BurmaNet News, April 19 - 21, 2008

[Editor]

April 19 - 21, 2008 Issue # 3448


INSIDE BURMA
DVB: Two bombs explode in Rangoon
DVB: Shan party urges “No” vote for genuine democracy
SHAN: Junta says no democracy without support for draft charter
SHAN: Voters’ worry: Will officials be able to track us down?
Mizzima News: Rangoon salespersons take back 'No' T-shirts fearing reprisal
Mizzima News: Authorities in Kachin state campaign for 'Yes' vote
Narinjara News: Deputy Home Minister visits Western Border for referendum
Khonumthung News: Thura Aung Ko campaigns for referendum in western Burma
Kaowao News: Songkran graffiti campaign continues through Mon State
Irrawaddy: Burma army offensive drives villagers into hiding
Reuters: Myanmar arrests keep pressure on "no" campaign
AP: Crocodile kills man in wildlife sanctuary in Myanmar

ON THE BORDER
AP: 6 Thai nationals to be charged in migrant deaths in truck
KNG: Vote 'No' posters appear in more towns in Northern Burma

BUSINESS / TRADE
Energy Bangla: Gas import from Myanmar, Qatar too costly: Special Aide Dr
Tamim
The New Nation (Bangladesh): High-power team to visit Myanmar: Bangladesh
to replicate contract farming

HEALTH / AIDS
AFP: Myanmar declares itself bird flu free
Boston Globe: From Boston to Burma, with vision

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: Voting begins at Burmese embassies
Reuters: Myanmar detainees riot, set fire at Malaysian camp

INTERNATIONAL
Asia News: Even abroad Burmese afraid to vote ‘No’ in referendum

OPINION / OTHER
Bangkok Post: A uniting of world rogues
The Nation (Thailand): Upcoming political uncertainties hover over Burma
The Statesman: Myanmar’s sham, India’s shame: silence over the subversion
of democracy

PRESS RELEASE
AHRC: BURMA: Persistent threats to basic health rights of detainees



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

April 21, Democratic Voice of Burma
Two bombs explode in Rangoon – Nay Htoo

Two bombs exploded in different locations in the former Burmese capital
Rangoon yesterday evening, damaging property but causing no major
injuries, witnesses said.

An eyewitness said the first bomb went off just before 8pm in downtown
Rangoon on the corner of Mahabandoola road and 36th street, in a drain
near the ABC restaurant.

"The windows of the ABC restaurant were broken due to the impact of the
explosion and a waiter’s leg was injured,” the witness said.

"Police and military intelligence officers arrived at the scene with
sniffer dogs immediately and no one could go near them."

The second bomb was hidden under a car near the Traders Hotel and went off
about an hour later, according to Associated Press reports.

The explosion sites were cordoned off shortly after the attacks by police
officers investigating the blasts.

No one has so far claimed responsibility for the explosions, and the
authorities have not yet announced any suspects.

The government issued warnings in the state media earlier this month that
terrorists could be planning attacks during the recent Thingyan festival
and in the lead-up to the 10 May constitutional referendum.

____________________________________

April 21, Democratic Voice of Burma
Shan party urges “No” vote for genuine democracy

The Shan Nationalities League for Democracy has called on the Shan people
to vote against the draft constitution in the 10 May referendum, saying it
does not guarantee democratic or ethnic rights.

SNLD spokesperson U Sai Lek told DVB that the party was opposed to the
constitution as its elected representatives had not been involved in the
drafting process.

“Since the constitution was written by delegates handpicked by the SPDC
authorities, it has nothing to do with the SNLD,” Sai Lek said.

“If the people want to see a situation where the SPDC regime continues to
benefit then they should vote ‘Yes’. But, if the people prefer genuine
democracy, then they should vote ‘No’,” he said.

“We believe that the people are capable of making the right decision.”

When asked what the party could do before the referendum, Sai Lek said the
party had made some preparations but could not discuss them because of the
current restrictive political climate.

The SNLD received the second highest number of votes in the 1990
elections, winning 23 seats.

The SNLD is a key political ally of the National League for Democracy and
is the only elected ethnic political party with an official standing.

The party’s operations have been hampered since SNLD chairperson U Khun
Tun Oo, secretary U Nyunt Lwin and other party leaders were imprisoned in
2005.

____________________________________

April 21, Shan Herald Agency for News
Junta says no democracy without support for draft charter – Hseng Khio Fah

Since March, the junta has been extensively campaigning for the people of
Shan State to support the junta drafted constitution in the upcoming
referendum in May, according to sources from Southern Shan State.

On 15 March, Kunhing based Area Operations Commander Tin Maung Swe and
Chairman of Township Peace and Development Council Ngwe Toe held a meeting
with village tract and quarter headmen at the Township Peace and
Development Council's office.

In the meeting, they urged the headmen to teach people how to vote ‘Yes’
in the upcoming referendum.

Ngwe Toe said, "If there are more crosses than ticks, the democracy that
people are looking forward will not be achieved. Then, we will be forced
to return to the National Convention again and draft another constitution.
That's why people have to support it."

Again, on 2 April, Kyaw Swe , Chairman of Township Peace and Development
Council of Mongpiang, Eastern Shan State, summoned the village tract
headmen and provided referendum training to teach people to tick " Yes" in
support of the junta drafted constitution.

He threatened, "Officials and people who are in the training must under to
train the people to support the constitution according to the methods that
we have taught you. People who oppose the constitution will go to prison
for 3 years with Kyat 100,000 (US $ 90) fine."

Officials from 28 village tracts of Mongpiang Township attended the
training. The training was held for 3 days, according to a source.

After attending the training, the headmen were forced to hold referendum
workshops each in his own area.

Junta newspapers have called in bold headlines yesterday for the people to
give full support to the charter.

____________________________________

April 20, Shan Herald Agency for News
Voters’ worry: Will officials be able to track us down?

As 10 May draws near, one of the growing concerns among eligible voters in
northern Shan State is that the polling officials will discover who they
are if they vote No, according to sources on the Sino-Burma border.

“The ballot papers will either have our signatures or thumb prints and our
serial numbers,” one Muse resident told SHAN when asked whether she would
put a cross standing for No, or a tick standing for Yes.

A number of other respondents also voiced the same concern.

They calmed down only when SHAN explained to them that part of the ballot
paper containing the voter’s identity and serial number, in civilized
countries, would remain with the polling officials while the other part
where the voter would either tick or cross as he/she wishes would have
nothing to pinpoint him or her.

A Thai citizen, upon learning the plight, traced up a sample of the ballot
paper used at the 19 August 2007 referendum on the kingdom’s latest draft
constitution for SHAN from the Thai website: www.ect.go.th.

However, it appears that Burma’s ballot paper will have only a single
blank to put in either a tick or a cross, according to sources.

Of all the respondents, only one, a southern gentleman, replied he had
decided to say Yes. “This is the first chance to fight the system from
within,” he told SHAN without elaboration.

Only two of the respondents say they have read the draft charter while
others swear they have yet to see them. Copies of the draft charter were
released for sale to the public only 11 days ago.

____________________________________

April 21, Mizzima News
Rangoon salespersons take back 'No' T-shirts fearing reprisal – Nem Davies

In a move stemming from fear of reprisal from the Burmese military junta,
salespersons in Rangoon are said to be taking back the 'Nobody' brand
T-shirts, from shops and showrooms it had sold it to.

