BurmaNet News, March 12, 2008

[Editor]

March 12, 2008 Issue # 3420

INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima News: Than Shwe rumored to be hospitalized
Mizzima News: Over 2,100 displaced in fresh offensive
Reuters: Chinese influx stirs age-old hatred in Burma
Irrawaddy: Veteran journalist calls for people power to oust regime
Irrawaddy: Rangoon division ordered to support Referendum - Saw Yan Naing
Irrawaddy: Security Tightened again in Rangoon
IMNA: Four Burmese soldiers defect to KNU - Mon Son,

BUSINESS / TRADE
Reuters: Myanmar biofuel effort raises doubts

INTERNATIONAL
The Nation (Thailand) : Burmese junta tells US envoy Gambari where to go
AFP: UN expert says unlawful arrests in Myanmar accelerating
AP: US say Burma’s Human Rights record getting worse
AFP: ILO extends Myanmar forced labour deal for one year

OPINION / OTHER
Asian Tribune: Burma’s longest serving prisoner of conscience must be free
- Zin Linn

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 12, Mizzima News
Than Shwe rumored to be hospitalized

Burma's Ministry of Information has brushed aside rumors that Head of
State Senior General Than Shwe's health is failing and that he is
currently hospitalized.

Rumors have been circulating Rangoon and among exile Burmese communities
that Than Shwe's health is deteriorating and that he is receiving medical
treatment at Rangoon's No. 2 Military Hospital.

A source close to the military establishment in Rangoon said, "I heard
that his health has been deteriorating for about a week."

Similarly, rumors are spreading among the Burmese exile community that
Than Shwe is suffering from colon cancer for which he is currently
receiving treatment.

The rumor is spreading rapidly via blogs operated by Burmese bloggers both
inside and outside the country.

Burmese bloggers have posted several messages claiming that Than Shwe has
undergone medical treatment for colon cancer at the No. 2 Military
Hospital in Rangoon.

While the information could not be independently verified, an official at
the Burmese Ministry of Information dismissed the rumor, saying, "No, he
is not hospitalized and he is in good health."

However Burma's military strongman has long been reported to be suffering
from ill-health and several important meetings, including the junta's
quarterly meetings, had been previously postponed due to speculation of
his fragile condition.

____________________________________

March 12, Mizzima News
Over 2,100 displaced in fresh offensive - Solomon

At least 2,100 people are homeless as a result of a new Burmese Army
offensive this month in Burma's Karen State, a new report divulges.

The Free Burma Rangers (FBR), a humanitarian group operating in eastern
Burma, said the Burmese Army's Military Operation Commands 4 and 16 in
March launched a fresh offensive in northern Karen State.

"This most recent attack is the largest against civilians in northern
Karen State since the Burma Army completed the re-supply of its camps and
the construction of roads at the end of 2007," the report chronicles.

As a result of these attacks more than 2,100 Karen villagers have been
displaced and are now hiding in the jungles of eastern Burma, the FBR
said.

These latest victims further swell the number of Internally Displaced
People (IDPs) resulting from Burmese Army operations.

The FBR calculates that "Over 30,000 people remain displaced in northern
Karen State, and are constantly prepared to flee any attacks."

Saw Hla Henry, a leader of the Karen National Union, an ethnic armed rebel
group operating in eastern Burma along the Thai-Burmese border, said
offensives by the Burmese army are escalating in eastern Burma and
particularly in Karen State.

"The regime conducts operations very often in these places and whenever
they see IDPs they fire at them. So the lives of IDPs are in great
danger," Saw Hla Henry said.

Meanwhile, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a non-governmental
organization endorsing the FBR report, said that Burma has over one
million IDPs across the country, inclusive of the estimated 30,000 in
northern Karen State, particularly in remote areas traditionally home to
many ethnic communities.

Benedict Rogers, CSW's Advocacy Officer for South Asia, who has visited
the Thai-Burma border several times, told Mizzima, "It shows the SPDC
[State Peace and Development Council] is not responding at all to what the
international community is saying. It shows that further international
pressure is significantly needed."

CSW calls on the United Nations Secretary General to pay additional
attention to the problems in Burma and to pay a personal visit to the
troubled Southeast Asian country, as his Special Envoy, Ibrahim Gambari,
failed in his mission to facilitate political reforms through a process of
dialogue.

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of CSW, in a press statement said, "The
regime has proven that it is not interested in dialogue or reform, and so
it is imperative that the international community now act."

"
the time has come for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to take personal
charge of efforts to address the crisis in Burma. He should visit Burma as
a matter of urgency to facilitate meaningful dialogue between the regime,
the democracy groups and the ethnic nationalities, with the backing of a
binding Security Council Resolution," Thomas elaborated.

