BurmaNet News, June 27 - 29, 2009

[Editor]

June 27 – 29, 2009, Issue #3743



INSIDE BURMA
AP: Appeal to reinstate witnesses for Suu Kyi rejected
Mizzima News: Monks boycott minister’s offering
Mizzima News: Reporter photographing A/H1N1 patient quarantined

ON THE BORDER
Kachin News Group: Three Kachin peace groups give into junta

BUSINESS / TRADE
DVB: Iron mine could destroy 7000 Shan homes
Xinhua: Myanmar-Indonesia bilateral trade hit over $230 million in 2008-2009
Xinhua: UK tops EU countries in importing Myanmars marine products

HEALTH / AIDS
DVB: Burma confirms first swine flu case

DRUGS
SHAN: Shan drug watch: Ten years after

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: North Korea can allay fear at regional forum

INTERNATIONAL
Reuters: UN's Ban to visit Myanmar to urge democratic reform
AP: UN ambassador: US closely monitoring NKorean ship
BBC News: UN Burma envoy set to brief Ban

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Closer Burma-N Korea ties a serious cause for concern – Yeni
Time: Why Burma may be North Korea's best friend – Ishaan Tharoor

INTERVIEW
Irrawaddy: Burma wants the bomb




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

June 29, Associated Press
Appeal to reinstate witnesses for Suu Kyi rejected

Burma's highest court rejected an appeal Monday by Aung San Suu Kyi's
lawyers to reinstate two key witnesses in a trial that could send the
pro-democracy leader to prison for five years.

High Court judge Tin Aung Aye rejected the appeal because it was "intended
to disturb and delay the trial," court officials said on condition of
anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The court's ruling means Suu Kyi will have only two defense witnesses in
her trial, which resumes Friday.

The 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is charged with violating the
terms of her house arrest when an uninvited American man swam secretly to
her lakeside home and stayed for two days.

"This is very unfair. The court had allowed 14 prosecution witnesses but
only allowed two from the defense," said Nyan Win, one of Suu Kyi's
lawyers.

"We tried our best to have the trial conducted according to the law but it
has failed," Nyan Win said.

The trial has drawn outrage from world leaders and human rights groups who
say Burma's junta is using the incident as an excuse to keep the country's
opposition leader behind bars.

Suu Kyi has been in detention for more than 13 of the last 19 years.

Nyan Win said reinstating the two witnesses would not "delay or defeat the
ends of justice."

Suu Kyi's main lawyer, Kyi Wynn, described Monday's ruling as a "rejection
of justice."

One defense witness, Khin Moe Moe, is scheduled to testify before the
District Court inside Insein prison Friday.

The trial began May 18. The court at first had allowed only one of four
defense witnesses to take the stand. On appeal, the Rangoon Divisional
Court ruled that Khin Moe Moe also could be heard. Khin Moe Moe is a
lawyer and member of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.

Suu Kyi's lawyers pursued a second and final appeal to reinstate barred
witnesses Win Tin and Tin Oo, both senior members of her party.

Prosecutors argued that Win Tin, a prominent former journalist and
ex-political prisoner, should not be allowed to testify because he is
critical of the government and often gave interviews to foreign media,
said Nyan Win.

The defense team argued there was no law in the tightly ruled country that
bars court testimony from government critics, Nyan Win said.

Prosecutors argued that Tin Oo, the party's deputy leader, should not be
allowed to testify because he is under house arrest, Nyan Win said.

Defense lawyers told the court that Suu Kyi herself was under house arrest
but that didn't stop authorities from putting her on trial, Nyan Win said.
Suu Kyi was allowed to testify May 26, and her term under house arrest
officially ended the next day.

She is currently detained at Insein prison along with John William Yettaw,
53, of Falcon, Missouri, who is charged with trespassing.

He has pleaded not guilty, and explained in court that he had a dream that
Suu Kyi would be assassinated and he had gone to warn her. Family and
friends have said he was working on a book and wished to interview her.

____________________________________

June 29, Mizzima News
Monks boycott minister’s offering – Ko Wild

Several monks on Saturday refrained from going out to collect swan
offering in Myingyan town in Mandalay division, following a visit and
offerings made by junta’s Minister of Industries (1) Aung Thawng.

Monks in Burma, who usually go out at dawn for food offerings from
devotees, on Saturday refused to go when they came to know that the
visiting Industries Minister Aung Thawng would also make offerings to the
monks.

A local monk told Mizzima that ‘Ponya Thaharya’, the group that regularly
organises food offerings for monks in Myingyan town, usually makes swan
offerings to about 700 monks in town, but on Saturday only about 300 monks
turned up.

