BurmaNet News, November 12, 2008

[Editor]

November 12, 2008, Issue # 3597

INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar crackdown intensifies as labour activist jailed
Mizzima: Five monks put away for six and-a-half years
DVB: Activists say Burma junta behaving lawlessly
Irrawaddy: The cost of death in Burma
Kachin News Group: Severe torture and extortion of Naga gold trader by
Burmese troops
IMNA: Damaged bridges ignored by authorities, endanger residents in Mudon
Township
Bernama (Malaysia): Myanmar to introduce wireless internet system next year

BUSINESS / TRADE
Thai Press Reports: Myanmar plans to export vegetables to Russia

INTERNATIONAL
Reuters: U.S. "strongly condemns" lengthy Myanmar sentences
Irrawaddy: Britain, Canada leads protests against sentencing of dissidents

OPINION / OTHER
Asia Sentinel (Hong Kong): Burma moves to silence the opposition - Larry
Jagan
Mizzima: India must use BIMSTEC to push for change in Burma - Salai Pi Pi

PRESS RELEASE
USCB: In wake of major arrests, activists call for U.S. to convene UN
Security Council session on Burma


____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

November 12, Agence France Presse
Myanmar crackdown intensifies as labour activist jailed

Myanmar's ruling junta is stepping up efforts to curb dissent ahead of
2010 elections, rights groups said Wednesday after a labour activist
became the latest dissident to receive a lengthy jail sentence.

A crackdown on people involved in protests in mid-2007 that were brutally
crushed by the military has seen at least 31 activists imprisoned this
week, ranging from pro-democracy veterans to a popular blogger.

The latest case saw prominent labour advocate Su Su Nway sentenced to
12-and-a-half years in jail on Tuesday for putting up anti-government
posters in the wake of the demonstrations, her lawyer Khin Htay Kywe told
AFP.

Her colleague Bo Bo Win Naing, who was arrested with her in November last
year, received an eight-year sentence, said the lawyer, who is also a
member of detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi's party.

Another 23 activists were each sentenced to 65 years in prison on Tuesday,
while a leading blogger and a poet who wrote a coded criticism of junta
leader Than Shwe were among six people sentenced on Monday.

Fourteen of those jailed on Tuesday are former students who were members
of the "88 Generation," which led a major uprising 20 years ago that the
military regime also brutally suppressed, a western diplomat based in
Yangon told AFP.

"We understand and are proud for them although we cannot do anything right
now. We are not frightened," said Amar Nyunt, 63, whose son Jimmy and
daughter-in-law Nilar Thein were among those to receive 65-year jail
terms.

She said she was caring for the jailed couple's 19-month-old daughter,
adding: "She is in good health. We will take good care of her while her
parents are in prison."

Sein Linn, 67, the father of Pannate Tun, another of the activists
sentenced on Tuesday, said he fell sick after hearing of the punishment.

"I got high blood pressure when I heard the news yesterday," he said. "I
do not understand politics but I cannot afford to do anything apart from
feeling for him."

New York-based Human Rights Watch called the trials "unfair" and called on
the Myanmar regime to free 70 activists on trial, mostly in relation to
the protests in August and September 2007.

"These last few weeks show a more concentrated crackdown on dissent
clearly aimed at intimidating the population," said Elaine Pearson, deputy
Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

The military regime has promised to hold elections in 2010, and Pearson
said the convictions were likely an attempt to stifle any dissent ahead of
the polls, which critics say aim only to entrench the army's power.

"Burma's leaders are clearing the decks of political activists before they
announce the next round of sham political reforms," Pearson said,
referring to Myanmar by its former name, which was changed by the generals
in 1989.

The Yangon-based diplomat agreed, saying on condition of anonymity that
the junta "wants to give a deterrent effect by sending a signal to
opponents ahead of the elections announced for 2010."

The sentences were, however also a strong response by Myanmar to
international calls for the freeing of political prisoners, the diplomat
added.

Britain slammed the latest sentences, saying that until Aung San Suu Kyi
was freed and restrictions on political parties were lifted "there can be
nothing approaching free elections".

Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon called in a statement for
Myanmar authorities "to release all political prisoners immediately."

Hundreds more activists remain in jail following the protests, which began
as small rallies in August 2007 against the rising cost of living but
escalated into huge protests led by Buddhist monks that posed the biggest
challenge to junta rule in nearly two decades.

At least 31 people were killed in the crackdown, according to the United
Nations.

____________________________________

November 12, Mizzima
Five monks put away for six and-a-half years – Zar Ni

There is no let up in the Burmese military junta handing out varying
punitive sentences to anti-regime forces, with five monks sentenced to six
and-a-half years in prison yesterday.

