BurmaNet News, September 24, 2009

[Editor]

September 24, 2009 Issue #3804


INSIDE BURMA
DVB: US detainee in Burma allegedly beaten
SHAN: Junta-backed militias ordered to expand

ON THE BORDER
Financial Times: Burma’s ethnic minorities play waiting game

BUSINESS / TRADE
AP: Myanmar unveils new higher denomination bank note

HEALTH
DVB: Rat infestation compounds Chin food crisis

ASEAN
Kyodo News Service: ASEAN foreign ministers to meet in US on appeal for
Suu Kyi

INTERNATIONAL
Wall Street Journal: U.S. to engage Myanmar's junta
New York Times: Burmese opposition supports new U.S. approach
AP: Protesters greet G-20 dignitaries in Pittsburgh

OPINION / OTHER
Wall Street Journal: Hatoyama's Burma test – Benedict Rogers and Yuki Akimoto
Irrawaddy: Junta’s 2010 elections: Loading the dice – Wai Moe

STATEMENT
Office of the United Nations Secretary General: Secretary-General's
statement to the media on the High-Level Meeting of the Group of Friends
on Myanmar [read by Mr. Ibrahim Gambari, Special Adviser to the
Secretary-General]
Office of the EU Special Envoy for Burma: Fassino at the UN: 2010 crucial
for Myanmar




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

September 24, Democratic Voice of Burma
US detainee in Burma allegedly beaten – Khin Hnin Htet

The US citizen detained upon arrival in Burma earlier this month has
allegedly been beaten and denied food for over a week, according to his
mother who spoke to US embassy staff.

Nyi Nyi Aung (also known as Kyaw Zaw Lwin), who has US citizenship, was
arrested upon arrival at Rangoon International Airport on 3 September.

The state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper said today that police, who
had acted on a tip-off, made the arrest because he “planned to instigate
unrest and launch terrorist attacks”.

His mother, Su Su Kyi, told DVB today that she had visited Rangoon’s
Insein prison, where he is being held, on Monday, but was denied access.

“Officials at the prison told me that [Nyi Nyi Aung] was only a concern
for the US embassy as he was an American citizen,” she said.

“I found out from the US embassy [in Rangoon] that he was not allowed to
go to sleep for several days and also given no food for eight days.
Apparently he had wounds all over his body from getting kicked.”

A lawyer from the Thailand-based Burma Lawyers’ Council likened the case
to the recent trial in Burma of US citizen John Yettaw, for whom the US
embassy had appointed him a lawyer.

“Whether [Nyi Nyi Aung] was born in Burma or elsewhere, he is still a
holder of US citizenship and the US has to observe the situation
surrounding his charges and how the case was built.”

The New Light of Myanmar article went on to say that Nyi Nyi Aung was a
member of the All Burma Student Democratic Front (ABSDF), an armed group
who played a key role in in the 1988 Burma uprising.

ABSDF president, Than Khe, confirmed today that Nyi Nyi Aung had been a
member, although had made no contact with the group for some time.

The article went on to say that the Burmese government would be “[taking]
action against Nyi Nyi Aung” and that “further investigations are also
being made to
expose and arrest his accomplices”.

____________________________________

September 24, Shan Herald Agency for News
Junta-backed militias ordered to expand

All militia groups formed by the Burmese Army have been told to expand its
forces since relations between Naypyitaw and the ethnic armed groups that
had been at truce soured, according to reports filtering in from northern
Shan State.

The Manpang militia led by Bo Mon in Tangyan Township, for instance, has
been ordered to increase its size from 9 companies (900 men) to 14 (1,400
men).

“Most of those aged 18 and over have fled since Bo Mon began a draft
campaign for the Army earlier this year,” said a local who recently
arrived on the Thai-Burma border along with others from the same area.
“Now they are not sparing even 12 year olds.”

The recruiting situation is such that Bo Mon, a former officer in Mong Tai
Army (MTA) until it surrendered in 1996, is forcing drug addicts that have
been treated at his centers to join Manpang.

More young men have fled because of two main reasons, according to the
sources. “Firstly, there are widespread reports that the militias will be
used as assault troops on the ceasefire groups especially the United Wa
State Army (UWSA),” one explained. “Secondly, unlike in the past, when
families were exempted from tax if they had volunteered to send a member
for the militia, every household has to pay tax these days.”

