BurmaNet News, March 5, 2009

[Editor]

March 5, 2009, Issue #3665


INSIDE BURMA
AP: Myanmar assails US State Department reports
AFP: Myanmar urges vigilance after bomb blasts
Irrawaddy: USDA close to unveiling new political party
DVB: Political prisoners locked in isolation cells
DVB: NLD member receives added charges after shouting slogans

ON THE BORDER
IMNA: Thai trucks protest, block border crossings between Myawaddy and Mae
Sot
Mizzima News: Mizos blame Chins for HRW report

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: Thailand should not repatriate Rohingyas: US Ambassador

INTERNATIONAL
AP: UN rights chief: protect Myanmar boat people
BBC News: Australia ups aid for Rohingyas

OPINION / OTHER
The American: No hugs for the thugs in Burma – Jean Geran
Japan Times: Speaking out on the future of Burma – Jeff Kingston
UPI: Rights envoy takes new approach on Burma – Awzar Thi

PRESS RELEASE
Office of the President of Maldives: Maldives leader offers "safe haven"
for Burmese writers



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 5, Associated Press
Myanmar assails US State Department reports

Myanmar's military junta angrily dismissed two recent U.S. government
reports critical of its human rights record and counter-narcotics efforts
as unfounded and politically motivated, state media reported Thursday.

Myanmar's Foreign Ministry issued two separate statements carried in the
English-language New Light of Myanmar saying the country was the victim of
a "disinformation campaign."

The U.S. State Department issued a report Feb. 25 on human rights around
the world. It said Myanmar's junta committed "severe human rights abuses"
and "brutally suppressed dissent" through a campaign of extrajudicial
killings, disappearances and torture.

"Instead of making false allegations at other nations, the United States
should concentrate on uplifting its own human rights records," one
ministry statement said.

In recent months, the junta has launched a judicial crackdown on
dissidents that rights groups say was aimed at putting vocal critics
behind bars before elections in 2010.

Myanmar now has more than 2,100 political prisoners, according to rights
groups.

The junta also reacted angrily to the State Department's annual survey of
global counter-narcotics efforts, released Feb. 27, which said Myanmar had
"failed demonstrably" to combat drug trafficking. Myanmar is the world's
second-largest producer, after Afghanistan, of opium and heroin.

The U.S. report said in 2007 rising opium values pushed poppy cultivation
into new regions of Myanmar. It noted it had not received 2008 U.N.
statistics on Myanmar in time for the annual report.

The Foreign Ministry said authorities have tried to wage a war against
drugs with little or no external assistance.

"It is a sad fact that these sincere efforts have not received the full
acknowledgment and support that they deserve," said the statement. It
called the U.S. report "inaccurate and politically motivated."

____________________________________

March 5, Agence France Presse
Myanmar urges vigilance after bomb blasts

Authorities in Myanmar have warned people to be on alert after two small
bombs exploded in the commercial hub Yangon, causing minor damage but no
injuries, junta-run media reported Thursday.

The explosions hit hours apart Tuesday evening at a Yangon park and bus
stop, and police and soldiers immediately sealed off the scene.

"Authorities concerned have reminded the people to provide information to
those responsible in time if there is something or someone (suspected) of
committing destructive acts," the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.

The paper said an investigation was ongoing and gave no indication about
who might be behind the blasts, but the military regime has in the past
blamed similar attacks on ethnic rebel insurgents battling junta rule.

The first explosion blew a hole in a fence and smashed the windscreen of a
truck, the paper said, while the bus stop bomb near a busy intersection
blew a small crater in the ground and damaged the shelter.

Myanmar was rocked by a series of similar small blasts late last year,
with one man killed in Yangon in October and two people killed in a
township outside the main city in a video cafe bombing.

Although the junta usually blames armed exile groups or ethnic rebels, it
has also pointed the finger at democracy activists.

State-run media in September accused two members of detained democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) of bombing
pro-government offices in July last year.

The NLD won a landslide victory in 1990 elections, but the junta never
allowed it to take office. Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest
almost constantly since.

The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962, partly justifying its grip on
power by claiming the need to fend off ethnic rebellions which have
plagued remote border areas for decades.

____________________________________

March 5, Irrawaddy
USDA close to unveiling new political party – Wai Moe

The Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), the main mass
organization of the Burmese military junta, is reportedly very close to
announcing the formation of a pro-junta political party for the 2010
general election.

USDA sources said that a pro-junta political party might be announced
before Burma’s New Year Festival in April, if the election law is made
public by then.

