BurmaNet News, February 25, 2009

[Editor]

February 25, 2010, Issue #3904


INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Burma's Supreme Court set to decide on Aung San Suu Kyi's appeal
against 18-month extension of house arrest
Irrawaddy: US Chargé d'Affaires meets NLD

ON THE BORDER
AP: Report: Myanmar troops commit atrocities
SHAN: Only 3 days remain for Burmese migrants
VOA: American Lisa Nesser gives free education to stateless children from
Burma
Economist: Inhospitality
Mizzima News: Security beefed up on Burma-Laos border

HEALTH
IPS: Rights-Burma:  For sex workers, a life of risks

ASEAN
Asian Tribune: Fair labour rights in Myanmar benchmark for country’s 2010
elections

REGIONAL
Mizzima News: Demonstration in Malaysian camp, 106 Burmese released

OPINION
Irrawaddy: Than Shwe, the progressive – Adam Selene

PRESS RELEASE
KWO: Pioneering women village heads targeted for systematic abuse by
junta’s troops across Eastern Burma




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

February 25, Agence France Presse
Burma's Supreme Court set to decide on Aung San Suu Kyi's appeal against
18-month extension of house arrest

Burma's Supreme Court is excepted to rule on detained pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi's appeal against an 18-month extension to her house
arrest today.

The 64-year-old Suu Kyi had her detention extended in August after being
convicted over a bizarre incident in which an American man swam to her
house, while a lower court rejected an initial appeal in October.

The court will issue its verdict at 10am, said a notice posted outside the
court building in Yangon on Thursday.

If the Supreme Court turns down her case, Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi can
make a final appeal to Burma's chief justice.

She has already spent most of the last 20 years in jail or under house
arrest.

"I just heard about the court notice. I do not want to guess what the
Supreme Court's verdict will be, but she is clearly not guilty," said Nyan
Win, one of her lawyers and the spokesman for her National League for
Democracy.

During a meeting on Wednesday, Nyan Win said that Suu Kyi had jokingly
asked if he thought she had behaved well enough to be released early by
Burma's ruling junta.

But she has previously dismissed comments by Home Affairs Minister Maung
Oo, who reportedly said she would be released in November, as "unfair" in
preempting any court decision.

The NLD won elections in 1990 by a landslide but the military government
never allowed it to take power.

The junta has promised to hold elections some time this year but has
refused to so far set a date and critics say they are aimed at simply
entrenching the generals' power.

Suu Kyi is effectively barred from standing in the promised polls and a
quarter of the parliamentary seats up for grabs are reserved for the
military.

She has said it is too early for her party to decide whether to
participate in the elections while freedome of expression remains elusive.

At least 2,100 other political prisoners remain behind bars in Burma,
according to UN figures.

The verdict comes a week after UN human rights envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana
visited the country, saying as he departed that he "deeply regretted"
being refused access to Suu Kyi during his five-day trip.

Burma's government has given out mixed signals ahead of the polls, in
mid-February releasing deputy NLD leader Tin Oo after seven years, but
days later jailing a US activist for three years.

The administration of US President Barack Obama has been pursuing greater
engagement with the Burma regime after deciding that sanctions alone were
not working.

Burma has been ruled by the military since 1962.

____________________________________

February 25, Irrawaddy
US Chargé d'Affaires meets NLD – Ko Htwe

The United States' Chargé d'Affaires in Rangoon has met Central Executive
Committee (CEC) members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) to
discuss the opposition party's political stance and whether it will
participate in this year's election.

Chargé d'Affaires Larry Dinger, accompanied by the embassy's Political/
Economic Chief Jennifer Harhigh, met with five members of the NLD's
CEC––Vice President Tin Oo, Win Tin, Khin Maung Swe, Nyunt Wai and Than
Htun.

The meeting took place at 1 p.m. On Wednesday at the Rangoon headquarters
of the NLD and lasted nearly one hour, Win Tin told The Irrawaddy.

“They asked about the reorganizing of our Central Committee and the
party's participation in the election,” said NLD spokesman Khin Maung Swe,
adding that the CEC representatives had told the US chargé d'affairs that
the NLD had not yet decided if it would participate in the election.