“We did not want to go. Only new comers, who do not understand and younger
novices, went. But when we made the offering it was attended only by about
250 to 300 monks. Most of the monks who understand did not go,” the monk
told Mizzima.

The organisation mobilises donors or devotees who wish to offer food to
monks’ everyday. It was declared that Aung Thawng would be the donor for
Saturday’s offering. The monks after hearing about the donor boycotted the
offering.

The offering ceremony is usually attended by monks from monasteries in
Myingyan town and other neighbouring towns and villages.

Aung Thawng, who is a native of Wei Laung village in Myingyan Township, on
Friday also called a mass meeting and summoned villagers in the township
to listen to his speech in Myingyan’s High School No. (1). But locals said
despite being called only a few attended the meeting.

“Aung Thaung arrived on Friday and called for a meeting. Local authorities
went from village to village and made announcements about the meeting.
They threatened that those who do not attend will be fined Kyat 1,000 (USD
1). But despite the threat only a few turned up. Not more than 15 people
each from one village turned up,” a local resident said.

During the meeting, Aung Thaung explained about the ongoing trial of
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the American man John William
Yettaw. He also introduced Kyaw San and Win Myint, who have been nominated
as candidates from Myingyan Township for the 2010 general elections. He
also warned the people not to get involved in any possible future
anti-government protests.

Residents of Myingyan town have been carrying out a photo campaign for
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

____________________________________

June 29, Mizzima News
Reporter photographing A/H1N1 patient quarantined – Myo Thein

Authorities on Sunday detained a journalist who tried to take a photograph
of the 13-year old girl who authorities have announced is suffering from
the first detected instance of A/H1N1, or swine flu, in Burma.

The journalist, who bribed hospital security in order to take the
photograph, was detained in order to be tested for infection, a hospital
official told Mizzima.

“It [our concern] is not simply the breaking of the rules of the hospital,
his actions could also spread the disease,” said a specialist doctor of
the hospital.

“He could be easily infected with the disease as he was not wearing any
covers. Even when doctors go in to see her [the infected girl] they have
to put on a special coat and mask. This reporter did not take any
precaution, so we will have to quarantine him to check his situation,” the
doctor explained.

Reportedly, the security agent who accepted the bribe from the reporter
has since been sacked from his post.

Authorities are also said to be keeping a close watch over the infected
girl’s parents, friends and schoolmates for any possible symptoms of the
disease.

The 13-year old girl's temperature was normal when checked at Yangon
Airport on June 26th. But later, while in school, her teacher, who is also
a doctor at the Ministry of Health, found her cough strange and took her
to the hospital.

While the rest of her classmates have been tested for the virus, one
individual had reportedly already returned to their home village of
Depayin in Sagaing Division, prompting authorities to continue their
search for the missing pupil.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

June 29, Kachin News Group
Three Kachin peace groups give into junta

Three Kachin ceasefire groups in northern Burma last week, gave into the
demands of the Burmese military junta of transforming their armed-wings
into the kind of forces that the regime wants, said sources close to the
groups.

The New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K), the Lasang Awng Wa Peace Group in
Kachin State and the Kachin Defense Army (KDA) in northeast Shan State
agreed to transform their armed-forces to a Border Guard Force or local
militia, said sources in the three outfits.

KDA and Lasang Awng Wa Peace Group agreed to convert their forces into
local militia groups with less manpower than it has now, said insiders.

The KDA led by Mahtu Naw based in Kawng Hka near Kutkai Town was formerly
the 4th brigade of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). It has about 500
soldiers. It has been receiving rations from the ruling junta since it
surrendered in 1990.

Kachins in northeast Shan State are terribly upset over the KDA agreeing
to transform to a local militia group, said a Kachin resident in Muse.

Similarly, the Lasang Awng Wa Peace Group is also ready to transform its
force, which accounts for about 200, to a local militia group because it
is in no position to oppose the orders of the junta after it split from
the mother unit the KIO/A in January 4, 2004.

The group is based in Gwi Htu Pa near the Kachin State capital Myitkyina,
where it was set up by former Northern Command Commander Maj-Gen Ohn Myint
of the Burmese Army in late 2004. It receives rations from the regime,
said insiders.

The New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K) in Kachin State agreed to transform
to a battalion of a Border Guard Force on June 24 in the meeting with the
junta's Northern Command Commander Brig-Gen Soe Win in the organizational
headquarters in Pang Wah, said Baptist pastor-turned NDA-K officer, Lt-Col
Nhkum Doi La.

