BurmaNet News, August 15, 2008

[Editor]

August 15, 2008 Issue #3535

INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima News: Emergency phase not yet over for cyclone survivors in Burma:
WFP
Mizzima News: Solo protestor arrested in Arakan state
SEPA: Don't quit, Burmese junta tells underperforming chief
Irrawaddy: Junta braces for anniversary of monk-led uprising
Irrawaddy: Heavy rains, Chinese dams lead to flooding
DVB: Former child soldier re-arrested for desertion

BUSINESS / TRADE
Merinews: Beijing Olympics: China using Myanmar 'Blood Jade'?
DVB: Steep rise in food prices continues

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: Burmese exiled politicians invited to Indonesian Parliament

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: UN claims only $1.5 Million lost in Cyclone relief effort
Inside Toronto: Feds match Chinese, Burma aid donations

OPINION / OTHER
Wall Street Journal Asia: Benchmarking Burma - Benedict Rogers

PRESS RELEASE
Burma Campaign UK: 15 year-old schoolgirl gang-raped and mutilated by
Burmese Soldiers

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

August 15, Mizzima News
Emergency phase not yet over for cyclone survivors in Burma: WFP - Solomon

After more than three months, victims of Cyclone Nargis continue to face a
huge requirement of emergency food supply and equipment to rebuild their
lives, the United Nations' World Food Programme said on Friday.

Three months after the cyclone struck Burma leaving more than 2.4 million
people homeless and hungry, WFP said "The emergency phase is not yet
over," as victims continue to struggle to get basic food.

"While aid is reaching people and, to some degree, stability is returning
to peoples lives, the critical period is still far from over, Emergency
phase is not yet over," Chris Kaye, WFP Country Director and
Representative in Burma, told Mizzima.

Kaye said basic subsistence including – food and shelter – remains the
utmost need for survivors of Cyclone Nargis that lashed Burma in early
May.

"Food assistance continues to provide a vital lifeline for hundreds of
thousands of people affected by the cyclone," Kaye said, adding that it
will continue until harvest and people have the tools needed to restore
their livelihoods.

Kaye said, though WFP have continued to provide emergency food assistance
to over 730,000 people, the group is faced with logistical challenges of
getting the needed quantities of food to the people who most need it
because of the difficulties of moving around the delta during the monsoon.

"The Burmese government has agreed to continue the use of the helicopter
operation albeit with a reduced fleet," Kaye said.

Kaye added that the WFP will continue using two helicopters to support the
emergency response through to the end of the monsoons, which is
approximately until the end of October.

The WFP said they planned to continue supplying food to cyclone survivors
until April 2009, for which it has estimated the total cost will be US$
115 million.

"We still need US$ 41million to secure our planned assistance up to the
end April 2009," Kaye added.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Government on Thursday announced that it will
provide an additional fund of US$ 11.6 million for cyclone victims in
Burma.

"The Government of Canada is proud to match, dollar for dollar, the
donations of the Canadians so that the men, women and children affected by
the terrible tragedy can receive life-saving food, water, shelter and
medical attention that they need," Honorable Beverley J.Oda, Minister of
International Cooperation Canada said in a press statement.

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) said it will ensure
its contribution to the 10 projects that are helping cyclone survivors
reach the people and not the government.

Canada's announcement was immediately welcomed by the Canadian Friends of
Burma, whose executive director Tin Maung Htoo said, "We are very pleased
with Canada's quick response to the cyclone victims in Burma."

Chris Kaye said, currently the most important needs of the cyclone
survivors are food and materials to help rebuild livelihoods, including
boats, fishing nets, and agricultural tools.

____________________________________

August 15, Mizzima News
Solo protestor arrested in Arakan state

A solo protestor in the town of Taungup in western Burma's Arakan state
was arrested by local police on Friday morning while marching the streets
with a placard calling for the release of detained pro-democracy leader
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, an eyewitness said.

Myint Thein Chea, aged more than 30, on Friday morning marched through the
streets of Taungup with a placard reading "Release Our Mother Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi" and "Release all political prisoners."

But his solo protest was short-lived, as he was arrested by four policemen
who came after him on motorbikes. He was then taken to the Taungup
Township police station, a local eyewitness on condition of anonymity told
Mizzima.

