BurmaNet News, November 6, 2009

[Editor]

November 6, 2009 Issue #3835

INSIDE BURMA
DPA: US envoy snubs pro-government party on Myanmar visit
Irrawaddy: Burma needs to industrialize: Than Shwe
Xinhua: Storm-hit regions in Myanmar return to normal, Myanmar official media
Mizzima News: Additional charge against Burmese-American
AFP: Myanmar former FM dies in prison: officials

ON THE BORDER
BBC News: Burmese army targets India rebels
DVB: 500 migrant workers sue Thai employers

DRUGS
New York Times: Thai Border on guard for drugs from Myanmar

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: Myanmar vote plan clouds new US dialogue
Irrawaddy: Burmese rally against Then Sein in Tokyo

OPINION / OTHER
The Nation (Thailand): US will only help if Burma shows results – Editorial

PRESS RELEASE
Burma Environment Working Group: New report on development in Burma

INTERVIEW
US Department of State: Burma: Policy review – Scot Marciel



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

November 6, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
US envoy snubs pro-government party on Myanmar visit

A high-level US delegation visiting Myanmar on an "exploratory" diplomatic
mission this week failed to meet with representatives of the pro-junta
National Unity Party (NUP), state media reported Friday.

US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and his deputy in charge of
South-East Asian affairs Scot Marciel visited Myanmar on Tuesday and
Wednesday on what they called an "exploratory mission" to explain the
Washington's new policy of engagement towards the country's pariah regime.

The delegation, however, failed to engage with representatives of the NUP
and other pro-junta parties, according to state media reports.

"Although arrangements have been made for Mr Kurt [Campbell] to meet with
central executive committee members of [the] National Unity Party at its
headquarters and representatives of the remaining officially registered
political parties at the hotel where he put up, he did not meet them," The
New Light of Myanmar reported.

"Instead, he separately met some persons who are still being scrutinized
at the residence of charge d' affairs of [the] US embassy on their own
arrangements," the government mouthpiece said.

One NUP executive complained that they waiting all day for Campbell to
show up.

In Bangkok on Thursday, Marciel acknowledged that the USA's new policy of
engaging with the notoriously uncooperative Myanmar junta was unlikely to
bear swift results.

"We're going in to this with our eyes wide open," Marciel said. "Success
is far from guaranteed."

Past diplomatic efforts to persuade Myanmar's generals to mend their
dictatorial ways, either through sanctions as imposed by the US and the
European Union, or through the tact of "constructive engagement" as
pursued by Asian governments, have failed.

The country has been under military rule since 1962, and has kept
opposition leader and pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi under house
detention for 14 of the past 20 years.

Campbell and Marciel met with Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein, Suu Kyi
and numerous other government and opposition leaders on their wo-day
visit. It as not immediately clear why they save the NUP eaders a miss.

____________________________________

November 6, Irrawaddy
Burma needs to industrialize: Than Shwe

Burma’s military chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe said Burma must industrialize in
order to develop, according to the state-run newspaper The New Light of
Myamnar on Thursday.

“He [Than Shwe] said that indeed, the agro-based country is a developing
nation, and if the country would like to be a real developed nation, it
must try hard to become an industrialized one,” the newspaper said.

Than Shwe made his comments during his second visit to Cyclone
Nargis-affected areas in Irrawaddy Division.

With regard to economic development of the region, the newspaper said,
“The Senior General gave guidance, saying it is necessary to strive for
exploiting [sic] the natural resources with the use of manpower and
utilizing them to raise per capita income.”

Than Shwe said the meat, fish and salt industries needed developing.

“He said that it is necessary to give encouragement to produce salt not
only for local consumption but also for industrial raw materials.

“[He said that] innovative measures are to be taken for manufacturing of
value-added products by extending cold storage and finished goods
factories in the meat and fish sector of the region,” the newspaper said.

“The Senior General stressed the need to collect [sic] the investment
based on the current agriculture task [sic] and to establish the country
as an industrialized nation,” the newspaper said.

However, Aung Moe Zaw, chairman for the exiled Democratic Party for New
Society said Burma will take a long time to establish an industrialized
base because of internal political conflict and strained relations with
the international community.

“Burma should begin by resolving its political conflicts before trying to
develop the nation,” he said.

A youth member of the National League for Democracy said, “Even though the
Burmese authorities use the word ‘develop’ in projects, it doesn’t seem
like development because their projects always depend on the use of human
resources.”

A businessman in Rangoon added that much more technological skill would be
needed to establish an industrialized base in Burma.

