BurmaNet News, February 19, 2009

[Editor]

February 19, 2009, Issue #3655


INSIDE BURMA
Reuters: Envoy says Myanmar rights grim
DVB: Chin locals forced to work on road reconstruction
Xinhua: Myanmar to construct first railroad to link western state

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Junta’s spies active among ethnic, exiled groups
SHAN: Mongla runs dry
Network Media Group: Avian Flu suspected in Mae Sot

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: US sanctions taking toll on Burmese gems industry

HEALTH / AIDS
Mizzima News: FAO rules out avian flu in central Burma

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: UNSC to consult on Burma

OPINION / OTHER
Washington Post: Burma’s agony – Rena Pederson
DVB: Burma's 2010 election: New election, old promises – Naing Ko Ko
The Nation (Thailand): Caution advised when dealing with Burma – Editorial
IPS: Junta declares war on lawyers, jails them – Marwaan Macan-Markar
The New Republic (US): Can Hillary help liberate Burma? – Suzy Khimm



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

February 19, Reuters
Envoy says Myanmar rights grim – Aung Hla Tun

A U.N. envoy said on Thursday human rights in military-ruled Myanmar had
not improved since his last visit seven months ago, but he hoped the
regime would listen to his recommendations this time.

Human rights rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana met a handful of political
prisoners in Yangon's Insein Prison, and senior government officials in
the junta's remote capital Nay Pyi Taw during his five-day mission.

But the Argentine lawyer failed to meet junta leader Senior General Than
Shwe or opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose latest detention began
in May 2003.

Nobel laureate Suu Kyi is among 2,162 people believed to be in detention
in Myanmar for their political or religious beliefs.

"The human rights situation in Myanmar is still challenging. It's
difficult to affirm that the human rights situation has improved," he told
reporters before leaving Yangon.

However, he said some "positive signs" emerged from his meetings in Nay
Pyi Taw, where he called for the progressive release of prisoners of
conscience.

"I discussed this issue with the Minister of Home Affairs, and he said
he's going to consider this recommendation," he said.

Quintana is the second top U.N. envoy to visit the former Burma this
month, but observers said neither appear to have much to show for their
efforts.

Earlier this month, U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari met Suu Kyi, but
failed to make headway on bringing the military and Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy (NLD) closer to talks on political reform.

"Frankly, I don't see any tangible results from Quintana's mission based
on what is known of his activities," said a former Myanmar politician who
declined to be named.

"So far as I know, he just went on a guided tour and met with people the
regime had arranged," he said. Quintana was allowed to visit Karen State,
home to one of the world's oldest insurgencies and where rights groups
have accused Myanmar's military of widespread abuses.

But the envoy was denied access to Kachin and Rakhine states. Rakhine is
home to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic group which
made headlines after reports of them were mistreated by the Thai military
after fleeing over the border to escape poverty and hardship.

Ojea, whose own parents were political prisoners under a military regime
in Argentina, met two NLD MPs during his visit to Yangon's notorious
Insein Prison, diplomats said.

Tin Min Htut and Nyi Bu were sentenced to 15 years in prison in a closed
trial the day before Quintana arrived in Myanmar.

The two men were arrested last August after writing an open letter to the
United Nations criticising Myanmar's planned 2010 general election under a
new constitution critics say will entrench the military's grip on power.

(Writing by Darren Schuettler; Editing by Jon Boyle)

____________________________________

February 19, Democratic Voice of Burma
Chin locals forced to work on road reconstruction – Khin Maung Soe Min

Locals in Chin state's Htantalan township are being forced to work on the
reconstruction of an old road and donate money towards the project in
order to gain favour with authorities.

An ethnic Chin local in Hakha village said that Dr Mu Htan, who was
elected by Htantalan as an independent representative for the people's
parliament in 1990, is making locals work on the reconstruction.

"He is forcing locals to contribute one head per household for one week
for the road construction with no meal provided," said the man.

Mu Htan is known to have close business deals with the government. It is
thought that locals are being forced into the work to gain favour with
Chin state's Peace and Development Council chairman colonel Hon Ngai.

"Also he is aiming to collect 62 million kyat donation money for that
project and has been pressuring parents of local youths who are living
abroad now to ask for money from them," said the man.

The reconstruction is being done on an old road linking the state's
capital Hakha to Hmandaw village in Sagaing division, halfway between
Kalay and Gantgaw townships.

Hakha locals have said they were worried they might miss the marking of
the Chin national day on 20 February because they had to do work for Mu
Htan.

Mu Htan was unavailable for comments.

____________________________________

February 19, Xinhua
Myanmar to construct first railroad to link western state

Myanmar will construct a first ever 300-mile-(480-kilometer)-long national
railroad network to link the western state of Rakhine with western part of
Ayeyawaddy division, local weekly journal Yangon Time reported Thursday.

The network connecting 6 townships, outlined as Sittwe-
Ponnagyun-Kyauttaw-Mrauk U-Minbya-Ann in Rakhine State, will also connect
the railroads from western part of Ayeyawaddy division.

On completion of the project, transport link in the Rakhine region where
over 3 million ethnic minorities inhabit will be much improved with better
commodity flow especially to neighboring countries such as Bangladesh and
India, local residents said.

Rakhine State was accessible by motor roads, waterway and airway but not
railway previously.