"Brandishing his placard, he started marching from Taungup's stone pillar
this morning. But he must have only marched for about 15 minutes when four
policemen came on motorbikes and forcibly took him away," the eyewitness
recounted.

Balagyi, a member of the Taungup Township National League for Democracy
who was closely following the activities of the protestor, told Mizzima
that Myint Thein Chea had on Thursday evening began a solo protest in his
locality, Kan Paing ward, for a brief period of time.

"He was not arrested yesterday because the authorities did not realize his
protest. But this morning when he began marching in the street police
arrested him," Balagyi explained.

While the reasons for Myint Thein Chea's solo protest remain unclear, the
father of three children has since been transferred to the Township Peace
and Development Council office after police briefly interrogated him,
Balagyi added.

"His wife and children are very much worried as they still cannot get
information about him," Balagyi said.

On August 8, authorities arrested 48 people in Taungup for holding a
similar protest in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the popular
'8.8.88' uprising.

While 43 were later released in the evening following brief interrogations
by the police, five key organizers of the protest continue to be held in
custody.

____________________________________

August 15, Southeast Asian Press Alliance Alert
Don't quit, Burmese junta tells underperforming chief - written by Mizzima
News

The Burmese junta's Minister of Information refused to accept the
resignation of the regime's chief censor, said a government official who
requested anonymity.

Major Tint Swe, the director of the Office of Press Scrutiny, which
censors the contents of all print media in Burma, submitted to the
ministry his resignation letter on 31 July 2008.

However, Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan, the Information Minister, refused to
accept Tint Swe's resignation.

Sources said one of the major reasons for the chief censor's resignation
is the alleged refusal of most leading weeklies to follow the media
guidelines issued by the Office of Press Scrutiny following the
devastation wrought by Cyclone Nargis in May this year.

The official, who requested not to be named, said more than half a dozen
journals, including the prominent weeklies, "7 Day News," "News Watch,"
and "First Music" among others, were recently ordered to sign so-called
"assertion letters" in which they pledge to comply with the Office of
Press Scrutiny's instructions.

"A journal's staff is supposed to sign a petition letter if and when the
publisher fails to observe the do's and don'ts prescribed by the censor
board. However, several journals have been defying the board's
instructions," said the official.

"When you write a report about government departments, it needs to be
correct. If you exaggerate or have misconceptions while writing, there
will be a problem," Major Tint Swe once told local journalists. "We only
allow news that will not have a negative effect on the state or national
welfare."

Most of the publishers of journals noted that the censor board's
performance has been lackluster, as the growth of the local publishing
industry is now beyond its current capacity.  There are about 170
publications in Burma, of which 120 are weeklies.

Interestingly, some local journalists claimed that Major Tint Swe, 44, is
allegedly sympathetic to the local print media, despite the constraints
his government agency regularly imposes on them.

A Rangoon-based editor said members of the local media are worried that a
more suppressive censor would replace Major Tint Swe. He said this could
be a big blow to the local journals.

He was a former editor in a government publication, "Sit Pyinnyar Journal"
("Military Affairs Journal") and was appointed to his present position in
late 2004, when his predecessor Major Aye Tun, was forced to retire when
the National Intelligence Bureau headed by former General Khin Nyunt
became defunct.

____________________________________

August 15, Irrawaddy
Junta braces for anniversary of monk-led uprising - Violet Cho

The mayor of Rangoon has confirmed that security will be heightened in the
former capital in the coming weeks, as Burma approaches another sensitive
anniversary, this time marking last year’s monk-led uprising against
military rule.

Speaking to local journalists on August 13, Rangoon mayor Brig-Gen Aung
Thein Linn said that the number of security forces in Burma’s largest city
would be increased in response to reports of a terrorist threat.

The military presence in Rangoon has been noticeably greater since late
July, according to local residents, who said that soldiers and riot police
in full uniform had been deployed around the city center in advance of the
20th anniversary of the “Four Eights” uprising of August 8, 1988.

“The soldiers and police that have been deployed since the end of July are
still in sight,” said one Rangoon resident. “It looks like the tightened
security will continue because the anniversary of the monks’ uprising is
coming.”

