BurmaNet News, September 19 - 21, 2009

[Editor]

September 19 – 21, 2009 Issue #3801


INSIDE BURMA
DVB: More than 100 political prisoners released
Mizzima News: NLD requests meeting with detained leaders
Straits Times (Singapore): Suu Kyi has low blood pressure
Narinjara News: Arakanese activist released after 9 years in prison
New Light of Myanmar: Government took action against appeal plaintiff Daw
Aung San Sun Kyi in accord with existing laws within framework of law

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Crackdown threats remain
DVB: Monks lead International Peace Day march

REGIONAL
Los Angeles Times: Myanmar migrants stuck in crowded centers; Inmates at
the holding facilities in Malaysia complain of poor treatment amid charges
of abuse

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: Myanmar dissidents urge junta to end violence against minorities

OPINION / OTHER
Financial Times: Burmese junta aims to win hearts and minds – Amy Kazmin
Irrawaddy: Don’t let the junta off the hook – Editorial

STATEMENT
ABMA, 88 Generation, ABFSU: Statement: No: 5/2009

ANNOUNCEMENT
Mizzima News: Job announcement




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

September 21, Democratic Voice of Burma
More than 100 political prisoners released – Htet Aung Kyaw and Thurein Soe

At least 115 activists, politicians and journalists were among the 7000
prisoners released by the Burmese junta last week, according to an exiled
prisoner advocacy group.

Included in the amnesty on Thursday was Eint Khaing Oo, a journalist who
was imprisoned following her reporting on cyclone Nargis last May.

The Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
said that 41 members of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD)
were released, as well as four imprisoned monks.

The amnesty, which was made “on humanitarian grounds”, according to the
government, comes a week before the Burmese prime minister, Thein Sein, is
due to attend the United Nations General Assembly.

A spokesperson for UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon said on Friday that he
welcomed the amnesty, although stressed that all political prisoners
should be released “as a necessary step towards a credible process of
national reconciliation and democratic transition”.

A number of critics have said however that the amnesty will be used by the
junta to give it a cosmetic lift prior to the UN meeting.

“This is the junta trying to make bad things appear good. It’s like
putting make-up on a dead person’s face,” said senior NLD member Win Tin.

His comments were echoed by one of the prisoners released last week, a
member of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) who was
sentenced in 1998 to 17 years imprisonment.

“It’s hard to say whether they are doing this because they were really
willing to make changes in the country or are just trying to escape the
pressure they were under,” he said.

“I spent 11 years, seven months and 21 days behind walls. I take this as
my arrival to a place with a limited kind of freedom from a place with no
physical or mental freedom; I don’t really feel any different.

The prisoners were released under an agreement known as Section 401, which
under Burmese law acts as a suspended sentence.

“Because I had to sign the section 401, I feel like I was being released
with a leash still on,” said Arakan League for Democracy member Khaing
Kaung Zan. “There is no honesty with the release. . . I don’t feel any
happy about this.”

____________________________________

September 21, Mizzima News
NLD requests meeting with detained leaders – Myint Maung

New Delhi – Members of the central executive committee of Burma’s major
opposition – the National League for Democracy – have requested for
permission from the junta to meet detained party leaders to discuss party
matters.

Ohn Kyaing, a member of the NLD Information Committee, told Mizzima on
Monday that the party had submitted a letter of request addressed to the
junta supremo Snr. Gen Than Shwe asking for permission to meet Aung San
Suu Kyi and Tin Oo.

“As we are at a critical juncture, we [NLD] need to take important
decisions regarding our future activities. So we have requested Snr Gen
Than Shwe to allow us to meet Aung San Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo,” Ohn Kyaing
said.

The letter, according to Ohn Kyaing, was submitted on September 16, but
the authorities are yet to respond.

Party General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi and Vice-Chairman Tin Oo, are
both under detention. While the Nobel Peace Laureate is serving an
18-month suspended sentence, handed down recently, Tin Oo has been under
house arrest since May 2003, following an attack by a junta-backed mob in
upper Burma’s Depayin town, during a political tour.

Though the NLD has not officially announced its intention to contest the
forthcoming 2010 general elections, in recent months, its youth members
across the country are said to be reorganizing.

In May, following a nation-wide party conference, the NLD released the
“Shwegondine declaration”, stating it is willing to contest the elections
but on the condition that the junta revise the 2008 constitution, release
political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi, kick-start a process of
dialogue and recognize the 1990 election results.

Last week, the junta announced amnesty for 7,114 prisoners, of which
opposition sources confirmed the release of over 100 political prisoners
so far.

