BurmaNet News, April 3, 2009

[Editor]

April 3, 2009, Issue #3684


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Insurgents to blame for landmine casualties: Junta
Irrawaddy: Group changes rules to allow political participation
Mizzima News: Dress code imposed for singers during water festival

ON THE BORDER
Narinjara: Forced relocation for border fence in Maungdaw
IMNA: Workers applaud Thai plan to register workers, but worry about
increased unemployment

BUSINESS / TRADE
Reuters: Daewoo extends Myanmar oil, gas field exploration
AP: Web slowdown hurting Myanmar businesses

HEALTH / AIDS
DVB: Doctor says Burma ignores HIV/AIDS threat

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: US ‘not averse’ to direct talks with Burmese regime
DVB: Burma "government in exile" seeks office in East Timor

OPINION / OTHER
Time: Postcard from Rangoon – Hannah Beech
New Straits Times (Malaysia): When Western good intentions lead to failure
– John Teo
IPS: China's thirst for oil ignores environment, rights – Marwaan
Macan-Markar




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

April 3, Irrawaddy
Group changes rules to allow political participation

The influential Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (UMFCCI) changed its governing regulations at a meeting in
Nayphidaw on March 31 to allow members to take part in politics.

The change is interpreted by observers as allowing influential businessmen
to join political parties and to run as candidates in the 2010 national
election.

According to participants at the meeting, UMFCCI bylaws had required
members to resign if they joined a political party.

“No one from the organization is now prohibited by the regulations, so
anyone can take part in the election,” said a businessman in Rangoon.

UMFCCI is made up of 18,300 members representing business people, factory
owners and local traders.

Rangoon-based businessmen said the move was interpreted as allowing
junta-friendly businessmen to run as supporters of the military
government. However, well-informed sources said most local business people
do not wish to take part in the election, even at the urging of the
government.

“The military government founded the UMFCCI and the key players of the
organization are supporters of the government, so nobody can say it is an
anti-government organization,” said the owner of a construction company in
Rangoon.

Currently, the UMFCCI chairman is Win Myint of Taze Township in Sagaing
Division. Unconfirmed reports said Win Myint plans to run as a candidate
for parliament from Taze Township in the forthcoming election.

The UMFCCI was founded in 1927 as the Burmese Chamber of Commerce. In
1989, one year after the Burmese junta seized power, it was reorganized as
UMFCCI by traders and manufacturers across the country.
____________________________________

April 3, Irrawaddy
Insurgents to blame for landmine casualties: Junta – Lawi Weng

Burma’s ruling military junta blamed ethnic insurgent groups for the
country’s high landmine casualty rate at a regional workshop on ending
landmine use held in Bangkok today, according to activists from the
International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL).
Fred Lubang of Nonviolence International, a leading member of ICBL, told
The Irrawaddy today that Kyaw Tint Swe, a senior Burmese diplomat, accused
the Karen National Union (KNU) and other ethnic anti-government groups of
being responsible for the proliferation of landmines.

However, Kyaw Tint Swe added that his government expected the decades-old
civil war to end soon, and would then be able to prevent a further
increase in landmine casualties in the country.

It was the first time that a representative of the regime had attended a
high-level meeting on eliminating landmines.

According to ICBL, Burma has the highest rate of landmine casualties in
Southeast Asia, followed by Cambodia and Laos. It is also one of the last
countries in the world where landmine production and use is still
widespread.

“The ongoing mine use in Burma stands in stark contrast to the complete
rejection of mine use that we see elsewhere in the world,” Lubang was
quoted as saying in an ICBL press release on Thursday.

Burma had at least 438 new casualties caused by landmines in 2007, up from
246 in 2006. Many more casualties went unreported, the group said.

The ICBL condemned both the Burmese government and ethnic rebels for using
landmines.

Meanwhile, the KNU and the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), another
insurgent group, rejected the junta’s claims that they were primarily
responsible for the large number of people killed or wounded by landmines.

