BurmaNet News, March 29-31, 2008

[Editor]

March 29-31, 2008 Issue # 3433


INSIDE BURMA
Reuters: Proposed Myanmar charter bars Suu Kyi from office
The Times of London: Burma constitution leaked amid 'No' vote push
BBC News: Burma voices: Six months later
DVB: Burma military pressures people to vote Yes
DVB: NLD members arrested after demonstration
IPS: Junta split may hasten civilian rule

ON THE BORDER
Mizzima News: Sino-Burma border meeting held at KIA headquarters
Kachin News Group: KIO arrests key Tibetan activists at China's insistence
The Independent Bangladesh: Myanmar team arrives in Dhaka for border
redrawing talks
CNN International: Slain Karen leader: Rebel effort is self defense

BUSINESS / TRADE
Reuters: India, Myanmar to seal deal on a port near gas field
Bangkok Post: ASC to consider controversial loan to Burma

REGIONAL
Mizzima News: Burma's second in command to visit New Delhi
The Independent UK: U Myint Thein: Burmese democracy campaigner

INTERNATIONAL
Bangkok Post: Burmese MPs blast 'weak' UN response to plight

OPINION
The Independent UK: Asian (con)fusion: Burma - A brave voice now lost
Irrawaddy: Than Shwe’s worthless promises

STATEMENT/PRESS RELEASE
CRPP: An appeal letter from Members of Parliament from Burma (Myanmar) to
parliamentarians around the world
RHRC: Cry Rohingyas! Cry!



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 31, Reuters
Proposed Myanmar charter bars Suu Kyi from office – Aung Hla Tun

Detained Nobel laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will not be
allowed to stand for election in army-ruled Myanmar because she was once
married to a foreigner, its proposed new constitution says.

A copy of the charter obtained by Reuters on Monday confirmed that a
"person who is entitled to rights and privileges of a foreign government,
or a citizen of a foreign country" cannot run for office.

Suu Kyi, 62, was married to British academic Michael Aris from 1972 until
his death in 1999, and as such was entitled to hold a British passport.

However, rather than being an invention of the former Burma's military
junta to keep their nemesis at bay, the clause has simply been copied
across from Myanmar's two previous constitutions of 1947 and 1974, experts
said.

The proposed charter, a key step in the generals seven-point "roadmap to
democracy", goes to a referendum some time in May and has left opponents
of the junta in a quandary, unsure whether to vote "Yes" or "No".

Integral to the "discipline-flourishing democracy" advocated by the
generals is a proviso that 25 percent of seats in parliament are reserved
for the military.

The commander-in-chief of the armed forces will also be the most powerful
person in the country, with the right to suspend the constitution at will.

However, the charter also enshrines many rights that have been absent for
nearly the last two decades.

Under the proposed charter, the southeast Asian nation's 53 million people
will be allowed to form political parties and unions and freedom of the
press and religion will be protected.

Myanmar's myriad ethnic groups, many of whom have waged years of guerrilla
war since independence from Britain in 1948, will also be accorded the
specific right to promote their own languages and cultures.

While some people are refusing to approve any constitution spawned by a
reviled military regime, others say it is better to have a bad
constitution than none at all.

"We can't expect it perfect at the initial state and we should not delay
till it is perfect," one lawyer who asked not to be identified said.
"There will be freedom of expression, press, association, procession and
so on that we haven't got now."

Information Minister Kyaw Hsan said last week the charter would be open to
incremental change after multi-party elections slated for 2010.

(Reporting by Aung Hla Tun; Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Michael
Battye and Alex Richardson)

____________________________________

March 31, The Times of London
Burma constitution leaked amid 'No' vote push – Kenneth Denby

Burma’s generals intend to block the Burmese democracy leader, Aung San
Suu Kyi, from ever leading her country, according to leaked copies of a
new constitution drafted by the country’s military junta.

The 194-page draft constitution, which was circulating yesterday among
Burmese and foreign journalists in Rangoon, states that anyone with family
connections to foreigners is not eligible to stand as president. But the
document, which will be put to a constitutional referendum in May, does
not impose the same restriction on ministers or those who run as members
of parliament.

Ms Suu Kyi’s two sons by her late husband, the British academic Michael
Aris, are British citizens, which would seem to rule her out unequivocally
from the highest post. But the clause on the eligibility of parliamentary
candidates only eliminates anyone with “allegiance or adherence” to a
foreign government.

According to the British government, Ms Suu Kyi no longer has British
citizenship, although her continuing support for foreign sanctions against
Burma might be taken by the junta as evidence of such “adherence”. The
junta may use this ambiguity as a bargaining chip with Ms Suu Kyi and her
National League for Democracy - in order, for example, to encourage her to
drop her support for sanctions in return for release from her continuing
house arrest and a seat in parliament.

Overall, foreign governments and members of the opposition in Burma regard
the constitution as a means of perpetuating the power of the military
dictatorship under a new, civilian guise, and a “Vote No” campaign is
gradually gathering momentum.

The leaked version of the constitution, which has still not been seen by
ordinary Burmese just weeks before the referendum, is the first document
of its kind in Burma to guarantee basic rights such as freedom to form
political parties and unions, as well as freedom of the press and religion
and the rights of minorities. However, these seemingly liberal precepts
are outweighed by clauses which would leave power securely in the hands of
the army which has ruled the country since 1962.

The constitution states that it cannot be amended for ten years and, even
then, only with a three quarters parliamentary majority. Since one quarter
of seats in both houses of parliament is reserved for members of the
military, the country’s current rulers will continue to exercise a veto.

Although the president would notionally be a civilian, he would be allowed
to transfer full legislative, executive and judicial power to the
commander in chief of the armed forces for as long as a year in case of a
state of emergency. Rather than coming into force immediately after the
May referendum, the constitution will be activated only after the
convening of a new parliament, due to be elected in 2010.

“Not everything in here is bad, perhaps 80 per cent in OK,” said a western
observer in Rangoon. “If this was coming out of East Timor, for example,
you’d say this was something to work with. But with this government there
is simply no trust. Given their record it’s difficult to grant them the
benefit of the doubt.”

A statement from the All Burma Monks’ Alliance and the ’88 Generation
Students, which launched the vast pro-democracy demonstrations which were
suppressed by the government last September, said: “We all are determined
to “Vote No” on the junta’s sham constitution in the upcoming referendum.
As the military junta is aggressively and desperately pressuring the
people to vote in favour of the constitution, our challenge to reject it
will surely be met with a bloody response by the junta.”

____________________________________

March 31, BBC News
Burma voices: Six months later

Six months after protests in Burma ended in a military crackdown, people
describe the atmosphere in the country and their fears for the future.
Life has been hard as ever. No change or hope has come yet to us.

People no longer talk about politics for fear of arrest, accusations,
safety and other frightening things.

But everybody desires to know something more and to talk freely about
these issues. Some day we hope to have our freedom or right to speak. Ha
ha. What a joke!

Everything has been over for nearly six months now. But some of us still
recall it.

Here, a referendum on a new constitution is drawing near. People are
talking about it and no-one really knows what it is going to look like.

