BurmaNet News, February 28, 2008

[Editor]

February 28, 2008 Issue # 3412

INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: NLD dismisses referendum
DVB: Referendum law excludes monks and bans dissent
Mizzima News: Myanmar Nation Editor-in-Chief charged
Mizzima News: Government to monitor Putao tourists
IPS: Mobile phones, radios keep resistance alive
Kaladan: Twelve sentenced to seven years in jail for renovation of mosque
Irrawaddy: Fires continue to plague Mandalay

ON THE BORDER
DVB: Boy killed as Thai police open fire on smuggler's truck

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: Asian financial centers spotlighted in US sanctions
Narinjara News: Gas found during tube well drilling in Arakan

INTERNATIONAL
Reuters: Gambari wants 'Credible' Burma Roadmap
AFP: Bush vows to press China on rights at Olympics

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: No Way, Than Shwe – Aung Zaw
Mizzima News: Burma's diaspora and the right to vote - Christopher Smith
San Francisco Chronicle: Burma's faux democracy [Editorial]

STATEMENT
National League for Democracy: Special Announcement [Unofficial Translation]

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

February 28, Irrawaddy
NLD dismisses referendum - Saw Yan Naing

Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD),
has dismissed the national referendum on the draft constitution, which is
planned for May, because of its lack of legitimacy, according to a party
statement on Thursday.

The NLD, led by detained pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, said the
draft constitution was “not inclusive and unclear,” because the Burmese
military regime had not heeded the calls of the international community
and the United Nations.

The statement also said that the planned national referendum would not be
free and fair because the junta broke its promise to discuss the drafting
of the new constitution with the representatives elected in the 1990
parliamentary elections.

Thein Nyunt, a member of the Special Information Committee for the NLD who
is also a lawyer, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday: “We want to point out
that civilians don’t agree with this one-sided referendum. It could affect
national reconciliation.”

He added: “A national referendum is not free and fair so long as the junta
retains decree 5/96.”

Decree 5/96 prohibits criticism of the national convention. By violating
the decree a person could be sentenced up to 20 years in prison.

Thein Nyunt said that the military regime lacked legitimacy because they
didn’t publicly distribute leaflets disclosing details of the draft
constitution.

However, the state-controlled press reported that the new legislation,
announced on Tuesday, provides for penalties of up to three years
imprisonment and 100,000 kyat (US $77) fines for offenders who distribute
statements and posters or who make speeches against the referendum. It
also bars monks and nuns from voting.

The NLD won a landslide victory—with more than 80 percent of parliamentary
seats—in multi-party elections held in 1990. After the election, instead
transferring national power, the authorities detained the winning party
NLD’s leaders, including Suu Kyi, and subsequently placed her under house
arrest.

____________________________________

February 28, Democratic Voice of Burma
Referendum law excludes monks and bans dissent

The Burmese government’s newly-approved referendum law has banned monks
and prisoners from voting, and made campaigning against the referendum
punishable by up to three years in prison.

The Referendum Law for the Approval of the Draft Constitution of the
Republic of the Union of Myanmar of 26 February 2008 sets out the
conditions for the national referendum due to be held in May.

Article 11 of the law states that all citizens, naturalized citizens and
temporary certificate holders aged 18 or over will be eligible to vote in
the referendum.

However, a number of groups are excluded from the voting roll, including
members of religious orders, people serving prison terms for any offence,
and people who are illegally abroad.

The law defines members of religious orders as Buddhist monks, nuns,
novices and religious laymen, as well as serving members of Christian and
Hindu religions.

The Article 11 provisions would render political prisoners ineligible to
vote, as well as the monks who played a leading role in last September’s
protests.

Chapter 10 of the law sets out penalties for anyone attempting to disrupt
the referendum, for example by voting more than once, falsifying ballot
papers or tampering with ballot boxes.

But it also outlaws “lecturing, distributing papers, using posters or
disturbing the voting in any other manner
to destroy the referendum”.

This move is likely to criminalise the activities of many opposition
activists, some of whom have called for a boycott of the referendum.

Article 25 provides for a prison sentence of up to three years or a fine
of up to 100,000 kyat, or both, for any violation of these restrictions.

The junta announced on 9 February that they planned to hold a
constitutional referendum in May, followed by general elections in 2010.

The draft constitution was approved by the government’s drafting committee
on 19 February, but has not yet been made public.

The planned referendum has already been criticised as a “sham” by
opposition activists, rights groups and some foreign governments.

The possible terms of the constitution have also come under fire after
comments by the Burmese foreign minister U Nyan Win suggested that
detained National League for Democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would
not be able to run for office because of her marriage to a foreign
national.

____________________________________

February 28, Mizzima News
Myanmar Nation Editor-in-Chief charged

Burmese authorities on Monday charged the Editor-in-Chief and manager of
the Rangoon journal Myanmar Nation with illegal printing and publishing.

The two, who had been detained in Thingangyun police station for 15 days,
were charged under section 17/20 of the Printers and Publishers
Registration Law on February 25 and were shifted to Burma's notorious
Insein prison, family members said.

