BurmaNet News, February 11, 2009

[Editor]

February 11, 2009, Issue #3650


INSIDE BURMA
DVB: Activists launch Valentine’s Day rose campaign
DVB: Economics talk given at NLD headquarters
Mizzima News: Equal rights essential to revive Union Spirit: Ethnic leaders
Mizzima News: Pro-junta political party briefs press
Narinjara: Confiscated land rented to rightful owners

ON THE BORDER
AP: Thai official rebukes Jolie for refugee plea
SHAN: Hundreds of migrant workers in Chiangmai arrested in raid

DRUGS
The Daily Star (Bangladesh): Joint forces destroy poppy fields near
Myanmar border

REGIONAL
AFP: Myanmar envoy brands boatpeople 'ugly as ogres': report
Jakarta Globe: Thai FM agrees to use ‘Bali Process’ to solve Rohingya issue
Network Media Group: Burmese migrant workers insecure in Malaysia

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Gambari had ‘good discussion’ in Burma: Ban
Mizzima News: International artists launch awareness drive for Aung San
Suu Kyi

OPINION / OTHER
The Nation (Thailand): Burma is the villain, not Jolie – Editorial
Asia Times: Take the money and run in Myanmar – Norman Robespierre



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

February 11, Democratic Voice of Burma
Economics talk given at NLD headquarters – Aye Nai

Burmese economist Myo Myint gave a talk on economic freedom, market
economics and the current financial crisis at the National League for
Democracy headquarters at about noon on 10 February.

Party spokesman Nyan Win said the talk was attended by around 100 party
members and the central executive committee.

"He talked about recession, what a market economy is and what it means,
and the consequences of the lack of economic freedom," Nyan Win said.

Myo Myint also talked about the current economic crisis and the reasons
for the lack of success of a market economy, Nyan Win said.

"He emphasised the fact that there could be no market economy if there is
no political freedom and if it is dominated by elites and he also talked
about inflation," he said.

Myo Myint studied at the former Leningrad Financial-Economic Institute
during the Soviet era and at the International Monetary Fund Institute in
Washington DC.


>From 1968 to 1988 he was deputy director of the Ministry of National

Planning and Economic Development.

He was imprisoned from 1997 to 2004 for his pro-democracy political
activities.

____________________________________

February 11, Democratic Voice of Burma
Activists launch Valentine’s Day rose campaign – Naw Say Phaw

Three activist groups are urging people to join a rose campaign on
Valentine’s Day to call for peaceful resolution of the problems in Burma
and to heal political rifts.

Underground youth group Generation Wave, the All Burma Federation of
Student Unions and the Best Fertiliser Association are asking people to
offer roses at pagodas and religious buildings, send postcards featuring
roses and wear ornaments featuring roses on 14 February.

Generation Wave member Moe Thway said the campaign was intended to
encourage an end to hatred and a future of peace and love.

"There have been years of difficulties, grudges and hatred between the
army and the people and among political forces,” Moe Thway said.

“We want to send the message that we should move forward with peace and
love," he said.

"It will show that all people want peace and dialogue that is heading
towards love."

Moe Thway said roses and rose ornaments or pictures could be displayed
anywhere, and said the authorities would have no justification for
arresting people for wearing roses.

On 23 December last year, youth activists launched a two-week jasmine
campaign, calling on people to wear or display jasmine flowers to show
support for political prisoners and opposition to the military regime.

In November 2007, students at Rangoon Eastern University who wore black as
a sign of mourning for those killed in the September protests were ordered
to discontinue their campaign and sign an agreement promising not to wear
black in future.

At about the same time, students at Prome University in Bago were not
allowed on the university campus if they were wearing black.

The 88 generation students’ White Sunday campaign, also in 2007, in which
participants wore white shirts and visited the homes of political
prisoners, also met with official resistance, and many of those involved
were later arrested.

____________________________________

February 11, Mizzima News
Equal rights essential to revive Union Spirit: Ethnic leaders – Salai Pi Pi

Burma's ethnic leaders have said the essence of Unions Day has been
degraded and have urged the ruling junta to revise the Constitution to
ensure the rights of ethnic people, which will re-establish the true
spirit of Union Day.