Soe Soe, a colonel serving in the KNU’s military wing, the Karen National
Liberation Army, said that the regime was just rehashing old accusations.

“They always blame us like this,” he said. “They have used these words for
a long time.”

Sai Sheng Murng, a deputy spokesperson for the SSA-S, also dismissed the
regime’s efforts to point a finger at anti-government groups.

“They always want to describe us to the international community as a
terrorist group. But they are the ones who use [landmines] most to attack
the ordinary people.”

Burma has the longest-running civil war in Southeast Asia. Both government
and anti-government forces use landmines, which are the target of a ban
that went into force on March 1, 1999.

Government representatives from more than 17 countries took part in the
three-day “Bangkok Workshop on Achieving a Mine-Free South-East Asia,”
which concluded today.

The workshop is the second in a series of regional meetings convened in
the lead-up to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty’s Second Review Conference, which
will take place in Cartagena, Colombia in the week of November 30, 2009.
____________________________________

April 3, Mizzima News
Dress code imposed for singers during water festival – Nem Davies

A dress code for singers to perform in the ensuing Burmese traditional
water festival called 'Thingyan', prohibiting them from wearing dress
alien to Burmese culture has been issued by the Music Association.

The 'Music Association' has banned wearing international flags, dresses
with political symbols and dress not in keeping with the tradition and
culture of the country. They have also been prohibited from performing
songs which might hurt or are felt to be insinuations for others on stage.

"We have banned wearing decadent dresses, unsuitable for stage
performances. We have also prohibited singing  songs which may be felt to
be insinuating and construed as sly digs at others," Joint-Secretary (2)
of the Music Association and song writer 'Maung Thit Min' told Mizzima.

The 'Thingyan' (New Year) mundap (pandal) in-charge had to sign a bond
complying with these regulations when they asked for permission from the
authorities to build the mandaps.

They have been told to pass on the regulations to the singers who are to
perform on stage.

There is no clear interpretation and definition of a 'political symbol'
printed on the dress, Saya Maung Thit Min said.

"There is no exact definition of a 'political symbol'. But for instance,
we have banned wearing flags of foreign countries as they are considered
decadent to our festival," he said.

Local journalists said that though the singers were not seen wearing
dresses with political symbols during the last festival, there were some
youths at the festival wearing shirts bearing a 'NO' and with a cross
sign.

Most of the youths wore these shirts as a sign of protest and opposition
to the junta's constitutional referendum held in May 2008.

The Music Association will take myriad actions against the singers who do
not abide by these regulations. The punitive measures range from banning
their performance to production of their albums depending on the severity
of what they do.

"There will not be significant action against those who fail to abide by
the regulations. The local Divisional Councils will ban singing for a
stipulated period in terms of months, ban on-stage performance among
others depending on the seriousness of their activity," Maung Thit Min
said.

Nadi Linn, living in Bangkok, criticized the regulations imposed on the
singers saying "There is sweeping generalization in this regulation.
According to this regulation, the revelers must wear traditional dress in
Pinny Taikpone (cotton overcoat) and Taungshe (long longyi). Even so, it
is not our real tradition yet. Taikpone is derived from a Chinese dress. I
think they are imposing these regulations to prevent the people from
wearing dresses with any symbol of opposition to the 2010 general
election".

A youth in Rangoon said, "I don't like this regulation. This is
restricting our traditional Thingyan festival by imposing restrictions on
dress. Thingyan is our traditional New Year festival. Everyone should
enjoy this festival with freedom".

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

April 3, Narinjara
Forced relocation for border fence in Maungdaw

Some families in Maungdaw Township have been ordered by the Burmese army
to relocate because their houses are located near army godowns where many
goods, including barbed wire fencing and cement, are being stored, said a
resident who is among those being asked to move.

"They ordered us last week to move from the village as our houses are
close to the army godown but they did not instruct on where we have to
go," he said.

