BurmaNet News, July 28, 2009

[Editor]

July 28, 2009 Issue #3763

INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Suu Kyi verdict set for Friday in Myanmar
Irrawaddy: Suu Kyi insists her trial will test rule of law in Burma
FT: Cyclone survivors remain in squalor
KNG: Northern commander to meet Kachin church leaders again on KIO
DVB: Burma’s information ministry in new email campaign

BUSINESS / TRADE
Xinhua: Myanmar strengthens co-op with foreign countries on energy

HEALTH / AIDS
DVB: Global Fund could return to Burma
Mizzima: New report on ‘food security’ in Burma

ASEAN
Irrawaddy: Asean may request development funds for Burma

REGIONAL
AFP: Thai PM's Myanmar trip postponed due to trial: government

PRESS RELEASE
BRN, SGM and ECDF: Burma regime turns on the lights for ASEAN Energy
Ministers but not for its own People

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

July 28, Agence France Presse
Suu Kyi verdict set for Friday in Myanmar - Hla Hla Htay

A court in military-ruled Myanmar will deliver its verdict in the trial of
Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday in a case that could see the pro-democracy
leader jailed for up to five years, her lawyer said.

Myanmar's junta has sparked international outrage for prosecuting the
Nobel peace laureate on charges of breaching the rules of her house arrest
after an American man swam uninvited to her lakeside house in May.

"The verdict will be given this coming Friday. We are hoping for the best
but preparing for the worst," defence lawyer Nyan Win told AFP Tuesday
after the trial wrapped up with a final reply by Suu Kyi's legal team.

Judges Thaung Nyunt and Nyi Nyi Soe indicated to the court at the
notorious Insein prison in Yangon, where Suu Kyi is being held, that
sentencing was expected on the same day, Nyan Win said.

"We have a good chance according to the law, but we cannot know what the
court will decide because this is a political case," said Nyan Win, who is
also the spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.

"If she is released unconditionally she will be home on that day -- if
not, the sentence will be together with the verdict."

The verdict is widely expected to be a guilty one given the previous form
of Myanmar's courts, which have handed down heavy sentences to dozens of
dissidents over the past year.

But the Suu Kyi case has been repeatedly delayed since it started on May
18 amid signs that the regime is trying to quell the storm of
international outrage over its treatment of the opposition leader.

U2 singer Bono publicly announced during a concert in Dublin on Monday
that Suu Kyi had been named Amnesty International's ambassador of
conscience for 2009, the rights group's highest honour.

Diplomats from Thailand, Japan, Singapore and the United States attended
Tuesday's hearing, a Myanmar official said on condition of anonymity. Most
of the trial has taken place behind closed doors.

British Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant said during a trip to
Thailand on Tuesday that London was considering more sanctions but was
"hoping the government of Burma will do the right thing" and release Suu
Kyi.

"The regime's record in Burma is not a -- how can i put it -- elegant one.
So of course we have fears. But sometimes miracles happen," he said,
referring to the country by its former name.

He also praised neighbouring Thailand for leading efforts to ensure that
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member,
had issued "robust" criticism of the trial earlier this year.

But Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Tuesday postponed an upcoming
trip to Myanmar at the junta's request because it would coincide with
Friday's verdict, the Thai government said.

Critics have accused the junta of trying to keep Suu Kyi locked up ahead
of elections next year, and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led
calls for her release at an ASEAN conference last week.

Suu Kyi has been in jail or under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years
since the junta refused to recognise the NLD's landslide victory in
Myanmar's last national elections, in 1990.

The court made the announcement about the verdict after hearing final
comments by lawyers for Suu Kyi, her two female aides and US national John
Yettaw, in response to closing statements delivered by prosecutors on
Monday.

All face similar sentences.

Her lawyers say that she was not responsible for the intrusion by Yettaw
-- who has said that he was inspired by a divine vision that she would be
assassinated -- and that she was charged under outdated laws.

But Myanmar's rulers have strongly defended the trial.

State media on suggested that Yettaw "might have been sent to the country
by an anonymous country or organisation" -- possibly the United States --
and may have been trying to smuggle her out of her house.

