BurmaNet News, March 2, 2010

[Editor]

March 2, 2010, Issue #3907


INSIDE BURMA
The Canadian Press: Myanmar leader urges farmers to counter pro-democracy
forces prior to elections
Khonumthung News: Youths rounded up for recruitment into army

ON THE BORDER
DPA: EU gives Myanmar 17 million euros in humanitarian aid

BUSINESS / TRADE
DVB: Burma import tax ‘to double’

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Oscar hope high for 'Burma VJ'

OPINION / OTHER
Wall Street Journal: What Obama can do for Burma – Aung Din
Philippine Daily Inquirer: Sad but not unexpected – Stephen Lillie
New Light of Myanmar: Peasantry have to elect representatives capable of
building peaceful, modern, developed nation and exercising democracy
correctly – Than Shwe

INTERVIEW
Irrawaddy: Still not free

PRESS RELEASE
Burma Rivers Network: China silent to appeals from across the globe to
halt dam on Irrawaddy River




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 2, The Canadian Press
Myanmar leader urges farmers to counter pro-democracy forces prior to
elections

Yangon, Myanmar – Myanmar's military leader Tuesday urged the rural masses
to counter pro-democracy forces said to be seeking to disrupt stability
before the country's first general elections in 20 years.

Senior Gen. Than Shwe made the comments in a statement published on the
front page of all state-run newspapers on the anniversary of Peasant's
Day.

Confirming that elections would be held this year, Than Shwe urged farmers
''to elect representatives capable of building a peaceful, modern and
developed nation and exercising democracy correctly.''

''You also have to ward off potential dangers of those who will disrupt
state stability and community peace with the assistance of aliens in the
background,'' the message said.

Than Shwe did not elaborate but the regime consistently uses such language
to refer to the opposition party of detained Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung
San Suu Kyi, claiming she gets support from foreign countries.

Suu Kyi's party won the last election in 1990, but the results were never
honoured by the military, which has ruled the country since 1962 when
then-dictator Gen. Ne Win declared March 2 Peasant's Day.

Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, has not yet decided
whether to take part in the election, for which no date has yet been
announced. The party says the new constitution of 2008 is unfair and will
perpetuate military rule _ a claim echoed by international rights groups.
The constitution guarantees that 25 per cent of parliamentary seats will
go to the military. It also has a clause that would effectively bar Suu
Kyi from holding office.

Suu Kyi has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years.

____________________________________

March 2, Khonumthung News
Youths rounded up for recruitment into army

The Burmese military authorities in Kalemyo, Sagaing division western
Burma have been rounding up youths for recruitment into the army.

“In the last week of February, military personnel came to our village, Min
Hla, at about 10 pm. They detained four youths, but three of them escaped.
The one left behind Taung Taung (18) son of Kapthuam of Min Hla village,
Pin taw Oo tract Kalemyo township is still in custody to be recruited as a
soldier,” said a local in the village.

Soldiers are visiting one village after another in search of youths
forcing them to stay indoors at night. A member of Min Hla Block Peace and
Development Council (BPDC) said about 20 youths were detained this year
for recruitment into the army.

Military personnel in Tamu Township, Sagaing division had arrested 15
youths and sent them to the military training centre in January 2010.

All the arrested youths are provided military training in In daing Kyi
centre in Kalemyo Township.-

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March 2, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
EU gives Myanmar 17 million euros in humanitarian aid

The European Union announced Tuesday the allocation of 17.25 million euros
(23.4 million dollars) in humanitarian aid for Myanmar's "vulnerable
people" this year.

Bangkok – Most of the aid, to be provided through the European
Commission's Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO), is to go to ethnic
minority groups living in Myanmar's frontier areas and refugees located in
camps in Thailand, the EU office in Bangkok said.

"Vulnerable communities, especially those living in the remote border
areas, continue to be in dire need of assistance," EU Ambassador in
Bangkok David Lipman said.

"The objective of ECHO's activities in Burma/Myanmar is solely
humanitarian, and it will address the most pressing needs of people at
risk," he said.