However, a central executive member of the NLD, Win Tin, said those freed
are too few and it is not significant, as it is a gesture to ease
international pressure.

He urged the junta to release all political prisoners saying “Releasing
all political prisoners is just part of the solution and is not the
solution in itself. In Burma, we have many problems that need to be
addressed and political prisoners are a part of it.”

____________________________________

September 21, Straits Times (Singapore)
Suu Kyi has low blood pressure

Yangon – the doctor of detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
says she is suffering from low blood pressure, after examining her for the
first time since she was returned to house arrest last month.

Suu Kyi's lawyer and party spokesman Nyan Win said Dr. Tin Myo Win and his
assistant were allowed to visit her house Sunday.

'The doctor said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's health is generally good but she's
suffering from low blood pressure,' said Nyan Win.

'Daw' is a term of respect used for older women.

Nyan Win said the doctor assumed that her low blood pressure was due to an
inadequate diet.

A Myanmar court on Aug. 11 found Suu Kyi, 64, guilty of violating the
terms of her previous period of house arrest by sheltering an uninvited
American visitor. Her sentence of three years in prison with hard labor
was reduced to 18 months of new house arrest by military junta leader
Senior Gen. Than Shwe.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, 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. She suffered from
dehydration and low blood pressure as well as muscle cramps in May after
her arrest.

Sunday's visit was the first time that Suu Kyi's personal physician has
been allowed to see her since she was sent back to her lakeside home after
her conviction.

Tin Myo Win is one of the very few people allowed access to Suu Kyi under
the rigid terms of her confinement. He was detained for questioning by
authorities in May after the American man was arrested for sneaking into
her closely guarded home.

Asked if Tin Myo Win will now be allowed to give Suu Kyi medical checkups
on a regular basis, Nyan Win said he hoped so, 'but it's not clear yet
when and how often the doctor can visit her.' – AP

____________________________________

September 21, Narinjara News
Arakanese activist released after 9 years in prison

Dhaka – Khaing Kaung San, who was chairman of the Arakanese Patriotic
Literature Club based in Bangkok, was released from Thayet prison on
Friday in a government amnesty after serving 9 years in prison, said his
fried.

Khaing Kaung San was arrested in Bangkok by Thai police on 4 December,
2000, while he was praying for the Thai King on his birthday along with
nearly 100 other Burmese political activists and migrants.

Thai police handed him over to Burmese authorities from Myawaddy through
the Mae Sot border point along with five other Arakanese activists, seven
days after his arrest.

Burmese military authorities sentenced him to ten years in prison for his
activities in Thailand against the Burmese military junta. His two
colleagues - Hla Thein Tun and That Naing - were sentenced by the military
government to three years in prison.

After being sentenced, the three were moved to Rangoon from Myawaddy and
Khaing Kaung San was shifted to Thayet prison to serve his prison term.

According to his friend, Khaing Kaung San and his colleagues were tortured
severely by Burmese intelligence agents during their interrogations in
Myawaddy. Because of that, his health is poor and he suffered from
internal injuries throughout his jaim term.

Khaing Kaung San is now about 40 years old and his native town is Ponna
Kyunt, 20 miles north of Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State.

He was also a member of the Arakan League for Democracy (in exile), which
won 11 parliamentary seats from Arakan State in the 1990 elections in
Burma. The military government that sponsored the elections refused to
recognize the results.

The source said that Khaing Kaung San was already about to be released
this year because his prison term was nearly complete. The government
amnesty for him was not necessary because he had nearly finished his
sentence.

____________________________________

September 21, New Light of Myanmar
Government took action against appeal plaintiff Daw Aung San Sun Kyi in
accord with existing laws within framework of law

Provisions included in 1974 constitution, although it had become null and
void due to the situations that happened in the country in 1988, is still
in effect as they are not contrary to existing laws

Sentence to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi by original court under Article (22) of
(1975) Law to Safeguard the State against the Dangers of Those Desiring to
Cause Subversive Acts as she was found guilty is in conformity with the
law

Final arguments of appeal cases of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Daw Khin Khin Win
and Ma Win Ma Ma (a) Ange Lay heard

Final judgments of appeal cases to be passed on 2 October

YANGON, 18 Sept — The Yangon North District Court pronounced judgment on
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Criminal Regular Trial 47/2009, in accord with
the Section 22 of the Law to Safeguard the State against the Dangers of
Those Desiring to Cause Subversive Acts. As Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was
dissatisfied with the judgment, she filed an appeal against it at Yangon
Division Court on 3 September. It is criminal appeal case No. 173/2009.