The households that have been asked to move are in Ka Yin Chaung Village
in Maungdaw, and have been in the village for generations.

"In our village there are only ten houses, and among those, three have
been ordered to relocate by army officials from the engineering battalion
who came to our area recently to implement the border fence project," the
resident said.

The three households that have been ordered to move are those of Daw Thit
Mu, U Sein Hla, and U Zaw Chay. All three are Arakanese Buddhist.

A relative of Daw Thit Mu said, "They do not know where they will be
moving because they are unable to buy plots to build their new houses on
because they are poor families."

According to local sources, the three families are now facing many
problems with the forced relocation, and have requested help from elders
in Maungdaw.

This is the first time families have been ordered to relocate for the
fence construction along the border, but many lands that are located near
the fence site are being confiscated by the army authorities without
compensation.

____________________________________

April 3, Independent Mon News Agency
Workers applaud Thai plan to register workers, but worry about increased
unemployment – Ruby Mon, Blai Mon

Migrant workers in Thailand are welcoming a recent announcement from the
Thai government saying it will offer thousands of work permits to foreign
laborers. Others are cautious, however, and worry about how the plan will
be implemented in an already sagging job market.

On Tuesday, the Thai government announced that it would be offering
400,000 permits to foreign workers because of Thai citizens’ reluctance to
do low paying, menial work.

“We have decided to push for the registration of more alien workers
because we have found that Thais are not interested in working in fishery,
construction and cold-storage sectors,” Employment Department director
general Pichai Ekpithakdamrong told the Nation newspaper on Wednesday.

Details about how the plan will be implemented have yet to be released,
however, as the plan must first be approved by Thailand’s Illegal Alien
Labor Management Committee.

Some IMNA sources have expressed worry, and wondered whether workers
already in Thailand will be registered, or whether new workers will be
encouraged to enter Thailand and receive documentation on entry.

“If [the Thai government] calls to give permits to new workers from
foreign countries like Burma or Cambodia, I am afraid I will lose my job
along with others who do not have documents,” an undocumented migrant
worker from a prawn factory in Mararchai told IMNA.

“It is impossible that [the Thai government] could call for new workers
[to enter Thailand and receive registration],” said a member of the Labor
Rights Promotion Network (LPN), a Thailand-based labor rights
organization. “Why? Because in Thailand, there are many of migrant
workers,” he explained, saying that workers already in Thailand should be
preferable to new workers because they already have employment experience
in the Kingdom.

Thailand is home to an estimated 2 million migrant workers, 80% of whom
come from Thailand. Thousands of these workers have been laid off in the
last few months, however, as Thailand’s economy stagnates. The Kingdom’s
GDP fell 5% this quarter, the most since 1999. In January, the Bank of
Thailand said it expected over 1 million people to lose their jobs, an
estimate echoed by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in late March.

Other IMNA sources, however, welcomed the prospect of registrations for
workers already in Thailand, citing dangers and abuses suffered by workers
who are often arrested, or exploited and abused by employers who know they
cannot complain for fear of deportation.

“I want [the Thai government] to make documents for migrant as fast as
they can, so that migrant worker can work without being afraid of police,”
said source in the Migrant Working Group, a Bangkok-based worker’s rights
organization.

Workers, as might be expected, were quick to agree: “I will be very happy,
if they give me a chance [to have a legal work permit,” another worker
told IMNA. “We migrant workers could work without fearing
 so much, and we
would not have to run from police.”

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

April 3, Reuters
Daewoo extends Myanmar oil, gas field exploration

South Korea's Daewoo International Corp said on Friday it had extended
exploration rights to Myanmar's AD-7 oil and gas field, after other
members of the project dropped out when the original exploration period
ended in February.

Daewoo International (047050.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
will have a 100 percent stake in the field under the new deal, from its
previous 60 percent stake.