____________________________________

November 6, Xinhua
Storm-hit regions in Myanmar return to normal, Myanmar official media

Yangon -- Myanmar official media claimed on Friday that the country's
storm-hit regions have returned to normalcy within one year after these
regions were struck by cyclone Nargis in early May last year, citing the
hardest-hit Ayeyawaddy delta areas.

"The government made utmost efforts for enabling storm-ravaged regions to
enjoy new conditions and new life and to stand on their own strength,"
said the New Light of Myanmar.

The newspaper also said the state is placing emphasis on the development
of agricultural, fishery, marine and transport sector of seaside regions
and has built necessary infrastructural buildings including transport ones
in order that rescue and relief tasks can be launched in time if there is
natural disaster.

It disclosed that a total of 20 cyclone shelters are being built in the
areas of Letkhokkon, Phyapon, Pathein and Laputta, saying that these
cyclone shelters are designed to be used as schools in normal times, and
in times of natural disaster they can be used as shelters.

Over the last four days since Monday, Myanmar top leader Senior-General
Than Shwe, who is Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council,
made an inspection tour to view the progress of rehabilitation and
reconstruction in storm-ravaged regions of the Ayeyawaddy delta covering
areas of Bogalay, Phypon, Laputta, Pinsalu, Mawlamyinegyun, Haigyigyun,
Pathein and Hinthada, and arrived in Yangon on Thursday evening.

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

November 6, Mizzima News
Additional charge against Burmese-American – Mungpi

New Delhi - A new charge was added to the existing ones against Burmese
born American, Kyaw Zaw Lwin (alias) Nyi Nyi Aung by a district court in
Rangoon on Friday, his attorney said.

Kyaw Zaw Lwin, who was charged with fraudulence and forgery under article
420 and 468 of the Criminal Code, has been additionally charged under the
Foreigner Exchange Regulation Act Section 24, his lawyer Kyi Win told
Mizzima.

“We don’t yet know the details of the new charge against Nyi Nyi Aung. We
don’t know for what reason this charge has been added,” Kyi Win said.

The Burmese born American was arrested on September 3, on arrival at the
Rangoon international airport and has been detained since then. He was
later charged for fraudulence and forgery – cheating the immigration and
possessing a fake Burmese national identity card.

While he was charged and was being tried by the Minglardon Township court,
whose jurisdiction covers the Rangoon International airport, last week
authorities transferred his case to the Southern District Court without
any official reason given.

Kyi Win last week told Mizzima that while transferring the case is not out
of procedure, he expressed his fear that the District court, which is a
step higher than the Township court, would add extra charges.

“We will be collecting the files of Nyi Nyi Aung from the district court
next week. Only then we will know about the additional charge,” Kyi Win
said, adding that the court has scheduled the next hearing of the
prosecution witness for November 13, Friday.

“Today we heard testimonies of the two witnesses, who had testified in the
Township court. Because the case is not being handled by a new judge, the
trial is required to start all over again,” Kyi Win added.

According to his attorney, if found guilty, Nyi Nyi Aung could be
sentenced to 14 years in prison, seven each on charges of fraudulence and
forgery. But Kyi Win said he still does not have any idea what the new
charge is all about.

Nyi Nyi Aung was a student activist in the 1988 nation-wide uprising. But
he fled from Burma for neighbouring Thailand in the wake of the ruling
junta’s crackdown on protesters. He later resettled in the United States,
where he was naturalized as a citizen.

His mother and sister are currently serving prison terms for their
political activism.

____________________________________

November 6, Agence France Presse
Myanmar former FM dies in prison: officials

Yangon – Myanmar's former foreign minister Win Aung died of heart failure
in Yangon's notorious Insein prison while serving a jail term for
corruption, official sources said Friday.

Win Aung, who was 65, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in 2004
after the ruling junta purged the military intelligence service led by
then-prime minister Khin Nyunt.

Win Aung served as foreign minister from 1998 to 2004.

Official sources said Win Aung died in Insein Prison's hospital early
Wednesday from heart failure. His family would cremate his body on Sunday,
the sources said on condition of anonymity.

State media announced plans for his funeral but did not give details on
how and where he died.

Win Aung's family refused to comment on his death.

Khin Nyunt once wielded immense power as premier and head of military
intelligence but was forced out by the junta in October 2004. Many of his
followers, including Win Aung and other senior officials, were also purged
and charged.

The following year Khun Nyunt was given a 44-year suspended sentence for
corruption but was allowed to serve the term under house arrest, where he
remains.

Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

November 6, BBC News
Burmese army targets India rebels – Subir Bhaumik

Burmese troops have surrounded a base of Naga separatists in the country's
northwest and begun bombing it, Indian military officials said.