In addition to barricades and security forces wielding batons or assault
rifles, residents have reported seeing plainclothes agents near university
campuses, monasteries, pagodas and other public areas that have
traditionally served as focal points for protests.

“The security around Shwedagon, Kabar Aye and Kyaik Ka San is very tight
right now, with soldiers and riot police everywhere,” said another local
resident, naming three pagodas that were at the center of last year’s
demonstrations, the largest since 1988.

Meanwhile, four Buddhist monasteries in Pakokku, where harsh handling of
protesting monks last August fueled much larger demonstrations the
following month in Rangoon, are also being closely watched by local
military authorities.

According to an abbot at one of these monasteries, monks have continued to
refuse alms from military leaders and their families since the army
crushed last year’s uprising. More than 3,000 protesters were arrested and
at least 31 people killed in the crackdown, according to UN estimates.

In Rangoon, pictures of four alleged terrorists, along with an offer of a
2.5 million kyat reward for information leading to their arrest, have been
posted to alert residents of the threat to their security.

However, most observers believed that the scare tactics were little more
than a pretext for increasing the military presence in Rangoon ahead of
the sensitive anniversary.

“Terrorists are coming, so everyone must be on high alert,” said a
skeptical Rangoon-based lawyer, noting that Burma’s military rulers have
used such tactics many times in the past since seizing power in 1962.

Kyi Wai and Aung Thet Wine contributed to this story from Rangoon.

____________________________________

August 15, Irrawaddy
Heavy rains, Chinese dams lead to flooding - Violet Cho and Sai Silp

Heavier than normal monsoon rain has led to severe flooding throughout
Burma, especially in Karen and Mon states and along the Mekong River.

The flooding from torrential rains began the first week of August causing
extensive damage to homes and displacing hundreds of people in Pa-an
located on the Salween River in eastern Burma.

According to a Pa-an resident, the flooding was the worst in his lifetime.
Heavy rain continued for several days, extensively disrupting
transportation.

“Newly planted rice fields are covered with water and more than 100 people
who lived on the bank of the Salween have taken refuge in schools
building,” he said.

Communities in Moulmein and Mudon also faced torrential rains and flooding.

Trees were blown down by high winds and some homes and schools lost their
roofs in the storms. Local rubber plantations and gardens were also
damaged.

State media reported on Friday that a high tide of from 20.1 to 20.90 feet
is expected on the Rangoon River from August 17 to 22.

Meanwhile, villagers who live near the Mekong River in Shan Sate and in
several provinces in Laos and Thailand also faced severe flooding as the
water level in the river rises.

A staff member of the Mekong Post, a Chiang Rai-based community media
group that monitors the Mekong River area, told The Irrawaddy that
flooding is affecting farmland regions in Laos and Burma.

On Thursday, Tuenjai Deetes, a Thai human rights activist and former
senator, visited affected areas in Chiang Rai Province, where more than 30
villages were flooded.

Tuenjai said the flooding is a long-term concern for people living along
the Mekong River which run through China, Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia
and Vietnam.  one of the main problems, she said, is a series of river
dams built by China in the past decade, according to a report on the
Mekong Post Web site.

Recently in the Golden Triangle area of northern Thailand where the
borders of Thailand, Burma and Laos converge, the Mekong River reached its
highest level in 30 years, flooding homes and farmland.

Local residents said the Mekong flooding is increased when the dams in
China open their water gates to lower the water level in the reservoirs,
effecting countries downstream.

Northeastern Thailand also experienced severe flooding along the Mekong
River in Nakorn Phanom Province, which borders Laos.

____________________________________

August 15, Democratic Voice of Burma
Former child soldier re-arrested for desertion

A former child soldier who escaped from a hard labour camp after being
jailed for desertion has been re-arrested while trying to compile a case
to submit to the International Labour Organisation, his uncle said.

Maung Htut San Oo’s uncle Ye Tun Zaw claimed his nephew was recruited into
Burma’s armed forces at the age of 11 and tried to escape on several
occasions.

“Maung Htut San Oo was born on 10 October 1987 and lived with his mother
Daw Ni Ni Lwin in Hlaing township's ward 1, his father having passed away
when he was very young,” Ye Tun Zaw said.

