BurmaNet News, March 25, 2008

[Editor]

March 25, 2008 Issue # 3429


INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar monasteries deserted six months after protests
DVB: Man under armed guard after setting fire to himself
DVB: Insein prison inmates join metta chanting campaign
Mizzima News: Student activists initiate vote 'No' campaign
Mizzima News: Rangoon fire victims still homeless
Narinjara News: Taungup NLD reasserts Daw Suu's political role
Khomunthung News: Starvation stares Chin people in the face

ON THE BORDER
Narinjara News: Bangladesh border security force changes tactics against
Burmese Muslims
Mizzima News: Thai police raid Karen organizations

BUSINESS / TRADE
Bakchich.info: Total & Kouchner see eye to eye on Burma

REGIONAL
Asia Tribune: India cuts a deal with Burma’s junta
The Straits Times via AFP: Thai PM defends investments in Myanmar

OPINION / OTHER
The New Straits Times: Apt time to push for change in Myanmar

STATEMENT
New Mon State Party (Central Executive Committee)


____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 25, Agence-France Press
Myanmar monasteries deserted six months after protests

An elderly Buddhist monk sits in his saffron robes inside a Yangon
monastery, one of just a handful of senior monks trying to teach and care
for dozens of young novices reviewing their lessons nearby.

Six months ago, this monastery was full of monks who were at the forefront
of pro-democracy protests that unfolded in September, eventually swelling
to more than 100,000 people in the streets of Yangon.

Now this monastery -- like most others in Myanmar's main city -- is almost
empty, after monks and other activists fled a deadly military crackdown
that began on September 26.

"We monks have done what we could do for the people. What is the result?"
the senior monk said.

"Many monks went back to their hometowns. They left the monasteries
because of the suppression and their fears," he told AFP, speaking on
condition of anonymity.

The violence that Myanmar's security forces used to break up the peaceful
protests shocked the world and instilled a pervasive fear in the people
here.

Monks are considered inviolate in this devoutly Buddhist country, where
they are treated with the utmost respect by the public.

They were treated as saviours when the began taking to the streets in
cities around Myanmar -- formerly known as Burma -- in September.

Protests first broke out in Yangon on August 19, when pro-democracy
activists began staging small street demonstrations in anger at a surprise
hike in fuel prices that left many unable to afford even the bus fare to
work.

Hundreds of monks in the central town of Pakokku joined the protests on
September 5, but security forces fired shots over the crowd and beat some
of the monks, according to witnesses.

The violence shocked the clergy, who began leading marches against the
ruling junta in cities around the country.

About 300 monks joined the first march in Yangon on September 18, in what
became daily protests.

The general public only started joining the movement four days later, when
the monks defied a security barricade and walked to the home of democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for 12 of the
past 18 years.

She appeared briefly at the door, tearing up in an iconic moment that
captured the nation's imagination and inspired tens of thousands of people
to take to the streets.

At its peak, the protest movement drew more than 100,000 people on to the
streets of Yangon, while other demonstrations took place in cities around
the country.

When the military decided to crack down, their tactics were severe.

Protesters, including monks, were beaten in the streets. Shots were fired
into crowds, and a Japanese photojournalist was shot dead at close range.
More than 3,000 people were arrested, and rights groups estimate some 800
remain in detention.

The violence against the monks was particularly appalling for residents in
Yangon. Security forces staged night-time raids on monasteries, leaving
behind blood-stained floors and ransacked rooms as they took monks to
makeshift detention centres.

Most monks fled the violence, growing out their hair and seeking shelter
in villages.

Thailand-based Myanmar analyst Win Min estimated that as little as 10
percent of the monks in Yangon are still in the city.

Although the junta last month announced a timetable for elections, with a
constitutional referendum set for May and a multiparty poll in 2010, daily
life remains a struggle in Myanmar, one of the world's poorest countries.

"The economic situation in Burma is worse now than at the time of the
protests last year," said Sean Turnell, of Burma Economic Watch at
Macquarie University in Sydney.

"The regime's response to the protests ... frightened off any would-be
investors who might have thought Burma a destination for their capital,"
he said.

"Of course, it also frightened away foreign tourists, and the much needed
foreign exchange they bring in," he added.

Even in a nation that has suffered under military rule for 46 years, the
violence against the monks has instilled an even greater sense of fear in
the public, Win Min said.

"The frustration is still there, but the fear is greater. People are more
afraid than they were before," he said.

"They are scared, because they think if the military can do this to the
monks, they will do worse to the ordinary people."

____________________________________

March 25, Democratic Voice of Burma
Man under armed guard after setting fire to himself – Naw Say Phaw

Ko Thaw Zin Naing, who set himself on fire as a protest, has been
transferred to Rangoon general hospital’s burns unit and is being watched
by armed guards, an unidentified hospital official said.

