BurmaNet News, November 18, 2008

[Editor]

November 18, 2008, Issue #3601


INSIDE BURMA
Independent (UK): 12 years for 'Saffron Revolution' monk
AP: Myanmar courts imprison ethnic minority activists
DVB: New Generation activists jailed
Mizzima: Aid agency helps 100,000 Burmese children return to school

ON THE BORDER
Thai Press Reports: Thai, Burmese rush to Mae Sot stream

BUSINESS / TRADE
Xinhua: Myanmar emphasizes on development of hydropower
Xinhua: China, Burma chambers of commerce agree to promote trade cooperation

DRUGS
SHAN: Wa says no exportation to Thailand

ASEAN
Myanmar Times: ASEAN working to strengthen newly forged links between
Myanmar and UN

INTERNATIONAL
Reuters: U.N. rights experts condemn Myanmar activist trials
AFP: White house condemns Myanmar's harsh sentencing of dissidents

OPINION / OTHER
Jakarta Post: India shifts policy on Myanmar – Nehginao Kipgen
The Age (Australia): A new way is needed to help Burma's people
Kantarawaddy Times: Four cuts military operation increases, more suffering
for IDPs – Par Reh
Alantic Free Press (Netherlands): How Bush Iraq invasion boosted Burma's
junta – Sherwood Ross



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

November 18, Independent (UK)
12 years for 'Saffron Revolution' monk

A Buddhist monk who helped organise last year's "Saffron Revolution"
against the Burmese junta has been sentenced to a dozen years in jail by a
secret court in Rangoon.

Ashin Gambira, 29, was sentenced by the court operating inside the city's
notorious Insein Jail. Reports suggest that the sentencing process has not
yet been completed and that the monk could be jailed for longer once other
charges are brought against him.

Mr Gambira was one of the founders of the All Burmese Monks' Alliance
which helped organise the massive protests against the Burmese authorities
in September last year. Rocked by the peaceful protests that saw tens of
thousands of monks and ordinary people take to the streets of the
country's biggest cities, the authorities responded with a violent
crack-down that left dozens of people dead. Thousands of monks and
citizens were arrested.

In the aftermath of the demonstrations, Mr Gambira went into hiding but
was arrested a year ago with his father in Sintgaing Township, near
Mandalay. The authorities later forcibly disrobed him, in contravention of
Buddhist traditions.

A source close to Mr Gambira yesterday told the Irrawaddy magazine that
the monk had been charged with a variety of offences relating to public
order and that more were likely to follow. "His case hasn't been closed
yet," said the source. "There are still other charges being brought
against him." At least four other people received lengthy sentences.

The sentences are just the latest part of a crackdown on dissidents by the
regime. Last week, the court handed down sentences of 65 years to members
of the 88 Students Generation, the group who led demonstrations against
the regime in 1988 and whose small-scale protests in the summer of last
year preceded the Saffron Revolution.

Reports say that the authorities, working around the clock, have
dispatched many of the prisoners to jails far from Rangoon in order to
make it more difficult for their relatives to visit. Among those jailed
was Min Ko Naing, whose name means "conqueror of kings", and who is
Burma's best-known dissident after imprisoned democracy leader Aung San
Suu Kyi.

Yesterday, UN investigators who report to the report to the UN Human
Rights Council in Geneva, said the trials being held in Rangoon were
unfair and that the prisoners should be retried in open courts. "The
closed-door hearings are being held inside prisons by courts which lack
independence and impartiality," they said.

____________________________________

November 18, Associated Press
Myanmar courts imprison ethnic minority activists

A court in military-ruled Myanmar sentenced three ethnic minority
activists and a well-known Buddhist monk to prison Tuesday, continuing a
crackdown that began last week with pro-democracy activists.

Meanwhile, five United Nations experts issued a statement in Geneva
strongly condemning the “severe convictions and the unfair trials of
prisoners of conscience in Myanmar.” At least 70 activists were sentenced
to prison terms last week, and another seven on Monday.

Chin leader Chin Sian Thang said a court inside Yangon's Insein Prison on
Tuesday sentenced his son, Kam Lat Khaot to 33 years in prison and his
nephew, Kai Kham Kwal, to eight years.

Chin Sian Thang said a member of the Arakan minority was also given 33
years. The Arakan, like the Chin, are clustered in western Myanmar.

Ashin Gambira, one of the most prominent monks leading pro-democracy
protests in September 2007, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment and
still faces further charges, he said.

“The judicial system in Myanmar has collapsed and the courts are passing
down sentences in contravention of the law. These secret trials are
blatant violations of human rights,” Chin Sian Thang said.

Chin Sian Thang is a prominent politician who won a parliamentary seat in
elections in 1990, the results of which were never recognized by the
ruling junta. He said he received information about the sentencing while
waiting outside the prison.

