BurmaNet News, February 3, 2010

[Editor]

February 3, 2010, Issue #3889


INSIDE BURMA
DVB: Monks sentenced for 2007 uprising

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: Western-sanctioned Kanbawza Bank buys airline

REGIONAL
Kachin News Group: Chinese Embassy reverts to anti-Irrawaddy dam activists
IMNA: NLD-LA Malaysia representatives hold nationwide 2010 election seminar

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Burma absent from UN Security Council's February agenda

OPINION / OTHER
Reuters: China takes risky step with Myanmar pipelines – Ben Blanchard
Irrawaddy: How to select a UN Special Envoy? – Aung Zaw

PRESS RELEASE
BCUK: 3,000 Ethnic Karen refugees at risk of deportation from Thailand to
Burma
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers: World’s press
condemns sentencing of Burmese journalists



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

February 3, Democratic Voice of Burma
Monks sentenced for 2007 uprising – Khin Hnin Htet and Aye Nai

Three monks and two civilians in Burma have been handed lengthy prison
sentences, some as much as nine years, for their role in the September
2007 uprising, lawyers say.

After a lengthy trial inside Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison court, the
five men were found guilty under the Unlawful Associations Act, as well as
possession of foreign currency and illegal border entry.

The three monks, U Waryama, U Yaywata and U Weithuda, all hail from
Burma’s central Magwe division. Three other men were also involved in the
trial, but have not yet been sentenced.

“The five [sentenced] were on trial without a lawyer so the verdict was
quicker for them. They were given sentences from five to nine years,” said
Kyaw Ho, lawyer for two of the co-defendants.

“A trial cannot be fair for someone without any lawyer. At least
[authorities] should have allowed them to contact their families and hire
lawyers.”

Meanwhile, a woman in Rangoon previously sentenced in connection with the
2007 uprising was transferred on 19 January from a Mandalay prison to
Kachin state’s remote Myitkyina prison.

Mya Mya Theint, a private computer instructor, was arrested in October
2007 and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment under charges of defaming
Buddhist concepts and supporting an “unlawful association”.

As well as Mya Mya Theint, 16 other political prisoners have been recently
transferred to remote prisons, many along the hostile China-Burma border.
Family members complained that they were not told of the transferal.

“I think [authorities] intend to make lives of the families miserable as
some old people will be unable to make visit to their loved one. I don’t
think I stand a chance to see my son again,” said the 72-year-old mother
of Myo Han, who was transferred to Burma’s northeastern Shan state.

Burma’s revered monk community was the target of a government crackdown on
the September 2007 uprising anniversary last year. According to the
Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma
(AAPP), 251 monks are currently held in prisons across Burma.

Analysts predict that the ruling junta will step up its intimidation of
opposition groups in the run-up to elections this year, rumoured to be in
October.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

February 3, Irrawaddy
Western-sanctioned Kanbawza Bank buys airline – Wai Moe

The Burmese military junta continues to privatize businesses in the
pre-election period as Myanmar Airways International (MAI), a state-owned
joint venture, has been bought by Kanbawza Bank, owned by a close business
associate of the junta.

A Rangoon-based weekly, 7 Days News Journal, reported on Wednesday that
Kanbawza Bank will buy up to 80 percent of the airline while state-owned
Myanma Airways will hold a 20 percent stake.
A Myanmar Airways International passenger jet prepares for take-off
(Photo: MAI)

A joint venture of the Ministry of Transportation and Myanma Airways, MAI
currently flies from Rangoon to Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Gaya
in India.

Bank chairman Aung Ko Win, also known as “Saya Kyaung,” and Kanbawza Bank
are on the Western economic sanctions lists. A former school teacher, Aung
Ko Win once taught Nandar Aye, the daughter of Junta No. 2 Vice Snr-Gen
Maung Aye, when he was commander of the Eastern Regional Military Command
based in Shan State.

When Maung Aye was regional commander, Aung Ko Win reportedly became a
supplier to regional command headquarters, a connection which helped him
to become one of the richest men in Burma. Aung Ko Win also owns a soccer
club, Kanbawza FC, in Taunggyi, Shan State.