Thaw Zin Naing, who comes from Irrawaddy division, set himself alight at
Rangoon’s Shwe Dagon pagoda on Friday in a protest against economic
hardship.

A journalist in Rangoon said the authorities had also banned the media
from reporting any news about the man.

"We only wrote a simple report, which had no political angle, about a man
who burned himself at Shwe Dagon pagoda and how he has been now charged
with attempted suicide and also with causing public alarm," the journalist
said.

"But the story was rejected by the censor board."

The journalist said that Shwe Dagon pagoda is now under heavy security.

____________________________________


March 25, Democratic Voice of Burma
Insein prison inmates join metta chanting campaign – Aye Nai

A metta chanting campaign initiated by All-Burmese Monks Alliance leader U
Gambira at Insein prison has been spreading to other prison wards, the
monk’s sister said.

U Gambira’s sister Ma Khin Thu Htay said that detainees from different
parts of the prison had joined the campaign.

"U Gambira said all the inmates who are being held in the main prison
ward, the special detention area and also the women detainees have been
chanting metta," Khin Thu Htay said.

Khin Thu Htay said the campaign was the reason prison authorities put U
Gambira into solitary confinement on 14 March.

"We are all Buddhist people and it is not a strange thing for us when a
monk chants metta. Putting him into solitary confinement for that is an
unacceptable act and it makes our country look really bad."

U Gambira's last scheduled court appointment at Hlaing township court last
week did not take place and his remand has been extended for another week.

U Gambira was arrested by government authorities in Magwe division's
Sintgaing township on 4 November 2007 for his role in instigating public
protests in September.

____________________________________

March 25, Mizzima News
Student activists initiate vote 'No' campaign – Myo Gyi and Maung Dee

In a fresh campaign, student activists in northern Burma's Kachin State on
Tuesday urged people in the state's capital of Myitkyina to vote 'No' in
the upcoming referendum.

Eyewitnesses said A4 size posters carrying the message "vote 'No' to the
junta's forced referendum," were pasted in various places around town,
including the markets of Zeygyi Wards no. (1) and (2), Dukathaung Ward,
Yanggyi Aung Ward, Station Ward and the Myitkyina University Ward.

Ma Brang, a member of the student group widely known as the All Kachin
Student Union (AKSU), said, "We believe our poster campaign will be
successful, because the people are confused as to whether they should vote
'Yes' or 'No' in the upcoming referendum or whether they should run away."

"All we want is to let the people know that we should vote 'No' in the
referendum," added Ma Brang.

Local witnesses said soon after the members of AKSU pasted posters on the
walls of Myitkyina University at about 8 a.m. in the morning, ten soldiers
accompanied by police came and guarded the university.

"Police on motorbikes made rounds inside the university campus. In the
university there are correspondent students, so the police are guarding
them," a resident near the university told Mizzima.

A university student added, "Several soldiers were brought near the
university campus. I think they feared that the students might start
something after the posters were distributed this morning. Everyone here
understands, and most people talked of voting 'No' in the upcoming
referendum."

Tuesday morning's poster campaign is the second activity that AKSU has
conducted this year. AKSU also pasted posters urging the people to vote
'No' in the town of Winemaw, opposite Myitkyina.

AKSU is an underground student group formed during last September's
Saffron Revolution.

While AKSU and a few other activists are campaigning for a 'No' vote in
the junta's upcoming referendum, authorities, including Township Chairmen
in Shan State, are reportedly gathering local residents and urging them to
vote 'Yes'.

Meanwhile, local residents in Muse of Shan State said activists on Sunday
reportedly also urged the people to vote 'No' in the referendum by
distributing pamphlets and pasting posters.

____________________________________

March 25, Mizzima News
Rangoon fire victims still homeless

With no government aid, the nearly 3,000 refugees in Rangoon's suburban
Hlaing Tharyar Township remain homeless, a month after their homes were
consumed by fire.

Local residents of the Oat Kan Ward told Mizzima that while some of the
2,969 fire refugees take shelter in Buddhist monasteries, others are
forced to stay with relatives. And those who have no relatives must bear
the economic pain of renting accommodation.

The refugees are victims of a blaze that broke out on February 25, which
according to a Township official consumed at least 201 houses and left
1,260 women and 1,709 men homeless.

"I sat and looked at my destroyed home in the morning daily," a 40-year
old lady, who lost her house in the fire, told Mizzima.

Another local resident, who talked to Mizzima on condition of anonymity
said, "It is still surprising for some people that such a huge number of
people are from just over 201 houses."

