BurmaNet News, July 7, 2009

[Editor]

July 7, 2009, Issue #3748


INSIDE BURMA
AP: Myanmar rebuilding uneven a year after the cyclone
Guardian (UK): Burma rebels vow to stop using child soldiers
New Light of Myanmar: Senior General Than Shwe receives UNSG for two times

ON THE BORDER
Mizzima News: India urged to stop helping Burmese junta

BUSINESS / TRADE
VOA: US industry group calls for renewed ban on Burmese exports
Mizzima News: Foreign investments soar in Burma despite economic sanctions
AP Myanmar earns $292 million from jade sales

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Ban warns Junta of costly isolation
DVB: Ethnic Burmese among world’s ‘most threatened’
BBC News: Honorary degree for Burma laureate

OPINION / OTHER
AP: Myanmar junta stage-manages visit by UN chief – John Heilprin
DVB: Life is cheap in the East, even cheaper in Burma – Pascal Khoo-Thwe




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

July 7, Associated Press
Myanmar rebuilding uneven a year after the cyclone – John Heilprin

As the U.N. helicopter skimmed above the placid Irrawaddy Delta, Myanmar's
military junta was putting the final touches on its showcase village.

Throngs of people lined the muddy walkways of Kyon Da village, a relief
camp erected in this cyclone-hit area, while others stayed in their homes
— neat rows of small houses made out of dried palm and matted bamboo.

The new houses on stilts replaced the plastic tents and stacks of supplies
put on display for visitors a year earlier, after Cyclone Nargis
devastated the delta in May 2008.

For last weekend's visit by U.N. officials, some villagers smiled, and
their kids sported freshly starched and ironed white linen garments. Many
of the women and children wore Thanaka, a cosmetic used by Burmese women
for 2,000 years — golden-colored tree bark that is ground, made into paint
and used to draw circles on the cheeks and even their ears.

About 1,000 homes collapsed and more than 100 people died in Kyon Da when
the cyclone struck.

The angry waters that swallowed 138,000 lives in the cyclone have receded.
Seen from above, where there had been a monolith of shimmering water was
now a patchwork of rice field and border, river and shoreline, muddy pond
and gray cloud.

Gone were the endless stretches of flooded rice fields and islands of
destroyed homes with a few people standing on the rooftops. It affected
more than two million, leaving a quarter-million homeless.

The biggest health threats remain HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis,
according to the International Organization for Migration, which began
partnering with Myanmar's government in 2005. In the past year IOM-led
medical teams treated 110,613 people in 858 of the affected villages.

Local medical officials in Kyon Da Village began to explain to a reporter
last Saturday how the clinics were all busy, with the village and the
broader Irrawaddy Delta region suffering from a high number of respiratory
infections.

But after government minders began listening in, the medical officials
suddenly seemed to lose their ability to speak English. End of
conversation.

Residents spoke of some improved health conditions — fewer cases of
diarrhea and several new clinics nearby. Some other improvements were
obvious, but this was the camp that the xenophobic junta that rules
Myanmar, also known as Burma, wanted the world to see.

"Clearly, they are living in their own world," a senior U.N. official
along for the village inspection said of Myanmar's ruling junta, speaking
on condition of anonymity to avoid angering authorities.

Many Western nations haven't fully opened their wallets to the U.N.'s
three-year, $691 million recovery plan, lacking trust in Myanmar or not
wanting to provide too much help to an authoritarian regime, a senior U.N.
humanitarian official said on condition of anonymity to protect his
relationship with Myanmar authorities.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's first trip to Myanmar more than a
year earlier helped overcome the reluctance for which the junta was widely
condemned in granting foreign aid agencies access in the first weeks after
the disaster, which almost certainly added to the death toll.

But to focus on securing cooperation from Myanmar's government with
various humanitarian agencies, Ban dropped any appeals to the ruling
generals to improve their human rights' record or to release jailed
democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi (pronounced ong sahn SUE CHEE) and
thousands of other political prisoners.

Ban's visit last weekend was meant to make up for that. He held two rare
meetings with the junta chief, Senior Gen. Than Shwe (pronounced TAHN
SHWAY), but was not allowed to see the 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize
laureate, who has been detained by the ruling generals for nearly 14 of
the past 20 years.

Suu Kyi is now on trial, charged with violating her house arrest, and
faces five years in prison if convicted in a trial that has sparked global
outrage.

On a brief visit to Kyon Da Village carefully scripted by Myanmar's
government, the U.N. chief was haunted by the memory of a baby girl he
encountered here a year ago. "She was only one day old," Ban mused aloud.