An estimated 1.2 million people are expected to benefit directly from the
support, which is due to see 9.25 million euros allocated to health and
food programmes in remote rural frontier areas in the Rakhine, Shan, Mon,
Kayah and Kayin states and Thanintaryi divisions of Myanmar, which was
once known as Burma.

The remaining 8 million euros is to go to 150,000 Karen refugees living in
camps in Thailand.

The EU has been funding relief programmes in Myanmar, a pariah state among
Western democracies, since 1994.

ECHO opened an office in Yangon in October 2005 to help the delivery of
European humanitarian aid to the military-run country.

Myanmar has faced economic sanctions on Western aid, trade and investments
since its army's brutal crackdown on a pro-democracy movement in 1988 that
left an estimated 3,000 people dead.

During 2008 to 2009, the EU provided 39 million euros in emergency support
to assist the survivors of Cyclone Nargis, which smashed into the central
Irrawaddy Delta area in May 2008, leaving 140,00 people dead or missing.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

March 2, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burma import tax ‘to double’ – Joseph Allchin and Ahunt Phone Myat

The Burmese government is to alter its valuation of the Burmese kyat to
the dollar, resulting in a doubling of tax on imported goods along the
China-Burma border, a businessman there said.

Imported goods are subject to a tax based on a percentage of their value.
As foreign goods are valued in US dollars the Burmese government
translates this into kyat.

Customs and excise had been valuing the dollar at 450 kyat but now it is
reportedly adjusting this rate upwards to 1,000 kyat, the businessman told
DVB.

“It’s a way of doubling the tax take without doubling the tax rate; they
[the junta] have done this sort of trick before,” said Sean Turnell, Burma
economics expert at Macquarie University, Australia. He added that the
official government exchange rate is set at six kyat to the dollar.

“It’s a particularly bad one to impose because tariffs have a cost. Burma
desperately needs the modern goods they can get from elsewhere but it’s
likely to be quite ineffective.” Turnell said.

The move will signal further price hikes on imported goods coming overland
from China. Burma is part of a newly enacted free trade agreement (FTA)
betwen Southeast Asian nations and China, which is now the largest in the
world in terms of population, covering 1.9 billion people.

The four weaker economies in what is known as the Associaiton of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Burma, are
exempted from the requirement to slash 90 percent of tariffs until 2015.

“The areas it will affect are the formal economy; the informal and illegal
economy probably won’t be affected at all but probably they [people in
these sectors] will just try that little bit harder to evade [taxes],”
said Turnell.

“The areas that it affects are the areas that the country really needs.
The big barrier for Burma is that they are still stuck in that informal
subsistence economy.”

Already Burma is viewed as having a relatively inefficient or poor
purchasing power parity for many consumer goods that are from their far
more prosperous neighbours.

Items such as mobile phones and motor bikes are all more expensive in
Burma than in Thailand, for instance, and the situation is the same for
gas, despite the abundance of offshore fields that Burma owns. This is a
result of a lack of a manufacturing base, infrastructure and a sound
financial system.

“Burma’s government shouldn’t be facing any cash shortfall at all because
of the gas reserves and the revenues from that, but those revenues don’t
properly enter Burma,” Turnell said.

"They are deliberately hidden offshore, but general government activity is
heavily underfunded and on a whole range of issues we are seeing precisely
this at the moment, I am getting reports all the time about arbitrary
taxation increases,” he concluded.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

March 2, Irrawaddy
Oscar hope high for 'Burma VJ'

The documentary “Burma VJ” is in the running for an Oscar for best
feature-documentary at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards show which will be
broadcast worldwide on Sunday night in the United States.

“If “Burma VJ” receives the Oscar, it will be the first time in history
that a whole nation's population will receive the Oscar,” said Jan
Krogsgaard, the originator and scriptwriter of the film. “I think even the
generals of Burma would like to see this happen, deep inside themselves,
and find peace within their own life.”

“Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country” tells the story of how Burmese
video journalists took to the streets and filmed the September 2007 mass
demonstrations in Rangoon. It is among five documentaries nominated this
year.

