BurmaNet News, August 25, 2009

[Editor]

August 25, 2009 Issue #3783


INSIDE BURMA
AP: Myanmar lawyer: Detention now 'worse' for Suu Kyi
Mizzima News: Without constitution amendment elections cannot herald
change: NLD
DVB: Armed groups to step up resistance
Xinhua: U.N. ends transportation services in Myanmar's cyclone-hit areas

ON THE BORDER
SHAN: PLA moves to the Kokang border

BUSINESS / TRADE
Reuters: Daewoo consortium in $5.6 bln gas deal in Myanmar

REGIONAL
AFP: Japan urges Myanmar junta to release Suu Kyi soon
IHT: Myanmar group's visit here criticized

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Monk leaders call for third Sangha boycott

OPINION / OTHER
Asian Tribune: Burma Question – sill a matter of regional concern – Zin Linn




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

August 25, Associated Press
Myanmar lawyer: Detention now 'worse' for Suu Kyi

Yangon, Myanmar – The conditions of Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi's detention have gotten "worse" since her conviction this month for
violating terms of her previous house arrest, her lawyer said Tuesday.

Myanmar's military government has not responded to Suu Kyi's request for a
visit by her personal physician, said Nyan Win, her lawyer and spokesman
for her National League for Democracy party.

Nyan Win also said he and his colleagues have not yet been given
permission to meet the Nobel Peace Prize laureate since her Aug. 11
conviction to consult on filing an appeal.

"The present regulations imposed on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi are worse than
the previous rules," he said. "Daw" is a term of respect.

A Myanmar court found Suu Kyi, 64, guilty of sheltering an uninvited
American visitor. Her sentence of three years in prison with hard labor
was reduced to 18 months of house arrest by order of military junta leader
Senior Gen. Than Shwe.

Suu Kyi was returned to her tightly guarded home the day she was
convicted. She has been detained for about 14 of the past 20 years for her
nonviolent political activities, but this year was the first time she
faced criminal charges.

The court stipulated eight rules for her new term of house arrest, which
were generally seen as slightly more liberal than her previous detention,
which kept her in almost complete isolation.

Now Suu Kyi and two female companions can receive visitors with prior
permission from the authorities, have the right to medical treatment by
doctors and nurses, and are allowed to read state-controlled newspapers
and magazines and watch state-run television.

But Nyan Win said authorities still had not agreed on Suu Kyi's request to
allow her personal doctor to visit instead of one provided by the
government.

He said Suu Kyi wanted her personal doctor "as the doctor knows her
medical history well."

Suu Kyi earlier told her lawyers she needed clarification from the
authorities regarding the terms of her house arrest regarding matters such
as visitation rights and medical coverage.

Nyan Win said it is not clear if she will be permitted to meet people she
wants to see, or if people who want to visit her can request permission.

Nyan Win said it is now more difficult to send Suu Kyi books than when she
was in Insein Prison during her trial because every book has to pass
through scrutiny, taking days.

____________________________________

August 25, Mizzima News
Without constitution amendment elections cannot herald change: NLD – Mungpi

New Delhi – Unless Burma’s military regime releases political prisoners,
including Aung San Suu Kyi, and amends the 2008 constitution, the 2010
general elections will be meaningless and will not usher in any kind of
change, the National League for Democracy has said.

The 2010 general election, proposed by the ruling junta, is based on the
2008 constitution, which enshrines the role of the military. It cannot
provide an opportunity for change unless the regime considers reviewing
the constitution, Dr. Win Naing, a spokesperson for the NLD said.

“The 2010 elections cannot be an opportunity for change in Burma unless
the junta reviews and amends the constitution,” he said.

It has been 20 years now, and the junta is aware that it cannot continue
ruling the country in an illegitimate manner. Since the junta is not
prepared to make any kind of drastic reforms, it drafted the constitution
to legitimize its role, he added.

Dr. Win Naing’s remarks came in response to the recent report released by
the International Crisis Group, which urged all stake holders in Burmese
politics to prepare to seize an opportunity of change that is likely to be
a fall out of the 2010 elections.

The ICG in its report released on Thursday said the 2010 election is an
opportunity for change and urged the international community, the Burmese
opposition including the NLD, the military government and other stake
holders not to squander the opportunity.