The Zahkung Ting Ying led NDA-K was formerly the Army Division No. 101 of
the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) after it split from the mother unit the
Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) in 1968 and signed a permanent
peace agreement with the junta on December 15, 1989.

Currently the NDA-K has about 800 soldiers and at least 500 of them are
receiving monthly salaries from the junta, said NDA-K officers.

However, the KIO/A, the original mother unit of the three Kachin peace
groups has refused to transform its armed-wing. It has told the junta that
it could change to a State Security Force not a Border Guard Force.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

June 29, Democratic Voice of Burma
Iron mine could destroy 7000 Shan homes – Francis Wade

Russian and Italian engineering companies are reported to be involved in
the development of a huge iron ore mine in Burma’s eastern Shan state that
campaigners say could displace more than 7,000 homes.

The already volatile Shan state is home to Burma’s second largest iron ore
deposit, on the site of Mount Pinpet.

Excavation of the site began in 2004, and work includes the conversion of
around 11,000 acres of surrounding land for construction of a cement
factory and iron processing plant.

The Pa-O Youth Organisation (PYO), in a report released today, said that
more than 25 villages home to around 7000 mainly ethnic Pa-O people could
be destroyed by the Pinpet Mining Project.

“Fifty people have already been forced to move and were not adequately
compensated,” said the Robbing the Future report.

“The confiscation of vital farmlands has begun, leaving over 100 families
without the primary source of their livelihood and sustenance.”

A spokesperson from PYO said that villagers had very little, if any, input
on the plans for the project.

“[The government] don’t talk to the villagers, they don’t negotiate with
the villagers regarding plans for the mining project - they don’t really
discuss in advance what they are going to do,” said Khun Ko Wein.

The report points to Russian company Tyazhpromexport as being the major
foreign investor in the Pinpet Iron Factory, with $US150 million so far
channeled into the project.

Russia maintains strong ties with Burma despite the country’s ruling junta
being under mounting international pressure over the trial of Aung San Suu
Kyi and documented state-sanctioned human rights abuses.

An Italian company, Danieli, which claims to be one of the world’s leading
suppliers of equipment to the metals industry, is also highlighted in the
report.

The company, who in 2007 confirmed that they operate in Burma, was
unavailable for comment.

Another concern of PYO’s is the link between the Pinpet mine and rumours
that Burma is mining uranium, a key ingredient for nuclear weaponry.

According to the report, Burma’s Ministry of Energy has officially
announced the presence of five uranium deposits in the country, although
has not publicly stated that these will be mined.

Speculation that uranium exists near the Pinpet site has added fuel to the
rumours, with some locals fearing that the mine could be being used as a
cover to exploit and refine uranium.

Such rumours have been further compounded by growing evidence that Burma
is strengthening its ties with North Korea, who last month successfully
tested a nuclear bomb.

____________________________________

June 29, Xinhua
Myanmar-Indonesia bilateral trade hit over $230 million in 2008-2009

Bilateral trade between Myanmar and Indonesia hit $238.69 million in the
fiscal year of 2008-09 which ended in March, according to the Ministry of
Commerce today.

Of the total, Myanmar's export amounted to $28.35 million, while its
import took $210.34 million, suffering a trade deficit of $181.99 million.

Indonesia is Myanmar's fourth largest trading partner among members of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) after Thailand, Singapore
and Malaysia.

Indonesia stood the 9th among the Myanmar's foreign investors, taking over
$241 million or 1.5 percent of the country's foreign investment.

Agricultural produces are among Indonesia's imported goods from Myanmar.
Indonesia imported from Myanmar beans and pulses, onions and marine
products, while it exported to Myanmar in return crude oil, cigarettes and
medicines.

Indonesia's beans and pulses import from Myanmar amounted to 20, 000 tons
annually, according to traders.

Meanwhile, Myanmar and Indonesia are seeking direct trade link, direct
banking transaction and direct Anon-Jakarta air link to boost their
bilateral economic and cooperation.

So far, the two countries are trading through Malaysia, carrying out
banking transaction through Singapore and connecting without direct air
link.

____________________________________

June 29, Xinhua
UK tops EU countries in importing Myanmars marine products

The United Kingdom is leading among the European Union countries in
importing Myanmar's marine products, the local weekly Popular News
reported on Monday.

Myanmar's marine export items destined to the U.K. are mainly hilsa
ilisha, gudgeon, mango fish, fork-tailed catfish and fresh- water herring
in which ilisha fish, which is also called Yangon shad, gets high market
demand in the country.

Myanmar's marine products export to EU countries amounted to between
320,000 tons and 360,000 tons every year, the report quoted the Myanmar
Fishery Department as saying, adding that the country has exported 476.48
tons of products in the first four months of this year.

