BurmaNet News, January 28, 2009

[Editor]

January 28, 2009, Issue #3640


INSIDE BURMA
BBC News: 'Six million Burmese need food'
Mizzima News: Junta summons Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyer to Naypyitaw
DVB: NLD youth members attend law seminar
IMNA: KNU overrules local officials, halts logging after SPDC general
harvests 2,500 tons
Irrawaddy: Tensions between Wa, junta continue to rise
Irrawaddy: Danish Minister visits Burma

ON THE BORDER
Reuters: Chin refugees in India "forced back" to Myanmar
Reuters: Thailand says Rohingya do not face persecution
AP: Thai court convicts 66 migrants of illegal entry

BUSINESS / TRADE
Mizzima News: China slow down hits Burmese mining

INTERNATIONAL
DVB: NCGUB conference draws to a close

OPINION / OTHER
Free Burma Coalition via Burma Partnership: Strengthening cooperation for
a free Burma
New Light of Myanmar: Prime Minister General Thein Sein facilitates
Rakhine State development

PRESS RELEASE
HRW: Burma/India: End abuses in Chin State

INTERVIEW
Radio Australia: Burmese refugees seek new life in US army


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INSIDE BURMA

January 28, BBC News
'Six million Burmese need food' – Jonathan Head

The United Nations has warned of acute food shortages in parts of Burma,
despite a better than expected rice harvest over the past year.

Its World Food Programme has issued a report warning that six million
people in Burma are now in need of food aid.

They include a million in the Irrawaddy Delta, hit by Cyclone Nargis last
year.

But the WFP says it cannot get enough food aid to the western Rohingya and
Chin areas, because of restrictions imposed by the military government.

When Cyclone Nargis wiped out Burma's rice-bowl, the Irrawaddy Delta, last
year, it was widely assumed that the country would face severe food
shortages.

And the UN's World Food Programme says that is what has happened - but not
because Burma is growing any less rice.

Military restrictions

Production has dropped by half in the Irrawaddy Delta - but in other
regions, yields have been much higher, so that there is actually a healthy
surplus available for export.

But the number of Burmese who cannot grow or buy enough to eat has risen
sharply to six million, says the WFP.

The UN wants to increase food aid - but cannot, because the government
inexplicably stopped it from buying rice locally last year, and because
the military restricts access to the worst-hit areas along the western
border.

These are where ethnic Rohingya and Chin people live; their plight is
reported to be desperate, with Chin state hit by a huge plague of rats.

The UN is hoping its appeal will persuade the Burmese government to lift
these restrictions.

The dire conditions in which most Rohingyas live is one of the factors
driving so many of them to Thailand, where they claim to have been
subjected to brutal treatment at the hands of the Thai military in recent
weeks.

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January 28, Mizzima News
Junta summons Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyer to Naypyitaw – Solomon

Detained pro-democracy icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyer said he was
summoned to the attorney-general's office in Burma's new jungle capital,
Naypyitaw, for a discussion on his client's appeal against house arrest.

Kyi Win said the Special Branch of the police in Rangoon on Saturday
informed him that he had been summoned to Naypyitaw for a meeting at the
Attorney-General's office on Tuesday.

But having agreed with Aung San Suu Kyi not to travel because of his
ill-health, Kyi Win said he had asked Hla Myo Myint, a Supreme Court
advocate, to go on his behalf. But as Hla Myo Myint was preparing to leave
on Monday, January 26, SB officials told him at the railway station that
the plan had been canceled.

"The SB officials came and informed us but stopped Hla Myo Myint from
proceeding as he has about to board the train to Naypyitaw on Monday," Kyi
Win said.

"The SB official said the meeting was to discuss the appeal," said Kyi
Win, adding that the officials, however, did not give any reason for the
subsequent cancellation.

"The official also said it could be for a discussion on the request to
meet Aung San Suu Kyi," Kyi Win added.

Nobel Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi had appealed against her detention
through her lawyer Kyi Win last October. However, the junta so far has not
responded and also stopped Kyi Win from meeting her.

Kyi Win has also  appealed twice to the Prime Minister Office to allow him
a meeting with his client. But the appeal is yet to fetch a response.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained for more than 13 of the past 19 years.

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January 28, Democratic Voice of Burma
NLD youth members attend law seminar – Khin Hnin Htet

More than 200 National League for Democracy youth members attended a talk
on the Burmese legal system led by Thein Nyunt of the central legal
advocacy wing at the party headquarters yesterday.

The talk, one of a series of fortnightly seminars aimed at young people,
was also attended by NLD central executive committee members Win Tin,
Nyunt Wei, Soe Myint and Khin Maung Swe.

Rangoon division youth member Aye Naing said Thein Nyunt spoke about the
history of repressive laws in Burma.

"He explained the history of controversial acts such as 505(b) and act 144
to us,” Aye Naing said.

“Act 505(b) was introduced in Burma before the exile of the last Burmese
King Sebaw over a century ago. Act 144 was drawn up by the British during
colonial era,” he said.

“U Thein Nyunt pointed out how some of the laws we are still using are not
relevant to the modern age we are living now,” he went on.

“Emergency Act 5(j) was written from the sole perspective of security
concerns so it allows the authorities to abuse people legally."