Dr. Lian Hmung Sakhong, Vice-president of the Ethnic Nationalities Council
(ENC) in exile, said the revision of the Constitution and tripartite
dialogue with the National League for Democracy (NLD) and ethnic
nationalities could revive the true spirit of the Union Day in Burma.

"If the regime wants to see unity, they must revise the junta drafted and
endorsed Constitution to ensure the rights of ethnic nationalities," Dr.
Sakhong told Mizzima, adding, "The junta should also call for tripartite
dialogue with NLD and ethnic groups."

However, in order to hold a tripartite dialogue, Sakhong said, "Initially,
the regime must release all political prisoners, including Nobel Laureate
Aung San Suu Kyi and Shan ethnic leader Khun Htun Oo."

The ethnic leader's call came following Burmese military supremo Senior
General Than Shwe's message on the 62nd anniversary of Union Day,
published by the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar yesterday.

In his message, Than Shwe said the Union Day marks the signing of the
'Panglong' agreement between Burmese independence architect General Aung
San and ethnic leaders to form the Union of Burma in 1947 and urged the
people to nurture the Burmese spirit regardless of where they were.

"Only the Union Spirit is true patriotism that will ever protect and
safeguard all the national races," the paper quoted Than Shwe as saying.

Sakhong, however, said the Union Spirit could not be obtained in the
absence of equal rights for ethnic nationalities. "Words are not enough,
and action needs to be taken," he said.

Meanwhile, veteran Arakanese politician Aye Thar Aung said, with the
military junta's Constitution, which largely fails to recognize the rights
of ethnic nationalities, unity among all nationalities in Burma is be a
dream, which cannot be realized.

"The Constitution will not lead to unity as it failed to include
self-determination rights of ethnic groups," said Aye Thar Aung, who is
also the Secretary of the Committee Representing People's Parliament
(CRPP), a group formed with the Members of Parliament elected in the 1990
election.

"If they [the junta], really want to build unity, the Constitution must
include the equal rights of ethnic nationalities," Aye Thar Aung added.

He added that the regime by refusing to accept proposals from ethnic
representatives on equal rights at the National Convention, proved their
unwillingness to recognize the rights of ethnic nationalities.

Burma, on February 12, will mark the 62nd anniversary of the Union Day, on
which date General Aung San and ethnic leaders in Panglong Town of Shan
state, signed the historic 'Panglong Agreement' to form the Union of
Burma.

General Aung San along with his eight other colleagues were assassinated
on July 19, 1947. However, Burma gained independence from the British
colonial rule on January 4, 1948.

Barely a month later, the ethnic Karen group began to revolt demanding
rights of self-determination. Burma has been plagued with civil war since
then.

The ethnic nationalities' aspiration of a federal state was further
crushed in 1962, when General Ne Win took over in a military coup and
re-wrote the Constitution in 1974. The new Constitution introduced a
unitary system and denied the existence of a multi-party system, giving
way only to Ne Win's Burmese Socialist Programme Party (BSPP).

"We do not want a unity that is forcibly built without regard for the
rights of ethnics' self-determination," Sakhong said.

____________________________________

February 11, Mizzima News
Pro-junta political party briefs press

A pro-junta political party - National Unity Party - on Wednesday morning
held a pre-Union's Day press conference in Rangoon, where they expressed
concern that there might be yet another civil war or street demonstrations
in the country.

The NUP also condemned Burma's main opposition party – National League for
Democracy – for its confrontational stand against the junta.

The NUP was formed in 1988. It was renamed from the Burma Socialist
Programme Party (BSPP) led by former military dictator Ne Win, who stepped
down in the wake of the nation-wide pro-democracy uprising in 1988.

____________________________________

February 11, Narinjara
Confiscated land rented to rightful cwners

Arakanese farmers in Min Bya Township have had to rent their own farmland
from the Burmese army for cultivation after the army confiscated their
land with claims of building an army battalion, said a farmer.

"The Burmese army confiscated our land to build an army battalion but
nothing was dong on the land. Later the army official rented the farm to
us to cultivate with paddy rice. We have to pay 8 tinns [20 baskets] of
paddy per acre to the army to rent the lands from them," he said.