The North District Court pronounced judgment on Daw Khin Khin Win and Ma
Win Ma Ma (a) Ange Lay in Criminal Regular Trial 47/2009 in accord with
the Section 22 of the Law to Safeguard the State against the Dangers of
Those Desiring to Cause Subversive Acts and Section 109 of the Criminal
procedure Code. As the two were dissatisfied with the judgment, they filed
an appeal against it at Yangon Division Court on 3 September. It is
criminal appeal case No. 174/2009.

The Yangon Division Court heard the appeals of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and
Daw Khin Khin Win and Ma Win Ma Ma (a) Ange Lay and passed a pronouncement
to accept them on 4 September. The court postponed to 18 September (today)
to hear the final arguments.

The appeals were heard at Yangon Division Court today at 10 am. Advocate U
Kyi Win defending Daw Aung San Suu Kyi of criminal appeal case No.
173/2009 in his argument said, the 2008 Constitution was ratified and that
the 1974 Constitution became null and void. The accused was detained under
Section 10 (a) and restricted under Section 10 (b), both of which were
invalid, in line with the Section 148 (c), 157, 158, 159 (a) and (b) and
160 of Article (11) of the 1974 Constitution which is null and void as if
it was still in force. Hence, the original court order itself is legally
wrong. Although it is stated that the restriction orders shall be
pronounced by a group in accord with the prescriptions of Section 9 (a),
the plaintiff failed to present the evidence that the said prescriptions
were followed in doing so. In this regard, the restriction order is wrong
as it is not in accord with the law. It is incorrect to pronounce the
judgment because of the wrong interpretation of the word stipulated in the
restriction order and the order to continue the restriction order. It is
wrong to take action against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi by interpreting the
Section 159 (a) that the act of permitting the foreigner, conversing with
him and serving food to him amounts to breaching the restriction order as
her personal freedom has already been restricted. The failure to review
the acts of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi that they are in accord with the original
rights contained in Section 154 is legally and factually wrong. The act of
judges investigating the house of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi without informing
her or her lawyers is incorrect. Hence, the defendant must be acquitted.

He said there should be another witness account in accord with Section 428
of the Criminal Procedure Code as it is incorrect to reject a proposal to
hear the witness of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Myanmar in accord with
Section 540 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Deputy Division Law Officer Daw Khin Mar Kyi of Yangon Division Law Office
in her argument said, the advocates of appeal plaintiff focused on the
facts to restrict the original rights stipulated in the sections 148 (c),
157, 158, 159 (a) and (b) and 160 in accord with the Section 7 of the Law
to Safeguard the State Against the Dangers of Those Desiring to Cause
Subversive Acts by the chairman of the Central Body of the Home Affairs
Ministry. The case against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is under Section 22 of the
Law to Safeguard the State Against the Dangers of Those Desiring to Cause
Subversive Acts. According to the section-7, it is prescribed that if
there is reason to believe that a citizen did, is doing or will do
something detrimental to State sovereignty and security or community
peace, the central body can restrict the fundamental right of that person
as necessary. As restrictions had been placed on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
according to the section-7, the restrictions and continued restrictions
that she was not permitted to contact foreign embassies and political
parties, to leave her house or to communicate by letter or telegram are in
accord with the law. As to the directive issued by the Chairman of the
State Peace and Development Council stating the sentence to be served by
her under the Criminal Procedure Code be amended to be remitted and
suspended if she displays good conduct and pardon be granted accordingly
regarding the sentence pronounced by the North District Court to the
appeal plaintiff to three-year imprisonment and vigorous labour under
Article (22) of the Law to Safeguard the State Against the Dangers of
Those Desiring to Cause Subversive Acts, not a single word is mentioned in
the appeal form. The government took action against appeal plaintiff Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi in accord with the existing laws within the framework of
law. It has been stated in the appeal form that the restrictions under the
articles-148 (C), 157, 158, 159 (a) (b) and 160 of the 1974 constitution
placed on her that had been ceased had already become null and void. In
the order No (6/88) issued by the State Law and Order Restoration Council
on 24 September 1988 after assuming State duties on 18 September 1988, it
is stated that all the existing laws are still in effect until SLORC
dissolves or revokes them. Therefore, the 1974 constitution, although it
had become null and void due to the situations that happened in the
country in 1988, is still in effect according to the order No (6/88). For
instance, the provisions of the 1974 constitution that are not contrary to
the 1974 State Flag Law and the 1974 State Seal Law are still in effect.
It is, therefore, clear that the provisions included in the 1974
constitution that are not contrary to the provisions of the 1975 Law to
Safeguard the State Against the Dangers of Those Desiring to Cause
Subversive Acts are in effect. As to the point that there is no word
'outside contact' in the restrictions placed on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the
meaning of contact is the act of communication. So, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's
acceptance of Mr John William Yettaw's communication was tantamount to
breaking the law. In the case against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, action was
taken against her under the criminal law as she breached the terms of
restrictions and prohibitions placed on her. So, the submission that she
has the right to enjoy the provisions of the article-154 (A) of the
constitution should not be accepted. As to the submission .that visiting
the scene where the case happened without Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under the
Criminal Procedure Code Section 539 (1) is not in conformity with the law,
it is in conformity with the law as the scene was visited with the
accompaniment of MrJohn William Yettaw, who initially created the case,
and witnesses. The sentence to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi by the original court
under Article (22) of the Law to Safeguard the State against the Dangers
of Those Desiring to Cause Subversive Acts as she was found guilty is in
conformity with the law, and the case of the appeal plaintiff should be
cancelled.

