BurmaNet News, December 18, 2008

[Editor]

December 18, 2008, Issue #3621


INSIDE BURMA
Reuters: Myanmar blames "extravagant" Americans for crisis
Mizzima: Junta-backed USDA unlikely to contest 2010 election

TRADE/ BUSINESS
Irrawaddy: Few Takers for Cyclone Nargis Tours
Mizzima: Burma cancels license of 84 tour companies
Viet Nam News: Viet Nam, Myanmar trade turnover up 21.3% this year

ENVIRONMENT
Kachin News Group: China resumes importing timber from northern Burma

REGIONAL
DVB: Burmese migrants deported from Malaysia after protest
AFP via Straits Times: Japan: 30 Myanmar refugees accepted
The Hindu: Insurgents operating from Bangladesh, Myanmar
Assam Tribune via Hindustan Times: India’s Blunder in Myanmar

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: EU provides extra 40 million euros in aid to Myanmar
VOA: UN Chief Criticizes Burma for Lack of Democratic Progress



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA


December 18, Mizzima
Junta-backed USDA unlikely to contest 2010 election - Mungpi

New Delhi – In contrast to what many observers expected, Burma's military
junta plans to abolish its proxy organization - Union Solidarity and
Development Association (USDA) - opting not to transform it into a
political party for the purpose of participating in the upcoming 2010
election, sources close to the military said.

Owing to a poor public perception of the organization, particularly after
its role in cracking down on peaceful demonstrators during the monk-led
protests last year, the head of the military junta and the main patron of
the organization, Senior General Than Shwe, has decided to scratch his
original plan of making use of the USDA as a political party - a source
said.

"The USDA will not exist in 2009," said a source in Naypyitaw, adding that
members of the junta's proxy will instead be incorporated into political
parties with different names.

"The USDA has such a bad image
and a criminal record internationally
they
will not use that name
 they decided at this meeting," he added, referring
to the last quarterly meeting held in November.

Echoing a similar view, Burma affairs specialist Larry Jagan, a freelance
journalist based in Bangkok, said the USDA is unlikely to be transformed
into any political party to contest the upcoming 2010 elections.

"According to my sources, the USDA itself will not become a political
party," said Jagan. But he added that at least three parties are likely to
be formed under an umbrella of the discredited USDA and will make use of
the former organization's funding.

However, Jagan added, "But there is a lot of speculation and none of us
know for sure."

The original social organization, with several million members as claimed
by the military government, has been a principle tool in attacking
protesters and dissidents over recent years.

Further, the organization has established relationships with China and
Vietnam through exchanging official visits.

The USDA was initiated on November 15, 1993, by the military regime.
According to an official announcement in 2007, the USDA had 24 million
members, mostly government servants. However, many of its members admit
they enrolled in the organization in fear of any repercussions associated
with denying orders from superiors.

An observer in Burma's former capital, who closely monitors the situation,
said, "There is no news about the USDA in state owned newspapers and no
USDA uniforms are seen in Yangon [Rangoon]."

The source in Naypyitaw explained that the regime is keen on forming
regional political parties rather than a single, nationwide political
party.

"All they [junta] want is the National League for Democracy and The Lady
[Aung San Suu Kyi] out," the source emphasized.

According to Jagan, despite the junta's claim that it will conduct the
2010 general election freely and fairly, it is unlikely that the junta
will allow detained Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to contest the
poll, as they see her as a major threat to their determination to win the
election. However, it is possible that her party, the NLD, without her,
might be allowed to take part.

"But it does not necessarily mean that it [the election] would be free and
fair, and that they [NLD] would be able to run unhindered," Jagan further
elaborated.

The NLD, meanwhile, said they have not decided on whether to participate
in the 2010 election and are still in the process of discussing the
situation and brainstorming ideas, after which they intend to deliver a
clear statement on whether they will join the proceedings or remain on the
sidelines.

Meanwhile, some respected intellectual civilians, some of whom have been
accused of being apologists for the junta by the mainstream opposition,
are preparing to take part in the election. And the regime itself is
looking for locally respected dignitaries, such as retired teachers, to
partake in the election, sources said.

