BurmaNet News, July 29, 2009

[Editor]

July 29, 2009 Issue #3764

QUOTE OF THE DAY
I'm afraid the verdict will be painfully obvious.
—Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s detained opposition leader and Nobel Peace
Prize laureate.

INSIDE BURMA
AP: Diplomats say Suu Kyi expects ‘guilty’ verdict
Mizzima: Predicting Suu Kyi’s trial is “contempt of court”: Junta’s
mouthpiece
Narinjara: Army recruits youths by providing money and food to families
Irrawaddy: Thousands travel to start of Nat festival

ON THE BORDER
Mizzima: Army Directorate restricts entry of Chinese travellers

BUSINESS / TRADE
Mizzima: Prices shoot up, onion to be imported

HEALTH / AIDS
DVB: Dengue fever hits Thailand refugee camp

DRUGS
SHAN: Drug lord denies link to July 10 haul

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: US extends Myanmar sanctions

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Editorial: Clinton’s flawed Burma message
Irrawaddy: Cultural traits are blocking progress in Burma - Adam Selene
Far Eastern Economic Review: Don't sell Burma short - Ko Bo Kyi
Hufftington Post: Bargaining Burma's political prisoners - David Scott
Mathieson

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

July 29, Associated Press
Diplomats say Suu Kyi expects ‘guilty’ verdict

The defense team for Burma’s democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has
delivered its final arguments, closing the case ahead of a Friday verdict
the Nobel laureate has said will be "painfully obvious."

The high-profile trial that began in May has drawn international
condemnation from rights activists, world leaders and celebrities who have
called for her immediate release. But neither outside pressure nor the
possibility of closer ties with the West has deterred the ruling junta,
which appears determined to find her guilty and keep her behind bars
through elections planned for next year.

Judge Thaung Nyunt said on Tuesday that the court would make a ruling on
Friday, according to defense attorney Nyan Win. The lawyer said he
preferred not to speculate on the outcome, but that he had "never seen any
defendant in a political case (in Burma) being set free." He did not
directly describe Suu Kyi's trial as politically motivated.

Suu Kyi's lawyers had not been expecting a ruling until next month, and it
was not immediately clear why the court moved the date for the verdict
forward.

The detained 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate could be imprisoned
for five years if she is convicted on charges that she violated the terms
of her house arrest by harboring an American visitor — John William Yettaw
— who swam uninvited to her lakeside home and stayed for two days.

Diplomats from the US, Japan, Singapore and Thailand were allowed to
attend the last day of the trial on Tuesday, one of the diplomats said,
speaking on condition of anonymity, citing embassy protocol.

Suu Kyi — who has been in detention for 14 of the past 20 years — thanked
the diplomats during the hearing "for trying to promote a just outcome,"
but said she was not optimistic.

"I'm afraid the verdict will be painfully obvious," Suu Kyi said,
according to several diplomats who heard her comments in court.

Suu Kyi's defense team delivered its final arguments in the trial on
Tuesday — a day after the prosecution closed its case — but was not
allowed to put a foreign ministry official on the stand, Nyan Win said. He
said the court ruled that the ministry official's testimony was "not
important." The court rejected all but two of the defense's witnesses.

The opposition leader's lawyers — who have not contested the facts of the
case — have argued all along that the law used by authorities against Suu
Kyi is invalid because it applies to a constitution abolished two decades
ago. They also say that government guards stationed outside Suu Kyi's
compound should be held responsible for any intrusion in her property.

Suu Kyi emerged as a democracy icon during a popular uprising in 1988 that
the military — which has ruled since 1962 — brutally suppressed. Her party
won national elections in 1990, but Myanmar's generals refused to
relinquish power.

Yettaw is charged as an abettor in violating the terms of Suu Kyi's house
arrest and could also be sent to prison for five years. He has pleaded not
guilty, and explained in court his aim had been to warn Suu Kyi because he
feared she would be assassinated.

____________________________________

July 29, Mizzima News
Predicting Suu Kyi’s trial is “contempt of court”: Junta’s mouthpiece -
Mungpi

New Delhi - With speculation rife that the court will pronounce
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi “guilty”,  Burma’s state-run
newspaper on Wednesday warned against predicting the outcome saying it
amounts to ‘contempt of court’.