The Chin leader said he was detained for about a month during last year's
pro-democracy demonstrations, while his son and nephew were arrested in
October. The junta's repression of the protests resulted in at least 31
people being killed and thousands detained, according to U.N. estimates.

The statement from the U.N. experts said they «strongly urge the Myanmar
authorities to cease harassing and arresting individuals for peacefully
exercising their internationally recognized human rights.

“They further demand that all detainees be retried in open hearings
respecting fair trial standards and the immediate release of their defense
counsels,” it said. Three defense lawyers have been sentenced to several
months imprisonment for contempt of court, while several others have been
barred from representing their clients.

The U.N. experts are Tomas Ojea Quintana, special rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in Myanmar; Leandro Despouy, rapporteur for the
independence of judges and lawyers; Frank La Rue, rapporteur for freedom
of opinion and expression; Margaret Sekaggya, rapporteur on the situation
of human rights defenders; and Asma Jahangir, rapporteur for freedom of
religion or belief.

____________________________________

November 18, Democratic Voice of Burma
New Generation activists jailed - Naw Say Phaw

Seven leaders of the New Generation Students activist group, including
Sithu Maung, Ye Myat Hein and Zin Linn Aung, were given prison sentences
yesterday in connection with last year's Saffron Revolution.

The seven were each given six-and-a-half-year prison terms for inciting
public unrest and unlawful assembly by the Insein prison special court.

On the same day, the court decided that Ye Myat Hein should serve an
additional three-and-a-half-year term for obstructing officials on duty.

Sithu Maung was also given an additional five-year sentence by Tamwe
township court under the Unlawful Association Act.

High profile commodity protester Hin Kyaw was also sentenced yesterday by
Western Rangoon Province court inside the Insein prison compound.

He was jailed by judge U Kyaw Swe for 12 and a half years on six charges.

Monk U Sandawara from North Okkalapa township's Thiri Mingalar monastery
was also jailed for eight and half years by Tamwe township court.

Blogger Nay Phone Latt and 88 generation student member Nyan Linn, who
were both recently given lengthy prison terms, were transferred to Pha-an
prison in Karen state on yesterday, according to family members.

Aung Zaw Oo of the Human Rights Defenders and Promoters network was
transferred to Bago prison while network member Win Maw was transferred to
Taung Ngu prison.

____________________________________

November 18, Mizzima
Aid agency helps 100,000 Burmese children return to school – Solomon

The international aid agency Save the Children claims they have assisted
at least 100,000 Burmese children affected by Cyclone Nargis in returning
to school.

The non-governmental organization (NGO), which has worked in Burma for
more than a decade, released a press statement on Monday saying it has
been instrumental in facilitating a hundred thousand Burmese children
realize their current educational needs.

"The cyclone destroyed 50 to 60 percent of schools," said Save the
Children in a press statement. "Yet over the past six months Save the
Children has improved the quality of education for over 100,000 children
including the construction of over 350 temporary schools."

However, Andrew Kirkwood, country director for Save the Children in Burma,
said in the press statement that there remain hundreds of thousands of
children in need of educational assistance in the wake of the storm.

"There's a huge demand for this, from communities and children - there
were about 400,000 children who were not able to go to school because of
the cyclone," said Andrew Kirkwood.

He added, "Now, we've managed to get 100,000 of those kids back into
school through, for example, the rebuilding of temporary schools, using
very inexpensive materials."

Cyclone Nargis struck Burma on May 2-3, 2008, and left more than 130,000
people dead or missing and over 2.4 million in need of aid.

Nonetheless, the Burmese military government initially obstructed the flow
of international aid into the country, as well as restricting the issuance
of visas to international aid workers and impeding their freedom of
movement to cyclone affected areas.

Save the Children has been working in Burma since 1995, focusing on
providing services benefiting pre-school children, reducing the number of
deaths from preventable diseases, helping those infected with HIV and AIDS
and preventing child trafficking.

"It's hard to overstate how important getting children back to school is,"
stated Kirkwood.

"The best way to deal with trauma is to normalize the lives of children,
get them back into a routine, enable them to pick up what they were doing
before the cyclone," he added.

A local source in Laputta Township, one of the hardest cyclone hit areas
of Irrawaddy Division, said there a lot of children in villages around
Laputta that still are finding it difficult to return to school.

"In the town there is no more problem with children attending school, but
in villages there is still a risk that children will be unable to attend
school," said the local source, who wished to remain anonymous.

She said NGOs and companies inside Burma are continuing the work of
rebuilding the region's outlaying areas.

"I saw some children received school bags and learning materials provided
by a NGO, but in villages there are children studying in temporary
classrooms and there might be a number of children still away from
school," she added.

More than a hundred school teachers in Laputta Township also received
training in October, though schools in some villages are already late in
commencing classes for the year.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

November 18, Thai Press Reports
Thai, Burmese rush to Mae Sot stream

Local Thai and Burmese have rushed to prospect for a gold like substance
found in the streams of Mae Sot district, Tak province, despite no
official corroboration for the precious metal.