Previous topics for the seminars have included independence and youth and
the future of the democracy movement.

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January 28, Independent Mon News Agency
KNU overrules local officials, halts logging after SPDC general harvests
2,500 tons

District level authorities from the Karen National Union (KNU) have
ordered Htay Company, owned by Major General Hla Htay Win, to halt logging
in the Makate Forest near Three Pagodas Pass. The halt order overrules
local officials and military officers, who had permitted Htay Company to
harvest over 2,500 tons of ironwood.

The 50,000 acre Makate Forest, one of the largest remaining large-timber
forests in Burma’s southeastern border area, stands inside KNU Dooplaya
District. The KNU and Brigade 6 of its armed wing, the Karen National
Liberation Army (KNLA), have strictly controlled the forest with local
villagers reporting that they are not allowed to log or even hunt within
its reaches.

At the advent of the 2008 rainy season, however, Htay Company purchased
logging rights from officials from Kyainnseikyi township administrative
offices, the Dooplaya District Forestry Department and Battalion No. 17 of
Brigade 6. The company began logging after the rains subsided in November,
harvesting over 2,500 tons of timber in just two months.

The logging distressed local villagers, who felt that a forest they had
been watching over for generations was being destroyed. In December, 5
representatives from 20 villages in the area drafted a complaint letter to
the Dooplaya District Committee, which overseas the area.

According to Saw Liston, Dooplaya District Secretary, the villagers timed
their letter to arrive on December 29th, immediately before a regularly
scheduled forestry meeting involving district and township level
officials. “Local villagers wrote a letter because they have protected
this forest since before their grandmothers and grandfathers were alive,”
Saw Liston told IMNA. “They said ‘the KNU is trading our heritage for
money from the Htay company. Later, will the KNU also eat our rice?’”

Before receiving the letter, district level KNU authorities had not been
aware of the logging by Htay Company, Saw Liston said, and in the
subsequent meeting the Dooplaya District Committee ordered the logging to
be halted. “Htay Company had an agreement with lower level district
officials, but of this we did not know. When the villagers reported to us,
we found out and then we discussed it in our meeting.”

Though the logging has halted, the Htay Company is being permitted to
remove trees that have already been cut. “As our lower officers already
made an agreement with the Htay Company, we will allow them to remove the
trees they already cut,” Saw Liston told IMNA. “But we will not give them
permission to cut any more trees. They have until May to remove their
trees. This information has been informed to the Htay Company.”

In spite of the premature end to the timber project, Htay Company stands
to make significant income. According to Htay Company sources, the large
trees – each at least 15 feet in circumference and weighing 2 to 3 tons –
fetch 30,000 baht per ton. Timber from the Makate forest, however, is
likely destined to fetch an even higher price. According to a truck driver
who is transporting timber for Htay Company, the trees are being
transported to Abit village in Mudon Township, Mon State, where it is
transferred and continues on for export from Rangoon.

According to an IMNA source in the Three Pagodas Pass Special Branch
Police, Htay Company is owned by Major General Hla Htay Win, the former
Rangoon Commander who was recently named Chief of Military Training.

With 10,000 acres and 2,500 tons of timber harvested – one fifth of the
Makate forestland – local villagers left with the short end of the stick
described the cultural and environmental impacts of the logging. “When the
Htay Company cuts even one ironwood tree, it is very big and it destroys
all the small trees around when it falls,” said one area resident. “And
they [Htay loggers] leave all the branches from the trees they cut. They
just leave the branches and there will fires in the hot season.”
____________________________________

January 28, Irrawaddy
Tensions between Wa, junta continue to rise – Lawi Weng

Tensions between the Burmese military and the United Wa State Army (UWSA)
have been mounting since a 30-member Burmese delegation led by Lt-Gen Ye
Myint, the chief of Military Affairs Security, was forced to disarm during
a visit to Wa-held territory in Shan State on January 19, according to
sources in the area.

Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese analyst based on the Sino-Burmese border, said
that the visiting Burmese military officials and accompanying soldiers
were told to disarm as they entered Wa-controlled territory to attend a
meeting with the UWSA at their headquarters of Panghsang.

According to Mai Aik Phone, who observes Wa affairs, the purpose of the
visit was to allow Burmese military leaders to learn how to launch an
effective election campaign in the area in 2010. However, sources said
that discussions were limited to plans to develop the local economy.

Since last year’s referendum on a military-drafted constitution, the
Burmese regime has been sending delegations to different parts of the
country to drum up support for an election slated to be held in 2010. The
regime claimed to have won overwhelming approval for its new charter,
despite charges that the referendum was rigged.

As part of its plans for the future, the junta has stepped up its efforts
to persuade ceasefire groups to disarm. However, the Wa have been
particularly resistant to this idea, putting renewed pressure on a
ceasefire agreement that was reached 20 years ago.

On December 5, Brig-Gen Kyaw Phyoe, the Burmese Army’s regional commander
in the Golden Triangle area of Shan State, met with the commander of the
UWSA’s 468th Brigade, Col Sai Hsarm, in Mongpawk, south of Panghsang, to
pressure him to withdraw troops from the area and “exchange arms for
peace.” The Wa leader rejected the demand.

