BurmaNet News, September 4, 2008

[Editor]

September 4, 2008 Issue # 3549

INSIDE BURMA
AP: Suu Kyi wants to meet Myanmar rep, says lawyer
Narinjara: Monks warn USDA, Swan Ar Shin against disrupting protests
Mizzima: Junta arrests two more activists
Mizzima: Gambira produced in court, 88 generation vows to continue struggle
DVB: USDA candidates for 2010 election shortlisted
DVB: Hmawbi residents forced to work on road construction

ON THE BORDER
IMNA: Cyclone Nargis refugees restricted from crossing into Thailand at
Three Pagoda Pass

BUSINESS / TRADE
IRIN: Myanmar: Government cuts currency red tape for donors?
Xinhua: Japanese companies to set up special economic zone in Myanmar
Upstream Online: Daewoo on hunt off Burma

ASEAN
Irrawaddy: AIPMC appeals to Surin, Ban Ki-moon to visit Suu Kyi

INTERNATIONAL
UN News Centre: UN envoy briefs General Assembly President on Myanmar visit

OPINION / OTHER
Times of India: Time for a revision - Baladas Ghoshal and Ian Holliday
IMNA: UN's failed mission: Dialogue in deadlock (Editorial)

PRESS RELEASE
Burma Project of OSI, PEN American Center, The New York Review of Books
and Cooper Union: Reading Burma: A Benefit for Cyclone Relief and Freedom
of Expression in Burma/Myanmar

OBITUARY
Mizzima: Actress and singer of yesteryear Daw May Shin dead

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

September 4, Associated Press
Suu Kyi wants to meet Myanmar rep, says lawyer

A report that detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi refused
to meet with the government minister who acts as her liaison officer is
misleading, her lawyer said Wednesday (3 Sept).

The state-run Myanma Ahlin daily reported Wednesday that the government
had arranged a meeting between Suu Kyi _ who has been detained without
charge since 2003 _ and Relations Minister Aung Kyi on Tuesday (2 Sept)
but that she had refused to meet him.

Lawyer Kyi Win, who met Suu Kyi at her lakeside house on Monday (1 Sept),
said she had conveyed a message through him that she wished to see the
minister but said "she was a little tired and needed some rest."

"I am very upset because Daw Suu had politely conveyed the message through
me that she wanted to see U Aung Kyi and also sends her regards to him,"
Kyi Win said. 'Daw' and 'U' are honorifics conveying respect.

"I am very upset because the message was a misrepresentation by omission,"
he explained added.

Myanmar's junta appointed Aung Kyi last year to facilitate talks aimed at
bringing political reconciliation and democratic reforms to the
impoverished and isolated country.

Earlier Wednesday, a spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy
party said on the basis of the newspaper report that any reluctance on Suu
Kyi's part to have a meeting indicated her continued frustration at the
slow pace of reform in the military-ruled country.

"Aung San Suu Kyi is dissatisfied with the lack of progress from the talks
and also unhappy with the lack of a time frame," said Nyan Win.

The 63-year-old Suu Kyi has made several gestures recently whose intention
has not been clear. She has repeatedly turned away food deliveries to her
house in recent weeks and refused to meet U.N. Special Envoy Ibrahim
Gambari when he visited Myanmar last month.

After Kyi Win visited her on Monday he said she had lost weight and was
shunning food deliveries. He would not comment on rumors that the
opposition leader had gone on a hunger strike.

The lawyer said Suu Kyi had asked for "certain living conditions to be
solved and that has not happened yet."

He said some of the living conditions involved granting greater freedom of
movement to two female companions who live with her and help take care of
the house. She also wishes to be allowed access to some publications, Kyi
Win said.

Suu Kyi has been detained under house arrest for years and relies on food
delivered to her home by her party. Supporters said last week she had not
accepted food deliveries since 15 Aug.

Kyi Win declined to say why Suu Kyi was refusing food deliveries.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been in a political deadlock since 1990,
when Suu Kyi's party overwhelmingly won general elections but was not
allowed to take power by the military.