The monks from 'Ngwe Kyar Yan' monastery were arrested and detained after
the saffron revolution.

The monks are U Nanda, U Wilar Thekka, U Agga Dhama, U Eithiriya and U
Zarnayya. They were not produced in court outside but their case was heard
inside the Insein prison. They were handed out prison terms by a special
court.

"Earlier they were produced before the court in session outside the
prison. But they were sentenced by a special court in session inside
Insein prison yesterday. They are being held in Insein prison. There is no
word yet of their being transferred to another prison," a lawyer who had
access to the court hearing said.

They were handed prison terms on charges of unlawful assembly, joining
unlawful associations, inducing crime against public tranquility and
committing disaffection towards the state and government after being
detained for nearly a year.

The monks were among 15 who were arrested on 24 November 2007 when the
junta's armed forces raided the Ngwe Kyar Yan monastery.

The security personnel surrounded Ngwe Kyar Yan monastery on 26 November
2007 around midnight and arrested and dragged away about 100 monks after
assaulting them inside the monastery.

After nearly three months, out of 96 monks, including abbot U Yewata, only
51 monks were allowed to return to their monastery and the rest were
ordered back to their home towns.

According to the 'Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners'
(AAPP), the junta raided 52 monasteries in Rangoon, Mandalay and other
towns elsewhere in Burma after the saffron revolution. The junta arrested
and interrogated the monks. The regime arrested nearly 600 monks in the
nationwide crackdown on the monk-led movement.

U Gambira, one of monk leaders in the saffron revolution, is still under
detention and facing charges on 16 counts. The judgment against him will
be pronounced soon, his lawyer said.

____________________________________

November 12, Democratic Voice of Burma
Activists say Burma junta behaving lawlessly – Khin Hnin Htet

Recent sentencing of activists to 65 years in prison highlights
lawlessness and dearth of justice in Burma, insisted their relatives and
pro-democracy activists.

14 members of 88 generation students including Ko Min Zayya, Ma Mie Mie,
Ma Nilar Thein, Ko Jimmy, Ko Than Tin, Ko Pandate Htun, Ma Cho Cho Myint
were sentenced by a court in Rangoon Insein jail yesterday.

Cho Cho Myint, younger sister of Ko Than Tin said she was left speechless
when she heard the sentence.

"Words can't express the way I am feeling right now. My brother has been
suffering from stomach problems and he needs serious care," said Cho Cho
Myint.

"Throwing him into jail for 65 years is a very unfair thing to do – I
have never heard of such a thing in my life," she said.

"My brother and his colleagues are innocent – they were only making the
voice of our people heard," she added.

"This is the kind of justice system where [the authorities] do whatever
they like – I'm shocked," said Pandate Htun's mother Nyunt Nyunt Oo.

"This jailing of (rights) lawyers and sentencing of activists behind
closed doors show that there is no law in our country," a National League
for Democracy youth member who doesn't want to be named said.

U Nyan Win, the spokesman of the NLD and a trained lawyer said that the
actions of the courts indicate the weakness of judicial system in Burma.

"The right to free and fair trial is an important factor for a legal
system and its policies. These court cases have shown how much the legal
system in our country has been weakened," U Nyan Win said.

"Moreover, it's not legally appropriate to give maximum sentence to people
like Nay Phone Latt who was only on trial for the first time," he said.

"This shows the government is not taking steps towards the transition but
only interested in taking revenge on activists."

The ruling junta State Peace and Development Council's third most powerful
leader General Shwe Mann said in 2004 after the generals fired their
powerful intelligence chief and prime minister General Khin Nyunt on
corruption charges, that 'nobody is above the law'.

____________________________________

November 12, Irrawaddy
The cost of death in Burma – Aung Thet Wine

Ma Hnin Sanda, 25, lies on her bed suffering from severe tuberculosis,
waiting for her last day on Earth in a small hut in Sein Sar Pin village.
Her body is wasted, her eyes sunken and her bones protrude from her body
because of her prolonged illness.

Nearby, her aunt, Daw Win Mar, recites the metta sutta and preys for her
niece’s improved health but at the same time, she feels anxious because
she knows if her niece dies she will have the burden of onerous funeral
expenses.

In earlier days, the cost of a funeral would be taken in stride, but in
Naypyidaw, the new capital, because of government-imposed rules it can
force people to borrow money and go into serious debt.

Rising funeral expenses are making it harder for people to live in Burma.

Traditionally, villagers living around the administrative capital of the
Burmese military regime simply buried loved ones in graveyards near their
village, with little real expense.

But in 2005, when the junta claimed this area as the new capital,
villagers were ordered not to bury the dead in a village graveyard.
Authorities ordered that all bodies must be cremated and buried in a
cemetery in Pyinmana city.

