BurmaNet News, November 15-17, 2008

[Editor]

November 15-17, 2008, Issue #3600


INSIDE BURMA
Reuters: Myanmar disperses dissidents throughout its gulag
Mizzima News: Min Ko Naing & eight '88 generation students' sentenced to
65 years
AP: Myanmar courts imprison more democracy activists
AP: Myanmar sentences journalist to 2 years in prison
Irrawaddy: Bangladesh, election preparations top meeting agenda in Naypyidaw

ON THE BORDER
AFP: Bangladesh, Myanmar fail to resolve gas row
Narinjara News: Land mine explodes on border
SHAN: "We won't accept junta issued passports": Shan migrants

BUSINESS / TRADE
Financial Times (UK): Burmese ruby ban likely to be undermined
Myanmar Times: More cooperation needed on food supplies

REGIONAL
Mizzima News: Remittances take a hit, as Singapore's economy slumps

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Activists’ prison sentences setback for UN

OPINION / OTHER
New York Times: Myanmar finds crimes to fit harsh punishments – Thomas Fuller
Bangkok Post: Shock tactics in Burma – Editorial
Mizzima News: Making a prison out of Burma – Editorial
Mizzima News: Head held high Ashin Gambira will never bow to junta – Ko Maw

OBITUARY
DVB: MP-elect Dr Hla Aung dies aged 66


____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

November 17, Reuters
Myanmar disperses dissidents throughout its gulag

Myanmar's junta has sent dozens of political prisoners recently sentenced
to up to 65 years in jail to far-flung corners of its gulag, making it
hard for family members to deliver food and medicine, relatives said on
Monday.

Without the informal delivery of supplies such as malaria and vitamin
pills, detainees face a far greater risk of dying behind bars, say former
political prisoners who have fled to Thailand.

"They were taken in secret from Insein Central Prison through the back
gate early on Sunday morning," Ko Aung, the younger brother of former
student activist Ko Ko Gyi, said. "We waited at the front gate hoping to
see them but didn't get the chance."

Ko Ko Gyi and Min Ko Naing, the former Burma's best known political
prisoner after detained opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu
Kyi, have been dispatched to Kentung in northeast Myanmar, 1,200 km (750
miles), from Yangon.

Other activists from the "88 Generation Students" arrested last August
after several small fuel price protests were sent to Kawthoung in
Myanmar's southern tip, and others to Putao, in the Himalayan foothills of
the far north.

Many of the prisoners, some of whom spent more than a decade in jail after
leading a brutally crushed uprising in 1988, are already thought to be in
poor health.

"It's too bad," said Nyan Win, a spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League
for Democracy, more than a dozen of whose members are among the 60-odd
dissidents sentenced to jail in the last two weeks.

"It must have been done with intent to punish their families too. It will
be very difficult for people to visit them," he said.

The sentences range from 65 years for prominent dissidents to 20 years for
a blogger and four months for defence lawyers who took up the plight of
the dissidents.

The junta's official media have made no mention of the sentences, which
rights groups say are a campaign to eradicate all political opposition in
the run-up to a 2010 election, the final stages of a much-derided "roadmap
to democracy".

____________________________________

November 15, Mizzima News
Min Ko Naing & eight '88 generation students' sentenced to 65 years

Prominent student leader Min Ko Naing and eight of his '88 generation
student' colleagues have been sentenced to 65 years of imprisonment by a
special court in Maupin prison in Burma's Irrawaddy Division, friends and
family members said.

The student leaders, who were arrested in August 2007 for peacefully
marching the streets of Rangoon in protest against rising fuel prices,
were reportedly sent back to Insein prison after the sentencing.

The nine students, including Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi and Htay Kywe, were
transferred to Maupin prison earlier this month after a court in Insein
prison sentenced them to six month prison terms on charges of contempt of
court.

____________________________________

November 17, Associated Press
Myanmar courts imprison more democracy activists

Courts in military-ruled Myanmar sentenced at least seven democracy
activists to prison Monday, continuing a crackdown that saw about 70
people jailed last week.

Four student activists, two members of the opposition National League for
Democracy party and a former party member who has become a prominent
independent activist received jail terms of 6 1/2 to 12 1/2 years at
closed-door trials inside Yangon's Insein Prison, said league spokesman
Nyan Win.

Authorities last week sentenced about 70 opposition activists, writers,
musicians and Buddhist monks to jail sentences ranging from 2 1/2 years to
65 years, with many of them transferred to prisons in remote areas on
Sunday and Monday.

The courts' actions seemed designed to keep them jailed long past
elections scheduled for 2010, to be held under a new constitution that
critics claim is designed to perpetuate the military's dominant role in
politics.

Many of those sentenced were arrested following mass pro-democracy
protests that were crushed by the ruling junta in September 2007.
According to U.N. estimates, at least 31 people were killed and thousands
were detained. Many fled the country or went underground.