He had seen the mother living in a tent with the girl, hours after her
birth. He'd seen another girl, too, just 19 days old, sick and clinging to
life, but lacking medical support. He'd told the mothers not to lose hope,
the United Nations was there to help.

But the U.N.'s World Food Program, which has operated in Myanmar for 15
years, still cannot muster 44 percent of the $79 million it says is needed
over three years. The World Health Organization still lacks 57 percent of
$42 million in projected needs for 325 townships.

Ban wasn't able to determine the whereabouts of those fledgling lives he'd
seen the year before. Instead, he and his entourage — top aides and two
journalists — got a snapshot that showed some improvements while masking
remaining problems.

Ban, who carried the same message as last year that the U.N. was there to
help and keep hope alive, said he was satisfied "the government has taken
necessary measures."

Nearly a quarter-million people in remote villages rely on boat deliveries
of clean drinking water, rice fields remain bare or contaminated with salt
from the floodwaters, and food handouts are increasingly scarce.

Schools are rebuilt but short of teachers, and a half-million people still
live in the most basic of shelters.
____________________________________

July 7, Guardian (UK)
Burma rebels vow to stop using child soldiers – Mark Tran

Shan insurgents get foreign aid in return for halting use of children in
country with highest number of underage conscripts

One of Burma's main rebel groups has pledged to stop using child soldiers
in return for outside aid in an effort to enhance its international
credibility.

Leaders of the Shan State army (SSA), one of several ethnic insurgent
groups battling the country's military junta, have signed a memorandum of
understanding with Abolish Slavery and International Operations Centre for
Children (IOCC), two western non-governmental organisations, to prevent
minors serving in its forces.

Burma has the highest number of child soldiers in the world – about
70,000. A Human Rights Watch report in 2002 found widespread forced
recruitment of boys as young as 11. Subsequent reports say the number of
child soldiers in Burma is largely unchanged despite international
condemnation.

International law prohibits the recruitment of children under 15 and the
use of child soldiers has been recognised as a war crime under the statute
for the international criminal court.

In Burma, the national army is the biggest culprit. Flouting the country's
own laws that prohibit any recruitment of under 18s, the army apprehends
boys at public places such as markets and bus stations, using threats and
violence to force them to join. Once trained, children as young as 12 have
been sent to fight against ethnic insurgent groups.

Rebel groups also forcibly conscript children. The United Wa State army,
the biggest rebel force, has the largest number. The Kachin Independence
army is the only armed group to recruit girls. The SSA and the Karen
National Liberation army have policies against recruiting children under
18, but do not turn away children who actively seek to join.

Christian Elliott, of the IOCC, who signed the agreement with Lieutenant
Colonel Kon Jern, a SSA commander, said the reason behind the insurgents'
anti-child soldiers pledge was international credibility.

"They are looking for brownie points any way they can and in return we
will provide them with educational material for teachers and children,
including books writing materials, computers and distant education
opportunities," Elliott said.

The Shan area once used to be a major producer of heroin but the rebel
groups have made an effort to stamp out production as part of the drive
for international respectability.

Elliott, who made the arduous trek into Burma to sign the agreement, said
the SSA has between 2,000 and 3,000 soldiers aged 16-18.

The rebel group has also agreed to provide evidence of human rights abuses
by the Burmese army in the form of video and photographs. The material is
to be displayed on the Abolish Slavery website in support of the SSA's to
help the people of the Shan state, in the east of the country.

Home to several ethnic armed groups, Shan remains largely outside central
government control.
____________________________________

July 5, New Light of Myanmar
Senior General Than Shwe receives UNSG for two times

Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Senior General Than
Shwe received and held discussions with UN Secretary-General Mr Ban
Ki-moon and party at Bayintnaung Yeiktha here two times – on 3 July from 2
pm to 3.50 pm and on 4

July from 9.30 am to 10 am.

Also present at the calls were Vice-Chairman of the State Peace and
Development Council Vice-Senior General Maung Aye, SPDC member General
Thura Shwe Mann, Prime Minister General Thein Sein, SPDC Secretary-1
General Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo, Minister for Foreign Affairs U Nyan
Win, Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador U Than Swe,
Director-General Col Kyaw Kyaw Win of SPDC Office and Director-General U
Kyaw Kyaw of the Protocol Department. The UNSG was accompanied by Senior
Adviser Mr B Lynn Pascoe, Senior Adviser Mr Ibrahim Gambari, Senior
Adviser Mr Kim Wonsoo, Senior Adviser Ms Catherine Bragg and UN Resident
Representative Mr Bishow B Parajuli.

First, Senior General Than Shwe said he cordially welcomed the second
visit of the UN Secretary-General. As a UN member, Myanmar is making the
best cooperation with the United Nations, he added.