But almost everybody accepts that the government will win it whether the
constitution is ratified or not by the people in May.

Even now almost everybody has little understanding of what the referendum
is and what has to happen.

I have been in the capital Nay Pyi Taw for a few months now. More
construction sites are still being built as more NGOs and private
companies have to move here somehow.

They say Nay Pyi Taw is the capital and its future lies with the new
democratic government body. There is no sign yet of how the military will
stand after the results are out.


ANONYMOUS BURMESE MAN, RANGOON

I tell people not to even think about voting 'No' or 'Yes' [in the
forthcoming referendum on a new constitution]. It means that you consider
and accept it.

Actually, the junta does not have the right to do anything for the
country. It is an illegal government.

Even if the work done is good, and the result or outcome is exceptional
progress as in China, it is unacceptable because it is a military
dictatorship and the junta is unconstitutional - having no law, rules and
regulations.
Now the country suffers complete loss and ruin.

Its people are totally destroyed both physically and mentally - the
majority are living in a mess, eating junk food, leading a hand-to-mouth
lifestyle.

There is no guarantee for healthcare. If a man does not have enough money,
in case one needs to go to hospital or a private clinic for serious cases,
he should prepare to die. The cost is sky high.

People now become mad and irrational as a result of poverty and a lack of
education.

Night is dark without electricity. Water is scarce. How is it like a
modern and developed country to which, they say, they are marching?


DAVID, RANGOON

In recent times, we have not been able to use the internet because the
government decreased the internet bandwidth during the visit of UN envoy
Mr Gambari.

Nothing has changed after six months in Burma. The military junta has
arrested our leaders and many activists. Now they've spread many soldiers
across Rangoon to break down any movements.

They will have a constitutional referendum in May. They don't care for the
UN and the international community.

What would the UN do to get the true result from referendum?


YI, RANGOON

The internet connection was at its worst during the September revolution.
There has been little improvement.

Sending information to foreign media can be indicted by the junta and we
will be jailed. But we the people of Burma take this risk by sending mails
to foreign media because we have to let the people of the world know our
situation in our country.
The junta is putting heavy guards around Rangoon and monitoring the mails
and the internet because they are going to hold a fake referendum in May.

They haven't [at the time of writing] published the constitution we are to
vote on. They dare not let the people of Burma study the constitution
thoroughly and freely.

Now the junta is showing its strength by patrolling around the town with
trucks fully loaded with policemen and soldiers carrying guns. It is a
warning to the people who go against the junta that they will be shot.

Now the junta is arresting and putting into jail without giving reasonable
explanation for the people who go against the junta.

____________________________________

March 31, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burma military pressures people to vote Yes

While pro-democracy groups are urging people to boycott the upcoming
referendum or vote No, the Burmese authorities have been pressuring people
to vote Yes to the new constitution.

Residents of Arakan State said the military has been pressuring people to
vote in favour in the May referendum.

Officers from the Western Command have been travelling around Manaung and
An townships and intimidating people into voting in support of the
constitution, according to a resident of Taungup township who has been
monitoring the situation.

“A captain and three soldiers from the Western Command, who were fully
armed and in uniform, arrived at Man Yon Taung Village Tract in An
Township on 17 March and summoned villagers from six villages,” the
resident said.

“Each village had to send one representative to a meeting where they were
told that a group would be set up to punish those who oppose the
referendum,” he said.

“They said that they only wanted to see Yes votes, otherwise all the
villagers and their families and villages would pay for it.”

The same resident said Union Solidarity and Development Association
members and the local army unit have also been lobbying for votes in
Taungup.

“USDA Organizer Soe Aung Tun and Maung Nyunt Win from the Village Peace
and Development Council came to Myat Mon village in Taungup on 18 March,”
the resident said.

“They summoned students who had sat matriculation examinations and told
them that any student who did not do well in the examinations should join
the USDA and vote Yes in the referendum,” he said.

“If they did that, they said the students would be guaranteed to pass the
examinations.”

The resident said Maung Nyunt Win also threatened to take action against
anyone who voted No in the referendum.

Journalists and lawyers from Rangoon have also been speaking in favour of
the referendum, the Taungup resident said.

“Lawyers from Rangoon came to Manaung and praised the SPDC's constitution
as the best Burma has seen and said that the people should vote in favour
of it,” the resident said.

“Han Thura, Than Oo, and Moe Moe Than from the so-called Journalists’
Association came to Kyaukpyu. They have been going round villages lobbying
people to vote in favour of the constitution.”

____________________________________

March 31, Democratic Voice of Burma
NLD members arrested after demonstration – Naw Say Phaw

Thingangyun township authorities have arrested six National League for
Democracy members in connection with a demonstration in front of the NLD
headquarters in Bahan last Thursday.

Ko Khin Soe Oo, Ko Ye Zaw Htike, Ko Tin Oo Maung, Ko Aung Than Htun, Ko
Aung Kyaw Oo and Ko Zarni Aung were arrested yesterday.

The demonstration was held on National Armed Forces Day last week to urge
people to vote No to the constitution in the national referendum in May.

Around 40 young people attended the demonstration, carrying placards
calling for dialogue and the release of political prisoners and denouncing
the national referendum.

____________________________________

March 31, Inter-Press Service
Junta split may hasten civilian rule – Larry Jagan

By promising to hand over power to a civilian government within two years,
Burma’s top general has sparked speculation on the future of the junta
that has ruled this country since a military coup in 1962.

"As the new constitution has already been drafted, it will be put to a
national referendum in forthcoming May, and subsequently multi-party
general elections will follow in 2010 in line with the provisions of the
constitution," Gen. Than Shwe told more than 13,000 soldiers, diplomats
and other dignitaries assembled at the military parade for Armed Forces
Day on Mar. 27.

But Than Shwe failed to announce a date for the ballot or reveal when the
public would be allowed to see the final version of the charter, which has
taken more than 14 years to draft. Criticising the constitution is illegal
and punishable by a maximum of 20 years on jail.

Armed Forces Day, held in the new capital Nay Pyi Daw, commemorates the
establishment of the national army in 1945, under the independence hero
General Aung San, the assassinated father of detained opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi..

Before addressing the crowd, Than Shwe reviewed the parade standing in the
back of a new limousine, especially imported for the occasion.

This is likely to be Than Shwe’s last Army Day as the commander-in-chief
of the armed forces, according to Burmese military sources at the
ceremony. His health is reportedly deteriorating rapidly. He is often
short of breath and increasingly forgetful. He is known to suffer from
diabetes and hypertension; his kidneys are failing and he suffers from
acute coronary problems.

There was little evidence though of his medical problems during his
15-minute speech, although his voice seemed weaker than usual, according
to diplomats who attended the occasion. It was also shorter than usual,
which may also reflect the general’s ailments.

Than Shwe’s speech was as hard-line as usual, calling on the soldiers to
join hands with the people and crush what he called "internal and external
destructive elements trying to sabotage the stability of the state". He
made no reference to the mass anti-government protests led by Buddhist
monks last September.

