BurmaNet News, August 20, 2009

[Editor]

August 20, 2009 Issue #3780


INSIDE BURMA
Reuters: Myanmar junta urges West to lift sanctions
DVB: 10,000 acres of farmland destroyed
Irrawaddy: Eastern Burma: Another Darfur?

ON THE BORDER
Bangkok Post: Rohingya deaths spark anger

ASEAN
AFP: ASEAN mulls Suu Kyi amnesty call: Indonesia

REGIONAL
Mizzima News: Pakistan Senate HR Committee condemns Burmese junta

INTERNATIONAL
The Jakarta Post: ICG sees some light at the end of Myanmar’s tunnel
New York Times: Released prisoner of Myanmar junta returns home unrepentant
Mizzima News: Campaigners call for commission of inquiry into junta crimes

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Time for decisive action – Aung Moe Zaw
Huffington Post: In support of the struggle for democracy in Burma – Jose
Ramos-Horta





____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

August 20, Reuters
Myanmar junta urges West to lift sanctions

YANGON – Army-ruled Myanmar urged Western countries on Thursday to lift
economic sanctions and allow the country to modernize and achieve its
democratic goals.

A commentary in three official newspapers, which serve as mouthpieces for
the reclusive junta, praised "visionary" United States officials who were
critical of sanctions, which it said would not bring the downfall of the
government.

"The more anti-government groups exercise economic sanctions as a means to
put pressure on the government, the further the goal of democracy aspired
by the people will divert from its route," the newspapers said.

It urged "all political forces to give up the tactic of economic sanctions
and collectively open the golden door to a modern, developed and peaceful
democratic nation."

The comments came days after a visit by Jim Webb, a U.S. senator who
favors engagement with the generals. On Tuesday state media hailed his
trip as a success [ID:nBKK184041].

Webb was the first U.S. official to visit Myanmar in more than a decade
and met both junta supremo Than Shwe and opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi, who was returned to her home on August 11 to serve 18 months' house
arrest for breaking a security law.

Webb was allowed to leave with American John Yettaw, whose visit to Suu
Kyi's home in May had led to her latest conviction and who had himself
been sentenced to seven years' hard labor.

"Fortune has somewhat smiled on Myanmar's people as there are several
visionary officials in the U.S.'s top political area like Senator Webb,"
the commentary said.

The papers said the collapse of the regime was "far from a possibility"
because trade with its neighbors had increased and the country had
prospered in the past two decades of army rule.

The United States and European Union have used sanctions to try to force
the regime to carry out reforms, but critics say Myanmar's thriving trade
with China, India and Thailand have limited their effect.

Webb met Suu Kyi for 45 minutes on Friday and told reporters later that
she was "not opposed" to the lifting of some sanctions, but he refused to
elaborate.

Myanmar plans to hold multi-party elections next year, which critics have
dismissed as a sham to entrench nearly half a century of army rule.

(Reporting by Aung Hla Tun; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Alan
Raybould)

____________________________________

August 20, Democratic Voice of Burma
10,000 acres of farmland destroyed – Naw Noreen

Around 10,000 acres of rice paddy fields located alongside one of Burma’s
major rivers have been destroyed after weeks of heavy rainfall caused
extensive flooding in central Burma.

A local living near to the Sittaung river in Bago division told DVB that
the river’s water level started swelling on 7 August, flooding farmlands
in four townships.

“The paddy plants rotted after being underwater for about 10 days. About
10,000 acres of farmlands were affected by the flood,” he said.

“It’ll take farmers around one month to start growing the crops all over
again.”

He said that farm owners, who took agricultural loans from the government
to grow crops, now had no money to investment in new crops.

“The farmers receive only 8000 kyat ($US8) per an acre of farmland from
the agricultural bank and they cannot get a loan for more than 10 acres,”
he said.

“They were already in huge debt from the previous [failed] crop and it is
impossible for them to find more money to invest.”

Rice is one of Burma’s major exports, but the sector was hit hard and
production dropped following cyclone Nargis in May last week, which was
reported to have destroyed up to one million acres of farmland.

