BurmaNet News, June 3, 2008

[Editor]

June 3, 2008 Issue #3483


INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar charter 'washes away' Suu Kyi victory: state media
Mizzima News: Junta claims 'Emergency relief' phase over, aid agencies refute
Irrawaddy : Junta ignores complaints of corruption
Irrawaddy: Burmese volunteers struggle to bring aid to cyclone survivors
DVB: Rights activists commemorate cyclone victims
AP: Back to school in Myanmar

ON THE BORDER
Mizzima News: Ethnic organisations appeal for border aid

BUSINESS / TRADE
BBC News: More firms 'have ties with Burma'
Xinhua: Myanmar's biggest industrial zone almost resumes operation after
cyclone

ASEAN
AP: Asean can impose sanctions on its members, Malaysia says
Mizzima News: ADB, World Bank joins ASEAN assessment team to provide relief

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: Thai donation center closed
Irrawaddy: Indonesia to propose democracy transition plan?

INTERNATIONAL
VOA: UN: Nearly half of Burmese cyclone victims don't receive aid

OPINION / OTHER
Slate: Who's in the Junta?  The mysterious generals who run Burma
Irrawaddy: ‘No warships please, we’re Burmese’




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

June 3, Agence France Press
Myanmar charter 'washes away' Suu Kyi victory: state media

A referendum approving a new military-backed constitution for Myanmar has
"washed away" the victory claimed by Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party
in 1990 elections, state media said Tuesday.

Her National League for Democracy (NLD) won by a landslide 18 years ago,
but the military never recognised the result and has kept the Nobel peace
prize winner under house arrest for most of the years since then.

The government mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar said Tuesday that the NLD's
election mandate was "outdated" after the constitution was approved last
month in a controversial referendum -- held while the impoverished nation
was still reeling from the devastating effects of Cyclone Nargis.

"What will those who claimed themselves to have the mandate of the people
according to the 1990 election results have to do? Will they have to throw
the mandate down the drain?" the English-language paper asked.

"Now, their hope was washed away along the current of the vote of the
people," it added.

The paper, which did not refer to Aung San Suu Kyi or the NLD by name,
said the party would now have to seek a new election mandate in polls
promised for 2010.

"If they want to have the mandate of the people in the new nation with the
new system, they should stand for election in accordance with the rules
and regulations" and display a sense of discipline and democracy, it
added.

The NLD has rejected the result of the referendum, which Myanmar claims
was approved by more than 92 percent of voters on a 98 percent turnout.

The party condemned the junta for holding the vote instead of focusing on
the humanitarian crisis, and accused officials of rigging the outcome.

The cyclone left 133,000 dead or missing when it pounded the country on
May 2-3, flooding entire villages and devastating the Irrawaddy Delta.

But the newspaper dismissed "the complaints of those who cling on to the
outdated mandate," and warned that they should not "build castles in the
air while ignoring the prevailing situations."

Myanmar says the constitution will clear the way for democratic elections,
but the NLD insists it will merely enshrine military rule.

The new charter bans Aung San Suu Kyi from holding elected office, while
reserving a quarter of the seats in parliament for serving soldiers.

The junta has come under fierce international pressure for its response to
the cyclone, notably for sweeping restrictions on foreign aid designed to
help 2.4 million people the United Nations says are in dire need of
shelter, food and medicine.

UN officials estimate 60 percent of them still have not received any help.

Despite the devastation, Myanmar has kept a tight grip on the nation's
politics.

Last month, the regime ordered Aung San Suu Kyi to spend another year
confined to her home, while arresting 16 of her supporters who had taken
to the streets to call for her release.

Myanmar analyst Win Min, based at Thailand's Chiang Mai University, said
that the junta was trying to weaken the NLD by attacking its popular
endorsement in the last national elections.

"The whole intention of the military was to delegitimise the 1990
elections by holding the referendum," Win Min said. "People are very
angry. It is obvious that they rigged the vote."

With most people in Yangon also struggling to cope with the aftermath of
the storm, democracy activists would not be able to organise protests
against the referendum's outcome, Win Min said.

"Most of their attention is on the cyclone and the survivors. So they are
not going to organise anything, even if they do not like" the result, he
said.

____________________________________

June 3, Mizzima News
Junta claims 'Emergency relief' phase over, aid agencies refute – Mungpi

Burma's ruling junta has announced that the 'emergency relief period is
over' and it is now focusing  on reconstruction work, even as the
international community and domestic aid workers are escalating their
efforts to supply aid to cyclone victims.

Burmese junta's second man Vice Senior General Maung Aye during a meeting
with officials in Pathein, capital of Irrawaddy division on Monday said
following the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis, the government was
able to successfully carry out relief work.

"Myanmar was able to successfully carry out the relief and rehabilitation
operation in a short time although it was hit hard by the severe cyclone,"
Maung Aye said.