"The Tatmadaw (Burmese military) is on an historic mission, to perform
this important national duty of transforming the era and the system of
government in a smooth and systematic way," he concluded.

But underneath this show of unity is the start of a new battle for Burma's
future. This time it is not between the monks and the military, as it was
last year, but between two factions in the army.In the past few months a
major rift has emerged within Burma's military government over the
country's political future.

At the centre of the conflict are concerns over who should control the
roadmap -- Burma's plans for political change.The confrontation is now
beginning to take shape -- between those who currently control Burma's
government administration and the country's economic wealth, and those who
now prefer to see themselves as the nation's guardians and wish to protect
the country from unscrupulous officials.

The junta is no longer as cohesive and united as it was, as two major
camps have clearly emerged. On one side there are the ministers and some
members of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) who have major
business interests and are associated with Gen Than Shwe's brainchild, the
mass community-based Union Solidarity and Development Association
(USDA).On the other side are the top ranking generals -- loosely grouped
around the second in command, Gen. Maung Aye -- who want a professional
army and see its main role as protector of the people.They have become
increasingly dismayed at the corruption within government and understand
that it is undermining the army's future role in the country.

But the 'real' army, as these officers under Gen Maung Aye describe
themselves, is going to have to act quickly if it is to remain a force to
be reckoned with.The planned referendum for May and the election in two
years' time will radically change the country's political landscape.The
USDA, which is organising both the referendum and the elections, will
significantly increase its power and control over the country's new
emerging political process.

Senior members of the army are increasingly resentful of the growing
dominance of the USDA and the likely curtailment of the army's authority
after the May referendum. ''It will bring an abrupt end to the army's
absolute power,'' said Win Min, an Burmese independent government academic
based at Chiang Mai University. Key ministers and members of the SPDC have
amassed huge personal fortunes from smuggling and kickbacks. Everyone
seems powerless to stop them at present, according to Burmese government
sources.

''They are known as 'the Nazis' within the top ranks of the army,''
according to a Burmese businessman with close links to the military
hierarchy. ''They have the money and they have their own militia.''There
are many within the army who view these developments with increasing
concern. There is mounting resentment and frustration amongst the junior
officers in Nay Pyi Daw.

Many of the junior officers are divisional commanders in the late forties
and early fifties. These are the army's ''Young Turks'', who are alarmed
at the way in which the USDA is growing in influence at the expense of the
army. ''They are watching their unscrupulous colleagues, hiding behind the
uniform, building up massive fortunes from corruption in government and
they are worried that this tarnishes the image of the army,'' said a
source in Nay Pyi Daw.

In the meantime there have been no promotions within the army for nearly a
year as Than Shwe has continuously postponed the quarterly SPDC meetings
for fear of being ousted by a push from those commanders who oppose the
power of the USDA.

"The top generals have not met [for the quarterly meeting] for months,
since before the August and September protests, so during that time, apart
from the appointment of three regional commanders, there have been no
promotions," said Win Min.

"The impact of this will certainly add to the growing frustration amongst
some of the commanders who should have already been promoted," he said.

This resentment is going to continue to simmer. They know that after the
referendum in May their position will become increasingly less
significant, as ministers and selected military generals move into the
USDA and take up civilian roles in the future. At the same time they fear
that widespread corruption will also destroy the country and its political
stability.

''The real army is the only institution that can bring genuine democracy
to the country in the future,'' a military man told IPS. ''The new
generation of officers represents the real hope for the country.'' They
would be open to a political dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi, he insisted,
as they see themselves as the real guardians of the country.

In the meantime, as Than Shwe’s health deteriorates, he is increasingly
withdrawn and reclusive. His position is now becoming progressively more
perilous, despite his carefully planned schemes, according to many
specialists on Burma's military.

"It is not worth risking a crisis when nature may solve it for us legally
and peacefully," Maung Aye recently told some of his close confidantes.
But with the referendum only weeks away the army may yet have to move
against the corrupt USDA lobby before it’s too late.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March 31, Mizzima News
Sino-Burma border meeting held at KIA headquarters – Myo Gyi

Senior Chinese and Burmese military officials met in Kachin Independence
Army (KIA) controlled Laiza today afternoon to discuss security on the
Sino-Burma border.

The meeting was attended by Burma's Northern Command Second-in-Command
Brig. Gen. San Tun led delegation while the Chinese delegation was led by
the Second-in-Command of Bao San Military Region Brig. Gen. level.

"Yes, the meeting is being held at a Laiza hotel. The Second-in-Command of
Northern Region Command from the Burma side is attending the meeting. But
we don't know who is representing the Chinese. There were about 90 armed
men in uniform and 200 in mufti deployed when Ye Myint came earlier," a
local resident from Laiza told Mizzima.

"The Second-in-Command of Northern Command Brig. Gen. San Tun, GSO(1) Col.
Win Myint, a Colonel from Military Affairs Security (MAS) of Northern
Command are attending the meeting and the Second-in-Command of Bao San
military region is leading the Chinese delegation. GSO (1) Win Myint went
to Bao San and picked up the Chinese team. They reached Laiza today via
Yin Jiang. The Burmese delegation is stationed at Lajayan near Laiza", U
Aung Kyaw Zaw, military analyst based on Sino-Burma border said.

The Chinese delegation comprises about 10 members.

This meeting is a routine quarterly meeting usually held at Bao San in
Yunnan Province and Myitkyinar in Kachin State, Burma alternatively. This
is the first ever such meeting held in the border town of Laiza.

The meeting usually discusses drugs, fugitives fleeing to either side
among other security matters and concludes with presenting gifts and
dinners reflecting goodwill and friendship between the two countries.

The Burmese Northern Command sent a letter to KIA on the March 24
informing them about the meeting to be held in Laiza.

U Aung Kyaw Zaw speculates that this meeting is being held in Laiza this
time amidst rumours spreading among local people that protesters involved
in the recent Tibet protest led by Tibetan monks are planning to flee to
the Indo-Burma border through the Sino-Burma border.

"After the unrest in Tibet, security has been tightened in many parts of
China including Jie Gao. Soldiers are patrolling in armoured vehicles in
these areas daily. In some border checkpoints, the police armed with
batons are manning the gates," he said.

"Tibet is called the Jiang autonomous region. Some Tibetans are planning
to flee to Burma through the Jiang-Lijiang-Dali route. The Chinese
security forces received a tip off of that the KIA is planning to assist
these Tibetan people by taking them to the Indo-Burma border so they are
tightening the security here", he added.

The local people have not liked the meeting being held at Laiza as there
was pressure exerted on the KIA by the Chinese and Burmese authorities to
transform Laiza as a port of entry for official trade, the local Kachin
ethnic said.

Lt. Gen. Ye Myint of the Ministry of Defence had a meeting with KIA
leaders at Laiza on March 28.

After the meeting, the local people were given more freedom in terms of
trade on the Myitkyina-Bamo-Laiza trade route, the local Kachin ethnic
added.

U Aung Kyaw Zaw views this meeting between Ye Myint and KIA leaders as
intimidation and persuasion of the KIA in regard to the constitutional
referendum to be held in May this year.