"They were interrogated by the Military Affairs Security (MAS) while in
Thingangyun police station. We learnt they were charged under the Printers
and Publishers Act. The authorities said they were charged for possessing
a copy of the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Mr.
Pinheiro, a copy of Unbreakable Union written by U Shwe Ohn and CDs of the
Saffron Revolution," Daw Khin Swe Myint, wife of Editor-in-Chief U Thet
Zin told Mizzima.

"They were remanded to 14 days in police custody and the remand was to end
on February 29. But they were shifted to Insein prison on Monday. Since
they have no spare clothes I sent a parcel to them on Tuesday. Ko Thet Zin
told me that he is in good health and his morale is high," she added.

The employees of Myanmar Nation are reportedly facing difficulties as they
no longer have jobs after the authorities closed the journal's office and
stopped its publication.

"I told reporters to continue their work. I told them I would try my best
to print their news stories in other journals to earn some money. But it's
not an easy job. I feel sorry for the staff and their families who are
dependent on the journal at a time when many people are facing economic
hardships," Daw Khin Swe Myint said.

____________________________________

February 28, Mizzima News
Government to monitor Putao tourists - Maung Dee

Travel and tour companies are confused following a government edict
restricting who may serve as tour guides for trips to Putao in northern
Burma.

The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism issued a directive, "for the safety of
the tourists," instructing travel and tour companies to use only ministry
appointed tour guides in Putao, one of the most attractive tourist sites
in all of Burma.

"It's usual and nothing significant. Putao is a remote area. Our tour
guides are being used for Kawthaung trips too. This new instruction and
arrangement is for the safety of the tourists", an official from Myanma
Hotel and Tourism Services said.

But tour agencies suspect this new directive is designed to enhance
surveillance on the movements of the tourists visiting the area.

"It is for the surveillance of tourists and their actions. Previously they
sent either an Immigration Department official or police personnel with
the tourists," an official from a tour agency informed Mizzima.

Moreover tour and travel agencies dislike the arrangement of government
officials accompanying the tourists as it is an additional cost to be
borne by the tour companies.

"It's not good for our tour company to use tour guides provided by the
government agency. According to our company guidelines, we are to be free
from government intervention in our operations", a manager from another
tour company told Mizzima.

A tour guide from Rangoon also said that tourists feel annoyed and
bothered when government tour guides accompany them on their trips and
watch their movements in what are to be vacations of leisure.

"We don't want our customers disappointed. Our customer base will be
strengthened only if they like and are satisfied with our tour operations.
We will feel disappointed if they are disappointed with the new
restriction", he added.

But information coming from the community of tour companies indicates that
a tour company has been exempted from the new regulation and can still go
to the region with their own tour guides.

The Ministry, however, when contacted by Mizzima, replied that there are
no official relaxations as yet on this new regulation.

Tour companies still have to hire local tour guides for their tour
operations due to a lack of government tour guides and their
non-familiarity with the location.

Tour guides can earn from fifteen to fifty dollars per day depending on
their skills and work experience.

The Ministry said that the rate for government tour guides has not yet
been fixed but they will be available at a cheaper rate than external tour
guides.

The highest mountain in Burma, Khakaborazi, is located in the region of
Putao.

____________________________________

February 28, Inter Press Service
In Myanmar, a resistance hero on the run - Marwaan Macan-Markar

Somewhere in the dilapidated city of Rangoon is a man on the run since
August last year. He has sheltered in over 10 homes so far. But he expects
to continue avoiding arrest by Burma's dreaded military or intelligence
forces.

When Tun Myint Aung shifts from one safehouse to another, he goes armed
with two items that have become indispensable. They are a mobile phone and
a portable, Chinese-made radio, to listen to such anti-junta stations like
the Democratic Voice of Burma, based in Oslo, Norway.

''The phone and the radio are very important now. I always take them
wherever I go. They are next to me when I sleep,'' says Tun Myint Aung, in
a voice with a hint of excitement, during a recent telephone interview
with IPS from his current safehouse in the former Burmese capital.
''Through them I stay in touch with people outside, my friends, and follow
the news about events in the country.''

But his Tecsum shortwave radio has taken on added value in military-ruled
Burma's current oppressive climate. ''The radio has become a social weapon
for me and for our movement,'' adds Tun Myint Aung over the phone, an act
that could get him jailed. ''It is how the messages against the military
regime are broadcast by us and others against them.''

The ''us'' he refers to is the '88 Generation Students', a highly
respected group of former university graduates who have been at the
vanguard of peaceful protests against Burma's repressive military leaders.
The group gets its name from leading a pro-democracy popular movement in
1988, which was brutally crushed by the military, leaving some 3,000
protestors dead.

Till August 2007, Tun Myint Aung worked in the shadows of '88 Generation'
leaders like Min Ko Naing, who to many Burmese is the most respected
person in the country for his democracy crusade after Aung San Suu Kyi,
the opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate. But that month, the junta
arrested Min Ko Naing and other prominent leaders of the group to curb the
protests they called for after the regime raised the price of oil by 500
percent without warning.