A commentary in the New Light of Myanmar, the junta’s mouthpiece, on
Wednesday justified the trial against pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi, her two live-in party mates and John William Yettaw, the American
man, who swam across a lake and sneaked into Aung San Suu Kyi’s home,
saying they have violated the law.

The newspaper while justifying the charges and trial said, “Everyone who
breaches the law shall face a lawsuit and obey the court decision.”

On Tuesday, the court heard final arguments by the defence attorneys,
formally ending the over two-month long trial. Now the court’s verdict is
awaited on Friday.

Nyan Win, one of the defence lawyers, told Mizzima on Tuesday that legally
the trial has proved Aung San Suu Kyi’s innocence and there is not
sufficient ground to find her guilty. But he refused to comment on the
possible outcome of the trial.

But many observers including senior leaders of the National League for
Democracy, Win Tin, said the court will find her “guilty” and sentence her
to a prison term.

However, the newspaper on Wednesday warned against such comments saying,
“biased writings about the trial in progress, writings about which side
will win or lose in that trial, predicted writings about the possibility
of the defendant’s conviction and writings about tendency to give
instructions to the judgment of the judge” amounts to contempt of court.

But Win Tin said the trial itself is unfair and there are no grounds to
charge the pro-democracy leader as it is not her fault in a stranger
forcing his way into her house, as she had not invited him.

He said the court is not acting independently in filing a lawsuit against
the Burmese Nobel Peace Laureate and even in the trial, stating instances
of the court dismissing two out of the four defence witnesses while
allowing several prosecution witnesses.
He said even in the last stage of the trial – submission of final
arguments by lawyers of both sides – the court has shown partiality
towards the prosecution by setting a two-day gap after the defence had
submitted their arguments.

“Daw Suu had told her lawyer that she was not happy with the two-day gap
between the defence and prosecution’s submission of their final
arguments,” Win Tin said.

The trial, which began on May 18, has attracted the attention of human
rights activists, politicians, world leaders and celebrities calling for
her immediate release along with other political prisoners in Burma.

The commentary on Wednesday also attacked such calls saying calling for
Aung San Suu Kyi’s release while she is facing a court trial amounts to
contempt of court.

Despite the newspaper’s claim that Aung San Suu Kyi would be released if
she is found not guilty, Win Tin said it is obvious that the junta is all
set to continue detaining her.

“It seems to me that the junta is all set to detain her in anyway. But it
may possibly buy-time in doing so if the pressures mount,” Win Tin said.

He added that with the kind of international as well as internal pressure
mounting over the trial, the Insein prison court might not pass a strong
verdict on Aung San Suu Kyi.

“But it is likely that the prosecution will go to a higher court and
appeal and then they will sentence her,” he added.

According to him, it is unlikely that the Insein prison court will
sentence her heavily at the moment to ease the mounting pressure, but that
does not mean Aung San Suu Kyi will be acquitted.

“In anyway, they will detain her,” he added.

He also said, Wednesday’s commentary in the New Light of Myanmar might be
a warning that the junta intends to crackdown on opposition figures, who
are commenting on the trial and speculating on the junta’s possible plans.

____________________________________

July 29, Narinjara News
Army recruits youths by providing money and food to families

Paletwa: Tribal youths are being recruited by the Burmese Army on the
Indo-Burma border from the southern part of Chin State by providing
opportunities including food to the youth’s families, said a local source.

The army stationed in border areas has been recruiting many tribal youths
including Khami, Mro and Chin to serve in the Burmese Army by providing
opportunities including food to the youth’s family members, the source
said.

If a youth agrees to join the army, it gives 100,000 kyats cash to him as
well as food supplies like rice, oil, and salt, chilly to the family of
the youth, he said.

The recruitment is being done by some battalions including LB 35, LIB 289
and LIB 550 on the Indo-Burma border.

Three Khami youths from Prin Dai village in Paletwa Township joined the LB
34 last week after they were given such opportunities by the army. They
were identified as Pro Aung, (21) son of late Kho Ret, Tun Lin (19) son of
Owe Lan and Rarmu (20) son of U Kri Daung.

Village residents said that families have been facing famine since the
beginning of the rainy season. So they are pushing the youths to join the
army in order to get food.

Even though the army authorities are providing opportunities to the
youths, many tribal youths are unwilling to join the army.