The United Nations has tried with little success to nudge the government
toward talks with the opposition. But the junta has not responded to
international pressure to embrace national reconciliation following its
violent suppression of massive anti-government protests last year. (AP)

http://www.mysinchew.com/node/15882

____________________________________

September 4, Narinjara News
Monks warn USDA, Swan Ar Shin against disrupting protests

Sittwe: Monks in Sittwe have warned members of the Union Solidarity
Development Association (USDA) and Swan Ar Shin not to disrupt plans of
monks when they decide to protest against the military regime.

"The members of the USDA and Swan Ar Shin are silent now in Sittwe as the
monks are warning them not to disrupt their plans to protest against the
military government," a student from Sittwe said.

Some members of the USDA and Swan Ar Shin in Sittwe were involved in
disturbing monks during last September's protests, but this year they are
yet to be seen by the public.

"They are silent after the monks' warning. Monks have warned the SPDC
followers like the USDA and Swan Ar Shin that they would face great danger
if they disrupt the monks' plans in cooperation with the authorities," he
said.

Another source said that because Sittwe is not a big town, people can
easily identify who is a member of the USDA or Swan Ar Shin if they
disrupt the monks or any other protesters. "Because the members of USDA
and Swan Ar Shin are aware that monks can act against them anytime in
Sittwe because they are not armed with weapons the whole day. So they are
afraid to attack the monks."

Another politician from Sittwe said it is not just the monks' warning that
has silenced them, but also because people from every level of society in
Burma are dissatisfied with the military government because the country is
getting poorer by the day.

He added that because of this public discontent, USDA and Swan Ar Shin
members are not as willing to cooperate with the armed forces in cracking
down on demonstrators this time.

In Sittwe, monks were preparing to stage demonstrations in the month of
August, but there were no members of the USDA and Swan Ar Shin who tied to
disrupt the protests.

____________________________________

September 4, Mizzima News
Junta arrests two more activists - Myint Maung

In another round of crackdown on dissidence, Burmese military junta
authorities in Rangoon on Wednesday arrested two political activists, an
eyewitness told Mizzima.

Tin Myo Htut (alias) Kyaw Oo, a member of an underground activists group
the Generation Wave, and another unidentified activist, were taken away by
plainclothes police at about 7:30 a.m. (local time) on Wednesday, from
near a teashop in Kamayut Township, Rangoon, the eyewitness said.

"I saw them being taken away by three plainclothes policemen from near the
teashop," the eyewitness added.

Moe Thwin, spokesperson of the Generation Wave said Tin Myo Htut had
informed him of his appointment with a friend near 'Amayh Ywa' Teashop.

"And when I called him yesterday, he did not speak but put it on, and I
could hear other voices interrogating him over the phone," Moe Thwin said.

According to the eyewitness, the two activists were to meet at the
teashop, but the police were lying in wait for them and whisked them away.

The Thailand based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
said though they are aware of the arrest of the Tin Myo Htut, they are
still unable to garner details of the arrest.

"We heard of the arrest of Tin Myo Htut, but we are still following up on
details about the arrest," said Bo Kyi, Joint Secretary of the AAPP.

On Wednesday, Generation Wave, in a statement called on the government to
immediately release their members including Tin Myo Htut and vowed that
despite the government's crackdown, it will continue its struggle for a
change in Burma.

Tin Myo Htut, according to the Generation Wave, is a political activist
who had participated in the 1988 pro-democracy uprising as a high school
student and was arrested in 1992 and detained for five years.

However, another activist, who was arrested along with Tin Myo Htut has
not been identified as yet.

Generation Wave, mostly known as GW, was formed with students and young
activists in October last year following the Saffron Revolution. However,
the group remain underground and operated secretly in order to avoid
attention by authorities.

Despite of their secret operation and networking, the junta in March
arrested four key members including Zeya Thaw (alias) Kyaw Kyaw, who is
the lead vocalist of Burma's popular hip-hop band Acid group.