The current NLD position is based on its Shwegondaing Declaration,
released in April last year, which calls for a review of the controversial
constitution, political dialogue and the unconditional release of all
political prisoners, including its leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It also called
on the military junta to recognize the results of the 1990 election and
for an all-inclusive dialogue.

Dinger stated clearly that the US did not want to make any comment on
whether the NLD should take part in the election, nor whether there should
be a review of the 2008 constitution, said Win Tin.

“However, the US official said they would urge dialogue between Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi and Snr-Gen Than Shwe ahead of the election,” added Win Tin.

The US embassy in Rangoon confirmed the meeting, but would not give
further details about the  discussions.

The US has called for a national dialogue involving the regime, the NLD,
other opposition parties and ethnic minority groups ahead of the election,
but has not urged the junta to review the Constitution, which will
facilitate continued military rule.

In September, the US announced it will pursue a policy of “engagement” and
sanctions simultaneously with the regime.

Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Kurt
Campbell, who led a US fact-finding mission to Burma in early November,
held meetings with junta officials including Prime Minister Gen Thein
Sein, opposition leader Suu Kyi and ethnic leaders.

Campbell and his deputy, Scot Marciel, were the highest-ranking American
officials to visit Burma since 1995, when former US Congressman Bill
Richardson and then US ambassador to the UN Madeleine Albright traveled to
the country in a bid to push for democratic reforms.

According to diplomatic sources, Campbell is planning another trip to
Burma but has not yet fixed a date.

Meanwhile, the NLD on Thursday selected 100 candidates and eight auxiliary
members for the opposition party's central committee.

The selection of candidates for the party's second-tier leadership has
come in for criticism from some members, particularly in Pegu Division,
for its centralized control. However, CEC member Dr. Win Naing said the
party would solve the problem.

In its most significant move to reorganize the party since the 1990s, the
NLD has chosen 108 members for the reconstituted central committee, which
was abolished by the regime in 1991.

In January, the NLD reformed the CEC by electing nine new members, whereas
it formerly had 11 members.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

February 25, Associated Press
Report: Myanmar troops commit atrocities – Denis D. Gray

Bangkok -- Myanmar troops have gang-raped, murdered and even crucified
Karen women, or those in their charge, who took on the roles of village
chiefs in hopes they would be less likely abused than traditional male
leaders, a Karen group said Thursday.

The atrocities, which also include beheadings, torture, forced
prostitution and slave labor, are often committed as the troops attempt to
root out a 60-year-old insurgency by guerrillas of the Karen ethnic
minority, the Karen Women Organization said in a report.

Although the United Nations and other organizations have documented
similar atrocities against Myanmar's ethnic minorities, the government has
consistently denied allegations of human rights abuses, saying its troops
are only engaged in anti-terrorist operations.

The report said that the trend for Karen women to assume community
leadership "has put women further into the front line of human rights
abuses being committed by the Burma Army and their allies." Myanmar is
also known as Burma.

"I was not happy being village chief. It is similar to digging my own
grave," Daw Way Way, a 51-year-old woman who led her community for five
years, was quoted as saying. Like a third of the 95 women interviewed for
the report, Daw Way Way said she was tortured by soldiers during her
tenure.

The abuse often reportedly occurred as soldiers questioned villagers about
their suspected ties to insurgents of the Karen National Union.

"Some of the villagers were arrested whilst working on their farms, they
were tied up, crucified and finally had their throats cut," said Naw Pee
Sit, another village chief who was beaten after being accused of such
connections.

Naw Chaw Chaw Kyi, who served as chief for five years because nobody else
wanted the job, said the military in her village forced several people
into a hole, covered it with earth up to their necks and them stomped on
them.

"Then they took out the villagers and beat them and brutally tortured
villagers for a month and after that they killed them," she said.

"Gender-based violence," ranging from rape of girls to forced labor and
grueling interrogations for pregnant and nursing mothers, was especially
widespread, the report said.

"When I was village chief and was forced to be a porter, they tied me up
with ropes at night and pulled me from this side to the other side. I
could not endure the torture any more and they raped me," said Naw Htu
Pit. Other women, the report said, were used as "mine sweepers," walking
ahead of soldiers into mine-strewn areas.

The women chiefs, the report said, were often caught between government
troops who punished them on suspicion that they were supporting the
guerrillas and insurgents who accused them of serving as officials of the
regime.