“We have bitter experiences regarding the Burmese Army. The army has used
our people as porters, tortured and sometimes soldiers have raped women in
the area for decades. Therefore many youths refused to join the army,” an
elder said.

According to source close to the army, the number of youths joining the
army has fallen in recent years. So the army authorities are trying to
lure and recruit Burmese youths by providing many opportunities.

At present, some tribal families on the Indo-Burma border are facing a
famine situation and there is shortage of rice. So the army authorities
are taking advantage to recruit youths by supplying food to their family
members.

____________________________________

July 29, Irrawaddy
Thousands travel to start of Nat festival - Arkar Moe

Thousands of people began gathering at a site near Mandalay on Wednesday
for one of Burma’s most popular festivals, the week-long Taung Pyone Pwe,
a celebration of ancient belief in nats, or inhabitants of the spirit
world.

The annual festival is held at Taung Pyone, 14 km north of Mandalay and
attracts as many as 100,000 people.

Tour companies reported a drop in interest this year, however, because of
Burma’s economic difficulties.

A typical three day excursion from Rangoon costs 35,000 kyat (US $35).
“The demand for tickets is very low this year,” said a representative of
Rangoon’s Travels and Tour company.

Taung Pyone Pwe commemorates the fable of two nats, Min Gyi and Min Galay,
who are said to have been executed by the Pagan ruler King Anawrahta (AD
1044-1077), for failing to help in the construction of a chedi to enshrine
Buddha relics.

They joined a hierarchical pantheon of 37 nats immortalized in niches
ordered by King Anawrahta to be placed in the Shwezigon Pagoda in Pagan.

The rituals of the festival are performed by hereditary mediums.
Participants in the festival believe the nats have the power to grant them
good luck, health and wealth. Many make the pilgrimage to Taung Pyone to
give thanks for good fortune ascribed to the intervention of nats.

“Marriages” are even performed between believers and spiritual partners.
One of these nat kadaw, as they’re known, said: “It is very important and
significant festival for me.” She set out from Rangoon with expensive
gifts for members of the spiritual family into which she had married.

One well-known make-up artist, Khin San Win, is attending his 16th
festival. “I believe that if I pay my respects and make solemn wishes to
the Taung Pyone kodaws, most of my wishes will come true.”

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

July 29, Mizzima News
Army Directorate restricts entry of Chinese travellers - Myo Gyi

Ruili – As of now Chinese travellers wanting to visit Burma through the
border entry points must get prior approval of the Chief of Staff (Army)
Office.

The new rule has come into effect from July 16 for Chinese travellers to
Burma.

“It is mandatory from now on for Chinese tourists to send the advisory
letter to the Chief of Staff (Army) Office before entering Burma. Their
tour guide must escort them to Lashio first. If the persons in the list do
not match with the persons at the exit point and someone is missing, the
guide will be responsible for the missing person(s) and he or she will be
interrogated. The guide must take full responsibility for all his guests,”
a person close to Chinese traders told Mizzima.

An official of the Mya Padamya Travel Agency in Muse and a resident from
Jie Gong, which is near the Sino-Burma border gate, confirmed the new
immigration rules.

Chinese tourists have to first apply for approval from the CS (Army)
office at Naypyitaw through the Immigration Department on the Sino-Burma
border. They can enter Burma only after getting approval from the CS
(Army) Office. Previously they could enter Burma easily with the help of
travel agencies.

The restriction on visits by Chinese travellers with tour visas is because
of visits by the tourists to restricted areas, the person close to Chinese
traders said.

“Earlier, they visited Mandalay with ordinary travel permits. Then they
visited restricted areas such as Pha Kant and the gold mines. Now the
government has restricted their movement inside Burma,” he said.

Eyewitnesses on the border, however, said Chinese jade traders are still
entering Burma as they did earlier.

Those who wish to visit Burma for other purposes need invitation letters
from their concerned companies and departments.

“If they receive invitation letters from concerned departments for
specific purposes such as visiting mining sites, exploratory visits,
checking plots owned by their company, economic seminars, then they can
get entry permits as either individuals or as part of a package tour. 
Such visitors must apply for visa at the Burmese embassies. As for border
visits, these formalities are not needed. Tourism companies from both
countries can arrange it themselves,” he added.