____________________________________

March 12, Reuters
Chinese influx stirs age-old hatred in Burma - Ed Cropley

Few people can claim justifiably to understand the relationship between
Burma's secretive military rulers and China, their key trading partner,
arms supplier and diplomatic ally.

But if the man on the street in Mandalay is anything to go by, it will be
one ranging from mistrust to resentment to outright loathing, suggesting
Beijing's much-vaunted "influence" over its pariah neighbor may be smaller
than imagined.

Even though the former Burma's second city is one of the few places where
the economy appears to be going somewhere, thanks mainly to Chinese
capital and enterprise, most locals feel they are on the wrong side of a
deeply exploitative equation.

"The Chinese give us plastic, and they take our teak and gems," one senior
Buddhist monk in Sagaing, a town 20 km (12 miles) west of Mandalay, told
Reuters. "They give us one thing, but then take two."

Lu Maw, one of Mandalay's famed "Moustache Brothers" comedy trio, reflects
the views of many when he says the city, now home to as many nondescript
Chinese hotels as ancient Buddhist monasteries, should be renamed "Capital
of Yunnan", China's nearest province.

"I don't want to discriminate against the Chinese, but..." he says, before
launching into a series of jokes accusing businessmen from southwest China
of making millions selling heroin or doing dodgy deals with even dodgier
Burmese generals.

GENERAL XENOPHOBIA?

Whether street-level xenophobia translates into official outlook and
policy is, of course, a moot point, especially when it comes to reading
the minds of Burma's military junta, one of the world's most closed
regimes.

The only clues are hearsay and anecdote, such as that of junta number two
Maung Aye, who has spent much of his military career fighting
Beijing-backed communists, ordering shop signs to be taken down if Chinese
lettering appeared above the Burmese.

But the question of anti-Chinese sentiment is an important one, given the
West's almost total reliance on Beijing since September's anti-junta
protests to coax the generals towards political and economic reform after
46 years of military rule.

Beijing is also acutely aware of the issue as it tries to buy billions of
dollars of Burma natural gas—gas that most of its 53 million people think
should be used to address the chronic energy shortages that sat at the
heart of last year's protests.

An acquiescent and stable Burma is also strategically vital to Beijing's
plans for an oil pipeline running from the Andaman Sea via Mandalay to
Yunnan to mitigate China's reliance on crude shipments through the Strait
of Malacca.

"Our policy is to encourage Chinese companies to 'go out', whether it's to
Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar [Burma] or wherever," Yunnan Communist Party chief
Bai Enpei told Reuters on the sidelines of China's annual parliament
meeting this month.

"Historically in Southeast Asia there has been a problem in places where
there are a lot of ethnic Chinese. But relations are gradually getting
better," he said.

"We cannot just go in and earn other people's money, selling stuff and
taking over projects. It must be win-win."

KEPT IN DARK

At the height of September's crackdown, Rangoon-based diplomats say China
did indeed pull out all the stops to get United Nations special envoy
Ibrahim Gambari into the country.

Beyond that, the amount of pressure Beijing can bring to bear on Burma's
recalcitrant generals is open to question.

China's curious admission last May that it had been kept in the dark about
the junta's 2005 move to a new capital—and its distinctly unflattering
account of the place—fuelled speculation that Beijing may not enjoy
privileged access.

Some diplomats also dispute the argument that the generals should or could
use the Chinese Communist Party's establishment of a free market without
ceding any political control as a blueprint for reform.

"The ability of China to influence the junta is way overplayed," one
Rangoon-based diplomat said. "People say they should get the generals to
'do a China or a Vietnam' and relax their grip over the economy without
ceding any political power.

"But they forget that it's the junta's stranglehold over every single
money-making enterprise in the country which is their power," said the
diplomat, who asked not to be named.

"They control everything, right down to the number of cars imported each
year." (Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing)

____________________________________

March 12, Irrawaddy
Veteran journalist calls for people power to oust regime - Violet Cho

Less than a week after an unsuccessful visit to Burma by UN Special Envoy
Ibrahim Gambari, one of the country’s most respected journalists has made
an extraordinary appeal for a “people power” uprising to end the ruling
regime’s stranglehold on power.

In a recorded message addressed to Burmese both inside and outside the
country, Ludu Sein Win, a prominent journalist and former political
prisoner, said that he believed that force was the only way to end more
than four decades of military rule.

“In the entire history of the world, there has never been a dictator who
willingly gave up power once he had it firmly in his hands,” he said in
his message, recorded in the former capital, Rangoon.

“And there are no countries in the world which have gained liberation
though the help of the United Nations,” he added, in apparent reference to
the failed efforts of the UN special envoy, who left the country on Monday
after being chastised by the ruling generals for “bias” in favor of the
democratic opposition.

