BurmaNet News, June 10, 2009

[Editor]

June 10, 2009, Issue #3731



INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar's Suu Kyi meets lawyers in prison
Reuters: Suu Kyi trial clouds Myanmar cyclone aid effort
Khonumthung News: People made to construct road without wages by USDA
Xinhua: Myanmar to install over 100,000 more mobile phones in 2 major cities
New Light of Myanmar: Judgment delivered on statements by both sides as to
dismissing three witnesses nominated by the accused

ON THE BORDER
BBC News: Thai army reinforces Burma border
DVB: UN staff sent to assess Karen refugees
DVB: Thai-based Burmese migrants systematically denied compensation

ASEAN
VOA: ASEAN, donor countries seeking guarantees from Burma on cyclone
recovery aid

REGIONAL
Press Trust of India: MPs urge PM to take up Suu Kyi issue with Myanmar
Mizzima News: Japanese Parliamentarians critical of Burma policy

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Serious violations against children in Burma: Ban
AP: Obama nominee indicates possible change on Myanmar
DVB: Release of political prisoners ‘a UN priority’




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

June 10, Agence France Presse
Myanmar's Suu Kyi meets lawyers in prison

Myanmar pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has met with her defence
lawyers in jail, an official said, as her legal team vowed to push ahead
with an appeal to allow more witnesses at her trial.

An appeal court in the military-ruled nation on Tuesday allowed her to
call a second witness at her closed prison trial -- a legal expert has
already given evidence -- but upheld a ban on testimony by two key members
of her party.

Her lawyers went to visit her at the Insein Prison in Yangon on Wednesday,
a Myanmar official said on condition of anonymity, without giving further
details about the meeting.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner faces up to five years in jail on charges of
breaching the conditions of her house arrest after a bizarre incident in
which an American man, John Yettaw, swam to her lakeside home in May.

Nyan Win, a spokesman for Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy
(NLD) and a member of her legal team, said before the visit that they
would now try to get the remaining two witnesses at the trial.

They are Win Tin, a dissident journalist who was Myanmar's longest serving
prisoner until his release in September, and Tin Oo, the detained deputy
leader of the NLD.

"We will submit application to the high court tomorrow," Nyan Win said.

So far only one legal expert, Kyi Win, has testified on behalf of Aung San
Suu Kyi. The prosecution has called 14 witnesses, most of them policemen.

Her trial is due to resume on Friday for a procedural hearing.

Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyers had initially accused the ruling junta of
trying to push through to a widely expected guilty verdict, but diplomats
said the regime now wanted to buy time to defuse the storm of protest over
the trial.

US President Barack Obama has described the court proceedings as a "show
trial" while Myanmar's usually reticent Asian neighbours have expressed
strong concerns.

The 63-year-old opposition leader has been detained for 13 of the past 19
years since the junta refused to recognise the NLD's landslide victory in
the country's last democratic elections, in 1990.
____________________________________

June 10, Reuters
Suu Kyi trial clouds Myanmar cyclone aid effort

Myanmar's trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will hurt
international efforts to help the army-ruled country's recovery from the
devastation of Cyclone Nargis, donors said on Wednesday.

The donors, which include the U.S., Britain, European Commission and
Japan, have told the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) they
are concerned about the trial, and to expect delays in the delivery of
aid.

"(The trial) has not helped the enthusiasm of their constituencies to
engage more actively and more fully," ASEAN secretary-general Surin
Pitsuwan told reporters after a meeting with donors in Bangkok.

Suu Kyi, 63, faces three to five years in prison if found guilty of
breaching terms of her house arrest by allowing an American intruder to
stay for two days after he swam to her home on May 4.

Cyclone Nargis battered the former Burma in May 2008, leaving 140,000 dead
and 2.4 million destitute, with the Irrawaddy Delta worst affected.

Aid groups and diplomats in Myanmar were optimistic that humanitarian
operations would increase, but donors said Suu Kyi's trial could derail
fundraising efforts.