"These women are unsung heroes," said Blooming Night Zan, a member of the
organization based along the Thai-Myanmar border, where some 140,000
Karen, Shan and Karenni ethnic minority groups from Myanmar have sought
refuge.

The Thai Burma Border Consortium, a key aid provider for the refugees,
says that nearly 500,000 people have been displaced from their homes in
eastern Myanmar during operations by the military against the die-hard
insurgents.

The report, titled "Walking Amongst Sharp Knives," was compiled between
2005 and 2009. It said that a third of the women interviewed were still
serving as village chiefs.

____________________________________

February 25, Shan Herald Agency for News
Only 3 days remain for Burmese migrants – Hseng Khio Fah

An internal document of the Thailand’s Ministry of Labor said Burmese
migrants will have one more month extension to fill in the nationality
verification (NV) forms with his/her biographical information to submit to
their home governments if he/she agrees to go through the NV process by
the original deadline, 28 February 2010, according to Human Rights and
Development Foundation (HRDF).

Migrant workers will have until 31 March 2010 to submit the NV forms after
they signed agreement to enter the NV process. If they [migrant workers]
don’t agree to go through the NV process by 28 February, their work
permits will not be renewed and they shall also be subject to arrest and
deportation, according to the document.

It said, “Migrants have to say as he/she has yet to submit the NV form,
he/she will submit it prior to 31 March 2010.”

And if migrant workers agreed to enter into NV before 28 February, but do
not submit their documents by 31 March 2010 as agreed, the Kor Tor 13
extension of their work permit will be revoked. Moreover they shall be
arrested and immediately deported.

However, up till now, almost all of migrant workers are still worried
about providing their personal information to the Burmese authorities.

According to Sein Htay, a spokesperson for Mahachai office of HRDF, there
were many workers who are not willing to go through the process, they
therefore left their jobs and returned home. But back home, they have
nothing to do for a living and are finding it more difficult to survive
than they expected.

“Then some migrants have to re-enter Thailand to work,” he said. “It was a
waste of time and money. We don’t want this kind of problem.”

Anyhow, most workers were believed to have finished submitting the
agreement form because they were asked to submit the form at the same time
when they re-applied for work permits, he said.

Currently, over 30,000 out of around 2 million migrants are holding
temporary passports.

According to him, the HRDF will join hands with other organizations to do
what they need to do to prevent migrants from abuses.

At the same time, the Labor Committee of the Lower House will be holding a
seminar on the NV process from 13:35 to 16:30 tomorrow, 26 February.

The HRDF is reported to have appealed to the Thai government to consider
the following issues;

To extend more time to submit the process,
To move passport offices into Thailand,
To control brokers that cheat money from migrants,
To inform more widely to reach migrants
To create new options for migrants until they receive passports and
To open new registrations for migrants who don’t have any papers or
documents but who are already working in Thailand.

____________________________________

February 25, Voice of America
American Lisa Nesser gives free education to stateless children from Burma
– Daniel Schearf

Chiang Mai – American Lisa Nesser moved to northern Thailand six years ago
to help refugees from Burma.  Lisa discovered many minority children from
Burma were unable to attend regular schools in Thailand so she started
giving the children free evening classes and her small group of students
soon grew into a unique school.  As we hear from VOA's Daniel Schearf,
Nesser is making a difference in the city of Chiang Mai through her school
- Thai Freedom House.

Lisa Nesser chops watermelon slices in the kitchen of a traditional
Thai-style wooden house.  The fruit is for about 15 stateless children
from Burma who are sitting on the floor, having their evening English
class.

Nesser says she never planned to open a school for stateless children from
Burma.  But when she saw children late at night on the streets of Chiang
Mai who had no access to education, she decided to teach them herself.

Word spread about the free classes.  And as more students showed up,
Nesser enlisted volunteers, hired a small bus and used her own money to
turn her house into a school.

"So I was really trying to get them into regular schools," said Lisa
Nesser. "And they just wouldn't take them, even when I offered to sponsor
fees."

Most of Lisa Nesser's students are children of migrant workers from Shan
state in Burma.  They do not have Thai citizenship or language skills -
making it difficult for them to enroll in Thai schools.