Tun Myint Aung, who will be turning 40 this year, had to flee his home to
avoid arrest. It was an escape, forcing him to ''run and run,'' sometimes
having to spend nights on the streets with no place to hide, that has
consequently propelled him to be a new leader of the '88 Generation'. With
him at the helm are two other activists of the same group, also on the
run, Nilar Thein and Soe Htun.

His first month as a leader was overshadowed by the rage against the junta
that poured on the streets of Rangoon and other cities in September. Tens
of thousands of people, led by the countries maroon-robed Buddhist monks,
staged peaceful protests. They raised a cry against the unbearable
economic woes, the arrest of the '88 Generation' leaders, and the
continued imprisonment of political activists, including Suu Kyi. But the
junta responded with force, killing scores of demonstrators, including
monks, and jailing hundreds.

The events, since then, have proved as formidable: the junta recently
announced plans to conduct a referendum in May to seek approval for a
controversial new constitution. And mounting a political campaign against
that plebiscite from underground is a challenge.

''There are 11 organisations we are working with to inform the public that
the new constitution was not drafted by the people's representatives. We
are also warning that the referendum will not be free and fair,'' says Tun
Myint Aung. ''But if people want to vote, we are urging them to vote 'No'.
They have to oppose the military's plan to get its political life extended
legally.''

A mass movement against the referendum is also being discussed. ''We want
a nation-wide silent movement against the military. We have been
contacting people in our network, through the phone and other ways, to get
this message out,'' he reveals. ''Our actions are to get as many people to
lead this silent protest. That is how we have always worked. It is never
been based on only one person.''

The anger that the new leaders of the '88 Generation' have towards the
regime was displayed in mid-February, when they released a statement
saying that the planned May referendum is a ''declaration of war by the
military regime against the Burmese people.'' Another has followed since,
denouncing the Chinese government for ''bankrolling'' the junta and
calling for a boycott of this year's summer olympics in Beijing.

Despite the odds, Tun Myint Aung relishes his new role to lead the Burmese
opposition from within the country. ''It is a very heavy task that we
have, but it is exciting,'' he says. ''I am not depressed; I am eager to
try as many actions as we can against the military. This is the way to
help our people and to help my brothers, our comrades, in jail.''

Even the solitary hours that he sometimes has to endure to avoid arrest
barely gets him down. For he has experienced worse: he was arrested in
1990 and jailed at the notorious Insein Prison in Rangoon for three years.
At the time, he was studying geography at Rangoon University. His
''crime'' was to be a protest leader in the 1988 pro-democracy uprising.
Then, in 1998, he was arrested again and jailed till 2005. Once again, it
was for his political activism.

''I have not talked to my parents for many months; I cannot contact them,
because our home in Rangoon is under watch by the intelligence,'' he
admits, after a pause. ''I miss that. I miss talking to my nieces and
nephews. But they are used to not seeing me home''

At times, however, the strain of struggling to remain free from the
junta's grip leads to restless nights. ''If I hear strange sounds on the
road, too many dogs barking at night, I wake up,'' he says. ''What is
it?''

And visits to a hospital or clinics are out of the question for him: ''I
cannot get sick. It is too risky to go to a clinic. I am always taking
care of my health now.''

Yet there is a reason that weighs in his favour if he had to call on a
doctor. His face remains a mystery to the junta; it had not been in the
glare during the dissidents' public campaign. ''It is fortunate. I avoided
having my photos taken during the protests last year,'' says Tun Myint
Aung.

But that spell of anonymity may not last long, he concedes. ''The junta
wants to arrest all our leaders. I cannot foretell my future: if I go to
jail or not.''

____________________________________

February 28, Kaladan Press
Twelve sentenced to seven years in jail for renovation of mosque

Maungdaw, Arakan State:  Twelve villagers of Thinn Baw Gwe (Kol Loon) in
Maungdaw Township have been sentenced to seven years in jail by the
Maungdaw High Court on February 24 for renovation of a mosque and Hafez
Khana (Quaran memorial center), said a close relative of one of the
victims on condition of anonymity.

The villagers had renovated the village mosque and Hafez Khana after
acquiring necessary documents and permission from the Commander of Nasaka
area No. 8 of Maungdaw Township , three months ago.

But, the Commander was transferred and a new Nasaka Commander was
appointed to Nasaka area No.8, recently. The new Commander was not happy
with the renovation of mosque and Hafez Khana.

As a result, ten personnel of Burma 's border security forces, Nasaka,
went to Thinn Baw Gwe village on February 10, and arrested 12 villagers
and brought them to the Naska camp. Though, the villagers showed the
documents and permission letter given by the former Naska Commander (a
Major) but the new Nasaka Commander (a Captain) did not accept it, said a
local villager.

The arrested villagers were detained in Nasaka camp for 10 days. After
which they were handed over them to Maungdaw police station. Later on, on
February 25, the arrestees were produced in Maungdaw high court and
sentenced to seven years jail each for renovation of mosque and Hafez
Khana without permission. They were sent to Buthidaung jail, said a police
aide from Maungdaw Town .