"Some activists were already sceptical about providing humanitarian aid to
Burma ... and the U.N. was having difficulty raising sufficient funds,"
said Harn Yawnghwe, executive director of the Brussels-based Euro-Burma
Office.

"Now, it will, politically speaking, be even more difficult. Anyone
proposing more humanitarian aid will face strong political opposition in
their home countries," he told Reuters.

A conviction for the Nobel laureate is widely expected and would further
isolate one of the world's most secretive regimes.

Since Suu Kyi's arrest, U.S. President Barack Obama has renewed sanctions
and the European Union is considering increasing restrictions on the
regime.

AID DEBATE

International aid has not flowed easily to Myanmar, with critics arguing
it would bolster the ruling generals, the latest in an unbroken line of
military rulers since 1962.

Aid workers are concerned the regime's latest crackdown on Suu Kyi, who
has spent more than 13 of the past 19 years in detention, will make it
harder to secure aid commitments.

Myanmar already receives scant overseas development assistance, a meagre
$2.85 per head compared with nearly $50 for Sudan and neighbouring Laos.

One in 10 people live below the poverty line in Myanmar, where the regime
spends only $0.70 per person on healthcare annually.

It has one of the highest rates of tuberculosis in the world and a third
of all children under 5 are malnourished.

"It would be really silly to penalise the people of this country for
actions taken by the current military regime," said Andrew Kirkwood,
country director for Save The Children UK.

Aung Naing Oo, an exiled Myanmar activist, said now is the time for the
outside world to provide more aid, not less.

"It's the junta they want to isolate but the economy, education, social
needs and healthcare are all affected in the process," he said. (Editing
by Martin Petty)

____________________________________

June 10, Khonumthung News
People made to construct road without wages by USDA

Chin people are being forced to construct a road in Kanpelet Township by
the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) in Kanpelet Town,
Southern Chin State, in western Burma.

"We have started work from April. A link road between Hmuchinding and Cin
dwe villages, a stretch of 30 miles, will allow motor cars to travel on
the road. The construction work is being led by USDA with 20 neighboring
villages. We have been divided into five groups and told to construct a
specific number of meters of the road. We have almost finished 16 miles,"
a local said.

The construction of the link road between Hmuchinding and Cindwe village
has been sponsored by "I Love Myanmar" which is a non government
organization (NGO). However, the USDA does not pay daily wages to the
villagers who are involved in the project.

Although the USDA has spent all the sponsored funds for buying digging
equipment, people’s labour is more useful for the work. "Especially
they're using people’s energy. The machines can't handle crushing of big
stones," he added.

On the other hand, one of the USDA leaders told workers "The construction
of the road is none of our business but we are only doing it to help
transportation between the two villages. It will be beneficial for
students who go to school in Hmuchinding village."

There are about 70 houses with approximately 500 people in Hmuchinding
village. The village has a Middle School where most students from
neighbouring villages attend. "I Love Myanmar" will sponsor a new High
School building next year.

Similarly, people are being forced to build a road between Mukwe Inu
village and Mindat town by the USDA.

Meanwhile, the workers are anxious about their livelihood as they are
being forced into road construction by the USDA without getting paid. They
are worried about their family.  Yet, they want to complete the project as
it would mean better transportation between the two villages and will help
their children’s education.

____________________________________

June 10, Xinhua
Myanmar to install over 100,000 more mobile phones in 2 major cities

The Myanmar telecommunication authorities has planned to add 150,000 more
CDMA phone lines in two major cities of Yangon and Mandalay to provide
better telecommunication services with fair charges.

Voice message, fax and short message services are rendered but accessible
only within the limited area, the Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications
said on Wednesday.

The number of CDMA stood 205,500, while that of GSM phones hit 375,800 and
auto-phones reached 153,344 in the country in 2008, according to
statistics.

CDMA phones have been extensively used in Myanmar since it was introduced
in 1997 after cellular ones in 1993. GSM followed in 2002.