KIA family members did not register for the national ID cards being issued
in the KIA controlled areas, but only local people are registering for the
temporary ID cards.

The local people said that KIA is concerned over being viewed as a
historical blunderer for attending the government controlled national
convention. In this convention, the junta turned down all the proposals
and demands made by KIA while Kachin ethnic elders and Kachin people
exerted political pressure on KIA.

But the KIA spokesman was not available for comment and confirmation
regarding this point when contacted.

____________________________________

March 31, Kachin News Group
KIO arrests key Tibetan activists at China's insistence

In an act which is not likely to go down well with democracy activists the
world over, the Kachin ceasefire group, Kachin Independence Organization
(KIO) in Northern Burma bordering China's Yunnan province, arrested
yesterday two key Tibetan political activists hiding in its controlled
area in Laiza, KIO sources said.

The arrests were made at the insistence of the Chinese government and the
operation was carried out by Laiza based KIO's immigration and foreign
relation departments.

The two Tibetan political activists were arrested by KIO in Laiza and they
were handed over to the Chinese authorities soon after their capture, said
KIO sources.

The two male Tibetan political activists were being hunted by Chinese
authorities so they escaped to Laiza from Yunnan province. The Chinese
provided background data of the activists to the KIO, according to KIO
sources.

China has tightened security in Yunnan province including in the Tibetan
area known as Shangri-La, in southwest Yunnan province after protests
snowballed in Tibet against China in its capital, Lhasa, over a week ago.

Meanwhile today afternoon, Chinese and Burmese military officials met at
Laiza Hotel in the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Organization
(KIO) on the border with China's Yunnan Province, said Laiza sources.

The military officials of the two countries' near the Sino-Burma border
mainly discussed border security issues. China does not want any military
conflicts along the border where Burma's ethnic armed groups are based
before the Beijing Olympics in August, KIO sources said.

Eight Chinese military delegates led by a high ranking military officer
from Baoshan military base in Yunnan Province came to Laiza along the Ledo
Road (Stilwell Road), Tengchong-Kambaiti-Waingmaw, KIO officers said.

The Chinese military delegates met for about two hours with 20 Burmese
military officials led by Brig-Gen San Htun, Deputy Military Commander of
Kachin State at the meeting room in Laiza Hotel, sources in Laiza said.

____________________________________

March 31, The Independent Bangladesh
Myanmar team arrives in Dhaka for border redrawing talks

A 10-member technical team from Myanmar arrived in Dhaka Sunday to discuss
the redrawing of sea boundaries between Bangladesh and its Southeast Asian
neighbour.

The team will hold talks with Bangladesh experts on maritime delimitation
at state guesthouse Padma Monday and Tuesday. Addition foreign secretary
MAK Mahmood will lead the 18-member Bangladesh team to the talks.

"Bangladesh and Myanmar enjoy excellent bilateral cooperation and this
will most certainly bring benefits to both friendly countries," foreign
affairs adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury told reporters after his meeting
with the visiting Myanmar team. Myanmar agreed to hold talks on maritime
delimitation after a pause of more than 20 years.

The sea boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar shifts frequently for
natural causes. Bangladesh has been demanding talks for years.

The Myanmar junta agreed to hold talks with Bangladesh as Iftekhar in
April last year visited Yangon, urging talks with the authorities. Mahmood
in January this year went to Myanmar for setting the stage for the talks.

____________________________________

March 30, CNN International
Slain Karen leader: Rebel effort is self defense – Anna Sussman

A Myanmar rebel leader killed in February said that his group is fighting
for the preservation of the ethnic Karen minority, and for greater freedom
throughout the southeast Asian nation.

Mahn Sha is seen at his home in Thailand shortly before his slaying in
February.

1 of 2 Pa Doh Mahn Sha, the secretary-general of the Karen National Union
(KNU), spoke in an interview three weeks before his death. He talked about
his group's battle against Myanmar's military government.

"Our struggle is to protect ourselves from the military regime," he said.
"They always attack our villages, burn down our villages, burn our food
supplies. We want to stop fighting but we have no choice."

The government of Myanmar has blamed the KNU for waging attacks to
destabilize the military junta.

Mahn Sha was shot and killed at his home in Thailand on February 14, a KNU
official said. During one of the last interviews Mahn Sha granted to
international journalists, he posed in front of the Karen national flag
hanging in his living room, and talked about the future of the Karen
people and the KNU's fight for autonomy.

He said the KNU's fighters would continue to battle the military junta in
self-defense. "Our struggle is the same struggle as the monks who
protested in September, the same struggle as [pro-democracy activist] Aung
San Suu Kyi," he said. "Only in a different form, ours is a violent
struggle, and we cannot give up until we have won."

The 64-year-old Mahn Sha was shot and killed in Mae Sot, Thailand, just
across the border from Myanmar, a KNU official said. As Thai police
investigate his killing, speculation has varied on how the Karen leader
was killed.

There have been suggestions the killing may have been the result of
internal differences within the rebel group. But some Karen blame
Myanmar's military junta. The government has not commented.

The killing came just days after Myanmar announced plans for a referendum
on a new constitution, to be followed by a general election in 2010 as
part of its "road map to democracy." The plan has been denounced by
pro-democracy opposition leaders.

A charismatic leader mourned

Mahn Sha was the KNU's third in command, but widely respected as the
group's acting leader, said KNU Foreign Affairs spokesperson David Taw.
His death is viewed by many as a major setback for the already struggling
resistance movement.

"Mahn Sha [was] the strong guiding light," said Oscar Baaye, an ethnic
Karen from the United States who was living with Mahn Sha prior to the
rebel leader's death.

Mahn Sha had been described as a skilled mediator between different Karen
factions, as well as other ethnic groups in the region and those working
for democracy in Myanmar.

"Mahn Sha's assassination was a blow to the entire democracy process,"
said Aung Zaw, editor of the Irrawaddy magazine. "A lot of people saw him
as a potential figure to work on national reconciliation. He was able to
connect the Karen struggle to the bigger picture," he said.

"He built bridges between all groups, that was one of his strengths," said
Phil Thornton, author of Restless Souls, who has been reporting on the
Karen for seven years and lives in Mae Sot.

Young Karen, in particular, said they felt inspired by Mahn Sha's approach
to the democracy movement in Myanmar. "He had a very clear vision of our
struggle," said Nicky Zaw, who attended Mahn Sha's funeral.

Dwindling numbers

The KNU's military, a ragtag group of soldiers who often wield World War
II weaponry, has come under criticism, accused of recruiting child
soldiers and carrying on what many have called an unwinnable war in
civilian-occupied territory. The KNU has denied using child soldiers.

In his interview, Mahn Sha said that the KNU had the support and backing
of the villagers who are caught in the middle of this conflict.

"The military regime might have big numbers, but they don't have the
support of the people," he said, claiming that for every KNU soldier there
are at least 25 government soldiers. "We can protect them because we have
their support," he said.

Still, humanitarian groups such as the Free Burma Rangers regularly report
attacks in Karen villages by the military regime carrying out
counterinsurgency operations. Thousands have fled the fighting.