Other nominees are “The Cove,” about a hidden dolphin slaughter in a
Japanese town; “Food, Inc.,” a story of the horrors of factory farms,
slaughterhouses and meat plants in the US; “The Most Dangerous Man in
America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers,” the story of a
high-level Pentagon official and Vietnam War strategist who in 1971
concluded that the war was based on decades of lies and leaked top secret
documents to The New York Times; and “Which Way Home,” a film that follows
unaccompanied child migrants on their journey through Mexico as they try
to reach the United States.

“Burma VJ” has already won 33 awards—including World Cinema Documentary
Film Editing and Golden Gate Persistence of Vision prizes.

Most of the material for the film was shot by Burmese video journalists at
great personal risk and smuggled out of the country to the Norway-based
Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). A Danish professional film-maker, Anders
Østergaard, directed the film, which was released to wide acclaim this
year.

In an interview on the Oscar official Web site, producer Lise Lens-Moller
said: “Burma had almost vanished from the global consciousness when we
started working on the film in 2004 and the VJ's main motivation for
risking their lives and their freedom everyday was to try and bring
attention to their situation. I hope the Oscar nomination will keep the
Burmese people's struggle alive and supported around the world.”

The live announcement of the Oscar winner will attract Burmese communities
around the world.

“It must be a historical milestone,” said Khin Maung Win, the deputy
executive director of the Democratic Voice of Burma. “Even if Burma VJ
does not win the prize, the film will bring attention to our democracy
movement.”

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

March 2, Wall Street Journal
What Obama can do for Burma – Aung Din

The news from Burma, my home country, seems to only go from bad to worse.
Last week, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi was denied yet
another appeal and will remain under house arrest. Last month,
Burmese-American human-rights activist Kyaw Zaw Lwin, also known as Nyi
Nyi Aung, was sentenced to three-years in prison on trumped up fraud and
forgery charges.

This past July, President Obama signed into law the Burma Sanctions
Renewal Act, which extended strict sanctions on the country's military
junta for three more years. But the administration must also be careful
that its policy of "pragmatic engagement" with Burma's military
rulers—which began with a visit by State Department officials last
November—does not legitimize a fundamentally corrupt regime.

Than Shwe, the senior general who heads the junta, has promised to hold
nationwide elections this year, the first since Ms. Suu Kyi and her
National League for Democracy's landslide victory in 1990 elections—which
were nullified by the military. But the election will be a sham, the
product of a new constitution pushed through last year by force and
intimidation that forbids Ms. Suu Kyi from running for or holding office.

Ms. Suu Kyi, her supporters, and many of Burma's long-persecuted ethnic
groups, including the Karen, Karenni and Shan, are rightfully refusing to
participate in this charade unless the regime amends the constitution to
allow for free and fair elections, a legitimate civilian government and
equal rights and representation for all ethnic groups.

But first the regime must release its thousands of political prisoners,
including hundreds of monks who took part in the 2007 antigovernment
protests known as the Saffron Revolution.

Thus far, however, Gen. Than Shwe has been employing his usual mix of
violence, brutality and war. He's rounding up and arresting opposition
members and increasing his assault on the Karen and other ethnic
minorities, displacing more than 75,000 people in Karen State in eastern
Burma in 2009 alone.

How can the U.S. and the international community play a meaningful role in
bringing true peace and freedom to Burma? The answer lies in placing
collective political and economic pressure on the regime to engage in
meaningful and time-bound dialogue with Ms. Suu Kyi, her party, and the
leaders of Burma's ethnic minorities. Failing that, the U.S. should take
the lead in organizing a global arms embargo against the regime, and
establish a commission of inquiry to investigate war crimes and crimes
against humanity in Burma by the United Nations.

This will require Mr. Obama's strong leadership and commitment. His Burma
policy objectives are sound: the release of all political prisoners, an
end to conflict with ethnic minorities, accountability for human-rights
violators, and genuine dialogue among all Burma's stakeholders.

But "pragmatic engagement" or "measured engagement," whatever it is
called, should not be an open-ended process. There should be benchmarks,
such as a clear time frame, expected outcomes and appropriate responses.