Then on October 15, 2008, the junta opened a new cemetery in Naypyidaw
itself at the bottom of Pho Saung Hill, 25 miles from Pyinmana Township,
and ordered that all funeral services in the region be performed at the
new location, which has imposed even more troubles.

Naypyidaw is surrounded by many villages in Kyi Taung Kan village tract
and Gone Min Kwin village tract of Pyinmana Township.

Poor villagers must now spend as much as 120,000 kyat ($94) or more for a
funeral and cremation in Pyinmana cemetery.

"The rent for a funeral van is about 25,000 kyat ($19.6); a hall rental at
least 8,000 kyat ($6.2); and each vehicle is 25,000 kyat,” said a resident
of Pyin Mana Naypyidaw. “Also, if a corpse is kept in a refrigerated
mortuary, we must spend 1,500 kyat ($1.18) a day.

“In total, we must spend at least 120,000 kyat for a funeral and that
doesn't include food for visitors. We can’t afford such costs."

If a family wanted extra religious items and rituals, the cost could grow
to 150,000 kyat ($118), he said.

Because most villagers grow vegetables on small plots of land or work as
menial laborers, they are forced to borrow money at a 20 percent interest
rate.

Residents of Rangoon face similar problems, but they can receive help,
through a private organization, Free Funeral Services Society (FFSS), that
is unavailable to Naypyidaw residents

For several years, volunteers and self-help groups have offered free
funeral services, relieving poor residents of the former capital of some
of the burdens surrounding the death of a loved one.

"FFSS usually does around 40 to 50 funerals a day,” said an official with
the organization based in Thingangyune Township in Rangoon. “We take care
of everything: renting a funeral van, an aluminum coffin and the expenses
for the mortuary and cremation.”

"We take responsibility until the body is completely cremated,” said a
staff member.

Even with the free services, however, the total cost for a funeral may
reach 100,000 kyat ($ 78.7) in Rangoon, residents say.

"If the family wants to build a tomb, they must buy a piece of land and it
may cost from 300,000 to 400,000 kyat($ 236 to $ 315)," said a staff
member at the Rangoon Municipal Development Committee.

Many residents say they think ahead about where they want to die.

A 75-year-old grandmother in Hlaingtharyar Township in Rangoon said: "In
our rural area, the community helps each other in social affairs, and
there are not many expenses for a funeral. If I am going to die, I will go
back to my village and die there. If I died in the city, my sons and
daughters would be in debt because of my funeral, and I don't want them
owing a lot of debt.”

Another alternative used by some poor residents in villages around Rangoon
is to allow a “funeral contractor” to handle the funeral.

"Basically, a funeral contractor means the person runs a gambling den at
the funeral home,” said a resident of Shwe Pyi Thar village in Rangoon.
“People come to the funeral and gamble. They share some of the money with
the family and in return, the poor family receives a funeral service."

____________________________________

November 12, Kachin News Group
Severe torture and extortion of Naga gold trader by Burmese troops

Severe torture was inflicted on an innocent Naga businessman and money was
extorted by Burmese Army soldiers in Hukawng Valley in Burma's northern
Kachin State after he was accused of being a 'Naga rebel', said local
sources.

Mr. Na Tat (30), a businessman dealing in gold was detained at the Burmese
Army's Regional Operation Command headquarters (ROC or Da Ka Sa) in Danai
(Tanai) on October 21. He was caught while he was going back home in Namti
on the Myitkyina-Mandalay railway from the gold mines in Hukawng Valley,
said residents in Namti.

According to Na Tat's family in Namti, he would have died following the
severe assault. Na Tat's face and chest were badly bruised and his legs
were locked in Chauk Pauk (a torture tool which is made of thick wooden
planks with six or more circular holes where human legs are inserted and
locked) by Burmese soldiers in Danai ROC, commanded by Brig-Gen Khin Maung
Aye. The torture continued for three agonizing days.

Na Tat was freed by Burmese soldiers but family members had to shell out
over 700,000 Kyat (est. US $574) to the Danai ROC for his release, added
family members. Na Tat was admitted to Namti Hospital soon after he was
released.

Residents of Namti swore Na Tat is innocent and has no truck with the
National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) on the Burma
side.  He was tortured by Burmese soldiers only for extortion.  The
Burmese soldiers were aware that he had money given he was in the gold
trade in Hukawng Valley.

It is not unusual for troops in the Burmese Army posts and the battalion
in Hugawng Valley to fleece civilians. They always forcibly demand money
from residents and traders or murder them for it, according to gold
businessmen in Hukawng Valley.

____________________________________

November 12, Independent Mon News Agency
Damaged bridges ignored by authorities, endanger residents in Mudon
Township - Mi Rai Maraoh

Two damaged bridges have been left un-repaired for months, say IMNA
sources in Mudon Township, who add that failure to repair the bridges is
endangering road users and has caused at least one accident.

