BurmaNet News, February 24, 2010

[Editor]

February 24, 2010, Issue #3903


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Suu Kyi happy Tin Oo is back
Khonumthung News: Junta to raise salaries of government employees

ON THE BORDER
BBC News: Burma's youth rapping for change
Bangkok Post: Thailand to deport 1.3m
The Nation (Thailand): Karen refugees deported to safety, insists Kasit
Right Vision News (Pakistan): Bangladesh: Rohingyas living in sub-human
condition at Kutupalong camp

HEALTH
Myanmar Times: Global Fund could triple ART coverage over five years: UN

DRUGS
Irrawaddy: 15 Burmese police killed in Tachilek ambush

ASEAN
Irrawaddy: Burmese election expected to be credible: Asean Secretary

INTERNATIONAL
Wall Street Journal: “Burma VJ: Reporting From A Closed Country”
spotlights citizen journalists

OPINION / OTHER
New York Times: Social change and the Oscars – Melena Ryzik
Irrawaddy: No escape from the 31 planes of existence – Aung Zaw



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

February 24, Irrawaddy
Suu Kyi happy Tin Oo is back – Ba Kaung

Detained pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, said she is happy that
recently-freed deputy leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), U
Tin Oo, has resumed party duties and talked about his political
convictions to the media.

Suu Kyi made the remark on Wednesday during a meeting with two of her
lawyers to discuss party issues and the legal case over her house repairs,
which have been halted due to legal objections.

“Daw Suu said she is pleased to hear U Tin Oo regularly comes to the NLD
office to supervise party activities and talk to the media,” said her
lawyer, Nyan Win. “She wants me to send that message to U Tin Oo.”

In a two-hour meeting at her house, Suu Kyi also said she wants to meet
both Tin Oo and all the Central Executive Committee (CEC) members of the
NLD.

After his release from nearly seven years of prison and house arrest on
Feb.13, Tin Oo, 82, told reporters he was "very hopeful" that Suu Kyi
would also be released soon, noting that in 1995 he was released from
prison shortly before Suu Kyi herself was set free.

Suu Kyi and her lawyers also discussed how to pursue the legal case over
the objections to her house repairs. One of Suu Kyi's distant relatives
advertised in the state-run newspapers in 2009 that he is entitled to part
of the land where Suu Kyi's house stands because Suu Kyi's late mother
allegedly gave it to him before she died.

In January 2010, Suu Kyi's brother, Aung San Oo, who lives in the United
States, also sent an objection letter over her house repairs.

“We discussed a response letter to be submitted to the Rangoon
municipality with Daw Suu, and we will send the letter tomorrow,” Nyan Win
said.

Suu Kyi started repairing her dilapidated house in December 2009 but was
forced to halt the work following the legal objections.

Suu Kyi is serving her latest 18-month term of house arrest, which is due
to expire in November.

Meanwhile, the NLD remains undecided over whether to participate in the
election. Last week, her party officials told the visiting UN Envoy Tomás
Ojea Quintana that the decision will be made only after they have met with
Suu Kyi.

Receiving no response from the military for his request to meet with Suu
Kyi, Quintana expressed “deep regret” that he was not given the
opportunity to meet with Suu Kyi during his five-day visit to Burma.
____________________________________

February 24, Khonumthung News
Junta to raise salaries of government employees

The Burmese military government proposes to raise the salaries of its
employees and make it at par with ASEAN countries. It is believed that the
move is to woo voters for the forthcoming 2010 general elections.

“Prime Minister Thein Sein announced that a government employee will get
eight times his current salary, when he visited Chin state,” said a
secretary of the Township general administration.

A report said that the Finance Department is chalking out the new budget
and the final draft will be completed in April 2010. The Finance
Department will soon review the 2009 budget.

“Very senior employees nearing retirement will be paid compensation and
made to retire from service. Employees above 45 years will also be paid
compensation and pension. The rest of the employees will have their
salaries increased by about eight times the current salary,” he added.

The Finance Minister General Hla Thun announced on 3 December 2009 that
Ministers will get salaries on the scale of Kyat 15000-1000-200000 and
Kyat 19000-2000-100000 in 2010.

“The increase in salary is welcome but the price of commodities will
escalate immediately and the consequences for ordinary people will be
bad,” said a government employee.