In his discussion, Mr Ban Ki-moon said he was very glad to be in Myanmar
for the second time. Before visiting Myanmar, he had extensive discussions
with UN member countries, five permanent UN Security Council member
countries, Japan and ASEAN nations. All those countries supported his
visit to Myanmar and wished to see progress in Myanmar's democratic
transition and seven-step Road Map. Last year, he visited Myanmar and
coordinated necessary measures for humanitarian aids for the
rehabilitation of cyclone Nargis-affected regions, said Mr Ban Ki-moon.
When he was in the country for the second time, he was delighted to see
some buildings damaged due to the storm while going to Yangon from Yangon
International Airport have been reconstructed. When he visited the
storm-affected delta areas the following day, he would know the
arrangements made and work done by Myanmar and continued assistance to be
provided by the UN and the international community, UNSG added. He
recognized the activities of Tripartite Core Group in humanitarian aids as
an ideal. Regarding humanitarian aids, the international community will
continue to give necessary assistance.

Mr Ban Ki-moon said he would like to discuss political affairs. The UN
supports Myanmar's seven-step Road Map. It is found that the fifth step of
the road map is beginning to be implemented. When meeting the Senior
General the previous year, he said the State would like to build a
consolidated, peaceful democratic nation and leave it to the next
generation as a legacy. And this is the nice vision of the Senior General.
Mr Ban Ki-moon continued to say that when he met the political parties and
armed groups that had made peace with the State, he would urge them to
participate in nation-building tasks as partners with a constructive
attitude under the leadership of the Head of State and in the election
with a constructive attitude. The next year's election will go down in the
annals of Myanmar's history and is the very important matter. The
international community wishes to see that election next year to be one
that is held democratically. He said he believes that the election will be
open, free and fair and win international recognition and it will ensure
all-inclusiveness. If necessary, the UN would like to render assistance to
the election. It also would like the government to arrange for all
politicians who should take part in the process of transition to democracy
to be able to participate in it. He added he knows how Myanmar is affected
by economic sanctions. He will discuss this matter when meeting the
leaders of western nations. Mr Ban Ki-moon said he wished to see Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi during his visit. He knows that she is facing a trial at the
moment.

Senior General Than Shwe thanked the Secretary-General for his explanation
at length on functions of the United Nations. The Senior General said that
Myanmar is making the best cooperation with the United Nations as a UN
member. Myanmar recognizes the meetings between the Secretary-General and
the leaders of other important countries before his visit to Myanmar, he
added. The Senior General expressed thanks for UN cooperation and
assistance in storm-hit regions. Myanmar has never experienced a disaster
like the cyclone Nargis in its history. Moreover, such great loss and
destruction had never been experienced either. However, the government in
cooperation with the people and the Tatmadaw effectively carried out
rehabilitation work with the contribution of the international community
in order for the condition to return to almost normal in the shortest
possible time. The major businesses of the storm-hit region — agriculture,
livestock and fisheries and salt industry — have been restored to
normalcy. The new roads stretching 300 miles are under construction for
protection and evacuation in times of emergency.

The earth road has been built. The road will be upgraded to the hard road
in future. Permanent houses for the homeless in the region, cyclone
shelters and embankments for preventing floods are also being built. The
Senior General said that the UN Secretary-General would witness the work
progress when he goes there weather permitting the following day.
Arrangements have been made to explain rehabilitation works by Tripartite
Core Group, he added.

The Senior General said that he would like to explain the future work
programmes of the State. The government will hold fair elections in 2010.
Necessary laws, regulations and procedures are being drafted to be
completed in time. When they have been drafted, parties will be formed and
election laws will be issued in time. Plans have been made for everyone to
participate in the election. The laws are being drafted to be fair.
Arrangements will be made to form parties and to run for the elections.
With the concept that national unity is a must for the nation, the present
government has built trust and confidence with the insurgent groups that
had emerged in the post-independence period and they are now cooperating
with the government. Although there are still some insurgent groups, 17
major armed groups and small armed groups have made peace with the
government and are carrying out regional development tasks.

He added that he would like to arrange a meeting between the UNSG and Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi, but she is now on trial with US citizen Mr John William
Yettaw. So, he would like the UNSG to understand that she is not available
in the trial period.

Mr Ban Ki-moon said that he thanked the Senior General for his response to
the discussions; and that he would like to call on the Senior General
before his return home the following day. The meeting ended at 3.50 pm.

At 9.30 am today, Senior General Than Shwe met UNSG Mr Ban Ki-moon for the
second time.