Myanmar's marine products exporting countries also include Middle East
countries, South Korea, Japan and Argentina.

Meanwhile, EU experts came to Myanmar in February this year and tested on
quality of fishery products from 22 fisheries-related cold storages in a
bid to help raise the standard of the country's marine exports to the
European market.

In 2007-08, Myanmar exported 352,652 tons of marine products, gaining 561
million U.S. dollars, while in 2008-09, the export dropped to 483.23
million dollars due to the cyclone Nargis, statistics showed.

Myanmar targets to earn 700 million dollars' marine export in the current
fiscal year of 2009-2010.

Meanwhile, China topped Myanmar's marine export country line-up, followed
by Thailand, Japan and Singapore.

The country's fishery sector remained as the fourth largest contributor to
the gross domestic product and also the fourth largest source of foreign
exchange earning during the past five years.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

June 29, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burma confirms first swine flu case – Yee May Aung

A 13-year-old girl has become the first confirmed carrier of the H1N1
swine flu virus in Burma after being hospitalized on 26 June following a
trip to Singapore last week, a Burmese newspaper reported on Saturday.

Rangoon General Hospital is now carrying out blood tests on a number of
people suspected of having the H1N1 virus.

Burma has employed the use of medical tests at airports and border
crossing points since the outbreak first began in Mexico in April this
year.

Upon arrival at Rangoon International Airport, however, the girl had shown
no suspicious symptoms. It was only when she came down with a fever and
coughing fit around 9 hours later that she was taken to hospital.

The girl, who has not been identified, is being kept in intensive care at
the Rangoon hospital, said the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

Doctors are reportedly keeping the 91 other passengers on the flight under
surveillance, along with family and friends whom the girl had contact
between arriving back and being admitted to hospital.

A youth who returned from Singapore last week said that medical checks at
the Rangoon airport that were strict when the outbreak first surfaced had
now become less so.

“They have been a bit lax lately as they found no one with the illness,”
he said.

“If they checked it properly, it would certainly appear. It won't escape."

Around 350 people worldwide have died from the disease since the first
case was reported in Mexico in April this year.

Earlier this month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) raised its alert
level to 6, the first since 1968, declaring it a pandemic with “moderate
severity”.

A Burmese physician, Dr Thiya Maung, said in April that Burma may not be
able to deal with an outbreak on its own.

“I think they [Burmese government] don’t have adequate drug stocks and
laboratories or any investigative materials.

“I think they would need help from neighboring countries like Thailand,”
he said.

____________________________________
DRUGS

June 29, Shan Herald Agency for News
Shan drug watch: Ten years after

The following is a condensed version of what appears in Shan Drug Watch,
Issue # 2, published today to mark the International Day Against Drug
Abuse and Illicit Trafficking – Editor
Ten Years After

June 26 marks ten years since the State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC) embarked on its 15-year plan to eradicate the cultivation and
production of all drugs in Burma by 2014.

Over the last 10 years, the ruling Burmese junta has claimed the
apprehension of hundreds of drug dealers, the confiscation of thousands of
kilos of opium and heroin, and the destruction of thousands of hectares of
poppy fields. The SPDC also say that there has been significant reduction
in opiate production in Burma since the industry peaked in the country in
the mid-1990s.

The picture might be one of remarkable success, but information revealed
through S.H.A.N’s sources paints a very different picture.

According to S.H.A.N’s information, during the past decade the junta has
not arrested major suppliers or traffickers as claimed, but mostly
low-level dealers and users. SPDC might have suppressed cultivation in 13
targeted townships, but has failed in some 30 others, and, worryingly,
poppy cultivation and production is increasing in villages outside the
areas outlined for eradication.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Burma’s
role in the world’s opium trade is a mere fraction of what it was 10 years
ago, when it was responsible for roughly 50 per cent of the world’s
illicit output. Now, UNODC says, the figure is around five per cent, and
the amount of opium produced in Burma has dropped from nearly 1,800 tonnes
in 1993 to 460 tonnes in 2007.

But Burma’s isolation from the international community and censorship of
information means it is difficult to check the accuracy of statements.

S.H.A.N has long believed that the 1993 figures of Burma’s extensive
opiates production (1,800 tonnes) were grossly inflated, and consequently
the much-ballyhooed reduction of drug production through 2006 was
illusory.

In 2007, Xavier Bouan, from UNODC, was forced to agree. Speaking with Shan
Drug Watch at a drugs forum organized by the Foreign Correspondents Club
of Thailand (FCCT) on September 12, Bouan conceded that the official
estimates in the 1990s were based on U.S. satellite intelligence, and were
probably not reliable. He went on to say: “We started to do our own survey
only after 2000. Naturally, we made a few mistakes at first
 [Now, most
of] our findings converge with those of S.H.A.N.”