Meanwhile, Myanmar is making efforts to introduce world's up- date
audio-visual mobile phone for use in the country for the first time to
upgrade its telecommunication links.

The upgraded system will be based on the existing GSM network, the
authorities said, adding that the introduction of 3-G WCDMA system
represents Myanmar's entry into a new phase of its mobile phone system.

Moreover, Myanmar has planned full coverage of public access centers (PAC)
in every township in the country by this year to facilitate communication
links.

There has been over 400 PAC opened in 44 townships in Myanmar since 2004.

According to the authorities, the number of internet users in Myanmar has
reached over 300,000, up from merely dozens in four years ago.
____________________________________

June 10, New Light of Myanmar
Judgment delivered on statements by both sides as to dismissing three
witnesses nominated by the accused

After hearing the statements presented on 5 June by both sides on criminal
amendment case 437/2009 submitted for some amendments to Yangon North
District Court's judgement of dismissing the three witnesses nominated by
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Daw Khin Khin Win and Ma Win Ma Ma in the lawsuit
47/2009 filed against Mr John William Yettaw, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Daw
Khin Khin Win and Ma Win Ma Ma, Yangon Division Court delivered a
judgement on the case today.

The district court refused to summon three of the four witnesses nominated
by the accused. Yangon Division Court confirmed the decree delivered by
the district court as there is no need to argue about the nomination of
witnesses U Win Tin and U Tin Oo regarding the character.

Moreover, the reason "the advocates defending the accused, in connection
with witness Daw Khin Moe Moe nominated in line with legal affairs, have
the rights to argue with legal facts" given by the district court is
correct. However, Yangon Division Court issued an order for the district
court to summon and examine legal expert Daw Khin Moe Moe as a defence
witness in order to hear the case more thoroughly.
____________________________________

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

June 10, BBC News
Thai army reinforces Burma border – Jonathan Head

Thailand has sent heavily-armed troops to reinforce positions along the
Burma border after an influx of ethnic Karen refugees fleeing an army
offensive.

More than 4,000 people have fled Burma for Thailand in the largest influx
of refugees in the area for a decade.

Karen rebels have been fighting for an independent state for 60 years, in
the world's longest-running civil war.

Over the last three years the Burmese military has driven the rebels back
to a few small bases along the border.

The long war along Burma's forested eastern border has caused immense
human suffering, with an estimated 500,000 ethnic Karen forced from their
homes.

Most of those who fled into Thailand over the past week had already been
displaced, and were living at a camp inside Burma when it was repeatedly
shelled by Burmese army mortars.

Squalid camps

Fighters from the Karen National Union (KNU) say they are holding their
ground - but they are heavily outnumbered by the joint forces of the
Burmese army and a Karen splinter group which is allied to the government.

The KNU has steadily retreated over the decades, from its position of
greatest strength right after Burma's independence in 1948 when it came
close to capturing Rangoon, to its situation today, with just a few bases
along the border.

Its strength has been sapped recently by a string of defections, and by
the assassination of its most charismatic leader in Thailand last year.

The Thai government has tried to start a dialogue between the two sides
this year, so far with little success.

The 4,000 new arrivals will join around 100,000 other Karen who have
sought shelter in Thailand.

Most are confined to squalid camps, which the Thai authorities do not
allow them to leave. Some have lived in these camps for more than a
decade.

___________________________________

June 10, Democratic Voice of Burma
UN staff sent to assess Karen refugees – Francis Wade

The United Nations has sent its staff to five sites along the Thai-Burma
border where Karen villagers have stationed themselves after fleeing a
Burmese army offensive against the Karen National Union.

Following a series of offensives over the past week by Burmese government
troops against the KNU, up to 6,400 Karen villagers, many of whom are
women and children, have now fled into Thailand.

Reports have emerged of Burmese troops shelling the populous Ler Per Har
refugee camp in Burma’s eastern state, while the junta-allied Democratic
Karen Buddhist Army have allegedly being forcibly recruiting Karen
villagers to act as army porters.

