BurmaNet News, November 14, 2008

[Editor]

November 14, 2008, Issue #3599

INSIDE BURMA
AP: 14 more Myanmar activists sentenced to jail
Irrawaddy: Win Tin, NLD executive member, is ill
IHT: Severe prison sentences for Myanmar protesters expected in coming months
Mizzima: Reporter covering Nargis victims sentenced to two years
IMNA: Road repaired to prepare for official visit; infrastructure
elsewhere neglected
SHAN: Villagers forced to porter during junta campaign against rebels

ON THE BORDER
Daily Star (Bangladesh): Uneasy calm prevails along Bangladesh-Burma border

BUSINESS / TRADE
Asia Pulse: Myanmar to open third point for border trade with Bangladesh
Irrawaddy: Burma to export biofuel resource to South Korea

INTERNATIONAL
Asian Tribune: Junta’s sentencing of 61 democracy activists deplored by
U.S. senators

OPINION / OTHER
Boston Globe: Burma's junta shows contempt
IHT: Burma's junta scorns world opinion


____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

November 14, Associated Press
14 more Myanmar activists sentenced to jail

Courts in military-ruled Myanmar sentenced 14 members of the opposition
National League for Democracy party to lengthy prison terms Friday,
bringing to more than 50 the number of pro-democracy activists jailed his
week.

The United Nations, Western nations and human rights groups expressed
concern after sentences of 65 years each were given to 14 activists
Tuesday. They included members of the 88 Generation Students group who
played prominent roles ahead of mass pro-democracy protests that were
violently crushed last year.

"It's no secret that Burma's military rulers show no respect for law, but
these last few weeks show a more concentrated crackdown on dissent clearly
aimed at intimidating the population," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia
director at the New York-based group Human Rights Watch. Myanmar is also
known by its former name Burma.

"These peaceful activists should not be on trial in the first place, let
alone thrown in prison for years after unfair trials," Pearson said in a
statement.

At least 14 National League for Democracy members were given prison
sentences ranging from 2 1/2 years to 16 years in different courts Friday,
said party spokesman Nyan Win said.

More than 50 people, including 30 NLD party members, were given long
sentences on various charges this week, he said. Many were arrested in
connection to protests against economic hardship and monk-led
pro-democracy demonstrations in August and September 2007.

Nine Buddhist monks were given six to eight year jail terms this week,
Nyan Win said.

The army used force last December to quash the demonstrations. According
to U.N. estimates, at least 31 people were killed and thousands of
protesters detained. Many fled the country or went underground.

The human rights group Amnesty International and other organizations say
Myanmar's generals now hold more than 2,100 political prisoners, compared
with nearly 1,200 in June 2007 before the pro-democracy demonstrations.

The prisoners include Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, head of the
National League of Democracy, who has spent years under house arrest.

Also condemned this week were a prominent blogger, who received more than
20 years in jail for Internet activities, and a poet sentenced to two
years for concealing the text of an anti-government slogan in one of his
works.

____________________________________

November 14, Irrawaddy
Win Tin, NLD executive member, is ill – Saw Yan Naing

Win Tin, 79, a central executive committee member of the National League
for Democracy (NLD), had an asthma attack on Friday morning and is resting
at home, according to a close friend in Rangoon.

Maung Maung Khin, told The Irrawaddy on Friday, “He was not able to go to
the office today. We will ask the doctor to give him a medical check
tomorrow.”

Soon after he was released from Insein Prison in Rangoon on September 23,
Win Tin, a veteran journalist who served 19 years in prison, again took up
his work at the NLD.

He suffered from heart and prostate problems while in prison, where
authorities refused to provide him with proper medical care.

Win Tin, who was a senior adviser to detained pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi, was arrested in 1989 on a series of charges ranging from
publishing anti-government propaganda and to instigation of civil
disobedience.