____________________________________

July 28, Irrawaddy
Suu Kyi insists her trial will test rule of law in Burma - Saw Yan Naing

Aung San Suu Kyi insisted after Tuesday’s final session of her trial
before Friday’s scheduled verdict that the proceedings would show “whether
or not the rule of law exists in the country,” according to her lawyer
Nyan Win.

Suu Kyi made the comment to Nyan Win after the court announced a verdict
would be announced on Friday. Suu Kyi is charged with breaking the terms
of her house arrest order by giving refuge to an American trespasser, John
Yettaw, and faces a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment if
convicted.

Nyan Win, who is also a spokesman of Suu Kyi’s National League for
Democracy, told The Irrawaddy that his legal team had tried its best in
accordance with the law.

Suu Kyi was innocent, Nyan Win insisted. “She [Suu Kyi] did not break the
law. According to the law, it will be unlawful if the court even sentences
her.”

During Tuesday’s two-hour morning session, a defense plea for more
witnesses to be heard was rejected by the court, Nyan Win said.

Win Tin, an NLD executive leader who joined Suu Kyi supporters outside
Insein Prison on Tuesday, said her two female companions and Yettaw also
appeared at Tuesday’s session.

Suu Kyi’s companions Khin Khin Win and Win Ma Ma also face a charge of
giving unlawful refuge to Yettaw. They are represented by Hla Myo Myint.

Nyan Win was one of four lawyers representing Suu Kyi at Tuesday’s
session. The others were Kyi Wynn, Hla Myo Myint and Khin Htay Kywe,
according to Khin Maung Swe, an NLD spokesperson.

Diplomats from Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the US were allowed to
attend Tuesday’s session, according to an Associated Press report.
Last weekend, Suu Kyi told Nyan Win that she is unhappy with the continual
delays in her trial, which she said gave the prosecution more time to
prepare its final arguments.  The trial began on May 18 and has been
interrupted by several adjournments.

The proceedings against Suu Kyi have drawn wide international condemnation.

Last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and several Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) foreign ministers called for the
release of Suu Kyi and more than 2,100 other political prisoners during
the Asean Ministerial Meeting and Asean Regional Forum at Phuket in
southern Thailand.

The Burmese state-owned newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, carried an
editorial last weekend saying that “demanding the release of Suu Kyi means
showing reckless disregard for the law.”

The opposition leader has spent nearly 14 of the past 20 years under house
arrest. Her latest term of detention began in May 2003, when she and her
supporters came under attack by junta-backed thugs while traveling in
central Burma.

____________________________________

July 28, Financial Times
Cyclone survivors remain in squalor - Amy Kazmin in Ka Na So Chaung, Burma

It was the house of his dreams – a small wooden home with a 15-foot
ceiling, a corrugated iron roof and sturdy cement steps leading inside –
and U Aung Kyin, a 57-year-old farmer with seven acres of land, had
planned for a lifetime to build it.

The wood came from trees planted when his son was born 30 years before.
The $1,400 (€990, £852) for the carpenter’s fees, roof and other materials
was saved from sales of the fruit from his 100 banana trees. When he
finally moved in last year, after decades living in flimsy bamboo and
thatch structures, U Aung Kyin felt like a king.

“I waited 30 years to get that house,” he says. “I can’t even describe
what it felt like.”

Yet the stocky farmer didn’t enjoy his dream home for long. In May last
year, just a month after he moved in, Cyclone Nargis struck Burma’s
Irrawaddy delta, killing around 140,000 people and destroying about
800,000 homes. U Aung Kyin’s house was ripped apart, with only the cement
steps left standing.

Today, U Aung Kyin and his family are living in a makeshift shelter
constructed from salvaged materials. It is plush compared to the
precarious bamboo-mat and plastic-tarpaulin structures sheltering most of
his neighbours, impoverished fishermen for whom even a $35 thatched roof
is out of reach.

“We already borrowed $15 to buy bamboo matting,” says 38-year-old Myint
Tin, his fragile home teetering above thick mud. Though aid workers
assessed the village’s dire housing situation and promised help, Myint
Tin, who repairs torn fishing nets to support his eight family members,
says nothing has come. “We’ll have to wait for the roof,” he says.