The local explained that the refugees are mainly industrial workers,
working in Hlaing Tharyar, which the government has transformed into
industrial zones. The industrial workers lived in rented houses with many
people cramped together into small rooms.

While the government has made no effort to provide aid to the refugees, it
has also controlled individual donors from freely donating to the
refugees.

An elder among the refugees told Mizzima, "We dare to accept donations
only when the Township authorities allow them."

"There are a lot of people who want to donate. But if people want to
donate, they have to give their donations to the Township authorities
first. And the authorities will then redistribute the assistance to the
refugees. The authorities claim it is this way to ensure that all the
refugees get an equal share."

____________________________________


March 25, Narinjara News
Taungup NLD reasserts Daw Suu's political role

The Taungup Township NLD demanded on Saturday that the Burmese military
government must allow a role for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to participate in
the national political arena in the future.
Taungup Township acting secretary U Tin Thein Aung said, "We demanded the
military government to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and allow her to
participate in the Burmese political arena in the future because she is a
Burmese citizen and she was born in Burma."

The demand came out after the Taungup Township NLD executive committee
meeting on Saturday, which was held with the aim of supporting the NLD
Rakhine State on the upcoming referendum.

"NLD Rakhine State issued a statement on the upcoming referendum along
with two major points on 13 March, 2008, denouncing the referendum for the
draft constitution," U Tin Thein Aung said.

In the statement published by the NLD Rakhine State, the draft
constitution was called unfair and an injustice because the authority did
not allow the people's representatives to write it. The NLD Rakhine State
condemned the constitution completely as well as the referendum.

Taungup Township NLD also requested the government employees and public
servants go to the polls to cast ballots but to not vote for the
referendum.

During the meeting, the Taungup NLD committee filled two vacancies - one
for the general secretary and another for the joint secretary. The two
leaders who previously held the positions are U Khin Hla, general
secretary, and Ko Min Aung, joint secretary, are currently being detained
by authorities for involvement in the Saffron Revolution.

According to a Taungup Township NLD source, U Tin Thein Aung,
vice-president of the Taungup NLD, was appointed as acting general
secretary and U Tun Kyi, a central committee member, was appointed as
acting joint secretary.

U Tin Thein Aung said that the Taungup Township NLD vows to protest the
upcoming referendum in accordance with the decision of NLD headquarters
because the constitution is controversial and does not serve the public
interest. The constitution also excludes Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from the
Burmese political arena.

____________________________________

March 25, Khomunthung News
Starvation stares Chin people in the face

Starvation stares Chin State in western Burma in the face, especially
those depending on farming in the state. Not only people of Chin state but
also Mizoram, in Northeast India face a similar situation.

Famine victims in Chin state are being supported financially by Chins
staying abroad. But this help cannot cover all families suffering from
famine conditions in Chin state. In Mizoram, the Chin political party,
NGOs, churches and individuals formed the Chin Famine Emergency Relief
Committee (CFERC) on February 2008 even though some participants do not
have any Mizoram security document.

Chairman of the CFERC, Mr. H. Chan Thawng Liang said that the CFERC is
sending fact finding groups inside Chin state to take video clips and
document the situation. The report will be received within 20 days and the
committee has to make a decision on how to go ahead for the next step. Now
the committee is collecting funds from various churches in Mizoram as well
as abroad. The committee received Rs. 13,000 rupees from Norway Chin
community. The committee collected Rs. 1000 from churches and Rs. 300 from
individuals who want to donate to the committee for famine victims. The
committee believes that 200 households from Chin state's remote areas
shifted to Mizoram state.

But the relief process has not been chalked out by the committee for the
Chin people, and the committee is yet to declare the detailed process to
the people because of financial constraints. The committee seems to be
starting to get the funds for relief.
Mizoram State, is witnessing bamboo flowering (locally known as Mautam)
when rats multiply and destroy crops bringing on famine conditions,  so
social workers and civilians are busy helping the victims.

The government received its annual share of rice accounting for 5000
quintals and an additional 1,10, 000 quintals for Mautam said the
president of the Mizo National Front (MNF) and Chief Minister of Mizoram
Mr. Zoramthanga.

The government also has a Bamboo Flowering and Famine Combat Scheme
(BAFFACOS) program since 2004 and sanctioned funds for Rs. 12.500 lakhs
for famine relief in Mizoram state said Mizoram Chief Minister during the
Mizoram budget session this month.

The victims of famine have been provided rice in the rural areas by the
government. While Mizoram people suffer from famine like conditions they
seem to be more worried this time compared to the last time.

Besides, all government servants gave a day's salary for those who are
facing famine in different parts of the state. Social and religious
organizations also donated lots of money for bamboo flowering affected
people in Mizoram.