Earlier this month, the UWSA proposed a plan to designate territory under
its control as a special autonomous region. Although the Burmese military
hasn’t responded to the proposal, the UWSA has already begun to refer to
its territory as the “Wa State Government Special Region” in official
documents.

The Wa area has been known by the Burmese military as “Shan State Special
Region 2” since the UWSA entered into a ceasefire agreement with the
regime in 1989.

In 2003, when the United Wa State Party, the political wing of the UWSA,
attended a junta-sponsored national constitutional convention, it asked to
be allowed to form a Wa State.

Wa political observers estimate that there are 20,000 UWSA soldiers
currently deployed along Burma’s borders with Thailand and China, while an
estimated 60,000 to 120,000 Wa villagers inhabit areas of lower Shan
State.

____________________________________

January 28, Irrawaddy
Danish Minister visits Burma – Wai Moe

Danish Development Minister Ulla Toraes was in Burma last week—the highest
ranking member of the European Union to visit military-ruled Burma in two
decades.

Ulla Toraes and her delegation visited for two days, from January 21-22,
accompanied by a Norwegian minister, Erik Solheim, the minister for
environment and development.

Burma’s state-run-newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, reported on January
22 that the two ministers held a meeting with the Myanmar Red Cross
Society, led by its president Prof Thar Hla Shwe.

Officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross, International
Federation of Red Cross and Denmark Red Cross Society also attended the
meeting, the newspaper reported.

The New Light of Myanmar provided no further information about the two
ministers’ discussions.

The two ministers flew in UN helicopters to the delta region where they
inspected relief and reconstruction work in four villages in the delta,
which was devastated by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008.

One of Denmark’s leading newspapers, Politiken, reported on the trip under
the headline: “Tornaes: Burma Needs Assistance.”

The newspaper report said the Danish ministers visited Burma for two days
and saw a need for continued humanitarian assistance in Burma, considered
to be one of the poorest nations in the world.

“It is quite clear to me that Burma is one of the world's poorest
countries, and that neither can we nor should we neglect it. We must make
an effort, although we know it will happen step by step,” said Ulla
Tornaes, as quoted in Politiken.

In a UN news release, Norwegian minister Erik Solheim said, “The
humanitarian relief and early recovery efforts after Cyclone Nargis have
been more successful than expected. Many schools and homes have been
rebuilt but still there are areas with great need for support. What is
important is the continued and increased access for humanitarian workers.”

Denmark contributed US $11.4 million and Norway donated US $7.7 million to
the humanitarian fund for the cyclone through the Tripartite Core Group
(TCG), made up of the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (Asean) and the Burmese regime.

The TCG agreement will expire in June. Danish officials and many aid
groups expressed concern on the looming deadline, according to Politiken.

“It is possible that the authorities, the UN and Asean will agree to allow
the coordination group to continue,” Ulla Tornaes said.  “We have a
well-functioning mechanism which has proved that it is functioning
correctly, so there is good reason to let it continue.”

An aid conference on Cyclone Nargis will be held in February in Bangkok,
Thailand. The extension of TCG projects in Burma will likely be decided
during the conference.

Jakob Simonsen, a UNDP director based in Copenhagen, wrote in Denmark’s
Information newspaper that critics say that the minister-level visit to
Burma as giving legitimacy to the repressive regime and breaching the EU
common policy on Burma that bars high-level visits. The EU has imposed a
visa ban on the regime.

But Simonsen noted: “Conversely, most of us probably agree that we can not
turn a blind eye when hundreds of thousands of innocent people have been
hit by a devastating disaster.”

Prior to visiting Burma, Ulla Tornaes also visited Thailand where she met
with Burmese exile groups.

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ON THE BORDER

January 28, Reuters
Chin refugees in India "forced back" to Myanmar

Up to 100,000 Christian Chin who have fled to India in the past 20 years
to escape persecution by Myanmar's Buddhist military rulers are at risk of
being forced back, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday.

The New York-based rights said local authorities and community
organisations in Mizoram frequently targeted Chin migrants, one of the
former Burma's many oppressed ethnic minorities.

"They live at the mercy of the local population," HRW said in a report on
the plight of the Chin, whose ancestral homes are in the mountainous
reaches of northwest Myanmar.

"The Chin in Mizoram lack jobs, housing and affordable education," HRW
consultant Amy Alexander said, adding most were relegated to temporary,
labour-intensive and low-paying jobs, earning around 100 rupees ($2) a day
for 10 to 16-hour shifts.

The report comes at a time when attention has turned on the Rohingyas,
another minority group in Myanmar, who have been fleeing abuse and
harassment.

In the last two months, 550 Muslim Rohingyas are feared to have drowned
after the Thai army forced 1,000 found in the Andaman Sea into wooden
boats before towing out to international waters and cutting them adrift.

Despite relatively close ethnic ties between the Chin and Mizoram natives,
tensions between the two populations regularly flared into anti-Chin
pogroms, the HRW report said.

"Because they are stateless and marginalised and the poorest of the poor,
they tend to be the scapegoat whenever there's an incident at the border,"
HRW researcher Sara Colm said.

The largest such campaign was in 2003, when the Young Mizo Association
(YMA) forced 10,000 Chin back into Myanmar, HRW said.