The bridges are located between Win-tamoe and Lat-tat villages and between
Kwan-hlar and Phaung-sein villages. Each bridge had an edge collapse in
September, making the bridges two narrow to accommodate traffic of more
than one small HiLux truck, say local sources. Prior to the collapses, two
small trucks could cross the bridge abreast of one another.

“Those bridges are so damaged. It is in danger for travelers and vehicles
because small vehicles still can pass but it is difficult for trucks to
pass on,” said a source that has watched traffic use the bridge.

The authorities have not fixed the bridges, though they did put up signs
saying “Under repair” and diverted traffic by erecting a barrier of water
tanks.

At least one accident has occurred, when a motorbike fell over the
collapsed edge during heavy traffic surrounding the Kyaikkamee pagoda
festival in nearby Thanpyuzayart Township. The driver was wounded and the
bike damaged, but neither case was serious.
“In the past bridges were damaged, but the situation never got like this.
The bridge is difficult to use at the current situation because only one
vehicle can use the road and everyone must go slowly,” said a woman who
regularly travels from Mudon Township to Moulmein, Mon State’s capital
city.

Many drivers are stopping their vehicles at the bridge and making their
passengers disembark, said the woman. “Travelers including me walk to pass
our vehicles after we stop riding in them. The situation has been getting
worse. I know this because I always go to Moulmein every week. Drivers
also drive very slowly without carrying travelers. They also risk driving
at that place. Nobody wants to ride vehicle at that place.”

Authorities compensated prominent Mon singer Mon Chit Soe after a damaged
bridge caused him to have an accident near Hnitkayin village, Lamine
Sub-Township, in December 2006.

____________________________________

November 12, Bernama (Malaysia)
Myanmar to introduce wireless internet system next year

Myanmar is striving to introduce a wireless internet system of WiFi by
early next year, Xinhua quoted the local weekly 7-Day News as reporting
Wednesday.

Arranged by the local IT company of Exotic Wing, the system will be in
service starting with the coverage of 16 main townships in the former
capital city of Yangon, the company sources was quoted as saying.

Provisionally, such system is being granted for use in Yangon's Hyper
Market and Sakura Tower only and WiFi hot spots are being installed in the
hub of the city to enable that the system could formally start running in
early next January, the report said.
By then, laptops with the WiFi system can enter the world from any corner
of the city, the Chinese news agency quoted the report as saying.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has planned full coverage of public access centers
(PAC) in every township in the country by next March to facilitate
communication links.

There are so far 240 PAC in Myanmar, according to the Myanmar Info-Tech.

The telecommunications authorities also revealed that the number of
internet users in Myanmar has also reached nearly 300, 000, up from merely
dozens four years ago.

Myanmar has been striving for the development of ICT to contribute its
part to the national economic development.

In December 2007, Myanmar's first largest ICT park, also known as the
Yadanabon Myothit Cyber City, was introduced in Pyin Oo Lwin, a northern
city of Myanmar in Mandalay division.

The cyber city, which covers an overall area of 10,000 acres (4, 050
hectares), is located in the hilly Pyin Oo Lwin near a highway, 67
kilometers east of the second largest city of Mandalay in the north, and
20 percent of the cyber city area produce software and hardware.

The internet of the cyber city not only links with the whole country but
also connect neighboring China, Thailand and India.

Meanwhile, more and more local and foreign information technology (IT)
companies have sought investment in the cyber city for the development of
IT business undertakings.

According to the authorities, it has allotted 372 acres (150 hectares) of
land plot for 35 more local and foreign IT companies to work in the cyber
city.

Myanmar has been lunching ICT development master plan under the Initiative
for ASEAN Integration (IAI) and detailed programs to link international
networks are also being carried out in accordance with the master plan
drafted by the Myanmar Computer Federation.

Being a signatory to the e-ASEAN Framework Agreement initiated at 2000
Singapore summit, Myanmar has formed the e-National Task Force to support
the IT development.

Besides, the country has also signed a series of memorandums of
understanding since 2003 with such companies as from Malaysia, Thailand,
China and South Korea on ICT development.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

November 12, Thai Press Reports
Myanmar plans to export vegetables to Russia

Myanmar is planning to export a variety of fruit and vegetables to Russia
and cultivation of them is being specially projected.

The main export items, as outlined by Myanmar's Fruit, Vegetable and
Flower Producers Association, are tropical fruits such as pineapples, musk
melons, pomelos, avocado pears, asparagus and chilli, according to world
news reports.