Prior to his death, Mahn Sha had just returned from a Karen Unity Seminar,
in which Karen from around the world gathered at a secret headquarters in
Myanmar to discuss the future of their movement and their people.

The KNU has been fighting the government of Myanmar for about 60 years,
since shortly after the departure of the British from the country then
known as Burma in 1948. It is one of the world's longest-running
insurgencies.

But during the past decade, their troop numbers have dwindled from 20,000
to a mere 4,000, said David Taw. The KNU has suffered huge losses as
members tire of war and resettle in places such as Europe and the United
States, he said.

The group also still suffers from crippling infighting and another
splinter group, a faction commonly called the Karen National Union Peace
Council, recently broke ranks to sign a peace agreement with the
government of Myanmar-- like many other groups.

While KNU leaders have been clear that they will continue their battle
against Myanmar's military regime, they say the loss of Mahn Sha was a
huge blow for the movement.

At Mahn Sha's funeral, more than 1,000 mourners gathered in the jungle
inside Myanmar, including representatives from nearly every regional
ethnic group and Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.


____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

March 31, Reuters
India, Myanmar to seal deal on a port near gas field – Krittivas Mukherjee

India is likely to sign a deal with Myanmar this week to develop a port
and build waterways and roads there, an official said on Monday, as New
Delhi vies with China for access to Myanmar's oil and gas reserves.

The deal, to be signed during the visit of the junta number two Maung Aye
to New Delhi beginning April 2, is aimed at cutting travel time between
the Indian mainland and its remote northeast, officials say.

But it will also give India a foothold on the Myanmar city of Sittwe, on
an island near the mouth of the Kaladan river, which will become the
onshore hub of Myanmar's gas industry once vast reserves in the Shwe
fields in the Bay of Bengal are developed.

India turned to Myanmar's military rulers after Bangladesh, which sits
between the Indian mainland and its far-flung northeast, refused India
transit facilities and played hardball over access to its own gas fields.

So, under the new deal, India will help Myanmar develop a port in Sittwe
and build roads which will open India's landlocked, underdeveloped and
troubled northeast to international trade through the Bay of Bengal.

Goods can be shipped from India's eastern coast across a 540-km stretch on
the Bay of Bengal to Sittwe from where trucks can carry them to the
northeastern Indian state of Mizoram, bypassing Bangladesh.

"The agreement is important for us and mutually beneficial," an Indian
foreign ministry official said, adding that India would extend nearly $100
million in aid for the project.

India has courted the junta since the early 1990s in a bid to counter
Beijing's influence in Myanmar and access its rich oil and gas reserves in
a turnaround of a policy that initially supported democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi.

Critics say the policy makes a mockery of India's democratic ideals.

It has made only a muted call for political reform there despite the
violent response to democracy protests last year.

It is also building roads and railways there and has supplied arms.

But New Delhi was disappointed when Myanmar agreed to sell gas from two
offshore fields to China last year, even though Indian firms have a 30
percent stake in those fields.

India is also seeking Myanmar's help in combatting insurgent groups with
bases inside its neighbour.

____________________________________

March 31, Bangkok Post
ASC to consider controversial loan to Burma

The Assets Scrutiny Committee (ASC) will deliberate on the legality of
Export-Import Bank of Thailand's (EXIM) decision to grant loans worth 4
billion baht to Burma while Mr Thaksin Shinawatra was still the prime
minister.

If ASC members agree that the deal had been passed purely for personal
gain after today's meeting, the committee will forward the case to the
supreme court within 14 days.

Later on Monday afternoon, the ASC will consider lifting a freeze order on
assets belonging to Pinthongta Shinawatra's, one of Mr Thaksin's
daughters, worth 2 billion baht.

Documents will also be presented to those responsible for the case against
Bangkok governor Apirak Kosayodhin and his alleged involvement in the fire
engines and boats procurement scandal.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

March 31, Mizzima News
Burma's second in command to visit New Delhi – Mungpi

In an apparent indication of India's success in gaining a foothold in
Burma, an agreement for India to develop Sittwe port will be signed during
the upcoming visit of Burma's Vice-Senior General.

Sources in India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Burma's
Vice-Senior General Maung Aye is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on April
2 for a four-day visit to the country.

During the trip Maung Aye's delegation will ink the final agreement on the
Kaladan Multi-Model Project, which has been under negotiation since 2003,
one source added.

"He [Maung Aye] will arrive on April 2, and will meet both the Prime
Minister and Foreign Minster," an official at the MEA told Mizzima.

The official added that while the agreement will be signed by junior
ministers from both the countries, Maung Aye will witness the ceremony.

Other sources close to the MEA said Maung Aye will be received by Indian
Vice-President Shri Mohamad Hamid Ansari and will meet Prime Minister Dr.
Manmohan Singh and Foreign Minster Pranab Mukherjee as well as calling on
President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil.

The Kaladan Multi-Model Project includes the upgrade of Sittwe port and
waterway and the construction of a road linking Kalewa in Burma's Sagaing
Division to the border town of Moreh in India.

The project envisages connectivity between ports on India's eastern
seaboard with Sittwe on Burma's west coast, continuing from Sittwe via
riverine and road links to the Indian state of Mizoram.

The project focuses on developing a trade route between the two countries
along the Kaladan River in Burma's Arakan state. The Kaladan River is
navigable from its confluence point with the Bay of Bengal near Sittwe up
to Kalewa in Burma.


>From Kalewa, India is to develop a road connecting the riverine terminus

of the system to the Indo-Burmese border.

In preparation for the signing ceremony and ahead of the arrival of Maung
Aye, the Indian government last week cleared approximately $133 million to
Burma.

Sources said the Union Cabinet, on March 27, sanctioned the expenditure
under 'Aid to Myanmar' funds for the upgrading of Sittwe Port and the
Kaladan Waterway and construction of a road to the Indo-Burmese border
from Kalewa.

While the Burmese military government had been reluctant to sign an early
agreement, India has been pushing to see the realization of the project
since 2003. In the intervening period there have been six rounds of talks
regarding the project, with India demonstrating a keen interest in
exploiting Burma's natural resources and geographic position.

Both countries have already initiated a Draft Framework Agreement on the
Project, Draft Protocol on Facilitation of Transit Transport, Draft
Protocol on Financial Arrangements and Draft Protocol on Joint Maintenance
and Administration.

Despite the international outcry over the Burmese military junta's
continued human rights violations, India has been pushing for a closer
relationship with its Southeast Asian neighbor for several years.

The signing of the Kaladan Project is one of many projects that India is
urging the Burmese military junta to agree on, according to a senior
Indian journalist who closely monitors the Indo-Burmese relationship.

"During the trip, Maung Aye is also likely to discuss various other
issues, including trade and the bilateral relationship," added the
journalist.

India and Burma have exchanged several high level visits since Burma's
Senior General Than Shwe's visit to India in October 2004. Maung Aye will
be the highest Burmese official to visit India in 2008.