"In early May 1999, when he was 11, he went swimming at Insein swimming
pool and was abducted by a soldier on his way back home – he was later
taken to a soldier recruitment center where he was enlisted as a soldier,"
he went on.

"The soldier first took him to Insein railway station's police station and
asked him to choose whether he wanted to go into jail or to go with him,"
he said.

"Htut San Oo was scared and he decided to go with the soldier who took him
to Mingalardon soldier recruitment centre."

Ye Tun Zaw said that at first, Htut San Oo was given menial tasks to do,
but shortly after his recruitment he was sent on a military training
course.

"For a first few days they only let him work as a servant in military
officials' houses – on 24 May, they sent him on a four-month soldier
training programme in Pyinmana," Ye Tun Zaw said.

"After the training, he was posted to air defence artillery battalion 13."

Htut San Oo made two attempts to escape from the military, the second of
which was successful, but when he turned 16, he reenlisted at South
Dagon's soldier recruitment centre after learning that the government
hunted down military deserters.

Ye Tun Zaw said officials at the South Dagon recruitment centre changed
his date of birth on his registration papers to say that he was 21, the
minimum legal age for enlistment being 18.

After reenlisting, Htut San Oo was sent to Hle Gu officer training camp
outside Rangoon, and was then signed up for an advanced training program
which lasted for two and a half months.

“He came home for a visit when he was given leave but he never went back
to the army,” Ye Tun Zaw said.

“About two years later, when he was 18, he was arrested for deserting the
army and was sentenced to two years in prison,” he said.

“He was assigned to hard labour on a private rubber plantation. The
prisoners were given no holiday or benefits and were beaten when they
couldn’t work.”

Ye Tun Zaw said Htut San Oo managed to escape from the work camp when
Cyclone Nargis hit Burma in early May, and began to assemble documents to
report his case to the ILO.

He was arrested at his local ward Peace and Development Council office
where he went to get a copy of his householder list.

He is now being detained in Insein prison's ward 4, cell 8, where he is
being kept in shackles.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

August 15, Merinews
Beijing Olympics: China using Myanmar 'Blood Jade'?

Despite the impassioned plea by Myanmar democracy activists to visitors
and athletes at the Beijing Olympic Games to shun 'Blood Jade' from
Myanmar, which accounts for a huge source of income for the military
junta, such jade is believed to be in use in the medallions to be awarded.

Paying much higher prices than that which prevail in the market, China
bought Burmese jade from the Sino-Burma border jade markets much before
the Beijing Olympic Games were inaugurated on August 8, the Myanmar media
in exile reports.

The jade that the Chinese selected and bought large amounts of were
white-coloured transparent jade also called Bra-fleshed Jade or Maw Seezar
Jade in Myanmarese rather than coloured jadeites, jade merchants from
Myanmar in Ying Jiang, one of the biggest raw jade markets in Yunnan
province in China bordering Northern Myanmar were quoted as saying.

The Chinese jade buyers from Beijing and Guangzhou bought typical Maw
Seezar Jade emanating from the Phakant jade mines in Myanmar by shelling
out more than double the normal price prevailing in the Ying Jiang jade
market, jade brokers were quoted as saying.

The Chinese jade merchants paid anything between 200,000 Yuan to 300,000
Yuan for a piece of Maw Seezar Jade which is normally sold for around
80,000 Yuan in Phakant jade mines in Kachin State, northern Myanmar. The
Chinese businessmen dealing in jade were on the lookout for the
'bra-coloured jade' for the Beijing Olympics medals since as early as
April this year, jade brokers in Kachin State told the media in exile. It
is felt that the transparent-white-coloured jade decorating the Beijing
Olympics gold medals are Maw Seezar Jade from Phakant, which democracy
activists have dubbed 'Blood Jade'.

A Kachin activist group, the All Kachin Students and Youth Union (AKSYU)
had urged visitors and athletes before the inauguration of the Beijing
Olympic Games not to buy souvenir and jewellery made from Myanmar jade so
as not to support the Myanmar military junta, which sources a huge amount
of hard cash from the Phakant jade mines where human rights abuses are
rampant. The call to avoid 'Blood Jade' was made on an online report,
'Blood Jade' on August 4.
The Chinese had claimed that the jade for the Olympic medal is from
China's Qinghai province.