Most government employees are of the opinion that the salaries are being
increased by the military junta to woo voters for the forthcoming 2010
general elections.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

February 24, BBC News
Burma's youth rapping for change – Rachel Harvey

Mae Sot, Thailand – This year looks set to be a crucial one for Burma. The
military government plans to stage the first elections for 20 years and
international attention is likely to be focused on the detained pro
democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.  But there is another group working to
bring about change in Burma whose methods are less conventional.

Generation Wave is a group of hip hop-loving, young Burmese, dedicated to
overthrowing the military government. Their campaigns are run inside
Burma, but the group has a safe house in the town of Mae Sot, just across
the border in Thailand.

9KT has a mischievous grin, a warm handshake and an unmistakable aura of
cool. He is 27 years old and, clearly, 9KT is not his real name. The
members of Generation Wave never use their real names in public. But given
9KT's role in the organisation, the alias fits perfectly. His official
title is head of artistic projects but essentially he is Rapper-in-Chief.
9KT's latest brainchild is a CD featuring songs written and performed by
Generation Wave members.

I was treated to an acoustic medley when I visited the group's safe house
in the Thai border town of Mae Sot. The singing was full of passion. But
the guitar was badly out of tune, and the cigarettes and teeth-staining
red beetle nuts being chewed intermittently softened the impact a bit.

Serious risks

Generation Wave "unplugged" is not likely to win any Grammys. More
importantly, it is not likely to inspire an uprising. But the group is
hoping the recorded version, a mixture of hip hop, rock and pop, will be
an underground hit back in Burma. The CD will be distributed by volunteer
activists and 9KT is clearly very proud of it.

"Music is the only language everyone understands," he told me. "We've
recorded different types of songs so everyone, whatever their age or
gender, can listen to it and know what's right and what's wrong."

Generation Wave wants to encourage the Burmese people to rise up and
overthrow the military government. That may seem like a naïve notion. But
the organisation grew out of what became known as the saffron revolution -
the 2007 protests led by saffron robed monks, which were violently put
down by the Burmese military.

So Generation Wave is grounded in harsh reality. The group has a strict
policy of non violence. No-one under 17 or over 35 years old can join and
anyone who does sign up must officially live in Burma and be prepared to
take risks. Serious risks.

About 30 Generation Wave members have been imprisoned. So the safe house,
just across the border in Thailand, is an important refuge. It is in a
quiet lane in Mae Sot, a frontier town with at least as many Burmese as
Thais living in it. The transient population is a mixture of migrant
workers, traders and political exiles. The Generation Wave house is a
place to plot and scheme, and learn. The garage has been turned into a
permanent classroom, complete with a white board, overhead projector,
desks and laptops. Visiting speakers are invited to provide training on
everything from leafleting to graffiti designs. The concrete walls
surrounding the house are covered in brightly coloured spray painted
slogans. The Generation Wave logo, a clenched red fist with the thumb
pointing up, features heavily.

When I visited a special tutorial on internet security was being given by
a young, long-haired, Thai media expert. There was a lot of talk about
Googlemail contacts lists, and Facebook privacy settings and encrypted
messages. Or at least I think that is what it was. The session was being
translated from Thai-accented English into Burmese, though to be honest, a
lot of it would have been impenetrable to me in any language.

Revolution

But for Generation Wave members, learning to cover your tracks and protect
your sources is a matter of survival. Internet cafes, mobile phones and
e-mail accounts are monitored closely in Burma. Over lunch the talk turned
inevitably to the latest news from across the border. Kitchen duties and
menus are divided between the housemates according to a rota pinned up on
the wall. As bowls of Burmese chicken curry and steamed rice were placed
on the long wooden table, an earnest 24-year-old called Gali was engaged
in what seemed to be a intense political discussion with a slightly older
man who had been acting as the translator in class.

I could make out the words "constitution" and "Than Shwe", the name of
Burma's military leader. Gali, another alias, is Generation Wave's
logistics man. Given the might of the Burmese military, I asked him, what
could he and his group really do to bring about change?

"We're like the left hand of a boxer," he told me. "Generation Wave can
soften up the government. But the Burmese people are like the boxer's
right hand. They are the ones who can deliver the knock-out blow."

Generation Wave is punching well above its weight. The group's ultimate
goal is to inspire a revolution. And with an election scheduled in Burma
sometime this year, they are planning a series of new ventures, including,
of course, the CD. My own copy is playing on my laptop as I write this.
9KT rapping over a lyrical riff about the need for the Burmese people to
get up. A musical reminder of a day spent with a group of young rebels
with a very real cause - freedom and democracy in their homeland.