They said Indian troops have fanned out in the hills opposite this base in
Sagaing to arrest any rebels who may try to flee into Indian territory.

The base is operated by the Khaplang faction of the National Socialist
Council of Nagaland (NSCN).

There are around 300 rebels at the base, Indian intelligence agencies say.

Most of them are NSCN guerrillas, but around 50 of them belong to the
separatist United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa).

Two Burmese light infantry regiments are involved in the attack, they said.

But Burmese military officials or diplomats were unwilling to provide
details.

Villagers around Maniakshaw in Sagaing said they could see the Burmese
troops firing mortars, targeting the camp.

Diplomatic pressure

Indian troops confirmed heavy shelling of the Naga rebel base since late
on Thursday but were not sure whether the Burmese had launched an infantry
assault.

Burma's military junta has been under Indian diplomatic pressure to launch
assaults against northeast Indian rebel bases in its territory for some
time now.

But the junta has cited counter-insurgency commitments elsewhere in the
country for not starting an offensive against these bases located mostly
in Sagaing division in the hilly northwest of the country.

The Bhutanese army demolished the north-eastern Indian rebel bases in the
southern part of the kingdom in December 2003 in an operation.

The success of that operation has prompted India to push its other
neighbours in the east to initiate similar military action against the
rebels from the northeast.

Bangladesh's new Awami League led government has also started a crackdown
against north-eastern rebel hideouts on their hideout.

The separatist United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) has alleged that
Bangladesh police has picked up two of the senior leaders from Dhaka this
week and expressed apprehensions that they may be handed over to India.
____________________________________

November 6, Democratic Voice of Burma
500 migrant workers sue Thai employers – Aye Nai

Hundreds of Burmese migrant workers in a Thai border town have filed a
lawsuit against their employers for allegedly failing to pay salaries, a
migrant organisation said.

The migrant workers in Mae Sot, across the border from Burma’s eastern
Karen state, claim that employers failed to abide by regulations laid down
by Thailand’s Ministry of Labour.

“More than 500 workers from 12 factories have filed their case but the
number of complainants from each factory is as high as 185,” said Ko Aye,
workers’ affairs manager of Migrant Assistance Program (MAP) Foundation in
Mae Sot.

“This 500 is only for this year. There have been 138 similar cases since
2001 with 2,077 workers involved. The number of women is greater than that
of men.”

In the past, workers filed their complaints at a local labour liaison
office and court, and in some cases, the judges have ruled in favour of
compensation.

Ko Aye said however that the employees had to go on trial whenever their
employers failed to fully abide by the court decision.

MAP Foundation, together with its lawyers, has been conducting awareness
education programmes for workers, focusing on responses to arbitrary
dismissals and closure of factories without prior warning.

Employees from a knitting factory in Mae Sot on Wednesday appeared in
court to testify that they had been denied wages. The employer had agreed
to compensate for six and a half months’ wages but later shut the
factories without prior notice, leaving the workers jobless.

“The complaint includes less than standard, overtime fees and weekend
charges,” a workers’ rights activist told DVB. The workers had received
only 50 Thai baht ($US1.50) out of an eligible 150 Thai baht ($US4.50).

“They should be compensated about 100,000 Thai baht ($US2,995) each but
they said they would be satisfied with 30,000 ($US900). The trial was
adjourned until 21 December.”

Around two million Burmese migrants are estimated to work in Thailand, the
majority in the agricultural, fishery and construction sectors.

According to organisations working on migrant issues, complaints about
denial of wages for migrant workers are common throughout Thailand.

____________________________________
DRUGS

November 6, New York Times
Thai Border on guard for drugs from Myanmar – Thomas Fuller

Fang, Thailand — The heroin and methamphetamine traffickers carry assault
weapons and walk briskly through the night, crossing the border in small
groups and traveling down a spider’s web of footpaths and dirt roads.

So says Ja Saw, a wiry man in his 20s who should know: Two years ago, he
was one of them.

Mr. Ja Saw spent a year in a Thai prison for trafficking. Now he works as
an undercover agent for the Thai military. In his native Myanmar, where he
travels periodically to glean intelligence, he is known by another name.

“They would kill me immediately if they knew I was a spy,” Mr. Ja Saw, who
is from the Wa ethnic group, said in an interview at a remote location
several kilometers from the Myanmar border.

Thailand’s northern borderland region is ground zero in the country’s
efforts to interdict the tons of illicit drugs manufactured in the
freewheeling northern reaches of Myanmar. Thailand is also the main
international gateway for heroin bound for the streets of Tokyo, Hong
Kong, Sydney and other major cities in the region, counternarcotics
officials said.