Describing the deepening political, social and economic crisis facing the
country, the sixty-eight-year-old veteran journalist warned the Burmese
people that it was futile to pin their hopes for a better future on the
diplomatic efforts of the international community.

“Don’t waste your time dreaming about dialogue and considering help from
the UN Security Council,” he said. “We already have the power to force out
the military dictatorship. That power is the force and strength of every
Burmese citizen.”

In the wake of last September’s monk-led protests, which attracted
worldwide attention, the time is right to launch a renewed effort to
overthrow military rule, the veteran journalist insisted.

Ludu Sein Win has experienced more than his fair share of trouble at the
hands of the country’s ruling dictators.

He began his distinguished career as a young reporter for the
Mandalay-based left-wing newspaper, Ludu (“The People”), launched in 1946.
As the publication’s Rangoon bureau chief, he was arrested at the age of
27 and sentenced without trial to 13 years in prison, during which he was
tortured by the authorities. He then spent an additional two years
confined on Coco Island, a penal colony located about 430 km southwest of
Rangoon in the Indian Ocean.

He is one of Burma’s most outspoken advocates of independent media, and is
the author of many books on the basic theory and ethics of journalism. He
is also popular as a prolific writer of books on issues relating to young
people.

____________________________________

March 12, Irrawaddy
Rangoon division ordered to support Referendum - Saw Yan Naing

The Burmese regime is ordering local authorities in Rangoon to persuade
residents to support the national referendum in May, according to informed
sources in the former capital.

Local authorities in Rangoon, such as the Township Peace and Development
Council and the Ward Peace and Development Council, were officially asked
earlier this week by the chairman of Rangoon Division Peace and
Development Council, Brig-Gen Hla Htay Win, and Home Minister Maung Oo to
lobby local residents to vote “Yes” at the national referendum, said the
sources.

However, it was unclear how and when the process to lobby residents would
be implemented.

Meanwhile, in Rangoon and Mandalay, pro-democracy activists, including
monks, have recently launched an anti-referendum campaign, distributing
leaflets criticizing the referendum and urging people to vote “No” in May,
according to sources.

Within the last two months, the authorities have issued temporary citizen
identity cards to local residents in several townships in Rangoon and
asked for their support in the upcoming referendum on the state’s draft
constitution.

The temporary citizen identity cards have been issued in townships such as
Hlaing Tharyar, North Dagon and Kyeemyindine in Rangoon.

Burma’s military government announced on February 9 that a national
referendum would be held in May and multi-party elections in 2010.

The regime also enacted a new law calling for up to three years
imprisonment and 100,000 kyat (US $91) fines for offenders who distribute
statements, posters or who make speeches against the referendum. The law
also bans monks and nuns from voting.

Meanwhile, Burmese authorities are campaigning residents in Kawthaung
Province in southernmost Burma to vote “Yes” in May’s national referendum,
said local residents.

The residents in Kawthaung said that local authorities and the Ministry of
Immigration and Population have been compiling a list of voters—over 18
years old— since early March and have been trying to persuade local
residents to support the national referendum.

Maung Tu, a resident in Kawthaung told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, “The
authorities asked us to gather in their offices or schools and collected
our names. They also asked us to vote ‘Yes’ in the referendum.”

According to Kawthaung residents, the authorities also told locals that
they would only issue citizen cards to residents who vote ‘Yes’ in the
referendum.

Some residents have said that they would do what the authorities asked,
because they want identity cards from the authorities, said Maung Tu.

A woman in Kawthaung said, “I would vote ‘Yes’ in the national referendum
if I were forcibly asked to by the authorities, because our daily survival
is more important than anything else.”

She added that she expected many residents would follow the authorities’
instructions even though they were unclear about the draft constitution
and the voting system.

Earlier this month, the Burmese authorities issued temporary citizen cards
to ceasefire groups: the Kachin Independence Organization and its military
wing, the Kachin Independence Army; the United Wa State Army; the
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army; and the New Mon State Party, according to
ceasefire sources.

Residents in Mandalay, Myitkyina and Arakan State also reported that local
authorities there were collecting family registration information.

____________________________________

March 12, Irrawaddy
Security tightened again in Rangoon – Min Lwin

Security has been tightened in Rangoon ahead of Human Rights Day,
according to sources in the former capital.

The security forces, including members of the Union Solidarity and
Development Association (USDA) and Swan Ah Shin, were posted at crowded
spots, such as 8 Mile Junction in Mayangone Township, say the sources.

Burma’s pro-democracy groups unofficially mark Human Rights Day as March
13. On that date in 1988, riot police shot and killed Phone Maw of the
Rangoon Institute of Technology during a small student protest. Phone Maw
became the first victim of a crackdown on protests that sparked the
nationwide pro-democracy uprising in 1988.