India's ONGC Videsh Limited had owned a 20 percent stake in the field,
while another Indian firm, Gail (GAIL.BO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock
Buzz), and state-run Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS) (036460.KS: Quote, Profile,
Research, Stock Buzz) each had 10 percent, it said.

The initial exploration period was from March 1, 2007 to Feb 28, 2009, but
Daewoo alone extended the period to August 31, 2009.

"Because of the dispute over the field between Myanmar and Bangladesh, the
other firms have decided not to extend the exploration agreement," said
spokesman at Daewoo International.

The test drilling became a source of contention between the two countries
in October, with both sides sending naval vessels to the field in the Bay
of Bengal.

Daewoo said that the field was "promising", adding other members could
rejoin the project once the dispute between the two countries was settled.

But in December, Myanmar officials said an initial test drill at the field
failed to confirm commercially viable deposits. [ID:nBKK389979] (Reporting
by Angela Moon; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)

____________________________________

April 3, Associated Press
Web slowdown hurting Myanmar businesses

Disruptions to Myanmar's Internet service will continue indefinitely, a
state-owned service provider warned Friday (3 April), saying it does not
know when it will complete repairs to an undersea cable.

The slowdown has hit local businesses hard, causing some Internet cafes to
close their doors and prompting travelers to cancel trips to the
impoverished nation.

State-owned Myanmar Teleport blamed the problems on maintenance it has
been doing since 21 March on a cable in the Bay of Bengal. Teleport
initially said work would be finished on 25 March but now says it does not
know when the repairs will be completed.

"Currently we do not know the schedule for repair completion," Teleport
said in a statement.

The junta in Myanmar aggressively censors the Internet and routinely
blocks politically sensitive Web sites such as those promoting human
rights. During a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Sept 2007, it
cut all access to the Internet and shuttered many cybercafes.

But this time around, there is no indication that government meddling is
behind the slowdown. While hard to confirm, business owners said they
believed the problem was technical.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

April 3, Democratic Voice of Burma
Doctor says Burma ignores HIV/AIDS threat – Rosalie Smith

A Burmese doctor has said that the country’s leaders are ignoring the
threat posed by HIV/AIDS in the hope that it will go away of its own
accord.

The comment came following yesterday’s New York Times report which claimed
that the epidemic in Burma was worse than in any other Southeast Asian
country, and that the main providers of anti-retroviral treatment for the
illness were overseas aid organisations.

“From a medical point of view this is very alarming and dangerous,” said
Dr Thiha Maung, director of the Thai-based National Health and Education
Committee.

“This is not an issue that should be put on the shoulders of foreign aid,”
he added.

The report cited Medicins Sans Frontieres statistics that nearly 25,000
HIV-positive people die each year in Burma. A total of 240,000 people are
living with HIV and 76,000 are in urgent need of antiretroviral access.

MSF runs 23 medical clinics in Burma and is the primary source of
treatment for HIV/AIDS, the report said.

“[The government] don’t want to confess we have this problem,” said Dr
Maung. “They think that if they ignore the problem, it will take care of
itself.

“They want to eliminate the people carrying the disease,” he added. “They
want to let them die.”

Currently, Burma ranks internationally as one of the lowest recipients per
capita of overseas aid.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

April 3, Irrawaddy
US ‘not averse’ to direct talks with Burmese regime – Lalit K Jha

The new US administration is not averse to the idea of entering into
direct negotiations with the Burmese military junta, according to insiders
at the State Department in Washington.

Proponents of such a policy move argue that if the Obama administration
can support reconciliation with the Taliban in Afghanistan and offer an
olive branch to Iran, with which it does not even have diplomatic ties, it
would not be a bad idea to try the route of talking to the Burmese
military junta, either on a bilateral level or at a multi-party platform.

The recent meeting of Stephen Blake, director of the US State Department’s
Office of Mainland Southeast Asia, with Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win
in Naypyidaw was part of a process of touching base with the junta and
exploring the possibilities of engaging with it directly, officials say.