Many of her students do not have the time or money for regular school
because they have to work to support their families.

"So I have a lot of 12-year-olds that work," she said. "They work on a
construction site; they mix cement; they carry buckets; they clean up. 
Some of them work in noodle shops, maybe from like a street stall, from
5:00 p.m. till 2:00 in the morning.  So they can't go to school at 7:00 in
the morning."

Nesser says that in the last few years, her school, Thai Freedom House,
has taught about 200 children English, Thai and art.  The school also
teaches the Shan language because most students did not receive a good
education in Burma.

Nesser also arranges for craft makers to teach the children how to make
things they can sell to help support their families.

"They don't have a country," said Nesser. "They don't have their family
structure here to support them.  But if you can give them education and
language and ways to express themselves, which is why we focus on the
arts, that gives them another kind of freedom that otherwise they wouldn't
have."

Fourteen-year-old Nam Gao says that when she moved to Thailand three years
ago, her parents tried to enroll her in a Thai school.  But because she
does not have a birth certificate, she was rejected.

"I want to say, 'Thank you,' to the teachers [at Thai Freedom House],"
said Nam Gao. "If there was no home like this, I would have no place to go
to continue my education.  Thank you for Freedom House."

Lisa Nesser has spent most of her savings to keep the school open. 
Although she solicits donations for the school, Nesser says they are never
enough.

Still, she says, educating her students is worth the struggle.

____________________________________

February 25, Economist
Inhospitality

Bangkok – THEY sew bras, peel shrimps, build blocks of flats and haul
fishing-nets. In return, migrant workers in Thailand are paid poorly, if
at all, and face exploitation and abuse at the hands of employers and the
security forces. Up to 3m migrants, many undocumented and mostly from
Myanmar, fall into this category. So a scheme to start registering this
workforce and bring it into the legal fold sounds like a step forward.
Migrants have been ordered to apply to their home countries for special
passports so that they can work legally in Thailand and, in theory, enjoy
access to public services, such as health care.

But the plan has run into practical and political difficulties, mostly
among workers from Myanmar, who rightly fear their awful government and do
not want to return home, even temporarily. Many are unaware of the
registration drive. So the first applicants have come mostly from migrants
from Laos and Cambodia, where the authorities are more willing to help.

The Thai government says 400,000 Myanmar nationals have so far joined the
process. Under pressure, the Thai government has reportedly modified its
original deadline of February 28th for filing papers. Now that is the
deadline only for migrants to fill in a form agreeing to go through the
“nationality verification” process. They have until the end of March to
submit forms to their home government.

But Thailand has not lifted its threat to arrest and deport migrants who
do not comply by the new deadline. The government apparently believes that
unregistered foreigners are a security threat. This raises the spectre of
mass expulsions on a scale not seen since the 1990s. Jorge Bustamante, a
United Nations official in Geneva dealing with migrant rights, has said
that this would breach Thailand’s human-rights obligations, since workers
might also be asylum-seekers.

This argument is unlikely to sway a government that shows increasing
contempt for refugees. In December it expelled more than 4,000 Hmong to
Laos, including 158 refugees recognised as such by the UN. Most were
packed off to a remote camp. A Thai-government spokesman has claimed that
the 158 refugees were happy to be in Laos. Foreign diplomats in Bangkok,
still fuming over the expulsion, doubt it.

Kicking out millions of migrants who do dirty, low-paid jobs would be
unpopular with Thai companies. Too few locals are willing to take their
place. Garment factories in Thai-Myanmar border towns such as Mae Sot
would probably go bankrupt if they had to offer decent wages and benefits.
Fisheries and plantations also depend on imported labour. The government,
however, believes that deported workers would soon be replaced by others
eager to escape misery in Myanmar.

Not all foreign workers are under the radar; over 1.3m migrants registered
in 2009 for work permits under the old system. These are the workers whose
nationality Thailand wants to verify first, before tackling the rest. But
being a legal migrant in Thailand confers few benefits. Workers are still
at the mercy of employers who can cheat them of their wages and dismiss
them summarily. Complaining can be futile or worse. Workers face
extortion, rape and even murder by the very officials supposed to be
protecting them, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), a watchdog that
this week released a report on the abuses suffered by migrants. It noted
that officials treat them like “walking ATMs”.