Over 100 Thai and Burmese people have traveled to Mae Sot stream in
Ponpattana Community located in Mae Sot district with a continued influx.
The local people made their way to the area after news spread that a gold
like substance was found in the area's soil and rocks. The substance was
uncovered after trucks dug up soil in the area for development services.

Merchants from Myanmar have begun to buy up clumps of earth in hopes of
obtaining the suspected goals at the price of 200-500 baht per clump. No
agencies have, however, yet confirmed whether the discovered substance was
actual gold. Police and provincial officials have entered the area to
watch over security and warned the prospectors of being swindled.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

November 18, Xinhua
Myanmar emphasizes on development of hydropower

Myanmar has made emphasis on development of hydroelectric power, saying
that 15 more hydropower projects are being planned in addition to the six
completed and 22ongoing projects since the country laid down a series of
state-level special projects which also include hydropower ones for the
development of the sector.

The 15 hydropower projects will be implemented by the Ministry of Electric
Power-1 on approval by the government's Special Projects Implementation
Committee, headed by Senior-General Than Shwe, Chairman of the State Peace
and Development Council.

The 15 hydropower projects, with an installed capacity ranging from 48
megawatts (mw) to 2,800 mw, lie in seven divisions and states.

Of the projects, seven are located in the northernmost Kachin state, six
of which range over 1,200 mw, the report said, adding that the rest of the
projects are scattered in Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway and Bago divisions,
and Rakhine and northern Shan states.

The 15 projects on completion in the future will add 13,847 mw to the
country's installed capacity as predicted.

The government claimed that since the committee was established, six
hydropower plant projects with a total of 442 mw have been finished which
are known as Zawgyi-2, Zaungtu, Thaphanseik, Monechaung, Paunglaung and
Yenwe.

"A large number of special projects have been completed and the people
have witnessed and enjoyed the benefits of the projects," the Myanmar top
leader said at the committee's coordination meeting in the last few days,
stressing the need to speedily implement the ongoing state-designated
special projects for the benefit of the people.

The 22 ongoing hydropower projects will also add a total 16,599mw more to
the country's electric power installed capacity on completion, according
to estimation.

Meanwhile, Myanmar claimed in its monthly statistical report that the
country's electric power installed capacity reached total of over 1,690 mw
as of April 2008 and the power generated stood 6.603 billion kwh in
2007-08, up from 6.172 billion kwh in 2006-07.

In recent years, companies from Thailand, China, South Korea, Bangladesh
and India were engaged in Myanmar's hydropower projects in response to the
country's invitation of foreign investment in the sector.

Major hydropower projects that Thailand is involved go to the 7,110-mw
Tar-hsan's on Myanmar's Thanlwin River in eastern Shan state's Tachilek
which started in April 2007 by Myanmar and the MDX Group Co Ltd of
Thailand under a 6-billion-US-dollar contract reached in April 2006.

The hydropower plant will produce 35.446 billion kwh a year, according to
the contract.

The 6-billion-dollar Thai investment in the Tar-hsan hydro power project
had sharply raised Myanmar's contracted foreign investment to 14.736
billion dollars as of the end of 2007, a record high since late 1988.

Another Thai-engaged hydropower project is the 600-mw Hutgyi's on
Myanmar's Thanlwin River being implemented by the Electricity Generating
Authority of Thailand (EGAT) under an agreement signed in December 2005.
It can produce 3.82 billion kilowatt hours (kwh) yearly.

The project constitutes part of those on the Thanlwin and Tanintharyi
Rivers agreed earlier between the two countries in June 2005.

Power generated from these projects is expected to be partly exported to
Thailand.

Besides, Myanmar has signed five contracts respectively with some Chinese
companies since 2004 on the implementation of the country's 790-mw Yeywa
hydropower project on the Myitnge River which can generate 3.55 billion
kilowatt-hours of electricity annually upon completion.

Other China-involved hydropower projects went to Upper Paunglaung by the
Yunnan Machinery and Equipment Import and ExportCo Ltd (YMEC) and the
Upper Thanlwin by the Farsighted Investment Group Co Ltd and Gold Water
Resources Ltd.

Moreover, the China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) was also reportedly
to build seven hydropower projects for Myanmar on the confluence of
Ayeyawaddy river and Maykha and Malikha rivers in Kachin state with a
combined capacity of 13,360 mw.

In September this year, India's National Hydroelectric Power Corporation
Ltd took up two projects, namely the 1,200-mw Htamanthi and the 600-mw
Shwesayay, while in October, the Italian-Thai Development Public Co. Ltd
and the Windfall Energy Services Ltd of British Virgin Island launched a
hydropower project of 600 mw in Myanmar's southern Tanintharyi division.