A family that has a paddy field, for instance, has to pay 8 pails (1 pail=
20 litres) of rice per year and those who do not have paddy fields, 6
pails each, except for those without a husband who are required to pay
only 4 pails each.

Manpang is in the Loimaw area, where opium was commercially produced since
the British period.

“But since 2006 (when the area was declared opium-free) only those who are
well connected to Bo Mon are allowed to grow poppies,” said one. “Others
like us are punished if found out.”

According to an official report available with SHAN, there are 46 infantry
battalions backed by 1 tank battalion, 1 u battalion and 11 artillery
battalions facing the ceasefire groups in northern Shan State. They are
expected to be backed by a 2,314 strong police force and 396 militia units
with 8,365 core members.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

September 24, Financial Times
Burma’s ethnic minorities play waiting game

Mong La, Burma – The maps say the town of Mong La is in Burma but to the
casual observer it could be China.

The shop names are in Chinese and the shopkeepers only accept the Chinese
yuan. A suggestion of a meeting at 4 o’clock is met with a question:
“Burma time or China time?”

Mong La is the capital of Shan Special Region number 4, one of 13
autonomous enclaves that have been carved out of Burma’s mountainous east
over the past 20 years as part of ceasefire deals signed between the
generals who run the country and armed ethnic groups.

Now the military want to regain control over the ceasefire zones. They
have offered a deal to the ethnic groups. However, they have also shown
that they are willing to use force.

The stakes for Burma and China are high. China, the Burmese junta’s most
significant ally and largest investor, wants to build pipelines through
Burma to import oil and gas from the Andaman Sea to the populous but
relatively poor province of Yunnan and to open trade routes to feed
exports to the lucrative markets of India. There are increasing signs that
the groups China once regarded as a strategic buffer against Burma’s
aggressively anti-communist military are now seen as a barrier to trade.
But if the volatile militias are mishandled, both Burma’s desire for
reunification and China’s ambitions in the region risk being thwarted and
the generals who run Burma cannot afford to anger Beijing.

While central Burma has been driven into penury by economic mismanagement
and sanctions, areas such as Mong La, which lies at the heart of the
Golden Triangle, have profited from drug trafficking and, more latterly,
gambling.

But the border militias’ days could be coming to an end. Last month, a few
hours to the north of Mong La, Burmese government troops attacked Special
Region number 1, which was run by the so-called Kokang militia, driving
some 37,000 refugees over the border into China. Today, 80 per cent of the
shops in Mong La are boarded up, their owners safe across the border in
China waiting to see if Special Region 4 could be the next target.

Areas such as Mong La underscore the strategic conundrum for Burma.
“Without a political settlement that addresses ethnic minority needs and
goals, it is extremely unlikely there will be peace and democracy in
Burma,” the Transnational Institute, an Amsterdam-based think-tank, said
in a recent report.

For the past 15 years, the UN has advocated a tripartite dialogue between
the military government, the democratic opposition and the country’s
ethnic minorities. But given the history of drug involvement by many of
the groups, it has been a hard policy to promote in western capitals.

The world has become fixated on the role of Aung San Suu Kyi, the
imprisoned opposition leader and Nobel Laureate. While she is a key
figure, however, her freedom is unlikely to solve the country’s
long-standing political problems on its own.

Burma’s ethnic minorities make up some 40 per cent of the 60m population.
The minorities resent the Burmese domination of the country’s politics and
are sceptical of the government’s good faith. Several young Shan
professionals used the same word – “tricky” – to describe the Burmese. The
Burmese government has been trying to unify the country since it gained
independence from Britain in 1948. This crusade has taken precedence over
all other concerns, including democracy, and remains the driving force
behind the current government led by Than Shwe, the country’s senior
general.

“When Than Shwe wakes up at night, he isn’t worrying about democracy or
international pressure,” says a western diplomat who did not want to be
identified. “He’s worrying about the ethnic groups.”

The Burmese authorities have called on the ceasefire groups to put their
militias under government control and take part in the elections next year
but the groups are loath to give up the leverage that their arms provide.
However, with their move against the Kokang militia, the generals have
significantly increased the pressure on the other militias to declare
their intentions. Many residents of the border areas, such as the Chinese
traders in Mong La, believe the generals could move against other groups,
picking them off one by one.