But this statement largely contradicted the ongoing state of affairs as
reported by several aid workers including domestic and international aid
agencies.

Humanitarian Assistant Committee of the National League for Democracy,
Burma's main opposition party, said while aid has been reaching several
towns, which are easier to access,  several villages in the remote areas
have not seen any form of aid.

"Our humanitarian committee assess that at the most only about 40 percent
of the victims might have received initial aid, but the rest has not seen
any form of aid," Nyan Win, the NLD's spokesperson said.

Nyan Win said it is important that the government opens up to aid supplies
and to workers so that more aid reaches to remote areas as several people
are going hungry day by day.

"No, no 'emergency relief' continues," said Paul Risley, spokesperson of
the World Food Programme in Bangkok, adding that the terms used may vary
from 'relief or recovery' but the facts remain the same.

While it is possible to reach to refugees in towns such as Laputta and
Bogale in Irrawaddy delta, it still remains a difficult challenge to reach
remote areas, Risley said.

"Aid supply continues to be problem.  Getting access to the areas in the
delta requires permission from the government. So it is very difficult,"
he added.

WFP said it is negotiating with the Burmese government to allow them to
deploy helicopters, with one ready in Rangoon and nine more in Bangkok,
for supplying aid to remote areas.

____________________________________

June 3, Irrawaddy
Junta ignores complaints of corruption – Min Khet Maung

Victims of Cyclone Nargis are growing impatient not only with the slow
pace of aid into the devastated Irrawaddy delta, but also with the
authorities’ failure to curb corruption in the handling of relief
supplies.

“I wonder why the Prime Minister is so reluctant to respond to my letter,”
said a woman in her fifties, sitting in her home—a flimsy bamboo
construction that has not had a proper roof since the cyclone.

The woman, who identified herself as Daw Khin, was referring to a letter
she and three other women had sent to Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein three
weeks ago, describing how the chief of their village in Hlaing Tharyar
Township, on the outskirts of Rangoon, had misappropriated aid intended
for needy storm victims.

After weeks of waiting for the authorities to take some action, she and
her neighbors said that the village headman was still selling sacks of
rice to local traders instead of distributing it to cyclone victims, and
still keeping plastic sheeting for himself.

The letter is just one of dozens that have been submitted to government
officials by residents of cyclone-affected areas in Rangoon and Irrawaddy
Divisions. Most contain complaints of local officials pilfering scant
relief resources, and none have received any response or resulted in any
action by the government.

In Pyapon, one of the worst-hit areas, trishaw drivers submitted a letter
to township authorities in the second week of May, describing how the
chairmen of township quarters were selling sacks of rice to local traders.

“We saw them selling the rice with our own eyes. They usually sell the
goods at night,” said the trishaw driver who wrote the letter and urged
others to sign it.

Despite the boldness of their action, the trishaw drivers remained wary of
discussing it openly. As they spoke about their letter, they looked around
to make sure there were no members of the junta-backed Union Solidarity
and Development Association within earshot.

A group of people in Kungyangone, about 50 km from Rangoon, also said they
have seen no actions taken against local administrators since they sent a
letter to the prime minister accusing quarter authorities of selling
packages of food and other supplies from Thailand.

In a remote village in Bogalay Township, an elderly man who wrote a letter
of complaint said that the village chairman had taken relief supplies for
himself and replaced them with lower quality products.

“The chairman and his relatives are eating noodles from Thailand, but
we’re getting Burmese-made noodles,” said the man, whose letter was signed
by others in his village.

Last month, the military government announced that it would welcome any
letter of complaint and take prompt action against corrupt officials.
However, so far, no charges have been laid against any official.

“The junta seems unwilling to handle this problem now. If they do, it
would mean acknowledging that there is widespread corruption,” said one
observer. “It would make them lose credibility with the international
community.”

When asked what they expected to achieve with the letters, most said they
were not sure yet how the authorities would respond. But they said they
knew they would be in trouble if local authorities found out about the
charges they’ve made against them.

“But at least we can show that we are brave enough to reveal what’s really
happening down here to the prime minister,” said Daw Khin.

____________________________________

June 3, Irrawaddy
Burmese volunteers struggle to bring aid to cyclone survivors – Violet Cho

Burmese medical relief workers in the cyclone-devastated Irrawaddy delta
region report that restrictions applied by local government authorities
and soaring prices for supplies are preventing them from helping all those
who urgently need aid.

“The medicines we brought along with us were not enough for the people who
needed treatment,” said one volunteer doctor.

A nurse who has just returned from a remote area of Bogalay Township said
stomach problems were a common complaint among survivors forced to exist
on a diet of coconut shoots.

“People suffer from diarrhea and stomach pain after eating coconut shoots,
but they have no other food,” she said.

The nurse bought medical supplies with money donated by her family and
friends, but soaring prices prevented her from helping all those who
needed treatment.

One Rangoon news journal reported that Burmese volunteers were taking
medical aid by boat deep into the delta, to such hard-hit places as
Laputta, Pyapon and Bogalay.