Besides, Myanmar and Bangladesh are enhancing cooperation in seeking to
build hydropower plants in Myanmar for export of electricity to
Bangladesh. The exploration has identified potential sites for such move
in some areas in two states in western and northwestern parts of the
country.

According to the government's National Investment Commission, the electric
power sector dominated foreign investment in Myanmar with 6.311 billion
U.S. dollars as of the end of 2007.

With rich water resources, Myanmar possesses great potential for the
development of its hydropower sector to resolve its power shortage issue.

____________________________________

November 18, Xinhua
China, Burma chambers of commerce agree to promote trade cooperation

The China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC) Tianjin Chamber of
Commerce and the Union of Myanmar [Burma] Federation of Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) reached a memorandum of understanding here
Tuesday on promotion of trade cooperation between the two parties.

The MoU was signed by Chairman of CCOIC Zhao Xueming and UMFCCI Chairman U
Win Myint on behalf of respective parties.

Attending the signing ceremony were visiting Zhang Gaoli, member of the
Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and
party chief of China's Tianjin municipality, Myanmar Minister of Commerce
Brigadier-General Tin Naing Thein and Chinese Ambassador Guan Mu.

Tin Naing Thein said the MoU would promote the economic and trade
cooperation between the two countries as well as between the two chambers.

He also noted that China is Myanmar's second largest trade partner and the
largest border trade partner. China also stands the fourth largest foreign
investor of Myanmar.

Disclosing that the UMFCCI has initiated business agreements with eight
main Chinese counterparts, Tin Niang Thein extended welcome to Chinese
tourists to visit Myanmar and businessmen to make more investment in the
country.

According to Tin Naing Thein, Myanmar-China bilateral trade hit 2.37
billion US dollars in the fiscal year of 2007-08 which ended in March.

Zhang arrived here on Tuesday morning on a three-day friendly visit to
Myanmar at the invitation of the State Peace and Development Council.

Prior to the signing, Yangon Mayor Brigadier-General Aung Thein Lin met
and hosted Zhang and his entourage.

____________________________________
DRUGS

November 18, Shan Herald Agency for News
No exportation to Thailand

A reliable source close to the United Wa State Army (UWSA) says the group
has stopped export of drugs into Thailand.

“Thai buyers themselves have taken responsibility to smuggle them into the
kingdom,” said a Thai businessman working along the Thai-Burma border.
“The Wa have new bigger markets now, like Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia and
US.”

The popularity of the Wa’s Tiger-2 and Vigo speed pills have now gone
beyond the borders of Thailand, according to him. “Of course, they still
depend on Thailand for raw materials.”

Apart from caffeine, the group has recently purchased 10 tons of
pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient for the making of methamphetamines,
known as yaba (crazy medicine). “The group doesn’t need to raid the drug
stores for cold-relief pills anymore,” he said.

The refineries were facing shortage of ephedrine for some months forcing
the group to look for drugs used for relief of cold and cough which
contain the synthetic pseudoephedrine. “Out of one cold pill, you can get
two yaba pills,” an informed truck driver had told SHAN.

On 1 October, Thai News daily reported seizure of 512,000 cold relief
pills in Maesai.

Besides the UWSA, other pro-junta militias are also involved in the drug
trade. “The Wa are not responsible for what the other groups are doing,”
said the Thai entrepreneur.

On 13 November, the US Treasury Department announced freezing of assets of
26 individuals and 17 companies tied to Wa commander Wei Hsueh Kang aka
Wei Xuegang and the UWSA.

The Wa declared itself opium free in 2005. But reports of the group
manufacturing heroin and yaba have continued to this day.

____________________________________
ASEAN

November 18, Myanmar Times
ASEAN working to strengthen newly forged links between Myanmar and UN –
Thet Khaing and Becky Palmstorm

THE involvement of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in
linking the government and the UN in the wake of cyclone Nargis has been
unprecedented in the regional body’s history and has served as a bridge to
make international relief operations possible, a senior ASEAN official
said last week.

Until ASEAN helped to establish the Tripartite Core Group (TCG) in late
May, there was no effective mechanism for overcoming mistrust between
the government and the international community.

“We have never got ourselves involved in a particular member country like
this before,” Mr Anish Roy, the special representative of ASEAN secretary
general Mr Surin Pitsuwan to Myanmar, said last Wednesday.

“We try to create the link between the international donor community and
the government and we have been able to open up a lot of doors.”

ASEAN has joined hands with the government and the UN in the TCG, which
was formed three weeks after the cyclone to encourage the government to
allow access for international aid workers and ensure the effective
delivery of foreign assistance to cyclone survivors.

Mr Roy was clear that ASEAN’s current role in the TCG is not political,
although policy dialogue on certain issues may arise within that capacity.

“As far as ASEAN is concerned, our role here is humanitarian. We have made
an impact and we must continue to be effective within that space and use
that later on to push beyond,” he said.