Sending the drugs through China would be the most geographically direct
route to Hong Kong, Tokyo and other points north. But the Thai and United
States counternarcotics authorities said they believed that most of the
drugs move south through Thailand.

“It’s more convenient,” said a senior Thai police official, who estimated
that around 90 percent of illicit drugs produced in northern Myanmar come
through Thailand, sometimes via Laos or down the Mekong River. He did not
want to be quoted by name because of the sensitivity of the topic.

Economic development in Thailand has facilitated trafficking, officials
said, because evading the police is easier through the growing network of
roads leading to Bangkok and places farther south, including Malaysia.

The armed ethnic groups in northern Myanmar such as the Wa and Kachin are
wary of antagonizing China because of their reliance on the Chinese for
cross-border business and, in years past, weapons.

“Since the early 1990s, the Chinese have delivered very stern warnings:
Send your powder anywhere else but here,” said Michael Black, an expert on
the Wa and a security writer for Jane’s Intelligence Review. The ethnic
groups, he said, “can’t afford to anger the Chinese.”

China stepped up pressure on the Wa to shut down trafficking routes across
the mainland in the late 1990s when H.I.V. was identified as a growing
problem spread in large part by intravenous heroin users.

The illicit drugs produced near the Chinese border take a circuitous
route, often shipped down to the southern stronghold of the United Wa
State Army, a group that the Thai and American governments say is
responsible for the lion’s share of the drug trade in Myanmar. Wa Army
camps, perched on hilltops like fortresses from another era, are visible
from the Thai side of the border.

The drug trade has helped turn the poorly delineated border between
Myanmar and Thailand into a treacherous killing zone.

An increase in trafficking this year, related to tensions between the
Myanmar military and the Wa, has left 15 suspected traffickers dead in the
Fang area alone, said Master Sgt. Somsak Taengorn, a member of a
plainclothes counternarcotics unit. Some of those killed were wearing Wa
Army uniforms, he said.

The drugs are often stored near the border and divided into parcels. But
traffickers are so worried that the drugs will be pilfered by their
competitors that they put them in unusual storage facilities. “Sometimes
they dig a hole and bury it,” Sergeant Somsak said.

The drug trade here is lucrative, and Sergeant Somsak said many families
in otherwise impoverished areas have brand-new pickup trucks and nicely
furnished houses made of sturdy materials.

Two years ago, Mr. Ja Saw was paid 10,000 baht, about $300, to carry
20,000 methamphetamine tablets, known in Thailand as ya ba, or “crazy
drugs.” He dropped off the drugs at a Thai village and was paid on
arrival. On his third trafficking run, he was ambushed by the Thai
military and arrested.

Once delivered to the Thai side, the drugs are sent to Bangkok, to the
resort island of Phuket (where yachts are sometimes used to smuggle the
drugs to other countries) and to the provinces bordering Malaysia,
depending on the final destination.

The drugs are shipped using a variety of ruses, some of them creative,
some more pedestrian. Often they are packed inside shipments of corn,
lettuce or other agricultural goods, Sergeant Somsak and other officials
said. In May 2008, Sergeant Somsak helped seize thousands of
methamphetamine pills packaged in condoms and hidden in the vaginas of
eight hill-tribe women who tried to board a plane for Bangkok before they
were arrested.

In September, a Taiwanese trafficker was arrested in Thailand with boxes
of bicycle pedals stuffed with heroin.

The strangest smuggling scheme? Manachai Pongsanae, commander of a
checkpoint on a major road in northern Thailand, remembers stopping a
woman in her 50s with methamphetamine tablets wrapped in plastic and
secreted inside a packet of fermented fish paste.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

November 6, Agence France-Presse
Myanmar vote plan clouds new US dialogue – Shaun Tandon

Washington, D.C. — US envoys who paid a rare visit to Myanmar say the new
dialogue will be slow and cautious, but the junta's plans to hold 2010
elections are casting a shadow that could disrupt the delicate process.

Kurt Campbell, the top US diplomat for Asia, and his deputy Scot Marciel
spent two days in the country formerly known as Burma, the highest-level
US visit since 1995 as part of a new policy of engagement.

The State Department duo has been at pains to temper expectations for any
breakthrough and warned the junta that the United States will not ease
economic sanctions without progress on democracy.

But the diplomacy could soon get trickier as the junta prepares elections
next year. The last vote in 1990 was swept by democracy icon Aung San Suu
Kyi, who has since spent most of her time under house arrest.

Marciel, speaking in Bangkok on Thursday, called for the election -- which
some observers believe could be held early in the year -- to be fair and
to include Aung San Suu Kyi's participation.