____________________________________

February 24, Bangkok Post
Thailand to deport 1.3m – Nirmal Ghosh

Bangkok – More than 1.3 million mostly Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand
are scrambling to file papers by end of this month to register for an
exercise to verify their nationality, failing which they may face
deportation.

The 'nationality verification' exercise theoretically will help the
workers get additional social security benefits in Thailand. The workers
need to register by Sunday to begin the process, which could take up to
two years to complete.

One problem for many though is that the Myanmar authorities have been
dragging their feet over the process, and even extracting money in some
instances, leaving many in limbo just days before the Feb 28 deadline.
Many Myanmar workers are fearful of giving their personal information to
the authorities back home.

The Thai authorities have refused to extend the deadline despite
increasing calls from international rights organisations to do so.

Thai officials say they are fully aware of the issues of human rights. And
given the logistics of deporting more than a million people - and the
disruption to the Thai economy - it is likely that the deportation may be
deferred.

In a written response on Monday to a letter from the New York-based Human
Rights Watch (HRW) and other organisations, Thailand's Ministry of Foreign
Affairs said: 'We are certainly well aware that the question of
deportation needs to take into account both the enforcement of immigration
law and respect for human rights.

____________________________________

February 24, The Nation (Thailand)
Karen refugees deported to safety, insists Kasit

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya yesterday defended the government's
decision to deport Karen refugees to Burma before the National Human
Rights Commission (NHRC), which had received some complaints about the
matter.

Many refugees do not wish to return to Burma, because they believe their
lives will be endangered. The junta government is constantly clashing with
ethnic groups and is believed to have set booby traps along the border.

The refugees are also worried they will not have enough food and money to
sustain themselves because they have not worked on their farms in Burma
for a long time.

Kasit said more than half of the 3,000 Karen refugees had already been
deported, and were "now safe", dismissing all concerns about their
welfare.

The foreign minister also urged foreign non-governmental organizations to
find funds to help the refugees if they were really worried about their
conditions.

____________________________________

February 24, Right Vision News (Pakistan)
Bangladesh: Rohingyas living in sub-human condition at Kutupalong camp

Cox’s Bazar -- The Rohingyas, ethnic minority of Myanmar, are living in a
sub-human condition at Kutupalong camp. According to our correspondent, a
total of 104 Rohingyas died at Kutupalong, an unregistered camp under
Ukiah upazila of the district, during 48 days from January 1 to February
17 last.

Mohammad Hasim, a group leader, said that those Myanmar citizens
(Rohingya) died due to malnutrition, living in unhygienic conditions,
starving and suffering from various diseases.The dead included 52 children
and 30 women.The group leaders of those Myanmar citizens, a total of 104
Myanmar citizens, including women and children, died at Kutupalong area,
an unregistered camp of Ukiah upazila of the district.Those Rohingyas were
entering into Bangladesh illegally crossing the border during the last
five years.Most of those Myanmar citizens illegally entered into
Bangladesh territory last year when tension was prevailing in the
border.Myanmar authority constructed barbed wire fencing at zero point of
Bangladesh-Myanmar borders.Those Myanmar citizens were living at
Kutupalong area of Ukiah upazila making bamboo houses cutting trees from
the government reserved forest and cutting hills near Kutupalong
government registered camp.The Bangladesh government and any other
organisation, local or abroad is yet to supply any kind of food in the
unregistered camp.They are surviving by cutting forest from the government
reserved forest and working locally.So, they cannot survive with families,
they cannot earn much money for buying food. Sources said that at least
50,000 Myanmar citizens are illegally living at Kutupalong area.Fazle
Rabbi, camp in-charge of Kutupalong government registered refugee camp,
Ukiah, said that some 104 Myanmar citizens (they are not registered
refugee) died during January 1 to February 17 last."Those Myanmar citizens
are living in surrounding areas of Kutupalong government refugee camp
making bamboo houses after cutting hill, he further said."Those Myanmar
citizens are polluting the environment of Ukiah", he added. Published by
HT Syndication with permission from Right Vision News. For more
information on news feed please contact Sarabjit Jagirdar at
htsyndication at hindustantimes.com

____________________________________
HEALTH

February 24, Myanmar Times
Global Fund could triple ART coverage over five years: UN

A NEW grant from the Global Fund could see a threefold increase in the
percentage of HIV-infected people receiving lifesaving antiretroviral
treatment (ART), the head of UNAIDS in Myanmar said last week.