In 1996, the government constructed Yangon-Sittwe highway connecting
Yangon and the Rakhine State. Later the Yangon- KyautPhyu road was again
built connecting Yangon and Ayeyawaddy division.

According to official statistics, the length of railroads and rail tracks
in Myanmar has extended up to 5,031.29 km and 6,549.26 km, increasing 59
percent and 46 percent respectively in the past 21 years.

There were 3,162.16 km of railroads and 4,470.17 km rail tracks nationwide
before 1988 and the state-run Myanmar Railways has built 1,868 km of new
railroads and 2,079 km of rail tracks in the whole country since 1988.

The passenger trains has increased to 379 from 229 and freight trains to
18 from 17, the figures indicate.

There are 805 railway stations in the whole country now, an increase of
318 from before 1988 when there were only 487.

According to official statistics, the number of passengers rail-
transported in the country in a day stood over 100,000.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

February 19, Irrawaddy
Junta’s spies active among ethnic, exiled groups – Min Lwin

Burmese spies actively gather information on Burmese ethnic groups and the
exiled community along the Thai border, opposition leaders have long
contended.

Such claims appear to be substantiated by a confidential Burmese military
intelligence report obtained by The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.

The 42-page report was compiled by the Burmese Southeast Regional Military
Command based in Moulmein, the capital of Mon State, and sent to three key
army departments: the Bureau of Special Operation (BSO 4); the operation
department of the Burmese army; and the military security affairs
department, also known as the War Office, in Naypyidaw.

The report outlines details of the KNU’s 14th Congress in October 2008,
includes information on its new leaders and speculates about anticipated
KNLA military activities, in addition to outlining information about
exiled dissident groups in Mae Sot and along the Thai-Burmese border.

The report sketched activities of numerous groups, including the All Burma
Students Democratic Front, the Womens’ League of Burma, the Democratic
Party for a New Society, the Democratic Alliance for Burma, the Karen
Youth Organization, the Mon National League for Democracy (Liberated Area)
and other groups.

Several nongovernmental organizations are mentioned including the Burma
Media Organization in Thailand, the Human Rights Education Institute of
Burma, whose headquarters is in Chiang Mai and the Thailand Burma Border
Consortium in Thailand

In addition, the report mentioned information about specific Thai military
intelligence officers and also included accounts of the protests by the
Peoples’ Alliance for Democracy in Bangkok in October 2008.

The report, while not containing any information of immediate strategic
value, was judged to be a valuable overview of the reformed KNU and
activities among exiled groups along the border.

Exiled dissident and ethnic groups have always maintained that the Burmese
government uses spies, informers and police agents to keep track of what
goes on inside exiled dissident groups and uses military intelligence
communication units to intercept military radio transmissions and other
communication of ethnic groups and exiled groups inside and outside the
country.

“They [intelligence agents and spies] also get information from migrant
workers and the DKBA,” said Maj Hla Ngwe, joint secretary (1) of the Karen
National Union, referring to The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, which
operates in alliance with the Burmese military.

It’s believed that much of the information is of a low priority, he said,
and has no real intelligence value. Much of the information is believed to
be similar to published news reports.

“Mostly, they pass on made-up information to their bosses,” said Hla Ngwe.

One activist in Mae Sot said, “The information is often fabricated, but
based true events.”

Of more significance, perhaps, are the disinformation and psychological
warfare campaigns waged against ethnic groups inside the country and the
exiled community, designed to create distrust and disunity.

Hla Ngwe said Burmese Military Security Affairs distributes disinformation
among dissident alliance leaders. “Exiled dissidents need to be more aware
of security issues,” he said.

Htay Aung, a member of the Thailand-based Network for Democracy and
Development (NDD), said opposition groups are generally lax on security
matters and not fully aware of the effects of disinformation campaigns.

“The government spies can get the exiled groups’ information because the
exiled organizations don’t place a high priority on security,” he said.
“They can easily penetrate the exiled groups, because spies have no
horns.”

The powerful Office of the Chief of Military Intelligence was abolished in
October 2004, several months after a new military government took power.
Military intelligence was weaken by the removal of hundreds of officers
and renamed Military Security Affairs.

“After military intelligence was abolished, the new military security
department was weak,” said Htay Aung. “But now it may have become more
powerful and have more funding.”

There are those in the exiled community who believe that Mahn Sha, the
late Karen National Union general-secretary, was assassinated on February
14 by junta-backed agents. The murder remains unsolved, and no arrests
have been reported.
____________________________________

February 19, Shan Herald Agency for News
Mongla runs dry

Business in Mongla, the headquarters of Sai Leun-led ceasefire group,
opposite China’s Daluo, has gone slack since early January after Chinese
authorities ordered indefinite closure of the border checkpoint, according
to travelers returning from eastern Shan State.

South of Mongla at Wan Hsio, where several casinos are located, there are
few big spenders from China and many have been forced to close shop.

At Mongla itself, many restaurants and hotels are suffering from loss of
custom. “At the hotel where I stay, there were only two other guests,”
said a visitor from Thailand who requested anonymity. “I also visited a
few discotheques and pubs in the evening but found only a handful of
clients.”