In the meantime, Myanmar is placing great emphasis on the production of
high- yield fruit and vegetables in order to boost exports, taking
advantage of the country's fair climactic conditions and geographical
superiority.

The expanded production of quality fruit and vegetables will not only
satisfy domestic demand but also generate foreign exchange revenue,
thereby contributing to enhancing the socio- economic status of all of the
country's residents.

Myanmar produces more than 100 kinds of kitchen crops, including over 70
kinds of fruit and vegetables.

A report released by the association reveals that Myanmar exported nearly
20,000 tonnes of various fruits in the 2007-08 fiscal year, earning nearly
9 million USD in revenue.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

November 12, Reuters
U.S. "strongly condemns" lengthy Myanmar sentences

The United States on Wednesday strongly condemned Myanmar's decision to
sentence dissidents to up to 65 years in jail and demanded their immediate
release.

Myanmar's military junta sentenced at least 11 dissidents involved in
monk-led protests last year to 65 years in jail on Tuesday, opposition
figures said, a blow to the pro-democracy movement before a planned 2010
election.

"The United States strongly condemns the Burmese regime's harsh sentencing
of at least 30 political activists to between two and 65 years in prison,"
State Department spokesman Robert Wood said, referring to Myanmar by its
colonial name of Burma.

"We also call on the regime to begin a genuine dialogue with democratic
and ethnic minority representatives and to immediately release all Burma's
over 2,000 political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi and those
convicted in recent days," Wood told reporters.

Wood would not say whether the United States might raise the matter at the
United Nations Security Council, saying only "we ... are going to raise
this issue at various levels."

____________________________________

November 12, Irrawaddy
Britain, Canada leads protests against sentencing of dissidents – Saw Yan
Naing

The governments of Britain and Canada led an international wave of
protests on Wednesday against the harsh prison sentences imposed on 39
pro-democracy activists by a court in Rangoon’s Insein Prison.

Bill Rammell, a minister at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
said in a statement: “Those detained have done nothing other than exercise
their right to express themselves and have at all times underlined their
willingness to work with others for a better Burma.”

Rammell called for the release of all political detainees, including
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The election planned for 2010 would
not be free unless political prisoners were released, he said.

“There can be nothing approaching free elections until these steps are
taken,” Rammell declared.

The 39 dissidents, including 88 Generation Students activists, monks and
prominent labor activist Su Su Nway were sentenced to long prison terms by
the Insein Prison court on Tuesday. Fourteen of the accused received
sentences of 65 years.

Canada’s Foreign Minister, Lawrence Cannon, said: “Canada is deeply
concerned to learn that 14 members of the 88 Generation Students group
have each been sentenced to 65 years’ imprisonment.”

Cannon declared: "We continue to urge the regime to begin a genuine
dialogue with the democratic opposition and ethnic minorities in order to
foster a political process leading to the full restoration of democracy."

London-based Amnesty International said the prison sentences passed by the
court were a powerful reminder that the Burmese regime is neglecting calls
by the international community to clean up its human rights record.

Benjamin Zawacki, an Amnesty International Burma’s researcher, said: “Even
as the government continues to claim that its new constitution and plans
for elections in 2010 are genuine efforts toward increasing political
participation, this sentencing sends a clear signal that it will not
tolerate views contrary to its own by handing down such severe sentences.”

Amnesty International says there are more than 2,100 political prisoners
in Burma.

The London-based Burma Campaign-UK urged the UN to take action on behalf
of the 14 convicted members of the 88 Generation Students group.

“If they are forced to serve their full terms, they will die in jail,” the
organization said in a statement.

The organization’s Campaigns Officer, Nang Seng, said that by imprisoning
the dissidents the regime was defying a call by the UN Security Council in
October to free political prisoners.

Burmese lawyer Thein Nyunt, a member of the opposition National League for
Democracy’s information department, said the “huge punishments” were
apparently an act of revenge against the political activists. The
sentences were “inappropriate,” he said.

Thakin Chan Htun, a Burmese veteran politician, agreed and said the
sentences conflicted with the rule of law in Burma.

Although the sentences were intended to “threaten people,” they hurt the
regime’s image. “Not only the Burmese people but also the world will see
it as fascism. It is likely that they portrayed themselves as a fascist
government.”

An ethnic Chin politician, Cin Sian Thang, Chairman of the Zomi National
Congress in Rangoon, described the sentences as “terrible
It doesn’t lead
in the direction of democracy,” he said.

Cin Sian Than also said that the severe punishments were part of the
preparation for the general election planned for 2010.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

November 12, Asia Sentinel
Burma moves to silence the opposition – Larry Jagan

If there was any doubt about the Burmese military rulers' real intentions,
they have been revealed clearly with a spate of harsh sentences handed out
to scores of dissidents. They have sent a clear signal that they intend to
eliminate and silence anyone who opposes their authority, especially in
the lead-up to planned elections in two years time.