____________________________________

September 4, Mizzima News
Gambira produced in court, 88 generation vows to continue struggle - Phanida

Gambira, the monk who led anti-government protests and was forcibly
disrobed in prison after arrest, was produced in court in Insein prison
today but his defence counsel was not allowed to enter the court room.

The Special Branch of the police and prison authorities blocked the
defence counsel's way to the court room inside Insein prison of the
Rangoon West District Court.

"I submitted a petition on behalf of my client demanding to allow him to
wear his robe in accordance with the existing Burma Jail Manual. The court
fixed today to hear the arguments of both sides. But they didn't let me
enter the court room today," defence counsel U Pho Phyu said.

Aung Thein, Khin Maung Shein, Nyi Nyi Hlaing and Pho Phyu are acting as
defence lawyers for their client Gambira.

""The defence counsel was not allowed to enter the court room on the date
fixed for hearing his argument seeking permission to let the accused wear
his saffron robe. It is contrary to section 340 of Criminal Procedural
Code (access to lawyer), section 40 of Prisons Act (access to lawyer in
prison). Therefore the accused Ashin Gambira is losing his prisoner's
right," a lawyer said. Ashin is a prefix for monks in Buddhist majority
Burma.

In another high profile political case, 35 accused from among 88 Gen
Students including its top leaders were produced in court yesterday inside
Insein prison. The next hearing is on September 9.

They were arrested and tried for joining anti-government protests by
marching in a procession, popularly known as the September saffron
revolution, against rising fuel and commodity prices. Opposition sources
said that No. 1 leader of the 88 Gen Students Ko Min Ko Naing warned the
authorities that they would fight and face the consequences if their
demands are not met by the authorities.

The 88 Gen Students demanded that they be tried in open court in keeping
with internationally conceded norms, allow media access to the court
proceedings and not to handcuff them in court.

The judges' responded saying they would consider not handcuffing them
during court hearings, after consulting and coordinating with the
concerned administrative officials.

____________________________________

September 4, Democratic Voice of Burma
USDA candidates for 2010 election shortlisted

A list of three candidates for the 2010 election from Yezagyo township,
Magwe division, has been sent to the Union Solidarity and Development
Association headquarters, according to sources close to the association.

The discussion of prospective candidates comes at a time when
pro-democracy groups are continuing to protest against the proposed 2010
election.

Yezagyo township Peace and Development Council chairman U Mya Ngwe and his
team held consultations in early August and selected five possible
candidates and then narrowed it down to the final three.

The three selected are Kan Pwint incense business owner U Aung Than, Aung
Theiddit incense business owner U Aung San and National Convention
farmers’ representative U Tin Maung Kyaw.

District USDA working member U Lu Min and Mahethi rice mill owner U Myint
Thein, the two other potential candidates, were rejected by the committee.

USDA secretary U Kyaw Swe reportedly also wanted to be considered as a
candidate was but was not included on the shortlist.

The relationship between Mya Ngwe and Kyaw Swe is said by locals to be
strained, and his exclusion is likely to exacerbate tensions between the
local PDC and the USDA.

Relations between the two took a recent downturn when brigadier-general
Thein Zaw, minister for post and telecommunications, came to Yezagyo after
the constitutional referendum in May, and allocated 400 phones for
distribution.

Kyaw Swe requested 100 phones for his USDA members, but his request was
refused by Mya Ngwe.

Mya Ngwe also used his clout and the help of 19 of the town’s power
holders to push for his preferred candidates.

Businessman U Aung Than, one of the nominees, raised 4 million kyat, 2.5
million of which he contributed from his own pocket, and went to the
capital Naypyidaw to lobby for the procurement of phones.

When the deputy post and telecommunications minister came to Yezagyo, he
inspected the prospect of phone installation and allocated 20 phones for
his home town, Myaing.

He also awarded one of the phones to U Htay Hlaing, the owner of
Tawtharlay jaggery factory, and another to the son of a businessman called
U Tin, who had looked after him when he was a schoolboy.

____________________________________

September 4, Democratic Voice of Burma
Hmawbi residents forced to work on road construction

Authorities in Hmawbi in northern Rangoon district have been collecting
money from local residents in order to repair roads and forcing those who
cannot pay to take part in reconstruction work.

