BurmaNet News, February 10, 2010

[Editor]

February 10, 2010, Issue #3894


INSIDE BURMA
New York Times: Myanmar sentences American to prison
AP: Myanmar's Suu Kyi undecided on junta's elections
Mizzima News: Sixty villages to be relocated for hydropower projects

ON THE BORDER
VOA: Thai Government, UN, civic groups look to protect Burma refugees

BUSINESS / TRADE
Reuters: Facing rampant inflation, Myanmar turns to bartering
Irrawaddy: Rangoon workers end strike

INTERNATIONAL
The Australian: War games with Burma row
The Age (Australia): Acclaimed images grabbed secretly, on the run

OPINION / OTHER
Reuters: Elections mean nothing to Myanmar's ethnic armies

STATEMENT
AIPMC: Statement on Asean MPs requesting the Thai government to halt plans
to return Burma asylum seekers
KWO: Update Situation on repatriated families




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

February 10, New York Times
Myanmar sentences American to prison – Thomas Fuller

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — A court in Myanmar sentenced an American citizen
on Wednesday to five years in prison and hard labor on charges of carrying
a forged identity card and two other offenses.

Nyi Nyi Aung, a naturalized American who has spent two decades campaigning
for democracy in his native Myanmar, will be allowed to serve the three
prison terms concurrently, cutting down the actual jail time to three
years. Mr. Nyi Nyi Aung’s lawyers said they would appeal, and human rights
groups called the charges bogus.

Richard Mei, a spokesman for the United States Embassy in Myanmar, said
the verdict was “unjustified” and urged the Burmese authorities to release
him.

“We believe the charges were politically motivated,” Mr. Mei said, reading
from a prepared statement. He declined to discuss what other steps the
United States might take.

The Obama administration has maintained longstanding sanctions against
Myanmar but has also sought to engage the country’s ruling generals, and
last year sent senior diplomats to meet with the leadership.

Freedom Now, an American human rights group that lobbies for the release
of political prisoners, urged the Obama administration to make Mr. Nyi Nyi
Aung’s release “a priority” in its relations with Myanmar.

Mr. Nyi Nyi Aung, who was born Kyaw Zaw Lin, was sentenced to three years
for forging a national identity card, one year for possession of
undeclared foreign currency and one year for failing to renounce his
Myanmar citizenship after becoming an American citizen in 2002.

He is one of more than 2,100 dissidents jailed in Myanmar, formerly known
as Burma, for their opposition to the military government, one of the most
brutal and uncompromising governments in Asia. Hundreds of dissidents were
arrested after the street protests led by monks in September 2007, and
many were sentenced to prison terms in excess of 60 years.

Mr. Nyi Nyi Aung, 40, was arrested on his arrival at the airport in
Yangon, Myanmar’s main city, in September. Although he had visited the
country several times since becoming an American citizen and had obtained
a visa from the Burmese government each time, colleagues and friends said
the trip in September was risky because he had been publicly singled out
by the junta after the 2007 protests.

His mother, Daw San San Tin, was detained for her involvement in those
protests, and Mr. Nyi Nyi Aung hoped to visit her in prison, family
members say. She has thyroid cancer and is serving a five-year term in a
remote prison in Meiktila in central Myanmar.
____________________________________

February 10, Associated Press
Myanmar's Suu Kyi undecided on junta's elections

Yangon, Myanmar — Myanmar's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
says that the military-run country's upcoming elections cannot be credible
unless the government allows freedom of information, her party said
Wednesday.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate — who is serving a new 18-month sentence of
house arrest — also said she hasn't decided whether her party will contest
this year's planned polls, said Nyan Win, her lawyer and spokesman for her
National League for Democracy party.

"Aung San Suu Kyi said if freedom of information and freedom of expression
are not allowed, the elections will neither be free nor fair nor
credible," said Nyan Win, who met Suu Kyi at her house Tuesday.

Myanmar's military government has said it will hold a general election
this year, but has not yet set an exact date or passed the necessary laws.
Suu Kyi's party won the last election in 1990, but the military refused to
allow it to take power.
The junta tightly controls information in the impoverished Southeast Asian
country.

An election boycott by the NLD would deal a blow to the government's
promotion of the polls as part of a "roadmap to democracy."

Suu Kyi's party has not yet committed itself to taking part in the polls
because it claims the new constitution of 2008 is unfair. It has clauses
that would ensure that the military remains the controlling power in
government, and would bar Suu Kyi from holding office.