Some USDA units across the country are preparing to transform into a
political party, sources said. The name of the political party has not yet
been approved by senior members of the organization.

The USDA will remain as a mass organization even after the formation of a
political party.

The organization has collected personal information on constituency
candidates who will run in the 2010 election as pro-junta candidates at
the township level.

In the 1990 election, there were 492 constituencies for the People’s
Assembly. However, there are 440 constituencies for the People’s Assembly
established under the 2008 constitution.

A total of 330 constituencies, or three-quarters, will be elected by vote
in the 2010 election. A quarter, or 110 seats, will be selected by the
commander-in-chief of Burma’s armed forces.

The number of parliamentary seats to be elected by citizens has decrease
by 162, when comparing the 1990 election and the 2010 election, giving the
junta a guaranteed majority and control over the parliament.

The USDA is considering pro-junta candidates from among core USDA members
and respected people in local communities who are not USDA members,
sources said.

“Candidates have been chosen on the basis of how they are respected among
people; how they are clean from anti-government movements; how their
character is good; how they are patriotic, and whether they have strong
business experience,” one source said. Other USDA selection criteria
include political and economic vision and contributions to society.

In the past, the former regime (1962-1988), the Burma Socialist Programme
Party (BSPP), had chosen its candidates from among its party members.

Ahead of the 2010 election, the regime launched development programs for
local communities, such as road building and improvement projects, more
community libraries and other programs to try to gain local support.

The USDA recently provided soft loan credit to poor people in Rangoon’s
poverty areas, such as Southern Dagon Myothit Township and Hlaingtharyar
Township, a journalist in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy on Thursday.

The organization reportedly plans to start a daily newspaper in the
country, according to journalists in Rangoon. Some USDA members attended a
journalism training course in February, sponsored by the Ministry of
Information in Rangoon.

The USDA runs training courses for its members, teaching public
management, foreign affairs, public relations and debating skills. USDA
members also are sent to training courses, forums and meetings in
neighboring and Asian countries.

According to the USDA official Web site, 17 members of the USDA Youth
Delegation left for Japan on March 3 to attend the Invitation Programme
for Young Politicians from Five Mekong Countries, from March 4 to March
12.

Two USDA members also traveled to Malaysia to attend the International
Youth and Counter Terrorism Meeting on February 25 to 28.
____________________________________

March 5, Democratic Voice of Burma
Political prisoners locked in isolation cells – Maung Too

Political prisoners, including 88 generation student member Htay Kywe,
have been locked in isolation cells and barred from seeing family members
at Buthidaung jail in Arakan state, west Burma.

"Htay Kywe is in good health but not allowed to see people from outside,"
said a former prisoner at Buthidaung who was recently released.

Along with Htay Kywe there are more than 10 political prisoners at
Buthidaung jail, including monk leader U Eithritya, Taungup township NLD
secretary Zaw Naing, and Than Htay.

"We were not allowed to have contact with political prisoners and if we
did, we were punished," said another former prisoner.

U Eithritya refused to appeal for his release despite prison governor Sein
Tun urging him to.

"He said I can't kneel in front of them for my action. I have no wife,
nothing to worry about or to yearn for. I should be released with their
order."

The former prisoners claim that Sein Tun and his warders have been
extorting money from visiting prisoners’ relatives, and assaulting
prisoners whose relatives didn’t give them money.

"They said we will beat you up as much as we like and you can tell anyone
you like including the BBC. We don’t care,” the former prisoner said.

They added that, due to the lack of medical care and proper food, inmates'
health has been deteriorating.

____________________________________

March 5, Democratic Voice of Burma
NLD member receives added charges after shouting slogans – Aye Nai

Imprisoned National League for Democracy member U Tin Yu has been charged,
along with nine other people, for obstructing officials in Insein prison
court after shouting slogans in the courtroom.

The charge was brought on 3 March after they shouted 'obtaining human
rights is our cause'.

"Family members were unable to attend the hearing as the door was blocked
with benches and police,” Tin Yu’s daughter Thin Thin Yu said.

“They were charged with section 353. We had to miss our job to come here."

Tin Yu, of NLD Rangoon’s Hlaing Thayar township, and the nine others were
forcibly shackled by Hlaing Thayar police, although the prison authority
allowed them to be transported without fetters.

Thin Thin Yu has been supporting her father who was sentenced to seven and
a half years in jail and her brother who is being incarcerated in Thaton
jail in Mon State.

