BurmaNet News, March 8-10, 2008

[Editor]

March 8-10, 2008 Issue # 3418

INSIDE BURMA
AP: No progress in UN Envoy’s mission to Burma
Mizzima News: Second meeting with Suu Kyi in the works
Mizzima News: Heightened security in Rangoon over past few days
Irrawaddy: Junta’s snub signals failure of Gambari’s mission
Reuters: In Myanmar, dissidents beat junta gags with gags
Reuters: Burma's last Royal laments a crumbling nation
DVB: Political prisoner dies in Bago prison
DVB: NLD members arrested over Rambo DVDs
DVB: Police officers arrested after lottery crackdown

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: DVB under fire for independent stance
Irrawaddy: Junta forcing migrants home for Referendum
Christian Science Monitor: On Thai border, a rare refuge for Burmese children

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: Weekly business roundup
Kuwait News Agency: China-Myanmar oil pipeline still under discussion

ASEAN
Florida Shipper: ASEAN chief stresses importance of regional charter for
Southeast Asia

REGIONAL
Frontier India: India and Myanmar to institutionalise security cooperation

OPINION / OTHER
The Nation (Thailand): Concrete action needed on Burma
Irrawaddy: Why an independent media matters in Burma - Aung Zaw

PRESS RELEASE
USCB: Regime attacks ethnic minority villages while UN Envoy enters Burma
Rohingya Human Rights Council: An appeal to Bangladesh Government

OBITUARY
Irrawaddy: Famous singer Sai Htee Saing dies

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 10, Associated Press
No progress in UN Envoy’s mission to Burma

The UN's special envoy to Burma resumed meetings with the military
government on Sunday despite the junta's rejection of his efforts to speed
up the country's return to democracy.

But the meetings appeared not to be directly concerned with the political
reconciliation efforts being promoted by the envoy, Ibrahim Gambari.

According to the UN Information Center in Burma's largest city, Rangoon,
Gambari met with the ministers of health and national planning as well as
the chairman of the civil service board and a deputy foreign minister.

Gambari apparently failed, however, to secure more talks with Information
Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, who heads a team set up to discuss
democratization.

Last week the junta rejected UN suggestions for reconciliation, such as
letting independent observers monitor the upcoming national referendum on
a new constitution.

Gambari also sought to have the process for adopting a new constitution
made more open to incorporate the views of the country's pro-democracy
movement, led by detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The draft constitution's text has not yet been made public. The guidelines
on which it is based were drawn up by a military-guided convention and
include clauses that would bar Suu Kyi from public office and perpetuate
the army's leading role in politics.

Kyaw Hsan said it would be "impossible" to rewrite the draft constitution,
which will be submitted to a referendum in May.

Asked by Gambari to consider releasing political prisoners—estimated by
the UN and human rights groups to total more than 1,100—he said Burma has
no political prisoners and that Suu Kyi was detained because she tried to
disrupt the country's stability.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo condemned the junta's
rejection of independent poll monitors, calling it "a sad day for
democracy and our region."

"Outside observers are not a threat to any nation's sovereignty," she said
in a statement issued on Sunday in Manila. "Rather, the participation of
outside election observers is a sign of strength. These observers help
show the world the credibility of the election process itself as we had
long done in the Philippines."

The Philippines has been a major promoter of democratization among its
fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Burma is a
member of the 10-country bloc.

The junta announced last month that it would hold the constitutional
referendum, followed by a general election in 2010—the first specific
dates for steps in its previously announced "roadmap to democracy."

The country has been military-ruled since 1962. The current junta seized
power in 1988 and refused to honor the results of a 1990 general election
won by Suu Kyi's party.

The junta's rejections of Gambari's suggestions were the latest setback
for the envoy who arrived on Thursday on his third trip to Burma since the
junta's deadly crackdown on nonviolent pro-democracy protesters in
September triggered an international outcry.

His visit came amid growing concerns that the government is tightening its
grip on power.

____________________________________

March 10, Mizzima News
Second meeting with Suu Kyi in the works

Sources in Rangoon say the U.N. Special Envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari,
met again today with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Gambari, who arrived in Burma on Thursday, also met with the pro-democracy
leader on Saturday at the Green Bank State Guest House.

The Special Envoy, who is likely to wind up his tour this evening, plans
to further meet with diplomats and U.N. agencies, the U.N. Information
Center in Rangoon told Mizzima.

The U.N. Information Center said that Gambari yesterday met with Minister
of National Planning and Economic Development, Soe Tha, Minister of
Health, Dr. Kyaw Myint, Dr. Than Nyunt of the Public Services Selection
and Training Board and Deputy Foreign Minister Kyaw Thu.

As with his November tour, the U.N. Special Envoy is likely to return home
without gaining a sitting with the regime's Senior General, Than Shwe.

On Friday the regime's Information Minister met Gambari and informed him
that the regime rejected all demands made of it by the U.N.

The regime's spokesperson, Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan, criticized Gambari
for his activities undermining ethnic unity in Burma and jeopardizing
state tranquility and stability.

He said, "The statement issued by you [U.N.] jeopardized confidence
building measures underway in Burma and created unnecessary disturbances
and disappointing confusions among the ethnic nationalities".

Kyaw Hsan added that it was impossible to restart the constitution
drafting process and that there have been enough deliberations and
dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi.

The U.N. Special Envoy also, during a Friday meeting with the Referendum
Convening Commission headed by Thaung Nyunt, requested permission for
international observers to monitor the constitutional. But this request
also met with a negative response from the regime.

Thaung Nyunt additionally turned down an offer for the provision of
technical expertise on referendums and elections, saying that there is
already enough expertise in Burma to conduct these works, according to the
state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar.

The U.N. Envoy may also meet with a Pa-O organization led by Aung Kham
Hti, National Unity Party (NUP) led by Khin Maung Gyi and Union Solidarity
and Development Association (USDA) led by Secretary Zaw Min; none of whom
he was able to meet with on previous occasions.

Details of Gambari’s talks with National League for Democracy leaders are
not yet known.

___________________________________

March 10, Mizzima News
Heightened security in Rangoon over past few days

Security has been tightened in most of the townships in Rangoon. Soldiers
were seen patrolling the city in FAW military trucks imported from China
and Hino TE 11 in many townships in Rangoon. Troops were deployed in some
crowded and major intersections, local residents said.

Soldiers and riot police in combat gear and red, yellow and green scarves,
are patrolling the city in TE 11 trucks. They also patrolled each township
in commandeered Toyota Dyna pick-ups and two fire tenders totaling four to
five vehicles with Swanahshin and members of Union Solidarity and
Development Association (USDA) in mufti onboard, accounting for 50
persons," Ko Win from South Okkalapa said.

"The colour of scarves varies for each township. For instance, they used
yellow in Dagon satellite Township, red in South Okkalapa, green in Latha
and Bahan Townships. They used green scarves in the diplomatic enclave,"
he added.