Nyan Win said Wednesday that Suu Kyi said she cannot decide whether her
party should take part in elections as long as she is under house arrest.
"Aung San Suu Kyi said she is in no condition to decide whether the NLD
should participate in the elections or not as she cannot follow up on her
decision if she remains detained," said Nyan Win.

Suu Kyi's position does not necessarily rule out her party taking part in
the polls, since other party officials could make the decision to contest
the election. Nyan Win pointed out that that in 1990 elections, which also
were held while she was under house arrest, the National League for
Democracy decided to take part in elections during her absence and she
supported the party's decision.

According to Nyan Win, Suu Kyi also said the international community
should understand that the elections in Myanmar cannot be considered as
similar to those in other countries "as everything has to start from
scratch," without any new parties being approved yet and her own party not
yet allowed to reopen its district offices.

Suu Kyi, who has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years, was convicted
last August of violating the terms of her previous detention by briefly
sheltering an American who swam uninvited to her lakeside home. She was
sentenced to 18 months' house arrest, less three months spent in detention
awaiting the end of her trial.
____________________________________

February 10, Mizzima News
Sixty villages to be relocated for hydropower projects – Salai Han Thar San

New Delhi – The Burmese military junta authorities are gearing up to
relocate about 60 villages from the site of hydropower projects at the
confluence of May Kha and May Likha Rivers, an environment group said.

The Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG) said that the Asia World
Company is constructing houses for villagers to be relocated from the
project sites. Villagers have been told to move to this new place soon.

"We have heard that about 100 houses have been built and junta officials
have already instructed local residents to move to the new place," KDNG
Chairman Awng Wah told Mizzima.

The Asia World Company built houses for project workers, conducted
hydrology tests and other survey works downstream of Irrawaddy in early
December 2009. The company built houses at the site near the Kyinkhan Line
Ka Zup village.

The relocated villages upstream of hydropower plant projects include Tan
Paye, Myit Sone, Kyein Khayan, Dau Pan, Khan Bu among others.

Moreover, Asia World Company, a partner of China Power Investment
Corporation (CPI) in the hydropower projects, also built concrete roads in
the valley near Tan Paye village and Inn Khai Lwan mountain range, and
heavy concrete mixers near Oo Byit village, 13 miles from Myitkyina,
capital of Kachin State.

Awng Wah predicted that thousands of Chinese engineers and skilled workers
will arrive at the dam sites after the forthcoming Chinese lunar New Year
or spring festival.

"The hydropower project is creating a lot of trouble for local villagers
and will severely impact the environment and ecology. Worse there is the
danger of heavy flooding if the dam collapses. Then the scale of
destruction will be terrible," he added.

Anti-dam activists estimated that about 20 villages between Myit Sone (the
river confluence) and Myitkyina besides Myitkyina itself, which is about
27 miles downstream from the dam site, will be inundated if the dam
breaks.

Given the potential of such large scale catastrophe, ethnic Kachin
organizations in exile as well as the Kachin Independence Organization
(KIO), which has a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese regime, are
protesting against the Myit Sone hydropower project.

"We have been opposing the project for over a year. Our central committee
sent the objection letters to the authorities concerned as we continue
opposing the project," a regional development committee member of the KIO
in Laiza, Kachin State told Mizzima.

Ethnic Kachin people in exile launched a worldwide campaign against the
project on the 49th Kachin Revolution Day which fell on February 5.

The hydropower project comprises five dams on May Kha River and two more
dams on May Likha River.  It is expected to generate 3,600 MW of
electricity

The hydropower implementation department under the No. 1 Electric Power
Ministry and the Chinese firm CPI concluded an agreement to build seven
hydropower projects including Myit Sone. The expected total generation
from these projects is 13,360 MW, the state owned 'New Light of Myanmar'
reported in May 2007.

Six other hydropower projects are Chi Bwe (2,000 MW), Pa Shi (1,600 MW),
Lar Kin (1,400 MW), Phi Zaw (1,500 MW), Khaung Galan Phu (1,700 MW) and
Lai Zar (1,560 MW).

This is the biggest ever hydropower project in Burma. The second largest
project is the Tahsan Dam project in Shan State with an installed capacity
of 7,100 MW.