The World Vision NGO had already donated money to repair the roads in
Hmawbi’s Myoma Ward 4, which were damaged by heavy rain in August, a local
resident told DVB.

But he said ward Peace and Development Council chairman U Myo Lwin Oo
still collected 1000 kyat from each household and 25,000 kyat from every
car owner.

“They have to quarry stones and lay them on the road,” the local resident
said.

“At a time when people do not have enough food to eat, no one wants to
contribute anything even if they have the money.”

The local said that people no longer even bothered to report these
incidents to senior authorities because no action has been taken in past
against the officials responsible.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

September 4, Independent Mon News Agency
Cyclone Nargis refugees restricted from crossing into Thailand at Three
Pagoda Pass

The Three Pagoda Pass's (TPP) Township Peace and Development Council
(TPDC) Chairman is keeping a close watch on Cyclone Nargis refugees who
have arrived in the town so that they cannot enter Thailand. He has told
the authorities and ceasefire groups to report to him if they saw
refugees.

The number of refugees arriving from Irrawaddy delta to TPP town has
increased and most of them are entering Thailand seeking jobs.

"The TPDC chairman U Myo Kyi ordered local authorities and asked ceasefire
group's leaders and supporters to report to him if they saw refugees," a
business man told IMNA.

More than 30 refugees arrived in TPP town and they hired brokers to take
them into Thailand.

Some refugees who did not have enough money remained in the border towns
such as Sangkhlaburi and refugee camps asking for help. Some are staying
at some safe houses in Sangkhlaburi.

According to these refugees, most of them are jobless after Cyclone Nargis
lashed Burma on May 2-3 and are finding it difficult to rehabilitate
themselves although the UN, NGOs, the military regime and private donors
are helping them.

After the cyclone killed more than 140,000 people and swept over the
delta, most people have found it hard to get jobs and moved to towns in
other parts of the country seeking jobs.

The number of refugees seeking jobs in southern Burma such as Karen State,
Mon State and Tenasserim division has also increased.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

September 4, Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)
Myanmar: Government cuts currency red tape for donors?

Cyclone Nargis affected 2.4 million people and left nearly 140,000 people
dead or missing
YANGON, 4 September 2008 (IRIN) - The UN is calling on donors to give more
generously to an international appeal for victims of Cyclone Nargis, and a
senior official says donors are now getting a fair exchange rate.

On 10 July, the UN re-launched a flash appeal on behalf of 13 UN
organisations and 23 NGOs for emergency relief and early recovery efforts
through to April 2009 for a total of US$481 million, up from a previous
appeal of $201 million. But so far that remains just 41 percent funded.
Donor reluctance was blamed by humanitarian officials in part on
transaction fees and poor exchange rates for incoming hard currency.

"Now is the time for donors to step up to the plate," Daniel Baker, the UN
Humanitarian Coordinator to Myanmar, told IRIN on 3 September in Yangon,
the former Burmese capital, reassuring donors that earlier problems over
foreign exchange rate differentials had been resolved.

"This issue has been taken fully on board by the government. Donors should
feel confident that they are getting the best value for their money.

"The loss in value due to foreign exchange for the Cyclone Nargis
international humanitarian aid during the last three months has been about
$1.56 million," Baker had said on 13 August, in a joint statement by the
UN, Myanmar's government and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN).

"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," he said at the time. The issue was first raised at the end
of July by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, John
Holmes, and stems from Myanmar's restrictions on the use and exchange of
foreign currency.

When the UN brings dollars into the country, it received so-called Foreign
Exchange Certificates (FEC), which can be used to buy local currency. The
FECs can be converted into the kyat, but they were being changed at a rate
of about 900 kyats to one, or 20 percent less than the current exchange
rate of close to 1,200 kyats for one dollar.

"That rate can be either higher or lower than the current market rate,"
Baker clarified.

To address this, the government has agreed to allow foreign donors to pay
local vendors directly and in dollars, rather than through FECs, an option
that had also carried a 10 percent government transaction fee.