At the call, the Senior General was accompanied by Vice-Senior General
Maung Aye, General Thura Shwe Mann, Prime Minister General Thein Sein,
Secretary-1 General Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo and Minister for Foreign
Affairs U Nyan Win; and the UNSG, by Senior Advisor Mr B Lynn Pascoe and
Senior Advisor Mr Ibrahim Gambari.

The UNSG said that previous day, he held discussions with the Myanmar
Prime Minister on Myanmar-UN cooperation; that he met the 10 political
parties, and then with seven groups that have made peace with the
government; that at the meetings, he urged them to participate with
positive altitude in the election and tasks for national reconciliation;
that this morning, he sat together with his advisors and discussed
official international aid to Myanmar; that international assistance to
Myanmar is far less than that to other countries; that he wants to give
help to Myanmar; that it is important to set timeframe for necessary laws
and commissions for the election; and that he would like Myanmar officials
to consider to arrange a meeting between him and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

In response, Senior General Than Shwe said that he thanks the UNSG for the
discussions; that he hopes the UN will cope with the issue fairly and
without discrimination against or in favour of particular countries, big
or small; that Myanmar is concentrating on the two major points; that the
first point is arrangement for successful completion of the election due
to be held in 2010, and the second point, laying foundations for the next
government to be formed according to the election results; that for the
time being, they are in no position to pay attention to any personal
cases, except the two points; that he had explained the previous day as to
the case the UNSG had asked for a meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi; that
he would like to arrange a meeting between the UNSG and Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi, but she is now on trial with US citizen Mr John William Yettaw; that
the case is being heard freely and fairly, so they have no right to
arrange a meeting between the UNSG and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The meeting
concluded at 10 am.

Mr Ibrahim Gambari arrived in Myanmar on 26 June for making arrangements
for the visit of UNSG. He met Minister for Foreign Affairs U Nyan Win and
made detailed agenda for the UNSG's trip to Myanmar. The meeting
coordinated to hold a meeting between the UNSG and Senior General Than
Shwe, to meet the Prime Minister and to host a diner by the Prime
Minister, to attend the TCG meeting on cyclone "Nargis" and to meet
responsible persons from INGOs, NGOs, UN agencies and donors at the
meeting, to meet with legal political parties, to meet the groups that
have made peace with the government, to meet representatives of UN
agencies and foreign diplomats to Myanmar, and to make necessary
arrangements for the UNSG

and members. According to the coordination, a meeting between the UNSG and
Daw Aung San SuuKyi could not be allowed as she is facing a trial at the
court, it is learnt. – MNA

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

July 7, Mizzima News
India urged to stop helping Burmese junta – Salai Pi Pi

The Indian government has been exhorted to stop helping the Burmese
military regime by student leaders and journalists from Northeast Indian
states, who in a show of solidarity, demanded the unconditional release of
Burmese Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Dr Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya, advisor of the All Assam Students’ Union
(AASU) on Tuesday said he supports restoration of democracy in Burma and
urges India to initiate a move for the immediate release of Aung San Suu
Kyi, currently being tried in Rangoon’s Insein prison court.

“We want democracy to be restored there and at the same time, the leader
[Aung San Suu Kyi] should be released,” Samujjal Bhattacharya told
Mizzima.

Journalists and student leaders from Northeast India voiced their demand
as India continues to be silent about the trial of Augn San Suu Kyi and
has steadfastly refused to join the global outcry against the junta.

Nava Thakuria, a Guwahati-based Assamese journalist said, India as the
largest democracy in the world should review its ‘Look East’ policy, which
claims to be based on its national interest.

Thakuria said the focus of India’s foreign policy on Burma is to counter
China’s influence in Burma and flush out all Northeast militants based in
Burma’s northern Kachin state and North-Western Sagaing division with the
help of the military regime.

“But we can say this policy has failed, as there are still many Northeast
militants sheltered on Burmese soil,” he added.

In a show of solidarity, Indian journalists, social activists and student
leaders of Northeast India on July 4, held a round-table meeting
highlighting ‘India’s policy on Burma: A northeast Perspective’, in
Guwahati, capital of Assam state.

Indian students, journalists and activists called on India to stop
supporting the Burmese regime especially with the sale of military
hardware.

“India has sold military hardware including helicopters and tanks to the
Burmese military regime earlier. We urge them not to sell more armaments
in the future because they are used for repressing the people,” said
Thakuria, who also acted as the contact person for the Roundtable
discussion in Guwahati.

He said, while New Delhi has boosted bilateral trade with Burma, it should
also accommodate Burmese pro-democracy activists in exile to help their
political cause.