Though the precise investment in the Myit Sone project is not known, it
could touch about USD 3.6 billion. The power generated is likely to be
sold to China and has the potential of earning USD 500 million every year,
according to a report prepared by the KNDG and released in October 2007.

The World Commission on Dams estimates that 40 to 80 million people have
been relocated due to dam projects worldwide.

River Irrawaddy with two main tributaries called May Kha and May Likha,
which originate from the Himalayan mountain range, is the main waterway in
Burma and is about 1,450 miles long. The endangered Irrawaddy dolphins can
be seen in this river.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

February 10, Voice of America
Thai Government, UN, civic groups look to protect Burma refugees – Ron Corben

Bangkok – Civic and refugee activist groups hope talks with the Thai
government will ensure the safety of Karen refugees from Burma who face
deportation.

Talks Wednesday between civic groups and Thailand's Human Rights
Commission came after strong efforts by the United Nations High Commission
for Refugees, diplomats and rights groups prevented the deportation of
1,700 Karen.

The Thai military last Friday tried to push the Karen back to Burma, which
they fled last year to avoid fighting between Karen rebels and the Burmese
military.

Soe Aung, a Burmese activist, says now it is important for refugee
activists and the Thai government to cooperate to ensure the refugees are
safe when they do return to Burma.

"Official policy of the Thailand government is that they are not going to
deport any refugees until the situation is normal; so that the refugees
will not face any life threatening situation, such as landmines," he said.
"They need to have better cooperation interagency of the government - make
priority of safety of people because of landmines food shortages - based
on these factors."

Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn says the final decision
about when the Karen will be sent back lies with military commanders near
the border with Burma. But, he says, the military will consult with
refugee aid groups. Panitan says Karen who already have returned did so
willingly.

"They plan to resume the program once civil society and others have been
satisfied with the information about this program," said Panitan.
"Basically, we receive the report from the officers on the ground that
people volunteer to go back. They have been moving back and forth already
across border.

Rights workers say the main block to the Karen's return is increased
activity by Burma's military over recent months. Debbie Stothardt is
spokeswoman for the Alternative ASEAN Network, which pushes for political
change in Burma.

"What should concern us is the fact that over 100,000 people were newly
displaced in eastern Burma alone - that's a very concerning statistic
because it's telling to us that the situation is getting worse in eastern
Burma," she said. "So any moves to push people back into areas which are
notoriously land mined, which are extremely insecure goes against
international principles."

Burma has been trying to quash armed ethnic rebels in the country. Over
the past several months, refugees and Burmese dissidents have reported
increasing military activity in the country.

The talks in Bangkok took place Wednesday as a court in Burma sentenced a
U.S. citizen, Nyi Nyi Aung, to at least three years jail on charges of
forging documents and undeclared foreign currency. He was arrested in
September on arriving in Rangoon.

The charges included failure to renounce his Burmese nationality once he
took U.S. citizenship.

Burmese activists in Thailand say the sentence was handed down in a closed
hearing at the Insein prison in Rangoon. Rights groups say Burma's
military government holds more than 2,000 political prisoners.

____________________________________
BUSINESS/TRADE

February 10, Reuters
Facing rampant inflation, Myanmar turns to bartering – Aung Hla Tun

Yangon – Faced with a shortage of small banknotes, people in Myanmar are
resorting to bartering cigarettes, shampoo and other items.

The bartering illustrates the effects of sanctions on one of the world's
most isolated, repressive countries, along with surging inflation and the
military junta's curious decision to stop printing small notes, experts
say.

"How shall I give it to you? You want coffee-mix, cigarettes, tissues,
sweets or what?"

That question is heard often in shops and restaurants in the former Burma,
where coins and small notes disappeared years ago and other notes have now
started to follow suit.

State banks were main source of small notes for shop-owners, but they
stopped issuing new currency several years ago. Today, beggars who collect
money on the street now provide shops with the bulk of their small notes,
often in return for food.

Rampant inflation also plays a role. Consumer prices rose by an average 24
percent a year between 2005 and 2008, according to the Asian Development
Bank. That has taken a toll on Myanmar's currency, the kyat.

Officially, the kyat is pegged at 5.5 per dollar. But it fetches nowhere
near that, trading instead at about 1,000 per dollar. The cost of printing
small notes is now far more expensive than the face value of the notes
themselves.

A Yangon government high school teacher said most of her pupils had never
even seen coins or small notes.