The crackdown must also put into doubt the forthcoming planned visits to
Burma by top UN officials. The UN secretary-general’s special envoy to
Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, was considering a return visit to Burma in the
next two weeks, and the special rapporteur for human rights in Burma was
also contemplating a fresh mission as well in the coming weeks. It may
also have put paid to any prospect of the UN Secretary General, Ban-Ki
Moon’s visiting after attending the ASEAN summit in Thailand in
mid-December.

In what is the biggest crackdown on the opposition in Burma since the
massive pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988, all activists who the regime
believes pose a challenge to their control are being targeted. A series of
harsh sentences have been doled out to many artists, activists, bloggers,
journalists and lawyers.

More than 40 dissidents, including Buddhist monks, members of the 88
Generation Students group, a prominent labor activist and community
activists have been sentenced to jail for up to 65 years. As a result, the
number of political prisoners languishing in Burma’s prisons has more than
doubled in the last 12 months.

"The junta is clearly conducting a major crackdown on all dissent in the
country," Zin Linn, a leading Burmese dissident and former political
prisoner based in Bangkok said in an interview. "They want to silence all
opposition before the planned elections in 2010."

In the latest case earlier this week, 14 leading Burmese political
activists, including five women, from the 88 Generation Students group
were each sentenced to 65 years in jail for their involvement in the
monk-led uprising, dubbed the Saffron Revolt, against increased fuel
prices and rising food costs. Most of them had been detained before the
brutal crackdown on the demonstrators in September 2007.

According to the United Nations, at least 31 people were killed when
Burma's military rulers sent in troops to end the mass demonstrations led
by columns of shaven-headed Buddhist monks -- the biggest challenge to
military since it seized power 20 years ago. Opposition activists put the
figure at more than 200; several thousand people were also arrested and
are still detained, many without trial.

The 14 were convicted of various charges, including a law under which
anyone who demonstrates, makes speeches or writes statements undermining
government stability can be given 20 years. They were also found guilty of
having links to illegal groups and violating restrictions on foreign
currency, video and electronic communications.

The sentences were handed down behind closed doors – members of their
families and the groups’ defence lawyers were barred from the court. “Is
this [65 years] all you can do?” one of the activist, Min Zeya reportedly
shouted at the judge. What is most absurd, according to human rights
advocates, is that these sentences are far longer than the expected
life-span of the defendants.

Nine other leaders of the group, including the top two -- Min Ko Naing and
Ko Ko Gyi -- were recently sentenced to six months in prison for contempt
of court. They continuously interrupted the court proceedings shouting
down with the judge. They refused to accept the court’s authority and
insisted they would continue to oppose the judicial system using Gandhian
tactics of non-violent civil disobedience.

More than 20 members of the group, including those already found guilty of
contempt, face more than a dozen other charges in the coming days. They
are also likely to be given hefty sentences for their activities during
the anti-government protests last year.

“The current convictions are only the tip of the iceberg,” Benjamin
Zawacki, the Burma officer for the UK-based human rights organization,
Amnesty International told Asia Sentinel. Most of them have been held for
more than 12 months without trial – and in some cases without being
charged, he added. “This is probably only the start of a season of trials
and convictions,” he said.

Many of the group's members were at the forefront of the mass
pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988 and were tortured and given lengthy
prison terms after the military coup 20 years ago. The activists resumed
political activities after they were freed in November 2004, and have
spearheaded the protests against the junta – usually focusing on the
country’s deteriorating economy.

Many analysts believe that the junta fears the students even more than the
National League for Democracy (NLD) led by the detained opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi which convincingly won the 1990 elections, but was never
allowed to form a civilian government. Aung San Suu Kyi has spent most of
the last 20 years under house arrest in her home in Rangoon.

“They think they can handle the NLD, but they know they cannot control the
students,” said a western diplomat in Bangkok who deals with Burma. These
sentences will leave them in prison well past the election.

Burmese courts have also been handing out harsh sentence to other
dissidents this week. The prominent labor rights activist, Su Su Nway, was
sentenced to more than 12 years in jail for her political activities. She
hds already served nine months in prison some two years ago for her work
to stop forced labor. Five monks from one of Rangoon’s main monasteries
were each  prison sentences of six years and six months.

Nine members of the NLD from Bogalay in the Irrawaddy Delta were also
sentenced to between eight to 24 years in prison for their involvement in
the anti-fuel prices protests last year, according to an NLD spokesman,
Nyan Win.

“These sentences are a clear signal to everyone that the regime will not
tolerate any opposition in the lead up to the elections in 2010,” said Mr
Zawacki.