According to the Karen Human Rights Group, some are being forced to walk
in front of army patrols as minesweepers.

A spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner on Refugees, William Spindler,
said yesterday that staff had been sent to a villages and a cave in
northern Thailand where villagers were hiding.

In one case, he said, villagers were holed up in a cave “accessible only
by river and by a 40-minute climb up a steep mountain which is very
slippery right now because it is raining heavily”.

A number of those who had fled were from the Ler Per Har camp, home to
refugees of Burma’s internal conflict.

“Most of the new arrivals say they want to stay as close to their villages
as possible in order to go home quickly once the situation calms down
because they left cattle behind and because it is time to begin planting
rice,” Spindler said.

The conflict between the KNU and the Burmese government began in 1948 and
is thought to be the world’s longest running.

Several attempts at building a ceasefire agreement have taken place but so
far without success.

____________________________________

June 10, Democratic Voice of Burma
Thai-based Burmese migrants systematically denied compensation – Soe Naing
and Rosalie Smith

A coalition of Thai labour unions has filed a complaint to the
International Labour Organisation alleging unfair treatment of Burmese
migrant workers in Thailand, with many being denied compensation following
accidents.

More than a quarter of the estimated two million Burmese migrant workers
who have arrived in Thailand illegally have obtained a residence
certificate and work permit entitling them to work legally.

Still, says the State Enterprise Workers Relations Confederation (SERC),
Thailand prohibits employers of migrant workers paying dividends to the
Workmen’s Compensation Fund, which provides financial aid in case of an
accident at work.

This, according to the SERC, contravenes an International Labour
Organisation (ILO) convention on the treatment on migrant workers that has
been ratified by both the Burmese and Thai governments.

“[Migrant jobs] are dirty jobs, they’re dangerous jobs; mainly in
construction, agriculture, fishing manufacturing,” says the coordinator
for UK-based Human Rights Development Foundation (HRDF), Andy Hall.

“The workers are working in conditions where they’re likely to have
accidents quite frequently.”

A case study used to back up the complaint, which HRDF has been assisting
the SERC with, is of Nang Noom, a woman who was paralyzed in 2006 after a
300 kilogram mould fell on her at a construction site where she worked.

It was only following a media campaign and pressure on the Thai government
by HRDF that she received nearly 600,000 baht ($US17,600) in compensation,
the highest compensation ever paid to a migrant worker.

But, says the SERC, the problem continues. Burmese migrants have to
satisfy “almost impossible” criteria before receiving government
compensation, and so the decision is left to their employers.

The result is that “many employers do whatever they can to avoid
compensating heir injured migrant worker”, say the SERC.

Thailand’s economy is reliant on cheap migrant labour, and the
“environment of repression and economic deterioration” in Burma works as a
strong push factor for Burmese to look for work in Thailand.

But, says the complaint, these workers “are relegated to a social zone of
lawlessness where they are not protected by the criminal and civil laws of
Thailand, much less Thai labour laws”.

The HRDF have used the case of Nang Noom as a pressure tool to bring the
discrimination of migrant workers to light.

“What we are trying to do with this is case is to use it as a test case;
we’re trying to get the [Thai] government to respond, to allow the migrant
workers to access the social security system in Thailand,” said Hall.

The root cause of the problem, he added, was that the process between
Thailand and Burma for dealing with migration was breaking down.

In an attempt to formalise this process, the Burmese government has
demanded migrant workers return to Burma to verify their nationality,
after which they are free to return to Thailand for work.

This, however, says Hall, is an impossible task for the two million
migrant workers currently in Thailand.

____________________________________
ASEAN

June 10, Voice of America
ASEAN, donor countries seeking guarantees from Burma on cyclone recovery
aid – Daniel Schearf

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations says countries donating to
Burma's cyclone recovery efforts are seeking re-assurances of cooperation
from Burmese authorities. Donor nations and aid groups are worried Burma
may reduce access to the country after the military-ruled government
eliminated a mechanism for fast-track visa processing for foreign aid
workers.