"Security has been tightened over three to four days. The soldiers with
yellow scarves are patrolling in FAW trucks in our township. We heard that
these trucks are also patrolling every township in Rangoon. A fire tender
is sandwiched between these FAW trucks," a local resident in Tamwe said.

We learnt that three to nine  vehicles are patrolling in each township of
Tamwe, Kamayut, Mayangon, Thingangyun, Mingalar Taungnyunt, South
Okkalapa, Dagon satellite township, North Okkalapa, Hlaing Thayar,
Thaketa, Bahan, Botathaung and Latha Townships. There are about 20
uniformed soldiers in each vehicle.

"Security has been tightened in key places such as near Kandawgyi Lake,
Shwedagon pagoda, in Bahan 3rd lane and in front of Town Hall. The
soldiers in FAW trucks are also seen in downtown Rangoon. The soldiers
with red scarves were deployed at the intersections. The FAW trucks are
patrolling in downtown Rangoon," a local resident of Rangoon said.

The members of the USDA and Swanahshin were seen accompanying the military
trucks with two or three Dyan pickups and two fire tenders. The soldiers
are wearing red scarves, he added.

The people in Rangoon speculated that the tightening of security was
because of the UN special envoy Mr. Gambari's visit to Burma.

"It is very frustrating for commuters in Rangoon. The cars and buses had
to stop when these patrol cars came. The patrol cars don't care for
traffic rules and keep jumping the red light," Ko Win further said.

____________________________________

March 10, Irrawaddy
Junta’s snub signals failure of Gambari’s mission - Wai Moe

Burma’s military junta has spoken: there will be no role for the United
Nations in determining the course of the country’s political transition to
what it calls a “disciplined democracy.”

This is the message that the ruling State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC) sent to the international community and the Burmese people through
its treatment of the UN special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari.

The Nigerian diplomat, who has just completed his fifth visit to Burma,
proposed a more inclusive process of political change in the country, and
offered to send monitors to ensure that the outcome of the junta’s planned
referendum on a draft constitution is accepted as legitimate. The junta
said no to both suggestions.

Gambari met with National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu
Kyi twice during his five-day trip, but was denied a meeting with the
junta’s supreme leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe. Instead, he met with members of
the regime’s “Spokes Authoritative Team,” consisting of Information
Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, Foreign Minister Nyan Win and Culture
Minister Maj-Gen Khin Aung Myint.

There were also brief meetings with other NLD leaders, representatives of
ethnic groups, and officials from the pro-junta Union Solidarity and
Development Association (USDA) and National Unity Party (NUP).

As he did during Gambari’s last visit to Burma in November 2007, Kyaw Hsan
used the occasion of his latest meeting with the UN representative to send
a clear message that the junta does not appreciate international
interference in its affairs.

The state-run mouthpiece, The New Light of Myanmar, published the full
text of Kyaw Hsan’s indignant reaction to Gambari’s role in releasing a
statement from Aung San Suu Kyi following his last visit.

“Sadly, you went beyond your mandate,” said the information minister in
his carefully worded reproach. “Some even believe that that you prepared
the statement in advance and released it after coordinating with Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi,” he added.

He went on to accuse the UN envoy of trying to “frame a pattern desired by
western countries.”

Kyaw Hsan also took issue with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s calls
for a more inclusive constitution-drafting process, pointing out that the
NLD walked out of the National Convention two years after it first
convened in 1993.

The constitution, finally completed last year, is in no further need of
revision, insisted Kyaw Hsan. “The majority of the people do not demand to
amend it,” he told Gambari.
But analysts say that most of delegates at the convention were handpicked
by the junta and only a few representatives from political parties were
allowed to attend the convention. Before the NLD walked out of the
National Convention in November 2005, only 99 of the 702 delegates were
elected officials.

After meeting with Kyaw Hsan’s team, Gambari met with a member of the
commission responsible for holding the referendum, Thaung Nyunt, who
flatly rejected a proposal for international monitoring of the forthcoming
referendum in May.

“U Thaung Nyunt replied that holding the referendum for the constitution
is within the State sovereignty. Besides, there were no instances of
foreign observers monitoring events like a referendum,” said a report in
The New Light of Myanmar.

U Lwin, secretary of the NLD, told The Irrawaddy on Saturday that Gambari
explained to his party that he came to Burma with a mandate from the UN
Security Council.
“He also told us about his meetings with the regime officials on previous
days,” said U Lwin, who declined to provide any further details.

Meanwhile, observers in Burma said that the junta’s snub of Gambari showed
that the generals were not interested in listening to the international
community.

“It is very clear that they [the junta] will do everything their own way.
No matter what the international community says, they negate all voices,”
said a Burmese political observer in Rangoon, adding that the chances of a
national reconciliation talks taking place now are non-existent. “It is
time for Burma’s people to decide how to react to the junta,” he added.

Other observers said it was time for the international community to send a
stronger message to the junta through a UN Security Council resolution.

Aye Thar Aung, an Arakan leader, told The Irrawaddy on Saturday that the
military junta will only cooperate with proposals which support their
stands. “Dialogues between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta official,
Aung Kyi, were just a kind of cosmetic approach under pressure from
Burmese people and the international community,” he said.

“The UN Security Council should really do something,” he added.

Larry Jagan, a British journalist who specializes in reporting on Burmese
issues, also said that the junta has clearly demonstrated its indifference
to international opinion.
“It is clear from Kyaw Hsan’s lecture that the regime is little interested
in the international community’s concerns,” Jagan told The Irrawaddy on
Saturday. “The UN is not being imaginative enough to try and expand a UN
role around Mr Gambari. So I think the UN role in Burma in the area of
mediation is effectively finished,” he said.

“What they would be worried about is the Burma issue will be raised again
in the United Nations Security Council,” Jagan added.

____________________________________

March 9, Reuters
In Myanmar, dissidents beat junta gags with gags - Ed Cropley

Sagaing, Myanmar There is an old joke in Myanmar about the man with
chronic toothache who travels to neighboring Thailand to see a dentist.

Bemused, the Thai dentist asks him: "But surely you have dentists in
Myanmar?"

"Of course," the man replies. "We have some of the best dentists in the
world. It's just that in our country nobody can open their mouth."

With scores, possibly hundreds, of Buddhist monks and leading dissidents
still behind bars six months after last year's democracy protests, the
joke is truer than it has been at almost any time in 46 years of unbroken
army rule in the former Burma.

But despite the threat from one of the world's most repressive regimes and
its virtually all-seeing network of spies and informants, dissent and
criticism -- albeit heavily couched in innuendo and allegory -- bubble
away.

A case in point is the Most Venerable Ashin Nyanissara, the 71-year-old
head of the International Buddhist Academy in Sagaing, a sleepy town but
major centre of religious scholarship 20 km (12 miles) west of Mandalay,
Myanmar's second city.