The Burmese army confiscated 107 acres of farmland from many farmers in
the villages of Thik Gon, Tok Pin New, Zi Khong, and Saray Gri in Min Bya
Township of central Arakan.

"We requested the army official Colonel Aung Myint to return the farmland
to us, but he denied our request and instead rented the land to us for
paddy payments," he said.

The farmlands were confiscated by Light Infantry Battalion 309 based in
Min Bya and the farmers have to pay the battalion 8 tinns of rice per acre
to rent the land.

There were low rice yields this harvest season, but the farmers were
unable to reduce the rental rate for their land.

"We are now suffering with many obstacles due to the decrease of paddy
product and paddy prices, but we have to give paddy to the army at the
rate of the army's demands," the farmer added.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

February 11, Associated Press
Thai official rebukes Jolie for refugee plea

A senior Thai diplomat rebuked Hollywood star Angelina Jolie on Wednesday
for speaking out on behalf of Muslim refugees from Myanmar.

Jolie — who is deeply involved in the plight of refugees in her capacity
as a United Nations goodwill ambassador — called on the Thai government to
respect the human rights of Myanmar's Rohinyga "boat people" last week
while touring a camp in northern Thailand for other refugees from the
military-ruled nation.

The Rohingya, who are denied citizenship in their native land, have been
trying to land in Thailand after treacherous sea journeys in recent months
only to be towed back to sea and cast adrift by the Thai Navy.

Virasakdi Futrakul, permanent secretary of Thailand's foreign ministry,
said Jolie's mission last week was to inspect a camp that houses refugees
mostly from Myanmar's ethnic Karenni minority not deal with the Rohinyga.

"We probably have to warn UNHCR that they should not have comment on this
because it was not the purpose of her visit," he said.

UNHCR spokeswoman Kitt McKinsey declined to comment on Virasakdi's remark.

"She was extremely touched by the plight of the Rohingya people. She
expressed the hope that the human rights of the Rohingya people will be
respected just as the human rights of everyone in the world should be
respected," McKinsey said last week.

____________________________________

February 11, Shan Herald Agency for News
Hundreds of migrant workers in Chiangmai arrested in raid – Hseng Khio Fah

Hundreds of Shan migrant workers in Chiangmai have been arrested after
Thai authorities conducted an immigration raid since yesterday in
buildings where Shan migrant workers reside.

At least over 200 workers from several places were arrested by police and
local Thai troops just yesterday.

The raided locations were Land and House, Kanjanood camp No. 2 in Doi
Saket district, Huey Sai and Mae Joe where a Thai student was raped and
murdered on 7 February. Those holding labour registration documents were
released.

The current raids are different from those in the past, said a worker.
Before, there was no physical abuse and threat to the migrant workers. 
Yesterday, the authorities beat and fired at workers who tried to escape.

"I was kicked on my waist and my phone was broken," said a worker in Huey
Sai. "Some of my friends were punched and some were beaten with a hammer."

The reason for the raids was not disclosed, but authorities claim they are
cracking down on illegal workers. Several sources have confirmed
authorities are still raiding at the time of writing this report.

At 11 am, today, over 20 workers from Kanjanood (2), Doi Saket district
were arrested again, said a worker.

"If people try to run away, they [authorities] fire at them. If they are
caught, they are beaten," she said.

Concerning the mass raids of the Thai police, sources agree it could be
connected to 7 February rape and murder.

Last Saturday, a Thai student from Mae Joe University was raped and
murdered by two migrant workers, according to Chiang Mai News.

Thousands of students from the University later demonstrated and handed a
letter to the provincial authorities to drive out all migrant
workers from the country.

"If raids are staged because of this crime, it is not fair," said a
worker. "They should arrest only the perpetrators and punish them but
not all the migrant workers."

Following the incident, some workers were dismissed from their jobs, and
others were facing difficulties applying for jobs, according to many
workers.

It is estimated that there are around 50,000 to 100,000 migrants working
in Chiang Mai, according to Migrant Assistance Program (MAP)

____________________________________
DRUGS

February 11, The Daily Star (Bangladesh)
Joint forces destroy poppy fields near Myanmar border

Joint forces have launched a special operation to destroy poppy fields in
the areas near the border with Myanmar.