Up to half a million cyclone survivors remain in similar squalor as
international efforts to help them rebuild peter out amid escalating
tensions between foreign donors and the ruling military junta. “There is a
lot of unhappiness in the donor community,” says a Rangoon-based western
diplomat. “It’s worrying because there is still an incredible amount of
need.”

Just after the storm the world rallied to help survivors, overcoming
strong resistance from the junta to gain access to the devastated area.
Led by the UK and the US, the regime’s fiercest critics, the international
community contributed about $329m to emergency relief efforts, the largest
flow of foreign aid ever to Burma, for years the target of sanctions.

But while survivors are still struggling to get back on their feet after
the loss of their homes and livestock, aid agencies are facing a severe
funding crunch amid a renewal of western concerns about Burma’s human
rights record and its suppression of dissent.

“The humanitarian response went fairly well; 95 per cent of people
received something,” says a Rangoon-based United Nations official who
works on housing issues. “It’s the early recovery and reconstruction which
from a shelter perspective has been very weak. Once we tried to go beyond
tarpaulins and rope, donors said their hands were tied.”

In December, the UN laid out a three-year, $691m rehabilitation programme
for the cyclone-affected area, a modest plan compared to the $5bn that
went to rebuild Aceh after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. But so far, just
$100m has been pledged for Burmese reconstruction and a tiny fraction of
that has been delivered. “Everyone has done something, but no one has done
enough,” says another UN official.

Analysts say the sentencing of high-profile political dissidents to up to
65 years in prison at the height of last year’s relief effort undermined
the efforts to help. Donors are also unhappy with the end of fast-track
visas for foreign aid workers, leading to a large application backlog.
“Donors don’t give money without the ability to come and oversee their
projects,” says the western diplomat.

The continuing trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel prize-winning
opposition leader, and the junta’s snub of UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who was
barred from meeting Ms Suu Kyi during his visit to Burma, has further
darkened the climate.

“Policymakers are going to wait and see how the politics play out in
coming months, which is extremely unfortunate,” says Thant Myint-U, who
monitors international policy towards Burma.

Burma’s relief effort has also been plagued by a deep-rooted belief,
shared by the generals and aid donors, that survivors can simply rebuild
their homes from the natural materials around them. But in the stricken
Irrawaddy delta, even palm leaves carry a price.

“People are scratching out such a bare living,” says the UN housing
official. “It’s a fallacy to think they will just get livelihoods and be
fine.”

____________________________________

July 28, Kachin News Group
Northern commander to meet Kachin church leaders again on KIO

In an attempt to influence the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO),
Maj-Gen Soe Win the Northern Regional Commander of the Burmese military
junta will meet Kachin Christian church leaders for the second time,
tomorrow at 9 a.m. in Kachin State's capital Myitkyina. He aims to
neutralize the KIO’s latest political demands, said local church sources.

The special meeting is to bring together leaders of different Kachin
church denominations. It will be held in St. Columban's Church of the
Roman Catholics in Aung Nan Yint Ta quarter in Myitkyina, said local
Baptist pastors, who have been invited to the join the meeting.

At the meeting, Kachin church leaders will be requested by  Commander
Maj-Gen Soe Win to suggest to the KIO to refrain from making impossible
demands to the junta over the issue of transforming its armed-wing the
Kachin Independence Army (KIA)), said local Baptist church leaders.

The KIO has officially made three major demands. First - power sharing in
the new Kachin State government, post next year’s elections, where KIO
people are to be included directly in the administration, legislation and
judiciary; second - the KIA to transform to a separate Kachin Regional
Guard Force (KRGF) at the brigade level; third - considering an
un-uniformed civilian Local Guard Force (LGF) under the KIA, said Dr.
Manam Tu Ja, Vice-president No. 2 of KIO.

At the behest of the Northern Commander Maj-Gen Soe Win, the invitation
letters titled "Invitation for attending meeting with Kachin State's
Commander" dated July 22 to leaders of different church denominations were
distributed by the Myitkyina Christian Council (MCC), said MCC sources.

According to the MCC, he invited over 100 pastors and church leaders from
Baptist Churches, Roman Catholic Churches, Anglican Churches and
Independent Christian Church (also called Shanglawt Hkristan in Kachin)
based in eight major towns in Kachin State--- Myitkyina, Waingmaw, Bhamo
(also called Manmaw in Kachin), Mogaung, Mohnyin, Danai (or Tanai) Kamai
and Hpakant.