His words are a heavy blow to the regime’s claim that Burma is reducing
its opium trade. Instead, it is possible that production is as high now as
it was 10 years ago. All that has happened is that in recent years figures
have become more realistic.

S.H.A.N believes that both the first two phases of the SPDC’s 15-year drug
reduction plan have failed. The first phase, from 1999 to 2004, targeted
22 townships in Shan State, yet to date only seven of those can claim to
be drug-free.  Phase 2, from 2004 to the present, saw 20 townships – 16 in
Shan State, four in Kachin – targeted for drug eradication. Currently,
only six make any claim of success. And the truth of the claims is
tenuous. All six are in Wa areas in northern Shan State under the control
of the United Wa State Army (UWSA), whose leaders are reputedly among the
world’s most notorious drug traffickers.

With the focus primarily on northern Shan State during the first decade of
the drug crusade, poppy farming has merely shifted to eastern Shan State
and southern Shan State. Townships in those areas report 20-40 per cent
increases in lands under poppy cultivation over the last two years, and
official figures show nationwide input increased more than 20 per cent in
2007 and 2008.

Production of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) and Ice (crystal
methamphetamine) is also increasing.

Meanwhile, the north’s poor farmers, who depended on poppy cultivation for
their livelihood, are suffering because neither the regime nor the
ceasefire armies implemented viable alternatives to poppy cultivation.

With so little money and so few options, it will be more difficult to
motivate people away from opium production. Especially when Burma’s
military – the Tatmadaw – is complicit in the drug trade, as confirmed by
Bouan, who said: “Everybody is involved in this trade in one way or
another. Insurgents, militia, government, cease-fire groups; for all of
them
 it’s one of the only ways to survive and get cash.”

Ten years into the 15-year plan, evidence suggests that the junta does not
intend to eradicate drugs from Burma at all, until and unless it suits the
generals’ agenda.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

June 29, Irrawaddy
North Korea can allay fear at regional forum – Min Lwin

North Korea should calm regional fears by explaining its relations with
Burma at the 16th Asean Regional Forum (ARF) to be held in Phuket,
Thailand, July16-23.

An editorial in the Bangkok Post, Monday, stated ARF would be the perfect
forum for North Korea to explain its recent actions and lay out its future
plans.

“An unauthorized nuclear project, even without weapons capability, would
pose a serious threat to the ecology of Thailand and the region,” the
editorial declared.

The editorial said, “The world including Thailand views North Korea as a
dangerous country, addicted to frightening threats of nuclear attacks and
weapons trafficking on any scale it chooses.”

North Korean has a record of selling arms and military technology to
Burma. It is suspected that this may include secretive nuclear technology.

The North Korean cargo ship, Kang Nam, that recently left North Korea for
Burma could be carrying weapons.

North Korea’s military support for Burma may be considered a serious issue
at the forum, according to analysts.

“ARF is supposed to be a forum for regional security, so we hope that they
will consider issues related to comprehensive security as part of an Asean
plan of action,” Debbie Stothard, coordinator of the Bangkok-based
Alternative Asean Network on Burma said to The Irrawaddy.

“North Korea is definitely a very serious issue,” she added. “ARF hasn’t
been taking the situation in Burma seriously, and consequently they don’t
have any plan of action.”

“In effect ARF is allowing Burma to become another North Korea, which is a
danger to the region,” Stothard said.

By bringing Asian and Western powers together, ARF can provide an
important forum for discussing the array of dangers arising from North
Korea's illegal weapons trafficking to Burma, according to Burma political
analysts.

ARF was founded in 1994 to promote open dialogue on political and security
issues and to build trust among its members through dialogue and
confidence-building measures.

Twenty seven nations currently participate in ARF. They automatically
include Asean member states as well as Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam,
Canada, China, European Union, India, Japan, Democratic Peoples' Republic
of Korea, Republic of Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New
Guinea, Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste and the United States.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

June 29, Reuters
UN's Ban to visit Myanmar to urge democratic reform

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will visit Myanmar this week to urge
its military leaders to press ahead with democratic reforms in the country
formerly known as Burma, a U.N. spokeswoman said on Monday.

Ban will urge the junta to release all political prisoners, including
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, during his visit on July 3-4,
spokeswoman Michele Montas told reporters. (Reporting by Louis
Charbonneau; Editing by Sandra Maler)

____________________________________

June 28, Associated Press
UN ambassador: US closely monitoring NKorean ship

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations says the U.S. is keeping close
tabs on a suspected North Korea arms ship.