There is little reason to believe that holding a special passport would
protect migrants from rapacious cops and stingy employers, says HRW’s Phil
Robertson. Migrants will still be unable to travel freely or organise into
unions. In some provinces it is illegal for them to use mobile phones.
Labour-inspectors pay little heed.

Employers have the upper hand and can keep down labour costs, but at a
price to Thailand’s competitiveness. Surveys of Thai workers show a steady
decline in their productivity, says Pracha Vasuprasat, an expert on
migration at the International Labour Organisation. An abundance of poorly
paid migrants means less incentive to upgrade to a more skilled workforce.
Thailand’s is not the only Asian economy hooked on cheap labour.
Neighbouring Malaysia also depends on millions of guest-workers. So much
so that its home minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, has suggested that, to
lessen the dependence, political refugees be allowed to work.

____________________________________

February 25, Mizzima News
Security beefed up on Burma-Laos border – Sai Zuan Sai

Chiang Mai – In the wake of the murderous ambush on the Burmese police
force on the Mekong River, in the Golden Triangle on February 20, which
left 14 policemen dead and missing, the junta has beefed up security in
the area and sealed the international border with Laos.

"There is a tactical command controlled by the Military Operation Command
No. 18 in this area. A 200-strong people's militia force led by this
tactical command is monitoring people at the checkpoints," an officer from
Tachileik told Mizzima.

Soon after the attack about two to three battalions were sent to Wan Pong
as reinforcements, Shan Narcotic Drugs Watch group member U Sein Kyi said.

The gunmen of drug lord Naw Kham ambushed three patrol boats transporting
policemen and personnel of the anti-narcotics special police force on the
Mekong River last Saturday, which left 11 dead and three missing. Two
survived the attack with gunshot injuries and were sent to Rangoon General
Hospital on February 22.

A joint force of the local police and soldiers began combing operations in
the area yesterday and found two more bodies. The bodies are of Corporal
Zin Lin Maung and a boatman but the body of police Sub-Inspector Thant Zin
has not yet been found.

"The remains of the boatman were left in Wan Pong. Zin Lin Maung's body
was badly decomposed and was cremated," the local authorities said.

The funeral was attended by the state police chief.

____________________________________
HEALTH

February 25, Inter Press Service
Rights-Burma:  For sex workers, a life of risks – Mon Mon Myat

Rangoon – When Aye Aye (not her real name) leaves her youngest son at home
each night, she tells him that she has to work selling snacks. But what
Aye actually sells is sex so that her 12-year-old son, a Grade 7 student,
can finish his education.

"Every night I work with the intention of giving my son some money the
next morning before he goes to school," said Aye, 51. She has three other
older children, all of whom are married.

Her 38-year-old friend Pan Phyu, also a sex worker, has a greater burden.
After her husband died, she takes care of three children – apart from her
mother and uncle.

But Aye and Phyu’s source of income is fast declining, because it is no
longer that easy to get clients at their age. Many younger women are in
the sex trade today because of the difficult economic conditions in Burma,
where prostitution is illegal.

Aye and Phyu’s daily lives are marked by living with the risks that come
with being in illegal work, ranging from abuse from clients and police
harassment, to worrying about getting sexually transmitted diseases and
HIV.

Accurate figures of the number of sex workers are difficult to come by.
But some media reports say that there are more than 3,000 entertainment
venues such as karaoke places, massage parlours or nightclubs where there
are sex workers, and that there are an estimated five sex workers in each
venue.

There are fewer opportunities available for Aye and Phyu in the nightclubs
in downtown Rangoon, but they found a place near the highway in the city
outskirts.

"I’m already having a hard time finding even just one client a night, yet
some clients want to use me for free. Sometimes they cheat me and go
without paying," Aye said with a sigh.

Their clients vary, ranging from college students, policemen, business
people, taxi drivers or trishaw drivers. "It’s true that sometimes we get
no money but just pain," Phyu added.

Many clients think that they can easily abuse commercial sex workers
because they have little clout in an illegal area of work.

"Sometimes I receive money for one client but I have to serve three
clients. I would be beaten up if I refuse or speak up," said Phyu, who has
been a sex worker for 14 years. "If the local official in my ward or my
neighbours don’t like me, they could inform the police who could arrest me
anytime for trading sex," Aye added. To keep from being harassed by the
police, Aye and Phyu say they have to either give money or sex. "The
police want money or sex from us. We need to make friends with them. If we
can't give a bribe we are threatened with arrest."