Nyan Win said Htin Kyaw, a former member of the party was given a 12 1/2
year sentence.

Htin Kyaw, 45, who was detained repeatedly in 2007 for organizing
demonstrations criticizing the government's economic policies, has been in
custody since August last year, when he and another activist were about to
stage a protest at a busy intersection in downtown Yangon.

Other activists sentenced Monday included economics student Sithu Maung
and three members of the illegal All Burma Federation of Student Union.

Amnesty International and other human rights groups say the junta holds
more than 2,100 political prisoners, up sharply from 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 for Democracy, who has spent more than 13 of the past 19
years under house arrest.
____________________________________

November 16, Associated Press
Myanmar sentences journalist to 2 years in prison

A court in military-ruled Myanmar has sentenced a journalist to two years
in prison for her coverage of a protest over the lack of government relief
for victims of a devastating cyclone, colleagues said Saturday.

Ein Khaing Oo, who had been detained for five months, was sentenced Friday
after being convicted in a closed-door trial on charges of "disturbing
tranquility," according to colleagues who asked not to be identified for
fear of retaliation.

The case follows a string of recent long prison sentences given to critics
of the ruling junta. At least 50 opposition activists, writers, musicians
and Buddhist monks have been sentenced in the last week.

Ein Khaing Oo, a reporter for the weekly Myanmar-language magazine Eco
Vision, was arrested June 10 while covering a demonstration in front of a
U.N. office by about 20 victims of Cyclone Nargis, which devastated much
of the country in May. The protesters were seeking assistance because the
government was not helping them.

The military junta was widely criticized for its slow response to the
cyclone and for delaying international aid.

The official government death toll from the cyclone is 84,537. Some 2.4
million people were severely affected by the storm, with the total damage
estimated as high as $4 billion.

In the past week, various Myanmar courts have sentenced more than 50
people to long prison terms for pro-democracy activity. Many were arrested
in connection to protests last year.

The army crushed the demonstrations in September 2007. According to U.N.
estimates, at least 31 people were killed and thousands of protesters
detained.

Among the people convicted this past week were at least 30 activists for
the opposition National League for Democracy, according to party spokesman
Nyan Win, who said some were given to up to 16 years in prison.

Nine Buddhist monks were also sentenced to prison terms of up to eight
years, Nyan Win said.

The human rights group Amnesty International says Myanmar now has more
than 2,100 political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung
San Suu Kyi, who heads the opposition party and has been under house
arrest for more than 12 of the past 19 years.

____________________________________

November 17, Irrawaddy
Bangladesh, election preparations top meeting agenda in Naypyidaw – Wai Moe

Tensions between Burma and Bangladesh and preparations for the general
election planned for 2010 topped the agenda of the latest meeting of
Burma’s ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), according to
Burmese military analysts.

Reshuffling of military posts was also discussed, Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese
military analyst based on the Sino-Burma border, told The Irrawaddy on
Monday.

“Lt-Gen Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo might quit as quartermaster-general
in the Tatmadaw, [the Burmese armed forces] but he will still hold his
post as Secretary 1 of the junta,” he said.

SPDC meetings are held every four months. The latest was one month behind
schedule, analysts say.

Win Min, a Burmese researcher on civil-military relations, based in Chiang
Mai, Thailand, also confirmed that personnel changes were likely in the
run-up to the 2010 election.

Some regional military commanders could become cabinet ministers to
replace those who would be standing for election, he said.

Htay Aung, a researcher on military affairs with the Network for Democracy
and Development. based on the Thai-Burmese border, said the SPDC meeting
also discussed the global financial crisis.

On the subject of the dispute between Burma and Bangladesh over
territorial claims in the Bay of Bengal, Htay Aung said the regime’s No 2,
Vice Snr-Gen Maun Aye, had failed to mend the breach during the visit he
made to Bangadesh in early October.

Meanwhile, junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe appeared with top generals and
regional commanders at the coordination meeting (1/2008) of the Special
Projects Implementation Committee, according to state-run TV reports.

Apart from Than Shwe, members of the committee are Maung Aye, junta No 3
Gen Shwe Mann, Prime Minister Thein Sein, Secretary 1 Lt-Gen Tin Aung
Myint Oo, commanders-in-chief of Burma’s navy and air forces, army
commanders, ministers and departmental heads.

Military sources said after the meeting that some regional commanders had
been promoted. “Brig-Gen Kyaw Swe, commander of the Southwest Command of
the Tatmadaw has been appointed Major General,” a source said.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

November 17, Agence France Presse
Bangladesh, Myanmar fail to resolve gas row

Bangladesh and Myanmar will hold more talks over a disputed stretch of
water in the Bay of Bengal after a two-day meeting failed to resolve the
row, Bangladesh's foreign minister said Monday.

Foreign Minister Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury told AFP he had met with the
officials involved in the Dhaka talks earlier Monday and did not expect a
resolution when they ended later in the evening.