As the checkpoint on the Lam was closed to outsiders (natives are given
only one-day passes), many have resorted to crossing the border illegally
from other points. “That involves some risks too,” said a local, “because
there are Chinese patrols and if you are caught, you’ll be fined Yuan
1,000-1,500 ($151.5-227). That’s a huge sum for farmers like us.”

The reasons for the closure, as explained by both friendly officials and
locals, were as follows:

·	Frequent seizures of drugs along the route
·	The Chinese attempt to connect with Thailand through
Mongla-Kengtung-Maesai highway being thwarted by Mongla leaders’ lack of
cooperation
·	Burmese customs’ request for a 30% share in the cross border revenue was
turned down by the Mongla authorities thereby incurring the wrath of the
Burmese authorities who had notified their counterparts in China to close
the border checkpoint
·	Rumors that Mongla will be taken over by the Burma Army in 2010 had
thrown so much panic among the populace that some of those who have
prospered are moving out to China and other places

The fear was intensified by the military build-up by both the Burma Army
and the National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State (NDAA-ESS)
along the Lwe that roughly serves as a boundary between the two sides. “On
7 February, our troops were digging trenches near Taping on the Lwe,” said
an NDAA-ESS officer. “The Burma Army unit nearby saw what we were doing
and protested. We had a heated argument, but we refused to give in,
because if it was okay for them to reinforce themselves, why should it be
wrong for us to do the same thing.”

The same officer nevertheless was frank in admitting that the group’s
non-compliance to the junta’s demand to disarm depended much on the United
Wa State Army (UWSA) its stronger ally next door. “Without the Wa, it’ll
be difficult for us to go against the Burma Army’s continued pressure.”

The group, officially known as Shan State Special Region #4, has 3
brigades: Central, 369th (mostly Shan) and 911st (mostly Akha). Estimated
strength is 4,500.

Thai travelers who were there last week said they saw a lot of trucks with
NW (Northern Wa) number plates, but very few armed Wa fighters in Mongla.
“Of course, Wa troops, if they are in Mongla territory, will be stationed
well outside the town, not inside,” said one.

Another traveler who met a visitor from Panghsang said he saw the Wa army
selecting and clearing sites along the way. “I heard that they have been
marked as temporary holding centers for refugees if war breaks out.”

Both the UWSA and the NDAA-ESS are under heavy pressure to “exchange arms
for peace,” an official term for surrender. However the Shan State Army
(SSA) North, their remain ally in the west, appears to have been given
better treatment by the junta who told them the question whether to
surrender or become part of Burma’s armed forces would be put on a back
burner until the new government emerges.

____________________________________

February 19, Network Media Group
Avian Flu suspected in Mae Sot – Khun Aung Myat

In the Thai border town of Mae Sot, there has been an outbreak of disease
in poultry farms, and afflicted chickens are dying daily, a poultry farm
keeper and medics said.

Nobody knows the kind of disease which has struck the poultry farms.
Livestock businessmen are covering up the information of deaths of
chickens in the farms, because they are afraid they would be asked to cull
the chickens, if the situation takes a turn for the worse.

At poultry farms, chickens have been dying after they started falling sick
earlier this month, a poultry farmer in Mae Sot said.

"We believe there has been an outbreak of bird flu in our poultry farm. We
have to be careful. It has been confirmed that there have been chicken
deaths in our farm as well as some other farms. We are not talking about
it, because if we speak out, our poultry farms will be shut down," he
said.

There are many chicken livestock farms in Mae Tao Tai, Mae Ku, Huay
Hkalauk, Phop Phra and northern Mae Sot. According to a medic, the death
toll of chickens is the highest in Mae Ramart Township.

Sayar Garmani, the editor of Nightingale Health Journal, has confirmed the
outbreak of the disease.

"The death rate of chickens is steadily rising. Chickens are falling sick
and their feathers are falling.  The death of one chicken due to being
trapped in the iron net of their cages, in two weeks is normal. But, now
3-4 chickens are dying every day," he added.

Chicken livestock businessmen are covering up the news. Therefore, the
local health department and authorities cannot investigate the death of
chickens yet. There has been no announcement or alert about the disease,
by the authorities.

Mae Sot locals and Burmese workers do not know about it. Therefore, they
are still consuming chicken as usual in Mae Sot, Burmese workers said.

"The symptoms are not much different. It can be further confirmed by
testing at a laboratory," Sayar Garmani added.

Ma Toe, a teacher in a school sponsored by the Burmese Labour Solidarity
Organization (BLSO), said that eating chicken has been banned in the
school, for fear of spreading the disease.

"Most people are talking about it. We cannot say that it won't be
dangerous for our children. If something happens to them, we have full
responsibility because we are feeding them. Therefore, we have spoken to
the cooking team. When the cooking team sends the daily meal, a record
note-paper is also sent to write about whether the curry was good or not.
Yesterday, we wrote that we cannot eat chicken curry, because it has been
learnt that there is an outbreak of bird flu disease and it is dangerous
for us," Ma Toe said.

Last November, the Thai Health Ministry announced that it would closely
watch 9 provinces in northern Thailand, including Tak province because of
an outbreak of bird flu disease in those areas.

In Thailand, 25 people had been infected with bird flu disease and 17
people had been killed in 2004-2005.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

February 19, Irrawaddy
US sanctions taking toll on Burmese gems industry – Wai Moe

Mogok, the historic center of Burma’s gems industry, is struggling to cope
with the effects of US sanctions targeting the country’s military rulers
and their cronies, according to industry insiders.