He said that in the six months since the cyclone, ASEAN has been able to
achieve most of its goals, including widening the flow of international
assistance to Myanmar and working to maintain momentum until the end of
the TCG’s mandate next July.

The highlight of the TCG’s activities so far was a survey in June aimed at
assessing relief and reconstruction needs in the worst-affected areas of
the Ayeyarwady delta.

The assessment was used as a basis for determining the figure of US$482
million requested in July by the UN for relief and rehabilitation
operations in cyclone-affected areas, of which only 55 percent has been
received so far.

Mr Roy said a periodic review of the needs assessment by the TCG was now
underway to update the current situation of cyclone victims and collect
data on gaps in the relief effort.

He said the five-week survey, which will be completed next week, will be
used as a basis for appealing for more funds at a donor’s roundtable
conference to be held in Yangon on November 26.

“We are looking at how needs are being met, what areas need more priority
and, through the periodic review, how donors can reallocate funds,” Mr Roy
said.

Although he praised the emergency relief efforts so far, he admitted that
the breadth of the devastation meant a lack of early recovery was likely
to be an issue in the upcoming report.

He said the report would be submitted to the ASEAN leaders summit and to a
meeting between 10 ASEAN leaders and UN secretary general Mr Ban Ki-moon,
due to be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on December 15 and 17
respectively.

Mr Roy said relief work by ASEAN in Myanmar would be among the main items
on the agendas of the two meetings.

He said one of the most important issues due for discussion was whether to
extend the TCG’s period of operation beyond next July.

He said that although ASEAN was willing to extend the deadline, whether
this would happen would depend on the government’s approval for such an
extension as well as the availability of international funding for relief
operations as a whole and for the TCG mechanism specifically.

“I am not contemplating closing the door in July 2009, but right now my
mandate is just till next July,” Mr Roy said.

He said the growing need for humanitarian assistance across the world and
the present financial crisis could make it more difficult to garner
international support for ongoing Nargis relief efforts.

He encouraged support by international donors because he said he believed
that the long-term presence of international aid workers could help
transfer modern technologies and know-how to the population of Myanmar,
which would help to raise living standards.

“ASEAN has been talking their throat sore that you have to support ASEAN
to play our role effectively,” Mr Roy said, referring to ASEAN’s
widespread discussions with donors.

He added that he hoped the regional grouping’s involvement with relief
work has helped advance Mr Surin’s goal of making ASEAN a more
people-oriented organisation as it moves towards becoming a formal
community by 2020.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

November 18, Reuters
U.N. rights experts condemn Myanmar activist trials

Democracy activists in Myanmar jailed for long terms after unfair trials
should be retried in open hearings, United Nations investigators urged the
ruling junta on Tuesday.

A dozen detainees were sentenced last week to 65 years each in prison for
involvement in last year's mass protests against Myanmar's military rule,
the five human rights experts said in a joint statement condemning the
convictions.

They also demanded the release of three defence lawyers, whom they said
were sentenced to prison for contempt of court after raising clients'
complaints about the hearings held inside prisons.

Another 20 people, including five monks, were recently sentenced to up to
24 years prison.

"The closed-door hearings are being held inside prisons by courts which
lack independence and impartiality," the U.N. investigators said.

Myanmar authorities -- whom activists say have intensified a campaign to
crush dissent before a 2010 election -- must "cease harassing and
arresting individuals for peacefully exercising their internationally
recognised human rights", they said.

The investigators, who report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva,
include Tomas Ojea Quintana, U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of
human rights in Myanmar.

The Argentinean lawyer made his first trip to Yangon last August, meeting
prominent political prisoners including representatives of Nobel Peace
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy.

The four other rapporteurs are Leandro Despouy, on the independence of
judges and lawyers; Frank La Rue, on freedom of opinion and expression;
Margaret Sekaggya, on human rights defenders; and Asma Jahangir on freedom
of religion or belief.

____________________________________

November 18, Agence France Presse
White house condemns Myanmar's harsh sentencing of dissidents

The U.S. on Monday condemned Myanmar for imposing "harsh prison terms" on
democracy activists who joined protests against the regime last year.

"In the last few days in Burma, Than Shwe's brutal regime arbitrarily
sentenced additional pro-democracy activists to harsh prison terms," the
White House said in a statement.
The administration said activists Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi and Htay Kywe
were among those who received sentences of 65 years for their
participation in the August 2007 protests.

"The United States strongly condemns the regime's persistent repression of
its people for exercising basic freedoms enshrined in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights," said the statement from spokeswoman Dana
Perino. "We further deplore the complete lack of due process, as these men
and women have been arrested, detained, charged and tried behind closed
doors without the benefit of counsel."

Massive protests last year, sparked initially by fuel price increases and
involving tens of thousands of people, were eventually crushed by the
military. At least 31 people were killed, according to the U.N.

Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962.