He was actively involved in the 1988 pro-democracy uprising and previously
served as editor of the influential newspaper Hanthawaddy and as a
vice-chairman of the Bermese Writers’ Union.

In October, U Lwin, 86, secretary of the NLD, suffered a stroke, and the
NLD’s chairman, Aung Shwe, 91, contracted a serious case of the flu.

In October, more than 100 NLD youth members resigned, complaining that
they weren’t allowed to participate in decision-making. Some critics have
charged that the opposition group’s leadership is aging and falling behind
in creating new, innovative strategies to counter the military
government’s push for national elections under a newly approved
constitution designed to keep the military in control of the country.

The NLD won a landslide victory in multi-party elections in 1990. The
current Burmese regime led by Snr-Gen Than Shwe ignored the results of the
election and refused to transfer power.

____________________________________

November 14, International Herald Tribute
Severe prison sentences for Myanmar protesters expected in coming months

The 65-year prison sentences handed down this week to anti-government
demonstrators in Myanmar are only the beginning of a series of verdicts
expected in the coming months against hundreds more political prisoners,
according to exile groups tracking the trials.

Of the 1,037 people arrested for political activities over the past 15
months, three-quarters of them - 788 to be exact - have yet to go before a
judge or complete their trial, according to the Assistance Association for
Political Prisoners, a group based in Thailand.

Among those awaiting verdicts are protesters arrested for their
involvement in the demonstrations of September 2007 that were led by
Buddhist monks, including U Gambira, a monk who faces 50 years in prison.
Zarganar, one of the country's best known comedians who supplied the monks
with food, water and other supplies, is still in detention as well. He
also faces up to 50 years in prison.

In a country where owning an unauthorized mobile phone or distributing a
homemade video without government clearance can land you in jail, judges
are using a raft of laws to justify harsh sentences.

The government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, is resorting to laws
covering the use of personal electronics, because such infractions are
easy to prove, said Sean Turnell, an expert on Burmese politics with
Macquarie University in Sydney. In the past the government relied more
heavily on laws dating to the British colonial days involving such charges
as treason or sedition.

Zarganar has been charged with, among other offenses, violation of the
Electronic Transactions Law, which carries a maximum 15-year prison
sentence for anyone who uses technology like the Internet to distribute
information "detrimental to the interest of or that lowers the dignity of
any organization or any person."

The government has also charged many protesters with violating the Video
Act, which carries a three-year prison sentence for anyone convicted of
"copying, distributing, hiring or exhibiting video tape that has no video
censor certificate."

Turnell says the use of these laws against protesters also seems to
confirm the degree to which the generals were alarmed when protesters used
the Internet and satellite phones, which are banned in the country, to
broadcast images of the protest around the globe.

"They were really spooked by the method of protest as much as the protest
itself," Turnell said.

The generals see technology as something "that the opposition possesses
and that they don't," he said.

With a government as secretive as that of Myanmar - the trials of
protesters are being held inside a prison without defense lawyers or
family present - it is impossible to know why judges have handed down such
unusually long prison sentences.

It is also unclear why the government waited until a few months ago to
begin the trials.

Aung Din, a former political prisoner in Myanmar who is now executive
director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma in Washington, an advocacy group,
said the government was attempting to eliminate all potential opposition
before a new Constitution takes effect in 2010.

"This was their message to other activists: We are going to arrest you
guys and imprison you for many, many years," Aung Din said.

But the government may also be concerned about more immediate problems.

Revenue from the natural gas that Myanmar sells to Thailand is falling
fast, in line with global oil and gas prices.

Turnell estimates that gas revenue has fallen about 25 percent. This year
Thailand will pay a projected $3.5 billion for the Myanmar gas, about half
of which goes to the generals. But shrinking payments from Thailand will
reduce the amount of foreign currency the generals have and hurt their
ability to buy military equipment or push ahead with the continuing
construction of their new capital, Naypyidaw.

Analysts theorize that these harsh prison sentences may reflect a
defensive crouch on the part of the generals in light of these unfavorable
economic conditions.