"We have agreed that the differences can be resolved through peaceful
discussions. The next discussions will be in Myanmar but no date has been
set."

A tense standoff between the neighbouring countries, which normally enjoy
friendly relations, flared earlier this month when Myanmar escorted a
South Korean company exploring in the mineral-rich waters.

Bangladesh immediately deployed four ships and put its navy and armed
forces on high alert.

"We have expressed that until such a time as a clear demarcation is
resolved, there should be no exploration," said Chowdhury.

Bangladesh faces an acute energy shortage and has invited bids from
foreign companies to explore gas reserves in its part of the Bay of
Bengal.

Myanmar, which has discovered huge reserves of natural gas in the bay,
insists its exploration work is legal.

____________________________________

November 17, Narinjara News
Land mine explodes on border

A land mind was detonated on the border between Burma and Bangladesh in
the early morning hours of Friday, reported the Dainik Cox's Bazar on 15
November 2008.
The newspaper reported that Chairman Dopol Bawara said the land mine
exploded on the Burmese side a few kilometers from the border gate in Kon
Don of Bangladesh.

Local people said that some smugglers may have been affected by the
explosion but no one knows of any casualties from the incident.

Burma's border security forces in the area are trying to withhold
information to avoid the attention of the high authorities in Burma, a
local source said.

The land mine was triggered amid wide reports in the region that Burma's
Nasaka forces have been planting land mines along the border in response
to the tension with Bangladesh.

____________________________________

November 17, Shan Herald Agency for News
"We won't accept junta issued passports": Shan migrants – Hseng Khio Fah

The Chiangmai based Workers Solidarity Association (WSA) will not accept
new identification called passport documents supposed to be offered by the
Burmese ruling military junta, according to a senior member of the group.

"No one in our group will go to apply for passport documents. Because they
are afraid the authorities will not do as they say. Then again many
workers are worried the authorities will use our information to persecute
our families," said Sai Hawm Khurh.

"They [authorities] tried to issue IDs once in 2006, but we haven't seen
any results," he added.

Burma will offer one-year work-permit papers for Burmese migrants workers
to work legally in Thailand, according to an official source from Nay Pyi
Taw.

The authorities will start issuing the new nationality identification or
'passport documents' in December. And the passports registration offices
would be opened along the Thai-Burma border at
Myawaddy, Tachilek and Kawthawng, said the source.

However, no information has reached the people yet, said a worker in
Tachilek.

A Burmese migrant worker who wants to apply for a new passport document
has to give his/her background information, ID card, and a recommendation
letter from his/her boss or business owner.

On the other hand, the Department of Employment (DOE) in Thailand also
demanded that employers that hiring migrant workers from Lao PDR and
Myanmar submit evidence for national verification, according to a document
received by Chiangmai based Migrant Assistance Program (MAP).

On September 5, the DOE opened national verification process for migrant
workers from Lao PDR and Myanmar, issuing passports and work permits for
those who passed national verification from 1 September 2008 to 28
February 2009, according to a report from DOE.

"The Department has discussed and agreed with Lao PDR and Myanmar on
national verification, issuing passport, visa and work permit for workers
from both countries," said Mr. Pairote Suksamrit, Director General of DOE.

The report said, Burmese migrant workers can collect the form for
submitting the national verification request at provincial Employment
Offices with photos and a print of the left finger and send it to Migrant
Worker Importation Regulation Division to collect and send to Myanmar
government through diplomatic channels for each migrant worker to travel
to Myanmar National Verification Centre at Tachilek, Myawaddy, and
Kawthawng on the Thai-Burma border.

In 2006, Thailand and Burma agreed to set up nationality identification
centres for Burmese migrant workers.  However, the two countries failed to
successfully implement the agreement.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

November 17, Financial Times (UK)
Burmese ruby ban likely to be undermined – Raphael Minder

In the western Thai town of Kanchanaburi, Kimnigt Sirigpuksa opens a purse
and rolls out red stones.

With a beaming smile, the jewellery shop owner says they are uncut Burmese
rubies. “I can get some others if you want,” she says.

Verifying her claims is difficult, but that is the task of US customs
officials following sanctions imposed by Washington on Burma and its
ruling military junta.

In theory, the ban, which US officials began enforcing in October, should
have a significant impact on the trade in gemstones, particularly rubies,
since Burma is the world’s largest producer. In practice, however, some
jewellers and traders see Washington’s clampdown as futile.

The scepticism is prevalent in Thailand, the world’s largest trading
centre for coloured gems. From his office on Silom, the Bangkok road that
is a centre for gem traders and jewellers, Somchai Phorchindarak, chief
executive of the Bangkok Gems and Jewellery Fair, says the US is missing
its intended target, punishing instead small Burmese miners and farmers
who search for gems, and the cutters and manufacturers who turn them into
jewellery abroad.