A gem trader in Mogok told The Irrawaddy that at least 50 mine sites in
the area have decreased production and several have closed completely
since the US Congress approved a law restricting gem imports from Burma
last July.

“Work at many gem sites has slowed down because it is becoming more
difficult to export the gems now that they are on the sanctions list,” the
trader said.

He added that many investors are reluctant to spend money to fuel
earthmovers and other heavy equipment because they are no longer sure they
will be able to sell the gems they find.

Although the sanctions are intended to block imports into the United
States, other markets are also becoming less receptive to Burmese gems.
According to traders, Thailand’s cross-border imports of precious stones
from Burma have declined in recent months, and many Thai traders are now
offering lower prices for the gems they buy.

Chinese traders have also become relatively scarce in Mogok.

“Even Chinese gem traders are not coming to Burma like they used to,” said
one Burmese journalist who closely follows developments in the gems
industry. “I think if the Chinese don’t come, there won’t be any gem
auctions.”

Although the Burmese junta has continued to hold gem auctions in Rangoon,
buying by international jewelers has dropped by at least 50 percent,
according to jewelers in the city, who say that market prices across the
country have also fallen by half.

Official statistics show that Burma exported US $647.53 million worth of
gems in the fiscal year 2007-08. However, Burma’s gems production
decreased from 7.178 million carats in the 2nd quarter of 2007 to 6.491
million carats in the 2nd quarter of 2008, according to The Economist
Intelligence Unit.

In Burma, the gems industry is owned by the state, but since the 1990s,
the government has allowed private investment through join-venture
enterprises. But licenses are only granted to cronies of the ruling
generals, including Tay Za, who runs Htoo Trading Co, and Ne Win Tun, of
Ruby Dragon Jade & Gems Co Ltd.

In May 2008, former US President George W Bush issued an executive order
putting three Burmese state enterprises—the Myanmar Gem Enterprise,
Myanmar Timber Enterprise and Myanmar Pearl Enterprise—on a sanctions
list.

Two months later, the US Congress approved the Tom Lantos Block Burmese
JADE (Junta’s Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act, which renewed a 2007 act
restricting the import of gems from Burma and tightening sanctions on
mining projects.

The law said that over 90 percent of the world’s ruby supply originates in
Burma, but only 3 percent of the rubies entering the US are designated as
being of Burmese origin.

According to Human Rights Watch, gems mined in Burma are first exported to
countries such as Thailand or India to be cut and polished, and then
exported to other countries around the world.

Prime markets for jewelry made with Burmese rubies are in the US, Europe
and Japan. The highest quality and most expensive stones are exported to
Switzerland for onward sale to other markets, the group said.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

February 19, Mizzima News
FAO rules out avian flu in central Burma – Mungpi

The recent deaths of thousands of chickens in central Burma was caused by
a new disease known as Viscerotropic Velogenic (VTVN) Newcastle disease,
an official of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said.

Dr. Morzaria, at FAO's Bangkok regional office said, there was no new
outbreak of Avian Flu in Burma and the recent deaths of chickens in
central Burma was caused by a type of Newcastle disease.

"There are no new cases of bird flu in Burma. It is Newcastle disease,
which is spreading and it is not infectious for human beings," Dr.
Morzaria said.

Poultry farm owners in Pyinmana, Paunglaung in Mandalay division and Prome
and Pegu towns in Pegu division said they had lost thousands of chickens
in recent months, due to a strange disease, which they believed to be the
deadly avian flu.

Morzaria said, FAO was cooperating with the Burmese authorities in
diagnosing and researching any new occurrence of the bird flu disease.

"The Myanmar [Burmese] authorities are doing a good job and are keeping an
update of the situation," he added.

Sources said authorities have banned the sale of chicken from those
poultries, where the disease had killed thousands of birds and also banned
journals from publishing information on the death of chickens.

"If we write anything related to the deaths of chickens, the article will
be banned," a local journalist in Rangoon told Mizzima.

Due to the ban on transporting chicken from central Burma, retailers in
Rangoon said they were running short of supply, causing a rise in prices
of chicken.

(Additional reporting by Mizzima correspondent in Rangoon).

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

February 19, Irrawaddy
UNSC to consult on Burma – Lalit K Jha

The United Nations Security Council will hold a consultation session on
Burma on Friday—the first since Barack Obama became US president—to take
stock of the current situation in this country.

The powerful 15-member UN body—which has been increasingly critical of the
Burmese military junta but has been unable to reach a consensus on a
solution—will hear a firsthand account from UN Special Envoy to Burma
Ibrahim Gambari, who visited the country recently and who met with
detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and leaders of the military
junta.

UN members meet during a Security Council meeting at the 63rd United
Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2008. (Photo: Reuters)
He also made trips to Tokyo and Beijing to discuss the situation in Burma
and to brief policymakers. He then flew to New Delhi to brief the UN
Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, who was there attending an international
conference.

UN officials said the Security Council meeting would give an indication of
the Obama administration’s Burma policy through its new UN ambassador,
Susan Rice.

Meanwhile, speaking at a news conference in Jakarta on Wednesday, US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Obama administration
officials are looking at possible ideas as part of a major review of US
policy toward Burma.