Today, a Baptist church leader from Bhamo (or Manmaw) Baptist Zonal
Association (BBA) left for Myitkyina for attending the meeting called by
Commander Maj-Gen Soe Win, said BBA sources.

On June 27, the Commander Soe Win first met 17 Kachin church leaders
including Rev. Dr. Lahtaw Saboi Jum, former general secretary of the
Kachin Baptist Church (KBC) and a current peace mediator between the KIO
and the junta at Mali Hka Center in the Northern Command headquarters.

At this meeting, the church leaders were addressed by the Commander. He
told them that they could suggest to the KIO to accept transforming KIA to
a battalion of the BGF.  The commander also explained to the church
leaders that the KIO had to accept BGF without finding excuses because it
fully supported the referendum on a new country's constitution in May,
2008.

Local Christian critics told KNG today, that the junta is trying to bring
the KIO/A to its knees by using Kachin Christian church leaders because it
thinks Kachin churches may orchestrate a shift in the current stand of the
KIO which goes against the junta's wishes.

____________________________________

July 27, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burma’s information ministry in new email campaign - Ahunt Phone Myat

The Ministry of Information in Burma has begun emailing
government-generated newsletters to exiled Burmese activists and
journalists in an attempt to counter news-sharing by exiled opposition
groups.

The website responsible for the emails is the Kyaymon online newspaper,
run by the government’s Ministry of Information, which carries headlines
such as ‘Shame on you Clinton’ and ‘America’s ugly failure in the ASEAN
summit’.

When approached by DVB, the assistant editor of Kyaymon, Aung Kyaw Thwin,
said that the action was entirely orchestrated by the government.

“We have been sending you newsletters under direction from our information
minister and there is no personal motive behind this,” he said.

Burma’s information minister, Brigadier General Kyaw Hasn, has reportedly
sent out instructions to all media workers in Burma that include
statements such as “strive for realization of the seven-step Road Map
through media” and “train better qualified press workers who favour the
profit of the nation”.

A UK-based Burmese journalist, Bo Bo Lan Sin, said that the newsletters
were actually a refreshing alternative to other more generic government
news.

“[Kyaymon] newsletters are not that boring; the more news variety than the
government blogs,” he said, adding that he had only recently found out who
was sending the emails.

His comments were echoed by the secretary of the Burma Media Association,
San Moe Wei.

“The whole thing is clear; they are sending out the newsletters because no
one bothers to go on to their websites and read their news,” he said.

State-run media, such as the Myanma Ahlin newspaper, is loaded with news
on ribbon-cutting ceremonies and editorials penned by pro-government
journalists.

Burma’s media environment is amongst the most repressive in the world,
with media watchdog Reporters Without Borders last year ranking it 170 out
of 173 in its annual Press Freedom Index.

Media laws are very tough, and journalists inside Burma face severe
punishment if seen to be criticising the government.

Media workers are often under strict surveillance, with internet café
owners forced to take screen-shots of each computers every five mintues
which are then sent to the Ministry of Information.

“It’s easy for them to get a hold of our email addresses; they surf
through blogs and find out which internet user is ‘politically
concerned’”, said Burmese blogger, Mr Thinker.

“The media in exile has been using this newsletter method to spread their
information and now [the government] has begun to do the same thing.”

It is unclear how many people the government is targeting in this
campaign, although the email received by DVB had been sent to around 400
other addresses.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

July 28, Xinhua
Myanmar strengthens co-op with foreign countries on energy - Feng Yingqiu

Yangon, Myanmar is strengthening cooperation with foreign countries on
energy sector, especially in oil and gas exploration and production,
attracting dozens of foreign oil companies to make investment in the
sector since it opened to foreign investment in late 1988.

Those from member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) are represented by Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and
Vietnam, while those from other regions by China, South Korea, India,
Australia, Britain, Canada and Russia.

Official statistics revealed that foreign investment in Myanmar's oil and
gas sector had reached 3.398 billion U.S. dollars in 89projects as of the
end of May 2009, standing the second in the country's foreign investment
spectrally after electric power.