Still, Mr Somchai says the 1,500 companies in his association, of which 90
per cent are exporters, have to follow Washington’s demands and stop
dealing with Burma. “We have a good reputation and don’t want to take any
risks,” he says. Such pre- occupations have prompted some luxury brands,
including Cartier and Bulgari, to shun Burmese stones ahead of the US
sanctions.

Burmese gems are still sold by leading auction houses and luxury
retailers. In private, many argue that Burma’s importance to the gem
industry is too long-standing to be halted by the US. “There are simply
too many stones from Burma already on the market, too many trading
channels, both legal and illegal, for this to stop,” says one trader.

Burma is a world leader in high-quality jade and rubies and developing
alternative markets could raise new ethical problems, some experts warn.
Emmanuel Ouachée-Feldmann, an independent expert, voices concerns about
Tajikistan, where rubies are mined near the Afghan border. “To avoid
Burmese stones, we are going to help boost the value of gems that might
well already be controlled by Islamic extremists,” he says.

Ronald Abram, whose eponymous business is one of Asia’s leading jewellers,
also draws a distinction between African blood diamonds and Burmese
rubies. “All the very important rubies come from [family] vaults,” he
says. “When it comes to blood diamonds, it’s our responsibility and we
know what’s happened. Those [Burmese] generals are dictators but nobody
has proven to me that they butchered people for the rubies.”

The biggest challenge for the US ban is likely to be its enforcement.
While the diamond industry has put in place the so-called Kimberley
Process to track where diamonds are mined, following a public outcry over
diamond-funded wars in Africa, no such system exists for coloured stones.

“There has to be a proper and new process of certification,” says an
executive of Thien Po, a Thai exporter of jewellery, 60 per cent of which
goes to the US. “This ban will just make the trading of the gemstones more
difficult to control.”

In the meantime, there are only a handful of laboratories worldwide with
the testing facilities to determine the origin of rubies.

But the sanctions have won over some in the industry. Jewelers of America,
a trade group for retail jewellers, says customer needs can be met without
Burma. “While Burma is traditionally the home of the finest rubies, there
are several other ruby sources,’’ says the group.

____________________________________

November 17, Myanmar Times
More cooperation needed on food supplies – Yi Yi Htwe

Food supply experts have called for greater cooperation between government
ministries.
AFFORDABLE food security and increased foreign currency income can be had
by strengthening the links between paddy and cooking oil crops on the one
hand, and the livestock and fisheries sectors on the other, food supply
experts say.

About 80 percent of the investment in livestock and fisheries comes from
the profits from rice and cooking oil crops.

Simply, if there are more plantations, greater quantities of paddy and
cooking oil will be produced. This in turn will cause prices to fall,
while allowing more of the crop to be exported, thus bringing in more
foreign exchange.

This is the message from a number of senior figures within the relevant
and interconnected industries.

One of these is U Win Kyaing, secretary of the Myanmar Fisheries
Federation, who warned that when feed prices are high, farmers struggle to
make ends meet. However, this is not the case now, which is helping to
rehabilitate an industry still reeling from Cyclone Nargis.

He called for increased cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture
and Irrigation and the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, especially in
conducting joint needs assessments to guarantee that both sides benefit.

Dairy Cattle Farmers and Milk and Milk Products Sellers Association
secretary Dr Khin Hlaing disagreed and said it’s not that simple: “Animals
don’t like to have their diets changed overnight.”

The senior agricultural planning official agreed that there should be more
cooperation and dialogue between the two ministries but said all the
information about crops and yields are available.

“I admit that we do not do any cooperative assessments as yet but we do
ensure that information about what crops our members are growing and how
much has been planted is available to the other ministries.

“For oil crops it’s safe to assume that the amount of land used to grow
these crops is always increasing. For instance, peanut and sesame
plantations increased by about 300,000 acres from the 2006-07 to 2007-08.

U Khin Soe, president of the Livestock Feed Association, highlighted the
importance of increasing oil crop yields.

“Myanmar consumes 600,000 tonnes of cooking oil a year. But we also import
300,000 tonnes of palm oil, which is a waste of foreign currency,” he
said, adding that there are additional benefits for farmers from
increasing yields.

“If bean and sesame cultivation were increased, we would get one and half
tonnes of by-product for every tonne of cooking oil we produced.

“That would be healthier for the general population because they wouldn’t
be consuming so much unhealthy palm oil and would keep the prices of
cooking oils, fisheries and livestock products lower; it would also save
foreign currency.”

This is because the by-products – broken rice and rice bran from grinding
paddy, and peanut or sesame oil cake from grinding oil crops – are used to
make feed for fish and livestock. Other sources of animal feed are bean
powder, soya beans, mustard cake and so on.

“The industry is spending about K100 billion for feedstuff a year,” said U
Khin Soe. But if more were produced, once enough had been set aside to
meet domestic demand, the rest could be exported.