Similarly, final arguments of appeal plaintiffs Daw Khin Khin Win and Ma
Win Ma Ma (a) Ange Lay from criminal appeal No 174/2009 were submitted by
advocate U Hla Myo Myint and that of the appeal defendant by deputy
division law officer Daw Khin May Day. Advocates of the Supreme Court U
Kyi Win, U Nyan Win, U Hla Myo Myint and Daw Khin Htay Kywe and deputy
division law officers of Yangon Division Law Office Daw Khin Mar Kyi, Daw
Khin May Day and U Myat Khaing attended the hearing of final arguments.
The appeal cases are postponed to 10 am on 2 October so as to pass the
final judgments. – MNA

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

September 21, Irrawaddy
Crackdown threats remain – Lawi Weng

Burmese opposition groups and local Burmese NGOs operating in Thailand
have temporarily closed their offices for fear of further crackdowns by
Thai police, according to sources along the Thai-Burmese border.

Several offices in the Thai border towns of Mae Sariang, Mae Sot and
Sangkhlaburi are closed at the moment, the sources said.

A member of the Human Rights Foundation of Monland said this is the first
time this year that Thai security officials have ordered their office in
Sangkhlaburi in Kanchanaburi Province to be closed, adding that no reasons
were given for the closure.

Sources said the offices of several other Mon groups dealing with
education, media, relief and youth were also ordered closed in
Sangkhlaburi.

The closures are thought to be temporary, but Thai security officials have
given no reason for the orders, sources said.

Win Min, a Chiang Mai-based analyst of Burmese affairs, said a Burmese
military attaché in Bangkok may have played a role in requesting Thai
security officials to harass Burmese opposition groups in exile.

Thai police raided several exiled Burmese opposition groups in Chiang Mai
last week, including the Human Rights Education Institute of Burma, the
Burmese Women’s Union and the National Health and Education Committee.

About 10 Burmese women attending a capacity-building workshop were
arrested for illegal entry into Thailand. They were fined and later
released.

After the raids, several Burmese opposition groups and NGOs based in
Chiang Mai closed offices for a few days.

A Western diplomat in Bangkok said the Thais may have targeted less
prominent Burmese organizations that are not strongly affiliated to
international organizations.

Western diplomats have raised the issue of the surprise raids on Burmese
groups in Chiang Mai last week with Thai officials.

International human rights groups and Western governments periodically
express concern for the safety of exiled Burmese dissidents living in
Thailand.

Several exiled Burmese and foreign groups have opened NGOs and advocacy
offices in Thailand in recent years.

____________________________________

September 21, Democratic Voice of Burma
Monks lead International Peace Day march – Joseph Allchin

Around 100 people led by monks marked International Peace Day today by
marching through the Thai town of Mae Sot, close to the border with Burma.

The event coincides with the two-year anniversary of the September 2007
monk-led uprising in Burma, which due to the presence of thousands of
robed monks on the streets of Rangoon and elsewhere has come to be known
as the Saffron Revolution.

Today’s march began with a symbolic sounding of the bell at a memorial
shrine close to Mae Sot, and Buddhist monks and dignitaries from a variety
of religions read prayers throughout the day.

The event, intending to symbolize cross-cultural solidarity, ended at the
Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, but protesters were met by a significant
security presence.

Panithida Phongphaew of the Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma
said that the need to support this movement is vital for a “real
[Association of Southeast Asian Nations] community”.

“It is time that leaders of the world should stop saying they support
peace and actually act to ensure that peace happens,” she said.

For Ashin Sopaka, of the International Burmese Monks Organisation, the
march was also a rejection of ominous nuclear signals that have emanated
from the military junta this year. “We don’t want any nuclear weapons,” he
said.