In fact, the Beijing Organising Committee of the Games of the XXIX
Olympiad (BOCOG) declared on March 27, 2007, that the design of the medals
for the Beijing Olympic Games were based on jade from China's Qinghai
province not jadeite from Phakant in Burma, media reports recalled. Jade
from Myanmar's Phakant jade mines is of far better quality that the
Chinese Qinghai jade.

Gems mined in Myanmar accounted for third largest export item by the
ruling junta to US and European countries before US President George W
Bush imposed severe restrictions on import of gems from the Southeast
Asian country. China, however, remains the biggest market for gems from
Myanmar.

http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=139502

____________________________________

August 15, Mizzina News
Air Mandalay denies rumours of take over by Air Bagan - Zarni

The domestic airlines Air Mandalay on Friday denied rumours doing the
rounds that it was being taken over by Air Bagan.  Air Mandalay is into
international operations between Rangoon and Chiang Mai in Thailand.

Following the temporary suspension of Air Mandalay's Rangoon-Chiang Mai
weekly flights, rumours have spread among the business community in Burma
that Air Bagan is preparing to take over Air Mandalay.

But a public relations officer of the Air Mandalay Company denied the
rumours saying, "It is not true and we are not aware of any such
development.  These are rumours."

Air Bagan officials were not immediately available for comment.

The official said, Air Mandalay is currently operating normal domestic
flights, while its international flight Rangoon-Chiang Mai sector will
resume in November.

In May, a decrease in the number of passengers forced Air Mandalay to
temporarily suspend its international flights. While it was scheduled to
resume in August, with little or no passengers available it was further
forced to postpone it till November.

Similarly, Air Bagan owned by Burmese business tycoon Tayza, who is close
to the ruling junta supremo Snr. Gen. Than Shwe, has also been forced to
suspend the Rangoon-Bangkok and Rangoon-Singapore flights due to sharp
fall in passengers, an airline ticketing agency in Rangoon said.

____________________________________

August 15, Democratic Voice of Burma
Steep rise in food prices continues

The cost of food and basic commodities has continued to rise, with some
estimating that goods have doubled in price since last year, while the
government puts the increase at 40 percent.

A Rangoon merchant said the price of rice had doubled in the past year,
and 1 peiktha of groundnut oil was now selling for 4900 kyat.

"Last year, the price of Pawsanhmwe [a good-quality brand of rice] was 800
kyat for one pyi – this year, it's 1800," the merchant said.

A local housewife said she had noticed a sharp increase in the price of food.

"Last year, you could go to the market with a 1000-kyat note but now you
can't buy anything with that," she said.

"One peiktha of chicken now costs about 10,000 kyat – last year, it was
not more than 5000 kyat."

Economist Dr Khin Maung Nyo said the Burmese government had predicted a
further rise in prices due to the devastating effects of Cyclone Nargis.

"A recent report released by the government after Nargis said that
commodity prices had gone up by 37 percent and were estimated to climb to
a 40-percent increase due to the expense of the relief effort," he said.

"Fuel prices had come up due to inflation, and the hike in fuel prices has
its own knock-on effects."

____________________________________
REGIONAL

August 15, Irrawaddy
Burmese exiled politicians invited to Indonesian Parliament - Wai Moe

Five exiled Burmese politicians were invited to attend a session of the
Indonesian parliament on Friday, at which President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono was scheduled to present a state of the nation address.

The five—Sann Aung, Teddy Buri, Thein Oo, Tint Swe and Win Hlaing—were all
successful candidates in Burma’s 1990 election, the results of which were
ignored by the military regime.

Two Burmese dissident groups in exile, the Members of Parliament Union
(MPU) and the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB),
said the five had been invited by the speaker of Indonesia’s House of
Representatives, Agung Laksono, to attend the session, which marks the
country’s Independence Day.

Indonesia’s Jakarta Post reported on Friday that a House of
Representatives press release said the invitation mirrored Indonesia’s
moral support of popular efforts to establish democracy in the member
states of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

The press release said that during their visit to parliament the Burmese
delegates were expected to report on how the struggle for democracy and
human rights in Burma was progressing.