Mr. Obama should appoint a U.S. policy coordinator for Burma,
legislatively mandated by Congress since 2008, and let him or her play a
central role to strengthen existing pressure mechanisms, including
increasing financial sanctions on Burma, while continuing engagement with
the regime.

Mr. Obama should also urge the European Union to join with the United
States, Canada and Australia in imposing targeted financial and banking
sanctions against the Burmese generals, their families and their crony
business partners. He should also remind the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (Asean) that it needs to put serious diplomatic pressure on
the regime for a negotiated settlement with the opposition if it is really
committed to productive U.S.-Asean relations.

Mr. Obama's presidency is the product of the blood spilled and courage
displayed by American freedom fighters and civil-rights activists barely a
generation ago. Our hope is that he recognizes their sacrifices by
supporting the Burmese people in the months ahead with decisive action. He
could start by demanding the release of Ms. Suu Kyi and the American
human-rights activist Kyaw Zaw Lwin.

Aung Din was a political prisoner in Burma between 1989 and 1993. He is
now the executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Campaign for
Burma.
____________________________________

March 2, Philippine Daily Inquirer
Sad but not unexpected – Stephen Lillie

BURMAS SUPREME COURT HAS JUST REJECTED THE APPEAL of democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi against a verdict finding her guilty of violating the rules of
her house arrest. The outcome is disappointing but not unexpected. The
process was never about the rule of law or justice, and the trial itself
was a sham. There was really no reason to think the appeal would be any
better.

Aung San Suu Kyi and her two live-in companions were arrested on May 13,
2009 and charged with breaking the rules of her house arrest following the
intrusion of American John Yettaw into her compound. From May to July they
were placed on trial in a process the UN determined illegal. On Aug. 11,
2009, Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced three years hard labor, commuted to
an 18-month period of further house arrest, a sentence also imposed on her
companions. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown described the verdict as
further proof that the military regime is determined to act with total
disregard for accepted standards of the rule of law and in defiance of
international opinion and wrote to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and
fellow UN Security Council members calling for a global arms embargo
against Burma. The UK worked with EU partners to impose further targeted
EU sanctions in response to the verdict. And Aung San Suu Kyi appealed the
verdict.

The Burmese elections planned for later this year present a historic
opportunity to reverse Burmas bitter decline into poverty, stagnation and
international isolation. A favorable outcome of Aung San Suu Kyis appeal
would have been the start of a more optimistic outlook by the
international community. That small hope has now been dashed. As British
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said, I am appalled and saddened that Aung San
Suu Kyis appeal against the sentence imposed by the regime has been
denied. That failed appeal is sadly no surprise. From start to end, the
sole purpose of this show trial has been to prevent Daw Suu Kyi from
taking part in elections. If she is kept out of political life and while
over 2,100 other prisoners of conscience remain incarcerated, the regimes
elections will not gain recognition nor international legitimacy.

In an open letter to Aung San Suu Kyi in December, British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown said that this should be a historic year for Burma (Myanmar).
Free, fair and genuinely inclusive elections would allow the country to
move forward, to map a new path. But the generals are motivated by fear:
fear that decades of brutality and economic mismanagement will catch up
with them; fear that Aung San Suu Kyi will yet again unite Burmas people
in hope for a better future for the country. It is indeed striking that a
military government with 400,000 soldiers at its command is afraid of
onealbeit remarkable and deeply courageousindividual in her mid-60s. And
someone who has been under house arrest for 14 of the last 20 years.

The regimes fear is misplaced. The greatest threat to stability and
security in Burma is the absence of an inclusive political process.
Decades of conflict with Burmas marginalized and excluded ethnic groups
put this beyond doubt. In a country like Burma, there can be no national
reconciliation, no peace and no prosperity without a political process
that engages all sides and holds some prospect of meeting their
aspirations.

The UK government will continue to do all it can to press the Burmese
regime to engage in such a process and take advantage of the opportunity
the election presents to bring reconciliation and prosperity to the people
of Burma. I am encouraged by the strong stand the Philippines has taken on
the human rights situation in Burma, and its leading role in the Asean in
this regard. It demonstrates our two countries shared commitment to human
rights and democracy for all people.