Representatives from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met with
donor countries and international organizations Wednesday in Bangkok.

The group of more than thirty participants discussed aid efforts for
Burma's recovery from last year's devastating cyclone Nargis.

After the meeting, ASEAN's Secretary-General, Surin Pitsuwan, told
journalists they were concerned about the effectiveness of aid to Burma,
also known as Myanmar. He said Burmese authorities are now requiring aid
groups to go through slow, bureaucratic channels to operate in the
isolated country.

"We would like to seek clarification and new assurance from the government
of Myanmar that from now onward we will have full support, full access,
and we will have full coordination in order to deliver our international
assistance into Myanmar or into the delta," said Surin Pitsuwan.

Surin said delivery of aid was good for the first six months after the
cyclone when the so-called tripartite core group was coordinating access.
But after the emergency relief efforts turned to recovery plans, Burmese
authorities eliminated that part of the group's coordinating role and the
processing of foreign aid worker applications began to slow down.

Surin said donors also noted that Burma's prosecution of democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi was affecting donor sentiment.

"They certainly mentioned the fact that it has not helped the enthusiasm
of their constituencies to engage more actively, more fully," said Surin
Pitsuwan.  "There might be some delay, there might be some reservation,
that the issue is not separate from the deliberation and the consideration
on further engagement."

However, Surin said donors did not make the release of the Nobel Peace
Prize winner a condition for further aid.

Aung San Suu Kyi is now on trial in Burma and is expected to be sentenced
to up to five years in prison. The trial is widely viewed as a sham
designed to keep the democracy icon locked up.

ASEAN last month issued its strongest statement to date joining
international calls for her release and criticizing Burma's military
government.

ASEAN has traditionally taken a more subtle approach towards its
troublesome member-state.

The regional grouping said this strategy helped it negotiate the
successful delivery of cyclone relief aid to Burma. The military
government had initially refused foreign help for several weeks, which
critics say could have prevented numerous casualties.

About $300 million in relief aid has been sent to the Irrawaddy Delta so
far, and agencies are seeking another $700 million for recovery efforts.

An estimated 140,000 people were killed and more than two million affected
by the massive storm.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

June 10, Press Trust of India
MPs urge PM to take up Suu Kyi issue with Myanmar

A group of 118 MPs on Wednesday appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
to ask the Myanmar government to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi and impress upon the military regime to respect democratic principles.

Cutting across party lines, the MPs in a memorandum to Singh said India
should intervene in the current situation to urge upon the Burmese
generals through all "possible diplomatic and other demarches to release
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi".

The MPs, including CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, SP's Amar Singh, BJP's
Prakash Javadekar, JD(U)'s Sharad Yadav, NCP's Supriya Sule, Congress' B S
Gnanadesikan and RSP's Abani Roy have signed the appeal.

Indian Parliamentarians' Forum for Democracy in Burma (IIPFDB) co-convenor
Sharad Joshi said India should change its policy towards Myanmar and try
to establish contacts with the people and not with the military regime.

Abani Roy said as a largest democracy and good neighbour, India has the
moral obligation to rescue Suu Kyi and Myanmar from "devastation."

The MPs also said Burmese believe that there will be no inclusive
political process and free and fair polls in 2010 if Suu Kyi and more than
2100 political prisoners are not released.

Dr Tinks Swe, Burmese MP, said India should work with the UN to revive
democracy in Myanmar.

____________________________________

June 10, Mizzima News
Japanese Parliamentarians critical of Burma policy – Mungpi

The ongoing trial against opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has attracted
the attention of Japanese Parliamentarians, raising questions regarding
Japan’s stance on Burma.

At least 70 Japanese Parliamentarians on Wednesday urged the government to
push for a six-party type of talks – a-la-North Korea – concerning Burma,
inclusive of regional countries and China. The Parliamentarians say Japan
must kick-start the process in order to ensure genuine change comes to the
militarily-ruled Southeast Asian nation.