But the Nobel Peace laureate's National League for Democracy has called
for a boycott of the vote, fearing it would be a sham to legitimize the
junta which last year pushed through a widely criticized new constitution.

"When US officials tell the regime they must include the opposition in
credible, free and fair elections, they are missing the key point," said
John Dale, a Myanmar expert at George Mason University.

"For a long time, the opposition has been organizing a boycott of the
election and that's exactly what the regime is trying to overcome -- they
want as much participation as possible," he said.

"The longer the United States engages in dialogue about international
monitoring of free and fair elections, the more likely it is that we end
up lending legitimacy to the election process itself," he said.

But Aung San Suu Kyi has changed tact before. As the United States opened
the dialogue, she accepted that actions by the junta could eventually lead
to a relaxation of sanctions, an easing of her strong past support of such
economic measures.

Yet just communicating with her remains difficult. The junta allowed Aung
San Suu Kyi to meet Campbell and Marciel at a Yangon luxury hotel, marking
the first time she has appeared outside her home and prison since 2003.

"I think that role and the attitude of Aung San Suu Kyi is very important
to a change in US policy toward Burma," said David Steinberg, a professor
at Georgetown University.

Steinberg said the junta may try to release Aung San Suu Kyi just before
or just after the election.

"I don't think that's acceptable to the US, because they want something
more," Steinberg said.

President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have
launched a policy of dialogue around the world, with the motto that they
will extend a hand to all who "unclench their fist."

Senator Jim Webb, a leading proponent of engaging Myanmar who met in
August with junta supremo Than Shwe, said he was encouraged by Campbell
and Marciel's visit to Myanmar.

He said that the administration should take a "step-by-step" approach to
encourage Myanmar "to become a responsible member of the world community."

"The administration?s engagement with the government of Burma is an
important step toward improving both US-Burma relations and the living
conditions of the Burmese people," he said.

But Aung Din, a former political prisoner who heads the US Campaign for
Burma advocacy group, said that Obama needed to follow up by raising
Myanmar at the highest levels on his upcoming visit to Asia.

Obama will hold a summit with Southeast Asian leaders and travel to China,
which remains a close commercial and military partner of Myanmar despite
the opprobrium for the junta in the West.

"I want to be optimistic. But I will wait until President Obama's visit to
Asia next week," Aung Din said.

"Without strong involvement by President Obama and Secretary Clinton in
organizing our neighbors to stand together on Burma, Kurt's mission would
not be successful," he said.

____________________________________

November 6, Irrawaddy
Burmese rally against Then Sein in Tokyo – Saw Yan Naing

About 200 Burmese dissidents demonstrated outside Japan’s Parliament House
in Tokyo on Friday, the second of three planned protests against Burma’s
military government during a visit by Prime Minster Gen Thein Sein who
arrived in the Japanese capital on Thursday to attend the first
Mekong-Japan Summit.

Burmese pro-democracy demonstrators also launched a protest outside the
New Otani Hotel, where the Burmese premier is staying during the summit.

Ko Ko Aung, a Burmese dissident living in Tokyo, said that the aim of the
protest was to decry the upcoming election in Burma as a government ploy
to hold onto power in accordance with the sham 2008 constitution.

“We want to give a message to the Japanese government that we don’t accept
the 2010 election or the junta’s Constitution. So, they should not support
the Burmese military government,” he said.

Ko Ko Aung called for the Japanese government to investigate the details
of the current political situation in Burma. Japan’s support of the
Burmese regime will not help the Burmese people, he said.

He said that the demonstrators have also scheduled a protest outside the
Burmese embassy in Tokyo, which Thein Sein will visit on Friday evening.

Jeff Kingston, the director of Asian Studies at Temple University Japan
Campus, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that Japan wants to step up human
security efforts in the region and sees the Mekong-Japan Summit as a
vehicle for doing so in a coordinated way.
“Japan will promote human security, natural disaster alleviation, pandemic
control and climate initiatives for the nations along the Mekong,” he
said. “It is a safe way for limited engagement with Burma that allows the
[Japanese] government to plausibly deny re-engaging while at the same time
getting some traction in Burma.”

Kingston noted that Japan’s new prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, and
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada were both well-informed about and
sympathetic to the plight of the Burmese and political prisoners and said
the current government has expressed stronger support for human rights
than previous administrations.

Burma is a member of the six-country Greater Mekong Subregion -Economic
Cooperation Program, along with Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and
China.

Japan is traditionally Burma’s largest donor nation.