Foreign aid workers in the delta include medical personnel from India,
Laos, Bangladesh, Singapore, the Philippines, France, Japan, Indonesia and
Thailand.

The Chinese medics have treated 4,000 people in Dedaye, in the Irrawaddy
delta, and Kungyangon and Kawmu in Rangoon Division. Thai medics have
treated nearly 4,000 people in Myaungmya and Laputta in the delta region.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has, meanwhile,
established a task force, led by Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan, to
coordinate and channel international aid to Burma. Asean is planning to
send hundreds of additional relief personnel to cyclone-ravaged areas.

Relief networks have also been set up by several Burmese organizations in
exile, including the National Health and Education Committee, the Human
Rights Education Institute of Burma, the Burma Medical Association and Dr
Cynthia Maung’s Mae Tao Clinic.

Mahn Mahn, a leading member of the Burma Medical Association, said that
three days after the cyclone struck the region his organization had
established 34 networks to provide food, drinking water, clothes,
shelters, medicines and building materials.

But Mahn Mahn said that because the networks had been set up by Burmese in
exile he was concerned about the security of volunteers working within
Burma to distribute the aid.

Despite the difficulties, Mahn Mahn said, the networks had been able to
help more than 40,000 survivors who had received no assistance from the
state.

____________________________________

June 3, Democratic Voice of Burma
Rights activists commemorate cyclone victims – Aye Nai

A one-month memorial commemorating the victims of Cyclone Nargis was held
by the Human Rights Defenders and Promoters network in Irrawaddy's Bassein
and Bogalay townships yesterday.

HRDP member U Myint Aye told DVB the group had organised a meal for monks
in Bogalay and Bassein to make merit for those who lost their lives and
had donated 100 robes on behalf of cyclone victims to monks in each town.

"Our group members are organising the commemorations in Bogalay and
Bassein township at the same time to make merit and give religious support
to the victims killed by Cyclone Nargis," said U Myint Aye.

"We are also doing this to provide moral support to the victims' families."

Tens of thousands of people were killed and large areas of the Irrawaddy
delta and Rangoon division left devastated by the cyclone, which hit Burma
on 2 May.

Myint Aye said the HRDP also denounced the remarks made in mid-May by
general Thein Sein, prime minister of Burma and head of the cyclone relief
effort, claiming that the initial disaster relief phase had ended and it
was time for reconstruction and development projects.

"I don't understand the basis for [Thein Sein’s] remarks about the relief
work being complete,” he said.

“They should first take care of the dead bodies of the victims killed one
month ago which are still floating around in rivers and creeks."

___________________________________

June 3, Associated Press
Back to school in Myanmar

Most schools reopened Monday in and around Yangon, despite the concerns of
some teachers, parents and international aid groups about safety risks to
students from damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Nargis.

At Middle School No. 1 in this suburb, classes resumed in a building where
strips of rusted corrugated iron roofing hung precariously overhead. The
storm's winds also shattered windows, punched holes in the walls and,
according to one teacher, knocked the building off its foundation, so it
will eventually have to be rebuilt.

"I am worried about the rain. If the rains get inside the school, the
children will get sick," said San Aye, the mother of a 12-year-old.

Still, she said she supported the decision to start school because she
thought any delay would hurt the students academically -- a widespread
concern in a country where education is highly valued and the primary
school enrollment rate is about 80% for both boys and girls, according to
UNICEF.


____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

June 3, Mizzima News
Ethnic organisations appeal for border aid – Nan Kham Kaew

Shan, Karen and Karenni groups have appealed to the international
community to urgently grant much-needed funding for food provision to over
140,000 refugees living along the Burma-Thailand border.

The organisations said that the refugees, who have been living on the
border for up to 20 years, would face difficulties due to cuts in
assistance from the Thailand Burma Border Consortium, due to take effect
in August.

The annual budget for food provision in camps along the border has been
cut to US$ 6.8 million because of the decrease in the value of the US
dollar, and the hike in world food prices will exacerbate the shortfall.

The groups said the TBBC funding crisis has sparked new fears and
uncertainty among the refugees.

“Refugees are not allowed to go in and out of the camps freely to work
outside so they are reliant on food assistance to survive, such as the
rice, cooking oil, salt and chili given by TBBC,” said Aung Nge, a
spokesperson from a Karenni refugee camp.

“It will be very concerning for our refugees if the existing donors stop
or reduce their funding to TBBC.”

The TBBC has previously received financial assistance from the
Netherlands, Ireland, Poland, the USA, the UK, Canada and Spain.

According to the consortium, so far this year it has received funding from
the Netherlands, Ireland and Poland.

Aung Nge told DVB that refugees would continue to need outside support as
it is impossible for them to return home while the civil war continues and
the military regime remains in power.