Sales representatives who had sold the Thailand manufactured 'Nobody'
brand T-shirts, which has a pre fix 'No' are being sent to take back the
stocks from where it was distributed. The exercise has started today.

A sales representative at the Yan Kin Centre, one of Rangoon's biggest
shopping centres, said, "We are recollecting the T-shirts because it has
the prefix 'No'. We are scared that it might have a negative impact on our
shop after hearing reports on radio stations such as the BBC and VOA that
people in Rangoon have started wearing the T-shirt as a sign of protest."

The salesperson said they started taking back the T-shirts on Monday from
shops including famous shopping centres like Junction 8, Yankin Shopping
Centre, Oshin, Ang Chan Thar Shopping centre, Dagon centre.

"There are a lot of designs in this trademark, and there are only about 10
pieces in one particular design. We are now taking back all of them. But
from some shops we got back only about three to four pieces," added the
salesperson.

The T-shirts have a big letter 'No.' emblazoned in the front with colours
contrasting with the background, a local resident in Rangoon said.

"The letters are very clearly written. But I think the company is putting
their trademark, I don't understand why they are taking it back. But if
they are recollecting they should also collect the pant because it also
has the letter 'No.'" the local resident said.

While the sales representatives have not explained the reason which is
making them take back the T-shirts, the letter 'No' is similar to the word
used by Burmese opposition parties both inside and outside the country in
its campaign against the ruling junta's planned referendum in May.

Burma's military rulers in early April set May 10 as the date for holding
a referendum to approve a draft charter, which took them 14 years to
complete.

Opposition groups including the National League for Democracy, the party
led by detained Burmese Nobel Peace Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has
called on the people to cast the 'No' vote and reject the junta's draft
constitution.

However, the junta, who also announced that it will hold elections in 2010
and is vigorously campaigning to win the support of the people while
imposing strict rules on the opposition from campaigning against its
agenda.

Sources in Arakan state of western Burma said, at least 20 opposition
members were arrested since last week's Burmese new year festival of
Thingyan for wearing T-shirts that had the letter 'No' written on them.

____________________________________

April 21, Mizzima News
Authorities in Kachin state campaign for 'Yes' vote – Myo Gyi

Local Burmese military junta officials in Chibway Township of Kachin State
in Northern Burma have reportedly begun wearing T-shirts with stickers
emblazoned with the words 'Yes Vote' to campaign among local villagers to
support the ruling junta's draft constitution in the ensuing referendum.

Polling station officials, members of the junta-backed civil organization,
Union Solidarity and Development Association and Swan Arrshin, peoples
militia, fire fighters, and ward and village level authorities since the
beginning of April have started wearing T-Shirts with 'Yes vote' stickers,
local residents said.

'Let's go to polling stations', 'Let's cast Yes vote' with Tick mark,
'Let's approve Union of Burma State Constitution' were printed in green
colour on white T-shirts, a local resident from Chibway told Mizzima.

Besides, the local said, several billboards that urge the people to vote
'Yes' have been put up in the villages of Chibway Township.

"Several billboards have been set up in every village and wards in this
township, with the words 'Let's approve Union of Burma State Constitution'
written in green on white," added the local.

In a bid to woo government employees to cast the 'Yes' vote, authorities
have also begun selling rice at subsidized rates to employees, local
residents said.

"The current market price of a bag of rice is Kyat. 40,000 (USD 36) in
Chibway, Lawkhaung. But they [authorities] are selling the rice at 18,000
(USD 16) per bag to the government staff and its organizations such as
USDA and fire brigade members," another local resident said.

As Chibway and Lawkhaung townships are located in remote areas along the
Sino-Burmese border, the junta is counting on a cent percent chance of
obtaining 'Yes' vote in the referendum from these townships.

"They might think they have better chance in getting 'Yes' votes in this
hilly remote area and mobilising the local people. There are no
organisations campaigning for 'No' votes there either. Even in Myitkyinar,
the authorities are not doing like that," he said.

Despite the local authority's efforts in the campaign by producing
T-Shirts, many people refuse to put on the T-shirts.

"All the people are not wearing these T shirts. Only some of them are
wearing and most of them are just holding them in their hands. These
people dare not wear these T shirts," added the local.

According to local residents, these townships are under the control of a
ceasefire armed group namely - the New Democracy Army (Kachin) or known as
NDA-K - led by Sakhong Tin Ying, and the region is known as Kachin Special
Region No. 1.

A source close to the NDA-K said the regime thought they had a better
chance in winning supporting votes in the area as it is controlled by the
ceasefire group.

According to the voters list prepared by local authorities, there are
3,694 eligible voters in Panwah region, in the NDA-K controlled. And
reportedly authorities have ordered local residents to cast supporting
votes in the referendum.

Meanwhile, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), another ceasefire
group in Kachin State, has said they will remain neutral on the
forthcoming referendum, by neither casting 'Yes' nor 'No' vote.

____________________________________

April 21, Narinjara News
Deputy Home Minister visits Western Border for referendum

The Deputy Home Minster of Burma's military government, Brig-Gen Phone Swe
visited the western border town of Maungdaw in Arakan State on Sunday to
organize people to cast "yes" votes in the referendum, said a government
official who refused to be named.
He said, "He came to Maungdaw yesterday and held a meeting with many
members from local village administrative councils at Thri Radana hall in
Maungdaw for the upcoming referendum."

The meeting began at 8:30 am and finished at 11:00 am, with about 750
people, including many village chairmen and clerks in attendance. The
deputy minister asked the village chairmen during the meeting if there
were any villages or people in Maungdaw Township who were against the
referendum.

"All village chairmen replied to him that there were no villages or people
against the referendum when he asked us if there were," said the official.

At the meeting, Deputy Home Minister Phone Swe also told the village
chairmen that he is ready to go to the villages to organize people if any
village has a plan to oppose the referendum.

The visit of the deputy home minister to Maungdaw was conducted by high
authorities after information has been spreading that Arakanese people
will be boycotting the referendum by refusing to go to the polls.

The Deputy Home Minister will reportedly visit another two towns in
Buthidaung and Rathidaung to organize people for referendum after leaving
Maungdaw.

____________________________________

April 21, Khonumthung News
Thura Aung Ko campaigns for referendum in western Burma

Burma's Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs Brig-General Thura Aung Ko
made an official trip to townships in southern Chin state, western Burma
to campaign for the referendum to approve the constitution in the first
week of April.

On April 4, Thura Aung Ko along with Chin State's tactical commander
Brigadier Huen Ngai visited villages in Matupi town, southern Chin state
and reportedly encouraged villagers to cast the 'Yes' vote in the
referendum to approve the new charter.

"They said that the military will rule the country for another 15 years if
people do not approve the draft constitution," a villager said.

During the campaign in Thura Aung Ko, around 500 people from Cawngthia,
Phaneng, Ngaleng and Kace villages in Matupi were summoned to attend a
meeting.

Thura Aung Ko told a gathering of villagers to cast their vote to approve
the new constitution so that genuine democracy is restored in Burma soon,
said a villager.

The regime is also planning to have only one ballot box in a village for
casting votes in the referendum scheduled to be held on May 10.

The local authorities in Matupi Township have already set up a committee
with 20 members of the village council to monitor the polling booths,
another villager in Matupi Township said.