“Right now only about 20 percent of people who need treatment are being
covered by ART programs and hopefully in five years, about 60pc of the
needs would be covered,” Dr Sun Gang, the UNAIDS country coordinator for
Myanmar, told The Myanmar Times on February 16. “But certainly not the
full ART needs [will be covered]. This country still needs more [financial
assistance] 
 there’s a long way to go.”

Myanmar appears certain to miss Millennium Development Goal target 6B,
which mandates universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment by the end of this
year, but the 60pc figure would represent a significant achievement given
present coverage.
However, it is dependent on the Round 9 Global Fund HIV grant being
extended to the maximum five-year period and Dr Sun Gang described it as a
“best-case scenario”.

“The extension of the initial two-year grant for a further three years is
based on the success of the initial implementation,” he said.

In its Round 9 proposal to the Global Fund, the Myanmar Country
Coordinating Mechanism targeted having 19,348 people on ART after the
first year of the Global Fund grant and 43,538 after the fifth year.

It is estimated 75,000 people are in desperate need of ART in Myanmar.

In November, the Global Fund board approved all three of the country’s
Round 9 grant proposals and set an upper funding limit of more than US$110
million over the first two years of the grants.

Myanmar will receive a maximum of $46.5 million for its HIV proposal,
while up to $33.8 million and $30.6 million will be provided to fight
malaria and tuberculosis respectively. This could rise to $142 million for
the HIV grant alone if it is extended to the maximum five years.

Dr Sun Gang said the recent visit of two Global Fund representatives had
“helped Myanmar to start the grant negotiation process 
 [the] explanation
and clarity given has been very helpful”.

On February 11, Global Fund project manager Mr Chrishan Thuraisingham and
project officer Ms Izaskun Gaviria met Health Minister Dr Kyaw Myint in
Nay Pyi Taw to discuss the grant signing process.

Ms Marcela Rojo, a spokesperson for the Global Fund, said the purpose of
the visit was to “go through administrative arrangements for the signing
of the grants 
 including discussions of practical issues such as access
to the field” and timelines for grant signing.

The Global Fund representa-tives also informed the relevant parties that
the Swiss Tropical Institute had been selected as the Local Fund Agent
(LFA), the entity that the Global Fund hires to oversee, verify and report
on grant performance in each country.

Ms Rojo told The Myanmar Times via email the Global Fund expected the
grants to be signed in the third quarter of the year.

“The next step in the process is for the Principal Recipients – UNOPS and
Save the Children – to prepare documents, such as workplans and timelines,
to present to the LFA at the end of March or beginning of April,” Ms Rojo
said. “We have made a significant step forward.”

Global Fund rules stipulate the grant agreement has to be signed by
November, one year after the Global Fund board announced the Round 9
results. Myanmar’s grant proposal targets a January 1, 2011 start date for
program implementation.

“The timeline is still preliminary and still being fine-tuned,” Dr Sung
Gang said. “All this effort is leading step-by-step to having all the
documents prepared [to sign the grant], leading to the resources coming
into the country to help the people who are in need.

“Much [of the funding] is for literally life-saving services that will
definitely help to relieve some of the suffering that is happening in
Myanmar.”

Dr Sun Gang said the Global Fund secretariat had shown “good support”
during the Round 9 proposal-writing process.
“There were visits by senior staff members, including Mr William Patton,
the director of country programs, who visited with a team in February
2009. Since then there have been two more visits, including last week’s,
and this shows a good commitment from the Global Fund secretariat and that
Myanmar’s preparation is technically sound,” he said.

The result was a HIV proposal that was one of only five placed in the
highest recommendation category by the Global Fund’s Technical Review
Panel (TRP), an achievement Dr Sun Gang described as “quite rare”.

A recent report by Aidspan, an organisation that describes itself as “an
independent watchdog of the Global Fund” and also publishes a free
newsletter, the Global Fund Observer, praised Myanmar’s Round 9 HIV
proposal for its “thorough understanding of the operating environment,
health system and nature of the epidemic” and its addressing of gender
issues.