Phyu said, "Some clients came in plain clothes, but through the
conversation, I later knew that some of them are police officials."

A few years ago, Aye and Phyu were arrested when the police raided the
hotel they were in under the Brothel Suppression Act. Aye spent a month in
a Rangoon jail after paying a bribe. Phyu could not afford to pay, so she
spent one year in jail.

Like many commercial sex workers, getting infected with HIV and sexually
transmitted diseases is never far from their minds.

Aye recalls that two years ago, she suspected that she might have HIV. A
blood test at the Tha Zin clinic, which provides free HIV testing and
counselling service for CSWs, confirmed her worst fears. "I was shocked
and lost consciousness," Aye said.

But Phyu said calmly, "I already expected to have HIV infection as I’ve
seen friends of mine dying from AIDS-related diseases. "My doctor told me
that I can live normally as my CD4 counts are above 800," she added,
referring to count of white blood cells that fights infection and
indicates the stage of HIV or AIDS.

Still, Aye and Phyu say they remain in sex work because that is the only
job they know that can bring them enough money.

"I tried to work as a street vendor, but it didn’t work because I didn’t
have enough money to invest," Aye said. Aye earns from 2,000 to 5,000 kyat
(2 to 5 U.S. dollars) for a one-hour session with a client, an amount she
would never earn as a food vendor even if she works the whole day.

Because she has HIV, Aye carries a condom in her bag as suggested by the
doctor from the Tha Zin clinic. But her clients are stubborn and refuse to
use any protection, she said. "It’s even harder to convince them to use a
condom when they are drunk. I was often beaten up for urging them to use a
condom," Aye pointed out.

Htay, a doctor who asked that his full name not be disclosed, says he has
heard a similar story from a sex worker who comes to see him. "Every month
we provide a box of free condoms to sex workers, but their number does not
get reduced by much when we checked the box again. The reason she (sex
worker patient) gave me was that her clients did not want to use a condom.
That’s a problem," said Htay, who provides community health care for
people with living with HIV.

According to a 2008 report by the Joint United Nations Programme on
HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), more than 18 percent of some 240,000 people living with
HIV/AIDS in Burma are female sex workers.

HIV-positive sex workers are a hidden reality in Burma. "Our society
covers up the truth that prostitution exists because of shame and fear of
sin, but it actually makes the situation worse," pointed out Htay.

"I think a network of commercial sex workers needs to be set up in this
country," said Nay Lin of Phoenix Association, a group that provides moral
support and vocational training for people living with HIV/AIDS. "Through
that they could stand for their rights and protect their communities."

"Just like others, commercial sex workers who are mothers earn money in
exchange for sex to support their children and their families, but they
always work under fear of the police and of being abused by clients," Lin
said. "We should respect them as mothers instead of abusing them."

To this day, Aye leaves home to go to work as soon as her son falls asleep
at night. She worries about earning enough money, and what will happen to
her son if she does not.

"If I have no client tonight, I will have to go to the pawnshop tomorrow
morning (to sell items)," she said. Showing her one-foot-long hair, Aye
added: "If I have nothing left, I’d have to sell my hair. It could
probably be worth about 7,000 kyat (7 dollars)."

____________________________________
ASEAN

February 25, Asian Tribune
Fair labour rights in Myanmar benchmark for country’s 2010 elections

Kuala Lumpur – As Myanmar plans for general elections this year, the
country’s military rulers have announced their commitment to ASEAN and the
international community to conduct a truly democratic election and ensure
a “free and fair” electoral process.

Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) has endorsed the
statement that the country has asserted that it will respect the rights of
its citizens as enshrined in the ASEAN Charter to which it is a signatory.

Though AIPMCE has endorsed, there have been virtually no visible signs of
the junta’s willingness to adhere to democratic practice thus far and it
still fails to uphold the rights of its citizens.

One example is the reported case of 3600 workers staging a protest on
February 8th at their factories in the Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone in
Yangon. The group, mostly women, temporarily stopped work to request
better working conditions and benefits but was met with aggression.

Myanmar’s military regime reportedly deployed more than 50 truckloads of
riot police and set up barbed-wire barricades to quell and contain the
otherwise peaceful picket.

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) commends the bravery
of these workers and questions the means in which the regime chose to deal
with the matter.

Under threat of violence, the workers accepted a compromise of a (USD) $2
- $5 wage increase per month, far less than their original request of $10,
and returned to their factories. However, the workers reportedly continue
to press for overtime payments, enforcement of public holidays and
improvement of the substandard working conditions at the factories.

AIPMC's committee members representing regional lawmakers are therefore
left to call in question the commitment of Myanmar’s regime towards
protecting and upholding rights.

"In light of the military regime’s threats of violence and history of
using excessive force to quash opposition and peaceful protests, we are
gravely concerned for the welfare and safety of these workers," state
AIPMC’s regional committee urging the regime to refrain from using
violence and to abide by internationally accepted protocols in handling
labour disputes.

AIPMC further urges ASEAN government leaders and ASEAN’s Secretary-General
to intervene in the matter to closely monitor the situation in the Hlaing
Tharyar industrial zone to ensure that the workers are not put in further
danger and that their basic human rights are not violated.

Myanmar, as an ASEAN member, has pledged to promote and protect the rights
of its citizens and therefore must show a willingness to act in accordance
with principles of labor rights.

To do otherwise will suggest that Myanmar's rulers are not serious in
their claims of carrying out free and fair elections or their ability
thereafter to lead a nation through good governance.

AIPMC further urges labor unions in the various ASEAN member states and
the International Labor Organization to assist Burma’s workers in pursuing
fair working conditions.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

February 25, Mizzima News
Demonstration in Malaysian camp, 106 Burmese released – Salai Han Thar San

New Delhi – Officers from the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) rescued 106 Burmese refugees yesterday from Malaysia’s
Lang Geng Camp, according to refugees.

After administering interviews, the UNHCR recognized 300 detainees in the
camp as refugees following a hunger strike begun on February 22nd. The
hunger strike was in response to the lack of a UNHCR visit for the
previous two months.

A leader of the refugee hunger strike who had been detained for seven
months told Mizzima 106 Burmese refugees who passed the interview may now
be taken to Kuala Lumpur and freed.

"All of the Burmese refugees had a hunger strike from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. the
day before (February 22nd). But they stopped the originally planned
four-day hunger strike after being informed by the camp officer that UN
officials would pay a visit to the camp," he said.

There are a total of 1,400 prisoners from various countries, including 600
Burmese refugees, in the Lang Geng Camp.

The UNHCR in Malaysia used to pay a monthly visit to the camp, but
December had been the last time they came, according to refugees.

"It is good news that the UNHCR has rescued some Burmese refugees who are
being detained in the camp but we demand that the UNHCR rescue many more
Burmese refugees that have been waiting for the UNHCR to intervene on
behalf of their problems and suffering in various camps in Malaysia," said
Than Oo, Vice-President of the Malaysia-based Arakan Refugee Rescue
Committee.

Although refugees from other countries are assisted by Malaysia-based
staff from their own country’s embassies, there is no such help
forthcoming for Burmese refugees, leaving the UNHCR as the principle
mechanism of available assistance for refugees from Burma.

For those in detention in Malaysia, life in the camps can be very difficult.

"We are provided nothing in the camp except a set of clothes, with some
lucky people getting two sets. And we even do not receive a bed sheet and
blanket. We must purchase the blanket ourselves, 80 ringgits (1 USD = 3.4
ringgits) for one blanket. Only 30 prisoners out of 300 can afford to have
a blanket. There is also no adequate medicine or proper care for the sick.
Only those who get a serious sickness are sent to the clinic. So, three
prisoners passed away in the prison while I was there in the camp. Since
we are not fed well, many prisoners frequently get sick," explained one
Burmese refugee.


>From 300 to 600 refugees are kept per building in Lang Geng Camp, with

only four toilets and a small 3 feet by 2 feet tank. Maximum capacity in
each building is supposed to be 200.

There are more than 10 camps established by Malaysia's Immigration
Department spread across the country similar to Lang Geng Camp.

Burmese refugees, numbering 61,500, comprise the largest bloc of refugees
in Malaysia recognized by the UNHCR, according to UNHCR statistics.