The sale of the airline to private owners is the latest in a string of
decentralization deals leading up to the national election. In the past
two months, the regime has sold businesses involving hydropower projects,
mines, ports, distribution of fuel and government buildings across the
country.

Other business sources in Rangoon said Kanbawza Bank also might like to
acquire government-owned Myanma Airways (MA) to challenge Air Bagan, owned
by businessman Tay Za.

Recently Air Bagan extended its route from Rangoon to Chiang Mai, in
northern Thailand, which was previously serviced by MA’s other joint
venture, Air Mandalay.

Both MAI and Kanbawza Bank declined to comment on the deal when contacted
by The Irrawaddy.

“We cannot confirm or provide information on the news because we are not
authorized to speak,” said an MAI public relations official in Rangoon.
Kanbawza Bank officials said they were too busy to answer questions.

In 1993, MAI was formed as a joint venture between Myanmar Airways and
Singapore business interests with the support of Royal Brunei Airlines. In
February 2007, MAI was reorganized as a joint venture between Myanma
Airways, which retained 51 percent, and  Hong Kong-based Region Air with a
49 percent stake, according to MAI’s Web site. An MAI official, however,
said the information on the Web site may be outdated, but she could not
provide any other information about the airline's ownership.

Most of the privatization has involved companies close to the junta that
are on Western sanctions lists, such as Tay Za’s Htoo Group of Companies
and Zaw Zaw’s Max Group of Companies. One of the latest deals involved the
Htoo company's purchase of fuel outlets.

Meanwhile, The Voice Weekly in Rangoon on Monday quoted an official at the
Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry that
Burma’s port authority recently agreed to privatize three ports and port
properties in Rangoon, the commercial capital.

Since the early 2000s, Alone Port in Rangoon and Burma's largest port,
Thilawa in Kyauktan Township, have been operated by Asia World Co. Lt, a
company on Western sanctions lists owned by businessman Tun Myint Aung,
also known as Steven Law, who is also a close associate of the ruling
generals.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

February 3, Kachin News Group
Chinese Embassy reverts to anti-Irrawaddy dam activists

In a surprise gesture, the Chinese Embassy in Singapore reverted to
anti-Irrawaddy-Myitsone dam project activists yesterday and informed them
by email that it had forwarded their appeal letter demanding a halt to the
construction in Burma’s Northern Kachin State, to relevant authorities in
China.

This was the first such letter to the Chinese government by Kachins in
Singapore. Interestingly, the response came within a week, much to the
surprise of many.
Cheng Hong Bo, the Second Secretary of the Political and Press Section of
the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Singapore, officially
informed one of anti-dam activist leaders yesterday at 5:16 pm Singapore
time that he had forwarded the appeal letter of the ethnic Kachin
community in the city-state.

On being contacted by the KNG reporter Solomon in New Delhi, Cheng Hong Bo
refused to comment on his response to the activists but agreed to field
questions through email.

The Singapore-based Kachin Literature and Culture, also called Jinghpaw
Laili Laika hte Htunghking Hpung (JLH) in Kachin, organized the signature
campaign-cum-appeal letter. It was signed by 110 ethnic Kachins from
northern Burma and submitted to the Chinese Embassy on January 28.

“We have forwarded your appeal letter concerning the issue of the
construction of Irrawaddy/Myitsone Dam in Kachin state, Myanmar to the
relevant authorities in China,” Cheng Hong Bo ( cheng_hongbo at mfa.gov.cn)
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots.

Two JLH leaders met Cheng Hong Bo in his Embassy office on January 28 and
explained at length about the negative impacts of the Irrawaddy Myitsone
hydropower project, which is threatening local people and millions
downstream of the dam. Their livelihood is at stake as is their lives
should the dam collapse, following flooding because it is not very far
from a Sagaing fault line.

“We are happy and encouraged with the response. We hope the Chinese
government will take into account the wishes of the Kachin people,” said
Awng Di, general secretary of the JLH in the city-state, who handed over
the appeal letter to Cheng Hong Bo.