“There are a lot of security forces assigned, especially around City
Hall,” said a Rangoon resident.

He added that firefighters had been assigned security duties as well,
reinforcing the policemen and members of Swan Ah Shin, a civil militia
that was instrumental in oppressing the August and September protests last
year.

Another Rangoon resident said that private vehicles, fire engines, prison
vans and military trucks carrying Lon Htein (riot police) and Swan Ah Shin
were patrolling the streets in downtown in Rangoon since the beginning of
this week.

“The USDA and Swan Ah Shin are even stationed at ‘ambush posts’ along the
streets in the outskirts of Rangoon,” he said.

“The Lon Htein are deployed close to one another along Kabaraye Pagoda
Road,” a tour guide in Bahan Township told The Irrawaddy by phone on
Tuesday.

“The riot police had red cloths wrapped around their necks during the
Gambari visit,” he said. “But now they have changed the color of their
scarves to blue, indicating that the situation is less tense.”

A well-informed source in Rangoon said the authorities fear a repeat of
the uprising led by monks in September, when at least 31 people were
killed and up to 4,000 were arrested.

Security has also been beefed up around schools in Rangoon, say sources.
All state schools have been holding matriculation exams since Monday.

____________________________________

March 12, Independent Mon News Agency
Four Burmese soldiers defect to KNU - Mon Son

Discrimination, lack of promotion opportunities and employment benefits in
the Burmese Army has caused desertions and defection to the Karen National
Union (KNU), said four deserters.

Four Burmese soldiers deserted the Infantry Battalion IB No. 410 because
they were discriminated against in the military camp, said the soldiers.
They could not tolerate the maltreatment so they escaped from the military
camp, they added.

The four soldiers arrived at KNU brigade No. 6 wearing Burmese Army
uniforms on February 26, said KNU Captain Htat Nay in Three Pagoda Pass
(TPP).

According to the Captain, the defectors are from IB No. 410, Zaw Min Tun
(27) military identity 309279 with a MA4+79, Corporal Soe Tie Ha (24) MI
81887 with a MA1, Corporal Zan Tun Hlang (24) MI 127495 with a MA3 and
solider Tein Min Hike (25) MI 321642 with a MAG-420 and a M79.

Corporal Soe Tie Ha was arrested and recruited by the army when he was
only 14 years old and has been a soldier for 10 years.

"I think the soldiers look honest, they don't seem suspicious to us. Also,
we gave 30,000 kyat to each solider because they joined the KNU," KNU Army
Captain Htat Nay said.

The Captain said that the soldiers joined the KNU and wanted to fight the
Burmese military government. Nine Burmese soldiers defected to the KNU
last year while five soldiers joined this year.

"Many Burmese soldiers have been joining the KNU; however they have not
betrayed the KNU," he added.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

March 12, Reuters
Myanmar biofuel effort raises doubts - Ed Cropley

They may look leafless and lifeless, but Kyaw Sinnt is certain that his
nut trees are the key to Myanmar's chronic energy shortage.

Others are less sure, saying the junta's plan to turn the country into a
biofuel plantation producing physic nuts is yet another example of the
ill-conceived central planning that has crippled a once promising economy.

"Everybody can take part and it's good for the environment," Kyaw Sinnt
said, standing next to a small patch of the sticklike shrubs in Pyaw Gan,
a bamboo hut village typical of the parched region southwest of Mandalay.

Fortunately for Pyaw Gan's residents, the plants, also known as jatropha,
are drought-resistant, and energy experts consider them a very promising
source of biofuel because they do not displace food crops like sugar or
corn.

In mid-2006, the State Peace and Development Council, as the junta is
formally known, decreed that every farmer with 0.4 hectares, or an acre,
was required to plant 200 physic nut seeds around the perimeter of the
plot.

Even though farmers were required to buy the seeds from the government for
800 kyat, or 60 U.S. cents, about half a day's wages for a manual laborer,
the effort has produced visible results.

Now, jatropha groves can be seen across the country, from deserted
roadsides in the central plains to deforested hills near the Chinese
border and in window-boxes in the heart of Yangon, the commercial capital.

A year ago, a senior Energy Ministry official was telling oil industry
executives in Singapore that 2.8 million hectares of plantation would be
"in full swing" by mid-2007 and that biodiesel exports would follow
quickly.

Such results would represent a major turnaround for a country that
imported $600 million in oil products in 2006 and slashed diesel subsidies
last August, provoking the biggest anti-government protests in 19 years.

But it is not clear that the generals have kept their side of the bargain
and built the refining plants necessary to turn the nuts into biodiesel.
Several conglomerates with close ties to the regime have announced plans
to get involved, but progress on actually producing biodiesel is not
evident, either.