Similarly, a source in the military establishment said at least nine
ministers and two mayors, including Rangoon Mayor Brigadier General Aung
Thein Lin, will soon resign from their current positions in preparation to
contest in the general election, the military junta's fifth step of its
roadmap to democracy.

Meanwhile, a report on Wednesday by Khitpyaing, a Burmese news agency
based in Bangkok, reported that three army commanders have been promoted
to the level of minister, but were not assigned to any ministry.

The report argues that the promotion of the Mandalay-based commander of
central command, Major General Tin Ngwe, the Bassein-based commander of
southwestern command, Major General Kyaw Swe, and the Monywa-based
commander of northwestern command, Major General Myint Soe, could be a
move to sideline them from assuming active roles in the military before
the election.

While the promotion is unprecedented, it could also be a trial by the
junta to use military commanders in an administrative capacity, the report
suggests.

Meanwhile, a senior official in Naypyitaw told Mizzima that the electoral
law, which the military is carefully designing so as to avoid it being
used as a stepping stone by the opposition, is expected to be made public
by the end of December or in early January 2009.

"We have to wait and see the electoral law but what I can tell you is that
they will not repeat the 1990 scenario," said a senior officer in
Naypyitaw.

According to Jagan, the election law would impose restrictions on the NLD
and other political parties from freely campaigning.

In 1990, the National Unity Party, a transformed party of former military
strongman Ne Win's Burma Socialist Party, lost decisively to the NLD,
which analysts see as an unacceptable result for Burma's new generation
generals.

____________________________________


December 18, Reuters
Myanmar blames "extravagant" Americans for crisis - Aung Hla Tun and Alan
Raybould

Yangon - Military-ruled Myanmar, one of the most isolated countries in the
world, has largely escaped the global financial upheaval triggered by
"extravagant" Americans, state media said on Thursday.

The former Burma relied on few imports and its main trading partners,
India and China, were suffering less than others in the current economic
downturn, a commentary in several state-owned newspapers said.

"I dare say that our country does not need to worry about the global
financial crisis," the article said.

Newspapers are tightly controlled by the military, which has reduced a
once-promising economy and country to an impoverished international pariah
after more than four decades of rule.

Noting that the financial crisis had been spawned in the United States,
the article said: "Americans are a people who are extravagant and do not
hesitate to buy an elephant if it is available on credit."

Some independent observers were less optimistic about Myanmar's ability to
sail through the crisis.

Despite abundant natural gas, minerals and timber coveted by China, India
and other regional neighbours, Myanmar is among the world's poorest
countries due mainly to the failed policies of a reclusive regime.

"Our economy is already in very bad shape. So it couldn't be worse," said
a retired professor, noting that the main city, Yangon, experienced
20-hour blackouts each day.

Returning migrant workers had little hope of finding work after losing
their jobs in neighbouring countries such as Thailand, where factories are
closing or cutting production due to the global economic slowdown.

A member of the Federation of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry said
export industries were already feeling the pain of slowing demand.

"There has been a steep drop in orders for some major export items such as
garments and rubber," the businessman said.

The global economic downturn is a further blow to a tourism industry
struggling to recover in the aftermath of cyclone Nargis in May, and the
junta's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2007.

In the ancient capital of Bagan, home to 1,000 year-old temples on the
banks of the Irrawaddy River, the lack of tourists in the traditional peak
season is threatening many with ruin.

"The lacquerware industry depends on tourists, but it is now facing a
critical condition," one hotel operator said, adding that many artists
were abandoning the centuries-old industry.

(Reporting by Aung Hla Tun; Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by Darren
Schuettler and Dean Yates)

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE


December 18, Irrawaddy
Few Takers for Cyclone Nargis Tours

A government plan to cash in on tourist trips to the cyclone-devastated
Irrawaddy delta region has run into problems because of restrictions
placed on travelers there.

Visitors to Burma signing up for tours to the delta have to state the
purpose of their travel and are told any donations or material aid they
intend giving to cyclone victims must be handed to the authorities.