India and Burma, in recent years, have stepped up bilateral trade
relationship. The Indo-Burmese bilateral trade for the fiscal year 2007-08
stood at US $ 901.3 million with Burma's export to India standing at US $
727.85 million.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

July 7, Voice of America
US industry group calls for renewed ban on Burmese exports

An industry group representing U.S. footwear and clothing companies and
their suppliers has called on U.S. lawmakers to renew a ban on Burmese
exports.

The American Apparel & Footwear Association sent a letter to members of
the U.S. Congress urging them to pass legislation that would extend
sanctions against Burma under the 2003 Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act.

The Senate and House of Representatives are considering identical
resolutions that would extend the ban - which is set to expire on July 26
- by up to three more years.

The trade association's president, Kevin Burke, says the continued ban
would send a clear message that the United States is not interested in
doing business with "regimes like the one that brutally enslaves the
people of Burma". Burke added that he hopes the international community
will join the United States in demonstrating that there is "no room for
oppression in the global marketplace."

U.S. lawmakers are considering renewing the ban as Burma's most prominent
opposition figure, Aung San Suu Kyi, stands trial for allegedly violating
the terms of her house arrest.

Burma's military government has ignored calls to free the Nobel Peace
Prize winner and the country's thousands of political prisoners.

Burmese authorities denied United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
permission to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi during his two-day visit to the
country last week.

The 64-year-old pro-democracy activist has been under detention for 13 of
the past 19 years.
____________________________________

July 7, Mizzima News
Foreign investments soar in Burma despite economic sanctions – Solomon

Economic sanctions imposed by the West – United States and the European
Union – notwithstanding, foreign investments in Burma, since 1988,
accounts for a total of US dollar 15 billion.

The energy sector, which includes oil and gas, and hydroelectric power
plants, is the single largest domain that attracted foreign investments,
said an official of the Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (UMFCCI).

The present military rulers of Burma, in power since 1988, opened its
doors to neighbours including China, Thailand, and India and welcomed
investments in oil and gas and hydropower-projects.

“The Hat Gyi hydroelectric power project alone attracted over US$ 6
billion in 2006-2007,” said the official. The Hat Gyi hydro-project is to
be built in eastern Burma’s Karen state in collaboration with Thailand.

“Thailand is the leading investor in the energy sector,” the official added.

Both Thailand and China have made multi-billion dollar investments in
hydroelectricity projects in Eastern and Northern parts of Burma.

Burma’s military regime, riding on the crest of foreign investments, has
planned to construct several dams along the Salween River, which will
produce an estimated 14,000 megawatts of power at an approximate budget of
US$ 20 billion.

A report in a local journal in Rangoon, the Weekly Eleven states that
Thailand is the leading investor in Burma with an estimated investment of
USD 7.41 billion, followed by the United Kingdom which has invested USD
1.8 billion, despite imposing economic and financial sanctions against the
ruling junta.

Singapore is in the third spot with an investment of USD 1.55 billion,
followed by China in the fourth position with 1.33 billion U.S. dollars.

The four are followed by Malaysia with USD 660.75 million, Hong Kong SAR
with USD 504.22 million, France USD 469 million, the United States USD
243,565 million, Indonesia USD 241.50 million and South Korea USD 239.32
million.

The Weekly said, investments were made by 31 countries and regions in 424
projects, in 12 economic sectors, including electricity, oil and gas,
manufacturing, real estate, hotels and tourism, mining, transport and
communications, livestock breeding and fisheries, industry, construction,
agriculture and the services sector.

Khin Maung Kyi, a Singapore-based Burmese economist said despite sanctions
by western nations against the ruling regime, foreign investments in Burma
are likely to grow further.

“It is not a surprise because China alone is into a great number of
investments especially in oil and gas sectors,” said Khin Maung Kyi.

However, he said, sadly the investments, which he estimates would be over
USD 15 billion, has never been spent on social development of the country
or used for the uplift of the living standards of the people.

“I really doubt that these foreign investments have benefited the people
and have contributed to the development of the country,” he said.

____________________________________

July 7, Associated Press
Myanmar earns $292 million from jade sales

Military-ruled Myanmar earned more than 209 million euros ($292 million)
from the sale of jade at a government-sponsored gems show despite a U.S.
ban on their import, a merchant said Tuesday.

Nearly 5,500 lots of jade were sold through competitive bidding at the
13-day auction, with most of the buyers from China, said one of the
participants, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of government
reprisal. The event was attended by more than 5,000 local and foreign gem
merchants, the participant said.

The military regime, which normally trumpets the annual emporium, has made
no announcement about the June 22-July 4 event.

Myanmar is one of the world's biggest producers of jade and other gems, as
well as the source of up to 90 percent of its rubies.

