BurmaNet News, November 20, 2008

[Editor]

November 20, 2008, Issue #3603


INSIDE BURMA
AP: Myanmar activist follows dad, grandfather to jail
Mizzima News: Hip-hop singer Zeyar Thaw given 6 years
Mizzima News: Youth request junta for permission to meet Suu Kyi
DVB: Anti-government graffiti appears in Sittwe
Kaladan News: Junta forces villagers to grow sun flower, pulse and potato
IMNA: Three insurgents and one villager killed by Burmese Army during
clash in Ye Township

ON THE BORDER
NMG: Armed conflicts cause child rights abuse: HREIB

HEALTH/AIDS
Xinhua: Myanmar strives for promotion of traditional medicine

DRUGS
Irrawaddy: UWSA buys 10 tons of amphetamine component

REGIONAL
Xinhua: Chinese party delegation concludes three-day Burma visit

OPINION / OTHER
Asia Sentinel: The US appears ready to move beyond sanctions - Nehginpao
Kipgen
Irrawaddy: Burma falls off UN agenda - Lalit K. Jha
American Spectator: Throwing away the key in Burma

PRESS RELEASE
Burma Lawyers’ Council and Global Justice Center: Unlawful convictions of
Burmese political prisoners are crimes against humanity
Rights & Democracy: Rights & Democracy urges international pressure for
release of all political prisoners in Burma
RSF: Blogger and poet transferred to remote prisons


____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

November 20, Associated Press
Myanmar activist follows dad, grandfather to jail

A court in military-ruled Myanmar sentenced a student activist to 6 1/2
years in jail on Wednesday, a week after his father received a 65-year
prison term for his own political activities and a decade after his
grandfather died in custody.

Colleagues said Di Nyein Lin was one of three student activists sentenced
by a court in a suburb of Yangon for various offenses, including causing
public alarm and insulting religion. They spoke on condition of anonymity
for fear of retribution.

In an intensive crackdown on the country's pro-democracy movement, at
least 70 activists have received prison sentences in the past two weeks,
many after being held for more than a year before being tried.

The courts' actions — which would keep many of the activists in jail long
past a general election set by the ruling junta for 2010 — have received
worldwide condemnation.

Di Nyein Lin's father, Zaw Zaw Min, was one of 23 members of the 88
Generation Students group who were each given 65-year sentences last week.
Many members of the group were at the forefront of a 1988 pro-democracy
uprising that was smashed by the military.

Di Nyein Lin's grandfather, Saw Win, was a member of Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, and died
in prison about 10 years ago.

Di Nyein Lin is a leader of the outlawed All Burma Federation of Students
Union, to which several of the 88 Generation Students' members belonged in
1988.

Most of the 88 Generation members were arrested on Aug. 21, 2007, for
protesting a fuel-price hike. Others were arrested after the government
violently suppressed rallies in September of that year that followed the
fuel protests and were led by Buddhist monks.

They were sentenced under various charges, including a law calling for a
prison term of up to 20 years for anyone who demonstrates, makes speeches
or writes statements undermining government stability, and for having
links to illegal groups and violating restrictions on foreign currency,
video and electronic communications.

The other student activists sentenced Wednesday were Kyaw Swa Htay, who
received a five-year sentence, and Kyaw Hsan, sentenced to four years in
jail.

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 last year's pro-democracy demonstrations.

The prisoners include Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest, as she has been
on and off since 1989.

____________________________________

November 20, Mizzima News
Hip-hop singer Zeyar Thaw given 6 years – Nam Davies

The Rangoon Division, Lanmadaw Township court sentenced hip-hop singer
Zeyar Thaw, a member of the band Acid, to six years imprisonment today.

Zeyar Thaw (a.k.a. Kyaw Kyaw), who is popular among Burmese youth, was
prosecuted by the military regime under charges of illegally holding
foreign currency and establishing an unlawful association.

"The judges pronounced their judgment today after taking testimony from
the Military Affairs Security (MAS). He was sentenced to one year
imprisonment on the charge of holding foreign currency and another five
years for the charge of establishing an unlawful association. We had no
chance to defend his case," lawyer Khin Than Htay, aunt of Zeyar Thaw,
told Mizzima.

"He toured foreign countries as a singer, so he got some foreign currency.
A Thai baht 100 denomination note, some change in Malaysian Ringgits and
some Singapore dollars were found in his possession. It was not more than
10,000 kyat (US$ 8) in total," she added.

MAS arrested Zeyar Thaw on the 12th of March this year at a restaurant
between Sayar San Road and 66th Street in Rangoon.

She is proud for her nephew, given a prison term as an artist, confessed
his aunt.