She said it has been hard to survive.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March 5, Independent Mon News Agency
Thai trucks protest, block border crossings between Myawaddy and Mae Sot –
Arka, Asah

Two Thai groups are making protests by blocking border crossings near Mae
Sot, Thailand, across from Myawaddy, Karen State. One group is protesting
what they feel to be unfair competition from Burmese transport trucks. The
other is complaining about late payments for agricultural purchases.

Beginning on March 2nd, at least ten 10-wheel trucks began blocking the
Nong Bua crossing between Burma and Thailand. According to an IMNA source
that spoke with protesters from both groups as well as Thai police, the
trucks were there because of agricultural purchases.

The Thai government purchased corn from area farmers over a month ago,
said the source, but has yet to provide the payments promised to farmers.

Today, at least 150 Thai-owned pick-up trucks began clogging the road from
the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, which links Mae Sot and Myawaddy.

According to the IMNA source, the truck drivers are unhappy about what
they feel to be unfair competition from Burmese transport trucks. The
drivers all operate trucks that bring passengers from the Thai side of the
border crossing to the town of Mae Sot. The trip costs 15 baht, and the
trucks are sometimes stopped and searched by Thai authorities.

A group of Burmese trucks, meanwhile, have organized their operations with
Thai authorities and are able to transport passengers directly from
Myawaddy to Mae Sot without being searched. Business has, consequently,
become quite popular, cutting into the number of passengers available for
the Thai drivers.
____________________________________

March 5, Mizzima News
Mizos blame Chins for HRW report – Salai Pi Pi

A social organization in India’s northeastern state of Mizoram has
demanded an apology from the Chin community living in the state over a
report published by Human Rights Watch.

The Young Mizo Association (YMA), a social organization in Mizoram state,
on Tuesday, at a meeting with at least 23 Chin organizations demanded they
refute a human rights report on Mizo’s treatment of Chin published by HRW.

A Chin representative, who attended the meeting, told Mizzima that the
Central YMA was enraged over the HRW’s accusation that Mizo’s have
ill-treated the Chin, who fled their homes in Burma.

J H Zoremthanga, President of CYMA, in the meeting, accused the Chin
leaders of misinforming the HRW on YMA’s treatment of the Chin community,
living in the state.

“He [Zoremthanga] said that HRW's report on YMA and Mizo authorities is
not true and is exaggerated,” said the representative adding, “He asked us
to apologize for the report.”

Human Rights Watch, in its report “We are like forgotten people”, released
in January said Chin people living in western Burma have been silently
suffering under the military junta’s rule and systematic persecutions have
led several thousands to flee to neighbouring countries, particularly to
India’s northeastern State of Mizoram.

The report also said Chin people are further faced with hostile treatment
by host communities in India including Mizoram state. Particularly
mentioning the YMA, the report said, Chin people are subject to torture
and at times forcibly evicted by the YMA.

“Chin in Mizoram face security abuses, severe discrimination, religious
repression, and lack of jobs, housing, and affordable education,” the
report said.

HRW further said local Mizo landlords are reluctant to rent out houses to
or overcharge Chins in Mizoram as they do not have official status and
documents.

Moreover, the report said local authorities had come in the way of the
Chin community having their own place of worship.

"The YMA announced that the Chin should not worship in separate churches.
They said if we want to stay in Mizoram, we should attend Mizo churches,"
HRW quoted a Chin as saying.

But the CYMA denied HRW’s report saying they were allegations to damage
the Mizo’s benevolent attitude towards their Chin cousins.

Zoremthanga, during the meeting, held in Aizawl, capital of Mizoram, urged
leaders of the 23 Chin political, social, religious, human rights and
women’s organizations to condemn the report and to write letters of
complaint to HRW that their report was based on unfounded and biased
information.

"He urged the Chin community leaders to complain to HRW for the report," a
Chin representative said. He added that the tone indicated that there
could be repercussions if the Chin leaders fail to condemn the report.

Chin state in western Burma and India’s Mizoram state share a porous
border of about 400 kilometers. Traditionally, the Chin and Mizos regard
each other as ancestral cousins and there has been constant interaction
between the two communities despite international boundaries separating
them.

However, since 1988, the number of Chin people arriving in Mizoram state
has swelled greatly and according to a few NGOs there are at least 60,000
Chin people living in various parts of Mizoram.

Occasional disputes among the Chin and Mizo have erupted in the past and
in 2003, following an alleged rape of a Mizo teenaged girl by a Chin man,
the YMA ordered evictions of the Chin from the state.

