BurmaNet News, June 23, 2009

[Editor]

June 23, 2009, Issue #3740

INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Asia’s ‘Axis of Evil’ flexes its muscles
AP: Does Gambari visit Burma this week?
Irrawaddy: Burmese official sacked for Nargis-related corruption
Khonumthung News: Villagers take up road construction after authorities
ignore damaged road

ON THE BORDER
Narinjara: Arakanese protesters in Bangladesh released
SHAN: Wa leaders meet on Thai-Burma border

BUSINESS / TRADE
DVB: Banks skim money from Burmese farmers

INTERNATIONAL
AP: N. Korean cargo ship could test new UN sanctions
Mizzima News: Burma lingering on the cusp of "failed state" status

OPINION / OTHER
Nation (Thailand): Burmese junta uses n Korean expertise to build secret
tunnels




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

June 23, Irrawaddy
Asia’s ‘Axis of Evil’ flexes its muscles - Aung Zaw

Burma’s burning ambition to acquire modern missile technology and to
upgrade its conventional weapons is no longer a secret, and if left
unchecked, could pose a destabilizing threat to regional stability.

Thailand, its most prominent historical enemy, should be concerned—its
military leaders would not like to see a Burma in possession of missiles
that could easily lead to a tit-for-tat arms race. Also, of course,
there’s the generals’ chronic fear of the West, heightened last year when
foreign navy vessels showed up off the Burmese shore in an effort to
deliver relief items and water to cyclone victims in the Irrawaddy delta
region.

Since then, Burmese leaders have increasingly been looking for a source of
medium range missiles, sophisticated anti-aircraft and radar systems to
deter imagined external threats.

Gen Thura Shwe Mann, the regime’s No 3 man, made a secret visit to North
Korea in November 2008, no doubt with a shopping list for the above items.

Shwe Mann, chief of staff of the army, navy and air force, and the
coordinator of Special Operations, made a secret, seven day visit to
Pyongyang on November 22, travelling there via Kunming, China.

The 17-member, high-level delegation was given an important sightseeing
visit to Pyongyang and Myohyang, where secret tunnels have been built into
the mountains to store and shield jet aircraft, missiles, tanks and
nuclear and chemical weapons.

Accompanied by air defense chief Lt-Gen Myint Hlaing, Brig-Gen Hla Htay
Win, Brig-Gen Khin Aung Myint, Brig-Gen Thein Htay, Brig-Gen Mya Win and
senior officials from heavy industries, the delegation was clearly on a
mission to cement stronger military ties with the reclusive, hermit state.

On November 27, Shwe Mann and Gen Kim Kyok-sik, chief of general staff,
signed a MoU, officially formalizing the military cooperation between
Burma and North Korea.

North Korea will reportedly build or supervise the construction of some
Burmese military facilities, including tunnels and caves in which
missiles, aircraft and even naval ships could be hidden. Burma will also
receive expert training for its special forces, air defense training, plus
a language exchange program between personnel in the two armed forces.

Burmese army sources in Naypyidaw confirmed to The Irrawaddy that the
secret arms-procurement mission covered most of the generals’ wish list.

During his seven-day visit, Shwe Mann, who is presumed to be the heir
apparent to take over Burma’s armed forces, visited radar and jamming
units in Myohyang, a highly sophisticated anti-aircraft unit, air force
units and a computerized command control system in Pyongyang.

The delegation also visited a surface-to-surface (SCUD) missile factory,
partially housed in tunnels, on the outskirts of Pyongyang to observe
missile production. Since the late 1980s, North Korea has sold hundreds of
SCUD-type missiles and SCUD production technology to Iran, Syria and
Egypt.

The SCUD-D missile, with a range of 700 kilometers, and SCUD-E missile,
with a range of 1,500 kilometers, could easily intimidate Burma’s
neighbors, including Thailand. It is believed that Burma already has
deployed six radar air defense systems along the Thai-Burmese border.