SWEET CURRENCIES

In the commercial capital, Yangon, 100 kyat (around 10 U.S. cents) is
worth a sachet of coffee-mix or a small container of shampoo. Tissue
packets or a cigarette or sweets are the equivalent of 50 kyat.

"The shopkeeper gave me three sweets for change of 150 kyat when I bought
a bottle of cough mixture last week," said Ba Aye, a Yangon taxi driver.

"When I told her that sweets would make my cough worse, she offered me a
Thai-made gas lighter. When I said 'I don't smoke', she then asked me to
accept three packets of tissues that would be useful for my runny nose."

General-store owner Daw Khin Aye said most of her customers preferred
small items like sweets to notes.

"The small notes that are in circulation are in very bad shape -- worn
out, torn, stained, dirty and in most cases stuck with tape," she said.

In Sittwe, the capital of western Rakhine State, teashop owners
manufacture their own coupons to use as currency.

"It's far more convenient to use these self-circulated notes instead of
small items," teashop owner Ko Aung Khine said.

"But you need to make sure coupons can't be forged. Mostly we use a
computer to print it with the name of the shop, face value and signature
of the shop owner," he added.

Officially there are 13 denominations of notes in circulation -- starting
from 50 pya (one cent) up to 5,000 kyat. But only the three big notes
(200, 500 and 1,000 kyat) are common. The rest are growing scarcer by the
month.

"So far as I know, they print only 1,000 kyat notes now," said a retired
economist from Yangon University. "The cost of printing is far higher than
the face value of most small notes... so they now print just the biggest
ones."

How much money is in circulation is anyone's guess. Myanmar has not
publicly released money supply data since 1996-97, when it put the value
at 179.82 billion kyat.

Asked by Reuters for the latest figure, a senior government official
replied: "We cannot tell you. It's a state secret."
____________________________________

February 10, Irrawaddy
Rangoon workers end strike – Ba Kaung

Rangoon factory workers ended their sit-in strike on Wednesday evening
after negotiations with their employers. However, tension remains high,
according to sources in Rangoon.

The employers reportedly agreed to a 5,000-kyat (US $5) increase in
salary, half the amount the workers demanded. The strikers were demanding
a pay increase of 10,000 kyat ($10) per month, a reduction of working
hours and the provision of a clean dining area.

Rangoon sources reported that the workers were staging their strike within
the factory compound, waiting for a response to their demands. The
affected factories have since been shut down.

The strike began on Monday at the Taiyi shoe factory and two other garment
factories in Rangoon's Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone. On Tuesday,
hundreds of riot police armed with rifles, batons and shields took up
positions outside the factories.

Workers were initially warned by the police to peacefully disperse or face
a violent crackdown.

More than 80 percent of factory workers in Rangoon work on a day-to-day
basis. Most are young women between 15 and 27 years of age who come from
the countryside in search of a better life.

“This strike is a frequent occurrence,” said a Rangoon teacher. “Workers
make complaints, but their problems are rarely solved.”

In most cases of industrial dispute, a representative of the Ministry of
Labor mediates between the management and the workers to resolve issues.
The mediator is responsible for ensuring that certain minimum conditions
are met, such as wages, hours and overtime.

According to a Reuters report, there are about 130 garment factories in
Burma, owned by local and foreign companies and employing about 45,000
people.

Total garment exports during the 2008/09 fiscal year stood at $292
million, compared with $282 million in 2007-08 and $278 million the year
earlier, the report said.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

February 10, The Australian
War games with Burma row – Mark Dodd

MILITARY contacts with the Rangoon junta including joint naval exercises
involving Australian and Burmese warships did not compromise the
government's strong diplomatic stand against Burma's thuggish military
regime, Senate Estimates was told yesterday.

The Navy's participation in an Indian military exercise in which a Burmese
warship was also invited has been condemned by human rights groups,
academics and the federal Opposition as a blatant violation of the
government's ban on military links with Rangoon.

The Armidale class patrol boat, HMAS Glenelg, took part in Exercise Milan
which ended on Tuesday.

Its presence among an international flotilla which included a Burmese
warship has drawn strong criticism. At Estimates, Defence Minister John
Faulkner denied the war games and people to people contacts involving a
defence attache undermined international diplomatic action against Burma.
"The ADF does not hold bilateral exercises with the Burmese armed forces.
Occasionally, we participate in multi-lateral activities to which Burma
has been invited," Mr Faulkner said.