The ruling junta came under criticism after it continued to export rice at
the same quantity despite the massive drop in production.

The local said it was likely that there would be low rice production this
year in the area affected by he flooding.

“An acre of paddy farm produces about 60 tins [2688 litres] of rice, so
the amount damaged by the flooding would be around 60,000 cups
[2,688,000],” he said.

The state-run newspaper Myanma Ahlin reported yesterday that the Sittaung
water level has begun subsiding in some areas.

It also warned, however, that it could go up to an emergency level of 600
centimeters within 24 hours, starting from yesterday morning.

____________________________________

August 20, Irrawaddy
Eastern Burma: Another Darfur? – Saw Yan Naing

You could say it runs in the family—45-year-old Saw Lubermoo’s grandmother
and grandfather were IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons), his parents were
IDPs, and now he is an IDP.

The ethnic Karen says he has been constantly on the move and hiding in the
jungle since he was four years of age.

He is among hundreds of thousands of ethnic Karen, Karenni, Mon and Shan
civilians who have been displaced in eastern Burma for decades.

According to a 2008 report by the Thailand Burma Border Consortium, an
umbrella group of donors and humanitarian organizations, the total number
of IDPs in eastern Burma is likely to be well over half a million with at
least 451,000 people estimated to have been displaced in rural areas
alone. The group also says that many IDP cases in eastern Burma go
unreported.

According to Shan and Karen relief groups, there are currently about
20,000 IDPs in hiding in the jungles of central Shan State and northern
Karen State.

A separate group of some 4,000 Karen villagers fled during the joint
Burmese army– Democratic Karen Buddhist Army offensive against the Karen
National Liberation Army (KNLA) in June and are presently being sheltered
on Thai soil.

Shan community-based rights groups, including the Shan Women’s Action
Network (SWAN), reported on August 13 that in the previous two weeks, the
Burmese army had burned down more than 500 houses and forced about 40
villages to relocate, mostly in Laikha Township in Shan State.

On Wednesday, a top US administration official expressed anxiety over the
displacement of thousands of civilians in northeastern parts of Burma due
to the Burmese army’s military activities.

“We have been deeply concerned by very recent reports of large-scale
displacement, perhaps as many or more than 10,000 civilians,” the
Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration, Eric
Schwartz, told reporters on Wednesday at a special briefing at the Foggy
Bottom headquarters of the US State Department.

Observers and human rights advocacy groups have said that the conditions
under which villagers are forced to become IDPs in eastern Burma is
conducive with the criteria regarded by the International Criminal Court
(ICC) as “crimes against humanity.”

Aung Htoo, the general-secretary of the exiled Burma Lawyers’ Council
(BLC), said, “We can say with certainty that crimes against humanity and
war crimes are being committed in Burma.

Charm Tong, a spokesperson for SWAN, said, “The regime brazenly committed
these crimes even as the whole world was watching them during the trial of
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.”

Several activists have said that crimes committed by soldiers of the
Burmese regime include murder, rape, torture, looting, forced relocations
and displacement. Many compare the situation in eastern Burma to the
Darfur crisis in western Sudan where about 300,000 people have been killed
and 2.5 million have been displaced.

The ICC has issued a warrant for the arrest of President Omar Hassan Ahmad
al-Bashir, accusing him of being responsible for war crimes and crimes
against humanity in Sudan.

Since 1997, the Burmese regime has destroyed over 3,000 villages and
displaced over half a million civilians in eastern Burma. Karen sources
report that there have been many unreported displacements and destroyed
villages in Karen State alone since 1949 when the Karen armed revolution
began.

International and regional rights groups, such as the International
Federation for Human Rights, Altsean-Burma and Burma Lawyers’ Council,
have urged the European Union to support the establishment of a UN
Security Council Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity and
war crimes in Burma.

Regional activist, Debbie Stothard, the coordinator of Altsean-Burma,
said, “How can the SPDC’s planned elections be given any credence when war
still rages in eastern Burma?”

A Karen rebel commander with the KNLA for more than two decades said he
decided to join the fight against the Burmese army after he witnessed the
bloodthirsty murder of children by Burmese soldiers.