“The House will need this in its bid to contribute to settlement of the
problems facing the country [Burma],” The Jakarta Post quoted the press
release as saying.

Roshan Jason, executive director of Asean’s Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar
Caucus (AIPMC), told The Irrawaddy on Friday that this was the first time
Burmese politicians in exile had been invited to attend a session of an
Asean nation’s parliament.

He said that House Speaker Agung Laksono, who exercised some influence
over Indonesia’s foreign policy, would have a private meeting with the
Burmese delegates, although there would be no meeting with the Indonesian
president.

Roshan Jason said Indonesia’s approach to the Burma question indicated a
change in Asean policy. “Asean should have a realistic engagement with the
Burmese junta,” he said.

Burmese commentator Aung Naing Oo, however, thought the invitation to the
Burmese exiles had more to do with their links with Indonesian politicians
than with a shift in Indonesian policy towards Burma.

The Indonesian parliament earlier called for a postponement in exchanging
ambassadors with Burma in view of its concern over human rights there.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, however, went ahead with
accepting the credentials of Burma’s newly-appointed ambassador, Nyan
Lynn, on Tuesday, The Jakarta Post reported.

In July, Indonesia hosted informal meetings on Burma with the UN special
envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, the Burmese ambassador to the UN, Kyaw
Tint Swe, and representatives of India and China.

The international community has been pressing Indonesia for years to take
a more proactive role in Burma’s affairs.

The former foreign minister, Ali Alatas, was sent as Indonesia’s special
envoy to Burma in 2003 and visited the country again in 2005 as an envoy
for the UN.

In recent years, some Burmese military officers have been reportedly
studying at the Indonesian Military Academy, according to diplomatic
sources.

But analysts say that although Indonesia favors democratic transition and
political change in Burma, there are still dilemmas for engagement with
the ruling junta.

Aung Naing Oo said junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe was a stumbling block.

“If Snr-Gen Than Shwe wants to engage, the meaningful engagement can start
tomorrow,” he said. “Burma’s politics are now dependent on Snr-Gen Than
Shwe. As long as he says ‘No’ to engagement, diplomatic efforts by
Indonesia and others to solve Burma’s crisis cannot succeed.”
____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

August 15, Irrawaddy
UN claims only $1.5 Million lost in Cyclone relief effort - Saw Yan Naing

The United Nations estimated that it has lost only US $1.56 million—not
$10 million, as earlier cited—in relief funds for Burmese cyclone
survivors due to foreign exchange rules imposed by the country’s military
regime.

UN spokesperson Farhan Haq disclosed the figure in a statement released on
Thursday. He said that the amount represented 4.5 percent of local
expenditure, or 1 percent of total contributions to the relief effort.

He noted that an earlier estimate of $10 million, cited by John Holmes,
the UN’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, following a
visit to Burma in late July, was based on a very rough, preliminary
calculation.

The UN spokesperson also said that the new figure was the maximum amount
that could have been lost.

Following his visit to Burma in July, Holmes acknowledged that the loss of
aid funds through the government’s exchange rate mechanism was “a very
serious problem.”

Daniel Baker, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Burma, also said that the
discrepancy was a source of double concern.

“We are not getting the full value of dollars donated for emergency
relief, and donors are extremely worried and keen to see that this issue
is resolved,” said Baker in a joint statement by the UN, Burmese
government and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Meanwhile, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) announced
on Thursday that the Canadian government has contributed an additional $11
million to help victims of Cyclone Nargis, which hit Burma on May 2-3,
affecting an estimated 2.4 million people.

CIDA also pledged to provide more than $30 million in aid for victims of a
massive earthquake that struck China’s Sichuan Province in May.

Conrad Sauve, secretary general of the Canadian Red Cross, which received
$2 million of Ottawa’s aid for Burma, said that the money will be used to
help affected communities to rebuild houses, schools and clinics, as well
as to support community-based health initiatives and provide economic
support for those who have lost their livelihoods.

The Canadian government has so far contributed a total of $25 million to
the Burmese relief effort. The latest contribution was in response to a
pledge to match the value of private donations by Canadians.