Moreover, illegal import of Chinese goods has been banned since early this
month.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

July 29, Mizzima News
Prices shoot up, onion to be imported - Ni Moe Myint

Rangoon– Prices of onions have doubled in a month and touched the highest
point after 2006.

The price of high quality onions, usually consumed by hotels, rose from
Kyat 650 to 1,300 (approximately USD 1) last month while the price of the
ordinary variety rose from Kyat 300 per viss (1.65 kg) to Kyat 800.

In May and June this year, over 50,000 viss of onions were supplied to the
commodity exchange in Rangoon but it came down to over 30,000 viss in
July, according to statistics from the Myanmar Farm Produce Marketing
Enterprise.

The Ministry of Commerce and Trade is now toying with the idea of
importing onions from India and China.

“In previous years, we exported our surplus to them, but this year we have
to import from them,” a senior official from Commerce and Trade Ministry
said.

Following severe shortage in 2006, onion prices shot up to Kyat 2,000 per
viss. Now onion growing acreage has declined and because of export to
Thailand and low buffer stock, the supply of onions has dwindled in the
market again.

A commodity exchange official in Bayintnaung said that onion farmers lost
a lot in 2007 and 2008.

But the Ministry of Commerce and Trade, Myanmar Onion Garlic Kitchen
Garden Producers’ and Exporters’ Association, said, ‘onion buffer stock
operators may lose’ and ‘onion price will fall soon’.

“I have reduced my onion consumption while preparing a meal”, a housewife
from Tamwe Township said.

It is estimated that the consumption of onion in Burma is over five
million viss per month and in Rangoon alone, the consumption is over 1
million viss per month.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

July 29, Democratic Voice of Burma
Dengue fever hits Thailand refugee camp - Thiri Htet San

An outbreak of dengue fever has hit a camp in Thailand that holds some
37,000 refugees from Burma, with ten people so far known to have been
affected.

According to the Mae La camp healthcare coordinator, Si Si Layar, three
people have been admitted to hospital in recent days after showing severe
symptoms.

“The patients suffered from headache and high body temperature and then
started vomiting blood,” said Si Si Layar.

“We are boiling our mosquito nets and blankets to prevent [mosquito
bites]. We need bigger pots [to fit the nets and blankets in] and more
firewood for this.”

The Mae La refugee camp is located north of Mae Sot, close to the
Thai-Burma border.

Around 16,000 of the refugees there are young students studying in 26
schools in the camp.

The 10 camps along the border hold thousands of people living in close
confines, meaning disease can spread quickly. Healthcare in the camps is
often rudimentary.

Dengue fever outbreaks along the border and inside Burma are common during
the rainy season.

The Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP) said last week
that internally displaced people living in the jungles in eastern Burma
were at high risk of dengue fever and malaria.

In Bago division’s Taung-ngu district, a recent outbreak of dengue fever
has hit at least two or three people in each household, said Saw Eh Wah
from the CIDKP.

____________________________________
DRUGS

July 29, Shan Herald Agency for News
Drug lord denies link to July 10 haul

A close relative of Zhou Sang, leader of the Nayai militia in Southern
Shan State’s Namzang Township, has categorically denied he had anything to
do with the 761 kilograms of drugs seized on July 10 in Tachilek. He,
however, refused to say to whom the consignment belonged.

The police have been interrogating and arresting suspects as well as
confiscating their properties since the seizure in Tachilek almost three
weeks ago.

The chief suspect is Ah Fa aka Chen Tafa aka Tin Oo, believed to be the
main middleman. According to Thai and Burmese drug enforcement officials,
he has fled from his home in Nakawngmu, Mongton Township, into Thailand.
He could be hiding in Nong Ook, officially known as Ban Arunothai in
Chiangmai’s Chiangdao district, opposite Mongton Township, they said.

Meanwhile, a source from Namzang said military and police authorities had
made “a surprise call” on Nayai and its neighbour Mark Kieng
militia group in the wake of the seizure. “They did not find anything
suspicious,” said the source. “Of course, the groups had already received
a tip off of the visit,” he added.

The seized drugs originated in Namzang from where it was taken on a
400-kilometre journey through Mongnai, Langkher, Mongpan, Mongton and
Monghsat to Tachilek.  It ended opposite Maesai in Tachilek, where it was
seized, reliable sources said.