A report added that one youth group of Fraser Valley Cleaner in Canada had
declared to provide vegetable soup mixed/ dehydrated vegetable accounting
for 2.25 million packets following bamboo flowering in Mizoram.

Mizoram had faced such a famine situation in 1958-59, as this happens once
in 50 years. At such times people in the state search for edibles in the
jungle and suffered stomach and poisonous infection. Mautam claimed lives
too.

While the Mizoram government provides relief for the people, the people of
Chin state are not so lucky and people from remote areas are moving and
shifting to Mizoram for succour.

The Chin people have been given donated 20 bags of rice by the Light
Infantry Battalion (LIB) no 304. One bag if rice costs 18000 kyat now
compared to 15000 kyat per-bag in Chin state towns. The Burma Army
collects money as tax as well use people for forced labour at a time when
they suffer from hunger.

The villagers are suffering from various persecutions by the local
authority forcing them to flee to Mizoram.  There are hundreds of refugees
in Bangladesh also from Paletwa Township, Chin state.

As reported in Mizoram Newspaper there are many illegal Chin people who
have shifted from ThanTlang, Falam, Teddim and Tonzang of Chin state,
Myanmar . In February 2008, four households of Matupi Township , Southern
Chin state shifted to Mizoram and are staying in Kawl Caw village,
Lawngtlai district in Mizoram. Lack of a relief system in Chin state
especially in the border areas are forcing people to come to Mizoram.

The famine is prevalent in bamboo growing areas especially in Paletwa,
Matupi, Thantlang, Falam and Tonzang township Chin state. This year half
the population of almost five lakhs is affected by famine.

In 2005 the official record mentioned Chin state population being 53
lakhs, but Chin people are fleeing abroad because during military rule the
Chin population decreased to 47 lakhs in 2007.

"We have to leave our country as there is no food," said Mr. Para from
Paletwa Township who recently shifted for Mizoram due to bamboo flowering
in Chin state, Burma .

Although there are lots of organizations in Mizoram for helping the famine
affected people, there are no organizations to help Chin people. - Shyamal
Sarkar (Khonumthung)

(Shyamal Sarkar based in Calcutta, India is a copy editor of Khonumthung
News and Burma News International (BNI), Burma media umbrella group in
exile)

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March 25, Narinjara News
Bangladesh border security force changes tactics against Burmese Muslims

Bangladesh border security forces have for the last few months been using
a new tactic against Muslim migrants from Burma who attempt to enter
Bangladesh territory, said a merchant from Teknaf.

In the past, Bangladesh border security forces would take migrants into
custody for illegally entering Bangladesh territory and would send them to
prison for processing.

Recently, border forces have been avoiding arresting the Burmese Muslim
migrants they encounter, and have instead been pushing them back to Burma.

The merchant said that a five-member family from Buthidaung Township in
Arakan State faced this new tactic on Saturday when they encountered a
Bangladesh Rifles team as they were entering Bangladesh territory through
Sapuri Island in the Naff River.

The family, including two minors, was being led by Nobi Hussan and entered
Bangladesh to seek asylum as refugees, but was pushed back into Burma by
the BDR forces.

Recently, many Muslim families from Burma have faced similar action by
Bangladesh authorities when trying to enter Bangladesh without documents
to seek refuge.

Nearly 1,000 Burmese nationals, mainly Muslims from Arakan State, are
currently being detained in several Bangladesh prisons for illegally
entering Bangladesh.

After being arrested, Bangladesh authorities are unable to deport them
because the Burmese authority refuses to accept them on claims that they
are not Burmese citizens.

It is because of these difficulties in repatriating undocumented Burmese
migrants through normal channels that Bangladesh border security forces
have likely switched to this new tactic of pushing them back across the
border without arresting them, the merchant said.

____________________________________

March 25, Mizzima News
Thai police raid Karen organizations – Than Htike Oo

Thai security agencies made surprise raids and checks on border based
Karen social organizations on Tuesday morning.

Thai police and army started the search operation at 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
They searched the houses of some Thai-Burma border based Karen leaders and
pro-democracy NGOs.

"They searched 12 places today. But they have not replicated the operation
at other places. I think this is their initial step and don't know what
will happen next. As far as I know they are focusing on arms and
ammunition during their search operation," Khai Mar Kyaw Zaw, editor of
Mae Sod based Karen News, told Mizzima.

The rumour of the Thai search operation has been spreading over the last
few days but most people did not expect it would happen as early as today.
The Thai security agencies came with a detailed list of names, addresses
along with photographs.