“It would be best if we could go back to our homes and carry on with our
lives as we are not officially recognised as refugees by the Thai
government – we are only considered to be temporarily displaced persons,”
he said.

“Unfortunately, we can’t go home because our lives are not secure under
military rule.”


____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

June 3, BBC News
More firms 'have ties with Burma'

More companies now have business links with Burma's ruling military junta,
according to pressure group Burma Campaign UK.

Fifty new companies have been added to the group's "dirty list" of
companies, including Toyota, Kuoni, BBC Worldwide and Qantas.

The group claims the firms directly or indirectly finance the Burmese regime.

Three of the companies listed said their commercial activities did not
support the regime.

Many of the companies on the list are involved in the oil and gas sector
or with tourism.

“By being there, these companies are financing a regime that is one of the
most brutal regimes in history," said Johnny Chatterton, campaigns officer
at Burma Campaign UK.

"The foreign exchange these firms generate allowed the regime to double
the size of its army," he added.

The jump in the number of firms appearing on the list is the result of
investment in Burma's gas sector and new information, the group said.

Cars

Car maker Toyota said it had sold fewer than 40 vehicles in Burma,
predominantly to embassies or the United Nations.

"We do not sell vehicles to government agencies nor officials," a
spokesperson for the company said.

However, Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC), a Toyota subsidiary, has a small
interest in a joint venture in the country as a result of a merger with
Tomen, a trading company, in 2006.

Burma Campaign said the venture involved a state-controlled firm and its
vehicles were used by the Burmese military.

Toyota said the venture did not manufacture or sell Toyota vehicles.

"In view of the current sitution in Myanmar, we have conveyed our concerns
to TTC and asked them to reconsider their business," the spokesperson
added.

Holidays and guidebooks

Tour operator Kuoni, which featured in the list for the first time, said
that it only worked with privately-run hotels, minibus and river boat
operators in the country.

All contracts were checked by Kuoni's head of corporate responsibility, it
said.

Kuoni offers holidays to Burma to Swiss and French customers, but it said
the tours were not available in the UK because of a lack of interest.

BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, appeared on the list after
it took a majority stake in Lonely Planet last year.

Lonely Planet first published a guide book to the country in 1979.

It said that publishing a guide book to the country "does not of itself
represent support or otherwise for the current regime".

"It provides information and lets readers decide for themselves."

Other guide book publishers on the list include Insight Guides and
Fodor's, which is published by Random House.

Forced labour

Burma Campaign UK said that pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi had
asked tourists not to visit Burma because it helped fund the regime and
gave it legitimacy.

Forced and child labour was used to develop many tourist facilities, it
added.

Burma Campaign says more than 100 firms, such as Rolls Royce, British
American Tobacco and DHL, have withdrawn from the country since the group
began compiling the list six years ago.

Qantas appears on the list because of its controlling stake in Jetstar
Asia, which, according to Burma Campaign, flies to the country in
partnership with Myanmar Airways International.

____________________________________

June 3, Xinhua
Myanmar's biggest industrial zone almost resumes operation after cyclone

Myanmar's biggest industrial zone of Hlaingtharya in Yangon, which was
seriously destroyed in a recent severe cyclone storm, has almost resumed
operation with 95 percent of the 800 factories going into production, the
local weekly Pyi Myanmar reported Tuesday.

Quoting Chairman of the industrial zone U Myat Tinn Aung, the report said
the zone has resumed production after 156 collapsed lamp-posts which carry
electricity were rapidly reinstalled.

During the storm which hit Myanmar in early May, most of the roofs of the
factories in the industrial zone were blown to pieces and the factories'
operation had to be suspended.

The industrial zone sustained a property loss of 3 billion Kyats (2.7
million U.S. dollars), according to other local news reports.

The Hlaingtharyar industrial zone, established in 1996, has seven
sub-zones run with 50,000 workers. The zone is made up of factories
producing such items as textile, food, consumers goods, construction
materials and Myanmar traditional medicines.

Myanmar claimed that its post-disaster restoration work -- rescue and
relief, is entering into a second phase of resettlement and
reconstruction.

Under the post-disaster restoration plan, 30 Myanmar private companies
have been taking part in the restoration work in cyclone-hit regions with
assignments by the government to take the responsibility of undertaking
resettlement work in 17 affected townships.

The authorities also claimed that nearly 60 percent of the power supply,
over 76 percent of communication links and over 98 percent of the water
supply have resumed in the city of Yangon.


____________________________________
ASEAN

June 3, Associated Press
Asean can impose sanctions on its members, Malaysia says – Sean Yoong

Southeast Asia's main bloc can impose sanctions on members that flout its
charter even though there is no formal provision for penalties, Malaysia's
leader said Tuesday.

The comment by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi indicated the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations is losing patience with Burma, one
of the 10 members of the bloc, for refusing to restore democracy or
improve its human rights record.

Asean is hoping to ratify a charter that would include the creation of a
regional human rights body by the end of the year. The charter does not
mention using sanctions or expulsion in cases of serious breaches by
members.

