BurmaNet News, February 14-17, 2009

[Editor]

February 14 – 17, 2009, Issue #3653


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: UN Envoy meets political prisoners
Mizzima News: UN Rights envoy meets diplomats in Rangoon
DVB: Three activists arrested for rose campaign
DVB: Zarganar’s sentence reduced by 24 years
The Nation (Thailand): Thai Army chief visits Burma

ON THE BORDER
IMNA: Families of 54 migrants that suffocated in April to receive
compensation tomorrow

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: Kyat’s black market rate hits new heights
Xinhua: Myanmar, Thai entrepreneurs to seek trade opportunities

ASEAN
Myanmar Times: Myanmar plays key role in ASEAN-India relations

REGIONAL
Bangkok Post: Call to relax rules for Burmese hands

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: US looks for better way to sway Myanmar: Clinton
Guardian (UK): Travel firms sell holidays to blacklisted Burmese resorts
Irish Times: 78 Burmese refugees to be resettled in Ireland

OPINION / OTHER
Bangkok Post: No united response on Rohingya
AP: Rohingya are Muslim outcasts, not welcome anywhere – Ambika Ahuja and
Michael Casey

PRESS RELEASE
Forum for Democracy in Burma: Wake-up call needed for the UN



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

February 17, Irrawaddy
UN Envoy meets political prisoners – Saw Yan Naing

UN Human Rights Envoy to Burma Tomas Ojea Quintana interviewed four
political prisoners in Insein Prison in Rangoon on Monday, including Tin
Min Htut, Nyi Pu, Kyaw Ko Ko, Daw Pone Nami (aka) Daw Mya Nyunt, and
defense lawyer Nyi Nyi Htwe, according to the UN Information Centre (UNIC)
in Rangoon.

After returning from Karen State to Rangoon, the envoy was taken to the
prison, where he inspected the prison hospital and met with a few selected
prisoners.

Nyi Pu and Tin Min Htut are leading members of the opposition National
League for Democracy. They were sentenced on Friday, the day before
Quintana arrived in Burma.

On Tuesday, the envoy held meetings with foreign diplomats in Rangoon,
according to Aye Win, a spokesperson for the UNIC in Rangoon.

He told The Irrawaddy, “He [Quintana] is now in Rangoon. Now, he is having
meetings with foreign diplomats.” Details of the meetings with diplomats
were not available, he said.

The UN human rights envoy arrived in Burma on Saturday for a six-day
mission. He will hold a press conference before leaving Burma, sources
said.

On Sunday, Quintana visited Pa-an, the capital of Karen State in southern
Burma. He also visited Pa-an Prison where Nay Phone Latt, a young blogger,
is serving a 20-year sentence, sources said.

During the trip to Pa-an, he met with several Karen groups, including
Maj-Gen Htein Maung of the Karen National Union / Karen National
Liberation Army Peace Council (KNU / KNLA Peace Council) and leaders of
the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), according to the UNIC.

The KNU / KNLA Peace Council and the DKBA are breakaway factions of the
Karen National Union.

Unconfirmed reports said the envoy is also scheduled to visit Arakan and
Kachin states, where a number of political dissidents were recently
imprisoned.

Reports also said that the envoy would like to meet with pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi, but the likelihood of that meeting is in doubt.

This is Quintana’s second trip to Burma since he took office in May 2008
after succeeding former UN human rights envoy to Burma Paulo Sergio
Pinheiro in April 2008. He first visited Burma in August 2008.

____________________________________

February 17, Mizzima News
UN Rights envoy meets diplomats in Rangoon – Solomon

The United Nations Human Rights expert, who is on a six-day visit to
Burma, on Tuesday met diplomats in Rangoon, said a UN official.

Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN envoy, on Tuesday met diplomats in Rangoon but
it is still uncertain whether he will meet detained Burmese pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and leaders of her party the National League for
Democracy, said Aye Win, the spokesman for UN Information Centre in
Rangoon.

On Monday the UN envoy visited Rangoon's notorious Insein prison and met
five political prisoners. Earlier on Sunday, he visited Pa-an prisons in
Karen State.

The UNIC in Rangoon said the envoy held private and confidential
interviews with political prisoners Dr. Tin Min Htut, Kyaw Ko Ko, Daw Pone
Nami a.k.a. Daw Mya Nyunt, Nyi Nyi Htwe and U Nyi Pu.