An American destroyer has been tracking the North Korean freighter sailing
off China's coast, possibly on its way to Myanmar.

Ambassador Susan Rice says the U.S. is pursuing and following the ship's
progress closely. But she is not saying what the U.S. actually might do on
the high seas — such as whether to contact and request inspection.

It is the first ship to be monitored under a U.N. resolution that bans
North Korea from selling a range of arms and weapons-related materiel. The
resolution allows other countries to request boarding and inspection of
such ships, but the ships don't have to give permission.

____________________________________

June 27, BBC News
UN Burma envoy set to brief Ban

UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari has left Burma after a two-day visit aimed at
paving the way for a possible visit by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

State media reported that Mr Gambari met Foreign Minister Nyan Win on two
occasions to discuss a visit by Mr Ban.

But he is not believed to have met jailed pro-democracy leader Aung San
Suu Kyi, currently on trial accused of breaking the terms of her
detention.

Mr Gambari is now expected to brief Mr Ban before a possible visit in July.

Correspondents say Mr Ban is wary of his trip being used by the generals
to endorse their treatment of Ms Suu Kyi.

The trial has been widely condemned as a ruse to keep Ms Suu Kyi in jail
during a general election which the ruling junta has scheduled for next
year.

Progress stalled?

After arriving in Rangoon on Friday Mr Gambari travelled to Burma's
capital, Nay Pyi Taw, where he held talks with the foreign minister.

"Mr Gambari met Nyan Win on 26 and 27 June. They discussed Mr Ban
Ki-Moon's visit to Myanmar [Burma]," AFP news agency quoted state
television as saying.

Mr Gambari has now visited Burma eight times as special envoy.

He has spent many of those visits trying to promote political
reconciliation between the military government and the pro-democracy
movement led by Ms Suu Kyi.

But critics say he has managed to change little.

And the position of Ms Suu Kyi, under house arrest for most of the past 19
years, seems to have become yet more precarious.

She has been moved to Rangoon's Insein jail during her trial - sparked
when a US man swam to her home and stayed the night, which the junta said
amounted to her breaking the terms of her detention.

She faces five years in jail if found guilty.

But the trial was again postponed last Friday until 3 July - the latest in
a series of delays over allowing more defence witnesses.

Burma's military rulers have refused to recognise the results of a general
election in 1990, won by Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

June 29, Irrawaddy
Closer Burma-N Korea ties a serious cause for concern – Yeni

Recent evidence of the closer relationship between Burma and North Korea
exposes the complete failure of the Burmese regime’s diplomacy and foreign
policy in the face of increasing pressure by international and regional
governments.

With Burma losing face internationally and regionally since the ruling
junta put Aung San Suu Kyi’s on trial, the Burmese generals are anxious
for their traditional ally to stand by their side.

The relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)
deteriorated when Thailand, as current Asean chair, issued a public
statement in May on Suu Kyi's trial, saying the "honor and credibility" of
its troublesome member, Burma, was "at stake."

Moreover, Singapore Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, whose country is one of
Burma's biggest foreign investors and has close relations with the Burmese
junta, said bluntly that the general election planned for 2010 must be
inclusive and that the opposition National League for Democracy, led by
Suu Kyi, must be part of the process of national reconciliation.

Goh, chairman of the city state’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of
Singapore, also said that Singapore investors will likely wait until after
the election before pouring any more money into the country.

Although it is too early to say that closer ties with North Korea could be
a response to assertions on Burma by the Asean members, it is clear that
recent developments have greatly added to worries that the two pariah
states are becoming a double threat to regional security.

The mysterious voyage of the North Korean cargo ship, the Kang Nam 1,
which is believed to be heading for Burma, and is currently being shadowed
by the US Navy, and the leaking of documents and video footage showing
caves and tunnels being constructed in Burma with the help of North Korean
engineers, have raised suspicions in the region that the facilities are
connected to Burmese plans for a nuclear reactor.

Some analysts said that fears about the acquisition of unconventional
weapons by Burma are not totally unfounded. "Given North Korea's nuclear
trade to Syria, its attempts to sell Scuds to Myanmar [Burma], and its
ongoing sales of conventional arms, there's reason to be worried about a
WMD relationship," Michael Green, a Burma expert and former adviser to
then-President George W Bush told the Wall Street Journal recently.

For several years, the Burmese junta has been trying to foster relations
with countries which are antagonistic towards the US—especially North
Korea, which has constructed 8,200 underground facilities, including 180
munitions factories, to house key government offices and military command
posts in case of war.