About 300 army and BDR personnel along with paratrooper commandos took
part in the operation on Tuesday, official source told.

Security sources confirmed the operation, but did not give details.

According to a local source, the paratroopers were dropped on some spots
in deep forest area of Sangu reserved forest by military helicopters on
Tuesday while army and BDR members reached the area a day before.

A BDR official seeking anonymity told this correspondent that joint forces
have started combing each inch of land from Thanchi to Alikadam at Sangu
reserved forest to destroy poppy fields.

“Eight to 10 criminal groups rule the whole poppy cultivation in the vast
areas of the border and force the villagers to grow the plants,'' said a
local leader of Remakri Union under Thanchi upazilla.

Apru Mong, acting chairman of Tindu Union Parishad, said Sangu reserved
forest contains 82,008 acres of khas land. Most of the land is covered by
dense forest. Taking advantage of dense forest, criminals from Mayanmar,
India and Bangladesh take shelter in the forest and carry out illegal
activities.

Soi Aong Khumi, a village chief (Karbari) of an indigenous village said
the criminals get facility to cultivate poppy as there is no villages in
the area.

Poppy cultivation can be stopped if the government arranges settlements
for indigenous people and sets up security camps in the reserve forest
area, he added.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

February 11, Agence France Presse
Myanmar envoy brands boatpeople 'ugly as ogres': report

Myanmar's senior official in Hong Kong has described the Rohingya
boatpeople as "ugly as ogres," as a high-profile refugee case has
highlighted the group's plight, a report said Wednesday.

The country's Consul General Ye Myint Aung wrote to heads of foreign
missions in Hong Kong and local newspapers insisting the Muslim tribe
should not be described as being from Myanmar, the South China Morning
Post reported.

"In reality, Rohingya are neither Myanmar people nor Myanmar's ethnic
group," he said.
The envoy contrasted the "dark brown" Rohingya complexion with the "fair
and soft" skin of people from Myanmar, according to the Post.

"It is quite different from what you have seen and read in the papers.
(They are as ugly as ogres)," Ye Myint Aung was said to have written.

The Rohingya are stateless and face religious and ethnic persecution from
Myanmar's military regime, forcing thousands to take to rickety boats each
year in a bid to escape poverty and oppression, rights groups say.

But Myanmar's junta denies the existence of the Rohingya as an ethnic
group in the mainly Buddhist country and says the migrants are
Bangladeshis.

Thailand's military was accused in January of towing hundreds of Rohingya
out to sea in poorly equipped boats with scant food and water after they
tried to flee Myanmar, a charge Thailand has "categorically denied".

The accusations surfaced after nearly 650 Rohingya were rescued off India
and Indonesia, some saying they had been beaten by Thai soldiers. Hundreds
of the boat people are still believed to be missing at sea.

The case has raised the profile of the group's struggle, prompting Ye
Myint Aung's letter, the Post said.

No one from Myanmar's Hong Kong consulate was immediately available to
comment when contacted by AFP.

____________________________________

February 11, Jakarta Globe
Thai FM agrees to use ‘Bali Process’ to solve Rohingya issue – Nurfika Osman

Visiting Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said on Wednesday that
Thailand had accepted an Indonesian proposal to solve the Rohingya problem
through the Bali Process, a ministerial forum that aims to develop
measures to help combat human trafficking and other related transnational
crimes in the Asia-Pacific region.

“We are going to renew the Bali process,” Kasit said.

“We should pick up from where we left off and tackle this problem in a
very coordinated manner.”

Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, speaking to the press after a
closed meeting with Kasit, confirmed that the two countries had agreed to
use the forum to discuss the plight of the stateless refugees.

“We hope to find the best possible solution to address the problem,”
Wirajuda said.

The Bali Process was originally scheduled to be held in June, but Foreign
Ministry spokesman Tauku Faizasyah recently said that it could be moved to
as early as March.

Kasit indicated there was a possibility that the issue would also be
discussed at the ASEAN Summit in Hua Hin, Thailand, later this month.

“It could be taken up on the summit’s sidelines,” Kasit said.