"I'm proud of him as it is not a criminal conviction. I feel proud to see
him performing his artistic duty," she said.

Generation Wave (GW), in an announcement, recognized Zeyar Thaw as a
member of the organization.

GW is a youth movement that was formed during the September 2007 Saffron
Revolution.

According to Burma's repressive penal code, dissidents can be sentenced
for establishing associations and civil society organizations without
permission from the government.

GW released an anti-junta album, in cooperation with the clandestine band
Freedom Fighter, in which 'Rise up Burma' and 'No No No', an
anti-constitutional referendum song, were featured.

In addition to Zeyar Thaw, five of his GW colleagues were also sentenced
today in the same court, each receiving five years behind bars for their
links to an allegedly unlawfully formed organization.

At least ten members of GW have been detained and more than 100 dissidents
sentenced, to up to 65-year terms, within the last few weeks alone.

____________________________________

November 20, Mizzima News
Youth request junta for permission to meet Suu Kyi - Than Htike Oo

Dozens of youth have appealed to the military government to allow them to
meet and pay their respect to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who
remains under house arrest.

About 50 youth, most National League for Democracy (NLD) party members,
yesterday sent a letter by post to military head of state, Senior General
Than Shwe, requesting they be allowed to pay homage to the 63-year old
opposition leader in accordance with Burmese tradition.

Copies of the letter were also sent to Home Affairs Minister Major General
Maung Oo and the Chairman of the Bahan Township Peace and Development
Committee.

NLD Dagon satellite town Organizing Committee member Aye Thwin told
Mizzima, "The youth sent this letter in the hope of getting permission
from the SPDC [junta] to pay homage in a peaceful and lawful manner [to
Suu Kyi] in accordance with Burmese tradition."

"If the authorities do not respond to their letter, the youth will take it
as tacit approval by the government and they will go to the residence of
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to pay homage to her. The youth also requested in
their letter that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi be allowed to come to party
headquarters to receive homage paid by these youths," he said.

Opposition sources said that the plan to meet with the daughter of Burma's
independence hero, Bogyoke Aung San, was initiated by some renegade youth
who have differences with the party's top leaders.

Thai-based Burma analyst Aung Naing Oo said that though it is the Burmese
tradition, the junta is not likely to allow the youth to proceed in paying
their respect.

"The junta will see such a movement as a political movement against them
and they will not allow it. If the youth defy them and pay homage to their
leader, I think the junta will take severe action against them," Aung
Naing Oo predicted.

Mizzima has learned that, in their request, the youth said they were happy
to see the removal of barriers erected along the road to the residence of
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the cleaning and collecting of rubbish from her
premises by the City Development Committee.

Authorities removed the barbed wire barriers on University Avenue, leading
to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's residence, on October 26th.

____________________________________

November 20, Democratic Voice of Burma
Anti-government graffiti appears in Sittwe - Nam Kham Kaew

Activists have sprayed anti-junta messages on several graves in the town
cemetery on the Arakan capital Sittwe to show their support for the
recently jailed 88 Generation Student leaders.

About 15 former 88 Generation Students and pro-democracy activists
participated in the graffiti campaign, writing the message "Down with the
military regime", according to one of the activists.

The activist said the movement was led by a monk who took part in last
year's Saffron Revolution.

The action was intended to encourage the people of Burma not to be afraid
of the government, which has just passed down lengthy prison terms to the
student leaders and democracy activists, the activist said.

The activist said the movement also offered prayers for those killed in
the military crackdown on the 1988 national uprising and for those
arrested in connection with last year’s Saffron Revolution.

Over 20 members of the 88 Generation Students group were sentenced to 65
years’ imprisonment on 11 November on five charges.

____________________________________

November 20, Kaladan News
Junta forces villagers to grow sun flower, pulse and potato

The Burmese military junta is forcing villagers to grow sun flowers, pulse
and potato in Maungdaw and Buthidaung Townships since the beginning of
this month, according to a former village Chairman of Maungdaw Township.

The villagers were ordered to grow ground nuts, sun flower seeds, bean
seeds in their paddy fields and also along the street of Maungdaw-Bawli
Bazaar road where the soil is not suitable. But, the concerned authorities
forced the villagers to grow threatening punishment.

Villagers wish to work on cultivable land where villagers and the
government will profit from the projects or else the energy and money of
the villagers will be wasted.

The government started this kind of projects six years ago. But, it had
never succeeded, said a local elder.

The authorities gave 8 kgs of sun flower seeds to the villagers at the
rate of kyat 1,000 per kg.  A farmer, who has three acres of paddy fields,
has to grow sun flower seeds on one acre and another two acres would be
for potato and pulses.