If there is progress, we stand ready to respond quickly and positively.

Stephen Lillie is the United Kingdoms ambassador to the Philippines,
Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau. He was the head of the Far Eastern
Group in the Asia Pacific Directorate at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office
in London before coming to the Philippines.
____________________________________

March 2, New Light of Myanmar
Peasantry have to elect representatives capable of building peaceful,
modern, developed nation and exercising democracy correctly – Than Shwe

Nay Pyi Taw – The following is a translation of the message sent by
Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Senior General Than
Shwe on the occasion of the Peasants Day (2010).

Esteemed peasantry,
The Union of Myanmar has been traditionally engaged in agricultural
farming since the times of our forefathers to fulfil the basic needs of
food and clothing of its people. As a gesture of honouring the role of the
peasantry, the Peasants Day is designated in the Union of Myanmar. On this
auspicious occasion of the Peasants Day (2010), I wish you the peasantry
physical and mental well-being and greater success in the agricultural
farming.

In its bid to shape the nation into a peaceful, modern and developed one,
the State Peace and Development Council is well convinced that only when
the living conditions of the peasantry have improved, will it be possible
for the whole nation to enjoy economic growth. Therefore, “Development of
agriculture as the base and all-round development of other sectors of the
economy as well” is the highest in the economic objectives of the State.

In addition, the council has been working hard for ensuring better
transport, supply of adequate irrigation water and potable water,
improvement of education standard, better health care, and rural economic
development in pursuance of the Rural Development Project designed for
greater development of rural areas, home to the peasantry.

In order to scale up the development momentum of the agricultural sector,
the government has given assistance in various sectors and taken measures
such as reclamation of vacant lands, providing advanced agricultural
methods and fertilizers for boosting per acre yields of crops, supply of
irrigation water to launch mixed- and multiple-cropping patterns, and
designating the 10 major crops of the nation.

So far, the government has constructed 200 dams, 31 sluice gates, 322
river water pumping stations, 8001 tube-wells, and 658 small-scale rural
dams, and the agricultural sector has made significant progress, as a
result. Every year, the nation has put over 20 million acres of land under
monsoon and summer paddy, producing over 1500 million baskets of paddy
annually. Now, the nation’s rice supply has far exceeded the demand of the
growing population. And regions concerned have achieved great success in
growing such major crops as corn, black gram, green gram, pigeon pea,
groundnut, sesame, sun-flower, long staple cotton and sugarcane, thus
increasing the nation’s total sown acreage to 33.33 million, and
utilization of farmlands, to 171.1 per cent.

The rapid development in the agricultural sector suggests that it is
highly required to transform the nation from conventional into mechanized
farming. Many new plans are now ongoing for the State-owned and
privateowned industries to boosting production of farming machinery and
tools. Therefore, I would like to urge you the peasantry to work harder
than ever for your better socio-economic life.

Esteemed peasantry,
Now, the government, the people and the Tatmadaw are implementing the
State’s seven-step Road Map in concert. This year, elections will be held
to elect members of parliament in accordance with the State Constitution
of the Union of Myanmar, which has been approved with the massive support
of the public. The role you the peasantry have played in the Myanmar
politics is very important. So, you have to elect representatives capable
of building a peaceful, modern and developed nation and exercising the
democracy correctly. You also have to ward off potential dangers of those
who will disrupt State stability and community peace with assistance of
aliens in the background.

In conclusion, I would like to call on you the peasantry to do your bit in
the drive for emergence of a peaceful, modern and developed nation. – MNA

____________________________________
INTERVIEW

March 2, Irrawaddy
Still not free

The Irrawaddy recently interviewed Tin Oo, 83, the vice-chairman of the
National League for Democracy (NLD) who was recently released from almost
seven years under house arrest.

Tin Oo joined the NLD at its formation during the pro-democracy uprising
of 1988. He was formerly the chief of staff of Burma's armed forces.
Tin Oo, deputy leader of the National League for Democracy Party, talks to
journalists at the party's headquarters. (Photo: AP)

He spoke about his mental anguish while in detention and his vision of a
future for his country and his party.