In September 2008, the YMA issued an order for the Chin to leave Mizoram
by the end of the month. The threat did not materialise, but it was enough
for them to go into hiding, close their churches and wait till tensions
were over, HRW said.

Such incidents showed India failing in its obligations to protect refugees
or asylum seekers, Alexander said.

New Delhi has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention but under
international law, is bound by the principle of 'nonrefoulement', which
protects migrants from being returned to any country where they could be
persecuted.

In addition to what HRW described as "decades of systematic abuse" at the
hands of the Myanmar army, the Chin's woes have been compounded by a 2007
infestation of rats that destroyed huge swathes of crops and food stores.

A recent U.N. survey estimated that 40 percent of people in Chin State,
Myanmar's poorest, did not have enough food, increasing the number of
people trying to leave the country.

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January 28, Reuters
Thailand says Rohingya do not face persecution

Rohingya caught in Thai waters are illegal economic migrants, not
refugees, and will never be let into the country, Thailand said on
Wednesday as controversy over its handling of the boat people refused to
die down.

"There is no reasonable ground to believe that these migrants fled from
their country of origin for well-founded fear of being persecuted," the
government said in a statement defending its treatment of the Rohingya, an
oppressed Muslim minority from neighboring Myanmar.

In the last two months, more than 550 Rohingya are feared to have drowned
after the army forced 1,000 found in Thailand's Andaman Sea into rickety
wooden boats before towing them out to international waters and cutting
them adrift.

The military and government insist the men were given adequate food and
water and deny persistent allegations that the boats' engines were
sabotaged or, in one case, never existed at all.
"We have upheld our humanitarian tradition and ensured that new arrivals
are adequately provided with food, water and medicines, with necessary
repairs to their boats," the statement said.

In a break with the army's recent processing of the migrants on a remote,
uninhabited island, a group of 78 found this week were handed over to
police in the southwest province of Ranong for processing in the courts as
illegal aliens.

A dozen of the group were under 18 and many had scars and open wounds on
their bodies.
Police said they had reported being beaten en route by officials of
Myanmar's military junta, calling into question Bangkok's blanket
assertion that the Rohingya do not face persecution in their country of
origin.

According to the United Nations refugee agency, 230,000 Rohingya now live
in Bangladesh, having fled their ancestral homes in northwest Myanmar
after decades of abuse and harassment at the hands of the country's
Buddhist military rulers.

The junta does not recognize the Rohingya as one of the former Burma's
130-odd ethnic minorities, and those in the northwest are restricted from
travel inside the country.

Although the Rohingya have only made domestic headlines this week, the
reports of abuse by his armed forces have led to questions about Prime
Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's oft-stated commitment to human rights and the
rule of law.

(For a FACTBOX on the Rohingya, click on [nBKK406291])

(Editing by Darren Schuettler and Bill Tarrant)

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January 28, Associated Press
Thai court convicts 66 migrants of illegal entry – Ambika Ahuja

A Thai court on Wednesday convicted 66 barefoot, disheveled migrants
detained at sea of illegally entering the country, raising the prospect
they could be sent back to Myanmar despite fears they would be persecuted
there.

A Ranong provincial court judge sentenced each defendant to five days in
prison after none of them was able to pay a 1,000 baht ($30) fine. Four
had to be brought in from hospital to face sentencing, one carried by two
men because his legs were broken.

The Thai navy detained the Rohingya migrants on Monday after their rickety
boat was found adrift in the Andaman Sea off Thailand's southwestern
coast. The Thai government contends the migrants do not qualify for
refugee status, and a police official said they could be expelled after
they served their sentence.

"Have pity on us," migrant Mamoud Hussain said before the ruling. "They'll
kill me and my family if I go back."

Hussain, 50, was among 78 migrants on the boat. Twelve minors were being
held separately because they are too young to be tried, said Ranong police
Col. Weerasilp Kwanseng.

The plight of the Rohingyas — a stateless, Muslim ethnic group who fled
persecution in Myanmar, also known as Burma — was highlighted earlier this
month following accusations that some of them had been abused by Thai
authorities. Human rights groups say the Thai navy has twice intercepted
boats filled with hundreds of Rohingyas and sent them back to the open
seas, where hundreds later died.

Thai authorities have repeatedly denied wrongdoing, insisting they only
detain and repatriate people entering the country illegally.

"There is no reasonable ground to believe that these illegal migrants fled
from their country of origin for well-founded fear of being persecuted,"
the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Thailand faces an "enormous
burden" because of 3 million illegal migrants currently in the country,
the ministry said.

But the Washington-based Refugees International has warned that any
Rohingya repatriated to Myanmar "is subject to arrest and abuse."

Hussain said his group fled Myanmar about a month ago to escape poverty
and persecution. He said sailors from the Myanmar navy who caught up with
them as they sailed toward Thailand boarded their vessel and beat them
with wooden and metal rods.

"They told us there are no Muslims in Burma, and they continued to beat
us," he said. The migrants were detained for 10 days and then let go.
"They told us not to come back again, or they'll shoot us all."

Tens of thousands of Rohingyas live in camps in Bangladesh, where many
have been granted refugee status. Many more brave the seas in search of a
better life, often traveling to Thailand on their way to Malaysia.