Thailand has faced condemnation from many quarters, including Indonesia,
over its alleged mistreatment of the Rohingya people, a Muslim ethnic
group from Burma. The Thai Navy was alleged to have towed as many as 1,000
Rohingyas out to sea in boats without engines and cast them adrift with
little food or water.

Faizasyah said that the International Organization for Migration had found
evidence that the refugees were mistreated by Thai authorities.

Survivors told Indonesian authorities that they had been badly beaten in
Thailand and that many had died of starvation while being adrift at sea.
Hundreds of others are still missing at sea and feared dead.

Although Thailand had previously denied the accusations, Kasit told a
reporter from the state-run Antara news agency that his government was
still attempting to verify the reports.

“It is still being investigated, but so far the Thai Navy has assured the
government that nothing of the sort happened,” he said.

____________________________________

February 11, Network Media Group
Burmese migrant workers insecure in Malaysia – Zaw Gyi

Burmese workers are worried about their security as Malaysian authorities
have arrested 50 Burmese workers at Mewah Perat, in Butterworth state in
Malaysia.

The arrests took place on the night of February 8. Recently, the
authorities have been arresting workers frequently from Pinang and Jalan
Baru area.

Therefore, Burmese migrant workers have been taking turns at sentry duty
for their own security, according to factory worker Ko Hein Zaw.

"We take sentry duty because we are afraid that the authorities will come.
When they come here, we have to run away. Therefore, we sleep at night at
4 am. We take sentry duty by rotation," he said.

After the government shut down factories, unemployment has increased.
Around 350 workers have been arrested since Feb 2, 2009.

Among the workers who have been arrested, there are some who had legal
visas. They were arrested when they went to their workplace, Ko Hein Zaw
said.

"The real workers, who have work permits, have also been arrested. Some
'calling workers' are still in jail. I asked them about their release.
They replied that their boss would work towards their release on February
14. These people came to Malaysia with the help of agents," he added.

Migrants with legal visas would be detained for 14 days. The workers who
do not have legal visas would be charged with three months in prison and
then sent back to their country, he added.

Malaysian immigration officials will transfer them to human traffickers.
They face a lot of trouble because the traffickers forcibly demand money
from them, a woman who came back from the border said.

"After 3 months in prison, the immigration officials send them back to the
border. Then, the officials transfer these workers to Burmese human
traffickers. The traffickers threaten the migrants if they cannot give
money to them. I gave a lot of money for coming back to Malaysia," she
said.

If the migrants want to go back to Burma, the traffickers demand 2,500
Ringgit, which is equal to 750,000 Kyat. If these migrants cannot pay
money to them, the traffickers sell them to Thai traffickers, the woman
said.

After the Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister officially announced that
Malaysia would not provide any visa extension for foreign labourers,
arrests of migrants have increased.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

February 11, Irrawaddy
Gambari had ‘good discussion’ in Burma: Ban – Lalit K Jha

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said his Burma envoy, Ibrahim Gambari,
had a good discussion with the second-tier leaders of the military junta
and pro-democracy opposition leaders during his recent trip to Burma.

In his monthly press conference on Tuesday at UN headquarters in New York,
Ban said he looks forward to building on the talks to re-establish
democracy and the protection of human rights in Burma.

"It's true that Gambari was not able to meet with Sen Gen Than Shwe," Ban
acknowledged in response to a question.

"But he was able to meet with Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein and Aung San
Suu Kyi and executive members of the NLD [National League for Democracy]
party,"  Ban noted. Pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi is being detained under
house arrest by the military government.

Referring to the briefing he received from Gambari in New Delhi shortly
after the latter's visit to Burma, Ban said: "He (Gambari) had good
discussions there, even though one may not be totally satisfied."

Ban said: "I look forward to building on this visit with the view to
further promoting national dialogue and reconciliation through his good
offices and my good offices."

The UN secretary-general repeated his call for the release of all
political prisoners including Suu Kyi.

"I would again call on the government and opposition to resume substantive
dialogue without preconditions and without further delay," he said.

Ban is expected to convene a meeting of the 14-member Group of Friends on
Burma to share with them the details of Gambari's visit and discuss with
them the way forward.

"I'm going to discuss this matter with the Group of Friends on Myanmar in
a short period of time, in the near future," Ban said.