Awng Di told KNG, they will try to lobby in the Chinese media so as to
garner support from the Chinese people against the dam construction in
Kachin State.

“We will seek the help of our friends in China to publish this issue in
well known newspapers in the country. We want more Chinese people to
become aware and want them to be involved in the movement against the dam
project,” he added.

____________________________________

February 3, Independent Mon News Agency
NLD-LA Malaysia representatives hold nationwide 2010 election seminar –
Khatter Non

The National League for Democracy-Liberated Area (NLD-LA) Malaysia is
currently in the midst of a cross-country educational campaign targeted at
Burmese migrant workers living in the country, regarding the upcoming 2010
Burmese elections and the 2008 constitutional referendum.

NLD-LA representatives began leading seminars on January 15th of this year
at various locations around peninsular Malaysia, meeting with groups of
Burmese migrant workers at township halls in strategic locations. Group
members informed IMNA that the seminars are aimed at educating Burmese
citizens about the Burmese political process, and preparing them to make
informed decisions in the 2010 elections.

“When we go to a place to hold a meeting, an NLD-LA member in the region
begins preparing 2 or 3 weeks before we come. This member is in charge of
getting the meeting hall, telling people about the date and time of the
discussion about the 2010 election, and distributing brochures. If there
are no NLD-LA members in an area, we ask a well-know worker in the
community, and ask him to be in charge of the preparations,” NLD-LA
Malaysia chairman U Kyaw Kyaw told IMNA in a phone interview.

U Kyaw Kyaw explained to IMNA’s reporter that when MND-LA representatives
hold the discussions, they explain to attendees why the 2010 elections
likely will not be free and fair. Representatives cite the example of the
1990 Burmese elections, when the National League for Democracy (NLD) won
the popular vote but the Burmese government refused to transfer power to
the party. Reportedly, the discussions also includes an explanation about
why the 2010 elections do not guarantee increased rights for the Burmese
people, and information about the 2008 constitutional referendum.

According to U Kyaw Kyaw, roughly 500,000 from Burma currently live in
Malaysia. At the beginning of the campaign, attendance at the seminars was
relatively low; turnout has upped over the last two weeks, and currently
the NLD-LA claims that 20,000 Burmese migrant workers across Malaysia have
attended the meetings.

According Ko Zaw Myo, a Burmese worker who attended the NLD-LA meeting in
Parsigutan Township, in Malaysia’s Jahor State, “On the 24th of January,
the NLD-LA Malaysia chairman came, and he discussed the 2008 constitution
and the 2010 elections. There was some information that we [the migrant
workers] did not know about, for example that in democratic countries, the
government’s power comes from the people; [we also didn’t know that] in
Burma’s parliament, 25% of the seats are for the arm, and that the
government will manipulate the remaining 75% to win the election. [We
learned that] if we want to redo the constitution, we need that 75% of the
votes.”

Reportedly, 120 of the 400 Burmese migrant workers living in Jahor State
attended the Parsigutan Township meeting. According to Ko Zaw Myo, many
attendees left the seminar resolving to share their newfound knowledge
with their fellow workers.

“We are supposed to inform other workers who don’t know about this [the
information about the 2010 elections and the constitution] through mail
and online, and we will distribute brochures with this information to
workers starting on the 7th of February, but right now we do not know
which newspaper we will use to advertise information about this.” he said.

The NLD-LA informed IMNA that the organization has worked hard to
accommodate the work schedules of their migrant worker audience, holding
meetings at night when necessary. Meetings held on Sunday, during workers’
small amounts of free time, are held in a more leisurely manner; the
attendee group is often divided into 4 smaller sub-groups, and discussions
are moved to more pleasant locations.

U Kyaw Kyaw explained “The main reason [we want to have these meetings
now] is that some workers must leave the country and go back to Burma in
August, when their work permits expire. When they arrive there [Burma]
they can discuss what they have learned [at these seminars] about the 2008
constitution with their families and neighbors, this is how understanding
[about Burmese politics] can come to the people.”