____________________________________
DRUGS

February 24, Irrawaddy
15 Burmese police killed in Tachilek ambush – Lawi Weng

Fifteen Burmese anti-narcotics agents were killed near Tachilek after drug
traffickers ambushed them on the Mekong River on Saturday, according to a
source at the local police department.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, the source said that the 15 policemen
were killed while on patrol boats on the river at 12:30 p.m. On Saturday.

“The drug traffickers ambushed them,” he said. “It was a particularly
brutal attack. They fired on the three patrol boats with guns and mortars.
All three boats were destroyed.”

The police source said that 12 bodies had been recovered, but that three
were missing. He also confirmed that the head of the anti-narcotics squad,
Lt Khin Maung Yee, was among the dead.

He added that the local police authorities had requested their Thai
counterparts to assist in retrieving any bodies found on the Thai side of
the border.

Tachilek is on the Thai-Burmese border in eastern Shan State.

Burmese police sources put the blame for the attack on Shan fugitive Naw
Kham, an alleged drug lord who is wanted in Thailand, Burma, China and
Laos for drug trafficking.

Naw Kham has been active in and around Tachilek since he became a fugitive
in 2006 when a tip-off from Chinese and Thai intelligence services led to
a raid at his home in Tachilek and the recovery of a large amount of
amphetamines.

Naw Kham is one of the highest profile drug lords of the Golden Triangle
and reportedly commands a private militia of about 30 to 40 soldiers.

Despite his notoriety in the region, Naw Kham was not on the most recent
wanted list issued by the United States. The 48-year-old Shan was
previously loyal to warlord and drug kingpin, Khun Sa.

Burma, Laos, China and Thailand, the four countries in the so-called
Golden Triangle region, an area famous for its production of opium and
heroin, have said they are all working toward the elimination of
drug-trafficking in the region.

Early this month, the Thai anti-narcotics bureau seized 3.66 million
methamphetamine pills in Bangkok, which they said were trafficked from
Burma.

Most amphetamines and methamphetamines allegedly come from the areas in
the Shan State controlled by the United Wa State Army, an armed ethnic
group regarded as the biggest player in Burma’s illicit drugs business,
according to many official and local sources.

Burmese authorities seized large caches of heroin and amphetamines in
Tachilek at least eight times last year.

In July, an anti-narcotics squad reportedly uncovered about 1,000
kilograms of heroin and 340,000 methamphetamine tablets—the largest known
haul in Burma last year—in a truck at the Loi Taw Kham checkpoint.

Burma's state-run media reported last week that the authorities had
exposed 205 drugs-related cases in January, and seized 11 kilos of opium
and six kilos of heroin and other substances.

According to state-run media, the Burmese military regime destroyed 7,893
acres of opium poppy fields in Shan and Kachin states during last year's
growing season.

Burma remains the world's second largest producer of heroin after
Afghanistan, according to US and UN experts.

____________________________________
ASEAN

February 24, Irrawaddy
Burmese election expected to be credible: Asean Secretary – Saw Yan Naing

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) expects a credible and
transparent election in Burma in 2010, but it can not interfere in the
details of the election, Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said on
Wednesday.

In an interview on the BBC's “Hardtalk” program, Surin said, “No election
is perfect. It has to begin. That's why they [the Burmese regime] are
beginning. They promise [to hold elections] at the end of this year. We
are
trying to make sure that our expectations are fulfilled. That it's
going to be credible, transparent.”

Asked about Asean's role in Burma, Surin said that members of the 10-state
regional grouping had encouraged the Burmese authorities to conduct a
credible election. However, the world expects the regime to do more to
achieve national reconciliation, he said.

“We can not impose every step [on them],” he said. “We can not interfere
with details.”

He said that the Burmese election will not be at the international level
that many people would like to see, because of the military-ruled
country's recent history.

“This is a different country,” he said. “They [the military junta] have a
different background.” But the fact that “they are committed to the
election” is positive, he said.

He said that Asean has communicated with the Burmese regime very openly in
lobbying for political change and national reconciliation. Burma became a
member of Asean in 1997.

Asked about the role of jailed political activists and opposition groups,
Surin said he understood that the National League for Democracy has not
decided yet on whether to participate in the election or not.

Asked about Thailand's policies on Burmese refugees, Surin, who is a
former Thai foreign minister, said that Thailand needs time to handle the
Burmese refugee problem. Thailand is home to about 140,000 Burmese
refugees.

“We have problems, and we are dealing with the problem in our own way. It
may not be perfect. It may not be satisfactory. It will take time to solve
the problem,” Surin said.