____________________________________

March 31, The Independent UK
U Myint Thein: Burmese democracy campaigner – Andrew Buncombe

For many years, Myint Thein was one of the few political dissidents in
Burma able or willing to allow his name to be attached to the comments
about the need for democratic change in a country headed by a régime that
rules with an iron fist. As spokesman for the National League for
Democracy, the party of the imprisoned political leader Aung San Suu Kyi,
Thein regularly met with journalists ­ usually in secret ­ and tried to
draw the attention of the outside world to the movement's struggle.

Active in the democracy movement since 1988, the year that thousands of
civilians were killed by the military after a democracy uprising, he was
imprisoned for a number of years. His most recent incarceration followed
last September's protests, initiated by civilians but taken up by Buddhist
monks, which saw tens of thousands of people take to the streets of
Burma's biggest cities in a remarkable display of defiance.

He was held in Rangoon's notorious Insein Jail, where his health
deteriorated rapidly. Released at the end of October, Thein was told he
had severe gastritis and a problem with his gall bladder. Doctors
recommended he travel to Singapore for treatment, a process that took two
months to arrange, with the authorities allegedly refusing to speed up the
process. He eventually arrived in Singapore General Hospital at the end of
January where he was diagnosed with stomach cancer.

Born in 1947, Thein was elected as an MP from Kyaikmayaw Township in
Burma's Mon State ­ a region dominated by the ethnic Mon people. He became
a leading member of the state's NLD apparatus in the aftermath of the 1990
general election which the party easily won but whose victory was ignored
by the military. A close ally of Suu Kyi, he was appointed party spokesman
in 2004.

Thein always remained optimistic that international pressure could bring
about change. Shortly before his arrest in September, he said: "We believe
that if the international community makes enough pressure to release Suu
Kyi they will. She is a Mandela. She will unite all the people."

Myint Thein, political campaigner: born 8 October 1947; married (one son);
died Singapore 28 March 2008.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

March 30, Bangkok Post
Burmese MPs blast 'weak' UN response to plight

Politicians elected to the Burmese parliament in 1990 and then prevented
from taking office by the ruling junta issued an appeal to
parliamentarians around the world Monday, rejecting the new
military-dominated constitution and criticising the United Nations' "weak"
efforts to promote democratic rule.

Fourteen of the would-be Burmese parliamentarians said efforts by UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari have
been ineffective in pressuring the military government to moderate it's
authoritarian policies and bring national reconciliation.

"The UN Security Council, the highest authoritative body of the United
Nations, has failed to take an effective and timely action to stop
one-sided act of the SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) and to
enforce realising of real national reconciliation and democratisation in
Burma," the parliamentarians' letter said.

"UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has remained weak, not using his
position to call for the UN Security Council action on Burma and his
Special Envoy Mr Gambari is apparently misleading the world body in favour
of the military junta."

The junta announced on February 9 that it would hold a constitutional
referendum in May of this year followed by a general election in 2010.

Ban Ki-moon sent his envoy Gambari to Burma on March 6 to try to persuade
the SPDC to launch a credible process of national reconciliation.

The parliamentarians and other critics of the junta have lambasted the
proposed constitution as a blatant attempt to perpetuate permanent
military rule and exclude opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her
National League for Democracy (NLD) from participating in the transition
to democratic rule.

Suu Kyi's NLD won a landslide victory in the country's only democratic
election in 1990, but the junta jailed or exiled most of the winning
candidates. Suu Kyi remains under house arrest in Rangoon.

In its open letter to the world's fellow-parliamentarians, congressmen and
senators, the elected Burmese MPs called for the UN Security Council to
impose a binding resolution instructing the junta to implement genuine
democratic reforms.

It also called on the world's governments to ban all weapons sales to
Burma and urged the "Chinese government to stop protecting the Burmese
military regime and start cooperating with members of the UNSC (UN
Security Council) to enforce positive change in Burma."

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

March 31, The Independent UK
Asian (con)fusion: Burma - A brave voice now lost – Andrew Buncombe

When I met U Myint Thein in Rangoon last September, our meeting almost
went very badly wrong. I had arranged to meet the spokesman for the
National League for Democracy - the party of imprisoned leader Aung San
Suu Kyi - at a location in the city that even now better remain
unspecified.

I got there early and sat and waited, read my book and kept looking at my
watch. An hour went by and I decided Mr Thein had given up on me. Later, I
discovered he had been there all along but had been in the upstairs of the
building while I was downstairs.

Later that day I finally got to speak with him, and then, the following
day, I met him again with five other dissidents in similarly secretive
circumstances.

Mr Thein and his colleagues were very pleasant, highly cautious and yet
hopeful about the future of their country. All of them had served time in
jail for their activism and as we were meeting, the military regime that
rules Burma was actively looking for activists who had been involved in
sporadic demonstrations just weeks before.

When I asked him how he believed the fight for democracy in Burma could be
won, and he replied: "I do not know what to tell you. We do not have any
right to connect [with each other] or demonstrate. The younger generation
know every little [about the struggle.]"

Just days later, after I had left safely for the outside world, Burma
would see unprecedented scenes when tens of thousands of Buddhist monks
and ordinary civilians took to the streets in protest.

I do not know if Mr Thein was among them but very soon afterwards the
62-year-old spokesman was among hundreds or even thousands of people
detained and thrown into prison by the regime. His friends said that in
the six weeks he was in Rangoon's notorious Insein Jail his health
suffered badly and by the time he came out he required treatment that
could only be provided outside of the country. He applied for a passport
and two months later he was able to fly for treatment at Singapore General
Hospital.

When he arrived he was diagnosed with stomach cancer and it appears there
was little the doctors could do. Mr Thein died last Friday, with his wife
and son at his bedside. Burma's struggle for democracy - barely permitted
to whisper inside the country - has lost a very important voice.

___________________________________

March 31, Irrawaddy
Than Shwe’s worthless promises – Yeni

After four-and-a-half decades under military rule, the people of Burma are
constantly looking for signs that the country may be ready for a return to
democracy.

On Thursday, in a ceremony to mark Armed Forces Day, the Burmese dictator
in chief, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, announced that the military would be ready to
hand over power to a civilian government after elections in 2010.

This should have been welcome news to Burma’s long-suffering citizens.
Unfortunately, after 20 years in power, few were willing to give the aging
general the benefit of the doubt about his true intentions. Upon hearing
his words, most Burmese simply shrugged and said they’ve hear it all
before.

There are not many people left in Burma today who have much faith in the
army that has ruled the country with an iron fist for more than a
generation. When the army seized control in 1962, some were prepared to
believe that it had the country’s interests at heart. Now, it seems, the
so-called national army is working solely for those who control it.

When the generals came under fire from the international community for
cracking down on monk-led protests last year, Than Shwe thought he could
get his critics off his back by promising to meet with detained democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi. True to form, he never kept his word.

At this stage, Than Shwe seems to feel that he no longer needs to make
such empty promises. In early March, Than Shwe sent a message through his
protégé, Information Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, that he had rejected a
request by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calling for changes to the new
draft constitution to “ensure inclusiveness.”