The government has since agreed to waive this fee for all international
humanitarian agencies providing cyclone assistance, including the UN,
bilateral and international NGOs.

The Minister for National Planning and Economic Development U Soe Tha said
such issues could always be brought to the government's attention.

"Effective assistance to the Nargis-affected population is our common goal
and we certainly have the intention to continue addressing any issues as
they arise," he said.

According to the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA) report
(http://www.asean.org/21765.pdf)  in July, about $1 billion would be
needed over three years to help affected communities and households meet
food, livelihoods, housing, education, and other needs. The report,
compiled by the UN, the Myanmar government and ASEAN is based on detailed
surveys of more than 390 affected villages in June.

http://www.irinnews.org/PrintReport.aspx?ReportId=80161#

____________________________________

September 4, Xinhua
Japanese companies to set up special economic zone in Myanmar

Major Japanese motor companies are planning to establish special economic
zone in Myanmar to produce motor vehicle spare parts, the leading local
weekly Yangon Times reported Thursday.

The project will be implemented with the cooperation of domestic
industrial enterprises probably in the form of joint venture, the report
said.

At present, such Japanese motor companies as Suzuki and Isuzu are
cooperating with Myanmar companies in producing motor vehicles, while
Toyota and Honda are running motor car service industry in the country.

Myanmar is planning to establish six special economic zones ( SEZ) to
attract direct foreign investment into the country in a bid to promote its
economic development.

The six SEZs are outlined as Thilawa Port in Yangon, Mawlamyine in Mon
state, Myawaddy and Hpa-an in Kayin state, Kyaukphyu in Rakhine state and
Pyin Oo Lwin in Mandalay division.

Prospective sectors for foreign investment are outlined as production,
high-tech, agriculture, livestock breeding, forestry, transport and
communications, and banking services.

Foreign investors making direct investment in the SEZs will be
categorically exempted from taxation ranging from two to eight years,
earlier reports said, adding that investment in high-tech will be exempted
from income tax for the first eight years, while that in production for
the first five years and that in agriculture, livestock breeding, forestry
and banking services for the first two years.

____________________________________

September 4, Upstream Online
Daewoo on hunt off Burma

Daewoo International is about to begin a five-month drilling campaign off
Burma where it has hired one of Transocean’s semi-submersibles.

It is not known which blocks the South Korean company will be working in.

The company is currently developing the Shwe gas project, which Daewoo
says has independently certified recoverable reserves of up to 8.6
trillion cubic feet of gas in Blocks A-1 and A-3 off Burma.

Transocean says its 3500-foot water depth semi-submersible Transocean
Legend is on hire to Daewoo from September 2008 to January 2009 at a
dayrate of $411,000.

http://www.upstreamonline.com/incoming/article162390.ece

____________________________________
ASEAN

September 4, Irrawaddy
AIPMC appeals to Surin, Ban Ki-moon to visit Suu Kyi  - Saw Yan Naing

A rights advocacy group within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(Asean) has appealed to the heads of both Asean and the UN to visit
Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and check on her health.

Roshan Jason, executive director of the group, the Asean
Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC), told The Irrawaddy on Thursday
that letters had gone to Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan and UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asking them to make a personal assessment of
Suu Kyi’s condition—“Not just her physical health but also her emotional
[state of mind].”

The letter told Surin and Ban: “We remind you that her continued
well-being is vital for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Burma.”

Suu Kyi’s political party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), says
she has been refusing supplies of food to her home since mid-August, but
there is no indication that she is on a hunger strike. Her lawyer said
after visiting her this week that she has lost weight and is tired but
otherwise appears to be in good health.

Suu Kyi has spent more than 13 of the past 19 years under house arrest.

The AIPMC letter reminded Surin that he had described Asean as a “tapestry
of hope,” and said that Burma was a part of this tapestry. The AIPMC urged
Surin to act to ensure the tapestry did not unravel.