The victims are identified as Hashim Ullah (40), son of Mogul Ahmed,
Rahamat Ullah    (30), son of Md. Yunus, Latif Mistry ( 50),  Noor Mohamed
(50), Sayed YUllag (40), Md. Rofique(40), son of Noor Ahmed, Nur Islam(
50), son of Lal Mohamed and five others. All the victims belong to Thinn
Baw Gwe village of Maungdaw Township.

Another 20 villagers including village Chairman Khobir Ahmed (50), son of
Basir Ahmed are still absconding to evade arrest by Nasak and police, said
another village elder.

In Arakan State, one cannot renovate mosques, religious schools, houses
even cow sheds without taking permission from concerned authorities. This
is valid for only the Rohingya community.

____________________________________

February 28, Irrawaddy
Fires continue to plague Mandalay - Violet Cho

Burma’s second largest city, Mandalay, has had another fire, after a
building in a privately owned residential compound for students went up in
flames early this morning. It was the third major fire to hit the city in
as many days.

The owner of the dormitory told The Irrawaddy that the fire was in a
hostel for female students and was apparently caused by an electrical
short circuit. All 1,500 students living in the compound escaped unharmed,
she added.

According to a witness, seven rooms in one building of the dormitory
compound, which is located in an area bordered by 32nd, 33rd, 64th and
65th Streets, were destroyed by the fire.

Yesterday afternoon, a smaller fire broke out at Mandalay’s Pyi Kyaw
Market, a day after the Yadanabon Market, Mandalay’s second largest, was
gutted by a major conflagration. According to the state-run newspaper, The
New Light of Myanmar, more than 1,300 businesses, including a computer
learning center and a private office, were destroyed in the fire. The
cause of the blaze remains undetermined.

On the same day as the Yadanabon fire, around 200 homes were destroyed in
Hlaing Thar Yar, in the outskirts of Rangoon, leaving some 3,000 people
homeless, according to a source close to a government official.

Last week, a fire at a shoe factory in Mandalay left two people dead,
including a firefighter. The fire was reportedly caused by faulty
electrical wiring.

A Burmese engineer now working in Singapore explained that the frequent
occurrence of fires in Burma is largely due to the poor quality of
materials used in the country.

“There is no quality control by authorities in Burma, and most of the
electrical materials that Burmese people use are imported from China.
These are very cheap and don’t last very long,” he said.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

February 28, Democratic Voice of Burma
Boy killed as Thai police open fire on smuggler's truck

A 10-year old Arakanese boy was killed when Thai police opened fire on a
truck carrying illegal Burmese migrants in Hat Yai, Thailand, the boy's
mother said.

The truck, which was smuggling 28 illegal Burmese immigrants across the
Thai border into Malaysia, came under fire from Thai police upon as it
entered Hat Yai on Tuesday evening after the driver refused to stop at a
police checkpoint.

Maung Oo Min Soe, a 10-year-old boy from Arakan state's Kyauktaw township,
was hit by a bullet and killed instantly while his mother and two others
were injured, according to Daw Phyu, the boy’s mother.

Daw Phyu said the driver, a Thai national, feared he might get into
trouble with the police and so dropped the boy's body off at the side of
the road and also refused to take the injured to hospital.

"My son was killed on the spot by a bullet, while I took a hit on my arm,”
said Daw Phyu.

“The driver kept driving the truck for about an hour and then said we had
to drop my son's body off on the way," she said.

"I refused to do so, but he wouldn't listen and left my son in a drain at
the side of the road."

The two others injured were identified as an Arakanese man and an ethnic
Mon, Daw Phyu said.

"The smugglers were afraid to send us to hospital and instead gave us
their own medicine," she said.

Daw Phyu said that people smugglers had arranged for her and her son to
cross into Thailand from the Kawthaung border town in Tenasserim division.

They were due to go to Malaysia to make a living and join Daw Phyu’s
husband, who moved there 10 years ago.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

February 28, Irrawaddy
Asian financial centers spotlighted in US sanctions - William Boot

The latest targeted sanctions by the United States against cronies of the
Burmese regime are aimed at embarrassing East Asia’s two leading financial
centers—Singapore and Hong Kong, says a money laundering expert.

The naming of 13 junta-linked business figures and companies earlier this
week is a warning to third countries and financial centers that their US
banking links could be in peril, says Peter Gallo, the chief of Pacific
Risk, a Hong Kong-based consultancy.

All the targets in the latest sanctions have banking links with Singapore,
and at least one Hong Kong stock exchange listed company—China National
Offshore Oil Corporation—is also involved.

“This puts more pressure on Singapore, which has to be an embarrassment
particularly as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
is leaning on offshore financial centers,” Gallo told The Irrawaddy.

“Remember that although [these new sanctions] just apply directly to US
financial institutions, any non-US bank that carry on doing business with
Burma risks jeopardizing its corresponding banking relationship with the
US., which just isn’t worth it.”

Gallo believes the US Treasury, which is directing the
sanctions, is playing a strategic game. This is the second listing of
Burma-linked targeted sanctions in a month. The aim may be to slowly
tighten the noose to make it difficult for the main junta-backed companies
and their principals to stay in business.