While in Karen state Quintana also met ceasefire armed groups the Karen
National Union/Karen National Liberation Army (KNU/KNLA) Peace Council and
the Democratic Buddhist Karen Army (DKBA), both of which are splinter
groups of the Karen National Union, one of the major armed resistance
group that does not have a peace agreement with the ruling junta.

The UN envoy, during his stay in Burma, from February 14 to 19, is
expected to will prisons in Myitkyina in Northern Burma's Kachin state and
in Arakan state, the UN said.

In Myitkyina prison, where there are at least 10 political prisoners
including famous comedian Zarganar. Jail authorities were stated to have
provided decent meals to prisoners since last month and security has been
beefed up in and around the city, sources said.

"We heard Quintana will be visiting Myitkyina today or tomorrow and has
asked the regime for a meeting with Zarganar," said a relative of
Zarganar.

However, Aye Win said the UN envoy will not go to Myitkyina on Tuesday and
it is still uncertain when he will visit.

"He will not go today to Myitkyina. He will be here in Yangon [Rangoon],"
said Aye Win. "We don't know about this we have no list of names of his
request."

According to the UN information centre Tomas Ojea Quintana will meet
leaders of political parties and travel to Kayin, Kachin and Arakan State
but so far the NLD said they have not receive any notice to meet the
visiting envoy.
____________________________________

February 17, Democratic Voice of Burma
Three activists arrested for rose campaign – Ahunt Phone Myat

Three members of the Best Fertiliser underground activist group were
arrested by local authorities in Rangoon on Valentine's Day after
distributing leaflets as part of their rose campaign.

A spokesperson for the group said the three activists were detained after
they were seen sticking posters up in North Okkalapa on 14 February.

"Our group members Aung Htet Min, Soe Min Htike and Kyaw Zin Naing were
sticking posters and leaflets on the wall in front of North Okkalapa High
School (5) early on Valentine's Day, at around 4am," he said.

"A trishaw driver named Pho Toke who is a local Swan Arr Shin member saw
them and they were arrested later in their homes, at around 6am, by the
police,” he said.

“[The police were] accompanied by officials from the Ward Peace and
Development Council, the fire brigade, the Union Solidarity and
Development Association and Swan Arr Shin."

The group spokesperson claimed the three had been beaten and mistreated
during their interrogation at the township Peace and Development Council
office.

The Best Fertiliser group launched the rose campaign last week along with
activists from Generation Wave and the All Burma Federation of Student
Unions.

The groups called on people to offer roses at pagodas and wear or carry
roses or rose ornaments on Valentine’s Day to show support for a peaceful
resolution to Burma’s political divisions.

____________________________________

February 17, Democratic Voice of Burma
Zarganar’s sentence reduced by 24 years – Khin Hnin Htet

Rangoon divisional court upheld appeals by comedian Zarganar, journalist
Zaw Thet Htway and two others last week and reduced their prison terms by
up to 24 years, according to their families.

Zarganar's sister-in-law Ma Nyein told DVB the court had deducted three
eight-year sentences on electronics charges from the comedian and
activist’s total of 59 years’ imprisonment.

Zarganar's co-defendants Zaw Thet Htway, Tin Maung Aye and Thant Zin Aung
were also granted reductions of their prison terms under the electronics
law.

"Zaw Thet Htway's eight-year prison term under the electronics act was
also revoked so he is to serve only 11 years now instead of 19 years,"
said Ma Nyein.

"Thent Zin Aung, who was jailed for 18 years, will now serve only 10 years."

She said Tin Maung Aye, who is also known as Gatone Lay, was granted a
15-year reduction in total from his sentence of 29 years.

"The court also cancelled a seven-year prison sentence under the
immigration act for using a fake ID, so he only has 14 years left," she
said.

Ma Nyein said the family had visited Zarganar on 9 February in Myitkyina
prison in Kachin state where he is being detained and were assured that he
was in good health.

____________________________________

February 17, The Nation (Thailand)
Thai Army chief visits Burma

Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Anupong Paochinda left for an official visit
to Burma Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters before leaving on Army plane to Burma, Anupong said
the visit would be his first official trip to pay visit to Burmese
military leaders after he became the Army chief.

He said he was not certain whether it would appropriate to discuss the
issue of Rohingya boat people with the Burmese military leaders.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

February 17, Independent Mon News Agency
Families of 54 migrants that suffocated in April to receive compensation
tomorrow – Mon Son and Blai Mon

A Thai insurance company is set to pay compensation to the families of 54
Burmese migrant workers who suffocated in the back of a truck while
attempting to sneak into Thailand. The payment, scheduled for tomorrow,
comes almost a full year after the tragedy.