A government minister has even suggested that people simply grind the nuts
in their own homes and then pour the resultant oily residue straight into
their fuel tanks.

Some analysts have their doubts.

"How these jatropha acreages will be converted into biodiesel has not yet
been determined, since Burma lacks anything like the capacity to refine
physic nuts into useable fuel," said Sean Turnell of Macquarie University.
"The whole episode is illustrative of a more profound and pervasive system
of centralized and often irrational decision making that lies at the heart
of Burmese agriculture."

There certainly does not seem to be anything remotely like a processing
plant anywhere near Pyaw Gan, which is unreachable by vehicle during the
wet season.

"It's a complete waste of time," said one businessman in the town of
Nyaung U, who did not wish to be named for fear of recrimination. "There
is no processing plant, and if there was, it would cost four times as much
as normal diesel. It's all for show, just like our wonderful new
irrigation channels that never have any water because they never turn the
pumps on."

Doubting the junta's stated motive, ordinary Burmese have come up with
their own theories. The most popular, but not necessarily the most
credible, is that it is all a wordplay plan by the superstitious generals
to negate the spiritual power of Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained opposition
leader and Nobel Peace laureate .

In Burmese, physic nuts are roughly pronounced chay soo, which is very
close to an inversion of Aung San Suu Kyi's shortened name, pronounced soo
chee.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

March 12, The Nation (Thailand)
Burmese junta tells US envoy Gambari where to go - Supalak Ganjanakhundee


>From what he has said and from what the military junta expressed to him

during his third visit, United Nations Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari is
unlikely to have achieved anything toward national reconciliation and
democracy in military run Burma.

Gambari finished his latest visit to the troubled country on Monday,
making a brief stopover in Singapore - but without meeting any officials
of the current Asean chair, or the media. The reaction after the visit was
different from his usual routine following his previous trips. For Burma
affairs, nothing is top secret for the UN representative, unless he has
nothing to say or nothing has been achieved.

Gambari met many people during his stay in Burma from last Thursday to
Monday, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whom he met twice
this time, on Sunday and Monday. However, the details of their discussion
are not yet known. Previously, Gambari rushed to tell the media whenever
he got a statement from Aung San Suu Kyi that she was ready to talk with
the junta over political reconciliation. The UN envoy then shuttled around
the globe to tell the same thing to world leaders whom he expected to help
him bring about a dialogue between Burma and those in Bangkok, Beijing and
New Delhi.

This time Gambari got a very tough assignment from his boss, UN
secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, to achieve a substantive dialogue between
the junta and the opposition. Actually the authorities in the Burmese
capital, Napyidaw were originally scheduled to welcome Gambari in April,
but the secretary-general made a request to have his special envoy visit
early.

Gambari was allowed in, with permission for an extended stay, but the
visit lasted only five days, as many of his requests for meetings were
rejected.

Prior to Gambari's visit, UN chief Ban sent a letter in February to the
paramount Burmese leader, Than Shwe requesting a five-point cooperation
deal to help his special envoy achieve his mission. The junta later
decided to dump all UN requests and even burnt them in public, allowing
only the government mouthpiece, the New Light of Myanmar, to publicise the
substance of the meeting between the State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC) spokesman Kyaw Hsan and Gambari over the weekend. Kyaw Hsan told
Gambari that the Burmese government would arrange for UN visitors at any
time as proposed, but the establishment of a special office in Rangoon for
Gambari was unnecessary since the UN already had many representatives in
the country through whom Gambari could work.

The second point, which Gambari championed before his visit, was to have
inclusive participation in Burmese politics. But this was also dismissed
by the junta. Kyaw Hsan said the new Burmese constitution had already been
drafted and would not be amended any further. The draft bars those who are
married to foreigners from participating in politics. More precisely, it
prevents Aung San Suu Kyi from having any hope of being elected as the
next Burmese leader.

"It was Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy who decided not
to participate in the constitution drafting. There cannot be any more
'all-inclusiveness' in this process," Kyaw Hsan told Gambari.

On the third point, Ban asked to have a credible, timeframe and
all-inclusive discussion between the junta and Aung San Suu Kyi, including
support by the UN.
Kyaw Hsan simply replied that the National Convention - the constitution
drafting body - is the most credible and all-inclusive political
discussion forum.

Now, discussions between the Minister for Information and Aung San Suu Kyi
are under way in accordance with UN wishes. Than Shwe even could meet the
opposition leader if Suu Kyi agrees to drop her demands for the
continuance and extension of international sanctions against the junta.
But as long as Aung San Suu Kyi maintains this stance, the dialogue cannot
be productive, Kyaw Hsan said.