The sentences for the 88 group came the day after the jailing of Burma’s
best-know blogger, Nay Phone Latt, for more than twenty years for
publishing a cartoon of the country’s top military leader, General Than
Shwe on his website. His trial was also held behind closed doors in Insein
prison special court; as well as a well-known poet, Saw Wai for two years
after he published a poem mocking Than Shwe entitled "February 14" was
published in the Ah Chit [Love] Journal.  The first words of each line of
the poem spelled out "Power Crazy Senior General Than Shwe".

The discrepancy between the sentences given to the blogger and the poet
for essntially the same crime – belittling Than Shwe – suggests that the
regime is particulalry worried about the opposition’s use of technology,
especially the internet. They were horrified by the reports, pictures and
videos that were transmitted through the internet and mobile phones during
the Saffron Revolt and the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis.

“They [the junta] are extremely worried about things they don’t understand
and cannot control,” said Mr Zawacki. “The bloggers’s sentence reflects
the greater level of threat they see in postings on the internet compared
to poetry.”

In the lead up to the election in 2010, the regime is worried about how to
control the flow of information, both inside and outside the country.
During the Saffron Revolt they tried to control the internet by
periodically shutting down the servers, often for days at a time. They
also realise that firewalls intended to prevent access to certain websites
has failed miserably in Burma, as they are easily by-passed. Now they are
resorting to their tried and tested tactic of generating fear. “the
message is clear, the dissemination of information and images through new
technology will be severely punished,” said Mr Zawacki.

In recent weeks there has also been a spate of lawyers being convicted for
contempt of court. At least five lawyers who have tried to defend these
dissidents have ended up in prison – either for challenging the court on
their clients’ behalf or because their clients had dismissed them because
of the futility have been represented in the court when they were clearly
unable to do their job.

“It’s complete intimidation,” said Amnesty’s Mr Zawacki. “Lawyers are
being punished for being the messenger. Theys are clearly being warned you
must play by our rules and not any accepted rules of procedure,” he said.

Ther are more than fifteen journalists – reporters and photographers --
still in dentention awaiting trial, according to the Burma Media
Association. Most of them are accused of publishing material on the
conditions in the cyclone-devasted area, and pointing out inadequacies of
the relief effort. Several other bloggers are also awaiting trial.

“The sentencing of the 88 activists and the further arrests in recent days
-- of journalists, bloggers and forced labour complainants -- is further
evidence of the extent to which conditions in this country are
deteriorating in terms of basic political freedoms,” a western diplomat
based in Rangoon said on condition of anonymity. “It clearly shows what we
can expect in 2010,” he said.

But above all the junta is deliberately snubbing the UN and the
international community. In recent weeks the regime has been urged to
honour its promises to release all political prisoners, including Aung San
Suu Kyi, in the run up to the scheduled elections in 2010. The UN human
rights rapporteur recently put forward several suggestions on how to make
the election internationally credible – including the release of political
prisoners and allowing the political parties to operate normally, free of
harrassment and intimidation.

The regime’s clear response – lock up even more political activists. The
number of political prisoners in Burma’s jails has more than doubled to
well over thousand, according to both the UN and Amnesty International.
There are perhaps more political prisoners now than anytime since 1988,
according to Amnesty International. And all this comes during a time when
there is far more engagement between Burma and the international
community, especially the UN than ever before. The UN rapporteur visited
in and the UN envoy Gambari has made visits so far thos year. Some of the
highest level UN visits have also taken place – with John Holmes (in
charge of the UN’s humanitarian ope4rtions) Nollen Heyzer (head of the
regional UN office ESCAP) and even the SG himself visiting the contry –
albiet related to the UN response to the devasting destruction wreaked by
Cyclone Nargis in May.

The international community needs to take stock of the situation – they
can no longer cooperate with the junta on humanitarian issues related to
the cyclone and turn a blind eye to the political crisis. It is time to
see that the regime remains set in its military mentality. Burma has been
under military rule of one form or another since 1962. Although the
Generals may have scheduled elections in 2010, as one of the final stage
in its seven-step "roadmap to democracy", its merely a ploy to maintain
their power and control over the country.

Everyone who is opposed to the regime’s roadmap to democracy and the
constitution it forced through a referendum by intimidation and
manipulation, is being targeted. “It’s business as usual,” said Zawacki.
“There is no shift in practice – they are using draconian prison sentences
to warn people not to stand up to the regime, all that’s changed is their
rhetoric – there’s no roadmap to political change,” he said.

____________________________________

November 12, Mizzima
India must use BIMSTEC to push for change in Burma - Salai Pi Pi

Burma's neighbouring countries, particularly India, should use the Bay of
Bengal Sub-regional group (BIMSTEC) summit to pressure the Southeast Asian
nation to free detained Nobel Peace Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, an
Indian Human Rights group said on Tuesday.