He could not control his emotions as he told the story. “In one village, I
saw the Burmese army kill women and infants. This event motivated me to
pick up a gun and protect my Karen people,” he said.

“I have asked myself many times why Burmese soldiers are killing
civilians. But, I have never found an answer.”

A Karen girl, Taw Oo Paw, 13, said, “I pray every night before I go to bed
that I can be reunited with my mother and my sisters, and return to my
village and live in peace.”

Her father was killed by the Burmese army and she has been separated from
her mother and sisters for two years. She said that she hopes for a family
reunion, one day.

Washington-based The Irrawaddy correspondent Lalit K Jha also contributed
into this article.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

August 20, Bangkok Post
Rohingya deaths spark anger – Achara Ashayagachat and Wimol Nookaew

Human rights activists have lodged an appeal with the National Human
Rights Commission asking it to investigate the deaths of two Rohingya
illegal immigrants held in Ranong.

The deaths have prompted immigration authorities to move the other Burmese
minorities being held from the detention centre in the southern province
to the head office in central Bangkok.

Chief of the Ranong immigration office Nattharit Pinpak said 55 migrants
were put on a 10-wheel truck to Bangkok on Tuesday night. They reached the
Immigration Bureau in Suan Phlu yesterday.

Abdul Salam, 20, died two months ago after vomiting blood several times.
Last week, Hammatula, 18, died without any signs of distress, according to
human rights activists.

But Thongchai Keeratihatthayakorn, a doctor in Ranong, said the two had
died of sudden inflammation of the heart.

Immigration officials in Ranong said another 10 Rohingya detainees had
fallen ill and had symptoms of fatigue.

Dr Thongchai said they seemed to be suffering from malnutrition because of
their long detention.

Thai Allied Committee for Desegregated Burma coordinator Nassir Achwarin
said a number of non-governmental organisations had visited the Ranong
detention centre and found the authorities would not allow doctors to see
the detained Rohingya.

Mr Nassir said the two men died while in the custody of government
authorities, which was a serious issue since they were denied the basic
right of proper medical treatment.

The committee yesterday asked the human rights commission to look into the
issue, he said.

"Their transfer to Suan Phlu is a temporary solution," Mr Nassir said.
"The government must ensure these people will not be deported back to
Burma and face persecution or punishment."

The two dead Rohingya were among 78 ethnic Rohingya Muslims from Burma's
Arakan state and Bangladesh who landed in Thailand on Jan 27.Those thought
to be from Bangladesh had already been taken to Bangkok.

The Bangladesh embassy was verifying their nationality.

The Ranong Court has ordered each of the migrants to pay a 2,000 baht fine
for illegally entering the country.

But they have opted to serve jail sentences instead of paying the fine.

They are waiting to be deported to Burma.

____________________________________
ASEAN

August 20, Agence France Presse
ASEAN mulls Suu Kyi amnesty call: Indonesia

Jakarta — Senior Asian officials met in Indonesia on Thursday to discuss
issuing an unprecedented call for amnesty for Myanmar democracy icon Aung
San Suu Kyi, Indonesia's foreign ministry said.

The officials from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN), which includes Myanmar, were considering a "joint appeal" for Suu
Kyi's release from house arrest, ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said.

The appeal could be in the form of a letter to the Myanmar junta, which
recently extended the Nobel Peace laureate's confinement for 18 months
after a trial widely seen as a sham.

"From what I remember, this would be the first such joint appeal for
amnesty," Faizasyah told AFP.

"We don't know what form it will take. It could be in the form of letter
to Myanmar, but they will have to discuss this."

Any such appeal would signal a toughening of the bloc's attitude toward
the junta and would be a significant departure from ASEAN's
much-criticised principle of non-interference in members' internal
affairs, analysts said.

"To my knowledge, this is a first for ASEAN. The effort is unusual and a
step forward," Singapore Institute of International Affairs chairman Simon
Tay said.

"They will not expel Myanmar or sanction it -- not yet -- but they will
not sit impassively if the regime continues to act in this manner... If
followed up, and the regime does respond, it can signal a diplomatic
opening."