On the demands for the release of political prisoners, the junta simply
said that it has no political prisoners, but that those who are serving
jail terms or are under other restrictions, including Aung San Suu Kyi,
have violated the laws.

The final UN point, a request to have an inclusive National Economic Forum
for addressing economic and social affairs, and a cooperative mechanism
for humanitarian assistance, was simply rejected as being "useless", Kyaw
San said.

"If Your Excellency helps to lift economic sanctions, allow aid into the
country, and approve loans, it might be more effective than the Economic
Forum you propose. Giving assistance for poverty reduction while imposing
sanctions will never produce the right solution," he said.

Kyaw Hsan also pointed out to Gambari that democracy developed in
accordance with different contexts in different countries. He compared his
constitution-making process with neighbouring Thailand.

"Now, the Thai people have approved and started to practice a new
constitution for Thailand. But none of the candidates of the People Power
Party and the opposition Democrat Party had the right to participate in
the [drafting] process. To make it clearer, in Iraq, Shi'ite militants who
oppose the US, and Sunni militants who have links with al-Qaeda had no
right to participate in the process of drafting a constitution. Similarly,
in Afghanistan, the Taleban had no right to draft the constitution. We
haven't heard any objection to these events by those persons and
organisations who are objecting to us. But with the drafting of the
constitution in our country, many are criticising us and pointing out that
certain persons are not among the representatives in the process. It is
not reasonable," he said.

Gambari has no argument, as the UN has nothing to bargain with. He simply
said he would convey the message to his boss, whom he would meet in
Senegal this week.

____________________________________

March 12, Agence France Presse
UN expert says unlawful arrests in Myanmar accelerating

Some 1,850 political prisoners are behind bars as of January in Myanmar,
as the government "accelerated" rather than stopped unlawful arrests, a
United Nations report said Wednesday.

"Rather than stop unlawful arrests, the government had accelerated them,"
according to the report by UN expert Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, which said
that initial indications by Myanmar's military junta of a willingness to
address human rights abuses has "disappeared."

In the study to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday,
Pinheiro said he continues to get reports of arrests made in relation to
massive anti-government demonstrations last year -- even as a culture of
impunity reigns in Myanmar.

According to information received, at least 70 individuals were arrested,
with some 62 still detained since his last visit to Myanmar in November,
said Pinheiro, who is ending a seven-year mandate as special rapporteur.

He also received allegations of abuse relating to the arrests, including
death in custody and arrests without warrants, the study said.

The government crackdown on last year's August-September demonstrations,
combined with increased military deployment in some ethnic areas have
helped open "new fronts in the patterns of human rights abuses," the
report said.

In economic and social sectors as well, there have been "marked signs of
deterioration," said the study which also denounced "serious violations of
medical neutrality."

Moreover violations of ethnic minorities, including extrajudicial
killings, attacks on civilians and forced displacement continue to be
reported in the eastern Myanmar state of Kayin, it said.

The report also described a culture of impunity as a key obstacle, with
those perpetrating torture, forced labour, sexual violence and the
recruitment of child soldiers often going unpunished.

Pinheiro's report is based on information from independent sources, since
he has not been able to return to Myanmar for a follow-up mission since
his five-day November visit.

The rapporteur urged Myanmar's junta to rapidly release all physically
vulnerable political prisoners, saying it would be seen "as a good-faith
gesture that would help to pave the way to democratization and
reconciliation."

A separate report published by the US State Department Tuesday ranked
Myanmar along with North Korea among the world's worst human rights
violators.

____________________________________

March 12, Associated Press
US say Burma’s Human Rights record getting worse

Burma’s already bad human rights record got worse last year, the United
States said Tuesday.

The Burmese military government committed extrajudicial killings,
arbitrary detentions, rape and torture, the US State Department said in an
annual report on human rights practices around the world.

The report also said that Vietnam's crackdown on dissent has constrained
civil society. In Thailand, the report said, the government was working to
return to elected government after a 2006 coup and to investigate
extrajudicial killings and disappearances.

The report said that unlawful killings in the Philippines "by elements of
the security services and political killings, including killings of
journalists, by a variety of actors, continued to be a major problem."

The government stepped up efforts to investigate cases, the report said,
but "many went unsolved and unpunished. Concerns about impunity
persisted."

Burma's military-run government killed and arrested pro-democracy
protesters in September, drawing international criticism.

The report said that despite promises of dialogue, the government "did not
honor its commitment to begin a genuine discussion with the democratic
opposition and ethnic minority groups."

Burma 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
the opposition.

____________________________________

March 12, Agence France Presse
ILO extends Myanmar forced labour deal for one year

The International Labour Organisation said it will extend for 12 months a
deal with Myanmar aimed at compensating victims of forced labour but urged
the junta to do more to raise the deal's profile.