But Canberra's policy appears at odds with that adopted by the US military
whose government has been a staunch critic of Rangoon and its supporters.

A senior commander with the US 7th Fleet told The Australian yesterday it
was highly unlikely any US warships would get involved in naval exercises
in which Burmese military vessels were also taking part.

Across the Tasman, a spokesman for New Zealand's Foreign Minister Murray
McCully said UN sanctions against Burma were taken seriously by Wellington
and contact with Burmese junta officials was minimal.

Federal Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop said the
Navy's decision to send the patrol boat undermined the Government's
credibility on Burma and its sanctions regime.

"The Labor Party have in the past condemned Burma as one of the most
repressive regimes in the world -- they've deemed it a rogue state," Ms
Bishop said.

"Are they suggesting we now undertake military exercises with North Korea
or other rogue states like Iran."

"It does have the potential to seriously undermine the international
position that we have taken publicly for some time," Ms Bishop said.

University of Canberra's Burma expert, Professor Monique Skidmore, said
the Rudd government could not have it both ways.

"It's one thing to say you are going to deliver humanitarian aid.

"So what possible benefit could there be to Australia participating in
joint exercises with the Burmese military. We give them (junta) legitimacy
every time we allow this to happen," she said.
____________________________________

February 10, The Age (Australia)
Acclaimed images grabbed secretly, on the run – Philippa Hawker

An Oscar nomination has highlighted the efforts of protesters in Burma,
writes Philippa Hawker.

OSCAR nominees, as a rule, can put their names to their work and bask in
the glory. But in the documentary section this year, it is a different
matter for one of the five contenders, Burma VJ. Many of its memorable and
vivid images were filmed in secret, by anonymous, unseen figures, people
who picked up their cameras at great personal risk.

The images are incorporated into a narrative that often feels like a
thriller. This is, says director Anders Ostergaard, speaking from
Copenhagen, an approach that was quite deliberately taken ''to do justice
to the extremity of the situation. The only way we could explain that,
cinematically, was by making a suspense story''.

The documentary focuses on a small group of Burmese citizens who record,
covertly, what is going on around them in a repressive, closed society.
Their footage is sent to an organisation called Democratic Voices of
Burma, which broadcasts back to Burma and elsewhere and tries to
disseminate it more widely. Burma VJ shows how, in September 2007, the
clandestine cameras recorded something remarkable: an eruption of popular
protests led by Buddhist monks. The demonstrations, and their aftermath,
were filmed, and the footage picked up by the media worldwide.

Burma VJ, which was shown at the Melbourne International Film Festival
last year, will have a one-off screening at Cinema Nova next week,
organised by Open Channel, followed by a Q&A.

The Oscar news came shortly after two more DVB journalists were sentenced
to long prison terms. At least 14 are in custody. The Academy Award
announcement, says Ostergaard, has been an affirmation and an
encouragement, ''even for those who are in jail, or that's what I'm told
anyway. They are prepared, they know the risks from the beginning''.

DVB was set up in Oslo in 1992 after Burmese opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize. The documentary highlights, although it
cannot identify, a young man known as Joshua, who films for DVB but is
forced to take refuge in Thailand while the protests start to build.

What drives people like Joshua to put themselves in jeopardy? In some
ways, Ostergaard says, Burma VJ is more an existential than a political
documentary, or at least that's how it originated.

''That was what really moved me at the beginning,'' he says, ''more than
wanting to be an advocate for the Burmese cause, although of course it is
really important. What caught me artistically was this notion of filming
to stay alive, to feel alive. It's a forgotten country, forgotten almost
to the people themselves.''

There is a striking intimacy, in some ways in this anonymity, in these
eloquent images shot on the run, or with cameras concealed in bags. ''It
was a virtue made out of necessity,'' Ostergaard says. They couldn't show
people's faces because of security considerations. So much of what viewers
see is what the undercover filmmakers capture themselves: ''an extreme
first-person perspective''.

No one had any idea in advance, he adds, even the DVB activists, about the
protests. ''The only people who were not surprised were the young monks,
the leaders, who had clearly been planning this for a while, keeping it
very much to themselves.''

It took some time to work out how to cover this turn of events. It
involved standing back, letting the material accumulate, taking time to
sort it and identify it. The filmmakers also decided to fill in some of
the gaps by re-enacting some conversations and background scenes.

''I was worried, of course, that I might deflate the authenticity, but in
the end I thought it was the most effective way of representing what they
went through.''