Despite the disputes, the Mizo people continued allowing the Burmese
community, particularly the Chin, to remain in the state.

And the Mizos were the first community in India to have staged a mass
rally in support of the monk-led protest in Burma in September 2007 and
condemned the Burmese junta for its brutal crackdown on peaceful
demonstrators.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

March 5, Irrawaddy
Thailand should not repatriate Rohingyas: US Ambassador

The United States Ambassador to Thailand has urged the Thai government to
not forcibly repatriate Rohingya boat people to Burma without guarantees
of their safety. The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority who live in
Burma.

"Without improvements in their treatment in northern Rakhine (Arakan)
State, and verifiable guarantees by authorities that they won’t be
punished for departing, the United States strictly opposes the forced
repatriation of the Rohingya into the hands of Burmese officials," said
Ambassador Eric John in an exclusive interview with The Irrawaddy.

The plight of refugees embarking in open boats from Burmese shores in the
hopes of reaching southern Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia has garnered
attention since Thailand's navy was accused last month of towing hundreds
of Rohingya refugees back out to sea in poorly-equipped boats with scant
food and water.

According to the Washington DC-based Refugees International, Rohingyas can
not freely move from village to village, are often victims of rape and
torture, are subjected to forced labor, land confiscation, extortion, and
their men and women are banned from getting married.

According to Thailand's foreign ministry, Burma will allow Rohingya
refugees back into the country if they can prove that they are Bengali,
using the descriptive term the Burmese government calls Rohingya.

The agreement was reached in side talks between the Thai and Burmese
foreign ministers during the 14th Asean Summit, held in Thailand over the
weekend.

Meanwhile, Malaysia Foreign Minister Rais Yatim also has called on Burma
to assure its neighbors that Rohingyas will not be persecuted if they're
returned home.

About 20,000 Rohingya migrants are now in Thailand.

Ambassador John said that the US was encouraged by the reports that
Thailand and Indonesia discussed the issue of Rohingya refugees at the
Asean summit, as well as plans to discuss a regional approach at the Bali
Process forum to be held in Indonesia in April.

On other issues, the US ambassador also urged the Thai government to
improve its customs regulations to create a better investment climate in
the country.

"One of the biggest obstacles to foreign investment in Thailand, and not
just for American businesses, is its archaic customs laws, which have been
on the books for 80 years now.  To remain competitive in the region, it is
crucial that Thailand modernize its customs legislation."

Last month, John said the US has not revoked a visa for Thailand's
fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinnawatra. Thaksin is living
abroad after fleeing into exile twice following his ouster as prime
minister in 2006. He was convicted of corruption in absentia and sentenced
to two years in prison.

But the relationship between Thailand and the US remains "solid,"
Ambassador John told The Irrawaddy. "The core values at the bedrock of our
longstanding friendship remain unfettered: Thais and Americans alike hold
close the idea of democracy and political liberty."

The full interview with Ambassador John can be found on The Irrawaddy Web
site on Friday.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

March 5, Associated Press
UN rights chief: protect Myanmar boat people

U.N. rights chief Navi Pillay is urging Myanmar's neighbors to take in
Muslim boat people fleeing the predominantly Buddhist country and offer
them protection in line with international standards.

Pillay says she was dismayed by the "harrowing accounts" of ethnic
Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar by sea.

She said Thursday she wants a thorough investigation of reports that many
of them died at sea because they were denied proper help. In January, more
than 1,200 Rohingya were allegedly detained by Thai authorities and later
set adrift with little food or water.

Rights groups say there are about 800,000 Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar,
where they are denied full citizenship and face forced labor, land
seizures and rape.
____________________________________

March 5, BBC News
Australia ups aid for Rohingyas

The Australian foreign minister has said his country will give a further
$1.5m to help displaced people from the Rohingya ethnic minority in Burma.

Stephen Smith said the additional funds raise the amount of money
committed by Australia to over $3m.

Several hundred Rohingya people have been rescued from the sea in recent
months after allegedly being beaten and set adrift by the Thai navy.

Thai authorities have denied any mistreatment of the people.

Hundreds of Rohingyas were rescued by Indian and Indonesian coastguards -
some are being cared for in the Indonesian province of Aceh.

Mr Smith said the issue would be high on the agenda when he met with his
Indonesian counterpart, Hassan Wirajuda, for regional talks on people
trafficking next month.

Recently Bangladesh took back 49 Rohingyas who were rescued by the Indian
coast guard two months ago.

Bangladesh was given a list of 67 Rohingyas by Indian authorities. Dhaka
said 49 were its citizens.