Jason said Asean had acknowledged receipt of the letter, but nothing had
been heard yet from the UN. The two bodies appeared to think Suu Kyi was
not “relevant in the democracy process,” he said.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

September 4, UN News Centre
UN envoy briefs General Assembly President on Myanmar visit

United Nations Special Advisor Ibrahim Gambari has briefed the President
of the General Assembly on his recent visit to Myanmar, during which he
held talks with a range of people on issues such as national
reconciliation and how to help the South-East Asian nation tackle its
socio-economic challenges.

According to a statement issued after yesterday’s meeting, Assembly
President Srgjan Kerim reiterated the 192-member body’s continued
engagement “to promote national reconciliation, democracy and respect for
human rights in Myanmar as mandated by the resolutions of the General
Assembly.”

The President also encouraged the Government of Myanmar “to continue to
work closely with the Special Advisor to achieve concrete progress on the
suggestions he put forward during his recent visit” – his fourth to the
country over the past year.

Mr. Kerim stressed the need for continued engagement and strong commitment
from all parties to continue the process of national reconciliation,
pointing out that such engagement must be “serious and credible” with the
aim of achieving concrete results.

The President reiterated his continuous support for Mr. Gambari’s efforts
on behalf of the Secretary-General, and also noted the important role
played by neighbouring countries, the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) and the Group of Friends of Myanmar.

He “further encourages those countries to remain engaged in the political
process,” the statement added.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

September 4, Times of India
Time for a revision - Baladas Ghoshal and Ian Holliday

Caught between engagement and isolation, Burma, renamed Myanmar by its
dictatorial military junta, is in a state of decline. What was once the
richest land in South East Asia is now one of the poorest. What was once a
vibrant nation is now subject to strict control by a clique of generals
determined to countenance no dissent.

Although two political crises have rocked Burma recently, neither has
loosened the tight political grip of the junta. Rather, each has amply
exposed the impotence of western powers in dealing with a regime widely
viewed as odious.

Last September, nascent monk-led democracy protests were brutally crushed.
This May, attempts to mount a rapid global response to cyclone devastation
in the Irrawaddy delta were severely hampered. In neither case, however,
were the US and the EU able to develop an effective policy response.

Indeed, it was striking that even a natural disaster of the magnitude of
Cyclone Nargis did not create an opportunity to unlock a closed political
process. When the tsunami hit Aceh in December 2004, a window for dialogue
and communication among opposing parties opened up and became one of the
key catalysts for peace. In Burma, despite loud calls from many western
powers for global engagement with humanitarian relief efforts, no such
political shift has taken place.

The inability of western powers to craft a viable Burma policy means that
attention turns back to Asia. In both crises, China used its unrivalled
access to open up some communication channels and facilitate a measure of
engagement with Burma's reclusive junta. ASEAN moved beyond its standard
practice to express 'revulsion' at the state-sponsored violence against
monks, and to lead humanitarian responses to cyclone damage. However, real
change inside the country seems unlikely to come by either route.

There is, then, an important opportunity here for India. Following a brief
flirtation with Burma's democracy movement in the late 1980s, New Delhi
has since the mid-1990s taken a hard-nosed strategic interest in building
close ties with the military government. To date, however, those efforts
have met with limited success.

This is chiefly because a security dynamic has been allowed to
predominate. India is determined to defeat insurgents in its restive
north-east who find refuge across the porous Burmese frontier. It is also
keen to counter what it sees as a creeping Chinese security presence in
Burma. For these reasons, military links are now well developed, and
Indian supplies to the Burmese army have passed from the non-lethal to the
lethal.

Yet there can be much more to the bilateral relationship. New Delhi is
interested in Burmese oil and gas reserves, and has had some success in
securing contracts. In addition, the Look East Policy launched some 15
years ago must run through Burma if links with South East Asia are to be
enhanced. India is also involved in infrastructure projects designed to
upgrade major roads and port facilities.

At present, however, these are little more than necessary foundation
stones for a comprehensive Burma policy.

Trading links can be pursued not just through natural resources, but also
through small-scale cross-border commerce that helps to enrich
marginalised and impoverished parts of both Burma and India. Currently,
however, such trade is constrained by restrictive travel regulations
informed by security concerns rather than development perspectives.

