under the fire of the U.S. Treasury
Department, the arm of the government responsible for leveraging the
economic sanctions, which freeze assets and prohibit American companies to
engage in business ventures with those listed.

This most recent ratcheting up of pressure on the junta's economic
interests also takes further aim at Burmese tycoon Tay Za, who has already
had several of his business interests targeted by the Bush Administration.
Now his Aureum Palace Hotels and Resorts along with Myanmar Treasure
Resorts are additionally subject to financial constraints.

Only days after U.N. Special Envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari voiced his
belief that ASEAN has a crucial role to play in Burma, President Bush on
Monday echoed identical sentiments.

"We encourage Burma's neighbors and other stakeholders in Southeast Asia
to impress upon the regime the need to release all political prisoners,
including Aung San Suu Kyi; to end military offensives and human rights
abuses against ethnic minorities; and to begin a genuine transition to
democracy in response to the demonstrated aspirations of all the peoples
of Burma," Bush put forth in his address.

However the region remains ambiguous and divided over the use of sanctions
as a tool to foment reform and reconciliation inside Burma.

Though certain countries within ASEAN have expressed frustration at the
pace of reform in Burma, notably the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore,
there also remains a distinct trend to respect the right of governments to
unilaterally deal with internal affairs, and hesitancy to fully support
sanctions.

While Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos have consistently opposed sanctions
against Burma and its generals, Singapore, Burma's third largest trading
partner for fiscal year 2006-07 after Thailand and China, has publicly
questioned the efficacy of relying on a campaign of sanctions.

Following the Saffron Revolution, Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo
remarked that sanctions against the regime would likely be ineffective and
could lead to a contradictory result from that which is intended by
further dividing Burmese society. Singapore is also unsupportive of the
latest measures.

Thailand, meanwhile, remains reluctant to shift from a position of
advocating dialogue over sanctions, as the country continues to benefit
from natural gas imports and looks to gain from hydro-electric power
projects in Burma.

The White House says that nearly 900 persons are now subject to visa
restrictions as a result of their affiliation with the Burmese junta,
largely on the heels of the violent crackdown of last year's Saffron
Revolution which is estimated to have taken the lives of at least dozens
of protesters and led to thousands of arbitrary arrests.

____________________________________

February 26, Macau Daily News
Three Chinese marine police hurt in Myanmar shootout: officials

Three Chinese marine police have been injured in a gunfight with Myanmar
drug traffickers in the notorious Golden Triangle along the Mekong river,
Thai officials said yesterday.

The Chinese boat was patrolling the river where it flows between Myanmar
and Laos, under a regional co-operation scheme aimed at fighting drug
trafficking in an area renowned for opium and now a major producer of
amphetamines.

A second boat carrying half a dozen suspected drug traffickers opened fire
as it approached the Chinese vessel, Thai navy officials said.

As the boats neared, the Myanmar gang boarded the Chinese craft, shooting
and stabbing some of the six police before jumping back on their own
vessel to escape, said Commander Pakorn Pothichai of the Thai Navy Mission
for the Mekong.

The clash lasted about five minutes. The three wounded Chinese police have
been hospitalised in the northern Thai town of Chiang Rai, he added.

Pakorn said the gang was believed to be working to protect a drugs
shipment on the river.

"Chinese officials apparently had a tip-off of about the drugs delivery,
so the drug traffickers were trying to stop them," he said.

Myanmar is the world's second-largest producer of opium after Afghanistan.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime said in October that after nearly a
decade of decline, opium production in Myanmar was up 46 percent on the
previous year.

The UN agency blamed the jump on "corruption, high-level collusion and
weak border security."

In recent years, Myanmar has also become a major producer of amphetamines.
The United States says several hundred million amphetamine tablets are
produced in Myanmar every year and shipped by gangs to neighbouring China
and Thailand.

China, one of Myanmar's few supporters, has also publicly pressured the
junta to do more to reduce the drug problem.

China blames drugs from Myanmar for high rates of addiction and HIV in its
southwestern Yunnan province.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

February 26, Bangkok Post
New approach to Burma, says Noppadon – Achara Ashayagachat

Thailand has no choice but to put national economic interests before human
rights concerns in dealing with Burma, Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama
said yesterday.

The Samak government would do whatever it takes to turn the economy around
as quickly as possible.

''In the past, we had constructive engagement and flexible engagement, but
they never took us anywhere.

''Now, we will adopt another approach, neighbour engagement.

''We will talk to them in a friendly manner on subjects that they are
comfortable with,'' said Mr Noppadon.

He would also talk about the Election Commission's experiences in
organising a constitutional referendum when he visits Burma in the second
week of March. The junta has announced plans for a national referendum in
May.