He informed IMNA that the NLD will act in accordance with the Statement of
Shawgonethine issued in April 2009, which states that if the Burmese
government alters the 2008 constitution and makes Burma’s political system
democratic, the NLD will consider joining the 2010 elections; without any
constitutional changes, the NLD will boycott.

“In Thailand we can’t do [meetings] like they do in Malaysia, because in
Thailand we have more Burmese workers than Malaysia. But the constitution
of 2008 does not help the people, this constitution is just for the SPDC,
even if the constitution is amended it will still be for the Burmese
generals. We also have ethnic cease-fire groups in Burma, we should see
what they think. Whatever they say, the 2010 election is for the
government, it is very clear,” U Nyo Ohn Myint, NLD secretary of foreign
affairs in Thailand, said to IMNA.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

February 3, Irrawaddy
Burma absent from UN Security Council's February agenda – Ba Kaung

Burma is not on the February agenda of the United Nations Security Council
because no member has raised the issue, according to Ambassador Gérard
Araud of France, the country holding the council’s rotating presidency
this month.

“As for Myanmar (Burma), for the moment really, no security council member
has raised the issue in our contacts I had yesterday with most of them,”
Araud told a press conference on Tuesday following consultations among
members on the council’s February program of work.
Gérard Araud, the French ambassador to the UN and current president of the
UN Security Council (Photo:UN)

On Monday, the French Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning Burma
for violations of freedom of expression and lack of media freedom. The
statement followed a Rangoon court's sentencing of two Burmese reporters
to long prison terms.

Commentators say that after the attention given by the Security Council to
the Burma question following the 2007 demonstrations and the 2008 cyclone,
Burma has become a side issue within the UN chamber.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited Burma last year, but his repeated
requests to the regime chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe for a meeting with the
detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi were ignored.

Ban said last month that he was still searching for a replacement for
Ibrahim Gambari as the new special UN envoy for Burma, while his chief of
staff, Vijay Nambiar, has been temporarily assigned to coordinate Burma's
affairs for him. The 14-member “Group of Friends on Myanmar [Burma]”
established by the secretary-general in Dec 2007 last met in Sept 2009.

Meanwhile, the US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, who is
visiting South Korea this week, is to raise the issue of human rights
abuses in Burma in talks with South Korean officials, according to news
reports from Seoul.

According to one report, the US administration wants South Korea to
actively join its campaign to address human rights abuses by the Burmese
military junta, hoping Seoul's participation will help encourage other
nations to join the initiative.

As part of  Washington's direct engagement policy with Burma, Campbell
visited Burma late last year and met with Aung San Suu Kyi and Burmese
Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein.

Showing signs of frustration with the Burmese regime, Campbell recently
told senators at a congressional briefing: “We are attempting to take that
first step...but I do want to underscore that one can't dance on the dance
floor alone.”

Analysts say that the relatively subdued UN approach on Burma is probably
because the US administration wants to resolve the Burmese issue by means
of its direct engagement policy with the regime.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

February 3, Reuters
China takes risky step with Myanmar pipelines – Ben Blanchard

Beijing – China will soon be burning oil and gas piped in through Myanmar,
but putting some of its energy security in the hands of a pariah state
beset by international sanctions and civil strife could be a risky gamble.

A gas pipeline with annual capacity of 12 billion cubic metres is due to
come onstream within the next two years, carrying the fuel from
military-ruled Myanmar's rich offshore deposits into southwestern China.

If all goes to plan, China at some point in the near future will start
also receiving 12 million tonnes of oil a year via a separate pipeline,
about as much as it imported from Sudan last year, its fifth-largest
supplier. There is no exact date for its opening yet.

The former Burma is a friend of China, which has stood by the country's
ruling generals, selling arms and providing diplomatic cover when needed
-- with an eye firmly on Myanmar's natural resources and access to the
Indian Ocean.

But the relationship is more a practical partnership than a meeting of
minds, despite the parallels between the two authoritarian governments.

Myanmar's military harbours a profound mistrust of its powerful northern
neighbour, while China worries instability in Myanmar could spill over
into its territory.

Those fears came to the fore last August when fighting between Myanmar's
military and the Kokang rebel group pushed thousands of refugees into
China. Myanmar's army ended up firing across the border, provoking
irritation in Beijing.