According to the Central Statistical Organization, in the fiscal year
2008-09, Myanmar produced 6.89 million barrels of crude oil and 11.381
billion cubic-meters (BCM) of gas.

More statistics showed that during the year, Myanmar gained 2.384 billion
dollars from exporting 10.674 BCM of natural gas.

Following the exploration and development of two huge offshore gas fields
of Yadana and Yetagun, the Thai PTTEP has been engaged in five more
offshore blocks as the sole operator covering blocks M-7, M-9, M-3, M-4
and M-11 in Mottama offshore area since 2003 and seven test wells were
found with large and commercial gas deposits since 2005 which are
Zawtika-1, Gawthaka-1, Karkonna-1, Zawtika-2, Zawtika-3, Zawtika-4 and
Zawtika-5.

In June last year, the PTTEP and PTT Public Co Ltd jointly signed a deal
with Myanmar on sale of natural gas produced from M-9 block in Myanmar's
Mottama offshore area.

With a total estimated gas reserve of more than 8 trillion cubic-feet
(TCF) or 226.5 billion cubic-meters (BCM) and a production rate of about
300 million cubic-feet (MCF) or 8.49 million cubic-meters (MCM) per day,
the M-9 field is expected to be able to produce gas and export to Thailand
by late 2012.

Meanwhile, a consortium of South Korea's Daewoo International comprising
another one South Korean company and two Indian companies found natural
gas deposits at block A-1 (Shwe field and Shwephyu field) and block A-3
(Mya field) in the Rakhine offshore area in January 2004 and April 2005
respectively.

The consortium stake is held Daewoo with 60 percent, South Korea Gas
Corporation 10 percent, ONGC Videsh Ltd of India 20 percent and GAIL 10
percent.

The Shwe field holds a gas reserve of 4 to 6 trillion cubic-feet (TCF) or
113.2 to 170 billion cubic-meters (BCM), while the Shwephyu 5 TCF and the
Mya 2 TCF with a combined proven reserve of 5.7 to 10 TCF of gas are being
estimated by experts.

In December last year, the China National United Oil Corporation (CNUOC)
formally signed with Myanmar and the Daewoo-led consortium an export gas
sale and purchase agreement from the Shwe project (blocks A-1 and A-3).

Natural gas produced from the Shwe Field will be exported to China's
southwestern region under the agreement. The Shwe gas will be transmitted
through pipeline and partly tapped along the route lying in Myanmar's
territory to promote the economic development of the region. The contract
agreement is effective for 30 years and it is estimated to start supplying
gas by 2013.

Besides, one more Indian company, the Essar, which is next to ONGC Videsh
Ltd and the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) is to start drilling test
well at the inland block-L in Myanmar's western coastal Rakhine state
covering Sittway and Maungtaw to explore natural gas in the coming open
season in late this year.

Moreover, two Vietnamese oil companies -- the Petrovietnam Exploration
Production Corporation Ltd and the Joint Venture Vietsovpetro of Vietnam
and Eden Group Co Ltd of Myanmar have reached a production sharing
contract with Myanmar to explore oil and gas at Block M-2 in Myanmar's
Mottama offshore area.

It is the first engagement of Vietnamese companies in Myanmar's oil and
gas sector and the move came more than a year after the two countries
initiated a memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation in oil
and gas during Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung's visit to
Myanmar in August 2007.

Myanmar has abundance of natural gas resources especially in the offshore
areas. With three main large offshore oil and gas fields and 19 onshore
ones, Myanmar has proven recoverable reserve of 18.012 trillion cubic-feet
(TCF) or 510 billion cubic-meters (BCM) out of 89.722 TCF or 2.54 trillion
cubic-meters (TCM)'s estimated reserve of offshore and onshore gas,
experts said, adding that the country is also estimated to have 3.2
billion barrels of recoverable crude oil reserve.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

July 2, Democratic Voice of Burma
Global Fund could return to Burma - Alex Ellgee

A medical funding group that withdrew from Burma in 2005 is considering
returning to the country in a move that would inject millions of dollars
into tripling the amount of people receiving treatment for AIDS.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is now in the
process of making a decision for an application by the Burmese government
for $US320 million.

It is hoped that the extra funding will see 42,000 AIDS patients treated
within the next five years.