It says, however, any violations would be referred to Asean heads of state
for a final decision.

Asean members will be taking "a pragmatic approach" in tackling potential
offenses, Abdullah said.

"The charter does not provide for specific sanctions for charter breaches
or noncompliance. But this does not mean that there will be none,"
Abdullah said at a forum on regional security.

National leaders will decide how to deal with violations "as and when the
need arises" at their annual summits, Abdullah said.

Asean—which is noted for deciding issues by consensus and not intervening
in members' domestic affairs—has faced intense pressure from the West in
recent years to force Burma's military government to move toward
democracy.

For the charter to take effect, it must be ratified by parliaments of
member countries. Since the charter was adopted in November, six countries
have ratified it—Malaysia, Laos, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Abdullah urged the remaining members—the Philippines, Indonesia, Burma and
Thailand—to ratify the charter, saying it should not be rejected simply
"because we are unhappy with a few provisions or omissions."

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has warned that Filipino
legislators could find it difficult to ratify the charter if Burma does
not restore democracy and free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The charter is aimed at turning Asean into a rules-based legal entity,
which means it can sue and be sued, and will be held accountable for all
the treaties and agreements it signs. It will also set up enforceable
financial, trade and environmental rules.
____________________________________

June 3, Mizzima News
ADB, World Bank joins ASEAN assessment team to provide relief – Solomon

Global financial institutes----the Asian Development Bank and the World
Bank, which had stopped providing loans to the Burmese regime for almost
two decades, have said they would provide assistance for an assessment of
the reconstruction needs of the country after Cyclone Nargis lashed 
Burma.

"We have not worked in Burma for over 20 years," Jason Rush, Media
Relation Specialist of ADB told Mizzima on Tuesday.

The assistance from the ADB and the World Bank would be part of the
ASEAN-led mechanism to help Burma recover and reconstruct from the
disaster that caused at least 130,000 deaths.

"Obviously this is an unprecedented disaster and because of its unique
nature, we are looking to see what ADB can do and this is the first step
assessment," Rush said.

On Monday, a team including representatives from the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations' Emergency Rapid Assessment Team (ERAT), United
Nations representatives and experts from the World Bank and the ADB left
for Burma's cyclone-hit regions to conduct a post-Nargis Joint Assessment.

The World Bank had stopped providing financial support and finished new
lending to the Burmese regime since 1987 for failing to enact economic and
other reforms and also for having arrears due to previous lending.

The ADB also stopped providing direct assistance to Burma since 1987. But
both the ADB and World Bank said it's assistance for the cyclone victims
would be in the form of providing support to the ASEAN humanitarian Task
Force that would be carrying out the assessment in Burma.

The ASEAN-led mechanism was formed in Singapore last month during the
meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers.

Critics, however, said the ASEAN-led mechanism was a waste of time, did
not reach the majority of the cyclone victims.

However, ASEAN Secretary-General Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, who would be visiting
Rangoon on June 4, to meet the ASEAN Task Force Office and meet the
members of the ASEAN ERAT said, "ASEAN is committed to helping our friends
in Myanmar [Burma] and will continue to do so."

"The deployment of ASEAN ERAT is just the beginning of our commitments,"
Dr. Surin said in a press release on Tuesday.


____________________________________
REGIONAL

June 3, Irrawaddy
Thai donation center closed – Sai Slip

The Thai government shut down a donation center for cyclone victims in
Burma on Monday due to ongoing anti-government protests, while Burmese
refugees in Thailand face a shortage in funding.

Thai government spokesperson Police Maj-Gen Wichianchot Sukchotrat said on
Monday that the Office of the Prime Minister had temporarily closed the
donation center—which was collecting money and supplies for victims of
Cyclone Nargis in Burma and the recent earthquake in Sichuan Province in
China—because protesters from the anti-government People’s Alliance for
Democracy (PAD) had obstructed the entrance to the center which is located
in Government House in Bangkok.

“However, the center may be re-opened after the situation returns to
normal,” Wichianchot said.

PAD demonstrators have been taking to the streets of the Thai capital for
one week calling for the prosecution of former Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra.

On Tuesday, Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said that he disagreed
with the closure because Burma still needs aid.

However, Noppadon said he would suggest to Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej
that the foreign ministry take responsible for the situation because the
duty of helping Burma recover from the disaster may take many years.

The Thai newspaper Matichon stated on Tuesday: “In addition, the United
Nations still uses Don Muang Airport as transportation base to transfer
donated relief to Burma, so the center should not be closed prematurely.”

Meanwhile, about 140,000 refugees along the Thai-Burmese border are facing
food shortages.

Twelve ethnic rights groups from Burma, based at the Thai-Burmese border,
released a joint statement on Monday urging the international community to
immediately grant the necessary funding that would enable the Thailand
Burma Border Consortium to continue providing sufficient food rations to
refugees along the border.