According to Tin Htun Aung, secretary of the Federation of Trade Unions –
Burma (FTUB), 46 family members will receive payment from the Liberty
Insurance Company in Ranong on February 18th. The family members survive
54 people who suffocated to death in April 2008. The victims, as well as
66 other workers who survived, were attempting to covertly travel to
Phuket, Thailand in a cold storage container.

According to Tin Htun Aung, the families will receive 35,000 baht ($992.51
USD) and are potentially eligible for another 65,000 baht down the road.
“The Liberty Insurance Company will pay 35,000 baht first to each migrant
workers’ family, and after finishing their case they could be paid the
rest of the money,” Tin Htun Aung told IMNA.

According to a report by the Bangkok Post in July, more extensive
compensation will only be awarded if the victims are “found to have not
committed any crime.” The Bangkok Post based its report on information
from Suwanna Suwanjutha, director-general of the Rights and Liberties
Protection Department of Thailand.

The extensive delay between the tragedy and payment of compensation is due
to the logistical difficulties associated with finding family members
inside Burma, explained Tin Htun Aung.

According to an NGO worker in Ranong who asked not to be identified, the
46 family members have already arrived in Kawthaung Town, in Burma’s
Tenasserim Division. Kawthaung lies just across the border from Ranong,
the southernmost crossing between Thailand and Burma.

The families will receive the compensation from an insurance office on the
Thai side of the border, Tin Htun Aung said. Assistance will be provided
by the FTUB, the Law Society of Thailand and Rangoon-based migrant NGOs.
Many of these organizations were also instrumental in pressuring the Thai
government into assuring the families receive compensation.

In other contexts, family members of Burmese workers killed in accidents
similar in type, if not scale and international attention, are paid no
compensation. In December 2008, 7 Burmese workers attempting to travel to
Bangkok were killed in a truck accident when their Thai driver fled Thai
police. None of the families are slated to receive any compensation.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

February 17, Irrawaddy
Kyat’s black market rate hits new heights

The black market value of Burma's currency, the kyat, hit new heights on
Tuesday, continuing a trend that began last month.

Currency dealers in Rangoon and Bangkok reported rates of 950 kyat to the
dollar and 27 kyat to the Thai baht. From 2005, when a dollar cost just
880 kyat, until last month, when the going rate was 1,190 kyat, the
Burmese currency had shown only persistent weakness.

Currency dealers attribute the rise in the value of the kyat to a number
of factors, including a fall in border trade due to weak demand for
products that are usually bought with hard currency. As more Burmese
decide they can’t afford those goods, their need for foreign
currencies—the dollar, the Thai baht and the Chinese yuan—has also
decreased.

Another factor advanced by currency dealers is that Burma’s foreign
currency reserves in the junta's Central Bank have reached US $3 billion,
thanks mostly to the country’s trade surplus, particularly with Thailand,
which is the major importer of Burma’s natural gas.

Aid money could also be an additional factor. According to the UN Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, nearly $500 million has
already been transferred to Burma for relief programs in areas hit by
Cyclone Nargis.

Last week, the Tripartite Core Group—representatives of the UN, Asean and
the Burmese junta—announced a 3-year Cyclone Nargis recovery and
preparedness plan that will require $691 million.

Analysts said Burma’s exports will suffer, as foreign buyers balk at
higher prices for Burmese goods, especially amid a global slowdown that
has hit demand from some of the country’s key trading partners, including
China, Thailand, Singapore, India and Malaysia.

As a result, currency trading through unofficial cash transfers from
abroad known as hundi have decreased dramatically.

____________________________________

February 17, Xinhua
Myanmar, Thai entrepreneurs to seek trade opportunities

Businessmen of Myanmar and Thailand will gather here Thursday to seek
trade opportunities by exchanging their sample products and export items,
the official newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Tuesday.

The meeting will take place between entrepreneurs from the Union of
Myanmar Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( UMFCCI) and a
Thai industrialists group.

A total of 71 Thai entrepreneurs from 43 companies dealing with consumer
product industries such as electric and electronics, farming equipment,
pharmaceuticals, healthcare products and cosmetics, cleaning materials,
packaging materials, gifts and fancy, stationary, sports equipments,
handbags, footware and leather products, nylon string and plumbing
materials will introduce their sample products, while their Myanmar
counterparts will present their export items, the report said.

At a meeting of the UMFCCI and the Thai Embassy in December last year,
Myanmar and Thailand pledged to continue to work for raising the momentum
of mutually-beneficial economic cooperation between the two countries this
year.