“The US wants to see progress for a democratic Burma that respects the
rights of its citizens, is at peace with its neighbors and is integrated
into the global economy,” one State Department official told The
Irrawaddy.

“We are prepared to work with other countries in the region and elsewhere
to achieve these goals and we are flexible on the mechanisms and the
modalities that underpin that effort,” the official said, on condition of
anonymity.

“We are still in the process of reviewing our policies on Burma and are
considering ideas from a variety of stake holders,” he said.

Observers take issue with State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid’s
description of Blake’s Naypidaw visit as a routine one. They point out
that a meeting between a Burmese foreign minister and a US official of
Blake’s level is a rare event.

The substance of the Naypyidaw talks has not been disclosed by the State
Department. A tone of flexibility has, however, since been noted by
observers.

Dissatisfaction with the sanctions policy adopted by the Bush
administration has been voiced by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and
the Obama administration is also not very keen on a continuation of the
UN-led international effort under special envoy Ibrahim Gambari, believing
it has failed so far to yield any results.

The two approaches, the administration believes, have only helped pushed
Burma into the lap of China, consolidating the position of the Burmese
military junta.

None of the key objectives of the international community—restoration of
democracy and protection of human rights of Burma’s citizens—have been
achieved. Despite all the rhetoric at the UN and within the Security
Council, and in spite of a series of visits to Burma by Gambari,
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is still under house arrest and more
than 2,000 political prisoners are still being held.

Policy framers in the Obama administration believe that a new approach on
Burma should be based on lessons learned from the past and the ground
realities. It should not be driven by idealism alone, they feel.

They insist that any new policy would keep as its goal the restoration of
democracy in Burma, protection of human rights and the establishment of
peace with its neighbors.

Burma’s integration in the global economy is a recently added objective,
indicating that the US would be willing to lift economic sanctions if the
Burmese military junta takes steps in the right direction.

If the Obama administration’s latest move on Afghanistan is any indication
of its foreign policy, the US could insist in any talks with Burma on the
restoration of democracy and free and fair elections, without being seen
to support any particular candidate or a party.
This is the Obama administration’s approach in Afghanistan, where
presidential and provincial elections are to be held later this year.

Unlike in the past, where the US threw its support behind specific
candidates, the White House has said it would work to ensure a level
playing field for all the candidates.

____________________________________

April 3, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burma "government in exile" seeks office in East Timor

We have learned that the Burmese Government in Exile - National Coalition
Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) - is holding discussions in Dili
to get East Timor's official approval for the opening an office in that
country.

Timor-Leste President Ramos hosted a luncheon for and had talks with the
visiting NCGUB delegation led by Prime Minister Dr Sein Win at the
presidential residence in Dili on 30 March.

Accompanying Dr Sein Win were Khun Teddy Buri, president of the Members of
Parliament Union, and Cabinet members Dr Tint Swe and U Bo Hla Tint,
according to a report posted with photographs on Pale-Thwae Blogspot - an
Internet blog of Dr Tint Swe.

Although the blog did not mention what was discussed during the talks, we
have learned that the Government in Exile was seeking official permission
to have an office in that country. We were also given to understand that
the prospects of the NCGUB having an office in Dili, either officially or
unofficially, are good.

We have so far been unable to get in touch with NCGUB Prime Minister Dr
Sein Win and his delegation in Dili.

Timor-Leste President Ramos was the leading figure in the East Timor
diplomatic movement during the efforts to liberate the country from
Indonesia. During that time, in 1993, Ramos also visited the Karen
National Union Headquarters in Manerplaw, which is also the stronghold of
the Burmese dissidents.

When East Timor gained its independence from Indonesia and became a
territory protected by the United Nations in 1999, Ramos officially
invited the NCGUB to establish an office there.

The NCGUB, which did not respond to that offer and was absent from the
Independence Ceremony of East Timor, was criticized by the opposition
movement in exile.