The Rohingyas are originally from Burma but after fleeing that country to
escape persecution, they have mostly settled in southern Bangladesh.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

March 5, The American
No hugs for the thugs in Burma – Jean Geran

Secretary of State Clinton should not go wobbly on the junta. In the midst
of her recent Asia trip, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton indicated that
the United States is reviewing its policy toward Burma. As the Obama
administration assesses its options, it would be wise to remember it is
dealing with one of the world’s most brutal tyrannies, which has held
power for decades through terror and totalitarian control. Fear and force
are the two things that the ruling junta most understands—and are the only
two factors that have ever succeeded in altering its behavior over the
years. Any policy review must be mindful of that history.

In recent months, the Burmese generals stepped up their imprisonment of
dissidents. The number of political prisoners has swelled to over 2,000.
Horrific attacks and displacement of civilians in ethnic minority regions
continue unabated. The legitimate leaders of the Burmese people such as
Aung San Suu Kyi and Min Ko Naing, along with representatives of the
tormented ethnic minority groups such as the Karen and Shan, continue to
seek more support from the international community and more pressure on
the regime. Now is not the time to abandon them.
It is especially disturbing to think that a review of U.S. policy may cede
important ground gained under the Bush administration. In addition to
President Bush’s forceful advocacy on the issue, First Lady Laura Bush
took a personal interest in Burma’s plight and, among other initiatives,
helped bring the issue of the tyrannical Burmese government for the first
time before the U.N. Security Council. Any policy change that goes the
other direction and eases pressure would be disastrous for the Burmese
people.

The most important thing that the West can do is to apply more and smarter
pressure on the generals to force them to the negotiating table—not with
us, but with the legitimate leaders of their own people. We can also press
Burma’s neighbors—specifically India, Thailand, and China—to end their
support for the regime.

Frustration over the lack of progress has revived longstanding debates
over sanctions and humanitarian aid. On the surface the arguments for
easing sanctions and allowing more aid strike sympathetic chords with
those unfamiliar with the peculiar and psychotic nature of Than Shwe and
the rest of the junta. It is easy to think that aid will ease the
suffering of the people. But only the most carefully channelled assistance
can avoid cooptation by the regime, and even these channels are extremely
rare and limited to flows across the border from Thailand and small subtle
efforts that work under the radar of the regime. Large-scale aid flowing
through Rangoon, especially through larger U.N. agencies, inevitably is
controlled by the regime or its cronies and strengthens their grip on
power.

The generals have repeatedly shown their contempt for the welfare of their
own people. This contempt was most tragically seen in their appalling
response to Cyclone Nargis. The disaster led to over a hundred thousand
deaths, many unnecessary, due to restrictions or even denial of aid. One
need only remember the ships, planes, and tarmacs full of supplies that
were not distributed because the regime denied access to the victims; or
the plight of courageous Burmese citizens like 23-year-old student Kay Thi
Aung, who was imprisoned in September 2008 for her efforts to provide aid
to cyclone victims, and who recently suffered a miscarriage due to the
deplorable jail conditions; and comedian Zarganar, sentenced to 59 years
imprisonment for criticizing the regime’s failures. In most other
countries the actions of these two would not be considered political
activity, but to the lawless Burmese regime all things—even humanitarian
gestures—are “political.”

The current sanctions have not yet brought freedom, but that is no reason
to abandon them. They must be intensified and coordinated multilaterally.

The people of this fertile, resource rich, and once well-educated country
are suffering under the economic malevolence and ignorance of their
oppressors, not the effects of economic sanctions. A policy review of
sanctions would be helpful only if it leads to better targeting and
expanded coordination with allies in the region and beyond. But any
backtracking or easing of pressure would be a huge mistake and would play
right into the
hands of the generals.

Likewise, a policy review that leads to a renewed diplomatic push in
Washington and at the United Nations might have a chance of overcoming the
Russian and Chinese veto threat. A strong U.N. Security Council
resolution, especially one with sharp multilateral teeth such as an arms
embargo or targeted global sanctions, would quickly get the attention of
the generals. The case for Security Council action is clear. Ongoing
military offensives against civilians that include rape as a weapon of
war, as well as refugee displacement, disease spreading across borders,
and trafficking in drugs and people, make the situation in Burma as much a
security issue as a human rights or humanitarian one.