The present funding crisis is sparking new fears and uncertainty among the
refugees, most of whom are ethnic Karen and Karenni.

Having endured human rights abuses and displacement by the Burmese army
for years, the refugees are now facing the threat of hunger and a possible
loss of refuge.

The ethnic group’s statement noted that tens of thousands of people had
died in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis due to the blockage of aid and aid
workers, and condemned the regime's prioritization of their “sham
referendum” over the catastrophe.

The statement said that with cyclone refugees being forced out of their
temporary shelters and ordered back to their devastated villages without
support, many more will die unnecessarily.

“This is precisely the brutality that has been forcing refugees to flee to
camps in Thailand, except that there is no international media access to
Burma's conflict areas,” the group said. “It is inconceivable for them to
return home while the civil war continues and the regime continues its
oppression. They continue to need safe refuge and support to survive.”

____________________________________

June 3, Irrawaddy
Indonesia to propose democracy transition plan? – Wai Moe

Indonesia is preparing a plan to help the Burmese junta move toward
democracy based on the Indonesian experience, The Australian newspaper
reported on Monday.

The detailed plan, put together by a team of experts, involves Indonesia’s
experience of forming a dual-function government in which military
officers and civilians were each given roles in the transition from
dictatorship to democracy. Indonesia is recognized today as having one of
the strongest democracies in Asia.

Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese political commentator in Thailand, told The
Irrawaddy on Tuesday that Indonesia and Burma have had strong ties and
have experienced similar political issues. Indonesia was under military
rule for more than three decades, and its experience could become a model
for Burma, he said.

“It would be good if Indonesia could become actively involved with Burma.
But we should not expect much,” he said. “Even if Indonesia is involved,
the process will go slowly and gradually.”

A group of think tank analysts and former senior officials formulated the
plan, which is now under consideration in the office of Indonesian
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Indonesia implemented a policy of Dwifungsi under Suharto's
military-dominated "New Order" government following the removal of
President Sukarno. The Indonesian military received a political and
security role for several decades under the doctrine.

The Economist magazine said a May 22 editorial that if the proposal is a
sign that Indonesia may be considering a regional role commensurate with
its stature, it is to be welcomed.

“It has always, quietly, dominated Asean,” The Economist said. “Indonesia
should use the influence it has in Asean both to promote these virtues,
and to turn it into a club that enforces some minimum standards of decency
on its members.”

After the downfall of dictator Suharto, democracy has put down
surprisingly deep roots in Indonesia, and it has become a model that
successfully illustrates a transition from the military to civilian rule
as well as openness and pluralism, The Economist said.

“Indonesia could play a particularly important role, perhaps by hosting a
regional meeting along the lines of the Jakarta Informal Meetings which
kick-started the Cambodia peace process in 1988 to 1989,” said Gareth
Evans, the International Crisis Group chairman in late January.

San Aung, an exiled Burmese elected member of the government in the 1990
election, said involvement by other countries in Burma’s democracy
transition is welcomed.

“Indonesia’s experience and potential to help in a democratic transition
could be quite effective,” he said.

The Indonesian former foreign minister, Ali Alatas, who is well-known to
the Burmese junta, would be named a special envoy on Burma if the proposal
is approved by the Indonesian president, sources say.

Indonesia and Burma also had similar experiences with huge natural
disasters—the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 100,000 in
Indonesia’s Ache Province and the recent Cyclone Nargis which has claimed
as many as 134,000 lives.

Indonesia opened its door to international relief missions but the
paranoid Burmese junta rejected and delayed foreign aid and relief
experts.


____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

June 3, Voice of America
UN: Nearly half of Burmese cyclone victims don't receive aid – Lisa Schlein

The United Nations reports only about half of the 2.4 million survivors of
Burma's devastating Cyclone Nargis have received assistance. But, it says
that aid is generally spotty and not enough. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA
from Geneva.

A young boy and his family sit waiting for aid inside their destroyed home
in the Burmese village of Angu, 02 Jun 2008
Just over a month ago, Burma's deadliest storm in 40 years struck the
country, killing tens of thousands of people and rendering millions
homeless. The United Nations says aid agencies have managed to reach 1.3
million victims in the worst hit parts of the Irrawaddy Delta.

Spokeswoman for the UN Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Assistance, Elizabeth Byrs, describes this as progress.

"However, with regards to the beneficiaries it is important to note that
most of these persons have been reached with inconsistent levels of
assistance," said Byrs. "For example, assistance provided is not sustained
and in some cases is well below requirements. That is why there remains a
serious lack of sufficient and sustained humanitarian assistance."

Nevertheless, compared to the weeks following the cyclone disaster, the
humanitarian situation has improved. The Burmese military rulers, which
had rejected most offers of foreign aid, finally relented under intense
international pressure.