However in 2005 The Global Fund terminated its $US19,200,000 grant for
HIV/AIDS in Burma after the government imposed restrictions on the travel
of its staff, which meant they would be unable to visit grant
implementation areas.

The latest proposal is yet to be passed, but it is expected that the
organisation will make a final decision at the end of August.

Mark Farmaner, from Burma Campaign UK, believes however that it is
unlikely The Global Fund will accept the proposal.

“Burma has travel restrictions on NGO workers like no other country in the
world,” he said.

“Nothing has changed since The Global Fund left Burma so I can’t see how
they could return,” he said.

It is estimated that 240,000 people are infected by the HIV virus and
76,000 are in need of life-saving anti-retroviral treatment. Of those,
only 18,000 are receiving proper medical treatment and as a result 25,000
people are dying per year.

The cost of treatment equates to $30 per month which is the same as the
average Burmese salary, leaving many outside of its reach.

Medicines Sans Frontiers MSF) has been providing treatment to around
12,000 people across Burma and small NGOs have covered around 4,000. The
government provides for 1,800.

It is only in the last ten years that the government has acknowledged the
HIV/Aids epidemic in Burma.

Aid groups have criticised the regime for not investing enough money to
tackle the epidemic, with only 0.3 percent of the annual budget being
spent on healthcare.

The departure of The Global Fund from Burma left Medicine Sans Frontiers
as the main provider of anti-retroviral drugs and treatment.

In its ‘Preventable Fate’ report, MSF explained that there was a
substantial lack of funding for HIV treatment which was “pushing it to its
limit and had to make the painful decision to drastically cut the number
of patients they could treat.”

The Burmese government has often been criticised for its treatment of NGO
workers and lack of transparency.

Following cyclone Nargis in May 2008, the Burmese government delayed aid
into the country and was then accused by NGOs of profiting from the
increased funding.

Aid groups criticised the government for profiting from the margin between
the dollar and the value of the Foreign Exchange Certificates, which NGOs
had to withdraw money in.

____________________________________

July 28, Mizzima News
New report on ‘food security’ in Burma - Mungpi

Agricultural credit should be made available in order to prevent rural
indebtedness and to improve agricultural production in Burma, said Dr.
Noeleen Heyzer the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economics and
Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

Dr. Heyzer, who is on a week-long visit to military-ruled Burma to launch
ESCAP’s study on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security, said in order
to ensure food-security and sustainable agriculture, countries in the
region including Burma should take immediate steps in enhancing the
purchasing power of the poor by undertaking pro-poor public expenditure,
cash for work, rural infrastructure programmes and by developing the
foundations for social protection.

ESCAP, at the request of member states, in 2008 conducted a study on
timely analysis and policy options on how to ensure food security and
sustainable agriculture. The report was officially released in April 2009
but she is visiting Burma to release a localised version for the country.

“She [Dr. Heyzer] is launching the report in Naypyitaw today,” Mitchell
Hsieh at the UNESCAP information office in Bangkok told Mizzima.

The Executive Secretary, who began her trip to Burma on Monday and will
remain till Saturday, in a statement on Tuesday said, “Adequate and
sustained agricultural credit is crucial to prevent rural indebtedness and
improve agricultural production, livelihoods and wage employment in rural
areas.”

“These measures would reduce the hardships currently experienced by
farmers and help address social impacts from the current economic crisis
including return migration and human trafficking,” she added.

ESCAP’s study is also a response to some of the key findings of the
Economic and Social Survey 2008, which showed that investment in the
agricultural sector was declining and that a lack of agricultural credit
was driving up farmers’ indebtedness.

Dr. Heyzer said it is the first step in a development partnership with
Burma, whose agricultural economy contributes 42 per cent of the country’s
Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and 70 per cent of its labour force, to
discuss its agricultural economy and policy.

Dr. Sean Turnell, an Associate Professor at Macquarie University in
Sydney, Australia, told Mizzima earlier that Burma’s rural economy is on
the verge of collapse with lack of funds in its rural credit system.

Turnell said farmers particularly in the cyclone-devastated areas of the
Irrawaddy delta are facing severe shortage of funds eventually threatening
shortage in food production.

According to Turnell the government’s bizarre economic policies
particularly on rural agriculture and fuelled by the current global
economic downturn has put farmers in a tight corner with difficulties in
finding credit even from local money lenders.

The ESCAP’s study suggests that the marketing of agricultural produce may
be improved by removing restrictions on the movement of food including
rice. Regional cooperation is needed for the development and transfer of
technologies for production, post harvest and storage of food.

Dr. Heyzer said ESCAP is in a strategic position to be in a development
partnership with the Burma and the “Launching the study here in Naypyitaw
is the beginning of this development partnership.”

The Executive Secretary will also discuss agricultural economic policies
including for rice, agricultural credit, rural infrastructure and
livelihood opportunities in Burma as possible stimulus for the economy and
well being of the people.

Besides meeting the Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, Dr. Heyzer,
during her trip, will also hold talks with the Burmese Prime Minister
General Thein Sein, Foreign Minister Nyan Win, the Minister of Planning
and Economic Development Soe Tha, and Chairman of the Civil Service
Selection and Training Board Kyaw Thu.

The UNESCAP’s executive secretary is visiting the country at the
invitation of Burmese Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Htay Oo.

____________________________________
ASEAN

July 28, Irrawaddy
Asean may request development funds for Burma - Wai Moe

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is considering
approaching the international community for development funds to assist in
the democratization of Burma rather than applying pressure on the Burmese
junta, according to the Malaysian foreign minister.

Foreign Minister Datuk Anifah Aman told Malaysian reporters during the
Asean Regional Forum in Phuket, Thailand, last week that the international
community in general should pour funds into Burma to develop
infrastructure and lift Burmese people out of poverty.

“Since the [Burmese] people are so poor right now, the generals would be
kicked out if they called for an election,” he said, adding that Malaysia
might raise the idea of development funding during 15th Asean Summit.

“So why don’t we put in some development funds, and bring the people out
of poverty?” he said. “Then the voters can see that under the military’s
rule, things did improve and they [might] even vote for the junta.”

The Malaysian foreign minister said that his development fund idea could
ease the junta’s fears of losing power once the country becomes fully
democratic.

Based on the Malaysian model of “Barisan Nasional,” Anifah added that it
would help the people and give the junta an incentive “if they are
confident of winning.”

Kuala Lumpur-based daily The New Straits Times reported on Friday that
Malaysia would raise the idea at the 15th Asean Summit in Phuket in
October.

In his report, Sheridan Mahavera said the idea is a 180-degree turnaround
from Asean and the international community’s current approach that calls
for the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other
political prisoners, as well as an inclusive free-and-fair election.

The Malaysian minister reportedly said the current approach of condemning
Burma is not working, though it has been used for more than a decade.

He did not comment on whether Asean’s constructive engagement policy is
working to bring about positive changes in Burma, according to the report.
However, other Asean members said last week that the bloc will use its
policy of engagement rather than pressure while they are dealing with the
Burmese junta.

The Malaysian foreign minister’s comments would appear to counter remarks
made by Singaporean Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong at the end of a four-day
visit to Burma in June when he said that Singaporean investors would
likely wait until after Burma’s elections next year before pouring any
more money into the country.

“I don't believe any Singapore investors would come in in a big way before
the picture is clear, before this move to democracy is seen to produce
results,” Goh said.

Meanwhile, Sean Turnell, an economist at Australia’s Macquarie University,
recently said the economic policies of Burma’s ruling junta have done far
more damage to the country’s prospects for development than international
sanctions.

“Burma is not poor because of sanctions. The biggest sanction on Burma is
the Burmese regime itself,” said Turnell, adding that the junta’s “willful
mismanagement” of the economy, including its refusal to respect property
rights, is the main obstacle to the country’s economic development.

According to Burma experts, the country had great potential before the
1962 military coup.

But that all changed after the coup and leader Ne Win’s isolationist policy.

Though Burma had strong insurgent movements in the 1950s, the
international airport in Rangoon was still a major air hub in Southeast
Asia and airlines such as Pan American, Northwest, Air France and KLM all
flew to Burma directly from Europe and North America.

Turnell said that during the parliamentary period (1948-62), the newly
independent nation made a remarkable recovery from the devastation wrought
by the Second World War.