Concern for Burma has long attracted strong bipartisan interest and
support in the United States, and Secretary Clinton herself has previously
made a priority of supporting female leaders such as Aung San Suu Kyi. If
this review goes forward and new tactics are considered, U.S. policymakers
should remember the nature and history of this brutal regime and pay heed
to the vital voices of the Burmese democracy movement over those tired
voices of Western academics, the United Nations, or aid agencies. We in
the West have failed the people of Burma time and again with our weak
statements and our short memories, and yet they persevere with an honor
and steadfastness that should put us all to shame. They are the ones who
know what is best for their country. We must continue to stand beside them
against tyranny and terror until freedom and prosperity are once again
theirs.

Jean Geran is a senior fellow at the Legatum Institute. She served as the
director for democracy and human rights on the

National Security Council and as an abuse prevention officer on the U.S.
Disaster Assistance Response Team in southern Iraq.

____________________________________

March 5, Japan Times
Speaking out on the future of Burma – Jeff Kingston

These are tough times for the people of Burma. They have endured decades
of economic mismanagement, low living standards and brutal political
oppression under an incompetent and negligent military junta that shows no
signs of relinquishing its grip on power. Indeed, as the country
approaches elections in 2010, the regime has cracked down on its
opponents, imposing prison terms of 65 years on relief workers, comedians,
writers, intellectuals, monks and others.

No challenges to the junta are allowed and thus those who joined peaceful
demonstrations in the Saffron Revolution of 2007 or tried to help the
survivors of Cyclone Nargis in 2008 were targeted by the regime for
sentences that in many cases ensure the imprisoned will die behind bars.
The number of political prisoners has more than doubled since 2007 and
stands at 2,100.

The junta has sent a message to prodemocracy activists that they should
not confuse the upcoming 2010 elections with an opportunity to build
democracy in Burma. Unlike in 1990 when the military was embarrassed by a
landslide victory for Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, a
result it has steadfastly ignored, this time around the results will be
rigged.

The model for this sham-in-the-making is the constitutional referendum
staged in May 2008 when an unbelievable 92 percent of voters approved a
document that almost nobody had seen. There were widespread and credible
reports of gross irregularities and there is a consensus that the
referendum was not remotely free or fair.

As a result, the new constitution imposed by the regime that preserves
political power for the military and excludes Suu Kyi has zero
credibility, further undermining the legitimacy of a government that is
overwhelmingly despised by it citizens.

And why wouldn't they despise it? In cracking down on the Saffron
Revolution in 2007 — a monk-led, grassroots response to dreadful and
declining living standards — the military murdered, imprisoned and
tortured many monks, a transgression that trampled cultural taboos,
triggering outrage and a smoldering resentment. People were seething at
the sheer brutality of the junta, but were totally unprepared for the
government's mind-boggling response to Cyclone Nargis.

In early May 2008, Cyclone Nargis ripped through the Irrawaddy Delta
region, claiming an estimated 138,000 lives, displacing some 800,000
survivors and leaving some 2.5 million people desperately in need of food,
shelter and medical treatment. Any government would be hard-pressed to
respond effectively to such a massive natural disaster, but instead of
focusing on relief efforts the government prioritized the constitutional
referendum. As a result, the government was slow to respond and even
impeded relief efforts by international agencies by withholding approval
of visas for relief specialists.

The world looked on in disbelief as the junta devoted scarce resources to
a sham referendum while ignoring the needs of survivors.

In the wake of Cyclone Nargis, there has been renewed debate about how the
international community should respond and whether punitive sanctions and
isolation are working to promote reform. Indeed, Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton has indicated that the United States is reviewing its hard
line policies toward the regime.

The International Crisis Group (ICG) provides in-depth analysis of
conditions in Burma, but is often criticized for being overly solicitous
of the military junta. The principal author of the ICG reports, Morten
Pedersen, argues that the current strategy of imposing sanctions and
isolating the military junta is not working, creating a stalemate that
shows no signs of resolution. He asserts that sanctions and isolation
actually strengthens the junta's grip on power, allowing them to pose as
defenders of the nation. In his view, the military leaders will not bow to
pressure for political reform and are well insulated from economic
sanctions, especially with rising LNG revenues.

The problem is that the people of Burma are not insulated from the usual
problems of endemic poverty — the United Nations estimates that 30 percent
of the population faces acute poverty — and many are swept up in a
gathering humanitarian crisis. Yet, despite appalling conditions,
international aid to Burma is only about 5 percent per capita of what
comparable developing nations typically receive. The ICG advocates
broader, sustained engagement and a sharp increase in aid to fund
"sustainable humanitarian development."