During the visit, the Burmese were also particularly interested in
short-range 107 mm and 240 mm multi-rocket launchers—a multipurpose
missile defense system in case of a foreign invasion, analysts said.

Also of great interest was the latest in anti-tank, laser-guided missile
technology that can be deployed within an infantry division. Defense
analysts say Burma has already purchased short and medium- range missiles
from North Korea under a barter deal.

It is not known if regime leaders have already put in an order for SCUD-D
or the more powerful SCUD-F missiles, with a range of 3,000 kilometers. To
suppress ethic insurgents, the regime doesn’t need such sophisticated
weapons, but Burma’s strong interest in missile, radar, AWAC air defense
systems, GPS communication jammers and search radar indicates that
Naypyidaw’s leaders envision both defensive and offensive capabilities.

Historically, Burma has procured small arms, jet fighters and naval ships
from the West, namely the US, Britain and some European countries,
including Holland and Switzerland. But after brutally crushing the 1988
democracy uprising, it faced Western sanctions and Burmese leaders
desperately looked for new sources of weapons and ammunition to modernize
and upgrade its armed forces. Burma has bought jet fighters and naval
ships from China but increasingly it’s looked for alternatives because of
low quality and poor after-sale service

In the past, Burma purchased a “Pechora” air defense system—a
Russian-made, surface-to-air, anti-aircraft system. Analysts say that
Russians have provided technical training and language courses to Burmese
technicians.

The junta continues to strengthen its military capacity and spends the
country’s precious foreign reserves on more and more sophisticated
weapons.

When Gen Maung Aye visited Moscow in April 2006, he told Russian Prime
Minister Mikhail Fradkov that Burma wished to order more Russian-made
MiG-29 jet fighters (in addition to the 12 it had already secured), as
well as 12 secondhand MI-17 helicopters.

During the Moscow visit, the deputy chief of armed forces also expressed a
desire to build a short-range guided missile system in central Burma with
assistance from Russia.

Curiously, say analysts, Shwe Mann and his delegation also studied the
subway system in the North Korean capital—in theory an underground subway
is an effective way to deploy and mobilize troops during a conflict in an
urban area.

As early as 2002-3, Burma begun to build underground tunnels and caves to
hide and protect aircraft and weapons, as well as to house a central
command and control facility.

Foreign analysts note that Burma was humiliated when it lost serious
military skirmishes with Thailand in 2001-2002. Thailand employed F-16 jet
fighters along its border and successfully disrupted Burma’s communication
system between its troops in the front line and its central command.

The generals seem determined to go into the next field of battle with
equal if not superior forces.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=16168

____________________________________

June 23, Associated Press
Does Gambari visit Burma this week?

The United Nations' special envoy to Burma is due to visit the country
this week to pave the way for a possible visit by UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon, a diplomat said Monday.

Ibrahim Gambari is scheduled to visit Thursday through Saturday to lay the
groundwork for a trip in early July by the UN chief, said a Western
diplomat, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to
announce the visit.

Burma's UN spokesman Aye Win said he could not confirm either visit.

Ban's trip would come after he visits Japan from June 30 to July 2. The UN
spokeswoman in New York, Michele Montas, said last week that the
secretary-general had not yet decided whether he would visit Burma during
his Asia trip.

The upcoming visits would be politically delicate because of the
continuing trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Nobel Peace
Prize winner is in prison and being tried on charges of violating the
terms of her house arrest when an uninvited American man swam to her
closely guarded lakeside home last month and stayed two days.

The UN has called repeatedly for political reconciliation in Burma,
including the release of Suu Kyi. The country has been under military rule
since 1962, and the junta refused to recognize the results of 1990 general
elections won by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.

Suu Kyi's trial has drawn outrage from the international community and
from her local supporters, who say the military government is using the
incident as an excuse to keep her detained through elections scheduled for
next year.

If convicted, Suu Kyi faces up to five years in prison. She has spent more
than 13 of the past 19 years in detention without trial, mostly under
house arrest.