The two countries' bilateral cooperative ties have maintained a good
momentum in recent years with Thailand playing a key role in Myanmar's
economic development as Thailand has become Myanmar's biggest foreign
investor and trading partner.

With huge investment of 6.311 billion U.S. dollars pouring in Myanmar's
electric power sector alone, Thailand's investment has accounted for 7.3
U.S. billion dollars, or over 53 percent, of Myanmar's total foreign
investment received.

The Thai investment prompted Myanmar's contracted foreign investment to
hit 14.736 billion U.S. dollars in 19 years as of the end of 2007 since
the country opened to such investment in late 1988.

Thailand also stood as Myanmar's top trading partner as well as top
exporting country during the fiscal year 2007-08 with a bilateral trade
volume of 3.205 billion U.S. dollars, of which Myanmar's export to
Thailand amounted to 2.823 billion U.S. dollars, while its import from
Thailand 382 million dollars, according to Myanmar official statistics.
Myanmar gained a trade surplus with Thailand for exporting natural gas
during the year.

____________________________________
ASEAN

February 17, Myanmar Times
Myanmar plays key role in ASEAN-India relations – Thet Khaing

MYANMAR plays a key role in plans by New Delhi and the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations to strengthen economic ties because it is the only
ASEAN member to share a border with India, a conference in the Indian
capital was told last month.

Myanmar also has the potential to benefit from a forthcoming free trade
agreement between ASEAN and India, which will create a market of more than
1.5 billion people, the “Delhi Dialogue I” conference was told on January
21.

The ASEAN secretary general, Mr Surin Pitsuwan, told the conference that
the free trade agreement would be ready for signing by the two sides at a
summit due to be held in Thailand in April.

He said every ASEAN member would benefit from the agreement, which has
been under negotiation since 2004.

This was because ASEAN exported “more to India than India to us,” Mr Surin
said, adding that trade volume between India and ASEAN last fiscal year
was US$37 billion, of which ASEAN exports accounted for more than $24
billion.

ASEAN hoped that trade volume would reach $50 billion by 2010, Mr Surin
said, adding that he believed the figure was “not too ambitious, taking
into consideration the positive impact of the FTA and the economic
downturn everywhere else except us; we are better prepared.”

Another factor was the size of the market, he said, noting that India and
ASEAN had a total population of 1.7 billion and a combined GDP of $2.4
trillion.

India has been placing emphasis on increasing economic ties with ASEAN for
developing infrastructure and to meet its energy needs.

India and Myanmar are working to establish a new trading route across the
Kaladan River, under the terms of an agreement reached last April.

The $132 million deal provides for upgrading port facilities at the
Rakhine State capital, Sittwe, where the Kaladan River enters the Bay of
Bengal, as well as building a 117-kilometre highway from Kalewa in Sagaing
Division to the Indian border.

The Indian government is funding the project, which is expected to take
five years to complete.

“The Kaladan project, the trilateral India-Myanmar-Thailand transport link
and the Delhi-Hanoi rail link are three very important projects which will
facilitate inter-connectivity between Southeast Asia and onward to West
Asia and beyond,” India’s External Affairs Minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee
told the conference.

Mr Mukherjee said India’s energy needs and ASEAN’s energy reserves were
factors that could help to promote closer ties.

“Simultaneous attainment of energy security, market rationalisation and
environmental preservation in Asia requires the best ‘energy mix’ for each
country,” Mr Mukherjee said

“India’s own energy linkages with the ASEAN member states have enormous
potential for our relationship to get even deeper,” he said.

However, business experts say more time and interaction between the two
sides are needed to reap the full potential of the economic and political
ties between India and ASEAN.

The chairman of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
Industry, Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar, welcomed the FTA, saying it was a good
arrangement by the two sides in light of the global economic slowdown.

“The agreement will strengthen the market, exports and investment flows,
in a sense you create an island which has lesser dependence on the
volatility in the West,” Mr Chandrasekhar said.

However, Mr Krishan Kumar Modi, the chairman of Modi Enterprises, a big
Indian conglomerate, said the FTA might not meet expectations for an
increase in trade between India and ASEAN because New Delhi had little
influence over where exporters should be doing business.

The conference was jointly organised by the FICCI and the Singapore-based
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

February 17, Bangkok Post
Call to relax rules for Burmese hands – Anucha Charoenpo

The government should relax regulations governing the registration of
ethnic workers from Burma, particularly the nationality verification
process, say rights activists.