"We have heard that the Thai authorities would come and search our
offices. But they haven't yet come to our office. We won't flee from our
offices as we are not into any unlawful activities in Thailand," Hla Henry
from Karen Internally Displaced Persons Committee said.

Security has been tightened ever since unknown assassins shot dead Karen
leader Pado Mahn Sharlaphan at his residence in Mae Sod.

"I think after Pado Mahn Shar's death the Thai authorities do not want
another killing on their soil so that is why they came to our offices and
checked valid documents. If we can't produce valid documents to stay in
Thailand, they told us that we should not stay here. I think this is the
implicit warning given to us for our own security. Then we have to move to
other places, we have no other way. This is my view of the current Thai
operation," Pado Hla Ngwe, In-charge of KNU Information Department said.

But the people suspect there is some sort of pressure from the Burmese
military regime behind the current operation.

"I see this is as pressure exerted on the Thai government by the Burmese
regime because these organizations are revolting against the junta while
staying on Thai soil. The junta wants the Thai government to expel us from
the country. On the other hand, the Thai government does not want to rub
the Burmese government the wrong way so it is exerting pressure on us in
this way," Khai Mar Kyaw Zaw said.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

March 25, Bakchich.info
Total & Kouchner see eye to eye on Burma – Oliver Dours

In Asia, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs never misses a chance to
lend a hand to his pals at Total, who are getting bogged down in the
Buddhist monks’ rebellion.

Total’s CEO, Christophe de Margerie, is determined to protect his
company’s assets in Burma. On October 16, 2007, he rambled somewhat
senselessly before the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Commission. In
answer to a question put by Commission Chair Axel Poniatowski, de Margerie
claimed that neither Aung San Suu Kyi nor representatives of the Burmese
opposition had ever, “asked Total to leave.” He also boasted about the
“opinion shared by a great number of people on the spot (i.e. in Burma) as
well as all of the eyewitnesses who have been there, that Total’s
activities are essential, and should be sustained in the interests of the
Burmese people, for whom they are directly beneficial.”

Bizarre notions that the Burmese Prime Minister-in-exile, Dr. Sein Win,
and his UN representative, Than Htun were quick to dispel during their
recent stay in Paris, late last October. In actual fact, as far back as
1992, Burmese pro-democracy forces asked Total to abandon its project for
a natural-gas pipeline from Burma to Thailand to produce electricity. To
make matters worse, since it was put into service in 2000, they have never
stopped pleading for the suspension of this financial windfall, which has
already brought in some $3 billion to the Burmese generals’ regime. For
the opposition, it is abundantly clear that Total has been indeed been
essential
 to the change in the junta’s status on the international scene,
from disreputable “narco-dictatorship” to the more presentable
“gas-pipeline-dictatorship.” At a press conference in Paris last October,
Messrs. Sein Win and Than Htun expressed surprise that the letter they had
addressed to the French government just before the meeting of the European
Council in Luxembourg on October 8 had not been taken into account. In it,
the Burmese government-in-exile requested the establishment of effective
sanctions – which inevitably meant seizure or international control of
natural-gas revenues. In actual fact, the European Ministers made haste to
exclude fossil fuels from the scope of the sanctions. Decision which can
surely be blamed on pressure from the French.

When asked, “Who is your leader ?”, certain monks have been known to
confess under torture, “His name is Siddhartha.” As the agitator’s
identity and description was passed through the ranks of the uniformed
hierarchy, in order to establish a warrant for his arrest anywhere in the
country, one officer – slightly cleverer than the rest – realized that
Siddhartha is the name of the historical Buddha born 2,500 years ago in
Kapilavastu, now part of Nepal


To console his woes, Christophe de Margerie can always go sob on Bernard
Kouchner’s shoulders : after all, once upon a time, the high-spirited
French Minister of Foreign Affairs was a consultant for Total-Burma. This
week, the French doctor performed a strange belly dance in a neighboring
country he was visiting. In Singapore on October 29, he came up with
another suggestion based more on smoke and mirrors than true substance : a
funding project for Burma that would allow the international community to
finance micro-credits to assist the country’s development, on condition
that the junta become more democratic. All under the auspices of the World
Bank
 which can no longer operate in Burma since the Americans vetoed it.