Gambari has visited Burma seven times since becoming the UN's special
envoy to the country in 2006. The visits have failed to nudge the military
regime toward talks with the opposition.

Ban visited Burma after last year's devastating Cyclone Nargis and was
instrumental in getting the isolationist government to allow more foreign
relief workers into the country.

____________________________________

June 23, Irrawaddy
Burmese official sacked for Nargis-related corruption – Min Lwin

Burma’s military junta has sacked the head of one of the key government
departments involved in the Cyclone Nargis relief and recovery effort
following allegations that he stole money donated for survivors of the
disaster, according to reliable sources in Rangoon.

Than Oo, a former colonel who was serving as the director general of the
Ministry of Social Welfare’s Department of Relief and Resettlement, was
accused of stealing millions of kyat (several hundreds of thousands of
dollars) from international donations intended for Nargis-related
projects, the sources said.

Than Oo
State-run newspapers did not publish any information about the dismissal
of the senior official, who was recently arrested and interrogated by the
regime’s Bureau of Special Investigation, according to sources in
Naypyidaw.

The Department of Relief and Resettlement cooperates closely with
international donors providing aid for humanitarian relief and recovery
work in the cyclone-stricken Irrawaddy delta.

“The Department of Relief and Resettlement is responsible for accepting
funds and donations from international NGOs,” said a Rangoon businessman
who runs a local relief organization for Nargis victims.

“The department is supposed distribute the aid to assist people hit by the
cyclone. He was probably taken into custody because materials donated by
international NGOs went missing,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Burmese junta is holding a secret meeting in its capital,
Naypyidaw, where a number of other officials have also reportedly been
reshuffled.

Burma’s top military leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, has retired or reassigned
around a dozen senior officials, according to military sources. However,
The Irrawaddy has not been able to confirm the reports with other
independent sources.

____________________________________

June 23, Khonumthung News
Villagers take up road construction after authorities ignore damaged road

Even as the Burmese military junta ignores the needs of the Chin people,
the people of Chin state are engaged in construction of roads, with money
from their own pockets to meet their needs of transportation.

According to a local from Helei Village, the road between Conghoih
Village, Falam Township and Helei Village of Tidim Township, in western
Burma was being constructed under the supervision of the Village Peace and
Development Council (VPDC), so that motor vehicles could ply smoothly.

 "We have already requested for some funds for that road, to Chin State
Tactical Commander Mr. Hung Ngai, but, he did not respond. The villagers,
therefore have started to construct the road with their own money and on
their own initiative," a local person said.

The villagers requested for some donations from their own village and they
also requested those, who are in foreign countries to give donations.
Construction work for the road began on April 1. The completed portion is
about six miles in length. The villagers are using machines for the
construction but the cost of hiring the machines is so high, that they are
facing severe financial difficulties. They used a bulldozer, which cost Rs
1800 per hour.

Similarly, the Northwest Road Construction Team (12) has been collecting
money from travelers of Kalemyo and Letpanchawng Village, Sagaing
Division, Western Burma.

"They collect Kyat 50 per head and Kyat 1000 per motor vehicle," a local
person said.

If they do not have money with them, the team records their name and
collects double the amount from them, when they come again. So they try to
earn Kyat 8000 per day, in order to purchase wood for the construction and
to pay daily wages to the workers.

There are two check gates on the Kale-Letpanchawng road. The authorities
used to collect passing charges from bicycles, bikes and other vehicles,
but they did not bother to reconstruct the road, when it was damaged.

Meanwhile, the Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC) of Taungphila
Block in Kalemyo also collected Kyat 500 per house within its block, to
rebuild the bridge, which links it to other blocks.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

June 23, Narinjara
Arakanese protesters in Bangladesh released

Bangladeshi police released 21 Arakanese protesters from custody yesterday
after they spent 10 hours in the police lockup, said Ko Aung Naing, one of
the detained protesters.

"The police released us at 8:30 pm and we arrived home safely around
midnight yesterday," he said.

The group was arrested by Bangladeshi police from outside the Indian
embassy in Dhaka while they were protesting against the Indian government
for the illegal detention of 34 Arakanese and Karen freedom fighters.

"We were staging a demonstration in front of the Indian embassy in Dhaka
at 11 am and shouting slogans against the Indian government when the
Bangladeshi police came and arrested us. Afterwards the police detained us
at the Gulsan police station," Aung Naing said.

The protesters arrested were primarily UNHCR recognized refugees,
including children and monks, so it is believe the police released them
without pressing charges to avoid potential international criticism.

They were arrested after the Indian embassy lodged a complaint with police
and called for their arrest, a police source said.

June 22 was the Global Day of Action for the 34 Arakanese and Karen
freedom fighters. Many Burmese in exile staged protests in at least 20
countries, including Thailand, India, Bangladesh and Britain to demand
their release.

In February 1998, members of the Arakan Army and Karen Liberation Army led
by Major Khaing Raza went to an Indian island in the Andaman Archipelago
to set up a naval base in keeping with an agreement with the Indian Army
to monitor Chinese naval activities in the Andaman Sea.

When they arrived on the island, Indian soldiers killed Bo Raza and five
other senior leaders in the group in cold blood. The 34 freedom fighters
were arrested and have been in custody since then. They are currently
lodged in a prison in Kolkata.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

June 23, Democratic Voice of Burma
Banks skim money from Burmese farmers – Ahunt Phone Myat

The Burmese government’s agricultural bank is skimming money from
agricultural loans for farmers and using it in their own loan sharking
ventures, say the opposition National League for Democracy party.

The government’s central bank offers farmers monthly loans of 10,000 kyat
($US10) per acre of farmland through local town-level agricultural banks.

A member of the Farmer’s Committee of the National League for Democracy
(NLD) said that an agricultural bank in Rangoon division’s Htantabin town
is pocketing a portion of each loan.

“The bank is cutting 250 kyat out of every 10,000 kyat loan we get for our
farms,” said Maung Maung Kyi.

Htantabin townhsip has about 1200 acres of farmland, while nearby Phyuu
township has about 1600 acres.

“In total, they gain about 30 million Kyat profit from all the farmlands
in the township,” he said, adding that other townships were being subject
to the scheme.

According to Maung Maung Kyi, the bank had also been limiting farmers from
receiving loans for more than 10 acres of farmland per person.

A source close to the agricultural bank in Bago division’s Nyaung Lay Pin
said that bank officials are keeping the rest of the money for their own
use.

Normally, agricultural loans are provided by the government’s central bank
in accordance with the amount of farmland owned by the farmer.

According to the source, local agricultural banks are setting arbitrary
limitations on loans to farmers, and pocketing money from loans to those
with more than 10 acres.

“For example; if there are ten farmers in a village and they own 15 acres
each, then the bank officials can skim 500,000 from the extra acres
exceeding the 10 acre limit,” said the source.

Loans provided by the government come with very small interest and so
officials “can play loan sharking [with more interest] with the money they
skim”, said the source, before they have to return it to the government at
the end of harvesting season.

He also said that officials from Bago’s agricultural bank, working
together with local village authorities, are forcing farmers to buy
fertilizer from them with a elevated price if they want to receive the
loan.

The agricultural banks in Rangoon and Bago divisions were unavailable for
comments.

____________________________________

June 23, Shan Herald Agency for News
Wa leaders meet on Thai-Burma border – Hseng Khio Fah

The United Wa State Army (UWSA) leaders reportedly on their way from
Panghsang in 18 four-wheel cars arrived in Mongton township, opposite
Chiangmai province yesterday to hold meetings with their officers and men
to discuss its deteriorating relations with the Burmese Army, according to
sources on the Thai-Burma border.

The group arrived in Hwe Aw, 25 miles north of the Chiangmai border, in
the morning and held a meeting there. But there has been no further
information about who attended the meeting. But it is believed that there
were some top officers of their southern command, said a source.

“Today, they [Wa] met in Namyoom (five miles north of the border) and they
are going to Mongjawd, west of Hwe Aw tomorrow,” he said. Since the
Burmese Army ordered them to return to their original area on the
Sino-Burma border in May, the Wa has been preparing for their defence in
many areas like Loi Hsarmhsoom Base, Base 46 and Maihoong between Mongyawn
and Piangkham, opposite Chiangmai’s Mae Ai district.

An unidentified Wa divisional commander said, “Relations between us is
like an axe without the handle and vice versa. Like the handle, they used
to manipulate us, the axe, in the past. But they can no longer enjoy that
privilege.”

In the meantime, the Burmese Army has also reportedly been sending more
troops to Pianghsa–Piangkham and every base opposite that of the Wa. In
addition, it has also been training all militia units in Mongton and
Monghsat townships from June 21.

“There were 15 Shan men, who were forced to join the militia units in
Nakawngmu,” a local resident said. As for veteran members of Kyapikwe and
Tin Win militias, they are being trained in Mongton, the township seat.

There are three strong militia units trained by the Burmese Army in
Monghsat alone: Loi Tanghseng group led by Kya Hey, Loi Hsao group led by
Kya Kaw and Kyadey group led by Ya Der.  There is also an 80-men Nampong
group led by Yishay in Tachilek Township.

“The things they [junta] can seize from us are what we have established in
towns. Nothing more,” a source quoted the Wa officer as saying.

A border watcher said the three-day visit of Sri Lankan President to Burma
earlier this month seemed to have stimulated the junta to copy the winning
strategy of the Sri Lankan Army against the Tamil Tigers.

The Tamil Tigers announced its defeat on May 17, after Colombo’s all-out
offensive involving naval blockade and massive bombings and air strikes
which resulted in devastating civilian casualties.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

June 23, Associated Press
N. Korean cargo ship could test new UN sanctions – Hyung-Jin Kim

An American destroyer tailed a North Korean ship Tuesday as it sailed
along China's coast, U.S. officials said, amid concerns the vessel is
carrying illicit arms destined for Myanmar.

The sailing sets up the first test of a new U.N. Security Council
resolution that authorizes member states to inspect North Korean vessels
suspected of carrying banned weapons or materials. The sanctions are
punishment for an underground nuclear test the North carried out last
month in defiance of past resolutions.

A U.S. official said last week that the American destroyer has no orders
to intercept the ship, but experts say the vessel will need to stop to
refuel soon. The resolution prohibits member states from providing such
services to ships accused of bearing banned goods.

Nearby Singapore — the world's largest refueling hub — says it will "act
appropriately" if the ship docks at its port with suspicious goods on
board.

The North Korean-flagged Kang Nam left the port of Nampo last Wednesday,
with the U.S. destroyer following it. Two Pentagon officials described a
relay operation in which the destroyer USS John S. McCain would hand over
surveillance of the ship to the destroyer USS McCampbell. The officials
spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence.

The North has said it would consider any interception "an act of war," and
an editorial Tuesday in its main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said the Korean
peninsula was on the brink of a nuclear war.

"A grave situation is being forged in the Korean peninsula where a nuclear
war could happen with any accidental factor due to the sanctions," said
the editorial carried on the government-run Uriminzokkiri Web site.

But an armed skirmish is unlikely, analysts say, though the North Korean
crew may have rifles.

"A cargo ship can't confront a warship," said Baek Seung-joo of the Korea
Institute for Defense Analyses.

In the event that the American destroyer does ask to inspect the Kang Nam
and North Korea refuses, the U.N. resolution states the ship must be
directed to a port of Pyongyang's choosing. It was not clear which port
the ship would be taken to, though on Tuesday one of the Pentagon
officials said it was about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of the Taiwan
Strait — close to both the Chinese and Taiwanese coasts.

It's not clear exactly what the Kang Nam has on board, but it has
transported illicit goods in the past. A South Korean intelligence
official said Monday that his agency believes the North Korean ship is
carrying small weapons. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity
citing the sensitive nature of the information, said he could provide no
further details.

In 2007, the ship — now registered to Kumrung Trading Co. Ltd. of
Pyongyang — was similarly accused by Western diplomats of transporting
weapons illegally to Myanmar. At the time, however, Myanmar authorities
said they found no suspicious cargo on board.

The Pentagon official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss
intelligence, said the chief suspicion is that the ship is headed to
Myanmar.

The North is believed to have sold guns, artillery and other small weapons
to Myanmar in the past. The Southeast Asian nation is the target of U.S.
and EU arms embargoes because of its poor human rights record and failure
to hand power to a democratically elected government. There are concerns
it could use small arms in the counterinsurgency campaigns it conducts
against ethnic minorities.

The Kang Nam is expected to dock at Myanmar's Thilawa port, some 20 miles
(30 kilometers) south of Yangon, in the next few days, said the Irrawaddy,
an online magazine operated by independent exiled journalists from
Myanmar, citing an unidentified port official.

A shipping expert said a vessel the size of the Kang Nam would need to
refuel in Singapore if it wants to travel the 4,100-mile (6,660-kilometer)
distance between Nampo and Myanmar.

The journey from Nanpo to Singapore should take about nine days, and
another four days after refueling to reach Myanmar, the official from
Sinokor Merchant Marine Co. in Seoul said Tuesday. He spoke on condition
of anonymity, saying he wasn't authorized to discuss shipping routes from
North Korea.

Singapore, the world's busiest port and a top refueling center, is also
North Korea's second-largest trading partner after China, said Hong
Hyun-ik, an analyst at the Sejong Institute think tank in South Korea.

But the city state insisted its officials would "act appropriately" if
asked to confront a North Korean ship believed to be carrying banned
cargo.

Yoon Duk-min, a professor at the state-run Institute of Foreign Affairs
and National Security in Seoul, predicted North Korea would allow an
inspection in Singapore.

At most, Singapore may refuse to let the ship refuel, Hong said. He also
speculated that the Kang Nam may not have banned cargo on board, knowing
the ship could be subject to scrutiny.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China will "strictly
observe" and implement the resolution. He urged other nations to also heed
the U.N. guidelines requiring "reasonable grounds" to request an
inspection.

"Under the current circumstances, we call upon all parties to refrain from
acts that might escalate the tension," he said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and North Korea's neighbors were discussing how to
deal with the increasingly defiant country amid signs it may be preparing
a long-range missile test.

In Beijing, U.S. and Chinese defense officials were holding their first
high-level bilateral military talks in 18 months. U.S. Defense
Undersecretary Michele Flournoy was to head later in the week to Tokyo and
Seoul.

Washington's top military commander in South Korea, meanwhile, warned that
the communist regime is bolstering its guerrilla warfare capacity.

Gen. Walter Sharp, who commands the 28,500 U.S. troops positioned in South
Korea, said the North could employ roadside bombs and other guerrilla
tactics if war breaks out again on the Korean peninsula. The two Koreas
technically remain at war because their three-year conflict ended in a
truce, not a peace treaty, in 1953.

Associated Press writers Jae-soon Chang in Seoul, Pauline Jelinek in
Washington, Grant Peck in Bangkok, Alex Kennedy in Singapore, Jill Lawless
in London and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this
report.

____________________________________

June 23, Mizzima News
Burma lingering on the cusp of "failed state" status

Warning that the global recession could lead to more failed states, the
2009 Failed States Index lists Burma as in critical danger of state
collapse due, primarily, to the misuse of power by the country's ruling
military government.

Though holding steady at number 13 in the global rankings, Burma's
cumulative 2009 score deteriorated by an additional 1.2 percent from a
year previously, according to the latest rankings released earlier this
week.

The study, a joint undertaking by Washington D.C.-based Foreign Policy and
the Fund for Peace, argues Burma is failing "because their government is
strong enough to choke the life out of their society."

Meanwhile, the Fund for Peace classifies each of five critical indicators
– leadership, military, judiciary, civil service and police – as "poor" in
the case of Burma.