Zhou Sang, a former associate of the late Khun Sa, is named in several
drug reports as a major drug producer and entrepreneur.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

July 29, Agence France Presse
US extends Myanmar sanctions

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday extended sanctions against Myanmar,
including a ban on gem imports, as the military regime prepares a verdict
for democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The White House in a brief statement said Obama signed into law a bill
overwhelmingly approved by Congress that would prolong sanctions on all
imports from Myanmar for three years. The sanctions were due to expire
this week.

The measure also confirms a ban on US sales of Myanmar's gems, which had
until last year still entered the US market due to a now-plugged loophole.

Congressman Joseph Crowley, who introduced the bill in the House, said
that the junta in Myanmar, earlier known as Burma, "must be stopped."

"We must show the military regime currently ruling with an iron fist in
Burma that there are consequences for their actions," said Crowley, a New
York lawmaker from Obama's Democratic Party.

He denounced Myanmar's "brutal campaign against its own people," which has
triggered a major refugee problem, along with the regime's refusal to let
UN chief Ban Ki-moon even see Aung San Suu Kyi on a recent visit.

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

A Myanmar court on Friday will deliver a verdict on the Nobel Peace Prize
winner, who faces up to five years in prison over a bizarre incident in
which an American man swam uninvited to her lakeside house.

Myanmar, one of the world's poorest countries, is the source of some of
the world's most beautiful rubies -- a key source of revenue for the
junta.

The European Union, Australia, Canada and New Zealand also have slapped
sanctions on Myanmar's gems, although some Asian nations continue to buy
them.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

July 29, Irrawaddy
Editorial: Clinton’s Flawed Burma Message

Despite Aung San Suu Kyi’s insistence on her innocence, the learned
support of her lawyers and the international community, it’s clear that
the generals are determined to keep her locked up.

The final verdict in her bizarre trial in Rangoon’s Insein Prison will be
announced on Friday, and security around Rangoon is being beefed up in
readiness for possible protests.

Suu Kyi is charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest order by
giving refuge to an American trespasser, John William Yettaw, and faces a
maximum sentence of five years imprisonment if convicted.

Suu Kyi told her lawyers on the final day of the trial that the
proceedings would show “whether or not the rule of law exists in the
country.” The sad fact, however, is that Suu Kyi is fighting a losing
battle in a country where the basic rule of law is not respected.

Analysts say the trial is politically motivated and is an attempt to
exclude Suu Kyi from future politics and the 2010 election.

It is certain that the regime plans to hand out punishment to the Nobel
Peace Prize winner and perhaps drag the court proceedings out still
further.

High-ranking US officials recently said that Suu Kyi’s trial has
complicated the Obama administration’s policy review on Burma. It is
increasingly obvious that it’s a wrong strategy to tie the trial to a
policy review and to a decision on whether to increase or renew sanctions
on Burma.

Last week, at the Asean Ministerial Meeting in Phuket, Thailand, US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made contradictory statements on Burma.
She had earlier said that Burma’s relationship with North Korea would
destabilize the region, and she offered incentives to the regime.

Clinton also said that if Suu Kyi were released, “this would open up doors
for investment and for other exchanges that would help the people of
Burma.”

It is naïve to expect that the regime would exchange Suu Kyi’s freedom in
return for cash and investment. The regime leaders won’t compromise and
such a deal is far from their thoughts.

It is safe to assume that the regime leaders are quite confident that they
can weather the international pressure with the support of such friends as
China.

According to a recent report from Burma’s Ministry of National Planning
and Development, foreign investment jumped from $172.7m in the 2007- 2008
fiscal year to a current peak of $984.9m. The ministry said China
accounted for 87 per cent of total investments—mainly in energy and
natural resources.

With this level of Chinese support, Burmese rulers and their armed forces
are assured of the financial and political backing to continue their
crimes in the ethnic regions for decades to come. The oppressed people of
Burma will continue to live in extreme poverty.

The regime’s ultimate goal is to remain in power as long as it can. Suu
Kyi poses a real threat to the Than Shwe’s road map and his grip on
power—and so do more than 2,000 political prisoners held by his regime.

Secretary of State Clinton should have learnt from UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon, who had earlier delivered a firm message to the generals,
telling them to free Suu Kyi and all political prisoners, to make the road
map inclusive, to work for national reconciliation and to ensure that the
2010 election is credible.