Although he took no part in September's marches, the abbot's teachings are
now hot property on the underground DVD scene -- alongside, in a bizarre
quirk of fate, the latest Rambo movie featuring an ageing Sylvester
Stallone taking on the Burmese army.

MURDER, MONKEYS...

In one disc, the respected monk expounds on the murderous excesses and
subsequent conversion to Buddhism of the third century BC Indian emperor
Ashoka the Great.

In another, he tells the tale of a group of ignorant monkeys who pull up a
plantation of saplings to find out why some grow faster than others. Even
though they are all replanted, the trees, of course, quickly wither and
die.

It is not hard to divine the message given the junta's well-founded
reputation for brutality. At least 31 people died in the September
crackdown, according to the United Nations.

Inevitably, agents from the feared Military Intelligence (MI) came
knocking and confiscated the DVDs, which were deemed of sufficient
importance to warrant a screening at a junta cabinet meeting in Naypyidaw,
the new capital.

Thankfully for the abbot, the generals didn't get the joke, one senior
monk in Sagaing told Reuters.

"They all thought 'We're not foolish people. We are wise people, so it
can't be referring to us,"' he said with a chuckle. "But the moment people
heard MI had seized the recordings, they started selling like hot cakes."

... AND MOUSTACHES

It is not just monks who raise their voices against the regime and its
disastrous handling of an economy that ranked as one of Asia's brightest
prospects at independence from Britain in 1948.

Besides the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), led by
detained Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, all number of underground groups
circulate, unified mainly by a loathing for the military and a reliance on
the Internet to communicate.

"We don't need code names. We just use e-mail," one leading activist told
Reuters at a meeting in a safe house in Yangon, the former capital.
"They're not smart enough to be able to read it."

The most potent such group remains the "88 Generation Students," named
after a brutally crushed 1988 uprising.

When the junta unveiled an election timetable last month, the group
managed to come up with an official response -- a denouncement of the plan
-- within 24 hours even though its leaders are all in jail, hiding or
exile.

The frequent arrest and imprisonment of actors and comedians in the last
20 years is also testament to the central role they play in giving voice
to the frustrations of the country's 53 million people.

Notable among the 3,000 people rounded up in the September crackdown were
Zarganar, one of Yangon's hottest comedy acts and author of the dentist
joke, and Par Par Lay, lead member of Mandalay's famous "Moustache
Brothers" troupe.

Between them, the trio have spent more than 12 years behind bars for
cracking jokes about the junta. At the moment they are being allowed to
stage their nightly shows, a ribald mixture of slapstick, political satire
and classical dance.

Significantly, however, the act is limited to English and the stage is the
living room of the brothers' run-down home. Members of the audience are
only ever tourists or spies.

"We're allowed to keep going because we're dead meat already," said Lu
Maw, the only one of the brothers to have evaded jail time. "I'm just a
comedian, but the only time I can open my mouth is inside my own home."

(Editing by Michael Battye and Megan Goldin)

____________________________________

March 10, Reuters
Burma's last Royal laments a crumbling nation - Ed Cropley

With a twinkle in his eye and the cheeky grin of a man half his age,
84-year-old Taw Paya does what few in Burma are prepared to do: speak out
openly against the ruling military junta.

But this is no gung-ho dissident, courting the wrath of one of the world's
most repressive governments.

Taw Paya, the sole surviving grandson of Burma's last king, stands outside
his house in Maymyo, 80 km (50 miles) east of Mandalay. The royal blood in
his veins still gives Taw Paya elevated status in the former Burma,
allowing him to speak openly against the ruling military regime and its
handling of the economy. (Photo: Reuters)
Taw Paya is the sole surviving grandson of the former Burma's last
monarch, King Thibaw, exiled to India by the British in 1885. The blue
blood flowing in his veins does not make him immune to recrimination, but
it certainly helps.

"People are still respectful of the royal blood," he told Reuters in the
sitting room of his red-brick colonial-style villa, built in 1947, the
year before Burma claimed its independence from Britain.

A woolly hat is pulled low over his forehead and his jacket is buttoned up
to the neck to ward off the early morning chill of Maymyo (known as Pyin U
Lwin), a hill-station popular with British officers seeking escape from
the sweat and dust of Burma's central plains.

There is little else to cover his disdain for the 46 years of unbroken
army rule that have transformed Burma from the rice bowl of Asia into a
deeply impoverished international pariah. "There's nothing good in Burma
any more," he said, recalling the apparent Golden Age of early
independence in which food was cheap and plentiful—in stark contrast to
the galloping inflation and deepening poverty that sparked September's
monk-led protests.

"How will it change? That's the big question," he said. "Nobody knows how
to unravel the trouble we're in. There's no answer as long as these chaps
are in power. We have to hope for change, but I don't think it'll be
realized while we're alive."

Taw Paya's mother was allowed back to Burma in 1919, but kept under close
watch by British imperial rulers fearful of the lingering respect accorded
to the royal line. The military, which seized power in a 1962 coup, has
been no less restrictive.

"I'd be mad to want to become a king now. With these chaps, I don't think
I'd get very far," he said in understated Victorian English learnt at a
mission school in 1930s Rangoon, long since renamed Yangon and superseded
as the capital city.

Since 2005, the generals who replaced dictator Ne Win after a brutally
crushed 1988 pro-democracy uprising have shut themselves away in a remote
new capital, Naypyidaw, carved out of the bush.

The so-called "Royal City" is a clear sign of junta supremo Than Shwe's
regal pretensions, Taw Paya said, but it is also indicative of a regime
which does not understand, and does not want to understand, the outside
world.

"Even compared to Ne Win, they are burglars," he said. "At least he had
some general knowledge from traveling around countries overseas. He could
see how the rest of the world and democracies worked. Than Shwe hasn't
even been to England."

Despite international outrage at September's crackdown in which at least
31 people died, the generals would kill again to put down any repeat, said
Taw Paya, who likes to pass his days watching European soccer via a cheap
Chinese satellite dish.

"If there is upheaval, it will be put down very drastically," he said.
"They don't give a damn for anybody so long as their own skin is safe.
They don't give a damn about what others say. For them, any change is bad,
so they try to cover it."

Nor has there been any sign of the called-for relaxation of the junta's
grip on the lives of Burma's 53 million people.

"If somebody farts in a house, they know who it is," he said with a smile.

____________________________________

March 10, Democratic Voice of Burma
Political prisoner dies in Bago prison

Political prisoner and National League for Democracy member Ko Win Tin
died on 6 March aged 35 while serving a 27-year prison term in Tharawaddy
prison, Bago division.

Ko Win Tin, also known as Anue, was sentenced to 27 years’ imprisonment in
1999 under article 5(j) of the emergency law, among other charges, for
planning to incite nationwide mass protests on 9 September 1999.