Thailand said last Friday it was pushing for a consensus among member
states to ask Myanmar's military rulers to pardon Suu Kyi. Faizasyah said
the initiative also had the full support of the Indonesian government.

Suu Kyi led her National League for Democracy to a landslide victory in
elections in 1990, but the junta has refused to recognise the result and
has kept her locked away in her lakeside home for 14 of the subsequent
years.

As well as Myanmar, ASEAN also groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

August 20, Mizzima News
Pakistan Senate HR Committee condemns Burmese junta – Mungpi

New Delhi - Pakistan’s Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights on
Wednesday came down heavily on Burma’s military junta for sentencing
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and urged its government to severe
diplomatic ties unless Burma releases the Noble Peace Laureate.

The committee, in its meeting under the chairmanship of Senator Afrasiab
Khattak, said by sentencing Aung San Suu Kyi to another 18 months in
detention, the Burmese junta is not only blatantly denying the democratic
aspirations of the Burmese people but has also stubbornly ignored the
demand of the international community.

“The despotic dictatorship has crossed all limits in violating
international norms of democracy, civilized governance and human rights,”
reads the Committee’s resolution published in a press statement on
Wednesday.

The Committee also expressed its solidarity with the Burmese people in
their struggle for fundamental rights and “demanded of the [Pakistan]
government that it should severe diplomatic ties with the military regime
of Myanmar [Burma] unless Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi and other political
prisoners are released and democratic rights and constitutional rule is
restored.”

The committee’s call is the first official statement by the Pakistani
government over the sentencing of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on
August 11.

Pakistan and Burma are reported to have maintained a good military
relationship with former Burmese Intelligence Chief Lt Gen Khin Nyunt
paying a visit to Islamabad in June 2000. Khin Nyunt, who ranked third in
the Burmese military hierarchy, was purged in 2004.

Pakistan’s former President General Pervez Musharraf also paid a visit to
Rangoon in May 2001.

Pakistan is known to have supplied Burma with conventional weapons and
provided training for Burmese Army personnel in Pakistan.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

August 20, The Jakarta Post
ICG sees some light at the end of Myanmar’s tunnel – Ary Hermawan

Amid outrage and also frustration over Myanmar’s decision to extend the
house detention of the frail democracy icon, Aung San Suu Kyi, the
International Crisis Group (ICG) warned world leaders against squandering
an “opportunity for change” in the military-ruled country when it holds
elections next year.

In a report titled “Myanmar: Towards the Elections”, released Thursday,
the ICG admitted the elections will not be free and fair without Suu Kyi
and other detained political dissidents, but “the constitution and
elections together will fundamentally change the political landscape in a
way the government may not be able to control”.

“Senior Generals Than Shwe and Maung Aye may soon step down or move to
ceremonial roles, making way for a younger military generation. All
stakeholders should be aware of opportunities that may arise to push the
new government toward reform and reconciliation,” the report said.

The elections, it says, are significant because the controversial
constitution, approved in 2008, which serves as a basis for the electoral
process, involves a complete change in the political structure. This, it
argues, includes establishing a presidential system of government with a
bicameral legislature as well as fourteen regional governments and
assemblies.

“The military presumably wants to use the elections to ensure its
continued dominance, but this is the most wide-ranging shake-up in a
generation,” the group’s Southeast Asia project director, Jim
Della-Giacoma said in a statement.

“Domestic and international stakeholders should be alert to opportunities
that may arise to push the new government toward reform and
reconciliation,” it says.

____________________________________

August 20, New York Times
Released prisoner of Myanmar junta returns home unrepentant – Dirk
Vanderhart and Susan Saulny

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — John Yettaw, the recently released prisoner of the
military junta in Myanmar who illegally swam across a lake there in early
May and set off a bizarre international spectacle, arrived here Wednesday
night, fatigued and apparently unrepentant.

Mr. Yettaw, an eccentric adventurer who lives in the tiny rural community
of Falcon, Mo., northeast of here, was escorted through a private exit at
the airport terminal so he would not have to face reporters after his
multistop, nearly daylong journey from Southeast Asia.