A number of monks were among the estimated 138 civilians killed by police
and army during the September 2007 uprising.

Monk communities in Burma have been under close surveillance in the
lead-up to this year’s anniversary, with the ruling junta fearing a repeat
of two years ago.

At least four monks have been arrested in recent weeks, and many more have
reported intimidation. Their normally apolitical stance leant extra
credence to their role in the 2007 uprising.

More than 200 monks are imprisoned in Burma, according to the
Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). Four
were released last week in the government’s prisoner amnesty.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

September 21, Los Angeles Times
Myanmar migrants stuck in crowded centers; Inmates at the holding
facilities in Malaysia complain of poor treatment amid charges of abuse –
Julia Zappei

Sepang, Malaysia – A growing number of immigrants from Myanmar are ending
up stuck, often for months, in crowded detention centers in Malaysia
designed to hold people for only a few weeks.

Almost 2,800 Myanmar citizens were detained at camps in July, more than
double the 1,200 in January, partly because of a crackdown on human
trafficking, a step-up in raids and a slow economy that leaves the
migrants without jobs. People from Myanmar, a desperately poor country
with a military junta, are now the biggest group among the 7,000
foreigners at detention centers in Malaysia.

At a center near Kuala Lumpur International Airport, about 120 men sat in
neat rows on the floor. Many had their legs drawn to their chests, and all
were barefoot. There was not enough space and not enough bedding.

"There is no soap for taking a shower, nothing. They don't give us
anything," said Kyaw Zin Lin, 23, who said he fled to avoid being drafted
into the Myanmar army. "Every day we eat the food just to survive. . . .
They treat us like animals."

One reason for the rise in detainees is a crackdown on trafficking. A
report published in April by the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign
Relations cited firsthand accounts of Myanmar migrants who said
immigration officers turned them over to traffickers.

That practice has all but stopped, Myanmar community leaders in Malaysia say.

Now, though, the Myanmar migrants are trapped in detention. The Myanmar
Embassy often takes six months to register its citizens for deportation
and charges them $180, much more than neighboring Indonesia. By contrast,
detainees from other countries are typically deported within a week.

Calls to the Myanmar Embassy were repeatedly put on hold and then went
unanswered.

About half the Myanmar migrants -- those fleeing persecution -- may
qualify for United Nations refugee status, but that process takes up to
four months. The others are economic migrants. About 140,000 Myanmar
citizens work in Malaysia, but foreign workers who are laid off lose the
right to stay.

Some Myanmar migrants have spent more than six months in crowded, dirty
detention centers. One man, whose brother was in detention for four
months, said he would rather be sold to traffickers from whom he could buy
his freedom.

"I prefer to be trafficked," said the man, who would only be identified by
his nickname, Ryan, to protect his relatives in Myanmar. "I don't mind
paying 2,000 ringgit [$570]."

Five of Malaysia's 13 detention centers are overcrowded; four of the five
have large Myanmar populations, according to the Immigration Department.
Journalists from The Associated Press accompanied the human rights group
Amnesty International on a rare visit recently to three detention centers
just south of Kuala Lumpur, the capital and the country's biggest city.

At the Lenggeng Detention Depot, 1,400 people are crammed into dormitories
meant for 1,200. Of them about 300 are from Myanmar.

Hundreds of men jostle each other for room in the bare dormitories. One
sleeps on a stone ledge in a bathroom. Each dormitory is fenced by wire
mesh and barbed wire, giving detainees just a few feet of space for
walking.

"The detention centers we saw fell short of international standards in
many respects, as the immigration authorities themselves acknowledge,"
said Michael Bochenek of Amnesty International. "It's a facility of such
size that infectious diseases are communicated readily."

Saw Pho Tun, a refugee community leader, said some immigration officers
have singled out Myanmar detainees for rough treatment, beating them and
not allowing them medical assistance. Immigration officials deny beating
detainees and say everyone has access to medical care.

On July 1, detainees at another center flung their food trays and damaged
some of the mesh fence. Immigration officials blamed the riot on
frustration about having to stay so long, but detainees say they rioted
because they were afraid of abuse.

Most of the blocks have now been shut for repairs, so more than 1,000
detainees -- including 700 from Myanmar -- were transferred to other
already crowded centers.

Abdul Rahman Othman, the director general of the Immigration Department,
said he was taking steps to prevent his officers from being "entangled" in
trafficking syndicates. He said officers would be rotated to different
posts every three years and have a buddy system to supervise each other.

"Ninety-nine percent of us in immigration are good people," he said,
denying the problem is widespread.