____________________________________

February 11, Mizzima News
International artists launch awareness drive for Aung San Suu Kyi – Solomon

Global artists from 27 countries are set to organize an international
panel on Saturday in New York, to highlight conditions in Burma and create
awareness about detained Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The panel will not only focus on the humanitarian crisis in Burma and on
imprisoned Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, it will also promote the sales
of a book titled 'FREEDOM & ART', organizers said.

"The aim of the mission [project] is to free Aung San Suu Kyi," Glenys R.
Flaitz, Public Relations Manager of the US-based FREEDOM&ART, which
launched the Freedom & Art project, told Mizzima in an earlier interview.

The book 'Freedom & Art' is a compilation of images, artwork and quotes
from 74 artists across the world. All proceeds from the sales of the book
will be donated to Amnesty International, on behalf of Burmese
pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, the group said.

The Mirca Art Group under its Freedom & Art project garners together a
coalition of international artists and has been promoting awareness on
Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and making a bid for her
freedom.

The group said it had started the project since March 2008 and published
the book in September. They will hold the panel discussion on February 14,
2009. "In USA, people know about Burma but they do not really know what is
going on," Flaitz said.

The Panel Discussion will include former Newsweek General Editor Maura
Stephens, photographer and activist Stacie Freudenberg, former political
prisoner and Burmese activist Nay Tin Myint, filmmaker and photographer
Jeffrey Hellman, and Burmese Fulbright Fellowship recipient and
award-winning poet Kyi May Kaung will join the discussion via satellite.

"Honestly, we really hope to free her. It [the event] is meant to make
millions of people aware of what is going on regarding Aung San Suu Kyi,"
said Flaitz.

Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of Burma's Independence Hero General Aung San,
has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

February 11, The Nation (Thailand)
Burma is the villain, not Jolie – Editorial

The Foreign Ministry's permanent secretary Virasak Futrakul yesterday told
US actress Angelina Jolie to mind her own business and demanded an
explanation from the UN agency for refugees why it brought her to a
refugee camp here in the first place. The Interior Ministry supervises
refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border and the UN refugee agency has
stepped out of line by taking the Hollywood star there, Virasak said. He
also reminded the UN High Commissioner for Refugees that the UN has no
mandate in these camps and therefore should not be saying anything. The
agency said that Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt visited the camp on the
Thai-Burmese border after receiving permission from the Interior Ministry.
So much for the diplomatic jargon and necessities, but excuse us for
reminding the world that the international community has a major problem
on its hand. It concerns the Rohingyas, a stateless people who reside in
Burma's Rakhine State bordering Bangladesh.

But while no one can fully control the words and actions of Hollywood
celebrities, the fact of the matter is, when they speak, just about
everybody listens.

Thailand's claim of sovereignty over this matter is understandable given
the fact that the country is not a signatory to any refugee convention.
But hiding behind diplomatic protocol doesn't hold water, especially when
the country is in a public relations mess following reports that our
security forces have pushed hundreds of Rohingya boat people back out to
sea. Some have been left unaccounted for while others have given
heartbreaking accounts of mistreatment by the Thai military, which towed
them back out to sea in ill-equipped boats with little food and water.
Another blow to Thailand's image is the fact that the Indian navy, which
has rescued Rohingyas, repeated their stories to the world.

We don't need to dance to Jolie's tune just because she is a Hollywood
superstar. What we need to do is come up with a sound policy that is based
on legal and humanitarian principles. Instead of blaming Jolie, who has
the luxury of walking away from this after a few days of photo ops, why
don't we start talking about the root cause of the problem? Or is that
against the unwritten rules of Asean when it comes to "domestic matters"
in a neighbouring member country?

This particular problem is caused by the Burmese junta - a source of
headaches and heartache for Thailand, all Asean members and the
international community.

____________________________________

February 11, Asia Times
Take the money and run in Myanmar – Norman Robespierre

Recent media reports indicate at least eight ministers and the mayor of
the old capital of Yangon will resign their posts as a presage to
Myanmar's general elections scheduled for 2010. The list is a veritable
who's who of the ruling State Peace and Development Council's (SPDC) top
lieutenants and signals the regime's intention to keep its members
prominent in the transition towards an elected civilian-led
administration.

Several of the outgoing ministers have served especially long tenures for
Myanmar's cut-and-thrust politics and are expected to run for office at
the upcoming polls under a military-supported political party. The regime
has promoted the elections as part of its seven-step road map to
democracy; opponents see the promised political transition as a sham to
give a veneer of legitimacy to continued military rule. It's unclear where
the departing ministers fit into that political future.

Minister of Construction Major General Saw Tun, for instance, has
maintained control over the lucrative construction portfolio since 1995,
predating the formation of the SPDC. While allegations of rampant
corruption have tarnished the reputations of many Myanmar ministers and
ministries, Saw Tun's name is usually not mentioned among them. According
to a Myanmar businessman who knows the minister, Saw Tun often says that
it is better to make a little bit of money over a long time than to make a
lot of money quickly. Apart from that temperance, his longevity in the
position can also be attributed to his hometown ties to junta leader
Senior General Than Shwe, who likewise hails from the Kyaukse township of
the country's central Mandalay division.

Another long-serving minister is U Aung Thaung, who has served as Minister
of Industry No 1 since the SPDC's formation in 1997. According to
businessmen who know both ministers, U Aung Thaung is not as inhibited as
Saw Tun. Many Myanmar ministers who have bid to maximize short-term
profits from their positions have had their careers ended prematurely on
corruption charges. Some say U Aung Thaung has survived in his post
because of his close connections to the senior leadership: He is a known
favorite of Than Shwe and his son is married to the daughter of Vice
Senior General Maung Aye, the junta's second top-ranking official.

Other officials apparently set to trade their military khakis for civilian
garb include Minister of Forestry Brigadier General Thein Aung, Minister
of Immigration and Population Major General Saw Lwin, Minister of
Livestock Breeding and Fisheries Brigadier General Maung Maung Thein,
Minister of Transport Major General Thein Swe, Minister of Agriculture and
Irrigation Major-General Htay Oo and Minister of Communications, Posts and
Telegraphs Brigadier General Thein Zaw. Also mentioned is Yangon mayor
Brigadier General Aung Thein Lin.

Some of the departing ministers are believed to be building up financial
war chests for the elections or securing preferential deals and
concessions for their families' businesses. It's a sometimes predatory
process that has increased competition for resources among the ministers
and exerted pressure on the country's private business community.

Ministers and their associates have in particular targeted foreign
investors, pressuring many of them to renegotiate their existing contracts
and business arrangements. Officials have through the discretionary power
of their ministries reviewed the documentation of various joint
foreign-local ventures for legal loopholes to pressure companies into
forfeiting assets, accepting new business partners or receiving lower
profit percentages than originally agreed, according to people familiar
with the situation.
One of the higher profile victims is Woodlands Travel, a tourism company
founded in 1995 by U Win Aung and which lists company addresses both in
Yangon and New Jersey in the United States. The company's website lists
its investment in two boutique hotels, the Kandawgyi Lodge and Popa
Mountain Resort, in line with the government's eco-tourism campaign.

Unstated on the company website, however, is the source of those
investments' funding, though local businessmen note that several
Singaporeans hold senior company positions. Speculation recently
intensified around the Woodlands Travel when its two boutique hotels -
among the country's finest upscale resorts - were purchased last November
by Htoo Trading Co. The controversial company is headed by Tay Za, a
businessman known for his close SPDC connections and who was individually
targeted by the US government's new "smart" financial sanctions.

It's not clear whether Tay Za purchased the properties independently or as
a nominee in league with junta officials or their family members, despite
speculation that the Ministry of Forestry had earlier exerted pressure on
the company. According to a source intimately familiar with the deal,
Minister of Forestry Thein Aung had previously sought to have Woodlands
Travel modify its concession terms to include another local company, which
apparently offered little in terms of expertise or capital.

Company officials instead decided to sell the properties outright at below
market value rather than face a protracted legal battle over being forced
to take on the new business partner and retaining their original
contractual rights. That, the source said, would have put the company up
against "influential people" and made future business difficult.

Woodlands Travel had originally brokered its deal under the auspices of
former intelligence chief and prime minister Khin Nyunt, who was ousted
from power on corruption charges in October 2004 and is currently under
house arrest. Thein Aung's ministry office declined an Asia Times Online
request for a telephone interview to address the allegations.

Minister for Industry No 1 U Aung Thaung has come under similar criticism.
The controversial minister was paraphrased in a recent media report saying
that he would retire only after providing for a comfortable future for his
children. Accounts from one well-placed source indicate the long-serving
minister has followed up those words with actions.

In recent months, the source says several businesses and hotels in the
popular Bagan Nyaung U tourist area have been approached by ministry
officials to grant concessions and contracts to U Aung Thaung's family
businesses, including the Aung Yee Phyo Co Ltd and IGE Co Ltd companies.
Both companies are run by his sons, Nay Aung and Pyi Aung. Given the
influence of ministers and ministries in Myanmar's political and economic
systems, such approaches would be difficult to reject without fear of
repercussions.
A senior advisor to both companies, contacted at their Yangon-based
offices, told Asia Times Online that he had "never heard anything" about
the allegations and didn't know if they were true. Initially involved in
industrial equipment and supplies trading, U Aung Thaung's family
businesses have recently expanded into the energy, information technology
and tourism sectors, which the senior advisor acknowledged.

The company's bid to move into the tourism sector, currently in a lull but
expected to accelerate after the 2010 elections, has been viewed by some
in Yangon as an attempt to further diversify the family's business
holdings before relinquishing his ministerial post. The ministry's head of
office, U Myint Swe, said by telephone that he had "no comment" on whether
the ministry was trying to wrest concessions from private businesses in
the Bagan area. He said that the minister was away from his office and
unavailable to speak by telephone.

There are several allegations of top government officials using their
positions to ramp up personal business activities before the 2010
transition towards democracy. One recent Kachin News Group report
suggested that the planned move towards civilian rule has served as
catalyst for SPDC officials to cash in on their positions in the northern
Kachin State, including through the recent establishment of road closures
to tax passing motorists.

Corruption is so endemic in Myanmar, which consistently ranks among the
global worst in international country graft ratings, that it's difficult
to tie any given incident specifically to the 2010 elections. Yet if the
reported ministerial changes come to fruition, the departure of some of
the junta's longest-serving members will open up to a new generation of
soldiers and regime loyalists some of the most lucrative ministerial
positions in government.

Ministerial positions are normally given to flag officers and occasionally
deputy ministers promoted to the ministerial level. Considering the
personal profits that could be accrued in the portfolios reportedly set to
be vacated, it is possible that incumbent ministers from less lucrative
ministries, such as the Ministry of Culture or Ministry of Social Welfare,
Relief and Resettlement, could be transferred laterally, as has happened
in previous shake-ups.

Their current positions could in turn be filled with flag officers
currently serving in operational positions within the Tatmadaw, as the
Myanmar armed forces are known. Cabinet reshuffles are common inside the
SPDC, an outgrowth of the regime's need to provide cushy advancement
opportunities to officers who occupy critical field-grade positions,
including command over areas fighting against ethnic insurgent groups.

Often the cabinet reorganizations are timed to ensure a number of
brigadier positions open up for colonels graduating from the National
Defense College. The frequent ministerial musical chairs among generals
and ministers has the psychological effect of promoting loyalty while
ensuring that nobody gets too comfortable in their position. Officers
often feel a sense of relief and renewed loyalty to the top
decision-makers if they still have a job when the music stops.

In private conversations, some senior SPDC officers suggest that the 2010
election date is not etched in stone. Knowing that the 76-year-old Than
Shwe intends to hold onto supreme power for as long as possible, they
anticipate the democratic transition could be postponed for any number of
reasons, including, according to one officer, the simple top-down
determination that "the country isn't ready". The prognostications of the
junta leader's astrologer, E Thi, could also offer cosmic cause for delay,
he suggests.

Until then, Myanmar's citizenry and businesses will likely come under
increasing pressure from ministers and other officials preparing for
either elections or life outside of public office. All in all, the
mounting money grab augurs ill for the political change Than Shwe and his
junta has promised democracy will hold.

Norman Robespierre, a pseudonym, is a freelance journalist specializing in
Southeast Asian affairs. Asia Times Online's Southeast Asia Editor Shawn W
Crispin contributed reporting from Bangkok.