The VJs, ironically, are not the only people with cameras out on the
streets. The secret police are often filming what's going on, looking for
evidence to help them identify protesters, and sometimes the Burma VJ
footage shows them at work. It is ironic, Ostergaard says, ''and after the
premiere of Burma VJ we were toying with the idea: could you make a
theatrical feature that developed the idea of these bizarre parallel
lives, mirrors of each other?''

Overall, he says, he is definitely optimistic about technology. ''I really
do believe that in the long run, computers and cameras and the modern
means of communication that we have, they can liberate people. If Big
Brother is watching you,'' he says, ''it can also mean that, as Burma VJ
demonstrates, Little Brother is watching you too.''

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

February 10, Reuters
Elections mean nothing to Myanmar's ethnic armies

Loi Tai Leng, Myanmar – Whether the country is ruled by brutal military
dictators or democratically elected civilians, rebels who control this
jungle enclave have made one thing very clear: they want nothing to do
with Myanmar.

The country once known as Burma is preparing for its first elections in 20
years, the final step in a democratic "road map" it says will end almost
half a century of unbroken army rule.

But the ethnic groups who have fought for more than 50 years to defend
this mountainous region sandwiched between Thailand and China have little
interest in the political process.

Myanmar, they say, has never been their country.

"We are Shan, we are not Burmese. We have a different language, a
different culture," said Yawdmuang, the Shan State army's foreign affairs
chief.

"We will not participate in elections -- they are their elections," he said.

The views of this group are echoed by other ethnic armies in Myanmar,
which have also resisted the military regime's demands to disarm, transfer
their fighters to a government-run Border Guard Force (BGF) and join the
political process.

The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), as the junta calls itself,
has failed to assert its control over the ethnic groups but wants to claim
the entire country is behind its elections, a date for which has not yet
been set.

The polls have already been derided as a sham by critics. They say the
generals, who ignored the result of the 1990 elections, will continue to
wield power from behind the scenes.

But after years of bloody conflict and deep distrust, the junta's pledges
of autonomy in return for their cooperation ring hollow and have cut
little ice among these ethnic groups.

"We cannot work with the SPDC, we are their enemies," Yawdmuang said. "We
are prepared to talk but the SPDC cannot accept our proposal. They say we
must lay down our weapons, nothing else."

Huge crowds of Shan people gathered on a remote mountain plateau to watch
well-trained and disciplined troops celebrate the state's 63rd National
Day on February 7 with a parade of pomp and military might to rival the
junta's vast "Tatmadaw" armed forces.

ALL-OUT CONFLICT

The Shan accept their refusal to play ball with Myanmar's stubborn
generals could lead to an all-out conflict with the Tatmadaw, which has so
far convinced, or forced, six smaller armed groups to join their BGF.

Compared with mainstream Myanmar people, the Shan say they have their
freedom and enjoy their self-sufficient existence, trading with other
groups and neighboring countries and running their own communities with
farms, schools, and hospitals.

They are not prepared to give that up.

"We've been fighting for our independence for more than 50 years and we
won't stop until we win," said Lieutenant-General Yawd Serk, the
long-serving chief of the Shan State Army (SSA).

"We will try to negotiate. But if this fails, we have no other option than
to settle this with military means."

Analysts and diplomats say the biggest hurdle preventing the junta from
seizing control is the neighboring United Wa State Army, a battle-hardened
force dismissed as warlords and drugs barons by the United States.

Once backed by China, the Wa has an estimated 36,000 troops with arms
funded by revenues generated from the sale of opium used to make heroin.
Analysts say a conflict with the Wa, whose territory borders Myanmar's key
economic ally, China, could be protracted and bloody and would spark a
refugee crisis.

The Wa have long been in conflict with other ethnic groups but with the
junta's mooted February 28 disarmament deadline approaching, the far
smaller SSA now faces a big dilemma.

Despite its strict anti-narcotics stance, it realizes it needs to bury the
hatchet and form an alliance with the Wa -- or face the full force of the
Myanmar army alone.

"The junta is their enemy, it is our enemy and to survive against them, we
must have unity," Yawdmuang said.

"Our aims are the same, we can work together. We can let bygones be
bygones if the Wa accept our anti-narcotics policy.

"But if they don't accept it, we cannot have unity," he said.