“Rice by-products are selling cheaply now. The less farmers have to pay
for feed for fish and animals, the more they can produce their goods at a
reasonable price and keep a decent slice of the profits. So our population
can have low-cost rice, cooking oil, chicken, pork, fish and eggs.”

____________________________________
REGIONAL

November 17, Mizzima News
Remittances take a hit, as Singapore's economy slumps – John Moe

Over recent years, millions of Singapore dollars have found their way to
Burma through the Burmese remittance system, the nexus of the operation
being run out of shops and human resources agencies in the heartland of
the Lion City.

However, owing to the global financial crisis that burst upon the
international stage this September, the Singapore-Burmese remittance link
has suffered. With Singapore officially announcing in October that it is
in a state of recession, Burmese working, or hoping to find work in the
city, have found the going increasingly difficult.

A businessman from Peninsula Plaza, wishing to remain anonymous, told
Mizzima, "Business has been affected and worse times are yet to come, the
effect is huge for Burmese exporters, especially for those regularly
trading with Singapore in rubber, gems, woods and agricultural products."

Even Burmese workers not yet drastically affected, are spending in a more
circumspect manner. Bo Bo Win, owner of the Ya Nant Thit Restaurant, said,
"My regular customers have not turned up during the weekend, bringing the
sale's percentage down. We just broke even."

Burmese in Singapore are currently focusing their spending on essential
goods, avoiding superfluous expenditures. "Since the financial market
upheaval, gross sales revenue has fallen by more than ten percent," added
the restaurateur.

And now, among Burmese establishments, business stakeholders are carrying
out increased sales promotions, in the fight over a diminished customer
base.

Furthermore, the global financial crisis has forced many new arrivals to
the city-state to return to Burma – empty-handed, their being unable to
secure a job in Singapore during this period of recession.

As for Burmese professionals, they are also being affected, as companies
have been forced to lay off staff.

Nwae Nwae Naing, a professional and holder of an Employment Permit,
together with eight other Burmese architects and designers, was recently
laid off by Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart & Stewart (SRSS). The company has
not, however, cancelled their Employment Permits, granting them one month
in which to line up new jobs, otherwise they will be forced to return to
Burma as well, within six weeks time.

Nwae Nwae Naing told Mizzima, "The company had 135 staff from top
management down to junior staff. After the restructuring of the company,
50 staff had to be laid off, also including French, Philippine, Malaysian
and Indonesian nationals."

Meanwhile, those unemployed Burmese in Singapore with Permanent Resident
(PR) status are trying to get by as they continue to look for work.

Thiri Sandar Tun (25), holder of a Bachelor's in Commerce from Rangoon,
said, "I have been looking for a job for over three months in Singapore,
and I am still yet to achieve my goal."

"My father sends 800 dollars a month to cover my living expenses," she
added. "But I have already spent more than ten thousand dollars over six
months, including school fees."

Khine Zar Lwin (24), a Bachelor in Business Administration recipient and
former administration staff manager at the Ginzarpan Pizza Hut in Rangoon,
has taken up waitressing at a food court in Singapore, where she is
overworked and underpaid.

"I have no other opportunities to choose from," laments Khine Zar Lwin. "I
have to consider the agent's fees and I don't want to go back to Burma
with empty hands." From her monthly wages (approximately US$ 650) she pays
60 percent toward her living and transportation costs, while the other 40
percent is sent home – still a colossal amount which she would never be
able to earn in Burma as a waitress.

The current economic situation in Singapore can make living on the island
very harsh for Burmese. The stylish art facilities, education
institutions, shopping malls, sports and recreational facilities, are on
par with western countries, and demand good money to be enjoyed.

It used to be that, prior to the global economic crisis, benefits offered
to Burmese employees helped make Singapore livable and enjoyable, and ease
the transition to a new life; affordable housing could be found. Now, the
situation is much more difficult, with some Burmese in Singapore finding
it difficult to make ends meet.

Due to her unemployment, Nwae Nwae Naing still cannot remit money to her
family back in Burma. For now, the Burmese-Singapore remittance system, to
which so many back in Burma are dependent, hangs in limbo – as Burmese in
Singapore struggle to survive the financial crisis and the Lion City
battles to regain its economic roar.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

November 17, Irrawaddy
Activists’ prison sentences setback for UN – Lalit K Jha

The sentencing of pro-democracy activists, from two to 65 years, by
special prison courts in Burma last week is a major setback to UN-led
initiatives to restore democracy and protect human rights.

The harsh sentences come at a time when top UN officials have been
negotiating with the junta on the timing of the next visit of the special
UN envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, and the agenda expectations for such a trip.

Diplomats said the junta also has failed to respond to requests to
institutionalize talks with the UN in which mid-level UN diplomats would
visit Burma to hold discussions with Burmese counterparts at regular
intervals. At least two letters requesting such a move were sent after
Gambari's last trip to Burma in August, with no response so far.