Thailand has been widely criticized by rights groups and the international
community for its plan to deport about 3,000 Karen refugees by force to
Karen State in Burma, after they fled from that area in June 2009 due to
war.

Refugees on the Thailand-Burma border say they do not want to return home
for fear of more fighting, landmines and conscription as forced labor by
the Burmese army. Their fate remains uncertain, and they could be deported
at any time, according to rights groups.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

February 24, Wall Street Journal
“Burma VJ: Reporting From A Closed Country” spotlights citizen journalists

Though some media critics scoff at the idea of using college students and
citizen journalists (like CNN’s iReporters) to produce “real” news,
user-created content is increasingly becoming a critical part of news
gathering — especially from remote and restricted areas of the world. Just
last week, the anonymous videographer who first published footage of the
shooting death of Neda Agha-Soltan during the 2009 Iranian election won
the prestigious Polk Award for further illuminating the reality of what
was happening behind the scenes in Iran. The video uploader — and the team
that helped spread the clip — were the first anonymous citizens to receive
one of journalism’s highest honors.

Another group of anonymous citizen journalists may be about to get some
high-profile public due. Director Anders Ostergaard’s film “Burma VJ:
Reporting From A Closed Country” — which documents the monk-led revolution
against the Burmese government during the summer of 2007 through the use
of citizen-shot video — is up for an Oscar in the Best Documentary
category. Ever since a military junta took over the country in 1962 (and
renamed the county Myanmar in 1989, a change not universally recognized),
outside media coverage has been extremely limited. The documentary
consists of intense, often violent and surreptitiously obtained footage
from inside the country courtesy of the opposition group Democratic Voices
of Burma.

The film originally began as a much more introspective project. At a
recent dinner following a special screening of the film at the Museum of
Modern Art, producer Lise Lens-Moller said she first became interested in
a film on Burma in 2004, and was intrigued by the idea of how a country
could simply disappear from the public consciousness. She quickly brought
Ostergaard on board as director and began researching the country’s border
areas. They connected with Democratic Voices of Burma after the then-radio
outlet received some seed money to launch into video.

But as Lens-Moller points out, “It’s hard to film oppression when there’s
no uprising.” Prior to the 2007 September uprising, she said the
production was more focused on creating an “existential, psychological
portrait” of the Burmese citizen journalists, and even after the uprising,
given the extreme danger associated with smuggling film out of the
country, she and Ostergaard only received about two hours of footage from
the period of October 2007 to January 2008. But then more smuggled video
began appearing, and by the end of May they had about 60 hours of raw
footage.

Ostergaard said he kept in constant communication with the Burmese
videographers while cutting together the film because he didn’t want to
show anything that would compromise anyone’s safety. He screened the film
at least three times prior to its theatrical release by Oscilloscope. He
also took care not to rely too heavily on the footage, using recreations
in some cases — featuring an anonymous DVB staffer known only as “Joshua”
— and showing caution with sensitive shots, like a dead monk floating in a
river. He said no material was too graphic to show. “It all depend on how
you show it,” he said. “Given how terribly dangerous it is to get material
out, we wanted to paint an accurate portrait of what happened.”

And even if ‘Burma VJ” doesn’t actually win the Oscar in March, Len-Moller
says that many of the monks arrested during the uprising were thrilled to
hear of the nomination. “They think it’ll raise awareness of their cause,”
she said. “It’s giving them their motivation back. They didn’t get all of
the results they wanted, but it’s re-energizing both them — and the
younger, more tech-savvy generation they inspired — to keep the fight
going. ”

Follow Speakeasy on Twitter at @WSJspeakeasy.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

February 24, New York Times
Social change and the Oscars – Melena Ryzik

If ever you doubted the greater good of an Oscar nomination – if ever you
thought this whole awards season stuff was just a bunch of razzle-dazzle
designed to give people who already hold themselves in pretty high regard
even more cause for self-congratulation, not to mention giving them more
money, more glamorous stuff to wear, parties to attend and free stuff to
paw through – then perhaps you should talk to a Burmese monk.

Someone like U Gawsita, who is featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary
“Burma VJ,” about a group of underground Burmese video journalists who
risked their lives to cover an uprising against the repressive regime that
had shut down all other news media. U Gawsita, one of the protesters (he’s
seen shouting into a bullhorn in the movie), was at a screening at the
Museum of Modern Art and a dinner party at Osteria del Circo the other
day; he went to the Oscar nominees luncheon, too.