Timor-Leste President Ramos, who has persistently supported the Burmese
democracy movement, opposes the economic sanctions imposed [on Burma] by
Western countries.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

April 3, Time
Postcard from Rangoon – Hannah Beech

Sometimes the tea was bitter. Other times it was cloyingly sweet with
condensed milk. But the whispered questions at teahouses in Rangoon and
across Burma were always delivered the same way. Head flick to the right,
head flick to the left. A nervous glance backward. No one listening, not
even the waiter shuffling up to slosh hot water into our glasses? Good.
What did I, as an American who had the good fortune to vote in one of the
most exciting presidential races in recent memory, think of Burma's
upcoming national elections?

Two decades after ignoring the results of its last polls, Burma's
long-ruling junta has promised another electoral exercise next year, most
likely by spring. Few doubt that the generals' henchmen will ensure that
the opposition doesn't prevail as it did back in 1990, when the National
League for Democracy (NLD) crushed the military's proxy party. (In a
troubling precedent, a recent constitutional referendum received a
credulity-straining 92% approval.) But the queries put to me during my
recent visit got to the heart of a fundamental political dilemma: Is any
election, even one so likely to be flawed, better than nothing at all?

My answer, of course, was less important than what Burmese living under
one of the world's most Orwellian regimes thought. And what they said
surprised me. Yes, some deemed the elections "useless." Others conceded
that the obstacles to electoral freedom are formidable. Before a single
vote is cast, Burma's elections will be rigged. The newly minted
constitution ensures that top leadership posts are reserved for the
military. Many members of the political opposition--including Nobel Peace
Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who still languishes under house
arrest--have been barred from running by regulations both arcane and
outlandish. Five NLD members were arrested last month, joining more than
2,000 political prisoners who suffer in Burmese jails--double the number
of two years ago, according to a recent U.N. report.

But even as Burmese friends piled up caveats as high as the spires of the
tallest pagoda, I could sense an awakening political consciousness that
excited them. A young man in a remote town confided that he and his
friends had organized a study group to debate the merits of electoral
politics. (One of the participants also runs a free class called The
Secrets of Gmail: A Pre-Advanced Course.) In northern Burma, where
minorities recall that ethnic-based parties came in second and third in
the 1990 polls--the army's party finished fourth--insurgent groups
encouraged to feud by the junta are now considering political alliances.

Eight years ago, I covered village elections in China, where the
victors--farmers with Mao suits and dirty fingernails--were barred from
taking office by the incumbents and eventually jailed on trumped-up
charges. One man was so harassed that he committed suicide. This doesn't
sound like a heartwarming tale of democracy's triumph. But what has
evolved in these villages, despite the injustice, is a dawning sense that
people--even the extremely poor--have rights. In societies cowering under
oppression, such a realization is revolutionary.

Sipping tea in another Burmese town, I listened as a companion recited his
favorite line from John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address: "Ask not what your
country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." Sitting
between us was a shy young man who practiced this new English sentence
over and over, savoring Kennedy's rhetorical flourish. The words had a
strange quality in Burma, a place where people don't expect their country
to do much of anything for them. But the young student was willing to take
up Kennedy's challenge. "It's my responsibility to my country to teach
people about the elections," he said. "People say they are stupid, but we
have nothing else to look forward to." I watched as the English-speaking
waiter loitering a little too close to our table grinned. But it wasn't
the smirk of a government informant. It was a smile, I think, of hope.

____________________________________

April 3, New Straits Times (Malaysia)
When Western good intentions lead to failure – John Teo

THE United States has finally admitted it is at a loss as to the way
forward in its Myanmar policy. It has startlingly owned up to the fact
that sanctions against Myanmar not only made its rulers more obstinate but
has caused the US to lose all influence in that country.

The superpower is only now facing up to the limits of sanctions as a
foreign policy tool, even as it is about to see such a futile and
self-defeating policy instrument outlive the very durable Fidel Castro of
tiny Cuba.