Pedersen acknowledges the brutality and venality of the military regime,
but does not think that regime change is a viable option because
government institutions have withered during four decades of military
rule, meaning across-the-board capacity deficits that amplify the
difficulties of coping with Burma's staggering challenges. The military is
the strongest institution in a country known for its pervasive
disfunctionalities and as such, he asserts, must continue to play a key
role in any transition scenario.

In October 2008, the ICG issued a report arguing that the Nargis
experience demonstrates the need to normalize aid relations and suggests a
way forward out of the stalemate. The ICG points out that after the
initial fumbling response, a normal relief operation was apparent by July
2008 and goes on to argue that the donor community now has an opportunity
to build on this enhanced cooperation to transform and expand the aid
agenda.

Credit for this turnaround goes to the Trilateral Core Group (TCG), a
problem-solving task force that has one representative each from the
Burmese government, the U.N. and ASEAN. The TCG, according to the ICG,
proved effective in addressing operational problems and cutting through
red tape, allowing aid organizations to conduct their projects as they
would in any similar situation and monitor how development aid was used.

Yuki Akimoto, director of Burma Info in Tokyo, is more skeptical about the
TCG and disputes the ICG's assessment, arguing, "The TCG has a built-in
limitation in that one of the three parties is the military regime. The
ICG assessment lacks credibility because it misrepresents the reasons why
Burma is suffering socio-economically and not receiving development
assistance. It is one thing to advocate for increased engagement with the
regime, but it is an entirely different matter to defend the military
regime, as the ICG assessment effectively does.

"ICG avoids holding the military regime accountable for the situation the
regime itself has caused through its brutally self- interested actions and
policies, which have enriched the generals and their cronies while
impoverishing the nation."

Thant Myint U, former U.N. diplomat and currently a Visiting Fellow with
the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, believes that the
Nargis relief operations have helped build a better working relationship
between the junta and international donors, saying, "The Nargis relief
efforts have led to a big shift in attitudes. Now many in the government
understand that there is no great danger in providing access to
international aid workers, while on the reverse side many donors see the
possibilities of working in Burma while meeting international standards of
transparency and accountability."

The ICG, in calling for normalizing aid as a strategy for promoting
change, maintains that the TCG can be the model for broader engagement
elsewhere in the country, presenting it as a task-based, problem-solving
approach that nurtures capacity-building, transparency and accountability.
The ICG also argues that, "aid cannot be used as a bargaining chip, but
should be seen as a valuable instrument in its own right for improving
governance and promoting socioeconomic change."

Thant Myint U is less optimistic about copying the TCG model for expanded
aid efforts elsewhere in Burma: "What is certain about the TCG is that it
has been an invaluable mechanism for delivering emergency aid to affected
people in the Nargis-affected areas. The international aid community has
been given unprecedented access and it appears that space for ongoing
relief and recovery operations can be sustained. Whether it can be
expanded to other parts of the country is unlikely. We need creative
solutions and shouldn't be tied to the TCG model. What's important is not
the mechanism per se but finding ways to deliver aid in a way that meets
basic international norms."

In early February one of the ministers who served as Burma's leading
representative in the TCG was transferred, and some analysts see this as a
sign that the junta is withdrawing its support from the TCG. However, a
senior diplomat (who like several others interviewed for this story did
not wish to be named) suggests that this speculation is off the mark: "His
promotion should not be seen as the junta pulling back from the process.
Rather, his promotion to the ministerial level will make it easier for him
to act and push the process."

For more of the full article, please visit:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20090305f1.html
____________________________________

March 5, United Press International
Rights envoy takes new approach on Burma – Awzar Thi

A week or so from now the representative of the United Nations to Burma on
human rights will present his annual report to the Human Rights Council in
Geneva. It should make interesting reading.

The report follows Tomas Ojea Quintana’s second visit to the country since
he came into the job last year, at the end of which the regime even
allowed him a press conference inside the Rangoon airport, rather than
back in Bangkok.

His careful remarks on the “challenging” rights situation were quoted in
the state media, which also gave what by its standards was an unusually
detailed account of his meetings and travels in February.

In the following days it also made out that the release of thousands of
prisoners, timed to coincide with Quintana’s departure, had something to
do with his visit rather than overcrowded jails.

Contrary to official news reports, the rights representative did not get
everything he wanted. The government declined to let him meet with
political party leaders. Because of this, U Win Tin, former long-term
prisoner and National League for Democracy executive council member,
refused to meet with Quintana individually.