Japan has invested US $216.76 million in 23 projects since 1988, according
to a Xinhua news agency report on Thursday.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

November 6, The Nation (Thailand)
US will only help if Burma shows results – Editorial

Asean should also step in as a united front and push its peer to conduct
free and fair elections

The two-day trip by the two US senior officials over the week did not
produce any fireworks or breakthroughs. At the press conference on
Thursday, one of them, Ambassador to Asean Scot Marciel was extremely
careful in providing information or coming up with comments related to
this mission.

Obviously, he did not want to mislead the international community into
believing that actual progress had been made. He kept repeating that he
would not speculate on the Burmese junta's intentions, knowing full well
of the high expectations people had of this trip.

However, he did make two important points that the junta needs to take
into consideration with all seriousness. Firstly, there should be
political dialogue for all stakeholders before the scheduled elections are
held next year. Currently, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is not
allowed to meet senior members of her National League of Democracy party.
Other ethnic leaders have the same restrictions. Representatives from
Karen, Kachin, Chin, Hmong, Rohinya and Shan ethnic minorities have
complained to the US visitors about the need to amend the constitution.

The US fact-finding team reiterated that if there is no such
reconciliation process, it would be difficult for the international
community to accept the outcome of next year's polls as being inclusive,
free and fair. In other words, the junta leaders need to make serious and
tangible efforts to materialise national reconciliation.

Secondly, the US has effectively opened up a small window to help push the
Burmese situation forward. The US is mindful of its own role because it
has its own limits. It cannot replace the UN, the EU or regional players
including Asean, China and India. Instead, Washington needs to work hand
in hand with these players to bring into fruition their joint appeals for
inclusive, free and fair elections in Burma.

Now that the Burmese junta leaders have met with the US senior officials,
they should know all details of the important steps they should take.
Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein, along with the rest of the Asean
leaders, will be shaking hands with US President Barack Obama at the first
Asean-US Summit in Singapore on November 15.

However, this will not be a firm handshake of friends if there are no
tangible signs of progress in the near future. It is possible that the
junta might try to buy time by releasing some key political prisoners or
allow Suu Kyi some freedom to consult her colleagues. Still, this effort
being made by the US on Burma should encourage Asean to do more in putting
peer pressure on its pariah member.

Asean should ask itself why it cannot soften the regime's attitude as the
US has been able to do. The grouping's major failure so far has been its
lack of common approach towards Burma. Each member has its own views on
the issue, while new members such as Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia continue
to back the Burmese regime. Without a consolidated view and position among
the new and old members, Asean will never be able to bring about change
inside Burma.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

November 6, Burma Environment Working Group
New report on development in Burma

A group of organizations concerned about the ongoing rapid destruction of
Burma’s natural environment has published a new report which challenges
the direction Burma is taking with regard to national development and
argues that alternative resource management systems should be considered.
The report “Accessible Alternatives: Ethnic Communities’ Contribution to
Social Development and Environmental Conservation in Burma” by the Burma
Environment Working Group consists of nine case studies that describe a
variety of issues related to natural resource management in different
parts of Burma, including Arakan, Kachin, Karen and Shan States.

Through this report, the Burma Environment Working Group exposes the harsh
impacts that are inflicted on the environment and the livelihoods of
ethnic people by the current development path that Burma’s military regime
is taking.  Ethnic peoples in Burma have long used traditional natural
resource management systems that sustain the environment and on which they
depend for their livelihoods. In recent years, however, militarization,
large-scale resource extraction, and infrastructure development have been
destroying the natural environment and threatening these local natural
resource management systems.  Many local people have had to abandon their
homes and livelihoods without compensation and are struggling to survive.

The report also describes positive cases in which community-based projects
supported by member organizations of the Burma Environment Working Group
have helped revive the natural environment through restoration of
traditional natural resource management systems.  “We wanted to draw
attention to the knowledge and practices of ethnic communities that ensure
sustainable natural resource management,” said Saw Paul Sein Twa, a
spokesperson of the Burma Environment Working Group.  “If we want to
preserve Burma’s rich environment for our children, the value of
traditional natural resource management methods should be recognized
widely, and serious efforts should be made now to restore them where they
have been destroyed.”

The Burma Environment Working Group will launch the report at a press
conference at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand at 10am on
November 5, 2009.