The ILO reached a deal last year with Myanmar's secretive military regime,
which staved off a threat to bring the organisation's concerns about
forced labour before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

In a report published late Tuesday on their website, the ILO said that
overall, the trial period has shown an "improved working relationship
between the government and the ILO".

However, it said many people are still unaware of the deal, as details of
the mechanism have yet to be translated and distributed into the local
language.

This lack of awareness is reflected in the small number of complaints
lodged -- over the 12 months ending February 25, only 74 cases were
submitted, the ILO noted.

Myanmar was hit by a wave of demonstrations last year, which were met with
a bloody crackdown by the military junta.

The ILO said that one legacy of the unrest was that "the general public is
now undoubtedly more politically aware and more openly questioning
restrictions of their rights."

It noted that Minister of Labour U Aung Kyi also said that a proposed
constitution which will be put to a referendum in May includes wording on
both forced labour and freedom of association.

"Following up a possible future constitutional commitment ... would be a
significant and concrete expression of the commitment of the authorities
to abandoning the still prevalent use of forced labour throughout the
country," said the ILO.

Meanwhile, of the complaints on forced labour made during the 12 months,
four perpetrators were prosecuted, and 11 military perpetrators
reprimanded.

"A large number of the complaints that had been lodged were related to
what the government considered minor community work, and most of the cases
related to the military concerned the recruitment of minors. On these,
action had been taken promptly," said the ILO.

Since November 2007, "11 young persons who had been the subject of
underage recruitment complaints were discharged and returned to their
families", it added.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

March 12, Asian Tribune
Burma’s longest serving prisoner of conscience must be free - Zin Linn

Do you remember the name of Burma’s longest serving prisoner of conscience
and prominent journalist?

That famous imprisoned journalist is U Win Tin who has constantly refused
to sign a confession promising to abandon his political career as a
condition of his release. The 78-year-old journalist U Win Tin admitted to
the hospital for second surgical treatment to a hernia in January,
according to his close friends.

The journalist was awarded the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom
Prize, the World Association of Newspapers' Golden Pen of Freedom Award
and Reporters Without Border/Foundation de France Prize for his efforts to
defend and promote freedom of expression.

Burma has been called “the world's largest prison for prisoners of
conscience” and many political prisoners and journalists continue
languishing in jail. Burma’s longest serving prisoner of conscience, U Win
Tin, turns 78 on 12 March 2008, one of the country's most established
journalists as well as an executive member of the National League for
Democracy (NLD). He has spent almost 19 years of his life in prison. He
has spent one fourth of his life in prison. U Win Tin suffers from a
serious heart condition and is being treated at the Rangoon general
hospital where he is confined to a diminutive cubicle cell designed for
political prisoners.

Burma’s most celebrated journalist, U Win Tin has been imprisoned since
4th July 1989 in a special cell of the infamous Insein Prison in Rangoon.
U Win Tin is the former editor-in-chief of the Hanthawadi Daily, in
Mandalay and vice-president of the Burmese Writers and Journalists
Association. He was convicted and sentenced to three consecutive
prison-terms to a total of 21 years in prison. One of the charges against
him stems from his 1995 report on the conditions of prisoners and the
human rights abuses inside prisons to Mr. Yozo Yokota, the then United
Nations Special Rapporteur for the Situation of Human Rights in Burma..

U Win Tin was also imprisoned because of his senior position as key
consultant to Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for
Democracy (NLD). He was thrown into jail for additional years because of
attempting to inform the United Nations about human rights violations in
prisons under the military rule. Military rulers also accused him of
writing political commentaries and poems to be circulated among political
prisoners in Insein Prison, where possession of writing materials was
forbidden.

The journalist told a friend who was allowed to visit him in 2007: "Two
prison officers asked me at a special meeting last week whether I would
resume political activities if I were released. I told them that I will
definitely do so since it is my duty as a citizen to strive for
democracy."

In 1996, in the notorious Insein Prison, U Win Tin occasionally narrated
to this author of his experiences with the military intelligence
personnel. The military agents came to see U Win Tin from time to time.
They took him to their office in the prison and questioned him on various
topics. They frequently tried to persuade him to join the junta. But U Win
Tin always cast off their offers.

U Win Tin told me about an incident with the military intelligence staff.
“It happened in 1991,” he said. “They took me out of my cell to an
exhibition - The Real Story under the Big Waves and Strong Winds - held at
Envoy Hall on U Wizara Road in Rangoon. The aim of the exhibition was to
deplore the 1988 uprising as a riot created by destructive elements and
terrorists,” said U Win Tin.