On October 30, 2007, in Bangkok, Kouchner laid it on even thicker by
singing the praises of Total’s pipeline, which, he said, was beneficial
for the people of Burma and Thailand. And again, on October 31 in Beijing,
he tried to sweet talk Chinese leaders – to get them to reason with their
Burmese protégés – by offhandedly mentioning that French president Nicolas
Sarkozy could be convinced not to receive the Dalai Lama during his
planned visit to Paris in August 2008. Unlike a certain George W. Bush.
During his visit to Beijing in December 2007, President Sarkozy asked his
Chinese counterpart to intercede with his Burmese protégés in order to
have visas granted to Bernard Kouchner and Rama Yade, his Secretary of
Human Rights –raising snickers in diplomatic circles around the region,
but otherwise to no avail


Translated by: Regan Kramer

____________________________________
REGIONAL

March 25, Asia Tribune
India cuts a deal with Burma’s junta – Nava Thakuria

Worried about its restive northeast, New Delhi is poised to make a major
transport deal with Burma.  Ignoring continued international pressure to
boycott Burma’s ruling military junta, New Delhi on April 4 will sign an
agreement to develop a port on the western Burmese coast for the benefit
of India’s restive northeast, where a stubborn secessionist movement has
continued its rebellion for decades.

Vice Senior General Maung Aye, second in command of the State Peace and
Development Council, as the Burmese junta calls itself, is to arrive in
New Delhi to finalize the US$100 million Kaladan project. This includes
development of the Sittwe port on the Bay of Bengal, connecting it with
landlocked northeastern India through the Kaladan River and road transport
system and providing India with a crucial alternative route for transport
of goods to the northeastern states, bypassing Bangladesh.

Maung Aye’s arrival is the highest-profile visit to India for a Burmese
leader since Senior General Than Shwe, the junta leader, was in New Delhi
four years ago. Last August and September, the junta earned worldwide
opprobrium with a brutal crackdown on the country’s restive population,
beating and shooting at peaceful protesters led by tens of thousands of
Buddhist monks. Although the junta put total deaths at 10, unofficial
tallies go much higher.

“The Kaladan project will include shipping, riverine and road transport,”
Jairam Ramesh, the Indian junior commerce minister, said in a press
briefing during a recent visit to the region. “New Delhi wants to connect
the northeast with commercial sea routes. Moreover, with the development
of the Sittwe port and the Kaladan River to make it efficient for
navigation, the region is expected to have another viable access to
Southeast Asian countries.”

India’s northeast, which is almost cut off geographically from the rest of
the country by Bangladesh, comprises eight states surrounded by Nepal,
Bhutan, Tibet, Burma and Bangladesh. The region’s cumulative population of
about 50 million enjoy more affinity toward China and Burma than with
India because of its predominantly East Asian origin. The area is
connected to mainland India through only 2 percent of its territorial
boundary.

The Burmese junta, though providing free land for the Kaladan project, has
been reluctant to invest, which finally compelled New Delhi to extend a
US$10 million soft loan to the SPDC leaders, which critics characterized
as a bribe. The project is anticipated to be completed within four years
and will be executed by the public-sector Rail India Technical Economic
Services organization.

India is already under fire across the globe after a visit to Burma by its
petroleum minister, Murli Deora, in September at a time when the world’s
media were delivering pictures of massive protests against the junta and
the crackdown. Although Deora witnessed as many as 100,000 demonstrators
on the streets of Rangoon, he made no statements. Instead, during his
visit, he signed three bilateral agreements for deep exploration in oil
blocks. India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) Videsh pledged
to invest nearly US$150 million for gas exploration in Burma’s Rakhaine
coastal region.

New Delhi strongly supported the pro-democracy movement in Burma until
1993 but has become increasingly concerned over growing Chinese influence
in the country. That has forced India to change its Burma policy to one of
greater economic cooperation. Another major concern remains the relentless
insurgencies in India’s northeast. Armed groups based in the trouble-torn
region use the jungles of northern Burma as their hideouts and training
camps. India cannot afford to ignore the junta’s support in dealing with
the situation along the porous 1,600-kilometer Indo-Burmese border.

New Delhi’s move to invest in the Burmese port assumes additional
significance in view of Bangladesh’s reluctance to give India access to
its Chittagong port, which is nearer to the northeast, and which is less
than 200 km from Agartala, capital of the Indian state of Tripura.

“It is unfortunate that we have not been able to develop our relationship
with Bangladesh to the level of making it our gateway to Southeast Asia,”
Ramesh said, although he pointed out that New Delhi is working on
enhancing ties with Bangladesh. (As Asia Sentinel reported on March 12,
Bangladesh’s army chief of staff, General Moeen U Ahmed, recently spent a
week in India in arguably the closest example of cooperation between the
two countries since Bangladesh’s independence in 1971.)

Burmese exiles have come out against New Delhi for initiating the project,
saying any money invested in Burma will not reach the common people, but
will go into the pockets of the generals.

“This is not a right time and [the junta leaders] are not the right
persons to build a long-term relationship, while human-rights abuses have
been claiming many lives every year in Burma,” said M Kim, the coordinator
of the Shwe Gas Pipeline Campaign Committee (India).