But in a layover in Chicago, where he was pushed in a wheelchair through
O’Hare International Airport, he told The Associated Press, “If I had to
do it again, I would do it a hundred times, a hundred times.”

Mr. Yettaw, 53, was convicted last week in Myanmar of violating
immigration law and local ordinances when he swam across a lake in central
Yangon, the capital, to the villa where Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the
country’s pro-democracy leader, lives under house arrest.

The intrusion violated the terms of Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi’s home
confinement, under which she has lived for 14 of the past 20 years. Mr.
Yettaw spent two days at the villa, claiming he had had a vision and came
to save Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi from assassination. She pleaded with him to
leave her heavily guarded compound, but he complained of ill health and
she allowed him to stay.

A court sentenced Mrs. Aung San Suu-Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, to
18 months of additional house arrest, ensuring that she would remain in
detention through a parliamentary election that is scheduled for next
year.

Mr. Yettaw has provided little insight into his motivation for the swim.
While waiting for his connecting flight in Chicago, he said, “I wish I
could talk more; I can’t,” and made a zipper motion across his mouth.

At the same trial last week as Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi, Mr. Yettaw was
sentenced to seven years of prison and hard labor. His ordeal ended on
Sunday after Senator Jim Webb, Democrat of Virginia, flew to Myanmar and
met with the leader of the ruling junta, securing Mr. Yettaw’s release.
Washington policy has marginalized Myanar for its human rights abuses and
political repression.

Mr. Webb and Mr. Yettaw flew from Myanmar together and parted ways in
Bangkok. Mr. Yettaw’s arrival in Springfield was the beginning of the last
leg of his journey home, where he lives with his wife on 150 acres of
forest in the Ozark Mountains.

Mr. Yettaw, who has been ill since his arrest, wore a surgical mask to
guard against infection while he traveled. He had suffered seizures during
his trial and received medical treatment in Bangkok after being released.

Mr. Webb described him after the release as “not a well man” but also
added: “I believe what happened was regrettable. He was trying to help.
He’s not a mean-spirited human being.”

Mr. Yettaw’s neighbors and friends said they had been praying for his
safety, even while they do not fully understand what happened in Myanmar
or why he went. Some thought the trip had to do with graduate studies in
psychology, or perhaps a book Mr. Yettaw told them he wanted to write.

“I’ll be glad to see him back,” said one friend, Michael Assel, a retired
Navy officer. “I would not question his motives like so many people have
done. In my opinion, it’s just his business. He got in trouble and for a
while, it looked like he wouldn’t get home, but he did, so I’m happy about
that.”

Dirk Vanderhart reported from Springfield, Mo., and Susan Saulny from
Chicago.

____________________________________

August 20, Mizzima News
Campaigners call for commission of inquiry into junta crimes – Mungpi

New Delhi - Campaigners say now is the time for the international
community, particularly the United Nations, to call on the Security
Council to establish a commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity
and war crimes committed by Burma’s military rulers.

With the recent sentencing of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and the
continued cleansing of minorities in remote areas of the country, Burma’s
military rulers have clearly demonstrated their ruthlessness and
stubbornness in ignoring calls for reform, three campaign group said on
Wednesday.

Debbie Stothard, coordinator for the Alternative Asean Network on Burma
(Altsean Burma), one of the three groups that has called on the Security
Council to establish a commission of inquiry, said the international
community, while offering condemnation through rhetoric, has done little
practical to push the junta to implement changes in Burma.

“It is high time that the international community stop accepting the
junta’s actions and stand up,” Stothard told Mizzima on Thursday.

Altsean Burma, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the
Burma Lawyers Council (BLC) in their statement on Wednesday called on the
European Union, which tightened economic sanctions on the junta in the
wake of the sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi, to support their call in
setting up a commission of inquiry.

The statement said the new sanctions imposed by the EU are totally
inadequate in the face of the worsening human rights situation and ongoing
atrocities against ethnic nationalities in Burma.