Still, it is a big jump from such a sobering realisation to any inkling by
the US government and its people of how good intentions in foreign policy
often have a way of leading targeted countries and peoples ever closer to
hell.

Sanctions against Myanmar could hardly be taken seriously if it were only
rich Western countries imposing them, however great their economic might
may be.

For starters, this is, after all, Myanmar, long fed on the virtue of
isolationism. If it were breaking out of its isolationist shell, logically
it would be looking closer to home for economic partners. It would not
have to look far. The country's Southeast Asian neighbours have all been
united in their conviction that if the proud country is to be moved at
all, it would have to be through a policy of engagement, not the
condescension of punitive sanctions.

Western nations imposing sanctions on Myanmar compounded their
condescension with a blithe disregard for the opinion of other Asian
powers. The sanctions regime is seeded to fail if even such Western allies
as Japan and India and, of course, China, the latter two sharing a common
border with Myanmar, also did not believe in it.

All of which makes one wonder if the sheer stupidity of the sanctions
policy was actually conceived as a credible policy instrument or more as a
cynical, relatively cost-free sop to the easily outraged sensibilities of
Western citizens over difficult conditions elsewhere in the world that do
not lend themselves readily to any neat solutions.

There is an encouraging new trend in the US with the advent of the Obama
administration to see and engage the world as it is, rather than trying to
mould the world to fit into what Americans and Europeans would like it to
be. But these are admittedly early days and we will have to wait and see
if words heralding the return of realpolitik in Western foreign policy are
indeed matched with actions to that effect.

That, however, still leaves the wretched conditions of most people in
Myanmar much as they are. They, like their famous democracy icon, Aung San
Suu Kyi, are as much unfortunate hostages of the thoughtlessness of
Western policymakers as of their own proud but insecure military rulers.

The democratic forces in Myanmar suffer from their close identification
with prominent Western sympathisers who believe their governments hold
pre-eminent sway anywhere around the globe and can bring about great
wonders simply by waving a magical wand and expressing their wishes out
loud.

Perhaps it is still not too late to bring Western countries in to Myanmar,
if only so that Western good intentions are not wasted on elaborate
preaching and moralising antics. But they will certainly not get in on
their own uncompromising terms.

Western nations dreading being shut out completely and permanently from a
potentially rich and strategic nation such as Myanmar would still have to
pass through the door of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(Asean), of which Myanmar is a member.

The original game plan was for Myanmar to be reintegrated into the
community of nations through membership in Asean. That plan remains good,
notwithstanding Western efforts to turn Myanmar into a pariah nation. Both
the West and Myanmar, in different ways, over-extended themselves and
painted themselves into their own respective corners.

In spite of Myanmar's supposed stain on the good name of Asean, Western
nations are falling over themselves to name envoys to the Asean
secretariat in Jakarta. That should be as good an omen as any of prospects
for a better Myanmar, minus all the international histrionics and
unrealistic expectations that do so much damage all round.

____________________________________

April 3, Inter Press Service
China's thirst for oil ignores environment, rights – Marwaan Macan-Markar

The largest island off Burma’s west coast is emerging as another frontier
for China’s expanding plans to extract the rich oil and gas reserves of
military-ruled Burma.

Initial explorations by a consortium, led by China National Offshore Oil
Company (CNOOC), has left a deep scar on Ramree Island, which is twice the
size of Singapore and home to about 400,000 people. ‘’They have destroyed
rice fields and plantations when conducting the seismic surveys and mining
the island in search of oil,’’ says Jockai Khaing, director of Arakan Oil
Watch (AOW), an environmental group made up of Burmese living in exile.

‘’The local communities have been directly and indirectly affected,’’ he
Said during an IPS interview. ‘’Hundreds of people have been forced to
relocate as a result of the drilling conducted near their communities. The
locals hate the Chinese; their world has become crazy after the Chinese
arrived.’’