''The policy of non-interference remains a sacrosanct principle, not only
for Asean but also the international community,'' he said.

Under intense international pressure, the junta announced plans this month
for a referendum in May on a proposed new constitution written under
military guidance, to be followed by a general election in 2010.

Mr Noppadol said he feels sorry for Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi, but was not able to help her.

The junta's domestic and international critics say the referendum plans
are undemocratic because they do not involve open debate and they also bar
Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, from taking part in the elections.

''We will have to gradually talk to them about how we feel about the slow
pace of the changes that are taking place,'' said Mr Noppadon.

He likened neighbouring countries to the egg yolk and Asean to the egg
white. ''Yes, people are talking a lot about Burma's human rights
situation, but we have other pressing issues like drug trafficking and
immigration to address as well,'' he said.

Some might call Thailand's foreign policy a two-faced approach, but there
was no instant formula in foreign affairs.

''I'll steer Thailand's foreign policy in a way that will benefit its
people and businesses and protect the country's interests.

''Just give me a chance. I'll do it against all the insults that I was
only fit to be the former prime minister's legal adviser and could not be
a good foreign minister,'' he said.

He planned to transform Thai embassies into business centres, offering a
one-stop service if possible.

Team Thailand would be set up, comprising experts from various fields like
commerce and labour, to give advice and promote investment abroad.

To facilitate the effort, Mr Noppadon planned to carry out a major
reshuffle of diplomats and ministry officials in the next two months.

There was a need to put the right men in the right jobs, he said, adding
that he would ensure fairness in the reshuffle.

The Campaign Committee for Human Rights yesterday warned the government
against making unfair transfers of civil servants and meddling with the
judicial process to facilitate the return of ousted prime minister Thaksin
Shinawatra.

The committee said it had received reports that some high-ranking
diplomats were potential targets for transfer by the new government.

They included Kitti Wasinond, the ambassador to Britain, who was said to
have provided the Council for National Security with in-depth information
about the movements of the London-based supporters of Mr Thaksin.

Krit Garnjana-Goonchorn, the Thai ambassador in Washington DC, is likely
to be another target.

When Mr Krit was foreign permanent secretary under the Surayud Chulanont
government, he approved the withdrawal of Mr Thaksin's diplomatic
passport.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

February 26, Reuters
China slams 'meddling' after Myanmar boycott call – Chris Buckley

China repeated its stand on Tuesday that this year's Beijing Olympics
should not be subject to political meddling in response to a boycott call
by a Myanmar opposition group.

The 88 Generation Students organisation urged the boycott in protest
against what it called China's "bankrolling" of the Myanmar military
government that crushed pro-democracy protests last year.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a news conference the
Aug. 8-24 Games were a big event for China and the world.

"It should not be politicised," he said. "Political excuses should not be
used to meddle in it."

The Myanmar activists, who emerged from early anti-government protests in
1988, said Beijing was the junta's "major trade partner, major arms
supplier and major defender".

"The military junta in Burma is still in power to this day, despite strong
and continuous resistance by the people of Burma, because of China's
support", the group said in a statement, referring to Myanmar by its
former name.

International groups critical of China's restrictions on political rights
and its role in the Darfur region of Sudan and other humanitarian
troublespots have criticised the Beijing Games, with some urging boycotts.

Film director Steven Spielberg withdrew from his advisory role with the
Beijing Games over the Darfur issue two weeks ago. But a boycott like the
one that hit the 1980 Moscow Games and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics
remains unlikely.

U.S. President George W. Bush has already accepted an invitation to attend
the Games and said he viewed the Olympics as a purely sporting event.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will also be in Beijing in August,
while Foreign Secretary David Miliband said before his trip to China this
week that he was opposed to a boycott.

An ICM opinion poll in the Guardian newspaper last Friday said 72 percent
of Britons thought its team should attend the Games with only 19 percent
favouring a boycott.

____________________________________

February 26, The Straits Times
UN envoy to Myanmar in Japan: official

The United Nations' special envoy to Myanmar on Tuesday began a visit to
Tokyo to brief Japan about the latest developments in the military-ruled
country, officials said.

During his four-day trip, Dr Ibrahim Gambari is scheduled to hold talks
with vice-foreign minister Mitoji Yabunaka, said an official of the UN
representative office in Tokyo.

Dr Gambari plans to visit Myanmar in March. It will be his third trip to
the country to mediate reconciliation between the junta and the opposition
camp since a deadly crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in September.

Japan maintains aid and cordial diplomatic ties with Myanmar, in a rare
break from its Western allies, which are pressing for further punishment
of the regime.