“Burma doesn’t need a foreign model of development,” he said. “It just
needs to look at its own history.”

Looking at successful economic reforms in China and Vietnam, some
observers expect the Burmese regime could follow Beijing and Hanoi’s model
to develop the country.

However, based on recent reports of closer relations between North Korea
and Burma, could it be that Naypyidaw is rather looking at Pyongyang’s
model of isolation than any other policy?

____________________________________
REGIONAL

July 28, Agence France Presse
Thai PM's Myanmar trip postponed due to trial: government

Thai premier Abhisit Vejjajiva has postponed a visit to Myanmar this
Friday at the request of of the ruling junta because of an impending
verdict in the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, the government said.

Thailand announced earlier Tuesday that Abhisit would make a one-day trip
to the neighbouring country aimed at cementing ties and discussing efforts
to tackle drugs and human trafficking.

But a Thai government spokesman said later the visit had been put off
because it would come on the same day as a Myanmar court is set to rule in
the case of democracy activist Suu Kyi.

The Nobel peace laureate faces up to five years in jail on charges of
violating her house arrest which relate to an incident in which an
American man swam uninvited to her lakeside house in May.

"Myanmar asked for a postponement because Myanmar Prime Minister Thein
Sein will be engaged in important business -- the verdict on Aung San Suu
Kyi," spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn told reporters after a cabinet
meeting.

"Therefore the trip must be suspended for now," he added.

A Thai official said on condition of anonymity that Abhisit would now most
likely visit in the third week of August.

Myanmar's military regime faces huge international pressure over the trial
of Suu Kyi.

Panitan said earlier that Abhisit -- the chairman of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which both countries are members --
would not "directly" bring up the case during his trip.

"Thailand will not interfere with Myanmar's internal affairs, and neither
does Thailand agree with sanctions, which are not good for ASEAN," he
said.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

July 28, Joint release by the Burma Rivers Network (BRN), the Shwe Gas
Movement (SGM) and the Ethnic Community Development Forum (ECDF)
Burma regime turns on the lights for ASEAN Energy Ministers but not for
its own People

Chiang Mai, Thailand - The ministers attending the 27th ASEAN Ministers of
Energy Meeting (AMEM) today in Mandalay will enjoy unprecedented access to
electricity while the rest of the country faces chronic power shortages.

Power supply in Burma’s second largest city has doubled just in time for
the meeting, increasing from 5 to 10 hours per day last week while
residents in the former capital of Rangoon experience daily electricity
blackouts.

Electricity consumption rates per capita in Burma are less than 5% of
neighboring Thailand. Yet Burma’s military regime is steaming ahead with
plans to export even more energy resources to its neighbors. These include
plans for over 20 large hydroelectric dams to power Thailand, China and
ASEAN power grid, and trans-Burma oil and gas pipelines to China set to
begin in September this year. The revenue from the energy sector is the
main source of income for the Burmese generals.

It has been well documented that energy projects have caused environmental
devastation and human rights abuses throughout the country.

“Increased fuel prices sparked the 2007 popular uprising in Burma and
these energy export projects are making people increasingly angry. This
ASEAN energy meeting will only further enrage the people of Burma. The
generals are pocketing huge amounts from the projects but we are left in
the dark” said Wong Aung from the Shwe Gas Movement

“Energy projects in Burma should be for the benefit of Burmese people and
not at their expense. Affected communities have the right to Free and
Prior Informed Consent and should be protected through a
democratically-elected government as well as international human rights
and environment laws. Until then, the ASEAN ministers should refrain from
investing in Burma.” said Sai Khur Hseng of the Ethnic Community
Development Forum.

Exported natural gas from Burma’s controversial Yadana and Yetagun fields
fuels 20% of Thailand’s electricity needs while none fuels its own
households. Meanwhile Chinese companies will construct 1,800 kilometer
pipelines from the Shwe Gas Project in western Burma across the country to
Kunming.

The BRN, SGM and ECDF are alliance organizations monitoring Burma’s energy
sectors.

Contact:
Wong Aung       +66(0) 0873008354    (Shwe Gas Movement)
Sai Khur Hseng +66(0)84 224 3748     (Ethnic Community Development Forum)

For more information see: www.burmariversnetwork.org and www.shwe.org