With the latest harsh prison sentences, observers at UN headquarters in
New York acknowledged that it will be difficult to proceed further since
the junta has left little or no scope for negotiations. It is unlikely
that the junta would accede to any of the requests to normalize relations
with the political opposition.

While the UN is yet to decide on Gambari's next visit, some in the UN feel
that another visit by the special envoy would be a fruitless exercise and
have suggested his visit be postponed.

At the same time, another group argues for Gambari's visit if only to keep
open the door to negotiations. Cancelling or postponing the trip at this
point would only push the country into more political isolation and is not
going to help the cause of the pro-democracy movement or the people of
Burma, they argue.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

November 16, New York Times
Myanmar finds crimes to fit harsh punishments – Thomas Fuller

The 65-year prison sentences handed down last week to antigovernment
demonstrators in Myanmar are only the beginning of an expected series of
verdicts against hundreds of political prisoners, according to exile
groups tracking the trials.

Of the 1,037 people arrested for political activities over the past 15
months, about three-quarters have yet to go before a judge or complete
their trials, 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 may face up to 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 cellphone or distributing a
homemade video without government clearance can land you in prison, judges
are using a raft of laws to justify harsh sentences.

The government of Myanmar, the former 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, Australia. In the past, the government relied more
heavily on laws dating to the British colonial days involving charges like
treason or sedition.

Now, Zarganar has been charged with, among other offenses, violation of
the Electronic Transactions Law, which carries a prison sentence of up to
15 years for using 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 “copying,
distributing, hiring or exhibiting videotape that has no video censor
certificate.”

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

“They were really spooked by the method of protest as much as the protest
itself,” he said.

With a government as secretive as Myanmar’s — the trials of protesters are
being held inside a prison without defense lawyers or family present — it
is impossible to know with certainty 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 trying to eliminate all potential opposition
before a new constitution takes effect in 2010.


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. That will reduce the amount
of foreign currency the generals have and will hurt their ability to buy
military equipment or push ahead with the continuing construction of their
new capital, Naypyidaw.

Analysts theorize that the 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 received 65-year sentences last week were arrested in
August 2007 as they marched in the street protesting high fuel prices, in
a demonstration that preceded the protests led by monks. But many are
still awaiting judgment on a number of additional charges, including
violation of the Printers and Publishers Registration Act, which requires
that the government approve all books, magazines and songs before
publication. “We think they will receive a total of at least 150 years in
prison each,” Mr. Aung Din said.

____________________________________

November 17, Bangkok Post
Shock tactics in Burma – Editorial

What started as an outcry against sudden, ill-thought-out fuel price
increases by the Burmese junta in August last year, culminated in
thousands of people massing in central Rangoon a month later chanting
"Democracy, democracy!" and demanding an end to 45 years of military rule
and economic decline.

Their chants were answered by weapons fire and a brutal crackdown which
left more than 30 people dead, at least a hundred missing and thousands in
prison. This week the dissidents, some already detained for more than a
year, learned the price they must pay for that protest.

Fourteen leading Burmese activists from the 88 Generation Students group,
including five women, were each sentenced to a mind-numbing 65 years in
jail. Nine others received the same severe sentence and five monks were
given more than six years each for "disturbing public tranquillity".

Such harsh prison terms were the latest in a series of lengthy sentences
the Burmese authorities have imposed in recent weeks as they slammed cell
doors shut on artists, journalists and lawyers. Well-known labour activist
Su Su Nway received 12-and-a-half years in prison for putting up
anti-government posters while her colleague was given eight. Blogger Nay
Phone Latt, 28, who posted a cartoon of military leader Than Shwe and
possessed a banned video, was jailed for 20 years. Three defence lawyers
were imprisoned for between four and six months for contempt of court
after complaining of unfair treatment, and four other defence lawyers were
barred from representing their clients.

The list is as depressing as it is long.

These are brutal shock tactics. Clearly the junta is determined to ensure
that the elections it plans for 2010 as part of its "roadmap to democracy"
suffer no disruption and that the population will be sufficiently cowed
not to repeat what happened in 1990. That was when it organised
multi-party elections but refused to honour the results after Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won an overwhelming victory.
It also shows there is little likelihood of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate
being released anytime soon from the house arrest she has endured for more
than 13 out of the past 19 years.

Now that the junta has disqualified Daw Suu Kyi from participating in
elections because her late husband was a foreigner, prolonging her
detention still further seems illogical and cruel. Surely the authorities
must realise that by continually courting international condemnation and
inflaming public opinion, they are taking a greater risk than that
entailed in granting this courageous lady the freedom which is her right.
Such behaviour has already led to the country being ostracised by much of
the world, condemned to economic sanctions and regarded as Asean's
greatest embarrassment.

The onus is on the junta to refute the widely-held belief that the 2010
elections merely raise false hopes and are a sham designed to further
entrench the military in power. If the generals would truly have us
believe that they intend to switch the country to a democratic system,
then packing the prisons with a new generation of political prisoners is
hardly the best way to start.