Cultural diplomacy is another important area that should rise up the
agenda. Only 60 years ago, India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru,
and Burma's first premier, U Nu, were good friends and often consulted
each other on international issues. Twenty years ago, Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi was a personal friend of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi. However,
several decades of xenophobic rejection by successive Burmese generals
mean that New Delhi must now work hard to re-establish friendly relations.

Education also holds the key. The shambolic state of teaching and learning
in Burma means that the country is in desperate need of outside help to
train future generations. Indian schools, which have been successfully
opened in many parts of the world, have a crucial role to play.

The Burma problem runs deep and will not be solved in a matter of months
or even years. To build a platform for long-term engagement with its
strategic neighbour, India's foreign policy elite needs to be more
creative.

By taking its Burma policy beyond military and natural resource issues,
New Delhi can both enhance its security leverage, and recapture a
relationship that was once cordial. Promoting this policy shift is also in
the interests of the wider world that desperately wants to facilitate
long-term change inside Burma. Indeed, if India were able to gain the
confidence of military leaders in Burma through multiple strands of
engagement, it could start to promote multilateral talks bringing ASEAN,
China and Japan from Asia together with the EU and US from outside to
engage in talks with the Burmese junta and, ultimately, leading opposition
forces.

In charting a new Burma policy for India, it has to be acknowledged that
greater engagement by New Delhi will not generate immediate political
reform. However, it will mean that when fresh crises create new
opportunities for mediation, India will be better placed to step up to the
plate.

Ghoshal is senior fellow, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, and
Holliday is dean of social sciences, The University of Hong Kong.

____________________________________

September 4, Independent Mon News Agency
UN's failed mission: Dialogue in deadlock (Editorial)

It is widely known that UN Under-Secretary, Mr. Ibrahim Gambari, is a
toothless tiger in his attempts to usher in a political dialogue in Burma.
It seems the military regime in Burma, the State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC) has rejected the UN proposed "political dialogue" with
pro-democracy leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National
League for Democracy. The regime played games with the top level UN
official with their seven-point road-map with their main agenda of holding
the 2010 general elections.

Mr. Gambari seems in all probability to support 2010 elections and he
keeps forgetting his mission of initiating political dialogue. He has just
listened to the progress reports from SPDC-supporters on their preparation
for the seven-point roadmap. However, he said "there was progress", but
the people in Burma and the international community find no progress at
all.

What is he and UN agencies expecting from SPDC's seven-point roadmap and
why is UN is so worried about being expelled by the regime? The UN may
think that after the 2010 general elections, which will be free and fair
for only SPDC-set up political organizations contesting it, there will be
some space for freedom and democratization by way of evolution. Let they
(the generals) be quick with their roadmap, then the people will follow to
find space for democracy, as believed by the UN. The UN on this
expectation will involve itself in development and reconstruction in
Burma.

However, lots of problems will remain after the roadmap following the 2010
elections, with the formation of new military plus civilian government
going into a transitional period. But many political prisoners including
88 Generation Student leaders, Buddhist monks, NLD members, and ethnic
leaders will remain in prisons while pro-democracy groups' movement
outside the military plus civilian parliament will grow, and the
increasing clashes and human rights violations along the borders will
remain unresolved.
UN, as an only world body, should seek a solution to solve the problem of
Burma to achieve a long-term political settlement. It needs to find a
sustainable approach in order to assist development and reconstruction
assistance in a federalized and democratized new Burma. The UN should not
quickly move on for a short-term solution in which many dialogue partners
are unable to participate in the process. In conclusion, the UN and
Security Council must find a concrete and clever approach to deal with
regime and other dialogue partners to re-open the lock of dialogue. A
political dialogue is the only way to settle impasse in Burma.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

Burma Project of OSI, PEN American Center, The New York Review of Books
and Cooper Union
Reading Burma: A Benefit for Cyclone Relief and Freedom of Expression in
Burma/Myanmar

With: Nobel Prize laureate Orhan Pamuk, Booker Prize winners Salman
Rushdie and Kiran Desai, the Venerable U Gawsita, Siri Hustvedt, Joseph
Lelyveld, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, George Packer,  and other special guests