Observers say that the Burmese ruling generals take a hostile approach to
the US because of its economic sanctions and have become paranoid about a
possible US invasion of their country. These are the main reasons for
speeding up a reengagement with North Korea.

In 1983, North Korean spies operating in Burma planted a bomb at the
Martyr’s Mausoleum in Rangoon, where the country's forefathers lie,
killing 18 South Korean officials, including four ministers.

Burma broke all ties with North Korea as a result. However, in its anxiety
to procure the arms and technology to develop its armed forces, the
Burmese regime later resumed diplomatic ties without securing any apology
from North Korea.

Although it is not yet clear whether the tunneling projects in and around
Napyidaw are to afford the paranoid junta protection from its own people
or from the outside world, it proved again that the top Burmese generals
have dug themselves deeper into isolation over the past few years.

The generals' bunker-mentality has been in place since 1962 when they took
power from Burma's last democratically-elected government. Burma always
defends itself as a sovereign state, surrounded by friendly neighboring
countries that seek Burma’s natural resources, but sanctioned by Western
countries led by the US. In fact, the junta usually uses that as a shield
behind which it can continue its human rights violations, confident that
its neighbors will treat them as Burma’s "internal affair."

Now Burma shows its true colors by developing ties with North Korea, one
of the world’s most treacherous countries, which threatens to unleash a
nuclear war.
So it is not too early to say that the closer relationship developing
between Burma and North Korea should alert the world to a state of affairs
that can only deepen global and regional tensions.

____________________________________

June 27, Time
Why Burma may be North Korea's best friend – Ishaan Tharoor

North Korea is great at scaring its neighbors. The isolated dictatorship
carries a real nuclear threat, and tested its latest device this May in an
underground bunker. Tensions in East Asia heightened this week after
Pyongyang threatened "a fire shower of nuclear retaliation" if the U.S. or
its allies in the region attempted any provocative action when trying to
curb North Korea's missile program. Even those with historically warmer
ties to the pariah state, such as Russia and China, have bristled at
Pyongyang's latest moves. Still, North Korea may not be without friends.

Reports this week reminded the world of a fitting — if slightly
bewildering — relationship: a decrepit and slow North Korean cargo ship,
reportedly laden with arms, is on its way to Burma, a country ruled by a
similarly obstinate and oppressive military junta. A watchful U.S. missile
destroyer is following, close on its heels. (Read "Time to Face Facts on
Our North Korea Ignorance.")


>From most accounts, the Kang Nam 1 is a rusty old freighter, inching along

at a paltry 10 knots an hour. By Thursday, it was believed to be chugging
through Chinese or Taiwanese waters, having left the North Korean port of
Nampo a week ago, and headed, according to the South Korean press, to the
Burmese port of Thilawa. Its cargo is unknown; Burma's state newspaper
claims authorities expect the arrival of a "rice-bearing" North Korean
vessel, though most news reports suspect the Kang Nam 1 bears a load of
small arms and other conventional weapons. North Korea, whose people have
lived on the verge of famine for decades, is not a known food exporter.

What it does export is invariably shrouded in mystery. Pyongyang exists
frozen outside the global economy and raises funds through a host of
backdoor activities, including the manufacture of counterfeit money and
dissemination of its military secrets and technological capabilities to a
whole network of dubious customers. As a consequence of Pyongyang's recent
bellicose behavior, a new U.N. resolution passed this June forbids the
country from exporting arms and authorizes member states to search North
Korean vessels suspected to be carrying them, though they must first seek
Pyongyang's legal consent — effectively, a non-starter. Nevertheless, the
U.S.S. John McCain, an Aegis class destroyer, has been tailing the
freighter and will be replaced now by the U.S.S. McCampbell as the Kang
Nam 1 nears the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, perhaps the world's
biggest maritime pit stop. The city-state's government says it will act
"appropriately" should the vessel call at its port with illegal materials
on board. According to South Korean press, the Kang Nam 1 will need to
refuel soon. (See pictures of North Korea's rubber-stamp elections.)

North Korean links with Burma range far beyond small firearms — indeed,
ties between the two outcast nations are literally deep. North Korean
engineers reportedly aided the Burma's junta in building a vast series of
600 to 800 tunnel complexes and underground facilities, particularly
beneath the junta's secretive new capital of Naypyidaw. Photographs leaked
earlier this month to YaleGlobal, an international affairs website, show
North Korean technicians milling around guest houses in the capital.
Others published by the Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma, an
anti-government television channel, detail the extent of some of these
complexes, which have independent power supplies, built-in ventilation
systems, and are reportedly large enough to allow large vehicles to drive
through them. The projects have been nicknamed "tortoise shells" by the
government — the often brutally repressive regime intends to use North
Korea's subterranean savvy to man a network of underground command
centers, linked with fiber-optic cable, that can rule Burma in times of
emergency and quash any civilian uprising.