How refreshing it would be if Asean would look beyond smokescreens about
roadmaps and constructive engagement, and do some serious table-thumping.

There could be no better place for a statesman-like discussion of the
benefits Burma would gain by instituting genuinely positive reforms than
at the Asean summit in Chiang Mai next month. It would be worth the
effort.

____________________________________

November 17, Mizzima News
Making a prison out of Burma – Editorial

Gagging the voice of protests and imprisoning dissidents for an incredible
65 years, pairs Burma's governing junta with some of the most repressive
regimes in the history of the modern world. The verdicts are making a
mockery of the justice system and turning the judiciary on its head.

The regime is determined to push ahead with the 2010 general election and
will resort to any measure at its disposal, a la the reported 93 percent
approval in May's constitutional referendum, to emerge victorious. Laws
regulating the election will soon be announced. But the writing is already
on the wall, the opposition will struggle, under drastically curtailed
opportunities, to contest the polls. A ban on Aung San Suu Kyi contesting
the elections is already in force – as per the constitution pushed upon
the people earlier in the year. In this context, the harsh sentences
recently meted out to opposition figures are designed to discourage
dissidents and anti-regime forces in contesting the 2010 poll.

To the civilized world, what is happening in Burma may seem like madness –
a system gone horribly awry. But there is a method to the madness.

Burma's generals have unleashed terror in the run-up to its declared 2010
general election, the final phase of the so called "seven-step road map to
disciplined democracy," that ostensibly promises to put an end to 45 years
of what many people in the impoverished Southeast Asian country, and
outside, call, "despotic military rule."

As has too often been the case with Burma, over the course of these four
plus decades, caught in the eye of the storm are dissidents, political
opposition leaders, party workers, ethnic leaders, human rights crusaders,
journalists, literary figures, artists, bloggers, human rights activists
and social workers. Their nomenclature means nothing to a regime fixated
on a singular agenda -- to retain a stranglehold on power.

The unabated onslaught on the opposition in the aftermath of the 2007
Saffron Revolution is not new, what is new is the changed circumstances in
the wake of the stage-managed constitutional referendum. Emboldened by the
success of its countrywide deceit, the regime has gone ahead with
preparations for the 2010 poll; the arrests and sentencing of numerous
opposition figures and activists being yet one more calculated move by the
junta in clearing and paving the way for victory through its civilian arm
– Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA).

What has transpired following the sustained arrests of activists, monks
and others, is a spate of sentences since November 11th, in which verdicts
were handed down ranging from two to 65 years – making a mockery of the
judicial system. Tomas Ojea Quintana, the U.N.'s Special Rapporteur on
Human Right for Burma, following his initial visit to the county in August
of this year, identified reform of the country's judicial system as one of
four crucial elements to be addressed if the 2010 elections are to stand
any chance of being widely accepted, both inside and outside Burma.

Astonishing as it may seem outside the bamboo curtain that encircles
Burma; the youth arrested were sentenced to prison terms meaning they will
be nonagenarians when released, should they even manage to survive the
harsh and hostile conditions of Burma's notorious prisons.

Over the course of a single week this November, nearly 100 people have
been cast behind bars in the wake of trials in which, in many cases, no
defense counsel was permitted. Unfair trails and arbitrary sentences on
trumped up charges are well designed to intimidate politicians, activists
and the people at large in the run-up to the 2010 election, causing dismay
and condemnation around the world.

The irony is that none of the activists did anything to deserve arrest,
let alone be put on trial and made to languish in jails across the
country. All they did was protest against tyranny, human rights abuses,
spiraling prices and a deteriorating political and economic atmosphere in
a nation which has sunk to abysmal depths.

In just about a year, the number of political prisoners has jumped from
approximately 1,200 to 2,100, according to Amnesty International and other
rights organizations. Heading the list of course is Aung San Suu Kyi, the
only Nobel Laureate under detention – having now been detained for an
astonishing 13 years.

The lessen apparently drawn by Burma's generals following last year's mass
protests was certainly not that of the desperate need for dialogue and
national reconciliation, rather, the junta has taken it upon itself to
implement and escalate a campaign of repression and arrest throughout the
country – in an attempt to maintain its position as unilateral arbiter
over all affairs of the country.

____________________________________

November 15, Mizzima News
Head held high Ashin Gambira will never bow to junta – Ko Maw

Ashin Gambira, the leading monk of the saffron revolution and a leader in
'All Burma Monks Alliance' (ABMA), has been under detention for one year
as on November 4 this year.

He was arrested by junta's thugs and local authorities in Singai, Mandalay
Division on 4th November 2007 after being beaten up.

He is in fact a young learning student monk only 29 years of age.