New Delhi based Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) on Tuesday said
India, being the largest democracy, should lead other Bay of Bengal
Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)
countries to urge Burma's military rulers to implement political reforms
starting with the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The ACHR's call came even as the seven-member group of BIMSTEC is
scheduled to hold its 2nd Summit in the Indian capital New Delhi on
November 13.

"India, Nepal and Sri Lanka should be pressing Myanmar [Burma] for the
release of Aung San Suu Kyi at the meet," said Suhas Chakma, director of
ACHR.

Burma's Prime Minister General Thein Sein, according to the junta's
mouthpiece newspaper on Tuesday, will be arriving New Delhi on November 13
to attend the Sub-regional group's summit.

Suhas Chakma said India should use the opportunity of Thein Sein's visit
to the country and urge for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been
detained for 13 of the past 19 years.

According to the groupings rotating system of chairmanship, Burma will
take over chairmanship of the group in 2009 from India, which is the
current chairman.

While the rotating chairmanship is a consensus arrived at by all the seven
nations based in an alphabetical order, Ramesh Ramachandran, a
correspondent of the Asian Age newspaper in Delhi said, the chairmanship
will need to come along with a certain degree of responsibility.

Burma as the rotating chairman, will need to prove that its internal
crisis is under control, Ramachandran said.

However, the ACHR said Burma's presence in the grouping has brought down
the image of other member countries, especially of India, the world's
largest democracy, and its chairmanship will further reduce the
credibility of the group.

"If Myanmar [Burma] takes over the BIMSTEC chair, the people in the region
will lose faith on the group," Chakma said.

BIMSTEC was founded in 1997 with four Bay of Bengal nations - Bangladesh,
India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Burma joined the group in December 1997,
while Bhutan and Nepal joined in 2003.

In August, the group held its tenth ministerial meeting in New Delhi and
agreed to review the group's achievement and further discuss greater
economic cooperation among the group during the 2nd Summit to be held on
November 13, in New Delhi.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

November 12, US Campaign for Burma
In wake of major arrests, activists call for U.S. to convene UN Security
Council session on Burma

A leading human rights group today urged the United States to immediately
raise the issue of Burma at the UN Security Council after over 60
influential human rights activists were sentenced to long terms in Burmese
prisons.

"It is clear now that Burma's military regime has rejected calls by the UN
Security Council to immediately release all political prisoners in Burma,"
said Aung Din, executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma and a
former political prisoner in the country.  "We urge the United States to
convene an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to decide on an
international response, including the imposition of a global arms embargo
on Burma's military regime."

On November 11th and 12th, Burma's ruling military junta sentenced 61
democracy activists to between 2 and 65 years in prison, including members
of the political party of the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize
recipient Aung San Suu Kyi, the "88 Generation Students", the Human Rights
Defenders and Promoters Group, labour activists, six Buddhist Monks, a
blogger and a poet.

Nearly all of those sentenced to long jail terms participated in Burma's
autumn, 2007 "Saffron Revolution" in which hundreds of thousands of
Buddhist monks and everyday citizens marched through Burma's streets
calling for an end to military dictatorship in the country.  The military
regime responded to the demonstrations by killing dozens of democracy
activists and imprisoning over 2,100 political prisoners.

In an extraordinary move, the UN Security Council convened an urgent
meeting on October 11th, 2007 and demanded that Burma's military regime
release all political prisoners in the country.  The Council, which
includes Russia and China, "emphasize[d] the importance of the early
release of all political prisoners and remaining detainees."

The Council also called on the military regime to open a dialogue with
Aung San Suu Kyi and the country's democracy movement, "stress[ing] the
need for the Government of Myanmar to create the necessary conditions for
a genuine dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all concerned parties and
ethnic groups, in order to achieve an inclusive national reconciliation
with the direct support of the United Nations."

Yet, China has blocked further action at the Council that would create the
necessary pressure to implement the UN calls for change, such as the
imposition of a global arms embargo.  China and Russia had earlier jointly
vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Burma in January, 2007 much as
it has blocked the UN from taking firmer action on Darfur and Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, the military regime has renewed its attacks on ethnic
minorities in eastern Burma, driving 2,000 people from their homes in the
past two weeks.  The scorched-earth military campaign has forced over 1
million people to flee over the past 10 years, many ending up as refugees
in neighboring countries.  Over 1/2 million villagers survive as
internally displaced persons.

"Burma's military regime is attempting to crush any democratic opposition
before its planned 2010 elections," added Aung Din.  "They have created an
illegitimate constitution and a sham election that will guarantee they
maintain complete power, forever."

Contact: Jeremy Woodrum (202) 246-7924