Army Col. Manat Kongpan said a Thai navy patrol found the migrants near
Surin island in Ranong, 460 kilometers (290 miles) southwest of Bangkok.
They were handed over to police custody. Thai police fed the emaciated and
haggard migrants, and treated their wounds.

The Thai authorities' care for the migrants was covered on state
television in an apparent attempt to mitigate some of the damage done to
Thailand's image earlier this month when the Bangkok-based Arakan Project
accused the navy of forcing as many as 1,000 mostly Rohingya migrants out
to sea in boats with no engines and little food or water.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has said authorities will
investigate the rights' group allegations.

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BUSINESS / TRADE

January 28, Mizzima News
China slow down hits Burmese mining – Moe Thu

Like most other sectors that earn Burma hard currency, the mining sector
is likely to crash given the slow down in China, which has dramatically
brought down mineral and metal prices.

The price of refined tin and lead went down to US$11,000 a ton in the
second week of this month in the world market, a 27 percent drop compared
to early November 2008.

"We are inevitably planning to stall the operations of mining in
Tanintharri Division," said one of the local miners, adding that decreased
prices of minerals provided a very limited option to sustain. It is  a
reflection with mines across the country.

The operation would suffer more losses, if it continued in addition to
higher operation costs here, the miner said. Most miners came up with a
decision to stop production and to shift to maintenance works at their
sites.

Another miner, who mines for mineral and gem stone, said he began to
struggle carrying on production of  mineral and gems stone. However, he
said he reduced the volume of production as the prices started  declining.

China is buying nearly all the mineral and jade stones produced in Burma.
According to official figures, China is the second biggest trade partner
of the Southeast Asian nation after Thailand.

 "I think the sale at the up-coming emporium, Burma is planning to stage
in March, will not be good as the Chinese economy is slowing down," a
miner said.

 The miners said some small mining companies were likely to sell their
businesses due to the decrease in mineral and gems prices.

Burma exports jade, raw mineral, fishery products and teak to China and
imports electronic products and machinery from China.

China's economy slowed to 6.8 percent in the final quarter of 2008 and 9
percent for the whole year, which was down from 13 percent growth rate in
2007, the National Bureau of Statistics reported, confirming the world's
third-largest economy was severely hit due to the burden of the global
financial crisis and domestic constraints.

 Another miner said another reason of closing down of the mining companies
is due to the higher operation costs and government's tax policies.

Mining companies need to pay 30 per cent of their production, 10 per cent
for export tax and need to pay tax to the internal revenue department.

 "The government takes 48 per cent as tax, so we only get half of what we
produce," he said adding that plus there is  high cost of fuel and
dynamite that is used at the mines.

There are some 30 local mine operators, who are primarily involved in
metal mining, most of which are no longer competitive in the unfortunate
face of the on-going financial turmoil.

"As they are not in a competitive position, they could not survive like a
few other foreign companies such as Ivanhoe and China Nonferrous Metal
Mining company (CHMC)  CNMC  Nickel company," said a Rangon-based business
writer.

Apart from them, there are 60 local miners that are involved in gems and
jade mining.

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HEALTH / AIDS

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DRUGS
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ASEAN

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REGIONAL
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INTERNATIONAL

January 28, Democratic Voice of Burma
NCGUB conference draws to a close – Than Win Htut

A three-day strategic conference in Dublin, Ireland, held by the National
Coalition Government for the Union of Burma and representatives from
Burmese democracy organisations overseas ended on Monday.

NCGUB minister Bo Hla Tint told DVB that conference participants had
discussed how to find solutions to key issues in Burma such as
establishing a basic constitution, relieving economic problems and
providing humanitarian aid.

Bo Hla Tint said the group had brainstormed ways to achieve freedom for
detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners,
revise the 2008 constitution, convene a people's parliament and bring
about dialogue.

They also discussed how exile groups could provide support to help achieve
these objectives.

The conference also agreed to prepare an appeal letter to Ban Ki-moon to
call for the formation of a committee to revise the 2008 constitution.

"We will mainly ask Mr Ban Ki-moon for his encouragement in developing a
political process where people are recognised and suggest the
international community all participates together," Bo Hla Tint said.

Dr Naing Aung of the Forum for Democracy in Burma said all the conference
participants had agreed to reject government's seven step road map for
democracy.

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OPINION / OTHER

January 28, Free Burma Coalition via Burma Partnership
Strengthening cooperation for a free Burma

The news of the ill treatment of Rohingya refugees at the hands of Thai
authorities is horrific and lamentable, but not surprising.  The
visualization of desperate people seeking peace being pushed back to their
death with the message of "leave us alone", strikes at the core of
politicians, journalists, and civilians all over the world. I appreciate
the action of Prime Minister Abhisit to investigate the situation, but it
is time that Thailand and the rest of Asian nations look at their policy
of treatment of migrants, but also there is a necessity to deeply
investigate the overarching blindness and inhumanity of regional
politicians towards the people of Burma.

People act as if this instance is a one-time event, forgetting daily
occurrences throughout Asia of people from Burma being stomped upon under
the boots of Asian businesses and governments. It is not just this event,
and its not just the news event in April 2008 when 54 dead Burmese were
found suffocated to death in a truck lorry. Millions have fled, only to
take up what is known as the 3-d jobs - dirty, dangerous, and demeaning.

Moreover, it seems that many in Asia are afraid to truly ask why these
people are leaving Burma, what is spurring people to risk their life to
escape their home. I once heard a Thai politician say that Burma is just
Thailand's Mexico - comparing the wave of migrant workers from Mexico to
the United States to the situation of Burma and Thailand; trying to
display the issues as being the usual situation of people from a poorer
country moving to a more developed country for better wages. This
horrendous comparison shows that leaders do not want to recognize the
extremity of the violence in Burma, the deep brutality that the military
junta uses to dominate and even erase its people.  It is not just a
situation of economic poverty, but widespread social, political, economic,
and physical violence that Burma’s military junta inflicts on the people
within its borders.

It's not just Thailand afraid of the reality and trying to push away the
situation. This past week the news came out about Malaysia involvement in
the trafficking of migrants from Burma. If migrants couldn't pay the right
money to Malaysian authorities they were handed over to human traffickers
in Thailand.  These are not just cases of inhumanity, its Asia hiding its
head in the ground. China, India, and ASEAN leaders proclaim their motto
of "non-interference", while their companies enter Burma to extract
Burma's natural resources; and while reaping the benefits of industry,
support the systematic forced relocation of people and other human rights
violations.  They are already interfering with the desires of the people
for freedom and democracy.

There is another form of callousness that is happening in Asia beyond the
inhumane treatment of migrants, it is the structural brutality that
happens when violence becomes acceptable. Whether it is because of fear or
greed, Asian leaders allow violence and oppression to happen in Burma and
so push away all the proclamations of terror from the people of Burma.
Weak and infrequent statements asking Burma’s military junta to take steps
toward democracy are not enough, and courage must be taken by Asian
leaders to make bolder measures.

FBC-P and HKCFB are working group members of the Burma Partnership

____________________________________

January 28, New Light of Myanmar
Prime Minister General Thein Sein facilitates Rakhine State development

Prime Minister General Thein Sein, accompanied by Lt-Gen Khin Zaw of the
Ministry of Defence, the ministers, the deputy ministers, the
director-general of the Government Office and departmental heads, left
Yangon on 24 January. They arrived in Sittway at 10:15 a.m.

Prime Minister General Thein Sein and party were welcomed at the airport
by Chairman of Rakhine State Peace and Development Council Commander of
Western Command Maj-Gen Thaung Aye, Col Soe Lwin of Sittway Station, local
authorities and officials.

The Prime Minister met officials of state, district and township level
officials, townselders and ward administrative bodies at the hall of
Sittway Station and discussed regional development and natural disaster
preparedness.

Present were Lt-Gen Khin Zaw of the Ministry of Defence, Commander Maj-Gen
Thaung Aye, the ministers, the deputy ministers, the director-general of
the Government Office and departmental heads.

The commander reported on the area of Rakhine State, use of land
resources, conditions of marine resources, output of monsoon paddy,
cultivation of summer paddy, sufficiency of rice and edible oil,
cultivation of cold season crops and new item pepper, efforts for target
output of ten major crops, cultivation of oil palm, rubber and physic nut,
river water pumping projects, breeding of prawn, measures taken for
development of education, health and transport and arrangements for
disaster preparedness.

In his speech the Prime Minister said Rakhine State with a population of
over three million has an area of over 14,000 square miles and it consists
of four districts and 17 townships.

According to geographical conditions, mountains, rivers and creeks and the
sea are natural barriers to Rakhine State and therefore there were
difficulties to go to other regions of the country and to deal with
national people.

During the colonial period, the imperialists practised the divide and rule
policy. As a result, there were some doubts among national people causing
racism such as Rakhine race or Bamar race, he said.

In fact, Rakhine State is a part of the Union of Myanmar and it is a small
union where various national races such as Rakhine, Bamar, Pyu, Kanyan,
Thet, etc. have been living in unity since time immemorial. Rakhine
national is also a Myanmar national living in Myanmar and thus it cannot
discriminate Rakhine from Myanmar. It is very important for them to forge
the Union Spirit wherever they live. All the national people with the same
mind live in the same country and they must be in oneness, he said.

The Tatmadaw government gave special attention to the development of
Rakhine State although the successive governments were not able to carry
out the development tasks effectively, he said.

Construction of Yangon-Sittway Road started in 1996 and completed in
February 2000. The project was carried out for ensuring better transport
between Rakhine State and other regions. The previous successive
governments never dreamt of implementing such project. Despite marshes and
a lot of rivers, creeks and mountains, the government had to construct the
road with much difficulty spending a large sum of money. On the 27 road
bridges which are 180 feet and above long and 1,067 bridges which are
under 180 feet were built, he added.

Moreover, Yangon-Kyaukphyu Road was built braving various difficulties
with the use of geo-textile for linking the south and north of Rakhine
State and Ayeyawady and Yangon Divisions. On the road, 16 bridges which
are 180 feet and above long and 879 bridges which are under 180 feet were
built at a cost of huge sum of money.

Despite difficulties, the Tatmadaw government implemented these projects
to have cordial relations among the national races and to make progress in
the region, he said.

He said there are some damages to the facilities as Rakhine State gets a
lot of rain. However, the government will upgrade the roads to all-weather
ones, he said.