The call comes as work permits for Burmese migrant workers expire at the
end of the month.

An agreement signed in June 2003 to allow Burmese to work in Thailand
required all ethnic minority migrants to verify their nationality before
obtaining a work permit.

However, Thai authorities have failed to implement this verification
process. Only a small number of workers have applied to have their
nationality verified and in recent years none have managed to get a work
permit.

Thet Khaing, chairman of Migrant Affairs Associate, yesterday said he had
monitored the process closely from the beginning and found there were many
challenges and obstacles which led to its failure.

Thet Khaing was speaking at a Consultation on Verification of Migrants'
Nationalities Agenda seminar at the Christian Students Centre in Bangkok.

He said many Burmese migrants were from ethnic minorities such as the
Karen, Mon and Shan, who were escaping persecution by the military.

"There are no guarantees that in enduring such a process [having their
nationality verified] they will not face maltreatment and retaliation from
the junta," Thet Khaing said.

Also, the Burmese government has only three checkpoints - at Kawthaung
(also known as Victoria Point, opposite Ranong), Myawaddy (opposite Mae
Sot in Tak) and Tachilek (opposite Mae Sai in Chiang Rai) - for Burmese
migrants to verify their nationality.

The lack and location of the checkpoints means that many Burmese migrants
working far away, such as in Bangkok, do not go to verify their
nationality as it is too costly.

Khun Win, coordinator of the Pa-O Foundation, said Bangkok and Rangoon had
to cooperate and provide the necessary documents to explain the process to
applicants so they are confident they and their family members will be
safe.

He said the Thai government had to adopt a process similar to that used
with Lao and Cambodian migrants, who are allowed to verify their
nationality in Thailand.

"We risk our lives if we go back to verify our nationality in Burma. We
fear persecution by the junta," Khun Win said.

Satita Norpo, coordinator of the Action Network for Migrants, said she
wanted Bangkok to register all Burmese migrant workers, considering the
need for them in the labour market.

This would help them secure work permits and give them easy access to the
nationality verification process.

There are about 2 million Burmese workers in Thailand with only 30% of
them working legally.

Meanwhile, Wichai Sonklang, 38, and Boonsri Thongsaisorn, 32, were
arrested in Kanchanaburi yesterday on charges of smuggling 71 Burmese into
the country.

The police said the Burmese had entered Thailand in Sangkhla Buri district
in the hope of finding work at factories in Samut Sakhon province.

They each paid from 6,000 to 10,000 baht to a Mon agent in exchange for
assistance to come to Thailand.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

February 17, Agence France Presse
US looks for better way to sway Myanmar: Clinton

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday US President Barack
Obama's administration is looking for a better way to bring change to
military-ruled Myanmar and help the country's people.

"We are conducting a review of our policy," Clinton told a Tokyo
University student from Myanmar who asked whether there was an alternative
to sanctions in order to promote economic and political freedom in the
country.

"We are looking at what steps we could take that might influence the
current Burmese government and we are also looking for ways that we could
more effectively help the Burmese people," she said.

Clinton, speaking at a town-hall type meeting with students at Tokyo
university, used the term Burma, the country's name before the military
junta changed it to Myanmar.

Recalling a speech she gave to the Asia Society in New York last week,
Clinton said: "We want to see a time when the citizens of Burma and the
Nobel prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi live freely in their own country."

Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy party, has spent most
of the past 19 years under house arrest by the junta that has ruled the
country since 1962.

"I've spoken with many people already who are strong supporters of the
Burmese people who have said 'let's look to see if there's a better way',
so we are doing that," the chief US diplomat said.

"And I hope we will be able to arrive at a policy that can be more
effective."

A day after Obama took office a senior official in Yangon said Myanmar
hoped that the new president would change Washington's tough policy
towards its military regime and end the "misunderstandings" of the past.

Former US President George W. Bush's administration strengthened
decade-old sanctions against Myanmar while his wife Laura was an outspoken
critic of the country's ruling junta.

____________________________________

February 15, Guardian (UK)
Travel firms sell holidays to blacklisted Burmese resorts – Nick Mathiason

Over a dozen British tour operators are selling holiday packages to Burma
in resorts owned by individuals with strong links to the repressive
military junta, breaching a European Union blacklist.

Tourism is thought to earn the generals who run Burma £180m, with a
significant proportion coming from the UK.

Many of the leading resorts are owned by state entities that lease
properties to investors. Some resorts, it is alleged, have been built by
slave labour and involved the forcible displacement of huge numbers of
people from their homes with little or no compensation.