Dr. Min Nyo, a representative of the National Council of the Union of
Burma, an exile opposition umbrella group, said Japanese Diet (Parliament)
members have of late responded to events unfolding in Burma and would much
regret if the junta sentences Aung San Suu Kyi to yet another spell of
detention.

“There were a lot of questions from the Parliamentarians both from the
ruling and opposition parties on the events in Burma and in relation to
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial,” said Dr. Min Nyo, referring to an emergency
meeting of the Japanese Diet members concerning the freedom of Aung San
Suu Kyi conducted on Wednesday.

He said the meeting was led by the Union of Japanese Diet Members for the
support of Democracy in Burma (GIREN) and drew the participation of
leaders from the Japanese Labor Union as well as the Director of the
Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the main body responsible for
shaping Japan’s Burma policy.

Traditionally, Japan has maintained a quiet diplomacy with the Burmese
military junta, often refusing to publicly condemn the junta while still
citing concern over events transpiring in the conflict-stricken country.

“But today, Parliamentarians and other leaders of the Labor Union have
asked the Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take note of
their concern and to push the government for stronger action,” Dr. Min Nyo
emphasized.

Japan is the largest donor country in terms of providing humanitarian aid
in the form of emergency health projects, training and technological
assistance to Burma.

Following the latest charges leveled against Aung San Suu Kyi, the
Japanese Foreign Ministry issued three unilateral statements and a joint
statement. In all the unilateral statements, Japan acknowledged that the
trial of Aung San Suu Kyi is an internal affair but expressed its hope
that the junta’s 2010 election will be well received by the international
community.

Yuki Akinomoto, director of the Burma Information Network-Japan, said
Japan’s policy vis-à-vis Burma is to endorse the junta’s roadmap to
democracy and support the 2010 election, so that it can fully engage with
Burma without restrictions on aid or investment.

“Therefore, probably the best case scenario for Japan is for the 2010
elections to be held reasonably ‘well’ so that no one will object to Japan
increasing aid and generally resuming normal relations with Burma,”
Akinomoto conjectured.

Akinomoto said Japan is also concerned about the growing Chinese influence
in Burma and the Mekong region in general, which is why it is now planning
to host a Japan-Mekong summit, including Burma and excluding China, later
this year.

After the death of Japanese photojournalist Kenji Nagai in Rangoon during
the September 2007 uprising, the Japanese government threatened to
terminate its humanitarian aid to Burma.

“Following the death of Kenji Nagai Japan sent an envoy but the issue
remained unaddressed,” Dr. Min Nyo added.

But he said the latest events regarding the plight of Aung San Suu Kyi
have provoked the interest of many Parliamentarians.

“The Parliamentarians said if Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is sentenced, the
Japanese government must act to push for substantive change in Burma by
introducing a six-party talk that will include countries influential to
Burma,” he expounded.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

June 10, Irrawaddy
Serious violations against children in Burma: Ban – Lalit K Jha

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday reported grave violations
against children in Burma including credible reports of recruitment and
use of children by some government military units and several ethnic armed
groups.

Expressing serious concern over the plight of Burmese children, the
secretary-general in a report to the UN Security Council urged the Burmese
military government to put into place a tighter mechanism to prevent the
military recruitment of children.

Ban also urged the junta to demobilize unconditionally all children who
participated in any capacity in its armed forces, in coordination with the
UN country task force on monitoring and reporting.

“The secretary-general stresses the need for the governments concerned to
facilitate dialogue between the United Nations and the Karen National
Union and Karenni National Progressive Party for the purposes of signing
an action plan in accordance with [relevant] Security Council
resolutions,” Marie Okabe, deputy spokesperson for the secretary–general,
told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.

In the report, Ban urged Burmese authorities “as a matter of priority” to
“redress the prevailing culture of impunity, to launch investigations into
all incidents of recruitment and use of children, and to prosecute people
responsible for such acts under the Penal Code.”