One day, he told me that there was a big character poster at the doorway
of the exhibition saying, “Only when the Tatmadaw [military] is strong,
will the nation be strong.” There were many galleries in the show. Each
gallery highlighted the role of the army and emphasized that it was the
sole force that could safeguard the country.

The show also described the junta's discrimination against the role of the
democratic institutions and societies. "Sovereign power is only deserved
by the generals. That's the final conclusion," said U Win Tin.

After witnessing the show, the junta's agents asked U Win Tin what he
considered about the exhibition and inquired of his opinion and attitude
toward the junta.

They gave him some paper and a pen and told him to write down his opinion
about the show. "I wrote down my criticism. I used 25 sheets of paper. It
was a blunt comment. I made my commentary in a sense of sincerity and
openness. But it irritated them severely," he told me later.

First of all, he criticized the army’s motto, “Only when the army is
strong will the country be strong.” “It's the logic of the generals to
consolidate militarism in Burma,” he explained to me later. ‘Their logic
tells us that they are more important than the people and they expose
themselves as power mongers. That means they neglect the people caught in
the poverty trap.” Thus he wrote: “The slogan tells us that Burma is going
against a policy of peace and prosperity.” He went on to explain his
understanding of the role of the army.

He said, “The real thing is that the military comes out of the womb of the
people. Thus, the slogan must be like this: ‘The people are the only
parents of the military.’ Anyone who does not care about his own parents
is a rogue,” he pointed out to the generals.

He also emphasized that if the generals really loved peace and wanted
prosperity for the nation, they needed to sincerely reflect on their
limitations. The generals might want what’s best for the country, but they
did not know how to handle the entire state of affairs. They are used to
mismanagement. “Eventually, I came straight to the point: The army must go
back to the barracks. That will make everything better in Burma,” he told
me plainly.

The junta was very disgruntled with his criticism and accused him of
advising Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to defy the junta. Then, they made another
lawsuit against him. The junta increased U Win Tin’s sentence by 10 more
years. They put him alone in his cell. The cell was 8.5 x 11.5 feet. There
was only a bamboo mat on the concrete floor. Sleeping, eating, walking and
cleaning the bowels were done in the very same place. He could not see the
sun, the moon or the stars. He was intentionally barred from breathing
fresh air, tasting nourishing food and drinking a drop of fresh water. The
worst thing was throwing the old writer into solitary confinement in such
a cage for two decades. That might cause a person to have a nervous
breakdown. There are many political prisoners who suffer from mental
illness.

He has been in a poor condition of health, exacerbated due to meager
management in jail, which has included torture, inadequate access to
medical treatment, being held in a cell without bedding, and being
deprived of nourishing food and clean water for long periods of time.

In 1994, US Congressman Bill Richardson met U Win Tin in Insein jail.
Since that time he has continuously suffered from various health problems
such as spondylitis, hernia, heart disease, failing eyesight, and
urethritis, as well as piles. Most political prisoners were surprised how
that gallant journalist was so tough even with so many health troubles.
For the junta, U Win Tin is really a man of steel. Although they wish to
defeat his sturdy spirit, they could never do it.

Although the Universal Declaration of Human Rights marks its 60th
Anniversary, people of Burma have been still suffering various human
rights violations under the cruel military regime for almost five decades.
U Win Tin’s case is a good example for one of the most inhumane human
rights violations under undemocratic regime.

The UDHR’s article 1 says: “All human beings are born free and equal in
dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should
act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” But, U Win Tin cannot
even enjoy its first item.

The UDHR’s article 5 says: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” But, U Win Tin has
been suffering a variety of tortures and languishing 3 unjust punishments
for almost 19 years.

The UDHR’s article 7 and 9 say respectively: “All are equal before the law
and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the
law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in
violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such
discrimination.” (A.7)

“No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.” (A.9)
However, the Burmese junta’s arbitrary court sentenced unfair
imprisonments toward U Win Tin in the absence of public including his
lawyer.

The UDHR’s article 19 says: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion
and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without
interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through
any media and regardless of frontiers.” But, several journalists including
U Win Tin in the military run country are taken into custody for their
dissident opinions.

According to Freedom House’s 2008 report, Burma has no freedom at all for
political rights and civil liberties together with other 42 countries in
the world.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International PEN, Committee to
Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters without Borders (Reporters sans
Frontieres) and Burma Media Association (BMA) has repeatedly urged the
junta or State Peace and Democracy Council (SPDC) to immediately and
unconditionally release U Win Tin.

To materialize the essence of UDHR, the international civil societies and
rights groups should help finding ways to release the Burma’s longest
serving prisoner of conscience as a test case. As for now, U Win Tin has
to celebrate his 78th Birthday lonesome behind bars in the absence of his
comrades, fellow-journalists, friends and people who admired the saintly
journalist.