In an interview, Kim said: “India must not bury alive its extraordinary
democratic values and inspiration of promotion of peace and human rights
by dealing in business and building relations with this barbaric Burmese
military junta, which recently not only killed, tortured and imprisoned
its own innocent people and monks but also violated religious rights by
sealing off monasteries and restricting the basic rights of prayers at
pagodas.”

Forced labor, Kim said, is still rampant in Arakan state, where the
Kaladan project is to be built, with villagers forced to dig and dam
fisheries and prawn ponds for the interest of the authorities. The only
thing they receive from the authorities is mistreatment, he said.

“It is inevitable that if [Kaladan] is carried out under the present
regime, gross human-rights violations will follow,” Kim said. “No
development project will be done without committing human-rights abuses,
so India must hold off on the Kaladan project until the military
dictatorship is replaced by a democratic regime, and local communities
have a say in how their natural resources are used.”

The Mizoram Committee for Democracy in Burma and the Campaign for
Democratic Movement in Burma in January appealed vainly to New Delhi to
cut ties with the junta as “economic cooperation with them [will] never
benefit the people unless democracy is restored in Burma.”

But Deepak Parvatiyar, a former journalist turned Indian government
communication officer now based in Kuala Lumpur, said the mounting
pressure on the military rulers of Burma “should be maintained at a
diplomatic level but not at the cost of development.”

Speaking to Asia Sentinel from the Malaysian capital, Parvatiyar said:
“Contribution to development is always welcome, even after taking into
consideration the recent happenings in Burma and the continued regressive
policies by its military rulers.

“By participating in the development of the port in Burma, India has shown
maturity in dealing with her troublesome neighbors,” Parvatiyar said.
“Opening bilateral trade with Pakistan was the beginning that considerably
helped smooth the relationship between the two countries. By participating
in the development of Burma, it will enhance the reputation of India as a
country that cares for its neighbors irrespective of political
differences. Moreover, the Kaladan project will give the backward
northeast region access to commercial sea routes.”

However, Tayza Thuria, a Burmese exile based in London, answered that
“India’s doing business with Burma and engaging with Burma’s de facto
military government is not wrong in itself. But the Indian government
needs to be careful to maintain a balanced and ethical approach towards
Burma; ie, while engaging with them in business and security affairs, New
Delhi must also try to persuade, advise and guide the junta to make
systematic democratic reforms in due course.”

____________________________________


March 25, The Straits Times via Agence-France Press
Thai PM defends investments in Myanmar

THAI Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej insisted on Tuesday that the kingdom
would continue doing business with neighbouring Myanmar in a bid to
pressure the military regime to reform.

Thailand is one of the biggest investors and trading partners in Myanmar,
spending billions of dollars a year to tap into the country's natural gas
and hydropower resources to fuel its own growing economy.

Western countries have tightened sanctions on Myanmar following the
junta's crackdown on pro-democracy protests last September, when the
United Nations estimates at least 31 people were killed.

Asked if Thailand would change its investment policy to add to the
international pressure on the regime, Mr Samak insisted that the countries
would remain good neighbours.

'Who will force Thailand to stop being friends with our neighbour? Do we
have to adopt the Western opinion on what we can or cannot do?' Mr Samak
told reporters.

'When we want something, and we ask Myanmar, they give it to us,' he said.

Myanmar monasteries deserted 6 months after protests

'For example, when we want electricity and we need to a build a dam there,
they allow us. If we need transport facilities, they let us build a port.
So we are good neighbouring countries,' Mr Samak said.

Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama has said that his country opposes
sanctions on Myanmar, saying that talks with the iron-fisted generals
could lead to positive developments in the country, which has been ruled
by the military since 1962.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

March 25, The New Straits Times
Apt time to push for change in Myanmar – Amy Chew

With many military officers having family members who are monks, the
Myanmar military has become more divided following the brutal way
demonstrating monks were treated during protests in September last year,
writes AMY CHEW IN the aftermath of Myanmar's brutal crackdown on the
country's Buddhist monks' peaceful demonstration last year, the ruling
regime's Gen Than Shwe called up his deputy for a regular game of
billiards.

But to Than Shwe's surprise, the country's second-highest military
officer, Gen Maung Aye, turned him down.

"Gen Maung Aye doesn't play billiards any more with Gen Than Shwe," Win
Min, an activist with extensive contacts with the military, told the New
Straits Times.

"I heard that he (Than Shwe) called up General Maung Aye and said, 'Let's
go play billiards', but Maung Aye refused.

"It's like a protest to the top general," Win Min said.

Myanmar's military is divided and at its weakest since 1988, the last time
large-scale protests erupted and ended in bloodshed, say Win Min and
pro-democracy activists.