____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

November 18, Jakarta Post
India shifts policy on Myanmar – Nehginao Kipgen

The international community keeps eyeing the political turmoil in the
military ruled Myanmar. Understandably, neighbors better understand. Why
India seemingly has a lukewarm interest in the Myanmarese democratic
movement?

It was the 1988 uprising which brought India significantly into the
Myanmar politics. This was the time when Myanmarese people contemplated on
bringing down the military regime.

The failed uprising forced hundreds of refugees crossed international
border into India. From 1988 to 1992, India's policy vacillated between
support for democracy movement and diplomatic isolation.

Prime Minister Narasimha Rao's (1991-1996) "Look East" policy basically
changed India's foreign policy toward Myanmar. The dramatic policy shift,
however, happened during Atal Bihari Vajpayee's (1998-2004)
administration.

There were two major factors responsible for India's policy shift: First,
to counterweight the strategic influence of the People's Republic of
China, and secondly to deal with insurgency problems in the Northeast
India. Economic interest also contributed to it.

Of the two, countering China's regional influence remains to be the number
one concern for India. Having experienced a bitter war with China in 1962,
India feels insecure and threatened when China's influence is broadened.

China-Myanmar bilateral trade hit US$2.057 billion in 2007, up 40.9
percent compared with 2006. China's exports to Myanmar took $1.686
billion, up 39.6 percent, while its import from Myanmar stood $371
million, up 46.9 percent. China enjoyed a trade surplus of $1.315 billion.

Similarly, India's exports to Myanmar in 2007-2008 amounted to about $185
million, while its imports from Myanmar were valued at around $810
million. In addition to the Tamu-Kalay-Kalewa highway upgradation, India
has made investments in projects such as energy and gas exploration. Most
recent India's assistance was the $200 million project in IT program.

All these moves and counter moves are the direct result of scrambling for
power by the two Asian powers. India, at least for now, sees engaging with
the military regime an effective means to narrowing the influence of
China.

Another important factor for India's foreign policy shift was due to the
rise of insurgency problems in the restive Northeast India. About 20,000
insurgents from different groups of Northeast India have bases in Myanmar,
mostly in the Northwestern part of the country in Sagaing Division.

Talks for coordination between India and Myanmar security forces in
counter-insurgency operations have taken momentum in recent years. During
his visit to New Delhi in 2004, Gen. Than Shwe assured the Indian
government that he would not allow his country to be used by anti-India
elements.

Sometimes, bilateral talks and agreements have not really been put into
practice.

Although the Myanmarese military, in a number of occasions, has asked the
Indian government to silent the Myanmarese dissidents, New Delhi so far
seems to pay a wishy-washy response. Similarly, Nay Pyi Taw appears to be
not fully engaged in dismantling the bases of Indian insurgents operating
from Myanmar.

India apparently is not totally ignoring her support for the Myanmarese
democratic movement. One evidence is the presence of more than 50,000
Myanmarese refugees (no official figure available) taking refuge in India,
including some leading dissidents.

India rather acts in tandem with her national interest and security in the
face of China's influence in the region. By engaging with the military
regime, India feels better served. To many, this looks if India has
adopted a double-standard policy toward Myanmar.

In the event of Myanmar becoming a democratic country, India is expected
to be one of the first to throw her support. Till then, India will
continue to compete with China, while the western world is likely to
continue with traditional sanctions.

The writer is the General Secretary of U.S.-based Kuki International Forum
(www.kukiforum.com) and a researcher on the rise of political conflicts in
modern Myanmar (1947-2004).

____________________________________

November 18, The Age (Australia)
A new way is needed to help Burma's people

Humanitarian aid will at least improve the daily lives of the Burmese. 
The sentencing of more than 30 Burmese dissidents to up to 65 years in
prison for their part in last year's anti-Government demonstrations sends
a strong message to pro-democracy campaigners inside Burma and their
supporters abroad. And the message is simple: no amount of internal
agitation or external pressure is going to deter the country's armed
forces from perpetuating their rule through the creation of a
military-dominated parliament in 2010.

Since 1988, when Burma's armed forces crushed a pro-democracy uprising and
took back direct political power, different strategies have been tried to
persuade them to return to the barracks.

The US and EU countries have taken the hardest line, condemning the regime
and imposing tough economic sanctions.

Others, like the ASEAN members, have pursued "constructive engagement" in
the hope that quiet diplomacy and trade would encourage political and
economic reforms.

The UN has tried to act as an honest broker, by promoting reconciliation
between the regime and the opposition movement, led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

Given the dearth of reliable information about Burma, it is hard to say
exactly what impact these strategies have had. It is self-evident,
however, that they have all failed to achieve their stated aims.

The military regime has not collapsed, nor handed over power to a civilian
administration. In fact, it is probably stronger now than at any time
since 1988.

Nor is there any sign that the generals are prepared to bow to
international opinion and free Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.