"If Beijing thinks that the pipeline in Burma is going to be relatively
trouble-free then they ought to rethink," said Maung Zarni, a Myanmar
expert at the London School of Economics (LSE) Centre for the Study of
Global Governance.

"Even a regime that is currently in a marriage of convenience with them
would fire into Chinese territory," he added.

MALACCA STRAIT PROBLEM

China, the world's second-largest oil user, sees the pipelines as a way to
get around what in domestic energy strategy circles is known as the
"Malacca Strait dilemma".

The fear is that during a conflict, a hostile power could choke off energy
supplies that are taken on supertankers through the narrow Strait of
Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia.

Some 80 percent of China's oil imports arrive this way.

The area already has a piracy problem. In 2005, the Joint War Committee of
the Lloyd's Market Association added the area to its list of war risk
zones.

Bringing energy supplies through Myanmar is a handy way to avoid the
Strait, and expands efforts to diversify supply routes with crude and gas
pipelines from Central Asia.

"One of the pipelines will be purely for oil, and that oil isn't coming
from Burma. It will be offloaded from tankers coming from the Middle East
and then piped to Yunnan and on. It's very important," said Ian Storey, a
fellow at Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

"One way of looking at the Kokang incident is the Burmese were actually
just clearing the border in preparation for that pipeline. So China
couldn't be too critical of that incident because it's in their own
interests."

But the benefits may be more than offset by two major risks -- the many
disparate rebel groups who have fought Myanmar's central government for
decades, and popular mistrust at an influx of Chinese migrants and traders
into Myanmar.

"Think of a population that is seething with resentment towards the
Chinese that borders on hatred," said LSE's Maung Zarni. "An 800-km
pipeline is too good a target if the Burmese want to harm Chinese
interests."

Already, residents along the pipelines' route have attacked Chinese
workers and offices, angry at the seizure of their land and property, said
Wong Aung, a spokesman for the Shwe Gas Movement, which is campaigning
against the project.

"We can only imagine people's anger at the Chinese," he said by telephone
from Thailand. "That kind of social unrest, or attacks, could take place
at any time."

Factor in India's jockeying for influence in Myanmar, driven by Delhi's
fears that China is surrounding it with pro-Beijing states, and the
potential for problems rises further.

"If at any time India feels they have lost Burma to China, you can easily
imagine a scenario where India quietly assists disgruntled military units
or dissident groups which may become radicalised to target Chinese
assets," Maung Zarni said.

But Myanmar is keeping India in the game by offering stakes in the
pipeline to two Indian gas companies. State-run Gail India will pick up a
4 percent stake and Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) will take another
8-8.5 percent, Indian media reported last month.

PUBLIC RELATIONS DISASTER

The project could become another international public relations disaster
for China, coming hot on the heels of the opprobium Beijing attracted
ahead of the 2008 Olympics for its oil investments in Sudan.

Rights groups have repeatedly expressed concern that pipeline construction
will bring abuses against local peoples, mainly by Myanmar's army which
will be tasked with protecting the project.

Yet desire for the oil and gas is such that the risk of another unhappy
round of poor global public relations for China is one Beijing will be
happy to take, said David Mathieson, Myanmar researcher for New York-based
Human Rights Watch.

"Potentially that pipeline project could really become a touchstone for
all the other things China does in Burma, and it could be immensely
embarrassing to them," he said.

"(But) I actually don't think that's enough to stop the project. They've
wanted that gas for a very long time."

(Editing by Emma Graham-Harrison and Bill Tarrant)

____________________________________

February 3, Irrawaddy
How to select a UN Special Envoy? – Aung Zaw

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is still reportedly searching for a new
special envoy to Burma to succeed the Nigerian diplomat Ibrahim Gambari.

Ban has said that his chief of staff, Vijay Nambiar, has been continuously
engaging himself with the Burmese authorities. More consultations would be
held as soon as a clearer picture emerged of regime intentions, he said.

It's doubtful, however, that the regime leaders, in this election year,
will be  ready to accommodate a new UN envoy, who is unlikely to  achieve
any meaningful breakthrough in the absence of political will on the part
of junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe. A ceremonial welcome at Naypyidaw is as
much as can be expected.

Some political analysts have suggested holding up the appointment of a new
envoy until after the election. If the UN wants to continue to engage
Burma before the election, it should keep open a line of communication
there and perhaps send a mid-level fact-finding UN delegation to Burma and
neighboring countries.

Analysts suggest that UN officials need public consultation to appoint a
new UN envoy. They say that before appointing an envoy, the UN needs to
identify its own strength, leverage, pressure and opportunity in Burma and
to make a thorough analysis and map out a strategy. It will be a failed
mission again unless the UN conducts a thorough analysis and engages in
some soul- searching over failed missions of the past.

After the 1988 uprising, the UN dispatched several UN envoys to Burma, but
they all failed miserably. Burma has become a graveyard for UN envoys.

In view of these failures, some do's and don'ts  are perhaps in order when
selecting a new envoy:

    * Do appoint someone with in-depth knowledge of Burma, who understands
the political landscape there and who respects the dignity of the
people of Burma and Southeast Asia.
    * Do select a person who has a solid background on the reconciliation
process in conflict zones.
    * Do select a person who could gain the trust and confidence of the
regime, the opposition, ethnic leaders and Burmese activists.
    * Do appoint a person who will not become a spin doctor of the UN and
the regime.
    * Do select a person who is willing to listen to all sides and who is
willing to engage with all stake-holders inside and outside Burma.
    * Do select a person who is honest and willing to admit failure
instead of keeping the process in limbo.
    * Don't select a person who will become a mouthpiece of the regime,
aid groups and business people.
    * Don't select a person who will not do the necessary homework and
conduct thorough analysis.
    * Don't select someone who stands to reap personal gain from the job
and who has a conflict of interests in Burma.
    * Don't select someone who will allow the regime to organize visits
and arrange schedules to include attendance at regime-organized
rallies, where the opposition and ethnic groups are denounced.
    * Don't select someone who will spend his time at Rangoon's Traders
Hotel nursing hangovers after late-night drinking sessions with
Burmese girls
    * Don't select someone just for the sake of filling the UN musical
chairs. And don't, under any circumstances, appoint anyone from
Nigeria.

Aung Zaw is founder and editor of the Irrawaddy magazine. He can be
reached at aungzaw at irrawaddy.org

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

February 3, Burma Campaign UK
3,000 Ethnic Karen refugees at risk of deportation from Thailand to Burma

The Burma Campaign UK today called on the government of Thailand not to go
ahead with forcing around 3,000 ethnic Karen refugees back to Burma. The
refugees fled into Thailand in June 2009 following a military offensive by
the Burmese Army and their allies, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army
(DKBA), in Karen State, Eastern Burma. Latest reports are that so called
‘voluntary’ repatriation will start on February 5th.

Although the Royal Thai Government and local and military representatives
have officially stated that they will not force people to return, in
practice they are applying significant pressure on the refugees to return.

Until now they have been kept in two temporary camps, Nong Bua, (also
called No Bu), and Mae U Su, in Tha Song Yang close to the Thailand-Burma
border. Many of these refugees have already been forced to flee their
homes four or more times.

The area in Karen State to which the refugees would be made to return to
has many landmines. On January 18th a pregnant women who had returned
stepped on a landmine and was seriously injured. In addition, the area is
now under the control of the DKBA, an organisation which is guilty of
committing horrific human rights abuses against civilians, including
widespread use of forced labour, executions, torture and mutilations,
forced recruitment of soldiers, including child soldiers, theft and
extortion, and forced taxation at extremely high levels, making survival
very difficult.

The refugees say that they would return if they could, but it is not safe
to do so. Only one family out of the 3,000 people has said they wish to
return.

“Sending these refugees back to Burma is sending them back to possible
death, slave labour or forced recruitment as soldiers,” said Zoya Phan,
International Coordinator of Burma Campaign UK. “Over the past 25 years
Thailand has earned the respect of the international community by giving
shelter to refugees fleeing abuses in Burma. If refugees are now forced to
return it will not only be morally unacceptable, it will also damage the
reputation of Thailand in the eyes of the world.”