All official avenues for a national reconciliation process have thus come
to a dead end, resulting in the failure of mediation efforts by the UN
special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari. Once again, the dream of positive changes
in Burma has been crushed by the grim reality of Than Shwe’s rule.

Burmese people understand the historical fact that Burma’s modern army was
formed by independence leader Gen Aung San and his comrades, who fought
for the freedom and dignity of their country.

Armed Forces Day—formerly known as Resistance Day—has turned into an
occasion to subvert this legacy in the service of Than Shwe’s
military-backed quasi-monarchy.

Than Shwe has deprived a proud moment in Burma’s past of its meaning and
now he is offering a vision of the country’s future that is equally false.

It is up to the new generation of officers in the armed forces to
recognize the suffering and pain of their country and to correct the
mistakes of the likes of Than Shwe and his despotic predecessors.

If not, Burma’s prospects will be as worthless as Than Shwe’s words.

___________________________________
STATEMENT

March 31, Committee Representing the Peoples’ Parliament
An appeal letter from Members of Parliament from Burma (Myanmar) to
parliamentarians around the world

The Military Junta’s Sham Constitution Should Be Rejected by the People and
Not Recognized by the International Community

Honorable Congresspersons/Senators/Members of Parliament

We are Members of Parliament from Burma, elected by the people in the 1990
general elections, with the mandate to lead the country towards democracy.

Burma is also known as Myanmar, renamed by the ruling military regime,
officially known as the “State Peace and Development Council” (SPDC). The
1990 elections were conducted by the SPDC after a bloody crackdown on
nationwide demonstrations in which millions of Burmese people called for
democracy, human rights and an end to military rule. Despite threats and
pressure by the SPDC to vote for the candidates of the military-back
National Unity Party (NUP), the people of Burma voted to award 85% of
Parliament seats for the candidates of the National League for Democracy
(NLD) party, led by detained Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi and its allied ethnic political parties. By doing so, the people of
Burma clearly proved their desire to be free from the military
dictatorship and live in a democratic society. However, the military
regime has refused to honor the election results and instead has tried to
perpetuate military dictatorship by creating a state constitution that
would legalize military rule in Burma and grant the supreme power to the
head of the military, Commander-in-Chief.

Under the leadership of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, we have called for the SPDC
to engage in a meaningful and time-bound dialogue with the election
winning party NLD and ethnic representatives. The United Nations and
governments around the world have also repeatedly called for the SPDC to
hold such a political dialogue in order to achieve national reconciliation
and democratization as well as to save the country from decades-long
social, political and economic crises. The first-ever UN Security Council
Presidential Statement, issued by unanimous consent of all members of the
Council on October 11, 2007, stressed “the need for the Government of
Myanmar to create the necessary conditions for a genuine dialogue with Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi and all concerned parties and ethnic groups, in order to
achieve an inclusive national reconciliation with the direct support of
the United Nations” .

So far, the SPDC has ignored the repeated requests of the UN and the
international community. It still holds more than 1,800 political
prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Nearly 100 more activists were
arrested since November 2007. Military offensives against ethnic minority
civilians are ongoing and have intensified. The SPDC offensives have
forced hundreds of thousands of ethnic people to become internally
displaced persons (IDPs) and burnt or destroyed thousands of villages in
eastern Burma alone. As a result, thousands of people, including infants
and children under the age of 5, have died and more than two million
people have fled the country to become unwanted refugees in neighboring
countries. Over seventy thousand children under the age of 18 are forcibly
recruited to the SPDC’s armed forces and soldiers rape thousands of ethnic
women and girls with impunity.

On February 9, 2008, the SPDC announced that it would hold a
constitutional referendum in May 2008 to approve the state constitution,
to be followed by a general election in 2010. The UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon sent his Special Envoy Mr. Ibrahim Gambari to our country on March
6, 2008 in an attempt to persuade the SPDC to launch a credible process of
national reconciliation. However, his effort to convince the SPDC to work
constructively with the democracy forces led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and
with the United Nations apparently has demonstrably failed. On March 7,
2008, Brig-General Kyaw Hsan, who is Information Minister of the SPDC and
leader of the SPDC Spoke Authoritative Team, responded to Mr. Gambari by
rejecting all recommendations made by the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
and the United Nations.

For 18 years since 1991, United Nations has tried to persuade the SPDC to
stop human rights abuses and to commence positive change. This has taken
the form of over thirty resolutions from UN General Assembly, the UN
Commission on Human Rights (now UN Human Rights Council), Economic and
Social Council, the International Labor Organization and several
discussions and the most recent Presidential Statement by the UN Security
Council. All the efforts at the United Nations have failed again and
again, while the situation in Burma has transformed from bad to worse.
Now, the SPDC is planning to perpetuate military dictatorship in our
country with a sham constitution. However, the UN Security Council, the
highest authoritative body of the United Nations, has failed to take an
effective and timely action to stop one-sided act of the SPDC and to
enforce realizing of real national reconciliation and democratization in
Burma. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has remained weak, not using his
position to call for the UN Security Council action on Burma and his
Special Envoy Mr. Gambari is apparently misleading the world body in favor
of the military junta. Chinese Government, the major trade partner and
major arms supplier of the SPDC, has threatened to use its veto power to
reject any action by the UNSC on Burma.

In light of this situation, we, on behalf of the people of Burma and
Members of Parliament, urgently appeal to our fellow Members of
Parliament, Senators and Congresspersons around the world to:

(1) Call for the SPDC to comply fully and immediately with the
recommendations made by the UN Security Council and call for their
respective governments to apply diplomatic and economic pressure against
the SPDC to fully cooperate with the UN and democratic forces led by Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi.

(2) Declare that they will not accept or recognize the SPDC's
constitution, written without participation of the NLD and ethnic party
representatives and without meeting the expectation of ethnic
nationalities and urge their governments to do the same.

(3) Call for the UN Security Council to impose a binding resolution, which
will instruct the regime to fully comply with the recommendations made by
the UN Security Council, and strengthen the mandate of Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon and urge their governments to do the same.

(4) Urge their respective Governments to stop selling weapons and
intelligence systems to the SPDC immediately and also urge their
governments to call for the UN Security Council to impose a global arms
embargo and financial and banking sanctions against the SPDC, a call
supported by ten Nobel Peace Laureates on February 19, 2008, including
South Africa Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu and President Oscar Arias of Costa
Rica.

(5) Call for Chinese Government to stop protecting the Burmese military
regime and start cooperating with members of the UNSC to enforce positive
change in Burma with all-party inclusive and democratic process, and urge
their governments to do the same.

During the 1988 popular democracy uprising, at least ten thousands
peaceful demonstrators were brutally killed by the military regime. As
reported by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Situation in Burma
Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, at least 31 people were killed, nearly
100 are missing, and about 700 additional political prisoners remain with
the 1,100 political prisoners, which were incarcerated before the peaceful
protests led by Buddhist Monks in August and September last year. Human
Rights Watch and Amnesty International estimate that the number of deaths
during the protests in August and September are much higher. We have lost
tens of thousands of innocent lives during the 19-year non-violent
struggle for democracy.

We are now organizing the people of Burma to “VOTE AGAINST” the military
junta’s sham constitution in the upcoming referendum and majority of the
voters will do so. However, we also expect that the military junta will
claim the victory anyhow by cheating and fraud. As general dissatisfaction
of the people of Burma against the military regime grows higher and
stronger, and as we are about to face off against the military regime to
block its attempt to legalize military rule with the sham constitution,
another round of confrontation between the peaceful and un-armed
protestors and the brutal and merciless forces of the SPDC seems
unavoidable. We hope you will take our appeal into serious consideration
and take immediate actions to help stop more brutal killings in Burma.

Sincerely yours,

Members of Committee Representing the Peoples’ Parliament
Members of Parliament, Union of Burma (Myanmar)

Contact Persons

(1) U Pu Chin Sian Thang
Member of Parliament, Tiddim-2 Constituency, Chin State
Chairman, Zomi National Congress
Member, Committee Representing the Peoples' Parliament (CRPP)
Member, United Nationalities Alliance (UNA)

(2) Naing Tun Thein
Member of Parliament, Thanbyuzayat-2 Constituency, Mon State
Chairman, Mon National Democratic Front (MNDF)
Member, Committee Representing the Peoples' Parliament (CRPP)
Member of Presidium, United Nationalities Alliance (UNA)

(3) U Htawng Kho Thang
Member of Parliament, Tamu Constituency, Sagaing Division
Member, Committee Representing the Peoples' Parliament (CRPP)
United Nationalities League for Democracy (UNLD)

(4) U Thein Pe
Member of Parliament, Kantbalu Township (1) Constituency, Sagaing Division
Independent
Member, Committee Representing the Peoples' Parliament (CRPP)
(5) U Soe Win
Member of Parliament, Bago (Pegu) Constituency (1), Bago (Pegu) Division
Secretary, Party for National Democracy (PND)
Member, Committee Representing the Peoples' Parliament (CRPP)

(6) Dr. Myint Naing
Member of Parliament, Kantbalu Township (2) Constituency, Sagaing Division
National League for Democracy

(7) U Nyi Pu
Member of Parliament, Gwa Township Constituency, Arakan (Rakhine) State
National League for Democracy

(8) Dr. Tin Min Htut
Member of Parliament, Pantanaw Township (1) Constituency, Irrawaddy Division
National League for Democracy

(9) U Thein Myint
Member of Parliament, Tamwe Township Constituency (2), Rangoon Division
National League for Democracy

(10) U Tin Aung Aung
Member of Parliament, Mandalay Northwest Township (1) Constituency,
Mandalay Division
National League for Democracy

(11) U Ohn Maung
Member of Parliament, Nyaunglebin Township (1) Constituency, Bago (Pegu)
Division
National League for Democracy

(12) Daw Nan Khin Htwe Myint
Member of Parliament, Pa-an Township (3) Constituency, Karen State
National League for Democracy

(13) Daw Khin Htay Kywe
Member of Parliament, Chaungzon Township (2) Constituency, Mon State
National League for Democracy

(14) U Nyunt Hlaing
Member of Parliament, Aunglan Township (1) Constituency, Magwe (Magway)
Division
National League for Democracy


_________________________________

March 30, Rohingya Human Rights Council
Cry Rohingyas! Cry!


Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said after emerging from a
two-hour meeting of the National Security Council on March 28.2008 that
the Thai Navy is exploring a deserted island to place the Rohingya
refugees living in Thailand. He expressed his intention to show the
Rohingyas "life here (Thailand) will be difficult". He could not show any
single point of wrongs or crime that the Rohingyas have ever done in
Thailand for which he has decided to banish the entire Rohingya ethnic
community in Thailand to a deserted island.

Snatching away the right of Rohingyas to citizenship of Burma and
conducting genocidal operations from time to time, Burma's military rulers
have turned the Rohingyas into a stateless sub-human community denying our
right to live in peace in our motherland Arakan of Burma where we have
been living centuries after centuries and where our forefathers ruled the
land for many centuries together with our sister communities of Arakan in
peace and perfect amity. Today, being uprooted from our own motherland,
over 1.5 million Rohingyas are roaming in different countries of the world
as statusless gypsy human beings.

Today, the Thai Prime Minister wants to fulfill the unmet wish of Burma's
ruling generals to kill those hapless Rohingyas who escaped from their
paws, through deporting them to the solitary island where either the Thai
forces or the Burmese army will be able to massacre the Rohingyas beyond
the notice of the internaitonal community.

The Thai Prime Minister said,"We want electricity. Burma has allowed us to
build a dam. We want to sell goods there. Burma will build a port. Is that
not good for Thailand?". So, in order to build up a celestial empire, the
Thai Prime Minister wants to offer the innocent Rohingyas as the requiem
in the altar of tryanny of Burma's military rulers by sending them to the
island of Death where if the Thai forces can place the Rohingyas today,
then tomorrow the Burmese forces will land in that island and thus
massacre the entire Rohingya men, women and children.

Scolding the Western nations for picking on Burma's military regime, the
Thai Prime Minister said that Westerners are overly critical of Burma and
he has new found respect for the ruling junta after learning that they
meditate like good Buddhists should, conniving the series of atrocities
that the military regime has committed even against the revered monks who
are the dharma sons of Buddha.

On March 25.2008, the Thai army raided Burmese opposition groups in Mae
Sot, Thailand. They raided the homes of three Karen National Union leaders
and the office of one Burmese student group. Many exiled groups and
community organizations in Mae Sot began closing their offices for
security reasons.

The statement of the Thai Prime Minister sent a wave of shock and grief
among the whole Rohingya community. Due to decades long political
oppression, economic exploitation, social degradation and cultural
slavery, the Burmese military rulers have turned the Rohingyas into a
powerless, defenseless and voiceless crippled community.Today we feel so
helpless that we do not know how to reach our voice of helplessness and
hopelessness to the international community to stir their conscience.

Rohingyas have been crying in corners and dying in silence decades after
decades. Now, if the international community will not come forward to save
the Rohingyas from deportation to the island of death by the Thai Prime
Minister, it will just add another notch of genocide in the scale of
man-made tragedies of Rohingyas.

However, we the 1.5 million Rohingyas in exile will not become the silent
spectator of the episode of genocide of our Rohingya brothers, our sisters
and our children in Thailand. We will cry through all democratic means to
protest the inhuman decision of the Thai Prime Minister. And if necessary,
to draw the international attention, we the 1.5 million Rohingya men,
women and children in exile will resort to hunger strike until death at
the premises of the UN missions and offices of other World Bodies to save
our Rohingya brothers, our sisters and our children in Thailand.

At the sametime, we fervently appeal to international humanitarian
community, the World Bodies, human rights groups and the news media to
come forward to save the Rohingya refugee community in Thailand. We also
appeal to the people of Thailand, its human rights groups as well as its
journalist society to understand our plight and come forward to prevail
upon their Prime Minister to withdraw his decision.

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 at yahoo.com, rohingyas.rhrc at gmail.com