“This is unlikely to be the last action taken against Burma,” Gallo says
of the latest US action.

One of the companies now facing sanctions and banking freezes outside
Burma is Singapore-registered Golden Aaron, managed by Singaporean Cecilia
Ng, the wife of Tun Myint Naing, alias Steven Law.

Law heads up the Asia World Group, which is involved in developing the
Chinese oil transshipment port on Ramree Island on the central Burma
coast.

Golden Aaron is linked with the Chinese state-owned oil and gas
conglomerate CNOOC, whose ties extend across Burma—the latest deal being
with Thailand’s oil and gas explorer PTTEP to buy into a potentially
massive gas find in the large offshore block M-9 in the Gulf of Martaban.

Foreign investors who can buy CNOOC shares on the Hong Kong stock market
might be wary of banking transactions that can so easily link back to the
US and the sanctions net.

Gallo, who distributes a newsletter to business circles with advisories on
risk assessment and the dangers of tainted financial transactions, earlier
this month warned that no one should have dealings with Burmese
businessman Tay Za—labeled by the US Treasury Department as a “key
financial front man” for the Burma regime—without “seeking appropriate
professional advice as a matter of some urgency.”

Tay Za was placed on a targeted sanctions list issued several weeks ago by
the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The Burmese tycoon, who heads up the Htoo Group, was recently bidding to
buy cargo ships in South Korea.

 “The point is that more and more companies with business interests in
Burma are going to get caught up in the sanctions,”  Gallo said.

____________________________________

February 28, Narinjara News
Gas found during tube well drilling in Arakan

Natural gas was found during drilling of a tube well in a village in
Maungdaw Township in western Burma, with the gas still flowing from the
mouth of the well, according to a local office report.

The report stated that the gas was found during tube well drilling at Mro
Chaung Village in the north of Maungdaw Township.

The tube well drilling was being conducted by villagers under a program of
ACF, an NGO working on rural development in Arakan State.

A local source confirmed the report and said the gas was found on 23
February when the drilling pipe reached a depth of 120 feet.

The drillers realized that they had struck gas when a flame erupted near
the lit end of a cheroot being smoked by a worker. A witness said the
flame was one foot over the tube well, and many local people came to the
drilling site to see the flame once word got out.

The authorities have stopped the drilling and closed off the well by
filling it in with soil, but the gas is still continuing to seep out of
the ground at the well site.

The authorities are reportedly fencing off a 10 square feet area around
the well with barbwire in order to prevent any accidents from occurring
with the gas.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

February 28, Reuters
Gambari Wants 'Credible' Burma Roadmap - Teruaki Ueno

UN envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari said on Thursday that he would urge the
country's military government to take steps to make its roadmap to
democracy "credible and inclusive" when he visits the country next week.

"We would like to discuss with them how to make this process credible,"
Gambari told Reuters in an interview.

A protester holds up a banner during a rally outside the United Nations
information centre in Tokyo February 28. (Photo: Reuters)
In a surprise move, Burma's ruling generals this month announced a
referendum in May on a new constitution, to be followed by a general
election in 2010. If held, the poll would be the first since a 1990
election whose outcome the military ignored.

But opposition figures and some Western countries have voiced skepticism
whether the junta will be willing to let the opposition compete in the
vote or to relinquish power.

"We would like to encourage them to take necessary steps to create the
right atmosphere to promote a free and fair outcome which will enjoy
support internally and externally," said Gambari, who plans to visit Burma
in the first week of March.

"We would like to encourage the government to try to make it credible and
inclusive. There are many ways in which this can be done."

He said he would urge Burma's military junta to free detained opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and political prisoners to put the country on the
path to democracy.

"Because it will contribute to a positive atmosphere for the referendum
and the elections," he said. "Her continued detention will continue to be
a problem for the regime, whereas she should be part of the solution in
terms of meeting challenges facing the economy."

Suu Kyi would be barred from the 2010 elections because she had been
married to a foreigner, violating the newly drafted constitution,
Singapore's Straits Times newspaper reported last week.

Burma's generals last held elections in 1990, but ignored the result when
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won. The Nobel Peace Prize
laureate has spent more than 12 of the past 18 years under some form of
detention.

Earlier this month, the military, which has ruled Burma in various guises
since 1962, accused pro-democracy and dissident groups of trying to tear
the country apart, and urged the public to back its "roadmap to
democracy".

Gambari said he saw no need for the Burmese government to amend the
"roadmap to democracy" immediately.

"I don't think at this stage people are asking for rewriting, but they are
looking at some of the provisions that will really make participation more
inclusive and the outcome of the referendum much more credible," he said.

The United States says the referendum will be a sham conducted in a
"pervasive climate of fear".

The opposition National League for Democracy, which won a 1990 election
landslide only to be denied power by the military, was excluded from the
constitution-drafting process and is expected to push for a "no" vote.

Gambari said it was not clear whether he would be able to meet Snr-Gen
Than Shwe and Suu Kyi although he had asked to meet them.