“We are very pleased with Canada’s quick response to the cyclone victims
in Burma,” said Tin Maung Htoo, executive director of Canadian Friends of
Burma.

____________________________________

August 14, Inside Toronto
Feds match Chinese, Burma aid donations - Mike Adler

Disasters struck Burma and China this year, wiping out villages in an
instant and leaving millions of people homeless.

But Canadians and their government responded swiftly, groups from the
Chinese and Burmese communities and the Canadian Red Cross said this week.

All were at Scarborough's Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto to
hear International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda say her government matched
$30 million raised for victims of the Sichuan earthquake and $11.6 million
for cyclone relief in Burma.

In all, Canada will spend $56.7 million to speed recovery from the two
disasters, said Oda. "This, we believe, reflects the compassion of all
Canadians."

Victor Wong of the Chinese Canadian National Council said three months
after the earthquake the building has just started. The catastrophes
affected more than 46 million people and left despair in their wake, he
said.

Tin Maung Htoo, executive director of Canadian Friends of Burma, said
Cyclone Nargis, which hit Htoo's isolated homeland just weeks before the
earthquake, was the worst natural disaster Burma has ever faced.

"In the middle of the night more than 100,000 men, women and children were
taken away by a 10-foot wall of water and 200-kilometre-plus winds in
their deep sleep," he said.

Htoo, adding he knows families whose relatives in Burma are still missing,
thanked the federal government for a special permit his group needed to
send money into Burma.

Getting disaster aid to Burma, also known as Myanmar, was difficult
because of obstruction by the country's military regime. Canadian law does
not normally allow for transfers of goods or money that can help the
Burmese government in any way.

The minister said Canada entrusted agencies such as the Red Cross to hand
aid directly to victims of the disasters and not the governments of Burma
or China.

Asked about reports Burmese authorities had seized materials intended for
cyclone refugees, Oda said she was assured Canada's aid goods would be
flown to Bangkok, Thailand and transferred at the Burmese border to Red
Cross volunteers who could distribute them in the stricken areas.

Canada is supporting a total of 20 aid projects in China and Burma, all to
be completed by next May, she added,

Oda began the Thursday announcement by offering the country's condolences
to the families of two Canadian aid workers killed days earlier in
Afghanistan. Such people "demonstrate the strength of their courage and
extent of compassion" by their work around the world, she said.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

August 15, Wall Street Journal Asia
Benchmarking Burma - Benedict Rogers

The United Nations special envoy on Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, is expected to
arrive in Rangoon in the next few days for another round of talks with the
country's military regime. If his visit is to have any meaning, he must
move beyond the U.N.'s traditional diplomatic niceties and make concrete
demands for change.

Since 1990, U.N. envoys have made 37 visits to Burma. The Human Rights
Council and General Assembly between them have passed more than 30
resolutions, and the Security Council has made two Presidential
Statements. All of this has had little effect. Vague requests to the junta
to engage in dialogue with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, made without
any deadline, have led nowhere. She remains under house arrest, just as
she has been for 12 years.

So rather than more of the same, the U.N. must present the regime with
specific benchmarks for progress, accompanied by deadlines. The first
benchmark should be the release of political prisoners, who currently
number over 2,000. Many are in extremely poor health due to bad prison
conditions, mistreatment, torture and the denial of medical care. Mr.
Gambari should insist that the junta release political prisoners before
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's visit to Burma in December. And Mr.
Ban should be willing to cancel his trip if the junta doesn't comply.

Another important benchmark would be immediately ending the military
offensive against civilians in eastern Burma, which has destroyed 3,200
villages and displaced more than a million people since 1996. The junta
has destroyed twice as many ethnic villages as has the Sudanese regime in
Darfur. Burma has the highest number of forcibly conscripted child
soldiers in the world.

Setting such benchmarks with realistic deadlines would enable Mr. Gambari
to evaluate the progress he is or isn't making. If the junta complies, so
much the better. But if it misses the benchmarks, that would clearly
signal the need for international action.

The international community could impose several powerful sanctions for
failure to meet these benchmarks. One would be revoking the junta's
credentials to represent Burma in world bodies like the U.N. The junta is
an illegitimate government, having overwhelmingly lost elections in 1990
and proven itself negligent in its handling of Cyclone Nargis. According
to the U.N., more than a million cyclone victims have still not received
help. The U.N. also says the regime has been stealing millions of dollars
of aid money through its below-market fixed exchange rates. The junta is
unfit to govern, and there is a legitimate alternative in the form of the
leaders elected in 1990 now living as a government in exile.