The polling booth committee has been tasked to persuade voters by whatever
means to cast a 'Yes' vote to approve the constitution drafted by hand
picked men of the junta after a 14 year long national convention.

Similarly, local authorities in Thangtlang Township are pressurizing
locals to cast the 'Yes' vote in the ensuing referendum.

"Actually, the people really don't feel like voting in the referendum. I
don't know whether they will cast a 'No' vote if the authorities keep
pressurisng them," said a villager in Thangtlang township.

According to a source in Chin state, the authorities might take note of
the voter's bio-data in the polling booths to identify those who cast the
'No' vote.

The new charter is said to be designed to entrench army rule. It also bans
pro democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from contesting elections because
her husband was a Britisher.

The military regime had scrapped the 1974 constitution after grabbing
power in 1988. Since then, the country has been under military rule.
Khonumthung News

____________________________________

April 21, Kaowao News
Songkran graffiti campaign continues through Mon State – Asohn Vi

An anti-referendum graffiti campaign began in the heart of Mon State
during the New Year Water Festival Songkran, and has since spread
throughout Mon State.

According to a graffiti campaigner from southern Burma, they used red and
white paint to cover pro-SPDC billboards positioned along the main roads,
either rewriting their message altogether or simply writing the word ‘No’
over the SPDC’s ‘Yes’.  They also sprayed walls, roads and bus stops with
their powerful message.

“Beginning in the early hours of April 14th, we sprayed our message in
public places as well as places of worship and at selected viewpoints
along the mountain road, where we used white paint across the seats.  The
authorities repainted our white colored seats with red paint by about at
9’ clock,” a campaign leader told Kaowao.

The Burmese junta had been broadcasting their ‘Vote Yes’ campaign daily
across official media outlets including television and newspaper.
Opposition groups on the other hand have been less successful in
transmitting their message, and have faced multiple arrests; this week
alone, purely on suspicion of campaigning against the constitutional
referendum, over two dozen activists including a famous singer were
detained indefinitely.

This graffiti campaign led by youths from Mon state successfully
demonstrated opposition to the referendum, and reached a wide audience by
using the many SPDC ‘Vote Yes’ billboards placed along the main road
connecting Moulmein with many other towns.

“We mainly targeted signs from Moulmein to Kyait Mayaw, and Kyait Khami
where there were many points of heavy traffic during the water festival. 
We erased and sprayed the SPDC ‘Yes’ signs in many places. Our first
priority is to tell the people to vote “No”. Our second priority is to
destroy or deface the SPDC ‘Yes’ billboards,” said a campaigner.

Authorities outside Sattoi village, Mudon township noticed their signs at
the entrance to the village had been defaced. With no one to blame, they
forced the village headmen to erase the graffiti and clean the signs.

Having reported seeing graffiti in public places and on bridge signboards
along the road from Moulmein to Kaw Bain village on the final day of
Songkran festivities, a Moulmein University student told Kaowao the ‘Vote
No’ campaign was not confined to graffiti.  During the water festival,
many youths wore new t-shirts with ‘N’ and ‘X’ emblazoned across the front
and back.  These shirts were an original design, and were worn by people
from inside and outside of Burma. Although all students were checked and
some interrogated, no significant action was taken against those wearing
the t-shirts.

He said, “If they (checkpoint authorities) found anyone wearing t-shirts
with the ‘X’ and ‘N’ design, they questioned them, but the design of the
t-shirt is not definitely anti-referendum, or directly in response to
their ‘Yes’ shirts.  It is an original one, that’s why they couldn’t take
any action. For example, they allowed me to pass through, even though I
wore a t-shirt with a big red ‘X’ inside a circle on it!”

Although the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) is still
pushing it’s ‘Yes’ campaign, demanding approval of the constitution in the
upcoming May 10th referendum, so too are the activists who began their
‘No’ campaign during the Songkran Water Festival, who have vowed to
continue their uphill battle.

____________________________________

April 21, Irrawaddy
Burma army offensive drives villagers into hiding – Saw Yan Naing

An ongoing Burmese army offensive has forced more than 2,000 Karen
villagers from Mon and Kyauk Gyi Townships in eastern Burma’s Pegu
Division to seek shelter in the jungle, according to relief agencies
active in the area.

The latest wave of Internally Displaced Persons began in early April
following attacks by the Burmese army’s Light Infantry Battalions 247 and
276 under Military Operations Command 16, according to the Committee for
Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP), a Karen relief group.

The Burmese army has been building new camps in the area since the
beginning of the month, fueling fears of further attacks, said CIDKP
coordinator Saw Steve.

“More than 200 villagers are from Kyauk Gyi Township and over 2,000 are
from Mon Township,” Kyaw Ber, a relief worker who recently returned from
the area, told The Irrawaddy on Monday. “They are still hiding in the
jungle without sufficient food and medicine. They are also afraid of going
back to work on their farms.”

The Burmese troops are now patrolling around the villages, said Kyaw Ber.
Villagers will likely remain in the jungle as long as the Burmese troops
remain in the area, he added.

Similarly, more than 2,000 Karen villagers from eight villages in Karen
State’s Papun District have been forced to flee into the jungle since
early March following fresh attacks by the Burmese army, according a Karen
relief group, the Free Burma Rangers (FBR).

A joint campaign against ethnic Karen rebels was launched by Military
Operations Commands 4 and 16 in northern Karen State, according to a
recent FBR report. It added that government troops have been destroying
any food or property they can find, and are hunting down villagers seeking
shelter in the jungle.

The Burmese army has constructed over 60 new military camps in northern
Karen State since the beginning of its dry-season offensive in 2006 and
has completed a new road through Papun District, according to the FBR
report.

A Burmese military offensive that began in February of 2006 in northern
Karen State has killed more than 370 villagers, including children, and
displaced more than 30,000 people. More than 5,000 displaced persons fled
to the Thai-Burmese border area, according to relief groups.

____________________________________

April 20, Reuters
Myanmar arrests keep pressure on "no" campaign – Aung Hla Tun

Myanmar's junta is intensifying its campaign of intimidation against
dissidents, and conducting a propaganda drive, to ensure its new
constitution gets passed in a referendum next month, opposition leaders
said on Sunday.

At least 60 people have been arrested in Sittwe, capital of northwest
Rakhine state, since last week's traditional New Year celebrations for
wearing T-shirts urging people to vote "No" in the May 10 plebiscite.

"More than 30 have been released but at least 20 are still in detention,
and the arrests are still going on," Ko Thein Hlaing, a senior member of
the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) in Rakhine, told
Reuters.

The NLD, whose leader Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house
arrest, is leading the campaign to reject the constitution, which has been
drafted over the last 14 years by an army-picked committee.

The NLD boycotted the process because of Suu Kyi's detention, and refuses
to accept some of the main clauses of the charter, in particular those
guaranteeing the army 25 percent of seats in parliament and the right to
suspend the constitution at will.

Other underground opposition groups are also pushing for the former
Burma's 53 million people to reject the charter, most notably the "88
Generation Students" who led a brutally crushed 1988 uprising against
decades of military rule.

In addition to the Sittwe arrests, NLD spokesman Nyan Win said one party
official had been arrested in Yangon for putting up a "No" poster, and
several other party members had been beaten or assaulted for campaigning.

Perhaps mindful of 1990, when they allowed an election only to suffer a
humiliating defeat -- which they then ignored -- to Suu Kyi's NLD, the
generals are also pulling out all the propaganda stops to ensure the
charter passes.