The Burma Campaign UK is also calling on the British and other governments
to ask the Royal Thai government to allow them to remain in Thailand.

A full briefing is available at:

http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/index.php/news-and-reports/reports/title/thailand-to-force-3000-karen-refugees-back-to-burma


For more information contact Zoya Phan on 447738630139.

____________________________________

February 3, World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers
World’s press condemns sentencing of Burmese journalists

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the
World Editors Forum have condemned the sentencing of two Burmese
journalists to long prison terms and called on the country’s military
junta to immediately release them and end its continuing attacks on the
media.

"We are seriously concerned that the crackdown on sending reports, photos
and videos abroad that began in 2007 is intensifying in the run-up to this
year’s elections," said the global press organisations in a letter to
General Than Shwe, Chairman of the Burmese State Peace and Development
Council, as the ruling junta is known.

"Around 20 journalists and bloggers have been arrested since then and at
least 14 are currently in jail, most of them in very harsh conditions,"
said the letter. "Under current law, anyone who uses the internet to send
information abroad faces prosecution."

Burmese journalist Ngwe Soe Lin was sentenced to 13 years in prison on 28
January for providing reports to the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), a
broadcaster based in Norway.

Mr Lin’s case follows the sentencing late last year of Hla Hla Win,
another alleged DVB reporter, to 20 years in jail for sending reports
abroad, and another seven years for using an "illegally" acquired
motorcycle.

WAN-IFRA represents more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and
over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries. WEF is the organisation
within WAN-IFRA that represents editors-in-chief and other senior newsroom
personnel.

The full letter said;:

"We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and News
Publishers and the World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000
publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than
120 countries, to express our serious concern at the jailing of journalist
Ngwe Soe Lin.

"According to reports, on 28 January the Rangoon Western District Court
sentenced Ngwe Soe Lin to 13 years in jail for providing reports to the
Myanmar exile broadcaster Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), based in
Norway. He was arrested on 26 June 2009 and charged under the Electronic
Act and Immigration Emergency Provisions Act, receiving terms of 10 and
three years imprisonment, respectively.

"This follows the sentencing late last year of another alleged DVB
reporter, Hla Hla Win, to 20 years’ imprisonment for violating the
Electronic Act and seven years in jail for using an illegally acquired
motorcycle.

"We are seriously concerned that the crackdown on sending reports, photos
and video abroad that began in 2007 is intensifying in the run-up to this
year’s elections. Around 20 journalists and bloggers have been arrested
since then and at least 14 are currently in jail, most of them in very
harsh conditions. Under current law, anyone who uses the internet to send
information abroad faces prosecution under article 33 (A) of the
Electronic Law.

"We respectfully remind you that imprisoning journalists for carrying out
their professional activities constitutes a clear breach of the right to
freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by numerous international
conventions, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article
19 of the Declaration states: ’Everyone has the right to freedom of
opinion and expression; this right includes the freedom to hold opinions
without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas
through any media, regardless of frontiers.’

"We respectfully call on you to ensure that Ngwe Soe Lin, Hla Hla Win and
all others held in detention for exercising their right to freedom of
expression are immediately released and that the government’s crackdown on
the media is halted. We also urge you to take all necessary steps to
ensure that in future your country fully respects international standards
of free expression."

More WAN-IFRA press freedom protests can be found here.

WAN-IFRA, based in Paris, France, and Darmstadt, Germany, with
subsidiaries in Singapore, India, Spain, France and Sweden, is the global
organisation of the world’s newspapers and news publishers. It represents
more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000
companies in more than 120 countries. The organisation was created by the
merger of the World Association of Newspapers and IFRA, the research and
service organisation for the news publishing industry.

Learn more about WAN-IFRA at www.wan-ifra.org or through the WAN-IFRA
Magazine.

Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications and Public Affairs,
WAN-IFRA, 7 rue Geoffroy St Hilaire, 75005 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42
85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail:
larry.kilman at wan-ifra.org.