Police arrested five officers on trafficking allegations last month. They
say their investigations revealed immigration officials took Myanmar
immigrants to the Thai border and sold them for up to $170 to traffickers.
The traffickers then told the migrants to pay $570 for their freedom, or
they would be forced to work in the fishing industry, police said.

Myanmar community leaders said women who failed to pay were sold into
prostitution.

--

Zappei writes for the Associated Press.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

September 21, Agence France-Presse
Myanmar dissidents urge junta to end violence against minorities

Bangkok – Myanmar dissident groups Monday called on the ruling junta to
stop using violence against ethnic minorities, warning that its current
policy will lead to more human rights violations and refugees.

The regime recently stepped up its decades-long campaign against minority
groups, with offensives against ethnic Chinese rebels in the northeast in
August and Christian Karen insurgents near the Thai border in June.

Analysts say the junta wants to crush such groups before elections
scheduled for 2010 in the country formerly known as Burma, which has been
under military rule since 1962.

"We oppose the military regime's use of violence against ethnic
nationalities," said a joint statement by the All Burma Monks' Alliance,
the All Burma Federation of Student Unions and the 88 Generation Students.

The statement, released via the Washington-based US Campaign for Burma,
also accused the regime of using the "showcase" elections to forcibly
enact a controversial new constitution that was pushed through by a
referendum in 2008.

The statement said the constitution "fails to guarantee the fundamental
rights of ethnic nationalities and equality among all".

Last month's fighting with the ethnic Chinese Kokang rebels showed the
junta had "unilaterally abolished" its ceasefire agreement with ethnic
groups, which had lasted more than 20 years, the statement said.

"The regime's current policy towards the ceasefire groups will lead to
more human rights violations and more refugees," the statement said.

Critics say the constitution entrenches and legitimises the military's
grip on power, giving it an automatic role in any future administration.

The groups also urged the UN Security Council to "effectively intervene in
Burma to stop the violence and unilateral acts pursued by the Burmese
military regime, and to realise peaceful negotiation among all parties
concerned."

They also called on the regime to start dialogue with ethnic
representatives and the National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition
party, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, who had her house arrest extended by 18
months in August.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

September 21, Financial Times
Burmese junta aims to win hearts and minds – Amy Kazmin

Auk Chang, Burma – Shortly before rice planting began this season, about
120 men, women and youngsters in the village of Auk Chang were recruited
by Burma's Union Solidarity and Development Association to build a
two-storey replacement for a dilapidated school.

For their month of gruelling physical labour under the blazing sun, the
villagers received breakfast, coffee and tea each day, but no money.

"This is the off season. They have nothing to do so they are
volunteering," declared a local USDA official. "Their children will use
the school." Nearby, villagers dug trenches for the school's foundation,
surrounded by fluttering red banners crediting the USDA for donating the
steel frame and bricks for the new building.

It was a classic exercise of political campaigning, -junta-style.

With Burma's military regime due to hold parliamentary elections next
year, the generals have been working frenetically to ensure the polls
deliver a legislature sympathetic to their interests. They are desperate
to avoid a repeat of 1990, when the opposition National League for
Democracy shocked them with its landslide victory.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate leader of the NLD, which was never
permitted to take power, is likely to miss the legislative campaign after
being sentenced in August to 18 months' house arrest for allowing an
American intruder to shelter in her bungalow. Many other political
dissidents are in prison, under sentences as long as 65 years , for their
roles in mass protests in 2007 after a sharp rise in fuel prices.

But keeping prominent critics confined will not be sufficient for the
regime's strategic aims. The generals must also ensure the elections offer
voters the semblance of choice from an array of diverse candidates so they
can claim legitimacy for the polls to their own population and the
international community.

"They will tell [UN secretary-general] Ban Ki-moon, or other Asian allies,
'We have an inclusive electoral process,' " says Maung Zarni, research
fellow on Burma at the London School of Economics.

To that end, the generals are recruiting prominent local businessmen,
ethnic leaders, civil servants and respected community figures with no
record of active opposition to the regime to run as candidates.

"They want credible people they can control," says one local businessman.

With a quarter of the seats in the new parliament reserved for military
appointees and with the assumption the army will find plenty of pliable
candidates, the generals are not adverse to playing wild cards either:
analysts say the junta has even approached some former and current
political prisoners as potential candidates to lend credibility to the
contest.

Yet the real key to the generals' strategy is the USDA. Formed in 1993,
the USDA is run by the regime's top generals, who portray it as a genuine
popular social movement, with 24m members and 15,000 offices, penetrating
even remote rural villages. But most Burmese view the association as
little more than the long arm of the regime.