The UN envoy also urged Japan to boost its aid to Burma.

"We want to encourage Japan to consider increasing the level of
assistance," he said. "But all these have to be in parallel with
developments on the political front."

Japan suspended some aid for Burma after a Japanese video journalist was
shot in a bloody crackdown on monk-led pro-democracy demonstrators in
September.

Japan has shown more willingness to engage Burma than most Western
countries and is one of its biggest aid donors.

____________________________________

February 28, Agence France-Presse
Bush vows to press China on rights at Olympics

US President George W. Bush vowed Thursday that he would be "not the least
bit shy" in pressing China on human rights and disputes on Darfur and
Myanmar when he attends the Beijing Olympics in August.

But he stopped short of endorsing Olympic athletes' right to publicly
express criticism of President Hu Jintao's government, saying every
country's Olympic committee would set the rules for their competitors.

"I've made it very clear I'm going to the Olympics because it's a sporting
event," Bush told reporters at a White House press conference. "I'm
looking forward to seeing the athletic competition."

"But that will not preclude me from meeting with the Chinese president,
expressing my deep concerns about a variety of issues, just like I do
every time I meet with the president," he stressed.

"A whole society, a healthy society, a confident society is one that
recognizes the value of religious freedom. I'll talk about Darfur and Iran
and Burma," as Myanmar is called in the United States, said Bush.

Human rights groups and activists have accused China of ramping up a
campaign of repression against dissidents to ensure they are silenced
during the Games, which are set to run August 8-24.

Beijing has also also come under pressure over its close ties to Myanmar's
ruling junta, amid mounting global calls for democratic reforms there; and
the government in Khartoum, over the violence in Sudan's Darfur province.

And a former Chinese factory worker who tried to link the issue of human
rights to the Olympics was awaiting a verdict after going on trial for
alleged subversion.

"I am not the least bit shy bringing up the concerns expressed by this
factory worker, and I believe that I'll have an opportunity to do so with
the president and at the same time enjoy a great sporting event," said
Bush.

Yang Chunlin, whose petition entitled "We want human rights, not the
Olympics" attracted more than 10,000 signatures, was tried last week, his
lawyer Li Fangping told AFP after the one-day proceedings.

A verdict is expected within days, according to Li.

And the British Olympic Association unwittingly caused a PR storm for
China when it sought to have its athletes agree to a gag order preventing
them from speaking out against Chinese policies -- only to back down in
the face of a media uproar.

China is one the closest allies of the government in Sudan, which is
locked in a years-long proxy war with rebels in Darfur. UN estimates put
the death toll at about 200,000, with more than two million driven from
their homes.

Team Darfur, a group of around 250 past Olympians athletes and future
Olympic hopefuls from 42 countries, hopes to use the Beijing Games to
speak out on the bloodshed in Sudan.

Democracy activists called Monday for a boycott on televised coverage of
this summer's Olympics in Beijing, in protest at China's support for the
ruling military junta in Myanmar.

The Olympics are set to open on August 8, the 20th anniversary of a
pro-democracy uprising led by students in Myanmar.

The military, which has ruled the country formerly known as Burma since
1962, opened fire on the crowds, killing an estimated 3,000 people.

Last year, the junta in Yangon brutally quashed a fresh protest movement
led by Buddhist monks, drawing international condemnation, and tighter US
sanctions.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

February 28, Irrawaddy
No Way, Than Shwe – Aung Zaw

The Burmese military regime’s planned referendum in May continues to draw
mixed reactions. Its announcement yesterday that there are stiff penalties
in store for those who oppose the referendum—on a constitution which
nobody has seen—shows that the junta is not only holding its “road map to
democracy” close to its chest, but is also intent on keeping its hands
firmly on the steering wheel.

Suddenly, after taking more than 14 years to draft the constitution, the
regime’s leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, has hit the accelerator. The road
ahead may not be so smooth, however, so the aging hardliner is taking no
chances. Between now and 2010, he has to ensure that nothing stands in the
way of his efforts to enshrine military supremacy once and for all.

On Wednesday, the Burmese-language Myanma Alin published a new law signed
by the general. The state-controlled newspaper reported that those who
make speeches and distribute statements and posters against the referendum
will face sentences of up to three years imprisonment and fines of 100,000
kyat (US $77).

There will be no independent body to monitor the referendum, raising fears
that Burmese citizens will be forced to vote “yes” at gunpoint.

It is clear that Than Shwe is hoping his road map will somehow get him out
the mess that the regime has been mired in since its brutal suppression of
the monk-led uprising last September. But ordinary Burmese would be only
too happy to express their disgust at the junta’s handling of the biggest
demonstrations since 1988 by voting a resounding “no” to their
constitution. So Than Shwe must make it clear to all that “no” is not an
option.

It has been 35 years since Burma’s last referendum. In 1973, Gen Ne Win,
who had seized power 11 years earlier, decided to legitimize his rule by
calling on the Burmese people to endorse a new constitution based on his
“Burmese Way to Socialism.” The following year, basking in newfound
legitimacy, Gen Ne Win became the country’s civilian president and
continued to rule until 1988.