And the rebel Karen National Union was irked that Quintana went to see
leaders of splinter units that have gone over to the government side but
didn’t call on it. As the envoy’s remit is to study and report on human
rights abuse perhaps it should be relieved that he did not pay a call.

Ironically, the people whom Quintana could not or did not see got more
press outside the country than those whom he did. Among the latter were
the chief justice, attorney general, bar council members, home affairs
minister and police chief.

These meetings are important because they speak to the new approach that
Quintana has taken to the mandate, which distinguishes him from his
predecessors.

The current envoy, the fourth since 1992, is the first to put the
institutional features of rights abuse in Burma before its mere
description. Whereas most of the work done by the other three was limited
to documenting and classifying abuse, he has already gone a step further
in having a go at understanding and addressing some of its systemic
features.

Quintana met with the three key figures in the criminal justice system:
the top cop, top prosecutor and top judge. Of course, the top cop is an
army officer, and the top prosecutor and judge are both army appointees.
They, like all functionaries in Burma, are not independent. But they and
their agencies provide important services to the regime, and understanding
what they do and how they do it is critical to understanding how abuses
occur and what can be done about them.

It is meaningless just to say, like some critics did after Quintana’s
visit, that there is no rule of law in Burma and until there is, human
rights can’t be protected. This blanket response to the country’s
overwhelming problems defeats any initiative to try something new even
before it’s begun.

The rule of law won’t arrive in a box on the doorstep of an elected
government. It’s not something that a country exclusively has or hasn’t.
The institutions that in principle should be defending human rights in
Burma need to be carefully studied and described with a view to the
future, even if there won’t be any dramatic change in the present. And as
the U.N. expert on human rights assigned to the country, Quintana is the
man for the job.

In the place of mere rhetoric on rule of law and human rights issues in
Burma we need an informed and substantive debate. Instead of bluster on
political prisoners we need useful knowledge on the persons, bodies, laws
and procedures responsible for their imprisonment. Instead of isolating
those aspects of the state responsible for the worst abuses of rights, we
need to identify the commonalities between the case of a person wrongly
jailed for sedition and one wrongly jailed for fraud.

Even then, there will not be any magical solutions. So long as the army
remains in power, other parts of government will remain under its orders
and abuse will be rampant. But a more comprehensive approach to human
rights can but contribute to a more intelligent approach to the country as
a whole. And a more intelligent approach to the country as a whole may
open spaces to negotiate change that years of narrow political dialogue,
or so-called dialogue, have not.

Rather than complaining that the U.N. envoy met with one group but not
with another, or that of the thousands of prisoners freed last month only
a couple of dozen were political detainees, critics should take more heed
of what fresh ideas and methods the fourth representative on human rights
in Burma is bringing to the mandate and give him more time to try them
out.

Everyone should lay off Quintana and see if he can—to paraphrase Win
Tin—tell us something more than what we already know: that Burma is full
of human rights abuse.

--

(Awzar Thi is the pen name of a member of the Asian Human Rights
Commission with over 15 years of experience as an advocate of human rights
and the rule of law in Thailand and Burma. His Rule of Lords blog can be
read at http://ratchasima.net)

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

March 5, Office of the President of Maldives
Maldives leader offers "safe haven" for Burmese writers

President Nasheed has said that he would make the Maldives a safe haven
for writers from Myanmar [Burma] and opposition journalists from other
countries. The president made the statement during his meeting with the
special rapporteur on opinion and freedom of expression Mr Frank La Rue
today.

Speaking at the meeting, the president said that the government had opened
up the state media and he was working to relinquish all its control over
the state media and to make it equally accessible for all parties. The
president also noted the difficulties faced by the print media and said
that the government is trying to attract foreign investments to develop
the sector.

Special Rapporteur Mr La Rue congratulated the president on the progress
his government was able to achieve in the field of freedom of expression
in the Maldives. Mr La Rue said that he had witnessed people expressing
their views freely without any fear in the country.

During the meeting, Vice-President Dr Mohamed Waheed spoke of the need for
the Maldives to be heard in international forums and media in issues
related to climate change. Mr La Rue said that he would do everything he
could to help Maldives to get more coverage and attention in
climate-related issues.

UN Special Rapporteur Mr La Rue also met with the press secretary at the
President's Office, Mr Mohamed Zuhair, this morning. Speaking at the
meeting, Mr Zuhair said that freedom of expressing opposition views is
wide open in the Maldives. He further said that the government had called
on the state media to give equal access for all opposition parties.

Mr La Rue hailed the government's emphasis on protecting and promoting
human rights and greater freedom of expression.