The United States last year signed legislation banning the import of gems
from Myanmar as part of sanctions against the country. Because of U.S.
economic sanctions imposed on Myanmar in July 2003, which froze all U.S.
dollar remittances to the country, international business transactions
including gem sales are carried out in euros.

"Despite the gems ban and (world) economic crisis, 72 percent of jade lots
displayed at the emporium were sold," said the merchant.

The largest contingent of buyers, nearly 3,000, came from China, the main
market for Myanmar jade.

Most of the jade belongs to private businesses and the government takes a
10 percent tax from sales.

Organized by the Mines Ministry, gem auctions are a major revenue earner
for the ruling junta, which faces International condemnation because of
its poor human rights record and failure to hand over power to a
democratically elected government.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

July 7, Irrawaddy
Ban warns Junta of costly isolation – Lalit K Jha

Expressing deep disappointment at the failure to make any headway with the
leaders of the military junta, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has warned
Burma of “costly isolation” if it sticks with its current policy and
ignores the concerns of the international community.

Briefing reporters on Ban’s trip to Burma last week, his spokeswoman,
Michele Montas, said on Monday that the Secretary General was deeply
disappointed that Senior General Than Shwe had refused his request to see
Aung San Suu Kyi.

“Allowing a visit, he said, would have been an important symbol of the
Government's willingness to embark on the kind of meaningful engagement
that will be essential if the elections in 2010 are to be seen as
credible,” Montas said.

Even as Ban observed that the junta had failed to take a unique
opportunity to show its commitment to a new era of political openness,
Montas said the Secretary General feels that his visit enabled him to
convey the concerns of the international community very frankly and
directly to the military government, and he outlined his proposals for
progress while he was there.

“Among those proposals are the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all
political prisoners without delay, so that they can be allowed to
participate freely in the political process,” Montas said.

Meanwhile the US Campaign for Burma announced that Ban’s Burma policy is
“fundamentally flawed” and demanded immediate action by the Security
Council in a press release on Monday.

“Ban not only failed to obtain the release of the world's only imprisoned
Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi, or even a single political
prisoner (out of the country’s 2,100) in Burma, but he also failed to even
secure a meeting with her,” the statement said.

"For over a decade, the UN Secretary-General has sent envoys to Burma
seeking changes in the country, a policy used by China and Russia as an
excuse to avoid action on Burma at the UN Security Council. Finally, the
world can see how this process is fundamentally flawed—without strong
action by the UN Security Council, even the UN Secretary-General himself
has failed," said Aung Din, executive director of US Campaign for Burma.

During his Burma trip last week, Ban met Senior General Than Shwe. "The
United Nations must not allow its credibility to be destroyed by a two-bit
dictator like Than Shwe," Aung Din said.

"It is time for Ban Ki-moon to ask the UN Security Council to pass a
global arms embargo against Burma's military regime, while at the same
time initiating an inquiry into crimes against humanity and war crimes
committed by Than Shwe's regime,” he said.

Noting that the United Nations has used arms embargoes in numerous cases
to press for change in particular countries, notably against apartheid-era
South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s, the US Campaign for Burma said a
recent report commissioned by five of the world's leading judges and
jurists found widespread evidence suggesting that Burma's military regime
has been carrying out crimes against humanity and war crimes against its
own civilians.

Two weeks ago, nearly 60 members of the U.S. House of Representatives
wrote to President Obama urging him to take action on crimes against
humanity in Burma at the UN Security Council.

____________________________________

July 7, Democratic Voice of Burma
Ethnic Burmese among world’s ‘most threatened’ – Francis Wade

Nine ethnic groups in Burma have been ranked fifth on a table measuring
groups of people throughout the world deemed to be most under threat of
genocide, mass killing and other systematic violent repression.

Burma’s myriad ethnic groups, thought to number 137 in total, have long
been marginalized by the ruling State Peace and Development Council, which
is made up predominantly of the Burman group, which accounts for nearly 70
percent of Burma’s population.

The conflict between government forces and the ethnic opposition Karen
National Union (KNU), which appears to be nearing an end, is thought to be
the world’s longest running, and has forced 140,000 Karen into refugee
camps along the Thai-Burma border.

Burma stands out in the Peoples Under Threat 2009 table, compiled by
Minority Rights Group International (MRGI), as being one of only three
countries in the top ten where Islam is not the dominant religion.

It is the threat of conflict in Muslim countries, in the context of
Western countries tackling Islamic extremism, that dominates the top of
the table.

Burma also takes a surprisingly high place given that, unlike Iraq,
Afghanistan and, to an extent Pakistan, who rank second, fourth and sixth
respectively, Burma faces no external interference.

Several prominent authorities on Burma, including British MPs, senior
judges and a former advisor to the International Criminal Court, have said
that state-sanctioned human rights abuses in Burma could now warrant
charges of war crimes.