ABRIDGED

____________________________________
INTERVIEW

January 28, Radio Australia
Burmese refugees seek new life in US army

There are more than 100,000 refugees from Burma living in camps strung
along the Thai border. This year, US officials say they're planning to
resettle around 14,000 refugees as they did in 2008. Some say that when
the chance comes, they'll be heading straight for the US Army's
recruitment office.

Presenter: Jay Lamey
Speakers: Min, a Mon refugee from Burma; Tim Scherer, Refugee Coordinator
for Southeast Asia, US Embassy, Thailand

Listen: Windows Media
LAMEY: Street-soccer in the Thai town of Sangklaburi. One of the players
is 20-year-old Min, a refugee from nearby Burma who has lived almost his
whole life in Thailand, arriving when he was a baby.

MIN: It's been a long time now. We couldn't live in Burma because it's not
a democratic country. When people work, the government takes too much from
them. And sometimes they force children to be soldiers.

LAMEY: Min's own father was a soldier with the rebel Mon National
Liberation Army, who fought a long civil war against the Burmese
government. Now, Min wants to follow in his footsteps. He doesn't plan on
being a rebel however - he's intent on joining the world's most powerful
army.

SCHERER: I've attended a number of these information sessions, and a
common question is, 'Can I join the military?'

LAMEY: Tim Scherer is the refugee coordinator at the US Embassy in
Bangkok. He says that after Min and his family are resettled to America
this year, he can sign up for the military, but not straight away.

SCHERER: And then after approximately one year their legal status becomes
that of a Legal Permanent Resident, which is commonly known as a Greencard
holder. Once they get the Greencard, they can volunteer for the US
military, if they're interested.

LAMEY: Why is that a lot of the young refugees from Myanmar find the
prospect of joining the military appealing?

SCHERER: I think it's an interest of young men worldwide to join the
military, that's part of it. Part is because it's a secure job for them.
Some of the feedback they may have received from refugees that have gone
before them is that, particularly in the slowing economy, it may not be as
easy to find entry level jobs as it was in the past. But it's a young
man's interest in military service, and some come from camps where there
is a background of military resistance to the regime, so there's some
pride I think in being a man of arms.

LAMEY: Min's family live in a nearby refugee camp, which the Thai
authorities forbid them to leave. Min should be there too, but he snuck
out, preferring to live under the radar in the nearby town, amongst people
of the same Mon ethnicity.

LAMEY: Min says he hides when the camp guards come through town. The rest
of the time he hangs out with friends, sometimes helping a relative run a
stall at the local temple, while he waits for travel arrangements to be
made. When he does arrive in America he'll have to find a job fast, and
without much English and only a primary school education, his options will
be limited.

SCHERER: What we call voluntary agencies, typically community
organization, churches, sometimes state governments, they all provide
resettlement assistance to the refugee when they arrive in the US. They
assist in finding the refugee their first job, and this is a critical step
for a refugee to the US, because unlike other resettlement countries the
US doesn't really have a strong social welfare system for refugees.

LAMEY: Since 9-11, the US Military has also been providing faster
citizenship to Greencard-holders who sign up, with some being naturalized
after just 6 months of service, instead of the normal 5 year wait. But Min
has another motivation, possibly stemming from his background.

MIN: Undemocratic people, we'll battle them. I want to be a soldier the
most, but I'd also like to be a mechanic. I'd like to work modifying cars.

LAMEY: Min says his father was offered the option of resettlement some
time ago. Now that his children are becoming adults, he wants to make the
big move, to offer them a better life. In the end, Min may or may not end
up a soldier like his dad, saying he can't really imagine what his future
will be like. After 20 years with not much to do, it will be a totally new
start.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

January 28, Human Rights Watch
Burma/India: End abuses in Chin State

Burma’s military government should end human rights abuses against the
ethnic Chin population in Burma’s western Chin state, Human Rights Watch
said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch also called on the
Indian government and newly elected Mizoram state government to extend
protection to Chin who have fled to neighboring India to escape ongoing
abuses and severe repression in Burma.

In the 93-page report, “‘We Are Like Forgotten People’: Unsafe in Burma,
Unprotected in India,” Human Rights Watch documents a wide range of human
rights abuses carried out by the Burmese army and government officials.
The abuses include forced labor, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture,
religious repression and other restrictions on fundamental freedoms. In
Mizoram state, India, Chin people remain at risk of discrimination and
abuse by local Mizo groups and local authorities, and of being forced back
across the border into Burma.

“For too long, ethnic groups like the Chin have borne the brunt of abusive
military rule in Burma,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at
Human Rights Watch. “It is time for this brutal treatment to stop and for
the army to be held to account for its actions. India should step forward
to protect those desperately seeking sanctuary.”

This detailed report is based on extensive research carried out from 2005
to 2008. Human Rights Watch conducted about 140 interviews, some with Chin
currently living in Chin state, but who cross the border to Mizoram for
trade. Others interviewed have fled the country permanently, most in
recent years. It provides a rare glimpse into the plight of Burma’s
“forgotten people.”