CNOOC has been pushing ahead with its work since early 2005, with no
attempt to consult the local residents and showing little regard to such
notions as corporate social responsibility, adds Jockai. The Chinese
company, which is listed on the New York and the Hong Kong stock
exchanges, has ‘’not conducted the required environmental impact
assessments and social impact assessments that are recognised
internationally as a must before exploration work begins.’’

To dispose the waste from its drilling sites, ‘’CNOOC workers dug shallow
canals designed to carry the (toxic) ‘drilling mud,’ or wastewater
containing oil, away from the drilling sites and into Chaing Wa Creek,
which curves past several local farms before flowing into the Bay of
Bengal,’’ states a report by AOW, released in mid-October. ‘’This
arbitrary disposal can make soil in surrounding areas unsuitable for plant
growth by reducing the availability of nutrients or by increasing toxic
contents in the soil.’’

Concerns about the cost of letting China tighten its grip on the natural
resources in Burma (or Myanmar) has also been expressed by other groups,
like EarthRights International (EI), a U.S.-based group championing human
rights. There are 69 Chinese companies involved in 90 ‘’completed, current
and planned projects’’ in the oil, gas and hydropower sectors in Burma, EI
revealed in groundbreaking report released in late September.

That number marks an over 200 percent increase in the number of Chinese
energy developers thought to have had existed a year before. ‘’Given what
we know about development projects in Burma and the current situation,
we’re concerned about this marked increase in the number of the
projects,’’ the rights lobby stated in the report, ‘China in Burma: The
Increasing Involvement of Chinese Multinational Corporations in Burma’s
Hydropower, Oil and Natural Gas, and Mining Sectors.

‘’China is using Burma’s military dictatorship to its advantage as it goes
in search of oil and gas. There are no rules and regulations for Chinese
companies to follow in Burma,’’ Ka Hsaw Wa, executive director of EI, said
in an IPS interview. ‘’This will hurt the future of Burma.’’

Such criticisms come at a time when China has begun to show signs that the
environment cost of its projects abroad cannot be ignored. ‘’The country
lacked comprehensive environmental protection policies in its overseas
projects, although investment had been expanding,’’ states a report
released in mid-September by the Chinese Academy for Environmental
Planning (CAEP), according to the ‘China Daily’ newspaper.

‘’China’s overseas investment and aid mainly focuses on exploring oil and
other resources, processing and manufacturing, and construction in African
and Southeast Asian countries,’’ the English-language daily added.
‘’Without proper management, such projects are likely to cause
environmental problems, the (CAEP) report said.’’

Burma, in fact, will prove to be an ideal testing ground, given that China
emerged as the military-ruled country’s biggest investor in the country’s
power sector. The money flowing in from such foreign direct investments
and the sale of gas has helped to prop up a junta notorious for
suppressing its people through many forms of abuse.

In 2006, the junta earned an estimated 2.16 billion U.S. dollars from
sales of natural gas to Thailand, which accounts for close to half of
Burma’s export earnings and is the single largest source of foreign
earnings. In 2008, Burma is expected to earn 3.5 billion US dollars from
export of gas, according to one estimate.

But little of these benefits trickled down to the country’s beleaguered
people. Consequently, Burma ranks as one of the world’s least developed
countries. And having an abundance of natural resources has not improved
the power supply in the country for the people either. Regular blackouts
are frequent in Rangoon, the former capital, and elsewhere.

The junta has profited in other ways, too, from China’s energy interest in
Burma. ‘’Beijing has come to the junta’s rescue and protects it from
criticism at international forums like the U.N. Security Council,’’ says
Win Min, a Burmese national security expert teaching at a university in
northern Thailand. ‘’A strong relationship of mutual benefit has developed
since 1988.’’

In exchange for letting Chinese companies exploit its natural resources,
the Burmese dictatorship has got military hardware from Beijing. They
range from fighter jets and armoured carriers to small weapons, Win Min
told IPS. ‘’The junta will open the country to China because the military
regime needs Beijing more than the other way around.’’