The Burmese and North Koreans were not always this close. In 1983, North
Korean agents bombed a South Korean delegation visiting a monument in
Rangoon. More than 20 people died and Burma severed relations with
Pyongyang. But the two nations held secret talks during the 1990s and
restored formal ties in 2007. Soon thereafter, North Korean vessels
started docking at Burmese ports, reportedly unloading heavy equipment and
weapons parts. It is suspected that resource-rich Burma sends minerals,
rubber and foodstuffs to North Korea in return for such assistance.

A tense standoff between U.S. ships and the Kang Nam 1 would hardly upset
Pyongyang; the Burmese junta has proven to be wholly insensitive to
criticism and protest from the outside world. Watchers of both isolated
states see a joint circling of wagons in the face of a hostile
international community. With many policy makers already tearing at their
hair over North Korea's nuclear intransigence, it's a state of affairs
that can only deepen global concern.

____________________________________
INTERVIEW

June 27, Irrawaddy
Burma wants the bomb

Relations between Burma and North Korea have attracted intense attention
in recent weeks, as suspicions grow that the two pariah states are joining
forces in a bid to thwart international sanctions against them.

Two recent developments have greatly added to worries that these two
countries are becoming a double threat to regional security.

The first was the departure of a North Korean cargo ship, the Kang Nam 1,
from a port near Pyongyang on June 17. The ship is believed to be heading
for Burma, and is currently being pursued by the US Navy, which may act on
a recent UN resolution authorizing inspections of North Korean vessels
suspected of carrying banned weapons or materials.

Thakhin Chan Tun
The second was the leaking of documents and video footage showing caves
and tunnels being constructed in Burma with the help of North Korean
engineers—possibly as part of a controversial nuclear program by the Burma
junta.

To learn more about the possible significance of these events, The
Irrawaddy recently interviewed Thakhin Chan Tun, a former diplomat who
served as Burma’s ambassador to North Korea from 1974 to 1975.

Thakhin Chan Tun, who was also the ambassador to Canada from 1969 to 1974
and to the People’s Republic of China from 1974 to 1976, is a veteran
politician who is still actively working for national reconciliation,
democracy and human rights in Burma.

Question: Thakhin Chan Tun, you served as Burma’s ambassador to North
Korea from 1974 to 1975. Can you briefly describe bilateral relations
between the two countries from then until now?

Answer: It was very good at that time. They paid great attention to us,
possibly because it was the beginning of our diplomatic relationship. But
then, in 1983, Burma invited a South Korean government delegation to
visit, and North Korea plotted to assassinate them at the Martyrs’
Mausoleum in Rangoon, killing 22 people. The South Korean president was
fortunate to be late arriving at the place. They [the North Koreans] are
the kind of people who can commit such crimes. They dare to do everything.

Now the US has imposed sanctions on Burma and the Burmese junta takes a
hostile approach to the US. North Korea is also seen as an enemy of the
US. So now [Burma and North Korea] are close again, as allies. What had
happened in 1983 is no longer an issue between them. Since they both have
a grudge against the US, the Burmese military has formed a new alliance
with North Korea. I see the junta has also been trying to foster relations
with Iran and Cuba, which are also antagonistic to the US.

Q: What differences do you observe in the relationship between the period
of Gen Ne Win’s rule and now?

A: At that time, it was just a diplomatic relationship, based on the fact
that North Korea was also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement. It was
like the relationship that we had with other countries around the world.
In the first year of formal diplomatic ties, Burma’s foreign minister
[went to North Korea], and then U Ne Win and his daughter Sandar Win made
a state visit. That’s it. We severed diplomatic communication after the
bombing.

Now the diplomatic relationship has resumed without any apology from them.
Of course, we should forgive them, if they apologize. But North Korea has
never issued a formal apology to Burma. But it is should be considered
absolutely necessary if the two countries want to resume normal diplomatic
relations. However, I know that people from here were the first to
approach the other side.

Now communications seem better. As far as I have observed, it is basically
for military purposes and especially for weapons.

North Korea is smarter than Burma in terms of weapons technology. People
from here want those weapons, and they want [North Korea’s] nuclear
technology. I assume they resumed relations for that purpose.

A nuclear reactor is reportedly being built here, and if they want to make
a nuclear bomb from it, they may need to receive the technology from North
Korea.

For more, please visit: http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=16203