Contact:
Saw Paul Sein Twa (Mobile: +66-817247093, email: pseintwa at yahoo.com
Saw Frankie Abreau (Mobile: +66-89953106, email: franktheera at yahoo.com

Read the report:
Accessible Alternatives: Ethnic Communities’ Contribution to Social
Development and Environmental Conservation in Burma, Burma Environment
Working Group, November 6, 2009
http://www.bicusa.org/admin/Document.101674.aspx

____________________________________
INTERVIEW

November 6, US Department of State
Burma: Policy review – Scot Marciel

Bangkok, Thailand – AMBASSADOR MARCIEL: Thank you very much, and thank you
all for coming. Assistant Secretary Campbell and I just returned last
night from a two-day visit to Burma. It was an exploratory mission. The
main purpose of the visit was really to explain to the key parties there,
and I don’t just mean political parties, but the stakeholders in the
country - government, political parties, opposition, ethnic minority
groups, et cetera - to kind of explain the context of our recently
concluded policy review, but also to hear from them, their views and their
ideas.

Let me begin by talking a little bit about the policy review. As you know,
Secretary Clinton announced in Jakarta in February that we would begin
this policy review and she stated quite clearly at the outset that the
reason for the policy review was that our previous approach, which relied
heavily on sanctions, had not achieved the desired results. That’s a
factual statement.

She also said that the ASEAN approach of engagement had not achieved the
results. So the purpose of the review was not really to question the
fundamental goals of our approach, but rather to see if there was a more
effective way that we could try to bring about positive developments in
the country.

So we undertook that review. It went on for quite some time. It was
recently concluded a few months ago. The results of that review were
first, to reaffirm our fundamental goals for Burma. That we want to see a
Burma that is at peace, unified, prosperous, stable, respects the rights
of all of its citizens, and is democratic. That hasn’t changed.

What we said, what we concluded in terms of approach, was that we were
going to maintain our existing sanctions, even though sanctions by
themselves had not worked sufficiently - they were still a valid tool of
our policy, so we’re maintaining the existing sanctions pending progress;
that we would begin pragmatic engagement with the government; that we
would continue our humanitarian assistance to help the people of the
country as long as we were confident that that assistance was actually
reaching the people and doing what it was intended to do. And we also
committed to talk to the Burmese authorities about our concerns about
non-proliferation, particularly related to North Korea.

So as part of our pragmatic engagement piece we agreed to begin a dialogue
- a senior level dialogue with the government - but also with opposition
groups, ethnic minority groups, all of the people who have an important
role to play in the country’s future.

We had an introductory meeting in New York, I believe it was late
September, where we met with the Burmese Minister of Science and
Technology who the government had designated to meet with us, and we sort
of laid out where we were and what we hoped to achieve. Then, as I said,
we took this trip the last two days to meet with the government, to meet
with others.

We spent a day in Naypyidaw where we met with several government
officials, government ministers, including the Minister of Science and
Technology; the Minister of Information; and then yesterday morning, with
the Prime Minister as well as with some others.

Then we were in Rangoon most of the day yesterday where we met with
representatives from several of the ethnic minority groups. We met with
the Central Executive Committee of the National League for Democracy. We
met with Aung San Suu Kyi, and we met with some other people who had views
on both the political and the economic situation in Burma.

In all of these meetings we explained the results of our policy review,
where we were. There’s been some, I think, misunderstanding or
misinterpretation about some elements of it so we tried to clarify what we
were doing and what we were not doing. We reaffirmed our commitment in all
the meetings to a peaceful, prosperous, democratic Burma.

We stressed in our view the importance of a beginning genuine dialogue
within the country, between the government, the opposition, and ethnic
minority groups which we really see as critical. There’s a lot of talk
about elections, there’s a lot of talk about sanctions, but fundamentally
the main problem there is the lack of an inclusive political process, and
we think that a dialogue among the key players is the best way forward.

And of course we’re not alone. The international community, the United
Nations, have long been calling for that kind of dialogue.

We stressed that in our view the purpose of a dialogue should be to move
toward national reconciliation and a fully inclusive political process.
And toward that end, we again urged the government to allow Aung San Suu
Kyi to have regular access and engagement with her NLD colleagues as well
as with others.

We highlighted the importance and the concerns about a wide range of human
rights issues including but not limited to political prisoners, treatment
of ethnic minorities, et cetera.

In our meetings with the government we underscored, as we’ve said
publicly, our willingness to move toward better relations, to take steps
on our part to improve relations with the country of Burma, but also that
this would only be possible to the extent that there was progress inside
the country. This is very important. We’re willing to move ahead, but
there needs to be progress inside the country.

So we had, as I said, significant serious meetings with a wide range of
people. We laid out our views. We listened a lot to people both in the
government and the ethnic minority groups and in the opposition.

Let me stress again that this was an exploratory mission. I read yesterday
Bertil Lintner’s good article warning of past failures of diplomatic
efforts. I think we’re aware of that. It’s useful to be reminded of that.

My own view is that when you look at the record, these past efforts
haven’t succeeded. You can draw two conclusions from that. One is don’t
try. Two is to try but to be aware of just how difficult this is. We go
into this knowing full well how difficult this is going to be. We’re not
under any illusions. But we feel that there are 50-55 million people in
the country who deserve the efforts of the international community to try
to help bring about progress and we’re very committed to that.

So let me stop there, and I look forward to your questions.

MODERATOR: Thank you, Ambassador Marciel. We have a good chunk of time,
about 45 minutes. I would like to do this in rounds. Let’s take the first
round. The first round perhaps by diplomats, academics, members of the
public; and then the second round we’ll go to the media maybe.

AMBASSADOR MARCIEL: If there are no questions, I’ll go ahead and
(laughter).

MODERATOR: Go to the airport.

QUESTION: (Inaudible). The first question is do you anticipate any
(inaudible) to come up with an inclusive dialogue within the country of
Burma? The second question is after you have been explaining this to the
people you met, the partners, the stakeholders, what is their response?
Thank you.

AMBASSADOR MARCIEL: On your first question, I won’t, to be honest, try to
anticipate. I don’t know what’s going to happen. We don’t know what’s
going to happen. We will have to see. I’ve seen in the past people
suggesting that they think this or that is going to happen inside Burma. I
just don’t know.

We certainly hope there will be a dialogue. I don’t frankly see how there
can be a credible election that brings legitimacy without inclusive
participation, and I don’t see how that can happen without a dialogue. So
if there is to be a credible election that fundamentally changes the
dynamics in the country, I think there needs to be dialogue and there
needs to be participation.

In terms of the reaction, what I would say is I think many of the
opposition groups and the ethnic minority groups have been very clear
publicly for some time that they support a dialogue, an internal dialogue,
and would look forward to participating in that. We’ll have to see where
the government comes out on that.

QUESTION: Mr. Marciel, you mentioned that during these discussions you
have also touched on the issue of nuclear proliferation and the contacts
between the regime and North Korea. Would you be able in any way to
elaborate on that? Thank you.

AMBASSADOR MARCIEL: What I can say is that there have been reports of
cooperation and closer relations between Burma and North Korea, including
on the military side. There have been things in the press you’ve seen
speculating about nuclear cooperation. And I think the situation we’re in
is we want to, I think the international community wants to work with the
Burmese authorities to find out what the facts are and to impress upon the
government the importance particularly of honoring and abiding by UN
Security Council Resolution 1874.

So I think there is a need for information sharing and dialogue.

QUESTION: Thank you for a very clear message to hear from you. We hope
also that you received our open letter that we have tried to reach to you
before the eve of your trip. My first question is already addressed by my
colleague from the Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma.

My second question is actually, when we look at since the review of the
U.S. policy, many key players both internationally and in the region have
looked up to what is coming from the U.S. We have also observed, there are
some positive steps being taken, particularly by the ASEAN, such as
calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. (Inaudible) particularly
after looking to the new policy of the U.S. and saying that it looks to us
like on one hand first of all is that we would like to see the Burma
democracy movement, Burma’s movement for democracy and rights of ethnic
nationalities. We see the new policy is in line with our call, and we
really appreciate and we are very encouraged to see that.

But on the other hand we also would like to get more clarification from
you because we observe that there seems to be a misinterpretation by some
of the key ASEAN players of the new policy of the U.S., with the aims to
follow the ASEAN’s, I would say highly problematic brand of constructive
engagement. I would like to her the comment from you. Thank you very much.

AMBASSADOR MARCIEL: Thank you. It’s a very good question. Various
countries have taken various approaches to Burma. None of us have
succeeded so I think we all should be very humble and not assume that we
have the answers until we actually produce some results.

For there to be progress in Burma there are two things that have to
happen. One, there has to be the primary effort inside the country. The
international community by itself cannot do this. It has to happen from
within the country. But second, the international community has to work in
support of that, including ASEAN. We talk about this with our ASEAN
colleagues a lot, as well as with others. I think the message from all of
us ought to be very clear.

There is an opportunity for progress not for the first time in Burma. The
elections could be, could be an opportunity, but they will only be an
opportunity if they’re done right and that means involving everybody in a
way, starting with a dialogue so that all sides can agree to the
conditions. There can be a real campaign, real elections.

I think the message from the international community, including ASEAN,
needs to be that the first step has to be a dialogue inside the country. I
think it’s critical that all of us reiterate that message. Because if
there’s not, and if the so-called seven step road map goes ahead without
the broader participation and inclusiveness, it doesn’t solve any
problems.

For more, visit: http://www.state.gov/p/eap/rls/rm/2009/11/131536.htm