“These sanctions reflect the political unwillingness of the EU to take a
firm stance on this issue and increase dangerously the risk that the
regime will consider this as a green light to continue committing
international crimes,” said Souhayr Belhassen, President of FIDH, in the
statement.

On August 11, a special court in Rangoon’s Insein Prison announced the
verdict of the over two-month trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, finding her
guilty and sentencing her to three years of prison with hard labor.

But the country’s military Supremo, Senior General Than Shwe, intervened
the court session via a special order and commuted the sentence by half,
contingent upon good moral behavior, while also allowing her to serve her
time at her lakeside home.

Following the sentencing several countries have issued statements
condemning the junta, though a few have hailed the junta for its apparent
leniency in commuting Aung San Suu Kyi’s sentence.

“The EU must not be fooled by the SPDC’s [Burma’s military government]
phony attempt to show leniency on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The SPDC has
fulfilled its strategy to keep Daw Aung San Suu Kyi out of the picture
while, at the same time, the SPDC tells the world that Burma is on the
path to democracy. How can the SPDC’s planned elections be given any
credence when war still rages in Eastern Burma?” Stothard questioned.

Stothard said several thousand ethnic citizens in eastern Burma are
currently being displaced as a result of fresh atrocities committed by the
junta’s soldiers.

“If the junta is sincere in their plans and want to implement changes, the
junta must stop killing the ethnics. Burma’s politics is not just about
Aung San Suu Kyi and the regime but it is also the issue of ethnic
nationalities,” Stothard emphasized.

Stothard added that the international community, particularly the United
Nations, has not been taking effective measures to force the junta to
cease their behavior.

“The UN has very little or no pressure at all on the SPDC. And the SPDC
knows that they can continue playing around with international politics,”
she said, referring to the junta’s official name of State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC).

Meanwhile, the US-based Global Justice Centre (GJC), in a press statement,
denounced UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for his reaction over the
Burmese junta’s sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi, the only detained Nobel
Peace Laureate.

The GJC said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks on the sentencing of
Aung San Suu Kyi are totally at odds with his mandate under the UN
Charter.

“As a Representative of the UN, and given these circumstances,
international law requires Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to call for an
end to impunity, not convey his ‘disappointment’ and call for
‘reconciliation’,” argued the GJC in their statement.

The GJC said instead of calling the verdict “disappointing” and
“deplorable”, Ban should refer the situation in Burma to the International
Criminal Court, concluding that Ban’s remarks “undermine the rule of law.”

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

August 20, Irrawaddy
Time for decisive action – Aung Moe Zaw

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is guilty and her sentence is three years hard labor.
That was the judgment handed down by a court in the compound of the
notorious Insein Prison on August 11th, 2009.   As a result, the military
regime in Burma may believe that it has fulfilled its aim of excluding her
and the pro-democracy forces from the country's political process.

There should be no doubt that Snr-Gen Than Shwe and the junta have no
intention of reconciling with either Suu Kyi or any of the pro-democracy
movement and ethnic forces for the interest of the various peoples or the
nation.

They have made that blatantly clear time and time again, and now, this
latest verdict is a loud resounding "No!" to domestic and international
calls for reconciliation and an inclusive political process.

The National League for Democracy (NLD), the leadership of the
pro-democracy movement, has decided to appeal the court decision. While
exposing the absence of an independent judiciary and the rule of law is
crucial to understanding the current state of Burma, is it really possible
for a legal case to reform the judiciary system?

When the charges are trumped up, when the verdict is ridiculous and the
when the sentence is politically manipulated, is it remotely possible for
an appeal to successfully secure the release of the Nobel Peace Prize
laureate?

Than Shwe has already given us his answer when he intervened to put his
stamp of recognition of the courts' verdict and colluded with the court to
sentence her to 18 months house arrest. However, he did not use his
omnipresent power to intervene for her release.

His intervention can only be interpreted as a sign that the regime refuses
to reconcile with Suu Kyi or to move toward national reconciliation and
democratic transition.

It may be that the leadership of our movement has a strategic plan to
bring about positive change through taking on the judiciary system and,
indeed, in the face of such injustice, it is of course absolutely
necessary to fight in the court.

The trial may also encourage international sympathy and support for the
movement and contribute to raising public awareness, fueling discontent
with the regime’s wily ways.

However, one can't help but worry that the legal battle will divert the
NLD's direction away from mobilizing the public, which is surely the most
critical challenge at this current juncture; critical because the response
to the looming challenge will define the future of the country's political
process. This challenge is the 2010 election.

The forthcoming election—which will exclude all democrats from the
nation's political process—will soon be accomplished, just as the
referendum was accomplished, unless pro-democracy groups can change Than
Shwe and his military clique’s minds.

The election result will be just as rigged as the referendum's—unless, of
course, the pro-democracy groups can change the rules of game beforehand.

The election will activate the military constitution, but will otherwise
go nowhere except to legalize military rule in Burma.

The NLD proposed to the regime through its ''Shwe-Gone-Taing Declaration''
that it would consider participating in the election if certain conditions
were met. Two vital conditions are the release of its leader, Daw Aung san
Suu Kyi, and all other political prisoners, and the review and revision of
the 2008 constitution. The NLD has indeed offered some middle ground to
break t the country's political deadlock.

Again, Than Shwe has said “No” by transferring Suu Kyi to Insein Prison
and bringing yet more charges against her.

In my opinion, in the face of all these refusals, the leadership of the
pro-democracy movement is left with no choice but to oppose the elections
in 2010 and must state so urgently and without diversion.

This is the right moment for them to bring all political forces on board
to boycott the elections.

Time is running out for the leadership of the pro-democracy movement. The
place for today's strategic battle is in the political arena, supported by
the people. It is time for the leadership to take decisive action to
prepare and mobilize for a mass boycott of the 2010 elections.

Aung Moe Zaw is chairman of the Democratic Party for a New Society, an
opposition group based in exile.

____________________________________

August 19, Huffington Post
In support of the struggle for democracy in Burma – Jose Ramos-Horta

The horrors of World War II should have shocked humanity into rejecting
violence and wars forever, and ushered in an era of peace. Yet we continue
to see countless abuses and crimes, in some instances, amounting to
genocide because those who can prevent these crimes did little or nothing.

The "Killing Fields" of Cambodia in the 70s, the genocide in Rwanda in
'94, the ongoing barbarities in Darfur (Sudan), Somalia and Democratic
Republic Congo are just some examples reminding us that human beings,
though endowed by God with intelligence and sentiments, so often behave in
most inhuman cruel manner towards each other.

There comes a time when those who oppose violence and tyranny must rise
up. Throughout history from Africa to Asia to Europe, millions of people
have risen up against tyrants and brought them down thereby paving the way
for freedom and democracy.

On August 5th, I was in Manila to pay tribute to an Asian hero, Corazon
Aquino, who led the "People's Power" movement that toppled the Marcos'
dictatorship in 1986. Millions of Filipinos paid tribute to the discreet
and humble housewife turned international stateswoman and hero.

In 1998, students in Indonesia led a movement that brought down the
Suharto dictatorship -- and contributed to our own freedom. Today,
Indonesia and the Philippines are examples of tolerance and democracy in
the region, maybe still imperfect like our own in Timor-Leste.

Greater powers have succumbed to people's will and sustained international
pressure. The former Soviet Union and the Apartheid regime in South Africa
are just some examples of this truth.

Burma and North Korea stand out among the few remaining outposts of
tyrants, monuments of shame and embarrassment, in a world that has changed
in the last 50 years. Tyrants who ruled with arrogance and incompetence,
from Eastern Europe to Africa, Asia and Latin America, have mostly been
blown away by the winds of change.

The time has come for more forceful and creative ways of fighting for
democracy in Burma.

I am opposed to trade embargoes and economic sanctions against developing
countries. While sanctions might be politically correct and satisfy our
conscience, they are morally less defensible as they impose a harsher
burden on an already desperately impoverished people.

However, I do not oppose efforts to freeze public and private assets held
by the military and their associates in the region.

If the international community can freeze funds and assets held by
individuals allegedly linked to violent extremist groups, there must be an
equal moral and political will to target those who hold hostage an entire
nation and have committed mass rape and murder against innocent people.