U Myat Hla, a member of Bago NLD and elected representative of the
people's parliament, said he was informed about Win Tin's death by his
wife on Thursday.

"We had been hearing news about him being in bad health for quite a while
before we heard about his death today," said Myat Hla.

"We were told the sad news by his wife who went to the prison."

Myat Hla said Win Tin had been an enthusiastic member of the NLD in Bago
township since it was formed when he was about 14 years old.

"He and his sister were with us since the beginning and they participated
enthusiastically in our party's activities," he said.

"We loved him so much and we regard his death as the loss of a family
member."

____________________________________

March 10, Democratic Voice of Burma
NLD members arrested over Rambo DVDs

Two National League for Democracy members from Hlaing township in Rangoon
were arrested on Saturday for possession of DVDs of the film Rambo.

NLD spokesperson U Nyan Win said that the party did not yet know the full
details of the arrests.

“Ko Thant Zin and Ko Tun Tun were arrested at their homes on Saturday
evening and their families have been unable to contact them,” Nyan Win
said.

“The NLD doesn’t know much about it, but we know it was in connection with
the Rambo films.”

Nyan Win criticised the government’s actions against the two NLD members.

“People watch movies for entertainment, and the government should not
arrest them for it. They have a right to watch whatever they want,” he
said.

Rambo has been banned by the Burmese regime, but copies of the film are
being sold illegally in the country.

____________________________________

March 10, Democratic Voice of Burma
Police officers arrested after lottery crackdown

More than 30 police officers in Bago township were arrested on 2 March due
to suspicions that an information leak had sabotaged a raid on illegal
lottery sellers.

Bago division authorities’ anti-gambling force carried out a surprise raid
on two and three digit lottery vendors on 22 January, but was only able to
arrest four of the nine major sellers in the township.

A local resident said that authorities assumed the operation was
unsuccessful because the vendors had been warned of the planned raid.

“The divisional authorities formed an anti-gambling force and tried to
catch the lottery vendors, but they only arrested four of the nine major
sellers in Bago township,” the resident said.

“The authorities assumed this is because information was leaked by police
in exchange for bribes from the vendors, and so they arrested the police
officers.”

Over 30 police officers from police stations 1, 2 and 3 in Bago were
arrested on 2 March.

But the officers’ families have complained that their arrests were unfair.

One Bago local said that low-level police officers had been unfairly
blamed for the failure to arrest the lottery vendors.

“Officials at all levels are taking bribes, and people think this
information leak might have come from the top-level officials, not the
low-level police officers who were arrested,” the local said.

No senior officials were among those arrested.

Since 5 March, a small number of police officers from Bago division have
been transferred to other parts of Burma.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March 10, Irrawaddy
DVB under fire for independent stance – Violent Cho

As the exiled Democratic Voice of Burma matures into a seasoned news
organization, serving audiences in Burma and abroad, some exiled
politicians criticized its “independence” last week, calling for more
advocacy views and opinions representing political opposition groups.

During a panel discussion on exiled media organized by the Democratic
Voice of Burma in Bangkok last week, a lively debate emerged around DVB’s
independent radio and television broadcast stations.

DVB was founded in 1992 by Burmese opposition groups and leading
politicians in exile.

It became independent in 2003, with a commitment to become a professional
news broadcast organization. Opposition group members no longer serve on
its board of directors.

A non-profit organization based in Norway, it is operated by a Burmese
staff.  Its television station, created in 2005, was an influential source
of news and information during the 2007 uprising.

Maung Maung, the general secretary of the National Council of Union of
Burma, in a prepared speech, said Burmese opposition groups need a media
outlet that clearly represents their views and visions.

“The democratic movement needs media that will spell out our political
stands, priorities and actions to the people of Burma and the
international community in a consistent way,” he said.

Maung Maung’s views found some support among some exiled politicians
during the debate.

Maung Maung said he had been told many times that DVB donors insist on an
‘independent media’ operation at board meetings, but when the DVB was
founded it clearly represented opposition political views. “Why has it
changed?” he asked.

The DVB is “our radio station [opposition groups],” he said, adding, “It
was accepted and acknowledged within Burma as the voice of democracy.”

“Daw Suu (Aung San Suu Kyi) supported the DVB for being the leading exiled
broadcast media for democracy in Burma,” he said.

Responding to Maung Maung’s views, Aye Chan Naing, one of the founders of
the DVB, said, “We are not going anywhere,” meaning that DVB is committed
to the democracy movement, but he said it can best serve the movement by
operating independently from opposition groups.

Khin Maung Win, a DVB manager, said that in the past, news and editorial
content were heavily censored by the exiled Burmese government and some
DVB operations were overly dependent on outside groups.

“We had to wait for a signature from a minister before we could buy
batteries to operate the broadcasting equipment,” he said. “We have to be
honest to our audience.”

One foreign observer said he believed the Burmese exiled media has “grown
up,” but some exiled politicians continue to live in the Stone Age.

A number of Western diplomats and donors at the conference expressed
dismay at Maung Maung’s views.

“It is worrying for Burma’s future [if exiled politicians come into
power],” said one Western diplomat.

If the DVB doesn’t serve the needs of the opposition political groups,
Maung Maung said he will set up a broadcast facility to advocate the views
of opposition groups.

____________________________________

March 10, Irrawaddy
Junta forcing migrants home for Referendum - Min Lwin

Burma’s military government is organizing a census of Burmese families in
southern Shan State with a view to forcing migrant workers to return to
their hometowns to vote in May, say family members of workers employed in
Thailand.

Earlier this month, according to sources form southern Shan State, local
authorities and the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA)
drew up a plan to register all Burmese citizens for voting in the
constitutional referendum in May.

Residents in southern Shan State said the authorities were demanding that
family members contact migrant workers and tell them to come back and vote
in the referendum. “The USDA and the local authorities are forcing the
families to call back their relatives,” said a resident from Ponpakyin,
southern Shan State.

“If the worker can’t come and fails to vote in May, the authorities will
take them off the census list,” said another source from Ponpakyin.

"The local authorities are collecting the names of people who need
temporary identity cards, which they will then use as a supporting list
for the referendum," said a resident in Mong Pan, southern Shan State.

A migrant worker in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, said that she and her
friends will not return to their hometowns to vote in the referendum. “My
mother was asked by the local authorities to call me to go back, but I
can’t,” she said on condition of anonymity.
“My trip home isn’t easy,” the woman said. “The cost of returning to my
hometown is 6,000 to 10,000 baht (US $188 to $313), which is three months
salary.

Everyone over 18 is being issued a temporary national identity card, a
doctor from Tachilek in Shan State said. "The temporary national identity
cards issued by the immigration office are mainly for citizens to vote in
the upcoming referendum.”

According to a resident of Ponpakyin, many young people who live near the
Thai border go to work in Thailand after they finish their education.
“Most youths, like me, come and work in Thailand because there are not
enough jobs for us in Burma,” she said.

Hundreds of thousands of Burmese citizens live in Thailand. According to
MAP foundation in Chiang Mai, 95 percent of the 121,488 workers who are
registering for work permits in Chiang Mai are ethnic Shan.

____________________________________

March 10, Christian Science Monitor
On Thai border, a rare refuge for Burmese children- Simon Montlake

Dulci Donata opened Home of Joy to serve ethnic minorities fleeing violence.

In a whitewashed office, a young Burmese mother cradles a sleeping baby.
Ni Lar Win is waiting to hear if she can leave her 2-month-old son at the
"House on the Hill" in this Thai border town.

Her husband left six months into her pregnancy, she says, and now she
wants to move to the city for work, so she can repay some debts and help
her sick mother. That means finding someone to take in her newborn. So Ni
Lar Win has come to find the foreigner at Baan Unrak (Home of Joy) to ask
if there's room for her son, at least for a while. "I heard it's good for
children here. They can stay here and study. There's no need to worry."

Ni Lar Win's plight is one Dulci Donata hears of often: debt, poverty,
illness – and an unwanted child. In 1991, Ms. Donata founded Home of Joy
as a sanctuary for destitute kids, mostly ethnic minorities fleeing war
and political upheaval in Burma (Myanmar). Now, she has more than 140
children in her care, crowding a three-story building on a hillside above
a steep ravine.

But Donata proposes something else: Ni Lar Win should take a job at Home
of Joy and bring her mother and baby to live there.

As Ni Lar Win, an ethnic Mon, heads back to her village to consider the
offer, Donata explains that by taking in struggling single mothers, she
hopes to keep mothers and children together and help the mothers to
rebuild their lives. Most children here aren't strictly orphans, but are
born into broken, demoralized families. "To serve mothers is to serve
babies," she says.

Serving others is second nature to Donata, an Italian nun in Ananda Marga
(Path of Bliss), a spiritualist movement founded in India. Every morning,
she rises at 5 a.m. for meditation and spends the rest of her day taking
care of the children and managing the house, which relies on donations to
cover its expenses, which exceed $1,500 a month.

At night, Donata, whom everyone calls Didi ("sister"), shares her sparsely
furnished bedroom with several children. When it gets too noisy, she rolls
out a mat on the floor in her office. Her only breaks are occasional trips
to Bangkok, six hours away, to browbeat government officials into untying
red tape that thwarts undocumented migrants.

After two decades of humanitarian work here, initially providing relief
services to Burmese refugees after a failed 1988 uprising, her
determination has won her many friends. "When I came here, people doubted
me. There's not the mentality of pure service [to humanity], so they
couldn't understand.
 [Now] I get respect, prestige."

Located on a lake created by a downriver hydropower dam, Sangkhlaburi has
a population of 26,000. Ethnic Karen and Mon outnumber Thais, and migrants
continue to cross over from Burma, along a route where Japan built a
notorious "Death Railway" using prisoners of war during World War II.
Today, the town sees an influx of weekend Thai tourists.

In 2005, Donata opened a primary school in town, which also enrolls
nonresident Thai and Burmese students. For migrant children, a Thai
education is a route out of poverty, but few public schools offer remedial
classes to pupils who lack Thai language fluency, as Home of Joy does.

At the home, Donata applies a "neohumanist" philosophy. All but the
smallest children attend twice-daily meditation and yoga classes. All
meals are vegetarian, homeopathic medicine is practiced, and organic food
is grown. She also deters mothers from taking "immoral" earnings from
prostitution and insists that employees and guests don't drink or smoke
and remain celibate. "This is an immoral society, everyone is cheating.
Now they see us trying to follow a straight line," she says.

Children aren't put up for adoption, but nurtured into adulthood, while
mothers are encouraged to stay involved. As Donata's children have grown
up, their horizons have lengthened: nine are currently attending high
school elsewhere in Thailand, paid for by sponsors. Four have gone on to
university.

Boonsom Pangsiri is hoping to be next. Two years ago, she graduated from
high school in Bangkok, and is living there while she applies for a
university program that begins in June. In between, she has lobbied
government officials to improve the electricity supply to Home of Joy.

Ms. Boonsom dreams of studying in Canada after university. She already has
a career plan: working for Donata, whom she loves "as a real mother."
Sometimes she goes back to visit her birth mother, but finds she has
little in common with her other siblings. Asked about Donata, her eyes
light up. "Didi is very special. She has a good heart and never thinks of
herself. She always sacrifices for others. I see it. Even when she's very
tired, she's still working, serving people."

How you can help

To donate to Baan Unrak (Home of Joy), go to www.baanunrak.org.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

March 8, Irrawaddy
Weekly Business Roundup - William Boot

Burma Authorizes Singapore Dollar Accounts at Banks

The Burmese junta’s approval of Singapore dollar bank accounts in at least
two state-controlled banks is seen in some quarters as a reaction to
recent stepped-up international sanctions aimed at the regime’s
pocketbook.

Just two weeks ago the United States’ Office of Foreign Assets Control
named several key Burmese and Singaporean business figures and their
companies on an extended sanctions list.

The names were in addition to 13 junta-linked people and companies
blacklisted in early February by the US.

Hong Kong money laundering expert and risk analyst Peter Gallo said the
sanctions were aimed primarily at embarrassing Singapore, which has long
been one of the junta’s favored banking sites.

The sanctions affect not only the Burmese individuals and companies named,
but also banks which deal with them and with the US.

The junta has approved the opening of Singapore dollar currency accounts
at the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank  and Myanma [Burma] Investment and
Commercial Bank.

The MFTB in particular deals with foreign currency transactions.

The changes will “certainly help those people and businesses linked with
Singapore who are now on the US sanctions lists,” said an economics
official at a European Union embassy in Bangkok who asked to remain
anonymous.

Samak Green Lights the Salween Hydro-dam

The new Thai government of Samak Sundaravej has given the green light to
large-scale infrastructure projects such as hydro dams on Burma’s Salween
River, which had appeared less certain following the coup that ousted
pro-Burma Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawara.

Samak’s first visit to Burma as prime minister, scheduled for next week,
is expected to not only offer reassurances on existing agreements—but will
positively encourage more business deals  between the two countries.

Thailand is not only the largest importer from Burma— mainly in the form
of gas —it is also increasing exports to its poorer neighbor.

The increased two-way traffic comes in spite of Western calls for greater
pressure on the Burmese military regime through trade curbs and boycotts
of regime-linked businesses.

“There was some breath holding in recent months, during the
Bangkok-installed military government phase, on projects such as the
hydroelectric dam on the Salween at Tasang,” said Bangkok-based power
industries consultant Collin Reynolds.

“But I think the China link on this project has to keep it afloat, even
though it is highly expensive and of questionable value given the
environmental problems almost certain to ensue on both sides of the
border.”

Full Steam Ahead for Trans-asia Trains?

The Indian government has approved plans for the development of its
section the Trans Asian Railway Network, which international organizations
including the UN and Asia Development Bank are promoting.

The network, known as TARN, will one day link south and East Asia with
Europe via the Middle East.

But India’s railway minister Lalu Prasad acknowledged this week that for
the route to work for India as a trade link with Southeast Asia, New Delhi
would likely have to spend more than US $300 million.

This is the estimated cost of building new or upgrading track through its
northeast state and Burma, said a report by The Times of India.

New Delhi has previously expressed support for helping Burma to upgrade a
line linking northeast India with Thailand and Malaysia and Singapore.

The last time this dream was pursued was during World War II when
thousands of forced laborers died working on the route for the Japanese
army of occupation.

It’s not clear what the Burmese regime may think of the idea of a
transnational line, described by Indian Railway Board chairman K.C. Jena,
as “benefiting people in a major way as it will enable them to visit by
trains at moderate charges.”

Diesel Fuel Smuggled to Burma from Bangladesh

Even as the Burmese regime tries to shut down domestic black market fuel
sales, diesel is reportedly being smuggled into the country from a most
unlikely source—Bangladesh.

The cyclone-ravaged country is virtually as poor as Burma and certainly
has fewer known oil and gas resources than its neighbor.

But diesel is reportedly being moved across the border clandestinely by a
syndicate which has links to local army officers.

Burma has to import virtually all its diesel—which drives everything from
buses and trains to backyard electricity generators—because it lacks crude
oil refining facilities.
Officially, Burma imports on average about 50,000 barrels of diesel per day.

The bad news about the Bangladesh smuggling, according to the local
Kaladan Press, is that amphetamine tablets are traded among other
clandestine goods in return.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s desperate need for energy has led to approval of
the French oil giant Total to carry out undersea seismic exploration for
oil and gas close to disputed territorial waters with Burma.

____________________________________

March 10, Kuwait News Agency
China-Myanmar oil pipeline still under discussion

Construction of the oil pipeline from Myanmar to southwest China's Yunnan
Province is still under discussion, the state-run news agency Xinhua
reported Monday, citing a top provincial official. The long-awaited
pipeline is expected to provide an alternative route for China's crude
imports from the Middle East and Africa and ease the country's worries of
its over-dependence on energy transportation through the Strait of
Malacca.

"Whether, when and how to build it are yet to be decided," Bai Enpei,
secretary of the Yunnan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of
China, said. "We are still studying the plan and discussing it with
Myanmar, but many technical problems remain to be solved, which requires
time," said Bai, who is attending the ongoing annual session of the
National People's Congress, China's parliament, in Beijing. The plan of
the oil pipeline, linking Myanmar's deep-water port of Sittwe with Yunnan
provincial capital Kunming, was approved last April by China's National
Development and Reform Commission, the nation's top economic planning
agency.

China, the world's second-biggest oil consumer after the US, imported a
new record at 163.17 million tons of crude oil last year, up 12.4 percent
from the previous year, according to the customs data. Saudi Arabia was
China's biggest supplier of crude oil, with shipments from the kingdom
reaching 26.33 million tons in 2007, followed by Angola 25 million tons
and Iran with 20.54 million tons, respectively.

____________________________________
ASEAN

March 10, Florida Shipper
ASEAN chief stresses importance of regional charter for Southeast Asia -
Jerry Burrus

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations could rapidly slip into
irrelevance if the organization does not rapidly reinvent itself, the
group's secretary-general warned.

That rethinking, according to Surin Pitsuwan, starts with the adoption of
a concrete constitution, or charter, that will guide the 40-year-old
organization into a new era of political, economic, social and even
strategic relevance in the region and in the world.

There was a time, Surin said, when ASEAN's relevance largely depended on
its role as an honest broker across Asia. "Dialogue partners," such as
China and Japan, found ASEAN meetings a congenial place for their own
often-difficult bilateral conversations.

But with China, Japan and other big powers talking more directly to each
other these days, ASEAN must come up with a fresh role, Surin said. And
that, he said, is as a charter-driven regional leader and global player.

"If ASEAN can grow into a viable, strong, effective and dynamic growth
sector, the world will have one less region to worry about, and that is
enormous," Surin told participants at a media conference held in January
in Bangkok. The Honolulu-based East-West Center sponsored the conference.

"Without a strong center, ASEAN cannot remain the fulcrum of power plays
in the region," Surin said. "It cannot remain in the driver's seat in
political, economic and security affairs. It's a difficult challenge
indeed, but the alternative is irrelevance and marginalization we will be
left behind, because things all around us are moving and growing very
fast."

In addition to tending to its own region, Surin said, a revitalized ASEAN
can serve as a fulcrum and balance against other global power centers.
These include not only traditional powers such as the U.S., Japan and the
European Union, but also the rapidly rising economies of India and China.

Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand established
ASEAN at the height of the Vietnam War in 1967 as a bulwark against
Communist aggression. Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei and Burma joined
during the 1990s. The junta that rules Burma changed the name to Myanmar
several years ago, but the U.S. government refuses to recognize the
military government and still calls the country Burma, as do most Burmese.

As a collective entity, ASEAN has the economic and human potential to be a
major player on the world stage, Surin said. But that won't happen
automatically, nor will it happen under a loosely configured ASEAN, as it
is now, said Surin, who began a three-year term as the group's
secretary-general on Jan. 1.

"As a group of small states, the leaders of ASEAN began thinking: ‘We had
better consolidate ourselves and create more attraction among and between
ourselves if we wish to remain the core of community-building in this
region.' But to remain in the driver's seat, ASEAN needs a driver's
license, and that is coming in the form of a charter," said Surin, a
former foreign minister of Thailand.

What a charter a constitution does, he said, is set ASEAN on a concrete
path to move beyond "dialogue" and consultation to a true leadership role.
The leaders of the 10 member states signed the charter at the group's
summit meeting last November.

It envisions establishing a community based on three legs economics,
security and socio-cultural. It must be ratified by each member state to
take effect. Surin said he hoped that would happen by the end of the year.

Ann Lavin, vice president of the U.S.-ASEAN Council for Business and
Technology, said she is optimistic that the charter will be ratified.
"When ASEAN as a group pushes a process like this forward, they do it with
enormous confidence," she said. "It is a great step for ASEAN and is the
product of years of hard work. It will certainly accelerate economic
integration and the resulting economic growth in the region."

The charter must be ratified by all 10 members to take effect. Thus far,
Singapore, Brunei, Laos and Malaysia have done so. One major obstacle,
however, is concern among some member nations, particularly the
Philippines, that the current draft does not make a strong enough
statement about the region's commitment to human rights and democracy.
This clearly is aimed at Burma and its military government.