____________________________________
OPINION

February 25, Irrawaddy
Than Shwe, the progressive – Adam Selene

Fear is a powerful thing. Ask Than Shwe, the military ruler who during his
active army career excelled in psychological warfare. Fear can make people
do things that they otherwise wouldn’t have thought of doing. Like
introducing some sort of a democratic system that will ultimately eat
away, in 10 years or more, all the power that the tatmadaw has over the
Burmese people.

Fear turned Than Shwe into a reformer. Let’s look at the issue from his
perspective.

Than Shwe knows the stories of Ne Win and Saw Maung. His predecessors
ended their lives in dreadful circumstances. In Ne Win's case, he was
placed under house arrest. Than Shwe did it to these men, and he doesn’t
want it to happen to him.

The leader is ageing. He knows that soon he will have to announce which
prince will inherit his crown. But when he does that, will he be safe in
retirement? Probably not. Better not appoint a new leader at all, Than
Shwe probably thought.

He came up with a creative solution. Than Shwe adopted a plan that
guarantees that a “democratic” government will take over in 2010. And he
came up with the 2008 Constitution—which overshadows the importance of the
elections which the army now can afford to be “free” (although not fair).
In the Constitution many safeguards have been built in, which protect army
leaders from prosecution and loss of their privileges.

The result will be that Than Shwe doesn’t have to fear his successor or
the semi-democratic government that will follow in his footsteps. He can
retire, and he will in the coming years use his influence within the army
leadership to get things done that he deems important.

Actually, Than Shwe’s biggest fear is not the opposition, which is weak
and divided, and largely without a program, capable leaders and experience
in public governance. His biggest worry will be the army itself.

A majority within the army doesn’t support his reform program. Most
officers would like to continue the status quo and want to cling to their
economic benefits. What is left of a general who is instructed to shed his
uniform and be a member of parliament? What will happen to him if he can’t
wield his rank to make money?

The biggest threat to Than Shwe is a new coup after the elections. In that
case, all his plans end up in the dust bin and all the safeguards are
gone.

Believe it or not, Than Shwe is the biggest progressive force in the army
right now.

His reasons may be wrong and borne out of self-interest, but the results
will in the long run benefit Burma. Let’s cling to that thought.

Adam Selene, a journalist based in Bangkok, has just returned from a one
month visit to Burma.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

February 25, Karen Women Organization
Pioneering women village heads targeted for systematic abuse by junta’s
troops across Eastern Burma

Walking Amongst Sharp Knives reveals previously unreported abuses taking
place against ethnic Karen women in Burma.

The practice of the Burmese Army to execute village heads has led to
traditional Karen culture being turned upside-down, with women now being
appointed village chiefs as they are seen as less likely to be killed.
However, this change has put women in the frontline of human rights
abuses. These abuses constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The abuses experienced or witnessed by the women chiefs include:

·         Crucifixions
·         People burnt alive
·         Rape, including gang rape.
·         Many forms of torture, including beatings and water torture.
·         People buried up to their heads in earth and beaten to death.
·         Arbitrary executions
·         Beheadings
·         Slave labour

The women chiefs have been deliberately targeted for gender-based
violence, including gang-rape. Pregnant and nursing women chiefs have been
subjected to forced labour and gruelling interrogation.

Yet despite these abuses the report also reveals the bravery and personal
sacrifice of women in challenging injustice and defending their people.

“How can any woman feel safe under the Burma Army when even women village
heads are openly targeted for abuse?” said Blooming Night Zan KWO Joint
Secretary 1 of KWO.

The Karen Women Organization is calling on the members of the United
Nations Security Council to support the establishment of a United Nations
Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity being
committed by the Burmese military dictatorship.

“These women chiefs are unsung heroes,” said Blooming Night Zan “They are
placing themselves not only at the front line of abuses by the Burma Army,
but also at the forefront of the struggle for gender equality in Burma.”

The KWO is urgently calling for the Thai government to continue to provide
protection to refugees fleeing human rights abuses in Burma. The Thai Army
is currently seeking to repatriate over 3,000 Karen refugees in Tak
province.

For more information please contact:
Dah Eh Kler: 085-7269291
Blooming Night Zan: 086-2086943