"Clearly, the path we have taken in imposing sanctions hasn't influenced
the Burmese junta," Clinton said after a meeting with Indonesian Foreign
Minister Hassan Wirajuda. "Reaching out and trying to engage them hasn't
worked either," she added.

While Clinton didn't reveal the direction of the policy review, she
described the "unfortunate path" taken by the Burmese military government,
leaving it "impervious to influence from anyone."

However, any move by the Obama administration to scale back sanctions on
Burma could face strong opposition in Congress and Senate, The Washington
Post reported.

US Vice President Joe Biden is often outspoken in his criticism of the
Burmese regime. Biden spearheaded the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE
(Junta’s Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act 2008, which was signed into law by
former President George W Bush on July 29.

Recently, Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy
(NLD), has called for the UN secretary-general to visit Burma again, and
urged Ban to act as mediator to start a dialogue between Suu Kyi and junta
chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

February 19, Washington Post
Burma’s agony – Rena Pederson

This is a city constructed out of fear. Naypyidaw reportedly was created
by Burma's brutal dictators on the advice of astrologers and built in part
by forced labor. Worried they might be vulnerable to attack in Rangoon, a
port city, they abruptly moved the government 250 miles to the north three
years ago and modestly named the new capital "Abode of Kings."

It is from here that the generals ordered that monks peacefully protesting
gas prices in 2007 be beaten, shot and imprisoned, and here that they
hunkered down in their mansions and thwarted international efforts to help
after Cyclone Nargis devastated the Irrawaddy Delta last year and ravaged
the lives of millions.

Few reach this remote city: Permission is required to come by plane, and a
new superhighway was built primarily for government officials. Most travel
the six-plus hours from Rangoon over a bumpy two-lane road shared by
plodding ox carts and bicycle riders. Much of rural Burma still functions
without electricity; families get by as they have for centuries, with hand
pumps for water and cooking fires. Only the tea shops in villages have
TVs, which run on generators. People watch soccer and maybe the news on
al-Jazeera, then walk home in the dark.

Near Naypyidaw, however, the skies come ablaze. A huge new power station
makes electricity available for the generals at all hours. The rutted road
turns into an eight-lane highway lined by lights. Nearby, a reproduction
of Burma's most hallowed site, the Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon, is being
constructed as the generals race to show their piety.

At first glance, the capital looks almost normal. There's a new mall
sporting cheap Chinese goods, a zoo where children can feed elephants,
modern high-rise apartments, a luxury resort with a golf course. But there
are also guards everywhere -- in towers, on corners. And people along the
side of the road seem to be watching everyone else -- intensely.

In recent weeks, reports surfaced that the junta is building a series of
tunnels under the capital. Rumors swirled: Are they part of a nuclear
project? Escape routes? An underground gulag?

On one level there is a plastic veneer of modern life. Local TV channels
show smiling young models singing about "Kiss Me" shampoo, and billboards
advertise laptops. There's even a Starbucks-style coffee house in Rangoon.

Yet on another level there is rampant poverty, disease and sex
trafficking. People in famine-stricken areas pay a nickel for rats to eat.
In the northern no-man's land, miners are paid with opium and pass along
HIV via group needles. In the largely Christian Karen villages that the
junta is systematically destroying, the women are raped and children are
forced into the military as human mine detectors.

In the Mandalay area farther north, the monasteries where the monks'
Saffron Revolution began in 2007 are still under heavy guard. The worship
places are silent, abandoned. South in the delta area battered by Nargis,
people struggle to get by -- haunted, they say, by the ghostly cries of
those who were swept away. Though the government has trumpeted its help,
most of the assistance has come from nongovernmental organizations,
churches and monasteries.

Here in Naypyidaw, ruling general Than Shwe recently claimed he was so
busy accepting the credentials of some new ambassadors that he did not
have time to meet with U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari about democratic
reforms. Gambari left after being rebuked by Prime Minister Gen. Thein
Sein, who demanded the lifting of international economic sanctions on
Burma and called them a "human rights violation." U.N. Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon put a diplomatic spin on events, saying Gambari had "good
discussions there even though one may not be totally satisfied."

Gambari is supposed to brief the Security Council on Friday. Members
should be told what the generals did as soon as he left: closed more
churches in Rangoon, refused to let lawyers visit some of the country's
more than 2,100 political prisoners and extended the arrest of an
82-year-old opposition leader.

Naypyidaw symbolizes the stalemate over Burma: The generals in their
labyrinth have created a surreal reality and defy world opinion. The
international community lets them get away with it by failing to produce
an effective, moral, organized response.

It is up to the Obama foreign policy team to put more backbone in the U.N.
efforts. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's remarks yesterday about
sanctions drew new attention to the issue. The Obama team has the chance
to calibrate financial sanctions so they squeeze the generals and their
money-laundering cronies. It can insist that verifiable benchmarks of real
progress, such as the release of political prisoners, be met before
development favors are done for the junta. And it can remind the world
that the election scheduled for 2010 shouldn't fool anyone. It is being
engineered to ensure the generals' hold on power, meaning business will
continue as usual in Naypyidaw.

Rena Pederson, a former speechwriter at the State Department, is the
author of the forthcoming book "The Burma Quartet."