But, as the Transnational Institute report points out, if they fail to
defeat the ceasefire groups decisively, they will drive them into the
mountainous border territory where they are likely to return to wholesale
narcotics trading to fund a guerrilla campaign, increasing regional
instability.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

September 24, Associated Press
Myanmar unveils new higher denomination bank note

Yangon, Myanmar -- Myanmar announced Thursday it will soon introduce a
5,000-kyat bank note, the country's highest-denomination currency.

State radio and television reported that the Central Bank of Myanmar will
release the note Oct. 1.

Existing notes and coins will remain legal tender.

Five thousand kyat is worth about $4.70 at the free market - or black
market - rate of exchange used for most commercial transactions. It is
worth a bit more than $800 at the nominal official rate of exchange.

The last time a new denomination was introduced was in 1998 with the
1,000-kyat note. Because it is worth only about $0.94 at the free market
exchange rate, even minor business transactions require large wads of
money.

Rumors of the introduction of a 5,000-kyat note had been circulating since
2003, but the government repeatedly described them as speculation.

Currency is a sensitive subject in Myanmar, where demonetization of some
notes in 1987 sparked protests that turned into vast pro-democracy
demonstrations that were quelled with military force.

"There will be some panic in the market" over issuing the new bank note, a
banker said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the
subject. "The price of black market dollars will go up and so will the
price of gold. However, the introduction of such a big denomination note
will help our banking transactions, as there will be a lower volume of
cash."

He added that the negative impact would not last long.

The new bank note will be red and have an elephant as its main motif.

____________________________________
HEALTH

September 24, Democratic Voice of Burma
Rat infestation compounds Chin food crisis – Min Lwin

A mass infestation of rats in western Burma is likely to compound a food
shortage in a state that has lost thousands of acres of crops over the
past two years, according to local aid workers.

An aid worker in Chin state, which borders India, said that local farmers
had reported the ongoing destruction of rice and millet crops by rats.

The infestation was sparked in 2007 by the mass flowering of bamboo, which
rats then feed on. The flowering on this scale occurs only once every 50
years.

“We are predicting the same situation [food shortage] as last year and it
won’t get better until June next year,” the aid worker said.

“The government is not providing aid but they are not stopping our
projects. We are allowed to work here freely,” he said.

According to the Canada-based Chin Human Rights Organisation (CHRO), the
fallout from the last mass bamboo flowering in Burma reportedly caused the
deaths of 10,000 to 15,000 in India’s neighbouring Mizoram state.

A report released by the United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) said
that approximately 1700 acres of rice paddy and 1000 acres of millet have
been destroyed by rats since 2007. Around 23,000 tons of food aid is
needed for the 470,000-strong population of Chin state.

The CHRO said that the crisis has affected seven towns in the region, and
54 have so far died from famine-related illnesses, with children
comprising the majority of deaths.

A WFP official in Burma, Swe Swe Win, said that the organization would be
running a ‘food for work’ programme in the region, but that “no other
component activity will be conducted”.

The WFP had said that the food crisis in Chin state was “worse than any
other region visited by the Mission [in Burma]”.

____________________________________
ASEAN

September 24, Kyodo News Service
ASEAN foreign ministers to meet in US on appeal for Suu Kyi

Jakarta – ASEAN foreign ministers will consider a proposed joint appeal
for the release of Myanmar's [Burma] detained democracy leader Aung San
Suu Kyi when they meet this weekend in New York, a senior Indonesian
government official said Thursday [24 September].

Djauhari Oratmangun, director general for ASEAN cooperation, told Kyodo
News from New York that the ministers will meet Saturday on the sidelines
of the ongoing UN General Assembly meeting to discuss various issues,
including the proposed appeal for Suu Kyi to be pardoned to enable her
participate in the general elections.

On 11 August, Myanmar's [Burma] junta put Suu Kyi back under house arrest
for another 18 months after a court found her guilty of breaching the
terms of her earlier house arrest when an uninvited American swam to her
lakeside house in Yangon in May and stayed there for two days.

The verdict raised speculation the junta does not want Suu Kyi to
participate in the next year's planned general elections.

A day after the verdict, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
proposed to Thailand, current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations, to hold a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers and to take
"appropriate measures" over the issue.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Pirompya has proposed ASEAN foreign ministers
write a joint letter to Myanmar's [Burma] ruling generals expressing
disappointment with the renewed house detention of Suu Kyi and urging she
be granted her a full pardon.