But Japan cancelled nearly five million dollars in grants as a protest
after the crackdown in which a Japanese journalist was shot dead in
Yangon.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

February 26, Irrawaddy
Betrayed by Burma’s neighbors – Editorial

US President George W Bush has increased pressure on Burma’s unyielding
regime by imposing fresh sanctions on businesspeople, including former
drug warlords.

In the new move, the Department of Treasury applied financial sanctions
against Steven Law (aka Tun Myint Naing), his wife Cecilia Ng and Lo Hsing
Han, Burma’s once powerful Golden Triangle drug kingpin.

Steven Law and Lo Hsing Han are founders of the Asia World Company and are
alleged to have made a fortune from illicit drug dealings in Burma.

Asia World Co Ltd was founded by Lo Hsing Han in 1992 and operated by
managing director Steven Law. The company has provided critical support to
the regime and has received numerous lucrative concessions, including the
construction of ports, highways and government facilities, according to
the US Treasury Department.

The Asia World Company was also involved in the construction of Burma’s
new capital, Naypyidaw, in central Burma, and secured the contract to
build Snr-Gen Than Shwe’s house there.

The latest sanctions are in addition to those imposed on 33 individuals
and 11 entities previously designated by the Bush administration. Bush
also announced that as many as 898 Burmese officials and their family
members are now subject to visa restrictions.

It is important that businesspeople and regime cronies such as Steven Law
and Tay Za, who was hit by sanctions in October, should pay for their
selfish support of Burma’s corrupt government.

However, they have no direct business interests in the US, and, anyway,
have no shortage of friends throughout the Asian region.

Since they are barred from entering the US, they are comfortable, like the
generals in Naypyidaw, to live in Burma and have the opportunity to visit
those countries where they have strong business dealings and financial
connections, such as Singapore, India, China, Russia, South Korea,
Thailand and Malaysia.

For that reason, Bush has called for concerted international pressure on
Burma, especially from the country’s neighbors.

Knowing that Burma’s neighbors, mainly China, India and Thailand, continue
to play a pivotal role in preserving the oppressive regime in Burma, Bush
said in his statement: “We encourage Burma’s neighbors and other
stakeholders in Southeast Asia to impress upon the regime the need to
release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi; to end
military offensives and human rights abuses against ethnic minorities; and
to begin a genuine transition to democracy in response to the demonstrated
aspirations of all the peoples of Burma.”

But many in the region may not be listening to Bush.

On Monday, for instance, a stunning statement came Thailand’s newly
appointed Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama. Noppadon, formerly deposed
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s personal lawyer, said: “In the past,
we had constructive engagement and flexible engagement, but they never
took us anywhere.” Up until this point, we couldn’t disagree with him.

But then the minister added: “Now, we will adopt another approach:
neighbor engagement
we will talk to them in a friendly manner on subjects
that they are comfortable with.”

And what are those “comfortable” subject matters likely to be? Our
educated guess would be: timber trade, fishing rights in Burmese waters,
gas from Burma and golf.

Shocking to hear from a newly democratically elected government? Not
really. Over the past 20 years, such nonsensical statements from Burma’s
neighbors only reinforced and encouraged the generals in power to stay as
long as they want, while betraying the monks and the people of Burma, many
of whom have given their lives in the peaceful struggle against the
regime.

Unless and until the regime’s allies and opportunistic neighbors move to
punish Tay Za, Tun Myint Naing and other regime cronies, we don’t see any
positive change coming out of Burma. We think that although the Bush
administration takes the moral high ground in punishing the regime and its
cronies, it also needs to engage and talk to its allies in the region on
how to bring about change in Burma.

____________________________________

February 26, The Nation
Burmese vote likely to be carefully choreographed – Jean Marc

Here is a possible framework for the upcoming constitutional referendum in
Burma

1) The secret ballots will be cast - and possibly counted in public - at
the polling station. The poll numbers will then be forwarded to the
township election commissions, and then to the national commission. The
representatives of those for and against the constitution and the
independent election commission will be required to make, in public, a
report of poll tallies from the polling stations to the township
commission, and then from the township commission to the national
commission. The election commission will be required to make a certified,
written report. If the polls are counted at the polling station under the
watchful eyes of the public and campaigners, the ballot structure -
casting a ballot into yes/no ballot boxes or marking yes/no on the ballot
- matters less. The latter is less vulnerable to vote-rigging but more
vulnerable to an increase in the number of invalid ballots and in voter
abstention in areas with low literacy rates.

2) Those for or against the constitution will be given non-live, public
air time in the radio, television and print media for two weeks (or three
weeks or four weeks) before the referendum date.