“Building on the limited progress thus far, the government should, with
immediate effect, cease the arrest, harassment and imprisonment of
children under the age of 18 for desertion and/or attempting to leave the
army and continue to work with the country task force to monitor such
cases and to ensure the swift and unconditional surrender of children,”
Ban said.

Besides government military units, the secretary-general identified
several ethnic armed groups involved in recruitment of children: the
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, Kachin Independence Army, Karen National
Liberation Army Peace Council, Karen National Liberation Army, Karenni
Army, Karenni National People’s Liberation Front, Myanmar National
Democratic Alliance Army, Shan State Army-South and Shan National
Population Liberation Organization and United Wa State Army.

Ban noted in the report that there was a continued lack of humanitarian
access to Burma, particularly in conflict zones and ceasefire areas, was
an impediment to providing much needed humanitarian assistance. He urged
the junta to ensure full, unhindered and safe access for children and to
allow free passage for the delivery of UN humanitarian assistance in all
parts of the country.

____________________________________

June 10, Associated Press
Obama nominee indicates possible change on Myanmar – Foster Klug

President Barack Obama's choice as top U.S. diplomat for East Asia is
suggesting the United States wants to ease its policy of isolation against
military-run Myanmar.

But Kurt Campbell told U.S. lawmakers at his confirmation hearing
Wednesday that Myanmar's heavy-handed treatment of detained democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi makes it extremely difficult for the United States
to change course and reach out to the ruling junta.

Campbell says that how Myanmar deals with Suu Kyi's trial this week will
be a major consideration as the Obama administration reviews its Myanmar
policy.

He says the United States will work closely with Myanmar's neighbors. But
he emphasized that greater engagement does not mean sanctions will be
removed.

____________________________________

June 10, Democratic Voice of Burma
Release of political prisoners ‘a UN priority’ – Khin Maung Soe Min and
Francis Wade

Campaigners in Britain have called on United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon to
make the release of political prisoners in Burma, many of whom are being
denied healthcare, an urgent priority “before they die”.

Burma currently holds around 2,100 political prisoners in jails across the
country. Many are deliberately imprisoned far from their families who, in
the absence of sufficient in-prison healthcare, are relied upon to supply
medicines.

Conditions in jails are often squalid, and torture by prison officials on
political prisoners widespread.

A statement released yesterday by Burma Campaign UK (BCUK) detailed
conditions for four high-profile political prisoners, including Min Ko
Naing, who was last year sentenced to 65 years for his role in the
September 2007 protests, and is said to be suffering from heart disease.

A leader of 88 Generation Students, Htay Kywe, who is held in the remote
Buthidaung prison, is suffering from gastric problems and high blood
pressure.

The prison has no electricity and he is reportedly not allowed to receive
visitors or food parcels from his family.

“There is a deliberate policy of mistreating political prisoners and
denying them healthcare and adequate food to stay healthy,” said Wai Hin
from BCUK.

“This is a crisis, and should be treated as one. It is not the time for
the usual soft and slow diplomacy from the UN, which has totally failed
for the past 20 years.”

The statement coincides with news that a member of the National League for
Democracy, Salai Hla Moe, who was held in central Burma’s Myingyan prison,
died last month from a blood disease, although his family were only told
recently.

“He has been in prison nearly seven years and suffering from [the disease]
for more than two years,” said a relative, Salaung, who discovered his
death a fortnight ago on a visit to the prison.

“Drinking and washing water in the prison is not clean. He has to use
water that looks like water in the gutter.”

“He was only treated in the prison clinic and when his condition worsened
they didn't allow him to receive treatment at an outside hospital.”

The strain on the families of political prisoners is considerable.
Relatives of those held in remote prisons are forced to travel for days to
visit the prisoners, and then often only allowed to meet for a matter of
minutes.

"At the moment, [Hla Moe’s wife] is suffering from mental illness and she
is not living at home, but wandering on the streets - she has gone mad,”
said Salaung.

“There is no future hope for their family as there is no one to look after
their children."