An Early Day Motion put forward by over 60 British MPs in May urged the UN
to act on the campaign of ethnic cleansing that the ruling State Peace and
Development Council is carrying out against ethnic nationalities.

The plight of Burma’s ethnic population was thrown into the spotlight
earlier this year when around 1000 Rohingya refugees washed up in boats on
Thailand’s shores, only to be towed back out to sea and set adrift by Thai
authorities.

The Rohingya, who are a minority Muslim population, are not recognized by
the Burmese government and suffer frequent discrimination due to their
lack of legal status.

____________________________________

July 7, BBC News
Honorary degree for Burma laureate – Freya McClements

Amid the excited graduates and proud parents gathering at the University
of Ulster's Magee campus for Tuesday's graduation ceremony, there was one
high-profile guest who was not there to accept her award.

Burmese pro-democracy campaigner and leader of the opposition Aung San Suu
Kyi has been detained by the country's ruling military junta for 11 of the
past 19 years.

Today the university presented her with an honorary doctorate for services
to human rights.

In Derry to accept it was fellow campaigner, Mra Raza Linn, who hailed San
as a hero who has dedicated her life to establishing democracy in Burma.

"I am very happy to received this award on behalf of the hero of the
Burmese democracy movement.

"This is not only honouring Aung San Suu Kyi, but recognising the people
who are suffering and sacrificing their lives to achieve democracy and
human rights in Burma," she said.

"I do believe that the peoples of Ireland support our non-violence
movement for democracy in their heart and soul, and recognize non-violent
activists who are struggling for the peace, justice and human rights in
Burma."

She explained that conditions in the country were "very bad".

"The people are very poor, and the only people who are rich are the ruling
military junta.

"Burma is a country full of resources - in my region there is plenty of
oil and gas - but the people never have access to it or see the benefits
of it.

"There is no building going on, and there are no schools for our children.

"The people want to live peacefully, but they cannot. The military junta
use force against us, and they try to rape the minority women."

Mrs Linn was forced to flee the country in 1988 after she delivered the
first pro-democracy speech in her home state of Rakhaing in western Burma.

"I called on my people to unite to face down the military junta and to
work for freedom.

"The military ordered that I be killed, and I could not live in my country
any more.

"I left in 1988, for Bangladesh, and I have lived there in exile ever
since, working towards children's education, women's empowerment, and
human rights.

"I work day and night on counteracting the military regime with
non-violent methods.

"We are going the right way towards democracy.

"One day they must step down.

"It could happen any time."

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

July 7, Associated Press
Myanmar junta stage-manages visit by UN chief – John Heilprin

Myanmar's ruling junta wanted Ban Ki-moon to go into a grandiose drug
museum through the back door to prevent the U.N. secretary-general from
making a rock-star entrance.

Ban eventually did walk through the front door — a small victory after he
had lost far bigger battles, notably a hoped-for meeting with jailed
democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi (pronounced ong sahn SUE CHEE).

After a two-day visit in which the generals tried to stage-manage the
world's top diplomat at every step, Ban left the country with few
prospects of even slightly loosening the iron grip on power held by
military regime and its junta chief, Senior Gen. Than Shwe.

If people saw Ban acting independently in Myanmar "that would cause Than
Shwe to lose face," said Donald Seekins, a Myanmar expert at Japan's Meio
University. "So they want to manipulate him."

By snubbing Ban, the country's military rulers lost an opportunity to
improve its standing among many of the world's nations that view the
struggling country with rich reserves of gas and minerals as a pariah.

Inside Myanmar, Suu Kyi's opposition party said Than Shwe (pronounced TAHN
SHWAY) showed he is unwilling to permit real change ahead of the 2010
elections, which would be the first in two decades.

Ban had asked to make his closing speech to diplomats and humanitarian
groups Saturday at a hotel, but the junta refused and forced him to
instead speak at the government's Drug Elimination Museum.

Ban's staff didn't want his presence there — where a wax figure depicts a
military intelligence chief chopping opium poppies, which Myanmar views as
a scourge introduced by colonialists — to appear like another prop
furthering the government's agenda

"They fought us over every last detail," said a U.N. official who took
part in organizing the trip, speaking anonymously and out of protocol
because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Ban — whose mild-mannered facade belies a toughness and occasional temper
— would have preferred a tete-a-tete with Than Shwe to having note-taking
aides around, an example of his belief in his ability to sway recalcitrant
world leaders if only he can get them alone in a room.

But Than Shwe's idea of a tete-a-tete was to pit himself and the other
four generals who together make up the ruling State Peace and Development
Council against Ban and some high-ranking U.N. deputies in the rarely
visited capital of Naypyitaw, according to U.N. officials.