The 14 activists who this week received sentences of 65 years were
arrested in August 2007 as they marched in the street protesting high fuel
prices, a demonstration that preceded the monk-led protests.

But 65 years is not the final verdict; they are awaiting judgment on a
number of additional alleged infractions, including violation of the Video
Act and the Printers and Publishers Registration Act, which requires that
the government approve all books, films, magazines and songs before
publication.

"We think they will receive a total of at least 150 years in prison each,"
Aung Din said.

____________________________________

November 14, Mizzima
Reporter covering Nargis victims sentenced to two years - Myint Maung

A local woman journalist, attached to weekly 'Ecovision Journal' was
sentenced to two years in jail by a court in Rangoon's Tamwe Township on
Friday.

The sentence handed out to reporter Ein Khaing Oo, barely 24-years-old,
during a close-door trial without being allowed a defence lawyer, comes
after several detained activists were sent to long terms in prison of up
to 65 years earlier this week.

"The sentence was read out this afternoon. She was not permitted a defence
lawyer. The judge read out the sentence. Her family members could learn
the sentence when she was taken back to the prison.

She was accused by the police of taking photographs of Nargis victims so
that she could sell it to the foreign media.

The reporter has spent five months in Insein prison. She was arrested
while filing stories on the Nargis Cyclone victims who were approaching
Rangoon-based international NGOs for help on July 10.ho

Kyaw Kyaw Than, a friend who followed her was also arrested and sentenced
to 7 years in prison. The regime accused him of instigating public riots
and travelling abroad illegally.

Ein Khaing Oo was working in Ecovision for two months before she was
arrested.

Cyclone Nargis lashed the poverty stricken country on May 2 and 3 in which
at least 130,000 people were killed or went missing.

____________________________________

November 14, Independent Mon News Agency
Road repaired to prepare for official visit; infrastructure elsewhere
neglected

Roads needed for a recent visit from Major General Tha Aye were recently
repaired while roads elsewhere in Mon State continue to be neglected.
Local military officials do not care about local development projects,
says a major in administrative department, and infrastructure repairs only
occur in preparation for visiting officials.

Maj. Gen. Tha Aye visited Ye Township, in southern State, and adjacent
Tennasserim Division on November 8th. The main road linking Moulmein, Mon
State’s capital, with areas to the south were repaired. According to
government controlled New Light of Myanmar newspaper, the Maj. Gen.
inspected repairs to the road at Belamine village in Ye Township.

According to a witness, workers used sand and rocks to make minor cosmetic
repairs so that the road would appear well cared for. The repairs have not
lasted, said the source: “The road returned to the same condition after a
few days. The stone and sand blew away.”

A person who recently traveled to Ye Town said that roads in the area were
not in good condition. “Motorbikes are driving beside the road instead of
on it because some parts don’t have the coal tar on the highway. A taxi
driver in Moulmein agreed, and said that the majority of roads in Mon
State are in ill repair and in need of government attention.

According to a source close to the major, most of the high ranks do not
care about local infrastructure like roads. If the upcoming election,
scheduled for 2010, is to keep the army out of politics and in the
barracks, the thinking goes, there is no reason to waste time on public
services.

____________________________________

November 14, Shan Herald Agency for News
Villagers forced to porter during junta campaign against rebels - Hseng
Khio Fah

Burma army units active in areas of Mongkeung township, southern Shan
State, has been forcing many villagers to porter and guide them during the
recent operations against the Shan State Army (SSA) South, according to
sources.

Since earlier in the month, the Mongnai-based Light Infantry Battalion
(LIB) #518, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Thant Zin Latt, has been
patrolling in the areas of Mongkeung and Kehsi townships in order to
search the rebel group.

They went to catch villagers from Harmngai, Wan Mong, Mong Hkun, Wan Khem,
Wan Khong, Mong Kao and Wan Kieng village tracts, to carry things and
weapons including to show the way to the locations of the rebel.