On November 10, clerks from Township Peace and Development council (TPDC)
went to Bawli Bazaar of Maungdaw Township distributed one bottle oil to
the farmers which they said would help make the land fertile once mixed
with the soil. They provided one oil bottle per acre at the rate of kyat
8,000, said a villager of the locality.

In Buthidaung Township, some of the office staff from the agriculture
department went to villages and distributed sun flower seeds to the
farmers at the rate of kyat 1,000 per kg to grow anywhere that farmers
wanted to. There is no restriction to grow seeds.  But, the farmers are
forced to buy seeds from government though they have the seeds to grow
with them, said a schoolteacher.

Most of the farmers' lands of Maung Nama, Kyi Gan Pyin, Pawet Chaung
villages of Maungdaw Township were seized for Natala (Model) villages by
Nasaka (Burma's border security force) and distributed to Natala
villagers. Therefore farmers have to borrow land from the Natala villagers
at the rate of kyat 300,000 per three acres for one season. When the
Rohingya farmers have difficulties in the rainy season, they borrow money
from Natala villagers at the interest rate of kyat 20,000 on kyat 100,000
per month, said a trader from Maungdaw.

____________________________________

November 20, Independent Mon News Agency
Three insurgents and one villager killed by Burmese Army during clash in
Ye Township – Ko Sein Myint and Arka

Three insurgents and one villager are reportedly dead after a clash
between rebels and Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 299 near Man-aung
village in southern Ye Township, Mon State.

According to a source close to LIB No. 299, based in Ko Mine village,
soldiers said they recovered the bodies of three dead rebel soldiers and
one villager after a fighting at noon on November 17th. Three guns and 8
million kyat are also reported to have been recovered. Man-aung is less
than two kilometers to the east of Koe Mine village.

According to the source close to LIB No. 299, a local informer notified
army troops of the rebels’ presence. The rebels, moving in a small group
of five, were subsequently ambushed as they prepared their lunch near a
stream outside Man-aung.

The deaths of the rebels could not be independently verified, but a female
villager from Koe Mine village confirmed that one civilian, Nai a Saing,
was killed. The civilian casualty was accompanying the rebels after he had
been order to leave work on a rubber plantation and carry supplies for the
soldiers.

The female villager from Koe Mine also said that villagers in the area are
now afraid to go to remote farms and plantations because they fear both
rebels and the Burmese army. The fears appear well placed, according to a
human rights report released by the Human Rights Foundation of Monland
(HURFOM) on November 20th.

HURFOM’s report details four main categories of human rights violations
committed by battalions against residents of at least thirty villages in
the area. The categories included are: interrogation, assault and summary
execution; travel restrictions and surveillance; punitive taxation, quotas
and looting; forced labor, including conscription of porters and human
minesweepers for military operations.

Though the focus of the HURFOM report is human rights violations committed
by the Burmese army, the group also describes the taxation – and even
ransoming – of local villagers by another armed Mon insurgents. “Villagers
often find themselves caught between the proverbial rock and hard place,”
reads the report, “in which they are pressured, even forced, to support
insurgent groups and then harshly punished by SPDC battalions for doing
so.”

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

November 20, Network Media Group
Armed conflicts cause child rights abuse: HREIB – Khun Aung Myat

The Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB) today released a
report, titled "Forgotten Futures" which details violations of child
rights during armed conflicts in Burma.

The report especially documents six clauses of child rights violation,
such as killing children, sexual abuse, targeting children, using child
soldiers among others that have been mentioned in UNSC resolution 1612.

U Aung Myo Min, the director of HREIB, said that children have been
suffering as a result of these six clauses of child rights violations
during armed conflicts in Burma. Among all these use of child soldiers is
the worst and is rampant.

"Because we have investigated about child soldiers in the past we have
documented what former child soldiers told us. We have a lot of
documentation on child soldiers. Hundreds of children were killed some of
them directly. Some of them were killed in land mine explosions. There are
many crippled and injured children who are suffering due to armed
conflicts."

The Burmese regime uses sexual abuse as a tool. Mostly under-age girls are
victims of sexual violence. This is because there is no way to prevent
these atrocities on children during civil war, he added.

The report mentions that it is likely to be a business because if children
are persuaded to become soldiers, it helps earn money.

"Former child soldiers said that they saw money changing hands between
buyers and army authorities. It's like a business. We have enough
documents to show that if someone wants to quit the army he must find two
people to work in his place. Therefore, if a person wants to leave the
army, he must look for victims. Adults are difficult to control so the
person targets children," he said.

Besides the Burmese Army, some ethnic armed groups also use child
soldiers. The UNSC and the international community have a duty to stop the
use of child soldiers and violation of children's rights, he added.