The 76-year-old Than Shwe suggested that Ban might not be invited back
until after the elections.

Ban said Than Shwe promised to hand over power to civilians after the
elections. But the generals refused to follow U.N. recommendations
intended to prevent sham elections, including publishing an election law
and freeing Suu Kyi and 2,200 other political prisoners to ensure general
participation.

"Only then will the elections be seen as credible and legitimate," Ban
told reporters Monday in Geneva, Switzerland.

The government refused to honor the results of the 1990 elections after
Suu Kyi's party won in a landslide. The junta tolerates no dissent and
crushed pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks in September 2007.

At the end of the trip, Ban tried to defuse the notion he was returning
empty-handed.

He said the visit was an opportunity to plant seeds that could blossom
later and that he was dutifully relaying the international community's
message the elections must be seen as credible.

In the meantime, Ban said he will keep talks alive with Than Shwe through
the so-called Group of Friends on Myanmar.

That approach hasn't nudged Myanmar on key issues. Nor have eight previous
visits by Ibrahim Gambari, Ban's top envoy to Myanmar, produced many
results.

"Than Shwe is using the United Nations as a way of buying time or
distracting people from the main issues, so it isn't very constructive,"
Seekins said. "I don't think Than Shwe is willing to make political
concessions, especially concerning Aung San Suu Kyi. I think he would
really like to put her away in jail and not have to worry about her."

In the absence of Suu Kyi, it was left to Ban to deliver unusually
stinging remarks about the government, its pummeling of human rights and
the urgent need to set a new course.

When he took the stage at the museum, it was a rarity in the military's
half-century of dominance — an outside political figure allowed to say
what he wants.

And after much haggling, Ban's black Mercedes was allowed to pull up to
the front door of the museum. There, his motorcade disgorged a small
entourage of aides and a half-dozen international journalists. Local press
awaited him inside.

That also ensured an audience for him in Myanmar and beyond — another
small victory.

____________________________________

July 7, Democratic Voice of Burma
Life is cheap in the East, even cheaper in Burma – Pascal Khoo-Thwe

The nineteenth-century Jewish-German writer and critic, Henrich Heine,
once said, "Where they burn books, they will ultimately also burn people."

When the Nazis organized the nationwide burning of books deemed
'un-German' in May 1933, not many people could have imagined that they
would go on to kill many unarmed, non-combatant and innocent people,
mostly Jews, on the basis of racial ideology.

In Burma, the first military junta, led by the late General Ne Win, caused
a similar shock when it seized power in March 1962. Then on this day in
1962, soldiers under the command of the 'Butcher of Rangoon', Sein Lwin,
dynamited and blew up Rangoon University's student union building with
around one hundred protesting students still inside it. Scores were
killed. The bloodied site was bulldozed and then paved over.

Some years later, Ne Win blamed one of his officers for the infamous
incident, and the latter pointed finger back at him. But tellingly, none
volunteered to re-construct the building or apologized for the action as
they have no desire to see the resurrection of Burmese student activism
that precipitated the demand for independence of Burma from the British.
True to the form of the oligarchic rulers of old Burma, they also felt
that admitting the mistake would be tantamount to accepting failure.
Unlike the Nazis of the Third Reich, whose overarching ambition was to
create a pure race, Burma’s rulers use a policy of ‘Burmanisation’
primarily to achieve their final goal of absolute power.

It was a symbolic destruction of the future of the country, as well as a
spiteful act against the students and intellectuals of the country
regarded by Ne Win and his cohorts with a mixture of suspicion and
jealousy. Following the incident, the junta gradually and imperceptibly
downgraded the standard of education, once regarded as the best in Asia,
by filling the pages of textbooks with propaganda and slogans. Passages of
rational and humourous arguments were also phased out, making it harder
for teachers to teach anything meaningful or useful.

Many Burmese students of that generation regard the event as the beginning
of the ongoing struggle for predominance between the army and the
civilians in Burma. In fact, it is also a struggle for the claimant of a
definite 'Burmese' identity. The generals want to mould Burma into a
uniformed, aloof and 'pure' nation while civilian leaders want it to be a
nation of vibrant and prosperous people. But both sides lack well
thought-out plans, the patience and diligence needed to realize their
dream of a strong nation. They both put an emphasis on the importance of
discipline and self-sacrifice but many are reluctant to commit themselves
to their ideals. Over the years, the gap between the army and civilian
life has become wider to the point where the army started to think of
itself as of a special class and breed, while the people started to see
the army as an alien force or a force working for alien powers occupying
their country.

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