Relief supplies now are regularly being flown into Rangoon. And, Byrs says
it now is much easier for U.N. international staff to go out into the
field to help the victims. She says U.N. foreign workers are granted
access to these areas within 48 hours after notifying the authorities.

But, she says the Burmese authorities do not accord the same privilege to
foreign specialists working for international and non-governmental
agencies such as the International Red Cross Federation and Save the
Children. And, this she says, is hampering the effectiveness of the
humanitarian operation.

"We would urge the government to extend this expedited clearance to all
international NGO's [non-governmental organizations] who are working in
Myanmar. Their staff is urgently required on the ground."

People affected by cyclone Nargis wait to board boats prior to travel back
to their devastated villages in Labutta, in the southwest Irrawaddy Delta,
Burma, 03 Jun 2008
Byrs says international experts have begun an important assessment mission
to the stricken area to get a clear picture of all the needs. She says a
full report will be ready toward the end of the month.

In the meantime, foreign aid groups are calling on the Burmese authorities
to stop closing cyclone relief camps. Human rights groups have condemned
the authorities for evicting displaced people from government shelters and
pushing them to go to the homes that have been swept away.


____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

June 3, Slate
Who's in the Junta?  The mysterious generals who run Burma – Jacob Leibenluft

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates accused the military leaders of Burma
of "criminal neglect" on Sunday for their reluctance to accept
international aid after Cyclone Nargis. Reports on the comments by the New
York Times, Wall Street Journal, Guardian, and Reuters all mentioned the
"junta" without actually naming its members. Who is in the Burmese
military junta, anyway?

To the best of our knowledge, 11 generals. The inner workings of the
junta, or ruling military council, are largely unknown, even among
experts. But we do know that in a country with well over 100 different
ethnic groups, the junta—officially known as the State Peace and
Development Council—is made up entirely of Burman Buddhists serving as
generals in the Tatmadaw, or armed forces. A roster of generals recently
compiled by exile magazine Irrawaddy lists 11 senior members, although as
recently as last year, the council numbered 12, and it had 19 members when
it changed its name from the State Law and Order Restoration Council in
1997.

Not all junta members are equal, however: The three top figures in the
SPDC are its chairman Than Shwe; his deputy, Maung Aye; and joint chief of
staff Thura Shwe Mann. Than Shwe has been the top figure in the junta
since 1992, when he replaced Saw Maung—the leader of a military coup four
years earlier, who had begun describing himself as the reincarnation of an
11th-century king. But as the chairman reaches his mid-70s and has fallen
into ill-health, his behavior has also been depicted as increasingly
bizarre. In 2006, he abruptly moved the country's capital from Burma's
largest city, Rangoon, to the remote town of Naypyidaw—reportedly on the
advice of his astrologer.

Little is known about internal SPDC politics, but veteran Burma-watchers
say that one of the more important dividing lines within the junta
separates generals who were educated in the nation's top military schools
and those who rose through the ranks. Than Shwe falls into the latter
category—he began his career as a postal worker before embarking on a
military career that eventually took him to the top of the army's
psychological warfare unit. Vice-chair Maung Aye, on the other hand, was
in the first class of the elite Defense Services Academy. Tensions between
the two leaders reportedly came to a head last fall, when the so-called
"Saffron Revolution" led by thousands of Buddhist monks called the junta's
legitimacy into question. As in earlier crackdowns of Aung San Suu Kyi's
pro-democracy supporters, Than Shwe is thought to have favored of a more
hard-line approach than his deputy, who allegedly opposed the decision to
shoot at the monks. The rift was so deep that some dispatches out of Burma
suggested a coup against Than Shwe was imminent.

Part of the reason so much mystery surrounds the junta is that its members
largely stay out of the public eye. Burma's interactions with the outside
world—like its controversial membership in the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations—are mostly carried out by lower-ranking Cabinet ministers
who serve at the pleasure of the junta. (Than Shwe's meeting with U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon a couple of weeks ago was an exception.)
Even within the country, SPDC members often keep a low profile, and their
isolation has been blamed for the slow response to Cyclone Nargis. In
fact, among the best glimpses of the junta is a leaked YouTube video of
the wedding of Than Shwe's daughter to an army major—an event at which the
couple reportedly received more than $50 million in gifts.

____________________________________

June 3, Irrawaddy
‘No warships please, we’re Burmese’ – Aung Zaw

US Pentagon chief Robert Gates was wrong to accuse Burma’s military rulers
of being deaf and dumb of not allowing US warships with aid to Burma’s
delta region.

Burma’s feudal warlords are not—although these politically traumatized
generals are paranoid, self–important and live under the illusion that
once they relinquish power, the country will disintegrate.

Indeed, as some observers suggest, the regime’s refusal to allow US
warships to assist the cyclone relief effort has little to do with Burma’s
colonial past and apparent xenophobia.

What the generals truly fear is that if they allow US warships and foreign
forces to come to the aid of cyclone survivors in the Irrawaddy delta,
people will soon rise up and the regime would be overthrown. That fear
prevented the Than Shwe regime from allowing the US to come in and help.