Tour operators contacted by the Observer such as Undiscovered Destinations
and Bamboo Travel said they were unaware that resorts were on a banned
list. Operators maintained that they believed it was important outsiders
visited the troubled nation.

But Tricia Barnett, director of Tourism Concern, whose report on the
Burmese travel industry will be published later this week, says: "It is
the responsibility of tour operators to ensure that they ... do not
provide financial benefits to the military dictatorship. Given the lack of
transparency in Burma and the overlap between state- and private-owned
enterprises, the best way to do this is to stop trading with Burma."

____________________________________

February 17, Irish Times
78 Burmese refugees to be resettled in Ireland – Ruadhan Mac Cormaic

SEVENTY EIGHT Burmese refugees are due to arrive in Ireland next month
after being selected for resettlement here under a United Nations scheme.

The group of 16 families, who belong to Burma’s Rohingya minority, left
their country in 1992 and have been living in camps on the
Bangladesh/Burmese border since then. They will spend six weeks at an
orientation centre in Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo to prepare them for permanent
resettlement in other towns.

The plight of Burma’s estimated 800,000 Rohingya, a Muslim minority based
in the northwest of the country, attracted international attention in
recent weeks following reports that hundreds who fled to Thailand were
mistreated by the Thai military.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 230,000
Rohingya now live a precarious, stateless existence in Bangladesh, having
fled decades of abuse and harassment at the hands of Burma’s military
rulers.

Indonesia recently detained 198 Rohingyas after finding them floating in a
boat off the coast of Aceh. They had been at sea for 21 days.

The 78 refugees – 28 adults and 50 children – who are due to travel to
Ireland are currently living in camps in the Cox’s Bazar region of
Bangladesh and were identified by the UNHCR as a priority group for
resettlement.

“The refugees selected for resettlement left Burma in 1992 at a very young
age and have lived in camps on the Bangladesh/Burmese border since then,”
a spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said.

Ireland is one of 19 states, and one of only nine EU member states, that
participates in the UNHCR-led resettlement programme.

Each year it accepts up to 200 refugees, and among those selected in
recent years were groups of Sudanese, Iranian Kurds and Burmese Karen, the
latter members of another ethnic group who fled persecution by Burma’s
military junta.

A further 84 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo are expected
to arrive in Ireland in May. The department said that those selected fled
the Congo’s South Kivu region between 1996 and 1998 and have been living
in refugee camps in Kigoma in northern Tanzania since then. Of the 57
children in the group, 32 were born and raised in the camps.

All refugees who are admitted to the State under the UN programme spend
six weeks at the National Refugee Orientation Centre in Ballyhaunis, Co
Mayo, where they take language lessons and are taught how to go about
essential tasks such as opening a bank account and enrolling their
children in school.

The Burmese Karen who came to Ireland last year were eventually resettled
in Castlebar and Ballina, while 180 Iranian Kurds who arrived the previous
year settled in Sligo, Carrick-on-Shannon and Mullingar.

The department said that discussions were continuing with various
communities in relation to long-term resettlement arrangements for those
who arrive in the coming months.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

February 16, Bangkok Post
No united response on Rohingya

The UN refugee agency's regional Thai representative Raymond Hall is one
of a few high-level officers to have been to northern Rakhine state in
Burma and the border area of Bangladesh. Here, he explains the situation
and gives his views on what other countries can do to help, in an
interview with Achara Ashayagachat.

How are talks progressing between the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees and Burma on addressing the emerging problem of the Rohingya
migration?

We have an ongoing discussion with the Myanmar government but you could
not get a single response. This is a process of dialogue and the next step
is that High Commissioner Antonio Guterrez will hold talks with the
leadership there in a couple of weeks.

What steps are there that could kick-start sustainable solutions as more
people leave the Burmese-Bangladesh border?

We need to stabilise the situation before it gets worse. In order to
stabilise it, we need to open up the possibility of voluntary return to
Myanmar.

To get that solution we would need some minimum conditions: assurances
from the government that the returning Rohingya people will not be
penalised for leaving Myanmar in the first place, and assurances that they
can live within the monitoring framework which the UNHCR has in place in
the north Rakhine state.

To stabilise the situation of the ongoing departure there are critical
issues of food security and restrictions of movement that we need to
address. If people can't move outside their villages then they will have
no alternative survival strategy. It will not be possible for them to live
there.

What is your response to arguments that the Muslim Rohingya are economic
migrants?

It's a complex situation because you've got people living under serious
restrictions of human rights. They just have no way of surviving. But it's
not correct to say that the men coming to Thailand or Malaysia are
economic migrants just because they haven't brought along their families.
Yes, in Bangladesh the Rohingya move out as a family. But in other cases,
sometimes men move out so that they can make money to send it back to
their families at home. So there are economic problems related to human
rights. They are denied citizenship and given temporary residency.
Certainly physical abuses take place in the north Rakhine state. But I
don't think it is a government policy. But once you marginalise the
population, there are people at local levels taking advantage of that
situation.

Do you expect anything to be discussed at the Asean summit in Cha-am to
help address the Rohingya problem?

I don't know as we have yet to find out how discussions are going to take
place and whether they will be formal or informal.

But it is very positive that issues we have been discussing in recent
months with countries in the region are now on the agenda of Asean.

There may be an opportunity here to move the issue up the political agenda
in order to widen humanitarian space and open up a possibility for them to
go back to Myanmar in decent conditions.

We cannot achieve [food security and freer movement of Rohingya] through
humanitarian approaches alone, but we need thorough political dialogue
with other influential governments such as China, Russia and India in
order to open up a political space to bring about solutions.

Will there be problems with the idea of building refugee camps in Thailand
for the Rohingya as Thailand has questioned why they will not be built
elsewhere?

I can understand the Thai concerns. Thailand already has burdens in
relations to refugee and asylum seekers and needs to be given credit for
that.

But if we are going to have time and space to talk about the solutions and
have dialogue with Myanmar, there should be some kind of a temporary
shelter for the small number of Rohingya here. In Indonesia, it is
different. The scope there is generous. They are talking about settlement
arrangements.

____________________________________

February 14, Associated Press
Rohingya are Muslim outcasts, not welcome anywhere – Ambika Ahuja and
Michael Casey

For generations, the ethnic Muslim Rohingya have endured persecution by
the ruling junta of Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country.

The plight of the Rohingya, descendants of Arab traders from the 7th
century, gained international attention over the past month after five
boatloads of haggard migrants were found in the waters around Indonesia
and the Andaman Islands.

But unlike the Kurds or the Palestinians, no one has championed the cause
of the Rohingya. Most countries, from Saudi Arabia to Malaysia, see them
as little more than a source of cheap labor for the dirtiest and most
dangerous jobs.

"The Rohingya are probably the most friendless people in the world. They
just have no one advocating for them at all," said Kitty McKinsey, a
spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. "Hardly any of
them have legal status anywhere in the world."

There are an estimated 750,000 Rohingya living in Myanmar's mountainous
northern state of Rakhine, which borders Bangladesh. Thousands flee every
year, trying to escape a life of abuse that was codified in 1982 with a
law that virtually bars them from becoming citizens.

A spokesman for Myanmar's military government did not respond to an
e-mailed request for comment. It has repeatedly denied abusing the
Rohingya, though Amnesty International said the junta has described them
as less than human. Rights groups have documented widespread abuses,
including forced labor, land seizures and rape.

"It was like living in hell," said Mohamad Zagit, who left after soldiers
confiscated his family's rice farm and then threw him in jail for praying
at a local mosque. The 23-year-old spoke from his hospital bed in
Thailand, where he had been detained after fleeing Myanmar.

"We have no rights," said Muhamad Shafirullah, who was among 200 migrants
rescued by the Indonesian navy last week. He recalled how he was jailed in
Myanmar, his family's land stolen and a cousin dragged into the jungle and
shot dead. "They rape and kill our women. We can't practice our religion.
We aren't allowed to travel from village to village ... It's almost
impossible, even, to get married or go to school."

Twice since the 1970s, waves of attacks by the military and Buddhist
villagers forced hundred of thousands of Rohingya to flee over the border
to Bangladesh, a Muslim country whose people speak a similar language.
Many have since been repatriated, but 200,000 still work there as illegal
migrants and another 28,000 live in squalid refugee camps.

Violence against Rohingya women is common, and they face the threat of
prison because of their illegal status, said Chris Lewa, coordinator of
the Bangkok-based Arakan Project, an advocacy group for the Rohingya.
Thousands of Rohingya have taken to the seas from Bangladesh in search of
better jobs, but ended up drowning or at the mercy of traffickers.

For years, the Rohingya traveled to the Middle East for work, with nearly
a half million ending up in Saudi Arabia.

But in recent years — partly because of bureaucratic hurdles faced by
Muslims following 9/11 — many now try to go instead by boat to Thailand
and then overland to Malaysia, another Islamic nation.