Clinton and Ban were each acting as temporary negotiators in Burma’s
hostage drama, where the Burmese feel themselves prisoners in their own
country. Clinton’s message, however, failed to strike the correct tone.

____________________________________

July 29, Irrawaddy
Cultural traits are blocking progress in Burma - Adam Selene

As a journalist, I have travelled widely in Burma. One aspect of Burmese
culture never stops to surprise me: the extreme amount of respect the
elderly receive. Of course we need to respect our elders. But the Burmese
go far beyond what I as a European consider to be normal.

Once when I had dinner at the house of my Burmese friends in Rangoon we
were having a serious discussion. When the father of the family—a man over
80 years old who’d just suffered a severe stroke—came downstairs to join
us, the discussion changed dramatically. He spoke; my Burmese friends
listened. Even though his understanding of the subject was very limited he
dominated the conversation. My friends agreed with his every word, out of
respect and because they were brought up not to disagree openly with a
senior.

I encountered the same phenomenon when I was teaching a Burmese friend how
to use the Internet and send e-mails. After that, he referred to me as
“his teacher.” He told me that because I was five years older and I had
taught him something, he needed to show me a lot of respect. In practice
this went quite far. In discussions, he was always bending my way and he
acted very subservient. It made me feel quite uncomfortable. In the West
we are taught everybody is equal.

In Burmese politics, the emphasis on age is a problem not to be
underestimated. Everybody knows that people grow more conservative and
often more scared when they age. They are less willing to consider change,
and they are less flexible and less dynamic. Nevertheless, in Burma, the
military leadership and the executive committees of the main opposition
parties are almost completely made up of elderly people, some over 80
years old who would not even consider stepping down to make way for fresh
leadership.

In the National League for Democracy this has led to a lot of frustration
among younger politicians, who feel the old leaders are not doing enough
to force change. There is no denying—age has become a factor slowing down
progress and change.

Age is not the only factor, though.

Another typically Burmese problem is the way power is perceived. Burmese
traditionally think about power in a highly personalized way. Power is
vested in one ruler: he who rules all—be it the kings of the three
dynasties, the father of modern Burma, Aung San, dictator Ne Win or Aung
San Suu Kyi. Historically, this “Great Leader” is the role model that most
Burmese politicians base themselves on.

This becomes a serious problem when another factor comes in to play:
Buddhism. The mainstay religion in Burmese culture not only teaches
non-violence—a way of life that is of little use when trying to overcome a
bunch of generals clinging to their guns—but it also teaches people that
this earthly existence is just one of many lives.

The form you reincarnate into depends on the merit you collected during
earlier lives. Thinking along these lines, it is easy to believe that
rulers, however bad they may be, were awarded their high positions because
of their merits in earlier incarnations. A true Buddhist shouldn’t resist.
The generals shrewdly take advantage of this misconception by affiliating
themselves closely with Buddhism. They build pagodas, offer donations to
monks and take part in religious ceremonies.

Of course, cultural factors like these are not the only reasons for the
lack of progress in Burma over the past 47 years. The Machiavellian
mindset of the generals is another factor, as is the fact that the
generals fear what will happen to them if they hand over power. They could
end up in jail, or worse.

To me, it is sadly all too clear that the teachings of the Buddha, the
tradition of personalized power, and the emphasis on age together make up
a tragic cocktail hampering progress in Burma. And with that culture being
a slowly evolving phenomenon, there is little we can do about it.

Adam Selene is journalist based in Bangkok

____________________________________


July 29, Far Eastern Economic Review
Don't sell Burma short - Ko Bo Kyi

Mae Sot, Thailand – The Obama administration’s attempts to find a new
approach to dealing with Burma are laudable, even if the world doesn’t
know which direction it will take yet. The U.S. must maintain a tough
stance whilst it seeks new avenues for engagement. Although regional
cooperation as part of a new U.S. “carrot and stick” strategy has
potential, thus far the incentive element lacks depth. The renewal of U.S.
trade sanctions against Burma by the U.S. Congress is welcome; there must
be no change to these measures until the ruling State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC) show at least a modicum of respect for basic
rights.

The U.S. has long predicated their policy on the release of democracy
leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. “If she were released, that would open up
opportunities at least for my country to expand our relationship with
Burma, including investments in Burma," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton told reporters at last week’s Association of Southeast Asian
Nations security forum. However, Mrs. Clinton made no mention of Burma’s
other 2,100 plus political prisoners.