"It is because the SPDC has signed an international treaty, international
organizations have a duty to make efforts and change the junta's policy.
To take action on the SPDC there is need to lobby and let the world know
about the activities of the junta. Unlike the Burmese regime, ethnic armed
groups haven't signed the international treaty but they are also guilty of
violation of child's rights," he said.

After Cyclone Nargis lashed Burma in May last year news spread that rights
of orphans were being violated. For instance children were sold and
forcibly recruited as child soldiers. HREIB will continue to investigate
such cases, he added.

____________________________________
HEALTH/AIDS

November 20, Xinhua
Myanmar strives for promotion of traditional medicine

Myanmar official media Thursday urged all practitioners in the country to
make efforts for the promotion of Myanmar traditional medicines through
cooperation with the international community.

"To be able to uplift the health standard of the people, Myanmar will
cooperate on approval of Beijing Declaration on traditional medicine," the
New Light of Myanmar newspaper said in its editorial.

The Congress of Traditional Medicine of the World Health Organization
(WHO) was held in Beijing, China in the first weekend of this month which
Myanmar took part in.

The Myanmar delegation discussed matters on Myanmar traditional medicine
including measures being taken for conducting research on treatment of six
major diseases -- diabetes, hypertension, malaria, tuberculosis, diarrhea
and dysentery through traditional medicine, according to the newspaper.

Myanmar possesses valuable herbal plants, rare plant species and priceless
traditional medicine.

The government has called on traditional medicine practitioners in the
country to protect and preserve them from depletion and extinction and to
ensure their perpetual existence.

At the same time, the practitioners are also urged to harmoniously strive
for the promotion of the standard of Myanmar traditional medicine to reach
international level.

According to the health authorities, Myanmar has made arrangements for the
development of the traditional medicine in line with the set standards,
opening diploma courses and practitioner courses to train out skilled
experts in the field.

A decade ago, Myanmar's Institute of Traditional Medicine conferred
diplomas on traditional medicine to those who had completed two-year
theoretical course and one-year practical course.

In 2001, Myanmar established its University of Traditional Medicine in
Mandalay, the second largest city, where traditional medicine, anatomy and
physiology, microbiology and medicine and Chinese acupuncture are taught.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has set up the first national herbal park in the new
capital of Nay Pyi Taw to grow herbal and medicinal plants used in
producing medicines for treating various diseases.

The 81-hectare National Herbal Park, aimed at becoming an
international-level one, was established by the Ministry of Progress of
Border Areas and National Races and Development Affairs.

Over 20,000 herbal and medicinal plants of over 700 species from some 10
states and divisions for producing medicines used in treating diseases
like cholera, diarrheas, dysentery, hypertension, diabetes, malaria and
tuberculosis are being grown in the park.

Encouragement has also been made to set up large traditional medicine
industries with the private sector to produce potent drugs for common
diseases, herbal gardens for medicinal plant conservation and find means
to treat patients with the combined potency of the Western and Myanmar
traditional medicine.

As the traditional medicine playing a more and more important role in
treating diseases in the country, the government placed more emphasis on
the aspects.

As part of the development, Myanmar has also been sponsoring traditional
medicine conference annually since 2000, attended by traditional medicine
practitioners, to promote its medical practices.

There are 12 traditional medicine hospitals and 214 such clinics in the
country with services provided by nearly 10,000 practitioners, earlier
statistics showed.

The Myanmar traditional medicine, composed of such ingredients as roots,
tubers, bulbs, natural items and animal products, has in a historical
perspective, represented the typical Myanmar culture and traditional value
and norms.

____________________________________
DRUGS

November 20, Irrawaddy
UWSA buys 10 tons of amphetamine component - Lawi Weng

The United Wa State Army (UWSA) in Burma’s Shan State has recently bought
from Thai suppliers 10 tons of pseudoephedrine, a main component of
amphetamines, according to a report by the Shan Herald Agency for News.

Narcotics manufacturers usually extract pseudoephedrine from cough
medicine and pills sold openly in pharmacies, but the preparations
containing it are being progressively removed from the shelves because of
misuse. The Shan Herald Agency for News quoted a Thai businessman at the
Thai-Burmese border as saying the UWSA, an armed ethnic ceasefire group
which earns large sums of money from the amphetamines trade, “don’t need
to raid the drug stores for cold-relief pills any more.”

In a crackdown in October on over-the-counter sales of pseudoephedrine,
Thai authorities seized more than 500,000 cold-relief pills in raids in
the Thai border town of Mae Sai.