But he decided to abandon his learning institution and join political
activity when he realized the current crisis of Burma originated because
of the junta's one-sided bullying tactics and refusal to resolve the
political crisis by political means. He could no longer ignore the plight
of the people and joined hands with other like minded monks to resolve the
current crisis.

This historical monk-led movement of protest by reciting Metta sutra is
still glorious till today.

But one of the leading monks of this protest is still under detention.

He was hospitalized on September 10 this year after drinking milk offered
by police on duty which resulted in vomiting three times while he was
suffering severe stress amid the arrest of his family members and the
first anniversary of saffron revolution.

His health condition is deteriorating due to various reasons. It was so
even at the time of the saffron revolution first anniversary. We knew only
after he was hospitalized, that he gets severe headache, a stiff and
strained neck whenever he thinks of anything. He cannot concentrate and
has become weak and thin.

What is surprising was he told his elder sister who met him in prison,
"Don't engage in politics, go back to the hometown 'Pauk' and enjoy a
peaceful life, and do not come and see me in prison anymore." He was
anxious about his family members. I was astonished when I heard about it.

Because I used to stay with him and was very intimate and close, I know
him well and his mental integrity.

Everything he talked about was related to politics. Everything he thought
about was exploring means to resolve the current crisis in Burma by
peaceful means. He believed in peaceful transformation and a win-win
situation. He seemed to be trying hard with this firm belief.

His real name (priesthood name) is U Sandawbartha. Whenever his fellow
monks asked him, 'What are you doing Bo San', he used to reply 'I usually
work on 'Bahuzanatiharya' and 'Bahuzanathukharya' as Lord Buddha taught'.

He is ambitious and his mind is pure and clean. He sacrificed much in his
young life. But what he got back from his great efforts was low in all
aspects.

I was displeased with him by his appearance when I first saw him at
'Aungmingalar' highway bus terminal. He came and picked us up at this
terminal when we first went to Rangoon for discussions with him. His
appearance on that day is still in my mind and eye, wearing a dirty and
dusty Thai made silk robe, having over half inch long hair, carrying a
dirty silk shoulder bag with full of odds and ends in it.

I heard some remarks made in his absence, 'He is unlike a Buddhist monk,
dirty and untidy'. In the words of Yenanchaung folks, 'Our town is
underdeveloped and dirty as the government sees our town as brown or black
area (insurgent areas)'. In fact, Yenanchaung is the hub and a historical
town full of active and dynamic political movements.

It is not surprising to hear such gossip or comment about him by some
affluent (to some extent) student monks by judging only his superficial
appearance. But everyone could not help showing respect to him as soon as
they talked to him. His wisdom, mental and moral integrity are totally
contrary to his appearance and awesome to everyone.

I was even more surprised when I realised he had no spare robe. Then I
understand why he looked dirty. He might worry about delaying his work if
he washed his one and only robe and could not go outside. After that, I
respected him a lot more and had sympathized with him.

He could not get any more cash and kind benefits as a student monk at that
time. Moreover he had to abandon his little belongings what he had at his
hostel in consideration of his security and had to be content with what he
had and strived for his political goals.

Now such a seasoned political activist monk full of sacrifices has urged
his elder sister to stay away from politics. Then I asked my wife (his
younger elder sister) about him. I realized that though he doesn't care
about his own sufferings, he is anxious and worries about the safety and
suffering of his colleagues, family and relatives.

The authorities know his mind well and they used pressure tactics on him.
When I and my wife were on the run, they fooled him with false news of our
arrest with detailed location, date and where we were being held. Then
they showed him the actual arrest of his younger brother and husband of
his elder sister. You can imagine how he felt at that time. At that time,
his elder sister was expecting her baby in the third semester of
pregnancy. He could not ignore the real situation of his septuagenarian
parents, left without family support for both daily wherewithal and
health. All the sons and daughters are not with them.

But it is certain that this heroic monk leader Ashin Gambira will never
surrender to the evil power of the regime and kneel before the junta.

I pay my tribute to U Gambira with this article on this occasion of the
first anniversary of his arrest by the junta.

____________________________________
OBITUARY

November 17, Democratic Voice of Burma
MP-elect Dr Hla Aung dies aged 66 – Moe Aye

Dr Hla Aung, elected representative for Wundwin constituency-2 and an
active National League for Democracy member, passed away this morning at
the age of 66.

Dr Hla Aung was born to Aye Maung and Aye Kyi on 27 December 1941 in
Pyidawtha village, Wundwin township.

He attended Rangoon University from 1962 to 1964 and attained a degree in
the arts and a diploma in international communication and received a
Russian language diploma and a doctorate in economics from the State
University of Moscow.

He worked as a research officer and assistant lecturer at the Central
Institute of Political Science from 1970 to 1977.

In the 1990 election, Dr Hla Aung was elected after receiving 67 percent
of the vote.

Dr Hla Aung had been suffering from heart problems, and died this morning
from the cold after staying in a meditation centre.

He is survived by his wife, Aye Nu, and their four children.