“All stakeholders should be alert to opportunities that may arise to push
the new government towards reform and reconciliation,” the report, titled
“Myanmar: Towards the Elections”, said.

The report also argues that boycotting or opposing the election would only
push things into the hands of the military as it would not prevent the
elections from taking place.

But Dr. Win Naing said if the elections take place without any
consideration for the opposition’s demands, it would only produce a result
that is predictable – continued military rule – and the only difference
this time would be “a legitimized military rule”.

“We don’t see it as an opportunity. The conditions before the elections
are important and if nothing changes and if the junta goes ahead with its
plans, it is predictable,” he added.

But he did not criticize the ICG report stating, “It is their view and we
appreciate it for expressing such ideas. It does not matter whether we
agree with it or not.”

But functioning within a rigidly controlled environment, Dr. Win Naing
said, people living in Burma understand the military’s mentality and need
to assess the situation before taking any decision.

“As we have mentioned in our ‘Shwegondine Declaration’ if the ruling
government does not implement our proposals, we would be forced to
re-think how we should go about the 2010 election,” he added.

On August 11, the NLD’s general secretary Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced
to a further 18 months in detention, which is widely believed by observers
as a move to keep her away from the 2010 election scenario.

Similarly, members of the NLD in Rangoon have been harassed and tortured
for their political activities.

____________________________________

August 25, Democratic Voice of Burma
Armed groups to step up resistance – Aye Nai

Burma's armed ethnic groups will increase cooperation with ceasefire
groups in an effort to strengthen resistance against government army
forces, following a meeting of eight opposition groups.

The alliance of ethnic armed groups, the National Democratic Front (NDF),
concluded its Central Executive Committee’s three-day meeting on Sunday.

The eight-strong coalition, which includes the Karen National Union (KNU)
and New Mon State Party (NMSP), two of Burma's principle armed opposition
groups, discussed the ongoing issue of government pressure to transform
ceasefire groups into border patrol forces.

A number of the ceasefire groups, including the NMSP, have resisted the
pressure to return to what the ruling State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC) calls the 'legal fold', which would give them legitimacy as groups
but significantly weaken their manpower and influence.

“We wholeheartedly support the decision of our brothers, the ceasefire
groups, not to agree with the SPDC’s plan to transform them into border
militias,” said Mai Phone Kyaw, general secretary of the NDF.

A statement released by the NDF said that ethnic groups "have a right to
operate in their own regions to protect their own people".

Mai Phone Kyaw said the junta is attempting to distract from growing
international pressure on it by stepping up confrontation against
opposition groups.

The government's latest offensive against the KNU, which began in June,
has resulted in nearly 5000 Karen fleeing across the border into Thailand.

The conflict between the Burmese government and the KNU, which has
stretched over 60 years, is thought to be one of the world's longest
running.

“We discussed in our meeting how to step up our resistance and to prepare
for a combat,” Mai Phone Kyaw said.

“We will continue our resistance against the SPDC junta by any means
possible until we are granted our rights as the ethnic people of Burma.”

____________________________________

August 25, Xinhua
U.N. ends transportation services in Myanmar's cyclone-hit areas

Yangon – The World Food Program (WFP) of the United Nations has ended its
helicopter transportation services of aid supplies in Myanmar's
cyclone-hit Ayayawaddy division this month as emergency phase has passed,
a local weekly reported Tuesday.

WFP leased 10 helicopters for use in relief and rehabilitation work in the
area in the early phase after storm, leaving only one helicopter before
its withdrawal for use in the hardly accessible delta area during rainy
season, the Myanmar Times said, adding that the last one also left the
country last Thursday.

The WFP's helicopter service had delivered 1,119 metric tons of aid
supplies in the post-storm period and also transported about 70,000 people
to the delta region, WFP country director Chris Kaye said.

Meanwhile, bought from other countries, the WFP had supplied a total of
49,000 tons of rice to survivors in Myanmar's storm- ravaged Bogalay,
Phyapon and Laputta in the division, according to earlier report.

Besides, the UN organization will implement a project involving
international and domestic non- governmental organizations to distribute
150,000 tons of rice worth of 120 million U.S. dollars to some states and
division of Rakhine, Kachin, Chin, Shan and Magway.

The three-year project (2010-2012) also includes providing food for school
children in the education sector and mothers and children in the health
sector.