 “There were at least 10 to 20 people caught for one patrol,” said the
source.

The villagers were forced not only to porter but also to stand watch at
night for the soldiers during the patrols, said a villager from Mongkeung.

“It took at least over a week to provide the service. We even have no time
to work for our livelihood. It is very hard for us to survive with this
situation,” complained the villager.

The LIB#518 is active in the area of Mongkeung and Kehsi townships. It
comes under the command of Col Khin Maung Tin of Mongnawng-based Military
Operations Command (MOC) #2.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

November 14, Daily Star (Bangladesh)
Uneasy calm prevails along Bangladesh-Burma border

An uneasy calm prevailed along the Bangladesh-Myanmar [Burma] border as of
yesterday due to presence of huge forces on both sides of the frontier
over Myanmar's attempt to explore oil and gas in Bangladesh's territorial
waters in the Bay.

The crisis that developed last week apparently ended, following withdrawal
of the fossil fuel exploration rig of Korean company Daewoo on Saturday [8
November]. But tension grew as Myanmar mobilized forces on the land border
a few days ago.

The authorities in Naikhong-chhari yesterday made announcement through
loudspeakers asking locals not to go near the no-man's land or cross the
border.

Sources said the move was taken as a precautionary measure after getting
information that Myanmar border forces Nasaka might have planted landmines
along the borders.

Naikhongchhari Upazila [Sub-District] Chairman Tofail Ahmed and Ghundhum
Upazila Chairman Dipak Barua have said the situation remained calm as the
forces remained in their position on both sides of the border.

Naikhongchhari Upazila Nirbahi Officer Aslam Habib said the locals were
advised not to cross the border to avert any untoward incident.

BDR [Bangladesh Rifles] sources said General Officer Commanding (GOC) of
Chittagong Maj-Gen Shamim Chowdhury visited Naikhongchhari and held a
meeting with senior BDR officials yesterday.

A correspondent from Cox's Bazar reports: Myanmar continued mobilizing its
forces and intensified patrol in the border areas, creating a sense of
fear among the people living there.

Sources said Myanmar forces also took position in jungles and mountainous
regions with heavy weapons and cannons, apparently creating a war-like
situation.

BDR officials said they were also on alert and on a round-the-clock patrol
to face any situation.

Commander of Teknaf 42 Rifles Battalion Lt-Col Abdul Khaleq said they were
observing the border situation.

"We have also taken defensive measures and no untoward incident took place
so far," he added.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

November 14, Asia Pulse
Myanmar to open third point for border trade with Bangladesh

Myanmar has planned to add one more border trade point in its western
Rakhine state linking Bangladesh, the local weekly Pyi Myanmar reported
Thursday quoting the Directorate of Border Trade.

Tender for building the infrastructure of the new border trade point
planned at Taungphyo township is being called for, said Xinhua.

The Taungphyo border trade point will be Myanmar's third with Bangladesh
after Sittway and Maungtaw in the same state.

Currently, Myanmar and Bangladesh are engaged more in border trade than in
normal trade.

Myanmar exports to Bangladesh marine products, beans and pulses, kitchen
and crops, while it imports from Bangladesh pharmaceuticals, ceramic,
cotton fabric, raw jute, kitchenware and cosmetic.

The two countries formally opened border trade in 1994.

Bilateral trade between Myanmar and Bangladesh now stands at US$140
million and a target of US$500 million for the next fiscal year 2009-2010
is being strived.

Official statistics showed that Myanmar exported 23,000 tons of marine
products to Bangladesh annually, standing as Bangladesh's fifth largest
marine products importing country out of 30.

Meanwhile, during a visit to Dhaka by Vice-Chairman of the State Peace and
Development Council Vice Senior-General Maung Aye in early October this
year, the two sides decided on purchase of 100,000 tons of rice from
Myanmar by Bangladesh, import of pharmaceuticals from Bangladesh,
construction of a 25-km trans-border road and delimitation of maritime
boundary.