New York City—On September 23rd, the first anniversary of the monks’
uprising in which thousands of Buddhist monks protested against Burma’s
military dictatorship and the 20th Anniversary of the 1988 pro-democracy
protests by millions of ordinary civilians will be commemorated. PEN, the
Burma Project of the Open Society Institute and the New York Review of
Books will join together to honor Burmese writers whose work has been
suppressed by the military regime and to support the victims of the recent
cyclone.  This event will also pay tribute to the thousands of monks who
are missing or lost their lives last year and to those who continue to
speak out against injustice for the past twenty years.

All proceeds of this benefit will be donated to the International Burmese
Monks Organization (IBMO), a network of Burmese Buddhist monks collecting
relief aid for the victims of Cyclone Nargis. Audience members can
purchase a $100 ticket, which includes a post-event reception, or $20 and
$15 tickets at www.smarttix.com.

In addition to the readings of Burmese writers’ work, some of which
includes unpublished accounts from the cyclone-affected areas of Burma,
The New Yorker’s George Packer will join the Venerable U Gawsita, one of
the leaders of the 2007 Monks’ Uprising, in conversation.

Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity to hear from the monks who stood
up to the Burmese regime in 1988 and again in 2007, and from those men and
women whose lives have been changed forever by the recent cyclone.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008, 7:00 p.m.
The Great Hall at Cooper Union
7 East 7th Street
Subway: 6 to Astor Place; N/R/W to 8th Street-NYU
New York, New York

$20 (general admission) and $100 (includes post-event reception)
$15 for students and PEN members (with valid ID)
Tickets: www.smarttix.com or call 212-868-4444

Co-sponsored by the Burma Project of OSI, PEN American Center, The New
York Review of Books and Cooper Union.

For More Information contact:
Elizabeth Weinstein
(212) 334-1660, ext. 120

____________________________________
OBITUARY

September 4, Mizzima News
Actress and singer of yesteryear Daw May Shin dead

Famous actress and singer of yesteryears Daw May Shin, holder of the
'Wunna Kyaw Htin' title, died at her residence in Mandalay on Wednesday at
11:30 p.m.

The once top star Daw May Shin died of pulmonary edema at her residence in
Aung Daw Mu Ward, Mandalay. She was 91.

"Doctors at the hospital diagnosed her with 'pulmonary edema' and told her
family members to take her back home where she died. She was hospitalized
on Saturday and died on Wednesday," a nephew of Daw May Shin said.

She became famous at 18 as a singer and was awarded the 'Wunnu Kyaw Htin'
title for her religious services. She was given the title at Maha Myat
Muni Buddha image in Mandalay.

She entered the world of celluloid by first acting in 'Physarshin' a film
produced by Rangoon based A1 Film Company along with co-star Yegaung Chit
Swe.

The woman writer 'Win Win Myint-Nandaw Shay' wrote the biography of the
famous actress and singer in the times of A1 Film and A1 Records under the
title 'Pan da bwint ye yin khone than'.

Her other famous films are 'Phusarshin', 'Mhyar Nat Maung' (Cupid), 'Chit
Tha Mhyar', 'Saung Daw Shin', 'Chein Tan Be', 'May Thwar Dar'. And her
famous and hit songs are 'Shin Thi Wili', 'Pyo Hmar Tan', 'Thaw Dar Ngwe
Min', 'Shwe Inn Wa', 'Parimidaw', 'Myat Lay Ngone', 'Kyay Say Taman' and
'Chit Phet Thet Lyar'.

May Shin a.k.a. Ma Than Shin was born to U Khin Lay and Daw Phwar Yun in
Mandalay on March 10, 1917 and she was the youngest of five siblings. Her
elder sisters are Daw Chit Su, Daw Chit Oo, Daw Thein Chit and Daw Phwar
Yin.

Mandalay FM station has started airing her songs today in her memory. She
will be buried at the 'Kyar Ni Kan' cemetery tomorrow at 3 p.m.