But even those who make it to Malaysia then struggle find good jobs and
quickly discover that, there too, intolerance is growing. Many of the
14,300 Rohingya in Malaysia live in cramped, rundown apartments in the
capital, Kuala Lumpur, and face the constant threat of deportation,
community leaders said. If caught, the migrants can be caned and
imprisoned for up to five years.

Yet most refugee advocates expect Rohingya migrants will keep coming.

"My 14 children rely on me. They have no safety, no food, nothing," said
Mohamad Salim, a 35-year-old, bearded fisherman who also was detained and
hospitalized in Thailand and begged to be allowed to continue onto
Malaysia.

"What will they eat? How will they live if I don't find work?" he said,
his voice trembling.

Associated Press writer Irwan Firdaus contributed to this report from Idi
Rayeuk, Indonesia; Casey in Bangkok; Ahuja in Ranong; Julia Zappei in
Malaysia and Farid Hossain in Bangladesh contributed to this report.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

February 16, Forum for Democracy in Burma
Wake-up Call needed for the UN

The United Nations must avoid endorsing Burma’s military regime’s 2008
constitution and 2010 elections, as it will only further entrench military
rule and threatens regional peace and stability.

The most recent trip by UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari demonstrates that
the use of envoys through the good offices mandate of the
Secretary-General, which has been working for more than a decade for
political reconciliation in Burma, has been consistently ignored and often
rejected by the military junta.

None of the benchmarks that have been established by the international
community as true signs of democratization have been met, and the military
continues its staunch national domination.

We applaud the dedication and concern the three special envoys have shown
as well as the Secretary-General, but it is clear that increased and
united international pressure is necessary for any diplomatic efforts to
have viable impact on political dialogue that Burma needs most.

The situation in Burma has gravely deteriorated as a direct result of the
military junta working to further expand and entrench their unilateral
control of the country, and the situation has not improved through efforts
of UN envoys.

Since 2007 the number of political prisoners has doubled  to over 2,100.
These prisoners are not criminals and were unjustly incarcerated for
merely expressing political thoughts and working for a peaceful and
democratic country. They represent the complete void of free expression in
the country. Furthermore, their unjust and outrageous sentencing in
kangaroo courts demonstrates the collapse of an independent judiciary.

On all levels of society, the military junta has not ceased  its criminal
actions against the  populous. Systematic  attacks against ethnic
nationality populations have not ceased, with frequent accounts of
destroyed villages, forced labour, recruitment of child soldiers, forced
relocation, and sexual violence against women happening with impunity.
There is no way that political reconciliation can happen while such
atrocities continue.

The 2010 elections are not a positive move that should be applauded, for
its purpose is to select a civilian face of military rule. The 2008
constitution that the elections are
based on was written unilaterally and its non-inclusive, anti-democratic
principles will only further deteriorate unresolved conflicts.

Fundamental flaws in the constitution include a uaranteed number of
parliamentary seats for the junta  (25%); veto powers for the military’s
commanders-in-chief and offers  immunity to the military for crimes
against humanity. The dire consequences of the military regime’s move to
consolidate power and crush opposition will bring greater instability, and
the UN will be held accountable in the future if it continues to support
the 2010 elections intentionally or unintentionally.

The key desires of the democracy movement have not changed, and we still
push for an inclusive dialogue process between democracy groups, ethnic
groups and  the military. If those pursuing democracy are imprisoned  and
ethnic nationalities are systematically oppressed then this dialogue is
impossible.

This is an essential time period before 2010, and we encourage
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to make  personal priority and to do all in
his power to work with UN Security Council members and regional nations,
and unify key international actors to secure true political  dialogue and
an all inclusive review process of the 2008
constitution and ensure national reconciliation in Burma.

(Note:  The Forum for Democracy in Burma (FDB) is a  coalition of
political organizations and individuals who  have been working for
democracy since 1988. The FDB  operates as a dynamic force for the
achievement of democracy and national reconciliation through effective 
political campaigns. FDB does this by facilitating the emergence of
peoples’ popular movements; by pursuing effective intervention and
concerted efforts in the international community, including the United
Nations (UN), to help solve Burma's problems; by facilitating strategic
consultation and coordination within the democracy movement; and by
building up the FDB as a cohesive political force.)

Contact Persons:
Dr Naing Aung - (66) 081 883 7230
Ko Zaw Zaw Htun - (66) 081 532 3177
Ko Soe Aung - (66) 081 839 9816