An agreement on avoidance of double taxation was also signed during the
Myanmar leader's Bangladesh trip.

____________________________________

November 14, Irrawaddy
Burma to export biofuel resource to South Korea – William Boot

Burma is to export yet another energy resource - this time the raw product
for ethanol manufacture to make biodiesel.

Thousands of tons of oil from jatropha plants are to be shipped to South
Korea for that country's growing biofuel needs.

The Burmese military government has been forcing tens of thousands of
Burmese to cultivate jatropha plants, also known as physic nuts,
supposedly a national effort to provide the country with an alternative to
expensively imported plain diesel.

But Burma has no refining technology to convert the oil-rich plants into
ethanol, which is the essential ingredient in biofuels.

Now, one of the government's closest linked commercial companies, First
Myanmar Investment (FMI), has signed a supply contract with Enertech to
ship partially processed jatropha "crude" to South Korea.

FMI, owned by junta-linked businessman Serge Pun, is contracted to ship
5,000 tons of jatropha oil to Korea in 2009, and has plans to expand plant
cultivation in Burma beyond its existing 100,000 acres of plantations—some
of which was confiscated from Burmese farmers, say human rights groups.

None of the South Korean biodiesel will be sent back to Burma, a country
suffering energy shortages despite its abundant natural energy resources.
Virtually all Burma's huge natural gas resource is shipped to buyers
abroad. Electricity to be generated by a swathe of hydroelectric dams will
go to Thailand, India and China.

Serge Pun told the Rangoon-based The Myanmar Times this week the South
Korean deal is "an important milestone in the development of renewable
energy sources in Myanmar [Burma]."

One of Malaysia's big ethanol producers, Golden Hope, is also involved in
Serge Pun's export venture.

There is a surge across Southeast Asia in ethanol production for cheaper
biofuels. The biggest producers are Malaysia and Indonesia, although
Thailand is also catching up.

"It's not surprising that this Burmese raw energy material is going
abroad," energy industries consultant Colin Reynolds told The Irrawaddy on
Friday.

"Burma does not have the technical resources to produce the final product,
and even if it did, it's doubtful if many of the country's ageing vehicles
could efficiently use biofuels."

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

November 14, Asian Tribune
Junta’s sentencing of 61 democracy activists deplored by U.S. senators

U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Kay Bailey Hutchison
(R-Texas), Co-Chairs of the Senate Women’s Caucus on Burma, condemned the
recent harsh and unjust sentencing of 61 democracy activists by Burma’s
ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Senators Feinstein and
Hutchison also urged the military junta to release all political
prisoners, including democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Following is the joint statement issued by Senators Feinstein and
Hutchison, deploring the junta’s recent actions:

"As co-chairs of the Senate Women’s Caucus on Burma, we strongly condemn
the recent harsh and unjust sentencing of democracy activists by Burma’s
military regime.

These sentences set a new standard for repression in Burma.

According to news reports, in the past two weeks alone, the junta has
sentenced more than 60 democracy activists in closed, secret trials --
without legal representation -- for their participation in last year’s
Saffron Revolution.

The severe and disproportionate sentences range from two years for a poem
tinged with political satire to up to 65 years for peaceful protests. And
from all indications, it appears that the junta continues to dole out
additional sentences by the day.

Among the sentences:

• The popular Burmese blogger, Nay Phone Latt, was sentenced to 20 years
in prison for his web postings reporting the September 2007
demonstrations.

• 14 democratic activists, including members of the opposition party, the
National League for Democracy, and the‘88 Generation Students’ group, were
sentenced to prison terms of 65 years each for nonviolent offenses,
including holding foreign currency without permission and lacking permits
for various types of ordinary electronic equipment.