Indeed, the greater the pressure exerted against the regime, the more
determined it has become to resist what it calls interference in Burma's
internal affairs.

As long as the Burmese armed forces remain united and loyal, it is
difficult to see how the regime can be removed from power. There have been
reports of dissension in the ranks and some high-profile dismissals, but
so far military discipline has held firm.

The opposition movement is weak and divided, and the few remaining
insurgent groups pose no military threat. Despite the fears of the
generals, and the hopes of their opponents, no country is going to invade
Burma to restore democracy. And the regime has enough powerful friends to
survive economic sanctions and Security Council resolutions.

So what can be done? The international community cannot agree on a strategy.

The UN seems powerless. Even Burma's friends, like China, have limited
influence with the generals, who jealously guard the country's
independence.

The harsh reality is that there are few options against a regime that
refuses to observe customary norms of behaviour, puts its survival before
the welfare of its people and is protected by its allies.

Symbolism is important in international politics, but we also have to be
pragmatic. There needs to be a new approach.

Countries such as Australia must keep faith with the Burmese people, who
have clearly demonstrated their desire for a democratic government. It is
important that Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners are
released. And the regime must not be allowed to think it has escaped
scrutiny. At the same time, a way needs to be found to help those in dire
need. Thanks to decades of inept military rule, Burma suffers from major
problems in areas such as health, education and social welfare.

This is where the international community can do something concrete to
assist the Burmese people.

The regime has made the delivery of humanitarian aid very difficult. It
imposes onerous conditions on providers, restricts access to those in
greatest need (including the ethnic communities) and siphons off foreign
aid for its own benefit. Formal contacts with the regime can be seen as
granting it a legitimacy it does not deserve.

These may be the costs, however, that the international community has to
pay to help alleviate the suffering of the Burmese people. It is a price
most of them would count as cheap, if it meant an improvement in their
basic living conditions.

Since cyclone Nargis hit Burma in May, more than 45 non-government
organisations have been working in the country, providing aid at the
grass-roots level. They are being helped by numerous local groups. Also,
the tens of thousands of Burmese refugees in neighbouring countries are
crying out for more assistance.

Instead of looking for new ways to punish an entrenched and nationalistic
regime, a more constructive approach might be to provide increased
humanitarian aid to those communities, both inside and outside Burma,
which desperately need help.

The signs are that change will come slowly to Burma. Also, it will have to
come from within the country and involve the armed forces, something that
Aung San Suu Kyi herself recognises. It may take a new generation of
military officers more tolerant of political diversity, or even a
Gorbachev-like figure prepared to overturn the system that created him.

That is small comfort to the Burmese people, who have already been waiting
46 years for another democratic government. But until that day dawns we
can at least make a greater effort to improve the quality of their daily
lives.

____________________________________

November 18, Kantarawaddy Times
Four cuts military operation increases, more suffering for IDPs – Par Reh

The Burmese Army's infamous four cuts military operations have resulted in
more and more people being displaced from their home and hearth. The
internally displaced people (IDPs) are struggling to survive, said the
Karenni Environmental group (Evergreen).
The Evergreen group has been creating awareness through education
programmes about the environment among Karenni IDPs, who have been
suffering from the junta's four cuts military operation. The group is
documenting the harsh and pathetic reality of the suffering IDPs. IDPs
will be the target if the Burmese Army finds them, Evergreen feels. This
is because the Burmese Army suspects that the IDPs are linked with the
KNPP and passing on information to the rebel group, said Khu Nyay Reh, an
official in-charge of Evergeen.

"The Burmese Army decides that IDP areas are Free Fire Zones. Therefore,
it's a shooting area. If they find IDPs, they can shoot to kill. The order
to shoot comes from above," said Khu Nyay Reh.

Currently IDPs in Karenni state are facing myriad difficulties such as
struggling for daily survival, insecurity of life, lack of medicines and
health care and education for their children.

The Burmese Army's four cuts operation is a method where it attacks local
people who support the KNPP, said Khu Oo Reh, an assistant secretary of
KNPP.

"Initially, the Burmese Army's four cuts operation was designed to merge
villages and force IDPs to leave their homes. Some of them moved to town
and some of them hid in the jungles while some fled to the border," he
said.

The villagers were displaced because the Burmese Army burnt down villages,
tortured local people and forced then to flee from their homes making them
IDPs, he continued.

According to the latest report of an aid group which helps refugees in
Thai-Burma border, there are 53,300 IDPs in Karenni State.

Over 9,300 IDPs have been living and hiding in villages in Shar Daw, Pharu
Hso and Phar Saung townships. About 5,000 IDPs have relocated to villages
in Loi Kaw, Shar Daw, and Baw Lakhe townships.

Besides, 39,000 IDPs have been living in ceasefire regions in Loi Kaw,
Demaw Hso, Pharu Hso, Phar Saung, Baw Lakhe and Mae Sae townships.