____________________________________

February 19, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burma's 2010 election: New election, old promises – Naing Ko Ko

An election in Burma is supposedly going to be held in 2010 by the elite
generals. Within the half century from 1960 to 2010, it will be the second
election held by the military.

Elections in Burma are precisely identical to scarce goods, with neither
availability nor choice for the public. Since Burma became an independent
state, it has had only three “democratic general elections" that were held
in 1952, 1956 and 1960 respectively, all under the administration of the
Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League which ruled Burma for 10 years.

Within the 28 years from 1960 to 1988, unsurprisingly, there were no
democratic general elections held by the Revolutionary Council or the
Burma Socialist Programme Party that was formed after the first military
coup. However, the BSPP ran a "synthetic election" as a totalitarian and
bureaucratic mechanism in 1974. As the BSPP was a military-based-party,
the election was absolutely managed by the party bosses and generals. The
voters did not have any choice and were ordered to vote for both the
single party system and "pioneer dictators".

Although millions of people demanded democracy during the four-eights
uprising, the military seized state power again on 18 September 1988 and
branded itself the State Law and Order Restoration Council. The junta held
its first ever multiparty democratic general election on 27 May 1990 and
reappointed an election commission and promulgated a multiparty democracy
election law that were both formulated by the BSPP regime during the
“summer of democracy” in September 1988.

There were more than two thousand candidates from 93 political parties who
stood in the 1990 election full of dreams and promise. Although the
election campaigns of the 93 political parties were heavily controlled by
the junta, the National League for Democracy won 392 out of 485 seats. The
Shan Nationalities League for Democracy won 23 seats and the BSPP’s new
incarnation, the National Unity Party, won just 10 seats. Here, most Burma
watchers claimed that it was a free and fair election although there was
no freedom of expression and no free international monitoring system.

According to Huntington's third wave democratisation thesis of 1993 and
many other political theorists, elections are a major tool for the
democratisation process. In 1990, the 38-million-strong population of
Burma overwhelmingly honoured the legitimacy and authority of the election
to bring about the rule of law and to manage the state mechanism. But the
military generals have neither transferred state political power to the
election winning parties nor convened a people's parliament.

Consequently, the elected MPs of all election winning parties have not
convened a parliament themselves, though they have the moral and political
responsibility to carry out the people's legitimate decision as reflected
in the election result. While the winners of the 1990 election claim that
they have political legitimacy, the military junta argues that it has de
jure legitimacy. Consequently, the military has not honored the election
result, while the 1990 MPs-elect have not formed a democratic government
themselves in the sovereign mainland of Burma. Thus, Burma has become a
paradox of bulletocracy and representative democracy.

In addition, the MPs of 1990 election have been applying elite-driven
transition models, including policies of national reconciliation and
UN-brokered dialogue with the generals, while the generals have repeatedly
and officially rejected their demands. Yet again, the situation since the
1990 election has remained absolutely stagnant and the opportunity for a
civilian-initiated transitional process has not yet been consolidated.

There is no comprehensive winning strategy or policy platform on how to
apply a regime change model for Burma after the election, either from
within the military junta or from the leaders of political parties or MPs
who are regularly asking international agencies such as the United
Nations, the European Union and ASEAN to intervene in the power games in
Burma.

During the last 20 years, all stakeholders, the military junta and all
political parties have released occasional statements calling for dialogue
with the elite military generals or for parliament to be convened. But
there has not been a paradigm shift regarding regime transition or a power
reconfiguration resulting from the 1990 election. It has not brought about
either a break-even point or a balance of power between the competing
claims about democracy in Burma.

On the other hand, the generals have also applied their own non-democratic
transition plans such as the National Convention, national reconciliation
and the Seven-Point Road Map towards "disciplined democracy". The junta
has given many promises that these plans are leading towards a democratic
Burma, but there have been no tangible results yet. The people of Burma
have suffered from the broken promises from the both the junta and the
election winners of 1990.

Now, once more, the junta has repeatedly promised another election will be
held in 2010. As the time draws nearer, there will be many political
parties that aim to participate in the junta’s planned election. On the
exile front, the political legitimacy of the 1990 MPs will shrink and
there will be a dilemma of how to claim political legitimacy after the new
2010 election. Some demographic figures have estimated that there is a
population of 56 million in Burma at the moment; there are millions of
young voters who have never voted in any elections.

Will this 2010 election override the results of the 1990 election? Will
the 2010 election be postponed, or will the junta transfer political power
to the 1900 election winners or share power with them? Will the MPs
elected in 1990 withdraw from being MPs or will they go back to Burma to
join the armed resistance? Will they maintain the status quo and ask the
UN to fight for them to get political power?

Essentially, the people of Burma have been waiting for the fulfillment of
the promises from the 1990 election winners and still millions of members
of the new generations are driven to neighboring counties to meet their
basic needs.

Naing Ko Ko is a postgraduate scholarship student in the Department of
Political Studies at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. He is a
former political prisoner.

____________________________________

February 19, The Nation (Thailand)
Caution advised when dealing with Burma – Editorial

The new US administration has sent a strong signal to the military regime
in Burma that it is ready to find new ways to more effectively help the
Burmese people. That was the sentiment expressed by US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton during her stopover in Tokyo. She was succinct in saying
that Washington is looking at the next appropriate step to take in solving
the ongoing political and social quagmire inside Burma. This key policy
platform will continue to echo the US administration's desire to overcome
the impasse.