Question: Can you tell us about your detention after the Depayin Massacre
in 2003?

Answer: First I was taken into police custody in Depayin. Then they sent
me to Kalay prison and immediately put me in solitary confinement. I
expected to be there for a maximum of 30 days, but it turned into a total
of eight months.

In fact, the food was fine. Any time I asked the prison guards for
anything they brought it to me. For instance, cooking oil, salt, chili,
onions and things that I could use to flavor my food. A doctor came to see
me almost every day to check my blood pressure.

Then, one evening in February 2004, the guards came to my cell and handed
me some plastic bags. All they would say is that I was to be moved
somewhere else. The following afternoon, they took me away from the
prison. Next thing I knew, I was on a flight from Kalay to Mandalay. I was
taken to my home and told I was being placed under house arrest and
charged under Section 10 (b) of the state security act.

Q: What were the differences between house arrest and life in prison?

A: Although I was at home with my family, I was unhappy being under [the
junta's] control. So many restrictions were imposed regarding my
movements. I couldn't meet people. I couldn't give alms to monks. I
couldn't communicate with my party or talk to party members. I couldn't
receive information and news.

In fact, house arrest is truly detention. It is not different from prison.
I did manage to hear some news about my colleagues. I heard Aung San Suu
Kyi was sentenced to imprisonment in Insein and later put under house
arrest like me. I wasn't happy about that.

The rules were changed so that I had to submit all my requests and needs
in writing. For instance, they asked me to submit a letter of request when
I wanted a medical check-up. The low-ranking officers didn't want to be
responsible for me, so they sent my requests to higher levels. It always
took time to get permission granted. It would have been a severe problem
if my health had deteriorated quickly.

Likewise, when I bought a new air-conditioner, nobody from the shop would
come to install it for me. In cases like this, I had to rely on one of my
relatives helping me.

The more I was affected mentally, the worse my physical condition became.
To overcome my suffering I focused on vipassana [meditation]. In the
mornings I prayed and I read Buddhist texts. I tried to memorize Buddhist
scriptures whenever I had spare time.

Later, my wife and children urged me and to write about my experiences, so
I did. At first, I was enthusiastic, but as I went on, I reached depths of
sorrow. Reminiscing about the pro-democracy uprising and the many
unpleasant things that had taken place, got me down.

One of the saddest things in my life was when I was in the army and my
young son died. He was born with a bad heart and had to be treated by a
doctor regularly. I couldn't take him to hospital because, for several
reasons, I had very little money. I lost him. The day after his funeral, I
resigned from the army. I was detained soon after my resignation and
thrown into Insein jail for seven years.

The thought of what had happened and how I had been treated frustrated me
deeply while I was in prison. Writing about these tragedies and bringing
those memories back to mind depressed me so much that I stopped writing.

We have a saying in Burma: “What are the three happiest days in a man's
life? Answer: the day he leaves the monkhood, the day he gets married and
the day he is released from prison.”

Although I have been freed from house arrest it doesn't make any
difference to me. When I was detained I shouldered a great amount of
mental suffering. I am free now but still under their control. There is a
guard stationed right outside my house and someone follows me whenever I
go out. In effect, I am still not free.

In fact, anyone who works for democracy, human rights and peace in this
country is under detention. I am not satisfied with this situation.
Sometimes, I am furious and feel like I can't stand it any longer. From
time to time, I have to calm myself down by adhering to the Buddha's
teachings. I have to focus myself because I want to help with the work of
the NLD.

When the regime sentenced several young people to 70, 80 or 100 years
imprisonment, the cruelty of the act has a great mental impact on me.
During Suu Kyi's trial, nothing was fair and I wanted to right the wrongs
that were being done.

Q: How was your physical health while you were under house arrest?

A: Well, I have to tell you, I began suffering from hypertension when I
was in prison for the first time and I continued to do so until the day I
was released. I went straight to the hospital and they were in shock
because I had a blood pressure of 180-110.

I take medicine and try to take care of myself. The second time I was
under detention, I suffered from an irregular heart beat and I needed
treatment on my urinary gland. I also had problems with my eyes, partially
caused by my high blood pressure. But much of that is my own fault because
I didn't pay enough attention to this problem.