____________________________________

November 18, Atlantic Free Press (Netherlands)
How Bush Iraq invasion boosted Burma's junta – Sherwood Ross

Besides wrecking Iraq and killing a million people, President Bush’s
illegal invasion has given a boost to military dictators around the world.

“The idea, popular in the nineteen-nineties, that the world may intervene
in countries whose governments show no regard for human life is now seen
as reflecting Western arrogance,” writes George Packer in The New Yorker
magazine. Packer refers specifically to Burma but militarists globally
have followed the U.S. assault on Iraq closely. Many dictators consider
George Bush to be a man after their own heart — and he proves it by
showering them with weapons.

According to Rachel Stohl, a senior analyst at the Center for Defense
Information(CDI), “the U.S. is sending unprecedented levels of military
assistance to countries that it simultaneously criticizes for lack of
respect for human rights and, in some cases, for questionable democratic
processes.”

“The occupation of Iraq has been a boon to the Burmese generals,” Packer
writes. It has deprived the U.S. of any moral authority it once had. And
neighbors China and India — motivated by selfish economic concerns — look
the other way at the Burmese junta’s horrendous human rights abuses.
China’s approach, Packer says, “has become the standard.” Chinese
businessmen are plowing investment funds into Burma and China’s dictators
are selling arms to their Burmese counterparts. China and India are also
competing for contracts to explore offshore oil and gas and to build a gas
pipeline across Burma, Packer writes.

China even tried to prevent the United Nations Security Council from
discussing Burma and when a U.N. envoy said he planned to discuss the
prospect of talks between the junta and opposition political leader Aung
San Suu Kyi, under house arrest, at a meeting of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations, the Burmese Prime Minister threatened to walk
out. The U.N. envoy’s talk was cancelled.

The despotism in Burma, like Bush’s criminal war against Iraq, is a
textbook study in human folly that cries out for international solution.
Both reflect how calloused militaries ravage innocent civilian populations
because there is no real “law and order” on much of planet Earth.

Since seizing control in 1962, military officers have installed themselves
in most of Burma’s top government posts, operating with absolute contempt
for the well-being of the nation’s 50-millions. Arbitrary arrests,
torture, the use of child labor, and total suppression of political
freedom are the norm. Starvation is common. The junta’s failure to aid the
survivors of last May’s cyclone that killed 130,000 people or to allow
Western aid into the country makes the Bush response to hurricane-struck
New Orleans appear positively benevolent.

“American policy toward Burma has been to isolate the regime through
sanctions,” Packer writes. “This policy has been pursued as a moral
response to a deplorable government, without much regard for its
effectiveness.” And he adds, “the alternative policy — economic engagement
along the lines of Burma’s neighbors — has also failed. Every year, the
junta grows stronger while the country sinks deeper into poverty.”

“Sanctions are a joke,” one Western diplomat stationed in Rangoon told
Packer. “They’re just a pressure release. The generals don’t care what the
rest of the world thinks about them, because they don’t think about the
rest of the world. What they care about is their financial and physical
security.” FYI, Transparency International ranks Burma as the second most
corrupt regime in the world, after Somalia.

The only bright spot for U.S. policy in Burma is the State Department’s
American Center in Rangoon, crowded with Burmese reading Western
literature. Packer credits two State Department officials, Thomas Pierce
and Kim Penland, for expanding the Center’s library, plus starting a
political discussion class, a training workshop for journalists, a
literature book club, and a debate club. “In a country where the law
forbids unauthorized meetings of more than five people, none of this could
have happened anywhere outside the gates of the Center,” Packer writes.

The lesson of Burma is the UN needs a standing army to step into a country
and guarantee honest elections, and, when necessary, even to depose a
junta. The lesson of Iraq is that the UN needs a mechanism to prevent
jingoists like Bush from making a war in behalf of financial interests, in
this case the western oil firms and the U.S. military-industrial complex.
Diplomat Heraldo Munoz, Chile’s permanent representative to the United
Nations, is quoted in the November 15th New York Times as writing in his
book “A Solitary War” that “Americans do not recognize the value of the
United Nations in assuring the United States’ central role in the world.”

As psychologist Michael McCullough writes in his book “Beyond
Revenge”(Jossey-Bass), “By acting as the world’s policeman, the United
Nations was supposed to be the strong supranational government that could
prevent warfare between nations. However, the UN’s ability to stop nations
from attacking each other has been hamstrung by the fact that any member
of the UN Security Council (which includes the most militarily powerful
nations in the world) can veto any proposed UN military action that it
views as a threat to itself or one of its allies.”

“Until the UN becomes strong enough to stop violence between nations
before it gets out of hand, or until some stronger form of supranational
governance comes along, violence between nations, spawned and nurtured by
feelings of vengefulness, will likely continue to be a fact of life,”
McCullough adds.

Sherwood Ross is a Miami-based public relations consultant who has written
for major dailies and wire services.