Beyond that, a universal arms embargo should be imposed through the
Security Council -- and maximum pressure placed on China and Russia not to
use their veto. Major financial centers such as Tokyo, Hong Kong and
Singapore, as well as the European Union, should impose carefully targeted
financial sanctions against the ruling generals' personal assets. And the
international community should call the generals by name for what they
are: criminals. The prosecution of Sudan's leader Omar al-Bashir and the
capture of Radovan Karadzic have set a precedent. Burma's generals should
be brought to account in the International Criminal Court or through
another jurisdiction.

The U.N.'s credibility is on the line to an unusual degree in Burma, given
the obvious illegitimacy of the regime and the obvious harm it's doing to
its people. Mr. Gambari owes it both to the Burmese people and to the U.N.
to try a different, and hopefully more productive, approach on this trip.

Mr. Rogers is advocacy officer for South Asia at Christian Solidarity
Worldwide and the author of "A Land Without Evil: Stopping the Genocide of
Burma's Karen People" (Monarch Books, 2004).

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PRESS RELEASE

August 15, Burma Campaign UK
15 year-old schoolgirl gang-raped and mutilated by Burmese Soldiers

Burma Campaign UK sources have confirmed that Burmese Army soldiers have
gang-raped and mutilated a 15 year old schoolgirl in Kachin State Burma.
No action has been taken by the Burmese authorities to investigate and
arrest those involved.

The incident took place on 27th July 2008 near Nam Sai Village, Bamaw
District, Kachin State, northern Burma. The schoolgirl, Nhkum Hkawn Din,
was attacked and killed on her way to bring rice to her brother, who was
working on a paddy field on the family farm. Her family only realised that
Hkaw Din was missing after her brother came back from the farm and asked
his parents where she was. They searched for her all evening and reported
her missing at 9pm.

After a three-day search her naked and mutilated body was found 200 meters
from an army checkpoint. They first found her clothes, and then her
slippers together with the basket that she carried on that day. A local
witness testified that they had seen Burmese Army soldiers follow Hkaw Din
on her way to the paddy field. After her body was found other witnesses
testified that they had seen soldiers leave that area after the time she
had disappeared.

According to the family members, she had been raped, and brutally tortured
and mutilated. Injuries included:

1)   Her skull was crushed beyond recognition.
2)   Her eyes were gouged out.
3)   Her throat was cut.
4)   She had a stab wound on her right rib cage.
5)   All her facial features were obliterated.
6)   She has been stabbed in the stomach
7)   After the rape, she was further violated with knives

Locals and family members believe they know which soldiers were involved
in the attack, but local authorities have refused to take action.

Rape is systematically used as a weapon of war again ethnic minorities in
Burma, more than a thousand cases have been documented. There is also a
culture of impunity, where no action is taken against soldiers who rape.
In early 2007 four schoolgirls in Kachin state were arrested, charged with
prostitution and imprisoned after being gang-raped by Burmese Army
soldiers. After the case received international attention the regime said
it would take action against the soldiers involved, but at least one of
the rapists remains in the army and at liberty.

On June 19th The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1820
noting that rape and sexual violence can be described as a crime against
humanity. The Women’s League of Burma has called for Burma’s generals to
be taken to the International Criminal Court over the systematic use of
rape by the Burmese Army.

“This is a horrific attack and should remind governments and the United
Nations of the true nature of this regime,” said Nang Seng, Campaigns
Officer at Burma Campaign UK. “Local people are very angry that these
rapes happen again and again and no action is taken. There is no justice
or rule of law in Burma. People are hoping that the United Nations will
take up this case and demand action is taken.”

Last week the UN Human Rights Envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana gave an upbeat
report following his first trip to Burma, following in the footsteps of
previous envoys who also fell for regime propaganda about their commitment
to human rights.

For more information, or pictures relating to the attack, contact Nang
Seng on 44(0)7889832485, or Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK,
on 44(0)7941239640.