The architects of the findings contend that few countries fail by chance,
though admitting that foreign intervention, such as through the supply of
arms, can contribute to a state's instability. Presently, there is concern
that a North Korean ship laden with arms and possible missile technology
is en route to a Burmese port.

Burma's worst categorical scores came in "Uneven Development" and
"Delegitimization of the State", while the best of the poor scores were
achieved in the areas of "Human Flight" and "External Intervention". The
findings point to an isolated state decaying from within.

However, the report's authors contend it will be impossible for the
world's stable governments to come to the assistance of all countries in
danger of state collapse, arguing that the final decision on which nations
to help will be based on geopolitical implications.

Specifically, the question "Which failed states are global security
threats and which are simply tragedies for their own people?" is said to
lie at the center of a country's assessment when determining where to
focus a nation's limited resources in assisting states on the brink of
failure.

If the report is in any way indicative of the approach to be taken by the
United States government, the Middle East and West Asia will draw the most
attention from Washington regarding combating the prospect of failed
states.

Additionally, drawing on the impact of global warming, the study warns
that cataclysmic flooding in Bangladesh could force tens of thousands of
Bengalis to seek refuge in Burma. Bangladesh, like Burma, is on the Fund
for Peace "alert" list.

Of Asian countries west of the Urals, only Mongolia, Japan, South Korea,
Singapore and Malaysia are said to not at least be in "danger" of state
failure.

Fellow ASEAN members the Philippines, Laos and Cambodia join Burma in the
bottom 60 in the index.

At the top of the list for the second straight year is Somalia, which is
defined as "too failed even for al-Qaeda".

The study has been published annually since 2005.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

June 23, Nation (Thailand)
Burmese junta uses n Korean expertise to build secret tunnels

Several senior military Burmese officials have been dismissed in recent
weeks following the recent publication of photographs of secret tunnels
built by North Korean experts between 2003-2006 inside Burma, sources
revealed.

The sources, who asked not to be identified because the information they
gave could endanger their lives, said that Burmese intelligence officials
have began massive investigations to identify the source of the leak. They
have combed the city of Rangoon and interviewed associates of former
intelligence chief, Lt-General Khin Nyunt, to search for persons who might
have leaked one of their most secretive programmes. They have already
arrested several suspects, including journalists, who might have got
access to these sensitive photos and documents.

Swedish journalist, Bertil Litner, detailed Pyongyang's efforts in helping
Rangoon to build underground bunkers in various locations. The author said
the photographs, which were obtained by the Democratic Voice of Burma,
showed an extensive network of underground installations that was built
near Burma's fortified new capital, Naypyidaw, 450km north of Rangoon.

The photographs, which first appeared in YaleGlobal Online on June 8, have
puzzled the Bangkok-based diplomatic community. "We are interested in the
news and we are following it closely," said a senior diplomat from an
Asean country, who asked not to be identified.

A Thai intelligence source yesterday confirmed the existence of the
tunnels but did not express any serious concern. "The Burmese generals
fear outside attacks, so they are building these underground hiding
places," he said. Thailand is also watching closely Burma's efforts to
build its nuclear capacity.

These tunnels are equipped with underground facilities, including
communications and strategic rooms, which would enable the Burmese leaders
to survive any attack from their peoples and the outside world. Some
tunnels are big enough for military and transport vehicles to go through.
Sources also revealed that dozens of tunnels are also dug near the
Thai-Burma border. They said the construction of these tunnels were
disguised as part of the country's plan to lay fibre optic cables
throughout the country

Bertil wrote that a well-hidden complex ensures there is no danger of
angry civilians storming government buildings as they did during the
massive pro-democracy uprising in August-September 1988. It could also
serve as their deep bunkers in case there are air strikes of the kind that
the Taleban faced in Afghanistan.

According to the author, it is not clear how North Korean experts got
paid. The payment could have been in the form of food or goods that Burma
has. The country is rich in mineral wealth and agricultural products.