• Five Buddhist monks from the Ngwe Kyar Yan Monastery were sentenced to
six and a half years in prison each for their participation in the
protests;

• A well-known poet, Saw Wai, was sentenced to two years imprisonment for
publishing a satirical poem which mocked the junta’s despotic ruler,
General Than Shwe;

• A prominent labor activist, Ma Su Su Nway, was sentenced to 12 years and
6 months in prison for peaceful protests;

• Additionally, lawyers for several of the activists were themselves
arrested and sentenced last week for contempt of court.

It is estimated by international human rights groups that the military
regime now holds more than 2,100 political prisoners. That’s nearly double
the level held prior to the ‘Saffron Revolution’ demonstrations.

These latest actions demonstrate not only the military regime’s utmost
contempt for justice and democracy, but their steadfast determination to
block meaningful democratic change for the people of Burma.

We urge UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to move forward swiftly with his
proposed visit to Burma next month to secure the release of all political
prisoners in Burma, including Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu
Kyi. The time for political reconciliation is long overdue in Burma."

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

November 14, Boston Globe
Burma's junta shows contempt

Any hope that the military dictatorship in Burma might be mending its
vicious ways in response to pleas from abroad was crushed this week when
the regime handed out 65-year prison sentences to 14 nonviolent democracy
activists, and sentences of up to 26 years for 25 others. These are some
of the men and women who took part in the Saffron Revolution in September
2007. In many cases, if not most, their long terms in Burma's horrific
prisons spell a death sentence.

With this display of cruelty, junta kingpin General Than Shwe showed his
scorn for the world's good opinion. He was defying innumerable resolutions
and statements from the United Nations, the United States, the European
Union, and human rights organizations. They have called on him to release
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political
prisoners; to engage in serious dialogue with her National League for
Democracy; and to move toward reconciliation and genuine democracy.

The right response for the UN Security Council is to impose an arms
embargo on the junta. This means persuading permanent council members
Russia and China to stop blocking such meaningful sanctions.

But there is also something simple and straightforward that the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee should do, and that is to confirm President
Bush's highly qualified nominee, Michael Green, to the recently created
post of special representative and policy coordinator for Burma. His
mission - to work for the restoration of democratic governance in Burma -
is more pressing than ever.

The Senate is currently in lame-duck session, but if Green is not
confirmed quickly, the long list of new appointments coming early next
year could delay his confirmation indefinitely. That would be tantamount
to telling the gentle idealists rotting in Burma's Insein Prison that, in
America, senatorial languor trumps democratic solidarity.

____________________________________

November 14, International Herald Tribune
Burma's junta scorns world opinion

Any hope that the military dictatorship in Burma might be mending its
vicious ways was crushed this week when the regime handed out 65-year
prison sentences to 14 nonviolent democracy activists, and sentences of up
to 26 years for 25 others. These are some of the men and women who took
part in the Saffron Revolution in September 2007. In many cases, their
long terms in Burma's horrific prisons spell a death sentence.

With this display of cruelty, the junta kingpin, General Than Shwe, showed
his scorn for the world's good opinion. He was defying innumerable
resolutions and statements from the United Nations, the United States, the
European Union and human rights organizations. They have called on him to
release the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and all other
political prisoners; to engage in serious dialogue with her National
League for Democracy; and to move toward reconciliation and genuine
democracy.

The right response for the UN Security Council is to impose an arms
embargo on the junta. This means persuading Russia and China to stop
blocking such meaningful sanctions.

But there is also something simple and straightforward that the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee should do, and that is to confirm President
Bush's highly qualified nominee, Michael Green, to the recently created
post of special representative and policy coordinator for Burma. His
mission - to work for the restoration of democratic governance in Burma -
is more pressing than ever.

The Senate currently is in lame-duck session, but if Green is not
confirmed quickly, the long list of new appointments coming early next
year could delay his confirmation indefinitely. That would be tantamount
to telling the gentle idealists rotting in Burma's Insein Prison that, in
America, senatorial languor trumps democratic solidarity.