Winning “yes” votes in 1973 had been easy. Ne Win enjoyed the backing of
veteran politicians and a significant portion of the population. The
country was not in turmoil (though the army was struggling to suppress
ethnic and communist rebellions in the mountains and hills), and the
international community wasn’t really paying attention.

Fifteen years later, faced with a nationwide uprising, Ne Win tried once
again to hold a referendum, this time on a transition from one-party rule
to multiparty democracy. But that referendum never happened. Ne Win saw
the referendum as a way out, but it was too late. He finally quit in
disgrace.

Now, after almost twenty years in power, Than Shwe wants to hold a
referendum to approve a military-sponsored constitution that the regime
has been drafting since 1993.

Than Shwe faces a very different situation from Ne Win in 1973, and he
knows it. He is widely loathed, and his referendum wouldn’t stand a chance
of success if people were free to exercise their rights. Indeed, most
Burmese probably made up their minds the moment the referendum was
announced on February 9: No way, Than Shwe.

Meanwhile, governments around the world remain ambivalent at best. In the
West, some dismiss the referendum as a sham, while others reiterate the
need for an inclusive, transparent process. Governments around Asia—most
recently, Singapore and Indonesia—have also expressed reservations.

But for Than Shwe, there’s nowhere to go but forward. The country has hit
a wall again, but that won’t stop him from pushing ahead with his plans to
entrench the military in power indefinitely.

That means he will do everything possible to clear the road of obstacles.
Anybody who stands in the way of the planned May referendum knows what
they can expect. But with all the potholes in Than Shwe’s “Burmese Road to
Democracy,” his efforts to drive the country into a permanent rut are
going to be anything but smooth.

____________________________________

February 28, Mizzima News
Burma's diaspora and the right to vote - Christopher Smith

Should Burma's expatriate population be allowed to vote? If so, how may
this be accomplished? For the throngs of Burmese citizens residing abroad,
from the squalor of refugee camps to the high-rises of Manhattan, the
question may at first appear uncontroversial.

Yet the legal and logistical commitments to make this happen are not
clearly laid out. Still, the final balance tilts toward the warranted
inclusion of these disenfranchised populations.

Let us initially assume, for the purpose of this exercise, that Burmese
authorities approach these policy questions openly and objectively, with
nothing but the best interests of the state and its citizens at heart.

The right to vote for diaspora populations across the world varies from
country to country, while in some countries such as the United States the
right can greatly differ from state to state. In Germany the right to vote
in the Federal Republic is forfeited if a person left more than 25 years
previously. In Kenya last year there was no provision made for polling
outside the country and no legalization of dual citizenship. Legislation
in India guarantees the right to vote only to resident citizens.

Afghanistan's 2004 elections, with vast international support, saw
elections conducted in refugee camps inside neighboring states, possibly
accounting for as much as 10 percent of the total vote. While in Liberia
in 2005 a large portion of refugees and internally displaced persons did
not vote as it would have required them returning home and posed a direct
threat to their personal security. Bhutanese refugees in Nepal are
scheduled to take part in that country's groundbreaking elections later
this year.

As can be seen, different governments have approached the question with
differing criteria and solutions. What then do international standards
infer with direct relevance to the case of Burma?

Chapter 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
states that every citizen is entitled "To vote and to be elected at
genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage
and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of
the will of the electors." Yet a 1996 decision by the Human Rights
Committee ruled that it is justifiable to make the right to vote
contingent upon residency, thereby leaving local electoral law to
determine the meaning of residency.

Ultimately the decision to unequivocally include refugee and exile
populations in the electoral process, and with a nod toward what appears
the dominant trend, rests on the motivation for the citizen residing
abroad.

As long as the impetus for the refugee or exile to leave his or her
country was not one based entirely of free-will, and rather the result of
coercion, force or threat, it can be argued that the populations in
question desire to be able to return home and still see their allegiance
with their native, as opposed to adopted, country. Here, there is more of
a danger for those residing abroad for an extended period of time and
geographically removed from Burma to be excluded.

To paraphrase Salman Rushdie, exile is a dream of return. The same can be
applied to those living in the refugee camps along Burma's borders. This
vision and understanding must carry the day if the broad realization of
Burma's diaspora to partake in Burmese elections is to be seen. Then it is
a matter of finding a means to meet the objective.

Here, commitment must be matched with resources on hand. In this year's
United States Presidential primaries physical balloting stations were
erected in over 30 countries worldwide, while the Democratic Party was
able to boast that this is the "first ever online, worldwide U.S.
election." Thai citizens, as is common with many nationalities, are able
to cast absentee ballots through the diplomatic representation of their
home country abroad.

The method chosen for ensuring the participation of diaspora populations
is, to a degree, reliant on technology and infrastructure. More advanced
countries undoubtedly have an advantage in conducting such operations,
while a country like Afghanistan relied on the international community to
provide the logistics it could ill afford.