Thailand and the US are at the head of efforts to combat the UWSA drugs
trade, and on November 13 the US Treasury Department froze the assets of
17 companies and 26 individuals linked to the ceasefire group and its
commander, Wei Hsueh Kang, who is also known as Wei Xuegang.

A UWSA source told The Irrawaddy that UWSA leaders had recently changed
their business addresses in the Burmese border town of Tachilek in
anticipation of the US Treasury Department moves.

On November 17, Burmese police arrested three people in Tachilek’s Nine
Stars Hotel on suspicion of smuggling amphetamine pills. The police seized
50,000 pills.

The UWSA declared its territory opium-free in 2005 after pressure by the
Chinese government on ceasefire groups in Shan State to give up opium
production in the Golden Triangle region by 2015.

However, the UWSA continues to produce large amounts of amphetamines, and
Burma remains the largest source of methamphetamine pills in Asia,
according to the US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

November 20, Xinhua
Chinese party delegation concludes three-day Burma visit

A high-ranking delegation of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Thursday
concluded its three-day good-will visit to Myanmar and left for Vietnam,
the last leg of its tour to four southeast Asian nations.

During the visit, the delegation led by Zhang Gaoli, a member of the
Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and party chief of China's
Tianjin municipality, met with Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein
and member of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)
Lieutenant-General Tin Aye in Nay Pyi Taw.

Zhang exchanged views with Thein Sein on bilateral ties, domestic
political and economic situation and issues of common concern. Both sides
expressed wishes to further strengthen their cooperation in all sectors.

Also during the visit, Zhang met with Yangon Mayor Brigadier-General Aung
Thein Lin in the former capital where he attended a signing ceremony of a
memorandum of understanding between the China Chamber of International
Commerce (CCOIC) Tianjin Chamber of Commerce and the Union of Myanmar
Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) on promotion of
trade cooperation between the two parties.

Zhang's CPC delegation arrived Yangon Tuesday for a three-day good-will
visit to Myanmar at the invitation of the SPDC.

Myanmar is the third leg of Zhang's trip to four southeastern Asian
nations which had taken him to Laos and Cambodia.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

November 20, Asia Sentinel
The US appears ready to move beyond sanctions on Burma- Nehginpao Kipgen

With years of sanctions following years of sanctions that have had little
effect on Burma's leaders, the US government has apparently shifted to a
new policy with the creation by the Congress of a post for policy chief
for Burma to increase pressure on the junta.

That was followed by the announcement by the White House on November 10 of
the nomination of Michael Green, who has served as a senior director for
Asian Affairs on President George W. Bush’s National Security Council, to
the position.

According to the legislation passed by the Congress, the policy chief is
to consult with the governments of China, India, Thailand and Japan,
members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the
European Union to coordinate international strategy to see if they can
move the junta into a more reasonable stance than its hard-line refusal to
allow the Burmese even a modicum of democracy.

Whether this maneuver brings vigor to the Burmese democratic movement is a
question remains to be seen, however. Green, long involved with the
Burmese situation, should have noticed the quandary over the Burmese
political imbroglio, especially the futility of conflicting approaches by
the international community. Sanctions have little impact on the military
regime due to engagements by neighboring countries, notably China, India
and members of ASEAN. Nor have popular uprisings had any effect. They have
been tasted twice, in 1988 and in 2007. Both events were brutally crushed
by the military with force.

There is no doubt about the U.S. sanctions hurting the military generals
and also the general public. Had there been a coordinated international
approach, Burma could have been different today. It must be difficult for
the US government to abandon its traditional policy of isolating the
Burmese generals and start engaging with them. But they have to realize
that sanctions alone are not effective in resolving Burma’s crisis when
there is engagement on the other end.

While sanctions are in place, the new envoy can start initiating a ‘carrot
and stick’ policy by working together with key international players. The
one similar to the North Korean six-party talks model which involved
United States, North Korea, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea should be
given emphasis on Burma. The hard work of the US in North Korea has now
paid off with North Korea being removed from the State Department’s list
of terrorists, and in return, North Korea promised to shut down and
dismantle its nuclear facilities.

It was not only the stick that worked but also the carrot. The U.S.
offered energy and food assistance to the North Korean leadership. A
similar initiative could convince Burma’s military generals to come to the
negotiating table. The Burmese talks, also a six-party negotiation
involving the United States, European Union, ASEAN, China, India, and
Burma should be initiated. In the beginning, the junta and some other
countries might resist the proposal, but we need to remember that the
North Korean talks were also initially not supported by all parties.

Now that the UN Secretary General is heavily involved in the process, the
US could garner stronger support from the international community. Without
such a move from the U.S., Ban Ki-moon’s 'Group of Friends of the
Secretary General on Myanmar' will yield little.