“Hollywood is such a grand place to be,” U Gawsita said through his
translator, Aung Moe Win, who added, “It’s very exciting for him to be
there.”

Especially because U Gawsita has been living in Utica, N.Y., for the last
year, one of several monks who were brought there through a series of
connections that would strain the credulity of a Facebook staffer,
involving an idealistic, peripatetic business consultant from Kohler, Wis.
(home to the plumbing giant); his wife, a Kohler and Academy member; and
the jam-band moe.

How is Utica, anyway?

“So-so,” U Gawsita said in English.

Anyway, it’s hard to imagine that an Oscar nomination means as much to
anyone in Hollywood — or Utica — as it does to the people of Burma, who
consider the attention for “Burma VJ” a symbol for the potential to
change. “People inside Burma feel that this nomination not only represents
the Burmese people, but they represent the people around the world who are
repressed by the military regime or the oppressed government,” U Gawsita
said, through Mr. Win. (That they even know about the nomination is a
testament to its status and the reach of alternative global media
sources.)

“Oscars are a big deal,” said Anders Ostergaard, the Danish director of
“Burma VJ.” Through an intermediary, U Gawsita communicated with a monk
who was imprisoned because of the uprising. “He was saying that he was
following this very closely, and if he had to spend another 10 years in
prison because of the success of this film, it’s worthwhile,” Mr.
Ostergaard recounted, adding, “It’s unbelievable to me, but that’s what
they tell me.”

As you might imagine, Mr. Ostergaard, who spent years on the film, which
was partly sponsored by the Danish government, has a rare perspective on
the whole awards season thing. “I notice that Oscars are very much about
an affirmation of the American dream,” he said, “that when people win they
thank and say, I was born some place in Illinois, and now I stand here,
and everything’s possible. It’s very much a ritual, an affirmation of an
identity, which is almost religious.”

For Mr. Ostergaard, it doesn’t quite have that weight. “It’s a very
important award in the film business,” he said. “But it doesn’t shatter me
emotionally; it doesn’t make my family burst into tears. And I’m sorry,
it’s just that I’m from a different place. I didn’t grow up with the
Oscars.”

On the other hand, Mr. Ostergaard feels no qualms about campaigning for
the film because of the response it has received in Burma.

“I don’t have any guilt trip about, oh, they’re sitting over there
suffering, and here I am,” he said, eating crème caramel at Osteria del
Circo. “Because one, I’m working. And two, I know for a fact that the
Burmese public is following this very closely, and they’re greatly
encouraged by this Oscar nomination.” The glitz of the awards race and the
direness of the situation in Burma don’t have “to be disconnected,” he
added. “It can be absolutely meaningful. It’s meaningful every second I’m
involved with this because it means something to them. That’s the good
news.”

____________________________________

February 24, Irrawaddy
No escape from the 31 planes of existence – Aung Zaw

Naypyidaw—the “Abode of Kings”—is Than Shwe’s monument to his own rule.

I am not an astrologer, but I will venture one prediction about the year
ahead: that the regime in Burma will hold its election as planned and
formally introduce what it calls a “discipline-flourishing democracy.”

So far, however, the junta leaders remain tight-lipped about the how and
when of the election. At this stage, the best anyone can offer is an
educated guess.

But come what may, the election will happen—be sure of it.

Why am I so certain of this, when others have suggested that the junta
will probably try to find some pretext to put the vote off indefinitely?
Because the clearest evidence of the junta’s intentions can be found in
Naypyidaw, where construction of new parliamentary buildings is proceeding
apace.

This news is not entirely reassuring, however. According to a recent
Reuters report, much work remains to be done on the new legislature, “from
unfinished roads to painting many of the  parliamentary complex’s 31
buildings, with pagoda-style roofs sheathed in scaffolding.”

But others who have been to the junta’s capital say that they are amazed
at how much progress has been made since last March, when only the main
building of the Hluttaw, or Parliament, had been completed. In recent
months, the regime has ordered army engineers and construction workers to
work even faster to meet their deadline—whenever that might be.

While some people are preoccupied with the question of when the buildings
will be finished, I am  more intrigued by the number being built—31.

In Buddhism, this number has a special significance. According to Buddhist
cosmology, 31 is the number of planes of existence into which we can be
reborn. Humans belong to the fifth plane,  above other beings such as
animals and hungry ghosts, but below the devas—the god-like beings who
exist in the realms of form and formlessness.

The important thing to remember about the 31 planes of existence is that
they are all subject to suffering. By following the Buddha’s teachings,
however, one can escape the rounds of rebirth and attain a state that is
completely beyond suffering, known as Nirvana.

It would not be too far-fetched to suggest that the junta’s decision to
construct a parliament consisting of 31 buildings is a deliberate allusion
to the Buddhist concept of 31 planes of existence. After all, Snr-Gen Than
Shwe, the undisputed supreme leader of the regime, is known to be a devout
Buddhist with an obsession for numerology.

In his youth, Than Shwe devoted almost as much time to the study of
Buddhist scriptures as he did to learning psychological warfare, the
military field in which he has excelled throughout his career. According
to one army general who worked with him years ago, the young Than Shwe was
“half monk and half army officer.”

These days, of course, he is better known as the ruthless dictator who
ordered his troops to open fire on unarmed Buddhist monks during the 2007
Saffron Revolution. But to his own mind, at least, he remains a faithful
follower of the Buddha’s doctrine, or at least those parts of it that can
serve as a basis for his own superstitious beliefs.

So what message is Than Shwe trying to send by modeling the parliament
buildings on the realms of suffering? Is he trying to warn his successors
that holding earthly power is not as desirable as those who aspire to it
might think? Or is he expressing his own desire to transcend the realm of
politics, to achieve a Nirvana of absolute power without the
responsibility of actually ruling?

Whatever Than Shwe is thinking, it’s clear that he still feels he has some
important business to take care of down here among us mere mortals.

Besides the election, he has recently been cleaning house, purging the
military of anyone he suspects of disloyalty. Two officials have already
been sentenced to death, accused of leaking documents relating to a secret
trip to North Korea by the junta’s No. 3, Gen Shwe Mann, in November 2008.
Another has been given a long prison sentence for involvement in the case.

Meanwhile, a reshuffle at the War Office—including the reassignment of
five colonels to inactive posts—also points to an ongoing effort to
neutralize any elements within the ranks of the military whose loyalties
to Than Shwe are suspect.

As all of this goes on, Than Shwe is putting the finishing touches on his
line-up of leaders who will assume key positions after the election.
Nothing has been settled yet—it remains unclear, for instance, whether
Shwe Mann will become president or simply retire—but military sources say
Than Shwe has been giving this task his full attention. Who is likely to
occupy which position changes on a daily basis, they say, depending on the
general’s blood pressure.

But Than Shwe is clearly not satisfied with deciding who will ostensibly
rule in the years immediately after he steps into the shadows. He also
wants to make a more permanent mark on Burma. Hence, his determination to
complete the parliament buildings in Naypyidaw.

Naypyidaw—the “Abode of Kings”—is Than Shwe’s monument to his own rule. It
is also the only city in Burma with a reliable supply of electricity.
While infrastructure in the rest of the country is primitive and
crumbling, Naypyidaw wants for nothing. The only things it lacks,
apparently, are signs of human habitation.

According to Reuters, “Its roads are puzzlingly wide, including one
20-lane boulevard, but they are largely empty. Civilian cars are rare. Its
city center, a roundabout where five roads meet, is populated only by palm
trees and potted flowers.”

Welcome to the world’s most expensive ghost town.

It may all seem like a massive waste of money, but that overlooks the fact
that the regime never builds anything without a purpose—usually, a
military purpose.

The 20-lane boulevard, for instance, is said to be directly linked to a
military base located to the east of the Rangoon-Mandalay highway. It
could also be used as a landing strip for small aircraft, or for
ceremonial purposes, to stage North Korean-style military parades.

Sadly, Burma’s parliament buildings have never received much respect.
Former dictator Ne Win built a beautiful Pyithu Hluttaw, or People’s
Assembly, building near Shwedagon Pagoda, Burma’s most sacred religious
site. While he was still in power, it served only as a place to rubber
stamp his decrees. After he was ousted in 1988, it was abandoned and now
sits unoccupied and in a state of disrepair.

For all the loving attention that Than Shwe is putting into building his
new parliament, I don’t expect it to fare any better. It certainly won’t
be allowed to function independently of the military, and in the end, it
may become just another hollow shell. Than Shwe has refused to learn from
history, and for that reason, the round of suffering in Burma looks set to
continue for years to come.

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