When campaigning starts, many of the USDA's top and mid-ranking leaders
are expected to enter the field. So the organisation has launched a big
effort to build schools, health clinics and other facilities in rural
areas, hoping displays of largesse translate into popularity for those it
backs.

"They want something in the form of the popular vote, and they are bribing
people by going to different communities with cash and promising to repair
schools and hospitals," says Mr Zarni. "They are doing this using people's
money - state allocated cash."
Despite the generals' machinations, a western diplomat says the
military-controlled process could evolve in unexpected directions and that
handpicked candidates could turn out to be not as docile as expected.

"It is going to shake the glass up a bit," says the diplomat.

"It will create new structures which are toothless at the beginning, but
may gain teeth over time."

While Burmese have few illusions about the so-called "disciplined
democracy" their rulers are offering, some still hope for improved, more
rational governance, after five decades of erratic military rule.

Social organisation used to mobilise the masses

Burma's military regime created the Union Solidarity and Development
Association in 1993 to mobilise the population behind it after the shock
defeat of the pro-military National Unity Party three years earlier,
writes Amy Kazmin in Auk Chang, Burma .

Registered as a social organisation, the ostensibly apolitical USDA claims
more than 24m members, including civil servants, business people, students
and factory workers, though many are believed to join out of compulsion to
keep jobs, remain in business, or retain other privileges such as
university enrolment.

With Senior General Than Shwe, the junta chief, as its primary patron, the
USDA is thought to have extensive business interests, while also receiving
direct state support to carry out its mission.

The junta has sought to raise the USDA's profile as a social welfare
group, letting it play a highly visible role in the relief effort after
Cyclone Nargis last year, and trying to partner it with foreign
non-governmental organisations operating in the country.

The group has its headquarters in a huge, new Rangoon building and has
15,000 branches nationwide,

USDA-mobilised thugs have been blamed for violent attacks on dissidents,
incidents the regime has dismissed as spontaneous outbursts of popular
anger.

The USDA is also used to mobilise the public for mass rallies supporting
regime programmes, denouncing critics and last year's constitutional
referendum, which controversially went ahead within days of the
devastating cyclone.

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____________________________________

September 19, Irrawaddy
Don’t let the junta off the hook – Editorial

On the eve of the 21st anniversary of the bloody coup that crushed the
1988 student-led pro-democracy uprising, Burma’s junta announced plans to
free 7,114 prisoners. MRTV, the state-owned television station, announced
on Thursday night that the prisoners were being released on “humanitarian
grounds.”

Previous mass releases have mostly involved petty criminals, with just a
handful of political detainees among those freed. No details were provided
about the identities of the prisoners included in this latest amnesty, so
it is difficult to even confirm if the regime has actually released the
number of prisoners it said it would. But according to the Assistance
Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), 87 political prisoners have so
far been set free, while other sources estimate that the total could reach
as high as 250.

This is good news for the prisoners and their families, and we should
welcome it. However, we should also note that this apparent act of
magnanimity comes as Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein prepares to travel to
New York to attend this year’s United Nations General Assembly. Indeed, it
has been widely expected for several months. In July, Burma’s ambassador
to the UN, Than Swe, promised the Security Council that his government
would grant an amnesty to an undisclosed number of political prisoners to
allow them to participate in democratic elections scheduled for 2010.

Thein Sein will be the highest-ranking Burmese official to attend a UN
meeting in over a decade, so it should come as no surprise that the regime
decided to do something to deflect criticism of its abysmal human rights
record ahead of his visit. Releasing some of the country’s estimated 2,100
political prisoners was an obvious course of action, as there are growing
concerns over the dramatic increase in the number of activists detained
since the monk-led Saffron Revolution was crushed almost exactly two years
ago. Human rights watchdogs estimate that the political prisoner
population has doubled since late 2007, when Burma witnessed its largest
anti-regime protests in nearly two decades.

Conspicuously absent from the list of those released so far are the names
of some of Burma’s most prominent activists. Far from considering leniency
towards these prisoners, the regime appears to be intent on making their
lives as miserable as possible. U Gambira, one of the leaders of the All
Burma Monks Alliance, the group that spearheaded the 2007 uprising, has
been moved to a remote prison, making it harder for his family to visit
him. Other prisoners, including Shan ethnic leader Khun Tun Oo,
activist-comedian Zarganar, labor activist Su Su Nway and 88 Generation
Students group leader Min Ko Naing, are also suffering from physical and
mental health problems due to their mistreatment, according to AAPP.