Deadly tropical cyclone Nargis hit five divisions and states in Myanmar on
May 2-3 last year, of which Ayeyawaddy and Yangon inflicted the heaviest
casualties and massive infrastructural damage.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

August 25, Shan Herald Agency for News
PLA moves to the Kokang border

In anticipation of any hostilities that might break out between Kokang and
the Burma Army, China’s People’s Liberation Army has moved more than 700
troops to the Sino-Burma border, according to a ceasefire source last
evening.

On the opposite side of the border are some 2,000 Burma Army troops who
are taking positions to grab any opportunity that might be offered by the
warring factions in the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA),
as the Kokang Army prefers to be known.

On the one side of the MNDAA is Peng Jiasheng, the Kokang supreme leader,
who appears to be getting the upper hand by having in command the loyalty
of the bulk of the army. One the other side are

4 dissident leaders who have transferred their allegiance to the Burma
Army in order to oust him:
•    Bai Souqian, Deputy Commander
•    Mi Xiaoting, Chief Administrative Officer
•    Li Guoshi, EC member
•    Li Erh, EC member

A fifth leader Wei Xiaoyang was reportedly detained by Peng’s faction.

“Bai’s faction at first managed to rally a little over 100 troops to their
camp,” said a local ceasefire officer. “But most of them have chosen to
return to Peng’s fold.”

Peng already has survived a mutiny more than a decade ago. But this time,
the Burma Army appears to be definitely on the mutineers’ side.

On 21 August, an arms repair workshop (not an arms factory, as reported
earlier) in Yanglonggai, east of the Kokang capital Laogai, was seized by
the Burma Army. On the following day, the police in Shan State North
capital Lashio served a summons for Peng, his younger brother Jiafu and
his two sons to appear in court. The 4 however had failed to show up.
Tensions between the two sides, flared up again since.

Some analysts say the Burma Army’s objective is to stir up the flame of
conflict between the Kokang factions and take advantage of it to seize the
territory. “It wouldn’t be unlike the Mongkoe incident (which took place
in 2000),” remembered a Chinese businessman of Shan descent.

On 24 October 2000, a faction of the Mongkoe Defense Army (MDA), a
breakaway group from Kokang, had mutinied. A month later, the mutineers
were executed, the MDA leader Mong Sala put in jail and the territory
occupied by the Burma Army.

Wa and other allies of Kokang, in the meanwhile, have called for
non-interference in Kokang internal affairs. “We should only help them
sort it out among themselves peacefully,” said a Wa officer who requests
anonymity.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

August 25, Reuters
Daewoo consortium in $5.6 bln gas deal in Myanmar

SEOUL – South Korea's KOGAS (036460.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock
Buzz) said on Tuesday a consortium led by Daewoo International (047050.KS:
Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) would invest a combined $5.6 billion
to produce and distribute gas in Myanmar.

The consortium plans to sell gas output from Myanmar's A-1/A-3 fields to
China, a KOGAS official said.

KOGAS plans to spend $299 million and Daewoo would spend a separate 2.1
trillion won ($1.68 billion) for initial investment, the two companies
said in separate statements.

(Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)

____________________________________
REGIONAL

August 25, Agence France Presse
Japan urges Myanmar junta to release Suu Kyi soon

Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone, in talks Tuesday with a
minister from Myanmar, urged the country's ruling junta to release
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi as soon as possible.

Tokyo "strongly expects the swift release of Aung San Suu Kyi... and that
she will be able to participate in (Myanmar's) democratic process,"
Nakasone told Agriculture Minister Htay Oo, according to a statement.

Htay responded that the military regime "will consider her early release
if she leads a sincere life," according to Japan's foreign ministry
statement.

Earlier this month a prison court in Yangon convicted the Nobel laureate
of breaching security laws and the regime returned her to house arrest for
the next 18 months, drawing international condemnation.

The military has ruled Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, since 1962,
launching bloody crackdowns on pro-democracy protests in 1988 and 2007 and
jailing dozens of the junta's opponents over the past year.

Myanmar's generals have vowed to hold elections some time in 2010, the
first national vote since 1990, when they refused to recognise an
overwhelming victory by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.

____________________________________

August 25, International Herald Tribune
Myanmar group's visit here criticized – Makoto Igarashi

A delegation from Myanmar (Burma) led by a top official of a group linked
to attacks on supporters of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is in Japan
on an agricultural mission at the invitation of the Foreign Ministry.