The importance of Aung San Suu Kyi cannot be underestimated. She is still
a unifying figure, and one who is universally respected by all of Burma's
ethnic nationality groups. But the Obama administration must not retreat
from one critical benchmark for democratic progress in Burma: the
unconditional release of all political prisoners. After all, what can Aung
San Suu Kyi achieve alone, if her supporters and other political actors
languish in prison?

Aung San Suu Kyi is not the only political leader in prison who can help
bring national reconciliation to Burma. Others include ethnic-Shan leader
U Khun Tun Oo and former student leader Min Ko Naing. And there are some
10,000 former political prisoners living in Burma today. All of them
represent the voice of peaceful democratic opposition in Burma; all of
them have a vital role to play in Burma's democratization process, which
must be truly inclusive if it is to be successful.

It is dangerous to optimistically endorse the 2010 elections as the
solution to Burma’s stagnant political system, as imperfect as the
elections will clearly be. The elections will be based on the regime’s
2008 constitution, designed to entrench military rule. Twenty-five percent
of parliamentary seats are reserved for members of the military, and
impunity for Burmese army personnel for past and future human rights
violations is enshrined in the constitution. The document bars any person
married to a foreigner from serving as president of the country, thereby
excluding Aung San Suu Kyi as her husband was British.

Extreme caution needs to be exercised when considering the concept of
“participation” in the 2010 elections. “The government has said many times
that there are no political prisoners in Myanmar. They are, indeed, the
ones who are
serving their terms in accordance with the law for their harming stability
and peace of the State, and committing other crimes. Daw Suu Kyi, like
them, is not a political prisoner, but the person who is on trial for
breaching an existing law,” wrote Lu Thit in an editorial titled “Wipe out
anti-public desire elements” in the junta’s mouthpiece The New Light of
Myanmar last Thursday. In all likelihood, Burma’s military rulers will
consider it a huge concession to allow current and former political
prisoners simply to vote in any election.

When the Obama administration announces its policy review, it needs to
clarify what new incentives they will offer to the SPDC. First of all, any
proffered ‘carrot’ should only be in exchange for the unconditional
release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all of Burma’s political prisoners.
Secondly, the U.S. must press for a guarantee that all current and former
political prisoners be allowed to freely participate in the country's
democratization process, without restrictions. Specifically, this should
include participation in a review of the 2008 constitution; dialogue for
national reconciliation; and the right to stand in independently monitored
free and fair elections. Any fresh approach to Burma by the U.S. is
welcome, as long as these fundamentals are not cast aside.

The international community remains divided on how best to deal with
Burma. The regime depends on this. Ultimately, the divisions help maintain
the status quo and ensure their continued rule.

And it is Burma’s political prisoners who will continue to pay the price.
In November last year, the authorities began to systematically transfer
political prisoners to remote jails around Burma. Of the 237 political
prisoners transferred since then, 75% have been moved to the country's
most remote jails—up to 1,200 miles from Rangoon.

There is no doubt that this is a deliberate, psychological tactic by the
regime to cut off political prisoners from their family support system,
and crush their resolve. Food and medical supplies in Burma's prisons are
so inadequate that political prisoners rely on their families to help them
meet their most basic needs. Families have been forced to find additional
funds to make the long-distance trips to visit their loved ones in prison.
Held in remote facilities, many of which do not have prison doctors, and
separated from their family support systems, political prisoners are at
increasing risk of chronic and life-threatening health problems.

Of course, Burma’s political prisoners are not the only ones suffering in
the country. Human rights groups have documented grave violations against
civilians in Eastern Burma, including the rape of women and children,
forcible recruitment of child soldiers, and the use of civilians as human
“landmine sweepers.” Recent attacks along the Thai-Burma border have
forced an estimated 4,000 Karen villagers to flee to Thailand for safety.

If U.S. President Barack Obama really wants to make his mark on Burma, he
has the perfect opportunity, particularly if he joins forces with his U.K.
counterpart Gordon Brown. The U.K. chairs the U.N. Security Council in
August whilst the U.S. has its turn in September. Together they should
push the U.N. Security Council to initiate a Commission of Inquiry into
crimes against humanity in Burma.