At meetings over the past few years, ASEAN has repeatedly called for the
release of Suu Kyi without success.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar [Burma],
the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

September 24, Wall Street Journal
U.S. to engage Myanmar's junta

The U.S. plans to change its approach to Myanmar, enlisting a combination
of sanctions and engagement in a fresh bid to persuade the ruling junta to
allow more democratic freedoms, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said
Wednesday.

The U.S. and other groups, notably the European Union, have imposed
economic sanctions for several years on Myanmar, a military-run,
resource-rich state also known as Burma. But those sanctions have done
little to effect change in the country thanks to its burgeoning trading
relationships with China, Thailand and India.

This year, the Obama administration conducted a review of Myanmar policy
to find ways to complement the sanctions program.

"We believe that sanctions remain important as part of our policy but by
themselves they have not produced the results that had been hoped for,"
Mrs. Clinton told reporters at the United Nations in New York. "Engagement
versus sanctions is a false choice in our opinion, going forward we will
be employing both of those tools."

Mrs. Clinton didn't elaborate on the new forms of diplomatic engagement.
She indicated that there would be no softening of U.S. demands toward
Myanmar and repeated calls for the military rulers to release opposition
leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

Mrs. Clinton also called on the government to begin talks with the
opposition and ethnic minorities about real democratic change in the
country, which has been ruled by the military since 1962.

Nyan Win, a spokesman for Ms. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy,
which has long supported international efforts to isolate Myanmar, said
the party agreed with the U.S. policy change to engage the ruling junta
"as long as the U.S. continues to maintain the pressure.

"That's most important. The pressure has to be there," Mr. Nyan Win said,
adding that the NLD had expected Mrs. Clinton's announcement.

The Myanmar government couldn't be reached to comment; officials seldom
talk to foreign media, preferring to communicate through announcements
published in state-run newspapers in Myanmar.

Mrs. Clinton said there is a growing appetite in the U.S. to directly
engage with the Myanmar government, which is headed by a former postal
clerk named Senior General Than Shwe.

"To help achieve democratic reform, we will be engaging directly with
Burmese authorities," Mrs. Clinton said.

Myanmar is set to hold elections next year, but with no credible
opposition inside the country and military control guaranteed by its
constitution, a military-backed or controlled government is the most
likely outcome.

The last elections in Myanmar were held in 1990 and won by Ms. Suu Kyi's
party. The military ignored the results and jailed many members of her
party in the aftermath, while others went into exile.

Some of those exiled leaders have said they would like to see the U.S. and
other countries increase Myanmar's international isolation, especially
after the junta cracked down on protests led by Buddhist monks against
rising fuel prices in 2007. At least 10 people were killed then.

Relations between Myanmar and the U.S. were further worsened by the
conviction of Ms. Suu Kyi on Aug. 12 for illegally allowing an uninvited
American man to stay at her house where she is detained. Ms. Suu Kyi's
sentence -- an additional 18 months of house arrest -- will effectively
prevent her from campaigning in next year's planned elections.
____________________________________

September 24, New York Times
Burmese opposition supports new U.S. approach – Seth Mydans

Bangkok — The decision by the United States to engage the ruling junta in
Myanmar drew the endorsement Thursday of the nation’s most high-profile
dissident, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, but analysts cautioned that the change
would not have a significant effect in the near term.

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that the
United States would pursue engagement but maintain the economic sanctions
that have been put in place to punish the government of Myanmar, formerly
known as Burma, for its human rights abuses and restrictions on political
freedom.

“Engagement versus sanctions is a false choice in our opinion,” she said.
“So, going forward we will be employing both of these tools, pursuing our
same goals. To help achieve democratic reform we will be engaging directly
with Burmese authorities.”

The shift in policy was the result of a review that was first announced by
Mrs. Clinton in February when she said neither the sanctions imposed by
Western countries nor the “constructive engagement” of Myanmar’s Asian
neighbors had succeeded in affecting the government’s behavior.

It represented the most significant modification of administration policy
toward Myanmar in decades. But analysts said it was likely to face
opposition in Congress, where many members strongly support an
unflinchingly antagonistic approach to the junta.

Analysts and activists said the new policy entailed a difficult balancing
act between carrot and stick, and they said they did not expect it to
produce significant effects in the near term.

Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi has been a long-time advocate of sanctions but has
also tried to engage the ruling generals in a dialogue and has said any
future government would have to include the military.

“She said she accepts direct engagement but it must be on both sides,”
said her lawyer, U Nyan Win, after visiting her Thursday. By both sides,
he said she meant both the government and the opposition.

Speaking at the United Nations, Mrs. Clinton did not provide specifics and
some analysts voiced concern that the new policy would be only cosmetic,
while others said it could undermine the pressure that the West has
brought to bear on the ruling generals.
“I think we have to keep our short-term expectations fairly low,” said
Thant Myint-U, a Burmese historian who is the author of “The River of Lost
Footsteps.”

“I don’t think talking to the generals will influence much their plans for
next year’s elections or will lead anytime soon to dialogue between them
and Aung San Suu Kyi,” he said. “But we have to look at the long-term
picture, and the more engagement there is from the outside world,
especially from the United States, the more quickly we’re going to see the
country move in the right direction.”

Debbie Stothard, coordinator of Altsean-Burma, a regional human rights
group, said many Burmese activists were concerned that the junta could
take the new policy as a tacit endorsement of its current behavior, giving
it “a honeymoon in terms of moving forward with reform.”

“It’s a very tough balancing act if you want to moderate between a big
carrot and a big stick,” she said. “It requires a lot of mindfulness and a
lot of finesse, and, speaking to the generals, a clear sense of
principle.”

She pointed to the failed policy of engagement by Myanmar’s neighbors in
Southeast Asia who, in their desire to maintain a working relationship,
had allowed the junta to “deliver token gestures instead of genuine and
irreversible reform.” Over the years, the junta has carried out a policy
of promises and gestures toward the outside world while maintaining a
strong grip over its own people, crushing pro-democracy demonstrations by
force.

The generals have not been moved by ever-tighter economic restrictions and
diplomatic pressure, which have been undermined by continuing trade from
Myanmar’s neighbors and have pushed the country into a closer embrace with
its biggest trade partner, China.

The generals clung to power in 1990 after losing a parliamentary election
to the National League for Democracy and since then have jailed thousands
of political opponents, including the monks and their supporters who
demonstrated in the streets two years ago. Washington imposed additional
sanctions at that time, to little evident effect.

Most recently, the regime convicted Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi of violating the
terms of her house arrest after an American intruder spent two days at her
villa. She was sentenced to house arrest for the next 18 months, a period
that will ensure that she is out of the public eye during a parliamentary
election scheduled for early next year.

Josef Silverstein, an expert on Myanmar who is an emeritus professor at
Rutgers University, has grown skeptical over the years as he has watched
the world try one futile policy after another to influence the junta.

“How are you going to engage and whom are you going to engage and, if they
can say it, what subject are they going to take up first?” he said.

He added: “We are not going to go to war with them. And if we are not
going to war with them, we haven’t figured out a peaceful means, not only
to get them to listen to us but to get them to respond in a positive way.”

____________________________________

September 24, Associated Press
Protesters greet G-20 dignitaries in Pittsburgh – Daniel Lovering

Pittsburgh, USA — Several protest groups staged demonstrations around the
city Thursday and a protesters' coalition planned an unpermitted march
called a "People's Uprising" as world leaders arrived in the city for the
Group of 20 Summit on Thursday.

The meeting begins Thursday evening with a welcome ceremony and ends late
Friday afternoon after a day of meetings.

Dignitaries were arriving in waves and were heading to a city under heavy
security. Police and National Guard troops guarded many downtown
intersections, and a maze of tall metal fences and concrete barriers
shunted cars and pedestrians.

Protesters seeking human rights reforms in China gathered in a designated
protest area near the meeting site.

About 15 monks from the International Burmese Monks Organization wore
saffron and crimson robes and chanted through a bullhorn in a late morning
march through downtown. The group was commemorating the second anniversary
of the 2007 Saffron Revolution in Burma.

The monks carried Buddhist flags, stopped briefly to meditate at one
point, and were followed by about 40 or 50 supporters, some carrying signs
of the Democracy leader in Burma that said "Freedom to lead." Some in the
crowd said they had come from Kentucky, Maryland and as far as California
for the march, which was ending at Point State Park.

Earlier in the day, Oxfam America held a mock football game. A dozen
activists wore Steelers uniforms bearing the names of world leaders and
large photos of their faces to spotlight hunger issues.