The visit has angered supporters of democracy campaigners in Myanmar,
coming soon after a court ruling led to the extension of Suu Kyi's house
arrest by
18 months.

The group is led by Myanmar's minister for agriculture and irrigation,
Htay Oo, secretary-general of the Union Solidarity and Development
Association (USDA), a political group that supports the country's military
junta.

The USDA is reported to have been involved in the May 2003 attack on Suu
Kyi and members of her group, leaving many dead or injured.

Its senior officials are subject to sanctions by the United States and the
European Union, including entry bans and the freezing of assets.

Supporters of Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and others have
voiced displeasure with the visit, which is being paid for by Japan.

"We find it hard to understand the Japanese government's intention in
inviting (Htay Oo) just after Suu Kyi was found guilty (of breaching the
terms of her detention)," said Yuki Akimoto of BurmaInfo, a group
analyzing Myanmar's politics and relations with Japan.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Htay Oo's group is visiting Japan for a
week from Thursday.

After visiting the Great Buddha of Kamakura, in Kanagawa Prefecture, on
Thursday, they were to meet Japanese lawmakers and farm ministry officials
and visit farming facilities, according to officials.

"We have invited (Htay Oo) as minister for agriculture and irrigation,"
said Keiichi Ono, director of the ministry's First Southeast Asian
Division.

"It is important to have them visit and see Japanese agriculture firsthand."


The USDA is said to have played a part in the May 30, 2003, attack on Suu
Kyi's group while she was on a campaign tour. She and other officials were
detained by the junta that day.

USDA members are also said to have joined Myanmar troops who used force in
cracking down on citizens taking part in anti-junta demonstrations in
September 2007.(IHT/Asahi: August 24,2009)

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

August 25, Irrawaddy
Monk leaders call for third Sangha boycott – Arkar Moe

Several exiled Buddhist monk leaders have told The Irrawaddy that Burmese
monks across Burma are preparing to launch another boycott of military
personnel and their families due to ongoing abuses against Buddhist
principles by the ruling military junta.

Known as a “pattanikkujjana” in Pali, a Buddhist monks’ boycott involves
refusing morning alms from those said to have violated religious
principles.

Burmese monks have declared a pattanikkujjana against the military regime
and their cronies twice in recent history: the first time in 1990
following the suppression of Aung San Suu Kyi and her opposition party,
the National League for Democracy, after they had won a national election
by a landslide; and again in 2007, the so-called “Saffron Revolution,”
when monks led demonstrations against price hikes in Rangoon that turned
into a national uprising against the government.

Burma’s monasteries, some housing as many as 1,000 practicing monks, have
been largely silent since the junta ordered a crackdown on the monk-led
protests in August and September 2007. But several sources say that the
simmering resentment could come to a head again in the lead-up to the
regime’s election planned for 2010.

A monk in Rangoon who asked to remain anonymous told The Irrawaddy on
Tuesday: “The local authorities are closely watching the monks and their
monasteries. Moreover, there are plainclothes security forces keeping an
eye on them.”

The military authorities closed and sealed Maggin monastery in Rangoon's
Thingankyun Township in November 2007 after its abbot, Sayadaw U Indaka,
was arrested for his involvement in the demonstrations. The monks and
novices were evicted along with several HIV/ AIDS patients who were
receiving treatment in the monastery at the time.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy, Ashin Issariya, one of the leaders of the
exiled All Burma Monks’ Alliance (ABMA), said, “I want to call for all
people and organizations to take part in a third monks’ boycott for the
sake of peace and the welfare of all Burmese people.

“The Lord Buddha said that the sangha (Buddhist monkhood) had to carry out
their religious duties by sacrificing their lives.

“Therefore, all members of the sangha must act to protect the Buddhist
religion and the welfare of our people,” he said.

Currently, Burma’s Ministry of Religious Affairs is effectively
controlling and curtailing the nations’ Buddhist monks under an order by
the Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee (the state- sponsored Buddhist monks’
organization), which restricts monks’ travel and gatherings.

Ashin Issariya said that the junta’s troops and loyalists had committed
many religious crimes, such as beheading Buddha images, raiding and
destroying monasteries, and killing and arresting monks and nuns.

He added that there is no freedom of religion under the military junta and
that all religions are affected.