(Writing by Martin Petty in Bangkok; Editing by Jason Szep)

____________________________________
STATEMENT

February 10, ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus
Statement on Asean MPs requesting the Thai government to halt plans to
return Burma asylum seekers

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) is gravely concerned
for the well being of unregistered Karen refugees currently residing in
displacement sites in Tha Song Yang District, Tak Province. Announcements
last month from the Thai government relating to the planned forced
repatriation of the refugees beginning in February 2010 have caused
renewed concern for their safety. AIPMC welcomes the Thai government’s
decision to halt the repatriation of the estimated 3,000 refugees until
their safety can be assured. AIPMC furthermore calls on the Thai
government to make public and implement a clear policy regarding refugees
fleeing from conflict zones across the border in Myanmar.

The flow of refugees from Myanmar’s Karen State has been increasing since
June 2009 when renewed fighting between the Karen National Union (KNU) and
the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), supported by the SPDC, put
villagers in danger, causing them to flee across the border. These
refugees have temporarily been permitted to reside in Thailand under the
care of the Thai Military.

Despite the victory of the DKBA, the situation in Karen State remains
unstable and unsafe for villagers. The area from which the refugees fled
is heavily landmined and numerous injuries and deaths among people
returning to their villages have been reported by organizations working in
the areas concerned and with the refugees.

Though the precariousness of the situation in Karen State is well known, a
group of 13 refugees from Nong Bua, mostly women and children, and a group
of 26 families from Usu Tha were recently repatriated to Myanmar. These
refugees were sent back without witnesses or evidence to certify that
their return was voluntary. Additionally, reports have surfaced of the
Thai military using threats and coercion to force refugees’ return to
Myanmar.

This use of threats and coercion to pressure refugees into returning to an
area that is clearly not safe is unacceptable. AIPMC urges the Thai
government to fully investigate these charges and to closely monitor the
situation of the refugees currently under the care of the Thai Military.
Furthermore, AIPMC calls on the Thai government to cooperate with UNHCR
and other appropriate agencies to allow for the registration and proper
care of the refugees until it is safe for them to return home.

The flow of refugees fleeing the dangerous and repressive situation in
Myanmar is not a new problem. Widespread human rights violations and armed
offensives by Myanmar’s military government against its own citizens have
caused massive
refugees flows in the region for many years. The underlying source of the
refugee problem is the continued violence and oppression perpetrated by
Myanmar’s government. To permanently end the flow of refugees from Myanmar
a concerted effort to end human rights abuses and begin a dialogue of
national reconciliation is necessary.

AIPMC requests ASEAN to use its Intergovernmental Commission on Human
Rights to investigate all claims of human rights abuses in Myanmar.
Furthermore, the Commission should seek to ensure that Myanmar is held
accountable for its past abuses and prevented from committing further
violence against its citizens. Additionally, AIPMC urges ASEAN to develop
and implement a regional policy concerning the member states’
responsibilities regarding refugees.

Finally, AIPMC calls on the government of Myanmar to begin the process of
national reconciliation through genuine dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi,
the National League for Democracy and ethnic nationalities. As a first
step in this process AIPMC urges the government of Myanmar to release Aung
San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners currently  in detention.

For further comment / media interviews with AIPMC Parliamentarians, do
contact – Aticha Wongwian at +66 863 863 494 (Thailand), Donny Jatisambogo
+62 815 1400 6416 (Indonesia) and Roshan Jason at +6012 3750974 (Malaysia,
Singapore, Cambodia, Philippines)

____________________________________

February 10, Karen Womens Organization
Update Situation on repatriated families

The three families that were forced to return to Karen State, Burma, on
the 5th of February 2010, have returned safely to Nong Bou camp, in
Thailand.

KWO is pleased to hear of their safe return and would like to thank the
Thai government and authorities for once again showing kindness and
responding positively to the international community's concerns. We would
also like to thank all concerned individuals and organizations for
improving the situation for this group of refugees.

 "I'm full of joy to know that everyone, including the 9-month-old baby,
came back safely. These 3 families expressed that they were afraid of
their security in Burma and crossed back to Thailand" said Blooming Night
Zan of KWO.

KWO will continue to monitor the situation closely and requests that
everyone continue to watch the all developments. The Thai authorities have
promised not to force the repatriation of these refugees. The situation in
the temporary shelters has calmed down and the people feel less
frightened.

For more information please contact:  Blooming Night Zan at 089 269 6272