On the Web site of the Pittsburgh G-20 Resistance Project, an umbrella
organization of protest groups, representatives describe plans for the
"People's Uprising." They call it "a mass march" that will begin in the
afternoon in a neighborhood northeast of downtown and end at the David L.
Lawrence Convention Center, the primary site of the summit.

"Our only permit is our feet and voices," the Web site proclaims. "The
G-20 is in the house, throwing a party. Let's crash it."

It's unclear how many protesters plan to attend.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

September 24, Wall Street Journal
Hatoyama's Burma test – Benedict Rogers and Yuki Akimoto

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will have much on his agenda in his first
few months in office in Tokyo. One particular area crying out for change
is Japan's relationship with Burma.

No country has a bigger historical responsibility to Burma than Japan.
Aung San, leader of the Burmese struggle for independence from British
colonialism in the late 1930s and 1940s, was given military training by
the Japanese. In World War II, Japan occupied Burma and cruelly oppressed
the ethnic groups who sided with the British. More recently, Aung San's
daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi, studied in Kyoto before returning to her
country in 1988 to campaign for democracy. Yet Japan has extended
political and financial support to Burma's military regime to protect its
own short-term economic interests, safeguard relations with China and
pursue a misguided view that appeasement will bear fruit.

This has tied Tokyo's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in moral and rhetorical
knots. Officials defended the junta's sham referendum on a new
constitution last year. One bureaucrat said with a straight face that the
junta had introduced "due process" and that dissidents are put on trial
before they are imprisoned. When 6,300 prisoners were released in
February, Japan welcomed this as a "positive step"—even though most were
ordinary criminals and only 30 were political prisoners.

Nor was Japan's previous government very forceful defending democracy in
the face of elections due in 2010, even though Aung San Suu Kyi and other
leading democrats will be excluded. "It's very difficult to know the
meaning of 'free and fair,'" a foreign ministry official said earlier this
year. Tokyo in May dismissed Ms. Suu Kyi's most recent trial as "a
domestic issue." Last month, the former Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Hirofumi Nakasone, held talks with Htay Oo, secretary-general of the
regime's civilian militia, the Union Solidarity and Development
Association. The USDA organized an alleged assassination attempt on Ms.
Suu Kyi in 2003.

If Mr. Hatoyama is serious about change, Tokyo's entire approach must
change. The first step is to modify Tokyo's rhetoric about next year's
"elections." Rather than support the junta, Tokyo could call for a genuine
process of democratization and refuse to verify sham elections.

Japan also has many options for unilateral action. Japan is the largest
donor to Burma in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development. Tokyo could end this financial flow, which ends up with the
regime and its proxy organizations, and redirect that money to
humanitarian aid administered through independent agencies. This would
solve a major problem of Japanese aid subsidizing schemes such as
scholarships for regime officials to study in Japan, or USDA-sponsored
projects. Instead, Japanese aid in support of refugees, internally
displaced peoples and human--rights and democracy projects should be
increased. On the trade front, Japan could also ban the import of Burmese
products such as natural gas, timber and gems. The Japanese government
should also divest from Nippon Oil Exploration (Myanmar), which has stakes
in natural gas development in Burma.

Then there are multilateral actions: Japan, the U.S. and Canada could work
to impose targeted financial sanctions on the junta's leaders. Tokyo
should begin by freezing any Japan-based bank accounts of the regime's top
officials and their cronies that are already the target of such sanctions,
as well as prohibiting any financial transactions involving these
individuals or entities. As a member of the United Nations Security
Council, Mr. Hatoyama's government also can play a more pro-active part in
discussions on Burma. Japan has no arms trade, and so would have nothing
to lose in leading a campaign for a universal arms embargo on the regime.
Japan can also support a U.N. commission of inquiry to investigate crimes
against humanity in Burma.

Mr. Hatoyama has been a long-time supporter of democracy in Burma. In
2007, just days after a Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai was shot dead at
point-blank range in Rangoon as he filmed the Burmese military crushing
the peaceful protests by Buddhist monks, Mr. Hatoyama posed a question to
the then prime minister, saying: "The response by the Japanese government
has been very slow. It is the Japanese government that should lead the
international community, and demand now that the military regime control
itself and release all those detained including Daw Suu Kyi, and make
every effort so that democratization in [Burma] is realized." Now, he has
the opportunity to pursue that approach.