The generals may, in fact, believe the humanitarian nature of a US
intervention, while distrusting their own people—believing that were
foreign forces to land Burma, it would spell the end of the regime.

Imagine a scenario where US marines and other servicemen land in the
Irrawaddy delta, to be greeted by desperate Burmese urging them to
overthrow the hated regime in Naypyidaw. The relief mission could quickly
turn into one of regime-change and support for an anti-Than Shwe uprising.

But the regime has nothing to fear—the US warships, led by the USS Essex,
will be leaving in a matter of days, according to US Defense Secretary
Robert Gates, who traveled to Southeast Asia recently. Last week, French
warship Mistral with 1,000 ton of aid had left near Burmese water
expressing “shock” as the Burma had not permitted the Mistral to unload
its aid cargo directly for distribution in the Irrawaddy Delta — the
worst-hit area.

The US naval presence includes three amphibious ships, led by the Essex,
carrying 22 heavy-lift helicopters and a small fleet of landing craft. The
American helicopters were banned from Burmese air space, although the
regime allowed several C-130 relief flights to Rangoon airport from
Thailand’s Utapao airport—illustrating the regime’s selective policy in
accepting US aid.

The regime leaders also insisted that only civilian aid workers will be
allowed in the affected area. Even this promise has not yet been fully
honored.

Calling the regime's behavior “criminal neglect,” Gates said the US had
made more than 15 overtures to the regime to allow the use of the Essex's
helicopters to deliver aid, but all had been rejected. Thousands of
villagers would die because of the regime’s obduracy, Gates said.

It is safer for an impassive Than Shwe to allow hundreds of thousands of
villagers in the Irrawaddy delta region to die rather than permitting a US
relief mission to save them—a deadly decision indeed.

Than Shwe knows full well that millions of Burmese wait in hope for the
arrival of US warships, and not only for the relief supplies they would
bring.

At the time of the 1988 democracy uprising, Burma’s military leaders
lodged a complaint with the US embassy after sighting a US naval fleet of
five warships, including the aircraft carrier Coral Sea, within Burmese
territorial waters on the morning of 12 September, six days before the
army staged a bloody coup.

The sighting caused “major concern” among Burmese leaders including Ne
Win, who in the 1970s had secured US military assistance, including
helicopters, in fighting communists and drug warlords.

In those years, Burma sent its officers to the US General Staff College
for training and study. Burma’s official policy was, and remains:
Americans are welcome, except in times of political crisis.

Applying this policy, the military leaders even refused permission for a
US C-130 plane to land in Rangoon in 1988 in order to evacuate US embassy
staff during the anti-government uprising.

There were rumors that US warships were on their way to help democratic
forces in the uprising in 1988, prompting thousands of young Burmese to
leave the jungle and take up arms shortly after the September 18 coup. But
the rumors were just wishful thinking—the US warships never materialized.

Twenty years later, the Burmese are still waiting for those warships,
which this time carry humanitarian aid. And, by a bitter irony, the ships
remain as illusory as ever.

When the US invaded Iraq in 2003, a joke shared among Burmese was ‘After
diamonds, it will be the turn of gold’– referring to the Burmese words for
diamonds (Sein) and gold (Shwe), meaning Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and
Burma’s junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe.

Now, a new rumor is spreading throughout Burma.

While looking skywards in vain for relief supply airlifts, people are
saying that astrologers told Than Shwe that as soon as white men with
uniform landed in Burma, the regime would immediately collapse. For that
reason, Than Shwe, supported by his equally superstitious wife, refused
assistance from the US fleet.

US soldiers landing from amphibious ships and helicopters with relief
supplies could be mistaken for “liberation forces” and would no doubt
ignite a popular uprising beyond the Irrawaddy delta. Foreign forces would
meet appeals for help from survivors and the refugees who are now being
forcibly ejected from temporary shelters. Armed clashes could occur
between Burmese government and foreign forces, and the Irrawaddy delta
could become a battlefield.

But the battle wouldn’t be confined to the delta region. There would be a
national uprising against the oppressive regime in Naypyidaw.

US soldiers would be asked to attack Than Shwe’s stronghold and remove the
regime. Observers and dissidents say it would take no more than 30 minutes
to topple Than Shwe and his coterie of no more than two dozen.

There’s popular agreement that members of Burma’s armed forces would join
the endeavor.

But that’s all wishful thinking now. Than Shwe has again escaped justice,
saving his own life by sacrificing the lives of his countrymen and women
by refusing humanitarian aid from the warships.

Perhaps the US knew from the start that its ships would not be allowed
into Burmese waters, conscious that its forces might end up dislodging the
world’s most hated regime instead of delivering relief of another kind.
And that mission could prove to be open-ended, resolving a political mess
no less complicated than the task of clearing up after Cyclone Nargis.