After the Burmese election of May 1990, the regime leaders refused to
accept the outcome of the poll. Instead they chose to annul the election
and impose dictatorial rule on the population. Aung San Suu Kyi, the
leader of the opposition National League for Democracy, has been subjected
to continuous political harassment and has spent most of the last twenty
years under house arrest in Rangoon. She perseveres and remains the
enduring symbol of the Burmese people's struggle for democracy.

Throughout the past two decades, the democracy-loving Burmese people -
including students, monks and nuns - have risked their lives at various
times in the struggle against the brutal junta. But they have failed to
shake the regime, which continues to be led by the eccentric and reclusive
General Than Shwe. He is so powerful that nobody dares to report to him
about the grim everyday reality inside Burma.

Even today, the general, who stringently follows the advice of
astrologers, is still convinced the junta's self-reliance strategy will
work in his, and its, favour. The military government has not heeded any
attempt by the world community or the UN in helping to find a peace
settlement.

Burma used to be the rice bowl of Southeast Asia. Following its
independence from Britain, it was the first country in this region to
experience a period of real democracy - albeit briefly. This is why the
international community is so concerned about restoring democracy and a
free society. Since the Second World War, the Burmese people have
witnessed how their country has been ruined, its natural resources
plundered, and its education system destroyed by the military rulers.

It is quite amazing how, given the evil nature of the regime, the Burmese
people have continued to endure, hoping against hope that one day the
junta will collapse.

Economic conditions have become even worse in Burma. It is not true that
the global financial crisis has had little or no affect on the country's
performance. The crisis is being felt on the streets in Burma. With food
and fuel prices rising, the Burmese people could rise up again in protest
as they did in September 2007.

It takes two to tango. So any solution inside Burma will require the
cooperation of the regime. Reaching out to the generals is the right thing
to do, but whoever is charged with that task must be mindful that they are
heartless people as well as the world's greatest manipulators. They have
broken promise after promise without shame, and are willing to see their
people die first, rather than relinquish their grip on power. Witness
their actions after Cyclone Nargis, when they refused to allow quick
delivery of essential foreign aid to thousands of victims.

The junta leaders have not yielded one bit, and they continue with their
business-as-usual attitude as if nothing matters. The seven-point
"roadmap", devised by the regime in 2005, continues to serve as the
template for political development. With a new constitution in place, the
regime is now moving towards the next step of holding a general election
next year. But this sham election will only serve the generals' wishes to
cling on to power in one form or another.

The next few months will be crucial. There will be a meeting in Phnom Penh
between Asean and the EU to work out bilateral relations. One of the key
issues will be Burma. The EU has maintained tough sanctions against Burma,
with the release of Aung San Suu Kyi being one of the principal EU
demands. The international community, including Asean, has similar
demands. But the two regional groupings differ in their approach.

Can the regime continue to ignore these calls and get away with its
brutality as it has always done? Well, only time will tell. At the moment,
some Scandinavian countries think that humanitarian assistance should be
given to Burma, regardless of the nature of governing regime. The purpose
here is to help the Burmese people, but such assistance would certainly
benefit the regime in both the short and long run.

The Burmese leaders are buying time, knowing full well that the West lacks
the kind of patience that they have and enjoy. The West's eagerness to
help could backfire. We cannot repeatedly be fooled by the generals.

____________________________________

February 19, Inter Press Service
Junta declares war on lawyers, jails them – Marwaan Macan-Markar

To be a lawyer in military-ruled Burma is to court danger, invite arrest
and risk being jailed in the country’s notorious prisons.

It is the price to be paid for what, in most countries, would be standard
practice for the legal profession: defending a person facing a trial for
an alleged crime that he or she has been charged with.

But the ongoing targeting of lawyers reveals that life marches to a
different tune in the South-east Asian country that has been under the
oppressive grip of a military dictatorship for the past 47 years.

More so if the legal battles involve the countries pro-democracy activists
who dare to stand up, speak out and be counted among the eternally
harassed opposition. More so if the ones facing charges in what are
largely political trials have links to the National League for Democracy
(NLD), the largest opposition party.

Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min is among the fortunate, though. The soft-spoken,
slightly-built lawyer gave the authorities the slip in Rangoon, the former
capital, and fled to Mae Sot in December to relate disturbing accounts of
the new pressure on his profession.

‘’It is difficult for pro-democracy activists to get a fair trial in
Burma,’’ said the 29-year-old during a late-night interview in the Thai
town near the Burmese border that has become home to many political
activists who have fled oppression back home. ‘’I did not have rights to
talk with the political prisoners in private to prepare for their cases.’’

‘’There were times when a request to meet my clients were denied,’’ added
Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min, whose legal practice has largely been dedicated to
helping political activist from the NLD arrested for protesting against
the junta. ‘’There were always men from military intelligence and the
special branch monitoring the discussions I was having with my clients.’’

What prompted his flight to Thailand was when a judge hearing a case where
Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min was appearing charged him and his colleague for coming
to the defence of three clients during a trial in October last year. ‘’Our
clients protested in court by turning their backs and saying that they
didn’t trust the trial process,’’ he revealed.