Mr. Rogers is a human-rights activist at Christian Solidarity Worldwide,
based in London. Ms. Akimoto is director of BurmaInfo, based in Tokyo.

____________________________________

September 24, Irrawaddy
Junta’s 2010 elections: Loading the dice – Wai Moe

Veteran politicians and daughters of former cabinet members, such as Thu
Wai, Mya Than Than Nu, Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein and Nay Chi Ba Swe, announced at
a press conference in Rangoon on Sept. 14 that they would found a party
named the Democratic Party.

The press conference surprised Burmese political observers because it was
the first public announcement of the formation of a political party for
the 2010 elections while the election law has yet to be officially
announced.

“It is quite strange that U Thu Wai announced the formation of political
party to run in elections which have not yet been officially declared,”
said a political observer in Rangoon who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“Only Snr-Gen Than Shwe knows when the 2010 election law will be
announced,” the observer said. “The junta is busy for the moment dealing
with the tension arising with the armed ethnic cease-fire groups over the
border guard forces issue.”

Under the military-backed 2008 constitution, the junta made it clear that
Burma will only have a single armed force known as the Tatmadaw. The junta
is attempting to disarm the militias of its former enemies that became
cease-fire groups 20 years ago.

Burmese state-run newspapers are repeatedly reaffirming the junta’s policy
of having a single armed force in Burma.

“According to the constitution, there shall be a single Tatmadaw in the
county,” noted the junta’s mouthpiece The New Light of Myanmar in a
commentary on Friday. “All armed forces are to stand in accordance with
the constitution.”

Another urgent item on the junta’s agenda is to ensure the participation
of ethnic groups in the forthcoming election, which would give stronger
legitimacy to the poll. Observers say the election law and the date for
the election could be delayed until the ethnic issue is resolved.

Meanwhile, the main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) led by
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has called for a review of the
constitution rather than participate in the elections.

“The junta is using a divide-and-rule strategy on the NLD and other
dissidents with the election plan,” said a journalist in Rangoon. “The NLD
leaders have been divided on the issue of whether to join the elections in
2010.”

The Burmese military have successfully used divide-and-rule tactics
against its enemies during its 47 years of rule.

Apart from the NLD, other Burmese politicians are divided over the
election plan. While people who want to participate argue the election is
a good opportunity to promote change in Burma, others are saying the
election is a trap since the 2008 constitution grants the prolongation of
military rule in Burma.

Pro-military groups such as the Union Solidarity and Development
Association (USDA) and the National Unity Party are preparing to take part
in the election directly or through proxy parties.

Since late 2008, the USDA has selected respected figures and business
people in local communities across the country as potential candidates for
its proxy party. Some candidates say they are being watched by military
intelligence and special branch police.

When interviewed on the election issue, Burmese political observers in
Rangoon, such as veteran politician Chan Tun and Arakan leader Aye Thar
Aung, said the junta will only give a limited time for opposition parties
to prepare for the elections, and it is likely the election law would be
announced close to the election date.

Junta officials, meanwhile, started their election campaign last year.
Burma’s Industry 1 Minister Aung Thaung is in charge of the USDA in
Mandalay Division. He often travels in the division, meeting local people
and organizing heath care and education programs to win over rural people
ahead of the election.

Information Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan has been doing similar things in
Sagaing Division, as has Transportation Minister Thein Zaw in Magawe
Division and other key officials.

The censorship board has allowed pro-government stories to be printed in
some private journals, and pro-junta journalists are permitted to write
political pieces related to the forthcoming elections.

For example, Snap Shot, a weekly journal run by a journalist with good
connections to Information Minister Kyaw Hsan, published an advertisement
announcing the launch of a sister journal called the Yangon Monitor that
will report on the election.

In recent months, the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division of the
Ministry of Information has allowed the Voice Weekly journal to publish
election-related articles, some of which are quite similar to articles
appearing in state-run newspapers.

On September 13, state-run media announced that the former vice-chairman
of the Kachin Independence Organization, Dr Tuja, planned to form a
political party for the election, saying “Dr Tuja will build a brighter
future for Kachin State by forming the Kachin State Progressive Party
(KSPP) representing Kachin nationals.”