Political prisoners have always been treated like pawns in the junta’s
political game. The regime continues to insist that there are no political
prisoners in any of the country’s 43 prisons and more than 50 labor camps,
but the fact is that the generals do not hesitate to imprison anyone who
speaks out openly against their brutal misrule. Even as the junta makes a
show of releasing some prisoners, it continues to round up new ones,
including several democracy activists and monks who were arrested just
last week.

With this in mind, the international community must continue to confront
the regime and demand the release of all political prisoners in Burma,
including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Until this happens, and
until all activists are allowed to participate freely in the country’s
political process, we can only assume that the generals’ occasional
release of political prisoners is just part of a cynical game.

____________________________________
STATEMENT

September 21, All Burma Monks’ Alliance, The 88 Generation Students, All
Burma Federation of Student Unions
Statement: No: 5/2009

We Oppose the Military Regime’s Use of Violence against Ethnic
Nationalities, and
Demand That the Regime Stops Forcibly Enacting of the 2008 Constitution,
Which Is
Not accepted by the People of Burma---- through the 2010 Election

(1) The battles that occurred in Kokang Region of Shan State in late
August clearly
highlighted the insincere attitude of the regime over the ceasefire
agreement between it and ethnic revolutionary groups, which lasted over 20
years. Furthermore, by attacking and defeating Kokang troops and occupying
the Kokang Region, the regime has threatened other ceasefire groups to
choose one of the two options, “subordinate to the regime, or being
defeated”.

(2) Building peace requires mutual respect and trust, as well as basic
sincerity, understanding, discussion and compromise with patience among
the parties concerned. All parties concerned must take responsibility to
keep the existing peace. The eruption of violence in the Kokang Region
abundantly demonstrated that the Burmese military regime has unilaterally
abolished the ceasefire agreements, and that it has willingness to use
force in solving political problems and ethnic national affairs, instead
of working through a peaceful dialogue.

(3) The regime has been pressuring all ethnic ceasefire groups to abandon
their troops and prepare to participate in the 2010 election. However,
most of the ceasefire groups have refused to abandon their armed forces
and are reluctant to participate in the election.

(4) The ethnic ceasefire groups refuse to abandon their troops and join in
the election because the regime’s 2008 Constitution fails to grantee the
fundamental rights of ethnic nationalities and equality among all.
Therefore, the National League for Democracy, United Nationalities
Alliance, and ethnic revolutionary forces have demanded that the regime
reviews and revises the Constitution to really grant the fundamental
rights of ethnic nationalities, equality among all, democracy and human
rights.

(5) While the whole people of Burma have refused to accept the 2008
Constitution, written unilaterally by the regime and approved by force,
the regime uses violence, threats, bullying tactic and arbitrary arrest to
put the Constitution into effect through its 2010 elections. We demand
that the regime stops these abuses immediately.

(6) We also demand that the regime releases all political prisoners
immediately and
unconditionally, announces a nationwide ceasefire and stops preparation
for war. We also call on the regime to start a meaningful and time-bound
dialogue with the National League for Democracy, led by Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi, and ethnic representatives. This is the best way to solve Burma’s
problems, including politic, economic, social and ethnic nationality
affairs, peacefully.

(7) The use of violence by the regime destroyed the peace and broke
stability and security in the region. The continued pressure and attacks
by the regime against ethnic ceasefire groups will increase the loss of
lives, lands, and personal belongings of ethnic nationals, and create more
instability and insecurity in the region. The regime’s current policy
towards the ceasefire groups will lead to more human rights violations and
more refugees.

(8) Hence, we will continue to work together with all the people of Burma
for emergence of democracy and human rights, as well as equality among all
ethnic nationalities, and self determination.

At the same time, we seriously appeal to the international Community,
including countries in he region, and especially the United Nations
Security Council, to effectively intervene in our country in time to stop
the violence and unilateral acts pursued by the Burmese military regime,
and to realize peaceful negotiation among all parties concerned.

All Burma Monks’ Alliance
The 88 Generation Students
All Burma Federation of Student Unions
Rangoon, Burma


____________________________________
ANNOUNCEMENT

September 21, Mizzima News
Job announcement

Mizzima News Agency needs two skilled professional TV journalists to be
based in India and Thailand offices. The applicants must have at least 2
years of professional working experience in the broadcast media. If
selected, the contract will be for three months (October-December 2009)
that can be extended to a year.

It is a full-time job.

The applicant will have to present a recommendation letter from the
previous employer. The salary is negotiable.

Please send the application to mizzima.news at gmail.com along with a short
resume latest by 28 September 2009.

Kindly circulate to those who might be interested in the job openings.
Mizzima News will not contact or respond to those who are not selected.