3) Campaigners and campaign organisations will be required to
register so that they can be allotted public airtime.

4) Ground campaign activities most likely will not be allowed.

5) Ground campaign activities, if permitted, will most likely require
campaign permits - in the format of pro-government rallies - confining
their activities to a specific place, time, and set of speakers, be based
on a constitution-related theme, and limited in terms of the number of
maximum participants. Door-to-door campaigns or even voter education
programmes will not be allowed.

6) Civil liberties like freedom of speech, assembly, association and press
will not be guaranteed as in an established liberal democracy.

7) Anti-regime political leaders and activists already under detention
will not be released.

8) Poll watchers will most likely be local, not international or not even
regional, although both sides of the referendum should watch the polling
station, poll counts and make their own poll tallies.

9) Campaigners might be allowed to buy copies of the drafted constitution
at public print shops and distribute them to the public as long as other
materials are not included in their distribution.

10) Campaigners might be required to declare their campaign expenditures
and the sources of their campaign funds.

A free and fair referendum in Burma, with the same civil liberties granted
as in an established liberal democracy, would only seed false hope among
regime opponents. Their attempts to disrupt the constitutional referendum
and topple the military regime will only lead to the destruction of the
leading party of the Burmese opposition, at the expense of every Burmese.

____________________________________
STATEMENT

February 26, Political veterans letter to Than Shwe
Advice relating to Statement No 1/2008 and 2/2008 issued by the SPDC


To
The President,
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)
Union of Myanmar

1. Motivated by a desire to serve the people and for their good, we, the
political veterans offer our advice with regard to Statements 1 and 2
issued on the 9th February, 2008 by the SPDC.

2. Since the 24th November, 1995, and consistently after that date, we
have consistently maintained that the best way to bring about
reconciliation, unity, peace and prosperity in all political, social and
humanitarian spheres, all nationalities and parties should come together
and find solutions by peaceful dialogue.

3. The United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council, world
leaders, important international figures have all arrived at a consensus
and passed resolutions that tripartite dialogue between the SPDC, the
National League for Democracy (NLD), and the leaders of the Nationalities
should be held to resolve constitutional and other matters to restore the
democratic system of government in Burma. United Nations representatives
have visited and spoken to your members and Senior General Than Shwe
himself had given the assurance to Mr. Gambari that he would meet with Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi for talks. Also a senior minister was appointed who has
met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi three or four times. This sparked a glimmer
of hope for the future in our hearts.

4. Now the SPDC is disregarding all that has been said and done and in
issuing the above Statements, it has decided to flout the wishes of the
people, the democratic forces, the advice and urgings of international
figures and organisations and to march ahead according to its own agenda
and its own wishes and desires. You have announced that a referendum will
be held in the month of May, which is little more than two months away,
but the draft constitution which will be put to the people for approval at
that referendum has not been published and distributed to the people for
scrutiny or study. The result of such forced and hasty action can only
result in more problems for the future. The present problems that the
people are suffering will not be solved and there is no way that
reconciliation and unity can be achieved. This nation will be a disgrace
in the eyes of the world. We therefore request you to seriously reconsider
the position and adhere to Statement Number 1/90 issued by the State Law
and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).

5. We have misgivings also about the decision to hold another General
Election when up to date you have not honored the results of the free and
fair elections that you yourselves conducted in 1990. This has left a big
black blotch in the country s history. You are not acting according to the
people's wishes and we urge you to reconsider this decision.

6. However if you will not reconsider your position and will stubbornly go
ahead with your plans to hold the Referendum we ask that

• the draft constitution which is the subject of the referendum be
distributed to all the people in sufficient time and accessible places.

• a proper and systematic method be adopted in order that all eligible
voters will be included and given the opportunity to exercise their right
to vote.

• proper polling booths be erected to enable voters to cast their votes
without fear and in accordance with their free will and desire.

• Polling booths be properly and strictly supervised to facilitate free
and fair casting of votes.

• allow supervision and inspection by representatives of the United
Nations, foreign correspondents and the media.

• All staff members in charge of polling booths to be given powers to act
decisively for the achievement of a free and fair referendum.

• Abolish Law No 5/96 ( this law empowers the government to punish with
impunity those who cast votes against them) which could instill fear of
retribution in the hearts of those who go against the wishes of the
government.

• Release all political prisoners and also allow other prisoners to cast
their votes in this referendum.

We further urge that the SPDC announce their agenda should the referendum
not result according to their desire because in life, things we do not
wish to happen can happen and things that we wish for can fail to be
obtained.

Signed (Thakin Thein Pe)
On behalf of Political Veterans

"Unoffical Translation By NCGUB"