Burma’s military government regularly arrests and imprisons ethnic Chin to
stifle political dissent and intimidate them. The army places restrictions
on many aspects of life for the Chin, including: curtailing their freedom
of movement; regularly confiscating and extorting money, food, and
property; exacting forced labor, and coercing them to plant certain crops.
One Chin man told Human Rights Watch, “We are like slaves, we have to do
everything [the army] tells us to do.”

“We Are Like Forgotten People” also documents abuses committed by the
opposition Chin National Front and its armed branch, the Chin National
Army, such as harassment, beatings and extortion from Chin villagers. One
Chin church leader now living in Mizoram said, “These underground groups,
rather than being a help, make life even more difficult for us.” Human
Rights Watch called on both the Burmese army and armed groups to end
abuses, and for Burma’s ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)
to allow humanitarian agencies unfettered access to Chin State.

Chin farmers and their families regularly are forced to leave their fields
to porter goods for the Burmese army, build roads, and construct army
barracks, sentry posts, and other military buildings. This undermines the
ability of Chin people to survive in one of Burma’s poorest states,
particularly in areas suffering food shortages and famine caused by a
massive rat infestation. The Burmese government’s aid restrictions hamper
humanitarian agencies trying to provide relief to populations at risk.

“The famine in Chin state is a natural disaster, and aid restrictions and
demands for forced labor are only making the situation worse,” said
Pearson.

Abuses have led tens of thousands of Chin to flee Burma, with many
crossing the border to neighboring Mizoram state in India without
documents. But local voluntary organizations and government officials in
Mizoram have at times forcibly evicted Chin and returned them to Burma.

This violates India’s obligations under international law not to return
people to a country where their lives or freedoms could be threatened, or
where they could be at risk of persecution. Although many of the Chin who
flee Burma would qualify as refugees, the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) is barred from accessing the Chin population living along
the border, so only those who make the 2,460 kilometer trek to UNHCR’s
office in Delhi can file their claims. India is not a party to the
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees but it has signed the
Convention Against Torture and Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment.

Chin who manage to remain in Mizoram also face religious repression and
severe discrimination in access to housing and education.

Human Rights Watch called on the Indian government to protect Chin
asylum-seekers and refugees, and to give UNHCR access to Mizoram state to
register them. On December 2, 2008, Mizoram state elections resulted in a
sweeping victory for the Indian National Congress, the country’s governing
party, which has not been in power there for a decade. In the past,
members of Mizoram’s Indian National Congress have called for action
against Chin migrants and have been even less sympathetic than the
previous state government to the plight of those fleeing human rights
abuses in Burma.

“Instead of ignoring the plight of the Chin, the Indian government should
protect them and prevent any actions or initiatives to forcibly return
them to Burma,” said Pearson, “It will be a test for the new state
government of Mizoram to address ongoing discrimination against the Chin.”

The report also calls on members of the international community such as
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the United States and
the European Union to increase humanitarian assistance to Chin state,
provided it can be delivered without unnecessary interference from Burma’s
military government, and to strengthen targeted sanctions if Burma does
not meet specific human rights conditions.

“The Chin are unsafe in Burma, and unprotected in India, but just because
these abuses happen far from Delhi and Rangoon does not mean the Chin
should remain ‘forgotten people’,” said Pearson. “ASEAN, the EU and the US
should tell Burma and India that it long past time for these abuses to
end.”

Selected accounts from ethnic Chin interviewed for the report

“The army has called me many times to porter, more than 10 times. When I
cannot carry their bags, they beat me. [The soldiers] get angry and slap
us and kick us. They tell us to go faster. Normally, I’d have to porter
for two to three days. It’s not possible to refuse. One time I tried to
refuse to go because I was so tired and the things we are made to carry
are very heavy. When I tried to refuse, they beat me. They said: ‘You are
living under our authority. You have no choice. You must do what we say’.”
– Chin woman from Thantlang township, Chin state, Burma

“[The police] beat me with a stick and they used the butt of their guns.
They hit me in my mouth and broke my front teeth. They split my head open
and I was bleeding badly. Repeatedly, they hit me in my back with their
guns. Because of this, my back is still injured and I have trouble lifting
heavy objects. They also shocked me with electricity. They had a battery
and they attached some clips to my chest. They would turn the electricity
on and when I couldn’t control my body any longer, they switched the
battery off. They kept doing this for several hours. They did the same
thing to the pastor’s son. They told me they would only stop beating us
when we told them information about the CNA [Chin National Army]. We kept
telling them we didn’t know anything.”
– A Chin man from Sagaing division, Burma, describing how the police
arrested, tortured, and detained him for three days after being accused of
having affiliations with the Chin National Army

“Many times the SPDC force us to give them our chicken or rice. They come
and ask for these things. If we don’t give it freely to them, they just
take it. They will kill our chickens in front of us and take it all.”
– An 18-year-old girl from Matupi township, Chin state, who left Burma in
2008

“[Some Mizo residents] take advantage of our position and demand money,
threatening that if we don’t pay up they’ll inform the police or the YMA
[Young Mizo Association]. There are some Mizos who simply just hate the
sight of us and challenge us or threaten to beat us up. Life is hell for
us. We cannot protect ourselves, as this will cause further furor. We have
to just make ourselves seem small and avoid these dangers. To be Burmese
is to face discrimination.”
– Chin woman living in Mizoram, India