“Therefore, if the military authorities do not apologize for their abuses
and crimes, it is the responsibility of all monks, nuns and laypersons to
boycott the junta,” he said.

Some activists in Burma told The Irrawaddy that currently many monks’
organizations and monasteries are trying to organize themselves and set up
cooperation and communication with monks’ groups other parts of the
country.

Ashin Thavara, a secretary of the India-based All Burma Monks’
Representative Committee (ABMRC), told The Irrawaddy: “Nowadays, the ABMRC
is cooperating with the ABMA to not only carry out our religious duties,
but to help the people and achieve peace in Burma and throughout the
world.

“It is high time that all the people of Burma and around the world take
action and boycott Burma’s military dictators,” he said.

Ashin Thavara said that during the September uprising, the junta’s
soldiers and loyalist thugs had raided and destroyed more than 60
monasteries, and beat, arrested and killed several hundred monks and nuns.
He claimed that there are currently more than 250 monks and more than 20
nuns in prison in Burma for their political activities.

“Some of them were sentenced to hard labor,” he added. “Others were sent
with military battalions to work as porters at the front lines of the
battlefields.”

During the 2007 Saffron Revolution, monks enacted a boycott of military
families and cronies by overturning their alms bowls to refuse alms, an
act of defiance that marked the uprising.

According to official data, there are more than 400,000 monks in Burma,
and its community, the sangha, is considered one of the strongest and most
revered institutions in the country. It has always played an important
role in Burma’s social and political affairs, often in opposition to
oppressive regimes.

Ashin Candobhasacara, one of the leaders of the US-based International
Burmese Monks’ Organization, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday: “Our
organization issued an announcement on Monday to mark the second
anniversary of the Saffron Movement, and we plan to demonstrate against
the Burmese junta by reciting the “Metta Sutta” (the Buddha’s words of
loving-kindness) in front of the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh and in Union
Square in New York on September 24 to 26.

“Now, all people and all organizations need to cooperate and condemn
Burma’s military dictators,” he said. “We will encourage and support all
the brave monks and demonstrators because they are sacrificing their lives
and property for religion and peace in Burma and throughout the world.”

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

August 25, Asian Tribune
Burma Question – sill a matter of regional concern – Zin Linn

Burma’s key opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been sent back from the
notorious Insein Prison and now held under house-arrest. But, the
uninvited American, the main defender of the dramatic trial in Burma has
been already released from imprisonment and sent back to America. In fact,
the Senior General Than Shwe exploited the case of John Yettaw, the
American swimmer, in order to block the Lady's right of equal access to
join in the political process in Burma.

John Yettaw, in doubtful health, was sentenced on 11 August to seven years
of hard labor for an unwise and ill-fated visit he had paid to Burma's
Nobel laureate, the charismatic democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. His
swim to her residence in May caused the Lady additional 18-month of
house-arrest.

Following the sentencing, things unfolded just like a drama, when suddenly
the US Senatorr. Jim Webb, a Virginia Democrat, appeared as a savior,
visited Burma, and negotiated with the country’s military Head of State,
Senior Gen. Than Shwe, to obtain the release of Yettaw, pointing out that
he needs medical care.

More importantly it is doubted that the Democrat Senators Webb's visit may
be to broaden U.S. relation with Burma or may be to take part as a
fact-finding mission in making a new Burma-policy. Senator Webb is known
for his strong criticism of the US administration’s Burma sanctions,
arguing that isolating Burma has strengthened China's grip, weakened US
influence and done nothing to improve the junta's behavior. But, it has to
be pointed out that Senator Webb must not ignore the political aspirations
of the pro-democracy groups of Burma.

Burmese pro-democracy groups have questioned the timing of Senator Webb's
visit and warned him not to become a tool of the ruling regime. “We are
concerned that the military regime will manipulate and exploit your visit
and propagandize that you endorse the trial of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and
the imprisonment of over 2,100 political prisoners,” said a joint
statement sent to the US embassy in Rangoon by the All Burma Monks
Alliance, 88 Generation Students and All Burma Federation of Student
Unions.

Burma is on the brink of a fresh civil strife, as a great number of
population including younger generations have articulated dissatisfaction
about the most unfair trial of Aung San Suu Kyi. The intolerant citizens
have called for a nation-wide general strike to bring down the deep-rooted
stratocracy in Burma, due to the junta’s insistence of barring the Lady to
participate in the country’s political reform process.