The most effective UN intervention would happen if the Security Council
were decide to take action. This scenario is bleak with China and Russia
vetoing the move, and likely to do it again if the Burma issue were to
come up on the Council’s agenda.

The creation of a U.S. special envoy and policy chief for Burma is a
welcome move. With this new position coming into place, the U.S. should
start moving beyond imposing sanctions.

____________________________________

November 20, Irrawaddy
Burma falls off UN agenda – Lalit K. Jha

Burma appears to have suddenly dropped off the UN Security Council’s radar.

What has surprised many a Burma watcher is the silence of members of the
Security Council at a time when the Burmese military junta has been
indulging in one of the worst ever crackdowns on pro-democracy activists
in the country.

More intriguing is the relative silence of three of the permanent members
of the UNSC—the US, Britain and France—who have, until now, kept Burma at
the forefront of the UN’s agenda.

The three nations, for their part, strongly condemned the harsh sentences
passed down on pro-democracy supporters in Burma recently.

In a statement earlier this week, the White House said that the UNSC "must
not remain silent" as the regime demonstrates yet again its contempt for
universal freedoms and its disdain for the international community's calls
to release all political prisoners.

The president of the Security Council for the month of November, Jorge
Urbina of Costa Rica, told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York on
Wednesday that Burma is not yet on its program for the remaining part of
this month and that none of the 15 members had brought the matter to his
attention.

"I have not heard any delegation asking for a briefing on [the Burma]
issue, but as you know, in the Council very often new initiatives come
almost every day," Urbina said.

An Asian diplomat told The Irrawaddy that none of the 15 members,
including the US, Britain and France, had officially or unofficially tried
to raise the issue inside the Security Council.

Meanwhile US President George W. Bush plans to bring up the Burma issue
with his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, when the two leaders meet on the
sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Summit in Lima
this weekend.

Briefing reporters on the APEC summit, Deputy National Security Adviser
for International Economic Affairs Dan Price listed Burma as a major issue
of discussion with Hu Jintao when the two leaders meet on Friday
afternoon. Other issues will include Iran, Zimbabwe and Sudan. The issue
of Tibet would also be taken up, he said.

"As the president has always done in all of his meetings with Chinese
leaders, the president will discuss issues of human rights and religious
freedom, including the ongoing dialogue between Beijing and the Dalai
Lama," Price said.

Bush, who has led the Western world in imposing sanctions on the
authoritarian military regime of Burma, believes that China can play an
important role in the restoration of democracy in Burma and protection of
human rights.

Two days ago, the White House in a statement condemned the arbitrary
sentencing of pro-democracy political prisoners of from two to 65 years in
prison. The statement cited a complete lack of due process by the courts
in handing down the sentences.

Earlier this month, Bush nominated Michael Jonathan Green as the White
House representative and policy coordinator for Burma, to fill a new post
created by Congress.

____________________________________

November 20, American Spectator
Throwing away the key in Burma

The time of reckoning for those who protested Burma's high fuel prices in
September 2007 came long ago, but only now are most of them beginning to
learn their long-term futures. It is bleak.

This land of rich resources, renamed Myanmar in 1989 by its military
dictatorship, delivered last week the verdicts of several prisoners --
many of them Buddhist monks -- it has held since the government (again)
expunged political dissent last year. The decisions were announced after
alleged trials were held at the frightening Insein Prison. Reports vary,
but last week on Tuesday as many as 23 dissidents received sentences of 65
years each for their roles in the protests, and two days the same
punishment was revealed for another 13.

The defendants' hearings are more appropriately characterized as show
trials without the show. Any prosecution and defense activity, if there
was any, was conducted behind the walls of Insein. The protesters' defense
lawyers were themselves jailed for contempt of court, which further
illustrates the futility of pursuing justice in Burma. And nearly
three-quarters of those detained in the last 15 months still await almost
certain similar fates, according to the Thailand-based Assistance
Association for Political Prisoners.

As for most of the rest of Burma -- especially in the former capital of
Yangon, where this reporter recently visited -- there is little hope for
even a minimal standard of living. Oppression and corruption dominate.
General Than Shwe leads the ruling military junta, and discussion about
his regime's destructive policies is spoken in careful words where no one
can overhear.

The torture and squalor of places like Insein only speak to the fate of
those who have crossed the government. Those who remain "free" live a
frustrating and meager existence. A layer of mildew coats nearly all
buildings. Regular (that is, most without a family or friendly connection
with the Shwe regime) citizens live in shacks, or in the aforementioned
concrete apartments. Thousands try to live by peddling goods or food on
sidewalks. Roads are in gross disrepair and workers overload old,
sputtering modes of transport (at least those that are motorized: taxis,
truck beds, buses, trains and boats) that they depend upon each day. Very
few people own cars.