In the best of all possible worlds, Surin said, a strong statement on
democracy and the rule of law might make sense.

"But let us begin somewhere," he said. "We cannot start with a perfect
document today and hope every member will sign on to it. We can help
people understand the importance of human rights, and we should. But we
have to start somewhere."

____________________________________
REGIONAL

March 10, Frontier India
India and Myanmar to institutionalise security cooperation

India and Myanmar have expressed strong desire that the common border
between the two countries should be a region and symbol of peace and
harmony so that the benefits out of various infrastructure projects and
economic cooperation between the two countries can be fully realized. Both
sides have agreed to work closely for achieving these objectives and, in
this context, discussed various institutional mechanisms to strengthen
security cooperation.

The understanding was reached at the 14th National Level Meeting between
India and Myanmar which began here last Friday and concluded today. The
Indian delegation was led by the Union Home Secretary, Shri Madhukar
Gupta, and the Myanmar delegation by their Deputy Minister for Home
Affairs, Brig. General Phone Swe. At this meeting, various issues of
mutual concern including those related to security, drug trafficking and
border management were discussed.

Later, the leader of the Myanmar delegation called on the Indian Home
Minister, Shri Shivraj Patil. The Indian Home Minister emphasized the
importance of strengthening cooperation in the areas of security and
border management as well as in the context of India’s ‘Look East’ policy.

Myanmar and India share a border of around 1650 kms. India-Myanmar
bilateral relations are reflective of the multi- dimensional and
traditional linkages between the two countries.

http://frontierindia.net/india-and-myanmar-to-institutionalise-security-cooperation

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

March 10, The Nation (Thailand)
Concrete action needed on Burma

It should not come as a surprise that Burmese military rulers gave the
cold shoulder to UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari, who arrived in Rangoon
on Thursday hoping to change the mindset of the ruling junta.

 Gambari's latest mission was to convince the ruling junta to change the
new constitution - dubbed a "sham" by the UN and the international
community - to ensure inclusiveness. This would mean pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi would be permitted to stand in the 2010 poll.

Gambari was permitted a brief meeting with Suu Kyi. The lady has spent the
better part of the past two decades locked up under house arrest. But that
was all he was going to get. The junta was not in the mood to give much
more than that. Rangoon greeted Gambari with a press statement saying the
government has rejected a request by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for
the regime to amend the new constitution.

It should come as no surprise to the world's people that the Burmese junta
is not going to give in easily, especially to hollow words from the UN or
any agency that doesn't have anything concrete to back up their demands.

The UN and the international community have to think outside the box and
explore other options, like an exit strategy for the junta or some sort of
mechanism that would ensure their place in the country's political arena.
The orthodox diplomatic approach hasn't worked, so perhaps it's time that
the world community thinks afresh and creatively.

After all this is a country that doesn't seem to heed the advice and
concerns of the international community, whether they are friends or
critics.

Incidentally, Burmese information minister Kyaw Hsan even took a jab at
neighbouring Thailand, saying that the world community has not objected to
the country's new constitution despite the lack of participation by its
opponents.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/03/10/opinion/opinion_30067695.php

____________________________________

March 10, Irrawaddy
Why an independent media matters in Burma - Aung Zaw

Burma’s rulers and democratic opposition forces have limited experience
with a free and independent media. This is definitely worrying for a
future democratic Burma.

King Mindon, Burma’s penultimate monarch, knew the value of a free press.
During his reign, he introduced a new press law which read in part: “If I
do wrong, write about me. If the queens do wrong, write about them. If my
sons and my daughters do wrong, write about them. If the judges and mayors
do wrong, write about them. No one shall take action against the journals
for writing the truth. They shall go in and out of the palace freely.”

The king and his ministers read newspapers published in Lower Burma, which
had already been colonized by the British, and were quite sensitive to
criticism. When newspapers like the Rangoon Gazette reported the poor
state of roads in Mandalay, Mindon’s seat of power, the ministers
immediately ordered that the roads be repaired.

However, despite the king’s embrace of a free media, criticism of palace
scandals in the royal court of Mandalay never made its way into the
Yadanabon Naypyidaw, launched with Mindon’s blessings in March 1875.

The Yadanabon Naypyidaw, or Mandalay Gazette, as it was also known, is
recognized as one of the first indigenous newspapers in Southeast Asia,
and the law which led to its creation was also among the first of its kind
in the region.

Burmese are justifiably proud of this accomplishment, and to this day,
advocates of press freedom in Burma cite Mindon’s example as evidence that
truly enlightened leadership is indeed possible in the country, despite
the reputation of its current rulers, who are regarded by the
international community as enemies of the press.

As Burma’s military regime prepares for a referendum in May and an
election in 2010, the exiled media continues to play a key role in
ensuring that Burmese people and the rest of the world remain informed
about developments inside the country.

If sudden or gradual change comes to Burma, exiled journalists must be
prepared to safeguard their independence. There is no guarantee that
change at the top will bring democratic values, good governance or the
rule of law, so the press must be vigilant and work to hold the government
accountable.

If new government ministers and opposition politicians embraced a free and
independent press, it would be welcome news, indeed. But this is not
something that can be taken for granted. Even if democratic opposition
forces and the winners of the 1990 elections came into power, it would be
naive to expect a friction-free relationship between politicians and the
press beyond an initial honeymoon period.

The independent media must act like a watchdog, not a lapdog. This means
that exiled media groups founded by former activists and students may find
themselves at odds with a future democratic government of Burma.

At this critical juncture, dissidents and Burma’s independent press agree
on the urgent need for political change. But when change comes to Burma
and democratic opposition groups come into power, a new dynamic will
evolve. The question is: will “democratic forces” respect press freedom?

Burma’s opposition groups and politicians see the media as a tool to
counter the regime. But the role of the media is much greater than this,
and in the event of a democratic transition, the press will play an even
more important part than it does now. In a future democratic Burma, the
need for newspapers and broadcasters will grow as the country seeks to
ensure its stability and prosperity.

Media projects are not merely an “add on” to development projects: they
are integral to the success of any effort to improve the lives of ordinary
people. For instance, on the issue of HIV/AIDS—the regime’s biggest crime
in the past was not acknowledging this devastating health crisis in the
media. If the people of Burma had been properly informed about the virus,
many lives could have been saved.

The media can play a very important role in providing information to
citizens. The press can make government more accountable, expose
corruption and abuse of power, and even improve the performance of both
government and opposition groups. At the same time, it can empower people
to make their own decisions. Access to information makes societies more
open and more transparent.

With a healthy and professional independent media, it is difficult for any
government to resist the forces of public opinion. An independent press
can make a nascent democracy more democratic.

Media freedom is both a means of achieving democracy and the surest way of
fostering its future survival. King Mindon was ahead of his time—and ahead
of many in our own time—in recognizing the vital role of press freedom.
Burma would be a much better place today if its ruling regime and the
democratic opposition shared his appreciation of the importance of a free
and independent media.