In fact, the junta should come forward to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
from detention immediately, because the junta always claimed that no one
is above the law. The law says that the duration of such restriction shall
be kept to a minimum. The whole world is concerned about Suu Kyi's
detention and has called on the junta to bring the situation back to
normal.

The incumbent Burmese junta has also committed series of blunders in
dealing with political issues. It will face a bleak future if it continues
to overlook the national reconciliation process urged by the key
opposition groups of the National League for Democracy and the United
Nationalities Alliance.

The NLD and UNA pointed out that the current ratification of the 2008
Constitution is invalid, since it was conducted against the will of the
people and amid a lack of international norms. The junta also shows no
respect toward the Presidential Statement of the U.N. Security Council,
issued in October 2007 and has neglected the consecutive resolutions
adopted by the U.N. General Assembly.

Although the military regime has expressed its goals, as stability,
national reconciliation and democracy, its repressive stance on
oppositions continues to be anti-people move. Even peaceful
prayer-sessions in pursuit of the Lady’s freedom were cruelly attacked by
the junta’s thugs. Hence, the upcoming election – the first in 20 years –
will not be inclusive, participatory and transparent and seems to be
highly a treacherous move.

Burmese generals’ way forward become visible. Their practices are being
rooted in disrespect for human rights. As a result, political prisoners
who stand on principle, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, may not have the
chance to be released on or before 2010.

According to prison-sources, the military authorities are pressing the
political prisoners to meet some screening processes or exams in their
respective jails. The key questions are how they think of the 2008
constitution and what will be their opinion if the authorities allowed
them to participate as candidates in 2010 elections. It seems that the
junta is thrusting wedge among the political dissidents, especially in the
NLDs.

It appears that the junta has no plan of releasing majority of the
2,100-plus political prisoners, if they refused to dance with their tunes
and embarking on a tripartite dialogue with the junta, the democratic
forces led by Aung San Suu Kyi, and representatives of ethnic
nationalities, as has been called repeatedly by the U.N. General Assembly.

While in his recent trip to Burma, the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
revealed his suggestion to Senior General Than Shwe. Ban Ki-moon in a
press briefing in Bangkok, after his July 3-4 visit to Rangoon.

“I told Senior General Than Shwe that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all
political prisoners should be released without delay and allowed to
participate freely in the political process. I said I wanted to see
resumption of substantive and time-bound dialogue between the government
and Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy at the higher
level of engagement. I set out detailed criteria for a conducive
environment for free and fair elections in 2010. Only then will the
elections be seen as credible and legitimate.”

During his two-day visit, Ban met twice with Than Shwe at the new capital
Naypyidaw, but unfortunately he was refused permission to visit Aung San
Suu Kyi. Ban’s requests for the release of political prisoners and the
resumption of dialogue toward reconciliation with the political opposition
were also adamantly declined.

The U.N. chief expressed his disappointment, saying the Burmese regime
failed to take an opportunity to prove a new era of political openness.

Analysts say that the 2008 Constitution and the junta's unyielding
adherence to its seven-step roadmap toward the 2010 elections, will create
a highly unstable political climate. Without an agreement on a national
reconciliation, 2010 elections will go nowhere, except towards a new
civil-war.

There is a serious question for the country. How much longer Burma can
take time waiting for national reconciliation, democratic transition and
full respect for human rights? The cost of delay will be paid in thousands
of innocent lives, loss of opportunities and a protracted civil-war. The
junta is going out of its way to court the support of China, India and
Russia for the 2010 election, a political ploy of the generals. .

The Burmese populace feel, it is time for the international community to
raise this half-century-long political conflict in the next U.N. Security
Council. They hope for a global arms embargo against Burma's military
junta, and an investigation into the crimes against humanity and war
crimes committed by the military regime. The people of Burma are hoping
that the international community, especially the key players US, UN, EU
and ASEAN may opt for political changes in their country.

At least, the key players ought to convince China and Russia to take an
active role in promoting a political dialogue with the key stake-holders.
If it failed, the 2010 elections in Burma might usher in a highly unstable
political atmosphere, not in Burma alone but even in the region.

Zin Linn is a freelance Burmese journalist living in exile. He is a former
political prisone, r who spent 9 years in jail in military-ruled Burma. He
is also the vice president of Burma Media Association, which is affiliated
with the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers.