BurmaNet News, February 12, 2009

[Editor]

February 12, 2009, Issue #3651


INSIDE BURMA
AP: Myanmar party to petition for Suu Kyi's freedom
DVB: Lawyers denied entry to Insein prison court
Irrawaddy: Young dissidents remember Aung San

ON THE BORDER
CNN: Thai PM admits boat people pushed out to sea
AP: Jolie's refugee comment stirs debate in Thailand

BUSINESS / TRADE
Reuters: Myanmar doubles rice exports

REGIONAL
AFP: UN envoy, Japan encourage Myanmar on vote
Minivan News (Maldives): President urges release of Burmese political
prisoner

INTERNATIONAL
Mizzima News: Exiled Burmese government calls for tripartite dialogue on
Union Day
Xinhua: Japan to provide more aid to rebuild houses in Myanmar cyclone-hit
areas

OPINION / OTHER
Guardian (UK): A Bush legacy worth keeping – Benedict Rogers
Asia Sentinel: Myanmar's outrageous racism excused
Boston Globe: The human rights brand

INTERVIEW
Mizzima News: Concern expressed over war breaking out



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

February 12, Associated Press
Myanmar party to petition for Suu Kyi's freedom

Myanmar's main pro-democracy party launched a nationwide signature
campaign Thursday to press for the immediate release of its detained
leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and other political detainees.

Getting the public involved may be difficult in Myanmar, which has been
under virtually continuous military rule since 1962. Few people are
willing to publicly criticize the government, and dissidents face
harassment or imprisonment.

The petition campaign was launched Thursday in Yangon at the headquarters
of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party during a Union Day
celebration attended by nearly 300 party members.

"The campaign is meant to show the ruling military junta and the
international community the solidarity of the people and support of the
people," party spokesman Nyan Win said. He said the party had not yet
decided what to do with the collected signatures.

The party held a similar campaign in 2004 with no evident results.

Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, has spent 13 of the past 19
years in detention and is currently under house arrest in Yangon.

The current junta held elections in 1990 but refused to honor the results
after Suu Kyi's party won a landslide victory.

Human rights groups say Myanmar holds more than 2,100 political prisoners,
up sharply from nearly 1,200 before pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist
monks were crushed in 2007.

For the official celebration of Union Day, Myanmar's military ruler,
Senior Gen. Than Shwe, called on the people "to prevent the danger of
internal and external destructive elements attempting to undermine peace
and stability," in a speech printed in state-run newspapers.

He did not name anyone specifically, but frequently lashes out at the
opposition and at the United States and other Western nations for imposing
political and economic sanctions on the government.
____________________________________

February 12, Democratic Voice of Burma
Lawyers denied entry to Insein prison court – Kham Kaew and Aye Nai

Six members of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions and four others
who were arrested after helping victims of Cyclone Nargis appeared in
Insein prison court without their lawyers on 10 February.

Phyo Phyo Aung, her father Dr Ne Win, Shein Yarzar, Aung Thant Zin Oo,
Aung Kyaw San, Phone Pyit Kywe, Yin Yin Waing, Tin Tin Cho, Ni Mo Hlaing
and Myat Thu were arrested for collecting rotting corpses in the aftermath
of the cyclone and burying them.

Kyaw Hoe, Khin Htay Kywe and Maung Maung Latt, the lawyers representing
the ten people, were not allowed to enter the court on the orders of
special branch, a lawyer said.

Lawyer Kyaw Hoe said that MPs-elect Nyi Pu and Dr Tin Ming Htut had also
appeared at the court without legal representation.

Kyaw Hoe said it was special branch, not the prison authorities, who had
barred him from attending.

The lawyers wrote a letter to Tin Htut, the presiding judge at Western
Rangoon district court, but he also rejected their appeal on the orders of
special branch.

National League for Democracy legal advisor Thein Nyunt insisted that
action should be taken against those who interfere with court procedures.

"If we are to maintain the right to a free trial, the court has a duty to
prevent outside interference," he said.

"It won't be a free trial if lawyers are not allowed to represent their
clients; this should be reported to the court. Their relatives should also
report it to justice ministry."

NLD members Ma Cho and Theingi were also denied legal representation on 11
February, when their lawyer Myint Thaung was refused access to the court
to defend them, according to party spokesman Nyan Win.

The two women were arrested five months ago and charged with having
contact with illegal organisations.

____________________________________

February 12, Irrawaddy
Young dissidents remember Aung San – Saw Yan Naing

An underground dissident group in Rangoon has voiced its continued support
for Burma’s independence hero, Gen Aung San, on the eve of the 94th
anniversary of his birth.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, Moe Thway, a spokesman for the
dissident organization Generation Wave, said, “Gen Aung San is a hero who
opposed oppression. The current Burmese leaders are trying to hide his
image.”