As for the things we take for granted in the West, operators in the Shwe
regime demand their cut of the slim earnings of others. Territorial
officials (those who oversee individual neighborhoods) must be bribed for
"protection." Guests from outside -- especially foreigners -- have to be
reported to those officials (who get extra bribes for the added
"trouble"), and none are allowed to lodge overnight in homes -- they must
stay in hotels.

"They are like an employee waiting for a salary," a local friend, who
sometimes entertains visitors from outside the country, said of these
neighborhood officials. He added that towards the end of each month his
local authority often complains about an artificial problem with his
business to remind him it's time to pay up again.

Simple occupations like driving a taxi -- despite their ubiquity -- are
burdensome. To own a '70s- or early '80s-era jalopy (usually a Toyota
model) costs in the neighborhood of $12,000 to $15,000, according to
locals -- vehicles you can no longer get parts for in the U.S. Cab drivers
(not the owners) pay more than $400 annually just for the privilege of
carrying passengers. Above that they pay $15 daily to the owner for the
use of the vehicle -- if their fare revenue falls short of that amount,
then they must pay out of their own pockets. With no meters running up the
tab, cross-town fares a pittance, and the great amount of competition for
customers, earning $15 in a day is not a given.

As for the struggles of other citizens, they can muster little resistance
to the Shwe regime. Internet communications are extremely limited, cell
phones are cost prohibitive and even fax machines must be registered with
the government. Burmese can consider little more complexity in life other
than simple survival.

"People don't have a chance to think about the country," said one
community religious leader, "because they struggle for food."

He said Cyclone Nargis, which in early May severely damaged Yangon and
devastated the Irrawaddy Delta region south of the city, came without
warning to most Burmese. Alerts went out over state-run broadcast media
but few heard it, since most people don't bother to watch or listen to the
government propaganda.

"They warned people on TV," he said, "but we didn't watch TV at the time.

"That's the only way they can keep control. Their very intention is to
keep people away from knowledge and education."

Today's scarcity of Buddhist monks on the streets of Yangon illustrates
the suffocating power of Myanmar's government. Before the September 2007
crackdown they were everywhere, but now they are scattered in exile or
await their prison sentences.

Nothing under earthly power can be done about it, barring an outside
overthrow. Democracy activist Aung San Syu Kyi has lived under house
arrest, off and mostly on, since the military junta overturned the
country's last democratic elections in 1990. And there are no signs of
change, given last year's flattening of the peaceful monk marches.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown wrote in his book Courage: Eight
Portraits, "So Suu Kyi's courage is the courage to sacrifice her own
happiness and a comfortable life so that, through her struggle, she might
win the right of an entire nation to seek happy and comfortable lives."

Sadly, this long struggle she has shared with her nation has not broken
the stranglehold that evil has upon Burma.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

November 20, Burma Lawyers’ Council and Global Justice Center
Unlawful convictions of Burmese political prisoners are crimes against
humanity – U.N. Security Council should refer Burma to the International
Criminal Court

Certain judges in Burma, acting under the orders of Chief Justice U Aung
Toe and Senior General Than Shwe, are themselves criminally liable as
co-conspirators to crimes against humanity for their acts in “trying” and
“convicting” 60 political activists last week.

“These acts are the latest from the junta which uses the judiciary as one
of its key weapons to commit grave crimes,” says Global Justice Center
President Janet Benshoof. Judges including those listed below are
criminally culpable and must be referred to the International Criminal
Court.
• Chief Justice U Aung Toe
• U Thaung Nyunt, North District Court, Yangon Division
• Daw Soe Nyan, U Tin Htut, U Kyaw Swe, and U Sein Hla, Yangon Division
• Daw Aye Myaing, Hlaing Tha Yar Township Court, Yangon Division
• Daw Than Than, Tamwe Township Court, Yangon Division
• Daw Nyunt Nyunt Win, Kyauktadar Court, Yangon Division
• Daw Mya Mya Swe, North Dagon Court, Yangon Division
• Daw Thiri Tin, Ahlon township Court, Yangon Division

On November 11th approximately forty pro-democracy dissidents received
prison sentences of up to 65 years. On November 13th twenty more activists
were sentenced to terms ranging from 4½ to 9½ years. The convicted include
members of the ‘88 Generation Students, labor rights activist Su Su Nway,
musician Win Maw, HIV/AIDS activist Than Naing, blogger Nay Phone Latt,
and members of Daw Aung San Sui Kyi’s party, the National League for
Democracy. Even the defendants’ lawyers were not immune from the regime’s
revenge; in October defense lawyers Nyi Nyi Htwe, Aung Thein and Khin
Maung Shein were sentenced to between four and six months imprisonment for
submitting a complaint about the unfair trial conditions of eleven NLD
activists.

Judges did not allow the defendants to question prosecution witnesses,
many defendants did not have legal representation and those that did were
not permitted to meet with their lawyers in private. Burma Lawyers’
Council General Secretary U Aung Htoo stated, “Rule of law in Burma cannot
even be dreamt of when the judiciary has become an instrument of political
oppression, exercised by the SPDC military junta.”

United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma, Tomás Ojea
Quintana, said this past week in reference to these convictions, “There is
no independent and impartial judiciary system [in Burma]." However, the
judges actions go much further; these prison sentences are crimes under
the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, including violations
of Article 7(1)(e) “Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical
liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law” and
7(1)(h) “Persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on
political, racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender
or other grounds”.

GJC President Benshoof noted that top judges in Hitler’s criminal regime
were convicted as co-conspirators of crimes against humanity and, more
recently, in the Dujail1 decision, the Iraqi High Tribunal found Judge
Awad Hamed al-Bandar jointly criminally liable for crimes against humanity
committed with Saddam Hussein because he used the façade of “judicial
authority and law” to “try” and then “execute” civilians. Burma Lawyers’
Council and Global Justice Center urge the international community to
expose the regime’s criminal partnership with members of the judiciary and
to join the call for a UN Security Council referral of all grave
international crimes in Burma to the International Criminal Court.

____________________________________

November 20, Rights & Democracy
Rights & Democracy urges international pressure for release of all
political prisoners in Burma

The mass sentencing of pro-democracy activists in Burma to prison terms of
up to 65 years must be met with immediate and coordinated international
pressure to secure the release of all political prisoners in Burma, said
Rights & Democracy.

Among the activists sentenced are Min Ko Naing and Su Su Nway, who are
both past recipients of Rights & Democracy’s John Humphrey Freedom Award.
Min Ko Naing was sentenced to 65 years in prison last week for his role in
peaceful protests last year against the junta’s arbitrary increase of fuel
and commodity prices. Su Su Nway received a sentence of 12 years for
activities in support of Burma’s democratic movement.

Both sentences were announced alongside those of at least 23 members of
the pro-democracy “88 Generation Students” who also received long-term
sentences for their participation in last year’s mass pro-democracy
demonstrations. No defence lawyers were present at the secret trials,
according to reports. Their sentences are the first among hundreds of
political activists currently facing trial in closed courts and reports
suggested hundreds more could face similar proceedings. It is estimated
that the number of political prisoners in Burma has doubled in the last
year to more than 2,100.

Rights & Democracy welcomes the swift international condemnation of these
sentences and reaffirms its full commitment to efforts by its partners to
win the release of all political prisoners in Burma, including Nobel
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, and ensure a peaceful transition to democracy.
Rights & Democracy also:

    * Calls for countries with influence on Burma’s military regime,
including China, India and members of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN), to negotiate the immediate release of all
political prisoners in Burma.
    * Urges the United Nations Security Council to convene a meeting on
Burma immediately and adopt a binding resolution calling on the
military junta to undertake a peaceful transition to democracy.

“The persecution of Burma’s courageous pro-democracy movement is a blight
on all countries that continue to support this junta,” said Rémy M.
Beauregard, President of Rights & Democracy. “It is imperative that these
countries and the UN Security Council send a clear message to the junta’s
leaders that this abuse of the rule of law is wholly unacceptable and all
political prisoners must be released.”

Rights & Democracy’s involvement in Burma dates to 1990, the year Burma’s
military refused to cede power to Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for
Democracy party after its landslide election victory. Rights & Democracy
was the first institution to support the democratically-elected
government-in-exile, and remains committed to supporting Burma’s
democratic movement.

____________________________________

November 20, Reporters San Frontieres
Blogger and poet transferred to remote prisons

Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association condemn the
transfers of blogger Nay Phon Latt and poet Saw Wai to prisons far from
Rangoon.

Sentenced to 20 years in prison by a special court in Insein prison on 10
November, Nay Phon Latt has been moved to a prison in Pa-an, the capital
of the southeastern state of Karen. Saw Wai, who was sentenced the same
day to two years in prison, has been moved to Oboe, in the central region
of Mandalay.

“These prisons are known for their appalling sanitary conditions,”
Reporters Without Borders said. “In addition to being unjustly convicted,
they must now serve their sentences far from their families and friends,
in prisons where the conditions are particularly bad. The transfers have
yet again highlighted the military government’s inhuman nature.”