Its once fearsome military intelligence service is also diminished,
following the 2004 sacking of military intelligence chief Khin Nyunt.

Khin Nyunt was viewed as a moderate who was open to working with
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

For the democratic forces in Myanmar, now is the best time to regroup to
push for change.

"This is a window of opportunity to exploit," said Nyo Ohn Myint of Suu
Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD). "It's the chance to regroup,
reorganise another people's power (revolt)."

The activists were in Jakarta recently to attend an international
conference on Myanmar.

Throughout the 46-year rule of the military regime in one of the world's
poorest countries, dissent has always been crushed with brute force. But
last September's crackdown backfired.

When Than Shwe's special troops beat and shot monks and raided monasteries
in the capital Yangon, the brutality repulsed officers within the military
itself.

U Awbata, 30, was one of the monks at the protests who managed to escape.
He now lives in Sri Lanka.

"I saw three monks shot and one of them fell," he said. "The soldiers
kicked and stomped his head with their military boots and started beating
him. I couldn't do anything but cry."

With many military officers having family members who are monks and
holding them in respect, "the military has become more divided after
September's demonstrations", said Win Min, who also lectures on Burmese
affairs at Chiangmai University.

"There are many mid-level and even some high-level generals who disagree
with the level of force used against the monks. The monks are revered
symbols in Burma. They are at the top of our value system."

Buddhist monks are an integral part of Burmese society, their presence as
ubiquitous as the temples that dot the country's landscape.

"Just as the monks depend on the people for their basic needs, the lay
people depend on the monks for their spiritual needs," said U Awbata.

"In the past, the people always acted on their own to demonstrate whenever
they were faced with problems in their daily basic needs.

"So when the monks saw the people suffering, they took it upon themselves
to act on behalf of the people because it's our duty. We never thought the
military would treat us this way."

Maung Aye's loyalists and other troops, unhappy with the crackdown in
Yangon, responded by not shooting at the monks.

"If you look at what happened in Mandalay, the troops just surrounded the
temples but they did not shoot or beat the monks. They also did not raid
the monasteries, unlike in Yangon," said Win Min.

"In Yangon, the special troops there are very close to Than Shwe."

But even as Than Shwe might see over Maung Aye's subtle insubordination,
he has not sacked him. His deputy has many regional commanders behind him
as well as the loyalty of the troops under his command.

September's peaceful uprising took the military by surprise and exposed
the weakness in its intelligence service after Khin Nyunt's ouster.

"When the demonstrations erupted, (the junta) had no idea who the leaders
were as all the informers they had planted in the monasteries were no
longer working," said Win Min.

Pro-democracy activists put the death toll of monks and other protesters
at 100, with another 1,200 jailed, bringing the total number of political
prisoners to 2,200.

Western sanctions have failed to prod the regime to make any changes, as
investments from China, Russia, India and Asean countries help offset its
economic isolation.

Pro-democracy activists have begun lobbying China to use its influence
over Myanmar to bring about reform.

Nyo, an aide to Suu Kyi, recently met in Kunming with Chinese officials,
who expressed a list of concerns over regime change and extending support
to Suu Kyi.

As China shares a very long border with Myanmar, the Chinese are concerned
Suu Kyi would allow Myanmar to fall under Western influence and allow the
United States to spy on them.

"I told them that Suu Kyi is a very nationalistic person," Nyo said.

China also worries it would lose its vast economic interests in Myanmar
under a new regime.

Suu Kyi has agreed to give China special privileges for a period of time,
perhaps around 10 years.

"She instructed me to work closely with China," said Nyo. "China is very
important and she is willing to assure China that no matter how Burma is
transformed into a democracy, China's interests are secure."

China is also worried about Russia's growing influence in Myanmar since
2000. Russia has large investments in nuclear power plants, coal mines and
technical military hardware.

As the world's major powers jostle to balance their influence in the
region, time is running out for the impoverished Burmese.

"The people are in a very bad situation," said Nyo. "Unemployment is
running at around 70 per cent. People have very, very little opportunity
to make money. The cost of living is very high.

"There is going to be another uprising, not because of Aung San Suu Kyi,
but because the people have no tomorrow.

"We do not want to see more bloodshed, people sacrificing their lives. The
alternative is for a political solution."

____________________________________
STATEMENT

March 25, New Mon State Party (Central Executive Committee)
Statement on constitutional referendum that will conduct in May by the
Burmese military regime

1. New Mon State Party believes that referendum might not conduct before
having a tripartite dialogue.

2. The draft constitution should have to amend and discuss with ethnic
nationalities and democratic organizations. If not political crisis is
never solved.