Since November, Generation Wave has launched a series of underground
activities honoring Aung San, the father of detained pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, in defiance of the ruling junta.

The activities include circulating notes of currency stamped with Aung
San’s image and distributing postcards in Rangoon bearing slogans such as
“We won’t forget Aung San’s birthday!” “Don’t forget Martyrs’ Day!” and
“Accept the legacy of Aung San!”

Generation Wave was founded after the Saffron Revolution in 2007 by
Rangoon youths, including Burmese celebrities. However, several members
were arrested and jailed, and the group remains underground. It frequently
provides information to exiled media, including The Irrawaddy.

“We launched these activities because we want to show that we hadn’t
forgotten the spirit of Gen Aung San,” said Moe Thway.

Aung San, the founder of the Union of Burma, was born on February 13,
1915, in Natmauk in Magwe Division in central Burma.

He was highly respected—not only by Burman people, but also by the various
ethnic groups of Burma—for his efforts in winning independence from Great
Britain. However, he was assassinated by an armed group along with six
comrades at a cabinet meeting in Rangoon on 19 July, 1947, a date now
commemorated in Burma as Martyrs’ Day.

The anniversary of Aung San’s birthday, February 13, is recognized as
Children’s Day in Burma and is celebrated throughout the country.

However, despite the symbolic celebrations for Children’s Day on Friday,
many observers have said that conditions for children have worsened in
Burma in recent years.

In 2007, according to a UNICEF report, Burma’s child mortality rate was
the fourth highest in the world, eclipsed in Asia only by Afghanistan.

Burmese children are also subjected to human rights abuses, including
forced labor, and have been recruited as soldiers.

Burma’s military rulers have forbidden Children’s Day to be associated
with the country’s founding father. Burmese teachers usually do not tell
their students stories about Aung San for fear of reprisals, said a
source.

“The junta would just as soon erase Aung San’s name from Burmese history
books and forbid his birthday being celebrated altogether,” she said.

On Thursday, in his message to the public on the Union Day of Burma, junta
chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe made no mention of Aung San, even though he was
the founder of Union Day and of the Burmese armed forces.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

February 12, CNN
Thai PM admits boat people pushed out to sea – Dan Rivers

Thailand's prime minister suspects there were "some instances" in which
Thai authorities pushed Myanmar's Rohingya boat people out to sea, a frank
admittance of a practice drawing worldwide condemnation.

In an exclusive interview with CNN Thursday, Abhisit Vejjajiva said he
could not pinpoint who in the government approved the practice, but said
he was working on rectifying the problem.

"It's not exactly clear whose work it is," Vejjajiva said. "All the
authorities say it's not their policy, but I have reason to believe some
instances of this happened, but if I can have the evidence as to who
exactly did this I will certainly bring them to account."

Thousands of Rohingya refugees -- a Muslim minority group from Myanmar --
have fled to Thailand over the years and many of them have been housed in
Thai camps near the Myanmar border.

In some cases, there are charges that many of them have been kicked back
out to sea from Thailand.

A recent CNN investigation found evidence of the Thai army towing an
apparent boatload of 190 Rohingya refugees out to sea, prompting Thai
authorities to launch an investigation.

And a group of the refugees rescued by Indonesian authorities last week
told harrowing tales of being captured, beaten and abandoned at sea by the
Thai military.

Actress Angelina Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. refugee agency,
spoke out on the plight of the refugees last week as she visited the area
with her husband, Brad Pitt.

She asked Thailand to permit greater freedom of movement for the roughly
111,000 refugees housed in nine camps along the Thai-Myanmar border.

Vejjajiva said "at times" there has been "a lot of pressure in terms of
the numbers of these people coming in."

"There are attempts, I think, to let these people drift to other shores. I
have asked whether people are aware of such practices. The one thing that
is clear is that when these practices do occur, it is done on the
understanding that there is enough food and water supplied."

The prime minister said he regrets "any losses" that may have occurred
from the refugees' ordeals, but he said he is "doing the best I can to
correct the situation."
____________________________________

February 12, Associated Press
Jolie's refugee comment stirs debate in Thailand – Ambika Ahuja

Thailand's government may still be miffed at Angelina Jolie for speaking
out on behalf of impoverished boat people, but the actress has prompted
soul-searching among some in the Southeast Asian country.

For a second day, Thai officials rebuked the globe-trotting leading lady
for calling on the country to respect the rights of the Rohingya, a Muslim
minority people fleeing nearby Myanmar's military dictatorship.

"It was not her role to comment on the matter," Thai Foreign Ministry
spokesman Tharit Charungvat said Thursday. Jolie was in Thailand last week
as a United Nations goodwill ambassador, touring a northern camp for other
refugees from Myanmar.

Thai authorities have been accused of routinely abusing Rohingya refugees,
including towing more than 1,000 out to open sea and leaving them to die
in boats with no engines late last year. Some drifted to the shores of
India and Indonesia weeks later, but survivors said hundreds others died.
Thailand has denied any abuse, but says the boat people are economic
migrants, not refugees.

Local newspapers seized on the controversy — but not all took the side of
the government.

"Instead of blaming Jolie ... why don't we start talking about the root
cause of the problem?" an editorial in the English-language The Nation
asked, calling on the government to re-examine its policies based on
"humanitarian principles."

Thai academic Pavin Chachavalpongpun, writing in the Bangkok Post, even
said that a "particular brand of Thai-ness has successfully impeded
society's responsibility to nurture human rights."

Jolie — who has visited refugees in many hotspots including Iraq,
Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sudan — did not directly criticize Thailand's
actions. Her offending comment merely expressed hope through a U.N.
statement that authorities would respect the rights of Rohingya and all
refugees.

Still, her star power has helped highlight the long-overlooked plight of
the Rohingya, a stateless minority who live mostly in Myanmar but are not
recognized as citizens by its military rulers.

Myanmar's consul-general to Hong Kong defended the junta's policy this
week by telling the South China Morning Post this that the Royingya are
"ugly as ogres" whose "dark brown" skin is in contrast with the "fair and
soft" ethnic Burmese majority.

____________________________________

February 12, Mizzima News
Chinese businessmen abandon Sino-Burmese border town – Solomon

Chinese authorities have cut off electricity supply and disconnected
telephone lines in the Burmese town of Maija Yang on the Sino-Burmese
border, compelling thousands of Chinese businessmen to abandon the town
and leave for mainland China, local residents said.

A local youth said thousands of Chinese businessmen were moving away from
the town to other parts of China, after electricity and telephone lines
were cut off in the town since early February.

Maija Yang, a border town in Burma's northern Kachin state, is a
commercial hub filled with Chinese-owned casinos, restaurants and other
commercial activities, according to the youth. And it was impossible for
businessmen to live without electricity and telephone lines.

Mya Maung, a Sino-Burmese border-based analyst said, "At least 7000
Chinese people have moved out of the town to mainland China since February
5."

He said, while several small businesses faced difficulties without
electricity and telephone lines, the hardest hit were the Chinese-owned
casinos. The closure of the casinos has had an adverse impact on the
commercial aspect of the town, he added.

"There is no electricity, phone connections and the casinos have stopped
functioning and other businesses cannot run, that's why people are leaving
the place," he suggested.

Sources in the border area said, the border town of Maija Yang is under
the control of ethnic Kachin rebels – the Kachin Independence
Organization. However, the KIO, which has a ceasefire agreement with
Burma's military rulers, had signed a contract with Chinese businessmen,
to allow them free business operations in the town including running
casinos.

The source said, the KIO annually receives not less than 6 million Chinese
Yuan (approximately USD 877, 205) from Chinese businessmen for allowing
them business operations in Maija Yang.

In the early 1990s, Maija Yang, a small village with an approximate
population of about 1000 people, was a remote and under-developed area
controlled by the KIO. But following the KIO's ceasefire agreement with
the ruling junta in 1994, the village transformed into a border commercial
hub, filled with casinos and other businesses.

"Casino gambling began in Maija Yang 6 to 7 years ago," said Mya Maung.

Meanwhile, it is still unclear why the Chinese authorities have shut down
electricity supply and telephone lines in the town. According to Mya
Maung, it might be due to the news of Chinese children being kidnapped and
taken to Kachin state.

Earlier, Chinese newspapers reported that a number of Chinese youth were
being kidnapped and taken to Burma for ransom. The information, however,
could not be independently verified.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

February 12, Reuters
Myanmar doubles rice exports

MYANMAR'S rice exports have nearly doubled, to around 400,000 tonnes since
January, as the country has stepped up sales on competitive prices and
strong demand from Africa, regional traders said on Thursday.

Myanmar is selling 25 per cent broken rice at US$270-US$280 (S$407 to
S$422) per tonne free on board (FOB), compared with US$348-US$353 quoted
for a similar Vietnamese variety.

'The quality is an issue but African buyers don't mind as long as they get
the best price,' said a Singapore-based trader. 'We expect very good sales
from Myanmar this year.' The country's rice exports fell last year when
Cyclone Nargis struck in May, and the generals in army-ruled Myanmar
banned exports to preserve stocks.

Officials say the ban was eased from July and government data shows
Myanmar exported 127,600 tonnes in the first seven months of the fiscal
year, from April to October 2008. Around 101,000 tonnes was sold in April,
before the cyclone.

Traders in Singapore said Myanmar was likely to sell 700,000-800,000
tonnes of rice in the coming months after a bumper harvest.

'They are the cheapest in the world for inferior quality of rice,' said
another rice dealer trader with a global trading firm in Singapore. 'There
are some constraints at the port, and mills are not geared to handle large
quantities, but they should be able to contract 700,000 to 800,000
tonnes.' Traders said Europe's Louis Dreyfus was active in the region,
trading 6 to 7 cargoes of around 20,000 tonnes each.

Media reports in Yangon in November estimated a surplus of up to 3 million
tonnes of rice for 2009 shipment to world markets.

Myanmar could benefit after much higher prices in top exporters Thailand
and Vietnam forced buyers to look for cheaper alternatives, especially
price-sensitive African importers.

The price of benchmark Thai 100 percent B grade white rice fell to US$580
per tonne from US$590 last week, as buyers, particularly Africans, who
have been the most active recently, pulled back.

Thai rice prices trebled to hit a record peak of US$1,080 a tonne last
May, when governments and importers rushed to stock up on fears the food
staple would be in short supply amid high domestic inflation.

Rice from Myanmar is generally of inferior quality because of poor
milling. The main buyers are Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and African countries.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

February 12, Agence France Presse
UN envoy, Japan encourage Myanmar on vote

The UN envoy to Myanmar made a joint call Thursday with Japan for the
military regime to move ahead with elections next year, saying the rest of
the world would respond positively.

Ibrahim Gambari, a special advisor to UN chief Ban Ki-moon, was visiting
Japan after spending four days in Myanmar where he tried to nudge the
military regime towards dialogue with the democratic opposition.

The former Nigerian foreign minister spoke separately with detained Nobel
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and Prime Minister Thein Sein but failed to
arrange for the two to meet.

Gambari in talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone "agreed
that all the relevant parties need to participate in the democratisation
process of Myanmar," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

They agreed on "encouraging the Myanmar government to hold a general
election in 2010 in a form that be congratulated by the international
community," it said.

Nakasone told Gambari that the world would "react positively to a positive
move" by the isolated regime.

"Even though there are few positive moves by the Myanmar government, it's
a huge step for them to have announced that they would hold a general
election in 2010, compared with two past decades of silence about its
democratisation process," a foreign ministry official in charge of Japan's
relations with Myanmar told AFP.

"If they take favourable action, the international community should react
in a manner that encourages more positive actions," he added.

Japan, the top donor to Myanmar among the OECD major economies, in 2003
suspended most assistance other than emergency aid and some training
funding.

Japan cut its assistance further after Myanmar cracked down on
pro-democracy demonstrations in 2007.

But Japan refuses to join Western allies in slapping punishing sanctions
on Myanmar. China, which often spars with Japan for influence, is the main
political and commercial partner of Myanmar.
____________________________________

February 12, Minivan News (Maldives)
President urges release of Burmese political prisoner – Maryam Omidi

Former political prisoner President Mohamed Nasheed has spoken out against
the 14-year detention of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi by the Burmese
military authorities.

In a strongly-worded letter to Ibrahim Gambari, the UN special envoy to
Burma, President Nasheed urged him to seek a “more substantial result” in
the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.

Aung San Suu Kyi, 63, has become a global symbol of non-violent resistance
in the face of oppression by Burma’s military regime. In 1991, she was
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her struggle to bring democracy to
Burma.

Nasheed, an Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience in 1991, was
elected as president of the Maldives in the country's first multi-party
elections in October 2008. He extended an invitation to Aung San Suu Kyi
for his swearing in ceremony on 11 November 2008.

In his letter, Nasheed said he was concerned about the political situation
in Burma, which he says has made no “tangible democratic progress”.

He writes about the Maldives’ multi-party elections last year, which
resulted in the overthrow of a “30-year-old dictatorship”. The people of
the Maldives, he writes, are with those “struggling to establish democracy
in Burma”.

“It is extremely frustrating to watch the constant abuse of human rights
by the leaders of Burma and the plight of more than 270 pro-democracy
activists recently jailed, some given sentences of 100 years.

“As a former political prisoner myself, it is especially distressing to
see that nearly 2000 political prisoners are currently languishing in the
jails of Burma without hope of freedom.”

Nasheed ends his letter by calling the Burmese junta’s “Roadmap to
Democracy” a sham which will not “pull wool over the eyes of the world”.

Article 19, a human rights organisation that campaigns for freedom of
expression around the world, has welcomed the president’s letter.

In an email to Minivan News, director Agnes Callamard said, “Governments
of the region, particularly member states of the Asean have been
remarkably quiet in front of the plight of the people of Burma.

“Their silence amounts to condoning the Burmese authorities’ complete
disregard for human rights, democracy and the rule of law as exemplified
by their continued imprisonment of Aung San Suu Kyi and of all other
prisoners of conscience.”

Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of General Aung San – a leader in Burma’s
independence movement – who was assassinated in 1947.

On her return to Burma in 1988 after living abroad, the country was
undergoing a major political upheaval, with thousands taking to the
streets and demanding democratic reform.

Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of peaceful resistance as well as
Buddhist tenets of pacifism, she formed the National League for Democracy
(NLD), which aimed to expedite the democratisation process in Burma.

The same year, she was put under house arrest and was told she could walk
free if she left the country – she refused.

In 1990, the junta called national elections and the NLD won in a
landslide victory, even though Aung San Suu Kyi was under house arrest.

In her most well-known speech, “Freedom from fear”, she said, “It is not
power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who
wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject
to it.”

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

February 12, Mizzima News
Exiled Burmese government calls for tripartite dialogue on Union Day –
Salai Pi Pi

Burma's government in exile – the National Coalition Government of Union
of Burma – today urged the ruling military junta to immediately begin a
tripartite dialogue with the opposition party and the ethnic nationalities
in order to build a genuine federal state.

Dr. Tint Swe, Information Minister of NCGUB, during Burma's 62nd Union Day
celebrations held in New Delhi, said a tripartite dialogue between the
ruling regime, Burma's main opposition party – the National League for
Democracy - and leaders of ethnic nationalities was the only way to revive
the spirit of the Union Day and build a federal union.

"The role of ethnics is essential to form a federal Union of Burma," Dr.
Tint Swe told Mizzima.

On Thursday, more than a hundred Burmese pro-democracy activists in New
Delhi held celebrations to commemorate the 62nd anniversary of the Union
Day. Speeches, felicitations and cultural dances were performed to depict
unity in diversity, which the founding fathers of the 'Union Day' had
envisaged.

Nearly a year before Burma gained independence from the British colonial
rulers, on February 12, 1947, General Aung San, who is regarded as the
architect of Burma's independence, along with leaders of ethnic Chin,
Kachin and Shan came together at a conference in Panglong town of Shan
state to sign the historic 'Panglong' Agreement.

In Burma's history, the day came to be known as Union Day, and has always
been annually observed as a state holiday. But the essence of the
agreement, however, deteriorated after the assassination of General Aung
San on July 19, 1947.

Burma gained independence on January 4, 1948, and with General Aung San
already assassinated, ethnic leaders said they had been betrayed and the
Panglong Agreement was never honoured.

Dr. Tint Swe said the spirit of the Panglong Agreement disappeared as the
country came under military dictators, who led the country under a unitary
system.

"The spirit of the Panglong Agreement has disappeared in Burma," said Dr.
Tint Swe, adding that the NCGUB and ethnic leaders were under no illusion
that the government to be formed by the military junta, through its
Constitution approved in May 2008, would bring back the spirit of the
Union.

He said, the only way to bring back the spirit of the union was to start a
tripartite dialogue and that should be the objective of the movement.
____________________________________

February 12, Xinhua
Japan to provide more aid to rebuild houses in Myanmar cyclone-hit areas

The Japanese government will provide 3 million U.S. dollars more of aid
through the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to rebuild the
remaining damaged houses in Myanmar cyclone-hit regions, the Yangon Times
weekly quoted the Japanese Embassy as reporting Thursday.

A total of 374,391 houses in Ayeyawaddy division and 371,373 in Yangon
division were destroyed in the cyclone that hit Myanmar last year, the
report said.

Early this month, the Japanese government had provided 2 million dollars
through the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) to help in
agricultural restoration work in the country's Ayeyawaddy delta after
storm.

Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) will also give Myanmar humanitarian
assistance of 40.5 million euros (52 million USD) this year, according to
earlier report.

Of the total, 22 million euros will be spent for those who had suffered
disastrous cyclone Nargis last year, while the rest 18.5 million euros
will be used for people who have difficulties with their living.

Besides, another Malaysian humanitarian organization, the MercyMalaysia,
will also provide help to rebuild a dozen healthcare facilities in Dedaye,
one of Myanmar's cyclone-hit areas in the Ayeyawaddy delta, the earlier
report said.

Deadly tropical cyclone Nargis hit five divisions and states - Ayeyawaddy,
Yangon, Bago, Mon and Kayin on May 2 and 3 last year, of which Ayeyawaddy
and Yangon inflicted the heaviest casualties and massive infrastructural
damage.

The storm has killed 84,537 people, leaving 53,836 missing and 19,359
injured according to official death toll.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

February 12, Guardian (UK)
A Bush legacy worth keeping – Benedict Rogers

George Bush was a champion of human rights in Burma. Barack Obama
shouldn't turn his back on the country now.

As President Barack Obama dismantles the legacy of the Bush
administration, there is one area in which he should actually emulate and
build on his predecessor's record: Burma.

Whatever else one thinks of George Bush, few could deny the contribution
he, and particularly his wife Laura, made to raising the profile of the
suffering in Burma. In 2005, he spent almost an hour in the Oval Office
with a young Shan woman activist from Burma, Charm Tong, and heard about
the military regime's use of rape as a weapon of war. In 2006, a day after
former Czech President Vaclav Havel and former Archbishop of Cape Town
Desmond Tutu published a report calling for Burma to be placed on the UN
security council agenda, the US declared its support for the initiative.

The US consistently led the way in raising Burma at the security council
and seeking a resolution, initially with slow and grudging support from
its natural allies. The US has the only meaningful set of sanctions
against the regime, and in the past two years it has sought to tighten and
target them further.

Laura Bush became a particular champion of Burma, making personal
telephone calls to UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, hosting a roundtable
at the UN in New York and holding her own press conference after Cyclone
Nargis in which she strongly condemned the military regime's denial of aid
to the victims. Last year, on a visit to Thailand, Mr Bush met Burmese
dissidents in the US embassy in Bangkok, and his wife visited a refugee
camp along the Thai-Burmese border. For all their faults, the former
president and first lady were consistent in highlighting the crisis in
Burma and increasing international pressure on the junta.

As President Obama and secretary of state Hillary Clinton develop their
foreign policy, they face many challenges, not least in the Middle East.
Africa will understandably be a priority, given the scale of poverty on
the continent and the president's own personal roots. Relations with
Pakistan and China will be of strategic importance, and like Africa, the
president will have a particular interest in Indonesia having spent part
of his childhood there. But amid this long list of issues, the new
administration must not lose sight of the dire situation in Burma.

There are five key ways in which the new administration can build on the
previous government's record on Burma. First, keep raising Burma at every
opportunity, within the UN and with Burma's neighbours. Empower the US
special envoy appointed in the final days of the Bush administration to
accelerate and intensify the international effort for change in Burma.

Second, don't let the increasingly vocal and misplaced criticism of
sanctions and international pressure result in a change in the US
sanctions, but rather focus sanctions more sharply at their rightful
target – the generals.

Third, step up pressure on the UN secretary-general, his special envoy and
the security council to spell out meaningful benchmarks for progress,
accompanied by a clear indication of the consequences if the regime fails
to comply. The first such benchmark should be the release of political
prisoners and the beginning of meaningful dialogue.

Fourth, consider invoking the UN's "responsibility to protect" mechanism
in regard to Burma. The regime is perpetrating crimes against humanity,
including the use of rape as a weapon of war, forced labour, torture,
forcible conscription of child soldiers, the use of human minesweepers and
the destruction of more than 3,200 villages in eastern Burma alone. Over a
million people are internally displaced, and thousands more forced to flee
the country. The situation surely meets "responsibility to protect"
criteria. Lastly, the US should abandon its previous opposition to the
international criminal court and seek a referral of a case against Burma's
generals for crimes against humanity.

Burma's suffering under military rule has gone on for almost half a
century. But in the past two years, the junta has surpassed itself in its
level of callousness and brutality. The brutal suppression of Buddhist
monks in September 2007, the deliberate restriction and diversion of aid
following Cyclone Nargis last year, the sham referendum on a new
constitution, the sentencing of dissidents to 65 years or more in jail and
the regime's failure to help Chin people in western Burma facing famine
are all examples of its barbaric nature.

The junta is gearing up to solidify and legitimise its rule through
elections in 2010, but everyone knows what a sham the ballot will be. And
yet various UN agencies, non-governmental organisations and academics have
been painting an extraordinarily rosy picture of the situation, which has
little relation to reality.

Bush may have made many mistakes, but unlike many in the international
community he did not pussyfoot about on Burma. Obama may be more
predisposed toward consensual multilateral politics than his predecessor,
but he should not do so at the cost of yet more lives in Burma. Be more
favourable toward the UN, by all means Mr Obama – but give it back the
spine it has lost.
____________________________________

February 12, Asia Sentinel
Myanmar's outrageous racism excused

The reputation and so-called solidarity the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations hit a new low this week with the Myanmar envoy to Hong Kong
indulging an extraordinary racist outburst against brown people from his
own country. Undiplomatic though his words were, they are the sort of
remarks that come easily to the lips of some other Southeast and East
Asians for whom brown skins have always been a sign of low class if not
actual racial inferiority.

Consul General Ye Mint Aung wrote to his fellow diplomats in Hong Kong
explaining that the Rohingyas were not actually Myanmese and were not
accepted as one of the ethnic groups of his country, or indeed as
citizens. He wrote: "You will see in the photos that their complexion is
'dark brown'" in contrast to the complexion of Myanmese which was "fair
and soft, good looking as well."

He went on to claim that his own complexion was typical of a Myanmar
gentleman and fellow diplomats could contrast their "handsome colleague"
with the "ugly as ogres" Rohingyas whose pictures were in the newspapers.

The Mynamese belief in racial purity and the superiority appearance of
pale skin, as well as not being Buddhist, seem the basis of refusal to
admit the Rohingyas as citizens even though they have lived in the Rakhine
(formerly Arakan) division of Myanmar for hundreds of years. Doubtless it
would have been better for them if the British imperialist had drawn the
map between Bengal and Burma differently but that border hill country is
an ethnic patchwork. In reality the Rohingyas speak a version of Bengali
and have a physical appearance akin to Bengalis.

It seems that the Mynmar representative can issue crude, written racist
remarks not only about his fellow Asean members but which are deeply
offensive to their populous neighbors to the west – Bangladesh and India.

Judging by the way that Thailand has been treating these stateless
refugees, calling them economic migrants and pushing them off in
engineless boats, with possibly hundreds dying at sea, Thai officials seem
to agree with their Myanmar colleague that such dark-skinned "ogres"
should not be allowed even to stop temporarily in Thailand in their search
for security. Thai Prime Minister, the suitably "fair and soft"
complexioned fourth generation Thai Chinese, Abhisit Vejjajiva, has been
vocal in defending the army's murderous actions and calling the Rohingyas
"economic migrants" despite their denial of citizenship in an Asean
country.

The cringing attitudes shown by Asean towards Myanmar and the racist
attitudes of some Asean countries is stunning. While pushing off the
Rohingyas, who anyway wanted to go to Muslim countries, Thailand has
turned a blind eye to the hundreds of thousands, perhaps a million, "fair
complexioned" Myanmese who work as cheap and expendable labor on Thai
building sites and fishing boats. As for Asean, which supposedly now has a
Human Rights agenda, it does nothing.

Malaysia once had a sympathetic attitude to the Rohingyas. Some 10,000 to
20,000 now live there having originally been offered succor as oppressed
Muslims. But Malaysia has shifted towards appeasement of Myanmar and a
suspicion of foreign workers generally, Muslim or not, despite the role
that undocumented foreigners play in the economy.

Asean is supposed to discuss the Rohingyas refugee issue at its end
February summit in Thailand. But do not expect anything other than
platitudes, let alone any action to help these stateless people or condemn
Myanmar for its flagrant display of racism and religious bigotry.

____________________________________

February 12, Boston Globe
The human rights brand

A TV COMMERCIAL honoring heroes and heroines of the struggle for human
rights has been showing on European TV. Produced by the automaker Fiat,
the ad pays respect to the ideal of universal human rights. This is
commendable, as is the ad's salute to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace
Prize winner who has been incarcerated by the dictatorship in Burma for 13
of the past 18 years.

But at the same time, there is an element of exploitation in Fiat's
attempt to appropriate for a luxury car some of the moral prestige that
Suu Kyi and her fellow Nobel laureates have earned outside the
marketplace.

The 30-second public service announcement, described as a "movie" by a
voice-over narrative, shows three former Nobel Peace Prize winners
arriving in sleek black Fiat Lancia Delta cars last month for the Ninth
World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Paris. We see Mikhail Gorbachev
reflected in the window as Poland's Lech Walesa arrives, followed by F.W.
de Klerk of South Africa and Ingrid Betancourt, who is not a Nobel winner
but was held hostage for six years by guerrillas in Colombia.

Finally, a last Lancia pulls up with an empty seat, symbolizing Suu Kyi's
absence from the summit. "Lancia supports Aung San Suu Kyi. Free her now,"
the text exhorts.

The symbol is fitting. She is the only peace prize winner under lock and
key. She is also the leader of a democracy movement that won Burma's last
free elections in 1990 but suffers under one of the world's most vicious
regimes. And the sad truth is that the Fiat ad, despite its commercial
subtext, may have done more good for Suu Kyi and the people of Burma than
the United Nations.
____________________________________
INTERVIEW

February 12, Mizzima News
Concern expressed over war breaking out

The 'National Unity Party' (NUP) held a press conference at its head
office on University Avenue on Wednesday, the eve of 'Union Day'.

At the press conference leaders of the NUP expressed their concern over
anti-government demonstrations and expressed fears of war breaking out.

 Mizzima reporter Nem Davies interviewed NUP CEC U Han Shwe over telephone.

The NUP party was formed in 1988 after the former dictator U Ne Win led
'Burma Socialist Programme Party' (BSPP) was abolished after a nationwide
uprising by transforming BSPP to NUP.

Q: What is the main content of your Union Day message?

A: There are only three points in our Union Day message. The first one is
to pass on the Panlong Spirit, unity of all nationalities spirit to the
younger generation, the second one is consolidation of this Panlong spirit
and the final one is this is the national task inherited from history. The
target audience of this message is the youth.

Q: Did the delegates from branch offices in townships attend your Union
Day Eve ceremony?

A: No delegates from township branches attended our ceremony. Only over
400 persons from Rangoon Division and the head office attended.

Q: How many active branch offices do you have in your NUP party?

A: Our head office is in Rangoon and there are branch offices in all 14
States and Divisions. And also we have such organizational offices in over
300 townships in these States and Divisions.

Q: What is the number of your current party membership?

A: Currently we have over 500,000 members. Former BSPP party members
became our NUP party members when the BSPP was reconstituted as NUP in
1988. And also there are new members in our party too. But the
'multi-party general election commission' later instructed us not to
accept new members and we stopped accepting new members since then. Now we
have over 500,000 members in our party.

Q: What are your current movements?

A: Our movement is routine. We have had all these branch offices in all
States and Divisions since the time of BSPP so that we have no
difficulties in running these offices and are doing our work. We held
regular meetings.

Q: What are your preparations and ground works for the planned 2010
general election?

A: We have a general principle to contest this election. But we will know
the constituencies when the election law is enacted and made public. For
instance, which are the constituencies for People's Parliament (Lower
House) and which will be the constituencies for National Parliament (Upper
House). Only after knowing these constituencies, we can decide to contest
constituencies which will be favourable for us. So we are looking forward
the enactment of this 'Election Law'.

Q: Is it a special press conference?

A: No, it is regular press conference not extraordinary. We occasionally
hold such press conferences by inviting foreign and domestic news agencies
and journals especially on Union Day and on our founding anniversary day,
say about twice a year. This time, we invited these media persons and
explained our Union Day message to them. We have no other messages on
special and new issues. The reporters gathered on this Union Day gathering
and asked questions.

We invited officially registered foreign and domestic media totaling 25
such as AP, AFP and Reuter. We could not invite all domestic weekly
journals. This is not a formal press conference and we held it as it was
convenient to all of us.

Q: Your party said this morning at the press conference that your party is
concerned over war breaking out. What does it mean? Where and when can
this war break out?

A: According to both foreign and domestic media, some groups cannot accept
and endorse the new constitution and they will not contest in the new
election too. We cannot say specific locations and time when and where
such a war will break out. But we have armed groups in our country and we
should prevent war breaking by concerted efforts. Insurgency in our
country has started since we regained independence. The people are
exhausted and fed up with this insurgency and armed rebellion. We must
prevent this war by all means. Media must do by media's means and also our
party doesn't want to see such a war break out in our country. We want to
see transfer of power in our country peacefully and smoothly within the
framework of this new constitution. We think this is the best way for all
of us. This is what we said this morning.

Until today, there are some places where (the armed insurgencies) have
been raging since the time of 'Anti-Facist People's Liberation Front'
(AFPLF) and BSPP. The war has been raging in some of these States. The
Tatmadaw (armed forces) is doing their best to restore peace in these
areas by 'exchanging arms for peace' deals. So in some places, the peace
can be restored and in some places the war of armed rebellion is still
raging. Under these circumstances, we say there is the danger of new war
breaking out.

Q: As for the new demonstrations by taking to the streets, who can do such
things?

A: As for this scenario, and according to some medias, there are some
groups and forces who cannot accept the 2010 election. So these groups and
forces will oppose the planned election by all possible means. We can't
talk of specific persons and groups. We can say in general referring to
all those at home and abroad who cannot accept the elections. The NLD has
not yet accepted the 2010 election. We don't say they denied it totally,
but have just said they have not yet accepted it.

Q: Since most of the NLD youths are in prisons now, which organization can
organize such demonstration by taking to the streets?

A: It's difficult to answer.

Q: How do you see the role of NLD in the 2010 election?

A: We wish them to contest in this election as they won the people's
mandate in the last election. They (NLD) should contest in this new
election too.

Q: Under the changing situation, do you think NLD's influence over the
people has changed too?

A: Since it is a national party representing almost the entire country,
there will be some people who will still support them. Like our party NUP,
they too have branch offices in townships in States and Divisions besides
Rangoon. So they will have their mass base to some extent in these places
too.

Q: Have you ever urged NLD to contest in 2010 election directly?

A: We did not urge them face to face. But we urged NLD to contest in 2010
election in our publications and press conferences. Similarly we urged NLD
to participate in the National Convention. Similarly this time too, we
urge NLD to contest the 2010 election as a political party and they should
contest.

Q: Which party will be in a leading role in 2010?

A: Currently there are only 10 parties officially recognized by the
government namely NLD, our NUP party, SNLD, Pa-O, Kokang, Pyidaungsu
Karen, Wa National Progressive Party etc to the best of my knowledge.
These 10 political parties are still standing as legal and official
parties from a total of 253 parties after the government cancelled the
registration of other parties. Some organizations are waiting for the new
election laws to come into force. We can answer this question only after
this new election law is enacted and notified.

There will be new political parties which will register when the Political
Parties Registration Law is enacted and notified too. So it is premature
to say which party will be in a leading role in 2010.

Q: In the 2010 election, the number of contesting political parties will
be fewer or larger than in 1990?

A: I think it will be less than in 1990. We can know about it when the
parties' registration law is enacted and notified. In this law, there will
be exact ingredients and norms for the political parties. For the time
being, we cannot say anything in detail on this issue until such a law is
enacted.