State-run MRTV has been broadcasting programmes and songs calling for a
"Yes", while government workers and soldiers have also received orders on
how to vote.

Regime-controlled newspapers have also been carrying slogans, articles,
commentaries and poems urging people to vote in favour.

"To approve the State Constitution is a national duty of the entire people
today," the New Light of Myanmar, the junta's official mouthpiece, blared
in a front-page headline.

Inside, the paper carried a sinister commentary accusing dissidents of
being "the axe-handles and mouthpiece of the colonialists".

(Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Bill Tarrant)

____________________________________

April 20, Associated Press
Crocodile kills man in wildlife sanctuary in Myanmar

A crocodile attacked and killed a man who was under arrest for alleged
illegal logging in Myanmar, the country's state-run newspaper reported
Sunday.

Myint Zaw was being transported by forest rangers in a boat in the
Ayeywarwaddy river delta when the crocodile knocked him out of the boat
and killed him, the Myanmar-language Kyemon daily reported.

Myint Zaw and three other men were arrested last month for possession of
mangrove trees believed to have been illegally cut from Meinmahla Kyun
Wildlife Sanctuary, southwest of the country's biggest city, Yangon, the
paper said.

The men were being transferred to detention when the attack happened March
10, the paper said. No other details were available.

The wildlife reserve was established in 1994 and is inhabited by
endangered saltwater crocodiles that live in the mangrove swamps.


____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

April 21, Associated Press
6 Thai nationals to be charged in migrant deaths in truck – Ambika Ahuja

Six Thai nationals will be charged with death by negligence after 54
illegal Myanmar migrants suffocated while being smuggled through Thailand
in a tiny, locked truck, police said Monday.

The 54 dead were among some 120 job seekers from Myanmar crammed inside
the truck, which was abandoned by the driver on April 10 when he noticed
passengers dying in the back.

The migrants began suffocating when the air conditioning failed in the
vehicle, normally used for transporting seafood.

The migrants had been seeking jobs in the booming resort area of Phuket
after being smuggled by boat from their country into the Thai port of
Ranong on the Andaman Sea.

Immigration police commander Lt. Gen. Chatchawal Suksomjit said the crime
of causing death by negligence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in
jail for each person that died.

Not enough evidence exists yet to prosecute the six people — including the
truck's driver — for human trafficking, he said.

Among the 66 survivors, 50 were convicted of illegal entry into Thailand
and were still being held. Two were not charged because poor health kept
them hospitalized, and 14 were minors who will be returned to Myanmar.

Some survivors will be asked to testify against those involved, said
police Col. Kraithong Chanthongbai, adding that an investigation could
take up to three months to complete.

The tragedy shed light on the often brutal result of human trafficking and
the plight of desperate people in the region.

Prosperous Thailand is a magnet for people from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar
who take menial and dangerous jobs shunned by Thais, and face exploitation
in their efforts to earn a living. More than 1 million migrants from
Myanmar are believed to be working in Thailand.

____________________________________

April 20, Kachin News Group
Vote 'No' posters appear in more towns in Northern Burma

The campaign against the Burmese military junta's referendum in May to
approve the constitution is gaining ground in Kachin State. Hundreds of
A-4 size Vote 'No' posters were pasted yesterday evening yet again in more
major towns in Kachin State, in Northern Burma, local activists said.

The posters and handouts with the same contention were pasted and
distributed in Bhamo Township, N'mawk (Momauk) town, Shwego town and Manje
(Mansi) town, a student leader Shadang Naw Awng told KNG today.

The movement is being organized by a local underground university
students' organization known as the All Kachin Students Union (AKSU). The
organization was formed just before the September Saffron Revolution in
2007, according to students' leaders.

The posters and handouts put up by students also demanded that the junta
stop the two biggest dam projects in Myitsone in Mali Hka (Irrawaddy
River) and Chibwe in upper N'mai Hka (May Hka River). It also wanted the
regime to stop the fruitless castor oil tree plantation project in Kachin
State, added a student activist.

AKSU has organized successive poster movements by students. They pasted
anti-referendum posters twice successively within a week. The poster
movement is designed to encourage people to cast the 'No' vote against the
regime's new constitution in the countrywide referendum to be held on May
10, student leader Shadang Naw Awng said.

At the moment, all levels of the regime's civilian administrators in
Kachin State are busy with emergency meetings regarding the referendum in
May and they have been forcibly summoned by the regime to attend, local
sources said.

In Kachin State, all eligible voters have been told to vote in the
constitutional referendum on May 10 by the regime's campaigners, locals
said.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

April 21, Energy Bangla
Gas import from Myanmar, Qatar too costly: Special Aide Dr Tamim

Interests of local residents in the coal mining areas have to be given
topmost priority in finalizing coal policy, said Dr M Tamim. “Bangladesh
has to swift to other power sources as natural gas is about to exhaust.
Coal is most likely the next option but its extraction strategy must have
to ensure interests of local livelihood,” said the Special Aide to Chief
Adviser for the Ministry of Power and Energy.

According to him, it is high time for Bangladesh to develop its coalmines.
But finalization of national coal policy must be considering social,
geo-political and geological situation of the particular mining area.
Involving local experts and ensuring full compensation is must in coal
sector development, he added.

“Beside compensation, coalmine development plan needs to generate
employment, particularly for local women. This would ensure local
cooperation in the development process,” said Dr Tamim.

He was addressing at a seminar yesterday on ‘Mining and Community
Livelihood in Bangladesh’, organised by Petrobangla at its auditorium in
the capital. Energy Secretary Mohammad Mohsin and Chairman Petrobangla
Jalal Ahmed also spoke at the seminar.

"We can't wait. Whatever the decision is, it has to be taken very fast in
a transparent and accountable manner," he added.

It has to be worked out how the impacts on the environment and local
community could be minimized apart from setting the priorities between
food and energy security.

“It is the duty of Government to ensure that the displaced people in coal
mining areas would get more benefits than those who were displaced in the
Uttara and Purbachal town development projects, because coal mining is
more profitable business," he added.

He also said that the reserve of gas, the countries main source of energy
on which 85 percent of power generation depends, is depleting very first.

The CA’s Special Assistant said there might be more undiscovered gas
reserves.

"If we want to discover this gas reserve, about $8 billion investment will
be required. Can we afford to take risk in this huge investment?" he
asked.

Mentioning the unaffordable cost involved in gas import from Myanmar and
Qatar, he said the cost would be from $5 to $7 per 1000 cubic feet (mcf)
against about 2.5 US dollars in Bangladesh.

Similarly, he said, the cost of coal is going up fast like that of
petroleum fuel. He said a few years back the price of per metric ton of
coal was $30-40, now it has gone up to $160.

____________________________________

April 21, The New Nation (Bangladesh)
High-power team to visit Myanmar: Bangladesh to replicate contract farming

Bangladesh will conduct an assessment on Chinese and Thai contract farming
practices at Myanmar to introduce it in case of Bangladesh, official
sources said.

A high-powered Bangladeshi delegation comprising Agriculture Ministry and
Foreign Ministry officials will visit Myanmar next month to see how China
and Thailand are doing contract farming there.

Myanmar proposed to Bangladesh to take lease of at least 50,000 acres of
land in its Rakhine state for 'contract farming' during the first annual
consultation between the two countries, held in Myanmar on May 19 to 20,
2007. The Myanmar authority further restated their proposal in a
Dhaka-Yangon bilateral talks held in Dhaka this year.

Bangladesh responded to Myanmar's proposal positively and is willing to
sign a deal in this connection after conducting feasibility assessment
within this year, a high official of the Foreign Ministry said. "We are
hopeful that around 10,000 Bangladeshi farmers mostly from Chittagong
region could be employed if the country accepted Myanmar's proposal," the
official said preferring anonymity.

He said Bangladeshi farmers have innovative knowledge on farming and they
will be able to bring a huge expense of Myanmar land under contract
farming in future. This will help Bangladesh to ease food crisis that it
is facing these days.

Chairman of Bangladesh-Myanmar business promotion council Syed Mahmudul
Huq told newsmen that Bangladeshi farmers may primarily concentrate on
producing three types of agricultural products-paddy, pulse and
maize-under contract farming in Myanmar.

Bangladesh is also considering updating the existing border trade rules
with Myanmar to expand the border trade with the neighbouring country.

The government decided to increase border trade from current US$ 10,000 to
US$ 20,000. The decision was taken at a meeting of the inter-ministerial
sub-committee on Bangladesh-Myanmar trade. Commerce Secretary Feroz Ahmed
presided over the meeting held at the Commerce Ministry conference room
recently.

Bangladesh Bank has already agreed to allow enhancement of the border
trade to facilitate import of more essential commodities like rice and
pulses.

The meeting also decided to take initiative so that the infrastructure of
border trade could be shifted from Teknaf to Chittagong.

"Myanmar has the potential - because of its climate, topography, soil
conditions, rainfall, waterways, agricultural land resources, fishery
resources and human resources - to produce an extensive variety of
competitively priced agricultural, livestock and fishery products," a high
official of the Commerce Ministry said.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

April 20, Agence France Presse
Myanmar declares itself bird flu free

Myanmar's military government on Sunday declared the country bird-flu free
after three months without an outbreak of the deadly virus, state media
reported.

The Myanmar-language Mirror newspaper said authorities had "sent the
announcement of a bird flu-free Myanmar" to the UN's Food and Agriculture
Organisation, and supplied evidence.

The last known outbreak of the deadly H5N1 virus was in eastern Shan State
last November, the paper said, and was under control by January this year.

Myanmar last declared itself free of avian influenza in September 2006
after outbreaks in the central city of Mandalay.

But in early 2007, thousands more chickens, birds and ducks had to be
killed after fresh outbreaks in and around the economic hub Yangon and in
the central region of Bago.

In December, Myanmar and the World Health Organisation announced that a
seven-year-old girl from Shan state had become the first confirmed human
case of bird flu in the country.

She was hospitalised in late November before being discharged in December
after showing signs of recovery.

Myanmar's military rulers normally operate behind a veil of secrecy, but
the regime has won praise from the United Nations for its openness in
tackling bird flu, despite its run-down health system.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed 240 people worldwide, mostly in
Southeast Asia, since late 2003, World Health Organisation figures show.

The strain is mainly an animal disease, but scientists fear it could
mutate to easily jump from human to human, sparking a deadly global
pandemic.

____________________________________

April 21, Boston Globe

>From Boston to Burma, with vision – Dr. Bil Ragan


A congenital defect makes it difficult for May Thet Swe to see. The
4-year-old's eyelids don't open normally, so to look at something in front
of her, she has to tilt her head up to the sky.

But she already has ambition: The spunky preschooler, who loves playing
football and riding her bike, wants to be a doctor so she can help other
children.

And she understands why her grandfather recently paid a small fortune to
bring her to a flying hospital staffed by an international team of doctors
and nurses: "They are going to repair my eyes and make me pretty like
other children."

Thet, the type of child who brings happiness to those around her, was one
of 191 patients helped on a recent mission by the Flying Eye Hospital, a
converted DC-10 aircraft operated by the nonprofit ORBIS International.
The aircraft travels to developing countries to train local doctors,
nurses, and biomedical engineers, as well as treat patients with vision
problems.

I recently spent two weeks with the group, screening patients, helping
with their treatment, and training local healthcare providers to do the
same procedures we did, to the same standards. As an anesthesiologist with
an expertise in eye surgery, I was one of three physicians from the
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary on the mission.

Despite the violent suppression last fall of a pro-democracy rebellion in
Burma, we saw little sign of trouble during our stay. We had no
difficulties traveling in the area, though we did notice police barricades
and sand-bagged gun emplacements in the capital city of Rangoon. Had I not
heard of the events last fall I would not have thought anything had
happened in Mandalay. We were, however, encouraged by our team leader and
our assigned translators not to discuss political issues with our
patients, nor seek their opinions.

Our operating room was parked on the tarmac of Mandalay International
Airport, about an hour south of the city, on a broad, flat, arid plain
that resembles western Texas or New Mexico. The beautiful terminal and
grounds are well kept, but it was largely empty during our stay.

We rode by bus from our hotel every day, watching the scenery change from
small villages to rice fields and mango plantations. We passed children on
the way to school, businessmen headed to the office, and farmers headed to
the market. Many women and young people had covered their faces and arms
with a pastel yellow paste derived from the thanakha tree, as a decorative
sun block.

Thet, my first patient, was one of the ones who made the trip worthwhile.

Her operation went very well - the surgeon was able to raise both of her
upper eyelids and use sutures to secure them to muscles in her forehead.
Thet and her parents, who had ridden the bus for 170 miles for the
treatment, spent the night in the local hospital. Her father held her
throughout the night while her mother slept at the bedside.

Upon awakening, she played with a green bunny one of our nurses had given
her. She named him Yon Ka Ley - "rabbit" in Burmese. Almost as soon as she
was able to get up from her bed, Thet went over and started playing with
our next patient, a 12-year-old girl named Chan Lin Mon.

When she is at home, 700 miles away, Mon entertains herself by imagining
she is the chef in her own restaurant. She dreams of becoming a writer
someday, and has been keeping a diary for several years, a little red book
that contains her most cherished memories, hopes, and dreams. Watching
Thet enjoy her family, Mon seemed a bit detached and quiet - she had lost
her own parents in the car accident that left her with damaged vision. But
she brightened at the attention the younger child gave her.

Both girls had made it past one of the most difficult parts of an ORBIS
program: screening day. That's when we examine the patients who have come
for care, ensure that we can help them and prioritize them as surgical
candidates. Needs are always far greater than what we can provide, and at
times we must make difficult decisions about which patients to treat.

A 2-year-old suffering from a traumatic cataract will have priority over
an 80-year-old with a mature cataract, because the toddler will benefit
longer. Patients must also have conditions that can be treated locally
with the proper training and direction. Teaching is absolutely essential:
Our goal is not to do the most sophisticated procedure, but to demonstrate
a technique that local doctors and nurses can learn, and repeat
themselves.

When we arrived for our first screening day, more than 100 patients were
already lined up in the hallway of the local host hospital. We would see
patients with glaucoma, corneal diseases, and those needing plastic
surgery around their eyes.

As I walked down the hallway, I was struck by one young mother holding an
infant who appeared to be about a year old. He had a large marble-sized
tumor suspended from his left upper eyelid. It was attached to his cornea
preventing him from closing that eye.

Every time I walked by, the mother would turn and look at me as if to
plead for something to be done for her son. It was difficult to look away.

The boy was finally selected for surgery the second week. There were 20
ophthalmology trainees in the operating room observing his three-hour
procedure. At the end, the room filled with applause. Words cannot
describe the mother's smile when she saw her son. He was as beautiful as
she imagined.

Dr. Bil Ragan is an anesthesiologist at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear
Infirmary.


____________________________________
REGIONAL

April 21, Irrawaddy
Voting begins at Burmese embassies – Saw Yan Naing

Burmese embassies have been announcing to Burmese people who live and work
abroad that they can go and vote at embassies for the constitutional
referendum, according to exiled Burmese.

The voting process has already begun at Burmese embassies in South Korea,
Singapore, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia.

Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur-based Burmese embassy urged Burmese people who
possess legal documents, such as Burmese passports or work permits, to
come and vote at the embassy from April 19 to 27.

There is an estimated 500,000 Burmese people currently living in Malaysia,
of whom about 180,000 possess legal documents, according to sources in
Malaysia.

A Burmese doctor in Malaysia told The Irrawaddy that she voted “No” to the
constitution on Sunday.

Last week, the Burmese embassy in Singapore announced dates for voting
from April 26 to 29 while the embassy in South Korea has urged Burmese
people to vote on April 27, according to Burmese people living in those
countries. Voters are also required to bring legal documents such as
passports and work permits, said sources.

Ko Myo, a Burmese migrant worker in Singapore said that he will go and
vote “No” at the Burmese embassy on April 27. He added that many Burmese
people are voting “No” in the national referendum.

Following the brutal crackdown on the peaceful protesters and monks in
September 2007, many Burmese in exile refuse to support the draft
constitution written by the military junta, said Ko Myo.

About 50,000 Burmese people are estimated to be currently living in
Singapore, most of whom hold legal documents, said sources in Singapore.

Yan Naing Htun, a Burmese activist in South Korea, said that the Burmese
embassy in Seoul is urging Burmese people in Korea to vote in the national
referendum on April 27. He said the embassy was also lobbying people to
support the junta-written constitution by voting “Yes” at the referendum.

He noted that some Burmese people are likely to vote “Yes” on April 27
even if they would rather vote against the constitution, because they are
afraid of possible repercussions when they return to Burma.

Yan Naing Htun also said he was preparing to join a demonstration against
the constitution on April 27 outside the Burmese embassy.

“We are going to hold a campaign against the draft constitution. We will
go and set up an artificial ballot box in front of the embassy advertising
the “Vote No” campaign,” said Yan Naing Htun. “We will also chant slogans
against the constitution.”

There are estimated to be about 2,000 Burmese people currently in South
Korea, said sources in the capital, Seoul, while more than 200,000 Burmese
migrants live in Thailand.

In Burma, the national referendum on the draft constitution will be held
on May 10, while multi-party elections are planned for 2010.

____________________________________

April 21, Reuters
Myanmar detainees riot, set fire at Malaysian camp

Detainees from Myanmar rioted at a Malaysian holding camp on Monday,
torching a building, after hearing they had been denied asylum in a third
country, the authorities said.

Some 72 Myanmarese, who were being held at a camp just outside the capital
Kuala Lumpur, forced their way into an administrative block and set it
ablaze, the Immigration Department's head of enforcement, Ishak Mohammad,
said.

"They were disappointed on hearing the UNHCR (the U.N. Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees) couldn't get a placement for them in a third
country," he told Reuters. Malaysia considers them to be illegal
immigrants.

Police said the rioters, who were unarmed, would be charged with arson. No
one was injured.

"They set fire at the ground floor causing damage to office furniture and
computers," the local Star newspaper quoted Osman Abdullah, the police
chief in the southwestern Negeri Sembilan state, as saying in its online
edition. The camp is located at Lenggeng in the state.

The camp, housing some 800 illegal immigrants including Bangladeshis and
Indonesians, would be closed temporarily, the immigration department said.

Malaysia is home to around 3 million foreign workers, 1 million of whom
are working illegally, Home Minister Syed Albar said at the weekend.

The country currently has about 39,000 refugees registered with the UNHCR,
the body said.

Of the total, about 13,000 are members of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim
minority and another 12,000 are members of other Myanmar minority ethnic
groups.

The Rohingyas came in the 1990s from Myanmar, but the government there
disputes their origin and refuses to let them return.

(Reporting by Jalil Hamid, Editing by Alex Richardson)


____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

April 21, Asia News
Even abroad Burmese afraid to vote ‘No’ in referendum

Myanmar nationals living abroad will be able to cast their ballot in the
constitutional referendum at the end of April. Embassies send letters
telling Burmese to bring their passport to vote, but many fear their vote
will not be secret.

The fear of retaliation by Myanmar’s military regime has created an
atmosphere in which even voters living abroad are afraid to vote against
the country’s proposed constitution. In a few days overseas Burmese will
be able to cast their ballots ahead of the vote back home (scheduled for
10 May). Last week in Singapore, Japan and South Korea Myanmar nationals
received letters from their Embassies “inviting” them to go and vote, this
according to Burmese dissident websites who speak of an atmosphere of
intense fear among voters who would otherwise not back the new charter
proposed by the military.

In Singapore Burmese nationals were told that all those who paid overseas
taxes to the Embassy had the right to vote in the referendum and were
advised to vote “Yes”. The letter said that Burmese passport holders will
be able to cast their votes at the Embassy between 25 and 29 April.

The same procedure was followed in Japan where voters were told that they
had to show their passports at polling stations.

“I am worried that they might make a record of me and get me into trouble
if I vote ‘No’. But I am not going to vote ‘Yes’ either,” a Burmese woman
in Japan told the Democratic Voice of Burma agency.

Ko Yan Naing Htun, information coordinator for the National League for
Democracy in Seoul, South Korea, said Myanmar passport holders in that
country had also received invitation letters from the Embassy to
participate in the referendum.

“A lot of people have said they might just cast 'Yes' votes as they are
worried they might get into trouble if they vote 'No',” Yan said.


____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

April 21, Bangkok Post
A uniting of world rogues

It has now been a year since Burma and North Korea announced their
intentions to renew diplomatic relations. In the ordinary course of
events, such an announcement between two nations at loggerheads would be a
welcome sign.

But these are not two ordinary countries. From the beginning, this
somewhat strange relationship caused more concern than optimism among the
neighbours, both in Northeast Asia and around here. Neither the Pyongyang
regime nor the Burmese dictatorship has provided any reason to trust this
renewed and secretive restoration of full diplomatic relations.

Individually, Burma and North Korea are each a thorn in the sides of their
neighbours. Burma is a reclusive, secretive country which has acquiesced
in drug trafficking and built a massive military and state security system
by ruining the country economically. Thailand and others are testimony
that Burmese policy encourages the outflow of hundreds of thousands of
economic refugees who affect all its neighbours.

North Korea is a hermit nation which also has squandered the national
economy in the name of building a huge army. The Pyongyang regime has
developed nuclear weapons, actually fired missiles on and over neighbours
including Japan. It has peddled nuclear and missile technology almost
around the world, and can be said to enjoy cordial diplomatic relations
with not a single nation.