Difficult though it may be, the U.S. and others need to grapple with the
complexity of Burma’s issues. Otherwise, the country’s political
prisoners—along with thousands of innocent women and children who urgently
need protection from the junta’s brutality—will suffer the consequences.

Ko Bo Kyi spent seven years as a political prisoner in Burma. He is
co-founder of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma)
and a recipient of the 2008 Human Rights Defender Award from Human Rights
Watch.

____________________________________

July 29, Hufftington Post
Bargaining Burma's political prisoners - David Scott Mathieson

Mae Sot -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appears to have
been granted a belated booby prize from Burma's military rulers after his
recent trip. On July 13, Ban bleakly reported to the Security Council that
his visit was a major lost opportunity for the ruling State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC) to demonstrate their commitment to change. They
did not allow him to visit Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi nor
did they release any political prisoners.

Yet after Ban's speech, the Burmese ambassador to the UN, Than Shwe, said
that his government was "processing to grant amnesty to prisoners on
humanitarian grounds and with a view to enabling them to participate in
the 2010 elections." This step was one of three benchmarks Ban announced
before his visit, the others being the resumption of a substantive
dialogue inside Burma, and to create conditions conducive to a credible
and legitimate election.

Burma's president, General Than Shwe (no relation to the ambassador), had
assured Ban during his visit that the long-planned elections would be
"free, fair, and credible."

Can the SPDC be trusted to release all of Burma's 2,100 political
prisoners and allow them to run in elections? Unfortunately we've been
through this all before.

Recent amnesties in Burma have been little more than public relations
stunts. In September 2008, 9,000 prisoners were released, but only six of
them, including the 78-year-old journalist U Win Tin were political
activists. The amnesty was to detract attention from the one-year
anniversary of the brutal 2007 crackdown against monks and other activists
in which at least 21 people were killed. In February this year, to
illustrate cooperation with a visiting UN human rights envoy, another
amnesty freed 6,000 prisoners. Only 24 of these were imprisoned for
political activities.

Meanwhile, in the two years since the 2007 crackdown, the number of
political prisoners in Burma doubled, to 2,100 and courts have sentenced
hundreds of activists to long prison terms.

Political prisoners in Burma are incarcerated because they have called on
the military government to protect basic freedoms. They have urged Burma's
rulers to engage with Burmese society and address long neglected social
issues such as health, education and basic living standards. Or they have
spoken to foreigners about repression in their country.

They include Burma's most famous comedian Zargana, sentenced to 59 years
of imprisonment for providing aid to cyclone victims and then publicly
criticizing the government's poor relief efforts (his sentence was later
reduced to 35 years). The student leader Min Ko Naing has spent most of
the last 20 years in prison for heading the 1988 democracy uprising. A
young Buddhist monk, U Gambira, led other monks in the September 2007
protests and is serving 68 years in prison. Authorities hunted Ma Su Su
Nway, a firebrand labor activist, for months before she emerged from
hiding to stage a protest near a visiting UN human rights envoy in late
2007.

Many of these prominent activists have been transferred to isolated
prisons in Burma's hinterlands, far from family and friends. The squalid
conditions, including lack of adequate health care and basic sanitation,
have exacerbated chronic health problems. The International Committee of
the Red Cross has not been allowed inside Burma's prisons for nearly four
years.

Burma's political prisoners are the nucleus of an emerging civil society
network inside Burma consisting of activists, writers, journalists,
bloggers, hip-hop artists, monks, nuns, and aid workers. Their activities
are peaceful; their message is of cooperation, consultation and community.
These are the very people who should be preparing now for multi-party
elections next year.

Despite the SPDC's promises, even if a few of these 2,100 prisoners are
released, it is unlikely that they will be permitted to participate in the
2010 elections. Without political party registration or electoral laws,
there is widespread uncertainty about who can run in the first elections
for twenty years. Systematic intimidation and repression of political
activities are not conducive conditions for any sort of democratic
process. Moreover, Burma's new SPDC-orchestrated constitution bars
convicted criminals from running.

It's time now for Burma's allies and trade partners, including Security
Council members China and Russia, to act and call Ambassador Than Shwe's
bluff. They should push Burma to free all 2,100 political prisoners and
enable them to participate fully in the elections. As long as these brave
individuals remain in prison they are the starkest reminder of Burma's
illegitimate political reforms.