Apart from religious practice and writing, I watched TV to use up my free
time. I watched so many Korean soap operas. Also, I am a big sports fan. I
used to watch a lot of tennis and football––Premier League, Spanish league
and the Myanmar National League. I think that's why I had problems with my
eyes. I am getting treatment for that now.

As I said before, while I was under house arrest I had to make written
requests for treatment and wait at least one to two weeks to get that
permission granted. Usually I waited, but if it was an emergency I made my
own decisions.

Q: As a former chief of staff, what do you think of the current Burmese army?

A: The army used to have a good reputation when it followed the traditions
laid down by its founder, Burma's independence architect Gen Aung San. I
would like to see the current army regain this. All officers––whether
high-raking or low-ranking––should work for the people and focus on their
real duties––the security and defense of this country. That's all I want
to say about the army.

Q: How highly do you rate Aung San Suu Kyi?

A: Aung San Suu Kyi's leadership skills are truly needed for Burma's
democracy, human rights and peace. There is really no need to say more
about her courage as she stands on the side of righteousness. She has her
father's blood, energy and desire to sacrifice herself for her country.
She is honest, brave and determined. She has a desire to oversee the
development and prosperity of the whole nation. She is completely
dedicated to her country and has risked her life for it. She is a great
leader.

Q: What do you think the NLD's future role will be?

A: Since its formation, the NLD has clearly stated its role in its
constitution. When the NLD contested the 1990 election, it said that
although Burma had gained independence its citizens have been unable to
enjoy their rights as free persons. It also said that in the struggle for
liberation from military dictatorship, it would build trust through
peaceful means and dialogue. The NLD still holds this belief.

Q: What would you say to the regime's leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, if you
met in person?

A: Well ... I would first advise him to try to build trust among the
people. For the sake of the country and the people, we should negotiate
and build trust. I would tell him that he can still do so.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

March 2, Burma Rivers Network
China silent to appeals from across the globe to halt dam on Irrawaddy River

Ignoring its stated commitments to social responsibility in foreign
investment projects, the Chinese government has failed to reply to
numerous public appeals from affected peoples and petitions submitted by
overseas Kachin to Chinese embassies in five countries to stop the
Irrawaddy-Myitsone dam project in Kachin State, Burma.

Open letters from Kachin State leaders and affected villagers,
highlighting concerns including the forced displacement of 15,000 people
and the likelihood of a disastrous dam break in an earthquake-prone area,
have been ignored.

Recent petitions addressed to Premier Wen Jiabao were submitted in January
to Chinese embassies in Bangkok, London, New Delhi, Singapore and
Wellington. Only the Chinese embassy in Singapore responded, replying that
the submission had been passed on to relevant authorities.

The Irrawaddy-Myitsone dam is a 50-storey-tall project being built by
state-owned China Power Investment Corporation (CPI). The dam will produce
6,000 MW of power for export to China, and is the first in a series of
seven Chinese dams on the Irrawaddy and its tributaries.

The Chairman of the Kachin Independence Organization in an open letter to
Burma’s Senior General Than Shwe underscored the importance of the
Irrawaddy to millions of people depending on the river, saying that “the
reliability of the Irrawaddy’s natural fluvial flow allows the Delta to
exist as one of the world’s biggest rice-producing areas.”

Despite widespread resistance to the project, road construction to the dam
site is going ahead at high speed.

“Affected peoples and Kachin from across the globe have made it clear they
don’t want this dam. How can China remain silent?” said Ah Nan from the
Kachin Development Networking Group. “We urge the Chinese government and
Chinese Power Investment to respond to our appeals.”

China’s domestic dam-building standards call for public participation in
decision-making while the State Council’s principles for overseas
investment require “caring for and supporting the local community and
people’s livelihood.”

Attachments: KIO, Community leaders, Tangpre villagers’ open letters to
Than Shwe and KDNG open letter to CPI, Overseas Kachin from Singapore
appeal letter to Premier Wen Jiabao

For more information please see www.burmariversnetwork.org
<http://www.burmariversnetwork.org/>