How are exiled populations registered? Typically a prospective voter will
need to prove residency and/or identification in the form of a passport or
some other government administered document. Qualifications such as these
might pose a distinct problem for persons who have lost their homes or
those lacking proper government paperwork due to their having fled Burma.
Some process of systemic documentation would have to be undertaken, and
may very well necessitate the involvement of international actors.

Refugee populations have been increasingly brought into the fold of
elections in their home countries, from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Kosovo
to Afghanistan. Though it is arguably within the legal right of the
Burmese state to exclude some populations based on criteria such as how
long it's been since they left the country or questions of dual
citizenship, there are still swells of refugees and others whose Burmese
citizenry, residency and/or desire to return can in no fashion be
questioned.

Now, let's momentarily discard with the presumption of best intentions for
free and fair elections on the part of the junta.

International law does not require that refugee and exile populations be
incorporated into the electoral process. Though this may be a prevalent
sentiment and is apparently inferred in most definitions of free and fair
elections, there exists no clear cut legal mandate.

According to a report sanctioned by the UNHCR, the successful inclusion of
at-risk diaspora populations in the electoral process is generally linked
to two fundamental criteria: 1) a significant involvement by the larger
international community, and 2) momentum to achieve political change. At
present this does not bode well for Burma's diaspora, near or far from
home.

But if the junta wants to reach out to millions of Burmese residing
outside their native land, but longing to return, then provision should be
made for their involvement in the electoral process, as it is the right
thing to do; lest legitimacy of the process be only further denigrated.
And once this will manifests itself, as witnessed in similar electoral
scenarios, means can be found to overcome logistical obstacles.

____________________________________

February 28, San Francisco Chronicle
Burma's faux democracy [Editorial]

There are a number of self-canceling phrases on the world scene: Cuban
freedom, Chinese human rights and Sudanese peace treaty. The latest one
may be Burmese democracy.

That country, also known as Myanmar, is run by a military junta that
trampled a popular vote in 1988 to continue its leaden misrule. Now, under
worldwide pressure, it's proposing an election on a new constitution in
May, and if all goes to plan, national elections for office in 2010.

Don't think for a minute that the generals have seen the light. This is
Burma where protesting monks were shot and thousands locked up after
street protests last September. Worldwide revulsion deepened the country's
isolation.

The junta has hit on a new strategy: faux democracy. The proposed
constitution was written with zero input from government foes, and the
junta's leading critic, Nobel Peace Prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi, remains
under house arrest. Among those expected to be barred from voting are
monks, nuns, Christian and Hindu leaders, and "foreigners," a term that
may exclude Suu Kyi, whose late husband was British.

Next week, United Nations troubleshooter Ibrahim Gambari is due to visit
the country after taking the pulse of Burma's neighbors. He's too seasoned
a diplomat to buy Burma's conjured democratic road map at face value. But
he will need the backing of the region and the world's super powers to
persuade the junta to genuinely change.

That's why it was good see President Bush expand a sanction list by adding
a string of Burmese businessmen and their operations. Burma's other
neighbors, notably India and China, should step up the pressure as well.
Then democracy might take root in a country that badly wants it.

____________________________________
STATEMENT

February 28, National League for Democracy
Special Announcement [Unofficial Translation]

In the multi-party generation elections held in 27 May 1990, by the State
Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) (now State Peace and Development
Council, SPDC), the National League for Democracy party won a landslide
victory with obtaining 82% of majority in nationwide constituencies. Then,
during the coordinating meeting of the SLORC and its State and Divisional
Branches at the operational meeting room at the Ministry of Defense on 3
July 1990, the Commander-in-Chief again pledged as follows.

Quote; “What would be the next step after the election? It shall be to
write the constitution. As I mentioned on 5 July 1989, the SLORC will not
write the constitution. We don’t want to be an accused (in
history)...Writing of the constitution should be done by elected
representatives, coordinated with the election winning parties,” Unquote.

Again, the SLORC (now SPDC) issued statement 1/90 on 27 July 1990. The
Paragraph (20) of that statement said as follows.

Quote; “the elected representatives today are sole responsible to write
the constitution for the future democratic country," Unquote.

However, almost all of the Members of Parliament-elect are not allowed
writing the draft constitution of the Union of Myanmar 2008.

The authorities also haven't made its draft constitution public yet as of
today. However, the authorities have already formed the "Commission for
Holding Referendum for the Approval of the Draft Constitution of the
Republic of the Union of Myanmar 2008." When we looked at the Commission,
we found that Chairman of that Commission is the same person who chaired
the Chairman of National Convention Working Committee, which in
instrumental to lead and adopt the fundamental and detailed principles
from National Convention, and the Commission to Draft the State
Constitution 2008. Furthermore, some members of that Commission are also
delegates of the National Convention and members of the Commission to
draft the state constitution.

That was against the advice and demands of international organizations,
including the United Nations. All responsible persons should be included
in the process of drafting the state constitution and the transformation
of the nation. The one-sided act of the authorities not only harms the
national reconciliation process but also cannot be accepted by the people.

According to the decision made by CEC meeting on 27 February 2008

Central Executive Committee
National League for Democracy
Rangoon