If it proves not possible to secure a binding UN Security Council
Resolution on freezing funds and assets linked to the Burmese military
that are held in accounts abroad, then the US, Europe, Japan, and other
like-minded countries should on their own initiate such measures.

Police agencies, such as Interpol, must be instructed to identify funds
and assets held anywhere in the world by the military and their
associates, divulge the existence of such accounts, and the names of banks
holding them. The tools used to intercept and dry up funding for terrorist
groups must be used to choke the Burmese military and punish any financial
institution that shelters their wealth.

The Obama administration has brought fresh air and new hope to the world
and offered a window of opportunity for dialogue with regimes such as
Burma's which may have allowed them to grab the olive branch and find an
honorable way out of a situation they have dug themselves into through
fear, arrogance and incompetence. However, the Burmese military rulers who
have mismanaged and ruined a prosperous nation seem to have misread the
Obama Administration's pragmatic and conciliatory approach as weakness.

I propose that Burma's membership in the UN and all UN Agencies and ASEAN
be suspended; further, all countries must downgrade their diplomatic
relations with Burma and allow for no more than one junior official to
mind the embassy wherever there is one; Burmese diplomats wishing to
defect should be granted asylum; likewise civilian and military personnel
wishing to flee Burma should be supported.

Throughout the Cold War era, the US, Europe and Canada offered shelter to
political refugees from the defunct Soviet Union and its Eastern European
vassal states. So why not offer similar support for Burmese dissidents and
defectors?

Major broadcasting institutions like Voice of America, BBC, and others
should significantly expand their Burmese language programmes.

A significant number of the members of the Burmese army are unhappy with
the situation, especially after they were ordered to beat up and shoot
revered Buddhist monks in September 2007.

Every available means of communication must be used to inspire the
officers' corps and soldiers to save the honor of the army and the
country. They must be told of their tarnished prestige and the harm done
to their country by a few decrepit and corrupt generals who are involved
in mass murder and the plundering of their country.

The Burmese soldiers and officers must be told of their complicity in such
crimes and must not turn their guns on their own people; they must rise up
against the decrepit and corrupt generals.

Senior officers in Hitler's army displayed great courage and patriotism in
trying to rid their country and the world of a seemingly omnipotent
tyrant. Portuguese young army officers were the architects of the peaceful
"Carnation Revolution" in 1974 that brought down the 50 year old Salazar
dictatorship and paved the way for democracy in Portugal and independence
of its overseas colonies. So the younger Burmese officer corps can be
inspired to save their country trough simple acts of patriotism and honor.

The World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the International Monetary
Fund and UN agencies should, without delay, initiate studies and draft a
blue-print for Burma's economic recovery and rebuild its financial system.

When freedom comes, and it will, the road to recovery and political
stability will be a very rough and long one. Burma is a country much
fractured along ethnic fault lines and plagued by armed drug warlords.

There is no denying that the military will continue to play an
indispensable role in maintaining unity and stability in the country. So
the new officer corps emerging in Burma should know that they have a
historic opportunity to save their country and, together with Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi, restore Burma's place in the world.

But the Army and Police will have to be reformed and modernized and
Burma's neighbors and friends must stand ready to assist in this regard.

Having followed developments in Burma for well over 20 years and seen
numerous failed attempts at politely and pragmatically couching the ruling
military to show restraint and engage its own people in meaningful
dialogue, I believe this is the next practical escalation in making the
generals pay the price for the war they have imposed on their own people.

The doors for diplomacy should remain open. If and when wisdom prevails
and the military rulers decide to free Suu Kjie and other political
prisoners, they must hear a heartfelt appreciation from the international
community; and if they take a step further by engaging Suu Kjie and other
leaders in meaningful dialogue, the international communicate must offer
immediate concrete support; if and when the military and Suu Kjie reach an
agreement on steps towards free and democratic elections and the military
have abided by the election outcome, then a major international pledging
conference should be held where the world community should commit to
assist Burma's economic recovery and in what we can anticipate to be a
very complex and long road to peace, stability and prosperity.