Not so lucky was his colleague, Nyi Nyi Htwe. The latter was arrested at a
teashop on Oct. 29 and is currently serving a six months jail term. The
same sentence was handed down to Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min in absentia.

Since then, three other lawyers appearing for pro-democracy activists have
been jailed. In early February, the authorities issued arrest warrants for
six lawyers who have been defending political activists.

And if not that, the junta has pursued an alternative route to bar
opposition figures from securing legal aid during their political trials.
The outcome of a case that ended in mid-February is typical: the lawyers
chosen to assist two elected parliamentarians were barred from attending
court proceedings until their clients were sentenced to 15 years in jail.

‘’There is no rule of law in Burma,’’ says Bo Kyi, a former political
prisoner who heads the Assistant Association for Political Prisoners in
Burma, a human rights group based in this town. ‘’There is no separation
of powers, no independence of the judiciary.’’

‘’It is getting more difficult for lawyers to defend political
activists,’’ he revealed. ‘’The lawyers who appear for the activists are
very brave. They don’t get much money and they know that their practice
will suffer.’’

And the need for such lawyers with courage could not have been greater, he
explained, in the wake of the on-going crackdown of all dissenting voices
and the harsh jail terms handed down to leading, respected political
activists.

In November last year, the courts handed down verdicts for 215 political
activists who were linked to the pro-democracy street protests, led by
thousands of Buddhists monks, held in September 2007.

A 21-year-old student was given a 104-year-sentence, a Buddhist monk who
led the protests was given a 68-year-jail term, and leading female
dissident was imprisoned for 65 years.

The junta’s aggressive use of the courts to target all political
dissidents became clear in late 2003, following a 106-year-sentence handed
down to a leading member of the Shan ethnic community, says Aung Htoo,
general secretary of the Burma Lawyers’ Council. ‘’Since that time the
regime started using the judiciary as a tool of oppression.’’

‘’This is the worst period for the non-independence of the judiciary,’’ he
added. ‘’We are seeing outrageous rulings. The situation was bad before,
but not this bad’’

And the judgements delivered after the political trials do not emerge from
the court proceedings either. ‘’The Home Ministry instructs the judges and
the prosecutors about the verdict they want,’’ says U Myo, a former state
prosecutor who fled Burma for Thailand. ‘’They have to follow the
orders.’’

Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min witnessed such travesty since he graduated in 2005 with
a law degress from Burma’s Dagon University and began his practice.

‘’Once the trial starts, the judge, the prosecuting lawyers, the
prosecuting officers, and the prosecution’s witnesses follow the (junta’s)
instructions,’’ the lawyer noted in a statement released soon after he
arrived in Mae Sot.

Abuse is rampant during the trial, too, he added. ‘’Questions asked in
court by the defence lawyers are deemed inadmissible by the judge, and so
are not officially recorded in the court transcript.’’

____________________________________

February 19, The New Republic (US)
Can Hillary help liberate Burma? – Suzy Khimm

Hillary Clinton has indicated that the United States is considering a
major shift in its policy toward Burma, most notably by lifting the
economic sanctions that have restricted trade and investment in one of the
world's most brutalizing regimes. While maintaining that the Obama
administration is still considering its options, Clinton asserted that
"the path we have taken in imposing sanctions hasn't influenced the
Burmese junta." She added that engagement--the approach undertaken by
Burma's neighboring countries--also failed to convince the authoritarian
leaders to change their course.

Why hasn't America's approach made a difference? Well, other powerful
actors--namely China and India--have stepped into the void, fostering
lucrative partnerships with the regime. The military rulers have exploited
the country's vast natural resources--not only its infamous gemstones, but
also timber, metals, and natural gas. Moreover, the regime has continued
to receive mixed messages from the international community: While the U.S.
and E.U. have loudly condemned the regime, the Association for Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) has supported "constructive engagement" that has
ensured that the regime has never been diplomatically isolated.
Altogether, the Burmese junta neither needs nor wants to seek out
America's approval.

It's encouraging to hear Clinton's admission that both sanctions and
engagement have failed to bring any reform to Burma in the past 20 years.
So what can be done instead, and how can the U.S. adopt a leadership role?
Michael Green and Derek Mitchell have laid out some provocative
alternatives in Foreign Affairs, suggesting that the U.S. go through China
and India--Burma's "greatest enablers"--and make Burma more of a priority
in diplomatic talks: "In discussions with Beijing, Washington could make
China's Burma policy another test of its readiness to be a ‘responsible
stakeholder,' much as it has already done in regard to Darfur," the
authors write.

Clinton has already given strong signals that the U.S. will be more
actively involved in Southeast Asia than under the Bush administration-not
only by visiting Jakarta on her first overseas trip, but also by agreeing
to attend a ministerial summit that Condi Rice "tended to skip" and to
sign an ASEAN treaty of "amity and cooperation" that Bush refused to agree
to. Meanwhile, the reasons for prioritizing Burma are becoming all the
more urgent. As Green and Mitchell point out, the country is more than a
political and humanitarian disaster--it's fast becoming a serious
international security threat. Given such threats, the U.S. shouldn't
hesitate in taking a leadership role in addressing the Burma crisis--not
by going it alone, Rambo-style, but by diplomatically engaging and
pressuring those most likely to influence the regime.