This opinion was originally presented at a conference on “Burmese Media:
Present and Future,” organized by the Democratic Voice of Burma and held
in Bangkok March 6-7.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

March 8, US Campaign for Burma
Regime attacks ethnic minority villages while UN Envoy enters Burma

Scorched-Earth Terror Campaign Against Civilians Continues

The US Campaign for Burma condemned two attacks on ethnic nationality
villages carried out by Burma's military regime just two days before the
UN Secretary General's Special Envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari entered the
country.  The attacks took place on March 4th, 2008 in the jungles of
eastern Burma.

Since 1996, Burma's regime has destroyed 3,200 villages in eastern Burma
and forced 1.5 million civilians to flee their homes as internal and
external refugees.  For context purposes, the number of civilian villages
destroyed in eastern Burma is nearly twice the number destroyed in Darfur,
Sudan.

"It is awful that as the United Nations envoy to Burma prepared to enter
Burma for talks about human rights and democracy the regime carried out
attacks on civilians, but even more shameful that the UN has barely lifted
a finger to stop the attacks in the first place," said Aung Din, executive
director of the US Campaign for Burma.  "Because of China's veto and the
UN Secretariat's silence, the UN Security Council has remained paralyzed
and the UN makes the same mistakes the world made on Rwanda, yet again."

"We urge the UN Security Council to immediately demand an end to attacks
on civilians by Burma's military regime, something it has never once
done," added Aung Din.

The most recent attacks took place in Northern Papun district in eastern
Burma, in the general vicinity of Maw Pu.  According to the Free Burma
Rangers, a humanitarian group that provides food and medicine for
refugees, over 1,700 villagers fled after being fired upon by mortars
launched by soldiers of the military regime.  In a separate attack, 9
houses were burned while 85 people fled their homes.  It is suspected that
an additional 400 fled the area as well, who were already internal
refugees hiding from the military regime.  In total, it is estimated that
over 2,200 people were forced to flee.

Since 1996, Burma's military regime has carried out a massive,
scorched-earth campaign against civilians in eastern Burma in an attempt
to subjugate the area to regime control.  The area had been controlled by
ethnic nationalities attempting to hold onto their ancestral homelands,
but slowly the regime is carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing and
asserting control over the resource rich land.  As in Darfur, the regime
is targeting food supplies, rice fields, cooking utensils, medical
facilities, and schools for attacks so that civilians either die or are
forced to flee. The regime also uses rape as a weapon of war against
ethnic minority women, and has recruited up to 70,000 child soldiers to
carry out attacks, more than any other country in the world.

Contact: Jeremy Woodrum (202) 246-7924

____________________________________

March 10, Rohingya Human Rights Council
An appeal to Bangladesh Government

Since 2005, a Burmese refugee, Min Wa has been detained in Bangladesh
prison after he was arrested by the border security forces of Bangladesh
BDR when some local people misinformed the Bangladesh authorities that Min
Wa had a gun. His wife Ma Aye May said that after his arrest, Bangladesh
authorities sent him to prison and have detained him since then without
any trial.

Min Wa is Burmese refugee recognized by the UNHCR in Dhaka. He was working
at a husbandry project in the village sponsored by UNHCR under their
self-reliance program for urban Burmese refugees. He was arrested by
Bangladesh Rifles during the evening of 16 July, 2005, from his family
home, while he was enjoying dinner along with his wife and only daughter.

Report carried out by The Narinjara News said that a few days ago, his
wife Ma Aye May went to Chittagong prison to see her husband, but she
could not meet her and now she does not know the whereabouts of her
husband Min Wa despite her repeated request to the jail authority to let
her know where her husband has been detained.

The report also said that a UNHCR staff member in Cox's Bazar who is
familiar with such cases said that this is a false case.

We, the Rohingya Human Rights Council(RHRC) fervently appeal to Bangladesh
government to releas Min Wa and also to look into how a man could have
been put in prison for nearly three years without any trial.

We also request the UNHCR in Dhaka and other human rights groups of
Bangladesh to take up the issue for the quickest release of Min Wa and
also to provide legal assistance in his case.#

With thanks and best regards.

Ahmedur Rahman Farooq
Chairman
Rohingya Human Rights Council (RHRC)
Address: 2975 Vang i Valdres, Norway
Contact: +4797413036
Email: rohingyas.rhrc@ yahoo.com, rohingyas.rhrc@ gmail.com

____________________________________
OBITUARY

March 10, Irrawaddy
Famous singer Sai Htee Saing dies

Sai Htee Saing, one of the most celebrated singers in Burma, died early
Monday morning in Rangoon General Hospital. He was 58.

An ethnic Shan, Sai Htee Saing was born in 1950 in Lin Khae, a small town
in southern Shan State. He proved his musical talent when young: in 1969,
the government-owned Burma Broadcasting Service—now Myanmar Television and
Radio Department—aired his songs, which he wrote himself, in Shan
language.

When original pop music compositions began to flourish in Burma in the
late 1970s and cover songs started gaining a foothold in Burmese popular
culture, The Wild Ones, a band formed by Sai Htee Saing and composer Sai
Kham Lait, took the lead and became popular nationwide.

"He was a pioneer who introduced Burmese audiences to a new trend," said
well-known singer Khin Maung Toe. "He and his band showed the way—you have
to create your own music. That's the artist’s way.'"

Sai Htee Saing and The Wild Ones became one of Burma’s modern music
pioneers during late dictator Gen Ne Win’s era.

He sang in both Burmese and Shan languages, introducing many listeners in
lower Burma to Shan culture. Although his songs were carefully scrutinized
at that time by the infamous censorship bureau, the Press Scrutiny Board,
his lyrics often conveyed political messages through hidden meanings which
allowed him to successfully elude the censors.

Many of his songs were about the civil war and the struggles of life in
his homeland. He helped pave the way for other ethnic singers that have
become established figures in Burma’s music industry.

Sai Htee Saing, however, succumbed to the temptations of promoting
government ideology, notably after 1988. Like other musicians who made the
conscious decision to curry favor with the junta, he soon gained special
privileges, but photos of the singer standing arm in arm with junta
leaders were run regularly in the government-controlled media.

In singing songs written by military official Mya Than San and by
neglecting the interests of the country’s artists as head of Burma’s
musicians’ union, Sai Htee Saing’s audience soon abandoned him.

However, his old songs are still popular in Burma and his albums
continually sell well. He was frequently invited overseas by expatriate
Burmese to perform at Burmese festivals.
He made his last overseas performance in London on Shan New Year’s Day on
5 December, 2007.

Sai Htee Saing is survived by his wife, Khin Than Soe, his son and two
daughters, all of whom live in Rangoon.

A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, March 12 at Yayway cemetery
in the outskirts of Rangoon.