Together, it is starting to appear that the sum of a renewed relationship
between Burma and North Korea is greater than its two distinct parts.
After 25 years with little contact and no official relations, Burma and
North Korea have found certain common interests. These did not even exist
in 1983. That is when North Korean agents invaded Burma, launched a
terrorist attack against the visiting South Korean president and his
cabinet, and caused Rangoon to cut all ties.

What one publication dubbed last year as the uniting of world rogues has
heightened concern. It now appears that secret Burmese-North Korean
military cooperation pre-dated the decision to exchange ambassadors once
again. At least one Australian expert has testified that Pyongyang has
been supplying conventional weapons and technology to Burma for several
years - probably since 1999, according to a respected Thailand-based Burma
watcher. For perhaps six years, a group of up to 20 North Korean
technicians may have been based at the naval base near Rangoon, and have
fitted Burmese naval vessels with surface-to-surface missiles. This would
directly affect Thai security.

Then there are the reports that North Korea has become involved in the
Burmese desire for a nuclear reactor. While no one thinks the Burmese
junta wants a nuclear weapon, its secretive search for a research or
medical reactor is highly troubling. It would be wrong to trust North
Korea, which has lied about its nuclear programme for two decades,
anywhere near a Burma nuclear project. Yet it now is known that Burma has
sent technicians for nuclear training in North Korea. There are legitimate
questions here, including whether Burma wants to join the nuclear club.

Pyongyang and Rangoon are entitled to have diplomatic relations. But their
secretive nature should trouble the Thai government and the neighbours of
both countries. Secrecy promotes suspicion, distrust and tension. Neither
of these pariah nations has goodwill to help it look respectable. The
strongest diplomatic pressure should be put on both countries to clear up
their questionable behaviour, military acquisitions and nuclear
programmes.

____________________________________

April 21, The Nation (Thailand)
Upcoming political uncertainties hover over Burma – Kavi Chongkittavorn

In less than three weeks the Burmese people will vote in a national
referendum on the country's draft constitution. It will be a historic
democratic battle between the iron-fisted government that wants to impose
its rule and impoverished voters who want to be free. The draft
constitution, which would give 25 per cent of parliament seats to the
military, was recently completed after 15 years. Draft copies are now
available in bookstores for 1000 kyats (Bt4,846) - something not all
Burmese can afford.

Bangkok-based diplomats and Burmese living in exile around the world have
predicted that voters will certainly reject the draft constitution.
Growing resentment over the increased price of gas and oil, which
triggered the saffron uprising last August, continues to mount and is
currently being compounded with increases in the price of rice and other
basic-food commodities.

Unfortunately, the exact count will never be known or publicised. The
results - whatever they may be - will depend

totally on the whip or rather the imagination of junta leaders. Without
international observers, the referendum would lack creditability and
legitimacy. There is also a strong possibility that there could be further
violence after the referendum if the junta goes against the people's will.

To the junta, public affirmation and legitimacy - even if it has been
fabricated to the hilt - is necessary and considered a pivotal step to put
its seven-point roadmap for democracy in place. At issue here are the
various post-referendum scenarios and the outside world's reaction to
them. Whatever happens would inevitably affect Burma's future and its
people's aspirations for democracy, including the planned 2010 election.
Despite pessimism, Asean, the UN and the international community continue
to look for ways to make Burma more democratic and inclusive in future
political processes.

They are now trying to gauge the junta leaders' political moves, which
have been surprising so far. After repeatedly failing to engage the
Burmese regime even before September's crackdown on monks, they have been
looking for new ways to keep channels with the junta open.

De-linking politics from humanitarian and development assistance, the
approach currently taken by the EU, could serve as a new modus operandi.
The idea of punishing the regime, coupled with increasing assistance to
those most vulnerable inside Burma, is gaining currency.

With the US continuing to impose harsher sanctions, the EU approach is
obviously more attractive at this point. However, it is still too early to
tell if this path will lead to more positive outcomes. In past months,
vulnerable Burmese have benefited more from increased humanitarian and
development assistance, especially in heath care and education, than
before. As a matter of urgency, the EU should provide more anti-viral
drugs for additional HIV/Aids patients beyond the current 10,000.

Asean's inability to convince Burma to comply with norms of collective
responsibility and group interest has been appalling. For over a decade,
the Burma debacle has sapped the grouping's energies and marred the
grouping's prospects of cooperation with dialogue partners. As the current
Asean chair, Singapore, has tried and subsequently failed to engage both
Asean members and major powers in resolving the Burmese quagmire.

Burma's bitterness over Singapore's handling of the political fallout from
the September crackdown remains evident. The cold shoulder that Burma has
been giving UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari over the past six months is
linked to his aborted plan to brief East Asian leaders at November's Asean
Summit in Singapore.

But the UN remains crucial for any future settlement and rehabilitation in
Burma. With continued coordination between US, UK and France, the council
is expected to add Burma to its future agenda. A tougher and more binding
resolution could be expected.

In the previous council's discussion last year, China and Russia vetoed
the resolution calling for sanctions. Given the current international
political environment, there could be further trade-offs among the
council's members.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's dealings with Burma have
been quite exceptional. He has had personal correspondence with the
reclusive General Than Shwe for quite some time. But it was only last week
that the president's office had enough confidence to inform the media that
Yudhoyono's efforts were not all in vain and that the general has answered
his mail.

In his letter, Than Shwe assured Yudhoyono of the continuing democratic
process in his country and pledged to continue communicating with him.
"This is a unique process as every one of the president's letters has been
replied to by General Than Shwe," said presidential spokesman Dino Patti
Djalal.

It remains to be seen whether this "unique process" will lead to more
tangible progress. After all, Than Shwe is still the leader who decides
everything in Burma. With a presidential election scheduled for next year,
Yudhoyono is also pondering his own political legacy. As Asean's largest
member, Indonesia carries weight with whatever plans it undertakes,
especially on regional issues.

To back up Yudhoyono's personal initiative, the Indonesian foreign
ministry has fine-tuned a peace plan for Burma that would involve
initially informal discussions among a handful of key stakeholders. It is
essentially a mechanism similar to the informal talks held in Jakarta in
the early 1990s to end the Cambodian conflict. Indonesia skilfully played
the role of mediator and employed a strategy that allowed rival Cambodian
groups to meet and subsequently agree on common ground, which eventually
led to the Paris peace talks.

Before it is formally proposed to Asean, Indonesia wants to make sure that
it has the support of its colleagues and the international community for a
Burmese peace plan. China has already supported this peace plan and soon
Asean would make its position known.

____________________________________

April 21, The Statesman
Myanmar’s sham, India’s shame: silence over the subversion of democracy –
Bibhuti Bhusan Nandy

Ever since 1962, when General Ne Win toppled the democratic government of
U Nu and imposed military rule in Myanmar, Communist China has
consistently supported the junta and its repressive policies. It has
turned Myanmar into a dumping ground for its obsolete arms. The Myanmarese
generals have been using these arms to crush ethnic insurgencies and the
democratic movement of the people. The military government has accorded
China the status of the most favoured trading partner that has secured the
lion’s share of Myanmar’s oil and natural gas exports. Beijing has
established strategic facilities for the PLA’s blue-water naval operations
and installed a technical network for collection of intelligence in
Myanmar’s southern coastal belt bordering India.
In return, the Chinese have opposed and aborted all UN and other
international and regional initiatives towards restoring democracy and
human rights.