About a week later, the censorship board permitted the Voice Weekly
Journal to run an interview with Dr Tuja about the elections. Journals
that regularly publish pro-junta stories never publish dissident views on
the elections or government policies.

“This journal is given special privileges, but dissident opinions are not
allowed. I wrote four articles arguing against their stance—all were
banned,” said veteran journalist Ludu Sein Win during an interview with
the Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma.

Even politicians who argue the elections are providing an opportunity for
a way out of Burma’s crisis are being given little space by the junta.
Although authorities gave politician U Thu Wai a green light to hold a
press conference announcing the launch of his party last week, the
censorship board banned all news about the press conference in Burmese
private journals.

“The censorship board ordered us to remove news about U Thu Wai’s press
conference and his new party when we sent them the first draft of this
week’s issue,” said an editor with a Rangoon weekly who requested
anonymity.

____________________________________
STATEMENT

September 23, Office of the United Nations Secretary General
Secretary-General's statement to the media on the High-Level Meeting of
the Group of Friends on Myanmar [read by Mr. Ibrahim Gambari, Special
Adviser to the Secretary-General]

Today I convened the second meeting of the Group of Friends on Myanmar at
the level of Foreign Ministers. The high turnout demonstrates the strong
collective interest of all the Friends in the future of Myanmar, and
re-affirms the broad support for my good offices.

The year 2010 will be a critical year for Myanmar. The first planned
election in twenty years must be held in an inclusive and credible manner
to advance prospects for stability, democracy and national development.

As I said today in my address to the General Assembly, we will work hard
for democracy, national reconciliation and human rights in Myanmar. The
release of some political prisoners last week is a step in the right
direction, but it falls short of our expectations. All political prisoners
must be released -- including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Our meeting today has given the Group of Friends an opportunity to
consolidate unity of purpose and action in three important respects, and I
call on the Friends, especially Myanmar's friends and neighbours, to do
more in the best interests of Myanmar and its people.

First, to urge Myanmar to work with the United Nations to ensure an
inclusive process of dialogue and create the necessary conditions for
credible elections consistent with the five-point agenda that the Group of
Friends has endorsed, and with the proposals that I left with Myanmar's
senior leadership during my recent visit.

Second, to uphold the role of the United Nations with regard to Myanmar's
immediate and long-term challenges. The UN has invaluable experience in
fostering national reconciliation, promoting respect for human rights,
supporting sustainable development and helping countries make the
transition to democracy.

Third, to signal the international community's willingness to help the
people of Myanmar address the political, humanitarian and development
challenges they face, in parallel and with equal attention, and in
particular to advance the Millennium Development Goals. But, Myanmar needs
to help us to help them.

I am encouraged by the constructive spirit of the discussions so far. I
welcome the willingness of the Friends to make joint efforts towards
national reconciliation, a democratic transition and genuine respect for
human rights in Myanmar.

Thank you.

http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp

____________________________________

September 24, Office of the EU Special Envoy for Burma
Fassino at the UN: 2010 crucial for Myanmar

“The 2010 elections may result in a crucial passage for the future of
Burma and to this end, no effort should be spared towards the creation of
favourable conditions for them to be conducted in a framework of
democratic guarantees, in accordance with  international standards of law,
transparency and legality.”

So has stated the European Union's Special Envoy for Burma / Myanmar,
Piero Fassino, at the ministerial meeting on Burma convened in New York by
the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and attended by the U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton, the European Foreign Ministers Bildt, Milliband,
Kouchner, Gahr-Store and the European Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner,
together with the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Japan, India, Indonesia,
Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and the Representatives of China,  Korea, and
Russia.

"From the meeting – underlined Fassino – a strong and unified message has
been delivered to the authorities of Myanmar, so that they accept the
requests made by the Secretary General of the United Nations: to free all
political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi, to engage in an inclusive
dialogue among the military authorities, the democratic opposition and
ethnic communities and to adopt rules conducive to free and fair
elections".

"If the authorities in Myanmar accept this request – added the European
Envoy - the international community stands ready to support and contribute
to all the positive actions and the useful measures for economic
development and for democracy in full  stability."

"The European Union - concluded Fassino - intends to continue its efforts
in  support of the initiatives promoted by the UN Secretary General and
his Special Adviser and to further increase the already intense
cooperation with ASEAN, with Asian countries and with the members of the
Security Council."

Roma, 24/09/2009