A guide working for a Rangoon tour company told The Irrawaddy that many
tourists refused to agree to the conditions and cancelled their travel
plans.

Burma’s Ministry of Hotels and Tourism had organized a day trip to the
delta costing US $20, but a number of operators—notably the Exotissimo
Travel Co—had struck the tour from their programs.

“Tourists were hesitating to take the Nargis tour because of the
conditions attached,” said a Rangoon-based tourist guide. Members of one
French tour group had handed to the tour company the aid they had intended
to take to the delta rather than giving it to the authorities.

A Ministry of Hotels and Tourism official, contacted on Friday by The
Irrawaddy, denied the tours were experiencing problems.

A Rangoon tour company operator said the number of tourists visiting Burma
had dropped by up to 80 percent as a result of the global economic crisis
and the recent shut-down at Bangkok’s two international airports.

Burma has more than 600 hotels and 700 tour companies, according to a
recent statement by Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein.


___________________________________

December 18, Mizzima
Burma cancels license of 84 tour companies – Zarni

Chiang Mai  - Eighty four tour and travel companies have been stripped off
of their license by Burma's directorate of Hotels and Tourism for failing
to renew their license, officials said.

An official from the office the directorate of Hotels and Tourism told
Mizzima that the license of the tour companies, which have been operating
for two years, were cancelled as they failed to renew their license.

"Those that have been stripped off their license do not include popular
tour companies. These companies are the ones that failed to report for
more than two years, and defaulted in paying taxes," the official at the
directorate office of Hotels and tourism in Naypyitaw, Burma's new
capital, said.

The 84 tour companies are smaller operators among the over 500 tour
companies operating in Burma.

"We issue a license for two years, and tour companies are required to
renew them after two years. We can still accept it with a late fine for
about six months. But these companies have disappeared for years. For some
we don't even know the addresses anymore," the official added.

Sources in the tour industry said, the companies include a firm with
foreign investments, and 20 companies that collaborate with foreign
investors, while the rest are owned by local Burmese tour operators.  

Tour companies in Burma have experienced a boom since mid-1990s, with the
country receiving large numbers of foreign tourists. The lucrative
business attracted private tour operators who rushed to apply for licenses
and have effectively conducted tour operations.

However, the tourism industry suffered a jolt following the September 2007
monk-led protests, and smaller companies faced difficult times. Besides,
more and more tourists avoided visiting Burma, when in May the ruling
junta responded poorly to a natural disaster - Cyclone Nargis - that swept
through Burma's coastal divisions of Rangoon and Irrawaddy.

Following the devastation by the cyclone, the junta's referendum on a
draft constitution in May 2008, and the September 2007 mass protests,
several private tour companies and smaller agencies folded up as the
tourism business slid into doldrums.

An official of a Rangoon based Tour Company said, "Most of the tour
companies that were stripped of their license are smaller companies that
had rushed in when tourism boomed. It does not include those that are
still actively doing business."

"For those continuing in business, even if tourism is not doing as well as
earlier, they are still able to survive and have not come to a point where
they have to shut down operations," the official added.

____________________________________


December 18, Viet Nam News
Viet Nam, Myanmar trade turnover up 21.3% this year

Hanoi - Trade turnover between Viet Nam and Myanmar this year will be
about US$130 million, according to the Viet Nam General Department of
Customs.
By the end of November, trade turn-over between the two sides was $118
million, a year-on-year increase of 21.3 per cent.

Of this, Viet Nam’s exports to Myanmar were $28 million, an increase of
28.4 per cent. This is expected to grow to $32 million next year.
Viet Nam’s imports amounted to $90 million, up 19.3 per cent over last
year. This includes timber and forest products, agricultural and
aquaculture products, and sewing thread.

The country is now the 11th largest importer from Myanmar.
Viet Nam is the 15th biggest exporter to Myanmar, including steel which
for the first 11 months of the year reached $4 million.

Other major exports to Myanmar include electrical products, medicine,
medical equipment, building material, mosquito nets, chemicals, office
machines, cosmetics, plastic products and pesticides.

The Viet Nam Trade Office in Myanmar said that Viet Nam should export new
products next year, such as fertiliser, farming tools and processing
machinery, and forestry and aquaculture products.

The office said Viet Nam had many export advantages in trading with
Myanmar. These included good relations, cheap products, and quality.
However, it said the Myanmar Government still subsidised some sectors,
such as electricity, fresh water and petrol.

Import-export procedures were also complicated. After signing contracts,
companies had to wait four to six months for the completion of
administrative procedures. — VNS

____________________________________
ENVIRONMENT


December 17, Kachin News Group
China resumes importing timber from northern Burma

After a long gap in timber trade on the Sino-Burma border, China has
resumed importing timber from Kachin state in northern Burma as of early
December, said local sources. Environmentalists said the impact on the
ecology would be terrible due the rampant logging.

At the moment hectic logging activities are on day and night in Bhamo
District after over 300 Chinese trucks and about 1,000 Chinese loggers
arrived in early November, said local residents.

A Chinese log truck loaded with timber is heading to the border timber
camp in Bhamo district in Kachin state, northern Burma in early this
December, 2008.

A Chinese log truck loaded with timber is heading to the border timber
camp in Bhamo district in Kachin state, northern Burma in early this
December, 2008.

Logging in Bhamo District has resumed following a successful deal struck
between Lee Maw Yung, famous Chinese-Burmese timber merchant in Bhamo and
Maj-Gen Soe Win, commander of the ruling junta's Northern Command
Headquarters (Ma Pa Kha) based in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state,
said sources close to both.

A local eyewitness in Manje Township said, logging is taking place in the
forests around Manje (Mansi) Township, Sinkhan Township and Shwego
Township. The Chinese loggers are cutting both hardwood and softwood. In
fact they are felling whatever they lay their eyes on.

Logging is unusual in Bhamo district this time of the year. In the past
Chinese loggers directly transported timber as soon as it was cut from
different logging sites to the border timber camps in Chinese territory
--- the areas near Nong Dao gate and Ruili (Shweli), according to local
residents.

Locals living near logging fields derive no benefit from logging because
the Chinese timber businessmen hire only Chinese workers for all logging
activities.  They also bring full rations with them, said residents of
Manje.

In Manje Township, some government offices like that of the Police,
Forestry and Township Peace and Development Council (Ma Ya Ka) earn
between 200,000 Kyat (US $159) and 300,000 Kyat (US $238) as monthly fee
from timber trade whereas the local Burmese Army, Light Infantry Battalion
No. 319 earns the highest amount of monthly fee, which is between 5
million Kyat and 10 million Kyat, every month.

Chinese loggers have also entered the softwood logging field called
Jubilee Valley in Triangle Area under the control of the Kachin
Independence Organization (KIO)'s 1st Brigade in northern Kachin state.
They are now transporting timber to the China border, said sources in the
Sino-Burma border based Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG).

Mr. Awng Wa, Chairman of KDNG told KNG today, "The responsibility for
future bad environmental impacts on local people in Kachin state from
non-stop logging will be more on the Northern Command commander Maj-Gen
Soe Win than others."

In September, all ethnic Kachin ceasefire groups and timber businessmen
were officially granted permission to export timber from Kachin state to
China by Commander Maj-Gen Soe Win.


____________________________________
REGIONAL

December 18, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burmese migrants deported from Malaysia after protest – Aye Nai

40 Burmese migrant workers in Malaysia were deported to Burma yesterday
morning after a protest, causing uncertainty among Burmese migrant
communities in the country. A Burmese employee at an electronic company in
Johor state said the workers were deported because they had protested
against tightening regulations on migrant workers.

The employee said the workers had sought help from the Burmese embassy in
Malaysia but officials there had given them no support. Some of those who
were involved in the protests, mainly Nepalese nationals, were allowed to
return to work.

____________________________________


December 18, Agence France Presse (via The Straits Times)
30 Myanmar refugees accepted

Tokyo - Japan has decided to accept about 30 Myanmar refugees who are
living in camps in Thailand, officials said on Thursday, marking a new
stage in Tokyo's acceptance of refugees.

While small by global standards, the number is significant for Japan,
which only accepts dozens of refugees each year and imposes tight
restrictions on immigration.

Around 120,000 Myanmar refugees live in nine camps along the border with
Thailand, most of who have fled crackdowns by Myanmar's junta on ethnic
armies.

A United Nations-led resettlement plan launched in 2005 has offered more
than 38,000 Myanmar refugees an opportunity to start new lives overseas,
mostly in the United States.

Japan said it was ready to take part in the plan, as Japanese Prime
Minister Taro Aso met in Tokyo with Antonio Guterres, the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees.

'As Thailand bans the Myanmar refugees from going outside their camps, it
is hoped that the international community can accept them and allow them
to lead normal lives,' Cabinet Office official Junko Yamaji said.
It will mark the first time that Japan accepts refugees already living in
another country, she said.

'The difference between the conventional acceptance of refugees and the
resettlement is that the refugees don't have to come to Japan to apply for
refugee status,' she added.

Japan plans to start the project in the 2010 fiscal year but has yet to
decide where the refugees will live or how to support them.

Japan has been a major donor to the UN refugee agency but has also come
under fire for not extending more of a welcome mat. -- AFP
____________________________________


December 18, The Hindu
Insurgents operating from Bangladesh, Myanmar - Sandeep Joshi

India has been putting pressure on these nations to stop such activities
New Delhi  - Many Indian insurgent groups are operating from Bangladesh
and Myanmar and India is putting pressure on its neighbours through
diplomatic channels to stop such activities. It is also focussing on
completing the fencing of the border with Bangladesh to check illegal
immigration and infiltration.

This was stated by Home Minister P. Chidambaram in the Rajya Sabha on
Wednesday.

He said several anti-India groups were finding Bangladesh and Myanmar as
safe havens, though both nations denied it. There were reports that
insurgent groups from the northeast have links with terrorist
organisations, including Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami, which
in turn is reported to have links with Pakistan-based terror groups and
the Inter-Services Intelligence.

Terror groups such as HuJI and Lashkar-e-Taiba were using Bangladesh for
infiltration and carrying out terror activities in India. We are not happy
with the situation. This issue has been discussed with Bangladesh and will
be taken up again when a democratic government is elected by the end of
this month.

Mr. Chidambaram said he was not satisfied with the progress in the fencing
of the India-Bangladesh border. He had asked the authorities concerned to
“quicken the process.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has instructed that the fencing should be
completed on schedule. It is a difficult terrain where normal fencing may
not work. We have asked the authorities to take whatever additional
measures are required to complete the job.

On Samajwadi Party member Amar Singh’s question that whether the
government was aware that terror camps were operating at Dhubri and
Bongaigaon in Assam, Mr. Chidambaram said: “Neither can I confirm nor deny
that such camps are there. This government will take note of the matter
seriously; and if there are any camps, the Centre and the State government
would dismantle them immediately.

The Minister pointed out that there were gaps in the intelligence
apparatus. “The problem is being addressed expeditiously to prevent
recurrence of terror attacks. We are focussing on better gathering and
sharing of information between intelligence and security agencies. All
States have been asked to raise special anti-terror squads.

Regional hubs of the National Security Guards would be set up soon and
coastal security was also being beefed up. A ‘Coastal Command’ with a
mandate to protect the India’s coastline would be put before the Cabinet
for approval soon.

____________________________________


December 18, Assam Tribune (via Hindustan Times)
India’s Blunder in Myanmar

Guwahati - It is really a horrible time for India to think of about what
is happening in our neighbourhood. China attained a strategic advantage in
securing the construction of Gwadar port in Pakistan, the end point of all
gas pipe lines from Central Asian states. She has also managed her all
weather ally Pakistan to agree for construction of pipe lines to transport
petroleum and natural gas to China through Pakistan. If this project
materialises, China would not only enclose India in her western flank, but
would also dampen her desire to formulate cordial relations with West and
Central Asia. In another crucial strategic development in the eastern part
of India, China struck an energy deal with Myanmar to construct a
China-Myanmar oil pipeline. The 2380 km pipe line will start from
Kyaukphyu where the gas will come ashore and carry it to Kunming. To
execute this deal, China will offer 83 million US dollar to Myanmar and
invest billions of dollars to construct this strategic Sino-Myanmar oil
and gas pipe lines, limiting the eastern boundary of India's sphere of
influence and a big blow to her 'Look East Policy'.

As alternative is very limited, our civilization is almost completely ( 80
per cent) reliant on fossil fuels as energy source. Rise in standard of
living, particularly in developing countries, aided and abated by rapid
population explosion would double the burning of fossil fuels in coming
years. In such a precarious situation, India's energy diplomacy fails to
comply with the growing energy demands. Today 70 per cent of our oil and
gas come from import. Per day, we require 170 million cubic metres of
natural gas and only half of it is produced in our country. Same is the
case with China too. In fact, China and India together account for 35 per
cent of the global energy demand and wherever there is commercial
availability of oil or gas, both the countries vie desperately to strike
the deal in her favour. It is a misfortune for India that Chinese oil
companies repeatedly outplayed Indian oil giant ONGC in Kazakhstan,
Ecuador and Angola.

To understand the diplomatic and strategic failure of India, Myanmar is a
classic example. The history of Burma unfolds the fact that she had war
with China (1766-69) and abandoned Sian, but annexed Arakan in 1785 and
Assam in 1817. Fearing trouble, half of Arakan's population fled to Bengal
and tempted the British for retaliation which caused the first
Anglo-Burmese War (1824-26), forcing the British to occupy the Burmese
capital Rangoon. In successive 2nd and 3rd Anglo-Burmese War, the British
annexed the whole of Burma and on January 1, 1886, it was amalgamated as
province of British India. In 1937 it became a separate self-governing
colony of the British Empire. Burma attained independence on January 4,
1948. Although Burma was attached with British India for over a century,
India failed to capitalise political benefit from Burma. Why Burma now
prefers to deal more with China than with India? Why Burma is compelled to
import 40 per cent of her requirements from China?

The British founded the Rangoon University in 1920, brought electricity to
the capital and in 1930, Indian colonial rule in Burma was known as
'Further India' and interestingly half the population of Rangoon were of
Indian origin. In 1942 though Japan invaded Burma, within 3 years the
British allied forces recaptured Rangoon. But the shameful chapter of
Indian strategic and defence planning is that India failed to consolidate
the advantageous situation created by the British. Taking leverage of
India's weakness and lack of foresightedness and her involvement in
countering secessionist forces in the North-East and also in Jammu and
Kashmir, China has steadily increased her influence over Burma (officially
known as Myanmar).

Myanmar, over 8 times the size of Assam, has 1463 km land boundary with
India. Her western frontier covers one of the violent seismic belts of the
world. It is the northern most country in SE Asia and her strategic
location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes makes her most
significant. Moreover Myanmar is a resource rich country having plenty of
petrol, tin, zinc, copper, lead, coal, gems and natural gas. Her estimated
oil reserves account 1.963 billion bbl and 271.6 billion cubic metres of
proved natural gas.

But yet Myanmar suffers from pervasive government control. Incompetence
and corruption associated with brutal Military Junta Government stifled
economic prosperity of the country. From 1958 to 1988, 30 years of General
Ne Win's rule made Myanmar more backward. Another Army General Saw Maung
followed him and ruthlessly suppressed the democratic movement there. When
the whole world voiced protest against military oppression, China in a
cynical move aligned with the military rulers of Myanmar and managed to
execute the China-Myanmar oil pipe line project. The pipeline project in
Pakistan extending from the Arabian Sea to the Chinese mainland and
another pipeline project from Myanmar to the Chinese mainland would form a
crescent shape arc bounding India within the parameter of its own
boundary. This crucial strategic advantage of China would create a barrier
to India's strategic aspirations to become a super power and to play a
dominant role in the Indian Ocean. Now, as energy hungry India and China
compete for new sources, China's growing diplomatic activities, her strong
economic foundation and her centralised quick decision making process
would take her ahead of India. Moreover, with construction of two naval
bases on both sides of Indian Peninsula, China would find it easy to pose
a naval threat to India any time. China will import 170 billion cubic
metres of natural gas from Middle East to South West China through Myanmar
in the next 30 years. This will definitely make Indian Ocean shipping lane
busier. With diverse strategic interest and with growing Chinese naval
activity in the Indian Ocean region, India can't remain a silent
spectator. The need of the hour is to match China's economy and striking
capability in land, sky and water.

In the mean time, Myanmar has started exploring for oil and gas in the
territorial waters of Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal near the island of
St Martin not far from Indian territory. Naval vessels from both the
countries are facing each other and it is unlikely that any side would
retreat easily. While India remained oblivious of the proven reserves of
natural resources in its surrounding, Bangladesh has divided its sea
territory into 28 blocks and auctioned off the area to international oil
companies! Myanmar's exploration activities on the one hand and
Bangladesh's move to invite foreign oil companies on the other may
implicate India on the wrong foot conceding scope for foreign naval powers
to intervene. It is time for India to deal with Myanmar and Bangladesh
impartially and sympathetically keeping the national interest in view.

The writer teaches Geography in Jagiroad College
Published by HT Syndication with permission from the Assam Tribune.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL


December 18, Agence France Presse
EU provides extra 40 million euros in aid to Myanmar

Brussels — The European Commission on Thursday decided give an extra 40.5
million euros (58.7 million dollars) in aid for two million vulnerable
people in Myanmar, notably those affected by cyclone Nargis in May.

A total of 22 million euros is allocated to help cyclone-hit communities
in and around the southwest Irrawaddy delta, where the catastrophe left
138,000 people dead or missing and devastated rice paddies, a commission
statement said.

The money is added to the 17 million euros which was released as emergency
aid after the cyclone struck.

A second aid envelope of 18.5 million euros will be provided for a
programme targeting "other highly vulnerable populations inside Myanmar,
as well Burmese refugees in Thailand".

Around two million people are expected to benefit directly from this
support which will be managed by the European Commission's Humanitarian
Aid department (ECHO) and channelled through European NGOs, United Nations
agencies and the Red Cross.

"We have progressively developed a very good cooperation with the
authorities on humanitarian access in the Irrawaddy Delta in the wake of
the cyclone Nargis," said EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel.

The EU's executive will continue advocating for similar cooperation and
access to other parts of the country, he added.

"I am particularly concerned about the forgotten crisis in Northern
Rakhine State, where some 800,000 Muslim Rohingya live in terrible
conditions."

____________________________________

December 18, Voice of America
UN Chief Criticizes Burma for Lack of Democratic Progress

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has criticized the Burmese
government for not following through on its promises of advancement
towards democracy.

At a year-end news conference Wednesday, Mr. Ban said Burma has failed to
engage in democratic dialogue and release its political prisoners.

The United Nations has repeatedly called on Burma to release democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained for 13 of the past 19
years, as well as all other political prisoners.

Also Wednesday, the New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch said
testimony from a lawyer who recently fled Burma illustrates how the
government locks up and imprisons peaceful activists, and intimidates and
jails lawyers.

The group said Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min, a 28-year-old lawyer from Rangoon, fled
to Thailand several days ago, after spending weeks in hiding. Saw Kyaw
Kyaw Min said he was ordered to jail in October after he failed to
intervene when his clients turned their backs on their judge in a protest.

The judge sentenced the lawyer and the clients to prison for contempt of
court.

Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min learned of the charges beforehand and went underground.
He and several other lawyers were representing 11 members of the
opposition National League for Democracy at the trial.

Human Rights Watch says the opposition NLD members were sentenced to four
to six months in prison for turning their backs on the judge.

In a crackdown that started in October, human rights groups say Burma has
sentenced more than 200 dissidents to prison terms ranging from less than
a year to 68 years.