In contrast to the unwavering Chinese support to the military rulers,
India has actively sympathised with the cause of democracy. After being
deposed, U Nu was sheltered in India. The moral and material support
provided to the heroic struggle for democracy in Myanmar in 1988 was
almost universally acclaimed.
The abrupt reversal of policy towards Myanmar, effected by Delhi in the
mid-nineties, is absurd. In effect, South Block has been supporting the
junta, even describing its policy as a victory of realpolitik over the
“failed pro-democracy policy”. But the expected geo-economic and
geo-strategic gains have not materialised. Over the past 15 years, the
MEA, in its anxiety to please and placate the Myanmarese army, has
virtually abdicated its responsibility to formulate and execute a
meaningful policy consistent with our national interests. Indeed, the MEA
appears to have been relegated. It is our generals who play a vital role
in bilateral relations.

India has failed to forge close ties with the 45 million people of
Myanmar. There is no reciprocity in the relationship. A steady supply of
military hardware, provision of road and railway communication facilities
and trade concessions to Yangon have served only to strengthen the
repressive military regime.

The objectives of this policy have not been realised. The Myanmarese
security forces have not provided the promised cooperation to their Indian
counterparts in tackling the North-east insurgent groups operating from
across the border. On the contrary, there are indications that the
country’s intelligence and security agencies continue to support the Meiti
insurgents of Manipur. Myanmar continues to be the main source of supply
of drugs to and through India with the connivance of its security forces.
The junta has rebuffed Indian efforts to obtain natural gas from the
Arakan-based sources, preferring instead to supply the product to China.
The Chinese geo-strategic and geo-economic influence over Myanmar remains
as strong as ever.

Because of India’s policy of unmitigated appeasement, Myanmar’s military
intelligence outfit, operating from its embassy in New Delhi and consulate
in Kolkata, has made significant inroads into the country’s military
establishment, civil services, intelligentsia, media and academic
institutions. Its agents of influence have ensured that India’s ruling
class, intelligentsia and a section of the media maintain a studied
silence over the junta’s rejection of all international efforts aimed at a
peaceful transition to democracy.
In September last year, the junta ruthlessly crushed the peaceful
pro-democracy demonstrations by the students and the Buddhist monks,
butchering a large number of demonstrators and indefinitely incarcerating
many more without trial. The democratic world by and large condemned the
brutality, but the Government of India maintained a deafening silence over
the mayhem.

Two other instances illustrate the influence of the Myanmarese military
intelligence in India. In 1998, one Col. Bisawjit Singh Grewal, acting at
the behest of the junta, lured a group of India-friendly Arakanese freedom
fighters to the Anadaman islands, promising them operational base
facilities with India’s support. On their arrival at the designated spot,
he shot eight of them and filed a case of gun-running and waging war
against 34 others. The CBI chargesheeted the Arakanese. Later, their trial
was shifted to a Kolkata court, but not a single prosecution witness has
yet been produced. As a time-killing device, the hearing is being fixed
from date to date without transacting any business. While the hapless
prisoners have been rotting in jail for more than ten years, the junta has
established Col. Grewal in a thriving business in Myanmar. He is now a
resident of both Yangon and Mohali.

Towards the end of February this year, the Kolkata-based Maulana Abul
Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, fully funded by the Centre,
organised a two-day seminar on Indo-Myanmar Partnership with the
Yangon-based Burmese Institute of International Relations and Strategic
Studies. The local speakers were far outnumbered by the guests who were
all government officials without any representative from the Myanmarese
academia and media. Barring a retired general, the Indian participants
were mainly officials of the institute. The topic of discussion was
decided and the speakers selected by an old and trusted contact of the
local consulate. He is a teacher in Calcutta University and a fellow of
the institute. On the advice of the consulate, the person imposed a veil
of secrecy around the seminar to the point of insulting anyone who showed
even the slightest interest in the matter. The media was totally barred.
Questioned about the rationale behind the hush-hush manner of conducting
the seminar, a senior official of the institute pleaded helplessness,
saying that this was done at the instance of the Ministry of External
Affairs.

Draft Constitution

After dragging its feet for fourteen years, the junta, euphemistically
called State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), has finally produced a
draft constitution scheduled to be put to a referendum on 10 May. It bars
Aung San Su Kyi from contesting the parliamentary election on the specious
ground that her late husband was a foreigner. It provides 25 per cent
representation in parliament to the defence forces and imposition of
military rule in the event of declaration of national emergency. In other
words, the draft constitution is a recipe for the perpetuation of military
rule.

Even if it is endorsed in the referendum, it will be sometime before
Myanmar is put on the road to democracy. The roadmap will not be effective
before the parliamentary election, scheduled to be held in 2010.
Meanwhile, the SPDC is using its stooge organisations, including the
notorious Union Solidarity and Development Association, to campaign for
adoption of the constitution in the referendum. Unidentified vigilantes in
Yangon and other parts of the country have been assaulting Suu Kyi’s
National League for Democracy workers and others opposing the draft.

Clearly, in the name of restoring democracy, the generals are determined
to enact an enormous constitutional fraud on the people. It is a shame
that democratic India has not yet raised its voice against this massive
deception in our neighbourhood.


(The writer is former Additional Secretary, Research and Analysis Wing)


______________________________
PRESS RELEASE

April 19, A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
BURMA: Persistent threats to basic health rights of detainees

According to news reports of the last couple of days, leading human rights
defender and political activist Min Ko Naing is among those persons
detained in Burma since the nationwide uprising of last September whose
health has worsened. The Voice of America Burmese service reported on
April 15 that he has asked for a specialist to look at an apparent eye
infection, but his request has so far been denied as an eye doctor only
comes to the central jail were he is housed once per month. His elder
sister says that this is one among a variety of conditions that he is
facing at the moment, despite his long years of prior experience with
jail.

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is alarmed to hear of this latest
case of a detainee whose eyes are going untreated. The news comes some two
months after it issued a special humanitarian appeal for emergency eye
treatment for 70-year-old U Than Lwin, who has been detained in Mandalay
also since last September. Although he subsequently did obtain an
operation, it was too late to save his sight in one eye; Than Lwin has
retained only partial eyesight on his right.

These two detainees are among many others whom are reported to be in bad
health and not obtaining the medical attention that they need. The AHRC
has received lists of prisoners with various ailments, including forcibly
disrobed monks and nuns, whose lives and limbs are at risk as a result of
the appalling conditions in Burma's jails and their concomitant neglect.
Indeed, many among those taken and held illegally since last year over the
protests against military rule are in even worse physical and
psychological circumstances than other detainees, as they may be isolated
from fellow prisoners as well as the outside world.

The Asian Human Rights Commission takes this opportunity to reiterate its
concerns for the health and physical integrity of all Burma's detainees,
not least of those who are being arbitrarily held and dragged through
shoddy closed-door trials since last year, and to call for all of them to
obtain proper medical treatment at all times. It especially stresses its
concern about the continued denial of access to places of detention of the
International Committee of the Red Cross under the terms of its mandate,
and calls for it to be granted that access without further undue delay.
And the AHRC reiterates its calls for the release of all persons who since
last September have been detained without regard to correct procedure of
arrest, charge or trial under domestic law, to say nothing of
international standards, without which the forthcoming constitutional
referendum of May 10 will be rightly seen by the world as nothing but
farce and nonsense.

# # #

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional
non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues
in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.